Mark's Blog

8th post: Summary

The problem is very serious because the statistics on how many girls are affected each year is huge. According to UNICEF, approximately 39,000 child marriages happen every day, and 14.2 million girls annually. (UNICEF, 2013) Not only do these child marriages happen in one country, or continent, but they happen in parts of the world; from Africa to Asia to the Middle East to some communities in England.  The problem seems so foreign to us because we do not hear of cases in the United States, but I bet if it did, it would be getting more support from others and more attention from the media. The amount of life and education these girls are missing out on by getting married is bigger than numbers can explain. By reading about the stories about all of the girls that were affected, like Nujood or Gadya, I can try to imagine myself in their place, and think of the hardships I would have to face. I love school, I love having freedom, I love only worrying about my self sometimes(I have to admit). However, with that fate assigned to me, all of that freedom and selfishness would disappear, and I would have to raise a baby while still raising myself, all the while being with someone for the rest of my life whom I do not love. From my research, I have developed a deeper sorrow for the girls that have to go through this.  

One issue that we covered in class that I can definitely relate to this topic is the commentary we listened to - “No Más Bébés.”  The victims in that commentary were Latina women, who were unintentionally signing a document that allowed the doctor to tie their tubes so that they couldn’t have any more babies. They had their rights taken away from them. Like the young girls, the lack of education made/makes the situation more difficult. Also, the women in “No Más Bébés” felt a great pressure while it was happening, in regards to signing the papers and being unaware of what was happening. We can compare that the young girls feeling a great deal of pressure of marrying someone, and making the deal a pleasant one. At the same time, some of the girls(after being married), stated that they were so young that they really didn’t understand what was going on at the time.

References:

Post 7: Intersectional Issue

One solution that can start from an early age is sexual education. Better sexual education that covers many subjects and starts at an earlier age can help people learn more about sex in general. In specific for this topic, I was thinking that from as early as middle school onwards, teenagers should be taught about consent in various situations. They should be taught that consent can change, it’s not just a one time thing. They should be taught that consent cannot be given when one of the parties is intoxicated. If people had a better understanding of consent and how crucial it is, then a lot more people would be aware of it. They would listen to their partners if they want to stop, and some rape cases would be avoided.

Another solution I propose would be for officials, such as university officials and university law enforcement, for them to understand and treat rape accusations as serious crimes. There have been too many instances where university officials have ignored rape victims, and that needs to stop. Sexual assault and violence is a crime, and if someone is accused, an investigation should immediately take place. If more officials cared more about the students, more students would report their cases. A lot of victims do not report their cases because they already know that they would not be cared by the university. It is not a fear; it has happened so many times that they already know that they will be shut out. 

Discussion of an Institutional Example

Without a doubt, machismo has significant negative impacts in the society. In particular, machismo is apparent in higher institutions of learning and in employment. To begin with, in employment, there are some employees who view themselves as dominant over the other employees. The main fact that leads to the perceived dominance among employees is the gender disparity. Generally, men view themselves as superior and that they have unique abilities that women do not possess. The false consciousness that men are tough and should therefore behave in a particular way has serious ramifications to the employees, particularly with regards to the safety and health of the employees. For instance, some employees may refuse to wear protective clothing at the workplace arguing that real men do not need the clothing and that the clothing are meant for women who are allegedly weak.

The event I attended was organized by the Department of African American Studies and Alicia Garza was introduced as the speaker and cofounder of the Black Lives Matter Movement. A few minutes before the event began, the room was filled with graduate students, professors, and undergraduate students who seemed eager to hear from the founder of a movement that has been in the news ever since its onset. To begin her speech, Ms. Garza emphasized the importance of giving thanks to those who made it possible for the event to take place as well as people of “indigenous nations”. She started off with a question she is constantly asked: “how did you turn a hashtag into a movement?” Her response: “hashtags do not start movements, people do”. Further explaining her answer, she talks about the revolution that occurred in Egypt as a result of a twitter post. The post did not actually start the revolution but people who had responded to these posts started the revolution. And this relates to how the movement began. According to Ms. Garza, it began as a love letter to others on Facebook. Why did she write this? In the year 2013, a young boy named Trevor Martin decided to walk to the corner store to grab a few snacks, however, little did his parents know that their son would never return home

 Further adding to this tragedy, his killer George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges two months after the incident. Ms. Garza described her reaction after hearing about the judge’s verdict on this issue. She was shocked and could not believe such an issue would occur in 2013. “It was not the 1960s”, she recalled. But there was something more that angered Ms. Garza. The responses from the public on Facebook. She refers to these people as “Social Justice Cynics”. These are people who think they are too good for their own good. The social justice cynics pointed out that if black people were be more educated or if they stopped wearing hoodies, situations like this could be avoided. In response to these statements, Ms. Garza wrote a post as a love letter to address the fact that all black lives matter and it was her sister who had initially hash tagged “Black lives matter”. Hence, the movement #BlackLivesMatter. This movement is fundamentally committed to all black lives and aims to restore dignity to all black lives. The idea of “All lives matter” was also mentioned. This ideology was once developed decades ago in the United States when land was being stolen from “indigenous people”. This ideology is also seen in parts of the constitution that talks about freedom speech, religion, etc. However, Ms. Garza reminds the audience that the idea of all lives matter deprived people of color from enjoying the benefits that came along with it. As shown in the media, Black Lives Matter supporters are regarded as protestors who are up to no good and Ms. Garza reaffirms that this movement is not about protest nor is it about being anti-police. Black Lives Matter focuses on pro-humanity as well as creating and solving issues for all Black lives. The notion of “Make America Great Again” means less access, less wealth and less power for people of color. As a result, Ms. Garza states that the notion should be changed to “make our society great again”. There should also be safety beyond policing. To conclude her speech, she poses a question to the audience: “If you believe freedom is possible, what would you do? are you doing it, and would it mean something?”

After attending this event, I have a better understanding of how the movement began and its purpose. Mostly, all I see on social media is the negative depiction of people supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement. I learned from this event that the movement is not all about protestors carrying signs and hoping to gain attention from the media and police. It is a movement that aims at providing equality for black lives and seeing to it that what happened decades ago would certainly not repeat itself. I was also made aware by this event that whatever we do affects the next generation and would be spoken about decades later when we are no more. Also, this is historic and some of us can live to tell our children what we witnessed and our involvement in making lives better for the next generation.

I also learned that regardless of what the constitution says, there is still inequality and discrimination against people of color. This can be seen in the mass incarceration of 1 million people across the country. Most of whom are persons of color. The earlier we realize these problems, the better it would be to act and ensure that we do not encounter bigger problems in the future. Organizations like black lives matter and others yet to arise would be a first stepping stone to help society realize we are all equal. Ms. Garza’s speech made me realize that change is possible if we believe.

The final message I received was that one does not have to be a philanthropist to create a change in the world. Just like Ms. Garza whose single Facebook post had enabled such a movement to take place, there is nothing too small or too big. Ms. Garza had mentioned that people are watching what goes on in the U.S. and they are hoping whatever change we create becomes successful. I have learned from this that if I want to make a difference, I should get involved and dismiss whatever I see or hear on social media. I should also broaden my knowledge by reading and carefully paying attention to what occurs in my surroundings. Like Ms. Garza said, “It is time to make our society great again”.

Transgender and Gender Variant Health Panel

The reason why I decided to go to this event was because I am a Public Health major and Gender and Women’s studies minor so it seemed like a perfect intersection of both my studies. I also helped out Professor Chu by filming the event so I was there a few minutes early to set up my camera. The panel of this event consisted of five diverse professionals in transgender and gender variant health. The questions asked were thought provoking and even created differing opinions amongst the panelists (which is always a good thing.) It was extremely insightful in regards to learning what trans health means and how it works or should work. As a student that in the future wants to be in the medical field, this discussion was helpful in bridging medical knowledge with trans and gender variant knowledge. 

The first and I believe the most important thing I learned is what Trans health is. As many of the panelists concluded, Trans health is everything. Trans health means physical well being, health insurance, mental health, access to medication, access to additional health resources etc. Everything that any human being needs to be healthy is Trans health. As one of the panelists Caprice Carthans said, a trans patient is a full person not a one issue person. The second thing I learned was that one of the major challenges facing trans health in the United States is health insurance policy. Most health insurance companies do not cover crucial hormones trans people need. Medical coding that is sent to insurance companies also needs advancement. The medical code needed by insurance companies to cover hormones is currently classified under “endocrine disorder” which is incorrect as trans people do not have endocrine disorders that cause them to need hormones. The last thing I learned was most helpful to my current situation as a public health student and hospital volunteer. That is, in general how to treat trans patients and make them feel included and comfortable. This could be as simple as using that patient’s correct pronouns to as ”complicated” as hiring trans and LGBTQ+ people from the community. Having printed and digital media that include trans people allows for trans people to feel as though they can relate and are not out of the ordinary and are included. These things are not formally taught to most health professionals so it is important to teach other medical professionals to do the same.

I attended “Body/Courage” performed by Danielle Pinnock at the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, where Danielle told the story about her struggle with her family as they tried to change her body. She acted out each of the experiences she thinks contributed to the way she views her body now, as well as the interviews she had with different people about what it is to have an ideal body. The smallness of the set is what I liked become it seemed to make the production more intimate, and because of the stories that were performed I think it fit very well. The way that Danielle was able to transition from performing a sad, painful story one minute and make the audience laugh at a new one was one of the things that I was amazed by. Her performance was extraordinary and her stories even more and they perfectly tie in with the title of the play. 

Group 2 Group Presentation

Gender as a Social Construction and Social Structure

Throughout the reading were several recurring themes. The significant ones were the racism, white privilege, cultural exploitation, stereotypes, discrimination, and intersectionality. Some themes however were expressed more implicitly. For instance, gender as a social construction is something that exists at an almost invisible level. The social structure of gender is another example. It is a reading about women’s movement but the struggle is not only for African American women or women from different cultural backgrounds, this targets a whole movement of women trying to rise above all together. A quote that emphasizes my point was mentioned in the text; “We do not experience racism. Whether directed at ourselves or others theoretically. Neither do white women. How does one then emotionally come to terms with racism” (Smith 62) I think this quote demonstrates that this is more than just discrimination against a certain type of group when really every kind of woman is affected by it.

Racism

In “I Don’t Understand Those Who Have Turned Away From Me,” by Chrystos, she explains how she considers white women to be liars, and even explains how she is afraid of them. These negative emotions culminate in distrust for white women. She then explains how she feels more comfortable among heterosexuals than fellow lesbians of white color, claiming that she can be more of herself among heterosexuals. She also claims that she has learned that feminism is no longer a tool for freedom. She desperately argues that she has tried to understand and get along with the women in the feminist movement. She explains how she has worked along with them, gone to their discussions, no matter how much they played the blame game. She has worked alongside them, no matter how many insults were whispered behind her back. In the end, she decides that instead of helping her, feminism has drained her life away, leaving her with a sense of confusion and abandonment. This is a clear example of racism within feminism. In this writing, white women insult her even though they are all in the same group; they are all feminists. What is the difference? Only skin color. She says how some feminists in her group denounced their culture, and how as a consequence did not walk a path of joy. They walked the path of an automaton that follows without question. In my opinion, this is a very powerful writing that uncovers the veil on many issues that follow feminism. It is difficult to believe that women of different color would be so petty to each other, even though they are fighting for the same thing. However, this is the crux of the issue; they are not fighting for the same thing. They cannot be fighting for the same thing when white women exhibit a superiority complex, even though they themselves are in the same position of the women they secretly scorn. White women seek equality among the white men of their time, without consideration of the many black women that fight for the equality of all. White women consider themselves to be in a category all of their own, erroneously thinking that, “I may be oppressed in this world of man, but at least I am not black.” They do not pause to consider that they are all in the same boat, and no difference of skin color can change that. It is also important to understand that  not all white women are of this opinion. It is also prevalent in this writing that Chrysta is deeply distrustful of white women in general, although not without good reason. However, if this type of mistrust continues, the wounds that have been created between women of white color, and women of dark color, will never heal. This writing easily elaborates and gives explanation of why white women should not be trusted, claiming that white women are disloyal because they have little need to be loyal. Although justified in this scenario, this type of attitude needs to change. A person cannot expect change to happen in this world, in society, in feminism, if these two groups cling to these preconceived notions. Much has changed in 35 years. It is not logical to hold on to these feelings that started more than three decades ago, and still strive to change the way black people and white people, different groups of people, view each other. This related to feminism because racism within feminism needs to stop. Many critics of feminism use this as an example of why feminism is not important, or why it is flawed. They don’t want to dig deeper and realize that feminism can help so many people, if only the people within the groups stop to realize that.

White Privilege

In “This Bridge Called My Back,” a section called “And When You Leave, Take Your Pictures With You” discusses racism and how it pertains to women’s movements. What I noticed in that section was that the narrators were of different ethnic backgrounds and spoke of feminism, gender oppression, white privilege and several other topics that relate to racism. The introduction of the section is about skin color and third world women feminists vs. white women feminists: “This section attempts to describe in tangible ways how, under the name of feminism, white women of economic and educational privilege have used that privilege at the expense of Third World women.” (pg. 61) What stood out was the topic of white privilege and how women who are white are privileged over women of color. Since the beginning, there has always been white privilege. It has become such a way of life for people that they do not think about whether or not they are using white privilege, whether if it is judging someone by the way they look or by their name. According to an essay written by Jacob Bennett, “White privilege was not perpetuated by conscious and explicit efforts, but by white citizen’s subconscious.” My definition of white privilege is that, in this society, people who are white or have lighter skin are looked upon in a better way than people who are of color. What Bennett is saying that is that people do not do this on purpose but do it without knowing. Another part of the reading that has to do with racism would be white privilege and that talks specifically about Third World women and how they grew up in a racist world and that white people get the upper hand usually: “Racism affects all of our lives, but it is only white women who can “afford” to remain oblivious to these effects. The rest of us have had it breathing or bleeding down our necks.” (Smith 62) Here, she is saying that racism exists and that we all have to live with it but white people do not think any of this is happening, so they are oblivious. She also talks about how society has named white women as stronger individuals and how they have more power: “It implies power to implement racist ideology. Women of color do not have such power, but white women are born with it and the greater their economic privilege, the greater their power.” (pg. 62) What they are saying here is that women of color will not go anywhere because of the way they look but the more money white people have the more power they will have in society. Even today white privilege still exists.  

Cultural Misconception

The section “–But I Know You, American Woman” from the book This Bridge Called My Back brings up another important topic related to feminism. The discrimination between races in feminism is a large issue, which if not resolved can impede many triumphs in the feminist movement. In this section of the reading, cultural misconceptions are an important component of the discrimination that occurs. The article makes an important point when it states “Women live in male systems, know male rules, speak male language when around men, etc. But what do men really know about women? Only screwed up myths concocted to perpetuate the power imbalance” (Moschkovic 80). The article then goes on to explain how this is the exact same thing with the many cultures of women around the world. It comes down to the dominant culture of the Anglo Americans and that of the colonized or third world cultures. The cultural misconceptions and ignorance deepens the division among women. It creates a racial/cultural class system among a group who should ideally be working together towards the same goal. In our contemporary time period, race continues to be a leading dilemma in the United States. Ending the oppression of women must include settling the misconceptions among the races and cultures as well. Anglo Americans are the dominant culture in the United States as well as in the feminist movement. If these women are leading the movement for the better quality of life of all women, they must first understand the culture of other women. As stated in the reading, “Don’t speak about someone/something unless you can admit your ignorance on the subject” (Moschkovic 79). If all feminist can admit to this ignorance, we could essentially work towards a common goal that resolves a greater problem for all women, not just that of one culture/race.

Cultural Exploitation

“Third World women have become the subject matter of many literary and artistic endeavors by white women, and yet we are refused access to the pen, the publishing house, the galleries, and the classroom.” (Smith, 61) Not only have women of color become a subject of interest for white women, but they also are denied any part of the conversation that is primarily about them. As a result of this, women of color have gradually become an image, a concept, the likes of which hangs as pictures on the walls of white women. In no way is the exploitation of a culture better represented than this: the unwanted use of an oppressed culture’s image as an object of interest for the oppressor. The particular use of the word “artifact” further emphasizes this point by summoning imagery of a museum or anthropological study. Women of color as well as their culture have been reduced to an exhibit occupied by those privileged enough to look upon it as such. This idea of past racism permeates even the present day. Racism is a concept that many think of as “solved” or something that no longer exists. Even the idea of white privilege is denied. In terms of intersectionality, cultural exploitation is of particular relevance. Women face oppression, and especially women of color. Intersectionality is at the foreground of feminist issues, because it pertains to contemporary ideas of feminism that neglect the disenfranchised who are victims of both gendered and racial oppression.

Stereotypes

        One of the major issues amongst the feminist groups is the discrimination that occurs within the feminist groups. Throughout most of the readings ignorance is demonstrated by white women towards the minority groups, and the white women’s ignorance has more of an impact on the feminist movement overall. Most of the white women mentioned in the articles are depicted as educated and wealthy. Therefore, their ignorance is a factor that creates a barrier between them and minority women. They are educated but do not fully understand that they are objectifying the Black, Hispanic, Asian, lesbian, etc. women. They are distancing themselves from those who could best support them because their education and upbringing, blinds them from understanding and supporting the minority women and the obstacles they face. For the most part it seems that the white women only include minority women when it comes to sharing their stories of hardship and oppression. They fail to realize that they are also oppressors amidst their fight to end gender based oppression. They are so concerned with their own battle that they ignore the needs of others.         The ignorance that is demonstrated leads to the stereotypes associated with each minority. For example, in “An Open Letter to Mary Daly” by Audre Lorde where she addresses the focus and distortion made of her culture. Lorde states “What you excluded from Gyn/Ecology dismissed my heritage and of all the other non-European women, and denied the real connections that exist between all of us” (Lorde 95). The writer of Gyn/Ecology demonstrated parts of Lorde’s culture that supported stereotypes associated with black women. In Judit Moschkovich’s “-But I Know You, American Woman”, she states how she believes that “lack of knowledge about other cultures is one of the basics for cultural oppression.” One of the stereotypes she says Latino and Black people face is that other people think that machismo and women’s oppression is prominent in their culture, but Moschkovich believes that oppression can happen anywhere and to anyone. Basically, what I understood from the readings is that the ignorance, stereotypes, and other presumed knowledge about other cultures results in the struggle to fight oppression within the feminist movement.

Cultural/Ethnic Oppression/Discrimination

Judit Moschkovich’s essay called “-But I Know You, American Woman” is a direct response to a publication in a nationally distributed women’s newspaper (79). Moschkovich writes in her perspective as a Jewish Latina immigrant criticizing Anglo-American’s view of Latino culture. She points out that stereotypes of other cultures, in her case Latino culture, comes from ignorance of culture and lack of self-education. These criticisms are perpetuated by systems such as the education system, politics and the media. One example of destructive stereotypes is the one that says Latino culture is machista and oppressive towards women. Anglo-Americans come to dislike a whole culture (Latinos) because of assumptions of sexism in that culture but yet ignore sexist oppression within their culture. This type of feminism excludes Latino women and is the opposite of intersectional feminism in which culture, race and sex are all intertwined. Mitsuye Yamada, an Asian Pacific American woman, also speaks of this exclusion of culture from feminism and lack of education that leads to oppression. Yamada talks about how women of color such as Asian and Latino women are not taken seriously in white feminism because of assumptions of sexism in their culture. Often, Asian women are only invited into the feminist community as temporary visitors who are there for brief input or as guest speakers who are not fully integrated members. Asian women are written off as active members in the feminist community because “…women are too happily bound to their traditional roles as mothers and wives, as if the same cannot be said of a great number of white American women among us” (Yamada 72). Here she makes the same critique Judit Moschkovich makes about white feminists pointing their fingers at other cultures but ignoring the same problem in their own culture. Both authors make the point that when Anglo-American feminists try to learn about cultures they go to women of color such as Asians and Latinas to tell them about their struggles when in reality this is not the correct way to learn. Yamada says that white feminists have the idea that it is “your responsibility to teach us” “your” being women of color and “us” being Anglo-Feminists (72). Moschkovich explains the reasoning for why this expectation is wrong by saying “the oppressed should not teach the oppressor” (79). Yamada goes further into this conversation by saying that the result of feminism not being receptive to culture is separation of ideologies. Feminism becomes one struggle and defense of culture and ethnicity becomes another struggle. This defeats the essential idea of intersectional feminism that says race, sex, gender, culture and ethnicity all relate to each other and are just as important. A powerful statement by Yamada summates this, “My ethnicity cannot be separated from my feminism” (73). She also says there should not be a metaphorical war of “ethnicity over womanhood” (Yamada 73). The ethnic discrimination of women that both Moschkovich and Yamada talk about is still relevant in today’s society more than ever. In class we spoke about the discrimination of immigrant women in the 1970s faced when they were unwillingly sterilized. These women were subjected to forceful sterilization because of sexist and racist stereotypes that said immigrant women birthed too many children. (Gutierrez 1) Of course feminism does not exclude men. When thousands of German women were sexually assaulted on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, Germany people were quick to blame the assaults on male Syrian refugees (Al Jazeera 1). Due to the fact that Germany accepted large numbers of Syrian refugees, people assumed that it had to be the perverted Syrian men that were welcomes by the German government (Al Jazeera 1) Here it is clear how ethnic and sexist discrimination came into play of mass stereotyping.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is one of the main themes running through these readings.  Many of them speak from a perspective of being two or more oppressed groups, not only as women, but also as people of color, or as lesbians.  Chrystos speaks about how lesbian groups can be so constrictive, that these women ignore their cultures and have replaced it with lesbian culture, but Chrystos does not feel that this would work.  Chrystos is made of her different groups or cultures, woman, lesbian, American Indian; and while she tried to connect to lesbians they did not embrace the other areas of her life. Doris Davenport speaks about how feminism needs to start addressing these other communities.  It cannot just be about women being equal, because as the class has discussed, who do these women become equal to?  There has to be a movement addressing racism and homophobia according to Davenport on page 90. Many women also do not want to commit to one type of feminism, because it ignores other parts of who they are.  Intersectionality is important to feminism so that all women are heard, not just one group.  This relates to today’s feminism as it broadens to include groups such as transgender women or other gender minorities as a movement to end oppression.

References

Bennett, Jacob, “White Privilege: A History of the Concept.” Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/54

Moraga, Cherríe, and Gloria Anzaldúa. This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. New York: Kitchen Table, Women of Color, 1983. Print.

“German Far-right Protests against Refugees Turn Violent.” Violent Protests in Germany Against Refugees. Al Jazeera, 9 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/9/germanys-merkel-toughens-tone-on-refugees-amid-competing-protests1.html

Gutierrez, Elena R.a. “Commentary on “No Más Bebés”.” MUJERES TALK. OSU Library, 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. https://library.osu.edu/blogs/mujerestalk/2016/01/26/commentary-on-no-mas-bebes/

Gender Norms Paper #1 “Real Men Don’t Cry”

Socialization has constructed well-defined gender roles that categorize different behaviors as feminine or masculine. One of the defining characteristics of womanhood is the use of and embracing of emotional expressiveness. Emotions such as sadness, anger and frustration are expressed as crying, screaming and whining. These emotional responses are viewed as normal and are sometimes even praised. The idea that women should be emotional creatures starts at a very young age, different for every woman but at a young age nonetheless. At parks, one sound never fails: the cries of a young girl telling her parents about falling or a encountering a bully. The parents encourage the young girl to tell them everything that happened and then proceed to comfort the girl in any way possible. As adults, women are encouraged to cry after a break up by having their backs patted and told by their girlfriends “Its ok sweetie, let it out.” The portrayal of the stereotypical “heart-broken woman sitting on her couch, crying her eyes out, eating ice cream and watching a romantic movie” character on TV shows is innumerable. Women are constantly being rewarded for their emotional expressiveness by being described as caring, sweet, sensitive, genuine, loving and even motherly. Conversely, women that are not forthcoming with their emotions are seen as rude, bitchy, cold, heartless or mean. I observe this socially constructed stereotype frequently in my own groups of friends. When I am with my female group of friends we all feel comfortable taking about how we feel about family issues or even just hormonal mood swings. When I am with my male group of friends, at the first sign of any emotional discussion everyone starts to scream out loud and with a laugh say, “This is dumb.” Overall the female gender role is typically described as in tune with emotions and feelings. When it comes to the male gender, demonstrating emotions is considered a behavior that shows weakness and vulnerability. The same way the female gender is taught this behavior from a very young age, men are also conditioned to suppress their natural emotions from the time they are children through the rest of their lives. Men are taught that they are supposed to be strong, stern, stoic and taciturn in order to portray a masculine persona. By accomplishing these characteristics, boys and men then fit into the gender role of what a man is supposed to be. Whenever men break these characteristics and show emotional response there is a negative backlash from their friends or family. I have personally witnessed my only male cousin being put down for crying during a movie, my uncles laughed at him and told him to “Suck it up and be man. Don’t be a wuss.” Often times, the most hurtful insult for a man to hear is to be called a girl or called gay when they cry. As previously mentioned, this type of bullying can come from strangers, friends or even family in my case. Ultimately, men and boys are punished for expressing natural emotions in order to fit into a socially constructed male gender role.

The issue with categorizing emotional expressiveness as a feminine quality is not limited to the point in time in which it happens but can have larger implications throughout a person’s life, regardless of gender. The suppression of emotions by men can cause them to “bottle up” their feelings. These suppressed emotions can slowly accumulate and turn into aggressive or violent behavior that can be projected onto their loved ones later on in their life. Men grow up with weak communication skills that can hurt them when looking for jobs or in personal relationships. Repressed memories can also lead to trauma and even depression that goes unreported because of the strength of this socially constructed behavior. Women on the other hand are encouraged to look for this stoic characteristic in men because it is seen as a sign of strength and “manliness”. In heterosexual relationships, women come to expect the same level of communication and emotional maturity from their male partners even though society has not provided the conditions for men to be at that level of maturity. As mentioned before, the use of the word “girl” or “gay” as an insult towards emotional men makes it seem as though being a woman or gay is wrong. The usage of these words only perpetuates misogynistic and homophobic ideologies and aids the concept of compulsory heterosexuality. The long-term implications of categorizing emotion, a natural human behavior, as a feminine behavior is a never ending cycle that hurts everyone in a society regardless of gender and gender identity.

Sexist.