Critical Feminist Studies

In the beginning of the comic book, The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Chris Ware wrote a series of tests and notes for the reader. An exam question asks for the gender of the reader. If the reader is female, she is to immediately put down the book (Ware 1). This implies that there is something about the experiences within the comic book that are so inherently gendered male that a female could not possibly understand them.  She may as well never read the book. Jimmy Corrigan examines masculinity and what it is like to constantly battle the social pressure to live up to an ideal masculine identity.

My first project this year was stepping back and looking at the changing definition of a "woman" at Bryn Mawr College requiring admission policies. I traced the change from the opening of the college to its recent definition of a woman. In my second webevent I played with language and its limitations using the game Taboo. I learned that it is because of the limitations of language we fail to fully express ourselves and it is this failure that leads to curiousity and learning.

What are the limitations of language at Bryn Mawr?
Bryn Mawr has taboo topics.
Topics that are not discussed will not change.
Change is necessary for the existing definition of women at Bryn Mawr.
If we discuss women, will it lead to change?
Is change what we need?

I talked to a few friends to try and figure out what topics are taboo at Bryn Mawr. I had several suggestions and chose some to use as examples:

            Phineas and Ferb is a show on the Disney Channel about the summer exploits of a pair of stepbrothers.  Phineas and Ferb are boy geniuses who can create literally anything they imagine in the convenient time span of about one episode.  Of course, before the episode is over, there is frequently some unexpected consequence that teaches the characters, usually Candace, their older sister, a valuable life lesson.  The secondary plot concerning Perry the Platypus, the family pet who is an undercover secret agent and his arch-nemesis the evil Doctor Doofenschmirtz, who can also create nearly any contraption that he can imagine with the intention to enact revenge or to take over the tri-state area.  Doctor Doofenschmirtz’s machines nearly always malfunction and helpfully dispose of all evidence of Phineas and Ferb’s inventions. 

            When our class watched the film Game Change to further our discussion on Sarah Palin, one of the most striking aspects of her portrayal was the public’s focus on her role as a mother, and further, as an “everyday person” who understands the needs of the average family. I quickly remembered that this depiction was incredibly true to reality, as Palin’s role as a mother and wife was continuously touched on, whether in a negative or positive light. When her daughter, Bristol, was announced pregnant during the race, the construct of Palin’s “family first” outlook was questioned by some and applauded by others. A question that arose for me was how Bristol’s pregnancy affected Palin’s already stereotypical gender roles that were being emphasized throughout the campaign.

With Colleen, epeck, and michelle:

Admissions
We are not admitting those who are both
- gender: man (-identifying)
- sex (bodies): male

We are admitting: trans*, transdudes, transwomen, genderqueer, genderfluid, cis-female, etc.

DLT training (Hall Advisors, Customs people, Dorm Presidents, Peer Mentors, Community Diversity Assistants)
-- Bring in outside people to train

Freshman orientation
-- with customs groups during customs week
-- Q-forum can still exist but there needs to be a formalized aspect.
-- safe space
-- who would lead it?

Housing for freshmen
-- housing forms
-- ability to switch rooms, availability of singles

Bathrooms
--language used when deciding who can use a residence hall bathroom

epeck: (really important note:) friends now with people who are trans, but unsure how it would feel to be housed as an incoming freshman, especially in situations like quads that have literally closer living quarters

       In late 2011, the “feminist Ryan Gosling” (FRG) meme became an overnight internet sensation.  For those who haven’t heard of him, Ryan Gosling was already a presence in Hollywood, starring in movies such as “The Notebook,” “Half Nelson,” “Lars and the Real Girl” and “Blue Valentine” among others1.  A blog2 had already been created which showed images of Gosling with captions meant to appeal to a heterosexual, female audience.  These posts always start with “Hey girl…” and go on to show how lovable and sensitive the idealized Gosling is.  Some examples are shown below.  Feminist Ryan Gosling3 follows the same formula except that the text following “Hey girl…” contains some feminist idea or theory (examples of these are also included below).  Given the multitude of content that can be found online, why did “Feminist Ryan Gosling” become so overwhelmingly popular, especially considering the lack of involvement the actual Ryan Gosling had (none of the captions are quotes) and what role does the blog play in the discussion of male feminism?  Do we praise male feminists, and even those who are portrayed in some way to be feminist by outside voices, to an unreasonable degree (see rayj's post on another f

During my daily perusal of feminist blogs, I came across this on Feministing. The wives of the British and German ambassadors to the UN produced  a video calling out Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian president Bashar Assad, and encouraging her to speak out against her husband's actions in Syria. I am linking to the video instead of directly posting it  because of trigger warnings for gore, specifically injured and dead children. This video brings several conversations we have had in class to mind, including at what point are we allowed to involve ourselves in communities that are not our own (specifically white upper-class Americans in impoverished non-American communities, but I feel as though this still fits the bill) and what responsibilities does the wife of a powerful government official have to the community. 

This is an image I found on tumblr. Thought it'd be interesting to bring up in class in light of the discussion we had about trolls on the internet. It reminded me about the idea of crossing the line. Thoughts? Below is the link to the post and the blog it came from...

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2kynsx8Wt1r7ge32o1_500.jpg

http://northwesternsexweek.com/post/21214281494/as-promised-a-yes-no-maybe-sheet-has-been

so Melissa Silverstein of the blog Hollywood and Women gave actor Mark Ruffalo bonus points for criticising the male centric Academy Award nominations for Best Director:

"I would just like to say to the academy members: why don’t you grow a pair and vote for Lisa Cholodenko as well!".

Lisa Cholodenko co-wrote and singularly directed the film The Kids Are All Right which (inspired by her personal experience) depicts a lesbian couple meeting their anonymous sperm donor when their two (donor fertilized) children are high school age. The film won Best Film Comedy at the Golden Globes, and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. Though not, of course, the award for Best Director--no female director was nominated. Only three female directors have ever been nominated: Jane Campion for The Piano, Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, and Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. Bigelow won in 2009. Over 100 males have been nominated during the course of 84 ceremonies. 85 have won.

It is interesting to note that Ruffalo stated that the Academy members needed testicles--implying that only an emasculated Academy would exclude female directors. A female bodied Academy would lack the strength and guts to be radically different.

http://womenandhollywood.com/2011/01/17/hollywood-feminist-of-the-day-mark-ruffalo/