fElizabeth has 13 post(s)

Abu-Lughod’s essay “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving,” questions why Americans think that “Muslim women” in Afghanistan need to be rescued from their society and country. She characterizes this premise as being a method of rejecting cultural differences, and states that this has become the West’s main focus following the events of September 11, 2001, and the beginning of the “War on Terror”. Abu-Lughod argues that countries in the West should analyze their contribution to living conditions in countries like Afghanistan. Furthermore, according to Abu-Lughod, the West trying to save “Muslim woman”,  recreates past events that took place in the 19^th Century by Christian missionary woman who attempted to save “Muslim women” and attempted to impose their dominance onto their society.

Abu-Lughod’s discusses that following the beginning of “War of Terror”, culture and religious practices became the focus in understanding the events of September 11, 2001. She further argues that by studying the culture, the West switched and moved away from the more important issue, namely, the political and historical reasons for men and woman enduring hardships in the Middle East. Moreover, Abu-Lugod cites Laura Bush’s speech, which discussed the plight of the “Muslim woman”. She refers to Bush’s speech as the “cultural mode of explanation” because it discusses the importance of saving “Muslim women”. Abu-Lughod argues that the speech served as a way to support and defend America’s “War on Terrorism”, and the destruction that came along to Muslim countries.

Abu-Lughod states that the religious and cultural practices of woman, including “wearing a veil” is something that has been practiced for centuries. It is a symbol of “modesty and respectability”, and is not the product and explanation for the events of September 11, 2001. She further states that if the mandatory “burqas” were no longer enforced, woman would choose another method of “veiling”. The veil is not the problem, but according to Abu-Lughod it represents the West’s problem of accepting differences in others, and dealing with the true problems that causing the Middle East severe hardships and suffering.

Cabezas’ article illustrates the similarities between Cuba and Dominican Republic’s economy and social outcomes, as a result of international sex tourism. One such outcome is that this type of labor is not linked to just a money exchange, but to a way to obtain long-term resources such as migration, marriage, recreation, and an ongoing income from the same sex tourists. The author further discusses that part of the problem is that “sex workers” and “sex tourists”, do not identify themselves, as these labels would suggest. Although, in both Cuba and Dominican Republic prostitution is not illegal, Cabezas discusses that this shift has impacted the local laws.

According to Cabezas, the economy in both countries has caused “internal prostitution” and workers to rely on domestic services for income. The present laws in both countries are geared to encourage income from sex tourism. This has caused sex tourism to be acceptable, because it blends into society. This has occurred because most of sex tourism is taking place at hotel suites, and not in brothels. It has created what Cabezas refers to as “emotional economy, and government laws influence this economy. For example, the military keep out the local population from tourist areas. This causes “sex tourism” to occur between the guests and hotel workers.

Cabezas argument links these practices to race, gender, and class. Dark skinned woman get arrested more that light skinned woman from good neighborhoods. The law permits arresting women if they are found in public places and are not accompanied. On the other hand, male “sex workers” are viewed as heroes while woman are seen as deviant figures in society. She further states that the darker skin women are labeled as dangerous. For example, woman can be placed in institutions/ rehabilitation centers in Cuba. These arrests serve for the government to exert their power and further promote “sex tourism”.

The concept of the “ Commons” refers the give and take between community members. This concept is linked to “Global Care Chains”. According to Hochschild, these chains represent links between people across the world. Moreover, what is being discussed is how the migration of women has affected them and the children they leave behind. Migrate women leave their children in the care of family members, to go to another country to make money. According to Yeates, the foundation to the care chains is known as “the socio-emotional commons”. This refers to a way people pay back a favor not with money but by bartering favors and it also refers to the social resources that community members have in common.

According to the article, women are forced to migrate to other countries for reasons such as: collapse of their countries economies and political reasons. The concept of “commons” and “capital” is important to understand because women migrates are forced to leave their children behind and leave them in the care of other family members. This has caused what Devi has referred to as “empathetic rupture”. The children still miss their mothers. The caregivers cannot replace her. According to Devi, this causes the children of migrates to distrust, because their mothers have broken their emotional bond to their children by leaving them behind. Moreover, they never feels like part of the family members family. They may feel like a guest or like they are a burden to the caregiver.

“Social Capital “refers to the way that the women pay back their family members for taking care of their children. The act of caring for the child is seen as an enormous favor. In exchange, the woman may send gifts to her child and to the family member. She may also pay for the family members health care. In any event, the migration of women has caused shifts in the families they leave behind. The article cites how relationships are broken and that the mother is no longer the central figure in her child’s life.

The feeling as if I did not belong or when I was being treated like an outsider occurred when I got married and became a new mom. I was raised in a Hispanic community and attended a Catholic school – for elementary and middle school. These elementary and middle school years were filled with a fairly predictable environment. Everyone new one another and shared the same values and traditions. For High School, I attended an Independent Prep School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Here the environment was very different, however, I did not feel like an outsider. The majority of students were from different parts of New York or from other countries. Everybody worked together as a community and promoted an inclusive environment.

When I got married I moved to the Gramercy Park area over 20 years ago. As a young and new mom, my dream was that I would continue the Catholic School tradition with my kids. I put my son in the local Catholic School nursery program because according to the school, those students would get preference for their K-8 program. My son was the only Hispanic student in the class. From the get go we felt that we were being treated like an outsider by other parents. The class was primarily comprised of Irish students and run by class moms and a teacher that was seeking her certification. Although we participated and paid our tuition, dues and other costs, my son was not accepted to their K-8 program. When we questioned why he was not accepted, we were told that we had not attended weekly masses on a regular basis.

Following this incident, I left the school feeling devastated. I questioned my beliefs, who I was as a Hispanic woman, and even what was wrong with me. My frustration led to me reject the Catholic Church. I felt devalued and needed to redefine myself. Nevertheless, through the process of self-definition, hard work and perseverance my son has had an amazing education at a Manhattan private school. He has graduated from college and has an amazing job.

Oppression can come from institutions like “Catholic Schools. However, like Collins discusses in “Learning from the Outsider Within”, these experiences are opportunities to re-examine our culture and ourselves.

Foucault’s reference to a “technology of sex” seems to suggest a transformation from the “Repressive Theory”. A transformation from the 17th century history of sexuality that includes sex being contained in the home to the 20th century when methods of repression were beginning to get lifted. The “technology of sex” is a new way to analyze sexuality, and according to Foucault this occurred in the 19th century. He also states that the transformation opened more opportunities for other changes and techniques to be developed.

Foucault’s argument seems to characterize sexuality as a way to show that the history of sexuality began with the bourgeois preoccupation of ensuring and extending their noble family lineages. It was not a rejection of pleasure as previously suggested by the “repressive theory”. Nobles wanted to ensure the strength of their lineage and did not acknowledge the lower or working classes as humans or as ones who had sex. The lower classes had no worth. Foucault suggests that the bourgeois used the innovation of psychoanalysis to share their personal desires. However, psychoanalysis could be experienced more by the bourgeois than to the lower classes. The bourgeois used their perception of sexuality as a way to control and dominate society. The bourgeois not only wanted to control society but to correct the sexuality of children, women, and wanted to be alerted of any potential health problems that could effect hereditary traits of future offspring. An innovation that helped with this came during the 19th century when, the medicine of sex and the body was separated. Programs were developed to improve the human population and studies regarding hereditary traits.

“Technology of Sex” represented innovative methods and techniques to analyze sexuality. Innovations like the “technology of power” were limited only to the upper and dominant classes. Foucault’s reference of the “technology of sex” presents an argument to oppose the “Repressive Theory” that has been circulating for centuries.

According to the author, Michel Foucault, “the History of Sexuality” is a history of repression and began during the Victorian era. Prior to this time, during the 17^th century, sexuality was openly discussed and adults could express themselves without shame. However, the opposite was true in the 19^th century. This period became a time where sexuality was treated with great secrecy. It was limited to the home and reproduction was its primary function. Foucault attributes this repressed attitude towards sexuality as a result of Capitalism.

Furthermore, Foucault discusses that this atmosphere created one of repression. It sought to eliminate sexuality from society and act as if it did not exists. The only place where talking about sexual acts was accepted was in mental hospitals and brothels. Although some progress as made by Freud’s work, sexuality was equally contained on a couch with a therapist, like it was contained in the bedroom between couples. The reason Foucault cites this notion is its connection to politics. Foucault suggests that the repression of sexuality is directly linked to control and politics.

With the development of Capitalism, the purpose of sex was to reproduce and ensure a labor force. The author cites that sex was not to be spoken about and that this prohibition caused feelings of fear. Additionally, it prevents us from connecting sexuality with pleasure and causes feelings of guilt. Moreover, Foucault points out that these antiquated feelings about sexuality where reinforced by religious figures.

Part One of Foucault’s, “The History of Sexuality” is the introduction where Foucault provides the history of sexuality. In the early 17^th century, sex was openly discussed. During the Victorian age, the development of Capitalism caused sexual acts to become confined to the home and the bedroom. Talking about it was prohibited. Foucault’s introduces three doubts that he aims at addressing and his “Repressive Hypothesis”. These doubts are not only to explore the history of sexuality, but also to connect it to current perceptions in today’s society, by analyzing who are the people and institutions talking about it.

Questions:

1. What role did religion play in the repression of sexuality?
2. Are we still a society of “Other Victorians”?

The “Other”, as describe by Hooks, are all people that are not White. The “Other” is so different than Whites that they take on a mystical quality that Whites want to secretly come in contact with.   Examples of “Others” mentioned by Hooks are Blacks, Native Americans, and Asians.

White males want to come in contact but not because they see them as equal but because the “Others” offer pleasure that they cannot receive in their world. Moreover, conquering “Others” also served as a rite of passage. Hooks describe this in the passage where she overheard white college males. They felt that coming into contact with the “Other” would transform them.

Hooks characterizes the relationship to “Otherness” as productive because it is used as a commodity. Hooks describes how stereotypes are used in advertising when Whites encounters “ Others”. There is a fantasy image to encounter “others” in plays, movies, music, and fashion advertisement. Each commercialized venue tends to connect this encounter with “others” with an encounter with the “primitive”. According to Hooks, the intention is not to show domination as in the past, but highlight a desire to be connected.

One example of the relationship of “Otherness” as described by Hooks is in the movie “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover”. Here one White man dominates black males. The connection with “others’ serves as a metaphor for pleasure and death. Here by eating black food supposedly one achieves power and privileges in the imagination of whites.

Another commodity of “otherness’ is seen through the advertisement ads of “Tweeds” magazine. Here the models are photographed in Egypt. Egypt and its people are not highlighted. According to Hooks, what is highlighted is the ability for Whites to travel around the world with the desire to come in contact with “others”. Furthermore, this connection shows that Whites have freedom, unlike “others”.

By using this desire to connect with “others”, Hooks implies that Black Nationalism becomes powerless. Racial stereotypes used in commodities further serve as a disadvantage and not a helpful method to providing unity between people from different racial groups.

C.J. Pascoe’s illustrates how students, teachers and the school administration play an intricate role to the cultural meanings of gender and sexuality at River High. Almost, fifty percent of River High’s student population is white and this also plays a role in why the administration and teachers reinforce a negative and masculine image of sexuality. School activities, rituals, curriculum, and administrative discipline all help to foster a homophobic environment and promote a heterosexual one instead.

Pascoe begins Chapter 1 with River High’s ritual activity called Mr. Cougar. This is a competition between six male senior students who want to get gets crowned Mr. Cougar. Mr. Cougar represents the top male senior. The top student gets crowned Mr. Cougar, after preforming a skit mocking and dressing up as a “nerd”. This event is allowed to take place by the administration and by the teachers. Moreover, the student’s mother is invited to cheer him on, further reinforcing that to be masculine you must be strong and not inferior. In the “nerd “ skit the senior talks with a feminine voice and the entire student body cheers him on. The students’ applause further confirms their definition of what it means to be masculine. The “nerds’ are depicted as weak and cannot save their girlfriends. The skits showed that by being strong and having muscles that was the true meaning of being a heterosexual man and the true meaning of being the top Senior at River High. Moreover, the skits also depict black males with an equally negative image as the “nerds”. They are labeled as “gangstas”. In the skits, the black males kidnapped the girlfriends. It is the white males that come to rescue them.

Pascoe argues that gender evolves through a repetitive process and that leads to categorizing individuals. He illustrates that because identity is being explored during the teenage years, these school events like the Mr. Cougar skit, negatively promote strong, muscular males as being the meaning of a masculine heterosexual male. That image is glorified through the students’ cheers, through the administration’s policy to conduct such an event and by the parents who attend these events and applaud their child’s performance.

The concept of “monstrosity” bridges both Morgan’s and Davis’ works.  In Morgan’s work, the history how European countries justified the exploitation and the enslavement of black women is explored. In Davis’ work, Davis further explores the history but also connects the “dehumanization of slavery” and the role of a black woman as a slave in America.

Morgan discusses how Europeans saw the physical features of black women as flawed. Morgan shares that through the writings of English authors, these physical features were being compared to European women. An African woman’s features were depicted as less beautiful and more “monstrous”. This image of “monstrosity” dehumanized women and was used to justify the enslavement of African women. Further images were depicted of women delivery children without suffering and pain. Moreover, these women supposedly fed their children with their long sagging breast while their children were on their backs. These horrendous images further portrayed African women as barbaric and even as cannibals. Morgan’s establishes the history of how by dehumanizing African women, Europeans were able to justify why they enslaved African women.

Davis connects the European history of the enslavement of women to further justify the exploitation of black women in America during slavery. Davis’ cites that because the Europeans already dehumanized black women, the womanhood of the black woman was also taken away. The ‘monstrosity” concept lived on in America. Davis implies that they had no identity in society, and could almost be seen as being “genderless”. A black woman who was a slave had a clear role to slave owners. Black woman were their possessions and were not seen as individuals. Their roles were to work and reproduce in order to ensure the future of the workforce. Davis describes woman as being “breeders”. Because of the “monstrous” and “dehumanized” images of black women slaves, Davis cites that this was not only justification for enslavement, but also justification for the horrendous abuse that women faced at the hands of their slave owners.

The author, Jennifer Morgan, immediately makes a connection between the female body and racism in the first paragraph. Here she highlights how Europeans viewed an African woman’s hair, color and facial features as something that was flawed. The racist’s views were used as a way to justify slavery. A common theme regarding the connecting of the female and racism is the labeling of African women as “beasts” or “monstrosities”, to further justify enslavement by Europeans and the Americas. This is clearly evident in the last paragraph on page 36.

In this paragraph, the link between an African woman’s ability to supposedly be able to have a painless childbirth and be able to breast feed her child with long hanging breasts over her shoulder is a justification that they were well suited to preforming hard labor. Morgan illustrates that these ideas were depicted and were circulated by different writers, including medical writers. The paragraph describes how medical writers during the 17^th century described childbirth and nursing as difficult work for a wealthy woman. The truth of the matter, according to Morgan, was that the English feared that they would die during childbirth. Morgan suggests that the English accepted the pain during childbirth as confirmation that they were part of a “Christian community”. This brings back the notion, that if African women were more capable of hard labor. Moreover, according to writer Saidiya Hartman, African women were able to take the pain from a lashing or branding. The shocking revelation made by this comment suggests that the ability to withstand that pain, further improved them by becoming slaves. Morgan views that by writers circulating these views, readers were learning about African women with amazement. Lastly, Morgan illustrates in Chapter 1 and in the passage reference that the English established a connection between an African women’s ability to reproduce “painlessly” and breast feed her child as justification to enslaved them, because this ability along with their “flawed facial characteristics”, enabled them to preform hard labor.

QUESTION: Why did the English or “Christians” believe that African women were less religious?