This kind of behavior is now routine as I enter into my sixteenth year of school. But I never really thought before about why it has come to be that way. What's stopping me from getting up and dancing or laying on the floor? Johnson argues it's the rules that have been laid out by society that teach us these social rights from wrongs. Individuals are what comprise the system and it is through the system that we develop our own personal identities. Then it is the system again which establishes the so-called rules which we routinely follow. But Johnson brings up a good point: "Because people make systems happen, then people can also make systems happen differently." (32)
Her suggestion for creating this change is to go against one of the rules, or norms. Changing the routine is the only way in which any significant impact is going to occur.
"When a man objects to a sexist joke, for example, it can shake other men's perception of what's socially acceptable and what's not so that the next time they're in this kind of situation, their perception of the social environment itself-not just of other people as individuals, whom they may or may not know personally-may shift in a new direction that makes old paths (such as telling sexist jokes) more difficult to choose because of the increased risk of social resistance." (33)
This is a great example of significant change.
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ReplyDeleteAmy Brown said...
ReplyDeleteA few classes ago, we were discussing assumptions that people make about sex (individuals in the professional world are men; if they are women, they are explicitly identified as female). It is interesting to me that you assumed the author of the "Patriarchy, the System: ..." chapter was a woman, especially considering our readings thus far for this course were written by women. It is actually by a man named Allan Johnson. I was curious as I read since the subject of the excerpt is males and patriarchy, so I looked up the author (I also second-guessed myself after reading your post and checked the author again). I think it's pretty cool that assumptions change within the context of this class, that we can automatically link engaging and thought-provoking writing to female authors.
I had read half of the chapter when I first commented on your post. I probably should have finished reading it first because there were a few references to the author's identity as a male in the chapter, so I don't know if your use of "she" was a misconception as you were reading or an unintentional mistake as you wrote your post.
ReplyDeleteMy misused pronoun was an unintentional mistake, but I like your thoughts about my mistake. Maybe might my assumption (if we ignore my inability to pay close attention to the details of the reading) have anything to do we myself being a female? Do I, as a white female, assume that all authors are white females as well until told otherwise? I will definitely keep this thought in the back of my mind as we do further reading in the course.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on something completely un-related to the above statements (haha)...Kendall- I thought that the focus of your post was extremely interesting. I liked how you tied in Johnson's ideas regarding the fact that as a social system, we create and go along with constructed rules. I also liked that you brought the mindset of a student into this argument. To me, it is extremely fascinating that students behave differently in classrooms throughout the world. For example, while abroad in Spain I took a Cross-Cultural Psychology course which opened my eyes to the fact that the western ideology of sitting at a desk while in class is actually unhealthy for one's body. In fact, in many cultures students DO sit or lay down on the floor when they enter a classroom. Thus, perhaps with continuous cross-cultural enlightenment surrounding female oppression, we can similarly begin to expand and change our constructed system, making it a healthier one for all that participate.
ReplyDeleteKendall- I think you also did a really good job as setting up Johnson's argument and involving his statement, "Because people make systems happen, then people can also make systems happen differently" (32). This is extremely important to the whole argument of the interaction between individuals and systems. I really liked how you did relate it to a classroom. A classroom is a system that has certain "unwritten" rules just like patriarchy. It is interesting how some systems can exist without oppressing people. Zoe commented on how the school system works in other countries she has been to. It is interesting to see how both systems were developed and thought of as "norms". Changing patriarchy is very challenging and yet necessary. Something I found very interesting is in class we all acknowledged the system of a classroom. In my opinion, I did not find any need to change the system. Yes it would be nice to lay down and have a casual setting, however it did not bother me. Is this the same with patriarchy? Do we acknowledge it yet not enough people care to change it?
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