Gender Issues

In class on Thursday we discussed a model that is broken up into the three criteria of a conflict which are issues, behaviors, and attributions. From there we broke down the issue criterion and explored all of the different types of issues related to gendered conflict. This list was quite extensive as it was first broken into five categories each with several examples of each although I think it would take a very extended period of time to encompass all of the possibilities. The types of issues included facts and data, interests, communication, values, and basic human needs. When we were exploring the topic of basic needs we discussed how identity is something that males and females need to establish and if they do not then they will be in conflict. This discussion brought up a question of whether or not a change in the "female box" would cause a change in the "male box." If the definition of what it means to be a female changes then does the definition of what it means to be a male also change? The conclusion to this question was that a change in one box will result in a change in the other box because the boxes are by definition in opposition to one another. This became more clear to me when thinking about how the spectrum and masculine and feminine traits are separate from each other and you can have many traits from one and none from the other, you could have many from both or various combinations.

Week 2

This week in class I was introduced to a lot of new terms. The skit on Tuesday was not only entertaining but it really helped illustrate some of the key concepts. Micro-interactions is one of the terms that was much easier to understand after watching the skit. Something as subtle as eye contact is a micro-interaction that males and females do differently. This became clear to me when the "female" maintained eye contact and the "male" tended to look away (opposite of the norm). Because this micro-interaction was not in line with what we would consider the social norm, something seemed wrong about the skit. It is amazing how much of a difference such a small thing can make.

One question that stemmed from this idea of men and women following the socials norms was can you choose not to follow them? For instance, men typically claim power and women get it indirectly but what if a woman tries to claim it? Although there are some exceptations, I think men would usually be taken back by an aggressive woman and would probably prefer to be in charge. Thus, when individuals go against social norms they tend to be less appealing to others when it comes to relationships.

Something I found really interesting in Thursday's discussion was the term body-reflective practice. I have heard that women live longer than men and I always just accepted it but never really thought about why this is the case. Now it makes sense to me because men tend to have more labor-intensive jobs and are less likely to go to the doctor for minor problems because they don't want to appear weak. I hope we explore this topic further next week.

Feminism

Before reading "You're a Hardcore Feminist. I swear." I have to admit that not only would I not have considered myself a feminist, but I also had a rather negative outlook on the topic. As Valenti discusses, girls’ heads, including my own, are filled with negative stereotypes about feminism keeping us from ever really understanding what it means. Valenti explains that most women actually support feminist goals. These women, however, do not claim the feminist title which is hard to do since it has such a negative connotation. One big misconception that I had was that being a feminist means that you have to constantly fight for equality for women and persuade others to agree with your feminist beliefs. I also thought that I could never be a feminist because I don’t contribute anything. Valenti corrected my thoughts by writing “Chances are, you’ve probably done stuff that makes you a feminist. You don’t have to be a full-time activist to be an awesome feminist.” As she goes on to give examples and upon reflection of the whole article, I realized that I am more of a feminist than I had known.

Gender and Race/Subjectivity and Identity

In the article "The Social Construction and Institutionalization of Gender and Race" the author explains that gender and race are not just biological facts but they are determined by social beliefs. I found it very interesting that the term gender came about in order to "free our thinking from the constrictions of naturalness and biological inevitability attached to the concept of sex." The expectations of each gender differ from one another and these expectations continue to change in society. This article also introduced me to relationality which is the idea that race and gender consist of categories that can be ranked which gives them meaning in relation to one another.

In Chapter 6, "Issues of Subjectivity and Identity" the author writes that identity is thought of in different ways. Identity can either be thought to be something that we possess or it is entirely cultural. Although I think identity is heavily dependent on culture, I am not sure that I would agree that it is entirely cultural.