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Critical Feminist Studies 2013
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Welcome to the on-line conversation for Critical Feminist Studies, an introductory-level course offered in the English Department and Gender and Sexuality Program @ Bryn Mawr College in Fall 2013. |
Who are you writing for? Primarily for yourself, and for others in our course. But also for the world. This is a "public" forum, so people anywhere on the web might look in. You're writing for yourself, for others in the class, AND for others you might or might not know. So, your thoughts in progress can contribute to the thoughts in progress of LOTS of people. The web is giving increasing reality to the idea that there can actually evolve a world community, and you're part of helping to bring that about. We're glad to have you along, and hope you come to both enjoy and value our shared explorations. Feel free to comment on any post below, or to POST YOUR THOUGHTS HERE.
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Waking Life Movie Quote
"I had a friend once who told me that the worst mistake that you can make is to think you are alive, when you're really asleep in life's waiting room. The trick is to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams. 'Cause if you can do that you can do anything."
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The Committee of Sleep
As I mentioned in class, the Committee of Sleep, is a book discussing "dream incubation" and the various ways of problem solving in your dreams. Some of you might find strong connections to the movie, Inception.
Read this interesting wikipedia article for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_incubation
![vhiggins's picture vhiggins's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1341.jpg)
We are not innocent
Has anyone ever questioned the existence of the "female gaze" ? By that I mean the look that some women give, one that is full of assumption and judgement, when seeing a woman known to act promiscuously, or a woman who does the opposite. Numerous times in this past week, I have been a witness to the extreme judgment of a women who chooses to express her gender identity in a way that is considered promiscuous or "slutty" in the eyes of society, BY OTHER WOMEN. Guilty of this myself, I think it is important to consider this gaze, because mistreatment by men based on a woman's lifestyle or dress is one thing, but for a woman to judge and mistreat another for these same reasons puts a huge, hypocritical hole in the feminist cause. We saw evidence of this in The Complete Persepolis when Marjane puts down her classmates for their beliefs and lifestyle, and this is why I had a hard time considering her autobiography a femenist text. Because Marjane was having sex, it seemed that she considered herself above her classmates because they were not rebelling against the state in the way that she was, and that made her independent and them frustrated and weak.
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Defining Feminism
I found the discussion in class on tuesday very interesting regarding the three waves of feminism and how do you define feminism. In my experience a lot of people I meet outside of the Bryn Mawr bubble view feminism in an negative light or think that it’s not needed anymore. I’m always amazed at the amount of men I meet who are willing to say that there isn’t a need for feminism any more. I have gotten that comment many times but I'm always a little shocked that a man would make that definitive a statement about womens rights. I was thinking from the class discussion on the definition of feminism that I am not sure what definition of feminism I use. I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting my beliefs into a box. For the question of autobiography being a feminist genre I found it confusing at first because as a group we weren’t sure how to define feminism. When I tell people why I think that feminism is important and needed I usually draw on past experiences when I have been looked down on or not allowed to do things because I am female. For example when I was in kindergarten they made the T ball league coed so my best friend Megan and I joined. The coach was annoyed that they had let girls into the league so he wouldn’t let us be in the team photo. So it’s hard for me to say that autobiography is not a feminist genre when that is usually how I express my own feelings regarding why feminism is needed.
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Defining Feminism
As someone who's been in primarily female-oriented environments for most of my life, it feels strange how relatively recent feminism has been to me. So it was still something of a trial to define it in a group setting. As a group, we quickly established our opinions on Satrapi's Persepolis - its merits and its fault and where each lay - and the process had me questioning what constituted, not feminist values, but feminism as a whole. My personal opinion: a movement of its scale must be for a people, not for a person. A person may figurehead the movement, but they are still one experience among the whole. Therein lies my discomfort with calling autobiographies a feminist genre - they're meant to showcase one particular person, the writer. I do believe the contents can be feminist - they can display their activism, their beliefs, the people who influenced them. The reaction can be feminist - a reader can admire these same traits and use them as an example for how to steer their life. But as autobiographies are so narrow in that they focus only one on experience out of the whole, I do not see them as feminist. Maybe I haven't read enough of them, maybe I haven't read the right ones, but a life story is still the story of a single life. (I am eager to read the piece that changes my mind though.)
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Is the veil liberating?
When I read Persepolis, the idea that some women might want to be veiled didn't even cross my mind. I'm glad someone in class brought up the idea of what women wear in different cultures being liberating. I found some interesting quotes when I looked up why Muslim women wear the veil and if they like to or not.
"Arab-American Diba Rab says she chooses to wear a veil because it acts as an equalizer. 'I want people to see who I am — for who I am — and not for how I look and not for my physical features, but rather my intellectual capabilities," she said.'" http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126666&page=1
"I really liked the purpose behind the hijab -- a woman covering herself so that a man should know her for her mind, not her body." http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/12/generation.islam.hijab/
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Is an Autobiography a feminist genre?
When asked the question "is an autobiography a feminist genre" I struggled to find an answer. I struggled because I am unsure of what exactly feminism is and what criteria has to be meant in order to make something feminism or not. In examining whether or not Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is feministic, my first thought was yes it is because it is based on a woman's life and is told by a woman but I knew right away that was to simply of a thought. It is simply because not all women consider themselves feminist and not all women write with the intent to spread feminist ideas. So I stepped away from that quick answer and I came to the realization that I had truly no idea. So when we did that exercise in class when you had to choose a side I thought that would help me come up with a final decision but I was wrong. I found myself agreeing with both sides and even more unsure then I was before. So I think my overall struggle in finding an answer to this question stems from the fact I don't really know what feminism is...
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Outside the Barometer
The barometer activity on Thursday highlighted the fact that my definition of feminism is under-developed. Every day in class, as I’m listening to others voice their viewpoints of gender and sexuality from such standpoints of age, ethnicity, time period, and society, I feel my perception of this broad, limited topic expanding. When I was standing on the outside of the barometer especially, I found myself agreeing with both sides for different reasons. To feel liberated wholly internally, some feminists need to express their personal experiences and theories in autobiographies. Others need to feel the repercussion of their words make a movement in a society. Feminism is about personal empowerment, and it’s about social movement. I think that’s what I’m getting from our readings and discussions. Through either medium, the voices that usually go unheard or have been in the past are getting the chance to express themselves. Isn’t that what connects the two extremes of opinion? It doesn’t matter how the voices get out to the public, which needs to listen (and,therefore, act) the most, it’s when and to what degree. That is what matters, and that’s why recognizing the both sides of the barometer is important.
(I’m sorry if this doesn’t really relate to the topic we've been discussing, I’m just trying to get my thoughts all sorted out. I think this rant-y kind of post is helping me making sense of how my thought process has been changing throughout the class.)
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Straw Feminism
Defining feminism is complex. So complex in fact, that I don't think I've ever heard anybody describe it in the exact same way. Its meaning differs from person to person. I don't think that this is bad per se, but I do think that this range in definintion has allowed for today's media to warp feminism as something negative and detrimental for the rights of women. In many of the TV shows I watched growing up, especially the ones featuring strong and role model-like female characters, a "straw feminist" character would be introduced to show viewers what could happen if we took everything too seriously. These straw feminists were so ridiculous, crazy, and over the top, that they managed to spread the message that gender inequality/opression was overblown and feminism was trying to create a problem where there wasn't one. Basically, the goals of these episodes were to show that feminism wasn't necessary. This message was reinforced in the form of the female lead on the show who wasn't anything like her straw feminist counterpoint. This meant that there was no way she could ever be a feminist. This sneaky and strategic form of anti-feminism has resulted in children growing up to believe that feminism is more or less evil. This is why so many young peolpe are hesitant to desribe themselves as feminists today. Along with the lack of concrete definition, the adverse portrayl of feminists in the media has made people believe that they are doing more harm than good. This idea is further explained on a YouTube channel called Feminist Frequency.
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My definition of feminism
When I started this class, I thought I had a basic idea of what feminism means and I considered myself a strong feminist. However, I don't think I ever really tried to define femism. I came at it one situation at a time and just dealt with that specific situation the way I thought best (which, thinking back on it, might not have been the best way). For example, many women like when men hold doors open for them. I also believe that holding doors open for other people is a very courteous thing to do. If I get to the door first, I usually hold it open for the person behind me. However, I do not like the idea that men hold doors open for me just because I am a woman. If I arrive at the door first they try and hold the door open for me, or they backtrack and let me go through the door first just because I am a woman. At one point I was holding the door open for some people and a man came up behind me and told me to go first. I told him no, at first, but he insisted, so I just gave in and walked through the door. I don't understand why he thought that was being polite because I certainly did not find it polite. Many times in high school people have told me I am too much of a feminist. I did not know what to make of this because I felt like I was a feminist, but not one who questioned every small thing a man does for sexist content. I would insist that people call Bryn Mawr a women's college and not a girl's school and would willingly explain why, but most people would just shrug this off and the next time, make the same mistake and call it a girl's school.
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"Porn for Women"
I stumbled upon this XKCD comic that commented on the series of books titled "Porn For Women" that feature chisled men ironing, vacuuming, and performing various cleaning chores (see photos below). At first, I must admit, I thought it was so clever and witty! Then I was quite horrified and offended because there were many offensive and restrictive implications found in this book. For one thing, it implies that women don't utilize "regular" porn. For another, it suggests that all women want is a nice, muscly, and masculine "stud". And then comes in the topic of housework- how women must be "turned on" when men do the housework. It implies that men don't do housework; that all women are sick and tired of housework; and that the female population has fallen into the stereotypical roles of homemakers and are unsatisfied with their lives. It's all quite appalling.
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Defining feminism and accessibility
One thing that I have been finding in this class, and especially after our discussion last Thursday, is that it's almost becoming harder for me to define feminism itself and what makes something feminist. On one hand, this is a little frustrating since for the longest time I've always known exactly what I believed as a feminist, but on the other hand, the fact that I am hearing all these new sides to feminism and other people's relationship with the feminist movement has been expanding my views and is probably a good thing. For example, I've known that the feminist movement is dominated by the voices of white women, but I never put too much thought to it simply because I, being a privileged white woman, never felt the negative effects of that. However, some of the discussions we've had in this class have come back to that fact, and it has opened my eyes to some of the race issues within the feminist movement and has caused me to really struggle with defining something (e.g. a text like Persepolis) as feminist or not. In thinking about all this and wrestling with a working definition of feminism for myself, I've found myself coming back to thinking about accessibility. I am a very passionate feminist and I enjoy being challenged by all of these different views and definitions of feminism, but as wonderful as that is, not being unified in a basic definition probably makes it very hard for many people who are unfamiliar with these issues to relate to feminism.
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Male pregnancy advertsing campaign
I came across the following article while perusing the internet. I don't know how to put a link to the article in my Serendip post, so I'll just post the URL:
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/07/30/why-male-pregnancy-matters/
The article begins with the introduction of a new advertising campaign in Chicago meant to take an alternative approach than the usual slut-shaming of teen pregnancy campaigns. Thus, the Chicago Department of Public Health came out with the following adevrtisements:
This advertising campaign is manipulating the binary sense of gender to bring awareness that the effects of teen pregnacies do not just affect who is carrying the baby. However, by doing so brings up the fact that transgendered men can have children. And that the borders of gender are not black and white as this advertisement implies. Gender is not a binary and it is not defined by one's ability to bear children or not. In fact, I think this advertisement further installs transphobia in society with its caption of "Unexpected?" next to these images. It can be said they are using pregnant male bodies as shock value to perputate transphobia.
I put these images up on our blog as food for thought in many different realms. Our class discussions on how to define gender. How media portrays gender. How media influences us. How we disagree with media, but don't know how to react. How society is controlled by media.
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Thoughts for this past Tuesday's class
'The Key' on pages 99-102.
I was highly disturbed and transfixed by the story of the magical golden keys that would grant a young boy access to paradise if he was "lucky enough to die." This paradise is supposed to be filled with food, women, and houses made of gold and diamonds.The young boy who recieved the key in Persepolis was just 14 when he was basically told that dying for his country would bring him women and take him to an afterlife that was "better than Disneyland." It reminded me of the Quranic tale of how muslim men are promised 72 virgins in heaven if they die as martyrs. After searching around online, I discovered that a muslim woman is promised one good, satisfying husband. I was displeased with this inequality AND the overall idea of exchanging death to recieve an implied sexual satisfaction from virgins or a perfect husband.
I also found the image on page 102 really powerful! Contorted, anonymous bodys fly through the air with keys tugging away form their necks. Those poor boys experienced such an intense, traumatizing side of humanity that I would never wish upon someone else.
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Mantrafesto
Everyone is queer. No one strictly fits in these binaries/categories.
Categories restrict people, because people change in their categories without knowing.
Knowing what lies in one's hurt leads to on a distaste with how the world is run and desire to see change.
Change will only come if we as a people collectively open our minds and hearts.
Hearts trump parts in matters of identity.
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Ideas about Persepolis
Since I was not present in class today I wanted to share some interesting aspects of the book I found while reading. This book describes an intense time in our world's history and is able to depict a wide range of emotions very accurately using only black and white childlike drawings. Because this story is being told by a child I think it is appropriate since we are seeing this story unfold from a child's perspective. The idea of black and white drawings is also interesting because during this time many people saw others as either good or bad; on their side or on the 'other' side. This stark contrast demonstrates the mentality of the time and is definetly appropriate.
One more point I thought was interesting was the difference between what the words said and what the pictures protrayed. I know Anne told us to watch for that difference and I found one particularly interesting one on page 43 when they are talking about the Shah fleein the country and the girl's father says, "Let's talk about something else. Let's enjoy our new freedom." Then her mother says, "Now that the devil is gone." The picture protrays the devil curled around the family with his tail hanging directly above the mother. This is obviously foreshadowing what is to come and it brings the idea that one cannot see all of the dangers lurking.