interrupting the cycle of oppression: the role of allies as agents of change

reflection:

while reading this article, a lot of loose ends were tied together for me. i feel as though that Ayvazian made this an easy read and made her points clear.  
my favorite part of the article is the section where "what is an ally?" is talked about.  this is a word i have heard in the course many times and never truly understood the meaning.  by the first sentence i felt more at ease with this word.  ( not that it wasnt explained in class, i just enjoyed the way that Ayvazian stated ALLIES) Ayvazian also used to word oppression to explain allies, which was another factor which made it easier for me to understand.  something i found mesmerizing was the last sentence of the third paragraph (pg. 116) "Even a white, able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian male will literally grow out of his total dominance if he reaches old age."  i found this so funny because it basically mocked the male race.. and the idea of women being more in control than a man.  i literally laughed out loud when this sentence was read.  
another section i was enjoyed reading would be the "providing positive role models" section.  i found it to be an awesome couple of paragraphs because it was encourgaing.  and let the article end on a good note.  it enforced the fact that much more is possible when you have someone to be your mentor, someone to look up to, someone to aspire to be like. 


questions for the class:
does anyone have a changed opinion on becoming/being an ally now?
does anyone have a role model? someone theyd love to be like?

ideology and media - croteau -- connections

CONNECTIONS:
reading this article made me think more on the textbook side.. along with it being a repeat of a lot of things already read and talked about in class.  other than this article being kind of a repeat, i thought it was kind of a hard read, since it differed so greatly from the articles we have been reading lately. 

for my first connection to the text I chose Cinderella Ate my Daughter.
both of these articles had lots to do with the media, and depiction of certain things.  and as for the ideology, both articles talked about the "norm" or life.  the things that are always seen, and recognized so quickly because of the media in the world.  although, Cinderella Ate My Daughter pertains to mostly young girls, ideology and media focuses on both of the sexes.  this is something that we talked about in class.  in the text, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, the author spoke of the problems her daughter may come about as she grows, and in Ideology and Media, the problems of both female and male were brushed upon. 


for my second connection, i chose the movie we watched in class: (sorry i forgot the name)
just like Cinderella Ate My Daughter, this movie was also about young females.  as i was watched the movie,  i thought of BOTH Cinderella Ate My Daughter, and Ideology and MEdia.  these three presentations of information are so close knit.  once again, the only difference is that Ideology and Media talked about the male race.. while the others didn't. what i liked in the movie was the interview of high school girls, talking about being bullied and peer pressured.  actually hearing truthful stories is different then reading them in the text.  in ideology and media, stories about the future and being bullied were only talked about. 


overall, all three of these types of "texts" have opened my eyes to the cruel world we live in.  if everyone was nice and could mind their own business the world could be a happier place.  growing up is extremely hard.. and i honestly could not even tell you which gender growing up is HARDER for.  i hope the best for my kids, (when i have them) and i pray that their wont be bullies.  while watching the movie, i could totally understand how these little girls felt.  i believe that everyone has been bullied in their past, its just sometimes kept deeper into the memory in some people than others.
as for media, media can be the biggest bully of all. 

presidential election night !

FIRST TIME EVER VOTING TODAY FOR THE PRESIDENT. very exciting. love having rights ;)

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so, walking in from the movies (i just saw paranormal activity 4!), i almost crapped my pants to see that my 15 year old sister watching the presidential election night! she not only made me feel like a proud mom because she actually cares about whats going on in this country, and reminded me that i needed to to do this homework assignment. LOL

unfortunately i had to watch this by myself cus i have a project to do..


when i first turned on channel 10, Sehldon Whitehouse was speaking.  and all i could think about is "did you pay your daughter to look at you like that and have that stupid smile on is she just dumb?"
next i see that david cicilline in the lead and will most likely win, so i text my mom and say "that douche you did not want to win is winning," her reply is "yeah i could have saw that coming. hes such a liar"
it made me think... arent they all liars? obviously im against Romney, but Obamas a liar too! they all say what you want to hear, and do nothing that they say.

AHAHAHAH julie tremmel just staring at the camera for a good 2 mins not saying anything... awkward...

elizabeth warren is winning, and projected to win..all i can think about is the commericals shes in.

honestly, watching this is making me mad and anxious.. i want to turn it off.

lincoln gambling is gonna be passed! YAY, sorry newport :(

well my two hours is up.. looks like Obama has more electoral votes.. just have to wait and see!

8 ways to be positive you're sex positive & wiki article - reflection

This was a fun read for me.  As I heard other people saying in class, “I am not afraid to talk about sex,”  I agree with this completely.  Ask me anything.. im not going to lie, sugarcoat, withhold.  Sex is a thing that is everywhere around us, most of the time good, sometimes bad.  I can say that I am sex positive.  And to back this up I can bring out one main point in the 8 ways to be positive that you are sex positive article.  Number 4 “know thyself.”  Ms. White says that she is sex positive and is okay with verbalizing what she lieks and dislikes with her parteners.  I am only 19, but I do have a good idea of what I like and do not.  I am not at all saying that there isn’t a lot more things to accomplish, try, challenge, and experience.  But this was the point that stuck out to me the most.  White asks some questions in this “know thyself” section, that got me to think myself. 

i believe sex is an important topic in life, and i regret that fact that it was never spoken about in my family.  i was on my own for sex ED, which was a good and bad thing.  i believe this is one of the main reasons i lost my virginity at an older age then some of my friends.  i didnt know how to ask about it, talk about it, or BE about it.  i know how i can help my younger sister now, and i know sex isnt wrong. 

This article is really awesome and I enjoyed reading, agreeing, and questioning myself. 

While White’s blog was a younger spin on the whole subject and brought me down to earth, the Wiki article was more informational.  Thank God I decided to read the blog first HA!

On Wiki it explains the different types of sex –positive and the different types of feminist that are or are not sex-positive.  My question was answered… do you need to be a feminist to be sex-positive?  I say no! and reading other blogs from my classmates I say they agree.  Wiki also talks about the word “Sex-Freedom,” which I enjoyed a lot.   

random post #2! --work uniforms

at stop and shop, the uniform requires jeans (which i never wear), an ugly mustard colored long sleeve, or short sleeve with the companies logo printed on the collar, and on the back, and a black apron.  however, sometimes the males in the company are required to wear hats, or just choose to wear a hat.  

SO, one night at work, i had nothing really left to do in the florist department so i was kind of walking around talking to people, when i saw a co-worker named Tyler, wearing a hat.  I kind of like the hats.. their cute just black with a little logo.  and stop and shop makes my hair so staticy i always wear it up anyways.  so i asked my manager for a hat.  he laughed and said "only the boys wear those," i told him i wanted to be one of the boys that night.  kind of hesitantly he went and fetched me a hat.  when Tyler had saw me again he told me that i was "trying to copy him," and that "those hats were only for the real men of the store." 
while walking around with this hat on i saw a couple of double looks come my way.  with this class in mind, i decided to wear the hat the next day at work, too.
this time a different manager was on and he too, made some sort of comment about me looking like a boy.  and my friend stephanie was working and decided she wanted to wear a hat too, just to be cool like me.  

the moral of the story is.. if i wear a hat.. im a guy? really.. girls cant wear hats in public places without getting double takes?

and this is a picture of me and stephanie being "boys."

cinderella ate my daughter.

HYPERLINKS:

for this article a lot of great points were raised. while reading, i did a lot of agreeing and disagreeing.  AND laughing.  some of the things i could say applied to specific people.  unfortunetly, i do not have a younger female in my life to compare this article too (since it was more about three-seven year olds).

for the first point i wanted to bring up:
the words "princes or ballerina" or have butterflies all over the item. OR the infamous color PINK. (and im not talking about the victoria's secret line).
these words are always seen on clothes, and this color is the most popular.. and every little girls FAVORITE COLOR.
while scrolling through this page, anyone can agree that the majority of the shirts are the color pink.
googling "little girls princess shirts " almost every picture has a typical white american girl wearing a princess shirt.
this picture specifically shows the american girl.


point 2:
as for the actually Disney princesses which are talked about majorly in this article, i found a perfect youtube video explaining them.

this video may go a little too in depth about some things, but it is a general opinion of what Disney princesses teach little girls, who are young minded and dont have their own voice yet.

To go further with the princess idea, there's a quote that Orenstein says is, "Princesses may confide in a sympathetic mouse or teacup, but, at least among, the best-known stories, they do not have girlfriends.  god forbid Snow White should give Sleeping Beauty a little support.  
Let's review: princesses aviod female bonding." Page 23
This is showing girls that they are the best and the only princess around.  in photos of each disney princess none of them acknowledge eachother.  they do not look the same way and only embrace themselves and their pretty smiles.
also t go along with this quote it says how girls are loners and to themselves more, which can make them come off more bitchy then they really are. the "catty" image of girls.  
this goes along with the princess culture, and body shape. thin perfect, have a nice set of boobs, and be materialistic.
just like in Ariel in the beginning of her movie, singing "I Want It All," even though she does not know what these things are. MATERIALISTIC!  ----> this is of course a parody to make some people laugh at the movie. ( i couldnt find the original, so i thought this would be the second best)


point 3:
american girl dolls/bratz/barbies. to go along with the statement above this creates the ideal picture of a perfect girl, in a handheld version.. 
bratz dolls have the perfect full lips, that are always nicely painted
american girl dolls are always cute and dressed perfectly
and barbies have the perfect bodies with the long pretty wavy blonde hair. 
i found an article i thought was interesting about the topic of barbies
i thought this article was very interesting, and covered some points that i thought Orenstein was trying to make. 




comments/questions for class:
do you agree with any of the articles/stories i posted above? have you had a catty girl experience?
were you into pink and princesses when you were younger?

what are little boys made of? - extended comments

After reading the article, I was confused to which prompt I would use to write my own blog post.  SO, I decided to read everyone else’s posts (well, the people who were done by 9pm on Sunday) and after reading Celine’s blog, I wanted to do the extended comments.  Especially because I did not see anyone else do this prompt yet.

Each quote she picked were all ones I had highlighted and wrote little side notes on my article, so I knew that we were on the same thinking pattern with the article.

Nature vs. nurture is something I learned in high school, and I have always been interested in.  I always think about it when personality questions come up.  I agree with Celine when she says that she believe in nature/environment of which a person grows up.  Lots of things in life are mimicked, whether it is by TV shows, or your very own parents.  This could have a lot to do with boys “fitting-in” in school also.  They want to be cool so they act as bullies to show that they are the boss, and that they are tough.  To be tough also means to not act like a women, which would be showing emotion, and the infamous crying, that us women do “all the time.”  However, unlike Celine and the article, I feel like nature also does have a significant role in how we grow up.  I feel like if a male is more friendly with his mom, he gets the “momma’s boy” image, and is a lot more in tune with his emotions, and feelings.  So either or would work for shaping an individual – I feel.

In Celine’s blog she used a lot of real-life connections to this article, and asked the males in her life questions.  I really like this a lot so I decided I would ask my own boyfriend the same question she did.. This was his response to the “code of silence” quote:

“There’s a bad outlook on men that talk about their feelings, I feel like that there’s a time and place to actually express how you feel.  Mostly in front of your close friends, because other people are judgmental. I wouldn’t cry in front of a stranger I would look like a pussy.”

Such a way with words, huh?

Although this whole article was directed towards males, I agree with Celine when she says that she herself holds in her feelings sometimes, and would rather hangout with guys, and stay away from too-emotional girls.  This was my childhood, I was friends with the guys more because they were more fun, girls just wanted to sit around gossip, and paint their nails.  I found this funny, because there’s so much truth behind it.  I hold in my feelings a lot; I myself could even be in this ‘code of silence.’

i had to throw this in here.... i laughed for a good 5 mins because it beat all stereotypes, because he is older, a male, and african america.  which are supposed to be the most masculine.. (irony)

Comments/questions for class:

MALES: Whom have you cried in front of before?

MALES: Do you have guy friends that know about your emotions, or are you in the ‘code of silence’?

Was this an enjoyable read?

something about the subject makes it hard to name - yamato

REFLECTION:  I actually enjoyed reading this article.  Not because, I am rascist, but only because everything Yamato has written was true, or I could relate to in some sort of way, because I have heard it or lived through it.  Racism is the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races.  Or the discrimatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race.  It has been around for way too long.  Yamato also writes about how people say that it is not seen in today’s world! This is a funny thing, because they are not opening their eyes.  It is unfortunate, but it is all around us… everywhere.  I see racism especially at my job.  I know that the security guy is watching the African American male very closely on the cameras, or the Spanish male with the Rico Suave hair cut.  I know it, not only because I see him watching, but also because he tells me.  Yamato states that there are four kinds of racism “1) aware/blatant racism, 2) aware/covert racism, 3) unaware/unintentional racism, and 4)unaware/self-righteous racism.” Page 28.  I could not have said it any better.  This is deffinetly the classifications of people and racism.  I laughed while reading the unaware racism alos, I would say that these are the people who think that they are not racist, but are.  I think that the truth is we all have a little of it inside us, and it depends on who has done uswrong, or who we have seen do wrong in the past.  Another aspect of how it is formed, would be family.  I have friends whose parents have disowned them for bringing home a male African American and calling them their boyfriend.  Horrible.  This makes me think about all of the people in the wrong that are being treated wrongly, or looked at funny because of their gender, race, color, ethnicity, etc,.  The world is cruel and unfair. 

Questions for the class:

Have you ever seen an act of racism being done in front of you?  Did you do anything about it?  Has some sort of race card been pulled on you?  How did that make you feel?

Comments for the class:

If we work one by one, in stopping racism, we could stop it.

random post #1 -- talking to my grandfather last night

My mother is very into voting, and says that every number counts.  Last night, my grandfather was over, and the topic of voting came up.  He asked me if I was going to vote, and if I was registered.  My answers were both yes. 

Previously, my answer would have been, yes I am registered to vote, and no I do not know who to vote for so I am not going to.  This class has changed my thoughts completely.  I will definitely vote in November. 

Anyways, my papa said that he was a republican, and it only made sense to vote for Romney.  This is where I told him that Romney would not be a good choice, and that is Romney won, it wouldn’t be a happy place for women anymore.  He did not really listen to me and seemed too stubborn.  I could not let him vote for Romney.  I see myself trying to change everyone’s opinion on the election.

I wont give up on trying to change my grandfathers vote :p

something to bring up in class:
who would YOU vote for? and why?