Rethinking Popular Culture & Media, pp. 120-128, 138-146 & 163-171
Question writers, please post your questions in the response area below. You are not required to answer your own question - only the questions written by other students.
This section is written by Lisa Espinosa, a third year teacher at a school whose enrollment consists of primarily Mexican students. In her classes she recognizes the need for her students to analyze gender and sexism. In your profession, (whether it be in education or not) do you often times witness similar bias happening on a regular basis?
In the business of public education, the advancement of women has probably come further than in many other profesions due to the historical role of women as teachers. In my own school, there are three female principals and two male and the superintendent and much of her support staff is female. Male coaches and their privileges are a different story! Ana what do you think about that? And by the way,are male art teachers asked to decorate for every school function? I would say that patriarchal infuence,even sexism, is still prevalent in the politics and the resulting decisions of the school board. Example - although we have one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted disease, teenage pregnancy, and child abuse in the US, we still have no classes in sex ed. As much as you would like to believe that this is the domain of the parents, parents in general have abandoned much of their role as adults to teach their children about personal responsibiity. It is the females who bear the brunt of this as the males are allowed to walk away with a shrug of their shoulders. That is sexism! If young women are ever to escape the chains of poverty, they must be educated in the life long implications of having babies in their teens and their legal rights. If the babies were at birth immediately transferred to the father and his family, we would have sex education in schools. Can you tell that this makes me furious!!! No one is brave enough to take it on. The facts have too many political implications. I have had more than one career - In another life, I worked in sales and marketing in the wine business. THere was a very high level of respect for women. I saw equal advancement and many times higher schievement by women than men. In still another life, the university system, women were definitely discriminated against because of the possibility of children. Having watched and supported the development of the womens liberation movement since the 70's, I am quite suprised at how little young women know of it or even consider where we are today.
My classes consist of 75% women who are over the age of 50, 15% of women 35-49 years, and 10% men of all ages. Discussions about gender roles, biases, and sexism are commonplace. Mostly, the discussions are openly hostile toward society's and the media's portrayals of women, their roles, and the expectations placed upon them.
Because I teach technique as my primary subject matter, I am able to participate in these discussions as a peer. Since I am "only" 47 years old, the women in their late 60's and early 70's, sometimes chastise me for complaining, lamenting that it was far worse for their generation of women. Many of the women who are over 65 years old share that they "have gotten over it," but in my opinion thy still seem very resentful. When these conversations occur, the younger women, who are under 40, seem to be oblivious to women's history, specifically the suffrage movement, the contribution of women during WWII, and the women's movement through to 60's and 70's. I'm shocked and dismayed that most of my female students under 40 do not know the names, Gloria Steinem, Anita Bryant, and Betty Freidan. They're not aware of what the ERA was about, and don't even know that the League of Women Voters is an organization. Is there no coverage of suffrage in high schools?
When discussions of this nature come up and male students are present, they seem to want to disappear and slide under the work table. Most of the guys just sit silently with a look on their faces of boredom. I can't say that I can blame them. It's not as though every man is responsible for years of inequities to women.
I know that we do this to ourselves. Regional differences, cultural differences, and religious differences, can confuse the roles of women, and based on upbringing, can heavily conflict with the media messages we receive. No wonder children are confused. I'm an adult and I too am confused.
In a recent discussion I had with a colleague I was told that it's women's own fault that they are not equal. I was stunned by HER comment. How could another women blame this situation on women? Her argument was that when we are offered less, we tend to accept it instead of walking away from the offer in it's entirety. We accept poor treatment, less money, mixed messages, etc. I was incensed at her position and did not want to accept it...ever. After thinking about her position for a long time, I realized that much of what she is saying is true. Men, will not "take up our cause" because it is not in their best interest. It's only until we, as women, as a united group, stand together and demand more, that we will get it. A country full of women may need to "strike" in order to gain the equality we deserve. We were close in 1979. Maybe it could happen again.
I cannot say that I have been able to see a similar bias in regards to sexism and gender issues in my daily life. Professionally (as a student) in the studio there seems to be a very level playing field and equal awareness amongst my peers. But that may just be a naive perspective I hold. I work along side several women who create work that exceeds others both conceptually and formally. But in this field people mostly respond to the work and develop their own interpretations of the concept, regardless of the artists gender. There have been critiques where gender roles are discussed in association with the piece. For instance a man or woman making a piece referencing phallic images or forms can be interpreted differently because of stereotypes. One piece made by a male student brought forth issues of sexuality and dominance, Questions like " Does the piece have homosexual connotations because it was mad by a male?", and vis versa "Would it be sexual if it was a female artist?" Im not sure if Im on the right track with this response.
A classroom full of high school students of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds always give one an interesting set of conversations to ease drop on. I find myself pointing out stereo types and discrimination ALL the time, but more often than not it's of race and not gender.
I find my students of color often have a set expectation of themselves and their actions based in large part by their ethnicity. I cannot count the number of times I have to call a Hispanic student out for saying "that’s how Mexicans do it." in reference to blowing off class or being disruptive. This gets under my skin on a personal level as a person of Hispanic background. I have at times corrected students grammar or behavior and been confronted with comments such as “Oh you want me to speak / act white?" Then I get to lecture the whole class about education being a trait that is in no way cornered by any one racial population and to act in such a way is to reinforce negative stereotypes. This kind of conversation usually takes place between myself and the male population, but isn’t limited to the boys. I have noticed in my 6 years in the classroom that my advanced classes are filled with a disproportionate amount of girls, and I feel the same our districts Art Department. Jennifer to answer your question about decorations, YES! I am always bombarded with requests to help paint backdrops for Theater, paint murals in the Trainers and Athletic Office, design logos for in-service, you name it. Gail as for your comments about your under 40 women being ignorant of Women’s Suffrage movements I can assure you this is touched on in History class. Unfortunately, like so many of the topics discussed in public education, many people retain very little of the gift of a free education. I have a history minor and find myself giving short lessons on just about every topic and time period in western civilization on a weekly basis, at least.
Both Daniel and Ana point towards the ways in which race, class and gender intersect in the U.S. For example, upper class white males rank at the topic of the socio-economic pecking order, while women of color rank at the bottom. Dark women of color from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti rank below American-born poor women of color. The darker one's skin, the lower one's rank in the U.S. social order. Darkness is compounded by migrant status.
White women of wealth rank near the top of the social order. The fact that there are, and always been, more white than black upper class women in the United States has been a point of discord and division within the Women's Movement since the mid-19th century.
I will say more about this tomorrow. To be continued....
Girls, Worms, and Body Image; A teacher deals with gender stereotypes among her second and third graders. p. 138 - 146.
This essay, written by Kate Lyman, is an account of teacher observations regarding children's views of self image, media treatment and stereotyping, and gender bias in the third grade classroom. In order to create awareness and identification of these issues in her students, Lyman develops activities to engage, enlighten, and inform her students of their own biases. At times she becomes frustrated and confused that her students are too entrenched in their biases, and thus oblivious to the issues. She also questions her own gender biases and views of gender roles. Eventually, through a number of activities, Lyman is able to reach the students and develop the awareness of gender issues.
How would you rate yourself in your ability to teach these concepts, and how would your own biases come into play? Does your region/ISD have cultural issues that make this difficult?
Wow Gail - Ouch! It hurts to be so honest with yourself! I am very well qualified to teach these concepts as I have lived with them for a long time, BUT have to be very careful of my biases as you can probably get from my previous ranting answer. I come from a strong conservative Christian upbringing, a Southern girl's upbringing. I was taught manners and social expectations from the time I made my entrance to the world. BUT my fraternal grandmother raised three sons alone, sent them all to college, opened her own business to keep them fed where she worked until she died, and was the first female to serve on the City Councll. My own mother worked side by side with my father in the business and its success depended on all of them - profits were shared. There was no difference in expectation of achievement for me as a female than my male cousins. My Dad cooked as much as my mother, washed dishes too. If she cooked, he washed up. He brought her flowers every week. He said to me every time I left, "Remember who you are," and asked if I wouldn't like to be an architect instead of an art teacher. He was a liberated man, a strong man who respected and loved strong women. I am who I am because of that. Most of my students, male and female, have NO knowledge of that kind of male role model. I have to tred softly in order not to offend because most simply do not understand a strong man encouraging women to be all that they can be. They are who they are because of the way they have been raised and you must be respectful of that upbringing even if you do not support it.
Our ISD is very much a southern conservative culture as I addressed in my previous answer and you have to be careful how you go about it.
I honestly don't know how well I would be able to teach gender issues. I believe I am capable of bringing some awareness to the issues. But, just like in the reading, I don't know how much can be done to change these things when the media and so many other influences in our culture cram the same stereotypes into our heads. As far as my own bias goes, I feel like the lists that the students made are disturbingly true in many fashions. But why? Because media and society portray and accept it without trying to change the overall view. Its frustrating that I can't seem to find the words to answer. After reading everyones responses Im trying to reflect at how my awareness of some of these gender biases seems inadequate.
Stephen, It's not uncommon for a man in your position to feel inadequate. As Gail noted, in her classes the men tend to stay very quiet and focused on their work while the middle-aged women have a great deal to say. It would be the same for a white person, for example, in a conversation with African Americans about racism. African Americans have a lot more to say on this topic because they experience racism on a daily basis while white people do not. One of the privileges of being white is not having to fully understand - or, as in some cases, not even believe in - the reality of racism.
One of the privileges of being male is not having to realize that sexism exists to the extent that it does - for women. However, by listening to women and not taking their criticisms personally (which they are not), you can learn a lot. And if you happen to be a straight man, this ability to understand what women go through in their lives can be a great asset in attracting (and holding onto) a mate. Women love and respect men who demonstrate awareness of, and sensitivity to, the social problems (such as poverty) that disproportionately affect women. This is a blanket statement - I am speaking in generalities, of course.
It's never a good strategy to say "why try?" because there is always something you can do. All of us are teachers, and all of us are learners, throughout our daily lives. Caring about the same issues that women care about is a big step in the right direction.
Take for instance the comments made by Missouri Congressman, Todd Aiken, about rape, pregnancy and abortion. This is an extreme example of male cluelessness. Aiken can afford to know little about rape and abortion because, after all, it doesn't affect HIM. It's just woman stuff - stuff that, as far as he knows, magically takes care of itself. Most women don't take kindly to this attitude.
Dr. E, I don't know if I would go so far as to say that white people don't experience racism. My wife is a white 28 year old with blonde hair and (beautiful) blue eyes. She steps into a classroom filled 15 year old Hispanic girls, as has often been the case, and she is quite frequently treated dramatically different than I am by the same demographic. I don't think that is a direct result off our gender difference.
I would also argue that it is far from a privilege to be a male and not have to worry about women’s issues. If a woman is unaware of discrimination and sexism she appears ignorant as Gail pointed out. If a man does the same he is quite often assumed to be insensitive to these same issues or worse. I am not saying it is a burden, I am arguing you can’t say it’s a privilege even if some treat it as such. To do so is to stereotype all men as unconcerned. I for one can speak of how I witnessed sex based bias from an early age, as I was raised by a single mother who worked extremely hard in the male dominated field of mechanical engineering.
I had the same experience as your wife when I was a married woman teaching in the same institution as my husband. About white people & racism, my point was that white people in the U.S. generally have the privilege of not knowing what racism really is, day in and day out. Note my emphasis on having privilege. Of course, most white people have an inkling of what it feels like to be discriminated against, as do men and women have an inkling of what it feels like to be one another. My simple point is that we cannot know how it feels to be someone else. For example, I cannot know the daily lived reality of being black. My limited experience with racial discrimination does not mean that I know, or ever could know, what it's like to be born black, poor and female in America. I have, however, taken time to listen and to read the carefully written accounts of women who lived this reality historically and are living it now.
My goodness, Jennifer. Do I detect the strains of a rant? No one around here goes off on rants, wink wink, nudge nudge.
In all seriousness, it is difficult to get to this point in our lives and not be angered by the continuing presence of sexism in the workplace and throughout society. I too am disturbed by the complacent attitude of many young women, who think feminism is a thing of the past. Where did they get that idea?
Women workers in the U.S. earn 76 cents to a man's dollar. Legislation was recently presented before Congress to remedy this situation (the Equal Pay Bill), but the bill was instantly rejected by the GOP Senate on grounds that "women earning more money would hurt the economy." This makes no sense at all, since study after study shows that women are not only the nation's primary consumers, women are also more responsible with money. More money for women means a stronger economy - at least that's what the research shows.
I based my comment on the body of research that came out in the wake of the hugely successful Grameen Bank system, which is now being implemented all over the world including the USA.
While I was familiar with the concepts involved in the microcredit movement, and have even looked at sites (Kiva.com) that help westerners facilitate these small loans and noticed the women’s groups get picked up more frequently than the men seeking loans, I had never delved into the details. After looking into some articles it looks like women in developing nations such as Bangladesh have higher repayment rates than men are more likely to blow money on booze. What a bunch of jerks. Admittedly I became defensive. It’s hard to hear a statement like that, even if it says more about men in the Islamic East then men in the west, and not feel like it is projected on yourself.
I was unaware of micro credit projects in the US. I will have to check it out!
First of all, sorry for being so late in replying to everyone's questions....I had such a busy week!!! As I've written before, my school is primarily Mexican whose parents are often times illegal immigrants or still in Mexico. My own family came from a similar background, but I did not experience it first hand like my own students have. My family came to the US a looooong time ago and I was raised by a strong-minded mother with no father figure until I was in middle school. Needless to say, I am a Hispanic that understands little Spanish. I can't say the same about my mom. My grandfather was a typical Mexican family man who raised three sons as hard workers and attempted to raise his only daughter to not get her degree, marry and raise a family like his own wife. Like I said, my mom blew that off and became a college graduate and raised her two daughters to do the same.
So like everyone else who responded to the question, I find myself a little hesitant and cautious when I come across gender bias in my classroom. These students are used to life as my mom lived it...not me. There are times when boys use terms like "female" when they talk about girls, and things like that upset me. I've ranted at them for using that term and the girls for letting it slide. But often times I wonder if it's the way they are raised or if it is the music they listen to that makes it "okay" to use those terms.
That would be a good song title. I have to admit that I too have to work hard to hold back my "enthusiasm" for certain social justice issues, especially those involving women, race and/or poverty in the U.S. When I first moved to W. TX, I had never experienced what you aptly call southern conservative culture. Unaware of this cultural reality, I ran into real problems at first, especially with undergraduate early childhood education majors. I really offended some students. So I've gradually learned to "tread lightly" as you say, and be aware that in some ways, I might as well be from Mars even though I grew up in Detroit. It was quite a challenge at first.
Save the Muslim Girl : pg. 120-129 The article by Ozlem Sensoy and Elizabeth Marshall examines a series of young adult fiction that profiles young Muslim girls as heroines fighting oppression in their native nations. The selected novels are written by white western women and bring about many questions about authenticity, bias, and stereotype from Sensoy and Marshall. At the onset of the article the authors state that novels can “best be used to teach about the common Western Stereotypes that are universalized in these books rather than to teach about Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Islamic cultures.” As the article moves forward do you sense the authors own basis come out or is the article a balance critique? Sensoy and Marshall also point out alternative narratives of Muslim women in the Arab world such as the Burqa as rebellion symbol and activist tool. Does this potentially undermine the arguments made about the mistreatment of women in nations with hardline Islamic Law?
While I can appreciate the intent of the authors, I was struck at how negative their viewpoint was. I agree that stereotyping is common in this type of fiction, but it might have been more effective to also examine the positive effects of these stories. Western girls lack exposure to their counterparts in the middle east, and I think that presenting them with positive stories about Muslim women is a wonderful first step in introducing girls to their peers in other cultures. With that said, it would be better if the characters were fully fleshed out as different from each other. Although I have not read any of these books in order to develop my own opinion, I'm pretty sure that the authors are not in collusion in a vast conspiracy to hoodwink western girls into believing the stereotypes.
My opinion may not be popular, but I think that viewpoint and perspective can be influenced by $$$$$$$$. This genre of books, just like many others i.e. the American Girls books, depends on a certain sameness in the storyline. Indian writers have been churning out cheesy western cowboy books for years and they sell well in that country, should we lament the stereotyping of the cowboy, pointing out that every cowboy is indeed different? Ok, this line of discussion might be making me look insensitive, which I am not. HMMMMM... I think that this discussion is valid. It is a good thing to have children reading with an eye on the authors intent.
To answer Daniel's question, I think that our "American/Western" values filter what we see as positive and negative. We view subjugation of anyone as wrong, no matter if it is accepted in other cultures. I believe that the portrayal of a Muslim female character wearing a Burqa as a rebellion, especially in a young adult book, would be seen as offensive to a large group of people, especially Muslin women. There are many American Muslin women who CHOOSE to wear head and/or face covering scarves for truly religious purposes. Do we view these women as oppressed? Some may assume that these women are forced by patriarchal family forces to wear the scarves, but that's just a projection of our western values onto others religious freedom.
Being a Jewish women in the bible belt of Texas, I am sometimes seen as either Barbara Steisand in Yentl, or Fran Dresher in the Nanny. Folks project the stereotypes onto me all the time. As Daniel remarked about his wife and her situation in the classroom, it really depends on the perspective of the audience.
We humans, no matter where we live on this planet, tend to herd with others like ourselves. When we encounter something/someone different we categorize them based on a number of external factors. It's human nature. These discussions help elevate us to a more evolved state! I love school! (What a nerd I am!)
Yes, I am working with a Saudi PhD student who is writing her dissertation on Islamic feminism. It's been very enlightening to read the literature on women's movements in Islamic countries. A lot is happening over there - the women are very resourceful and strong. I have my student to thank for revealing this knowledge.
I have to agree with Gail to some extent. These books do present a helpless character that needs saving, but at the same time they could still provide a good starting point for a discussion in the classroom. At the end of the article the authors do give some good primers, but I honestly felt like the bulk of the article was a bit harsh on these pieces of fiction. I think the same issues could be brought up for many other character profiles in other genres. Especially in the young adult market place, let’s face it there is a lot of crap out there aimed at young readers. In the end I think it would come down to a good teacher using the novels in the right way to highlight the stereotypes and expose the classroom to a more well-rounded view of women in the Muslim world. However I think the issues that the article brings up are absolutely legitimate and valid. I do feel that the issue of the burqa is a very interesting one. It is interesting and in my opinion ridiculous to see a nation like France put into law bans on an article of clothing as a reaction to hardline Islamic law that requires it. Feels like the same thing to me, but that is just my opinion.
I found the authors' bias as transparent as they claim the fictional stories bias to be. What I cannot judge is which may be closer to truth. I do not know any Muslim women, nor have I had any Muslim students that I know of. Isnt that interesting? Daniel, do you have Muslim students at Coronado? I would have to make more of an effort to educate myself and seek the truth about their lives. I have read ( from sources I believed to be reliable) that access to education is limited for women in many Muslim countries and I find that unacceptable - but I am a Westerner so my perception is based on my study of the history and development of Wetern Civilization and the place that education holds in liberating subjugated people. If one can acknowledge personal bias, one can begin to shed them through educating ourselves. Isnt that the whoe purpose of being "Critically media literate?" I want to read the paper Carolyn's student writes. I would really like to understand what I believe is mostly unknown to all of us who have never lived in their world.
I'd have to say that I agree with a bit of everybody's comments on this section. I have no background or prior knowledge of Muslims...I don't know any Muslins and I don't have Muslim students. I have been in situations where I see a Muslim family where the woman is wearing a burqa and the man is wearing blue jeans, a button up shirt and texting on his iPhone. I'm guilty myself when it comes to bias because I can remember thinking to myself that it's not fair that she has to wear that. But I can't feel too badly about my ignorance because I just don't know what is really going on there. Daniel is right when he says there's a lot of crap out there preying on the ignorant. But, like Jennifer said..."if one can acknowledge personal bias, one can shed them through educating ourselves!"
Another thought - I would find this perhaps the most difficult subject we have yet addressed to deal with as an educator because of our (mine and my students') lack of understanding, I deal with sexism and racism from a different perspective because we live with it.
Thanks for saying that, Jennifer. It's hard to have these conversations, I know, because we all have strong feelings. I'm glad you could take a step back and give a balanced assessment.
Seventh Graders and Sexism: p163 - 171
ReplyDeleteThis section is written by Lisa Espinosa, a third year teacher at a school whose enrollment consists of primarily Mexican students. In her classes she recognizes the need for her students to analyze gender and sexism. In your profession, (whether it be in education or not) do you often times witness similar bias happening on a regular basis?
In the business of public education, the advancement of women has probably come further than in many other profesions due to the historical role of women as teachers. In my own school, there are three female principals and two male and the superintendent and much of her support staff is female. Male coaches and their privileges are a different story! Ana what do you think about that? And by the way,are male art teachers asked to decorate for every school function? I would say that patriarchal infuence,even sexism, is still prevalent in the politics and the resulting decisions of the school board. Example - although we have one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted disease, teenage pregnancy, and child abuse in the US, we still have no classes in sex ed. As much as you would like to believe that this is the domain of the parents, parents in general have abandoned much of their role as adults to teach their children about personal responsibiity. It is the females who bear the brunt of this as the males are allowed to walk away with a shrug of their shoulders. That is sexism! If young women are ever to escape the chains of poverty, they must be educated in the life long implications of having babies in their teens and their legal rights.
DeleteIf the babies were at birth immediately transferred to the father and his family, we would have sex education in schools. Can you tell that this makes me furious!!! No one is brave enough to take it on. The facts have too many political implications.
I have had more than one career - In another life, I worked in sales and marketing in the wine business. THere was a very high level of respect for women. I saw equal advancement and many times higher schievement by women than men. In still another life, the university system, women were definitely discriminated against because of the possibility of children. Having watched and supported the development of the womens liberation
movement since the 70's, I am quite suprised at how little young women know of it or even consider where we are today.
My classes consist of 75% women who are over the age of 50, 15% of women 35-49 years, and 10% men of all ages. Discussions about gender roles, biases, and sexism are commonplace. Mostly, the discussions are openly hostile toward society's and the media's portrayals of women, their roles, and the expectations placed upon them.
DeleteBecause I teach technique as my primary subject matter, I am able to participate in these discussions as a peer. Since I am "only" 47 years old, the women in their late 60's and early 70's, sometimes chastise me for complaining, lamenting that it was far worse for their generation of women. Many of the women who are over 65 years old share that they "have gotten over it," but in my opinion thy still seem very resentful. When these conversations occur, the younger women, who are under 40, seem to be oblivious to women's history, specifically the suffrage movement, the contribution of women during WWII, and the women's movement through to 60's and 70's. I'm shocked and dismayed that most of my female students under 40 do not know the names, Gloria Steinem, Anita Bryant, and Betty Freidan. They're not aware of what the ERA was about, and don't even know that the League of Women Voters is an organization. Is there no coverage of suffrage in high schools?
When discussions of this nature come up and male students are present, they seem to want to disappear and slide under the work table. Most of the guys just sit silently with a look on their faces of boredom. I can't say that I can blame them. It's not as though every man is responsible for years of inequities to women.
I know that we do this to ourselves. Regional differences, cultural differences, and religious differences, can confuse the roles of women, and based on upbringing, can heavily conflict with the media messages we receive. No wonder children are confused. I'm an adult and I too am confused.
In a recent discussion I had with a colleague I was told that it's women's own fault that they are not equal. I was stunned by HER comment. How could another women blame this situation on women? Her argument was that when we are offered less, we tend to accept it instead of walking away from the offer in it's entirety. We accept poor treatment, less money, mixed messages, etc. I was incensed at her position and did not want to accept it...ever. After thinking about her position for a long time, I realized that much of what she is saying is true. Men, will not "take up our cause" because it is not in their best interest. It's only until we, as women, as a united group, stand together and demand more, that we will get it. A country full of women may need to "strike" in order to gain the equality we deserve. We were close in 1979. Maybe it could happen again.
I cannot say that I have been able to see a similar bias in regards to sexism and gender issues in my daily life. Professionally (as a student) in the studio there seems to be a very level playing field and equal awareness amongst my peers. But that may just be a naive perspective I hold. I work along side several women who create work that exceeds others both conceptually and formally. But in this field people mostly respond to the work and develop their own interpretations of the concept, regardless of the artists gender. There have been critiques where gender roles are discussed in association with the piece. For instance a man or woman making a piece referencing phallic images or forms can be interpreted differently because of stereotypes. One piece made by a male student brought forth issues of sexuality and dominance, Questions like " Does the piece have homosexual connotations because it was mad by a male?", and vis versa "Would it be sexual if it was a female artist?" Im not sure if Im on the right track with this response.
DeleteA classroom full of high school students of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds always give one an interesting set of conversations to ease drop on. I find myself pointing out stereo types and discrimination ALL the time, but more often than not it's of race and not gender.
DeleteI find my students of color often have a set expectation of themselves and their actions based in large part by their ethnicity. I cannot count the number of times I have to call a Hispanic student out for saying "that’s how Mexicans do it." in reference to blowing off class or being disruptive. This gets under my skin on a personal level as a person of Hispanic background. I have at times corrected students grammar or behavior and been confronted with comments such as “Oh you want me to speak / act white?" Then I get to lecture the whole class about education being a trait that is in no way cornered by any one racial population and to act in such a way is to reinforce negative stereotypes.
This kind of conversation usually takes place between myself and the male population, but isn’t limited to the boys. I have noticed in my 6 years in the classroom that my advanced classes are filled with a disproportionate amount of girls, and I feel the same our districts Art Department. Jennifer to answer your question about decorations, YES! I am always bombarded with requests to help paint backdrops for Theater, paint murals in the Trainers and Athletic Office, design logos for in-service, you name it.
Gail as for your comments about your under 40 women being ignorant of Women’s Suffrage movements I can assure you this is touched on in History class. Unfortunately, like so many of the topics discussed in public education, many people retain very little of the gift of a free education. I have a history minor and find myself giving short lessons on just about every topic and time period in western civilization on a weekly basis, at least.
Both Daniel and Ana point towards the ways in which race, class and gender intersect in the U.S. For example, upper class white males rank at the topic of the socio-economic pecking order, while women of color rank at the bottom. Dark women of color from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti rank below American-born poor women of color. The darker one's skin, the lower one's rank in the U.S. social order. Darkness is compounded by migrant status.
DeleteWhite women of wealth rank near the top of the social order. The fact that there are, and always been, more white than black upper class women in the United States has been a point of discord and division within the Women's Movement since the mid-19th century.
I will say more about this tomorrow. To be continued....
Girls, Worms, and Body Image; A teacher deals with gender stereotypes among her second and third graders. p. 138 - 146.
ReplyDeleteThis essay, written by Kate Lyman, is an account of teacher observations regarding children's views of self image, media treatment and stereotyping, and gender bias in the third grade classroom. In order to create awareness and identification of these issues in her students, Lyman develops activities to engage, enlighten, and inform her students of their own biases. At times she becomes frustrated and confused that her students are too entrenched in their biases, and thus oblivious to the issues. She also questions her own gender biases and views of gender roles. Eventually, through a number of activities, Lyman is able to reach the students and develop the awareness of gender issues.
How would you rate yourself in your ability to teach these concepts, and how would your own biases come into play? Does your region/ISD have cultural issues that make this difficult?
Wow Gail - Ouch! It hurts to be so honest with yourself! I am very well qualified to teach these concepts as I have lived with them for a long time, BUT have to be very careful of my biases as you can probably get from my previous ranting answer. I come from a strong conservative Christian upbringing, a Southern girl's upbringing. I was taught manners and social expectations from the time I made my entrance to the world. BUT my fraternal grandmother raised three sons alone, sent them all to college, opened her own business to keep them fed where she worked until she died, and was the first female to serve on the City Councll. My own mother worked side by side with my father in the business and its success depended on all of them - profits were shared. There was no difference in expectation of achievement for me as a female than my male cousins. My Dad cooked as much as my mother, washed dishes too. If she cooked, he washed up. He brought her flowers every week. He said to me every time I left, "Remember who you are," and asked if I wouldn't like to be an architect instead of an art teacher. He was a liberated man, a strong man who respected and loved strong women. I am who I am because of that. Most of my students, male and female, have NO knowledge of that kind of male role model. I have to tred softly in order not to offend because most simply do not understand a strong man encouraging women to be all that they can be. They are who they are because of the way they have been raised and you must be respectful of that upbringing even if you do not support it.
DeleteOur ISD is very much a southern conservative culture as I addressed in my previous answer and you have to be careful how you go about it.
I honestly don't know how well I would be able to teach gender issues. I believe I am capable of bringing some awareness to the issues. But, just like in the reading, I don't know how much can be done to change these things when the media and so many other influences in our culture cram the same stereotypes into our heads.
DeleteAs far as my own bias goes, I feel like the lists that the students made are disturbingly true in many fashions. But why? Because media and society portray and accept it without trying to change the overall view.
Its frustrating that I can't seem to find the words to answer. After reading everyones responses Im trying to reflect at how my awareness of some of these gender biases seems inadequate.
Stephen, It's not uncommon for a man in your position to feel inadequate. As Gail noted, in her classes the men tend to stay very quiet and focused on their work while the middle-aged women have a great deal to say. It would be the same for a white person, for example, in a conversation with African Americans about racism. African Americans have a lot more to say on this topic because they experience racism on a daily basis while white people do not. One of the privileges of being white is not having to fully understand - or, as in some cases, not even believe in - the reality of racism.
DeleteOne of the privileges of being male is not having to realize that sexism exists to the extent that it does - for women. However, by listening to women and not taking their criticisms personally (which they are not), you can learn a lot. And if you happen to be a straight man, this ability to understand what women go through in their lives can be a great asset in attracting (and holding onto) a mate. Women love and respect men who demonstrate awareness of, and sensitivity to, the social problems (such as poverty) that disproportionately affect women. This is a blanket statement - I am speaking in generalities, of course.
It's never a good strategy to say "why try?" because there is always something you can do. All of us are teachers, and all of us are learners, throughout our daily lives. Caring about the same issues that women care about is a big step in the right direction.
Take for instance the comments made by Missouri Congressman, Todd Aiken, about rape, pregnancy and abortion. This is an extreme example of male cluelessness. Aiken can afford to know little about rape and abortion because, after all, it doesn't affect HIM. It's just woman stuff - stuff that, as far as he knows, magically takes care of itself. Most women don't take kindly to this attitude.
Dr. E, I don't know if I would go so far as to say that white people don't experience racism. My wife is a white 28 year old with blonde hair and (beautiful) blue eyes. She steps into a classroom filled 15 year old Hispanic girls, as has often been the case, and she is quite frequently treated dramatically different than I am by the same demographic. I don't think that is a direct result off our gender difference.
DeleteI would also argue that it is far from a privilege to be a male and not have to worry about women’s issues. If a woman is unaware of discrimination and sexism she appears ignorant as Gail pointed out. If a man does the same he is quite often assumed to be insensitive to these same issues or worse. I am not saying it is a burden, I am arguing you can’t say it’s a privilege even if some treat it as such. To do so is to stereotype all men as unconcerned. I for one can speak of how I witnessed sex based bias from an early age, as I was raised by a single mother who worked extremely hard in the male dominated field of mechanical engineering.
I had the same experience as your wife when I was a married woman teaching in the same institution as my husband. About white people & racism, my point was that white people in the U.S. generally have the privilege of not knowing what racism really is, day in and day out. Note my emphasis on having privilege. Of course, most white people have an inkling of what it feels like to be discriminated against, as do men and women have an inkling of what it feels like to be one another.
DeleteMy simple point is that we cannot know how it feels to be someone else. For example, I cannot know the daily lived reality of being black. My limited experience with racial discrimination does not mean that I know, or ever could know, what it's like to be born black, poor and female in America. I have, however, taken time to listen and to read the carefully written accounts of women who lived this reality historically and are living it now.
My goodness, Jennifer. Do I detect the strains of a rant? No one around here goes off on rants, wink wink, nudge nudge.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, it is difficult to get to this point in our lives and not be angered by the continuing presence of sexism in the workplace and throughout society. I too am disturbed by the complacent attitude of many young women, who think feminism is a thing of the past. Where did they get that idea?
Women workers in the U.S. earn 76 cents to a man's dollar. Legislation was recently presented before Congress to remedy this situation (the Equal Pay Bill), but the bill was instantly rejected by the GOP Senate on grounds that "women earning more money would hurt the economy." This makes no sense at all, since study after study shows that women are not only the nation's primary consumers, women are also more responsible with money. More money for women means a stronger economy - at least that's what the research shows.
Bravo to that!
DeleteWe should write a song "The Strains of a Rant"
DeleteDoes that final statement of women being more responsible with money then men strike anyone else as a sexist stereotype? Just sayin...
DeleteI based my comment on the body of research that came out in the wake of the hugely successful Grameen Bank system, which is now being implemented all over the world including the USA.
DeleteWhile I was familiar with the concepts involved in the microcredit movement, and have even looked at sites (Kiva.com) that help westerners facilitate these small loans and noticed the women’s groups get picked up more frequently than the men seeking loans, I had never delved into the details. After looking into some articles it looks like women in developing nations such as Bangladesh have higher repayment rates than men are more likely to blow money on booze. What a bunch of jerks. Admittedly I became defensive. It’s hard to hear a statement like that, even if it says more about men in the Islamic East then men in the west, and not feel like it is projected on yourself.
DeleteI was unaware of micro credit projects in the US. I will have to check it out!
Figured I would share in case anyone was interested. Here is one of the better articles.
Deletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&
First of all, sorry for being so late in replying to everyone's questions....I had such a busy week!!! As I've written before, my school is primarily Mexican whose parents are often times illegal immigrants or still in Mexico. My own family came from a similar background, but I did not experience it first hand like my own students have. My family came to the US a looooong time ago and I was raised by a strong-minded mother with no father figure until I was in middle school. Needless to say, I am a Hispanic that understands little Spanish. I can't say the same about my mom. My grandfather was a typical Mexican family man who raised three sons as hard workers and attempted to raise his only daughter to not get her degree, marry and raise a family like his own wife. Like I said, my mom blew that off and became a college graduate and raised her two daughters to do the same.
DeleteSo like everyone else who responded to the question, I find myself a little hesitant and cautious when I come across gender bias in my classroom. These students are used to life as my mom lived it...not me. There are times when boys use terms like "female" when they talk about girls, and things like that upset me. I've ranted at them for using that term and the girls for letting it slide. But often times I wonder if it's the way they are raised or if it is the music they listen to that makes it "okay" to use those terms.
That would be a good song title. I have to admit that I too have to work hard to hold back my "enthusiasm" for certain social justice issues, especially those involving women, race and/or poverty in the U.S. When I first moved to W. TX, I had never experienced what you aptly call southern conservative culture. Unaware of this cultural reality, I ran into real problems at first, especially with undergraduate early childhood education majors. I really offended some students. So I've gradually learned to "tread lightly" as you say, and be aware that in some ways, I might as well be from Mars even though I grew up in Detroit. It was quite a challenge at first.
ReplyDeleteSave the Muslim Girl : pg. 120-129
ReplyDeleteThe article by Ozlem Sensoy and Elizabeth Marshall examines a series of young adult fiction that profiles young Muslim girls as heroines fighting oppression in their native nations. The selected novels are written by white western women and bring about many questions about authenticity, bias, and stereotype from Sensoy and Marshall.
At the onset of the article the authors state that novels can “best be used to teach about the common Western Stereotypes that are universalized in these books rather than to teach about Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Islamic cultures.” As the article moves forward do you sense the authors own basis come out or is the article a balance critique? Sensoy and Marshall also point out alternative narratives of Muslim women in the Arab world such as the Burqa as rebellion symbol and activist tool. Does this potentially undermine the arguments made about the mistreatment of women in nations with hardline Islamic Law?
While I can appreciate the intent of the authors, I was struck at how negative their viewpoint was. I agree that stereotyping is common in this type of fiction, but it might have been more effective to also examine the positive effects of these stories. Western girls lack exposure to their counterparts in the middle east, and I think that presenting them with positive stories about Muslim women is a wonderful first step in introducing girls to their peers in other cultures. With that said, it would be better if the characters were fully fleshed out as different from each other. Although I have not read any of these books in order to develop my own opinion, I'm pretty sure that the authors are not in collusion in a vast conspiracy to hoodwink western girls into believing the stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion may not be popular, but I think that viewpoint and perspective can be influenced by $$$$$$$$. This genre of books, just like many others i.e. the American Girls books, depends on a certain sameness in the storyline. Indian writers have been churning out cheesy western cowboy books for years and they sell well in that country, should we lament the stereotyping of the cowboy, pointing out that every cowboy is indeed different? Ok, this line of discussion might be making me look insensitive, which I am not. HMMMMM... I think that this discussion is valid. It is a good thing to have children reading with an eye on the authors intent.
To answer Daniel's question, I think that our "American/Western" values filter what we see as positive and negative. We view subjugation of anyone as wrong, no matter if it is accepted in other cultures. I believe that the portrayal of a Muslim female character wearing a Burqa as a rebellion, especially in a young adult book, would be seen as offensive to a large group of people, especially Muslin women. There are many American Muslin women who CHOOSE to wear head and/or face covering scarves for truly religious purposes. Do we view these women as oppressed? Some may assume that these women are forced by patriarchal family forces to wear the scarves, but that's just a projection of our western values onto others religious freedom.
Being a Jewish women in the bible belt of Texas, I am sometimes seen as either Barbara Steisand in Yentl, or Fran Dresher in the Nanny. Folks project the stereotypes onto me all the time. As Daniel remarked about his wife and her situation in the classroom, it really depends on the perspective of the audience.
We humans, no matter where we live on this planet, tend to herd with others like ourselves. When we encounter something/someone different we categorize them based on a number of external factors. It's human nature. These discussions help elevate us to a more evolved state! I love school! (What a nerd I am!)
Yes, I am working with a Saudi PhD student who is writing her dissertation on Islamic feminism. It's been very enlightening to read the literature on women's movements in Islamic countries. A lot is happening over there - the women are very resourceful and strong. I have my student to thank for revealing this knowledge.
DeleteI have to agree with Gail to some extent. These books do present a helpless character that needs saving, but at the same time they could still provide a good starting point for a discussion in the classroom. At the end of the article the authors do give some good primers, but I honestly felt like the bulk of the article was a bit harsh on these pieces of fiction. I think the same issues could be brought up for many other character profiles in other genres. Especially in the young adult market place, let’s face it there is a lot of crap out there aimed at young readers. In the end I think it would come down to a good teacher using the novels in the right way to highlight the stereotypes and expose the classroom to a more well-rounded view of women in the Muslim world. However I think the issues that the article brings up are absolutely legitimate and valid. I do feel that the issue of the burqa is a very interesting one. It is interesting and in my opinion ridiculous to see a nation like France put into law bans on an article of clothing as a reaction to hardline Islamic law that requires it. Feels like the same thing to me, but that is just my opinion.
DeleteI found the authors' bias as transparent as they claim the fictional stories bias to be. What I cannot judge is which may be closer to truth. I do not know any Muslim women, nor have I had any Muslim students that I know of. Isnt that interesting? Daniel, do you have Muslim students at Coronado? I would have to make more of an effort to educate myself and seek the truth about their lives. I have read ( from sources I believed to be reliable) that access to education is limited for women in many Muslim countries and I find that unacceptable - but I am a Westerner so my perception is based on my study of the history and development of Wetern Civilization and the place that education holds in liberating subjugated people. If one can acknowledge personal bias, one can begin to shed them through educating ourselves. Isnt that the whoe purpose of being "Critically media literate?"
DeleteI want to read the paper Carolyn's student writes. I would really like to understand what I believe is mostly unknown to all of us who have never lived in their world.
I'd have to say that I agree with a bit of everybody's comments on this section. I have no background or prior knowledge of Muslims...I don't know any Muslins and I don't have Muslim students. I have been in situations where I see a Muslim family where the woman is wearing a burqa and the man is wearing blue jeans, a button up shirt and texting on his iPhone. I'm guilty myself when it comes to bias because I can remember thinking to myself that it's not fair that she has to wear that. But I can't feel too badly about my ignorance because I just don't know what is really going on there. Daniel is right when he says there's a lot of crap out there preying on the ignorant. But, like Jennifer said..."if one can acknowledge personal bias, one can shed them through educating ourselves!"
DeleteAnother thought - I would find this perhaps the most difficult subject we have yet addressed to deal with as an educator because of our (mine and my students') lack of understanding, I deal with sexism and racism from a different perspective because we live with it.
ReplyDeleteANd more - This has been a great discussion! I have enjoyed listening to all of you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying that, Jennifer. It's hard to have these conversations, I know, because we all have strong feelings. I'm glad you could take a step back and give a balanced assessment.
ReplyDelete