Ayvazian and Blanchard

 "Inadvertant behavior of the profoundly inexperienced"

Blanchard states that most of society is naive about racial discrimination due to lack of experience, insight and involvement with people of different races. As long as white people are the majority in all situations, people that are black, or spanish, or whatever other race will feel opressed, and discriminated against.

I think this theory is fascinating because it is so true and it is something I would have never thought of. People may say that they are "not racist" but they are not fully egalitarian unless they have fully befriended people of another race, or have been emersed in their culture. A lot of people that say that they are anti racism are actually blind to a lot of what they have never been introduced to.

Ayvazian talks about becoming allies.

I feel like prior to this class I was one of those naive people, not that I have fully submersed myself into another races culture, so maybe I still cannot be completely egalitatian, but this class turned all of us in it into possible allies. We have learned enough about opression and discrimination and the many forms, and targets, to be able to identify with all kinds of people, and respect them.



In class side note:....Prof Bogad said this wrapped up the whole class and she was right. I feel like it is fitting.

Random Blog #2

How Gender and Society class has altered my thought process and taken over my life:
I watch American Horror Story. (on FX Wednesday nights at ten if you are interested)
I am actually obsessed with this show. It's pretty messed up and I love it for the reason that it is so different then any other show on TV.

Currently the show is on its second season which is completely unrelated to the first season. It takes place in 1964 in an asylum for mentally handicapped people. Most people would want to call it an insane asylum; but its not, because back then people were locked up for all kinds of things that used to be thought of as illnesses that aren't now...
These “Illnesses” include:
*being too sexual
*being sexually attracted to the same gender
strange huh?

PRIOR TO THIS CLASS I would have just been like “Oh yeah I guess history used to be close minded and they realized over time that these are not illnesses.”
Now I'm like “Oh wow. Look how oppressive society used to be.” On top of that I have noticed the gender inequality shown throughout this show between the woman who has been there for years and the new scientist man that is taking over BECAUSE HE IS A MAN. and the racism shown when a man marries a black women and is ACCUSED OF SLUMMING.

I realize this show is fake, and although it is probably very radical, it still shows how oppressive america was...and not even that long ago.
1. A women is locked up for enjoying sex. —sex positivity
2. A women is locked up for being a lesbian. —sexual orientation
3. A man is locked up for chronic masterbation. —sex positivity
4. The nun is overruled by a male scientist. —Gender inequality
5. Racism towards a spanish woman. —Race inequality
6. Racism towards the white man marrying black woman. —Race inequality
and those are all of what I thought of just off the top of my head.
Yes this show sounds racy and very sexual...and it is. don't judge me. Its amazing. (and adam lavigne is in it =])
and if it helps to judge the producers (or directors?) less...they are the same ppl who do The Office too.(weird)

SO I looked for a link to prove the connections I have made to this class...and actually for a clip that proves that people including the cast DO NOT THINK THIS WAY...this is a behind the scene/ cast interviews clip in which nobody really comments on the inequality and societal behavior that is brought to attention throughout the series...I guess only a gender and society class student would realize these things...

But here is a clip from the show of what they do to a lesbian to “cure” her....pretty messed up.
http://vimeo.com/53197844

IN CLASS DISCUSSION TOPICS: how awesome this show is.=]

Croteau Media and Ideology Connections

I was having a hard time following this piece, Media and Ideology at first, but then I realized it was describing a really basic concept that most of us have already come to acknowledge; which is medias role in society and how it manipulates people into thinking one way or another about people, objects, and theories.

When I read this I instantly thought about Cinderella ate my Daughter  and how children and parent's   ideology are targeted into being gender specific. Toy companies want parents to think that boys and girls NEED different color toys, which then makes children think that they actually do NEED these different color toys, or that boys and girls cannot play with the same toys because they are made specifically for one gender.
It also makes me think of how Disney makes girls want to be like the princesses. A little girls( or boys) ideology becomes that they want to be a princess and they need a prince.

I also related it to the reading we covered, What Are Little Boys Made Of? because that reading not only shows different ideology of psychiatrists, (some saying boys actions are biological, and some saying it is cultural) but how the media and culture affects boys and their ideology or values and beliefs. When I think of Kimmels article I also think automatically of the film I saw, The Bro Code and all of the examples of media affecting societal beliefs.  While this reading states that as a whole, we media consumers understand that television families are not realistic, we still follow examples, fads, and values shown on TV, which was proven through the film and reading I just mentioned.
One example that The Bro Code showed, which I am sure I will not be the only one mentioning is, reality TV.


While trying to look up good links to how unrealistic shows still influence society, I came across an article that gives some inside scoop into reality TV. Reality TV isn't Real and some people argue that shows like Jersey Shore are very real, and that those realistic shows influence peoples ideology more then the ones that television consumers outright admit are fake. But to an extent we all know that reality shows are staged and yet they still influence us.

Media is an easy way to influence peoples ideology so, like this reading mentioned politicians especially like to use it as a weapon. That is not the extent of media ideology. As Cinderella Ate my Daughter, and What Little Boys Are Made of show, is that media influences values and beliefs in all aspects, including violence, play, and appearance.

Class Discussion : Should we have read this piece before reading Cinderella Ate My Daughter?

Election 2012

Nothing very exciting happened on Election Day for me. I didn't vote because I realize that even though i have that "right" in the long run it doesn't matter and the electoral college can decide whatever they want. I did go to a public area but there were no loud political people yelling or arguing, and the voting hadnt been completed yet so nothing was really going on.

Bobby and I decided to watch the election at a restaurant and were surprised to find the bar and bar area full so we had to sit in the dinning area. We could still see all 7 TV's. Four of which were showing the news; both fox and nbc 10. 1 Showing sports, and 2 showing keno.
It's safe to say that everyone was engrossed in the news and the waitress did say that it was very busy for a Tuesday but there was nothing exciting going on.

What was interesting was going back home and listening  to bobby and his mother fight over who they wanted to win. Although it was interesting, it was nothing to do with equality or gender just social security.

Although I did what was asked of me, for me this election did not connect back to class like it has for other people.

Sex Positive Extended Comments

 Sex Positivve Extended Comments: Noelle's Blog

I want to do an extended comments on Noelle's blog because she actually applied the readings "Sex Positive Feminism" and "8 Ways To Be Positive Your Sex Positive" to her own life and she is the only one so far who opened up like that. I think when she was in high school neither her or her friends were "sex positive" because they both judged sex, sexuality, and even her lack of sexuality. I feel like teenagers don't know enough about sex or being sexual to NOT judge it or each other. When people are uncertain of thing they tend to judge it.


I really enjoyed the clip Noelle added because I had a teacher (surprisingly) in high school who used to rave about all the good health benefits of having sex. He was the only one who ever pointed that out to students and I feel like if administration knew about it he would have gotten into trouble.But like I said, students don't know about sex enough to not judge it, so if they are going to scare students with diseases and being labelled for doing it openly, then why not give them knowledge of the good that comes from it also.

Things we should discuss in class:
-The concept of slut shaming because I feel like this type of negativity towards sex is the most popular and also judging peoples turn-ons which is only not as popular because it is kept more on the down low then "sluttiness".

Random Post- My Aunt Mia

My grandparents and one out of my fathers three brothers with his wife and son and daughter moved to Florida when I was very young. We only went up to visit them twice before I was even 12 years old, and they have all come to see us maybe three or four times. My Uncle Mike was always well kept.He dyed his hair, got manicures(without color) and all my family has always busted his balls. Last Christmas my Uncle Mike called my other two uncles (not my father) to tell them that they were going to come up for Christmas and to be prepared because at home he dressed as a woman and he wanted to come up as herself.
He never called my dad.
My father and my Uncle Mike NEVER agree on anything. Expecially politics. I think my Uncle was most scared of his opinion because he was always very close minded towards him and it was his way or no way.
My dad was mad when he found out and my uncle didnt tell him and also shocked because how does this happen to an "italian man" with a wife and kids.
My Aunt Mia chickened out of coming to visit.
She has been more and more open to who she is lately, even making a facebook of her new self and adding old friends from high school and Rhode Island.
My father got so many questions about her from his friends and people he sees everyday. Working in the community they grew up in, I even got questions about it. My dad always turned it into a joke though. My dad even got a birthday card from his sister and got very angry about it, thinking that my aunt was just busting his balls.
I didn't think it was funny, but at first I was pretty mad that she did that to her family. My cousin Zack got into fights at school over it, and what must her wife think about it?
Then they all came to visit over the summer. They broke the news that they were looking for a house back in Rhode Island. My Aunt Mitzy kept telling us how "her and I think its best if" and "She wants this, " and I remember thinking why does my cousin Ashley have so much say in this? and it took me fifteen minutes of conversation to realize she meant my new Aunt.
We went out in public with them and my dad was very uncomfortable, both of my Uncles were away in Kawait so they didn't see them but I know one of my Uncles refuses to talk about it with his wife and two young daughters.

I decided to write about this because last night I received a text from my father saying that "Uncle Mike sold his house in Florida" ......which means she is moving here. The second text was "You ladies can all get together and do your nails."

Its hard to tell my father that he is being close minded when he grew up with all brothers and knew one thing his whole life. I know that this whole situation just makes him uncomfortable and making jokes is his way of handling it, but I also now know that it is wrong.
I think being in class we learn the what is right and wrong about dealing with gender issues and such but applying it to your own life and family is harder then a person you did not know prior.

I am accepting it, but I know my father still hasn't. I still struggle with if i am going to correct him or tell him he is being innapropriate. I want to let him deal with it in his own way because I know when they move here he will come around, but at the same time I feel like it is my responsibility to correct him.

Did Cinderella Eat My Daughter?-Reflection

Although I had Disney Princess related toys, and movies, and pink objects I do not think that those factors define me. My girl best friend called me a tom boy when I was younger, and my favorite color was blue. Even though boys and girls didn't play with the same toys that didn't prevent me and they boy who lived upstairs from playing cops and robbers and tag and other ("gender neutral") games. Yet, I played barbies and Bratz with my sister, and my parents loved to watch Disney movies with us.

(I actually hated all of the princess movies because of the vilans, and thoroughly enjoyed the animal based Disney movies, like Fox and the Hound.)

It wasn't Disney or Mattel that brainwashed me into wanting to be girly or feminine or "pretty". It was my dads motivation of "look good, feel good" and also, to "take care of yourself, you don't need a man to take care of you" that pushed me forward into the type of woman I portray myself as. These two goals that my dad set for me were what made me the person I am, not Cinderella.  

I played with princesses and I like to dress up and look pretty, but that doesn't mean that I need a prince to save me and take care of me or that I am better then everyone else because there can only be one princess. I even wore a yellow dress to my junior prom to make myself feel like Belle, but that does not define me.

Since I don't fall into a spell cast by Disney Princess toys, maybe it was Barbie that influenced me so much. Pretty, independent, working. Realistically though, as a kid, I didn't even know of Barbies many jobs, or think that it was or wasn't strange that she worked and wasn't married. She was just a toy that I liked to change outfits on. 

I can see how Peggy translates these toys and phases into being gender specific, how they make girls care about their appearances, and how they portray relationships but I also think that at a young age a toy is a toy and that although it may impact a child, it can be just a phase. If a parent is careful or mindful of it then they will teach their children the important values or morals that may be related to a toy, and the child may not even recognize that they are being targeted to "reproduce" ...like the girls with the babydolls that Peggy mentions, or whatever else that may be read into a product.

As far as the concern over pink toys, I look at it like who cares. Even the auther clarifies that it is a way for companies to double sales by offering boy colors and girl colors. We are never going to convince the world not to see pink as a girl color and blue as a boy color, but that wont prevent girls like me from liking blue, and some boys from liking pink. My little sister currently only wears black and purple. The problem is the parents who are not doing enough to teach their children not to read too much into these things, that if they see a boy riding a pink bicycle it is ok, and that if dressing up makes them feel pretty then do it but dont ever try and alter your appaerances (to lose wieght etc) 

The New York Times wrote this,

"The second wave of feminism deconstructed the Sleeping Beauty narrative and other princess myths as a form of hypnotism, designed to seduce women into marriage and passivity, and structured to teach them that their real lives only began with the kiss of a prince. Even today, I meet right-on feminist moms horrified at the enduring appeal of this story to their egalitarian-raised kindergartners: Why, they ask me, is my daughter obsessed with being a princess?

I would tell them not to worry: Second-wave feminists have it wrong. If you look closely, the princess archetype is not about passivity and decorativeness: It is about power and the recognition of the true self. Little girls are obsessed with princesses for the same reason little boys are obsessed with action heroes What other female role model can issue a sentence and have the world at her feet? What other female figure can command an army, break open a treasury, or even, as in images of Kate Middleton or of Diana Spencer, simply bestow, with her presence, a sense of magic, excitement and healing?What girl would not be drawn to such an archetype, given how few other female role models you can say that about in our popular culture?"

New York Times

As far as this reading goes...and Class Discussions may go...

- I feel that wanting to be pretty or dress up is not a bad thing.

-While stories and movies may have hidden agendas, the toy industry does not and only wants money.

-Gender specific toys suck, but if kids want to play together they will.

-good parenting=not Disney brainwashed children.

PS. Im the prince and Bobby is the princess in our fairytale =]