So my post for this week doesn't necessarily directly relate to what we've been discussing recently, but it does relate to the idea of men as the "norm" and how men are still the preferred gender in our society. I would argue that disability is not just about someone who got injured and lost a limb, or someone who needs special assistance in a physical or mental way. I think anyone who is stigmatized, oppressed, and discriminated against is disabled, and this could include racial minorities and even women.
Patriarchy is still present no matter how many advances the women's movement have made. For anyone who doesn't think this is so, please check out the link below to see some products being sold by the popular store, Spencer's Gifts.
http://www.spencersonline.com/stuff-to-wear_guys-tees-clothing_tees_humor-attitude/sortType_newProducts/
(I had a difficult time copying and pasting all the examples I wanted to show, so the link will bring you to all the "humor" themed shirts for guys. Granted, some are funny! But I wanted to focus on the ones that specifically objectify women and "glorify" masculinity.)
Although some people may think that these things are just teasing and all in good fun, I would argue that it perpetuates the idea that men are dominate and women are subordinate. These thoughts further buy into patriarchy and can have damaging repercussions for women. There is nothing healthy about teenage boys wearing a shirt that says "I have the dick so I make the rules" , "Calling all Sluts" or "Is it OK if I just call you Bitch?" It can make boys and men truly feel like they can treat women poorly; and may also make girls and women feel as though they deserve to be treated poorly.
Personally, I would like to boycott stores that sell these products and, essentially, are saying it's OK to say and believe these things. A friend of mine in another class even suggested having a company that sold shirts saying things such as "This is what a Feminist looks like" and "I will not live by gender binaries." I think it's just important to realize that even things that might seem innocent or funny can have damaging effects on people, and we need to make sure we practice what we preach. It's bad enough that some people really do think that these statements are OK, but I think it's just as bad as the people who know it's not OK but do it anyway. ("I don't really think that so it's fine! It's just a joke!") We need to be the ones to take a stand and fight against things if we don't believe in them, not just go along with it.
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