6. Describe in what ways the methods used by working class males to compensate for their
marginalization are problematic for more than just themselves
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Read this excerpt from an interview on the subject of masculinity and disability, in this case
specifically blindness. Are the experiences discussed here akin to what Coston and Kimmel
discuss?
Examine this brief text on working class masculinities. Do you think addressing it specifically
from a feminist perspective changes one’s interpretation of the situation?
23. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer
In her essay, Judith Ortiz Cofer offers her experience as a Puerto Rican woman. She discusses
how cultural differences have singled her out as a target of stereotypes, disapproval, and
inappropriate treatment by members of mainstream society. Cofer recognizes the voice her
education has given her, and she uses it to open others up to her culture and experiences.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer
makes reference to “The Island.” This refers to:
a. her trip back to her homeland.
b. an Island vacation.
c. her ethnicity.
d. names she has been called.
2. As noted in “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz
Cofer discusses which of the following as setting her apart?
a. appearance and clothing
b. taste in music
c. social class
d. her accent
3. In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer
dispels stereotypes by explaining:
a. slang words.
b. terminology.
c. gender differences.
d. cultural differences.
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4. As noted in “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” stereotypes of
Latin women’s sexuality stem from:
a. cultural differences.
b. biological differences.
c. gender differences.
d. racial differences.
5. According to Judith Ortiz Cofer in “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named
Maria,” what has helped her in dealing with ethnic and racial prejudice?
a. economic independence
b. education, books, and art
c. a strong family network
d. a political voice
6. According to Judith Ortiz Cofer, ________________ and ________________could
provide a young woman with a circle of safety in her small pueblo on the Island.
a. community/church
b. school/church
c. extended family/church structure
d. courts/extended family
7. According to Judith Ortiz Cofer, _______________have perpetuated certain stereotypes; for
example, that of the of the Hispanic woman as the “Hot Tamale” or sexual firebrand.
a. mixed cultural signals
b. clear cultural signals
c. the absence of cultural signals
d. women
Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. How have cultural differences affected Cofer’s experiences?
2. What forms of prejudice and discrimination did Cofer experience?
3. Explain how unrecognized cultural differences create stereotypes.
4. How does Cofer challenge the stereotypes and myths about Latinas?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
1. How are women portrayed in the media? How does this portrayal influence gender
stereotypes?
2. How can the sexist images of women in the media be challenged?
1. In what way do feminist women of color challenge dominant gender stereotypes?
24. Keep Your “N” in Check: African American Women and the Interactive Effects of
Etiquette and Emotional Labor”, Marlese Durr and Adia M. Harvey Wingfield
Durr and Harvey Wingfield first begin with an examination of negative perceptions of Michelle
Obama, and how the stereotype of the “angry Black woman” reinforces a lack of femininity and
self worth. This is then extrapolated to experiences of Black women in the modern office
workplace, and the role they have been forced into as a side effect of affirmative action policies.
The authors discuss the need for a specific form of presentation, titled emotional labor, as a way
in which they must present specifically in a largely passive manner. The focus then is to appear
as quiet and non-intrusive as possible, leaving them without any identity of their own and
undermining the superficial push for diversity that many organizations are highly focused upon.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Durr and Wingfield argue that society casts Michelle Obama as which stereotype?
a. Emerald
b. Sapphire
c. Mammy
d. none of these choices are correct
2. The ways Black women in the workplace had to engage in self-presentation was closely tied
to the fact they were working in largely ________________ roles.
a. supervisory
b. administrative
c. support
d. executive
3. Most of the Black women interviewed about their workplace reported that they were
discouraged from
a. Speaking their mind
b. Avoiding conversations
c. Not participating in meetings
d. all of these choices are correct
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Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. What are the negative ways in which Michelle Obama has been criticized based upon both
her gender and her race?
2. Describe the “performance” that Black women must go through in order to work in a
corporate setting.
3. What are the ways the Black women in Durr and Wingfield’s study had to act in order to feel
like they “fit in”?
4. What is “emotional labor” according to the research conducted by Durr and Wingfield?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Read Schwartz’s article on emotional labor from a more general perspective as applied to
workplaces as a whole. What are the consequences for the laborers? For the customers?
25. The Gendered Rice Bowl: The Sexual Politics of Service Work in Urban China”, Amy
Hanser.
Hanser examines the shifts in perception of femininity that have occurred in China during the
country’s transition from socialism to its current, more capitalistic stage. At first she discusses
the ways in which young women were portrayed as strong (physically and mentally) and part of
the agricultural labor force that would drive socialism, and the associated egalitarianism. Now,
however, the ideal of femininity is that of the fashion model, with middle-aged women seen as a
symbol of a distant and dated past. The sexualization of women was seen via two participant
observation experiences, one at a state-owned clothing store and the other a more upscale,
privately owned business. The former had a more middle aged staff, with proficiency and
experience being the benchmarks of success. The latter, however, emphasized a sexualized
presentation from youthful sales clerks. These women, however, were seen by the older
employees as being of lower social class and having less ability as workers. The overall
conclusion was centered on how inequality was perpetrated and enforced by these differing
approaches.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. According to Hanser, a woman who is admired for her work is most likely to be a(n)
Agricultural worker
a. Lawyer
b. Mother
c. Fashion model
d. Agricultural worker
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2. Service industry work is theorized by Hanser to separate women largely based on
a. appearance
b. social class
c. education
d. wealth
3. Employer-based sexualization of women’s bodies was most prevalent in retail stores that
were _____ in China.
a. privately run
b. state run
c. neither of these choices are correct
d. both of these choices are correct
Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. How were women portrayed during China’s “iron rice bowl” era? What was considered an
example of femininity?
2. How did the transition away from socialism impact social perspectives of women in China?
3. How were women sexualized in the privately owned clothing store discussed by Hanser?
4. How are the middle aged, working class women examined by Hanser perceived in modern
day China?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Read this piece written on the topic of capitalism and sexuality and its negative impact upon
women in the United States. What could a country who is still developing as a capitalist system
do in order to reduce these problems and prevent them from taking hold?
26. “The Prison and the Closet,” Patricia Hill Collins
Patricia Hill Collins considers the intersecting relationship between racism and heterosexism.
She argues that the assumption that these two hegemonic ideologies represent separate systems
of oppression obscures the fact that racism and sexism rely upon each other for meaning.
Without sacrificing the acknowledgement of differences in the way that racism and heterosexism
manifest, the author shows that the two systems converge and that both systems affect the
everyday lives of all people.
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Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Colonial regimes routinely manipulated ideas about ________________ in order to maintain
unjust power relations:
a. race
b. sexuality
c. gender
d. democracy
2. The sexual exploitation of women has been a basic ingredient of _____________, according
to the authors:
a. sexism
b. prisons
c. closets
d. racism
3. According to Patricia Hill Collins, racism and heterosexism:
a. constitute two separate systems of oppression
b. are independent concerns
c. rely upon one another for meaning
d. are unrelated.
4. Ignoring the heterosexism that underpins Black patriarchy hinders the development of:
a. conservative political campaigns
b. progressive political parties
c. a progressive Black sexual politics
d. patriarchy itself.
5. Racism and heterosexism use similar mechanisms to maintain:
a. racial and sexual hierarchies
b. race and class hierarchies
c. discrimination in education
d. prejudice
6. According to Patricia Hill Collins, if marriage were in fact a natural and normal occurrence
between heterosexual couples and if it occurred naturally within racial categories there would
be no need to _____________________________ it.
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a. allow
b. regulate
c. discuss
d. allow divorces from
7. Racism and sexism use a common cognitive framework called ________________ thinking.
a. prejudiced
b. discriminatory
c. opposites attract
d. binary
8. Contemporary social welfare policies remain preoccupied with:
a. Black men’s sexual freedom
b. Black women’s fertility
c. profits for private companies where recipients shop for necessities
d. fairness for Black families in poverty
9. West claims that LGBT people carry the stigma of ____________________.
a. asexuality
b. AIDS
c. rejecting heterosexuality
d. childlessness
Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. Discuss the ways in which heterosexism and racism are linked, historically, according to
Patricia Hill Collins.
2. The author writes that, “Sakia and her friends share with all women the vulnerabilities that
accrue to women who negotiate public space.” Discuss what she means by the phrase
‘negotiate public space.’ How was Sakia negotiating space? Do you agree that all women
share the vulnerability the author describes? Why or why not?
3. Discuss the differences and similarities between the stigmatizing and deviancy associated
with Black sexuality and the stigmatizing and deviancy associated with LBGT sexuality,
according to the author.
4. Discuss how binary thinking produces hegemonic ideologies. How else might we think about
race and sexuality in order not to support such ideologies?
5. On what basis does the author argue that marriage regulation has been “needed” when it has
been imposed? What conditions do you think the author believes would have been necessary
for such regulation not to have been needed by those who imposed it?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Consider the miscegenation laws discussed in the Eugenics Watch site pasted below. Do you
agree with Patricia Hill Collins that such laws would not have been necessary if intermarriage
had not been natural? What was the purpose of such laws, according to the information on this
site?
27. “’Dude, You’re a Fag:’ Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse,” C. J. Pascoe
Pascoe examines the relationship of the use of the epithet “fag” amongst boys in an American
high school. Contrary to the often cited argument that the term has nothing specifically to do
with sexuality (and therefore homophobia in general), Pascoe discusses how the use of term as a
synonym for “stupid”, and as an insult for males who are not meeting the perceptions of what
sound be considered masculinity, further perpetuates homophobia. The double standard present
in the perception of gay males (negative) and lesbians (neutral to positive) is examined, as well
as the gender specific use of the slur. The racial nature is also examined, as it was used far more
often amongst White male students compared to African Americans.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Studies of adolescents by Pascoe found that largely
a. gay males and lesbians were looked at equally negatively
b. lesbians were looked at more positively
c. lesbians were looked at more negatively
d. both were looked at equally positively
2. In the study of River High, the word “fag” was found to be most often synonymous with
a. homosexual
b. stupid
c. lazy
d. none of these choices are correct
Essay and Discussion Questions
1. How does Pascoe argue that adolescent use of the word “fag” differs from what we know as
homophobia?
2. What is the difference in perception by adolescents when comparing gay males and lesbians?
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3. In what context did boys at River High use the word “fag” most frequently?
4. Describe the ways in which Pascoe found that the use of the word “fag” was different
between White and African American male high school students.
5. What was the nature of the fag identity discussed by Pascoe? How did it function within
adolescents?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Visit the No Homophobes site. This site tracks how often various homophobic slurs are used on
28. “The Invention of Heterosexuality,” Jonathan Ned Katz
The author documents the history and invention of the term heterosexuality as a means of
categorizing sexual relationships. The author emphasizes how sexuality has been closely linked
to structural power and the means of production within a society throughout history. He argues
that an ahistorical approach to studying sexuality continues to privilege “normal” and “natural”
sexual expression.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. According to Katz, the idea of heterosexuality is a modern invention, dating to the ______
century.
a. early 16th
b. late 17th
c. early 18th
d. late 19th
2. According to Katz, during 1820 to 1860, middle-class White Americans idealized “True
Womanhood, True Manhood, and True Love.” All were characterized by:
a. sensuality
b. purity
c. production
d. procreation
3. During the Early Victorian True Love era (1820-1860), the human body was thought of as a
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means for:
a. pleasure
b. sensuality
c. procreation
d. consumption
4. During 1892-1900, the ideas of heterosexual and homosexual were initially formulated by:
a. U.S. doctors
b. British monarchs
c. religious authorities
d. newspaper journalists
5. Which doctor’s conceptualization of heterosexual “offered the modern world a new norm
that came to dominate our idea of the sexual universe, helping to change it from a mode of
human reproduction…to a mode of pleasure?”
a. Dr. Kiernan
b. Dr. Rusk
c. Dr. Kinsey
d. Dr. Krafft-Ebing
6. Katz refers to the time period when the heterosexual norm went almost unchallenged as:
a. the cult of domesticity
b. heterosexual hegemony
c. hetero/homo duo
d. heterosexual mystique
7. In Sexual Behavior of the Human Male, Kinsey found that:
a. homosexual experience is virtually absent within males.
b. homosexual experience is rare among young and middle-aged males.
c. homosexual experience is more common than was previously thought.
d. homosexuality is rare among elderly men.
Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. For Katz, what is the significance of tracing the historical process of the concept of
heterosexuality?
2. Trace the timeline of the development of heterosexuality highlighting significant historical
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developments throughout your timeline.
3. What effect did the transformation of the family from producer unit to consumer unit have on
sexuality?
4. What role did doctors play in sexuality during the Late Victorian Sex-Love era (1860-1892)?
5. Discuss the key points of the “First Years” (1892-1900) heterosexual epoch.
6. Compare and contrast Dr. Kiernan and Dr. Krafft-Ebing’s conceptualizations of
homosexuality and heterosexuality.
7. What are some of the key points to Kinsey’s research? Does he believe that the
heterosexual/homosexual division is “natural?” Why or why not?
8. What does Katz mean by the statement: “Biology does not settle our erotic fates?” Please
explain your answer.
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
1. Upon examining the statistics presented by the website, why should school personnel be
concerned about the experiences of lesbian and gay students in their schools?
2. What are some suggestions for reducing homophobia within the school environment?
3. Does the website’s “Truth about Sexual Orientation” address the common myths and
stereotypes held about lesbian and gay individuals? Are there any that you would like to
add?
Campaign to End Homophobia: Beyond Gay or Straight
1. Discuss the three scales for measuring sexual identity. Are there strengths and weakness to
each? Please explain your answer.
2. How does the story between the three friends “change” when they live in a culture that
celebrates sexual diversity?
Campaign the End Homophobia: Homophobia
1. How can you recognize homophobia within yourself?
2. In what ways can homophobia hurt heterosexuals? Please explain your answer.
1. How does homophobia hurt children growing up with lesbian or gay parents?
2. What myths do the children in COLAGE challenge about their lives?
3. How many children in the U.S. are estimated to be growing up with lesbian or gay parents?
29. “Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality,” Hanne Blank
Blank draws upon personal experience regarding the topic of being labeled “straight” based upon
her own definition, having a male-appearing partner who has Klienfelter’s Syndrome, a
chromosomal makeup that includes an additional X chromosome. The role that genetics, as well
as biology (in the form of being able to reproduce) have been used to define what is male and
female are addressed as being non-binary, while our definitions of sexuality usually is based on
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those simple assumptions (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual). The fact that “heterosexual”
and “homosexual” are terms of relatively recent origin, and have been tied more closely to legal
issues than anything related to personal perception or identity.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Klinefelter’s syndrome, a genetic anomaly, results in what chromosomal arrangement?
a. XY
b. XX
c. XXY*
d. XYY
2. Biologists such as Anne Fausto-Sterling argue that humans have how many major sexes?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
3. The identity (and label) “heterosexual” has, according to Blank, only existed since
a. 1845
b. 1869
c. 1921
d. 1944
4. The original creation of the terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual” was for
a. medical purposes
b. philosophical purposes
c. religious purposes
d. legal purposes
Essay and Discussion Questions:
1. What perspective does Blank take when discussing the relationship between heterosexuality
2. What is the physical manifestation of someone who displays XXY syndrome?
3. Why and how did the label “heterosexual” appear during the 19th century?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
Read the following site that summarizes research on sexual orientation and sexual identity, as
well as the Kinsey Scale. Where do you feel you sit on this continuum? Or do you believe in a
Visit the Sexual Identity Institute website and read blog posts regarding labels of sexual
orientation and adolescence. Do you think a wider, more varied approach to labeling sexual
orientation would be beneficial to teenagers, or not?
30. “Selling Sex for Visas: Sex Tourism as a Stepping-stone to International Migration,”
Denise Brennan
Addressing the myth that sex workers around the globe are simply victims of exploitation and
domination, Denise Brennan considers the case of women sex workers in Sosua, Dominican
Republic. These women – predominantly poor, single mothers with limited educations – see sex
work not as a survival strategy, but as an advancement strategy. They have meager job
opportunities and can make more money more quickly selling sex than in any other job available
to them. Ultimately many hope to obtain marriage proposals from wealthy sex tourists, and with
them visas to places with greater economic opportunities. Brennan sites these strategies as
examples of the “savviness and resourcefulness of the so–called powerless.”
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Dominican sex workers make a distinction between marriage for love and marriage for:
a. obtaining fathers for their children
b. romance
c. making a family
d. visas
2. Poor single mothers use sex work with European clients as:
a. a survival strategy for themselves
b. a survival strategy for their children
c. an advancement strategy
d. a self-esteem enhancer
3. How are the working conditions of women sex workers in Sosua controlled?
a. largely by the women themselves
b. by pimps
c. by drug lords
d. by patriarchs in their own families
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4. Working in export-processing zones or in domestic work pays on average approximately
$100 per month. How much does a sex worker usually earn during a single encounter with a
foreign client?
a. $10 (100 peso)
b. $100 (1,000 pesos)
c. $500 (5,000 pesos)
d. $50 (500 pesos)
5. The most decisive factor pushing women into the sex trade in Sosua is:
a. single motherhood
b. their abusive families
c. sex slave traders
d. drugs
6. According to Brennan, the attempts by Dominican sex workers to take advantage of clients in
order to get visas is evidence of their:
a. resourcefulness
b. greed
c. oppression
d. victimization by savvy foreign clients
7. Marginalized women in marginalized economies:
a. are unable to protect themselves in any way from being passive victims.
b. come up with creative strategies to control their economic lives.
c. are clueless about how to survive, much less advance.
d. usually become very wealthy once they enter the sex trade as long as they are pretty and
compliant.
Essay Questions:
1. Discuss the factors that pull and factors that push women into the sex trade in Sosua.
2. To what extent do the women sex workers in this article have power and control over their
own lives? What factors limit their power and control?
3. Do you agree with the author that the strategies of the Dominican sex workers are evidence
of their ‘savviness and resourcefulness?’ Why or why not?
4. Discuss the available alternatives that women sex workers in Sosua have rejected. What do
you think you might do if you found yourself in their position? Why?
5. Why might a Dominican woman decide that a marriage certificate would be ‘wasted on
romantic love”?
Internet Sites and Questions for Further Study:
See the following article and consider Brennan’s analysis. Are you convinced that the creative
strategies of sex workers reduce the level of their exploitation? How does their participation in