A waitress waits my waiting dad

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Meghan Enzinna

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.

Gloria Steinem’s Real Time Comments

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Katie McGhee

After a visit to Bill Maher’s show, “Real Time with Bill Maher” Gloria Steinem found herself under fire for comments made about young women’s candidate preference for the 2016 Presidential race. Steinem is quoted saying,

“When you’re young, you’re thinking, ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie,” insinuating that young women are only backing Bernie Sanders, because that is who many young men are supporting.

These comments struck a nerve with many and ignited social media, with the hashtag “#NotEntitledToMyVote” becoming popular. What was most odd in this situation is that Gloria Steinem is a strong figure in the feminist movement, yet she made sexist comments implying that young women are making their decision for the democratic candidate based on hormones. This is what most shocked me, and made me want to share this story with the class.

This reminded me of the reading, Oppression by Dr. Marilyn Frye, because Dr. Frye expresses that commitment to political ideas is one of the many networks in which women are exposed to penalty (p. 12). Frye states that, “The experiences of oppressed people is that the living of ones life is confined and shaped by forces and barriers which are not accidental or occasional and hence avoidable, but are systematically related to each other in such a way as to catch one between and among them and restrict or penalize motion in any direction.”

The fact that a renowned feminist icon is expressing sexist ideas, such as “young women only want to impress boys,” shows that some patriarchal notions are deeply ingrained in all of us. They can and should be avoided, especially by someone who has fought for gender equality for years, yet here they are being used as a way to describe why young women may not necessarily vote for Hillary Clinton.

Additionally, I thought of the term heteronormativity. She is assuming that all young women choosing to back Sanders instead of Clinton are heterosexual and “just there for the boys.” Her statements are dismissing intersectionality and completely disregard LGBTQ supporters of Sanders, which was not taken lightly.

Pacquiao in Hot Water Over LGBT Views

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Posted on February 18, 2016 by Sarah Toler

Boxing legend, Manny Pacquiao is in hot water from the LGBT community, as well as Nike, for his recent comments on his beliefs of same-sex marriage. WVUE of New Orleans recently published an article about Nike cutting ties with Pacquiao over his opposing views.

Pacquiao said, “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?… If you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.” He went on to say, “I’m not condemning the LGBT, What I am condemning is the act.” Pacquiao states his views come from his Christian faith.

Nike said it opposes any sort of discrimination, and that is the reason they will no longer sponsor or support Pacquiao.

What do you think?

Who wouldn’t want to be Bruce Wayne?

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Mandi

http://griid.org/2013/02/12/normalizing-male-dominance-gender-representation-in-2012-films/

Every Friday my roommate and I host movie night at our apartment. Unconsciously, we have exhibited our gender identity. We have experienced gender differently and have an idea of what it means to be female or male. Every part of movie Friday reflects our personal beliefs of our roles. The boys have picked movies like the Dark Knight Rises and American Sniper (which the girls thoroughly enjoy as well). As they have been socially taught and encouraged by their parents throughout their lives that it is masculine to be aggressive and self-reliant. In both cases the men are heroes that are dependent upon themselves and kick but all while looking good. As tradition would predict they are successful and strong men who save the day and eliminate the bad guys. I can’t really blame them for looking to Bruce Wayne as a role model or manly goals… I mean he gets the ladies with ease, is a successful billionaire (sometimes), is strong, and has toys that blow things up. Moral of the story he embodies everything that our culture and most personal influences have deemed masculine. There are many more similar examples in the link provided that give insight on such movie characters.

A Woman in the Race…

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Sarah Toler

While scrolling through Yahoo’s coverage of last nights debate, I came across an interesting tweet. Now, I don’t personally use Twitter or have an account, but I had to click on this particular tweet from @DCHomos (what a name).

Obviously, having the first woman president would be groundbreaking, but I think focusing on sex of the candidates in the way that this twitter account, as well as many other people are, is changing the race.

To bring this back to our course, I will use the cultural theory of anthropology. Anthropology says gender isn’t absolute, nor is it a universal concept. So, what is considered masculine or feminine in our culture, may be dramatically different or even opposite of another culture. Traditionally, our culture views the job of President of the United States of America as a masculine position. So how would our ideas change if Hillary Clinton were to win the race? Would that make Hillary masculine, or would that make the job more feminine?

Something to think about…

Grey Area to Bridge the Gap

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Brittany Haun

A popular ABC primetime show Grey’s Anatomy never ceases to amaze viewers on what the patients and staffers might do next. If you are an avid fan but have not watched Season 11 or the episode from Feburary 19th you may not want to continue reading, blog post contains spoilers.
The Feburary 19th episode of Grey’s introduced a new character Kurt Warren, Dr. Ben Warrens brother. Kurt and Ben were shown in the beginning of the show spreading their deceased fathers ashes and when trying to return home Kurt collapsed and fell down a rocky hill. Once Kurt was admitted into the hospital the doctors found out that his lab results showed very high levels of hormones and drugs that should have not been there. Kurt later told sister-in-law Miranda Bailey that he was trying to be come a she.

On a gossip tv website TVLine the secret is revealed that Kurt’s storyline and transition is going to become a primary theme in this season of Grey’s Anatomy. Why is it so important that Kurt becomes a story line rather than a family member who shows up for an episode or two? Many times the writers of Grey’s introduce new cases, some family members, to relate to things going on in the world. However, Kurt is here to stay because more of the American population is coming out as transgendered and our society needs to be aware of what that really means and how to need to adapt. In Chapter two of Gendered Lives queer theory is moving beyond the two binary labels. This theme in Grey’s Anatomy is helping to close gap between the “black and white” binary labels.

More controversy will be on the rise from this because Kurt was using illegal drugs to become a woman? Now the hospital is going to help him transition? According to the TVLine article Kurt will gain a love interest. Do you think there should/ will be more characters and shows like this on tv?

Bathroom Binary Code

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Julia Halladay

Over 150 universities have bathrooms that are not labeled with binary terms. The bathrooms were changed due to comfort of non-gender conforming students rather then safety concerns. “These are two gender-open bathrooms where students of any gender can go in, and use the restroom, and feel safe, regardless of gender expression or gender identity,” Michelle Margulis (Links to an external site.), president of NU’s Rainbow Alliance LGBT student group told CBS Chicago.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/c9JhGNysgrk[/youtube]

BUTCH – Meg Allen Studio

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One of my favorite collection of photos is by photographer Meg Allen, based out of San Francisco. The gallery titled “BUTCH” is described on Allen’s website as

“an environmental portraiture project and exploration of the butch aesthetic, identity and presentation of female masculinity as it stands in 2013-14. It is a celebration of those who dwell outside of the stringent social binary that separates the sexes and a glimpse into the private and often unseen spaces of people who exude their authentic sense of self.”

Meg Allen

Meg Allen was one of the very first individuals that I thought of when I was first informed about the Gender Watch blog. There is something so beautiful and interesting about her work that allows us to step into the lives of the individuals represented in our discussions. I simply had to share and I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do.

InTouch: Out of Line

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Daena Bodie

A couple of weeks ago, January 15^th to be exact, InTouch magazine released a cover page for their magazine that featured a very feminine Bruce Jenner.

Jenner: Photoshopped on to Stephanie Beacham

The magazine claims to have had an inside scoop on Jenner’s plans to ‘come out’ as transgender during 2015. Following Jenner’s last few years and slight changes and operations InTouch felt as if it was acceptable to consider the cover for print.

Not only does it appear that InTouch failed to be considerate of Jenner’s private life and went for the cover without his consent but they were also extremely insensitive towards others who are transgender by seemingly mocking them.

The cover sees Jenner’s face photoshopped on to an image of Stephanie Beacham from 2013 with added makeup to emphasize what seems to be Jenner’s transition.

The topic that needs to be raised here is, how can it be acceptable for a magazine to distastefully portray transgender people. Putting the topic out there in a manner that comes across as a joke to the public.

Also if you get a chance it’s worthwhile taking a look at how Twitter reacted to the whole situation.

Gender Watch

“When you know better you do better.” ― Maya Angelou

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