Cordelia Fine, a researcher at University of Melbourne, as quoted in the Guardian, writes in her new book, “Many of the studies that claim to highlight differences between the brains of males and females are spurious. They are based on tests carried out on only a small number of individuals and their results are often not repeated by other scientists. However, their results are published and are accepted by teachers and others as proof of basic differences between boys and girls.”

Penn’s Language Log further discusses problems in the experimental set-up and conclusion of a study that claims to demonstrate that baby boys are more drawn to looking at a mobile while baby girls are more drawn to looking at a face. Mark Liberman notes that the mobile used in the experiment almost looks like a monster’s face, and suggests that the results are unlikely to “predict later interest in mechanical devices.”

An interview in USA Today with Fine addresses the bad rep given to feminism:

2. A lot of our anonymous online readers will take one look at this book and comment to us that a shrewish feminist author is blinded by her ideology and can’t see the evidence as plain as her nose that boys and girls are inherently different. Is there anything you can say to them?

A: It’s definitely long overdue for feminists to get a PR makeover; it’s sad if that old shrew/pc image is putting off people who might otherwise find themselves genuinely interested in the science (or lack of science) behind widely held beliefs about sex differences. It turns out you don’t have to have a desire for political correctness to object to popular claims about ‘hardwired’ sex differences – just a desire for scientific correctness. Unfortunately, objection to the careless treatment of the science of sex differences is often confused with disapproval of the very idea of intrinsic sex differences.

More Language Log posts about mis-application of data about neurological differences in gender.

In reflecting back at some of the opposition towards the Vagina Monologues earlier in the semester, I’m inclined to feel that the real point of contention ought not to be the degree of extremity but rather the direction of it. Depending on the specific range of one’s experiences, or lack thereof, some audience members may feel alienated from the already pervasive discussions of sexual topics. Moreover, I wonder if the emphasis on sexual violence in women’s-issues-related campus events privileges the centrality of these problems above other women’s issues, and draws attention away from discussing non-sexual abuse or domestic violence.

I’ve never posted on our lovely blog before (I’m not much of a writer and non-academic pieces are kind of painful for me).   However, I’m forcing myself to write something because I was so moved by last week’s Take Back the Night.  I’m fully converted.  I want to do everything I can to make sure there’s an even bigger show of solidarity next year.

Last week was my first TBTN and, honestly, feminism is something I only really started to think about a year or so ago.  I was a total “tomboy” when I was little—I think because I was always aware that there was something limiting about being labeled a girl.  I didn’t want to be bracketed into anything (gender, in this case), and I still don’t.  Now I’m the co-editor of Fword, I study feminist/queer theory in class, and I’m quick to pounce on gender/sex discrimination.

But I think last week is the first time I’ve ever felt anything, like it was something that directly involved me, not just “a women’s issue,” as the poster says.  And I think the poster refers to “women,” like, this is everybody’s problem, but I want to point out: it’s not just an issue, either.  It’s not just another cause, another word, phrase, or statistic.  This is something real and present and sweeping me and everybody else up in its path.  I don’t want to say that I can even understand what victims of sexual abuse have gone through—that completely underestimates both their pain and their strength.  But I think by sharing their stories, the men and women of TBTN shared their pain in a way that affected me more powerfully than any other experience I’ve had.  There’s a difference between knowing and feeling, and of the two I think feeling is really what incites change.  A lot of people know the statistics (my pre-TBTN self included), but it doesn’t mean anything until you see your friends, your peers, people you respect and love getting up from the crowd to tell their story and you’re thinking, No, no, not her, not another one, and it just seems to go on forever, one person after another getting up until after a while you stop crying because you just feel empty.

I know the numbers.  But it took seeing them, hearing them, and knowing them to make me feel, and feeling them to make me want to do anything.  Too many (even one is too many) of these men and women spoke of being blamed, being held responsible, being ignored.  As Professor Tillet, the keynote speaker, asked: can we imagine a world without rape?  It’s becoming just a fact (literally: check out the fact ad campaign on Locust Walk) of life, and that’s what perpetuates it.  And it’s a double edged sword: sexual abuse is accepted to the point that people don’t acknowledge the need for change—something that can’t be helped turns into something that’s okay (see the Rape Lay post).  At the same time, it’s accepted to the point that women are expected to anticipate it and protect themselves, and when they fall victim they’re held responsible—you should have seen it coming.

The first step to imagining a world without a rape is to be shocked by it: to feel the pain like our own, to recognize and reject it as an unacceptable part of our community.  That’s why I support TBTN, and that’s why I encourage everybody to attend next year.  This is my pain, my problem, and I need to do something about it.  This is your pain, your problem, and you need to do something about it.

Is a blow job inherently degrading for the blower?

For me, the recent outcry against SPEC’s choice of performers for Fling this year has brought the question to a head. Ha ha.

But in all seriousness, the petition to revise the selection criteria for Fling performers (seen here http://www.petitiononline.com/Fling10/petition.html) may be well intentioned, but what we have here is a case of sloppy activism that for me raises the wider question posed above.

The sloppy activism is the following. On the petition, and also formally the facebook event that has apparently been canceled, the following lyrics are attributed to Kid Cudi.

“I put ‘em in your mouth till you choke and gag, and I Poke Her Face off and now she faceless, I poke her so much I deserve a bracelet.”

These lyrics are arguably offensive. However, these lyrics have never been sung by Kid Cudi. They are in fact the lyrics to a song by Lil’ Wayne in his album No Ceilings, featuring Jae Millz, called “Poke Her Face.”

Kid Cudi’s song is actually called “Make Her Say,” featuring Kanye West, and the only thing arguably offensive about it is that he raps about an apparently amazing blow job, and also the possibility of a threesome, which I see no problem with.

What’s more, the chorus of the song is about how by poking her face, he makes her say (sung seductively by Gaga), “Oh ah oh oh oh ah oh oh.” The assumption here can only be that the owner of the face he is poking is getting mutual pleasure from the pokes.

Which is my main point. I think some people would argue that Cudi’s actual lyrics are also offensive and degrading. But as someone who has been on both the giving and receiving end of blow jobs, I would have to disagree.

Of course there can be pleasure found in giving pleasure to another. But I think there can even be pleasure in the simple act of having the right guy’s dick in your mouth. And I don’t think admitting that is defending degradation.

The only thing degrading about a blowjob is when the blowjob is given because, for some reason, the blower feels obliged to do so. And when it comes to sexual pleasure, obligation makes for problems for at least one of the involved parties, which inevitably makes problems for both.

So here’s my idea. Don’t give head just to get it back. Don’t tick off the seconds you’re down there to make sure he or she pays you back tit for tat. Give oral because you want to. Do it because either you’ll get pleasure from giving pleasure to your partner(s), or because you actually find giving head inherently arousing.

Otherwise, stay away from it. There are plenty of other things to do in the bedroom (or under the button, or in the stacks, or in the bathroom on the third floor of that house party you were at). Stick to only what you want to do, that way you’ll never feel degraded, and you won’t cry out to others that a blow job is a degrading thing.

And also, before you start a petition accusing an artist of being sexist, make sure the accusations are for a song that’s actually his.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/feminism-3.jpg

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.’

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

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.

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.

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!