When we describe feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression,” it means that the goal of feminism is to diminish the discrimination that is based solely on one’s sex. The objective here is to have them both held to the same standards and abolish unfair treatment based on sex no matter the circumstances. Initially before reading “Feminist Politics Where We Stand” I had this fixed definiton in my brain that feminism had this goal of achieving equality between males and females. But after reading the text, I was informed that the majority of the public “think that feminism is always and only about women seeking to be equal to men” (Hooks 1). Which solely is because of the inaccurate way feminism is portrayed in our patriarchal media. Another piece of new information I learned was there are multiple forms of feminism, contemporary, revolutionary, lifestyle, reformist and then it all adds up to feminism as politics. However, from what I could understand because of all these different forms and hybrids of feminism, the true definition of it has been blurred and almost lost through the years.
In contrast to the feminism that’s spoken about in “Feminist Politics…”, I was much more educated on the concept of gender even prior to reading ‘Sex and Gender 101.’ I knew gender was a social construct and that it differed from one’s sex, and that sexuality, gender, and sex were three completely seperate things that didn’t have direct correlation with one another. Gender is a word that we as a society came up with to categorize people, it’s just this concept, almost like a box that makes things ‘easier to organize’ but it’s not necessary. So reading this article was more of a refresher on the topic rather than a confusing eye-opener. Whenever I do think about gender though I always have this same question. “Upon assigning a gender, children are then socialized according to the gender roles of the culture they were born into,” (Myers). If we as a society didn’t assign gender to children as soon as they’re born before they can even speak, what would happen? How would things differ? I wonder this even about myself. Though I can’t speak for others I definitely do feel like my assigned gender aligns with myself perfectly. But this same question could apply to the heterosexual norms we overwhelm children with.
Kayla,
I would also be interested in knowing what would happen if children weren’t socialized according to their assigned gender to the extent that society does. I also feel very aligned with my assigned gender but wonder often about what it feels like for anyone who doesn’t share those sentiments growing up. Because it is common as you pointed out, I wonder if a different approach is necessary. I don’t necessarily think that children should just be given a blank canvas as there is a reason why we are the adults to guide to an extent but if a child for instance, implies constant gender expression than doesn’t seem to align with how they were assigned then it should be brought up and not glazed over or taught to be repressed so as to not create unhappy human beings which I think can be the problem especially in certain cultures.
I always understood Gender I don’t think I was confused on that, but sex and Gender 101 was still nice to read. I wonder would happen too if kids being socialized according to assigned gender wasn’t a thing. At a young age maybe even in school or at home some people tell their kids or a kid in general to behave a way that is acceptable to society. I can see how this a problem and not at the same time. for example, just because a doll is pink, and boy is playing with it some people think it’s not the right toy the boy should be playing with. He should have Monster trucks and not have dolls sipping tea. In reality it doesn’t matter.
I like your ending. I see that nowadays millennial generations are moving towards raising their kids without gender roles and expectations. Foregoing things like choosing hobby, clothing and hair based on gender norms, and treating kids differently due to gender.
My sister tried to not have the sex of her baby revealed to her before she met the baby. However, we are so used to using binary language (he or she) that the radiology tech goofed up and my sister knew she was having a male child. There are examples of people attempting nongendered parenting. Kyl Meyers who wrote the article is one of them. However, our world is structured so much on binary thinking that it is really difficult to do this.