Event 2

My event number two is the time I went to the patriots game. This can be seen as a feminist issue because the NFL creates pink jerseys, hats, gloves, shirts, and other team novelty items to cater towards the females that go to the games. I see this as a feminist issue because they have to create other merchandise to cater towards females. Once again, who says the women who go to games want to wear pink? Let them wear what they choose.

Cannot really be seen in this photo but there are some ladies wearing pink

Event numero uno

My first event relates to the gender roles that the media portrays. I went to Toy's R Us during the semester with a friend and witnessed that all of the girl toys, or even the girl section were nothing but pink. Just as the girls section, the boys section is all blue. This just shows how the media is suppose to portray what little girls and boys are supposed to "like". Who says a little boy cannot like dolls or princesses or that a girl cannot like Transformers. Attached are some pictures.

What is an ally?

An ally is someone who stands up for what is right. They can either be leader of an organization, or just simply a friend who supports you no matter what. Ayvazian defines an ally as: "a member of a dominant group in our society who works to dismantle any form of oppression from whish she or he receives the benefits." This definition is possibly the best definition that I've heard on what an ally is. I do consider myself an ally. The only downfall is that I have not done anything to help the cause.

Straight But Not Narrow

Violence

To start off this reading was very confusing and didn't have my full attention, thank you New England Patriots.

Ideology, this concept is something that is a very vague topic. Most people connect ideology with a belief system or some sort of religious connection. However, mass media has been creating its own ideology that does not deal with religion. The ideology with mass media is how violence ties into the social culture. Eminem's CD The Marshall Mathers LP, is one of my favorite CD's, however it is very violent and degrading towards women and the LGBTQ community. His first song off the album is called "Kill You" and with lyrics like: "They said I can't rap about being broke no more, They ain't say I can't rap about coke no more, (AH!) Slut, you think I won't choke no whore, 'til the vocal cords don't work in her throat no more?!, and But if we can hump dead animals and antelopes then there's no reason that a man and another man can't elope [*EWWW!*], it just shows what violence and hatred are in today's media. However, this album was nominated for "Album of the Year" in 2001 and controversy filled the media. Now, like I previously said, this album is one of my favorites and the lyrics, as brutal as they are, are amazing. His play on words is outstanding. The way I look at things, they are made to entertain. Whether it is a video game, music, books, or movies. They are created to entertain people, the actions that people pursue from listening to them or watching, or reading, or even playing the media is not on fault of the creator but the person who decides to reenacts them. Now I'm not advocating violence and I'm not saying that it is a good thing, but people need to understand that these things are created to entertain people, not to provoke people into doing violent crimes.

This is "Kill You" by Eminem

This is "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem

Election time!!!!

So it is election night!!!! Due to some certain circumstances, I am currently at Jessica Parenteau's house watching the election. However, I did vote for the first time today and I have to say that it was pretty amazing. Now I voted for Obama, and so far it is a really close race. And it looks like Obama is projected to get more electoral votes, at the moment. Now the coverage of the election has been covering the same thing since I started watching it. The only time they talk about something different is when either a state announces a senate win or if one of the candidates takes a state. The predictions are tough to look at because there are many ways that the polls can go. There are so many stipulations in how this can go.

Overall, this election has been a huge eye opener. It is the first time I voted and actually took interest in politics. It has changed the way I view things and will take more interest in it.

Now either way, each candidate will change how this country is going to be for the next 4 years.

Random Blog 3, Yes this is number 3

So every knows that Robin is Batmans trusty sidekick, right? Well as far as I know he is a boy, am I wrong? So just to put some salt on the wound, my friends mom made this for my friends daughter. Please tell me why a girl can't just dress as a super hero? Freaking gender roles.

Sex, yes!

Sex-Positivity, is generally a term that is used to define how one is when it comes to sex. There are different ways on how it is described, like one who is sexually active and one who is not. Both people are sex-positive. White explains how one is sex-positive in multiple ways. Knowing one self is a great way to be sex-positive. White has some really good points in her blog and a lot I can agree with.

Her paragraph "Just because it doesn't turn you on doesn't mean it's wrong" is an excellent bit on life. Pretty much she is preaching to not yuck someones yum. Everyone has different preferences and not everyone is the same. So just because you don't like it doesn't mean everyone has to not like it, or in the reverse situation. White explains a lot in her blog on various way sex-positivity is around us.

Now sex is very important and complicated at the same time. It's exciting and can be very fun. Everyone has their own personal preferences and that is fine. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I agree with White on all of her points. Sex is a wonderful thing but shouldnt be taken lightly.

And this song has been stuck in my head all weekend, figured I'd share the greatness with y'all

Random Blog of Randomness #2

This refers to the topic of discussion that we talked about last week about "What are little boys made of". Recently I've been getting into country music. Now previously I was into some pretty hardcore music, still am to be honest. But what I find interesting is how opposite they are in what they are singing about. They are complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Country music is about beer, ex lovers, whiskey, and fishing. Post-hardcore music is very emotional music.

Country music has a very manly feel to it. I feel more like a man when listening to it. Now with post-hardcore music, I feel manly cause it's heavy and screams but it's very emotional. I'm not bashing on type to the other I just find it interesting how opposite they are on the spectrum and what is sung about in the music.

Examples:
A Day to Remember - If It Means A Lot To You


Eric Church - Jack Daniels

Cinderella ate what?

Disney princesses are idolized in a manner that they have never been idolized before. This whole princess boom took off relatively quick and it has become such a huge phenomenon. The Disney Princesses have become so popular with little girls that in a section of Downtown Disney, there is a full store dedicated to buying princess apparel. You can even get made up to look like a princess. Now all and all that is a cool concept, I mean who wouldn't want to be a princess for a day. But there are some limitations. Little girls need to realize what the truth is and what is false. But the whole fairy tale prince saves princess theory is great and all but too many girls are waiting for that fairy tale romance that just doesn't always happen.

Here you can fine the Disney Princesses and you can see what Orenstein was talking about on page 13. Where it was stated that in every picture the princesses are in together, they don't make any contact with each other.

Little boys are made of super heroes, race cars, and sports

Before you say anything, yes the title was suppose to be stereotypical.

So right off the back this article has my attention, mainly because, to put it simple, I am a male. Shocker, I know.

"Boyhood is defective"(Kimmel, 157) This quote simply is amazing. I agree with this because the whole idea of boys being boys is slowly dying out. The idea of boyhood and boys being boys is not the same as it was. When I was a child, I remember being obnoxious, loud, rough, and dirty. This was once the social norm, but now it has changed drasitcally.

"If it's all biological, why is the slightest deviation from expected manly behavior so cruelly punished." (Kimmel, 158) So, this is pretty accurate. The idea of a man showing emotion is very frowned upon in society. Not saying that it is a bad thing to show emotion, but it's not socially acceptable to show it. Now, typically I tend not to show emotion in a public setting, like crying and such. Mainly because I was brought up with the notion of not showing emotion and that "real men don't cry".

Now this whole idea of letting a boy be a boy is great. Boys need an outlet and they need to have it when they are younger. With an outlet to let some steam off and get the testosterone flowing, I think boys would then be calmer and more relaxed. I always feel better after a good workout. Society is trying to limit this but it is needed.

A comedy show where someone argues why real men don't cry


Let me know what you ladies, and gentlemen, think about this video


Love this song and it's kind of stereotypical on being a mans man

Racism in Womans Studies

Now we all know that racism plays a huge part in every day life in one way shape or form. Yes, it has died down a lot but there is a small amount of it living in society.

Barbara Smith writes about racism as a feminist issue in her article cleverly titled Racism and Women's Studies. Smith discusses racism in this article, but mainly talks about how white women take responsibility for their racism. She sees the change in how they, white women, take responsibility because she is a black feminist and sees things in a different perspective than the other women. She does state that racism is a feminist issue and can be explained by the "inherent definition of feminism. Feminism is the political theory and practice that struggles to free all women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, disabled women, lesbians, old women-as well as white, economically privileged, heterosexual women."(Smith, 1). Smith states that racism is not the fact that you can't be civil towards black people, but it is the act of how you act towards them. The fact that you cannot "look them in the eye and laugh with us"(Smith, 2), is a harsh statement. But she has a point. It is one thing to be civil towards someone, but not knowing how to act towards them is a different manner. If you cannot associate yourself with a certain group because you do not know how to act, then that is a bit racist. My thinking is that, if you can't relate to someone because of their race, gender, or sex, then you are being prejudice towards them. Smith makes a good argument.

Now I tend to not think of myself as being racist. I think I tend to give everyone a fair chance at getting to know me. Whether the outcome is that we don't become friends or that we become great friends is a different story. If you are nice to me, I'll be nice back. But if you are an asshole to me, be prepared for me to be an asshole back.

Random Blog Of Randomness!!!!!

So, today we are talking about LGBTQ issues in class. And this topic has always interested me. Not for the fact that I'm curious about myself, but because people in general interest me. The way people think or act and why they do it in that manner. So when talking about the LGBTQ community I'm very curious on how they act. Not in a mean manner, but like what is the difference between a transgender and transexual person, why a man in drag refers to himself as a she when dressed up, and just the terminology in general.

Now I know a few people in the LGBTQ community, specifically my best friend. Now she came out in September 2011 and I questioned her on it, not like "are you sure you're gay?" but more like the "so how did you know?" just because I was curious on how she knew because she dated a man for 2 years prior to coming out. Then she told me she was happy and that's all that mattered to me. So what we are talking about in class has kept me very interested and I enjoy talking about it.

Compulsory Heterosexuality

Probably following trend to everyone in the class, I had to go outside the text to understand it. Finding the definition of lesbianism, compulsory heterosexuality.
Lesbianism, defined by my best friend who is a female and who is gay, defines it as being sexually attracted to a female, and being a female yourself.

A standard response in my eyes. However, there tends to be more to the issue than just the typical response.

Rich's Compulsory Heterosexuality, thanks to Jessica Parenteau for the link, explains things in a different manner. Rich says that women should focus their energy on other women rather than men to show that lesbianism is a branch of feminism. Now feminism, is defined differently to many people. To the majority, it's fighting for the equal rights of women and everyone alike. Now, there is definitely more to it, and I am still unaware of what it means to be a feminist. Rich makes a good point that in the 1980's, when the sexual preference of someone had to be heterosexuality, it was tough on lesbians because they were either told to keep it a secret or they would tend to get fired. And not only is it tough to be a lesbian, but being a lesbian of color is worse. Also, the statement made that lesbians have only an innate sexual attraction to men but act out in the bitterness is an interesting statement. To say that lesbians only associate themselves with other women because they have some unknown bitterness towards men is an ignorant statement. Just because someone is attracted to the same sex does not mean that they have some unspoken bitterness towards the same sex. In my opinion, it's not really about the sex of someone you are attracted to. I'm not one to judge either, so love who you want to love.

A quick interview with my best friend:
Me:"Do you feel like you are a lesbian because you have a feeling of bitterness towards men?"
PG:"No, because it's like needing glasses." (Which is a reference to Greys Anatomy)
Me:"Have you had a sexual relationship with a man before?"
PG:"Yes, we dated for two years"
Me:"During that time,did you find any satisfaction?"
PG:"No, it wasn't something that felt right, and it goes back to that glasses statement"

This is the video that my friend showed me to explain how she knew she was gay.

Wage Theft

So I cannot guarantee that this blog will make sense by any means, I am currently writing this in the midst of the New England Patriots game and I am heavily distracted. So I do apologize if there is any miscommunication or if there are any sentences that tend to not make sense. I am not held accountable for them.

So equal pay is this weeks topic of discussion, well among other things, and this is a topic that has been an issue for years. Women have been fighting for equal pay for years. Why should someone of a different gender get paid less? This is where things get interesting and where the video needs to be watched. Now, I realize that I'm referencing a source that was not given, however, the video does throw out some statistics that are pretty mind blowing. In the past 45 years there has been only a 19 cent pay raise from 1965 to 2010. Woman make an average of 77 cents to every mans dollar. The margin of 23 cents is a major ordeal. So throwing some simple math out there, a CFO of say, Google is a man, and hypothetically he makes $500,000 a year. Now a woman who has the same exact qualifications and years of experience would only make $385000. That's a difference of $115,000. Really? Now of course the above math equation was all hypothetical, but it puts things into perspective.

Now on another note, PBS's little section on the stories of different people is quit the eye opener. Just to get a sense of how other people are treated and looked upon based off of their class. Ridiculous.

Now as for the other website, that talks about Wage Theft, is with any company. They, the company, just don't want to spend money and try to cut expenses as much as possible. However, they tend to take to try to spend less money on their female employees. Blasphemy!

Below is a a video that I found on youtube that kind of put things into a clear image.

Obama: Education

Education is a major topic is the upcoming election. Each presidential candidate has their own views on education. Each candidate has a different view on how education should be handled. Unfortunately, Romney is in the loosing category when it comes to education. Obama is looking out for all students, future and current, by signing bills that allow debt to be forgiven. He also signed a bill that allows students to pay no more than 10% of their disposable income to help pay for federal loans. His plan of action helps benefit a lot of student both future and current. Obama is looking out for the well being of others as a whole. The laws that he has passed, and are in the process of passing, has helped more than 9.4 million students. Obama has some serious plans for students that will benefit them in the long run. Lets just see how his ideas come into play and how they end up working out.

Both candidates have strong views on education so the debate side of this topic is slim to none. Both believe that education plays a major role in life. Romney is more focused on a private level and that a public but does offer bonuses to teachers for teaching at a certain level. Obama is looking at the bigger picture though, stating that no child should miss out on an education because of a failing school.

So what I'm getting out of this is that Obama and Romney both have good views on education. However, Obama is looking out for the greater good. Making sure no child is left behind and misses out on an education. He does not in believe in the "No Child Left Behind" program because it focuses too much on standardized testing. With this the child is not getting a well rounded education.

Here is all of Obama's views on education

The Second Blog of The Semester!!!!

Pennies for your thought

Fryes piece on oppression, cleverly titled "Oppression", starts out with a bang. She states that "oppressing is oppression to those who oppress as well as to those the oppress", which leads me to think that people who oppress, oppress everyone regardless of gender, race, or sexuality. She makes this argument clear by stating that men are told that they need to be tough and nothing else, so crying is not something that is acceptable. Which to me is very accurate. When I was younger I lived with my mother and visited my father on the weekend. Now my mother was very open with her emotions and told me to do the same thing, however my father is a very closed off man so I had no true direction on what to do. So the idea of oppression is in everyday life no matter what your age may be. However, Frye states that the word oppression is being over used and its meaning has become meaningless. Fryes break down of the word oppress is immaculate. From just taking the "op" from "oppress" and just having the word press, and state its definition was very well written. The fact that she made one word turn into something horrible was striking. Frye touches upon some great points in her article, another being that a young woman who is sexually active is looked down upon, as well as a young girl who is not sexually active. As a whole the reading opened my eyes, even if it was just a little, because I tend to not think of the facts that were stated and just live life not worrying about them.

This song does not necessarily relate to the article, however it does degrade women throughout the entire song. And I used the actual video because the video was never released to the public, for obvious reasons.

The F Word

I know this is a little late but anyway....

In "Fear of Feminism" the author makes some very good statements about young women and how they are naive to the idea of being a feminist. This fear isn't just secluded to the fact that they are naive about what a feminist is, but how to identify what a feminist is. It's a way of life that is unfamiliar with most people. According to Hogeland the life of a feminist is a life with consequence because women who fear feminism fear living in consequences(Hogeland, page 3). Just knowing that the Feminist movement was lead by intellectual leaders is a great start. This article has opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities to how the feminist movement came to be and has played out.

A Tsunami In History
The connection of the girl passed down from generation to generation is quit symbolic. It shows the pride and the strength that the elder women had. In the passage, a quote from Susan B. Anthony was quoted as "It was we, the people; not we, the white mal citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens,; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union...Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less" (Rowe-Finkbeiner, page 20). This quote has a lot of meaning behind it in the sense that nothing was ever equal. It took some redefining and amendments to get the equality right. The history given in this reading is very detailed and inspirational. The ring signifies a lot more than originally

-Mike

The first blog: An Introduction to Mike

The name is Mike, I'm a junior currently attending RIC as a computer science major. This is my first WMST class and I am in it to complete my Gen Ed's but I think I can learn a lot from this class and gain a lot of knowledge as well! I'm excited for this class and ready to meet new people and collaborate on different and interesting ideas with everyone. I'm a full time employee with Sony at the Wrentham Outlets, if you need a computer/tv come see me. Please feel free to ask me anything.
-Mike