Cason Honea

4/21/12

Communication of Gender and Sexuality

This week in Gender class, we were assigned some supplemental readings that dealt with the subject of rape. One article discussed on how the definition of rape has now been expanded. "Now, any kind of nonconsensual penetration, no matter the gender of the attacker or victim, will constitute rape-- meaning that attacks on men will be counted" (Basu p.1). When I first read this, I was really caught off guard, because I thought that this was always what was constituted as rape, but apparently, it has only been nonconsensual vaginal penetration by a penis that has been considered as rape up until now. I really find it rather disturbing, to be honest, because it almost seems as if the law was initially made with some intentional loopholes. I just don't understand how those running our county could not constitute these other acts as rape up until now. In a sense, it seems as if the law that was originally established in 1927 was almost an intentional decision to allow men to get away with forcible sexual advances as long as it was not nonconsensual vaginal penetration. “It’s about more than a definition,” Lynn Rosenthal, the White House adviser on violence against women, said in a conference call with reporters to discuss the change. “It’s a change of our understanding of rape and how seriously we take it as a country.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/us/politics/federal-crime-statistics-to-expand-rape-definition.html).  Hopefully this new expansion of the definition of rape will help prevent future acts that were once not considered as rape from happening, and bring some sense of residual justice to those women out there who have unfortunatley had to experience one or more of these forms of forcible sexual advances in the past. For it to take decades for the definition of rape to be expanded really makes me question even more the overall moral integrity and decision making of those running our country.

Sources

Basu, M., U.S. Broadens Archaic Definition of Rape, CNN

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/us/politics/federal-crime-statistics-to-expand-rape-definition.html

Cason Honea
Communication of Gender and Sexuality
4/6/12
This week in class, I presented a summary on Chapter 3 of Dude You're A Fag written by C.J. Pascoe. The section of this chapter that interested me most was titled Where The Fag Disappears: Drama Performance. In this section, Pascoe described how males who participated in drama performances tended to participate less in the act of "fag discourse". "It was as if, because they were in a space where they were all coded as fags any and couldn't be any lower socially, it didn't matter what they did"(Pascoe, p.81). After reading this, I began to consider that the act of fag discourse is just another way for some people to assert dominance over others, as well as preserve their own masculine image. I feel that like homosexuals,these drama students also have dealt with oppression and over critical judgment so it would make no sense for them to patronize a group of people with whom they share a similar struggle. Participation in fag discourse reminds me of the popular kids in high school. Like these males who participate in fag discourse to assert dominance and masculinity, the popular kids go to extremes in order to maintain a status of superiority over other groups in the school. It seems that at times, some of those highest up on the totem pole of social status feel some obligation to disassociate themselves with those deemed as different in order to salvage their own self image/reputation.

Sources

 Pascoe, C.J. (2007). Dude You're A Fag, (p. 7). University of California Press

Masculinity Varies

Cason Honea

Communication of Gender and Sexuality

3/31/12

            In our new textbook we started reading, Dude You’re A Fag, there was a section in the first chapter titled, What Do We Mean By Masculinity, which discussed about how masculinity can come in different forms. When most consider the attributes that define a person who is masculine, we tend to associate with someone who is aggressive, dominant, strong, and perhaps even a leader. But, in this section of the book, the author broke down four different types of masculinity. The typical masculine description that I previously described is similar to what the author likes to call hegemonic masculinity in which the author describes as “the type of fender practice that, in a given space and time, supports gender inequality, is at the top of this hierarchy” (Pascoe, p. 7). Unfortunately, this view of and form of masculinity seems to be the most normal/dominant ones, which I feel is one of the bigger reasons that so much oppression exists among opposite sex, and even at times, race. “Hegemonic masculinity is very public through the mass media. It is not what men who are powerful are, but what sustains their power and what they support”( http://www.csub.edu/~jgranskog/inst205/connell.htm). I myself would have to say that I fit more in the description of complicit masculinity which “describes men who benefit from hegemonic masculinity, but do not enact it” (Pascoe, p.7). When I read this statement, two things that I immediately associated with it were bystander behavior, and white privilege. These two things I just stated are similar to complicit masculinity because they both deal with groups of people who perhaps benefit from either there race or gender, but do nothing to address the oppression faced by the opposite race or gender, because it is easy to just sit there and do nothing about something that isn’t really affecting you. But, in order for there to be more of an equality between gender and an acceptation of other sub-groups of gender, it is important that people who fit the description of a complicit masculinity utilize there hegemonic benefits in order to act as a liaison to address these forms of oppression to the oppressors themselves.

Sources

 http://www.csub.edu/~jgranskog/inst205/connell.htm

Pascoe, C.J. (2007). Dude You're A Fag, (p. 7). University of California Press.

             

Confusing something for something else.

Cason Honea

Communication of Gender and Sexuality

3/24/12

            There was an article this week in class that we had to read for our supplemental readings which was an exerpt from a book titled, The Trouble With Boys, that discussed how boys are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD than girls are. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2003, 14 percent of boys across the nation were identified as having ADHD by the time they reached their sixteenth birthday. And the percentage is continuing to grow. Between 2000 and 2005, the number of boys from birth to age nineteen who were being prescribed ADHD medication grew 48 percent”(Tyre Ch. 8). When I first read this statement, it made me think about my brother back when we were kids and how he was on medicine for ADHD when it wasn’t as common, and nowadays, it seems to be somewhat of a growing epidemic. As I continued reading, I remembered learning in class how gender is a product of communication and socialization which is instilled into individuals through family members as well as close friends and even teachers. I then began to assess what appropriate gender norms are in society and began realizing that the reason that boys are more diagnosed with ADHD is because their appropriate gender norm condones more of a rambunctious, aggressive, free spirited sort of behavior. If you really think about it, it all makes sense. From a young age boys are told go out and have fun, be active, be competitive, and be tough, while girls are more socialized in to more reserved behaviors, like learning to cook and clean, and always acting “lady-like” and being polite. So, when you put these factors into the equation, it is easy to see that boys were more socialized into an outgoing and active behavior whereas girls are more socialized into being polite and reserved. I found a question and answer section on addmtc.com, which had a question relating to this topic. The question was why is add/adhd more often diagnosed in boys than is girls. I feel that the answer that was given is somewhat similar to what I was discussing earlier about appropriate gender norms. “ADD/ADHD used to be recognized only as a childhood disorder. ADD/ADHD boys are more likely to be obviously hyperactive and explosive than ADD/ADHD girls, and they are more likely to be recognized and treated by physicians because their problems are more evident and severe. The incidence of ADD/ADHD in my medical practice study population of over thirteen hundred males and females of all ages (from 2 to 82 years old when first diagnosed), however, shows that females are equally as likely as males to have ADD/ADHD. Females are much more likely to be diagnosed in adulthood while males with ADD/ADHD are commonly recognized in the childhood or the teenage years by Pediatricians” (http://www.addmtc.com/boysvsgirls). So, it seems that the problem here is that there is an over diagnosing of ADHD in boys because their more hyper-active, outgoing behavior (which is an excepted normal gender behavior for boys) makes it more easy for them to be candidates for ADHD, even though they might not even have ADHD.

Sources

( http://www.addmtc.com/boysvsgirls)

Tyre, P. (2008) The Trouble With Boys, (Ch.8), Crown Publishers

Things aren't always what they seem

Cason Honea

Communication of Gender and Sexuality

3/17/12

     This week in my gender class, we got a more in depth look at some people who have made the transition from male to female or female to male. When most people think of the idea of this, they immediately look down on that particular person and tend to make comments on how "sick" or "messed up" they may be. It is almost as if some people just assume that these folks have chose to be this way when really it is quite the contrary. People who have decided to get these sex changes are born in that particular frame of mind. In the article titled The Scientist: A Transforming Field, Julia Serano (formerly known as Thomas) mentions that she always wanted to be a girl. "It was something that had been with me my whole life" (McCook, p.4).  It as well seems as if some people try to make it out as if these people are somewhat inhuman and not logical but in all actuality, some transgendered people are quite bright and it is there outside ways of thinking that give them a unique sense of intelligence. The article that I previously mentioned was about two scientists who have made gender transitions and both were very bright individuals. According to Ben Barres "Biologists in particular are very understanding of the concept of difference....They are used to thinking about problems from different angles and perspectives, and are innately interested in the way life responds to different environments"(McCook p.2). Unfortunately, not all people have the perspective of thinking outside of the box which sadly makes them misconstrue different as "wrong". "And many biologist feel like outsiders, either because they work on processes that few people in general population understand" (McCook p.2). If I could give any advice to people out there who look down on transgendered folks, I would just tell them to take into consideration that these people are born like this, and just like all other people in this world, they play an important role in society and as well can have the capability of having a brilliant mind.

Sources

McCook, A, The Scientist: A Transforming Field, (pgs. 2,4) 

 

Life Outside The Box

In our supplemental readings for class this week, I stumbled upon an article that really hit home with me. It was titled "The Act Like a Man Box" which was written by Paul Kivel. In this article, he goes on to describe how from the very beginning of a man's life, he is taught early on to think and carry himself in an appropriate masculine way which Kivel describes as the "Act Like a Man Box". This box represents the boundaries of a man's masculinity, and within this box, a man is expected to "be aggressive, not to back down, not make mistakes, and to take charge, have lots of sex, make lots of money, and be responsible. Most of all, they are told not to cry"(Kivel p.148). This article really caught my attention, because it makes me think of how I was raised growing up. At an early age, my parents divorced and from that point on, I had the majority of my upbringing from my mother and grandmother. Although I feel my father was as good as a father as he could be, he never had a strong hand in my upbringing. Although he was always there monetarily, I only saw him a couple times a month. Now, I never paid attention to how this affected me until I grew a little older and realized that being raised by women sort of made me "a little soft". As I reflect by on my childhood and teenage years, I now see that I was a little more sensitive than my peers and had a harder time controlling my emotions. At the time, I didn't see it that way because whenever I was upset, my mother always assured me that it was ok to cry and express my feelings. So now when I look back, I have mixed feelings about this. See, my mother always praised me for my sensitivity and said that I was a "sweetheart" and it in turn made me feel like it was normal to be like that and I as well thought that women would like me for my sensitivity. But, as I grew older I realized that it has come back to bite me in the ass, because I see that these women want a "real man" who stands tough and emulates all the things that Kivel describes. It makes me wish I had a male role model growing up because I feel I would have acquired more of these traits. Although I do feel that my sensitivity has some benefits, I see more negative than anything, and I just really wish I would have had a man in my life to teach me "guy things" like working on cars, asserting yourself, and suppressing your emotions at times that are appropriate . “Studies have shown that involvement of a father or a positive male role model in the lives of children has profound effects on them. Father-child interaction promotes a child’s physical well-being, perceptual ability and competency for relating with others. These children also demonstrate greater ability to take initiative and evidence self-control” (http://firstthings.org/page/resource-center/fathers/the-importance-of-positive-male-role-models). So, as I continue on in life, I have accepted my upbringing and have come to realize that there are just some things I am going to have to learn the hard way.

Sources

Kivel, Paul (2007). The Act-Like-a-Man-Box, (p.148)

http://firstthings.org/page/resource-center/fathers/the-importance-of-positive-male-role-models