Sex and Gender class blog

Final Project: Women in the Military

2013-05-21T21:46:00.004-04:00

For my Final Project, I made a Prezi about Women in the Military. I found a lot of information on the topic and I found this topic to be very interesting. Women in the military have dealt with a lot, and just getting to be admitted into the military was a long and hard process. The women in the military face a lot of similar problems that women outside the military also face, such as sexual assault. There has been recent coverage on the issue on shows such as The Katie Couric Show, and I have attached a link to the website where the video is found. Hope you enjoy it!

http://prezi.com/mx3tf0g3tepm/present/?auth_key=g3gkaoc&follow=qorpgjie69v4&kw=present-mx3tf0g3tepm&rc=ref-38915857

Sex & Gender on Pinterest

2013-05-21T19:06:00.006-04:00

The material that we covered in class, from readings to class discussions, have become more real to me as a result of conducting my final project on Pinterest. Not only was I able to relate my pins to concepts and thoughts that we read, and spoke about, but it became apparent to me that these issues are recognized by the masses.

I chose to do my project on Pinterest because it is a such a liberal website, equipped with exorbitant amounts of information on any topic you could be interested in. As I had mentioned in class, my thoughts about a Pinterest semester project had stemmed from my personal usage of the website. Since I do not utilize social networking, I decided that it was necessary for me to have some type of media outlet in order to express myself. Before I had transferred colleges, I was a Social Work major. So, naturally, my personal Pinterest consisted greatly of social justice images, novels, and works regarding individuals and society. I soon came across some very powerful, feminist voices on Pinterest. This surprised me, because it seems that social media tends to focus on, what they call "first world problems," where people simply post statuses and tweets about their lives, without going above and beyond to understand and empathize with the plight of others. Viewing the Pinterest boards that related to sex and gender sparked a fire in my brain, encouraging me to use Pinterest as the main platform of this final project.

As I worked on this project, (luckily, Pinterest is smartphone friendly, so of course I was always pinning and commenting) I did notice that a majority of pins that related to my designated boards, were pinned by women. Out of the select few people that I followed for my material, one of them was male, and the others were females. (That is to say, my perception of these pinners was that they were male and female, excuse my generalization of gender expression) At one point, I did sift through feminist boards in hopes of finding some men who pinned on behalf of women. However, the fact that Pinterest is a female dominated website, as discussed in class, I was unable to find many male feminists.

My favorite boards, out of all five, are Feminist Musings and Media Portrayal. I commented on nearly every single pin, relating them to material or viewpoints that were addressed in class. Although each board is extremely informative, implemented by videos, images, links to outside websites, and my own comments, these two boards effectively depict sex and gender as it is perceived by society.

After doing this project, it is safe to say that I have not only learned new things, but have been able to apply our classroom education, outside of Hunter.

Sex & Gender on Pinterest

Violence in Society.

2013-05-21T17:13:00.001-04:00

When we see the word violence, we always think of women being the victims. We automatically assume that men are perpetrators. Throughout my research of violence against men, I discovered that women can be perpetrators too. Women are as likely to initiate violence against men. Statistics show that every fifteen seconds men are battered. This statistic is also the same for women. About 1/4 of domestic violence involves men that do not hit women back. These statistics are scary but they are true.

This issue of violence against men drew my attention because most people do not take violence against men seriously. Why do women commit violence against men? I found a very interesting article by Fiebert and Gonzalez (1997) that listed more profound reasons as to why women are abusive toward their partners. The five leading reasons the women gave were:

I believe that men can readily protect themselves so I don't worry when I become physically aggressive (24%).
I have found that most men have been trained not to hit a woman and therefore I am not fearful of retaliation from my partner (19%).
I believe if women truly are equal to men then women should be able to physically express anger at men (13%).
I learned when growing up that I could be physically aggressive toward my brother and he would not fight back (12%).
I sometimes find when I express my anger physically I become turned on sexually (8%).

Why do we see women's abusive behaviors as less offensive?

Many people believe that men are physically stronger that women. A hit from a women cannot possibly cause any damage to men while a hit from men can potentially hurt women. It is true that men are stronger than women, however men have emotions like women do. They are hurt when women kick, slap, or yell at them. Another reason is that men under-report they are being abuse to the police, family and friends. They do that because they are afraid that they might or will get laugh at. It is not within the norms for men to complain about abuse from female partners. Some people say that men are men and should take abuse like men would. They should either retaliate or should not complain about it. Men are no creatures with no heart. It is not fair to make fun of those abused men. It would be better to try to help them seek the help they need.
I was curious to see curious to see how many resources are available to abused men. I am shock to see that there is not a lot. There are far more resources available to women. There should be more resources available to them because they need the help. If we, as a society, are teaching men to be non violent why are we teaching women to be violent? It is not to teach women that it is all right to hit men. The idea that women should hit and abused men is advertised in the media. We see this in movies and comic shows. What kind of society we are creating for our children? Overall we need to put a stop to domestic violence for both men and women. It is a difficult task to do but we all agree that violence is bad for our society and destroys us as human beings we can slowly and hopefully reduce the likelihood of it occurring in our relationships.

Click or copy the link below to view the final presentation.

Violence in Society ppt

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mOT-N9FRs8EnCbeu8Ek3kpFrOxcW2D6rou2Eh_OQUx0/present?ueb=true#slide=id.gd42bd4b3_2_75

final instructions for turning in your final projects

2013-05-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

The University has scheduled your final exam for Tuesday, May 21 between 7:30 - 9:30 pm. We do NOT have a final exam for this class. Instead, your semester projects are due on Tuesday, May 21, by 9:30pm.

Many of your projects are digital projects in the form of blogs, videos, etc. As such, many of you have already shared these projects with me and the class.

Many of you are still finalizing your projects. Some of your projects are prezi presentations, ppt presentations, videos, photography projects. If you wish to share the project with the entire class, you may upload your project to our shared folder called sxg Final Projects folder in Google Docs (requires log in). Examples of files that can be shared include, photos, videos, final papers, etc.

If you do NOT want the entire class to see your project, please send it directly to me via email (but this should be the case only for VERY sensitive information-- theoretically, the entire class should be able to view your project).

Please keep two things in mind:

If your videos, presentations, etc. are private, please be sure to let me know what the password is so that I may view it.
If your project is not self-explanatory, you should make some kind of blog post about your project, why you chose to do this project, what you found after completing the project, etc. (remember to label your blog post "Final Project Post")

Please let me know if you have additional questions. I will NOT grade any assignments until after the due date.

Wonder Women: The Untold Story Of American Superheroines documentary

2013-05-19T23:37:00.000-04:00

I haven't seen this documentary so I can't say much about it, but I'm willing it to bet that it raises some interesting questions for us. At any rate, I thought it might be worth mentioning to all of you in case you're eager to have a look at it.

A new documentary — Wonder Women: The Untold Story Of American Superheroines — examines the history of women warriors and asks why we haven't had our Wonder Woman movie yet.

my three sirens

2013-05-19T21:46:00.001-04:00

Hello! I did not have a chance to explain my project during our last class so I figured I would explain a bit here. My project sprouted from a brief conversation I had with another classmate regarding gender on an individual basis, what femininity is and how it can be applied to oneself, yet stray from being quantified. I filmed three different individuals in their daily routines: individuals who saw themselves as female but anchored their feminine identities in different areas of the endless spectrum of gender. The first person filmed is actually my mother, who, as it turns out, sees gender expression as a very rigid model and within the confines of her religion. The second person being filmed is my friend who considers herself female but occasionally and for periods of time will bind and express her gender in various ways that may not be traditional for a female. The last person being filmed is another friend of mine who expresses herself in a traditionally female way. What I really want people to think about is why we speculate and cling onto gender when so much of our behavior is taught and sprung-forth from esoteric, ancient social norms. Just something to think about when there exists such a large and abounding spectrum of gender expression.
Personally, 'gender' makes me feel confined.

Thanks for an awesome semester, everyone.

Jose

PS. The piece of music is by Claude Debussy, titled "Sirenes," and if you know the mythology of the Sirens, you'll understand the relevance to the subject matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LicnpLRmueI

take care

Final Project!!

2013-05-16T15:46:00.001-04:00

Hey guys,
Here's the link to my website!

http://bossyintellectual.wix.com/progression-of-women

I hope you enjoy and please do take advantage of the Feed Back page!

Lesson Notes: Structure of Social Institutions - Globalizations

2013-05-14T14:51:00.001-04:00

Admin:

We have class on Thursday! You'll get a chance to show off your work, speak a couple of minutes about your work, etc. (not optional)
Your final projects are due: Tuesday, May 21, 7pm (when your final exam is normally scheduled)
If you make some kind of post about your final project, please give your post the label "Final Project Post"

Today's questions:

Is globalization bad for women? Explain.
Does "globalization" include free movements of people?
How is the position of women workers of the global south similar to a women's positions/status and work in western industrialized countries?
"Post-feminists"?
Slut shaming?

Okin, Susan Moller. "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?"Boston Review (1999).

student post on Okin

Abu-Lughod, Lila. "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others." pp. 527-535.
Enloe, Cynthia. "The Globetrotting Sneaker." pp. 512-516.
Hochschild, Arlie Russell. "Love and Gold." In Global Women: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. Edited by Barbara Ehrenreich, and Arlie Russell Hochschild. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2003. ISBN: 9780805069952.

Where do we go from here?

Sen, Amartya. "More than 100 Million Women Are Missing." The New York Review of Books 27, no. 20 (December 20, 1990).
Aronson, Pamela. "Feminists or 'Postfeminists'? Young Women's Attitudes toward Feminism and Gender Relations." pp. 572-582.

student post on Aronson

One of the central issues throughout the course has been the centrality of power-- specifically, the power to define peoples and individuals as different and "other" based on normative definitions of gender. We have turned this around by maintaining an intersectionist standpoint that includes race/ethnicity, class, and gender.

Revealing The Truth’s Behind Modeling and The Media Industry

2013-05-14T11:17:00.000-04:00

Growing up I have always wondered why my family and friends have enforced such strict diets and dress codes upon themselves and myself in order to fit into the Ideal Beauty mark. However, it wasn't until I hit my adolescence that I began to see the pattern in body perception and the media/modeling industry. Over the years the patterns for the price of beauty varies from chemical peels, bio tic's, liposuction, corsets, extreme dieting and exercising just to look up to part with the rest of the society. Women have taken measures like these to the point of exhaustion in their bodies that they developed eating disorders or began over taking diet pills to stay fit and avoid judgement from the rest of society.

The media has displayed this unrealistic models roles which have sent out implicit messages for woman such as beauty equals unhealthy. A women beauty is categorized as her looking like a model who weights 64 pounds, who's 5'9, with no fat, just pure bone structure and that's beauty for you ! The mindset that is placed in the person mind by the media can never be "too rich or too thin" is all too prevalent in society, and females must do whatever it takes to achieve any level of contentment with their physical appearance http://www.westminstercollege.edu/myriad/index.cfm?parent=2514&detail=4475&content=4795. As I mentioned when i was growing up girls like myself began to question our weight and appearance because of the media and it has been proven that as girls are in stages of development they continue this cycle of their weight throughout their lifespans. Little girls as little as age 6-8 begin to desire slimmer bodies and waist lines because to them the importance of physical appearance is imbedded as they watch television and modeling shows. This is why most females around their adolescent time or college begin to feel dissatisfaction on their bodies and develop a disorder which from there it all goes down hill with no help offered/wanted.

One case which caused major controversy because of the extreme impact beauty had with this young women was presented by a french Model named Isabelle Caro. Ms. Caro developed her eating disorder at age 13 (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html?_r=0). As seen below this image was taken when right before Isabelle's death at age 28 due to anorexia nervosa http://youtu.be/NnrylU_p6Lc .

In one of Isabelle interviews she stated she had survived on one square of chocolate a day with a cup of tea a teaspoon at a time, to make it last over the years. That was her only meal, she didn't consume nothing more or nothing less. However, learning the history of anorexia nervosa I have learn that its an " immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight, as well as a distorted body self-perception "(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosa). Once Someone develops Anorexia they no longer have menarche (menstrual period), their organs begin shutting down little by little until their immune system completely shuts down and it causes their deaths. According to the National Association of Anoerxia Nervosa and Associated Disorders " [there] [are] up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder [such] [as] (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the U.S.3" http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/. Also the most traumatic statistic is that "Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness"so if girls continue to see this in the media and look up to part they are only handing their death sentence to the media as they go along. So can we begin to think about this drastic measure now and ask how far is too far when your trying to be the most "beautiful model" in the world ?

The reason why I wanted to have an opening statement with such a drastic case of Isabelle and anorexia nervosa was because she is not far behind on health measures many women take in order to look beautiful, especially those either trying to stay in the media/ modeling industry or those trying to get in. In my research in revealing the truths behind modeling and the media, a very good friend of Mine came to mind and I decided to conduct an interview . My best friend Latecia Renee as she calls herself is now 20 years old and she has been part of the modeling world since she was a teenager. Since high school Latecia had been battling with maintaining her weight in control by taking diet pills and exercising excessively in order to get called in for modeling castings and fit in with the rest of the models. Though Ms. Renee knows that in the long run she might develop health issues of any sort as she continues to take this medication and exercises daily she does not want to stop. So, I took it upon myself to learn what it was like for her and whether she was comfortable to admit that it her measures in taken diet pills for so many years was not the way to go. In the interview with Ms. Renee I asked her a series of questions involving her perspective on the modeling/media industry, leaving her with space to say what she was OK with saying and sharing a final message to girls like her who have been battling with similar issues, before it was too late. Unfortunately I couldn't post the video directly on here since its private so please view the interview attached http://youtu.be/Qon4tfOOy2g

Also I couldn't add some really good videos which I would like for you to which with my interview please see the following - http://youtu.be/xxaJ1mvmMxQ , http://youtu.be/wJPrhJty7TM , http://youtu.be/F_rGInscEWc

Learning about Ms. Renee body issues I've learned that she does not fall far behind either with Isabelle and though her mind is made up that she will never develop a eating disorder the thought always scares me. As her friend I have witnessed that since has already taken an extreme measure to stay skinny with diet pills I don't know what else she would try just to stay fit. But Who is to blame Latecia with the obsessive culture we live in ? The obsessive culture of looking pretty and being skinny plays such a large roll in our everyday lives and its just too hard to run away from. Women are always facing and battling their own conscious and self perception on their body Images because they want to be more beautiful and fit like the Ideal Image they see all over the place. Beauty is at its peak everywhere we go its in advertisements, Billboards, ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE !!! no matter where we turn the question is if one would let this influence them or not.

So, in response to all this information I have asked myself what needs to be done and that is that women need to learn how to be comfortable in their own skins and realize that being super thin is not necessarily beautiful as they think it is. They should learn that "they are not a sketch" as shown below in campaigning to stop Anorexia and eating disorders in women. Showing your rib cages and displaying the rest of your bones may be sexy to some with clothes but in reality once they take off their clothing they will note that seeing "walking flesh" is unappealing and unattractive. In honor of Isabelle Caro death many European countries have taken the incentive and started a campaign against anorexia nervosa. The campaign launched also in favor of the other deaths which occurred along the line because to those compagning it was not possible to have deaths after deaths of younger women dying in the price of beauty like the case of 22 year old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Carolina_Reston who died in November 2006 of the same disorder as Isabelle. However, though this campaign has made a strong impact deaths continue to raise with anorexia and the modeling industry, so there's still much needed research and information needed to relay the message to the public in order for this to stop.

Overall, in conducting this project I had a really good time looking for more information on the media influences in modeling. Now that I have more knowledge in what the media/modeling industry brings to mind my only concern is to stay fit and live a healthy life style by exercising how I should and consuming my 6 meals a day to keep my metabolism flowing. I don't care much about aging or keeping my natural glow, as time comes we all most age along the line.. no one can really stay young and beautiful forever without placing a physical toll on their bodies and their physical health. To me the societal pressure placed by the media is just like peer pressure in where women most learn how to separate media influences from brain washing their self perceptions and learn to adjust in their own ways without developing these disorders. But will all women make this sacrifice and stop feeding into the media that has invested to change their minds and bodies ? I don't think so much has to with self control and I know I don't feed into pressure so easy but will you ?

Our Day with the Princess Boy!

2013-05-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis is a children’s picture book written by a mom who has a pink boy. The author was inspired by her son who loves the color pink, dresses, tiara’s and sparkly things. This picture book also explains her own struggles to understand her son and appreciate his difference. This was also a great book about unconditional love and a great family that goes towards the Princess Boy's happiness. My Princess Boy also discusses things like tolerance and an end to bullying and judgments. It describes how the world is a brighter place if we only accept everyone for who they are.

Reading this book and having prior knowledge from class discussions and readings about gender, I was really motivated to introduce this book to my group of second graders. I wanted to carry out this picture book and receive their reactions from this author’s perspective about her son. I was also motivated to do an art project that consisted of making their own little character out of paper and decorative materials. During this project I was going more towards their reaction of a before and after response. While reading this story I got complete silence and stares by simply reading the title. They were extremely puzzled and confused by the title but no one seemed to say anything about their confusion. While continuing onto the next few pages they couldn’t stop giggling at the things that the Princess Boy liked to do. After the first three pages one of the students couldn’t help but to just ask why? I asked my own questions which was why not or why are you guys giggling? Their answer was very simple as to boys do not do that. This was the response these kids gave and how they wouldn’t want to be the Princess Boy’s friend because then everyone else wouldn’t want to be their friend either. These second graders had a main concern during the first half of the story. Yet, that immediately started to change towards the end because they immediately saw the emotional side to the Princess Boy’s story. These students grew more concerned towards the Princess Boy’s feelings rather than the physical difference. This is what made them change their mind because they actually received an emotional side to the story.

Creating the art project at the end of the book was just amazing to see the different results. They all accomplished to make their own character with a little twist of their own. They all felt great to create characters made as friends and have a goal to accept one another’s difference. They were also reflecting on some judgmental situations that grow with the concept of respecting one another for a better environment. Overall, we managed to grow our classroom for a better character to respect one another for who we are. You guys may press the link below to see our version of the story of Our Day with the Princess Boy! Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books Our Day with the Princess Boy!

4,5,6, Inch Heels? Do you Men Know how it Feels?

2013-05-12T23:40:00.000-04:00

The cost of beauty is truly indeed pain. For my final project I have decided to interview men and women of different ages and different cultures about high heels. The basis for my project is why do women wear high heels? What is the highest heel you prefer to wear? How do heels make you feel? Do you think men can last in a pair of high heels? Also asking men what are their perspectives on high heels and can they last in a pair of heels if the roles were to switch. Personally I love high heels! My preferred heel height is 5 inches and above even though I’m already tall I still love it. Heels make me feel sexy and in control. The funny thing is I spend all this money on high heels and I can’t even last half the night with them on! The media plays a big role when it comes to high heels. We see celebrities wearing high heels while their shopping, performing, and even just taking a walk in the park. We wonder how they do it and look so comfortable but even celebrities have a little slip up here n there Whoopsssss!!!

I am about 5'9 and I love to wear high heels. The highest heel I prefer to wear is 5 inches or higher. I know why would I wear such a high heel and I’m already tall lol but I love heels! I could last about 1 hour in a pair of heels before my feet start killing me thank god for flats; I always bring a pair of flats in my purse when I go out. I have no idea why I torture myself but I feel sexy while I’m torturing myself, what an oxymoron!! The interviews that follow are about 1-2 min each. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Oh and you will hear some laughter going on in the background with the two experiments with the men participants. Unfortunately the YouTube clip itself would not load onto the blog for some weird reason, so you just click on the link and the youtube clip will open up.

Mark experiment
Video 7 with Mark before experiment
Video 8 me introducing Mark's experiment
Video 9 Marks experiment
Video 10 Marks reaction after experiment

Lenny experiment
Video 10 Lennys experiment(alot of laughter please excuse)
Video 11 Lennys reaction after experiment

I really had a blast doing my final project especially with the two men who did the experiment thank you guys once again for participating. Through this experiment I have learned that the older you get the more you are less likely to wear heels. I used different ages and ethnicities to get a variety of outcomes for this project. The younger group would wear heels to go out to a lounge or to hang out. The older group would rather flats or sneakers. Heels are just for show, to present that beautified sexy look when in reality we are really hurting inside. Only one of the female participants can last a couple of hours compared to the other 4 female participants. Two out of the four participants would rather wear flats or sneakers to go out! Shocker! But these participants are a little older than the participants who choose to wear heels so they are thinking about being comfortable more than anything else.

Now to the men participants. The men participants gave a little more detailed interview about why they want their women to wear heels. Sexy is the key word. I found it so amazing that they think wearing heels is sexy but have no idea about the pain that comes with it. Even when one participant stated “if we could cook in heels that would be perfect”. Isn’t that a fantasy! The men feel heels are feminine and sexy. So do flats mean women are not sexy? Men can wear sneakers or shoes and be comfortable all day and all night, not worrying about falling or their feet hurting them. The participants Mark and Lenny have never worn a pair of heels before this was their first time. For two men who haven’t wore heels before they did a pretty good job even though the shoes were ruined after lol but it’s ok. I found it quite hilarious how fast they wanted to take the heels off they couldn’t last more than 2 min! Imagine if they had to do it for hours or even an hour. Men have no idea what it feels to be a woman and the pressure society has put on us to be what they call sexy. Whether it’s our hair always being done, to our manicured nails, to the shoes we wear it’s not an easy job being a woman and being sexy. I am truly glad these men have agreed to do this experiment because now they shared a part of what women have to go through. Now I am pretty sure they have a better respect for women who they see wearing heels and know it’s not an easy job.

In conclusion I still don’t know why I continuously spend money on high heels and cant last more than an hour without starting to feel pain. I can barely enjoy my night out most of the time because my feet are in pain but I highly refuse to wear flats when going to a party. It is seen as not lady like to wear flats to a party and don’t you dare take off your heels that is just despicable. I guess some women are willing to suffer the consequences and have their feet hurting them then to be criticized I know I am guilty of being one of them. Now that these men have experienced wearing heels maybe they won’t criticize women who wear flats as much and understand why they wear flats. Are heels always going to be chosen over flats in this society especially in New York City? Yes. The media with the help of celebrities has a brainwashing method that heels are sexy and anything less is unheard of. This is why celebrities kill themselves to wear heels no matter what they are doing which is kind of ridiculous. I can’t go shopping in heels it would take me forever to do my shopping. Will I ever grow out of wearing heels yes maybe one day but for now I bare with the pain because beauty is pain! Ouch!

The Debate Over Allowing Culture

2013-05-10T20:41:00.000-04:00

Is Multicultralism Bad for Women by Susan Okin; with a title like this you would think that embracing different cultures and having different cultures exposed to us is bad for our society, especially its women. But Okin argues the opposite and counter argues Will Kymlicka's work that argues for a limited restriction on cultural rights. Okin states that, "because societal cultures play so pervasive and fundamental a role in lives of members and because such cultures are threatened with extinction, minority cultures should be protected by special rights, that in essence, is the case for group rights." She believes that though some cultural practices are extreme and go against some of the values that we have grew so accustomed to today, so who are we to take that away from people. I can say from experience that if I was not allowed to practice my own culture, I would quickly loose this connection to my native land and this special connection i have with my own family. Even though my parents are from another country and I was born here, they came to American from Poland to make it a must that my brothers and I did not forget the culture and the language. We start taking away minorities rights to express their culture, which in turn would take away this melting pot that we have in America, subduing people to a certain norm.

Okin brings up a few controversies where the government has questioned whether to allow religious practices to continue. For example, in France during the 1980's there was a controversial discussion whether to allow Magrbin girls to wear traditional headscarves in public schools, questioning if it was proper attire to wear to school. these types of controversies even go on today, where people are harassed and ridiculed for practicing their religion and if not forced to stop practicing, they begin to abandon it in fear of getting hurt. Many public schools,though not specifically stating it, try to eliminate religious practices, many claiming its a violation of church in state. For example, this recent controversial debate that went to trial over biblical versus on school banners. With freedom of religion and freedom of speech, we should be allowed to exercises our religious rights and not have people try to stop it.

Another and important controversy Okin brought up was polygamy. In France during the 1980’s the French government permitted immigrant meant to bring multiple wives into the country. About 200,00 families were living in Paris as polygamist. This eventually led to overcrowded apartments and violence among wives and against each others children. Eventually the government recently only decided to recognize one wife and have the other marriages annulled. So what happens to the other wives and children? Though a dangerous thing to practice, where men have total control of the women and children showing a certain dominance in all their relationships, I think these minorities should have the right to practice polygamy without having to identify only one wife. Okin states that, “individuals need a culture of their own, it gives them self-esteem or self respect or decided whether this kind of life is good.” So who are we to try to take away a choice from somebody. We should allow these people to express their religious rights, even though it goes against gender equality and other factors, everyone like I stated before should have their right and freedom and choice to stay practicing their religion.

If we take away minorities culture and their rights to exercise them, then we are taking away a part of themselves. We are pushing them into forgetting their culture and not giving the opportunity to spread their culture and knowledge onto other people. By doing this people start forgetting their language, their native country and a chance to be themselves and exercise where and what they came from. According to Okin some proponents of groups rights argue that even cultures that “flout the rights of [their individual members] in a liberal society should be accorded group rights or privileges if their minority status endangers the cultured continues existence.” Like Okin, I agree with this statement because having your own culture and being able to practice it, allows you to stay true with who you are and give you the opportunity to spread this knowledge. Though there is some practices, like polygamy, that may be dangerous to other people, minorities should still have their right and their choice to practice it freely without any restraints.

The Problem With MTV's "Girl Code"

2013-05-10T15:35:00.001-04:00

Although I do not watch TV that often, my go to channel is usually MTV. Infamously known for their 20 minute long commercials, music video marathons at unruly hours of the night, and keeping us up to date with the music and entertainment scene, I automatically tuned in to the channel without a second thought. As if MTV's coverage of "Guy Code" did not give men a stereotypical enough image, the third episode of "Girl Code" was airing while I simultaneously sent emails, wrote papers, and pretended to look at
the TV screen. As I listened to the banter of random, "celebrity" women, my ears perked up at their categories of the day: makeup, being gassy, driving, and being a slut. Yes, grown women actually sat in front of a camera and spoke about what it means to be a slut, their slutty friends, and why they aspire to be sluts...
While this show intends to be comedic, I did not find myself laughing at the joking manner in which these ladies spoke about being a slut. One commentator on the show defined the word in Girl Code terms. Apparently, slut is a word that stands for Slutty Loose Uterus Tramp... Wow, I never knew that was the societal definition of such a demeaning term. I once read somewhere that slut is a word used to describe a woman with the morals of a man- not much better, but still not defiling the biology of a woman who expresses her sexuality. Horrifyingly, these women addressed the concept of being a slut, and more or less accepted the idea that either themselves, or their friends, will be a slut at some point or another in their lives. As Lindy West from Jezebel puts it, "the sexualization of women is only appealing if its nonconsensual. Otherwise, it's "sluttiness," and sluttiness is agency and agency is threatening and so, therefore, sluttiness must equal disposability."And so, the women of Girl Code go on to talk about this disposable trait of women...
Perhaps the most disturbing segment of the episode was when one of the actresses spoke about being called a slut. In a nonchalant way, she addressed that the word has become so normalized, that it is no longer offensive to some women. Thats great. Not only are women "slut shamed" for acting upon their sexual drives, but it is now acceptable for us to be called sluts, because there are far worse terms that can be used to describe a woman who fulfills her biological needs. This idea brought me back to a concept that I have recently learned in one of my classes. In Freud's "Theories of Sexuality," he spoke about sexual aberrations, in which people develop objectives and aims onto which they express their sexuality. Deviation from the societal norms of what an aim and objective should be (subjective to the gender binary), labels a person with "inversion." In applying this theory to women and the culture of slut shaming, it seems as though women who sleep with multiple men, or women, are sexual deviants and sluts, because they are not fulfilling the societal expectation of monogamy.
While on the topic of "being a slut," another comment was made by an African American man. I suppose he is some sort of comedian or actor, but in any event, he effectively brought the issue of race into the picture. It was quite bold of him, I have to admit, since he clearly was not making light of the slut shaming that was occurring on the show. He said, "Slut. They can say it, but we cant...I can think of another word like that." He was referring to the fact that women call eachother "sluts," but it becomes offensive once spoken by someone of the opposite gender. His allusion to derogatory terms used to identify blacks, was an admirable move, and probably the only, worthwhile moment of the show.

Another segment of the show spoke about women and driving. Apparently women are terrible drivers, a stereotype that I was not familiar with. Personally, I can attest to being a better driver than the men in my life. My 18 year old sister has driving skills that my father, who has been driving for over 50 years, cannot compete with. So it became troublesome when the women of Girl Code supported this claim, and further told stories to proliferate the stereotype. One of the lines that really got my attention was this: "Girls will stop lying about being good drivers when guys stop lying about what 8 inches is." What does driving have to do with the male anatomy in any way, shape, or form? While in a skewed way, the actress was somewhat defending women drivers, (I guess it was more of an attempt) she did so at the expense of men. Not only was she offensive towards male/trans biology, but she also, unknowingly, proliferated the image of men as liars.
It is rather alarming to turn on the television and witness the transformation of the entertainment industry. MTV, once dedicated solely to the music, is now promoting slut shaming and gender policing, which is offensive to those within and outside of the gender binary. How is it that MTV, and the men and women that they employ for "Girl Code" and "Guy Code," have the power to define what it means to be a woman or a man in today's society?

Remember the Dove Real Beauty Sketches Video?

2013-05-10T14:53:00.000-04:00

What if Dove would have decided to cast only men?

Sure, it's clearly a parody and meant to be taken as a joke, but do you think these men are in fact trying to say something?

Feminists or Postfeminists?

2013-05-10T01:32:00.000-04:00

Feminist or "Postfeminists"?: Young Women's Attitudes toward Feminism and Gender Relations by Pamela Aronson, explores the post-feminist generation and attempts to address what is unique to the generation in comparison to the feminist generation with regard to self-identification, gender perception and experiences, opportunity view and race and class life experiences. Post-feminist is a term originally put forth by the media in the 1980’s to describe teenage and early adult females and has expanded, according to Aaronson, to include and describe women who have benefited from the women’s movement. Engaging the idea of previous work and research regarding feminism, Aronson points to the limiting aspects of considering feminism outside a wide scope of ideas and life realities. In doing this she engages the idea of intersectionality that we have previously considered and applied to other class topics.

This article points to the historical waves of feminism that have been characterized by periods of activism and then periods of limited political activity. In trying to understand the period of feminism that we are currently in, Aronson discussed a continuum of how women identify themselves as a standard to measure attitudes. This continuum ranges from women who identify as feminist, those who called themselves feminists with clarification and those who were not feminists but supported feminist issues. She discusses this continuum as a past measurement without the variation to be significant to post-feminists. This is important to the articles discussion of what feminism means to a post-feminist because Aronson discusses the limitations to this consideration without expanding the scope of the measurement of attitudes including the different social backgrounds.

Aronson conducted a longitudinal interview based study. Among other things, she found an optimism of women’s opportunities and an appreciation for older women’s struggle and a current observation of the obstacles that women face. She found that most of her study participants had not experienced major gender discrimination, were aware of the possibility that it could occur in the future and did not expect gender discrimination to affect them. Her study participants were almost all supportive of feminist issues and largely effected by race and class backgrounds. She concludes that many of her study participants fit on the continuum, but more than half had an ambiguous view of feminism. She further concludes that all of the things that she discusses, life experiences, race and class and exposure to women’s study classes all significantly contribute to an identification with feminism. She found a majority support for feminism and asserts a positive generational appreciation for the post-feminist group.

This article presented an opportunity to think about the relevance of intersectionality when applied to self identification and made me think about how my life experiences have shaped how i think and label my experiences as a woman. It also presented an opportunity to think about the intersectionality of generational experiences. My Mother was a stay at home Mom who considered herself (and still does) to be a feminist. Much of my self identification incorporates how she thought about herself when i was growing up.

How is how you identify with feminism similar or different from your Mother or a female member of your family?

Lesson Notes - Violence Against Women

2013-05-07T17:06:00.002-04:00

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Teacher Evaluations again

Today

Main book:

52. "Policing the National Body: Sex, Race, and Criminalization," by Jael Silliman.
53. "The Color of Justice," by Michelle Alexander.
54. "Rape, Racism, and the Law," by Jennifer Wriggins.
55. "Interpreting and Experiencing Anti-Queer Violence: Race, Class, and Gender Differences among LGBT Hate Crime Victims," by Doug Meyer.

PDFs

Nagel, Joane. "Sex and War: Fighting Men, Comfort Women, and the Military-Sexual Complex." [pdf] pp. 494-506.
Martin, Patricia Yancey and Robert Hummer. "Fraternities and Rape on Campus." [pdf] pp. 471-479. • Think about recent attacks on women and reproductive control.

Learning Objectives

To be aware of the prevalence of violence against women and of how social constructions of gender contribute to these crimes.
To understand how social institutions, including politics, the military, and fraternities contribute to a culture of violence against women.
To recognize the effects this violence has on women’s lives, including how this violence institutionalizes the control of women and of sexual/gender minorities.
To be conscious of the ways in which hierarchies built on race and ethnicity, class, and sexuality intersect with gender inequality to produce and maintain violence against women.
To understand how male privilege and mainstream male socialization contribute to violence against women.

Summary

Violence against women is pervasive in all cultures (see stats and pearltrees link). Violence and the fear of violence are used to control women’s actions and bodies.
Violence against women is produced at the intersections of race, class, and gender.
Social institutions as well as individual men create and continue violence against women.
Violence against women is a hate crime that is encouraged by sexist ideology.
Violence also occurs against others less powerful including children and those who cross gender boundaries.

Some Questions

Below are some important questions related to today's readings. The overwhelming goal (as always) is understand how each of these articles are related to normative constructions of gender, masculinity, and heterosexuality as well as how viewing these experiences from an intersectionalist perspective offers new insights to our understandings of these social phenomena.

How is violence against women (especially poor women and women of color) related to structural state-sanctioned violence?
Why is it more difficult for LGBT people of color and poor people to easily identify an act of violence as a hate crime directed at sexual identity? How is this related to white privilege?
How does the way fraternities focus on masculinity and heterosexuality contribute to a rape culture?
How do fraternity values such as loyalty and secrecy contribute to the prevalence of rape in fraternities? How do these values make it difficult to bring fraternity men to justice?
What aspects of fraternity recruitment are likely to contribute to a rape culture? What structural characteristics of fraternities contribute to this?
How are women treated by fraternities?
How is alcohol used by fraternity men?
How has sexuality been used as a tactic in many wars and conflicts? What are some of the examples of ethnosexual violence Nagel describes? Can you think of other examples of ethnosexual violence in war?
Why does Nagel use the term “ethnosexual” to describe the sexual assault and prostitution of war and militaries? How does ethnicity play an important role in who is assaulted and who provides prostitution?
What was the conflict that brought international attention to sexual violence as “crimes against humanity,” or what is often called “rape as a war crime”? Should acts of sexual violence be considered war crimes like mass killings? Why or why not?

Rape, Racism, and the Law - Denials and Accusations of Rape based on Race

2013-05-03T11:10:00.001-04:00

Just as the second wave feminist disregarded the plight of minority, working-class women, so did the law regarding rape. It’s very unsettling to think of a time in our government when the rape of an African American woman was legal and race was used as direct evidence for the rape of white women. Jennifer Wriggin begins her article, Rape, Racism, and the Law, discussing the focus on alleged black offenders and white victims of rape; in the eye of the law, all a white woman needed to do in the late 1800s to early 1900s was say a black man raped her and he would be convicted. Bestial behavior has been closely associated with African Americans since the beginning of slavery, making rape a crime assumed to be committed by African American men. In a time period when Emmett Till was brutally murdered for being too friendly to a white woman and his white assailants were found not guilty, it wasn't surprising to discover in Wriggin’s article that all a white woman needed to do was call fowl and the case was closed. What’s worse is that the rape convictions for black offenders still remain much harsher when the victim is white, oppose to vice versa.

In addition to this course, I’m also enrolled in a Race and Ethnic Relations course this semester and my professor summed up the objective of white segregationists as protecting the purity of their white women. It’s a pretty adolescent summation of white oppression, but is evident in Wriggin’s article. Taking a look at the Central Park Jogger case, Wriggin’s claims hold true. The case involved four African Americans and one Latino put on trial for allegedly raping an affluent white woman in Central Park. The five teenagers didn't commit the crime but were influenced to plead guilty which was disproved years later through DNA testing. The harsh convictions of alleged black offenders is just one side of the race issue, the race/rape issue takes an ugly turn when the alleged offender is white and the victim is black.

Twana Brawley, a fifteen year old African American, was found unconscious in a dumpster and later accused six white men of rape. Tawana’s case was highly publicized, with much controversy due to inconsistencies in the case. Whether Tawana’s accusations had holes or not ceases to be the issue at hand, the mere fact that this person’s race and the race of her attackers determined how the case was handled and how the media reported it illustrates the institutional racism that exists in the courts. If Tawana was a white teenager, the emphasis wouldn't have been on whether or not she was telling the truth, but more on her attackers – who would more than likely be assumed to be black.

With every highly publicized case of rape, comes the awful reminder of the rape culture that exists in our country. The extent to which law enforcement investigates a person’s accusation should not be determined by gender or race. Victim shaming and harsh convictions with lack of evidence are all too common and race is the underlying determinate in both instances. Wriggin’s suggest we rid the legal system of racist ideologies and look at sexual assault for what it is rather than who committed it. The belief that African American men behave like beasts and African American women are hyper-sexual does not excuse behavior or sexual assault and should not determine conviction. Sexual assault is a crime, regardless of race.

Given the media coverage on recent sexual assault cases, do you think there will ever be a time in our culture and legal system where rape convictions won’t be founded on gender, race, and class of both victim and offender?

Fraternities and Rape on Campus!

2013-05-03T01:27:00.004-04:00

    In the article Fraternities and Rape on Campus by Patricia Yancey Martin and Robert Hummer there research discusses how the organization and membership of fraternities contribute to violence and coercive sex with women. Why would these men engage in these criminal activities? Why do they encourage the sexual coercion of women ? Reading this article did not come as a surprise to me because these stories are not unknown there just not talked about it usually gets brushed under the rug.
   Martin and Hummer conduct their research based on the alleged group rape of a young woman at Florida State University. The rape involved four fraternity men and an 18 year old coed. The rape took place in the fraternity house and ended with the "dumping " of the woman in the hallway of a neighboring fraternity house. How low can an individual or individuals be to leave a innocent raped victim in a hallway for everyone to see ? According to the newspaper articles her alcohol level was .349, she had scratches and bruises and what got me the most upset was a fraternity symbol had been written on her thighs!!! Not only have these men raped this young woman they ate proud of it making there mark.No shame no remorse. In the end since fraternity members decide not to help with the investigation this led to a five year ban of fraternity.
     The main thing that fraternities are concerned with is masculinity. Macho is the main term these men in these fraternities live by . If you are seen as a wimp or even gay you have no chance in getting in a fraternity. Alcohol is one of the main go getter for fraternities. If your a none drinker don't even think about getting in.
Violence is another tactic used by fraternities . They emphasis on toughness, humiliation, and pain. Between the use of alcohol and this violence approach these fraternities use these weapons to prey on women like animals.
     You want some "Hunch Punch" ? Ladies say no if your ever offered. Hunch punch is a drink made at these fraternity parties to get women very intoxicated beyond there norm. This hunch punch consist of ovenproof alcohol and kool aid. The women are not aware of what is in this hunch punch they have no control over their own actions its literally being controlled by these animals. A fraternity senior stated " there are girls that you know will f, then some you have to put some effort into it...you have to buy them drinks or fine out of she's drunk enough ".It"s like a game to these fraternity men a sick twisted game.
      Through all of this disgusting behavior their main motto is to stick together and never rat each other out. These rape episodes are most likely to never be reported by anyone in a fraternity it would be breaking the code. I don't think this cycle of fraternity secrecy will ever stop not to say all fraternities are engaging in these behaviors but alot of them are and are continuously getting away with it. Do you believe that if fraternities goals, structures , and practices change in fundamental ways women will stop being the prey for fraternity men ?? Or no matter what fraternities will always prey on women?

Policing the National Body

2013-05-02T21:48:00.001-04:00

“Policing the National Body”, by Jael Silliman discusses the aggressive laws and the impact of them, placed on communities of color. She also speaks on the regulation and criminalization of the reproduction of many poor women.

According to Silliman politicians are aiding the division of class and race within the U.S. By trying to gain the support of the middle-class, the media begins to neglect issues of race, poverty, and criminalization in communities of color. The ideal liberal way to deal with is this is through “good policing”. However, if the woman’s movement does not view the state as an opponent, where women of color are concerned, then change is less likely to happen any time soon. The mainstream reproductive rights activist appears to have swept cut backs on welfare, and rights for immigrants, under the rug. Since this group is made up of predominately white women, who are most likely in a different class than women of color, not pay much attention is paid to the rights of these women.

The state plays a major role in regulating, surveillance, and control of both the individual and collective bodies. This power enables the state to criminalize the reproduction of poor women, by sometimes giving mandatory long lasting contraceptives and sterilization.

“Hunger and homelessness. Inadequate housing and income to provide for themselves and their children. Family instability. Rape. Incest. Abuse. Too young, too old, too sick, too tired. Emotional, physical, mental, economic, social- the reasons for not carrying a pregnancy are endless and varied.”

Poor women have still fought for their right to safe, accessible birth control, and good health care for their selves and their children.

The criminal justice system continues to be its own instigator, and continues to incarcerate more peoples of color. With more and more aggressive policing it fattens its self, continuously filling its jails and prisons. In 2001 prisons are expected to surpass two million people. Housing these prisoners are nowhere near enough to rehabilitate and release them back into society. They instead are expected to serve their sentence, and then returned to the poor conditions from whence they came.

People of color are usually the ones to populate most of the prison systems. Judith Scully claims that “the war on drugs is used to justify the control over the Black community. Scully believes that the government fails to properly punish whites who committed crimes. The prison system has also seen an increase in female inmates; most of these women being Black and Latina.

Do you feel as if prisons are made up mostly of people of color? Do you believe that contraceptives and other forms of sterilization are marketed more towards people of color? Do you believe the government is keeping your rights to reproduction under surveillance?

“Interpreting and Experience Anti-Queer Violence”

2013-05-02T21:14:00.001-04:00

“Interpreting and Experiencing Anti-Queer Violence” by Doug Meyer is a summary and analysis of a research project done by the author in which he interviewed 44 individuals who all but four (two of which identified as being bisexuals, the other two as heterosexuals) identified themselves as homosexuals who have been victimized by a hate crime. The interviewees ranged from Black, White, Asian, Latino, young, old, some had finished high school and some had finished college. The result of this research project would be to provide an analysis of how intersectionality effects how victims of hate crimes perceive the motives of their attackers. Meyer’s believes that intersectionality is “a theoretical framework that has been highly influential in other bodies of literature, has remained absent from studies of hate crime victims.” For Meyer’s, intersectionality lends a way to comprehend hate crimes by way of determining whether the discrimination the attacker felt was exclusive to homophobia or whether it was also propelled by racism and sexism.

Meyer’s refers to the studies of hate crime scholar Barbara Perry and her theory that hate crime is an “outgrowth of systems of oppression; it is one of the ways in which perpetrators maintain social hierarchies” the way that violence motivated by race difference enforces the idea of “white superiority” and anti-Queer violence enforces social heteronormativity. In terms of determining precisely where the hatred of the perpetrator originates across the spectrum of race, class and gender Meyer’s investigates how the interviewed hate crime victims identified an act of violence as being homophobic-driven if the perpetrator used anti-Queer slurs while attacking the victim. In Meyer’s words, hate-crime victims sometimes rely on the hateful remarks to “determine that the violence is based on their sexuality.” White gay men more easily determined that they were attacked based on their sexuality where lesbians and gay men of color were more conflictive about which attribute they possess was the target for violence. Lesbians felt that they were not bombarded with homophobic slurs but with misogynistic language, which alludes to the idea that they were assaulted due to their gender as well as their sexual preference. In fact, Meyer’s inserts how “Lesbian women found it difficult to distinguish between misogynistic and homophobic forms of violence.” Meyer’s point is that although homophobia may have been the initial cause of rage, sexism may have acted as a visible propulsion to carry out the violence.

For Black gay men, homophobia was also not enough to define the driving forces behind the hate crime they experienced. In analyzing the experiences of those who were inflicted by interracial violence, Meyer’s found that Queer people of color were attacked with homophobic slurs but the hatred may not have stemmed specifically from homophobia. One interviewee illustrated this point by stating what Meyer’s translated to be an “argument that suggests that Black queer people frequently encounter violence in which their perpetrators focus on gender nonconformity rather than homosexuality. As a result, Black queer people may often confront violence in which their perpetrators do not explicitly address homosexuality.”

Meyer’s fit the social construction of class into how the victims perceived the violence that was inflicted upon them. Those who identified as being of working or low-income class both clearly declared and/or insinuated that they had more problems to worry about outside of the scope of discrimination and hatred which inspired the hate crime they were a victim of. According to an interviewee who identified herself as working class, she suggests that “working-class and low-income queer people may have more pressing concerns than determining whether violence is rooted in bias.” By saying “..How was I supposed to sit around and spend time thinking about whether I had been bashed?” An extension and result of the how social class effects the victims of hate crimes is illustrated by Meyer’s as “If queer people of color find it more difficult than White gay men to determine whether violence is based on their sexuality, then hate crime statues may primarily serve to protect the interests of White gay men. Hate crime statutes…benefits victims who are willing to define violence as bias-motivated.”

Meyer’s also introduces how many who inflict these acts of violence propelled by homophobia, racism and sexism may also be fueled by the resentment towards these individuals who, for them, represent general nonconformity. For these perpetrators, homosexuality represents nonconformity by being the minority and heterosexuality represents conformity, tradition and the continuity of humanity. Inflicting violence on nonconformist perhaps instills in them a justification for otherwise inhumane acts by way of seeing themselves as “whipping” the victims “into shape” or into “the mold” that they (and society) expects of them.

Is anti-queer violence simply a “punishment” for living a “deviant” lifestyle brought down by bigots and homophobes? or does it have wider social implications concerning how these bigots (perhaps subconsciously) measure conformity, race, gender and class within the scope of sexuality?

Rape and Warfare.

2013-05-02T14:42:00.000-04:00

In the reading, "Sex and War: Fighting Men and Comfort Women," Joane Nagel analyzes historical incidents where rape was used as a war tactic. Throughout the reading, Nagel establishes that militaries, past and present, use sexuality as a weapon against their enemies. Although the violence of war is often associated with weapons, sexual assault is often perpetrated by militants against their enemies.
"Rape in war is at its core an ethnosexual phenomenon." By stating this, Nagel creates an image of the oppressed and oppressors. The prevalence of wars being fought between different countries creates a cultural disparity, allowing for one ethnicity to reign over the other. Though this power differential exists, rape is used by both sides of the war, consequently oppressing the women of both sides as well. Ethnosexual prejudices give rise to the abuse of women, sex slavery, brothels, and prostitution, in which the enslavement and rape of women affects more than just the enemy. Rape tactics defile the enemy, satisfy the hormonally driven soldiers, and permanently scars the women who are abused and dehumanized in the wars.
Historically, there have been many incidents when the sexual enslavement of women was the main strategy of war. Nagel offers a few accounts that have come to light more recently, and have been deemed "crimes against humanity." An example of an extreme use of women as a sexual commodity in war was during the 1990's. During the Serbian War, soldiers would rape and impregnate Muslim women for the sole purpose of creating Serbian offspring. To make sure that these women did not terminate their pregnancies, the Serbian soldiers imprisoned the women in concentration camps until they gave birth. During World War II, the Soviet Union targeted German women who were stricken by the poverty of war. "The military personnel capitalized on the vulnerability of women who faced economic hardship, malnourishment, or starvation because of the war's disruption." These women turned to prostitution at the hands of the Soviets in order to survive the war. Nagel also sheds light upon the 947 convicted cases of rape as perpetrated by American soldiers during World War II.
"The logic of rape in war is always the same; rapes are always committed across ethnosexual boundaries, and rape is used by both sides for the familiar, time honored reasons- to rewards the troops, to terrorize and humiliate the enemy, and as a means of creating solidarity and protection through mutual guilt among small groups of soldiers. Ethnic loyalty and ethnic loathing join hands in rape in war." In her concluding words, Nagel sums up the main points of her reading. Rape is perpetuated, and perpetrated, by ethnic differences amongst troops and civilians. Each side of a war partakes in the barbaric system of conquering the women of the opposing side, instilling fear on women and young girls in affected areas. The soldiers who commit these crimes against women, often go unpunished, as it rape is an accepted form of "satisfying" the deserving and patriotic troops. The culture of rape in warfare is disturbing, but the cycle continues, although we would like to consider ourselves as "more evolved." Sex, whether or not it is forced, creates dominating and submissive roles, which ends up minimizing the humanity of a person involved. When it becomes a forced act, the mental and physical anguish can consume a victim for the rest of their lives. These scarring, sexual encounters that servicemen impose on women from other cultures, proliferates stereotypes and prejudices that those in battle have of one another.

Do you believe that rape has been used as a war tactic by U.S. troops overseas? Why do you think cases of rape, as carried out by American soldiers, often go unreported? To what extent would you assume that women soldiers are sexually assaulted by her male counterparts? Have there been any recent accounts of rape in current wars or uprisings?

Shopping Excursion

2013-04-30T20:22:00.000-04:00

Although the separation between genders is made evident in every retail store (most stores have separate sections for men and women) it's difficult for me to consider shops in a gendered setting. It's interesting because retail stores are perhaps the one of the most gendered and gender-specific environments one can find themselves in. Clothing stores perpetuate the gender binary and commonly enforce gender stereotypes concerning what women "should" wear and what men "should" wear. Although I failed to find a considerable difference in gender representation throughout the stores I visited, I did find that going to these stores with social class and gender representation in mind influenced my overall attitude towards how retail stores operate within the confines of the gender binary.

The first store I visited was Buffalo Exchange on east 11th street, between 1st and 2nd avenue. Buffalo Exchange is a thrift store that buys it's merchandise from customers, it's formally known as a "resell" shop. I remember when I worked in retail, one of the workers manuals stated that men's clothing should be located at the front of the store because men "don't want to go through the women's clothing in order to get to the men's section." which I always think about the second I walk into a store (it was one of the more interesting points out of the manual) Buffalo Exchange followed this idea. The implications of this business model are interesting but somewhat unnerving. Why should the convenience of male shoppers be considered over the convenience of another? Obviously one of the driving forces behind his idea is that although women are being purposely inconvenienced, they’ll shop in the store regardless of having to walk through the men’s section. Also, what is so unsettling about the women’s section in a clothing store that a man shouldn’t be bothered to walk through? This systematic separation implies blatant sexism just the arrangement of the clothing in the store.

In Urban Outfitters, however, it’s the opposite. The store is significantly larger than Buffalo Exchange, however the second you walk in all that is noticeable is women’s clothing and accessories. The men’s selection is located downstairs. What’s interesting about the gender separation in UO was the display of accessories. While upstairs carries nail polish, wallets, “cute” iphone cases, rings and jewelry along with the women’s clothing; the men’s section downstairs doubled as the book and furniture section. Perhaps UO thought that books and furniture were more “masculine” accessories then jewelry and wallets.

The final store I visited was OAK on Bond street. The store is small but has two floors, rather than being divided by male/female items, the store is divided by price range. The pricier items are displayed on the main floor and the less-expensive (but still out of[l1] my price range) items are displayed downstairs. OAK also has a considerable amount of unisex basics, so it was difficult to tell where the gender separation was. There were few shoppers (each store I entered seemed to have less than the last, Buffalo Exchange being the busiest) who were all very stylish looking. The employees were an equal amount of men and women and the manager was a woman. Urban Outfitters definitely had more people working on the main floor than workers in the basement floor. I feel that this implies that there tends to be more customers on the main floor who have to be watched/need service.

The more high-end the store I visited, the less gendered it became. It’s interesting because I would normally assume that stores that are high-end would perpetuate the gender stereotypes the most, advertising and enforcing the difference between men and women. However, I feel that because OAK is a small boutique who represents smaller, more independent designers in brands it aimed to eliminate the restrictions of reserving different sections of the store to only men or to only women. Stores like Buffalo Exchange, who are driven by heavy traffic of customers who come from all over the class spectrum, might have to abide by the gender separation in order to appeal to a the male gender who are assumed to shop less than women and with more inhibition.

Have times changed?

2013-04-30T19:45:00.002-04:00

Even though times have changed and technology has advanced, gender roles seem to stay in tact. The normative gender roles that we see today are not identical to those in the past but are what I like to call a diluted version of what they once were. To demonstrate what I mean by this and to explain how I came to this conclusion, I will describe my excursion project on my friends and family. I will give you insight to how they think and the behaviors they engage in that fit the traditional gender roles from the past.

I begin by describing the females and their lives. Suzy is 36 and is currently employed as a Branch Manage trainee at a bank which, for privacy reasons, I will not disclose the name. She is making roughly 65 thousand a year and has the responsibility of learning all there is to managing a branch. She is often looked at differently for being a female and at times isn't taken seriously by other employees. She lives alone but occasionally has her significant other sleep over her home. Her chores are completely done by her and all bills are paid by her. She has no financial support from anybody. She isn't close to her family so she delves into her social life. She has become fascinated with health and fitness, so most of her days consist of a trip to the gym. On the other hand Ana is 24 and works as a personal banker at a bank. She makes about 35 thousand and feels that she is overworked in the workplace. She finds herself doing things that aren't her responsibility but feels obligated because she wants to be seen as a great employee. She lives at home with her parents and a brother. She finds that she has to do laundry, cook , clean, whole excelling in school and work. Her brother, who is older by the way, gets to stay home. He has no job, and no desire for one. He is not asked to contribute to any of the household chores that need to be completed, and yet is held in higher regard in the home than Ana. She has a great social life and loves to go out. Sometimes she goes out to take a break from the life she lives at home. All her financial needs are met by her with out the help of her parents, other than the roof they provide over her head.

For my friends and family excursion I chose to interview fellow co workers and friends, to see how they live their lives and see how many differences are apparent between the males and the females. I also chose different age ranges so their could be a variation in the sample. The sample consists of two females and two males. The females I have coded with the name Suzy and Ana. The males I have coded with the name of John and David.

John is 40 and lives with his girlfriend. He is a Branch Manager and makes 75 thousand.At the job he feels that he is in control. He feels that he is respected by others and that even so, he is carrying all the weight on his shoulders. He feels it is a selfless job where he is not the one to benefit but all the rest. All the household chores are done by his girlfriend but he says he occasionally helps out with the cleaning. He is protective of her so he makes sure he knows where she is at all times.He is also a financial planner, so he manages not only his money but his girlfriends money as well. He makes sure he know where money is going and for what it is being spent on. Similarly David is the same way. He is a 25 year old personal banker, who makes about 40 thousand a year. He feels he job is good but not for the long run. He wants to open a business of his own someday but until then he will stay there.He lives with his girlfriend as well and they share an account that he controls. They have plans of buying property in the future so he makes sure that he knows where every dollar goes. The household chores are done by his girlfriend and he just makes sure that they don't need anything at home. For example he buys the food but she cooks it. He takes her to work and picks her up from school. He doesn't really let her go out without his consent in a way. These are the ways he feels he contributes to the relationship.

In comparing these, I saw that John and Suzy held equivalent positions but yet there pay differed by 10 thousand, with Suzy having the lower pay. When it came to Ana and David, their pay differed by about 5 thousand dollars a year, with Ana having the lower amount. Common theme or not, the females are getting paid less for the same exact positions as males in the field. The females were similar when I came to household duties and their experience in the workplace. Both males seemed in control of the finances for their female partners. They are very controlling of their girlfriends, even of their money. The males also seem to do minimal household chores, which include things like cooling, cleaning and laundry. Both males, , seem to be concerned primarily with providing, and acquiring wealth. So even though these men came from different ethnic backgrounds, beliefs, experiences yet they act the same. Can this be a coincidence or not, or are these the years of gender roles and social norms being passed on generation to generation. Are we really so different from the way we all were in the past. Today we have a modern version of the gender roles but the root goes back to the past. There is an obvious difference between the males and females at work at home and how hey are viewed in society. Things haven't changed as much as we might have wanted but women are continuing to strive against these stereotypes engraved in society.

The Cost of Looking Good

2013-04-30T19:28:00.000-04:00

I was strolling down the shopping strip in my neighborhood on a sunny weekend when I began to notice all the women running to and fro'. Many of them had roller sets in their hair or were freshly wrapped up with pins tucked in. I have not set foot into a hair salon for a while since returning to my natural texture, but I knew full well the amounts of money I had to spend to keep up my looks. I knew that for women, keeping up with your looks was way more expensive than it is for men, but why is that? I decided to venture out and see some of the price ranges for women and men in hair salons.

The first beauty salon I went to was a few blocks away from my home in Brooklyn. My neighborhood is a mix of blacks, Hispanic, and middle eastern. Though the shop was technique a beauty supply store there was a section parted off as a salon. The name of the place was called Cityline Beauty Supply, and the stylist were most black women tending mostly to other black female customers. The women were charged on average 23-25 dollars for a wash and roller set depending upon the state (course, thin, thick, etc) of their hair. The price for a woman’s hair cut was an extra 10 dollars and an extra 5 for a trim. However if a woman was getting a relaxer or highlights they will be charged equal to or over 55 dollars for both. Installing hair extensions would cost about 15 dollars for every weft of hair (sown or glued in); however this does not cover the cost of the hair it’s self, that is bought separately. The men who came to this hair salon usually asked for a wash and braids, which would cost about 55 dollars if they wanted a certain braid pattern.

The second salon called African Hair Braiding, is located in Flatbush, Brooklyn and specialized only in hair braiding. This salon catered mostly to women again, and the pricing was much more expensive. The standard micro braid extensions cost between 100-150 dollars ($100 if your head is smaller). However if one wants them to be long the prices were increased Any type of intricate braiding as simple as zigzag cornrows, may range from 100-130 dollars once again depending on how thick the braids are, your head size, and the length of the braids.

The final salon was more of a barber shop it was mostly run my Hispanic men. The name of this shop was called Unisex Barber and Salon. Unlike the first two salons, this place had prices posted up. The standard hair cut (no fancy designs) cost about 8 dollars! One can choose to trim a little or a lot and the price would remain the same. A more intricate designed cut at this barber shop would range from 15-18 dollars. I noticed that there were not as many men waiting in line for hair cuts as there were women waiting to get their hair done. It also took men very little time in the barber’s chair as opposed to women who were waiting 3 hours or more to be finished.

When I asked some of the women why they felt the need to have these services done, many of them replied that it made them more pleased with their appearance. Others believed that they were more attractive towards members of the opposite sex, and that they felt pampered after a long week of work. It made them feel more feminine. One man proclaimed that he would often pay for his wife to go to these hair salons because he felt as if it was part of his job to take care of her. "I want my wife to look good, a woman is a reflection of her man. So if my woman is busted then I'm busted, that shows badly on me."

Although I observed that in the matters of hair care men tend to spend less time and less money than women. However some of then men I have spoken to believe they have to spend more money on clothing and shoes than women do to look good. So do women really spend more money than men to look attractive? Or are the expenses inflated in certain areas that one is trying to enhance?

Shopping Excursions

2013-04-30T19:00:00.002-04:00

For my shopping excursion, I visited several stores in the Garden City/Westbury area. The first was a Gap outlet store. I went on a Saturday, late afternoon. The store carries apparel for women, men and children. The store was fairly busy. The majority of shoppers were female/male pairs, a few with children. They were of varying races and ages. There was a display of colorful women's shorts at the front of the store, priced 34.99. I found the men's equivalent, also $34.99. While in that section, I checked out prices on men’s jeans. The majority of the jeans were $49.99, with prices for their premium styles ranging from $55-59.99. There were only a few pairs that were $59.99. On the women's side however, the majority of styles were "premium" denim, and were nearly all 59.99. The only jeans that were less than $59.99 were the ones on clearance. I perused the children's section, comparing prices on jeans and t-shirts. The prices for both girl's and boy’s clothes appeared to be the same, with jeans for both at $29.99.

The next stop was JC Penney. I visited the store in the early afternoon. The store was not so busy. The majority of shoppers were women, either alone, in pairs or groups. I counted only two lone male shoppers, and a few others who were with women. Again, races varied, the clientele skewed older. I first visited the children's department, checking out prices on basics like jeans and t-shirts. T-shirts for both were $8. Boys Arizona jeans averaged at $26. There seemed to be more of a range of prices in the girls Arizona brand. Jeans averaged $24, with more styles and colors being available. I briefly compared sneakers in the shoes section. Prices ranged from $40-80 for boys and girls Nike sneakers. The higher prices didn’t appear to correlate to either sex, they were mixed between both. I was on to the men's section. Men’s Arizona jeans ranged from $20-24, depending on style. There were about 4 styles and only a few colors to choose from. In the Levi’s section, prices ranged from $37-50 dollars, again according to style and color. This brand offered more styles and colors. The store didn’t carry women’s Arizona jeans, but the young women’s styles were priced at $24. Women’s Levi’s were priced from $35-40 dollars. A comparison between men’s and women’s Nike sneakers yielded similar results as the children’s; prices varied. There was a far larger variety of men’s styles though.

I also thought it might be interesting to see if there were price differences in men’s and women’s popular fragrances while at Sephora. Men seem to pay less for more product in general. In some instances, women paid more for half or less of the same product that men received.

Fragrance @ Sephora	Men Price	Women Price	Size
Gucci Guilty	$53-80	$25-95	m 80 3oz	w 2.5 edt 95
Gucci Guilty Intense	$65-84	$63-105	m 84 for 3oz	w 105 2.5 oz
Gucci Guilty Black	$62-80	$56-75	m 3.0 edt	w 1.7 edt
Burberry Brit	$67-73	$70-90	m 3.4 oz	w 3.3 oz
Gaultier Le Male/Classique	$64-108	$69-95	m 6.7 oz edt	w 3.4 edt
Obsession	$40-67	$57-74	4.0 edt	m 3.4 edp
L'eau D'Issey	$64-108	$82-102	m 6.7 edt	w 2.5 oz

In regards to clothing in the stores I visited, there seemed to be few discrepancies in price regarding clothing. The differences, such as the Gap jeans, could be chalked up to there being more styles and cuts, but the majority of jeans were ten dollars more than men's prices. You'd figure with less material used that women's styles would be cheaper! At Sephora, one could claim that the different oils and packaging used could make up for the differences. But I don't think that explains why women are paying more for less. I think a lot of companies, particularly in beauty, simply charge more because they can get away with it. Women generally buy more makeup and hair products for men, and often get charged higher prices just for being women. Again, one would think that women's prices would be lower, but that doesn't seem to be the case.