Jen Ackerman
WST 3015
Nina Perez
February 23. 2010
""I Am Not a Rapist!"" Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. Ed. Gwyn Kirk. Comp. Margo Okazawa-Rey. By John Stoltenberg. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 285-90. Print.
“ I Am Not a Rapist,” by John Stolenberg is a summary and break down of the members from the group MAC ( Men Acting For Change) are striving for. This particular group is from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where Stolenberg when to visit the members and talk with them. Stolenberg first explain value in the group MAC and other groups like it. These groups represent a new and growing movement towards men becoming aware and proactive with sexual violence and working to end certain institutions such as rape and abuse against women.
The members in this group were diverse in race and sexuality leading their discussions to have many perspectives. Stolenberg notes that many of boys “ seemed at times to speak on behalf of many more male agemates than themselves” (286). Stolenberg sat down with five members from the MAC group and asked various questions. The men in the group expressed an extensive concern for females being so apprehensive about violence from men, that now there is preconceived fear of every man. The members discusses their personal experiences with sexual violence as well as their opinions on why our society still has to battle it.
Gender role stereotypes is an issue discussed by all the men. One says that he could never understand and thus conform to the definition of “straight” and was then seen as weak because his masculinity was not stressed. Another talked about how popular culture shows women as less intelligent than men, when his experiences were the opposite. One of the men told a story about how he had a female friend who had been raped and after did not feel comfortable about him, simply because he was male. “ It made me angry that this guy had ruined a friendship of mine with somebody I cared about” (288). This specific man was angry and hurt because he was be so easily effected by someone else’s actions based on being the same sex. However he understood this because her trust had not been broken just for that guy that had assaulted her, but lost trust for the whole sex. Many of the men in the group have first hand knowledge of sexual violence happening to friends or themselves, and that is what led them to become active against sexual violence towards women.
One man got the chance to see both sides of sexual violence when his own friend was accused, which led him to realize the intense violence going on everywhere that people just do not recognize. This kind of situation helped him understand the person who committed the act, and how to communicate with them. All of the men interviewed offered how they go about trying to combat the ignorance of sexual violence. Some techniques were finding a balance of listening and challenging, catching men off guard to discuss, or simply by putting them in the situation of sexual violence and showing how powerful it is.
This piece ended with the positive note of ending sexual violence towards women and the incomprehension that surrounds it. These five men all agreed that all men should fight against sexual violence of women because the cycle itself contributes to not only to the inequality of women but also it supports the larger, harmful gender roles shaping society. These men want to end sexual violence but also strive to break free of preconceived expectations of a person based on their biological elements. “People with penises have a lot to gain from the women’s movement, a lot to gain: being able to be exactly who you are without having to be “a man” in the traditional sense” (288).
Discussion Questions: Is sexual violence as prevalent in your life as it is for the members of MAC? Do you think sexual violence is a social problem that most people our age are concerned with? Or is it more ignored or not seen? Can how does sexual violence influence how you see gender roles?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Service Learning Log Week 2
Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
2/20/10
Introduction to Women’s Study
Activism: This past Tuesday myself, Jo, and Alex attended the biweekly SAFE, Students Advocating For Equality, meeting as well as the weekly Equal (formerly GLBSU) meeting where we met up with Rebecca Marques. I do not usually go to these meetings however we thought it would bring us closer to our cause and community partner. We did not really do anything else for our project this week. The Thursday meeting to storyboard the promotional video was cancelled and has not been rescheduled.
Reflection: In our Fight Like A Girl text, author Megan Seely talks about how “no act is to small” ( 24) and I think this week is when I really had to embrace that. Since we didn’t really do anything concrete for our project I am feeling a nervous and very much dislike leaving things for the last minute. Basically all we really did this week was go to the meetings together. However, after I remembered what Seely had said about how activism on the micro, individual level is just as important as the big things, I felt better because we reached out to learn more about the topics and issues we were fighting against and for (24) . The meetings both dealt with the topic of discrimination and the challenges that come with being outside our societal norms.
Reciprocity: I think the combination of being in this class and now becoming apart of such an important agenda on campus have started to really impact the way I think. I have known I was queer from a pretty young age, so feeling like I am different is not something new to me by now. However embracing and not feelings so ashamed of who I am is starting to set in. As I spend my time fighting for the Transgendered community I think about how ridiculous it is that we have to defend the need for their protection when they are people just like everyone else. This thought process along with my own sexuality has lead to me start accepting myself a little more as a lesbian and its quite possible, a feminist.
Works Cited
Seely, Megan. "Fight Like a Girl." Fight Like a Girl How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: NYU, 2007. Print.
Nina Perez
2/20/10
Introduction to Women’s Study
Activism: This past Tuesday myself, Jo, and Alex attended the biweekly SAFE, Students Advocating For Equality, meeting as well as the weekly Equal (formerly GLBSU) meeting where we met up with Rebecca Marques. I do not usually go to these meetings however we thought it would bring us closer to our cause and community partner. We did not really do anything else for our project this week. The Thursday meeting to storyboard the promotional video was cancelled and has not been rescheduled.
Reflection: In our Fight Like A Girl text, author Megan Seely talks about how “no act is to small” ( 24) and I think this week is when I really had to embrace that. Since we didn’t really do anything concrete for our project I am feeling a nervous and very much dislike leaving things for the last minute. Basically all we really did this week was go to the meetings together. However, after I remembered what Seely had said about how activism on the micro, individual level is just as important as the big things, I felt better because we reached out to learn more about the topics and issues we were fighting against and for (24) . The meetings both dealt with the topic of discrimination and the challenges that come with being outside our societal norms.
Reciprocity: I think the combination of being in this class and now becoming apart of such an important agenda on campus have started to really impact the way I think. I have known I was queer from a pretty young age, so feeling like I am different is not something new to me by now. However embracing and not feelings so ashamed of who I am is starting to set in. As I spend my time fighting for the Transgendered community I think about how ridiculous it is that we have to defend the need for their protection when they are people just like everyone else. This thought process along with my own sexuality has lead to me start accepting myself a little more as a lesbian and its quite possible, a feminist.
Works Cited
Seely, Megan. "Fight Like a Girl." Fight Like a Girl How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: NYU, 2007. Print.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Cluless is an Understatement
Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
Feburary 17, 2010
WST 3015
Clueless is an Understatement
1995’s Clueless forever shaped and engrained the valley girl image in all of our heads and in society forever. Following the life of a wealthy, blonde, skinny, teenage girl, the plot of this movie actually mocks and satirizes the valley girl stereotypes and ends with the sweet message of individuality (Clueless). Main character Cher Horowitz learns the lesson of accepting people for who they are, of course this harshly contrasts the extremely shallow and materialistic traits her and her friends all share. Overall this movie focuses around Cher and her thought process for almost all topics, unfortunately Cher emphasizes many of the stereotypes associated with the “valley girl” image.
As Cher and her friends enjoy their lunch at the mall the topic of sex comes up. Her friend Tai willingly admits to having sex, shocking Cher (Clueless). This scene is a perfect example of the intersectionality within sexuality (Kirk, Gwyn, and Okazawa-Rey 13). Cher’s friend is presented as from a lower class throughout the film and is the first to present herself in a sexual way, while Cher and the other upper class friend are proud they are virgins. Now this scene presents the lower class friend as promiscuous and sexually explorative. Now, Tai is a girl that Cher and her friends almost seem to pity,continuing the very clear division between the classes. Cher, the white, upper class, female is the only “real” virgin, who coincidentally is moral enough to wait for marriage, whereas Tai was not. In this scene it is also assumed by Tai that the African American friend Dionne was not a virgin either, who actually had to defend her virginity (Clueless). Racism and classism very much make their way through into the realm of sexuality and it’s assumed that a women’s sexuality can be assumed by things like their class, or their race. This is only one strong example of countless stereotypical attachments that come along with women’s sexuality in our media.
This film also features the topic of homosexuality. When it comes to this, Clueless does not skip in the stereotypes here either. Cher’s P.E. teacher is described as “same sex oriented,” and throughout the film is very aggressive and always dressed in what to be more masculine outfits. She is unlike all the other women in film and the typical myths about lesbians come through with this character (Clueless). The other thought to be homosexual character is Christian, a boy Cher had an interest in. It is suspected that he is gay because of the way he dresses, talks, dances, and even walks(Clueless). Both of these characters are complete stereotypes. As stated in the text, the stereotypes portrayed in the media again and again have a very lasting and harmful impression (Kirk, Gwyn, and Okazawa-Rey 159). When it comes to homosexuality Clueless was no different.
This movie is very interesting to me because as mentioned before it ends with a respectable theme and message. Cher accepts Josh for who he is and Tai also embraces who she is (Clueless). When these two characters do this happiness seems to ensues. Clueless does a good job portraying a girl striving to be better despite her extremely privileged and sheltered life. While I wouldn’t say Cher is by any means a good role model for young girls, she is not the worst either.
Works Cited
Clueless. Dir. Amy Heckerling. Perf. Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. Paramount Pictures, 1995. DVD.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women's Rights, Women's Liberation, Women's Studies." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 13. Print.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women's Sexuality." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 150. Print.
Nina Perez
Feburary 17, 2010
WST 3015
Clueless is an Understatement
1995’s Clueless forever shaped and engrained the valley girl image in all of our heads and in society forever. Following the life of a wealthy, blonde, skinny, teenage girl, the plot of this movie actually mocks and satirizes the valley girl stereotypes and ends with the sweet message of individuality (Clueless). Main character Cher Horowitz learns the lesson of accepting people for who they are, of course this harshly contrasts the extremely shallow and materialistic traits her and her friends all share. Overall this movie focuses around Cher and her thought process for almost all topics, unfortunately Cher emphasizes many of the stereotypes associated with the “valley girl” image.
As Cher and her friends enjoy their lunch at the mall the topic of sex comes up. Her friend Tai willingly admits to having sex, shocking Cher (Clueless). This scene is a perfect example of the intersectionality within sexuality (Kirk, Gwyn, and Okazawa-Rey 13). Cher’s friend is presented as from a lower class throughout the film and is the first to present herself in a sexual way, while Cher and the other upper class friend are proud they are virgins. Now this scene presents the lower class friend as promiscuous and sexually explorative. Now, Tai is a girl that Cher and her friends almost seem to pity,continuing the very clear division between the classes. Cher, the white, upper class, female is the only “real” virgin, who coincidentally is moral enough to wait for marriage, whereas Tai was not. In this scene it is also assumed by Tai that the African American friend Dionne was not a virgin either, who actually had to defend her virginity (Clueless). Racism and classism very much make their way through into the realm of sexuality and it’s assumed that a women’s sexuality can be assumed by things like their class, or their race. This is only one strong example of countless stereotypical attachments that come along with women’s sexuality in our media.
This film also features the topic of homosexuality. When it comes to this, Clueless does not skip in the stereotypes here either. Cher’s P.E. teacher is described as “same sex oriented,” and throughout the film is very aggressive and always dressed in what to be more masculine outfits. She is unlike all the other women in film and the typical myths about lesbians come through with this character (Clueless). The other thought to be homosexual character is Christian, a boy Cher had an interest in. It is suspected that he is gay because of the way he dresses, talks, dances, and even walks(Clueless). Both of these characters are complete stereotypes. As stated in the text, the stereotypes portrayed in the media again and again have a very lasting and harmful impression (Kirk, Gwyn, and Okazawa-Rey 159). When it comes to homosexuality Clueless was no different.
This movie is very interesting to me because as mentioned before it ends with a respectable theme and message. Cher accepts Josh for who he is and Tai also embraces who she is (Clueless). When these two characters do this happiness seems to ensues. Clueless does a good job portraying a girl striving to be better despite her extremely privileged and sheltered life. While I wouldn’t say Cher is by any means a good role model for young girls, she is not the worst either.
Works Cited
Clueless. Dir. Amy Heckerling. Perf. Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. Paramount Pictures, 1995. DVD.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women's Rights, Women's Liberation, Women's Studies." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 13. Print.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Women's Sexuality." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 150. Print.
Service Learning Log Week 1
Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
2/17/10
Introduction to Women’s Study
Activism: During the first week and a half of my service learning journey many things have happened. Last Friday (the 19th) we had a meeting in the library to get the final run down from our Community Partner Contact Rebecca Marques. She went over what was going to need to be done and what the specifics of our jobs. I will be heading up a promotional video we are going to make. Rebecca and I have not met yet to make a storyboard for the video, but she told me I pretty have total control over the project. I am very excited about this. We are going to try to get it aired in various outlets on and off The UCF campus. I believe I am meeting on Thursday ( the 18th) to create a storyboard with Rebecca.
Reflection: After the meeting with Rebecca I could not be more excited in to begin this campaign. When I began picturing different options for the promotional video I couldn’t help but go back to Fight Like A Girl, when author Megan Seely says “ As young adults today, we are confronted with the challenge of how to strike a balance between our desires and our social responsibilities” (15). I consider the push for full and equal protection for everyone a very important social responsibility. I know that in the coming weeks hunting people down for signatures and going to club after club for support is going to get old, but I think I will feel rejuvenated every time I think about this group of people not stood up for. Later in the same chapter of this text, Seely explains how no act is too small in the realm of activism. This is something I think I will have to tell myself during this long process, where progress might not always be so apparent (16).
Reciprocity: Even though this campaign has just begun I already feel a sense of unity from the people around me. My group and I have barely begun to work together and already they have showed me just how opened minded people can be. My group has impressed me more than they know and so far they have taught me to let go of my initial judgements. Only a week and a half in this project I am beginning to see how effective the collaborative process can be and I cannot wait to continue.
Works Cited
Seely, Megan. "Fight Like a Girl." Fight Like a Girl How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: NYU, 2007. Print.
Nina Perez
2/17/10
Introduction to Women’s Study
Activism: During the first week and a half of my service learning journey many things have happened. Last Friday (the 19th) we had a meeting in the library to get the final run down from our Community Partner Contact Rebecca Marques. She went over what was going to need to be done and what the specifics of our jobs. I will be heading up a promotional video we are going to make. Rebecca and I have not met yet to make a storyboard for the video, but she told me I pretty have total control over the project. I am very excited about this. We are going to try to get it aired in various outlets on and off The UCF campus. I believe I am meeting on Thursday ( the 18th) to create a storyboard with Rebecca.
Reflection: After the meeting with Rebecca I could not be more excited in to begin this campaign. When I began picturing different options for the promotional video I couldn’t help but go back to Fight Like A Girl, when author Megan Seely says “ As young adults today, we are confronted with the challenge of how to strike a balance between our desires and our social responsibilities” (15). I consider the push for full and equal protection for everyone a very important social responsibility. I know that in the coming weeks hunting people down for signatures and going to club after club for support is going to get old, but I think I will feel rejuvenated every time I think about this group of people not stood up for. Later in the same chapter of this text, Seely explains how no act is too small in the realm of activism. This is something I think I will have to tell myself during this long process, where progress might not always be so apparent (16).
Reciprocity: Even though this campaign has just begun I already feel a sense of unity from the people around me. My group and I have barely begun to work together and already they have showed me just how opened minded people can be. My group has impressed me more than they know and so far they have taught me to let go of my initial judgements. Only a week and a half in this project I am beginning to see how effective the collaborative process can be and I cannot wait to continue.
Works Cited
Seely, Megan. "Fight Like a Girl." Fight Like a Girl How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: NYU, 2007. Print.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Service Learning Proposal
Service Learning Proposal
For Equal
(Formerly G.L.B.S.U. of UCF)
Jen Ackerman
Johana Vanegas
Jennifer Smith
Rachel Miles
Alexandria Bergeron
11 February 2010
Professor Nina Perez
Introduction to Women’s Studies, WST 3015
Community Partner: Equal at UCF
Address: P.O. Box 163245 • Orlando, FL • 32816-3245
Contact: Rebecca Marques
786-271-5382
RMarques@knights.ucf.edu
Equal at UCF Community Profile
Mission Statement:
Equal's mission is to provide a safe environment for students to interact and network with each other, engage in social activities, and develop personal character without fear of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and to provide support and resources for students who have experienced such discrimination.
Political/ Social Basis:
Equal's vision is a campus environment where GLBTQ students can feel both a sense of self-worth and pride in their individual diversity and a sense of community and belonging, and where all students can expect to be treated equally, regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Equal strives to educate its members and the university community about sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender issues, and about issues that affect the GLBTQ community and provide opportunities for the personal and professional growth and development of its members.
Equal’s Needs:
To fully utilize the student body, Equal will need all of its volunteers to be active and committed to our vision of equality. To make sure our goals get met, volunteers will have to expect rigorous schedule of deadlines and work. Work will include behind-the-scenes organizing as well as field work of petitioning and tabling.
The following is a proposal to outline the needs, rationale and feasibility for a service learning project to benefit GLBT student body and faculty. The following proposal contains background on the need for and benefits of getting gender identity listed on the Non-Discrimination policy project, an outline of the work I plan to do, the rationale for its inclusion in WST 3015, and a scheduled timeline. This proposal may need to be revised after beginning the project and must be flexible to meet the needs of the both the service learning project and the community partner.
Need for:
Volunteers who are committed to working for a safer campus that protects its GLBT students and faculty. Volunteers will be expected to help in any way possible including: helping promote the event, outreach to other campus organizations to raise awareness, collect signatures, table in front of the union, and do other various technical tasks.
Plan Proposal:
Our plan is to volunteer for Equal at UCF under Rebecca Marques who is organizing the petition and protest of UCF’s Non- Discrimination Policy. As of right now UCF’s Non-Discrimination Policy does not include gender identity
under the list of minorities currently covered. We will be tabling, petitioning, organizing and participating in the protest and hopeful addition of gender identity to the Non- Discrimination Policy. This project meets the need of the our
Community Partner Equal because one of their goals is to “create a community where gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) students and their allies can feel safe, welcome, and proud, where they can interact and grow with out fear of harassment or discrimination.” Presently the GLBTQ community on our campus is vulnerable to abuse and intolerance which is something that needs to be changed immediately.
Women’s Studies:
Since one of the core principles of feminism is the belief in social, political, and economic equality of all sexes and people, we believe as a group that this project completely encompasses the value and ideals of this course. We are fighting for the protection of this minority, so this group of people feels safe under the Non- Discrimination Policy and on our campus. We are hoping that this project results in more awareness of intolerance, specifically for the
transgendered, and an education in equality for all.
Action:
This project has already begun with meetings and will continue with persistent planning and organizing. The first steps of the project include off campus out-reach and contacting those in the greater community who could also support us. Initially the five members of this group will be Rebecca Marques’ main group of volunteers. We will work directly under her and assist her with paper work, petition-making, tabling and recruiting. Each of one of us will have different responsibilities including creating and running the website (event page) for our project, collecting and sending our petition sheets and letters to the President of the UCF, organizing and planning the tabling efforts, running and assisting in the actual protest for our cause, and lastly fulfilling recruiting and promoting for the event.
As a group we will be working under Rebecca Marques who is an active Equal member on the UCF campus. We will need to be devoted and very serious about the cause in order to really achieve the equality we are striving for.
Timeline:
Event page created February 12th
Group Meeting February 15th
Petition forms created and distributed February 15th
to members
Speak and attend EQUAL meeting February 16th
Group Meeting February 19th
Group Meeting February 24th
Informational video February 26th
Video showcase to EQUAL March 2nd
Group Meeting March 2nd
Newspaper article March 8-11th
Group Meeting March 16th
Tabling and signature gathering March 1st- April 22nd
Emails sent to President Hitt March 1st- April 22nd
Group Meeting April 26th
Event (petition turn in) Tentative date April 28th
For Equal
(Formerly G.L.B.S.U. of UCF)
Jen Ackerman
Johana Vanegas
Jennifer Smith
Rachel Miles
Alexandria Bergeron
11 February 2010
Professor Nina Perez
Introduction to Women’s Studies, WST 3015
Community Partner: Equal at UCF
Address: P.O. Box 163245 • Orlando, FL • 32816-3245
Contact: Rebecca Marques
786-271-5382
RMarques@knights.ucf.edu
Equal at UCF Community Profile
Mission Statement:
Equal's mission is to provide a safe environment for students to interact and network with each other, engage in social activities, and develop personal character without fear of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and to provide support and resources for students who have experienced such discrimination.
Political/ Social Basis:
Equal's vision is a campus environment where GLBTQ students can feel both a sense of self-worth and pride in their individual diversity and a sense of community and belonging, and where all students can expect to be treated equally, regardless of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Equal strives to educate its members and the university community about sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender issues, and about issues that affect the GLBTQ community and provide opportunities for the personal and professional growth and development of its members.
Equal’s Needs:
To fully utilize the student body, Equal will need all of its volunteers to be active and committed to our vision of equality. To make sure our goals get met, volunteers will have to expect rigorous schedule of deadlines and work. Work will include behind-the-scenes organizing as well as field work of petitioning and tabling.
The following is a proposal to outline the needs, rationale and feasibility for a service learning project to benefit GLBT student body and faculty. The following proposal contains background on the need for and benefits of getting gender identity listed on the Non-Discrimination policy project, an outline of the work I plan to do, the rationale for its inclusion in WST 3015, and a scheduled timeline. This proposal may need to be revised after beginning the project and must be flexible to meet the needs of the both the service learning project and the community partner.
Need for:
Volunteers who are committed to working for a safer campus that protects its GLBT students and faculty. Volunteers will be expected to help in any way possible including: helping promote the event, outreach to other campus organizations to raise awareness, collect signatures, table in front of the union, and do other various technical tasks.
Plan Proposal:
Our plan is to volunteer for Equal at UCF under Rebecca Marques who is organizing the petition and protest of UCF’s Non- Discrimination Policy. As of right now UCF’s Non-Discrimination Policy does not include gender identity
under the list of minorities currently covered. We will be tabling, petitioning, organizing and participating in the protest and hopeful addition of gender identity to the Non- Discrimination Policy. This project meets the need of the our
Community Partner Equal because one of their goals is to “create a community where gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) students and their allies can feel safe, welcome, and proud, where they can interact and grow with out fear of harassment or discrimination.” Presently the GLBTQ community on our campus is vulnerable to abuse and intolerance which is something that needs to be changed immediately.
Women’s Studies:
Since one of the core principles of feminism is the belief in social, political, and economic equality of all sexes and people, we believe as a group that this project completely encompasses the value and ideals of this course. We are fighting for the protection of this minority, so this group of people feels safe under the Non- Discrimination Policy and on our campus. We are hoping that this project results in more awareness of intolerance, specifically for the
transgendered, and an education in equality for all.
Action:
This project has already begun with meetings and will continue with persistent planning and organizing. The first steps of the project include off campus out-reach and contacting those in the greater community who could also support us. Initially the five members of this group will be Rebecca Marques’ main group of volunteers. We will work directly under her and assist her with paper work, petition-making, tabling and recruiting. Each of one of us will have different responsibilities including creating and running the website (event page) for our project, collecting and sending our petition sheets and letters to the President of the UCF, organizing and planning the tabling efforts, running and assisting in the actual protest for our cause, and lastly fulfilling recruiting and promoting for the event.
As a group we will be working under Rebecca Marques who is an active Equal member on the UCF campus. We will need to be devoted and very serious about the cause in order to really achieve the equality we are striving for.
Timeline:
Event page created February 12th
Group Meeting February 15th
Petition forms created and distributed February 15th
to members
Speak and attend EQUAL meeting February 16th
Group Meeting February 19th
Group Meeting February 24th
Informational video February 26th
Video showcase to EQUAL March 2nd
Group Meeting March 2nd
Newspaper article March 8-11th
Group Meeting March 16th
Tabling and signature gathering March 1st- April 22nd
Emails sent to President Hitt March 1st- April 22nd
Group Meeting April 26th
Event (petition turn in) Tentative date April 28th
Monday, February 8, 2010
Advertisement Blog Image
Skyy Vodka. Advertisement. The Sin City Siren. 8 Jan. 2008. Web. 7 Feb. 2010.
The Skyy Might Actually Be Falling Down
I did not have to look very long to stumble upon a very interesting Skyy Vodka advertisement sending a brief but very clear message. In the visual advertisement I chose, there is a well dressed man standing over a barely covered woman who was tightly grasping the vodka bottle and two martini glasses. The women is positioned between his legs and is looking up at him while raising her sunglasses, with the upper half of this body cut off. Right away I was drawn to the position of the bodies in this ad. This image seems to really revolve around it. Rosemarie Garland Thompson says “within Western thought, female bodies and disabled bodies are viewed as “deviant and inferior,” and this completely comes through in this picture (Kirk, Rey 207). The man’s dominance is immediately established as he towers over the woman, and because his body is so much bigger than her, his face cannot be shown. This image shows him having total superiority over her. With him standing like that she is vulnerable to anything. Culturally this image is a perfect example of objectification, the degradation of something to no more than a simple object (Kirk, Rey 208). It is clear the woman is just there waiting for his directions, she is merely a body and obviously just his body.
The woman in this is not smiling, but she is not resisting the situation either. As the man hovers over her, she simply looks up. I feel that this response to what is happening can be misconceived as how women are supposed to act towards men. The authors of our text say in the first chapter how women are “socialized” to care for them and spare their feelings,” this is exactly what is going on (Kirk, Rey 5). The woman doesn’t seem to have much a choice. This man wants to drink and so she must do as she’s told. For women who see this, a very disturbing message is being sent about about the hierarchy of men and women. Also in this picture, the women’s body is very unrealistic, her pose is very machine-like and flawless, contributing even more to the objectification of her. Her body is perfectly tanned and while you cannot quite make out her face, her breasts are in clear view and are distracting for the rest of the advertisement.
Overall, I find this image to be an extremely negative portrayal of women and men. For women’s body images, this is just another advertisement stocked full of unrealistic beauty standards and culturally, it is furthering the unconscious belief that men are superior to women or that women are men’s simple subordinate. For men, this image is cultivating the dogma of men’s masculinity and their need to strive to be dominant of women. This advisement subtly promotes Skyy Vodka, but to a greater extent encourages cultural and social inequalities for men and women. It defies what feminism stands for by exaggerating the differences between men and women, and in the end makes me personally never want to purchase Skyy Vodka.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2001. Print.
Skyy Vodka. Advertisement. The Sin City Siren. 8 Jan. 2008. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. .
Monday, February 1, 2010
Mary Poppins Should Have Used Her Magic for the Movement Not The Banks Family
“'We have forgotten the history of the country when we have forgotten to agitate when it is necessary,” this was said by Woodrow Wilson on September 8, 1916 ("Memorable quotes for Iron Jawed Angels."). And if Iron Jawed Angels captured the art of anything, it was the art of agitation. HBO’s Iron Jawed Angels illustrated the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and provides a very vivid look at the women who took part in the progression of Women’s rights and also those who fought against it. Similarly the classic Disney movie Mary Poppins, also gives a glimpse of the suffrage movement but with a definite lighter and almost campy twist. Both films manifest some very strong themes of the movement, however while Iron Jawed Angels keeps a very grave tone throughout, through Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins the movement comes off as more of a fun hobby.
During Iron Jawed Angels the male and female relationships vary throughout. There is a clear yet troubled romance between Ben Weissman and Alice Paul, where the dominance of Alice Paul is never disturbed and she makes it clear where her heart really lies. This relationship demonstrates how the most of women made very large sacrifices for their cause. Also in the film is the marriage of Emily Leighton and her senator husband. Here there is at first a backlash from the senator when his wife supports Alice Paul and the movement. He takes away her allowance and basically denies her the right to take part, but when she is arrested the true essence of this relationship comes out. As stated in our text “In our society, women are socialized to care for men and to spare their feelings, but recognizing and discussing institutional inequalities between women as a group and men as a group are very different front (Kirk, Rey 5).” This relationship shows this concept and shows that the movie was not about a bunch of men-haters, but women who wanted equality, and women who understood the differences in men and women’s treatment and wanted to change it. In Mary Poppins Mrs. Banks appears as a busy suffragist supporter who, along with her children, is feeling the neglect from her top-notch banker husband. Mr. Banks carelessly write offs the movement along with many other aspects in his family life. I think this is a pretty clear depiction of what it may have been like when the movement was actually going on. Just like Senator Leighton, Mr. Banks doesn’t pay much attention but we see by the end of Iron Jawed Angels the senator does his part. Both of these movies show differing relationships whether they are supportive or harmful to the movement and the women in them. Generally marriage comes off as an institution of great loyalty and strength, in both movies the main marriage examples end strong and successful.
Overall, all types of men are shown in both of theses films. In Iron Jawed Angels there are the men who really did not want to extend the right to vote for women such as president Wilson and his staff, then there are the men who are somewhat apathetic such as Ben Weissman and the senator, but ultimately both end up supporting, and lastly there are large crowds shown multiple times, mostly comprised of angry, furious men. I think this movie did a good job showing the different roles men played in the time period and also with showing how the men had different reactions. In the last few minutes of the movie it shows the last member of the house changing his vote because of a telegram from his mother, this was extremely symbolic because it made clear how ultimately the men were swayed when they were challenged enough to think about it. In Mary Poppins, Mr. Banks doesn’t really pay attention to anything including Mrs. Banks’ heavy devotion to the cause, pretty much just illustrating another unconcerned male.
After watching both of these films I think they both took an interesting view on the suffragist movement.With Iron Jawed Angels going into depth about the struggles, ups and downs, and ultimate victory. In Mary Poppins, the somewhat ditzy mother Mrs. Banks, was extremely enthusiastic about the movement but it just did not come off as serious. Even with her song “Sister Suffragette,” the lyrics, were strong, but its hard to take them seriously as they skip around the house. Although the two films gave two different looks at the movement as a whole and both illustrated contrasting roles and relationships with men and women.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2001. Print.
"Memorable quotes for Iron Jawed Angels." The Internation Movie Database. IMDB.com Inc. Web. 29 Jan. 2010..
During Iron Jawed Angels the male and female relationships vary throughout. There is a clear yet troubled romance between Ben Weissman and Alice Paul, where the dominance of Alice Paul is never disturbed and she makes it clear where her heart really lies. This relationship demonstrates how the most of women made very large sacrifices for their cause. Also in the film is the marriage of Emily Leighton and her senator husband. Here there is at first a backlash from the senator when his wife supports Alice Paul and the movement. He takes away her allowance and basically denies her the right to take part, but when she is arrested the true essence of this relationship comes out. As stated in our text “In our society, women are socialized to care for men and to spare their feelings, but recognizing and discussing institutional inequalities between women as a group and men as a group are very different front (Kirk, Rey 5).” This relationship shows this concept and shows that the movie was not about a bunch of men-haters, but women who wanted equality, and women who understood the differences in men and women’s treatment and wanted to change it. In Mary Poppins Mrs. Banks appears as a busy suffragist supporter who, along with her children, is feeling the neglect from her top-notch banker husband. Mr. Banks carelessly write offs the movement along with many other aspects in his family life. I think this is a pretty clear depiction of what it may have been like when the movement was actually going on. Just like Senator Leighton, Mr. Banks doesn’t pay much attention but we see by the end of Iron Jawed Angels the senator does his part. Both of these movies show differing relationships whether they are supportive or harmful to the movement and the women in them. Generally marriage comes off as an institution of great loyalty and strength, in both movies the main marriage examples end strong and successful.
Overall, all types of men are shown in both of theses films. In Iron Jawed Angels there are the men who really did not want to extend the right to vote for women such as president Wilson and his staff, then there are the men who are somewhat apathetic such as Ben Weissman and the senator, but ultimately both end up supporting, and lastly there are large crowds shown multiple times, mostly comprised of angry, furious men. I think this movie did a good job showing the different roles men played in the time period and also with showing how the men had different reactions. In the last few minutes of the movie it shows the last member of the house changing his vote because of a telegram from his mother, this was extremely symbolic because it made clear how ultimately the men were swayed when they were challenged enough to think about it. In Mary Poppins, Mr. Banks doesn’t really pay attention to anything including Mrs. Banks’ heavy devotion to the cause, pretty much just illustrating another unconcerned male.
After watching both of these films I think they both took an interesting view on the suffragist movement.With Iron Jawed Angels going into depth about the struggles, ups and downs, and ultimate victory. In Mary Poppins, the somewhat ditzy mother Mrs. Banks, was extremely enthusiastic about the movement but it just did not come off as serious. Even with her song “Sister Suffragette,” the lyrics, were strong, but its hard to take them seriously as they skip around the house. Although the two films gave two different looks at the movement as a whole and both illustrated contrasting roles and relationships with men and women.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities, 2001. Print.
"Memorable quotes for Iron Jawed Angels." The Internation Movie Database. IMDB.com Inc. Web. 29 Jan. 2010.
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