leftover women

Leftover women refers to the large group of women who remain unmarried beyond 25 years old in China. They are mostly beautiful, high-achiecing and dominant. I recently read an article about leftover women arguing that this phenomenon is not typical in America for the reason that Americans are more independent and individualistic. It makes sense because China is a country with emphasis on collectivism. Chinese usually receive more pressure from the peer. When a woman remains single after she reaches certain age, the pressure from her peers will cause more and more influence on herself. Also, the woman's last generation, which is the generation of her parents, will also suffered from the pressure from their peers. As a result, women tend to worry about their marriage because of others' opinion.

thought on sexing the intersexed

Sexing on the intersexed：An Analysis of sociocultural Responsese to Intersexuality is an article related to the newborn babies who are sexual ambiguous or hermaphroditic. In the middle part of the article, the author argues that when doctors perform sex surgeries for those who are born genital ambiguously, how genitals look like are the key point of determining the choice of gender. That is, the gender of a individual will be decided be his or her physical factors. However, isn't it violating the idea that gender come from the person himself instead of his biological characteristics?

Furthermore, one example author uses in the article catch my attention. It is said that one of the twins born in Canada lost his penis during a routine electrocautery circumcision. Doctors then decided to take another transgender surgery to transmute this boy into a girl. However, it is revealed that she never was satisfied with his identity and receive a male reassignment at his 14. This example sort of is contradicted to the idea of gender can be rebuilt and influenced by environment. Though the transgender girl was never told that she was once a boy, and was raised as a girl completely, it is obvious that her real gender was male. So is that an example of gender coming from birth?

Prostitution to be legalized?

From one of the past discussion sessions, there was a claim that prostitution somehow contributes to feminine rights as it is one of methods that women can freely control their gender. This sounded like a very controversial claim and the issue is controversial as well but it is very fresh so I am intrigued.

To be parallel with the claim, there are remarks from the sexually assaulted that they intentionally had sexual intercourse, being paid. Their reasoning to undergo the horrible experience of sexual relationship is emotionally resisting against the horrible memory and the criminal by controlling their sex through prostitution. To fight against the memory and freely decide whether or not to have sex through prostitution, they expect to feel relieved from the prostitution. Definitely it is from lack of emotional relief on them after the crime and society is also responsible from failing to help the victims recover from the memory, the victims' reasoning to decide for prostitution is legitimate.

However, it is not a healthy way to be relieved and there are many more desirable methods to truly help the victims. Also, from absolute majority of prostitution, women make decision not from the reason mentioned above - sexual assaults. Therefore, I believe that women choosing prostitution to be able to control their sex is a minority and prostitution should be approached from another point of view regarding social merits of legalizing prostitution (It does not mean I am pro-prostitution). To exemplify, instead of banning prostitution and pushing the business into shadow - just like the Prohibition - legalizing it and putting it under strict governmental monitoring may be more favorable in multiple aspects.

Songs of Holy Mary

The three pieces of "Songs of Holy Mary" seems somewhat unreasonable to me. The first one is about a poor lady, hated by her mother-in-law so schemed to cheat with a moor slave but saved thanks to her sincere faith in Holy Mary. The second one is about a women sleeping with her own son and demon telling this to a King so the lady is almost executed but Holy Mary saving her. The last one is about a fetus almost killed in a sword fight in which his parents are killed but saved from his mother's faith in Holy Mary.

The first and the third story seems reasonable and effective in asking people for their beliefs in Jesus and Holy Mary. The lady from the first story is saved - accordingly to justice - and although his parents are killed in the sword fight, the fetus survives as his mother's last wish. To loyally serve purpose of the stories, they are rewarded for their faith. Also from the second story, the lady who slept with her own son is saved as well, from the same reason.

However, the moor servant from the first story, the lady and son from the second story are helped by Holy Mary in "wrong" manners. The moor servant, although it is not written whether or not he tries to resist against committing adultery, is burned to death for what he did as he is ordered as a servant. Even though he did not resist the mother-in-law's order, he has no choice as a servant. Therefore, it is not righteous to save only the lady. Also, as the story implies that there is no actual adultery but the moor simply lies with the lady, it is a misconception to order execution for both the servant and the lady.

From the second story, there is a confusion, even worse than one from the first story. Unlike common notion and definition of "devil," devil tells truth of the lady sleeping with own son. Although it is explained that he does so to see a true believer killed, what the devil does should be deemed exemplary. Along with devil acting as a protagonist, the lady pardoned for the adultery complicates the story even more. Although it is understandable that sincere faith in Holy Mary will override any punishment, it does not seem to be the most effective way to embrace solid Christianity.

In reality, the third story is probably the most reasonable and understandable story considering what virtues the Christianity and the Bible embrace. Although the pregnant lady is killed, her last wish is realized thanks to her faith and the baby grows up to be a healthy man. Though the last story is morally flawless in encouraging sincere belief, I think the first and second stories would have been better with some "modifications."

Thomas Beatie's story

It is definitely a sensational story that a "man" is pregnant, although "his" biological sex during pregnancy is female (he quit testosterone to prepare for it and has female reproductive organs so it is possible). While it is also a lesbian marriage, it is paradoxically a normal marriage as well due to the particularity. I believe it is closely related to queer theory. According to the queer theory, nobody is "queer" or minority as desire is queer and everybody has desire. Considering the pivotal concept of the theory, Thomas Beatie is no different from couples I see everyday. Instead, he just went through a surgery to gain biological sex he believes to belong. The surgery enables him to be a male but measure of the surgery still leaves it possible for him to act as a female - through the most obvious way, carrying a baby.

Thinking how his story is related to the queer theory also reminds me of intersectionality. Though the case is pretty different from an example suggested from the class - African-American women in 1960s - Mr. Beatie achieves seemingly impossible mission of being man and woman at the same time. This is a significant event in LGBT's struggle for full rights as rest of the society. While Mr. Beatie is legally a man, "she" is also a woman through carrying a baby. Being forced to modify previous system of defining mother and father, the society and American government would have to find a new mechanism so that biological sex-based nomenclature of mother and father should better describe parents from gay couples, lesbian couples and potentially more "Mr. Beaties" to come in future.

Peccatum Mutum

Peccatum Mutum(The Secret Sin: Sodomy) is an article of women and sodomy. It debates several definitions towards sodomy in different ways. The article defines that sodomy is committed when two same sex people perform sex, and copulation is required. As a result, the considered as homicide because the copulation happen but there is no chance for it to grow.

However, I do not understand the way author points out that "women first spread sodomitical wickedness over the earth" and "genuine sodomy is committed bet ween women" because he is not able to explain or give examples of how sodomy can really be committed between women. Author then come up with several hypothesis including the appearing of a clitoris which can facilitate women with sodomy. It seems to me that the author is being discriminated against women because he simply blame women for something that most of them are not capable of.

Malleus Maleficarum

Malleus Maleficarum was, without a doubt, a false piece of sexist literature published under the guise of modern science. In fact, the only portion of it that is really true is the idea that women do have power over men. Instead of admitting that women can possess power, though, the authors attribute the power to supernatural causes. By doing so they take the source of the power away from the women themselves in an attempt to say that even if women have power it is not actually by their own doing. Evidence of this can be seen in the work, even through the much less strict scientific standards of the time. I feel the best example is how women are claimed to be able to remove the penises from males. However the text says that they are not actually removed but merely hidden from sight and touch. Other readings from class have taught us, though, that sight and touch are the basis for reputable science during this time. This use of a double standard is evidence that Malleus Maleficarum contained questionable science even by the standards of its time.