CentralDissentFall2019.pdf
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- CentralDissentFall2019.pdf
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issent
A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
We made a mistake...
"The Rhetoric of Breastfeeding and Women's
Voices about Their Experiences"
found on page 80
should include Ashley Barrett &
Trinni Stevens as co-authors.
Our sincerest apologies to the authors.
rn
The Central Dissent:
A Journal of Gender and Sexuality
FALL 2019
New Plains Student Publishing
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
The CENTRAL DISSENT:
A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Editorial
Board
FALL 2019
Copyr ight© 2019 University of Central Oklahoma
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
E X EC U T IV E EDITORS
any form or by any means, including photocopying,
Shay Rahm
Lindsey Churchill, PhD
recording, or other electronic or mechanical
As the world expands, so, too, does it shrink.
methods, without prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical reviews and certain other
ED I TO R- IN -C HI EF
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Jacob Jardel
Prepared for publishing by
New Plains Student Publishing.
MA NAGING ED I T O RS
Sarah Chambers
Augusta Davis
Paul Rainwater
University of Central Oklahoma
We live in an unprecedented era of connectivity-one which
opens the doors to so many aspects of the world.As we walk
into these doors, we witness the progress the world has made
outside the walls in which we live.We gain exposure to the societal
struggles that happen down the global road. We see. We live.
100 N . University Drive
Edmond, OK 73034
www.uco.edu
SE NIOR ED ITORS
Cover art: "Cast" (portrait edit) by
Mel Blasingame
Edward Callery
Chandler Hunt
Timi Matlack
Zoe Wright
Sophia Kirby (Microsoft Paint)
With the topic "Sexuality and the Global World," Central Dissent aims
to open eyes and open minds. The works of art, creative writing, and
research herein examine issues that affect us as a collective people.
They examine the nuances of gender, sexuality and identity. They shed
light on oppressive paradigms and the efforts made to shift them. They
speak life to the idea that there is no Them-merely facets of Us.
And we can't wait for you to hear what Us has to say.
ART DIR ECTOR &
On behalf of the New Plains Student Publishing staff, and on behalf
of UCO's Women's Research Center and BGLTQ+ Student Center,
we proudly present to you the third issue of Central Dissent.
PRODUCT IO N C HI EF
Jacob Jardel
The Centra l D i sse n t: A Jou r na l o f Gen d er
and Sexua l it y
fac ulty
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Jacob Jardel
Editor-in-Chief
Contents
06
17
Centralizin! a Community: Oklahoma City's
Historic 39th Street
Savannah Waters
Keeping the Promise
Maria Teresa Balogh
24
Nuances and Challenges of Being Trans on the
Texas State University Campus
Michelle Ramstack
31
To Name Your Monsters
Caitlin Carnall
32
The Ethics and Medical Intervention of Patients
with Diverse Sex Development Conditions in the
us
Mariana Serrano
54
Artist Spotlight
Corrie Reagan
58
Artist Spotlight
Sophia Kirby
Content Warning: The works in this journal
contain explicit language, references to sexual
assault, and other potentially-triggering content.
59
Identifying as a Myth
Alyssa Diamond
61
Sexism and the Indian Political Psyche
Swati Sucharita Nanda
68
"A Doll to Be Proudly Exhibited": Antillean
Women and Transnational Connections in
lnterwar Paris
Bridget Cuadra
80
The Rhetoric of Breastfeeding and Women's
Voices about Their Experiences
Laura Durnin
IO I
104
4
Book Review Manufacturing Urgency: The
Development Industry and Violence Against Women
Julie Marzec
Contributors
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Centralizing a Community:
Oklahoma City's Historic 39 th
Street
Savannah Waters
histories about their local LGBTQ+ communities serve to "uncover" the past,
t
provide visibility, and protest the injustices layered upon them. 2 P_roducing a truly
representative history connects the LGBTQ+ community to their past, while
reshaping it as a form of protest by showing their very existence.
In Homophobia, History, and Homosexuality:Trends for Sexual Minorities,
University of Central Oklahoma
T
he capitol of Oklahoma stands in Oklahoma City (OKC), located at the
crossing of 23 rd Street and Lincoln Boulevard. Since 2008, the capital
city has been home to the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, drawing
citizens and visitors from all over. Beyond the bigger attractions, there
is a section of Oklahoma City that is worthy of a visit, day or night. OKC's 39th
Street District is significant because of its vibrant and unique culture in the
state of Oklahoma since its inception in the I980s. The 39th Street District is
witnessing a revival that makes it a target destination, with a vast amount of
businesses and organizations surrounding it. The District is usually called "The
Strip," "Glitter Alley," or simply by its most popular name, "The Gayborhood:'
The 39th Street District is significant and deserves a historical narrative because
it acted as a magnet for Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ community while giving them a
space to openly exist and celebrate themselves in the buckle of the Bible Belt. 1
History involves not only Oklahoma LGBTQ+ community centers but also
larger national community centers for the LGBTQ+. Since few scholarly works
exist on the evolution of 39th Street, a compar ative analysis of sources must be
done that primarily focus on various LGBTQ+ epicenters, LGBTQ+ attitudes,
and the attitudes of their surrounding communities. To many.Aaron Bachofer
is the major scholar of the LGBTQ+ community in Oklahoma City, with his
pioneering dissertation on The Emergence and Evolution of the Gay and Bisexual
Male Subcultures in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1889-2005.Although he mainly
focuses on gay and bisexual males, his dissertation gives a glimpse into queer
spaces. His thesis informs the reader that a homosexual enclave of gay and
bisexual men existed--despite lacking substantial narratives and lacking official
homosexual identifiers in documents-in a mostly safe congregational location
in Oklahoma City. The importance of an LGBTQ+ commun ity history is
exemplified in the dissertation Queering Collective Memory: Public History and the
Future of the Queer Past written by Cyrana B.Wyker.These community-inspired
Michael Sullivan discusses the history of homosexuality in regions that have
homophobic attitudes. Sullivan theorizes that social entities such as culture,
society, and religious ideologies create "homophobia and intolerance toward"
the LGBTQ+ community.3 Before the sexual revolution, there was a period
of conservatism following WWII when anything that was seen as different
was considered deviant and un-American. Sullivan identifies that many people,
generally, think that the gay movement began with the Stonewall Riots in
1969. However, larger cities usually had a gay presence before then, but rt
was usually displayed only in secret due to a lack of sexual freedom.5 These
secret places allowed the gay communities of the United States to prosper
after 1969, because these commercial establishments, such as bathhouses and
speakeasies, catered to gay lifestyles. 6 Meeting places for gay people tended to
be more secluded into the I980s as a result of the implementation of antigay policies in the United States. Sullivan's history regarding the congregation
sites of the LGBTQ+ community offers a look into community centers in a
broader context.A dissertation titled Queering Significance:What Preservationists
Can Learn
2
3
4
Aaron L. Bachhofer, " The Emergence and Evolution of the Gay and Bisexual Male Subculture
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1889-2005" (PhD diss., Oklahoma State University, 2006), 311.
6
from How LGBTQ+ Phi/adelphians Ascribe Significance to History Sites,
written by Derek Duquette in 2018, explores how the queer community
begins to consider the importance of historical LGBTQ+ spaces and how they
designate them as such. His thesis asked community members what the most
significant places to them were and recorded them in oral histories. This is a
true representation of what an LGBTQ+ person considers important to them,
evident through the excerpt, "something I consider a valuable insight ... too
5
6
Cyrana B.Wyker, "Queering Collective Memory: Public History and The Future of
The Queer Past" (PhD dissertation, Middle Tennessee State University, 2016), 42.
Michael K. Sullivan, " Homophobia, History, and Homosexuality:Trends for Sexual
Minorities," in Sexual Minorities: Discrimination, Challenges, and Development in
America, edited by Michael K. Sullivan (New York: Routledge, 2003), 5.
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
FALL 20 19
FALL 20 19
7
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
often detached from the people their work could positively affect." 7
To the unknowing onlooker, the 39th Street District area appears fairly
inconspicuous. The development of a truly unique LGBTQ+ friendly space
is astonishing. To understand why Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ population needed
such a location it is helpful to consider the history of their lives starting
in the Oklahoma Territory in 1889. The lawlessness that characterized the
West especially influenced the beginnings of the future state of Oklahoma.
The Land Run of 1889 brought an influx of immigrants to the Unassigned
Lands. The occurrence of such a large, marketed land run, and the founding
of Oklahoma City can be directly linked to the development of Oklahoma's
gay culture. Federal marshals attempted to police the area but ultimately
failed--until the Organic Act passed in 1890, officially creating Oklahoma
Territory. 8 Failed policing led to the development of a "subculture of vice and
violence that Oklahoma City never completely overcame:• 9 Although readers
must be hesitant at the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community in a subculture
characterized by vice and violence, the grouping presented by primary
sources and Bachhofer puts them together because, at the time, the LGBTQ+
community was considered deviant and criminal. Obscured charges thought
to have homosexual connotations include disorderly conduct or indecent
exposure and were labeled as such. 10 This is not to say that same-sex love did
not exist, it may have just been recorded as another crime in a historical record.
As the territory evolved and transformed into a bustling center of
commerce, it entertained construction booms in the years of 1893 and 1903. 11
The booms brought in many young male workers who had no connections
and were looking for amusement while away from the construction sites. 12
Cheap hotel rentals and the opportunity to find homosexual partners in the
downtown Oklahoma City area were extremely accessible, which is similar
to what was happening in other developing cities. Since Oklahoma City was
one of the major areas of settlement, it is unsurprising that the gay subculture
went underground while still remaining visible.As the years went by, periods of
conservatism and openness gripped the nation's societies.The WWI and WWII
7
12
Derek Duquette. "Queering Significance What Preservationists Can
Learn from How LGBTQ+ Philadelphians Ascribe Significance to
History Sites," (master's thesis,Temple University, 2018), 7.
Bachofer, 31-32
lbid, 32
lbid,41
Ibid, 32
Ibid
8
FALL 2019
8
9
10
II
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
eras were characterized by nationalism and conservatism. In the interwar years,
there were seemingly no gay bars or congregation places for the LGBTQ+
community in Oklahoma. 13 In this instance, the LGBTQ+ community went back
into the closet and hid their true selves under the shadow of war, depression,
and political unrest. The 1970s saw the rise of the anti-war movement, which
was deeply connected to the sexual revolution. In 1969, the gay movement
gained traction with the Stonewall Riots,when the LGBTQ+ communit>'. in
New York City became exasperated with police brutality and the trampling of
their civil rights. During this time, younger generations accepted openness of
sexuality as the sexual revolution boomed.This began to impact the LGBTQ+
community in Oklahoma City by the early 1980s.
Oklahoma City's LGBTQ+ community saw great forward progress in
the 1980s, an era characterized by growth and centralization of social settings.
Nothing in Oklahoma City was home for the community besides a few
establishments that lost popularity due to the fact that they were surrounded
by opponents of their lifestyles (anti-LGBTQ+ churches). Oklahoma City's
gay center was in the downtown area before the emergence of the 39th Street
District. However, a source from the Oklahoma City Pride board has found
that the first ever Oklahoma gay pride event occurred in 1977, in the form
of a block party predating the official start of Pride in 1988, which consists
of a full week accompanied by a parade on 39th Street. 15 By the early 1980s,
there were three primary LGBTQ+ clubs that drew Oklahoma City neighbors
from all over the state.Two clubs known as Circa 201 and Saddle Tramps were
located on 39th Street. 16 The most influential and crowd-drawing bar/club was
Angles, founded in September 1982, cementing the 39th Street District as the
Gayborhood. 17 Angles was unlike any other club in Oklahoma.especially in its
capital city.This new and unique club generated a constant crowd, reviving the
local businesses in the area.The influence of Angles was felt across the region
and the nation; it brought performers such Boy George and Dead or Alive to
the Bible Belt. 18
Thirty-ninth Street was a major place of refuge for the marginalized
13
14
IS
16
17
18
Ibid, 36
Ibid, 286
Lori Honeycutt, " OKC Pride Celebrates its History and More," last modified May
6, 2018. http://www.gayly.com/okc-pride-celebrates-its-history-and-more.
Bachofer, 283-284
Ibid, 284
Ibid, 285
FALL 2019
9
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
community of LGBTQ+ people. 19 They could enjoy each other's company in a
state that may otherwise show resistance and ignorance toward their lifestyle.
Angles "fundamentally changed the character of the 39th [S]treet area" and
incidentally created a home for LGBTQ+ in the district itself. 20 As of 1982, there
were three clubs in the area geared toward the LGBTQ+ community.According
to Bachhofer, "Angles brought scores of young gay and bisexual men to the area
which meant an increase in business volume for the other queer clubs already
located there-Saddle Tramps, The Circa, and the Outrigger: •21
By the mid- I 980s, the large crowd that Angles drew made the location
behind it ready for use.The Habana Inn, located right on 39th Street directly
north of Angles, became a hotspot for national gay travelers and was highlighted
in various travel guides.22 The Habana is one of the largest resorts in the
Southwest catering to out of town LGBTQ+ individuals, especially during Pride
and community events.23 The Habana Inn would eventually house two clubs
located across from each other on the first floor, with a gift shop in between.
The 39th Street District was not only home to numerous bars and nightclubs,
but it also had a deeper community tie than seen at first glance.
The Herland Sisters Resources was an organization that focused on
uniting the community in that district. Founded in 1984, Herland works as a
feminist-lesbian collective that operates out of Oklahoma City, right off 39th
Street.24 By 1986, they began distributing newsletters inconspicuously by mailing
or brown-bagging. They sought to be a house that helped the lesbian community,
along with all queer people. The Herland Sisters Resources wanted to create a
tight-knit community where they could act as a resource.The newsletters began
to be published regularly in 1986. The Herland Sister Resources--eventually
known as the Herland Voice-advertised their meetings and local businesses,
covered local and national news relevant to them, and published book and
movie reviews, as well as letters to the editor. In their early newsletters, they
identified the problem of bars as centralized congregational centers for the
LGBTQ+ community. Entitled Visions for a Sober Community and Out from
Under: Sober Dykes and our Friends, the writers stated that alcoholism and
19
20
21
22
23
24
10
Interview with Lauren Zuniga, October 17, 2018
Bachofer, 286
Ibid
Ibid
Robin Dorner,"'Join the Party' at Hotel Habana," last modified September
I , 2018. http://www.gayly.com/join-party-hotel-habana.
" Her land Sister Resources," Her/and Sisters Resources 2, no 2
( 1986): I. https://hdl.handle.netg/ I 1244/52165.
FALL 20 19
drug dependence were major problems in the lesbian community.25 Herland
Sisters focused on rehabilitating and educating with excerpts such as:
Historically, the excessive use of alcohol and other drugs has been used
to decimate potentially powerful groups. In gay and lesbian communities,
the most common public gathering places allowed to exist have been bars.
Alcohol has been given a central place in our culture.The inevitable effect
of alcohol and drugs is to stifle the user's ability to think rationally and
creatively and her ability to act. 26
Excerpts such as this were the way Herland addressed alcoholism in their
community.Alcohol played a central role in the setting of a LGBTQ+
community space. Unfortunately, that pattern is still in effect today, since aligning
with an LGBTQ+ identity is often isolating.This newsletter warns that adding
alcohol to an already possibly lonesome time will cause further isolation.
The Herland Sister Resources wanted to improve the lives of the
community, including their wellness. For instance, they have covered the topic
of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and how to identify it.A group
of Oklahoma City lesbians, a low-risk group, chose to address this topic, trying
to tell readers how to identify AIDS through describing the circumstances
of those who may have contracted the disease.28 AIDS statistics were also
published in the Herland newsletters informing readers that, as of March 15,
1986, one in four gay males tested in Oklahoma City was found to be a positive
carrier.Twenty-five out of forty-nine who were diagnosed with AIDS died from
complications of the disease.29 They asked for newsletter recipients to volunteer
their time for an AIDS House in OKC to care for those who were suffering and
had no other option. 30 The reaction to this call to action laid the groundwork
for the social service attitudes that characterized the following years.
In the developing years of the Gayborhood, there were bars, nightclubs,
and community centers working together to create a social and helpful
epicenter. Because it was a new space for queer people, there were often new
businesses to replace those who left or failed. The relocation of a queer center
25
26
27
28
29
30
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
" Herland Sister Resources." Herlond Sisters Resources 2. no
5 ( 1986): I. https://hdl.handle.net/ I 1255/52220
Ibid. I hypothesize that this house was the W inds House in OKC.
which focused on caring for those individuals who had AIDS.
FALL 2019
11
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
created a new"anchor for Oklahoma City's gay and bisexual(s)." 31 The LGBTQ+
community could be open about their sexuality and be comfortable in a place
that was designed for them to flourish and enjoy their time.32 The 39th Street
community decided to focus on a bigger task---one that required a public
celebration of their own sexualities.
Celebrations came in the form of Pride, a festival celebrating LGBTQ+
people. The first official Oklahoma City Pride Festival took place in June 1988.
The first Pride parade occurred heading west on 39th Street, and that's how it
continues to happen, aside from a few years where the route was altered. The
slogan for their first Pride parade was "Rightfully Proud in '88!" 33 However, as
discussed before, the first gay pride celebration occurred in 1977 as a block
party. In 1988, the Pride festival started with the parade, marshaled by people
living with AIDS from the Winds House in Oklahoma City. 34 Significantly, this
showed that the LGBTQ+ community stood literally and metaphorically behind
their family who had contracted AIDS.The first ever Oklahoma City Pride
Parade had around 700 participants, which exceeded expectations.35
The Herland Sister Resources Newsletter reported on Oklahoma's first
gay pride event in Oklahoma, which would happen in the state capital. 36 Along
with information about Oklahoma's first ever Pride, it also listed the rules
and stipulations on what would be regulated.According to the newsletter,
an attendee was always asked to march, even if they had to use a paper bag
to mask their identity to prevent harassment afterwards.37 This specific rule
suggests that making an effort to show unity was one of the Pride organizers'
goals.At this time, queer people still faced much criticism and discrimination
in their public and private lives.Adding this type of social ostracizing to the
outbreak of AIDS culminates to make an already lonely community even more
isolated. Putting a face to those that many Christians may despise humanized
the LGBTQ+ people by showing their existence.The rest of the rules for Pride
included: no alcohol, no children, no throwing anything, dress appropriately, and
don't wear a hood on your head (alluding to the KKK) .38 The parade went very
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
well, considering that organizers thought that they would have more challenges.
The seed was planted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in the heart of
Oklahoma.
By the 1990s, the 39th Street District was a bustling mecca for the
LGBTQ+ communities in Oklahoma and even in the region. However, as the
years progressed, the strength of the community would be continually tested;
an idea that still rings true in 2018.The State of Oklahoma has a notable history
of writing and passing anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including laws opposing same-sex
adoption and marriage equality.39 In 2004, Oklahoma made it a goal to enforce
"heteronormative values" by making sure marriages were exclusively between
a man and a woman in their state.40 However, the United States Supreme
Court passed the Marriage Equality Act in 2015, guaranteeing that all courts in
the nation were required to marry man and man, woman and woman, or man
and woman.As of March 2017, in a Pew Research Center study, seventy-nine
percent of Oklahomans identified as Christians. 41 With this heavy of a majority,
these religious groups will likely create laws aligning with their ideologiessome of which may include bills that curb the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
In this tension, the 39th Street District continues to provide a safe haven for
those who are marginalized.
The 39th Street District has been home to numerous businesses, ranging
from automotive needs to event services, that create an influential association.
The District was home to thirty-four businesses that make up the 39th Street
District Association, focused on making the area more welcoming and influential
to everyone, night or day. 42 Thirty-ninth Street is synonymously identified as a
stretch of Route 66 sprinkled with bars and shops but is usually not lively in the
daylight hours.43 Brianna Bailey described the 39th Street District as a "nighttime
destination," but the members of the association board have higher hopes for
the area.44 The Gayborhood, for a time, has wanted to improve the condition
of 39th Street.According to The Gayly, the 39th Street District has been
39
31
32
33
Bachofer, 2B8
Ibid, 307
" Herland Sister Resources," Her/and Sisters Resources 5, no
5 ( 1988): I , https://hdl.handle.net/ I 1255/52164.
Ibid
34
35
36
37
38
Honeycutt, " OKC Pride Celebrates"
" Herland Sister Resources," vol 5, no 5
Ibid
Ibid
12
FALL 2019
40
41
42
43
Stephanie Allen, "Drag in Oklahoma:The Power of Performance,"
(MA Thesis, University of Central Oklahoma, 2017), 68.
Ibid
Ibid
"39th St District," 39th Street, accessed September I 0,
2018. https://www.39thstreetdistrict.com/.
Bailey, Brianna. " Street Stories:Area of Bars, Cars Seeking Growth, New Businesses in
Oklahoma City." NewsOK.Accessed September I 0, 2018. https://newsok.com/article/5464960/
street-stories-area-of-bars-cars-seeking-growth-new-businesses-in-oklahoma-city.
Ibid
FALL 2019
13
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRA L OKLAHOMA
recommended to receive street enhancements as part of a 2018 project named
the Better Streets, Safer City initiative, funded by a penny sales tax.45 A whole
new aura around the 39th Street District will be accomplished by the " penny
sales tax that Oklahoma City approved last year, that is expecting to generate
$240 million for street resurfacing, enhancements, trails as well as full bicycle
and pedestrian infrastructure."46Many who appreciate the nightlife the district
has to offer would enjoy benefits from an upgrade to the surrounding areas,
representing the vibrant, fun, wild destination that the Gayborhood means to all.
This area is not just for nightlife, there is also a beautiful array of events
during the day.The Boom, a bar located in the Gayborhood, brings in daytime
audiences with trivia and their famous Gospel Brunches.The bar is reported to
be one of the biggest events on 39th Street every week; usually those who want
to attend must make reservations.47 Members of the District's neighborhood
association continually show that they want to collaborate with organizations to
shift the atmosphere to a more welcoming Gayborhood, while still maintaining
its unique label as a central hub for LGBTQ+ people in Oklahoma.48An influx
of bars and businesses into the area correlated with a massive drop in crime
rates and lower populations of transients in the area.49 As more bars and
more people come to visit the 39th Street District, the success of surrounding
businesses, as well as the diversity of the people, increased. It is important to
note that the success of the Gayborhood was due to word-of-mouth publicity
of this significant section of Oklahoma City, because "no branding or marketing"
was deployed to draw people in. 50 An improvement of marketing, branding, and
infrastructure can only increase the draw of this district.
Many news sources focus on the potential improvements to be made
on influential 39th Street.Articles show pictures of Pride celebrations and tell
the city's community about the district in the process. Slowly but surely, the
era of rejuvenation of the Gayborhood is occurring.The 39th Street District
Association is continually striving to revamp the area to attract outsiders and
provide a more welcoming atmosphere for Oklahoma LGBTQ+ communities.
Many places, such as The Boom, offer weekly events including karaoke, trivia,
dinner theatres, Sunday Gospel Brunch, and even drag bingo. The Diversity
45
46
47
48
49
50
Elisabeth Slay. " OK C's Gayborhood is Getting a Makeover" Accessed September 27,
2018. http://www.gayly.com/okc%E2%80%99s-gayborhood-getting-makeover
Ibid
Bailey, " Street Stories"
Bailey, " Street Stories"; Slay, "OK C's Gayborhood"
Bailey, " Street Stories"
Ibid
FALL 2019
Center of Oklahoma is located in The Strip and acts as a resource center for
thediverse and LGBTQ+ communities that thrive in the 39th Street District.
Thearea itself is extremely welcoming to outsiders or those looking for
a simple place to socialize. Even consumers under eighteen have access to
nightclubs, such as the Wreck Room, which cater to teenagers_fourteen and
older.These clubs provide a chance for young members of society to find a
home that they might be unaware of. Consumers have access to food, drinks,
and places to socialize for every person from every walk of life.
The 39th Street District is a fascinating neighborhood to explore. It
offers a unique glance into Oklahoma City's day and night life.The revitalization
of 39th Street will continue to push it to compete with other areas such
as Bricktown and the Plaza District in Oklahoma City.Thirty-ninth Street,
The Gayborhood, The Strip, and Glitter Alley all recognize the same central
location in Oklahoma City that is emphasized by an exceptional look into the
culture of an exciting district.The history of the 39th Street District began
even before Oklahoma became a state--a time when lawlessness created a
negativity associated with queer lifestyles. Society has continually tried to push
the LGBTQ+ community back into the closet, allowed to exist but not thrive.
However, the existence of such a district in the heart of conservative America
exemplifies the resiliency of the people who continue to make the 39th Street
District what it is today. Like one article states about the precious Gayborhood,
"[Its] longevity speaks volumes:' 51
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Bailey, Brianna. "Street Stories:Area of Bars, Cars Seeking Growth, New
Businesses in Oklahoma City." NewsOK.Accessed September I 0, 2018.
https://newsok.com/article/5464960/street-stories-area-of-bars-cars-·
seeking-growth-new-businesses-in-oklahoma-city.
Dorner, Robin. "'Join the Party' at Hotel Habana," The Gayly, September I , 2018.
Accessed October 8, 2018. http://www.gayly.com/join-party-hotel-habana.
Honeycutt, Lori. "OKC Pride Celebrates its History and More," The Gayly,
May 6, 2018.Accessed October 8, 2018. http://www.gayly.com/okc-pridecelebrates-its-history-and-more.
Slay, Elisabeth. "OK C's Gayborhood is Getting a Makeover" The Gayly,
September 20, 2018.Accessed September 27, 2018. http://www.gayly.com/
okc%E2%80%99s-gayborhood-getting-makeover.
SI
Ibid
FALL 2019
I5
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
"39th St District," 39th Street.Accessed September I 0, 20 I 8. https://
www.39thstreetdistrict.com/.
"Herland Sister Resources;• Herland Sisters Resources 2, no 2 ( 1986):
hdl.handle.net/ I 1244/52165.
" Herland Sister Resources," Herland Sisters Resources 2, no 5 ( 1986):
hdl.handle.net/ I 1255/52198.
"Herland Sister Resources," Herland Sisters Resources 2, no 7 ( 1986):
hdl.handle.net/ I 1255/52220.
"Herland Sister Resources," Herland Sisters Resources 5, no 5 ( 1988):
hdl.handle.net/ I 1255/52164.
Keeping the Promise
I, https://
Maria Teresa Balogh
University
of Missouri-St.
Louis
I, https://
I, https://
I, https://
Secondary Resources
Allen, Stephanie."Drag in Oklahoma:The Power of Performance," MA Thesis,
University of Central Oklahoma, 2017.
Bachhofer,Aaron. 'The Emergence and Evolution of the Gay and Bisexual
Male Subculture in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1889-2005." PhD diss.,
Oklahoma State University, 2006.
Duquette, Derek. "Queering Significance What Preservationists Can Learn from
How LGBTQ+ Philadelphians Ascribe Significance to History Sites." MA
thesis, Temple University, 2018.
Sullivan, Michael K. "Homophobia, History, and Homosexuality:Trends for Sexual
Minorities."in Sexual Minorities: Discrimination, Challenges, and Development
in America, edited by Michael K. Sullivan 5. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Wyker, Cyrana B. "Queering Collective Memory: Public History and The Future
of The Queer Past." PhD diss., Middle Tennessee State University, 2016.
Zuniga, Lauren. Interview. October 17, 20 I 8.
H
er eyes were closed as she surrendered to the sensation of her
roommate's mouth slowly traveling down her nude body, still slightly
moist from a shower, savoring the feeling that transported her back
to the times she was alone in the waters of her beloved Caribbean
Sea. It started that first time she sneaked out of the house just before dawn to
go to the solitary little beach a friend had shown her. She had been twelve years
old. She didn't know then what she wanted to do, only that the solitude of that
beach was calling to her.
She remembers an odd feeling at the sight of the dark blue-green water
when she got to the shore, and giving in to a sudden impulse to remove all
her clothes and get into the sea, until the water reached her shoulders. She
abandoned herself until she was floating face-up, looking at the dissipating stars.
A few tiny waves lifted her limber body gently; now touching her buttocks, now
her nascent breasts, awakening her sensuality.
She remembers not wanting to leave the water. She wished she could have
stayed there forever, but she heard voices a short distance away. Quickly, she got
out, got dressed, and hid behind some big rocks just as a young couple walked
onto the little beach. She saw them undress, get into the water, and make love.
Many times after that, she thought there must be something wrong with her
because of the excitement she felt, both as she witnessed the couple and when
she was inside the water. She had never known anyone who felt the way she
did that night-or at least no one who would admit to it-until she met her
roommate three years later.
She relives the episode at the seaside every time that knowledgeable
mouth takes its descent on her body, as it was at that moment. lnma finally
reached the awaited goal, so Katia opened her eyes to see her. lnma's eyes were
closed. Katia grasped lnma's hands, which were on each side of her waist, let out
an open-mouthed gasp, and looked up.That's when she saw four eyes looking
down at them. She blinked and thought of stopping lnma, but didn't really want
to.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
The two boys-Lucho and Ivan, she recalled--didn't seem to mind that
Katia could see them. They were face-down on the thick wooden beams that
supported the roof, and there was no ceiling on that part of the building. One of
the boys smiled at her and the other made an obscene gesture with his tongue.
They were quiet.They obviously didn't want to disturb lnma any more than she
did. She would wait to confront them.
What would she say? Maybe she could invite them to come down--give
them a little excitement. She doubted they could get her and lnma in trouble
because what the boys were doing was against school rules. She knew that the
principal had admitted the two boys into her all-female boarding school because
they were young and innocent-looking. Their respective parents had begged
the principal, saying that they had missed the chance to enroll them in any
other school and there was no place for them anywhere else.Apparently, the
two couples had moved to this city after school registrations had passed.The
principal admitted the boys on the condition that they go home immediately
after class every day, that they keep to academic assignments only, and that they
not get involved with any activity in the boarding house. Classes had been over
for a couple of hours, so they had no business hanging around.
Katia closed her eyes again and tried to forget the faces above her,
although she had to admit that it aroused her to have them watch. She
wondered if that couple, five years earlier on the beach, would have liked it
if they had known she was watching.After Katia's climax, lnma fell face down
beside her with an arm around her waist. Katia waited a few minutes to recover
her breath, then called lnma's attention gently, pointing to the roof. lnma lifted
herself on her elbows and looked up.To Katia's surprise, she smiled and looked
down to wink at her. Katia took that as lnma's way of saying that they should
have the boys join them. She shrugged and waved them down.
"This is too high;' Ivan whispered. "Put a chair or something, so we can
come down:•
"Wait," lnma said. "We'll come outside first.You climbed up from the alley,
right? We'll meet you there and then sneak you in through the kitchen. The
cook is watching a soap opera in her room now, so the kitchen is deserted:'
She winked at Katia again as she showed her the joint they'd been saving to
smoke in the alley later. Katia always marveled at lnma's naughtiness.What a
name for girl like that. lnma was short for Marfa de la lnmaculada Concepcion.
When Katia first learned about her friend's full name, she was thankful that her
own mother wasn't as devout a Catholic as lnma's mother. Katia would have
hated to be stuck with a name like that. lnma just laughed at the irony of it all. It
was her nature to see the humorous side of things, as Katia had come to know.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The boys went back down into the alley. Katia followed lnma outside after
throwing on some clothes. She was still tingly, and marveled at lnma's rapid
recovery for the sake of a new adventure. The boys were only around thirteen,
nd it seemed wrong to be corrupting them, but she justified it but telling
herself that they had started it by spying. She wondered if that was the first time
they had watched them.After all, how did they know to choose their room to
spy?Walking through the kitchen, the two girls saw the dark curls of the _cook's
head, along with a handkerchief in her hand. She was watching telev1s1on in the
room next to the kitchen, facing away from them as they passed through.
The boys leaned against the wall of the empty alley eagerly waiting, as
Katia could see by the look on their faces-a mixture of excitement and fear.
The boys moved forward as if to go into the building right away, but Katia
motioned for them to wait. lnma looked around to check the entrance to the
alley and then took the joint out of her shorts pocket.
"If you boys want part of the action, you're going to have to join in every
way.And the first order of business is getting high,'' lnma informed them.The
boys looked at each other.They had apparently never done anything like that.
"And then you'll let us come into your room and do it with you?" Lucho
wanted to know.
"Sure:•
Katia lit the joint, took a puff, and passed it to lnma. lnma did the same
and then passed it to Lucho and then Ivan. Both boys choked on the smoke
and coughed, but the girls wouldn't let them stop until the joint was gone. lnma
peeked inside the kitchen to make sure the cook was still in place before waving
everybody in.The girls pushed the boys ahead of them, quietly hurrying into
their bedroom.The school year was coming to an end, and the principal was
getting relaxed with the enforcement of rules. Besides, Katia and lnma suspected
that the principal had started a love affair with a neighbor, and, at this time of
day, she was probably paying him a visit.
lnma jumped on her bed, making it bounce. She was a year younger than
Katia. Katia began to worry about what they were about to do. She would soon
turn eighteen, and she was to be married at the end of this school year, shortly
after her graduation. It was important for her family and her fiance that she
be a virgin on her wedding night. It was an unspoken promise when she got
engaged.That was one of the reasons she had allowed lnma to seduce her. She'd
figured that she could explore her sexuality without the danger of becoming
unmarriageable--as her parents called a girl who was no longer a virgin. lnma
didn't seem to be concerned about any of that, even though Katia knew that
she had a steady boyfriend and would most likely get engaged before the next
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1 1!
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
school year. She moved closer to lnma so she could whisper to her.
"Are we really going to have sex with them?"
lnma laughed, snorting a little, "As much as they can.They're young boys,
silly.We'll just let them have a little fun. Here, let's have them strip and you'll see
what I mean:• lnma turned toward the boys, who still hadn't moved from one
corner of the room, and said waving her finger up and down at them:"Okay
guys, show time-off with those clothes."
The boys had started to giggle quietly, affected by the marihuana.After
hearing this command, they began to laugh and look at each other. Finally, Ivan
took off his shirt before Lucho did the same. They continued until they were
both standing naked in front of the girls-one hand enough to fully cover
their crotches. lnma had been right, Katia realized, as she saw the two hairless,
smooth bodies with awkward limbs and little muscle definition. She didn't look
at lnma because she knew that they would both burst out laughing, and she
didn't want to humiliate the poor little tykes. There was nothing to worry about.
Her virginity was safe. She began to remove her own clothes with lnma shortly
following. Each girl lay down on her own bed.
"Well guys, take your pick." lnma said, and Katia could tell that she was
enjoying this immensely.The boys didn't seem to know what to do.When they
would stop laughing, they would start again as soon as they looked at each
other. Finally, Ivan cleared his throat and spoke.
"You pick."
lnma sat up and looked as if she were thinking hard while looking at the
boys. She scratched her jaw and tilted her head one way and then the other.
Hooking her right index finger, she her hand upside down and motioned for
Lucho to come to her. He moved toward her, and Ivan went to Katia. Each boy
began exploring his companion's body. Ivan seemed especially fascinated with
Katia's breasts. He traced them with his fingers, kissing all around them before
he reached the nipple-the same way Katia usually did when making love to
lnma. This confirmed Katia's suspicions that they had spied on them before.
Katia let Ivan do as he pleased as she kept her eyes on the other couple.
The sight of lnma's golden body never tired her. She looked at Ivan every now
and then and felt a sort of tenderness toward the cherubic face above hers. It
was fine. She would have a lifetime of beard stubble and hard lips in the future
after she married. Katia taught Ivan how to kiss. She touched his face and hair
with the tips of her fingers as they kissed. He looked at her at one point, and
she thought he looked content.
When she looked toward the other bed again, Katia saw that lnma did the
same with Lucho.After a while, the boys relaxed and seemed perfectly satisfied.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Katia looked at her watch on her nightstand and jumped out of bed.The soap
era was over, so the cook should be back in the ·kitchen.They would have to
get
the boys out through the roof. lnma placed a chair on top of her desk so it
would be high enough. lnma started whispering, perhaps thinking that the cook
might be able to hear any loud talk.
"Okay, we'll get you out, but what about the alley? How are you going to
climb down?"
"Same way we came up, using the pieces of brick that come out of the wall
as steps."
"Okay, but be careful and be quiet. Most of all, swear to God that you will
not say a word about today to anybody."
"Are you crazy?We'd be in as much trouble as you-you have our word."
Both boys made a swearing gesture, kissing the back of their right thumbs
before climbing on the desk, the chair, and finally the beams under the roof. For
a second, they hung on the beams and agilely hooked their feet on the opening
between the wall and the roof.They slid through the opening after turning their
bodies face down and were gone.
Katia had to hand it to the boys-they did as they had promised, so well
that they barely said "hello" to her and lnma in the halls. Only a subtle look
of conspiracy when it seemed sure no one else could see. But, then again,
only fifteen days had passed between the afternoon of their escapade and the
conclusion of the school year. Seven of those days had been dedicated to finals,
so all the students had been busy with their own studies.
On the day of her graduation, she saw the boys in the principal's office
with their respective mothers picking up their report cards. She overheard
their mothers say that they had found schools for them for the next school
year. Lucho caught her eye for a second and risked a quick wave of his hand.
She smiled and winked at him before she walked toward her room to change
for the ceremony. Katia couldn't hear if the boys would be going to the same
school. She hoped they would. She couldn't picture one without the other one's
friendship now.
Katia sat in her place on stage dressed in her cap and gown, which she
Wore on top of her formal uniform. She could see lnma sitting in the audience.
She was wearing her formal uniform, too, as all the girls were supposed to-graduating or not.The uniform made lnma look innocent and pure, like a nun. It
Was made of light beige linen, almost white, with a brown leather collar, belt, and
cuffs at the end of long sleeves. The skirt's hem reached slightly below the knees
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
where white socks began. The uniform ended in white pumps.
lnma sat between her parents and boyfriend. Katia had to suppress a giggle
every time she looked at lnma because the girl would make a quick obscene
gesture with a finger on the palm of her other hand for Katia's benefit and then
just as quickly hid her hands and bat her eyelashes, innocently smiling at her
boyfriend.
Katia moved her eyes through the audience looking from her parents and
fiance, sitting on the reserved seats for families of the graduates, to lnma and
her family a few aisles behind. She didn't see the boys anywhere, but then she
remembered that students below ninth grade were usually not invited to attend
the graduation ceremony. The principal began with the ceremony.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen .. ."
Katia tried to block out the monotonous speech by thinking about what
the future had in store for her. Her fiance represented a chance to have a
normal life. She did love him, and was willing to be a good wife to him.
"I am deeply grateful to the parents who..."
She could see her future self, married with a couple of kids-twins.After
all, twins ran in her family. Maybe she would go to the university, but she hadn't
made up her mind about that. Her fiance had promised her that he would
approve if she decided to further her education, but, then again, her sister's
husband had said the same thing.
"And to our brilliant graduating class ..."
Her sister had to leave her husband so she could pursue her dream of
becoming a pediatric nurse. She was now living with her parents, going to
classes, and raising her son on her own, because her husband decided that he
didn't want her wasting time outside of the house. "Well," Katia thought, "I'm
not as crazy about becoming a professional as my sister was. I could just be a
happy homemaker like my mother and my grandma."
" Congratulations, and may.. ."
She and lnma ran in the same social circles.Who knew- maybe they
would run into each other sometime and remember old times. Katia thought
about how nice that would be. She was already missing lnma.After this evening,
she would pack up her clothes and be gone from the school. She felt a tinge of
jealousy as she thought of lnma's future roommate.The principal had already
assigned her one. She was a pretty girl, though a bit shy. Katia could bet that she
wouldn't be as shy by the end of the next school year.All of a sudden, her throat
began to burn and her head began to ache-a turmoil of feelings contradicting
inside her after she glanced at lnma and back to her smil ing fiance one more
time.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
A round of applause brought Katia out of her reverie. She saw her father
gettingthe camera ready, her fiance standing up, and her mother taking a
handkerchief out of her purse. She shook her head, swallowed the lump in her
throat, smoothed her robe, and smiled.
•
"Miss Katia Isabel Ramfrez .. ."
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Nuances and Challenges of
Being Trans on the Texas
State University Campus
Michelle Ramstack
Texas State University
I
n my first semester as a graduate student, I was assigned to a group in my
oral history class. By complete coincidence, all of us were queer. When I
proposed that_our final semester project focus on transgender individuals,
everyone was instantly on board. For our project, we interviewed Ms.
Jessica Soukup, a System Analyst at Texas State, and a transgender woman
who transitioned as an adult. The other interviewee was Mx. Oceanna Hart,
a non-binary individual who uses the gender neutral honorific "Mx" and they/
them pronouns. At the time of the interview, Hart is a junior undergraduate
student double-majoring in microbiology and anthropology, and is an officer
of the campus transgender club: Transcend. They are agender (a person who
does not experience gender) and identify as both transgender and non-binary.
They have identified as non-binary since high school-for about 4 years at the
time of the interview. Ms. Soukup focuses on LGBTQ+ inclusion through her
job and other pursuits. She is also the president of Alliance, an on-campus
LGBTQIA organization for faculty and staff; a member of the Diversity and
Equity Access Committee; a co-advisor for Transcend; and a member of the
Board of Directors for Campus Pride. Both interviewees work with student
groups, such as classes and Fraternities/Sororities to provide ally training,
and provide resources to the transgender campus community. Two of my
group members interviewed Ms. Soukup, and I interviewed Mx. Hart alone.
Given the university's location in southern Texas-the state with the
infamous "bathroom bill" legislation-a common assumption is that the
campus would not be transgender-inclusive. But the reality is significantly
more complicated. If passed, the bill would have required all transgender
individuals to use the restroom corresponding with the gender listed on
their birth certificate or state issued ID in all schools and local government
buildings. 1 Fortunately, the bill did not pass. In the Campus Pride Index, a
Montgomery, David. "Texas Transgender Bathroom Bill Falters Amid Mounting
Opposition." The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.
com/2017/08/08/us/time-is-running-out-on-texas-bathroom-bill.html .
24
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list of universities created by an organization based out of North Carolina
designed to rate universities for their LGBTQ+ inclusion and protection, Texas
State ranks three stars out of five. The stars are calculated by breaking down
different aspects of the school, such as policy inclusion and academic life, and
rating them one to five stars separately before creating an average for the total
score. The highest ranking for Texas State is four stars in the categories of
academic life, student life, counseling and health, and support and institutional
commitment. The lowest ranking sits at two stars in the category of student
housing, along with the category of recruitment and retention efforts.2 Out
of the eleven universities listed, Texas State ranks in the lower half, with
six universities listed as three and a half stars or more. The University of
Texas at Dallas is the only university with five stars in the state of Texas. 3
There are significant attempts to make the Texas State University
campus as inclusive and safe as possible for all students, including transgender
individuals, but the attitudes of the students and professors cannot be
controlled in the same manner that inclusive policies are written . For example,
gender identity and gender expression are explicitly listed in the university's
discrimination policy, yet Soukup and Hart state there is no accountability
for professors misgendering or outing their queer students.◄ As Hart states
more specifically, "there is no system to report trans-specific issues." 5 In
order to make a report for discrimination, there is one standard method
outlined in the university policy guide to make a formal complaint. However,
not many students are willing to put in the time and energy required to file
an official complaint. When questioned, Hart implied they, or at least their
friend group, do not carry much faith in the campus reporting system. 6
What many may find shocking is that the psychology department is one of
the biggest offenders in the treatment of LGBTQ+ students. Due to the nature
of the subject, psychology courses should include at least one lesson focusing
on queer genders and sexualities. However, it should be taught in a respectful
manner that is mindful of LGBTQ+ students-not an ignorant one. For
2
4
5
6
"Campus Pride Index:• Campus Pride, https://www.campusprideindex.
orf)campuses/details/34781campus=texas-state-university.
"Campus Pride Index." Campus Pride, www.campusprideindex.
orf)searchresults/display/624007.
Texas State University. "Policy and Procedural Statements" txstate.edu. http://policies.
txstate .edu/university-policies/04-04-46.html; Soukup.Jessica Interviewed by Krista
Pollet and Madison Reitler.Tape recording. San Marcos, Texas, November 30, 2017. p. 3.
Hart, Oceanna. Interviewed by Michelle Ramstack.Tape
recording. San Marcos.Texas, December 6, 2017.
Hart. Ramstack. p. 20:40.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
example, there have been instances of professors, specifically in undergraduate
courses, teaching false information and outing students. As Soukup states:
We still get things like psychology professors standing at the front of
an Intro to Psychology course calling out a trans kid in class: first they
have a slide up that has actual incorrect information or an incorrect
definition ... and then they point out the· trans kid and they say,
Hey, why don't you just tell us about yourself? . . . So the student is
supposed to stand up and train the entire course on gender identity. 7
Hart also recalls friends complaining about one particular professor
teaching inaccurate information about queer sexualities, but they also
single out one professor in the department as a person they can trust
with their identity. At the very least, if professors include queer studies
in their course material, they should ensure it is up-to-date with correct
information. However, there are departments willing to make changes
that embrace the LGBTQ+ community. According to Soukup, there are
plenty of faculty and staff teaching a variety of courses, such as physics,
math, and biology, who are going out of their way to include LGBTQ+
topics in their course material. Additionally, the entire college of geography
has been ally trained and is what she referred to as a "safe college." 8
When I asked Hart to describe the campus community outside of
Transcend, they replied with "the short answer is bad." 9 Soukup was asked
a similar question about her experience on campus, and she replied with a
more positive answer: "My transition has been unbelievably easy compared
to so many transgender people." 10 How did we receive two widely conflicting
answers about experiences on the same campus? The answers provided by
both Hart and Soukup about their positions shed light on this contradiction.
As a staff member, Ms. Soukup is viewed on campus as either a co-worker,
an employee, or-to the students-an adult staff member. Given her position,
Soukup is afforded a privilege the students on campus do not share, saying:
The student(s) automatically will treat me with more respect than
they may a fellow student. And so they tend to avoid ... challenging
me boldly and they tend to approach me a little more gingerly.... I've
been really, very lucky on campus. The university . . . lists gender
7
8
9
10
Transcript. Soukup.Jessica Interviewed by Krista Pollet and Madison
Reitler.Tape recording. San Marcos, Texas, November 30, 2017.
Soukup, Pollet. Reitler. p. 3 and 17.
Hart. Ramstack p. 5: I 5.
Soukup, Pollet, Reitler p. 5.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
identity [in their non-discrimination policy] ... Even though there are
no consequences associated with not [respecting my gender identity]
people are hesitant to do so . .. They may not understand, they may not
be fans ... but I don't get people challenging me on things generally. 11
Soukup is able to live her life on campus with little-to-no harassment
for her gender identity. She transitioned while working on campus, first
telling her boss in a letter, before coming out to her department-and
effectively to the school-during the beginning of the 2014-2015 school
year. She fondly recalls her introduction with the rest of the divisional
employees at a meeting the day after convocation, using her new name and
pronouns: "Well, everybody for the previous eight years had seen me with
a male presentation and had seen me use my other name. And this year, I
was in a fuchsia suit, and there was no way anybody could miss me." 12
By contrast, Mx. Hart, an undergraduate student, faces a
completely different reality than Soukup. As students, Hart and their
friends are not afforded the same privilege as Soukup with regards
to respect from their peers. Hart notes: "I get misgendered on a
regular basis. My friends get misgendered on a regular basis ... I hate
to say we're lucky because we haven't had stories yet of people from
Transcend dying, but at the same time we are." 13 Hart stated there have
not been any "horror stories" about treatment towards members of
Transcend, yet they continue to face a unique form of discrimination
towards their person described as a "discriminatory environment." 14
Along with their statuses on campus, another noteworthy difference
between Hart and Soukup is their gender. Soukup is a transwoman ,
whereas Hart is agender, one of the many non-binary genders. "One
major difference between being trans and being non binary is there is
no non-binary passing." 15 Trans men and trans women can alter their
appearances to look like cisgender-individuals who identify with the
gender they were assigned at birth-men and women , but there is not a
particular look for non-binary individuals. One of the main reasons Hart is
constantly misgendered is their feminine gender expression, most people
will assume they are a woman. Even androgyny, which is stereotyped
Ii
12
13
14
IS
Soukup, Pollet, Reitler p. 4.
Soukup, Pollet, Reitler p. 8
Hart, Ramstack p. 5:58
Hart, Ramstack p. 6:03
Hart, Ramstack p. 50:00
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
as non-binary, is generally perceived as a masculine appearance, and
people will still attempt to label them as either male or female. There are
conflicting needs from both communities. For example, the assumption
that a dress is feminine and anyone wearing a dress is a woman helps trans
women like Soukup, but actively harms non-binary individuals like Hart.
Bathroom use is probably the most well-kriown trans issue to
date. There are fourteen listed gender neutral or unisex ADA bathrooms
on campus, which may sound like a sizable number, but on a campus
of 495 acres and 215 buildings, it's severely lacking. 16 For individuals like
Hart who feel uncomfortable using gendered restrooms, having only
fourteen restrooms across the entire campus is simply insufficient.
I have to use women's restrooms because ... [gender neutral restrooms
are] relatively inaccessible to me .. : I spend a lot of time in Supple
and Evans and both of those do not have single use restrooms. So I
kind of have to use the women's bathroom because it's just easier
. . . I've basically had to force myself to get over [it]. It feels more
like a chore at this point. It used to really get to me, but now it
just feels like, okay I just need to do this, whatever, get it done. 17
Even though they self-identify as having "a feminine gender expression" 18 and
have not been personally harassed in the restroom, they still experience
unease being forced to use women's restrooms while not identifying as
a woman. Soukup described an instance from students in a classroom
setting where she had to confront transphobic questions pertaining to
hypothetical assault in bathrooms. However, she did not describe any
personal instances of harassment, if any, she has faced on campus.
Another major issue specifically affecting transgender college students
is housing. There is no gender-neutral housing on campus, but after their
first year, students can move into student apartments off campus. Though
these apartments could be considered gender-neutral, they are also the most
expensive housing options and are not accessible for all students. According
to Soukup, the Housing and Residence Department is looking into a "queer
living and learning community," but at the time of this interview no decisions
16
17
18
28
Tex as State University. "Gender Inclusive Restrooms" txstate.edu. http://www.sdi.txstate.edu/
Support-and-Empowerment/LGBTQIA-and-Allies/gnrestrooms.html;Texas State University.
" Facts and Data" txstate.edu http://www.umarketing.txstate.edu/resources/facts.html
Hart, Ram stack p. 21 :35.
Har t, Ramstack.
FALL 20 19
h ve been made.19 Housing is generally separated by gender, which means
transgender students are often placed according to their gender designated
at birth instead of their identified gender. For example, Hart was placed on
the women's floor in a dorm where the floors were separated by gender.
While Hart was relatively lucky with their roommate, and was able to be
out to her, a few of their friends were not. One friend, a trans woman
and fellow Transcend officer, had a roommate so transphobic "she literally
thought her roommate would kill her." 20 There is a means for students to
transfer rooms, but according to Hart it is a difficult and daunting process
that not many students wish to go through. "It is a really long process. You
have to talk to housing and residential life to get moved, and I think that's one
obstacle for other people who may have had this experience . . . bureaucracy
slows down everything." 21 As stated earlier, there is no reporting process
for transgender-specific problems. As a function of Transcend, students
have tried their best to negate any roommate issues by creating a housing
group on Facebook for students looking for a safe person to room with. 22
In conclusion, the transgender community is varied, consisting of
many individuals with different needs. As Hart told me, "there is no one
way of being trans," 23 but there are overarching needs for protection. As
a staff member and older adult, Soukup has a more hopeful outlook
both for the future and ability of current transgender problems to be
addressed. Hart showed a different view of the campus climate informed
by their experience as a non-binary individual and undergraduate student
leader. There are resources available, but they are primarily student-run
or are seen as being too daunting to use. If this large of a discrepancy
exists on one campus, what is it like for other institutions? I encourage
everyone to re-evaluate their community's treatment of transgender
individuals. Even when there is a written rule or law establishing the
protection of gender identity and expression, this does not mean the rule
is enforced, or that there is any viable punishment for those who violate it.
19
20
21
22
23
Soukup, Pollet, Reitler p. 2.
Hart, Ram stack p. 19:4 7.
Hart, Ramstack p. 20:58
Soukup, Pollet, Reitler p. 15.
Hart, Ramstack p. 0.45.
FALL 2019
29
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Bibliography
"Campus Pride Index." Campus Pride, https://www.campusprideindex.
org/campuses/details/3478?campus=texas-state-university.
"Campus Pride Index." Campus Pride, www.campusprideindex.
org/searchresults/display/624007.
Hart, Oceanna. Interviewed by Michelle Ramstack. Tape
recording. San Marcos, Texas, December 6, 2017.
Montgomery, David. "Texas Transgender Bathroom Bill Falters
Amid Mounting Opposition." The New York Times, The
New York Times, 8 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/
us/time-is-running-out-on-texas-bathroom-bill.html.
Soukup, Jessica Interviewed by Krista Pollet and Madison Reitler.
Tape recording. San Marcos, Texas, November 30, 2017.
Texas State University. "Policy and Procedural Statements" txstate.edu.
http://policies.txstate.edu/university-policies/04-04-46.html.
Texas State University. "Gender Inclusive Restrooms" txstate.
edu. http://www.sdi.txstate.edu/Support-and-Empowerment/
LGBTQIA-and-Allies/gnrestrooms.html.
Texas State University. "Facts and Data" txstate.edu http://
www.umarketing.txstate.edu/resources/facts.html
To
Name Your Monsters
Caitlin Carnall
University of Central Oklahoma
L
et me tell you what I couldn't say
that dark night when a figure nibbled my soft skin
between hard teeth, tongue a dead gray.
I whispered my no & listened to a monster say it's okay
to be scared of haunted houses & your naked body's sin.
Let me tell you what I couldn't say:
I screamed at every turn, hands tangled in my hair, each strand to fray
and crack, buried in the mud & dirt. Face pressed sideways, neck flesh in
between hard teeth, tongue a dead gray.
The smell of red cinnamon candy to cover the breath of an ashtray .
licked & be licked & suck the rest of the lively crevices from my shape, so weak
& thin.
Let me tell you what I couldn't say
as I didn't speak the stop. now. please clear a pathway
for my future in haunted houses. In different houses each night. In gulping gin
between hard teeth, tongue a dead gray.
I hate corpses huddled in corners, blank stares-my reflection mirrors the
decay
of voice in the grave the day a figure nibbled my soft skin.
Let me tell you what I couldn't say
between hard teeth, tongue a dead gray.
30
FALL 2019
FALL 2019
31
The Ethics and Medical
Interventions of Patients with
Diverse Sex Development
Conditions in the US
Mariana Serrano
Eastern Connecticut State University
Abstract
Diverse Sex Development (DSD) entails conditions in which an individual
is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit within
the biological definition of female or male. These conditions may involve
abnormalities of the external genitals, internal reproductive organs, sex
chromosomes, or sex-related hormones. Until recently, genital surgery was
the standard protocol of treatment for DSD patients. However, research
shows_ that medical practices that infants with DSD have been subjected to can
cause 1rrevers1ble physical and psychological harm. For almost a year, I have
historical and contemporary reasoning
been conducting research on both
for _this_ type of cosmetic surgery on infants with " ambiguous" genitalia, and the
ethical issues involved with informed consent, parental rights, and withholding
of medical information. I have interviewed medical professionals, activists,
stu_dents, and members of the LGBTQ+ community about their knowledge,
attitudes, and experiences with DSD surgery, intersexuality, and patient rights.
I
Introduction
ntersexuality has been a controversial topic for over a century. The question
of what exactly qualifies as "intersex" today is still debatable. According
to the lntersex Society of North America, " intersex" is an umbrella
term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a
reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not seem to "fit" the definition of
male or female. 1 These conditions may involve abnormalities of the external
genitals, internal reproductive organs, sex chromosomes, or sex-related
hormones. Many experts recently adopted the term Diverse Sex Disorders
(DSD), in an effort to provide a less stigmatizing terminology than the term
intersex. In my research, I prefer to use the term Diverse Sex Development
(DSD) conditions to accurately categorize these medical conditions.
An estimated I in 2,000 babies are born with DSD, which accounts
lntersex Society of North America (ISNA) . " What is intersex?"
(2008). http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex
32
FALL 2019
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
for about 1.2% of the U.S. population. 2 However, this assessment may not
be accurate. Individuals with DSD are not always accurately diagnosed and
e not aware that they are intersex until puberty or even mid-life. Also,
some healthcare professionals disagree on what exactly qualifies as a DSD
condition, which contributes to the ranges of statistics regarding individuals
with DSD and the lack of documentation from government agencies. 3
The term "normal" is a conflicting label that sets DSD individuals apart
from society. For many generations, these individuals were stigmatized and
forced to conform by normalizing their genitals or sexual anatomy. Many visibly
DSD individuals are operatively "corrected" in infancy and early childhood by
healthcare professionals to make the individual's sex characteristics conform
to what ideally normal or binary bodies should look like. Unfortunately,
many individuals who have received these corrective normalizing surgeries
are left with unanswered questions and the feeling of being mutilated.
Children with ambiguous genitalia are often assigned a gender
depending on their condition . Many DSD individuals argue that they were not
involved in their assigned "identity" surgery and that medical professionals
did not acknowledge that, although they were minors, they still have
individuality and entitlement to their own bodies. There are a number of
questions and concerns about consent for treatment among those with
DSD. Traditionally, physicians and parents made all medical and treatment
decisions on behalf of a child. However, the concept of informed choice
that has developed over the last 30 years provided additional consideration
of a child's role in decision-making. For example, some feel that denying
decision-making to mature adolescents is a human rights violation. 4
The concept of categorizing gender through a gender binary system
influences the need of reconstructive " normalizing" surgery. This
binary system, the mainstream for most cultures and societies, dictates
disciplines in all areas of life such as self-expression, lifestyle choices, and
expectations. These societally constructed gender roles and expectations
dictate the need to enforce gender assignment. However, in recent years,
there has been greater recognition of the heterogeneity of gender and
2
Morrison, S."Special Report: lntersexWomen Speak out to Protect the next
Generation:• (2013). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-newsfspecialreport-intersex-women-speak-out-to-protect-the-next-generation-8974892.html
American Psychological Association. "Answers to Your Questions About Individuals
with lntersex Conditions:• www.apa.org, 2006, www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/intersex.pdf
"Treatment Decisions Regarding Infants, Children and
Adolescents:• Pediatrics & Child Health 9.2 (2004): 99-103.
FALL 2019
33
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
gender roles, but there are still cases where DSD individuals are forced
to receive sex assignment surgeries at young ages without consent. In my
research, I have examined historical protocols on the medical approach
with individuals who are born with DSD conditions. I will also be examining
the ethical principles of the medical approach to intersexuality. Interviews
have been conducted with medical practitioners, educators, parents, and
students, in order to understand societal views on intersexuality.
Methodology: Qualitative-based research
and ethnographic interviews
I examined the historical concept of medical protocols that
have influenced interventions made on patients with DSD conditions
with intent to seek current medical practices that are being
implemented. My research includes a review of current and past
scholarly materials about DSD to learn current medical practices
toward DSD patients. Some questions that I have explored include:
• Are normalizing surgeries currently being performed on DSD infants?
• Is there a standard medical intervention with DSD patients?
• How are DSD patients diagnosed?
• How are DSD patients getting access to healthcare for their conditions?
• Are parents/guardians legally determining the sex of their children?
A community-based approach was used in this study. Interviews have also
been conducted with medical professionals, activists, students, and members
of the LGBTQ+ community, who are familiar with gender identity issues. This
was to gain a perspective of DSD factors through different societal lenses.
Interviews were conducted via appointment in person and by phone. The
structural part of the interviews focused on ethical views of unconsented
surgeries on DSD individuals. Interviewees were asked the following:
• Do physicians and parents have the right to
determine the sex of their children?
• Why do you think appearance-normalizing surgeries are performedentirely for the betterment of a DSD child, or for societal views?
• What are your thoughts on a child's right to
consent to surgery, no matter the age?
• If the individuals who had unconsented surgeries performed as children
had given consent or been allowed to voice their opinion at the time of
surgery, do you think that these individuals would share a different story?
• Do you think "normalizing" is beneficial for DSD
individuals, or is it for the benefit of the parents?
34
FALL2019
• If you were to have a child that had a DSD condition, what would
be your thoughts on how to provide your child a normal life?
Healthcare professionals were asked the following additional questions:
• Do you think that physicians still stigmatize DSD individuals?
• What are your thoughts on practicing
concealment-centered models of care?
• Do you think there is an age range at which
unconsented surgeries may frequently occur?
Taxonomies of Intervention
Until the middle of the twentieth century, medical intervention in
hermaphroditism (later known as intersexuality) remained uncommon, in part
because the technological capacity to intervene-especially at birth-was
limited. 5 With the lack of technological advancement to alter hermaphroditic
bodies, medical practitioners were limited to seeking understanding and
classification of these diverse sex conditions through both social and
legal understandings of biological sex differentiation. However, due to
technological advancements in surgical techniques, progress towards the
discovery of "sex" hormones, new understandings of sex differentiation in
embryology, and the ability to test for sex chromosomes, the consolidation
of medical and scientific authority began to shape somatic sex differences
and ways to modify diverse sex conditions that do not qualify as "normal."
Over the past several centuries, a binary model of sex as unequivocally male
or female has remained an almost universal axiom, despite evidence from
human and animal biology calling this distinction into question.6 This social
historical belief of there being only two district sexes explains the discomfort
and incomprehension that many experience regarding intersexuality.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, DSD conditions were not
addressed with surgical practices; instead, medical practitioners worked on
attempting to understand and classify these conditions. However, medical
approaches have changed radically towards interventions, hormonal
treatments, and cosmetic surgeries. In this effort, medical practitioners have
used knowledge, instruments, and technologies to read bodies, ascribe them a
sex, and-when one is not evident-attribute a sex in practice. 7 Sex is a social
s
Karkazis, Katrina. Fixing Sex: /ntersex, Medical Authority and Lived
Experiences. N.p.: Duke University Press, 2008.
6
7
Ibid
Ibid
FALL 2019
35
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
construct made to differentiate the phenomena of only two conceived kinds of
structural and functional differences in a species. In the case of intersexuality,
sex is not merely conceived but enacted, thereby producing and reproducing
the category of "sex" and our understanding of what males and females are.a
A debate has risen from the concept of sexuality: are these DSD patients
both male and female, neither, or a unique combination of both? Diverse
sex conditions have been subjected to intense scrutiny by social and medical
speculation about cause, classification, and societal status of DSD individuals.
Heightened anxiety over hermaphroditism and the urgency of addressing
it are linked to societal changes in gender roles and the corresponding
associations between hermaphroditism and other moral and social concerns.9
The birth of a child with ambiguous genitalia constitutes a social
emergency. When told they have a child with a nonconforming sex, parents
and guardians inevitably experience concern and emotional distress. The
term "social emergency" conveys the urgency of this situation which
can irrevocably damage the vulnerable child and the fragile-for newly
forming-bonds between parents and children. 10 Raising a child with a
nonconforming sex involves difficulty and complication, and this social
urgency to normalize raises a question of the role of medicine. Is there a
matter of medical urgency for care, or a social urgency to be normalized?
Thomas Laqueur, an American historian, sexologist, and writer,
argued that-during pre-modern times-a one-sex model prevailed: the
understanding of sex focused more on similarities than on differences and
that "sex was a sociological, not an ontological category." 11 Medicine has
extended sex differences to every part of the body from bones to brains,
and these differences were codified by language. Male and female sex organs,
which had previously shared names, are now distinguished by separate
terms.12 Sex characteristics have a new emphasis on sex differentiation
through scientific expectations. The chromosomes, gonads, and internal or
external genitalia in intersex children differ from social expectations; DSD
babies differ enough that doctors may recommend surgical intervention to
8
9
10
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
ake the body appear more in agreement with those expectations. 13 These
expectations are typically for appearance rather than medical necessity..
There is no evidence that many of these cond1t1ons affect the daily functions
of excreting urine. However, there are two very rare instances where
surgery is required on a newborn with a variance of sex development.
One is to correct the placement of internal sex organs that developed
on the outside of the body, and the other is to correct the absence of an
external urethral orifice for urination. Any other surgical procedure on the
external genitalia is instead cosmetic surgery and not medically necessary.
As biology revealed conflicting evidence in sexual anatomy, clinicians
expressed uncertainty and discomfort with infants born with ambiguous
genitalia. Despite the understanding of diverse sex conditions, medical
advancement since the mid-nineties has facilitated the speedy diagnosis of
the sex identity of babies with an intersex condition, and the correction of
their sex organ abnormality via surgery and subsequent psycho-hormonal
treatment from infancy. 1 ◄ In 1915, Hugh Hampton Young, one of the first
to offer such surgical treatments in the United States, at Johns Hopkins,
developed surgical techniques for genitourinary diseases. 15 Young's pursuit
to solve surgical challenges for normalizing ambiguous genitalia led him to
develop surgical techniques for "indeterminate sex" patients. He would
often determine a patient's sex by assessing the gonadal tissue. 16 However,
Young considered the presence of ovaries and testes alone to be insufficient
for sex differentiation. He required evidence of their normal hormonal
functioning, which he determined by assessing nonphysical attributes such
as personality traits and sexual desire.17 At this time, surgical interventions
were not common. As a result of his expertise, Young garnered referrals
of interesting or unusual cases from physicians across the country. 18 This
contributed to the increase in medical intervention for infants defined
as having indeterminate sex. Nevertheless, Young's therapeutic goal
13
Ibid
Ibid
I4
IS
12
Feder, Ellen K., Feder, Ellen K, & Project Muse.(2014). Making sense of intersex: Changing
ethical perspectives in biomedidne (UPCC book collections on Project MUSE.2014
Global cultural studies collection). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Karkazis, Fixing Sex
Ibid
36
FALL 20 19
11
16
17
18
lnterACT."'IWant to Be Like Nature Made Me' Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on
lntersex Children in the US." 20 I ?.Accessed 2017. https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/07/25/iwant-be-nature-made-me/medically-unnecessary-surgeries-intersex-children-us
Haneef, S., & Majid, M. (2015). Medical Management of Infant lntersex:The
Juridico-ethical Dilemma of Contemporary Islamic Legal Response.
Karkazis, Fixing Sex
Ibid
Kenen, S. H ."Scientific Studies of Human Sexual Differences in lnterwar
America:• 1998. PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley.
Ibid
FALL 2019
37
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
was to fit his patients into one of the two recognized sexes. 19
In the late 1940s, the potential conflict between psychological and
gonadal sex in intersexuality triggered heightened anxiety among practitioners
who expressed their deep discomfort with the potential for social disruption '
produced by individuals with contradictory genitals, gonads, and gender role
behaviors. 20 Despite these controversies, sex assignment and determination
continued to be the standardized practice for these conditions. It was not until
the 1950s, that Dr. John Money, a sexologist, introduced a systematic model
of gender assignment and treatment for individuals with intersex conditions.
His work was responsible for the theory of gender roles and gender identity.
This protocol, which incorporated both biological and physiological variables,
represented a radical departure from earlier work on hermaphroditism
and intersexuality, which had been dominated by sciences such as genetics,
embryology, clinical medicine, and surgery. 21 Money, through his fixation with
the intersex, particularly " fixing" infants with ambiguous genitalia, helped
to develop the gender of rearing model for intersex infants. His theory
indicated that intersex children have the potential for a "normal" gender
which can be maximized by aligning each child's body, upbringing, and mind.
According to Money's theory, once sex assignment was made, surgery should
be done as soon as possible so that the genitals could be made to match the
assigned sex.22 Money and Young first introduced principles and protocols
for the medical management of intersexuality; however, these protocols led
to adverse consequences for intersex children for generations to come.
Over time, increasing numbers of medical specialists in pediatric
endocrinology, urology, and gynecology implemented these protocols in their
institutions. Later, these institutions would alter these protocols to match
their better understanding. In the 1980s, DSD infants received operations
on their genitals based on their phallus. Money suggested that clinicians
thoroughly assess the extent to which gender role has been established
and maintain the sex of rearing with appropriate surgical and hormonal
interventions.23 Giving primary consideration to genital configuration in
19
20
23
Karkazis, Fixing Sex
Redick,A. " American History xy:The Medical Treatment of
lntersex, 1916-1955." 2004. PhD diss., New York University.
Karkazis, Fixing Sex
Money,J., J. G. Hampson, and J.L. Hampson." An Examination of Some
Basic Sexual Concepts:The Evidence of Human Hermaphroditism."
1955. Bulletin of the john Hopkins Hospital 97: 284-300.
Karkazis, Fixing Sex
38
FALL 2019
21
22
ender assignment, Money also argued that many DSD individuals with more
feminine-appearing genitalia would be infertile According to the protocol,
infant
with more femmme-appearmg genitalia should be assigned female;
an
.
j"
24
however, genitals could not be surgically enhanced to appear more mascu me.
Therefore, infants with ambiguous genitalia were constructed to appear more
feminine and assigned female. A surgical procedure known as a clitorectomy
would then be performed to decrease the size of the phallus of the infant.
In the late 1990s, Suzanne Kessler, a social physiologist, wrote a
book called Lessons from the /ntersexed, detailing the medical treatment of
intersex children including a summary of the range of medically acceptable
infant penis and clitoris sizes. 25 Kessler states that standardized normative
tables for clitoral length appeared in the late 1980s, while normative
tables for penis length appeared more than forty years before that. She
combined those standard tables to demonstrate an "intermediate area of
phallic length that neither females nor males are permitted to have"-that
is, a clitoris larger than 9mm or a penis shorter than 25mm.26 Therefore,
clitorises and penises that fail to meet these respective guidelines required
interventions. Her findings sparked a visual representation called the
Phall-O-Meter by Kiira Triea, an intersex advocate. The Phall-O-Meter
is a satirical measurement that represented clinician's implementation of
medical standards for normal male and female phalluses (Figure I). These
measurements are based on the kind of decisions doctors actually make to
determine the gender of DSD infants. If doctors decide that a penis is " too
small" or a clitoris is "too big," an infant would be corrected cosmetically.
When bodies do not fit into pre-existing notions of male and female,
society will force them
to-even if it involves
a knife.27 Surgical
interventions may
vary depending on
the patient's medical
Figure I
condition and assigned
24
25
Ibid
Kessler, Suzanne." Lessons from the lntersexed." 1998. New
Brunswick, New Jer sey: Rutgers University Press. p. 43.
26
27
Ibid
Wade, PHD, L. "The Phall-O-Meter." (2008). https://thesocietypages.
or,Jsocimages/2008/09/04/the-phall-o-meter/
FALL2019
39
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
a sex. Typically, if the female sex rearing is chosen, then a vaginoplasty is
performed. The timing and nature of vaginoplasty depends on whether the
vagina is required for menstruation or solely for intercourse. 28 For example,
those with congenital adrenal hyperplasia require a vagina for menstrual
flow, whereas XY females (excluding those with gonadal dysgenesis, who will
usually have a uterus and vagina) will require a vagina only for intercourse. 29
With androgen insensitivity, the vagina may be of normal length, shortened,
or completely absent. Because of the belief that it is harder to surgically
engineer a boy than a girl, most intersex children are made as feminine as
possible, utilizing surgery, endocrinology, and psychology. In some cases,
gonads are completely removed from the infant's bodies, resulting in infertility.
A "successful" patient is one judged to be stable and "normal" (i.e.,
heterosexual) in the assigned gender. In July 2017, three former U.S. SurgeonsGeneral wrote that they believed that, "Babies are being born who rely
on adults to make decisions in their best interest, and this should mean
one thing: When an individual is born with atypical genitalia that poses no
physical risk, treatment should focus not on surgical intervention but on
psychosocial and educational support for the family and child." 30 Despite
limited data on outcomes and significant evidence of the irreversible harms
that surgeries can inflict on intersex people for a lifetime, some doctors and
parents continue to justify conducting the operations. Currently, doctors are
giving different reasons as to the continuation of these practices, particularly
due to the frequent belief that "normalizing" surgery will ease children's
socialization throughout childhood and life as adults. Many doctors feel that
there is a lack of evidence showing that these normalizing surgeries result
in negligible psychological and bodily harm. One urologist, in his discussions
of surgical reversibility, explained that clitoroplasties are not irreversible
with regards to the ability to transition to male later in life.31 He said:
There's nothing to support that if we leave the clitoris intact and
it's almost a phallus, is it more likely that they'll become or that
they'll identify as male. We have no information on that, but I
would say that in either event, it's not an irreversible surgery. So,
for example, one of the things I can tell you with a clitoroplasty
28
29
30
31
Creighton, Sarah. "Surgery for intersex:• Journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine. 200 I . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmdarticles/PMC 1281452/
Ibid
Inter ACT, " I Want to Be"
Ibid
40
FALL 20 19
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
to a degree is that if the 18-year-old comes back and I've done a
clitoroplasty .. . and they say, That was really unnecessary, I want
to be the other [gender] .' I've done nothing that isn't reversible. 32
Some doctors argue that early surgery yields better physical outcomes.
Others agree with Money's logic that early intervention can serve children
sychologically. Conversely, there is insufficient evidence that growing up
with atypical genitalia leads to psychosocial distress. These protocols of
care for DSD infants result in harmful practices that are non-consensual
and potentially violating human rights laws. These unregulated and largely
controversial surgeries continue to be performed but often result in
unintended consequences. However, there is no clinical definition for
"normalcy," leaving considerable discretion to doctors when advising parents.
Despite wide disapproval from DSD communities and supporters, irreversible
surgical interventions for DSD children remain commonplace among medical
specialists. Some irreversible side effects include psychological scarring,
reduced sexual sensitivity, sterilization, and non-sequential hormones that are
correlated with their assigned sex and not always correlated with their gender.
Post-Intervention Outcomes
Studies now show that infants who are subjected to these unconsented
surgeries are dissatisfied with the decisions that were made by medical
providers. Birgit Kohler's study titled " Satisfaction with Genital Surgery
and Sexual Life of Adults with XY Disorders of Sex Development" details
the levels of sexual satisfaction experienced by 46 DSD adults in Germany
who had undergone constructive genital surgery. This article emphasizes
the importance of providing better care to DSD patients. There was a high
percentage of dissatisfaction rates (approximately 50-60%) with function,
sexual anxieties, and dyspareunia in these individuals. 33 It was concluded in
this study that constructive genital surgeries in individuals with ambiguous
genitalia at birth might correlate with the dissatisfaction in their sex
lives, along with a lack of psychological support leading to factors such as
shame of abnormal appearance, secrets about conditions, and infertility.
In 2013, a study on the "Long-Term Evaluation of Patients Undergoing
Genitoplasty" in China was conducted. The operative procedures, gender of
32
33
Human Rights Watch " Interview with a Urologist;' February 15, 2017.
Kohler, Birgit, et al. " Satisfaction with Genital Surgery and Sexual Life of Adults with
XY Disorders of Sex Development Results from the German Clinical Evaluation
Study." The Journal of Oinical Endocrinology and Metabolism ljCEM), 16 Nov. 20 I I .
FALL2019
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
rearing, surgical outcomes, and psychosocial and family adjustments of 262
DSD patients were evaluated over a 14-year period. Of the patients who
underwent female sex assignment, 136 (approximately 83%) had favorable
psychosocial adjustments; while, of those who underwent male sex assignment
•
54 (54%) experienced similar favorable results. Patients with female sex
assignment had no urinary incontinence or difficulty. Vaginal dilation was
performed in 35 patients with postoperative vaginal stenosis; 5 patients
(3%) underwent a second surgery; while 12 patients (7.4%) experienced
unsatisfactory outcomes. 34 For patients with male sex assignment, the
median length of the penis was 2.2 cm in prepubertal patients, 4.2 cm in
pubertal patients, and 5.0 cm in adults; 39 patients (39%) developed postvoid dribbling; 21 patients (21%) underwent a second surgery; urethral
dilation was performed in 28 patients (28%) due to urethral stricture;
38 patients (38%) were unsatisfied with their outcomes. 35 Furthermore,
these results indicate that patients with male sex assignment have more
surgical complications and difficulties then female sex assigned patients.
Two studies have been conducted recently regarding the quality of life
and satisfaction levels among DSD patients following cosmetic surgery. In 2016,
a study on the "Quality of life among postoperative patients with disorders
of sex development" compared healthy, 46,XX women to patients with DSD.
There was a significantly lower mental health score (P<0.05) for patients with
DSD. 36 This study confirms that there is a need for psychological treatment
of patients with DSD to improve their quality of life. In 2017, a study on the
"Prospective assessment of cosmesis before and after genital surgery" was
conducted on 37 children in the U.S. who had feminizing genitoplasty. Preoperatively, 63% of mothers, 48% of fathers, and I 00% of surgeons stated that
they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the appearance of the child's
genitalia. 37 Surgeons rated the appearance of the genitalia significantly worse
than both mothers (P < 0.001) and fathers (PS 0.001) did at baseline. Postoperatively, 94% of mothers, 92% of fathers, and 88% of surgeons reported
34
35
36
37
42
Zhang, Heng, Jinhong Pan, and Yongquan Wang. "Long-Term Evaluation of Patients
Undergoing Genitoplasty due to Disorders of Sex Development Results from a 14Year Follow-Up:' 2013. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3858889/
Ibid
Tang, Xiaoyan, Ning Zhang,Jingxin Ding, and Keqin Hua." Quality of life
among postoperative patients with disorders of sex development: a longterm perspective." 2016. http://www.ijcem .com/files/ijcem004572 I .pdf
Nokoff, N .J., B. Palmer, and A.J . Mullins. " Prospective assessment of cosmesis before and after
genital surgery." 2017. http://www.sciencedir ect.com/science/article/pii/S 14775131 16302790
FALL 2019
either a good outcome or satisfaction (Figure. 2); there were no significant
between-group differences in ratings. There was a significant difference
between parents and surgeons on the unfavorably rated appearance of the
genitalia before surgery, with surgeons giving worse ratings than parents.
However, cosmetic ratings improved significantly after surgery, with no
between-group differences. Despite wide disapproval from DSD communities
and supporters,
irreversible surgical
interventions for DSD
7o,I
children continue to
60%
50%
be standard protocol
among medical
specialists. Currently,
the National Institutes
father
Surgeon
Mother
father
Surgeon
of Health (NIH) has
Mother
Baseline
6 months post-op
facilitated a study on
Figure 2 ■ Good Satisfied DissatisfiedVery Dissatisfied
the crisis of clinical
management on medically unnecessary genital surgery on DSD infants.
DSD activists are advocating for informed consent regardless
of age and the reconfiguration of medical protocols in response to
intersexuality in infants. Accordingly, Human Rights Watch and lnterACT
are urging a moratorium on all surgical procedures that seek to alter
the gonads, genitals, or internal sex organs of DSD children who are
too young to participate in the decision, when those procedures
both carry a meaningful risk of harm and can be safely deferred. 38
lnterACTivity
The terminology to describe these developmental conditions
has been altered to promote a less stigmatized representation of
these various conditions. In 2006, experts proposed a new term"disorders of sex development"-in order to align these conditions
With emerging medical knowledge. 39 However, many individuals do not
find their conditions to be disordered, rather a difference of (diverse)
sex development. Over the last several decades, many social advocates
and medical professionals adopted the term "intersex" to describe this
38
39
lnterACT, " IWant to Be"
Hughes.A., Houk, C ., Ahmed, S., & Lee, P. (2006). (n.d.). " Consensus statement
on management of intersex disorders." Journal of Pediatric Urology.
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43
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
°
development.4 Furthermore, the terms "intersex" and "disorders of
sex development" continue to be debated within the community as not
representative of people's experiences or stigmatizing and pathologizing.41
In recent years, the media interest in DSD has increased.
lntersexuality was once an obscure topic, contradicting what society
conceives as normal. Now, it is becoming a pervasive issue in medical
journals and research . Millions of stories about people with DSD
who have been mutilated have been broadcast to expand the rights
not only of the DSD community, but for members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transsexual, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) communities.42
Activism for intersexuality actively sought to eliminate stigma based
on the sex and gender stereotypes faced by these individuals.
lntersex activist Sean Saifa Wall is one of the few intersex AfricanAmerican males who advocates for non-conforming, "normalizing"
surgeries. He has created a space for critical conversations on sexual
inequality through a platform called EMERGE which contributes to
both local and national dialogue through socially motivated projects
that raise awareness of inequity and juxtapose that with resilience.43
lntersex movements such as EMERGE develop in an effort to reduce and
ultimately eliminate the practice of medically unnecessary (cosmetic)
genital surgeries being performed on infants and adolescents.
While the media focuses on equality and terminology in the intersex
community, few mainstream media sources focus on the non-consensual
surgeries performed across the United States on infants' genitals. One
source indicates that, "Doctors have chosen with overwhelming frequency
to ignore the principles of informed consent and patient-centered
models, instead choosing to follow concealment-centered models of
care."44 Doctors perform these surgeries after evaluating only the infant's
genitals to determine whether their surgical interventions should be
aimed toward normalized male genitalia or to normalized female genitalia.
40
41
42
43
44
Topp, S. (2013)."Against the quiet revolution:The rhetorical construction
of intersex individuals as disordered." Sage Journals.
Ibid
Greenberg, J.A. (2012). lntersexuality and the Law: why sex
matters. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Wall, Sean Saifa." EMBERGE" Last modified 2017. https://
www.astraeafoundation.org/stories/emerge
Polish,J. Infant lntersex Surgery: Genital Mutilation in the U.S.? (2015) https://
lawstreetmedia.com/issues/health-science/intersex-genital-mutilation-overview/
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Bodies that violate these prescribed gender rules require intervention
due to societal-cultural needs for a binary normalcy of genders.
Interviews
Alexander Jeremiah, Undergraduate at Tufts University,
Member of the LGBTQ Community
I do not think the parents have the right to determine the sex of
their child. This opinion is based on the fact that these children must
spend their entire lives dealing with the consequences of their parents'
decision. I believe that there is a 50/50 chance that the child will grow
up unhappy with their sex, which could cause emotional stress growing
up and into adulthood. I believe that children should be able to choose
their own biological sex that corresponds to their gender identity.
Alex believes that appearance-normalizing surgeries are largely performed
for societal views. "I think that we have a severe dichotomy in society
when it comes to sex, and anyth ing that does not fit into the binary is
seen as taboo or different when, in reality, DSD individuals were simply
born that way and corrections aren't necessary. By performing surgery to
assign a child to one sex at birth, you are conforming to societal norms,
not necessarily [to] . .. what the child would want for themselves."
When asked about his thoughts on child rights to consent to surgeries,
Alex explained that he feels there should be an age requirement. "I am not
an expert, and cannot offer a specific age, but it is necessary that it is at
an age where the child fully understands the importance of the situation
and can make a completely informed decision. It would be just as bad
to have a four year old consent to a surgery and regret it six years later
as it would be for a parent to choose the wrong sex for their child ."
The interest of the DSD individual is largely undermined, due to a focus
on alleviating parental distress. "For most, I think it is safe to say parents
Would not know how to deal with a DSD child, as it would pose many
challenges for gendering, clothing, schools, and many other factors of life that
are so dependent on strict gender and sex binaries. I think it is a lot easier
for a parent to choose the sex of their child at birth than it is for them to
raise a child with such uncertainty, waiting for the child to be at·an age to
~onsent to surgery." Alex explains that there are social pressures that make
it difficult for parents to advocate for their child's diverse sex conditions.
"Honestly, I think normalizing surgeries are performed for the benefit
of both DSD individuals and their parents." Alex feels that choosing to
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
conform and "normalize" their bodies is a method for DSD individuals to
decrease the chances of being stigmatized. However, this should not be
the case. "DSD individuals who did not receive surgery at birth should
feel less stigmatized by society. Parents should be given the option .. . to
wait to perform surgery until after their child is ready to consent." Alex
states that, if these individuals had the right to consent to their surgeries,
there would likely be a decrease in postoperative dissatisfaction.
" I personally would have no problem raising a child with a DSD
condition , but I would fear that they would feel a great deal of stigmatization
from the rest of society. I would try to raise them in a way in which
they could actively gender themselves in the way they wanted, even if
that changed from time to time. However, when I thought they were old
enough, I would let them choose to have surgery." He continues, stating:
Physician[s] should, if anything, help to normalize DSD conditions.
It is very easy to view them as medical conditions that need to
be treated, and especially so in the eyes of the parents. Also, if
surgery can be completed at another time, the doctor should let
the family know that it is always an option for later and does not
have to be done right away. This may encourage parents to wait
until the children themselves can provide consent to the surgery.
Dinora Carter, Social Work Undergraduate,
Eastern Connecticut State University
If physicians and parents are not causing any harm or danger or lifetime
effects to a child, I do not see why a parent does not have the right to
determine the sex of their children. In an effort to normalize, it is a harm
to a child'[s] emotional and physical health. Appearance-normalizing
surgeries are associated with the betterment of societal standards
[regarding] our sexual anatomy. Everyone is guilty of conforming to
societal views of sexuality (even members of the LGBTQ community)
at one point throughout their lifetime. Parents are conforming without
consciousness and also [are] given the power to determine the sex
of their child no matter the internal sex their child might display.
When asked about child rights to consent to surgeries, Dinora responded ,
" It depends on the circumstance. Children are human and born with
human rights. They also have dignity no matter the age. A child's opinion is
entitled to carry weight, especially if it is regarding their sexual anatomy."
Dinora agrees that the interest of DSD individuals is largely undermined,
due to a focus on alleviating parental distress. " They are more concerned
46
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
with societal views on a binary societal infrastructure, normalizing more for
ociety and not for the individuals who are diagnosed with these conditions."
5
" If the individuals who had unconsented surgeries performed as a child
[had] consented or [were] allowed to voice their opinion at the time of
surgery, I am not sure if they would have a completely different story to
tell, because [formation of] gender identity may take up to [the] adolescent
years. Many of these surgeries are occurring during infancy or toddler years."
"If I were to have a child that had a DSD condition, I would ... give
them a gender-neutral name. I would allow my child grow up and determine
their own gender, and [I would] educate them on their condition. I know my
child may face some stress or the feeling of shame once they acknowledge
that societal norms don't seem to accept other gender types. However,
I will instill confidence in my child to be who they are internal[ly] ."
Dinora's thoughts on the role a physician should take when
dealing with DSD patients underscore the importance of validating the
patients' intrinsic normalcy. "If the condition is not life-threatening,
they should not be able to determine the sex of infants who are born
intersex. They should educate parents on . . . [necessary] psychological
measures ... and that these conditions do not always need surgeries."
"I do not think appearance-normalizing surgeries improve
DSD individuals' health [out]comes at all. It only causes dysphoria
in these individuals rather than improvements. There is a need
for more statistical data regarding these conditions, because I do
believe that DSD is much more common than it is documented."
Michael Vidal, Youth Programs Educator,
National Conference for Community and Justice (NCC))
I do not think people have the right to determine the sex of
another individual-no matter their position. I think we conflate
caretaking with being an owner. It is apparent that in our
culture we reject youth from making their own decisions.
Michael believes that appearance-normalizing surgeries are intended
to prevent DSD individuals from being stigmatized in our society:
We are led to believe that sex and gender are one [and] the same. I
think a part of it has to do with adults not being educated on gender
diversity and also not knowing how to not conform to societal norms.
As a culture, we need to be more educated on what gender is. We
need to give children options. We tend to instill our own biases in
them. They are entitled to freedom of choice. It is hard to explain
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
to a child a medical condition; however, the language is important.
In most occasions, we are robbed of a choice. This is why we are
unable to be who we truly are in society because of others' biases.
Michael found the question-"lf the individuals who had unconsented
surgeries performed as a child had consented or been allowed to voice their
opinion at the time of surgery, do you think that these individuals would
share a different story?"-difficult to answer. "It is a hard question-how
does someone grow into their sexual identity? We live in a place where there
are a lot of cisgendered individuals in our culture. Socially, we confirm our
personal identity and gender solely to what gender we are assigned at birth."
"If [I] was to have a child with a DSD condition, I would not treat my
child different from any child . I would be very thoughtful and use proper
pronouns and terminology. I would have them be aware of options that are
only made by them, and have them acknowledge that there are different
bodies. Language is a powerful tool to build awareness and support!"
M'Liss De Wald, Director of Youth Programs,
National Conference for Community and Justice (NCC])
"Gender has been constantly evolving over the decades. European
countries have recently eliminated gender from being a mandated requirement
to identify. [R]esearch on sexuality [is concluding] that . . . some individuals
know a sense of their sexual identity as early as the age of four."
"I do not believe that physicians [or] parents have the right
to determine the sex of their children. However, historically this
has been the case. Biological sex is complex: internal genitalia
and external genitalia, chromosomes. No one has the right
to determine the sex, because it can be inaccurate."
"A lot of the appearance-normalizing surgeries are being performed for
societal standards of sexuality. We live in a society that is gender binary and
insists on the need to categorize babies at birth into a male or female. Parents
are exposed to societal pressures of knowing if their child is a boy or a girl."
"All people, no matter of age, have rights. There tends to [be] this
oppression of young people being excluded from conversations ... about
their bod[ies]. There should be guidance and an awareness for these children
regarding their condition. Setting a pronoun for these individuals can be
an alternative for conforming to our binary societal standards of gender."
M'Liss believes that if these individuals who had unconsented
surgeries performed on them had consented or been allowed to voice
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
their own opinion at the time of surgery, they would have shown more
of an acceptance of their surgery. M'Liss indicates, "I think that, [if] they
had the right to be involved in their surgeries, they [wouldn't] feel as
though the body was mutilated. However, the practice of normalizing is
not beneficial for anyone. Nothing is normal-normalcy is the product of
oppression and is the reason why we can't look beyond a binary gender."
"If I were to have a child with a DSD condition, I would first ...
assign a non-gender specific name and a pronoun (they, them) until
they are able to provide their own. No one is going to know how
their genitalia is going to look . . . other than immediate family. We as
a society tend to complicate external features of our anatomy."
Yvonne Gomez-Carrion, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. Director of the Obstetrics-Gynecology
Resident Surgical Service, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
"No, I do not believe that physicians or parents have the right to
determine the sex of their children. Just because there is a micropenis or
excessive clitoral tissue, the default gender should not be female. Our societal
norm is that it is better to be assigned a female than to have a small penis."
When asked about the purpose of appearance-normalizing
surgeries being performed, Dr. Gomez-Carrion stated, "To not have
the sex of your baby determined at the time of birth is devastating
to most families. In our binary society, in most physician and parental
minds, the answer must be determined-is my baby a boy or a girl?"
" I would advise that in intersex kids, no operative decision should be
made until puberty. The child needs to be involved in the decision-making
in regard to what sex he or she would like to identify [as]. I would agree
that the interest of the DSD individual is undermined due to alleviating
some parental distress and social stigmas. Furthermore, 'Normalizing' is
more beneficial for the parents than the DSD individuals." Dr. GomezCarrion emphasizes the importance that individuals who are DSD be
able to consent and allowed to voice their opinion at the time of surgery.
"Because the default sex is female, many of these individuals have had sexual
issues. If they had a voice in the operative decision-making, I believe that
l>Ostoperative results would be more positive for the affected individuals."
"If I were to have a child with a DSD condition, of course, [I) would have
mixed and complicated feeling[s]. However, I would not make any permanent
Operative procedures without the input of my child. We would wait and
allow my child to develop, socially and sexually, and make the decision."
"Physicians should encourage the parents to do nothing regarding
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49
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
requesting surgery, [and] identify resources and support groups for the
child as he/she matures, as well as for the parents. These DSD children
have to deal with their self-identity while growing and dealing with peer and
adult pressures and various feeling around sex and gender identification."
Dr. Gomez-Carrion was asked a series of additional questions
regarding health professional aid in care for DSD patients. "I do think that
DSD is much more common than [is] accounted for. There [are] a variety
of conditions that are associated with being lntersex that [are] not always
identified." When asked about ways that appearance-normalizing surgeries
may improve psycho-social or health outcomes, she states, "well, when
the DS~ child h~s the correct sex chosen and has sex confirming surgery,
these children wrll do well. But, if the incorrect sex is chosen, there will be
life-long issues regarding their sex identification and sexual satisfaction."
"Un~ortunate~y. I_~m not aware of any protocols regarding diagnosing
and treating DSD indrvrduals, except that an operative procedure cannot
be performed prior to [age] 18 without parental consent, unless the
in~ividual is a~ emancipated minor." It would seem that, when dealing
wrth DSD patients, healthcare professionals would be mandated to
understand psychosocial issues and be accepting of patient advocacy.
Ho:--ev~r, ,Dr. Go_~ez-~arrion explains that educating parents regarding
therr chrld s condrtron rs complex and may lead to confusion. Healthcare
providers as well as parents need better education in regard to the
psychosocial impact that "normalizing" surgery may have on their child.
She confirms,"! do think that physicians may still hold their own biases
agains~ DSD individuals." Many healthcare professionals may refuse care
to patients who are DSD, because of their own societal standards. "I think
~h~ ~oncealment-centered models of care [constitute] malpractice-DSD
individuals are not pathologic. Often, their 'ambiguous' genitalia are a result
[of] an underlying metabolic condition. They should not be made to fit into
a preconceived 'normal'-appearing mode. The affected individual needs
to be the main decision maker in any decisions about her/his genitalia."
Conclusion
. 'f!e
are taught that sex is dimorphic. However, sex is a spectrum-with a
maiorrty ~f hu~ans _conforming to one end or the other. There are key ethical
concer~s rdentrfied '.n the standard practice for DSD patients. Firstly, the
:"ell-bein~ of the chrld, both mentally and physically, is undermined. Surgical
interventron on ambiguous genitalia has yet to be proven necessary for a child's
health or well-being. A child born with a DSD condition appears to be at risk
50
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
their bodily integrity, particularly with their reproducti~e capability, as .
to
the ability to experience sex. The freedom for a chrld to develop therr
well as l·ty is a standard of parental practice for t hese ·intervrewees.
·
Secon dly,
pe rsona 1
· DSD
• wees identified the need for a child to be informed about therr
·ntervre
.
I . h
1
d"t"on including all interventions that may be earned out. Parenta rrg ts
con , , '
.
d "d
..
d
in the decision of self-determined gen er , entrtres appeare
t ·cipating
1
for par
h"ld
d"
•
•
b gray area Parents are entitled to freely raise therr c I ren accor ing
coea
•
·
"Id
•
own
cultural
or
religious
beliefs;
however,
children
are
entrt
e
to
h
cot err
•
·
II
h ·
rotection from practices harmful to therr b~drly autonomy as ~e as t err
ph • I and mental integrity. Health professionals should be obligated to
pr~:'i~: adequate information about DSD conditions to_parents with c~ildren
p • h DSD conditions. Thirdly, the interviews revealed views about societal
Wit
d" d . .
k"
dards of power that clinicians and parents have regar ing ecrsron-ma ing
sta n
• the se~ o f t her~
• c h"ld
1
abilities. Parents are socially pressured to determine
before the child is able to self-identify. Parents need prof~ssronal ~urd~nce
aid them in coping with a child who does not fit our binary social views.
to
h .
.
S
Some societal influences were mentioned in t e intervrews. ome
interviewees feel like parents are influenced to conform by assigning
a sex, due to distress felt when clinicians imply that their baby is
anything less than perfect. However, other interviewees fel~ tha~
parents should have the right to establish the gender o_f their child.
.
There are two surgical interventions for DSD patients: con_s tructrve
and cosmetic genital surgeries. Theoretically, at birth, constructive su_rgery
should be made on medically necessary conditions. However, cosmetic
surgery has been made the standard practice for DSD patients at birth,
regardless of condition. Surgical interventions should be performed
only if necessary. However, I believe that genital surgery sh~uld be
performed only during adolescence or adulthood, when patients are
fully informed of their condition. In addition, I would also recommend
that multidisciplinary care with psychological and nonprofessional
support be mandated for children who receive these surgeries.
Furthermore, the effort to normalize DSD individuals through
interventions has been common practice for almost a century. The standard
Practice for DSD individuals continues to model the originally implemented
Protocols. With the effort to educate and advocate for DSD, there have been
some cases of parents not conforming to normalizing their children. With the
lack of knowledge about DSD, parents will continue to be swayed by_ doctors
to normalize their children. There is no substantial evidence supporting
that children with ambiguous genitalia experience childhood differently
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5I
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
than those with "normal" genitalia-moreover, there may be surgical
complications and psychological outcomes that result from these mutilations.
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American Psychological Association. "Answers to Your Questions
About Individuals with lntersex Conditions." www.apa.
org, 2006, www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/intersex.pdf
Creighton, Sarah. "Surgery for intersex." Journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine. 200 I. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC 1281452/
Feder, Ellen K., Feder, Ellen K, & Project Muse. (2014). Making sense
of intersex: Changing ethical perspectives in biomedicine (U PCC
book collections on Project MUSE. 2014 Global cultural
studies collection). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Greenberg, J. A. (2012). lntersexuality and the Law: Why Sex
Matters. New York, NY: New York University.
Press. Haneef, S., & Majid, M. (2015). Medical Management of Infant lntersex:
The Juridico-ethical Dilemma of Contemporary Islamic Legal Response.
Hughes, A., Houk, C., Ahmed, S., & Lee, P. (2006). (n.d.).
"Consensus statement on management of intersex
disorders." Journal of Pediatric Urology.
Human Rights Watch. "Interview with a Urologist," February 15, 2017.
lnterACT. '"I Want to Be Like Nature Made Me' Medically Unnecessary
Surgeries on lntersex Children in the US." 2017. Accessed
2017. https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/07/25/i-want-be-naturemade-me/ medically- unnecessary-surgeries-intersex-children-us
lntersex Society of North America (ISNA). What is intersex?
(2008). http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex
Karkazis, Katrina. Fixing Sex: lntersex, Medical Authority and Lived
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Kenen, S. H. "Scientific Studies of Human Sexual Differences in lnterwar
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Kessler, Suzanne. Lessons from the lntersexed. 1998. New
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Kohler, Birgit, et al. "Satisfaction with Genital Surgery and Sexual
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Money, J., J. G. Hampson, and J.L. Hampson. "An Examination of Some
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Basic Sexual Concepts: The Evidence of Human Hermaphroditism."
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·,son S Special Report· lntersex Women Speak out to Protect
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• •
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the next Generation. (2013). http://www.independent.co.uk/
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Nokoff, N. J., B. Palmer, and A. J. Mullins. "Prospective assessment
of cosmesis before and after genital surgery." 2017. http://www.
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S 1477513116302790
Polish, J. "Infant lntersex Surgery: Genital Mutilation in
the U.S.?" (2015) https://lawstreetmedia.com/issues/
health-science/intersex-genital-mutilation-overview/
Redick, A. "American History xy: The Medical Treatment of
lntersex, 1916-1955." 2004. PhD diss., New York University.
Tang, Xiaoyan, Ning Zhang, Jingxin Ding, and Keqin Hua. "Quality of life among
postoperative patients with disorders of sex development: a long-term
perspective." 2016. http://www.ijcem.com/fi1es/ijcem0045721.pdf
Topp, S. "Against the quiet revolution: The rhetorical construction
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Wade, PHD, L. "The Phall-O-Meter." (2008). https://thesocietypages.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
F
or centuries, the self-portrait has been an avenue for artists to tell their
personal stories, discuss emotions and identity, and even immortalize
themselves through artistic conventions. The self-portraits in this series
are both a record of my life and an avenue for discussion about the
emotions all humans experience, a topic to which every person can relate.
Each of these self-portraits has a unique floral motif, selected for its
meaning according to the western tradition of assigning symbolism to flowers.
This tradition originated during the Victorian Era and continues to find popular
usage today, and assigns every type of flower a unique meaning. I incorporate
these floral elements for the beauty they add to the portraits, and I utilize
them as important visual cues that solidify or enhance the emotional content.
I take inspiration from a quote by Australian poet and activist Judith
Wright:"Feelings or emotions are the universal language and are to
be honored.They are the authentic expression of who you are at your
deepest level:' This universal emotional experience joins us. This body
of work creates a connection and cultivates a bond of shared emotional
experience across time and preconceived societal boundaries.
Sunflower (oil on canvas)
In many examples through art history, sunflowers are seen as a symbol
of mothers and motherhood. In the painting of the same name, I used
these flowers as a symbol of my own motherhood.The sunflowers cover
the eyes of the self-portrait, signifying that these maternal emotions have
changed how I see the world and how I view others as well as myself.
54
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Echinacea (oil on canvas)
Blooming Daffodil (oil on canvas)
In "Blooming Daffodil" I use the titular flowers, commonly seen as a
symbol of spring and rebirth, to represent changes in my life, the growth
and rebirth I have experienced in my life. I also have chosen to paint the
self-portrait in this position of an upward gaze to tie in with the theme of
growth, illustrating forward movement past the old and toward the new.
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I combine the floral elements with the patterned backgrounds both to add
visual interest and, in some cases, to add directly to the symbolism of the
P<>rtrait. For example, "Echinacea" utilizes a honeycomb pattern to. represent
Structure and order. The pattern is broken, which contradicts the structure
and creates visual disorder. Echinacea blossoms are generally associated with
Spiritual healing and awareness of self-image. Combining the spiritual nature
of these flowers with the broken honeycomb pattern represents the disarray
1have occasionally felt surrounding my spiritual and religious identity.
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O
nce upon a time, my childhood began. In this tale, there is no prince, no
damsel, no knight, no walking into that white ever after, wedding bells and
children in the distance.
Once upon a time, my childhood fell short of fairytale expectations. I never
considered it strange to not want romance or sex. I was not going to fit into a
sweet cookie-cutter tale. So the world decided to write my story as something
far more timeless and enigmatic, something that defies understanding-a myth.
An asexual.
I was not prepared for all the ways society has conditioned the people in my life
try and write my story for me.
to
"You just have to find the right one," says my mother, a statement she
vehemently denies making to this day.
"You know, it's a bit of a contradiction that you teach sexual health. Being ace
and all;' my coworker says.
Cast (landscape version; Microso~ Paint)
It is, for me, the smell in the air to which any southerner can reply: something's
on its way. Cast is the change I made on December 15, 2018, when, for the
first time in my life, I could be a little more me. My name is [different than
it was] before. I'm trans-questioning-still questioning. For which roles am
I cast? Is my name, identity a mold to heal something that which is barely
holding together? Cast is a fractured self-one face, male, has his eyes closed
to the woman on the other half. There are eggs in her hair on the verge of
hatching and a handprint to stain her bicep.A yonic heart sits closely by the
faint noose above her right (our left) breast.There was no plan. I drew, and
that was as far as the plan had gone. I'm a woman now, still without a plan.
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"How do you know you won't change your mind?" says the other.
"I bet I could change that:'
And the rest of the world hasn't been trying to rewrite my narrative since the
beginning, either.
"You're heartless, then."
And I haven't been coughing up my bleeding heart to prove to the world I am
still capable of a love so strong it pains me.
"So, uhhhhh, do you, like, not get sex?"
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I am in disbelief when strange men tell me my existence is hard to accept.
"Because you're so pretty," they say.
Because 1-a woman-should always want children and be available for male
pleasure.
'That sounds lonely."
So is living in a world where I am the only one who believes my existence isn't
The people in my life cannot claim to ally themselves with me if they don't even
know the name of my identity. I want to know why they name me a myth, like
my presence in front of them is open for debate. I am tired of explaining my
existence.
"I."
A monosyllabic word.Yet, when I pronounce I give voice to my existence.A
visible, audible form of defiance in a world that would sooner write me into
myth than acknowledge my existence.
No, I do not have to make sense to you. No, I am not lonely. I am not heartless. I
am not unique. I am not an oddity. I AM NOT A MYTH.
I am asexual, and I live in a world that believes I don't exist.
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sexism and the Indian Political
psyche
swa ti Sucharita Nanda
oAV PG College, Varanasi (India)
S
exism in politics is, by no means, a new phenomenon. Many feminist
scholars have exposed the existence of sexism both in the disciplinary
conception as well as in the practice of politics. In her pathbreaking
book Women in Western Political Thought, Okin (2013: 72-96) has argued
that Aristotle, celebrated as the father of Political Science, integrated sexism
into the discipline by validating a perceived natural position of inferiority of
women as compared to men in society. Pateman ( 1991 :54) has effectively shown
that even political thinkers such as Hobbes thought women to be submissive
and, therefore, endorsed their subjection as wives.With roots such as these,
it is not surprising that male-bias is commonplace in politics as a real-world
phenomenon across the globe.
Traditionally, Indian politics has been a male bastion reflecting the larger
societal system of which it is merely a part. Debates on inclusion of women
in politics are being upgraded to an advanced stage. There are demands for
the reservation of seats for women at all levels of democratic representation,
with requests to look at the level of gender sensitivity of both politicians and
the populace. In the absence of gender consciousness, seat reservations could
become mere tools in the hands of patriarchal politicians, wielded to score over
the opposition. The phenomenon of women's "proxy" candidature in Indian
politics has been in debate for more than two decades. It has brought into focus
the gendered nature of political class in India (The Hindu, 7th March, 2015).
This paper delves into the gendered nature of political narratives in
India by focusing on the campaign speeches of politicians belonging to various
political groups during elections. Campaign speeches during elections are
significant to democracies, as they set the stage for discussion among the
Public about the issues that should matter to their respective societies. These
5l>eeches, in other words, are also a mark of the politician's ability to use
language to communicate with the voters. Ideally, such speeches should focus on
informing the voters about the ideologies and programmes of their respective
~rties to enable the voters to make informed choices. The use of popular
Idioms and phrases, often seeming to be loose talk, dominates the campaign
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speeches. Ostensibly, the focus of such loose-talk rhetoric is to score points
over the opposition. However, a slight scratch on the surface exposes the real
idea of such rhetoric as manipulation of the psyche of the populace, either
inveigling them towards a specified political course, or facilitating their choice in
crucial political decisions.These are also methods of speaking peoples' languages
and orienting their understandings towards a specific party or perspective.After
all, "politics is a process of contestation, involving contests over alternative
understandings. The way to capture this process is to become 'rhetorically
impertinent'" (Shapiro cited in Mihas, 2005).
This loose talk in political rhetoric is, by no means, gender neutral. If, at
one level, they reflect existing popular political narratives of a society, prevailing
at a particular point in time, at another level they are also about building a
certain persona of the candidates in the fray.As Katz (2012) suggests, when
Americans voted for Barack Obama in the U.S. Presidential election, they
were focusing not merely on his political merit, but also on a candidate they
believed to be the most successful embodiment of American masculinity. His
cool, cerebral style of manhood appealed to them. Thus, political rhetoric is
also about building the image of a "real (wo)man" and about the model of"(wo)
manliness" that the so-called mainstream society prefers.
An analysis of political campaign speeches of some leaders of both
national and regional political parties during the run-up to the 2014 Lok
Sabha elections clearly indicates the way men and women in politics are to be
imaged.These elections have been unique for a number of reasons.To begin
with, they discarded the prediction that there is no longer an escape from
coalition politics at the national level. They have very effectively minimized
the dependence of the central government on regional parties, which have
influenced government formation since late 1980s. They were also unique for
bringing a political party to power that is typically viewed with skepticism by
most of the religious minority groups of the country. Much has been debated
on the aspects and implications of the election since the formation of the
new government in 2014. However, one aspect that has not drawn sufficient
attention is the way the obsession for the "real man" as the ideal political
leader was blatantly expressed throughout the 2014 election campaign. It is
true that men dominate politics in most countries of the world, and India is
no exception to this. Political speeches in this election by leaders of different
generations from across national and regional political parties clearly reflect
the Indian political psyche--which brazenly maintains and reinforces the idea of
masculinized politics.
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politics as a sphere of"masculinity''
The campaigns of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections amply demonstrate that
litics in India is all about "real men" and "manliness." As one campaign leader
~a national-level political party declared:"lt would take a '56-inch chest' to
0
0 nvert UP [Uttar Pradesh] into Gujarat" (Times of India.January 24, 2014).As
~e statement indicates, the leader who can take the responsibility of turning an
underdeveloped state into a developed state must be a "real man"-a strongly
built, fearless, chest-thumping man.This statement clearly marks the sphere
of"politics" as one belonging to "real men" who are physically masculine and
not to "feminine men:• It set the stage for public discussions distinguishing the
varying models of masculinity that male electoral candidates belonged to.
Throughout the election campaign, the "real man" and his "manliness"
were projected in various ways through the medium of electoral speeches. For
example, with a view to appease the "real men" of a particular community, a
patriarch of a regional political party announced that"Rape accused should
not be hanged. [Boys] make mistakes" (Times of India.April 11, 2014).This
statement came after some boys belonging to the constituency of the same
politician were prosecuted on the charges of rape.Very clearly, it legitimized
rape in public debates as a "mistake" that boys may commit. This set the stage
for discussions that ranged from "how boys of a particular community are to
be controlled" to "how girls actually invite rape through their dressing styles:•
The statement was evidently aimed at a constituency of voters who were also
generalized as men.Also concealed in this statement is the notion of women's
voting behaviors as dependent and guided by the men of their respective
families.
Campaign speeches aimed at women candidates from opposition parties
often point towards their femininity. On one occasion, a leader publicly
confessed his confusion by stating, "I do not know how to address her-sister,
Missus or spinster daughter:• (Business Standard.April 30, 2014).Aimed at an
unmarried female leader, this statement clearly questions her character. In a
society where the public sphere is not considered to legitimately belong to
Women, character assassination is the easiest weapon to humiliate them in
Public eyes
Sexism and male bias are not new in Indian politics.The beginning of the
Women's Reservation Bill in the 1990s was witness to a number o·f sexist
remarks. But such innuendos seem to have increased in recent times, as women
from non-political backgrounds are assertively participating in politics. Evaluated
on the basis of her looks, a female candidate was described as, "cute but not
Politically astute" (Hindustan Times, 13 April, 2014).This was not merely an
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echo of the saying that beauty and brains do not go together, but also that to be
political one should look tough-like a "real man." While the entry of men into
politics is above question, women's participation in electoral politics is typically
met with "why's" and "how's."
Sexist comments in elections aren't exclusively a male bastion either.A
female politician, for instance, demanded that a woman leader belonging to
the opposition camp should get her virginity tested before she claims to be
referred to as "Miss" (Dainik Bhaskar.April 30, 2014, my translation). This
demonstrates the woman politician's keenness of the woman politician to prove
herself to be part of"normal political campaign narrative" and, therefore, a
legitimate member of the masculinized politics. In fact, publidprivate dichotomy
is so ingrained in the minds that when asked to imagine a politician, most
people visualize a man.While many women have made their presence felt
in Indian politics, very few of them have done so without being connected
to powerful political men or families. Women from non-political families still
remain significantly under-represented in Indian political life. Even after the
passage of the 73 rd and 74 th constitutional amendment bills ensuring women's
political participation in local governments, women still have to struggle within
traditional social institutions to justify their presence in public spaces.
Politics, however, is not merely about women and their place in politics.
They are also about the kind of women and men who ought to be at the
helm of affairs. Politics as a profession, demands a person who can be forceful
in making others concede to her/his wishes. Political success relies on
stereotypically masculine traits including influence, courage, and silencing the
opposition. In the statistically unlikely event that a politician is a woman, she
must exemplify all these characteristically masculine values.Therefore, it is
not surprising that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was routinely referred to by
many associates as "the only man in her Cabinet" (Natarajan, Jayanthi 2016, my
emphasis).The same logic could be applied to male political aspirants. In India
where feudal mindsets still pervade, the common Indian public either needs a
patronizing father figure or a powerful, de-sexualized mother figure, or even a
non-feminine sister figure. It is not strange thatj .Jayalalitha was seen as "Amma"
(powerful mother who can protect) by most Tamilians, while Mayawati is called
"Behenji" (powerful sister who can protect) in common parlance in Uttar
Pradesh.
The gendered orientation of popular language
Campaign speeches are written for public consumption. Therefore, they
are written and spoken in language styles that would be appreciated and
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ccepted by the public. Given the fact that women have been historically
~eprived of education and isolated from the public sphere, they have been kept
way from expressing their experiences in their chosen words.This, in turn, has
~egitimized the hegemony of men's chosen words in the public sphere. It is not
unnatural to find language, especially popular language used for interaction in
the public sphere, to be gendered.Thus, when politics use popular language as
a cactical weapon to catch public imagination, it often reinforces the already
existing gendered nature of language.As a consequence, this strengthens the
masculinized nature of politics and shrinks space for feminine debates.
Constructing the masculine and gendered notion of politics
Debates on masculinity have been under feminist examination since the
1980s. By now, it is well-established that masculinity is no monolith. It is as
much a product of the society as femininity is. Every society has its own way of
legitimizing what it means to be a "man" or to have "manly" values.While not
all men conform to the conventional values of masculinity, most men will not
challenge these values.
A number of scholars have delved into the ways images of masculinities
are crafted within communities in India. Kulkarni (2008) discusses a study by
Kakar which "probes the specificity of the normative matrices, family structures
and socialization processes which shape the psyche of upper caste Hindu men:•
At the same time, he also indicates the existence of not only one, but many
conceptualizations of masculinities in India. In this context, Kulkarni (2008)
also mentions a study by Ashis Nandy which discusses at least two strands of
masculinities in India during the colonial period-the "concept of manliness
valorized the Brahmana in his cerebral asceticism" in the pre-colonial period,
and "the violent and active Kshatriyahood" during the colonial period.
It may be argued that the characterization of women is also very
important to the construction of masculinity, not merely in terms of validating
the binary division of manly vs. womanly, but also in deciding which community
is to be glorified.
Women are posited as the carriers of the community honour and thus any
violation of the women of one community by the men of another implies
the dominance of the latter, and posits the men of the former community
as effeminate and unable to protect their women. Such formulation has
resulted in the construction of the discourse of the violent, lecherous
Muslim male who desires and desecrates the pure, chaste Hindu woman,
and it is from this that Indian (Hindu) men are exhorted to protect their
women (CSCS, 2006).
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Thus, the construction of the masculine is clearly contingent upon the existing
notions of caste and religion.
Conclusion
In the contemporary age of information technology, the cameras capture
each and every movement of political campaigners.The personalities of leaders
becomes contingent not only upon how they behave but also upon what they
say and how they say it.What matters most is the cultural acceptability of the
image that the leader depicts through their language. To achieve political success,
politicians need to tap into the persona that people think can solve their
problems.This indicates continued desirability with political idioms of the time
and of a persona who is simultaneously closer to the image of a "protective
father" and an "aggressive enemy-crusher."
Sexist comments in political campaigns cannot be seen in isolation. They
are all about what the public wants out of its leaders-to be "man enough" to
protect the country from external and internal threats without the slightest
sensitivity to the so-called enemy lives lost in such operations. These comments
may also be explained with reference to the cultural imageries that speak
of existence of personalities, at various points in history, who seem to have
answers and solutions to all the problems that the world confronts. Politics
is about the realities in which we live, and the need is to understand that the
problems and solutions have to come from these real situations and from
real women and men who participate in politics.And therefore, until citizens
revise their political psyche, obsessed with illusory notions of leaders based on
cultural constructions, sexism in politics will remain intact.
References
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Katz,J . 2012. Leading Men: Presidential Campaigns and the Politics of Manhood,
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Kulkarni, M. 2008. Social Science Research on Indian Masculinities: Retrospect
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Maya calls for Mulayam's mental treatment over sexist remark, Business
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Standard, April 30, 2014, available on https://www.business-standard.com/
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Natarajan,Jayanthi 2016. Like Indira, the only man in her cabinet, Hindustan
Times (daily newspaper), available on https://www.pressreader.com/india/
hindustan-times-st-mumbai/20 I 6 I 206/281861528127266; viewed on
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Okin, Susan M.2013. Women in Western Political Thought, Princeton University
Press, Princeton/New Jersey.
Pateman, Carol. 1991. God hath ordained to man a helper: Hobbes, patriarchy
and conjugal right, pp. 53-73. In Mary Lyndon Shanley & Carol Pateman
(eds.), Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory, London, Polity.
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13, 2014, available on https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/sexistunderbel1y-of-indian-politics/story-gh60P8uFlnM9VKXLblNSbL.html;
viewed on March I I, 2019.
Shapiro, M. 1989. Textualizing global politics, pp. 318-323. In Margaret Wetherell,
Stephanie Taylor and Simeon Yates, eds. Discourse the.ory and practice,
(London: Sage Publications).
SP-BSP: Kaise sudhre rishtey jab saari maryadaaen toot chuki hain, Dainik
Bhaskar (daily Hindi newspaper),April 30, 2014, https://www.bhaskar.
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India (daily newspaper),January 24, 2014, available on https://timesofindia.
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Women's Reservation Bill:The story so far, March 7, 2015, https://www.
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article6969294.ece.
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Abstract
Black people from across the diaspora converged in Paris during the
interwar period, with women of color engaging in the literary and salon
culture of the metropole. From Martinique, the Nardal sisters opened a
salon located in the suburbs of Paris, where they hosted several prominent
literary figures from the Harlem Renaissance and the Francophone world .
Paulette Nardal also acted as a translator for the black diasporic publication
The Review of the Black World. Through the journal, she articulated gender
in the metropole through a middle-class perspective and discussed the
development of race consciousness among Antillean women. In this paper, I
argue that the meetings at the Nardals' literary salon established transnational
connections in a cultural setting dominated by women of color. Additionally,
I contend that the work of the Nardals and other women in The Review of
Black World allowed women of color to explore their intersecting identities,
while participating in black literary culture, including the establishment of
the Negritude Movement. Women of color are often overlooked in the
historiography of the Negritude Movement; however, historians such as
T. Denean Sharpley Whiting have begun to explore the role that women
played in the formation of the movement. Based on a reading of The Review
of the Black World, my paper contributes to this scholarship by further
exploring the experiences of black women in the metropole, examining
the diasporic connections at the Clamart Salon, and providing further
analysis on Antillean women's writings in The Review of Black World.
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artinican author Roberte Horthe wrote the short story "A Thing of
No Importance" for the Black diasporic publication The Review of
the Black World. 1 Horthe's narrative followed Lea, an Antillean woman,
who moved to Paris to pursue an education.At the end of her
narrative, Horthe concluded:
In this country, she will never be a woman like the others, with a right
to a woman's happiness, because she will never be able to blot out, for
the others the absurdity of her soul fashioned by Occidental culture but
concealed by an objectionable skin. She sighed; she had only overlooked
one little fact, a thing of no importance, the simple irony of her mixed
blood. 2
Horthe's story addressed race, gender, and Western culture.Although Lea
attended a university in the metropole, she faced racism and fetishization by
French society. Not seen as a respectable woman, but as a "doll to be proudly
exhibited to guests, a strange fruit that flattered the taste of the discoverer,"
Lea's experience abroad centered on " a thing of no importance, the simple
irony of her mixed blood." 3
Horthe's narrative represents an example of the woman-centered writings
found in The Review of the Black World. Middle-class Antillean women, particularly
the Martinican Nardal sisters, wrote in the publication about their experiences
in the Parisian metropole between the wars.They expressed feelings of
isolation and dislocation, alluding to their marginalized status as not only Black,
but also women. The Review of the Black World existed as part of a feminine,
diasporic discourse fostered at the Nardal sisters' Clamart Salon.At the salon,
black people from across the diaspora transcended gender, race, and borders
to establish transnational connections.Additionally, during the gatherings at
Clamart, women of color forged a distinct feminine racial consciousness which,
along with their writings in The Review of the Black World and experiences in the
metropole, provided the intellectual foundation for the Negritude Movement.
For a definition of diaspora see:Tiffany Ruby Patterson and Robin D. G. Kelley.
"Unfinished Migrations: Reflections on the African Diaspora and the Making
of the Modern World." African Studies Review 43, no. I (2000): 11-45.
Roberte Horthe, "A Thing of No Importance," The Review of the Black World, I, no. I
(November 1931) D igital Collections: Bibliotheque nationale de France, accessed December
8, 2018, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/ I 2148/bpt6k32946v/f87.item;Jennifer Boittin, Colonial
Metropolis:The Urban Grounds ofAnti-Imperialism Feminism in lnterwar Paris (Lincoln: University
of Nebraska Press, 20 I 0). Boittin also uses this quote at the beginning of her chapt er, " In
Black andWhite:Women, La DepecheAfricaine, and the Print Culture of Diaspora:•
Horthe, "A Thing of No Importance," The Review of the Black World.
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Brief Literature Review and Defining Negritude
Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor, and Leon Damas often receive credit for
the founding of the Negritude Movement. Lilyan Kesetloot's work, Black Writers
in French:A Uterary History of Negritude, for instance, examines the lives and
poetry of Cesaire, Senghor, and Damas.The first comprehensive study of the
Negritude Movement, Kesteloot's book evaluates the origins of the movement
through the 1960s, using interviews with the triumvirate. However, it overlooks
women's contributions to the founding of the movement.4
Since the early 2000s, scholarship on the role that the Nardal sisters
and other black women intellectuals played in the formation of the Negritude
Movement has expanded. 5 In 2003, historian T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting wrote
Negritude Women, the only full-length study concerning the Nardal sisters and
the Negritude Movement. In the book, Sharpley-Whiting positions the Nardals
as central to the origins of the movement. In Colonial Metropolis:The Urban
Grounds ofAnti-Imperialism and Feminism in lnterwar Paris, scholar Jennifer Boittin
describes Paris as a "colonial space," where Paulette Nardal established alliances
with white feminists to oppose French colonialism. 6 Additionally, literary scholar
Brent Hayes Edwards argues in his book The Practice of Diaspora: Uterature,
Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism that the Nardals conceptualized
a feminist incarnation of Negritude. 7
Cesaire coined the term Negritude in an article for the Parisian journal, The
Black Student, a publication he established in 1935 along with Cesaire, Damas,
and Senghor in conjunction with students from the Antilles and Francophone
4
5
6
7
70
lyan Kesteloot, Black Writers in French:A Literary History of
Negritude (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1991 ).
Brent Hayes Edwards, The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of
Black Internationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2003);Jennifer Boittin, Colonial
Metropolis:The Urban Grounds ofAnti-Imperialism and Feminism in lnterwar Paris (Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press, 2005);T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting, Negritude Women
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002) Also see: Robert P. Smith, " Black
Like That Paulette Nardal and the Negritude Salon," CLA Journal 45, no., I (2005): 53-63;
lmaobong D. Umoren, Race Women lnternationalists:Activists-lntellectuals and Gaba/ Freedom
Struggles. Oakland: University of California Pr ess, 2018; Claire Oberon Garcia, "Black
Women Writers, Modernism, and Paris;• International Journal of Francophone Studies, 14
(2011 ): 27-42; Hardin.Tayna L, " Discur sive Encounters: Dance, Inscription, and Modern
Identities in lnterwar Paris," Journal o(Transatlantic Studies 14, no. 2 (2016): 176-87.
Jennifer Anne Boittin, Colonial Metropolis:The Urban Grounds ofAnti-Imperialism
in lnterwar Paris (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 20 I 0), xiv.
Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, I 19.
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WestAfrica. 8 As a nascent literary, political, and social movement, Negritude
espoused pride in blackness and African cultures while also displaying antiassimilationist sentiments. However, the Negritude poets embraced French
culture and employed the French language, using it as a revolutionary tool.
lhey did not want to return to the African past, rather aiming for a future with
greater self-determination and autonomy for people of color.
The Nardal Sisters
Born in Fran~ois, Martinique, the Nardal sisters grew up in a household
with parents who valued education. Fortunately for the sisters, their parents'
passion for learning extended to their seven girls.9 Although the Nardal family
occupied a position in the upper stratum of Martinican society, their privilege
remained relative. Living under French colonial rule, the Nardals dealt with
issues of racism and colorism. In an interview, Paulette Nardal discussed her
father's inability to earn a promotion as a construction engineer for the colonial
government. She recalled, "It is said that if he would have been a mulatto the
government probably would have appointed him; but being a pure Negro, they
considered it bad policy for him to hold such a position:' 10 The Nardals sisters'
class status in Martinique shaped their experiences in the metropole and
their writings in The Review of the Black World. Paulette Nardal and her sisters
left Martinique for Paris in the early 1920s, arriving in the metropole during a
period of heightened racial consciousness and transnational activity, with Paris
acting as a central location for these cultural and political interactions.
Gender, Race,Transnational Connections, and lnterwar Paris
In the preface of The Review of the Black World, Martinican scholar Louis
Thomas Achille discussed the convergence of people of color in Paris, exploring
8
9
IQ
Robin D.G. Kelley, "lntroduction:A Poetics Of Anticolonialism," In Discourse on
Colonialism, by Aime Cesaire and translated by Joan Pickman (New York: NYU
Press, 2000), I2. L:Etudiant noir translates to The Black Student in English.
Emily Musil Church, "In Search of Seven Sisters:A Biography of the Seven
Nardal Sisters of Martinique:• Cal/aloo 36., no. 2 (Spring 2013): 380. Read
this article for a biographical sketch of the Nardal sisters.
Eslanda Goode Robeson, " Black Paris," Challenge 0une 1936), Schlesinger
Librar y: Digital Collections, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Harvard
University, accessed November I, 2018, http://schlesinger.radcliffe .harvard.edu/
onlinecollections/west/search1namesO=Robeson,%20Eslanda%20Goode. For an
excellent academic biography on Robeson, see: Barbara Ransby, Es/anda:The Large and
Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson. (New Haven:Yale Univer sity Press, 2013).
FALL 2019
71
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
the gendered and transnational elements of the black presence. He wrote:
c1arnart:A Diasporic Women's Space
During fifteen years or so, in post-war Paris, successive waves of Jazz
Prior to the founding of The Review of the Black World, the Nardals
tablished the Clamart Salon, which became known for its feminine character
music and Charleston dance occurred and the musical called Revue Negre
which took place in the Champs Elysees theater revealed to the European' ~d transnational connections facilitated by the Nardal sisters. 15 In 1931,
public:Josephine Baker, the future queen of the Parisian cabaret music hall ;ranee hosted the massive Colonial Exposition in Paris.Although the displays
Folies-Bergere and Casino de Paris, who was the inimitable incarnation of ,,,ere primitivist, attendees of the Nardal's Clamart Salon argued that the
black femininity; the negro-spirituals of Roland Hayes;Antillean orchestras demonstrations of African cultures at the exposition-including art, dance, and
and creole biguine from the Bals Negres;African sculptures that shook
music-fostered a sense of racial awareness and an appreciation of colonial
up the beauty standards of classic art; publications from Black Antillean
cultures both among people of color and among the white populace in the
French individuals including a prize in French literature (Prix Goncourt);
metropole. 16 The establishment of the Clamart Salon coincided with the
and rare copies of the Anthology of Black writers coming from the United Colonial Exposition.As one of the only guests to write a detailed account of the
States, gathered by Professor Alain Locke. 11
salon.Achille recorded his observations in the preface of The Review of the Black
African-American scholar Eslanda Goode Robeson added to Achille's
World. He remembered the atmosphere of the salon noting:
The sisters from Martinique were wonderful hostesses and the way they
observations when she wrote the article "Black Paris" for the publication
Challenge in June 1936. Robeson interviewed black people from the Antilles,
welcomed people would encourage people's creativity in the most joyous
West Africa, and the United States, including Paulette Nardal. She wrote that
way -particularly with young individuals and students-and reflected the
mundane traditions of the "little country" into this Paris suburb. 17
people of color "play[ed] an important and recognizable role in the political,
In this inviting atmosphere, black intellectuals gathered, includingAfricaneducational, intellectual, literary, and the theatrical life of Paris." 12 Her interview
with Nardal revealed a gendered dimension of the black experience in Paris,
Americans Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen. Future
Negritude poets Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas also visited the salon at least
demonstrating considerable differences between the lives of men and women.
Although men of color faced racism, black women contended with multiple
once. 18
The atmosphere at the Nardal Salon radiated femininity.Achille described
oppressions, based not only on their race but also on their gender. Nardal
the role of women at the gatherings, writing, " Women were the dominant
commented on black women's predicament, noting that women of color "did
not have a happy time in Paris." 13 As Nardal later asserted in The Review of the
voices during those rites taking place on friendly afternoons in contrast with
Black World, black men came to racial awareness later, unlike women, whose
masculine clubs and circles: •19 As hostesses, women played an active role in
salon culture during the interwar period.The Nardals' crossing of racial, gender,
gender and race hastened their need for solidarity. 11
and national lines, however, made the Clamart Salon distinct when compared
to the salons run by white women in Paris.As Sharpley-Whiting noted,
White women frequently permitted only French men and Americans at thei r
gatherings. 20
II
Louis Thomas Achille, Preface, La Revue du Monde Noir, I, no. I (November 1931 ),
The sisters referred to their guests as " the circle of friends" who met to
Digital Collections: Bibliotheque nationale de France, accessed December 8, 2018,
examine literary works, perform music, and discuss issues of race across the
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/ I 2 I 48/bpt6k32946v/f87.item Achilles's observations in
12
13
14
72
the preface are presented like a memoir.The Nardal's cousin,Achille took part in
the cultural and political activities of interwar Paris. His preface is one of the only
sources that I could locate where the Clamart salon is discussed in detail.
Robeson, " Black Paris," Challenge.
Ibid
Paulette Nardal, " The Awakening of Race Consciousness among Black Students:'
The Review of the Black World 6 (April 1932), Translated by T. Denean SharpleyWhiting in Negritude Women (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press), 122.
FALL 2019
IS
16
17
18
19
20
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Sharpley-Whiting, Negritude Women, 52.
Ibid
Umeron, Race Women, 15-22
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Back World
Sharpley-Whiting, Negritude Women, 53-54.
FALL 2019
73
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
diaspora. 21 For example, visitors read and evaluated Martinican author Rene
Maran's monumental work Batouala and explored Alain Locke's theory of
the New Negro. 22 Guests also discussed politics and racism in the metropole.
Achille further remembered that, "People would think on the colonial as well
as interracial problems, on the growing rate of colored men and women in
the French life, they'd also prepare themselves to fight any signs of racism with
appropriate means:• 23 These conversations about racism and ways of combating
its presence in the metropole demonstrate the central role that the salon
played in the development of racial consciousness among black intellectuals.
Transnational connections made at the salon led to the establishment of The
Review of the Black World. 2~ For Nardal, the publication meant the coming
together of the intellectuals from the salon to produce a magazine for both
white and black audiences to read and to contribute perspectives. 25
A Feminine Voice: The Review of the Black World
With Nardal and African-American scholar Clara Shepard as translators
for the bilingual publication, the staff of The Review of the Black World published
their first edition in fall 1931. In the preface of the journal,Achille included
Paulette Nardal's perspective on the the journal's first edition. The magazine,
according to Nardal, constituted a "movement" and a "new political reality." 26
Paradoxically, Nardal insisted that the journal was apolitical, unlike the panAfrican movements of the period. She argued that the contributors' aims were
cultural and sociological. Through the magazine, Nardal noted that they hoped
to establish "not a people, a black nation, but a culture, a soul, a black humanism,
a black World, that is diverse and open to all men and women desiring to gain
knowledge from this culture or simply to discover it:' 27 Through her emphasis
on locating a black culture, soul, and humanism, Nardal emphasized three of the
tenets of the later Negritude Movement.
Nardal wrote in her article "The Awakening of Race Consciousness
among Black Students" that "the aspirations that were crystallized around
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The Review of the Black World asserted themselves among a group of Antillean
wamen students in Paris." 28 As indicated by this statement, The Review of the
Black World provided women of color a space to produce writings from a
feminine perspective, which also emphasized pride in their overlapping gender
and racial identities.Achille further emphasized Antillean women's contribution
to The Review of the Black World, describing the publication as being produced
by "young francophone women from the Antilles" in the metropole studying at
the Sorbonne. 29 Like her sisters Jane and Paulette.Andree Nardal provided her
perspective on Black Parisian culture through a gendered lens. In her article
"Notes on the Biguine Creole," she explored the appropriation of Antillean
dance culture by Parisians.Additionally, Nardal scrutinized African-American
activist Josephine Baker, suggesting that she contributed to the appropriation of
the biguine and the exoticization of women of color in French culture.
Nardal observed in the article that, upon Baker's arrival in Paris, "Negro
cabarets" began to "spring up like mushrooms in Montparnasse." 30 Throughout
the piece, she compared the biguine as performed in the Antilles to the version
danced by Baker in the metropole. She described Baker's rendition of the
biguine as "nothing more than a rhythmic exercise:' 31 To Nardal, the authentic
beguine "could not be presented to Parisians under an obscene interpretation:• 32
She used strong language, stating that she "deplored" the Parisian interpretation
of the dance. To conclude the article, Nardal declared:
The romance of the guitars and mandolins, the garrulous shashas, the
tinkling triangles, the simple accordion of the country-side, the wailing
clarinet, the blaring trombone, the staccato of the strings, the muffled
beats of the bass-drum, transform the dreariest winter day into the
dazzling tropical sunshine flooding the palms. 33
Nardal's examination of Antillean dance indicated to the reader its power and
beauty, since, according to Nardal, the authentic biguine could "transform the
28
21
22
23
24
Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, 155;Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, 155
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
For more information about the Nardal's salon, an informative article
is: Robert P. Smith Jr, " Black like that Paulette Nardal and the Negritude
Salon," CIA Journal 45, no. I (September 200 I): 53-68.
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Ibid
Ibid
25
26
27
74
FALL 2019
29
30
Paulette Nardal, "The Awakening of Race Consciousness among Black Students," The
Review of the Black World April 1932, translated by T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting in
Negritude Women (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002), 119.
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Andree Nardal,"Notes on a Biguine Creole," The Review of the Black World I·, no. I
(November 1931) Digital Collections: Bibliotheque nationale de France, accessed
December 8, 2018, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/ I 2 I 48/bpt6k32946v/f87.item.
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
FALL2019
75
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
diaspora. 21 For example, visitors read and evaluated Martinican author Rene
Maran's monumental work Batouala and explored Alain Locke's theory of
the New Negro. 22 Guests also discussed politics and racism in the metropole.
Achille further remembered that, "People would think on the colonial as well
as interracial problems, on the growing rate of colored men and women in
the French life, they'd also prepare themselves to fight any signs of racism with
appropriate means." 23 These conversations about racism and ways of combating
its presence in the metropole demonstrate the central role that the salon
played in the development of racial consciousness among black intellectuals.
Transnational connections made at the salon led to the establishment of The
Review of the Black World. 14 For Nardal, the publication meant the coming
together of the intellectuals from the salon to produce a magazine for both
white and black audiences to read and to contribute perspectives. 25
A Feminine Voice: The Review of the Black World
With Nardal and African-American scholar Clara Shepard as translators
for the bilingual publication, the staff of The Review of the Black World published
their first edition in fall 1931. In the preface of the journal.Achille included
Paulette Nardal's perspective on the the journal's first edition. The magazine,
according to Nardal, constituted a "movement" and a "new political reality:' 26
Paradoxically, Nardal insisted that the journal was apolitical, unlike the panAfrican movements of the period. She argued that the contributors' aims were
cultural and sociological. Through the magazine, Nardal noted that they hoped
to establish "not a people, a black nation, but a culture, a soul, a black humanism,
a black World, that is diverse and open to all men and women desiring to gain
knowledge from this culture or simply to discover it." 27 Through her emphasis
on locating a black culture, soul, and humanism, Nardal emphasized three of the
tenets of the later Negritude Movement.
Nardal wrote in her article "The Awakening of Race Consciousness
among Black Students" that "the aspirations that were crystallized around
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The Review of the Black World asserted themselves among a group of Antillean
women students in Paris." 28 As indicated by this statement, The Review of the
Black World provided women of color a space to produce writings from a
feminine perspective, which also emphasized pride in their overlapping gender
and racial identities.Achille further emphasized Antillean women's contribution
to The Review of the Black World, describing the publication as being produced
by"young francophone women from the Antilles" in the metropole studying at
the Sorbonne. 29 Like her sisters Jane and Paulette.Andree Nardal provided her
perspective on Black Parisian culture through a gendered lens. In her article
"Notes on the Biguine Creole," she explored the appropriation of Antillean
dance culture by Parisians.Additionally, Nardal scrutinized African-American
activist Josephine Baker, suggesting that she contributed to the appropriation of
the biguine and the exoticization of women of color in French culture.
Nardal observed in the article that, up.on Baker's arrival in Paris, "Negro
cabarets" began to "spring up like mushrooms in Montparnasse." 30 Throughout
the piece, she compared the biguine as performed in the Antilles to the version
danced by Baker in the metropole. She described Baker's rendition of the
biguine as "nothing more than a rhythmic exercise." 31 To Nardal, the authentic
beguine "could not be presented to Parisians under an obscene interpretation:'32
She used strong language, stating that she "deplored" the Parisian interpretation
of the dance.To conclude the article, Nardal declared:
The romance of the guitars and mandolins, the garrulous shashas, the
tinkling triangles, the simple accordion of the country-side, the wailing
clarinet, the blaring trombone, the staccato of the strings, the muffled
beats of the bass-drum, transform the dreariest winter day into the
dazzling tropical sunshine flooding the palms. 33
Nardal's examination of Antillean dance indicated to the reader its power and
beauty, since, according to Nardal, the authentic biguine could "transform the
28
21
22
23
Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, 155:Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, I 55
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
For more information about the Nardal's salon, an informative article
is: Robert P. Smith Jr, " Black like that Paulette Nardal and the Negritude
Salon," CIA Journal 45, no. I (September 200 I): 53-68.
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Ibid
Ibid
24
25
26
27
74
FALL 2019
29
30
3I
32
33
Paulette Nardal, " The Awakening of Race Consciousness among Black Students," The
Review of the Black World April 1932, translated by T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting in
Negritude Women (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002), I 19.
Achille, Preface, The Review of the Black World.
Andree Nardal," Notes on a Biguine Creole," The Review of the Black World I; no. I
(November 1931) Digital Collections: Bibliotheque nationale de France, accessed
December 8, 2018, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/ I 2 I 48/bpt6k32946v/f87.item.
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
FALL 2019
75
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
dreariest winter day into the dazzling tropical sunshine." 34 By writing this articl
The women of color living in the metropolis, who until the Colonial
Exposition were less favored than their male compatriots, who have
Nardal displayed pride in her Antillean identity. Her attempt to ascertain the
beguine from dance in the metropole indicated that Nardal sought to preserve
enjoyed easy success, felt long before the latter the need for a racial
an element of Antillean culture.
solidarity that would not be merely material. They were thus aroused to
When Nardal wrote "Notes on the Biguine Creole," she responded
race consciousness. 37
to the erotization of Antillean women. French literary and popular culture
)he continued by encouraging Antillean women to pursue degrees in history
sexualized women of color, with Baker perpetuating that image. For instance, nd geography to produce scholarship which explored not only their Blackness,
Jane Nardal wrote about Baker's role in solidifying harmful stereotypes of Blad( ~t also their identities as women. The Nardal sisters' work in The Review of
women in her article "Exotic Puppets" for the publication The African Dispatch. theBlack World and their diasporic activities at the Clarmart Salon allow for
She noted that Baker " leaps onstage with her shellacked hair," in her banana
i divergent reading of the development of race consciousness in the Parisian
skirt. 35 Andree Nardal's insistence that the partners never embraced during the metropole and the emergence of the Negritude Movement.The Nardals'
biguine in the Antilles, like they did in the metropole, demonstrated her attemix articles in the publication set the foundation for the movement through a
to present the dance as non-sexual, the opposite of Baker's· performances.The ~minized lens.As Paulette Nardal declared in a letter referring to Senghor,
Nardals also examined politics in The Review of the Black World, such as Paulette Cesaire, and Damas in 1963, "We were, but women, real pioneers, let's say we
Nardal's essay, "The Awakening of Race Consciousness among Black Students:' blazed the trail for them: ' 38
Conclusion: Paulette Nardal and "Awakening of Race Consciousness
among Students"
Paulette Nardal wrote her article "The Awakening of Race Consciousness
among Black Students" for the April 1932 edition of The Review of the Black
World. At the time Nardal wrote the article, she noted that people of color,
specifically young people, were beginning to take an interest in their Black
identities. In the article, she discussed the emergence of race consciousness
among Antillean students in the metropole and in Martinique noting, "A mere
few years ago, one might not even say a few months, certain subjects were
taboo in Martinique. Woe to those who dared broach them! One could
not speak of slavery nor proclaim pride in being of African descent without
being considered a fanatic or at the very least eccentric: ' 36 Significantly,
Nardal emphasized Antillean women's role in the development of this race
consciousness.
With this article, Nardal centered the experiences of women of color in
the metropole, removing them from the periphery. The piece challenges the
male-centered narrative of the Negritude Movement. Nardal declared:
34
35
36
76
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Hughes, Langston. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Edited by Arnold
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levinson,Andre Ross. "The Negro Dance Under European Eyes." in Andre
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Morand, Paul. Black Magic. NewYork:TheViking Press, 1929.
Ibid
Jane Nardal. "Exotic Puppets," The African Dispatch, (October I 5, 1928) Translated by T. Deneal' l
~
Sharpley-Whiting in Negritude Women (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press), I 08.
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Ibid
Quoted in Edwards, Practice of Diaspora, 122
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
The Rhetoric of Breastfeeding
and Women's Voices about
Their Experiences
Laura Durnin, Ashley Barrett, and Trinni Stevens
University
of Central
Oklahoma
Abstract
Over the last few years, we have become more concerned about the rhetoric
and stigma surrounding breastfeeding. We kept hearing stories from women
who wanted to breastfeed, but their doctors or families told them that it was
too difficult and that they should switch to formula. Alternatively, we would
hear the flipside, women who wanted to breastfeed some, or not at all, and
were being shamed for formula or combination breast milk/formula feeding.
These stories led Laura to work with Ashley Barrett, an International Board
Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC}, to design and distribute a survey
asking women to answer both qualitative and quantitative questions about
their breastfeeding experiences and the information that they had received
from doctors, support groups, IBCLCs/LCs, friends, and family pertaining to
breastfeeding. We wanted to gain an understanding of the larger picture of
what women are being told and to codify those anecdotal stories. This paper
discusses the respondents' demographic information and some of the findings
from that survey, with the hopes of empowering women to ask questions and
seek help in order to have the feeding experience that works best for them.
T
his project began at the start of 2017, as Laura was in the process of
breastfeeding her second child. She had faced some misinformation
from doctors and from women in Facebook mom groups along the way.
Ashley Barrett, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
(IBCLC), came on for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process to develop
an online survey (IRB #17080).We posted the link in some local and national
breastfeeding and mom's groups, and hoped for the best. Less than 3 weeks
after the survey first went live, we closed it with over 4,000 responses. The
survey even reached women outside of the United States, giving us a small
window into breastfeeding challenges around the world.We were amazed by
how many women wanted to respond to questions about their breastfeeding
journeys.
As we developed the survey, we anticipated that many women were
getting advice from their doctors.We also anticipated, based on anecdotal
,vidence from our local mom groups, that women were not hearing the most
up-to-date information from those doctors.Although, in 2012, the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had reaffirmed the recommendation for exclusive
breastfeeding during a baby's first 6 months, "followed by breastfeeding in
combination with the introduction of complementary foods until at least
12 months of age, and continuation of breastfeeding for as long as mutually
desired by mother and baby," this did not match up with what women said
they were being told by their doctors.The World Health Organization (WHO)
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also have similar
statements (CDC, 20 I Sb;WHO, 2018).
This paper focuses on the methodology of our study, some of the
demographic and occupational information of these women, and information
about where they looked for advice about breastfeeding outside of any
breastfeeding classes that they took prior to the birth of their child or children.
We look specifically at Question I I :"Where, aside from this [breastfeedingrelated] class, did you go for information about breastfeeding?" because this
question seemed to give some interesting insight into the how behind where
women were getting advice.We believe this information to be extremely
valuable for IBCLCs, LCs, nurses, and doctors, because without knowing how
and where women are receiving breastfeeding information, professionals are
less able to combat the transfer of incorrect information.We also discuss some
of the implications of our findings.
Methods
We designed an anonymous survey with 47 total questions, 29 of which
asking where women were obtaining breastfeeding information; the other
questions were demographic in nature.We included a mixture of quantitative
and qualitative questions in order to better understand the issues.While all of
the questions required a response of some kind, the option of"Prefer not to
answer" was given on all questions, leading to missing answers in some places.
We searched Facebook (FB) to find mostly American-based groups
related to breastfeeding, and contacted the administrators of those groups
for permission to post the survey.We also posted the survey in a few central
Oklahoma mom groups. Participants were invited to take the survey and
~ncouraged to share it to other groups where they felt that it would be of
interest. Participation was limited to women assigned female at birth who had
children.We did not specify birth parent, stepparent, or adoptive parent.
FALL 20 I 9
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
the largest group of women were in their 30s (63.95%), followed by women in
their 20s (29.84%).The majority of respondents who attempted to breastfeed
-.,,ere married (89.75%) and white/Caucasian (91.25%). (See Table I and Table
2,) Those numbers remained similar when we removed the women whose
youngest child was over four years old.
To increase the reliability of our codes, we brought in Trinni Stevens
as a research assistant. We coded the answers separately and then came
back together to discuss responses that we had not coded in the same way.
Demographic information and quantitative questions were processed by an
outside researcher using SPSS v. 24.
Results
A total of 4,052 people participated in the survey in some capacity. Not all
respondents answered every question.
Tobie 2: Ethnicity
Ethnicity
Attempted to
breastfeed
Percent
Attempted to breastfed;
youngest child under 4
Percent
General Demographics
We received responses from women in 29 countries with over 93% of
respondents living in the United States. Canada, the United Kingdom, and
Australia made up the largest portion of the other countries, combining to
make just over 5% of total respondents.
The women's ages ranged from 19 to 77 years, with almost 87% of the
total respondents being between 24 and 40 years old.We were most interested
in the women with children aged three and under, as these women were most
likely to either be currently breastfeeding or to have more recently finished
breastfeeding.After removing the women whose children were age 4 or older,
Table I: Are you now married, widowed, divorced, separated, or never married?
Marital
status
Attempted to
breastfeed
Percent
Attempted to breastfed;
youngest child under 4
Percent
3,309
89.75
2,929
90.49
10
0.27
6
0.19
Divorced
85
2.31
56
1.73
37
1.00
29
0.90
229
6.21
205
6.33
17
0.46
12
0.37
3,687
100.00
3,237
100.00
Separated
Never
Married
Prefer not
to answer
Subtotal
Missing
Total
82
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0.59
Asian
31
Black or African
American
36
Hispanic
Middle Eastern
or Arab
Native Hawaiian
or Pacific Islander
365
815
4,052
4,052
19
0.60
0.87
28
0.89
1.01
33
I.OS
104
2.92
97
3.08
70
1.96
61
1.94
5
0.14
5
0.16
3,255
91.25
2,869
91.11
Other, please
specify
16
0.45
12
0.38
Prefer not
29
0.81
25
0.79
3,567
100.00
3,343
100.00
White/Caucasian
Widowed
Married
21
American Indian
or Alaska Native
to answer
Subtotal
Missing
Total
485
903
4,052
4,052
.
Of the women who attempted to breastfeed at least one of their children,
incomes ranged from "Less than $10,000" to "$150,000 or more" (see Table 3)
at the time they completed the survey in 2017, with"$ I 00,000-$149, 999" being
the most common answer (20.04%).When we removed the women whose
Children were 4 years or older, we found that the percentages did not change
111 llch. The "$100,000-$149,000" range was still the most common answer
(
19.93%).
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Table 3: Household income in 2016 before taxes.
Income level
Attempted
to breastfeed
Less than
$10,000
Percent
Attempted to
breastfed; youngest
child under 4
Percent~
category
S4
1.46
47
l.45
$10,000 to
$19,999
IOI
2.74
92
2.84
$20,000 to
189
S. 13
164
5.07
24S
6.64
217
6.70
-
$29,999
$30,000 to
$39,999
$40,000 to
267
7.24
238
301
8.16
271
8.37
297
8.06
259
8.00
7.35
$49,999
full time increased slightly (37.16%), as did the "Not working (other)" category
(28.19%).
Women who attempted to breastfeed at least one of their children had
an education level ranging from "less than high school degree" to "professional
degree" or "doctoral degree," with the most common response being a
bachelor's degree (37.12%), followed by a master's degree (22.56%). (See Table
4.) If we look at the women whose children were under the age of four, we find
that-aside from a jump back up with a professional degree-the higher the
education level, the lower the attempt to breastfeed.
Table 4:What is the highest level of school you have completed
or the highest degree you have received?
Education level
$50,000 to
Percent
of total
Attempted to
breastfeed
$59,999
$60,000 to
$69,999
$70,000 to
3S4
9.60
319
9.85
$79,999
$80,000 to
Percent of
category
Attempted
to breastfed;
youngest child
under 4
16
0.43
16
100.00
High school graduate
(high school diploma or
equivalent including GED)
163
4.42
150
92.02
Less than high
school degree
277
7.51
246
7.60
8.00
260
8.03
Some college but
no degree
640
17.3S
S77
90.16
29S
$100,000 to
$149,999
20.04
645
19.93
Associate's degree
in college (2-year)
413
11.23
3S1
84.78
739
4S0
12.21
384
11.46
Bachelor's degree in
college (4-year)
1,369
37.12
1202
87.80
$150,000
or more
118
3.20
95
2.93
Master's degree
832
22.S6
727
87.38
Prefer not
to answer
Doctoral degree
(PhD, PsyD)
93
2.52
70
75.27
1S4
4. 18
139
90.26
7
0.19
s
N/A
100.00
3,237
NIA
$89,999
$90,000 to
$99,999
Subtotal
3,687
Missing
Total
100.00
3,237
365
815
4,052
4,052
100.00
More than half of the women who attempted to breastfeed were working
in some capacity (57%), with "working full-time" being the most common
response (32.38%), followed by "Not working (other)" (26.32%). Many of
the women in the "Not working (other)" category indicated that they were
currently stay-at-home mothers.When we removed the women whose
youngest child was~over age 4, the women who were reported to be working
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FALL 2019
Professional degree
OD. MD)
Prefer not to answer
Subtotal
Missing
3,687
_!otal
4,052
365
815-
4,052
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
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Table 8:Women who saw doctors also checked with these sources
Source
Doctor
(not specific)
Doctor
(pediatrician)
fable 9:Women who saw a midwife also checked with these sources
~
Doctor
(family practice/OB)
#
%
#
%
#
%
Books
I
3.73
2
4.44
3
9.38
Breastfeeding support
groups (not specific)
0
0
I
2.22
I
3. 13
Class
0
0
0
0
I
3. 13
Doula
0
0
I
2.22
I
3.13
Dr. (not specific)
N/A
-
I
2.22
0
0
Dr. (pediatrician)
I
3.73
N/A
-
5
I 5.63
Dr. (family practice/OB)
0
0
s
FB group/Online mama
group/forum
4
14.81
I
2.22
2
6.25
Friends/Family/Peers (other
mothers), Colleagues
6
22.22
6
13.33
3
9.38
Internet sources
2
N/A
----
source
I
0.89
Books
9
8.04
Breastfeeding support groups
4
3.57
Class
3
2.68
~Doula
s
4.45
~Dr. (not specific)
I
0.89
Dr. (pediatrician)
3
2.68
Dr. (family practice/OB)
I
0.89
FB group/ Online mama group/forum
9
8.04
22
19.64
Biogs
friends/Family/Peers (other mothers), Colleagues
Home visit nurse/Specialist
Internet sources
7.41
10
22.22
3
9.38
Kellymom.com
LC/IBCLC/CLC or unspecified "lactation consultant"
0.89
LLL
s
4.45
LLL Media
4
3.57
Nurse-RN/Hospital staff
I
0.89
I
0.89
2.22
2
6.25
10
22.22
s
15.63
LLL
0
0
3
6.67
2
6.25
LLL media
I
3.73
0
0
0
0
Mama group (not specific)
I
3.73
0
0
I
3.13
WIC/Public health
Midwife
I
3.73
2
4.44
I
3.13
Total
3.13
3.73
0
0
I
3.73
2
4.44
0
0
YouTubeNideo
I
3.73
0
0
I
3.13
Total
27
45
32
Women who saw midwives. The number of women who sought help from
a midwife (59) was similar to the number who sought help from a doctor (50).
Of those women, eight of them did not seek help from any other source. (See
Table 9.)
Women who saw a midwife had moderate levels of speaking with Friends/
Family/Peers ( 19.64%), of using all combined Internet sources (33.04%), and of
speaking with a lactation consultant of some kind ( 13.39%).
88
FALL 20 19
8.04
13.39
I
14.81
I
9
I
I I. I I
4
I
0.89
15. 18
IS
3
LC/IBCLC/CLC or unspecified
"lactation consultant"
Nurse-RN/Hospital staff
I
17
Leaky Boob
Kellymom.com
WIC/Public health
Number of responses
#
%
112
Women who saw a lactation consultant of some kind. There were 41 S
women who indicated that they saw a lactation consultant of some kind.These
women also used a wide variety of sources for breastfeeding information. (See
Table I 0.) They most often also used Friends/Family/Peers ( 18.80%) and the
Internet ( 17.99%). Combined Internet sources were, by far, the most consulted
source (41.50%).
Women who looked to the Internet for advice. Women used Internet
sources for breastfeeding help at the highest rates of any source. Looking at all
Internet sources taken together, the women who responded to this question
used Internet sources of some kind a total of 1,30 I times. (See Table I I.) While
some women used multiple types of Internet responses, many of these were
separate individuals.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Table I 0: Sources also used by women who saw a lactation consultant
Number of responses
Source
%
#
5
Blog
57
Books
Breastfeeding hotline
I
52
---0,81
9,24
0.16
8.4)
Tobie I I: Types of Internet sources used for advice
source
Number of responses
%
#
Biogs
FB group/Online mama group
lnfantRisk/LactMed
26
2.00
383
29.44
6
0.46
Nonspecific Internet sources
640
49.19
Kellymom.com
192
15
0.65
2.43
Leaky Boob
17
14.76
1.31
Dr. (not specific)
2
0.32
Pinterest
10
0.77
Dr. (pediatrician)
11
1.78
Podcasts
2
0.15
9
1.46
12.32
25
1.92
76
Breastfeeding support groups
Class
4
Doula
Dr. (family practice/OB)
FB group/Online mama group/forum
116
18.80
Home visit nurse/Specialist
4
0.65
InfantRisk/LactMed
4
0.65
111
17.99
ss
8.91
I
Friends/Family/Peers (other mothers), Colleagues
Internet sources
Kellymom.com
LLL
53
0.16
8.59
LLL Media
22
3.57
Leaky Boob
7
1.13
Midwife
IS
2.43
Nurse-RN/Hospital staff
19
3.08
Other
6
0.97
Other reading material
4
0.65
Phone app
I
0.16
Pinterest
I
0.16
Mama group (not specific)
Podcasts
I
Self/Own credentials
4
0.1!
0.65
0.8~
Store
s
WIC/Public health
8
1.3~
YouTubeNideo
2
o.~
617
Total
90
FALL 20 19
~
YouTubeNideo
Total responses
1,301
Women who asked Friends/Family/Peers/Colleagues for advice. The
next most common place for women to seek breastfeeding information was
from Friends/ Family/Peers/Colleagues, with 549 women utilizing those sources.
While the women who used Friends/Family/Peers/Colleagues for advice used a
wide variety of other sources, they supplemented this advice most often with
information from Internet sources, FB group/Online mama group, LC/IBCLC/
CLC or unspecified "lactation consultant;' and Books. (See Table 12.)
Discussion
This section contextualizes our results.
Genera/ Demographics
Looking at an overall picture of the women who responded to the survey,
some interesting correlations and differences between our population
and the general U.S. population. Most of the respondents with children
Under the age of 4 were born between 1978-1997, meaning that they were
in their 20s and 30s (cumulatively 3,307 or 93.79%).The women were also
Predominantly religious (62.22% combined), married (89.75%), white/Caucasian
(84.33%), often working full-time (39.35% combined), and they attempted to
breastfeed (90.8%).
These demographics begin to paint a picture of a respondent who is in
some ways similar to the general population of the United States, but in other
ways, starkly different. (See Table 13.) Our respondents are ethnically, religiously,
and economically similar to the general population. However, our respondents
we find
FALL 20 19
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
f able 13· Overall demographic statistics of the respondents versus general US population
Table 12:Women who asked Friends/Family/Peers/Colleagues for advice
Friends/Family/Peers/Colleag~
Source
#
Biogs
%
-
10
1.12
112
12.56
2
0.22
34
3.81
3
0.34
13
1.46
Dr. (not specific)
6
0.67
Dr. (pediatrician)
7
Books
Breastfeeding hotline
Breastfeeding support group
Class (not a dedicated breastfeeding class)
Doula
Dr. (family practice/OB)
20.58 5
Income level above $ I 00,000
31.77
1
29.206
66.08
33.40 7
0.78
Obtained at least a
bachelor's degree
1
I or 2 children
77.27
--
Youngest child under I year
46.28
5.06'
Attempted to breastfeed
90.80
83.209
lnfantRisk/LactMed
3
0.34
217
24.33
66
7.40
116
13.00
3
0.34
LLL
58
6.50
LLL media
25
2.80
0.56
-
43.01 2
39.35
0.45
5
89.75
Working full-time
4
Mama group (not specific)
Mar ried
Religious
Home visit nurse/Specialist
LeakyBoob
White
76.66'
--
0.56
LC/IBCLC/CLC or unspecified "lactation consultant"
N/A
84.33
80. 03◄
14.24
Kellymom.com
93.46
from the United States
62.22
5
Internet sources
2.47
Midwife
22
Nurse-RN/Hospital staff
16
1.79
Other
3
0.34
Other reading material
8
0.90
Pinterest
4
0.45
Born between 1978-1987
were more than twice as likely to be married, almost twice as likely to be
working full-time, almost twice as likely to have a college education, and were
eight times as likely to have a child under the age of one year in their homes.
Looking at income ranges at the time the women took the survey, we
found that the largest category of respondents fell into the $100,000-$149,000
range, and that the second largest category was the $150,000+ range. These
two categories comprised 32.24% of the total responses.When we excluded
the women whose youngest child was over 4 years old, or who did not answer
this question, we found that the women at the higher end of the income range
still made up almost one third (32.23%) of the responses.
Podcasts
I
0. 11
Self/Own credentials
7
0.78
3
Store
2
0.22
1
WIC/Public health
5
0.56
YouTubeNideo
8
0.90
Total
892
Note: Because women could choose more than one category, the total number
of responses is greater than the number of women who responded.
2
5
6
7
8
9
92
FALL 2019
Percentage of U .S.
population
Percentage from survey
63.95'
127
FB group/Online mama group
oominant traits of
respondents
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/ 183489/
population-of-the-us-by-ethnicity-since-2000/
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/242030/marital-status-of-the-us-population-by-sex/
Adjusted to remove women whose youngest child was 4+ years old
Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/ 187955/percentage-christians-drifting-down-high.aspx
Source: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat08.htm
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/203 I 83/percentagedistribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/
Source: https://theh i11.com/homenews/state-watch/326 99 5-censusmore-americans-have-col lege-degrees-than-ever-before
Source: https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/ I 00-child-populationby-single-age?loc= I &loct= I #detailed/I /any/false/871 /42,61 /418
Source: https://www.cdc .gov/breastfeeding/data/repor tcard .htm
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
It is interesting that women at the higher end of the income range made
up approximately one third of the women who chose to respond to the incorne
question, considering that the average U.S. household income as of 20 IS was
$65,565 (Frankel, 2017). This difference in our respondents as compared to the
general population could have to do with a number of factors, such as access
to the Internet and a knowledge that breastfeeding groups or mother's groups
exist on line. This income demographic may have skewed our results somewhat,
since awareness of breastfeeding help is one of the key factors in seeking help
from sources other than a doctor or public health department.We assume
that women at the higher end of the income range would be more likely to be
aware of the multitude of options for breastfeeding help.
In contrast to the general U.S. population, the respondents also leaned
more heavily toward having completed college at the time they completed the
survey, with 66.38% of the women who responded indicating that they had
obtained at least a bachelor's degree. These results seem to agree with other
studies that correlate education levels with attempting to breastfeed (Acharya
& Khanal, 20 IS; Heck, Braveman, Cubbin, Chavez, & Kiely, 2006).
Interestingly, with the exception of women with a professional degree,
the more education a woman had obtained, the less likely she was to have
attempted to breastfeed any of her children. This could have to do with a
number of factors. It is likely that gaining more education means that a woman
will be outside of the home in some capacity (often working), which can make
it harder to maintain a breastfeeding relationship. Some women do not have
access to a private pumping area or a place to store their pumped milk at work.
Other women may not respond well to a breast pump. Still others may not wish
to deal with the hassle of pumping and storing milk.
We also found that, when considering the women whose children were
under the age of four, the percentage of women working and attempting to
breastfeed went up. This may have to do with Affordable Care Act requirements
that women have access to a breast pump through their insurance company
as of January I, 2013 (Kliff, 2013). Our survey circulated in early 2017, meaning
that the oldest children potentially affected by this law would have been four.
With regard to the number of children a woman had and her likelihood
to have attempted to breastfeed any of them, we found that the likelihood
of attempting breastfeeding decreased as the number of children increased
from one to four.This decrease could be due to a variety of factors, such as
feeling pressed for time with toddlers and young children around, not feeling
comfortable with the idea of nursing or with their own nursing ability, time it
takes to pump (especially for exclusively pumping mothers), or wanting to have
94
FALL2019
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
someone else help with feeding the baby (preference for formula over breast
milk). However, with the addition of the fifth child, the rates of attempted
breastfeeding increased again, but dropped slightly with the addition of the
sixth child.This increase could be due to a variety of factors including the cost
of formula versus the cost of breastfeeding, comfort with the idea of nursing,
comfort with nursing ability, or determination to try (or try again).
Because the women in our survey overwhelmingly tended to be married,
our results may have been skewed somewhat.Women who are in committed
relationships may have more breastfeeding support or may have more access
to a variety of resources through that expanded family network. Several
international studies have been done showing that rates of breastfeeding and
satisfaction with breastfeeding increase when a woman has family or partner
support (Abbass-Dick & Dennis, 2018; Ekstrom, Windstrom, & Nissen, 2003;
Tohotoa, Maycock, Hauck, Howat, Burns, & Binns, 2009).Aside from the high
rates of marriage, our respondents also had very high rates of attempting to
breastfeed. (See Table 14.) According to the CDC 20 I B(a) report card on
breastfeeding, across the United States, 83.2% of women attempt to breastfeed,
which is lower than both our overall rate (90.99%) and our rate of women with
a child under age 4 (90.80%).
QI I discussion
Overall, we were surprised by the breadth of sources that women used
when they had questions about breastfeeding. We had originally hypothesized
that women would primarily speak with their doctors, but it turned out that
Table 14: Marital status and the attempt to breastfeed
Marital status
Divorced
Married
Never married
_!eparated
_Widowed
Prefer not to answer
,..!ubtotal
~issing
.,!otal
Attempted to breastfeed
Attempted to breastfed;
youngest child under 4
#
%
#
%
85
2.31
56
1.73
3,309
89.75
2,929
90.49
229
6.21
205
6.33
37
1.00
29
0.90
0.19
10
0.27
6
17
0.46
12
0.37
3,687
100.00
3,237
100.00
815
365
4,052
I
4,052
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
the top choices for breastfeeding advice were Internet sources of some kind
(47.23%), with Facebook and online groups making up I 1.10% of the total,
followed by Friends/Family/Peers ( 15.90%). The large number of women using
the Internet for advice about breastfeeding is perhaps not surprising, given that
the majority of our respondents were in their 20s and 30s, and most likely had
access to smartphones. Today, advice is readily available to women through their
phones at all times. Peer-to-peer sharing seems to be an important part of the
breastfeeding journey, based on how many women are looking to friends, family,
or online groups for advice. Breastfeeding can be a challenging process, and
hearing stories from other women about their journeys can help women to see
the range of"normal" when it comes to breastfeeding.
Given that our respondents were well-educated and likely to be uppermiddle-class (58.06% as defined by having an income of $70,000+ annually)
(Kochhar, 2018), the results from QI I start to take on more meaning. Over
half of the respondents indicated that they received some advice about
breastfeeding from their doctors (59.16%), but only 50 (2.99%) women later
indicated that they had sought out advice from their doctors. This response, in
solitude, was one that we were surprised to find. However, as we look back
at our demographics, that response begins to make more sense. Women with
higher educations and higher salaries are probably more likely to have access to
other means of advice.
Women who used Family/Friends/Peers for advice on breastfeeding
were the most likely to also use the Internet. This was perhaps not surprising,
since women are likely to receive conflicting advice from different personal
connections. They might want to double-check advice to ensure that they are
doing the best for their baby. Table 15 shows which sources were most often
used by women who also used Friends/Family/Peers, all combined Internet
sources, and lactation consultants of some kind.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, women who saw a lactation consultant of some
kind also had very high Internet usage (41.50%). Until they have done some
Internet searching, many women may not realize that lactation consultants are
available to them. Women may also not realize that they have an identifiable
problem with feeding, or a potentially solvable problem, until they have looked
for answers to their concerns.
Of the women who used a doctor of some kind, those who went to
a pediatrician had the highest rates of looking for answers elsewhere, with
the Internet (37.33%) being the most likely place for them to look.We had
expected that most women would also look to the Internet or Friends/Family/
Peers in conjunction with asking a doctor for help, and were surprised to see
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Table I 5: Most o~en used sources compared as percentages
source
Internet
sources
combined
Friends/Family/Peers
(other mothers),
colleagues
Lactation
consultant
Dr. (not specific)
14.81
40.74
14.81
Dr. (pediatrician)
13.33
37.77
22.22
9.38
25.01
15.63
--
49.22
13.00
Lactation consultant
18.80
41.50
--
Midwife
19.64
33.04
13.39
WIC/Public health
10.00
38.00
16.00
Dr. (family practice/OB)
friends/Family/Peers (other
mothers), colleagues
that those numbers were so low. However, given that so many women rated
the information that they received from their doctor as favorable (64.91 %), this
could be less surprising.
Women who saw a midwife had moderate levels of speaking with Friends/
Family/Peers ( 19.64%) and moderate levels of using all combined Internet
sources (33.04%), as well as levels of speaking with a lactation consultant of
some kind ( 13.39%). We had anticipated that the number of women also using
lactation consultants might be higher, since we tend to think of midwives as
providing more holistic mother/baby care than doctors do. It was surprising to
see that women using a midwife had the next-to-lowest percent of also using a
lactation consultant.
Of the women who spoke with a doctor for help with breastfeeding,
five of them did not seek information anywhere else. However, the other 45
women did seek other advice. Our original hypothesis led us to believe that the
number of women primarily using a doctor might be higher; we were pleasantly
surprised to find this number so low, as this meant that most women were
likely either receptive to seeking information from multiple sources or were
aware that this was also an option.
Conclusion
The number of responses that we received to this survey suggests that
discussing breastfeeding is something that many women want to do.As health
Professionals search for ways to increase overall breastfeeding rates in the
United States, more studies could seek to ask women what they need in the
'Way of advice and support in order to meet their breastfeeding goals. Further
research might focus on determining which sites women turn to first, to ensure
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL D ISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
ApPendix A, Table 16: List of categories for coding QI I
that women are reaching correct information quickly. Perhaps by asking women
about how to best support them, we can find better solutions for encouraging
every mother to meet her personal goals in regard to feeding her baby.
rCategory
Comments
r AAPIWHO/CDC
,---Biogs
-Books
References
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and satisfaction with a co-parenting breastfeeding support intervention
in Canada. Midwifery, 56, 135-141. DOI: https://doi.org/ I 0.1016/j.
midw.20 17. I 0.005
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initiation of breastfeeding: Further analysis of three consecutive Nepal
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s 12889-015-2405-y
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2012).AAP reaffirms breastfeeding guidelines.
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Pages/AAP-Reaffirms-Breastfeeding-Guidelines.aspx
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Labor force statistics from the current
population survey. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat08.htm
CDC. (2018a). Breastfeeding report card: United States, 2018. Retrieved from
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CDC.(2018b). CDC'S work to support & promote breastfeeding in hospitals,
worksites, & communities. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/
breastfeeding/pdf/breastfeeding-cdcs-work.pdf
Ekstrom.A., Windstrom,A-M, & Nissen, E. (2003). Breastfeeding support from
partners and grandmothers: Perceptions of Swedish women. Birth Issues
in Perinatal Care, 30(4), 261-266. DOI: https://doi.org/ I 0.1046/j. I 523536X.2003.00256.x
Frankel, M. (2017). Here's the average American household income-How do you compare? Retrieved from https://www.fool.com/
retirement/2016/ I 0/30/heres-the-average-american-household-incomehow-do.aspx
Heck, K., Braveman, P., Cubbin, C., Chavez, G., & Kiely,J. (2006). Socioeconomic
status and breastfeeding initiation among California mothers. Public Health
Reports, 121 (I), 51-59. DOI: I 0.1 I 77/003335490612I0011 I
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-Breastfeeding hotline
• Breastfeeding support groups (not specific)
• Class
• Doula
Dr. (not specific)
' Dr. (pediatrician)
' Dr. (family practice/OB)
' FB group/Online mama group/forum
' Friends/Family/Peers (other mothers), Colleagues
' Home visit nurse/Specialist
lnfantRisk/LactMed
Internet sources
Not including podcasts
Kellymom.com
LC/IBCLC/CLC or unspecified "lactation consultant"
Leaky Boob
LLL
LLL media
Local breastfeeding event
Mama group (not specific)
Not LLL
I
Midwife
I
'I
Nurse-RN/Hospital staff
Other
Infant specialist; occupational therapist;
yoga; Mother/baby clinic; walk-in
clinics; parenting center; Birth Right
Other reading material
Magazine, pamphlets, literature,
newsletters, etc.
Phone app
Pinterest
Podcasts
Self/Own credentials
Store
WIC/Public health
YouTubeNideo
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Kliff, S. (2013).The breast pump industry is booming, thanks to Obamacare.
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wp/2013/01/04/the-breast-pump-industry-is-booming-thanks-toobamacare/?noredirect=on&utm_ term= .449be3a 76b50y
Kochhar, R.(2018).The American middle class is stable in size, but losing
ground financially to upper-income families. Retrieved from http://www.
pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/the-american-middle-class-is-stable.
in-size-but-losing-ground-financially-to-upper-income-families/
Newport, F. (2015). Percentage of Christians in U.S. drifting down, but still high.
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Papenfuss, M. (2017). Poll: Percentage of Americans identifying as
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us 5a2dbf49e4b069ec48ae6aec
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Statista. (n.d.). Resident population of the United States by race from
2000 to 2017 (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/
statistics/ 183489/population-of-the-us-by-ethnicity-since-2000/
Tohotoa,J., Maycock, B., Hauk,Y. L., Howat, P., Burns, S., & Binns, C.W. (2009).
Dads make a difference:An exploratory study of paternal support for
breastfeeding in Perth, Western Australia. International Breastfeeding Journal,
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before. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995census-more-americans-have-college-degrees-than-ever-before
I 00
FALL 20 19
Sool< Review, Manufacturing
Urgency: The Development
Industry and Violence Against
Women
Julie Marzec
University
of Cincinnati
Manufacturing Urgency:The Development Industry and Violence Against Women,
Corinne L. Mason, University of Regina Press, 2017, 229 pages.
I
n her book Manufacturing Urgency:The Development Industry and Violence
Against Women, Corinne L. Mason explores how violence against wo~en
has become a "flavour of the day" in the n_eo-col~nial development industry
(3). By analyzing the discourse of U.S. foreign policy, the World Bank, and
the United Nations, Mason reveals how the issue of violence against women
is coopted by international actors in order to achieve _more convent'.onal
development goals, such as national security and neo-hberal :conom1c gr~~h
(29). She draws heavily upon transnational feminist theory, cnp theory, critical
race theory, and decolonial feminist theory to critique the international
development industry in a comprehensive and engaging manner.The depth and
broad scope of Manufacturing Urgency makes it appealing and approachable to a
wide range of audiences, particularly those interested in feminist development
studies.
Mason's methodology is highly influenced by transnational feminist
thought. By conducting a discursive analysis of official docum~n_ts, coupled
with interviews with development "experts;' she is able to critically evaluate
the construction of violence against women within the development and
security industries (5). Mason examines documents, imag~s, repo_rts, interviews,
policies, campaigns, and legislation to uncover how these mdustnes employ .
rhetoric against violence against women to manufacture a sense of urgency m
~rder to promote their own objectives and ~olitical ag~ndas_(20).Th_e result
1s a refreshing interdisciplinary and intersect1onal analysis of international
governance.
Manufacturing Urgency is divided into three main sections: an introduction,
three analytical chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction clearly establishes
Mason's motivations for examining urgency in the development industry and
lays the foundation for the book. She includes information about her research
FALL 20 19
IO I
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
methods, case studies, theoretical framework, and motivations for this project
The first chapter explores the connections between violence against
women and US international security objectives that aim to "make everyone
more secure" (43). Mason's first case study examines how US foreign policy,
particularly the "Hilary Doctrine," obscures gender inequality in the United
States by focusing on violence against third-world women as a more urgent
area of interest, emphasizing violence against women as a problem for "other"
women outside of the United States (57).
Chapter two examines the rhetoric surrounding the global economic
cost of violence against women and focuses specifically on the World Bank,
a significant knowledge producer and powerful influence on international
development policy (79). Mason concentrates on the continuation of the
colonial legacy of racialized ableism within the international economic
development industry and the consequences of this agenda on vulnerable
women. She uses disability, crip, and feminist theories to critique current
approaches to combating violence against women and the ways in which these
approaches further eclipse the complexities of the epidemic.
The third chapter focuses on two United Nations initiatives that aim
to combat violence against women: UNiTE to End Violence against Women
and the Say No campaign. Mason draws upon affect theory to expose how
development campaigns are "stealing the pain of others" to promote "telescopic
feelings" of Western superiority over the global South and eschewing feelings of
accountability ( 164).
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main objectives and findings of the
book, as well as the book's limitations. She recapitulates the arguments of each
chapter, highlighting how nationalism, anti-terrorism, and economic jargon have
distressing consequences for women and anti-violence movements. She also
uses this section to re-emphasize the "laborious discursive manoeuvers" leading
to current sense of urgency in the development industry around violence
against women ( 183).
Mason seamlessly ties each chapter together by drawing comparisons
between distinct development strategies. One major contribution to the book
is her intersectional critique of the sexist, ableist, racist, and imperialist nature
of the international development industry. She provides enough historical
context for her argument without obscuring it, an arduous task given the scope
of her research. She also employs an accessible, engaging writing style that
would appeal to a wide range of readers, academic and activists alike, one of the
many strengths of her book.
While Mason's book has strong, well-supported arguments, it also has
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
nrnitations. Her view of the international development industry is notably grimperhaps rightfully so--but I argue that her thesis would benefit fro'.11 ~ deeper
0 rnparative analysis of successful, grassroots development and ant1-v1olence
~nitiatives.Although she briefly touches upon a handful of promising movements,
~aders may be left with a sense that all efforts to combat violence against
wcrnen are in vain, discounting the decades of demanding work done by local
wcmen. By integrating the perspectives of advocates, "femocrats;' and thirdworld feminist activists, as well as studying the impacts of current initiatives on
the ground, she could identify possible strategies to improving responses to
violence against women (195).
Manufacturing Urgency offers a unique perspective into the development
industry and the recent push to combat violence against women. Mason
boldly critiques a development objective that is seemingly beyond reproach by
examining the nee-colonial nationalist motivations behind initiatives combating
violence against women. She successfully demonstrates how the manufactured
sense of urgency around violence against women has not been matched by
financial investment and has caused greater harm than good to vulnerable
women, particularly those in those in the global South. Mason's book is an
honest, decisive, and absorbing examination of the seemingly benevolent
development industry and the disturbing consequences of neoliberal policies on
the lives of women worldwide.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
~lyssa Diamond is a History and Museum Studies
,najor at the University of Central Oklahoma.A
former Sexual Health Ambassador, she is working
towards stopping queer erasure from her chosen
fields of study. She lives by one mantra: everyone
has a place in history and deserves to be recognized
Maria Teresa Balogh is a bilingual, bicultural poet,
for who they were. No one is a myth.
fiction writer, Caribbean folkloric dancer, occasional
doodler/painter, and educator. She has a book of
poetry in Spanish by a Spanish publisher, and an English
collection of poetry and fiction by Cool Way Press.
Marfa has done just about everything everywhere,
including building rural aqueducts while in the Peace
Corps. She now teaches Spanish, specializing in
Latin American literature and culture, and creative
writing at the University of Missouri St Louis
It
Laur-a Dumin is an Associate Professor at the
University of Central Oklahoma where she is the
Director ofTechnicalWriting and the MA Composition
and Rhetoric Advisor. She believes that women
deserve evidenced-based care and that women's
voices are powerful. Much of her current research
IE
Caitlin Carnall is a graduate of the University
0
of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor's degree in
r1
rh
English-Creative Writing. Her genres of focus include
is
poetry, flash fiction, and short story. She takes
·c
pride in writing on and about issues of inequality
e,
of all sorts, sexual assault, and mental illness.
surrounds breastfeeding, including resources for
mothers and the stigma surrounding the practice.
Sophia Kirby was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in
December 1993. She graduated in 2014 from Connors
■
State College, then again in 2016 from Northeastern
Bridget Cuadra is a History graduate student with a
State University in Tahlequah, where she majored in
BA in History (minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies)
English. Sophia's long-time passions include creating
at the University of Central Oklahoma. Her research
art, Writing poetry, reading, playing video games
br
interests are the African Diaspora and Gender history.
by Nintendo, and encouraging her friends as they
afl
Bridget works at UC O's Women's Research and
encourage her-with hugs, hilarious and very humble
SU
BGLTQ+ Student Center, where she researches women's
humor, and unyielding reassurance. She wasn't always
reproductive rights and topics related to sexual health.
'Sophia,' but the name is now her umbrella in the rain.
(IE
an
w
h<
jo
104
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Julie Marzec is pursuing her PhD in Social Policy at
the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University
of Minnesota where she is a fellow at the International
Center for Global Change. She earned her MA in
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and her BA in
International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati.
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Corrie Reagan currently lives and works in Edmond
and Oklahoma City. Originally from Denton,Texas, she
received her BFA in Studio Art from the University
of Central Oklahoma in 2017.An interdisciplinary
artist, Reagan primarily works in oil paint and utilizes
traditional surfaces and techniques. Her work focuses
on emotions and personal identity, drawing inspiration
from her personal experiences trying to balance life as an
artist with motherhood and familial responsibilities. Her
artwork has been featured in several galleries and public
exhibition spaces in the Oklahoma City area, including
the Melton Gallery, the University of Central Oklahoma
Dr. Swati Sucharita Nanda teaches Political
Student Gallery, and the Inasmuch Foundation Gallery.
Science at DAV PG College.Varanasi (India). She
has a doctorate in International Relations Theory
and specialises in Feminist International Relations.A
Mariana Serrano graduated from Eastern Connecticut
feminist practitioner, she has worked in the Indian
State University, where she studied Health Sciences,
Development sector for a few years and is committed
Biology, and Anthropology. She is obtaining her MPH with
to gender equality in different spheres of life.
a concentration in healthcare policy and law with the
intent of becoming a reproductive health physician. Her
goal is to practice and implement policies around gender
and sexual fluidity while uplifting barriers on social
injusticies and challenging societal norms. She devotes her
time to mentoring both high school and college minority
Michelle Ramstack is a current graduate student in
students, conducting anthropological research and
Texas State University's Public History program.Their
implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion in her spaces.
academic work focuses on queer history, oral history,
and cultural resource management. Michelle plans
Savannah Waters has an M.A. in history from
to graduate this December and hopes to continue
the University of Central Oklahoma. Currently,
working towards their goal of preserving queer
she is pursuing her history PhD at Oklahoma
history and making it more accessible to the public.
State University. Savannah's research interests
include United States History.American
Indian History and Gender and Sexuality.
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Part of Central Dissent : Fall 2019