fShaikhah has 10 post(s)

Coming from a society that has many prejudices like every other society, I had serval expectations to uphold as a Kuwaiti woman. Social obligations, family obligations, and many more were expected of me. Not living by society’s rules automatically made an individual an outsider.

When I was a freshman in The Gulf University of Science and Technology in Kuwait, I expected the students including myself to focus on studying and gaining a proper education. However, it was not the case, I was considered an outsider for not maintaining a very active social life (regularly attending societal functions) and not dressing up like the other girls. Because I came from a certain social class I was expected to be like the other girls in my class. Occasionally I would dress up like these girls and attend societal events, yet I was not always accepted. Although I was within this class and within this gender, I was not accepted because I didn’t uphold their standards regularly. On the occasions when I was accepted into this group, I still didn’t feel like my true myself. I felt like an outsider within my own group. In addition, as I was adjusting to this new university environment, I realized that although Kuwaiti women had several expectations to maintain, the Kuwaiti men had very few. These men came to university dressing up in any way they wanted to, sweat pants or dress shirts it didn’t matter.

This experience showed me the importance of self-value in terms of being an outsider. If I wanted to be an insider or a part of a group, I would have to erase all my individuality.

I think that “Learning from the outsider within,” by Patricia Hill-Collins, demonstrates to us how a person can be an outsider within their race, gender, etc. In my case I was considered an outsider within my own class and within my own gender. Although people outside of my group thought I belonged to my group, people inside my group considered me an outsider.

In Part 4 of Chapter 4 of “The History of Sexuality”, Foucault emphasizes what he calls, “a technology of sex” (1978:123). To explain the “technology of sex”, I will need to first explain the significance of the theory of “degenerescence”. This theory implied that sexual perversions resulted in the corruption of one’s bloodline. This implication became the base of new technologies of sex. The concept of degeneracy to sex lead people to think that sexual perversions were hereditary. The widespread of concerns resulted in the creation on “technology of sex” as a preventive and controlling measure, for example medicine. In addition, this concern created a change for their society in term of sex – sex would not only harm a person but it could harm their family as well.

I will discuss how medicine was used as a technology of sex and how its application helped us understand sexuality. Medicine or the medical institutions were created to prevent sexual perversions and the “diseases” (they might entail on the family), and ensure “normality” within the family (1978:123). Eugenics was one of the results of this technology, thus the concern became about life and illness rather than punishment.

In my opinion, through using medicine as an example of the technology of sex, I think that Foucault is explaining to us how sex can be controlled, specifically towards the lower class. In this chapter he emphasizes the interest of the bourgeoisie (upper-class), and how these theories and ideals placed on the lower class are used to cater them, especially in terms of repression. The repression in the nineteenth century was meant to increase the dominance of the bourgeoisie, thus the deployment of sexuality on the lower class. In abusing their power, the bourgeoisie managed to exaggerate the importance of sex rather than repress it. In conclusion, sexuality varies depending on one’s class, for the bourgeoisie/upper class it was used in means of self-affirmation and for the lower class it was used as means of control. Proving that because sexuality became a means of exercising power and control, repression did not actually exist.

In “History of Sexuality” by Michel Foucault, he discusses the discourse around sex within regards to repression. In part one “We “Other Victorians,” during the 17^th century sexual practices were shameless and people were more sexually liberated. It wasn’t until the rise of the Bourgeois that sex became confined to secrecy. Sexual practices and discourses were then only found at home, strictly between a husband and his wife.  Which they believed would eliminate any discourse about sex and sexuality, however this secrecy in itself was a form of discourse. Which leads Foucault to question whether or not there is repression and how and why sexuality was suppressed. (“Repressive Hypothesis”) 1) Is history linked to repression? 2) Are the workings of powers used in terms of repression? 3) Is the discourse being addressed a new type of repression or it is just repeated from history? By questioning the repression, he is not denying it, but he is further explaining how these counterargument questions will explain how repression is linked to power and knowledge. Foucault wants to explain his version of the “truth about sex” and expose the purpose behind the repression.

The confinement and repression in sex was made to create a source of power, the power to control who speaks about sex what kind of knowledge is released. In other words, to control the discourse. In the instances, such as marriage, looking at it from Foucault’s perspective we can see how marriage, an institution where people are restricted to certain information, we see how power was used in marital practices to maintain a specific discourse about sex. In conclusion, controlling the discourse and knowledge about sex and sexuality are approaches to maintain power.

Question 1: Are they repressed about sex if sex is spoken about in secrecy?

Question 2: How would restricting people of certain knowledge affect repression?

In this response I will attempt to explain the relationship to “the other” that bell hooks describe. In addition to Who or what is “the Other”, and what characterizes the relationship to “otherness” as productive.

In “Eating the Other”, Bell Hook discusses the “other” and how they are treated. I believe that the term “other” is used to reference the other/different races and cultures compared to the whites, and their relationship to different races, specifically how the “others” accommodate the whites (men). Hook portrayed the “other” as a commodity that the white’s want to experience. By consuming the commodity, the white’s become dominant group. These consumers believed that the “Others” were more experienced sexually because they came from a different culture, making them more experienced. This “rite of passage” experience would provide them both transformation and experience. (Hook, 368). The “Others” are seen as commodities through advertisements, where they have to appeal to all backgrounds and attract the white “normal” crowd.

What is usually associated with experience to these men is sexual experiences with the opposite race, because they consider the “other’s” (black’s) culture to be highly sexualized and experienced. By sexually encountering these different races, these men are entering new worlds of sexuality (entering the world as different man). From a white male supremacy perspective this threatens them through the pleasure one can experience from the “other”. Having a relationship with the “other” can show weakness towards their history and dominance dynamic. Thus by using commercialized venues such as movies, they are able to promote the value of a white person to the “other’s” life, while asserting their dominant position and enforcing the image of  others as a mean of pleasure.

In my opinion, the relationship to the “other” is considered productive because it exposes people to the division of races and cultures rather than exploit them.

In “Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School”, C.J. Pascoe discusses how students, teachers, and administrators contribute to the cultural meanings around gender and sexuality. She introduced these concepts through a skit that was performed at River High. In this response, I will discuss how administrators in particular contribute to cultural understandings of gender and sexuality, by examining the case of River High.

At River high, administrators were dismissing topics about sexuality due to their belief that other sexualities would disrupt the normal course of life. To promote heteronormative lifestyles, officials created events in which they can enforce this ideology. For example, this behavior on the part of the administrators can be seen through the school dances and competitions. In these events (which tend to have a sexualized environment) students are assumed to attend as heterosexual or “normal” couples. Thus, by endorsing events that promote heterosexual relationships, administrators can eliminate differences in expressions of sexual orientation. In addition to restricting students of different sexual orientation, they promote gender differences and stereotypes. This can be seen with the policies at River High that were made to emphasize differences in between “boys” and “girls” such as, dissimilar dress code requirements. For examples, while all students are expected to cover up certain parts of their skin, female students are expected to cover up their midriff while male students are not.

To conclude, the administrators contributed to the cultural meanings around gender and sexuality by providing the essential support and space, in which they were able to enforce their own rules that restrict different expressions of gender identity and sexual orientation. By utilizing the power that they have as school officials, administrators created a platform where they are able to influence their students into a particular meaning of gender and sexuality.

In this response I am focusing on the concept of “motherhood”, and how it’s been covered in different readings. Throughout the readings, we read about how women were oppressed and given very little opportunities. In particular, we read about how mothers had severe expectations placed on them, such as obeying their husbands and taking care of their children. However, in this passage, Davis discusses how this ideal of motherhood doesn’t fully apply to female black slaves. “The slave system defined Black people as chattel. Since women, no less than men, were viewed as profitable labor-units, they might as well have been genderless as far as the slaveholders were concerned. In the words of one scholar, “the slave woman was first a full-time worker for her owner, and only incidentally a wife, mother and homemaker.”10 Judged by the evolving nineteenth century ideology of femininity, which emphasized women’s roles as nurturing mothers and gentle companions and housekeepers for their husbands, Black women were practically anomalies.” (Davis, 9) Like Davis, Morgan talked about the different standards that applied to black mothers. “Like his predecessors, Ligon offered further proof of Africans’ capacity for physical labor-their aptitude for slavery-through ease of childbearing. “In a fortnight [after giving birth] this woman is at worke with her Pickaninny at her back, as merry a soule as any is there.” 104 In the Americas, African women’s purportedly pain-free childbearing thus continued to be central… “when slave mothers go to work, they tie the young children onto their backs. While they work they frequently give their children the breasts, across the armpits, and let them suckle.” In less outlandish terms then, Spoeri worked to reconcile the tension between mothering and hard labor.” (Morgan, 48-49) In this passage, Morgan discusses how travelers reconciled the contradiction between the hard labor that would be expected of black female slaves and the usual expectations of motherhood at that time. At that time, (white) women were expected to be nurturing, gentle and to not work.

Davis and Morgan both discuss the concept of motherhood and how it is applied differently to white and black mothers. In my opinion, these standards are applied to maintain white male supremacy. When it comes to white women, these men want women to be obedient and gentle, and not work (not have economic power). As for black women, these man want them to preform hard labor. Therefore, the expectation or stereotype placed on women is that they can handle both hard labor and child rearing.

In chapter one of “Male Travelers, Female Bodies, and Racial Ideology”, Jennifer Morgan explains the connection between the female body and racism. Throughout the chapter, a common theme was familiarity and unfamiliarity. The familiar in this case was the gender of the native women, and the unfamiliar was their race, and the features and behaviors associated with it.

Although this theme is present throughout the chapter, the last paragraph on page 28, is a good example of this reoccurring theme. Jobson starts off by mentioning the African women’s beauty and the familiarity of their features. However, he only praises their behaviors when they match his. For example, when Morgan discusses Jobson’s fascination with the African women’s modesty. She points out that the lack of modesty found in the African culture contradicts his expectations of women in his culture. Therefore, due to the traveler’s unfamiliarity with the native’s lifestyle, natives are depicted as uncivil and savages.

In my opinion, the connection between the female’s body and racism was demonstrated through the exploitation of the female’s bodies. In this chapter, travelers and writers wrote about their explorations in new countries, in which they discriminated its locals based on their (dark) features and behaviours. Most of the travelers mentioned were white males who shared common familiars. Such as, the familiarity of (white) women in femininity and modesty. Seeing the absences of these familiars lead them to exploit women in order to reconstruct a more “familiar” lifestyle for the natives. Images of women’s bodies was their mode of manipulation – exploiting women’s bodies as evidence to display the corruption of their lifestyle. Through this approach, travelers were able to direct the settlers towards a lifestyle of white male supremacy and cultural inferiority. Thus, because of the intersection of racism and sexism, women of racial minorities are objectified by being portrayed as savages and cabalist. Due to the traveler’s belief of their superiority and their familiarity of life.

In “The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women,”, Silvia Federici starts off by introducing the history of the labor force and its association with slavery. She compares the exploitation found in the labor force to the exploitation found in slavery. Federici gave us an overview of the work-force in Europe during the 1500’s-1900’s and was able to demonstrate to us how the events of that time lead to the degradation of women. For example, between the 16^th-17^th century, women lost their job opportunities and were forced to procreate. Laws and policies endorsed this and anyone who went against it was punished. Women’s bodies became more of a public territory than a personal one. Thus women were reduced to objects rather than humans, degrading their status. Moreover, at the start of land privatization in Europe in the late 1500’s, women still maintained some jobs, but due to the unequal pay they were unable to support themselves. This situation led to women being dependent on men, reinforcing the male dominant hierarchy. As more and more policies and obstacles were put, women started losing further opportunities to work.

In my opinion, much like Davis, Federici is showing us how women were oppressed and unfairly treated through institutional forces, such as policies. From the many events given to us in this chapter, as well as from the reading last week, it appears to me that oppressive policies, such as not allowing minorities to vote or not allowing women to own property, are in put in place to keep the power with the controlling group (men). White men’s (those who were in leadership positions) desire for power led them to mistreat women, much like their mistreatment of minority racial groups. Therefore, the more restrictions they place on other members of society (women, racial minorities, etc.), the more they can keep absolute power for a longer time and stop the other groups from gaining any power in society or government.

In “Women, Race, and Class,” Angela Davis references many figures and events that help the reader understand the relationship between the history of women’s movements to the topics of gender, class and race. Davis provides many examples that show the reader time and time again, that race, gender, and class are linked and cannot be separated. One figure that I found to be a good example of this interrelation is Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who had an integral contribution in the women’s rights movement. Born and raised in a white middle-class family, she was frustrated with her lifestyle. Years later, after becoming a mother and a housewife, she attended the Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840 alongside her abolitionist husband. However, when she attended the convention, she was excluded from fully participating. For example, she wasn’t allowed to speak. Due to experiencing such sexism, she decided to help create a movement that would promote gender equality. Elizabeth helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention in 1840, a convention that focused on justice and equality for women. However, Davis pointed out a fact that was very hypocritical in the message of the convention. The Seneca Falls Convention excluded black women. In my opinion, these two conventions and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s experience are put by Davis as perfect examples of what happens when we focus on gender and neglect race/class or focus on race and forget gender.

Race (or class) and gender are linked and we cannot separate them. The women who organized the Seneca Falls Convention assumed they were promoting equality for “women,” when they were in fact promoting equality for “White” women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her fellow organizers believed that they should respond to the sexism in the anti-slavery movement by focusing on gender, but that led to the exclusion of racial minorities. To truly fight for equality in an inclusive way that reflects people’s experience, we have to look at the intersection of race and gender. This reading led to reflect on my experience as a woman from a religious minority. As a Muslim woman, my experience is different from women of different races and ethnicities and so are my experiences with inequality. Muslim women face objectification and sexism like many women, but they also face Islamophobia due to their religion. Black women face sexism and racism. Davis shows us that race, gender, and class are related and therefore, any movement that aims to promote true equality must include all of them.

Hey everyone, my name is Shaikhah Alhomaizi. I’m an International transfer student from Kuwait. This is my first semester at Hunter and I’m a Community Health major.