ANGGIT KUMARA

B0316007

GENDER IN AMERICA

Answer these questions!

1. What is the characteristics of postfeminism and its politics and how this movement
differs and share similarities from the second wave and third wave feminism?
2. Foucault re-conceptualized of the politics of the body as a normalization and resistance to
the idea of gender. Explain Foucault’s notion on the politics of the body.
3. Masculinity has been established as dominant gender which forms the idea of hegemonic
masculinity. However, recently, scholars identify a disruption of traditional pattern of
masculinity which produces the new gender identity and the myth of new man. Explain
how the myth of new man threaten the established hegemonic masculinity.
4. Judith Butler in her conception of gender acts tries “to show some ways in which reified
and naturalized conceptions of gender must be understood as constituted and, hence,
capable of instituted differently. Explain your understanding to this argument.
5. On the page 14, under sub-heading of feminist approach to the posthuman, Kim
Toffoletti writes:
“They rely on concepts put forward by the thinker Gilles Deleuze like
multiplicities, becomings and assemblages to explain the fragmentation of
established narratives structuring notions of bodies, identity and humanness.
The posthuman body is thus located at the interstices of ‘postmodern
relations of power and pleasure, virtuality and reality, sex and its consequences’
(Halberstam and Livingstone 1995: 3). Their posthuman bodies
are the queer body, the technobody and the contaminated body; bodies that
rupture a coherent narrative of the human subject in favour of the body in
crisis (Halberstam and Livingstone 1995: 3–4).”
Explain your understanding to the citations
 ANSWER

1. Post-feminism characteristic is can be divided into the four main characteristic according
to Faludi (1991). The characteristics in the post-feminism is basically stand againts the
feminism because they as a feminist feel forced and opressed to apply what feminism
won for them the previous stage of feminism (second wave and third wave) (Nurka,
2106). The women embrace individualism for personal plesure to express themself and
not defined by old feminism values.
The politics in the post-feminism that divers from the second wave and the third
wave is that in the post-feminism the politics is focuses on the coalition and change some
feminist inquiry and the multi layered discrimination (Showden, 2009). The politics of
the post-feminism is purposes to seek an end of gender oppression by using institutions to
change the system in the society (Showden, 2009). The politics of postfeminism are
categorized based on the wave of postfeminism. The waves are postmodern feminism,
multicultural feminism, ecofeminism and global feminism. The multicultural feminism
focuses on not all women have same equality or privillage based on the race, ethnicity,
sexual identity, age, religion, etc. For the global feminism they criticized he different
systems in every country that can create inequality between women in one country and
other country, this waves aims the equality for every women in the world no matter their
nationality. And for the ecofeminism they focused their attention to natural environment
due to the effect of exploitation of masculine hegemonic or capitalism (Allo, 2016).
Although the post-feminism has several distinction from the second wave and the
third wave of feminism, the postfeminism also has similarities with second wave feminist
because postfeminism still affected by traditional feminity and heterosexuality, but in
second wave feminist the reclaming traditional feminity looked as a positive and
empowering (Showden, 2009). They see that the women have can have the independent
of their sexuality even though they are under the discrimination or oppression. The other
differences in postfeminism is position in public and private between women and men are
 different. In public men and women should be equal but in private life, women and men
should recognize and respect their differences (Showden, 2009).

Faludi, S. (1991). Backlash:The Undeclared Wae on American Women. Published by

New York: Random House

Showden, C. R. (2009). What’s Political about New Feminisms?. Retrivied from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40388740?read-now=1&seq=9#page_scan_tab_contents

Nurka, C. (2016). Postfeminism. Retrivied from

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/316364118

2. As cited in Johnson work, he cited Foucault argument in his theory that the body is a
central point to analyze the shape of power. These issues define and shape the body.
"Body cultivation is vital" to determine how you are going to act in society (Johnson,
1989). Foucault criticized the old feminist theory model that which theorised men as
‘possessing’ and wielding power over women. Women viewed as powerless and always
being an object of that such of power. The analysis of Foucault power relation theory has
been used by many feminist to dig deeper understanding about the nature and causes of
women’s subordination. Some feminist theory reveals that the opression towards woman
is also related to the patriarchy concept when it is placed the men higher that woman in
the social stratification. Foucault’s works on power has been used by some feminist to
develop the analysis of the relations between gender and power. They are trying to avoid
the assumption that oppression of women is simply caused by men’s possession of
power. In Foucault’s understanding, power as exercised rather than possessed, as
circulating through social body rather than emanating from top down and as productive
rather than repressive. With Foucault’s notion, it is influenced feminist to concentrates on
exposing gender relations power in the political level in order to determine possibilities
for resistance and social change. Foucault’s idea also determine that the body is become
the center of power in modern society, that the society controlled women through their
bodies and sexuality.
 Johnson, D. 1989. “The Body: Which One? Whose?” The Whole Earth Review, Summer,
6.

Bordo, S. (n.d.) Feminism, Foucault and the politics of the body. P, 190-194

3. If we talk about masculinities, it is mean that we talk about gender

relations. Masculinity are not equivalent to men as a sexual identity, but masculinities is
the position of men in a gender order and in the society. It can be defined as the patterns
of practice by which people both men and women, but in the society the consciousness
that established is that the masculinity is predominantly men engage that position (
Connell, 2001). The other definition of masculinity actually is a concept of various
practice by which both men and women, but the masculinity is often dominantly
by men, prescribing a particular set of behaviors and traits that are socially desirable in
men (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). According to Morretini in his book entitled
Hegemonic men: how the dominant man subjugates other men, women, and society, he
reveals that the domination in the hegemonic masculinity is not only happen between
man towards women, but also men towards men. In the other hand the society also see
the hegemonic masculinity refers to the normative ideology that to be a man is to be
dominant in society and that the subordination of women is required to maintain such
power that construct the domination of men in the patriarchy concept. Later on, there is a
new ideology called new man that established in the society nowadays. The new man
concept is back to the original masculinity concept that see the masculinity is not only
about men, but also can be related to the women. To be a man is not always masculine
and dominant, but in some way the man can be soft, nurturing and less violence. The idea
of the new man is develop becomes un-masculinity that portrayed by the Asian males
which naturally tend to be feminine rather than masculine according to the Western
concept of masculinity (Wells, 2016). Masculinity in today’s era has gone to the edge in
every purposes and intents. It is proven by the social phenomenon when the man
enjoying become house husband and being domesticated. They are taking an active role
in wife chores such as cooking, laundry, child caring, etc.
 Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: rethinking the
concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829 – 859. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27640853
Morettini, F. M. (2016). Hegemonic men: how the dominant man subjugates other men,
women, and society. Global Policy: Durham University. Retrieved from
https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/27/10/2016/hegemonic-masculinity-how-
dominant-man-subjugates-other-men-women-and-society
References
Wells, J. (2016). Millennial men have gone soft – but it’s not our fault. Telegraph.
Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/millennial-men-have-
gone-soft--but-its-not-our-fault/

References: http://www.raewynconnell.net/p/masculinities_20.html?m=1

4. Berdasarkan theori dari focault, judith butler meneumukan bahwa Judith Butler in her
conception of gender acts tries “to show some ways in which reified and naturalized
conceptions of gender must be understood as constituted and, hence, capable of nnstituted
differently. Explain your understanding to this argument.
Through act gender can be constructed and instituted differently. Base on Butler,
Gender is not born a man or a woman, it is the act as a man or a women. In the other
words, Gender is constituted through performance and gender performativity. The
performativity is determined the gender division. Gender division it self is the result of
binary which is also related with power relations. Since gender dentity is the result of
social constituted, it can trigger act as a the challange of social constituted. The social
expectation can be a boundary to do some act that we perfom, for instance boy can not
wear pink shirt, but it can be challenge in gender even it is undercutting the constituted
social norm. Furthermore, the performance of gender is not a symbol of oppresion but
also the form of resistence.

5. According to my understanding towards Kim Toffoleti that cites Gilles Deleuze’s

concept in the post-human, i found that the post human body is gathers all of the
humanity and identity aspects in the one narration and consciousness in the society that
the post-human body is the perfect body that constructed by an intersection of post
modern relation of power and pleasure, virtual reality and sex and it consequences. In the
simple word, this concept can be understood as the mixture from those elements that
blend together and construct the concept of perfect post human body. The post-human
body is must fulfil those three aspects to be recognize as the perfect post human body.
The perfect post-human body should be satisfy the human pleasure, should be satisfy the
human imagination from their virtual reality, and it should be satisfy the human sexual
desire. In the other hand, in the relation with the technology that also affect the post
human body and human desire to make their body as perfect as possible this concept
creates what we called cyborg and barbie doll. In the journey in seeking the perfect post-
human body, the human abandon their humanity and they are recognize no longer as a
human. Their post-human body is a queer and strange body that contaminated and
modified by the technology. In brief, the post-human body is no longer can be
categorized as a human body anymore, but it is often categorized as a cyborg or barbie
doll human body. For example, the human “modified” their body by plastic surgery to
reach the perfect post human body but the result of this “experiment” is their body is
going far and far from the human body and humanity.