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Some gender reading material please?
RobAnybody
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have always been interested in gender issues, the feminist movements, redefining masculinity, and so on. But I feel woefully ignorant, and considering this can be a very prickly subject with some people, I would like to head into any future discussions I may have with as much information as possible.
I did some varied reading in college, but that was several years ago. A friend recommended the book Getting Off by Robert Jensen, and though I have almost finished it, I am getting the feeling that it wasn't the best place to start. Let's just say I have a lot of issues with his methods of analysis, many of his conclusions, etc. But that doesn't mean he doesn't raise some valid points, and I was hoping the educated folk here could point me in the direction of some other sources of insight. I am pretty open to anything and everything in this genre, so thanks in advance!
I did some varied reading in college, but that was several years ago. A friend recommended the book Getting Off by Robert Jensen, and though I have almost finished it, I am getting the feeling that it wasn't the best place to start. Let's just say I have a lot of issues with his methods of analysis, many of his conclusions, etc. But that doesn't mean he doesn't raise some valid points, and I was hoping the educated folk here could point me in the direction of some other sources of insight. I am pretty open to anything and everything in this genre, so thanks in advance!
"When a man's hands are even with your head, his crotch is even with your teeth."
-Ancient Dwarfish Proverb
-Ancient Dwarfish Proverb
RobAnybody on
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But consider this thread going places.
-Ancient Dwarfish Proverb
Pat (Patrick) Califia - Somewhat of a radical theorist, who has transitioned from female to male. He has a very wide selection of material, of which "Public Sex" and Feminism and Sadomasochism" are some of my favorites. For your specific question "Genderbending: Playing with Roles and Reversals" might be interesting, though it was written in 1983 and focuses more on the BDSM community and how roles are performed. All of these are chapters from his book "Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex."
Judith Butler discusses the gender binary in regards to having a penis or not having a penis. She uses some of her own experiences as a base to analyze how gender has been socially constructed in the United States. One of her more well known books is "Undoing Gender," but she also has a wide selection of articles which you can find in most online databases
Kate Bornstein - Freaking funny as hell and politically active. She maintains a blog and has a variety of resources available online. I believe she will even answer specific questions if you email her!
Julia Serano's "Whipping Girl"
C.J. Pascoe's "Dude, You're A Fag" offers an analysis of a typical high school in the United States and how students use "fag" to police how white students perform masculinity. Those who fail are ostracized from the community, and are mistreated. She offers various examples of school rituals which promote a "standard" masculinity and compulsive heterosexuality. She fails to offer any real research which covers racialized issues within the school, other than separating how gender is portrayed between the African-American community within the school and the white community. She also a chapter which shows how girls portray masculinity.
Allen Johnson's "The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy" looks into how patriarchy functions as a system and in what ways individuals can influence the system. He does go into how privilege functions, and in what ways it is invisable to those who are in a privileged position, such as being white, young, educated, Christian, able bodied, male, heterosexual, etc..
If you want to research about how gender and sexuality have been socially constructed then you can read Michel Foucault's "A History of Sexuality: Volume 1." He is quoted quiet frequently in feminist research and is one of the most prominent theories when dealing with how institution have impacted Western cultures.
I would be glad to point you towards any other sources if you have any specific questions regarding gender or other topics related (ie Women's Studies, Gender Sudies, feminist theories, whatever. . . ). I am not an expert, but I am well versed in these sort of topics since I have (am finishing) two majors in American and Women's Studies. Feel free to PM me or we can chat on aim/msn.
P.S. I would write more right now but I have to go drinking!!
Your first task to deal with, as a reader of this stuff, is to make sure you're engaging with it critically. Judith Butler especially is famous for using opaque language. Foucault can be just as bad. My theory on this is that any discipline is enhanced if the reading is harder to access for a non-expert, so by being exclusionary, they enhance their reputation and prestige. A lot of this is done by is reifying abstract concepts and using certain verbs as terms of art, the meaning of which in fact may vary by author. For example, some in frog's post, some not : "police", "perform", "patriarchy", "privilege", notions of "the body", "discourse", "read", "performativity", "construction", "the other", all have specified meanings and at least at times are five-dollar words where a ten cent word will do fine. The culture of exclusion this language encourages means it helps a lot to have someone who will take your money to explain it all to you and induct you into the culture - a professor. The readings themselves are all mostly going to put you in mid-stream of this debate the way Jensen did, because by taking these terms for granted they reinforce their academic exclusivity.
A good example of this is the following Judith Butler quote:
These writers probably contribute insight to various topics in feminism, but you shouldn't be afraid to call BS when something doesn't add up. You shouldn't try to emulate this terrible style of writing, but you should consider writing papers or formulating your thoughts on the topic in a coherent way to master the topic. The classic example of this is the Sokal hoax - where a physicist got published in a postmodern/crit journal by essentially writing gibberish dressed up in their language. Some people try to use this to damn the assorted disciplines, but i'd instead take it as a cautionary tale - if you don't read slowly and try to parse what exactly the statements mean, you're going to end up passively accepting or not understanding big chunks of what people are saying, some of which will be utter nonsense.
Catharine MacKinnon is as much of an old biddy as Judith Butler is, but you should know about her if you want to be informed on the topic.
All of this stuff is pretty theoretical and inapplicable, though. Unless you want to impress a woman's studies major who is now working as a barista, you may want to seek out sociologists or other empirical researchers who try to better connect theory and practice. This is especially true if you're skeptical of Robert Jensen and the lack of empirical rigor- you'll probably be unhappy with most of the people on this reading list, too.
For gendered-fiction, I don't think you can get much better than Margaret Atwood. Award winning author and poet, very outspoken feminist.
By her, I would recommend The Blind Assassin. Very character driven novel about the things women go through in their lives.
The Handmaid's Tale is probably her most scholarly acclaimed piece. Near the very beginning she describes falling in love with her gynecologist while he exams her. I think even Atwood would read that book and find some of the stuff surprising.
One last bit of non-fiction: I recently read Pledged, by Alexandra Robbins. It's almost anti-femenist in what it shows women doing to themselves - but it's non-fiction... so, worth considering for the "literal" pile.
What Kaliyama discussed regarding the reading list I provided is spot on. To some extent, the languages the authors of those pieces is reflected in my writing. A great deal of the time spent in my classes, even at the 400/500 level, is used to define various terms, such as ideology, hegemony, discourse, binary, patriarchy, privilege, power, blah blah blah. Entire courses are taught, on a graduate level, on these words and their meanings and significance to the wider culture. It becomes apparent that the more these topics and words are discussed, the more interpretations arise. This means that there are a wide variety of opinions regarding these issues, and that none of them, or maybe, all of them are correct. The focus should be on increasing awareness regarding inequalities present so that we might change them. Of course, I am a bit biased in writing that they should be changed, since I have been practically brainwashed by the various theologians that i have read.
On another note, kaliyama mentions using sociologists as a source for some of this theory, and ze is correct. You should not limit yourself to the list I provided, but seek out interesting sources that "call out" to you. I find that looking at the works cited of various articles helps me find alternative sources. If you find a specific person quoted a bunch, like Frued in Psychology articles, then it might be wise to read that orignal work so you have a base understanding of what authors are writing about and WHY they might be using them as a source/example.
In addition to sociology, you might look into anthroplogy. There is some fantastic research out there on various cultures, which are often analyzed through cross-cultural perspectives. To name a few that I have found interesting (though you should make up your own mind), there are the !Kung, Aka Pygmies, Musai, and Tuareg, which seem to have egalitarian society (at least compared to Western societies and with our understanding of gender equality as the primary reference point for determining relevence... and Freud would disagree based on his definition of egalitarian). Keep in mind that everyone is biased, and that they/you must understand where they are coming from before looking at the data they have collected or analyzed. Early research (pre-feminist) was conducted by men and for men, while the later research may, though not always, have been conducted by women and for women (to the point where they are just as bad as the male centered research). I would offer you specific authors, but I think it is best for you to research your own using the various cultures that are around (and the ones that I have listed). I wish to avoid imprinting any of my bias on you, since that would defeat the purpose of critical theory.
Good night and good luck!
Kaliyama: Sheesh, good point about stuff being intentionally confusing. I got my degree in computer science and philosophy, but that little blurb made my head hurt. I get that the theory can be inapplicable to real world stuff, but doesn't it help to have a degree of familiarity with that before delving into the reality of it? And yes, Jensen annoys me with the emotional gut punch followed by fairly rickety reasoning and conclusions, but I also accept that a lot of this stuff is hard to pin down in absolute terms. I guess that's just a balance I will have to strike as I muddle along.
ResidentSleepwalker: Excellent idea with fiction. Both the Atwood and Robbins suggestions sound awesome. More books for the reading list, wee!
I have also heard of a few more recent books that seem interesting, but I'm not entirely sure if now is the best time to read them considering the background that I need to build first. Guyland by Michael Kimmel and Cunt by Inga Muscio were held in high regard by the person I was talking with, but I have heard some very mixed reviews about the latter book. Anyone care to chime in about either of these titles?
Thanks again for the great input! I knew I came to right place.
-Ancient Dwarfish Proverb
Also Pat Califia is great.
All are Victorian era novels rebelling (in some fashion) against the role and place of women in society, all three also discuss the meanings of gender and the roles of both sexes (and what they should be).
Herland is a novel about three male adventurers stumbling across a hidden amazon society populated entirely by women and the hijinks that ensure. It's probably the most focused of the three I listed, and tells much about the perceptions of men towards women and women towards men (though I've been told by a lot of women that the author seems like a cracked, sex deprived lesbian. But that tells us something as well).
Lady Audley's Secret Is hands down the best novel I've ever read. Go get it.
I won't go into Jane Eyre, you're probably already read it, and it's one of the primary pieces of feminist fiction in the Victorian Era.
It's really good, and much more readable than Butler.
One movie that I am forced to sit through on a frequent basis is "Tough Guise," which looks at how masculinity has been constructed through the media. Jackson Katz has also published a bunch of books on masculinity, but I have not gotten around to reading any of them. The movie itself should be available from most libraries.
You might also look into Two Spirited people regarding the gender binary relationship. They have a fabulous community and a great variety of articles that cover gender, oppression, and reconstruction of identity.
Oh, and America should be United States (U.S.), unless you are including other countries in your discussion that happen to be on the same continent.
Frog: Brawny Academy sounds like a lot of fun too, and I will definitely be checking in the library for Tough Guise. Also, thanks for the correction about America. I am currently focused on the US, but I would be interested on learning more about how gender works around the world, once I feel a little less ignorant.
Thank you everyone again for all the great info! I won't be able to get to the library till Monday sadly, damn work eating up my leisure time, but I plan to come home with a significantly heavier book bag, and more educated brain.
-Ancient Dwarfish Proverb