Gender expression and identity

The exercise with the diamond of gender was a good illustration of the many forms of gender identity and expression. The concepts of gender identity, expression, sex, and sexuality are easily confused. It is really easy to think of gender as simply dimorphic, male and female. But seeing how we can classify ourselves between male, female, agender, and "other," shows clearly the fluidity of gender expression and identity. It made me realize how accustomed I am to the dimorphic idea of gender, that I am really never expecting that someone would identify as other. I would, instead, make the assumption of their gender identity based on their gender expression and biological sex. So even if someone identified with a women gender identity, that person could still express their gender as male. This class opened my eyes to how many assumptions I make about people's identities solely on how they dress and their physical appearance, and how I automatically put people in a male/female box. I supposed when we encounter people who don't fit into one of these two categories we are often uncomfortable, especially after childhood when a little mixing of gender expression is tolerated. It also makes me realize how marginalized people are when they don't identify in the binary gender. I will have to work to counter the assumptions I make when I interact with people.

I saw this advertisement on facebook and immediately thought of how gendered it is. The three categories of the feminine are the childish girl (ridiculous that she should have a mind) a woman (who, forcibly, is filled with attitude and sass) and a lady (who is poised and refined, passive). This is a good example of how women are can oppress themselves, thinking that these choices sound impressive or good. This ad is obviously targeting women, to get them to think of Bailey's as a "feminine" drink.

Walker - Pornography, black and white

Alice Walker's presentation of pornography as an industry that us not only sexist but incredibly racist  shed a light on the topic that I had never considered. I always thought of pornography as de-humanizing and objectifying women, but I never realized that there was a difference in the way that white women and black women are portrayed. I think this goes to show that the sex industry appeals to the most base part of men (I say men on purpose; whether women watch porn or not, it is the men of society who are the targeted consumers). Walker illustrates that this debasing industry dehumanizes not only porn stars but also the consumers; the husband in her story was detached from himself and unable to honestly make love with his wife, because he realized that he would have to face himself if he did.  It is incredibly important to realize that pornography affects people differently; be you male, female, black, white, lesbian, gay, or anything in between those falsely dichotomized categories, be addicted to pornography or having a partner who is not only damages relationships but also a persons sense of self. It changes the landscape of our society, and reinforces the worst of the sexist, racist, and gendered stereotypes. Sadly, I don't know what the answer is to this predicament because pornography (as a form of prostitution) is jokingly referred to as the oldest industry in the world; it will only go away once demand goes away. And one way to get rid of the demand is by acting like the strong female in this story, who rather than ignoring it or sweeping it under the rug, confronts the disgusting racism and sexism of pornography and forces those around her to confront it as well.

"I'm an athlete, but I'm still a woman"

The video clip shown in class brought out a serious point; women athletes have to work to prove that they are feminine, heterosexual, and the way to prove that is by stripping and showing their bodies. In order to get sponsorship, and continue being an athlete, women have to submit to these gender stereotypes in the way that they are portrayed off the field. The only way for people to not feel threatened by these athletes is if they prove their femininity. Men are admired for their athletic form, but women are criticized if they are either too muscular or too large. Sports that portray women as strong and dominating are not as popular, are not shown on the media; they are on the fringe of the sports world. It is similar to the representation of female politicians. Once women get in a role that are typically masculine, meaning a powerful, dominant position, they have to automatically feminize themselves in the media. This is just proof that society is still uncomfortable with women who adopt roles that are seen as traditionally male. I cannot imagine how oppressive this is for female athletes in the public sphere.

Gender and Reproductive Health Care

I thought that this was the best presentation so far. There was a lot of information presented that I did not know and I think the discussion was very productive; we were able to address a lot of different ideas. Perhaps it seems like this discussion should have been focused on the extremes of the discussion, such as pro-life v. pro-choice, but I was glad that a large part of the conversation focused on sex education. This is a part of our society that is extremely lacking. I agree with the author of the shorter reading for their discussion, that most people (exp. women) can come together, whether pro-life or pro-choice, to say that the number of abortions should be reduced and can be reduced through better access to contraceptives and better sex education among children. It is stunning how much this information is stifled in our society, how embarrassed people are to talk about sex and how taboo the subject is before the age of, say, sixteen. We have to first acknowledge that there is a problem, the problem of teenage pregnancy and unwanted children, and then move forward to address the cause of this issue. I think that the government and our representatives have been woefully silent on this issue, or, if they are not silent, they are arguing against it, which is ludicrous. There needs to be an active movement towards better, more open and more effective sex education in the United States if we want to actually make a difference, whether abortion is available as an option or not.

Women in Politics

I really enjoyed the discussion in class about women in politics. One thing that I had a problem with was the discussion of the first lady versus women in politics in general. The required passive, supportive role of the first lady is really too bad. Michelle Obama is a very strong, intelligent woman who could be a very effective politician, but because she is first and foremost the first lady, she is constrained to the role of the mother, dealing with non-controversial issues. Most of the news about Michelle Obama focuses on her style. However, I think that this phenomenon does not apply to women in politics in general, such as women in congress and local politicians. This is not to say that women are still discriminated against in politics; but female officials who are elected do not have quite the same expectations that women be passive, non-decision makers, and fashion focused. The looks and the passivity are not as important as they are with the first lady. But women still are expected to be mothers, to be caring, to be unaggressive, to be caring, to be family focused, even when they make those decisions. Perhaps the conversation about first lady vs. elected officials is different. But I hope that we get to the day when we are having this discussion about the first gentleman.

Prosecuting Rape

We had a difficult discussion in class on Thursday about rape. It started out pretty tame, everyone discussing what a rape culture is and how women feel threatened by strange men etc, with everyone agreeing for the most part. However, the discussion really got tense when Lydia brought up the fact that women cannot just blame the system for the fact that rape cases are hard to investigate. The tenor of the conversation was very accusatory, with one side defending the legal system for doing all they can on lack of evidence and the other side saying that women who have been raped cannot be expected to act in a purely rational manner of preserving evidence, since the experience is so traumatic. We did not have the chance to discuss the matter in depth, but it brought up a very legitimate point; rape cannot be compared to other crimes in terms of prosecution. Rather than arguing over whether to tell women that they have to preserve evidence of rape, the question we must ask is how can we work to make the legal system more effective in prosecuting cases of rape when the reality of the crime is so different from other crimes. We cannot expect women to run to the police as their first reaction to a rape; this is simply unrealistic and shows a naive understanding of the psychological trauma for a rape victim. But it is impossible for judges to convict without any evidence, and I don't believe that we should move to have supposed rapists be convicted from the testimony of just one person. In order to effectively rape we really must work to eliminate rape culture, to educate women about the realities of rape and sexual violence, and make it easy for women to seek help if they are victims of rape.