The gender aptitude test allows people to see that way that they see gender in society. A lot of what Kate talks about is separating gender and sex and not letting yourself be defined by the gender that you are. Kate Bornstein does not identify herself with either male or female; she chooses to be a mixture of both.
The test allowed me to see like the readings that it is very hard to have a clear understanding of what gender really defines in society. It is another way to put people into categories. Kate Bornstein compares the way that gender defines us and puts us into society as a pyramid. I think that this is a very accurate way of describing it but still leaves areas where some people wouldn’t fit in.
Overall I think that Kate Bornstein’s point of how gender further puts us into categories came across very well. The gender aptitude test also allowed me to see how I heavily rely on gender to categorize people.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
In today’s society there are two very clear views of how men and women are supposed to act and the roles that they are supposed to have. This is due in part to the ideas that we have toward masculinity and femininity.
Main stream masculinity has traits of intelligence courage and honesty. The text points out that there are two main points to this idea, machismo and the provider role. The machismo role involves violence and the sexual aspect. On the other hand the provider role involves ambition and confidence. Masculinity is further broken down based on other characteristics that we have talked about such as race and economic status. White middle class men have the emphasis on success wealth and fame, the provider role. Other races are more often associated with the machismo element.
Femininity is often viewed as being soft, passive emotional and domestic. Women often have to work against the double bind concept that we talked about in chapter 2. The role of women in society is starting to slightly change. Today’s idea woman not only has the characteristics of being soft and passive but also can prosper in the business aspect of life. As the text states it she “is to be able to do everything.”
These standards of what society considers normal about being male of female is one of the reasons that if you were to ask a boy if he was a “sissy” when he was younger he would not want to admit, yet when asking a female if they were a tomboy its much more accepted. Society has socially constructed two distinct differences among the two.
The idea that gender is embedded in our culture is something that we learn from a very young age. When you little and a girl you get the play kitchen set and the little make-up kit. Boys get the tool sets and start playing cops and robbers. This is the beginning of society starting to mold us into what were supposed to be; girls the domestic housewife and boys the strong provider. However as the text points out today women are starting to embody both sets characteristics. Yet it is still only socially acceptable if the women works they are still responsible for most of the household chores.
Another area where the basic ideas of masculinity and femininity come up is in the area of athletics. I’m sure that everyone has heard the expression of throwing like a girl. This idea is due in part to the fact of gender socialization; there are certain behaviors that go with being a boy or a girl. Boys are supposed to know how to throw a ball while girls need to be taught the proper way. According to Nelson, men are not necessarily better athletes then women but instead sports are developed to reflect the strengths of men. Most sports that are popular nationally are not female dominated sports.
In today’s society gender is learned from a very young age when a child’s nursery is decorated a certain way. Then the parents begin to but toys that correlate with a specific gender. Certain behaviors are expected depending on their gender. Even as you get older there are certain rites of passages that distinguish you as either male or female. In the United States and Latin America teenage girls have a Quinceanera which signifies them coming out into society. Cotillion is another way the teens become to come out and present their self to society. They must learn proper etiquette and how to dress and dance, typical activities that embody femininity.
In conclusion masculinity and femininity are around us everywhere in society. They are learned behaviors and put separations on male and females. The idea of femininity is beginning to change to embody both male and female characteristics; however it is still very rarely accepted for a man to be sensitive. Until this occurs this is just another way that society is separating male and females.
Main stream masculinity has traits of intelligence courage and honesty. The text points out that there are two main points to this idea, machismo and the provider role. The machismo role involves violence and the sexual aspect. On the other hand the provider role involves ambition and confidence. Masculinity is further broken down based on other characteristics that we have talked about such as race and economic status. White middle class men have the emphasis on success wealth and fame, the provider role. Other races are more often associated with the machismo element.
Femininity is often viewed as being soft, passive emotional and domestic. Women often have to work against the double bind concept that we talked about in chapter 2. The role of women in society is starting to slightly change. Today’s idea woman not only has the characteristics of being soft and passive but also can prosper in the business aspect of life. As the text states it she “is to be able to do everything.”
These standards of what society considers normal about being male of female is one of the reasons that if you were to ask a boy if he was a “sissy” when he was younger he would not want to admit, yet when asking a female if they were a tomboy its much more accepted. Society has socially constructed two distinct differences among the two.
The idea that gender is embedded in our culture is something that we learn from a very young age. When you little and a girl you get the play kitchen set and the little make-up kit. Boys get the tool sets and start playing cops and robbers. This is the beginning of society starting to mold us into what were supposed to be; girls the domestic housewife and boys the strong provider. However as the text points out today women are starting to embody both sets characteristics. Yet it is still only socially acceptable if the women works they are still responsible for most of the household chores.
Another area where the basic ideas of masculinity and femininity come up is in the area of athletics. I’m sure that everyone has heard the expression of throwing like a girl. This idea is due in part to the fact of gender socialization; there are certain behaviors that go with being a boy or a girl. Boys are supposed to know how to throw a ball while girls need to be taught the proper way. According to Nelson, men are not necessarily better athletes then women but instead sports are developed to reflect the strengths of men. Most sports that are popular nationally are not female dominated sports.
In today’s society gender is learned from a very young age when a child’s nursery is decorated a certain way. Then the parents begin to but toys that correlate with a specific gender. Certain behaviors are expected depending on their gender. Even as you get older there are certain rites of passages that distinguish you as either male or female. In the United States and Latin America teenage girls have a Quinceanera which signifies them coming out into society. Cotillion is another way the teens become to come out and present their self to society. They must learn proper etiquette and how to dress and dance, typical activities that embody femininity.
In conclusion masculinity and femininity are around us everywhere in society. They are learned behaviors and put separations on male and females. The idea of femininity is beginning to change to embody both male and female characteristics; however it is still very rarely accepted for a man to be sensitive. Until this occurs this is just another way that society is separating male and females.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
The question of if a person is born gay or if their environment has made them into a gay person is a major question within our society today. Carol Vance addresses the question in her article about the social construction theory.
Carol Vance argues that ideas about gender and sexuality must not be understood as natural or unchanging truths but as social constructions (29). She means that you are not born with a certain set of sexual feeling inside you. Your environment, where you’re from and how you’re raised can affect these ideas. Overtime you can also change perceptions of gender and sexuality, they are not static.
The social constructionist view would say that you are a product of your environment and your culture. The text states that “relationships between sexual acts and sexual identities is not fixed and is projected from the observer’s time and place.” The “place” refers to the fact that all cultures have a different idea about sexual acts and depending on which one you’re in you have a different set of norms. A sexual act does not carry a universal sexual meaning. However people over time do not have to carry the same idea of that sexual meaning, there is ability for the meaning to change as the person matures.
On the other side of the argument there is the idea of biological determinism. This is the thought that you are born with these characteristics in your body and in your genes. They do not allow for change. Essentialism, a set of characteristics that are part of the object or person, can also account for this. There is again the idea that these are unchanging. Religious people who are against the idea of evolution cling strongly to the idea of essentialism.
Through out the readings another area that I found interesting was the sex and the body article by Nelly Oudshoor. Being a biology major I am constantly looking at diagrams of the human body, to think that at one point they did not even differentiate between the male and the female body astounds me. Oudshoor points out that until the late 18th century there was a one sex model in drawings of the human body. The idea that they were the same was based around the idea of “theirs are inside the body and not outside.” The female body was a lesser version of the male but not a different sex. Today in drawings the eyes are the only body part that is not differentiated by sex. Also today’s scientist focus on sex hormones that also show differences in the sexes.
Today science plays an important role in some of the ideas of women’s studies. The perception of women has changed since the early start to provide for more equality among the genders. As read about in this section science also plays an important role in trying to explain sexual orientation. But like everything there is still much more to be done.
Carol Vance argues that ideas about gender and sexuality must not be understood as natural or unchanging truths but as social constructions (29). She means that you are not born with a certain set of sexual feeling inside you. Your environment, where you’re from and how you’re raised can affect these ideas. Overtime you can also change perceptions of gender and sexuality, they are not static.
The social constructionist view would say that you are a product of your environment and your culture. The text states that “relationships between sexual acts and sexual identities is not fixed and is projected from the observer’s time and place.” The “place” refers to the fact that all cultures have a different idea about sexual acts and depending on which one you’re in you have a different set of norms. A sexual act does not carry a universal sexual meaning. However people over time do not have to carry the same idea of that sexual meaning, there is ability for the meaning to change as the person matures.
On the other side of the argument there is the idea of biological determinism. This is the thought that you are born with these characteristics in your body and in your genes. They do not allow for change. Essentialism, a set of characteristics that are part of the object or person, can also account for this. There is again the idea that these are unchanging. Religious people who are against the idea of evolution cling strongly to the idea of essentialism.
Through out the readings another area that I found interesting was the sex and the body article by Nelly Oudshoor. Being a biology major I am constantly looking at diagrams of the human body, to think that at one point they did not even differentiate between the male and the female body astounds me. Oudshoor points out that until the late 18th century there was a one sex model in drawings of the human body. The idea that they were the same was based around the idea of “theirs are inside the body and not outside.” The female body was a lesser version of the male but not a different sex. Today in drawings the eyes are the only body part that is not differentiated by sex. Also today’s scientist focus on sex hormones that also show differences in the sexes.
Today science plays an important role in some of the ideas of women’s studies. The perception of women has changed since the early start to provide for more equality among the genders. As read about in this section science also plays an important role in trying to explain sexual orientation. But like everything there is still much more to be done.
Friday, September 7, 2007
CRJ 2
Every person in the United States acknowledges that there is a difference between them and other people within our society. Rather it is race gender age or event the way we look. People also know that we need to work on some areas of our society to make it better as whole. We can admit that certain groups of people are disadvantaged within society; however when it comes to admitting that one is over privileged we have a problem admitting this.
Our society naturally recognizes differences among people and ranks people within society depending on there race, gender, class and other characteristics. As the text states the mythical norm is “white, middle class, heterosexual, abled thin and a young adult.” The hierarchy that is created through these rankings leads to privilege and inequality. People would much rather talk about being disadvantaged than to being over privileged.
Why is this? In Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege and Male Privilege” she points out that is one this for a man to be supportive of women’s rights but it is completely another for them to admit that their behavior may need some modification to reach this goal of equality. She says “These denials protect male privilege from being fully recognized, acknowledged, lessened or ended.” Men say that they want equality between the genders but in the end are they really willing to lessen their own status.
Personally I know that I am guilty of not admitting to being over privileged. In the learning activity in the chapter it lists some characteristics of being over privileged and I am five of the six with male being the only exception. As McIntosh states people are taught not to recognize these privileges only to know that there is an opposite of each that puts another person at a disadvantage. People don’t want to admit to it because it may put their privilege at risk.
People not acknowledging their privilege gives way to ideas like the bootstrap myth. This idea, that with hard work and determination you can have any type of economic success that you may want. People that do not of economic successes must be the result of lack of motivation. The bootstrap myth does not take into account the fact the institutions have a set of standards and values that may put a person at a disadvantage because of their gender or race among other characteristics. These prejudices are internalized into our thoughts and people may actually begin to believe that they are not worthy because of flaws within them and not because of the inequalities that are presented in many of the institutions and throughout society.
One other point that the text talks about is the relationship between homophobia and sexism. The book says that homophobia works as a weapon of sexism; heterosexism creates the idea of the norm being heterosexual. Compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that the patriarchal family is what is accepted and is the norm within this society. According to Pharr beginning a lesbian affects all women in society because being considered a lesbian can stem from a variety of things. A woman who is powerful and confident within herself in the work place can be considered a lesbian because she does not need the man to support her and be the head of the house. Lesbian is just simply a nasty word to label women to make them step down and to “step back into to place”. After all most women would rather do this than being considered an “outcast” within society. Two of the three people I interviewed actually did associate the word lesbian with being a feminist. The word lesbian is just another weapon used to hold women down and keep that feeling of inequality. A word to make feminists seem even more outside the societal norm.
Our society naturally recognizes differences among people and ranks people within society depending on there race, gender, class and other characteristics. As the text states the mythical norm is “white, middle class, heterosexual, abled thin and a young adult.” The hierarchy that is created through these rankings leads to privilege and inequality. People would much rather talk about being disadvantaged than to being over privileged.
Why is this? In Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege and Male Privilege” she points out that is one this for a man to be supportive of women’s rights but it is completely another for them to admit that their behavior may need some modification to reach this goal of equality. She says “These denials protect male privilege from being fully recognized, acknowledged, lessened or ended.” Men say that they want equality between the genders but in the end are they really willing to lessen their own status.
Personally I know that I am guilty of not admitting to being over privileged. In the learning activity in the chapter it lists some characteristics of being over privileged and I am five of the six with male being the only exception. As McIntosh states people are taught not to recognize these privileges only to know that there is an opposite of each that puts another person at a disadvantage. People don’t want to admit to it because it may put their privilege at risk.
People not acknowledging their privilege gives way to ideas like the bootstrap myth. This idea, that with hard work and determination you can have any type of economic success that you may want. People that do not of economic successes must be the result of lack of motivation. The bootstrap myth does not take into account the fact the institutions have a set of standards and values that may put a person at a disadvantage because of their gender or race among other characteristics. These prejudices are internalized into our thoughts and people may actually begin to believe that they are not worthy because of flaws within them and not because of the inequalities that are presented in many of the institutions and throughout society.
One other point that the text talks about is the relationship between homophobia and sexism. The book says that homophobia works as a weapon of sexism; heterosexism creates the idea of the norm being heterosexual. Compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that the patriarchal family is what is accepted and is the norm within this society. According to Pharr beginning a lesbian affects all women in society because being considered a lesbian can stem from a variety of things. A woman who is powerful and confident within herself in the work place can be considered a lesbian because she does not need the man to support her and be the head of the house. Lesbian is just simply a nasty word to label women to make them step down and to “step back into to place”. After all most women would rather do this than being considered an “outcast” within society. Two of the three people I interviewed actually did associate the word lesbian with being a feminist. The word lesbian is just another weapon used to hold women down and keep that feeling of inequality. A word to make feminists seem even more outside the societal norm.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
"A Girl Like Me"
As I watched the video “A Girl Like Me” I realized what internal struggles go on in black females. The video led me to the assumption that the concept of race decreases self worth in a child. As I watched the video the most disturbing part to me was the baby doll test. 15 of the 21 black children chose the white doll over the black one. This was not nearly as eye opening as when the women giving the test asked which one is the good baby and most of the children picked the white doll and then asked which one is the bad/mean baby they picked the black doll. They are being taught by society that the white means good and they are striving to be like the white doll. As the text states we put rankings on the different groups and these rankings form a hierarchy with the more valued characteristics at the top. This is evident even at the young age of these children.
As these children get older they are still struggling to reach the top of that social hierarchy. Even within their race there are certain characteristics that are considered more desirable over others. Black women are taught that lighter skin is more valued than darker skin. One girl in the video even brought up the fact that some go as far as to bleach their skin to obtain a characteristic that might be “higher” up on the social hierarchy. Hair is clearly another division. Good hair isn’t the natural hair that they were born with. The more that you relax or perm their hair the better and more socially accepted it is.
The video clearly showed that black women have to struggle within the race as well as struggling with their gender. The idea of “white privilege” is clearly still evident in our society. People will do anything that will make them closer to the top of that hierarchy. Society instills these ideas into people at a young age. The video brings up the point of Barbie. She is a thin white female with perfectly straight hair. Three characteristics that women strive to have.
The white privilege idea is also present in many institutions and organizations. Many of the leadership and authority roles are held by white males. These people most often convey the mythical norm. The text defines this as being “White, middle class, heterosexual, abled, thin young adult”. This norm sets up areas of inequality for some many groups of people, however will let it persist because it is what we think is socially acceptable.
Until we break down this idea of what is socially more preferable, what is at the top of the hierarchy of desirable characteristics we will have difficulty getting anywhere in striving for areas of equality. It people are taught to believe that they are inferior to another group of people they are going to be less likely to take a stand for themselves. Less likely to want to change these ideas of inequality.
As these children get older they are still struggling to reach the top of that social hierarchy. Even within their race there are certain characteristics that are considered more desirable over others. Black women are taught that lighter skin is more valued than darker skin. One girl in the video even brought up the fact that some go as far as to bleach their skin to obtain a characteristic that might be “higher” up on the social hierarchy. Hair is clearly another division. Good hair isn’t the natural hair that they were born with. The more that you relax or perm their hair the better and more socially accepted it is.
The video clearly showed that black women have to struggle within the race as well as struggling with their gender. The idea of “white privilege” is clearly still evident in our society. People will do anything that will make them closer to the top of that hierarchy. Society instills these ideas into people at a young age. The video brings up the point of Barbie. She is a thin white female with perfectly straight hair. Three characteristics that women strive to have.
The white privilege idea is also present in many institutions and organizations. Many of the leadership and authority roles are held by white males. These people most often convey the mythical norm. The text defines this as being “White, middle class, heterosexual, abled, thin young adult”. This norm sets up areas of inequality for some many groups of people, however will let it persist because it is what we think is socially acceptable.
Until we break down this idea of what is socially more preferable, what is at the top of the hierarchy of desirable characteristics we will have difficulty getting anywhere in striving for areas of equality. It people are taught to believe that they are inferior to another group of people they are going to be less likely to take a stand for themselves. Less likely to want to change these ideas of inequality.
Monday, September 3, 2007
For the IAT I decided to do the gender career, sexuality and weapons tests. I was very surprised by the results of the tests. Personally I was not aware of some of the biases/ prejudices that the results said that I might be prone to. This activity is very good to do at the beginning of this class because it really opens people’s eyes to biases that they might have.
Many people immediately when asked the questions of having prejudices would say no because they know that it is socially unacceptable. Having prejudices has a very negative connotation; people do not want to be considered racist or sexist. If we do not know that we have these prejudices toward certain groups of people we can never learn to change our mentality and will continue on ignoring and being ignorant towards it.
Of the three tests that I took all three said that I had a bias toward one group over another. For example the weapons test said that I had a “Strong association of Blacks with weapons.” Personally if you would have ever asked me this I would have considered myself neutral on the issue. The tutorial pointed out however many of the biases that we may come from the media or the values and morals we were brought up around when we were younger. When you’re watching the TV the majority of the time the people that they portray as gang members or criminals are black males. This may subconsciously being putting the association into our minds.
The tutorial also mentioned that one of the other major outlets for hidden prejudices come from when you’re young. Your parents and teachers begin instilling in you a certain set of ideas. These ideas are hard to go against even when you know that some of them are prejudice.
These hidden biases may lead to discrimination. In order to stop this we first need to acknowledge that these are present. Taking these tests is one way that this can be achieved.
Many people immediately when asked the questions of having prejudices would say no because they know that it is socially unacceptable. Having prejudices has a very negative connotation; people do not want to be considered racist or sexist. If we do not know that we have these prejudices toward certain groups of people we can never learn to change our mentality and will continue on ignoring and being ignorant towards it.
Of the three tests that I took all three said that I had a bias toward one group over another. For example the weapons test said that I had a “Strong association of Blacks with weapons.” Personally if you would have ever asked me this I would have considered myself neutral on the issue. The tutorial pointed out however many of the biases that we may come from the media or the values and morals we were brought up around when we were younger. When you’re watching the TV the majority of the time the people that they portray as gang members or criminals are black males. This may subconsciously being putting the association into our minds.
The tutorial also mentioned that one of the other major outlets for hidden prejudices come from when you’re young. Your parents and teachers begin instilling in you a certain set of ideas. These ideas are hard to go against even when you know that some of them are prejudice.
These hidden biases may lead to discrimination. In order to stop this we first need to acknowledge that these are present. Taking these tests is one way that this can be achieved.
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