Today, we’re looking at two very different visual projects about birth control: “Risky Contraceptive Methods Some Women Are Forced to Use” The Guardian “Repackaging the Pill” 99% Invisible As you look through both of them, consider the following questions: The topic of both of these pieces is contraception; describe how each piece tells a completely… Read More Contraception Visuals
Today we’re looking at Mika Doyle’s Bustle article, “A New Report Says There’s a Major Link Between Gender Equality & Birth Control Use.” As you read through the piece, consider the following questions: Why do you think birth control is an important part of gender equality? Why the link to birth control amongst teens particularly important?… Read More Gender Equality and Birth Control
Today, we’re going to watch a potion of the Barbican Art Gallery’s “Masculinities: Liberation through Photography.” In small groups, answer the following questions: The curator quotes Simone de Beauvoir, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” She then suggests that the same if for men. What do you think de Beauvoir and the… Read More Curating Masculinity
Today, we’re looking at Michael Salter’s Atlantic article, “The Problem with a Fight Against Toxic Masculinity.” In small groups, answer the following questions: What is your definition of ‘toxic masculinity?’ How does it compare with the definition put forth in the article? The article claims that “common masculine ideals such as social respect, physical strength,… Read More Fixing Toxic Masculinity
In The Atlantic’s “Wikipedia’s Hostility to Women,” Emma Paling notes that “Wikipedia is suffering from a cyclical kind of sexism.” With this in mind, consider the following questions as we read the article: What does the first example of Lightbreather tell us about the treatment of women on Wikipedia? How do you feel about Wikipedia’s Arbitration… Read More Wikipedia Hostile to Women
Today we’re reading Katrina Krämer’s article “Female Scientists’ Pages Keep Disappearing from Wikipedia – What’s Going On?” in Chemistry World. As we read this article, consider some of the following questions: In their policy on notability Wikipedia states that “the person who is the topic of a biographical article should be “worthy of notice” or “note”… Read More Female Scientists Notability and Wikipedia
Today, we’re going to read about “Feminist Standpoint Theory” in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Read through it and answer the following questions: What is a standpoint? What does it mean that “Knowledge is socially situated”? Why is it important that research “begin with the lives of the marginalized”? What is essentialism? Why is this important… Read More Feminist Standpoint
Today, we are reading Audre Lorde’s essay, “Sexism: American Disease in Blackface,” from one of the most important collections of feminist essays, Sister Outsider (see Canvas for reading). Lorde’s essay starts with a bold claim, “Black Feminism is not white feminism in blackface” (60). What is blackface? How do your understanding of blackface help you understand… Read More Lorde’s Sexism a Disease in Blackface
TW: There are descriptions and depictions of violence against black women. Today, we are watching Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TEDTalk, “The Urgency of Intersectionality” As we watch this during class, take note of concepts, terminology, or names that you are unfamiliar with or that strike you. After we watch the Talk, you’ll assemble in small groups and… Read More Urgency of Intersectionality
In “Respecting Trans Lives on Wikipedia,” Pax Ahimsa Gethen argues that “there is no universal trans story or experience.” Keep this idea in mind as you move forward reading about trans folx and how you might write about their lives. Gethen states that they dislike “self-identified” as a way of describing gender. Why? What is… Read More Trans Lives on Wikipedia
Alison A. Lukowski 