White Eggs in Brown Bodies

Brown bodies, white eggs. So, what does that mean?  Basically, white women, who cannot carry a fetus for 9 months due to a variety of medical issues, pay black women to become their surrogate. The brown woman's body [uterus] has a fertilized egg from a white couple inside. Race is very important here. Historically, white people have an extremely higher level of income than black people. White women overall are less likely to become surrogate mothers unless they are paid a high income. On a large scale, black women have less income than white women in this country. Black women are  more likely to offer their body as a surrogate way as a means for extra income money and when they do not request as much money for offering these services compared to what white women would demand. 

In Deborah R. Grayson's journal article, Mediating Intimacy: Black Surrogate Mothers and the Law, she poses these questions after the case of Mark and Crispina Calvert—a white and Filipina ancestry middle-class couple—and their surrogate Anna Johnson—a working-class woman of African American descent. 

• Can a woman be the mother of a child with whom she has no genetic connection? 

• Or does the genetic material provided by the egg and the sperm donated to create the child determine who its natural parent or parents are? 

• When does a woman become a mother--while she is pregnant or after she has delivered a baby? 

• What of the bodily experience of pregnancy?

• Does a woman's participation in pregnancy--her carrying the fetus in her uterus--have any bearing on the determining factor in defining parental rights and relationships, or that custody disputes should be decided solely on the basis of the parental intent of the persons who supplied the genetic material? 

• Who and what is a mother? 

• Can a child have two biological mothers? 

How would you answer these questions?

Race Matters Campaign

At the beginning of this semester, I thought I had the worst Sociology & Anthropology senior seminar course. We did not even have a syllabus until a couple of weeks ago. The readings for class seemed randomly selected based on the most recent books on the economy, environment, health care, and race. It was a drag to go to class, and even worse to be stuck in class for 55 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Wow. I never knew this would happen to me at St. Olaf College. 

On the other hand.....

The reason why this is the best class ever:

Our professor gave us full autonomy in designing any kind of project we want.

At first, we all wanted to create a protest. We wanted to do something radical about racism on campus. After much discussion and reconstruction of our ideas, we have decided to create the Race Matters campaign.

It has been a rewarding experience! I'm so proud of my colleagues and I for being so passionate about addressing racism on campus!

Please join us for the Panel Discussion on Monday April 15th 7pm in the Black and Gold Ballroom!

This is the poster that I created through Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Addressing colourblind racism.

Women of Color: Struggles with Eating Disorders and Body Image

Women of Color Struggle with Body Image

The wonderful Robyn McGee paid a visit to St. Olaf College to talk about eating disorders and body image. She created a workshop for the St. Olaf community. This was not the usual event about women's eating disorders that St. Olaf has had in the past.

McGee's workshop came with a unique perspective: black women's struggle with eating disorders and body image.
When McGee tried to engage the audience in a dialogue about black women's issues on body image and eating disorders, my natural inclination was to sigh and stare at the ground because the audience wasn't able to make any good connections with what McGee was trying to ask and speak about. The fact that white people in the audience found it difficult to relate to what McGee was trying to say made me rather miserable. It reminded me about how white people do not need to know the struggles of people of color.

Oh, white privilege....why do you hurt me so....

I felt like the audience needed a "Black Women's Struggle with Body Image and Eating Disorders 101" before we could engage in a dialogue within the workshop. But this isn't right. Why should the oppressed have to explain their conditions and situations to the oppressive dominant majority of the society? That just gets exhausting for the oppressed.

Simply, I think that McGee should have begun with an introduction that would set aside the audience's biases of the mainstream ideas of eating disorders, and ideas of body image (i.e. white females dealing with anorexia). I am pretty sure that only the black women present in the audience really understood all that McGee was referring to.

For instance, a pop culture artist who is an inspirational figure for the issues of hair in the black community is India Arie. Please listen to this song below.

Is Michelle Obama her hair?

Photoshopped Michelle Obama's Natural Hair

Pathology of Perfectionism

Fat in the right places

Courtney E. Martin's book Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters is a book for the majority of white women and their struggles with eating disorders.

Martin has a chapter that talks about Latina adolescent women struggle with having "fat in the right places", which means they are pressured to have a big bosom like Jennifer Lopez since that's the stereotype of Latinas. Martin also mentions the struggles about a few other women of color, but it's only one little chapter.

If Martin were to create a workshop about eating disorders and body image, it would be more suitable for St. Olaf's predominantly white student body (80%).

These are really my frustrations with the workshop and the turnout of it. I am perhaps far too cynical. Perhaps race is on my mind far too much.

But no! Women of color have to deal with body image in a vast different way than white women. This is the difference that needed to be stated at McGee's workshop. I wish she compared and contrasted these differences because of the ratio of white women and women of color in the audience.

Double Eyelid Surgery

My little niece came up to me telling me how her eyes are not beautiful. She told me how she had the same conversation with her mother. I asked what her mother (my eldest sister) said to her. My sister told her that surgery is an option. I was absolutely furious within, yet I kept calm for my nieces needs and concerns. Right away, I reassured my niece that her eyes are beautiful. I even Googled pictures of Asian women who have single eyelid like hers and are beautiful (i.e. Lucy Liu). My niece was far more confident and happy with the shape of her eyes. Her eyes do not need a double eyelid like that of white women. This moment in my life reminded me how powerful the universal beauty of whiteness is in the Asian community all around the world. In Korea's pop culture, many of the actors and actresses have gone under the knife to reshape their natural facial features such as the eyes and nose to look more white. 

The End of Men???

Hanna Rosin gave this TED talk on how women are rising above men in almost every area! She makes global generalizations on how women are succeeding everywhere. For example, women are becoming the breadwinners! Women have higher income than men! She also claims that there are more women in the world such as in China. This is not true.

According to Mara Hvistendahl, author of Unnatural Selection, there is a gender imbalance in the world.  The male to female ratio is distorted. There are more men in China than women. Rosin's hopeful speech about how women are rising above men lacks solid research. 

Watch and listen critically.

In Reshaping the Work-Family Debate, Joan Williams critiques Sarah Palin's version of feminism:
"In Palin's version of feminism, men need not change. In addition, she herself exemplifies the conventional success strategy, which is to dress femme but act the tomboy, taking on masculine personality traits (firm, comanding, competent, confident) and roles (breadwinner). This strategy works for many professional women while they are young and child free. But it does not appeal to many women, and for many others, assimilation opportunities end abruptly once children are born. Palin so captivated many American women, in part, because she sent a reassuring message: I can be a good mother, a hot babe, and a successful leader. Nothing needs to change (218)."

Really!!?

Does Rosin's TED talk seem similar to that of Sarah Palin's version of feminism?

That's what it seems so to me! You could easily replace much of what Williams said about Palin's "version of feminism" and relate it to Rosin's message. Rosin over generalizes women. Her TED talk will not appeal to all mothers, women of color, women in poverty, and more. Rosin's TED talk only leads to how "nothing needs to change" except that maybe too many women are rising to the top and we need to help men.

By the way, check out Rosin's new book, The End of Men and the Rise of Women. I don't mean to promote her work. The title sounds iffy. Challenge her work.

Spring Break--Teaching Gender

Sad news:
I didn't get to adopt the cute little blind yorkie-chihuahua puppy. My mother and brother would leave it outside in the cold when I return to college. The puppy is better off with it's original owner for now.

Night Lights in Chicago, IL

Good news:
Over spring break, I presented research on teamwork in the classroom at the MSS Midwest Sociological Society annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. Wow, the city of Chicago is beautiful!

Great news: 
Throughout the MSS conference, I went to several sessions which prepared burgeoning professors on how to teach courses and how to work with students.

I attended a panel session about teaching gender. Four professors of WGST studies discussed their tactics on how to teach gender. One professor actually created a Facebook page for her students to think more critically about daily Facebook posts from their friends. Students would share these posts on their course's Facebook page. They would all engage in commenting critically about it.

After the panel discussion, the audience could share more tactics on teaching gender and ask questions. I shared our blogging communication style with them, and I also shared the idea of how feminism is found online through blogs and websites. And that the internet is a new space for raising consciousness about feminism.  There are also women who created scholarly blogs while publishing journal articles. The discourse of feminism can be found through this digital space.

Another session had 2 female professors of color who spoke about how they experienced racism from their students. One professor shared how a student came up to tell her, "I don't think you understood my paper," implying that the Latina professor wasn't proficient enough in English [because English is not her first language]. The professor, however, responded by saying, "Yes! I didn't understand your paper! That's why you got a C+."

Time for a Rest

Hello readers! I'm finally on spring break! I will be posting more when I return from spring break! Hope you'll enjoy the sun's warmth and the brighter days ahead!

I'm planning on adopting a blind puppy. It is a chihuahua and yorkie mixed breed. The puppy developed cataracts and it's far too expensive to pay for the surgery--$2,000 per eye. My sister is absolutely saddened by this as I refrain from such emotions. I don't want to turn my puppy into a demon dog by giving it affection 100%.  I learned that from Ceasar Millan. I love watching his Dog Whisperer shows!  It's amazing! And it's free on YouTube!

Education Matters

(source)

I can relate to many Mexican Americans both as a minority group and as a foreigner to this country. Even if I was born in the US, I feel like a foreigner in many ways. My family doesn't understand USA's complex social system (i.e. politics, legislation, education, and etcetera). My parents do not know how to read. They don't know how to speak English. The racialized hierarchy in the US and being in poverty contribute to how difficult it has been for my family to adjust to the US. The environment at home is like....(how can I describe this...?)...a struggle for everything. I feel we are still new to this country. After living here for over 30 years, we still do not know this USA world. Many times I wonder how it would be like to be born and raised in a white upper-middle class family. I just think so many things would be easier.

Motherhood

I am impressed of the Chicana mothers in 21st Century Motherhood: Experience, Identity, Policy, Agency edited by Andrea O'Reilly.

In the essay Chicana Mothering in the Twenty-first Century: Challenging Stereotypes and Transmitting Culture written by Jessica M. Vasquez, the Chicana mothers are active in demanding equality for their children's education. Chicana mothers were counteracting the "racializing messages of public discourse and institutions" (35).

These mothers academically pushed their children in a critical way. They advocated and fought for their children's rights to be in advance courses offered in schools when it was rather discriminatory to minority groups.

I would be super embarrassed if my parents did this. My dad would be shouting at a teacher, "She NO FAULT! My dau-to NO FAULT!" Guess why? Exactly.

You wouldn't really understand why, and that's why it's so embarrassing. He doesn't speak English very well. The fragments of his sentences do not match up into a comprehensive phrase. I remember the last time I told my family how my Advanced Placement World History teacher was just making us watch Bollywood videos every class hour. I wanted to learn more than watch Indian movies all day. Then my father came to school and created a big hullabaloo.

I was trying to tell my dad it wasn't a big deal and that we should just go home. He was shouting at a security guard, demanding to meet with my teacher. It was 5pm and school was already over. My teacher had already left (thank goodness). And then, the worst part was when my Hmong friend walked by and asked my dad what was wrong. My dad started getting him involved in the whole mess of things! It was so embarrassing. My friend was listening to my dad speak in Hmong about how my teacher was awful and wasn't educating the students correctly. While my dad was talking to my friend, guess what happened!?

The principal of the school walked towards us. Oh my. The principal asked what was wrong and my dad began shouting, "My dau-to. Her teacher NO GOOD!" My Hmong friend then took over and explained the situation to the principal. I was too embarrassed to even speak. I was trying to get out of the whole situation from the beginning my dad stepped foot in the school. After talking to the principal in the middle of the school's entrance, we finally went home. The teacher wasn't able to teach advanced courses anymore. I remained in her mediocre class until the end of the semester.

Similar to the Chicana mothers, both my mother and father care a lot about my education. I've always had a big academic push from my whole family. They all wanted me to become a medical doctor. They wanted me to rescue the whole family from poverty. I had straight A's in high school and was in the most advanced courses, including college courses in high school. They have used a lot of their time and energy to survive in this country and for me to have a good education. I respect those who value education's promises.

Intensions Behind the "Feminist" Postcard

Hey everyone! So, I emailed the artist who created the postcard. He responded to my email yesterday. I basically asked him what his intentions were for creating the postcard. It's a shame he didn't put much effort in researching feminism before throwing the images and words together to create the postcard. Please read below and then let me know your thoughts.

Hi Monzong,

Thanks for the email.

Gosh that postcard for the feminist society is a few years back now.

My intent?

- question the impact of the "feminist" movement
- question the "need" of the feminist movement
- question the "stage" in history of the feminist movement.

It was a very last minute constructed postcard, i didn't have the luxury of research ect ect

I know it could be misconstrued / mis interpreted (one of the beauties of "art") - but the main idea came from assessment of feminism. Ive 3 sisters that rule the family.

Many of my friends wives earn more money than the man, female prime ministers are common.

The third contentious image, was meant to refer to : "for every germaine greer / frida kahlo - feminist - there will always be a girl in LA in a porn film"  - ironically get paid MORE than men in the industry.

But not that literal. - also that feminism has also created an alternative to feminism itself, Thinking back to the 60's, feminist movements sprung up, and alternating ideas

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A WOMAN - why the need to specify it?>

and so...feminism would funnel some women to being more conservative and "self respectful" - and the some the other direction - i.e overtly sexual, promiscuous - like the pre conceived "male cliche"

i could go on and on, but thats the gist....

THanks for the email, discussion is always healthy

David

Work-Family Feminist Theory

(source)

Hey everyone! I didn't realize this was still a draft since last Friday! I'm posting it now!

I'm getting lost in Joan William's book, Reshaping the Work-Family Debate. I don't fully understand or have the prior knowledge of different types of feminisms. I can't seem to understand William's critiques and proposition of reconstructive feminism. I am simply absorbing everything I am reading from her book. I mostly agree with everything she is saying, but I feel I need to be more critical when reading just because that's what a scholarly student does! I haven't been able to accomplish this though. I feel lost.

Essentialism has many issues because it makes gender roles seem natural. And eventually, we are left with the thought: Why change the workplace if women don't want to be there? This is problematic as people may feel there is no need to improve the workplace. Women do not want to work since it is a masculine place. Essentialism overlooks the issues of masculinity in the workplace.

How else do we need to frame our questions in order to understand the work-family debate?

What is Reconstructive Feminism?

Williams proposes a new way of shaping the workforce: "The first calls for eliminating the ideal-worker norm in market work; the second calls for eliminating the ideal-worker norm in family entitlements. The third calls for changing the ways we talk about gender" (4).

And then what...?

Anti-feminism

BRACE YOURSELF: disturbing image below. 

Feminist Postcard Art Auction in the United Kingdom 

This postcard was made by David Rusbatch--an artist and painter from the United Kingdom.

I stumbled upon his artwork after reading this short anti-feminism blog post.

In this blog, Carlin Ross argues that Catherine A. MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin's contribution to the feminist movement had extreme views of anti-porn to the point where feminists were thought of to have become polarized into "anti-sex shrews like the woman in the middle image." Furthermore, Ross expressed deep frustration with how "the likes of" Dworkin and MacKinnon "killed the movement and left us all with a face full of cum".

Whoa...

...

What's going on here?

Is this really how we should interpret the sequence of images on Rusbatch's postcard?

If so, it makes me very upset and disappointed in the artist.

What I am most disappointed at is Ross' narrow and biased viewpoint. And I'm trying my best to hold back all my anger so that I may understand why Ross may feel this way.

After reading her bio, I believe this may be the reason why she may have found great disappointment in Dworkin and McKinnon:

"I grew up in a Christian Fundamentalist home (I know from feminism to the Moral Majority).  My father was a minister and I was taught at home.  There was no radio, television, and no sex before marriage.  My personal experience taught me that sexual repression is used to control and manipulate others."

Ross labeled Dworkin and MacKinnon anti-porn and anti-sex through her frustrations with the Christian Fundamentalist religion tendency to value abstinence before marriage. Dworkin and MacKinnon were not anti-sex or anti-pleasure. Dworkin acknowledged the sexual revolution during the 1960s in the USA. 

Peace and Love

About 20 minutes into this documentary called Pornography, Dworkin says:

"Initially, pornography was seen to be a vehicle of liberation simply because it violated laws. And the laws were associated with a repressive adult generation. And anything they tried to stop us from doing, 'we did!'. Pornography was part of that."

Dworkin was attacking the industry. She was critiquing the system. Pimps were making profit off of women's bodies. And by purchasing porn, consumers were contributing and continuing this violent cycle of abusing women in porn. Dworkin analyzed how they were all "responsible for the ways in which women are abused". Pimps exploited the sexual freedom that people have been fighting for and transformed it into a for-profit and "woman-hating industry". This does not mean that Dworkin was against people having sex. She was not against the natural human function of pleasure. She was going against the exploitation of sex.

Human Right

In Reshaping the Work-Family Debate, Joan Williams notes that MacKinnon theorized about the eroticizing of dominance. MacKinnon published Sexual Harassment of Working Women and then the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted guidelines that established sexual harassment as gender discrimination (Williams 111). Dworkin and MacKinnon viewed pornography as violence against women (Williams 112). This doesn't mean that Dworkin and MacKinnon were against sex. This is the misconception people may have because of the distorted messages of their activism. Dworkin and MacKinnon were antipornography. They were against the dehumanization of women. They were against the way pornography heavily portrayed women as sexual objects.

For one, you can't ever really say that we are in a post-feminism era just like how we cannot say we are in a post-racism era. Feminism and racism has only shifted in form. Feminism is still alive and well today. So what does Ross and Rusbatch mean by post-feminism? I hope his intentions were along the lines such as "without feminism women are in danger".

How have you interpreted the meaning of his art work?