crj #11

CRJ # 11

A feminist is someone who is actively engaged in guaranteeing equality among humans. This equality is not just between the sexes but between races, social classes, sexual orientations, and genders. Pro feminist males are purely male feminist. They actively engage in the same activities for equality. While at the beginning of this class, I refused to label myself as a feminist, I defiantly have changed that opinion. Any class one takes in their lifetime affects their opinion, either by confirming the beliefs one already possessed or altering them into a new viewpoint. This class definitely has changed my outlook. From now one I will evaluate situations to ensure that women are not being suppressed.

CRJ #10

CRJ #10

When the constitution was written, women were considered property and thus not granted equal representation and or the right to vote. In “Constitutional Arguments” Susan B. Anthony comprises a strong argument against this suppression of women’s rights by using text from the work that denies the said rights. Her main argument uses the following phrase, “We, the people of the United States.” If the union is comprised of all citizens, then all citizens should receive equal representation inside the democratic republic. When seeking independence from Great Britain, men proclaimed that taxation without representation is unjust. These same men turned around and incorporated the wrong done to them onto other people, primarily minorities and women. Women were asked to follow laws that they had no say on.

Sharon Hays in “Flat Broke with Children” shows the battle between amending the current Welfare system to support those who truly need it, while guaranteeing a system that won’t ultimately end up corrupted. One of the main flaws in welfare is the negative connotation that is prompted whenever anyone mentions that they ware or were once a receiver. It is assumed that that person is irresponsible, ambitionless, and lazy. There is little sympathy given towards welfare recipients. While there are plenty of people who cheat the system by using their children as reasoning behind unemployment, there are thousands of people in the country that truly need the extra help, while already fully employed. Personally I have seen both sides of the welfare problem within my own family. My sister currently holds a study job and works more than forty hours a week, but the truth is that at the end of the day her pay is just not enough to support her three children. But according to the law, her pay should be high enough, because she is not in the poor range. This puts a lot of strain on my parents who try to augment her monthly salary as much as they can, while still trying to support me in college. While my sister is struggling to provide the best life for the children that she can, her partner’s ex-girlfriend, whom they share a child with, has six children, no job, and no desire to ever start an occupation. While everyone is entitled to their own free will, I do not find it exactly fair that the ex-girlfriend is living a better lifestyle with a nicer apartment, car, and the availability to afford Christmas presents through charity organizations than my sister, who is working hard to not go under. I think the welfare system demonstrates one example of how equality can never full be achieved in the world. In order to make a program to benefit the poor, you are also making a program that can be corrupted by the lazy.

“Unequal: A Global Perspective on Women Under the Law” by Jessica Neuwirth talks about the unjust laws purposely imposed upon women around the world, especially Muslim women. I feel this article addressed many of my concerns about being labeled a feminist in the being of the class. While, I believed in equality for women, I also believed that feminist were more towards American revolutions of equality, while the real battle belongs in foreign cultures where women are more specifically targeted. For my second event, I watched the film on the Iranian divorce process. During this process women are not treated as full citizens and a divorce requires unreal sacrifices that force many women to stay in unhappy, abusive relationships. In order to receive a divorce, women must for forfeit all rights to their children, money, house, and reputation. There are many different degrees of equality around the world for women, children, and minorities, but I have to believe that the United States is on the leading edge of equality; which is a scary statement because if there is still room for improvement here in the states then there is a massive need for improvement globally.

Activity #10

Activity #10

Division in Labor

In an ideal world salaries would be based off a combination of working power, ability, experience, and education. There would be a mysterious but fair equation that evaluated workers assets and generated reasonable pay values. While many would like to believe that this system is already in place it only takes a brief analysis of the current job market to realize that women are far below on the pay scale. The difference on of the gender gap in salaries is not based on a difference in skills or abilities among the sexes, but wrath a cultural divide that promotes the inhibition of women gaining high salaries in the majority of the working industry. The division in the work force can be traced to the division in labor at the home. Over time, women have been expected to take care of the home while men have been in charge of the more worldly behaviors. Children play a huge role in where women will end up on the salary spectrum.

Children promote the inhibition of women receiving higher salaries because they can delay women from being active in the work force. Employers do not want to pay someone who will be needed frequent time off, reduced hours, or other special requirements the same as they would pay an employee that would be available full time all year round. Women are typically expected to the ones in a marriage to stay home and care for the children. If a woman decides to leave the work force the duration her children are at home then she faces a lower rate of return to the work field due to skills depreciation during her time off and the increase of knowledge needed to obtain that occupation. Men on the other hand usually do not take an absent of leave for their children, so they are able to keep up with their occupation, and thus earn a higher salary in the process. While this can been seen as choice made by women in order to have a family, it is a cultural default to assume that women are the caretakers of the home. Although the division of time and labor in the home may affect many women, it does not account for the pay differential between males and females that are single or without children.

The gender gap in salaries can partially be explained by the gender gap in occupational tracks. Women and men both tend to gain education and skills for jobs that are dominated by their own sex. For women, these jobs are typically are the lower on the pay scale for their education level, but they are more family friendly. These trends to stay in certain occupation fields based on gender are culturally produced.

The gender gap in the work force is a culturally prorogated system. Women fall behind men on the pay scale because of their expected family and home roles along with the gender expectations placed for them. There are three main ways to stop and attempt to fix the gender gap. The first is education and admittance that there is a gap. In order to close the gap there needs to be family friendly working environments so women and men do not have to choose between a career and a family.

Event #2

Event #2 Divorce Iranian Style

After five minutes of this documentary there were obvious connections between the film and the Women Studies course. The documentary focused on the struggles women face when trying to separate from the husbands in Iran. This task is often nearly impossible and requires countless sacrifices that would prevent most women from ever seeking a divorce to begin with. Having grown up in the United States it is easy to overlook seemingly simple privileges granted to women, such as a right to divorce, a right to seek aide from abuse, and the right to happiness. There were two stories that particularly not only related well to the class, but had an impact on emotionally. These stories were of the judge’s own daughter and of a teenage girl Ziba.

Ziba is a young teenage girl who seeking a divorce from her husband due to a conflict in their original marriage agreement and because of their incompatibility. In the United States this would be reason enough to make grounds for a divorce, but in Iran there are a select few reasons women can actively claim in order to actually gain separation. The two grounds women most commonly use are that their husband cannot father a child and deception. Ziba felt that her husband had deceived her by not allowing her to continue her education like he promised her father that he would. She was significantly unhappy inside the matrimony but according to the court system she had no right to seek a divorce. While she pleaded that she was too young, as long as the girl has reached puberty it was completely legal for her to be married. Ziba was struggling with the notion that she could be treated with disrespect just because she was female. Females have little rights inside the court system in Iran because they are still viewed as property of men. Even if Ziba received the divorce that she sought, she would still have a hard life. After a divorce men are free to go off and remarry, but for women it is a much harder task. Most men only want virgin wives; therefore Ziba would be seen as tainted in the marriage industry. It is also hard to women to earn enough money to support themselves and their children if they manage to maintain custody of their children. This is because the Iranian society believes that women need men to support them.

The other unforgettable story was of the judge’s daughter. This little girl could not have been older than ten, but having spent numerous afternoons in her father’s court she gained wisdom far beyond her years. This girl understood that women were treated unfairly in her father’s court; she demonstrated by acting out her own court hearing, creating a mythical plot line of a women seeking a divorce because her husband abused her. The girl then gave an interview about how she never wishes to be married because there is no guarantee that she will be happy and because she does not wish to be trapped in a loveless marriage. It was eye opening to realize that there are countries where women are fighting for basic rights that Americans often overlook and take for granted.

Essay #2

Essay #1

Heteronormativity is a term used to identify circumstances where deviants from heterosexual orientation are out casted or persecuted by society through certain policies and practices. It is the expectation of heterosexuality as the norm; this expectation can lead to difficult lives for those who do not fit the norm. Heteronormativity affects the dominant construction of masculinity, views on reproductive health and rights, and the gendered divisions of labor.

Heteronormativity shapes the construction of masculinity through two pathways, one by establishing the division of the human race into two separable genders and by imposing a fear of variations from the two genders and their expected roles. According to Anne Fasusto-Sterling, the division of the human race into two sexes, male and female, are not enough. There is more likely three to five sexes placed along a spectrum ranging from female to male (139). While the division of the human race into two sexes is an inaccurate acceptance by common culture; so is the division of the race into two genders, masculinity and femininity. Masculinity is pictured through physical strength, emotional toughness, power, and domination over femininity. This image is reinforced through a common fear of homosexuality among males. Heteronormativity enforces this fear because it attributes the image of homosexuality as abnormal and wrong. Homosexuals, especially homosexual males, are out casted from society and especially from their gender group. Homosexuality in males is linked to emasculation, an unmasking a male as really feminine (Kimmel 214). This fear inclines males to be overly masculine, making them take pride in their masculine qualities and thus domination over women. This domination can often be seen in forms of sexual violence.

Heteronormativity has played a fickle hand in many aspects of reproductive health, views, and technologies. Heterosexuality encompasses the division of the human race into two sexes, male and female. There are possibly five actually sexes, but three are often “corrected” at or shortly after birth. Children born somewhere in between male and female are surgically altered to fit into one of the two sexes. When it comes to reproductive health and society views on the rights to health, heterosexuality plays a major role. Lesbians and gays have a harder time receiving some health benefits, especially those dealing with children. Heterosexual couples are seen to be the correct type to start families and therefore find it easier to receive reproductive help through procedures like in vitro, surrogacy, and sperm donation. Heterosexual couples have fewer restrictions when attempting adoption.

The idea of Heteronormativity revolves around two genders, and relationships being constructed of couples, a pair of one of each gender. The division of genders creates a gender identity. Along with this identity comes certain gender roles that the sexes are expected to follow. These identities include the division of labor into two categories based off gender. Women are expected to do more domestic jobs especially those attributed to the home. While women are now allowed and socially accepted in the working world, there is still a sexist stigmatism to the types of jobs women typically obtain. Women are usually found in the fields of lower education, secretary positions, and nurses. Women are still a minority in fields of science, engineering, and high education. Women are also a minority in leadership positions such as CEOs and heads of industries. This can be attributed the issue that men and masculinity are seemingly dominating entities.

Essay #2

Gender expression starts with the body and physical appearances. There are separate body ideals generated for the each gender. The female body ideal includes being white, thin, young, beautiful, and athletic. This image is enhanced through the media and can lead to sexual violence.

The media has the ability to control society’s viewpoints on key thought processes. When it comes to the mythical norm for females the media accentuates this norm in advertising. For starters the media has typically focused on Caucasian women. Until recently it was rare to see any ethnical diversity on the television screen, but even today the typical women picked for advertising, unless the ad is centered on real and ordinary women, have dominating Caucasian aspects. Women and the sexuality of the women body are used throughout advertising. Even when dealing with problems unrelated to sexual intercourse or sexuality, women are used as key ploys to catch the masculine eye. Women are used to advertise shampoo, alcohol, running shoes, cars, and just about any other common object. The media fully supports this image and mythical ideal, because as the industry says, “sex sells”. While being gender neutral and politically correct would stop these images from occurring, being politically correct is not what generates profits.

While the female body is often sexualized in the media, this can lead to sexual violence towards women. The imagery can lead to false pretenses about women in the masculine mind. Women have the ever challenging task of trying to balance sexuality and purity. There is a doubled edged sword placed in front of the gender as a whole, where women are supposed to be both sexual beings while keeping their pure, moral image. The sexual violence evolves because some males start to believe in the notion that masculinity dominates femininity and this transfers to the realm of sexuality. Men believing they can dominate women and compromise their rights when it comes to sexual favors. The sexual violence is often ignored because many still view it has part of a woman’s job and the role of her body to please men. For a women to give into the sexual abuse of a partner or stranger is normal because she is just acting according to her gender role.

Activity #9

Activity #9

Homosexuality is a common occurrence in the human population. One out of every nine couples living together is the same sex. Over six million American children alone have at least one gay or lesbian parent. Homosexuality is not just in humans; there are at least four hundred species of animals that display acts of homosexuality as typical behavior. With homosexuality becoming more conventional, why are same-sex marriages still forbidden in many states?

Marriage has traditionally been viewed as a sacred union between a man and a woman in society. Constitutionally and legally the meaning of a marriage has little to do with the societal viewpoint. Emma Goldman describes marriage in a more basic style when she states, “Marriage is primarily an economic arrangement, an insurance pact (389). Legally marriage contracts provide certain privileges to spouses that include benefits such as Social Security, health insurance, life insurance, and the ability to make medical decisions for the spouse. While the Defense of Marriage Act passed into law during the Clinton presidential term defines marriage as between one man and one woman, there is nothing about marriage that allows for this Act to be constitutional. The government is supposed to rise above the popular societal viewpoint and protect the rights of minorities. Homosexual couples are the minorities in need of protection in this case. One could argue that if homosexual couples were allowed to marry, then anyone could marry to gain economic stability, and not for love. There are two points in reply to this: firstly, there is nothing about love in the legal definition of marriage. Secondly, according to law any adult male and adult female couple can marry, even if it is for economic reasons. Many arranged marriages are based primarily on economics. Although the Defense of Marriage Act has been partnered with similar laws passed by at least 38 states (Kurdek 152) the act itself is in violation of an individual’s rights and therefore homosexual marriages should be legalized.

While many societal institutions, especially religious assemblies, view homosexual relationships to be amoral or anomalies of human nature, these opinions should not affect homosexuals’ rights to equal constitutional privileges. According to Kurdek’s study, same sex couples functioned quite similarly to heterosexual couples. The only major difference was the blending of gender roles within the relationship, which is an obvious occurrence due the notion that there are not two genders present. Some could argue that the blending of gender roles conflicts with the traditions of society and could upset the balance that is currently in place. To refute this, one only needs to look at gender roles. The gender roles inside of relationships are not balanced to say the least. Women are casted as weak, docile, and lean towards tasks and stereotypical aspects that deal with the home. Men are described as the opposite; strong, aggressive and in charge of worldly activities. Feminists have been arguing for centuries against these stereotypical roles; therefore just because homosexual couples cannot fall into the two gender system, does not mean that they will upset society. Many individuals that are not homosexual do not fit into the ideal gender role assigned to them. They are not denied their right to marriage because of this. Their right to privacy, especially the privacy between spouses, protects the individual from being ostracized by society. Homosexuals deserve an equal right to privacy, including privacy in a marriage. Furthermore, the children, either biological or adopted, raised by homosexual partners develop equally when compared to children raised by heterosexual couples. Therefore homosexual couples should have the right to marriage and to a family.

Homosexual relationships are comprised of people. This fact alone should be enough for same sex marriages to occur. We are all individuals; while homosexuals are different from the traditional heterosexuals that enter socially approved marriages; they deserve equal rights. Marriage, with all the legal benefits involved, is a right. By denying homosexual couples marriages, they are being denied equal rights. There is no significant proof that a homosexual marriage would be more likely to produce an unstable family than a heterosexual marriage. The reasons for denying the institution of marriage to individuals rest primarily on the hypocritical judgment of society. Based on equality, homosexuals should be allowed to marry.

CRJ #9

CRJ #9

I have always been disgusted by the idea that women were property and Miranda Kennedy’s essay, “Cheaper than a Cow”, develops many of the key arguments against the idea of owning women. History, traditions, and even our constitution are plagued with examples of women being treated as property. In a wedding, the father gives away his daughter, a symbolic gesture of a prized possession behind handed from one owner to the next. At the end of a wedding s the couple are pronounced “man and wife”, the woman being now a possession of her husband. In Kennedy’s essay, young Indian girls are sold at auctions to men seeking wives, slaves, or someone to dominate. These poor families are willing to lose their daughters for less than the price of a cow. While this seems unbelievable from an American viewpoint; females are not seen in the same light in India. Kennedy reports that there is a dramatic decrease in the Indian women population due to female fetus abortions and female infanticide. Females are seen as a burden to the underprivileged families due to the custom of dowrys. The custom of dowrys itself is an insult to women and their role as a member of the family. These young ladies are treated as not humans, not loved ones, but as properties, as a chore that must be properly dealt with before the men of the family can proceed with more important business. The irony in this is that women are vital to the continuation of the family, but for some reason this fact is overlooked. The only time women seem to be of emotional and family value is when producing sons. While India is trying to fight this through limiting ultrasounds to be performed only for medical reason, not to determine the sex of the fetus, and technically outlawing the trade of women for slavery, the culture is finding loopholes. The only way to stop these destructive and discriminating practices would be to get the culture to become more accepting of women.

Judith Warner discusses the twisted image of women and motherhood in a western culture in her essay, “The Myth of the Perfect Mother”. As technology, education, and general lifestyles progress through time life is supposed to become seemingly easier. This is not the case in motherhood. Mothers today are suffering from a strain of trying to provide a stable, healthy environment for their children, balancing a full time job, and saving enough alone/couple time to not have their relationships crumble and prevent the onset of insanity. There is the notion in modern society that it us up to the woman in a relationship to do all the nurturing, teaching, developing, and every other task related to the general upbringing of the children in the family. It is up to the mother to make sure that her children are ready for the world. This task becomes more challenging every year; it is now becoming critical that mothers find the right preschool, the right music instructors, the right childcare, all in the hopes of placing their child higher on the development curve. Why is this task left to mothers? Because of the proclaimed gender oriented family roles. Men are responsible for the economic stability. Women are in charge of the home. While these may have been an even split in some family scenarios it is becoming more drastically unfair towards women every day. As the cost of living rises, more women are required to work full time jobs, which can cause strains in the home life. Warner reports that on average fathers work fifty-one hours a week and mothers work forty-one. Also with school systems in shambles across the United States, parents need to take a more dominate hand in their children’s education in order to insure that it is a good one. It is society that creates the myth of a perfect mother that can magically handle all the pressures. It is also society and government that holds the key to the solutions. Corporations need to have family friendly policies, government should mandate increased child care standards at preschools and daycares, and there needs to be affordable day care available to all families. There are some programs already in place through welfare, WIC, and other local organizations but they are not enough. My sister is currently raising three children on a single salary of less than twenty-five thousand dollars a year, but she is seen as too wealthy for any financial assistance. And it’s not even just the poor that need help; child care is extremely hard to find and unaffordable to the middle class as well. Society needs to start helping everyone in this field before there is an epidemic of insanity among mothers.

Charlene Gornes tackles the challenges homosexual couples face when trying to establish a family in her essay, “Partners as Parents”. Obviously their first struggle is in the pathways to parenthood. Naturally it is impossible between the pair; therefore they must reach out to alternatives including surrogate mothers and sperm donors. These pathways do not lead to guaranteed results, which have many parents facing adoption. The adoption system in most states is designed against homosexual couples. By not having a form of binding contract between them, homosexual face even harder legal battles when it comes to raising children. Often times in custody trials courts rule against homosexual parents due to the notion that a child raised by a gay parent will grow up tormented or become gay themselves. Also since there are no legal binds between the couple in cases of death and separation it is hard to decide who should get custody of the children or how the children should receive inheritance. There are no statistics or evidence to show that children brought up in a homosexual household will be more likely to become homosexual than those brought up in heterosexual households, yet there is still a lingering rumor that this is the case. Also there is no evidence that sexual orientation will alter how one parents a child. Society needs to learn to be more accepting of individuals and stand by the values that everyone has equal rights.

CRJ #8

CRJ #8

Kahn’s article “What College Women Do and Do Not Experience as Rape” was especially interesting to read, since I am currently a college student. I thought it was extremely strange that 73% of the women questioned that showed clues to having been raped, did not admit that they were (pg. 593). Kahn goes on to explain that the likely reasoning for this is rape has a stereotype of its own. Rape is seen as a sexual assault performed by a stranger, and be extremely brutal and forceful. While this image is true, rape also can be submitting to a boyfriend or lover, being tricked into sex while asleep, intoxicated, or drugged, or even when a someone is taken advantage of while emotionally needy. I think that some of the reasons rapes are underreported among college females is a balance between confusion, isolation, and embarrassment. Often, alcohol is involved and the woman can feel like it was her fault she was raped because she allowed herself to become too intoxicated to stop the attack. Also, when at college, women are separated from their families and typical doctors, so it is harder to find the proper support. While many college campuses try to offer services that would allow women a safe place to seek help, testing, and aide after a rape attack, many women are too embarrassed to seek this help. They would rather talk to a family member and their own personal doctor than the police and local hospital. Embarrassment is a key role for all rape victims. Many people contain a superhuman mentality; they are aware of the evils and misfortunes in the world but they do not perceive any of them every happening to themselves. With one in four college women experiencing sexual assault (pg. 563), this can be an extremely harmful thought process. In order to protect the students, colleges should offer education programs on sexual assault, self defense lessons, and general campus security. Outreach programs and hotlines should also be available so that both men and women who find themselves sexually assaulted can seek the proper aide.

Debra Anne Davis presents a good point about gender roles and taught mannerisms in story, “Betrayed by the Angel”. Growing up she was taught the ideal feminine gender role, and it is due to this role, she was victimized. Girls are often expected to be polite, quite, and submissive. When a strange man showed up at Davis’ door, she could not be rude and shut the door in his face even though she knew something was fishy about the situation. Because she did do the “rude thing”, the strange man forced himself into her apartment and raped her. Now she realizes that if she hadn’t been raised to be so submissive the attack would never have been able to happen. Parents that do not want their children to be victimized should teach them not only manners and kindness, but the ability to stand for themselves and defend themselves when necessary. I would rather have a slightly rude child that ran away or fought when attacked then have a victimized one. Davis goes on to explain that even after the court process she still did not feel like her attacker deserved his punishment; that there was something inside her that blamed herself and not him. Ever since she was little she remembers images on television, (Bewitched, I Dream of Genie, and Leave it to Beaver for examples) where the females were casted in submissive roles. It is this expected submission that causes women to accept their attacks. Men seeking power can easily dominate women that are trained to be controlled by men. The media has a powerful role on gender ideals, and it should actively try to enforce that the sexes are equal. Also the media has a powerful influence on the news that is brought to the attention of the general public. The news should focus more on the severity and extent that sexual crimes are plaguing our country. Hardly does anyone see a rape on the national news level; it is usually just stuck in as a five minute filler on the local station. More media coverage and education, would promote more action from the government, agencies, and public. Changing apathy to action is the only way to prevent these crimes from happening.

Activity #8

The first statistic I started my interviews with was, “Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted”. The general consensus to this statement was that I was exaggerating. Sexual assault, battery, and other crimes against women were not unheard of occurrences to the people I interviewed, but the frequency of these crimes was overwhelming. The other statistic I used was “one out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime”. This fact also proved to have a bit of a shocking impact. It became apparent that while the population is being educated on abuse towards women, they are not being informed about the severity of the situation.

The numbers are seemingly proven correct when I discover that one of the very people I interview has been affected by sexual assault. I found an available hall-mate for this activity and found that she was very open to discussing the subject matter. To make her summarize her story for her own personal sake, while on vacation one summer she and two of her best friends were invited by a group of older teenagers to a party. Being only fourteen, she was eager to attend and experience the nightlife that must be customary to the popular older crowd. This party was not a fun, social event, but rather an scheme to get the girls drunk, first experience with alcohol for all three, and then to sexually assault them. During the incident none of the girls questioned the actions of the boys; all were at least nineteen according to my hall-mate’s memory, because they assumed that this was deemed a normal event. It wasn’t until the next day that my hall-mate realized that not only had she been raped, but that the boy had stolen something from her that no lawsuit or amount of money could justify. It took her months to realize what truly had happened and to confine in her mother. By this time it was too late to do any significant legal action; she didn’t even remember his name. I was shocked to find out that this has happened to those that I am acquaintances with. I think that a very common misconception is that these types of assaults only happen to women who place themselves in certain situations. There was nothing about my hall-mates outward appearance or expressions that would have ever led me to suspect that she had been a rape victim. It really hit home that anyone can be a victim; we all need to be aware of our safety and take proper action to secure it.

The males I interviewed admitted that assaults were likely to occur on women, but there was a disconnection between the problem and their actions. While neither actively engage in assaults on women, there are some actions and ideas everyone does that contributes to the entire problem. There are certain beliefs in culture that promote domestic and physical violence towards women. The basic of these beliefs is that simple males are dominant. Also the typical feminine role as a submissive and weak person has a part in while women are targeted. The only real way to stop violence is through education. Without proper education through the schools and media, society remains ignorant to the problems that occur all around them. Just the simple decrease of apathy through education and understand would start to bring about a change. There also need to be more support groups for women so that they feel they are safe in proclaiming the violence that has occurred to them. It is absurd that society has created a community in which people feel like it would be better to hide something as horrific as rape, instead of seeking help from the police or a local women’s shelter.

CRJ #7

I found a quote from Eleanor Cooney’s “The Way it Was” to really sum up one of the main reasons for legalized abortions and feminism in general; “When a woman does not want to be pregnant, the drive to become unpregnant can turn into the force equal to the nature that wants her to stay pregnant” (370). Whether or not it seen as part of religious beliefs, morals, or a sense of protection for the fetus, outlawing abortions and other sexual health care for women have been continuously one way for the male population to control women. Even though in today’s society it thought that women have an equal voice and opportunity in the government system there still a greatly disproportion of men legislators to female legislators. The picture Cooney describes of Bush signing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban bill is of all men legislators smiling as the President chips away a corner of Roe v. Wade. By limiting a women’s right to abortions and the right to sexual health care does not stop the risky behavior some women take, it only increases it. Without proper education and health facilities women are more likely to have risky sexual practices. The risky sex leads to unwanted pregnancies and with abortions being limited to time frames then a lot of women are forced to carry a child to term or go through a risky, illegal, and secretive procedure that is likely to end up hurting the women as well as killing the baby. Like Cooney says, laws and restrictions are not going to restrain women, especially women with the sort of determination as pregnant women desperate to be rid of their pregnancy. It is more morally wrong to try to manipulate a woman and her “rights” in order to prevent her from having an abortion than the abortion itself. This manipulation can lead to many deathly procedures for the mothers instead of protecting the fetus.

CRJ #6

Critical Response Journal #6

Disciplinary beauty practices are those done to correct flaws in the female body. Bras were designed to lift the breasts because it was viewed medically that breasts did not have the proper ligaments to hold themselves up to their proper position. Other disciplinary practices include diets. There are numerous consequences these practices can have on a women’s psyche. There reality shows airing today display plastic surgery and body augmentation to be normal. Girls who are not born with the ideal image can be “fixed” for the right price. This phenomenon is spreading across the globe as more and more women decide to change their bodies. In China, according to “China’s Cosmetic Surgery Craze”, it is popular for women to have their legs extended in order to reach a “normal” height. There is also facial surgery to change the more classical Chinese features to be more Caucasian styled.

Men and women both face body norms. Men’s norms are to be athletic, trim, and muscular. The women’s norms are much more demanding. Women should be thin, delicate, beautiful, and sensual. There is a typical power divide when it comes to the ideal body. Men are muscular because they are considered strong, while women are deemed naturally weaker and thus given the “delicate” feature.

The sexualization of women’s bodies has changed over times and in between cultures. According to Brumberg in “Breast Buds and the Training Bra”, it isn’t until the inventions of the corset and the bra that society becomes obsessive with the idea of busty women and hourglass figures. The media sends out a strong image of what beauty is: thin, toned, small facial features, and typically white, and blonde. While many white girls grow up under the pressure of obtaining the ideal beauty in ads, it is only a single curse. While white girls still have a slim chance of ever obtaining the ideal image, for other races it is nearly impossible. From the reading, “Body Ethics and Aesthetics among African American and Latina Women”, there are a lack of images in popular media of their races. The images that were present were of women that had many “white” qualities and lighter skin pigments. I think that every race has another image to fight, the stereotypical image that correlates with their ethnicity. According to the reading the women polled were prefer not to consider that there is a mythical body ideal but rather a set of body ethics every woman should try to maintain. These ethics include style, body acceptance, and respect. The important part of one’s appearance is that you are comfortable with yourself, that you respect your body, and dress appropriately. I think that all women have an image of ideal beauty. I don’t think it necessarily correlates with the media’s image.

Activity #7 - Killing Us Softly

“Killing Us Softly”

In “Killing Us Softly 3”, Jane Kilbourne discusses the affects of media on society. The average American sees 3,000 advertisements a day. With this kind of statistics it is impossible for anyone not to be affected by media. Advertisements sell much more than products; they sell values, standards, normalcy, images of ideal love, and sexuality. According to these images women’s main aspects are their physical appearances. Women should spend time, energy, and enormous amounts of money to succeed at obtaining the ideal look. It’s an impossible task however because the ideal image of women is to be flawless. This image can cause terrible repercussions on women. Advertising can be linked to the increases in eating disorders, teen pregnancies, and women battering. With the way that advertising can modify the human perspective it has the ability to take away our chance at an authentic, free life.

With the “onslaught” video, Dove shows clips of popular advertisements that either promote women’s beauty products or use women in provocative ways in order to sell other objects. It then jumps to images of plastic surgery, and then lastly to a small, elementary student. The ad ends with the message “take your daughter before the beauty industry does”. The media starts to distort our images of beauty as soon as children are able to absorb the images. It’s important to recognize the issues that advertising can play in women’s lives and to address it by saving out youth from falling into the beauty traps. It’s important to not let little girls’ self-esteem be destroyed by the media nor to let them start idolizing the ideal women images. “Evolution” displayed the steps to creating a beauty add. The original girl was transformed through makeup, hair styling, and finally computer graphics in order to make the “model”. Basically it is no wonder why the image of an ideal woman is so distorted in the mindset of society. The advertising agents don’t even have a picture of an actually woman by the end of the process.

This ad is using a seductively dressed woman on a bed to sell a video game. The caption reads “Keep on dreaming of a better world”. While this statement first addresses the notion that the image of the woman is ideal and fake, it also expresses the notion that women of reality are below par in comparison to these advertisement fantasy women. Even in the video game world women should be perfect and fit the ideal description of thin, toned bodies, with beautiful faces and flawless makeup. Basically femininity is beauty and sexuality.

I find the way that media controls the image of women to be quite frightening. The amounts of eating disorders and psychological problems caused by these ideal images are astounding. It doesn’t seem logical that this sort of media mind warp would be able to survive this long. Hopefully with the help of the Dove campaign to advertise realistic women, the image and definition of beauty will start to change. Beauty is about being healthy and happy with one’s body not necessarily skinny and drenched in cosmetics.

Assignment #6 - Tough Guise

Activity #6 - Due Friday October 5th @ midnight

Understanding masculinity to be socially constructed allows for the ability to change. It is better than having biology in charge, because for those who feel that masculinity has faults or errs there is hope for a better system through individual and collective change. Masculinity is dominated by men’s approval for each other. All the aspects of manhood including; athleticism, bravery, courage, and strength all revolve around the need of men to fit in among other men. According to Kimmel homophobia is generated not through a few of homosexuals, but more so through the fear that the individual male will be unmasked as a “sissy”. Homosexuality is seen as a key loss of manhood. I agree that homophobia can arise from the fear of being seen as not masculine. The culture that most men are raised in teaches them to fear showing any signs of feminism. Young boys are told not to play with dolls, but to play with trucks instead. Boys can’t wear pink, boys can’t cry, the lists of restrictions are endless. To me it seems natural that the children who assume the proper gender role as males will eventually develop homophobia as adults. Now some people could say this is a natural progression and therefore homophobia is a natural fear, but I see homophobia as a reason why we as a culture should try to change the gender norms. If we can recognize that we are attributing to the growth of hate by the ways we raise our children, why don’t we change?

The “tough guise” is the front that men are forced to put up in order to survive among their peers. It includes acting tough, unemotional, athletic and other dominate masculine traits. It can also include violence, criminality, and risky behavior. Through media and pop culture, men are learning that this guise is the only way to control their sense of masculinity. Masculinity is defined through the images seen on television sets and movie screens. Boys try to imitate the images produced in order to seem popular and cool in their community. In order to change men need to look at their actions and the motivations behind them. If media, popularity, and pressure are the motivating factors then it probably isn’t the right decision. Being a good person starts with the individual. Women can help in this change as well. Women can help break down the “tough guise” but supporting those who reject the system. Men would be less likely to want to keep up the pretext if they knew that women were not into it. Institutions especially the media could change the images that they project to the public. I think that the tough guise video will provide necessary insight to the world of masculinity. I almost felt that in the Kimmel article homophobia was given an excuse to exist because it was generated through masculinity. This notion was very disturbing to me.

CRj #5

CRJ #5

The dominating theme I have noticed over the past readings is that society and culture have ways of overpowering biology and nature in almost every aspect of life. While science tells us that DNA and genes determine our appearance and sex, society has the means to suppress the natural indicators genetics presents and morph them into acceptable gender roles and sexual scripts. Cultural ties have become so strong that I don’t believe it’s possible to know to what forms of human sexuality would occur outside a societal zone.

There is no dominate proof that genetics control human psychology; there is proof that genetics are a minuscule influence. Identical twins have equivalent DNA, but identical twins never have the same personality. From birth, the twins grow as two separate human beings, each experiencing the world and society in their own way. This is a common fact, yet still science searches for ways to link biology and genetics to psychology and human behavior. Research is currently being down to find a “homosexual” gene, but is it really possible that one exists? Can science control who is homosexual or not? If such a hypothetical gene existed would society then urge science to find a “cure”? Bell Hooks mentions in her article, “Romance: Sweet Love”, that generally everyone wants to “fall in love” (188), but that encompass many of the fears instilled in especially women from childhood. These fears include; not finding a soul mate, not being pretty enough to be loved, and that they are unlovable. I know that these fears do exist, and I can say that I myself have thought about the from time to time, what I wonder about is if these fears exist, why do people continue to judge others’ love? The idea of falling in love and love in of itself is scary, so why should society judge with whom someone falls in love? Both the articles “Biphobia” by Deilhl and Ochs and “La Guera” by Moraga showed the amount of hate and fear towards those who chose to love a bit differently from the societal norm. I found it disgusting how people could be judged as unfit parents, intellectuals, and human beings based on their lovers. I found the “Biphobia” to be especially interesting since the fear and negativity was not generated from heterosexuals alone, but from the homosexual community as well. It’s strange to for me to think that those who would be very used to having the societal pressures upon them would then in turn place them on another group. There needs to be a balance where we can all coexist.

*Interesting side note: today in Honors Biology we learned about pseudohermaphrodite: women that are genetically male (XY chromosomes), but due to a missing enzyme that processes testosterone, these males actually mature as females with complete outward female sex organs. While there is only a 1 in 20,000 chance of a woman being as pseudohermaphrodite, 80% of runway models actually have the disorder. Funny how men continually find ways to dominate the image of an ideal woman?

Midterm Essays

WS- Midterm Essay #1

Sex and gender are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are not alternatives for each other. Sex in of itself has two definitions. One of these definitions is biological; male, female, hermaphroditic…these are sexes. Sex is a biological classification system to sort members of a species based on their reproductive organs. Sex is also the physical use of those reproductive organs. Gender is harder to define. Gender is the combination of societal norms based of one’s sex and psychology.

Essentialism is the belief that human behavior is determined only by biology and genetics. Carole S. Vance in her article, Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality, provides many counter examples to essentialism and shows that gender and human behavior is much more socially and culturally developed than influenced by biology. According to Vance sex is a biological sort of humans into males and females based on sexual reproductive organs, while gender is the expected behavior and societal roles associated with the sexes. If gender is the defined as appropriate behavior of sex, then it is easy to see how it is built through society by examining certain social acts from the viewpoints of different cultures. A kiss in public between an unmarried couple in the United States is viewed as commonplace, ordinary, and expected. This same kiss in Saudi Arabia could be seen as shocking and atrocious. If gender was determined by biology then both countries should view the kiss the same. Therefore since similar acts are viewed differently based on culture, religion, and timeframe, gender is socially constructed and not biological.

In slight contrast from Vance, Karen Bornstein also divides sex and gender into two separate but overlapping realms. Vance saw gender as socially constructed into two categories, male and female based on sex. To Bornstein, sex is just the physical act associated with reproductive organs, while gender is a spectrum of psychological feelings and societal roles. Regardless of biology, people can fluctuate on the gender spectrum from extremely masculine, to extremely feminine, to anywhere in the middle. Gender is based off of four characteristics; assignment, role, identity, and attribution (Bornstein, 1998). Gender assignment is the category you are placed in from birth, male or female. Gender role is the cultural expectations and behaviors of one’s assignment. Attributions are the key characteristics that help people inside the society associate who is female and who is male. Gender identity is the personal level of gender that everyone has to decide for themselves. There are many influences in society that help one shape their gender identity; education, religion, and culture are just a few. Gender is not one’s sex but a way to classify expected societal behaviors.

Gender is a classifying system that passes down through the generations. From birth children are classified into the two biological sexes; male and female. Those who do not fit perfectly into one of those sexes are given surgical procedures to correct the error. Everything inside culture is divided between the two realms, feminine and masculine. The realms do not intermingle well; it is alright for a female to have a masculine name, but for a male to a feminine name is considered weak and pathetic. Children are geared towards their appropriate gender through the clothing they are allowed to wear and toys that are purchased for them. Girls play with dollhouses while boys play with trucks. While many people may pretend that they do not usher their children into their appropriate gender roles, some of these same parents were shocked when BLO, an activist women’s organization, switched the voice boxes in hundreds of Barbie dolls with the voice boxes or J.I. Joes and vice versa. If gender wasn’t taught, then why would it matter what toys a child possessed? The toys were considered defective because they did not correspond with the typical gender roles laid out by society. Therefore gender is a societal based system that is taught from birth. This education teaches people the appropriate behaviors in life that correspond to one’s sex.

Gender is a classification system that incorporates individual psychologies with societal standards. Education, culture, and religion play major roles and shaping individuals genders. The individuals themselves can alter their own gender according to Bornstein, but many don’t because of the pressures society places on those who are different. Gender is not sex. Sex is the biological system that classifies people based on anatomy. Gender has to do with behavior and psychology.

WS – Midterm Essay #2

Throughout time the realms of science and technology have had an astounding, unbalanced relationship with the genders. Science and technology have developed into exceedingly masculine fields where women play a small, minority role. This gender gap is widened by gender’s influences on technology. This division has limited women in many aspects of life, and the distressing truth is that it is more often accepted than questioned. The gender gap in science and technology is illogical on the basis of equality.

Starting from its definition and connotation, technology is influenced by gender. Typically technology is a term applied to cars, lasers, rockets, and other masculine objects. There is also a feminine side to technology that is often ignored. This side encompasses the more household electronics such as microwaves, washing machines, and curling irons. Gender divides technology into equipment for the two sexes. More domestic electronics are considered feminine, even though males use them in their daily lives as well. More empowering equipment such as weapons and motorcycles are seen as masculine, even though thousands of women drive Harleys around the country. Gender divides technology into uneven and inequitable categories that have potential to further divide and classify the sexes.

Science is also shaped by gender and what should theoretically be the norm. Darwin’s Theory of Heterosexuality is a prime example of this. Darwin concluded that all animals are scientifically and biologically inclined to be heterosexual and engage in courtship based on two species. The conscious species was the peacock; the subconscious was humans according to gender norms. Darwin proclaimed that since peacocks possess certain traits, such as the decorative tail feathers on males, the genetic reasoning behind this was for procreation and thus heterosexuality. This was an easy conclusion for Darwin to hypothesis because subconsciously the notion of heterosexuality has been instilled inside of Darwin from childhood. It is a part of the gender norms that children learn early on that people are typically heterosexual. Darwin was using gender norms when he made his theory, a theory that has not withheld its validity among a large percentage of species of vertebrates. Homosexuality has been discovered the norm for many species including sheep. One has to question the power of gender to influence the sciences if Darwin’s theory is still thriving even though it has been proven false by over four hundred species.

Science also has the power to shape gender. In modern culture there are two sexes, male and female, but biologically there are up to five sexes. The three often unheard of sexes include hermaphrodites, fermaphrodites, and mermaphrodites. The reason why these sexes are such an anomaly is directly related to science. After birth, when an infant is discovered to be neither male nor female, the parents and doctors make a decision on which sex the child should be. Based on the anatomy present the child will be placed into surgery to correct the biological error. Science through medical procedures has the power to maintain a two sex society.

Technology also has the ability to influence the genders especially through video games and computers. Even in elementary school video games are designed to the masculine mentality. This builds a barrier between females and technology. Little girls quickly learn that video games are boy toys, separating the girls from certain skills that little boys adapt to quickly. As the children age the gap grows because as skill levels increase in the video gaming industry so does the violence and masculinity of the games offered. Since girls are practically shut out from the video game environment they rapidly fall behind boys in computer skills and comprehension. This is most likely one of the leading causes to the minority of women majoring in computer engineering and other technological fields across the globe. Technology has become a male reign that provides unfair opportunities for females when it comes to education and occupations inside the technological and scientific societies.

The gender gap present around science and technology is shocking. The overwhelming aspect is how it has become an acceptable aspect of modern society. Parents teach their children at an early age to follow the gender guidelines of science and technology through the types of toys they buy them and other forms of play. It’s important though to take a step back and critically think about these societal norms and how they affect our lives. Educating people on the gender inequality inside science is a crucial part of any Women’s Studies curriculum because it is a field that is often overlooked. People tend to think that technology is just naturally more appealing to the males, but upon critical thinking one can see that it is much more of a societal generated connection between males and technology that separates females. Education, critical thinking, and perpetual action are the only ways to ever try to close the gender gap in the world of science and technology.

Event #1

Women’s Studies Event #1

Magdalen Hsu-Li: Smashing the Ceiling

Thursday, September 20, 2007

With an impressive combination of soulful music and inspirational storytelling, Magdalen Hsu-Li put on a great performance. As a self proclaimed feminist and bisexual advocate Magdalen was able to tell inspiring tales of overcome many difficulties in her life such as tourette syndrome, racial adversity, and sexual adversity both as a woman and as a bisexual.

As an appropriate starting point, Magdalen played her song, “Not an Ordinary Girl”, which in my opinion covered many of the concepts discussed in Women’s Studies thus far. The lyrics addressed the idea of a mythical norm and an imaginary ideal woman. Besides the hint of frustration that such an idea exists, the overwhelming emotion of the song expressed was determination. Determination used in the sense that she was out to prove that she was not the typical girl, but a better girl because of her individualistic qualities. She has takes what society would consider differences and celebrates them.

Magdalen talked about discovering the hidden biases of her surrounding community. Her parents as immigrants attempted to assimilate with the local Virginia culture and in their mind they succeeded. Magdalen saw a different picture; a picture of her parents stripping away their own identities in order to fill a spot that society had set for them. Magdalen also struggled inside her societal role as an Asian -American female. She was casted as meek, quiet, patient, and obedient. When Magdalen didn’t meet all this conditions she was often told that she wasn’t acting appropriately according to her race. It wasn’t until her high school years did she realize how she was being judged. It was then when started to stand up to her teachers, parents, and community and defend her identity has an individual instead of an Asian-American girl.

Having a sexual orientation besides heterosexuality can be difficult on anyone. Often times it can be hard for the individual to admit their orientation to themselves let alone to the world. Magdalen didn’t choose when to tell everyone that she was bisexual. A confidant revealed her secret during a dinner party. At first Magdalen was embarrassed as she watched her sexual orientation be turned into the joke of the party, but then she decided that she would turn it into a positive. She became an advocate for bisexuals and homosexuals.

I found Magdalen to be inspiring speaker. Instead of accepting the difficulties placed before her as fate or normal, she used them to better her life and to help others in the process. She actually took the variations from the mythical norm as fate to become an advocate for all those who do not fit that ideal image. Her confidence and spirit was moving.

Activity #5 - Gender Aptitude Test

Kate Bornstein, the author of My Gender Workbook, questions the social association between gender and sex along with the possible realms of gender orientation. Bornstein separates gender from sex; gender is the categorization of people based on appearance, genitalia, psychology, and societal roles. Sex is purely the act. She further explains that there are four main aspects to gender: assignment, role, identity, and attribution. Assignment is the societal designation of male or female. This is usually determined by genitalia present at birth. Gender role is the cultural expectations for the gender assignment. Identity is what the individual feels they are at the moment or should be. Attribution is how we determine others to be based on preconceived ideas.

Based on the reading I wasn’t surprised by the aptitude test. The questions were designed to make the taker wonder about their assumptions, especially those that connect sex to gender. It also really called gender identity into focus and separated it from gender assignment. I was evaluated as a “gender novice”, basically new to the questioning of one’s own identity and the role of identities in society. I think the test is great at having people questions their beliefs and to have people think about the norm that has been established in their minds through culture. Having it be multiple choice limited the responses though. Often times I didn’t really relate to any of the options for a certain question. I wanted room to explain myself; if gender is really a spectrum or circle, then having us choose between only four possibilities doesn’t really correlate with that idea. With that being said I also agreed with my results. Through this class and especially the articles for this assignment, I have just started to question my gender identity in sense that I do not match the mythical feminine norm nor do I want to. I think the test was very interesting and thought provoking in the world of gender.

CRJ #4

CRJ # 4

Anne Fausto-Sterling’s proposal to change the current two-sex system to a five-sex system in human society was fascinating (140). Modern society is entirely geared towards classifying everyone into two sexes, male and female, but this illogical when one considers how many hermaphrodites are born into the world. Over one percent of live births result in some form of an intersex child; that is an extremely high rate to be considered just a birth defect or abnormality. While dividing the sexes into five groups may be a bit extreme, three groups seems like a fair medium. Older cultures such as the Native Americans actually had a three gender system where intersex people had their own active roles inside of the society (125). Society should be more accepting of intersexuals instead of having parents of hermaphroditic children decide if their baby should be a boy or girl almost instantly after birth.

It was shocking to realize how brainwashed everyone on in our society is to the two-gender system. From birth we are taught how to act as either a boy or a girl from the clothing we wear to the toys we play with to how we interact with others. Gender is developed and taught, not biologically assigned. The activities that are assigned to the sexes are based on ancient preconceived notions that have no really justified truth. To be feminine is to be passive, graceful, and gentle while to be masculine is to be strong, aggressive, and dominant. People that challenge these social norms are either judged as homosexual or peculiar. There is no biological reason for these stereotypes. Women, although typically smaller, can be stronger than men especially when it comes to tests of endurance. Men can be extremely emotional at times. People cannot fit inside classified norms. When trying to classify people especially into two polar opposite categories there are too many outsiders. This unfair to a majority of the population.

CRJ #3

Carole Vance’s discussion on the social construction theory was fascinating. There is a cultural belief that there are set “truths” about the “natural” behavior and sexuality of the sexes. These beliefs entail that men and women are naturally heterosexual, men should not possess feminine qualities, and women should not possess masculine qualities. These beliefs are not truths though; they are carefully constructed ideas by society. Society created the idea of biological determinism; that biology, through genes most likely, creates appropriate gender behavior patterns. Females are supposed to possess feminine qualities such as beauty, artisanship, and delicacy. Males are supposed to be masculine with qualities such as strength. Essentialism is the belief that that biology can determine one’s behavior. Throughout history the typical roles of males and females have stayed basically the same, and the according to essentialists this is because it passed on through genetics. Social constructionists believe that behaviors are learned and shaped by society not through biological processes. Society determines the specific roles that members of a gender can play appropriately in and outside of the home. There is set of suitable behaviors and qualities that will allow for one to float through life easier. By making life harder for those who don’t fit this suitable norm, society has a way to control gender roles and sexuality. Over time the suitable norm becomes so common that it is deemed as a natural instinct or produced by some biological factor. Through this society has become unified, and people who do not fit are made to feel that they are abnormal. Homosexuals are considered either rebels or biological irregularities. The essentialist idea of biological determination of gender behavior is illogical though because everyone is different. Females vary in interest, looks, and lifestyles. There is set of values that all women can fit into. The same applies to men. Also, it is a societal theory that men are superior to women in many aspects.

CRJ #2

Peggy McIntosh brings up a key issue concerning feminism, racism, and any other systematic oppression in White Privilege and Male Privilege. While many people will admit that there are issues in the world, they will not admit that they are a contributor or that from these issues they actually gain an advantage. This is a major issue because while open sexism and racism have been controlled through social awareness and government acts including Title IX, they still remain subconsciously. There cannot be equality between the sexes and the races until the people with advantages, particularly Caucasians and males, acknowledge the advantages race and sex contributes to their daily lives. Until reading this section I was unaware of the advantages being white and middle class has given me. I have entered the university setting without anyone questioning the path that led me there. No one questions whether or not my race played an important role in my admissions process. It is basically assumed that I received my admissions letter due to my intelligence and application. White privilege can go unnoticed; live dormant inside all Caucasians as the invisible package, because we are accustomed to having these daily privileges. The privileges we receive are perceived as normal, automatic, and natural. We grow up learning that America’s foundation is based on the bootstrap myth, that with enough work and motivation everyone is able to climb the economic ladder towards success for their selves and their family. People who are not able to climb are either shiftless or unfortunate. The suggested cure for this social disease is acknowledgment of the problem. This is a difficult thing to face, because it is easier to see these advantages as rewards for hard work than as undeserved rights of a section of people. People do not want to admit that they have been granted unfair advantage in life, or risk losing that advantage.

Homophobia generates sexism. There is an assumption that men and women are supposed to be heterosexual and that being homosexual is “different” or “weird”. It relates back to the mythical norm of what a woman is supposed to represent, and thus when she varies from that ideal image is conceived has being unnatural. Pharr discusses how lesbians are perceived as people who want to live completely without men and thus are against men. This is a radical notion that has no factual foundation. The perception and fear of lesbians causes unnecessary hate and suppression. Lesbians are backed into a corner with two choices, either suppress their sexuality from the public or live an honest lifestyle with the fear of being judged against because of their sexual orientation. This unjust ultimatum causes unnecessary obstacles in homosexuals’ lives. This form of suppression is heterosexual privilege. The only way to stop this is to acknowledge that it exists and to live our lives in a fashion that does not allow it to persist.

Activity #4 - A girl like me

In chapter two of Women’s Voices Feminist Vision the mythical norm is defined as a standard that all women are compared; “white, middle-class, heterosexual, abled, thin, and young” (pg. 60). Women that deviate from the “norm” are considered different, strange, outsiders. Whether or not we realize it, this ideal norm is embedded into almost everyone’s mind. It’s easy to recognize these factors when one’s own image varies from the norm. Typically people can sense and grasps that they are being judged against because of a particular aspect of their image or culture, but it’s exponentially harder for the same people to recognize the advantages certain image and cultural aspects grant them. The ironic part is that no one truly fits the mythical norm, and why would anyone want to?

Culture, society, and the media all impact a person’s lifestyle, self image, and self esteem. These aspects sadly instead of using their power to create positive images, succumb to contributing to the mythical norm. The implantation of the mythical norm in people starts at an extremely early age. Think about the toy industry: Barbie is a beyond ideal thin, white, female. Four-year-olds play and start to compare themselves to a toy that they will never be able to resemble. Even Disney movies that try to teach moral lessons and good behavior support the ideal female image. When has anyone seen a black Disney Princess? When these ideals are placed inside children it alters their own self image, especially among the non-whites. In the film African-American children were asked to choose between a black doll and a white doll. A shocking majority chose the white doll, even though it did not resemble them. Clearly this shows a concerning possibility; the children have learned that there is a difference in skin tones, and that this difference has higher importance than just appearance. The white doll is “better” and “prettier” because that is the way society treats white children over black children. This deviation in fairness among children due to race can cause lasting harm to non-white children’s self worth. This decrease in self worth only goes on to enhance the superiority of white children. Chapter two also mentions a concept called horizontal hostility. This is when people who feel that they are in a lower status will take their frustration out on people within their status range or even lower. By creating lower self esteem in children, these children will grow up to be adults that continue to enforce the belief system.

Can one’s skin color, hair texture, nose shape, or any other physical aspect determine their character, intelligence, or value? Absolutely not. Peggy McIntosh lists all the ways that being white has helped her in her life. It’s shocking to think that certain life tasks and goals are made easier just because of one’s skin color. White privileges are everywhere if you stop to look at them. Applying for loans, shopping at certain stores, passing through airport checking stations are all statistically easier if you are white. White men and women are more likely to be hired for top positions. Just because someone is white with smooth hair does that make them smarter than someone with tight curls and a darker skin pigment? When the girls in the video started to talk about skin bleaching systems and hair relaxers I was a bit disturbed. What sort of world do we live in where people would want to bleach away their beautiful skin tone? With lighter skin would they be a different person? I would hope not. Skin has nothing to do with the brain and the heart, but from a social standpoint it is a leading characteristic. It all leads back to the mythical norm and white privilege. The closer one is to the ideal man/woman the better their life will be. I appreciated the girls in the movie talking so freely about how their lives have been affected. I have noticed that although racism has been inappropriate among many Americans, it still resides inside many unnoticed. My sister has two beautiful biracial children, but I have witnessed on more than one occasion typically white women approach her and tell her how wonder if is that she adopted. While these ladies believe themselves to be granted a complement to a young mother, they are actually insulting her choice of family and lifestyle. My sister has to then explain that her children are not adopted, but biological. That though they do have their father’s skin pigment and textured hair, if you look closely they have her eyes, mouth, and nose. It is almost as if the mythical norm is now taking on more aspects and a new shape with the growing and evolving society. It’s a scary thought to have to face, but as long as everyone keeps celebrating their differences and self image then maybe we can break the mythical norm.

Assignment #3 Tolerance Tests

I found the Tolerance quizzes to be fun and enlightening. It makes perfect sense due this sort of assignment at the beginning of the Women’s Studies course, because often times people can be taught, lectured at, or read about a certain topic but never actually absorb the information. This quiz allowed us to see a glimpse of how we naturally feel. Hopefully those who discovered that they do have a bias towards women will be able to use this course to either break down that bias or at least reach a level where they are more consciously aware of it and its impact on the world. Now I do not think these tests are perfect because so much depended on your computer skills, state of mind, and ability to comprehend words at a fast pace.

The gender test gave me the strongest feedback. I showed a strong association of males with careers and females with families. At first these results were a bit of a shock because I don’t feel like I was raised in a society or a household in which women are restricted to the home. My mother has had a full time job since before I was born. I was raised to believe that I could have any job I wanted; doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc. I grew up in a college town were a good percentage of my friends’ mothers were scientists, professors, or possessed some other high end University occupation. The more I thought about it the more I think that my results stem more from just my own liking. I’ve known since I was little that I either want a lot of children of my own or to work in setting in which I interact with children on a daily basis. I think it’s natural for me to association women with families and men with careers because internally that is part of what I want for myself. On the other hand I really respect women with major careers, so I wouldn’t say that I have a bias towards them. I was shocked by the general public results, saying that less than one percent of the total poll takers showed a strong link between females and careers. I would have thought with all the advances women have made in the last 50 or so years that the number would have been greatly higher. I also took a quiz relating men and women to science and liberal arts. My results were that I moderately associated women with liberal arts and men with the sciences. I wanted to see if my results would match what I had received on the gender-career test. I think these results were closer to my hometown and internal beliefs. I still think that it is a bit ironic that I showed a slight bias against women and sciences when I am thinking about entering a science major.

The last quiz I took was on discovering if you have a preference between thin and obese people. My results were that I had no automatic preference between the two, but yet again I was shocked by the general statistics. Twenty five percent of the people polled had a strong association with thin people and only one percent had a strong association with obese. I think this mostly had to do with pop culture at the moment, with everyone’s attention on celebrities, fitness, and diets. Also I find that weight is one of the few biases that seem to be almost socially acceptable. Many people view weight as an aspect of one’s life that can be controlled. Also since weight has a dominate influence on other health issues it make sense to want to be healthy, and healthy is often mistaken as thin.

I think that many biases are acceptable because there hasn’t been a big enough voice in the media or public to acclaim them unacceptable. Racism was widely regarded as normal until the issue was raised in enough campaigns, protests, and debates until a majority of people agreed that it was unacceptable. I know these tests made me question some of my assumptions and beliefs on people and the world around me. I also hope that everyone else who take the test will take the time to consider their results and how they achieved them.