masculinity and hegemony.

I think masculinity and hegemony are still definitely related. It's almost a hard concept to grasp, especially as a woman in contemporary society, but ruling positions are still dominated by men. And I think that some people still believe that masculinity and hegemony should be related. Men like power and power likes men. Yes, we are growing toward the acceptance of women in power but that doesn't mean that society isn't hesitant. When Hilary Clinton was running for president, I vaguely recall a comment along the lines of "We cannot have a woman running our country!". Not only did this bother me extensively, it still continues to do so. I don't think that masculinity and hegemony will be separated until woman at least dominate half of the workforce leadership positions.

Hegemony and Masculinity

For a long time, masculinity has been associated with hegemony. In the past, men were the ones who had the power. They were the ones making the choices, holding governmental positions, voting and actually being able to have a say. Women were expected to be subordinate and go along with what the men had decided for the both of them. As times progressed, the rights of the genders became more equal; however, it seems that the old ideas of subordination still exist, as if they have become engrained in our definitions of man and woman. It is not as prominent as it was even a few decades ago, but as a woman, I still feel its presence. It may not be as explicitly stated as it once was, but it is implied in many situations. A statement such as, “you throw like a girl” is not meant to attack a women, but it is meant to put down a man in a way that it makes him appear more woman-like, which has a negative connotation. It implies that it pulls the man down from this top location on the hierarchy, and brings him down to the level of a woman. It may be that we say this because men are generally better than woman at sports; however, even if this is true, why do we have to say it in this way? Why do we have to say a man is lesser by comparing him to a woman? Why can we not just say, “you can’t throw”? Maybe it is because as a society, we still view men as having the dominant position. If this is true, we allow the hegemony of masculinity to continue to exist.

Masculinity and Hegemony (and How Much That Exclusive Combination Pisses Me Off)

It makes me incredibly frustrated to think about masculinity and hegemony. There is unquestionably a connection between the two; leadership and dominance seems to be embedded in the prescribed social role of the male, just as emotionality and passivity seem to be embedded in that of the female. I'm not saying that all men are dominant or that all women are passive, but I do assert that these descriptions are expected and enforced by today's society. As Jeffrey noted in his post, men tend to keep the definition of masculinity in place by policing each other's actions. Women do the same for each other--and they do it for men by choosing males that exhibit the most supposedly masculine traits. Hence the stereotype of women pursuing men who are wealthy, powerful, and/or "bad boys." This perpetuates gender roles (including the link between power and masculinity). So how can gender roles be changed when people don't WANT them to change?! There are *some* people who are actively working for change, but they represent a drop in the bucket compared to the global population. As Professor Halberstam has mentioned, there is comfort in conformity, pleasure in the maintenance of gender roles. Lately I've become more sensitive to policing of traits based on gender, and it's ubiquitous. Men show distaste when women seem too muscular or powerful, and women express instant disgust when men show weakness or care about their appearance too much. Quite honestly, their disgust is disgusting to me, because it is such a perfect illustration of how human nature has perpetuated gender stereotypes and inequality for so long.

I wish we could all live in a bubble like the one Grace describes, where gender norms aren't policed and people can simply be themselves, without worrying about being mocked or about forcing themselves into the narrow boundaries of gender roles. That would be fantastic. Unfortunately, our world as a whole is nowhere near that kind of open-minded utopia. Gender roles (and the hegemony of masculinity) continue. And as much as I want them to change, I can't see how they will when they're constantly reinforced by society. It makes me sad. And angry. Damn herd mentality.

Masculinity and Hegemony

The stereotype on masculinity strongly enforces hegemonic behavior among men. If they have power over the people and things around them, then they are more important and therefore more masculine. Somewhere in time the idea was created that in order to be masculine you have to dominate everything in proximity; including women. Along with hegemony comes the idea that men will be "men" as long as they are above women. Therefore, in history there have been many instances where men have dragged women down in social order, political stature, or economic capability just to keep power among men. However, now that we've begun the 21st century we are past this hegemonic obsession. Boys are now learning that there is so much more to being a "man" than domination and control. It's about staying true to what you believe in.

Masculinity and Hegemony

Masculinity is certainly fueled by hegemony. Males have dominated many areas of society, such as the workplace, and the very definition of hegemony is domination by a specific social group. However, I do not believe that hegemony is exclusive to masculinity. I think that the desire for power and domination is an inherent characteristic in humans. The dominance simply changes from being the most skilled hunter and leader of your community to being the CEO of a powerful company. Men have achieved a version of hegemony in our society, but even this version is changing. Women too are now acting on their desire for power and protesting their inferiority. More and more women are claiming their spots in the workplace and rising to the top, beating out men. Hegemony, as I see it, is a desire for power and dominance. Men are not the only ones who thirst for that degree of power.

Gender Definitions

I have always thought that my definition of male and female was solely based on biological factors. I am realizing, with the help of Professor Halberstam and this class, that there are many, many social factors that I have managed to confuse with the biological factors when creating my definitions. Society has planted many ideas in our head that we now assume to be true. When attempting to analyze and define the two genders, I found that I could not separate fact from social influence. I am sure many people have the same issue. I did conclude that, to me, gender is composed of a spectrum. Some people are closer to extremes of their gender and others are a more balanced mix of the two. Besides the biological, a spectrum of genders allows for social influences to factor in as well.

Masculinity/ Hegemony

Masculinity and hegemony to me are very hard to distinguish a relationship. Masculinity is often taken as being the "alpha male" when taken out of context. Masculinity to me is the fact of being MASculine as in physically in shape, polite or a well rounded male. In that case I relate the two by if you are male and accept the role of society and aren't fighting for the simple dominance. You are a mature male to accept what society as a whole as agreed upon which relates to hegemony by agreeing to live in a society that has been built around a central dominance.

Masculinity & Hegemony

Hegemony and Masculinity definitely go hand in hand. All the more dominant roles in the past have been given to males. The competition for males to be the "better one" starts from a young age some examples include fake fighting and arm wrestling and so on... Also, I believe that hegemony came before masculinity. Hegemony is something that has existed for as long as humanity, whereas masculinity was only a result of femininity.

MAS(K)ulinity and Hegemony

The relationship between hegemony and masculinity is that they are both rooted in a desire for power if not dominance. Masculinity tends to be something constantly worked for, and masculinity gives status. Males often exploit their fear of losing their masculinity (status/power) by policing each others behaviors, actions and decisions. In that sense, I feel like masculinity is more of a display; bigger muscles, bigger car, bigger penis, all big everything and a better paying job are what some people find ideal.  Even in gay men culture, masculinity is favored over femininity and to a certain degree even they are policed or placed at the bottom of the rung. Men are rewarded for not challenging or questioning what masculinity is but adhering to 'the rules'. It's a facade and you might have to fake it to make it.   Females historically have been expected to relinquish power to men, while men refused to give up any  authoritative power and compete amongst themselves for it. Although hegemony and masculinity go hand in hand in the mainstream, it is not absolute because there are always exceptions when describing people. Things begin to shift in modern times, such as women in high places but to get there they are stereotyped as masculine or a bitch, but a man in the same situation is just being a man. Or in the context of a relationship, there are women who "wear the pants", which is considered a masculine role and the man is considered "whipped" and stripped of his masculinity, thus less of a man and less respectable among his peers.
This may be going off on a tangent but it makes me think of the movie " The Stepford Wives" not the original but the crappy 2004 remake. It takes a strong woman character who is the head of a company, who has a breakdown and her and her husband move to Stepford, where a bunch of men who were submissive to their dominating wives, "correct" them by implanting chips into their heads to make them submissive and cater to the mens every needs, and the main husband was badgered for not wanting to do it to his wife. The point is, they wanted to reclaim their masculinity and power over their wives who were more successful then them in order to feel pride and power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3HASgMS7w0

Masculinity and Hegemony

I have a hard time grasping the concept that there is a clear definition for what is feminine and what is masculine.  I attribute this issue mostly with the fact that I grew up in a social and cultural bubble, where these distinctions weren't followed and took a much more diminished role in our every day interactions.  While we could recognize and define what would be considered feminine or masculine (such as certain colors, mannerisms, etc.), the lines were blurred and girls oftentimes had extremely short hairstyles and boys wore makeup and pink.  However, I can't deny that we do distinguish between what is considered masculine and feminine, even if we don't follow those pressures.  Hegemony is then still an underlying part of our social structure, but can exist without overwhelming one's actions or decisions completely.

Masculinity & Hegemony

In my opinion masculinity and femininity are rooted in one’s gender rather than one’s sex. But generally males define themselves as masculine and females define themselves as feminine. Furthermore, there is a close relationship between masculinity and hegemony. Men are always shown strong and independence through different ways and due to this they feel superior to women and try to take everything under their own control. It’s hard to deny the existence of hegemony between male genders, which we don’t really see between females. And I think one of the reasons that men always compete against each other is due to the hegemony among them.

Hegemony & Masculinity

The fact that we are analyzing hegemony and masculinity together indicates something about our society.  I believe that hegemony and masculinity can be looked at hand in hand but also separately.

The two can be examined together because often times masculinity is associated with the individual or group in power who tower over their weaker competitors.  I believe this is the explanation behind why society anticipates that in a relationship the male is dominate over the woman while the woman is his subordinate in relation to working and highly-important decision making.  However, society says that it is the woman who is in charge of managing the household and the children, which I think makes her the hegemonic power in regard to the household and the children.  Although men do not label their wives as the hegemonic power who control the house and children, and similarly does not label himself as her subordinate, he is in fact her subordinate in this case.

An example of when society ties hegemony and masculinity directly together is in the court of law.  When a man and a woman divorce, it is the man who is legally bound to pay the woman child support (if they had children together) until the child/children turn 18.  If he doesn't pay his child support, he's labeled as a "dead beat dad."  Society has also made it seem as thought it is the man's duty to provide his former spouse with alimony, when in reality both spouse's have a legal obligation to support one another - or at least this is my understanding.

I also believe that hegemony can be implemented into situations where neither a man nor a woman is subordinate to the other.  Instead, an authority figure, independent of gender, is the hegemonic power.  For example, teachers have power over their students' grades.  When I think about my professors having control over my grades, I don't distinguish between my male and female professors.  Instead, I think about them as professors - the people who control my grades, not the women who control my grades or the men who control my grades.

Another example is the group of women who are commonly referred to as "sugar mommas."  These are the women who have made the money in the relationship who support their male partners.  Some examples from pop culture would include Britney Spears & Kevin Federline and Jennifer Lopez and her new boyfriend Casper Smart.  These women serve as the breadwinners in their relationship and are dominant, at least financially, over their male partner.

Hegemony and Masculinity

Generally speaking, masculinity is thought to have a strong relationship with hegemony because men are usually considered strong. However, I think it also came from stereotype of people. It is true that men are biologically stronger than women. However this is not the only case. Although masculinity can be described with other word ‘hegemony’, it is not all about men. I had a hard time to read the reading this week but it was a great time to experience new things that I have never thought before.

Masculinity and Hegemony

Masculinity and hegemony are related to each other. Masculinity is hegemonic among men, however not women in many societies. There is a tendency for male to dominate females, making females subordinate, because of the societal expectations. In contemporary society, this is due to male’s masculine traits such as aggressiveness, strength, ambition, and independence, but it is discouraged among females because females are expected to bear the feminine characteristics such as being submissive and caring.

Hegemony and Masculinity

I think that the very essence of what we determine to be masculinity is derived from hegemony. For example, we expect men to be strong and physically dominant and therefore the term masculinity is inherently related to hegemony or leadership. In class, we talk a lot about women subjecting themselves to gender stereotypes such as developing eating disorders in order to achieve a body resembling those of movie stars and other celebrities but it is also important to note that men succumb to the same type of expectations. For example, men are exposed to images of what a perfect male body should be (from back in the 16^th century with the Statue of David to modern images of body builders) which can affect their psyches just as they can affect women seeing the skinny, tall models. That being said, I feel as if the terms “masculinity” and “femininity” don’t necessarily coincide with sex and that they actually relate to the societal pressures placed on the different genders.

Hegemony & Masculinity

The artificial link between hegemony and masculinity is an aspect of the male gender that is slowly coming to light as less natural than originally assumed. However, hegemony has gone hand in hand with the male gender for so long that it is difficult to ignore the clear influence this assumption has had on our society as well as our world. For example, very few politicians or world leaders are female. In fact, American Presidents have been exclusively male. Thus, the male gender has dominated the political sphere and had an undeniable prevalence over global interactions. Beyond male dominance in this area, the concept of the “alpha male” has caused men to feel the need to put themselves in constant competition with each other. Our society’s emphasis on the ideology that men must be tough and in control leads to this competition and the struggle that men go through in order to achieve the title of “big man on campus” or “the boss” or, as I previously said, “alpha male” – which ever designation is most appropriate.

Masculinity and hegemony

Masculinity and hegemony are related because both are based on the importance of being superior . I think that this power structure, however, changes within the social structure. For example, usually a younger man would not be superior to an older woman. I also feel as though it is not as important for homosexuals to be superior to women. This might be because some exhibit more feminine qualities. Or they might not be concerned with subordinating women because they are not interested in a relationship with a woman. I think masculinity varies depending on the situation. It is especially interrelated with race and class as well. A wealthy white man would usually be considered more superior than a black poor man.

Hegemony and Masculinity

Hegemony refers to the cultural dynamic by which a group claims a leading position in social life. I think masculinity is a demonstration of dominance through biological or social means. The hegemony and masculinity are related because if a group claims a leading position in social life, it is also demonstrating dominance in that society. When men takes a leadership role in the families and at work at the expense of woman, they are demonstrating hegemony. By taking the leadership role in their families and work they are dominating woman which demonstrates masculinity. Woman can also play hegemony and masculinity if they are the ones demonstrating dominance over man.

Hegemony and Masculinity

While the male sex has dominated many cultures and society throughout history, masculinity and hegemony are not synonymous. For example, women now outnumber men in the workforce, and most of the jobs that have been cut due to the recession are men's jobs. On the other hand, there is a strikingly low percentage of women in executive positions, but this is mirrored by a low number of minorities in executive positions. This goes to show that  masculinity is complex and organic; one cannot limit it to the simple desire to dominate. I believe the desire to control and dominate is not inherent to males, but humans in general.

Hegemony vs Masculinity

What is deciding someone’s masculinity? Society or own-personality? I think the society gave people the perception of masculinity. It may seem very ambiguous to separate masculinity and hegemony. However, through “Masculinities” by Connell, I could get an insight into masculinity. Masculinity has represented as a dominant power. Society tended to treat men as more powerful and wild. On the contrary, the image of women accepted by the society was more passive. It is true that these perceptions are still considered until today. In traditional society, Men were more powered and dominant than women. A father was a symbol who works for his family. He was totally responsible for running his household. It gives men dominant power in society. However, I believe the society is changing. Since many women started working rather than just staying at home, women has entered into mainstream moving business and society. It will keep being continued. Women are not depending on men any more as described in traditional society. Men and Women has  equal power in this society and I believe the change is going on the positive way for more opened and diverse society. 

Hegemony and Masculinity

Im not entirely sure that I have a full understanding of masculinity yet, but I would agree that it has a a very close relationship with hegemony.  I think there are certain things which might tip the balance of power between men and between men and women in the eyes of masculinity/hegemony.  Age for example.  If the man is older than the woman then there is rarely any kind of threat to his masculinity or his position of power, but if the woman is older, even slightly, the power balance tends to be distributed a little differently (either because the woman is more confident in her experience, or because the man is simple over-conscious of his lack thereof).  This of course may be completely nonsensical, as it is quite possible that the age difference is very small or the younger has actually experienced more while the older was really quite sheltered.  Yet sometimes even just the number difference can tip the balance and create a reaction.  I dont know how far this extends however...

Sexuality

In regards to sexuality, I really liked another post I read about how we shouldn't try so hard to label it because everyones preferences are so different and are sometimes subject to change as we grow and discover.  That isnt to say that we can somehow plant ideas or sexual preferences in people, but rather that as we grow and experience life we uncover preferences in ourselves which we may not have recognized before.  Just as the stereo-typical heterosexual preteen may discover a "crush" on a boy, so too might they discover later in their life that they have a preference for a certain kind of male body type over another.  Our sexual preferences are individual and unique and personal.  Why should we clump them under rigid and useless labels?

Hegemony vs. Masculinity

Hegemony is a form of dominance or leadership over a particular social group. Masculinity is certainly a hegemony. For example, males are often taken more seriously than girls within the job market as we see more male executives than females. Males are also seen as being stronger both physically and emotionally which automatically gives them more power and therefore seen as being more dominant. We see hegemony in regards to masculinity particularlly in other cultures such as Iran. It is evident that  masculinity and hegemony are interrelated.

Sexuality

After reading the history about heterosexuals I never expected it to be like this. I thought that this has been around forever  and didn't know that it was such a new idea. Sexuality is a preference and in my opinion it doesn't matter or shouldn't matter what preference you have. I don't care if someone has a sexual preference for people of the same sex because its something their born with.

Hegemony vs. Masculinity

This past week we read "Masculinities" by Connell. There was a great discussion about masculinity and how it pertains to men and women. I believe that Masculinity and Hegemony are synonymous and intertwined within each other. Hegemony represents a dominant power and Masculinity and man seems to represent this notion. So, with that being said Masculinity is Hegemony. In the past and somewhat even today, there has been a constant ideology portrayed in society that man is dominant and powerful, due to the masculine traits he displays, wheras women is more submissive and passive, which is portrayed through her feminine characteristics: being warm, caring, handling domestic things. This notion also proves that hegemony and femininity have an "opposite" alternate relationship. In today's society, the dominant notion of men still remains to a degree: men are still considered more physically strong, and responsible for providing income in the household (active), although there are women have proved this notion incorrect and shown that men is not necessary the primary income earner for the family and that they don't need a man to be active and take care of their family.

Masculinity vs. Hegemonic

Society has different views on what is masculinity, either you are masculine or you're not. Masculinity according to Connell is the over-reactions to femininity, meaning what ever characteristics women have they are the reciprocal. Example, if a woman is dependent and expressive that autmatically makes the man independent and passive. Connell stated that the more information a man knows makes him higher in the heiarchy. If a man is intelligent and educated he is above not only the men below him but also the women. Men are always perceived to be more powerful than woman. This ties into hegemonic, where dominance is present. Being masculine is the same has hegemonic because they both deal with power. Men are more powered and are more dominant than women. In a household, who typically runs the house? Thats right the men do, since hey bring home the "bread" and are working hard to provide for the family, that is a reason why they are more dominant and powerful.

Defining Sexuality

After having taken this class for almost two months now, I find it difficult to believe in the concept of sexual rigidity. As Hanne Blank emphasizes in Straight, each individual member of our society has their own personal sexual desires, which are capable of changing and adapting to new situations and environments he or she is introduced to. Thus, why would we even try to categorize sexuality? There is an endless amount of possible people, animals, objects etc. that we as a species could find sexually attractive, so in reality, the not-so-clearly-defined labels of “heterosexual” and “homosexual” only apply to a small, specific group of people in our world. On top of that, the fact that peoples’ sexual desires are susceptible to change adds to the idea that it is impossible, and essentially pointless, to even attempt to define one’s sexuality.

It might be excessive, but I see sexuality in America as horribly repressed.  An R rated film screened in the US is so rated because of sexuality, while the same rating would be determined based on violence in European countries.  Americans see sex as something taboo, but are hypocritical by putting excessively sexual connotations into many television ads and shows.  Even children's programs have sexual undercurrents.  But most of this is completely heterosexual.  If a man is to display any sort of affection for another, people assume immediately that he is gay.  The cultural difference between America's perceived healthy heterosexual-centric sexuality to the rest of the world is how I see the situation.

Sexuality

      After reading Straight, I did not grasp that sexuality is a modern invention. Instead, what I took away from the book is that terms such a heterosexuality and homosexuality are relatively modern terms, but not modern inventions. I believe that psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, etc., realized that they needed to differentiate people from one another, and one of the ways to do so was by separating people by their varying sexualities. Although the establishment of such terms may have made conversation and research more comprehensible among researchers, the labels and connotations that accompany these terms can cause great turmoil and segregation within society.

Tessa's Posts

2/19/12
It seems that we have definitions for each category of sexuality. It
is human to categorize information, but the problem is that
categorization does not work as well with human behavior. We begin to
form groups of heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual, but we do not
allow ourselves to fit into more than one of those categories. In our
minds, it seems counterintuitive to be in two groups at once, such as
being heterosexual and homosexual at once. We do not create a gray
area for ourselves, instead, everything is black and white; however,
in most aspects of our lives, we live in the gray area, so why do we
try to box everyone into a specific area? I feel that being open to
your own sexuality would mean not being held back by these
categorizations. We could all experience multiple forms of
relationships, not based off what we think we are, but based off of
who we feel attracted to. In this case, we would not think of
ourselves as heterosexual or homosexual, we would just be in a
relationship with the person we want to be with.

2/12/12
I think there are a lot stereotypes surrounding what it means to be a
man or a woman. For a long time, women were the ones who stayed at
home and took care of the children, while the men worked and made
money, and those seemed to be their definitions. Men had much more of
a say in their lives and worlds they lived in than women did. Women
have been largely ignored and overlooked in the past, almost as if
their opinions did not matter. In this day and age, we have moved so
far from those stereotypes. I personally do not see myself as being
held back by anything anyone thinks I should be doing as a woman. I am
a woman but I am also a person. I want to be seen as a person that has
an equal opportunity in life regardless of my gender. I do not think
that being one gender or another should give you any advantages or
limitations. I think the definition of a woman or man is strictly
biological. There are so many stereotypes that women are more
emotional or dependent upon other people; yet I know so many strong
independent women who are not any more emotional than the average man.
Even with the way we define emotions, these stereotypes for men and
women exist. There is a negative connotation associated with
expressions of emotions women supposedly feel, such as crying; yet,
when men get angry and fight displaying aggression, it is just “how
guys are.” We do not think that type of expression of aggression makes
them weak, but a woman crying does not make her seem strong.

Sexuality

What I can't wrap my head around sexuality is how much it has changed over time, and how different it is in each culture/country. In the years way way before, men would be able to have sexual relationships withe men and women, and they would also be able to have a sexual relationship with younger males and females. Women would also be able to have relationships with people of their same sex. The more power a person had the more choice he or she would have. Today, it is illegal to have a sexual relationship with younger kids under the age of 18. Even I believe that pedophiles are sick people, but before it would be completely normal for there to be pedophiles, and people like "cougars".

sexuality

I have read this book for a week and learned people are taught to behave to match our gender as society and culture expect. This book gave an opportunity to expand my perception. I think we all have different characteristics and we should respect the different characteristics because we all want us to be respected for our own character. Difference does not mean wrong, but people easily forget this. It is not easy to break stereotypes but the book gave me good lesson and reminded me the importance.

sexuality...

Sexuality is such an interesting concept. As I read "Straight", my thoughts wander. I do believe that the fluidity of sexuality has changed over time, even if only slightly. What's fascinating for me is history's attempt at rejecting sexuality. Before hetero and homosexuality were "things", sex was something that people didn't even want to think about. The religious root of these thoughts are widely known, yet just the transition of the word "heterosexual" is one that gave me a slight giggle. At one point, it was defined as "abnormal or perverted appetite toward the opposite sex." As Blank writes, the definition is a reflection of "a deep-seated anxiety about sexual desire". Our thinking is so far ahead of that "deep-seated anxiety" yet in certain circumstances it almost feels as though we haven't progressed at all. I guess it's all relative.

Sexuality

I think that in our society the fluidity of sexuality is more lenient for women than it is for men, atleast openly, and men's sexuality *appears* to be more rigid.  Alfred Kinsey believed that there are few 100% straight/ gay people, but most people lie between the extremes. There are men who have sex with men but have relationships with women, and vice versa, as well as bisexuals and people who are gay for pay or straight for pay. It seems like straight men are attracted to the idea of women doing homosexual acts, yet are repulsed by men doing homosexual acts because they are afraid of losing their masculinity, or how they will be seen by others. Placing stigma on it doesnt always make it go away, but instead confines it into a closet.  I think we grow attached to what we identity as and thats why some people may be guarded towards experimentation, if i were to like the sex opposite of what i find attractive, i think it would be confusing because I've already grown attached to my identity.

sexuality

I do not think that people's sexualities have changed over time. I think that society shapes what is acceptable but the desires today are the same as to desires in the past. For example, Greek men could have sex with whoever they wanted. This sexual freeness wouldn't be acceptable today, so we do not see it as often. In a way, these social constraints have a purpose of keeping sexual order. However, I think that one should be able to have a relationship with whoever they choose.

Sexuality

I do not think that the fluidity of sexuality has changed throughout history. People are going to be attracted to whichever people they feel a connection too, and that wasn't any different in the 1900's than it is today. However, it is our perception of the fluidity of sexuality that continues to adjust and evolve through time. Whether for the better or worse, we continue to change our perception of society and the rules that govern us; we can only hope that we are moving forward to a future where people are judged by who they are rather than who they love. I do not believe that there are any implications of alleviating the restrictions that we have on sexuality. If people want to be open with their sexuality and experience love with many different types of people, male and female included, then that should be their own choice. We are not responsible for the actions of others; in the same way we are not forced to experience anything we do not want to experience. Therefore, if we grow up feeling a connection to the monogamous life, then we are not forced to be sexually adventurous just because the world allows it. However it is also not fair to restrict people to a monogamous lifestyle if that is not something that suits them. As long as people are informed of the possible implications of sexual behavior, be it hetero or homo, then they should be allowed to take whichever path to love that they desire. We now live in a society that has progressed passed the judgement of sexuality. Arguments can be made that homosexual behavior as well as polygamous sexuality can bring harmful diseases, but this same argument can be made about heterosexual monogamy. We know enough now about health to know that we do not need to live in a world of fear regarding sexual behavior. People should be free to make their own decisions, judgments aside. After all, who we love doesn't define who we are.

Sexuality

Before this class, and before reading Straight, I always had very rigid associates with sexuality and gender. I thought physicality completely defined males and females and set them apart, and I thought sexuality was also very governed by physical factors. Physical differences, to me, were all that being male or female, or heterosexual or homosexual, implied. Now, however, I have slightly widened my view on sexuality and gender in general. This class has shown me that both sexuality and gender have very many cultural implications. There are so many cultural stigmas that instantly pop into your mind in relation to a specific sexuality or gender. Culture has influenced us so much that it is now incredibly difficult for us to even separate physical and social definitions of categories such as sexuality. This class has made me think about how much we assume to be inherently true is actually true and undefined by culture. Heterosexual no longer just means that you like the opposite gender- there are now so many other social implications that come with being heterosexual.

Sexuality

In Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality, Hanne Blank says as we grew up, we are taught to behave so that our gender matches up the societal and cultural expectation of what our own biological sex is supposed to be like. Males are expected to be masculine, where as females are expected to be feminine. I think the rigid structures of gender put a lot of pressure on those who are not heterosexual. I believe being open to our own sexuality means being willing to accept whom we really are without worrying about the societal expectations being put on us. This is better for our own goods.

Sexuality

I have learned many things by reading a book for this week. I have thought that people should be considered equal but, it became a chance to change my perception. Every person has different characteristics and they are the main elements that light each person up. Respecting others’ characteristics is extremely important as they want theirs to be respected in same way. By this valuable time, I was happy to change my stereotypes of people.

Sexuality

I'm not a guy, so I can't say firsthand how it would feel for a guy to be attracted to another guy, but among straight males there seems to be an inordinately huge stigma and fear attached to male-male attraction. A straight man who finds himself attracted to another man is often initially disturbed, disgusted, repulsed, and afraid. Denial ensues. If other men find out about it, they mock him scornfully or desperately try to "cure" him. With a straight woman who discovers an attraction to another woman, there is a similar first reaction of shock and confusion, but seemingly without the same level of shame that a man in the equivalent situation would feel. I think this is probably because for a straight man, signs of "gayness" are viewed as a weakness or defect. For some men, attraction to another man is a threat to masculinity, so it horrifies them. For a woman, attraction to a woman would be a potentially surprising and confusing revelation as well, but it would be seen as a neutral *change* to her sexuality rather than a negative *flaw* in her sexuality (as it would be seen in a straight man). At least, that's the way it seems to me; I may have an entirely biased perspective. In any case, it would be nice if everyone would just accept their attractions whether they fell on a woman or man (as happened in the humorous 30 Rock clip we watched). In my opinion, sexuality is (and should be) fluid, and the rigid boundaries which society has created do more harm than good. You love who you love! Whether man or woman, one person or multiple people. It's just that simple.

Straight

I agree with Troy's point that the sexual acts two people of the same gender partake in are scrutinized and that with time and growing awareness, people are beginning to accept the less predominant sexualities. However, I feel that there is still a stigma on women's expressions of their sexualities. Even though heterosexuality and sexual preference surfaced just a few decades ago, women (no matter what sexual orientation) have always been stigmatized when it comes to expressing sexual desire. Men, on the other hand, are encouraged to explore numerous relationships and express their sexualities. For example, when a woman has multiple sexual partners, society labels her as a "slut" or "whore", while men (partaking in the same activities) are seen as "players" or "pimps". Therefore, even though the acceptance of sexual preferences is increasing, I think that the acceptance of women's outward expression of their sexuality is still being hindered.

Sexuality

Reading "Straight" this week has changed my perception of sexuality. I did not realize that heterosexuality is a modern day invention that we use to label people. It is interesting that as time has passed that find more and more ways to characterize, define, and divide us. Instead of viewing sexual acts as equal, we place more weight and scrutiny on sexual acts with the same gender. Even thugh these charactrizations and scrutinizes are product of our modern world, it's exciting to see the younger generations accept people's natural sexual orientations and desires.

Sexuality

I found "Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality” by Hanne Blank very interesting and eye-opening. In the reading, the ways that culture develops and influences the society’s thinking about relationships between men and women were pointed out by Blank. Sexual attraction between two opposite genders is called heterosexual. The concept of Heterosexual was created in 1860, even though that heterosexuality existed for a long time before that but people didn’t think of themselves as a heterosexual. Men and women had sexual relations, formed families and etc but they didn’t have a name for this until 1860’s. And after a while it became a good example for “normal” and a standard for an individual experience. I personally think it doesn’t matter if you are a heterosexual, homosexual or etc but what matters is that you should be yourself without worrying about what society is going to think about you. First of all you should accept yourself, if you want to be accepted by others. And unfortunately in our society there are a lot of people who are ashamed of their identity for different kind of reasons.

Rigidity and flexibility of sexuality

When people think of sexuality, they think of a partnership between one man and a woman. We always thought that having one partner is what's desirable within a relationship. However, some people prefer to have multipartners. Those people who prefer to have multipartners should be allowed to have some because we all have different desires. Maybe this idea will help reduce a number of divorces in our society. Because people get tired to be with one person all the time. That is why a number of divorces are so high. Why people resist multipartners when it comes to heterosexuality? I hear that homosexuals have no limits when it comes to partners they can have. I mean man involved in homosexuality tend to be opened to multisexual partners. But when it comes to a woman and man involved in a relationship, multipartners are not allowed. The reason might be that women are policing their partner to have only one relationship. Could it be the reason why so many marriages results to devorce? Because man or sometimes woman become unhappy with a single partner. If that is the case we need to re-examine the rigidity and flexibility of the relationships in this present day.

Sexuality

This week in class one of our readings was Hanne Blank's, "Straight. The surprisingly short history of heterosexuality" in which Blank examined the history of sexuality and if there was just one way of looking at relationships. We tend to put people into various different categories, thinking everything is black and white, when there are so many possibilities out there. I believe that this was one of Blank's points. She also discussed how even though heterosexuality had always existed, it never got a true label until the 1860s. Even after, the term itself went through many changes. People used to view heterosexuality as a negative term and slowly over time it became considered "normal." 
In response to the blog prompt for this week, I consider being "open to your sexuality" to mean to embrace who you truly are and what you feel and not to doubt yourself. I believe that many individuals worry about what others think about them not only in terms of sexuality but in every aspect of life. Many attempt to be their best and meet the standards that society expects of them. In the video clip we watched, the guy was "gay " for one person (i don't remember his name), according to the girl in the clip and said it openly without hesitation. I believe in today's society many individuals have difficulty accepting their sexuality. Many think of the rigidity that society puts upon sexuality-- many think that you are expected to be a certain way, and thats the only way that is right.  Some people are scared of being what they feel like being--That is why it is said that you act one way with yourself and another with the world.

The difference between men and women on a basic biological level is based completely on hormones; men have higher levels of testosterone and women have elevated estrogen.  But I think that most of the social stigmas attached to the biological differences are a social construct.  It's a bit like social Darwinism, in which people associate things that have occurred due to evolution or biology with arbitrary traits such as economic status.  The traits become a self-fulfilling prophecy; we expect certain behavioral habits from men and women, and when we condition them to exhibit these traits, we are only validating our own expectations.  I think that there can be a certain level of control in the degree to which we let the biological traits affect society.

Men and Women

I never realized how disparate the positions of men and women were as a child. I grew up in a household where my father and mother had equal authority; both of them worked regularly and took turns with household tasks. I became sensitive to any comment which stereotyped or looked down on either gender, but I wasn't really aware that gender inequality still existed until around high school. I think that men and women are different on the basis of biology and social conditioning. Men are conditioned to be physically stronger, women to be weaker. This social conditioning could clearly be changed over time, but it would take a great deal of effort (and women would have to stop complacently accepting the roles they are given, as Simone de Beauvoir points out). Biology is more difficult to circumvent because it is a concrete product of evolution which only changes over a period of thousands of years. (By the way, I do believe that the physical differences between men and women were also in part caused by gender roles; in ancient times, it became the prevalent trend for men to be dominant and women to be passive, so men evolved as stronger and women as weaker.) However, just because men have a penis and greater physical strength does not mean they are superior. It is a matter of what society values, and traits traditionally strong in women (emotion, intellect, conscience) are just as valuable. I would like gender roles to shift over time to become less polarized, but even as they are, it *should* be possible for society to view them equally. But many, many people will have to make an effort to do so.

Men and Women

I really like the topic of the week this time because I kind of had have a hard time to define differences between men and women in society. It would be normally difficult to determine differences between terms sex and gender. It is true that there are a lot of biological differences between men and women. However, the important point between them is what extent the society had made differences of them to. For example, a color of pink is perceived as a girls’ color. Many phenomena including this had been created by a long gap of time. Men and women are same living things, but I think their different characteristics have their own appeals and this is why it is worth for people to study about.

Man Vs. Woman?

Are men and women actually different? Or are they two of the same, except for slight biological body differences? Before taking this course, I probably would have defined the two genders like this:

Man- The gender of human that is born with a penis. Men have more testosterone and therefore tend to be slightly more aggressive than their counterparts.

Woman- The gender of human that is born with a vagina and breasts. Women have more estrogen than men which tend to make them more hormonal. Women are also the home for reproduction.

Although I still agree to these definitions, I realize (after beginning to take this class) that there are a lot of details about the two genders that I forgot to mention. In order to truly define both men and women, it must be mentioned that both genders have been stereotypically separated in society and therefore tend to grow up in different worlds; one where the gender is dominant and one where the gender is struggling to keep up. Although this is not a biological difference, biology was what first separated the genders which is why its the cause of the situation. Therefore, I would now add this to the end of both my previous definitions.

"Although the life path of the man and the woman was separated many centuries ago, now the world has begun to realize how extremely similar the two genders are and the paths have begun to emerge. It is no longer necessary to identify the differences between the two as there are more similarities than anything else. The only true difference is what we create in our minds."

Men/ Woman

To define a man and a woman I almost don't even need to separate the two into two different definitions unless if it came down the the biological, physical aspect. Putting the biological aspects aside, man and woman are human beings who have their own personal determination in life in order to be satisfied with their personal needs.  Whether it is to be a successful being in the business world to being successful as a parent. There are so many people in this world you can find any scenario of a male acting with "female" duties and vice versa.

Men and Women

I really do think that the idea of 'men' and 'women' are social constructs, and have more of an idealogical basis and not biological. . Because we are taught to be men and women. Men are "supposed" to be macho/aggressive and not show their feelings and women are "supposed" to be dainty and emotional. We are provided with exaggerated sex role models in the media with stereotypes such as the strong hero and the damsel in distress. The only real 'differences' are the biological sexes of male and female which are anatomical differences and chromosome pair. The rest of it is all learned such as what is appropriate for one to like or dislike based on what society has decided for them, and it's flexible across different periods of time and geographical.  These gender roles can be crossed  and some times need to be because otherwise people end up being repressed by society because not everyone fits squarely into either category and attach ourselves to what other people deem "innapropriate" role models for someone of a different sex.
Here is a song by Musiq Soulchild "Teach Me How To Love" which came to mind when thinking about the prompt, where he describes what he was "taught" about being a man" and his vulnerability in trying to love a woman and asking her to help him let go of the facade of toughness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR2XM4W2AEE

Men and Women

I personally believe that men and women are different based on biological factors and ideologies. Physically men are the powerful and strong gender. However, women are known as being the naïve and weak gender that are emotional and vulnerable. Women were looked at as biologically inferior to men and not just socially constructed as such in all over the world. And this is what we learned since we were little kids. On the other hand, ideologies are the other factors that affect my point of view about men and women. Due to their responsibilities, rights and etc, we know that men and women were always seen different. Lastly, even though that I believe women have made progress in many areas and they are not seen the way they did in the past, but we still have a lot of these discriminations in our society.  

Men and Women

I believe that there are biological differences between men and women, but nothing restricts either sex to a specific set of activities. Men and women have different roles in society because survival in the pre-historic age was largely dependent upon resource and time efficiency. The average male is stronger than the average female, so men were delegated the hunting duties. Meanwhile, women could feed babies and were delegated family duties. Both jobs were vital for survival, but the out-of-home work of men was appreciated more by society. This put men in a power position initially, but times have changed and the divide between what men and women can do exclusively is virtually closed.

Man vs. Woman

When trying to define man and woman, I find that I must consider multiple approaches. Perhaps the most obvious option is to look at the biological facts - men and women are different from birth because of their anatomy and the genitalia they were born with. The other approaches come from the stereotypes and implications associated with these genitalia. Over the years, the definitions of man and woman have been part of a continual process, that is ongoing and ever-changing, but is currently defined in our society. I have always been taught that men were "manly," which meant they were strong, stern, and everything that has to do with the color blue. Women, on the contrary, were "girly," or sweet, soft, and all that is the color pink. Men spend their days in the office making money to bring home to the women who have been cooking and cleaning and caring for children. In my household, however, my mom was a working mother. Regardless, the stereotype held fast in my mind. To be honest, before I started this class I had no idea there was a clear distinction between the words sex and gender - I thought they were synonymous. Ideology has clearly impacted how I think about men and women. Thanks to this class, however, my definitions have changed. I've made room for broader definitions and realized that sex and gender are two completely different aspects of self-identification. Just because someone is a man does not mean they have to be buff or emotionally tough or even like the color blue; similarly, women do not have to ascribe to any of the stereotypes associated them.

Biology/Ideology

Men and women are identified by their biology, but defined by ideology. You can classify a human being into male or female by their body chemistry relatively easily. Differences in anatomy extend beyond chromosomes or reproductive organs. From bone and muscle composition down to hormone levels men and women are clearly unique. However, the connotation of this label has been developed over many years. It seems controversially unclear as to how the ideologies came to be, yet there are distinct opinions as to what makes a woman and what makes a man. These ideologies have forced one gender to gain supremacy over the other, that is, one is perceived to be better than the other and that is man. This should come as no surprise. When two subjects are compared against each other for so long, the population is naturally going to attempt to determine which is better. Equality in perception cannot exists. "Separate but equal is inherently unequal." Eventually men came out on top as the better half of the species and gained that connotation to its name. However, no biological winner can be determined between the genders based on survival due to the dependency on each other for reproduction.

What is a man and what is a woman...

I really struggled with this question, because every time I come up with a definition I find exceptions.  I would like to say that in general a man has a penis and a woman has a vagina, but I find that there are so many exceptions to this rule that I almost reject that definition entirely.  I do agree that many of our perceptions about what it means to be a man or a woman are simply social constructions which we follow in order to relate to the people around us.  I even remember thinking as a kid that as a white person with ambiguous roots in America, I didn't really have any culture or group to relate to except for women and feminists.  Now of course I find myself relating to individuals, or humanity as a whole more so than my gender.  I do believe that men and women should be equal, and I'm finding it more and more difficult every day to really see the differences between them.