Talking Point #12 ( Ayvazian/Blanchard)

Word List : 

• Ostensibly 
• Bigotry

-" We are all dominant and targeted simultaneously ( pg. 599) " 

-We are all dominant and targeted... for example white people, male, christian, heterosexuals, able-bodied people ,  middle aged ,  middle or upper class are dominant . If you are targeted if you are a women who falls into this category. 

It's hard to identify when you are the target, perpetrator, by-standard, or an ally. An ally is a person or a group of people that help the targets and challenges the perpetrator. A ally shows support through actions like showing up to rallies, partnering up with local organizations, wearing t-shirts, protesting an issue, and creating a safe space.  An ally can can use their dominance to challenge the target. Being an ally can reduce violence since oppression leads to violence. Ally's give the perpetrator the change to feel like the targeted breaking the cycle of abuse through mentoring. An ally can serve as a positive role model to the perpetrator instead of working against each other they work together.  How can we expect young people to grow up in a racist free world when  no one has stood up and spoke against it. We have to embrace our inner allies through mentoring. 

When does an act of bigotry become an act of inadvertently racists acts. Your opinion and what you say about racial discrimination does matter. We have our views about race so when we over hear a conversation about we race we either agree or disagree with the person showing how racism in american has increased. over hearing others opinions of race could be the solution to bigotry ( bias ) within large groups in society. These lessons could help distinguish the difference to may between racial harassment.  

Miscellaneous Post / My Weekend

This weekend I went to Halo's mix-tape release party at Karma the night club. It was fun until the two female strippers grace the audience with their naked bodies.  The two women came out in black fish net stocking, boots, thongs, and masks. It was absolutely crazy men and women were cheering louder then the music , dancing with each other, and throwing lots and lots of ones. This whole scene reminded me of the Miss representation documentary we watched in class about women being overly sexed in the media. These young women were dancing in a club while men threw money at them objectifying them.

Talking Point #11 (Media Matters/Croteau)

I agree with Croteau the media is a part of peoples everyday life it also establishes many as well as prosecutes. This reading reminds me of the article What Boys Are Made Of which also discussed the influence of media on young boys. The article speaks about how boys are growing up to believe that their supposed to be these emotionless , womanizing, masculine manly man who swipes a helpless women off her feet. This also reminded me of the baby born commercial / toy catalog activity we did in class which dealt with gender. It was clear that most magazines were geared towards boys but that toys that they were promoting were like planes, trains, bikes, guns, swords, building sets, and a kitchen set ( which included a microwave, window, and phone). Girls got the standard kitchen set, baby dolls, or over sexed teenage dolls that come with makeup , fake nails, and hair extensions. The ideals promoted by the media degrade women, portray unreal characters while giving a person power behind the key board which is proving to be a bad influence in the lives of many.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08i5L3LNe74 ( Jersey Shore Trailer) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEatGNEbaLk ( Bad Girls Club Trailer) 

* Each link is a trailer from two very popular shows that are aired on television.  

Talking Point #9 (Sex as Feminist Practice)

After reading the Wikipedia article I had to re-read it , once I re-read it I found it to be more interesting the second time around. I never knew that their was a group of feminist that identified as Sex-positive nor did I know about the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminist stand for the unity of sex and women in a positive manor. I like that Sex-positive feminist promote equality to any sexuality which gives a person more sexual freedom instead of being excluded. Sex-positive feminist tackle any issue by looking past the glorification of men, they see sex as a natural pleasure that has been "shameful" due to the views of society.
I agree with Rubin feminist who have a restricted view on sex are not liberated they have conformed to the views of sex that their introduced  to by society." Rubin criticizes anti-pornography feminists who she claims "have condemned virtually every variant of sexual expression as anti-feminist," arguing that their view of sexuality is dangerously close to anti-feminist, conservative sexual morality. " 


I liked the 8 Ways To Be Positive You're Sex Positive Article better than the Wikipedia Article. The second article summed up what it was to be sex-positive while being aware if your sex-positive in your own life which was fun. It covered the same material but this excluded the history, but it promotes a positive idea about sex. Being Sex positive to me is being open to new ideas mentally and physically while accepting and consenting between two or many people.It's about healthy relationships between the mind and body and that although sex is healthy and the least bit negative. 

* Sex as Feminist Practice: Sex Positivity and the third Wave (connection)
 The Rebecca Walker article we read in class that dealt with the choices a women makes with her body. The third wave of feminism deals with issues like reproductive rights, gender violence, transgender rights , trying to incorporate everyone. Promoting a sexual lifestyle among women ...sexual liberation.

Talking Point # 10 ( Election Experience)

As a sophomore in college who is an African- american first time voter i'm beyond proud of myself that I have the opportunity to vote. Although I never get involved in politics just knowing that my vote counts to one of the worlds biggest events is more than words can describe. The voting experience really had me shaking in my boots since it was an unfamiliar process especially since I didn't vote at the same polling place with my mother.It kind of dawned on me that I  was voting along side my  mother, aunts, old preschool teacher ( long-story), and with my friends. This election really has me stressed out, its such a close race that anything at this point could happen.I watched the counting of the votes among the states at my aunts house which really bothered everyone. My Aunt began to speak her opinion on the election,then my mother,cousin, sister, and friend began to all talk at once about the news.My cousin then decided to change the channel when the polls showed Romney in the lead. Everyone is worried about the welfare of the country on election day I noticed that everyone's a politician from Facebook to Twitter. I continued to semi-watch the election behind my computer I began to get anxiety as the number of votes between both candidates began to get close to each other.Barack Obama was re-elected yes thank god i'm so excited he won, i'm very proud of him his hard work payed off now hopefully he could follow through and show america that he is going to step up these next four years. 

Obama 's Re-election Speech 

Talking Point #8 ( Orenstein)

I really found this piece by Orenstein very interesting to say the least her analysis of the "princess era" was very interesting. We all questioned the views of Disney but as a child your blinded by the glitter, puffy dresses, and mini high heels you don't know better but thanks to Orenstein she just ruined my Disney experience. What I took from this piece is that being a princess is about the look versus the feeling. Orenstein reports that because of movies like Cinderella, Snow White, And Sleeping Beauty girls strive to be perfect which is crippling to a young girls while damaging their self esteem. It's hard for a little girl to be herself when as a young girl your choices of role models are a princess or an overly sexual teenager. When I was younger I preferred to be outside even though my favorite movie of all times is little mermaid.I think the princess era is a target because of shows like toddlers and tiaras where they show young girls decked out in glitzy dresses, high heels, nails and big perfect hair. The pageant world is highly competitive teaching girls to stand alone as well as be perfect which is a lot of pressure to be under as a five year old.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUEYJ9gfBzQ
Cinderella preformed by The Cheetah Girls Listen to the lyrics of the song!

Talking Point # 7 (What About the Boys? / Kimmel)

Micheal Kimmel
What Are Little Boys Made of? 

Kimmel argues that the boys of America are depressed, suicidal, frail, and emotionally unavailable due to the lack of attention we are giving them. Kimmel believes that because of feminism we are forgetting about the boys and making them the problem. According to Kimmel the lack of attention is the reason why there is an epidemic amongst young men.  While some argue that it’s the male pattern of behavior versus the theory of nature vs. nurture, or biological make-up while other argue  that it’s simple peer pressure amongst boys. Kimmel‘s solution to the problem among boys is to embrace the testosterone pumping through your veins. Kimmel is arguing that it’s okay to be aggressive as long as you can control and honor it and unleash it in healthy doses.  His main point is that as a boy it’s okay to an aggressive, risk taker, as long as you can control your actions while stating that being able to produce testosterone is a natural part of boyhood that is being taken away from boys causing them to act out.

" Testosterone equal vitality" All we have to do is "honor it and steer it into healthy directions"- A little bit of testosterone is healthy when used correctly