Gender and Sexuality Blog

[britthuff13-blog]

Presentation reflection

Overall I had a really fun time teaching the class about my topic, because I think it is a huge issue that really needs to be talked about! I was a little nervous, but I am lucky in the sense that talking in front of others doesn’t really bother me. The only thing that is intimidating was that everyone in this class is very smart and I feel the need to live up to the expectations set for me. So I gave it my best shot and prepared as much as I could for this teaching experience. 

Everyone seemed interested in the material and also really seemed to enjoy the activities I presented. The activities were my favorite part of the presentation, because they gave everyone an idea of what comprehensive sex education could look like in a school setting. I hope everyone enjoyed them and thought they were beneficial to learn and do. 

When I did my research for this topic, it wasn’t too difficult. The difficult part was connecting the lack of comprehensive sex education to the implications that the LGBTQ face because of it. Unfortunately I also had a hard time finding actual sex education curriculum that schools actually use because so few of them even have set curriculum that they use. Overall though, I think I ended up finding some great comprehensive sex education that schools could use, but this is really going to be an ongoing research for myself. With what I potentially want to do as a career, I am definitely interested in finding a way to have more comprehensive sex education in schools.

Some things I would have done differently is to either screenshot or type up the parts of the Comprehensive Sex Education Guidelines that I wanted to show the class, because I believe I appeared unorganized and maybe rambling. My objective was to show how helpful the guidelines could be for educators to use for age appropriate times to bring up certain topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Overall, I had a fun time being the teach for part of the class, and having the opportunity to talk about something that I am passionate about and that I think is truly important. I really hope that everyone enjoyed it and that if you ever have the opportunity to promote comprehensive sex education in school systems you do so! Thanks everyone for the awesome class this semester!

[britthuff13-blog]

(A)sexual Movie Event

For my outside event, I went to the (A)sexual Movie event hosted by H.O.P.E., which stands for Helping Others Promote Equality. It is an on campus organization that goal is to help those of different sexual orientations become comfortable with who they are at college and to give them a voice. The event featured the documentary (A)sexual, which focuses on the development of the asexual community that has developed over time with the help of David Jay, as well as misconceptions about asexuality. The documentary starts off by interviewing non-asexual individuals about what they think it means to be asexual and typical stereotypes that exist for those who identify as asexual. Then the documentary delved right into what asexuality is, which is a sexual orientation in which the individual has a lack of sexual attraction to any person. Many of the individuals interviewed had no knowledge about what it was, but they had many opinions or ideas about what they though it was. Some of the things that stood out to me were that many believed asexual individuals just needed to have sex with the right person to become sexual or that the reason they were asexual was because of some traumatic past. These two perceptions are probably very wide spread in the United States, because in a culture where sex literally drips from the walls, it is hard for many to understand how someone can have no sexual desire. I think it’s interesting that no matter what sexual orientation that people identify with, if it’s not heterosexual then there’s this argument that you just haven’t had sex with the right person. For instance if you’re a gay woman, then someone may argue “Well you just didn’t have sex with the right guy yet.” The other belief that a sexual trauma has made them become asexual was also something commonly misconceived, and through a study they were able to conclude that there was in fact no correlation. The biggest misconception was that asexuality was the same as celibacy, when in fact being celibate is a choice and the asexual community argues that their lack of interest is not a choice. An older women in the documentary spoke about how she tried for 20 years with over 20 partners to try and change how she felt, but no matter what she just never had a sexual attraction for her partners. The documentary then interviewed individuals who were asexual. They talked about how a lot of the time they had no support and no community to identify with, because this orientation is just beginning to become recognized. They also spoke about how they had to search for others like themselves, and to finally begin to accept who they are. David Jay started the AVEN, the first online community for asexual individuals to get information and support for their sexual orientation. Many of those interviewed spoke about how they had to use the internet to name their sexual orientation and that when David created the website, it gave them this sense of belonging and acceptance about who they were. They were able to find others like themselves and get information. The documentary went on to explain how not all those who identify as asexual were completely alike. Some of the individuals who were interviewed liked some physical contact, others absolutely none. Others were aromantic, meaning they did not have romantic attraction to others, while others were in long term committed relationships. I think that this a common misconception to many. People forget a lot of the time that sex is not the only component to a relationship, so they assume that an individual who has no sexual attraction to others would also not want to be in a relationship. But many of the individuals who identified as asexual did want long term relationships, with everything that comes with a relationship, such as marriage and children, just without the physical aspects of the relationship. There was even an asexual woman and sexual male who were in a long term relationship and actually got married on the documentary. In a lot of ways this reminded me of our class reading and presentation about BDSM, because the couple talked about how they went through what one another was comfortable with regard to physical contact and gave consent to each other. This couple had specific boundaries for physical contact so that they could both be happy, respected, and comfortable in the relationship. It was really interesting and awesome to see that this couple was able to have a healthy and happy relationship. The documentary also talked about the struggles that many individuals who identified as asexual had such as acceptance and figuring out what they wanted in relationships. In the beginning of the documentary, David had many relationships with many different people. He was in a relationship with a sexual couple who he hoped to have children with, as well as about 10 other relationships with those who identified as sexual and asexual. He believed that by having multiple boyfriends and girlfriends that he would be able to get exactly what he needed emotionally and they would too in the open relationship. By the end of the documentary though, David had completely changed his mind and was more interested in a monogamous relationship, but was still searching for the right person. As for acceptance, many of the individuals spoke about how their friends and family just really didn’t understand and couldn’t grasp that they had no sexual attraction for anyone. They often felt this from their community as well, such as during the Pride festival and parade in San Francisco where they encountered some who supported them and those who ultimately did not. Overall, I really loved this documentary because I learned a lot from it that I did not previously know, and following the documentary we had an awesome discussion with others at the event. Many of us could relate to the documentary in different ways. For instance, one of the individuals spoke about how she at times in her life had identified as asexual but then realized she was demisexual which is an identity in which someone can only form sexual attractions when they have an emotional bond. We also talked about the donut analogy, which I thought was a really great way to explain asexuality, demisexuality, and greysexuality which were new for me. I reblogged it so I hope you will all go see it and enjoy! We also talked about how ridiculous a lot of the misconceptions and stereotypes were, and how in a lot of ways the asexual community can relate to other nonheterosexual orientations, with the preconceived ideas of what sexuality is. I am really happy I went to this event, I had a great time and a rich conversation with the other people involved and I can’t wait to go to another H.O.P.E. event!

[asexualeducation]

For asexuals, sex is like… a donut. When we see a donut, we do not have the urge to eat the donut. This does not necessarily mean we hate the donut, or think the donut is disgusting– many of us even like donuts. But we never have any urge to walk over there and eat it. Demisexuals will have the urge to eat the donut only if it their absolute favorite kind of donut in the whole world, and greysexuals sometimes will have the urge to get the donut, and sometimes not. Celibates are on diets.

http://backroundradio.tumblr.com (via asexualeducation)

[brookkeeposts-blog]

Week 11 Readings

Partners as Parents

Partners as Parents by Charlene Gomes was a very informative article about the struggle gay men and women go through just to start a family, which is something heterosexuals take for granted. Having straight privilege, I was still aware of the struggles that these men and women go through however, I had no idea of the statistics and how difficult the legal system makes it for these people to adopt or conceive. This article was published in 2003, 12 years before gay marriage was legalized so yes, some information is outdated, but I really think this article captures the struggle and presents it in a way that the reader can easily understand. Thankfully same sex marriage is now legal and soon same sex parenting will be as easily as getting married.

In our country, people are still divided on these issues. While reading this article, one of my first thoughts were society is okay with single mothers struggling because the children’s father left but society can’t bare to see two men or two women raise a child. That is one thing that never made sense to me.

Before science, the only way for a couple to have a child was for a man and a woman to have sex. That works for most of the population, but over 3 million Americans are not in heterosexual relationships and that simply doesn’t work. (Gomes, pg. 413) One way that a lesbian could conceive a child would be through insemination. Although this seems like a good idea, Gomes tells us, “While insemination seems like an ideal solution, practical and legal barriers make it less so. Insemination is very expensive and results aren’t always guaranteed. Insurance rarely covers these services - at least where lesbians are concerned - and clinical infertility hasn’t been demonstrated.”(pg. 409). A woman I worked with was having trouble having a baby with her husband and she told me that her insurance covered their infertility treatments but only if they had been married for over a year and provided detailed information on how often they tried. If it is that difficult for a straight, married woman to have infertility treatments covered by insurance then it is nearly impossible for lesbians (or even single women.).

Adoption is another way same sex couples can have a child however there are also legal barriers there too. Children of a step parent can receive more benefits than children of same sex parents. (pg. 410) One thing that really drove me crazy was that if a mother remarries and her husband wants to adopt her children that is completely acceptable, but same sex couples are often subjected to numerous home visits by social workers. (pg. 410)

I cannot understand why America, and most of the world, is so against two loving parents wanting to have a child! It literally blows my mind. So I asked my grandmother, who is a struct Roman Catholic and according to her, it is basically due to religious reasons. I can understand that religion dictates this, but why does it overlap into our government and provide legal barriers for same sex parents wanting to adopt or conceive? The whole point of our country was religious freedom and that religion and government would not overlap…. yet it seems our laws are based on Christianity’s teachings.

Backlash and the Continuity

Backlash and the Continuity by Rachel Roth makes it clear that minority women in this country have the least rights when it comes to reproductive justice. I am taking a class called Reproductive Rights and Justice and this article is exactly what we talk about in that class. Minority women and women in poverty have restricted access to birth control, abortion services, healthcare, etc because of their location and position in society. I believe that society actually makes it harder for these women to gain access to reproductive rights.

Roe v Wade was the Supreme Court ruling that made it legal for a woman to obtain an abortion within the first twenty or so weeks of her pregnancy. However, healthcare rarely covers this cost and this procedure is rather expensive. If a woman manages to get the $600 (or so) for an abortion, then she must have transportation to a clinic.

Multiple states have passed laws that restrict women access to abortions. For example, In some states clinics are hundreds of miles apart from each other.  For example a state can make laws such as having a twenty four hour consultation before the procedure. (Roth pg. 346) Now the woman has to a make two trips to the clinic, take two days (most likely unpaid) off from work or drive there and back twice to obtain a procedure that is legal.

Yes birth control is now free. But if a woman wants birth control she has to go to a doctor to get it prescribed since it is a medication. That means she must have heath insurance. Many women in poverty do not have jobs with benefits meaning a simply doctors appointment could cost upward of $100.

[julesblog-93-deactivated2016050]

It’s ridiculous how the government allows religion to dictate what they feel is morally right/wrong when we are supposed to have separation of church and state. I will never understand why people make it seem like gay couples have some contagious disease and by them adopting it means the child will become gay; because that is such a horrible thing to happen right? No! It’s really sad. Like you mentioned, step parents can adopt their step child no questions asked, but two men or women who love each other want to start a family and it starts a whole uproar of protocols and questioning. They make these couples fight harder and longer for rights that should be given to them automatically like every other heterosexual couple. I respect people’s religious beliefs, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. What I mean by that is the government cannot let their own religious beliefs dictate these decisions. It reminds me of the pharmacists who would not sell birth control or Plan B to girls because it was against their religious beliefs, certain jobs like that need to have a policy where they need to put their personal beliefs aside and give people what they have the right to obtain.

[britthuff13-blog]

I also have many times struggled with the idea that people are so against someone wanting to be a parents! They want to have a child, to love, and raise as their own. That is such an amazing thing, and instead many people twist it into something awful. And I also agree that in the U.S. there is very little separation between Christianity and the government. There are people in my family, like yours, who are christian and will even not vote for politicians unless they are also Christian. It really sucks, because this can give people of faith a really bad name. I consider myself spiritual, I went to a baptist church until I was about 18. Now I don’t really associate with any organized religion because I refuse to be apart of something that openly discriminates. Its so difficult to wrap my head around all of it!

[julesblog-93-deactivated2016050]

Obvious Child Movie Response

When I started viewing this movie I was on the fence about if I was going to like it or not, but as I continued to watch it I ended up liking it a lot! I personally had never even heard of this movie but when I looked it up I could see that it not only went along with what we talk about in class, but it also reminded me of topics we discuss in my reproductive rights and justice class. This movie is about a Jewish comedian named Donna who goes through a tough time when her boyfriend not only breaks up with her after one of her performances, but also informs her he has been sleeping with one of her good friends. Right away I felt this movie was relatable because watching Donna go through this breakup and dealing with all of her pain and different emotions is something anyone who has been through a tough breakup can understand. I also noticed how she always bashed her friend, Kate, or blamed Kate for their breakup when, even her friend mentions, she did not trick Donna’s boyfriend into sleeping with her; they both knew what they were doing therefore they should both be held accountable for this action. I feel in some situations, at least from what I have witnessed first hand with friends, some girls are quick to blame and bash the girl their significant other is messing around with but in reality they should both be held accountable. If anything maybe the significant other should be held more accountable since they are aware they are in a relationship and sometimes the other person does not know.

           Donna ends up meeting a guy named Max after one of her failed shows, they end up talking at the bar and then they end up having sex. Weeks later Donna realizes she is pregnant and decides to get an abortion. For most of the time leading to the appointment, on Valentine’s day, she is contemplating whether or not to tell Max. One of her friends had also gotten an abortion and tells Donna that she does not need to tell Max because she does not owe him anything and this world is patriarchal enough. While that is true, I was getting frustrated while watching the movie because Donna had so many opportunities to tell him but kept pushing him away. I could tell he was a nice guy and I had a good feeling he would be supportive so I kept yelling to my television “just tell him already”! During one of her acts she tells the crowd how she is pregnant and has decided to get an abortion, she does this knowing Max is in the crowd. He ends up leaving and I was instantly devastated but also had hope thinking he probably was just overwhelmed, and his first time hearing about this is during a comedy act. The day Donna is going for her abortion Max shows up with flowers and asks to go to the clinic with her, I was instantly in awh at this moment because it just showed his maturity and how supportive he was of this decision. After the procedure he stays with her to help take care of her and they watch “Gone With the Wind”, even though Donna mentions it is a long movie Max replies with how they have time. Even though the movie does not say if they end up together or not, I really respected Max as a character because of how he treated Donna before knowing about the pregnancy and after the abortion. After they slept together he kept showing up where she was because he wanted to take her out on a proper date, and after the procedure he stayed by her side to comfort her. It just shows that not all guys act like assholes in this situation and either ignore the girl or do not show up to support them financially or emotionally.

           I enjoyed this movie and thought it did a good job at depicting something that happens to women more frequently than it is discussed, unwanted pregnancies. It goes over how she decides to get the procedure, how the price is a stressful burden, and how sometimes the guy will be there to support this decision. I kept thinking back to my reproductive rights class because our main discussions do revolve around abortion, so to see a positive outcome from this procedure was a nice feeling, even though that is not always the case for other women.

[madysonrae712]

I really enjoyed the movie, although I was a little uncomfortable watching the scene where she talks about her abortion in her comedy show. It was nice seeing how positive she was being about such a difficult decision but it just seems like such a serious topic to be used for comedy. Other than that, I really enjoyed seeing how much support she had from her friends, her mother, and even Max.

[britthuff13-blog]

I totally agree, I loved how this movie showed how this happens more frequently than is ever talked about and that it brought it up in a positive light. I think that when women have to get an abortion, it becomes a secret or skeleton in their closet. I think that if more women were able to talk about it, they would deal with it in a more positive way and help a lot of women. I also thought it was great that she told max, but I think a lot of girls are not as lucky to have a supportive partner. 

[britthuff13-blog]

Readings and Obvious Child

This week’s readings were very interesting and definitely produced many different emotions from me. Partners as Parents discussed the many legal barriers and unfounded beliefs that many same sex partners face when trying to start their family or raise their child. Something that really stood out to me was the belief that gay parents raising a child would result in a child who would be gay later in life. First off, this implies that being gay is a problem for the child’s welfare. WOW. I have heard this before and it still makes me so mad. Becoming gay is not a death sentence or a disability. There are many awful things that a child can grow up being, and liking the same sex is not one of them. The article also show evidence that this is completely untrue, and yet people still argue this. Another issue that stood out to me was the difficulties that these parents had legally adopting their child. I had never really thought about how this could effect a child receiving the parent’s benefits or that heterosexual parents were given priority for adoption and foster homes. Its ludicrous to me, because all that should matter is that these partners want to be parents. As long as they have the ability to provide support, love, and a safe home then they should not struggle to have a family.

The second reading was Backlash and Continuity, which discussed the topic of abortion and its progression of legality issues that have happened over the last 50 years. Before Roe vs Wade, abortions were illegal and many women had to get “back-alley” abortions, which left women in extremely dangerous situations. Since then there have been many different law changes with restrictions on when and how a women can receive an abortion. The amount of hoops women have to jump through to get an abortion is crude and unfair. While I agree that women need to make informed decisions about what they are doing, getting permission from parents or spouse and long waiting periods are completely restricting a women’s right to make decisions about her own body. Another thing that was brought up was a type of birth control called Norplant, which was a 5 year long hormonal contraceptive that was placed under the skin. What could have been a great way for women who didn’t want children to have a new form of birth control, was quickly turned into a way to control women’s bodies. Legislation came out that proposed having the contraceptive be a condition of parole for women who had been convicted of child abuse or drug possession and pushes to have women on welfare use this contraceptive. Yet there was no legislation that put the same constraints on men. It is incredible to me the length that people will go to control and restrict a women’s right to her own body.

I really liked the movie Obvious Child. It was a really great view from what many women go through every day when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. I love that the character Donna talked about what she was going through with her friends and family, and even at the comedy show. I think for many women they don’t have people to talk to about it, even though it is really something that needs to be talked about. I really appreciate that Max went with Donna to get appointment and supported her through it. While it is very sweet and sentimental, I unfortunately know that many women do not receive support from their partners. I hope that this can be a model for men to act when women are in this position. It may even allow women to be more open to their partners if they believe that they can be supportive through it. Overall, the movie was good, and I hope that it can help people to open up and talk more about abortion in a positive light.

[britthuff13-blog]

Themes and Patterns in Porn

For many, porn was their introduction course to sex. They learned how to have sex, what kinds of sex are normal, and how to be good at having sex or being sexy. That being said, the most popular pornography sites had very similar themes and patterns that may help people build up what they believe sex should look like. Based off looking at popular porn sites, such as pornhub, youporn, and other popular porn websites I noticed some very prominent themes and patterns.

1. How the bodies looked

Almost every single woman in the videos were completely bare of bodily hair, and most men. Almost none of the people featured were overweight.Men are usually circumcised and are usually well endowed.No one in the videos had any deformities or were disabled in anyway, and almost all of them were young.

These themes can give someone the wrong impression about what is sexy or who people who enjoy sex may look. If they feel like they don’t fit into the image they may have negative feelings about sex and themselves.

2. Whose on top/bottom

Almost every single time the man was on top and women was submissive. Men controlled exactly what happened during sex, almost every single move.

This can cause women to think that they have no say or that their job is to only focus on their partner’s satisfaction during sex.

3. What was featured on main page/ads

Gay sex between men was not featured on main page at any of the sites I looked at. Almost all featured porn was with white porn stars with a male and female or two females. 

This can also give the impression that only heterosexual sex between white partners or sex between two women is accepted, while other sexual preferences are hidden away.

4. The actual sex

Mostly fast paced, penetrative intercourse, with almost no romantic/loving sex. Almost absolutely no kissing. Women were in degrading positions a lot of the time, and when the men spoke to the women it was often to degrade them further. 

This can cause people to have unrealistic expectations about what kind of sex they like, and may cause people to not view sex as a loving or spiritual act that many people do experience. It also may have women under the impression that these degrading positions and words are completely normal and okay in any situation. 

There were many other themes and patterns present, but the main issue with these websites is they primarily represent one kind of porn. This can lead people to believe that anything that deviates from this sex is different. For instance if there was a porn video with a heavy set women or an older person or even anyone who wasn’t white, it was portrayed as a fetish. I feel like this kind of belief about who sex involves can make some people feel like it is not normal or ideal. It also gives the impression that for the most part, sex is for the male to enjoy and for the female to just be a part of. This I believe can cause many women to not even enjoy sex, because the whole experience is based off getting the man off.

I am not saying that all porn is like this, only that the ones represented in the ads and on main webpage featured these things. If you search, you most definitely can find porn that is different than these things. But the point is that you have to look for it, it doesn’t just appear on the main page. And if people never look elsewhere, they may believe that this is the only representation of what sex is.

[britthuff13-blog]

Tomboy

This movie brought out a lot of different emotions for me. I think it was pretty heart breaking at moments, and at some points I think made points that weren’t really helpful, and at others was really great. It really showed the lengths that children and people will go to try to remain true to themselves, and how terrifying it can be for the world to find out your secret.

The beginning of the film starts with what appears to be a young boy who has just moved into a new home and neighborhood. Mikael meets some local children, including Lisa, and begins to have a friendship with them. We then find out that Mikael is really Laure, and is a young girl. Mikael keeps it a secret that she has told all the neighborhood children from her parents, until her younger sister finds out. When out playing with the children, Mikael watches the boys and starts to imitate some of their behaviors like not wearing a shirt and spitting. He develops a close relationship with Lisa, what I would call a crush and they kiss. As the end of summer approaches, Mikael’s mother finds out that her daughter has being telling everyone she is a boy. She yells and is angry with Mikael, makes him put on a dress and go to his friends house, including Lisa’s, to tell them that he is actually a girl. After that Mikael runs into his neighborhood friends who make him prove that he is really a girl. Mikael then avoids all the kids in the neighborhood, until Lisa reaches out to him. It seems that their friendship may still stand.

Some moments of this film that really broke my heart were the scenes with the mom and when the kids made Mikael prove who he was. I hated the reaction that the mother had to Mikael, and hate that this is a more common reality for more kids then not. Rather than seeing and accepting that her child was more comfortable and happy being a boy, she tried to force Mikael to be a girl. She even called it “pretending”. This is of my opinion, as I did not write this movie, but I don’t think that Mikael was pretending at all. I think that he truly identified as a male, and that’s why he did what he did because it was most natural to him. Even Mikael’s sister Jeanne easily accepted that her brother was a boy. Mikael’s mom does not understand that forcing her daughter to wear a dress will not make her into a girl , and that she obviously feels so uncomfortable in it. The part with the children making Mikael prove his biological sense was also heart breaking, because I think for Mikael it was the exposure of his secret that he didn’t want any of them to find out. It was also crude and so invasive to have to prove that in this way. I think that if Mikael had his way, we would have kept being Mikael because that was who he felt like he truly was.

I did think that it was awesome to see this from a child’s perspective, and gives people the realization that this is something that happens to many as children. I wish that the film would have went the direction of the parents accepting who Mikael was, and letting him be who he wanted to be. I think the film could reinforce for some the belief that for children this is just a phase or just an act, when in reality children are usually depressed and hurt when they are forced to perform a gender they do not align with. I guess I have really mixed feelings about this movie, but I am really happy I got to watch it! What are your feelings about it?

[helen-south]

Performance of a Lifetime: Doing Gender.

It is clear that from the very beginning of our journey through life, we are already placed in categories. We are obsessed with placing identities in term of different categories. Male or female, masculine or feminine, heterosexual or homosexual—so many options to define who we are, what we are, and what we do. This is so clearly evident in our everyday lives, but until it is pointed out to us, we are naïve of what is right in front of us. For our readings this week, we look into what it means when we perform gender (“doing gender”) and at just how early on we are pushed into categories without much of our own choice.

The Formative Years by Beauvoir throws us back into childhood and dives right into where we first learn of gender and are categorized as different in kind not different in like. It starts off by talking about how in our early stages of life, as children we fight to be doted on and for the attention of our parents. We love the attention, the kisses, and the caresses to the point where when it stops, no matter male or female, we fight to get it back. We eventually come up with our first division amongst being a boy and girl, where the “little girls first appear as privileged beings.” (Beauvoir 270) The boys will start to get less kisses and caresses, and the girls will receive more from their mother and father. While this is occurring, the little boy will be told that “a man doesn’t asked to be kissed… a man doesn’t look at himself in mirrors… a man doesn’t cry.” (Beauvoir 270) We are first introduced to this difference at a very young age giving the boy the impression that he is “less favored than his sisters” it is because “great things are in store for him.” (Beauvoir 271) This is where the boy in formally introduced to his partner in crime: his penis.

Once the boy is introduced, he will have elders that refer to it as his “double”, often giving it its own nature and giving it this natural persona of a play thing or something to be manipulated at will. Little girls on the other hand, they do not get the same type of introduction. Instead, women will often “feel no reverence or tenderness toward her [little girls] genitals… not directing her attention toward her secret organ” (Beauvoir 272) placing the girl in a world different from the boy. The article continues on to speak about complexes in terms of little girls and wanting a penis. Penises are compared to a garden hose which defies gravity and nature in being able to direct the steady stream in any direction desired. Girls are given dolls in order to feed her want for a penis which is separate from herself yet instills this passive relationship for the dolls are being manipulated by the girl. The doll is meant to resemble the girl yet does not have control over itself but rather by those surrounding them.

Moving onto later stages of the gender binary, we look at Doing Gender by Candace West and Don Zimmerman. In this article, we look at what it means doing gender and how it helps sculpt us into our societal norms. West and Zimmerman begin with “in western societies, the accepted cultural perspective on gender views women and men as naturally and unequivocally defined categories of being with distinctive psychological and behavioral propensities that can be predicted from their reproductive functions” (West-Zimmerman 127-128) reinstating what we already know, our biological sex give us a standard of what we are to become. We have this idea that our sex defines who we are as a person and what roles we are to assume. Further in this article, we find that the term gender display, whether it is femininity or masculinity, is often a role in which we perform in order to keep the societal norm, changing depending on the social situation.

Sex is a notion that “there are ‘essential’ biological criteria that unequivocally distinguish females from males.” (West-Zimmerman 131) We do not consciously realized that we are placing meaning from how someone dresses or what type of genitals people have. “Rather, we take for granted that sex and sex category are congruent.” (West-Zimmerman 132) Sex Categorization is when we actively preserve ourselves as a categorized group of females verses males in a distinctive social way. “Garfinkel notes that in everyday life, we live in a world of two—and only two—sexes.” (West-Zimmerman 133) Gender is an accomplishment of either defining yourself as feminine or masculine; reassuring that you are, in fact, a women. With gender, we often find that we are constantly reminded of who we are in comparison to each other:  male or female.

For the rest of this article, we view doing gender as a performance just like acting on a stage. We are told the story of Agnes, a transsexual, raised a boy but adopted a female identity at 17, who finds herself overcompensating to establish herself as a female in order to avoid conflict and people with prying questions. It also discusses about sexual orientation and how we associates lesbians with females that are not feminine and gays as males that are not masculine. I feel like no matter what we do, we are in constant consideration of our body language, our posture, and obsessed with remaining in this socially acceptable behavior, reinstating ourselves in this binary gender culture. Although we can try to make conscious effort to try and break this binary, people will be constantly trying to categorize us as either masculine or feminine, for it is the most common reference.

[britthuff13-blog]

The article The Formative Years seems like a really interesting read! What really stood out to me was “...for the dolls are being manipulated by the girl. The doll is meant to resemble the girl yet does not have control over itself but rather by those surrounding them.” This stood out, because in a lot of ways, the girl does not have a lot of control over herself as well. She is also a doll that is manipulated and controlled by many factors such as her teachers, her parents, and society. It is bizarre to me to realize how little control we have as children about how we construct our ideology.

[julesblog-93-deactivated2016050]

Week 6 Reading Response:

Throughout my whole life I have only known people to identify with one of two genders, they are either male or female. Little did I know, there are numerous genders for one to identify with. Society likes to make people feel they have no other options, you pick one or the other and it’s determined at birth depending on if you are born with a penis or vagina. No one is given a choice, it’s basically predetermined. But now, people have so many options! Although society does not embrace it or make it aware to others, this news is usually found out on their own. I really enjoyed both readings for this week, the first one I will be discussing is “Becoming A Gendered Body” by Karin Martin.

           During this reading Martin discusses her study that was done to observe the behaviors of boy and girls ages 3-5 and how “pre-schools serve as places where children learn bodily discipline” (Martin, p. 27). What I found to be more interesting throughout this article is how teachers reacted to students differently based on not only their actions, but according to their gender and if they should/should not be performing these actions. For example, Martin talks about how when little boys speak out and say something that has basically nothing to do with what the teacher is asking, the teacher will still show him attention and respond to his outburst. But, if a girl were to talk out then the teacher reminds them that there is a rule about hand raising before speaking, because good girls are supposed to be quiet and composed while boys can be loud and its acceptable (Martin, p. 36). I found this statement to be very true because I remember when I was in school at a younger age I was always questioning why it is okay for boys to speak out or run around without being told to knock it off, but if I spoke out or got loud with my friends I was told to speak quietly, raise my hand, and that girls do not act out like that. It’s crazy to think that even teachers limit children’s behaviors based on their genders and hold each up to a certain standard because it is how society expects them to behave. Does anyone else remember having similar experiences to this while they were in school?

           The next reading, “Doing Gender” by Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman, intertwines with Martin’s reading because it is also about gender and how we do it based on how we are expected to. I found the case study of Agnes to be really interesting. West and Zimmerman discuss the study done on Agnes who was a transsexual raised as a boy and adopted a female identity at 17 and did sex reassignment surgery (West & Zimmerman, p. 131). The authors state that Agnes, “demonstrates how gender is created through interaction and at the same time structures interaction” (West & Zimmerman, p. 131). While Agnes may not have been able to be classified as a female based on the fact that she was born a boy, she still spoke of herself as a female even though she had a penis; which to anyone would automatically classify her as a male not a female. We base our thoughts on people’s proper gender from a biological perspective, if they have a penis they are a boy and if they have a vagina they are a girl; problem solved? Not really. It’s mindsets like this that cause others to not be open to genders outside of the binary that society has created. Agnes stated that her penis was a “mistake” and it needed to be changed in order for her to identify fully with her gender that she felt she truly was (West & Zimmerman, p. 131).

           I enjoyed the readings for this week because it went into depth how society makes it difficult for people to do gender or act how they feel is natural because someone is always around watching to correct you if you do something wrong, like teachers. I liked how I could connect to the study on preschoolers but also learn more about gender as a whole and how the stigmas that go with it affect people severely at a young age. 

[britthuff13-blog]

I also had similar experiences growing up! You were definitely not alone in that respect, and I think its something that a lot of women can relate to when it comes down to it. I also think that people only classifying people as female or male makes it hard and uncomfortable with expressing their true gender for fear of prosecution and hatred. Its sad that individuals still hide who they are and fear what happens if anyone finds out.

[britthuff13-blog]

The Codes of Gender

Wow. This film really opened up my eyes to things that I really didn’t know where present in the advertising world. Of course I knew about the hyper-sexualization of women, but there were many seemingly innocent poses that had a much deeper meaning. The beginning of the film opened up with the fact that advertising must also stick to the gender binary to target their audiences. Men are masculine and not feminine, and females are feminine and not masculine. There were many things that really stood out for me watching this film. That women must appear sexual when in strong positions, paul ma

The first thing that was incredible was the lengths that advertisement companies went to make sure their ad’s weren’t too homosexual. These advertisements basically convinced homophobic/heterosexual men into believing they were targeting them, while simultaneously targeting homosexual men. It was just crazy to me that an ad, that you think is so simple, is really so complex and thought out. 

Another thing that was interesting was the amount of women who were posed in a childlike fashion. This honestly was a bit creepy for me, and I feel like it is now going to be something I can’t unsee. It is just strange to me that these grown women were represented in such a immature, childlike manner. Also, that a lot of the time, when they were positioned that way, they were also being depicted in a sexual way. 

The other ridiculous thing is that in order for women to appear strong, we must also make sure that everyone can be rest assured that they are females and are feminine. This is so disheartening and disgusting. These women athletes or actresses must deal with their gender being questioned just because they don’t fit the gender binary expression. Because they are not weak or submissive, they must also prove that they are female and are feminine. They had to pose in sexual objectifying manners, or in submissive/childlike positions. It’s ridiculous that women like Serena Williams and Rhonda Rousey must constantly have their genders questioned, and had to compensate with overly sexualized photos.

What is truly scary is that this is completely normal. If you show some of these ads to others, most would find nothing wrong with them at first glance. When Sut Jhully spoke about talking about how to make these abnormal, we need to start talking about them. All I could think about is some of those ads, without any of the wording, on a social media site with the words “caption this”. I think then people would really realize how ridiculous these ads really are.

[britthuff13-blog]

Doing Gender and Becoming Gendered Bodies

These two articles were very interesting to read and I found them very relatable. The first article, Becoming a Gendered Body talked about experiences of children in preschool who learned their gender roles and how to express their gender through learning what was right and wrong from their teacher. I really, really related to this article, because growing up I used to get into a lot of trouble. I now see that this was not so much that my behavior was wrong, but that my behavior may have not fit how society wanted me to act as a young girl. Every report card or progress report that got sent home from me had excellent marks for my studies, but needs progress or dissatisfactory for my behavior. Mostly teachers complained that I was loud, couldn’t sit in my seat, had too much energy, and that I was too aggressive when playing.

In reality, I really think after reading this article, that they were unhappy with my gender performance, because I had traits that more aligned with the boys. I was a tomboy growing up, I really didn’t have any interest in make up or dressing up. During recess or playtime I wanted to play tag and kickball. Luckily, my parents weren’t too hard on me, and let me be who I was. To this day, my family and friends say I am still volume control challenged (haha), I am vocal about how I feel and what I think, and have a hard time sitting still. These traits are just part of who I am, but I really don’t associate them with my gender.

Going off the article some more, it is disappointing how different girls and boys are treated at even such a young age. Boys will be boys was a very common theme in all 14 of the classrooms, and it seemed like the boys had a better freedom to become themselves without too much restriction. Meanwhile girls were taught so much about how to act! Be polite, quiet, timid, pretty, nonaggressive, dress appropriately, listen, etc. It is ridiculous to restrict a girl/woman’s self so much, just to play a gender role.

The second article I read was Doing Gender, which talked about the differences between sex, sex category, gender, and gender display. For much of the article they talked about Agnes, a transgendered woman who spoke of her experience learning and becoming a woman. This was really interesting to read, because she spoke of how people take for granted that we know our roles, where as she needed to relearn everything she was taught. She spoke about how she needed to protect her gendered identity, so that it would not be discredited. Agnes went on to say that she felt like she had to be 120% feminine so that no one could discover or challenge her gender identity. It’s awful that our society feels the need and that’s its completely alright to decide who someone else is based on their conceived notions of what is or isn’t the right way to perform gender.

I am being harsh, because in the past when I was younger I do remember being confused by some individual’s gender expression. The story about the salesperson who the customer could not deduce whether they were male or female was relatable because I have been this person in the past, and admittedly being to curious because I could not figure it out on my own. Granted for myself it was really only ever curiosity, but I still wanted to put people into the male or female category. I think that these classes have really helped me move away from that, because in reality it really doesn’t fucking matter. (sorry if I wasn’t supposed to swear) The way a person performs or expresses their gender is completely up to them and should be based on what makes them feel their best and most comfortable. Our society as a WHOLE needs to stop stereotyping and categorizing everyone into these neat, square boxes. We have been taught that everyone is different, but we have not been taught that this is okay.

[helen-south]

Taboo: Transgender

This documentary was very eye opening to me. I found it interesting to see the many different cultures and what there perspectives were when it comes to being a transgender, or a part of a third gender. 

I was very inspired with Nong Tum’s story and how she was accepted in Thailand when it was normally considered good karma to have had a boy; but when your son wants to be a girl, in the Buddhist religion, that forgoes the karma. I think her fame from fighting when she was a man clearly helped, but even her mother was in complete support of her decision and loves her all the more for it. One thing that spoke to me that Nong Tum said was this, “I never regretted my sex change operation… it’s a tradeoff, because before I had a mind of a woman but I had the body of a man, but now it’s in harmony, my mind and my body are the same.” It’s inspiring to know that she feels harmonious in her own skin. More often than not, people aren’t comfortable in their skin. So who are we to deny someone this basic need which we all are striving to find.

Another group I found interesting was in Samoa, with three genders: male, female, and Fafafine. The families actually encourage one of their males to become a Fafafine, “like a woman.” The traditional Samoan society, women are supposed to be quiet and demure, whereas the Fafafine are loud and oversexualized. Gender identity is hugely wired through social culture, for the Samoans the roles you take on directly affect your gender; act like a woman and you are considered a woman, act like a man and you are considered a man. This is why when the Fafafine perform sexual acts with heterosexual men, they are not considered gay, despite having the genitals of men. Because they are seen as women, their relations with other heterosexual men are seen as a heterosexual relationship. By encouraging the child to live as a Fafafine, the family gains a valuable asset within the household.

I think it’s so positive to see how some societies are taking actions when it comes towards having a third gender and/or transgender. Granted much of it does still hold the cliché roles dividing man from woman. Like in Thailand, a woman cannot be a fighter, and in Samoa, the Fafafine are expected to help with household domestic tasks. I feel like we live in a time where we have this obsession to place labels on everything, whether its male or female, masculine or feminine, married, single, or divorce. Why can’t we just view people as people and not some constructed ideals?

[britthuff13-blog]

I also wish we lived in a label free, stereotype free world! I think everyone would be a lot more comfortable about who they are, how they feel, and what they are doing. I think it's actually the labels and boxes that people need to fit into which are the cause of so many to feel so uncomfortable about who they are. That's kind of why I liked that the Samoan culture accepted the fa'fafafine by how they felt on the inside and not whether they had a penis or vagina.

[helen-south]

“Lumpy Breasts” My Story

When I had just turn 18 years old, right before entering my freshman year at RIC, I informed my mom of a lump that I had originally discovered back between my sophomore and junior year in high school. The lump was like the shape of one of those rubber pop-up toys, about the size of a quarter, and it was located in my right breast.

Some history on my family and breasts… lumpy breasts run in my family. My mom has lumpy breast, my aunts have lumpy breast, and my memère has lumpy breasts. In the recent 7 years, my mom had found a lump in her breast which winded up just being fluid, which the nurse practitioner had drained. Problem solved.  

My mom explained to me that this wasn’t too unfamiliar to happen in our family and it will most-likely be fluid just like she had. She scheduled me an appointment with her OBGYN for a professional’s opinion. After examining my breasts, finding another close to the original, she decided to send me to have an ultra sound to see whether the lumps were a build-up of tissue or if it was just fluid. After a couple of weeks, I found myself at Rhode Island Hospital, waiting to be called into my ultra-sound with my mom.

During the ultra-sound, the technician informed me that these were common. She informed my mom and I that they normally are just fluid but in the case that it is not, does not mean it is cancerous. After about 15 minutes of having the cold jelly and the transducer maneuvered around both breasts, focusing on the two lumps, the technician went in the other room to meet with the doctor. No longer than 10 minutes go by, when the doctor joined us in the room. He informed my mom and myself that the lumps did appear to be a benign solid mass, although because of its shape and size, he recommended it to be removed. Of course my mom cried, which made me concern, despite all the efforts into ensuring that everything would be fine.

Between the end of September—early October, I went into Rhode Island Hospital to have the lump removed and further tested. The lumps winded up being a fibroadenomas, which is a tumor formed of mixed fibrous and glandular tissue, typically occurring as a benign growth in the breast. My lumps were in-fact benign. Funny thing with fibroadenomas, they can be found in not one but both breasts or even appearing in the other over time. Since my surgery, my doctors have found them in my left breast and have recommended to go semi-annually to have ultra-sounds on both breast keeping an eye on the lumps to make sure that they stay benign.

Obviously my story is not as scary as Dorian’s experience but I think that she is very courageous in sharing her story to bring to light to this matter. We should not be afraid to touch our bodies and learn more about ourselves. The better we know ourselves and our bodies, the more likely we are to find abnormalities that may or may not be serious/life-threatening. We should be encouraged to ask questions, speak up, and learn the proper way to check ourselves for abnormalities with our bodies, whether that be in breasts, testes, lymph nodes, moles, skin, etc. We shouldn’t be afraid to touch ourselves. Touching ourselves is a natural, good thing.

[julesblog-93-deactivated2016050]

I found your story to be inspiring, you are just as courageous as Dorian! I also agree that we as women need to touch ourselves more, explore our bodies, and ask questions when we have any concern. I myself am guilty of not asking any questions about self exams out of embarassment and thinking that the doctor will think I’m uneducated for not knowing how to do this to my own body. After hearing Dorian’s story, as well as your response and other classmates, I am going to start speaking up and asking questions because it is clearly worth it and nothing to be ashamed of.

[britthuff13-blog]

I think it is so amazing of you to share such a personal story! It's incredible how scary something like that can be, but you seem to have such an amazingly positive outlook on it! I also liked your point about how women need to get to know their bodies. This is especially important if we need to realize that something is wrong and we can be able to explain it! Thank you again for sharing!

[brookkeeposts-blog]

Dorian’s Story

Any type of cancer (or sickness) is a life shattering - however, breast cancer is particularly devastating for a woman. Perhaps because it is so common and effects millions of women each year, or because it is cancer of one of women’s most sacred body parts. One of the easiest treatments is a mastectomy, which is removing one or both breasts. As easy as that sounds, breasts are an important part of a woman. By losing your breasts to cancer or to prevent cancer, means if you have a child, or plan on having a child you are no longer able to breastfeed. Personally, I plan on breastfeeding my future children and I would be devastated if I no longer had that opportunity. As a feminist, I am sickened how society sexualizes breasts. They are often seen as sexy. Yes, they can absolutely be sexy – they can enhance an outfit or provide pleasure when the nipple is aroused. However, society often views breasts form a different lens than a feminist one.  If a woman wears a low cut shirt, then the women is either objectified, or she is criticized for dressing too revealing. End rant.


Dorian’s Story, by Dorian Solot, is a short informative article about a young woman’s account of breast cancer. She had no idea she had cancer - all she felt was lump. After being diagnosed, Dorian’s life changes dramatically – it now revolves around doctors’ visits, chemotherapy, and constant crying and worrying just like the millions of other women who have had breast cancer. She tells the reader three important lessons that she learned from this experience. First, she tells readers, not every lump is cancer. It is important to be aware of changes in your body, but it is unhealthy to obsess over every new small bump. “Don’t obsess about every random ridge and lump, but do pay attention if something feels really weird and different from anything else in there.” (Solot pg. 64) She also says, on page 65, that cancer is often found by accident. Women touch their bodies and realize something is not quite right. Solot references that our culture has such a negative body image that we are often shamed for touching ourselves (sexually and non). By touching yourself, you are getting to know your body and you are more likely to realize when something is wrong.

The two points she references above are very important. However, I think that her second point is the most important – On page 64, Solot talks about how a woman should use doctors and hospital visits as a source of information. In a world where we always assume doctors know what is best for us (and they often do), we should use that information and learn so we can be more educated. In her statement, she is referring to breast cancer and BSE exams, however that can crossover to any doctors and/or treatment visits. Having factual information and understanding your condition exactly can only benefit you in the future.

[truisrns]

The sexualization of breasts is definitely a major concern in our society, and it is especially ridiculous to see how breasts are even sexualized in breast cancer organizations! Campaigns like “Save the ta-tas” or “I Love Boobies” seem to place emphasis on breasts over women’s lives, which can be especially harmful to survivors who have lost their breasts or have disfiguring scars on this part of their body. The reality of the situation is that many women with breast cancer must lose one or both of their breasts in order to save their lives, and these women shouldn’t be valued any less because of this. Shouldn’t we be more concerned with saving the women over saving the “ta-tas”? 

[britthuff13-blog]

I also am so sickened by how much our society sexualizes female breasts! Women are shaming for breastfeeding in public, which is what they are used for in the body! I once had to take a table at my restaurant because another server was uncomfortable taking the table because she was breastfeeding her son. I took the table but I lost it on my coworkers. I could not believe that another woman was disgusted with a woman breastfeeding, but has no qualms about serving anyone else. It was awful and I really hope it is something that changes soon!

[britthuff13-blog]

Discovering a Lump

I think for a lot of us, we have all probably had a personal experience with someone we knew who has had breast cancer. For me, mine came when my mom’s best friend, who is like my aunt, was diagnose with breast cancer. We will call her Melissa. She did not do self exams on herself, and the only reason she found the out she had breast cancer was because she went and got a mammogram after Amy Robach on the today show announced she had went for her first mammogram and had discovered a lump. Her friend a couple months previously had just died from breast cancer, and she decided it was time. And sure enough, she had stage 2 breast cancer. Not a month later she was was scheduled for a double mastectomy, radiation, and chemo. She as very lucky it was found it so soon and was able to be in remission a year later. 

I think what a lot of people forget to talk about with survivors of cancer, is that their body image is usually a huge issue. Melissa had a huge issue with her body and body image after the surgery. In the month in between the mastectomy and the reconstruction surgery, she barely went out in public, and was so ashamed of how she looked, she didn’t let her husband see her breasts for a very long time. I think she was mad and angry that cancer had in her words maimed and changed her body. Even now, she is unhappy with her reconstructive surgery and body image, and she has said that it really has nothing to do with how her body looks, but how she sees her body. She is working on it, but it is definitely a huge hurtle for her. 

As for the article, I think her tips were extremely helpful! I think that a lot of women fall into these categories:

1. That they are afraid to find a lump, so they don’t look.

2. They may freak out about any lump, and become hyper scared of getting cancer.

3. They have no problem doing the breast exam.

I definitely fell into category 2, because for awhile it seemed like a lot of people I knew were getting cancer. That was until I started asking my doctor questions. I had done a self breast exam for the first time at 23 (bad), and freaked out because to me, it all felt lumpy. So after a call to my mom, I made an appointment with my OBGYN, who helped me figure out what an lump really felt like. I left the appointment confident that I could be able to give myself an effective exam, and even taught my boyfriend what to look for. This advice is great too because it promotes a women’s exploration of her body. Women should know what their breasts feel like, so that when there is a real problem, it can be found early to help save lives.

[britthuff13-blog]

Taboo: Transgender

This documentary was very interesting, but I did have some issues with it. Loren, while his story was very interesting and informing, completely fit into the binary male gender. He was into working out, motorcycles, guns, etc. I think it would have been way more interesting and maybe informative to have a transgendered individual to not fit the gender binary mold. It is easier I think for people to accept a F2M transgendered individual who fits perfectly into society’s gender mold, when this is not always the reality.

It was to hear about the transgendered communities in other countries, because I really didn’t know much about them. I especially liked Nangtune’s (I have no idea how to spell it, sorry!) story. I loved that as a during her transition she broke the gender roles by dressing and acting like a woman, but being totally bad ass and strong! I feel like everytime I see someone breaking their gender roles, I want to applaud them! I just loved that yes she transitioned from M2F, but she didn’t throw away her strength and power to fit into the female gender binary. Although she could no longer fight, she still trains and goes to the matches. It is awful though, the amount of ridicule and lack of acceptance most of the katoey go through in Thailand, even though the documentary said this is one of the most transgender dense populations. You would think that would be more acceptance, but instead they are shunned and shamed.

I also thought it was really interesting to learn about the Fa’ afafine in Samoa. It was a really awesome and interesting concept that if you act like a female in Samoa, you are considered a female, and vice versa. Also that they don’t consider themselves gay or that sex between a Fa’ afafine and a male is considered heterosexual sex. Basically, the biological anatomy didn’t matter; all that mattered was how the individual identified themselves. See America, it isn’t that hard! The only issue I had was that it sort of seemed like their identities where completely shaped by their families decision on who they were, although it does mention that today most Fa’afafine make that decision themselves, and that they had gendered job roles even for the Fa’afafine.

Overall it was interesting, but I wish that they would have included more F2M transgendered individuals from the other countries. I also wish they would have made the language more accepting, because instead of making this a none taboo subject, sometimes I felt like they were talking about transgendered individuals in a way that still made them seem different or unusual. I think that they needed to untaboo this, and instead they may have left other individuals still thinking that everyone still needs to fit into the gender binary and that trans individuals are “separate” when they should be inclusive.