Feminism Final

Healthcare

HOW TO INCORPORATE READINGS IF WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT AS MANY?

Affordable Care Act

- OBAMA Care

--> Significant improvement to address inequalities regarding care coverage

--> Expanded health insurance coverage and improved healthcare access and affordabiltiy

What did the Affordable Care Act promise?

- insurance companies cannot discriminate based on gender, national origin, ethnicity, age, or disabiltiy

- cannot be denied coverage due to pre-exisiting conditions

- more focus on preventative care

- women cannot be charged more for health insurance

- insurers must provide maternity coverage

- expansion of Medicaid and Children's health insurance

- young people can stay on parents' insurance until 26

- coverage for contraception

- mental health

- TONS of stuff is covered under it --> breastpumps, maternity care, spaces to pump

How did the Affordable Care Act address inequities?

- wanted to increase the number of people who had healthcare

--> **Make it so everyone has ACCESS and can afford healthcare

→ **Insurance companies CANNOT DISCRIMINATE based on GENDER, national origin, ethnicity, age, or disability

--> covers reproductive health care, birth control, IUDs --> If people have access to that through health insurance, fewer unplanned pregnancies

--> Meant to make it more accessable bc of the exchanges --> Expanding Medicaid to cover to cover more people

Intersectionality of Health

- lower income women of color often have more health concerns due to number of factors

→ living in food deserts, cannot afford gym memberships or exercise equipment

→ environmental racism → higher traffic, air pollutants, parks/places to be

→ may not have health insurance to cover preventative exams

→ less access to reproductive methods

→ Medicaid doesn't cover abortion

- high maternal death among Black women

- Higher rates of HIV infection among Black women

environmental racism

patterns of development that expose poor people, especially minorities, to environmental hazards

--> Disproportionate impact of environemtal hazards on people of color, particularly in marginalized or low-income communities

--> OCCURS when policies, practices, or deliberate actions place these communities at greater risk of exposure to pollutants, toxic waste, poor air quality, or other environmental harms

→ higher traffic, air pollutants, parks/places to be

Androcentrism =

The practice of centering men or male perspective in ways that marginalize or ignore women and other genders

--> Assumes the male experience is the NORM or default

Androcentrism in Healthcare

- Women as the SECOND SEX, Male as the NORM in HEALTHCARE

EX:

- medical equipment made for male bodies

- drugs not tested on women

- more money and research on diseases that affect men

-failure to understand the difference between men and women beyond height, weight, and hormones

- Medical field has often focused on women's reproductive organs as influencing women's behavior and emotions

- Natural changes in women's bodies are seen as problematic

- Drugs and surgeries are used to correct female "problems"

Stereotyping in Healthcare

- How people are perceived in terms of gender, race, class, and other identities can influence the ways that they are treated in healthcare

- Women are often seen as highly emotional or suffering from psychosomatic problems

- Assumption that Black women have a higher pain tolerance

- Transgender and LGBTQ individuals not receiving care that is informed about transgender bodies and sexuality

Example of Stereotyping in health care

EX. Serena Williams --> Life-threatening experience while giving birth

--> Intersection between being Black and a woman

--> Demonstrates that even the most influential people are discriminated against in the system --> What happens to the lower class?

“Doctors need to talk openly about race,”

- Dr. Aisha Wagner

- History of racism and misogyny in the medical field

--> Early gynecological exams were performed on enslaved women

--> Testing for the pill on poor women in Puerto Rico without full consent

--> Still a push to place IUDs and implants in Black women to “fight poverty”

--> Weathering of Black women that leaders to worse health outcomes and high maternal mortality rate

Environmental Factors and Healthcare

- exposure to toxic chemical and pollution

- stress from living in poverty or with domestic violence

- dealing with microaggressions

Weathering=

Erosion from constant stress

→ Not more susceptible/unable to fight, but rather, more vulnerable

→ Not able to fight against things when they come at you

→ repeated exposure to daily stressors → not just of poverty, but also racism and sexism

--> More suceptible to diseases, maternal mortality --> the constant and repeated stress

--> Repeated experience of racism that add up and weaken their bodies ability to fight off stressors

--> Stress wears on you and makes you more vulnerable to

How do transgender individuals face stereotyping and inequity in healthcare?

→ people being afraid of going to the doctor or not feeling like the doctors will be understanding

→ general skepticism and judgement → don't know how to treat you

→ gaps in sexual health

→ lack of resources

How might the shift in gender-neutral language like "pregnant people" and "people seeking abortions" IMPROVE healthcare experiences?

→ Makes it more INCLUSIVE → feel represented and cared for

→ Marks and says "We see you"

→ Not about making women feel bad, but rather EXPANDING things and let more people in while not disregarding women experiences

gender neutral language around birth and parenting (melling)

→ if expand it, then ALL PEOPLE will benefit

→ more people would go to that doctor to seek care

Maternal Mortality Rates

→ A lot of these same states have HIGH maternal mortality rates, high rates of poverty, and lack of access to healthcare

- WEATHERING of Black women that leads to worse health outcomes and HIGH MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE

- lack of access to OBGYN care --> Doctors are leaving certain states so deserts of access

- low income, not as likely to go to prenatal care appointments

- struggling with economics --> won't spend on food, vitamins, doctor appointments

- Discrimination for black women --> Higher pain tolerance, not believing them

---> EX. Serena Williams

Global Gag Rule/Mexico City Policy

- put in place in 1985, bounces back between Republican and Democratic administrations

- Foreign NGOs (Non-profit organization) RESTRICTED from receiving US funds if they talk about ABORTION services or provide these services

→ American support entity abroad cannot talk or supply abortions if they want US funding

Example of the Gag rule in context?

Consequences of Global Gag Rule/Mexico City Policy

- Often the organizations are forced to promote abstinence rather than the use of condoms

- The organizations have to choose between receiving US funds or being able to reach and provide comprehensive sexual healthcare

- Just have to promote abstinence

Ie. when Biden is place then it’s ok, but when Trump is then it can’t

--> Very difficult to find stability

--> Hard to put anything into place

--> confusing communication

→ Example of the POLITICALIZATION of this stuff, rather than thinking what is essential in this context

Reproductive Justice

Reproductive Justice:

- an UMBRELLA TERM!

--> uniting them = CONTROL/AGENCY OVER BODY and having ACCESS to the NEEDED RESOURCES

- “The human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities,”

--> Idea that you are able to PARENT YOUR CHILD in a SAFE SPACE

--> About the ability to CONTROL YOUR BODY

→ reliable, safe, and affordable birth control options

→ freedom from forced sterilization

→ availability of abortion

→ parenting freedom

→ not simply about abortion rights but overall of parents (finish sentence from slide)

"Reproductive Rights as Human Rights"

- Cultural contexts shouldn’t be used as an argument to deny people reproductive rights

- The local cultural context is important in developing and defending reproductive rights, especially to protect those who are marginalized

- Reproductive rights is this LARGER issue → being able to control their own bodies and having the resources that they need

SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective in 1997

"The human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities,"

→ idea that you are able to parent children in safe space

Reproductive Justice vs Abortion Rights

- Reproductive justice: Umbrella term, women of color - access to abortion and freely have their own children

--> Movement of women to not only want access to abortion services, BUT ALSO have children, have good maternal health, and then have their children and raise them how they see fit

--> Autonomy over their bodies, have children, raise them in a safe space

--> More holistic approach

--> Women of color, abortion isn't the main issue, but want to have children and have healthy children

--> abortion rights: segment of that

Abortion History

- Prior to the 1900s, few prohibitions on abortion

- Generally, abortion was allowed before "quickening"

- Roe v Wade in 1973 established a constitutional right to abortion, based on privacy --> The fetus was not treated as a citizen with equal rights.

- First-trimester abortions available on demand

- After the fetus is viable (can live outside the womb) then abortion only allowed to preserve the life or health of mother

- Less an 2% of abortions after 20 weeks

- Regulation of first trimester abortion should not present an "undue burden" on the women

Roe v Wade

1973

--> established a constitutional right to abortion, based on privacy. The fetus was not treated as a citizen with equal rights.

Chipping away at Abortion Rights

- Hyde Amendment which prevents deferral money from going towards abortion (Medicaid)

--> If low-income and get insurance from Medicaid, then they won't cover it

- Heartbeat bans, laws that make women look at ultrasounds, parental consent laws

- Pharmacists refusing to dispense abortion medication

- Bans on late-term pregnancies that are done in health emergencies

Intimidation of doctors and patients at clinics

- Pregnancy crisis centers that misleads patients

- Gag law --> prevents healthcare providers from offering information about abortion services

**Chipping away at access leading to 22

Abortion Rights Today - PROBABLY AN ESSAY QUESTION

- Federal Abortion Ban passed in 2003, which bans certain abortion procedures that are done in the second trimester or later to protect women’s health

- TRAP (targeted restrictions on abortion providers) laws that make it difficult for abortion clinics to stay open

- Texas law banning abortion at 6 weeks, and allow citizens to use lawsuits to go after anyone who “aids or abets” someone in getting an abortion.

- 2022 Supreme Court case (Jackson v. Dobbs) that bans abortion at 15 weeks in Mississippi.

- The Supreme Court upheld that law and overturned Roe v. Wade.

- Abortion rights vary greatly by state and many laws have been passed to out-law abortion or protect reproductive rights.

Jackson v Dobbs

- 2022 Supreme Court case (Jackson v. Dobbs) that bans abortion at 15 weeks in Mississippi.

- The Supreme Court upheld that law and overturned Roe v. Wade.

- Abortion rights vary greatly by state and many laws have been passed to out-law abortion or protect reproductive rights.

Post-Roe status of abortion rights

- abortion laws vary by state

- ongoing legal and political shifts

- clinic closures

- healthcare shortages

- can hurt those who are already marginalized as it is more difficult to access the services they may need --> Drive to a different state, take off work, ect.

Sterilization

--> Permanent birth control method that renders a person INFERTILE, PREVENTING FUTURE PREGNANCIES --> ie. cannot reproduce

- tubal ligation (women) or hysterectomy (men)

--> Eugenics: Racist, albeist and classist ideas around who should be allowed to reproduce

--> Forced sterilizations have been performed on poor, non-white and disabled women throughout history

--> Reinforcing eugenics movement

Contraception

- women not wanting to always be pregnant and lactating

- concern about over-population

- not being able to provide for so many children

- women may not want to stay at home to raise the children

- women need to control their reproduction in order to control their lives

- condoms, diaphragm, withdrawl, rhythm method, intrauterine device, pill, patch, implant, ring, morning after pills

Birth Control History

- 1873 Comstock Law made it illegal to send “obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious” materials through the mail

→ the MAIL was super important to spread information and materials

→ This included both contraception but also information about contraception methods or abortion

→ All of a sudden this STOPS and people are thrown into prison for doing this

Margaret Sanger: key leader in contraception movement but was also connected to the eugenics movement

Griswold v Connecticut in 1965 established the constitutional right to birth control for married couples (right to privacy)

→ couple should have the privacy to decide for themselves if they should have contraception

Single people had the rights in 1972 and minors in 1977

→ think of this time of the page of women’s rights through being able to have the pill

→ power in the hands of women

Comstock Law

- 1873

- made it illegal to send “obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious” materials through the mail

→ the MAIL was super important to spread information and materials

→ This included both contraception but also information about contraception methods or abortion

→ All of a sudden this STOPS and people are thrown into prison for doing this

Griswold v Connecticut

1965

- established the constitutional right to birth control for married couples (right to privacy)

→ couple should have the privacy to decide for themselves if they should have contraception

Single people had the rights in 1972 and minors in 1977

→ think of this time of the page of women’s rights through being able to have the pill

→ power in the hands of women

Childbirth

Medicalization of birthing

→ doctors have to deliver babies

→ more drugs and anastasia

→ higher rates of C-sections

→ really expensive → If not covered by health insurance, can be very expensive

→ BALANCE to it all

- Shift to doctors instead of midwives

--> Use of drugs, women laying on their backs, episiotomies, cesarean births

- Doing an “extra stitch” for male pleasure

- Decisions that make the process easier for the doctors and less risky for the hospitals, but not considering that birth is a natural process

- More recent movements back to birthing centers, midwives, doulas, home births

Family, Marriage

Family

- BOTH an INSTITUTION that is connected to other institutions and space of producing disclosure

AND a space of personal experiences of love and relationships

--> INSTITUTION that connects to other SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

--> Space for challenges systems of oppression and inequality

Families are...

"the primary social units that maintain other instiutions and reinforce existing patterns of domination"

--> the nuclear family supports capitalism, patriarchy

--> The definition of a family in society often determines access to power and economic resources

Families and institutions - An example of this (below?)

--> INSTITUTION that connects to other SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

How does the family interact with other institutions like economics, government, education, religion, media?

→ Families often reflect systems of inequality and privilege in society --> A little confused how

→ Single women of color households are the most likely to experience poverty

→ Families and media → EX. Modern Family

→ Families and government → EX. Want to see candidates as a family person

→ Families and religion → EX. Getting married in a religious space

→ Many ways that the traditional family gets pushed and reinforced

Middle class, married families get tax benefits

- US government often deprioritizes programs that would provide educational equity, living wage, health care, and childcare

- No paid parental leave in the US

- Child tax credit and childcare subsidies

→ All ways to make it easier to have a family

Diversity of Families - DIVERSITY OF FAMILIES?

- there are many definitions of family and what that looks like

--> Kinship system: "Patterns of relationship that define family forms"

- monogamy, polygamy, polyamory

- nuclear family vs extended family

--> Demographically, the nuclear family is far from the norm

--> NUCLEAR FAMILY PUSHES CAPITALISM

EX. Landury mat vs everyone having own landury machine

EX. Car - cities where don't have to drive, now evyerone has their own car

EX. Grandparents watching kids

--> More consumption

--> Promotion of strict gender roles and learn how their supposed to be in family and society

Diversity of American families cont.

- very rare that women were perfectly happy and satisfied with that relationship

--> Blended families

--> Single parent families

--> Divorced families

--> Multi-generation

--> The nuclear family is NOT the majority of American families

--> Families all look different in their dynmaics

What are the reasons for US institutions to promote the nuclear family?

- capitalism --> Everyone has to buy one of each thing

--> Pushing gender norms

→ Project of pushing the nuclear family, and pushing away the understanding that families used to be more community-based

3 Shifts in the Family

1. The average family size has DECREASED --> ie. big Irish Catholic family is not as common anymore

2. Women in industrialized countries have children LATER in LIFE

3. Increase in children born to SOLO or COHABITATING PARENTS

Family as a space of POWER

- family is often the PRIMARY space where people learn about power dynamics in society

--> See it in their parents and see it as the norm

--> Learn from chores, job, gendered norms

- an imbalance of power between partners can often get reinforced in how the children are taught to take on certain roles

- imbalance can also lead to abuse

---> Family can also be an empowering space where we learn about love, connection to others, and responsbility

Models of Power

1. Head-complement

2. Junior/senior partner

3. Equal partners

1. Head-complement

- the person that makes the money is the head in determining the family decisions

2. Junior partner/senior partner

- one person has a lead role in making money for the family, but both work outside the home

--> Ie. if that persons gets a big new job, the other person quits their job to move

--> One person's job takes precendent

--> Can switch depending on people's points in their careers

--> Decisions are made TOGETHER and BOTH do home work and domestic work

3. Equal Partners

--> both have EQUAL jobs and home work

--> Can be very DIFFICULT and lead to level of COMPETITION

Expanding same-sex Marriages

- Obergefell v Hodges: same-sex couples have the SAME RIGHT to MARRIAGE as opposite-sex couples under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

--> Still some pushback about "traditional family values" and reinfrocing gender roles in marriage

- Not all LGBTQ activist see marriage unequality as the primary goal

- critique of marriage as a hetero patriarchal instituion

- Also LGBTQ rights around marriage are sometimes used to help "civilize" other countries

--> Shouldn't use it as a judgement of an entire country or culture

Mothering/Parenting:

How are these pressures to be good parents different, depending on gender?

→ parents first time doing it too → they're all beginners, must give them grace

→ judged if women aren't around family

→ pressure on women to be good mothers

→ Dad is "babysitting" the kids

Same-Sex Parents

- Studies of children of same-sex parents consistently show that the children do just as well in developing emotionally, socially, and educationally than children of opposite sex parents

- It is the QUALITY of the parenting and the WELL-BEING of the parents that MATTER and NOT the STRUCTURE of the family

- Depending on where they live, children of same-sex parents may face more discrimination and harassment due to homophobia

Work

Work info:

- work is GENDERED

--> certain forms of work are categorized as masculine or feminine

- MASCULINE works tends to be VALUED HIGHER

Unpaid labor in the home - domestic work

- women on average do about 2/3 of domestic work

--> Domestic work ex:

- cleaning, household maintenance

- purchasing and preparing food

- taking care of children or other family members

- garden and yard work

- taking care of EMOTIONAL needs of the family

- managing the household

--> This labor is often undervalued bc it is not seen as contributing to the larger GDP

Inequalities in domestic labor

- domestic labor is often divided further into tasks that are more MASCULINE or FEMININE

--> Women do more of the regular cleaning and cooking tasks

--> Men do more of the seasonal outdoor work or occasional repairs

--> cooking and childcare are more likely to be shared but cleaning is done more by women

--> Studies show that couples SUPPORT EQUALITY in the household, but in reality, there is still a GENDER IMBALANCE in terms of who does the DOMESTIC LABOR and who has LEISURE TIME

--> Couples that have more of a BALANCE in DOMESTIC LABOR tend to be more SATISFIED with their marriage and sexual relationship

Emotional labor =

- coined by Arlie Hochschild in 1980s

- = the WORK that people do to make people feel GOOD - have a nice feeling when you walk away

EX. Server being super friendly --> Not essential to the job, but a part of the job

WHAT ARE THE MC QUESTIONS LIKE? ??

similar as last time

- history of contraception

What are all the forms of emotional labor and kin keeping that those who identify as women perform in a family?

→ Expectation that women understand the relationships and dynamics at play

→ Can be very exhausting

→ In work, women have to enact emotional labor to help work or as part of job

→ Kids come to their moms a lot more than dads

Gender and emotional labor

→ ** EXPECTATION of emotional labor that sometime differs depending on gender

- Studies show that those who identify as women do take on the majority of emotional labor in families and work, but there is no biological trait that makes the female sex better at this emotional work

- This is part of the construction of gender

Value of labor based on gendered nature - What does this refer to?

Paid Labor

- With industrialization, people started to work outside the home, earning wages, and purchasing mass-produced good

- Working class women worked in paid labor but still took care of their home

- Middle class white women were able to stay at home and focus on “piety, purity, and domesticity”

WWII: More women entered the workforce

Post war: Focus on women taking care of the home

Legal Protections of Labor

- Equal Pay Act in 1963: Men and women at the same place of employment must receive equal pay for equal work

- Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and/or national origin

--> pregnancy added in 1976

→ Age discrimination added in 1968

→ ADA in 1990 prohibits job discrimination based on disability

→ June 2020, SCOTUS ruling that Title VII protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

- need to know these dates and rulings?

Legal protections of work cont:

- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1972 begins to enforce Title VII

- 1986 and 1993 SCOTUS rulings classify sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination

- Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009 eliminates time limits of filing discrimination claim

- Affirmative action or policies to try to diversify the pool of applicants

Feminism and legal protection of workers

- Feminism is about looking overall --> Where is a form of INJUSTICE happening?

Gender Wage Gap

- Horizontal occupational segregation

- Vertical occupational Segregation

- Horizontal Occupational Segregation

Segregation ACROSS DIFFERENT jobs

→ EX. Teaching, nursing, secretaries, librarians = women jobs

→ EX. Electrician, construction, corporate, traits = man jobs

→ there are more women entering male-dominated professions like physicians, dentists, pharmacists, lawyers

Still some jobs mainly filled by men: Engineers, mechanics, drivers, carpenters, construction, trade workers, firefighters, pilotis, logging

Sometimes certain jobs are devalued when more women begin to do them

Vertical Occupational Segregation

- segregation within the SAME JOB

→ EX. in corporate world, men as CEO, women in HR → Fewer women in top leadership positions at big corporations

Few women in top leadership positions

Is there an OVERT and COVERT discrimination against women and marginalized workers?

YES!

What are the CAUSES of gender gaps in jobs?

- Social norms and stereotypes push women and men into different types of jobs, often undervaluing "women's work" and limiting leadership opportunities.

- Unequal caregiving responsibilities and limited workplace flexibility make it harder for women to stay in or advance within the workforce.

- Occupational segregation leads to women and men working in different sectors, with male-dominated fields often offering higher pay and status.

Policy

The State

- Overall idea of social institution that brings power to society

→ Overall major social institution that determines who has power and authority, and is a significant space in society

→ Think of it as “separation of church and state” within society

- The major social institution that grants power and authority in society

Why is the state important?

- The state is a key site for the creation of policies that categorize gender, and privilege/discriminate based on gender

--> “The state works both to maintain sources of inequality and as an avenue for social justice” (585)

The state includes

Government, law, social policy, the courts, criminal justice system, the military, and the police

Does the state just regulate itself?

No! --> Also regulates other institutions that fall outside of the state, such as EDUCATION, RELIGIOUS, FAMILY, ECONOMICS

→ EX. State government determines core curriculum and funding in public schools

→ EX. Gov gives benefits to families

→ EX. State determines when you gets married and the benefits

→ EX. State might take children away if they're being abused

Government and Politics --> What specifically from each?

What does it mean to be a "citizen"?

→ Obey and follow the rules of where you are

→ Part of healthcare system as benefit

→ Rights within the country

→ Vote!

How is citizen a constructed category that has changed over time?

-the rights that different citizens have

→ EX. The right to vote has expanded

- Trump's efforts to legitimate certain citizens and to prevent other people from accessing citizenship

→ Deporting people to El Salvador → preventing people from even getting citizenship

→ Dehumanizing rhetoric about who is a citizen and what that means

→ Trump talking about ending birth-right citizenship

History of citizenship and rights

History: Women were not initially seen as citizen with their own equal rights

→ History of determining who gets what rights

--> ERA(Equal Rights Amendment) has passed and it should be in play but it isn’t

→ Equal Rights Amendment: You cannot discriminate on the basis of sex

Equal Rights Amendemnt

--> ERA(Equal Rights Amendment) has passed and it should be in play but it isn’t

→ Equal Rights Amendment: You cannot discriminate on the basis of sex

How would having the ERA better protect against gender discrimination and oppression?

→ more black and white, less gray area

→ clarifies the precedent and makes it explicit → would help to incorporate all types of people and regardless of your sex, you have protections

Politics

- White, straight men from wealthy backgrounds are still the majority of elected officials

--> 119th Congress is most diverse (each year it becomes a little more diverse)

--> NEED TO KNOW THE STATS?

Why do identities and backgrounds matter in politics?

- diverse group reflects the American public

--> Not very diverse in terms of class

--> Each representative is bringing a different voice and background that helps to represent PEOPLE LIKE THEM

***If they don't understand these issues, they can't represent the people's interests

Feminist issues in Public Policy

- Government policies are often used to discriminate against certain groups to grant privileges to other groups

What are examples of how policies can promote inequality and discrimination or can work toward gender justice?

→ If clinics are closed and OBGYNs are fleeing the states, people don’t have access to other health services

→ Allowing there to be single-stalled non-gendered bathroom

→ Utah not allowing pride flags in public

→ Expansion of the child’s tax credit during COVID

→ EX. MA free school lunch policy

→ EX. Welfare, tax policies, child tax credit, healthcare

Feminist Issues in Criminal Justice System

Laws, courts, police, prison

What are feminist concerns that relate to the criminal justice system?

→ Intimate partner violence and sexual assault → Disenvtives people from seeking those resources

→ high number of women trying to fight back against violent partner leading them to be imprisoned for violent causes

- Women are in prison for less violent offences

- Mothers who are incarcerated

- Domestic violence victims fights back against their abusers

- Transgender individuals facing violence and mistreatment in prison

Feminist Issue and the Military

- Women and LGBTQ individuals are able to serve in ALL branches of the military

- Transgender individuals can serve in the military as well

forms of discrimination in military

→ rates of sexual assault are very high

→ types of assigned missions

→ uniforms and guns may not fit body

→ women must have perfect hair all day long

→ limited access to anything gynecological

What are the misconceptions about allowing women and LGBTQ individuals to serve in the military?

→ strength differentiation

→ women are being let in as diversity standards in order to be let in

→ Saying periods, pregnancy, and PMS (Menstruation) becomes an issue

→ weaker, inferior, more emotional

→ Gay men are "predators"

→ Misconception that will be distracted on what they need to as they will be foxued on sexuality

Religion

Complexities of Religion

- Space of liberation and empowerment

- Institutions that reinforce systems of oppression

Example of how religions can be a space that reinforce systems of oppression --> Examples of this in each religious contexts

Hierarchy of Holiness

- Religions often reinforce a hierarchy of holiness

→ women and purity

→ men seen as more holy than women

→ leaders are men

→ EX. Adam and Eve → men and women are supposed to be together, gender binary, men in charge

Hierarchy of Holiness cont:

- *Hierarchy that relates to gender and places men above women

- Religions may exclude women from rituals and sacred spaces

- Rules and laws often reinforce misogyny, racism, homophobia, and transphobia

→ EX. Christian traditions: Stay with husband even tho violent, divorce, child rearing

- Religion used to justify poor behavior and harmful ideas→ EX. White supremacy

→ EX. Atlantic slave trade - religious people promoting the goodness of slavery

Empowerment in Religion

- Institutions can be flawed, but FAITH can still be EMPOWERING

How?

- community and support

- feeling of self-worth and value

- opportunities to take on leadership roles

- can be engaged in community and social activism

- women and LGBTQ individuals have been prominent advocates for social justice and equality from within religious space

Imagining God - Dominant images

DOMINANT images and metaphors for God:

→ White, male guy in the sky

→ authority figure, strength → Father

→ old, bearded, white, man