This week we dived into readings with the question “What is gender?” in mind.
– Starting with Catherine G. Valentine, we get the idea that gender has historically been thought of in two ways only. You are either a male or a female. Simple. However, gender is not simple and behaviors or actions should not be thought of as being exclusive to one gender or the other. Valentine asks the question “Do all the men you know fit the ideal of masculinity all the time, in all relationships, and in all situations?” (Valentine, 2020, p.4). Using my personal experience, my answer to that question is no. Yet, males are given character traits such as being rough and tough while females are regarded as sensitive beings. Society has long thought that men are not supposed to be sensitive or *emotional like a female*. The question that Valentine asked is meant to make us think of how behaviors vary depending on the situation that a person is in. Gender should not be used to explain or predict someone’s reactions to circumstances.
– Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill are women of color that have shared their perspectives on multiracial feminism. In the text, Zinn and Dill mentioned that they “use “multiracial” rather than “multicultural” as a way of underscoring race as a power system that interacts with other structured inequalities to shape genders.” (Zinn & Dill, 1996, p.324). After reading that statement, I can say I understand their reasoning. When referring to race, it is typically outward or observable characteristics that are shared by a group of people. Culture is not as easily observed, and it incorporates the beliefs and values of a group of people. Zinn and Dill’s decision to use the term “multiracial” works with their ideas because, within society, a person’s race affects their encounters and social location. That is not to say that someone’s culture does not do the same, but race, within the United States especially, has a profound influence on social order.
– Trying to find a connection between “The Prism of Gender” and “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” is a bit of a challenge for me. I believe that all three authors would acknowledge gender as being situational, but I think that Zinn and Dill underscoring race instead of culture conflicts with Valentine’s view that culture helps manifest how people see gender.
Check Out This Video
– While I read Zinn and Bonnie’s text, I was hoping to see the word intersectionality because I believe the meaning behind that word could sum up a good amount of their ideas. Since I did not see the word used, I want to add this quick video on what intersectionality is by the great Kimberlé Crenshaw (:
Keywords
Catherine G. Valentine (2020), “The Prism of Gender”
I want to start by saying WOW! “Androgynous” by The Replacements is such a powerful song with few words. The song was released in 1984 making it 39, nearly 40!, years old.
My questions:
How much longer will it take
or
What will it take for androgynous people to be more openly themselves in public?
In ” Theorizing difference from multicultural feminism ” they stated that multiracial feminism is an evolving body of theory and practice informed by wide-ranging intellectual traditions. Multiracial feminism is also known to examine the simultaneity of forming female identity and experiences . One thing I found interesting that I read was ” Another disturbing pattern, which bell hooks refers to as “the commodification of difference,” is the representation of diversity as a form of exotica, “a spice , seasoning that livens up the dull dish that is mainstream white culture.”(pg 323). I had never heard that before. They even explained more on the diversity trend.
Keywords :
Culture, Power, Research
” The Kaleidoscope of Gender ” explained how the Western’s culture was when it came to gender .”The shape and texture of people ‘s lives are affected in profound ways by the prism of gender as it operates in their social worlds. Something that I found interesting was “Many of us never question what we have learned about sex and gender , so we go through life assuming that gender is a relatively simple matter. A person who wears lipstick , high-heeled shoes, and a skirt is a feminine female , while a person who plays rugby ,belches in public , and walks with a swagger is a masculine male (Lorber , 1994; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004) .”(Page:3) I agree 100% with this we always seem to go with things we were taught as a kid and those things aren’t always going to go along with society as the years go on. There was a two gender/sexuality system referred to as ” pink and blue syndrome “.(Page:4) Which is also interesting because now they use more neutral colors like you could have green for a boy instead of blue and use yellow for the girl.
” Androgynous “
This song is about men and woman reversing their roles . It was ok to be who you are. In the song they said ” Closer than you know love each other so .” I feel like that’s saying even with no approval or support it’ll still be the same. I remember when my grandma use to make me and my cousin come in the house because we didn’t need to run around in the grass and play with the boys we should’ve been playing dolls .
Connections :
Both of these stories were based on the roles and feminism importance and history. I feel like Valentine and The Replacements would agree based off of them both wanting things normalized when it came to role switching.
Questions :
Choose whichever
What are some things you think they could’ve did differently to make an actual change ?
What’s something you found interesting in the stories we read ?
Women of color have long been pushing back against the oppressive and narrow-minded structure of feminism. Since the late 1960s, they have been vocalizing their exclusion from feminism, their experiences being misinterpreted, and their need to challenge systems of power- not only on the basis of their gender but on all fronts of their oppression. Even though women of color have different perspectives and take different stances on feminism, their goal remains the same- to dismantle existing systems of oppression. Multiracial Feminism is an accumulation of multiple different perspectives from different races developed primarily by women of color. It acknowledges the limitations of traditional feminism and establishes that gender is constructed by multiple systems of oppression.
“Power is the cornerstone of women’s differences. This means that women’s differences are connected in systematic ways. Race is a vital element in the pattern of relations among minority and white women.” (p.327)
Another group of people who fought against narrow-minded views was the band The Replacements. In the 1984 song “Androgynous” sings of a couple defying gender roles. The first time I heard this song it was a few years ago and I remember feeling extremely touched. I see myself and every relationship I’ve ever been in within this song.
“Now, something meets Boy, and something meets Girl. They both look the same, they’re overjoyed in this world”
This lyric is playing off the cliche of “boy meets girl” replacing “boy” and “girl” with “something”. Referring to a person as “something” may sound demeaning, but can actually be seen as freeing. It is a placeholder that is allowing you to set your own terms, not abiding by typical gender roles.
“Most of us cannot remember when we learned gender stereotypes and expectations or came to think about sex, gender, and sexuality as natural, immutable, and fixed. It all seems so simple and natural. But is it?” (p.4)
This paper speaks about how humans aren’t just stereotypes and there are no absolutes or certainties in our preconceived notions of “masculine” and “feminine”. It dives into how gender roles aren’t simply “roles” that we play. Unlike other roles, we play like a job, and we really can’t “quit gender”. Well, as we become more aware of them and understand the prism of gender we sure can try, but it’s so ingrained in our western culture that even if you try to reject them, people will still force them onto you. But in other cases when we defy the gender assigned to sex at birth we are forced to “quit gender”. Or like a job, “leave our gender at work”. This would be like performing as or assigned sex at birth is expected in some scenarios, and expressing yourself freely in others.
As a cultural artifact, I have included a recent picture of myself and will share a recent experience I’ve had. This picture was taken at a protest this past week against the SB43 bill restricting drag. Defining drag itself is very difficult but in short, it would make performances of the “opposite” gender a strictly 18+ affair. Many fear that this will infringe on people expressing their gender the way they want to. This bill only reinforces the western ideas of gender and gender roles. But as we have learned from this text our behavior is flexible, malleable, and constantly changing.
So on that note, I leave you with a question: Why would the government want any sort of jurisdiction over a form of art and self-expression? Why do people in general want to keep systems of “traditional” gender in place?
Keywords: Intersex, “Do Gender”, Androgynous, Gender Skepticism, Matrix of Domination, US Third World Feminism, Indigenous Feminism, Multicultural Feminism
Why so many different types of Feminism? How many are there?
Growing up, all I knew was male/female, males had penises and females had vaginas and breast. As I grew into a teenager, I learned that some boys liked boys and that meant that you were a fag or sissy. Homosexuality was not really mentioned in my home and “fag and sissy” were terms I heard from other kids or other adults. As I entered into young adulthood, I watched more television shows, met new people, began college and began to learn more about the world and the differences between gender, sexes, and sexualities. Catherine Valentine (2020) mentioned in the reading of The Prism of Gender “Most people in contemporary Western cultures, such as the United States, grow up learning that there are two and only two sexes, male and female; two and only two genders , feminine and masculine; and two and only two sexualities, heterosexual and homosexual (Bern, 1993; Budgeon, 2014 ; Luca!, 2008 ; Pfeffer, 2014 ; Wharton , 2005)” (Page 3). This resonated with me because this is exactly how I grew up except, I combined the them into one meaning, the sexes, male and female. Basically my mindset was if you were male you were masculine and if you were female, you were feminine. I never considered the sexualities until I was in my early twenties and I just knew that I was heterosexual because I liked men. I learned more about homosexuality because one of my friends shared with me that he liked boys. Hence my questions began about two genders, two sexes, two sexualities. Valentine’s discussion of the pink and blue syndrome and defining it in the reading was also a very strong point because it is so true when she says “This syndrome is deeply lodged in our minds and feelings and is reinforced through everyday talk , performance , and experience. It’s everywhere” (Page 4). Just think about it, for as long as I have known the color pink has been associated with a girl and the color blue has been associated with a boy. When a woman is pregnant and learns the sex of her baby, pink and blue are the first two colors that help to determine the sex. There are no longer just baby showers, a gender reveal also has to take place. If a parent wants it to be a surprise, they choose yellow or green as a neutral color, heck anything besides pink or blue. Valentine also says “pink and blue syndrome is so embedded within our culture and, consequently, within individual patterns of thinking and feeling that most of us cannot remember when we learned gender stereotypes and expectations or came to think about sex , gender, and sexuality as natural, immutable, and fixed. It all seems so simple and natural” (Page 4)
Valentine suggested the exercise of “turning on our social radar and examine yourself and the people you know carefully . Do all the men you know fit the ideal of masculinity all the time, in all relationships, and in all situations? Do all the women in your life consistently behave in stereotypical feminine fashion? Do you always fit into one as opposed to the other culturally approved gender category? Or are most of the people you know capable of “doing” both masculinity and femininity, depending on the interactional context?” (Page 4).
I must say that 20 year old Marea would have “always” fit men into one and female into one as opposed to the other. However 51 year old Marea cannot fit all men into the ideal of masculinity or all women into the ideal of femininity. I’m so grateful that I no longer do “so”fit” people. I no longer think 222.
The truth is just as Valentine stated “There is no single pattern of masculinity or femininity” (Page 5). I learned in this reading about intersex and immediately thought about an episode on Law and Order SVU when a teenage boy did not know that he was born with both body parts. I never heard the term but saw in the reading that “intersex” and my understanding of intersex is when a child was born with a male and female body part “a larger clitoris or a smaller penis”. Where you familiar with Intersex? In the Law and Order episode (Season 6 Episode 12 John/Joan), the genetic male was being raised as a girl and was sexually assaulted and the child was unaware until the sexual assault it the issue was raised during the investigation. My mind then began to wonder about the sexualities of people and what they all meant. I’ve heard of Binary, Non-binary, Fluid, but have no idea of what they really mean. Valentine touched on some of these terms and I am so excited to learn more about all of it. I’m hoping that someone will share if they have knowledge of the different terminology. Valentine mentioned “people do gender” and that caught my eye because I thought how does one “do gender”? She explains in “One of the fascinating aspects of gender is the extent to which it is negotiable and dynamic. In effect, masculinity and femininity exist because people believe that women and men are distinct groups and, most important, because people “do gender,” day in and day out, and enforce gender conformity. It is now common for gender scholars to refer to gender as a performance or a masquerade, emphasizing that it is through the ways we present ourselves in our daily encounters with others that gender is created and recreated.” (Page 4) I believe that as people feel comfortable with discussing the differences of their sexuality, gender, and sex, we will find that in this world, there is not only two genders, two sexes, or two sexualities. Valentine talked about how in other countries, men lactate and breastfeed their infants just like women. She goes on to discuss how men have breast and women grow facial hair and how men can have breast cancer. I would have never known about men and breast cancer had my mom not been diagnosed with it and she chose not to get a double mastectomy because she said men can get breast cancer too. I was 27 years old when I learned this.
Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996) says their perspective of Multiracial Feminism “is an attempt to go beyond a mere recognition of diversity and difference among women to examine structures of domination, specifically the importance of race in understanding the social construction of gender. Despite the varied concerns and multiple intellectual stances which characterize the feminisms of women of color, they share an emphasis on race as a primary force situating genders differently. It is the centrality of race, of institutionalized racism, and of struggles against racial oppression that link the various feminist perspectives within this framework. Together, they demonstrate that racial meanings offer new theoretical directions for feminist thought” (Page 321) (Zinn and Hill also stated in Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism “Once we acknowledge that all women are affected by the racial order of society, then it becomes clear that the insights of multiracial feminism provide an analytical framework, not solely for understanding the experiences of women of color but for understanding all women, and men, as well.” (Page 330)
Acknowledgement is the first step. Accepting and understanding that this affects all women and men is what is needed to move forward. If this does not happen, I’m afraid that things will remain the same.
Do you think that this acknowledgement will take place in our society?
Gender, Feminism, all of the different types of feminism, as well as Multiracial Feminism are like onions. They have so many layers and these readings so far have me wanting to reread everything over and over again and I still won’t fully understand it all. These readings leave you wanting to dive deeper and learn more. I wonder if I’ll ever totally understand it all. Finally, listening to The Replacements “Androgynous”. This was my first time hearing this song. I must say that I loved the lyrics and chorus. Two people popped in my mind when I hear the song, Prince and Dennis Rodman. I also thought about the Dave Chapelle skit from his True Hollywood Stories from Charlie Murphy.
Many of us seem to be familiar with the notions of sex, gender, and sexuality, and how those three connect in our own lives. But this weeks readings said “Hold up there! Do you really think you know everything?” The answer is no…no we don’t. Or at least, I don’t. So I’ll do my best to explore some of the topics from the readings this week, and how they all basically say everything is made up by society.
“The Prism of Gender” by Katherine Valentine
“What seemed so obvious-two opposite sexes- turns out to be a gross oversimplification” (Valentine, 6)
When I think of Prism, I immediately think of that banger album by Katy Perry. I don’t think any of the songs have to do with gender, but you all should still give it a listen. But that’s not the point here. In her article “The Prism of Gender”, Catherine Valentine explores the notion of two sexes/ two genders, and how the Western world is quite obsessed with fitting everyone in these neat little boxes. However, it’s not really that well organized. One of the best examples of this that she uses is the ever present idea of something called “pink and blue syndrome” in which things in our world from clothing to school supplies seems to be color coded for girls and boys (Valentine, 4). It’s something I think about a lot working in retail. I am constantly asked “Well do you have this in a boys color?” or “She’s a girl, I don’t think she’ll like Mario”. Its extremely frustrating to deal with when I personally don’t believe that material things can be gendered, much less something as basic as colors.
And when Catherine moved on to explain this idea of sex not even really being biologically just two sexes, with the mention of intersex among other genetic things, I was thrown for a loop. She states “Joan H. Fujimora (2006) examined recent research on sex genes and concluded that “there is no single pathway through which sex is genetically determined”” (6). I mean, I knew that there were more than 2 genders. But the idea of more than two sexes and those two sexes not even really being that different? That was a lot for me. I hope we can discuss this concept more during the semester.
Besides realizing that nothing fits in binaries, Catherine poses one question towards the end of her article that I want to pose to all of you. On page 7 when discussing how one never really changes their gender in different situations, she says “Could you leave gender at the office? What would that look like, and what would it take to make it happen?” (7) Is there every a situation where you felt like you had to “leave your gender at the office”? Is it possible? One situation that I can possibly think of is someone who might be trans and express it in their day to day life, but perhaps not to their family. Maybe they sort of discard their preferred gender at the door. I know I have had a friend do this before, and it broke my heart. Do you think that example is relevant in this situation? Or would you consider that not the same?
Theorizing Difference From Multiracial Feminism by Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill
This article was extremely long and to be honest, a bit dense for me. I kind of struggled with the major concepts here and hope that my classmates might be able to fill me in on some things. Nevertheless, I will still do my best to lay out what I gathered from the reading.
It seems like one of the obvious major themes in this reading is race and how that directly plays into gender. There is a lot of discussion on how ones place in society is not based just on gender, but on many factors like race, class, and sexuality. Zinn and Dill work hard to outline the major concepts of multiracial feminism is, what it does, and how it can help. They state that “multiracial feminism brings together understandings drawn from the lived experiences of diverse and continuously changing groups of women” (Zinn and Dill, 328). It’s important that we as a society not only look at the struggles of women, but that we look at the struggles of women from different racial backgrounds, class backgrounds, etc. We need to hear these experiences in order to better understand our fellow women and how we can help make things better for everyone.
One thing I found really interesting from this reading was when Zinn and Dill quoted Maria C. Lugones who, I believe, basically said that when the differences among women are removed, there’s really no essential woman (323). That over all there is no sort of truth about what makes a woman a woman. Please correct me if I am wrong in my understanding of that, but if I am right, then I agree entirely. It doesn’t matter where we come from or how different we are. There doesn’t seem to be anything innate that ties all women together as women. It kind of links back to Valentine and how there’s not really some sort of consensus on sex.
Final Thoughts?
I felt like both readings were quite challenging. The song, although I didn’t talk about it much, touched on the idea of androgyny and people dressing and acting however they want despite their so called sex. Overall, the articles were thought-provoking. I’m excited to see what everyone else thought about the readings and hope that I can gain more understanding through others’ posts. Because after all, the only way you learn is by listening and reading.
-Adriana Green
side note: my question for the class is in bold and italics towards the middle of my blog post. I also am not sure I can really think of a piece of media that these ideas remind me of unless you count that really good Katy Perry album. And maybe Demi Lovato.
The author of “The Prism of Gender,” Catherine G. Valentine, argues in the article that gender is riddled with stereotypical labels in society and that it is actually something more vast and diverse. Catherine G. Valentine argues that gender is like a prism as they describe how researchers often underestimate “the complexity of the prism of gender” (Valentine page 7). This statement is extremely interesting and holds a lot of truth. Prisms are known to hold a wide variety of colors. Like a prism, gender is also a spectrum, something more complex. It isn’t something that is clear-cut and black and white. It is something that can be yellow-orange, blue-purple, or even yellow-green. It can come in many different shades. Unfortunately, as stated on page 7, “gender is reinforced, transformed, and articulated” in society (Valentine page 7). Many view gender as a black-and-white object that holds qualities that others cannot have.
Everywhere you go, there will be gendered products lining the shelves and advertisements telling you how you should behave based on your assigned sex at birth. Society will do everything in its power to tell you who you are and how you should behave because of the long-standing history it had with gender. For example, it is still widely believed that people who were assigned females at birth should always be polite, cross their legs, and wear cute frilly dresses, while men should be strong, providers, and rough. I have been told countless times when I wear a dress or do anything remotely feminine, I am not a real man because only women wear dresses. Because of gender roles that plague society, people cannot be who they truly are and feel stuck in a situation of either being an outcast and looked down upon by society or conforming to those norms and forcing themselves to be something they aren’t. Fortunately, not everyone sees it this way.
In the piece “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism,” by Bell Hooks, they argue that feminism is for all genders across any religion, cultural background, and sexuality, but still lacks equality as it is currently, as people only focus on differences. On page 322, they say that “difference has replaced equality as the central concern of feminist theory” (Zinn & Dill page 322). This means that instead of focusing on obtaining true equality for everyone, they are looking at differences first, which prevents others from obtaining the equality they deserve. The differences among people have always been an issue and still are prevalent in today’s world.
People will look at others with a magnifying glass and determine their worth based on how different they are compared to themselves. In the article, on page 327, they state how “people of the same race will experience race differently” based on where they are in society (Zinn & Dill page 327). For example, two women of color could experience equality very differently because one of them might be a lesbian while the other is straight despite having similar circumstances otherwise. They might depict each other’s worth differently because they are different in one way. When focusing on differences, a divide amongst one another is created, which only causes more issues.
Key Words: Equality, Feminism, Experience
These two readings are like two sides of the same coin. Bell Hooks looks deeper into how gender and race are connected, while Catherine G. Valentine takes a more general look at gender in society. Though they have their differences, they still share the same idea that gender has divided society and that it determines many aspects of people’s lives, like equality. They may both agree that gender isn’t something that should divide people and equality should be given to all regardless of gender. In general, race and gender should not dictate anything.
A question to think about:
How can we break down these gender roles and inequality and make a freer society?
In The Prism of Gender, Catherine G. Valentine explores and shares her insight on how western culture conditions us to think about gender and how social scientific research challenges those beliefs. The author explains how in cultures such as the United States, most people grow up learning about gender as two concreate boxes that everyone fits into when gender is actually much more complex. They go on to explain the harm this does to our social perception of self and others and suggests that we could solve this by relying more on “the power of social facts to explain sex, sexuality, and gender” (Valentine, p.4) rather than biology. The author asks the reader to do their own sociological research when exploring the second question of this paper by giving a list of questions to apply to our own lives and social experiences about gender and sexuality. For me, this really helped me grasp their perspective and realize how constraining and impractical the Western beliefs on gender can be. The paper continues to explain how modern social science “opens the door to the diversity of human experience and rejects the tendency to reduce human behavior to simple, single-factor explanations.” (Valentine, p. 5).
The ideas brought forth by Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill in Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism also opens the door to the diversity of human experience by expressing the importance in analyzing the social structure of gender through the lens of other social structures like race- which is highlighted in this work. They introduce and explain the framework of “multiracial feminism” as an idea that derives from a diverse, and ever-evolving body of knowledge based on the experiences and ideas of men and women from a plurality of social positions. Something that really stuck out to me about this work was their insight on how difference as a main theme of feminism and women studies creates a counterproductive idea that actually supports the traditional norms behind gender and race and ignores the inequalities that cause and stem from them. Their work provided me with a new perspective on feminism and made me realize how mainstream feminist theory often discounts the experiences of women of color in America.
I believe the authors of these two works all reflected that gender is not a universal or solidified experience and there are negative affects to the Western and specifically- American culture treating it like it is. Instead, gender should be viewed with consideration to a diverse set of experiences and ideas and by examining the social influences that shape gender. And this is new to me—until now, when thinking of feminism, I thought strictly in gendered terms. That is, I viewed the subject broadly, without a specific focus on the varied and unique experiences of individuals from the multitudes of backgrounds. I am excited to have found this fresh “theoretical direction for feminist thought” (Dill & Zinn, p. 321).
I was able apply the idea from this text about how gender in American culture is “characterized by a marked contradiction between people’s beliefs about gender and actual human behavior” (Valentine, p.3) to my own life and experiences. I grew up in a very small, rural town where the majority of people held strict, traditional beliefs on gender. Specifically, the power relation between men and women and the abilities and roles of women in society and the household. I am able to look back now and see that “marked contradiction” in my own struggle to fight against gender norms and stereotypes that negatively impacted the development of my perception on gender. Some of their beliefs on gender were so outdated that it made me relate to my “Little House on Prairie” books in ways that I shouldn’t have when reading them in the mid 2000’s, hence the picture.
KEYWORDS
Gender | Race | Society | Difference | Perspective
MY QUESTION FOR YOU:
Are you also able to see examples of the marked contradiction between people’s beliefs on gender and actual human behavior that Valentine mentions in your own experience of developing a social perception on gender?
For decades beyond decades, we have been identified by only boy or girl or female or male. In today’s time gender identify is way beyond male or female. People now have more than just boy or girl or female or male.
Back before my time well really any of our time male and female had set duties and roles. Now that men are able to change them self into a women and women can turn themself into a man the world has become overall crazy.
Valentine stated in her book The Kaleidoscope of Gender that, “We are taught that testosterone, a beard, big muscles, and a penis make a man, while estrogen, breasts, hairless legs, and a vagina make a woman.” (Page 3) In anyone eyes that would make them not want to come out or even change who they feel they are in their heart.
In the book of Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism by Zinn and Bill, they stated that, “Since the late 1960s, U.S. women of color have taken issue with unitary theories of gender.” (Page 321) I feel that all women of color didn’t have equal rights but honestly anyone of color had less rights than anyone. I just feel women in general didn’t have equal rights which I feel was very unfair.
How are the two readings connected?
Both authors agree that gender roles and feminism are major things that we have dealt with for over decades.
Questions:
What do you feel that the U.S. could’ve did differently about women’s equal rights?
In the article “The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G.Valentine, the focus of this article is on the pink and blue syndrome and basically stereotypes of genders. The pink and blue syndrome is the color that girls and boys are automatically given once at birth. The light blue is supposed to represent the boy and the pink represents the girl. The author starts off by talking about the main common stereotypes that men and women get from the beginning. “We are taught that testosterone, a beard, big muscles, and a penis make a man, while estrogen, breasts, hairless legs, and a vagina make a woman. Many of us never question what we have learned about sex and gender, so we go through life assuming that gender is a relatively simple matter: A person who wears lipstick, high-heeled shoes, and a skirt is a feminine female, while a person who plays rugby, belches in public, and walks with a swagger is a masculine male. “(Lorber, 1994; Ridgeway & Correll, 2004) This is very true, I was taught by my elders the do’s and don’t of a lady. A lady is supposed to look nice and clean; a lady needs to make sure her hair is did, she needs to sit like a lady and talk like one. While the man needs to seem very masculine. He needs to talk with authority. Me and my cousins would even get in trouble if we weren’t playing with the right toy. So, all of these things were drilled into our heads, and it made me think that this was the true and only way to think and be. I feel that in this text the author wants us to get the full understanding of what gender really means, and that it is something that we do and not what we inherit. I love the fact that she pointed out that “nothing in life is immune to change” this statement is also true because even though I was taught a certain way, that’s not how I am now. A song that I feel connects to this statement would be Lady Gaga “Born this way”. I feel in her song she wanted to reach out to all different backgrounds of people and encourage them to stand in their truth. I feel that a lot of people now except the fact that no matter what a person identify as that we are all still equal to one another.
In this text the author talks about multiracial feminism and how it effects the overall feminist aspect. Before I begin, I have to say that I didn’t know what this word even meant. In the text “Multiracial feminism is an evolving body of theory and practice informed by wide-ranging intellectual traditions”. (Zinn & Dill pg. 323) I believe the author is explaining how even though women fought for the rights to have the same rights as men. Women of color still didn’t have the same rights as white middle class women. That’s where the new set of feminists came about. In the text the author breaks down the six distinguishing features of Multiracial feminism. The first one was “Multiracial feminism asserts that gender is constructed by a range of interlocking inequalities” (Zinn & Dill pg. 326) which means people of color will experience different experiences depending on their locations. The second one was “multiracial feminism emphasizes the intersectional nature of hierarchies at all levels of social life.” (Zinn & Dill pg. 326) This explains that there are forms of privilege depending on your race, class and gender. The third one is “multiracial feminism highlights the relational nature of dominance and subordination”. (Zinn & Dill pg. 326) Which explains that a woman’s race does play a huge part. Even though they gave all women the rights don’t mean every race of women. Women of color still didn’t have that dominance as white women.
I kind of had a hard time understanding this text and what exactly the author is trying to say, but I will do my best to explain what I think the author is saying. Please other classmate helps me understand what the author point of view is. I would love feedback!! 🙂
Connecting the Readings:)
I feel that the two readings connect in the aspect that they both see that feminist have been a challenge for centuries. I feel that even though that each article talks about feminist in different ways, they both still hit on the key challenges that feminism has been a issues then and it is still a huge deal in today society.
In “The Prism of Gender,” Catherine Valentine challenges Western culture’s simple notions of sex, gender, and sexuality and argues that social science research shows they are actually highly complex and evolving. She eschews the Western idea of 2/2/2 or “pink and blue syndrome” — that there are only two sexes (male and female), two genders (masculine and feminine), and two sexualities (heterosexual and homosexual) (p. 3–4).
In reality, she says that people’s beliefs about gender conflict with how people really behave.
“Our real behavior is far more flexible, adaptable, and malleable than our beliefs would have it. To put it another way, contrary to the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, there are no gender certainties or absolutes. Real people behave in feminine, masculine, and nongendered ways…” (p. 3).
She asserts that sex “is not a clear-cut matter of DNA, chromosomes, external genitalia and the like,” and that gender is “built into the larger world we inhabit in the United States, including its institutions, images, symbols, organizations, and material objects,” and that sexuality, like gender, is socially constructed and doesn’t fit into the “binary and oppositional sex and gender template” (p. 5, 7).
In “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” authors Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill examine the importance of race in understanding the social construction of gender by using a conceptual framework they call “multiracial feminism”(p. 321).
They say that multiracial feminism “encompasses several emergent perspectives: AA, Latinas, Asian Americans, and Native Americans women whose analyses are shaped by their unique perspectives as ‘outsiders within’ — marginal intellectuals whose social locations provide them with a particular perspective on self and society” (p. 324).
The authors go on to explain that multiracial feminism grew out of socialist feminist thinking and race and ethnic studies (p. 325).
Multiracial feminism asks that women’s studies be more inclusive and consider race, class, location, and other differences so that we can “grapple with core feminist issues about how genders are socially constructed and constructed differently” (p. 39).
“The model of womanhood that feminist social science once held as “universal” is also a product of race and class” (p. 329)
How the Readings Connect
All authors agree that gender is pervasive and shapes almost every aspect of our lives. The authors also agree that gender is a construct, meaning it can vary over time and from society to society. Where Valentine helps us build a foundational understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality, Baca Zinn and Thornton Dill apply another layer and ask us to consider the intersection of race, place, and gender and how that view (multiracial feminism) can contribute to a more universal theory of feminism.
The Replacements’ song “Androgynous” describes a couple who defies traditional gender roles. The song says while they may be laughed at in the moment, one day their perceived differences will be a thing of the past, that it will be normal. It reinforces Valentine’s assertions that gender is malleable and societal definitions/expectations of gender evolve.
My Key Thoughts & Takeaways
First, I appreciated Valentine’s description of Western beliefs regarding sex, gender, and sexuality. I also appreciated her explanation of how modern research is challenging these notions. I think “The Prism of Gender” was a solid introductory read.
However, one aspect of “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” really stood out to me. On pages 326–327, the authors list the distinguishing features of multiracial feminism. On page 328 they write about “three specific guiding principles of inclusive feminist theory: ‘building complex analyses, avoiding erasure, specifying location.” They go on to say that “In the last decade, the opening up of academic feminism has focused attention on social location in the production of knowledge” (p. 328).
It’s the mention of place that caught my attention. In the spring of 2022, I took a Special Topics in History and Geography course called The Queer South. The goal of the class was to question fixed notions about place and identity and to question historical assumptions about where people belong. One important aspect of the class was to consider who historically has been doing the storytelling. I think that’s what Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill are asking us to do. They are asking that we question our traditional understanding of women and gender — even our feminist understanding of women and gender — by asking who has been doing the “telling” and to consider if all people, places, and identities have been included and are represented. They are asking that we reconceptualize our notions of gender and feminism by being more inclusive.
Question for Consideration
Pick and choose as you’d like:
Have you been able to connect any of what we have read so far to a personal or academic experience? If yes, what? If not, why do you think that is?
What fascinates or puzzles you most about defining or redefining sex, gender, or sexuality?
