Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion on women’s rights, interests, and issues. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, oppression, and patriarchy.
Slate.com article on Judy Chicago's Dinner Party:
Msnbc.com just posted a series of articles and photosabout gender identity issues, with a focus on transgendered people and their lives, politics, and experiences.
The ones I've read so far are good:
The main one: "Rethinking Gender" by Debra Rosenburg:
"None of Us are Safe" an interview with Alexis Arquette by Lorain Ali
The ideas about gender are really infused with thinking about queer theory and how giving up exclusionary categories - suspending classifications - and expanding our ideas about what's normal and acceptable and why. Why are transgendered people so often the victims of vicious hate crimes, derision, voyeuristic humor, prejudice?
I hope to have time to read more later. I'm interested in Rene Richards' take on the issues (in the main article). She's really the first public figure to transition from male to female. She was a professional men's tennis player and after transitioning, she played doubles with Billie Jean King, the first real visible lesbian in tennis (or at least to me as a kid). Even though Richards was groundbreaking in crossing the gender barrier as a cultural and biologicial construct in such a visible manner, she now, at 70, views gender as a real either/or proposition. She doesn't want kids playing with gender as more of a continuum and less of a dichotomy. I'm interested in her continuing commitment to the binary of male/female and wonder about her need, perhaps, to feel like people can only choose one or the other, like she did. In effect, my partner and I were discussing whether she needed to believe her decision was the only one she could/should have made.
I'd love to know what other folks find interesting.
Mindi
Feminist Theory
Definition: Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. While generally providing a critique of social relations, much of feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification (especially sexual objectification), oppression, and patriarchy (Chodorow, 1989; Gilligan, 1977; Lerman, 1982). Another feminist definition
Society has many stereotypes of what a feminist can be. Many or all of these stereotypes are false because there is no one single definition of feminism and what it means to be a feminist. Some people actually think it is a bad word and others believe feminists are the greatest freedom fighters of all time. Who are feminists really? Maybe you are one and don't realize it. If you believe in equality, then you are a feminist according to Moffat. What is your definition? types of feminism: Anarcha-feminism Black feminism
Christian Feminism
Cultural feminism
Cyborg feminism
Ecofeminism
Fat feminism
Individualist feminism
Islamic feminism
Jewish feminism
Lesbian feminism
Liberal feminism
Marxist feminism
New feminism
Postmodern feminism
Psychoanalytic feminismRadical feminism
Religious feminism
Separatist feminism
Sex-positive feminismSocialist feminismWomanism Judy Chicago
Born Judy Cohen
Feminist artist, author and educator
Major works: The Holocaust Project
The Dinner Party Most famous work
Triangle table with 39 symbolic plates representing feminists Artistic director: Through the Flower Nonprofit organization Website!
*******************************************************
One of the funniest things I've seen lately about Feminism is this clip on youtube of six guys singing "The Feminist Song." It's not actually groundbreaking or edgy in content, but it's funny.
Mindi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a great place to see feminist's art:
http://www.guerrillagirls.com/This is the web site of the guerrilla girls which is a group of feminist artists who produce posters, stickers, books, and other printed projects that expose sexism and racism in our culture.