“Make him cry like a girl...You run like a girl…Come on, ladies…What a bunch of girls...”

At least once a week I hear a statement like the ones above and I would guess that many of you do as well. These statements and sayings disturb me. They disturb me because of their acceptance in everyday language while simultaneously carrying implicitly oppressive connotations. When used, they imply women are weak and demean the female body. They put down the entire female gender and place masculinity on a pedestal—the paramount gender, the ultimate specimen of life, the entity of omnipotence and perfection. These statements permeate TV shows, books, classrooms, ads, etc (I could go on forever listing places where I see them) and no one seems to think twice when using them or in accepting them.

As a woman, I feel very uncomfortable and offended when these statements are said around me. Situations where I hear them used most prominently are in physically demanding situations. In PE classes I remember my teacher, reprimanding a bunch of guys for messing around, telling them to “get to work, girls.” The military relies on statements such as these in its training. Several years ago I attended a camp at the United States Military Academy at West Point and put-downs revolving around degrading women and girls abounded; just the word “lady” or “girl” was always synonymous with “feeble” or “weak.” Some argue that this is just how the military operates and it is part of the whole break-down-and-rebuild process, but I refuse to accept that. More and more women are joining the military (and the military is currently targeting recruiting ads towards women) and finding the area to be incredibly hostile.


Although the military is ultra-hostile, I think there are other situations—schools, families, media—that are more detrimental because they reach a wider, younger audience more frequently. In schools, it is especially damaging for girls to hear these statements because they are learning, from an authoritative figure, that to be a girl is bad, weak, and looked down upon; it is already a problem to bolster girls’ confidence in their academic ability, especially in math and science, without these degrading statements.

Women aren’t the only ones oppressed by these statements—they corner men in strict masculine “ideals” as well. They reinforce the narrow expectation that men are physically strong, and don’t cry or show emotions. Both genders would benefit by speaking out against using statements that enforce negative gender stereotypes. To show your dislike of such statements is not being “oversensitive” or “touchy,” it is simply standing up for your right to be respected for however you want to act without feeling inferior or substandard.

-Madeleine

My Empty Hands

I think every girl and woman should participate in martial arts, or in the very least take a self-defense training course. For half of my life I have been involved in martial arts; at home I did karate for 8 years and now, at college, I have gotten involved in tae kwon do. As a shy, nonathletic 10 year old my mom was shocked when I expressed interest in taking karate, but excited that I wanted to take part in something that was good exercise and could come in handy she was more than happy to pay for lessons. Those monthly checks were more than worth it.

In karate I was taught to rely on myself and feel confident in my abilities—not only physically but also mentally. For the first two years I was the only girl in my classes so not only did I have to scream, get put in chokeholds and spar, but I had to do it with all boys. As I tested up in the belts I began to be paired with more and more men. When a man five inches taller than me and double my weight punched me and I defended myself with an arm break that left him rubbing his arm and complimenting me on my “takedown,” I felt a sense of accomplishment, powerful. I walked a little taller, stood a little straighter, learned to ignore the comments meant to bring me down, make me cower.

Not only does karate force you into close physical fighting situations with men and women, but it encourages self confidence. Rarely are women urged at to be more aggressive, encouraged to kick and punch men (contact a must!), and applauded for red faces, messy hair and sticky, sweaty clothing. I remember taking a weight lifting class in high school with about 20 guys, mostly footballers and wrestlers, and four other girls. Even in this voluntary class the girls did not want to break a sweat or lift too much weight for fear of “getting huge arms.” They frequently complained about running sprints or would simply “sit out” of workouts, usually choosing to spend their time cheering on the boys and flirting. I often felt like a freak for actually pushing myself during class and tried to hide the sweat stains on my t-shirt.

Karate does not make excuses for women—if you take martial arts you are there to punch, grab, kick and attack. Anything less than your best is not accepted. If more women took martial arts and were forced into situations that flirtatious talk, excuses based on being “a girl,” and attractiveness could not get them out of, but instead required aggression, confidence, and power, women would learn to rely on an inner confidence instead of their physical appearances.

Perhaps the next time a man groped such a woman on a crowded subway or her boyfriend slapped her, she would not feel helpless. Instead she would have the self-assurance to make a scene and expose the man to the rest of the subway, or have the self-confidence to hightail it out of the abusive relationship knowing she is better and stronger on her own. Karate is about being your own weapon, your own defense against a culture that suffocates women under the pressure of maintaining “femininity” through being petite, generous, nurturing, non-confrontational, and subordinate, and learning to understand that confidence, self-respect, and strength are just as feminine.

-Madeleine

Colleges' final frontier: mixed-gender housing

In 1789, the first coeducational college in the United States opened it's doors. Now, over 200 years later, a handful of colleges across the country are eliminating the final vestiges of academic sex segregation and providing the option of gender neutral housing.

Gender neutral rooms, which are now available in over 30 colleges nationwide, are being hailed by many as a positive step in eliminating gender boundaries, the last politically correct type of segregation to exist in America today. Indeed, no one would never dream of separating students based on race, class, or religion. So why is it still acceptable to separate college students, who are legal adults, from rooming together based on their gender or sex?

The answer, as conservatives would tell it, is that gender neutral housing will promote sexual promiscuity. This argument is nearly identical, and equally ridiculous, to the arguments and debates which surround the distribution of contraceptives in schools. Everyone knows that students of a certain age, whether they are in high school or college, will be sexually active. This is completely healthy and normal. To imply that allowing gender neutral rooming will be opening a floodgate of sexual activity is to imply that such activity does not already exist. Such a claim is ridiculous. And in the majority of cases, mixed gender roommates are merely close friends. [And if they're more then friends, they eliminate the awkward inconvenience of sexiling their roommate!]

In addition, such arguments are painfully heteronormative. If colleges were genuinely committed to the elimination of sexual activity between roommates, as conservatives claim they should be, they would base rooming assignments not only on gender but on sexual orientation as well. To imply that mixed gender housing promotes sexual activity is to claim that only type of sexual activity which occurs on a college campus is between men and women. Anyone who has gone to college, especially a small liberal arts college, can tell you this is certainly not the case.

Click here for a full article on gender neutral housing published in the Boston Globe.

-Bronwen

France Attempts to Limit Pro-Eating Disorder Movement

Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian supermodel, died in 2006 from anorexia
(image courtesy of http://www.ethicsinbusiness.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/sickly.jpeg)

Reading the paper yesterday morning before class, Bronwen and I came upon a New York Times article entitled, “French Bill Takes Chic Out of Being Too Thin.” In Paris, French lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would restrict pro-eating disorder websites that offer starvation tips and encouragement called “thinspiration.” So far, the bill has passed the lower house of Parliament and will now face a Senate vote. “If passed it would take aim at any means of mass communication—including magazines and Web sites—that promote eating disorders…with up to three years in prison and more than $70,000 in fines” (Quoted from article, link at bottom of post).

Obviously, there is much controversy over the bill and an uncertainty over its future effectiveness in curbing eating disorders. Important questions - such as who is to take responsibility for pro-ana (“ana” and “mia” are terms used for anorexia and bulimia) websites—the Internet provider or the website creator?—are not addressed in the current bill.

Although I applaud France’s attempt to address the terrors of eating disorders I feel that their approach is somewhat limited. Stopping pro-eating disorder websites is simply cutting off one outreach of eating disorders; it is doing little to prevent their occurrence. A more efficient method would be to reach young girls (and boys) before the age when eating disorders typically occur and in situations they encounter in their everyday lives. This can happen by changing how parents raise children in relation to food, creating more easily accessible sexual abuse help groups, changing the way coaches approach female athletes, and offering more realistic information about the female body to women and girls (Nancy Redd’s Body Drama is an excellent example). It is much less practical to try and instantly force the media to portray healthier images than it is to raise a generation of men and women who will refuse to accept the skeletal media role models and use their outraged voices and votes to change it.

-Madeleine

French Bill Takes Chic Out of Being Too Thin

Welcome to the Third Wave World

Whenever one creates something new, there are always a few questions one must ask.  Is this new thing really necessary?  What is this going to accomplish?  How will we make this work?

We started this project, the goal was to create a space for people to learn about and discuss the issues affecting contemporary feminism.

“But I heard feminism was dead,” may be your post-modernist response.

To which we reply, “Hell no!”  

Like most “-isms”, feminism is still alive and kicking, an essential and eternally evolving collection of ideas, issues and beliefs.  As anthropologist Cheris Kramarae famously wrote, “Feminism is simply the radical idea that women are human beings.”  Personally, we believe feminism is simply about equality, not simply for women, but for all marginalized and unrecognized groups.

“But why start a blog?” you may ask.  “What does typing at a computer really accomplish?”

Quite a bit, actually.  The Internet, as you may have heard, has been a pretty influential little invention (thank you, Al Gore).  It is the means by which a large percentage of people stay updated on current events, communicate with friends and family, and learn about new issues and ideas.  How many times have you heard yourself say, “Where would I be without Google?”  Or “What did I do before Wikipedia?”  The rise of Web 2.0 [feel free to Wikipedia that] has democratized the production of information.  Increasingly, it is the average blogger and youtube poster who is shaping and interpreting our modern world.

Through this blog, we invite you to participate in this emerging community as we discuss and articulate the issues affecting contemporary feminism.  Write an essay or a personal anecdote, post a picture or a comment, suggest a book or post the first chapter of your own!

We are the third wave of feminism, and together, we will shape the “third wave” world.

-Bronwen and Madeleine