Today at St. Olaf, we celebrated Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The MN GLBTA Campus Alliance came to Olaf to give a workshop called (trans)gender 101.
It was very good. It was one of the better workshops we've had. We learned about gender systems, what makes up identity, about different genders and sexual orientations. Our facilitators were Mike and Anna. Mike is has a really long job title at Augsberg. Anna also has a shorter job title at Metrostate. Both are GLBTQA coordinators at their colleges, basically.
We also had a display throughout the day. We had a tall kiosk. On one side we had information about TDOR, resources to be involved with orgs that work with the trans community, a few stories of some of people who have been murdered in the past year.
On the other side was a list of all 354 people who have died as the result of transphobia. Most were stabbed, shot or strangled. One three year old boy was beaten to death by his father because he wasn't acting tough enough a few years ago. A 19 year old gay man was decapitated, dismembered and then burned in Puerto Rico earlier this year. One person died of AIDS because the hospital wouldn't treat her because she was transgender.
We also had a large pile of shoes to represent all the people who have died. We covered it with chicken wire (mainly for symbolism, but also to prevent shoe theft).
It is so good that we had that pile of shoes. So many more people looked at our kiosk just because they had no idea why the pile of shoes was there.
I normally don't have much patience for making displays like that. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything to make it. I'm not so good with that sort of thing. I'm more of an organizer, not an artist. I put the kiosk together while Matt and Willa put the shoes together.
Very good day, imo. Nothing huge, but it was successful.
Showing posts with label gender roles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gender roles. Show all posts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Angela's Issues
I want to talk about Angela. Angela is one of our chickens. She is the only non-reddish brown chicken. She is mostly a silvery white, with black. Although recently she has been getting some yellow on her and some teal in her tail.
I don't think she's a she. Well, not totally. I think we may have a dyke or maybe intersex chicken.
You see, she is more female in appearance, so always assumed she was a hen. Americaunas, the breed of chicken we have, lay blue-green eggs, and the legs of the hens are also blue green. Her legs are blue green, but there is a noticeable presence of yellow as well, the color of the rooster's legs.
Hens typically have a small, pinkish comb, while roosters have a large bright red comb. Angela's is larger and redder than the rest of the hens, but smaller than Dwight's comb.
The other hens are much smaller than her and Dwight, who are about the same size.
She doesn't 'flock' as much as the other hens. She is much more independent, and doesn't stick as close to the other chickens, similar to Dwight's behavior. Meredith, Phyllis and Kelly actually stick closer to Angela than Dwight if everyone else is, too, but Pam is definitely Dwight's girl. Although she still doesn't like to be separated from them. Chicken are stupid, but smart enough to realize they need each other.
She is very bossy. Bossy where she is at the top of the pecking order. She will even peck Dwight, who is the ruler of the roost, usually. She even herds the girls the way Dwight does. We thought maybe she was just the head hen.
Then came the shocker.
Angela mounted Meredith! I mean, we've been seeing Dwight mount Pam and Kelly (mostly Pam), but until recently, Angela didn't display this very roosterish behavior. We've always noticed she was rather cocky, but not to the point where mating comes into it. They are getting to that age, too. We've started watching for eggs now that they're getting to be old enough.
What if Angela isn't a hen? Maybe we should ask a farm animal vet about it. I haven't heard anything about biologically intersex/transexual chickens, but I've heard things about cocky hens. Maybe she is just mounting them without mounting them. I guess we could see if she lays, but with 5 hens in one house, it'll be hard to see who lays what.
I don't think she's a she. Well, not totally. I think we may have a dyke or maybe intersex chicken.
You see, she is more female in appearance, so always assumed she was a hen. Americaunas, the breed of chicken we have, lay blue-green eggs, and the legs of the hens are also blue green. Her legs are blue green, but there is a noticeable presence of yellow as well, the color of the rooster's legs.
Hens typically have a small, pinkish comb, while roosters have a large bright red comb. Angela's is larger and redder than the rest of the hens, but smaller than Dwight's comb.
The other hens are much smaller than her and Dwight, who are about the same size.
She doesn't 'flock' as much as the other hens. She is much more independent, and doesn't stick as close to the other chickens, similar to Dwight's behavior. Meredith, Phyllis and Kelly actually stick closer to Angela than Dwight if everyone else is, too, but Pam is definitely Dwight's girl. Although she still doesn't like to be separated from them. Chicken are stupid, but smart enough to realize they need each other.
She is very bossy. Bossy where she is at the top of the pecking order. She will even peck Dwight, who is the ruler of the roost, usually. She even herds the girls the way Dwight does. We thought maybe she was just the head hen.
Then came the shocker.
Angela mounted Meredith! I mean, we've been seeing Dwight mount Pam and Kelly (mostly Pam), but until recently, Angela didn't display this very roosterish behavior. We've always noticed she was rather cocky, but not to the point where mating comes into it. They are getting to that age, too. We've started watching for eggs now that they're getting to be old enough.
What if Angela isn't a hen? Maybe we should ask a farm animal vet about it. I haven't heard anything about biologically intersex/transexual chickens, but I've heard things about cocky hens. Maybe she is just mounting them without mounting them. I guess we could see if she lays, but with 5 hens in one house, it'll be hard to see who lays what.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Gender Issues
I just finished a slightly-outdated book called "The Myth of Male Power" by Dr. Warren Farrel. It's a call of sorts for an answer to the feminist movement. He doesn't think a masculist movement would be the ideal situation. Instead he calls for a gender transition movement (which to me sounds like transgender, rather than gender equality, but it was the early 90s. I don't think transfolk had much visibility then). Most of the book is rejecting feminist 'myths' which he does well, but he doesn't tell the whole story either. I think he's assuming that most of his readers are feminist scholars, rather than his ideal audience of men.
I agree with him on his main premises. I think women, in their search for liberation, have in reality been shirking the responsibility that comes with liberation. He splits history into Stage I, the survival phase and Stage II, the post-industrialization phase. In Stage I, gender roles were more efficient for society, to have one gender who nurtures life while the other gender protects and supports it.
However, with industrialization, the necessity of this system faded. Women realized that they were just as capable of being the supporter of life (during peacetime) as men were, though society still upheld the role of the man as protector during wartime. This gives woman the advantages of being economically independent while still creating progeny for the next generation.
But because we're still socializing men to be killers, and socializing women to choose killers as partners, men have not been able to achieve the same independence as women. Men are stuck in Stage I, while women are in Stage II, and expect Stage II men. And because our public power systems are dominated by men, society still functions with the expectation of a Stage I society. Thus, jails, suicide rates, more dangerous work environments, and homelessness are still mostly male issues, and women are still not allowed to register for the draft, or are not usually allowed to serve on the front lines if they are enlisted.
The author encourages men to become as active as women in demanding equal rights. Right now, government programs and funding strongly favor women, and in some cases, even discriminate against men. That is not equality. By becoming socially and emotionally more independent (not from one's partner, but with), men can learn to function in a Stage II society. By becoming more vocal about perceived inequality, unfairness and injustice, men will be able to balance the gender equality movement.
Men have to move on from being the 'disposable sex' that fit society well back when food, shelter and water were a struggle and become equal partners, or whatever works best for the family unit and society, in a world where there is comfort and time aplenty for some reflection and enjoyment. Men and women no longer have to sacrifice themselves for the future of the species.
I agree with him on his main premises. I think women, in their search for liberation, have in reality been shirking the responsibility that comes with liberation. He splits history into Stage I, the survival phase and Stage II, the post-industrialization phase. In Stage I, gender roles were more efficient for society, to have one gender who nurtures life while the other gender protects and supports it.
However, with industrialization, the necessity of this system faded. Women realized that they were just as capable of being the supporter of life (during peacetime) as men were, though society still upheld the role of the man as protector during wartime. This gives woman the advantages of being economically independent while still creating progeny for the next generation.
But because we're still socializing men to be killers, and socializing women to choose killers as partners, men have not been able to achieve the same independence as women. Men are stuck in Stage I, while women are in Stage II, and expect Stage II men. And because our public power systems are dominated by men, society still functions with the expectation of a Stage I society. Thus, jails, suicide rates, more dangerous work environments, and homelessness are still mostly male issues, and women are still not allowed to register for the draft, or are not usually allowed to serve on the front lines if they are enlisted.
The author encourages men to become as active as women in demanding equal rights. Right now, government programs and funding strongly favor women, and in some cases, even discriminate against men. That is not equality. By becoming socially and emotionally more independent (not from one's partner, but with), men can learn to function in a Stage II society. By becoming more vocal about perceived inequality, unfairness and injustice, men will be able to balance the gender equality movement.
Men have to move on from being the 'disposable sex' that fit society well back when food, shelter and water were a struggle and become equal partners, or whatever works best for the family unit and society, in a world where there is comfort and time aplenty for some reflection and enjoyment. Men and women no longer have to sacrifice themselves for the future of the species.
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