Gendered Micro-interactions

I was kind of shocked today to realize how even a simple action like putting on chapstick is gendered. I never thought about the fact that men and women hold a chapstick differently, probably without thinking about it. I am going to try to be more observant of event the minor actions, stances, position that we do unconsciously which gender us. It is true that even watching someone walk across campus from afar, you can usually tell if they are male or female.
I also thought that it was interested how we automatically feel uncomfortable with gender ambiguity. When you are unsure about someone's gender or how someone's gender identity it does create a rather uncomfortable atmosphere. We are so used to people conforming to the gender structures of society that we do not even notice them until they are challenged, and then it becomes suddenly obvious. The last post that I made was about a father who started wearing skirts when his son was wearing dresses. I think it is inspiring to see someone willing to flout the rules of society to such an extent that he may even be alienated, all in order to make his son feel more comfortable.

Father's wearing skirts

Here is an awesome link about a father who, when his son wore dresses to feel comfortable, chose to wear skirts himself.

http://gawker.com/5938676/?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Gender Rolls

We are hardcore feminists!

The reading "You're a hardcore feminist, I swear" really hit home for me. I have interacted with girls (or women) in the past who were completely reluctant to call themselves feminists or to even try to forward the status of women in society. It is always frustrating for me when people think they will alienate themselves from their friends, partners, crushes, etc. by calling themselves "feminists" just because society tends to use that label as a bad thing. We need to stop using the word "feminist" as a dirty word. It is kind of like what we discussed in class, that many bad names used against both men and women ultimately boil down to some pejorative of "woman,"or insinuate womanliness as opposed to manliness. I hope that this class will make me and my peers more aware of the way that we gender our conversations and more open to conversations that challenge our perceptions. There are many different ways to be a feminist, just as there are many different ways to be female and many different ways to be male. This class will hopefully help us uncover all of those meanings.