Women's Lives : Multicultural Perspectives

by Kirk, Gwyn; Okazawa-Rey, Margo

• ISBN13: 9780072822441
• ISBN10: 0072822449
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-04
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

This interdisciplinary, multicultural text-reader provides an introduction to women's studies within a global context by examining the diversity of women's lives across categories of race-ethnicity, class, sexuality, disability, and age. Substantial chapter introductions provide statistical information and explanations of key concepts and ideas as a context for the reading selections. Each chapter includes reading questions and suggestions for taking action, to help students link what they learn to their own lives and to the world around them.

Table of Contents

Preface	xix
Introduction The Framework of This Book	1	(1)
The Focus of Women's Studies	1	(1)
The Framework for This Book: Collective Action for a Sustainable Future	2	(1)
An Activist Approach	2	(1)
A Sustainable and Secure Future	2	(1)
The United States in a Global Context	3	(1)
Linking the Personal and the Global	3	(1)
A Matrix of Oppression and Resistance	3	(1)
Feminisms: Tangling with the ``F'' Word	4	(3)
Women's Studies Is Ideological	5	(1)
Women's Studies Is a White, Middle-Class Thing	6	(1)
Women's Studies Is Narrowly Concerned with Women's Issues	7	(1)
Scope of the Book	7	(2)
PART ONE KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING
Theories and Theorizing: Integrative Frameworks for Understanding	9	(50)
Definition of a Theory	9	(1)
Theories, Theorizing, and Ways of Knowing	10	(2)
The Dominant Perspective	10	(1)
Alternative Perspectives	11	(1)
The Role of Values	12	(1)
Theoretical Frameworks for Understanding Women's Lives	12	(3)
``Socially Lived'' Theorizing	15	(3)
Media Representations and the Creation of Knowledge	18	(3)
Questions for Reflection	19	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	20	(1)
Taking Action	20	(1)
``The Social Construction of Gender''	21	(4)
Judith Lorber
``Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us''	25	(8)
Allan G. Johnson
Combahee River Collective, ``A Black Feminist Statement''	33	(5)
``Defining Genealogies: Feminist Reflections on Being South Asian in North America''	38	(6)
Chandra Talpade Mohanty
``Who Am I If I'm Not My Father's Daughter?'''	44	(2)
Minnie Bruce Pratt
``Beyond Bean Counting''	46	(3)
JeeYeun Lee
``A Latina in the Land of Hollywood: Transgressive Possibilities''	49	(10)
Angharad N. Valdivia
Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who Are My People?	59	(52)
Being Myself: The Micro Level	60	(1)
Community Recognition, Expectations, and Interactions: The Meso Level	61	(1)
Social Categories, Classifications, and Structural Inequality: Macro and Global Levels	62	(6)
Maintaining Systems of Structural Inequality	63	(2)
Colonization, Immigration, and the U.S. Landscape of Race and Class	65	(3)
Multiple Identities, Social Location, and Contradictions	68	(2)
Questions for Reflection	69	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	69	(1)
Taking Action	69	(1)
``Perspectives of Native American Women on Race and Gender''	70	(8)
Frederica Y. Daly
``A Question of Class''	78	(7)
Dorothy Allison
``A Word about the Great Terminology Question''	85	(2)
Elizabeth Martinez
``Shilling Love''	87	(3)
Shailja Patel
``Moving from Cultural Appropriation toward Ethical Cultural Connections''	90	(6)
Joanna Kadi
``Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?''	96	(7)
Mary C. Waters
``Jews, Class, Color, and the Cost of Whiteness''	103	(8)
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
PART TWO OUR BODIES, OURSELVES
Women's Bodies	111	(32)
Body Image and the Beauty Ideal	111	(5)
The Beauty Ideal	112	(1)
The Beauty Business	113	(1)
Commodification and Co-option	113	(1)
Whites Only? Forever Young? Always Able?	114	(2)
Resisting Beauty Stereotypes	116	(2)
Feminist Theorizing about Body Image and Beauty Ideals	118	(1)
Body Politics	119	(2)
Questions for Reflection	120	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	120	(1)
Taking Action	120	(1)
``The Body Politic''	121	(4)
Abra Fortune Chernik
``The Coming of Maureen Peal''	125	(5)
Toni Morrison
``The Story of My Body''	130	(5)
Judith Ortiz Cofer
``My Body Is a Map of My Life''	135	(1)
Lani Ka'ahumanu
``I Am Not One of the''	136	(1)
Cheryl Marie Wade
``What's a Leg Got to Do with It?''	136	(2)
Donna Walton
``Tangled Lives: Daughters, Mothers, and the Crucible of Aging''	138	(5)
Lillian B. Rubin
Women's Sexuality	143	(30)
Stereotypes, Contradictions, and Double Standards	143	(1)
What Is Women's Autonomous Sexuality?	144	(2)
Challenging Binaries	146	(2)
Theorizing Sexuality	148	(3)
The Erotic as Power	151	(1)
Activism and Sexuality	151	(1)
Questions for Reflection	151	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	152	(1)
Taking Action	152	(1)
``Guadalupe the Sex Goddess''	152	(3)
Sandra Cisneros
``Radical Heterosexuality''	155	(3)
Naomi Wolf
``Radical Pleasure: Sex and the End of Victimhood''	158	(1)
Aurora Levins Morales
``A New Politics of Sexuality''	159	(3)
June Jordan
``The All-American Queer Pakistani Girl''	162	(2)
Surina A. Khan
``We Are All Works in Progress''	164	(4)
Leslie Feinberg
``Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power''	168	(5)
Audre Lorde
Women's Health	173	(52)
Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights	173	(5)
Controlling Fertility	174	(3)
Medicalization of Reproductive Life	177	(1)
Women and Illness	178	(4)
Effects of Gender, Race, and Class on Health and Illness	179	(1)
Mental and Emotional Health	180	(2)
Health and Aging	182	(1)
The Medical Industry	182	(3)
Paying for Medical Care	183	(1)
Other Barriers and Biases in Medical Services and Research	184	(1)
Health as Wellness	185	(2)
Requirements for Good Health	185	(1)
Feminist Approaches to Wellness	185	(1)
Questions for Reflection	186	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	186	(1)
Taking Action	187	(1)
``Three Generations of Native American Women's Birth Experience''	187	(3)
Joy Harjo
``Reproductive Rights: A Disability Rights Issue''	190	(4)
Marsha Saxton
``The Life and Death of Miss Mildred: An Elderly Black Woman''	194	(7)
Annette Dula
``Breast Cancer: The Environmental Connection--a 1998 Update''	201	(7)
Rita Arditti
Tatiana Schreiber
```If It's Not On, It's Not On'--Or Is It? Discursive Constraints on Women's Condom Use''	208	(11)
Nicola Gavey
Kathryn McPhillips
Marion Doherty
```I Am a Beautiful, Multifaceted Black Woman''': Interview with Shirley Royster, HIV/AIDS Educator and Activist	219	(6)
Shirley Royster
Violence Against Women	225	(48)
What Counts as Violence Against Women?	226	(2)
The Incidence of Violence Against Women	228	(3)
Effects of Race, Class, Nation, Sexuality, and Disability	230	(1)
Explanations of Violence Against Women	231	(3)
Micro-level Explanations	231	(1)
Macro-level Explanations	232	(2)
Ending Violence Against Women	234	(4)
The Importance of a Political Movement	234	(1)
Providing Support for Victims/Survivors	235	(1)
Public and Professional Education	236	(1)
Policy and Legislative Initiatives	236	(1)
Contradictions in Seeking State Support to End Violence Against Women	237	(1)
Women's Rights as Human Rights	238	(1)
Questions for Reflection	238	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	239	(1)
Taking Action	239	(1)
``Lisa's Ritual, Age 10''	239	(1)
Grace Caroline Bridges
``National Symposium on La Violencia Domestica: An Emerging Dialogue Among Latinos'' (excerpt)	240	(9)
Fernando Mederos
``Domestic Violence and Asian American Women''	249	(7)
Lora Jo Foo
``Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide''	256	(10)
Andy Smith
``On Becoming Anti-Rapist''	266	(5)
Haki R. Madhubuti
``My Vagina Was My Village''	271	(2)
Eve Ensler
PART THREE MAKING A HOME, MAKING A LIVING
Relationships, Families, and Households	273	(44)
Defining Ourselves Through Connections with Others	273	(1)
Marriage, Domestic Partnerships, and Personal Relationships	274	(3)
Contradictions Surrounding the Institution of Marriage	274	(1)
Personal Relationships: Living in Different Worlds?	275	(1)
Gay Marriage and Domestic Partnership	276	(1)
Motherhood and Parenting	277	(2)
The Social Construction of Motherhood	278	(1)
Blame It on the Mother	278	(1)
The Ideal Nuclear Family	279	(3)
U.S. Families: Cultural and Historical Variations	280	(2)
Immigration and the Family	282	(1)
Feminist Perspectives on Marriage, Motherhood, and the Family	282	(2)
Challenging the Private/Public Dichotomy	282	(1)
Mothering and Maternal Thinking	283	(1)
The Family and the Economic System	283	(1)
Policy Implications and Implementation	283	(1)
Toward a Redefinition of Family Values	284	(2)
Questions for Reflection	285	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	285	(1)
Taking Action	286	(1)
``35/10''	286	(1)
Sharon Olds
``The Marriage Mystique''	286	(8)
Jaclyn Geller
``Raising Kids como Los Americanos''	294	(7)
Maria Hinojosa
``Personal Reflections on Being a Grandmother: L'Chol Dor Va Dor''	301	(4)
Rachel Aber Schlesinger
``Shattering Two Molds: Feminist Parents with Disabilities''	305	(3)
Carol J. Gill
Larry A. Voss
``Loving Across the Boundary''	308	(9)
Ann Filemyr
Work, Wages, and Welfare	317	(54)
Defining Women's Work	317	(1)
Women in the U.S. Workforce	318	(8)
Women's Wages: The Effects of Gender, Race, Class, Disability, and Education	319	(2)
Discrimination Against Working Women: Sexual Harassment, Age, and Disability	321	(1)
Balancing Home and Work	322	(2)
Organized Labor and Collective Action	324	(2)
Pensions, Disability Payments, and Welfare	326	(3)
Pensions and Disability Payments	326	(2)
Welfare	328	(1)
Feminist Approaches to Women's Work and Income	329	(1)
Comparable Worth	329	(1)
Feminization of Poverty	329	(1)
Impact of Class	329	(1)
Policy Implications and Activist Projects	330	(1)
Promoting Greater Economic Security for Women	330	(2)
Questions for Reflection	331	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	331	(1)
Taking Action	332	(1)
``the cleaning woman/labor relations #4''	332	(1)
Hattie Gossett
``The Transformation of Women's Wage Work''	333	(14)
Teresa Amott
Julie Matthaei
``He Works, She Works, but What Different Impressions They Make''	347	(1)
``Reflections of a Feminist Mom''	348	(2)
Jeannine Ouellette Howitz
``Violating Women: Rights Abuses in the Welfare Police State''	350	(9)
Gwendolyn Mink
``Movement Roots''	359	(12)
Miriam Ching Yoon Louie
Living in a Global Economy	371	(42)
The Global Factory	372	(4)
The Profit Motive	375	(1)
Consumerism, Expansionism, and Waste	375	(1)
The Myth of Progress	376	(1)
Emphasis on Immediate Costs	376	(1)
The Global Economy	376	(7)
Complex Inequalities	376	(3)
Legacies of Colonialism	379	(1)
External Debt	380	(3)
Implications of Global Economic Inequalities	383	(2)
Connections to U.S. Policy Issues	383	(1)
International Alliances Among Women	384	(1)
The Seeds of a New Global Economy	385	(3)
Questions for Reflection	387	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	387	(1)
Taking Action	388	(1)
``Maquiladoras: The View from Inside''	388	(9)
Maria Patricia Fernandez-Kelly
``The Global Trade in Filipina Workers''	397	(10)
Grace Chang
``The Border Patrol State''	407	(3)
Leslie Marmon Silko
``La Migra''	410	(1)
Pat Mora
Diverse Women for Diversity, ``Seattle Declaration''	411	(2)
PART FOUR SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Women, Crime, and Criminalization	413	(40)
The National Context: ``Get Tough on Crime''	413	(2)
Women in the Criminal Justice System	415	(4)
Characteristics of Incarcerated Women	416	(1)
Offenses Committed by Women and Patterns of Arrest	416	(2)
Sentence Length and Time Served	418	(1)
Race and Class Disparities	418	(1)
Girls in the Criminal Justice System	419	(1)
Women Political Prisoners	419	(2)
Theories of Women and Crime	421	(1)
``Equality with a Vengeance'': Is Equal Treatment Fair Treatment?	422	(1)
The ``Prison Industrial Complex''	423	(1)
Inside/Outside Connections	423	(2)
Questions for Reflection	424	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	425	(1)
Taking Action	425	(1)
``Shannon's Story''	425	(1)
Shannon Murray
``Behind the Walls: The History and Current Reality of Women's Imprisonment''	426	(10)
Nancy Kurshan
``Punishing Drug Addicts Who Have Babies: Women of Color, Equality, and the Right of Privacy''	436	(6)
Dorothy E. Roberts
``U.S. Concentration Camps and Exclusion Policies: Impact on Japanese American Women''	442	(7)
Rita Takahashi
ACLU of Illinois, ``ACLU of Illinois Challenges Ethnic and Religious Bias in Strip Search of Muslim Woman at O'Hare International Airport''	449	(4)
Women and the Military, War, and Peace	453	(38)
The Need for Women in the Military	454	(1)
The Military as Employer	454	(1)
Limitations to Women's Equal Participation in the Military	455	(3)
Women in Combat Roles	455	(1)
Officer Training: Storming the Citadel	456	(1)
Sexism and Misogyny	456	(1)
Racism	457	(1)
Sexual Orientation	458	(1)
Military Wives	458	(1)
The Impact of the U.S. Military on Women Overseas	459	(3)
Militarized Prostitution	460	(1)
Mixed-Race Children Fathered by U.S. Troops	460	(1)
Crimes of Violence Against Women	460	(1)
Health Effects of Environmental Contamination	461	(1)
Women's Opposition to the Military	462	(5)
Early Peace Organizations in the United States	462	(1)
Feminist Antimilitarist Perspectives	462	(3)
Redefining Security	465	(1)
Questions for Reflection	466	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	466	(1)
Taking Action	467	(1)
``The Women in Blue''	467	(2)
Melinda Smith-Wells
``The Search for Peace and Justice: Notes Toward an Autobiography''	469	(6)
Jean Grossholtz
Women's Pentagon Action, ``Unity Statement''	475	(3)
Women of Color Resource Center, ``Ten Reasons Why Women Should Oppose the U.S. `War on Terrorism'''	478	(1)
``Whose Security?''	478	(4)
Charlotte Bunch
``Sneak Attack: The Militarization of U.S. Culture''	482
Cynthia Enloe
``Media and Ideology'' (excerpt)	283	(208)
David Croteau
William Hoynes
Women and the Environment	491	(30)
Theoretical and Activist Perspectives	492	(5)
Environmentalism	493	(1)
Deep Ecology and Bioregionalism	493	(1)
Ecofeminism	494	(1)
Environmental Justice	495	(2)
Connectedness and Sustainability	497	(3)
Questions for Reflection	499	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	499	(1)
Taking Action	500	(1)
``The Ecofeminist Imperative''	500	(3)
Ynestra King
``Empowering Ourselves: Women and Toxics Organizing''	503	(5)
Robbin Lee Zeff
Marsha Love
Karen Stults
The First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, ``Principles of Environmental Justice''	508	(1)
``Native Hawaiian Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Environmental Justice''	509	(4)
Mililani Trask
``My Mom's Garden''	513	(1)
Cindy Chan Saelee
``Consumption: North American Perspectives''	514	(7)
H. Patricia Hynes
PART FIVE ACTIVISM AND CHANGE
Creating Change: Theory, Vision, and Action	521
How Does Change Happen?	522	(3)
Using the Head: Theories for Social Change	522	(1)
Using the Heart: Visions for Social Change	522	(1)
Using the Hands: Action for Social Change	523	(1)
Overcoming Blocks to Effective Action	524	(1)
Women and Political Activism	525	(5)
Identity-Based Politics	525	(1)
Feminist Movements	526	(1)
Women in Electoral Politics	527	(3)
Building Alliances for the Twenty-First Century	530	(4)
Some Principles for Alliance Building	530	(1)
Overcoming Impediments to Effective Alliances	531	(1)
Creating a Secure and Sustainable World	531	(1)
Questions for Reflection	532	(1)
Finding Out More on the Web	533	(1)
Taking Action	533	(1)
``Listening to the Voices of My Spiritual Self''	534	(2)
Christina Leano
``Ella's Daughters''	536	(9)
Barbara Omolade
``Multiracial Feminism: Recasting the Chronology of Second Wave Feminism''	545	(12)
Becky Thompson
``Common Threads: Life Stories and the Arts in Educating for Social Change''	557	(6)
Cynthia Cohen
``Research on Women in Legislatures: What Have We Learned, Where Are We Going?'' Michele Swers	563	(11)
``Multi-Issue Politics''	574	(3)
Suzanne Pharr
``Taking On the Global Economy''	577
Kalima Rose
Glossary	1	(1)
References	1	(1)
Credits	1	(1)
Name Index	1	(5)
Index	6
About the Authors	1