a blog created by and for UCF (University of Central Florida) Theories of Masculinity students to share experiences, resources/links, articles/reviews, to rouse discussion and incite action, and engage issues related to masculinity. you should participate, too. email moderator for permission at Leandra@ucf.edu.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Exxxtra!
yo! if y'all wanna post your extra blogs here would be a great place :D
I found the last reading we were assigned this semester, “Unraveling the Gender Knot,” to be extremely thought provoking and insightful. The author, Allan Johnson did an amazing job of providing visual examples of what unraveling the gender knot would really look like. Johnson use of the “patriarchy-as-tree” metaphor really helped to further my understanding of how much one person can make a difference despite fact that ending the various types of oppression that exist seems like such a daunting and at times impossible feat. Seeing ourselves described as pioneers in the fight for gender equality evokes a feeling that change is possible; granted he does state that we may never see drastic changes in our lifespan but knowing that what we do with our lives matters and can have an impact on others makes it seem easier to take the path of resistance instead of following the beaten path.
The way we educate future generations is also key to promoting change for the better. Questioning things and accepting what might seem to some as unacceptable are steps that might seem easier said than done but Johnson proposed outlook drives home the idea that it is a crucial component to ending patriarchy. The idea that we are in this cycle of oppression that we ourselves have created and uphold is also put into perspective within this article. The idea that patriarchy has always existed resonates with me because I remember thinking what can I do to change anything? I often feel like I’m oppressed, my voice is oppressed in so many ways. I realize it doesn’t have to be big gestures, it can be little things we do in our daily lives. For instance, asking questions, speaking out against violence and gender inequality, and making demands when necessary (p. 620).
The influence we have on each other is much greater than we often think. I know that every day is step closer to reaching goals that might seem unattainable to us now but that must have been how countless generation before us have felt. We have come a long way and the fight is far from over but this essay has made me realize more than ever that it’s a fight worth being a part of. Something else I have learned is that it is okay to be loud and to be proud. We should not have to fear resistance; we should be taught to embrace difference in order to call upon change. In the words of the legendary Bob Marley, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”
Okay. So this wasn't Extra it's a blog that I hand-wrote and showed to Leandra on the due-date and am just now getting typed up. I have Blog 13 as the same. I am soooo sorry they're late getting up here!
Blog 12
Pro-wrestling as an active participant in “male gender codes [that] reinforce the socialization of boys and a code of honor that defines and obligates these roles” and forces them to “cling to their own set of social roles and a code of honor that defines and obligates these roles” (Men’s Lives 553). From this code of honor it ”requires men to inflict” violence on others “whether or not they want to be violent toward anyone of either sex” (533). The obligations from the roles present in pro-wrestling are tied to violence (for obvious reasons) but also with male competition and the creation of hierarchies that perpetuate only more of the same. Within the documentary they identify bullying as an example of the male social hierarchy within pro-wrestling and the audience’s positive reaction to this violent display in the strong man competitions as an ultra-valuable example of male ability and ideals. The audience supports these “rule-breakers” who are in the show the ones most fulfilling the violent hierarchy and are thus ruling the systems within the show. The show takes on a particular section of American culture and places the same oppressive roles and socialization of male code of honor and recreates them to perpetuate the outer within a micro-community on display entirely for entertainment and self-subsidence for the continuation of more of the same. This tiny inner community dictates the actions and the values of the larger outer community. Women within these arenas are able to only “destroy the honor of the male” (553) but without creating any of their own. Without any honor of their own they cannot “play” in the same game of honor as the men. No alternate power system is available so the women are subjected to merely be submissive and objected to being the literal playthings of the men fighting for power. Their value is tied to their attractiblity to the fans and the men of pro-wrestling. As objects they are throw around, forced to be kissed, molested with violent regularity all the while assuming a sense of exuberant enjoyment and sexual pleasure. The one female character, China, with any sense of presence in the masculine world as something other than this became caught in the system and got multiple plastic surgeries to create a more sexualized version of herself and the female presence within pro-wrestle.
My thoughts throughout the class have not so much changed but perhaps became more fleshed out. Each week the principals of feminism are discussed but with the additional perspective of the male/masculine voice. I say additional perspective because it seemed the class had a tendency to view the topics from a similar feminist perspective. Yet from the class I did realize a new male voice and presence within feminism and its huge importance to the movement as a whole for true, whole progression. Realizing the cultural pressures on men and women relates the newly understood need of coalitions and communal change for their to be any true progression of equality and within the fight against oppression. Keeping even one group oppressed makes any system of equality null because no total equality is possible with any presence of oppression. With the capability and action of one oppression relates a capability of any oppression with just the exercise of it. With such an instability and our current obsession with capitalism the switch from capability to actuality probably wouldn’t take long. Keeping this in mind I view the theories and events within my life differently and feel more aware of possible new intersections of our society that should be considered within both feminism and the American society and economic system.
It was interesting to read The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality by the Commission on the Status of Women Forty-eighth session, March 1-12, 2004. This article was much different than the anecdotal stories or sociological-type studies that we have been reading throughout the semester in Men Speak Out and Men’s Lives. It was gratifying to read that the United Nations “recognizes that gender inequalities still exist and are reflected in imbalance of power between women and men in all spheres of society” (635). I wish that reports such as this were as widely recognized and read as the constitution or bible. People often take the previous two writings as sources of authority and certain knowledge. However, if as many people knew about and took this report as seriously as the constitution and bible, the world would be a much more egalitarian, happy, and safe place. Today, even most educated people believe sexism to be a thing of the past. Much like we are living in a post-racist society because Obama is president, people believe that we are living in a post-patriarchal society because Women’s Suffrage in the ‘20s and the Women’s Movement of the ‘70s. Just this week, Nicole turned in a paper in a philosophy course about how the imbalance of power between men and women influences loving relationships in heterosexual couples. She was told by her (male) professor that sexism doesn’t exist anymore and her arguments were outdated. I wish that he read this report that explicitly states that GENDER INEQUALITY STILL EXISTS!! HELLOOO!!! (Well this article is indeed from 2004 so maybe the oppression of women has been eradicated since then?) This information needs to be known in society and not hidden from us or ignored, especially the people who are supposedly educating us. Especially because “the commission further recognizes that everyone benefits from gender equality and that the negative impacts of gender inequality are borne by society as a whole and emphasizes, therefore, that men and boys, through taking responsibility themselves and working jointly in partnership with women and girls, are essential to achieving the goals of gender equality, development and peace” (635). Said professor, along with every male-identified person in the world, should take responsibility for themselves and take in active part in striving towards gender equality. But in order to do this, they need to know that we absolutely do not live in a post-patriachy and sexism is still alive and thriving.
5 comments:
I found the last reading we were assigned this semester, “Unraveling the Gender Knot,” to be extremely thought provoking and insightful. The author, Allan Johnson did an amazing job of providing visual examples of what unraveling the gender knot would really look like. Johnson use of the “patriarchy-as-tree” metaphor really helped to further my understanding of how much one person can make a difference despite fact that ending the various types of oppression that exist seems like such a daunting and at times impossible feat. Seeing ourselves described as pioneers in the fight for gender equality evokes a feeling that change is possible; granted he does state that we may never see drastic changes in our lifespan but knowing that what we do with our lives matters and can have an impact on others makes it seem easier to take the path of resistance instead of following the beaten path.
The way we educate future generations is also key to promoting change for the better. Questioning things and accepting what might seem to some as unacceptable are steps that might seem easier said than done but Johnson proposed outlook drives home the idea that it is a crucial component to ending patriarchy. The idea that we are in this cycle of oppression that we ourselves have created and uphold is also put into perspective within this article. The idea that patriarchy has always existed resonates with me because I remember thinking what can I do to change anything? I often feel like I’m oppressed, my voice is oppressed in so many ways. I realize it doesn’t have to be big gestures, it can be little things we do in our daily lives. For instance, asking questions, speaking out against violence and gender inequality, and making demands when necessary (p. 620).
The influence we have on each other is much greater than we often think. I know that every day is step closer to reaching goals that might seem unattainable to us now but that must have been how countless generation before us have felt. We have come a long way and the fight is far from over but this essay has made me realize more than ever that it’s a fight worth being a part of. Something else I have learned is that it is okay to be loud and to be proud. We should not have to fear resistance; we should be taught to embrace difference in order to call upon change. In the words of the legendary Bob Marley, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.”
Okay. So this wasn't Extra it's a blog that I hand-wrote and showed to Leandra on the due-date and am just now getting typed up. I have Blog 13 as the same. I am soooo sorry they're late getting up here!
Blog 12
Pro-wrestling as an active participant in “male gender codes [that] reinforce the socialization of boys and a code of honor that defines and obligates these roles” and forces them to “cling to their own set of social roles and a code of honor that defines and obligates these roles” (Men’s Lives 553). From this code of honor it ”requires men to inflict” violence on others “whether or not they want to be violent toward anyone of either sex” (533). The obligations from the roles present in pro-wrestling are tied to violence (for obvious reasons) but also with male competition and the creation of hierarchies that perpetuate only more of the same. Within the documentary they identify bullying as an example of the male social hierarchy within pro-wrestling and the audience’s positive reaction to this violent display in the strong man competitions as an ultra-valuable example of male ability and ideals. The audience supports these “rule-breakers” who are in the show the ones most fulfilling the violent hierarchy and are thus ruling the systems within the show. The show takes on a particular section of American culture and places the same oppressive roles and socialization of male code of honor and recreates them to perpetuate the outer within a micro-community on display entirely for entertainment and self-subsidence for the continuation of more of the same. This tiny inner community dictates the actions and the values of the larger outer community. Women within these arenas are able to only “destroy the honor of the male” (553) but without creating any of their own. Without any honor of their own they cannot “play” in the same game of honor as the men. No alternate power system is available so the women are subjected to merely be submissive and objected to being the literal playthings of the men fighting for power. Their value is tied to their attractiblity to the fans and the men of pro-wrestling. As objects they are throw around, forced to be kissed, molested with violent regularity all the while assuming a sense of exuberant enjoyment and sexual pleasure. The one female character, China, with any sense of presence in the masculine world as something other than this became caught in the system and got multiple plastic surgeries to create a more sexualized version of herself and the female presence within pro-wrestle.
Blog 13
My thoughts throughout the class have not so much changed but perhaps became more fleshed out. Each week the principals of feminism are discussed but with the additional perspective of the male/masculine voice. I say additional perspective because it seemed the class had a tendency to view the topics from a similar feminist perspective. Yet from the class I did realize a new male voice and presence within feminism and its huge importance to the movement as a whole for true, whole progression. Realizing the cultural pressures on men and women relates the newly understood need of coalitions and communal change for their to be any true progression of equality and within the fight against oppression. Keeping even one group oppressed makes any system of equality null because no total equality is possible with any presence of oppression. With the capability and action of one oppression relates a capability of any oppression with just the exercise of it. With such an instability and our current obsession with capitalism the switch from capability to actuality probably wouldn’t take long. Keeping this in mind I view the theories and events within my life differently and feel more aware of possible new intersections of our society that should be considered within both feminism and the American society and economic system.
It was interesting to read The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality by the Commission on the Status of Women Forty-eighth session, March 1-12, 2004. This article was much different than the anecdotal stories or sociological-type studies that we have been reading throughout the semester in Men Speak Out and Men’s Lives. It was gratifying to read that the United Nations “recognizes that gender inequalities still exist and are reflected in imbalance of power between women and men in all spheres of society” (635). I wish that reports such as this were as widely recognized and read as the constitution or bible. People often take the previous two writings as sources of authority and certain knowledge. However, if as many people knew about and took this report as seriously as the constitution and bible, the world would be a much more egalitarian, happy, and safe place. Today, even most educated people believe sexism to be a thing of the past. Much like we are living in a post-racist society because Obama is president, people believe that we are living in a post-patriarchal society because Women’s Suffrage in the ‘20s and the Women’s Movement of the ‘70s. Just this week, Nicole turned in a paper in a philosophy course about how the imbalance of power between men and women influences loving relationships in heterosexual couples. She was told by her (male) professor that sexism doesn’t exist anymore and her arguments were outdated. I wish that he read this report that explicitly states that GENDER INEQUALITY STILL EXISTS!! HELLOOO!!! (Well this article is indeed from 2004 so maybe the oppression of women has been eradicated since then?) This information needs to be known in society and not hidden from us or ignored, especially the people who are supposedly educating us. Especially because “the commission further recognizes that everyone benefits from gender equality and that the negative impacts of gender inequality are borne by society as a whole and emphasizes, therefore, that men and boys, through taking responsibility themselves and working jointly in partnership with women and girls, are essential to achieving the goals of gender equality, development and peace” (635). Said professor, along with every male-identified person in the world, should take responsibility for themselves and take in active part in striving towards gender equality. But in order to do this, they need to know that we absolutely do not live in a post-patriachy and sexism is still alive and thriving.
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