Blog Assignment #2

"One is not born a woman, but becomes one" -- Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex, 1949

Simone de Beauvoir famously staked this claim in 1949 and her point is still sailent today. Butler aptly noted how this understanding could also be applied to men. For this blog assignment you will test this notion through field research. This assignment also illustrates the "matrix of domination" that Anderson identifies in the text book for our course.

Select your subjects.
Identify three men and three women for this assignment. The people you choose should represent a racially diverse and it might be interesting if they were of different generations - but no younger than college age, please. Make sure that your subjects are willing to participate, always ask for permission to interview someone and don't take it personally if they say 'no'. Once you have their concent make an appointment to speak with them again, after you create your questions.

Crafting your questions....
Use the text book to help you formulate your questions. Consider what Anderson says about norms, values, morals, and the social prescriptions they suggest. You may or may not want to focus on a particular instutition of socialization that we identified in class... remember the list on the board? Perhaps you are interested in a specific time frame of the individual's experience - childhood, their chidren's infancies, adulthood, old age... Whatever variables you choose, retain that focus in all your interviews. You should write down your questions, have them printed out and with you when you interview your subjects.

The Interviews...
Ask all the participants the same questions and in the same order. This is an attempt to remain objective... it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a good conversation, one that goes both ways, but be sure to ask all the questions of all the subjects. Take notes during the interview... Careful notes about what you hear. Try to convey the emphasis of your subject's speech in the notes you take.

Writing...
After you conduct the interviews, reflect on your notes and write your blog posting. Provide the demographic data about your subjects and list your questions. Then, in 500 words (more or less) let us know what you think. How did the interviews shape your understanding of de Bouvior's comment? What did you learn from your conversations that confirms Andersons's assertion that race and class are inexorably linked to gender identity? What was the most surprising discovery that you made during the exercise? What did you learn that confirmed your thoughts going into the exercise?

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