Sex/Gender System by Gayle Rubin

• Barbie was originally conceived to broaden girls' horizons beyond conventional gender roles.
• Barbie's design originated from a German sex toy known as Bild Lilli.
• Liberal feminism attributes gender inequality to societal socialization rather than biological factors.
• The notion that women are biologically inferior to men is inaccurate.
• Radical feminists offer a critique of Barbie's focus on racial and sexualized standards.
• Mass media portrayals shape unconscious biases related to leadership, which affects both men and women.
• Gender is not a biologically determined characteristic.
• The concept of the sex/gender system was introduced by Gayle Rubin.
• "Miss Representation" emphasizes the media's contribution to perpetuating gender stereotypes.
• The biological aspects of sex are linked to social gender and sexuality within the sex/gender system.

Sex/Gender System

• This framework, developed by Gayle Rubin, illustrates how biological sex is transformed into gendered social roles within society.
• It underlines that cultural norms, rather than biological factors, are the root cause of social inequalities.

Gender

• Socially constructed roles and meanings are assigned to sexed bodies.
• A means to comprehend power structures because norms differ significantly among cultures and eras.

Sex

• Refers to biological traits like hormones and chromosomes.
• It distinguishes itself from gender and challenging biological determinism is crucial within feminist theory.

Representation

• This presents of people, groups and ideas are depicted in the media and the culture.
• It reflects the power structures through public perception (e.g. Mad Men, Miss Representation).

Unconscious Bias

• Implicit attitudes and stereotypes affect understanding and actions.
• Vital in clarifying sexism in politics and media, particularly leadership perception.

Liberal Feminism

• It targets equal rights through reforms and gender-neutral policies.
• Through this lens, the support ideas such as equal education and pay, while also critiquing Barbie.

Radical Feminism

• Emphasis is Patriarchal structures as well as sexual oppression.
• Critiquing Barbie for reinforcing heteronormative and white beauty standards.

The Feminine Mystique (1963)

• Authored by Betty Friedan.
• A text challenging middle-class woman domestic confinement.
• It ignited second-wave feminism by sparking calls for roles outside the domestic sphere.

Social Constructionism

• Supported by Abby Ferber and others
• Social norms and roles are shaped by history, culture, and power, not biology.
• It is the core of understanding feminist critiques of gender, race, and class.

Commodification of Gender

• Definition encompasses turning gender traits into voter and marketing cues.
• Reveals how definitions of masculinity & femininity are utilized and packaged for use within political campaigns and media influence.

Essay Prompt Idea 1

• How does media shape perceptions of female leadership?
• Media significantly changes public attitudes towards women in power by strengthening gender stereotypes that hurt their credibility, authority, and likability.
• Miss Representation shows how female leaders are hypersexualized or reduced to their looks which keeps young girls from leadership roles.
• Hillary Clinton was described as unlikeable, too aggressive, and emotional during the 2008 Election, showing gender standards higher for women.
• Unconscious stereotypes equate leadership with masculine qualities resulting in women are seen as "ruthless" or "unfeminine" as shown in the Andrea vs. James experiment.
• Media literacy, changes in structural politics and journalism, along with inclusive representation are the key to change.

Essay Prompt Idea 2

• Is Barbie a feminist or anti-feminist symbol?
• Barbie is an influential icon, embodying both harmful gender and racial norms while demonstrating the potential for female empowerment.
• Her job independence and roles reflect feminist values of equal opportunity and agency as a feminist symbol.
• Her oversexualization along with Eurocentric beauty and unrealistic body, promotes unattainable ideals that can harm minorities, especially girls of color.
• In the second-wave feminism, Barbie was embodying what it means to be women but projecting empowerment at the same time and white centered femininity and consumerism.
• Barbie is a symbol of reminders of ongoing cultural and feminist products and oppression through ongoing representation.

Essay Prompt Idea 3

• The sex/gender system is vital in feminist theory.
• Transformed into cultural gender roles is how the sex/gender system helps explain, with its introduction by Gayle Rubin, that social equality is built..
• Gender roles are socially constructed, gender is shaped by history, culture, and power instead of nature, but Rubin argues sex is biological.
• Reinforce labor divisions and this system justify gendered labor divisions.
• The media media reinforces these messages from childhood and glass escalator shows the system even privileges masculinity regardless of what environment.
• Understand relationships theory-origin (Rubin --> sex/gender system) and this is vital for challenging inequality and imagining an equitable society.

Key Takeaways

• Theory origin (Rubin --> sex/gender system)
• Apply theory to examples (Barbie, Clinton, Miss Representation)
• Race class gender & sexuality all matter.
• Media's role in shaping and reinforcing norms.

Detailed

• The course analyses representations of sexual identity/gender and how it affects elections and votes. Topics will involve:
• Gender inequality
• Public-private divide
• Democracy/citizenship
• Gender representation
• Domination
• Power
• Gender/sexual discrimination
• Gender in global contexts and gender in leadership positions -bodily autonomy -employment & citizenship
• The definition for "women" isn't still, it changes throughout cultures, ideological perspectives and time.
• Lectures will analyze:
• Sex, male, female, masculine, feminine
• Gender
• Politics that are queer and transgender.
• Discussions, readings and lectures utilized.
• Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex was around the time of the second wave of feminism and Barbie.
• The Second Wave means someone's not born a woman, it was made to be one (De Beauvior).
• There was big gender roles (before WWII).
• Helen Gurley Brown and The Feminine Mystique in 1962 and 1963.
• Barbie's creation is a case study with a lot of politics with women, sex and culture.
• Barbie was to envision equality (according to Ruth Handler).
• Barbie was first with a variety of occupations.
• Barbie is known to envision possibilities with traditional roles and promote higher education, and general quality.
• Ruth Handler "a little girl can be anything she wants to be".
• Barbie was based on "racy gadget" called Bild Lilli (the appearance).
• Body problems is from controversies of Barbie (according to some).
• Promoting "white/Eurocentric" beauty, radical feminist criticized.
• Promoting a "tool of programming of oppression" radical/Marxist feminist says.