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Gender Performativity Feeds Gender Euphoria

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Gender Performativity Feeds Gender Euphoria

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Gender euphoria, as opposed to gender dysphoria, is a positive reaction to one's gender identity. Gender performativity is one such way of inducing it. There a variety of qualities and actions one can alter to adhere or rebel against specific gender identities, gender stereotypes, and other ideas in relation to gender. A specific example includes fashion. To provide gender diverse clothing, many companies have begun to provide clothing for all body types. In particular, I admire companies like Woxer and TomboyX for providing masculine underwear for feminine bodies. Those kind of products I really admire because of my own personal tastes when it comes to identity reflect a diverse sense of fashion.

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Ethically made underwear with innovative comfort, fit and quality in playful colors and prints. Enjoy free shipping on your first order or by joining our rewards program.

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Gender Performativity in multi-cultural homes 

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Gender Performativity in multi-cultural homes 

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Growing up as a child in a bi-cultural household, often left me feeling confused. In my father's Irish family, the women typically do not work and care for the home on a day-to-day basis and follow old-fashioned ways such as preparing home cooked meals and attending church on Sundays. In my mother's family, whom immigrated from Asia, all of the women work, but also need to take care of their families. I was always taught that being a woman does not interfere with any aspect of your future or success. Having a strong work ethic and determination was instilled in my life at a young age. In a personal outlook, I never knew women were not obligated to pursue their careers and had to abide by social standards.  I think gender roles is something taught at a young age.
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx

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Gender Norms in Beverage and Food Choices

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Gender Norms in Beverage and Food Choices

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As a woman, I have personally experienced some of my male friends and acquaintances make comments about food and beverage choices. Many people, especially in the United States, see wine as more of a feminine drink and beer as a masculine drink. Coming from both Italian and German heritages, I am well versed in both options and do not associate a certain gender with them, but rather certain cultures with them. In addition, foods such as salads and fruit smoothies are commonly stereotyped as being selections made by women. I am unsure about how these stereotypes came about, but in the end, I do not think there should be a feminine or masculine way to view food and beverages. I have found the following link that walks through the health benefits associated with women and wine occasional wine consumption, which is where some of the stereotypes may have come from: https://www.healthcaretip.in/7-health-benefits-of-drinking-red-wine-for-women/

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Coming up in the hispanic culture there are many stereotypical gender norms to follow. For example, the hispanic culture carries on the notion that a woman must take care of her man and serve her man in all aspects. The woman is meant to keep the house clean and take care of the children. Women are told to remain with their husbands despite infidelity. Men, however, are held to a completely different standard. Boys growing up will typically not be asked to carry a chaperone when dating and will not be given chores and responsibilities like the ones women are given. These cultural tendencies are still very prominent today as women are raised to have the typical housekeeping and obedient duty compared to how men are not asked to be at the same standard.

-Anysia Romo

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Growing up a common trend I noticed was the use of colors to depict boys and girls. It's something that happens pretty early on girl's nurseries will be covered in pink and boys nurseries will be covered in blue.

This is also true in marketing. Women's razors are pink and men's razers are blue.

A lot of the clothes available to young girls are pink.

I find it really interesting that something as small as a color could aid gender performance in depicting the differences between people.

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Like many children's products, toys tend to be divided into boys' and girls' toys based on gender stereotypes, with toys for girls associated with housework, child rearing and make-up, while toys for boys are more likely to be sports equipment, vehicles and superheroes. The sexualization of toys has an important impact on the growth of children. It is easy for children to develop along the path prescribed by the outdated gender temperament in the future. Gendered toys tend to lock children into traditional gender roles in role-playing games, which in turn affects similar choices as adults. For example, Barbie makes many girls play imaginary games around family life, fashion shows, dates, dances, weddings and so on, which makes girls imitate and then internalize traditional female roles over and over again in their childhood. This traditional toy gender mindset also influenced my childhood. When I was a child, I liked toys like remote control cars and planes, as well as beautiful toys such as Barbie dolls. However, I was afraid to show my love for the toy cars in front of boys my age, for fear that they would laugh at me for being a girl and playing with such toys.

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Growing up, gender was a concept that was laid out for us; Barbies, the color pink, princesses, even playing games such as pretending to be a chef or pretending to work at a store were all considered as "girly". Sports, the color blue, dinosaurs, and cars were all considered for "boys," and if you were a girl participating in sports or playing with cars, you were a "tomboy." I was one of those girls who happened to also like sports- there was even a time where I begged my dad to let me play football on my brother's team. However, no matter how much I begged, I would never be allowed to play football, and my sports endeavors were never taken as seriously as my brother's. This is an great article that explains gender stereotypes and how they can affect young girls during a pivotal moment in their lives.

- Eva Flores-Cuen

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When Leah Robinson was a child, she remembers having a great love of being active. But she felt discouraged from some forms of recreation due to a factor that was out of her control.

"I used to always love rough and tumble activities as a young kid, but [I would] always get pushed to the side because I was a girl," Robinson recounted in a recent interview with Healthline.

Robinson's experience is no fluke.

Overall, girls receive less encouragement from family members and teachers to be physically active and participate in sports. As a result, girls ages 8 to 12 are 19 percent less active than boys, according to a 2016 study.

Researchers also found that girls take almost 2,000 fewer steps a day on average than their male counterparts, and this disparity does have health consequences.

The study showed that girls have 18 percent lower cardio-respiratory fitness, 44 percent lower eye-hand coordination, a 9 percent lower perceived aptitude in physical activity, and 5 percent more body fat.

These findings led researchers to conclude that the physical education of girls was detrimentally impacted "by socioecological factors at the individual, family, school, and environmental levels."

However, they also offered a ray of hope, proposing, "These factors are potentially modifiable, suggesting the gap in [physical activity] between boys and girls can be reduced."

Leveling the playing field

Robinson, an associate professor of movement science at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, is seeking to reduce this "potentially modifiable" gap.

As a researcher, she and her colleagues have developed a curriculum called CHAMP -Children's Health Activity Motor Program - in order to jumpstart motor skills and physical activity in preschoolers ages 3 to 5.

The goal of the curriculum is to engender a lifetime of healthy living for both genders.

A recent study that tracked the success of the program is promising.

It followed preschoolers as they engaged in half-hour movement sessions twice a week over the course of nine weeks. Unlike traditional programs, CHAMP allows children to choose the skills they'd like to focus on (throwing, kicking, etc.) as well as the level of difficulty (low, medium, or hard) and the length of participation.

Overall, CHAMP kids spent two more minutes engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity than those in traditional programs, which recorded two more minutes of standing around.

Yet, the study found there was still a gender gap. CHAMP boys participated in two more minutes of physical activity than girls and two less minutes of standing around.

"We do see that girls are engaged in the program," said Robinson. "Unfortunately, we... have not been able to eliminate that sex difference between boys and girls. But they are... seeing better increases compared to girls who are not receiving the intervention."

By teaching girls these skills early in life, Robinson hopes to help even the playing field between boys and girls as they grow older.

Additionally, physical education isn't a requirement in many preschool programs, even though the recommended amount of exercise for this age group is three hours per day. At present, only half of this group gets this amount - and most of them are boys.

How society teaches boys and girls differently

It may take a lot more than CHAMP to bridge this gender gap in physical activity.

Political philosopher Iris Marion Young wrote in her 1980 feminist essay, " Throwing Like a Girl," that "it is in the process of growing up as a girl that the modalities of feminine bodily comportment, motility, and spatiality make their appearance."

Women are "conditioned by their sexist oppression in contemporary society" to not engage with physical activity as much as men from an early age, she concluded.

According to Young, the physical activity of girls is limited not by any physical differences between men and women, but by oppressive patriarchal forces that constrict their movements.

"Women in sexist society are physically handicapped," Young noted.

This constriction can be seen in more than acts like throwing - which from hunting to baseball, is already perceived as a more "masculine" act in society's eyes. Any rider on the subway can see how an act like "manspreading," in which a man will extend the limbs of his body to take up maximum physical real estate, contrasts with how many women will shrink themselves to take up as little space as possible.

Overcoming the hurdles between girls and physical activity is daunting, because it effectively means fighting against a sexist society and its norms.

Conditioning starts as early as the playground, when common taunts like "You throw like a girl" dissuade young people from being physically active and tapping into their bodies' full potential.

Robinson acknowledged the challenges. "There are various social [and] cultural factors that influence girls' participation in sports," she noted, adding the key is to be conscious of these factors.

Robinson recommended that adults, parents, and teachers "be very cautious of and try to be aware of what we say to individuals." They must also be willing to "try to correct those behaviors and those actions [that might discourage girls from pursuing fitness]" - or any other pursuits, for that matter.

And when it comes to dismantling stereotypes, both conversation and education are key.

"I think the best way is communicating and talking about [societal challenges] and bringing them to light," Robinson said, adding, "these are issues that we still face today... [not just] 10, 20, 30 years ago or more... Hopefully, one day people will say, OK, it's time to really move forward and move past it."

Working to build a better bridge

Implementing programs like CHAMP, which foster motor skills and a pro-fitness social environment from an early age, is an important step toward bridging the gender gap.

At present, Robinson and her colleagues are seeking funding in order to train others to help bring the curriculum to more schools.

Robinson's ultimate goal is to persuade policy makers to institute CHAMP in pre-K to third grade classrooms across the country. She hopes to accomplish this "so I can say that every child hopefully is getting a solid foundation for movement that can get them on a healthy trajectory for activity across their lifespan."

As for now, the National Institutes of Health is funding a five-year study that will examine the impact of CHAMP for 300 Michigan preschoolers in motor skills as well as other developmental health outcomes in areas like attention and memory.

Another study showed promising gains in these latter areas among CHAMP kids, although more research is required.

Eventually, Robinson hopes to track long-term gains across diverse populations, including LGBT young people, who face unique hurdles to physical education such as stigma related to sexuality or gender identity.

Robinson says she'd like to see an expansion of CHAMP to "see what may happen" when young people up to high school from various backgrounds are raised with a fresh approach to physical education and thinking about gender roles in fitness.

Fresh thinking about gender roles may be required from adults as well - particularly for those with the resources to help improve physical education in American schools.

What would Robinson say to a person who told her that boys are just naturally better than girls at sports?

"I would say put your money where your mouth is and let's see if that's really true," she concluded.

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gender bias in early childhood education

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When Leah Robinson was a child, she remembers having a great love of being active. But she felt discouraged from some forms of recreation due to a factor that was out of her control.

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Clothing is a very important thing for me. However, as a female I do not like dresses and skirts, and other females do not like them either. The same goes for men, some men prefer dresses/skirts over suits. Clothing should not be gendered, and society is starting to accept that fact as more and more people are breaking the gender barrier of clothing. Harry Styles wore a dress for vogue and more women are starting to wear suits and ties. Clothing should be for anyone, every garment should be seen as gender neutral. This is a great article from the NY Times that explains just that!

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in her words

More clothing companies are trying to meet the demands of a changing clientele, offering gender-bending, gender-fluid and gender-neutral items.

Image

Credit Agnès Ricart

Welcome to In Her Words, where women rule the headlines. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Let me know what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com.
"I would like to see anybody wearing my clothes, and I do mean anybody." - Claire Fleury, a fashion designer who creates clothing for all genders
When a friend of mine was shopping for her wedding look several years back, she wanted a sharp, tailored suit. She went to a famous men's clothier in New York's Financial District, whose staff ultimately laughed her out of the store, a humiliation she still carries with her.

Today, her options would be plentiful by comparison as more mainstream clothing companies swiftly rise to meet the demands of a changing clientele - offering gender-bending, gender-fluid and gender-neutral garments. As Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, once told The Times: "What we're seeing now is a seismic shift in fashion, a widening acceptance of a style with no boundaries - one that reflects the way young people dress."

Market research supports that shift, showing changes in points of view on gender among Gen Z consumers. Some 38 percent of this group, born in 1995 and after, said they "strongly agree" that "gender doesn't define a person as much as it used to," as my colleague Ruth La Ferla reported last week.
[READ MORE: Beyond 'Queer' Fashion]
Also, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, a trade group of about 500 leading American designers, last year added the first unisex and nonbinary category to the New York Fashion Week calendar.

Of course, unisex (and androgynous, for that matter) are not new terms when it comes to fashion. Women, particularly those with taller and slimmer builds, have long been able to shop for men's clothes. But for curvaceous women (like my friend), men who want to escape rigid masculine aesthetics and transgender people who may be adapting to a changing body, choices have been all but nonexistent.

Not to mention how winding through the men's and women's sections in traditional stores can be an exercise in anxiety and awkwardness for L.G.B.T.Q. people. Even Uniqlo and Muji, known to offer more gender-free looks, and H&M and Zara, which have presented gender-neutral items, continue to divide garments into men's, women's, boys' and girls'.

The Phluid Project, an outpost of gender-neutral fashion in Lower Manhattan, and shops like it have no gender-based sections. "The style is all about identity and unfettered self-expression," said Rob Smith, its founder.

The movement has also grown to offer parents more options to dress their children - standing in contrast to the recent phenomenon of "gender reveal parties." In November, for example, the singer Celine Dion, who has three kids, unveiled a line of gender-neutral children's clothing. "The message I'm trying to get across is, you raise your children the way you want to raise your children," Dion said.

But those kids' clothes don't come cheap (hoodies can cost $80 or more) and neither do their adult counterparts. A gender-neutral item from Phluid Project, Chromat, Wildfang, Official Rebrand, Hirsuit Swim and Radimo, among others, can easily cost $80 or more.

One reason: These brands are often bootstrapped endeavors, MI Leggett, the owner of Official Rebrand, told Mashable last year. "As L.G.B.T.Q. designers, we need to learn how to value ourselves," Leggett said. "We don't have big companies helping us; we just have to advocate for ourselves."
[Sign up here to get this column, In Her Words, delivered as a newsletter to your inbox.]
______

Ida B. Wells in 1920. Credit Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

Last week in Chicago, city leaders, dignitaries, activists and residents gathered to celebrate the renaming of Congress Parkway as Ida B. Wells Drive, making it the city's first major street to bear the name of a black woman.

"She spoke truth to power and changed the landscape of Chicago and the world," Alderman Sophia King told The Chicago Tribune of Wells, one of the nation's most influential investigative reporters. "It's bittersweet that it's has taken so long. But we are here."

Credit Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times

"I felt like I was behind a window looking at my life." Meg Ryan, above, talks about on romantic comedies, celebrity and leaving it all behind. [ Read the story]

"He represents the soul of fashion." Karl Lagerfeld, the most prolific designer of the 20th and 21st centuries and a man whose career formed the prototype of the modern luxury fashion industry, has died at age 85. [ Read the story]

"For those women to be called the most beautiful in Asia feels like discrimination to the rest of us." A Chinese model's freckles in an image for Zara provoked a heated debate. [ Read the story]

"It is not a closet. It is a cage." The crisis over sexuality in the Catholic Church goes to the heart of the priesthood and into a closet that is trapping thousands of men. [ Read the story]

"It didn't occur to me that I could argue with the doctor's results." Why are we still dismissing girls' pain?[ Read the story]

______

Credit Jack Manning/The New York Times

"Pantsuits may be today's fashion fad, but tomorrow they will be a permanent part of a woman's wardrobe" was the opening sentence in a 1966 Times article titled " The Pants Suit People State Their Case Ubiquitously," and the prediction certainly holds up.

I'm not just talking about Hillary Clinton, either. Last week at the Grammys, Miley Cyrus rocked a black pantsuit, one of many stars to don the look recently. But back in 1966, women commandeering traditionally masculine apparel pushed plenty of boundaries.

"I wear them shopping, on planes, in restaurants, in bars - everywhere," one woman said. "I'd even wear them to church if I could."

"Eventually women will wear them as they do suits; it will become classic," said another.

The irony: In the article, these women were identified only by their husband's names, Mrs. Malcolm Warner and Mrs. Edward Kaufman, an artist and the woman in the photo above.
Sign up here Are you on Instagram? Follow us here. to get future installments of In Her Words delivered to your inbox.

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Finding Clothes, and Identity, Outside Men's and Women's Wear

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in her words More clothing companies are trying to meet the demands of a changing clientele, offering gender-bending, gender-fluid and gender-neutral items. Welcome to In Her Words, where women rule the headlines. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Let me know what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com.

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Gender Performativity in toy commercials

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Gender Performativity in toy commercials

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When I was little, I would watch tv a lot and I feel like toy commercials were one of the things that I remember the most. They were on almost all of the time in channels that were aimed for younger audiences. Doll commercials were always aimed towards girls and back then, it made me feel like I should have those toys and not the "toys for boys". Now I notice how influencial doll commercials were made to be. They show everything that is aimed towards the audience from fashion, makeup, to the way that they should act with others. Below is a link of a video with many examples of different Bratz doll commercials. I only had to watch several seconds of it to realize that they are very repetitive with themes on fashion, makeup, and overall image. They also constantly mention the slogan "girls with a passion for fashion", which is something that I remember hearing a lot on tv.

-Kimberlyn Villa Davila

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On Butlers Theory of Gender Performativity

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On Butlers Theory of Gender Performativity

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Gender is a social construct and we act our roles...
I would like share my personal experience as a bisexual women around the topic of gender preformtivity.
My first love was my neighbor. Back then she was a little girl just like me, and all we knew was playing and loving. Even though this was a childish love, it was completely free from social gender expectations. When I was with her I did not feel like a women nor a man. I just felt like a person with all my aspects. On the other hand, growing up and going to collage I fell in love with a man, and suddenly all those subconscious expectation fell on me. Even though he never asked me to, I was shaving, cooking, and expecting him to drive us around. I preformed the women role and expected him to preform the role of a man. In short, we are all complex human beings and the butler's theory is telling us that we are limiting are expression in the ways society is constructed.

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Gender Performativity in Children's advertisments - Qingfeng Tian 

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Gender Performativity in Children's advertisments - Qingfeng Tian 

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We should have gender-neutral ads to make all kids feel like they can play with anything they want. Growing up, I did not like playing with cars (I am a boy), but the commercials showed boys playing with cars and girls playing with dolls. I wish the gender-neutral ad was already airing in my childhood because I identified more with the boy in the advertisement that I like teddy bears and many fluffy toys instead of cars. It is still risky to show ads to children because some parents may not be able to afford the things they are advertising, so that it may be better we do not show ads to children. Because non gender neutral children advertisements are always showing "appropriate" performances of boys or girls, which usually emphasize the binary gender categories, they will make those kids who fall into either boyish or girly category normal, but those kids with different tastes marginalized and abnormal.

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Guys and dolls: Why kids' advertising is going gender­ neutral

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There was a time when it made good business sense to divide toy advertising along gender lines. In the 1980s, the advent of cable TV - particularly kids' channels like Nickelodeon - spawned countless new opportunities to advertise directly to children.

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again)on Judith Butler performativity: http://bigthink.com/videos/your-behavior-creates-your-gender and this video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stFSvVYJ_tk Activity 2. I chose this video for you because it provides you many examples of how gender is performed and learned starting from the day of birth. I find it interesting to reflect on how society shapes what is 'boyish' and what is 'girly'. Find other/any examples online and share it with us. Explain why you pick it. Can be video/ screenshot of text/images. To post your example click on the pink + (plus) sign on the right corner of this web page. https://vimeo.com/86728310Activity 3.: Please read your classmates posts and answer to them the next day.

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again)on Judith Butler performativity: http://bigthink.com/videos/your-behavior-creates-your-gender and this video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stFSvVYJ_tk Activity 2. I chose this video for you because it provides you many examples of how gender is performed and learned starting from the day of birth. I find it interesting to reflect on how society shapes what is 'boyish' and what is 'girly'. Find other/any examples online and share it with us. Explain why you pick it. Can be video/ screenshot of text/images. To post your example click on the pink + (plus) sign on the right corner of this web page. https://vimeo.com/86728310Activity 3.: Please read your classmates posts and answer to them the next day.

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Gender Performativity in children's toys

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Gender Performativity in children's toys

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I remember growing up with what used to be known as Mr. Potato Head, a children's toy that was a plastic potato that kids could dress up. Recently, it was announced that Mr. Potato Head wold no longer be known by that name and that it would simply be known as Potato Head with no gender implication. This article goes into depth and analyzes the situation. Many believe that a plastic toy should not be gendered since many people want their children to explore their gender identity without any biases in the way. By changing Potato Head to a non-gendered toy, children are able to depict it in any way they want.
-Megan McBride

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Despite the fact that literally no one asked for this, the beloved potato we've all known as Mr. Potato Head will no longer be a mister. Hasbro announced Thursday their decision to take the potato in a different direction, giving the potato-shaped toy a new name to go along with its new identity as a gender-neutral spud. The potato will be hereby known simply as Potato Head, and the change will be implemented this year.

Now, Potato Head can go on to live its life with the rest of the genderless potatoes. But perhaps the real question here is: Why - and I cannot stress this enough - was a potato ever assigned a gender to begin with?

The famous potato, known for his breakout role in the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story, has been around for much longer than that. The inventor George Lerner came up with the concept of turning a potato into a "funny-face man" in 1949, according to The Takeout. At the time, World War II had just ended as Americans lived through a period of rationing food, so the potato was a controversial idea for some toy manufacturers who worried that playing with vegetables would seem wasteful.

But Lerner came up with the idea after taking actual potatoes and other similar vegetables straight from the garden and turning them into silly children's toys. Lerner first started by making the potato dolls for his sisters as a child and the toy kit was officially born on May 1, 1952, after Hasbro bought the rights to Mr. Potato Head for $5,000.

Now 69 years later, Mr. Potato Head, like other children's toys, is being rebranded for the sake of performative corporate progressivism.

Still, as Ali Mierzejewski, the editor-in-chief of the toy review site The Toy Insider, explained, "It's a potato. But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with." As a couch potato myself, I personally have never felt as seen as I do now by Potato Head's rebranding.

While there may have never been a need for a gendered potato to begin with - and material conditions won't change for trans and non-binary people as a result of Mr. Potato Head dropping the Mister - we have nonetheless entered the age of the gender-neutral Potato. Welcome.

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Wait, Why Did Anyone Ever Try To Gender A Potato?

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Despite the fact that literally no one asked for this, the beloved potato we've all known as Mr. Potato Head will no longer be a mister. Hasbro announced Thursday their decision to take the potato in a different direction, giving the potato-shaped toy a new name to go along with its new identity as a gender-neutral spud.

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I have always loved Drag as an art form and a performance style. I think it's absolutely fascinating to see these men who as Drag Queens have taken "traditional female stereotypes" and enhance them to make their art. Then on the flip side of that are women who perform as Drag Kings and are taking "traditional male stereotypes" and enhancing them. However, something that has been gaining more attention and becoming more of a conversation in the drag community is non-binary performers, drag performers who represent both male and female characteristics in their personas, transgender drag queens, and women performing as drag queens instead of kings. Although I am not personally a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have always considered myself to be an ally, I think Drag is the ultimate form of gender expression. Through drag you can choose to represent yourself in whichever way you choose whether that be more one gender over another or no particular gender at all it's a beautiful form of self expression. I chose the below article because the popular show RuPaul's Drag Race in particular has come under examination many times by performers calling out for more inclusion and representation of drag styles that are more than just a man dressing up as a hyper-feminised woman.
- Jennifer Westbrook

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PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service

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A trans drag queen gave a withering assessment of trans inclusion in RuPaul's Drag Race, explaining why all women, trans and cis, must be included in the art of drag.

RuPaul has recently been forced to defend his infamous remarks about trans women competing in Drag Race, which he said "were taken out of context".

In 2018, the Emmy Award-winning host told The Guardian that he would "probably not" allow a trans queen who had "started changing [her] body" to compete on the show.

"Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it's not men doing it, because at its core it's a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture," he said at the time.

When asked by The Sunday Times about his comments in an interview released on Sunday, September 15, RuPaul said that his words were taken "so out of context".

"There seems to be this obsession with trying to create this 'us against them' storyline," he added.

"Denying us our rightful place at the table is what creates an 'us against them' storyline," Sara Andrews, a trans queen from Chicago, tweeted in response.

"When drag excludes women and trans women, it goes from being a forward thinking art form to an a** backward, misogynistic and transphobic tool of the patriarchy. Plain and simple."

You better WORK... harder to practice what you preach.

"I just have one thing to say. You better WORK... harder to practice what you preach."

Her thread sparked a thoughtful conversation about inclusion within drag.

Drag Race All Stars winner Trinity the Tuck was among those who replied, writing: "Drag can't exclude anyone. Drag is an art form that anyone can't participate. PEOPLE exclude PEOPLE. That's the unfortunate part!"

"Also when public figures (eg drag queens) openly talk about excluding women, it makes women who attend drag shows easier targets for other audience members. Even though drag shows should be a safe space for everyone," chimed another follower.

Drag Race slow to accept trans women.

Drag Race has courted criticism over the years for its slow progress on trans inclusion.

Season two queen Sonique was the first to come out as trans, but did so after the main competition, during the reunion episode.

Season five contestant Monica Beverly Hillz was the first to compete openly as a trans woman after she came out in the second week during the judges' critiques. She was eliminated the following week.

Since then, only two openly-trans queens have competed in the show: Peppermint, in season nine, and Gia Gunn in All Stars four.

Several other queens, including Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente and Sytacey Lane Matthews have come out as trans off-screen.

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Drag queen makes important point about what happens when women and trans women are excluded

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A trans drag queen gave a withering assessment of trans inclusion in RuPaul's Drag Race, explaining why all women, trans and cis, must be included in the art of drag. RuPaul has recently been forced to defend his infamous remarks about trans women competing in Drag Race , which he said "were taken out of context".

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I think gender is a person's definition of self. It is also what makes the outside community know about itself. For example, perfume has more types for women than men in stores. Women's perfumes will smell fruity and floral, and their packaging is often brightly colored. Men's perfumes will mostly use woody or marine scents, and their outer packaging will also be in gray, blue, and black bottles.

But that does not mean that men won't like floral scents or women won't like woody perfumes. So with the advent of many gender-free perfumes, consumers no longer have to define themselves by the scent of the perfume, but are free to choose the scent they like. I think this is a good way to guide people's perception of themselves and others. Every people has the right to be itself.

- Lingxiao Meng

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/feb/19/smell-like-you-why-gender-free-is-the-future-of-fragrance

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This article is fascinating in many regards. First it illustrates how gender roles are maintained, in this case with children's shoes. What I appreciated most as a slightly effeminate gay male, is that the barrier has been slowly but surely breaking down thanks to not only progressive parents like the author of the article, but how LGBT programming is becoming more widely available.

Robert Gallagher

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Gender Performativity as Learned Behavior.

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Gender Performativity as Learned Behavior.

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The attached quote made me reevaluate my preconceived notions of how gender norms relate to human insecurities. I think, that I would have previously been on board to blame gender norms for why women are insecure about not looking feminine enough or attractive enough. While I do still agree that this is a contributing factor, I can see the underlying cause of these insecurities passed down through society as passed-down fears. Fear in some cases is definitely inherited from previous generations. I think that gender normativity as a constructed standard has been reinforced for years due to obligatory compliance (which can often be fear-based). Viewing adherence to gender norms overall as a fear-based behavior helped me see directly how this fosters/feeds off of insecurities.

- Josie Aslakson

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In the article the concept of gender norms in society within its past present and future context are discussed. Personally, I believe that the concept of societal gender norms became prevalent as a result of the way that we as a society marketed items. Take for example the existence of "girls vs boy" toys.. what comes to mind? Barbies? The color pink? dolls? what about for males? nerf guns? sport items? The cue that you get as a result of seeing items and diagnosing them as either a male or female item comes as a result of the way that item has been marketed. Had many items been marketed withtout the impression of sexuality or gender we wouldnt be here. Now at the same time we must not forget the perpetuating cyclical existence of societal pressures and overall stigmas that come with some of these items. Discussing why societal norms occur is like trying to find the needle in the hay stakc, as a society we have so much wrong with us that its not necessarily easy to pin point where it went all wrong. However, i believe that the existence of stigmas that we as a society impose on people that break societal gender norms are what continually calls for this cyclical gender-stigma that were adhering to. As a result of these stigmas many may feel pressured to not be involved with whatever it may be in embarrassment or as a result of fear to be criticized especially when many of our stigmas can be found within the confines of what we call family which in itself can cause an immense pressure.  Overall, im sure that as time goes and we as a society become more educated and AWARE of some truths that we do not yet understand we'll gradually increase our awareness for these stigmas and how wrongly rooted they are in our beliefs and as a result they'll begin to dissipate. Were just so near the time of all these stigmas being at the height of their careers that we haven't had too much time to fix them. I believe we're currently in that position and with time we'll get better.

https://time.com/3672297/future-gender-norms/

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I think that when we look at how we are given products in our society there is a clear distinction on how they are geared towards certain individuals. For example, when many see pink they think of girls and when they see blue they think of boys; this is evident in baby clothes, toys, regular clothing, you name it. We see it in commercials using different toys, the boys play with the action figures or cars and the girls play with the dolls and dress up kits. I think this shows how many individuals are given a sense of how to "act" in our society as a result. However, I think that as a society we are trying to move away from this as many different types of these targeted and gendered advertising has either been pulled or outright banned (as seen in the UK) where advertisers were given six months to work through their ads in order to eliminate gendered advertising. I think that this is a good idea overall, as it breaks this sort of societal "norm" of how a specific gender is "supposed" to act.
-Andrew Pietrangeli

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/18/18684088/uk-gender-stereotype-ad-ban-sexism-advertising-history

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Ballet is an artform with both glaring and underlying sexism, some factors of which are more commonly known than others. I grew up dancing my whole life, and went on to dance professionally as well, and have noticed and researched some aspects of sexism. The one that is perhaps the most obvious is the difference in movement quality, which has been engrained in classical ballet since its origination. The females typically have softer movements, with turns and fast footwork, why the males have strong jumps and expansive movements. These stereotypes are very common and are difficult to break because of the traditional choreographies. The other thing I wanted to bring up was the wage gap. Although a female dominated industry, men get paid a considerable amount more, and there are far more male artistic directors than their are female. The women in the art form, myself included, then had to fight for the limited company spots with very little pay. The reason for this gender gap is arguably because many boys in ballet growing up get ridiculed because it is considered non masculine, which is another big issue. Ballet is definitely something with a lot of underlying and more clear issues of gender roles and preformity, and I'm looking forward to hearing your responses.

-Ruby Staczek

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Despite the fact the most ballet dancers are women, there is a gender gap in favor of men at the top ... [+]
Getty

If there is one occupation in which it seems women should have an equal shot of making it to leadership roles, it is ballet. From a young age, far more girls than boys are interested in ballet, so much so that girls are estimated to outnumber boys 20-to-1 in ballet classes. Yet when it comes to leadership, there's a shocking gender gap in favor of men.

The Data Dance Project (DDP), an organization dedicated to promoting equity in classical ballet, examined leadership and salary data for artistic directors at the top 50 ballet companies in the United States-and their findings are pretty shocking. Artistic directors are often former dancers, and they have the final say on artistic decisions like how a step may be performed or how a show will transition from one piece to the next. According to DDP, a whopping 72% of ballet companies have a male artistic director. Those women who do get the title of artistic director earn only 68 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. Sadly, only one woman made it onto DDP's top ten list of the highest paid artistic directors.

The gender bias in choreography is even worse. DDP found that in the 2018-19 ballet season, men choreographed 81% of all works performed by the top 50 ballet companies. Of the 467 works announced for the 2019-20 season, 79% will be choreographed by men.

I asked president and founder of DDP, Elizabeth Yntema, if women desire the artistic director and choreographer positions. "Emphatically, we hear yes, they do, but the process of selecting the next artistic director is shrouded in secrecy. Very often, like picking choreographers, it's word of mouth. It is the opposite of a transparent system where there is a defined selection process and criteria," Yntema says. It's not shocking that bias can creep in to a system that relies on word of mouth and is shrouded in secrecy. Transparency is typically a key element to eliminating bias.
The Gender Gap In Female-Dominated Careers
The gender gap in ballet leadership is illustrative of a larger problem that many women face in female-dominated occupations. Christine Williams coined the term glass escalator to illustrate the phenomenon of men getting placed on a fast track to top leadership positions when they enter female-dominated fields. Take the field of education-the large majority (76%) of our teachers are female, but when we look at school leadership, women take a back seat. A paltry 27% of district superintendents are women, and women in school leadership earn 21% less than their male counterparts.

Evidence that men outnumber women in leadership roles in female-dominated occupations provides insight into the sources of the gender pay gap. One common explanation for the gender-based differential in pay is that women and men choose different professions. Men make more money, the argument suggests, because women just select less lucrative career paths than their male counterparts. If that's true, then how do we explain this staggering gender gap in ballet and other female-dominated areas? Unfortunately, much of it comes down to bias.

What is perhaps most shocking about the bias in ballet is that the ballet companies are supported by an audience and donor base that are largely female. It's estimated that 70% of ballet's donors and audience members are women. Hopefully, these supporters will start to question why more women aren't at the top levels of these companies before they buy their next tickets or write their next checks.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

... Read More

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If there is one occupation in which it seems women should have an equal shot of making it to leadership roles, it is ballet. Girls outnumber boys 20-to-1 in ballet classes, but when it comes to leadership, there's a shocking gender gap in favor of men.

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This video explains why 2 European commercials were stopped from being aired. The UK has a group that decides whether or not a commercial depicts gender roles in a negative or harmful manner. It is not allowed for women and men to be contrasted doing things that may be a gender role for them respectively. I think this group is a good idea, although it does take away some freedom for advertisers from producing a commercial that isn't meant in a sexist way, but can be taken in a sexist way. The idea, though, is to not continue to produce groups of people that believe, for example, that women should care for children because men just aren't good at it, or that men can do creative, astounding things, while women are sitting taking care of a child.
I feel this group has an important task to fulfil because so many people and things that I have been a part of have normalized the idea of gender roles still. I have been taught how to cook, clean, and raise a child, while my brother has been taught how to build things and that he needs to be able to hold up a family, when all of the tasks that were mentioned are important for everyone to learn, not just a respective gender.

- Alyssa Botkin

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/08/17/sensitivity-or-censorship-two-uk-ads-banned-for-gender-stereotypes.cnn

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This video goes over various commercials that depict “gender roles”.  These advertisements use what society has deemed the gender roles in order to sell their product. These commercials teach children at a young age what a “man” is and what a “woman” is as well as enforcing these ideas on adults. A lot of these commercials use masculine insecurities to sell their product. There are also many cleaning product commercials in this video all of which are women using the product. These commercials also use women’s bodies to show the “ideal” image and make women objects and also uses male dominance over women. These commercials are broadcasted to millions of people making one believe that they need to conform to these gender roles. Watching these commercials made me very angry and upset and they are not from that long ago. These just prove that gender norms are conditions through media and begin at a young age.

-Jaime Teves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QthMrCqspww

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How Disney Princesses create stereotypes at a young age 

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How Disney Princesses create stereotypes at a young age 

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This article reinforces what Judith Butler states in her video. Almost every child starts watching television at a young age and Disney is one of the leading entertainment companies in the world that cater to young children. Many parents don't realize that their children are learning about gender stereotypes through these movies. For example Ariel gives up her voice for love. This can be understood that she is giving up her identity to follow  love. This directly tells children watching this movies that women are submissive and must fall in love to have a 'happily ever after.' In all of the first Disney Princess movies, men are the hero while the women are the damsel in distress and are waiting to be saved by a man. Although, I do not believe this is intentional it does teach both genders at a young age that there are stereotypes for both genders that women need to be saved and men do the saving.

As I have grown up, I have been more interested in learning about how childhood can shape a person. Disney is the leading entertainment company in the world and has a lot of power as they start teaching children starting at a young age.

- Kiera Connolly

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The History of The Disney Princess

One of the most iconic concepts from the Disney corporation is the "Disney princess." From a marketing standpoint, in can be argued the primary demographic focus of the company has been aimed a young girls since its inception. There have been exceptions to this of course, especially in recent decades. Still, many of the films associated with the company have young female leads. Since many films were based on classical fairy tales or myths, these women were traditionally the generally accepted view of a princess. They were usually women who found themselves in trouble and were rescued by a man at some point. Essentially, they were beautiful damsels in distress and not much else.

Recent discussions have brought up the notion that these characters and their respective films may have a negative impact on the young viewers, male and female. Should women like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty be role models for future generations? Some have claimed films such as Cinderella or The Little Mermaid are anti-feminist in some regard. Here, we shall be exploring some examples of how this may be, but also some counterpoints in how Disney has improved on this over the years.

The Blandness of Snow White

Generally, the most anti-feminist views could be more prevalent in the decades preceding the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. Many of the female protagonists were bland and only defined by exterior beauty. Snow White for instance, was stated as being "fairest of them all." Here, physical beauty was the primary fuel for the queen to attempt an assassination. When the huntsman spares her or when the dwarves take her into their home, it could be perceived this was at least initially due to her beauty. Now, Snow White was a compassionate individual who managed to contribute to the household and improve the lives of her new family members. Sadly, this is the only positive attribute she had besides her beauty. Her most defining characteristics are primarily superficial. Even her purpose within the household was primarily to do housework.

At the time the original film was created, women were still little more than second class citizens. In a historical context, they had only achieved the right to vote two decades earlier. Beyond the success of the suffragist movement, not much had been done to allow women equal status as men in the work force. The main expectation was for a women to remain within her home, clean and raise children. It was still very difficult for a woman to attempt self actualization, even if education was encouraged. Snow White is a clear example of what was expected of young women at this time. Be pretty and be nice. That was it.

Interestingly, some of the most classic villains are women. Most would argue they are generally more iconic than most of their male counter parts. This is a perhaps less so in earlier films. The evil queen in Snow White is possibly even more bland than her step daughter. While it is true that she does have presence and power to offer a counter point to the young heroine, she is so one dimensional that she's practically anti-feminist herself. This is mainly due to her motivation. What is it after all? She is jealous of a younger and prettier woman who simply receives more attention. For a supposedly clever woman with wealth and power and beauty of her own, the fact that her motivation is so petty creates a very negative and simplistic view of what motivates women. Now while it could be argued that she is also a product of the times, a societal view which does carry on to this day, she still represents an ultimately weak and simplistic view of a female.

The Pattern Continues

In the following decades, similar examples of simplistic portrayals of women in Disney would continue to be shown. Let us next consider the primary message of the film Cinderella. Cinderella herself is very similar to Snow White, with just a touch more personality. Though it was primarily due to the circumstances of a domineering parental figure, Cinderella spends most her life in servitude. She is confined to the house and does menial chores. Now what is the solution the film offers for her to break free from these shackles? A fairy godmother arrives to allow her the means to go to a party, wear an expensive dress and meet the man of her dreams. In this tale, how does she attract a potential husband? Much like Snow White, simply being pretty. This creates the message that what a young women should strive to do is look good enough to attract a mate. Conversely, any boys watching may assume that's what women are ultimately like and psychical beauty is of the most value.

Sleeping Beauty follows the same basic pattern as the two previously mentioned films. Aurora herself is possibly the blandest Disney princess of them all. She is easily ensnared by the villain of the film and demonstrates no real personality beyond a pretty face and a serviceable singing voice. Much like Snow White, this film has an iconic villain. Malificent is one of Disney's most intimidating forces. However, we must observe the motivation for an antagonist. What is it? She wasn't invited a party. That's it. One of the most evil villains in the history of the company simply wasn't invited to the coronation. This isn't necessarily bad in and of itself. However, it does suggest a certain fickleness that is perhaps unbecoming of such a villain. This could be waved away as an example of how petty she is, but it does create another very simplistic view of female behavior and motivations.

A New Era Begins

In recent decades, Disney has shifted their attention to created more well rounded stories and complex characters. At the forefront of this has been the portrayal of female leads. While some cases have been made that these young women suffer from Disney's tendency to simplify these characters, obvious improvements have been made. This became more noticeable in the late 1980's, during the beginning of the company's return as a leader of family entertainment and animation in general.

The film that lead this movement, The Little Mermaid, has come under the most controversy of the more recent Disney films. This is mainly due to the actions and motivations of the main character, Ariel. The young mermaid has a fascination with the human world. She even lays her eyes upon a man for the first time and instantly falls in love with him. While this could be explained as adolescent infatuation, it is presented as "love." This could easily be misinterpreted by young viewers. Even worse, Ariel is tricked into giving up her voice in order to be allowed the roam the land and gain the attention of this young man. Feminists have criticized this plot point for a fairly obvious reason. By sacrificing her voice, Ariel is essentially giving up her identity. She's giving up her ability to express herself as an individual on equal footing. True love is implied here as being little more than silence and servitude to her male counter part. While Ariel is better written than most Disney princesses that preceded her, she still suffers from a very similar behavior.

The biggest counterpoint to this is the fact that Ariel is portrayed as a more realistic adolescent girl. She is inquisitive and impulsive, but at the very least show's some initiative beyond staying stuck in a castle. She has dreams of exploring and transcending her current lifestyle. That's much more than previous princesses demonstrated. Some could also make the claim that the film could be suggesting the romantic connections involve more communication that the vocal. This is a nice notion, but since Ariel doesn't really do much beyond smile pleasantly, this isn't really the strongest argument. While Ariel was more well rounded that those that came before, the plot of the film still leans towards suggesting superficial attributes towards feminine behavior and general motivations.

Belle Sets New Standards

The next few films would feature female leads who were more independent, free thinking and presented on equal footing with their male counterparts. The first of these was Belle of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is shown right away as being intelligent and educated and not particularly interested in men. While other women are swooning over the bachelor Gaston, Belle doesn't give sway to his aggressive attentions. Belle only becomes a "princess" by circumstance. Interestingly, though she is portrayed as a beautiful young woman, the primary theme of the film suggests the importance of inner beauty. After all, the fact that Belle may be physically attractive is not a crucial factor to the plot. She is shown as being compassionate and patient. This is why the relationship between Belle and the Beast is one of the best developed in the Disney canon. They actually have time to overcome differences, learn from one another and eventually love each other. Previous to this, most princesses simply looked beautiful and that was enough to entice young men to be interested. With Belle we actually have a realistic and well written role model for young men and women.

Even in films with males as leads, women were beginning to show more independence and genuine personality. Two of the best examples are within Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Aladdin had Jasmine, a princess who defied expectations up to that point. She refused to be a political pawn for her father or Jafar. She wasn't concerned with romantic connection initially. Rather, she wanted to pursue some form of self-actualization. This is an excellent role model for women. Jasmine stresses the importance of independence and self-reliance over hormone influenced pursuits that often distract adolescents. Jasmine's mentality would greatly influence the trend of how feminine goals would be portrayed later.

Esmerelda of The Hunchback of Notre Dame presented a different form of complexity. Being both a woman and minority in foreign nation, she must constantly resist the forces that are constantly trying to oppress her. She shows great skills in dealing with Frollo and his minions and was willing to speak her voice when Quasimodo is being tortured in front of a crowd. While she is somewhat reduced to a damsel in distress by the end the film, she is presented as being fleshed out individual who builds a mutual friendship with the male lead rather than a romantic one.

Mulan and the Future

The most dramatic shift perhaps came with 1998's Mulan. Mulan is struggling with the image that her family and society have imprinted on her. She must be presentable as a bride to uphold her family honor. However, when her aging father is called upon to military service when the huns invade, Mulan takes it upon herself to impersonate a man and take her father's place. This is a complete challenge to gender roles which is fairly progressive for Disney. There is a romantic connection in the film, but it's not the main focus for once. Here, Mulan is trying to make something of herself without obtaining male compaionship. Mulan doesn't align with traditional views of feminine behavior. Rather, she challenges these views. Mulan cares more about upholding her duty and saving her father than romantic connections. This doesn't imply that she doesn't care about such things but rather that she has higher priorities. She is shown of being capable of taking care of herself moreso than any other "Disney princess" in the traditional sense. Mulan is therefore the greatest leap forward for strong female characters in Disney.

The company has continued with female characters who are typically better written as role models and as characters in general. The most recent examples can be seen in The Princess and the Frog as well as the major hit, Frozen. Both films show women who go against the typical views of the Disney princess in a number of ways. Disney has truly had some issues with creating well rounded female characters in its history. However, over the decades the company has shown a great deal of improvement. It could be stated that they have provided their audiences with some of the best female characters in animation and perhaps all of film history. There are still some improvements to be made for consistency, but Disney has proven several times that they are hardly anti-feminist in their agenda.

What do you think? .

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One of the most iconic concepts from the Disney corporation is the "Disney princess." From a marketing standpoint, in can be argued the primary demographic focus of the company has been aimed a young girls since its inception. There have been exceptions to this of course, especially in recent decades.

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This article shows the negative effects that masculinity has on society. Due to masculinity many men believe that feminism is going to cause women to take away what is considered theirs. For example, when women are fighting for equal pay men views this as women are taking away something that was originally considered theirs. Another way that masculinity negatively effects society is in actions. When men create violence within society nobody really notices and it's associated with "masculinity" but when a female does that Same thing it's considered a big deal. The example used in the article is drunken bar fight. If a male does it it's just men being men but if a female does it it is highly frowned upon by society. This all contributes to how masculinity can be associated with violence which in turn has a negative impact on society. -Kaylene Patti

https://thefword.org.uk/2006/02/deconstructing_masculinity/

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again) on Judith Butler performativity: http://bigthink.com/videos/your-behavior-creates-your-gender and this video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stFSvVYJ_tk   Activity 2. I chose this video for you because it provides you many examples of how gender is performed and learned starting from the day of birth. I find it interesting to reflect on how society shapes what is 'boyish' and what is 'girly'. Find other/any examples online and share it with us. Explain why you pick it. Can be video/ screenshot of text/images. To post your example click on the pink + (plus) sign on the right corner of this web page. https://vimeo.com/86728310           Activity 3.: Please read your classmates posts and answer to them the next day.

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again) on Judith Butler performativity: http://bigthink.com/videos/your-behavior-creates-your-gender and this video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stFSvVYJ_tk   Activity 2. I chose this video for you because it provides you many examples of how gender is performed and learned starting from the day of birth. I find it interesting to reflect on how society shapes what is 'boyish' and what is 'girly'. Find other/any examples online and share it with us. Explain why you pick it. Can be video/ screenshot of text/images. To post your example click on the pink + (plus) sign on the right corner of this web page. https://vimeo.com/86728310           Activity 3.: Please read your classmates posts and answer to them the next day.

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again)on Judith Butler performativity: 

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Activity 1: Watch this video (again)on Judith Butler performativity: 

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http://bigthink.com/videos/your-behavior-creates-your-gender

and this video as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stFSvVYJ_tk

Activity 2. I chose this video for you because it provides you many examples of how gender is performed and learned starting from the day of birth. I find it interesting to reflect on how society shapes what is 'boyish' and what is 'girly'. Find other/any examples online and share it with us. Explain why you pick it. Can be video/ screenshot of text/images. To post your example click on the pink + (plus) sign on the right corner of this web page.

https://vimeo.com/86728310

Activity 3.: Please read your classmates posts and answer to them the next day.

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This video articulated every thing I have ever thought. I grew up as a tomboy and was never really self aware of the possible stereotypes that followed me as a child when I would dress a certain way. Kids do not know gender roles. I think as we grow up we are all conditioned to know the different gender roles and where we should traditionally stand based on our sex. We are conditioned through media, social norms, or are parents telling us things like "be a man" or "thats not very lady like." Gender role performance comes with the way we dress. There is gendered clothing, but what does it exactly mean? It becomes even more complex when we associate gendered clothing with sexual preference. A cis female may like to dress in "male" clothing and because of that her sexual identity may be assumed. -Brianna Becerra-Yanez

https://feminisminindia.com/2020/01/03/gendering-kids-clothing-colour-war/