I recently made a new friend on campus who is from Arizona. We were talking about different things in his state when he mentioned a characteristics of most country clubs in Arizona. These health clubs have both a "Woman's Grill" and a "Mens Grill." In both places a member of the opposite sex is not permitted to eat, drink, or socialize. There is also a combined eating area where both sexes are permitted to eat together. I found this very surprising, especially as my friend used the words "separate but equal" to describe the different eating areas. This trend in Arizona takes sexism back to our early readings where men and women were described as different through their intelligence and degree of hotness or coldness. By playing into the idea of sexual differences this community is hindering progress of cohesion not only among the sexes, but among individuals with gender confusion.
- Mandi Brooksbank
This reiterative work the general culture engages in to (re-)establish/(re-)construct gender difference every day seems to suggest that this difference can't be really "natural" after all. If it was, why would we need to so constantly re-iterate it? This mechanism is played out different depending on place and time, etc, but the motif of this intense need to re-assert the male/female into strict categories, to negate the porousness of any identity category, says something about the human condition more generally.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly striking to me, it just reminds me so much of the times when segregation was so dominant in society. I am so surprised that our country, which is always believed to be so progressive, is reverting back to those previous ideas that men and women need to be separated. My question is why would it be necessary to separate men and women in the 21st century when everybody intermingles and interacts with the opposite sexes and it is completely normal.
ReplyDeletebella narvaez