Overview lecture by Simona Sharoni, October 16, 2001

Lecture Summary:

 

I. Feminism 101: Basic Vocabulary & Theoretical Overview

--The need to distinguish between biological differences (sex: male and female) and socially constructed differences (gender: women-men, masculinity-femininity)

2.The need to challenge the conflation of "gender" with "women."

3. The multiple definitions and theories of gender studies and feminism

A careful look at definitions often enables us to identify their underlying theoretical and political assumptions. The following table presents a common typology of feminist theory

 
 

A Typology of feminist theories and praxis

 

Theory	Assumptions	Method	Political Project
Liberal/Equity	Women and men are similar	Empiricism (counting women)	1st & 2nd waves Struggle for  voice, visibility & inclusion Belief in the reform of the system
Standpoint (Marxist, radical feminists, Socialist feminists)	Women and men are different (difference viewed mostly as social not biological)	Theorizing & research "from below"	2nd wave Struggle for a different voice Call for radical transformation of oppressive systems
Postmodern	Emphasis on gender as a social construct; differences exist not only between but also within women and men	Analysis of discourses, and representation of masculinities, femininities and gender relations	3rd wave Critique of 2nd wave; focus on diversity within the movement; coalition politics

4. Intersections: Gender in relation to other modalities of identity. 

--The tendency to use "gender" and "women" interchangeably is similar to the conflation of race with people of color and sexuality with gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals.

--To challenge unequal and unjust systems, one must critically examine masculinity, heterosexuality and whiteness.There is a growing body of literature on the social construction of masculinity, on the social construction of Whiteness and of the social construction of heterosexuality.

5. Feminist theories and praxis

--The usefulness of gender to the analysis and transformation of power relations

--The focus on the analysis and transformation of the relationship between individuals and groups.

--"The Personal is Political" -- an emphasis on the relationship between particular problems and the boarder social and political context 

--The relevance to all levels of analysis from the individual to the global.

II. Women in the United States: A Fact-Sheet

• The United States has the highest rate of rape of any country that publishes such statistics; 13 times higher than Great Britain and 20 times higher than Japan.
• 1.3 women are raped in the United States every minute; 78 women are raped in the United States every hour; 1,872 a day; 56,160 a month; 683,280 a year 
• 1 of 3 women in the United States will be raped or sexually assaulted in her lifetime

·38% of women in a college survey reported sexual victimization (experiences which meet the legal definition of rape/sexual assault) but only 1 of 25 women reported to police in 1992, only 31% reported to law enforcement in 1996

·In a 1992 survey of college men, 35% of them admitted they would commit violent rape against women if they were assured of getting away with it

·Sexual assault costs the U.S. $127 billion per year:The cost for each sexual assault is $110,000; because many rape victims are subjected to more than one sexual assault, the cost per rape is estimated to be $87,000. The cost per sexual assault is broken down as follows: Short term medical care $500; Mental health services $2,400; Lost productivity $2,200; Pain and suffering $104,900 ·Reports of violence against women have increased dramatically in the aftermath of Sep. 11, 2001 ·Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, affect 1 in 5 women, mostly young women ·Eating disorders can result in severe health complications, including stomach rupture, heart failure and digestive disorders, osteoporosis, teeth erosion and even death

Eating disorders kill up to 10 percent of their victims and are a form of mental illness. Women who worked full-time, year round earned 73 percent of their male counterparts (US Census Bureau, 9-25-01) The median earnings for a Latina woman with a college degree are $2,843 less than the median earnings for a white man with just a high school degree.  ·42% of women who work for the federal government are sexually harassed.

III. Struggles for Gender Equality: Issues, Movements & Resources

• Existing movements/project tend to focus on a single issue
• Most movements/projects lack a grassroots constituency and feminism has a bad rap
• Most movements/projects lack race, class, and age diversity thus failing to impact the majority of society
• The women’s movement as a whole is not connected to other progressive struggles/movements and doesn’t have a contemporary vision, which could inspire transformation

Selected Web Resources:

• The Women’s movement

http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/an online Archival Collection of documents from the Women's Liberation Movement

http://www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism/us.htmlinformation on different aspects of feminism in the United States. You can select a specific ethnic group or one of these fields: Aesthetics, Economics, Literature, History, Politics, Psychology, and Religion.

http://www.wcwonline.org/wrn/a non-governmental, non-profit international human rights organization that works to address the root causes of intimate partner abuse in the United States through the application of human rights principles, strategies and laws.

• Violence against women

http://www.justicewomen.com/cj_rapequiz_en.htmlQuiz on popular assumptions about rape in the US

http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.htmlNOW focus on violence against women

www.vawnet.org/an online resource for advocates working to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violence in the lives of women and their children

·Income Disparities, Gender Inequality in the workplace:

www.aflcio.org/women/wwfacts.htm  Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)

www.feminist.com/fairpay/peinfo.htm   National Committee on Pay Equity

·Body image and eating disorders

http://www.evergreen.edu/users6/berter22/home.htm

http://health.excite.com/content/article/1739.50367

http://www.4woman.gov/owh/pub/factsheets/fsgetreal.htmOffice on Women’s Health

·Reproductive rights

Roe vs. Wade:

www.roevwade.org

www8.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/roe.wade/decision 

http://www.aclu.org/congress/issues107.html#reproductiveFocus on erosion in women’s right to choose inthe 107th Congress

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

http://www.euthanasia.com/blackpopulation.htmlAbortion statistics by race

·Websites by and for girls: 

www.unix.umbc.edu/korenman/wmst/links_girls.html       resources, web guide

www.chickclick.com     online magazine with articles such as: "mom's myths", "does music rule your world?" "standing out--queer culture."

www.cybergrrrl.com/cg/html   chat, forums, resources for other sites

www.femina.com/about.html  search engine, "female friendly" sites, classified ads, site reviews

www.webgirls.com   new media, job searches, teaching/learning experiences

·Men and Masculinity:

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~bartley/other/realMen.htmlAn anti-sexist men's group in the Boston area.

www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/TOPICS/men.html    resources and links to over twenty five other web sites

·Publications

http://www.msmagazine.com/Ms. Magazine, an advertisement free popular feminist magazine

http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~mnunes/hooks.htmlonline articles by and about bell hooks

·Backlash against feminism

http://www.backlash.com/content/gender/2001/04apr01/nude0401.htmlsite created and maintained by people who proudly describe themselves as fueling the backlash