What is Sexy?: Back to Blogging

 

 

 

I found this tonight on Tumblr and felt it fit this blog perfectly. I haven’t posted in a long time, but considering where my academic career is currently heading, I felt as though it may be a good experience to begin posting again. This blog was created for a class assignment, but I found I became passionate about the content and the subject of gender and identity. I am currently looking at doing Graduate Studies in English, focusing on gender and identity formation through popular text. This blog inspired me to move forward with this, so it only seems natural to try and keep it up.

As for the link I posted, I feel as though it speaks to the link between the media and gender formation in woman. As women, we are constantly told what is considered acceptably “sexy” to the point where what we as a society considers as “sexy” falls into a very narrow category. First of all, who decides this? Is there a “sexy” committee that looks at all women in a generation and decides that THIS, yes THIS is the decade’s “sexy.”

In a historical context, what is considered “sexy” has changed time and time again, varying from voluptuous women to very skinny women. The fluctuating nature of societal views regarding this only gives further proof to the argument that “sexy” is far more encompassing than simply appearance. Sexy is an attitude, and the attitude of women has consistently changed throughout history. I feel like female personality speaks more to the definition of “sexy” than simple appearance. With that being said, societies acceptance of certain appearances also leads to women feeling more or less confident about themselves and therefore present themselves in a more or less “sexy” way.

I feel like finding your “sexy” self is part of the gender formation process. Whether that means finding a feminine self, masculine self, a confident self, or a positive body image, all of these things are important to becoming the best form of “you.” This comic makes the media’s impact on gender formation even more evident, and in a clever and enjoyable way. 

 

Girl’s Episode 2 “We’re the ladies!”

This video is from one of my all time favourite shows, “Girls”. If you haven’t seen it, you should. If you have, you’ll understand how this moment from Episode 2 fits into the subject of gender and identity. Shoshana is trying to explain to Jessa that she IS one of the ladies that the book it referring to, however Jessa doesn’t buy it. She doesn’t feel like a book can categorize her as “one of the ladies” because she is her own lady.

I was watching this last night and had to share with the class. This show looks at all sorts of gender issues, but you can really find all social issues addressed in the show!

I Am Who I Say I Am

Over the course of this blog, it has become more clear to me that there is no way to simply categorize people into two simple gender identity roles and leave it at that. The overlap between masculine and feminine gender roles is immense. Throughout the course of history, your physical gender in terms of the way it should dictate your portrayed gender role has become more of an obvious issue. While it can be argued that the society we live in today is far more accepting than it has been in the past, I would have to say that there are places where we need a lot of improvement. For example, the idea that we are born dictating the gender we have and there is no fluidity within gender roles is nonsense. This is clear once you have not only examined gender from a literary role, but also in the evolution of culture. Take the role of women, for example. No longer is being a women simply associated with historical gender roles, such as being a house wife and  mother. For the most part, this stereotype has dissipated and while mysoganistic humour is still extremely common in our society, the fact that it has become a joke and not a fact says something.

Wanna hear a joke? Women’s rights (This is one I hear often).

At the beginning of my blog, I stated that I wanted to examine the way in which society labels and categorizes people by gender. This became more evident, and reflects the fact that as a society, we fear the unknown. I have mentioned social issues, such as transgender issues, as well as stereotyping gender and attempting to force gender upon those who don’t identify as such. What we don’t understand, we try to by any means necessary, or we ignore/neglect it.

Something I didn’t have a chance to incorporate into my blog but feel is important to note is the current Kinder Surprise campaign.

Kinder Surprise is now made for girls! The way this is portrayed in the media makes it sound like an exciting new step for Kinder Surprise that will revolutionize the product. However, I see this as a huge step backwards. I actually thought that Kinder Surprise’s were a GREAT non-gendered product. When I saw this, I wanted to scream. What happens now if a boy ends up liking the toys that come out of the Kinder Surprise for Girls product? Well-they will either be ridiculed by their peers or prevented from getting the girl version by their caregivers. Obviously this may not speak true for every child out there, however, I just see the way in which this creates more problems.

Seriously though-we need to get over the idea that girls like pink.

Yesterday in class, Sara mentioned the new “manteresting” website, “Pintrest” designed for men. Please note the “manly” website design…*sigh*. This is just one of the many examples of the steps our society is taking backwards. Ellen DeGeneres recently brought up the fact that Bic Pen’s had a new line of pens “for women”:

Ellen is obviously poking fun at the ridiculous obstacles women have had to overcome to reach some form of equality, however what she says could not be more true. She points out the insanity of designing PENS for women, and goes on further by satirizing women’s intelligence.

“When you have an opinion, you write it down on a piece of paper, and then crumple it up and throw it away, because no one wants to know our opinions, sweetheart”….Oh Ellen, you kill me.

It is obvious that despite our “movements forward”, as a society, we are still trying to put individuals in specific gender roles. It becomes even more obvious when we look at consumerism and the way in which our media culture tries to enforce these roles.

I’ve had a lot of fun with this blog, but I also appreciate the topic I chose and the issues surrounding gender labelling/branding in our society. The fact that we, as students, have the opportunity to create blogs and discuss the issues surrounding gender and identity, is a great thing. No one should be able to put another person into a gender category based on appearance or sexual identification. This project has allowed me to explore the ways in which people (authors, characters, etc.) have made attempts to break out of these roles and have chosen to say that gender IS fluid, and can be expressed in many different ways.

Mrs. Doubtfire and Female Signifiers

Jamie's Blog

So I don’t know about you, but Mrs. Doubtfire was definitely one of my favourite childhood movies… to the point that I had memorized most of the lines and could recite it without having to see the movie. However, what I find interesting about Mrs.Doubtfire is the fact that a seemingly innocent childhood film is filled with so many female stereotypes and examples of gender roles and stereotypes.

In the clip below, we can see that Robin Williams is trying to mimic the role of a woman by dressing in women’s clothes while completing “womanly duties”:

Although he is playing a Nanny, Williams is still conforming to the traditional gender roles that are constructed by society. He demonstrates that he can not be a male and have a job as a nanny, so he alters his appearance in hopes of obtaining this “feminine” job. Daniel Hillard portrays the typical female gender roles by cleaning, cooking, and looking…

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This blog post compliments my previous post on Moll Flander’s and sexual double standard. Not to mention that HIMYM is one of my favourite shows.

Gender and Sexual Identity

I want to begin by stating that I loved Fun Home, and in addition, I think Alison Bechdel is one hell of a person. After doing research for our group presentation for the course assignments, I found myself more and more impressed, not only with the way in which Bechdel articulates herself, but also how she is able to assist the reader in understanding gender identity.

Throughout Fun Home, the reader learns that despite recognizing her homosexuality all along, Alison is pushed away from embracing her sexual identity. As an adult, she finally identifies as a butch lesbian. Bruce, Alison’s father, is constantly trying to force Alison to be more feminine. Most of this is done through her physical appearance. As mentioned in my blog post “Gender and Appearance”, in many cases one’s appearance is understood in direct correlation with their gender. It seems that in order to ensure that Alison is a heterosexual girl, Bruce feels she needs to be more feminine. In the picture below, Alison reasons that while she was trying to make up for something she felt she was lacking, her father was expressing his own feminine expressions though Alison.

As Alison’s life continues, her father appears to be assisting her with her “coming out” process. Through literature, he supports her in his own way. This is understandable once the reader learns that Bruce was in fact an occasional cross dresser and had multiple affairs with men throughout his life. It becomes clear then that Bruce’s intention was for his daughter to not live a life similar to his own. However, this is an assumption, as Alison does not have a conversation regarding this before his death.

What is also interesting to note is that when dressing like a “boy” is considered a norm, Alison is allowed to. In the photo above, Alison is permitted to wear hiking boots because they see girls wearing them as well.

In her article “How to Bring Your Kids up Gay”, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick discusses the difference between masculine and feminine gender identity in terms of sexual identity. She mentions the desire for society to assume that if a man likes another man, they must be feminine, and if a woman likes another woman, masculine. In regards to scientific homosexual acceptance, Sedgwick notes that, “One serious problem with this way of distinguishing between gender and sexuality is that, while denaturalizing sexual object-choice, it radically renaturalizes gender” (Sedgwick 21). This shows that by displaying that sexual objectivity is unnatural, you are also showing that gender IS natural. This creates an issue in terms of gender being fluid. If gender is something you’re born with, and isn’t learned, then how does one take on both masculine and feminine characteristics?

Judith Butler on Gender

I have yet to touch on gender labels in the transgendered community. This is something that is very important to me. I attended a conference a few years ago that described current issues for transgender people being where gay issues were during the 1960s. This is meant in the sense that there is complete ignorance towards the issues surrounding transgendered people, as well as disrespect. On top of this, there is little support for people dealing with transgender issues in society. Essentially, there is no one protecting this community. I would love to argue that this is not true, however when I talk to friends and peers about transgendered issues, not many people understand or care. Majority of the people I talk to still assume that if a person identifies as being transgendered, it also means they are homosexual. Ignorance towards transgendered issues upsets me, and even more so after taking a course such as Gender and Sexuality where you learn just how complex one’s gender identification is. This also makes me look at Sedgwick’s statement above and consider where transgendered people tie in. With the logic that Sedgwick examines, is it even possible for transgendered people to exist-born with one physical sexual identity, yet identifying as another gender?

Transgendered issues are a huge issue in Arizona currently. This article breaks down the issues in a way that is both visually appealing and informative. If anything, it is important to simply be aware of these issues.

Works Cited

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home. New York: A Mariner Book, 2007.

North, Anna. 5 Legal Obstacles Trans People In Arizona Face. 29 March 2013. 31 March 2013 <http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/5-legal-obstacles-trans-people-in-arizona-face&gt;.

Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. “How to Bring Your Kids up Gay.” Social Text 29 (1991): 18-27.

This is a wonderful blog done by one of my classmates that looks at Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home”. This entry focuses on her father, and his portrayed identity, as well as his true identity.

Gender and Sex: Double Standards?

I was sitting in my “History of the Family in England” course today, and while discussing double standards in regards to male and female sexuality, I couldn’t help but think of Moll Flanders. I know it’s been a while since we discussed Moll in the course, however I knew I wanted to do an entry on gender and sex, and Moll seems like the place to start.

In my history class we looked at the history of sex and the idea that arose during the enlightenment regarding the redundancy of female sexual desire. Once it was discovered that female orgasms were not required for conception, the male orgasm became priority in sexual encounters.

I feel it is fair to say that after this, the focus on female chastity became more extreme. Sexual promiscuity left women unwanted and seen as “damaged goods”. However, this was not the case for men. The more experienced the better. Political and religious figures all stood by prostitution, supporting the idea that men needed to have sex in order to be more masculine and “relieve” their urges.

As we discussed in Gender and Sexuality lectures, once something is medicalized, it becomes taboo. By medicalizing sex, it becomes forbidden and in accordance with human nature, something to be more desired. However, this is very different in terms of men and women. Gender dictates that women behave differently about sex then men. This is why Moll is such an excellent and revolutionary character to discuss while focusing on gender and sex.

Moll, looking like a babe.

What is most poignant about Moll as a liberal sexual character is the way in which she owns her sexuality. This is not a quality that is found in most female characters from this time. In reference to her adoptive family’s son, she says that after awhile he seduced her, but that it wasn’t that difficult of a feat. To me, that is empowering. She isn’t pretending to be some delicate flower that will be ruined if she gives in to her sexual urges. She is honest about the fact that she is a human being, and therefore sexual. Furthermore, Moll even accepts money from the eldest son after performing sexual favours. She is intent on marrying him, however, the reader can choose to read into this whichever way they like.

The book goes on to describe numerous sexual adventures that occur throughout Moll’s life. The character that Daniel Defoe manages to create is promiscuous, that is for sure. This type of character is refreshing in nature because she contradicts the traditional ideas surrounding femininity and sex. Throughout the novel, I did not doubt Moll as being a feminine character for a second, yet her behaviour is traditionally more masculine when you consider her open sexual behaviour.

Issues with gender and sex are still extremely prominent today. This is putting it lightly. In the past few years, issues regarding consensual sex, what is rape?, etc. have risen. In the past few weeks, CNN has been ridiculed for how they handled a recent case of rape, after they reported the story from the perspective of compassion for the accused rapists. This article explains the story, and also offers an example of another way CNN could have handled the report. If you are interested in exploring this issue, Jezebel offers a whole subsection on the Steubenville rape case. It also gives press to many other socially prominent issues, and is overall a great website.

Works Cited

Beck, Laura. Here’s What CNN Should’ve Said About the Steubenville Rape Case. 18 March 2013. 20 March 2013 <http://jezebel.com/5991018/heres-what-cnn-shouldve-said-about-the-steubenville-rape-case&gt;.

Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2005.

The Fortunes and Misadventures of Moll Flanders. Dir.David Attwood. Perf. Alex Kingston and Daniel Craig. Granada Televison, 1996. Television Film.

Identifying Gender-Truth and Joyce

I’ve talked about this before, both in class and on the discussion board for class. I have never felt “feminine”, however I know I am a woman. As a youth I enjoyed biking, playing with trucks and lego, as well as other activities that are considered “masculine”. For a period of time I also enjoyed playing with dolls, and as soon as I hit puberty I was seriously distracted by the condition of my hair. On the other hand, I wore masculine clothing.

In our society, femininity is associated with beauty, grace, and charm. In the same way, there are certain associations with masculinity that immediately come to mind. Strong, ruggedly handsome and confident. What’s interesting right off the bat is that the descriptive words we use for feminine  and masculine speak to women and men in very different ways. Are these characteristics not interchangeable? Can a man not be charming and graceful, or a woman confident and strong? Who is to say what is feminine and what is masculine-more importantly, who is policing these labels?

Sojourner Truth’s piece Ain’t I a Woman? examines the differences between men and women.

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?”

I am very happy the course started here. I cannot relate to Truth in many ways, however what is relatable is the idea of gender identity. In this case, Truth uses similarities between herself (as a female) and men, as well as “other” women. In my opinion, she is satirizing the helpless, extremely feminine women ideal held by men. I believe what Truth is suggesting here is that because she has some masculine characteristics, it does not mean that she is not a women.

James Joyce’s Penelope gives a whole different voice to the female character. While this is a work of fiction, Joyce manages to take on the feminine voice in a way that portrays females that had yet to be seen. Not only is Penelope sexually explicit, but Molly Bloom also narrates her urination process, as well as mentioning getting her period. The female character that Joyce paints here is not atypical of a classical feminine identification.

I feel like these pieces and the discussions surrounding them have only reinforced my opinion that gender IS fluctuating. Furthermore, due to this there is no true way to police it. Evidently, the definitions of “feminine” and “masculine” fluctuate from person to person the same way their characteristics do. Truth and Joyce portray the ability to see that “feminine” and “masculine” do not necessarily dictate the same thing across the board. The women that Truth and Joyce describe are not classically feminine. Truth describes herself as not being lifted up into carriages and having the ability to work and eat like a man. Joyce writes Molly Bloom to discuss all things sexual, as well as her menstruation. These female examples speak to me as representing opinions that are outside the box. Truth and Joyce go against the grain and do not conform to the societal desire to section gender into neatly labelled categories.

To close, this is a video looking at children and the way in which they identify gender roles at very young ages. It begs the question, where are they learning this so soon?

Works Cited

Joyce, James. Ulysses . New York: Random House, 1934.

Truth, Sojourner. “Ain’t I A Woman?” University, Fordham. Internet Modern History Sourcebook. New York: Fordham University, 1997.

We Live In a Material World-Gender and Appearance

With the strange video aside, this song stigmatizes the 21st century female, obsessed with money and a materialistic lifestyle. This type of female is often portrayed in film and television (sometimes villainized, sometimes not), but is then reinforced on supposed “reality” television. For example, here are some of highlights of “Snooki” from MTV’s The Jersey Shore:

I spend a lot of time on the internet. I love Tumblr and Twitter and other media sites. They allow me to keep up with what’s going on in the world from a different perspective then what is portrayed on network news channels. However, while spending so much time on the internet, it has become important to me that I screen what it is I’m looking at. What I have become more aware of is the way in which appearance is tied to gender. Like I mentioned in my first post, the idea that only “real women have curves” is insulting to all women who don’t. On the same note, women who do not fall into the “perfectly curvy” realm are also offended by this. If someone is obese, they are considered less feminine (dainty, pretty, and graceful) than someone who is considered to be a socially desirable weight.

This is not just a female issue. Men who are smaller are not considered to be as strong and therefore “masculine” as their bigger counterparts. In our presentation for the course, Devyn, Niki and I looked at Chris Evan’s role as “Steve Rogers” and “Captain America”. The differences between the two men are based almost solely on appearance, yet the scrawnier Rogers was turned away from being able to fight for his country. Once he received genetic modification and became muscular and more attractive, he soon took on the role as America’s hero. The desire to meet these societal guidelines regarding femininity and masculinity directly correlate with an individuals gender identification.

I wrote my first essay for this course on Viola’s fluctuating gender role in Twelfth Night. In the play, she is able to suppress her femininity in order to portray herself as a male eunuch and successfully go undercover working for Orsino. The ability for her to control this suggests the idea that gender is fluctuating. In terms of appearance, Viola is able to get away with being a man because of the fact that she claims to be a eunuch and therefore is naturally meant to look less masculine and more feminine. Despite this, looks alone do not pull off a cover, which Viola demonstrates in her ability to manipulate her gender. She uses her learned masculinity  to achieve contact with Olivia, and then uses her femininity to win her over.

In lecture, we discusses the history of cross dressing in regards to Twelfth Night. Through this and student presentations regarding cross dressing, it is clear that appearance is extremely important in dictating gender. Christian religion dictates that cross dressing is not acceptable, and this was the standard for most of early modern history (Humphreys Fluctuating Identity). What was also noted in lecture was the reasoning behind changing one’s appearance. Personal safety is important, but what I would like to know more about are cases that look at women or men who cross dressed for reasons revolving around gender identity. I imagine this to be somewhat difficult, considering most cases would probably go un-noted.

In today’s society, we still have issues regarding appearance and gender. For example, my little cousin accidentally wore his little sister’s jeans to our family Christmas this year. My aunt mentioned this and said that my cousin didn’t really care about it. This didn’t stop anyone from examining him and whispering about how hilarious this was throughout the night. What I would like to know is why the gender for whom his jeans were designed matters. This stands out to me as a prime example of just home much gender is dictated by appearance. I plan on discussing Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home in a later post, however it seems essential that I refer to it in terms of appearance.

Even as a young adult, Alison’s father is attempting to control her appearance in order to make her more feminine. This is a continuous issue throughout their relationship, and shows that he feels that Alison’s gender is dictated by her appearance. In reality, Bruce does not want to control Alison’s appearance-he wants to control her gender.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. “Twelfth Night.” Folgers Digital Texts. Washington: Folgers Shakespeare Library, 04 02 2013.

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home. New York: A Mariner Book, 2007.