Velika Nespor

March 5, 2010

This week, Judith Butler came to Penn to talk about what she refers to as “gender performitivity” and the way in which said performitivity makes life unlivable.  She stated that not only are gender norms totally entrenched in our daily thought processes but that thinking in general is a means of co-habitation.  Because the way that each person thinks is based on how all other individuals think, we should be more sensitive to how gender norms make life unlivable for some, because if one person suffers, all people suffer.  She says that there is hope of changing the way that we view social norms, stating cases of general rebellion, such as a case of migrant workers’ singing the national anthem in Spanish.  In their singing of the national anthem in Spanish, an act which technically they could have been arrested for, these undocumented laborers  endowed themselves with a pre-legal right.  In fact, according to Butler, that is where rights originate, in expressions of freedom.

While I believe that Butler’s philosophy makes sense on a theoretical level, it is hard to see it as particularly pragmatic.  For example, when I asked her about where anatomical differences come into play in her philosophy, she stated that biology too is entrenched in gender norms.  I understand that our anatomy doesn’t necessarily define our sexual orientation or the way that we derive sexual pleasure on an individual level, but none-the-less, people have different sexual organs and I do not think that her speech adequately addressed that fact.  She stated that what is natural is completely created by societal perspective, but I believe that there might be an element of the natural in our social perspectives.  What is the origin of our gender norms?  I do not pretend like I know where society comes up with them, and I wish that Butler would have made her answer to the question a little bit less opaque.

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Nikki Farquharson’s star is on the rise as her innovative and creative mixed-media artwork continues to gain recognition in the blogosphere and the fashion world. Her illustration-meets-photography-meets-fashion editorial work presents a unique combination of different art forms that together create something refreshing and bold. Her on-going series, “Mixed-media Girls”, and her “Baby Girl” series for MissBehave Magazine are, in my opinion, the most striking and beautiful of what I have seen of her mixed-media work (a few of this series served as my laptop wall paper for a large part of 2009). A couple favorites are featured below and you can check out more in a larger size (so you can see all of the amazing detail!) after the jump!

Nikki Farquharson seems to all at once play with the idea of the “disembodied female form” as much as she seems to shatter, or poke fun at, the unrealistic, yet idealized, female bodies that are prominent in fashion photography and editorials. The abstract, part photograph, part illustrated figures seem to cause the viewer to redefine and question exactly what the limits of reality and beauty are in all of these art/media forms and where the line, literally, can be drawn in making that distinction. While many of the photographs Farquharson chooses for her works are certainly suggestive, she simultaneously allows the viewer to focus on the beauty of each work in a way separate from the physical beauty of each model;the intricacy of her patterns, the seamless intermingling of illustration with photography, and her bold color combination at once redefine what makes each component, and the work as a whole, beautiful.
Check out more favorites here, and the rest of both series at nikkifarquharson.com!

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The suggestion that many don’t even know that they are feminists seems to imply that feminist values coincide with a greater number of socially acceptable beliefs than we realize. However, if that were true, feminism would no longer serve a purpose. Since feminism exists precisely to shake up socially accepted norms, the apparent social unacceptability of feminism is proof that it is needed.

Moreover, the underlying issues that feminism stands for shouldn’t take a back seat to redefining the label. If our primary goal is to show others that feminism isn’t what people think it is, then our purpose becomes purely self-referential. The real question we should be asking ourselves is not what a feminist looks like, but rather what a feminist stands for, or more broadly, what it means to a woman. The act of overcoming restrictive expectations of femininity is more important than the redefinition of the term ‘feminism.’

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The PCUW has posted their schedule of events this week:

‘The Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women seeks to enact the systemic change necessary for the unbridled self-actualization of Penn’s female students, faculty, and staff. We will always do our part to establish the institutional infrastructure within which women are empowered to reach their potential. We take gender equity seriously, and welcome the day that women ascend their own personal and professional ladders free of self-doubt and full of self-esteem.

We invite you to join our week of events!

Monday February 8:

aKDPhi Presents
Shopping for the Cure
Houston Hall Bistro, 11am-4pm

Sister Sister Presents
Why Us? Left Behind and Dying
Dubois MPR, 5pm-8pm

Cinema Studies Presents
Film Screening: Savage Grace
401 Fisher Bennett, 6pm

Panhel and PCUW Present
Women’s Week Kickoff Coffeehouse: “What does a feminist look like?”
Ben Franklin Room, Houston Hall 7:00 pm Suggested Donation: $2
Proceeds go to UN Population Fund: Reproductive Health Supplies to Haitian Women

Tuesday February 9:

Cinema Studies Present
Lecture and Discussion: Christine Vachon, Film Producer
LGBT Center, 6pm

Penn for Choice and Penn for Life Present
Feminism and Abortion: A Discussion
Golkin Room, Houston Hall 6:30 pm

Pre-Law Women at Penn Presents
Film Screening: Erin Brockovich
Women’s Center, 7pm

Wednesday February 10:

WILS, Sigma Psi Zeta, and Ya’lla Present
Feminism as an Expression of the Body: Workshops in Bellydancing and Burlesque
Penn Women’s Center, 2nd Floor, 6:30 pm

V-Day Presents
Vagina Monologues
Irvine Auditorium, 8pm $8 Walk, $10 Door

Thursday February 11:

PCUW, CHAC, Lambda Alliance, PRISM, and Umoja Present
Keynote Address: Rebecca Walker
Cohen G17, 6pm, Free admission

Society of Women Engineers Corporate Dinner
Inn at Penn, 6pm
Ticket Sales in Towne Bldg. $15

Friday February 12:

Kelly Writer’s House, Penn Women’s Center, and PCUW Present
Luncheon with Rebecca Walker
Kelly Writer’s House, 12pm
Limited Seating, Contact Kelly Writer’s House

PWC and Nursing Students for Choice Present
Chat N Chew: Birth Control and Reproductive Health
Penn Women’s Center, 1pm

QSA and PCUW Present
Get Hitched for Freedom to Marry Day!
Terrace Room, Cohen Hall 2pm

F-Word Presents
F-Word Launch Party
Women’s Center, 5pm

PENNaach Presents
Night with Naach: A Red Carpet Special
Iron Gate Theater, 7:30 pm, $8 Walk, $10 Door

V-Day Presents
Vagina Monologues
Irvine Auditorium, 8pm $8 Walk, $10 Door

Saturday February 13:

PENNaach Presents
Night with Naach: A Red Carpet Special
Iron Gate Theater, 7:30 pm, $8 Walk, $10 Door

PCUW Steering 2009-2010:
o Rosa Cui, Chair
o Kaneesha Parsard, Vice Chair of University Relations
o Alex Berger, Vice Chair of Fundraising
o Amy Perlman, Publicity Co-Chair
o Amanda Nelson, Publicity Co-Chair
o Elizabeth Lee, Programming Coordinator
o Tori Searl, Internal Development Coordinator
o Rachel Cohen, Communications Coordinator
o Yiyi Zhang, Webmistress

PCUW would like to thank its generous sponsors:
o Asian American Studies Program
o Christian Association
o English Department
o Kelly Writers House
o Penn Humanities Forum
o SPEC Fully Planned

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Hey FWord Readers!

Borrowing from the title of the popular book Stuff White People Like, I bring you a weekly post completely dedicated to things that we, as feminists, might find interesting, inspiring, humorous, or thought-provoking.

This week: Women that ROCK their hair.

Hair, in general, is a big part of what both men and women use to express themselves and their identity. You can dye it, gel it, cut it, braid it, add more hair to it, and the list goes on. I think, especially for women, hair contributes to making us feel beautiful, and of course, there is that “long and silky locks” ideal that Disney Princesses and celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Beyonce kind of make us feel like we have to live up to.

The reason I bring this up is because, the other day, one of my best friends posed a question to the Facebook world via her status: Should I cut my hair?

I could understand her dilemma. She’s got gorgeous shiny, voluminous, curly black hair but at the same time, she has always liked to experiment with her personal style.  Some people commented with words of encouragement and of course, others objected, but there were two comments in particular (from the same person) that I couldn’t ignore (I have removed this person’s name for privacy reasons):

Aside from the poor grammar and spelling errors, what this person says is completely absurd. While I am sure this person didn’t realize the extent of the ignorance of the comment, the fact is that there are places in the world where there are restrictions on what a woman can and cannot do with her hair. As for hair being what makes women feminine, one can only hope that for this person’s own sake, he/she might discover that there is so much more to what makes a woman.

On that note, I would like to applaud women, and for that matter, all people in general who defy traditional, or archaic, notions of beauty. Hair comes in all textures, lengths, and colors, and we are lucky to have the freedom to style it, manipulate it, and use it to express who we already are!

And hats off to women like Rihanna, the gender-bending supermodel Agyness Deyn, and my best friend who define sex appeal and beauty in a new way: with short hair!

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So, I meant to write this blog last week but lost track of time. I was in class (I won’t tell which one since I do not want to get anyone in trouble!) and the professor had a problem that the class had to solve. The answer was a cooking oven, and when a female answered the question, the professor said that she knew a female would answer the question. Everyone laughed (especially after the professor was embarrassed by the comment), but I sat there in shock thinking why we must associate household appliances with women. Then again the times that my professor grew up in were not conducive to women being away from home. I am not sure what to say about the situation because I can understand where the professor was coming from, though I do not respect her comments.

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Emily Gerard, fellow blogger, reports on the Body Image Awareness event the F-Word hosted recently:

Last Wednesday, F-Word hosted a Body Image Awareness event for the Penn community. F-Word alum Barrie Nussbaum (CAS ’09), who had written her senior thesis on eating disorders at Penn, returned to give a presentation on the findings of research she conducted as an undergraduate, and specialists from the Women’s Center and CAPS were also on hand to help and offer expertise. The event was well attended, by all different kinds of students, though they were exclusively female. Some were involved with F-Word or other women’s organizations, some were interested in the issue for the sake of a friend, and many were just curious to hear what others had to say about body image at Penn.

Barrie began her presentation by clarifying the definition of an eating disorder. She differentiated between anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not specified (ED-NOS). She was careful to explain that eating disorders are not to be confused with eating disturbances, which are less severe and far more common. She cautioned against casually saying, “Oh, she’s so anorexic,” a line frequently tossed off here at Penn about a skinny girl. In fact, Barrie said, very few people are actually classified as anorexic or bulimic, and it’s a serious issue that is trivialized by using the terms casually. But anybody can see that Penn is populated by an unusual number of very skinny students, and that is where eating disturbances come in.

Eating disturbances can involve a vast range of preoccupations with food, of varying degrees of obsessiveness. They can often lead full-blown eating disorders and can be just as physically and psychologically harmful.

Barrie then presented some alarming statistics about the extent to which American women are preoccupied with food and their bodies, to the detriment of their self-image and happiness. Girls are beginning to diet at ever-younger ages, due to the overwhelming insecurity they feel in a culture with such unrealistic standards of beauty. We viewed and talked about images in the media of clearly anorexic women, whose look has now become both mainstream and ideal in our culture. Barrie discussed many contributing factors to eating disorders, including family relationships, cultural expectations, and even a possible genetic component, but the bottom line seemed to be that while eating disorders are technically rare, the vast majority of American females, young and old, feel bad about themselves because of body issues.

Barrie then moved on to the specifics of her own project. She had conducted a survey of 317 undergraduate Penn women, questioning them about their eating and exercise habits, as well as their emotional wellbeing. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said that they restrict their food intake on a daily basis, and 30% said that they are fearful about gaining weight—every single day of their lives. Nearly 40% said that they had a “strong desire” to lose weight either most or all of the time. Out of 317 women who took the survey, only 3 ranked their own bodies as a 10 (meaning they were perfectly satisfied)—the vast majority gave themselves mediocre grades of about 6.

Twenty five of the women surveyed responded that they had been formally diagnosed with an eating disorder, or about 9%. This means that Penn women suffer from eating disorders at more than twice the rate of eating disorder estimates for the rest of America. Barrie found that a high parents’ education level increased daughters’ chances of developing an eating disorder 48-fold. We discussed possible reasons for this, including the stereotype that eating disorders are primarily diseases suffered by wealthy white women (a stereotype which is less and less the case nowadays, as unfortunately more and more people are afflicted).

Barrie also conducted interviews with some of the women she surveyed. Many responses articulated the insecurity Penn women feel when they go to the gym. There were numerous references to competitiveness at Pottruck, whether it is over who is the skinniest person on the treadmill or how fast they are running. Interviewees said that Penn students are unusually good looking and thin, and that there is daily pressure to live up to a certain standard that is unspoken but pervasive nonetheless. One woman theorized that the driven, type-A personalities who are smart enough to get in here, and succeed in highly pressurized environments such as Wharton, are easily susceptible to body image issues and can apply the same compulsive behavior to their bodies that serves them well in their studies.

After the presentation, we opened up the floor for a guided discussion about body image at Penn. Many people shared anecdotes about their struggles to feel self-confident and accepting of their bodies. We agreed that eating disturbances probably affect most women here, to some degree or another. Most everybody seems to have some level of preoccupation with food, so the question that we wanted to address was how to achieve happiness and acceptance in the face of these pressures. Sharing personal experiences was a cathartic experience for some, and we discussed what we could do to promote positive body image here on campus. Ideas ranged from complimenting people we love more often, to setting a good example for friends and letting healthy attitudes rub off instead of negative ones. We ended the session with a guided meditation session meant to turn our focus inwards and keep it on the present. We reflected both individually and as a group, in order to conclude our evening on a calm and self-aware note. We also partook in a healthy and well-balanced communal dinner.

F-Word knew that this would be a relevant topic for an event aimed at raising awareness, but it became strikingly clear over course of the night’s events that these issues are a major source of concern for undergraduate women at Penn. We hope that this will be only the beginning of an ongoing dialogue about body image and efforts to help the high-achieving women of the undergraduate Penn community feel happy and satisfied with their outstanding selves.

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Are you a Penn undergraduate?

If so, please take a few minutes of your time to participate in this survey

We’re trying to gauge the undergraduate perspective on a variety of issues relating to gender and sexuality and we’d love to include your thoughts!

At the end of the survey there will be a link to enter your name in a raffle – You could win one of two $75 gift certificates to Penn Computer Connection!

Thanks for your help!

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Sick of feeling like you have to live up to photoshopped images like this?
Want to eat a free healthy dinner with others who feel the same way?

Join us for a dinner and discussion on body image!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 5:00 PM
Goldberg Lounge in Fisher Hassenfeld

2009 Penn alumna Barrie Nussbaum will briefly discuss her research on body image at Penn and we will discuss what it means to feel healthy over a free, nutritious dinner. Afterwards, Dr. Ella Ray will introduce us to meditation, and how we can practice it to develop healthy minds and bodies.

Please RSVP here

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