DOCSLIB.ORG

Discrimination Against Men Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Lauda Pasi Malmi Discrimination Against Men Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State Academic Dissertation to be publicly defended under permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lapland in the Mauri Hall on Friday 6th of February 2009 at 12 Acta Electronica Universitatis Lapponiensis 39 University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences Copyright: Pasi Malmi Distributor: Lapland University Press P.O. Box 8123 FI-96101 Rovaniemi tel. + 358 40-821 4242 , fax + 358 16 341 2933 publication@ulapland.fi www.ulapland.fi /publications Paperback ISBN 978-952-484-279-2 ISSN 0788-7604 PDF ISBN 978-952-484-309-6 ISSN 1796-6310 www.ulapland.fi /unipub/actanet 3 Abstract Malmi Pasi Discrimination against Men: Appearance and Causes in the Context of a Modern Welfare State Rovaniemi: University of Lapland, 2009, 453 pp., Acta Universitatis Lapponinsis 157 Dissertation: University of Lapland ISSN 0788-7604 ISBN 978-952-484-279-2 The purpose of the work is to examine the forms of discrimination against men in Finland in a manner that brings light also to the appearance of this phenomenon in other welfare states. The second goal of the study is to create a model of the causes of discrimination against men. According to the model, which synthesizes administrative sciences, gender studies and memetics, gender discrimination is caused by a mental diff erentiation between men and women. This diff erentiation tends to lead to the segregation of societies into masculine and feminine activities, and to organizations and net- works which are dominated by either men or by women. The organizations dominated by men will tend to develop ideologies and cultures which emphasize the superiority of men over women, whilst women’s organizations and networks tend to glorify women, and exaggerate the defi ciencies of men. This bias is likely to evolve in all religions, ideologies, sciences and professions which are dominated either by men or by women. The evolution and reproduction of the feminine and masculine biases is caused by a feedback loop, in which mental memes such as norms, role expectations, attitudes, beliefs and paradigms manifest themselves into cultural memes of masculinity and femininity, such as habits, traditions, advertisements, discourses and texts. This reproductive loop is completed by the manner in which people interpret and imitate the cultural memes that they recognize around themselves. The evolution of mental and cultural memes tends to favor simple and attractive memes. The attractiveness of memes is substantially aff ected by their coherence with popular memeplexes, dis- courses and paradigms. Those memes that are anomalous to dominant paradigms and memeplexes tend to be fi ltered out in the process of memetic reasoning, which is a chaotic combination of fuzzy logic, Chinese whispers, and an intentional twisting of memes. Another consequence of memetic reasoning is the tendency of exaggerated, simplifi ed and mutated memes to replace their original memetic “ancestors” that have been developed within rational and coherent scientifi c or political par- adigms. This tendency towards mutations makes it possible that two seemingly opposing discourses such as sexism and feminism emit memes that recombine into misandric memeplexes such as the reverse strategy which considers women better and more valuable than men. In the same fashion, some welfare state ideologies such as the general idea of favoring the disadvantaged tend to mu- tate and corrupt into misinterpretations which cause harm either to men or to women. An example of such corruption is the evolution of the memeplex of reverse discrimination, which proposes the wide and practically permanent usage of double standards in favor of women, and which diff ers from the more moderate memeplex of positive action. 4 When this is all summed up, we may predict that modern welfare states tend to be simultane- ous patriarchies and matriarchies in such a fashion that women have a high chance of being dis- criminated in male dominated organizations and fi elds of activity, while men will be discriminated by female dominated organizations and fi elds of activity. These predictions were evaluated in a study that analyzed 1149 complaints and other requests of action sent to the Finnish equality ombuds- man’s offi ce 1997–2004. In more than one third of the potential or confi rmed cases of discrimination, the discrimination appeared against men. Men seem to have a two times higher chance of being discriminated in issues concerning the treatment of customers, both by private and public organiza- tions. Women seem to have a three times higher chance of being discriminated on the labor market than men, in general. However, male employees seem to have a 3–9 times higher chance of being discriminated in those fi elds of activity, in which the majority of employees and managers are women (e.g. social services and healthcare). 5 Contents Thanks 15 1 Topic of Study and the Research Mission 17 1.1 Topic of Study and Its Relevance 17 1.2 Research Mission and the Specifi c Research Tasks 18 1.3 Positioning the Work among Existing Studies 19 1.4 Personal Standpoint 21 1.5 The Structure of the Thesis 22 1.6 Research Data and Methods of the Empirical Studies 23 2 Conceptual Analysis of Discrimination and Modern Welfare States 24 2.1 Central Concepts Relating to Gender Discrimination 24 2.1.1 Discrimination and equality in general 24 2.1.2 Structural discrimination, formal equality, and substantive equality 25 2.1.3 Positive action and reverse discrimination 25 2.1.4 Reversed burden of proof 26 2.1.5 Direct, indirect and structural gender discrimination 27 2.1.6 Misogyny and misandry 28 2.2 Modern Welfare States 30 2.2.1 Welfare states 30 2.2.2 Modernity and modern welfare states 31 2.2.3 Femocrats, gender mainstreaming, and femocracy 34 2.3 Explicating the Scope of the Thesis 35 3 Introduction to the Discrimination of Men and its Causes 36 3.1 Gender Roles and Structural Discrimination 36 3.2 Hegemonic Masculinity as the Oppressor of Men and Women 38 3.3 Industrial Capitalism as a Discriminator of Men 39 3.4 Feminism as a Potential Discriminator of Men 41 3.5 Women as Exploiters of the Chivalrous Men 43 3.6 Finnish Statistics Concerning the Impacts of Structural Discrimination on Men 45 3.6.1 Introduction 45 3.6.2 Dropping out of the society 46 3.6.2 Men’s health problems and lowered life time expectancy 47 3.7 Summary 48 4 A Synthetic Theory of Socio-Cultural Evolution 51 4.1 Introduction 51 4.2 Overview 52 4.2.1 Central concepts 52 4.2.2 The determinants of sociocultural evolution 56 4.3 Functional Pressure 57 4.3.1 Introduction 57 4.3.2 Earlier theories of functional selection 58 6 4.3.3 The combined eff ects of economic, coercive, reproductive and cognitive selection 59 4.3.4 The signifi cance of functional selection in the context of the welfare states 62 4.4 Unintentional Biases as Shapers of Memes 63 4.4.1 Introduction 63 4.4.2 Cognitive, linguistic and communicational biases 63 4.4.3 Emotional and social psychological biases 68 4.4.4 Memetic reasoning 70 4.5 Social Groups, Power and Interest Group Bias 71 4.5.1 Introduction 71 4.5.2 The elements and consequences of power 71 4.5.3 An empirically oriented typology of power resources 75 4.5.4 The connections from memes and power to discrimination 79 4.6 Metamemes and Paradigms as Shapers of Other Memes 81 4.6.1 Introduction 81 4.6.2 Paradigms and other metamemes 82 4.6.3 The evolution of theoretical paradigms 86 4.7 The Role of Organizations and Media in Sociocultural Evolution 92 4.7.1 Introduction 92 4.7.2 The vertical and horizontal aggregation of organizational memes 93 4.7.3 The change of organizational memes 96 4.7.4 Organizational clusters 98 4.8 The Success Factors of Memes and the Degeneration of Scientifi c Knowledge 99 4.8.1 Summary of the success factors of a meme 99 4.8.2 The degeneration of scientifi c knowledge in modern societies 102 4.9 Predicting the Evolution of the Welfare States 108 4.9.1 The central memeplexes of the welfare state ideology 108 4.9.2 Functional selection and the macro level trends of welfare states 108 4.9.3 Interest groups and discourses as determinants of the future of welfare states 112 4.10 Summary 115 5 Applying the Theory to Gender Discrimination 118 5.1 Introduction 118 5.2 Identifying the Memeplexes and Biases that Cause Gender Discrimination 119 5.2.1 Mental and cultural memeplexes 119 5.2.2 Sociostructural memes as causes of gender discrimination 122 5.2.3 A typology of the biases that cause gender discrimination 127 5.3 Functional Selection as a Determinant of the Gendered Memes 128 5.3.1 Functional selection in primitive and agrarian societies 128 5.3.2 Functional selection in the industrial and post industrial societies 130 5.4 The Feminine and Masculine Bias as Causes of Gender Discrimination 133 5.4.1 Introduction 133 5.4.2 The gendering of the cognitive and linguistic biases 133 7 5.4.3 The emotional and social psychological gender bias 137 5.4.4 Masculine and feminine biases as shapers of facts 140 5.4.5 Examples of the discriminative eff ects of the masculine and feminine biases 141 5.5 Feminism and Masculism as Causes of Gender Discrimination 143 5.5.1 The cooperation and competition between feminism and masculism 143 5.5.2 Sexist masculism and male chauvinism as causes of the bad status of women 144 5.5.3 Sexist branches of feminism as a cause of the bad status of
Recommended publications
  • Orphan Black"

    Orphan Black"

    CLONING THE IDEAL? UNPACKING THE CONFLICTING IDEOLOGIES AND CULTURAL ANXIETIES IN "ORPHAN BLACK" Danielle Marie Howell A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2016 Committee: Bill Albertini, Advisor Kimberly Coates © 2016 Dani Howell All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Bill Albertini, Advisor In this project, I undertake a queer Marxist reading of the television series Orphan Black. Specifically, I investigate the portrayal of women and queer characters in order to discover the conflicting dominant and oppositional ideologies circulating in the series. Doing so allows me to reveal cultural anxieties that haunt the series even as it challenges normative power relations. I argue that while Orphan Black’s narrative subverts traditional gender roles, critiques heteronormativity, and offers sexually fluid queer characters, the series still reifies the traditionally ideal Western female body—thin, attractive, legibly gendered, and fertile. I draw on Antonio Gramsci’s theory of ideology and hegemony, Heidi Hartman’s analysis of Marxism and feminism, and Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity to unpack the series’ non-normative depiction of gender and its simultaneous reliance on a stable gender binary. I frame my argument with Todd Gitlin’s understanding of hegemony’s ability to domesticate radical ideas in television. I argue that Orphan Black imagines spaces and scenarios that offer the potential to liberate women from heteronormative expectations and limit patriarchy’s harm. The series privileges a queer female collective and envisions a world where women have freedom from normative conceptions of gender and sexuality.
  • Representations of Masculinity in Selected 21 Century Children's Texts

    Representations of Masculinity in Selected 21 Century Children's Texts

    AT THE CROSSING-PLACES: REPRESENTATIONS OF MASCULINITY IN SELECTED 21st CENTURY CHILDREN’S TEXTS by Janice Robertson submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE & PHILOSOPHY in Theory of Literature PhD (Lan Lin & Lit) at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: Prof. R.A. Northover June 2019 1 For my boys Brandon, Michael and Gareth 10 years later 2 I am a growing teen who reads, I wonder about love, I hear my bones stretching, I see a young man brewing, I want to thrive in life, I am a growing teen who reads. I pretend to fly on dancing skies, I feel the love, true love that keeps me going, I want a flag, a flag of peace, I worry for all the mistakes I make, I cry for broken hearts and lives, I am a growing teen who reads I understand how loneliness can hurt, I say, “Don’t give in” I dream of happiness, not money or fame, I try to love my enemies, I hope for peace and self-respect, I am a growing teen who reads. Brandon, age 12 3 ABSTRACT AT THE CROSSING-PLACES: REPRESENTATIONS OF MASCULINITY IN SELECTED 21ST CENTURY CHILDREN’S TEXTS by Janice Robertson Supervisor : Prof. R.A. Northover Department : Theory of Literature This study explores the representations of masculinity in selected contemporary children’s adventure literature. According to John Stephens (2002:x), a problem for boys, both in narrative fictions and in the world, is that hegemonic masculinity ‘appears simultaneously to propose a schema for behaviour and to insist on their subordination as children, to conflate agency with hegemonic masculinity, and to disclose that, for them, such agency is illusory’.
  • From Men of Color: New Foundations for Developing Models for Success Edited By: Ronald A

    From Men of Color: New Foundations for Developing Models for Success Edited By: Ronald A

    From Men of Color: New Foundations for Developing Models for Success Edited by: Ronald A. Williams The following is an excerpt from the unedited manuscript. Chapter 4: Masculinity Victor Sáenz and Beth Bukoski The “male education crisis” narrative has grown louder among the mainstream media in recent years, and it has been embodied by the faces of White boys (see, for example, the January 30, 2006 Newsweek cover and the January 26, 2007 Chronicle of Higher Education cover and their accompanying articles about the boy “crisis” [Tyre, 2006; Wilson, 2007]). This recognition of the challenges young men confront as they navigate the educational pipeline is an example of how White, middle-class, heteronormative patriarchy has structured our understanding of the “problem” of boys. White boys represent the face of the crisis and have served to legitimize it within the mainstream, yet boys and men of color remain the specter in the shadows — an invisible threat silently lurking and representing the way patriarchy structures boys’ lives in detrimental ways. Within the Latino population, for example, the educational attainment gap between Latino males and their female peers has been widening since the 1970s. As of 2010, Latino males obtained 38.4 percent of all associate’s and bachelor’s degrees awarded to Latinos (U.S. © 2013 Stylus Publishing, LLC www.Stylusb.com Census Bureau, 2010), and this gap is only projected to increase (Sáenz & Ponjuan, 2011). Even as the number of Latinas/os attending college and attaining degrees has increased steadily over the last few decades, the proportional representation of Latino males continues to decline relative to their female peers (Sáenz & Ponjuan, 2009).
  • Masculinity and Gender in a Farewell to Arms A

    Masculinity and Gender in a Farewell to Arms A

    International Journal of Engineering and Techniques - Volume 5 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2019 RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS MASCULINITY AND GENDER IN A FAREWELL TO ARMS A. Ramya, Dr. R. Venkataraman 1Ph.D.Research Scholar, 2Professor and Head School of Languages VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS), Pallavaram, Chennai. India Abstract: The present paper critically analyses the gender and masculinity expression and interaction in Hemingway’s most popular novel, A Farewell to Arms. The researcher after going through many novels chosen the novel A Farewell to Arms as Hemingway wrote in detail about gender and masculinity and gender role in the novel. This is the first book of the author that made him popular in the society since it was based on the true story that replicates the World War I. This novel is otherwise termed as an antiwar novel. Considering the main aspect of the novel’s gender issues and stress of masculinity interaction induced the writing of this paper. Keywords: World War I, Love, Gender Interaction, Masculine Identity Introduction Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961)occupies an indelible place in the chronicles of American Literary history by virtue of his unique writing style and narration that presents a vivid picture of the scenarios explained in the novel by presenting a realistic depiction of the inter-war period, Hemingway has presented the quandary of the modern man in “a world which increasingly seeks to reduce him to a mechanism, a mere thing” (Brooks,Cleanth). Written in a simple but unconventional style, with the problems of war, violence and death as underlining themes, his novels present a figurative interpretation of life.
  • 7. Not So Romantic for Men

    7. Not So Romantic for Men

    DENNIS S. GOUWS 7. NOT SO ROMANTIC FOR MEN Using Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe to Explore Evolving Notions of Chivalry and Their Impact on Twenty-First-Century Manhood THE NEED FOR A NEW MALE STUDIES The New Male Studies offer an alternative to conventional gender-based scholarship on boys and men.1 Unlike Men’s-Studies research, which is fundamentally informed by gender feminism, New-Male-Studies research focusses on boys’ and men’s lived experiences and shares its concern about gender discrimination against all people with equity feminism.2 The New Male Studies are embodied and male positive (male affirming): their approach to manhood, which results when one “configure[s] biological masculinity to meet the particular demands of a specific culture and environmental setting,” not only celebrates males’ experience of different manhood cultures and subcultures, but also critiques—and suggests strategies for overcoming—systemic inhibitors of masculine affirmation (Ashfield, 2011, p. 28; Gilmore, 1990). An acute attentiveness to how manhood is inscribed in texts, textual criticism, and pedagogy is central to their methodology. In much of Western culture and literature, gynocentric (women-centered) and misandric (male-hating) value judgments have adversely influenced boys’ and men’s lives. For example, pervasive stereotypes of manhood that rely on gynocentric and misandric assumptions about males infer that it is acceptable to regard them as little more than pleasers, placaters, providers, protectors, and progenitors; such stereotypes assume the male body is primarily an instrument of service rather than the dignified embodiment of a sentient boy or a man (Nathanson & Young, 2001, 2006, 2010).
  • Civil Rights

    Civil Rights

    Civil Rights BACKGROUND social commentator at the turn of the last century opined that “the A one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.” The basic function of civil rights legislation in the United States has been to seek to protect minorities from the tyranny of discriminatory treatment by the majority. Most civil rights law initially was enacted as federal statute. In general, the federal laws set minimum standards; states are free to set higher standards of inclusion, but they may not fall below those set out in the federal law. The most publicized and politically fractious civil rights struggle of longest standing in the United States has been over the status of its black minority. The first federal civil rights law since Reconstruction was enacted in 1957 GLOSSARY and established a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. A 1964 federal stat- ute—the Civil Rights Act—specifically outlawed race-based discrimination Affirmative action A policy or program that seeks to in public accommodations and by employers, unions, and voting registrars. redress past discrimination through It also applied to gender-based discrimination against women. (Women had active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and won the right to vote in this country only 44 years earlier.) The federal employment. Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 gave Indians access to the courts for resto- Civil right ration of rights to their ancestral lands and reparation for lost land and natu- The term has no precise meaning in law but generally is understood ral resources. to be a guarantee of freedom, justice, and equality extended by a government to its citizenry.
  • Time for Women's Rights, Time for A

    Time for Women's Rights, Time for A

    TIME FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS, TIME FOR A UNITED FEMINIST EUROPE The state of women’s rights in Central Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic States: Under Attack and Under Resourced A report by the Central Eastern Europe, the Balkan and the Baltic States Taskforce of the European Women’s Lobby This publication has been funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union. The information contained in the publication does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission. TABLE OF CONTENT Introduction . 4 What is the Central Eastern Europe, the Balkan and the Baltic States (CEEBBS) Taskforce? . 5 The History of Promoting Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the CEEBBS Region . 7 Taskforce Priorities and Recommendations . 11 1. Strengthening, supporting and resourcing a strong women’s rights movement in the region . 12 2. Reclaiming feminism and equality between women and men as European values . 14 3. Ensuring women’s economic independence, reducing economic disparities between women and men and urgently tackling poverty based on gender and other intersecting forms of discrimination . 16 4. Increasing women’s participation and representation in politics and increasing the number of feminist politicians in power . 18 5. Strengthening accountable, well-resourced domestic gender equality institutions whose mandates will take into account the principle of diversity and will be responsive to the needs of all women and girls . 22 6. Ending violence against women and ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights for all . 26 7. Ending intersectional discrimination of women from minority groups, including of Roma women and migrant and refugee women .
  • Inclusive Language Terminology

    Inclusive Language Terminology

    INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGY The list below presents some terms and definitions that orient Texas Tech's approach to fostering an inclusive and affirming environment. We recognize that this is not an exhaustive list. Though this list does not encapsulate all of the factors that contribute to an understanding of campus climate, we hope that this list can begin to provide some language for articulating various experiences on campus. Ableism Systemic and cultural power awarded to able-bodied/minded people at the expense of people who identify as disabled and/or are socially defined as having a disability. Accessibility: Facilities The extent to which a building or other facility is readily approachable and does not inhibit the mobility of individuals with disabilities. Accessibility can also refer to the extent to which curriculum and programming has been designed to accommodate the needs of individuals of all abilities, including cognitive, learning, and sensory. Accessibility: General Accessibility references the ability to gain access to an environment, location, curriculum, and/or programming for individuals with varying physical, cognitive, learning, and/or sensory needs. Acculturation The cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another (generally dominant) culture. Affirmative action: Employment Proactive efforts to achieve equal employment opportunity and eliminate the effects of past and present discrimination, particularly on the basis of race and gender. The intent is to identify barriers to equal opportunity, eliminate the effects of bias (both conscious and subconscious), and achieve parity with workforce demographics among available and qualified individuals. Affirmative action is not: quota systems, lowering of job standards, selection of unqualified candidates, or reverse discrimination.
  • Exploring Masculinities in the United States and Japan Susan Sims Cochran Kennesaw State University, Sue Cochran@Att.Net

    Exploring Masculinities in the United States and Japan Susan Sims Cochran Kennesaw State University, Sue [email protected]

    Kennesaw State University DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects 12-1-2009 Exploring Masculinities in the United States and Japan Susan Sims Cochran Kennesaw State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons Recommended Citation Cochran, Susan Sims, "Exploring Masculinities in the United States and Japan" (2009). Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects. Paper 53. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. EXPLORING MASCULINITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN By Susan Sims Cochran A capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Professional Writing in the Department of English In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Georgia 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my God for giving me the strength to persevere through this topic, despite the opposition. I would like to thank my husband, who was ever encouraging despite the sleepless nights (and many, many discussions) for this paper. I would like to thank my good friend, Don Gammill, who read and re-read this paper on multiple occasions. CONTENTS Personal Narrative...........................................................................................................
  • A Critical Analysis of American Horror Story: Coven

    A Critical Analysis of American Horror Story: Coven

    Volume 5 ׀ Render: The Carleton Graduate Journal of Art and Culture Witches, Bitches, and White Feminism: A Critical Analysis of American Horror Story: Coven By Meg Lonergan, PhD Student, Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University American Horror Story: Coven (2013) is the third season an attempt to tell a better story—one that pushes us to imag- analysis thus varies from standard content analysis as it allows of the popular horror anthology on FX1. Set in post-Hurricane ine a better future. for a deeper engagement and understanding of the text, the Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana, the plot centers on Miss Ro- symbols and meaning within the text, and theoretical relation- This paper combines ethnographic content analysis bichaux’s Academy and its new class of female students— ships with other texts and socio-political realities. This method and intersectional feminist analysis to engage with the televi- witches descended from the survivors of the witch trials in Sa- is particularly useful for allowing the researcher deep involve- sion show American Horror Story: Coven (2013) to conduct a lem, Massachusetts in 16922. The all-girls school is supposed ment with the text to develop a descriptive account of the com- close textual reading of the show and unpack how the repre- to be a haven for witches to learn about their heritage and plexities of the narrative (Ferrell et al. 2008, 189). In closely sentations of a diversity of witches can be read and under- powers while fostering a community which protects them from examining the text (Coven) to explore the themes and relation- stood as representing a diversity of types of feminism.
  • Managing Backlash and Resistance

    Managing Backlash and Resistance

    Managing backlash and resistance Dr Michael Flood Queensland University of Technology [email protected] @MichaelGLFlood Acknowledgement • This talk, and the publication (En)countering resistance, are based on: • An evidence review, commissioned by VicHealth, and authored by: • Michael Flood (Queensland University of Technology) • Molly Dragiewicz (Queensland University of Technology) • Bob Pease (Deakin University) • Available from: https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and- resources/publications/13-steps-to-tackle-gender-discrimination Backlash & resistance: definitions • Backlash / resistance: any form of resistance towards progressive social change • With regard to gender, backlash / resistance maintains or reinforces gender inequalities • It is a subset of the many practices and processes which sustain gender inequality @MichaelGLFlood Characteristics of backlash • An inevitable response to progressive social change • A sign of progress? • Diverse, contextual, and historically specific • Both individual and collective • Both formal or informal • More likely to come from the people who are advantaged by the status quo • Resistance to gender equality is more common by men than women @MichaelGLFlood Forms of backlash • Denial: Denial of the problem or the legitimacy of the case for change • Disavowal: Refusal to recognise responsibility • Inaction: Refusal to implement a change initiative • Appeasement: Efforts to placate or pacify those advocating for change in order to limit its impact • Appropriation: Simulating change while covertly
  • The Divergent Archive and Androcentric Counterpublics: Public Rhetorics, Memory, and Archives

    The Divergent Archive and Androcentric Counterpublics: Public Rhetorics, Memory, and Archives

    THE DIVERGENT ARCHIVE AND ANDROCENTRIC COUNTERPUBLICS: PUBLIC RHETORICS, MEMORY, AND ARCHIVES BY EVIN SCOTT GROUNDWATER DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2020 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Kelly Ritter, Chair Associate Professor Peter Mortensen Assistant Professor John Gallagher Associate Professor Jessica Enoch, University of Maryland ii ABSTRACT As a field, Writing Studies has long been concerned with the rhetorical representation of both dominant and marginalized groups. However, rhetorical theory on publics and counterpublics tends not to articulate how groups persuade others of their status as mainstream or marginal. Scholars of public/counterpublic theory have not yet adequately examined the mechanisms through which rhetorical resources play a role in reinforcing and/or dispelling public perceptions of dominance or marginalization. My dissertation argues many counterpublics locate and convince others of their subject status through the development of rhetorical resources. I contend counterpublics create and curate a diffuse system of archives, which I refer to as “divergent archives.” These divergent archives often lack institutional backing, rigor, and may be primarily composed of ephemera. Drawing from a variety of archival materials both within and outside institutionally maintained archives, I explore how counterpublics perceiving themselves as marginalized construct archives of their own as a way to transmit collective memories reifying their nondominant status. I do so through a case study that has generally been overlooked in Writing Studies: a collection of men’s rights movements which imagine themselves to be marginalized, despite their generally hegemonic positions.