Service Learning Log Week 7

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
4/1/10
Introduction to Women's Studies

Activism: This week I continued filming for the video we are working on. Again I filmed on a Tuesday ( the 30th) at the EQUAL meeting at Tent City. Needless to say it was even more crazy than the meeting at Nature, but fun I guess nonetheless. At the meeting I found some of the same people that I already taped as well as new people I met at the meeting. The tricky thing about our PSA if that the message plays of stereotypes, which makes for a very awkward conversation when I was ask an African American girl I have just met to look right in the camera and say niggar. By the end of the night I mostly got everything I needed and continue to be excited about this part of our project.

Reflection: Because the EQUAL meeting took place at Tent City this week, there was even more of a diverse group floating about. Not necessarily gay, not necessarily transgendered or transexual in anyway, but just different people, some from all different groups around UCF and some that just wanted to see what was going on. With this diverse yet somehow connected group I was reminded of the Glorida Anzaldua quote from her piece "The Homeland." "The lifeblood of two worlds have merged forming a third country, or a border culture." This could not be a better description of the group that surrounded me at Tent City. I feel like most boundaries were broken this week and I saw a group of very, very, different people get upset about an issue that had nothing to do with them. Our border culture sees and comes from both sides of this problem and yet still finds a way to be apart of their world and our world.

Reflection: This week made me feel so good about everything we are working for. I cannot believe the reaction we are getting from even complete strangers. The more of I work on this project the more I feel inclined to just start approaching everyone I see about being in a video like I am making, simply to make them think.

""The Homeland" Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. Ed. Gwyn Kirk. Comp. Margo
Okazawa-Rey. By Gloria Anzaldua New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages,
2003. 285-90. Print.

Service Learning Log Week 6

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
3/29/10
Introduction to Women's Studies

Activism: This week on Tuesday (March 23rd) I went to the EQUAL meeting that was taking place at Natura on University. I wasn't really expecting it to be a very serious meeting and it pretty much wasn't. I went there to finally begin filming for the PSA (public service announcement) for our campaign. While there I found the people that either I or Rebecca Marques had contacted prior to the meeting to start filming, and I also had some people do it who I just asked that night. I got around ten people for the piece and later that night went over them with Rebecca. Unfortunately it looks like I am going to need to do some more filming because a lot of the lighting and sound came out very poorly. Still thought I am very glad we have finally started.

Reflection: In the "I Am Not a Rapist," piece we read by John Stoltenburg, it is a complaint by one of the boys interviewed that he is sick of women just assuming he is a rapist or in some way dangerous (288). I feel like a lot of the people that have been helping us our with our project think much similar to this. Instead of a rapist, I think a lot of the people working on this project are sick of feeling like they aren't doing anything for others in their community, and also sick of being viewed by others as intolerant or not accepting and unsupportive. Many of the people that were taped for the PSA are not necessarily card carrying members of the queer community but this just didn't matter. Just as the young men in the interview with Stoltenburg felt a need to act for women, the people in our community feel the need to act and stand up for the "others," in this case being the transgender collective.

Reciprocity: Filming on Tuesday was really the only thing I did this week and it was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. It was not easy for me to contact and ask people to participate in something like this because I was asking a lot. However after I registered the response I was getting it was such a great feeling.

""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.

Service Learning Log Week 5 (**Spring Break Week Skipped**)

**Spring Break Week Skipped**

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
3/16/19
Introduction to Women's Studies

Activism: This week I didn't really do anything for our campaign. Returning from Spring Break I was not in much contact with our boss Rebecca Marques. I thought there was going to be some type of tabling done but I do not think that EQUAL reserved any tables. I think next week I will be starting the promotional video for our project which I am excited about.

Reflection: In class we talk about the path of least resistance a lot. This week, by not really doing anything I feel like I took the path of least resistance. I know I could have either contacted EQUAL or done some of my own canvasing without relying on Rebecca but I didn't. The week before Spring Break I was so hyped up and energetic about this project, but this week it feels like I fell flat. I know that coming back to school was a big part of it because I think everyone needed time to get back in the groove of things. But I know I could have done something this week and I didn't and honestly I feel pretty bad that a group of people are not protected and I took the path of least resistance just like the people who won't protect them.

Reciprocity: Overall I think this week taught me to take more initiative and not be so lazy. I felt really guilty by the end of the week and this feeling is something I am going to avoid. In class when we talked about men joining the feminist movement it angered me so much that, that was even in question, however now, as someone not directly associated with the Trans-Community, I feel like its the same situation and that really upsets me.

*Path of Least Resistance discussed in class.

Throwdown

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
March 17, 2010
WST 3015

Throwdown

"You’re carrying my baby and I can't expect anymore than that,” said by Mr. William Schuester to his wife, who he thinks is pregnant; complete male chauvinist or genuinely caring husband? (Glee) This can be debated. FOX’s Glee is a new hit show about a show choir as well as teen pregnancy, oppression, homophobia, martial predicaments and so on. The episode “Throwdown,” featured almost all of this and showed some very different sides of the situations we are used to seeing. The two pregnant or thought to be pregnant women in this episode, Quinn Fabray and Terry Schuester, are a very similar duo as they both challenge the gender roles, maternal attitudes ordinarily portrayed on television, while both harboring ulterior motives.
In our text Women’s Lives, the concept of keeping those around us happy is very forced on us, especially women. “ Magazines features and advice columns coach us on how to catch a men or women and how to keep him or her happy once we have,” (301). Both Quinn and Terry lie to their significant others to stop them from finding out the hurtful truth. Quinn lies to her boyfriend about him being the father to keep him around, while Terry completely fakes her pregnancy to her husband in fear that she is losing him. Ironically enough both of these characters, the boyfriend and the husband, are portrayed as very caring and sincere people, who really should not be lied to. Both men strive to be there for the women, while the women continue their farces.
“You do not have an option!” Said by Quinn, as she makes it clear to her boyfriend that she will be making the decisions about the future of the baby, alone (Glee). Her and Terry both have a majority of the control in their relationships, if not all of it. This is where the gender role reversal takes place; the women have the power. Unfortunately the female characters here only have the power because of complete falsification. Nonetheless we still have women calling the shots and very much keeping their men in place.
Lastly, Quinn and Terry are the exact opposites of what we would expect from soon to be mothers. They both are pretty unpleasant, not very pleased about their situations and are definitely regretting the fact they got pregnant or lied about it. In our society, this grateful, nurturing woman is someone who gets pregnant, whereas these women are conniving and malicious.
This show illustrates many of the opposites of what we expect from the scenarios we are shown. The situation of being pregnant is shown in a very different light, offering another way women might feel about having a baby. It reveals two women who are not very maternal and who break the gender roles.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Making a Home, Making a Living" Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2003. 13. Print.

Glee. DVD. Twenty First Century Fox, 2009.

Service Learning Log Week 3

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
3/5/10
Introduction to Women’s Study

Activism: This entire week I have spend much of my time collecting signatures for our petition and cause. On Tuesday I began tabling and trying to get student walking by. I did not do so well this first day, I was extremely nervous and also had a lot of my mind because of classes and midterms. I tabled again on Thursday however it was a much different experience. I arrived to campus early and went straight to work. I wasn't actually sitting the table very long because I got up and basically turned into one of those student union petition stalkers. I asked every student that happened to pass me and before I knew it I had multiple sheets filled out. I tabled for two hours that day and went on to ask two of my professors from my classes that day if I could present my cause to the class. My anthropology teacher was completely supportive and I got close to 80 more signatures in that class. This week has gotten me so much closer to the campaign and after I was actually a little disappointed by the timing of spring break because I want to keep going.

Reflection: This week in class we discussed a lot about violence against women and specifically rape. In the "Violence Against Women" chapter from our text there is a quick sentence about that violence also very much affects women in the gay community and also transgendered women( Kirk, Gwyn 264). The campaign I am working on is trying to combat these exact things. It upsets me so much to think that an entire group of people, people so prone to violence, abuse, and harassment are not included in UCF's non-discrimination policy, but also that we as humans even need a non-discrimination policy. This chapter talks about all the horrible things that women go through and how the violence is being challenged. Just as people are starting and continuing to stand up against violence towards women, we at UCF are standing up to defend a group that cannot stand up alone and need help ( Kirk, Gwyn 271). Just as women need all people to support them, the transgendered community at UCF needs everyone's help.

Reciprocity: This week has been such an amazing few days for me. I went from bring so shy and slow about our entire campaign on Tuesday, to being so inspired and pumped by Friday. This entire project is constantly on my mind and is teaching me more and more what it means to give of yourself. Honestly I am not very connected to any transgendered people, but this does not mean anything to me. As a feminist I feel like I am gaining more and more skills to be a active and productive member in the movement. I do not think myself or the other volunteers in this project are going to really rest until we have this accomplished.

Works Cited
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 257-300. Print.

Carrie Fights Back

Jen Ackerman
Nina Perez
7 March 2010
WST 3015

Carrie Fights Back

In Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” the singer brings to the life the popular saying “Hell has no fury like a woman scorned” (Congreve). As she tells the narrative of her destroying a presumable ex-boyfriend’s car before he can cheat on yet another woman, Carrie turns the tables of the familiar violent scenes we are usually exposed in to our media and features a woman behind a swinging bat.
This entire song challenges the not only the system of the violence against women, but on a bigger scale, the male, female dynamic when it comes to the a woman standing up for herself. “Slashed a hole in all four tires. Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats,” Carrie does not sit back and let the man that wronged her walk away unpunished and also more importantly she strives to protect the next girl he might possibly cheat on with “I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl” ("Before He Cheats"). I think what Carrie is going for in this song is really an anthem for an independence woman. While the lyrics preach violence against her offender, which isn’t the correct response to anything, Carrie is more so singing about a woman who stood up for herself. The textbook definition of the violence against women extends the term to the cover any violations of “physical, social, and or physiological integrity of another person or group ( Kirk, Gwyn 258). Under this definition cheating on a spouse or partner can be considered violence and if you look at cheating this way than this song is really about a woman standing up for herself against the violence she experienced. I believe that this song is about empowerment and really a blatant power shift for women.
In the text Fight Like A Girl, author Megan Seely explains how women are indeed warriors. She goes on to list all the different contributions women have made for in battles, wars, and even espionage. And at the end Seely brings attention to the fact that so much of women’s heroic and strong moments in history are quietly left out, leaving little girls with no knowledge of how strong we really are. I think this song is a perfect example of what Seely means by “We need to reclaim our history as warriors, respect the fight within us” (186). Carrie is a woman scorned, but more importantly a woman acting. When looking back into history there are countless stories of men who had been wronged and who took their revenge or stood up to the oppression they were facing. This song does that in a very modern way. I do not think that Carrie Underwood is calling for women to use violence against the men or other women who cross them, but more so to stand up to those who treated you wrong.
For feminists, I believe this song represents empowerment. While it is easy to just call the woman in sing song some man-hater, I think people know it represents something much deeper. This song features a woman unwilling to stand idly by, which is a lesson many women and men need to remember when it comes to the feminist movement.








Works Cited
"Before He Cheats." Rec. 15 Nov. 2005. By Carrie Underwood. Arista, 2005.

Congreve, William. The Mourning Bride: a Tragedy. London: Printed at the Chiswick for Whittingham and Arliss, 1815. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 257-300. Print.

Seely, Megan. "Fighting Back." Fight like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. 185-218. Print.

Discussion Leading- "I Am Not a Rapist"

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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. .

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. .

About Me Letter

Dear WST 3015,
My name is Jennifer Ackerman but I pretty much always go by Jen. I am currently a freshman at UCF if you look at my credits, if you don’t look at my credits I’m a sophomore, apparently UCF is the not best with accepting transfer credits. Which is also something about me, I transfered here last year from Emerson College in Boston. I went there thinking I could handle the distance and weather and was wrong about both. I am a huge Florida fan, and by that I mean I love this state. I would like to travel in the future but see myself dying here.
I took this class because I am currently on the hunt for a major or subject that I actually care about. I am currently a film major and see myself using film merely as a media tool for social change and progress. From there I realized I don't actually know much about anything. I thought Women's Studies would be interesting considering the political and social climate we are currently living in.
I like to think of myself as somewhat of an activist. In Boston I was very involved with various Queer issues including adoption rights, Transgender Domestic and Employment rights and of course the ever popular Gay Marriage. Most recently I participated in Washington DC’s Equality March this past October with about 250,000 other supporters. In the past I have done a lot of work raising money for and also protesting the horrible situation in Darfur. I find activism extremely important, and regardless of the cause or issue I really believe its something everyone should take part in at least one. I think the hard thing about activism is because it is such an vast word and includes so much, I don’t think people realize when they are participating. I guess I just find it a very fulfilling and very important part of living in this day and age.
On a very different topic, I am excited to take this class because the different genders and gender roles, gender in itself has always been an interest to me. Realizing I was lesbian at such a young age really shook things up for me before I had any stable grasp of what men and women were all about. I will admit though, I do not get along with most men. Now this is not because I am some man hating lesbian (those lesbians scare me), its honestly just something I have noticed and I would like to understand it more. I think I deep down I never paid much attention to gender roles because I never saw myself following them. I would say my knowledge goes as far as the regular stereotypes, women clean, men work, and so now. I’m thrilled to be learning more and becoming more aware of this topic and others like it.
If I haven’t said it enough I’ll say it again, I am very happy to be in this class and am looking forward to taking on the different challenges of the class. And on that note I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.