Compulsory WHAT!!!Connections

    Let’s get one thing straight Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence by Adrienne Rich is a complicated piece of literature. After having read the article, I came to define Compulsory Heterosexuality as the male societal institution of preferred sexuality for women. Women thus are forced into accepting only one role, the traditional one.Throughout this blog I’m going to give you examples as to how the this text ‘connects’ with the other readings we’ve done so far.

    To start off I am going to summarize Rich’s main argument. Rich argued that women are subjects or prey to the rules brought upon by males through the various institutions we have. Things like marriage, economic institutions, workplaces, child rearing and just our plain culture holds women down physically, economically and emotionally into a female role. She cited, “The Origin of the Family,” by Kathleen Gough as a framework to elaborate how males force upon females compulsory heterosexuality.

    Gough wrote, “ Characteristics of male power  include the power of men to deny women sexuality, or to force it upon them, to command or exploit their labor to control their production(by means of marriage, etc) to control or rob them of their children, to confine them physically and prevent their movement, to cramp their creativeness, to withhold from them large areas of society’s knowledge and cultural attainments.”

I think this connects to the discussion we had on Cinderella Ate My Daughter. It ties into the notion in the same way because generally Disney films characterize females and femininity as a one way street, if you get what I mean. Cinderella Ate My Daughter centered around the values and messages (need to be saved by a prince) that girls are subliminally taught to accept, which is similar to Rich’s notion that women are economically at a disadvantage, and therefore may turn to marriage as a solution, another disadvantaged position.

    Another argument Rich mentioned was acknowledging the existence of lesbianism. The reason I mentioned this is because, on pg. 89, Rich wrote, “. . .the enforcement of heterosexuality for women as a means of assuring male right of physical, economic, and emotional access. One of the many means of enforcement is, of course, the rendering of invisible of the lesbian possibility.”  She later added that acknowledging lesbians is a direct and indirect attack on males access to women and the compulsory way of life. Rich also mentioned a ton of historical content that has kept lesbians in the dark, such as the women who was in therapy was raped by her husband (I think) for 6 months, because the women could not be lesbian according to the psychiatrist. If you haven't figured out where I was going with this, It directly connects to Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson. In Johnson’s book he mentioned that if people want to address societal problems, they have put a name(Compulsory Heterosexuality) to it and however uncomfortable it may be we have acknowledge that there something going on in the treatment of different races, genders, or classes. He also mentioned that the majority must come to acknowledge the problem themselves, because if the minority group could have fixed the problem, they would have. I think this is important because males control most of society to our benefit. Taking a note from Anzaldua, we should all be working together for equal treatment. This means that any race, gender, sex, or class that is underrepresented should come together with a common goal in mind to address the problems that plague our society’s binary state of mind.

If you are still interested in compulsory heterosexuality and are still confused, check out a webpage called ‘A Feminist Theory Dictionary,’ or look at Merylda’s blog, both of which help me sort out some of Rich’s main Ideas.

Comments;

This reading was long and intense. Based on the reading I feel like most of what Rich said is true. Society perpetuates compulsory heterosexuality by the institutions we have in place. How many times have you heard a girl say they were going to marry a rich man? These women are not to blame for their dependence on males, because the systems were built that way. Of course, one can argue that women can accomplish as much as men, but at what additional cost?

Cinderalla ate my daughter; Orenstein Argument Format

    Everywhere you look there are children running around and playing. Throughout the last decades, we have come to understand that trends among children come and go, but something has become increasingly evident. As an uncle of two nieces and two nephews, I’ve noticed that both of my nieces, around seven years old, were constantly trying to be a Disney princesses. In Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein, I think the author is arguing that at the expense of allowing younger girls to associate themselves with what is deemed socially acceptable, we are damaging women’s future self concept and analytical skills. After having read the article, I came to my conclusion based on different quotes from the text. After reading this, I urge you to look at what the author is saying and see if you can see it play out in your own lives.

    To start off, Orenstein wrote, “Teenage girls and college students who hold conventional beliefs about femininity- especially those that emphasize beauty and pleasing behavior are less ambitious and more likely to be depressed than their peers.” I think this quote is relevant to the text and main argument because the author argues that little girls mentality is being shaped by the stereotypes of modern day fairy tales. Typically these stories show women being objects, needy, and just down right defenseless. While stories centered on male characters are focused on courage, intelligence, strength and allegiances. This is a problem, because our society is changing. Women are becoming more independent, and more likely to hold managerial positions at a corporate level, yet women are expected to be kind, nurturing, and caring which is perpetuated through Disney female stereotypes. This leads to a contradiction in the mentality of women.

    Another example which illustrates the authors argument is when the author mentioned a study that showed college females interest in math and science related careers declined, when they were asked to wear a bathing suit. If women at a college level are so easily manipulated, what does that mean for a five year old girl. I’m not saying that the women in the study are mentally incapable in any way, because men can be easily manipulated as well. Orenstein mentioned in another study that boys were much more likely to play with ‘girl’ toys if they were told no one would be watching. Which shows us that boys also are told they have a role to play.

    Although I didn’t get a chance to talk about Orenstein’s explanation of our cultures fascination with pink feminism. I think it is important to remember the main point. To what extent does the stereotypes of femininity cross the line. Orenstein argued that we allow this to happen so that we can have a common language with our children and because of us wanting to maintain our children's innocence. As children grow out of this childhood princess phase though, they are moving unto more edgy merchandise that emphases the same values of beauty, and appearance.This ultimately may lead to a future where women are more insecure, have a damaged self concept, and are more like their fairytale princesses, defenseless. If this blog was interesting to you check out  'Disney Princes and Princesses Still Slaves To Some Stereotypes' by Jennifer Welsh because she mentions some of the things Orenstein wrote and describes the new direction  films are headed towards.


Questions and Comments for class:

I think the author made some good arguments. But I don’t think the author really provided any solutions to the problem. What should we do as a society? Should we make unisex toys and cloths? Make fairytale films, where the female saves the male from impending doom? Should we eliminate all female stereotypes at the expense of losing the notion of femininity?

Class Discussion: Papa Johns

Hello class,

During class on Monday there was an open discussion when I mentioned an employee treating a customer differently based on their race. This feeds to the concept of an author who wrote that there were four kinds of racism. The story goes like this. Minhee Cho was labeled 'Lady Chinky Eyes' on a receipt while waiting  for her food on Friday at a Papa Johns in New York City. A Papa Johns spokesperson said they have fired the employee responsible, after the incident went viral via twitter. For more information, an article named Papa John's Employee Calls Women 'Lady Chinky Eyes' on Receipt describes the incident in more detail.

Reflecting on Anzaldua's work; Relection format

    Over the years, as a Mexican American living in the United States I have noticed a trend. Despite many Mexicans living in the United States in the millions, which is evident in an article on the Moderate Voice, many who are born here ( United States) feel lost. This is a topic for discussion as Gloria Anzaldua pointed out in her book titled La conciencia de la mestiza: towards a new consciousness. In this blog I am going to reflect on this book by summarizing Anzaldua’s work, telling you my personal connections to this text, and what it made me think about. I hope that after reading this, you my audience will gain an understanding of what Anzaldua was trying to say.

   To begin I’m going to summarize what I think Anzaldua was trying to say. She is a Mexican women who just so happens to be lesbian. Throughout the text she refers to her self as a Chicana( Mexican ancestry, born in the United States) and argues about the integration of cultures, arguing that people must break the traditional paradigm of race, sex, and gender. She believed that this integration would lead to a “Hybrid Progeny” and that la Mestiza, “a product of the transfer of the cultural and spiritual values of one group to another,” Anzaldua wrote, would breed a new consciousness or way of thinking that will lead society in a better direction with less violence, rape, and other injustices. In the text, she also described the process she believed had to take place which included what the Hispanic community must do and how white Americans must be convinced of the connections between North America and South America.

   Now that I’ve described the text, I want to reflect by telling you my personal connections to the text. I understand where Anzaldua is coming from in a sense. As a Mexican American, there is a battle taking place in me because I am Mexican and American. The problem arises when my American ideology does not mix with my Mexican ideology. According to her I have to manage these battles from within like many others have to battle traditional Paradigms with who they are. For example the lesbian and gay society is generally not accepted in the eyes of regular society, being born a women you have to battle with the norms tied to being a female, and being born poor you have to battle with the ideology of being rich. According to Anzaldua the mixing of different races, sexes, genders, and even social classes are the future to create a new consciousness. By coming out and saying who you are, where you come from, and putting down your defenses, we can change ways of thinking. Personally I think this is important, because it means that one day the walls surrounding these imaginary classifications will come crumbling down but it requires people to stand together united.To top this off,  Anzaldua even wrote, “ La mestiza has gone from being the sacrificial goat to becoming the officiating priestess at the crossroads.”

    After having read the work by Anzaldua’s, it did make me think about something in particular. It made me wonder if it was possible to truly integrate different cultures in the United States. I know United States is seen as the melting pot of different races, but when will the day come when everyone in a sense is a different race, and asking, “what is your race,” is no longer a viable question to ask. Although Anzaldua wrote her solution, I think it is simply up to us to inform others of your culture, race, traditions, and gender to get rid of the fear or unknown that may plague the majority in the United States. This isn’t just a problem for Mexicans, its a problem for women, lesbians and gays, and people of different religions including Islam and Judaism. To end on a good note, we can all be part of the solution that would result in a future without the problems that exist today. To see some statistics from the Moderate Voice click on here
Comments/ Questions for class:

Anzaldua believed that a new consciousness would result from the mestiza. It appeared that much of her experience comes from what she learned from being a lesbian in her culture. In fact, she mentioned that other causes that are having problems should take note of the gay and lesbian community because they were able to make strides in politics and other areas, despite people being from different races, genders, and cultures. But, will the perceived differences between races be greater than the effort made by the few?

Quotes that make me bleed; Privalidge, Power and Difference;Quote Format

    The issue of gender, race, and sex has recently become an object of my affection. I have recently become fascinated by the theories, assumptions, and general stereotypes associated to groups of people because of the experiences I have felt first hand. The things I want to point out are hard for me to say because it has become a painful reality for me as an individual. I want everyone who reads this to understand that I don't mean to offend anyone, but I’m going to point out three quotes by Allen G. Johnson from his book called Privilege, Power, and Difference. In the quotes I will explain what they mean, their relation to the text, and more importantly explain a real world example of of its relevance.

    My analysis will delve into the area when the author mentioned in Chapter 3, “What privilege looks like.” In the list of things taken for granted by the socially dominant group (white, male) the first quote I want to look at said, “ Whites can assume when they go shopping, they’ll be treated as serious customers, not as potential shoplifters or people without the money to make a purchase.”  This quote is important because it means that no matter where we go the social construction of race is at work. There is no escaping the realities of others just looking at you and making an assumption. Sometimes making assumptions are for a good reason though because statically speaking yes a Black male is more likely to be of a lower income bracket, and yes there are more people who are Black or Hispanic in jail. Some psychologists argue that people treat others differently, solely based on race, because it is a natural evolution of human development which helps ensure our individual survival. The problem though is that today we live in a society where people are protected by laws, surveillance is always around, and people do not have to compete for the same resources at a store, yet people are treated differently. To give you an example in my life I recently went to Home Depot to make a purchase on blinds with my wife. When I found the blinds I liked I asked if the price for each blind was $100 or if that was a set. The women who served me informed me that each blind was $100 and I said, “Ohhhh....,” she then said , “You have champagne taste with beer money.” Needless to say I was very upset! How could she assume I could not afford the blinds? To add to this she came back after a minute and said, “Are you still dreaming.”

    Another quote from “What Privilege looks like,” in chapter 3 of Johnson’s text is, “ Whites are more likely to be given early opportunities to show what they can do at work, to be Identified as potential candidates for promotion, to be mentored, to be given a second chance when they fail, and to be allowed to treat failure as a learning experience rather than an indication of who they are and the short comings of their race.” This quote is important because it basically means that white males have an unfair advantage at the work place compared to similar males of a different race. Of course a white male won’t see the advantage because there is a theory in psychology I cant remember that says people will credit their success to personal achievement and inner characteristics but will blame outside circumstances for their failures. Another aspect of this theory says that they will see others achievements as acts of luck and outside circumstances. For example a white male may say “I’ve been promoted because I’m smart,” but when another achieves the same thing they will say, “ They were promoted because they were lucky.” This relates to me because although I haven’t really entered the work force I have some insights from my father who was always treated differently. He told me, “ Because of the color of your skin and where you come from you will always have to try three times as hard compared to others.” At first I did not want to accept this reality but, as last semester showed me my father was right to some degree.

    The last quote I want to point out said, “ Whites can reasonably expect that if they work hard and ‘play by the rules,’ they’ll get what they deserve and feel justified in complaining. . .” As I mentioned previously last semester I noticed how I was treated differently and to protect myself from future consequences I will not name the the institutions or people involved. I applied to 10 of the most prominent, well known public relations agencies in Rhode Island I knew it was going to be competitive, but not discriminatory. I have been on the Dean’s list the entire time I’ve been at Rhode Island College, attained a much higher GPA of 3.6 and am part of a national honor society yet despite my academic achievements I was not even called back for an interview at any of these places. While other students who I know for a fact did not have the outstanding course work, GPA, or recommendations they received internships; they are all white.I don’t blame my fellow class mates, but the older people in charge of picking up kids for internship opportunities. I once found  a statistic that said, "of all the public relations specialists in the United States only five percent are of Hispanic decent," I wonder why?

    To wrap this up, I am not the only Hispanic in this predicament. In an article by Latino Magazine, they found a disparity between the Hispanic population and employment in different sectors backed by data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information on this article, you can find it here. 

Comments to mention in class:

Reading this article was very hard to read because it struck an emotional chord. The author mentioned we have to get past the fear of racist words to be able to address the problem. For example he wrote  if there is a fire you let others know by saying, "Fire!,"I think we owe it to ourselves to address these societal (race, gender, and religious) problems now because if we don't, who will?

A little about me. . .

My name is Jose Garcia, a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. To let you know a little about myself, I have lived in Rhode Island all of my life and I have attended Providence public schools from elementary school all the way through high school. I have always been interested in controversial, often debatable issues but have never taken an interest in women's studies(feminism). Through this course I hope to learn something new, have a little bit of fun, and be four more credits closer to graduation.