In conclusion…

I wanted to use my last blog to talk about my experience in my class: ‘gender theories and cultures.’ I have found this class very eye opening. Before, I guess I was somewhat aware of issues women face, but I guess I thought that most of the issues were behind us, that there is some ground that feminism still needs to cover, but for the most part its done its job. I also never thought feminism was a bad thing but wouldn’t refer to myself as a feminist because I wasn’t actually actively promoting feminism or whatever. And I’ve come to the conclusion that we still definitely need feminism; there is still so much inequality everywhere in the world. I’ve also come to think that for the most part, everyone is somewhat of a feminist, whether they admit it or not. Most people won’t admit it because the word feminist has so many negative connotations associated with it. (However, I’ve come to change my mind on that as well, I think feminism is amazing). The reason I think everyone is somewhat of a feminist is because for the most part, most people believe that everyone should have equal rights; that to me is what feminism stands for. Although I am still not actively going out and fighting for feminism, I would still call myself a feminist. I first of all, believe in the values and beliefs for the most part that feminism stands for and although I do not go out of my way to peach them, if the topic comes up that feminism is related to, in a movie, or in a news article or whatever, I will speak my opinion on it.   

Gender and Sexuality

This week in class we talked about gender and sexuality. One of the groups showed a clip from a documentary regarding adults in the pornography business and their life after. Most of the women showed in the clip were stereotypically feminine; they were all pretty, tiny and wore lots of makeup. For the most part most of the women regretted and/ or were ashamed of their past in the porn industry. They talked about how it still effects there life to this day. (eg. One women was let go from her job when someone recognized her) Some girls referred to the porn industry as being dirty and they couldn’t believe that they were that girl, who got involved with it. The one man that was shown was very hyper masculine, he was very buff and bragged about his experiences in the pornography industry; he said he had no regrets whatsoever. I got the impression from the video that the women felt stigmatized and were more stigmatized from their involvement in the porn industry then males were. This reflect societies values that when a guy gets with a lot of girls it is something to be proud of but when a girl gets lots of guys she viewed negatively and it is frowned upon.

This also made me think of prostitution and how laws in Canada criminalize women more so than men. Women are charged consistently more often then men for prostitution offences. More women are found guilty then men for prostitution related charges. When men are charged they receive significantly lesser sentences than women. (Fines vs prison or probation) . The most common charge laid is communicating for the purpose of prostitution; this is interesting because it forces women to communicate with men in back allies or get into their car quickly, so they wont get caught, making them more vulnerable to victimization because they are out of the public eye. It makes it difficult for women; if there not criminalized a lot of the time they are victimized. It is also interesting that the clients, which majority of are men, merely receive slaps on the wrists for charges relating to prostitution yet they are the ones that fuel the business; if there wasn’t a demand for prostitution, it wouldn’t exist.

I find it sad because although there are some women who want to get into porn, or want to get into prostitution, a lot of women end up in these jobs because they don’t have any other options. They end up stigmatized and for women in prostitution they more often then not end up criminalized.

 

Resisting and Reproducing Stereotypes

The article “A well coifed man: class, race and heterosexual masculinity in the hair salon” by Barber, is an analyses of white, middle class, heterosexual men, and their participation in the salon hair care, It was found that the male clients as ‘Shear style: (Which was the upscale salon that the authors were looking at) did not associate ‘beauty work’ with something being feminine. Men thought that ‘beauty work’ was necessary to display masculinity within their class. The salon was viewed as a place to purchase current hair trends. Not all men have to means to participate in beauty work therefore when men do have the means and are able to participate in beauty work it is a demonstration of masculinity within their class. Men in the study justified their ‘beauty work’ by arguing that style is an expectation in the professional class of white males. Class and race privilege allow these men to enjoy this form of leisure without being marginalized. Purchasing beauty work is expected in order to ‘do’ a ‘particular classed whiteness’. Participation in salon hair care did not compromise the masculinity of these mean; instead “their stylish hair became an outward sign of their professional status which sets them apart from white working class men.” Through the purchase of beauty work these men distinguish themselves through race, class, sex and gender. The consumption of beauty work by upper class white males reproduces race and class privilege. 

I found this article really interesting because my boyfriend also participates in ‘beauty work’. My boyfriend works construction and is really into working out; I would consider him stereotypically very masculine. He get’s his hair done in a salon as well; I think this is more socially acceptable today though for any man to get his hair done at a salon. I think men are expected to be groomed and look a certain way just as women are. However, my boyfriend also gets his eye brows waxed which is a little more stigmatizing then just having ones hair cut in a salon. The findings of this article relate similarly to how my boyfriend feels about getting his eye brows done at the salon. Like the men in the study he characterizes the salon itself as being a feminine place, but does not consider getting his eye brows waxed to be exclusively feminine. However, my boyfriend is also white and of the upper middle class so maybe like the men in the article, he can participate in this type of ‘beauty work’ within being stigmatized because of race and class privilege.

 

Gender and Adulthood

Femininity seems to be associated with motherhood. Women are supposed to have characteristics of being nurturing and caring which parallels with the ideals of motherhood. When a women decides she does not want to have children, she is considered to be less of a women or that something must be wrong with her. There are a number of reasons that a women may not want to have children: want to focus on a career, want to have a stable relationship, want to be financially stable or maybe they just don’t want to have kids just because. Women not having children goes against societal norms and values and tends to make people think that something must be up or there must be a good reason for not wanting to have children. I came across this article on my Facebook newsfeed titled ‘The silly things people say to me when I tell them I’m not having kids’, and I got a good laugh from it. (mostly because you can hear people saying these ignorant statements.. and the author has some really quirky responses) [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tuenight/silly-things-people-have-said-to-me-when-i-tell-them-im-not-having-kids_b_4098642.html] My favourite thing the author points out is when people say “what if you regret not having kids” and her response is well I would rather regret not having kids then regret having them. If you don’t want kids you shouldn’t have them just because society expects you too; if don’t want kids or regret having them then that will effect their upbringing and their relationships and all other aspects in entire life. It better that only people who want to have children, have children. Its not fair to bring children into the world if their not wanted. It’s also not fair that women are looked down upon for making the responsible choice to not have children if they know they wont be making them a priority.

Personally I’m not sure if I ever want to have kids. Right now I find children really irritating and annoying. I work at a grocery store and one of my biggest pet peeves is screaming kids. My mom always tells my that when their your own kids there not as annoying. A few weeks ago while I was at work, a group of school kids (kindergarten age) came in for a tour of the grocery store. I guess management mixed things up because they didn’t schedule anyone in that could give this quick tour. So I was sitting on break, with a few of the more senior ladies who work during the day, and my manger approached me and said “you would be perfect for this, will you do this tour with them?” and I said “no way, I’m on my break, and on top of that I hate kids, there so annoying.” Well you should have seen everyone’s jaw drop. Not because I said no to management (I have a good relationship with them, I am definitely one of the favorites) but because I said I hated kids and they were annoying. It went so awkwardly silent. Kind of funny now, but not so much in the situation. Anyways after that, the senior ladies asked me if I was ever going to have kids, and why not etc. Its so true how in society, because you are a women, and because you have these organs to reproduce, your expected to, and it’s seen as out of the norm if you don’t want to. Maybe one day I will have kids, but not for at least ten years. I want to have a secure job, I want to live my life (buy a house, get married, travel) before I sacrifice twenty years of it for a child. And I get that that sounds selfish, and I suppose it is, but isn’t that good that I don’t want to have children until I will be able to put them as a priority before myself. I think that’s the most important thing. Unless you can but your kids as number one, and your world revolves around them, I don’t think you should have them. 

Gender and Sports

Parents celebrate non-conformity and athleticism in young girls. When girls play sports they are likely to do better in school and have a higher self esteem. Female athletes are excellent role models for young aspiring athletes. However, women are disproportionately under represented in athletics within the media; many women’s sports are not broadcasted on TV or are given odd viewing times. This could be because there is not an audience for women’s sports or maybe there would be an audience if the sports were shown during primetimes. Regardless, women athletes are less accessible to viewers then male athletes are. When women athletes are in the media, the focus is usually on their body and sex appeal and not their athletic performance. Most male athletes seen in the media, appear in full sports gear; women on the other hand are sexualized and are presented in outfits, that they could not possibly wear while actually playing their sport. The aesthetics and sexualization of women athletes is promoted over their achievements and abilities. The sexualization of women within sports not only objectifies women but promotes male superiority; when women athletes are not sexualized they are considered masculine or homosexual. What implications does this have on young female athletes? This may make girls not try as hard or not want to play at all. Or it may make girls think their bodies and the way they look is more important than there athletic ability. As a society we should be concerned as to what values media coverage of sports is reinforcing.

 

I played all kinds of sports during my youth: volleyball, basketball, swimming, figure skating, hockey and baseball. I started skating when I was very young. My parents put both my brother and I in ‘Can Skate’, I always made fun of my brother because skating was ‘for girls’. Eventually I began figure skating and competing. I never really though about the sexualization of girls in sports. Looking back now, I would say the skating outfits were small, but there weren’t revealing, and my mom always make me wear these thick beige skating tights. I think at such a young age that never occurred to me. When I became a teen I stopped figure skating and began to play hockey; which I was terrible at.. I could outskate all the boys but couldn’t do anything when I got the puck. Anyways, as a teen I went down to one sport and only continued on with volleyball. When I as young I used to wear big basketball shorts for volleyball; once I began high school our volleyball team started wearing the short skimpy spandex. I never really though of it as a problem, I just thought they were comfy, so whatever. Looking back I’m not sure I would feel comfortable if I was a parents allowing my teen to wear those short shots. At tournaments I remember all the high school guys going and going just to gawk at the girls; not to watch the games. Its one thing to say oh that person looks good in their uniform but another to solely attend a game to check people out. This can be seen in larger society in football. People primarily watch the women’s football because it is a lingerie league. I think there is a big problem when the game/ sport comes secondary to sexualization of its players. 

Gender and Childhood

I grew up on Disney movies, I loved Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella and Snow White. I will definitely show my own kids these classics someday. Looking back at the films now, they do seem different. Almost all Disney movies promote gender stereotyping and innuendos. For the most part I think these flew over my head as a child but who know, maybe subconsciously somehow I was effected by them. Main stream media puts images regarding gender, and what is appropriate for that gender type, into kids minds at a very young age. Disney bombards young girls with images of princess’s who’s values are to be fashionable, beautiful and finding a prince to save her. Other ideas that Disney promotes onto young girls are that a women’s looks are more important that her intellect, women are helpless and are in need of protection, women are domestic by nature and overweight women are ugly and unpleasant. This is alarming whether kids take these messages in or not. It seems that now more then ever, unhealthy body images and low self esteem are common in young teens; this reflects being brought up in a society that puts such a high importance on beauty. From the beginning of our lives we are shown images and messages that mold us into who we are and who we become. Disney is a girls first contact with these ideas of beauty and gender stereotypes. Girls are taught that they need to look a certain way and to behave a certain way.

I really like the idea of the Bechdel test. (Movie has to have at lease to named women, who talk to each other, about something besides a man) When I thought about it, it really is shocking how many movies don’t meet this test which is a terrible reflection of our current society. Movies wouldn’t be made this way if this wasn’t would society wanted to see. I would definitely use a website that lists movies that pass the Bechdel test for when I have children. However I won’t deny them all Disney movies. I think moderation is key. And having talks about gender stereotypes and roles is important. Through education I think parents can help there kids fight gender stereotypes. And who knows, maybe those stereotypes in Disney really do fly over kids heads and its more so mainstream media and society that effects their views on gender. All I know is I grew up on Disney, loved it, and turned out fine… I would not deprive my children of that too.

Wearing Dresses

I’m finding my gender studies class very interesting and eye opening. This week we talked about men and masculinity; one topic was young boys wanting to wear dresses. I do think it is a double standard that girls can wear pants and boys ‘can’t’ wear dresses. This also reflects how sons and daughters receive differential treatment in the enforcement of gender boundaries; non- conformity for girls is celebrated yet non-conformity in boys is frowned upon. Maybe its because I’ve grown up with gender stereotypes enforced on me but personally I think I would draw the line at my son wearing dresses (if I had kids). I think its fine for boys to play with dolls, Barbies, house, things are generally considered ‘girl’ toys or games. I wouldn’t be bothered if my son wanted to wear pink, purple or turquoise which are stereotypically considered ‘girl’ colours. But I think I would draw my line at dresses; I would not let my son (if I had one) wear dresses. Maybe one day if I actually have kids ill change my mind but right now that’s my opinion. I think if my son really wanted to wear a dress I would give him a quilt or some other sort of ethic dress because when kids are young there dress code is still a little flexible; I wouldn’t be comfortable with him wearing a feminine dress though. However I want to point of that I would never make fun of or put down other parents who let their boys wear dresses. I think its something you can accept without supporting. I would obviously hope to instill to value of acceptance in my children; I would still not let my son wear dresses though.

Hyper Masculinity

‘An analysis of Hyper Masculinity in Magazine Articles’ by Vokey, Tefft, and Tysiaczny examines the construction and reinforcement of hyper masculine attitudes in magazine articles. Hyper masculinity is a system of beliefs and ideas about what it is to be a man. Characteristics of hyper masculinity include toughness, violence, danger and derogatory attitudes toward women and sex. Vokey Tefft and Tysiaczny studied 8 different men’s magazines to explore different depictions of hyper masculinity in their advertisements. Advertisements within magazines maintain gender stereotypes and norms for both men and women. They found that 90% or more ads in some magazines depicted at least one hyper masculine idea. By pairing masculine qualities such as being powerful and tough with a product it enhances the products appeal and sends the message out that by using that product the consumer will also appear powerful and tough; this is effective because there is a lot pressure in society for males to conform to stereotypes of masculinity. It was also found that hyper masculinity within ads was largely directed towards young and less educated men. Younger and less educated men are exposed to socializing forces that make them more vulnerable to reproducing the hyper masculinity stereotypes found in these magazine ads.

This is important because males with lower socio economic status are more vulnerable to developing and accepting hyper masculine values. In marginalized areas of lower socio economic status is it more acceptable for male to act tough and fight to prove their power and status within their community. Reading this article reminded me of a lecture in my theories of crime class regarding gender and crime. Gender, race and class intersect and can produce male crime. Within society men are constantly confronted with the task of having to ‘do gender’. Aspects of social structure influence what is considered an appropriate means of ‘doing gender’. Some males have more pro social opportunities to establish gender without bringing them in contact with the law. For example upper class men may ‘do gender’ by dominating a conversation. Some men have backgrounds which limit their opportunities to ‘do gender,’ so they have to turn to illegitimate ways to ‘do gender’. For example, lower class minority youth may show masculinity and dominance by fighting. Advertising is important because it influences and reinforces masculine ideas and norms in our society; continuous exposure makes these ideas and norms seem more acceptable and desirable. I think that the finding that hyper masculine ads are largely directed towards less educated, and younger males, who usually come from a lower socioeconomic backgrounds is alarming, because they are more vulnerable to this stereotype and are more likely to use illegitimate ways to display their hyper masculinity.

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I stumbled upon this website today, while looking on Google about women’s work rights.  The website is called Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. [http://criaw-icref.ca.] While I was searching on this site, I found a timeline, marking the advancements women have made within the last millennium. I wanted to share some of the points I found interesting. In 1897, after being ridiculed and taunted, Clara Martin became Canada’s first women lawyer to practice law under the British Empire. In 1909 it became a criminal offence to abduct a women. In 1916, Emily Murphy became Canada’s first women judge. In 1925 women gained to right to divorce their husbands for adultery without having to prove other acts such as sodomy or bestiality; five years later women acquired the right to divorce their husband if they had abandoned them. By 1938, minimum wage laws applied to both men and women. This one most people know, during the Second World War large amounts of women joined the labor force; a Saskatchewan MP announced and I’m going to quote this from the website because it made my jaw drop, “No one has ever objected to women working. The only thing they have ever objected to is paying women for working.” In 1952, women were allowed to serve on juries. In 1973 the first rape crisis centers opened. The RCMP hired their first  women in 1974.  In 1975, 11 laws were amended to parallel with the equality of women. In 1981 women lobbied to have women’s rights included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Seriously.. this one shocked me.. my mom was almost twenty here, and there’s still questions about whether women’s rights should be included under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One year later an NDP MP member raised the issue of violence against women in the House of Commons and was laughed at. Seriously! Talk about all these steps forward and then 10 steps back. This was ten years before I was born and violence against women was not considered a serious issue! In 1988, Bertha Wilson, who was one of the first Women justice’s of the Supreme Court of Canada, “wrote one of the majority judgments that stuck down Canada’s restrictive abortion law.’ Lastly in 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that job standards and capabilities tests could not favour men.

 

You may have noticed that I picked out a lot of the points that have things to do with the workplace and criminology, the criminal justice system or with law. That is because that’s what I’m interested in. Women have come so far and it really makes me sad that it’s only within the last 100 years that all this has happened. Why did it take so long for people to realize the women are equal to men? So, my whole point is that women have come so far thanks to feminism, but we still have a long way to go. I say that because even though I think women have come a long way, there are still ding dong’s, like this gentlemen in one of my criminology classes, who this week during group discussion, told the class that women should not be able to work in corrections. His reasoning was that not only are women weak and vulnerable, the men in prisons haven’t seen women in a very long time, so its not fair to temp them with women guards, and what if these poor helpless women get attacked. Are you kidding me!!!!! I almost fell off my chair in class when this was said. First of all as someone studying criminology, who wants a job within the criminal justice system, this made me furious. There are tests that act as checks and balances to ensure that women and men are both capable of preforming the job duties of a corrections officer; on top of that, they receive tons of training relating to what they will have to deal with on the job, and I’m sure being attacked by an inmate is something, both men and women officers train for. But back to what this gentlemen said. In 1897, when Clara Martin, fought her long fight to practice law, one of the major things she had to overcome was people saying, “physical attraction between them [women lawyers] and the judges and juries would be in tolerable.” Clara Martin was treated as though her only purpose as a woman was as a sexual object for men. And here in 2013, this ignorant boy in one of my classes practically says that same thing, that having women officers is unfair to male inmates because it will tempt them! Disgusting! I found this so discouraging and frustrating. I am not discouraged from wanting to work in the criminal justice system, or in corrections if that is what I decide I want to do, but discouraged that there are still people out there that think like that. Feminism and women’s rights are not done, they still has a long way to go. 

The Superwomen Myth

The article ‘Shedding the Superwomen Myth’ by Spar argues that you don’t have to have it all and be a super women. Its not possible to have it all; women have to give something up, or delay certain things within there life because it just isn’t practical to have it all at once. Men are not expected to have it so why should women be. For me personally, ‘having it all’ means getting my dream job after I graduate, saving up for a year or so, buying a house, getting married and in a few more years maybe having children. And obviously when you have children, to find the perfect balance between work, children and chores/ housekeeping etc. I don’t really know how practical that is; I doubt I’m not going to get my dream job right out of university, I’m probably going to go back to school. It will probably take me a while to find a decent paying job, so that would put me off buying a house off for a few more years. I try not to stress out about the future and reassure myself that I don’t need to ‘have it all’ at once, and things will happen when they happen. It is stressful to think about though because I think there is a pressure out there for women to ‘have it all’ and that’s a pressure that men don’t experience. When my parents had kids my mom stopped working full time. She eventually went back to part time, but still to this day hasn’t gone back to full time. My dad is a good partner too, he does quite a bit of the cooking and housework. I know a lot of women still work full time and have kids but it seems like to do that something has to give, work or you kids will suffer. I don’t know, I’m not sure what the right answer if or if women should want to do it all or have to do it all. It seems sad that you would have to chose between kids and a career. This would be much easier if you have a partner who is will to take on half of the responsibility.

 In class we discussed how feminism related to the superwomen myth and how feminism has effect our own lives. First of all I think everyone should advocate for feminism especially if there is a mother, sister or any women in your life that you care about. If feminism is about equality then wouldn’t you want that for someone you care about? I think feminism has effected my grandmothers life, my moms life, my life and even my dads, brothers and boyfriends lives. A lot of the time I think people assume feminism means the rights of women at the expense of men’s rights but that’s not true, feminism is about equal rights for everyone. In my grandparents era, traditionally men were the breadwinners and women were the housekeepers and took care of the family. Men were not supposed to raise the kids or be emotional. For most of my grandmothers life she was a stay at home mom, while my papa worked full time, it wasn’t until her forty’s that she got a job. She did really enjoy working and ended up being a department head at Eaton’s. The goal of feminism in my mind it to break apart gender roles. This makes it okay nowadays for women to be the breadwinner and for maybe the man to stay home and be the caregiver and housekeeper. More often you need two incomes to stay afloat so feminism has made it okay for both men and women to both have a job and split the responsibilities of child rearing. This benefits men because it removes the sole burden of having to provide for their family away and splits it between two people. Having more and more women in the workplace is also beneficial for the economy because women are equally as talented as men and some more so, and it makes for a good economy to have talented people within the workplace. Lastly I think the biggest way that feminism has effect my generation and the generations before me is birth control; birth control has become more acceptable largely because of feminism. This obviously benefits both men and women not only from unwanted pregnancies but from diseases and so on. I don’t think feminism is finished though, I think there is still more to be done in society because even though there have been mass improvements over the past few decades there is still more to be done.