GEOG 3090 - WEEK 1 READINGS

.docx

School

University of Guelph *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

3090

Subject

Geography

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by cupcake17200

Week 1: Introduction, Theories and Concepts Intersectionality and Feminist Geography  Analyses of gender and other social identities are embedded in geographic processes  Where we go, how we get there, and our presence in certain places are influenced by, and have an impact on social identity → spatial dimensions of social identity are rooted in unequal and historically constructed power relation that privilege some and marginalize others  Feminism is defined by ‘explicitly political commitments’ against multiple oppressions Geography/feminism/gender: Concepts and Context  Discipline of geography addresses human-environment relations and the role of economic, political, and cultural forces in shaping these relations → feminist geography is informed by and embedded in these geographic concepts  Feminist perspectives on space and place → places are not harmonious, objective constructs with meanings and boundaries that fixed and static  Places are dynamic, socially constructed configurations with fluid and porous boundaries - perceived and experienced differently by different groups of people  Places can represent immobility, oppression, and violence → division between private and public spaces are fluid and contested  Safe spaces (private homes, other living spaces like college dorms) - where women experience the most violence, perpetrated by people they know → feminist geography examines how private spaces and the protection that are expected to afford become incorporated into public spaces → portable seclusion - mobile version of the privacy and protection provided by the home Understanding the Complexities of Gender  Boys are aggressive, perpetuous, good at math, they get dirty, rough-house, play sports but not house - trucks, legos and soldiers are their toys - boys can grow up to be anything they want, the world is their oyster - their privilege to capitalize on this prize (limited just to guys) - boys have no limit the bar is as high as it can go - no extent to their privilege  Girls are docile, passive, natural caretakers, love the colour pink, born to be good bakers, they hate bugs, love hugs, and are better at vacuuming rugs - dolls, and purses and make- up make their days - girls grow up to be moms and leave the other jobs to dads unless they want to be a teacher, nurse, receptionist, or a clerk  Gender is not universal - not cross-cultural  Gender is relative, cultural, and changes over time  Directors are our parents, teachers, peers, preachers, news broadcasters, book writers, TV show producers, firefighters  Gender identity at its root is a way of classifying personality  We Should All Be Feminists  Most positions of power and prestige are occupied by men  “The higher you go the fewer women there are”  Must raise children differently  Great disservice to boys in the ways they are raised, stifled humanity, put in hard, small cage  Teach boys to be afraid of fear, weakness, vulnerability and mask their true selves  Proving masculinity - weaker ego

 Musch greater disservice to girls because their raised to cater to the fragile egos of men  Teach them to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller  “You can have ambition but not too muc” “you should aim to be successful but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man”  Young women are pressured to get married - being married gives women more respect  Women who arent married after a certain age are seen as failures - but more acceptable for men “hasn’t come around to making his pick”  Language of marriage is often the language of ownership rather than partnership  Giving up job, dream, career  Teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are  Make girls feel as though by being born female they’re already guilty of something  Need to hide their personalities in order to seem homely - prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing who we are  Socialization exaggerates the differences and then it becomes a self-fulfilling process  Women in general more likely to do the house work than men - socialized over the years to see cooking a their role  Looking too feminine = not being taken seriously  Bottom power - a woman has has a good root to tap into from time to time  “Woman being subordinate to a man is our culture” The Urgency of Intersectionality  Level of awareness of police violence that black women experience is exceedingly low  Without frames that allow us to see how social problems impact all the members of a targeted group, many will fall through the cracks  Intersectionality creates challenges that are quite unique

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version