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"Transgendering: Blurring the Boundaries of Gender", "Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time has Come", "Be All that You Can Be"

Some may think that there are 8 beliefs that constitute the “natural attitude” about gender and some of them are: there that only 2 genders, you have to be classified as one gender or another, and genetials are the essential sign of gender. We know that this is not true and there are many more than 2 genders. McKenna and Kessler discuss in there article “Transgendering: Blurring the Boundaries of Gender” what transgender is and how the perception of transgender has changed throughout the years. As time went on the definition of transgender has changed and the idea not only goes againt the norm but it problematizes the idea of identity.The idea of transgender challenges the “natural attitude” of gender and for this reason many people don’t accept transgendered people.  Leslie Feinberg writes a pamphlet called “Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time has Come” which talks about the historic background and rise of transgender. Many people especially in history believed that gender and sexuality coincide together but this is not true. Your gender and sexuality are two different things and they do not affect one another. For example just because a girl likes the color blue It does not make her a lesbain, and the same thing for a male if he likes the color pink it does not make him gay.  Bornstien sums up all this in the chapter “Be All That You Can be” from the book My Gender Workbook by teaching you about transgender. A person can be categorized as a transgender just by not following the pyramid, they dont have to do any drastic things. Transgender is not a crime but it is a persons way of life and it should be accepted not looked down upon.

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"Is Paris Burning"

Paris is Burning is a documentary film about black gay men who dress up as drag queens and have drag balls. This film was documented by a white women named Jennie Livingston. When the film came into theaters it was loved by majority of the people, especially white folks. I also found this film very interesting because I had no idea about the lives of these gay men and what they had to go to, to survive. I also didn’t really know what a “ball” was until I saw this film, and it was very interesting to learn about the competitions that were held and how there was so much passion behind it. Bell Hooks wrote an article that is called “Paris is Burning” but she gives a different opinion of the film. She critizes the fact that for white people it was entertaining and funny because they don’t live lives like that, but for black people it was revolting and sad because they see this everyday. She also critizes the fact that the movie did not portray well the struggle and hardships that these black gay drag queens had to go through. This I agree with because they mention here and there of the struggles but they don’t explain well what they went through, what they are going through, and eapecially the reason why extravaganza died. These are very important ideas that should have been addressed in this film.

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"Homosexual and Heterosexual: Questioning the Terms"; "They Don't Want to Cruise Your Type: Gay Men of Color and the Racial"

The article “Homosexual and Heterosexual: Questioning the Terms” by Jonathan Ned Katz is actually one of my favorite articles for this class because when I read it I was very shocked about what was written in the article. When I was growing up I learned the two terms homosexual and heterosexual and it seemed to me like one was good and one was bad. When I read this article it was like a rude awakening because it seemed like everything that I was taught as a child was wrong. This article explains that the word heterosexual used to signify a bad, immoral relation and it was defined as an abnormal or perveted appetite toward the opposite sex. Not only was the idea of homosexuality wrong but the idea of heterosexuality is also wrong and this idea was very surprising to me. The article “They Don’t Want to Cruise your Type: Gay Men of Color and the Racial Politics of Exclusion” by Chong-suk Han talks about the idea of whiteness and how it is everywhere. It is a type of power but yet people see it as natural just because it is so common and is seen everywhere. It is interesting to see that the idea of whiteness as being superior does not only exist between straight men but it also exists in the gay community. The stereotype that exists is that only white men are gay but we know that this is not true because there are many gay men that are white, black, asian, etc. We have seen that racism exists in both straight and gay people and this must be difficult to deal with if a peraon is both black and gay. Though, it has been noted that if a gay man wants to be true to themself thay have to maintain ties with their racial and ethnic communities. I agree with this statement and believe that this is true no matter if you are gay or straight, or if you are black or white.

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"Abstinence"

In the chapter “Abstinence” from the book Wannabes, Goths, and Christian: The Boundaries of Sex, Style, and Status by Wilkins, she discusses how abstinence is conneted to religion, for example Christianity,  but it is more than that. A person who decides to become abstinent not only doesn’t have sex until marriage but this is there style and way of life. The person lives there life differently because they are abstinent and many people make fun of the idea of abstinence which includemany sterotypes. For example who ever is abstinent is seen as pure, clean, and a lot of times uncool. The reason for this is today majority of the people have sex before marriage because this is the norm and people who follow abstinence are not following the norm so they are looked down upon. People who are abstinent prove 2 things that they are a true Christians and they have extreme self-discipline because they can control the desire to have sex before marriage.

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"Domesticating Masculinity and Masculinizing Domesticity in Contemporary U.S. Fatherhood Politics"

In “domesticating masculinity and masculinizing domesticity in contemporary U.S. fatherhood politics” by Anna Gavanas, she discusses how the necessity for men to be involved with their families must be reestablished. This reestablishment is so important that in the 1990s a mens movement was created called the Fatherhood Responisbility Movement (FRM) to enforce the necessity for men in families. Fathers must be able to participate in their childs lives and activities because the term fatherhood is related to males and women shouldnt take over that role. In a household there are many stereotypes that caring and spending time with the child is feminine and that the fathers job is to protect the child and be able to support the child financially. It is so uncommon for a man to stay home all day with the children that whoever did it is looked down upon as femenine and unmanly. As for the fathers who spend time with their children on occassion are praised. Fathers want to love and take care of their children just like the mothers but without being called feminine or unmanly. There are three things that help men stay true to themselves and that is heterosexuality, sport, and religion. These three categories allow men to prove that they are manly and they do this through a bonding experience with other men.

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"Household Labor and the Routine Production of Gender"

In “household labor and the routine production of gender” by Scott Coltrane, it discusses how the household routine of specific genders are different and this defines their masculinity or femininity. For example motherhood and the routine of taking care of the house and children is what womanhood is and it defines the acts of femininity.  As for men, they don’t have the same household routine as women but they to provide and protect their children which defines the acts of masculinity, protecting and controlling the household. He compares and contrasts the different roles that must be altered when a couple has a baby and how it is different for each gender.  The man works more to make extra money to provide for both his wife and child while the woman has to take off of work to take care of the baby. There are specific household routines that only a mother does or only a father does which shows inequality but their are many routines that are equally done like paying bills, picking up toys, and taking care of children. Each spouse knows there role and they abide by it beacuse their main goal is to protect and nurture their children.

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"Welcome to the men's club homosociality and the maintenance of hegemonic masculinity"; "Dude you're a fag: Adolescent masculinity and the fag discourse"

In “welcome to the men’s club homosociality and the maintenance of hegemonic masculinity” by Sharon R. Bird, she explains her study and its focus on multiple masculinity in terms of society. She starts off by picking a specific group of men and interviews them along with observations. The main focus of her interview with to receive information associated with masculinity personally and masculinity more generally. Her main goal is to see that anything related to hegemonic masculinity is maintained while things that are not related to hegemonic masculinity are suppressed. The conclusion to her study is that hegemonic masculinity is the norm and there are criterias that must be followed. Some examples are emotional detachment, competitiveness, and sexual objectification of women. In “dude you’re a fag: adolecent masculinity and the fag discourse” by C.J Pascoe, he discuss is homophobic teasing characterizes masculinity in adolescents and early adulthood. He explains that the word fag isnt only attached to a homosexual boy but it can have other meanings. We have actually discussed this topic in class and we came to the conclusion that the word fag isnt direct to a gay person. In this society many young teenagera walk around calling their friends a fag regardless if they are gay or not. The term fag is also used as a teasing word to other boys because the word fag makes them feel unmasculine and it is related to homophobia.

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"What is Hegemonic Masculinity?"; "The Act Like a Man Box"; "All men are not created equal: Asian men in the U.S history"

In “what is hegemonic masculinity?” by Mike Donaldson it discusses how “real men” should act. The term hegemony is about the winning and holding of power and the formation (and destruction) of social groups in that process. This term was created for men so they know how to act and this way was given to us by society. Homosexuality is the opposite of hegemomic masculinity because they are not following the male role and for that they are not accepted. In connection to Donaldson’s article, Paul Kivel writes an article called “the act like a man box”. This box contains all the different ways a man should act, for example tough, aggressive, competitive, and others. If the man doesnt follow the box he is abused both verbally and physically by being called gay or being pushed around. This box is shown to us by our parents, peers, and especially society. The article “all men are not created equal: Asian men in U.S. history” by Yen Le Espiritu discusses how not all men are superior and have all the power, it depends on race and culture. We see this during the pre-world war 2 period when Asian men started to do female jobs like laundry and cooking.

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"The Problem That Has No Name" and Bridge Called My Back "Introduction"

  Throughout the class every article we read always discussed or had something to do with how women are oppressed by men and all women really want is to be equal to men in society. The chapter “the problem that has no name” by Friedan from the book The Feminine Mystique starts out differently when compared to the other articles. It starts out by saying that all women want is to get married, have children, and become a housewife. The women don’t want to have good careers or be like men because that is not feminine. Women were very happy with their lives until they started to realize that something was missing but they didn’t know what, the problem had no name. When started to realize that they want more out of life besides for their husband and children. They wanted some fulfillment in their lives, not just the daily routine of being a housewife.    In the book Bridge Called My Back by Moraga and Anzaldua we learn that the term feminists can have different meanings based on your race and culture. This book discusses the concerns for third world women in the U.S and the struggle they faced as women of color

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"Woman as Other"

Simone de Beauvior starts off his article “Woman as Other” by asking a question, what is a woman? You might think this is a very straight forward question, but it is not. A woman can be defined as a person who is inferior to men, a person who carries a child, and some females don’t even want to be defined as a woman. When you think of the comparison between men and women you notice that the man is always right because he is the man and the woman is always wrong because she is a woman. This is the reason why some females don’t want to have the title “woman” because it is a degrading title when compared to a males title. Women started to be called the other sex because she is not worthy to have her own title because she is only there to please and satisfy the man. This concept of women being “the other” is wrong because in my opinion women are very valuable to this world and men need women as much (maybe more) as women needing men.

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"The Egg and the Sperm: How science has constructed a romance based on stereotypical male-female roles"

“The egg and the sperm: how sceince has constructed a romance based on stereotypical male-female roles” was written by Emily Martin and she discusses how there are geneder stereotypes within the language of biology which imply that women are less worthy than men. One stereotype is that the womens reproductive organ (egg) is weak and the men reproductive organ (sperm) is strong. This stereotype came about when they called the women’s menstrual cycle a failure when they compared it to how men can produce hundreds of millions of sperm per day. Another stereotype is how they later on called the egg a female aggressor who captures and tethers the sperm with her sticky zona. As time goes on and the world changes the female and male reproductive organs will be seen differently, either negative or positive and they will always be exposed to gender stereotyping.

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"Bowery as Haven and Spectacle"

The article “Bowery as Haven and Spectacle ” by George Chauncey talks about the Columbia Hall on the bowery at fifth street. He calls the hall “a resort for male prostitutes” and the men who worked the tables did so in the same manner as the female prostitutes. This chapter explores the idea of homosexual practices, cultures, and identities along with the idea of these men being called “fairies”. These places gave middle-class men the allowance to escape the norms and act however they please unlike the respectable way they usually act infront of their own families. This idea is called slumming, and I have never heard of this concept before, but it is an interesting concept. This is what I like about these readings, that they give you an insight about what use to be done. They intriduce terms that I have never heard of, and it is always good to learn new things about the past and the society we live in.

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"Female Chauvanist Pig"; "In which we teach you how to be a woman in any boys club"

In the chapter “Female Chauvanist Pig” by Ariel Levy she explains how women have to use their bodies to succeed but some don’t agree. A female chauvinist pig is a women who objectifies other women or themselves and acts like a “man” in this society. In the past this use to be called a “loopwhole women” which is a women who can keep up in a male dominating society. A female chauvanist pig does not want to be compared to other women instead they rather be compared to men and this doesn’t bother them. These women look down upon girly girls but they realized that men like to look at these women, so they too acknowledge and look at the women but they also wouldn’t mind to be looked at. The key reason why these females decide to act like female chauvanist pigs is because they want to fit in with the man and also get ahead in life. They to want to feel that power, and control other people. The article “In which we teach you how to be a woman in any boys club” by Molly Lambert is basically a list of different ways/rules women have to act to be in a boys club. Some of these rules include not to get jealous or compete with other women, being the best that you can be, and calling someone out if they are doing something wrong. If you follow these rules you will be accepted into the boys club because it shows that you are the best, you don’t give a crap what anyone thinks, and if someone does something wrong you will call them out on it, which shows that your not scared to say what you think and you don’t accept any bullshit. Some women like this life of being in the boys club because they are simply interested in it.

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Current Events: Hegemonic Masculinity in Super Bowl Commercials

http://www.sociologyinfocus.com/2012/02/20/hegemonic-masculinity-in-super-bowl-commercials/ Many of us watch the super bowl and we make a big thing out of it by inviting people over, making dinner, and cheering all together. One thing we do know is that football is a male dominating sport specifically because they do not have a proffessional women’s football league, and majority of the fans are male who celebrate and cheer on the collisions, tackles, and competitiveness of the game. Watching the game is the most important part of the super bowl, but we all know that the commercials is what really entertains us. The commercials that are aired during the super bowl are actually the most entertaining commercials of the year, but what many people don’t pay attention to is that these commercials display hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is the domination of masculinity over women but also over men and to maintain this masculinity you have to keep up with the standards. One very famous commercial is H&M’s super bowl ad starring soccer player, David Beckham. David Beckham is globally recognized, financially wealthy, and married to a women. The reason why they used David Beckham is for all these reasons. He portrays hegemonic masculinity by showing that to be a “real man” you must be financially stable and married to a women which confirms your heterosexuality. Another super bowl commercial was Go Daddy’s commercial of celebrity women who paint on another womans body. This commercial objectifies women and uses the woman as a sexualized prop to promote their commercial. This is connected to hegemonic masculinity because one of the three things to maintain hegemonic masculinity is the sexual objectification of women and this is exactly what this commercial is doing.

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"Patriarchy, the system: An it, not a he, a them, or an us"; "Gender Stereotyping in the English Language"

 When you hear the term patriarchy you right away think of men and how they oppress women. As you read “patriarchy, the system: an it, not a he, a them, or an us” by Allan Johnson you come to realize that patriarchy is a system and not a collection of men. Patriarchy is organized around certain relationships like the one between men and women but patriarchy can still exist without the men being dominant because they might be part of patriarchy but there is a lot more going on that you wouldn’t even be able to understand. If you tried to understnd it you would not have to examine the men but identify the cultural elements and its relation to the social life. Patriarchy is part of life and you can’t avoid being part of it.  After reading “gender stereotyping in the english language” by Laurel          Richardson it was interesting to find out that from a persons verbal language you can know there fears, prejudices, anxieties, and interests. The main point of this article is to point out that how even in the english language there is stereotyping. for instance linguistic practices define women as immature, incompetent, and incapable and males are mature, complete, and competent. As you keep reading you come across the fact that women are always put down while the men are lifted up to feel higher and more powerful. 

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"Lexicon of Debates"

The article “Lexicon of Debates” written by Kolmar and Bartkowski is trying to help  familiarize some of the keywords related to the feminists theory for you. One word that stuck out to me was global feminism. The term global feminism means that the oppression of women in one part of the world will affect women in other parts of the world and that women will not be free until the oppression is eliminated. Women understand and feel for each others struggles no matter if they are on different sides of the world.

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"Language and Silence: Making Systems of Privilege Visible"; "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"; "The Male Privilege Checklist"

Wildman and Davis wrote an article called “Making Systems of Privilege Visible”. In this article they define the word privilege and realize that everyday people are given privilege and this is why it is invisible to some of us. A person who is privileged has a right or grant that is given to them which exempts them from certain obligations. They also enjoy special rights and immunities which gives them authority over others. Everyday this “privilege” is happening and no one realizes because it is now the norm and everyone is used to it. It is not one group of people because you can have privilege based on your race, class, or gender. A person can also be privileged in one category and yet be a minority in another category. This is the funny thing about privilege.    Peggy McIntosh wrote an article called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” which elaborates and lists the different ways a white person is privileged through out everyday and they don’t even realize it. For example doing things on a daily basis that people won’t criticize or blame on the persons race.  In connection to the list that McIntosh drew up about white privilege Barry Deutsch also wrote an article called “The Male Privilege Checklist” which elaborates the different ways males are privileged when compared to women. For example men are not judged based on how they dress or why they got the job like women are.