Religion

     On Tuesday there was a presentation on Religion.  While I thought the presentation was enjoyable it was hard to get a full grasp of everything with the limited amount of time.  I would have liked to know why the three religions were chosen and how it was decided what information would be left out from the discussion of each.  I think the brief speaking on Orthodoxy was interesting, yet I still feel that there was much more information needed, from an outside perspective, to fully understand the religion, especially the roles women play in it.  It was interesting to hear that since that was the way things had always been for them women did not feel oppressed in the religion.  I guess I can understand how that would be, but it just seems unusual for the modernity of the world today.

    I thought the quiz was interesting, but I didn't agree with many of the answers.  Growing up I was raised as a Catholic but quickly realized that the faith did not reflect my own personal beliefs.  My results on the quiz showed that I only believed in 6% of what the Catholic faith practices.  While I understand it was only an online quiz I felt that some of the religions I did get as a match were more closely to what I actually felt and believed. 
  
   Overall, I think religion is a hard topic to talk about.  I struggle with trying to see things out of the eyes of others because beliefs are such a core component of ones life.  It is hard to see past ones own and accept the views of others while trying to be civil and understanding.

Until Next Time..

Gender Identities..

    In Thursday's class we had a presentation on Gender Identities and conflict.  I thought Hilary and Toria did a good job of presenting the information, though I felt this was something that couldn't be covered in an hour and 20 minutes.. I think the amount of issues relating to this topic and the amount of experiences out there are vast and it is hard to encapsulate them all into a presentation.

      However, think it was a great opportunity to have Andie speak to our class and let us hear about her story.  I think it helps people to better understand individuals that are transgendered and to learn about someone with a unique life experience.  I also appreciate the fact that Andie and Toria are so open and committed in their relationship.  I admire those who don't care about being judged, and instead they just love.

     While I walked away from the class feeling like I knew more about Andie as a person there were thousands of other questions I felt that I could have asked.  The reason I chose to ask more about her personal story and about her family is because I don't feel that it is fair to ask most questions to one person of the transgendered community.  I struggle with the issue of having one person from a certain group be a "spokesperson" for that group.  Being in the majority I don't have to worry about someone asking me to speak for all heterosexual individuals nor do I feel Andie should have had to speak for transgendered individuals. While, I give her credit for doing it, I think all transgendered experiences are different just as everyone's experiences, and it's not fair to put someone up as a spokesperson for the group as the whole....Okay enough ranting about privilege...I realize people need to be educated somehow..

    I think there needs to be ways of spreading awareness and accommodating to the needs of those who are transgendered.  I don't understand why there isn't...I mean put yourself in that situation..if you'd want it changed for you, then help change it for them.  I especially feel that in a community like Juniata we should be able to deliver.

Until Next Time..

Culture/Privilege

     The presentation we had in class on Thursday about culture made me think a lot about White privilege.  We talked about how there are not a lot of Latinos that fill major roles in movies and television shows and how when there is a minority as a leading role they are often accompanied by someone of a similar racial and ethnic background never with someone different than themselves.  I find that I never really thought about this dilemma and I would blame it on being an ignorant White person.  I know that sounds bad but there are a lot of privileges I have only because of my race and I am never forced to realize them until I look at something that does not come as a privilege to those in minorities. 

    One aspect of myself that does not get me in the majority is my gender.  Being a female puts me at many disadvantages to the male majority status.  Many of these things we have already explored as a class such as differences in wages, the probability that I will ever reach a top CEO position, etc.  I know I get angry thinking about how I would feel is someone attributed my driving to my gender, which happens to women all the time; I can't imagine how it would feel to be of several minorities and constantly having every aspect of my life attributed to the different minorities in which I belong.  When I realize the privilege I have it makes me more aware of the struggles others are facing and it allows me to understand why they may be unhappy with the things happening to them. 

   I can honestly say that before this class I wasn't aware of the amount of people from other countries using skin whitening products.  It makes sense though because as a country we are constantly trying to tan our skin and feel the need to be darker to be beautiful.  It just reaffirms the point that no one is every happy with what they have.  We are always constantly trying to change ourselves to fit in and can never just be.  It's frustrating.

Until Next Time.

Promiscuity...

     In one of my classes today we were watching a video and a group of students were talking about the issues of racism, sexism, classicism, etc.  I found their discussion on sexism interesting and thought it connected to a few of the points we've touched on in class.  The group of individuals consisted of 4 females and 2 males from Duke University.  One female talked about how women are expected to be sexy but then get looked down upon when they do so.  She expressed how she likes to dress sexy and provocative but feels that while guys like to look at her no one is ever looking at her with intentions of a relationship.  This is like what we talked about where guys want the slut-virgin.  Someone sexy but someone who is not promiscuous.  I think the way in which it is okay for guys to be seen as promiscuous and it's not okay for girls is unfair.  One girl talked about how she is a sexual being and doesn't feel that she should have to hide that in order to attract a meaningful partner, but in reality she does.  The guys in the group seemed empathetic to the girls dilemma but ultimately they knew that this was a stereotype that was unlikely to change anytime soon.
  

Sex Education

        I enjoyed the discussion we had about Sex Education.  I thought it was interesting to see how different everyone's Sex Ed. experiences were.
       I went to a rural western PA high school and the only time I remember talking about Sex Ed. was in Health Class.  Our Sex Ed. was taught along with the talk about motherhood and parenting.  Our Health teacher emphasized abstinence and then showed us a video of a live birth.  It seemed counter-productive, but the video scared the shit out of me, and I think in some instances it made some of us either not want to have sex or definitely use protection so we wouldn't have to go through that.  Other than that there was not much talk about contraceptives or any methods of practicing safe sex.  I thought this was odd and felt that it should have been incorporated into the curriculum somewhere...but I also understand about funding in schools and they have to teach whatever program they are being funded for. 
     While learning about female reproduction and anatomy I think it would have been more effective to teach the girls and boys in separate classrooms.  I was in a class with a lot of immature boys who laughed constantly at pictures, etc. and were always serving as a distraction.  I think this hindered the learning of everyone and discouraged everyone from trying to pay attention.
     I think there should be a program geared towards teaching everything..abstinence, contraception, etc. and it should be taught to students at an appropriate age.  I think in my case learning about abstinence in Senior Health Class seemed almost pointless because most of the students had/were already sexually active. 
    
   

Sex Trafficking

         One thing that I thought was interesting when thinking about sex trafficking is that when most people think about it they always think of it happening in other countries and never in the US.  Although as a group we focused primarily in Eastern Europe, while doing research, we discovered that these horrific acts are taking place right under our noses.  I read that Atlanta was the worst place in the US for sex trafficking.  This project also made me realize how important it is to spread awareness about this global problem. 
         I focused primarily on the health implications of individuals who were sex trafficked.  I found researching about AIDS/HIV to be the most interesting.  Picture this.. one person who is being trafficked contracts HIV from a customer...then they are forced to have sex with upwards of 30 people daily...unable to chose to practice safe sex or not..then they pass HIV on to those customers and then they pass it on to others..etc...which just perpetuates the cycle.  I also read an article about a culture that thought having sex with a virgin would cure HIV/AIDS so they would have sex with virgins which also perpetuates this cycle because that is obviously not true.The global spread of HIV/AIDS is an increasingly big problem and I think there needs to be efforts made to stop what is happening in the sex trade industry. 
       Sex trafficking is seen as a form of modern day slavery and I whole heartedly agree.

NOT FOR SALE

Until Next Time.

Liberal Feminism Ch. 1

     In this entry I want to explore the idea of Liberal Feminism and how it is outlined by Tong in chapter 1.

    The movement is all about combating sexism and oppression by anyone; regardless of gender.  They have the idea that all things must be fixed; with a specific focus on equality and economic dependence. These are the women who fight for equal pay and attempt to eradicate the "glass ceiling" that oppresses women on the pay scale.  The start of the Industrial Revolution was what what helped spark this movement.  With the men going out of the home to perform more laborious jobs and the women staying in the home was where the differences started to form based on what was "work" and what wasn't considered work or as seen as "less work". 
   I thought it was interesting that we talked about how this type of feminism is seen as "anti-male".  While it may seem like this at first, the women are still striving for equality with MEN and to reach the same scale as MEN.  It is still a movement guided or directed towards ideals that were set by men.  They fail to challenge the idea of males in our society, and are constantly reinforcing that that is the way to be.  I found this interesting, and found myself feeling more as a Post-Modern Feminist where you can be who you want and define feminism in your own terms.
  I also thought it was interesting to note that if you put a man in the home and deprive them of certain opportunities that they would end up developing the same attributes that women have.  That was something I never really thought about, but even thinking about men I  personally know that stay at home with their children (which isn't many), I can see some of these more feminine attributes and qualities among them.
 
Until Next Time.

Class 9-30-10 Biology/Sociobuiology, Gender Heirarchy, and Labor

      During this class period we talked about a few different aspects of gender.  We talked about many biological aspects of what it means to be male and female.  Some things we talked about were:  Fitness, Parental Investment, Evangelical Conservation, and Behavior. 
     In the sense of Fitness we talked about the aspects of sperm and egg and how most men can have hundreds of offspring, if they so choose, and how most women can only have as many children as they do eggs, or as many as time and conditions, permit.  In the sense of Parental Investment we talked about the amount of time and energy each parent is generally required to their offspring.  Men have to invest less time in each of their offspring,  whereas woman, for the most part,  have to provide more time and resources for each one of their offspring.  When talking about Evangelical Conservation we came to the conclusion that most women feel they need a man to provide for them, which generally leads to marriage.  Lastly we talked about what causes certain behaviors in males and females.  We talked about things such as nature vs. nurture, evolution, hormones, and physiological brain measure to evaluate why men an women behave the ways in which they do.


Legal documentation is required for the passing of property and assets.

    Another one of the main topics we covered was about Gender Hierarchy.  We talked about how hundreds of years ago communities would help care for all the children in that particular community and share resources among them.  However, now this is usually not the case.   Now parents want to be able to pass things down to their offspring such as property which means there is no more sharing of resources and taking care of one another in a communal sense.  The legitimacy of children has evolved to be something we have come to expect in our culture.

   Lastly we talked about the roles of males and females in relation to labor.  In regards to physical labor we talked about how men are the ones who are usually doing the more rigorous and labor-induced jobs.  For example, this past week while Moore Street was being paved and we all had to manage to get around it and to class on time, it was easy to see where the division of labor was.  The men were the ones running the machines and the women were the ones turning the street signs.  In regards to the psychological aspects of labor we talked about how women are more perceived as being the creative type, whereas men are seen as the more logical type.  This could have an impact on who receives a certain job position of the other.  We also talked about how men generally make more money than females who are holding the same positions.  Women generally reach a glass ceiling and can't receive any higher wages.

Phew. That's enough for now.  Until Next Time.

Pop Culture Gone Wild

   This was the second article we read by Jessica Valenti thus far in the course.  I really enjoy her writings and feel that she makes valid claims that are easy to understand. 
    In this article she talks about how sex sells, which is basically all about selling women, not men.  She makes the point that pop culture is becoming increasingly pornified and I would have to agree.  Going along with what she said about Playboy pencil cases for kids, I have seen plenty of Playboy merchandise in stores that are directed to young girls.  Some of this merchandise includes: shoes, shirts, hats, socks, purses, etc.  I feel that by doing this they are trying to send the message to young girls that, being a Playboy Bunny is the way to go, when in fact that shouldn't be the case. 
   I also found her talk about Girls Gone Wild interesting as well.  I personally find it highly demoralizing for a girl to subject herself to all of these people for just fifteen minutes of fame.  About a half a year ago the Girls Gone Wild bus came to a local bar by my house and the amount of girls that I know from high school that wanted to go and try to get on television was ridiculous.  I just couldn't believe they would want to do that just to be seen.

Until Next Time.

9-23-10 Biology, Sex, and Gender- Dr. Widman

   Today we had Dr. Widman, professor of Psychology, talk to our class.  I was interested in a number of things he had to say.  I found it really interesting that the things that men find attractive about women are not just superficial, but also have deeper meaning like being able to support a healthy birth.  I was also interested in the Parental Investment Theory and how women have to invest much more time and resources in the offspring.  I never thought about how a man doesn't have to invest in his offspring, but thankfully they usually do.  I also was interested in the discussion of oxytocin and how it is the hormone that creates trust.  This was something I was never aware of before.
     I felt like the discussion was pretty scattered at times and that there was a constant conflict going on between members in the room.  I felt like this took away from the discussion and I would be interested in hearing from him again, when he wouldn't be interrupted and/or constantly challenged.  It did make for an interesting class, but I just wish I would have been able to take more out of the discussion aside from remembering it as being  one big argument.   

Power, Gender Identities, and Conflict

    In class my group talked a lot about how we are affected by our own gender identities in conflict.  We talked about the ways in which men and women are "supposed" to act in situations of conflicts.  For example, we said that it would not be  considered normal for a woman to yell at a man and the man just subdue and cry.  We also talked about what the implications would be for this man if this argument would have taken place in a public setting.  The notion that is constantly reinforced in our society is that men are inherently aggressive and are the ones who normally triumph in conflict, but what happens when this is not the case?  Then there are questions raised about the man's sexuality and his masculinity is challenged. 
    We also talked about the role of power in relationships.  We talked about how most men will just sit back in attempts to avoid arguments when in the home, but when they are around friends, say in the bar, they will not subdue to their wives, they will usually exhibit that power and argue back to prove to their friends that they "have the upper-hand".  Therefore; there is some variability in the ways power is exhibited based on the context and setting of the situation. 
    When dealing with power and gender identities there is constant reinforcing that is coming from the societal level.  People want to be seen in the light of their peers as desirable.  If a man's sexuality becomes questioned what happens to his social life, especially if he is involved with sports?  He will be ostracized by his teammates and peers or could even have violent acts cast upon him.  Although most of these events are situational and vary based on personalities, etc., for the most part there are strict guidelines and rules that are "known" about the ways in which men and women are supposed to act, and specific guidelines as to who has the power in a given situation.
    As social creatures we've all been transformed to think and act in ways that are pleasing to the society as a whole.  I think now we need to challenge those "norms" and create new ones in hopes of better lives for those who follow.

Until Next Time.
    

Week 3/Gender vs. Careers

    This week's readings and class discussions focused a lot on the dynamics of gender and career.  We explored the concept that women usually have to make the choice between having a career and having children. 
    I personally think this is a really hard situation.  I have the biggest problem with employers who would prefer to hire a less qualified male canidate over a more qualified woman canidate who is pregnant or thinking about starting a family.  I often think of what is going to happen to me when I am in the same situation sometime within the next ten years.  So the question I ask myself:  Should I  continue on with my education and strive for a good career, when as soon as I get out of school it's going to be the ideal time to start a family?  I think this pressure adds a lot of extra stress on women, especially those who are trying to do well for themselves and have a family at the same time. 
    We also talked about the roles of stay-at-home moms.  I think it's  a shame that some people don't consider being a mom a full-time job in itself.  It clearly takes up more than 40 hours out of the week, it's never-ending.  I think it's a great thing when a woman can balance a career and a family sucessfully and I hope that one day I will have that same kind of luck.

Until Next Time

    

Week 2 / Full Frontal Feminism

   I liked that the article by Valenti on Feminism was more laid back and easy to understand.  She used real life examples of Feminism and steps in which people are taking(big or small) to promote change.  I thought that the Rock and Roll Camp and the group to support rape victims were both good examples of change that aren't really seen as
"extreme" feminist acts.  I also never thought much on whether I would consider myself a Feminist or not.  However, I would be willing to stand up for equality, so maybe I am.

The different role playing acts in class where interesting to observe.  In the example with the two females portraying two males watching football it was easy for everyone, especially the males in the room to point out their errors.  This changed however when the two males were pretending to be two females shopping.  This time it was the girls who had more input about what the "right" ways to behave were.  In both of these instances it was easy to point out the different ways in which both genders reacted in the different roles.  I have to wonder though what the role playing would have looked like with two very sports oriented females portraying it and what the shopping scene would have looked like with two metro sexual-like males who actually enjoy shopping.  These things may be uncommon, but they are out there.
  The third instance of role playing was interesting because of the constant switching of roles.  When the male was trying to role play the female being picked up by a male, which was portrayed by a woman the roles felt like they kept switching.  It was more difficult for the role playing individuals to stay in character when interacting with the member of the opposite sex.  The male in the skit wanted to take charge of the situation, which is something that is not likely to happen, for a girl being hit on and asked out by a male.

Until next time.

Doing Gender 1 /Class Activity

  I want to start out commenting on the class activity about the ideal man and the ideal woman.

  I thought the overall dynamic between the one male poster and the several female posters was pretty interesting.  It almost seemed as though the guys wanted to be the ideal type they drew out and the females wanted nothing to do with the image of the female that is portrayed by the media.  Many of the female groups had their own versions of the ideal woman as opposed to the media's view.  I also found that many of the things written in the "our" sides of the female posters were more inner qualities (i.e. compassion, loving, honest) and didn't have anything to do with physicality.  If we're supposed to be striving to be these compassionate, loving individuals then why are we still buying make-up and subscribing to weight loss programs that would in turn lead us towards the media's ideal woman type?

   I would have liked to see this experiment in reverse as well.  Where the men wrote what they thought the ideal woman would be and the women wrote what they thought the ideal man was.  I would like to know if we have higher standards for others as opposed to what we think we should be and vice-versa.

  I also enjoyed the reading on the self and how it described one's self identity as an on-going project.  I had never thought of it this way but it makes a lot of sense and makes the concepts much easier to grasp.  One's self is constantly changing through different experiences and I think the reading really conveyed that message in a way that was easy to understand.

  Until next time.