Reading #1: Throwing Like a Girl by Iris Marion Young

This text seems to mainly focus on the difference between the sexes when throwing a ball and connects it to other aspects of human behavior (specifically a girl’s behavior).

Straus believes the differences are biological, not anatomical. “Feminine attitude” is what controls how a woman moves and interacts with the space/world around her.

De Beauvoir mentions how women tend to view their body as a burden.

Anatomical changes

Iris later clarified that “feminine” existence is a set of structures and conditions set on a woman.

Section 1

Women and men use their body differently.

Women tend to fail to use the body’s spatial and lateral potentialities. Women would rather not try carrying something heavy since they can be timid and hesitant.

When playing sports there's hesitation to play due to having an impulse to duck/protect ourselves.

Iris mentions how women tend to view their body as somthing that could "break".

Iris makes the observation that men are more open with their bodies. Regardless of failing, men try at full force.

Section II:

Female body's comportment (manner of moving) & motility (ability to control one ' s body)

3 modalities of female motility: ambiguous transcendence inhibited intentionality

Transcendence is a term that describes completely overcoming immanence (defined as ways the world limits the female experience) of a lived, female body. However, Ambiguous transcendence refers to how the female body is constantly bombarded by immanence in one form or another & must continuously experience a state of controlling oneself yet being controlled.

When the female body aims for a goal with self-acknowledgement (like “I can”), yet before that goal is fulfilled, she retrains bodily commitment and self-doubts like “I cannot“ arise.

Discontinuous Unity

When female body movement “ …severs the connection between aim and enactment…”. In other words, it is when the body is disunified with itself & its surroundings.

1.

Section III

Iris continues discussing more modalities in the feminine body, this time discussing Feminine Spatialitiy

Iris argues that women can do much more physically, however, they view a sort of boundary between themselves and the space surrounding them, limiting the amount of movement they can see themselves doing

2. Iris brings up two terms "yonder" and "here". "Yonder" represents the space outside of this enclosed area, and women see that something can move there, but not themselves. "Here" is the area they inhibit and they can see themselves moving in this area

3. Women tend to view their bodies as rooted in place, and also tend to view objects the same. Iris says that women tend to view other objects as being "anchored with their own immanence"

Section IV

The source of the female body's manner of moving, physical capacity, or range of motion is not anatomical nor due to her gender, but rather the patriarchal & societal situations placed upon her. These ideals confine, condition, & objectify women into living in certain ways that causes disunity with her mind & body. Due to this, women have grown self-conscious of their actions, appearance, & personal space as they compare their body's social & physical abilities to the opposite sex.