Considering Gender & Sexuality in America Renee M. Kingan PhD Candidate in American Studies The College of William & Mary

Feminine or Masculine? Write a few words to describe each image.

KEY CONCEPTS Performativity Reproduction Compensation Legislation Intersectionality

Early American Gender Roles masculine – strong, protective, independent, militaristic, aggressive feminine – weak, dependent, helpless, emotional, nurturing “By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in the law. The very being and legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated into that of her husband under whose wing and protection she performs everything.” Nuclear Family Husband earns money Wife household labor

GENDER set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex

GENDER set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex popular, decided by group

GENDER the way a person acts set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex popular, decided by group

GENDER usual, typical the way a person acts set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex popular, decided by group

GENDER usual, typical the way a person acts set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex popular, decided by group okay, acceptable

GENDER usual, typical the way a person acts set of social and behavioral norms appropriate for people of a specific sex popular, decided by group biological traits, “male” or “female” body parts okay, acceptable

GENDER performativity of gender is stylized repetition of acts, imitation of dominant gender conventions repeated behavior (“performance”) that acts the way society expects

Cisgender – gender identity matches biological sex assigned at birth

Women in America 1848 – Seneca Falls asks for end of discrimination against women 1870 – Women serve on grand jury 1918 – Doctors give advice on birth control 1920 – Women earn right to vote 1960 – Birth control pill legal 1963 – Equal Pay Act

Women in America 1972 – Title 9 no discrimination in education 1973 – Roe v. Wade Abortion legal 1978 – Pregnancy Discrimination Act 1993 – Family and Medical Leave Act 1994 – Violence Against Women Act 2013 – Women permitted in military combat http://www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/

Intersectionality – interconnected social categories (race, class, gender, sexual identity, religion, ethnicity) that create systems of oppression

Men in 21st-Century America Economic transition from “brawn to brain” More women graduate from college, but earn less money than men More men: homelessness, alcoholism, suicide, violence, crime Mass incarceration 80% of US Congress

SEXUAL ORIENTATION/sexuality sexual habits and desires

SEXUAL ORIENTATION/sexuality who a person has sexual relations with sexual habits and desires

SEXUAL ORIENTATION/sexuality who a person has sexual relations with sexual habits and desires who one feels attracted toward

LGBTQ Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning Asexual/Allies Intersex Nonbinary Pansexual

Sexuality in America 1953-1973 – American Psychiatric Association said homosexuality was mental disorder 1969 – Stonewall Uprising 1994-2011 – “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 1998 – Matthew Shepard murder 2003 – Anti-Sodomy Laws end 2015 – Same-sex marriage legal

ANTI-SODOMY LAWS 1960-1980 1980s 1990s 2000s

Sexuality in America People talk about LGBT community as a single group... Yet, this mixes up two separate concepts: sexual orientation and gender identity... Transgender people are those who identify with and present as a sex that’s different from the one assigned at birth.

Sexuality in America Policies that protect ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ are more comprehensive than ones only protecting ‘sexual orientation.’ They protect transgender people from societal expectations of how they should dress and act.

CASE STUDY ONE: Bathroom Bills video

“Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” CASE STUDY TWO: Military “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” 1994 – 2011 video Transgender Soldiers 2016 – end of ban video

CASE STUDY THREE: Reproduction video

Discussion Topics How do masculine/feminine behaviors affect you every day? How does the media portray different identities and orientations? Should government protect or limit gender identity and sexual orientation? Should government protect or limit reproductive rights?