Allan Johnson, “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us” (2014)

Allan Johnson explains that changes to the patriarchal system cannot come through an individualistic understanding of the system. As a society, individuals must understand how social systems perpetuate social problems—the system of patriarchy has been made and perpetuated by individuals, but it is not an individual. Johnson clarifies that we must understand the system of patriarchy in order to create a different system of socialization. While we all participate in social systems, we can change the system itself.

We also need to get to the root of social problems or the underlying idea from which they come so that we can understand individual behavior. Those roots are reflected in and made real through individual actions. We must also realize that we ALL participate in these systems that are larger than we are. We didn’t create them, but we can choose how we participate in them once we can see them. We aren’t just parts of a system – we have the power to combat the effects of the system or to follow the path of least resistance and not challenge them.

At this point, I think of the concept of performativity, which is the idea that there are scripts written for social roles long before we ever arrive on this planet. We can’t completely change the scripts, but we can adjust how we perform them. I gave the example of the various iterations of Romeo and Juliet that we have seen in film and on the stage. It is still Romeo and Juliet (the script or system), but how we each perform our roles and react to the roles of others can start to affect the way we understand or relate to the larger systems.

Audre Lorde, “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” (1983)

In “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions,” Audre Lorde completes an intersectional analysis of her identities and her status as a member of oppressed groups. She explains that sexism, heterosexism, and racism all function together as systems of oppression. Because all of these systems work together, Lorde argues, there is no hierarchy of oppression—we must fight all forms of oppression, not just a singular system. 

Most of our readings have dealt with intersectionality and without naming it. Lorde’s piece is about intersectionality, or the idea that systems of oppression overlap and cannot be fully separated. Those systems socialize us as individuals with identities that are impacted. I sometimes use the contrasting analogies of a salad vs. a cake to explain the concept. We are not salads. We cannot take out the onions or the anchovies and either eat just them or have our salad without them. Instead, we are more like a cake made of flour, sugar, eggs, milk, baking powder, etc. We can never separate those ingredients into discreet parts because they all work together to create the cake. In the same way, we cannot separate parts of our identity like we could a salad. They are all always present and we cannot rank them.

ACTIVISM

For next week you will not only read about activism, but you will also watch one of the films available on the playlist in the schedule. In your content responses for this week please respond to a classmate’s snapshot, the reading, and the film you chose to watch. Be sure to tell us which film it was. You are welcome to watch them all if you wish, but you must watch one.

Please note that this week we are moving from more general understandings of gender/sex/sexuality to understanding the systems that maintain the status quo:

Privilege and Oppression

You have two readings for the week: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Oppression by Marilyn Frye. These readings focus on two different, but complementary concepts that help us understand HOW the gender binary is thought to be common sense (even though we now know from previous readings it is not). Snapshots are due Sunday, September 19 and Content Responses are due Tuesday, September 21.

We will focus on understanding how privilege and oppression work both this week and next week. Even though many of us think we understand these concepts, we often cannot explain them with much depth. The readings for the next two weeks are there to help you have a deeper understanding so that you can explain them…eventually. Please take your time with the readings, as they may be more difficult than those we have already covered. Feel free to ask me any questions about them on the discussion board or via email.

REMINDERS

Your Content Responses should be a minimum of 500 words. I have been lenient about this so far, but from now on, if your post does not meet this requirement, it won’t receive full credit. Additionally, you should respond to both the readings and a classmate’s snapshot in your content response. Many of you are doing these things already – thank you for that. For those of you who are not doing this, please start now in order to receive full credit for your work.

And a note: more than a few people used he/him/his pronouns when referring to our last week’s author, Alok Vaid-Manon in their content responses. Alok made it clear in their book that they use they/them/theirs pronouns. You should reflect this in your writing. Additionally, if you are referring to a classmate or an author who has not disclosed their pronouns, please defer to using their name and/or the neutral pronouns they/them/theirs.

Some of you may be interested in joining a support group through the BMCC Counseling Center. They are free to BMCC students.

1.) Thank you for the work you have done so far. I want to remind you that the snapshots do not require any text. The point of this assignment is to respond to the readings using a form of expression other than writing. For example, see Samantha’s snapshot. You respond to the readings in writing in your content responses.

2.) Content responses should be 500 words. Please check your word count. In addition, your content response should show you responding to BOTH the reading assignments for the week AND one (or more) of your classmate’s snapshots. These are separate posts, not comments. For strong examples, see Emely’s, Isabella’s, or Samantha’s Response 1.

3.) I want to make a note about religion because many of you have addressed it in your writing. While bell hooks addresses Christianity as the foundation for the United States, much of what she writes is not limited to Christianity but pertains to all monotheistic religions. Additionally, she is writing about the institution of religion, not individual spiritual practices that may provide more openness in terms of gender constructs.

4.) Finally, this week and next week have a number of holidays. As such you have one reading assignment to do across the two weeks. You should read the scanned excerpts from Alok V. Manon’s Beyond The Gender Binary. You should also create your snapshot 2 and content response 2. Due dates are in the course schedule.

It seems as if some of you are confused regarding how to make a post. No worries. I have tried to make a tutorial here.

The screenshots below are detailed and should help you understand. This is how you will submit work. Once you submit your posts, they will begin to appear in the proper categories on the menu of our course site.

When you select “post,” you will the next screen.

Before you submit, make sure all of the post settings are correct.