End of Term Reflections

At the beginning of this course, I had goals of exercising critical analysis, learning sociological theories, and developing my voice in writing, through blogging. Writing my thoughts, opinions, and questions on my blog was a helpful challenge in reflecting and wrestling with my opinions about the various sociological feminist issues. When I read my blogs, I see evidence of critical analysis in how I applied sociological feminist theories to ideas and issues and in how I would take stances on issues due to my understanding and research. Of all my goals, I was remiss in writing about issues in a way that I felt was expected of me rather than what I thought. At times, I found myself sugar-coating my beliefs and opinions so that they were more digestible to the modern feminist. For instance, I struggled to write a blog post about the Decolonizing Sex podcast with Kim Tallbear. I think she is a brilliant woman with complex and curious ideas and applications of sex. I welcomed her assertions and insights about the hierarchical structures of love in Canada and was grateful that she helped me understand my privilege in how I experience love due to my heteronormative attractions. But I struggled to write that blog post as I feel sexuality and relationships have great sensitivity in today’s world. I found myself resorting to a “you do you and I’ll do me” mentality that sought not to make waves or take a stance. However, I am proud of that piece because I practiced seeing the many perspectives on the issue.

My “Intersectionality” infographic is my most important contribution to the WGST 210 learning community. This poster explains a key sociological feminist concept that helps people understand the oppressive systems in our world. Understanding intersectionality allowed me to mentally dissect overwhelming problems and humanize the experiences of marginalized people and groups. This infographic helps people to visualize the compounding oppressions and barriers other people may face, which offers learners a tool for describing the realities of big social systems that disadvantage people.

Overall, blogging was a great exercise for honing my voice and perspective on feminist issues and offered a space for me to creatively express my ideas.

Unjustly Indebted Women and the Cost

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South

Globalization references processes that occur on the international level. Globalization is a result of transnational exchanges of goods, information, technologies, and migration (Jaggar). Globalization impacts food production and markets by expanding the supply chain to global economies (Jaggar). As food production processes have become increasingly globalized there has been a move away from local, small-scale food production to massive mono-crop productions intended for international trade (Jaggar). This notably impacts the health of women in the Global South (see map) as the price of food increases, the labour market becomes insecure and women are paid less for harder work (Jaggar). The United Nations estimates that one in nine people suffer from malnourishment on an ongoing basis and most likely impacts women more than men, as 70% of the global poor are women (Jaggar). The poverty women experience has negative impacts on their social mobility, physical health (chronic illness, fertility and pregnancy complications, malnourishment, etc.),  and access to adequate work (safe, secure, and fair wages with benefits/retirement). In part, the lack of job security stems from lacking labour rights. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has grossly under-protected women in the labour force by lacking enforcement of workplace safety (Jaggar). Moreover, impoverished women have a higher likelihood of experiencing sexual harassment, rape, and violence (Jaggar). For many women, cultural norms prohibit them from entering the workforce or encourage their role as a homemaker above an income-earner. These issues are drastically faced by women of the global South as their countries face massive debts since the 1980s (Jaggar). Alison M. Jaggar is a University of Colorado Boulder professor who is greatly concerned with political and social ethics and uses gender as a philosophical lens of analysis on global justice. She writes, “…by the mid-1980s, the Third World was paying out annually about three times as much in debt repayments as it received in aid from all developed-country governments and international aid agencies combined. Ten years later, the developing countries are paying the rich nations $717 million per day in debt service; $12 billion annually flows north out of Africa.” (432). The sustained debt of Southern nations perpetuates harm to women as their country’s economic political and economic processes disadvantage their ability to earn proper wages in safe work environments and access reasonably priced nourishing foods.

 

Jaggar, A.M., (2002). Vulnerable women and neo-liberal globalization: Debt burdens undermine women’s health in the global south. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 23(6), (pp. 425-440). Springer.

There Must Be A Better Way Than Guyland

As I watched Guyland, I was shocked at the realities men face as they navigate adolescence and adulthood. Michael Kimmel, the author and speaker, presented the ideologies of manhood that permeate Western cultures. He describes ideologies of manhood as (1) rejecting feminine behaviours, (2) accumulation of wealth, power, and status, (3) suppression of all feelings and emotions, and (4) exuding characteristics of risk, challenge, and confidence (Kimmel). The concepts of hegemonic and subordinate masculinities are exemplified in these ideologies. That is, they are the foundation of hegemonic masculinities that describe a man who is “strong”, “powerful”, and “stable”.

Kimmel discusses the subordinate masculinities being subject to harassment, bullying, and abuse in many forms. For instance, he tells about the narrative around behaviours, words, and material things, being “gay”, which intends to de-masculinize others (Kimmel). For instance, when a man expresses an emotion or perceived weakness they may be called “gay”. Not because they are same-sex attracted, but because their behaviour is deviant to the social norm of masculinity. This man would still benefit from male privilege but would be “less than” some men that would be emotionally monotone.

http://imagesvh1-.akamaihd.net/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:vh1.com/news/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/the-23rd-gifs-new-girl-28104099-500-218-1441348674.gif

This film challenges the hegemonic masculinities by questioning the ethical implications such oppression brings to men. For instance, the initiations that men endure through college may promise brotherhood, belonging, and status, but at what cost? Kimmel notes that 55% of college students that partake in clubs experience hazing (2023). Similar experiences are had in the military. This is a direct consequence of hegemonic masculinities and the military discourse of men. Of particular concern, is that 25% of students think adults in authority knew about the hazing practices and ignored them (2023). What does this say about our culture and the treatment of young men? In my early twenties, I found myself highly sensitive to influences in my life; it seemed as though I was a product of those around me and those that spoke authority into my life. For these young men, this is highly dangerous messaging at an influential age. Guyland reminded me of the harsh ideologies men are pressured to conform to and raised crucial questions of how these harm the development of men.

 

Kimmel, M. (n.d.). Guyland. Media Education Foundation. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://usask.kanopy.com/en/usask/video/144407, from Kanopy.

 

 

Analyzing Social Inequalities Concept Map

Feminism, scientific knowledge, and intersectionality were the major concepts that help me understand Modules 5, 6, and 7. Feminism is concerned with issues of gender equality and provides a lens of analysis to understand social systems of power, gender, sexuality, and race. This map shows only some of the complexities of feminist issues. Scientific knowledge has been used to perpetuate ideologies of racialization. Colonization and the Slave Trade are evidence of the racial categories maintained today. Scientific knowledge is the basis of the social construction of race and Whiteness. Intersectionality (whether representational, structural, or political discourses) provides another analysis tool for dissecting how people experience injustices and marginalization in compounding ways. These modules analyze how society, history, and discourse have created systems of inequalities in sex, gender, and race that are rooted in othering and finding differences among people. A way to alter the discourses of these issues is to have new knowledge produced that does so with an awareness and advocacy of equality.

Intersectionality Infographic

Intersectionality is a sociological tool that Kimberlé Crenshaw penned in 1989 to describe the phenomena of compounding social injustices one may face. I created the infographic below to explain more of what this tool is and how to apply it as one thinks about the social structures we engage with and the oppressions people face.

 

Colonized Love?

What comes to mind when you imagine romantic relationships in Canada? What relational dynamics are commonly portrayed on your social media, tv shows, or in your friend group? Why is this the case?

For me, I imagine a relationship that is built upon faith, mutual respect, and freedom to be yourself. My upbringing shaped how I imagine relationships and what I pursue in them. My parents and grandparents have loving and committed monogamous relationships, and I have witnessed how safe, kind, and honouring relationships can be. On the other hand, culture has also shaped my understanding of relationships. Culture has portrayed relationships to be vastly diverse and individualistic, self-seeking even. Sometimes relationships are portrayed as committed and monogamous, other times it seems like it’s just about individual agency and freedom or non-committal sexual interactions. In general, there seems to be a desire to partner up – there is a perception of singleness as incomplete or deficient, especially for women. Mindy Kaling and the Duchess of Sussex discuss this phenomenon on the “The Stigma of Singleton” episode of the Archetypes podcast. Kaling describes the pressure she felt to find a partner and become a mother, and the waiting game she found herself in to be “chosen” by a man (The Duchess of Sussex). As a woman, Kaling shared the desperation that seeps in once your thirties come that your biological duty to reproduce is under threat, and one starts to question why no one has chosen her.

Ashley Nicole Black Ablss GIF by A Black Lady Sketch Show

I wonder if our culture of compulsory monogamy underpins these feelings of desperation or incompleteness for women. On the All My Relations podcast, Dr. Kim Tallbear asserts that heteronormativity and compulsory monogamy are settler-imposed ways of relating to one another that permeates Canadian culture (Wilbur et al). Upon listening to Dr. Tallbear speak about heteronormativity, compulsory monogamy, and polyamory, I was confronted with what relational social structures are in place and who they benefit.

From my perspective, relationships seem to be whatever people want them to be. But, after listening to the All My Relations episode, I realize this perspective is privileged and oversimplified. I am a heterosexual woman who desires a monogamous relationship, or, in other words, I am part of the seemingly “majority” or “norm”. But how does it feel to fall outside of heteronormative structures?

Tallbear’s discussion of decolonizing sex offered me a space to wonder about the hierarchical structures of relationships and how they serve or dis-serve society. These structures serve many Canadians who are heterosexual that desire life-long commitment partnership and dis-serve those who “deviate” from this norm. Those in the Queer community, single, or in polyamorous relationships, are “othered” for deviating from the expected heterosexual and monogamous relationships that historically permeate Canadian lifestyles. However, Dr. Tallbear explains a different way of living. She describes “all my relations” as the reality of society being in a relationship with the land, one another, ourselves, spirituality, and non-human things (Wilbur et al). I think “all my relations” is a beautifully interconnected way of relating in this world and see this practice as a way of decolonizing my understanding of sexuality and relationships.

 

Works Cited:

The Duchess of Sussex. “The Stigma of Singleton with Mindy Kaling.” Archetypes. Archwell Media, Sept. 2022. Spotify.

Wilbur, Matika, Desi Small-Rodriguez, and Adrienne Keene. “Decolonizing Sex.” All My Relations. All My Relations, March 2019. Spotify.

 

Attributes:

GIF: https://giphy.com/explore/why-are-you-still-single

 

 

Introductory Post

Hi everyone,

I am Hannah, and I look forward to blogging my thoughts and curiosities as I go through this course. To begin, I have a few goals for my upcoming blogs:

  1. exercise critical analysis: I wish to learn how to engage my media consumption with lenses of analysis. I often consume short-form instructional or inspirational videos and listen to many podcasts throughout my week. I find it easy to take the information gleaned from such media without much thought, and this has struck me as quite concerning during the first few modules of this class. I want to acquire the tools to look at media through lenses that cause me to ask many questions (i.e., how the media was produced? what are the messages conveyed? and are there potential impacts from this information?) In other words, I wish to practice curiosity.
  2. learn sociological theories: I wish to understand sociological theories enough to apply them to my daily life. I think it would be transformational and inspiring to use sociological frameworks and case studies to help me shape the contexts I influence or participate in. This also requires me to improve my reading reflection skills…anyone else find it frustrating how quickly one can forget concepts!?
  3. develop my voice: I look forward to how this blog will help me assert my views and opinions regarding current events. I desire to contribute to conversations with friends in a meaningful way by being informed, well-read, and critical of what is taking place in our world. I am excited to learn from others and to be challenged in how I think about society, and in particular feminist issues.