Response to Mario Week 6

This is really exciting, I often read a text book and don't really think about the author as much as I would think about the author of a different book such as a novel. Maybe it will help your daughter knowing a professor as she goes to school, and maybe she can take the course with Julia Wood and become an activist herself. I really enjoyed this book as well- it was interesting and informative, and the perfect fit to a Gender Studies course.

Response To Chris Week 6

I agree with you, it's something that negatively effects both women and men. Women are expected to bake and cook, putting them in a submissive role in which they are expected to cater to other peoples needs. Men, on the other hand, are ridiculed when they bake or cook, or people don't believe that the man made the cake ( like in your case. ) It's like when people find out a guy can cook all of a sudden its "wow, what a great catch." and things like that. The masculinity issue plays a huge factor in this, but why is baking such a feminine thing? Men grill while women bake? Not in all houses. I wonder what we can do to help reverse these stereotypes that are deeply rooted into our society?

Eureka Moment WEEK 6

So today was a really long day at camp, particularly because of this one child. It is the same one I referenced last week whose father drives him to camp. While he threw a temper tantrum and stomped his feet, the other counselors were saying how they dont know what goes on at home, and where is his mother to teach him not to act this way? At that moment I had a eureka moment. Not because any one said anything mean, but because I noticed something that we all have embedded into our minds. I realized that we demonize mothers who work. I realized that when I was little, I knew that because my mom worked full time while the other children's mothers were at home all day and there to pick them up at the end of the day, I was often left out of playdates because my mom was not as involved in things such as the PTA, even though she put in a lot of time, the other mothers were not as likely to interact with her or ask for a play date. Maybe they were envious that she was out of the house, or maybe they thought she should be at home with me? I am really happy my mother worked when I was younger because now that I am becoming an adult she is able to work part-time or not at all if she choses, and I can spend even more time with her. She can take me out to lunch when I am down at college, she can get away, and she can enjoy having an "empty nest." Back to the mother of my campers who doesn't come to camp because she is working- i feel as though she must do everything she possibly can to see her children at the end of the day, but the way their fcamily dynamic is at this moment is that she needs to work during those hours. In conclusion, my eureka moment for this week is that women who are not as available to spend every day with their kids may sometimes be looked at as cold or not as dedicated to their families, however, it is just the way their family is and that should be easier accepted into society.

Response to Maria

I feel like most girls our age are having trouble finding a "healthy" relationship... We are at such a strange point in our lives where relationships hold a lot more potential than they may have when we were 14...16... even 18... The pressure to get a job, move out of our parents houses, and eventually enter a serious relationship is building, and maybe you need to wonder if being shy is simply a character trait, or are you really fulfilling the expected submissive traits of a woman. As for being afraid of saying something "stupid"...that's definitely part of your personality and if something "stupid" comes out I'm sure its not really stupid and that if the person you are talking to dislikes that comment... forget them! be confident, youre perfect exactly the way you are. dont change for anyone. but dont think that you wont find a healthy relationship judging by who you've met so far- you'll find some one who enjoys you for you and that'll when your wall will come down

Response to Ilia

It was really interesting to learn about the men's movements. I find it great because a lot of the people in our class (including me) were so surprised to read about these different movements, and that's interesting that the movements havent gained the kind of popularity that women's movements have. I wonder if that's because people are less likely to take men's movements seriously. I know I found myself saying on the Blackboard discussion how I didn't think certain men's movements would have enough to say considering men's already high up positions in society, however, mabye I was jumping to a conclusion too fast without listening to their potential problems.

Response to Chris P

I agree with the fact that the whole idea of gender roles really changes when we start to study it in depth. I think it will be a long time before these roles change or before we even see a movement towards change, however, I think the first step in making less of a gap between men and womens expectations will be recognizing that there is a lot more to the equation than playing games, being strong, or being gentle. Learning about gender differences and what expectations society has might make it easier for people like us to educate others about what they can do to work on the differences embedded into our minds.

Eureka Moment Week 5

Camp started for me this week as an assistant counselor. I am working with 3 year olds, they're really adorable. This setting creates endless Erueka moments for me because the children are constantly doing things that either make or break the Gender stereotype roles that it is obvious that their parents do not try to avoid at all. What specifically struck me is the way almost all mommy's are available to pick up their children and drop them off, that the classroom is full of mommys at the beginning of the day, and it's no suprise that the children rarely cry for "daddy" while theyre too busy worrying about "mommy" leaving them in the new, strange, but exciting enviornment we create for them at camp. One thing that stands out to me is a father who has taken the path of caring for the children while their mother works. This stands out because at times he is the only male in the building and dropping the kids off for him seems a little uncomfortable, like he is embaressed to do so. I also notice the difference in how the children react to saying "good-bye" to him in the morning, it is as if it is more casual to say good - bye to Daddy than it is for mommy. These kids rarely ask for their mothers, as well. I think it is wonderful that at least one of the parents is able to spend the day with the children, and I admit that I do not know their exact situation, however, there is no denying the certain thoughts and side conversations that take place at times when he's the only 'daddy' in a classroom full of cries for 'mommy.'

Responses

Response Week 4

 

Kristen Said:

 

So my eureka moment came to me when I though about how I really don't have that many male friends. I use to be one of those girls who had guy and girl friends and was equally close with them. Then I looked at my younger sister who has like all guy friends and only 1 close female friend. I realized she has so many guy fiends because all the girls don't like her because she is friends with these guys. I was equal with my friends where she is one of the girls who the guys love to hang out with But their girl friends hate. Haha! So my moment is this....girls and guys can be friends BUT can you have both??? This is the million $$ question.

 

My Response:

 

Wow, you know what, I dont have guy friends anymore either! Haha. I mean, I know that having a boyfriend makes a big difference with that in my life- because we spend so much time together that having close guy friends just doesn't really feel normal. I've always been like that though- I never had really close guy friends, maybe one or two that are still around. I can see that girls that are surrounded by boys might have a little stigma attached to them- maybe that they are different, that they dont like the same things girls like. I'm not sure, but I don't blame your sister because friendship with girls often involves a lot of emotional connections that do take a lot to keep together without creating fights and drama, in my experiences, friendship with guys have less strings attached because they hold different things as important.

 

Response Week 3

 

Ashley Said:                                             

 

The other day I was watching TV in my living room and I definitely had a Eureka Moment. I was watching Sister Sister re-runs on ABC Family. This particular episode really stood out. The episode was about how girls aren't allowed to play certain sports in high school. The two main characters (Tia and Tamara) really loved to ice skate and play hockey. The boys on the school hockey team laughed at them when they said they wanted to try out because they are girls. The boys of the team made remarks such as "you're a girl, this is a mans sport", or "you're going to cry when you break your nail", or finally "you're not tough enough to play because you're a girl". After hearing this, Tia and Tamara dressed as guys and went to the hockey team try outs and really showed the guys who made those comments how good they were. When they took off their hockey masks and when the guys saw the girls they were in complete shock. This is a really good example of gender in sports. I hate the fact that some guys feel that girls aren't strong enough to play on the same team as them. I've played sports my whole life and I'm very competitive. I've played against guys and I've beaten them. I don't think that gender should matter in sports because it doesn't matter if you're male or female, it matters how much passion and love you have for the game.

 

My Response:

 

I love that show! When is it on?
This is a great example of the different sexes in sports and how females are rarely taken seriously. I like how the girls proved the boys room- and that is good because it is a show directed toward younger people and sets a good model for future teens. There are a lot of examples of this in television and movies- however- I don't think sports have become as integrated in real life.

Eureka Moment Week # 4

I couldn't sleep- I saw a comercial that I couldn't help but come on to my blog and my week's Eureka moment. It was for orange juice. It's a new Tropicana version that is less calories and less sugar, and the woman who is obviously a perfectly fit and sexified house wife is overjoyed and dancing because of how excited she is to have tasted this new orange juice. Yes- I'm on a diet- so the new 50% "healthier" "Trop50" does make me happy, assuming it doesn't taste like artificial sweetner. But, I wouldn't exactly say that I feel like picking up a spoon and singing in to it like I have no other more important things to do like have a career? Also, this commercial objectifies women because the actress used is beautiful, blonde, and parched so she needs to run to the fridge in order to be saved by something, even if it is orange juice. She is wearing heels and a very nice outfit, so maybe she is supposed to be coming home from a long day at work- but judging by the brightness of the kitchen it doesn't seem like it's supposed to be after a long day of work. Her sexual dancing is completely irrelevant to the fact that its a commercial for orange juice. They even take it as far as for her to be doing a split at the end- and then show her hand reaching up and putting the glass on the counter, as if we cannot see what happens next.
And if I wasn't convinced enough with the TV down low so I couldn't hear the song choice... when I googled the commercial I found that these are the words associated with coming into the kitchen and finding low calorie OJ:

(song lyrics):"Well she's all you'd ever want,She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner.Well she always knows her place.She's got style, she's got grace, She's a winner.She's a Lady. Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady."
(announcer):"Taste the goodness, Feel the difference"

Check the video out, and let me know what you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GzVpG3jfR4

PS- This was shown on late night Home and Garden Television (HGTV)

Eureka Moment # 3

This week, I have had so many Eureka moments that I just can't figure out what to post! Last Sunday, I had a BBQ with some friends and realized something new about myself- that I hadn't really paid attention to. I was being accomidating, which I feel a host should do when they have people over. I was running around, making sure everyone had a beverage or enough food, and everyone was saying "Wow, you are the best house wife!" or "Wow, you're really a great home maker" and comments like that. This is when I realized- am I just going to fulfill society's desire for me to fit the mold of a house wife? Honestly, when I think about where I will be in 10-15 years, I do see myself being able to live comfortably at home with my children, taking care of them, being there for them when they need me if they're sick, having trouble in school, I want to be able to be there for them when something is wrong. I see myself cooking dinner for my boyfriend Walter (...husband) who would come home from working and making enough to support us. But what I'm curious about is if my desire to do so is embedded in me through what pressure society has put on me. Growing up, my mom was a teacher in NYC which is about an hour commute from my house, so while she had off on the summers, I was home alone after school for about an hour an a half from the time that I was really young. So I think that when I think about my child hood, I sometimes wished my mom didn't have to work when I was so young because I know it made her sad and I felt lonely at times. So, having the financial stability to be a "stay at home mom" to me would be my desired life path. I'm not saying that I don't want to have a successful career- I just know that when I have my family I would like to dedicate myself to that as much as possible. Is this something that I desire or something that society has pushed on me as the best choice?