WGSS 1110 Midterm Review

ableism

discrimination in favor of able-bodied people

beauty norms

societal standards for beauty

ex. thin, white, clear skin, tall

black feminisms

a collective liberation doing away with racism, sexism, and the intersectionality that binds them.

borderlands

the area surrounding the border line. culture of mixing, crossing, and exhange.

chicanx

gender-neutral term for people from Mexico or of Mexican descent

cisgender

a person feels their gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth

cisgender privilege

the benefits cisgender people receive in society because they are cisgender

cisnormativity

the act of assuming every person is cisgender, normalized in modern society

colonialism

practice of acquiring political control over another county, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

compulsory heterosexuality

the theory that heterosexuality is forced upon a generation, and to claim queerness is “unnatural”

decolonial feminisms

the deconstruction (dismantling) of the colonial practices and mindsets of domination and subjugation

disability justice

acquiring equality for people with disabilities

feminisms

advocacy of women’s rights

gender

the characteristics of people that are socially constructed. expression, identity, etc.

gender binary

the dated theory that gender and sex are one and the same, applying an inaccurate M/F binary to gender

gender expression

how gender is shown to others; in dress, makeup, actions, cadence, etc.

gender identity

the way in which someone identifies and feels they should be called

hegemony

predominant influence or control over others

heterosexism

discrimination against gay people under practice of heteronormativity

heteronormativity

the belief that heterosexuality is the “normal” way to love, and others are “unnatural”

heteropatriarchy

socio-political system where cisgender heterosexual males have control over cisgender females, heterosexual females

identity

characteristics that form who a person is

ideology

a system of ideas and ideals

indigenous feminisms

intersectional theory that combines discrimination against Native Americans and women

inequality

when one group of people is given more rights, liberties and freedoms than another

intersectionality

the “intersection” where the discrimination of two marginalized groups meet, often a grey area where little to no justice is served due to legal loopholes (remember race road and gender road diagram)

marginalization

treatment of a person or group as insufficient, insignificant or peripheral

mythical norm

“ideal” american person norm: white, young, man, thin, heterosexual, christian, educated, financially secure, english-speaking, able-bodied, able-minded, US citizen, athletic

oppression

prolonged cruel or unjust treatment and control

patriarchy

a system of ruling in which men have power over women

power

the ability to direct or influence others

privilege

a special right, advantage, or immunity

week 1: studying feminisms

key points:

• feminism is interdisciplinary - requires support from all careers and disciplines, not just academia

• feminism is a verb, it is to be DONE

• feminist scholarship has a large, tangible impact on universities - in student and faculty demographics, pedagogy, literature and culture

week 2: inter-discipline

key points:

• a collective effort

• aims to turn everything into something questionable

• to dismantle the master’s house, you can not use the master’s tools

• feminist art provides a tool to dismantle the master’s house

week 3: complex feminisms

key points:

• intersectionality binds together different marginalized groups and can leave grey legal areas

• gender performativity is much more fluid than identity; it fluctuates with the mental state

• hegemonic sex/gender binaries force intersex people into unjust hate and violence (torture, forced castration, excommunication)

week 4: intersectionality

key points

• race road and gender road diagram

• both/and lens when viewing cases with possibility of intersectionality

• even if we don’t share the same oppressive views as larger power structures, we can still benefit from them. silence is not enough, dismantling is quintessential

week 5: oppression of a M/F gender binary

key points:

• gender binaries are oppressive for ALL - they regulate and simplify sexual practices, even heterosexual ones

• gender dysphoria is not required to identify as trans, pre-transition bodies should be loved and celebrated

• languages surrounding gender are important (recall argentinian teens using ES)

• cultural nongenderconforming roles across history: hijra in hindu culture, muxe in mexico, two-spirit in first nations

week 6: feminism, disability & the body

key points:

• more intersectionality in play here, combining misogyny with disability injustice (ex. invisible disabilities being downplayed as “strong emotions”

• disability justice plays roles in police brutality toward black women and mass incarceration, particularly of black men