Wow, wow. wow I am pretty sure this sums up my reaction to the class today. I saw so much connection today in our biological makeup and its role in gender behavior. Humans are serial monogamous, men marry women with wider hips. Testosterone makes men stupid, the hippocamus (spelling?) nuclei appears to be less ordered in women therefore indicating scatterbrain behavior. And then Toria's passionate reaction to these psychologically theories of male and female biological interactions. I felt lifted after class yesterday, practically overjoyed. I could link my annoying needy behavior to a biological tendency developed during the ovulation cycles which serves as a subtle reminder to find a mate. Of course I will not give all credit to this biological characteristic. After all, our sentience and ability to reason is what allows us to override our biological tendencies.
But then what is it then that drives women or maybe just me to seek out male companionship on the weekends? What motivates me to drive up to Penn State so as to hang out with my girls and LOTS of men? To have fun,sure but I believe it is something else as well. I think despite our birth control, plan Bs, and surgical procedures to halt fertility and promote fertility, we still have little control over our biological impulse to want procreational sex. Especially during college, we are at our prime, we look better now than we ever will. We are fully matured and looking to find and create our unique personalities. The biological interaction between the sexes is one of the key experiences that shape a man or a woman's outlook on society/gender. For example, men are innately attracted to a certain hip to body ratio on a women, ideally the hourglass figure. As well as a symmetrical face and fat on the hips of a youthful woman, is seen as attractive to men. Which is why I believe that biology still underlies most behavior that occurs during male and female interactions. No matter how we suppress our biological urges to mate, give birth etc, we are highly susceptible to their influences.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sept 21: Social Change ( You wanna hear a joke?) "Yeah" (Women Rights)
Today we were split into groups and given the topic social change. I was surprised to get this topic because I forgot the color coordinated slips of what was what and just choose at random. Social change. When Cecila asked our group to define it, I stuttered because in my mind I realized a connection. Social change is the morphology of societal evolution. Ultimately, we're modifying our way of thinking during the exposure and development of our intellect through the many diversities of knowledge and ideas. As I had said in the past blog, conflict is simply an indication of a necessary change, as well as social change, being a catalyst in the growth of ever-evolving, advancing, growing societies. Social change is not so much as a necessity but one of the many structured progressive stages of our modern society.
I was reminded, however, that social change and conflict must be remembered for its consequences. In class, a group had gender and war. They brought up rape and how its function serves as a psychological and emotional attack on the opposition. "We destroy your way of life and rape your women so that your attempts to reconstruct yourselves is forever tainted/scarred."
Celia brought up a notion that during war, there exists this notion that the one of the main causes of that war was the desire to protect the vulnerable, the innocent. Women and children were the vulnerable, the innocent and I cannot think of worst act than to have that innocence mutilated. Women have always, I believe carried the psychological burden of wars. Their wounds lasting lifetimes, crossing generations, infused deep within their culture so as to remember the atrocities/loss. Hence why social change is a profound and common endeavor. Many past grievances have not been addressed, many ignored, some, never spoken of. Example: King Leopold, Maori extinction, human trafficking, massacred immigrants along the Mexican border. It goes on and on. And so will social change so as to address these grievances and prevent similar events happening in the future.
I was reminded, however, that social change and conflict must be remembered for its consequences. In class, a group had gender and war. They brought up rape and how its function serves as a psychological and emotional attack on the opposition. "We destroy your way of life and rape your women so that your attempts to reconstruct yourselves is forever tainted/scarred."
Celia brought up a notion that during war, there exists this notion that the one of the main causes of that war was the desire to protect the vulnerable, the innocent. Women and children were the vulnerable, the innocent and I cannot think of worst act than to have that innocence mutilated. Women have always, I believe carried the psychological burden of wars. Their wounds lasting lifetimes, crossing generations, infused deep within their culture so as to remember the atrocities/loss. Hence why social change is a profound and common endeavor. Many past grievances have not been addressed, many ignored, some, never spoken of. Example: King Leopold, Maori extinction, human trafficking, massacred immigrants along the Mexican border. It goes on and on. And so will social change so as to address these grievances and prevent similar events happening in the future.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sept 16-- Conflict: You have no idea (you never will)
Conflict, conflict, conflict, to me it seems such a simply word to describe the cause of wars, genocide, extreme poverty. Yet it has been a solution, a catalyst for solving centuries-old suppression, discrimination and prosecution. Without conflict between people of the caste systems in India, Gandhi never would have invented one of the most successful nonviolent strategies, Satiagraha. Susan B Anthony and Alice Paul never would have won great concessions for the suffrage movement without conflict towards the patriarchal notion of women roles in society. So what is conflict really? An instance of incompatible goals creating contention between two or more parties. Or an instance of stimulation to our cognitive realities, a challenge of ideals that produce an opportunity to improve and expand our preconceived notions of who we are. I believe that conflict is simply an indication that a change in that particular area of dissidence, is eminent and necessary.
This class means to me a place where our ideas of gender will go through necessary change. We each have our experiences, our passionate moments where we felt that rearing identity of being a man or a women or both or neither. These very moment define us, they steer the way for how we think about our sex.
I remember in middle school, after summer break on the first day of school, gym class became a year long torture. Everyday my more developed body would have one comment or another tossed around about it. Being one of two black girls in my class, my sexuality was already guessed by my classmates through their view of a black girl. I was a slut before age 13. They would make jokes and say I had five guys already and an abortion. Crazy stuff, ridiculous things they said but still painful. I felt that puberty had betrayed me, I was branded a loose girl by my figure. But I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I grew strong in my mind. I learned how to soften the blows, roll with the punches. The ironic thing was I kept using the mantra, "Just act like a guy, don't give a shit" and lone behold, there I was, iceman. No one knew how I felt, no one knew how sensitive I really was. I have gained from this experience tremendously but I keep thinking about the experiences I lost by being so closed up. Conflict teaches us new ways of behavior, resolving things. The key thing to remember is that what you learn is ever-changing. One day you might have a conflict that might reveal a significant part of you. Two weeks later a conflict may flipped your newly found notion again.
The point I guess I am trying to make is that we gain more from being open to conflict and change than being rooted and guarded against it. Yet conflict has always had a bad connotation so we are more aped to despise conflict, to avoid it at all costs, and likewise avoid change.
This class means to me a place where our ideas of gender will go through necessary change. We each have our experiences, our passionate moments where we felt that rearing identity of being a man or a women or both or neither. These very moment define us, they steer the way for how we think about our sex.
I remember in middle school, after summer break on the first day of school, gym class became a year long torture. Everyday my more developed body would have one comment or another tossed around about it. Being one of two black girls in my class, my sexuality was already guessed by my classmates through their view of a black girl. I was a slut before age 13. They would make jokes and say I had five guys already and an abortion. Crazy stuff, ridiculous things they said but still painful. I felt that puberty had betrayed me, I was branded a loose girl by my figure. But I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I grew strong in my mind. I learned how to soften the blows, roll with the punches. The ironic thing was I kept using the mantra, "Just act like a guy, don't give a shit" and lone behold, there I was, iceman. No one knew how I felt, no one knew how sensitive I really was. I have gained from this experience tremendously but I keep thinking about the experiences I lost by being so closed up. Conflict teaches us new ways of behavior, resolving things. The key thing to remember is that what you learn is ever-changing. One day you might have a conflict that might reveal a significant part of you. Two weeks later a conflict may flipped your newly found notion again.
The point I guess I am trying to make is that we gain more from being open to conflict and change than being rooted and guarded against it. Yet conflict has always had a bad connotation so we are more aped to despise conflict, to avoid it at all costs, and likewise avoid change.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 14 GC Blog ( yeah I'll pick up a gun)
Its a tricky question when you ask yourself what would you die for? Family, absolutely, love, ideally, but your country? If women are to advocate equality with men we must understand what we are asking for. One of the conditions is, being susceptible to a draft when our country is at war. Equality meaning that what men get we get. If I were a supporter of equality of men and women I would say yes I will fight in a war for my country if called to do so. You can't fight for something and then place exceptions to it. But I don't believe that women should be equal to men in all aspects. Yes, we deserve equal pay and not to be consider a cheaper labor option by corporations. Yes, we deserve to be given equal admission into all careers we desire/ are classified for. But, women do have children and this is one factor in which we cannot seek equality.
Today in class I was struck by how no one really brought up conflict between a man and a women, I mean it is gender conflict class. However, I understand how we were defining conflict not certain conflicts. I look forward to talking about conflicts between men and women. I personally, have a lot of trouble when I am in conflict with men because I often feel really threatened, or in the wrong. i believe this is due to my past encounters with men as well but i do wonder if it maybe its experienced by a lot of other women as well ( maybe a social construct)
Today in class I was struck by how no one really brought up conflict between a man and a women, I mean it is gender conflict class. However, I understand how we were defining conflict not certain conflicts. I look forward to talking about conflicts between men and women. I personally, have a lot of trouble when I am in conflict with men because I often feel really threatened, or in the wrong. i believe this is due to my past encounters with men as well but i do wonder if it maybe its experienced by a lot of other women as well ( maybe a social construct)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Week 2 GC blog ...Race and Gender (2 sides of the same coin? or not)
So there is this notion that has been bothering me since reading Evelyn Nakano Glenn's article on gender and race. Glenn brings up the paradox of being a woman as well as being a woman of color. Triple oppression or double jeopardy are some of the terms that she uses to describe the hardships that come with being a female minority. And yet she talks about the prospect of creating an integrative framework to address both racial and gender concepts, both define by the values/laws of society. I interpreted Glenn's article as her wanting to bring all women (men), despite color, culture, socio-economic status,together into the debate over the concepts of gender( whereas before, the movement to redefine gender was lead solely by white women (19th amendment, Equal Rights Amendment etc.)). I believe that Glenn was expressing how both race and gender are related in the processes how each social construct was created.
Now granted I mostly agree with Glenn and her analysis but I believe that in modern times, there is distinction in the process of engendering and racialization. In fact, I believe that in an individual who may experience both at once may have one social construct actually cancel out the other. I do say this because I have seen/heard instances where Hispanic and black girls have actually admitted that at times in society, they feel genderless. As if because of their race they often do not experience or realize that they experience engendering because their racial identities play a bigger part in their overall social interactions and lifestyles than their sexual identity.
I, myself being a black woman, have experienced times where I felt that my color factored more in my everyday life than me bring a girl. In sports, it was pre-determined that I would be good. Not because of my skills or hard work but because of my genetics, because "black people" as my assistant basketball coach once stated, "are natural born athletes, its in their ancestry" And so it was the case in tournaments and games that most opposing teams would refer to me as "number 32, the big black girl). I always focused on "big black", those words taking complete precedent over "girl", evening canceling it out because most ideal girls, in my mind (during high school) were skinny, pretty and white...never big and certainly not black.
So I guess my point is is that the certain kind of oppressions we experience in our society can differ in overall effect on an individual based on who that individual is, where they grew up and what experiences affected them the most. To treat race and gender in an integrative framework, may instead take away from the solutions and critiques by blending together the processes of engendering/ racialization, when really the processes are simply too different/complex to ever be understood as one.
Any who all food for thought!
Now granted I mostly agree with Glenn and her analysis but I believe that in modern times, there is distinction in the process of engendering and racialization. In fact, I believe that in an individual who may experience both at once may have one social construct actually cancel out the other. I do say this because I have seen/heard instances where Hispanic and black girls have actually admitted that at times in society, they feel genderless. As if because of their race they often do not experience or realize that they experience engendering because their racial identities play a bigger part in their overall social interactions and lifestyles than their sexual identity.
I, myself being a black woman, have experienced times where I felt that my color factored more in my everyday life than me bring a girl. In sports, it was pre-determined that I would be good. Not because of my skills or hard work but because of my genetics, because "black people" as my assistant basketball coach once stated, "are natural born athletes, its in their ancestry" And so it was the case in tournaments and games that most opposing teams would refer to me as "number 32, the big black girl). I always focused on "big black", those words taking complete precedent over "girl", evening canceling it out because most ideal girls, in my mind (during high school) were skinny, pretty and white...never big and certainly not black.
So I guess my point is is that the certain kind of oppressions we experience in our society can differ in overall effect on an individual based on who that individual is, where they grew up and what experiences affected them the most. To treat race and gender in an integrative framework, may instead take away from the solutions and critiques by blending together the processes of engendering/ racialization, when really the processes are simply too different/complex to ever be understood as one.
Any who all food for thought!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Genderize yo mind
Our readings are pretty bomb but I can't help but feel that we are missing a lot of background on the main cause of the conflicting ideas of what gender is. Yes, in part it is our family, peers and our society but what drives the culture of America? Our economy!!! What drives our science? Our economy!!! In the article about the body and its biological differences shaping gender ideals, a great point was brought up. Science and its empirical explanations on the ways of the world has been manipulated to suit the chauvinistic differences between man and women. It explained how the female brain is more apt to skills of homemaking, nurturing, organization, rather than tedious work, driving and bring home the bacon. It really blows my mind, it really scares me that the very institutions in which we pride the advancement of our race has been used to perpetuate frivolous, damaging and demoralizing fallacies against women, minorities and cultures. Yet, before feminism, title 9, the 19th amendment came to be the sludge hammers that shattered these ideas, much of the U.S and the world believed them. Renowned scholars even supported these ideas with journals, lectures, experiments etc. Our education, even today, is still heavily entrenched in the ideas of these renowned scholars, scientists, academics and it makes me question what have I learned, what are these truths that I have accepted? Yesterday in class, when we discuses how are very discourse shapes our opinions about gender such as what home and work means, it further pushed me to analyze almost all aspects of our lives. How do we begin to measure this subconscious onslaught of gender ideals that appear in our discourse, media, education etc? And is there a feasible solution, can we really turn back generations and generations of instilled thought? Any who, all food for thought (no biggie).
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