This week’s readings, “Feminism is for everybody” By Bell Hooks, and “Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers, were very interesting and enlightening. “Feminism is for everybody” by Bell Hooks expresses the original idea of feminism, its progression, and how it has been altered throughout the years. While the second reading, “Sex and Gender” by Kyl Myers describes the difference between biological sex and the social-cultural construct of gender. I found both of these readings very interesting as these topics may seem very much like “common sense” at this point in our society, however, these authors brought to light the differences in both gender and sex, and how feminism has been altered from is true definition throughout the years. 

 “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression” This is the true/original definition of feminism found in one of this week’s readings, “Feminism is for everybody” by Bell Hooks. This reading breaks down what feminism is and how it differs from the common misconception and misinformation we have been receiving about it. A very common misconception of feminism people may have, that is found in the reading by Hooks, is that a huge majority of the people – including women, believe that feminism is simply anti-men. Throughout this reading, we begin to understand that throughout the years of feminist activist, the movement turned into a ‘power’ movement were within the same movement, there was a competition within women and once there was just a small bit of economic power given to a certain group of women, in this reading we see the example of white women, they “ceased even to consider revolutionary feminist visions” which in simpler words means once they received the small portion of the power they were originally looking for, they back out of the movement and give it no importance. Now, the question that arose to me while reading this was, why would they settle with a small portion of what they have been fighting for when they can continue to fight to have these rights to raise more awareness to the issue that can, later on, lead to long term right. 

The reading “Sex And Gender 101” by Kyl Myers explains the social-cultural construct of gender. Throughout the years, we have been taught that little girls have to play with barbie dolls and house/kitchen sets while boys play with toy cars and monsters. A member of this course, Magaly Garcia expresses this in their snapshot. In their post, they included a written portion where they explain that kids should be kids and be allowed to play with whatever toy their heart desires without being frowned upon, as they are just kids trying to have fun. This post also made me think and connect how this connects back to the reading by Hooks. This social construct that is implemented at such an early age, later on, plays a role in today’s sexist roles where women are supposed to be at home with the kids while men can be out working and doing whatever they want. This also raises many other inequalities between the sexes, such as inequality in the workspace.

  Feminism often seems to be a taboo topic or at some point was. It seemed improper to explore the topic of what it meant to be a woman or have an open dialogue because it wasn’t polite. The readings we looked at this week explored sex, gender and what came with the titles. It’s an important discussion because I notice that there’s still many places where inequality seeps in. Not only that but when I have tried explaining the difference between gender and sexual orientation to my mother she seems confused as to how they don’t necessarily influence one another. 

  Raising Zoomer’s article explores the notion of educating on these topics. Kyl Myers’ approach to educating a child on sex and gender is a parenting choice not traditionally taken. I wonder if this would be a form of feminism.

  The article says that biological sex can be categorized into male, female, and intersex. Then gender becomes a greater topic influenced by social and cultural roles. Myers explains the difference between gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression. Gender assignment is the masculine or feminine gender which one is categorized as depending on their external genitalia. Gender identity is how a person thinks of themselves in regards to gender. Gender expression is how one displays their gender. Myers then explains that sexual orientation is more like who someone is attracted to. 

  Bell Hooks’ explanation of reformist feminists really sparked something within me. It struck a cord because I’ve noticed in many ways how sometimes the fight for gender equality becomes trivial because some women will use their position to overtake and do not mind stepping on other women that stand beneath them. Hooks explained a reformist feminist’s intentions lied in an effort to sustain their ground without changing the system. They sought “equality” in a way that would mainly benefit them. As Hooks put it “while sexism did not end, they could maximize their freedom within the existing system”. This is why intersectionality in feminism is so essential. Hooks also explains that true feminists cannot pick and choose which women to support and when. 

  One of my classmates, Anevay Darlington, writes that she was given a book about women by her mom. I found this really interesting because as I wrote in the beginning of my response, many women are taught to shy away from feminism and I think it’s only in recent years that it’s been encouraged to teach one’s children about these values. Anevay also wrote that men don’t typically engage in feminism because they don’t see a personal use for it. This speaks to what Hooks mentioned. The psychology behind what we support is what it can do for us many times. As a whole we need to be better than this. 

  Emely D. also included an image that says “women’s rights are human rights”. While this is a quote many of us are familiar with, there’s more to dissect. The quote implies that women aren’t always seen as human and that’s true. Women are sometimes seen as expendable and sometimes it’s because we do more than we are valued for. Women give and give but take with caution. 

  These topics are great to explore and we should encourage one another to talk about them!

I found this week’s readings to be very insightful and eye-opening. In the article, ”Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers we are taught the difference between biological sex and the social/cultural construct of gender. While in the second reading, “Feminism is for everybody,” by Bell Hooks goes into depth about the concept of feminism and the setbacks that are present in our society/culture. Both readings provide a massive about of information, however, it all comes down to what our society views as should be and shouldn’t be. 

The article, ”Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers was very insightful to me because there were a lot of terminologies I did not know before. Such as the terminology/categories that are in gender. These terms/categories are called, “gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression.” Kyl Myers emphasizes throughout the article that all these categories mean different things. Kyl Myers also points out these categories don’t always “align because of fear of how they will be perceived if they challenge traditional gender norms.” After reading “Sex and Gender 101” I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I was reading, but I think that is the point. Gender is not Black and white. Society has tried to drill in our minds that we should function in the roles we are born into. This article is reminding us that every single individual is different. We all have our own assignments, identity, and forms of expression. 

In “Feminism is for everybody” also discusses the views our society believes what should be and shouldn’t be. For example, in the reading, Bell Hooks says, “Most men find it difficult to be patriarchs… But they fear letting go of the benefits. They are not certain what will happen to the world they know most intimately if patriarchy changes. So they find it easier to passively support male domination even when they know in their minds and hearts that it is wrong.” This is a clear example of our society’s norms on how a man should be and shouldn’t be. Our society says men should be tough and dominant. If a man were to go out on that norm, they will receive a negative response from society. In my classmate’s snapshot, Erika Jimenez shows a picture of a man doing laundry while his baby is strapped to his chest. In her caption, she briefly explains a story of her brother-in-law receiving a negative response because he is a stay-at-home dad. Because her brother-in-law, and the man in the picture, went out of the norm of what a man should be he is now called “soft, submissive, lazy, etc.” The reading continues by explaining the feminist moment will only be accomplished when we can understand one another. I happen to agree, femininity, will always be seen as a negative trait because of society’s assumptions. Society has to reshape its views to understand feminism and gender. I believe this generation has taken a great step to reshape society and I hope it continues.

• Myers, Kyl. “Sex & Gender 101.” Raising Zoomer, Raising Zoomer, 17 Apr. 2018, www.raisingzoomer.com/article/2016/1/6/sex-and-gender-101.
• Hooks, Bell. Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Routledge, 2015.

Every society, ethnic group, and culture has gender expectations, but they can be different from group to group. The social construction of gender is demonstrated by the fact that individuals, groups, and societies attribute traits, statuses, or values to individuals purely because of their sex, yet these ascriptions differ across societies and cultures, and over time within the same society. Gender roles are social constructs that have developed over time and are based on natural human behaviors. It is shaped in a way in which men and women are expected to act differently based on their sex.  

From the day a child is born, they are expected to act upon their sex and gender, we can relate this to the reading on Sex & Gender 101-Raising Zoomer which tells us that “if a baby appears to be biologically female, they are assigned a feminine gender. If a baby appears to be biologically male, they are assigned a masculine gender and upon assigning a gender, children are then socialized according to the gender roles of the culture they were born into.” If you are a girl, you must wear pink and if you are a boy, you must like blue and cannot use anything belonging to a girl like toys. Some of these toys like cars, plastic guns for boys and make-up kits, kitchen sets for girls all encourage specific skills for boys and girls, also suggests value about masculine and feminine gender roles. 

Also, according to the reading Sex & Gender 101- Raising Zoomer “boys are taught and expected to be tough, risk-taking, athletic, strong, and aggressive while on the other hand girls are taught and expected to be soft, submissive, delicate, weak, and interested in domestic chores.” As a result, these women/girls are now meant to be under men/boys and see them as the head. Also, because of these gender roles, women are sometimes not valued in the workplace as men even if they earned more college degrees than men and this is because “the US has not always valued women’s equal education.  Bell Hooks also made some similar statements in her book “Feminist Politics-Where we stand regarding gender equality/equity, and she said, “Masses of people agree with the idea of gender equity in the workplace- equal pay for equal work(pp.2) and that changes in our nation’s economy, economic depression, the loss of jobs, etc., made the climate ripe for our nation’s citizens to accept the notion of gender equality in the workforce” (pp.4). In most Organizations, men and women are assigned a different task to perform and occupy different positions based on their sex. 

Sometimes our gender roles limit one from expressing themselves and their emotions e.g. It is harmful to masculine folks to feel they are not allowed to express sensitive emotions and it is also harmful to feminine folks to feel they are not allowed to be independent, smart, and a leader. Gender should be thought of as behavior and personal identification. 

I loved reading and learning about Feminism from this week’s reading. It opened my mind to understand better and think outside the box.  To me and what I have learned is Feminism: is a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. The word feminism is sometimes misinterpreted and associated with female superiority and hatred of men, although most people probably agree that feminism can mean the desire for social and economic parity. There is so much baggage surrounding this term that clarification of what feminism is and is not, is essential. Indeed, the way feminism has developed has not been pretty. In some ways feminism over the years has evolved away from its noble purpose of creating awareness and defending women’s rights to creating new ridiculous ‘belief systems.’ feminism has become more like a medium for angry women to vent their hatred and frustration towards men. This definition goes completely against the true meaning of what feminism entails. Feminism can be defined as fundamental respect for others and the desire for equality between men and women. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. According to the reading “Feminist Politics Where We Stand” that many people think Feminism is and ways only about Women seeking to be equal to men. And a huge majority of these folks think Feminism is ant male which is completely wrong and we as people have to be more educated about this and make sure this we do not misunderstand what feminism actually means and what it brings value to our community to make the world more equal and better for everyone. I am deeply saddened to see even in 2021 in so many parts of the world females barely have their basic rights. Since our society continues to be primarily a “Christian” culture, masses of people continue to believe that God has ordained that women be subordinate to men in the domestic household. Even though masses of women have entered the workforce, even though many families are headed by women. Lastly, Equality between women and men refers to the equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities, and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs, and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Of course in our society many people believe that women shouldn’t work, they should listen to men, etc. Again we have to educate them to change their thinking because the way they think it’s completely wrong.

I found this week’s reading to be very eye-opening. On one hand, we have the feminist movement which is focused on identifying and preventing sexist thoughts and actions. On the other, we have one’s biological sex versus the cultural construct of gender. What I found most interesting was that both readings discussed the expectations that society has for each gender based on cultural or even religious teachings.

In Feminist Politics, the author states that America is a Christian society and so “masses of people continue to believe that God has ordained that women be subordinate to men in the domestic household.” Essentially women are still viewed as the homemaker whilst men are supposed to work and provide for their families. Of course, this issue of sexism is far deeper than that and I can honestly say I’d never considered how the fight for racial equality, specifically for women of color, would create a double standard of living for reformist feminists.

That said, it’s no surprise to me that gender is considered a social construct and essentially comes with its own set of rules and prejudices. As stated before, the gender assignment of females comes with the notion of being soft and submissive to their male counterparts. What I love about gender expression is that it creates the opportunity for a person to shake off the chain of expectations and to express themselves how they see fit. “A person’s biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation are not mutually exclusive.” While there is plenty more work to be done if we are to reshape our society, I think we can see that change is coming.