Androcentric Norms: women vs men

Women are more likely to productively use computers and technology than men and they see it more as a tool than a toy. Men often see the internet as a less exciting video game that they can play for a while and never have to be concerned with the consequences.

Men are also given more chances to work with computers and often are introduced to them younger. Because of the push for boys to do well in math, computers shortly follow. Often times computer science and math majors go together.
How men and women use the web also varies depending on the person and the way they have been socialized. Women are more likely going to use social media sights as a way to connect with one another. Whereas men are more geared towards the technological parts of the internet and computer systems.

Socialization of gender is the root cause in the lack of certain genders in specific fields. Boys and girls are taught that boys are genetically predetermined to be better at math and science and not as good at English. The opposite goes for girls. But there is no real science to back this up. If we give both genders the same opportunity and expectations than we might have a more equal disparity in the gender divide.

Life Resources

Further Education

Currently I am considering two options for my nearing future: graduate school or cosmetology school. If I get a free ride to grad school then I would be stupid to give it up but I do love doing hair. I do not feel that by doing this I am falling prey to societal influences because I have been actively trying to pursue other career options only to come back to the thought that I love hair, makeup, glitter and fashion.

The cosmetology database I found can give me schools in several states so when I move I have options. I want to be able to do what I love for a career and I would love to one day own my own feminist salon. There are a couple of programs that actually teach you how to own a salon. I would want it to be called “the F-Word Salon and Spa” and have a daycare provided so that women can come in and get the services without having to worry about their children and the child area would be pro-woman, feminist friendly. The toys would be gender neutral and the movies would have strong female themes. I would also like to hold workshops through the salon on positive body image for women and teens to help foster a better relationship with the self.

If I do go to grad school, I am looking at Minnesota State University, Mankato because it has a program that is more tailored to individual’s own feminist theories. I would like to be able to do both grad school and beauty school but I don’t think it would be practical to do at once so the decision is up in the air. I only really need grad school if I want to teach, which I do, and then I would have to go on to get my PhD. I have talked with Maria Bevacqua, Gender and Women’s Studies Director at MSU Mankato, and I feel that it might be a good fit since the program has more on queer studies and I could cater it to my interests. She often brings her class up to Minneapolis, MN to visit the Smitten Kitten, a feminist sex toy store. She would be on the more radical side of feminism and I think that that would be a good fit. The program also offers a Graduate Assistantship that could include a stipend and tuition waver.

Family

I do not believe in having children or really a “family.” I never plan on having children because of my personal adversity to men, doctors and any human under the age of 10; but my maternal instincts have manifested in the desire to have a puppy. I will have a puppy, which is similar to a child but without the force on society to gender it appropriately. I am not sure on whether it will be male or female but either way it will be fixed and I am looking at a Pomeranian or Chihuahua. It will be gendered with a feminist/feminine name of “Miss Suzie Bee Stanton” and will be my constant companion.

Career(s)

If I go the route of beauty school, I will need to get a licensure in cosmetology which varies from state to state and you have to have that state’s license to practice. The reciprocity in some states is very good if you got trained in a state with rather high standards. Also a little food for thought, the more conservative states have higher requirements, whereas the liberal states are rather lenient. So that throws out the option of going to a more liberal state and not having as much reciprocity or going to a conservative state and maybe not being able to be as creative due to their “standards.” I am also looking into the idea of national licensure but I have not gotten enough information yet to delve into that.

Along with the beauty school route, I am also an animal rights activist. I was a vegetarian and a member of PeTA for a while but once I could no longer have soy, vegetarianism was out and PeTA's objectification of women and spoof on the transgender population angered me into discontinuing my membership. I strongly believe that it is morally wrong to test on animals (I would prefer to test on prisoners, after all they are still biologically human) and though I do not agree with, I cannot knowingly use products that harmed animals unless there is no other option. Therefore if I work in a salon the salon would have to have a cruelty-free product option.

Hobbies/Activism

Animal rights and feminism go hand in hand since both parties are discriminated against and are often kept pregnant to serve men’s desires. Therefore I joined a group on facebook and replied to a discussion post. I don’t know what will come from it but it should be interesting. There is the comment that Ben & Jerry’s should use human breast milk instead of cow’s milk. Where I get the point of it feminism is my main concern and I feel that would just be another way to keep women down is to make them give birth and lactate for the purpose of human consumption. I will sacrifice my ice cream to not have to birth. It is just throwing women under the same bus we are throwing cows.

Another hobby I have involves the beauty and fashion industries. I think that the narrow ideals of beauty have permeated society to the point of disillusionment to the actual concept of beauty and what it means to be beautiful. Women have not always had to be white, thin, blonde and tall to be beautiful. In different cultures beauty is defined differently. “Pretty” women have more privilege than “not typically defined as pretty” women and are more likely to be hired on to do jobs that don’t even require beauty. But our culture finds the need to sex up little girls and even adult women to the point of ridiculousness just because the male ideal of beauty just so happens to coincide with their sexual arousal.

Feminist Around the World

In the UK women are doing feminism in many of the same ways that Americans are, but focusing on their own agendas. The site is a database for articles on topics of interest. Because of my personal love of fashion, that is what I entered into the search box. Looking at parts of the articles I find that there is a strong intersection of oppression happening in the UK as well, even in the realm of fashion.


The Western world is not exclusive with its feminism. Feminists are alive and well in India as well. These women are not addressing the same issues because the culture is rather different. Instead, on the side panel, is a listing of topics arranged by area. One of the issues that is prevalent in India are acid attacks, which do not tend to happen in the US.


As we venture into Latin America we find that they need a more extreme activist approach to their situation and you are greeted by a "we need help" kind of sign. There is also a picture of women with tape over their mouths to insinuate censorship.

Where Did Our Little Girls Go?

The sexualization of girls is becoming increasingly more mainstream. Girls are growing up way too fast and in all of the wrong ways. It could start with clothing or with toys but it all ends with an overarching sexualization. This branches into the idea of Lolita. The Lolita effect has to do with men's sexual fantasies of young girls. Whether young girls are dressed to look older, or women are dressed to look like children. Little girls often play dress up wanting to look older--that's fine. But when a ten year old is dressing to turn men on, something is way off. And I don't feel like attacking the parents is the way to go either, since a lot of this is done behind their backs, or without their knowledge. In some regards it may seem innocent until something bad happens. If a child doesn't look twelve, they are not going to be treated as if they were twelve and that can end up being a bad thing if it gets out of control. Not every man is checking the id's of the girls he is hitting on, and if the girl is participating willingly in the flirting, why would he question?

Let's Take a Little Trip
This is not just happening in America. Actually it is happening in other places of the world quite worse. Little girls are sold into sex slavery to pay for food for a family, or because her father cannot afford alcohol and often does not support his own family. Mothers may never see their daughters again and not know of their sale. Sometimes the traffickers will lie and tell them that they will be maids or nannies and then take them to the brothel, where they have to earn their keep as well as make up for what they lost in buying them. Girls and even boys as young as five could be performing sexual acts on middle aged, often American men. This happens because of our culture's value on youth and the sexual attractiveness of young women. To a point pedophiles are made by our culture, they are not always born that way. With this focus, even in modeling, on the uber-thin flat-chested woman could insinuate a sexual desire for adolescent or prepubescent girls. It also could lead many young girls into bad body image, self-hatred, eating disorders and unhealthy sexual relationships. If a girl doesn't feel she measures up, she might just take the first guy who shows her any "positive" attention. This is also not something that these girls can walk out of, and some do not survive because of abuse or diseases. If they are not profitable, then they get killed.

For Children And Why?
There is a growing demand for girls to break out of their prepubescent identities and enter adulthood is blurring the lines between right and wrong. Society is opening doors for pedophiles by encouraging young girls to wear provocative clothing and to dance in ways that signify sexual acts. But where is this need to grow up coming from? Girls are conditioned since infancy to want to mother. They are given baby dolls and playing house so much it becomes second nature.
Some argue that this has to do with girls physically developing younger, but I can't believe that that is true. Women have gone through puberty at varying ages and it does not guarantee, when you will start being sexual. I still feel the need to put the pressure on society and media influence. Girls are told to act more mature, they are given responsibilities mirroring adult tasks, and clothing manufacturers are making sexual clothing. A child may not even know what insinuations that a tee-shirt is making but an adult man might assume that she does.

Padded bras and Thong underwear for 10yr olds?
Young girls think that it is a right of passage to be able to wear a bra, even better if it is padded. And for my own personal research, I ventured into the little girl's section of Target, where I had much difficulty locating bras for children that were not padded. A girl who is a 28AAA does not need a bra, but alas, that is what I found and those sizes seemed to be the most prevalent. And yes, they were padded. Once graduating past the padded bra stage comes the desire for a thong. It has the appeal of being able to wear anything without the fear of the dreaded panty-line. While the eternal wedgie quality of it does deter some, others embrace it and find the fashion freedoms outweighing the discomfort. Those who embrace the dreaded thong are more likely to pull it up high and then wear lo-riding pants to show it off. This is an obvious attempt to gain sexual attention which is seen as rewarding to girls. And a way for girls to feel that they look mature and experienced. In high school I witnessed many guys talking about what color thong a certain girl was wearing that day. Is that really the message that we want to send to men?
Recently Miley Cyrus's little sister, Noah has come out saying that she is starting a lingerie line for children. This ended up not coming to fruition, but it's obviously something that could happen. And from what she wears as a major celebrity and a nine year old is still rather Lolita.

Trick or Treat?
October comes around the corner and candy corn and goblins come out waiting for the 31st. But Halloween isn’t as innocent as it once was. I’m not claiming that the overzealous Christians have a point or anything because for them pumpkin pie could be a sin. But kids costumes are no longer a sheet with two holes in it. For screaming 6 year old's there is the “sexy witch,” the “naughty nurse” and the scarecrow from Wizard of Oz that has a very short skirt. If I remember the movie correctly (and I should, it’s my favorite) the scarecrow never wore a skirt. For boys they can still be a Power Ranger or a Ninja Turtle, or whatever the latest popular cartoon is. Girls are supposed to be Princesses at last resort. And why cant a girl be a doctor or “the Scream,” it seems kind of ridiculous that girls are never supposed to be scary but always scared.
Now add the predatory portion of the holiday. Kids are coming up to doors, many times without parents or even a large group. A pedophile’s dream--kids coming to him, willing to do anything for candy. Plus who’s going to miss a couple kids for a hour or so? And most likely the kid wont remember where he/she was or what the guy looks like. Sometimes depending on the nature of the pedophile, what the kids or what he does wont register to the kids as wrong, especially if they are young or think its okay.

In regards to the Matrix
Women are often objectified to keep them oppressed by men. The men may be perpetuating the Lolita Effect to teach young girls their submissive role. But the girls then oppress themselves by carrying out these sexualized requirements. It is a watchtower concept, where after a while girls start to police themselves and no longer need men to dictate their sexualization for them. If women are oppressing themselves, many believe it is not a problem, but it is more of a problem because this internalization of oppression is harder to fight than the societal oppression.

Cyberporn: reclaiming or self-objectifying

Podlas’ article Mistresses of Their Domain describes how the internet has opened up the world of business to women ownership and entrepreneurship, especially in the field of internet pornography. When evaluated with Patricia Hill Collin’s Matrix of Domination in mind, this article shows two sides of a very complicated coin. Can liberation arise from oppression?

Women have become major players in the pornography business - a business that was created for men and, for many years, was controlled by men in all aspects as well. The pornography business has long been criticized for its oppression of women and the part that it has played in the furtherance of violence against women. Meanwhile, women have found it difficult in the past to enter into the business field at the ownership level. The introduction of the internet and the cheap business opportunities that where presented therein paved the way for women to establish themselves as business owners and operators. Because of this convergence, as Podlas states, “Since 1990, female-owned businesses have outpaced all other business growth by a 2:1 margin, comprising 38% of American business and $3.6 million in sales. The Internet has significantly influenced these gains.” The study that Podlas conducts in this article specifically relates to the emergence of women owners and operators of cyber porn websites and presents an interesting convergence of two things seemingly at odds with one another - women and pornography.

In terms of the Matrix of Domination, there are many factors at work here - the most obvious of which being the idea that the oppressed women have taken a place of power in a business which is built entirely on their own oppression. In this way, women have sought out a sort of liberation within a system that seeks to keep them oppressed and some might say that they have achieved this liberation and power, but at the expense of what? One could argue that by becoming owners and operators of cyber porn sites, women are not actually gaining any true power, only aiding in the oppression of all females. However, one could also argue that by owning cyber porn sites, women are taking this type of oppressive control away from men. But the question still remains - is this liberation? Is this power?

As Podlas’ speaks about in her article, one of the encouraging developments that comes with women taking control of pornography on the internet is the changes to the industry that they will (and in some cases have) brought with them. Some women speak of the better wages and working atmosphere that comes with owning a website such as this. Also, cyber pornography has created a new, safer kind of sex working - there is no threat of disease from internet pornography, so there is no need for constant STD testing or fear of whether or not a condom is involved (as there is often no condom used in film pornography). Women feel safer legally as well - as Podlas reports “In prostitution, for instance, it is women, not male sex consumers, who bear the burden of arrest.”

It is obvious that the emergence of cyber porn and the increased presence of women in positions of power within this industry has led to some great changes in terms of the porn industry itself, but it seems that there is a deep-seated question that cannot be denied. By taking control and continuing a business which rests almost entirely on the continued oppression of women, women have found themselves in a very interesting position - they are still being oppressed, but they have very little else to blame for this oppression but themselves. So, once again, I must ask - is the emergence of female owners and operators of cyber porn websites a form of liberation or simply continued oppression under another name?