Keywords: Inequality / Intersectionality / Gender
Zinn and Dill – Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism
Within society, the idea of feminism seems to be reduced to a single idea: women fighting for equality. In actuality, the ‘equality’ feminists fight for is entirely different depending on multiple different outside factors. What may make a white, middle class woman equal could mean nothing to a woman of color, or a woman in a differing social class. In Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism by Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill, the idea of hierarchies- and their effects on feminism- are thoroughly examined and analyzed. Zinn and Dill explain the ideas of hierarchies present within our society, such as race and class, and how it affects modern feminism. This work truly changed my perspective on what feminism is as a movement, and how it may change depending on a woman’s circumstances within the United States. The moment we begin to analyze and deconstruct the layers of inequalities caused by societal hierarchies is when we as a society may understand that feminism means much more than the simple idea of ‘female equality.’
Catherine G. Valentine (2020), “The Prism of Gender”
This week’s text from Catherine G. Valentine, “The Prism of Gender”, really spoke to me. In the text, Valentine explains that human behavior is never set in stone. Instead, it changes over time, proving to be “flexible, adaptive, and malleable”. The way that the concept of gender in our society is viewed as something that is black or white proves to simply be false. There is no one behavior that is ‘female’ or ‘male’; instead, there is simply human behavior- something entirely unique to the individual person. However, this belief is still permeated throughout the typical person’s perception of gender, described as ‘pink and blue syndrome.’ This syndrome is ever-prevalent in today’s society, as seen most heavily in the government’s ever-continuing strive for control over transgender identities and gender expression.
This topic brings me to my own personal experience. I like Valentine’s assessment that gender is simply a “performance or masquerade” that people put on everyday. I experience this myself in my day-to-day life, as I tend to present myself more femininely in school or at work simply because I feel it is a way to protect myself. In actuality, I do not think I am ‘feminine’ nor ‘masculine’; my experience is instead unique to myself, in a way that is less about gender and more about they way I exhibit human behavior. Though my experience with my own gender is complicated, it is not reliant on my ‘gendered’ behavior and what others expect me to act like based on my identity.
The Replacements – Androgynous
I really enjoyed this week’s song. It is a wonderful example of an older source that speaks about the gendered experience, and how it is truly fluid. I find myself relating to this song, on top of finding it enjoyable. It is a good representation of the dynamic nature of gender expression, and how it may not always be linked to our ideas of gender identity.
My question this week:
Do you find that you tend to put on a more ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ personality depending on the social setting you are in, and if you do, why do you believe you do?
I believe I have a feminine personality all of the time no matter the place. This was a nice blog and I also liked the song of the week it was catchy .
To answer your question, I do believe that social setting changes how ‘feminine’ I am. I believe I have ‘feminine’ traits all the time, but the social setting changes how much I care about showing these traits. In some places and around some people, I act and behave with traits that many believe are for women. In other places, like with my friends, I tend to let loose. I don’t care about how I talk, how I act, about laughing like a lady, or if I act feminine.
I loved the last sentence of your first paragraph, how female equality is a lot deeper than what many think it is. It shows how a person has to look at every inequality to understand multiracial feminism and how it is meant to help everyone.