Keywords: Gender Fluidity, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexuality

In Catherine G. Valentine’s “The Prism of Gender,” she explains the gender beliefs of the west, such as the United States of America. She goes on to explain that western cultures believe there are only two genders, males, who are rough, heterosexual, and masculine, and females, who are feminine, heterosexual, and submissive. This ”pink and blue syndrome” as she states, categorizes the two sexes, sexualities, stereotypes, and genders. The color pink is given to females, pink toys, pink clothing, pink bathroom sign, etc, while blue is given to males. Females are submissive, feminine, and girly while males are rough and boyish. As Valentine states, “This syndrome is deeply lodged in our minds and feelings and is reinforced through everyday talk, performance, and experience” (4), because it is so normal, people do not realize they genderize things, toys, places, etc. However, Valentine states, “Research shows that the behavior of people, no matter who they are, depends on time and place, context and situation-not fixed sex/gender /sexuality differences” (5), this shows that a person will have traits from female or males depending on who they are around with. This text shows that gender stereotypes, roles, and identities can not be categorized into two parts or colors. Gender is a kaleidoscope prism with multiple colors and shapes. 

In my experience, the “pink and blue syndrome” is really normalized in the United States. Growing up, my mother was more of ‘she’s a kid, it is good for her to get dirty and play’, however, my aunts would always get me in trouble saying I should not play outside with my male cousins and instead should play with my barbies inside the house. 

Key Words: Multiracial, Difference, Inequalities, Feminism

Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill’s “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” explain what multiracial feminism is and how it includes women of color, women, and men in different systems of domination. Multiracial feminism includes the different situations of women of color and they include their history and culture. It was meant to get women of color the same rights and privileges as feminists, whose first priority was white women. Zinn and Dill state “Multiracial feminism grew out of socialist feminist thinking” (235), these feminists wanted the same as other feminists, however, they wanted to include colored women, who were of different places and social classes. “ We speak in many voices, with inconsistencies that are born of our different social locations” ( Zinn and Dill, 326)  this statement shows that although these multiracial feminists were born in different situations, they all wanted the same as other men, white women, and first-class citizens.  Finally, Zinn and Dill stated, “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” (330), multiracial feminism was not only to benefit colored women but it was meant to benefit everyone. 

Both of these texts show that gender and feminism are deeper and more complex. Gender is not just about being a boy or a girl. It includes traits, identities, etc, that can pertain to either. Feminism is not just about white women, it includes, women, men, and those of different social and cultural backgrounds.

The Theme of “Androgynous” by The Replacements

I think the theme in “Androgynous” is to be happy and love yourself as you are. Both Dick and Jane have unisex hair and wear skirts, dresses, and pants, however, they do not care about being outcasts or being made fun of. I think this song is relevant because many people today love themselves and do not care about wearing clothing that is advertised for another gender. The song “Androgynous” by The Replacements would most likely have a connection with “The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G. Valentine because they both talk about not genderizing clothing, hairstyle, colors, etc. 

Questions:

1. Do you ever get told you should dress or act more feminine or masculine, and how does it make you feel? 
2. How would you teach older or new generations that gender is more complex than the “pink and blue syndrome”?

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?

The article “Prism of Gender,” states the notion that the world sees gender as two and only two genders; masculine and feminine. There are only two sexes; female and male, two sexualities heterosexual and homosexual; so forth and so on. The western culture has a strict belief about sex, gender, sexual orientation, etc. They believe that pink is for girls and women, and blue is for boys and men.

Throughout the article “Theorizing difference from multiracial feminism,” I found that the quote “live and let live” really resonated with me. It just made me think about how people should just live their lives and not worry about others and what they do.

Androgynous is more so about men wanting to be free in themselves and have an appearance of a woman.

Do you care about what society thinks of you? Why or why not?

Overview

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”

–       Complex, Situational, Culture, Biological, Individual

Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996), “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism”

–       Feminism, Inequality, Change, Multiracial, Difference

Let’s Think Together

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?

Keywords: Domination, Feminist, Society

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

1. What are some things you think they could’ve did differently to make an actual change ?
2. What’s something you found interesting in the stories we read ?

Keywords: Gender / Spectrum / Multiracial Feminism / Race / Hierarchy

Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996), “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism”

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)

The Replacements (1984), “Androgynous” (lyrics)

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.

Catherine G. Valentine (2020), “The Prism of Gender”

“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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8LEx9Mw54 check it out!

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

Keywords: biology, man/woman, gender differences, sex/gender, intersex, sexuality, change.

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

Keywords: Feminist theory, difference, exoticism, multiracial.

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 Spectrum of Genders: “The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G. Valentine

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.

Key Words: Complex, Gender, Sex

Inequality: “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” by Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill

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).

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?