Waves of Feminism 3 waves of feminism: First Wave – In the 1830s, the main issues were abolition of slavery and women’s rights. 1848 – Women’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, NY. 1920 – the 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote. Second Wave – In the years, 1966-1979, there was heightened feminist consciousness. The movement was linked to the Civil Rights movement begun in the late ’50s. Key issues: antidiscrimination policies and equal privileges. Third Wave – TBA…What characterizes the third wave?! (Inclusive, eclectic, beyond thinking in dualities). Generations… Baby Boomers born: 1946 – 1960 Generation Xers born: 1961 – 1975 Millennials born: 1976 – 1994 What social, political, economic events and/or trends have shaped these generations? How might one’s membership in a particular generational cohort affect his/her outlook on issues related to gender? Theoretical Perspectives Liberal Feminism Socialization is the origin of gender differences. The goal: Gender Justice. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) & Harriet Taylor Mill (1807-1858) Betty Friedan – wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Critique – some flaws that seem to come from this way of thinking: 1. The claim that women can become like men if they set their minds to it. 2. The claim that most women want to become like men. 3. The claim that all women should want to become like men, to aspire to masculine values. Theoretical Perspectives Marxist Feminism Class accounts for women’s status and function in society. Monogamous marriage is about private property. The family is a microcosm of society’s larger class relations. Socialist Feminism Class and gender intersect. Both patriarchy and capitalism must be analyzed. Theoretical Perspectives Radical Feminism Male power and privilege are viewed as the bases of social relations. The goal: the abolition of male supremacy. Focus on establishing women-centered beliefs and systems. Multiracial Feminism Focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender. How does the experience of domination shape the life experiences of people of color? Importance of human agency – i.e. human beings as active and creative. Theoretical Perspectives Postmodern Feminism Women as “Other” – notes advantages of ‘otherness’. “Feminist Standpoint Theory” suggests that the location of the knower shapes what is known; not all perspectives are equally valid or complete. Queer Theory Sexual identities are viewed as socially constructed. Focus on how sexual identity is ‘performed’ and meanings constructed. Theoretical Perspectives Cultural Feminism There are fundamental differences between men and women, and women’s differences should be celebrated. There is an attempt to recover lost or marginalized women’s works and traditions and create a culture that nurtures and supports women’s experiences. What is meant by “essentialism”? A belief in the real, true essence of things. (Sexuality and/or gender is determined by an individual’s biology or psychology). Third Wave Leslie Heywood & Jennifer Drake define “postfeminism” as a feminism that is primarily defined against and that criticizes 2nd Wave feminism. These editors view their book as representing 3rd wave feminism, characterized by contradiction (see p. 3). Michelle Sidler – “Living in McJobdom: Third Wave Feminism and Class Inequity” * The choice of whether to work or not is no longer an either/or proposition. * The cause of oppression is worldwide economic hardship. * Feminism needs to address academics, the media, and technology. Third Wave Leslie Heywood & Jennifer Drake – “We Learn America Like A Script” * Today’s young women have reaped the benefits of previous generations’ struggles. And yet, they seem to experience a whole host of negative emotions. Why?? * It is important to work on bridging generations. Deborah Siegel – “Reading Between the Waves” * Why many young women today may reject the word, “feminist.” * Dialogue between and among people is needed to continue moving forward. The Sociological Imagination The sociological imagination is a way of looking at our personal experiences in relation to what is going on in the broader social arena. personal troubles ------- public issues The intersection of personal biography and social structure. Private experiences are rooted in social conditions. EXAMPLES? Gender Role Socialization Consider common agents of Gender Role Socialization (e.g., family, schools, peers, media) Theories: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory – The key is the process of identification (the process by which a person internalizes a set of behaviors, attitudes, and characteristics exhibited by someone very close to the individual). Children unconsciously model the behavior of their parents. Object Relations Theory – Humans are fundamentally relationshipseeking. We form relationships with people and with things. We gender-identify with our same-sex parent. Gender Role Socialization Social Learning Theory – We imitate same-sex individuals through observational learning. (Reinforcement is also key). Cognitive Developmental Theory – Children are motivated to model the behavior of members of their gender. The child is an active participant in his own development. Gender becomes an organizing scheme for the developing child. Symbolic Interactionism – People act toward things based on the meaning those things have for them. Gender is created through social interaction. “Doing gender” refers to seeing gender as an activity accomplished through routine social interaction. Gender Role Socialization A Third Gender? The “berdache” (i.e., those who have a mix of both genders) are commonly accepted in many Native American tribes. Viewed as having a special status, as if blessed by the gods. Thought to be the “middle gender,” and seen as prophets and visionaries. [Consider a gender continuum, separate from biological sex types] Gender and Culture Verbal Rituals – do we see differences in language patterns and use by gender? e.g., “report talk” vs. “rapport talk” use of “hedges” and “tag questions” Popular Culture – Those elements of culture that are widely accessible. Think about the portrayal of women and men in pop culture. What messages are relayed? Gender and Culture Masculinity Under Siege? Is there evidence of contempt for men in pop culture? Is there a double standard? (e.g., political correctness protecting women, but not men) Think about the portrayals of both women and men in music, movies, television, comic strips, greeting cards, etc. What is the goal with regard to portrayals in pop culture? What would we like to see? What would seem like “progress”? Gender and Culture Media Theories Cultivation Theory – Television is a homogenizing agent in culture. Because television is a shared experience of most everyone, it causes all of us to view the world in a similar fashion. The Reflection Hypothesis – Reality shapes what we see in the media. Role-Learning Theory – Viewers internalize what they see in the media. Organizational Theories – Women and people of color are absent from the power positions where ideas and images are produced. Cultural Studies – An approach that studies the meanings that consumers actively construct from popular culture. Gender and Culture The Sociology of Knowledge – The social construction of ideas. What we know is shaped by the socio-historical context in which we live. Feminist Role Models Given your definition of “feminist,” are there any public figures (real people, or characters in pop culture) who you deem to be icons, role models? Reactions to Chapter 6 in Third Wave – see p. 124  Can you identify contradictions that characterize feminism (or feminisms) and/or personal contradictions? see p. 128  Do you experience your self (or selves) as fragmented? Implications of this? see p. 130  Feminine movement and gesture as confined and restricted. Where is this learned? Implications? Love Love is very much a part of our public culture. The Romantic-Love Ideal – In the U.S., we are socialized to accept a set of beliefs about love; these beliefs are known collectively as the Romantic-Love Ideal: 1. True love can strike without prior interaction. 2. For each of us, there is only one other person who will inspire true love. 3. True love can overcome any obstacle. 4. Our beloved is (nearly) perfect. 5. We should follow our feelings. Are these beliefs prevalent in popular culture? Love French author Luce Irigaray researched the way women and men speak about and experience love. An important question to ask is: How can we have loving relationships that are not about control, power, fear, and domination? Irigaray attempts to answer this question; she uses the phrase, “I love to you,” by which she means: “I maintain a relation of indirection to you. I do not subjugate you or consume you. I respect you (as irreducible). I hail in you: in you I hail. I praise you: in you I praise. I give you thanks: to you I give thanks for…I bless you. For…I speak to you, not just about something; rather I speak to you.” Love “I am listening to you is to listen to your words as something unique, irreducible, especially to my own, as something new, as yet unknown. It is to understand and hear them as the manifestation of an intention, of human and spiritual development…I am listening to you as someone and something I do not know yet, on the basis of a freedom and an openness put aside for the moment. I am listening to you: I encourage something unexpected to emerge, some becoming, some growth, some new dawn, perhaps” (Luce Irigaray, 1996). Dimensions of Human Bonding Ruthellen Josselson notes that, after the umbilical cord is cut, we are alone, separate. Relationship becomes the only means of overcoming the space between us. That “between” space becomes extremely important – how do we relate to and with others? 8 Dimensions of Human Bonding: 1. Holding – The sensation of strong arms grounding, keeping one from falling. 2. Attachment – An active process of clinging to someone (either actually or symbolically) in order to reduce our anxiety. 3. Passionate Experience – Human connection is, at its root, “passionate.” 4. Eye-to-Eye Validation – Refers to the recognition that we have meaning to others. Dimensions of Human Bonding 5. Idealization and Identification – Idealization is an internal process that draws us toward others in an effort to possess them or their qualities. It is a response to our own vulnerability and lack of knowledge. Identification is another avenue to possession of idealized others. We can “own” our admired and valued others by becoming like them. “Counteridentification” is the wish not to become like someone. 6. Mutuality – Pure form of communion with another person. Exists on a continuum from simple companionship to an intermingling of souls. Dimensions of Human Bonding 7. Embeddedness – This is the framework that gives shape to selfhood, the context in which we define ourselves, the togetherness in which we are alone. Without embeddedness, we are socially isolated. But, too much embeddedness can result in blind conformity. 8. Tending and Care – We tend not only by taking care of someone, but by taking on their cares, worrying with them, intervening for them. This requires empathy. We can care too much or too little – there are consequences for each extreme. Sports American Ideology of Sports – Belief that athletic competition can do wonders for our health and character. Functionalist Perspective on Sports – Sports serve at least two major functions: 1. Integrating force for society. 2. Learn to compete. Conflict Perspective on Sports – * Harmful for the masses; maintains status quo. * Sports has become big business. * Female athletes are less celebrated than male athletes. * Sports are seen as a masculine endeavor. Family Think of phrases like: “home is where the heart is,” “home sweet home,” “a man’s home is his castle” Such connotations of home originated in the 19th Century (cult of domesticity – Victorian ideal that made women responsible for the moral and everyday affairs of the home.) Do these images of home prevail today? What meaning(s) does “home” have? What meaning(s) does “family” have? Family Consider the nature of child-care activities -* What is involved in caring for children? ( A LOT!) * “helping” vs. sharing (which parent has the primary parental responsibilities, and how are they defined?) Effect of work on marriage and family: the second shift children learn less stereotypic gender expectations Family Family Violence spouse abuse – cycle of violence: tension building stage, acute battering stage, honeymoon stage (Why might women remain in abusive relationships?) child abuse (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect) “Masculinity without Men: Women Reconciling Feminism and MaleIdentification,” by Anna Marie Cox, Freya Johnson, Annalee Newitz, and Jillian Sandell What is “male identification” and why might women pursue it? How is the concept “doing gender” relevant in this article? Arlie Hochschild – The Managed Heart “feeling rules” – Prescriptions for how we ought to feel in given situations. “emotion work” – The attempt to change, in degree or quality, a feeling. In our service-based economy, many jobs require a great deal of emotion work. Implications?? The Time Bind Hochschild researched men and women in dual-career families and found that life for most people centers more and more on work. Also, workers don’t necessarily take advantage of “family-friendly” policies. How should “work” be defined? That which we do for pay? (But …what about housework, volunteering, mothering, fathering, caring for the elderly…?) Elder Care Assistance to persons age 65 or older with functional impairments, provided through informal and/or formal arrangements by family, friends, and service providers. (More typically, elder care refers to unpaid, informal care performed by family members). Elder care as women’s work? Elder care has traditionally been viewed as a women’s issue. 72.5% of all informal caregivers are women (the average age of caregivers is 47) Daughters are three times more likely to share a home with an elder parent than are sons. Effects of providing elder care The caregiver’s emotional, physical, and financial well-being may be adversely affected. Positive effects include increased feelings of self-worth and life satisfaction. Employed caregivers can be disadvantaged. Costs of elder care A 1998 study revealed that caregiver absenteeism and lost productivity related to their absence cost employers $33 billion a year. Of those caregivers who quit full- and part-time jobs, the average loss of annual income is $20,400. The care provided by informal, unpaid caregivers in the U.S. was worth $196 billion in 1997, based on the number of hours worked and an average of the minimum wage and home care wages. Policy Recommendations? Provide incentives for employers to provide resources to support employees who take care of elderly relatives. Expand the dependent care tax credit to include elder care. Increase scholarships and training for professional caregivers to improve the quality of care, help raise the value society places on caregiving as a profession, and to raise wages for elder care workers. Other?? How does the definition of work differ by social class? (Consider the nature of the work tasks, the public perception or prestige, the potential health risks, etc.) Gender and Drinking -- What role does gender play in the drinking patterns of college men and women? The research: among college students and young adults, males drink more and more often. The Andersen text states that, for men, norms of masculinity permeate the drinking culture on campus. Questions to consider: *What is the relationship between drinking and masculinity? If/when women drink, are they perceived as “masculine”? *To what extent are women excluded from men’s drinking rituals? *Do the traditional notions of women as guardians of morality affect their drinking behaviors? New Reproductive Technologies Liberating possibilities? Breathing new life into the eugenics movement? (Consider moral and ethical dimensions) Deviance – Behavior that departs from conventional norms. Causes of women’s crime: 1. Particular types of crime as extensions of gender roles (e.g., shoplifting -- females have more opportunity to shoplift because of their role as consumers). 2. For both men and women who are under-employed, criminal activity may become a means of supporting themselves and their families. 3. Engagement in deviant and criminal activity may be a strategy for coping with oppression (it may almost be felt as normative). 4. Women may be coerced into crime by their male partners. Women as victims of crime Explanations/theories of rape: 1. Psychological theories 2. The social organization of rape (consider common rape myths: rape is impossible; rape is perpetrated by a stranger; rape is victim-precipitated). 3. Gender socialization – consider how males and females are socialized. Rape as expressed through traditional gender roles of male domination and female subordination. Exemplary responses to essays: 26. A policy that would be beneficial to employees providing elder care to their relatives could be likened to the mandatory time off (with pay) that is given for new parents. Implementing a certain amount of time that could be set aside for caring for elders would make life less stressful for employees. The employees could be given a certain number of pay days equated with elder care that may be used at one time or maybe could be split up, for unexpected situations. Maybe they could implement some policy like this that ensures a better understanding and concern for home life/out-of-work situations, therefore alleviating some of the stress that comes with elder care. They could also try to accommodate by allowing out-of-home options for working, if possible, for an allotted period of time. 27. One occupation where a great deal of emotion work is required is flight attendants. One company’s catch phrase says exactly what they should act like, ‘come fly the friendly skies.’ They are expected to be polite, friendly, and accommodating regardless of how they really feel or what the situation is. One implication this has is that people in these positions may not be able to express their emotions and keep them inside, which could be destructive for the individual. Another implication is that the individual may then release their frustrations at home and blow up at a family member. This is important to consider because the effects that a high amount of emotion work may produce extends beyond the individual. As described previously, it can have an effect on the family as well as beyond that. It may lead to burn-out and lower employee retention rates which can have an effect on the economy. It is also important for society to realize the effect these jobs have on people and maybe help us all be more understanding if someone does not act according to what we expect. As the term describes it really is work. 28. Male identification includes females identifying with males, females that reject the feminine identity and the socially constructed feminine ‘ideals’. Some women pursue it because they feel that men are powerful and they want to be on the same ‘playing field’ as men so to speak. They want to be able to play power games. A woman, in the 3rd Wave book did the ‘feminine’ thing by wearing skirts and low cut blouses but was harassed by a male grad student and from then on wore short hair, piercings and big baggy clothes. One woman decided to become a feminist and male-identified because of a movie she saw in grad school that portrayed women only in certain ways (as angels or prostitutes). She didn’t want to fit into that stereotypical femininity role. This answers the question that yes, one can be a feminist and male-identified. These women, by being male identified are not fitting into typical ‘feminine’ roles. By being ‘one of the boys’ they are rejecting the social construction of femininity and standing up for themselves, being independent, and not letting society’s ideal of a woman guide their lives (This is being feminist). 29. Analyzing family from a feminist perspective means to look at the concept of family in terms of a socio-cultural perspective, not of traditional malecentered ideas. According to the old ideas of ideal family, women are a moral representation of the family and are always connected to the inside of the household. However, feminists address different ideas; one of them is that ‘males and females experience the house differently.’ This idea suggests that wives might not be satisfied with the current family situation even if the husbands are fully satisfied, so the old idea that husband and wife share feeling doesn’t necessarily hold true. The other idea is that ‘each family member may or may not establish the strongest emotional connection outside of the household.’ The old ideal perspective assumes that a household is always the center of emotions or feelings of all family members, but this is not necessarily true. Consequently, old perspectives still can fit today’s families, but it doesn’t always reflect the contemporary situations because of the widely varied family style and social context. Religion Describe your religious backgrounds. What did your religion teach you about women’s roles? How have these ideas influenced the way you think of women, yourself, religion? (Any reactions to Pastor Linda Quanstrom’s presentation?) Contemporary Women’s Spirituality Movements goddess-based traditions experience-based theology story-telling prayer, ritual, meditation direct experience of the divine Religion The role of the Church in African American communities The Church has performed many functions besides religious ones: providing leadership in the fight against racism and discrimination providing child daycare services, emergency food, and emergency financial assistance Women, Power, and Politics The phenomenon of the public wife – i.e., the wife of a public official The wife has long been a crucial component of a leader’s self-presentation: *symbolic of family (which legitimates the husband’s leadership) *“Mrs. Morality” (e.g., does volunteer work, helps kids) *loyal (gracefully accepts being part of the backdrop) *wears the right clothes and behaves appropriately WHAT ABOUT WOMEN WHO ARE THE PUBLIC OFFICIAL THEMSELVES? DO HUSBANDS PLAY THIS KIND OF ROLE FOR THEM? Women, Power, and Politics Why are there so few women elected officials? *Prejudice has taught people to think that women are not well suited to politics. *There aren’t many role models. *Being an incumbent is a big advantage. (Most of these positions are held by men). Women, Power, and Politics Currently, of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, 68 are women. And 14 senators are female. Nine states have female governors. Here is Michigan’s governor, Jennifer Granholm. [She was asked to throw the opening pitch for the Detroit Tigers (April 2005), but insisted that disability policy advisor Pat Cannon do it, given his dedication to the team (having attended some 500 Tigers’ games since 1955) ]. Women, Power, and Politics Re-Thinking the Political The political is not only that which occurs in the formal, public sphere. Consider, also: community activism, grassroots activism, social justice work done through churches, etc. Gender and Education PERCENTAGE OF DOCTORATE DEGREES EARNED BY WOMEN IN SELECTED DISCIPLINES Year Soc Econ 1970-74 23.1 6.1 Poli Sci 11.9 Psych 27.3 Physical Sciences 6.5 Biological Sci 18.5 1980-84 40.2 13.7 21.6 45.9 13.0 30.0 1990-94 49.5 21.6 28.5 60.5 20.1 39.1 2000 59.2 27.1 37.1 66.7 24.5 44.8 Source: ASA Gender and Education Social Cliques What impact do social cliques have on both boys and girls in school? The “miseducation of boys” What does this mean? (e.g., boys being labeled as troublemakers, boys expected to be athletes, mixed messages for boys?) Revisit the issue of challenges faced by boys and men – e.g., masculinity under attack?