Gender Studies Exam (Readings *theses)

Cisgender Privilege (Evin Taylor, p93)

A checklist to help cisgender people understand the extent of their privilege over transgender people.

Gate C22 (Ellen Bass, p339)

A couple kisses intimately after one of them gets off a plane. The piece shows that older couples should not be ashamed of being intimate, and people should be able to be free with their actions when they love someone.

Bread Buds and the "Training" Bra (Joan Jacobs Brumberg, p205)

A history of the training bra and the sexualization of young girls—girls were told to wear training bras for "medical" reasons, but the real reason was that women's bodies should be controlled.

A Day Without Feminism (Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, p34)

A look at the state of women in America in 1970. Every aspect of women's lives are looked at, from childhood to school to sex to the workplace to health.

Constitutional Argument (Susan B. Anthony, p606)

A piece by one of the defining figures of first-wave feminism. The question to be asked: are rights given or inherent?

She Said (Mariah Lockwood, p568)

A poem about a woman in an abusive relationship, starting with her accepting his proposal out of her fear of being alone, and following its escalation to physical violence.

Our Grandmothers (Maya Angelou, p112)

A poem about how woman of color overcame slavery but are still suffering all around in our modern world.

Some Like Indians Endure (Paula Gunn Allen, p346)

A poem about lesbians surviving history that tried to beat them down, like Native Americans. Hopeful but honest about the bad stuff.

My Heroines (Marge Piercy, p47)

A poem about who the real female heroes are in the world, who do behind-the-scenes work. The mothers who are trying to help their daughters live a stronger life than they did. Woman who go to rallies and spread information on different political issues. The woman who without much attention, change the world.

Don't Laugh, It's Serious, She Says (Ellie Mamber, p100)

A poem by a 55 year old woman about her experience in the dating world, and how men are held to a different standard than women are.

When I Was Growing Up (Nellie Wong, p159)

A poem from the perspective of a Chinese-American woman growing up in a society that values whiteness and traditionally European beauty standards. She also feels the need to fit stereotypes and be ashamed of her own culture.

Betrayed by the Angel (Debra Anne Davis, p571)

A woman draws parallels between how women are expected to be polite and accommodating and how her rapist took advantage of her—and between her life and Virginia Woolf's "angel."

Enlightened Sexism (Susan Douglas, p283)

According to society, woman can have it all and are lifestylebots. They choose to pursue everything at once, and choose to be sexually objectified.

Family Way (Judith Warner, p456)

An essay about "French motherhood" and the idea that french moms don't fully give in to traditional motherhood. They're nonchalant about it, not child-centric. Pregnancy and motherhood needs to be more integrated into society and less taboo.

There Is No Hierarchy of Oppression (Audre Lorde, p85)

An exploration of what it means to be part of more than one oppressed group. Explains how oppression of one group is oppression of all groups, because of the intersectionality of society.

Name It. Change It. (Rachel Joy Larris and Rosalie Maggio, p610)

As a joint project of Women's Media Center and She Should Run, Name It. Change It. seeks to make sexism as repugnant as racism and highlight parallelism between male and female candidates.

New Orientations: Asexuality (Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks, p348)

Asexuality: not experiencing sexual attraction. In history, it has been treated like a disorder, not a orientation. It is queer because it subverts the norm.

Queering Black Female Heterosexuality (Kimberly Springer, p356)

Black females are sexualized or desexed as the norm, so taking that back (queering) is disrupting the norm. Black women stand at the intersection of race, sexuality, and violence.

Too Poor to Parent? (Gaylynn Burroughs, p617)

Blame falls on (single) mothers for not meeting welfare standards, even when it's not their fault. Society puts a lot of pressure on poor people already, and social services does not differentiate between children removed because of abuse and children removed because of poverty.

Singled Out (Tamara Winfrey Harris, p464)

Challenging the assumptions that black women need a man, need to act like a man to get a man, need to use sex as leverage, are too picky, the assumption that men are only interested in sex, rather than meaningful relationships, and the assumption that there is a "crisis" because black women are unmarried.

Will Marriage Equality Lead to Equal Sharing of Housework? (Terrence Heath, p500)

Children learn from their parents, so if parents take equal parts in housework, then so will their children. Men should be equal partners in sharing housework.

White Privilege and Male Privilege (Peggy McIntosh, p86)

Compares white privilege and male privilege, because having privilege is having an automatic advantage. Oppression works in two ways: obvious discrimination and discrimination that the dominant group is taught not to see.

Feminist Politics: Where We Stand (bell hooks, 37)

Covers the radical feminist stance and the history of the feminist movement. Explains that feminism is about dismantling an oppressive system, not just wanting to be equal to men, and that women-only spaces are not necessarily free from sexism or other forms of oppression.

Bodies and Bathrooms (Dan Frosch, p245)

Coy is a trans girl going through puberty, and the school didn't want to let her use the bathroom. The (Colorado) court ruled in her favor.

My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears (Mohja Kahf, p468)

Cultural clash between east and west, and between age. Intersectionality!

We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For (Moya Bailey and Alexis Pauline Gumbs, p725)

Despite the ideas of black feminism being stolen and misinterpreted throughout time, black feminists have still found ways to work together and form communities based on activism and the sharing of ideas.

Beating Anorexia and Gaining Feminism (Marni Grossman, p211)

Discusses the author's experience with anorexia, makes the point that eating disorders come from a place of privilege—the personal is political.

The Triumph of the Working Mother (Stephanie Coontz, p515)

Explains about why going into the workforce is good for a women, and gives several statistical examples of how women's lives have improved.

Still Needing The F Word (Anna Quindlen, p46)

Explains how feminism can be improved, and how not much has changed since The Feminine Mystique was published. Feminism is still a "dirty word," and women are still expected to be effortlessly perfect and value popularity above all else.

The Five Sexes Revisited (Anne Fausto-Sterling, p136)

Explains how the differences between men and women are hard to define, and not everyone fits into these categories. Also suggests a five-sex system for categorizing sex.

The Social Construction of Gender (Judith Lorber, p141)

Explores how assigned gender has an affect on children from birth, which continues throughout their lives. It also explains the power that gender has over every aspect of our lives, from the workplace to our personal body language.

Maid to Order: The Politics of Other Women's Work (Barbara Ehrenreich, 517)

Explores the new hierarchy that has developed in the modern home with the normalization of hiring a maid. The majority of housekeepers that are hired are there because they have few other opportunities and little or no chance of advancements.

Struggling to Find a Home (Patricia Leigh Brown, p630)

Female veterans struggle in a variety of ways, and their needs have not been met by the VA/society. Many are survivors of sexual assault or are primary caregivers.

Delinquent Girls (Andrea Doyle Hugmeyer, p624)

Girls more often get in trouble for running away, truancy, underage drinking, etc., than boys. The power-control theory says girls commit less crimes in general because they are more watched by parents, and women entering the workforce leads to more delinquency. Gender specific programs that target health education, histories of abuse, teaching leadership skills, etc., are the most effective.

What We Do for Love (Rose Weitz, p221)

Hair and relationships. Men sometimes try to control female partners' hair, and hair cutting can be a symbol of independence from men. Hair is a symbol of attractiveness for women, and we are socialized to like "white" hair.

Thinking About Shakespeare's Sister (Virginia Woolf, p276)

If Shakespeare had had a sister who was as brilliant as he was, she wouldn't have been able to write like he did. After undergoing tremendous amounts of abuse and oppression, she would have killed herself.

If Men Could Menstruate (Gloria Stemen, p209)

If men could menstruate, it would be enviable and another way to put women down. Plus, stuff would be free!

What's Up With Boys? (Michael Kimmel and Christina Hoff Sommers, p156)

In this interview, Kimmel and Sommers debate whether debate whether boys are discriminated against in the school system. Sommers' argument is that boys are harmed by zero-tolerance policies and shorter recesses, while Kimmel argues that boys and girls should be raised as themselves, not as a gender, in the first place.

The Power and the Gloria (Rachel Graham Cody, p39)

In this interview, the author recaps Gloria Steinem's feminist history, her role in the movement, and media. They also talk about how nothing is truly separate from the women's movement, the patriarchy's need to control women and thus control reproduction, the legal world not protecting women from bodily invasion, and the fact that no one, man or woman, can "have it all." The system has to be changed so that "we can all have a life."

Intersectionality (Vivian M. May, p79)

Intersectionality acknowledges that each person's experience is different based on their many identities, and no one person can speak for an entire oppressed group.

Hold That Nose (Lisa Miya-Jervis, p231)

Jewish women and nose jobs used to go hand in hand, as a cultural, familial thing. The author defies oppression by not caving to cultural whitewashing and trying to change her nose.

Color Me Nontoxic (Momo Chang, p522)

Many female employees of nail salons, many of whom face a language barrier, are exploited and unable to speak out about the injustices they face. This prompted Uyen Nguyen to open the first eco-friendly nail salon.

Who Wants to Marry a Feminist? (Lisa Miya-Jervis, p454)

Marriage has historical implications of oppression and ownership—but you can make it your own. The idea that feminists hate men and marriage is a misunderstanding. To reject marriage because of its history means that you are giving in to that history.

If the Clothes Fit: A Feminist Take on Fashion (Minh-Ha T. Pham, p247)

Patriarchy provides commentary on fashion. We reward or punish women for being put together or not. Fashion becomes about social status.

Poetry Is Not a Luxury (Audre Lorde, p281)

Poetry is necessary for women to express themselves and to understand the female condition. The basis of poetry is ideas. Poetry formulates ideas. This essay's writing is itself poetry.

What Pussy Riot Taught the World (Michael Petrou, p723)

Pussy Riot, a Russian punk activism band, protested Vladimir Putin's policies and the rise in influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, for which they were jailed. Their goal is to pursue the "art of activism" with surprising public events, showing strength and dedication even in the face of extreme backlash.

Vampires and Vixens (Alison Happel and Jennifer Esposito, p288)

Shows how we are educated by pop culture to sexualize violence and romanticize power imbalances—through the lens of Twilight.

The Sexist Truth About Office Romances (Peggy Drexler, p528)

Since most people spend the majority of their time with their coworkers, they often end up in relationships with their coworkers. Women and men in office romances are treated differently. People assume that women are "sleeping their way to the top" or "getting special treatment."

Power Plays: Six Ways the Male Corporate Elite Keeps Women Out (Martha Burk, p525)

The article discusses the different ways men keep power by preventing women from getting to the top, mostly by maintaining the power of those at the top and separating women and minorities from the rest of their groups when they do get to the top.

Opening Pandora's Box: Adding Classism to the Agenda (Felice Yeskel, p95)

The author put together a group of people to talk about their different experiences with economic class, who met regularly to discuss their experiences in their social class. It is hard to talk about classism because there is no clarity or definition on what the different classes are, and class can intersect with other marginalized groups.

Forty Years of Women's Studies (Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Bonnie Thornton Dill, p30)

The first Women's Studies program opened at San Diego State University in 1970. In the 1980s, women of color started to critique the WS curriculum's exclusion of race, ethnicity, class, and cultural differences. Women's Studies has opened new doors with regards to new areas of study (queer studies, cultural studies, etc) and advanced the societal discussion of rape culture, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, child care, and healthcare reform.

Dismantling Hierarchy, Queering Society (Andrea Smith, p354)

The heterosexual family unit, a western idea, is a part of colonialism. Colonialism's goals to wipe out cultures, family ties, and humanity, can be facilitated by rape.

Through the Lens of Race: Black and White Women's Perceptions of Womanhood (Settles, Pratt-Hyatt, Buchanan, p160)

The intersection of race and its involvement in the perception of womanhood. Both groups of women recognize many of the same broad components of gender mistreatment, but there were differences between Black and White women on what it means to be a woman. White women were more likely to suggest that it means making decisions about work and family, but black women suggested inner strength was most important.

Prosthetic Power (Aimee Mullins, p210)

The point is to understand and destigmatize prosthetics and disability. This piece turns ableism upside down, making prosthetics enviable.

Wrestling with Gender (Deborah H. Blake, p173)

There are not enough women to have a league of their own, so female wrestlers must compete in the men's league. Often male competitors will refuse to wrestle a girl. This impedes the improvements of both athletes and diminishes the hard work of the women and the integrity of the sport.

The Cult of Virginity (Jessica Valenti, p334

There is no medical term or exact meaning of virginity or sex, so it becomes how you choose to define it. Also brings up the Miss USA Tara Conner as a woman who was shamed for not living up to her "virgin" role.

No More Miss America (New York Radical Women, p33)

This reading critiques the Miss America pageant for degrading women and pitting them against each other. The authors specifically point out the organization's racism and the messed up societal standards that Miss America is held to.

Lullabies Behind Bars (Beth Schwartzapfel, p466)

Up to a certain age, children are allowed to live with their incarcerated mothers, allowing them to bond. The whole issue of incarcerated mothers carried a lot of nuance and a lot of problems.

Virtuous Valentine? Think Again (Hannah Levintova, 524)

Valentine's Day is comprised of three major industries: flowers, chocolate, and cards. The flower industry exploits female workers to prevent the need for maternity leave and exposes workers to toxic chemicals that can lead to birth defects. Chocolate corporations take advantage of child labor. The greeting card business consumes insane amounts of paper, and the toxic inks are harmful to the environment.

Toward A New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection (Patricia Hill Collins, p72)

We need to understand how different systems of oppression intersect. Everyone has multiple identities and can't be neatly categorized. Oppressed groups need to fight for common causes.

The Gender Gap in Pain (Laurie Edwards, p395)

Women have been misdiagnosed and misunderstood by the medical system for almost all of history. Men and women have different bodies and not all medication requires the same dosage for both. Companies test drugs on males, so how do we really know what will effectively work for females?

Ethnicity and Body Consciousness (Dara N. Greenwood and Sonya Dal Cin, p214)

Women of color might be able to reject beauty norms, but it's because they aren't targeted as much by the beauty industry. Still, though, no one is completely immune.

The Feminist Factor (Eleanor Smeal, p607)

Women, generally, vote differently than men. Not only do they vote more than men, but the gender gap was key in electing President Obama and many Democratic Senators. To further the pro-women agenda, many issues—namely a balanced budget, women's health, LGBT rights, gun control, and girls' education—have to keep being pushed for.

Is Fat a Feminist Issue? Exploring the Gendered Nature of Weight Bias (Janna L. Fikkan and Esther D. Rothblum, p233)

Yes. Larger people are often poorer, and bad food is cheap. Our racist society segregates people, and the poor are punished for being poor. People aren't educated on health and portions, too. Women, specifically, are shamed for being fat.

Claiming an Education (Adrienne Rich, p28)

You can't just "get" an education; you have to fight for it in male-dominated academia. The experiences and perspectives of women and PoC have been excluded from the curriculum. To take Women's Studies is to take responsibility for yourself and your identity. Think actively.