Have you ever considered how our societies messages about gender perpetuate gender roles and stereotypes in our children? Because there is definitely a huge intersection between how we perform gender and relate to and the culture and our exposure to gender as children. Gender Through Socialization Look around at any toy store: you’ll probably see […]
*Trigger Warning: Sexual Violence* I just started college a couple of weeks ago and already there has been a rape and a sexual assault reported to the police from our campus. Considering that only a very small percentage of sexual assaults are even reported to the police, it’s sickening to imagine what the actual number […]
Gender is one of the most powerful social forces in our lives- it shapes not only our view of the world, but also the view of ourselves. Whether we are assigned to be a man or woman at birth affects the lens through which we perceive, learn, negotiate and understand society. Unfortunately there are a […]
Women aren’t really encouraged to get to know their bodies, especially when it comes to genitalia. They are taught from a young age that touching themselves “down there” is bad and that we shouldn’t touch, sniff, taste or even look at their genitals. Women are taught that our sexual pleasure and gratification doesn’t matter and […]
There are always a lot of conversations, books, articles and talks given on body image. We are told of the staggering statistics around eating disorders and told of how the media glorification of unrealistic bodies shatters self-esteem. Of the heart-wrenching stories of 8 year-olds dieting because they think they are too fat. However, we don’t […]
Recently, I read the book “Feminism is Queer” which explored the intersections between feminist and queer theory from a theoretical standpoint. There was an entire section devoted to the topic of gender and I couldn’t help but to feel inspired to talk about how gender ties into oppression and feminism in so, so many different […]
Sex and gender are often used synonymously. However, they mean far from the same thing. Sex refers to your biological makeup as being a male or female that is determined by your external genitalia, gonads and chromosomes. Gender refers to the social meaning and identity that is formed and is complimentary (most often) to your […]
It seems that body hair is a hot topic…when it comes to women at least. It’s seen as normal and natural for men to have hair on their legs, armpits, arms and faces but if women even have a little fuzz, they are instantly shamed and ostracized. Women aren’t allowed to do with their body […]
See a shirtless guy running around a beach, pool, mowing the lawn or simply relaxing on a hot day and they won’t even get a second glance. But imagine you saw a topless woman doing these same activities…you would probably feel some type of offense, or you may sexualize her body or even arrest her, […]
In a previous article, I touched on how our culture tells us that fashion is a female thing and while men can still be interested in it, it’s almost always coming from a female perspective (i.e. women’s fashions). There’s really a lot more to be said on this subject, especially when it comes to how […]