Equality vs Fairness

Feminist. The F word. Somehow, no matter how much women have accomplished, feminist ideals seem to be an elephant in the room. An elephant whose head, after both the 1st and 2nd wave of the on going women's movement, keeps getting closer and closer to that glass ceiling right above it. But really, what is there not to celebrate about the struggles and accomplishments for the fight for feminist ideals? After all, at its most basic level, feminism is simply the act of striving for justice both as a woman individually and for women as a whole; big acts or small.

As we covered the broad topic of the history of feminism and the Women's Movement in the United States this week, I couldn't help but wander back to an important lesson that came out of the 2nd wave of the Women's Movement: there is no right or clear definition of women's justice. Feminism and women's justice means array of different things to an array to different people. Take the sports realm for example: you might have one girl who defines justice in her world as the opportunity to play on the football team. But, then you have another girl who doesn't think this is right because it would mean that she would have to compete with boys who wanted to come out for the volleyball team. Therefore, by this, we can see that it is possible to articulate at least two definitions of justice when it comes to the Women's Movement: equality and fairness.

On the surface, equality and fairness may hold the same connotations. I mean, when you were five what did you whine when your mom gave your brother more M&Ms than you (as in unequal amounts)? "But Mommmmm! That's Not Fair!" Am I right? But, in terms of feminism, we can come to understand that fairness and equality are far from one in the same. Feminists who push for equality can be defined as people who are in the mind-set that women's justice is possible only when differences between men and women are erased by laws and societal expectations that allow men and women to be treated differently. On the plus side, these feminists can be a powerful force when it comes to creating a world without a gender disparity in pay. However, with full equality in mind, it is hard to argue on the woman's side for some of the ideal's of feminism. For instance, post-birth rights in terms time allowed and paid for away from the office is not an equality issue. And, like the girl imagined above, wanting the opportunity to try out for the football team cannot be turned into an equality issue or else there is the possibility of all sports being dominated by boys/men and losing female participation.

In contrast to the feminist ideal of equality, feminists who push for fairness recognize that there, inborn to partly our biological make-up and partly to our society, differences between men and women. These feminists argue that the gendered world will only reach justice when women are somehow compensated for these differences. These feminists, especially powerful in the 2nd wave movement, helped to strengthen the argument for rights for pregnant women, the need for childcare centers, and the right to control their own bodies. Also, people who idealize this concept of feminism were most likely behind the formulation of scholarships for women pursuing a higher education that still persist today for areas of study that remain to be somewhat male-dominated such as engineering and physics.

Even though both equality and fairness ideals have helped feminists of Women's Movements to push towards gendered justice, it is important to recognize that neither of these two approaches are entirely satisfactory. Neither can answer fully what lies behind women’s successes and failures in striving for women’s justice. But besides their failures, the fairness and equality ideals in the realm of women's justice do have some important and powerful commonalities. For instance, both, in essence, strive to remove patriarchy, or the rule of men over social, economic, and political power in society. It is in this that they both confront the privileges of men and hold the belief that women’s justice can only be reached when women are viewed as independent beings instead of “simply derivatives of their relationships to men," as feminist Lynne Ford puts it. For, to end, this fight is the BIG one- it was this one that sparked the momentum for the Women's Movement that continues on to this day.

The words of my reflection this week are simple: equality does not equal fairness. However, the image that I am using to represent that idea is far from strait forward in its meaning. And, with that I think I will have a little fun this Thursday night and leave it open for interruption :)

Freedom and Others

This weeks readings focused on a 21st century controversy: the meanings and perceived symbolism of the female veil or body covering. Before reading the works picked for this week, I had not consciously thought much about the feelings and thoughts that the veil stirred in me as a person emerged in American culture. But, after having time to consciously reflect on my previous knowledge and feelings of and for the veil, I have realized that I was very much consumed and blindsided by the Western's perception of it. However, after the readings and discussions of this weeks class, I have come to understand that the ideas and discussion surrounding the veil, contrary to what our society may suggest, is not monolithic. Instead, there is a much broader and much more fairer thinking and focus in terms of what the veil means and symbolizes. To access this, we must put the people in which the veil is part of personal daily life ahead of the brainwashing and stereotypical construction the media does a good job of doing.

Perhaps the most powerful image in terms of what Westerners think of the veil involves it's connection to Islam. As author Martha Wand pointed out, "Many Westerners believe that, Islam is a monolithic, omnipresent force whose purpose is to lock up women" (Islamic Middle East: Veiled Separations 149). However, when we close our own cultural lens and open our ears to the people who experience female covering day in and day out, we come to understand that this is not the case. Instead, women have immense differences and motivations for wearing the veil, few of which include a feeling of submission. For instance, for some women, the burqua enhances: "...the burqua beautifies in a spiritual sense...Like a jewel, [the burqua] adds to what is already there. No matter how beautiful the woman, it cannot fail to make her even more so." Other women feel that covering themselves is a form of self expression in the sense it shows the importance of their faith and religion. As Gabriel Arkles put it, "Walking in [a] community as an out Muslim was an act of defiance...I loved making that statement" (The Scarf 249). These two reasonings are only two of many motivations of women to wear a body covering. Never the less, by these two examples it is clear that it is quite ignorant to think that a female body covering is an object of submissiveness and oppression, no matter what American culture may push us to believe.

This leads to the question of how American culture, and especially the American media have led us to believe what we do about both the veil, and Middle Eastern people in general. First, we must recognize the role of the public realm. Well respected public leaders of aided to creating the idea that Muslim men and women are "other," or un-normal. For example, Cherie Bush (Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife) more than once spoke of the need of the "we" (the west) to help "them" (the women of the Middle East) free a female spirit and give women a voice. In other words, "'We' women in the West are defined in contrast to the oppression that Afghan women suffer," says the book Muslim Women in America.

In addition to public actors, the American media mainly, has especially been powerful in separation Arab and Muslims for the norm. The media loves showing images of women going to the polling stations covered from head to foot in their niquab. By showing these, they, from what I perceive, aim to ask, "Isn't it odd that these female objects are allowed to actually vote?" Another example of the media's influence over our perception of Middle Eastern peoples is their choosing of photographs to represent their Middle Eastern stories. According to Muslim Women in America, conflict in the Middle East stories almost always feature a picture of an Arab males (31). In addition, studys say that when images of Muslim women are featured in news print, the women are almost always in a niquab and are commonly unnamed. This, according to the author, reinforces "the anonymity (and invisibility) attributed by the veil" (31).

For my reflection this week, I chose to make an art piece that related to the controversy to answer the question, "What is freedom?" in the context in which we studied it. On the left hand side is the Afghanistan Miss Universe contender in her bikini who was praised by Westerners for her "free-spirit" and for representing the "new Middle Eastern woman." Also, there is a quote from Mattel, manufacturer and creator of Barbie that, with out saying it, condemns Iraq for their 'active reinforcement in the submissiveness of women'. On the other side, I have reflected on the inside perspective to the Muslim veil that I have gained this week by my spotlighting my favorite quote of the week that was in response to Miss Afghanistan's choice to step out in her bikini, and with this I will leave you with. Have a good weekend! I'll try and bring back some sunshine from California when I come back Sunday!

Habiba Sorabi's quote in case you can't read it from my artwork:

"Appearing naked before a camera or television is not women's freedom but in my opinion is to entertain men."

Live Outside the Know

One of my favorite high school teacher's favorite sayings was "You don't know what you don't know." I think this saying is especially prevalent in reflecting on this past week's texts. Too often, I find myself wondering what the other side of the stories are, or what stories I am blinded from entirely. These past week's readings forced me to take off my cultural lens and focus in on subjects that are both ignored and not accepted by society: intersexuality and transgender. Reading and discussing both greatly aided in helping to expand my understanding of how sex, gender, and society relate with each other, and also helped to widen my perception of diversity in sex and gender overall.

Last week, our class came to understand that sex and gender are not one in the same. Instead, while sex is a biological tribute, gender is not natural, and is something that is almost purely constructed by society and one's personal experiences. Therefore, although sex may contribute to the way society perceives one's gender, female does not equal woman and male does not equal man. This point was reinforced this week through a gender topic I had not considered: transgender. In her article "Beards, Breasts, and Bodies," Raine Dozier writes that many female to male transgendered adults she extensively studied experienced a shift in the way they are treated once they became a male. For instance, one of Dozier's subjects shared that, since becoming a man, he is receiving more attention when speaking. Instead of being considered an outspoken women, he feels that he is viewed as a wise man with thoughtful opinions. (Gendered Bodies 146). In addition, another shared that he had work to change his behavior after he transitioned because "skills that [were] needed to survive as a butch woman...made [him] look like a really obnoxious guy" (146). By this, we can see that society demands a performance based on one's physically perceived sexual identity of either femininity or masculinity. In other words, society's understanding and perception of a person's behavior is dependent on their perceived sex. As a result, it is clear by these examples that sex does not equal gender. However, we can go beyond that and conclude that sex and gender DO have a relationship. As Dozier concluded in the final paragraph of her article, "Sex is a crucial aspect of gender...the gendered meaning of a person's behavior is based on sex attribution" (148).

Although sex, as in male and female, has come to be understood as the "natural" when recognizing the difference between sex and gender, we were presented with opposition to this notion through this week's study of intersexuals. Intersexuals, people having both male and female anatomical characteristics and genes, show us that sex is not always black and white and gender doesn't have to conform to society's expectations. Since, by definition of their sex, they are both female and male, some intersexed activists have worked to destabilize the overbearing relationship of sex and gender made by society. For instance, some have chosen to live in contrast to the gender role expected of them by society. After living like this, one such activist points out that ""I am...a person that doesn't have to conform because in my very DNA I don't agree with the societal norm...It's been a really freeing experience. I'm a lot happier" (Lorber and Moore 153). Perhaps we can take away from this that just because society demands a genderized role for us, we aren't forced to live in that. The possibility for being truly happy lies in living beyond the boundaries of gender as created by society. As said by an intersexual named Tiger, "No matter what you think of how I look or how I speak, no matter what I've done to fit into this world, I am not male or I am not female. And probably neither are you" (153).

For my reflection this week, I chose to make a photo/text collage on a watercolor painted design. In case it is hard for you to read the words on the collage here is what it says:

Dear Society...

• I like pink
• I like dresses
• I watch "chick-flics"
• I scream around bugs
• Flowers are pretty

DOES THIS MAKE ME GIRL?

• My favorite movie is 300
• I love lifting weights
• I hate playing with dolls
• I wish I could play football
• I like being muddy
• I don't often cry
• I love winning...I HATE losing

DOES THIS MAKE ME BOY?

This piece of work was mainly in response to the definition of "Gender Identity Disorder" we briefly covered in class, as well as thoughts that were spurred as I discovered the stories of intersexuals and transgenders and came to understand a new way of seeing the construction of gender.