Intersectionality In Regards To Social Science

“Every time a man yells you are seven years old again and he is packing that suitcase once more. Picking you up by the neck, teaching you obedience. To be soft, like the belly of a fish exposed to a knife.”

— Clementine von Radics 

Eugenics, and how it leads to gender

NO.1

What is eugenics? Better yet, what was the eugenics movement about? Wikipedia states that ‘'it’s a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population, historically by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or promoting those judged to be superior. In recent years, the term has seen a revival in bioethical discussions on the usage of new technologies such as CRISPR and genetic screening, with a heated debate on whether these technologies should be called eugenics or not.’’

NO.2

The concept was created by Plato, where he suggested the concept of selective breeding; but the term was invented by a cousin of Darwin, Francis Galton, who launched the movement to ‘improve the human race, or at least, to halt its perceived decline. His ideas spread quickly, and by the 1920s eugenics movements existed all over the world. Eugenics, a movement for social betterment clothed in the mantle of modern science, claimed the allegiance of most genetic scientists and drew supporters from the political right, left, and center. The movement was embraced by Hitler and the rise of Nazism, which thankfully lost most of its power at the fall of the Third Reich in Europe and America, but some of its ideas still linger in the States. Like the notion of gender and marriage; strictly speaking, of white heterosexual couples.

NO.3

In the 1920’s eugenicist, Paul Popenoe brought marriage counseling to the U.S, where he sought to protect ‘family values’ since there was widespread concern over the declining white birth rates and created the American Institute of Family Relations (AIFR) where they popularized pseudoscientific sexual differences to the masses. Back then, everything in pop culture had little trails leading back to eugenics, including in schools, taught to their children, plastered as ads to their buildings, like pamphlets and books, all on advocating for the white female students to produce more children. Popenoe argued that the ‘male-female difference transcended all other human differences and was the ‘greatest that can exist between the two normal human beings.’ He felt that was this sex binary was essential to the survival of the family, nation, and western civilization, and therefore must be protected from the decadence of modern society.

NO.4

Post-war eugenicists were threatened by the higher education women which they felt decreased ‘natural birthrates and called for traditional marriage with defined sex-gender roles arguing that ‘men and women were made for marriage, biologically and psychologically.’ Patricia Hill Collins explains in her book, “It’s All in the Family: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Nation that ‘‘stationed in the center of ‘family values’ debates is an imagined traditional family ideal. Formed through a combination of marital and bloody ties, ideal families consist of heterosexual couples that produce their own biological family. Defined as a natural or biological arrangement based on heterosexual attraction, this monolithic family type articulates with governmental structures. Because family constitutes a fundamental principle of social organization, the significance of the traditional family ideal transcends ideology. In the United States, understandings of social institutions and social policies are often constructed through family rhetoric. Families constitute primary sites of belonging to various groups: to the family as an assumed biological entity; to geographically identifiable, racially segregated neighborhoods conceptualized as imagined families; to so-called racial families codified in science and law, and to the U.S nation-state conceptualized as a national family.’’

The racial aspects of Sci Fi, Fantasy and other forms media

NO. 1

One of the blog posts I have written before was titled ‘Mean World Syndrome’, which talked about how race and media affects everyone on a global scale. Racial aspects of sci-fi, fantasy, and other forms of media have long been a source of controversy. From the stereotypes of aliens in Star Trek to the whitewashing of characters in movies like Avatar, Prince of Persia, etc. these issues have been a major source of discussion in the media landscape. In many cases, racial stereotypes have been used to create a sense of ‘otherness’ for the characters of color in order to reinforce a sense of white superiority. This has led to criticism from fans, activists, and academics who have called for more representation of people of color in sci-fi, fantasy, and other forms of media.

NO. 2

In the entertainment business, inclusivity is hard to come by, and in some cases, the representation of characters of color in these genres is inadequate and often offensive. Characters of color are often relegated to the sidelines and made to serve as the backdrop to white characters’ stories, or they are depicted as tokens and stereotypes. This lack of meaningful representation has led to a push for more diverse casts in sci-fi, fantasy, and other forms of media. ‘‘Like many social sciences, international/intercultural/interethnic communication and media studies are primarily an Anglo-American media images have always been critically dissected, often by scholars with some kind of privileged tie to other cultures—Most makers of these blockbusters are mostly white males with English as their mother tongue, mutli-millionaires or aspiring to become one as soon as possible. They usually internalize a mid-Atlantic view of global history and geography, its central myths and legends. So many blockbusters remain ethnocentric, even today—they tend to make non-Westerners look at the world through Western eyes.’’

NO.3

In addition to representation in the stories themselves, the casting of actors to bring these characters to life has been another source of debate. Many actors of color have argued that they are often typecast into roles that are stereotypical or that do not reflect the true diversity of the world. Films or TV shows with fantasy/sci-fi themes on Netflix, like Chambers or Raising Dion are not being properly advertised because, like Inclusive Advertising: What’s Holding the Industry Back? claims, ‘‘The industry itself is not diverse: The advertising industry — across the ecosystem and at all levels — is not representative, which is itself a barrier to creating representative and inclusive content. Only 19% of in-house and 23% of agency survey respondents reported that their leader almost always considers the demographic diversity of their team when developing content. That, and individuals (in these marketing companies) lack awareness of and access to the knowledge, skills, resources, and tools to create representative and inclusive content. Individuals are confident in their ability to create representative and inclusive content, but only if provided with adequate tools and resources.’’

NO. 4

Of course, there will always be people who dislike seeing a more diverse setting, especially against the established order of Western ‘‘whiteness’’ ideologies. Ultimately, the best way to ensure diversity in these genres is to continue to create stories that feature diverse characters and cultures. If authors, producers, and casting directors make a conscious effort to create more imaginative stories that are inclusive and reflective of the real world, then audiences will be able to experience a more authentic and meaningful experience.

The Labyrinth

Labyrinths from mythology are described more as mental quests, a challenge of the mind for the hero to overcome. Labyrinths are a deadly loss of misdirection, physically and mentally. The most famous story is the creation of the labyrinth, created by Daedalus, the greatest inventor and master craftsmen in all of Athens, Greece, for King Minos of Crete to conceal his monstrous son, the Minotaur, a creature half-man, and half bull. Theseus, the son of Zeus, was sentenced as a sacrifice for the Minotaur but was helped by King Minos’ daughter Ariadne, who gave him a pure thread to retrace his steps and slay the monster.

Several films, poems, and books talk about labyrinths and then some. Labyrinths are seen as grand symbols, as human beings have been fascinated with them since the beginning of time. The journey of the maze is the main character having to dive into a physical as well as mental underworld of sorts. ‘‘ ‘Labis’ is the Greek term for the double-headed ax. The earliest images of labyrinths. Their passageways like ripples or echoes radiating from the form of a double-headed ax; The acquisition of language, the mind-body problem, the question of meaning, of free will, consciousness. And the nature of that innate faculty of the ethical. Robert Morris says, ‘‘ideals, the admirable, right and wrong, the good, logic, principles. All connected in any given form of life. But maybe down deeper things are simpler.’’

Every corner of the world covers the symbolism of the linear one-way labyrinth as a pathway towards the center, towards salvation, God, and the tree of life. Trees play an important role, as they are connected to the labyrinth, they too are connected to the symbols of life, in Christianity and paganism. It is the archetype of the human experience and self idealization and leads us down a quest where the only way is through, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. The labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness, combining the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. It represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. ‘‘They [Labyrinths] have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. They have been found in ancient Crete, Egypt, and Etruscan; they have been inscribed on Neolithic tombs. They are a call to the center, a worship structure where the eternal beloved waits to be encountered. The labyrinth has always been associated with unity with God and conversation with the divine, with spirituality, worship, and the sacred mystery. Long ago, Christians were expected to travel to the holy land at least once during their lives. But as travel was often both difficult and dangerous, labyrinths were designed as alternative pilgrimages. If travel was out of the question, spiritual merit could be gained by walking a labyrinth.’’

Belly Dancing

NO. 1

The art of belly dancing is a Middle Eastern practice that has, over time, gravitated towards Western white American women. The way American women dance is this is a ‘glamorization’, and more focused on the power of reception, rather than cultivating it and respecting the practice. Originally, belly dancing is based on ancient folk and social dances in North African and Middle Eastern countries, particularly Egypt and Turkey. The dance is characterized by various hip, torso, shoulder, and chest movements. ‘‘The images projected by Westerners in the performance of belly dance and other forms of oriental dance raise the thorny issue of orientalism. The vocabulary of the dance and its position within the framework of the West, especially the United States, as ‘other’ provides an ‘empty’ location, as in ‘not part of my culture’, for the construction of exotic new fantasy identities. At the same time, as a repository of media stereotypes and thus Western fantasies of women, it also provides physical images via the femme fatale which the (generally female) dance emulates in order to play an assertive sexual role in a male-dominated Western society.’’

NO. 2

Of course, here in the West, its meaning has changed, especially in America when gained popularity over 100 years ago when ‘dancing girls’ from different countries showcased in Chicago’s World Fair. ‘‘Because of the movements of body parts, such as the stomach, that were expected to be tightly constrained during the Victorian era, controversy surrounded these performers, and belly dance became associated with burlesque, stripping and prostitution. Despite perceptions of belly dancing being associated with sex work, the dance has a variety of meanings for participants, like spiritual, communal, and feminine qualities. For most dancers in the United States, the dance is a form of leisure. Leisure is a voluntary activity that people pursue with a positive state of mind during their free time. For many dancers, belly dance is an enjoyable form of recreation, rather than a primary source of income. Women in most large and mid-size cities around the country take belly dance classes at studios, gyms, and recreation centers.’’

NO. 3

Belly dancing is a key icon of the Middle East and is a site for performing and interpreting. It is appealing because it expresses ‘imperial feelings’, or the complexity of psychological and political belonging to an empire that is often unspoken, sometimes subconscious, but always present, the ‘habits of heart and mind’ that infuse and accompany structures of difference and domination. We can call on U.S imperialism as an example, as it rests as a multicultural nationalism. Belly dancing has become a ‘‘site for staging a New Age feminism and liberal Orientalist perspective on Arab and Muslim women, illustrating what Edward Said called, ‘new-Orientalism’ of the present moment. Orientalism continues to be a deeply appealing, binary frame for imagining the ‘West’ in opposition to the ‘Orient’, or to the East—a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient’, through the production of an 'idea that has a history and tradition of thought, imagery, and vocabulary that has given it a reality and presence in and for the West.’’

OH GOD PLEASE!!! I HOPE SO, I CANT BEAR TO WATCH ANOTHER COMMERCIAL ABOUT HOW THEY LOVE THE ANIMALS. WHAT A BUNCH OF BULL

‘A Californian congressmen has just introduced a law to make it illegal to keep orcas in captivity. This could change everything — but SeaWorld is already mounting a vicious campaign to defeat this congressman’s brave move. We need to tell the State of California that the public won’t accept SeaWorld’s imprisonment of orcas any longer.’

Enact the Orca Welfare and Safety Act to make it illegal to hold orcas in captivity for performance or entertainment purposes

sign this petition

What to do if you are facing eviction

Eviction protections are expiring across the United States and Canada right now, and millions of people are suddenly finding themselves facing eviction with a pandemic still raging and the start of winter just around the corner. 

Not knowing where you’re going to live next month is an unbelievably scary position to be in, and there are a lot of people out there who are facing this for the first time in their lives. It’s okay to be scared. But it’s also important to start taking steps to deal with this as soon as you realize that might be at risk of eviction. 

As someone who has worked in homelessness and housing advocacy my whole career, here’s what I recommend you do:

Do not leave your home. Many landlords count on their tenants not knowing or understanding their rights, and take advantage of that to try to illegally evict them without following proper procedure. I have seen landlords attempt some flagrantly illegal things during my time working with vulnerable people. Many landlords have been ignoring and violating eviction moratoriums during this pandemic. Don’t fall for it. There is a legal process that has to be followed to evict you, even if your name isn’t on the lease - your landlord cannot simply slip a note under your door ordering you out by the end of the week, no matter what they tell you. Do not leave your home until a judge orders you to do so. You may have a better shot in court than you think you do, and seeing the court process to the very end buys you valuable time to figure out your next move. 

Get a lawyer. Many legal aid societies and law school legal clinics offer free legal assistance for people facing eviction. Having a lawyer can make an enormous difference - one study found that people without lawyers were evicted 65% of the time, compared to just 15% of people who had legal representation. Start calling and contacting legal aid services as soon as your landlord threatens or files eviction - these services often only do intake for new clients on certain days, so it’s a good idea to research these services ahead of time. 

Understand your rights. The protections you have under the law depend on where you live - it’s critical that you take the time to educate yourself about what those protections are. Your area will likely have a Residential Tenancies Act, a Tenant Act, or something along those lines. Look online for information specific to your area. There may also be special protections and procedures in place because of the pandemic. If you live in NYC, for instance, you have a right to free legal counsel if you are facing eviction. Find out what protections you have in your area.

Contact resources in your area. Again, depending on where you live, there are different resources available. There may be a tenant support agency that can connect you to free legal resources directly. You might be eligible for unemployment benefits or emergency income. Your state or city might also have emergency funding or eviction prevention programs in place. NYC, for instance, offers “one shot deal” emergency grants that cover rental arrears for people who are facing eviction due to unexpected crises. You should also look at emergency housing options, community food banks, or other resources that can help you survive this situation. In many cities you can call 211 or 311 to learn more or about resources, or you can go online. 

Attend your eviction hearing. Once you are given a date and time for your eviction hearing, it is critical that you attend. Even if you have not paid rent in several months and you think your case is hopeless, you absolutely must show up for this hearing. If you don’t attend, you will lose by default - if you attend, you may be successful in winning leniency, the opportunity to pay back rent with a payment plan and avoid eviction, or even just a few weeks’ extension on the eviction date so you have more time to come up with a plan. Attend your hearing. 

Have a back-up plan. Even with legal aid resources on your side, you have to prepare for the possibility that you might not be able to fight your eviction. Buy yourself as much time as you can, and use that time to start researching possible options. Is there a cheaper room for rent that you can afford with your unemployment benefits? Do you know anyone you can stay with? Are there any housing non-profits in your area that can help? Do you have any leads on employment in the future? Explore your options, and remember that it’s okay to ask for help right now - people in your life can’t help you unless you tell them that you’re struggling. 

Call your representatives. You are not the only person suffering as a result of expiring COVID protections - your elected officials need to know that letting these programs expire is having serious, dire consequences for real people that they represent. Call everyone. Call the office of your congressman, call your MP, call your state senator, your MLA, your local city counsellors. Tell your story, and make as much noise as you can. It doesn’t guarantee that anything will be done, of course, but it makes the problem harder for your elected officials to ignore.

Important Resources for Americans: LawHelp.org - website for learning more about local laws and finding free legal aid in your area  JustShelter - a database of community resources available to people facing eviction (might not include all emergency pandemic programs) Eviction Moratorium Database - a database showing where evictions have been legally paused or restricted because of the pandemic National Evictions Database - a database where you can look up what the legal eviction process is supposed to look like in your state  Tenant’s Union Resources - a website where you can find information for the tenant’s union or pro-tenant organizations in your area  Legal Services - a federal non-profit that helps connect low-income households to legal resources for fighting eviction 

Fannie Mae Renters Resource Finder - a database that will tell you if your rental unit is federally financed, and show you resources to fight eviction accordingly  Freddie Mac Renters Resource Finder - another website to show you if your rental property is federally backed and connect you to resources

Eviction Lab - a website that outlines information about pandemic eviction moratoriums and restrictions currently in place in your state The National Housing Law Project - a comprehensive database of resources for people facing eviction or foreclosure  Important Resources for Canadians: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - up-to-date information about eviction moratoriums in each province and territory  Affordable Housing Programs Across Canada - information on affordable housing programs in each province and territory Western Law Eviction Information - a website outlining the eviction process in Ontario and what you need to do to fight it Community Legal Education Ontario - a website that shows the proper procedure for eviction in detail and outlines steps that can be taken to fight it  Nova Scotia Legal Residential Tenancy Law Resources - detailed information about the eviction process in Nova Scotia and how to fight it Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta - resources and information for renters facing eviction in Alberta  BC Housing - information and resources for tenants facing difficulties in British Columbia  Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies - information for tenants facing difficulties in Saskatchewan  Tribunal Administratif du Logement - resources and information for tenants living in Quebec. Available in both English and French. 

Midsommar: Horror redefined

NO. 1

So, technically Midsommar is a horror movie, written and directed by the great Ari Aster, debuted in 2019 and got raving reviews, and the film centers around Dani, played by Florence Pugh, who goes through an incredible, traumatic journey that ends in an equally incredible and yet extremely disturbing note. So, why are we talking about this film instead of the ‘myths’ or folklore stories? Well, because this is a film that isn’t like generic horror; it doesn’t include supernatural, it doesn’t have goblins, demons, fairies, but humans. Humans, in this film, is the scariest monster. In this instance, the Harga cult, who shows Dani love and acceptance she was denied the whole movie.

NO.2

Spoilers, for anyone who hasn’t seen Midsommar: So, what makes this movie horrifying? By how bright everything is. In the beginning, of course, it’s dark. Dani has lost her whole family, unfortunately, to a murder-suicide. She is stuck in a toxic relationship with her boyfriend, Christian, who longs to break up with her but is too cowardly to do so. The horror aspects happen when they and their friends go on a, funnily enough, anthropological research trip to Sweden, at the height of the Midsommar festival where they meet the Harga community, (cult). Many of what the Harga community does, like watching the elder’s die by suicide over a mountain, a tactic of eugenics, the disappearances of Christian’s friends, which he later finds out were gruesomely murdered, and then was tricked, and subsequently, raped, while Dany is having panic attack after panic attack was all planned. The use of light, for instance, is used oppressively for all of the visitors, and the isolation of language and traditions is used to ‘differ’ everyone. The cult is mostly open to Dani, for they chose her to join. A cult seeks to have more members, to grow within their own traditions, and not to question anything that occurs, no matter how horrific.

NO. 3

Now, Midsommar is a horror movie, and quite different from the actual Midsommar festival! So, what is the Midsommar festival? It is a holiday to celebrate the arrival of summer because Sweden, where the holiday is commensurate, is known for its long winters. It predates Christianity and is primarily held close to the summer festival. ‘‘The maypole or Midsummer pole is decorated with greenery and flowers. As it turns out, the maypole is a comparatively new part of Swedish Midsummer tradition. It came to Sweden in the late Middle Ages from Germany, where the pole was decorated with leaves and raised on May 1 (hence the name). Since spring comes later to Sweden it was hard to find the greenery to decorate the pole on May 1, so the tradition was moved to Midsummer. Some sources also attribute the perpetuation of the term majstång, or maypole, to the archaic Swedish word Maja, meaning ‘to decorate with green leaves.’ The traditional dance around the pole has changed around the centuries though, and it involves all sorts of folk dancing in traditional costumes, as well as all games for all ages to join in.’’

In conclusion, Midsommar is a movie that explains that not all bad things can be done in the dark. In fact, most evil and horrific acts are especially done in the light. One of the main themes of this movie is loss, and how grief affects people. Unfortunately for Dani, she is driven insane by the cult’s doings and has been accepted into the Harga cult unknowingly.

Secrecy in anthropology

  NO. 1

 Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings, and social anthropology is the study of behavior in certain societies. Studying patterns of behavior means studying how humans think, react, and evolve in society, but that also means understanding human secrecy through ethnographic research. But what is secrecy? In the ethnographic record, initiatory secrets often stand for the quiddity of culture, and the revelation of concealed realities is an organizing trope in much ethnographic writing.

NO. 2

   ‘’Intellectual historiography shows that the concept of secrecy has carried overwhelmingly negative, antisocial, and primitive connotations in learned Western discourses since the Enlightenment and that early anthropological research often supported such an implicitly social evolutionist stance. Secrecy and risk are closely connected. Secrecy engenders risk insofar as concealment entails the possibility of unwelcome revelation; non-circulation also creates a risk of its own, such as the breakdown of social relations or cultural reproduction. However, risk can also, gender secrecy as a strategy to manage perilous social relations. In practice, the casual relationship between secrecy and risk can be difficult to disentangle because the subjective experience of risk and the urgency of secrecy are constitutive--in both ritual secrecy and strategic secrets of state.’’

NO. 3

Secrecy excludes outsiders, but the power it attracts lies in the possibility it may be disclosed and revealed to those same outsiders. ‘’This contradictory centrifugal and centripetal forces push and pull on secrets. Possessing secrets can make people intensely aware of the fragility of knowledge and the precariousness of their custodial position. Revelatory and initiatory practices within secretive practice activities are often carefully calibrated to induce a sense of risk. It is paradoxical also because it ‘must be performed in a public fashion in order to be understood to exist.’ The revelation of concealment is a way of socially mobilizing the secret as a form of sociocultural capital without dispersing restricted knowledge.’’ Basically, secrecy is a personal form of belonging, of being included in the intimate affairs of family, friends, or just knowing about something that you didn’t previously. 

Gender and Religion

         NO.1

In order to understand the system of race, class and gender in America, we have to look at England’s role in their systems of class. ‘During this time period, the emergence of a consumer-oriented corporate order undermined the coherence of the Victorian gender system; rising gender consciousness among black women turned the ideology of ‘women’s sphere’ into a disrupted terrain of racial and struggle class; while women’s devotional practices became a site of gender contestation within American Catholic culture. Each of these developments has given impetus to new studies. Historians of conservative evangelicalism have complicated the heretofore easy equation of ‘Protestantism’ with ‘women’s sphere’ by delineating the different understandings of women’s role within early twentieth-century Protestantism; Progress across racial lines has been initiated by several important literary and historical studies that reveal how the separate spheres ideology served the interests of the white middle class by camouflaging racial and economic differences.’’

 NO. 2

Since the early 1980’s, advances in the study of gender in American history have come primarily through an unmasking of the assumptions of earlier studies; Others have laid bare the earlier scholarship’s assumption’s to universal gender definitions that do not take into account differences in women’s roles based on race, class, or region. Additionally, several historians have begun to explore the influence of gender relations on the lives of men. As a result, we are beginning to get a picture of gender in the American history that goes beyond the ‘women’s sphere’ experience of white, middle-class, northeastern women.

  For the past twenty years of this apparent lifetime, Protestant mainline has given way to a religious studies interest in the social and cultural history of outsiders. Concurrently, an older Protestant consensus narrative has come to be seen as one of several stories that, together seek to account for the American religious past. Further inquiries have questioned the usefulness of both liberal and evangelical labels in accounting for the deep racial, economic and theological divisions of late nineteenth century among the more than 150 Protestant denominations, not to speak of the rapidly growing population of Catholics with their own substantial differences of nationality, theology and social class. As historians have started to study seriously the deep diversities in American culture, gender has emerged as an important analytic category for re-imagining America’s religious past.

NO. 3

    As recently as 1985, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese complained that historians of religion and gender have too often simply added ‘religion to an almost finished picture rather than exploring ways in which religion might refine and even radically revise the picture.’ Within the past decade, however recent developments both within and without the field of American religious history have begun to coalesce and suggest the contours of promising new departures, and most of this new work focuses on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.