Group 1 Project Proposal

Invisible Genders, presenting 4/18/2011

Group 1, Section 1

Kaylyn Johnson

Will Deshazo

Sierra Terrell

Paige Blonder

Virginia Jackson

Rachel Licata

Project Conception

· We hope to explore the issues of transmisogyny and transphobia and place them in the larger context of sexism. We also hope to explore how they reinforce, and are reinforced by, other oppressions.

· Questions we will be asking of participants:

o Before

§ What comes to mind when you hear the words “transmisogyny” and “transphobia”?

§ What is your definition of “oppression”?

§ Do you consider yourself oppressed? If so, why?

§ Do you feel like oppressions can combine with each other to be a stronger force?

§ Have you ever come into contact with a transsexual? In what context? How did it make you feel?

o After

§ We will be asking the same first two questions again.

§ If opportunities were made clear, would you be willing to be an activist dealing with transmisogny and transphobia?

§ If you come into contact with a transsexual now, how do you think you would feel? Have your feelings changed? Why, or why not?

o Video Interviews

§ We will be asking many of the same questions, depending on when we will be interviewing the participant. We will also give them time to talk about any other ideas relating to these issues that might not have been specifically addressed.

o Discussion Questions

§ Do you feel like transmisogyny and transphobia come about because of our society’s insistence on a gender binary?

§ Does the gender binary inherently favor one set of gendered characteristics?

§ Can you think of some ways in which a cis-gendered person has privilege because of this status? (Especially bring up healthcare and class issues.)

§ MtF transpeople are often more objectified, perhaps because their transition is more involved and thus they may be more easily recognizable as trans, at least for a period of time. Why do you think this is? Do you think it is because they are giving up the rights that society has given them based on their masculinity? How does this relate to sexism and gender roles?

§ Do you think that the T is silent in the LGBTQ community? Why might this be? Do you think this is a reflection of society at large, ie of other issues? How?

Literature Review

· Marilyn Frye’s “Oppression”

· Susan Stryker’s “Transgender Feminism: Queering the Woman Question”

· Julia Serano’s Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Feminity

· Asher Bauer’s “A Day in the Life of an Angry Transsexual”

o http://tranarchism.com/2011/03/04/a-day-in-the-life-of-an-angry-transsexual/

Project Method

· We will be hosting a short, informative lecture to be followed by a roundtable discussion.

o Wednesday, April 6, 7 pm in the Ferguson Center Gameroom

· We will be distributing before and after surveys to gauge how education and understanding of others’ viewpoints leads to change in opinion and/or desire for activism.

· We will also have optional video interviews to gain a more complete perspective than surveys alone allow.

· Our in-class presentation will be part video, part presentation.

Project Contribution

· We hope to inform society about the issue in order to aid them in forming non-biased opinions.

· We hope to help our classmates to realize that education really is a way to fight against oppression.

· We hope to help both society as a whole and our classmates to see that transmisogyny is rooted in sexism and the “cultural devaluation of the feminine.”

Individual Group Member Tasks

· Research and Compilation – Paige

o research of statistics and/or images to be brought up in discussion/presentation

o compilation of survey data

· Lecture for Discussion - Kaylyn

· Creation and Printing of Handouts

o created jointly at our third and/or fourth group meetings

o edited and printed - Will

· Creation and Printing of Surveys

o created jointly at our second group meeting

o edited and printed - Will

· Video Interviewing – Will and Rachel

· Video Editing – Virginia and Sierra

· Main Discussion Moderator - Kaylyn

· Speeches for In-Class Presentation

o Introduction/Informative

§ Introduction - Will

§ Informative - Kaylyn

o Conclusion/What We Learned - Rachel

Schedule of Completion

· Proposal will be posted by April 1.

o Created jointly at second group meeting (March 30).

· We will be meeting at 12:30 PM April 4.

o Goals for this meeting include:

§ discussion of research

§ ensuring group members are informed about the issues as well as appropriate and respectful discussion techniques

· We will be meeting at 9:00 PM April 5.

o Goals for this meeting include:

§ finalization of handouts

§ finalization of surveys

§ discussion of video interview details

§ ensuring group members are well-prepared to discuss the issues but also realize that participant discussion is more important than our own

· We will be hosting our event at 7:00 PM April 6.

o We will:

§ gather our survey data

§ have our video interviews

§ collect meaningful quotes from the discussion that showcase our points

· We will be meeting once early in the week of April 11.

o We will:

§ discuss how the event went and what we learned

§ get updates on how the video editing and survey compilations are going

§ discuss things that we feel should be included in our final presentation

· We will also be meeting once later in that week (or that weekend).

o We will:

§ finalize our list of topics for the presentation

§ view the video

§ incorporate the tables/graphs of survey data into our Powerpoints that will be used in the final presentation