Woman Studies

1

Women’sStudies Film Analysis

75 possible points

Films: Choose one of the following films:

Trade

Iron Jawed Angels

The Joy Luck Club

Erin Brokovich

The Education of Shelby Knox

Born into Brothels

The Accused

North Country

The Burning Bed

Mona Lisa Smile

Affliction

Bastard Out of Carolina

Assignment:
View the film of your choice at least once. Make sure you take detailed notes of the characters, main events and any other important details. Review your film notes and the course materials from the semester, then choose at least 3 theories or main ideas that appear to be operating in the events or individuals depicted in the film (e.g., the feminist movement, liberal feminism, the fight for self-determination, pay inequity, patriarchy, rape culture, domestic violence, social construction of gender, social construction of sexuality, gender roles, racism, etc.). You then must include the following in your write up:

1. You should have a brief paragraph introducing the film you chose.

2. Next, you should have one paragraph for each theory or principle you believe is relevant to the film. You will need to describe your theory or principle, using the text and lecture notes to support and describe the principle/theory you are applying and then apply it to the film. For each principle or theory, you should have at least 3 examples from the film. Make sure you bold and underline your main principles and or theories.

3. You should also integrate and use other additional terms, concepts or data that are important to your main theory or principle and will help illustrate your point or explain the film or how a feminist lens/women’s studies allows you to view the film differently.

4. Wrap up your paper with a conclusion paragraph.

5. You need to use proper citations both internally and with a works cited page (APA style preferred) and you need to pay attention to grammar, spelling and writing style. Your analysis should be analytical and well-written and be about 3-4 pages; double-spaced; 1-inch margins; 10-12-point font.

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INTRODUCTION TO

WOMEN’S STUDIES
Overview and Theory

WHAT WOMEN’S STUDIES IS NOT:

 It is NOT male bashing

 It is NOT exclusive

 It is NOT for women only

 Women’s studies is about being inclusive, regardless
or your gender, race, socio-economic status,
religion, immigration status, sexuality, ability or
political position.

 It attempts to shed light on how these different
statuses affect our lives on both the individual level
and historically, politically and economically

WOMEN’S STUDIES USES A MATRIX OF

OPPRESSION, PRIVLEGE AND

RESISTANCE

 Oppression is systematic and is used by dominant
groups to exploit, rule and control (i.e. historically in
the United States it was legal for a man to beat his
wife and illegal for her to own property or divorce,
making it virtually impossible to gain independence
or escape abuse)

 They are institutional and ideological (i.e. laws are
institutional such as the example above, ideological
are beliefs such as men are dominant and rational
while women are weak and submissive)

 Direct, Indirect or Internalized Oppression

MATRIX OR INTERSECTION OF

OPPRESSION

 Multiple levels of oppression that intersect (i.e. if you
are a woman you may experience sexual
harrassement but if you are an Asian woman you
may also experience racism)

 Oppression and privileges (i.e. we also get
“privileges” from oppression although limited. An
example of this would be the ideal that men should
pay for dates could be a benefit to women but
think about all the expectations for how a woman
on a date is supposed to look and how much
money goes into that (hair, nails, clothes, makeup,
time) and a woman’s prospects if you don’t do
these things

FEMINISM OR THE “F” WORD

 What do you think of when you hear the word

“feminist”?

 Come on, be honest here!

WHAT FEMINISM STANDS

FOR

Many of you probably came up with words such as:

butch, lesbian, hairy, aggressive, ugly, etc.

 Despite the negative connotations that have

successfully been projected by the media and

opposition to equality, feminism in the most basic
sense is about:

 Women and girl’s self-determination, free from

discrimination

WHAT FEMINISM ALSO STANDS

FOR

 Ideology about how men and women should be
must change (i.e. we should not ridicule boys who
cry or are “effiminate” but allow all humans to
reach their potential

 Gender division of labor needs to change (i.e. a
man should not have to be suspect of being a child
molester because he wants to work in child care)

 Violence against women must stop (we will discuss
this in depth later)

 Women should have autonomous control over their
bodies, sexuality and reproduction (birth control
measures and not have to be subjected to the
sexual double standard)

FIRST WAVE FEMINISM: 1860-1960

 Goals originally focused on abolition (ending slavery) and
granting women rights to inheritance, property, education
and legal rights.

 Mainly consisted of suffragists, women fighting for the right to
vote in the U.S. It was hotly contested and the belief at the
time was women were not intellectually fit to vote, it was their
husbands duty to make voting decisions for them and that
women had no place in politics or the public world. Also,
since most laws prohibited women from owning property or
from basic rights, voting was seen as a direct threat on
patriarchy, however was couched in the women’s “proper
place” being in the home.

 Women were imprisoned, harassed, beaten, ridiculed and
scorned fighting for this basic civil right and in1920 with the
19th ammendment won the right to vote is not even 100 years
ago!

SECOND-WAVE FEMINISM:

1960’S-1990’S

 The most visible, well-known and controversial women’s

movement

 As women fought with others to gain civil rights for blacks and minorities, the
second-wave feminist movement emerged with women fighting for rights that
still were not granted in the constitution nor in society.

 The basic premise was representation in government, access to health care
(including reproductive rights such as birth control pills), education (nearly all
elite institutions barred women from entry), access to jobs other than being
secretaries and teachers, the right to not have to quite or be fired from your job
if you were pregnant, general discrimination and to end the rampant, and
often legal, violence against women, in particular domestic violence (the first
sweeping national legislation against this did not occur in the Violence Against
Women Act was signed by President Clinton.

 The movement also sought to make workplace conditions better, enact laws
regarding equal access to sports and the legal system, create laws against
sexual harrasement and institute education that included women’s
experiences.

 The feminist movement was heavily scrutinized in the media and politically, and
mischaracterized as trying to take over men and society rather than the truth,
of fighting for basic rights.

THIRD-WAVE FEMINISM:1990’S-

PRESENT

 As some of the basic goals of the 2nd wave women’s were met, it was clear
that many women’s voice were left out and did not involve the experience
of all women. It was criticized for being mainly white, middle class women
who often focused on only economic issues such as careers and politics.

 The movement has focused on access to reproductive health that has
been chipped away at, mobilizing behind equal pay for equal work, access
to all jobs including top level executive positions, educational parity and
equity, issues like Title IX that was created in 1972 but was never enforced.

 The 3rd wave also has looked at issues such as poverty, race, class and
sexuality and how they intersect to impact women’s lives in particular ways.

 Access to affordable child care, paid family leave, health care and
workplace discrimination.

 Focusing on the rampant sexual and physical violence against women (and
may more things we will learn about in this class)!

 The movement has been criticized for being no longer relevant “everything
is equal, right?” or as associated with radicals, in effect making the issues
seem fringe or unimportant.

MAIN STREAM FEMINIST THEORY

 The theory looks at attempting to minimize our
perceptions of gender differences because a basic
argument historically (and even currently) has been
that sexism results from belief that men and women
are biologically different and hence not able to be
equal in terms of intellect and other areas and thus
institutional and social discrimination is innate and
normal.

 The though is by minimizing stereotypes about men
and women laws and society need to change.

 These theories tend to look at structural and
institutional changes (i.e. the fight for equality) and
look at patriarchy (father/male rule structures).

COMMON CRITIQUE OF THEORY

 Ignores some of the inherent difference such as
reproductive capacity and in doing so may enact
laws that do not protect women when they are
pregnant, etc.

 Ignores intersectionality (that race, class, gender,
ability, nationality and sexuality all change women’s
experiences

 Ignores that sexism and sexist ideals and beliefs about
men and women also hurt men (such as reducing
them down to solely economic earners and little
more)

 Because women didn’t build the institutions and laws
they are trying to change or adapt, access is difficult
but many of them work for the early 19th century but
not lives of women (and men) today.

INTERSECTIONAL AND

MULTICULTURAL FEMINISM

 Looks at the idea that gender should be viewed

through the lens of how our lives intersect. In

particular how race, sexuality and class as

women of color have a different relationship to

white men and men of color than white women.

 Women of color ignored in the women’s

movement

 Focus to fight racism and sexism

 Not very contended or critiqued

SOCIALIST OR MARXIST FEMINISM

 The belief that sexism is rooted in capitalism and

patriarchy.

 Focuses on women’s role and participation in the

global economy and the way to liberation.

 Critique- It is considered a “fringe” theory and is

limited in focus on solely economics as root to

equality, ignoring cultural aspects of sexism and

misogyny.

RADICAL FEMINISM

 Mainly focused on eradicating patriarchal

systems of domination and oppression.

 Often focuses on alternative ways of living such

as women-centered communities.

CRITIQUE

 This is the most critiqued of all theories and wrongly is most
tied to “all feminists”.

 Critiques are that the theory often calls for separatist
ideals and identity politics. However, even this theory
does not focus on dominating men nor taking over
society and subjugating men to the discrimination
woman have faced and currently do.

 Alienates most women and men

 Has hurt the women’s movement and feminism

 How do you dismantle a patriarchy when it is embedded
in our customs (such as women changing their last names
and the use of Mrs. to denote a married women), culture
(that is infused with gender) and leadership systems.

TRANSNATIONAL FEMINISM OR

3RD WORLD FEMINISM

 Argues feminism is not inclusive and you must

look at where you live in the world and the

context of women’s lives.

 Focuses on global women’s issues, linking them

to local and domestic issues but considers how
oppression anywhere is oppression everywhere.

 Not much critique here, except limits domestic

focus and change.

“POPULAR” FEMINISM

 Argues feminism is no longer needed and that
feminism is defined as anything that makes a
woman feel good and powerful. This came about
in the late 1990’s and has manifested into things like
“girl power” or shirts that have catchy slogans but
don’t contextualize what is happening.

 Structurally nothing is being done with this
type of feminism as it doesn’t focus on
institutions or change.

 Accepts traditionally subordinate
roles/values as “resistance”.

Traditional Definition of Family

 Social unit of people related through marriage, birth,
or adoption who reside together in sanctioned
relationships

Contemporary Definition of Family

 Primary group of people—usually related by
ancestry, marriage, or adoption—who form a
cooperative economic unit and care for any young
who consider their identity to be attached to the
group

Extended and Nuclear Families

 Extended families are the whole network of
parents, children, and other relatives who form a
family unit.

 The nuclear family is comprised of one married
couple residing together with their children.

Diversity in U.S. Families

Family Structure by Race

Diversity Among Families

 Families today are smaller

 Childbearing and child rearing now occupy a smaller
fraction of the adult life of parents.

 Death has been replaced by divorce as the major
cause of early family disruption.

Diversity Among Families

 Married couples make up a smaller proportion of
households.

 Single parent households, post-childbearing couples,
gay and lesbian couples, and those without children
are increasingly common.

Female-headed Households

1/2 of all children can expect to live
with only one parent at some point in
their lives.

Numbers are growing due to:

Pregnancy among unmarried teens

High divorce rate

Births to Teenage Mothers

Female-headed Households

 Teen mothers are less likely to marry than in the
past.

 Social problems are caused by economic stress rather
than the absence of a husband.

 Single fathers tend to get more help than single
mothers.

Married Couple Families

 Men and women have different experiences within
marriage

 Increased participation of women in the paid labor
force.

The second shift

 Only 28% of married couples who both work full-
time share equally

 Women perform 7.5 more hours of housework a
week

The Second Shift

 2/3 of women say the amount of work they have to
get done during the day is a cause of stress.

 1/2 say that they feel resentment about how little
their mate helps around the house and about their
lack of free time.

Stepfamilies

 Blended families demand both parents and children
learn new roles.

 The lack of support systems cause stress resulting in
high probability of divorce.

Gay and Lesbian Households

 Less gender-stereotyped in household roles

 42% of people in the United States, believe gay

marriages should be recognized as valid.

 48% believe that civil unions between gays should

be given the same rights.

Acceptance of Gay

Marriage

Singles

 Single people today are 28% of the population.

 Men and women are marrying at a later age.

 Being single no longer holds the same stigma it
once did, especially for women.

Marital Status of the U.S. Population

Cohabitation

 Cohabitation has become common among single
people.

 one-quarter of all children will at some time during
their childhood live in a family headed by a
cohabiting couple.

Marriage

 The values of partners, as well as the roles they
play, influence their experience of marriage.

 Among couples where both partners are employed,
only 28% share the housework equally.

 With the arrival of the first child, women increase
their housework and lessen their employment.

Divorce

 The United States leads the world in the number of
people who divorce.

 The marriage rate is 8.4 marriages per 1000 people
and the divorce rate, 4.0 per 1000 people.’

Marriage and Divorce Rates

Factors in Rise in Divorce Rate

 In earlier eras, people died younger, and the average
length of marriages was shorter.

 The cultural orientation toward individualism may
predispose people to terminate a marriage in which
they are unhappy.

Factors in Rise in Divorce Rate

 To people in unhappy marriages, divorce, though
painful and financially risky, can be a positive
option.

 The belief that couples should stay together for
their children is giving way to a belief that a
marriage with protracted conflict is more
detrimental to than divorce.

Family Violence

 The National Violence Against Women Office
estimates:

 25% of women will be raped, physically
assaulted, or stalked by an intimate partner in
their lifetime.

 22% experience physical assault

 7–10% are raped by intimates

 5% will be stalked by an intimate partner.

Families and Globalization

 Changes at the global level are producing
transnational families, families where at least one
parent lives and works in a different nation than the
children.

 Patterns of migration, war, and economic
development have a profound effect on the social
structure of families.

Families and Social Policy

 The family is often blamed for many social problems
the nation experiences.

 Social policies designed to assist families should
recognize the diversity of family forms and needs
and the interdependence of the family with other
social conditions and social institutions.

Number of Marriage Partners

 Polygamy multiple marriage partners.

 Polygyny, one man having more than one wife.

 Polyandry is the practice of a woman having more
than one husband.

 Monogamy is a sexually exclusive marriage with one
spouse.

Property and Descent

 Patrilineal- family lineage is traced through the
family of the father.

 Matrilineal- ancestry is traced through the mother.

 In bilateral- descent is traced both through the
father and the mother.

Place of Residence

 Patrilocal- after marriage, a woman is separated
from her own kinship group and resides with the
husband or his kinship group.

 Matrilocal- a woman continues to live with her
family of origin.

 Neolocal residence is the practice of the new
couple establishing their own residence.

Who Holds Power?

 A patriarchy is a society or group where men have
power over women.

 In a matriarchy women hold power.

 In egalitarian societies men and women share
power equally, are equally valued by all societal
members, have equal access to resources, and
share decision making.

Global Stratification

Measures of well-being reveal consequences of a global system of inequality:

life expectancy

infant mortality

access to health services

Human Poverty Index: Developing Countries
In developing countries, the following indicators are used:
% of people not expected to live to age 40
adult literacy rate
proportion of people lacking access to health services and safe water
% of children under 5 who are moderately or severely underweight

Human Poverty Index
Meant to indicate the degree of deprivation in 4 basic dimensions of human life:
A long and healthy life
Knowledge
Economic well-being
Social inclusion

The Rich and the Poor: A World View

Who Are the World’s Poor
79% of the world lives in poverty. However, women and children are the most likely to live in poverty both domestically and globally.
1 out of 2 children in the world lives in poverty.
70% of those that live on $1 a day or less are women.
Around 25,000 children die every DAY because they lack proper nutrition (UNICEF)

Who Are the World’s Poor?
Women constitute about 49% of the world’s population, perform 2/3 of all working hours, receive 1/10th of the income, and own less than 1% of the world’s wealth.
To read more about the global gender gap in wealth, income and other disparities go to this website: women moving millions

Consequences of Global Stratification: Gender
Around the world, women feel poverty more than men do.
Women in wealthier countries have better health and education than women in poorer countries.

Child Poverty in Wealthier Nations

Consequences of Global Stratification: Population
60% of people live in countries with an average income of less than $760/year.
The richest countries have only 15% of the world’s population.
As countries develop, fertility levels decrease and population growth levels off.

Consequences of Global Stratification: Health
High income countries have:
Lower childhood death rates.
Higher life expectancies.
Fewer children born underweight.
Clean water and adequate sanitation.

Consequences of Global Stratification: Education
In the richest nations, education and literacy are almost universal.
18% of the world’s nations have literacy rates below 50%.
Most of the worlds illiterate children are girls and women and girls are often denied access to education.
Here is an inspirational trailer for the film He Called Me Malala about Malala Yousafazi who won the Noble Peace prize at 17 for speaking out about the lack of education of girls globally.

No Where in the World Are Women Treated Equal To Men!
Honor Killings- Thousands of women and girls are murdered every year by their family to preserve the “honor” of the family typically in cases when the family doesn’t agree with the girl dating someone or she is raped. Follow this link to an NPR piece to listen to on Oscar Winning film on honor killings
If you have more time, I have provided this link to the first 40 minutes of the Oscar Winning film in the npr report.
Feticide and infanticide- the killing of female fetuses or babies due to the preference in highly patriarchal societies for male babies. The cultural and social pressures to produce a boy are often intense. It is estimated that there are 100 million girls currently simply because of these practices. Here is a video feticide in the Punjab region of India, where the ratio of men to women is one of the worst.

Other global issues (covered in the film on the discussion board)
Bride Burnings- women are burnt for insufficient dowry
Childhood Marriages- globally girls are married off very early
Widespread domestic violence and sexual assault

Human Trafficking in the U.S.

Please read this article from the Newsweek cover below entitled “Sex Slaves in America”: http
://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/13/sex-slaves-farm-304354.html

Sex Trade Videos: Just a few optional videos
Sex Slaves in America The rise of sex slaves

Georgia sex trade U.S. sex trafficking ring of women from southeast Asia

Global Stratification
¨
Measures of well
–
being reveal consequences
of a global system of inequality:
¤
life expectancy
¤
infant mortality
¤
access to health services

Women and Work: Paid

Employment
• There are many myths past and present

surrounding women and work.

• The longest standing myth has been that women
historically never worked.

• Throughout history, women have always been
engaged in paid and unpaid labor. Paid labor
did not look like it does now prior to the
industrial revolution.

Women and Work

• The industrial revolution created a need for outside
employment and thus a division of inside/outside work
emerged. Prior to this, much like agrarian or rural
societies today, women’s labor was as important as
men’s.

• Women of color and poor women were central to the
cheap labor outside the home during this period.

• Follow this link and read about the industrial revolution
and women.

https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/industry/1.htm

Women and Work

• Social class became a defining factor in work
prior to the 1950’s. Working outside the home
for money was considered jobs for poorer
women.

• Women’s paid labor was in the most undesirable
or “service/care” sector jobs (such as
housekeepers, clerical, sewing in factories, etc.)

• These jobs were also the lowest paid (and in fact
still are today)

Women and Work

• Because socially and institutionally women were seen as
“weak” and mentally “inferior” they were barred from
many professions and prestigious institutions of
education or post-graduate education that would allow
them to enter certain

fields.

• For instance, it wasn’t until 1977 that all Ivy league
colleges admitted women. Prior to that women had
separate colleges, such as Radcliffe at Harvard, or they
were denied admission.

• The reasoning was they were intellectually not weak.

Women, War and Work

• WWII changed the number and types of work women
did since there were very few men to do the jobs typically
occupied by them.

• The government created propaganda campaigns to get
women to enter the work force and take jobs they
traditionally did not do or were told they were too weak
to too (like factory production).

• It was framed as their patriotic duty.

• Listen to an example of a popular song from that time
here: Rosie the Riverter Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55NCElsbjeQ

Below are a few more government propaganda

images put out by the government to encourage

women to work in jobs they were traditionally

barred from and told they physically were in

capable of doing. (first image shows women working in traditionally male dominated jobs
with the words: Women: There’s work to be done and a war to be won now! The second image shows a blue collar

man and woman with the words: “Good work sister, we never figured you could do a man-size job. America’s women

have met the test)

These images may be familiar to you. The one on the left was done by Norman Rockwell and

relates to the song you just heard and was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. The image

shows a woman, Rosie, very buff, confidant, with her tool, blues and eating a sandwich. It is an

image of strength and power and based on a real woman named Rosie. The image on the right is

the one we are more familiar as “Rosie the Riveter” with the empowerment slogan “We Can Do

It” and an image of a less muscular woman, but with her sleeves rolled up, flexing and looking

boldly at the viewer. It was a union production sign, not about women in war, but became an

icon of women’s empowerment in the 1990’s and is still enduring today.

After the War

• After the WWII, the government put out a new set of propaganda
campaigns to get the women “back into the home” and give the
“boys” their jobs back.

• Caring for the house and being domestic was framed as the natural
“womanly” thing to do, and again as a patriotic duty.

• It was during the 1950’s that our country saw the prominence of the
breadwinner/homemaker model (husband works and wife stays
home).

• Of course not all families met this model. Many women wanted to
work and others had to due to economic necessity.

• There were many women who did not want to leave their jobs and
found the work they did to be more satisfying than the jobs they had
previously occupied.

After the War

If you get the opportunity check out this

documentary that shows all of the actual

government footage of the campaigns

mentioned and interviews real life

women who were “Rosie The Riveters”.

(the image is the front cover of the documentary: The Life and Times of Rosie

the Riveter. Showing a group of men and woman emerging from work, dressed

the same in pants and shirts and hard hats)

Second Wave Feminism and Work

• In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, women began entering the
workforce in higher rates due to divorce rates rising (they actually
peaked in the U.S. in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and have been
relatively stable since despite our perceptions. We will look at this
more next week).

• Some women felt constricted by the cultural expectations of getting
married after high school and having children that the 1950’s model
dictated.

Second Wave Feminism and Work

• Women who were in the work force faced discrimination in pay,
promotions, jobs they could do and from their male coworkers.

• They were also looked down upon by their female peers and society
as well. Especially, if they had children and worked.

• Debates about the appropriateness of women with children working
were prominent and many women were still forced out.

• Women were blatantly discriminated against in being barred from
jobs and being fired or forced to leave upon marriage or pregnancy.

• Married and divorced women at this time were unable to get car
loans, credit cards and even bank accounts in their names.

Second Wave Feminism and Work

• Feminist began challenging these discriminatory practices.

• The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were
signed to give protections based on gender.

• It has taken decades for cultural attitudes and actual practice to
catch up with the laws.

• In the 1970’s and 1980’s cultural attitudes were highly negative
about equal pay and protections for women and many campaigns
were set forth to frame feminists or women wanting equal pay and
rights as man hating women who want to destroy the family.

• This is where many of the misconceptions about feminism have
stemmed from and the anti-equality campaigns have been in some
measure successful because these ideals about feminism still hold to
some extent today.

Women and Work Today

• Today, legally, women have no legal constraints
barring them from any type of employment or
education.

• Women are in near equal numbers in the work
force and occupy jobs in nearly all industries.

• Women enroll in college in higher rates than
men.

But it is not all good news….

• Women still tend to occupy the lower paying,
lower prestige jobs.

• Work in America is highly segregated.

• See graph on next slide.

Gender Segregation in Jobs: Notice the higher paying jobs tend to be

occupied by men and the “caring” type jobs typically occupied by

women are lower payed. Even though there are no laws barring

women from any of these jobs, industries like construction,

mechanics and even chefs culturally discourage women, are often

hostile towards them and are still perceived as “men’s” work.

Explanations Of Gender Segregation

• Women and men are socialized
differently and choose to go into different

fields.

• Structural obstacles discourage women
from entering male-dominated jobs and

from advancing once employed.

Work Itself is Gendered

The work environment itself often replicates
gendered expectations. Both men and women
have different experiences such as :

• Stereotypical expectations- women are often asked to take notes in
meetings or make coffee (Kanter-Moss)

• Interpersonal relationships- activities off the clock such as golfing or
going to strip clubs (think Wolves of Wall Street here) are gendered
as are the relationships built.

• Different placement of men and women in hierarchies of
institutions- both in pay an in positions

Women’s Worth: Still Unequal

• In the 1960s, women earned 59% of what men
earned.

• Women today earn on average 78% of what men
earn. However, this is mitigated by factors of
race and education.

• For full-time, same position, same education
and same-time on the job women make about
92% of a man’s earnings.

Double Jeopardy: Race and Gender

And why are so many women going to college? Four years after

college, in the same profession and same time on job woman make

less than their male counterparts across the board!

Explaining the Pay Gap

• Overt discrimination

▫ Men often perpetuate their advantage over women and racial
minorities, through labor union practices, legislation,
harassment, and intimidation.

• Human capital theory

▫ Age, experience, education, marital status and hours worked
influence worth in the labor market.

• Dual labor market theory

▫ Women and men earn different amounts because they work in
different segments of the market.

• Gender segregation

▫ Men and women work in gender segregated occupations.

Explaining the Pay Gap

• Next week will explore the connection of families
and gender roles and how this affects work.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OR
GENDERED VIOLENCE (FIRST IMAGE IS A HAND WITH “STOP THE VIOLENCE” SECOND
IMAGE IS AN IMAGE OF A MAN SHOOTING A WOMAN THE WORD “BITCH” ON IT. IT WAS A COMMON T-SHIRT STYLE FOR THE COMPANY
“BITCH SKATEBOARDS” AND ILLUSTRATES HOW WE NORMALIZE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. )

WHAT IS GENDERED VIOLENCE?

• AGGRESSION TARGETED TOWARDS A SPECIFIC GENDER, SPECIFICALLY
WOMEN.

• DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL
ASSAULT AND AGGRESSION ARE WOMEN.

• VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OR GENDERED VIOLENCE ARE INTERCHANGEABLE
TERMS.

SEXUAL ASSAULT IN U.S.

• 1 IN 6 WOMEN AND 1 IN 33 MEN WILL BE ASSAULTED IN THEIR LIFETIME.

SEE THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE DATA ON ASSAULTS;

HTTPS://WWW.RAINN.ORG/GET-INFORMATION/STATISTICS/FREQUENCY-OF-SEXUAL-ASSAULT

• RAPE CAN HAPPEN AT ANY AGE, I USED TO VOLUNTEER IN THE HOSPITAL WHEN VICTIMS WOULD ARRIVE AFTER
AN ASSAULT FOR A RAPE KIT AND I HAVE WORKED WITH SURVIVORS AS YOUNG AS 5 (1/3 OF JUVENILE RAPES

ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 6) AND AS OLD AS 80. HOWEVER, 80% OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS OCCUR TO WOMEN

UNDER 30.

• WOMEN AGES 16-19 ARE FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION OF BEING ASSAULTED.

• USE THE WEB ADDRESS BELOW TO SEE WHO VICTIMS ARE:

HTTPS://WWW.RAINN.ORG/GET-INFORMATION/STATISTICS/SEXUAL-ASSAULT-VICTIMS

https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/frequency-of-sexual-assault

https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims

SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE U.S.

• YOUTH OR PERCEIVED BEAUTY IS NOT A REASON YOUNGER WOMEN ARE AT GREATER RISK OF
ASSAULT.

• TYPICALLY YOUNGER WOMEN ARE IN SITUATIONS THAT MAKE ATTACKS MORE COMMON SUCH AS
FAMILY MEMBERS OR INDIVIDUALS IN THE HOME, DATING SITUATIONS, PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF

POWER OVER YOUNG WOMAN, HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS SUCH AS DRINKING/PARTIES, FEAR OF

TELLING PARENTS OR POLICE DUE TO RETRIBUTION BY ATTACKER AT SCHOOL OR THEY’LL GET IN

TROUBLE BY THEIR PARENTS

• YOUNGER MEN ARE MORE OFTEN ATTACKERS MAKING YOUNGER WOMEN MORE AT RISK.
• GO TO THIS LINK AND EXPLORE MORE ABOUT VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS: HTTPS://WWW.RAINN.ORG/GET-

INFORMATION/STATISTICS/SEXUAL-ASSAULT-OFFENDERS

https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-offenders

FORMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

SEXUAL HARASSMENT- INTENSE AND REPEATED SEXUAL HARASSMENT

TOUCHING- UNWANTED TOUCHING, GROPING, ETC.

SEXUAL ASSAULT- GROPING, TOUCHING, NON-VAGINAL/ANAL PENETRATION

RAPE- VAGINAL AND/OR ANAL PENETRATION

MOLESTATION- ANY FORM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT TO A MINOR

FORMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
DATE RAPE- RAPE IN A DATING SITUATION

GANG RAPE- MORE THAN ONE ATTACKER

SPOUSAL RAPE- SPOUSE RAPES A SPOUSE (IT BECAME ILLEGAL IN ALL 50

STATES IN 1993. SEE: HTTP://TIME.COM/3975175/SPOUSAL-RAPE-CASE-

HISTORY/

CONVERSION RAPE- RAPE DONE TO “CONVERT” THE VICTIM FROM THEIR

PERCEIVED OR ACTUAL SEXUAL ORIENTATION

* 4 OUT OF 10 RAPES HAPPEN IN A VICTIMS HOME AND 2/3 OF RAPES OCCUR BY

SOMEONE THE VICTIM KNOWS.

http://time.com/3975175/spousal-rape-case-history/

SEXUAL ASSAULT IS ABOUT FORMS OF
POWER

• POWER- SEXUAL ASSAULT IS MORE ABOUT POWER AND LESS
ABOUT SEX. TO SEXUALLY VIOLATE SOMEONE IS A WAY IN

WHICH ONE CAN USE POWER. IT CAN INVOLVE INTIMIDATION

AND HUMILIATION, BUT COERCION IS A MAIN COMPONENT IN

DATE

RAPE.

• CONTROL- WHETHER IT BE COERCIVE USE OF CONTROL AND
INFLUENCE SUCH AS IN DATE RAPE OR PHYSICAL CONTROL,

CONTROL IS USED IN SEXUAL ABUSE

BARRIERS TO JUSTICE

• RE-TRAUMATIZED- THE PROCESS OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT KIT, BEING
INTERVIEWED AND RELIVING THE HORRORS TO STRANGERS IS OFTEN

TRAUMATIZING

• FEAR OF NOT BEING BELIEVED- BECAUSE OF THE VAST AMOUNT OF “RAPE
MYTHS” IN OUR CULTURE, MANY VICTIMS FEAR THAT THEY WILL NOT

BE BELIEVED OR EVEN BE BLAMED

• LOW PROSECUTION- THE AMOUNT OF ASSAULTS THAT ARE REPORTED IS
LOW AND THE PROSECUTION OF THEM EVEN LOWER. SEE NEXT SLIDE.

BARRIERS TO JUSTICE

BUT AREN’T THERE FALSE REPORTS?

• THE RANGE OF FALSE REPORTING IS VERY SMALL, BETWEEN 2-8%, AND
ACCORDING TO THE FBI IT IS 3%, THE RATE FOR ALL FALSE REPORTS OF

CRIMES.

• (FALSE REPORTS: MOVING BEYOND THE ISSUE TO SUCCESSFULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE NON-STRANGER SEXUAL ASSAULT).

• BY FOCUSING ON THE VERY RARE FALSE REPORTS, IT PUTS THE BLAME
BACK ON THE VICTIM AND MAKES IT THEIR BURDEN TO “PROVE” THE

RAPE.

RAPE CULTURE AND CULTURAL
ATTITUDES

• BLAME THE VICTIM- THE QUESTION IN ALMOST NEVER, WHY DO PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY MEN, RAPE, BUT
WHAT WAS THE VICTIM DOING.

• WE DON’T ASK THIS QUESTION WHEN SOMEONE IS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER AT 2:00 A.M. BUT IT IS ALMOST
ALWAYS A QUESTION IN SEXUAL ASSAULT.

• ACCEPT RAPE MYTHS- PERPETUATING AND ACCEPTING MYTHS SUCH AS WOMEN CAUSE MEN TO RAPE BY
THEIR CLOTHES, DANCING, BEING PROVOCATIVE, ETC.

• WHAT SOMEONE WEARS, DOES, FLIRTS, ETC. DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE RAPE. THE BLAME IS ON THE
PERPETRATOR.

RAPE CULTURE AND CULTURAL
ATTITUDES

•MAKE TALKING ABOUT RAPE DIFFICULT OR TRIVIALIZE
IT- MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE GLAMORIZES AND
MIXES THE LINE BETWEEN SEX AND RAPE FREQUENTLY
AND IS USED GRATUITOUSLY IN MANY CASES.

•THE MEDIA ALSO FOCUSES ON VICTIM BLAMING AND
MYTHS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT.

RAPE CULTURE AND CULTURAL
ATTITUDES

Glamorize violence against women- these
are images, mainly from the media, like the one above of a

simulated gang rape that was an ad by Calvin Klien for

men’s jeans.

Warning Some of These “Ads” May Cause Triggers:
Use this link to view more “ads” that use violence against women

in the form of sexual assault and domestic violence to sell

products.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=media images of violence against women&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

SEXUAL ASSAULT GLOBALLY
• NOT A UNIVERSAL PHENOMENA- SEXUAL ASSAULT DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ALL

SOCIETIES AND PLACES ON THE PLANET TODAY OR HISTORICALLY (EX. NAVAJO TRIBES HAD

NO SEXUAL ASSAULT UNTIL SETTLERS “RECONDITIONED” THE PRECEIVED “FEMININE”

NATIVES TO BE MORE MASCULINE AND PATRIARCHAL).

• HIGH LEVEL OF PATRIARCHY HIGHER SEXUAL ASSAULT- THE HIGHER
LEVEL OF PATRIARCHY A SOCIETY HAS AND THE LESS WOMEN’S RIGHTS, THE HIGHER LEVEL

OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. FOR INSTANCE, IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS YEMEN AND IRAQ THE

PRACTICE OF HONOR KILLINGS IS STILL A FORM OF JUSTICE IN SOME RURAL COMMUNITIES.

IF A WOMAN IS RAPED, SHE IS MURDERED FOR DISGRACING THE FAMILY. PROSECUTION OF

SEXUAL ASSAULT IS EITHER NON-EXISTENT OR IF ON THE LAW BOOKS, IT DOESN’T OCCUR.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Leading Cause of Injury to Women

Domestic Violence accounts for

more injuries towards women than

car accidents, non-intimate violent

crime and all other types of crime

combined.
(Image of bruised woman with mouth being covered to

denote silence.)

SHOCKING FACT:

• A WOMAN IS MORE LIKELY TO BE KILLED BY HER INTIMATE PARTNER
THAN BY ANY OTHER PERSON!

• WE ARE TAUGHT AS WOMEN TO FEAR THE PREDATOR STRANGER AND
YET THE NUMBER ONE RISK FACTOR FOR BEING MURDERED ARE THE

MEN WE ARE INTIMATE WITH.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON STATS GO TO:

HTTP://WWW.NCADV.ORG/LEARN/STATISTICS

http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics

TYPES OF ABUSE

• PHYSICAL- GRABBING, SHAKING, HITTING, SHOVING,
SLAPPING, KICKING, BITING, PUNCHING, SPITTING,
CHOKING, ETC.

• VERBAL- THE USE OF LANGUAGE, MOST OFTEN NAME
CALLING AND VERBAL THREATS OF VIOLENCE

• PSYCHOLOGICAL- INTIMIDATION TACTICS USED TO BREAK
DOWN THE VICTIM, OFTEN GETTING THE VICTIM TO THINK
THEY ARE CRAZY AND THE PROBLEM IS THEIRS

• FINANCIAL- WITHHOLDING MONEY, PREVENTING THE
VICTIM FROM GETTING A JOB OR EDUCATION

WHY DON’T THEY LEAVE?

• FEAR- LEAVING AN ABUSER IS THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME IN THE
RELATIONSHIP

• CONFUSION- HOW CAN SOMEONE YOU LOVE AND IS SO NICE MOST OF TIME
ACT LIKE THIS?

• FINANCIAL- NO MONEY OR SKILLS

• NO PLACE TO GO- NO FAMILY TO TURN TO OR YOU MAY PUT YOUR FAMILY IN
DANGER AND NO MONEY TO GO ANYWHERE

WHY DON’T THEY LEAVE

• CHILDREN- AS BAD AS ABUSE IS, THERE IS STILL A STRONG CULTURAL AND
FAMILIAL PRESSURE TO KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER. THE GUILT OF TAKING

CHILDREN AWAY FROM THEIR FATHERS IS OFTEN EXTREME. KIDS ALSO HAVE

TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES, FRIENDS AND SCHOOLS– EVERYTHING FAMILIAR

WHY DON’T THEY LEAVE

• CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES- OFTEN SUPPORT
“STICKING IT OUT” AND DON’T BELIEVE IN DIVORCE

• THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AS A
SERIOUS ISSUE IS A RECENT PHENOMENA. THE FIRST
BATTERED WOMEN’S SHELTER IN THE U.S. OPENED IN 1974
BUT DID NOT OCCUR NATION WIDE UNTIL THE LATE 80’S
WHEN LAWS BEGAN TO BE FORMED TO CRACK DOWN ON
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

• THERE ARE STILL MORE ANIMAL SHELTERS IN THE U.S. THAN
BATTERED WOMEN’S SHELTERS

RED FLAGS- THINGS TO INDICATE YOU
MAY BE IN A POTENTIALLY VIOLENT
RELATIONSHIP

• POSSESSIVE- OF YOU AND YOUR TIME
• JEALOUS- OF YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, PHONE CALLS, SOCIAL MEDIA
• MONITORS YOU- HAS TO HAVE ALL YOUR TIME ACCOUNTED FOR AND WITH WHOM
• ISOLATES YOU- DOESN’T WANT YOU TO BE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND/OR FAMILY
• DEROGATORY ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN
• DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
• CRUELTY TOWARDS ANIMALS

RESOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
OR IF YOU NEED HELP:
HTTP://WWW.VICTIMSOFCRIME.ORG

• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
HTTP://WWW.LAURASHOUSE.ORG/

• SEXUAL ASSAULT:
HTTP://WWW.CSPINC.ORG/SEXUAL%20ASSAULT

Home

http://www.laurashouse.org/

http://www.cspinc.org/Sexual Assault

Body, Beauty and the Media

This week’s lecture will have a lot of links and images to explore. As a

graduate student I focused a great deal on body scholarship and my master’s

thesis was a qualitative study (doing interviews and field observations) on

adolescent girl’s and body image.

What I found in my research was that beauty and body ideals are passed

down often from mother’s to their daughters. I relate this to the idea of

social capital (women are still heavily judged on their looks despite other

success and mother’s are often acutely aware of this and want the best for

their daughter’s, often resulting in body pressures).

The focus is mainly on women here, as most of the research has been done

on women and scholars argue that women, more than men, are scrutinized

and judged on their looks beyond anything else.

Prof. Cubbage

Social Construction of Beauty and

Body

 What is beautiful is constantly changing.

 Cultural standards of beauty and body has change

throughout time- The average woman is 5’4 and 145

pounds (a size 14); the average model today is 5’11 and

115 pounds (about a 0-2); the average model in the 80’s

were 5’7 and 135-145 (5-7)

 Beauty is culturally situated: it varies from time to time,

place to place and location to location. View the photos

below to see some examples!

Victorian Era (Image of two women from Victorian era
with tiny waists form corsets.)

1920’s (Image of two 1920’s flappers in era clothes, showing short hair styles
and bound, flattened chests indicating beauty changes to a more “boyish figure).

1930’s (Image of woman in bathing suit, illustrating a change to a more

“shapely” figure)

1950’s (image of Marylin Monore to illustrate changing body
types to more curves)

1960’s (image of Twiggy to show the dramatic change in body
ideals from the curvy 50’s to the very thin and no curves 60’s)

1970’s (Image of Farah Fawcett to illustrate the return to curvy,
especially breasts and a tan body)

1980’s (image of Cindy Crawford to illustrate the muscular
ideal of the late 1980’s)

1990’s (Image of Kate Moss to illustrate top models of the 90’s
went back to very slim figure, breasts not important)

1950 and 2014 Miss America (Images of two
women from the same pageant illustrating radically different body ideals: the 50’s has a

formula and the figure was heavier, the 2014 illustrates very tall, slim and less hips)

1990’s- the average model weighed 8% less than the

average woman. The image above illustrates this ideal

with 4 of the first “supermodels”

Today- the average models weighs 23% less. The second

image illustrates this ideal.

Changing Weights: Ideals vs. Reality

 1980- the average woman was 5’3” and

140 pounds while the average model was

5’7” and 125-130 pounds

 Today- the average woman is 5’4” and 164

pounds while the average model is 5’11

and 115 pounds.

What Role Does The Media Play?

 We are constantly exposed to ads and

media. Here is an example from,

ironically, an ad from Dove:

 Portrays idealized images of beauty that

are used to sell products and prey on

insecurities.

“Un-real” Beauty and Media

 Although images of beauty have constantly been
changing and women throughout time have found it
difficult to conform to societal standards, the advent of
photo shop has often lead to distorting what a celebrity,
model or “real woman” looks like.

 Here is a good example of this: “Body Makeover”

Consequences

 Repeated exposure to unattainable ideals

of beauty is related to high levels of body

dissatisfaction.

 Self objectification leads to lower levels of

self efficacy.

Consequences

 The pressures we face to be thin are seen younger and

younger in child:

 Girl’s as young as kindergarten report restricting

calories

 50-75% of adolescent girls are on a diet

 80% of 10 year olds report dieting

 90% of those with anorexia are 12-25

Body Theory- Marcia Millman

 Gender specific body pressures- men have body pressures too but

they are very much focused and pointed towards women. A case in

point is I tried to find good photoshopping videos of men for this

lecture and most that I found were parodies of the “horrors” of

photo shopping. Suggesting men can internalize the messages

about their bodies or not but their success in the financial and

social world in not contingent on their looks.

 She argues in our culture femininity = thinness

 Girl’s and women are judged on their bodies in ways boys/men are

not.

Body Theory- Susan Bordo

 Body as commodity- meaning a woman’s worth is

measured by her body/beauty and this serves as a

mechanism of control as women spend a great deal of

time, energy and money on conforming to cultural

standards of beauty that are always changing. If we take

weight, numbers or measurements (as in the previous

slide) we can see how these are used as a yard stick of

control.

Body as Commodity

 A great deal of time, money and energy is

put into the body. In particular women,

are the largest market for all beauty

goods, products and services.

 The average middle class women will have

spent over $150,000 on just beauty

products, nails and hair by the time she is

65!

Bulimia and

Anorexia Nervosa

 70 million cases of anorexia worldwide but 24 million,

nearly a 1/3, are in U.S.

 11% of high school girls and 4% of women in college

suffer from Anorexia

 50,000 women and girls will die from anorexia

Body Dissatisfaction, Disordered Eating

and Eating Disorders

 Over valuing ones looks, internalizing

cultural beauty ideals and media

exposure.

 Disordered eating such as fasting, purging,

binging and excessive exercise are also

contributing factors.

Bulimia

 Binging and purging of food

 Use of laxatives, diet pills and diuretics

 Extreme exercising

Affects of Bulimia

Anorexia Nervosa

 Severe restriction of calories and food,

often resulting in starvation

 Can be coupled with use of extreme

work outs, diuretics, diet pills, etc.

Consequences

 Abnormally slow heart rate and low blood
pressure

 Reduction of bone

 Muscle loss and weakness.

 Severe dehydration, which can result in
kidney failure.

 Fainting, fatigue, and overall weakness.

 Dry hair and skin; hair loss is common.

 Growth of a downy layer of hair called
lanugo

What you can do!

 Limit your exposure to unrealistic media
images.

 Remind yourself many of the images you
see in the media do not portray reality.

 Avoid negative self talk.

 Focus on your positive qualities.

 Write media outlets for change.

 Seek the help of a professional.

This weeks lecture is about sexuality. We

will explore some of the historical views

of female sexuality and feminist

approaches to sexuality. We will pay

particular attention to the sexual double

standard and look at sexual orientation.

Women were viewed as solely for the

pleasure of men and for reproducing.

Women were not given autonomy for

protection or agency over sexuality

creating many negative consequences:

unwanted pregnancy, STD’s and

unwanted sexual relations.

 “No woman can call herself free who does not control
her own body.” Margaret Sanger

 The first U.S. birth control clinic, Planned Parenthood, was opened by
Margaret Sanger. She coined the term birth control and opened the clinic
to help married women try to family plan. She had witnessed too many
women and babies die from botched abortions, too many pregnancies
and child birth and was motivated to empower women to space the births
of their children and control their bodies.

http://www.nndb.com/people/896/000031803/

http://www.nndb.com/people/896/000031803/

In 1965, married couples were granted the
right to access birth control pills (BCP) (with
written consent of your husband in many
states).

In 1972, the Supreme Court case (Baird v.
Eisenstadt) legalized the BCP for all women in
the U.S. Women denied the morning after
and BCP.

In 1973, Roe v. Wade overturned the U.S. ban
on abortions.

Control over family planning and BCP

has been a heated topic as you can see

from the previous slides. Many feminist

scholars argue that the fight over

reproductive is a larger fight over

women’s autonomy (Baumgardner and

Rich, MacKinnon). Not just her body but

in her life as a whole.

 Despite the wide availability of BCP, many employers have clauses that
prevent their workers from obtaining BCP with their insurance. This is a
hot topic in modern politics today.

 In 2012, President Obama overturned legislation that allows pharmacists
the ability to deny women BCP, the morning after pill and other forms of
birth control. Yes, I said 2012! Prior to this, based on a morality clause
pharmacists could deny women access to birth control.

 2013 the morning after pill is made available over the counter
without a prescription.

 For more information on this, go the following link:

 http://www.radioproject.org/2013/10/plan-b-
and-beyond-local-struggles-for-reproductive-
freedom/

Moving on from the history of birth

control as intertwined with sexuality, the

sexual double standard has been another

pervasive and strong way in which to

control women’s sexuality.

Many of the sexual double standards are

based on binaries of what it means to be

a man or a woman (and the “right” or

“wrong” kind of woman:

Jezebel/virgin (i.e. bad women vs. good)

Stud/whore (men vs. women)

Power/passivity (men/women)

Agency/complicity (men/women)

• Today in the media and real life cases, we see

examples of the sexual double standard and

“slut shaming” (shaming women for their

perceived or real sexual acts). This is a

pervasive tool in trying to keep sexuality in line.

• The double bind seems to be a woman is called

a prude (or other choice words) if she is not

sexually active, she’s a slut if she is!

• There are many harmful portrayals and cultural

expectations for men to be sexually prolific and

aggressive. This has often resulted in shaming

of men who don’t exhibit these traits (perceived

or real), questioning their masculinity and

reports of men having unfulfilled sexual

experiences due to social pressures.

 Increasingly the use of pornographic images is
becoming the norm in advertising and popular culture

 Pornography and pornographic images are more
“mainstream” than taboo as in past

 This has been linked to lower attitudes about women
and an increased acceptance of violence against
women as mainstream. New research is emerging that
young men are now reporting erctile dysfunction (ED)
related to porn usage. They report ED when with a real
woman and not while watching porn.

Sexuality is the experience and

expression of ourselves as sexual beings.

The sexual revolution and women’s

movement encouraged women to learn

about their anatomy and their

pleasure/desire

Sexual orientation- emotional and sexual

attraction.

Gender Identity- Concept of self as male

or female.

Sexual behavior- romantic and sexual

actions.

Heterosexuals- refers to opposite sex

attractions and partners

Homosexual- same sex

Bi-sexual – both opposite sex and same

sex partnerships and attractions

Sexual identity/orientation- refers to

who you are sexually attracted to and

your sexual orientation

Sexual behavior- action or how you

physically express sex

Gender identity- how you think about

your gender

People globally and in the U.S. express

their sexual identity in a variety of ways

Heterosexist cultures like the U.S.

privilege heterosexually and make it the

“Norm” while all other sexualities are

pathologized and seen as abnormal