In the introduction “Gendered/Sexed bodies”, the chapter discusses the hypermasculinity of the American Tennis player, Serena Williams. “Sexualization of Williams’s body’s size and shape, and violent animalistic descriptions of William’s strength. ” There is this ongoing theme of sexualization and even fetishization of the Black body. The Black body is a symbol of fear and the fact that Serena William is both Black and woman makes her perfect catalyst. Since women are meant to be portrayed as weak and vulnerable, Serena’s physical strength and appearance deny every depiction of what a woman should be. Her Blackness also contradicts the concept placed by the dominant group that Black people are inferior. Cohen’s “Monster Culture” cosigns with this theory when he states, “Through the body of the monster fantasies of aggression, domination, and inversion are allowed safe expression in a clearly delimited and permanently liminal space. Escapist delight gives way to horror only when the monster threatens to overstep the boundaries to destroy or deconstruct the thin wall of category and culture.” In other words, the human bodies, are only free when it’s within the reach of the oppressor. As long we the oppressed abide by their guidelines and satisfy their desire we’ll be somewhat of value. However, if you dear cross the boundaries places you will be taunted, harassed, scorned and unfortunately in some events, killed. This correlates with Black history and how it was considered not a crime to rape the enslaved. Black bodies were dehumanized, objectified, and were a symbol of pleasure, amusement, and property.
In the reading, “Theories of gender and sex”, I was able to relate to the concept of social learning. In my culture and upbringing, children were spanked whenever they had done something that was disapproved by their parents or guardians. This was just one-way children were able to assess right from wrong. However, in my opinion, I believe this punishment came with other problems. Whenever I did something wrong and I knew that it would lead to spanking, I would try to hide or lie to my parents. I learned ways to around getting punished but in a dishonest and suppressive way.
