Seeing Gender

From Castellanos' play, I decided to look into the scene where Lupita receive a gift supposedly from her husband. The gift, a bikini, came with a note that called her "little kitten," something she had never been called before. At this point in the story, Juan is a successful businessman and Lupita is the stay-at-home wife with the two children who are at each others' throats. The scene climaxes to Lupita knowing Juan's secretary sent the bikini because it is way too big to fit her and the "little kitten" remark in the note. Gender in the scene was way more than typical. The wife is a homemaker that has nothing better to do than fuel her children's arguments for fun and watch the television. This is a very typical assumption that the man is the bread winner and the wife really does nothing with her days. Of course, Juan is a very successful man. He is so successful in fact that he apparently doesn't have time to buy his own wife a gift, so his secretary does it for him. Gender relations in this part of play is somewhat typical to what society expects from a marriage. The man is such a super power and is clearly not giving his wife real love and attention. It wouldn't surprise me if Juan was having an affair with his secretary from the lack of respect she showed Lupita on the phone. Not only did he not pick the gift out, he didn't even bother to check what his secretary had gotten or written in the note. Lupita is supposedly the helpless wife that does nothing because she has to stay with her beloved husband. She defies the helpless house wife by taking action. The gender issues that were highlighted showed the imbalance of power and money in relationships. Also, Castellanos touches upon the respected duties that are often designated to be the woman's or man's job. Lupita is the homemaker while Juan seems to be the free spirited workaholic that supports his wonderful family. I think Castellanos wants the reader to see the typical beliefs and often misconceptions of gender roles. Castellanos is subtle in parts, but screams from a mountain top in other parts. I think the point of the scene that I chose to dissect is to show that the "typical" roles and beliefs can be broken or changed at any time.

Blog #10

Access is a pro choice organization that believes in women being able to choose what they want to do to their own bodies. Their work is based on a feminist model of empowerment and self-determination for all women. They use a combination of direct services, community education and policy advocacy to promote real reproductive options and access to quality health care in California. I was unable to find reviews of Access' work but this organization is worth while because they promote for women to have a choice on what to do with their own bodies. For women or anyone to have the right to do what they want with their lives and bodies is an important right for people to have.
This is a gender issue because this organization fights for the reproductive rights of women. It's entire mission is to protect the rights women have to make their own discesions for their bodies.

Gender Paper

The movie Billy Elliot displayed many different things concerning gender. The film portrayed Billy's dad and brother as tough manly men that work in a coal mine. The grandma was living with them and needed complete care. Billy is the caregiver for his grandmother, normally the role of a nurturing woman.
The one scene that stands out the most to me is when Billy's ballet teacher comes and talks to his dad. Billy's dad was the typical manly father who wouldn't allow his son to be a ballet dancer. Billy's father screams and yells at the teacher that she will not tell him how to raise his child. Billy's father is very in control and steadfast in his position. The teacher argues back to his father, but of course ends up giving in at the end. The grandmother is in the scene not saying anything, just letting Billy's father say everything. Billy doesn't get to say anything either. In this household, the father is in charge and no one else. The women are "submissive" or let the men control, and the men are boisterous and controlling.
In Tannen's article "Put Down that Paper and Talk to Me," she talks about the difference in how men and women talk. She says that women generally talk more than men verbally, but men speak more through body language. Also, the amount that a man or women talk is due to status a lot. Men are seen talking more because they talk more in public. In the households, women are the primary talkers, however. Women tend to talk for rapport and men talk to gain information. This ties into the movie because the father is the primary talker in the household when issues come up. It is interesting, though, that in times where they were sitting around the house, they sat usually in silence or had very little conversation. This could be due to the fact that Billy's mother was deceased and the grandmother was the only woman of the household.