Sports Bars, Drinking, Men v. Women

      Why is it okay for men to grab at a woman? What do women need to do bring a watchdog or a man bodyguard/man friend with them everytime they go to bars? Is it that men can’t control themselves? Why are women more passive and men more aggressive in clubs and bars? Women sit back and watch a man walk by and might say, “damn, he look good” or “wow he’s hot” but may never make a move or might send a friend over to see if he is single. Moreover, men boldly walk up to a woman and try to buy her a drink or get her number or grab at her or just begin to dance with her uninvitedly. Is that behavior okay? Is it due to androgen and testosterone or is it just because men are pigs and they want what they want when they want it? Why do women have to make up excuses to get away from men but men usually don’t have to do the same? Some women particularly have a plan with their girlfriends on how she will get away from him if he is not what she expected when she gets up close or when she talks to him.  That is especially the case on blind dates. Men however if they walk up to a girl and she is not cute or not what they expected they just walk away or just try to avoid her the rest of the night. On the other hand some males go on the date and act all nice to get through the night then just never call the girl again and try not to see her again. Sometimes they just blame their behaviors on their drinks. Some women do that too but not as much as men. Why blame everything they do a certain night on the fact that they were drinking? Is there mannerism and behavior really due to being intoxicated or is the drink another scapegoat? It’s possibly another way to get out of being responsible for their own actions.

Why is it weird for a woman to be at a sports bar? Do some men still consider the sports bars to be their own personal space to do just stuff that men do without the women folk? Is it their own personal sport sanctuary? Are women not supposed to like sports  perhaps? Is the woman who decides to go into the sports bar then fair game to men because she’s venturing outside of the norm of most women not knowing much about sports or just not caring about it? Is it because in a place like that being around all those men then seeing a nice-looking woman come in, some men can’t help but to give her their attention?

Role of a Woman

        In an article entitled “Playing the Part of Woman” by Josie Duke, Josie wanted to be Sherlock Holmes and knowing that they were kids everyone probably laughed at her and looked at her funny. Why wasn’t it so funny when Ken volunteered to play the part of a woman, a French maid? Was it because he is one of the most popular kids in school AND he’s an athlete? Is that why they possibly respected him more in his decision? A lot of times popularity and athleticism have a lot to do with the way people treat a person and act around them. It wasn’t just the fact that Ken was a male necessarily. It could have possibly been that he was a male + an athlete + popular. Those other intersectional “ingredients” mattered.

        However, why are women expected to play female roles in plays and males expected to play male roles anyway? Why is it so odd when they are switched around? Can a male not play a female part without being considered gay?  Can a woman not play a male’s part in a play and not be considered trying to be masculine or trying to be like a man? Why can’t a person just want to play a particular role because they the person’s character?

 In Shakespearan era, men played the roles of males and females. In Shakespearan plays, there were no females, just males dressed up to look like girls. They wore wigs and makeup and tights too. I would think that – that is odder than a woman playing a man role. However in this case the period of time and role-playing changes might be underlying factors of why it is so much different now compared to centuries ago.

Women Have An Advantage

In America’s population, women have always outnumbered men. In 2005, the census counted 4.4 million more females than males. Young boys and teenage boys outnumbered girls in their younger years in 2005. Some of them died off as they got older due to car accidents, drunk driving, homicides, suicides, and cancer. Some people believe it is because of males’ extreme testosterone levels causing them to be overly reckless. At around 40 or 50 years old, women outnumber men again. After 50 men tend to die due to health issues such as one of the top causes of death for men heart disease. In the past people did not live very long. Older individuals were expected to live to their 70s. Now due to medicine and technology most people live longer. Doctors fix hips, replace kidneys, and discover cures for diseases that were never possible, but women are still living longer than men. People 90 years old or older, the man to women ratio is 38:100. For as long as society has studied men and women, women have been expected to live longer. Females outnumber men 9:1 in the case of living 100 years and older. Why do women live longer than men? That is a good question.

Some scientists studying that particular question believe it has something to do with health and genetics. They believe it is something in a person’s genes, chromosomes, and whether they take care of themselves and remain healthy or not. It is believed by some that men have large amounts of testosterone and high bad cholesterol while women have lower levels of bad cholesterol and higher levels of good cholesterol. Many people laughed about the notion of male menopause, but now they may not laugh so much. Men might hope for male menopause because Harvard scientists have discovered that menopause is one of the reasons women live longer. Apparently menopause stops women from having children after a certain age, but also allows them to live longer because menopause decreases the possibility of diseases such as heart disease. However, although women live longer, they are more susceptible to have diabetes and arthritis. Men have more serious diseases that cause death at earlier ages. In today’s society people are living longer. The elderly group is becoming larger and larger in society. The amount of older people living is starting to catch up with the amount of younger individuals living in society today. It can be seen best in an age-sex pyramid. Although everyone is living longer, living long is a fight, a battle, and a war as men versus women. In the words of Herbert Spencer, longer years are attained through “survival of the fittest” and in this struggle women are more fit so they live longer, they survive.

             

For a look at the census or the age-sex pyramid check out:

http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/dynamic/AgeSex.pdf

Fair Or Unfair?

Intersex people are people who have male and female genitalia. They are disadvantaged in society and also by their families. If people knew that their friends or family might be intersexed, they might treat them differently. One might have an intersexed individual sitting next to them in class and not know it because with the technology of today, their differences are often secretive. A couple of years ago UCLA discovered and published information on a bird that was a hermaphrodite which was half and half. It was male on one side with one testicle on one side and female on the other side containing an ovary. Its hormones in both worked properly also. It does not happen often but when it does who decides whether the person or animal should become male or female and what gender identity it should take on?

Should the gender of an intersex baby be chosen for them at birth or should they be left to choose when they are old enough to choose on their own? With new advanced medical technology, doctors attempt to fix the genitals of a baby or infant to try to “normalize” them (DeFrancisco 38). They usually chose the sex for the baby. Well they make them female normally because it is simpler for them to make a vagina instead of a penis and in some cases penises may not work properly. Sometimes parents decide on what the child should be. Then they are pressured into taking on gender roles associated with the sex the doctor constructs them to be. However, as Communicating Gender Diversity suggests, sometimes they do not take on the gender identities that are associated with their genitalia in society. Some infants brought up as girls still tended to play with trucks which is usually identified as a boys activity or as masculine. So how would one explain why females who are naturally born female like to play with trucks and cars when they are young? Do they have high amounts of androgen or are they just destined to be tomboys or lesbians?

 

For More information check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/intersex

The Coalition of Feminism

  I did not know the women’s movement was still greatly into play until I was told to talk about it in a class called Social Movements. I thought a few things were pretty interesting so I figured I’d share them with the class since the class is about gender, diversity, and society and its influence:

    The women’s movement also known as the feminist movement deals with rights for women. Some of their main interests include abortion rights, equal jobs, equal pay, and sexual harassment rights. Women also worked for voting rights as well. Women have almost always been oppressed in all aspects of society.

            Women around the world have come together to work on challenges for women everywhere such as female rules, clothing restrictions, and genitalia cutting. The oldest women group was the Women’s Rights Convention which was dated back to 1848.  That was known as first wave feminism. In 1869, Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony started the National Women Suffrage Association to help promote the struggle for the right to vote. Later that year other women formed the American Woman Suffrage Association. They merged in 1890 creating the National American Woman Suffrage Association also known as NAWSA. They lobbied and campaigned in an attempt to influence other women to want to vote and men to here their pleas. The Women’s Social and Political Union was a British organization that helped in women’s suffrage also.

            Later in the 1890s the National Association of Colored Women was formed merging more than 130 colored women’s clubs and groups. It was formed because most suffrage organizations worked only for the right to vote for white women. Those particular coalitions excluded voting rights for poor women and black women. The Congressional Union was formulated in the early 1900s in an attempt to pass the suffrage amendment that Susan B. Anthony brought into Congress in the late 1870s. Many women left the particular union because they picketed the White House during the time of war and many people believed it wrong to go against a wartime president at the time. They did not let that stop them. They continued to rally, picket, and conduct speeches from state to state. Finally, in 1919 the amendment won enough votes in the Senate and the House and was passed. It was successfully ratified in 1920 and made a law. Women now had the right to vote.

            Now that women had the right to vote they decided to form a coalition to end racial, sexual, and occupational prejudices. The National Council of Negro Women was a coalition formed by Mary McLeod Bethune to petition against those prejudices and discrimination. Second wave feminists were feminists from the 1960s to the 1980s that worked to achieve financial equality as well as public societal equality. Reproduction rights were also extremely important to them too. Later feminists became known as third wave feminists because they stood up for many more women’s rights than second wave feminists. These feminists worked to also provide colored women and gay women with rights and opportunities that other women and men have. Later in 1964, discrimination of races and sexes in job areas were banned through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In 1966, NOW or the National Organization for Women was formed by Betty Friedan and others. This became known as the biggest group in the United States. It further tried to end sexual discrimination by petitioning and hosting public displays. This struggle against sexual harassment and sexual discrimination still continue even today.

            There have been many groups besides those listed above, but many of them did not last. However, some others such as NOW still exist today. Some reasons why they no longer exist is because of funding issues and negative assumptions critics make about the women’s movement. Feminists are often believed to be working to achieve power and rights over men. Feminists are also assumed to think that they are better than men. The criticism of feminists caused them problems around the world even in the news. There are different types of feminists such as conservatives and radicals. None of them work to have power over men though. Women have broke what was once known as the glass ceiling which kept them from getting certain jobs. However, women have still not made it into presidency in the United States although there are female presidents in other countries now.

            Although women have better jobs today and are allowed to work jobs that used to be seen as male jobs, women still make less money than men in many job areas. For example, for every dollar a man makes a woman make seventy-five cents. Men are also more politically accepted than woman are. Many people stopped believing in the women’s movement and believe that they have accomplished all they wanted and needed to accomplish. All of the groups and coalitions contributed to the movement. Each group was a stepping stone to a bigger group or coalition to help fight against the issues women have. Together they accomplished many goals and won many rights and opportunities for women everywhere. Nevertheless, the feminist struggle still isn’t over yet though. Feminists are still fighting oppression and suppression.

Purpose of Gender Lens Jeopardy

            One cannot describe a person or know who or what a person is or does by just looking at them. A person should put on a ‘gender lens’ as the book describes it. It is a mental tool in which we can use to see other characteristics about a person. One must mentally pick up a pair of glasses or a magnifying glass to see further into a person. Although you might see a person and describe them as being black, you cannot determine that that is all he or she is. There are other ‘ingredients’ as the book mentions that describe the person and helps make up who they are such as he or she’s class, gender, religion, and heterosexuality or homosexuality. These features of a person cannot and do not act separately so one should look beyond the physical surface of a person. There might be more interesting facts about them.

Gender Influences

            The book Communicating Gender Diversity talks about how an individual’s surroundings influence who a person becomes. From the time of birth, we are immediately influenced by society and assigned genders and gender roles. At birth they say boy or girl then they want to know what the mother wants to name he or she. Some people used to often assume that a name was assigned to a particular sex. Boys could be named Christopher or Billy, but it did not sound right for a girl to be named that. She had to be named something like Ashley or Christina or Jessica. Nowadays some name are unisex. A boy or a girl can be named Cassie, but is that due to the fact that society’s ideas have evolved or changed? After the name, if the woman has a girl she is dressed in pink or wrapped in a pink blanket. If it is a boy he is wrapped in blue. As the child grows up he or she is taught to play with certain toys, put on certain clothes and shoes, and act a certain way based on their sex. It is something that is ingrained and taught by society, parents, other children, and other people around which in turn directly and/or indirectly influences the decisions, choices, and paths a person might take or make in life. These people manipulate who they are and what they do throughout their whole life.

Homosexuality Interwoven In the Past

       On Wikipedia, one can found information pertaining to other cultures and other countries, besides Greece and Rome, in which there is homosexual or bisexual behavior. Bisexual activity in China was historically the norm. It has been part of their country since the period around the Classic Greek era. The Yellow Emperor was labeled the first person to have sex with other men. People in China often said that the bedmates swayed the judgement and thoughts of the emperors. However, it was mainly seen as a psychological illness. The CPA, Chinese Psychiatrists’ Association, didn’t officially take homosexuality off of the list of mental disorders until early in 2001. However, as mentioned by Cui Zi’en, who is a gay teacher in modern day China, people still look at it as a disorder. Criticizing a homosexual in China is as bad as criticizing a feeble-minded person. You would get frowned upon.

       In New Guinea, a certain group of people known as Bedamini, have a belief in semen as a symbol. Semen to them represents growth. It also represents a man’s masculine characteristic. Boys and men share these bodily fluids in order to bridge the age gap. Consequently, enormous amounts of heterosexual intercourse represents the end of life, disintegration, and atrophy. One from America would think it as the other way around. One would believe that a male would have lots of heterosexual sex early on. However, later when the male begins to get old and his wife or sexual partner dies, if he has no other choice and life is hard but his sex drive is still alive, he’d mess with a man. It would be and if and only if situation.

       Moreover, early Christians simply rejected homosexual intercourse although Christianity taught that Jesus forgives people of their sins. The Pharisees did not tolerate those type of sexual sins. Often people say things that were in the Bible cannot be applied today because things have changed. So should the Bible be updated? Can one relate back to a scripture for everything that happens to them nowadays? 

Social Attitudes Towards Homosexuality

Some people look at homosexuality as a disease or a disorder. Sometimes it is seen as confusion. People often relate it to a physical or emotional thing that happened in a person’s past that “supposedly” makes them gay now. Some of these things I believe to be true in certain cases. Sometimes I think it is a personal choice. People chose to be homosexual or heterosexual. Some people do not label themselves as homosexual, bisexual, metrosexual, or heterosexual; they simply say that they like what they like whether a male, female, or transexual. People are sometimes looked down upon because of the way they are dressed. Its not just heterosexual people, its gay people as well. In class, we discussed how some names or looks could be offensive. When a male who is dressed as a female, what do you address him/her as? When working in a restaurant, fast food place, or clothing store would you say, “Ma’am what can I get for you?” or would you say, “Sir what can I get for you?” Sometimes it is hard to tell what to say. Few people get offensive and snap back when you call them the opposite of what they want to be called. Others think that maybe the person addressing them doesn’t know any better. You don’t want to be offensive, but yet you want to address them properly. Then you are forced to just say, “What can I get for you today?” One cannot give the person a weird look or confused look but sometimes people do. That then makes the person or people feel uncomfortable. So what would you do? Several people would talk to the person normally then go to the back and talk about the man or woman to other employees. What if the customer overheard you? They would become uncomfortable, hurt, or deeply offended. What do you do when you encounter transvestites, transexuals, homosexuals, or just a man dressed as a woman or a woman dressed as a man? I’m very open-minded so sometimes I cheer the man dressed as a woman on if he looks good in his attire. At other times, I laugh quietly to myself at the man who tries so hard to look like a woman but can’t quite pull it off. Then there are the people I see that I can’t tell whether they are a man or woman. I wait for a voice and observe their movements. Those things can tell me everything and then I know how to address a person. Don’t we as humans often observe a person’s voice, behavior, and appearance in order to really read a person?