IJFAB Blog | Official Blog of IJFAB: the International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

Male Models of Misogyny: Examining Sexist Representations of Women in the Media

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Ula KleinJune 30, 2014

Whenever I teach a unit on the representation of women in the media in an undergraduate course, I inevitably have students read John Berger’s chapter on the nude in Western art in Ways of Seeing in conjunction an online essay on the male gaze in fashion advertising. Berger’s discussion of nude vs. naked translates well into a discussion of the representation of women in modern advertising. The vacant yet alluring stare, the manipulation of the male gaze, the access of (male) power through (female) sexuality—they are all there, whether we are looking at Peter Lely’s portrait of Nell Gwyn as Venus, or a contemporary perfume advertisement.

“This is Not Sex: A Web Essay on the Male Gaze, Fashion Advertising, and the Pose,” starts by comparing images of young men striking the same poses and expressions as ones found in various advertisements directed towards women. They look silly and ludicrous, and the essay then reveals the original advertisements, asking the reader to consider why these poses seem so strange, stilted and silly when men strike them, while they seem “natural” and even attractive when women assume them. Continue reading →

Jon Stewart on recent sexual assault at James Madison University

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 30, 2014

The perpetrators punished with … graduation. With more on tips for men and women on navigating campus life:

“You’re telling me that women just spend their whole day navigating an obstacle course of sexual menace?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”

Find it here if you haven’t seen it already.

“Has higher education recreated the conditions that led to Sophistry’s rise?”

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 26, 2014

In ancient Athens, reviews could make tutors’ reputations and there was fierce competition between educators. Sound familiar?

Jonathan Wolff at The Guardian.

Women, Sports and Confidence: The Role of Roller Derby

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Ula KleinJune 26, 2014

Women’s roller derby has had a checkered history. Even now, with the modern version gaining speed and popularity, many people still associate derby with the staged, televised 1970s banked-track version of the sport. Those earlier iterations were made of pro teams with salaried players who often fought dirty to make their big bucks, and today the sport is still dogged by such stereotypes.

Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Today’s derby is played exclusively by amateur teams (for now, anyway). Its rules prohibit punching, elbowing and other forms of illegal and dangerous contact, and it’s the fastest growing sport in America at the moment. By far the greatest popularity and growth is currently enjoyed by all-women’s flat track roller derby, whose rules are made and regulated by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

The growth of derby is due by and large by its appeal to and acceptance of all women. Without regard for body type, social class, job, age, race, ethnicity or sexuality, derby will accept you. I have been playing derby for two years now and have found it to be a satisfying and enjoyable way to meet new people, work out, and, for the first time ever, be an athlete. Many articles have even touted derby as promoting a good example of how sports can accept gay, lesbian and trans players, including an ESPN profile of Gotham Roller Girls’ star player Bonnie Thunders, who has been called the “LeBron James of roller derby.”

The author, “Jane AweStun,” in her derby gear.

While derby naturally attracts women who played team sports in school or college, it also attracts many women, like myself, who never played a team sport or who found them downright unappealing after being forced to play on co-ed teams in required gym classes. My own personal experience of team sports in school was of the kid always chosen last, who could neither kick nor catch a kickball very well and who, thus, did not really enjoy sports. Roller derby, with its grassroots appeal and its welcoming attitude, attracted me as soon as I heard about it.

Continue reading →

“The Quiet Clash Between Transgender Women And Drag Queens”

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 26, 2014

Find the article at ThinkProgress.

Wish you were in Mexico City?

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 25, 2014

FAB members chatting and catching up at the end of the day at the FAB World Congress in Mexico City. (Montage courtesy Alison Reinheld.

FAB members chatting and catching up at the end of the day at the FAB World Congress in Mexico City. (Montage courtesy Alison Reiheld.)

To learn more about FAB, visit fabnet.org.

“Are Women Safer When They Learn Self-Defense?”

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 25, 2014

The short answer: yes.

Overall, 12 percent of the women in the self-defense group reported some form of sexual intrusion during the follow-up period, versus 30 percent in the control group. This latter figure (nearly one in three) is consistent with the rate of sexual victimization of female college students nationwide.

Read more about the class, specifically designed for women, here.

“What My Son’s Disabilities Taught Me About ‘Having It All'”

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Eva KittayJune 24, 2014

This is so wonderful and so sane. Her son is her SON. My daughter is my DAUGHTER. That is the most important thing for us. They are our wonderful children and not the imperfect people others insist they are.

Because of her child’s problems, the author will never have a tidy, peaceful life. But none of this keeps her from being happy — as long as she asks herself the right questions.

Find the Atlantic article here.

PJW Note: If you have not already read it, please also view Eva Kittay’s earlier, related post, “No More Ashley Treatments.”

“What My Son’s Disabilities Taught Me About ‘Having It All'”

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Eva KittayJune 24, 2014

Because of her child’s problems, the author will never have a tidy, peaceful life. But none of this keeps her from being happy — as long as she asks herself the right questions.

Find the Atlantic article here.

PJW Note: If you have not already read it, please also view Eva Kittay’s earlier, related post, “No More Ashley Treatments.”

The Health Benefits of Bullying?

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Tim JohnstonJune 24, 2014

A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found that a child’s role in bullying (as either aggressor or victim) can have an impact on adult low-grade inflammation. Being a bully predicted lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a marker for adult low-grade inflammation. Conversely, being the victim of bullying predicted higher CRP levels.

I am always suspicious of the move to naturalize bullying, especially attempts to use either evolutionary psychology or sex hormones to explain bullying. That being said, the present study is more concerned with “test[ing] how this adverse social experience is biologically embedded,” and not explaining the bullying behavior itself, making it an interesting exploration into the connection between social experience and physiology. We have long recognized that these experiences have a psychological impact that lasts well into adulthood, and it is interesting to see research into the lingering physiological effects of bullying.

PJW Note: This, incidentally, turns up in my Newsfeed today: “A Problem of Power: Ending Bullying in School.”

Female Genital Mutilation On the Rise

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Ula KleinJune 22, 2014

Female genital mutilation, which, according to this NY Times article, has only been illegal in the US since 1996, is still the norm in at least 29 nations, according the UN. Despite the ban on the practice in Western countries such as the US and the UK, many African immigrant girls are still getting cut when they are sent on extended “vacations” to the home country.

A recent “sting” operation at Heathrow was designed to intercept families sending their girls home for cutting. Although there are many reasons presented by advocates of this practice, they all come back to the supposedly “traditional” need to control women, especially young girls’, sex and sexuality. The web apps, websites and advocates for victims of this practice, as described in the article, attest to the brutality of the practice and to the feeling among victims that this is oppressive. The very fact that cutting usually happens below the age of consent is reason enough that we, as a world community of humanitarians, feminists and fellow human beings, must speak out against this practice, just as we must speak out against other forms of violence against women. Cultural and tradition cannot be held up as veils to shield this kind of egregious violence and attack on basic human rights to control over one’s body.

Trigger Warnings in the Classroom?

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Patrick J. WelshJune 22, 2014

A co-authored piece, “Trigger Warnings Are Flawed,” appeared in Inside Higher Ed earlier this year to explain how the movement to introduce trigger warnings into a classroom setting is already having a “chilling effect” on pedagogy. The authors proceed to present ten reasons to press back and four more salutary measures we could take to better address the needs of students.

Yet, the movement remains very much alive. Earlier this week Angela Shaw-Thornburg contributed a piece to the Chronicle of Higher Education, “This is a Trigger Warning,” explaining how much suffering she might have been spared were such warnings in place during her education. She concludes,

Language is powerful, images even more so. A word or an image is as capable of triggering hurt or delivering violence as a fired gun. To blithely introduce powerful, rousing images of violence into your classroom, to tell your students that these words and images are worthy of thought and study, and then to deny that such stuff might at least bruise those students is the worst kind of hypocrisy for those whose stock in trade is the word. Our students deserve better.

As much as my heart goes out to Shaw-Thornburg, I continue to side with the authors of the earlier piece in believing that mandated warnings are bad idea and that we should instead take other measures to promote the mental health of our students. Aside from the practical difficulties of predicting in advance what could trigger a student, the chilling effect on teachers in their decisions about what sort of material to teach could be quite real, and junior or adjunct faculty working in the humanities would be disproportionately affected.

As always, comments are most welcome. If you think I’m being hard-hearted, by all means, speak up. Or, if you have implemented such warnings in your own classroom (or been pressured to do so), please share your story.