Women Studies Test 1

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Grewal and Kaplan, xx-xxvi
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Terms in this set (69)
Grewal and Kaplan, xx-xxvi
Transnationalism, Purpose of women's studies: To be aware of the connection between their lives and that they learn about rest of world, "Internationalizing"- make connections among cultures
Grewal and Kaplan, 1-15
Social and Historical Constructions of Gender
nature (untouched) vs. culture (changing ways of human kind across time and space), "new" science- often creates an even greater gender gap based on not neutral, objective, or uninvested people in fields of science, NORMATIVE FEMININITY, women completely controlled by hormones, "population control"- restrain sexuality or poor and minorities
Fausto-Sterling, "The Five Sexes"
Intersex- a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male (4% of births), we are used to two sexes
hermaphrodites- one testis and one ovary, always shamed though- "Intersexual Disorders" is a famous book
5: males, females, herms, terms, and ferms
Transgender Terminology
gender non-conforming- a term for individuals whose gender expression is different from societal expectations related to gender
FTM-person who transitions from female to male
MTF- male to female
Drag Queen- male performers who dress as women for purpose of entertaining others at events
Carole Vance, 29-32
Essentialism, Social constructionism- - relationship between sexual acts and sexual identities is not a fixed one - helpful to lesbian and gay movements
Human sexuality was first looked at through essentialist sense and now society has shifted its viewpoint to a constructionist way of thinking
Barker-Benfield, 85-89
Clitoridectomy- Surgical removal of the clitoris as well as other parts of the labia or genitalia
Female circumcision- Initiation of a female into a group (usually an age group) through ceremonies and the practice of clitoridectomy
FGM (Female genital mutilation)- Poses female circumcision as a human rights violation as well as the mutilation and abuse of a woman's body and sexual parts
Genital cutting- Term used in contrast to FGM; more neutral description of clitoridectomy and female circumcision to avoid hasty value judgments without adequate historical and cultural context
Surgeries Purpose: repress female sexual appetite, control mental disorders, mainly well off women and tested surgeries on blacks
Abusharaf, 91-97
Female Castration in Africa- happens in at least 28 countries, associated with Islam Surgeries Purpose: create more pleasure for men, "act of love", some believe clitoris can kill a bay during childbirth, dull enjoyment "cure for masturbation" , educated women are less likely to allow it
Jamaica Kincaid, "Girl"
About all the things a girl should know how to do like how to smile or not look like a slut
Grillo
Anti-essentialism - Aspects of identity (gender, sex, sexual orientation, etc.) cannot be subtracted as if they were independent things
There is not a singular essence to one's identity

Intersectionality- One's identity is at the intersection of many things (race, gender, sexual orientation, class, etc.) and one cannot be deduced to one singular thing
Audre Lorde - Black Feminist Lesbian

What are the 3 lessons?
Crenshaw, 200-206
Intersectionality-Recognition that many strands make up identity
Woman of color- Used since 1980s to refer to women in the United states who have been identified as nonwhite or non-European
Discusses Hispanic woman who could not be let into women shelter with her son because she could not speak English
Multiple Oppressions are experienced
McIntoshWhite privilege The inherent advantages that caucasians have in American society. I.e. having "flesh" colored band-aids that are only made for one race unearned privilegeLorde,Heterosexism, Homophobia, the struggles of intersectionality and not being included in certain categories as a black female lesbian, homophobic views of black lesbiansYamada,Struggle of accepting identity and recognizing stereotypes and discrimination that is not always talked aboutGordon, 33-35The rise of science discredited women's practices of healing through magic or as healers at all, magical contraception, witch doctors but during medieval witches were associated with devil even though practices were sometimes not wrongRowbotham, 35-40Struggle for women to enter world of science: easier if wealthy, family connections, advancement of technology has allowed for more women to enter in, Shakers allowed women to get involved in technology - ie. Cotton gin was created with help of a womanGould, 43-46Research about women's brain size was useful but extremely prejudiced against women as a group- say women's brains are evolutionary closer to children and savagesBederman, 190-192Counterhegemonic- Against dominant forms of power Teutonic- Germans of European Christian descent Transhistorical - Existing in every time period Manhood comes from changing ideologies- masculinity is contradictory, manhood associated with white supremacy and blacks can't be real men, middle class separation of women in the home and men being masculine elsewhere showed a higher civilizationKimmel,Patriarchy, Politics of Exclusion/ Inclusion, peers are almost gender police, men shouldn't get emotional, manhood= power over women and other menKatz,Manhood, Mental Illness, Men tend to be violent because want to be the "powerful" one, encouraged by ads, i.e.: Sandy Hooke or shootings nearly always by men and depression can lead to men attacking but not womenTough Guise 2 (First Half) Tough Guise 2 (Second Half)when teenage violence occurs, the focus is not on the gender if the attacker is a white male Society chooses to ignore the possibility that the social norms placed on boys and young men has an effect on their behaviorReynolds,globalization has led to marginalization of women and has led women to break the law- US imprisons more women than any other nation, more blacks and Hispanics imprisoned for drug crimes, Prisons are not places of rehabilitation and more about control which messes with the individual and also allows private firms to make more bc high return ratesDorotik,-In Dorotik's piece, "Life on the Inside," the author discusses the prison industrial complex and the issues associated with mass incarceration and it's effects not only on the incarcerated women, but society as a whole. -The amount of women in the United States that get incarcerated is steadily increasing, despite a decrease in the crime rates. Many of these incarcerated women have dependent children who are now in the care of the state, or some form of mental illness. The prison system has effects on the women who are incarcerated (from not being able to find employment, regain custody of their children, etc.) and the guards who work at the prison. The prison system is widespread and needs to be reformed in a more positive way.Burnham,Welfare Aid given out to people who are in need of it (food stamps, medicaid) welfare reform has increased the hardships faced by many women leaving welfare for work. Their movement into low- wage jobs, or to n o work, exposes them to higher levels of housing in- security, homelessness, food insecurity, and hunger. Women of color, overrepresentedon thewelfarerolls,are especiallyvulnerabletothe negative impacts of welfare reform.omen who move from welfare to work do not achieve economic independence. Instead, most find only low-paid, insecure jobs that do not lift their families above the poverty line.They end up worse off economically Ex:AFDC are in worse shape, with less support, reform such as TANF does not even cover cost of median housing prices in states, some programs do not stop families from needing shelters where men aren't always allowed-split families up, in NJ post welfare plp 50% can't afford food, 18% of immigrants below poverty line Disproportionate burden of povertySpent game (key issues raised)Choices women make for kids is difficult and unfair at times, hard to make child happy and make a career, hard to avoid becoming a criminal for example hitting another car and leavingCoward, 345-348slimness masks a disgust for flesh an anxiety about power and competence- puts women in conflict with their bodies, horribleness of floppy thighs and a loose stomach- can always have cosmetic surgery, always want to resemble a child which is powerlessWilliamson, 314-316Commodity form, how to analyze ads any non white non Western is "Other", ads like Hawaiian Tropic show it is beautiful to be tan but only if you are white first- unobtainableSteele, "Artificial Beauty"victorian women dressed to highlight beauty and look younger, fashion became to be immodest and that frightened plp, cosmetics used to reflect a women post orgasm- bright cheeksNormative Femininitynormal women perceived as less assertive, and less able than men even as they were supposed to be exceptional in the domestic realm of home and mothering, became a topic in regards to nonproductive sex(Grewal and Kaplan)Genderassignment of masculine and feminine characteristics to bodies in cultural contexts/ often relates to the social expression of identities that are tied to one's sexSexthe categories of male and female and the biological characteristics and properties of bodies placed in these categories/ relates to biology, genetalia, and reproductionsBiological Determinismthe belief that biology determines all behavior and actions Simone Beauvoir -"one is not born a woman, one becomes a woman"- traits are socially acquiredCyberneticScience of systems, human and mechanical, characterized by flexibility and self-regulationDarwinismNatural selection is the process in which nature ensured the survival of the best and the strongestPsychodynamicChanging mental activitiesSocial DarwinismUse of Darwin's ideas of natural selection to control populations or manipulate the survival of one group over anotherStereotypeWay of thinking about a group or person based on a set of behaviours or qualities that are believed to be fixed and unchangingTransnationalismrefers to movements of goods, bodies, and ideas across national boundaries such that strict distinctions among nations become altered or more flexible, ie. women in various cultures but don't want to create a "common culture"Intersexa general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male (4% of births)Biological determinismOne's biological/metabolic state equals an explanation of behavior differences and justification of social and political arguments"Coat rack" view of genderOur sexed bodies are like coat racks and gender is hung upon it; sex isn't changeable, gender isSocial constructa social mechanism created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice, the theory is that what is "natural" is simply a product of human history ie. in the Vance reading she writes that many say the gay identity is a social construct but truth is social constructs help the gay movement because it helps us to imagine things to be differentHeteronormativityThe belief that people fall into distinct and complementary genders with natural roles in life. It assumes that heterosexuality is the only sexual orientation or only norm, and states that sexual and marital relations are most (or only) fitting between people of the opposite sexesEssentialismbelief that human behavior is natural predetermined by genetic, biological, or physical mechanisms and thus not subject to change,expression of human tendencies or behaviorsDeconstructionUsed earlier to develop a cultural analysis of sex, sexuality, and gender; later used to challenge essentialism and biological determinism by questioning foundational assumptions of so-called natural beliefs in Western culture--meaning is dependent on cultural and linguistic contextSocial constructionismHuman behavior is learned. It is not intrinsicBiological determinismBiology determines fundamentally all behavior and actionsAnti-essentialismAspects of identity (gender, sex, sexual orientation, etc.) cannot be subtracted as if they were independent things There is not a singular essence to one's identity Ex. Grillo-"regular" salad dressing and vegetarian salad dressing what about meat eaters why is that "regular", white middle class experience is the regularIntersectionalityOne's identity is at the intersection of many things (race, gender, sexual orientation, class, etc.) and one cannot be deduced to one singular thing Audre Lorde - Black Feminist Lesbian or McIntosh, ie. General Motors case must decide to sue for sexism or racismHeterosexismdiscrimination or prejudice against homosexuals on the assumption that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation. Ex: Lorde says blacks don't even recognize black lesbiansMatrix of Oppressionsociological paradigm that explains issues of oppression that deal with race, class, and gender, which, though recognized as different social classifications, are all interconnected Ex: LordeSciencea systematic study of the physical and natural world through observation and experimentEmpiricismtheory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experienceRational formationThe categorization of humankind into socially constructed race groups which are almost always organized or politically ordered in a hierarchical wayScientific racismthe belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but extends this into a hierarchy between the races to support political or ideological positions of racial supremacyCounterhegemonicagainst dominant forms of power, BedermanMasculinityThe idea of how to be a man, involves gender role expectations, possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men power, dominant, aggressive, strong, unemotional, activeHomophobiadislike of or prejudice against homosexual people.Invisibility of incarcerationOne of the factors that aids the expansion of incarceration is its relative invisibility in everyday life. those not caught up in the criminal justice system rarely catch sight of its operations - it is out of sight.Prison-industrial complexoverlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems. Everyone is mutually benefiting attribute to the rapid expansion of the US inmate population to the political influence of private prison companies and businesses that supply goods and services to government prison agenciesMass incarcerationCurrent American "experiment" in incarcerationRecidivismRate of criminal acts resulting in re-arrest during the three year period following releaseMandatory minimum sentencingThe minimum sentence required for a certain crime, People convicted of certain crimes (even non-violent) must be punished with at least a minimum number of years to prison. Contributed to higher numbers of women in jail & for longer periods of time, amount of drug and size of conspiracy matter but role in conspiracy doesn't low-levels and kingpins not separated, maximizes profit (Reynolds)War on drugsLaws that cracked down and increased enforcement of drug crimes. Includes mandatory minimum sentences. Impacts women through the boyfriend model even though they may be first time offenders or unaware of the crimeTransnational feminismConnects multiple and intersecting identities of women--race, class, gender, culture, and nation--with globalization, militarism, patriarchy, neocolonialism, and places women of color in the center of focusGlobalizationeconomic,social, political expansion and integration which have enabled capita production, finance, trade, and to flow acrossthe ideas, images, people organizations transnationally across boundaries of nation-states and cultures" The regions, United States has embraced globalization as a mechanism to transfer ts neoliberal economic, political, and penal policies across national bordersNeoliberalismrevival of the economic liberalism of the nineteenth century, foundedon free-market and capitalism Socio economic and penal characteristics that exemplify neoliberal political economies include belief in free-market; emphasis on individualism; extreme income differentials, a welfare state that is minimalist; high imprisonment rates, marginalized societyCommodity formWilliamson, a thing produced for exchange or sale. Women's bodies become a comedy through ads. Wombs & breast on leg vs. people Tied to women's capability of reproducing Fragmentation "My stomach needs to be flatter" "I like my nose" Dominant US culture often reduces women to bodies America doesn't focus/value woman's body as a whole, only certain partsPositive Eugenics Negative eugenicsimproving human genetic traits by promoting the higher reproduction of people with desirable traits. Sterilization of people with less desirable genetic traits.Extinction thesisTheory in 1896 that the black race was in decline due to their genetics, using statistical evidence. Popular in the same time as segregation laws.