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Critical Feminist Studies 2013
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
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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.
![Anne Dalke's picture Anne Dalke's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-39.jpg)
gender equity
In the midst of all our conversation about the constructed, limiting nature of gender
assignment-> role-> identity -> expression -> attribution --and all our play with each of those categories--
I also want to keep in play the very real consequences of being seen as "woman" in the world.
This just out: a fascinating case study of (the lack of) gender equity @ Harvard Business School--
and the school's "unapologetic" attempt to change this.
![ari_hall's picture ari_hall's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1322.jpg)
New avatar
Hello, my name is Ariana and I just recently switched into this course, so I guess I'll introduce myself here first. I am excited to meet you all and start learning. I thinks this class speaks to me specifically as i like to call myself a black feminist, and by this i mean that i value justice and equality for the black community (as well as other communities of color) and the justice and equality for women, not putting one above the other. The avatar I chose, or was hoping to choose (technologically challenged here) was of a vulture that I found in my yard one day when I came home. This turkey vulture, came into my life at a point where i was struggling with loving myself. That same day my father had found an article on these vultures and how although they have an ugly apperance, they are gentle creatures who clean up the mess what has been killed, and are graceful in flight. I was like the turkey vulture at that time, feeling ugly and unwanted, unaware of my ability to soar and cleanse the world.
![sschurtz's picture sschurtz's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1321.jpg)
My Avatar
I wasn't in class on Tuesday so I thought I would post my avatar now. My avatar is a picture of my dog Ginger. I have four dogs and I tend to talk about them a lot but Ginger is special because she hates me. I really enjoy this picture because my family adopted her from a shelter and she is not a particularly pretty dog. We have a love-hate relationship. She likes to hide behind chairs and stare at me while I sleep. I like to give her food which she won’t eat and crawl through bushes at night to bring her inside. She's this cranky little dog with bad teeth and stumpy little legs but she always makes my day entertaining and as much as she annoys me, I love her very much. It's hard to pick a picture for an avatar that other people will see all the time but I picked this picture because it makes me happy. I love her odd little face and it reminds me of home and whenever I look at this photo it makes me laugh.
![samuel.terry's picture samuel.terry's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1317.jpg)
Words
Link to Radiolab Podcast "Words": http://www.radiolab.org/2010/aug/09/
In our discussion on Thursday, Anne pulled some lines from "Seeing Gender" that talked about "imagining language as a place of possibility, as opposed to a simple scripted repersentation;" we talked about signs and signifiers, repersentations and mimicry and related it all back to gender. This conversation reminded me of a podcast I listened to a while back called "Words". (I have conveniently linked the podcast above and I highly suggest you listen to it right now!). I relistened to it and thought about it in the context of gender. The general theme of the piece is, what do words do for us? are they neccasary? can you think without them? It's fitting that in each of these questions the word "words" could be replaced with the word "gender" and you could have an equally revolutionary conversation. Both socially constructed things seem so essential to life in our ability relate to ourselves and others. I'm currently struggling to articulate many of the thoughts I have and I'm hesitant to come to conclusions before others (I hope) have a chance to engage with the podcast but here are a couple preliminary reactions:
![EmmaBE's picture EmmaBE's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1305.png)
Journeys through Gender
I had always thought because I had made an effort to educate myself about gender, I had a basic grasp of the concept and its intersection with other identities. But since I’ve arrived at Bryn Mawr and learned more about the people around me and the way they understand gender and how they relate to gender, I have begun to realize that the way I learned about gender was still very normative and not at all inclusive. I have also realized that on a basic level, I have not at all challenged my own views on gender or what my gender really is. An expression of self, yes, but through what mediums and why? Am I only falling into the easiest, pre-assigned slot in the structures of a gendered society? Now I know that my journeys through gender (theoretical and personal) are only just beginning.
![kwilkinson's picture kwilkinson's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1318.jpg)
response to ccassidy's post! who am I performing for?
I also struggled with this idea after class. My freshman year I took the Performance of Self eSem. This was the first time I had been introduced to the idea that gender is not only a social construction (which I had already concluded from some of my high school curriculum), but that we perform our identities everyday. I believe that although it is powerful to use the word performance, because it implies one having agency to act instead of remaining complicit in gender norms and stereotypes. However I must ask, who has the privilege to perform and who does not?
For myself, I am not so much aware of my performance as Kelly, a Black American Woman, but more so who is my audience? As I stated in class on Thursday, I am constantly evaluating who am I performing/speaking to? I believe that my performance as a Black-American woman is incredibily sensitive to my audience. There is a constant mental duality I must maintain, in order to filter ideas or opinions that I fear may not be well-recepted/misunderstood by people who do not look like me. For me, I have no option but to perform. Not only my gender, but also my race. I am not so sure if that is a good or bad thing? The idea of performance has definitely contributed to understanding the intersectionality of my identity. I have come to a point where I am not scared to assert my opinion or persepctive in a conversation. However I always must be conscious of the way I am doing it.
![Amoylan's picture Amoylan's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1300.jpg)
Gender in Language
The discussion on thursday regarding seeing and reading gender in language really intrigued me. It had never occured to me to look for it or even think twice about it. I guess I always assumed that the voice of the author would be who was speaking in the piece. I find it so interesting that people can seem to tell what gender a voice is just by the words that are being used or the pattern of speech in the particular work. "Seeing Gender" really opened my eyes to a world of gender in language, the last passage expressed so much deep emotion and intimacy that was followed by the question "does gender lie here?" something I never would have asked or wondered about. I'm really looking forward to learning more about this and further analyzing it.
![yj13's picture yj13's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1299.jpg)
Gender Apathy
My own gender identity is something I've always taken for granted. My image in class was that of a rock, which signifies the sort of stagnant journey I've had in discovering my gender. I was designated female at birth, and as such I've considered myself female my entire life and never really had a problem with that. I can wear flowy dresses, baggy t-shirts, dress shirts and slacks, whatever style I find most appealing that day. Though whatever I choose to do I've always considered within the "bounds" of being female. The aptitude test in The New Gender Workbook declared me a gender outlaw, and I'm starting to think of all the ways I don't really fit society's box for my gender. I don't think about my gender all that often, I act and dress the way I choose without too much concern for how it fits the sterotype of female. If I don't shave my legs, if I never wear makeup or nail polish or if I never have children, does that make me less of a woman? What does make a woman anyway? Am I still female if I don't altogether care how I am read by others? Whether or not this causes any personal revelations in my identity I find it an interesting point of discussion that there's always more to learn about gender and sexuality.
![iskierka's picture iskierka's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1315.jpg)
Seeing Gender
I've gone through waves of extremes, being surrounded by only ciswomen or being the only girl in the area. When I went to a Catholic school intended for girls, I was still too young to understand the fluidity of gender, and thus thought I was weird because, heavens forbid, I hated wearing those silly plaid skirts. When high school broke, I was finally in a co-ed environment, and I had friends from across the spectrum of sexuality, but with three new cousins under my belt, I was the only girl out of five for my grandmother and mother to dote on, and I was hit by an avalanche of 'why can't you be more girly'. But as the years went on, and more and more of my friends came out, I came to realize more of what Kathy Ackerman meant when she opened her essay with the desire to be a pirate. It was unfair to limit oneself to ideas of should and could instead of what lead to inner happiness, instead of exploring ourselves to find what lies within. Pushing ourselves one way or another because someone else says so only leads to inner turmoil.
![Celeste's picture Celeste's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1302.jpg)
Sexuality vs Orientation
I've been thinking more about sexuality versus sexual orientation. I've found that sexual orientation appears to be a social construction in the way that our sex is. Orientation suggests a single direction--a rigidity that I believe is found less often than expected when talking about human attraction. These are the vocabulary words handed down to us. In the way that our bodies are sometimes forced to commit to male or female, the same occurs with our sexualities because for some, it can be hard to imagine a world where words cannot define. These terms do not provide the prope scope to explain and define the sexual, emotional, or romantic experiences of humans. And for me, that is frustrating. It's frustrating to see eyes roll when I mention being queer. Once, somebody asked me if I wanted to be "special"--if I was "above just being bisexual"? I choose to use some different words because I try to find the most specific language possible to describe my experience and my feelings at this point in my life. It would do little justice to pick one over the other, as they provide little space for reflection and even self-doubt, which I find is the best prompt for internal reflection.
![Polly's picture Polly's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1319.jpg)
Identifying and Naming Gender
Until class on Thursday, I had never been asked what gender I identify as. I had never thought about gender as something that comes from within myself. I thought of the gender binary as a social construct that was passed down to children from the moment they are born. Once a sex is assigned, parents dress their baby in "appropriate" clothes and colors, and give them gendered toys, like dolls or trucks.
I automatically answered "female" but then wondered if that was even the right word. "Female" and "male" sound more like sexes than genders.I didn't know what language to use for gender. "Woman" and "girl" both have strong connotations for me, and I don't feel like either is appropriate. When I hear "woman," I always think of a specific image, a female older than me. She is wearing a dress. "Girl," on the other hand, is too young. My age is suspended between the two, perhaps because I am in the inbetween age, the teenager still discovering herself.
![sschurtz's picture sschurtz's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1321.jpg)
Labels
I grew up with openminded parents but I went to conservative schools in middle school and high school. Bryn Mawr was the first place where I got to see people of different genders being a major part of the community. I found Kathy Acker's essay "Seeing Gender" very informative. I do believe in the spectrum but I didn't realize until we talked about it in class that labels in regards to different types of genders are constricting and incorrect. I don't think people should have to define themselves using a term. Gender is fluid and people should be allowed and encouraged to not stay in the Male-Female categories and find themselves. I found My Gender Workbook very interesting in that way, when Bornstein talks about herself and her partner switching genders. When we put terms onto people, even when it is done in a supportive way, it can make it harder to have the freedom to change and find themselves. Using terms can make understanding easier but it puts people in boxes. When you think of someone in a defined category you aren't giving them the opportunity to grow and change.
![EP's picture EP's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1308.jpg)
Thoughts on Fine. A Comic About Gender
Reading the comic Fine. made me think about the visual representation of gender. While we discussed "Seeing Gender" in class, we realized that we have a tendency to attach gender to things that don't necessarily require it, such as the written word. A few people said that words like "lilac" were "feminine." This is due to our perception of gender and what it represents. If we assign gender to words, what does that say about what we assign to people? One person in Fine. talks about how they feel like they are not strictly one gender, though people assign them to one based on how they look. People have a tendency to put others in to boxes or categories based on what they perceive about that person (particularly how they look), not knowing that they could be completely inaccurate about it. This is due to people assigning gender to a certain visual representation, much like assigning it to words, even though it could be inaccurate or unnecessary.
![Fdaniel's picture Fdaniel's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1320.jpg)
understanding equality
On Thursday I loved the discussion we had about gender and sexuality. We really questioned where these binarys and sterotypes stemmed from and tried to find a solution. During my entire life I have never questioned my gender or sexuality until i started to investgate the importance of knowing my body and what I want. However, although I never questioned my gender or sexuality I have never critized or judged anyone for doing so. I always found it crazy when people would. But i then realized that this topic is only questionable because society has demonized those that do. At one point in history it was considered a mental illness. Crazy isn't it? Whats more crazy is that people still think it is which blows my mind. However, on a positive note America has evolved over time to slowly accept the LGBTQI community. During our last discussion in class I brought up the topic about gay rights in America. Now, I know America has a long way to go when it comes to improving our country and an even longer way to go to in order to make everyone equal. But I want to highlight both the good and the bad about America's progress with gay rights. I did some research to really find out how much progress America has really made when it came to gay rights and honestly I was completey stunned. As of June 2013 36 states banned same sex marriage (Roberts). According to the Gaullpa poll only 53% of Americans believe that gay marriage should be leaglized (Roberts). Although i was quite shocked about how low 53% was I wasn't suprised.
![](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/imagecache/featured_450px/Graphic_IamAnAlly_small.png)
![Ann Lemieux's picture Ann Lemieux's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1294.jpg)
Seeing gender
I was not in class on Thursday, but if I had to depict my own gender with a sketch, I would draw a bowl and a mixing spoon. Cooking is something I have always loved, and it is a hobby that people of all genders have, yet women are more often expected to be able to cook than men. I think that many of my interests and traits are ones that people associate with femeninity, but they are not exclusively feminine. For example, I love working with children and want to be a teacher. More women than men are teachers, especially with younger kids, but there are also several men who teach young children and are amazing at it.
My sketch of gender in general would be a spectrum, ranging from one color to another, but with the middle gray area disconnected from the two ends of the spectrum. This is because although I see gender as a spectrum, society creates a false binary out of gender, and leaves out all those who identify as somewhere in between male and female.
Since I wasn't in class to answer questions, I'll post some of my answers here. I think the main difference between sex and gender is that sex is biological, and gender is mental. Sex has to do with what sex organs a person has. Gender has to do with where on the spectrum between male and female a person chooses to place him/herself. People choose to identify with a certain gender because of their appearance, biological sex, what society tells them to identify with, and many other factors.
![shainarobin's picture shainarobin's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1309.jpg)
One Box Only
I had a breakthrough last night while I was reading My New Gender Workbook. Kate, the author, asked readers to think about “any journeys [they’d] made across identities.” Before this comment, I had been having trouble connecting with Kate and her “twibe’s” gender identity experiences. While I was interested in them, I was at a level where I couldn’t truly understand them. That is until I was asked to think about my own identity. That’s when I realized that the way gender identity had been described throughout the book so far was similar to the way I felt about my own racial identity. I am mixed race with a Black mother and a White father (to put it simply). Yet all of my life I have been strictly classified as Black. Why? Because it’s convenient to put people in specific categories and think of them as just that. If there was a name for every combination and racial mix of people out there then our perception of race would be even more complicated than it already is. Is that a bad thing though?
![pialamode314's picture pialamode314's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1293.jpg)
Gender as a kid
It is so important to talk about gender in today's society. I was very struck by Piper's comment in class, about how even simple words in the passage from "Seeing Gender" had subtle gender associations with femininity, and affected the way we read it. The gender binary has been so ingrained in society for so long that it is hard to escape, and even to spot if you're not aware of it. I never thought much about gender before coming to Bryn Mawr. I was assigned an "F" at birth and I never questioned it. However, once I came to Bryn Mawr and began to talk about gender issues, it opened up my eyes to how much it had affected my life. As a kid, I was often labeled a "tomboy", but I never liked that. I didn't feel like a tomboy. I always felt like if I was a tomboy, if I liked hiking and power tools and hated the color pink, I then also wasn't allowed to like fancy shoes or pretty dresses and lipstick. Admittedly, I LOVED Polly Pocket. However, I was ashamed to tell any of my friends - boys or girls - for fear of being a "freak" and not fitting in with either group. It was very confusing for me because I felt like I had to pick a category - it was an either/or situation and being on the fence was precarious and not acceptable. It wasn't until much later in life that I recognized the connection to gender and gender roles. As I learned more about the issues, I realized that having to "choose" a category to fall under was ridiculous. I just wanted to do and wear whatever made me feel comfortable.
![carolyn.j's picture carolyn.j's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1314.jpg)
Acting Gender and the Languages of the Body
Kathy Acker concludes her essay "Seeing gender" with her powerful description of what she terms "languages of the body." As she argues, the languages of the body are innately true and real, untouched by the mimetic qualities of language as it has been constructed and owned by the patriarchal model. Because Acker cannot disconnect herself from her body, and in that same way how the body must be the site and originator of her imagination and self, she finds in it the only deeply true language in that it has not yet been subject to the socially constructed world outside her self.
![ccassidy's picture ccassidy's picture](https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/files/pictures/picture-1298.jpg)
gender as a performance
I thought it was really interesting that we compared gender to a ‘performance.’ For me, defining gender as a performance is what separates ‘gender’ from ‘sex’ because there is a certain individual agency that is associated with a performance that has nothing to do with a clinical evaluation or label. However, I think an argument can be made that both for and against this ‘performance’ term. I think that a performance can have elements that are completely autonomous. As the main character of the performance, a person as the ability to change and expand to fit the truest definition of themselves. On the other hand, the performer must also keep the audience in mind when creating the character. This makes me question whether or not the performance changes when in a private or public setting when there is or is not an audience watching the performance?
Someone made a point in class that a woman is not less of a woman when she is alone in her room. I thought this was a really important argument to make and it is the reason why I am struggling with the term ‘performance’ in association with gender. I think that many different arguments could be made to support or challenge the ‘performance’ as gender but my main concern with the term is the audience factor. Is it a performance if there is no audience?