Women and Gender assignment

One of my assignments for my class Women and Gender Studies was so interesting, I just had to post it.  The assignment was to analyze a "youtube" video for content concerning how women are portrayed in the media.

After searching for an appropriate video, I came across this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHN6Sfj5MMQ

“Hgwhiteknight” compiled a montage of 96 advertisements from around the world portraying women; each of these advertisements focuses on at least one part of a woman as part (or the whole) of the advertisement.  Many of them portray the woman as dead or dying; just before rape, in the act of rape, or just after rape; having been beaten or in the act of being beaten; drug use; too fat or too skinny; and as being controlled by a video game controller. 

In 17, I am unable to tell what product is being advertised.

In 12, the product is specifically for men.

In 22, the product is something usually for men, or being marketed toward men (not including the previous items).

In  8,the Plot is rape (about to happen, happening, or just finished)

In 4, the product promises to make the woman more attractive

In 4, the ad suggests that without the product, women are dumb and useless

In 7, the ad uses women as a tool in one way or another

In 3, the entire purpose is how thin the woman is (too skinny).

In 3 is shown augmentation for beauty (2 while wearing evening gowns)

In 4, the model is or looks pre-pubescent

In 8 is the act or suggestion of a blow job

In 13 is the act of violence toward women, or a woman having been beaten

One shows the act of bestiality

In 18, death is used to sell a product

In 5, bondage is used

In 20, consensual sex is shown or suggested, or the model is in a position to suggest that she is ready to have sex.

Food Preparers and Music Performers

Just a thought this morning:

There is a fundamental difference in how a chef approaches food preparation and how a baker does so; similar in nature to the fundamental difference in how a Jazz musician approaches the performance and how a concert musician does so.

In this simile, the chef is comparable to the jazz musician; the baker to the concert musician.

A chef will find a recipe that works, play with it, add a spice, take away an ingredient, and mix it up.  A jazz musician will find a tune that works, play with it, add a note, drop a chord, and mix it up.  The chef will taste the food to see if it continues to work together.  The chef will continue to re-work it until the chef is happy with it.  When the customer gives feedback, the chef continues with what works, and changes what doesn't.

The baker, on the other hand, must follow the recipe exactly.  A pinch too much salt, a bit too little flour, and the entire recipe tastes different, usually for the worse.  A baker cannot just add more cinnamon half-way through the baking process, the baker must be precise for the finished product to taste right.

A jazz musician can liven up the tune while on stage.  The jazz player can change something on a whim, and the other players barely bat an eye; they pick right up and change their parts right along with the other player; this is generally considered an attribute.  Each player complements the playing of all of the other players.

A concert musician must follow the exact notes in the score, at exactly the right time.  If a player misses one note, the entire audience can hear it.  If a concert musician has the audacity to suggest a different chord here or a movement there, that musician is probably already looking for a new position.

No moral to the story; no lesson to be learned, just some random thoughts.

Laura

On "Making a good first impression"

In the midst of my busy day packed with housework, cooking, and studying, I occasionally do something less than productive.  Today, I started off by reading some Yahoo news, and came across this little gem: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/making-good-first-impression-153300242.html

Now, I'm not out looking for a job or anything, but I do like to see what the latest "expert" advice is on etiquette, charm, and class.  This article had a mixture of "Yeah, ok, that makes sense," and "Um--no."

1) Your feet do the talking Yes, it is true that footwear can say a lot about you as a person, and your mood of the day.  The shoes can make or break an outfit.  I am out and about in the world quite a bit (despite my being chained to my computer with school work), and I see a plethora of differing styles of "fashion" people have dared step out in public wearing.  I have even thought about taking pictures and starting a blog entitled, "You wore what?!" or "What were you thinking?"

Flip-flops belong on the beach (or, you know, your local politician), not "complimenting" an otherwise well-planned outfit.  Also, heels do not belong with a tube top (yes, people still wear those) and Daisy-Dukes.  Oh, and by-the-way, we can tell when you bought that pair of boots at W@l*M@rt.

Along with the advice about footwear, I would add in a bit about your watch.  I have always heard that people judge you most by your shoes and your watch.  This advice goes along with the occasion just as much as the footwear advice.  Don't wear your Tag-Heuer to your local water park, but don't wear your Swatch to an interview, either.

2) Cosmetic powers I admit, a little polishing can do a world of good, but (as the article says) don't go overboard.  I am amazed whenever I see someone with "tarantula eyes" that still expects to be taken seriously.  Personally, I don't wear make-up.  I think I'm attractive and so does my husband.  No one else needs to at this point.  But if I were headed out to an interview, you bet I would put on a bit of powder to polish the look!

That being said, did you notice who funded that "research" concerning the affects of a little blush and eye shadow?

3) Grin and bear it At first, I thought this was going to be all about putting on a smile to get the job (would have been better advice); alas, this advice was all about whitening and straightening your teeth.  Here again, I advise noticing just exactly who funded the "research" behind this little tidbit.

I have nothing against white and straight teeth, but just before a job interview is not the time to start thinking about that.  If you have a true dental problem, by all means, think about getting it fixed.  But we live in a world with too many fakes out there, we need more real people.  I do not have the most brilliant white teeth, nor do I have ruler-straight teeth.  Quite frankly, I don't feel the need to "fix" either, even if I were looking for a job.

4) The clothes make the woman This segment is all about how you should wear a skirt-suit.  I agree, a skirt-suit is better suited for many professional positions, but not all.  And just as a quick aside here, who says this article is specifically for women?  Some men out there might be reading this type of thing, too.  Anyway, back to my point: some positions are better suited to a lovely pant-suit as opposed to a skirt-suit.  It all depends on the personality of the woman, the type of work she does, and the people she works around.

For instance, an architect frequently on the construction site might feel more comfortable in a lovely pair of flat shoes (or a short heel) and a nice (but not too nice) pant suit as opposed to a set of 3" heels and a just-above-the-knee skirt suit.  That's not to say that same woman would not prefer to wear the second outfit to a meeting in a board-room (or an interview).  As I said, it all depends.

For the more masculine reader, the same advice applies:  A suit and tie ensemble might be better suited to the board room meeting than the architectural meeting at the construction site.  For the second type of meeting, I recommend a nice pair of blue-jeans, work boots (wolverines or redwings) a plain t-shirt under a long-sleeved chambray, and a hard-hat.  But that's just me.

5) Take up space I actually thought this one was going to be advice on how to gain weight or slouch, but I actually agree with the advice given in this segment: stand up tall, practice good posture, etc.

This reminds me of last November when my husband and I went to a local polling place to vote.  After voting, he was asked a few questions in front of a camera for a documentary (I wonder how that is going?).  Anyway, while he was on camera, I was standing off to the side, staying out of the picture, and pretty much minding my own business.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small group of (what I think were) tourists who seemed to be speaking an Asian language.  They were taking pictures and giggling amongst themselves.

Assuming they were tourists, I chalked it up to a bit of cultural gap, and didn't think much of it, until I noticed they were pointing at, laughing at, and taking pictures of me.  I always practice good posture, but this made me stand up straighter, take a deep breath (the whole "count to ten" thing) and purposely ignore them.  Seriously, what else was I going to do?  I suppose they thought the good posture was hilarious because they started laughing again, harder this time.  They were still laughing at me when my husband finished and we left the area.

Bad manners from others is no excuse for poor posture or manners from me.

A Possible Alternative

I just finished reading this article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-discover-childrens-cells-living-in-mothers-brain

"Scientists Discover Children's Cells Living In Mothers Brains" by Robert Martone.

The article describes how cells are transmitted between mother and child in utero; some of mother's cells migrate to fetus, some of fetus' cells migrate to mother.

This is not an uncommon occurrence, and happens in the animal world as well as in humans.

The connection Mr. Martone makes is that these cells can help or hinder the growth of certain diseases: cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis are all mentioned.  Mr. Martone draws the conclusion that women with cancer and Alzheimer's disease somehow allowed less microchimeric cells into their bodies than the average woman without cancer and Alzheimer's.  On the other side of the coin, it is thought that the presence of the microchimeric cells somehow contributed to the growth of Multiple Sclerosis.

I offer a contrary alternative to these conclusions.  Don't get me wrong, I am not offering myself as an expert in the field, just a differing opinion.

It is possible that when the microchimeric cells are faced with cancer and Alzheimer's cells, that they get used up, and are disposed as waste.  In my (laymans) way of thinking, I picture it like using a paper towel.  It is very useful, it has done it's job, but now it is nothing more than waste.  Thus, when the microchimeric cell has finished it's usefulness, it is thrown away, and that would be why the researchers failed to find as many as they may have expected.  In my hypothesis, the cancer and Alzheimer's in these cases were just more of a mess than the body had microchimeric cells (paper towels) to clean up with.

As for the case of the Multiple Sclerosis: the article stated that those with MS had more microchimeric cells than the average person without MS.  Perhaps the MS cells were not the kind the microchimeric cells could clean up.  Of course, it is possible that Mr. Martone was correct in the conclusion that microchimeric cells might somehow assist the MS cells in their growth.  Or, it might be that the microchimeric cells inhibited some other type of cell and the unintended byproduct of that inhibition was the growth of MS cells.

For now, we do not know, but this was a fascinating article anyway

Laura

The Cultural Defense

As part of my required reading for one of my courses, I read “When in Rome” by Nina Schuyler (1997) which describes an alarming trend in criminal defense concerning immigrants from other countries.  Defense attorneys are using the “Cultural Defense” to argue that since the person in question was raised in a different culture, that the individual should not have to be held accountable for breaking the law.

One of the examples given is that a mother left an infant in the care of a nine-year-old; the infant died.  “Charged with involuntary manslaughter, the mother argued that the childcare norms of the [culture from which she was raised] are different from those of the [current culture in which she lives]…” (Moulder, 2000: 15).

Another example was concerning the marriage of under-age girls (13 and 14) to adult men (28 and 34, respectively) on the basis of religious practices.  The defense in this case was that “The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion…They should be allowed to practice their religion in this country,” (Moulder, 2000: 14).  Let me see—that defense doesn’t work for the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in regards to their religious practice of polygamy, why should it work for this family?

Since this is such a problem in certain areas, maybe we should look at the process of immigration a little differently.  Maybe we should provide each adult immigrant with a pamphlet on our laws here as a country, possibly written in their native language, just to be sure they can read it.  Additionally (to make sure to not exclude the illiterate immigrants), a person with legal knowledge should be available to answer the questions such immigrants have, especially in the early years in their new homes. 

All of this would help to prevent the lag in what was acceptable in the previous culture and what is acceptable in their new culture, before these people commit a crime.  After all, if they decided to come here, they should accept their new culture.  I’m not saying they need to completely assimilate: they should be allowed to continue their religion, food preparation, language, etc., but such activities should not be allowed if they conflict with the law.

It is not ok to “mercy kill” your sister/ daughter because you think she is immoral for kissing her boyfriend.

It is not ok to force women to completely cover their bodies when outside the home.

It is not ok to keep your daughters home from school because you feel an education will lead them away from whatever religious upbringing you want them to attain.

It is not ok to kill your son because you suspect him of participating in homosexual activities.

We are a culture that holds dear the ideal of equality of all persons. We need to focus on attaining that ideal.

Starting a new semester

This week has heralded the start of a new semester for me, complete with four courses, comprising the required 12 credit hours to make me a full-time student!

Yay!

This has been quite the busy week, and it is only the end of Wednesday.

With most courses up until this time, I expect the first week to be filled with the preliminary organization tasks (read and print the syllabus, organize my folders on my thumb drive, tabulate my textbooks, and buy a new pack of highlighters, etc).  However, it seems I have chosen graduate courses for this semester: they require an actual assignment to be completed the first week (not just the expected "introduction" on the discussion board or email to the instructor).

By the way, in case you hadn't picked up on this little detail from my writings above, I am taking all of my courses online.  I highly recommend taking most of your college/ university courses online, with a few exceptions.  For me, those exceptions include mathematics courses (calculus, etc.) and science courses (biology, chemistry, etc.).  Oh, and that pesky communications course that requires you to speak in front of an audience of so many members.  I tried to do that one online, but I just didn't have access to an audience of at least 50 people at my beck and call, just waiting to hear me speak (and be video-taped for proof) on four separate occasions...Gee, I thought everyone had that kind of access! (lol)

Anyway, for those waiting on the edge of your seats waiting to know: I am taking "Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies" with professor McGonigal, "Social Problems" with professor Johnson, "Advanced Sociological Research" with professor Brinker, and "Grant Proposal Development" with professor Campbell.

I dropped the nutrition course I was going to take (yes, that would have meant 5 courses this semester) because I found that it wasn't going to be significantly different than the previous health and nutrition course I already passed.  I was hoping to find something more specific, but I suppose googling everything will have to do.

Back to the grind-stone...I have several chapters to read, powerpoints to watch/listen to, and a video presentation to watch...all before next week.

I love school!
;)

How I View "15 Things"

            I ran across this article: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/15-things-you-can-do-to-be-your-best-self-today/ by Nico Lang, to which I decided to add my own little interpretation.

1) “Try to have conversations with people you casually meet in everyday life.”

Actually, I do this every time I go out: I use people’s names when I speak to them, I smile, and I bid them “good day.” 

2) “Remind people in your life how much they love you and mean to you.”

I make sure to give my husband and children lots of love every day.  We give each other hugs, tell each other “I love you,” and frequently do little things to show love.  We have funny little words we use to tell each other we love each other, such as “bunkies,” and “gobs.”

3) “Text people back right away.”

Unless I’m driving, I text people back right away.  I feel that if that person has taken the time to attempt to contact me that I should respect them enough to respond.  It really doesn’t take that much effort, but that person might be waiting on my response.

4) “Ask yourself how you can be a better friend to people or better support them.”

At some point, everyone feels they are doing their best, but there is another point where everyone feels they cannot do any worse.  Hopefully, we can find a happy medium somewhere.  If we love our friends, and if our friends love us, we will all appreciate each other and forgive our mistakes.  If one of your friends is doing something you would like stopped (or if you would like that friend to do something) you really need to discuss it with that person.  Only communication will help in this situation.  You never know—that thing that has been driving you nuts might actually turn out to make sense, and you’ll learn to love it.

5) “Get up early.”

Well, I get up at 2 am most mornings.

6) “Smile more and laugh more.”

I smile when I feel happy, I laugh when there is something funny.  I frown when I am sad, and I cry when I am very sad.  I run the gamut of feelings.  I allow myself to feel, I allow myself the luxury of understanding my own feelings.  I think it is very sad that many people do not even know how they feel.  Many people don’t allow themselves to feel anything “negative.”  I think this is a mistake.  You cannot learn to fix whatever is “negative” if you don’t even know when you have those feelings.

7) “Do something you didn’t think you could or always wanted to do.”

I am studying Sociology at University, and will graduate by the end of Spring 2014 :D

8) “Learn how to apologize.”

I have to say, this one was difficult for me.  Learning to accept when I have made a mistake, learning to forgive myself, and learning to ask for forgiveness has been a process.  Sometimes I apologize without accepting my own apology.  Sigh.  We all have room for improvement.

9) “Let go of our anger, envy, and hatred.”

Wow—this one can be difficult as well.  There are times when I can be very angry, and not want to let it go for a while.  Sometimes I get angry that I feel anger.  Now *that* can be a vicious circle!

10) “Don’t use your iPod all the time.”

From this, I figure Ms. Lang includes all music playing devices: these can include MP3’s, portable CD players, or even (for those old schoolers) walkmen.  Also, from her text it is clear that Ms. Lang is advising all to listen to the natural sounds surrounding them. 

To this sentiment, I cannot add anything more.

11) “Complain less and make fewer excuses for yourself.”

Well, this assumes that the reader frequently complains, and makes excuses—that may be true, but should not be assumed.

That being said, those who do complain just might need to learn to appreciate more.  Also, those people might need to learn to accept responsibility.

From me, “appreciate the beauty around you, accept the responsibility that is yours, release responsibility for what is not yours.”

12) “Do something nice for someone else—the kind of favor you might not see returned.”

If you only do things for people because you will get a favor in return, you are missing out on many opportunities in life.  When you do something for the sheer purpose that it needs to be done (even without gaining recognition for it), you get a satisfaction you could never gain by only doing things with the purpose of a reward.

13) “Give someone a completely unsolicited compliment.”

I have always felt that the compliment doesn’t mean as much if I had to ask for it.  If the compliment wasn’t going to be given freely, I probably didn’t deserve it.

14) “Do something completely unexpected or spontaneous.”

Tattoos are cool ;)

15) “Try something new—just for the experience.”

Does blogging count?  I’m sure you can tell, I’ve only been doing this a few weeks.