#jg1120

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"Making the Global Local: A Year in the Global Village"

I’m in the Global Village program (and highly recommend it!) and was able to attend the final plenary in which several students who had traveled internationally through the program basically discussed their experiences and how it affected their perception of 1) global feminism, 2) their own ethnic background, 3) tolerance and diversity in America, and 4) how activists can best meet the needs of people in different countries.  

One person talked about her experience in the Dominican Republic, and how the women in the town she stayed in were at the heart of the community since they created a sustainable way of agriculture.  The women were able to do many tasks like making things and providing for their family, contrary to common stereotypes of women living in non-Western countries.   Another student talked about how traveling to a Spanish speaking country inspired her to start practicing her own Spanish.  She then asked why it was that the locals were so open to helping her when she struggled with communication in their country, while people in America are incredible unforgiving when it comes to accents and non-English speakers.  It was a very educational talk, and inspires me to go abroad to explore different cultures as well.  

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 4: Intersexion

I really learned a lot in today’s plenary through watching the film “Intersexion”. To be honest, I had never been taught about intersex people and never really hear about them, so it was very eye-opening to hear the stories of a diverse group of intersex people that ranged from empowering to tragic.  

One thing that really infuriated me was really how the medical community was complicit in this truly needless intervention in the sexuality of children. I had heard of Dr. John Money prior but thought that the David Reimer case was just one isolated tragedy. To see that so many intersex people were traumatized and had unhappy childhoods made me so mad. The children were not given a choice in their own bodies and had to suffer through undignified medical procedures and the constant violation of their bodies. Other people forced them into boxes that they didn’t necessarily fit in, and it was them who had to suffer the consequences. The parents just wanted to help their children in any way possible, but were not given adequate information on what it means to be intersex by medical professionals, thus turning them on to surgery or gender assignment. 

On the other hand, it was great to hear the stories of intersex people who did not have their genitals or gender interfered with and that many lead happy and fulfilling lives. I loved the bit at the end where some of the subjects of the documentary made it clear that they were intersex and proud. Being intersex may not be the norm in our society, but there is nothing wrong or shameful about it. 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary #2

The second plenary was awesome.  Being religious and a feminist can sometimes feel like a contradiction, given that almost every world religion is rooted in patriarchy and espouses some form of misogyny.  However, it was enlightening to learn from three woman leaders who find empowerment through their religious beliefs and listen to them share their own experiences spiritually as well as professionally.  I learned some of the many ways that a patriarchal society twisted religion in a way to justify the oppression of women.  For example, how modesty and head coverings in Islam were sometimes more cultural than religious, and how it was even meant to be empowering to women.  The advice given to educate oneself and make one’s own judgement about the true meaning of any religious text in context of its original intent and the society it was written in was very helpful to me as a Christian.  I know that many Bible verses are used out of context to justify oppression, so I will definitely do my homework and discover the meanings for myself.  

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Girls like girls like boys do

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

"Girls Like Girls” focuses on two girl friends who are clearly attracted to each other despite one of them having a boyfriend. The music video spends much of its time from the perspective of main character watching the other girl and waiting for her boyfriend to leave so they can move closer together, etc.  

Something I found interesting was that although the friend is sexualized in the video, it is all through the perspective of the main girl.  The viewer is seeing the friend through her perspective, subverting the traditional male gaze.  In addition, it isn’t the traditional sexualization of women we see in music videos, with focus on nudity and hyper-sexual dance moves.  There is one scene with the girl watching her friend dancing and there is focus on her body and movements.  However, her friend makes eye contact with her, making it clear that she is dancing for her for both of their pleasure.  What makes it even more subversive is that she is doing this while her boyfriend is off to the side hitting baseballs only a few feet away.  Much of the time, however, sexualization of the love interest lies within close-up shots lingering over her face and hair, which also emphasizes to the viewer how physical closeness is seemingly forbidden for the two friends.  

There are two instances of violence in the music video.  First, the boyfriend forces the friend to dance with him, roughly grabbing her.  Although it is very brief and the friend frees herself, it is clear that she was very uncomfortable.  The girl witnesses this happening but resignedly does nothing.  This moment of violence shows the helplessness of the girl when it comes to acting on her romantic feelings because of his presence.  The second time happens when the boyfriend catches the two girls about to kiss.  He grabs the girl and shoves her to the ground, and then begins verbally abusing his girlfriend.  This time, the girl reacts and begins beating up the boyfriend.  In this scene, violence triggers her into action and gives her agency to finally act on her pent up feelings.  The build-up is demonstrated by a montage of close moments the two friends shared, shown as she is beating him up.  Afterwards, they are finally able to kiss.

Throughout the video, the guy is always in the background or off to the side.  Even though he is technically the boyfriend, his relationship with the friend seems less substantial and meaningful than the friendship and romantic love between the two girls.  This subverts the heteronormativity that pervades our society.  The fact that the friendship between two women holds more strength than the relationship between a man and a woman is still pretty radical in a society that compels women to compete with other women for the affection of the man.  In this music video, the man is taken out of the equation and made out to be redundant to the viewer.  “Girls like girls like boys do”.  A girls relationships with a girl is just as valid as one with a boy.  

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Reaction to Kenney’s talk at Plenary

Hearing Caitlin Kenney speak about her experiences as a journalist was very insightful and eye-opening.  Listening to samples of her work and experiencing how the shorts clips were able to invoke emotions by the sound of Haitian children singing and the shy laughter of a young woman in love was such an amazing experience.  

It was great to hear about how Kenney got to where she is today.  As someone about to enter a male-dominated field, I always love hearing advice from successful women.  One thing that stood out to me was her advice to “fake” confidence, which is especially important for young women who aspire to be leaders.  Women are socialized to be silent, to toe that line between being sweet and not being a pushover, and to be assertive but not too threatening.  From what I’ve seen in the classroom and in my limited experience in the workplace, even the mediocre men seem to express their ideas more frequently and with more confidence than the most excellent women do, which is really such a shame.  Even if you may feel like an imposter, you should remember that your gender and age do not make you any less capable than the others around you.  

I also related some of what she said to one of our readings on the importance of women mentors in the workplace.  Having a supportive network, and women mentors who model behavior is so important to giving other women the “okay” to act in the same manner.  Acting confidently (even if it’s fake) and having presence will influence other women around you, and the benefits only grow from there.   

[drcknowledgeandpower]

what asian americans want you to know

Gathering into “caucuses” based on racial identities to share our experiences was a surprisingly edifying. Many of our anecdotes involved being stereotyped in some way, whether it was assuming someone would have an arranged marriage, that someone couldn’t speak English, or calling someone exotic based on their ethnicity.  I myself have been assumed to be an international student.  One of my best friends is a third generation Japanese-American, who still gets asked “where she’s from” when she’s probably been living here for maybe longer than some Caucasian people who will never get asked that question because they look “American”.

The thing, Asian people are still viewed as inherently foreign and as a result, are not as integrated into American culture except as stereotypes and cliches.  What we want the rest of America to know is that we are a diverse group of people. The word “Asian”, which is used liberally to describe anyone “oriental” or “brown” looking (btw, don’t call us oriental) is a hugely broad one that encompasses many ethnicities with diverse cultures.  We’re not all math and computer whizzes.  We’re not all quiet and socially awkward sidekicks.  We can speak English, maybe better than you.  We don’t dream of marrying white people (although people have different preferences).  We don’t all read manga, or watch Bollywood movies, or sing karaoke.  And although our cultures may have stringent beauty standards, those beauty standards don’t necessarily mean we want to look Caucasian.  Although we’re lumped into one category - Asian - we’re not all the same. 

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“Are you sick? You look tired. Where are your eyebrows?”

One day, eleven year old me walked into school and suddenly realized that half of the girls around me had their eyes outlined in black and lips coated in something shiny. Though I still can’t quite pinpoint when this transition happened, when makeup suddenly became a necessity for my woman peers and I, I have accepted the fifteen minutes spent applying makeup as a part of my daily routine. So naturally, when challenged to “try on” a new form of gender expression, I decided that makeup would be the first thing to go.

On Saturday morning, I brushed my hair and washed my face as normal, but did not reach for my makeup bag. My makeup-free face is relatively androgynous, and along with my typical uniform comprising of flannel, jeans, and Docs, I felt much less feminine than usual. And considering that eyebrows are currently having a moment, and my natural brows barely register in natural light, I felt like the opposite of “on fleek”.  

I walked around the streets feeling self-conscious of my face, convinced that everyone was staring at me.  More likely though, it was the opposite that was true.  My friend and I went out to a NYC bar, she got way more male attention than I did (not that we were looking for any). We went to Sephora, one of my favorite stores, and I had to approach a store associate for assistance which is usually not the case. As cliched and dumb as it sounds, sometimes I felt invisible.  

I think what shocked me the most was how my made up face had become the default for people around me, to the point that they made comments about the makeup-free face.  My best friend jokingly asked me where my eyebrows were.  A male friend innocently asked me if I was sick. I also found it interesting that for women, makeup is expected to be something you do to look put together, instead of something *extra*. When my professors explain how to look for business interviews, they include makeup and manicures as a necessity for woman candidates, while man candidates can get away with just washing their face and shaving.  

The next day, I was relieved to have access to my bag of blemish erasing, eyebrow enhancing products. However, I think my understanding of what makeup means to me, and how it makes others relate to me, has grown as a result of giving it up, if even for only one day.  

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Reflections of Feminism in Popular Culture

It is pretty obvious that feminism is having a “moment” right now. Women’s issues, like the wage gap and reproductive rights, are at the forefront of the political debate. Influential celebrities are aligning themselves with the movement. About 60% of young women identify themselves with the word.  Feminism is pretty much mainstream. Although this is great for maximizing exposure, the portrayal of feminism in popular culture can sometimes be over-simplified and misleading. 

Many TV shows and movies are trying to be more feminist by diversifying their casts and including more “strong” women. However, producers and writers seem to be under the impression that to be a strong woman, the character just has to be physically strong and aggressive. One sees this a lot in science fiction shows and movies. For example, in Doctor Who, River Song is considered to be a “strong woman” because she is good at wielding a gun. However, she barely has any personality independent of her interactions with the Doctor. So in the end, there is still a dearth of complex female characters, because instead of taking the time to write a fully fleshed female character, writers are taking the lazy route and collecting all the feminist gold stars for their supposed progressiveness. I also feel that the current portrayal of feminism is exclusionary. Although feminism has been led by a diverse group of women for centuries, many popular cultures feminist icons are wealthy, cisgender mostly white women like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Emma Watson. To be fair though, the conversation has become more intersectional, including LGBTQ and racial concerns in the global conversation. However, many self-purported feminists still have no knowledge of, or concern for, issues facing women who don’t look like them because popular culture does not focus on them. Overall, I believe there has been a lot of progress in the portrayal of feminism in the media.