wgs 100

The first fundamental belief is that women occupy a subordinate position in society and suffer certain injustices and systemic disadvantages because they are women. The second fundamental belief is that subordination of women is neither inevitable nor desirable: it can and should be changes through political action.

Cameron, Fem-I-Nism, Introduction: According to Cameron, feminism rests on "two fundamental beliefs." What are they?

It is an idea in a sense that "the radical notion that woman are people". It is a collective political project that has only ever commanded mass support when its goals were compatible with a range of beliefs and interests (ex. Women's suffrage, reproductive rights, etc). It is an intellectual framework in a way that feminism is a way of asking questions and searching for answers

Cameron, Fem-I-Nism, Introduction: Explain how, according to Cameron, feminism is each of these things: an idea; a collective political project; an intellectual framework.

Members of certain economic, social and racial classes may be oppressed as individuals, male or female but men as a whole are not an oppressed group.

Frye, Oppression: Frye argues that men can certainly suffer as individuals but are not oppressed as men. Explain what she means by this.

This metaphor of the birdcage talks about how looking at one wire of the cage does not explain why a bird would be trapped but when you look at the cage as a whole it is easy to see. With regards to the oppression of certain groups, it is sometimes hard to see why certain aspects of the system may hold them back until you look at the big picture and examine the system as a whole. She believes this is a good metaphor because it also represents how oppressed people are caged.

Frye, Oppression: Frye uses the metaphor of a birdcage to describe the situation of women (and other oppressed groups). Explain this metaphor. Why does she feel this is such a useful metaphor?

Double bind refers to the idea that oppressed people are often put in situations where there are limited options and all of them result in some sort of negative consequence.

Frye, Oppression: Frye uses the term "double bind" to describe the situation of women. What does this term mean? Give an example of a "double bind".

Sexism is defined as anything that creates, constitutes, promotes, or exploits any irrelevant or impertinent marking of the distinction between the sexes.

Frye, Sexism: How does Frye define the word "sexism"?

A mans sex category is generally seen as an asset to him when it is the first thing noticed about them. When a woman's sex category is the first thing noticed, it is generally seen as a liability to her. Negative consequences to this can be very concrete. Ex. A man walking down a street at night vs a Woman (man will be seen as not assultable, woman will be seen as assultable).

Frye, Sexism: What does Frye say is the crucial difference between people noticing sex-category for a male and noticing sex-category for a female? Give an example of the consequences of this difference.

Material privileges refer to tangible advantages like access to jobs, health care, housing, education, and legal treatment while psychological privileges refers to things like the way others perceive you such as receiving more respect and being looked at as more credible.

Goodman, Oppression and Privilege: Explain what Goodman means by "material privileges" and "psychological privileges."

Prejudice is when certain individuals or groups are prejudged based on their social identity whereas oppression is when prejudice is enforced on a societal level.

Goodman, Oppression and Privilege: How does Goodman distinguish between prejudice and oppression?

Privileged groups have greater power and control than oppressed groups and get to set the laws, policies and practices that impact others. They often don't recognize oppression or their own privilege and feel a sense of superiority and entitlement.

Goodman, Oppression and Privilege: What does Goodman identify as the characteristics of privileged groups?

1) Feminism is dead - people assume that since there have been such major gains in the feminist movement, there is no longer a need for feminism.2) Feminists are ugly - this stereotype is perpetuated to dissuade young girls from becoming feminists by making them think that feminists are ugly and can't come in any other form.3) Feminists hate men - this misconception is a strategy used to dismiss the beliefs of feminists by labeling feminism as a battle between the sexes instead of a struggle for equality between sexes.4) Only women can be feminists - there is an assumption that only women would want to be feminists but this is more recently a challenged perspective because the number of male feminist allies is growing as more men see the ways in which they are harmed by having to adhere to traditional masculine norms.5) Feminists are lesbians or male feminists are gay - this idea is used as a way of capitalizing on the social stigma against gays to frighten people away from identifying as a feminist.6) Feminism is solely for privileged women who are interested in equality with similarly situated men - throughout history, there has been exclusion of certain groups of women from feminist movements even though these groups have always participated in feminist movements even if they may have been different in the past.

TCWGS, Chapter One: Launius and Hassel say that there are six misconceptions about feminism and feminists that are prominent in American culture today. List and explain each of them (no more than a sentence each).

1st wave- was focused on women's suffrage. The Seneca falls declaration - 1860s. 19th amendment of 1920.2nd wave- contraception/reproductive rights. College/jobs. Largely associated with 1960s and 70s.3rd wave- 1990s. intersectionality. Continuing many of same goals as previous waves. Criticized the idea that there is a group called "women".

TCWGS, Chapter One: What are the main elements of each of the first three waves of feminism as presented by Launius and Hassel?

Oppression - prejudice and discrimination directed towards a group and perpetuated by the ideologies and practices of multiple social institutions.Privilege - benefits, advantages and power that accrue to members of a dominant group as a result of the oppression of the marginalized group.Internalized oppression - when marginalized groups internalize the dominant group's characterizations of them as lesser and inferior.Mythical norm - usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure.

TCWGS, Chapter Three: How do Launius and Hassel define the following terms: oppression; privilege; internalized oppression; mythical norm?

a) Institutions - many systems function to grant resources and privileges to some groups while withholding them from othersb) Ideologies - a set of ideas or beliefs that represent the attitudes, interests, and values of a particular group. Stereotypes are a common form of privilege and oppression because they perpetuate beliefs that people hold about certain groups.Rape culture shows how institutions and ideologies express privilege and oppression because it normalizes and eroticizes violence against women and blames victims for their own abuse. Sexual violence is socially tolerated and woven into the fabric of society.

TCWGS, Chapter Three: How do privilege and oppression get expressed through a) institutions and b) ideologies? Use their example of rape culture to give an illustration of how institutions and ideologies do this.

Oppressed people, no matter what they are born into or are dealing with, can "pull themselves up by their bootstrap" into a better life, and out of oppression.

TCWGS, Chapter Three: What is the "bootstraps myth"?

Education - children receive both explicit and implicit messages about appropriate behaviors, attitudes and appearance for their gender from school policies, teachers, fellow students, and the curriculum.Family structures and the workplace - the idea that social and policy structures assume females should do the caretaking and housework while men should work outside of the house to provide for their family.Religions - most major religions are based on masculine god language and are centered around male prophets and gods with strict rules about the conduct of men and women.Popular culture - children are exposed to gendered messages throughout their lives, with toys being gendered, colors being gendered, and shows being gendered.Athletics - sports are looked at as gendered, and boys are said to be better at most sports while girls are supposed to stick to things like cheerleading.Electoral politics - women make up half the population but make up only a small percentage of representation in politics which makes people believe that it is less normal for women to be in politics.The legal system - portrays powerful messages about gender because women are more likely to receive leniency in these institutions, although it is highly dependent on things like race.

TCWGS, Chapter Two: According to Launius and Hassel, what are the "primary sites and arenas" of gender socialization? List and explain each of them (no more than a sentence each).

Biological sex - femaleness/maleness Gender assignment - the gender you are assigned at birth Gender identity - woman-ness/man-ness - gendered sense of self. Gender expression - femininity/masculinity. How one expresses themselves in reference to gender.

TCWGS, Chapter Two: How do Launius and Hassel define the following terms: biological sex; gender assignment; gender identity; gender expression?

Gender being constructed through interaction refers to the idea that when humans interact with one another they are thought by others to possess an "essential nature" or the natural signs given off by then which dictate whether they are viewed through a lens of femininity or masculinity.

West and Zimmerman, Doing Gender: According to West and Zimmerman, "Gender itself is constructed through interaction." Explain what they mean by this.

Gender functions as a form of social control because it often dictates what people do with their lives. For example, because it is less common for females to be doctors they are often referred to as "female doctors" or in the case of males and nursing, "male nurses".

West and Zimmerman, Doing Gender: According to West and Zimmerman, how does gender function as a form of social control?

They proposed that so long as sex category is used as a fundamental criterion for differentiation, doing gender is unavoidable.

West and Zimmerman, Doing Gender: West and Zimmerman ask the question: "Can we avoid doing gender?" Explain their answer to this question.

1) Exploitation refers to the Marxist theory of the classes, and with regards to feminism, the way that gender affects how one is placed in the class system.2) Marginalization refers to the oppression of certain groups because they are a part of that group and with regards to feminism, the way that both independent and dependent people have valid opinions and independence is not a key factor to being a feminist.3) Powerlessness refers to the idea that the powerless lack the authority, status and sense of self that professionals seem to have.4) Cultural imperialism refers to the way that dominant groups view marginalized groups' opinions as invisible while also stereotyping them and labeling them as the other.5) Violence refers to the way certain groups experience systemic violence as a result of prejudice against them.

Young, Five Faces of Oppression: As you see from the title, Young says that there are five faces of oppression. List them and give a sentence that describes each one.