Femiphobia in the World around Us

In The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity, author Steven Ducat introduces the term femiphobia, defined as the fear of being feminine. Femiphobia is exhibited through a variety of means. For example, forcing prisoners to wear pink uniforms as well as the following commercials:

What do these advertising campaigns indicate about gender norms? In what ways do such commercials position masculinity above femininity? How are they each being valued, if at all?

Femiphobia, a term unfamiliar to many, remains an issue that is ignored, all while femininity becomes the brunt of jokes. If a man chooses to experiment with femininity, it is often viewed as a comedic parody or a threat to masculinity in general. Think drag queens or the more recent SNL sketch of Justin Timberlake duplicating Beyonce’s Single Ladies.

Jessica Valenti states in The Purity Myth that “femiphobia is at the heart of enabling social sexism like the sexual double standard, political sexism that relies on paternalism in policy, and even violence against women.” Acknowledging femiphobia’s existence and its associated damage is the first step; the next step? In Whipping Girl: A Transexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano suggests that men aid in debunking femiphobia by revaluing “girl stuff.” “If you want your boyfriend to treat you with respect, then tell him that you won’t sleep with him until he starts putting barrettes in his hair,” she writes. The need to combat femiphobia is clear. The only problem now is deciding the color of your barrette.

It Ain’t “Nuthin’ But a Gene Thang”: The Complexities of Sex and Gender and the Caster Semenya Case

After hearing about the case of the South African track star Caster Semenya, I quickly decided it was a topic worth exploring for this blog. Unfortunately, my co-worker thought the same thing. But there are aspects of this case that warranted discussion which Lettie did not touch upon in her post.


My colleague mentioned that various media outlets have reported that Semenya is a hermaphrodite, which is false. Further research reveals that there are at least 45 other variations of intersex conditions besides hermaphodism. And according to this, some experts estimate that 1/1500 infants are born with an intersex condition.


As a student working towards a major in child development and a minor in psychology, my coursework has taught me that a person’s sex is biological, and the concept of gender is learned. Semenya’s family maintains that she is female, and that she was raised as such. And Semenya herself identifies as a woman. The concept of a person’s gender is an extremely complex one, and it is difficult examine through our society’s stereotype-fogged glasses.


Many intersex conditions are not diagnosed at birth; they might not be noticed until later in life, if signs of puberty are delayed or not present. It has been revealed that Semenya does not have any ovaries or uterus, which means she would not have a menstrual cycle. Before this knowledge had been acquired, her amenorrhea (absence of a menstrual period) could have been attributed to the Female Athlete Triad. The Female Athlete Triad is a cluster of symptoms (amenorrhea, disordered eating, and osteoporosis) that, as the name suggests, is prevalent among female athletes and runners are particularly susceptible.


On a positive note, Semenya is a hometown hero; her community is very supportive, and celebrates her victories. After the blatant violation of Semenya’s privacy and human rights, it is at least a comfort to see her accomplishments respected and appreciated.



SOURCES:

http://www.ulike.net/news/Caster-Semenya-has-one-of-the-46-types-of-intersex-conditions


http://www.apa.org/topics/Intersex3.pdf



http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000601/3357.html



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEpMuKHqG0&feature=player_embedded#t=19

Challenging the Binary

Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Caster Semenya, a South African world champion runner. There was debate over her biological sex after some rival athletes made accusations that Semenya was a transgendered woman. This prompted a “battery of gender tests” by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which recently reported that Semenya is actually intersexed.

Now, there are a myriad of things wrong with this whole situation. I have concerns with: the way that the IAAF handled the case, along with the clear ethical questions surrounding Semenya’s rights, and the lack of political correctness by some “progressive” sources, particularly where the term “hermaphrodite” is used profusely and incorrectly.

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The term hermaphrodite refers to an organism that has both male and female reproductive organs and has the ability to reproduce - there are no cases of a human being a hermaphrodite. Intersex on the other hand is a condition where chromosomes are atypical and create different degrees of biological maleness and femaleness. Thus, a person who is intersex may have an ambiguous biological sex, but is not a hermaphrodite because of the lack of reproductive ability. Often, the term hermaphrodite is used in a derogatory/incorrect manner.

With all of the innacurracies and injustices surrounding this case, one can only hope that this will challenge people’s views of binary restrictions on sex and gender. Furthermore, if any good can be taken from this injustice, let it be increased awareness and hopefully progress towards eradicating discrimination; we should not allow this woman to have to endure this experience in vain.

Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Supports Workplace Discrimination Against Women

When LaNisa Allen was fired from her job at Totes/Isotoner inWest Chester, Ohio for taking a break to pump breastmilk she sued for discrimination citing Ohio laws preventing sex and pregnancy discrimination. However, her employer stated that her firing was not related to taking breaks to pump breast milk, but for failure to follow directions and taking an unauthorized break.

A trial court sided with Totes/Istoner stating;
“Allen gave birth over five months prior to her termination from [Isotoner]. Pregnant [women] who give birth and chose not to breastfeed or pump their breasts do not continue to lactate for five months. Thus, Allen’s condition of lactating was not a condition relating to pregnancy but rather a condition related to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding discrimination does not constitute gender discrimination.”

The Ohio Supreme Court stated that Allen’s lawyers did not provide enough evidence that Allen was treated differently than other employees who took restroom breaks for reasons other than pumping. So the Supreme Court failed to address the question of whether or not lactation discrimination is in fact pregnancy and/or sex discrimination.

Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and two concurring justices wrote;
“This court does not reach the issue of whether alleged discrimination due to lactation is included within the scope of Ohio’s employment-discrimination statute.”

Other Justices agreed with the ruling, however thought that the lactation discrimination issue should have been looked at. Justice Maureen O’Conner wrote the opinion for those justices.
“The lead opinion’s failure to address the legal framework in which this case arises is disappointing… the question of whether Ohio law recognizes discrimination claims based on lactation is of great general interest.”

Justice Paul Pfeifer wrote the dissenting opinion saying;
“Ohio’s working mothers who endure the uncomfortable sacrifice of privacy that almost necessarily accompanies their attempt to remain on the job and nourish their children deserve to know whether Ohio’s pregnancy-discrimination laws protect them. I would hold in this case that employment discrimination due to lactation is unlawful pursuant to R.C. 4112.01(B), that clear public policy justifies an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine for women fired for reasons relating to lactation.”

I don’t know you about you, but this case just makes me mad. First of all, it is quite interesting that Justice Pfeifer was the person to write the dissenting opinion supporting Allen and not one of the three women justices on the court. Also, although the court did not specifically address the issue of lactation discrimination, there is now a precedent in Ohio that firing women for issues relating to breastfeeding is not discrimination. How disturbing is that?

To me it is clear that issues concerning lactation are related to pregnancy and therefore should be included in pregnancy and sex discrimination. When is the last time you saw a man breastfeeding?

What do you think?

Curiouser and curiouser . . .

So I was at the grocery store yesterday and ran into some very interesting items. Food products geared at men and women. Now, I've known about yogurt for "women" and vitamins that are more geared toward men or women, but I think I can draw the line at bread and quiche. I mean, really? Quiche for men? Is there really some untapped market out there for men who aren't yet eating quiche, but that the quiche-makers of the world believe are just waiting on the sidelines for a manly egg dish so they can start buying and eating quiche in bulk?

I'm simply confounded by this. Is there multi-grain bread that makes your hair prettier or perhaps the slices in the Men's Bread are cut thicker? Can you imagine a guy walking into the kitchen and upon seeing his girlfriend opening up the freezer saying, "WAIT! WAIT! Don't eat that - it's MAN QUICHE."

I'm open to ideas about WHY these items would need to be marketed to one gender or the other. Really - I am. So let me know what you think. Until then, I'm going to buy my bread - and my quiche - gender-neutral.

The Women's Resource Center Turns Thirty!

Preparations are underway as we get ready for the festivities that tomorrow brings. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary with an open house from 3 to 6 P.M. Stop by for some yummy desserts and help us celebrate our 30th birthday!

Not Just Breast for Breast Sake

Every now and then a story comes along and you can help but be utterly amused… That is how I felt about Meghan Pleticha’s article on her "topless experiment." Ironically, Alex touched on the issue of going topless just last week when she mentioned Gotopless.org.

The article, although a little ostentatious, chronicled Meghan’s experience of sunbathing topless in a New York park. The premise of the experiment is quite brilliant, and it pushes the reader to think outside the box (or in this case outside the top). She acknowledges the different reactions that she was confronted with and notes that women seemed to be more critical of her topless parade.

I think this article makes you consider double standards that are currently in place for men and women’s nudity, as well as bringing up how men and women react to people who push the boundaries of social norms.

In the article Gotopless.org is mentioned. Once you get past the copious boobage, there is actually some interesting reasoning behind National Topless Day...and its not breasts for the sake of breasts. Who knew going topless could be so feminist?