Gender and Sexuality: Social Movements

2012-03-03T10:14:00.002-08:00

While this is off my topic of gender, sexuality, and social movements involving abuse, I just read an article about the trend of girls kissing other girls in the college setting and how it is perceived. It was pretty interesting and I think that it is something that it is relevant to our topic of social movements. Here is a summary of the article.

Pamela Lannutti and Amanda Denes’ “AKiss Is Just a Kiss?: Comparing Perceptions Related to Female-Female andFemale-Male Kissing in a College Social Situation” studies the perceptions andimplications of the growing trend of female same-sex experimentation. Collegeaged girls may be kissing one another due to desire, need to conform, desirefor male attention, or sexual experimentation. Lannutti and Denes researchedhow female-female kissing is perceived by males and females in terms ofatypicality, promiscuity, and sexuality.

Thestudy was conducted on a large northeastern campus. There were 164participants, of which 67 were female and 97 were male. Of these participants,thirty reported having same-sex kisses, and four had had same-sex intercourse;interestingly enough, all of these were female. The participants were asked toread a scenario. One had females dancing with each other in front of men withno kiss, one had this same group dancing with two females kissing, and one hadthe group dancing when a male joins and he and a female kiss. Results showedthat males viewed the female-female kiss as significantly more atypical than thefemales did. Males also perceived the female-female kiss as more atypical thanthe male-female kiss. Males and females both viewed the female-female kiss asmore promiscuous than the male-female kiss or no kiss, and any kiss as morepromiscuous than no kiss. When asked about the perceived sexuality of thecharacter in the scenario, male and female participants tended to answerheterosexual. The highest answers of bisexual or lesbian occurred in thescenario with the female-female kiss.

Referenced

PamelaJ. Lannutti & Amanda Denes (2012): A Kiss Is Just a Kiss?: Comparing PerceptionsRelated to Female–Female and Female–Male Kissing in a College Social Situation,Journal of Bisexuality, 12:1, 49-62

Gender Expectations

2012-02-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is really cool. Makes you rethink your ideas of gender and sexuality.

"Male" Sports

2012-02-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

Football...Hockey....Wrestling....When most people think of these sports, they think of a bunch of males beating other males to achieve something. When we add a female to this picture, it immediately becomes weakened. We think of the girl as the exhibition round, the match to just get experience and not really fight for points. In my high school we had a couple of girl wrestlers but they were always over shadowed by the guys. At one of my brother's wrestling tournaments a couples weeks ago, there was a girl wrestler. When I saw her, I was excited to see what she was going to do. When she began, I stopped watching all other matches and concentrated on hers. She was going up against a MALE athlete. A girl versus a guy, a female versus a male, it works however you want to word it. They key fact is that she was in control throughout the whole match and even had strangers cheering her on. Below is a clip of the last seconds of her match where she pinned the guy and got shown off as the winner.

This shows that despite the common thoughts about male sports, or even sports in general, the females can and will prevail.

We Can All Be Dangerous; Dad's Deserve Equal Opportunity

2012-02-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

I found this article about how men of the Father's Rights Movement feel about domestic abuse and the Batter Women's Movement. The BWM has done a lot of work to make abuse a public (and legal) matter. Recently, many divorce cases have involved accusations of abuse. The BWM began overgeneralizing that men in general were abusive to their families. The FRM is trying desperately to counter this claim. They do not want to stop the BWM's efforts to end abuse, but they do want to stand a chance at being involved in their children's lives and not immediately be seen as potentially dangerous. The FRM has gained minimal support, but continues in their efforts for the father's voice to be heard.

In my opinion, every human being has the potential to be dangerous. Danger is not just about abuse. It could mean being too impulsive, or mean, or even just forgetful. Our society as a whole should not judge an entire group (especially when it is half of our population) based on the individuals that abuse. I think that this is especially true when there are children involved. Kids need a mother and a father, both which have the potential to be dangerous. However, they are far more likely to be loving.

Jocelyn Elise Crowley. "Fathers' Rights Groups, Domestic Violence and Political Countermobilization." Social Forces 88.2 (2009): 723-756. Project MUSE. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.

http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.emich.edu/journals/social_forces/v088/88.2.crowley.html

Health Care Discrimination by Zoe R

2012-02-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

In an article inthe American Journal of Public Healthfrom 2001, Leslie Feinberg recounts his unfortunate experiences that he andtransgender people endure in day-to-day life, like being misperceived orlaughed at by medical staff. Misperceptions about the trans* community presenta societal problem that is being faced by most people under the queer ortransgender umbrella. Often times they will be segregated into wards by theirgenitalia rather than their preferred identity, for example. Due to the feelingsof discomfort inflicted on people outside the typical gender binary, “there isno way of knowing how large a segment of the population avoids seeking healthcare because they have been wounded by sex and gender oppression” (Feinberg). TheAmerican Public Health Association is promoting a social movement to assimilatetransgender folks more into the community in casual ways. Tips that theyencourage include using last names rather than “Mrs./Miss/Mr./Ms/” when talkingwith or about a patient, providing literature on how trans health concernsmight be different from typical male-female issues. To ease the tension and uneasiness when seeking health care,there should be lists provided that detail which facilities are trans-friendly.The health care field is extremely lacking in pamphlets and other forms of informationfor patients explaining how their health is affected differently as one movesthrough the continuums of gender and sexuality. This is crucial to the understandingof patients and communication between the patient and doctor. Feinberg proposesthat we set aside labels for now. The binary used today puts people into boxes,when gender and sexuality are spectrums that cannot be described in one-wordterms. This means facilities should have unisex bathrooms, usenongender-specific signs, and, as for any patient, allow for self-advocacy ofthe patient and explain every step that will occur in an exam. In her articlefrom the same issue of the journal, Lombardi goes further by pointing out that “Wealso need to look at how misunderstandings or prejudices in the non-transhealth care community affect needs assessment. For example, are very masculinefemales less likely than others to do breast self-examinations?” (Lombardi).

The problem ofdiscrimination against androgynous or trans* folks becomes a more political debaterather than a social debate when it comes to employers or private insurers determininghow health care benefits are distributed. People are frequently denied certainbenefits because of gender discrimination (“Transgender Health and the Law”).Due to a lack of education of their legal rights, transgender people often usethis as justification to turn to other, more dangerous methods for getting whatthey need. Hormones, for example, can be illegally distributed and increase thelikelihood of the transmission of HIV or other bloodborne infectious diseases (Lombardi).

Institutions likethe American Public Health Associationand Intersexed Society of North Americahave been recently very outspoken about how these societal issues that arefounded in the health field need to be fixed. They are engines for the socialmovement to protect transgender rights and encourage education of the generalpopulation. Their efforts, along with other trans* organizations, are makingpeople more aware of the fact that the T is a major branch of LGBTQ. People whocategorize themselves under the T often face battles unique from the rest ofthem and they need to be respected and given proper care in all settings.

Feinberg, Leslie. “Trans healthcrisis: for us it’s life or death”. AmericanJournal of Public Health: Vol 91, No 6. June 2001. Web. 15 February 2012.

Lombardi, Emilia. “EnhancingTransgender Health Care”. AmericanJournal of Public Health: Vol. 91, No. 6. June 2001. Web. 15 February 2012

“Transgender Health and the Law”. Transgender Law Center. July 2004. Webdocument. 16 February 2012.

Susan G. Komen and the Race to Erase A Mistake

2012-02-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Drake Carr February 15, 2012.

Near the beginningof this month, the widely respected Susan G. Komen Foundation decidedto cut off its funding to Planned Parenthood (washingtonpost.com,2012). Komen, arguably the most well-known breast cancer organizationin the world, is known for putting its focus upon women's health. Thedecision to defund Planned Parenthood, however, suggests that thefoundation is placing too much importance on politics. Komen hassince “reversed its decision” (politico.com, 2012), and the groupis struggling to regain its once golden reputation.

The decision todefund Planned Parenthood was the result of several factors. Onepossible reason for the decision may lay in the fact that a newlyhired, vice-president Karen Handel had previously (unsuccessfully)run for governor of Georgia, and she had worked to end PlannedParenthood's funding(webarchive.org, 2010). Another factor in this process may have beenthe AmericansUnited for Life President Charmaine Yoest. “It’s her group thatissued a report last fall, 'TheCase for Investigating Planned Parenthood,'that led to a probe bythe Energy and Commerce Committee. And it’s that investigation thatputs Planned Parenthood in violation of Komen’s new policy thatbars funding of groups under investigation” (washingtonpost.com,2012). The Komen Foundation had anti-Planned Parenthood members, butit had its fair share of supporters as well. According to anotherarticle this year by the Washington Post, during multiplesubcommittee meetings discussing the possible outcomes of defundingPlanned Parenthood, the consensus was consistently that cutting offfunding to Planned Parenthood would have dire consequences. The Komenboard overrode the two subcommittees. “The consensus of the boardsubcommittee was to keep the funding,” said an employee(washingtonpost.com, 2012).

Besidespolitical reasoning against the funding, some claim that Komen oughtto shun Planned Parenthood for health or medical reasons. A 2011study claimed that there was a link between abortion and breastcancer, implying that a woman who undergoes an abortion is placed ata slightly higher risk for being diagnosed with breast cancer(tandfonline.com, 2011). However, this argument is easily refuted.This type of research is shaky, and has very little backing to it.The American Cancer Society states that, “atthis time, the scientific evidence does not support the notion thatabortion of any kind raises the risk of breast cancer or any othertype of cancer” (cancer.org, 2011). There is simply not enoughevidence to attempt cloak this political action with a medicalreasoning.

Thepublic's reaction to the defunding has been immediate, and it hasshown that the foundation's once respected reputation is now not sopristine. Not only has Komen lost supporters among it's Pro-Choicefollowers, it is now also struggling to maintain the devotion of itsright-wing, Pro-Life followers. According to Politico, “notmany people knew that it funded Planned Parenthood until it decidedto stop” (politico.com, 2012). Those who are anti-abortion may nowspeak out against Komen for affiliating itself once again withPlanned Parenthood. The backlash has already begun; Jeanne Monahan ofthe Family Research Council said, “It would be heartbreaking forwomen who suffer from breast cancer if Planned Parenthood has bulliedKomen into loosening their higher standards,” (politico.com, 2012).NowKomen must proceed with a careful balancing act as it attempts toregain the trust of both parties.

Whilethe reasons are fairly obvious for right-wing conservatives andPro-Life activists speaking out against Planned Parenthood, it maynot be quite as well-known why so many support Komen's funding to theorganization. When people think of Planned Parenthood, abortion andbirth control are generally the immediate things that come to mind.It is essential to realize, however, that the organization does muchmore than simply providing these services. “STDawareness, body image issues, gender and sexuality questions, cancerscreenings and general health and well-being questions are alladdressed by Planned Parenthood's staff and programs” (nyunews.com,2011). It is not an organization devoted to performing as manyabortions as possible. Rather, Planned Parenthood is focused upon thehealth of all individuals, not only women. Men can receive cancerscreenings and other procedures as well. Follow the link (here:http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/men-4285.htm)to read through the various health services provided. Many oppose thefunding to Planned Parenthood simply because they are not aware ofthe many services the organization offers, many of which arecompletely un-related to abortion or contraception.

TheSusan G. Komen Foundation has long been regarded as an entity focusedsolely on health and well-being issues. It is not a foundationdesigned to conform to political ideologies. Komen's decision towithdraw its funding to Planned Parenthood was an obvious mistake. Itimmediately garnered negative responses from the many supporters ofPro-Choice and Planned Parenthood. Consequently, with its decision toreturn to its funding, Komen then received negative feedback fromPro-Life individuals and groups, many of whom were never even awareof the funding in the first place. The entire ordeal has become afiasco, putting Komen in a position that has no perfect answer.The lesson learned in this process has proven to be that organizationsfocused on the well-being of others ought to focus on the well-beingof others, and nothing else.

REFERENCES

Feder,J. L. "Can Susan G. Komen Recover from Planned ParenthoodFunding Fiasco? - J. Lester Feder - POLITICO.com." Politics,Political News - Election 2012 - POLITICO.com.2 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72435.html>.

Handel,Karen. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine." InternetArchive: Wayback Machine.15 July 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://web.archive.org/web/20100921093610/http:/blog.karenhandel.com/2010/07/karen-handel-on-life-and-planned-parenthood/>.

"Influence of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Prolonged Estrogen Exposure on Risk of Breast Cancer Among Women in Armenia." Tandfonline.com. Taylor and Francis, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07399332.2011.569041>.

"IsAbortion Linked to Breast Cancer?" AmericanCancer Society :: Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast,Colon, Prostate, Lung and Other Forms.American Cancer Society, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/MoreInformation/is-abortion-linked-to-breast-cancer>.

Kliff,Sarah. "How Komen Decided to Defund Planned Parenthood - TheWashington Post." WashingtonPost: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis.Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/how-komen-decided-to-defund-planned-parenthood/2012/02/08/gIQAgIntyQ_blog.html>.

"Men'sSexual Health." Sexual &Reproductive Health - Sex Education - Planned Parenthood.Planned Parenthood. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/men-4285.htm>.

ROBERTS/REUTERS,JOSHUA. "Susan G. Komen Planned Parenthood Funding DecisionSparks Donation Spike, Strong Reactions - The Washington Post."Washington Post: Breaking News,World, US, DC News & Analysis.Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/susan-g-komen-planned-parenthood-funding-decision-sparks-donation-spike-strong-reactions/2012/02/02/gIQAPLqokQ_story.html>.

Whiting,Karissa. "Benefits of Planned Parenthood Overlooked | NYU'sDaily Student Newspaper." Home| NYU's Daily Student Newspaper.New York University, 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.<http://nyunews.com/opinion/2011/03/07/08whiting/>.

Project Unbreakable

2012-02-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

The Joyful Heart Foundation

2012-02-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

I learned of this foundation through one of the journals I was researching, and it seems like a great resource for victims of abuse or anyone that wants to learn about abuse. They do a lot to raise awareness and have programs to help people dealing with the aftermath of abuse. This is a video of a news interview with them in November of 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZPzbm3vT37A

Sterotypical Gay Athletes

2012-02-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

In our class we read "Becoming 100% Straight" by Michael Messner. He writes about two sexual stories involving men having feelings for another man. His personal story started with him as a small pre-pubescent basketball player during his freshman year of high school. During that year he became really close to another smaller player. Soon he developed a sort of crush on him but started to be more aggressive to him. The other story involved Tom Waddell, a closeted gay who eventually came out. He sports was his closet. And even though he wanted to dance and do gymnastics, he chose the macho image and played football,gymnastics,and track and field. Both of these males chose the more aggressive route, the more stereotypical route towards sports. This just made me think about how our society views male athletes as tough, and macho and if we see a more feminine male athlete, then he must be homosexual. That isn't true, but why does our society feel this way? What made us think like this?

By Raven

Addition To Relevant Links

2012-02-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

Since we are all pretty new at blogging, some of the basics are still being added. One new thing added is a link to another blog that provides links to all of the WGST class blogs. Other topics include incarceration, visual arts, education, etc. All of these will relate to gender and sexuality but each blog is run by a different group and will have it's own personality.

Albert Nobbs Movie

2012-01-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this on the blog of a friend of mine. This movie looks quite compelling and I will have to see it this weekend or another time soon so I can analyze how it portrays transgender cultures. It is a rare occurrence to see the trans* community represented in media in ways besides to show them as erotic or a spectacle.

RIOT GRRRL

2012-01-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

It is important to recognize not only the movements that are occurring today, but to also acknowledge those that have catalyzed change and progress in the United States and around the world.

An important and exciting movement that occurred during the 1990s was the RIOT GRRRL movement. It focused on Women's rights, Girl Power, and the fact that women could rule just as hard as men.

The movement was spearheaded in the Northwestern United States in Washington and Oregon with bands like Bikini Kill and Jack Off Jill.

Bikini Kill

Jack Off Jill

Beginning with punk bands, RIOT GRRRL came to symbolize the DIY Feminist movement as well. RIOT GRRRL took over as an iconic counter-culture that shows the intense, raw beauty that is often the product of oppression and inequality. RIOT GRRRL was one of many outlets for females to unleash their creativity and artistic drive while working to attack a misogynistic and patriarchal culture.

Penn State Sexual Abuse Timeline

2012-01-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you have heard about the situation with the Penn State sexual abuse case through the media in the past few months. I thought this was a good outline to see what has happened, and what is currently going on.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/22/justice/pennsylvania-coach-abuse-timeline/index.html

Jim Bob Duggar Talks about Girl Scout Protest

2012-01-22T11:33:00.001-08:00

Jim Bob Duggar Talks about Girl Scout Protest

Does the opinion of a random guy on television hold much credibility? In our culture, it just might, but not in this case. The point of this article is to bring up the discussion of whether a child should have a choice in how they express their gender. In this case, the girl wants to become a contributing girl scout, and she has every right to. Yet, it is interesting to see how the acceptance of a 7-year-old sparked enough discontent in a 14-year-old to make a viral video about it. We'll see how this progresses. So far it seems to be that society is slowly becoming more comfortable with the idea of allowing children to be what gender they want to be. I am proud that Girl Scouts chose not to discriminate against the transgender culture in this case.

by Zoe Riopelle