Philosophy assignment, due 7/19

Homework

Part 1: Reader Response paper

Selected Readings from Disch, Part II

“Gender Socialization” – Estelle Disch

“The Social Construction of Gender” – Judith Lorber

“Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities” - Michael A. Messner

“Who's the Fairest of Them All?” - Jill Nelson

“The Social Construction of Gender” – Judith Lorber

“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” – Judith Ortiz Cofer

“Embodiment” – Estelle Disch

“Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” – Brent Staples

“The Tyranny of the Esthetic: Surgery’s Most Intimate Violation” – Martha A. Coventry

Write a response on the reading (s) that most spoke to you in 2-3 pages.

Part 2: Discussion

Please post on one of the following questions:

1. Identify a time during the past week when you were particularly aware of your gender. What part do you think socialization played in contributing to your awareness, either on your part or on the part of others involved?

2. Have you ever felt invisible due to your appearance? Explain why or why not.

This should be at least 200 words

Part 3: Write your comments(70-100 words each)

There was an awful experience I had, where I felt invisible, but it was apparently because of my gender/age.  It was my Professor in Chemistry a few years ago.   I was definitely the oldest student in the class, and my internal alarms went off every time I was in the presence of my Professor.  I was nervous about the class so I was certain it was, "just me".

After about a week, I realized that, not only, was he not calling on me when I raised my hand, he wouldn't even look in my direction.  Still I thought, it must be me.  Week 2, I waited after class to ask a question, and it was obvious that he did not want to talk to me.  He packed up his briefcase as I spoke, never looking at me,  but said, "I'll go over it tomorrow in class" as he walked out the door leaving me standing there.

Luckily, he had a lab tech, who was an older woman, that really helped clarify some of the issues I was having.   Toward the end of the course she said, "unfortunately honey there is nothing you could have done to make him like you",  I said, why not, I haven't done anything to deserve the way he treats me.  She said, "you're a woman, an older woman at that,  so he has no respect for you.  Believe me, I've known him for years.   It's a cultural thing."

I won't mention where he was from because I wouldn't want to offend anyone, but it was an awful experience.  I literally left in tears at the end of every class.   It was so hurtful to be treated like I didn't exist just for being me.

Comment:

Hello All,

Yes, I have felt invisible and debased because of my gender and my race, both of which are obviously physical appearance.  This specific instance I will discuss here is by far the worst and most impactful of them all.  It was in 2012.  At my job I was part of a team of negotiators who negotiated the terms and conditions of employment contracts.  The industry is highly dominated by middle aged white men.  Often times I am the only black woman in the room on either side of the table, but I digress.  At times the momentum of one negotiation may cause the team to separate or reassignments to happen; it is not unusual and happens from time to time.  In this particular case I was reassigned as chief negotiator.  The change was last minute, like 24 hours last minute; nevertheless, I kept the scheduled meeting with intentions of picking up where my colleague left off.  The day of the meeting, my team and I (less one member) walked into the meeting room where the other party sat.  We were surprised to see two unfamiliar faces among the group.  We (my team and I) individually said hello and shook hands with those attendees we were familiar with from prior meetings, and introduced ourselves and shook hands with the two newbies.  Except, things didn’t go so smoothly with one of the new attendees, who coincidentally and unbeknownst to us was also newly assigned to take over as chief for the opposite side.  When I walked up to him, as I stated my name and held my hand out, he remained seated, looked down at his laptop and refused to acknowledge my presence.  In that moment I continued on as a professional and finished greeting everyone else.  I sat down and continued as usual.  I opened the meeting, explained the assignment change and that I would now be the chief spokesperson for my team.  The entire time, this man who was the chief spokesperson for his side, did not once look up at me, again failing to acknowledge my existence.  I pushed and I pushed, constantly addressing him directly, to no avail.  Needless to say the meeting didn’t last long.  I remained the chief on this case for a short while after this meeting, trying different tactics, such as exchanging proposals via e-mail and having conference calls.  Nothing worked – this man was obstinate to say the least.  Eventually, the case was reassigned to another colleague of mine, this time a white woman.  This man did not have a problem meeting and speaking with her and respecting her position as chief negotiator, however his demeanor and approach remained one of aggression, disrespect, and unproductive.  To this date we have not reached a settlement on that contract.  To this day, seven years later, I have never had anyone make me feel so invisible or less than human.

Comment:

AS I think about this question I find myself at a time where I begin to think I was too old to start a new job. my hair was grey the bottom of my eyes were dark. When I came into work a younger female said to me" look at your funny looking badge picture". The picture was a picture I took at a church function. I had my makeup done at MAC my gown was formal and black sequence top with a black satin long skirt. I felt very lovely however when the young lady said the statement she said I felt confused for a moment. I almost allowed the young women to make me feel sad. It took some work for me to become aware of my gender and love the woman I have become. One instance it all almost went away in seconds. Socialization has become the enemy of self esteem it has contributed to how folks think also feel. When I think of the young lady who tried to put down what was nice looking I thought maybe they are hurting while needing to hurt someone else. As I said in the beginning of my statement my hair was grey I decided to color it because I did not want to look old. Because , my hair was grey I did feel invisible especially to men. I often hear society has ruined women with advertisements on makeup, race ,thin ,fat so many things we try to keep up with. What are we trying to prove anyway?

Comment: