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By: Rebeca Cabezas

rcabe004_ — 2023-11-28 07:13:51 UTC

This picture is of my teammate Lex. She recently got a pink interior which is not surprising, considering her love for the color pink. Although this can be seen as a gender norm, it has also been a topic of conversation when women are being belittled for their interests. It is seen as weak to like the color pink and, therefore, has pushed many girls away from voicing their liking of the color. In "The Social Construction of Gender," by Judith Lorber, she talks about how colors distinguish the gender of humans starting from infancy. She says, "...babies are dressed or adorned in a way that displays the category because their parents don't want to be constantly asked whether their baby is a girl or a boy" (pg 55). This is something women are judged for yet men can like the color blue without anyone batting an eye. In Lex's case, and many other women around the world, she is now taking pride in her feminine ways and owning the color pink.

rcabe004_ — 2023-11-28 07:22:24 UTC

This is a picture of my teammate Nadia. She is in the masters program at UCR’s school of business and she is a star softball player. She is pushing gender norms in every way. She is a minority woman who has been successful in both academics and athletics; two things that women have not been encouraged to participate in. Women today are able to be doctors and get involved in politics. There is no limit on our career paths anymore and Nadia is proof of that.

rcabe004_ — 2023-11-28 07:23:46 UTC

This photo is of my friend who was raised to be very serious and emotionally unavailable. Throughout the years he has grown out of this cage that he was put into and has been open to new things. This is him meeting cats for the first time and he was pleasantly surprised when he realized they were not as bad as everyone made them out to be. He was convinced by his father that cats were not a pet fit for a man. From their first breath boys are treated in a way to give them tough skin but leaves emotional scars. From a young age boys are taught not to cry and to be tough. Reiner makes many statements on this in his article “The ‘manning up of boys begins in the cradle.” One of these statements being, “They[infant boys] experience more negative emotions and need more support . . .many parents respond by withholding support.” Boys grow up without the emotional support they need from their parents and are expected not only to be emotionally stable but also compassionate with others. Boys not only don’t have the emotional support but also are ridiculed if they show their emotions. Forty percent of boys are seen by their society as being rowdy and aggressive when they are angry, as stated in “What it Means to be a Man” by Peggy Orenstein. Boys are being raised in emotional turmoil due to the lack of emotional support growing up and due to the harsh stereotypes from society when they show the slightest bit of emotion.

rcabe004_ — 2023-11-28 07:31:24 UTC

I chose to take a picture of a pregnancy test due to it being so easily accessible compared to contraceptives. It is a bit ironic. Reproductive rights are a rollercoaster of events and it is scary to think how close they are to being taken away. The cost of contraceptives is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this. In this country it seems that everyone (mostly men) get to decide or make decisions on women’s bodies except the women who are affected. In so many cases women's bodies are seen as an object and people feel they can impose their will on a person’s body that is not even theirs. Sadly at times women do not have the ability to fight back against this like in the film, No Más Bebés. This film goes through the experiences women went through of being sterilized by doctors right after giving birth without consent or knowledge of this happening. These women were stripped of their choice of having children. Not only were these women physically not able to have children but many could have been emotionally hurt after trying to have another child and thinking it was their fault. In the film La Operación it not only shows how women were robbed of their right to bare children but also done so due to their race. In this film mainly Puerto Rican women were targeted due to the stereotype of being uneducated and in poverty at that time. The mistreatment of women’s bodies, especially minority women is put on full display in this movie. Not one white woman was sterilized without her consent so why should that have happened with any other woman of a different race. Women need to be given their choice over their bodies. Women should have the right to decide when or if they want their child. Women should be the ones who decide when to have children since they carry and give birth to the child. The fact that at one point women were expected to fulfill the sexual urges of their husbands is barbaric and wrong.

rcabe004_ — 2023-11-28 07:40:51 UTC

This photo is of myself cooking in a traditional apron that many older Mexican women use. To me this apron feels like a prison because I have only seen women who are expected to stay home all day to take care of the household wear it. I know when my grandmother saw me wearing it she got excited, as if that were the only lifestyle that I was suited for. In “Gendered Bodies,” by Lorder and Moore, they talk about gender norms. They state, “A girl or a woman who looks or acts masculine and a biy or man who looks or acts feminine is criticized, stigmatized, and sometimes ostracized” (pg 3). In this image I am conforming to gender norms and “staying in the kitchen” just where many people believe I belong. That is not our society today and I am able to cook when I want to and not have to serve others because of my sex.