Potty Training: Sex, Gender, and Bathroom Signs

En route to Austin, TX this weekend, I spotted these bathroom signs.

We encounter bathroom signs almost everywhere we go. To many, they may appear innocuous and devoid of meaning. But bathroom signs are actually a way of upholding the male-female gender binary. As Marissa from This is Hysteria! wrote on Sociological Images, "Washroom signs are very telling of the ways societies construct gender."

In this case, the common, gendered man in pants vs. woman in dress bathroom sign has been taken a step further. The man is not only wearing pants, but blue pants. The woman is not only wearing a dress, but a pink one. The signs conflate gender with sex and assume certain types of gender performance (i.e. wearing a pink dress). They essentialize the idea of who a woman and/or man is.

Signs can designate bathrooms by depicting gender, even though bathrooms are segregated by sex, because most people assume gender and sex are synonymous. But, of course, they're not! This makes bathrooms a space where sex, gender, and sexuality are carefully policed and traditional binaries are reinforced. Trans people know this, as huge battles have been waged over who is allowed to use which bathroom. Fathers also know this, as they frequently struggle to find changing tables in men's rooms (a staple in women's restrooms).

I joked to myself as I entered the women's restroom that I should be using the other one, because I was wearing pants and the color blue. For others, however, the incongruity between their genitalia and their gender performance - and the difficult choice they have to make every time they enter a sex segregated bathroom marked with such gendered signs - is no laughing matter.

Monday Motivation

 

Source: gemgoode.deviantart.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Shit Wendys Say - Part II

Just as funny as the first one! Shit Wellesley Women Say, part deux.

Guest Post: Good Will Hunting

By: Danielle Vermeer

Danielle writes at from two to one about the intersection of marriage, faith, and feminism.  She also has a healthy obsession with vintage dresses, thrift store shopping, and extreme couponing. 

How thrift stores can save you money and save others’ dignity

The average American woman spends between $1,000 and $2,000 every year on clothing, but wears just 20% to 30% of what’s in her closet.  That means that every item in a crowded closet has less than a one in three chance of actually being worn, thereby becoming a waste of space and money.  But the real amount spent on clothing is actually much higher than a couple thousand dollars.  It ignores the price of the stolen childhood of the underage laborer in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan, the pain of the sexual assault survivor in the clothing sweatshop, and the deprivation of liberty of far too many factory workers making our beloved smart phones and e-readers.

In these tough economic times, I propose a solution I’ve abided by for over ten years: thrift store shopping.  Local thrift stores such as Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Village Discount not only offer new and even designer labels for rock-bottom prices, but your money often goes to a great cause in the community.  Buying second-hand clothing at thrift, consignment, and resale stores is also environmentally conscious and does not contribute to the steady supply of clothing made under slave or slave-like conditions.  If that isn’t enough to convince you, then maybe my and Yuka Yoneda’s stories will.

Buying Nothing New

At almost two months into 2012, I can proudly say that I have not bought anything new and that my modest expenses at thrift stores have been long-term investments: a wrap dress for work, a designer dress shirt for the hubby, and an organic cotton onesie for the little one sometime in the future.  Total spent: $5.00.  Compared to regular prices even at discount retailers like Target, I’m still saving 75-90%.  I am actually attempting to buy nothing new this entire year.

But it’s more than just saving big bucks.  It’s about understanding our consequences of our choices, however informed or ignorant those choices may be.  For those who identify and sympathize with a feminist outlook on life, buying secondhand clothes is a no-brainer.  But sometimes, that’s the problem: we don’t think about it, even if we know intuitively that it’s better for us and for our little world. 

Take Yuka Yoneda, for example.  While she is now known for Clossette, a DIY and personal style blog of solely repurposed and “re-loved” clothing, Yuka was not always so keen on wearing pre-owned clothing:

“I was a shopaholic.  Then I learned about where theclothes I was buying came from and how they were affecting and hurting other people, particularly women and children, around the globe.  The idea that these crimes against women, pollution and chemicals going into our water and bodies, and just shear waste were all happening because I wanted a new top or jeans really made me feel ashamed.

I know that for some people, buying clothes that someone else has already worn may sound gross or weird.  But did you know that the shirts, sweaters, skirts, and shoes you’ve been buying at major retailers might be made at factories where sexual assaults are normal occurrences?  I don’t know about you, but that disgusts me way more than the thought of another girl having owned the pair of jeans I’m wearing now.  And I sure as heck am not going to support it.”

Now she is spreading the message one closet at a time until we reach a “thought revolution” full of compassion, dignity, and ethical style.  My vintage dresses and I are all for it.

Catholic Nuns File Brief Supporting Affordable Care Act

Photo by Dev Carr

Madeleine Albright once said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." And Catholic nuns must believe it, because they recently filed a brief with the Supreme Court declaring their support for the Affordable Care Act.

In their brief, which conflicts with the opposition from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the sisters cite their extensive work with the poor. They write:

The work by Amici [the group that represents women's religious orders in the U.S.] gives them a unique perspective on the unmet healthcare needs of the poor, as well as on the positive impact that will result from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. . . .

Amici have witnessed firsthand the national crisis that prompted Congress to pass the ACA. In particular, Amici have seen the devastating impact of the lack of affordable health insurance and healthcare on women, children, and other vulnerable members of society.

I can't find any explicit mention of birth control in their brief, which deals mostly with issues of Medicaid. But the message behind the brief seems clear: The Affordable Care Act helps the poor, and they're not going to let politics derail it. They also hint at the fact that they're the ones actually working with the poor, not the bishops.

Amici have filed briefs with the Supreme Court in support of the Affordable Care Act before, so this isn't really anything new. But it seems that, in light of the USCCB's recent outrage, their newest brief says, "The USCCB doesn't speak for us."