Feminist Praxis

                There are a million ways that gender dynamics are reflected in my own life. It made it very hard to focus on just a few examples. Although recognizing these dynamics is important, it is even more crucial to take action which is where feminist praxis comes into play: “an event of phenomenon that raises awareness and/or creates change on issues of patriarchy, gender systems, the intersectionality of identities and oppressions, and/or the overall structural inequalities experienced by women” (Launius & Hassel 157).

                The first example I have happened during Thanksgiving dinner at my boyfriend’s house. After dinner, he was painting his niece’s nails which is completely socially acceptable besides the fact that men usually aren’t “nail painters”. When they were done, his niece showed off her nails and everybody gave her very positive comments about how pretty they were. The tables were turned however when his cousin began painting my boyfriend’s little brother’s fingernails. When they were finished, and he began showing everyone, the reactions were completely different. Everyone concluded that boys don’t get their nails painted and nobody told him how pretty they looked. His dad even commented “I’m not taking you hunting looking like that, you’ll scare the deer away”. This is a very good example of social construction of gender: “used to explain gender role socialization and how gender systems are created and maintained” (27). We associate certain things with boys and certain things with girls and find it strange when these lines are blurred or crossed. There is definitely more controversy when boys are acting as girls than when girls are acting as boys. In my boyfriend’s family, his brother was frowned upon for having his nails painted but nothing gets said when his nieces play with toy guns and trucks. I brought this up to everyone and they were actually very interested and seemed to understand this different point of view.
                Looking at how the social construction of gender plays a role in my own family is very interesting as well. My family definitely fits into society's expectations. My mom only works part time and spends a majority of her time caring for the rest of the family. She does a majority of the cooking and cleaning which are usually gendered to be things that women do. She also never fails to remind me that I need to help her in the kitchen more often so that I am "wife material". In addition to that, my dad is the breadwinner of the family because he works about 55 hours a week and brings home a majority of the income. I very rarely see him in the kitchen (he can barely make himself a frozen pizza). He is very handy around the house however. Whenever something breaks or quits working, he is right there to fix it. He is also very good at working on our cars when something goes wrong as well. Thus he fits very well into the category of what society characterizes as manly. 

                Another good example of gender dynamics in my own life is my fear of going in public alone. I honestly hate even going to Walmart by myself, even during the day. This fear stems from the constant reminder we get that women are vulnerable to predators. All of the time in the news and online, I see reports of women being abducted, harassed, and even sexually assaulted. As a woman myself, I definitely fear this happening because I have seen how easily it can happen to other women. This is definitely a source of oppression that most men do not have to fear. Although it is still possible for it to happen to men, women are far more vulnerable. It is also a lot harder to get men to understand this point of view. My boyfriend cannot understand why I feel this way because he is male, and does not relate. I have worked very hard to provide him with examples which has helped a little bit. I think a major part of helping protect women from this would be to educate men and provide ways that both men and other women could step in if they sense danger.

                In the end, understanding gender dynamics in society is very important. What is more important however is spreading the knowledge and helping each other out. We all need to start watching one another’s backs and not being afraid to step in when situations get out of hand. The world we live in today is very different than it used to be and we need to use our knowledge to help empower both men and women to understand how to help one another succeed.