Question 1: How do systems of privilege and oppression function in our society? How do we combat these systems?

Systems of privilege and oppression function in our society by uplifting those who are fortunate while keeping those who are disadvantaged down. In “White privileged: Unpacking the invisible Knapsack” Peggy Mclntosh said “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privileged, which puts me at an advantage”. Many people who are privileged don’t really realize how much of an advantage they have compared to others which is why white privilege continues to be a thing. When it comes to oppression, the people in our society (especially the privileged) are definitely the reason it continues to happen because of the way people think/ act. We can combat these systems by continuing to bring everyone’s attention towards these issues. The main people who know and understand that privilege and oppression are serious things happening are those who it affects the most. A lot of people who it doesn’t affect seem to not care which is why there is still barely any change. We also can combat these by coming together to fight oppression no matter if it doesn’t affect you because like Audre Lorde said “There is no hierarchy of oppression”. 

Question 2: What is the concept of intersectionality and why is it important in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies?

The concept of intersectionality is looking at people overlapping experiences and identities so that you can understand the seriousness of prejudices they face. Intersectionality is something that believes that people often face disadvantages and discrimination because of things like their race, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and other identity markers. This is something that is important in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies because with all three of those things, people face the most kind of hate, oppression and discrimination which is even worse when for some people those three overlap. In “There is no hierarchy of oppressions” Audre Lorde says “As a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother of two including one boy and a member of an interracial couple, I usually find myself part of some group in which the majority defines me as deviant, difficult, inferior or just plain “wrong””. Audre is included in multiple groups that face oppression and because of the way she identifies herself, she is seen in a negative way.

Question 3: Why is it important to recognize patriarchy as a system and not an individual identity?

It is important to recognize patriarchy as a system and not an individual identity because continuing to put all the blame on a man or all men will not lead to us finding a way to put an end to patriarchy. In “Patriarchy: the system” is says “Rather than ask how social systems produce social problems such as men’s violence against women, we obsess over legal debates and titillating but irrelevant case histories soon to become made-for-television movies”. We are spending our time dividing ourselves from men since we say they are the cause of patriarchy but we aren’t opening our eyes to see the real cause which is the system. Yes, a lot of men have something to do with patriarchy, but so does society and everything around us. There are multiple roles that have played a part in how patriarchy came to be, and viewing it as an issue that has multiple people and things to blame rather than an individual identity would help us learn to understand how our actions add to it and help us find out how we can change.

Question 4: How is gender constructed and learned in our society? How do we perform gender?

Gender is something that is socially constructed. According to the article “Sex and Gender 101” it says “Upon assigning a gender, children are then socialized according to the gender roles of the culture they were born into”. As we grow up in society and a specific culture, we learn and grow from whatever they tell us. From the time we are babies and until now we are taught that females and males should look, walk and talk a certain way, wear certain clothes, have certain jobs, and just overall be feminine if female and masculine if male. From a lot of society’s view, we perform gender by the way we carry ourselves. It used to be taught that a woman is supposed to be all dainty, dress girly, take care of all the housework, take care of the kids and her husband while the man is supposed to be strong, pay all the bills and basically have all the control. Times have begun to change so what used to be viewed as masculine and feminine can be done by any and everyone. 

Question 5: What is the difference between sex and gender? How are sex and gender conflated (converged and confused) within our culture?

The difference between sex and gender is that sex is something that is determined and assigned to a person when they are born by their external genitalia/ reproductive organs while gender has something to do with how a person identifies based on the influence of the society and culture they are raised in. Within our culture, many people are confused and believe that someone’s sex determines their behavior and personality which isn’t true at all. They think that if someone is assigned female at birth, they will/ should automatically grow up to be feminine and follow the roles that gender has. Once many know someone was born a certain sex at birth, they don’t really think of the fact that a person could be non binary, attracted to the same sex, apart of the lgbtq community, feel comfortable dressing differently then most, and go by different pronouns all because a lot of societies and cultures tells us it isn’t normal. They fail to realize that sex and gender are two very different things and that everyone is simply just trying to feel comfortable in their own bodies and live their true identity.  

Question 6: What is a double bind? How do double binds function within our society?

A double bind is when a person is given very few difficult options/ choices/ decisions to make that can’t be ignored, which leaves them with no real choice because they both will end with not so good results. In “Oppression” by Marilyn Frye, she gives an example of double bind. She talks about how even though women are angry about being oppressed, if they show it, they’ll be seen as mean, bitter, angry or dangerous but if they continue to just put a fake smile on their face, it’s as if they are being obedient to their oppressors and adding to their oppression. Double binds function within our society women are constantly never being taken seriously. Sometimes when women are sexually assaulted, they often have to choose between telling someone and them not believing her or thinking she did something to cause what happened to her, or her keeping quiet about what happened and the person who did it doesn’t get In trouble. This means a lot of them have to choose between two decisions that can both negatively impact their lives.