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George Chauncey focuses his attention on the male homosexual practices, cultures and identities within the Bowery fairy resorts. People that lived around the Bowery knew that all these women and fairies that made no effort to disguise themselves were really selling themselves. I find it crazy that at one point some clubs in New York would stage live sexual performances. For reason it makes me think that something like that could possibly happen in today’s world but not in 1890’s. “The lure was a live sex show that included sex between a black man and a white woman, between two women, and between a woman and a man in women’s clothes” (37). Lots of halls hired fairies as entertainers and as attractions which called for lots of attention. Fairies made just an impact that there were even in ads in the newspaper and were featured regularly. One of transvestite’s Princess Toto mentions that, “Nature had made him this way, Toto assured the young medical student, and there were many men such as he. He indicated his pride in the openness of  “my kind” at places like the Slide” (40). The Bowery resorts created an organized environment for the gay world where other men like Princess Toto could feel comfortable.  It was a place where middle-class gay men participated without necessarily everyone in the public knowing. The saloons were very popular as well mostly used for the back rooms where couples, men and fairies, and women prostitutes would have sex. These resorts and saloons provided gay men with identities and gave them an escape to a place where they can relate with others like themselves. “The clubs also strengthened the sense of kinship such men felt toward one another, which they expressed by calling themselves “sisters” (43).

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Katz’s article talks about the terms “heterosexual” and “homosexual” and how they were defined back when they were first introduced. They were defined as two kinds of sexual perversions as well as a way to historically categorize the relationships of the sexes. “Even as we labor to histories sexuality and gender, many historians continue to assume that, whatever a behavior was called in its own time, we now know its real name and character: That behavior was really homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual” (178). Katz argues that heterosexuality like homosexuality has a various past it is not timeless or biological. He also mentions that gender is always being reconstructed. 

Within Chong-suk Han’s article he makes emphasis of the problems within the gay community and issues of race and racism. Han mentions this term whitewash, that allows the gay American community the possibility to be proud of what they are. He also claims that gay men are usually associated with being white therefore not having enough representation for the gay men of color. He argues that, “Whiteness takes center stage and it becomes synonymous with gay where gay comes to mean white and white comes to mean gay” (386). Han means to focus his article on the ways that white gay men participate in making gay men of color insignificant. Asian gay men and black gay men feel invisible within the gay community because gay men are only seen as white middle class men. What I find interesting is that even though these men that do not fit the norm of gay men they are seen as exotic in a different sense. They are  only seen as desirable as you look at them outside of the gay community. He mentions that, “Latino men, like other men of color, also fall into two categories within the gay community. Either they are invisible or exist only as props for white male consumption” (388). I like that white men can CHOOSE when they want to be objectified yet on the other hand men of color do not have that option. They are seen as sexual objects much like women are seen to heterosexual men. How interesting! 

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“This image is real for anybody who has been in the bottom spot where they’ve been rejected by everybody and loved by nobody” - Riggs.

Men dressing as women is seen as going from having power to being powerless. Men are perceived a certain way within society which differs for women. It is interesting the point the author makes of comedians using drag in order to make fun of women. To choose to appear as female it is expected to be an act of ridicule towards women. The black men that appeared on television in drag simply helped sustain sexism and racism (146). Within the movie the author mentions that these black gay men desire the vision of femininity and most importantly the aspect of being white. (white women) By black men ridiculing black women and women in general demonstrates how they are participating within white patriarchy. “The whiteness celebrated in Paris is Burning is not just any old brand of whiteness but rather that brutal imperial ruling-class capitalist patriarchal whiteness that presents itself---its way of life--as the only meaningful life there is” (149).  The movie demonstrates how these men praise whiteness and see it as the only type of living acceptable since they are black and gay. I agree with the author and her friend about viewing most of the scenes throughout the film as sad and tragic instead of how the white people who were entertained. I guess it comes down to how you think and view things I can see how some of the scenes may have entertained white people but the thing is that they are not thinking about everything else that is going on in these black gay men’s lives. How they are struggling to live day to day, how they barely have anything to eat, how they have to keep their way of live a secret. There is so much pain and hardship behind all of individuals in the film. 

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Ethnomethodology - a method of sociological analysis that examines how individuals use everyday conversation and gestures to construct a common-sense view of the world. 

Invariant - never changing. 

I love how the very first belief about gender is "there are two and only two genders" when that has clearly changed in nowadays. The third belief that "genitals are the essential sign of gender" can be true but we have learned that gender is socially constructed. Therefore if you were born a male but decide that you are more comfortable as a female you can act upon that gender and be perceived as that. According to Virginia Prince she believed that, "genital surgery would not change a person's sex, and therefore the status of "transsexual" is an impossibility" (479). She believed that the term transgender should be used instead of transsexual. As time went by there was evidence of an explosion of research involving transgender. The author makes a good point about trans--crossing (gender) and moving beyond (gender) both meanings "reflect a social construction perspective on gender, unlike the essentialist perspective implied by changing (gender)" (481). 

Gender: self-expression, not anatomy. 

Feinberg emphasis the point that people that do not seem to fit into society's views receive harsh social penalties. Within the article we get various examples of transgender people throughout time for example in gay american indians the berdache, the Egyptians and Greek gods. The example of the emperor Elagabalus, where he dressed in drag in public, had sex with both sexes and announced that one of his male lovers was his husband caused great commotion. He was assassinated and then his body was dragged through the streets of Rome. I completely understand that not everybody will understand how different others can be but to commit such cruel acts seem so inhuman. I know these were different times but just considering how people that are different still get treated so horribly makes me wonder if things will ever change. 

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anomalous - deviating from what is a standard, normal or expected. 

I find it interesting that feminists had to demonstrate that women participated in the making of history. It is as if historians believe that women had to role within the changes that have occurred throughout time. Disability played an important role within minority groups. The author says, “The most common disability argument for slavery was simple that African Americans lacked sufficient intelligence to participate or compete on an equal basis in society with white Americans” (37). Most of the reasons for this thinking were due to physical causes like diseases. There were two diseases that African Americans were subject to one being a condition that causes slaves to run away and the other that caused them to avoid work. I find it crazy to read that white Americans actually believed in these two mental illnesses. The only way that might lower a white person’s scale of life was disability. It is really disturbing to read how a caucasian woman is described in contrast to the way a black woman is described, the black woman is described to have animal features. Benjamin Rush had explained that, “the skin color of Africans was due to their suffering from congenital leprosy, black skin itself has been treated as anomalous, a defect and a disfigurement, something akin to an all-body birthmark and often a sign of sin or degeneracy” (40). People really did not understand that not everyone was the same as soon as they saw someone was a little different they quickly assumed it was for the worst. The ad mentioned about an African American boy cleaning himself with soap in order to alter his “unfortunate” skin color really creates a disturbing image. Women’s social position was seen as a medical problem that needed care. A good point that is made was that women were not disabled but were made disabled by inequality. 

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The Boundaries of Sex, Style and Status

I'm not going to lie this article was a confusing and dragged! I tried to read it about 3 times in order to understand what the hell was going on in the article. All I got was that it had to do with Abstinence, Christianity and Goths. “Although teens do seem to have retreated from sexual intercourse in the '90s, among young adults mixed cultural messages about sex are more likely to result in sexual contradictions than in abstinence” (118). Teens result in making their own decisions whether to have sex or remain abstinent. It is easier for teens and young adults to have sex then to stick to their virginity. Race also plays a role within abstinence because it is believed that, "black girls are seen as "always and already sexually opportunistic" and that white youth specifically girls should keep their innocence. (120).  In the article it is also mentioned that since Unity men do not prove their masculinity like other men do.. having sex they have to prove their heterosexuality in other ways. They talk about temptation and they turn abstinence into an act of self control. Christians believe that, "sex is a universal, ongoing temptation that must be constantly managed" (129). What I did find interesting was that it is difficult struggle for both Christian men and women to deal with their temptation. Men have to deal with the struggle of sexual temptation and women with the desire of romantic intimacy. I do like that the Christian men see sex as an important act that should be shared only once you're married and with the right person. For example, Jon is worried about STDs and getting a girl pregnant, he also mentions that he is not ready to have a family  (131). I like that he is worried about the possible consequences that come with having sex that many people don't automatically consider. In the women's case they had trouble with their desires and their identity within the Unity Christian. 

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Quintessence - the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

ad hoc - formed or arranged 

Coltrane focuses his article on how parents construct gender behavior through the division of labor. Throughout the article we get insight to the conditions of shared parenting and the responsibilities each parent has. One father said, “She would nurse them but I would bring them back to bed afterward and change them if necessary, and get them back to sleep… I really initiated those other kinds of care aspects so that I could be involved” (205). We see that both parents share the duties of caring for their children equally. Most of the families that were interviewed expressed that both father and mother shared the roles. They both did the same duties and contributed to raising their children. Most fathers talked about their interest in being a part of their children’s lives by doing ‘motherly duties’ like waking up in the middle of night to attend their babies. Some families talked about their flexibility around the house so whoever was able to do a task first would do it and then the other person would help doing other things. Coltrane mentions, “Nevertheless, almost all parents indicated that no one should be forced to perform a specific task because they were a man or a woman. This implicit equity ideal was evidenced by mothers and fathers using time availability, rather than gender, to assign most household tasks” (208). I think it’s important to realize that home duties and parenting should not be something that is gendered it should be a mutual caring and duty. Many of the couples mentioned that their divisions of labor were fair. The mention of increased sensitivity for the fathers occurred through childrearing, they started to adopt motives and feelings similar to the mothers’. One of the fathers mentioned, "It's at that moment that I'm maybe closest to understanding what my mother and other women of my mother's generation, and other women now, have felt about being housewives and being at home, being themselves. I think I emotionally understand the satisfaction and the gratification of being a homemaker" (214). I like that after being a father that takes care of his home he began to understand women's duties throughout many generations. He understood that being a homemaker is not a easy task and should be respected.  

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The fatherhood responsibility movement has a concern in wanting to remove the barriers in father involvement within the child support system. Gavanas mentions that parenting has been changed to be seen as a role of motherhood therefore, taking away the importance of the father figure within a family. Men then have to masculinize their roles of fatherhood through sports, religions and other manly activities because their roles has been feminized. Within the seventeenth and eighteenth century the men were primarily in charge of domesticity and family involvement it was only later that it was associated with femininity. Women shifted the gendered division of labor and became a symbolize for home.  A man spending too much time within his home would cause others to question his masculinity. Which is why men felt like they had to take charge and demonstrate their masculinity within fatherhood. I found really interesting the topic of ‘Mr. Mom’ because I would have never thought of men being insulted by a simple term like that one. I now understand that of course a man would be insulted and ridiculed to be called as such. It is reducing their role as male figure being in charge of his home and children. It is very important to see and understand that what mothers and fathers do are both equally important even though what they do is different. As Harry mentions, “A lot of people say there’s nothing wrong with a guy being a father as long as he does it the way mothers do it” (253). We need to stop putting gender in everything we do and start to realize that both genders are equal and can both do things to their full potential just in different ways. A man that takes responsibility of things around the house should not be ridiculed or have his masculinity be questioned on the other hand it would be respected and supported.  

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"Faggots represent a penetrated masculinity in which "to be penetrated is to abdicate power." Pascoe mentions in her article that there is a relationship between homophobia and masculinity. Little boys tend to tease each other and call each other names which comes along with homophobia. It is as if they are taught as kids that you need to act with aggression in order to demonstrate that you are not gay, a fag. On the other hand little girls do not harass each other they are not taught that they need to act a certain way in order to demonstrate their sexuality. I found it interesting how racism seem to be a connection with homophobia. There seems to be some sort of double standard for white boys and african american boys when it comes to being seen as a fag. Pascoe mentions that, "Negro fagotry seems to be a rite passage among contemporary black male rappers and filmmakers" (71). When you really listen to some of the music nowadays you can hear how rappers talk bad about one another as well as degrade them and their sexuality by using homosexuality terms. During her fieldwork Pascoe interviewed many teenagers in high school about homophobia. Everyone seem to agree that calling a guy a fag is the lowest thing a guy can be called. As for girls it was being called a slut or ho even though it is not as common as fag is among guys. One of the informants Ben said that you can be called fag for anything. People use the term for any reason what so ever even if it has nothing to do with homosexuality. "To be a fag is, by definition, the opposite of masculine, whether or not the word is deployed with sexualized or non-sexualized meaning" (76). Therefore all these boys at River High are using the term in order to talk badly about something not precisely to say it is not masculine. Pascoe claims that boys use the word faggot as a joking relationship between boys. I find it interesting that the boys that act out as a fag are known not to be fags because they are performing and making fun of such a behavior.

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Welcome to the Men's Club

“Contradictions to hegemonic masculinity posed by male homosexuality, for example, are suppressed when homosexual masculinity is consistently rendered “effeminate” (121). 

Homosociality - refers specially to the nonsexual attractions held by men (or women) for members of their own sex. 

Heterosociality - refers to nonsexual attractions held by men (or women) for members of the other sex. 

Bird focuses her attention on hegemonic masculinity in terms of sociality. Heterosexual men in homosocial circles express their masculinity as detaching themselves from emotion, being competitive and viewing women as sexual objects. Gender roles and socialization help sufficiently explain how individuals conceptualize identity. Bird also mentions that males have various meanings for their gender identity. Within male homosocial interactions expressing your feelings is to demonstrate vulnerability and weakness doing otherwise is to maintain control. Competition among males establishes hierarchy and separation within a group. Objectifying women provides men with a base where superiority is maintained. When the author talks about the emotional detachment in males she mentions that it is assumed that “boys will be boys” and of course as adults “men will be men.” By being men it is of course assumed that they are “doing masculinity” meaning anything that demonstrates their masculine roles. Therefore Bird mentions that, “Being masculine, in other words, means being not-female” (125). Men need to demonstrate that they do not lack any masculinity and that they are detached from their feelings. The men within the interview barely referred to their feelings because to them it is seen as 'personal stuff' that they do not talk about. 

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Hegemonic - ruling or dominant in a political or social context.

Masculinity - possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men. 

"A fundamental element of hegemonic masculinity then is that women exist as potential sexual objects for men. Women provide heterosexual men with sexual validation, and men compete with each other for this" (3). 

I think this means that women themselves give men a sense of masculinity. They feel that they have to prove themselves in order to show they are dominant and powerful. 

I find it interesting the way Kivel opens up his article by mentioning all the things that boys are suppose to learn and do in order to be a man. 

"They are told to be aggressive, not to back down, not to make mistakes, and to take charge, have lots of sex, make lots of money, and be responsible. Most of all, they are told not to cry" (83). 

Why is it that boys are always told not to cry? Why is expressing your feelings a negative or non masculine thing to do? Boys get hurt like girls do and should be able to express those feelings without being judged. In a way boys are turned into men at a young age because they demonstrate all the qualities men are suppose to have by being aggressive, hiding their feelings, and putting each other down. The Act-Like-a-Man box ultimately limits boys and men in many ways because they have to act and portray themselves in a certain way to be able to fit it with the rest. The main thing they all have to learn is to stay in control whether it is their feelings, bodies or jobs. They cannot lose control of things because that is when they are pushed out of the box they are struggling so hard to stay in.

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"Voyager, there are no bridges, one builds them as one walks" - Gloria Anzaldúa

"We write to anyone who will listen with their ears open (even if only a crack) to the currents of change around them" (4). It is very important for the Third World women to continue to write even in cases where they know they might be ignored. They are willing to write to whoever is open to listening to them and the problems occurring all around. 

"We have come to realize that we are not alone in our struggles nor separate nor autonomous but that we--white black straight queer female male--are connected and interdependent" (6).  This quote stood out from short passage because it is a realization that is so difficult for some to see. People feel that just because somebody is homosexual they are suddenly a totally different person, but that isn't true they are still human beings dealing with lots of problems like every other person. Everybody has struggles no matter who they are we just to come to the conclusion that maybe those struggles are the ones that connect us.  

I was a bit confused throughout the whole reading but I did enjoy the bits that were in spanish. I enjoyed them mainly because in spanish most words have a greater meaning than they do in english. I understood that the bridge is a type of metaphor used to connect different people to each other to stand up for the struggles occurring. For example, black women and white women are different yet they are still going through similar problems that causes them to be restricted. Also that in order to cause a change you must take action into your own hands or else nothing will happen. The author wants us to unite and make a difference. 

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The Problem That Nas No Name

It is no surprise that women have been restricted through most of the United States history. During the middle of the twentieth century women’s only job was to be housewives and mothers which caused many to think “Is this all?” (15). Many hoped there would be more to do with their lives than being good housewives and care takers for their children. 

“Experts told them how to catch a man and keep him, how to breastfeed children and handle their toilet training, how to cope with sibling rivalry and adolescent rebellion; how to buy a dishwater, bake bread, cook gourmet snails, and build a swimming pool with their own hands; how to dress, look, and act more feminine and make marriage more exciting” (15). This whole section of the reading just reminded me on Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, basically a list of things that women have to do and learn to do in order to be a good housewife and mother. 

Women were not expected to want to improve themselves. The women that did want to be other things in life were seen as unhappy and unfeminine. In a way it was a way of controlling and dominating women by restricting them from having all these opportunities that men had.  Women were expected to devote their lives to finding a husband and bearing children. The author mentions, “A girl refused a science fellowship at Johns Hopkins to take a job in a real-estate office. All she wanted, she said, was what every other American girl wanted---to get married, have four children and live in a nice house in a suburb” (18). It is crazy to think that a woman would prefer a regular job than pursue an education and to then call being a housewife an “American dream.” So many women during this time were basically satisfied with so little in their homes they did not see things outside of their home. They were basically close minded of the possible opportunities they could obtain. I thought it was interesting that women would proudly write on the census blank occupation: housewife (18). 

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Beauvior begins her article by posing a question as to what is a woman? It is quite interesting that woman always have a sense to prove that they are women or their femininity yet it is not the same when it comes to men. You wouldn't have to ask a man if he was a man because it was obvious. It is so annoying to constantly read that women are seen as defective or an imperfect man simply because they do not have male genitals. I believe it is such an outdated opinion of women. Women have proved in many ways that they should be respected and seen as an ordinary human being throughout history. It is mentioned in the article that, "Man can think of himself without woman. She cannot think of herself without man" (4). A woman is always seen as dependent on men and that they are worthless without them. It also goes on to say that woman are called 'the sex' they are simply seen as a sexual being. The author goes on to say that there are deep similarities between Negros and the situation of women. Both are wanted to be put into their place in order to demonstrate that white men and men in general are dominant. 

"Some say that, having been created after Adam, she is evidently a secondary being: others say on the contrary that Adam was only a rough draft and that God succeed in producing the human being in perfection when He created Eve" (17). 

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The Egg and The Sperm

The article mentions the differences between men and women's reproductive systems and the language used to describe each one. Men are seen as superior due to the amount of sperm they can reproduce yet woman on the other hand are seen as inferior because they only produce one gamete per month. The author makes emphasis of the way both the egg and the sperm are depicted. She mentions that many texts illustrate women’s reproductive system in a negative light. Women are born with 1 million follicles and do not reproduce any more throughout their life yet men produce hundreds of millions of sperm each day. Which for that matter makes them seem superior. Martin claims that, "The texts celebrate sperm production because it is continuous from puberty to senescence, while they portray egg production as inferior because it is finished at birth" (488). All these texts see women as unproductive and wasteful due to them having so many eggs and having them degenerated. Yet they don’t see men in the same light as reproducing so much sperm and it is ultimately wasteful as well. The author also mentions that the egg is sometimes portrayed in an aggressive manner making emphasis that women are dangerous and can cause a threat. Basically women and their reproductive system's are never seen in the same light as men either they are wasteful or they are aggressive. We can't win. 

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"The formulation "Good penis equals male; absence of good penis equals female" - Kessler

“The aims of the policy are genuinely humanitarian, defecting the wish that people be able to “fit in” both physically and psychologically” (469). 

I completely understand that no parents want to get the news that their child is intersexed but when confronted with the fact there needs to be lots of considerations taken into place. You have to try and do what is best for your child. Which ends up with some sort of surgery being done in order for their child to be 'normal.' 

“Cultural need to maintain clear distinctions between the sexes” (472). Society cannot begin to imagine a world with more than just two sexes that is why when a baby is born demonstrating both sexes they quickly take action in order to classify them within one category. People need to stop being so close-minded about things that are going on around them. Even though homosexuality is still one of those major taboo subjects thankfully more and more people are understanding or trying to understand. The same thing should happen when thinking of the other sexes out there. They should be able to classify under their own category and not have to choose between being female or male. It is their choice. I also understand that by separating and making a category for theses other sexes will come along with lots of negativity, but people need to understand that they are human as well and they should have their rights. 

"The relevance of this new gender identity theory for rethinking cases of ambiguous genitals is that gender must be assigned as early as possible if gender identity is to develop successfully" (70). Doctors feel that in order for a child to be brought up okay they need to make a decision rather quickly on the child's sex. Having a child grow up with both sexes can lead them down a confusing road. I like the idea that if the sex of a child is unknown for parents to treat it as 'neuter' and giving them a name like "Claude" (73). Also that they should refer to the baby as "baby" instead of assigning a gender of boy or girl. The doctors feel that is not necessary to announce the sex of the baby. It all comes down to the size of the child's phallus in order to make the decision for the baby to be a boy or to become a girl. 

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Gender Stereotyping in the English Language 

Language plays an important role in society. Even within language and grammar we see that women are part of men. Why is it that we are to assume that when 'men' are mentioned it also means women? An interesting point the author makes is that, “speakers consistently use he when the referent has a high-status occupation but shift to she when the occupations have lower status” (116). Language is constantly changing so having occupations such as policeman now referred to police officer and postman is now a mail carrier it causes women to be included in important occupations. It may seem something insignificant but naming occupations more general shows a little improvement for society. It also demonstrates that women are equally as capable to have an occupation a man has. 

"When men are in human groupings, males are invariably first on the list ("men and women," "he and she," "man and wife"). This order is not accidental but was prescribed in the 16th century to honor the worthier party" (120). I feel like this mentality is so outdated in modern times things are constantly changing yet it seems that issues about women and men are stuck in a past era. In speech when things are directed for both genders men are always mentioned first and women are second. 

I will always wonder why is it that men are basically praised for having sex with many women yet women are looked down upon for doing the same. Men will always have the upper hand in society.

All forms of mentioning women have at some point been used to connote sexual immorality. Women are always being put down in one way or another. Yet on the other hand terms for men throughout history have not had the same negative connotations as women. Even more interesting is that in order to make a man weaker we refer to them using women terms. That just demonstrates how society sees women overall. 

Patriarchy, The system An It, Not He, A Them or An Us 

Patriarchy - a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through male line. Men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.

Everyone is involved in patriarchy what we do not understand or do not want to understand is that it is the way we participate in it that shapes it. We hold the control to what is involved in this kind of society. Like the author says it causes men greater difficultly to see the way they are benefitted due to women being oppressed because they then have to see themselves as the oppressors.