Tag Archives: chapter 1

Your Boycott is a Waste of Time

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I’m sure by now many of you have heard about the boycott of Target for those who are against their change in bathroom policies. If not, basically the American Family Association (AFA) started a campaign that already has over 500,000 signatures of folks who plan to stop shopping at Target because of their gender-matching bathroom policy. This potty policy allows transgendered employees and customers to use the restroom they feel that matches their gender identity. AFA members and supporters are furious because they believe this policy will endanger children to exposure to pedophiles. In response to their anger, they created this campaign that has been AFA’s most popular thus far that boycotts Target for everyone who signs the petition. Yet, do they really think Target is the only store/business that is going to accept this policy?

The Daily Beast wrote an article called “All the Things You Can No Longer Buy if You’re Really Boycotting Trans-Friendly Businesses” that details a list of businesses/stores/restaurants that support transgender rights. According to the article, if Target boycotters were truly against businesses that support transgender rights, then they “can’t buy an iPhone, eat an Egg McMuffin, drink a Sprite, stock up Budweiser, or fill your prescriptions at either of the nation’s two largest pharmacy chains (Walgreens and CVS)” (Allen, 2016). That is because Apple, McDonald’s, Sprite, Budweiser, Walgreens, and CVS are among a large list of popular and large companies that support transgender rights, which includes gender-identity bathrooms.

Perhaps AFA members, supporters, and all Target boycotters should have done a little more research before creating and signing that petition. Then maybe they would realize that the world in transforming into a transgender friendly place and they are simply falling behind. If the boycotters really wanted to impress me, then perhaps they should plan to boycott all places that support transgender rights. What do you think?

Check out “All the Things You Can No Longer Buy if You’re Really Boycotting Trans-Friendly Businesses” by The Daily Beast here:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/26/all-the-things-you-can-no-longer-buy-if-you-re-really-boycotting-trans-friendly-businesses.html

A waitress waits my waiting dad

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I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this before, BUT when I was out to dinner with my family our waitress was just so great. She was so nice… to my dad. She was so polite… to my dad. She was just over the top… to my dad. At the end of our dinner the waitress brought the check around and as my mom lifted her hand from under the table, the waitress made a b-line straight for my dad’s hand and gave him the check. I couldn’t believe it and I’m almost positive this has happened more than once, but now I notice it all the time and I see it at other tables as well. I wonder if it’s the same with a male waiter.

Different Perspectives: Gender Neutral Bathrooms

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As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, I came across a story about a women’s angry letter to Target. I was automatically intrigued because, I mean, how can anyone be mad at Target?? The blogger wanted to let the internet know that she decided to cut up her credit card and boycott Target because of the new policy changes of Gender Neutral bathrooms. You can read the article here!

Right after I saw the letter, I saw a link from Mashable called:Bathroom phobias trans and non-binary people think you should actually have.

It was really interesting to see the different perspectives really back to back, and I really liked how I could look at this topic as a whole. I personally am pro gender neutral bathrooms and don’t think it is a big deal at all. It is something that has to change, we have so many other genders and expressions of identity, that it would be unfair to force them to choose a bathroom that makes them feel uncomfortable or even unsafe.

Take a look at both and let me know how you feel!!

 

 

 

 

 

NC and Mississippi Laws

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Whether it be through Facebook shares, news channels, Twitter, or whatever; many of us have heard about the LGBT laws recently put into play in North Carolina and Mississippi. In a nutshell, The New York Times reports: in North Carolina, a bill was put into place to override their nondiscrimination laws that were previously in place. It also bans transgender people from specific public restrooms. In Mississippi, a new law has been enacted that allows anyone with religious objections to deny services to gay couples.

Huge objections are being made by large corporations. BuzzFeed posted an ongoing list of the stars and businesses who are refusing to work in these states due to their laws:

  • Pearl Jam
  • Cirque du Soleil
  • Ringo Starr
  • PayPal
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Etsy
  • Patagonia
  • And a ton more

Big corporations dropping out of whole states completely could potentially be hard on North Carolina and Mississippi’s economies, as well as consumers missing out on companies they enjoy… No PayPal?! Now what?!

New Law for North Carolina

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Recently North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a new state law that won’t allow local government measures to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to USA Today, the law halts cities and counties from putting their own anti-discrimination policies in place, as it sets a standard for the entire state that leaves out gender identity and sexual orientation.

One criticism warns that the state risks losing money for education due to Title IX Anti-Discrimination regulations. Those who oppose this law also believe that it is a huge step backwards for human rights. Supporters of the law state that it “protects all people from having to share bathrooms with people who make them feel unsafe” as it requires all people to use bathrooms that match what biological sex is on their birth certificate.

Based on what we learned in Chapter 1 of Julia T. Wood’s book, Gendered Lives, biological sex and gender are separate. So is it fair that this law requires people who might identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex to use a certain bathroom? Additionally, what about all people having the right to be protected from discrimination?

So what do you think? Based on what we have learned in class, is this law unfair?

Women’s Products or Sexist Pricing

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If you scroll through Target’s webpage, you’ll notice men’s body wash is in the four to seven dollar range. Women’s on the other hand, is the five to ten dollar range. Weird, right?

Boots is a UK originated retailer, similar to Target or Wal-Mart. Recently; the store has tried to resolve the issue of sexist pricing. It was brought to their attention by a petition that was written titled, Boots – Review the Sexist Pricing of Everyday Products. The description is very opinionated.

“An investigation by The Times found that women are being charged 36% more on average for products marketed as ‘women’s products’. The Fawcett Society describe this as a sexist surcharge for women – and I think that’s exactly what this is.”

While you may be thinking it only applies to women because feminine products are more expensive – think again. What about the men who purchase these items for their wife, mother, daughter, or sister? Or, to shake up your brain, what about the men who use these products? This applies to us all.

Longwood’s Steps to Acceptance

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Last night I was scrolling through Facebook, as one does on a Wednesday night when all their homework is done and they’re trying to go to bed early for once in their life, and I saw that a few of my friends had shared a link to a Rotunda article, and the title was what caught my attention: “Bigender Student Receives Bid into Fraternity.” The article talks about Beasa Dukes, a student who identifies as bigender, or not solely male or female, who received a bid from Phi Mu Delta, a fraternity here at Longwood University. Reading this article made me think about Dr. Jes Simmons’ talk with us in class about how open-minded Longwood is in regards to the LGBT+ community, and the progress that the University is making in regards to accepting people of all genders and sexual orientations into University organizations.

Sorority Recruitment & Transgendered Students

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Within the last few months, both Brown University and Missouri State have changed their Recruitment requirements to include transgendered students. At Brown University, all three sororities on campus, Kappa Delta, Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Alpha Theta had to vote to change the rules. Those going through the process are not required to put their sex, only their birth name and the name in which they prefer to be called.

The Media Stops at No Woman

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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE2_4yt0Aow[/youtube]

There is no media outlet that is not discussing Caitlyn Jenner’s reveal. Its an inspiration and movement of acceptance for our society and the transgender community. The level of acceptance has been overwhelming. In this video I have found Jon Stewart breaks down the discussions about Caitlyn and realizes some deep issues for her and all women. People immediately began talking about her appearance using sexual words to describe her body and look. The media then went on to talk about how there must be Photoshop used and the outfits made her look better. They also compared other women to her, as well as talked about her appearance according to her age. Jon Stewart commented on this saying “of course people can not lift a woman up without tearing another down” and “yes go ahead and remind her she has an expiration date on her beauty”. He also compares how she was talked about before her transition, people use to talk about her accomplishments as Bruce, and now its her outward appearance. Here is a transgender individual opening up in hopes of raising awareness and being honest with her struggle with gender identity and the media has to analyze and comment on every aspect of the way she looks. There is an upside to this, she is being treated equally as a woman, the media does this for women left and right. They are depicted as sex objects or torn apart for their appearance not fitting the societal norms of physical attractiveness. Jon Stewart ended it perfectly saying, “welcome to being a woman in America”.

What do you all think? Did you pick up on this in the medias coverage? I did not, and enjoyed seeing this perspective. Do you feel this is how the media treats women in the media usually? Do you feel these pressures from the media or society? Were these the thoughts you had when first seeing her reveal?

Meet Caitlyn Jenner

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I thought this post would be appropriate because of the general topic being very popular especially in this class about Bruce Jenners transition. June 1st, Bruce made the official transition into the public as Caitlyn Jenner, from here out I will refer to her in feminine pronouns.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjfKWoksmlk[/youtube]

With all of the pre-caitlyn news, you could say it was hard to believe, however after seeing Caitlyn with all her gorgeous-ness, it truely was breathtaking and moving. A quick glance at the photos and one gets the sense of “she was meant to be she”.

In this article on CNN, I found an interesting statement (not to steer away from Caitlyn):

“Indeed, most stories about the cover photo could not help but include glowing reports of Jenner’s white, satiny corset and long, brunette locks. But, then, I guess, what else is new when it comes to media representations of women. It’s all about what she’s wearing and how good her skin looks, isn’t it?”

What I found interesting was that transgendered females and females in general are still facing the sexualization of females, even Caitlyn Jenner. Why is this?

Welcome to the World, Caitlyn Jenner!