#jg1120

I’m in the Global Village program (and highly recommend it!) and was able to attend the final plenary in which several students who had traveled internationally through the program basically discussed their experiences and how it affected their perception of 1) global feminism, 2) their own ethnic background, 3) tolerance and diversity in America, and 4) how activists can best meet the needs of people in different countries.  

I really learned a lot in today’s plenary through watching the film “Intersexion”. To be honest, I had never been taught about intersex people and never really hear about them, so it was very eye-opening to hear the stories of a diverse group of intersex people that ranged from empowering to tragic.  

One thing that really infuriated me was really how the medical community was complicit in this truly needless intervention in the sexuality of children. I had heard of Dr. John Money prior but thought that the David Reimer case was just one isolated tragedy. To see that so many intersex people were traumatized and had unhappy childhoods made me so mad. The children were not given a choice in their own bodies and had to suffer through undignified medical procedures and the constant violation of their bodies. Other people forced them into boxes that they didn’t necessarily fit in, and it was them who had to suffer the consequences. The parents just wanted to help their children in any way possible, but were not given adequate information on what it means to be intersex by medical professionals, thus turning them on to surgery or gender assignment. 

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

"Girls Like Girls” focuses on two girl friends who are clearly attracted to each other despite one of them having a boyfriend. The music video spends much of its time from the perspective of main character watching the other girl and waiting for her boyfriend to leave so they can move closer together, etc.  

Something I found interesting was that although the friend is sexualized in the video, it is all through the perspective of the main girl.  The viewer is seeing the friend through her perspective, subverting the traditional male gaze.  In addition, it isn’t the traditional sexualization of women we see in music videos, with focus on nudity and hyper-sexual dance moves.  There is one scene with the girl watching her friend dancing and there is focus on her body and movements.  However, her friend makes eye contact with her, making it clear that she is dancing for her for both of their pleasure.  What makes it even more subversive is that she is doing this while her boyfriend is off to the side hitting baseballs only a few feet away.  Much of the time, however, sexualization of the love interest lies within close-up shots lingering over her face and hair, which also emphasizes to the viewer how physical closeness is seemingly forbidden for the two friends.  

There are two instances of violence in the music video.  First, the boyfriend forces the friend to dance with him, roughly grabbing her.  Although it is very brief and the friend frees herself, it is clear that she was very uncomfortable.  The girl witnesses this happening but resignedly does nothing.  This moment of violence shows the helplessness of the girl when it comes to acting on her romantic feelings because of his presence.  The second time happens when the boyfriend catches the two girls about to kiss.  He grabs the girl and shoves her to the ground, and then begins verbally abusing his girlfriend.  This time, the girl reacts and begins beating up the boyfriend.  In this scene, violence triggers her into action and gives her agency to finally act on her pent up feelings.  The build-up is demonstrated by a montage of close moments the two friends shared, shown as she is beating him up.  Afterwards, they are finally able to kiss.

Hearing Caitlin Kenney speak about her experiences as a journalist was very insightful and eye-opening.  Listening to samples of her work and experiencing how the shorts clips were able to invoke emotions by the sound of Haitian children singing and the shy laughter of a young woman in love was such an amazing experience.  

It was great to hear about how Kenney got to where she is today.  As someone about to enter a male-dominated field, I always love hearing advice from successful women.  One thing that stood out to me was her advice to “fake” confidence, which is especially important for young women who aspire to be leaders.  Women are socialized to be silent, to toe that line between being sweet and not being a pushover, and to be assertive but not too threatening.  From what I’ve seen in the classroom and in my limited experience in the workplace, even the mediocre men seem to express their ideas more frequently and with more confidence than the most excellent women do, which is really such a shame.  Even if you may feel like an imposter, you should remember that your gender and age do not make you any less capable than the others around you.  

Gathering into “caucuses” based on racial identities to share our experiences was a surprisingly edifying. Many of our anecdotes involved being stereotyped in some way, whether it was assuming someone would have an arranged marriage, that someone couldn’t speak English, or calling someone exotic based on their ethnicity.  I myself have been assumed to be an international student.  One of my best friends is a third generation Japanese-American, who still gets asked “where she’s from” when she’s probably been living here for maybe longer than some Caucasian people who will never get asked that question because they look “American”.

One day, eleven year old me walked into school and suddenly realized that half of the girls around me had their eyes outlined in black and lips coated in something shiny. Though I still can’t quite pinpoint when this transition happened, when makeup suddenly became a necessity for my woman peers and I, I have accepted the fifteen minutes spent applying makeup as a part of my daily routine. So naturally, when challenged to “try on” a new form of gender expression, I decided that makeup would be the first thing to go.

On Saturday morning, I brushed my hair and washed my face as normal, but did not reach for my makeup bag. My makeup-free face is relatively androgynous, and along with my typical uniform comprising of flannel, jeans, and Docs, I felt much less feminine than usual. And considering that eyebrows are currently having a moment, and my natural brows barely register in natural light, I felt like the opposite of “on fleek”.  

I walked around the streets feeling self-conscious of my face, convinced that everyone was staring at me.  More likely though, it was the opposite that was true.  My friend and I went out to a NYC bar, she got way more male attention than I did (not that we were looking for any). We went to Sephora, one of my favorite stores, and I had to approach a store associate for assistance which is usually not the case. As cliched and dumb as it sounds, sometimes I felt invisible.  

I think what shocked me the most was how my made up face had become the default for people around me, to the point that they made comments about the makeup-free face.  My best friend jokingly asked me where my eyebrows were.  A male friend innocently asked me if I was sick. I also found it interesting that for women, makeup is expected to be something you do to look put together, instead of something *extra*. When my professors explain how to look for business interviews, they include makeup and manicures as a necessity for woman candidates, while man candidates can get away with just washing their face and shaving.  

It is pretty obvious that feminism is having a “moment” right now. Women’s issues, like the wage gap and reproductive rights, are at the forefront of the political debate. Influential celebrities are aligning themselves with the movement. About 60% of young women identify themselves with the word.  Feminism is pretty much mainstream. Although this is great for maximizing exposure, the portrayal of feminism in popular culture can sometimes be over-simplified and misleading.