Grandmother

I've missed you ladies very deeply this last few weeks. On Tuesday the eleventh I lost one of the most influential women in my life, my grandmother. She meant the world to me and as a retired school teacher from the Deep South she instilled several things in me that coincide with the feminist model. She always, always told us to stay in school, get some education. "Be good for something else other than laying on ya back!" Lol I told you guys she was from the south! Whenever I come to visit her very first question was hows school? What's your major? What ya grades look like? She didn't care if I had on make up, a new dress, or a doctor on my arm. She was solely concerned about my self growth and the things I have planned for my future. I will miss her eternally but I'll never forget the things she's taught me. I love you forever and always grandmother, and nothing will ever change that. 

She wants the D(estruction of the patriarchy)

     So my friend showed me this t-shirt today and I thought it was hilarious. The saying "She wants the D" has become really prevalent in my life recently. For those that are unsure, the D stands for dick. Recently, I have heard several people I know say "do it for the D" or "She got the D!!" and many other variations. So to see this shirt, I just laugh because first of all, all those situations in which those people were saying "she wants the D" becomes much more hilarious and secondly because it is just a clever shirt. And I know people will probably be saying how this is another one of those feminist things and that none of this is sexist. But i think that is the point, i have heard both boys and girls use the saying and this shirt is fighting for gender equality.

   I think that when people hear the word patriarchy, they do not understand what the word means. They think that it means that all males are being attacked for who they are and that it doesn't matter what you believe in. However, that is obviously untrue. If people were to take the time to learn about what feminism and the patriarchy really are then i think that everyone would find the humor in shirts such as this.

  Plus I really want this shirt!!

Miley Cyrus & Lily Allen...Today's Feminists?

I recently came across this article (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/leave-miley-and-lily-alone-the-shock-new-faces-of-feminism-8944619.html) in which the author credits artists such as Miley Cyrus and Lily Allen for perpetuating a "modern feminist manifesto." Although this article makes many good points, especially regarding how many people today believe the term feminist to have extremely negative connotations, there is nevertheless some points that I take issue with. For example, the article implies that Miley Cyrus and Lily Allen are both feminists, and to this statement I strongly disagree. The article cites Miley Cyrus' statement, "I'm one of the strongest feminists in the world because I tell women not to be scared of anything." I really think Miley has the wrong idea of what it means to be a feminist, and I especially don't believe her outrageous and frankly embarrassing behavior empowers women in anyway. I'll admit that I do like Miley's music but I find her music videos and public appearances to be extremely awkward and cringe-worthy and I never feel more empowered after watching her ridiculous performances. Based on my understanding, the central argument of feminism is equality for all and the way Miley treats minorities as stage props by no means supports this sentiment. In fact, the first line of the article reads, "She [in reference to Miley] spanked a twerking dwarf" which in itself seems to be an extremely disrespectful act that in no way supports feminist ideologies. Miley's whole obsession with twerking seems to include racist sentiment, as many of her dancers are African-American women who she either spanks at some point or dances on as if they are props. I know Miley really believes that she is forging a path for today's women but her strategy for doing so is completely wrong and it seems to me she is missing the point of feminism entirely. Lily Allen on the other hand is also being criticized for her "racist" music video due to the way it portrays African-American women as well. The major difference between Miley and Lily is that Miley does in fact use minorities as stage props while Lily uses blatant satire to take a stand against racism and sexist issues for that matter. I do consider Lily Allen a feminist figure, you can just listen to the words of her new song 'Hard Out Here' to support this, however I do not find Miley Cyrus to be in any way helping with the feminist movement. I believe the author of this article had a good intention but it was rather misplaced. Anyways I am curious if anyone agrees or disagrees with my opinion?

Yesterday I had a conversation with my great grandma about how life was when she was little. Here is a little story of her life. My grandmother was married at the age of twelve to her first husband. She said that it was not really bad. She was simply a servant to her husband. She later ran away from him because she said she had become bored. She also had one child at that time. Later, she was married eleven more times. Eleven Times!! She said that everything was a lot cheaper, however they did make less than what people in society makes now. My great Grandmother mother was a pastors wife and her father was the pastor. She stated that society was very religious based. She said that she really did not have any rights. She always had to have a man because by herself she was considered nothing. But when she did have a man, he acted as her master, so she always left. My great grandmother stated she hated abiding by rules and that she was different from all the other girls. She did not like being dependent on a man nor did she want marriage. A lot of women who grew up with my great grandmother said that she was wild. This is because she hung out with man, she dressed seductive, and she never held her tongue for anyone. My great grandmother still acts like that today. She stated that she always wanted the same rights as men. It was so awesome hearing form my great grandmother point of view about life, however she did have a crazy life.

Pop Star and Feminist...Can there be?

In a world full fame, sex, and money can a celebrity be a feminist while still following fame?

Attached is a really interesting article about pop stars and feminism. This article discuss whether or not being a pop stars can go hand-in-hand with being a feminist. Often pop stars, specifically female pop stars, over sexualize themselves and confine to the patriarchal normalises - however this is often a requirement for making it 'big' in the pop world. So does conformin to these pop star norms mean that the women we see in pop culture today are anti-feminists? Most of female pop stars define themselves as feminist or state they believe in equality and female power at one point or another in their career. But can tell have it both ways? Or are pop stars in fact a slap in the face to feminists?

This article discusses both sides to the pop star and feminism arguement. Frankly after reading it I am not sure where I even stand on whether or not a pop star can be a feminism. The article suggests that the majority of feminists are too exclusive and do not realize there are different ways to be a feminist.

I would highly suggest reading it, as it might give you a better insight into the fame world we are so obsessed with. This article addresses instances in pop culture that are happening now. Lady Gaga, Miley, RiRi, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Lilly Allen are just a few of the celebrity songsisters that this article mentions. Definitely an interesting read.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/21/despite-what-you-think-miley-cyrus-and-rihanna-are-feminists.html

Why is this a thing?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliapugachevsky/most-offensively-named-beauty-products

So this is a list of some of the most offensively named beauty products. Obviously the ones in charge of names got too tired of Sparkle Sunfire or Sexy Silk and decided to just make some racial and sexually degrading color names. This just shows that something that's supposed to be just for women (even though some men do enjoy make-up) still perpetuates this idea of sexual judgement and exterior identity being paramount.

Some of my favorites include
 I'm Not Really A Whore-By Naughty Nailz


Unfrogivable Woman-Sean Jean

 Super rape-y if you ask me!




 Schitzo? Because nothing is better than disembodying women and then calling them crazy..



and Chinois-which means Chinese in French apparently

Psychological Rebuild? Mission Impossible.

          My male cousin, who is a few months older than me, signed up for the Marines last year and went through boot camp in January.  When he returned he told my family some stories about his experience.  We also watched a video that the new Marines are given that summarizes their time at boot camp.  I was pretty appalled by what I saw in this video.  Immediately upon arrival the recruits  have to surrender nearly all personal possessions, and they are screamed at since minute one.  The rest of the film shows the various weeks and the Marines' progression.  They are constantly yelled at and showered with insults.  Those who are higher up in command literally have the job of psychologically destroying the recruits.  As we touched on in class today, the goal of boot camp, and of other subsequent military training, is to breakdown the personal identity of the recruits so that they literally are the state. Their identities become the group, the nation.  What I saw in the video was intense, but then my cousin told us that what they show is "mild", like that's the nice side of boot camp.
          I remember one particular story.  My cousin told us about a recruit who made some minor violation (it was so seemingly insignificant to me that I've since forgotten what exactly it was) and the commanding officer screamed at him while he ate his breakfast.  The guy in control got so up in the recruit's face that he was actually spitting on him, and the spit rolled down the kid's face and dripped into his breakfast, and he had to keep eating it.  This seems disgusting and out of control to me, but in boot camp this kind of behavior is not considered to be abuse.  It's the whole point of the psychological breakdown tactic.
          When you look at it this way, it's no wonder soldiers often have serious mental and emotional problems when they come home.  It's no surprise that the frequency of domestic violence in military families is so high; soldiers are trained to feel nothing and know only the offense and defense of war- they are taught to forget their emotional/intuitive side. The fact is that most of the time soldiers are treated as disposable and in many ways it's really tragic.
         But no one wants to talk about this, so people overcompensate by over-glorifying the idea of the military.  First of all, there are many other honorable career paths to take, so acting as though the military is so much above any other life choice is a little insulting to all of us who plan to change the world by choosing other paths. (I'm not saying that joining the military is not honorable or brave, but it's not by any means the only remarkable choice.)  Secondly, what good is this excessive glorification if we don't appropriately take care of soldiers psychologically when they return home? When such a huge amount of energy is put into the psychological breakdown of every recruit, how can they possibly be expected to build themselves up again and lead normal lives? 
        Maybe we should be spending more time and money on helping those who come home, and those who feel they have no other way to make money or get an education other than to join the military, rather than building up an even larger military force and sending more people to the same demise.  In turn, this would benefit not only young people and veterans, but their spouses, children, friends, and parents.  We need a better system.

So many questions...

Source: http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25000000/Why-feminism-25022250-1004-804.jpg

Recently, I found this picture online. I think it is very striking and raises a lot of good points. I know I ask myself a lot of questions like these sometimes and I'm sure all of you do too. A big one for me is, "Why isn't there a masculine word for 'slut?'" While it isn't good to put anyone down, male or female, it is still frustrating why females are the only ones who are labeled like this. Sure, you can call a promiscuous man a "man whore," but it doesn't carry much weight. However, words like "slut" and "whore" carry a lot of weight and are very degrading to women.
One question brought up in this picture I found very interesting is, "Why doesn't more porn show female orgasms?" Being that I am naive and haven't watch porn, I didn't realize this was an issue. I guess I just assumed porn shows everything that happens in a typical sexual encounter, which includes a woman having an orgasm. I don't understand the reason why porn makers wouldn't put this into their show/movie/etc. Like the article talked about in class, is it because they want to hide the power of the erotic from women? Or is it something else entirely? This question really blew my mind.

My Own Personal Consciousness-Raising

**Disclaimer: This is pretty lengthy.  Last week following our discussion in class about cosmetic surgery and body image, I sat down to write a blog post.  And then I kept writing. And writing.  After completing the following essay I ended up sharing what I had written with a few of my friends. It felt incredibly liberating to relate our experiences and discuss these issues so openly with one another. (In fact, it reminded me very much of the "consciousness-raising" of second-wave feminism.)  Through my writing I made some major realizations about how the media portrayal of women, body image, and self-esteem have affected my own life and the lives of those around me.  Here are those realizations. 

Our discussion about plastic surgery and body image in class last week really got me thinking about my own experiences.   Although I do not at all support the idea of cosmetic surgery for purposes that are not medically necessary, I do understand why it is such a popular industry in modern American society.  Television, music, radio advertisements, magazines, etc. all contribute to the promotion of idealized and unrealistic body images.  We are persistently bombarded by such images in such a way that they are unavoidable unless you basically live under a rock.  If a woman wants to empower herself or have a solid sense of self-esteem, the media is of absolutely no help.   And as part of a cruel and seemingly inescapable cycle, without a sense of self-worth it is nearly impossible to disregard the countless idealized, photo-shopped fairytale pictures we see every day. Consequently, it is difficult for girls to see that there is much more to being a woman than exploitation of sexuality.  Such circumstances contribute to an unrealistically two-dimensional perspective of the human condition, particularly the female condition.

Unfortunately, conquering this stigma and creating personal self-worth is more easily said than done.  Where do we find this self-esteem if we are virtually trained by society not to have any? Essentially from birth we are surrounded by images of the “perfect” woman; we grow up learning what is typically “feminine” and “masculine”, the princesses in the Disney movies we watch and many of the dolls we play with as girls are slender but curvy with impossibly huge eyes, lush hair and tiny waists.  Likewise, boys see all of these images and are taught to expect the same in real women.  We are shown these ideals and they are instilled within us without us even noticing that it’s happening.  I grew up in a very gender-equal nuclear family.  My parents certainly had a positive impact on my perspective in regards to feminism and gender equality.  But even when the most important people in my life supported equality I was not immune to the images of the media.  All American children are exposed to the objectification of women in the media and surrounded by sexualized images from such an early age; many of us don’t understand the implicated misogyny in much of what we’ve been shown our whole lives until we are college students or older; often, until after damage has already been done.

My story isn’t an exceptionally unique one.  I remember a time when I never worried about the inherent shape my body, when I didn’t ever feel self-conscious and never compared my own body to my peers’ and the women in the advertisements.  In all honesty it’s hard to recall the exact feeling because it has so long since disappeared. Something changed. 

Around fifth or sixth grade, I don’t remember the day, the month or the reason, but my self-contentment deflated.  The pins and needles of comparison, the urge to seek approval for the way I looked, materialized in my life and the lives of the girls around me.  I hid my insecurities within my own mind for the most part, but truthfully they infiltrated my life rapidly.  I found myself constantly thinking I was fat even when I was not overweight; I began to long for a different body, as did many of the other girls around me.  I heard others make self-deprecating comments and I followed suit. We were still children in many ways when the phenomenon of self-loathing began. I suddenly despised many things about myself that before I had never noticed; I was unable to shake these insecurities and I didn’t understand why.  Suddenly, the women in the advertisements mattered.  What previously had been a subliminal memorandum became a conscious comparison.  In writing this, I am not denying that there are some societal physical standards for the idealized male, but those parameters are not nearly as critical, specific, or present in the media as they are for young women.  In society we consider the abundance of emotional self-doubt to be a normal part of female adolescence.  It’s not.  Of course, there are hormonal changes that occur in both boys and girls around this age, but not nearly to the extent in which these insecurities manifest.  That is the fault of society.

In high school, I learned to respect myself more due to emotional maturation and with the help of both male and female friends who shared my passions and opinions. This being said, the insecurities never entirely faded.  In fact, for many girls these problems worsen with age.  I’m now almost 19 years old and I don’t really know what it feels like to truly and wholeheartedly love my body.   I would love to say that now that I identify as a feminist I am entirely appreciative of my body, but this is not the case.  With every self-deprecating remark, every sexualized music video, every airbrushed advertisement I’ve seen, the insecurities have had such a long time to ferment that it is impossible to not feel saddened by them at times.  But I’m working on it, I’m trying-- to discourage negative thinking in both myself and every woman I know.  As a feminist I realize the consequences of media idealization and sincerely support healthy body image for women. I hope that my daily actions work toward a world where girls aren’t challenged by this impossible image of beauty; because I see the internal struggle that all of this garbage causes- in both the women around me and myself.
            There are obviously varying degrees of body image problems and low self-esteem; it’s like a spectrum ranging from minor insecurities to all-out self-hatred.  I’ve witnessed high school friends skip meals to lose weight, but also the guilt-ridden binge eating of those who felt that their “ideal” image was unattainable, that it was a hopeless cause.  Both of these things are extremely detrimental to the emotional, physical and intellectual growth of girls and women.  I’ve known girls who’ve engaged in self-harm, and although there are many contributing factors to depression, the pressure on women to fit an often-unachievable standard of beauty certainly isn’t helping.  But how can we end this cycle?  We are literally trained by society that not only is beauty the most important aspect of a woman, but also covertly ingrained with the message that this “beauty” is imminently unattainable.

I don’t have some sort of miracle solution to this problem, but I think we can start by reviewing a few aspects of our own lives.  We can begin by refusing to participate in the criticism of other women’s bodies, whether those women are movie stars, friends or strangers.  We can also work to increase awareness about mental and emotional health, and how harmful media images can be.  Perhaps most importantly we can learn to refrain from self-deprecating behavior; the most accessible way to begin shifting our society is to love ourselves. I dream of a world where girls and women don’t remember the “changing point” in fifth or sixth grade when they started to hate their bodies only because of the natural changes that occur.  Our bodies change over time.  This shouldn’t cause us unexplainable emotional strife.  I truly believe a society can exist in which women are taught to love their bodies and treasure their other qualities so that there is no realization of self-hated in adolescence or any other time in their lives. 

I believe that it is nearly unfeasible to reach one’s full potential if one does not feel confident in his or her own skin.  As women, to break glass ceilings and bulldoze prejudice we must feel strong.  We are so much more than our bodies, but they are the vessels in which we carry our thoughts, our inspirations and our feelings.  I aspire for a world where we are guided to love each and every part of ourselves regardless of shape or weight, a world where the cosmetic surgery industry is all but obsolete.

Why Weddings Have Become Meaningless Displays Of Pretense For Gen-Y

http://elitedaily.com/women/weddings-nowadays-just-meaningless-display-pretence/

This article showed up in my facebook newsfeed the other day, and I absolutely loved it. Overall, it discusses the fact that weddings have become public affairs for the guests rather than something that’s really personal and meaningful to the bride and groom.  Rather than making their weddings meaningful, many people have chosen to spend excessive amount of money on their weddings to ensure that they are perfect by society’s standards, and that they are bigger and better than other weddings. I was actually talking to my boyfriend about this over the weekend, and we both agreed that the idea of wasting thousands of dollars on a wedding (money that could be used toward a car, house, etc.) is totally ridiculous. In my opinion, when you try to make something “perfect,” you will always set yourself up for a big disappointment in the end. Things will never turn out exactly the way you plan them—you just have to go with the flow! Attempting to make something as personal as your own wedding bigger and better than others’ weddings is, in my opinion, a terrible idea. 

Slightly annoying but not surprising...

Okay, personal experience time!

Today, I was doing a photo-project presentation for a class on the presence of the "Jesuit Mission" here at SLU. One of the members in my group is deeply religious, which I totally respect. You do you, I'll do me. A picture he had taken was of the SLU Students For Life anti-abortion protest display out on the quad earlier this month (or maybe late October, it's not important I know the exact date...). I'll try my best to accurately quote what he said "This is a display by SLU Students For Life, mourning the deaths of thousands of innocent children who died of abortion or other similar causes. This is in line with the Jesuit Mission because it reflects a "reverence for God's creation" and respects the lives that were taken by such a horrific act." I swear if I wasn't getting graded at that moment, I would've jumped on that comment. It was really insensitive, melodramatic, and well, not surprising. Typical white, conservative, Catholic, male, heterosexual perspective on an incredibly complex and multi-faceted issue. It was BEYOND frustrating and annoying to me, especially since it's that kind of ignorant rhetoric that ostracizes women who do have to make the difficult and painful decision of whether or not to abort their pregnancies. Don't preach your religion and your personal philosophies to the class, especially on a topic you know nothing about and can never understand. (An idea that needs to get across the old, white men of our legislature, I think...)

VOTE for girl positive Superbowl Ads!!

I hate upworthy...

BUT finally a really awesome worthwhile cause! This is a follow up to the last post talking about inspiring girls and young women...

Here's a line of toys, or at least a few games, that are geared for girls (or not!) designed to inspire their sciencey and creative minds! HOW COOL! This little commercial is so sweet, paired with the song, and their bad ass glares at the camera at the end. 

And watch the video, VOTE at the end to have this commercial aired during the superbowl...possibly right before or after the practically naked Miss America eating Carls jr....UGH, what an awesome way to combat that!

GIRL POWER TOYS

If you like it, VOTE!

You're More Than a Princess

I've included a link here to Mercy Academy Ad Campaign. This is an all female school based in Kentucky (which was, maybe unfairly so, a surprise to me). In the past, I have been conflicted about all female institutions. On the one hand, it has the possibility to teach  young girls to use their voices better, be confident in themselves and their intellect or ability, and have a supportive network of female voices around them. They can, most of the time, be free from scrutiny and pressure to dress up for the boys in school. On the other hand, none of this is guaranteed to be the case, and above all, the student population is not a real-world setting in which the students learn on a daily basis to work with the other sex students, in this case, young males of the dominant group.

To me, it seems like this school is doing things right. Young girls are bombarded with messages from the media and society that tell them pretty clearly where they fit in, often in a secondary or complimentary position, and even more often, the guidelines for how to get there are focused on appearance. This ad campaign is so cool to me, and from the beginning it seems it's trying to inspire in their students a feminist question or clue of sorts, to get them thinking about things early on in their high school career. They're planting seeds...

Some of the taglines:
"Mirror, mirror on the wall/ be more than just the fairest of them all"
"Don't wait for a prince/be able to rescue yourself/prepare for real life"

Again, I know its not necessarily "real life" but is any high school setting? Although I do think it is important to be able to work with the dominant group and really just have the experience working with a wide range of people, is an environment where young girls don't have to face that pressure and can support each other more helpful for their self esteem and ability in the long run? Am I being to idealistic with my image of same sex institutions?

Twerking

http://trillanora.tumblr.com/video_file/67281377726/tumblr_mvphthFiPo1qfh70b Once again, while strolling through my tumblr TL I have been riddled with inspiration. Yet another poetry slam, but the topic encountered seems a little far fetched. The history of "twerking". While this dance craze has just swept the nation, before Miley Cyrus showcased her dancing skills. Before Rihanna only saw dollars signs. And before the strip club got ahold of these skills where did such dances originate from? The poem tells us specifically that these movements and steps originated from a rich cultural background, not even specifically African, but ethnic in its origin. I've never thought of "twerking" in such a light. Another thing that the video accurately touched on is how a woman who twerks is perceives. The world and even ourselves are afraid of our sexually. And out of feast if the unknown it is criticized. As a woman I seek nothing but understanding of myself and instead of fear my sexually I hope for respect. 

Facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/490646747671878/

So this is a link to a group on facebook called Intersectional Feminism. This group is a whole mess of people from slu that post different things that they find are pro-feminism and anti-feminism. I got invited into this group through my friend Christina, so I don't actually know if this link will work because it its a closed group, but just let me know if you want an invite and I will make it happen. Anywho the group is really cool and allows me to experience so many things that I would have never really understood before. Also there are so many different opinions and thoughts that really contribute to so many different discussions. It's also just really great that these things can just pop up on my newsfeed  and i get to see so many different things that are impacting our society and discuss them without leaving the comfort of my home.

I recently watched a video today, it was very interesting and crazy at the same time. The video was about a lady who goes to people classes doing experiments about racism. She categorize people as blue eyed people and brown eyed people. The blue eyed people are treated as if they are black. The brown eyed people get to have the normal privileges that a white person has. While doing the experiment with the blue eyed people (White people), they were experiencing things that they have never experienced before. They were being called dumb, and were treated as if they were animals. The brown eyed people (Black people), were treated as if they belonged in society, where they had no problems. It was interesting to see how the whites reacted, how quick they got upset and wanted the experiment to end so that they can continue on with their everyday lives. The most important thing I got from the video was that the blue eyed people would be able to walk out of the classroom and everything would be able to get back to normal, they would have all of these privileges. However, the brown eyed would have to leave the classroom and go back into the world and be treated as if they are nothing. One girl made an interesting point. She stated that although they are black, and I am white, that does not mean that we do not have the same hurt or problems. I have to agree and not agree with the statement. The statement was true because white people do have hurt. They do experience alienation, and they do suffer. However,  if that white person did not have any troubles, he would be then seen as normal. Nevertheless, I do disagree, with this statement because a black person can have no hurt in the world, but still be seen as not normal. They will be treated as nothing. I feel that this experiment can be used with males and females. Males would be treated like women and experience the same problems that women would have. I know that after that experience, the men would probably treat the women al lot better than she is treated know. What do you think?





http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh453XSBOFExBbP6dd

Anti-Rape Underwear?

So about a week ago one of my Facebook friends shared a link to an article (http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/11/05/2889411/anti-rape-underwear-sexual-assault/) and went on quite a long tirade about how offensive she found it. I was curious so I clicked on the link and read what is in my opinion a rather outrageous sentiment. The article is about a company called AR Wear which has created a line of 'anti-rape underwear.' The writer of the article points out that although this company had good intentions, their campaign has possibly caused more harm than good. The writer addresses 5 points of concern and they are as follows: 1) Rape is not an accident- the tagline for the product is "for when things go wrong" which implies that rape is an accident of some sort. 2) The product is aimed at random acts of violence rather than assaults by someone you know. According to RAINN, nearly 75% of sexual assault is committed by someone the victim knows. 3) The company fails to make a stand against issues of race, but instead the company stays true to "mainstream society's conventional standards about what is considered to be beautiful and desirable." In other words, it is quite clear that the product is aimed at "slim, pretty white woman." 4) The product is quite misleading in the sense that it perpetuates the idea that rape can be prevented to some degree. Not only that, but the product also perpetuates rape culture by making it seem like it's the woman's responsibility to take precaution against rape (as if they're asking for it). And finally, 5) This problem doesn't offer any sort of solution to rape. I agree with this point strongly, as the writer states that we should focus on eliminating rape culture as a whole rather than make silly products such as this one that offers no real solution but rather perpetuates the very sentiment itself.

5 Ways Modern Men Are Trained to Hate Women

(lol i found this picture hilarious for some reason....)
http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html

This is a bit of a long article but it is worth reading! this article is about how men were raised from the very beginning to hate woman. first they talked about how they were taught that society owed them a hot girl.his example being that in all the comic book and movies, the hero gets the girl in the end ALWAYS. which reminded me of that dreamworlds doc we watched in class. another reason was that woman were always posted up on magizines and other "products" such as the corn ad above) and were always portrayed as decorations. this also reminds me of dreamworlds.i don't even want to comment on the third reason in this article so make whatever you want out of that. and the second reason remind me of that doc we watched on masculinity. they seem to think that they have to be masculine to be considered a man. they learn these things from watching movies such as 300 or sparta and see how men ""used" to act and feel as if thats how they should act, where their crazy "boys will be boys" behavior is celebrated rather than contained.the last reaosn started is that men feel poweless to thier sexual drive. i find this to be possible but why should this mean that women are to blame? this whole article portrayed woman as an evil thing going as far back s the bible using eve as an example of our wickedness. if men are supposed to be the "superior race" then how come they feel so "powerless" towards our sexuality??

"Survey Says..."

The other day, the topic about a recent survey of which gender people prefer as their boss came up into discussion among my sister, her friend and I. Unfortunately, as we may expect, survey shows more people still tend to prefer male bosses over female ones. However, this article that I found does say that the gap is narrowing, which is great! Today, Gallup says that "35% [of people chose] to work for a man and 23% [say] they prefer women supervisors" (Wallace 2013). While there is still a disparity, this is still an improvement from 1953. In 1953, Gallup says "66% [of people] chose a male boss and 5% [of people] picked a female one" (Wallace 2013). So society seems to be making improvements, (which is great,) but it needs to continue to do so. 
I find it disappointing to see that may people still say that females aren't the best bosses because they are "bossy," "passive," etc. There was one part in the article that really stood out, and it was the part where reactions were given for the same actions both a male and female boss performed. The example says, "A male boss is assertive; a female bossy is bossy" and "A male boss is attentive to details; a female boss is picky" (Wallace 2013). This is so irritating to me, because the only difference between one answer and the other in each set of responses is one is positive and one is negative. To me, they both mean the same thing; but people put a negative connotation with female bosses by identifying their actions as "mean," "annoying," and "immature." Whereas the male boss is perceived as doing well at his job and doing what he is supposed to. How does this make sense?! The answer: it doesn't. 

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/13/living/identity-gallup-male-boss-female-boss/index.html?iref=allsearch

You are NOT a Princess.

Today on MSN this article caught my eye, originally frmo the TODAY show, it focuses on a private catholic school in Kentucky that is done with treating its girls likes princesses - and is ready to starting its girls like people, real people. The whole campaign of this school is to teach girls that no they are not princesses, but that doesn't mean that can't rule the world. Some of their ads are below...
                                                  
                                        
I think that this is really incredible! Why shouldn't schools be teaching us independance and intellect? Schools and society for that matter should be teaching these values to everyone. Not only does it set a positive light for young girls looking to excel in the profession of their choice, but it also teaches young men that they do not need to be the princes or savors. With this attitude girls and boys can begin to realize their own potential and use their talents together to create a better and more well-rounded society. Absolutely love this. Feel free to look at the article and their awesome promotional video for their school that also follows this no princess business.

http://www.today.com/moms/girls-school-tells-students-youre-not-princess-2D11585037

Women are the WHAT?! of the World

Okay, so this is just a little something fun to show you guys! The other night, I was hanging out with a friend (an avid fan of The Beatles) in his dorm, when suddenly a certain song by John Lennon came on. "Woman is the Nigger of the World." Yes you read that right. At first, I'll admit, I was pretty offended. Sometimes the guys who live upstairs like to push my buttons by intentionally saying insensitive, misogynist things around me. My friend automatically jumped to his defense: "It's a REAL SONG I SWEAR!" And it turns out that he was right, it was! Actually, when you look at the lyrics, they're really powerful:

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about itWoman is the nigger of the worldThink about it...do something about it

We make her paint her face and danceIf she won't be a slave, we say that she don't love usIf she's real, we say she's trying to be a manWhile putting her down, we pretend that she's above us

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she isIf you don't believe me, take a look at the one you're withWoman is the slave of the slavesAh, yeah...better scream about it

We make her bear and raise our childrenAnd then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother henWe tell her home is the only place she should beThen we complain that she's too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she isIf you don't believe me, take a look at the one you're withWoman is the slave to the slavesYeah...alright...hit it!

We insult her every day on TVAnd wonder why she has no guts or confidenceWhen she's young we kill her will to be freeWhile telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the worldYes she is...if you don't believe me, take a look at the one you're withWoman is the slave to the slavesYes she is...if you believe me, you better scream about it

We make her paint her face and danceWe make her paint her face and danceWe make her paint her face and danceWe make her paint her face and danceWe make her paint her face and danceWe make her paint her face and dance

So basically, John Lennon knew what the hell he was talking about. I love how he talks about how man separates women from society. Men force her to stay home, but then say she's too unworldly to be their equal. Men call women dumb and insult their appearance, and by doing so, enslave them. Women are the "niggers" of the world. A crude way of comparing similar oppressions, but effective. Check it out, it's actually a good song!

DC goes Trans!

So brainstorming (procrastinating) on BuzzFeed articles I stumbled across this gem! So DC comics is introducing the first transgendered hero! I think this is pretty awesome because they have so many super heroes with a variety of backgrounds and they've had homosexual relationships already so including transgendered individuals into the comic world opens it up to people who are able to relate to this story more by knowing or being a transgendered individual! I don't really read comics in general but I still thought it was pretty cool and wouldn't mind following the characters story line!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/dc-comics-first-transgender-and-bisexual-character

#Bitch

This morning while scrolling through my Twitter feed I saw several bloggers' tweets about the new Lily Allen song/music video, and after I got back from class I decided to check it out. Verdict: Lily is the Queen.  The video is an explicit mockery of music culture (much of what we saw in the documentary we watched earlier in the semester.)  She recently had children and has been away from the music scene for a little while and this video is a sort of preemptive attack of her critics.

Unfortunately, it was so recently released I couldn't find a site that had the correct lyrics. But listen closely! Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0CazRHB0so

She criticizes product placement and objectification of women, and particularly acknowledges how any woman who doesn't agree with society's standards is a "bitch."  Although the video is provocative, Lily Allen's message is to showcase how absolutely ridiculous our society can be, exemplified through the music industry.  For me her opinion is credible because most of her older songs aren't just about being sexy or rolling in riches. She also touches on a lot of the subjects we've talked about in class (glass ceilings, people saying feminism is irrelevant in modern society ("we've never had it so good, we're out of the woods, and if you can't detect the sarcasm you're misunderstood"), the double standard regarding male and female sexuality, body image, general inequality, etc) .  It's a serious critique, but also funny ("How does somebody let themselves get like this?" "It's a lack of self-discipline I suppose." "Um... I just had two babies.")

In conclusion: totally badass.

Women and Gender's Studies Event-PEEPS MEETING

So a few weeks ago I was able to go to the PEEPS meeting and bring some of my friends (who often get to listen to me rant as I go on about whatever we talked about in class). It was a really fun event where I got to see the direction the Women and Gender Studies program wanted to take the club as well as the activities it wanted to hold. If you guys read Emily's blog you'll know that PEEPS stands for People for Education, Equality, and Promoting Scholarship and that we got to meet some great people and eat pizza when we went!

At the meeting I got to know some more teachers as well as other students (got to meet Johnathan!) at the event and I was really impressed by the opinions and views of everyone. When we started talking about the program and the variety of classes the Women and Gender's Studies program offers I was really interested in pursuing a minor, but alas because of the type of Chemistry classes I have to take they prevent me from taking enough classes to get a minor but I'm sure I'll be taking another class from the program!

I wasn't able to go to their Coffee with Cool Women event this past week but PEEPS seems like it's going to be a really fun and interesting organization to be a part of so hopefully the next event will workout better!

WGS Event- North STL Symposium

     About two and a half weeks ago, I visited the "Making a Difference in North St. Louis Symposium."  It was hosted at the Grand Center Arts Academy, the charter school a few blocks north on Grand (SLU is affiliated with the school.)  I went with my honors Crossroads class. We've attended a few panels about "breaking the SLU bubble" and ways to better the greater St. Louis community.  They've all varied in different ways, so prior to my arrival to this event I wasn't really sure what the message would be, what the set-up would look like, or how many people would be in attendance.
     I was pleasantly surprised by the array of booths at the symposium, all hosted by different organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in North St. Louis.  Although not all of the exhibits were directly focused on women's rights specifically, the symposium was truly relevant to Women's and Gender Studies. There were programs focused on everything from prison rehabilitation to drug abuse to literacy in middle schools. 
     One particularly relevant organization I stumbled upon was a place called the Queen of Peace Center. This organization was sponsoring a group who devote their time to the clean-up of certain areas in North St. Louis. I looked a little more into the actual organization of Queen of Peace and I really like their message. They do specifically focus on women's rights, supporting women who are struggling with addiction, and providing a safe place for their children as well.  I'm thinking of volunteering with them if I figure out the transportation situation.
     The progression of North St. Louis is relevant to Women's and Gender Studies because to be a feminist one cannot discriminate against any person.  This means treating all people as human (and huwom) beings who deserve dignity and respect, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, religion, orientation or location. A lot of times people warn us, as students at SLU, to "not go past the Fox".  Part of the goal of events such as the ones I've attended are to teach people that ignoring certain areas of St. Louis (or any city, for that matter) won't make problems go away; it will only exacerbate them.  Just as we try to increase awareness every day about the relevance of feminism, there also must be an increase in awareness about the struggles of our neighbors.  Instead of ignoring certain unpleasant realities, we should all work together to find solutions that will benefit everyone.

Voice of Choice

http://jezebel.com/5897699/brilliant-abortion-clinic-landlord-teaches-protesters-that-payback-is-a-bitch

The above link is for a really interesting article that I read over the weekend. It discusses the numerous attacks that were staged on the landlord of an abortion clinic and his family by pro-life individuals in protest of the clinic, and what he did to deal with these attacks. One of the anti-abortion protesters' main strategies was the call the home of the landlord at all hours, threatening and him and his family. Finally, he decided that enough was enough, and he began writing down the names and phone numbers of the protesters who had called him. Then, he gave the list to friends and requested that they call these people back. They did so, and informed the protesters that, while the family thanked them for their prayers, they could not terminate their lease and did not wish to, because they support women's rights. Eventually, an organization known as "Voice of Choice" was formed, and it now has over three thousand volunteers. This organization will make phone calls on behalf of doctors, landlords, families, etc., in situations like these. The organization doesn't make these calls in all situations- they only do so if personal harassment is taking place, because they do believe in freedom of speech, and the rights that people have to protest abortion if they so choose. The harassment faced by the landlord of this clinic and his family hasn't ended, of course. However, I think this was a really nice approach to dealing with all the harassment- Voice of Choice is able to give the callers a taste of their own medicine, while at the same time doing so in a less threatening/rude manner.

Rape, okay?

I spent too much time commenting on everyone else's blog and bring intrigued that I fucked up this deadline for myself, but I shall make my blog post anyway. Here I am fresh off of work making moves to find something interesting to blog about, and this is what I find on my tumblr. You guys know this stuff inspiring me. And here I find a study that asks high school students (male and female) when it is okay rape. Conditions such as have thy been dating for a long time, where they on a date, did she lead him on, is she drunk? And my only reaction was WTF DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING??? Something so menial like, "did y'all eat first?" commits my vagina to liking. Lol more than likely no. This study is a great example to what race culture is doing to our society and our young adults. In a generation were rape is being excused by "she started it" or "she was teasing me". What was really appalling is that even the young girls within their study began to question their value, that maybe if we do go on a date it would be okay if you raped me. WHHHAAAATTTT? Is going on? What are we teaching these girls? Instead of building a resistance or fighting for our rights as women we have done nothing but assimilated, a topic we touched on in class last week. We're not fighting the status quo, instead we are becoming accustomed to it. Becoming a player in its play, instead of stopping the show. It's no ones fault that you read her "outfit", "body language", or casual smile with a hello. As means to infringe on her human right not to fuck you. (Sorry, I just went on an angry tangent but I'm sure you get the picture) 

Please read this.

Hey guys, I'm doing a second blog post tonight about something that happened this week really close to my heart. I took this class on a whim this year, and I'm really glad I did. It's honestly changed my perspective, my opinions, my life. Especially in light of recent events.

A good family friend of mine was raped and beaten last weekend at her school, Florida Gulf Coast University. I grew up with this girl, she's one of my sister's best friends, and what happened to her was horrific. I won't go into the details of the story, they're a little too gruesome, and the family is requesting privacy right now; it's not exactly my story to tell.

But what I will tell you guys is how this will continue to haunt her for the rest of her life:

1. This was her first sexual experience, and she was beaten and raped by someone she KNEW and TRUSTED. (This is often the case with women and their attackers). She wasn't drunk, wasn't doing drugs, and wasn't wearing anything slutty. The girl was in her PJs for Christ's sake. She wasn't "asking for it;" it only happened because he wanted it to.
2. She wasn't the only girl. In the past month alone, 5 girls have come forward and claimed they were sexually assaulted by this man, a student at FGCU, and this case is started to garner national attention. Imagine how humiliating it would be for everyone in the country to know that you were taken advantage of in such an intimate way.
3. Schooling. Think about this. Could you go back to school after something like this happened to you? After your sorority sisters had to rush you to the hospital? After your school, the local news and everybody on campus knew your name and associated it with your beaten face? She'll be taking next semester off, and she's already considering transferring.
4. The school has already begun protecting itself instead of the victims. This girl comes from a privileged family who is ready to sue FGCU-why, you may ask? Apparently, FGCU claims to have "rape cords" in all their dorms, and you pull the cord when you're in danger of being sexually assaulted. No, you heard that right. Rape cords. So apparently, according to FGCU, part of the fault lies with my friend (the one who was assaulted in her own dorm). Yes, that's right- it was her fault that she wasn't strong enough to throw off the man on top of her and crawl her way over to the fucking rape cord to pull it. At any rate, she claims there wasn't even that kind of cord in her room, so good call FGCU, see you bastards in court.

Another disgusting revelation I had because of this: rape culture is real.

This boy is a member of a prominent fraternity at FGCU. Already people have signed a petition in support of him. The testimonials are pathetically typical: "He's such a great guy," "I just can't imagine he would ever do something like this," "I don't believe it." Yes people, even after multiple testimonials and PHYSICAL EVIDENCE people still defend him! THIS IS RAPE CULTURE.

My heart goes out to my friend and the other victims at FGCU. I am so proud of how strong she is. There are no words for the hatred I feel for this man, the disdain I hold for this university, but also the love I feel for my friend.

Read more:
http://www.news-press.com/article/20131104/CRIME/131104027/FGCU-Student-Arrested-Sexual-Battery-Charges

My Hair Journey

This is just a glimpse of my hair journey. 

courtesans and eunuchs

So I currently just spent ten out of twelves for a show that im not even sure I approve of. this show is funny and entertaining, but it also has some strong sexist . This show has courtesans in scantily glad outfits with songs about how everybody ought to have a maid.  And to me it just really made me realize that people are so willing to give up their beliefs for a few laughs and when does that end? When does it get to the point where we stop making jokes and get serious about this subject. This is a huge problem in our society and no one is willing to say say anything.  I think the worst part is that ir frustates me, but I get it. I want society to be better but I dont want people to stop enjoying good theater productions.

Joss Whedon, you great, great man.

Okay so by now you all must know that I am a complete freak about words. I love them. I love finding out where they came from, what they mean, and why they have certain associations. Honestly, if etymology was a thing at this university, I'd be all over that shit.

So when the great Joss Whedon decided to get up and talk about the word feminist I was basically beside myself with joy. First of all, I love words, and I love Joss Whedon. It was a natural combination.

Mostly, I thought it was interesting that he sat down and thought about the word "feminist." Especially how and why people shy away from it (the Katy Perry reference was great, especially considering her latest song, Roar). What about the structure of our words plays a role in their connotations? Specifically he focuses on "ist"- especially how "ist" assumes some sort of conscious choice to be involved in an "agenda" (like feminism). Joss Whedon suggests that we create a word that is more in line with exclusion. Everybody should be born with the "radical" notion that women are people and deserve to be treated equally. That should be something we understand the first second we open our eyes, take our first steps, say our first words (and its society's job to make sure that we understand that). When people think that woman are less than what they are, they deviate from a truth that should be unquestionable.

Whedon uses the example of racism, especially the term "racist." When you are a racist, you discriminate against people based on their race. To parallel, the word "feminist" seems like it would be the same, that a feminist discriminates against women. Whedon suggests we use the term "genderist" instead. That a genderist would be a person who discriminates against a person based on their gender.

What do you guys think? I'm not sure it's an original idea, but I think it's a interesting one! Definitely a fresh look on how language forms our opinions.

Here's a video and copy of his speech:

http://jezebel.com/watch-joss-whedon-make-the-perfect-speech-about-the-wor-1460080685

The most dangerous woman alive.

http://www.break.com/video/chloe-bruce-the-most-dangerous-woman-alive-2391563

watch this videa!

this is a video of Chloe Bruce, a martial artist and extreme fitness model. i wanted to right about her because i just thought it was so cool watching all the stuff she can do. a lot of people i had the regret to make acquaintanceship with  have downgraded women to the point that they were saying that a woman could never be as good a fighter as men. but you know what? i would love to see someone from the MMA in the ring with this woman. so when this popped up on my facebook i knew i had to put this on the blog, i cant even express how much respect i have for this woman. i really wish i could do that.......... :(

You Can Touch My Hair

Recently I stumbled upon this article about a short documentary entitled, "You Can Touch My Hair."

http://www.bust.com/women-of-color-say-you-can-touch-my-hair-in-mind-blowing-documentary.html

It's a project directed by African American women working to eliminate the seemingly small prejudices that occur throughout everyday life.  The women address a problem many of them face on a day-to-day basis living in a big city- people just going up to them and touching their hair because they find it strange or unique.  Before reading this article/watching the video this issue had never really occurred to me- I was surprised to learn that this actually happens! The women in the documentary take the reigns by participating in the project "You Can Touch My Hair", standing and holding signs and answering questions about hair and heritage. The women of the project explain that their main goal is raising awareness. I thought it was an interesting way to combat stereotypes, but I haven't yet decided whether it was truly effective. Thoughts?

     Yesterday I was reading a short story called, "Who am I without him". Originally I thought that it was a wonderful book. However, after analyzing the story, I realized that this book was designed for women to want a man, or need a man. It was also interesting because the author was a woman. She described a incidence in which a  African American girl loved this man so much to the point she didn't realize who she was anymore. Everything she did was for him. In the end, of course the boy decides to leave her. She tried do hard to get herself back together and she couldn't. She tried to define herself and it all went back to him. After reading the short story, I decided that  would bring it to my girl talk session I hold at Northwest. We all agreed to write a poem that describes what was our worst enemy because in the short story, the girl in the story worst enemy was men.  It was interesting. Many brought up their worst enemy was things like drugs, intercourse, love, intelligence, and etc. Mines was myself.

Seriously?

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/11/05/pro-transgender-bathroom-policy-is-no-joke-to-distraught-parents-86595

So I found this article while I was actually reading another one. The website is what I would definitely call conservative so keep that in mind, but I found this article a bit disturbing. It's about a teenage boy, who claimed to be transgendered and uses the women's restroom because he identifies as a woman, who has been sexually harassing other female students. The article describes this as:

"a male who identifies himself as a female, who had allegedly been sexually harassing female students in the girl’s bathroom and locker room" and that

"Institute attorneys were contacted by concerned parents seeking recourse against school officials who not only suggested the girls avoid using the girls’ locker room and use another bathroom, but also allegedly threatened the girls with dismissal from athletic teams and hate crimes charges if the complaints didn’t stop."

and the article goes on to say

“Since we first broke this story, it has been shocking to see the lengths to which school officials and LGBT activists have gone to suppress the truth,” stated Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute.  “We have now received a large and growing stack of hate mail from supposedly tolerant LGBT supporters, most of which is based on unquestioning faith in school officials who have proved to be untrustworthy.  It is increasingly apparent that school officials and LGBT activists are on an all-out mission to discredit our clients rather than deal with the serious problems they have identified with a biologically teenage boy sharing bathrooms with their teenage daughters.  These new developments only stiffen our resolve and renew our focus to seek a balanced solution that honors the rights and needs of all students.”

So I'm a bit skeptical of the bias of the article, but it does prove something I think we can all learn from. That even though feminists have been fighting for the rights and  equal treatment of marginalized groups, that just because people claim to belong (or even legitimately do) to these minority groups when someone acts in an unacceptable or criminal manner their actions have to be denounced by the community too because the message needs to be the behavior is not accepted by anyone in any situation. They need to be criticized like any other individual who acts like this and not defended simply because they're part of the minority group. If this story is true, then it is definitely disheartening to know that people are willing to use a system, created to be inclusive and allow for the integration of different individuals, in order to sexually harass women. (or anyone for that matter)

Gay and Happy

As many of you might know by the time you read this, IL has officially pasted the freedom to marry law. This means that now all couples in love in IL will have the same and equal opportunity to get married. This also means that this summer I am not just going to my cousin's civil ceremony, but now my first fabulous gay wedding! (and well wedding where I will finally be old enough to not wear the flowergirl's dress). I am beyond excited! So in honor of this I hope you will all watch this great video of kids' reaction to gay marriage. It is long, but truly inspiring. This video is hope for the future and nearly all the kids (though some a tad uncomfortable) are accepting and supportive of gay marriage. Plus it is super adorable!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/kids-react-gay-marriage_n_4212543.html

You will laugh, you will cry, you will be overjoyed!! hahaha

While American and the world as a whole still has a ways away before gay marriage is worldwide accepted, and everyone is treated as equal...at least there is progress like this. I'm happy to say that today I live in a state equal for all people who love love.

Visit to the Lou...Okay well Washington Avenue

I finally made it to the museum and jeez was it a treat! Last Friday night was the 1st of November and the art district right up the street from SLU on Washington Avenue was in full swing. For those of you that don't know, the first of every month is usually when art galleries feature new exhibits and have special openings. A friend and I decided to adventure and see what we could find.

There was a lot of very interesting modern art, some even interaction! (yes I spent 20 mins in a dark room playing with lights, sounds, and smoke). There was also great photography, pretty paintings, and mind-bending sculptures. It was so much fun gazing at the art. Frankly I'm a total art nerd and love going to museums, so this assignment was an easy one!!

What I started to take notice to though is that nearly every single piece of art I was looking at was done by a man...in fact there was hardly any art done by women at all. Spending over four hours and going to over six separate exhibits I realized this wasn't just quirky trend (more men than women) but that it must have been on some level a conscious decision from the art galleries. They only feature art done by men. But why...?

I find this especially odd given that in modern art, the subjects and pieces are almost always abstract, and that the entire time I was in the museum I did not see a single naked women. So why would it matter who creates these abstract pieces? Are men really better at art than women? I highly doubt that any given sex is better than the other at something so subjective as art.

There was a glimmer of hope though. In one of the museums off Washington Avenue I went to exhibit dedicated to women of the ages in live theatre and cinematography. And no I did not know this was going on, it was all purely luck that I walked into this gallery. While still nearly all of the gowns and photographs on display were of created by men, they were featuring very empowering women. Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey and Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Marylin Monroe, Judy Garland, Grace Kelly and may others were featured. Personally to me, these women of old Hollywood represent the first women to break out of the household and make a name for themselves. They succeeded not just by their own means but by their accomplishments in film and theatre and worldwide renown. When I look at these women I see the classiness, the drive, and the witt that was the fearless women of old Hollywood.

 

"I need feminism because ____."

I don't know about you girls, but I always find "I need ____" statements interesting. It's fun and often times inspiring to look at what different people say and see how they feel about the topic. I saw this "I need ____" statement and it really stood out to me. I thought it was a strong statement that can relate to any woman's life. Too often, women get called a "bitch" or "psycho" for being angry about something. What is so wrong with a woman being angry about something? Why do women get called a "bitch" when they are angry but men don't get called anything? I know I am sometimes scared to speak my mind or get angry because of what people will call me. It's sad, but I tend to feel like whatever it is that they call me afterwards, which is not right or fair to me. Women should not be criticized for voicing their opinion, especially for something that isn't fair to them and needs to be addressed. Like this woman, I want to be considered "strong" because of my aspirations and drive, not simply because I am "angry" about something. I want my strengths to be thought of in the same respect as that of a man's. I want my strengths to be taken seriously. How about you?

Source: http://cdn.madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/who-needs-feminism6.jpg

If you love women so much, why don't you dress like one?

http://www.upworthy.com/the-way-this-gay-video-blogger-answers-a-close-minded-question-is-absolutely-hilarious?c=ufb1 <-- Definitely watch this video, it's only about two minutes long!

I first came across this video back in June when a friend of mine posted it on facebook, and for some reason it came to my mind today. The video was made by a video blogger named Hart. I actually haven’t watched any of her other videos, so I’m not sure what kind of videos she typically does. However, I thought this video was awesome! She made it to address the issue that, due to her being a lesbian, she often gets the question- “If you love women so much, why don’t you dress like one?” During the video she actually shows a small screen shot of one comment she received, which states: “Why do some lesbians look like men? I mean.. don’t they like girls, so wouldn’t that mean they should want to look like a female or act more like one? I’m guessing it is because they try to imitate a male model to represent one to care for another while it not being as awkward?” First of all, this logic doesn’t make sense to me in the first place—according to this, if I’m a woman who likes men, then I should want to dress like a man. Aside from that, though, I liked the fact that she answered the question by saying that she doesn’t dress like anyone. She dresses like herself. It’s terrible that this is a question that she gets so frequently, but I think that her video was a great, hilarious response to it. 

Rape proof?

While scrolling through my Tumblr I always seem to find something that peeks my gender studies interest. This http://vimeo.com/m/74514464 caught my attention. I saw nothing wrong with the clothing line but more of the fact that the clothing line is seen as a necessity. That we as women have to rapw proof ourselves to feel safe. That we have to condition ourselves to a condition that'll stop us from being rapes, instead if men conditioning themselves not to rape. This topic is soo similar to the poetry slams that we had watched in class the other day. Blaming women, the victims for the rape and sexual abuse that have come their way. This topic in itself perplexes me to the core. Over the weekend a friend of mine spoke of the rate in which young girls and children are being abused. We spoke about the different things that we would teach our children. How to star safe -- who they could hang with, the parents we would have to talk to and the questions that would be asked. Then he discussed the different in the conversations that would be had between him and his daughter vs. him and his son about sex. I told him they only thing I wanted him to teach his son is that raping women is bad. And all I got was a confused screwed up expression across his face. 

Gender X

I know that this topic is a bit from our past class discussions, but I stumbled upon it yesterday and found it very interesting. Below is a link to an article, "Germany allows "indeterminate" gender at birth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24767225

This article talks about how Germany is now the first western European country to allow the gender at birth to be determined as X instead of simply Male or Female. Germany has passed legislation to allow this new gender as a selection in an effort to tend to intersex individuals.

In the article is discussed that with this new gender no more will doctors and parents have to rush in hast to surgically construct a child's gender if in fact the baby is born intersex (has both male and female anatomy or has no specifically identify anatomy). Having the option to delay the choice will provide individuals of intersex to have time to determine if they identify as male or female, or even as no gender at all and remain intersex. I believe that this is really important because now individuals of intersex will have a better opportunity of feeling accepted and realize that they are in fact "normal". After all people are people.

While Germany is making new head ways with this innovated and open minded new legislation, the article highlights several other countries around the world that have created similar laws and have even taken the actions of Germany a step further. It makes for a really interesting read.

Trip to the Saint Louis Art Museum

              

               On Friday, I paid a visit to the Saint Louis Art Museum. When I first got there, I thought that finding examples of feminism in artwork would be a fairly easy task. But after I had gone through two floors without seeing anything that I could particularly relate to, I started getting nervous. Although I did see some interesting examples of realism which portrayed women stereotypically as mothers, wives, artists, and musicians, there wasn’t anything that really stuck out to me. After finishing the last floor, still without finding something, I was pretty disappointed. After looking at the map, though, I realized there was one area of the museum that I had missed—which was where I found exactly what I was looking for!

                I went into a smaller area of the museum, which featured art that was more abstract than what the rest of the museum had to offer. While there, I came across a wall of artwork, described, overall, as “Figuration and the Body.” This description discussed how, the shift from abstraction to the reexamination of representation began to occur in the 1970s. This reexamination and representation included a focus on the human form. According to the description provided by the museum, “In the 1980s and ‘90s, the human body took on special significance for many female artists and artists of color. Figuration became a way to assert the importance of bodies marked as ‘other’ by gender and race, a notable contrast to the abstract art made by mostly white, male artist of previous generations.” I really enjoyed this statement, especially because of the fact that we have so often discussed the idea of minorities being labeled as “other” in class.

"Two Female Nudes on Purple Drape"- Philip Pearlstein (1964)

                To me, their description kind of implied that they were going to feature works of art that had been created by female artists. However, I was apparently wrong in thinking this, because the only works of art that I saw in this area were picture featuring women as their subject—they had all been created by male artists. I was also disappointed by the fact that, in order to convey the emotions that the artists wanted to portray in their paintings, they felt that they had to feature the women nude. The two examples of this that I am referring to are “Two Female Nudes on Purple Drape,” by Philip Pearlstein (1964), and “Naked Woman,” by Lucian Freud (1988). Although I was happy that these artists clearly did not set out to portray these nude women in an idealistic manner (they didn’t choose women who had what society would consider “perfect” bodies), I was still quite disappointed by the fact that they felt that they couldn’t convey emotion by depicting them wearing clothing.

"Naked Woman"- Lucian Freud (1988)

                All in all, I definitely enjoyed my trip to the Saint Louis Art Museum. I had never been there before, so it was a great first time experience. I am very glad that I chose to go there for this project!  

Show and Tell Poetry

Also here is the poetry from the show and tell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNPaoszr11U

Poetry Slam

so i have been watching a lot of poetry from poetry slams on youtube since i found the one I showed in class the other day. These are some of my findings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0

This first link is to a video that is called Pretty. This one was especially strong because it really pointed out the flaws in our society and how the idea of "pretty" starts at such a young age. Our lives begin to revolve around whether or not we are fuckable, the idea that a five letter word can  make it so that we change who we are inside and out just so we may be accepted n society for something we're not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW4VvIhhCIM

The second link is to another poetry slam and this one is called How to Cure a Feminist. This video speaks so much to how a person will bend and break to fit someone else's molding. To the idea that there is something wrong with women that want to fight for equality and how the idea we need to be "cured" is so wrong its almost like carving an identity into someone else's skin. This video starts off funny and gradually gets more and more serious which really shows how this topic is treated as nothing, but the longer we let it progress the worse it gets and we need to address what is happening now before the ideas are locked up and shoved in a closet.