Table Of ContentBeyond Gender Binaries
BEYOND
GENDER BINARIES
An Intersectional Orientation to
Communication and Identities
Cindy L. Griffin
university of california press
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2020 by Cindy L. Griffin
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Griffin, Cindy L., author.
Title: Beyond gender binaries : an intersectional orientation to
communication and identities / Cindy L. Griffin.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press,
[2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2020011873 (print) | lccn 2020011874 (ebook) |
i sbn 9780520297289 (paperback) | isbn 9780520969698 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Gender identity. | Communication and sex. |
F eminist theory. | Women—Communication. | Women’s rights. |
Rhetoric—Social aspects.
Classification: lcc hq18.55 .g75 2020 (print) | lcc hq18.55 (ebook) |
ddc 305.3—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011873
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011874
Manufactured in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Guides to Communication xi
part I Conceptual Foundations of Intersectionality
1 Intersectional Definitions of Identity and Communication 3
2 Intersectional Explorations of Discourses of Rights 27
3 Intersectional Approaches to Privilege and Its Impact on Communication 51
part II Feminist Intersectional Orientations to Rights
4 Intersectional Approaches to Personhood and Citizenship 71
5 Intersectional Approaches to Safety in Public Spaces 93
6 Intersectional Approaches to Safety in Private Spaces 119
7 Intersectional Discourses for Talking about Sexual Violence 143
8 Intersectional Approaches to Spaces for Learning 169
9 Intersectional Approaches to Workplace Injustices 197
part III Intersectionality and Structures of Power
10 Hegemony and Structures of Power 229
11 Discourses of Colonialism and Colonization 249
12 Communicating through Feminist and Intersectional Lenses 273
References 293
Index 301
Full Contents
Acknowledgments xiii 3 Intersectional Approaches to Privilege and
List of Guides to Communication xi Its Impact on Communication 51
Asking Intersectional Questions 52
Privilege as a Kaleidoscope of Unmarked
part I Advantages 52
Conceptual Foundations of
Unearned Privileges 53
Interesectionality Unpacking Your Own Invisible Knapsack and Improving
Communication 59
1 Intersectional Definitions of Identity and
Individual and Collective Guilt 60
Communication 3
Privilege and the Aesthetics of Human
The Danger of a Single Story 4 Disqualification 62
What Is Intersectionality? 6 Disqualification and Phobias 63
The Problems with Essentialist Thinking 8 Unmasking Phobias 64
The Benefits of Intersectional Thinking 10 The Possibility of Alliances and Coalitions 65
What Is Communication? 12 Resources 67
Defining Communication Intersectionally 13
Notes 67
Communication and Hierarchies of Value 15
Discourse and Truth Regimes 15
Gender Identity: Communication beyond part II
Binaries 18 Feminist Intersectional Orientations
Invitational Rhetoric 21 to Rights
Resources 24
4 Intersectional Approaches to Personhood and
Notes 24
Citizenship 71
2 Intersectional Explorations of Discourses of The Right to Be Considered Fully Human 72
Rights 27
The Right to Personhood: Hierarchies of
Gender Equality Is Your Issue, Too 28
Humanness 73
Feminism and Discourses of Rights 28
Criteria for Personhood: The Discourse of
First Wave Feminism 29
Undesirable Traits 75
Second Wave Feminism 31
“Feebleminded,” Poor, and “Promiscuous”
Third Wave Feminism 34 Women 76
Patriarchy and Discourses of Rights 38 Immigrants 76
The American Dream and Promises Made 39 Troublemakers 76
Entitlement and the Loss of a Birthright 42 Black and Hispanic Women 77
From Entitlement to Outrage 43 Native American Women 77
Intersectionality and Discourses of Rights 47 Transgender Individuals 78
Inmates 78
Resources 48
The Right to Citizenship: The Discourse of
Notes 48
Belonging 80
vii
Criteria for Incivility: Discourses of Social Communication and the Burden of Credibility 146
Polarization 83 Communication and the Burden of Silence 148
Human Rights, Civility, and Universal Moral Communication and the Burden of Ability 150
Respect 87
Communication about the Perpetrators: Forces
Resources 90 beyond Their Control 151
Notes 90 Communication from the Perpetrators: “Legitimate
5 Intersectional Approaches to Safety Forms of Humiliation” 154
in Public Spaces 93 Stories of Resilience and Resistance 156
The Right to Safety 94 On the Streets 156
Discourses of Harassment 95 On College Campuses 157
The Many Faces of Street Harassment 96 In Social Settings 158
The Many Faces of Cyber Harassment 98 In Communities 159
In Free Trade Zones 160
Hate Speech 102
Discourses of Demonization 103 The Power of Community 163
Policing Masculinity: Violence against Black and Resources 165
Latino Boys and Men 105 Notes 165
Criminalizing Normal Behaviors 105 8 Intersectional Approaches to Spaces
Crime Myths and Scapegoating 108 for Learning 169
Gentrification and Gang Injunctions 109
The Right to Safety in Our Schools 170
A Discursive Regime of Danger 111
Bullying 170
The Absence of Democracy 112
Who Bullies and Who Gets Bullied? 171
The Work Our Words Do 113 Bullying: Real Time and Online Patterns 173
Resources 116 Mass Shootings: Yesterday and Today 174
Notes 116 Violence Is Synonymous with Masculinity 178
6 Intersectional Approaches to Safety Microaggressions 178
in Private Spaces 119 Defining Microaggressions 179
Examples of Microaggressions 181
In Praise of Insubordination 120
Non-Binary Pronouns 182
The Right to Safety in Private Spaces 120
The Right to Learn 185
Interpersonal and Sexual Violence 121
Title IX, Civil Rights Act, and Americans with Disabilities
Defining Interpersonal Violence 121
Act: No Exclusions 185
Defining Sexual Violence 121
Curriculum Matters 187
Targets and Perpetrators of Interpersonal and Sexual
Violence 123 Rejecting Discourses of Supremacy 190
Intersecting Systems of Power and Oppression 126 Resources 193
Rape Myths and Rape Scripts 126 Notes 193
The Unrapeable Myth 128 9 Intersectional Approaches to Workplace
Societal and Historical Traumas 130 Injustices 197
Cultural and Social Norms 132
A Different Story of Poor Communities 198
The Lie of Entitlement 134
Fast Fashion: Poverty Wages and Dreadful Working
Rewriting the Scripts 136 Conditions 198
Resources 139 Inexpensive Clothing: At What Cost? 200
Notes 139 Dangerous Conditions: Profits Not Safety 201
7 Intersectional Discourses for Talking about Wage Gaps: The Differences in Identities 202
Sexual Violence 143 The Myths of Poverty 205
Discourses of Public Cruelty 144 The Bootstrap Myth 206
The Stigmatization of Poverty 209
Communication and the Burden of
Poverty and Epistemic Justice 211
Performance 144
Workplace Harassment: Real Time and Online 212 Examples of Discourses of Colonialism and
Defining Workplace Harassment 213 Colonization 253
Identities and Workplace Harassment 214 Colonial Masculinity 254
Sexual Harassment 217 Colonizing Indigenous Gender Systems 255
Bullying 219 Colonizing the Burqa 258
Listening to Subordinates Rather Than Colonizing Our Gaze 261
Supervisors 221
Internalized Colonization 264
Resources 223
Beyond Colonizing Discourses 267
Notes 223
Resources 269
Notes 269
part III 12 Communicating through Feminist and
Intersectionality and Structures Intersectional Lenses 273
of Power The Revolutionary Power of Diverse
Thought 274
10 Hegemony and Structures of Power 229
Invitational Strategies for Intersectional
Hegemony and the Manufacturing of Consent 230 Communication 275
Defining Hegemony 230 Listen to Difference 276
How Ideas Become Hegemonic 232 Reject Hierarchies of Humanness 279
Hegemony and Institutional Privilege and Bias 234 Engage Discomfort 280
Understanding Institutional Privilege and Bias 235 Correct Ourselves 282
Examples of Institutional Privilege and Bias 236 Beyond Gender Binaries: Decolonizing Our Bodies
Hegemony and Systems of Privilege and Bias 239 and Our Discourse 285
Understanding Systems of Privilege and Bias 239 Decolonizing Our Bodies 286
Systems Are Not Neutral 240 Decolonizing Our Discourse 288
Hegemony and Structural Inequality 241 Power and Privilege as Constant Traveling
Intersectionality and Structures of Power 245 Companions 290
Resources 246 Resources 292
Notes 246 Notes 292
11 Discourses of Colonialism and Colonization 249
No One Is Purely One Thing 250 References 293
Defining Colonialism and Colonization 251 Index 301
