Gender M1

1) Discuss the video link about Intersectionality by Crenshaw under "Links" and M1.2. What is this theory and why is it so important to gender studies, do you think? (This theory will provide a PRIMARY BASE for most of what we discuss in this class). 2) How do the First Nations culture's practices challenge the dominant beliefs of Western culture? 3) Imagine you have been asked to speak to a feminist organization about transgender activism. Your task is to convince your audience to advocate for transgender rights as a feminist issue. They agree that human rights are a given for transgender people, but they are not sure transgender issues are a feminist concern. What will you tell them is the connection between gender justice and transgender rights? 4) How has the current two-sex system justified the doctrine of separate spheres that track women into the home and men into public roles with financial and political decision-making power? Discuss this in at least one global setting. You can use an article for this, if need be. 1. Crenshaw's idea in the TED presentations was that discrimination is more than just a racial issue; when individuals look at sorts of prejudice, it is perceived from a partial perspective. Gender studies must assist individuals to comprehend that there are many factors that influence how people are discriminated against. And how those variables interact to produce intersectionality. On page 9, the textbook states, " intersectional analysis simultaneously focuses on multiple social categories..." This is essential in gender studies because it demonstrates how people may be discriminated against in a variety of ways, as well as how some people experience both privilege and discrimination in their lives. 2. The cultural practices of the first nations contradict western prevailing notions since they are more accepting of the way individuals are in their culture and even allow them to have roles. They were strong on letting their children be themselves and not pressuring them to be like everyone else in the first nations civilization. They didn't conform to Western cultural conventions of males doing this and women doing that; instead, they let individuals do what they wanted and trained them. In the textbook on page 42 it says, “ In societies with Two Spirits, gender is not equated with biological sex or sexual identity.”, with this being said two terms were used Two Spirits and “Men-Women” were used in the first nation society to describe other categories of people. The first nations did not discriminate against their people in the same manner that Western civilization values conformity and will discriminate against their people. 3. The relationship between gender justice and transgender rights, in my opinion, is that they both aim to eradicate social conventions and attitudes that hold individuals behind. Gender justice aims to eliminate inequities between men and women in a variety of ways. while understanding that transgender people are women and must be treated as such They may suffer some of the same issues that cisgender women do, and the idea is to eliminate those obstacles. Transgender rights are about giving transgender individuals rights by protecting and including them in our society. They both aim to change how society perceives people and to allow people to do and be who they actually are. In the textbook on page 32, it says “Not all transgender people identify as men or women, some simply identify as trans, rejecting the gender binary altogether.”, This is in line with gender justice and transgender rights, which call for an end to discrimination and violence against individuals and trans people. 4. In the contemporary situation, the two-sex system depicts gender roles and that men and women have various duties to fulfill. Women are presently expected to cook, clean, care for children, and work. Things have shifted in favor of women, but it still has its drawbacks, such as women overworking themselves more now than they did before when they worked jobs and followed the conventional norm. On a worldwide scale, women continue to care for children at home with little assistance from husbands, and husbands retain authority over the family's finances and activities. Women have political power since there are female leaders all around the world. It isn't a big amount but it's a step from the past. In the textbook on page 41, it says, “Emphasized differences…have justified women's social exclusion around the world”, This is similar to how women have been pushed away or had to walk a difficult path to accomplish something that a male can do. As long as the spheres exist, it is better than previously and will ideally lead to no spheres at all.