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LA Social Science Book Series on Masculinity and Disability with Professor Salih Can Açiksöz

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In Sacrificial Limbs: Masculinity, Disability and Political Violence in Turkey, UCLA Anthropology Professor Salih Can Açiksöz examines the relationship between masculinity and disability with the stories of disabled veterans of Turkey’s Kurdish war. By chronicling the everyday lives of these veterans, Dr. Açiksöz captures the complexity of the state’s role in shaping how the veterans’ political activism unfolds.

Interview Chapters:

0:04​ – Intro

0:52​ – What is the main argument of the book?

3:43​ – How does this book lead to a more nuanced account of the relationship between masculinity and disability?

7:47​ – What do the disabled veterans’ lives tell us about their relationship to the state and their political activism?

10:51​ – How is this book relevant to contemporary times? Why should it be read/assigned?

To learn more, check out Professor Açiksöz‘s book, Sacrificial Limbs: Masculinity, Disability and Political Violence in Turkey.

 

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Visual Representation and Gender Fit in the Workplace

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INSEAD, The Business School for the World, “brings together people, cultures, and ideas to develop responsible leaders who transform business and society” (INSEAD Mission Statement). In March, INSEAD hosted the Women at Work Research Conference in Singapore. This conference offered a space for researchers across the world to come together to share their findings on gender. Specifically, on the experience of women in the workforce and possible solutions to cultivate gender balance.

Among the presenters was Dr. Kerri L. Johnson, a UCLA professor in the Departments of Communication and Psychology. Additionally, Dr. Johnson serves as the Chair for the Department of Communication and as the Director of UCLA’s Social Vision Lab. Her research uses innovative methods of communication science that allows her to uncover unique nonverbal ways of communication and understanding between individuals and groups.

Dr. Johnson’s conference presentation discussed her research around visual representation and gender fit. Many of us have unconscious gender biases that can affect the way we may respond towards others. She found in her research that the response to men and women who appeared to be more masculine were assumed to have more work and STEM success compared to those who displayed more femininity. To combat these biases, Dr. Johnson suggested that organizations should diversify their workplace with influential role models that represent all genders, occupational positions (including leadership roles), and physical appearances. By changing the way we are normalized to visualize associations, we can break the unconscious biases that are connected to gender, fit, and capability.

If you want to learn more about the important research about women at work, click HERE.

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