women's studies, week 2

It's been a while since I've talked about anything academic. So, here goes. Each week in my Women's Studies class, we post a response/critique/analysis of that week's readings. I'd like to share my response from last week's readings. So far, I'm enjoying the class, and even though the reading is pretty heavy and a lot to digest, I love feminist theory. Here is week 2's post:

This week’s readings further the sex/gender debate by examining how we construct both gender and sex. Through different approaches, these critical examinations theorize and ask questions that challenge how we conceptualize gender categories and identities.

We understand that gender is a social construction, and these readings show how sex and the categories of “women” and “men” are constructed as well. Butler and Chase discuss how intersex bodies seem to not matter in society and medical sexual reassignment is done in the name of “nature” and “normalization.” The medical community constructs some bodies that matter and some that do not. It attempts to “fix” bodies that do not matter so that they conform to those that do. It is also important to note that bodies that are reassigned are usually constructed to be a female body. In the name of “normalcy,” medical authorities are more concerned about the sexual pleasures and functions of men than women. It is worse to have a small penis that no clitoris.

Why is it so important to have only 2 gender categories? Riley examines the problems with the categories of “woman” and “man,” and she calls for a rejection of these oppressive categories. She argues that it can lead to a sexual antagonism that pits “women” against “men.” She finds these categories to be oppressive to both women and men. So why is it so important that everyone “fit” into the category of “woman” or “man”? It is important to examine how intersex management is oppressive not only to intersex individuals but also to women in general. Can we make a case that intersex management is necessary to the maintenance of patriarchy? Rubin discusses how kinship systems and social organizations depend on marriage, obligatory heterosexuality, and the exchange of women. The subordination of women is crucial to state building and the reproduction of culture that reinforces and reproduces patriarchy. Does this require that there be only 2 categories so there is one group to systematically oppress?

Chase links intersex management in the United States with female genital mutilation, and she wonders why first-world feminists are silent in the intersex movement. Chase is outraged that intersex cutting in the U.S. is absent from the debates surrounding genital mutilation and clitoridectomies. She argues that intersex management is a form of violence based on the sexist devaluation of female pain and female sexuality. Attention to FGM is embedded in racial and cultural hegemony, and feminists and society has recognized the atrocities surrounding the practice. There was broad support to ensure the passage of the legislation prohibiting FGM, but why did the sponsor of this bill refuse to extend protections to intersex individuals?

As I’ve been reading, I have also been thinking about how sexual reassignment seems to elevate the importance of reproductive capacities at the expense of sexual pleasure. How does this perpetuate patriarchy? Sexual reassignment cares more about a female’s ability to bear children than her ability to orgasm. Also, the medical community does this reassignment because it argues that “normal” sexual function is possible without the clitoris. This prioritizes the penis and reinforces the notion that vaginal penetration by the penis is the only “normal” way to experience sex.