The Binary Issue by FIERCE Magazine

FIERCE Independently Produced

B I N A R Y /

I S S U E

T H R E E :

D E C E M B E R

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FIERCE /fi(ə)rs/ adjective, fierc·er, fierc·est. 1. having an unrestrained nature

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C0NTRIBUT0RS

WRITERS

.WEBSITE. Kevin Bonnell, Katarina Čiča, Brittany Davis, Srishti Jain, Abi Jeeva, Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy, Krishanthi Jeyakumar, Kat Kalenteridis, Sawayra Owais, Krisha Ravikantharaja

FEATURED

.TOY DESIGNERS. Julie Kerwin and Dawn Nadeau. - .COMEDIAN Andrew Bailey. .PAINTER. Nikkie To. - .RESEARCHER. Dr.Meredith Chivers. - .MODEL. Kashmeera Jey.

LOGISTICS

.CONTENT EDITORS. Emily Fong and Rohan Philip .DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA. Pranavi Suthagar .FINANCE MANAGER. Mithushaa Berinpalingam .WEB DEVELOPERS. Meaghan Choi and Adi Pruthi

art direction, content curation, magazine design and photography by Whyishnave Suthagar

a letter One may ask; what exactly is a gender binary? And Wikipedia will respond with;“the classification of sex and gender into 2 distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine. It can describe a social boundary that discourages people from crossing or mixing gender roles”. What got me thinking about this idea was a quote said by Laverne Cox; “It is revolutionary for a trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist.” Up till Cox’s portrayal in Orange Is the New Black, there hasn’t been an individual from the transgender community openly portrayed in mainstream media in an authentic fashion. But because of Laverne’s work, she has paved a path for creating a dialogue about the grey area that gets left behind if the world really considers gender in terms of a binary rather than a spectrum. Another issue that Cox addressed in an interview was the transition process that some trans people choose to go through; “the preoccupation with transition and with surgery objectifies trans people, and then we don’t get to deal with the real lived experiences – the reality of trans people’s lives is that so often we’re targets of violence. We experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community. When we focus on transition we don’t actually get to talk about those things.” This quote got me thinking about some of the recent suicide attempts by transgender children like that of teenager Leelah Alcorn, who took her life because she wanted to identify as a girl, but those around her would not accept the idea. Even if one’s family and friends may support an individuals choice to defy gender norms, the backlash from their community can still impact them. Just this month, a 12-year old boy named Ronin Shimzu also committed suicide due to the bullying he experienced for being the only male cheerleader on an all female team. In this case, Shimzu who identified as male, only wanted to pursue an interest classified perhaps stereotypically as “feminine”. But because of this, the bullying got to a point where he felt the need to take his own life. The fact that choosing to behave in a manner that is not “in line” with the norms associated with ones given gender, could lead to an individual feeling so much despair or resentment towards themselves was perplexing to me.In the past I had thought of gender as being a simple black and white kind of concept. But the more we worked with the theme for this issue, the clearer it became that there are many shades of grey in between. Like I mentioned earlier, through this issue, we want to explore the idea of gender as being more of a spectrum rather than a binary. We want to create a conversation about gender identity as an entity being more variable than it is fixed.

Sincerely, Whyishnave Suthagar editor-in-chief

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IN THE STUDIO W/ NIKKIE TO - Recent graduate of the McMaster Studio Arts program Nikkie To discusses with us her practice as a conceptual painter and illustrator as well as the themes of gender that she incorporated in her art.

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AN AUTHOR’S NOTES ON GENDER IN SOCIETY - Highlights from our interview with Allyson Rowley, author of the in-progress novel Black Belly.

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I AM ELEMENTAL - Julie Kerwin and Dawn Nadeau, Co-Founders of IAmElemental talk to us about all things action figure, play and girl culture.

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INTERSEX; WHAT A GENDER BINARY FAILS TO ACCOUNT FOR - A brief look at congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a disorder of sexual developmet (DSD).

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A CHAT WITH DR.CHIVERS ON STUDYING SEXUALITY - Dr. Meridith Chivers talks to us about her research on gender and sexuality, conducted from a feminist perspective. THE BROKEN GENDER DICHOTOMY: SWORN VIRGINS - A piece assessing the women or girls in Albania who have to become burrneshas for their family; meaning they must pledge lifelong celibacy, and take one a male gender appearance and duties.

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GENDER 101 - An inconclusive crash course on all things gender.

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GUYS CAN WEAR DRESSES IF THEY FEEL LIKE IT - Basically just that. No Big Deal.

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ACT LIKE A LADY - A quick re-evaluation of how we treat girls and women in society, past and present.

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GENDER & THE MEDIA - A look at how the media (us included) treat the notion of gender.

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WHY RAPE IS SINCERELY HILARIOUS..? We know it’s totally not. But let’s talk about how gender affects our perception of rape using Andrew Bailey’s clever satirical monologue “Why Rape is Sincerely Hilarious“ as a coversation starter.

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A FEW WORDS ON WOMEN - Just a few words examining the words we use, don’t use and should consider using.

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BE A MAN - A creative piece reflecting on the misconceptions of masculinity.

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JUST PLAY - An editorial featuring model Kashmeera Jey ... just playing.

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101 Welcome to Gender 101, an inconclusive one page crash course on gender. And when I say gender, I mean the different genders people can identify and express themselves as. However, before we start talking about different gender identities and expression, it’s important to recognize the difference between sexuality and gender. A simplified way of explaining it is that sexuality is how you identify sexually with the world, while gender is how you identify yourself. For example, you can be an asexual bigender individual; someone who identifies as two genders (for example, as both male and female), and does not feel sexual attraction. There is also a difference between gender identity and gender expression. Gender identity is what you personally identify as and gender expression is how you express your gender to the world. For examplea bigender individual may express themselves as a male; but that does not make them male. They’re still a bigender person, but they just choose to adopt traditionally male characteristics, etc. So that being said, let’s jump right into it- here is a list of different genders!

Biological Definition of Female: In humans it has been standardized to refer to an individual who possesses two X chromosomes in their sex chromosome pair on their karyotype chart (which is simply a picture of an individual’s chromosomes). Even more specifically females are the sex that possesses oocytes as their gametes. Biological Definition of Male: In humans it has been standardized to refer to an individual who possesses one X and one Y chromosome in their sex chromosome pair on their karyotype chart. Even more specifically males are the sex that possesses sperm as their gametes. Sociological Definition of Female: Someone who identifies as female, this self-identification process is independent of their anatomy and their gender assignment at birth. Sociological Definition of Male: Someone who identifies as male, this self-identification process is independent of their anatomy and their gender assignment at birth. Cisgender: Someone who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth. Transgender: Someone who does not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. Most people know about Laverne Cox, an impeccable actress and transgender woman who was assigned to be a male at birth. What’s important to remember is that she was a woman before her surgery and after her surgery, because she identified herself as female. It’s also important to remember that a woman who was assigned male at birth may have the genitalia traditionally associated with being a male; but that doesn’t make her a male if the individual chooses not to identify with their assigned gender. In this case, the individual’s penis would be considered a female penis. The same convention applies to males who have been assigned female at birth; they have a male vagina. Basically, genitalia do not define gender identify. Even when classifying organisms in nature, contrary to popular belief, the presence or absence of certain sex organs isn’t the determining factor when deciding which animal of a species is male or female. Even the identification of sex chromosomes in a species is not necessarily directly related to the male/female classification. Rather it is the size of an animal’s gametes. The general rule is, in sexual organisms, females are the sex that contributes the largest gametes, whereas males are the sex that contribute the smallest gametes and therefore expend the least amount of energy on producing these cells. Again this is simply the biological means of classifying organisms, however when assessing gender identity in humans, sociological factors have to also be considered. * The terms Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB) and Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB) are important to be aware of because someone who was AFAB/AMAB may not necessarily identify as female/male later in life.

By Vishmayaa Jeyamoorthy

*CAMAB and CAFAB are other terms that I feel are important to consider. They stand for “Coercively Assigned Male/Female At Birth”. This term usually applies when a baby is born with ambiguous genitals, and a doctor surgically alters them to make the baby seem more conventionally male or female. Like people who are AMAB and AFAB, just because you are assigned a particular gender at birth, that doesn’t mean you have to choose to identify as that particular gender later in life. Androgyne/Androgynous: Someone who has both masculine and feminine characteristics. It can also refer to the biological intersex physicality. Bigender: Identifying as two genders simultaneously; this doesn’t necessarily mean that you identify as both male and female, because there are other genders one can chooses to identify as. A bigender individual is simply someone who identifies as any combination of any two genders. However, they may often choose to express themselves as one gender at a time. Trigender (Definition 1): Much like a bigender individual, a trigender person identifies with more than one gender; in this case, they identify with three of them simultaneously. However, like a bigender person, they often may outwardly express themselves as one gender at a time. Trigender (Defenition 2): The second definition of trigender is someone who does not identify as male or female, androgyne etc. so they come up with their own gender. Genderfluid: A genderfluid person is similar to a bigender or trigender person in that they may identify with multiple genders. The difference lies in the fact that their gender identity may change many times throughout the course of their life, though they will generally choose to identify as one particular gender at a time. Demigirl: Identifying partially as a female, but not completely; not being able to identify as another gender enough to fully identify with said other gender. Demiguy: Identifying partially as a male, but not completely; not being able to identify as another gender enough to fully identify with said other gender.

Actually, many people who identify as a gender beside male or female may ask you to use different pronouns. This can be difficult because most everyone is used to using she/her and he/him, and it’s often hard for us to initially separate that person’s gender expression from their gender identity. It’s understandable that it’s difficult, and most people will be understanding while you get used to using different pronouns; however, using the correct pronouns is really important because deliberately misgendering someone is like saying their identity, their entire being, is insignificant or even non existent… which is probably the worst feeling in the world. Don’t do that. Genderqueer: Someone who identifies outside of the male/female gender binary may call themselves genderqueer. Non-Binary: Much like genderqueer, someone who identifies as non-binary identifies as someone outside of the male/female gender binary. Non-binary is also sometimes used as an umbrella term for all genders besides male and female. There are a ton of genders out there, so this list is definitely not a complete one. But I think it covers some of the ones you’ll hear about most, especially as the LGBTQ+ community gains equality in our society, and hopefully it’s helped you broaden your worldview. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment below if we may have missed any genders, or miscommunicated anything etc. Thanks!

Agender: Not identifying as any gender; having no gender. Another term used is “genderless”. Neutrois: Someone who identifies as gender neutral. When talking to someone or about someone who is neutrois, they’ll often ask you to use different pronouns. For example, a neutrois person who expresses themself as a female will ask you to not use “she/her” pronouns, but rather “they/them”, “ze/zir” or other pronouns of their choice.

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I N T E R S E X what a gender binary fails to account for. An ajar mouth, furrowed brows and creased eyes. My bewildered expression was cause of my neuroscience professor lecturing about congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a disorder of sexual development (DSD). CAH is a genetic disorder where one overproduces androgens, such as testosterone, due to the absence of an enzyme . Therefore, affected females may be infertile, grow facial hair and experience a deepening of their voice. The sister disease of CAH is androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) where the individual’s body is non-receptive to androgens, causing them to externally develop as a female despite having male genitalia. Indeed, there are a plethora of other DSDs, however, for brevity’s sake let’s consider the aforementioned. Imagine the panic that runs through a new mother when the doctor hesitates in answering the question, is it a boy or a girl? Indeed, this is the reality when babies are born with ambiguous genitalia, occurring once in every 1 500 births. To say that the medical industry has advanced in the last 50 years is a grand understatement. During a time where the description of DSDs scantily took up half a page in a ten pound medical textbook, doctors, and society, knew little to nothing about these disorders. As such, when babies were born with ambiguous genitalia, surgery was immediately performed in an attempt to masculinize or feminize the newborn. If a few parents disclosed that these ‘correcting’ surgeries were performed without their consent, what does that tell us about the consent of the child? Adversaries of this type of infant surgery, the majority of them being self-disclosed intersex individuals, label the surgeries as mutilation. Though surgeons believe they are preventing the child from future social isolation, opponents claim that there needs to be an acceptance of a gender spectrum rather than a gender binary. This binary which claims there are only two genders (male or female) is the prevailing reason why surgeons promoted immediate surgery on ambiguous genitalia. Unfortunately, the ordeal does not end with a single surgery. Often, in their adolescence, they must undergo additional surgeries or hormone therapies to maintain their assigned gender. In some cases, individuals realize that they identify with another gender and proceed to make the painful switch. If this binary did not exist then DSD individuals would be accepted by society and not have to deal with this trauma. A powerful statement by Sarah Graham, an intersex woman with AIS, demonstrates the oppression and rejection that intersex individuals feel. She claims, “We’ve been erased by the legal and medical establishment of the world”. Sarah’s statement is a great example of the negative implications the gender binary has on our society. It is appropriate to wonder that if there are still vestiges of racial discrimination, how can a new gender be accepted? Education can serve as the catalyst for the subversion of this binary to a spectrum. Today, if a child is born with ambiguous genitalia, the parents are consulted with an interdisciplinary team that provides an impartial perspective. Furthermore, countries such as Australia, Germany and Sweden have taken the lead in recognizing intersex individuals. Instead of the standard choice of male (M) or female (F), there is an option of gender neutral, denoted by ‘X’. It’s time to think of gender as an abacus – after all, the beads are never only on one side.

By Sawayra Owais

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A Chat with Dr. Chivers on Studying

SEXUALITY By Srishti Jain

I got the chance to talk with Dr.Meredith Chivers from Queens University about her research on gender and sexuality. Her laboratory is dedicated to understanding gender differences, and similarities in sexuality, including sexual psychophysiology, sexual orientation, and sexual functioning. She conducts both basic research, such as examining sexual responses in women and men in the laboratory, and clinical research, such as understanding factors that contribute to healthy sexual functioning. They primarily investigate these topics from a biopsychological perspective informed by evolutionary theory, and enriched by an understanding of the sociocultural environment in which our sexualities unfold. So enjoy this Q & A about Dr.Chivers and her work!

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What got you interested in studying gender differences, and similarities in sexuality in the first place? Dr.Chivers: As an undergrad, I was fascinated by neuroscience and the factors that shaped brain structure and function. I completed my honour’s thesis research in a laboratory at the University of Guelph that focused on gendered cognitive abilities, like the ability to mentally rotate 3D objects. This was my introduction to the biological and social factors that influenced gendered psychology. My thesis examined gendered cognitive abilities in sexual minorities, and this work galvanized my interests in sexuality research and understanding the etiology of sexual orientation. During a gap year, I worked as a research assistant in the Clinical Sexology Unit at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, and witnessed first-hand how some gendered sexual phenomena, like sexual fetishes and other sexual variations (some forensically significant, like pedophilia), occur, and to what degree in both males and females. For example women were rarely, if ever, were seen for assessment and treatment. This raised many questions as to the role that gender played in these forms of sexual expression. The sexual psychophysiology research I conducted for my MA and PhD at Northwestern University showed that gender had a significant impact on sexual response too; whereas men’s sexual responses, both physical and mental, seemed to strongly correspond with their sexual interests and attractions, women’s were not. From that point on, understanding gendered sexuality – sexual response, sexual attractions, and sexual functioning – with a focus on women’s sexuality, became a central theme in my research.

What is your current research focus? Dr.Chivers: My research team approaches these topics from a feminist perspective, in terms of challenging current traditional, undifferentiated models of sexuality that are based on expectations and beliefs predominantly informed by research on men’s sexuality. Our goal is to understand how gender influences these aspects of sexuality, and develop models that are gender-specific, or better explain the unique aspects of women’s and men’s sexuality.

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What is the importance of investigating such relationships, and what are the various applications your research holds. In broad terms, what do you aim to get out of this? Dr.Chivers: I think the importance of investigating these relationships is to fill the many knowledge gaps in our basic understanding of gendered sexuality. Applications of this knowledge could be in sexual health or clinical contexts, such as informing approaches to treating sexual concerns such as low sexual desire, or knowledge dissemination to the general public, and in terms of educating women about what is considered a typical sexual response for women.

Can you explain the need for gender-specific models in your research, and reason how disregarding the undifferentiated/ androgynous models is necessary in your case?

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This is what happens most often for men, but we have data showing that this is not the typical experience for women. Which standard should we adopt then? Instead of rejecting the decades of data on women’s sexual concordance as flawed science, or as indicative that women are disconnected from their sexuality, I take the perspective that this data are telling us the answer, but that answer is different from the one we expected because we were using a model of male sexuality to try to understand them. Further research into this field is being conducted, and the information that our exploration is yielding is truly exciting, and we can’t wait to further develop our ideas and discover more!

Dr.Chivers: My perspective on the need for gender-specific models is an empirically-based one: does the model fit the data or not? If the data suggests that an aspect of sexuality shows no gender effects, then an androgynous or gender-universal model is probably going to explain the data just fine. If the data produces consistently replicated gender effects, then I think we would be doing a disservice to ignore these effects trying to explain the phenomena with an androgynous model; in these cases, a gender-specific model is called for. For example, my research team is currently examining the phenomenon of “sexual concordance” or the degree that physical and mental states of sexual arousal coincide. Sexual concordance is strongly gendered, with men showing significantly higher agreement than women do. To be clear, women also show some agreement, but not as strong as men, suggesting that factors other than physical sexual arousal influence how women feel. In the years I’ve conducted this research, I’ve encountered many different views on sexual concordance, with the predominant belief being that our psychological and physical states of sexual response should always coincide, other wise something is wrong. Why do we believe that?

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ACT LIKE A LADY...

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DECEMBER 2014

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It’s funny how life work’s, isn’t it? At one point you were simply an embryo and then boom — you’re born. You pop outta that womb and your parents finally find out whether you’re really the baby girl or baby boy they were expecting. And sometimes simply based on a newborn’s anatomy, how others treat them in life varies dramatically. Here I’ll focus on when the doctor says; “it’s a girl”. This variation in treatment can be extreme or more subtle depending on the surrounding culture. For example, a typical narrative that may play out for an individual born female in a Westernized cultural sphere to a middle class family may include having a pink nursery, wearing dresses and playing with Barbies. Later she’d meet someone who’d fit the “husband” mould, marry them and then have children she’d nurture. Remember the song from Walt Disney’s 1963 Summer Magic entitled “Feminity”. The songs lyrics include; “look feminine, dress feminine, you’re at your best feminine, that’s what every girl should know!” For some, the 60’s were “ages ago”. But have these beliefs been abolished completely? Femininity by definition is simply “a set of attributes, behaviours and roles generally associated with girls and women”. But why is it that for many, being feminine still means you accentuate your curves, act obedient, become a master chef, and carry yourself with elegance? It’s unfortunate but true when you think about how society treats women who dare to “deviate” from gender “norms.” Have you ever seen the look on your mother’s face when you tell her about your one friend who says she never wants to have kids? Have you ever had your grandmother tell you that women are supposed to showcase their curves, not cover them up? I have. It’s no one’s fault that these notions of femininity exist, they come as a result of generations upon generations before us. We all buy into it because that is what we know. But these notions of what it means to be feminine can become problematic and shaky when it drops into the hands of those who find themselves unidentifiable with the superficiality surrounding “femininity.” When you think about femininity, it’s hard to imagine defining the term with new kinds of “attributes, behaviours and roles”. Instead of adding new “attributes, behaviours and roles” to the notion of femininity, we usually describe anything outside of what we know as feminine as either masculine or an exception. Why can’t what constitutes femininity simply be broadened and more inclusive? There’s this whole grey area that occurs when someone who identifies as female doesn’t identify as feminine per se. If we are born a certain way, and have certain interests why should we have to live by superficial definitions because we are for some reason “socially” inclined to do so? Many people today, have realized this. As ideas change, and liberation movements occur etc. it appears as though we are steering away from certain conventions, ideas, stereotypes and narratives. Gender is not as easily definable as it once was; it’s not so black and white. When you think about it, none of us concretely fit into the categories of “masculinity” and “femininity” anymore; we intersect and embody both. I sometimes struggle to define myself in a world where categories are everything. I’m caught between being a “girly-girl” and a total “tomboy.” There are moments where I’m ready to put on my best make-up, a sexy pencil skirt and treacherous 6-inch heels to live “la vida loca” (Ricky Martin style) with my girlfriends. And there are other moments where I want to do nothing but throw on my sneakers and basketball-shorts to shoot hoops outside and sweat profusely with my buds. Does this make me less of a woman? Not at all! I have a mind that wanders and desires to pursue my many interests, regardless of the stereotypes associated with them. And you my readers, are no exception! By Katarina Čiča

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NIKKIE

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We got the chance to sit down with Nikkie To, a recent graduate of the Studio Arts program at McMaster to ask her about her about her thoughts on her artistic practice and gender.

1. So tell us about your artistic practice? The vision I have for my paintings often involve extensive planning and very particular execution, but I also love to leave room for experimentation. Recently I’ve started painting with palette knives and cold wax mediums and have been taken by surprise by the difference it has made in my work. It feels like sculpting with paint and its these little discoveries that enrich and carry my work to new places. Collage is also a large part of my work; I feel that the technique is informed by my interest in travelling and the need to integrate all of these experiences and ideas together. Many of the figures I create are formed by collaging different body parts together. This allows me to create figures that intersect in culture, gender, age and race in order to challenge the way we think about the socially constructed human identity.

2. Do you feel that the gender you have chosen to identify with affects your artistic practice in anyway? In a way, I feel that my gender does impact my artistic practice. The gender that I choose to identify with in the particular cultural context that I am in leads me to understand my experiences from this distinct perspective. That isn’t to say that my paintings are blatantly feminine in terms of our culture’s traditional ideas of femininity, but that being female informs my work in a way that I can think introspectively about how I want my subjects portrayed.

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3. How does your artwork reference gender. The figure and the human form are central to the paintings I create. I produce visual narratives that accompany these subjects, creating an identity for them. A gender identity. In my practice as an artist, I have become very aware of the gender binaries that exist everywhere in our society today; in my work I aim to reference some of these dichotomies. Gender related binaries exist everywhere in our day to day. From the moment we enter this world, these notions are difficult to escape. Although we’ve made great strides in breaking down some of the most toxic stereotypes surrounding gender (ie. the ones limiting a women’s right to vote, have access to equal job opportunities etc.), there are still so many more subtle ones deeply embedded in our culture. As an artist (and person) I have observed, that we are our most authentic selves when we are alone; in these moments of self-reflection we come to terms with all facets of our identity, including gender and sexuality. And that moment of contemplation that we have with ourselves is what I aim to capture in my paintings.

There are so many feelings that a person may go through during this time (like excitement, frustration, emptiness etc.), which gives me a whole range of vantage points to draw from for inspiration in my pieces. Sometimes the colours I choose for the backgrounds in my paintings play with our culture’s ideas of masculinity and femininity (within the context of colour). For example I may look at trademark colours like pink and blue that in our culture signify a specific gender, and switch them around for the subjects that I paint, or other times I may match certain colour associations we have with particular genders as well. But ultimately all I aim to do with my work is paint the humanity in us at these times that we are most vulnerable in our private thoughts. Sometimes this means visually assessing how we reflect on our own gender identity, and sometimes it doesn’t.

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The Broken Gender Dichotomy: Sworn Virgins By Kat Kalenteridis

Rural ‘sworn virgins’ in Albania are women or girls that decide or are forced by socially constructed economic needs to take on male gender appearance and role within a family. These individuals lie outside the heteronormative North American contexts surrounding gender and gender practices. They are called burrnesha, which literally means he and she, and in order to become one a woman must take a pledge of lifelong celibacy, cut their hair, change their name, wear men’s clothes and live like a man. The origins of the tradition are obscure but form part of the local code followed within the Muslim and Christian religions that decree families must be patrilineal and patrilocal. This means that a man’s daughters cannot inherit his property but his sons can. However a loophole in this decree allows the father of only daughters to assign one of his daughters a burrnesha in order to manage and maintain his property within the family. This means that in any situation where a man is needed in the family of only daugh-

ters, one daughter must become a burrnesha either willingly or unwillingly. Most women are willing to undergo the process, as womanhood is a form of amputation in Albania, you can’t go anywhere, and everything is a man’s duty. The freedom, therefore, that a ‘sworn virgin’ gains is profound, as they become the head of the family and in control of all assets. They become very proud of their lives as men, lives that they could never have as a woman. Sexual celibacy then seems quite a small limitation and further, one that is made when there is nothing known about sex or love. Manhood becomes mastered through the behaviours of a man until it becomes muscle memory. ‘Sworn virgins’ smoke and do the farm labour, wear pants and act as they please, having the most flexible sense of gender. Burrnesha’s have one of the most flexible understandings of gender as being a man or women is entirely created by appearance and social standing. Thus, burrneshas are great example to use when explaining how the notion of gender and gender identity are just constructs that are heavily influenced by the culture that surrounds the individual. One such cultural construction around gender for them is clothing. When a ‘sworn virgin’, wears male clothes, she is referred to as a man. To dress as a man earns the respect of a man in such a culture. Relationships and behaviours are another aspect of culturally configured sex, gender and sexuality that allow ‘sworn virgins’ to take on the male gender within the culturally configured gender dichotomy as they behave like a man and so can command the influence of a man. Thus, ‘sworn virgins’ allow us to see the most acute aspects of gender roles as they lie subjectively outside of the Western gender dichotomy. Gender is a notion that is not tied to sex or sexuality but is built by social logics and cultural customs applied ubiquitously. And as I’ve stated before this can be seen in Albania clearly by how straightforward changing genders is through such a choice as becoming a burrnesha in order to gain more power, influence and freedom in society.

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GUYS CAN WEAR DRESSES IF THEY FEEL LIKE IT. BY: ABI JEEVA

When we are born, we are not likely to have constructed in our minds any schemas or social associations. We become acquainted with our culture’s social constructs by learning it after being exposed to a certain environment – be it by other people telling us or by observing the physical space itself. What is means to be a boy or a girl is one of those social constructs that are learnt from an early age, as parents and strangers alike implement their gender-related ideologies on children. It starts even before a baby is born. Once parents find out the gender of their baby, they tend to start buying “gender appropriate” clothing and toys. There is no absolute way to define what it means to be of a specific gender, in terms of a set of appropriate social customs. It is also important to note that gender and sex do not refer to the same thing. Sex refers to an individual’s physical characteristics, their anatomy, that define them as either a boy or a girl, whereas gender refers to the “socially constructed roles and behaviours that a given society considers appropriate for men and women”. Therefore, we can say that people are not born with a specific gender in mind, but they are born a certain sex. Depending on our physical attributes, or lack thereof, the people with whom a child is surrounded by since his/her birth treat him/her in a way that suits the idea of what society tells them of what constitutes being a boy or a girl. As a child grows up, any attempts at deviation from gender norms are usually thwarted or belittled for the sake of maintain normalcy in society. Parents want their children to grow up to be normal boys and girls, and having their sons like feminine things and their daughters like masculine things will, as many have thought in the past may lead to “trouble” in the future. However, recent changes to the way we think about gender has led to the acceptance by parents of children behaving in a way that is not “appropriate” in accordance to their gender. Dyson Kilodavis was a five-year-old boy who has gotten a lot of media attention in the past year, because of his love of wearing dresses. Not only that, but his family is now accepting of him wearing them. His mother, Cheryl Kilodavis, initially was in shock of her son’s appreciation of these garments, and did any things in an attempt to sway her son’s mind into enjoying more “masculine” conventions. She continued her pursuit in vain, until her eldest son asked her a question: “why can’t you let him be happy?” It was after this point that Cheryl became an advocate for changing the ways in which gender is viewed.

Cheryl Kilodavis isn’t the only one promoting this effort in expanding the way we think about gender. Many parents are now aware that imposing gender ideologies very early in life has an affect on how their child grows up. As such, it is becoming the norm for parents to engage their children in gender-neutral activities and toys, and for allowing their child to choose what they are interested in and what to par-take in. The Representation Project for example, which started in 2013, promotes the idea that everyone should have access to equal opportunity, regardless of his or her gender, race, age, or sexual orientation. That goes for anyone who identifies as a man, women, genderless and everything in between. The notion of gender is now FIERCE AUGUST 2014 moving in a direction that makes gender look less like a binary and more like a spectrum.

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We got the opportunity to interview Allyson Rowley, author of Black Belly, an in progress gender-bending adventure story. Here are some highlights from her full interview which can be found at fiercemag.co, with regards to gender in society. How do you think gender roles and stereotypes are perpetuated in society? The biggest – and first – question we have about each other is: Are you male or female? Everything else comes after that— race, skin colour, age, language, religion, social status, how much money you have, your family background, your education, your hair style, your shoe size, your likes and dislikes. Everything comes after that defining (and usually unspoken) question: Are you a girl or are you a boy? Of course, this impulse has its roots in the biological imperative for a species to reproduce. But gender stereotyping goes far beyond those basic needs, and is so deeply ingrained in us that we rarely stop to question it, let alone notice it. Do you feel this implied gender binary limits the way in which we construct our identities? Absolutely. It’s incredibly limiting. In my novel, I’m trying to explore a world where this “either/or” thinking is pulled and stretched and turned upside down and inside out. I’m asking the reader to accept a protagonist who is female and male. Possibly, toward the end of the trilogy, Sammee is neither sex (I can’t say for sure – I haven’t got there yet!). I’m asking the reader: Are you open to going on this adventure? And can you handle a simple pronoun change from “he” to “she” and back again, without freaking out on me? I think readers can handle that, nowadays. In the years since I began working on the story, I’ve noticed a huge shift in popular culture. Even fifteen years ago, it would have been pretty darn unusual to read a major news story about a transgendered person (or at least a story which portrayed that person in a respectful and non-sensational way). Now, a transgendered person has been nominated for an Emmy for a hit Netflix show. Now, you read about gay rights all the time. Now, there are front-page stories sprinkled with terms like LGBTQ , two-spirited, queer. There are stories in the media about people who choose to use the pronoun “they”. It’s quite a different world. On the other hand, though, it’s 2014 and women and girls are still being stoned to death, burned to death, shot at for going to school, kidnapped, raped, murdered. Why? Because they are female. Do you think it is important to broaden our mainstream definitions of gender? I think it’s important to look at the stories we are told – not only in the movies, on TV, video games, social media, in news coverage, advertising, politics, business, but also the informal stories told by our friends and families, and stories we unconsciously tell ourselves – and be aware of WHO created those stories and WHY. Look especially at the stories told by those in power – both nowadays and those who have had the privilege and the means to write down and mythologize the stories of history, wars and religions over the ages. In the beginning, there was gender. And the Lord said you are different from each other, because you possess different genitalia. But we all have hearts, minds, souls, wants, needs, desires. We all have stomachs. Everyone takes a poop. All of us have good and evil in us. Everyone wants and needs love. We are all so similar in so many ways. But we are supposed to think we are “different” because we have different genitalia. End of story? I’m hoping my novel can suggest another kind of story.

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Gender and the Media By Krishanthi Jeyakumar

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Market segmentation divides and works to exploit smaller groups of people through all the ages. If people believe that a product has been designed specifically for their niche enjoyment, then they are far more likely to buy it than if it is generically branded for the consumer market. To appeal to a certain group of people and convince them that they’re in need of a product, companies often use stereotypical images in their campaigns. These stereotypes are representations of certain groups of society that have strong associations with a specific message. By using these pictures in their campaigns companies have less work to do when it comes to relaying a specific message because there is already such a strong association when the image is seen. This means that there doesn’t need to be any character development or explanation. By utilizing stereotypes that exist to epitomize the gender gap that exists in society, companies are able to make a heavy profit in their target groups. In advertising it does not simply refer to identity and personality, but also works on a more symbolic level to cultural ideals of gender and stereotypes of hyper masculinity and femininity. By exemplifying this gap between the male and female population, companies are able to specifically target groups of society depending on the identity and behaviours of the group. Overall, the stereotypical male figure is portrayed in society as more autonomous than women, thought it’s true that this stereotype is slowly changing. Products that can be used by either gender such as alcohol, vehicles, make-up, styling products, cleaning supplies etc. are often marketed to one gender over the other. Though as a marketer it is very important to have a target audience in mind when developing your advertisement, by choosing to perpetuate a certain stereotype, we constantly put out the same narrative for the public to see, and by doing so the public may internalize certain aspects of an advertisement as truth.

If advertisers decide to always place a certain type of model with a certain product, we may fall prey into typecasting a certain individual with the imagery they are juxtaposed with. Or we may end up generalizing certain characteristics of the model as the ideal representation of the individual they are supposed to embody. The visual stereotype works to both initiate and confirm generally held stereotypes in society. Despite how subtle they may be, the constant perpetuation of such imagery strongly impacts gender-role attitudes, values, perceptions, beliefs and behaviors in society. There’s nothing wrong with creating visual associations between certain individuals and products, but we just have to be aware of their implications, as both advertisers and members of the general public. Watch the Miss Representation documentary by the team behind “The Representation Project” if you interested in this topic.

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WHY RAPE IS SINCERELY HILARIOUS..?

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By Brittany Davis

DECEMBER 2014

independently produced I got the chance to talk to writer and comedian Andrew Bailey about his controvirsial satirical monologue “Why Rape is Sincerely Hilarious”. Check out the video and his thought-provoking interview. 1. Do you think that male rape trivialized in society? I think rape is trivialized. I don’t think there’s a “male” or “female” rape. Rape is rape. Still, our reaction to it is definitely influenced by gender and the idea of a man getting raped seems to go against what at least some people see as natural. It statistically happens less to men (although this is difficult to determine precisely because, as I understand it, all forms of rape go under-reported) and sometimes that means male victims of sexual assault get ignored or pushed aside. Because men aren’t supposed to admit to being raped, because they’re supposed to be dominant and not dominated, it adds to the difficulty male victims have speaking out, so it continues to get pushed aside. I don’t think everyone pushes it aside or trivializes it, but enough people do so that it can feel like society as a whole does. The other night I was at a theatre event in Toronto where a bunch of different scenes from different short plays were presented. A friend of mine introduced me to this woman who thought she recognized me. My friend mentioned my video. I said the title but clarified that the video was not actually pro rape-comedy. The woman said, “Good, ’cause I was going to have to kick you in the balls.” Later, one of the scenes played male rape for laughs and I saw that same woman laughing as a good portion of the audience also laughed. That ability to see one type of rape as horrible, and the other as okay to laugh at is a problem. Again: rape is rape. 2. Do you think that male rape is often ignored or dismissed as simply “sex”? Certainly, if and when a woman is the attacker, it’s not supposed to happen. Therefore it

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– it was just sex. (Although I imagine there are plenty of female victims who have also faced this “logic.”) I remember being twelve and a friend telling about these guys who had been raped by attractive women. And my friends and I were confused because we wanted sex and why would a man refuse to have sex? We couldn’t wrap our brains around it. About a year later I was groped by this gang of girls at my locker. This was more or less a daily experience for my first half of grade 8. The girls doing it were attractive. The other guys assumed I was enjoying it. I wasn’t. What was happening to me wasn’t rape, but I knew it was something very wrong. I was being dehumanized daily and I hated it. Reality and fantasy are two different things. 3. Why did you decide to address this subject of male rape in your monologue? I was writing for a comedy show called Atomic Vaudeville. I was procrastinating and ended up watching the trailer for the comedy “That’s My Boy” where this thirteen-year-old kid gets high fives from all his friends for having sex with their teacher. They were playing it for laughs without any real thought to the implications. I thought, “This again.” It made me angry. This is partly because of what I mentioned earlier, where I was getting groped by a gang of girls and all the guys expected me to like it. That “guys like it” trope has been with us a long time. It’s lazy, vapid writing and it really pissed me off, and yet I hadn’t seen it addressed anywhere. So I wrote my monologue. 4. The emotions that were projected were very raw and genuine, how were you able to channel yourself into creating such an authentic performance? I have strengths and weaknesses as a performer, but the ability to emote is definitely one of my strengths. I tried to be in the reality of the moment. This character, who has hidden his emotions for a long time, is finally revealing some of them. ISSUE 3

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5. You ended your monologue, by saying “I have to.” Can you expand on why you chose those simple yet powerful words to end your piece with? I wrote the whole piece fairly quickly. It mostly just flowed out. But I started with the premise that this guy found rape hilarious, and meanwhile he himself had been raped and didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t go in knowing exactly where I’d go with it, but you always want the end to refer back to the start. You always want to answer the question you’ve presented, or take this question in a new direction. The words “I have to” popped into my brain and I knew they were the right way to end the piece. 6. Do you think that the gender of the victim influences how rape and sex is perceived by society? It’s weird to some people for the man to be on the receiving end. Men are supposedly the stronger, more stoic sex. So it’s a part of the things men should just be able to take or, if it’s from a woman, supposed to like.

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7. In your video you mention that men mask their pain with comedy, why do you think that this is the case? Comedy is a way both genders can mask their pain. You feel uncomfortable and can diffuse this, at least temporarily, with a laugh. Men, as a whole, are expected to mask their pain more, so they use comedy for that purpose more. But all people are expected to mask pain at times. 8. How has society or the media spread the message to men to encourage them to mask their feelings? How does this hurt or harm boys and men? I don’t know where it started exactly. I know Achilles was allowed to cry and Jesus was allowed to weep. But it’s a lot of places growing up. You get hit in the head with a baseball and then are supposed to walk it off. You see action movies where the man goes through incredible adversity and faces them with quips rather than emotion. But we, i.e. the viewers, choose to watch those movies. The makers are just people too. And there certainly are counter messages. Messages about how you can share your pain. But the walk it off mentality makes actually sharing things difficult (and Dave Chapelle does a bit on this that I personally do find very funny). When my video came out the vast majority of guys were supportive, but some guys made crude rape jokes about me. I think they were uncomfortable and made poor choices on how to deal with their discomfort. 9. Do you think there is a prescribed male role that men are expected to portray? Certainly men are supposed to be capable in the physical world. Be handy around the house. Supposed to be strong and not weak. That’s there. However, at least in the West, we are in a time of transition, so the counter idea is there too. And it’s like there’s this push and pull from different people that can be confusing. My mom taught me to be able to show my emotions. Yet there was enough outside influence that I was also taught to hide them. Some guys I know have gone extremely one way and become super masculine… Even as I say this I realize I said “masculine” for one way… which would make the other way, the way I more or less am, not masculine. So there’s that.

10. Do you ever feel the pressure of this prescribed role? Nowadays I feel it less than when I was growing up. Junior high school was a terrible place… I think for most kids. When there was a group of guys (or girls) there was always a danger you’d be the target of teasing or of violence, so you try not to stand out, which means not showing emotions. I became a funny person around this time. It was a way of surviving. As an adult most of the people I know are fairly open and decent. The conflict, the uncertainty of what a man is supposed to be, is still there. I play with that sometimes though. I lived in a not-winterized cabin for a while and chopped my own wood, which was very traditionally masculine. I enjoyed being able to be masculine that way, and I also enjoyed making fun of the fact that I enjoyed it. 11. Do you think it is important to change the current perspective on male rape? Yes. Definitely. It’s tricky to change though. With me, it’s in my writing and my performing. I try to talk about things honestly and treat my characters as humans. I don’t always succeed but I do care about doing it. Society is difficult to change though. It’s something that has to start with the individual, I think, and then grow from there. Calling things out and satirizing them (as my video does) is one thing. Ultimately I think we just have to recognize the humanity in everyone and do better in the future.

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Like Barack Obama has been quoted to have said; “Rape is rape, and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what ‘types’ of rape we’re talking about, doesn’t make sense.”

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By Kevin Bonnell

be a man.

Stuck in the frame of “what a man is supposed to be”. We tell our children; strength and boldness is the key to being a man. We tell the boys “not to cry”. And when they’re older, we tell these young men to “grow a pair”. The constant ideology pertaining to the traditional ‘man’ chained to modern society; Conditions our children to mask emotions Socializes our children to put a shield up Leaving our children trapped, debilitating them to succeed. But the main question is… why do we feel the need to characterize humans like this? Why do we feel it is necessary that baby boys wear blue and baby girls, pink? Suits for boys, skirts for girls? Why do connotations associated with being a given gender have to be so narrow? We fall under a spell to “Man Up” which dehumanizes our males We fall under the control of media that distorts our concept of “male”. But I will not let that fill my mind, Conquer my every thought, And quell my dreams and ambitions Nor will I let it influence my every decision. I want every molecule in my body, Every thought that roams my mind, Every word that rolls off my tongue, Every action that presses against my fingers to signify strength, in me. I will not let the word masculinity define me. Time and time again realizing my voice, my singular voice; The reason that I am not attached to my physical features but instead my character The reason that I am not attached to my gender but instead my personality Accepting the fact that change begins with one. I want to step up, and light the spark. I want to be a part of “the motivation”. Break the bonds of what people are used to. Interrupt their train of thought to create change. I want to know the day That we may all feel free to express ourselves regardless of our anatomy. But, I don’t mean to say erase all notions of gender, Rather I’m proposing we try embracing all facets of it. Because I will not let my gender Define my actions, Characterize my personality, or Limit my prospects. Because, being a man is beyond gender, It falls in the hands of Honesty and Respect And can only paint a complete picture when in harmony with Feminism. It doesn’t define what you can amount to. It’s time to let the world know that it’s our generation that will Redefine Masculinity. Because I am more than just my gender.

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A Few Words on Women By Krisha Ravikantharaja

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Every word that is thought, spoken or written influences everyone. In the context of women and words, an examination of the words we use and the words we don’t on a societal level demonstrates that the echoes of our words often enter the ears and minds of others whom we will never meet. As this is the case, we must finally ask, “What words should we use?”

Part 1 The Words We Use There is a derogatory word for a woman who makes a conservative decision. There is a derogatory word for a woman who identifies as a sexual being. There is a derogatory word for a woman who is assertive. There is a derogatory word for a woman who is passive. There is a derogatory word for a woman when none of the aforementioned words aptly describes that woman’s speech or behaviour. These words matter. The fact that they exist matters. The fact that these words are used as labels matters. Labelling theory proposes that using particular terms to describe an individual influences how individuals ultimately come to see themselves. Labelling theory serves a specific function in relation to the application of derogatory terms to an individual. It is not as simple as an individual who is called a particular term coming to see themself as exactly what that term entails. It works more like this, when an individual is characterized with a derogatory label, they will then attempt to change aspects of their behaviour so that they may not conform to that label anymore. The individual makes changes in their mannerisms with the end goal of having those around them stop the use of that particular label. The prevalence of derogatory words in everyday language is nothing short of alarming, while the malleability of their meanings and ever-changing variation is simply astounding. Language is manipulated by the society that uses it, and is arguably the best reflection of that society; if you want to get to know a society, look at the vocabulary they possess. Gender-specific terms with certain negative connotations associated with them are universal. However it may be worth noting that there are no equivalent terms for the majority of these words for males. In fact, the supposed ‘equivalent’ terms that exist often have a positive connotation associated with them.

Let us not forget that many derogatory terms that were once exclusively used against women are increasingly used as insults against men. The implication when these words are used against a male is that his behaviour is so poor that it qualifies as ‘unmanly.’ Even when these words are used as an insult against a man, that word reaffirms the notion that it is undesirable to be a woman and is then also acting as a way to undermine gender equality. The primary issue at hand is whether a reclaiming of a derogatory word is possible. This is analogous to the problem of reclaiming words amongst other marginalized groups, including racial minorities or individuals who do not identify as heterosexual to name a few. In the same way, there is much controversy about the reclaiming of hurtful words by these communities. Can a derogatory term that was once used solely as an insult against a particular group be shed of its history? Is it harmful for members of a marginalized group to use terms that were once exclusively used as derogations against their group, in any manner (offensive or inoffensive) toward fellow members of their marginalized group? In short, the answers to such questions are complicated. What is uncomplicated is that only those who are members of these groups have the right to answer these questions.

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Part 3 The Words We Should Use The use of derogatory words, the reclaiming of words and the identification with the word ‘feminist’ are particularly difficult issues to make conclusive statements on as different people have different views on each of these matters. Part 2 The Words We Don’t Use Perhaps the strongest indication that derogatory terms against women are a problem is a social anxiety around the word ‘feminist.’ “I support equality for everyone, but I don’t like that label.” “I prefer the term ‘humanist.’” “I think that’s an extremist term.” These are responses given by men and women, and both from those who actively engage in actions that overtly seek to promote equality amongst all genders, and from those who do not. The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that a feminist is “An advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women.” Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie defines feminist as a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. By these definitions, a feminist is not someone seeking a reversion of patriarchal hierarchy, but rather a destruction of gender hierarchy itself. This destruction of hierarchy implicates that a true feminist is simultaneously against discrimination pertaining to all notions of gender. Aside from the common misinterpretation of this definition, it is worth noting that it often easier to emphasize one’s own lack of membership in the group. It is often easier to say I am a male feminist than just I am a feminist. This is not to criticize those who do not wish to identify with the term ‘feminist’—female or otherwise; it is just interesting to consider that the identification with the term ‘feminist’ by genders other than female has been traditionally viewed as an act of weakness or betrayal of allegiance to one’s own group that is to be shamed, while the identification of women with the term ‘feminist’ is seen as an act of aggression that should be sanctioned.

However it does seem fair to say that derogatory terms toward a particular group should not be used by members outside of that group, as words of that nature used by members outside of the group have traditionally been thought of as an act of hate. This is a function of the complicated history that the use of such words brings forth. If it seems unfair that certain people should not be able to use certain words, simply consider this restriction a privilege. An individual not being entitled to use a certain word is a sign that this individual is in a position of power until that existing hierarchy is completely disassembled. Knowledge is not only power, it is the only form and source of power. To be able to articulate to someone why you disapprove of his or her words or behaviour WITHOUT resorting to a comment about the other person’s gender, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other such attribute, requires a certain vocabulary and level of eloquence. Watch a frustrated toddler resort to the ugliest words he or she knows when a sibling breaks a favourite toy, and then watch a lawyer rip to shreds the legitimacy and character of a witness’s credentials without ever leaving the words of the law. That is not to say that those who use derogatory terms with a negative connotation toward a particular group are unintelligent. Neither is this a request to ask individuals to practice articulation in order to better insult others. It is just an observation that many of us fall back on such derogations when we are at a loss for words. This ability to articulate further simply allows us the ability to make a distinction between the idea with which we disagree with or find discomfort in (i.e., the speech or behaviour of another), from the person who embodies that which one may find inappropriate. I am reminded of the importance of words when I realize that of all my articles for FIERCE thus far, I have spent the most time contemplating diction for this one. I made a deliberate decision not to include any group-specific derogatory terms in this article so as not to partake in the perpetuation of the use of these words, particularly their use in a derogatory manner in opposition to that of one in the context of reclamation. I do not believe the inclusion of those words would have enriched the ideas in this piece, nor do I believe that their exclusion has hindered the communication of my ideas. A farmer knows that when and where seeds are placed are of little consequence if the wrong seeds are buried deep and watered often while the right ones were fed to the birds.

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Featuring Kashmeera Jey By Whyishnave Suthagar

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By Brittany Davis

DECEMBER 2014

independently produced Chatting it up with the amazing Julie Kerwin and Dawn Nadeau, Co-Founders of IAmElemental. They talk to us about everything action figure, play and girl culture.

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1. In your opinion, what are the major issues that surround how toys are marketed to girls? JULIE: Dawn and I have a lot of concerns about the way that toys are marketed to girls but, as we see it, the biggest issue is the way that the media’s overt and persistent hyper-sexualization of the female has invaded the children’s advertising arena in the past few years. A few months ago, The Huffington Post’s Jessica Samakow wrote an article about the fact that toy advertisements had become decidedly more “girly” in recent years. What she really meant was decidedly more “tarty” or sexually provocative. Thanks to the heavy overuse of Photoshop which erases real women and replaces them with Barbie-like imitations, the belittling of women on low-cost reality television programs and, yes, even the tarting-up of iconic figures like Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobbie, as well as the more recent example of Disney’s Brave, girls (and boys) are internalizing messages about what it means to be a perfect woman that are completely unattainable because they aren’t real. DAWN: As parents, Julie and I are concerned about the research that shows that portraying women in the media and, by extension, the toy world in an unrealistic way negatively affects the way that girls perceive themselves, can lead to lower self esteem and body-image problems, affect social behavior, and even discourage young women from entering certain professions. So, we set out to do something about it.

2. Why do you think it is important for there to be more variation in the types of toys that chidren play with? DAWN: Play is Powerful (pun intended), and the toys that children play with impact the stories they are able to tell with them. It’s hard to find toys on the shelves where girls are the ones saving the day. The storyline that’s implied when a girl plays with two dolls dressed as princesses is very different from the story that naturally unfolds when you have two figures that are dressed like knights. The truth is, female superheroes exist in the real world. We all know some, whether they are your favorite teacher or a historic figure like Joan of Arc. There are many powerful women out there who embody strong character and represent empowerment, and can be used as sources of inspiration for toy designers. But, if you go looking for a woman in the superhero section of your toy store, you’re in for a surprise. The breasts and derrieres are often times bigger than their heads. And if you want your female superheroes to sit, their legs splay far and wide. Not only do these hypersexualized characteristics render it difficult to save the world, they are not reality, and they’re not designed as toys for the average four-year-old girl – or boy. JULIE: And, to be clear, as the mother of two boys, I think that it is equally important that boys have the opportunity to play with a strong, powerful healthy image of a female action figure as it is for girls. How can we hope to promote the notion of gender equality if we only teach girls what it means to be a powerful woman? Having said all that, we are not anti-doll or anti-princess. We believe that there is room in a child’s toy box for both dolls and IAmElemental action figures. But, to be clear, they are different things. Even if you dress Barbie up as a Superhero, she is still a doll. IAmElemental makes action figures, not dolls. Dolls you primp, you change their outfits, comb their hair, etc. Dressing up Barbie is a core element of that play experience. Action figures take on challenges, fight bad guys, and have Superpowers. That difference is at the heart of our tagline: If you give a girl a different toy, she will tell a different story. We also believe that if you change the way girls play, by making them the protagonists of their own empowering stories, you can change the way they think – about themselves and their role in the world around them.

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3. How did you come up with the designs for the action figures? DAWN: The big toy companies do not design action figures for girls. They design hyper-sexualized female figures for the collector market. We set out to design fierce female figures with a healthier breast-to-hip ratio. As we like to say, “More Heroine, Less Hooters.” As for the determination of the actual breast-to-hip ratio, you kind of know it when you see it. We were looking for a figure that was female in form – it doesn’t serve anyone well if it’s not identifiably female – while being sensitive to the troubling aspects that are very common in the industry. We spent a lot of time poring over the torso. We focused on the breasts not being overly emphasized. We tinkered with both the breast-to-hip ratio and how all the pieces fit together; making sure that the legs didn’t splay out in a hypersexualized way. And, honestly, the bum was a big issue. Everyone talks about the breasts and, trust me, we found some figures where their heads are actually smaller than their breasts, but Julie had this bizarre obsession with the bum. Our figure designers – who have been amazing, and really got it from the very beginning – kept sending us drawings with this backside that was very exaggerated. It took a while to get things “just right,” but we are very happy with the final outcome. JULIE: As for the armor/warrior aesthetic, IAmElemental is founded on the premise that every single one of us is already a Superhero, and that all the Superpowers we could ever want or need are already inside of us. To that end, we are committed to inspiring girls (and boys) to be their best, most powerful selves by sharing with them examples of heroism in the real world. Once we decided that Courage was going to be the theme of our first action figure series, Joan of Arc was an obvious Muse. Leading an army into battle was not only exceedingly rare for women of her time, but men as well. The fact that she was only a teenager at the time significantly adds to her allure. Joan of Arc was Honest, Persistent, Industrious, Enthusiastic, and she was Brave. Her story sends a clear and powerful message that, no matter our circumstances, everyone has the capacity to be Courageous and do amazing things. Each IAmElemental Series will have a different Muse, and a different aesthetic. Series#2 is going to be Wisdom. The Muse has yet to be announced, but we are looking forward to introducing the new series to the public in the new year. We will begin designing the Wisdom series as soon as we have finished with our hyper-articulated six-inch figure. A lot of thought went into both the accessory and color design. For example, Persistence’s cape design was modeled after an ocean’s wave and the idea that, while waves might keep coming and knocking you down, if you channel your power of persistence, you can always get back up. And Honesty’s wings are derived from the use of the wing motif in ancient Persia. According to the world’s first historian, Herodotus, the Persians taught their children three things: to ride a horse, shoot an arrow, and tell the truth. When it came to color design, we intentionally selected a series of seven colors that have no relation to skin tone; we did not want ethnicity to play a role in how any individual power is defined or perceived. And this is only the beginning. Each series will have a different color palette. We call series#1 “The Red Series.” Our second series will be “The Blue Series.” Ultimately, IAmElemental will explore a whole range of colors. ISSUE 3 fiercemag.co

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4. What is the designing process like? How do you go from comcept to execution? JULIE: We are having the time of our lives designing the figures. Once we settle on the Muse for a particular figure, we start compiling images in shared online folders. There are no limits. For the Courage series, for example, we started with literal interpretations – knights and Joan of Arc images – and shifted over time into high-fashion reinterpretations (and everything in between). Mindful of the fact that we did not want it to be retro but, rather, modern in feel, we looked for images of “fierce” women of all types as a guide. We also generated a fabulous box of sample figures that we used as inspiration as well. The Japanese Manga figures were especially informative for us because of their forward thinking design, fabulous hair (many American toy companies really drop the ball on the hair), and articulation. Once we had the general design mapped out, we focused a lot on color. While we are adamant in our determination to avoid the “girl ghetto” in toy stores, we deliberately did not avoid using pink in this first series. Instead, we set out to show that, carefully selected, pink can be a strong and powerful color. When we gave Bravery her fluorescent-pink braid, far from thinking “girly,” we were channeling every breast cancer warrior we know. My mother died of the disease back in 1978, but she fought with ferocity, and Bravery embodies that spirit. Our goal was for the color palette to veer toward modern and unexpected and, based on public response, I think we did just that.

5. What difficultis did each of you face during the design process? DAWN: We partnered with the professionals: Tim Conroy and his team at EleventyPlex design in Cincinnati, OH. We are so “Twenty-First Century” that everything has been done by conference call. Despite the distance, we have become a tight-knit team, and they played an active part in our creative process, as well as the prototyping and design. We were spared a lot of the difficulties that you might have expected us to have because they literally brought our ideas to life. We are very lucky to have found them, and we plan to work together for a very long time.

FIERCE

DECEMBER 2014

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ISSUE 3

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DECEMBER 2014

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6. How did you pick each of the character names/superpowers for each toy? Can you explain the importance of each of the traits that you chose? JULIE: For a long time, Dawn and I had conversations about girls, boys and superheroes. We asked ourselves why male superheroes, like Spiderman, appeal to both a four-year-old boy and 40-old man, but the same could not be said about female superheroes. I had just read Angela Duckworth’s pioneering study about the importance of Grit as the key to success, heard brain expert Jo Ann Deak pronounce that “boys and girls are as different from the neck up as they are from the neck down,” and became obsessed with the iconic documentary film series 7 Up, which opens with the saying, “Give me the child until he is seven, and I will show you the man.” This exposure led us to wonder, could changing the way children play have a positive effect on the adults they become? A major component of the IAmElemental concept centers around the fact that we are marketing more than just an action figure, and more than just a movie tie-in. Rather, we are marketing a message about character and empowerment. We think that kids are far more capable of understanding the idea of power and character than most grown-ups realize. We did not dumb down the concepts – these figures aren’t Betty Brave and Patty Persistence, for example. Just like the Periodic Table of Elements are the building blocks of all matter, in the IAmElemental universe, the Elements of Power are the building blocks of character. By breaking Courage down into Bravery, Energy, Honesty, Industry, Enthusiasm, Persistence, and Fear, for example, we’ve made them easily accessible to kids. In our experience, when presented in this format, children quickly come to understand that they can use these Powers to create good in the world. That is the larger IAmElemental message. DAWN: An important part of the concept is that the powers work together to become something greater than they are individually. Each Element is also representative of a character trait we all have inside of us to some degree. We believe magic and fantasy are important part of the power of play, and have also taken care to have the figures be personifications of the Powers, rather than actual people. They are fierce and bold personifications of distinct Elements, each with their own super power to draw upon. For instance, Bravery has the ability to create a protective force field around herself and others, and Honesty can make others tell the truth. Those powers and the fierce female figures themselves we hope will spark hours of play and allow girls to place themselves at the center of an active storyline where they can save the world – together.

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7. What is your end goal for this project? How do you see IamElemental growing in the next few years? JULIE: Dawn and I grew up in a world where we fervently believed that we were equal to boys, and that we could accomplish any goal we set for ourselves. It was the early days of Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine and the individuality-themed “Free To Be…You And Me” TV special, and we internalised this truth as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. We believe that if you change the way children play when they are young, you canchange the way they think as they grow older. Putting strong, realistic female action figures in a girl’s hands will impact the stories she tells. A girl who envisions herself saving the day when she plays will go out into the world better equipped to emulate the strong women who inspire her – be they a favorite teacher, a prominent world leader, or a historic figure like Joan of Arc. Armed and confident in her Superpowers, she just might become a real Superhero herself one day. DAWN: We spent two years in development before we launched our Kickstarter campaign this past May. Before we actually started designing the figures last year, we spent months brainstorming and researching ideas. We have plans that would easily take at least the next five years to roll out. From the very beginning, our goal was to build a business. We want to be known for action figures, but our ideas cover a range of play experiences that are not limited to the action figure realm. We like to think that we are just getting started because it’s time for girls to Play With Power.

FIERCE

DECEMBER 2014

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ISSUE 3

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give a girl a differnt toy

FIERCE

AUGUST 2014

y and she will tell a different story.

the end.

edit0r’s valedicti0n I If you have come this far then I’d like to thank you for reading (or atleast clicking through) this piece in its entirety out of ideally your own will (or perhaps surrendering to the persistence of our contributors requesting that you have look). I hope that all in all it was a good or atleast tolerable viewing experience, and in the case that it wasn’t we do hope our next issue will be more tailored to your tastes. Again thank you for reading the third issue of FIERCE and we hope that you come back for more. To view more articles from this issue, visit the magazine’s website at http://www.fiercemag.co/issue-3/.

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