Two faculty members studying strikingly distinct geographical areas of the world joined together last night in Stratton Hall's main lounge to discuss sexuality, gender divisions and varying cultural norms with respect to masculinity and femininity.
Associate Professor of History Jeanne Penvenne and Japanese Professor Susan Napier spoke about their research and views on gender norms as part of a fireside chat sponsored by the Synaptic Scholars, an intellectual leadership program run through the Institute for Global Leadership.
Over two dozen students, about half of whom included Synaptic Scholars, came to the discussion, an interactive talk that covered topics ranging from gender-neutral cyborgs in Japanese animation to masculinity in Mozambique.
Napier, a professor of Japanese language and literature, told attendees that Japan's affluent and technologically advanced society may give it an edge in addressing gender norms.
"Generally, I think of Japan, Japanese culture of … acknowledging a wider continuum of sexuality and gender choices, perhaps more than the West," she said. This spectrum, she added, can be seen in anime and manga, genres of cartoons and animation.
In these media and elsewhere, there exist hints of a shift to a "post-gender" world of changing norms, Napier said.
Senior Margaret O'Connor, a Synaptic Scholar, posed the question of whether a post-gender society should be seen as a positive goal or just a natural expansion of available options.
Napier said Japan is not necessarily utopian, but shifts in a gender-centric language are starting to emerge.
In the United States, genders mix freely, but Penvenne explained that this is not the case in other parts of the world. She pointed to the strength of African women in existing social spheres, spheres that outsiders might view as confining.
"The voices from our perspective are really different. And yet African women I know are the strongest women I know anyplace in the world," Penvenne said, highlighting their physical strength, endurance and social standing. "The men don't mess with them."
Napier's personal interest in gender issues arose out of an early desire to break out of gender norms, she said.
"I've always hated to feel constrained by gender," she said, adding that she liked both Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books when she was younger. She went on a round-the-world trip at age 17, further pushing the limits of gender expectations as she saw them.
Penvenne said she first came into contact with gender on an academic level when she worked on an oral history project in Mozambique. At first, men spoke of contested masculinity, in which they reported being called "boys" rather than "men."
"The injuries were often more to one's dignity than to one's body," Penvenne said.
Penvenne said that while her first two books focused on men in cities in Africa, she eventually began to study women's role in African social systems. She found that men who had moved to cities for work got respect and were seen as more marriageable, but that women who did the same were seen in an opposite manner.
"We have all these models that … implicitly assume a male actor," she said. "And what happens when you have a female actor in those roles?" Perceptions completely flip, she said.
In the context of expectations about gender and orientation, Penvenne said her experiences in Africa have been eye-opening.
"The accepted wisdom about Africa is that it's very homophobic, very patriarchal," she said. But she explained that when she has encountered people in lesbian, transgender and other relationships on the continent, they were accepted and "nobody said anything about it."
Much of the event consisted of a discussion between the faculty members and students.
Students took a variety of directions with their questions, including wondering how much of gender presentation is natural versus performed. Penvenne and Napier touched on spirit possession, in which women could freely express themselves in the guise of being possessed.
Participants also touched on gender expression in class discussions and in faculty-student relationships. Some students said they felt their gender identity came to forefront in classes with "strong female" or "strong male" professors or topics.
