New views on gender

Fann áhugavert blað á netinu... hér er inngangspistillinn og slóðin...
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Dear Readers,
We wander through life rarely questioning the reality in which we live. We breathe the air we breathe to survive and adhere to arbitrary traffic codes to avoid getting in an accident or breaking the law. Most people take their reality for granted because it is simply the environment they’ve grown accustomed to. However, when you question the status quo, you begin to realize that truth and reality are both relative concepts subject to change and rebuttal. Gender is a concept that shakes the foundation of what we know to be true because it is, in fact, a social construct. Sex is a biological determiner of reproductive capacity, but gender is a set of stereotypes that have come to be associated with a person possessing certain sex organs. The distinction between sex and gender is rarely made in a colloquial context. These two concepts have been blurred to mean virtually the same thing. In effect, it divides society into two groups; one having power over the other. In addition, both sex and gender ignore the reality that a dichotomous division, male and female, leaves individuals who do not identify characteristically with their own sex or those who do not, biologically, fall into distinctly male or female categorizations, outside of the contrived proverbial box. Consequently, gender becomes synonymous with sex and sexual stereotypes are codified.

My vision for this journal is one of definition. It is necessary for people to understand gender beyond male and female because it is much more pervasive than those simple connotations. It is ubiquitous to the highest degree because it affects all facets of human life. One must understand gender to understand politics, economics, religion, culture, and society in the broadest sense. Gender not only affects women and those of the gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual community, those perceived as having less power, but also affects the larger power structure at work...patriarchy. The following pieces in this journal question and redefine gender. They do so in a variety of ways; some by simply highlighting the inequities between men and women, others by deconstructing the system.

Today, in a country that waves freedom and equality as its banner, we live in a world much different from these ideals. Women, children, and individuals from underprivileged backgrounds, specifically minority groups, are at the mercy of merciless institutions. Patriarchy profits on unpaid and underpaid labor, it writes laws in a legislature that does not represent most people, it creates a history void of diversity and ignorant of wrongdoing, it constructs a reality in which women’s subordination is the rule rather than the exception. Further, religious fundamentalism, Christian and Muslim alike, is sweeping the world and diminishing women’s power to control their bodies and livelihood. This is a time that gender should be recognized for what it is...a tool. A tool used to keep the current power structure in place. It is increasingly vital for individuals to have an awareness of his or her role in the larger system, though it is a process that requires an open mind. I hope that the following works will provide a framework to begin the journey.

Sincerely,
Aryn Schounce
Senior Editor

http://www.iusb.edu/~wmns/NewViews.pdf