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Masculine Tranformation

In the reading “Warriors, Hunters, and Bruce Lee: Gendered Agency and the Transformation of Masculinity in Amazonia,” the author discusses how transforming masculinities reduces the younger generations of Waorani men to a lack of masculine agency that the older generations had. For Waorani men, Bruce Lee was a large media figure who played a role in transforming the masculinity of these men. Still, the past generations also influenced the ways of traditional masculinity for these men. The introduction to media for Waorani men, with mostly people like Bruce Lee and other martial artists, was then integrated into their ideas and performance of masculinity. Integrating Bruce Lee into their concept of masculinity honors the past generations’ way of performing masculinity, as the warrior context can still apply to Bruce Lee, but also influences the new forms of masculinity within media expression, offering a model figure that empowered them more physically. With this introduction to martial arts, the Waorani men started to understand these warrior values in a more globalized way than how they understood them culturally, which reframed how they understood their masculinity and how to perform in a masculine way. 

In a Westernized context, masculinity stereotypes are reinforced through media, while other media are trying to transform some of these stereotypes. The generational Idea of being a man and to perform masculinity is to be strong physically and emotionally, have dominance, and be assertive. In an article by Gender Study, they discuss how media around sports, action films, and action figures within films perpetuate the idea that being a man is to be tough and aggressive. They also highlight how these male figures are represented as independent within sports advertising and in superhero context, which links to the masculine idea of being able to do things yourself and not needing help. The article then goes on to mention how media in the past years, there have been films and other media that embrace men being emotional and vulnerable rather than aggressive and unexpressive. They mention how Gillette has a campaign called “The Best Men Can Be” which promotes support groups for men going through abuse and addiction, and promotes to stop making it so men feel they can’t open up and stop the perpetuation of toxic masculinity. 

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Rephrase the Term “Coming Out”? 

In the US, we use “coming out” as a way to help people recognize their gender identity or sexual orientation for LGBTQ+ identifying people. Coming out is considered to be personal, although we as a society make it not so personal or individualistic. We have constructed coming out as something that gives validation to people about how you identify or your sexual orientation. Coming out keeps the people of LGBTQ+ identifying population hiding themselves due to societal norm of heteroenormativity. It keeps stigma around LGBTQ+ identifying people and not making them equal as the people who fit in the heteronormative. In an article by Sadhbh O’Sullivan She argues the term “coming out” isn’t inviting rather a way to have people either accept or reject you. 

In Filipino culture and West Sumatra, there is no idea of “coming out” but rather being expressive about sexual orientation and identity. Balka in filipino culture is a third gender where men express femininity and partake in cross dressing. Tomboi is a term used for women who take on a masculine role, shaping their identity from transnational histories of gender and sexuality. Tomboi and Bakla identifying people have no experience of “coming out” and having to express their gender identity or sexuality to other people around them. Bakla in filipino culture and Tomboi in West Sumatra are not necessarily groups that are aldready marginalized for the sexual orientation or gender, where in the U.S LGBTQ+ identifying people are marginalized and experience dicrimination and systemic disadvantages. With marginalization it makes it so people arent as self expressive and using the term “coming out” keeps these people scared to be expressive, where as the people identifying as Bakla and Tomboi aren’t scared to be expressive or need to “come out” but rather just be themselves. 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/656570

Manalansan, Martin F. 2003. Global Divas; Filipino Gay Man in Diaspora. Duke University Press. 

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Scared of Challenging the Western Binary?

During the past decade we have seen LGBTQ+ being at a social rise for challenging the western gender norm and people being angry. A recent ABC news article discusses data and uses quotes from people advocating for LGBTQ+, discussing how hate crimes toward the LGBTQ+ population have been at a rise during from 21’-23’ The major point of the article being that sexual orientation and gender identity based hate is at a rise, and that the U.S. is not a safe space for the LGBTQ+ population. 

In a reading by Makiko Kuwahara they discuss how Māhū and Raerae are third genders in Polynesian culture. They explain how Māhū and Raerae were seen differently, Māhū seen as “traditional” and Raerae as “new” and “western-Style transgender individuals”. They also had differences in the ways they dressed. With third genders being accepted in Polynesian community it challenges the western binary. 

Although there may be hate experienced by Māhū and Raerae, they are still accepted as third genders in the Polynesian culture and in Bora Bora and Tahiti. Which is what we in the U.S. should be doing. We should accept people for how they perform and for being self expressive, not having hate crime levels spike on communities that are already marginalized by our larger systems and socially. 

Alfonseca, Kiara. Hate crimes, particularly against LGBTQ community, on the rise: FBI data. ABC News, September 2024.

Kuwahara, M. (2014). Chapter 5: Living as and Living with Māhū and Raerae Geopolitics, Sex, and Gender in the Society Islands. In N. Besnier & K. Alexeyeff (Ed.), Gender on the Edge: Transgender, Gay, and Other Pacific Islanders (pp. 93-114). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

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Gender Inequalities Within The Work Place Environment

As working citizens of the U.S. I'm sure we're aware of the gender bias and gender pay gap our people experience. Labor is subjected to people due to gender stereotypes, with men usually doing more physical labor and usually in a hierarchy role within the job and women doing more care work and smaller “easier” tasks, all having to do with how we categorize femininity and masculinity. With men being seen as better and or superior within the certain working fields they get the better position with better pay or even the same position as a woman but still receiving more pay. Gender discrimination is a large issue in many workplaces for both women and men, although mostly women facing lower pay, and other inhumane treatment due to the ideas that women aren’t qualifying or fitting for the job. 

In an article by M. Laetitia Cairoli she discusses the Moroccan garment factory experience for women. She goes on to say how factory work was mainly seen as a male's job, until the job was underpaid and maintained terrible conditions so women eventually took over many roles within the factory. Although women took over many roles in the factories, many if not all of the factories were owned by men and had males that were enacting as “guards” at the doors. The “guards” existed to ensure the women stayed to do work and weren’t necessarily slacking off. This factory work is a way that keeps women conforming to men as males fill the more superior roles within the factories. It also keeps gendered stereotypes within the workplace making women seen as less competent, not educated enough, or too emotional to fulfill a larger role or deserve better or equal pay. 

Cairoli, M. L. (1998). Factory as Home and Family: Female Workers in the Moroccan Garment Industry. Human Organization, 57(2), 181–189. 

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Anti-muslim Hate at a Rise?

In a recent BBC News article, they discuss the rise of islamophobia in the UK. Rawnsley discusses how muslims are facing hate crimes since everything between Israel and Gaza. They then go on to discuss the wrongful portrayal of Muslims. With the war between Gaza and Israel brings societal assumption to the UK and other countries that Muslims are terrorists/ bombers, which is a large misconception. These people are everyday residents facing hate from people on the street to people online due to misconceptions that Muslims are terrorists. 

In the reading “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?”, the author discusses how the burqa is seen as a sign of oppression on Muslim women, with the assumption that these women are controlled and forced by the Taliban to wear head coverings. She mentions the failure to recognize that head coverings are cultural practice for many Muslim women, to which many women enjoy. 

Not only with the recent conflict between Gaza and Israel have the assumptions have caused anti-muslim hate but we can also observe historical moments like 9/11 that people also lashed out with anti-muslim hate. After this attack not only were Muslim people facing hate from bystanders but also people in law enforcement. Still to this day there are still many Muslims in the U.S that are profiled and assumed to be bad people. 

Abu-Lughod, Lila. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Harvard University Press, 2013.

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As we acknowledge the history of scientific texts, recognition of the significance and social consequences needs to be looked at. The reading "The Egg and Sperm" by Martin she discusses scientific texts explaining the roles the egg and sperm have within reproduction keep the negative stereotypes through society. The stereotype Martin mainly focuses on is "women being seen as damsels in distress and the male being the savior". As we see now currently with state wide bans making abortion illegal and policing over women's bodies. This action taken by states also keeps the "damsel in distress and male savior" stereotype in our society. Not letting women control and police their own reproductive rights and states feeling the need to have someone in charge of this policing (mostly male legislators).