anti anti-rape backlash

I thought that paying $70 for a haircut would have been the 2nd most annoying thing to happen to me this past week. But then I was reading at Peet's tonight, and this dumbass decided to start a conversation about the book I was reading, Fraternity Gang Rape. When he asked about the book, I explained that I was studying the anti-rape movement. Then he asked if there was there ever a pro-rape movement. (this is the usual follow up question) This guy said that everyone agrees that rape is wrong. I told him that the anti-rape movement emerged in the early 1970s, when rape was a taboo subject, violence against women wasn't necessarily wrong, and it was believed that women did not have the right to bodily integrity. So then the guy says that if he had been alive fifty years ago, he would be able to rape women. He said this quite seriously. I'm not sure if he was sorry that he wasn't alive fifty years ago. I gave him the evil eye and returned to my book.

Okay, so there isn't a pro-rape movement, but in the early 1990s, anti anti-rape backlash emerged. I just finished reading Katie Roiphe's "The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism on Campus." She (poorly) critiques feminists for creating a culture of fear and date rape hysteria on college campuses. Roiphe is skeptical of statistics that report the number of women who are victims of rape and sexual assault, and she says that women are responsible for their actions and must be held accountable. She actually says that one woman's version of rape may be another's bad night.

So while nobody may explicitly condone rape, it's not so clear cut. When we conceptualize rape as an act committed by a stranger, jumping out from behind a bush, attacking a woman, we are likely to perceive this as "real rape." But, the line gets more blurry when the rapist is an acquaintance, a date, a spouse or when the woman is drinking, wearing revealing clothing, out late at night alone, etc. The anti anti-rape backlash isn't a necessarily a phenomenon that emerged in the early 90s; rather, society has always been critical of rape accusations and has placed some degree of responsibility and agency on the woman. Society and the legal and criminal justice system place the onus to prevent rape upon the woman. Consequently, many rapes go unreported.

In other news, I saw the Vagina Monologues this weekend, which was lots of fun, empowering, and pretty cool. Um, what else? I cleaned my apartment and I did some yoga. I'm pretty excited that I can do the full wheel now and headstands too. And, I bought a big bag of Sour Patch Kids tonight. That is all.

women's studies, week 7

I'm sitting here, killing some time and eating a big bag of Sour Patch Kids. I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to Sour Patch Kids. Soon, my tongue will be numb, my jaw will be tired, and I will regret eating so many. I definitely need portion controlled Sour Patch Kids. Good story, Kris.

I met with LD last week and told him that women's studies just isn't for me. It's too theoretical and too abstract for me. For example, I knew that this wasn't for me during the third week, when our professor asked us to define and think about the difference between sex, sexual, and sexuality. Seriously, if you can't even get me to contemplate sex (something related to my research interests), then there's no hope. Last week, we actually talked about the meanings of interdepartmental, intradepartmental, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. I don't actually remember what was said, but I did write this all down so I could share it with you. (you're welcome) Wait, there's more: We also talked about how A studies B with the methodology of C. Next week should be a better class since we're going to have our own happy hour. With wine and hard liquor, how can it be a bad class? All right, here is this week's post:

A common thread of this week’s readings is culture, nationalism, and identity. Some things that I kept in mind as I was reading are who gets to be a citizen, who is considered a citizen, who may reproduce citizens, and is citizenship synonymous with full personhood?

One of the things that Ferguson does in his text is discuss how national liberation struggles perpetuate heterosexist, racist, and sexist practices. Though these efforts purport to liberate people and preserve positive cultural values, they instead uphold a culture that has a normative bias and perpetuate hegemonic practices. Ferguson uses his discussion of the Moynihan report to illustrate how liberal black nationalists united with conservatives to repress black women. Due to a discourse of black matriarchy, liberals were opposed to female headed households for sexist reasons, while conservatives were both sexist and racist. Both of these groups sought to regulate black women, and black women suffer from policies that are both sexist and racist. Black women were constructed in a way that blamed them for impeding and going against the ideals of equality of opportunity, liberty, and competition. It was believed that the African American nonheteronormative relations were the antithesis of the guiding US values. Therefore, welfare state policies operate to impose a heteropatriarchal culture upon African Americans.

Fraser and Gordon trace the genealogy of dependency as a keyword of the U.S. welfare state. Dependency has always been equated with subordination, but its meaning became democratized with the rise of industrial capitalism. The meaning of independence was central in economic and political discourse, and wage labor was associated with independence. The usage of independence and dependence became gendered and racialized; therefore, the term dependency was suitable only for people of color and white women. Fraser and Gordon go on to discuss the rise of the welfare state and its two-tiered track. Dependency continues to be a racialized and gendered term, as well as stigmatized. Welfare dependency is considered to be a pathology and behavioral syndrome.

What is interesting to me about Fraser and Gordon’s article is how it can be applied to notions of citizenship and full personhood. Historically, citizenship was a masculine status and independence and employment were prerequisites. When we consider this, we can see how independence was associated with citizenship and dependence was not. Not only did the constructions of independence and dependence prevent white women and people of color from attaining citizenship status, formal barriers were also in place to exclude them.

Even though formal barriers to citizenship were lifted, we find that women and people of color on public assistance still do not attain full personhood status. Work is still a signifier of independence, and society constructs dependency in a way that stigmatizes those who receive welfare state benefits. It is believed that there is something inherently wrong with those who need public assistance, and because of this dependence, they are not truly deserving of full personhood status.

things i am making

I don't have a whole lot to say right now. (I know, uncharacteristic, right?) I've been busy with grading, reading, writing, yoga, friends, you know, the usual. (Not necessarily in that order) I passed the belay test at the ARC, which means that now I can get a membership to the climbing wall and go rock climbing. I have not done this yet, but it's on the to-do list.

So, I guess this will be a visual post of stuff I've made and stuff I'm making. Last week, I made Sausage, Spinach, Ricotta Stuffed Shells for my friends. They were fantastic.

I am working on a baby blanket. Here it is in the beginning stages:

I'm also working on a sweater. I'm not very far into it yet, but here is the back panel:

Well, I'm going to go back to doing whatever it was that I was doing. You can do the same now. Have a fun rest of the day!

untitled

So, just a few random thoughts here today. I read a couple newspaper articles on the woman who gave birth to the 8 babies, and of course, the situation generated a lot of criticism (from myself included). This is what I wonder: Is society so critical because this woman is a single unemployed woman who lives with her parents? Would there be as much criticism if she were married and worked outside the home? I mean, we are the same society that keeps the TLC shows Jon and Kate plus 8 and 17 Kids and Counting in business. Double standards? I think so. The media likes to point out that this woman is an unemployed grad student. Yes, that's right. If only she were an employed grad student. That would make all the difference. The media also likes to point out that this woman is not married. Seriously. 'Cause we all know that marriage is a binding contract and the secret to eternal bliss, right?

I was walking through campus today, and I overheard this girl tell her friend that she hopes that when she's 20, people will stop mistaking her for a 16 year old. I wanted to tell her that when she's almost 30, there will probably be people who will still make that mistake. I'm not complaining. Seriously. I know that I'll get mine someday.

I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist last night. It was a cute movie, and better than I'd expected. I'd recommend it, but take my advice with a grain of salt. I don't have the most sophisticated taste in movies and just any sort of entertainment in general. After all, I am watching The Bachelor right now.

the trailblazers

Okay, so I have a really funny story for you. (Maybe I shouldn't preface a blog post with that statement, in case you don't think it's funny. Oh well.) So, if you type in the url for my blog, but replace the 'c' with a 'k' (so it's khris), you get this blog with a really funny title called "The I Wasn't Born so Much as I Fell Out Journal." My friend and I figured this out tonight when I told her my blog address and then she got momentarily confused as to how I spell my name. (I understand the confusion. Some people spell my name with a 'c,' even my relatives, which is why I sometimes get mail addressed to Chris.) Are you amused? Good story, Kris.

All right, here's a serious story now. So I'm going to share a practice that has recently become apparent to me. It's something that I've always done since I've started grad school, but I wasn't consciously aware of it until last week. Whenever I meet women in academia who came before me (this is my nice way of saying "women who are of previous academic generations"), I silently thank them for blazing a trail and making grad school easier for me. I'm a female, I study gender, and I am aware of gender discrimination and the hurdles that these women must have had to overcome, both in academia and just in life. I've been reading a lot about the feminist movement in the 1970s, and I think a lot about how these activists fought the battles to make things better for me. So, I think about women in academia the same way; I'm glad that they have carved a path for me and my female peers. (sure, not everything is completely perfect and equal in the 21st century, but my uh, race and gender incidents, have been few and far between.)

Anyway, I have no idea what grad school was like for the previous generations of women (and sometimes I wonder if I would have been tough enough to survive it), but sometimes I have rough days. And I feel very fortunate that my days don't include gender discrimination, on top of all the other stuff I have to do. I'm grateful that I don't worry that I'm not being taken seriously because I'm a woman, or that my adviser or the department invests more time and resources in the male students than me, or that my students think I don't know anything because I'm a woman, or that I may not get a job because I'm a woman. I imagine that the list could go on and on. These things never cross my mind, and I am convinced that I have the women who came before me to thank.

Like I said, I knew that I always had this silent appreciation for women in academia. I think about it when I'm taking a class taught by a female professor, when I meet other women at conferences, and I thought about it when I went to this business meeting last year for the Midwest Political Science Association Women's Caucus (I think that's what it's called, but I'm not going to look it up right now). I became fully aware of this habit last week, when one of the speakers for the CSD dinner was this super accomplished political scientist who is also an African American woman. I was pretty excited to meet her, not only because she researches race and gender politics, but also because she is a woman of color. I don't think about the fact that I'm Asian a whole lot, but I am aware that there are few women of color in academia (but it's getting better- hey, I'm a glass half full kind of girl). So, it was pretty cool to meet this professor, and I remember silently thanking her for blazing a trail for people like me.

And speaking of trailblazers, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer. I hope she's okay. I don't want her to retire. Prior to being on the SC, Ginsburg founded the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU, and she has always fought hard for women's rights. She just might be my favorite SC Justice, but I just can't decide between her and Justice Harry Blackmun. (Also, I suppose that picking a favorite isn't an entirely fair process, considering I haven't reviewed the careers of all 110 justices.) Of course, nobody really cares if I have a favorite justice, except for me.

In the past year, I have noticed that I am uncomfortable talking about anything serious. Thus, I feel the need to bookend this blog post with something random and amusing. I watched the new episode of Grey's Anatomy last night. I think that if there were a television character most like me, Dr. Christina Yang would be it. I don't think that I'm as tough and badass as her, but I can see a resemblance. However, she has begun to lose her edge since starting this quasi "are-they-or-aren't-they?" relationship with Dr. Owen Hunt. Boo. I expected more from her, but she's still probably my all time favorite television character.

it is raining

It has been raining off and on all day, and I think it's supposed to be rainy over the next few days. While this has probably put a damper on some people's plans (get it? Damper?), I like the rain. When it is rainy and "cold," I like to go for walks and pretend like I'm in Minnesota on a rainy April day, which is exactly what I'm getting ready to go do now. I like to not-so-secretly enjoy that it's not hot, sunny, and 80 degrees.

vegan cookies 'n' cream cupcakes

When I was a kid, my favorite ice cream flavor was cookies 'n' cream. (I don't know what it is now- maybe rocky road or chocolate chip cookie dough or butter pecan, or maybe it's still cookies 'n' cream- I can't decide) Anyway, I've had my Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World cookbook now for over a year, and I finally made the Cookies 'n' Cream cupcakes. What took so long? I don't know- I guess I was busy trying to bake the best chocolate chip cookies.

Check out the picture (and be sure to wipe up that drool off your keyboard):

These cupcakes are so good that this post deserves to have another picture:
These cupcakes were dense, moist, and super duper chocolate-y. I added crushed vegan chocolate sandwich cookies (Newman Os) to the chocolate cupcake batter. The batter was heavy and thick when I mixed it all together. The cupcake is a contrast in textures: it's a mouthful of soft, rich, heavenly chocolate cake with this unexpected shock of crunchy cookie pieces. Add to that a vanilla buttercream mixed with more crushed sandwich cookies, and you have an explosion of flavor in your mouth. (Should I quit grad school and be a food writer? I think so. Do I have you salivating?) And, you can't really see this in the picture (or in real life), but the cupcake liners have Care Bears on them. How cool is that?

The secret to good chocolate cupcakes? Listen closely and commit this to memory. It's almond extract. Maybe it's not really a secret, and it's certainly not now, since I'm broadcasting it. This recipe called for a 2 to 1 ratio of vanilla extract to almond extract, but I just use equal amounts of both. If you're feeling frisky, you can just omit the vanilla extract and use all almond extract instead.

One of my friends said that these cupcakes were probably the best ones that I've ever made, and another seemed surprised that vegan cupcakes could taste so good. I admit that I get a little nervous and I'm not likely to try out vegan recipes with obscure ingredients and substitutions, but this cookbook is simply amazing. The recipes are simply, the ingredient lists don't have any weird stuff, and the cupcakes are so good that you won't miss the milk, butter, and eggs.

women's studies: week 5

I think that my infatuation with my women's studies class wore off around the third week of the quarter. Some of the readings are okay, but it's heavy, dense, and very theoretically oriented. Here's my post from this week's readings:

One of the themes of this week’s readings is the critique of intersectionality and its limitations. The jumping off point for these readings is the theory that there are multiple axes of oppression. Categories of race, class, and gender all intersect to create sites of subordination. These categories are not universal, and because of our multiple identities and experiences, we experience different oppressions. As I read, it seemed that these readings were arguing that intersectionality as a category of analysis is inadequate.

Sandoval and Glenn discuss how women of color have been overlooked in previous discourses. Sandoval points out how women of color were marginalized in the women’s movement and how their concerns were not addressed. Glenn discusses how models of oppression, the patriarchy model and the colonial labor system, do not account for women of color. Glenn corrects this oversight in her article and shows how race, class, and gender have intersected to oppress women of color.

Crenshaw discusses how discourses of race and feminism have marginalized women of color. Women of color are situated in 2 subordinated positions that frequently have conflicting agendas and are seen as mutually exclusive. The fight against racism focuses on the experiences of black men, while the fight against sexism focuses on the experiences of white women. Crenshaw analyzes the cases of domestic violence and rape to illustrate how the law and institutional efforts to rectify both actually fail women of color. By failing to consider how minority women are affected by intersecting oppressions of race, class, and gender, we can see how the law and institutional practices leave women of color vulnerable and without meaningful remedies.

Crenshaw’s discussion of the political intersectionalities of rape illustrates the tensions surrounding race and gender discourses. Rape is socially constructed to reinforce racist and sexist themes, and by doing so, it marginalizes women of color. Rape has been used to control and discipline both black men and white women by constructing black men as potential rapists and threats to white women’s purity. Efforts to dispel these rape myths and reform rape laws have primarily benefited white women, and antiracist efforts to dispel these myths have primarily benefited black men. This is evident in the Mike Tyson rape trial, in which the black community rallied around Tyson and not Desiree Washington, his black accuser. Implicit in this is the message that the black community is more concerned with a rape accusation against a black man than the rape of a black woman. This rape case shows that when the antiracist and feminist agendas are seen as conflicting, both uphold racist and sexist ideologies.

Finally, McCall discusses how intersectionality has emerged as a category of analysis, but we don’t know how to study it. Though intersectionality recognizes that we are situated in multiple subordinate positions, there are limitations to the concept due to the complexities of life experiences. Therefore, how we are situated is only a partial perspective and we need an analysis that takes into account the complexity of experiences, identities, and the intersection of multiple oppressions.

Though I found the arguments in this week’s readings valid, they were equally frustrating. In discussing the problems with intersectionality and its inadequacies as a category of analysis, it seemed as though these authors want us to further deconstruct identities to account for the multiple facets of our experiences, positions, and how we are situated in society. At some point, I wonder if this is useful and if we are simply arguing over semantics. How far can we deconstruct our identities while still maintaining them? Crenshaw points out that categories of race, class, and gender reflect bias and domination, so it is important to define these categories so they become a source of empowerment. I am reminded of Riley’s argument that also called for abolishing the categories of “woman” and “man.” Is the eradication of these categories the key to recognizing and eradicating sites of oppression?

25 random facts

If you've been paying attention, you've noticed that I gave up my crossword puzzle mission. I think it lasted for 2 weeks, and if you recall, I was trying to create a new habit by doing the crossword puzzle every day for 30 days. I've been trying to think of a new habit to create or break, so let me know if you have suggestions. Today, I'm posting 25 Random Facts about me, which is a task that's been circulating like a chain letter on Facebook.

1. My favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids. Not the fruit wedges, but the kids. I never eat the fruit wedges.
2. I can hold my own at the poker table. I learned to play in college, and one time I played in a friendly poker tournament. I was the only girl out of 22 players, and I came in 2nd. I impressed many of the guys, some of whom admitted that they had underestimated my poker skills.
3. I was a diver in high school, and I was notorious for hitting the diving board. It didn't matter which direction I was diving: forwards, backwards, inward, or reverse, somehow, I managed to hit the board.
4. I went to 4 colleges. I spent one semester at St. Mary's University in Winona, MN studying biology. I thought I was going to be some sort of medical doctor. Then I went to Rochester Community and Technical College for 2-1/2 years. I still thought I was going to be a doctor, but I was considering psychotherapy. Then I switched gears and decided to study photography, so I spent a year at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. And finally, I ended up at the University of Minnesota for 2 years, where I finally graduated with degrees in art and political science. Applying to grad school was mildly annoying because I had to hunt down transcripts from 4 schools. At the end of this quarter, I will have been at UCI for 2-2/3 years, the longest time at any one school.
5. And adding on to that previous note, I am a very indecisive person. Yes, I have a backbone and I can make decisions when it matters, but when it comes to the trivial stuff, I just can't decide. Sometimes, I can't even order coffee. I never realized how indecisive I could be until one of my boyfriends pointed it out to me 10 years ago. I vehemently denied it, but then I reluctantly said "yeah, maybe you're right. I guess I can be indecisive." See? I'm indecisive about being indecisive!
6. I once ate a super burrito and 6 and 3/4 tacos in an eating challenge. When I lived in New York, I had some friends at the Rhode Island School of Design (shout out to Christina!). Sometimes we would get together over long breaks. And then, for some strange reason, we would challenge each other to these eating contests where we would eat outrageous amounts of food. The first time we did this, we got take out from this Mexican place in Providence. The walk home was dubbed the "Mexican Mile." The restaurant had a dancing taco, which we commemorated on this brick I found on our walk. Nearly ten years later, I still have the dancing taco brick. (Note: Christina is a reasonable person and did not partake in these strange eating challenges)
7. When I was 7, my 2nd grade teacher made me stand in the corner. My crime? Talking too much. Ten years later, I got kicked out of my high school orchestra class for the same reason.
8. I was 8 when I decided that I was a Democrat. Michael Dukakis was running for president. I went to a private Catholic school, and my class had a mock election. Since many of my classmates just voted as their parents would, they voted for Bush. I wanted to be different, so I voted for Dukakis. I think I was the only one.
9. I am a fairly decent pool player. I learned to play in high school, and I played with my friends a lot when I was in college. I never considered myself to be very good, until I realized that one of my friends tried to handicap me. We were out one night and she agreed to play pool with me, but only if I first drank a couple beers. I'm out of practice now, but I played a pretty decent game last Friday (even while drinking vodka cranberries).
10. I think that I was a stand up comedian in another lifetime. I like to laugh and make other people laugh. I love to tell jokes, I think I'm hilarious, and I like it when my friends appreciate my humor. In fact, telling jokes and being funny is such a defining characteristic that when I was looking for a new adviser, finding someone who would laugh at my jokes was one of my most important criteria.
11. I was 11 the last time I went trick-or-treating. This was 1991, the year of the infamous Halloween Blizzard. It was cold, it was wet, it snowed, and there was a lot of slush.
12. The last time I was in a spelling bee, I was 12. I have always been a pretty good speller, and I was in quite a few spelling bees when I was a kid.
13. I knit and crochet. It's a good challenge, and I like learning new stitches and patterns. Plus, it's a great de-stresser and I like to see what can be made from just a skein of yarn. Currently, I'm working on 2 baby blankets and 2 sweaters.
14. Around Valentine's Day, more than any other time of the year, is the time of the year that I seem to be most likely to meet someone new, go out on dates, or start a new relationship. Is this the case with anyone else? It doesn't happen every year, but it's a pattern that I've noticed. I don't believe in Valentine's Day, so I am definitely not actively pursuing dates or relationships during this time of the year. By the way, in case you're wondering, I think it's going to be a quiet February.
15. I love to bake, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth. You know those people that can't keep cookies in their house because they might devour them all? Yeah, I'm not one of them. If I kept cookies in my apartment, they would last for years because I wouldn't eat them and then I'd forget about them. In fact, I just found some half eaten, forgotten ice cream in my freezer.
16. I got my driver's license when I was 16. I have always been a good driver, but for about 2 years after getting my license, I had a really hard time parking my car. I used to accidentally sideswipe and tap parked cars, but don't worry, it wasn't anything serious enough to leave dents or scratches.
17. I was 17 when I decided that I liked the color pink. Until this point, I thought that pink was anti-feminist. Then I wore a pink dress to my high school prom. Now, I love the color pink: I have a pink laptop, a pink yoga mat, lots of pink clothes, and I just bought some pink Nikes today.
18. When I was 18, I decided to be a vegetarian. This lasted for two years, until I broke down and ate sausage and pepperoni pizza at Bilotti's, this little Italian restaurant in Rochester.
19. I was 19 when I made the conscious decision to keep my name if I ever got married. While I had always considered eschewing this tradition, it wasn't until I was 19 that I consciously decided to give the metaphorical finger to this patriarchal practice.
20. When I was 20, I wanted to be a humor columnist. Dave Barry was my idol, and I wanted to be him. I wrote a few funny editorials for my school newspaper, and I even considered majoring in journalism.
21. 21 was a big year for me. It was the first summer that I worked at Girl Scout Camp. This was the time when I decided that I wanted to live a life in which I would somehow make a difference, empower girls, and fight for women's rights. It was the year that I stepped out of my comfort zone and moved the farthest away from home that I'd ever lived, to New York City. It was the year that the Twin Towers fell. And, it was the year that my most serious and longest relationship ended. This is when I embraced my independence, and I realized how resilient I truly could be.
22. At 22, I became totally politically aware and active. I had always been interested in politics, but I was reluctant to major in political science because I had no idea what one did with a poli sci degree (apparently, you go to grad school). I heard Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) speak at this women's rights meeting, and I decided right then and there to major in political science (and figure out what to do with it later). I began to identify as a pro-choice feminist, I interned for the MN Women's Political Caucus, and I participated in my first protest. On April 1st, 2003, I and several others protested the 24 hour waiting period outside the governor's mansion.
23. I was 23 when I marched in the University of MN marching band (I was in the colorguard). Among other traditions, one was to hiss at anyone wearing paraphernalia from other Big 10 schools. To this day, I instinctively want to hiss at people wearing t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc from other Big 10 schools.
24. I canvassed for NARAL Pro-Choice MN when I was 24. This means that I went door to door, fundraising. It was a difficult job, I didn't enjoy it, and I got called lots of mean names, but it helped me develop my communciation skills and a thick skin. In the canvassing world, a $120 donation is the grandaddy of all donations, and I racked up more 120s than any other member of our canvassing team.
25. When I was 25, I mourned the loss of my last real winter. I was applying to grad schools at the time. I was not geographically constrained, but I prefered a school in the midwest or the east coast so that I could still have my winters. Yet for some strange reason, I sensed that 2005 would be my last real winter and I just had this feeling that I would end up in Southern California. So, that year, I tried to consciously appreciate the snow and cold. I can't remember when I got my acceptance letter to UCI, but I knew near the end of March that I was going. So, even when the temperatures dipped well below zero, I tried not to complain. The winter lasted well into April, and every time it snowed or every time the temperature dropped, I quietly mourned the last snow, the last time the temperature was below zero, and the last time I got to bundle up in my peacoat. (By the way, I've been in Southern California now for 2-1/2 years, and I hate the weather. Seriously. I miss real winters. I haven't changed at all.)