So today I finished Eve Shapiro's book Gender Circuits: Bodies and Identities in a Technological Age.  Shapiro states repeatedly that by looking at the effects of technology on gender using a sociological analysis the evidence shows that new technologies have multiple effects on gender, both positive and negative.

Looking back on the case studies throughout the text, I can see how Shapiro comes to this conclusion.  Some technologies, such as the internet, push the boundaries of societal norms and give people, at least those privileged enough to have computers and internet, the opportunity to find information and to find others who have the same concerns.  On the other hand, there are times when technology helps to re-entrench us in the gender scripts and the hegemonic society we have all come to know and expect.  Case in point are all the ways people use technologies such as plastic surgeries and drugs to uphold the binaries we are most use too.

As Shapiro states, "the conclusions [she] can draw open as many new doors of inquiry as they close" (189), and in reality, I question whether or not any doors have been closed.  I've no doubt that others, more well versed in this area of scholarship, would be more prone to argue with Shapiro than myself, but I enjoyed her text and, as anyone who has read this blog can tell, she opened my eyes to quite a few things about myself.

I think it is interesting that Shapiro ends with a case study that looks at the pregnancy of Thomas Beatie.  Shapiro notes that this case pushes the boundaries of what we believe about gender scripts, gender norms, identity, and the binary of men and women.  I couldn't agree more.

Well, in this first half of chapter 3 of Eve Shapiro's Gender Circuits entitled "New Biomedical Technologies, New Scripts, New Genders," it sounds as if the biotechno stuff goes a long way in keeping everything status quo as far as gender norms and scripting.  It's true, however, that there has been no mention yet of gender reassignment surgeries or the hormone therapies that go along with that.  But at this point, I question whether or not those will even constitute straying from normal gender practices.

Looking at what Shapiro did discuss in the first half of this chapter, it is apparent that much of the hassles people put themselves through biologically (everything from bariatric surgery to spa treatments) are in direct alignment with keeping the scripts already established by society.  As Shapiro points out, if only 59 percent of the population of the U.S.  are obese women, why is it that 85 percent of the bariatric surgeries are performed on women? (147)  Well, even a 5th grader, to borrow from Jeff Foxworthy, could answer that question; it's because women are suppose to be thin!!!  Another disturbing fact that Shapiro points out is that "the most common cosmetic surgery procedures for people of color are nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, and breast agumentation, which are all procedures that alter racialized facial and body features to better match White norms" (152).  So not only are we attempting to meet correct gender scripts, but we are also trying to reproduce the hegemonic power structures.

At this point in time, this book is simply depressing me.  I've always known that this society does everything possible to maintain gender norms and power structures, but this text points this out with statistics and facts that can't be ignored.  I just keep telling myself that even with the proof being presented, things have gotten better.  For some, the internet has opened up a wealth of information and things like transgender are no longer taboo subjects to discuss in the open.  And even though I haven't read it yet, I'm sure that Shapiro will discuss the fact that it is easier for people trapped in the wrong body to get help, something that just a few years ago was still extremely difficult.

So tune in tomorrow night to see if Shapiro does indeed find the positive in the biotechno aspects of gender.  Hopefully, I'll get to finish the chapter.

Tonight I began the first chapter, the one after the "Preview", of Eve Shapiro's book (Gender Circuits) entitled "A Social History of Technology and Gender."  Before I go there though and to be fair to anyone who might pick this book up to read it based on something said in these blogs, I just want to mention that the organization, for me at least, is a bit haphazard, jumping from one place to another and then back again.  However, I think this might simply be the nature of the topic, and I only notice it from time to time.

Ok, that being said, this chapter continued to discuss how society and technology have affected gender throughout history.  I think I have always, to a degree, understood that societal norms change--sometimes slowly, sometimes more quickly--with the passage of time.  I guess I never really considered, though, technologies influences on these changes.  I think it is important to understand what Shapiro means by technology.  As Shapiro points out, "technology is often defined in terms of machines, its linguistic origins, meaning 'the expression of a craft,' suggest its scholarly use to refer to anything people develop to manipulate the natural environment" (46).  I had never thought about technology like that.  So one example Shapiro uses is the vitamin supplements men use to enhance their masculine appearance (54).  The supplements are a technology used to change a persons natural appearance.

Which leads us to the corsets, which are also a technology used to change a woman's natural figure.  Corsets were advertised as helping women maintain a healthy existence, and an ad for a girl's corset implies that "girl's and women's bodies need corseting to develop both physically and morally" (64)  Apparently, had I been corseted as a young girl, my life would be sooooo much healthier both physically and morally.  I'm simply relieved to finally know where I went wrong!! 

At any rate, Shapiro's text has been an eye opener thus far.  She discusses how technologies have been used, as above with the corset, to control gender and set the norms that society holds for those genders.  While some see technology as always progressive and innovative, the fact of the matter is that it is often used to keep the status quo and control social norms and gender scripts.  As Shapiro states, "there has not been a single new contraceptive developed for men in the last 100 years" (51).  Uh-huh!!

Ok, so tonight I decided to start a book I have been looking forward to for quite some time.  The book is Eve Shapiro's Gender Circuits: Bodies and Identities in a Technological Age.  There are basically five chapters, and each one approximately 40+ pages.  So I have decided to break each chapter up into two sections to make this a little easier to absorb.  I'm a one of those people who reads slowly and needs time to digest what I read.  So tonight, I started with the "Series Foreword," "Preface," and the first 20 or so pages of "Preview: Gendered Bodies and Identities in a Technological Age." 

Blogging becomes difficult for me tonight.  I could just chat away about how well Shapiro presents the basics of gender, describing how we now know it is socially constructed and giving detailed explanations of terms in boxes that are set off in gray, allowing you to skip these if you already know the meanings.  I could also discuss my excitement when Shapiro writes "I have endeavored to write in a jargon free manner" (xv).

But what I wouldn't be blogging about is what I learned about myself, both past and present, as I read Shapiro's text.  She introduced me to a term tonight I had either never heard before, or it had never been explained in a way that resonated with me.  The term is gender scripts.  The things that we learn as we grow up that cue people into our gender identity.  The way we walk, the way we talk, the way we dress, our every action is read by the people with which we come in contact.  This is where the light bulb went off in my head, and I'm not talking no 25 watter here.  I'm talking full halogen strength.  Every since I was a kid, I've been referred to as a boy, or later in life, sir.  It use too, and I guess still does, piss me off every time it happens.  But it finally dawned on me as I was reading about gender scripts that the reason people always call me sir is because I do not act out the correct scripts for a woman.  I always thought the people were just idiots, but the reality is that they were and are reading the scripts correctly, just not looking closely.  I don't like labels.  I don't like "acting" out one way or another.  But society has set the norms for these scripts and there is nothing I can do about that.  I can't conform because I only know how to be who I am.

So while I know I will enjoy Shapiro's text, I just wonder how many more surprises are in store for me about myself.  I never imagined this blogging thing would get so personal!!!