Jealous Boobs?

Just today I had a friend from home come to visit for a lunch date and just to catch up. Over our Alberto's extra cheese pizza she mentioned Reebok's new shoes that apparently do wonders for the female body. Being at Wheaton, without cable, clearly I hadn't seen the ads yet, but upon returning to my room decided to look into this miraculous footwear. This is what I found:



First of all, ladies, please tell me you don't believe this crap. The claim is that
1) the shoes "incorporate stability balls under the heels and forefoot to create a natural instability to force muscles to adapt and encourage toning." and
2)"make you feel like you're walking on a soft, sandy beach, providing 28% more gluteus maximus muscle activation, and 11% more calf and hamstring activation."

The commercial clearly suggests, similar to what was discussed in Killing Us Softly, that the main focal point of a woman is either her chest or her ass. For a low price of $99.99 at Lady's Foot Locker women can buy the self esteem that the corporate world has slowly but surely destroyed. I'll leave you with an ever so wise comment from one male viewer:

"oh my god this video is so hot her tits are amazing!! i love this video, GO REEBOK!!!!! man i wish i could bang this chick. and all the women who posted bad things on this video, get off the computer and go back to the kitchen where you belong!!"

If buying these shoes will get me "banged" by a man like this, then I prefer the cellulite.

Outrageous Act

For my outrageous act, Tarah and I went to a mall in Portland, Maine to interview people about their vote on the repeal of the gay marriage law. Our interviews started with us introducing ourselves as a monogamous homosexual couple that was very disheartened by the results of the recent gay marriage polls. We then asked people for their first name, age, marital status, and hometown. Once we had established a conversation we then posed the question of whether or not the individual had voted in the November ballots. If so we asked them if they felt comfortable sharing with us what they voted on Question 1 (No meaning to not repeal the legalization of gay marriage and Yes meaning to repeal the law). If they shared how they voted we then asked them to explain to us why they voted the way they did. If they did not feel comfortable sharing with us we merely wished them a Happy Holiday season and took note of their other responses. We were able to speak with 13 people, 6 voted No, 3 voted Yes, and 4 either didn't want to share their vote or hadn't voted at all. Each interview really shed light on how people are able to justify discrimination. For this to still be occurring today is such a shame. As a Mainer I am embarrassed that our state has digressed and joined the host of other places where gender, not love is the basis of marriage.

Objectification

The other day I was having a discussion with a group of friends and the phrase, "she is the object of my affection," came up. At first I did not think the phrase was anything out of the ordinary, because if is commonly used in reference to both males and females.  (Although mostly females I think.) The more my friends and I began to think about the phrase though the stranger it became. To think that we find it endearing when we are described as the object of someone's affection is somewhat absurd. Essentially this phrase serves to degrade as it lessens someone's status to that of an object; something that is so inhuman it is without feeling or emotion, simply existing for a specific purpose or use. When analyzed in the context of women I feel that this phrase becomes particularly offensive. It suggests that women are "objects," subject to men's needs and wants. Although this is a normal phrase in our culture, I had never realized what serious implications it ever had. I think it is very important to analyze the way that we speak and the words and phrases that we choose to use because they are often implying things we don't even mean. 

Tough Guise

Hip-Hop: Beyond the Beats and Rhymes is a documentary looking at how the hip-hop culture works and the gender roles created by it. One of the notions brought up within the movie was of Tough Guise. Tough Guise is the cultural construction for men in order to gain respect. A dominant masculine front put up to not be called negative things. Society takes the biology of men as being stronger then women. This is done so that woman can gain the respect of men. If a man receives a comment outside of the “box” of “manly” stereotypical words they are seen as weak and not a “man”. With there being no support for people outside of that box it is tough to live up to the notions put forth to being a man. This is why it is important for such things to be visible (being manly) so that the world can come to terms with themselves and to be able to deal with the stereotypes of the tough guise.

Tough Guise/Killing Us Softly

It really doesn’t seem noticeable until seeing a film like Jackson Katz’s the boxes that we confine each gender to. And then after watching these films it seems to be the only thing I notice. This isn’t the first time it’s come up either, we saw it when reading Baby X, but what I can’t understand is how to create change. If these images of what is female and what is male has become fully ingrained in society, so much so that it is unconsciously passed along to new generations, is it possible to reverse it? Even though we saw the pure degradation of women through advertising in Killing Us Softly, it seems ironic that women actually have an easier time pushing the boundaries of their gender roles. Maybe the first battle is getting people to admit there is a problem. To be able to address these issues we must first acknowledge that they exist.

Maybe to see change we need an army of baby X’s. What advice can we give parents of new babies to try and decrease the continuing cycle? It seems that the stories of parents fighting against gender norms are unique. They may be accomplishing a small piece toward societies improvement as a whole, but what is the cost. The cost is the unique family fighting against the norm. It takes courage and determination to reverse something as ingrained as this. Unfortunately, this world seems to be lacking in courageous and determined people, especially in this area. It is most likely a large struggle for parents to overcome their own life education that girls must be feminine and boys masculine. To watch their child walk out into the world pushing gender norm boundaries must be quite the dilemma for parents who are programmed to only want to do the best for their children and keep them safe. People who fight gender norms must be selfless, they are fighting for something that most likely will not be resolved in the near future and they have to have enough courage for those who will come after them.

Vietnamese Women

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2349059.stm

The above article talks about the plight that Vietnamese women suffer from because of society and inequality. While I wholeheartedly agree that those issues are deplorable and should immediately be resolved, I am so tired of reading and hearing about all these articles and coverage on how all Vietnamese women are mistreated. All of these articles and news coverage seem to do is give the illusion that Vietnamese women have nothing good in their lives; their portrayals make people think that all that happens to them is they get beaten everyday of their lives. A Vietnamese woman is so much more than a subservient wife and mother whose life is shackled to the home and kitchen. Instead of publishing all of these work that give Westerns the image of poor women needing to be saved, these newspapers and organizations should focus more on all of the other roles that Vietnamese women assume: in most cases, they are also business owners, the financial head of households, the glue that holds the entire family together. Like housewives in America, Vietnamese women are regarded as nothing but slaves; people who don't have stories and lessons to share, people who don't have their own opinions and aspirations of their own. Perhaps if everyone focused less on the negativity that Vietnamese women as a whole suffer from and focus more on the individual woman and her personal story, their living conditions, like all of these research and speculation, would become less based in academia and theories and more on actions and application.

outrageous act

For my outrageous act, I lead a guided duscussion about gender rolers with the 4-5 grade class at Pinecroft elementary school. THe students and I talked about what it meant to "act like a boy" and to "act like a girl". I had the kids give me sterotypical things that they considered to be masculine and feminine, and we organized them into lists. Next we talkedd about what happens to kids who try to break out of their gender roles. The students were very clear in telling me that kids would be teased and possibly rejected. A boy in the class expressed his opinion that boys where in more danger from teasing because boys are more likley to use violence against one another. (I thought it was really interesting that he was already thinking about that since it is something that we are just formally learning about now in college.) the last think I had them do is write me a paragraph about how they felt gender roles affected them and something non-gender typical that they would like to do. I got some interesting responces; surprising to me was that most of them felt that gender roles where both god and bad, and were able to defend both of their reasoning's. The girls were all able to some up with activities for me, but the boys had a much harder time feeling comfortable finding something non-gender typical that they would like to do.

OA

Many social interactions between male and female strangers consist of a male, or a group of males, addressing a female, or a group of females, with dehumanizing and sexual comments. . It is sometimes referred to as “catcalling,” and it is usually a casual form of male bonding that is unwelcomed from the female victim(s). I decided to commit a gender-role violating act by performing this type of action, as a female, to males. Two fellow females and I went to a mall and stood outside of a store waiting for a male to walk by. We would only address males who weren’t with females. Examples of comments we made loudly towards them were: “Damn baby, you fine,” “Take a look at that ass,” “Aww, smile baby.” We made sure to look their bodies up and down as we said these types of statements. Some men did not seem to hear us, possibly because they did not realize they were being addressed. Most of the men, however, seemed confused and surprised. I expected more men to enjoy this experience because men are stereotypically the gender that has a higher desire for sex, but surprisingly, they did not find much pleasure in being spoken to in sexual ways by women. We received some uncomfortable laughs from men, who must have thought we were joking or playing some game. Above all, the most consistent reaction was one of confusion. This reaction shows how little, if ever, this happens to men. And it is, and should be, a normal reaction to when a stranger addresses another in such a way. Most women do not blink an eye when it happens to them because it is nothing out of the ordinary.
This act is outrageous and gender role violating because it’s going against the societal norm of men being able to address strange women, but not the other way around. We felt dumb saying these types of comments to men because it was uncomfortable for us, as females, to shout things at people we do not know. It is an act that when, done by males, other people in the vicinity are oblivious to, but when done by females, have those same people turning around in shock to look at who these girls are speaking to in such a derogatory way. This act not only made the men we were speaking to uncomfortable, but made other shoppers in the mall give us strange, sometimes angry, looks. That uneasy, uncomfortable feeling we had while we were taking part in the act is how everyone should feel when they are saying similar things because people should not be allowed to address strangers in this way. I could not help feeling like I was doing something wrong, something I was not permitted to do. Somehow, men do not get this feeling because in our society they are allowed, and even, expected to behave in such a way. The instinctive rule of respect strangers have to give each other is bent for men so they can treat random women, as most females refer to it, “as animals” or as “less than human”.

Outrageous Act

For my outrageous act, I decided to help raise money for ActionAid, an organization committed to ending world poverty. I created a facebook group called Outrageous Act: Skip your Coffee Once a Month to Help End World Poverty, asking people to give up something that they buy regularly once a month, and instead, donate that amount of money to ActionAid. This act was outrageous because it asks people to take a look at their daily behavior, realize that they have privileges that many other people do not have, and do something to help others. Because there is power in numbers, my act will accomplish more now that I have asked others to participate with me, instead of just making a small monthly donation by myself. I have also brought up an issue that often gets overlooked, especially among college students as they usually have their own financial concerns. ActionAid helps by donating money to individuals suffering from poverty, and assisting with structural changes such as literacy programs and increased access to healthcare. My act also raises awareness about issues affecting women globally.

blog evaluation

For my blog evaluation, a chose a blog called Finally, A Feminism 101 Blog. The purpose of this blog is to answer reader’s questions on feminism and help to clarify some common misconceptions or confusing aspects of feminist theory. I think that the blog does a good job of answering questions and providing basic information, but does come off a little arrogant in the introduction when the authors mention that this is a place for comments that would normally be disruptive on a feminist blog. I think that this might turn some readers away, specifically ones who actually are curious about feminism and feminist theory. I think that while basic questions on a more advanced blog may be disruptive, there are nicer ways to put it in the introduction, instead of making the reader feel like they have done something wrong by asking questions about feminism. I found this blog to be extremely interesting even though I am probably not the blogs indented audience, which would probably be people who do not identify as a feminist and would like to learn more about feminism for their own personal lives or in order to further understand women’s issues and gender inequality. As a women’s studies major, I liked this blog because it gave me an idea of what some people unfamiliar with feminism may want to know or different misunderstandings that people may have surrounding feminist theory.

Women in Ads

After seeing ads like those that Dolce and Gabbana publish worldwide, it really makes me wonder who is setting these beauty standards? How is looking like a half dead woman who resembles a plastic mannequin something to strive for? Is that what men in our society want us to look like? Would they prefer us without any of our feminine traits to the way which we were created to look like? The dove campaign has the right idea on how to portray beauty. Almost 100% of other ads in newspapers and magazines alter the way the female body looks like. People are making a living off of things like photo shop and other ways of altering images to be something more "perfect". In this video we can see how an already beautiful body is changed to be something which is more aspired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHLpRxAmCrw&NR=1

The message that this sends to not only young women, but every women- is that beauty perfection is attainable at any age.

Does the Tough Guise really make guys tough?

It is so strange to think about the ways in which society constructs men and women. Over time the ideal woman has shrunk and the ideal man has grown. What does this say about our culture? That the woman is the submissive being who relies on the bigger man to control and take care of her? This is the message that is being brought to us each and everyday- regardless of whether or not we notice. The pressure that parents begin to put on their sons from birth is where it all begins. Right away boys are taught that they shouldn't cry, to toughen up, to be aggressive and active. Is this the way that we want our men to be when they are all grown up? What if they don't want to behave this way? Could the inner conflict men feel regarding social constructions be stronger than that of women?
Why is it so much harder for a man to go outside the expectations of society and escape that box they have been put in since a young age? When a girl or a woman does something typically more "masculine" they are praised and often looked upon as going over and above their expectations. If a man leaves that masculinity "box", he loses his manhood. This does not make men tough- in fact it does the opposite.

OA

For my outrageous act I wore heels to my Thanksgiving dinner.  I wanted to do it to battle the generic and pointless gender roles my family deems necessary.  I wasn't sure what was going to happen when I did it because I have some incredibly conservative family members who I knew would be there.  I assumed my grandparents would push it aside or make stupid comments, and I was sure my great-uncle was going to have something obnoxious to say to me about it. 

The morning of, I got dressed, put the heels on and went downstairs to help my mom get everything ready and wait for the guests to arrive.  When people started getting to the house they all just thought I had grown taller.  Then they looked at my feet and saw that I was wearing my sister's 3 inch heels.  Then the faces were made.

Much to my surprise my grandmother was a lot more okay with it than I thought.  My grandfather just pretended nothing was happening... but my great-uncle was for lack of a better word, a complete dick.  He said that he knew that I was gay, but that he didn't know that I wanted to be a woman.  So then I explained that I was happy as a man and that I was wearing the heels for a project, but he didn't get it.  It was a little bit of an uncomfortable situation for me, but all in all I'm glad I did it.  Because I did "as the women do" that day I was able to show my family that gender does not determine household chores, and a person's behaviors are not always indicative of their genders.  

Taylor Swift: Wholesome or Harpie?

I was watching SNL a couple of weeks ago when Taylor Swift was both the guest star and the musical act. I know that there's been a lot of media attention given to her lately, mostly because of her song lyrics and music videos. A lot of people, mainly feminists, have criticized her songs for being anti-feminists, for fitting the stereotypical model of the love struck damsel in distress waiting for her Prince Charming. While my feelings on this topic is ambivalent, this isn't what I took issue with during her guest appearance.

During her opening monologue, Swift sang a song that she composed titled "My SNL Monologue Song (La La La)". In the song, she sings about how she likes sparkly dresses and baking (adding fuel to the anti-feminist fire) and parodies all of the gossip surrounding her personal life. However, a good section of the song is spent on her past romantic relationships, both public and private. She includes the lyrics:

I like writing songs about douche bags who cheat on me but I'm not gonna say that
In my monologue
I like writing their names in songs so they're ashamed to go in public
But I'm not gonna say that in my monologue
La la la la la la la la
This is my musical monologue
You might think I'd bring up Joe [Jonas], the guy who broke up with me over the phone but I'm not gonna mention him
In my monologue
HEY JOE, I'm doing real well, hosting SNL, but I'm not gonna brag about that in my monologue.
La ha ha ha

These lyrics make me question her actions and the implications that she provides to anti-feminists. There are two sides that can be taken on this issue. The first is that Swift is a teenager who writes about what she knows best: love and relationships. It could be argued that by her shaming the boys who cheated on her in front of the whole world could be taken as either teenage rashness or even a well deserved feminist punishment. On the other hand, her actions could be taken as a representation of the vengeful actions dealt by scorned women. She could quite well become a representation for vindictive women, giving critics fuel with everything from her looks to her age to her public persona. Her actions make me question the limits of revenge. Is it justifiable because it's a safety method or is it just being vindictive and petty? Is there any essential difference between what Swift does in her songs and all of those websites where scorned women post information and pictures of guys who have hurt them in some way?

Selling Women's Bodies, No, Selling Lingerie...

Well, what a commercial this is. At first, as Amanda Hess wrote in her column, it seems as though this is targeted at women. But, it's not. It is targeted at men. Just one more way the media is selling women's bodies to sell their products. I thought this was a nice addition to our discussion's Monday about commercials, ads, and the media.

Boobs Gone Wrong?

News Story about how a mom was breast-feeding at Target. An employee called the cops claiming that it was illegal, indecent exposure, etc. Little did this employee know it is Target policy to allow breast-feeding in public. Good job, sir or madam. Good job.







Now even if it was illegal. Can we discuss for a moment how many t3h boobz have entered our culture? They are everywhere used to sell everything. You can't see an ad without cleavage flying around all over the place and gawd forbid a movie star doesn't have a big chest. Our culture is obsessed with them as sexual objects yet if a mother is using them for what they're actually FOR then we get upset? THEN we get upset? We need to re-examine our values people and SPECIFICALLY how we value women. They can use their bodies to jerk us off in Playboy but not to feed their young and you know, actually put their mammory gland to use. Because THAT, dear reader, would be obscene.

Global Fem.

When I first picked up the "Penguin Atlas of Women in the World" I had no idea that a simple looking book could have so many controversial topics put forth. This book holds so much information that one would not know on ones own. This book includes many different maps of the world corresponding with different issues. One page points out the different countries that have already signed, ratified, just signed, or have not signed the (UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This map states that all of the countries around the world except Iran, Sudan, Somalia, and the United States have signed the CEDAW. It is horrible that this has not passed yet and hopefully that will change within the New Year.
The other section that stood out to me the most was the section on rape. This section brought the sad truth that most crimes against women often go unreported and unpunished to light. Rape is such a big issue in our world because in some places rape is legal as well as a custom for men to be able to rape their wives. Even if your husband is raping his wife it still constitutes at rape and is wrong because the women is not giving consent to the acts being played out. Everyone in the world does not see it like that and it is a very hard truth to get past.

EDIT://If you agree with I said down there then here are some things you can do:
Write letters to your Senators, Maj. Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, and/or Pres. Obama!

Pro-Choice America
Planned Parenthood
Stop Stupak
NOW
Fight for Women's Health

Today is the day when it is decided whether or not the Stupak-Pitts/Reid compromise will be selected or simply the Stupak amendment. For those who don't know (I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't, the news is keeping their head down on this one as they do with most "women's issues") Stupak wishes to add an amendment into the new Healthcare Reform that bans insurance companies from covering abortion care. Reid's compromise was under the new Healthcare, this would only apply to government-funded insurance companies.
The ugly truth about this whole Stupak-Pitts, Reid thing is we're getting screwed either way. One way is just more detestable.
If Stupak gets his way, there is no choice. If Reid gets his way, only 60% of us get a choice and even then it's iffy. Why the number? 40% of women who get abortions (of the 650,000 estimated annually) are unmarried, under the poverty line, and under the age of 35. These women need something affordable--like, say the new Healthcare. Oh wait, that's right, because to get the Healthcare passed in the FIRST place, they needed the support of the Catholic Church and other religious fanatics. So yeah tough chance on that one as now one man decides if you really need an abortion (yeah if you get federally backed insurance now, only chance you have of an abortion getting covered is if it's life-threatening).
Katha Pollitt asks in her article women have always been taking one for the team. Well who's team is it anyway? And why do a bunch of white, upper-class men get to decide the fate of Caucasian women, women of color, Asian women, lower-class women, middle-class women, and women in general? It is not a man's decision nor is it the government's decision. And it DEFINITELY shouldn't be the government's decision if the only reason they're doing it is to pass a fucking bill.