Are You a Boy or Girl?

Posted on by ekbullock

Gender

Keywords: Gender, Sex, Femininity

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.

Oct. 1, 2011 – Manhattan, New York, U.S. – Hundreds participate in SlutWalk NYC, rallying in Union Square and marching through the East Village as part of a worldwide grassroots movement challenging rape culture, victim-blaming and slut-shaming, and working to end sexual and domestic violence. (Credit Image: © Tony Savino)

Feminism

Keywords: Feminist, Privilege, Race

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?

Simply Feminist

Posted on by axfresh

“Free to Express”

Keywords Feminist/Express/respect

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

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.

 

“Gender Inequality”

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

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.

Reconceptualizing Notions of Gender & Feminism

Posted on by Tricia

Summary of Readings

Reading One: “The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G. Valentine

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).

Reading Two: “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” by Maxine Baca Zinn & Bonnie Thornton Dill, 2000

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:

  1. 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? 
  2. What fascinates or puzzles you most about defining or redefining sex, gender, or sexuality?

Keywords

Sex | Gender | Sexuality | Feminism

“The Gender Reveal”

Posted on by bcrobertson2

Gender

For years now gender has only been associated with; boy or girl or female or male. As time has gone on it has been become such a complex word. There is more to it than just what you identify as, and society has different perspectives on this topic as well.

The westerns had a set of beliefs that associated sex with male and female, gender with masculine and feminine, and sexuality as heterosexual and homosexual. To some those all mean the same while to other they have a completely different opinion of that.

Catherine G. Valentine mentioned in the book The Kaleidoscope of Gender that, “…contrary to the stereotypes of masculine and feminine there are no certainties of absolutes” She then proceeded to say that “…real people behave in feminine or masculine behaviors in certain situations.” I couldn’t agree more with that statement. If you were to put a female into a situation that requires her to stand strong and firm, society would consider that masculine although they view her as a female. So, reflecting back to the westerns beliefs that gender is associated with masculinity and femineity… does that still apply to a situation where one acts opposite than the gender they are viewed as?

Feminism

“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” was stated in the book Feminism Is for Everybody by Bell Hooks. Being a feminist is making a stand for all women rights. It’s to be seen and treated equal as the male gender. Maxine Zinn and Bonnie Dill really touched based on colored women. They mentioned how being a colored person is hard, but different for men and women, but it’s extremely hard for a colored woman. With being not only a woman, but a woman of color I couldn’t agree more. One song that I feel intertwined with feminism as a black woman is “Brown Skin Girl” by Beyonce. This song uplifts women and remind them of their value and worth. It builds confidents in the areas where society might try to tear down.

What is one thing you do to build your confidence?

What is Gender?

Posted on by mcarmona

      KEYWORDS: Gender/ Sex/ Femininity

The article “The Prism Gender” explains that in western culture, people grow up learning that there are only two genders, male and female. The western culture has developed what is called the “pink and blue syndrome” where we are taught about the physical and emotional characteristics of what divides being a male and female at an early age and how to associate colors with our gender, blue for boys and pink for girls. This article goes on to explain how “Sex is not fixed in two categories. Biologist Fausto-Sterling (1993) suggests that sex is more like a continuum than a dichotomy” (Valentine, pg.5). The article then gives examples on how men and women have similar physical characteristics in common such as, men have breasts and can develop breast cancer like women do, as well as lactate.

      KEYWORDS: Multiracial/ Feminist/ Privilege

The article “theorizing Difference from Multiracial feminism” talks about the hardships that multicultural women have to face and also having to have to be a female. One quote that I thought was interesting is “women and men throughout the social order experience different forms of privilege and subordination, depending on their race, class, gender, and sexuality” (Zinn, Bonnie, pg.327). I agree with this quote because for example a man has the higher up when it comes to privilege. Now, when you start adding on things to this man like race, class, and sexuality, the privilege shifts.

The video “Androgynous” is a song about how men and women switch the normal roles of wearing what they want to wear and doing what they want to do even though people may disagree with it because it isn’t a social norm. I liked the music and thought it was interesting because for this song to come out in the 1900’s it is way ahead of its time! If I didn’t know the date the song came out I would have thought it came out only a few years ago. I can somewhat relate to this song because when I was 12 I hated wearing flip flops, especially ones with rhinestones and I preferred wearing shoes. My grandma would get mad and say that girls are supposed to wear flip flops.

I do think the song “Androgynous” and “The Prism Gender” can relate to each other because as the article states “we have explored gender as a product of our interactions with others. It is something we do, not something we inherit” (Valentine, pg.7). In the video it says how a guy wears a skirt and a girl wears a chain and how people can get mad because it doesn’t fit the social norms, but what people don’t realize and want to accept is that gender isn’t something we inherit. We aren’t born knowing that the color pink is (in Western culture) for girls and the color blue for boys and that girls wear skirts and boys wear pants. I think the person who sang the song “Androgynous” would agree with the article “The Prism Gender” and agree that people shouldn’t be mad at the fact that women and men can like things that don’t fit the social norm when it comes to gender.

What are some of your first memories of learning about gender?

           

Hello world!

Posted on by londie.martin

Welcome to our blog space. This semester, we’ll do some writing to help us explore our course texts with more depth. This blog space will also let you share your work creatively—add color, images, songs, videos, and more! This site will also let us comment on each other’s writing, which is a great way to get to know each other and to practice being curious and connected.

Here’s to a great semester!