Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?, 1989
Why?
Gender and sex have long been factors when editing culture. For centuries women were barred from markets, educational opportunities, voting, owning land, jobs, histories, voices, and more. Although strides have been made in recent decades, we are far from parity. It is important to look closer at not only the history of discrimination, but to dissect definitions of sex and gender to better understand other forms of discrimination and cultural editing.
Two main voices that you’ll see below belong to Simone de Beauvoir (1909–1986) and Judith Butler (1956–). De Beauvoir’s book The Second Sex (1949) helped spur the feminist movements of the 1950s forward. It outlined how the idea of woman is constructed socially, and that one becomes a woman through performing the roles, actions, and aesthetics that society dictates. Judith Butler built off of de Beauvoir’s ideas with her book Gender Trouble (1990) which posited that not only gender was socially contructed, but sex as well. Butler’s writings are foundational to queer theory and intersectionality.
Understandably, this can be a tricky topic considering how we see and address sex and gender in the Church. These readings are to help you understand world views of these topics. It is up to you to discern between what is of eternal consequence and what is temporal and cultural. It is also important to mention that the way the Church uses the term “gender” and the way that gender theorists use the term are very differently. Church leaders tend to use the terms “sex” and “gender” synonymously. Gender theorists differentiate between the two as you will find in your readings.
Required
Supplementary Readings
- Gender Theory
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An Introduction to Judith Butler’s Gender Troubles
“Gender is ‘performative.’ It’s based on what we do. It is not part of our nature; we simply act it out. So definitions of masculinity and femininity are constructed, rather than something that comes from within us.”Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson
“Paglia believes that ‘sexual physiology provides the pattern for our experience of the world.’ She follows Hobbes, Sade, Nietzsche, and Freud in her antifeminist view of (sexual) nature–not culture–as the ultimate determinant of human history and relationships. Society is needed to keep that potentially destructive nature in check; undefeated, however, pagan eroticism still flourishes in Western culture. This large, often aphoristic volume traces pagan, sometimes mythological, archetypes from antiquity through the 19th century. An introductory chapter expounds Paglia’s thesis that Western aesthetics has been Apollonian (sky god)–male, rational; and has repressed its Dionysian (earth god)–female, emotional polarity. Major chapters deal with Italian Renaissance art ("an explosion of sexual personae” in its rebirth of pagan forms), Spenser, Shakespeare, Rousseau, Goethe, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Balzac, Gautier, Baudelaire, Huysmans, the Bronte sisters, Swinburne, Pater, late 19th-century decadent art, Wilde, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson, Whitman, James, and Dickinson. Paglia’s perceptions are interdisciplinary; a large dose of psychological anthropology is mixed with her literary and cultural criticism.”What Does ‘Hood Feminism’ Mean For A Pandemic?, Code Switch
“This week on the show, we're talking about race, feminism and COVID-19 with Mikki Kendall. She's the author of the new book Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot, which is about all the ways in which feminists who are women of color—especially black feminists—have a wider agenda than the mainstream, largely white feminist movement.”Key Issues in Postcolonial Feminism: A Western Perspective, Gender Forum
“Post-colonial feminists are still in the process of contesting the Eurocentric gaze that privileges Western notions of liberation and progress and portrays Third World women primarily as victims of ignorance and restrictive cultures and religions.”How Pink Became a Color for Girls, Racked
“For most of history, pink was just another color. It was worn equally by men and women. A line in Little Women published in 1869 refers to Amy as tying pink and blue ribbons around two babies to tell the male from the female ‘in the French fashion.’ That’s often cited as a reason pink became affiliated with girls. However, ribbons aside, babies were generally dressed in white, and if you did have twins that needed to be color-coded you didn’t have to go with pink or blue ribbons. A catalogue from 1918 even recommended dressing female babies in blue as it had a ‘much more delicate and dainty tone.’” - Simone de Beauvoir
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Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers III: Ladies’ Night at the Dragon’s Den, Existential Comics
Read the comic, but also the blurbs underneath about each philosopher featured: Philippa Foot, Simone de Beauvoir, G.E.M. Anscombe, Judith Butler, and Hannah Arendt.An Introduction to Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
“‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.’ Male-dominated society deliberately constructs the idea of femininity to keep men in control.”The Second Sex
“In 1946, Simone de Beauvoir began to outline what she thought would be an autobiographical essay explaining why, when she had tried to define herself, the first sentence that came to mind was ‘I am a woman.’ That October, my maiden aunt, Beauvoir’s contemporary, came to visit me in the hospital nursery. I was a day old, and she found a little tag on my bassinet that announced, ‘It’s a Girl!’ In the next bassinet was another newborn (‘a lot punier,’ she recalled), whose little tag announced, ‘I’m a Boy!’ There we lay, innocent of a distinction—between a female object and a male subject—that would shape our destinies. It would also shape Beauvoir’s great treatise on the subject. Beauvoir was then a thirty-eight-year-old public intellectual who had been enfranchised for only a year.”What is Woman? (de Beauvoir + Metroid)
“Simone de Beauvoir, existentialist philosopher, feminist theorist, and author of The Second Sex, may not seem to be a good match for the 1986 Nintendo video game Metroid, but 8-Bit Philosophy, a web series that explains philosophical concepts by way of vintage video games, makes it make sense.”Simone de Beauvoir: 1975 Interview
“In the 1975 interview with French journalist Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber—‘Why I’m a Feminist’—De Beauvoir picks up the ideas of The Second Sex, which Servan-Schreiber calls as important an ‘ideological reference’ for feminists as Marx’s Capital is for communists. He asks De Beauvior about one of her most quoted lines: 'One is not born a woman, one becomes one.’ Her reply shows how far in advance she was of post-modern anti-essentialism, and how much of a debt later feminist thinkers owe to her ideas.” (Open Culture) - Feminisms
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Feminism in the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, BYU Studies Quarterly
“In its most basic basic form, feminism echoes eternal truths of the gospel, which affirms the equal worth of all people, the equal right to and capacity for spirituality, and the evils of abuse.”It’s Not (All) the Second Wave’s Fault, Elle
“In 2010, during yet another of these intergenerational scraps, Katha Pollitt complained that the 'new wave’ talk was used ‘to describe each latest crop of feminists—loosely defined as any female with more political awareness than a Bratz doll—and to portray them in terms of their rejection of second wavers, who are supposedly starchy and censorious [. . .] The wave structure,’ she continued, ‘. . . looks historical, but actually it is used to misrepresent history by evoking ancient tropes about repressive mothers and rebellious daughters.’”What Does ‘Hood Feminism’ Mean For A Pandemic?, Code Switch
“This week on the show, we're talking about race, feminism and COVID-19 with Mikki Kendall. She's the author of the new book Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot, which is about all the ways in which feminists who are women of color—especially black feminists—have a wider agenda than the mainstream, largely white feminist movement.”Key Issues in Postcolonial Feminism: A Western Perspective, Gender Forum
“Post-colonial feminists are still in the process of contesting the Eurocentric gaze that privileges Western notions of liberation and progress and portrays Third World women primarily as victims of ignorance and restrictive cultures and religions.”Women Design: Pioneers in Architecture, Industrial, Graphic and Digital Design from the Twentieth Century to the Present Day
“From architects and product designers to textile artists and digital innovators, Women Design profiles a selection of the most dynamic female designers from the modern era, showcasing their finest work and celebrating their enduring influence. Design throughout history has been profoundly shaped and enhanced by the creativity of women; as practitioners, commentators, educators and commissioners. But in a narrative that eagerly promotes their male counterparts, their contributions are all too often overlooked. Through 21 engaging profiles, Women Design rediscovers and revels in the work of pioneers such as Eileen Gray, Lora Lamm and Lella Vignelli, while shining a spotlight on modern-day trailblazers including Kazuyo Sejima, Hella Jongerius and Neri Oxman. Richly illustrated with archival imagery, this is a rare glimpse into the working worlds of some of the most influential forces in contemporary design.”Women Who Draw
“Women Who Draw is an open directory of female* professional illustrators, artists and cartoonists. It was created by two women artists in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators, emphasizing female illustrators of color, LBTQ+, and other minority groups of female illustrators. *Women Who Draw is trans-inclusive and includes women, trans and gender non-conforming illustrators.”The Role of Women in Design | 12 Designers – 12 Opinions, Graphicart News
“What role are women designers playing in today’s world? Are they taking a more leading role in the design field? Do women and their male counterparts differ in anyway? From a feminist aspect, women and men do not differ in any kind. However, the numbers speak the truth, as we do not find enough women designers in conferences, publications, or as jurors. Is this a reversing trend? Barbara Szaniecki from Brazil, Belen Mena from Ecuador, Benito Cabanas from Mexico, Chris Lozos from United States, Gitte Kath from Denmark, Jamila Varawala from India, Lygia Santiago from Brazil, Maria Mercedes Salgado from Ecuador, Marina Córdova Alvéstegui and Susana Machicao both from Bolivia, respectable designers , well known to our community and Veerle Poupeye from Jamaica, Executive Director of the National Gallery of Jamaica, were called to give the role of women in design as they experiences it in their respective countries or just global observations. They came with very interesting points and links for your references.”Rebecca Wright on the Ratio of Girls with Design Degrees vs. Those in the Industry, It's Nice That
“We often find ourselves discussing the role, and lack of women in the world of graphic design. Rather than try and cackhandedly work it out for ourselves we decided to ask someone at the frontline of the issue to help explain it. Rebecca Wright is programme director of graphic communication design at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.”How One Design Agency is Fighting for Feminism, Creative Bloq
“Liam Fay-Fright explains why Mother London joined forces with fashion mag Elle to fight the patriarchy, in the design industry and beyond.”How Do Tech’s Biggest Companies Compare on Diversity?, The Verge
The Verge created a set of interactive charts that break down diversity at some of the biggest tech comapnies: Apple, Google, Twitter, Intel, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon.Haus Proud: The Women of Bauhaus, The Guardian
“More women than men applied to the school in 1919, and Gropius insisted that there would be ‘no difference between the beautiful and the strong sex’—those very words betraying his real views. Those of the 'strong sex’ were, in fact, marked out for painting, carving and, from 1927, the school’s new architecture department. The 'beautiful sex’ had to be content, mostly, with weaving.”Invisible Women, 99% Invisible
“Even when women are the focus of design, their actual needs are still sometimes ignored. Consider the three-stone stove, a traditional cooking mechanism used by 80% of people in the developing world. It is a simple device consisting of three stones with a fire underneath and a pot above. This stove not terribly efficient and is often placed in poorly ventilated rooms, exposing women in particular to the equivalent of multiple packs of cigarettes per day worth of harmful smoke. Alternatives have been developed by well-meaning groups, but adoption has been slow, in part because many designers have simply failed to consult the actual women for whom they are designing.”
Invisible Women
“Welcome to the Gender Data Gap. Our world is largely built for and by men, in a system that can ignore half the population. This book will tell you how and why this matters In her new book, Invisible Women, award-winning campaigner and writer Caroline Criado Perez shows us how, in a world largely built for and by men, we are systematically ignoring half the population. She exposes the gender data gap - a gap in our knowledge that is at the root of perpetual, systemic discrimination against women, and that has created a pervasive but invisible bias with a profound effect on women's lives. Caroline brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are excluded from the very building blocks of the world we live in, and the impact this has on their health and wellbeing. From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, urban planning and the media - Invisible Women exposes the biased data that excludes women. In making the case for change, this powerful and provocative book will make you see the world anew.”
What Does a Feminist Graphic Design History in the United States Look Like?, Alphabettes
“It is my hope that this digital collection can be considered a humble contribution to the ongoing feminist effort in design. There are multiple limits in this collection. There is a disturbing lack of literature on women’s impact in the history of graphic design, independently of their background.”
This is part one of a four-part series.
Response Questions
Remember to cite specific instances from the text to support your views.
- What are the issues around discussing only a singular feminism?
- According to Butler, the question of “the subject” of feminism is crucial for politics, and for feminist politics in particular. How and why?
- As with any issue of an “other” or a power struggle, would it be more advantageous to force the existing structures to accept the marginalized, or for the marginalized to create their own structures that are more inclusive? Why? Can you think of examples?
- What is of eternal consequence here, and what is cultural and temporal? Support your views.
