McMaster University Department of Sociology Fall Term 2011 Sociology 4U03 Special Topics in the Sociology of Women Women

and the Body _______________________________________________________________________________ Instructor: Dr. Leanne Joanisse Office: KTH-632 Day and Time of Class: Monday, 11:30-14:20 Class Location: BSB/104 Office Phone: Ext. 23617 Office Hours: Tuesday, 13:30-14:30; Wednesday, 17:30-18:30 E-mail: joanisl@mcmaster.ca ________________________________________________________________________________ This course takes a critical look at the female body in social context.1 We begin by challenging the premise that the body is a physical object and instead argue that the body is actually a socially constructed phenomenon, varying across cultures and over time. The female body has long been identified by feminists as an object of social control and we will examine this issue at length. To this end, we will explore the technologies and ideologies shaping the normalization, feminization and beautification of womens bodies. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand how women's embodied experiences are shaped by gender, race, ethnicity, social class, ability, and age. REQUIRED TEXTS The following books are available at the McMaster University Bookstore. All are required. Alexandra Howson. 2004. The Body in Society: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. Rose Weitz, ed. 2010. The Politics of Womens Bodies, 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. 4U03 Coursepack. Note: The following readings are available online through MORRIS: Becky Wansguard Thompson. 1992. A Way Outa No Way: Eating Problems Among African-American, Latina, and White Women. Gender and Society 6(4):546-561. Natalie Adams and Pamela Bettis. 2003. Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood. Gender and Society 71(1):73-91.

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the scholars whose syllabi influenced the design of this course: Susan Ferguson of Grinnell College and Chris Bobel, of the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

2 Barbre, Joy. 1993. "Meno-Boomers and Moral Guardians: An Exploration of the Cultural Construction of Menopause." Pp. 23-35 in Menopause: A Mid-Life Passage, edited by Joan Callahan. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

METHOD OF EVALUATION Attendance Participation Reaction papers (4 x 10%) Research paper 10% 10% 40% 40%

Attendance: This class will be a community of learners, so everyone must be present to learn and to help others learn. Punctual and regular attendance at classes is expected. Should you miss class without a University-authorized excuse (please see page 4 for more information on the process regarding requests for accommodations for missed work), your final attendance grade will be reduced accordingly. Students who consistently arrive more than 10 minutes late for class or who do not return to class after the break also jeopardize their final attendance grade. Please inform me ahead of time if you will be arriving late or leaving early. Participation: Because this class is run as a seminar, it is essential that students come prepared to participate. Before-class preparation involves carefully reading and considering the assigned readings. Once in class, participation involves questioning and discussing the readings. Your participation grade will be calculated on both the frequency and cogency of your comments. You will find that your grade for this course will be adversely affected if you are habitually unprepared to participate meaningfully in class discussions. Note: Being prepared for class also means bringing the readings with you, as well as your notes. Reaction Papers: Four reaction papers are to be submitted between October 3 and November 28. Writing about what you have read helps you prepare for class, participate in discussions and indicates that you have completed the readings and examined your reactions to them. We will also use these reaction papers to stimulate class discussions. The papers must be 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, and typewritten. Further guidelines will be distributed at a later point in the semester. Reaction papers are to be submitted bi-weekly; that is, you will be randomly assigned to either Group A or Group B and must submit your paper on the date indicated in the reading schedule. Remember, writing a reaction paper is an individual, not collaborative effort. Just because you may be assigned to a particular group does not mean this is a group project but simply that you are among a group of students who have an assignment due that class period. This arrangement may sound complicated, but Im actually trying to spare you the burden of writing a paper every week! Reaction papers are due in class on dates indicated. No late papers or papers submitted elsewhere will ordinarily be accepted; in the event that such papers are accepted, they are subject to a penalty, determined at my discretion.

3 Research Paper: You are also required to write a research paper on a topic relating to course themes. The paper must be 12-15 pages in length, double-spaced, and typed. Further guidelines will be distributed at a later date. Research papers are due by 3 p.m. on Monday, December 12. Late research papers will be assessed a late penalty of 10% per day past the due date and will not be accepted after 3 p.m., Wednesday, December 14. COURSE GUIDELINES AND POLICIES Academic etiquette Among other things, academic etiquette includes engaging in timely arrivals and departures. In other words, please plan on arriving on time and leaving only when the class is finished. Academic etiquette also includes conducting yourself in an appropriate fashion during the discussions. Carrying on private conversations with other students, reading material that is unrelated to the course, web surfing, texting, reviewing cell phone messages, sleeping or engaging in any other disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to lower the attendance and participation grade of any student who consistently engages in disruptive behaviour. A word about laptops: Laptops are welcome for note taking; however, reading e-mails, instant messaging, web surfing, etc., while in class are not. If you are caught violating this rule, you will be banned from further laptop use in this classno exceptions. Staying in contact with each other Office hours: Please feel free to come by during my office hours to discuss any questions you have regarding the course or simply to chat about some issue raised in class. E-mail: I understand and appreciate the convenience of e-mail communication, but do have limits on how I use it or expect you to use it for academic purposes. Please be aware that I may not be able to immediately respond to a message; however, I do aim for a 24-hour turnaround time as much as possible. While I check my e-mail regularly, I do not read e-mail on the weekends or holiday breaks. I also ask you to follow these guidelines when communicating with me via e-mail: Include the course code in the subject line of the e-mail. Always begin the e-mail in a professional manner; avoid salutations such as hey, Hi teach, Hi Leanne, etc. Use full, grammatical sentences. Always sign your e-mail with your first and last name. Since I am visually impaired, please use size 12 font in your e-mail messages.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES Faculty of Social Sciences E-mail Communication Policy Effective September 1, 2010, it is the policy of the Faculty of Social Sciences that all e-mail communication sent from students to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the students own McMaster University e-mail account. This policy protects confidentiality and confirms the identity of the student. It is the students responsibility to ensure that communication is sent to the university from a McMaster account. If an instructor becomes aware that a communication has come from an alternate address, the instructor may not reply at his or her discretion. You can forward your e-mail account to MUGSI by following the instructions contained in the following link: http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts/support/email/emailforward.html.Forwarding will take effect 24 hours after you complete the process. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences; e.g., the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: "Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty"), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/StudentsAcademicStudies/AcademicIntegrity.pdf. The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: 1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been obtained. 2. Improper collaboration in group work. 3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations. Reporting Requests For Accommodation For Missed Work The McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF) (http://www.mcmaster.ca/msaf/) is a selfreporting tool for undergraduate students to report absences that last up to five days and provides the ability to request accommodation for any missed academic work. Please note that this tool cannot be used during any final examination period. You may submit a maximum of ONE Academic Work Missed request per term. It is YOUR responsibility to follow up with your instructor immediately regarding the nature of the accommodation. The decision as to how the missed work will be accommodated is entirely at the discretion of the instructor.

5 If you are absent more than five days, exceed one request per term, or are absent for a reason other than medical, you MUST visit your Associate Deans Office (Faculty Office). You may be required to provide supporting documentation. This form should be filled out when you are about to return to class after your absence. Modifications to Courses The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check his/her McMaster e-mail and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes. DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES Do NOT fax assignments. The Sociology staff do NOT date-stamp assignments, nor do they monitor the submission or return of papers. Students should check the Web, the white board and the Undergraduate Bulletin board outside the Sociology office (KTH-627) for notices pertaining to Sociology classes or departmental business (e.g., class scheduling information, location of mailboxes and offices, tutorial information, class cancellations, TA job postings, etc.). COURSE TOPICS AND READING SCHEDULE September 12 - Introduction to the course September 19 - Theorizing the Female Body Readings: Howson, Introduction; Ch. 1 September 26 - Constructing the Female Body Readings: Howson, Ch. 2 (pp. 39-46 only) Weitz, A History of Womens Bodies, in Weitz Lorber, Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology, in Weitz Bartky, Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power, in Weitz

6 October 3 - Medical Social Control of the Female Body Readings: Howson, Ch. 3 (pp. 84-88; 46-51only) Riessman, Women and Medicalization: A New Perspective, in Weitz Kaw, Medicalization of Racial Features: Asian-American Women and Cosmetic Surgery, in Coursepack Video: Western Eyes **Group A reaction papers due today.** October 10 - Thanksgiving NO CLASS October 17 - The Politics of Female Sexuality Readings: Lee, Menarche and the (Hetero)sexualization of the Female Body, in Weitz Tolman, "Daring to Desire: Culture and the Bodies of Adolescent Girls," in Weitz Wilkins, "So Full of Myself as a Chick": Goth Women, Sexual Independence and Gender Egalitarianism," in Weitz **Group B reaction papers due today.** October 24 - The Representation of the Female Body in the Mass Media Readings: Howson, Ch. 4 Collins, "Get Your Freak On": Sex, Babies, and Images of Black Femininity," in Weitz Kilbourne, Still Killing Us Softly: Advertising and the Obsession with Thinness, in Coursepack Video: Killing Us Softly III **Group A reaction papers due today.** October 31 - The Surgical Modification of the Female Body Readings: Morgan, Women and the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery and the Colonization of Womens Bodies, in Weitz Gagn and McGaughey, Designing Women: Cultural Hegemony and the Exercise of Power Among Women who have Undergone Elective Mammoplasty, in Weitz Pitts "Reclaiming the Female Body: Women Body Modifiers and Feminist Debates," in Weitz **Group B reaction papers due today.**

7 November 7 - The Politics of Women's Appearance Readings: Weitz, Women and their Hair: Seeking Power Through Resistance and Accommodation, in Weitz Young, Breasted Experience: The Look and the Feeling, in Weitz Adair, "Branded with Infamy: Inscriptions of Poverty and Class in the United States," in Weitz Avery, "Rip Tide: Swimming Through Life with Rheumatoid Arthritis," in Weitz Video: The Blonde Mystique **Group A reaction papers due today.** November 14 - The Politics of Women's Body Size, Part I Readings: Seid, Too Close to the Bone, in Coursepack Hesse-Biber, From Disorderly Eating to Eating Disorder: The Cultural Context of Anorexia and Bulimia, in Coursepack Thompson, A Way Outa No Way, (online) Urla and Swedlund, The Anthropometry of Barbie, in Coursepack Video: The Famine Within **Group B reaction papers due today.** November 21 - The Politics of Women's Body Size, Part II Readings: Breseman, Lennon, and Schulz, Obesity and Powerlessness, in Coursepack Bass, On Being a Fat Black Girl in a Fat-Hating Culture, in Coursepack Hartley, "Letting Ourselves Go: Making Room for the Fat Body in Feminist Scholarship," in Weitz Video: Fat Chance **Group A reaction papers due today.** November 28 - The Athletic Female Body Readings: Cahn, From the Muscle Moll to the Butch Ballplayer: Mannishness, Lesbianism, and Homophobia in U.S. Womens Sports, in Weitz Dworkin, Holding Back: Negotiating a Glass Ceiling on Womens Muscular Strength, in Weitz Adams and Bettis, Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood, (online) **Group B reaction papers due today.**

8 December 5 - The Aging Process and the Female Body Readings: Howson, Ch. 6 (pp. 148-155 only) Biggs, The Ageing Body, in Coursepack Barbre, Meno-Boomers and Moral Guardians: An Exploration of the Cultural Construction of Menopause, in Coursepack Dinnerstein and Weitz, Jane Fonda, Barbara Bush, and Other Aging Bodies: Femininity and the Limits of Resistance, (online) Video: Old Like Me