February 3rd

Sign in & participation cards Pass out Research Project #1 Homework Discussion: What is feminism? Lecture One: The Gendered Society Homework:

“White Privilege and Male Privilege” by Peggy McIntosh (CR)

What is feminism?

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians"

- Pat Robertson at the GOP Convention (1992)

Feminism is…

The belief that we are individuals before we are men and women.

That there are differences among males and females.

That these differences should not be the foundation for inequality in society.

Lecture One

Gendered Society: The Intersection of Power and Difference

Understanding Gender

Gender: social differences assigned to people of different sexes

Idealized Gender: the physical, emotional, and behavioral traits assigned to gender categories Masculinity and Femininity

Looking at Sex Sex: biological differences between people

Chromosomes (XX vs. XY) Sex glands Hormones Reproductive capacity Secondary physical characteristics

But is sex that clear cut? 2% of babies are born intersexed Transgender individuals do not feel that their sex

and gender match

Sexual Dichotomy We have a belief in the essential reality of

sexual dichotomy

Division of gender and sex into two categories: M/F Biologically determined Permanent Universal Exhaustive Mutually exclusive

Commercialization of Sex Dichotomy Women “defend” Men “protect”

Gender Polarization

Gender Polarization: organization of social life around male/female distinctions Social roles Sexual decisions and partners Emotional expression

Gender-schematic: decisions are based upon a society’s polarized definitions of masculinity and femininity

How do we examine gender? Social Construct:

How is “difference” given meaning? Are men really from Mars and women from Venus?

Identity How does gender shape the way we understand ourselves

and our role in society?

Interaction How do we learn gender and (re)create gender?

Institutions How are social institutions gendered and how do they create

inequality?

The Gendered Individual

Gender as a social position – a place in society

Constrains what we think our choices are and how others think about who we are and how we should act

Social positions come with an inherent set of advantages and disadvantages

What are they for men? For women?

Power and Privilege

Gender, as well as race, class, and sexuality are one of the primary ways that power and privilege are exercised in American society

Privilege: one’s social position in society is seen as “normal” and objective Privilege emerges from the social positions we

occupy and not from innate qualities of individuals

Structures of privilege are often invisible and unearned

What does Kimmel mean when he says: “I enjoyed the privilege of invisibility? (pg 7)?

Male Dominance is: An unrecognized set of privileges A set of unnamed practices – the cultural norm A standpoint from which all people are judged

Invisible Privileges “As a white person, I realized I had been taught

about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.”

Types of Privileges according to McIntosh: positive advantage: one that all individuals in society

should have

negative advantage: one that can only be gained at the expense of others

Individual exercise:

List at least 5 privileges that you think you carry around in an invisible knapsack. These privileges can be based on the following structures of privilege:

White privilege Male privilege Physical Ability Privilege Heterosexual Privilege Religious Privilege Other?

For each privilege explain if this privilege is a positive advantage (one that all individuals in society should have) or a negative advantage (one that can only be gained at the expense of others)? Explain.

In pairs:

(1) Look over your list of privileges.

(2) Do you enjoy all the privileges that your partner does? Why or why not?

(3) How are your privileges similar and different from your partners? What accounts for those differences?

(1) What institutions are these privileges realized in?(1) Family, economy, religion, politics?

Understanding Privilege

Individuals with privilege are not responsible for the circumstances that brought them privilege, but they are responsible in how they respond to it.

What does Kimmel mean when he says: We have to make men visible when we talk about gender (pg 5)?

A Gendered Society

Gender is about difference and it is about power In a patriarchal society gender is about the power

men as a group have over women as a group

Power: ability to influence important decisions and exert one’s will Not the possession of individuals, but property of

group life

But, what if I don’t feel powerful? Power is exercised through:

Institutions – what resources are available to us Ideology – what we think should be Culture – what we value

Heteronormativity: culture where heterosexuality is accepted as the “normal” mode of sexual expression

Intersectionality

We need to understand the experience of individuals at the intersection of:

Gender: social differences to people of different sexes

Sexuality: sexual identity and sexual orientation

Race: classification of individuals based on their physical characteristics

Class: social and economic standing in society

Macroscopic Perspective

Audre Lorde – appreciate the differences among women as well as the their common position in society

Birdcage Metaphor

Have a Good Weekend!