Unknowingly Masculinized?

I cannot begin to count how many people, in the first stages of friendship, have told me, "Oh, you remind me so much of my friend, [insert male name here]." For a while, I received this as a compliment, because I took it as recognition that I am socially understood to be assertive, determined, and intelligent...Lately, though, the frequent comparison of my personality to those of men has become somewhat of a philosophical/personal concern of mine.

Specifically, it has led me to ponder what my role is in a field [Political Science] dominated by men. Am I supposed to be extremely feminine [i.e. only wear dresses, giggle at stupid jokes, bat my eyelashes]? Or, am I supposed to masculinize myself [i.e. be super-aggressive in conversation and consciously defy anything that is socially read as feminine] to fit into the world of academia? While I thought the answer would be entirely up to me and my preferences, I began to realize that I may have less say in a matter than I think I do...

Feminism, Fallibility, and Flourishing

Just recently, I have started to delve in to modern feminist literature [Judith Butler, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Foucault, etc.]. All of this reading is brand new to me---never before have I read such articulate academic accounts of feminism and suggestions for how to advance feminism given certain problems and limitations that the ideology faces today. I'm not going to get into the details of these arguments, but if you're at all interested in learning more I strongly encourage you to pick up and read Fausto-Sterling's Sexing the Body. Even if you don't agree with everything argued, the history and science alone are fascinating and informative [plus, it's especially important to consider views that counter your own so that you can be a well-rounded person]. 

I definitely fall into the category of not agreeing with everything proclaimed in these modern works, yet I find the books to be very stimulating and encouraging of fruitful reflection. One of the most intriguing suggestions I've encountered so far was the argument is that masculinity is defined for the most part without reference to the physical nature of maleness whereas femininity is historically defined [at least in part, if not totally] by the woman's physicality, especially the capability of being a mother [see: Gender Trouble]. Before reading Butler, I'd never thought about the construct of maleness and femaleness in a comparative fashion...I mean, it's always made sense to me that part of being a woman is motherhood, but I'd never before considered what the comparison was with men or even whether there was a common, cultural comparison to men or not.

Thoughts on Rudeness

It's not a slam at you when people are rude, it's a slam at the people they've met before. 

-Tennessee Williams

I have recently relocated to the beautiful capital city of Madison, Wisconsin. It has everything you could possibly want: cheese, fresh produce, beautiful lakes, awesome bike trails, tons of little shops, and microwbrews aplenty [if beer happens to be your "thing"].  Having grown up in family deeply rooted in the Midwest, I had high hopes that the Sconnies [a term I recently picked up on] who I encountered would be relatively polite and friendly, at least generally more polite and pleasant than strangers I met in DC. I was looking forward to being around a more easy-going and generally happier population of people.

Boy, was I surprised when people rudely shouted lewd and unintelligible comments at me from their car windows [this has now happened twice in less than a week].

Ramblings on simpler things

This summer, I have had a long-overdue break from the hassles of academia, the lovely 20-somethings who woke me up at all hours in Georgetown, and the endless concerns about "what comes next." While this respite could prove quite dull for some, I've found myself filling up my days with worthwhile ventures.

For example, every day, I have been completing the New York Times crossword puzzle [something that I've never done before]. Of course, I am terrible at crosswords and consistently rely on my mother and father for help, but it is nevertheless a most rewarding quotidian venture. I have also been hunting around  vintage furniture shops and secondhand stores around St. Louis for furniture for my apartment. It's quite a thrill to find a 1950's kitchen table in mint condition [yes, it's perfect!]. It's even fun to find a bookshelf [for $10!!!] that is transformed to "better than new" after a fresh coat of paint.

Surprisingly, I've found the task of finding and fixing up furniture to be the most rewarding task of them all [believe me, I was not eager to fix furniture up when my mother first suggested it would be a "fun" task].