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The Central Dissent:
A Journal of Gender and Sexuality
FALL 2018
New Plains Student Publishing
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Editorial
Board
THE CENTRAL DISSENT:
A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
FALL 2018
Copyright © 2018 University of Central Oklahoma
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in
EXECUTIVE EDITORS
Shay Rahm
Lindsey Churchill, PhD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jacob Jardel
any form or by any means, including photocopying,
recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods, without prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in cr itical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Prepared for publishing by
New Plains Student Publishing.
MA N AGI N G EDITOR
Augusta Davis
University of Central Oklahoma
100 N . University Drive
Edmond, OK 73034
SENIOR EDITORS
Mel Blasingame
Edward Callery
Sarah Chambers
Brooklyn Davidson
Timi Matlack
Laurabeth Tackett
ART DIRECTOR &
PRODUCTION CHIEF
Jacob Jardel
The Central Dissent: A]ournal afGender
a nd Sexuality is edited by students and
faculty of N ew Plains Student Publishing at
The Univers ity of Central O klahoma. A ny
www.uco.edu
Cover art: " Censored" by Kateryna Bortsova
(acrylic on canvas, found objects, collage)
In the year since the publication of the first issue of Central Dissent,
New Plains Student Publishing has experienced a great restructure.
Even amid this rebuilding period, our editorial staff has searched
far and wide for the best works to bring to you-our readers
and colleagues.The works of research, prose, poetry, and art
displayed within truly represent the best Dissent has to offer.
As we at NPSP and Central Dissent move forward in this new era,
we remember the mission we set at the very beginning: to seek
and disseminate the best quality creative and academic works that
explore the many nuances of gender and sexuality. Now, more
than ever, it is important to uphold this principle.With cultural
paradigms on the brink of great shifts, we must remember to
be accurate with our facts and show compassion with how we
use them. We must support each other as we navigate through
such trying and divisive times. Most importantly, we must use our
research, art, and creative writing to speak up amid the fracas.
We must dissent.
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 second issue of Central Dissent.
political, social. or artistic commentary
expressed herein represents the views of
the authors and artists of t he respective
pieces. Inclusion in Central Dissent does not
indicate editorial endorsement or nonendorsement of the views expressed by
these creators. Central Dissent does not claim
to n~present the views of the University
of Central Oklahoma or ,ts officials.
Jacob Jardel
Editor-in-Chief
Contents
06
16
21
22
24
Let's Talk About Sex: The Dichotomy of LG BT
Sex Scenes
Jacob Crystal
57
Made to Order
Abigail Griffin
Fighting for the Right Not to Choose: The
Emergence of the Modern Anti-Choice
Movement
Bridget Cuadra
60
The Relationship between Sexting, Sensationseeking, and Risky Sexual Activities in Emerging
Adulthood: Sextual Communication is Not that
Risky
Amy N. Madewell, Sarah Struck-Downen, Elisabeth
Ponce-Garcia, and Jeff Seger
77
86
Changing Perspectives: What is Woman?
Stephanie Wooley
Voicemail to God
Cynthia Wiley
Empty Handed
Cynthia Wiley
Sexual Abuse Against Black Males and the Effect
on Their Masculinity
Jordan Broiles
43
Permission
Ankita Rathour
44
Artist Spotlight
Kateryna Bortsova
48
Content Warning: The works in this journal
contain explicit language, references to sexual
assault, and other potentially-triggering content.
"Le genre hetero treees curieuse" : Biphobia in
Le Bleu est une couleur chaude
Jessica Appleby
Artist Spotlight
Kristi Smith
87
Women in the Military: The Reappearance of
Arguments Used Against Black Soldiers in the
First World War
James P. Gregory, Jr.
96
98
Beauty Beyond the Kinks
Elizabeth Noel
Contributors
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
having sex was alluded to in the 2005 film, shows like True Blood (2008 - 2014)
and HTGAWM (2015) followed suit, trying to push the notions and ideas about
gay sex imposed on society by the media. But, just like the lesbian sex scenes,
the gay sex scenes are often erroneous, hardly showing any sign of intimacy
between the characters, or cutting the scene before it becomes too sexual.
By looking at the dichotomy of representation that lesbian and gay sex
scenes received just within the last decade, it becomes clear that the LGBT+
community is very underrepresented and that new shows and movies are
trying to bring this injustice into the spotlight. This paper is a discussion of
the different representations Hollywood has given to society on the LGBT+
community. I want to begin by mentioning a few films:Jennifer's Body, Carol,
Brokeback Mountain, and Blue is the Warmest Color; then I will move on to the
television shows True Blood and HTGAWM. Results yielded from the research are
as followed: Carol and HTGAWM provide the biggest breakthrough in LGBT+
representation, despite both sources buying into cliches that have become toxic
to the LGBT+ community.
The lesbian sex scenes present in Jennifer's Body, Carol, and Blue is the
Warmest Color provide a holistic look at how this particular sexuality is
handled by the media. Each film has vastly different sex scenes.Jennifer's Body
is the tamest of the group, while Blue is the Warmest Color is by far the NC-17
portrayal of lesbian sex. Before examining the sex scenes, it is important to note
"that no matter how realistic or natural a representation is, it is never simply
a window onto the world or a direct, unmediated reflection of something"
(Richardson 57).Additionally, both female protagonists are shown having an
intimate relationship with men in the beginning of their stories. Hollywood is so
uncomfortable showing a genuinely true lesbian story that they have to add a
man into the mix, on the chance that it will draw more people to see their film.
Jennifer's Body (2009) was given the review that it is "outlandishly gorgeous
and unapologetically sexual" in Slate magazine (Stevens).While no sex actually
happens between two women in this film, there is a very sexual and passionate
kissing scene between the two female protagonists. The scene itself lasts just
a little under a minute. Neither character displays any type of emotion, it is
not sensual, and it was clearly done to indulge the male fantasies. Interestingly
enough, men are shown playing a more domineering role in sex scenes. Typically,
"analysis showed that men were usually the dominant actors, whereas females
were submissive recipients of what was sometimes seen as abusive treatment"
(Gunter 44). While there are no men present in this scene, it is clear that there
is still a more dominant participant and a more submissive one.Jennifer is the
dominant one in the scene, while Amanda Seyfried's character is the submissive;
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
ironically enough, Seyfried's character is named Needy. This representation
of lesbian sexuality paints the picture that lesbians are very sexually driven,
and that they may even seek to satiate their needs with their close girlfriends.
Needy and Jennifer are both depicted as straight women, yet throughout the
entire movie there is clearly sexual tension between the two.
This is vastly different in comparison to Carol (2015), one of Hollywood's
most recent attempts to accurately portray lesbian sex scenes. The script is
based on Patricia Highsmith's 1952 scandalous novel The Price of Salt.The sex
scene in this film runs about two minutes and forty-seven seconds and features
no scissoring or any other male perpetuated fantasies of lesbian sex, making this
sex scene one of the most accurate portrayals of lesbian sex. The fi Im makers
did follow the stereotypical idea that, after having committed homosexual acts,
one of the participants is to feel some sort of regret or remorse for what they
have just done. In the end of the film, they shatter the biggest stereotype of
LGBT+ film, being that any homosexual character dies at the end, and finish the
film with the two of them presumably getting back together. With comments
made by Allison Hope, popular writer at the Huffington Post, saying, "It felt like
someone had taken a big sewing needle and popped all my birthday balloons"
(Par. 6).This was only furthered by the extremely bizarre event that happened
with Delta Airlines when they chose this adult rated film for their flights.
Delta Airlines put the film in their options for in-flight entertainment,
for both international and domestic flights, but edited out all of the same-sex
scenes. Not only was the movie "stripped of its mild romantic scenes;• they also
edited out any of the same-sex kissing scenes (Bitette Par. 2).This ordeal was
later clarified that Delta was not given an option on which version of the film
to receive, but being that they cannot show nudity on the flights, "they opt for
the edited version" (Par. 6). This conservative idea drew the attention of the
titular actor in the film, Cate Blanchett.As one of the main actresses, she was
interviewed about the increased acceptance of gay rights in gay culture, "There
are 70 countries in the world where homosexuality is illegal" Blanchett went
on to say, "we're living in deeply conservative times" (Par. 6).What makes this
whole situation baffling is the fact that Delta chose to provide the film as an
option, when the film was rated R for strong sexuality throughout; however, this
is not the first or biggest issue that lesbian films have come up against.
The most controversial film that attempts to portray lesbian sex is Blue is
the Warmest Color (2013). This French film caused major backlash when it found
its way to America, but it did cater to American audiences with its portrayal of
women. This movie showcased the sex appeal that Hollywood typically pushes;
Man oh la Dargis said in his New York Times article titled, "Seeing You Seeing
FALL 2018
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Me," that, "it was her derriere that first caught my eye" (Par. I). He said this
in reference to the main character in the film.Adele, when she has her first
intimate moment in the film. What makes this film interesting is that it features
a woman who has sexual relations with both male and female characters.
However, the most notorious topic of the film is definitely the sex scene.
The sex scene clocks in at six and a half minutes long, much longer than
the average sex scene that typically lasts seconds shy of a minute. Betsy Sharkey
from the LA Times states in her article, "Review: Love at its finest in 'Blue is the
Warmest Color', that the scene is "graphic" and "extensive" and is the ultimate
reason the film received an NC-17 rating." (Par. 8). In fact, the sex scene was so
graphic that the actresses were forced to wear prosthetic vaginas in order to
prevent actual stimulation while filming. The film does a decent job of portraying
lesbian sex, the scene is very sensual and emotional for both characters, to the
point of even having them cuddle after the act. Shortly after the cuddling starts,
the film cuts to the very next day where they attend a parade where Adele is
hypersensitive to the sights and sounds around her.
From the research compiled for this essay, on lesbian sex scenes, it was
obvious that out of the LGBT+ members that are portrayed in film, lesbian sex
scene~ ha~e the most representation. Due to the high fetishizing of girls having
sex with girls, Hollywood capitalizes on this topic and runs with it. This can
possibly be attributed to why movies with lesbian sex scenes are not, overall,
horribly received. However, one of the more underrepresented groups of the
LGBT+ community would be gay representation, and films featuring this group
are usually very poorly received.
In addition to lesbian sex scenes, gay sex scene portrayals in Brokeback
Mountain, True Blood, and HTGAWM provide very differing views and portrayals
on gay sex. The three sex scenes range from mild to quite honest in terms
of what happens during gay sex. Each of these portrayals is important for the
education of our society so that they know that LGBT sex, while somewhat
different from heterosexual sex, is not wrong or invalidated by any means;
however, the most recent portrayal of gay sex, HTGAWM, is in the counterpart
to Carol. The sex scenes in this show are phenomenal at breaking barriers, yet it
is still not quite accurate.
Starting first with the only gay film used in the research, Brokeback
Mountain (2005) is arguably the most controversial film being discussed in
this resea~ch. Theate~s refused to show the film, and were often very vocal
abou~ th~,r censorship. In the film, the sex scene occurs with a muted pallet,
low lighting and allusion rather than specific shots. Bermudez-Emmanuelli
describes the scene in their thesis, "The Social Impact of Brokeback Mountain:A
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Reception Study," as a "graphic and sudden love scene" (I).The sex scene l~sts
for one minute; it was shown in extremely dark lighting, both men keep their
clothes on and just partially remove their pants. Both partners do not engage in
kissing or foreplay, and there is no climax present.
After the minute is up, the scene cuts to the next day where Ennis rides
his horse alone in the mountain out of regret, while Jack stays behind. This is an
example of Hollywood shaming the act of gay sex, by showing that if someone
partakes in the act, they should be embarrassed or disgusted about it the next
day.The guilt that Ennis feels could also be akin to his role during the act of
sex: dominant. In the scene Jack is forced, by Ennis, into the submissive role,
even though Jack is the one who initiated the sex. In addition to the guilt Jack
feels, both of the men show no emotion at all, it is clear from the start that the
intercourse is clearly just for satiating their sexual needs while they are away
from females.
The biggest issue with Brokeback Mountain is that, while it showcases
homosexual love, it still manages to push the heterosexual agenda. Both men
end up going back home to the women they love, not mentioning a word about
what they did at all.Therefore, the sexuality of the characters can accurately
be described as fluid, but not gay. This causes problems because they are
inadvertently stating that the idea of being gay is simply an experimental phase,
not an actual sexual orientation. But, even with the gay sex scene portrayal in
Brokeback Mountain, other cable network shows present the same problem.
Starting with the mildest portrayal, True Blood (2008-2014) on HBO
has never been prude in terms of displaying the human act of sex. The scene
in question occurs in season seven episode two, the parental section on the
Internet Movie Database (IMDb) refers to the sex scene as, "two men kiss
shirtless building into a sex scene that cuts away before things get sexual"
(IMDB). The sex scene lasts for one minute and forty-five seconds and the
dominant and submissive roles switch often throughout.The scene relies heavily
on foreplay; for example, Eric, one of the men, makes a martini and shakes it in
the motion of a hand job while staring at Jason, the other man. It is important
to note, this sex scene happens after Jason feeds off Eric's blood, an act that
intimately links drinker with provider.
The sex scene cuts away just as Jason is about to receive fellatio from Eric.
Jason then wakes up in church realizing he had been having a dream and looks
down to see that he has an erection and then shyly smiles about it.The fact that
this entire sexual encounter happens during a dream sequence further distances
the scene as being real.The True Blood portrayal of gay sex is very sexual, and
the showrunners did a great job at making the act of gay sex something to not
FALL 2018
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
be ashamed of.When Jason wakes up in church, he is happy he had the dream,
but Jason has been very strictly a heterosexual male throughout the entire
series. Scenes like this are allowing people to have honest conversations about
LGBT+ sex scenes in the media.
Yet, Hollywood has made strides with more recent portrayals such as
HTGAWM.A very recent controversial portrayal of gay sex in the media is
Shonda Rhimes' production of HTGAWM. In season one, episode one portrays
Connor Walsh as a very hypersexualized gay man who uses his libido to get
information on the court cases he is working. In the show, sex is used as a treat
that is only bestowed if someone gives Connor the information he needs to
win a case.While this is.not unduly great, Rhimes' is attempting to portray an
honest and realistic relationship, regardless of sexuality, and it has resonated
well within the LGBT+ community. This particular sex scene caused a ripple
effect throughout social media, Hollywood, and families. For the first time in
primetime television, the topic of"rimming" is displayed to the world. People
with no understanding of the term were blatantly introduced to it, whether they
wanted to be or not.
The infamous sex scene lasts for fifteen seconds and was very dark, to the
point where all the audience could even see were their silhouettes. It is made
well known that both partners in the scene are extremely sexually frustrated
and are potentially just in it for releasing the frustration. Soon after the scene
aired, people took to social media to slam the use of gay men in a show that
plays at a time when families are supposed to be watching TV together.Twitter
user @d_Ah25 says, " the gay sex scenes in scandal and how to get away with
murder are too much.There is no point and they add nothing to the plot"
(Twitter). In addition to how they felt about the sex scene; Shaw states in their
article,"How to Get Away With Murder And Sex," the line Connor used to
describe that particular sexual encounter: he says, "He did this thing to my
ass that made my eyes water," (qtd. in Shaw) to which Shaw says, " it was the
post-coital line heard 'round the world" (Par. I). HTGAWM is showcasing topics
within the gay community and educating our heteronormative society on
LGBT+ topics and issues.Additionally, what makes HTGAWM so interesting, is
that it is a show featured on ABC, an on-air network. ·
It is phenomenal, if not shocking, that the one barrier breaking contender
.
in the research is a show that is aired on a network television channel. By
having the first major realistic portrayal set the tone for all others and be
accomplished by a primetime network shows just how far Hollywood has
progressed.While this is certainly not the first network show to push LGBT+
boundaries, readers should think back to Glee and its enormous success within
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he LGBT+ community for its portrayal of a healthy homosexual relationship.
~esearch shows that to start seeing change in film and television, it has to
tart from the bottom. Only by having small budget productions start the
~onversation for the major productions, do viewers begin to see a change in
how we depict LGBT+ characters realistically. Hollywood has come a long way
in accurately portraying gay and lesbian sex in the media.
The portrayals of sexualities that are not the standard for what Hollywood
ortrays is important to society as a whole. Richardson says in his book that it
important to have "non-normative sexualities in the media" (57).They go on
is
to say that:
.
Many viewers may have little knowledge of, for example, gays and lesbians,
to the extent that some may never have knowingly met a gay or lesbian
identified person in their life. In this respect, the viewer's only encounter
with sexual minorities may well be the re-presentation on the screen,
which then stands for all gays and lesbians. (Richardson 60)
This directly ties back into the morality issue, because those in society who
have never knowingly met anyone from the LGBT+ community only know the
image they are given in the media.Thus, when those portrayals are wrong, it
paints an inaccurate picture of this marginalized community, thereby causing
members of this group to be stereotyped and generalized.
In conclusion, gay and lesbian sex scenes are constantly being produced
inaccurately. Hollywood has made some strides to be better in their portrayals
of LGBT+ sex scenes, and they have been major for such a small amount of
time.With our culture being much more welcoming to new topics and issues,
one day Hollywood will be able to accurately portray gay and lesbian sex scenes
in the media without the fear of repercussions.This allows our community
to be educated on LGBT + and possibly eliminate the stigma that Hollywood
has created for this community.With Hollywood's pathetic excuse for trying
to accurately portray LGBT+ sex scenes, time and time again, they follow
the same tropes they have used for years.Anybody who does not adhere to
heteronormativity always dies at the end of the films. If they are not going to
use the trope in which the LGBT+ character dies, they end up single, thereby
showing that when someone identifies as anything other than LGBT + they
cannot find happiness.
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Works Cited
Bond, Bradley J. " Sex and Sexuality in Entertainment Media Popular with Lesbian,
Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents: ' Mass Communication and Society, vol. 17, no.
I, 2014, pp. 98-120.
Boucher, Leigh, and Sarah Pinto. "I Ain't Queer': Love, Masculinity and History in
Brokeback Mountain:' The Journal of Men's Studies, vol. 15, no. 3, Jan. 2007,
pp. 311-330.
Bermudez-Emmanuelli, Pilar Aurelia. "The Social Impact of 'Brokeback
Mountain:" A Reception Study." University of Miami, Open Access Theses,
2008,pp. 1-110.
Carstarphen, Meta G., and Susan C. Zavoina. Sexual Rhetoric: Media Perspectives
on Sexuality, Gender, and Identity.Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1999.
Dargis, Manohla. "Seeing You Seeing Me:• The New York Times, The New York
Times, 26 Oct.2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/ I 0/27/movies/the-troublewith-blue-is-the-warmest-color.html? r=0.
Gunter, Barrie. Media Sex:WhatAre the /ssu;s? Mahwah, NJ, Erlbaum, 2002.
Galician, Mary-Lou, and Debra L. Merskin. Critica/Thinking about Sex, Love,
and Romance in the Mass Media: Media Literacy Applications. Mahwah, NJ,
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
Galician, Mary-Lou. Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media:Analysis and
Criticism of Unrealistic Portrayals and Their Influence. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 2004.
Hope.Allison. "Am I the Only Lesbian Who Didn't Love Carol?" The Huffington
Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Dec.2015, https://www.huffingtonpost.
com/allison-hope/am-i-the-only-lesbian-who_b_ 8827396.html
International Movie Database. "Parent's Guide for 'True Blood' I Found You
(2014):' IMDb, IMDb.com, 30 June 2014, www.imdb.com/title/tt3362366/
parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg.
Khoshaba, Christy. "Love at Its Finest in 'Blue Is the Warmest Color: " Los Angeles
Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct.2013, www.latimes.com/entertainment/
movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-blue-warmest-color-review-20131025-story.
html#axzz2ikdjodsb.
Richardson, Niall et al. Studying Sexualities:Theories, Repre Theories, Representations,
Cultures. New York, NY, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
Ritman,Alex. "Cannes: Cate Blanchett Says 'We're Still Living in Deeply
Conservative Times:" The Hollywood Reporter, Movies, 17 May 2015, www.
hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-2015-cate-blanchett-says-796239.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Shaw, Steven S."How to Get Away With Murder.And Sex." HyperReality, LGBT
Media, 12 Apr. 2015,.myhyperreality.com/2014/ I 0/21 /how-to-get-awaywith-murder-and-gay-sex/.
Sharkey, Betsy. "Review: Love at Its Finest in 'Blue Is the Warmest_Color':•
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2013, www.lat1mes.co'1:'/
entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-blue-warmest-color-rev,ew20131025-story.html#axzz2ikDJODsb.
Stevens, Dana."Jennifer's Body Is Impossible to Stop Watching:' Slate Magazine,
Slate Magazine, 17 Sept. 2009, www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2009/09/
jennifers body.html.
Taylor, Ella. "P;sto Chango:• OC Weekly. 2 Apr.2016, www.ocweekly.com/news/
presto-chango-6375297.
.
.
Wellborn, Chani. Reactions of the Transgender Community Regarding
Media Representations,The University ofTexas at Arlington,
Ann Arbor, 20 IS, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global,
https://vortex3 .uco.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/
docview/ I 768733489?accountid= 14516.
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0
n April I, 1984, a newspaper reported the activity of the militant
American anti-abortion movement. The article editorialized the
sexual assault of a fifteen-year girl. The girl, her parents, and the
child's doctor faced charges as codified by the Wisconsin Fetal
Life Act. Under the legislation, the victim's parents and her physician faced life
imprisonment. The victim received a prison sentence and probation for thirty
years. 1 By the 1980s, the modern pro-life movement dominated the discourse
of reproductive politics in the United States. Prior to this period, anti-choice
activism remained a whisper among the shouts of the liberal voices during the
1960s. The contemporary anti-choice movement developed simultaneously
with the Religious Right, with both movements objecting to the open displays
of sexuality and reconfiguration of gender norms engendered by the Sexual
Revolution. Most notably, however, the Roe v. Wade decision acted as a catalyst
for the emergent pro-life movement and nascent Religious Right.
Wisconsin's law mirrored other legislation advanced by the Religious
Right during the 1970s and into the 1980s. The Buckley-Proxmire Human
Life Amendment, for example, established a Statewide Pregnancy Monitoring
Board to investigate women who they believed attempted to self-abort or had
pregnancies that ended in spontaneous abortions. 2 The Hyde Amendment,
passed in 1976, further hastened anti-choice legislation. The Hyde Amendment
gave state and local governments the authority to not pay for abortions and
permitted hospitals to refuse to perform the procedure. 3 The post-Hyde
period witnessed an aggressive anti-choice movement. For instance, legislation
mandated that women ask their husband's permission before obtaining an
abortion, instituted twenty-four hour waiting periods, mandatory counseling,
and required minors to obtain permission from their parents prior to having an
I
2
3
16
Anne Nicol Gaylor, Abortion is a Blessing, (New York: Psychological Dimensions, 1975), xi.
lbid.,xiii.
Gloria Feldt, The War on Choice: Right Wing Attack on Women 's Rights and
How to Fight Back (New York: Random House, 2004), 9-10.
FALL 20 18
abortion. 4 The proliferation of pro-life activism was not unique to the twentieth
century.
Changes in the patterns of immigration, the rise of first wave feminism,
and the evolution of the medical field led to the first pro-life movement in the
United States. Between 1850 and 1900, the anti-choice campaign burgeoned.
Frustrated doctors spearheaded the movement, which developed around the
idea that women were too ignorant to understand the immorality of abortion
and through the doctor's claim of newfound "scientific evidence" concerning
the procedure. 5 Before the nineteenth century, no laws existed that regulated
abortion prior to quickening. By 1900, however, laws forbidding the procedure
existed in every state, permitting the procedure only when the mother's life was
in jeopardy.6
Similar to the changes during the nineteenth century, post-WWII America
witnessed social, political, and cultural transformations that significantly altered
the sexual landscape. The gay liberation movement, the introduction of the birth
control pill, and most prominently, Roe v. Wade, shaped society during the Cold
War. Dismantling the stringent abortion laws of the mid-19th century, the Roe
decision marked a monumental achievement for second wave feminists and an
unfathomable defeat for the emergent Christian Right. 7 The Women's Liberation
Movement engendered a reconfiguration of gender roles. Rather than limiting
women's role to mothering, second wave feminists viewed forced childbearing
as an assault on women's reproductive autonomy and abortion as fundamental
to full gender equality.Authored by the Boston Women's Health Collective,
the feminist publication, Our Bodies, Ourse/ves:A Book For Women By Women,
explained the essentiality of abortion and the birth control pill to women's
liberation. Rather than constantly worrying about pregnancy, the introduction of
the birth control pill and the legalization of abortion allowed women to enjoy
sexual freedom.With these shifting sexual mores, women began to enter the
workplace, challenging long-held notions of gender. 8
Like the second wave feminists of the Cold War era, right-wing, evangelical
women participated in political activism.Women remained largely excluded
from the pro-life movement during the 1950s and 1960s, which consisted
4
5
6
7
8
Ibid.
Kristin Luker.Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1984), 15-17.
Ibid.
Luker, Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood, 126.
Boston Women's Health Book Collective, Our Bodies Ourselves:A Book For
Women By Women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976). 13-14.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
almost entirely of Catholic, male professional men.9 After the passage of Roe v
Wade, however, women's activism in the anti-choice movement proliferated. The
women who supported the growing pro-life movement shared demographic
markers, including having three or more children, their education level was
often not more than a high school diploma, and they remained in the home with
their children. 10 Since they remained largely isolated from the politics, many of
the women remained unaware of the liberalized abortion laws throughout the
country prior to Roe. For example, in 1970, NewYork repealed their abortion
law, making it legal for women to obtain an abortion until twenty-four weeks
of pregnancy. 11 One pro-life activist, declared that the Roe decision was so
unexpected that it was like a "bolt out of blue:• 12
Anti-feminism also played a key role in the development of the anti-choice
movement and the appeal of the Religious Right for many women.As noted
by feminist author Andrea Dworkin, in her work Right-Wing Women, the ultraright promised women shelter, safety, structured lives, and potentially love as
long as they remained subordinate to their husbands and their other male
counterparts. 13 The transformation of sexual mores and reconfiguration of
gender roles precipitated by the Sexual Revolution and the Women's Liberation
Movement resulted in feelings of discontent among housewives and erupted
into activism.
Rejecting the shifting social, cultural, and sexual transformation of the
Sexual Revolution, evangelical Christians became a political force in the late
1970s.At a summit meeting in August 1980, thousands of evangelicals met in
Dallas, Texas. Evangelical preachers assembled the gathering to mobilize their
congregations, which built the political backing of their movement.At the
meeting, prominent Christian leaders spoke of their antipathy of the shifting
sexual mores during the 1960s. James Robison, a television evangelist from
Fort Worth declared, "I'm sick and tired of hearing about all of the radicals
and the perverts and the liberals and the leftists and the Communists coming
out of the closet." 1 ◄ As a new political force, the Religious Right utilized radio
and television and established a considerable following. Significantly, in 1979,
the Christian Broadcasting Network's viewers contributed $54 million to the
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
network. 15 Although ultra-conservatives continually attacked the Roe decision
by passing intrusive anti-abortion abortion legislati~n, t~e legalization of the
procedure still allowed many women to lead healthier lives.
Prior to the legalization of abortion, women went through illegal channels
to gain access to abortion. The doctors and sanitary conditions when seeking
these back-alley abortions were frequently subpar, putting the women's life at
risk. In a collection of oral histories, a woman, Kathleen, discussed her illegal
abortion that she sought in 1969.As a Catholic woman from rural Missouri,
Kathleen received inadequate sex education from both her family and high
school.Additionally, her faith characterized birth control and sex before
marriage as sinful. Because of this, when she became pregnant during her
senior year of college, she decided to seek out an abortion, rather than getting
married. In her narrative, she described the abortionist as "smelling of booze"
and "very awkward:' 16 She also noted the unsanitary conditions of his office.
Unlike many women who sought back alley terminations during the pre-Roe
period, Kathleen survived the procedure.
Through both legislative and violent means, the Roe v. Wade decision
remained under attack throughout the 1980s and into the present day. In Our
Bodies Ourselves, the authors discussed how to improve abortion services
to accommodate all women, not just wealthy ones.At the time the book's
publication, several areas included no abortion services or were significantly
inadequate.Women in areas without service were forced to go out of state for
the procedure.Without money to travel, many women went without services
and continued to seek out back alley abortionists. 17 Anti-abortion activists
committed violent attacks against abortion clinics during the post-Roe period.
Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon, for instance, committed arson in 1992, when she
set an abortion clinic on fire. 18 Right-wing politicians' continuous push for antiabortion laws and violence against abortion clinics are both still major concerns
for American women seeking abortions. 19 The fight for abortion rights continues.
IS
16
10
Luker. Abortion and the Politics, 139.
Ibid.
17
18
II
12
Boston Women's Collective, Our &dies, 218.
Ibid., 141 .
l9
13
14
Andrea Dwrkin, Right-Wing Women (Perigee Books, 1982), 22-23.
L.B Taylor.Jr.. The New Right (New York: Franklin Watts, 1981), 12.
18
FALL 20 18
9
Ibid., 17.
Ellen Messer and Katheryn E. May, An Oro/ History of the Illegal
Abortion Era (NewYork:Touchstone Books, 1988, 10-12.
Boston Women's Collective, Our &dies, 220.
Karissa Haugeberg, Women Against Abortion: Inside the Largest Moral Reform Movement
of the Twentieth Century (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2017), 115.
Mary Emily O'Hara,"Abortion Clinics Report Threats ofViolence on the
Rise," Feburary 13, 2017, accessed April 4, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/
news/us-news/abortion-clinics-report-threats-violence-rise-n7 I 9426.
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19
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Bibliography
Boston Women's Health Collective. Our Bodies Ourselves:A Book by and For
Women. NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 1976.
Dworkin.Andrea. Right-Wing Women. New York: Perigee Books, 1983.
Feldt, Gloria. The War on Choice:The Right Wing Attack on Women's Rights and How
to Fight Bock. New York: Random House, 2004.
Gaylor.Anne Nicol.Abortion is a Blessing. New York: Psychological Dimensions
Inc, 1975.
Haugeberg, Karissa. Women Against Abortion: Inside the Largest Moral Reform of the
Twentieth Century. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2017.
Luker, Kristin. Abortion and Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1984.
May, Kathryn E. & Ellen Messer. Back Rooms:An Oral History of the Illegal Abortion
Era. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.
O'Hara, Mary Emily. "Abortion Clinics Report Threats of Violence on the Rise."
Feburary 13, 2017, accessed April 4, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/
us-news/abortion-clinics-report-threats-violence-rise-n 7194 26.
Taylor, L.B. The New Right New York: Franklin Watts, 1981 .
20
FALL 2018
Voicemail to God
Cynthia Wiley
University of Central Oklahoma
God is not here to take your call right now.
Please leave your name and number.
And we will get back to you
As soon as possible.
Hey, God! I've been trying to contact you for hours.
I started praying but the connection's been spotty and I'm sure every
message before this one was only caught in snippets of Latin and hiccups.
I always find myself back in a bathroom. Leaning my jaw on the white marble
cools my flushed face and reminds me of what it felt like to be blessed by
my mother's hands. But this is not my mother's hand and I cannot seem to find
enough faith to pretend her touch was as soft as this stone. I can't seem to
find faith anywhere in me. Why won't you pick up when I call?
I hope I see you through my empty faith with your presence shining through
so I can finally say, "Oh my God, God.You're not as white as I pictured:'
I have been questioning the congregation. I've been begging the priest for relief
ten shots later, I can feel your hand on my forehead.When he put his hands
on me, I screamed my prayer to heaven, but silence was the only member
in attendance for the show.The struggle was the dance of the members who
spoke in tongues and raised their hands In praise. His force was that of the
preacher's palm pushing me firmly Into the cool watered tub before I could hold
my breath, water sputtering, swallowing until the Lord's Prayer was concluded
with an "amen:• When it was done he asked, "Where is your god now?"
I didn't respond because I didn't know the answer.
I still don't know the answer.
I can't move on until you answer me
pick up the phone.
Where were you?
FALL 2018
21
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Empty Handed
Cynthia Wiley
University of Central Oklahoma
S
ince I made my appearance in life, I have been covered in hands.
I was welcomed by latex, then deposited onto the soft bank
of my mother's palms. These too-early lined hands held me
to breast and bade me drink, scream, and sleep. The rocking
of her digits lingered and pulled me, unwillingly, and yet irresistibly
into slumber. Her hands were my hands. Everything I reached , it was
only for her grasp; everything I ate was in answer to her digging.
Over time, these hands hardened and changed, and I was left to
massage and pull softness out of them. Fingers stubborn and thick, I
was encouraged to milk and shake the watered-down remnants of her
maternal presence into my cottonmouth . Her infinite fingers eventually
shriveled, sending me in search of other tributaries. As I walked away, I
looked back briefly to see her gently waving her mismatched hand at
me, hair donning the left hand more generously than the right. The large
hand reached and pulled her waving limb down, pinning it to her side.
There are many hands in the world . Some hands are soft, lingering
for a week and then falling off like the fall leaves, moving like seasons
to different towns, clinging to different people. Some hands rest on
shoulders-never moving beyond cloth-and regularly offer food. I
kissed these hands goodbye and understood that all hands need to detach
and move on when their time comes. I thought of them often. At the
age of sixteen, I was sporting two and a half sets of hands. My sister's
hands stayed looped on my belt, my mother's left hand was locked in
my hair, and my own hands swung from wrinkled sweatshirt sleeves.
Life is easier with their guidance. At the supermarket, I know I'm
always getting the best deal when my mother's hands tighten around my
ear, and my sister's hand raps in agreement. My sister likes to pick out
my outfits. Her hands yank denim over thighs, making me jump in time
to shimmy blue over white. My mother's fingers turn my chin to and
fro, modeling my profile in the mirror; both hands throw a thumbs-up
22
FALL 2018
my way. Every day existed just like this. For a brief time, it was good.
One man was the beginning of the end. He described the first day he laid
eyes on me as a rainy Tuesday in the middle of drought. He said I was watered
enough to face his rampant fire without being burned, my soaked state
allowing me to get close to this flame. He was handsome. I didn't think much
of it the first time he stopped to compliment my hair, taking a strand into his
hands and claiming we were not so different. I ignored the cautionary tug of
my mother's hand on my roots and pushed her deep into my back pocket.
The one peculiar thing about this man was his lack of supporting hands.
He walked like no other; two hands swinging from sides, making choices all
on his own. I envied him in that way, but I couldn't help but feel sad. I couldn't
imagine walking so alone. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders as
grey hair tickled my cheek. When I pulled back, his hands locked together and
his face pressed against my neck. His skin branded my hips. No pulling could
separate our welded form. Tearing at blood and skin, my sister and mother
were removed from me and collected by him. He force-fed me his being,
running spoon over mouth corners to catch all parts; a ringing commandment
to chew, chew, swallow. His hands snaked down my throat, made a nest, and
napped within me. That day, they detached from him and clung onto me.
I am the new home of these unfamiliar appendages. Past my threshold
sleeps a pair of hands too big for my stomach and indigestible as lead.
Normally, they slumber unbothered, walking only to slither up and press
index against lips. The hands do not like it when I speak. They like it less
when I fuck. Hands that used to caress and pass like old friends are barred
at the door, pushed out by rough knuckles and a gold-ringed finger. These
passing friends pet my hair and tell me they understand, but they cringe
and step back when I reach to touch them with my new hands. I show
them the scars of our surgical joining and they excuse themselves to a
restroom. I know they won't come back. Sometimes you can't come back.
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23
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Abstract
This research explored the lived experiences of collegiate Black and multiracial
(Black being one of the races) males who have been sexually abused in the past
and the effect on their masculinity. In this study, sexual abuse is self-defined as
a minimum of one unwanted sexual encounter by the force of the perpetrator.
The co~t_ext of masculinity is defined by Harper (2004), who conceptualized
masculinity among Black male achievers on six predominantly white campuses.
Participa~ts in Harper's study defined masculinity within the structure of
hegemonic gender norms, including dating and pursuing romantic (oftentimes
sexual) relationships with women, any type of athletic activity (organized
sports, individual exercise, and bodybuilding), competition through sports and
v,~eo ~ames, and accumulation and showing off of material possessions. In
this mixed method study, lntersectionality and Critical Race Theories were
used as theoretical frameworks within which to understand the relationship
between past sexual abuse of Black male college students and their masculinity.
Since there is limited empirical research that discusses sexually-abused Black
?r _m ultiracial male colleg~ students, this study focused solely on providing
ms,ght about those experiences and how they relate to Black male masculinity.
R
Introduction
esearchers have found that one in six men in the United States has
been sexually abused before the age of 18 (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2005). The rates are significantly higher
for Black men affected by systemic poverty, broken homes, high
unemployment rates, and sociological problems (Foston, 2003). Biased mass
media has framed victims of sexual abuse as white and female, which has led to
the sexual abuse of Black boys simply not being acknowledged. The experience
of Black male victims of child sexual abuse has not been seen as traumatic
because of the historic stereotype that Black men are hypermasculine and
have to display this certain image of masculinity. Portr ayals of Black men
as deviant, corrupt, and ill-behaved are largely based on comparison with
hegemonic white ideology (McClure, 2006). Black male voices continue to
be negated in conversations about sexual abuse, resulting in minimal services
FALL 2018
rovided for the victims, which can also lead to the development of toxic
pmotional and sexual coping habits (Maikovich, Koenen, & Jaffee, 2009).
e
In this research, I explore the lived experiences of collegiate Black and
ultiracial (Black being one of the races) males who have been sexually abused
~ the past to determine if it had an effect on their masculinity. Sexual abuse
• self-defined as a minimum of one unwanted sexual encounter by the force
:f the perpetrator. The context of college student mascul_in_ity is defined by
Harper's (2004) study, in which he conc~ptualized mascuh~1~y amo~g Black ,
male achievers on six predominantly white campuses. Part1c1pants m Harpers
study define masculinity within the structure of hegemonic gender norms
such as dating and pursuing romantic (oftentimes sexual) relationships with
women, any type of athletic activity (organized sports, individual exercise, and
bodybuilding), competition through sports and video games, and accumulation
and showing off of material possessions. In this mixed method study, the
use of lntersectionality and Critical Race Theories will be used as the
integral framework to capture the relationship between past sexual abuse
of Black male college students and their sense of masculinity. Since there
is limited empirical research, this study focuses solely on providing insight
about those experiences and how they relate to Black male masculinity.
The Black Male Body
Historically, the Black male body has been a tool manipulated by a
white dominant culture also fixated on both desire and horror. Winthrop
Jordan notes the conflicting messages embraced by Anglo-American (U.S.
and British) culture as it sought to control and circumscribe the bodies of
enslaved men and women-on the one hand voicing repulsion for Africans
and framing them as beastly, ugly, and unappealing, while on the other
hand viewing them as hypersexual. The Anglo-American culture had a
long-standing view of Black men as "particularly virile, promiscuous, and
lusty" (Winthrop, 1968). Through the institution of slavery, the slave owner
utilized Black male bodies to control Black existence, which led to brutally
torturing, raping, and enslaving Black bodies. For Black men, their form of
punishment for their resistance to their oppressive, racist slave owner was
lynching. Oftentimes the punishment took the form of sexual relations with
their slave master (Foster, 2011). These acts were used to dehumanize and
emasculate the Black male body. So much of the ritual sexualized torture of
the Black body indicates the intensity of both white hatred of Black bodies
and their longing to consume those bodies as a symbolic way of asserting
White hegemony (hooks, 2004). When slavery was abolished in 1865, the
racist, sexist white culture had to figure out ways that they could continue its
FALL 2018
25
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
control over Black existence. Through many different systematic structures,
whites continued to create legal loopholes that executed slavery tactics.
The Jim Crow Laws, which regulated social, economic, and political
relationships between Whites and Blacks, were passed pr incipally to
subord inate blacks and to enforce rules favored by dominant whites
on non-conformists of both races (Woodward, 1974). Blacks were not
allowed to work certain jobs and were paid at lower rates than their
white counterparts. Blacks were not allowed to ride in the same car as
their white counterparts. A prominent court case, Plessy v. Ferguson, set
a legal precedent by imposing the doctrine of "separate but equal," in
which Blacks were not allowed to attend the same school system as their
white counterparts. This was later turned over by the decision in Brown
v. Board of Education, which concluded that separate was not equal.
Throughout history, Black boys have been targeted by law enforcement
for petty crimes, that land them in prison. The prison system is arguably
another form of slavery. Law enforcement obediently and uncritically
follows the protocol of a system already engineered to target, exploit, and
criminalize poor, Black, brown, queer, trans, and immigrant people. Black
males, such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Philando Castillo, all
died at the hands of police officers, who were all acquitted of wrongdoing.
Media reports of these incidents are affecting the social interactions of
Black men who are taught to fear law enforcement personnel. "Fuck Tha
Police" by N .W.A. (1988) was a prime example of Black males rising up
against police brutality and voicing their thoughts through music:
Fuck the police! Comin' straight from the underground
A young n**** got it bad 'cause I'm brown
And not the other color, so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, 'cause I ain't the one
For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun. (1988)
In Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching (2015), Mychal Denzel
Smith discusses how Black males in this white dominant society are often
invisible unless something tragic happens (i.e., armed robbery or killing
of an unarmed black man). The livelihood of Black men is defined by a
hashtag or prison system. According to the NAACP Criminal Justice Fact
Sheet (n.d.), Blacks and Hispanics make up approximately 32% of the US
population, and they comprised 56% of all incarcerated people in 2015. The
non-white body is rendered immaterial even if innocent. Many times in the
prison system, male inmates, regardless of race, are raped. A United States
26
FALL 20 18
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Department of Justice report titled "Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails
p.epcrted by Inmates" states that "In 2011-12, an estimated 4.0% of state
and federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing
one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility
staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12
months" (Beck, A., Berzofsky, M., Caspar, R., & Krebs, C ., 2013, p. 8).
During the Reconstruction Era, Black male sexuality became a
major theme in white Southern politics, which lead to Black males being
objectified (Painter, 1991). Objectification occurs when individuals focus on
a person's physical characteristics (e.g., attractiveness) and neglect a person's
psychological characteristics (e.g., intelligence). This reflects the perception
of people as objects, merely physical bodies, rather than as complete persons
(Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Furthermore, the White male understood
that sexuality was being seen as prominent within the Black male by women.
Sexuality has become the ultimate quest for freedom pursued by Black
males in a world that denies Black males access to other forms of liberating
power (hooks, 2004). Women, in particular White women, entertained a
fantasy of having sex with a Black man. Compared to White men, Black men
became more commonly falsely accused for the rape of White women. Sexual
relationships between Black men and white women were being frowned
upon partly because these relationships threatened the white man's power
(Hodes, 2014). The State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell is a famous case about a
Black man named Joseph Spell and his relations with a White woman . In this
case, Joseph Spell spoke to his employer's wife about getting money to help
take care of his sick mother. In the midst of getting the money, there was
mutual consensual interest to pursue a discreet affair. When on the verge of
getting caught, the White woman cried out "rape," which landed Joseph Spell
in prison. Joseph Sell was found not guilty and freed. This case is one of the
many instances of Black men being imprisoned for having sexual relations with
White women. Within this racist, sexist Reconstruction Era, White men were
acted violently or systematically oppressed Black males because of their own
inadequacy. Because society has deemed Black males hypersexual, the sexual
abuse of Black boys is simply not acknowledged, or when it is acknowledged,
the presumption is that it has not been traumatic (hooks, 2004).
lieter-onor-mativity
•
Biased mass media has focused on the stories of upper middle class and
~ealthy White women and their experiences with sexual harassment, sexual
" 101ence, misogyny, and rape. The metanarrative of sexual abuse is generally
seen through a heteronormative lens. Heteronormativity is the belief that
FALL 2018
27
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
individuals should conform to the social norm of heterosexual cisgender
male or cisgender female (Schilt & Westbrook, 2009). Implicit gender norms
are learned from family, peers, media, schools, etc. Heteronormativity has
positioned women, especially white women, as vulnerable and fragile. The
White woman's reality is visible, acknowledged, and legitimized because of her
privilege. However, women have been in the position of inferiority or secondclass citizenship in relation to men, because of the concept of patriarchy. The
word patriarchy means the rule of the father or the "patriarch," and originally
it was used to describe a specific type of "male-dominated family"-the large
household of the patriarch, which included women, junior men, children, slaves,
and domestic servants all under the rule of this dominant male. Now it is used
more generally "to refer to male domination, to the power relationships by
which men dominate women, and to characterize a system whereby women
are kept subordinate in a number of ways" (Bhasin, 2004). Patriarchy is
embedded within social, legal, economic, political, and cultural systems across
the world. Women have been placed within the framework of gender norms
that only allow them to perform work that benefited men, slowing their own
advancement and development. In the context of heteronormativity, there is
an unconscious bias and assumption that sexual abuse only happens to women.
#MeToo Movement
With regard to addressing sexual abuse in America, one of the most
recent and prevalent revolutions is the #MeTooMovement, which aimed to
address sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. This movement
was organized by Tarana Burke, who is a Black civil rights activist from the
Bronx, New York. The #MeTooMovement stemmed from many women
speaking out about being sexually abused by American film producer
Harvey Weinstein. The hashtag "MeToo" began manifesting itself across
all social platforms. Many women were creating content discussing their
experiences with being sexually assaulted and/or sexually abused. Support
groups were being formed online and offline within communities. Policies
were being formed within the workplace. Businesses were beginning to host
speakers to address the topic within the office. Title IX, across all college
campuses, began to reexamine their role in being a resource for victims.
However, there is a group that is not being discussed in the context of
the #MeTooMovement. Questions have been raised about how male survivors
of sexual abuse fit into the movement. For some, the movement can also be
looked at as #WhatAboutMe. Male survivors who have also created content
about their experiences have received some backlash from women and mass
media. For example, actor and former football player Terry Crews spoke out
28
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
about being sexually assaulted by a " high-level Hollywood producer," but did
not proceed to expose what happened out of the fear of being blackballed
from the entertainment business. Terry Crews's actions are similar to what
most victims do after the experience: they cope with the experience within
themselves, which creates internal and external issues. In his NBC interview,
Terry explained that if he retaliated with anger or violence he would be seen
as a stereotypical Black man. With Terry weighing over 200 pounds and
being dark-skinned, the biased mass media would have defamed his image
within the entertainment business while resorting to racist tactics. What
separated Terry Crews from the women of the #MeTooMovement is that
his voice was being negated because he was a male. Terry posted a series of
tweets explaining his encounter with sexual assault and showed that victims
can come in different size, gender, and color. While women embraced each
other's stories as they grieved publicly across social media and television
commentary, Terry was not only questioned about his sexuality, but also his
manhood. Daytime talk show host Wendy Williams stated that Terry was "just
talking," and big-time entrepreneur Russell Simmons stated that "Terry should
let his abuser get a pass." Twitter participants have labeled Terry as "gay" for
coming forward. My analysis is that everything Terry Crews experienced
after coming forward about his encounter with sexual assault is one of the
main reasons why Black men do not report on being sexually abused. This
leads to fewer conversations, support groups, and resources for victims.
Long-Term Effects
Very little research has analyzed the differential long-term effects on
males who have been sexually abused as children by males versus by females.
The negative effects of child sexual abuse on men are well documented.
Among them are such psychological difficulties as conduct disorders,
personality disorders, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic
stress disorder, intense difficulty expressing emotions, and relationship
challenges (Alaggia & Millington, 2008). The "norm" of being a male is
violated when that male is placed into a submissive position, whether the
perpetrator of the sexual abuse is male or female. Men have been taught
throughout history to perpetuate patriarchy and to be the dominator in
any form of relationship. When being sexually abused, the male victim is
l>Owerless, contradicting what society/history states that a man should be.
This experience can lead to the overindulgence of hyper-masculinity and adds
another factor to the development of toxic emotional and sexual coping
habits. Current research suggests that negative effects are more likely when
the abuse is perpetrated by someone to whom the victim is emotionally
FALL 2018
29
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
close, for example, family members, friends, mentors, etc. (Finkelhor, 1984).
Sexual abuse by a male perpetrator may produce two contrary
effects on male victims later in their emotional relationships. First, being
sexually abused as a male by a male, creates conflicting internal issues
in which the victims adopt the mindset of traditional masculine culture:
that the male is dominant in the sexual relationships. Male sexual abuse
victims may become more aggressive and dominant in their relationships
with their partners. Secondly, being sexually abused as a male by a male
allows the victim to develop empathy for people who have also been
victims, which is predominantly seen as women. Because of this, male
victims may tend to care for and nurture their female partners.
Thus, it is probable that same-sex sexual abuse perpetrated by a
male has long-term effects on the male victim's sexual identity, gender
identity, and masculinity. Reactions to same-sex sexual abuse can include
behaviors and thoughts that adhere to homophobia. Although there is
no evidence of an association between being gay and being a sex offender,
the idea that most sexual abuse of males is perpetrated by gay men is
widespread (ODonohue & Geer, 1992). There is very little research on the
correlation between child sexual abuse and the male survivors' adult sexual
orientation. However, experts in human sexuality do not believe that sexual
abuse or premature sexual experiences play a significant role. There is no
good evidence that someone can "make" another person homosexual or
heterosexual. Sexual orientation is a complex issue and there is no single
answer or theory that explains why someone identifies himself as homosexual,
heterosexual, or bisexual (Myths & Facts About Male Sexual Abuse and
Assault, n.d.). Furthermore, same-sex male sexual abuse victims may fear
that they were selected because they were seen as homosexual by the
perpetrator. When the sexual perpetrator is a male, the boy has no script
of sexual coolness that would allow him to process openly this experience,
so he must internalize and hide his shame and his pain (hooks, 2004).
The sexual abuse of males perpetrated by a female violates the
traditional gender norms because the female is now acting in the dominant
role and the male is acting in the submissive role. Women are generally
seen as a nurturing and play a prominent role in the daily intimate care
of adolescents where sexual abuse can go unnoticed, making it difficult
to assess the abuse of males by females (Duncan & Williams, 1998). I am
curious to understand the driving factors that lead women to sexually abuse
boys. Was she coerced? Had she been sexually abused herself, which led
to her trying to regain power that was lost? Is engaging in sexual acts with
30
FALL 2018
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
women, especially older women, evidence that a boy is a "real man"? A
result might be, as a man, to overcompensate for power, which might lead
to a high level of physical and sexual violence in intimate relationships.
Theoretical Framework
Crenshaw's (1989) lntersectionality Theory and Lynn, Yosso,
Solorzano, and Parker's (2002) Critical Race Theory were used as the
integral framework to capture the relationship between past sexual
abuse against Black males and the effect on their masculinity.
lntersectionality is a framework designed to explore the dynamic
between co-existing identities (e.g., women, Black) and connected
systems of oppression (e.g., patriarchy, White supremacy). For this study,
I looked specifically at 15 collegiate Black male victims of sexual abuse.
lntersectionality, alongside Critical Race theory, was the foundation to the
development of this study, as I wanted to explore how Black male sexual
abuse survivors conceptualize their idea of masculinity. Through the lens of
Critical Race Theory, I utilized personal stories/narratives to provide a lens
for these victims to counter the narrative that sexual abuse against Black
males does not affect their masculinity. Moreover, I sought to understand
the ways in which these men cope with their experiences of being Black
and a survivor of sexual abuse. Lastly, these two particular frameworks
align with my research interest in redefining the Black male narrative by
providing insight into those experiences and how they can also factor in
the holistic picture of how Black males form their idea of masculinity. This
study was guided by the following research question: does experiencing
sexual abuse have an effect on the masculinity of Black college males?
Research Design and Methods
Hermeneutic phenomenological methods were used to unpack
Black male sexual abuse survivor experiences and their effect on the
survivors' sense of their masculinity. Phenomenology is the study
of phenomena, nature, and meanings. It focuses on the way things
appear to us through experience or in our consciousness where the
Phenomenological research aims to provide a rich, textured description of
lived experience (Finlay, 2009). Hermeneutic phenomenology is focused
on the subjective experience of individuals and groups. It is an attempt to
unveil the world as experienced by the subject through their life stories
~Kafle, 2011). A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was useful, as
it allowed me, through the participants' accounts of their own subjective
experiences, to uncover what it's like to be a Black male sexual abuse
survivor and to examine the effects this identity has on their masculinity.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Participants
Persons were eligible for the study who met the following criteria:
(I) self-identify as a Black or Multiracial (Black being one of the races)
male, (2) over 18 years old, (3) attending any college or university, and
(4) experienced sexual abuse as a child-self-defined as a minimum of
one unwanted sexual encounter by the force of the perpetrator.
Surveys were distributed via email to Black and multiracial male
students at a moderate-sized public university in the midwest. I also
utilize social media as another tactic to invite participants. I posted
the survey in multiple social groups, such as BLKSAP (Black Student
Affairs Professionals), Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Future Student
Affairs Professionals, etc. Fifteen men participated in the survey.
Data Collection Procedures
Each of the 15 participants completed a 20-question survey, which took,
at the minimum, 15 minutes. From that group, I sampled two respondents
who agreed to participate in an interview lasting between 30 and 60 minutes.
Pseudonyms are used for all interviewees. Desmond, age 21, bi-sexual,
and perpetrator was male. Trey, age 20, bi-sexual, and perpetrator was
male. A semi-structured interview technique was used in the face-to-face
interview sessions, which simultaneously permitted data collection and
authentic participant reflection (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995). Additionally,
each interview was recorded using an electronic recording device and was
later professionally transcribed. The interviews were beneficial because
they provided a safe space for the men to deconstruct their masculinity.
Although standard questions and interview protocol were used in the
interviews, discussions often became conversational, thus allowing the
participants to reflect on the experiences and relationships they deemed most
significant. The survey and interview questions refrained from addressing
the details of the abuse event, but were directed toward the effect that it
has had on the person's masculinity as defined in the Harper (2004) study.
In contemplating my approach to examining the lived experiences of
my participants, I wanted to also take a non-traditional approach to my
qualitative inquiry by extracting an aspect of Shaun McNiffs (1998) art-based
research method. Art-based research can be defined as the systematic
use of the artistic process, the actual making of artistic expressions in all
of the different forms of the arts, as a primary way of understanding and
examining experience by both researchers and the people they involve
in their studies. I sampled an additional two participants and encouraged
them to share their experiences through their art. Paul, age 24, bi-sexual,
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
and perpetrator was male. Kendall, age 21, bi-sexual, and perpetrator
was male. Both participants chose poetry as their art expression.
Researcher Positionality
This study and my approach to researching Black male sexual abuse
survivors is a direct result of my lived experience. As a Black male collegiate
scholar who experienced sexual abuse as a child, I too struggled with defining
my masculinity. I wrestled with, and was very combative with, the social
norm of what society has placed on me and the idea that I am abnormal.
With so many feelings of doubt, fear, isolation, and anxiety, I rationalized that
my story had no place in the mainstream narrative. I became a slave to my
own mental suffering, with an epistemology of death that God had made a
mistake with me. I could not imagine how my identity as a Black, cisgender,
bisexual, hearing impaired, child sexual abuse survivor could fit into the
mold of mainstream society. As I conceptualized this research, I wanted to
better understand how other Black men who have had similar experience
of child sexual abuse navigate the spaces of this world. Thus, through the
lens of the 15 men, I sought to create a narrative that could provide insight
about our experiences and how they relate to our idea of masculinity.
Data Analysis
Qualtrics survey software was used to gather all survey responses
and produce the quantitative analysis. Moustakas's (1994) approach was
used to analyze the data collected from the interviews and poetry. I
refrained from bracketing my impressions and assumptions as I interpret
the participants' surveys and transcripts. Bracketing is a methodological
device of phenomenological inquiry that requires deliberate putting
aside of one's own belief about the phenomenon under investigation or
what one already knows about the subject prior to and throughout the
phenomenological investigation (Carpenter, 2007). After interpreting the
data, I looked for significant statements that explored how these men
conceptualize their masculinity. These statements were identified and
grouped into themes. They explore how the men were grappling with
their identity and formation of their understanding of masculinity.
Limitations
Through the completion of this research, I ran into a two
limitations. First, as a researcher in the University of Central Oklahoma
Ronald E. McNair program, I was given a short time frame to conduct
and complete my research. Research had to be complete during the
Summer of 2018; therefore, it was challenging for me to reach out to
students via school emails, which led to a lower participation rate.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
I'm a firm believer in the quote, "you can rush the writing, but you
can't rush the story." This leads into my second limitation, which revolves
around the sensitivity of my research topic. My topic is asking Black
men to disclose personal information that many haven't disclosed within
themselves. Trust has to be mutually shared in order for me to create a
space where they feel comfortable enough to disclose that information.
Despite these two limitations, I was able to find 15
courageous Black men to provide insights into a narrative
that is not discussed in the mainstream media.
Findings
My research question (Does
NO
experiencing sexual abuse as children
20%
have an effect on the masculinity of
Black college males?) is addressed
YES
in Figure I; 80% participants
13%
answered "yes" or "somewhat."
SOMEWHAT
The following questions deconstruct
67%
Figure I
the definition of masculinity as defined by
Harper (2004). Figure 2 shows the breakdown
of how the participants identified their
Bl-SEXUAL
GAY
sexual orientation. Roughly 13% identified as
straight, 40% bi-sexual, and 47% gay. Figure 3
indicates 27% of participants said that being
sexually abused had an effect on their sexual
STRAIGHT
Figure 2
orientation (47% said "somewhat") (See
Figure 3). The sexual abusers were
identified as 87% male and 13% both male and female,
NO
Yl!S
2~
as indicated in Figure 4. In Figure 5, we see that almost
half of the abusers (43%) were family members; other
reported identities were friend (19%), family friend (13%),
and other ( 19%). When respondents were asked if they
SOMEWHAT
felt powerless due to being sexual abused, 47% said
47~
"yes," 14% "somewhat," and 40% "no" (see Figure 6).
Figure 3
In the interviews with two participants, I was able
to come to a better understanding of the survey data. In the beginning of
the interviews, both Desmond and Trey struggled with defining masculinity;
however, they mentioned keywords and phrases such as "being strong,"
"confident," and "stand [sic] on his (or my) his own two feet." When asked if
their definition of masculinity altered after being sexually abused, they both
-
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figure 4
aoTH
13'!0
NO
19,-.
FAl&.YFRIDG
13,.
1IOUl!WHAT
1-8,.
MALE
87'IO
Figure 6
answered yes, but it affected them in different ways. Desmond stated:
I see myself as strong but not as strong as I want to be. I'm
able to stand on my own, but having that sense of strong
mindset has kinda dwindled due to the fact of that situation.
Trey stated:
I feel like it made me more of a dominant masculine male.
I then asked if he felt he had to assert his dominance. He responded:
Yeah, because I didn't [during the time of the situation]. It
made me feel like I don't want to be in that situation again.
Both identified as bi-sexual, and both felt that being sexually abused
had an effect on that. Both mentioned how they struggle with being
confused about their sexual orientation. Both agreed to questioning a higher
being (power), trying to figure out why things happened the way they did.
Both identified their sexual abuser as a male and expressed
that he was a close friend and family friend. Trey explained how
hurt he was knowing that his abuser was a male. He stated:
It hurt because the way I grew up. I grew up in a Christian household
and with me being a male, it is frowned upon and so how is he
w illing to [do] something like that. The fact that it happened
and it was a family friend; by day, they was like "that's that gay
shit" and then all of the sudden there was a different story.
Then he expressed:
I feel like if it was a female, I wouldn't be so ashamed to open up about
it, but since it's a dude, "yeah I'm going to keep my mouth closed
about this one" because then it's all these people saying "you wanted
this to happen" or "it's your fault that you allowed it to happen."
However, when discussing coping mechanisms, Trey
discussed how he used a pageant platform to share his story,
which created a sense of liberation for him. He stated:
So I was running for a pageant (which I won) to represent a
prestigious role at my university. In that pageant, I basically told
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
the whole university what happened and how I always will wear a
mask to cover up my true emotions and internalize everything, but
when you wear a mask for so long, it gets tiring and I'm tired of
putting up the fight and you just need to release it. I felt better [after
the pageant] because people could relate to me . ... it just makes
being a mentor easier because your mentee goes through the same
struggle, if not, worst then you do, but having someone there that
can relate to you and having open and honest conversation was very
refreshing. It was very important for me to open up and tell my story.
Desmond had a different approach to coping with being
sexually abused. He explained how he goes about the situationstaying positive and refrains from thinking about it:
When I think of things or even when I see the person, I try
not to think about it. I just try to keep going about my day or I
think positive because that was kind of a bad experience.
I have to mention that this interview was the first time
Desmond had actually opened up about his experience.
Encouraging two other participants, Paul and Kendall , to utilize
their artistic expression allowed for me to also tackle a non-traditional
approach to addressing the topic. Both Paul and Kendall had some similar
reflections to what Desmond and Trey stated during their interviews.
Paul and Kendall each wrote some poetry to express how
they feel about their experience with being sexually abused.
once thought lost.
Taunts the idea of fluidity, the sense
of identity as it pulls away again.
Baptized!
* breathing*
How long have you been lost?
Can you hear the alarm?
It's returning now,
higher than the last time.
Creates shade from the light.
Darkness has become comfortable.
It resonates a sanctuary.
Hides the truth of what happened,
how it got so out of hand.
Shrouds the hurt, guilt,
shame and defeat.
The cool liquid kisses the skin.
Awakens the subconscious
just enough to fight.
What are you afraid of?
Scratching and clawing to
reach the surface.
The anchor continues to
weigh down the soul.
With each struggle syphoning energy.
It calls out.
Begs "let go".
Let the pain, betrayal, faults
and mistakes go.
Your soul.. ..You
Lost in self-pity.
It crashes in,
the light returns.
In that brief moment of contact,
lost is found.
It draws away with the soul.
Who hurt you?
Why did you surrender?
The Forgotten Shore
Paul, 24
It rushes in suddenly,
but remains still.
Refreshing to the wandering soul.
Almost as if it calls for an awakening.
Pulls at the turmoil and
longs for tranquility.
But how can there be peace?
How can you awaken
something... someone who
sleep has evaded for so long?
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*drowning*
When did you go to sleep?
There it goes again rushing in.
This time broken and disturbed.
Pulling at the wanderer.
As if to say " come into me."
It beckons for interaction.
Reflects something
There's a beauty in drowning.
The will to not let the water in,
to keep your mouth
closed until it hurts.
Right up until you fear
your head will explode.
Then you open up.
The pain stops.
Peace comes.
Why do you deny yourself?
The soul drifts deeper.
Submerged into still movement.
The pain runs deep.
Unable to forgive.
Unwilling to move forward.
You cut yourself.
Constantly looking for
others to blame.
You reflect yourself.
You are the master of your
fate, the captain of your soul.
But you've let someone
•
drive your vessel.
Navigate you over the edge.
You don't recognize yourself anymore.
Who are you?
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
been in a space where he feels comfortable to express his experience. His
expressed coping mechanism of continuing to avoid thinking of his experience
is going to continue to affect his emotional well-being.
When looking into mainstream media, the #MeTooMovement is
considered a space to address sexual abuse. When posed with the question of
whether they identify with the movement, both interviewees expressed that
they do. However, they talked about the movement being seen through a
one-fold lens. These are real issues happening to Black men. They express how
we as a society need to deconstruct anti-Blackness and homophobic
subconscious thoughts and actions so there can be a space developed for this
conversation to occur.
In conclusion, I hope this research provided some context and data about
these experiences and how they relate to Black male masculinity. I look
forward to seeing more dialogues and spaces provided so we can talk about
this as a community. I believe we need to change our language when we talk
about sexual abuse and not make it heteronormative. We need to continue to
challenge the notion of what "traditional" masculinity is and not allow that to
negate these experiences. I look forward to seeing more research conducted
around this topic and believe that this will add to the multitude of Black
liberation movements happening in our society.
References
Alaggia, R., & Millington, G. (2008). Male child sexual abuse: A phenomenology
of betrayal. Clinical Social WorkJournal,36(3), 265-275. doi:10.1007/
sI 0615-007-0144-y
Beck, A ., Berzofsky, M., Caspar, R., & Krebs, C. (2013). Sexual victimization in
prisons and jails reported by Inmates, 2011-12. Bureau of
Justice Statistics.
Bhasin, K. (2004). What is patriarchy? New Delhi: Women Unlimited.
Carpenter, D. R. (2007). Phenomenology as method. In H.J. Streubert &
D. R. Carpenter (Eds.),Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the
humanistic imperative (pp. 75- 99).Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2005). Adverse Childhood
Experiences Study: Data and Statistics. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control. Retrieved January 12, 2009 from: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/
ace/prevalence.htm
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Crenshaw, K. (1989) "Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black
feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and
antiracist politics," University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989 ,
Article 8.
Criminal Justice Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.naacp.org/
criminal-justice-fact-sheet/
Duncan, L. E., & Williams, L. M. (1998). Sex Roles,39(9/10), 765-785.
Finkelhor, D. (1984). Child sexual abuse: New theory and research. New York:
Free Press.
Finlay, L. (2009). Debating phenomenological research. Phenomenology &
Practice, 3( I), 6-25.
foster, N. (2003). Behind the pain nobody talks about: sexual abuse of Black
boys. EBONY,58(8).
Foster, T. (2011). The sexual abuse of Black men under american slavery.
Journal of the History of Sexuality,20(3), 445-464.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification Theory: Toward
understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks.
Psychology of Women Quarterly,21 (2), 173-206.
Harper, S. (2004). The measure of a man: Conceptualizations of masculinity
among high-achieving African American male college students. Berkeley
Journal of Sociology, 48, 89-107. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/
stable/41035594
Hodes, M. (2014). White women, black men. New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (1995). The active interview. Qualitative
research method series, No. 37. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hooks, B. (2004). We Real Cool Black Men and Masculinity. Florence: Taylor
and Francis.
Kafle, N. (2011). Hermeneutic phenomenological research method simplified.
Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 181-200.
Lynn, M., Yosso, T. J., Solorzano, D. G., & Parker, L. (2002). Critical race
theory and education: qualitative research in the new millennium.
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Qualitative lnquiry,8(1), 3-6.
Maikovich, A. K., Koenen, K. C., & Jaffee, S. R. (2009). Posttraumatic stress
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Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,37(5), 727-737.
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Mcclure, S. M. (2006). Improvising masculinity: African American fraternity
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Permission
Ankita Rathour
Louisiana State University
Don't look there"
was the thumb rule.
' '
Not even in night-no
Or in the shower
Or under the quilt
Not even in the theater at night.
I am watching you,
she screamed whenever
my eyes went
down.
That day I looked at it in the shower.
She saw me through
the half-shut door.
It was never fully closed.
It is for fresh air to get in she said.
Aker that she made sure
to bath me herself.
Everyday.
It will be quick. She laughed.
It was.
Wailing.
Wrapped in a towel
I got out like a dying bouquet
hoping to get wet somehow.
I took the towel to rub myself.
Let me do it-she yelled again.
You will ruin it.
It is private.
Sensitive.
You will hurt yourself.
Stay away you idiot.
But it is with me. It is mine-I cried
No. it is not, doll-she
stroked my head.
Not until you are married.
Not until he tells you to go there.
Not until he sees it first.
It was her hands all over
me with the soap bar.
My eyes were always
covered with foam.
Itching.
Drying.
P-ed.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Artist Spotlight
Kateryna Bortsova
MFA
I
think that art means confrontation between life and aesthetics.
It is a hard struggle for both of them, and the understanding
of art is one of the artist's main working specialties.
In the modern multipolar and multinational world, art and art objects
have been dissolved in the routine human life.After Marcel Duchamp created
a 'readymade' art in the 1940s, we surely may find art objects around us
without any force. But in order to make an art object of a simple spoon
or staple, there needs to be a creator - a man with endless fantasy, who
sees not a dirt but a star in a pool, as Immanuel Kant said.Any person may
possess technical skills and practice their craft by means of hard work.
But not everyone may fill their work with philosophic sense, with such
images which would enchant audience for ages. Now the only factor of
art modernity is that it is present in art galleries and on the Internet.
Regarding definition of art modernity, I do not divide art works
into mainstream, underground, and classics. It is important for me
that great masterpiece should have a response in the audience's
soul. Pictures with such quality will be always up-to-date.
As an artist, I believe that keeping up with ephemera fashion shall not serve
as a factor of art work modernity. Human development takes the form of a
curve: everything new is a well-forgotten old but at the new curve of civilization.
Feelings Broken
Acrylic on paper
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Melancholy
Oil on canvas, collage
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Motion
Acrylic on canvas
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
I
n today's increasingly frequent discussions of the LGBT+ community, the
third letter of the series is all too often ignored, excluded, or outright denied.
As representation of queer characters in media and pop culture leads to
greater acceptance of queer people in real life, this same media is often
reinforcing harmful stereotypes about bisexuality that actively harm bisexual
individuals' acceptance in both queer and straight communities. This article
addresses such negative representations of bisexuality in the French graphic
novel Le Bleu est une couleur chaude by Julie Maret and Tunisian filmmaker
Abdellatif Kechiche's film adaptation, La Vie d'Adele, which won the Palme d'Or
at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival-the first comic book adaptation to earn an
award of such prestige. The film, titled in English Blue is the Warmest Color, earned
a reputation upon its U.S. release as 'that lesbian sex movie.' While the film
does include several graphic sex scenes between the two main characters, both
female, this reputation demonstrates precisely the issue I explore in this article:
despite the fact that the film's main character has relationships with both men
and women, any sexual act between two women is immediately labeled "lesbian"
and contributes to the pervasive problem of devaluing or erasing bi identities.
In 2015, the Equality Network (a Scottish organization) released a report
on the experience of bisexuals, finding that the majority of bisexuals (between
66 and 69%) feel unsupported or unrecognized in both LGBT+ and non-LGBT+
communities (HRC Biphobia). In 20 I 0, the Center for Disease Control reported
significantly higher instances of sexual and domestic violence against bisexuals,
so much that "bisexual women were twice as likely to experience sexual
violence as other groups in almost every category" (Rauch). Disturbing statistics
such as these make it essential to reveal and discuss biphobia and bi- erasure in
pop culture. In this article, my analysis focuses on two perspectives of biphobia
in Le Bleu est une couleur chaude: the protagonist.Clementine's, treatment by her
girlfriend, Emma, and the author's biphobia as shown through the text's themes
and plot. Since the film is more well-known than its source text, I will also use
comparisons with the story's cinematic interpretation, La Vie d'Adele, where it
highlights and exacerbates the biphobia. My argument highlights these themes as
48
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representative of problems in the community at large.
A brief summary of the graphic novel will be helpful to situate the
moments that are the focus of this analysis. Set in Lille, the story takes place
t,etween 1994 and 2008, following the life of a high school student, Clementine
(whose name becomes Adele in the film), as she struggles to come to terms
with her sexual identity after meeting Emma, an art school student and out
lesbian activist.After plenty of teenage melodrama (even March now refers to
the text as "une ridicule histoire" "a ridiculous story" [my trans.; Creurs-forets,
Maroh] that she wrote when she was only 19), the couple splits after 12 years
together because of Clem's infidelity with a fellow teacher at her school, a
faceless male who appears in only three panels, cropped into anonymity by
the panels' design. The story passes through several unfortunate tropes of
LGBT+ representation: internalized homophobia and struggle to accept one's
own identity, rejection by homophobic parents, promiscuity and infidelity in
the queer community, and an untimely death due to addiction that tragically
separates the couple. It is because of these cliches (rather than in spite of them)
that the biphobia in the text demands examination: it represents a trope in itself,
one dangerous to the acceptance of bisexual identities. It is important to note
here that Julie March identifies as lesbian, not bisexual, and the text's erasure of
bisexuality must be read with this in mind.
First, it is important to understand Clementine's perception of her
sexuality as this clearly matters more than assumptions about her identity.
Unfortunately, there's little to go on to understand how Clementine selfidentifies. Most of her early journey consists of coming to terms with her own
sexuality, often in the form of cliched self-rejection as she asks Emma if she is
ashamed to be a lesbian. Only one time does Clementine claim the identity
"lesbienne" for herself, and she does it only in a humorously stereotyping
internal dialogue:"Mais c'est quoi ce c/iche? La lesbienne qui joue au baby-foot avec
ses Potes mecs ... et puis merde.Je m'amuse.Je suis bien'' "What's with this cliche?
The lesbian playing foosball with her guy friends? Eh, screw it. I'm having fun"
(my trans.; March, Bleu I 19). However, it is important to note the comic's use
of color as it offers clues to Clementine's sexuality. The blue is a repeated motif
throughout the mostly grey-tone story, putting the reader into Clementine's
P0int of view so that we are struck by the same images as she. While the
reference to Emma's hair in the title is evident, it is important to note that
Thomas's blue is equally striking to Clementine, even before blue becomes
associated with Emma in her mind.While she never feels love for Thomas like
she does with Emma, Clementine is clearly attracted to him and even dates him
for six months, a. long time from her sixteen-year-old perspective.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
The film version Adele never reveals how she self-identifies to the
audience, but bisexuality is more emphasized here than in the comic, while still
carefully avoiding the label.Adele engages in sex with her high-school boyfriend
Thomas; however, in the graphic novel, Clementine changes her mind before
completing the act.Adele also develops a relationship with the male co-worker
that ends her relationship with Emma, but the audience gets no insight into
Clementine's relationship with the faceless man in the comic. Finally.Adele flirts
with one of Emma's male friends at a party, and the film concludes with him
chasing her down the street, heavily implying a new romance.
In both formats, the biggest problem is that there is no acknowledgment
whatsoever of the 'b-word; as is so often the case with recognizably bisexual
characters in media and pop culture.Any same-sex encounter leads to frantic
Internet debates about whether a character is gay or straight as the majority
either forgets or denies that bisexuality is real. Prominent examples of this
include Xena the Warrior Princess.Wonder Woman, Hikaru Sulu in the StarTrek
reboot, and Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among many others. In both
the graphic novel and its film adaptation of March's story, the audience primarily
experiences Clementine's identity through others' eyes-eyes that, like the
examples above, suggest repeatedly that one must be straight or lesbian, with
nothing in between but experimentation or closeted behavior. This becomes
even more problematic when we take March's description of her work:
... ce qui m'interesse avant tout c'est que moi, celles/ceux que j'aime, et
tous les autres cessions d'etre: insulte-e-s, rejete-e-s, tabasse-e-s, violee-s, assassine-e-s. Dans la rue, a l'ecole, au travail, en famille, en vacances,
chez eux. En raison de nos differences. Chacun aura pu interprete [sic) et
s'identifier au livre a sa convenance. (Maroh Ca:urs-forets)
What interests me above all is that me, those that I love, and all others
cease to be: insulted, rejected, beat up, raped, murdered. In the street, at
school, at work, among family, on vacation, in their own homes. Because of
our differences. Each person can interpret and identify with the book how
they please. (my trans.)
Maroh speaks to the importance of representation in media as protection
against harassment for herself and her queer peers. However, both March's
character Emma (and by extension the story itself) perpetuates the queer
community's rejection of bi identities by reinforcing biphobic stereotypes,
creating an unwelcome space for bi people. She claims all readers can identify
with the story in their own way, but Maroh may not have considered bisexual
audiences' reactions when confronted with the text's biphobic tendencies.
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The graphic novel's biphobia is most evident in the first interaction
t,etween Clementine and Emma. Clementine accompanies her friend Valentin
to a gay bar for the first time; bored watching her friend's drunken flirtations,
Clementine wanders away from Valentin and into a lesbian bar she passes on
the street. She immediately notices Emma's blue hair from their brief crossing in
the street months previously, but Clementine sits at the bar on her own. Emma
approaches to buy Clementine a drink, intrigued by the fact that "C'est rare de
rencontrer des gens dans ton genre ici .. :• 'It's rare to meet your type in here .. :
(my trans.; Maroh, Bleu 50).When asked what she means by"your type;' first
Emma notes the fact that Clementine is alone and underage in a bar, but then
she makes her real meaning clear:"Et ensuite, le genre hetero treees .curieuse
apparemment" 'also, the reeeaally curious straight type, apparently' (my trans.;
Maroh, Bleu 51 ). Before even asking Clementine's name, Emma has effectively
shut down the possibility of Clementine defining her own sexual identity.
Coming at a moment when the main character is just beginning to question this
identity for herself (Emma clearly notices from her comment), Emma's biphobic
labeling is particularly damaging. In representing sexuality as a straight/gay
dichotomy, Emma (seeming to be an authority to Clementine in this new queer
space) closes the door to other possible identities outside this dichotomy, as so
often happens in both queer and non-queer communities.Therefore, the space
that should be helping Clementine discover her identity instead forces her into
further confusion by insisting she must fit in one of these two boxes .
Now, some will notice that the "curiosity" Emma remarks in Clementine
represents some space between the gay/straight dichotomy. I argue that rather
than indicating acceptance of another sexuality, this comment reflects common
criticisms that bisexual people often endure:"lt's just a phase," "You're young
and experimenting," "Pick a side already," "You're really gay but still half in the
closet;• and the like.As Pauline Plazas describes such reluctance to accept
bisexuality as an identity in its own right, "Bisexuality is widely seen as an
exploration, not an option" (Plazas lndieWire).This line of thinking, that bi
people are simply undecided or somehow dishonest about their sexuality,
develops into Emma's refusal to get involved in a relationship with Clementine
because of her confused sexual identity, a problem that again occurs all too
often in real life.
Emma's biphobia becomes the primary obstacle that Clementine has to
overcome to begin their relationship. Despite having a serious girlfriend, Emma's
objections to Clementine's interest consistently only reference the latter's
perceived sexuality, never Emma's own relationship status. Emma, unquestionably
attracted to Clementine, tells her "Quand tu tomberas amoureuse, ce mec sera
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le plus chanceux de toute la terre" 'when you fall in love, that guy will be the
luckiest in the whole world' (my trans.; March, Bleu 91 ). Due to the gendered
nature of the French language, the idea of a future male lover is unambiguous
with usage of the word "mec" and the masculine version of the adjective
"chanceux: • Because of her own assumptions about Clementine's identity, Emma
never allows her the chance to define her sexuality or express her feelings.
Once the couple becomes physically intimate, Emma refuses to receive
oral sex from Clementine:"Non, attends, ne ...tu n'as jamais fait <;a," 'No, wait,
don't... you've never done that before' (my trans.; March, Bleu 96). Emma
continues to treat her partner as if she were uncommitted to sex with a
woman, in spite of Clementine's insistence to the contrary. Even after sleeping
together for the first time, Emma clings to her perception of Clementine as
heterosexual as some sort of martyric reason to not act on her feelings for
the younger girl:"Qu'est-ce que <;a changerait? A un moment ou un autre ... tu
finiras bien par rencontrer un gars qui te plait et tout te poussera aetre avec
lui, vous serez heureux et moi j'airai l'air d'une conne.Alors franchement ...
quoi bon ... ?" 'What would that change? Sooner or later, you'll end up finding a
guy you like and everything will push you to be with him.You'll be happy and I'll
look like an idiot. So really... what's the point... ?' (my trans.; March, Bleu I 05).
Indeed, Emma's refusal to enter a relationship with Clementine despite her
evident feelings perpetuates the "it's just a phase" stereotype that is so harmful
to bisexual individuals.
This is not an isolated incident, but rather a theme throughout much of
the text; Emma repeatedly insists that any form of relationship just isn't worth
it because Clementine will, undoubtedly, leave her for a man:"Clem, tu n'es pas
homo, tout <;a te passera, tu ne veux pas ..." 'Clem, you're not gay, all this will
pass, you don't want..: (my trans.; March, Bleu I 00). In one of the few moments
Clementine stands up for her right to define her own sexuality, she cuts Emma
off shouting, "C::a n'est pas toi de me dire ce que je veux" 'It's not up to you to
tell me what I want' (my trans.; March, Bleu I 00). So adamant is Clementine that
her jagged-edged speech bubble covers Emma's, underscoring her frustration at
being constantly defined by others.
Though this defense of a person's right to define their own sexuality may
initially appear to be the author's rebuttal to the biphobia in the story up to
that point, March instead proves Emma's fears justified as Clementine engages
in a sexual relationship with a male colleague. Even though her first girlfriend in
the story, Sabine, was frequently unfaithful, with Emma's knowledge the infidelity
was not a seriously enough transgression for Emma to end the relationship.
Even Sabine also knew about Emma's six-month affair with Clementine and took
a
a
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no action to stop it. (Here, I will specify that Emma and Sabine did not define
their relationship as open, and infidelity is clearly represented as such.) It is
evidently not the infidelity that destroys Emma and Clementine's relationship.
Rather, infidelity with a man poses the real problem for Emma. She declares,
"II n'y avait rien de pire pour me briser le ca:ur!" 'There was nothing worse
for breaking my heart!' (my trans.; March, Bleu 135). Emma's biphobic fears
were correct all along: Clementine 'reverts' to dating men. This representation
is problematic because it reflects and even encourages a very real bias in
both straight and queer communities: the idea that bisexual people cannot be
satisfied in a relationship and will eventually cheat with or leave for someone of
another gender.
Both film and comic reflect this bias as the main character cannot fit
in with Emma's community. In the film.Adele is completely closeted outside
of her home life with Emma, implying that Emma is once again correct, and
Adele is actually straight. More problematically, in the graphic novel, the
couple's problems stem from Clementine's disinterest in activism.The election
of conservative Nicholas Sarkozy to the French presidency in 2007, shown
on the couple's television screen, is superimposed by a text box containing
Clementine's admission that the couple is growing apart. This moment
represents an important point in LGBT+ history in France as Sarkozy has long
been a vocal opponent of both marriage equality and separation of church and
state. This situation drives a further wedge between the women as Clementine
refuses to involve herself in activism. She tells the reader that, "Pour Emma,
sa sexualite est un bien vers les autres. Un bien social et politique. Pour moi,
c'est la chose la plus intime qui soit. Elle appellee <;a de la lachete, alors que je
cherche juste a etre heureuse ..:• 'For Emma, her sexuality is a good towards
others.A social and political good. For me, it's the most private thing there is.
She calls that cowardice, but I just care about being happy..: (my trans.; March,
Bleu 131 ). Though this could represent a personal difference in any couple, the
constant questioning of Clementine's sexuality makes this scene particularly
problematic.
Combined with the previous instances of biphobia, this ideological
difference further removes Clementine not only from Emma, but also from
the queer community.As a bisexual person, March represents Clementine as
fundamentally separate from this space because bisexual individuals neither care
for activism nor speak for the queer community.The couple has a fight over the
Pride flag as Clementine grabs hold of it to prevent Emma walking out the door.
1his is arguably the most problematic image of the entire text, since it suggests
that Clementine is actively to disrupt Emma's equality activism. Emma has to
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free herself from Clementine's grasp in order to engage with and fight for the
queer community.
Published in 20 I 0, the writing, publication, and textual focus on activism
in the 2000s reflect an important period in the equality movement in France.
From 1999, civil unions called PACS (Pacte Civile de Solidarite) have been
open to same- and different-sex couples alike, but it was not until 2013 that
marriage became legal in France for same-sex couples.With France's neighbors
the Netherlands and Belgium becoming the first two countries to legally
recognize same-sex marriages in 200 I and 2003 respectively, Clementine and
Emma's relationship takes place at a crucial moment in French LGBT+ activism.
The fact that Clementine, presented as "not a real lesbian," threatens not only
her relationship but the movement itself is deeply problematic in its historical
context.
It is important to consider the impact of these observations about Le Bleu
est une couleur chaude.Though a well-known graphic novel in French-speaking
communities, the book remains obscure elsewhere. However, the high-profile
awards of the film brought the biphobia into the spotlight, though it was
overshadowed by the explicitly male gaze through which the story was filmed.
All complexities of the story were reduced to the previously mentioned title
'that lesbian sex film; a moniker particularly problematic for those attuned
to biphobia and bi-erasure in the media.A critique of the film published in
Autostraddle represents the larger problem with misrepresentation of sexualities
in pop culture:
Queerness as portrayed by straight people, as envisioned by straight
people and directed by straight people, is Oscar bait. Brokeback Mountain
isn't an example of gay cinema anymore than Blue is the Warmest Color
is an example of lesbian cinema, and I'm sorry if that comes as a shock
to you .... A narrative about queer people as directed and portrayed and
produced by straight people cannot be considered a work of queer cinema
in the same sense that a film written, directed, and portrayed by queer
people is. (Kate Audostraddle).
I will take this observation a step further and point out that erasure of a sexual
identity within the queer space of the graphic novel is even more damaging
because it comes from a place that should (in theory) be better at accepting
non-hetero identities. Especially when we return to Maroh's comments on her
own work, that she intended Bleu est une couleur chaude to represent a space
for all, yet here, a queer author repeatedly excludes bisexuality from the queer
spaces and queer communities of her text.
Yet as many (if not all. .. ) bi people have experienced, biphobia exists in
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!)0th queer and non-queer spaces, making it harder to live when the very
existence of your identity is erased.As Plazas writes in response to the
ubiquitous labeling of Blue is the Warmest Color as a 'lesbian' film:
Perhaps ... it is public judgment about bisexuality which stops Adele from
saying anything. This raises another important point: How does a bisexual
come out of a 'Narnia' sized closet? It isn't enough to declare who you
are; you must then justify your own existence to the world.Adele [sic]
chooses not to explain herself but in the process remains an outsider to
both gay and straight cultures. (Plazas, lndieWire)
What is telling to me is this article's own discomfort with terminology
to describe queer culture. How can we discuss bi-erasure in the LGBT+
community when all but the L and G have been erased from this particular
narrative, and many like it? To my mind, Le Bleu est une couleur chaude is an
example of problematic representation in media that reflects the larger-scale
issue of bisexual people struggling to find spaces that validate or accept their
identities.This is precisely why biphobia and bi-erasure need to be called out
when and where we see them. It is only through discussion of the issue and
increasing bi-visibility that progress can be continued in fighting bi-erasure and
bi phobia.
Works Cited
HRC Staff."New Report from the UK Highlights Biphobia Within and Outside
of the LGBT Community:' Human Rights Campaign.The Human Rights
Campaign, 29 May 2015, www.hrc.org/blog/new-report-from-the-ukhighlights-biphobia-within-and-outside-of-the-lgbt-c.
Kate."Blue is the Warmest Color:The Male Gaze Reigns Supreme."
Audostraddle. 6 Nov.2013, The Excitant Group LLC, www.autostraddle.
com/blue-is-the-warmest-color-the-male-gaze-reigns-supreme-203158/.
Kechiche,Abdellatif. La Vie d'Adele. - Chapitre I Et 2. New York, Criterion
Collection, 2014. Film.
"Le Bleu d'Adele:• Ca=urs-forets: le site de Julie Maroh,WordPress, 23 May
2013, www.juliemaroh.com/2013/05/.
Maroh,Julie. Le Bleu est une couleur chaude. Glenat, 2013.
Plazas, Paulina. "/vent 'Blue is the Warmest Color' is Not a Lesbian Film:•
lndieWire, Penske Business Media, 2 May 2014, www.indiewire.
com/20 I 4/05/vent-blue-is-the-warmest-color-is-not-a-lesbian-film-214292/.
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Rauch, Joseph. "Why So Many Bisexuals Are Victimized: People attracted to both
genders report staggering rates of abuse and violence:• Psychology Today,
Sussex Publishers LLC, 25 Oct.2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blogt
the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/201610/why-so-many-bisexuals-arevictimized.
r,iade to Order
Abigail Griffin
University of Central Oklahoma
S
exual cannibalism: it's a thing. Several species (at least 30) including insects
and arachnids participate in this scintillating lifestyle around the mating
clock. Gives a whole new meaning to "wham, barn, thank you, [man];' am I
right? If you're devoid of any deductive skills whatsoever, the kicker is that
the female in each species is the cannibal. Some males will offer themselves up
for the greater cause, allowing their demise to provide nutrients for their lover
and ultimately to facilitate procreation-their last crack at martyrdom.
She-mantises often savagely sever the heads of their one-night stands
before the suitor even has a chance to ejaculate.What's the use of a living
male when even headless ones can still inseminate an egg? I imagine shemantises as the brutal bitches of the insect world-their slender, aerodynamic,
pea-green bodies looming over their apathetic appetizer until the crunch of
conviction once the mandibles perfectly pluck the unlucky bastard's head off
his unimpressive abdomen.A black widow will strategically align her male mate
between her fangs during sex. Easy access has never been represented so
seamlessly, and at least she lets him finish first.
Sexual cannibalism within the insect world is no doubt representative of
how utterly useless males are outside of their potential for procreation, but it
also represents the dramatic denouement on the stage of a series of striking
events. Preceding the predation of female to male, the latter participates in
varying forms of penance. Eligible suitors compete to be in the running for the
slaughter.
Peacock spiders feverishly frolic in front of and around their counterparts.
Their intricately colored abdomens flick like a fire licking the edge of a fireplace,
flirting with a flammable hardwood floor.Their lithe legs whip about in a stream
of metallic and neon like those inflatable men used as eye-catchers for car lots
and useless spaces in useless shopping corners.What a fucking nuisance.
He-mantises similarly make a spectacle of themselves. They take pleasure
in posing, prickly forelegs and wings outstretched, legs planted apart, as if they
Were nude models displayed in front of zealous art apprentices, or perhaps
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brawny break-dancers ready to bust a move on America's Got Talent. They
often erotically gyrate like greased-up strippers, clicking their plastic, pellucid
platforms together to call attention to themselves.
Females involved in this type of sexual tussle-tango are the ultimate
hustlers.You see, the males think they're big and bad because they get caught up
in showing off.They think they've got that suave sway. However, it is exclusively
the female that constructs the continuing creation of the species. She's like a
traffic conductor trumpeting her shrill whistle, holding up a flat, white-gloved
palm. Stop right there, buddy. She directs the desired color sequences, body
movements, and visual vibrations like an omnipotent fashion designer, astute
and austere in what is and is not permitted down the runway.Without her,
populations would cease to exist. I'm just saying, maybe we human women
should be taking notes.
Males engage in demonstrative behavior for an explicit effect: reaction in
their best interest.The stakes are even higher and the performances even more
pompous when they're in some station of superiority (which is usually assigned
to them as early as birth). I'm not sure when I first noticed this. I mean, I've
always noticed it. It's as tangible and repulsive as a steaming pile of puke sizzling
on asphalt during a I 00-degree day in the middle of a theme park.What I mean
is-I can't say when I was finally able to label it, when I finally relinquished this
perpetually passive perception and said, "Fuck this:•
He towered over me-the National Guard Sergeant-not directly facing
me. I was sitting on the gritty, waxed gym floor, my back flush with the rippled
concrete wall that all gyms have.While he was standing, thrashing his jagged,
buttery teeth about something irrelevant toward a coach seated in a chair at
my right, I sat quietly waiting for the bell to ring. His thin-wired glasses, their
magnifying lenses cut into perfect rectangles, hung heavily on his steep, ski-slope
nose. He showed up first.
He was noticeably short-not too short to ride a rollercoaster, but too
short to drive a jacked-up dually without someone thinking he's compensating
for something. His hair was charcoal and salt, and his small, beady eyes
reminded me of a rat.As I continued quietly waiting for the bell to ring, the
boom and havoc bouncing off the gym made me feel like my head was encased
in a racquetball court filled with a circus-bullhorns, stampeding elephants, and
all. He looked so tired I thought a pebble had been thrown into the pools of his
eyes, creating all the ripples beneath them. He showed up later.
"Why you so quiet?" Forcing my eyes up to meet his peaked nose instead
of immediately rolling them was like trying to stop a head-on collision-almost
impossible. "I have nothing to say." Silence. Crises averted. He'd been there for
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ten minutes, tops.
"How you doin';' his Chicago-skyline teeth chomped.
"Fine. How are you?"
"Good, good, good.You just down there bein' all quiet."
"Yuuuuup:' Exasperation. He'd been there for twenty minutes.
I actually have a whole hell of a lot to say, but not when it's expected I
lurch like a horse ready to burst out of containment at a derby. There's always
this deep pull inside me, like the pendulum in a grandfather clock laboriously
swinging--answer or don't answer, what to do. I answer, because what the fuck.
I answer, because, even though "eat my dick" would convey how much I don't
conform to societal norms of what femininity, it's not quite the tongue-whipping
I'd like to deliver.Their approaches were about as original as today's toast.What
a fucking novelty.
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Abstract
Communicating sexual messages via technology, also known as sexting, may be
related to risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and risky sexual activity (RSA). Such
relationships in emerging adults (EA) may be due to immature frontal cortices
and peak levels of sex hormones. However, most of the research on sexting
as a risk factor uses child and adolescent samples. A qualitative analysis of a
sample of 407 EAs from a four-year university in the Southwestern region
of the U.S. revealed a sexting content difference; however, both women
and men reported a similar sexting frequency. We examined possible sex
differences in the relationship between sexting, sensation-seeking, and RSA.
We predicted that those who engage in sexting would report higher levels
of sensation-seeking and RSA. We also predicted that men would report
more sexting than women. MANOVA analyses indicated that sexters scored
higher in aspects of sensation-seeking related to boredom susceptibility and
disinhibition than non-sexters, men reported higher boredom susceptibility
and disinhibition than women. No differences in RSA between sexters
and non-sexters existed. It is possible the risky nature of sexting found in
child and adolescent samples decreases during EA. Future studies using a
longitudinal sample to evaluate the impact of brain maturation are needed.
C
ultivation theory posits that widespread, recurrent exposure to
media gradually shapes our worldview and social reality (Gerber,
Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, & Shanahan, 2002). Millennials, those born
in the '80s to '90s, also known as emerging adults (EA), are reshaping
previous methods of learning and communication (Twenge, 2014). Emerging
adults' attitudes and beliefs about sex, as well as their sexual behaviors, are likely
cultivated from exposure to sexual content in the media at earlier ages. Bleakley,
Hennessey, and Fishbein (2011) reported that 63.4% of adolescent boys and
39.5% of adolescent girls actively seek sexual content from media sources.
Furthermore, these students (47% boys, 28% girls) also reported actively using
the internet to learn about pre-coital sexual knowledge.Among EA samples,
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75% of college students disclosed that their first exposure to sex in the media
occurred when they were minors, and I 5% experienced persistent thoughts
or imagery from that exposure (Cantor, Mares, & Hyde, 2003).According to
Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout (2005) two-thirds of college students considered it
acceptable to access Internet pornography.Taken together, the findings suggest
the frequent and widespread access to media, coupled with young adults
actively seeking sexual content presented in the media, may cultivate sexual
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Similarly, Collins and colleagues (2004) found
that exposure to higher amounts of sexual content on television was related to
a higher likelihood of initiating sexual activity.
It is likely that, through the use of devices and platforms such as
smartphones,YouTube, and social media applications, the references being
presented by media are no longer only actors in scripted productions but
also classmates, neighbors, and intimate partners.Additionally, individuals
within more economically developed cultures are using electronic media
devices, including smartphones, as part of their daily lives at an increasing rate.
For example, in the United States, smartphones capable of wireless internet
service comprise 77% of internet traffic (CTIA-The Wireless Association, 20 I 5).
Additionally, subscriptions to wireless services increased by 21 .50% over the
past six years (CTIA-The Wireless Association, 20 I 5). Research shows that
the texting option on cellular devices is the single most utilized feature (Smith,
McGeeney, Duggan, Rainie, & Keeter, 20 I 5). Texting options typically exist as
applications that allow for sending and receiving of text, picture, and video
content. Recent research estimates that almost I 00% of EAs in the United
States who have access to texting applications reported using texting at least
0 nce a week (Smith et al., 20 I 5).The messages sent via texting application
sometimes consist of sexually explicit text, photographs, or videos (Drouin,
Vogel, Surbey, & Stills, 2013). Recent estimates indicate that 44% of EAs report
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having sent sexual content via texting applications, or sexting (Benotsch, Snipes,
Martin, & Bull, 2013).
The effects of increased texting, sexting, and other smartphone use can
be difficult to study, because media and technology are diverse and constantly
evolving. However, it is imperative to study these effects because, as modes of
electronic communication become more portable, the influence of the media
in the socialization of its viewers and producers will become increasingly
pervasive.Additionally, socialization and cultivation through the media begins
early in the lifespan.The changing landscape of social interaction through
electronic communication, such as cyber-bullying and sexting are new problems
for researchers to study and understand. In the case of sexting, sexual texts
and images transmitted electronically may be difficult, if not impossible, to erase,
which may create lasting negative consequences born out of a young person's
isolated, impulsive action.
In response to the development and rise of sexting, research efforts
focusing on sexting have begun to offer indications of the prevalence and
outcomes associated with it (Cooper, Quayle, Jonsson, & Svedin, 2016; Judge,
2012; Rood, Thackeray, Letson, Leder, & Berlan, 2015). Early findings indicate
that adolescents who sext frequently are more likely to engage in risky and
addictive behaviors such as alcohol abuse, gambling, and binge-eating when
compared to children, EAs, and other adults (Ahern & Mechling, 2013; Dir,
Cyders, & Coskunpinar, 2013). Findings across multiple studies suggest that
sexting frequency may increase with age (Lenhart, 2009; Mitchell, Finkerhor,
Jones & Wolak, 2012; Strassberg, McKinnon, Sustaita, & Rullo, 2013).Although
prevalence reports indicate that between 7-27% of adolescents sext (Cooper
et al., 2016), research indicates that as many as 44% of EAs sext (Benotsch, et al.,
2013; Gordon-Messer, Bauemeister, Grodzinski, & Zimmerman, 2014). Research
shows that approximately 3 1.80% of EAs report sexting prior to engaging in
sexual activities with a new partner (Benotsch et al., 2013). Further findings
indicate that EAs who frequently sext are more likely to engage in unprotected
sexual intercourse than their non-sexting peers (Davis, Powell, Gordon, &
Kershaw, 2016); however, this research does not specify if the sexting is being
exchanged between committed partners.When the likelihood of unprotected
sexual intercourse increases, sexting places individuals at a heightened risk
of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STls) or having an unplanned
pregnancy (Benotsch et al., 2013; Davis et al., 2016).
Although exposure to sexual content in the media can affect all ages, what
emerging adults perceive and accept about sex is a downstream consequence
of exposure during adolescence.Adolescence is an age during which individuals
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may be particularly susceptible to sexual messages in the media, because gender
roles as well as sexual attitudes and behaviors are being formed (Committee
on Communications, 1999). Research shows that adolescence and EA is
associated with elevated risk-taking and sensation-seeking behaviors due to
the incomplete development of frontal lobe regions responsible for impulse
control and long-term planning (Thompson-Schill, Ramscar, & Chrysikou, 2009).
Although brain structures and processes change throughout a person's lifespan,
the orbitofrontal cortex within the prefrontal cortices does not reach full
maturity until age 25 to 27 (Peper, Koolschijn, & Crone, 2013; Shaw et al., 2008).
Underdevelopment of these areas is thought to result in impaired behavioral,
emotional, and cognitive control, as well as impulsivity, risk provocation, and
aggression (Thompson-Schill et al., 2009). Similarly, the influx of sex hormones
that peak in adolescence and gradually decline during EA, contributes
to increased risk-taking and thrill-seeking behavior. For example, higher
testosterone levels in men and women predict increased risk-taking, sensationseeking, and possibly sexting (Peper et al., 2013). Dir and Cyders (2015) also
found that impulsivity and lack of planning were strong predictors of sexting
and hookups. Research also suggests that, because EA men engage in more
impulsive tendencies when compared to EA women, it is possible that EA men
engage in more sexting than EA women.
Champion and Pedersen (2015) found, among a Canadian EA sample, that
very explicit sexters (i.e., those who reported sexting with nude images and
videos) reported positive thoughts of sexting behavior and reported more
risky sexual activities when compared to those who did not report frequent or
explicit sexting behavior.They also found that global sensation-seeking, alcohol
use, and sexual risk taking increased among those who reported engaging in
explicit sexting. Global sensation seeking is a prominent factor among those
who sext, with men scoring higher on sensation-seeking scales than do women
(Champion & Pedersen, 2015; D ir & Cyders, 2015).
As developed by Zuckerman (2009), some researchers evaluate global
sensation-seeking, while other researchers focus on four subscales of sensationseeking. The four subscales of sensation-seeking include thrill and adventure
seeking (TAS), experience seeking (ES), disinhibition (DIS), and boredom
susceptibility (BS).An individual with high sensation-seeking may exhibit
behaviors such as desiring thrill and stimulation (TAS), a preference for new
and exotic experiences (ES), lack of self-control (DIS), or having an intolerance
of monotonous or repetitive people and events (BS; Rosenbloom, 2003;
Zuckerman, 2009).To extend this line of research, it is important to investigate
the relationship between sexting and these specific factors of sensation-seeking.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Because risk-taking behavior is thought to be more prevalent when there
is a lack of maturity in the frontal lobe region of the brain (Thompson-Schill et
al., 2009) and when levels of sex hormones peak in adolescence (Peper et al.,
2013), it is possible that the risk-taking aspects of sexting behavior found during
adolescence may diminish in EA. The view that sexting is always a risk-taking
behavior is incongruent with the evidence that sexting prevalence increases
with age while other risk-taking behaviors decrease (Cooper et al., 2016; Dir &
Cyders, 2015; Gordon-Messer et al., 2013). On the other hand, research shows
that EAs who sext also tend to engage in risky sexual activities (RSAs; Benotsch
et al., 2013; Davis et al., 2016). More research is needed to investigate the
relationship between sexting and RSA in EA samples.
There were two purposes within this present study.We first constructed
a qualitative analysis of self-reported frequency and content of sexting behavior
in a sample of EA men and women.The second purpose of the study was to
examine the relationship between sexting, sensation-seeking subscales, and
RSAs in a sample of EA men and women.Although the biological aspects of risktaking behavior are less pronounced during EA (Thompson-Schill et al., 2009;
Peper et al., 2013), research shows that sexting is related to increased RSA in
EA samples (Benotsch et al., 2013; Davis et al., 2016). Due to an inconsistency
in the previous research, we sought to explore that relationship between RSA
and sexting in our sample of EAs. In line with past research, we predict that
those who sext will report higher levels of sensation-seeking (Champion &
Pedersen, 2015), and that men will report higher levels of both sexting (Dir &
Cyders, 2015) and sensation-seeking than women will. This prediction was made
due to research showing that men, as a result of higher testosterone levels, are
more susceptible to sensation-seeking (Dir & Cyders, 2015; Peper et al., 2013),
and that sexting is related to aspects of sensation-seeking such as a preference
for novelty, thrill, and stimulation (Champion & Pedersen, 2015).We expect to
replicate the findings presented in Champion and Pedersen (20 I 5) and extend
these findings to show a relationship between sexting and thrill and adventure
seeking (TAS}, experience seeking (ES}, disinhibition (Dis), and boredom
susceptibility (BS).We also expect to extend the findings that suggest that men
will sext more than women (Dir & Cyders, 2015). More specifically, we expect
to find that the interaction between sex and sex type will result in different
outcomes for men and women.
Methods
Participants
At a southwestern university within the U.S., we collected a sample
of 407 emerging adults (233 women, 174 men) who had internet access on
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their smartphones.We recruited participants enrolled in psychology courses
by offering them course credit representing no more than 5% of the overall
course grade.The average participant age was 19.32 years (SD= 1.25), ranging
between 18-25 years. Sixty percent (n = 248) of the sample reported a sexual
history in the past 30 days, 33.70% (n = 139) reported no sexual history (i.e.,
the absence of oral, vaginal, or anal sex}, and 6.10% (n = 25) did not respond to
the sexual history demographic questions. Approximately 81.57% of the sample
self-identified as Caucasian (n = 332), 5.90% as African-American (n = 24), 4.42%
as Native American (n = 18), 3.68% as Hispanic/Latino (n = I 5), and 3.19% as
Asian/Asian-Pacific American (n = 13).An additional 1.23% reported mixed
racial and ethnic affiliation (n = 5). By dividing yearly income by number of
people for whom the income was provided, we calculated participant economic
status during childhood. In our sample, 35.38% reported upper-middle to upper
economic income (more than $20,000 per year per person; n = 144), 33.90%
reported middle income ($12,000-19,000 per year per person; n = 138), and
30.71 % of the participants reported low to middle-income ($1 1,000 per year or
less per person; n = 125).
Materials
Sextual Communication (SEXT). The Sextual Communication
measure assesses the frequency with which individuals send and receive sexts
and the content they send and receive (Madewell, Whelan, Ponce-Garcia, &
Page, 20 I I). The measure consists of 15 questions on a four-point Likert scale
questions with answer choices ranging from extremely rare to four extremely
o~en.The content items address the nature of the content and whether it was
sent in text or image form.An example item states, "How often do you send
PICTURE messages with an obvious sexual meaning?" Finally, participants were
asked to respond to IO open-ended questions regarding the types of sexts
they send and receive. Sample questions include, "How often do you openly
communicate about sex over text messaging, including but not limited to,
discussing intent to engage in oral sex, flirting, masturbation, anal sex, vaginal
sex, dry humping, etc.?," "If you send sexy pictures of your face, please describe
Your most common facial expression in your picture (e.g., smiling, smirking, flirty,
seductive, goofy, serious, etc.)," and "If you have sent picture messages showing
naked body parts, please list which body parts you included (i.g., breasts,
buttocks, genitals, etc)?" The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha
coefficient) of the sexting items was .89.
Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS-V). The SSS-V. first introduced by
Zuckerman, Eysenck, and Eysenck ( 1978), contains 40 items with each item
featuring two options from which the participant is forced to choose one.
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and 33.00% stated that they send implicit or explicit image messages.Table 2
displays the descriptive statistics of self-reported text and sext activity. Similar
to previous research (Brown, Keller, & Stern, 2009; Gordon-Messer et al., 2013),
men and women exhibited differences in sext-text practices, X 2 (2) = 13.65, p
= .008 and in sext-image practices, X 2 (2) = 18.02, p = .00 I .According to the chisquare analyses, women were more likely to receive more sext-text messages
than they sent. Men were more likely to send genital and naked body images.
We detailed all sext-text and sext-image frequencies in Table I . Based on these
findings, sex was included as an independent variable and a possible moderator
in all subsequent analyses.
Table
2
Summary of Correlations for Sexting and Sensation-seeking by Sex
I
2
3
4
5
6
6.64
(2.61)
.
.26**
.29**
.07
.08
-.02
4.37
(2.15)
4.54
(2.10)
.38**
-
.34**
.07
.02
.06
3.Dis
4.91
(2.85)
3.97
(2.55)
.16* *
.40**
.
.40**
.36**
.06
4.BS
3.25
(2.02)
2.32
( 1.77)
.07
.24**
.41 **
-
.24**
-.07
5.SEXT
1.94
(.92)
1.70
(.85)
.04
.25**
.44**
.21 **
-
. 11
6.RSA
4.24
(3.24)
3.96
(3.00)
-.04
-.04
.05
-.01
.13
.
MM
(SOM)
(SOW)
I.TAS
7.28
(2.47)
2.ES
MW
Note. N = 407. *p < .0 I, * * p < .00 I . Subscript W denotes women and M
denotes men. n = 232, n
175. TAS = Thrill and Adventure Seeking; ES
= Experience S~eking; Di;= Disinhibition; BS Boredom Susceptibility.
Correlations for women are below and men are above the diagonal.
=
=
Content Analysis of Sextual Communication
Among the EAs in the sample, we found that 16.40% sent a sexy image
of their face. The most common sexy expression by women was a smile or
flirty expression and the most common sexy expression by men was a serious
look with a clenched jaw. Seventeen percent of our sample reported sharing
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a sexy image of their body, 12.10% shared an image of a naked body part, and
9,00% shared an image of their penis or vulva (i.e., female external genitalia).
Both women and men reported sending and receiving similar amounts of sext
n,essages.
Women reported a higher prevalence of sending sext-images of their
face; whereas, men reported sending sext-images of their abs, biceps, buttocks
while flexed, or an image of their genitalia. Upon evaluation of the open-ended
responses, women reported themes of sending sext-images having "goofy"
expressions on their face (34%), a seductive look ( 17%), an image of their
cleavage/breasts without any identifying properties (7%}, or reminiscing about
past sexual acts with that person (7%). The men reported themes of sending
sext-images of a flexed body part ( 17.00%), naked body part/genitalia (8.00%}, or
sext-text about meeting up for sex (7.80%). Based on this evaluation, we found
that both women and men were sending sexually explicit messages that differ
in content, which is similar to previous research (Drouin & Landgraff, 2012;
Gordon-Messer et al., 2013).
Preliminary Quantitative Analyses
We conducted Pearson's product-moment correlations between the
sensation-seeking subscales (TAS, ES, Dis, and BS}, sexting practices, and
risky sexual activity for women and men.The ES, Dis, and BS subscales were
significantly positively correlated with sexting practices among women. For
men, Dis and BS were significantly positively correlated with sexting practices.
Contrary to our hypotheses, TAS was not correlated with sexting (see Table 2).
The Relationship between Sexting, Sex, Sensation-seeking and Risky
Sexual Activity
Using SPSS 23.0, we conducted a multivariate analysis of variance
(MANOVA) examining the relationship between sexting (i.e., non-sexters vs.
sexters) and sex (women vs. men) as the independent variables and sensationseeking (i.e., TAS, ES, Dis, and BS) and risky sexual activity (RSA) serving
as the dependent variables. Similar to previous research by Champion and
Pedersen (2015), we hypothesized that those who report sexting would report
significantly higher rates of sensation-seeking and higher rates of RSA when
compared to those who do not send or receive sext messages. Specifically, we
hypothesized that those who sext were more likely to report higher rates of
experience seeking, boredom susceptibility, and RSA.We evaluated homogeneity
of variance matrices and no assumptions were violated.According to Wilks
lambda (A}, the MANOVA results for sexting were statistically significant, Wilks
A.== .90, F(5, 398) = 9.14, p < .00 I, r,2 = . I 0, and Power= 1.00.The MANOVA
results for gender were statistically significant,Wilks A= .92, F(5, 398) = 6.91, p
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< .00 I, rf = .08, and Power= .998.The interactions between sexting and gender
were not significantly different according to the DVs.
Univar-iate Sexting Differ-ences. Given the significance of the overall
effects, the univariate main effects were analyzed next. Levene's Test of Equality
of Error Variances was non-significant for all of the sensation-seeking subscales
and RSA (p > .27).The univariate analyses partially supported our hypothesis
in that the main effects of sexting resulted in statistically significant differences
in Dis and BS (see Table 3). Those who sext exhibited statistically higher
sensation-seeking scores of disinhibition and boredom susceptibility than those
who did not sext. There were no statistically significant differences in thrill and
adventure seeking, experience seeking, or risky sexual activity in relation to
sexting practices.
Table 4
Relationships between Sex and Sensation-seeking
Table 3
Note.* p < .05, ** < .00 I for N = 406. M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation;
F = ANOVA F test; rf = Eta-Squared which denotes effect size. Dependent
variables = Sensation-seeking subscales; Disinhibition, Boredom Susceptibility.
Relationships between Sexting, Sensation-seeking and Risky Sexual Activity
Factor/variable
F,
NonSexter
(n = 208)
Sexter
(n= 199)
3.54
2.43
5.24
2.75
39.47,
p < .001 **
.09
1.00
2.27
1.66
3.20
2.09
21.36,
p < .001 **
.05
.99
172
Power
(2) Boredom
Susceptibility
M
SD
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .00 I for N = 407. M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation;
F = ANOVA F test; rf = Eta-Squared which denotes effect size. Dependent
variables = Sensation-seeking subscales; Disinhibition; Boredom Susceptibility.
Univar-iate Gender- Differ-ences. Univariate analyses partially support
our hypothesis in that the main effects of gender resulted in statistically
significant differences in Dis and BS, with men reporting statistically significantly
higher scores than women. There were no statistically significant gender
differences in TAS, ES, or RSA. Refer to Table 4 for univariate analyses of sex
differences in sensation-seeking.
Discussion
The first purpose of the present study was to report the rates of sexting
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F, p-value
rf
Power
4.91
8.90,
.022
.84
2.85
p = .003*
.05
.99
Women
(n = 232)
Men
(n = 174)
3.97
2.55
(I) Disinhibition
M
SD
(2) Boredom
Susceptibility
M
SD
2.32
1.77
3.26
20.98,
2.02
p < .001 **
p-value
(I) Disinhibition
M
SD
factor/variable
frequency and content among an EA sample. Based on qualitative analyses of
young adults, we find that a large majority of young adults are cultivating a
sense of a normative style of communication when sexting one another.We
also find that women are sending more implicit-hidden sexual messages that
contain hidden sexual scripts; whereas men are sending more explicit-obvious
sexual messages that contain images of a flexed body part. This finding supports
previous research (Dir & Cyders, 2015) that both women and men are likely
to sex, but there is a qualitative gender difference in sexting content. Our
qualitative analyses support previous research that suggest that approximately
33 to 60% of emerging adults report sending and receiving sext messages.
However, our findings do not support previous research (Champion & Pedersen,
2015) that suggests that EAs are sending either sext-text messages, sextimage messages, explicit-sext messages, or no sext messages at all. Instead, our
findings suggest that EAs are either engaging in sexting, which includes sext-text,
sext-images, and explicit sext messages, or they are not engaging in (or not
reporting) any sexting behavior.Among the EAs who reported sexting, they are
sending sextual content between 1-5 times a day, suggesting that this form of
communication is a normative style of sexual scripts within this age group.
The second purpose of this article was to examine the possible
relationship between sexting, sensation-seeking, and risky sexual activity (RSA)
in a sample of emerging adult (EA) men and women. In contrast to previous
research findings that sexting in EA samples is associated with elevated RSA
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
such as initiating sexual intercourse with a new partner and engaging in
unprotected sexual intercourse (Benotsch et al., 2013; Davis et al., 2016), the
findings of the present study indicate that RSA was not higher in those who
sext compared to those who do not sext. The findings of the current study
may be explained by past research indicating that the risk-taking aspects of
sexting behavior found during adolescence may diminish during EA due to brain
maturation and the leveling off of sex hormones (Cooper et al., 2016; GordonMesser et al., 2014; Peper et al., 20 I 3;Thompson-Schill et al., 2009). Future
research investigating these factors in a longitudinal sample is needed to better
understand RSA across adolescent and EA development.
In addition to exploring the relationship between sexting and RSA, we
predicted that those who sext would report higher levels of sensation-seeking
than those who do not sext and that men would report higher levels of both
sexting and sensation-seeking than women would . Similar to past research
(see Champion & Pedersen, 2016), we found that those who sext reported
significantly higher sensation-seeking. Our findings extend previous research
by focusing this relationship on two aspects of sensation-seeking, specifically
disinhibition and boredom susceptibility. Our findings suggest that those who
sext report higher rates of disinhibition, meaning they are more adventurous
and open to new experiences when compared to those who did not sext.
Furthermore, we found that those who sext report higher rates of boredom
susceptibility, meaning that they are interested in new experiences and variety
in their lives. Together, these findings suggest that sexters are possibly sexting as
a means to be adventurous and to get varied sexual stimuli.
Additionally, we found that men reported higher disinhibition and
boredom susceptibility than women, regardless of sexting activity.This finding
is supported by past research indicating a link between sensation-seeking and
testosterone (Peper et al., 20 13). Previous research shows that sensationseeking is related to unfinished maturation of the prefrontal cortices and higher
levels of sex hormones associated with adolescent development (Cooper et al.,
2016; Gordon-Messer et al., 2014; Peper et al., 2013; Thompson-Schill et al.,
2009). It is possible that the current findings will not replicate in samples of
adults over the age of 25 to 27 and will be more pronounced in samples of
adolescents.
Limitations of the current study include the lack of a longitudinal
sample, the lack of testosterone levels to verify the mechanism behind the
sex difference found in the current study, and the reliance upon self-reported
sexting behavior. In general, research examining sexting behavior is sparse,
and the majority of the articles focus on adolescents (see Cooper et al.,
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
2016).Although a longitudinal sample would be beneficial, the findings of the
present study can be compared cross-sectionally with findings from previous
research and are helpful in informing the development of a study using a
longitudinal sample. Due to the relative scarcity of sexting research, data
indicating testosterone levels in our sample may have allowed us to explore
the relationship between testosterone and sexting; however, the evidence that
higher testosterone leads to higher levels of sensation-seeking has been firmly
supported in the literature (e.g., Peper et al., 2013), and we could not justify
the intrusiveness of collecting a biological sample in combination with already
sensitive questionnaires regarding sexual activity. Granted the use of self-report
indices may be a limitation of the current study, but self-report indices of sexual
behavior and sexting are the basis of the majority of current research among
samples of EA. This is because it may be considered a violation of privacy to
request access to an individual's sext messages or private sexual interactions.
Additionally, it is possible that individuals willing to allow such invasive
procedures would be qualitatively different from the general population, and the
use of such procedures may inhibit the generalizability of the results.
Future research is needed to examine the relationship between sexting,
sensation-seeking, and RSA in a longitudinal sample.As the use of technology
becomes more pervasive within society and occurs at younger ages, the need to
understand how technology influences human behavior increases. The present
study is an important addition to the literature, as the findings indicate the need
to examine sexting within the context of human development. It may be that
the risks associated with sexting diminish with age, as individuals form more
stable relationships and become better able to consent to and to understand
the risks associated with sexual choices.
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Sexual Behavior, 42, 15- 21. doi: I 0.1007/s I 0508-012-9969-8
Thompson-Schill, S.L., Ramscar, M., & Chrysikou, E.G. (2009).When a little
frontal lobe goes a long way. Current Directions in Psychological Science, I 8,
259-263.
Twenge, J. M. (2014). Generation Me:Why today's young Americans ore more
confident, assertive, entitled--and more miserable than ever before (2nd ed.).
New York:Atria Books.
Zuckerman, M. (2009). Chapter 31 . Sensation seeking. In Leary, M. R., Hoyle, R. H.
Handbook of Individual Differences in Social behavior, pp. 455-465. New York/
London:The Guildford Press.
Zuckerman, M., Eysenck, S., & Eysenck, H.J. ( 1978). Sensation-seeking in England
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and Clinical Psychology, 46, 139 - 149.
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Changing Perspectives:
W hat is Woman?
Ste phanie Wooley
Un iversity of Central Oklahoma
I
started this semester like so many others: wondering about my future and
asking myself if I can justify another loan in the pursuit of higher learning.
Will the chase be worth it in the end? Will I find a job that pays enough to
stay ahead? Is my second degree necessary? These questions ring true for
many college students.January proved particularly challenging as I faced yet
another review from financial aid questioning my academic and threatening to
cut off the funds I so desperately needed to continue. My dilemma deepened.
To keep my job, I needed to be enrolled, to be enrolled I needed money. I work
for the school, you see, and we are made to take time off over the Christmas
holiday.This left me broke, without the money to pay my rent, and with no way
to pay the tuition bill lingering on my account. So the choices became wrapped
in a horrible Catch 22 scenario. Like always, I found a way and a new semester
dawned. Hopeful and slightly uneasy, I took each day for what it was: a challenge.
Going to class, studying, and reading; finding time to work, sleep, and eat, usually
in that order, proves more difficult with every passing semester.
All of this detail and not one time does it factor in that I am a woman.
In fact, until this moment, the story could have been true about any college
student. So why is it different for a woman? Is it?The patriarchal formation
of societal norms dictates that the female is the weaker sex, so naturally this
shades all of my experiences and new questions arise.Will I be evaluated on my
achievements or my looks?Will I be able to convince an employer of my need
for the highest paid position with no justification of a family to raise? Should I
apply for jobs dominated by men?Will I stand a chance?Will I be respected in
the classroom? These thoughts probably never even enter the minds of men.
Why would they?
The truth is, if my life were simply to experience these things-as a human,
another person struggling to understand, make sense of, and plan, as if I were
Only human, the burden would be worth it. In a perfect world, my gender would
not matter. No one would question my capabilities before first testing my
Skill, because everyone would be given the chance to succeed. My research in
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a "dangerous" place would be applauded as ground breaking rather than brave.
My body parts would not be legislative leverage because my place in the world
would not be judged by my ability to give birth. My job as a mother would be a
choice not an assumption. My cancer would not be perceived as a problem for
an imaginary husband or a religious dilemma for my doctor. It would not define
me as less of a human for my inability to conceive. My choice of partner would
not matter because people loving other people is natural. In short, a genderless
world would be a kinder place to be a person, but we do not live in this world.
My second reading this semester, Chandra Mohanty's Third World Feminism and
Politics of Feminism, and the lecture that followed, assured me that no one does.
The first question posed during that lecture inspired the research for this paper.
What is Woman?
It seemed an easy answer: I am a woman. The definition for me should
have been completely apparent.As the class struggled, our professor offered
another puzzle:What is woman if you remove all biological definitions? Stumped
by a simple definition, our professor challenged the class to think of false
constructions.Was a woman the weaker sex? Did she not use her parts in the
same way? Was she not capable of all a man could do? More, even? And if so,
did that make her different? Is pink naturally her favorite color? Did long hair,
makeup, or her style of dress define her? Were her reasoning skills outweighed
by her passions? By the end of the lecture, I was no closer to answering this
question than you are now. The one thing I was certain of, this class was about
the "third world," and of all the different categories of peoples who fit into
that very broad term, and women should be somewhere near the top of that
list.Women in any society strongly influenced by patriarchy are living in "third
world" conditions.
A woman is politically manipulated into a system doomed to fail her. In
many (nearly all) countries, she is paid less for the same work, and she is
limited in how she can work, if she can at all. Her options never realistically
include the top positions. Her healthcare, if it exists, is subpar and subjected
to legislative oversight because only rich white men know what is best for
her. Dismissed, treated as a child in constant need of supervision, a woman is
portrayed as a princess in need of rescue whose body cannot be trusted to her
own devices. Sheltered without her consent, she is made to believe she is fragile
her entire life. However, the moment she is not precious (or heaven-forbid
falls from grace), she is labelled the harlot, a sexual object, to be dismissed
all over again, this time as an untouchable. She is set up to fail, never good
enough for societal norms, taught to question her natural instinct, told that
perfection is not attainable but must be the goal.Women are experiencing the
78
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
same contradictions young "third world" nations discovered at the beginning
of the Cold War. The reality for those places after decolonization is much the
same, they too have been politically manipulated into a system doomed to fail.
Even after the white man is no longer officially in charge, his racial profiling
remains strong and certain groups are labeled as the "other:' Their healthcare
is decided for them in much the same way it is for a woman. The few countries
that have "developed" sufficiently by Western standards did so with all the
same contradictions mentioned above, and those that did not follow the
weird parental rules set by their European counterparts have been dismissed
by the West as poor, underdeveloped, backwards states, regardless of their
progress.The trap that colonization (or patriarchy) had laid for them ensured
neither could succeed, even with freedoms, political recognition, and autonomy.
Always one step behind and encouraged to submit, she struggles to find her
own identity. Even the vague definitions of"woman" share similarities with
definitions of the "third world," insofar as neither can be clearly defined.
What follows is a small sample of the current definitions.According to
Webster's dictionary, "woman" is defined as, "A. an adult female person, B. a
woman belonging to a particular category (as by birth, residence, membership,
or occupation}:' 1 This definition continues by defining"womanliness" as a
"woman who is a servant or personal assistant." 2 From here, the definitions
get derogatory and insulting. Definitions.net's second noun description states
woman is "a female person who plays a significant role (wife, mistress, or
girlfriend) in the life of a man:' 3 Urban Dictionary intends to be funny and
inform its readers of alternative meanings of words. On this subject, they fall
short of that mark, which makes me wonder if they have even one female
writer on staff:
Beings not seen or touched by 98% of the men who have posted on
this subject thus far. Highly attracted to males of the species who are
reasonable to look at, have jobs, are relatively kind, sometimes take out
trash, and treat them like equals (not superiors, not inferiors--equals.)
Happily give blowjobs in return .. . Are paid seventy five cents for every
dollar a man makes in the exact same job, same demographic, and same
education level ... When said beings reject such specimens of men or
express an intelligent opinion, they are bitches.When they don't put out,
I
2
Webster's online dictionary, https://www.rnerriarn-webster.com/dictionary/wornan
Ibid.
Definitions, http://www.definitions.net/definition/wornan
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they are also bitches.When they do, they are sluts. 4
Several websites mimic these words only defining women in relation to their
male counterparts.The only significant description, aduh female person explains
little, as the word "female" is still only the antonym or an accessory of male.The
"third world" experiences similar problems with definition.
Using the same websites, Webster's defines the "third world" as "a group
of nations especially in Africa and Asia not aligned with either the Communist
or the non-Communist blocs." 5 This tells us little to nothing about their
beliefs, ideology, or country of origin.This definition, like the one for "woman;'
identifies what they are not but does not clearly define what or who they
are. Definitions.net is a collection of several websites compiled on one page.
Surprisingly this site is where I found something closer to a truth:
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that
remained non-aligned with either NATO, or the Communist Bloc. This
terminology provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the
Earth into three groups based on social, political, and economic divisions ...
It was also sometimes taken as synonymous with countries in the NonAligned Movement ... the Third World has also been connected to the
world economic division as "periphery" countries in the world system
that is dominated by the "core" countries. Due to the complex history
of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed upon
definition of the Third World ... Because many Third World countries
were extremely poor, and non-industrialized, it became a stereotype to
refer to poor countries as "third world countries," yet the "Third World"
term is also often taken to include Newly Industrialized Countries like
India, Brazil or China. 6
The Urban Dictionary's quick summary explains that the "third world" is a
collection of"less economically developed countries that hugely rely on richer
countries ... The Third World is all poor because of the richer countries:• 7 Here
again the "third world" is defined by what it is not rather than what it is. It is
not rich, it is not white, and it is not developed.
This paper argues a change in definition, one that dismisses the notion
of"woman" defined by her relation to a man, but rather focuses on her
4
5
6
7
80
Urban dictionary, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php!term=Women
Webster's online dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thirdworld
Definitions, http://www.definitions.net/definition/third%20wor1d
Urban dictionary defines the third world, https://www.
urbandictionary.com/define.php1term=third%20world
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
relationship with the human race. If the word "man" can be used to describe
all of humankind, I argue that adding the prefix "wo-" should simply stand for
creator. In this interpretation wo-man rather than being an antonym would be
the completion of the term (wo-man= creator of humankind, man=humankind).
Women are the creators of humankind, biologically speaking. It may be a
chicken and the egg argument, asking which came first, but there is absolutely
no disputing the fact that women continue to give life to our species. If we are
truly going to have a biological definition, this is an appropriate switch.
In this research, the focus has been on patriarchal construction. However,
it is worth mentioning that perverting language for religious purposes is another
common factor between women and the "third world:' Redefining pronouns
and phrases that no longer represent a majority and changing language to fit
our new understandings of the human race is paramount in assuring accurate
histories are recorded in the future.
Wo-man [woo-muhn]:
Noun, plural (women)--creator of humankind, a person; pronouns-she, her.
-someone, a creative spirit
-<J caregiver, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, or a friend.
I will agree with Webster's that a woman does belong to a particular category
(as by birth, residence, membership, or occupation) but I argue this is
incomplete.Womanliness is an experience, a way of living, an alliance, and the
ultimate rejection of patriarchal leadership. I do not assume any one experience
is more important than another, or that all experiences are the same. These
characteristics are important to highlight because it is within this definition of
womanliness that we share our most common bonds to the "third world."
Third World:
Noun-an obsolete phrase used when referring to countries that did not
identify with either Western or Eastern politics during the Cold War.This term
never described a specific geographic location, people, or specific political
ideology. Historically fluid, it is useless for future generations. In its place, I argue
the use of the phrase, Third Power.
Third Power:
Noun-an experience defined by economic growth, a way of life measured
by cultural expansion in reaction to decolonization and a rebirth of nativism
(or cultural nationalism), rejection of Cold War norms and social constructions,
an alliance against the colonizer.These countries, territories, and marginalized
groups are those that have been handicapped by either colonization, slavery, or
Patriarchy, and for some a combination of all three.
The current definitions are outdated and insultingly vague. By changing
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the phrase "third world" to "third power" and adding "creator" to the basic
definition of"woman;' I hope to influence future scholars to discuss and
address these groups with the respect they demand. Economically, politically,
and culturally speaking, those that identify as part of the Third Power (women
in particular) have the most potential for growth in the global market.
According to statistics from the United Nations, "when more women
work, economies grow:•a Their spending power is geared toward education,
children, and the home, ensuring increased educational attainment, investments
in future growth, and solid sustainable economic growth.A study using data
from 219 countries from 1970-2009 found that, for every one additional year
of education for women of reproductive age, child mortality decreased by 9.5
percent.9 "It is calculated that women could increase their income globally by up
to 76 [percent] if the employment gap and wage gap between women and men
closed:' 1 Calculated to have a global value of 17 trillion dollars, women stand as
the greatest potential economic stimulus left in the Western World. 11 It is time
the world takes notice.
Gender differences in laws affect both global and domestic economies and
women in all regions. " Almost 90 [percent] of 143 economies studied have at
least one legal difference restricting women's economic opportunities. Of those,
79 economies have laws that restrict the types of jobs that women can do:• 12
The international community must address these contradictions to ensure the
healthy progression of society.Women's economic equality is good for business.
Companies significantly benefit from increasing leadership opportunities for
women, which is shown to increase organizational effectiveness. "It is estimated
that companies with three or more women in senior management functions
score higher in all dimensions of organizational effectiveness:• 13 Despite this, it
is still acceptable in many countries to limit female participation in life outside
°
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
the home. One must only look at their governing bodies to see a physical
representation of that limitation.
A lack of representation has started revolutions, broken empires, and split
countries in two. Politically, there is no one group less represented than that of
wamen. Female politicians, though sorely underappreciated, are responsible for
some of the strongest governments in the world today. Germany and Sweden
both maintain a high rate of feminine representation, and Third Power countries
with the most aggressive economic growth share their political power almost
50/50 with women. 14 The correlation between women in power and their direct
effect on the economies in their area cannot be denied. Given the opportunity,
women improve every aspect of life. Culturally, she is the torchbearer for all
tradition. 15
Cultural development begins with a woman, generally speaking, because
of their constructed role in society. In nearly all communities, women are
responsible, (in nearly all communities) for rearing children and maintaining
the home. Childhood development is crucial in establishing societal norms, but
often ignored as a critical factor in cultural development. 16 The curiosity of
life is encour aged in those first years, artistic ambitions sparked, confidence
built.They are not referred to as the formative years as misnomer. Even if men
are reshaped by their fathers for "the world" of men, they are first molded by
women. 17 Women are not only the greatest potential for economic and political
growth, but they are the catalyst for development and the advancement of our
society. Historically ignored, women are the last great frontier for reexamining
our past. In a competitive academic world,Women's Studies/Gender Studies are
14
15
8
9
10
II
12
13
82
" Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment," UN Women (20 I 5), accessed April 2, 2017.
http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/facts-and-figures
This article deals directly with women but the comparisons between women and the
third power are striking.The statistics show that they ar e spending money on the
same things and by doing so have increased their influence on the global market.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.The figure itself comes from the article the argument is mine. It is reasonable to assume
that no other factor in the Western world can stimulate the economy more than a force
that could muster 17 trillion dollars in revenue by simply being treated on an equal footing.
Ibid.
Ibid.
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16
17
Ibid. Comparing the statistics from both show that countries projecting the most
potential for growth also have the greatest female representation in government.
Without women, society and culture would fade away. (I feel swpid even explaining this.
But I thought I should add this note in case someone want to question the source.) I
am of course the source because you do not need research for this. It is common sense.
However, it is important to remember this is also how we per petuate are own continued
socialization of women as a weaker sex.We are our own worst enemies most of the time.
Sherry B. Ortner, ls the Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?
M.Z . Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (eds}, Woman, Culture, and Sodety
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press ( 1974). pp. 68-87
For an in depth analysis of why women perpetuate their subordinate role ih society
this is a good read . I do not agree with the paper entirely as it generalizes too
much. She leaves out economic factors and does not take in to account that poverty
drastically changes these dynamics. Large portions of the poorest parts of our society
are ignored and their psychological profile has been dismissed in this study.
Ibid.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
the source for the greatest potential of new growth in any field. In the words of
the University of California-Santa Barbara Global Studies Department
Feminist studies has suggested that both policies and analytic/critical
work are impoverished if adequate attention is not paid to women. That
is, the invisibility of women in most writings about global and international
developments has meant that the labor, cultures and histories of women
are rarely taken into account ... such work also rarely comments upon
how women's role in the private domain impacts upon the public domain.18
Women are important and active members of society. Pretending otherwise
has only crippled our past. History is doomed to repeat itself if those charged
to remember instead forget.The first step in remembering is simply recording
and reporting, but if definitions are unclear and words degrade the memory, the
historian has failed in their most basic task.This is why a writer must constantly
research and educate themselves, understand that change is a natural process,
and be willing to embrace those changes while never forgetting the past.The
research here has led to personal introspection. It started as an examination
of the definitions of"woman" in Argentina (as shown in the bibliography}, and
became a personal challenge to define myself.A woman struggling to identify
femininity, a force for good in this world, a human being expecting nothing but
understanding of her world . I am woman, and I am powerful.
Bibliography
Dictionaries
Definitions.net http://www.definitions.net/
Merriam-Websters https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/
Websites
"Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment," UN Women, accessed April 2, 2017.
http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment/factsand-figures
Global Studies Department, University of California Santa Barbara. accessed
April 20, 2017. http://www.global.ucsb.edu/undergrad/programs/wcd
Articles
18
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Kumar, Nikhil. "The Machismo Paradox: Latin America's Struggles with Feminism
and Patriarchy:• Brown Political Review, 2014, 1-6.
Ortner, Sherry B. "Is the Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?" Woman,
Culture, and Society, 1974, 68-87.
Books
Abu-Lughod, Lila. Remaking Women: Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
Arnot, Madeleine and Jo-Anne Dillabough. Challenging Democracy: International
Perspectives on Gender and Citizenship. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2000.
Barragan, N ina. Losers and Keepers:Work of Fiction. Albuquerque, NM: University
of New Mexico Press, 200 I .
Carlson, Marifran. Feminismo!. Chicago, IL:Academy of Chicago Publishers, 1988.
Churchill, Lindsey. Becoming the Tupamaros: Solidarity and Transnational
Revolutionaries in Uruguay and the United States. Nashville, TN:Vanderbilt
University Press, 2014.
Ehrick, Christine. Radio and the Gendered Soundscape:Women and Broadcasting in
Argentina and Uruguay, /930-1950. NewYork, NY: Cambridge University
Press, 2015.
Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press, 1961.
Lavrin,Asuncion. Sexuality and Marriage in Colonial Latin America. Lincoln and
London: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.
Lavrin,Asuncion. Women, Feminism and Social Change in Argentina, Chile, and
Uruguay, 1890-1940. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
Mohanty, Chandra. Third World Feminism and Politics of Feminism. Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press, 1991.
Nouzeile, Gabriela and Graciela Montaldo. The Argentina Reader: History, Culture,
and Politics. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2002.
Root, Regina. Couture and Consensus: fashion and Politics in Post-Colonial Argentina.
Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis University Press, 20 I 0.
Sutton, Barbara. Bodies in Crisis: Culture, Violence, and Women's Resistance in
Neoliberal Argentina. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 20 I 0.
Wright, Richard. White Man, Listen!. Doubleday Publishers, 1957.
This quote comes directly from the department page description
Global and International Studies. Women, Culture, & Development
minor: http://www.global.ucsb.edu/undergrad/programs/wcd
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85
T
he role of women serving in the military has been a fiercely debated
topic in the last three decades. The arguments against the women all
suggest the idea that women cannot perform to the standards of men
when it comes to competitive nature, unit cohesion, unit morale, and
physical strength. These arguments are identical to the reasons given for racially
segregating the military in the late 19th and early 20 th centuries. Comparing the
arguments against the integration of black soldiers then and women today, I
argue that the best way to move forward is to take a step back. Women can
overcome all of the arguments against them by copying the methods used by
black soldiers in the early 20th century. This can be shown by looking at how
women are treated in the United States and other countries' militaries, looking
at the arguments against allowing women to serve and comparing them to
arguments against allowing black soldiers to serve, and showing how the black
soldiers overcame the opposition.
Women have served in the United States military in some capacity for
more than 150 years. The American Revolution saw figures like Deborah
Sampson, who bound her chest and fought the British under the name
Robert Shurtleff.' Four hundred women fought in the Civil War, like Frances
Clayton, who disguised herself as Frances Clalin. 2 Twenty-five thousand women
joined up as overseas nurses and support staff in the last two years of World
War I. By the Second World War, that number had increased more than
fivefold. 3 Operation Desert Storm deployed more than 40,000 women to the
Persian Gulf, making it the largest deployment of women in U.S. history.~ This
Two Humans
Watercolor on canvas
4
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Alessandra Codinha and Jackie Nickerson, "The Brave Faces of a New Generation
of Women on the Front Lines;• Vogue, March 03, 2017, http://www.vogue.com/
projects/ 13528881 /american-women-in-the-military-female-soldiers/.
Sam Smith, "Female Soldiers in the Civil War on the Front Line," Civil War Trust, http://
www.civilwar.org/education/history/untold-stories/female-soldiers-in-the-civil.html.
Codinha and Nickerson.
"Forgotten No Longer," Akron Beacon Journal, October 20, 1997, www.newspapers.com .
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
phenomenon is not a recent one, though, since women have taken part in every
American war.
Despite this history of participation, women were banned from serving in
ground combat roles in 1994. On December 3, 2015, Defense Secretary Leon
E. Panetta lifted the military's official ban. 5 This allows women to now serve
in combat roles in artillery, armor, infantry, and other frontline combat roles.
However, women still are not fully accepted in these roles.They face restrictions
harassment, and public outcry when they attempt to fill roles that have always '
earned high esteem, such as the Navy Seals. Counter to this, about a dozen
other countries around the world allow women in combat roles, which are
defined as engaging an enemy on the ground while being exposed to hostile fire
and a high probability of physical contact with the hostile forces personnel. 6
The United States is now studying these countries because, as one
unnamed official said, they have had "three to ten years to go through this
process, to integrate women." The main countries looked at are Australia,
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, and Norway.7 The
findings that follow are from 2013; therefore, the numbers are now more likely
to be higher.
In Australia, women account for roughly IO percent of all deployed troops.
In Canada, around 15 percent of military forces and 2 percent of combat troops
are women. This includes the first female assigned to serve as captain of a
Canadian warship and the first female deputy commanding officer of a combat
arms unit. In Denmark, research showed that women performed just as well as
men in land combat roles. However, physical requirements had prevented them
from joining the country's Special Operations Forces. In France, women made
up nearly one-fifth of the military but only made up 1.7 percent of combat
forces by comparison. In Germany, nearly 800 female soldiers were serving in
combat units. In Israel, women were serving in artillery units, in rescue forces,
and in anti-aircraft forces. In New Zealand, women have been able to serve in
all defense units, including infantry, armor, and artillery units.A report in 2005
found that the move helped drive a societal shift within New Zealand that
"Values women as well as men:' Finally, in 1985, Norway had become the first
5
7
Elisabeth Bu miller and Thom Shanker, "Pentagon Is Set to Lift Combat Ban
for Women:• The New York Times, January 23, 2013, http://www.nytimes.
com/2013/0 I /24/us/pentagon-says-it-is-lifting-ban-on-women-in-combat.html.
"8 Other Nations That Send Women to Combat," National Geographic,
February 23, 2017, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/ 13/ 130125women-combat-world-australia-israel-canada-norway/.
Ibid.
88
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
country in NATO to allow women to perform military service in all combat
capacities. 8
In being the first country to allow women in combat roles, Norway is the
best example for the United States to follow. Colonel Ingrid Gjerde, who was
the commander of the Norwegian forces in Afghanistan in 2012, said "I have
to be clear: You have to meet the physical standards, because the job is still the
same. It works very well as long as women hold the standards. It's not a big deal
because women who go into these fields know the standards, and it's not that
hard for women to train up to the standards if they really want." 9 By holding
women to the same standards of the men, the United States would counter
all arguments against a woman's strength not comparing to a man's. In fact, a
study on the integration of female combatants in the Israeli military between
2002 and 2005 found that women often exhibit "superior skills" in discipline,
motivation, and shooting abilities, yet still face prejudicial treatment stemming
from "a perceived threat to the historical male combat identity:' 10
This "threat" to military men's combat identity is just one of the many
arguments against women. Some of these arguments focus on a woman's
biology, such as the argument Newt Gingrich propsed in 1995 when he said,
"Females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get
infections and they don't have upper body strength:'' 1 Some arguments focus
on emotions and sex, such as the argument Rick Santorum made in February
2012, "I do have concerns about women in front line combat. I think that could
be a very compromising situation where, where people naturally, you know, may
do things that may not be in the interests of the mission because of other types
of emotions that are involved:' 12 These arguments boil down to menstruation,
jealousy, and the fear of men putting themselves in harm's way to rescue the
women.
Other arguments against women in the military focus on breaking
tradition or the impact women will have on the unit. These arguments eerily
echo the cries of American military leaders when faced with desegregation
in the early 20th century. Black soldiers, like women, have served since the
Revolutionary War.After the Civil War, all black units were established under
8
9
10
II
12
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Chris Good, "Gingrich, Santorum on Women in Combat Infections, Emotions,"
ABC News, January 23, 2013, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 I 3/0 I/
gingrich-santorum-on-women-in-combat-infecti ens-emotions/.
Ibid.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
white officers such as the famous Buffalo Soldiers.When the First World War
finally drew the United States into it, the arguments on whether or not blacks
should be allowed to serve in combat roles came to the forefront.These
arguments drew on the racist idea that black soldiers were inferior to all white
soldiers.
During World War I, segregation was the norm for American institutions,
including the military. During the 1890s, the Navy, which had previously been
integrated, began to segregate the black troops by quietly assigning them to
positions of menial labor. 13 TheArmy had traditionally maintained four black
regiments since the days of Reconstruction, however these units were not sent
to Europe duringWorldWar 1. 1~This discrimination did not allow for many
black Americans to advance to the rank of officer.Therefore, white officers,
many of whom discriminated against their own men, led the black units that
were sent to France. 15
The first black troops sent overseas belonged to service units. This
work was absolutely invaluable throughout the war.As soldiers took to the
battlefields, black labor units became responsible for digging trenches, removing
unexploded shells from fields, clearing disabled equipment and barbed wire, and
burying soldiers killed in action. Despite all of this, the black troops received
horrible treatment, more so than the combat units. 16 The combat units received
better treatment than the laborers, but faced the most scrutiny.
Articles ran in newspapers around the country arguing that black
soldiers could not be effective in combat and backed up the claims with false
information. One example of these arguments is an article that ran in the
publication Harvey's Weekly. On November I, 1919, the paper ran an article
titled "The Negro Soldier:' 17 It claims that "much has been written in praise
of the exploits of the negro troops in France" but "it is essential that facts be
presented:' 18 This is followed by several "facts" about the black troops.
The first "fact" is that the legislation for allowing black soldiers " must
inevitably lead to waste of great sums of Government money in training men
whose record proves them incapable of meeting the demands of modern
13
14
15
16
17
18
90
Sherie Mershon and Steven L. Schlossman, Foxholes and Color Unes: Desegregating
the US Armed Forces (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998). 12.
Ibid, 7.
lbid, 4.
Jami Bryan, "Fighting for Respect:African-American Soldiers in WWI ," On Point, 2003,
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwi/articles/fightingforrespect.aspx.
"The Negro Soldier," Harvey's Weekly, November I, 1919, books.google.com.
Ibid.
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THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
warfare." 19 This claim from 1919 that black soldiers cannot meet the demands
of modern warfare reads the same as Mona Charen's 1997 argument against
women when she states "men are physically stronger . . . and physical strength
is not yet irrelevant to warfare." 20 The second argument is against the NinetySecond, which is one of the two black combat divisions that fought in France,
and states that "the average period allotted for training white troops in France
was four weeks. The Ninety-Second was in the training area seven weeks." 21
Again, this argument that black soldiers take longer to train up to standards can
be heard today on the website Sisters in Arms.A passage in the Cons ofWomen
in Combat reads, "The standards of physical fitness have been set to suit men,
and women attempting to reach them will over-stretch themselves:• 22
The final argument in the Harvey's Weekly article is that the "quality of
the negro enlisted man must be thoroughly understood. He cannot face a
grilling fire. He is only fitted for the staff branches, where he will [be] far from
the range of the artillerY:' 23 This argument of the lack of aggressiveness is
yet again repeated today in Charen's article when she states, " Men are also
more aggressive.War is horrible ... do we not want the toughest members of
society to fight our wars?"24 These arguments rely on ignorance.Therefore,
facing these challenges, the black troops had to prove themselves in order to
overcome the prejudice.
During the war, two black combat divisions were created, the 92nd and
rd
93 Divisions. The 92nd was created in October 1917 under the command
of Brigadier General Charles C . Ballou, who had organized the first African
American officer candidate school. 25 This unit was subject to setbacks from the
onset of their training. Unlike almost every other American unit training to go
into battle, soldiers from the 92nd were forced to train separately while in the
United States because the War Department feared racial uprisings. Thus, they
sacrificed the unit's ability to develop strong unit cohesion and pride. 26 This
culminated at the Argonne Forest during the the Meuse-Argonne offensive in
September of 1918. The 368th Infantry Regiment of the 92nd Division immediately
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Ibid.
Mona Charen, " Seven Reasons to Oppose Women in the
Military," The Daily Oklahoman.August 27, 1997.
" The Negro Solder:•
" Women in Combat Pros and Cons," Sisters in Arms, 2009, http://sistersinarms.ca.
" The Negro Soldier."
Charen, " Seven Reasons:•
Bryan, " Fighting for Respect."
Ibid.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
received orders to fill a gap between the American 77th Division and the French
37th Division.27 However, due to their lack of training, shortages of equipment,
and unfamiliarity with the terrain, the regiment did not successfully complete
this important assignment.The failure to accomplish this tarnished the 92nd
Division's combat record, and the example was used by military authorities for
more than thirty years to prove the inadequacy of African American soldiers in
combat. 28
Nevertheless, after the disaster in the Argonne, the entire division
received high praise from the French while the American commanders used
them as examples of inadequacy. They were sent to a relatively quiet area of the
front in the Marbache sector where their primary mission was to harass the
enemy with frequent patrols. For their aggressiveness and bravery at this post,
the French decorated members of the 365 th Infantry and 350th Machine Gun
Battalion-all while the American commanders argued their dissatisfaction with
the unit.29
While the 92nd Division struggled to clear its reputation, the 93 rd Division
had a much more successful experience.The 93 rd Division was also organized in
December of 1917 and was commanded by Brigadier General Roy Hoffman. 30
The 93 r d was comprised of National Guard units from New York, Illinois, Ohio,
Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and Tennessee.31
In training, they faced the same obstacles as the 92nd and were forced to serve
under racist commanders. Nonetheless, they were able to prove themselves
early in their deployment.
France was exhausted and their armies were dwindling, so they begged
the United States for men. General John Pershing, commander of the American
Expeditionary Force, decided to give them the regiments of the 93 rd Division.
The first black combat troops to set foot on French soil belonged to the 93 rd
Division, and they were then armed, organized, and equipped as French units. 32
The troops experienced some language difficulties but quickly adapted to their
new role as they were treated as equals.
The 369 th Infantry was the first regiment of the 93 rd to reach France.After
training with the French, the regiment was sent to the front lines in a region
27
28
29
30
31
32
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
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just west of the Argonne Forest. They held their position against German
assaults for nearly a month; then, after only a brief break from the front, they
were placed in the middle of the German offensive at Minacourt, France. Here
they helped the French drive the Germans from their trenches. 33 Through their
tenacity in battle, the Germans nicknamed them the " Harlem Hellfighters: •
During this time, the Germans were making many small night raids into
Allied territory. During one of the raids, Corporal Henry Johnson of the 369 th
Infantry, fought off an entire German raiding party using only a pistol and a
knife. He killed four Germans and wounded many more, allowing a wounded
comrade to escape capture, and leading to the capture of a stockpile of German
arms.Johnson and his comrade were both wounded and received the French
Croix de Guerre for their gallantry, becoming two of the first Americans to
receive it.H On June 2, 2015, Henry Johnson received the Medal of Honor for
his actions almost one hundred years prior. 35
The 369th participated in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and continued
to fight exceptionally well throughout the remainder of the war.The regiment
fought in the front lines for a total of 191 days, five days longer than any other
regiment in the AEF. France awarded the entire unit the Croix de Guerre, along
with presenting 171 individual awards for exceptional gallantry in action. 36 The
other regiments in the division also performed well and won French awards, but
the glory went to the 369 th •
During the war, the black American soldiers won great fame in the eyes
of the French. This was because they were treated as equals and given the
opportunity to prove themselves.Their resolve also won them some fame
back in the United States during the war. One newspaper article published
in the New York Age stated that the French opinion of the black soldiers was
"enthusiastic in their praise of'EIYankie de Color,' both as a fighting man and
men possessing all of the qualities and attributes of the superior races:' 37 After
the war, the men returned home as heroes. Even though the race issue was
still prevalent, and race riots were taking place in different areas of the country,
news articles sang their praise.
Articles detailing the stories of individual heroes such as Henry Johnson
33
34
3S
36
37
Ibid.
Ibid.
" Family Gets Medal of Honor," St Louis Post-Dispatch.June 4, 2015, www.newspapers.com.
Bryan, "Fighting for Respect:'
" European Sentiment as to Black Soldiers," The NewYork
Age, September 21 , 1918, www.newspapers.com
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I
shaved my head on January 7, 2017.
It was odd to feel the weight of shoulder-length hair slowly evaporate with
the buzz of the razor. To not have to use shampoo and conditioner in the
shower.To no longer have the need to brush or comb your hair when you
get up in the morning. To feel the cold winter air blow over your head quicker
than you can pull a hat down over your ears.To look in the mirror, right at your
reflection, and still question if the person looking back is really you to begin ·
with.To realize that one little thing, a small part of you, could leave such a large
hole in your life.
During that time, no one knew that I shaved my head because I wore
beanies until I had something that resembled hair again. School was starting
back the following Monday, and I quickly decided that I was going to hide what
I did, not because I was ashamed of it---cutting off my hair-or how I looked
without it, but because doing so kept me from talking about things that I wasn't
ready to address.
African-American hair is unique in a variety of ways. Some women wear
wigs or extensions and others don't. Some like it long and others keep it short.
Some love their hair and others hate it.After I shaved my head and my hair
began to grow back in its natural state, I began to question my place in those
groups, wondering if I lost a part of myself back on the 7th of January.
If you see a black woman in media these days, she most likely has straight,
wavy, or slightly curled hair. Rarely will you see a black woman with a natural
pixie cut - even rarer an afro - in film or television. Natural Black hair is not
the "norm," not how things are done or what is accepted. Black hair is often
called or "disheveled," "messy," or "uncontrolled," encouraging black women to
turn to chemicals in an effort to straighten out their kinks and coils, just so they
can "fit in" with the rest of the world.
I decided to get a relaxer after high school. Trying to do my hair in its
natural form was very difficult. I wanted things to be easier. I did not want to
spend hours every morning trying to make my kinks somewhat presentable
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before I went to work. I did not want to pile handfuls of gels and creams onto
my coils in an effort to keep the frizz at bay. I did not want to braid my hair
every night, just to have a fighting chance of having working with something
tame the following day. I wanted to be like the women I saw on television,
waking up in the morning and being ready to go out the door after a few quick
strokes of a brush. I wanted to wear styles that I knew were impossible to
accomplish with my hair in its natural state.
I wanted normal, not unique.
Normalcy and I got along for two years, but by then I realized that the
chemicals meant to straighten out my kinks were causing more harm than
good. I noticed that I was missing chunks of hair from the back of my head it
fell out and refused to grow back again, forcing me to wear my slowly thinning
hair either down or in a low ponytail whenever I left my house. I went back
to wearing hats. If I couldn't wear a hat, I wore a large headband. I tried to tell
myself that it was nothing, that it happens, that it was typical. Deep down, I knew
that it wasn't.
Another year passed before I accepted the fact that my hair wasn't going
to grow back, that it was damaged beyond repair, and that I needed to do
something.After months of research, I decided to "Big Chop" - a method of
cutting off all of the chemically relaxed/damaged hair and leaving your natural
hair behind. But for me, everything was damaged. There was no "natural hair"
left.
So I shaved it all off.
Nearly two years have passed since my Big Chop, and I've come to realize
one thing: I do not love my natural hair. I fall into the group of people who
hate their natural hair. I don't like wearing it out for the world to see because,
inevitability, someone will ask, "What's wrong with your hair?"
I don't talk about the day I shaved my head for a few reasons, but mainly
because nobody around me knew about it.Anyone I met after the fact didn't
know what I had done. I lacked friends who knew what I was going through to
confide in. Not having anyone who knew what I was thinking or considering
made this day seem very lonely to face. Even after the deed was done, I kept to
myself, wondering in the back of my newly bare head if I made a mistake.
Was straight, albeit damaged, hair better to have than kinky hair that
shrinks by 90 percent? Was being "normal" better than being unique?
It is odd, looking at yourself in the mirror, but it can also be empowering.
Kinks and coils may not be normal, but they are beautiful.And I may not love
them, but they are me.
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Jacob Crystal is a second-year graduate student at
the University of Central Oklahoma. He is currently
studying to get his Master of Arts in Literary Studies.
Jacob's research interests include gender and
sexuality, feminism , and post colonialism. He divides
his time between teaching first-year composition
Jessica Appleby is an assistant professor of French at
the University of Central Oklahoma with a PhD from
the University of Colorado. Her research interests
focus on medieval and Renaissance epic poetry, with
secondary interests in the French graphic novel, gender
and sexuality studies, sci-fl/fantasy, and pop-culture
pedagogy. Her current project maps the violence
of epic poetry as enacted on the female body.
At present time Kateryna Bortsova is a painter/
courses, and archiving the oral history of the
grassroots activist group Herland Sister Resources.
Bridget Cuadra is a History major and Gender
and Sexuality Studies minor at the University of
Central Oklahoma. Her research interests are the
African Diaspora and Gender history. Bridget works
at UCO's Women's Research and BGLTQ+ Student
Center, where she researches women's reproductive
rights and topics related to sexual health.
graphic artist with BFA in graphic arts and MFA.
Kateryna's works have appeared in many international
James P. Gregory, Jr., is a second year Master's
exhibitions (Taiwan, Moscow, Munich, Spain, Macedonia,
student in History: Museum Studies at the University
Budapest etc.). She also won a silver medal in the
of Central Oklahoma. He works as a Teaching
Realism category in participation in " Factory ofVisual
Assistant in the Department of History & Geography.
Art," New York, and the 20 IS Emirates Skywards Art
His research interests include military history,
of Travel competition, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
specializing in World War I and the Cold War.
Jordan Broiles is a senior at the University of
Central Oklahoma pursuing a bachelor degree in
Strategic Communication with a minor in Gender
and Sexuality Studies. He is currently the president
of UCO's Diversity Round Table and is part of the
2018 Research Integration Strategies Evaluation
(RISE) Grad Prep program at the University of
Southern California. His academic research interest is
studying how African American males conceptualize
Abigail Griffin is a true 90's kid and a fan of foul
and foreign language. She's an American Sign Language
interpreter by morning, a UCO Creative Writing student
by afternoon, and a German student by night. She loves
to laugh and will probably be the loudest person laughing/
sneezing, in any room.Abigail enjoys finding new ways of
sticking it to the man in her daily life, believes black lives
matter, trans individuals are as important as the rest of
us, and is a proud member of the queer community.
their idea of masculinity, gender, and sexuality.
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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THE CENTRAL DISSENT: A JOURNAL OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY
Elisabeth Ponce-Garcia is the corresponding author
Cynthia Wiley is an English major with a Creative
for " Sextual Communication:• She holds a PhD in
Writing minor in her senior year at the University of
developmental psychology with a specialty in resilience.
Central Oklahoma. She currently holds presidency
Her Science of Protective Factors Lab focuses on building
over UC O 's Golden Ponies Writers Guild and
resilience in adolescence, where she initiates research to
dedicates the majority of her time to creative non-
better understand the developmental tasks of emerging
fiction and social activism.When she is not bribing
and early adulthood, the dynamic interplay between
local venues to let her read her work publicly, she
factors of childhood development and adult development,
is taking her unwilling and grumpy, elderly cat on
and how best to measure resilience in populations w ith
walks and reading anything Kurt Vonnegut.
specific, and sometimes unique, risk factors and trauma.
Stephanie Wooley is a graduate of the University
Elizabeth Noel is a student studying English
of Central Oklahoma, where she obtained a B.A. in
(Creative Writing) and Psychology at the University
Museum Studies and an M.A. in Latin American History.
of Central Oklahoma. In her free time, she enjoys
She was an avid member of the German Club and
researching new ideas for her projects, rereading
a longtime worker in the Women's Research and
her favorite novels, and taking pictures. "Beauty
BGLTQ+ Student Center. Her research focuses on the
Beyond the Kinks" is her first publication.
erosion of Palestinian land from removal of olive trees.
Ankita Rathour is a PhD candidate living in Baton
Rouge. Her research interests include postcolonial theor y,
crime films and literature, and gender studies. She has
authored a poetry book, several poems, and short stories
including a detective story. Her work has appeared in
India, in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Kristi Smith was born and raised in Oklahoma. She
completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Cameron
University, and is now working towards a Master of
Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. She has been creating
artwork all of her life, and hopes to continue that passion
by hopefully working with art students through teaching.
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