TOW #3: "There is No Unmarked Woman"

Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and best-selling author of more than fifteen books. Her works tend to focus on how linguistics play a role in interpersonal communication, especially that between men and women.  "There Is No Unmarked Woman" is an essay that is part of a longer piece written for the New York Times, entitled "Wears Jump Suit. Sensible Shoes. Uses Husband's Last Name." In it, she analyzes the impact that clothing and appearance have on perceptions people, contrasting the ideals set for men and women.

There Is No Unmarked Woman begins by utilizing direct evidence from a recent conference Tannen attended, in which she described looking at the three other women and analyzing the unique style of each. While doing so, she realized that while each woman had her own distinct way of presenting herself, the men remain 'unmarked.' Her audience appears to be mostly female, as she uses collective pronouns to refer to them, in quotes such as "we women didn't have the freedom to be unmarked" (556).

Tannen uses her background in linguistics extremely effectively, as she begins to develop the basis of her argument by an analysis of the word 'marked' in linguistic theory. She describes, "the unmarked form of a word carries the meaning that goes without saying" (553) and continues by explaining how endings like ess and ette are diminutive and mark words as female. In addition to gendering the root word, they also "mark [it] for frivolousness...gender markers pick up extra meanings that reflect common associations with the female gender: not quite serious, often sexual" (553). She builds on this statement by asking readers, "Would you feel safe entrusting your life to a doctorette?".

In addition, Tannen uses biological explanations of gender differences as explained by Ralph Fasold in his book The Sociolinguistics of Language. Biologically, Tannen explains, it is the male that is marked, with the Y chromosome replacing one of the two X chromosomes that make a female. So why, then, does language defer to maleness as the default option? "If language reflected biology, grammar books would direct us to use 'she' to include males and females and 'he' only for specifically male referents", Tannen argues (555).

Her anecdotal evidence and reasons grounded in linguistics and biology make a convincing argument for readers, even those who do not consider themselves feminists. Through ties to concrete science, Tannen asks her audience to consider what it truly means to be 'marked' in the eyes of society, and whether or not the standards we set out for women are even attainable.

TOW #2: Petra Collins' "Selfie"

Petra Collins' "Selfie"

Petra Collins, a 23-year-old Canadian artist and photographer, is well-known by those immersed in "teen art girl" culture. Her work has been featured in online magazines like Rookie and i-D, both of which cater primarily to teenage and college-aged girls. Collins is the founder and curator of The Ardorous, an online photographic collection of work by female artists. In her collection "Selfie", she displays the ways in which social media has altered one's sense of self and ultimate perception of reality. Her description of this collection on her online portfolio states that the series is "examining selfie culture in teenage girlhood and the power for young women to create, curate, and distribute their own imagery." Her photography is a form of social commentary, and her portfolios often start powerful conversations about topics relevant to today's world.

"Selfie" is a project that started in 2013 and is ongoing. Collins updates the collection occasionally with new photos as one of her many ongoing photography portfolios. Over the years, she has amassed a gigantic following of teenage girls and female artists, many of whom follow her across several websites and media sources. Her work pervades nearly every aspect of feminist publications online. "Selfie" is a collection started at the peak of the world's most prevalent form of self-expression: the selfie.

Collins does not demonize the selfie in her work, like so many contemporary social photographers. Instead, she makes it into something saintly: an act of self-love and reflection. By making the girls' physical form the subject, rather than the selfie itself, Collins turns the focus away from the ways a selfie may manifest itself on the internet and instead focuses on its creator. The colored lighting used in the images in this collection makes the photos appear hazy and dreamlike. Collins pays reverence to the selfie in her use of lighting and form which sets up a dialogue between the viewer and the girls in the photographs. The backgrounds are often messy bedrooms, or everyday locations like a bathroom mirror or closet. She shows viewers that teenage girls are not ethereal, untouchable models - they are human.

Viewers may feel intrusive or uncomfortable looking at these images. They show a very intimate act of everyday life in the 21st century, and display the realities of what it means to put on a persona online. Collins ensures her viewers realize the importance of the selfie, and the ways in which it is very much an act of devotion and self-love, in her careful selection of images of real teenage girls in genuine environments.

TOW #1: "All Mixed Up: What Do We Call People Of Multiple Backgrounds?"

How do we describe people of multiple races? Why are some terms considered offensive and others not? Who gets to decide which words work and which don't? These are the questions that Leah Donnella attempts to uncover the answers to in her article All Mixed Up. The article was written for NPR's Code Switch, a team of NPR journalists who cover various aspects of race, ethnicity, and culture. Donnella has a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies, and works as a news assistant on the Code Switch team. All Mixed Up attempts to weed through the misconceptions of 'multiculturalism' and provide answers for a country who has found itself unprepared for the amount of diversity present today.

Donnella starts off with an anecdote that is all too familiar for people of mixed race - the dreaded "What are you?" conversation with a stranger. She describes her mother's ferocity in answering such questions, saying "You're not some chocolate-vanilla swirl cone... you're human children" (5). Donnella lives most of her life believing that calling someone 'mixed' is intrusive and dehumanizing. However, as she enters college, she realizes the prevalence of the word being used by biracial people to describe themselves. She describes the sense of confusion she felt upon the realization that the term 'mixed' is becoming more and more popular in social circles. For audiences that have dealt with this same issue of identity as Donnella has, these anecdotes are relatable. For audiences of a single race, they feel the same sense of confusion regarding the 'correct' or 'proper' terms to refer to someone of multiple races.

Donnella's search for a word to define her race begins by studying semantics, and the various connotations that words have had over the years. She describes the use of words like "amalgamation" and "miscegenation", relating their history to the present-day connotations we have associated with such words. Donnella writes, "miscegenation's' scientific connotation — and the fact that it has the same prefix as 'mistake' or 'misbegotten' — planted the notion that races represented different species that should be separated" (30). Her powerful knowledge of semantics allows readers to see how race issues in America have evolved over time, and the various factors that have gone into making present-day America.

Leah Donnella crafts a powerful essay, leaving readers with something to think about long after they have read the last word. Donnella accomplishes this purpose effectively through her use of anecdotes and her studies of semantics and linguistic connotations. In questioning her own race and the role that labels have to play in her life, she opens the door for communication and discussion about how to define ourselves and others in a changing world.

IRB Intro Post #1 - The Feminine Mystique

My passion for third-wave and intersectional feminism has led me to read a number of essays, short speeches, and books written recently by up-and-coming leaders in the subject, like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Malala Yousafzai, and Janet Mock. All of these writers share some similar qualities and beliefs in one way or another, and all have contributed significantly to the rise and growth of modern day third-wave feminism. However, I would love to look further back in history to see how feminism has grown and evolved from the 1960s and 70s all the way to the year 2016. Betty Friedan's The Feminist Mystique is regarded as one of the most influential books to spark second-wave feminism in the United States. Its views on feminism are powerful, if outdated, but ultimately they have changed the game for women in America. I'm very excited to investigate more into the history of women's rights in the United States through this book.