Seriality (Gender studies)
Encyclopedia
Seriality or serial collectivity is a term that feminist scholar Iris Marion Young
used to describe a reconceptualization of the category of woman
in her 1994 essay Gender as Seriality. Young
borrows the concept of seriality
from Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason
, where he originally developed the idea to describe the relationship of individuals to social classes and the capitalist system of production and consumption. Understanding women as a series, rather than a group, entails the recognition that the category woman is not defined by any common biological or psychological characteristics; rather, individuals are positioned as woman by a set of material and immaterial social constructs that are the product of previous human actions.
Seriality, in contrast to the active effort of group being, describes a level of social existence that is habitually constrained and directed by existing circumstances and material conditions.
In a series, a collection of people are unified passively by objects, routines practices and habits around which their actions are oriented. For instance, people waiting in line for a bus, radio listeners, prison inmates and street theatre
spectators are all examples of series. In each example, individuals are oriented toward the same goals by their response to existing conditions and structures in the environment, which are the collective legacy of human actions and decisions in the past. To illustrate concretely, the actions of people who stop and watch a street theatre performance may be shaped by existing conditions which constrain and permit their actions, such as the social acceptability of staging a performance on the street, the attractive costumes of the performers, high unemployment rates among actors, the existence of a public square, social expectations of their roles as spectators. Members of a series are anonymous and isolated, although not alone, often individuals in a series take into account the expected behavior of other members when pursuing their own actions – for instance, a bus rider may choose to avoid rush hour traffic. Members of a series are also interchangeable, although not identical, in relation to the objects that effect their serialized condition: from the point of view of a radio program broadcaster, one listener is interchangeable with another.
Groups and series are related in that groups arise out of a backdrop of seriality, and disperse to fall back into serialized conditions. In other words, groups are the product of individuals' response to shared conditions; Young gives the example of commuters at a bus stop who, when the bus fails to appear, organize themselves into a group to hail taxis, complain to the bus company, etc.
i) On one hand, it is important to be able to speak of women as a group for practical political reasons. Feminist politics is organized around this category of woman; its existence as a movement fundamentally depends on this conceptualization. Additionally, the category of women is necessary in order to understand oppression
and disadvantage as something that is systematically inflicted upon women (or any societal group) in a structured, institution
alized process, as opposed to being a natural or unique condition.
ii) On the other hand, the category of woman is fraught with problems of essentialization, normalization
and exclusion. As Elizabeth Spelman points out, social categories are constructs that carry latent expressions of privilege and subordination; in this manner, feminist theories have often assumed the experience of white, middle-class heterosexual women as representative for all women, excluding less privileged points of view. Chandra Mohanty
suggests that the category of woman creates the false impression of a coherent, homogeneous group, which leads to the mistake of assuming that all women are equally powerless and oppressed, rather than generating specific questions about oppression that can be empirically investigated. Judith Butler
goes as far as to argue that the very act of defining such a gender category is what produces the normalizations
that privilege some viewpoints and exclude others.
Thinking of woman as a series solves these conceptual problems. It allows one to meaningfully use the category while avoiding the mistake of falsely essentializing
women as a group. An essentialist approach attempts to define woman by common biological characteristics – evidently false when one considers, for instance, transgender
, bigender
or intersexual people, for instance – or by finding commonality in the vast diversity of women's actual lives, clearly not a viable enterprise.
A serial conception of woman also disconnects the idea of gender from an individual's personal identity, as it defines gender as a pre-existing set of societal forces that are visited upon each individual; this approach does not make any claims about the way individuals respond to these pressures. Indeed, the conception of gender as seriality derives its strength from precisely the fact that it does not attempt a comprehensive definition of the individual, but acknowledges that individuals exist within structures that constrain and channel their actions in particular ways.
has suggested that the concept of seriality might also be usefully applied to relationships of race or nationality
as linkages which also result from historical conditions – such as the institution of slavery
and projects of nation-building
– which also function to limit and enable individuals' actions on the level of everyday life and habit.
Iris Marion Young
Iris Marion Young was Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and affiliated with the Center for Gender Studies and the Human Rights program there...
used to describe a reconceptualization of the category of woman
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
in her 1994 essay Gender as Seriality. Young
Iris Marion Young
Iris Marion Young was Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and affiliated with the Center for Gender Studies and the Human Rights program there...
borrows the concept of seriality
Seriality
A seriality is a social construct which differs from a mere group of individuals. Serialities take the form of labels which are either imposed onto persons or voluntarily adopted by them...
from Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason
Critique of Dialectical Reason
Critique of Dialectical Reason, , was the last of Jean-Paul Sartre's major philosophical works...
, where he originally developed the idea to describe the relationship of individuals to social classes and the capitalist system of production and consumption. Understanding women as a series, rather than a group, entails the recognition that the category woman is not defined by any common biological or psychological characteristics; rather, individuals are positioned as woman by a set of material and immaterial social constructs that are the product of previous human actions.
Group vs Series
A group, in Sartre's definition, is a collection of people who self-consciously recognize themselves to be in a unified relationship with each other in the undertaking of a common project. A mutual acknowledgment of actively shared goals is the chief feature of a group. Guilds, reading groups, addiction support groups and animal cruelty prevention groups are all examples of groups.Seriality, in contrast to the active effort of group being, describes a level of social existence that is habitually constrained and directed by existing circumstances and material conditions.
In a series, a collection of people are unified passively by objects, routines practices and habits around which their actions are oriented. For instance, people waiting in line for a bus, radio listeners, prison inmates and street theatre
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...
spectators are all examples of series. In each example, individuals are oriented toward the same goals by their response to existing conditions and structures in the environment, which are the collective legacy of human actions and decisions in the past. To illustrate concretely, the actions of people who stop and watch a street theatre performance may be shaped by existing conditions which constrain and permit their actions, such as the social acceptability of staging a performance on the street, the attractive costumes of the performers, high unemployment rates among actors, the existence of a public square, social expectations of their roles as spectators. Members of a series are anonymous and isolated, although not alone, often individuals in a series take into account the expected behavior of other members when pursuing their own actions – for instance, a bus rider may choose to avoid rush hour traffic. Members of a series are also interchangeable, although not identical, in relation to the objects that effect their serialized condition: from the point of view of a radio program broadcaster, one listener is interchangeable with another.
Groups and series are related in that groups arise out of a backdrop of seriality, and disperse to fall back into serialized conditions. In other words, groups are the product of individuals' response to shared conditions; Young gives the example of commuters at a bus stop who, when the bus fails to appear, organize themselves into a group to hail taxis, complain to the bus company, etc.
Seriality as a Solution to Conceptual Dilemma in Feminism
Young's reconceptualization of women as a series is an attempt to provide a solution to the problems in feminist discourse surrounding the grouping of all women in a single category. This problem exists as a dilemma between two conflicting positions:i) On one hand, it is important to be able to speak of women as a group for practical political reasons. Feminist politics is organized around this category of woman; its existence as a movement fundamentally depends on this conceptualization. Additionally, the category of women is necessary in order to understand oppression
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
and disadvantage as something that is systematically inflicted upon women (or any societal group) in a structured, institution
Institution
An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
alized process, as opposed to being a natural or unique condition.
ii) On the other hand, the category of woman is fraught with problems of essentialization, normalization
Normalization (sociology)
Normalization refers to social processes through which ideas and actions come to be seen as "normal" and become taken-for-granted or 'natural' in everyday life. In sociological theory normalization appears in two forms....
and exclusion. As Elizabeth Spelman points out, social categories are constructs that carry latent expressions of privilege and subordination; in this manner, feminist theories have often assumed the experience of white, middle-class heterosexual women as representative for all women, excluding less privileged points of view. Chandra Mohanty
Chandra Talpade Mohanty
Chandra Talpade Mohanty is a prominent postcolonial and transnational feminist theorist. She became well known after the publication of her influential essay, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" in 1988...
suggests that the category of woman creates the false impression of a coherent, homogeneous group, which leads to the mistake of assuming that all women are equally powerless and oppressed, rather than generating specific questions about oppression that can be empirically investigated. Judith Butler
Judith Butler
Judith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.Butler received her Ph.D...
goes as far as to argue that the very act of defining such a gender category is what produces the normalizations
Normalization (sociology)
Normalization refers to social processes through which ideas and actions come to be seen as "normal" and become taken-for-granted or 'natural' in everyday life. In sociological theory normalization appears in two forms....
that privilege some viewpoints and exclude others.
Thinking of woman as a series solves these conceptual problems. It allows one to meaningfully use the category while avoiding the mistake of falsely essentializing
Essentialism
In philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
women as a group. An essentialist approach attempts to define woman by common biological characteristics – evidently false when one considers, for instance, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, bigender
Bigender
Bigender, bi-gender or bi+gender describes a tendency to move between feminine and masculine gender-typed behaviour depending on context. Some bigendered individuals express a distinctly "en femme" persona and a distinctly "en homme" persona, feminine and masculine respectively; others have shades...
or intersexual people, for instance – or by finding commonality in the vast diversity of women's actual lives, clearly not a viable enterprise.
A serial conception of woman also disconnects the idea of gender from an individual's personal identity, as it defines gender as a pre-existing set of societal forces that are visited upon each individual; this approach does not make any claims about the way individuals respond to these pressures. Indeed, the conception of gender as seriality derives its strength from precisely the fact that it does not attempt a comprehensive definition of the individual, but acknowledges that individuals exist within structures that constrain and channel their actions in particular ways.
Other Potential Applications of Seriality
YoungIris Marion Young
Iris Marion Young was Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and affiliated with the Center for Gender Studies and the Human Rights program there...
has suggested that the concept of seriality might also be usefully applied to relationships of race or nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
as linkages which also result from historical conditions – such as the institution of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and projects of nation-building
Nation-building
For nation-building in the sense of enhancing the capacity of state institutions, building state-society relations, and also external interventions see State-building....
– which also function to limit and enable individuals' actions on the level of everyday life and habit.
See also
- WomanWomanA woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
- GenderGenderGender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
- Social constructionismSocial constructionismSocial constructionism and social constructivism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena or objects of consciousness develop in social contexts. A social construction is a concept or practice that is the construct of a particular group...
- FeminismFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
- Feminist theoryFeminist theoryFeminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality...
- Third-wave feminismThird-wave feminismThird-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study whose exact boundaries in the historiography of feminism are a subject of debate, but often marked as beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present...
- Gender studiesGender studiesGender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
- Women's studiesWomen's studiesWomen's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...