to my definition “feminist politics where we stand” means that men and women aren’t standing together because it’s more about who’s sexist than feminism. before I read this reading I already had an idea of feminism. I’ve been taught by my family members that feminism is all about how men see women as tools and that women should be doing what “women are supposed to be doing in the house.” we’ve been trying to educate men and women to know more about feminism and how this is something important for the generation to come. women have been seen as tools that need to stay home and shouldn’t have a say in the world. because to them our opinion doesn’t matter. in “feminist politics where we stand” there was a quote that stated ” malles as a group have and do benefit the most from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females and should rule of us.” this quote I agree with because if men came to their sense they would know that women could outsmart them with an idea or decision making. they have a fear of losing their masculinity and letting women have all the control. this reading made me rethink my definition of feminism and sexism. i feel like I was able to learn a little more about it.

To my understanding im not very educated about sex&gender. but this is what I have in mind of what sex&gender mean based on my knowledge. the definition of sex& gender, it means that you are able to be whoever you want to be. We shouldn’t be afraid to express ourselves that makes us happy no matter what our sex&gender become. this generation that is rising up isn’t afraid of becoming someone they always wanted to be. this generation doesn’t care what the world has to say to them. our gender&sex means so much to us that we are able to express ourselves by switching up our clothing and doing things we’ve never done before. The article “sex&gender” taught me a lot of information that I didn’t know. this reading made me think outside of the box and not everything that’s on the internet or a family member tells me something or if a doctor tells me it’s going to be automatically true. people in this generation have a different definition of things and how they want to be seen, whether it’s being their gender or their sex.

bell hooks define feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”. I understand this as a way of expanding that feminism isn’t against men or against anyone in general. Feminism is all about ending typical stereotypes and bringing down patriarchal standards.
I mean this definition is similar to my own definition. I knew that feminism isn’t about being against men or victimizing women. It’s about trying to break down standards that we no longer need. Most think that feminism is about being against men because they look at the negative side of things to try to make feminism look bad.
After reading, Sex and ender 101, I got a deeper understanding of the difference between sex and gender. I was always confused about both since I thought it was the same thing but gender is more about what you identify with than what your sex is.

Before I read the article “Feminist Politics Where We stand” by Bell Hooks.  I had a similar perception to the author.  However, since I was little I have read stories of women who fought for our rights.  That they were feminists, that they gave everything to defend their rights.  The definition that I have of feminism or rather the perception is that the fight of women for their rights is not against men as many people think no, but rather the fight for gender equality.  That if a man and a woman have the same career, they should earn the same, not like before in past centuries when men earned more money for the simple fact of being a man and being the one who takes control of everything. Thanks to God and to the women who fought for equal rights, today many women can earn more money than men.  Because before the woman was classified as weak and submissive because of this they challenged the value that they really deserved from her.  I came to hear when I was little that the word “Feminism” was created by a woman who only wanted to take power away from men and devalue them.  When I understand that it is not like that because feminist women only have the purpose of having gender equality. 

     I understand the quote “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”.  This teaches that feminism is not against men. Its purpose is to end the injustices that were created by society and the stereotypes . Of being oppressed and limited by the opposite sex. That women do not want to be the ones who dominate simply to be understood, taken more into account by men and society. Hook mentions “Lifestyle feminism”. This means that your ideas don’t matter in the sense that you don’t have to share the same point of view as another feminist because she is the one who allows politics to be eliminated from a movement and she puts a different spin on it in the sense that the common stories feminists only defend their perception of rights.  Similarly, Hooks mentions “as women realized that males were not the only group in our society who supported sexist thinking and behavior that females could be sexiest as well”.  This emphasizes that women can be sexist just like men and that being a feminist does not mean that a woman hates a man, or that she does not show prejudice.  After reading this book, I changed my definition of feminism a bit because I understood that women in the feminist movement must start from 0 because it has become a raising consciousness movement.  That not all women have the same point of view of feminism changes a lot due to origin and status.  

   On the other hand, in the article “Sex and Gender 101” by Kyle Mayer’s.She tells a small explanation of the differences between sex and Gender.For me, the definition of Sex was that it refers to different characteristics of men and women. The different development of men and women, related to chromosomes, organs and hormones.  The change that we all have from childhood to adulthood as a man’s voice becomes harsher and as a woman’s breasts grow.  Generated for me is the social construction of the characteristics of a man and a woman of physical appearance, roles and relations between both genders.  Maye’s mentions “Upon assigning a gender, children are then socialized according to the gender roles of the cultures they were born into”.This teaches us reality and how almost all of us pass this stage of asking ourselves these questions: Who are we?  Is it good or bad to change?  Why do they make fun of me for my physical change?  .  Genders cause oppression and are what create stereotypes.

Feminism, a topic people rarely hear about. Some know the word, but do not understand the meaning or history behind it. Others know it but have misconception of it in general. We can indeed put part of that blame on the media. People, I mean many people derive their meanings and understanding of so many things from the media. And yet, all the media knows of feminism is, “correcting gender norms”.  So, what does this Feminism even really mean? Is it a religion that worships women? Well, you might say that. Feminism is a movement. Or should I say an organization, that wishes to end “sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression”. In a way, we have individuals who misinterpret the words Feminism and gender equality. Gender equality tends to focus more on disrupting or perpetuating the accepted norms in society, that men are superior to women. This inaccuracy (that women are subordinates of men) has long been around, for decades, an in fact caused the formation of the women liberation. Another misunderstood word. Women’s Liberation, also a movement which was put in place with the aim of correcting the values of and traditions of discrimination, especially against women. In the past, feminism was set to end sexism and sex exploitation against women from men. Nonetheless, as time went on, the women in the association came to a realization that men were not the only oppressors and sexist, some women also played that role against men too. This discovery somehow crumbled the world of feminists. Woke organizations struggled as matters regarding races and classes resurfaced. Other revolutionary issues began to overshadow the struggles within the awareness groups. Discussions like black men finally getting recognition in the work force and attaining the same level as white males as well. White women asserting their needs for freedom after civil rights. These and many other matters had arisen. The feminist group had to round up different strategies to bring back the attention of the public to why the movement was founded in the first place. However, some changes were needed to be put in place first before the consciousness of the public was sought after. Amendments like, not just looking out for women who were been oppressed, but also men who were experiencing or had encountered sexist. Now the movement was fighting against both male and female sexist. Although majority of folks had the mindset that feminism was anti- male, the mentality was beginning to dissipate and the movement finally being acknowledged.

1- It’s crazy for me to think that I had such a wrong idea about feminism. I was totally in line with people that see feminism as an exaggerated act and the reason behind is not necessarily important. I used to think that women are thinking aggressively about the subject and they are making it a big deal. I used to believe that women were being selfish and they were looking to create war and hate between both genders. I used to believe that women wanted female domination as a result instead of male domination which is a reality. I didn’t really think critically or deeply about feminism until I read this article by bell hooks. This article was actually mind-changing for me. The second I finished reading it, I felt more excited about reading more because of how many new ideas I learned. I am from Morocco and I can relate to the idea of men are superior to women. In my country, females’ job is to stay in the house, clean, and cook. They are not allowed to work, have a social life, or study. All they are seeking is equality which is a total right of theirs. They don’t want to be superior or anything, all they want is to do exactly what men can do. Thinking about it got me very sad, bell hooks are fighting for the new definition of feminism which is the movement to end sexism. Women are fighting for a system with no preferences, where everyone no matter his/her gender, race, or color doesn’t matter. Feminism is not that we hate men, but it is our right and all women deserve to be treated fairly and equally.

2- As a female who came from a Muslim family and country, talking about sex and gender is considered to be a sensitive subject and I never felt comfortable learning or talking about it more. That’s why my education about this subject was limited. After I came to the united states and lived for a while, I start realizing that the world doesn’t only consist of men and women. They are more types of gender and sex too. The category of gay-lesbian was totally new for me. I felt weird about it at the beginning and I started to understand that there are some people who are attracted only to their same-sex. Also, the pansexual category of sex was new for me. I heard people are interested in intelligence but never attracted sexually to it. In addition, I learned the difference between gender and sex which I used to think are the same thing. Gender is more associated with cultural environment and society. Gender is related to how people dress, style, or like to be preferred.

In the essay, “Feminist Politics Where We Stand” bell hooks defines feminism as: “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” I understand this definition to mean that the feminist movement is fighting against  injustice as a whole. This essay explains that the feminist movement confronts issues of race and class as well as gender injustice. Before reading this essay, I thought feminism meant pro-women, anti-men, and fighting for gender equality. hooks opened my eyes to the idea that anybody can be sexist, not just men. Also to the idea that gender equality could never be achieved in a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. An anti-men movement would make no progress in any inequality or gender issue. In order to progress, there needs to be societal changes which is the reasoning hooks gives for the feminist movement shifting to a political movement. Before reading this essay I hadn’t thought about the idea that even if women are given “equality”, they will still be exploited and taken advantage of. Society has been built to facilitate oppression so without ending sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression, there would be no chance for any form of equality.

The reading “Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers  goes in-depth in intersex and the role that plays in society’s idea of gender. Myers explains that sex is based on biology, meaning girls have XX sex chromosomes and female genitals while boys have XY chromosomes and male genitals. However, he argues that intersex people disprove this idea of sex and gender by having female sex chromosomes and male genitals, ambiguous genitals, only one sex chromosome, or and extra sex chromosome. This argument disproves society’s gender assignment based on sex. This reading shows that sex and gender are too complicated to plainly declare that you are a boy if you have this and a girl if you have that. Being intersex is a prefect example of this because they do not fit into the “guidelines” of the male or female gender. Before reading “Sex and Gender 101”, I was not very informed about intersex people or their role in the topic of gender assignment. It was intresting to see some of the different things that make a person intersex listed in the reading. It really shows how inaccurate gender assignment is. It made me realize that gender is not based on sex, it is based on perception. What society perceives your gender based on the way you look or present yourself.

     In Feminist Politics: Where We Stand, Bell Hooks defines feminism as “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” The goal is to stop discrimination against sex and gender. It’s about all genders having equal opportunities and rights, not about being anti-male. The movement is about seeking freedom from and dismantling the patriarchy that underestimates women. Before reading Hooks’s work, my definition of feminism didn’t go beyond the word equality. I felt as though the definition always involved economic rights and equal pay, but it’s so much more than that. Hook mentions liking her version of the definition because it doesn’t imply men are the enemy. For the movement, we want men to join us. This is a fight that benefits everyone. “To understand feminism it implies one has to necessarily understand sexism.” and that line right there is where the misinformed should start.

     Before reading Sex & Gender 101 by Kyl Meyers, I wasn’t entirely educated on the different sex chromosome variations that intersex persons can have. Meyers mentions that intersex variations are considered to be as common as red hair, so it’s pretty concerning that it took me so many years to learn about it. I believe that a lot of the information throughout this reading should be taught at a young age. I now understand the difference between gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression. All of which allow a person to identify as they please, something everyone should be allowed to do without unwanted opinions. “Gender expression can change over time, just as sexual orientation can fluctuate over time.” Although I’ve always believed this, I’ve never actually read about it before, and I really enjoyed how informative it was overall. When discussing sexual orientation, I appreciated the definitions as I was able to really understand what pansexuality is;when someone is attracted to the qualities of a person rather than biological sex or gender. As I was reading this, I kept asking myself, why do some people think they have the right to comment on how a person identifies? Why are there people who are offended by someone else’s sexuality? Why does someone else’s body and their choices affect these closed-minded people? It’s incredibly frustrating that there are people who could read the same thing I just did and decide they disagree with literal facts. After reading these pieces, I look forward to having conversations with the people I surround myself with.

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.

This definition means feminism is not just about female, it is not about men were the enemy. It points out of what is the priority problem and issue about sexism and the chain influences brought by it. The unfair power relationship between genders, and other unfair rewards in other topics as equal pay issue which are all related to systemic institutionalized sexism.

This definition is hitting the point very well and can let people understand what is about feminism quickly, it is a movement to end unfair results caused by sexism. Unlike other wrong bias about feminism, “Their misunderstanding of feminism politics reflects the reality that most folks learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media. The feminism they hear about the most is portrayed by women who are primarily committed to gender equality—equal pay for equal work and sometimes women and men sharing household chores and parenting. “As Bell mentioned, people who gain information about feminism from patriarchal mass media would misunderstand about feminism. My personal understanding about feminism literally would be feminism is something about female and only about female, not related to other genders, according to how the word is so that I understand it in a literal way. This definition can send out the messages about sexism very quick also deliver the demand of feminists. Feminists don’t have to be female biologically, as long as the person agrees to end sexism, you are one of the feminists too.

Before I read Sex and Gender 101, I always think gender is fluid. Which means genders are not stable for me, they would be fluid, and everyone has female and male characteristics. After I read Sex and Gender 101, I think the essay matched with my point.

In the essay, “Feminist Politics Where We Stand” bell hooks defines feminism as: “a movement to end sexism, sexist, exploitation, and oppression.” What I understand from reading this is that feminism focuses on wanting and working towards a change for the better. Oftentimes many believe that when someone is a feminist, they hate men which isn’t the case what so over. On the contrary, being a feminist means that you want to stand up and demand a change. A change where men and women arent put on a different pedestal based upon what they look like. Its main focus is to be able to limit and get rid of how unfairly women tend to be treated. A line that stood out to me while reading this is as follows ” From its earliest inception feminist movement was polarized.
Reformist thinkers chose to emphasize gender equality. Revolutionary thinkers did not want simply to alter the existing system so that women would have more rights. We wanted to transform that system, to bring an end to patriarchy and sexism. Since patriarchal mass media was not interested in the more revolutionary vision, it never
received attention in the mainstream press. The vision of “women’s liberation” which captured and still holds the public imagination was the one representing women as wanting what men had”(pg 4). The reason for which this stood out to me is because it aided me in truly seeing things through a different lens/perspective. I won’t sit here and lie, before, I was under the impression that feminism had to do with simply finding and gaining equality between men and women such as equal pay and opportunities. Yet after not only reading this chapter, but also reading the definition, it made me realize just how much more there is for me to learn. I was under a certain impression towards feminism because I never truly looked deeper and far more beyond the little information I came across. When it comes down to gender, I never truly understood why there are certain ‘rules’ or rather stigmas set. I knew that anatomy and certain features can disguise whether or not one is a male or female. Yet I never liked how people would often say one can’t do certain things simply because of their gender. Why can’t males be emotional and why are females viewed as too emotional? I personally felt that one’s gender is entirely up to how one feels. If someone is born a male but identifies as a female we shouldn’t have to bring them down for that. On the contrary, we should embrace everyone who they identify as. Gender roles tend to get in the way a lot especially when they are always brought up. Even if one may think they are simply joking they need to realize just how hurtful it can be as well. I remember watching a video and in that video, they’d tell boys to do things like a girl (example: running) in which they would run and seem to enjoy the way they think girls run. Yet when they asked a girl to run like a girl, they simply ran fast and the demeanor was completely different. Things such as “you act like a girl” can also be very hurtful. What exactly makes ‘acting like a girl’ bad? Why is there even such a difference between acting like a girl or acting like a guy?