Representing America - American Literature AP - Blog

Visual Essays

 

Tom Girl

    I can say that I construct gender everyday but I try my hardest not to let it limit me. I construct the stereotypical gender roles as a female everyday by the clothes I wear, putting on makeup, fixing my hair nice, and being worried about my image. This reflects the stereotypes of how women are appearance based and care too much of how they look and others perceive them. But I do not let this define who I am, it is merely an aspect of my image. I personally define myself as an athletic, strong, smart, and independent girl. I play basketball and run track and have never been afraid to challenge a boy to an one on one game or a push up contest. I also love the feeling when a boy who has never picked up a basketball challenges me to a game, and thinks he can win just because I am a girl, and they finally learn that I am able to beat them. I also define myself as smart and strong, and I am never submissive to a boy. I think that if I am right, which I usually am, I have the right to speak up and share my ideas, and even though they boys usually don't listen, at least I can get my ideas out there. I've watched and learned from all the shows where all the women are objectified, treated as less, and glorified because of their bodies. And I tried to live my life and break all these stereotypes. I never let a guy call me out of my name, and if they happen to, I let them know its not okay and I earn their respect as a woman. I would not necessarily call myself a Tom boy or masculine, but I think I define my femininity in a appropriate way that earns respect and equality from a guy. I wouldn't object if anyone ever called me a feminist, but I am not that hard core about it. I just believe that girls are equal to boys and should have all the oppurtunites they are given. So I will also continue to challenge the weak minds of the macho boys and defy their simple gender ideas, all while I wear my high heels, dresses and skirts.

TomBoy vs GirlyGirl

 

Growing up, every other weekend was spent at my dad's house in northern Illinois. It's a small town where the people talk with country accents, and everyone listens to country music. It's mostly alot of farms and forests, so for fun, me and all my older cousins (mostly boys) would go swim in the lake, climb trees, or race our three-wheelers. I used to really love this song, and would always sing along when it was on the radio in our truck. The video is really interesting because the beginning is basically what we'd do every Saturday. We'd come home really muddy after playing with the dogs or driving the three wheelers over the muddy hills in the forest trails behind our house. However, later in the video, Gretchen Wilson has shed her "tomboyish" look for a much more girly, made-up outfit for stage. It's interesting how she can pull off being both really well, because that's how my childhood was growing up between my dad's, and my mom's, here in Chicago.

Body Image

I was really intruiged by all the websites, especailly "F-Bomb" There were two very similiar articles I found Here and Here... 

They are both about women looking in the mirror and having some disturbing, and empowering thoughts. At first, they admit to having confidence, but when taking a closer look at thier bodies, found many things to complain about. They were confused about thier own opposing thoughts and came to the conclusion that neither of them is too sure how exactly they feel about thier physical appearances. 

This is sad. Women need to be just as confident in themselves as men. Women with low self esteem are easily put at risk by men who will abuse or take advantage of them. I personally think the media is partially responsible for the abuse rate because of how they make women feel about themselves. Appearance has become something so important to a women, that it can affect the rest of her daily life.I just feel that there are many other things that women could be doing with thier time than stressing out over their appearances.

First Pick

"Just pick her" 

"No, I'm not gonna pick her."

"Just pick her! She's good."

"No, I'm not wasting second pick on a girl."

Fourth grade recess. Football. I wanted to play. Twenty boys bunched in a mass in front of two captains. I shimmied in through a crack and became a part of the posse. First picks were made. Then second picks. Third. Fourth. Those two captains looked right over my striped hat, because they didn't know that some girls rock at football. Some of the Lindberg-Park-crew knew. The boys who I would play with on the weekends, they knew. The captains didn't yet, though. The fifth graders didn't know. Eventually I got picked. Not last or anything. But nowhere near first either. I got picked just because I was there, not because someone thought I would help their team win. I ran. I tripped. I dove. I dodged. I was in it. Second half came around, and our QB needed a sub. 

"Someone else play QB for a down."

I ended up with the ball. 

"Hike"

The perfect spiral made it all the way from my finger tips, to the open hands of that captain who wouldn't pick me second. 

I like having something that shuts all the boys up. 

I like having something that destroys the stereotype. 

 

I'm glad that my mom taught me how to throw a spiral. 

Hockey, Dance, and The Media

Analyzing one's personal view of gender is an incredibly complex task. I believe that American society, and the media in particular, have drastically distorted our views of gender. I think that when one considers the way that he or she (or neither, or both) examines one's relationship towards gender and sexuality, it is imperative to take into consideration one's geographical location, one's socioeconomic class, and the environment in which one was raised.

I hardly remember being a young child. For me, trying to remember my early childhood is like looking through fog, and I can occasionally discern vague shapes and figures, but I always seem to struggle to make out specific details. I often can't remember whether my recollection of an event is an actual memory, or a result of viewing photographs taken during that time. I was a shy, quiet kid, and although I played sports, I also dressed in a stereotypically girly way, and I often played with polly pockets and American Girl dolls. My best friend and I would often argue about who was girlier, and because she more more stereotypically masculine colors and was thinner, she always seemed to "win". Honestly, trying to get anywhere near my childhood mindset seems impossible. I can't fathom how I liked the things I liked, and looking back at how I acted often feels like a painful experience. My friends and I have jokingly labeled sixth grade as my "mean year", the year I was rude to my close friends and attempted to "be popular". I even bought a hoodie from Victoria's Secret's Pink line, and started dressing girlier. However, I also played basketball and, as a result of growing up watching my brother play hockey, I was passionate about hockey and could talk "with the guys" and my athletic tendencies also place me in the "average" category, whatever that even is. When I took up dance after a long break of many years, I took several different types of dance, including ballet. Ballet is considered incredibly helpful for building a foundation of discipline, strength, and technique that can significantly benefit one's ability to do additional types of dance. Yet, I felt like my friends would severely judge me, especially my best friend. I didn't want to be considered even girlier, so for many years I didn't tell her about ballet. Eventually, I couldn't avoid her finding out, and I was so humiliated.

Between seventh and eighth grade, for whatever reason, it was as if i woke up with a completely different perspective on life. I honestly don't know why my mentality altered so drastically. I just simply didn't care what people thought anymore. I was becoming a stronger, more skilled dancer and basketball player, I had a great friend group, I became a vegetarian,  the Blackhawks were doing extremely well (haha), and for whatever other reasons, I just gave up all interest in caring what people thought of me. I mean, I still wanted people to think I was a kind, intelligent, respectful person, because I wanted to be all of those things. But, aesthetically speaking, I didn't give a crap about anyone's opinions, and that mentality has only grown stronger ever since.

I also don't know why I've started to question my gender lately. Similarly to my drastic change of mindset during the summer before eighth grade, in the past few months, I have had the strong urge to be a guy. I've always preferred the athletic body type aesthetically, and because I've become so serious about dance, I've realized that it would be much more convenient if I cut my hair extremely short. I'm also striving towards minimalism, including owning a small wardrobe of a small amount of quality clothing, and so maybe I'm favoring sneakers and pants to skirts and more stereotypically feminine shoes because of convenience and necessity. Maybe I've realized in this past unit on Feminism that women still suffer from a lot of discrimination and societal judgement and expectations, and maybe I just want to feel the power that society often attributes to men more often than women. Maybe I'm just bored. As I've said, where I live, in a very progressive, accepting, privileged community, I have very few problems and I often feel like I have no right to complain about anything, and that there are SO many more important things to do and worry about than my gender.

A while ago, since I realized that mainstream media basically sucks, I would limit my relationship towards the media to reading a few sites and watching a few tv shows and movies that are high quality, respectable works, and that portray life in a reasonably honest way. I've considered cutting out media completely. But right now, I feel like the media can exist as a tool for creating positive change and improving one's emotional mentality. I watch shows such as Project Runway, that oddly enough represents an extremely diverse group of people who are so talented and passionate that their outer appearances don't have any relationship to their abilities. I look up to actresses such as Rooney Mara and Ellen Page. I listen to podcasts with awespome female comedians. I read RookieMag religiously.

Dance has also actually helped me forget about sexism and gender. I am completely in lvoe with contemporary dance, which is basically whatever style of dance you want it to be, and emphasizes the emotional movement, in relationship to song lyrics. When I dance, I forget about how I look. I am free.

Women Action and the media

Women and how their bodies were portrayed  in the media. This one blogger is upset and outraged about how women's bodies are portrayed in the media. So this blogger is outraged by this particular magazine called Sports Illustrated. In Sports Illustrated they the famous edition called the Swimsuit Edition. This part of the magazine shows women in little swimsuits showing there bodies from head to toe. Now this year the magazine really outraged females because in its famous Swimsuit Edition the model was posing nude in the middle of the winter. The model was white, had blond hair, had blue eyes, and a perfect female figure that everyone wants. 

Since this is a sports illustrated magazine then the target audience is obviously males because men watch a lot of sports and buy these types of magazines. So the editor decided to put in this swimsuit edition so that guys could look and enjoy women's bodies. Which depicts women as beautiful sex objects. On the flip side men are not the only target audience. When women see or view these magazines then the magazine sends out a message that women should look like the models in the magazine. Of course that is the image that women take from the magazine. The women who are the models in the magazine are terrorised by the media because they are putting a bad image in women's minds that they have to look like this models and when they can not look like these models then they are view in society as ugly. So society puts them at fault for these types of image.

I agree with this blogger because it was right on the money. She really explained her argument well and she was right about everything. The editor of this magazine put this swimsuit edition for men to view and idealize women and then on the other hand it puts the ideal in women's mind that they have to look like the models and if they do not then they are doomed by society.

This Week's Blogging: How Do You Construct Gender?

For this week's blogging assignment, we're going to get a bit personal.   Write about how you construct gender in your own life.

This post can take many forms: a reflection of the choices you have made and the person you are or hope to be; a narrative of a moment in which the limits of your gender became clear or when you identified yourself or someone else identified you exclusively by your gender; another form -- video, presentation, etc -- which suits you.

When considering how you construct gender, consider in what ways you define yourself or others (individuals or institutions) define you as male or female, feminine or masculine, or as something in between or outside those categories.  You might also talk about the ways you attempt to defy or subvert those categories.  You might discuss your appearance, your behavior, the TV shows you watch .... Just try to be as specific as possible and avoid making universalizing statements that claim to speak for everyone.

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As noted in class, here is a great example of what we are calling a "feminist critique" -- in this case it's in video form and focuses on the portrayals of women in video games.  Quick vocabulary explanation: "tropes" is another name for a stereotype or a common/cliched representation.

 

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Extra credit (if you did not do it in the last blogging cycle):  Discuss a work of contemporary American satire -- a film, TV show, song, etc, from the last few years that uses the techniques of satire to make a larger point about society.  Even though we are in a unit on constructing race, your example does not need to involve race as its primary subject matter.

Your post should include the following:

1. A summary of the work of culture -- maybe including a link to a video or lyrics.
2. An analysis of how the work uses techniques of satire -- irony, hyperbole, understatement, and/or parody.
3. An analysis of how the work is not simply making fun of certain people or institutions but how the work is trying to criticize and ultimately change society. 

Note that we're asking you to do more than just #1 -- giving us an example.  You need to analyze that example.

Where is Spider Woman?

This post is asking for women to be super heroes instead of the love interests. The boys get the underwear with all the cool characters while girls get barbies. In Avengers, all of the Avengers are male except for one female, Black Widow who is a skilled warrior with no super powers. Why can't there be underwear for girls as cool as Wonder Woman? In the post, the dad has to buy his daughter boy's underwear. Where are the cool girl characters? The cool thing about the movie Avengers was that Black Widow just wasn't a sex symbol or eye candy, she was a "bad-ass". She was respected by the other heroes. I think people would enjoy seeing heroic female protagonists because it's unusual. Im not saying that we don't have those type of movies but not enough. When someone asks me what's my favorite superheroe, I immediately think of the males like Captain America, Batman, and Superman. We also just don't have the underwear with the cool female heroes. I agree with the post when they say, "Hollywood and Target, are you listening?"

Sexism and Feminism

A post on F-Bomb called "Sexism Is Not Actually 'Edgy'" discusses derogatory, offensive, and sexist comments make during this year's Oscars. The author talks about Seth McFarlane's song in the beginning, "We Saw Your Boobs", saying that it not only objectifies the female actresses but it also reduces there performance to simply the appearance of their bodies. She also explains that the song was especially insulting because many of the scenes to which he was referring were rape scenes. I agree completely agree that these jokes were distasteful, but I don't know if I would go as far as to call them sexist. While clearly they were hurtful, I don't think they were meant degrade the actress' performance. What I think the author missed, is that the opening monologue of the Oscars is, in many ways, satire. Rather than objectifying women, I think that more of what McFarlane was trying to do was comment on our sex obsessed culture. Rather than voicing his own impressions of the films he referenced, he was mocking the people who actually viewed movies that way.

The New Gabby Douglas

 I visited the website Feministing and read an article about Kevin Hart's first apperance on SNL. He did a skit where he portrayed Quvenzhane Wallis, a nine year old African American Actress, and the first black pope. The post stated, "“Situation Room” sketch alone, Hart managed to fall for the “black comic in a dress” trick, demean a talented black girl, and aid in discrediting the notion of a black pope." Quvenzhane Wallis is the youngest female actress to be nominated for a Oscar, and she is also black, which is a phenomenal accomplishment. Instead of being praised for her major accomplishments she is demeaned and made fun of. This reminds me of a situation when Gabby Douglas, a black gymnast, won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics. While being black and winning a gold medal isn't a big enough accomplishment, all people could talk about was how bad her hair looked. And the crazy thin about it was that it was mostly they black community putting her down. Similarly, one would think Kevin Hart would uplift and support Quvenzhane Wallis for her accomplishment because he knows how hard it is to make it as an African American, but he is one of the first to put down her accomplishments. I just find it really apalling how America can judge these strong women based on thier apperances and attitudes as they accomplish big things in their lives that everyone critizing them could never do in a lifetime. 

Inspiring Body Image

These websites and blogs are so interesting to me. I just spent the last hour and a
half looking through the Rookie website and reading blogs and stories and
watching videos. I think this website is so amazing. To be able to have a place
to share your troubles and concerns with anyone without being judged and to
actually get a response or advice is just so awesome. I think the reason why I
like it so much is because I can relate to a lot of the things that are being
said. When the questions in the stories or blogs are getting responses, it not
only helps the person who posted it, but it also helps the people who don't
have the courage to ask questions. While I was surfing through the website, I
picked up some great advice about typical teenage situations.

The people who post on the site and tell their story, I think are really
courageous. Props to them for doing that. Addressing problems and asking for
advice for problems that everyone will face or has already faced isn't the
easiest thing to do. This website contributes so many positive images of young
adults.

One story I read was about a girl who was really insecure about her
weight. She was always concerned about it and had been trying to change it for
her whole life through diets and such. She eventually got very sick and things
weren't going very well for her. She started using a blog called
"Fatshonista", about fat fashion. She began to realize that her body
really isn't as bad as she thought and slowly started accepting herself for who
she was and what she looked like. The thing that strikes me the most about her
story was that she was able to build up her strength and courage and accept
what she looked like. Her ability to gradually cut herself off from the
negative impacts in her life has made a huge difference in how kind she is to
herself now. Her story is a true inspiration to people who feel insecure about
themselves and need advice on how to deal with it.

In her story, her main argument is that mainstream media plays a huge role in the
way we view ourselves. Her advice is to "limit their mainstream-media
intake and replace it with body-positive media." I agree with her
statement about the media being a huge factor in how we are view ourselves. The
media convinces us that we need to have the perfect body of being skinny. They
make skinny the only body type. In reality, skinny is only one of the hundreds
of body types there are in the world. The more you can accept your body image,
the happier in life you will be, and the better of in life you will be. If you
are happy with yourself you will be confident, and confidence, I believe, is
key to this cruel world.  

Violence Against Women Act

In 1994, The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was created. It is the first U.S. federal legislation acknowledging domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes. Since 1994, much progress has been achieved toward women's rights. Obama recently signed to expand the act, targeting expansions to address the needs of vulnerable populations, and help prevent problems in upcoming generations.

I agree with his actions on this newly expanded act, considering the statistic that 1 in 5 women are raped in their lifetime compared to 1 in 71 men who are raped in their lifetime. This shows women are more vulnerable to abuse, rape, stalking etc. and can use these acts to help them and keep safe.

I do believe that these acts are a great idea to help women be aware of their rights and not be afraid. They can speak out about domestic abuse and feel safe, but it is ridiculous and petty that we have to enforce these acts to protect the women of our society. I believe the reason men (and rarely women) rape is due to how they've grown up being abused, and they simply repeat the abuse they've been through. The acts help to stop  this vicous rape/abuse cycle. Also i believe the way women are depicted in advertisements/ music videos/ movies helps give women a vulnerable image to men with harsh intentions.

Obama is giving women a greater oppurtunity to use these acts as a lifeline and protection like he says in this speech. Obama also uses the technique we talked about in class, starting off his speech through humor for a serious situation, pretty cool

Obama's speech VAWA

Selling Out

In the post titled Sexism On Late Night TV: Even Jimmy Fallon Isn’t Immune on the F-Bomb, the writer discussed how a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon told a story that portrayed sexism in men. In the man's anecdote, he described a time in which he and another man bonded by staring at a super model's ass. The article seemed upset that Jimmy Fallon did not interrupt the man at all during the story or point out that he was being sexist. The author enjoyed Jimmy Fallon most of the time, but she seemed disappointed that he allowed such a story to be told on his show.

Most TV show hosts have the moral decency to only allow appropriate content to be aired on their shows. However, when the hosts get lazy or become apathetic, they are more likely to let inappropriate comments or jokes slide in order to maintain their ratings. To them, they would rather remain popular than lose the respect of some of their viewers. If something is seen as only a little bit controversial, they may be hesitant to mention it out of fear of making a big deal out of nothing. In this instance, the objectification of women did not appear as enough of an issue to call out the storyteller.

Standards Set in Stone

I remember when the whole SPARK petition won its battle with
Seventeen Magazine to stop circulating air bushed photos of models, and promised
to include more diverse body types and ethnicities in its pages.  The “Body Peace Treaty” still appears in the
editor’s notes every other month or so. 
Featured articles focus more on health and eating the right foods,
instead of always giving tips on how to lose the most weight in the shortest
amount of time.  When I kept reading this
article, Teen Vogue at Ten: Airbrushing the Path to Success, I didn’t
know that the same group that won its battle with Seventeen was completely shut
out by Teen Vogue.  So many shocking
components from this article really got my blood boiling.  Like the part about SPARK getting only five
minutes to present their argument and “negotiate” with the Teen Vogue
board.  Yeah, that’s not
negotiating!   That’s blatantly refusing to listen to what
the girls had to say.  Which, when you
think about it, is really surprising
coming from a company that is steadily losing followers.  You want to draw teens in, so you don’t listen to what your subscribers
are asking for?  Ok.  Well that makes absolutely no sense, but this
is why the title of this article is perfect for the current situation teen
girls are facing now.  Even though the
SPARK group came up with the no air brushing/keep it real pact, the reality of
the situation is that most magazines chose being “perfect” over being “real”.  That’s why the “path to success” is airbrushed;
gilded; sugar-coated.  Because in
reality, have us “real” girls actually made any head way in tearing down the
unreachable definition of what it means to be beautiful?  At the end of the article, it says that Teen
Vogue’s refusal “sends the message that our
standards of beauty cannot be altered”. 
That’s pretty frightening; although it does seem spot on.  If magazines targeted for girls our age
continue to narrowly define what it means to feminine, or womanly, there if
very little chance that our culture will become any more accepting of the true
women of our society when we get older. 
The fact that our culture’s definition of beauty is cemented in one
ideal will only force more and more girls to try harder to conform to what
magazines, like Teen Vogue, say we have to look/act like in order to be noteworthy
in the world today. 

"Use Your Words" and Your Ears

In the Rookie website, I investigated one of the articles in the new March edition of the online magazine. It was titled, "Use Your Words", and off the bat, I completely agree with the statement made in this article. The article basically stated that one cannot expect sympathy or response from ones behavior just by acting a certain way, you need to "use your words". 

Many times in the past I have had friends and even my parents act this way and many times I have been frustrated about why people get annoyed when I a simply striking up conversation. I had a theory about why this happened and the article puts the theory perfectly, "If psychic powers are the cost of admission to knowing you, you’re going to end up awfully lonely". The article also stated that people act this way when they are too kind or embarrassed to ask for sympathy. 

My main problem with this article is that it is directed toward women. Although I am aware that this is a magazine directed specifically at women, there is absolutely no mention of the other gender experiencing this same social effect. Unfortunately, no mention of this effect happening in men is understandable because most men, or at least me, have rarely experienced this. However, it would have made the argument of the article stronger if it had included the other perspective.

As far as the truth of the article, I do feel that the best way to get ones intentions clear is articulate ones thoughts no matter how embarrassing. Many times, I see people getting more and more frustrated as our conversation progresses, for no apparent reason. It was only the article that confirmed my theory that sometimes people want conversations to go a certain way in order to garner sympathy and feel better. In fact, this is one of the main reasons people strike up conversation, to get something, either a feeling or information, out of it. That is not to say, however, that I believe articulating ones thoughts is a good idea; there are many instances when it is wiser to keep quiet and listen.

 

Worse than Murder

The article by Zerlina Maxwell, Telling women to get a gun is not rape prevention, makes an excellent point about the preventation of rape.  Women deserve the right to feel safe, and if carrying a weapon makes that happen they should be allowed to do just that.  The people who are speaking for the rights to carry weapons seem to be looking for someone to argue with and Zerlina is the only person they can focus their one sided discussion on.  She is trying to speak to people and show them how important to people it is to raise children that grow up to not be rapists.  The arguement that these people are having in the video are on two different topics that are only connected on the surface.  While in some situations a gun might help a woman fight off a rapist, what would happen if the rapist was able to grab her before she had a chance to even reach for the gun.  There are many situations that having a gun would not help with.  If the rapist also had a weapon, if the rapist was able to take the gun away from the woman or if there were multiple attackers are just a few examples of situations that could potentially lead to the woman being harmed.  

I am not trying to say that I believe a person should not be allowed to carry a weapon with them so long as they follow all of the laws and responsiblities that go along with it.  I just don't think that these people are taking into consideration the problems that could arise if guns are brought into it.  I also don't think weapons should be concealed.  Also Zerlina is correct in saying that most rape victims know their attackers.  Up to 82% of victims know who their attackers are known to the victim and up to 42% of victims have had sexual intercourse with their attacker after the crime was commited.  If the victim will continue to have relationships like this with their attacker, what makes people think that they are capable of shooting them.  

I personally have a friend who has been raped by a person that she knew very well.  Her adoptive father raped her multiple times over the course of three years.  She finally was able to tell the authorities of what had happened to her, not because she wanted her father to be persecuted, but because she was afraid that her younger sister was also being raped by him.  I know for a fact that she still loves her father despite all of the terrible things that he did to her.  She is one of only 58% of rape victims that reports the crime commited to them.  That is a disgustingly low number.  In her most desperate moments, my friend contemplated killing herself instead of harming her rapist.  She could not mentally bring herself to ever harm the person that caused her so much physical pain and even worse mental pain.

That is not even taking into consideration the fact that the laws that give the victim the right to carry a concealed weapon gives their attacker the same exact right.  More than 80% of gun owners are male.  If the rapist had the oppurtunity to carry a concealed weapon he most likely would, the victim on the other hand has no way to know that something would happen to her.  Maybe she thought that she was only going to the store and didn't need her gun for such a short errend.  Also a large number of rapes occur in or near the victim's home.  Why would a woman need to carry a concealed weapon with her in her household?  The woman in the video states that only 10% of violent crimes have a gun inolved.  This is true (depending on your source) but in 2008 about 67% of murders were committed with some sort of firearm.  While most violent crimes are committed without a firearm, that doesn't really say very much because of the fact that there are millions of violent crimes committed each year. 

The statistics are against the victims of rape.  That is why Zerlina is correct to say that we need to spend more time making sure that we are not allowing young men grow into rapist.  I (as a young man) have only once been taught not to sexually assault a woman.  It was in the class that our school requires all incoming male freshman to take.  Not all schools offer such a class and even ours did not as recently as five years ago.  I am not saying that I was not raised in a way that says that rape is Okay, but I was never explicitly told that I was not supposed to rape a woman.  I don't believe that I am a high risk of ever violating a woman in such a way, and I most definitely knew growing up that rape was an unspeakable act that my family members considered worse than murder.  But not everyine such as myself has the good fortune to be raised in a healthy, functioning family with strong female influence.  Many children are raised in sexist, male-dominated environments.  My friend that I mentioned earlier has several younger siblings, what message is being sent to them that they think it is ok for their father, the man who raised them, to do something this horrible.  It definitely is not a good one.

People do not take into consideration how horrible it is to tell someone that they should have had a gun with them, and that way they wouldn't have been raped.  Zerlina is correct in saying that saying that puts a lot of pressure on the victim.  It tells the victim that they had no hope of defending themselves without a gun.  It puts the pressure of saying that they let the rapist do what he wanted to her.  It is like saying you should have stopped him.  Even if the victime knows that it was outside of her power, that still has to have an incredibly strong negative affect on her.  It effectively takes the focus off of the rapist and puts it on the victim.  Even if the woman did have a gun and couldn't or didn't use it to stop her attacker, the question would not be Why did you rape this woman? It would be Why didn't you shoot him?  

I agree with Zerlina Maxwell because she knows what she is talking about.  She tells the people who are argueing with her that she was a victim of rape.  She knew her attacker and says that she could not have shot him, even if she had the means to at the time.  Of all three of those people speaking in the video, she has the misfortune of knowing what it feels like to be raped by someone that she knows.  She is correct in saying that rape is not something that should be stopped but it is something that should be prevented.  It should not exist, there is absolutely no reason a person should ever have to deal with such a traumatic experience and I don't think that saying guns will keep you safe from rape is a good way to justify carrying a concealed weapon around with you.  In a perfect world rape would not exist but neither would guns so these people should try to find a better reason to carry a concealed weapon.  I think that people should have the right to bear arms but having a concealed weapon is breading grounds for violence to erupt, seemingly from nowhere.  

 

"Actual Size"

I read the  blog "Actual Size" from Rookie. This was one woman's story of how she had been going through ups and downs in weight loss her entire life and how she only was recently able to overcome her issues and love her body for what it is. Despite her efforts, she was always fat and unhappy. What helped her to reach a point where she was comfortable in her own skin was actually a blogging site similar to Rookie.  

What struck me most about  this person's story is how her unhappiness with her weight was able to infiltrate every other part of her life and make it worse. I think that fact, most of all, illustrates to readers that it is not worth it to stress over how much they weigh but rather focus on being happy and healthy.Even so, this is not generally the case because of  pressures that people and society place on girls. I personally believe it should always be about how healthy and strong someone's body is rather than the weight in numbers. But it is not so easy for everyone to reach such a conclusion which is why that woman's story is helpful and inspiring to a lot of people out there. 

Intersectionality

I chose the website "The F-Bomb" and read an article called "F to the Third Power". This article was about how the media in our world has not dismissed of the problem with sexism as much as it claims to. People are decieved by the fact that women are able to do so many things that were forbidden from them in the past, such as divorce, home owning, voting and having their own bank account. Although these privledges boosted gender equality in America a tremendous amount, there are still many occurences of inequality today. Whether it is the difference in salary or still existing stereotypes between men and women, the differences can be very apparent.

The author of this article introduced a very intriguing point that I had never thought of before that is called "intersectionality". The best description of this word is to requote one of her examples which is a quote by Audre Lord. Lord stated, "Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian. Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community. Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black. There is no hierarchy of oppression". 

This point is so interesting to me because in a way it alleviates a lot of the discriminations of the world today. Everything is linked in the world and even if somebody's mindset were that to be gay is inferior but to me a white man is superior, how would they judge a homosexual white man? It just proves that there are so many more layers to people than can be discovered strictly through their surface appearance and that judging people by a first impression will hardly give an accurate idea of that person's character.

Issues with the Swimsuit Issue

Once a month, every month, a copy of Sports Illustrated is delivered to millions of doorsteps across the country. Once a month, almost every month, a prestigious male athlete poses on the cover. Often times, only one issue a year sports a female cover model. . . the Swimsuit Issue. This one time that a female is granted the opportunity to represent Sports Illustrated, a photo of a beautiful, nearly clothes-less model is plastered on the cover, rather than an action shot of a strong, uniformed athlete. It seems a little bit goofy and un-Sports-Illustrated-like. Sports Illustrated is a sports magazine and should be a place where women are recognized for their athletic accomplishments rather than their physical beauty.  

In a post on WAM! entitled Women’s Bodies in the Media: Let’s Change the Conversation, bloggers criticize Sports Illustrated for the way that it portrays women in its Swimsuit Issue. Given the prodominantly male audience of Sports Illustrated, many may jump to assume that the Swimsuit Issue exists because it’s what lots of guys want. Maybe it is. But real life proves that female athletes are just as cool, and as capable of being “wanted” as female models. Not all girls need to look exactly like the swuimsuit models and no girl should feel less than herself because she doesn’t. Living a healthy life is more important than anything and just because someone does not have a supermodel body, does not mean that he or she is living an unhealthy lifestyle. It is this point that is often forgotten. I agree with the WAM! bloggers in their encouragement to read actively. Becoming a critical reader is crucial is ensuring that pieces of media, such as the Swimsuit Issue, do not corrupt our standards of beauty. The media’s portrayal of women must be critiqued because theres nothing wrong with looking different while living healthfully. 

 

Becoming a Feminist Critic

As noted in class, here is a great example of what we are calling a "feminist critique" -- in this case it's in video form and focuses on the portrayals of women in video games.  Quick vocabulary explanation: "tropes" is another name for a stereotype or a common/cliched representation.

 

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For the previous blog post, you should have visited at least one of the following sites:

The F-Bomb ("TheFBomb.org is a blog/community created for teenage girls who care about their rights as women and want to be heard. All young feminists who are just a little bit pissed off and very outspoken are more than welcome here." -- learn more about them).            

Rookie ("Rookie is a place to make the best of the beautiful pain and cringe-worthy awkwardness of being an adolescent girl. When it becomes harder to appreciate these things, we also have good plain fun and visual pleasure. When you’re sick of having to be happy all the time, we have lots of eye-rolling rants, too." -- learn more about them)

Feministing ("Young women are rarely given the opportunity to speak on their own behalf on issues that affect their lives and futures. Feministing provides a platform for us to comment, analyze, influence and connect." -- learn more about them).

About-Face ("About-Face means a reversal of direction, attitude, or point of view. We equip women & girls with tools to understand & resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem & body image." -- learn more about them)

Women, Action and the Media ("WAM! connects and supports media makers, activists, academics and funders working to advance women’s media participation, ownership and representation. Our work is part of an advocacy movement for gender justice in media." -- learn more about them)

On our own blog, write a post that either agrees or disagrees with an argument made in one of the posts you've read (make sure you *link* back to that post -- and feel free to quote from it as well). Don't forget to give your post a category.

As far as commenting is concerned, you'll get credit if you comment on the websites above or on one of your classmates' own posts.

Extra credit (if you did not do it in the last blogging cycle):  Discuss a work of contemporary American satire -- a film, TV show, song, etc, from the last few years that uses the techniques of satire to make a larger point about society.  Even though we are in a unit on constructing race, your example does not need to involve race as its primary subject matter.

Your post should include the following:

1. A summary of the work of culture -- maybe including a link to a video or lyrics.
2. An analysis of how the work uses techniques of satire -- irony, hyperbole, understatement, and/or parody.
3. An analysis of how the work is not simply making fun of certain people or institutions but how the work is trying to criticize and ultimately change society. 

Note that we're asking you to do more than just #1 -- giving us an example.  You need to analyze that example.

Anti-Feminist Designers?

The recent Chanel window displays show female manikins in elegant gowns wearing large, feature-hiding, white-feather-covered, Venetian masks. One of these women is also sitting in a large, human-sized, golden birdcage.

Chanel’s design, while intended to capture a woman’s attention and draw her into the store, is extremely derogatory toward women. The masks objectify women, turning the manikins into body parts for passersby to look at anonymously. The manikin positioned happily in the birdcage suggests she is submissive and passive.

Chanel, a high quality brand that sells to wealthy, influential women, has determined that showcasing stereotypical attributes of women will sell their products. Their marketing strategy shows how much America is influenced by traditional views of women as obedient, passive, simple beings.

What If She Was Your Boss?

skip about 25-30 sec of the beginning of the video

 

The Movie Horrible Bosses is easily one of the best comedies of the year. The premise includes 3 middle-aged men working for bosses that they absolutely detest. One of the guys in particular, Dale (Charlie Day) works at a dental office with a hot,sex crazed boss(Jennifer Aniston). She tries to seduce him daily; knowing full well that he has a wife. But that's the fun in it all.

The film introduces the seductress social construct; the movie displays how women have the ability to use their attractiveness to bring men to their knees and the ability to harness physical, sexual and psychological power over them. What is interesting is that the boss is the head of the dental firm at which Dale works, so she can manipulate Dale into doing almost whatever she wants. Although he undergoes heavy manipulation throughout the movie Dale remains to be unswayed by her beauty and her psychological teasing.

In the interview Anniston, felt as if she just could disappear playing this role because she could be a different person. In society it seems like when women are viewed in a seductress P.O.V they can either gain power or class advancement. By toppling over the male sex , and having us beg for more; women ultimately create their own identity.

Women and the Ads Market

After many years of fighting to stop gender stereotypes ad makers are still using them. Everywhere in ads women are only seen by their stereotypes. For example they are seen as sex objects, seductresses, and have the ideal body image. This add by gucci employs all of these stereotypes. This add in fact targets women to buy this fragrance which is very interesting. This add reinforces the stereotypes of women as sex objects, seductresses, and having an ideal body image.

The girl in this add exemplifies the look of a seductress, as well as having the ideal body image. For one thing the look on her face says it all. Her eyes are glazed over and she is looking at the camera like she wants "you". Photographers today rely to much on the use of this seductress look. A woman who looks like this in an add just sells products in today's society. This add also reinforces the stereotype of the ideal body image. Today women are told that men will only like them if they are tall and skinny and dress certain ways. In this add the woman is wearing a short dress and has a perfect tan. This just shows woman that they need to look like this. This is simply not true. Also the woman in this add has a lot of makeup on. Woman today are told to wear a lot of makeup just by looking at this ad. Sadly this ad reinforces stereotypes that should have long been put to death many years ago.

House Bunny

The hilarious movie, House Bunny, is a humorous but accurate approach to sorority house drama. The movie begins with Shelley Darlington, who is a Playboy Playmate living in the Playboy Mansion. The day after her 27th birthday, she is tricked by a another Playmate who is jealous because of Shelley's success. She makes Shelley believe she is too old to be considered attractive enough. Because of this, she applies to be a house mother to the snobbish Phis sorority.However she is turned down and told to go to the less prissy Zeta's sorority house. They need 30 pledges or there house will be shut down.

This is the begining of the feminist problem because Shelly convinces the Zeta house they need to have more sex appeal by showing off particular parts of there bodies. During the car wash scene, Shelley dresses in really tight clothing with her clevage exposed and it attracts the men. It seems as if they only focus on her breast and not her as a person. Which makes her fall into the stereotype of a sex object.

After the car wash they receive a ton of new pledges after the car wash and the parties. Shelly gives the girls makeovers and they get even more pledges. I'm just a little befuddled because these girls were more intelligent than the Phis sorority house and they still had significantly less people in the house. It shows how incoherent people are when it comes to which values are essential. Trying to hold women in these stereotypes as the seductresses and sex objects. Its absurd. Women should not be judged solely on appearance but also on there intellecual abilities.

Pan Am: Feminim Critique

The TV show "Pan Am" aired this year on ABC. The show is about the Pan Am stewardesses and and pilots. The women all say they became stewardesses because they wanted to get out and see the world. The women had to be pretty, a unmarried, and wear the proper attire to be able to be on their plane. The women are breaking stereotypes by coming out the house and getting a job, but while doing that they have to become a stereotype to keep themselves where they are.

In the first episode, Laura, a main character, runs away from her engagement to join her sister as a Pan Am stewardess because she doesn't want to get ties down. She wants to see the world. Her sister Kate also left the house because she didn't want to be what her mother wanted her to be. By leaving their lives at home and becoming stewardesses they break the stereotype that all women are submissive housewives. However, to be a stewardess you must look, dress, and act a certain way. If you don't, you get fired. The women are leaving the housewife stereotype at an attempt to be free, but at the same time waling into the seductress/sex object stereotype because of the rules they have to follow.

Also, Kate becomes an agent for the government to spy on Communists and get inside organizations. Kate does this because she feels that she is doing something unusual for a women and that it will let her be able to do something important. Again, while she is breaking a stereotype, she is again fulfilling another one. During Kate's jobs she becomes a sex object to be able to find out her information. The government was using her and other women because they were easy to put into those stereotypes.

Overall, the show is promoting feminist views because the women are standing on their own with jobs and are able to show the world that women don't have to stay at home; but the women are also showing the world that even though you don't have to stay at home, you still have to fit into other stereotypes to keep from being a housewife.

A Critique of Prison Break

Prison Break is a show about a man that is trying to break his brother out of prison.  To do this, though, he has to go to prison himself.  This may not sound full of stereotypes but there is one big one that I do want to talk about.  The prison doctor in the show is a woman.  At first the show shows her as the one with power.  She is always businesslike and never takes crap from the prisoners.  This was breaking the submissive stereotype that is often shown about women.  Another woman character is the president of the United States.  That in itself is breaking a stereotype because there is a woman as the president.  However, as the show goes on, those stereotypes begin to show themselves again.

First of all, the doctor starts off as a figure of power that is always in control of any situation.  In one episode of the show, the prisoners take over the prison and she is in danger.  Then she becomes the damsel in distress until her "prince" who is a convict is able to rescue her.  From then on, she becomes more sterotypical.  She becomes submissive and needs men more.  This leads her to help him escape even though she knows she shouldn't because she is love-stricken.  This makes her seem weak because of a man.  

The president is another powerful woman. She is shown as very dominant, crushing anyone and anything that gets in her way.  She is the antagonist of the show.  She is the reason that the two men are in prison.  She breaks stereotypes because she does not use sex or any submissive actions to get what she wants.  She uses fear.  That is very unusual in an antagonist in a movie.  Usually the women are shown as sex objects.  

Prison Break is a good example of stereotypes.  It both shows many and breaks many.  It has many characters that break from the sex object or submissive woman stereotypes.  At the same time, many of its characters fit one or both of them.

She's Not the Stereotypical Girl

    She's the Man is a modernized version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.  When adapting Twelfth NIght the writers modernized the characters and the situation but also added a feminist viewpoint.  Instead of the using Viola's motive in Twelfth Night of wanting to be with the guy she likes, in She's the Man her purpose of dressing as a man is to achieve her own goals and prove that woman are just as good as guys at sports.  Society tries to force Viola into becoming a stereotypical woman but Viola objects to the role and breaks away from  the stereotype.  Viola's mother forces Viola into a Debutant ball to become a "lady" and the school she is at in the beginning forces her to not play soccer by canceling the girl's team.  However, Viola does not let herself be cast into those roles by not acting like a "perfect lady" at the debutant meetings and by dressing as a boy and moving to a different school.  

    Viola does not conform into the Debutant world that her mother wishes her to participate in.  When Viola is forced to go to a carnival and do the kissing both her ex-boyfriend and Duke, a guy who participates in the kissing both, get into a fight.  Instead of staying out of the conflict like a "proper lady" she tackles them and tries to break them apart.  This action gets her into trouble with both her mother and the leader of the debutantes.  At a debutant luncheon, Viola is in the bathroom with Olivia, who is talking about how she likes Sebastian. Monique overhears Olivia and since she still believes she is Sebastian's girlfriend starts to fight Olivia,  Again Viola joins in the fight and the leader debutant is very upset with her.  Viola does not act with the proper manners or that the leaders of the debutantes and her mother expect leading to anger from both of them for not fitting into the stereotype.  

    Viola is not the stereotypical girl that society wishes her to be.  These actions lead to many frustrations from society and her mother because she is not fitting into the box they have built for every girl to fit in.  But Viola still tries to be on her soccer team and not let what society thinks conform her.  In the end Viola dressing up as her brother to play soccer gets rid of the stereotypes people would think if she was herself.  When the school does find out she is really a girl that already know she is good at soccer and can play with boys.  The way that Viola does not conform to her mother or society's expectations allows her  talent to be accepted and the stereotype of girls not being good at soccer to not apply to her.  

Feminist Critique on Scarlet Letter

    According to author Karen Todd, "Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep. Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow currents of convenience. What you do defines who you are, and who you are...you are forever." All of us encounter adversity at some point in our lives.  Whether it is the death of a loved one, disagreements with friends or paying the price for bad decisions.  How we deal with tribulations helps build our character. In the book The Scarlet Letter, the main character Hester Prynne’s sin forces her to be strong, independent and brave. Hester is an adulteress whose actions have lead her to become a symbol for sin in the Puritan community that she lives in. In 17th Century Puritan Boston, there were not many sins that would rival adultery. Hester Prynne’s sin of adultery made her a complete outcast. Her punishment included jail and public shaming. The public shaming included Hester wearing a scarlet letter "A" on her chest.  The "A" stood for adultery and the entire community would know of her sin.  Because of this sin, Hester had a difficult decision to make: either to leave Boston and run away from her mistake or remain and look adversity straight in the eye. Hester chose to stay. 

    Everyone has either already read The Scarlet Letter or is bound to read it at some point in their high school careers. One may ask, "Why are we reading a book whose setting is in the late 1840's? What does this book have to do with modern times?" The Scarlet Letter is completely relevant to modern times. The book is over 160 years old but yet it still sends a powerful message to readers today. The book shows the after effects of sinning. People now-a-days have to face their sins and mistakes, just as Hester had to. Everything you do is judged by others. People will judge you on how you dress, whether or not you're successful, and if you're considered 'popular'. Many people become jealous and obsessed and will try to do everything in their power to take someone down. 

    In my opinion, Hester’s decision to stay exemplifies courage, strength and independence.  Hester’s sin caused her hardship. How she handled that hardship inspired strength and a newfound self-respect. Hester had to stay in the wilderness for seven years. In those seven years, Hester learned to be strong, independent, courageous, and how to be a free thinker.  She did not rely on others and had to fend for herself. All the women in Hester's town are tied to a man, whether it is a father or a husband or a brother, who makes decisions for them, and supports them financially. Hester has no ties to a male figure, and can therefore make all her own decisions.

    Hester is still stuck in the "separate sphere" because even though she doesn't have a husband, she still needs to take care of her house and child. Obviously, she does not do a very good job of keeping religion alive at home, but she does her best at becoming a role model for her daughter, Pearl. Hester breaks all the stereotypes of women. Hester defies the stereotype of the wife/mother. She is not virginal or pure, she does not take care of her husband, and she does not stay in her place. 

    I find it ironic that Dimmesdale's secrecy was not reviled to the community during the corse of the novel. The affair was just as much Dimmesdale's fault as it is Hester's fault, yet Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin. If the town knew that Dimmesdale was the father of Pearl, the community would have turned into chaos. Dimmesdale is supposed to be the town minister, who preaches these sermons, yet it is all one big lie. He does not live by the word of his sermons.  He is a phony for not admitting he is the father and he is putting Hester in a terrible situation by not speaking up. 

    The Scarlet Letter both reflects and criticizes the patriarchal structure of society. A patriarchal society is where men are the decision-makers and hold positions of power. Hester takes control of her life and in her adulteress situation, but fails to let the truth prevail to the community because of the two men in her life. She may be an independent woman, but she still is overpowered by men. Hester Prynne is objectified in this novel. At the beginning of the novel, she is turned into a walking symbol of sin. But by the end of the novel, she is a role model for women. Hester did have agency in this novel. Even though she was forced to go to jail, after she came out she had the ability to make her own actions and decisions. No one else had power over her actions. This work is without a doubt a feminist work. Hester rejected the role of femininity twice throughout the novel. She committed original sin and she completely twisted the punishment of her actions. She turned the scarlet "A" from a weakness to a strength, which is not what the community wanted. Hester's bold disobedience suggests that women should have equal rights.

    The Scarlet Letter is without a doubt a feminist work. The three main characters work off of one another. Hester is strong and Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are weak and corrupt. Hester clearly overcomes her sin and moves on with her life, while Dimmesdale can't even admit his sins and Chillingworth is trying to seek revenge on Dimmesdale. Hester has enough strength to over come what needs to be ended, while the men are still so tied up in the past. 

Desperate Housewives: A Feminist Critique

 

The ABC series, Desperate Housewives depicts the lives of five women struggling to maintain the stability of suburbia. Wisteria Lane, where each housewives lives may seem to be a prim and proper neighborhood yet is full of deep and dark secrets these women hide behind their conservative facade. Throughout the course of eight seasons, these women have proven that they are capable of anything ranging from being a nurturing mother, to murder. Though at first I did not notice, this show reinforces the stereotypes made through the media to an extreme degree.

If you haven't seen this show before, some of the main characters are Lynette, Gaby, Bree, and Renee. Lynette who is a mother of five children is a stay at home mother. Bree like Lynette is an accomplishes business owner who prides herself on her home and cleanliness. Both of these women represents the stereotype of the domestic wife and mother. Gaby, who is a former model prides herself on her personal appearance and her outward beauty. She represent the role of the sex object. Finally Renee, the newest character to the show is a New Yorker who has recently moved to the suburbs. She recklessly sleeps around with many men and is known to be a cougar. She represents the stereotype of a seductress. The show presents three stereotypes of women: the wife/mother, the seductress, and the sex object. Desperate Housewives reaffirms to its viewers the stereotypes that have been implanted in contemporary media and lacks to show the true agency women have over their lives.

Both Bree and Lynette are stay at home mothers, who face the challenge of balancing the task of maintaining their social status and the welfare of their children. They portray the roles of the wife/mother by sacraficing their individual dreams to support their families. Throughout the beginning seasons of the series, Lynette could be seen to challenge stereotypes through successfully attaining a high management position at her job by hard work. Yet, when her husband needs her to be more for their children she is faced with the desicion to give up all her hard work for her home. Instead of showing agency and  defending her years of hard work, she surrenders her achievements for a broom and an apron and leaves behind her job. 

Gaby and Renee reaffirm the stereotypes of the sex object and the seductress. Renee who constanly reciceves criticism for her promiscuious ways. As an older women she dresses provactive, and is not afraid to speak her mind. Unlike the other women in the community she is constantly bringing home different men from bar and various other places but never acheives to have a stable relationship with a man, until later in the show. Once Renee has tamed her ways, and the viewers might actually think that stereotype has been broken, it is once again promted when Bree takes on those qualities. 

Desperate Housewives is not a feminist show. Its characters strengthen societies views on gender roles and stereotypes. By captivating its viewers through a male gaze, women are further encouraged to sustain their gender roles. Even before a person views this show, the name Desperate House wives objectifies women. Unlike, feminist films the women in this show do now show the freedom of agency in their lives.