Violet Newborn............Fear of Feminism or a Healthy Denial?

Lisa Hogland’s essay argues that young women are far less embracing feminism as older women, therefore having a smaller stake in the system and fewer ties to it. Bringing up the reality  that younger women have the increased tendency to normalize any kind of oppositional politics. I would have to agree only in the sense that the awareness of  gender  demonization is seen as the normal. I would have to agree before this class I to just assumed that I was to accept life as it came along not really thinking I was able to make a change in it. But with the knowledge of women's studies I can fight back if not seeing a change in my lifetime I can create a ripple that will allow my daughter and granddaughters a life closer to equality. Hogland says women’s consciousness  versus feminist consciousness has succeeded  over the past three decades and takes two forms, the self-awareness of women's vulnerability towards men's violence and the celebration of women's differences. Creating a women's culture of useful and valuable formats in self-help books, talk shows, and mass media.

Fear of Feminism

Lisa Marie Hogeland’s article “Fear of Feminism” brought up some interesting points about the stigma around being Feminist. A big problem for Feminism is the way it’s viewed from the outside. It’s common for the term itself to be met with reactions of hesitation or hostility toward the movement, even by people who aren’t terribly opposed to the goals or ideas of it. Many young women feel that being associated with the movement will effect how others see them. An important part of fighting for equality of any kind is asking questions about how things are at the present, why they are that way and how they can be changed. Big questions about changing societal structures can very easily intimidate people. It’s often like when someone is corrected on the pronouns for a queer person, they may feel bad for being called out and become somewhat resentful of the fact they’re being asked to change their ways.

Lisa mentions the importance of intersectionality and cooperation for any kind of social movement and how homophobia and racism frequently get in the way of making more significant progress. She also mentions how the construct of heterosexuality sculpts the lives of people who live it. Children are expected to fill gender-based roles in society before they’re even born yet, and heterosexuality also plays heavily in how these kids are raised and socialized. When it’s so important to a heterosexual society to procreate, it can be hard for young women to consider it when a lot of men are threatened by feminism and by social change.

Future Vision 4/25

As I read this section, I've noticed aomething that caught my attention. It states at the beginning, the prediction pf U.S of A that people will live to see pass 65, fertility rates in non white ethnicity will expand by 2025, number of the aged people will receive better healthcare. I believe that these predictions will become true, until put society is ready for that change. We need to make working for women and men just as equal, along with better education and usr of their degrees. We shouldn't force mothers to work and take care of  her children at the same time.  My favorite quoute from this section, " Fear of Feminism, yhen, is not fear of gender, but rather fear pf politics." Our country does not want to be ran by women or give women the power to be able to. And that's what need to change, we need yo learn how to be equal rulers and being able to stand side by side. One race or gender ahould not conquer one another but should be able to stand beside each other as an equal and one whole party as one. As a society, as thy neighbors, and as one

Subtle - Emily Martinez 4/26

In “Amber Waves of Blame”, Katha Pollitt sheds light on the media’s reduction of feminism to a mother/daughter spat. She emphasizes how a deep ideology with roots in other movements is brought down to catfights and sex instead of the reclaiming of “girl culture and their commitment to the intersectionality of race, class, and gender” (673). I see this a lot in life. Teenage girls are made fun of for their interest: boy bands, fashion, makeup, cellphones, hell even coffee.  Women are made fun of for the same things: specifically clothes and shoes. Women are pinned down as frivolous spenders, wasting money, specifically their husband’s money. That’s not to mention the constant references to an angry woman being on her period. As if a small monthly hormonal change determines a person’s entire personality. Women are patronized and their opinions and views swept away because of their gender. The media has already decided that women are not smart enough to know what they are talking about. However, since this view is sexist and our society is developed enough to call them out on it, they create ‘reasons’ to invalidate women’s opinions.

Fourth Wave Feminism... thoughts? -Henry Wilkinson, 4/26/17

I really enjoyed reading "Amber Waves of Blame," by Katha Pollitt from 2009, not only for the way it spoke about and critiqued feminism and the various waves but also because of the way it examined relationships. At feminism's core is relationships- how people perceive the world around them is directly tied to those around them, their upbringing, society, etc. so I found it very interesting how Pollitt examined the lumping-together of third wave feminists in their 40's with possible third-wave feminists who are closer to my age, 20. In my own experience and understanding of feminism, I identify as fourth wave in that I believe in intersectionality and combating the issues that fourth wave feminism deals with, especially the debate of sexuality/sex/bodies, though I can understand how some may not be aware of or even agree with fourth-wave feminism. But at the same time, I do feel like categorizing into waves various people from the movement, it can be a bit problematic. Take, for example, my ceramic teacher. She and I would go to all the same protests, discussions and seminars, and rallies... only she was in her sixties and I was in my teens. We believed in all the same things, we fought the same fights, only I could easily see people lump us into different groups because of the worlds we grew up in. It's an interesting thought and Pollitt touches on it a bit when she says that in some ways, "[60-year-old's] were more sexually radical than today's youth, because they made a bigger break with conventional ideas of sexiness." My ceramic teacher definitely was a "braless free spirit back in the day," that is for sure, but she is also a modern and contemporary feminist. I guess what I am trying to get at is that we're all feminists at the end of the day. There are some like Judy Chicago who were revolutionary in their day but are a bit passe now/not quite as "woke" as they should be given the day and age, but the vast majority of feminists believe in all the same things, regardless of when they were brought up and when they identified as a feminist.

Pro-feminist Men- Bria shelby

In kimmel's "Real Men Join the Movement", he talks about  pro feminist men  and their efforts to join the the fight against discrimination against women. One interesting part was the mention of of how some pro feminist men said that it was a struggle being an activist for feminism. They saw  themselves as  being a minority and on some occasions, other men turned against them. I found it intriguing how some men, usually seen as oppressors, can easily become the oppressed when they defend other oppressed groups, like women. It seems very ignorant for men to be oblivious to certain issues like sexism to the point where one does not notice it unless it happens to them. But I'm the other hand, it  takes a lot of courage to become an active defender of the oppressed even when ones opinion is not popular. It is better to be late than to never do anything about it. It makes me wonder why so many people turn against activism and it seems to me that they become too worried about upset the status quo to do anything about inequality. I think that  more people would strive more towards equality if they worried about the bigger picture rather than what others think. If more people  were willing to help end inequality like the pro feminist men, we would be much closer to equality.

Thoughts Regarding Politics and Feminism

The article “Fear of Feminism” cleared up some things I didn’t quite understand, even after taking this entire course. Why are women still so afraid of feminism? Some of it, I found from the article, could be summed up to politics. Politics help to shape a child’s psyche as they grow up, as Lisa Marie Hogeland explains. “[Y]oung women [from 1994 had] been profoundly affected by the demonization of feminism during the 12 years of Reagan and Bush - the time when they formed their understanding of political possibility and public life.” This connection makes me wonder if the respectable way the Obama family addressed feminist ideals during Obama’s 8 years in office helped to cause a surge in feminist activism, including intersecting activism, such as LGBT+ and BLM activism. It also concerns me now that we’re going into Trump’s presidency, with him having made such comments as “Grab her by the pussy,” and such figures as Tomi Lahren (perhaps the most anti-feminist female figure I’ve ever encountered) gaining power from his administration. How will young women - those who have yet to discover themselves - be affected by Trump’s presidency? After all, how can a woman who labels herself as a feminist believe she can get along in a world that shames feminism, especially when it comes from another and seemingly successful woman (Lahren)?

In addition, there is the idea that once one faces a social issue it becomes more real. Hogeland addresses this regarding women who have not experienced sexual assault, stating that by acknowledging feminism, women have to acknowledge that the bad things feminists rally against could happen to them. I believe online communities have made activism more accessible for young women. At the very least, it can act as a stepping stone from silence to full participation in feminist activities. There is a sense of anonymity that comes with online activism. Women don’t have to feel like they are putting themselves in danger in order to participate, and so, naturally, they feel safer. I know that’s where it started for me. Though most of my activism is still through online communities, I think the next steps will be to become and remain more politically knowledgable and to use that knowledge to fuel art and writing addressing social issues in the world in a way that might hit home with non-feminist people. And, again, when I’m not directly doing feminist work, I want to promote a positive sense of diversity in the work that I do to challenge negative stereotypes surrounding minority demographics.

Weekly Response 4/25--Kellen Gable

In Katha Pollitt's "Amber Waves of Blame" she brought up a quote by Naomi Wolf, "The stereotype of feminists as asexual, hirsute Amazons in Birkenstocks that has reigned on campus for the past two decades has been replaced by a breezy vision of hip, smart young women who will take a date to the right-on, woman-friendly sex shop Babeland." This quote really stuck out to me because a lot of people, especially women, that do not want to consider themselves as feminists always point to the stereotypes that they do not want to be. Of course these stereotypes are not necessarily correct (every stereotype starts with some truth that someone has experienced but not everyone experiences the same things) but that does not stop people from believing them. It also brings up the idea that people have to put others into stereotypes so they are not seen that way (even though being a feminist is not a bad thing) and so they can have a reason not to agree with feminism or consider themselves a feminist.

Weekly Response- Ann Arnett

When it comes to Feminism, many identify themselves as a feminist. There are also many that refuse the consider themselves a feminist, even if some of their beliefs are in alignment with Feminist views. This is because the media and people in power have created a negative stigma for feminists. Feminists are often thought of as man hating individuals that are blind to all of the opportunities women have. People that see Feminism as a negative ideology, often believe that women are already equal to men in today’s society or they believe that women should not be able to do things that men can do. This is why it is important for society to become educated about what Feminism is. As was said in the reading, most believe that education should be unbiased so not to influence people’s opinions. Shaw and Lee pointed out though that almost all education is biased in a sense. It was also pointed out that it is important to look to the past to learn and to think about the present and what can be done to help the future. It is so important to educate people about the ideas of Feminism and to remove the stigma attached to it. By educating people, there will be a better understanding of it and more people will be supportive of the movement. This will also help Feminist activism. I believe that the beginning to help the Feminist movement is education. Once people begin to understand what Feminism is, there will be more support for the movement and less negativity towards individuals that support Feminism. 

Future Holding - Weekly Response 4/26

Reading the section “Future Visions” made me put a lot of social things into perspective. “How might the future look?” I wonder this everyday while going through new social problems. “How long will it take to overcome these obstacles of unacceptance?” Change takes time but how much time do we have til we get to the point of not overcoming. There’s the injustice among race, gender, rape, and sexuality. What will help make these changes come faster? The fact that these have been problems for years is what frightens me the most. The white man still just can’t accept that the world isn’t going to work as they try to structure it work. The consistent thought of them thinking that the world is going to cater to them and their beliefs and wants is absurd. Although I do think that if we continue to stand strong and work together things will progress, as long as we stick together.

Pornography 4/18

Pornography,has been one of the most watched and xrated films that has been shown upon for decades, technically a century.
I didn't speak on the matter during this discussion but, I will here.
Women have been thr main forcus when it comes to pornography. Of course there is gay porn, but that's for a homosexuals males preference. But what I have noticed with this type of porn is that in some cases that a three way with two girls and a guy is acceptable, two straight guys and a woman is acceptable. But you'll never hear about two bisexual males and a woman at all, or not that I have heard of.
My point is woman are most likely to be told what to do, and how to portray in these films and are more likely to do the most outrageous things  for money or fame. Women in pornography in some cases don't know what they are getting themselves into unless there was a contract involved.
You have some women who work under contract with an agent or work for a free agency. I believe that they should work for am agency just to be safe, but money os more important than some women's safety.
Pornography is all different due to the type of fetishes that some people like. Even down to bdsm, ddlg, s&m, and yes even bestiality.
I beleive that to certain pornography, if the men and women have a contract to say hey we can do this, this,and this. But we are not doing this, I feel that it can be more safer for both parties and to also use safety word(s)
I also noiced that today that certain guys believe that some of the pornography is a real deal thing. And that it os mostly for entertainment. And due to some content the viewers and think that this is really ok and can even take it too far. And agreeing what Bria said that day, I do believe that they should put warning labels and\or a little clip were people have an interview with the cast to let the viewers know this is all fake.

Sexual Harassment 4/4

Sexual Harassment has been throughout the decades of control over women. Men have used it for many reasons. But sexual harassment has its differences. Such as unwanted touching, sexual remarks, and some cases threats. Sexual harassment can happen anywhere from school,work place, and even sadly at home. A lot of young woman and children today do not know what to do when it comes to things like this in this matter.  I believe that parent should teach young girls and boys about what's right and what's wrong. And that it is ok for them to talk to someone about it so that way children and be and feel comfortable in a safe environment.
Other cases of harassment can be stalking. On a personal subject matter I was a victim of stalking in middle school. For a while I haven't said a word to anyone shout it. He was a boy that went to my school and he would taunt me about my wright and how ugly I was until he reached the corner of the street i lived on. So at one point I finally told the counselor and coming to find out my actions saved others as well. And at the end he was kicked out of school and had to go somewhere else.
My actions and our actions can really change how we can prevent things from happening.

Violet Newborn............................Power and Control

 In Resisting Violence Against Women, statistics show that sexual assault occurs every two minutes, rape happens every eight minutes, meaning about 56 women are victimized every hour. Rape culture within society often blames women rather than helping them find justice.
Because society is so desensitized to sexual forms of abuse, it is ignored.
 Sexual abuse is directed mainly towards people that lack power by people that have and seek power and control. People that often experience sexual abuse are women and children. One form of sexual abuse is rape, and it is underreported. And it usually has an external impact that society does not take seriously unless there are physical wounds as evidence.
According to FBI reports less than three percent of rape accusations are false fueled by intentions to harm a person reputation.
Rapes often go unreported because of this especially less likely to report rape if they know their assailant. This makes it extremely hard for women to feel safe in reporting being raped. They fear they will be blamed, as well as told they are only doing it for attention. For women that do choose to report their rape, they are often faced with questions of what they were wearing, how much did they drink that night, and how did they behave? Even in cases where a woman is drugged, it is hard for people to believe that she was assaulted due to how fast the drug metabolizes. It leaves little evidence to support a woman’s claim of being drugged and due to the body's natural self-healing. Sexual assault victims are the only victims that are blamed for what happened to them.  We as a society must continue to combat the ideas of rape culture and work for justice for victims of sexual violence. And the rehabilitation of offenders.

Violet Newborn.....................Crafty Mrs. Hyde

The politics of housework I agree is a universal type of conditioning Pat Manardi refers to it as women being brainwashed. Due to so many years watching the woman being glorified and praised on television. She speaks of the liberated woman who has a lot of sex and a domestic career.I’ll admit I've heard many times when she mentioned the famous quote “I don’t mind sharing the housework, but I don’t do it well. We should just stick with the things we are good at.” About avoiding specific household chores.

My now fiance that I’ve known since I was 7 and he was ten years old is quite the rare breed. He prefers chores, cooking and raising children and also tackles “man’s work.” Unfortunately, I had berated him for years before I had finally accepted him for who he is. I used to question his sexuality and manliness due to my conditioning, but now I see him for his qualities. I wouldn’t mind chores and cooking every now and again but funny thing I’m not good at it, lol. But he prides himself of being taught by his mother and grandmother passing their conditioning down in a household with no male influence. So my fiance being the oldest he was the one that was there while their mom was out working late. He was home caring for his siblings went and purchased sanitary pads and taught his sisters about using them when they first started their cycles. So I’m quite lucky, but sometimes I feel inadequate when he does everything which is strange to be resentful due to him not being traditionally stereotypical. He is a plumber and carpenter so he also meets his "roles" as a man as a bread winner.I enjoy yard work and building and fixing things using my mind to problem solve even though I was raised to be Cinderella. It would seem I am the considerate Dr. Jekyll and crafty Mrs. Hyde in this situation.313

Criminal Minds From the Scope of Feminism

After reading “Death Wore Black Chiffon,” an article that adresses crime dramas - in particular, CSI - with feminism in mind, I felt compelled to write a response addressing one of my favorite shows (and one that is mentioned in this article) - Criminal Minds. The article was published in 2009, right around when Criminal Minds was airing about its third or fourth seasons. Needless to say, the show has made some strides since then, in terms of the representation of LGBT+ characters.

One of the biggest statements this article makes is the representation of LGBT+ people on CSI. “Since CSI almost always investigates homicides, this means that any time the show portrays members whose lifestyles lie outside the social “norm,” these people must always be considered as capable of killing,” Carlen Lavigne states in the article. This is a dangerous connotation for people outside the “status quo,” and one that further separates them from people who are the “status quo.” Even the episodes that are sympathetic to LGBT+ people aren’t exactly normalizing it. 

These statements bring to mind one episode of Criminal Minds - Season 8, Episode 15: "Broken" (2013). In the episode, a gay man is suffering severe mental issues from a conversion camp that are causing him to kill men and women in an act of cleansing himself due to pent up guilt. Ultimately, the team does find this man and gets him help. The episode doesn’t end there, however - the team goes to shut down the conversion therapy camp that this man suffered through. The end of the episode lingers on the evils of the conversion therapy camp, and ultimately, it is the camp that is painted as the true villain of the episode. 

Though powerful and heart wrenching, this scene doesn’t exactly normalize LGBT+ people in the way they should be. There is one clip, though. I can’t remember which episode this one is from (it was from around this episode, I believe - maybe even in the same episode), and this small little part shows two team members approaching a gay couple walking their dog in the park. These men are not suspects, are not murderers, are not victims - they simply happened to be in the area and may have seen something, so David Rossi (I believe) needed to ask them a question. This scene is important because it shows a gay couple in a normal way. More scenes like that could do a lot of good for how much harm displaying LGBT+ characters as killers and murder suspects does, showing small tidbits like the two men walking their dog can do a lot of neutralizing good to balance things out and show LGBT+ people in a different light. The same can be said for other crime dramas, too, such as CSI.

Additionally, anyone who watches Criminal Minds on a regular basis knows how notorious the show is for massive cast changes. Would it be too much to ask that Criminal Minds introduce an LGBT+ in the team in their next big shift? That would certainly be a step in the right direction.

(Please note that I have not seen any of Season 12 yet...)

Critiquing a Popstar - Oziel Juarez

I found this topic that we are currently discussing of women creating their own culture, to be of most interest. I especially found the "Contemporary Music and Music Videos" section to be interesting since this is the topic I will be covering in my group's zine. One artist I would like to focus on that they mention is Madonna. In the passage they say this about Madonna; "Madonna is especially interesting because she was cast simultaneously as both a feminist nightmare perpetuating gendered stereotypes about sexualized women and an important role model for women who want to be active agents in their lives." As a huge Madonna fan myself, I find this perception of her to be very true. I, myself, think of Madonna as a role model for women and men in that sense. Madonna has gotten a lot of scrutiny since the beginning of her career and even more so today because she lives her life as an older sexual woman. I watched this interview of Madonna when she was starting out her career and she said she doesn't use sex to sell, but sex is just a subconscious thing that comes into her artistry because she is a very sexual person. That was just at the very start of her career when she started getting hit records and breaking onto the scene. As time's gone she's proven her to be a chamaeleon, in the sense that she is able to hit herself and her art into whatever the current pop landscape is. Also, with time moving on she's found herself being beaten down by the media and critics because she still is so sexual for her age. I think she gets so much hate for this because she is a woman who has complete control over her sexuality that it makes those who don't, feel very uncomfortable. But as time goes on and she gets that hate, maybe it will be easier for the next "aging popstar" after her a lot easier at doing their job, being an "aging popstar" that doesn't have to go by the rules of being sexual until you reach a certain age.

Henry Wilkinson 4/18/17 Response

I really enjoyed the essay "Jane Addiction" by Melissa Sue Kort for a few reasons- one, she examines the cultural fascination with Jane Austen and adaptations of Austen's work, and two, she talks about how the works are either feminist or non-feminist. Me personally, I believe Jane Austen creates feminist characters in a non-feminist world. An example of this is the story of Sense and Sensibility, one of my two favorite Austen novels (the other being Emma). In Sense and Sensibility, the main characters are forced to move from their manor into a small house, a mother and her three daughters, and they are forced to live a life they have never lived before. Of course love and marriage features in the story, but the characters are well-developed, central in their own lives, and are most importantly active. Also, as Kort points out, many fail to see the satire of Austen's novels and the fact that the marriage and hetero-normative romance is merely a "scaffolding for a critique of the patriarchy embedded in every novel."  Austen asks if it is possible to have traditional goals like financial security and marriage while still being independent, and while this is not usually addressed in feminist conversations, it is an interesting and important question nonetheless. As Kort says, "while Austen falls short of advocating revolution, her heroic women characters manage to maintain their self-esteem and independent principles," and it is this independence and positive self-esteem that makes the characters wonderful female role models, and thus, feminist.

Gender Norms and Beauty Standards in Media- Bria Shelby

In the chapter "Women Confronting and Creating Culture", the authors discuss the underrepresentation of woman in the media and how the few women who are shown are portrayed. I agree and think that it is definitely hard to find women in media. There are way too few women in movies, television, music and literature. And the ones who are depicted in media make up a very small percentage of women. These women also often comply to strict gender norms that set have set up; these gender norms occur even in commercials. An interesting thing that the reading brought up was that commercials are gendered to fit certain types of shows and movies that come on television. For example, commercials during ESPN shows will show advertisements for beer or tools. On the other hand, commercials during soap operas show advertisements for cleaning tools or beauty supplies. It is amazing how gendered the media can be and how subtlety it is thrust upon us. We often think that gender norms are created through our parents or peers, but the media can have just as big as an influence. I think another problem with media is how they underrepresent women of color and women who do not conform to conventional beauty standards (unless they decide to make a stereotype or caricature out of her). Often there is little to no diversity and if there is, the women have European features(Light skin, straight hair, etc) and are very thin among other things. Media is the main outlet for Eurocentric beauty standards and it teaches girls to strive to be something that hey aren't.

*** Tips on how to make a zine ***

Hello students,
Below please find some resources on how to create a zine.

"Make Zines"
How to Make a Zine video on Vimeo
The History and a How-to of Zines

Please remember that you don't have to have a computer-generated zine. You can use the old-fashioned way of cutting and pasting images and texts on pieces of paper. Then photocopy them to bind them. Let me know if you have any questions.
Soyoung

Weekly Response- Ann Arnett

Media has a major influence on how we see men and women, as well as how we believe they should act. All types of media have the ability to do this, such as the Internet, television, printed media, music, art and literature. Traditional gender norms may be reinforced, women may be over-sexualized, or even looked over within media. Through the way families and individuals are portrayed in television or the printed media, many women are presented with ads that encourage them to live up to certain beauty standards or encourage them to focus on cleaning and the home. Television also portrays individuals stereotypically. In music, the internet, and printed media, women are often over-sexualized. This can be through pornography, using the appeal of sex to sell a product or treating women as a sex object that is only to be looked at. Women are sometimes written out of culture as well. Throughout history, women have not had access to the same opportunities as men. Because of this, many were not allowed to write or create art. And if they did do this, their work was considered to be not of the same quality as men’s. Women would also use the name of men to get their work out into the world. Even in history classes, little time is devoted to the work of women. There are some groups within media platforms that have begun to be more progressive and encourage unconventional gender roles. This is the beginning, but it will take a long time to undo the enforcing of traditional gender roles or over-sexualization of women. 

Response to Shaw & Lee's Intro to Women Creating & Confronting Culture

Weekly Response 4/19

The entire Chapter 9 enlightened me more on how the cultural digital technologies, television, movies, contemporary music, music videos, print media, internet, literature and arts. These can be an emotional response to society, a way to influence society through it, or to enlighten people on what’s going on with the government and society in all. Although people don’t like to admit it, these things are very influential to mostly the youth. Depending the cultural background they can cause insecurities because of the idealized certain types of people. As stated, “they play a huge role in setting standards of beauty and encouraging certain bodily disciplinary practices. It helps shape identity and guide people’s understandings of themselves and one another.” For my cultural background which mostly revolves around black people, females like me that are skinny, darkskin, don’t have good hair and a big butt and boobs are looked down upon. Yet, as for cultural backgrounds of other races they idolize skinny girls more. Although, over time they are slowly but surely starting to be more versatile with skin complexions, and body sizes which is great. More of the youth are embracing and accepting themselves for who they are and not what some medias try to influence them to be more because of this.

Guidelines for Writing a Proposal

Writing a Research Proposal for Individual Opinion Pieces

Due by Monday, April 17th

1. Introduce your Research Topic and Describe its Projected Value

• ·      Introduce your research topic and explain why you have chosen it – the source of its interest or importance for you. 
• ·      Describe what you anticipate to be the value of your research project for others, as well as yourself. 
• ·      Write your proposal for a general, uninformed audience.  (In your discussion you may wish to answer these kinds of questions:  Why is this research project of interest to you and worth doing?  What do you hope to gain from it?  How do you think you and/or others may be able to use or benefit from your research findings?) 

2. State your Leading Research Question and Working Hypothesis

• ·      State the leading Research Question that you propose to pursue for your research project.
• ·      State your Working Hypothesis—that is, propose an initial response to that leading Research Question

3.  Describe your Research Strategy: Your goal is to convince your reader that you have a well-defined point of departure for your research project and a clear sense of direction as you launch into your research in earnest, supported by substantial, promising exploratory research and serious preliminary thinking and reading about your topic.

• ·      What do you need to find out through your research?  Provide an organized list of the important questions raised by your topic, key terms and concepts to be defined and explained, and relevant inferences and assumptions that you hold about your topic and that you will open to question and investigation. Your lists of questions and assumptions should be grouped or organized logically into related categories and major lines of inquiry relevant to and supportive of your leading Research Question and Working Hypothesis. 

• ·      How and where will you look for answers?  [Don't just respond, "In the library."]  

4.         List Sources Already Consulted in Your Research. 

What Happens After Assault....

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a8111592/woman-lost-her-hair-after-sexual-assault-beautiful/

Weekly Response

Corwin Harrison

Professor SoYoung Park

HU 250 Women’s Studies

23 January 2017

I found Andrea Dworkin’s speech to be very powerful and thought provoking. I found it strange  but not surprising to read that one of the men in the crowd that listened to her speech actually threatened her, even after talking about restoring humanity and equality to women. It was also interesting to see that on her website that she believed men still had humanity within them but were taught to neglect and ignore it. "How does it happen that the male child whose sense of life is so vivid that he imparts humanity to sun and stone changes into the adult male who cannot grant or even imagine the common humanity of women?” I believe this has something to do with how children are reared and taught to consider others to be lesser or only fit for certain roles. For example in her mention of politics and fascism she mentions the Right’s view of the woman’s true domestic role in the form of a political cartoon. “It was a big picture of Ronald Reagan as a cowboy with a big hat and a gun. And it said: ‘A gun in every holster; a pregnant woman in every home. Make America a man again.’” As soon as I read that sentence it made a worrisome echo in my mind of a campaign slogan.

Weekly Response 4/11--Kellen Gable

Debra Anne Davis' "Betrayed by the Angel: What Happens When Violence Knocks and Politeness Answers?" talked about her rape when she was twenty-five and the things she thought during and after it happened. She talked about the urge to be polite even though a stranger had knocked on her door and forced himself into her home. This urge stems from what society had taught her about being a woman and about being demure and polite all the time because that is the way women are meant to be. She even mentions that she felt a little ashamed for insulting him by being "rude" for trying to push him away. She is almost victim blaming herself because she does not feel anger at him for essentially breaking into her home and raping her. And he knew what he was doing was rape (he mentioned getting prison time for it) and I think that makes it even worse. He knew that he was in the wrong and that he was doing something criminal but he still felt entitled to do it. Rape seems to stem from the sense of entitlement men have in life. Entitlement to have and do anything they want because they are men.

I Thought Justice was Blind - Emily Martinez 4/12

In the introduction for Chapter 10, ‘Resisting Violence Against Women’ the authors discuss the issue of rape in society as well as other violence done to women and men by other men. One particular sentence early on in the passage grabbed my attention, it was: “Recent laws such as rape shield laws, which prevent a victim’s sexual history from being used by defense attorneys, and various state reform laws have helped survivors” (504). I never realized that a woman’s sexual history could have ever been used to excuse a rapist. The idea just blows my mind. There were people that existed, that had brains and could think, that had sisters and wives and mothers, people who believed that a woman’s prior sexual history somehow made it seem like she was asking to be raped. I remember hearing things like “Oh yeah, she really gets around”, yeah but with people she wanted to! I can understand how people can be ignorant and have disgusting opinions like that, but the legal system? What if the woman was married? What if she was a child? And what was the case if a man came to court after being raped by another man? Would his prior history be taken into question? Or would he just be shamed into silence. These laws weren’t federalized until 1994 with the Violence Against Women Act. 1994!! That’s the year before I was born! The idea that there were people of the law with the believe that just because someone enjoys sex must mean that they enjoy it with anyone and everyone is barbaric. It makes me nauseous just thinking about how many rapists went free just because their victim had multiple partners in the past. I’m happy the issue is resolved, but what on earth took so long?

Learned social behaviors -Bria Shelby

Davis's "Betrayed by the Angel" tells the story of the her rape, an incident that happened years before in her childhood, and how the experience affected her years after. The article says a lot about submission and how we are conditioned to make sure that men's needs come first. This starts from a young age, as shown in the reading. This idea of submitting to masculine power is a big issue that happens slowly overtime where one seemingly insignificant thing can escalate to much bigger, more horrific events; her rape can be associated all the way back to when a boy picked on her as a child. From there, she learned to quiet herself and become more passive, letting male counterparts do what they please. Of course it was was not her fault that she was raped, but unfortunately she learned that it was okay for men to treat her like that.  The author had more sympathy for her rapist than the rapist did himself. It is because society teaches girls to suffer through things, to never speak their mind. They are taught to serve the needs of men, no matter what kind of pain they may go through. The opposite can be said for her rapist. The man that raped her was also probably the type of boy who stuck pencils in girls arms. And the boy that abused her as a child probably grew up the be the same type of man as the one that raped her. Both of them grew up with the world centered around them, they grew up with a sense of entitlement. We need to start taking responsibly for how men act and teach them from a young age that they cannot have everything that they what, that they are not entitled to anything.

Weekly Response- Ann Arnett

Society has become blind and desensitized to abuse. A major form of abuse the society has looked past is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is directed mainly towards people that lack power by people that have power. People that often experience sexual abuse are women. One form of sexual abuse is rape, and it is highly underreported. In Resisting Violence Against Women, statistics show that sexual assault occurs every two minutes, rape occurs every eight minutes, and about 56 women are victimized every hour. Rape culture within society often blames these women rather than seeks to help them find justice. Rapes often go unreported because of this. Women are also less likely to report rape if they know their assailant. For women that do choose to report their rape, they are often faced with questions of what they were wearing, how much did they drink that night, and how did they behave? Even in cases where a woman is drugged, it is hard for people to believe that she was assaulted due to how fast the drug metabolizes. It leaves little evidence to support a woman’s claim of being drugged. Sexual assault victims are the only victims that are blamed for what happened to them. This makes it extremely hard for women to feel safe in reporting being raped. They fear they will be blamed, as well as told they are only doing it for attention. According to FBI reports though, less than three percent of rape accusations are false. We as a society must continue to combat the ideas of rape culture and work for justice for victims of sexual violence. 

Henry Wilkinson - 4/12 response

In "Betrayed by the Angel: What Happens When Violence Knocks and Politeness Answers?," by Debra Anne Davis, an account of rape is given within the frame narrative of Virginia Woolf's writing"Professions for Women" that talks about the 'Angel in the house.' The angel is this fictitious spirit of politeness, purity, and subservience that both Woolf and Davis seem to battle with. I on occasion have encountered spirits like this, the nagging voices in the back of our heads that tell us to fit into a certain mold laid out for us by society. I found it very interesting, albeit depressing, that Davis chose to use this as the frame metaphor for the essay as a whole. The entire time, when she was a child and stabbed by the boy next to her in class, to the point where she was raped, to when she refused to converse with the man in the coffee shop, she appears to still be battling this angel. It was both shocking and unsurprising to me reading about her experiences. They are experiences friends of mine have had and they are experiences I have witnessed. Each time one hears about an instance of rape it is always horrible, but it also does not come as a surprise to me because of the way society treats rape. In a way, society is run by the Angel in the House, who wants us to excuse boys and accommodate men, forcing women to give up their emotions in the process. It's terrible... it's absolutely terrible.

Violet Newborn......................Kiswahili

Bangladesh War’s towards women takes rape culture to a whole new level.400,000 women raped during the 1971 war in which East Pakistan broke with West Pakistan to become Bangladesh.

Chinese women raped by Japanese soldiers, Bosnian War was tens times worse than Bangladesh.

I find it interesting that no plate form is working towards men to take control of their penis and to feed the natural feeling to protect the women and the children.

All the stories of these mysterious men coming in the middle of the night gang raping women and children no one has mentioned whether or not those women should be armed as well if it's such a serious problem. Why anticipate building more rape shelters perhaps we should focus on rehabilitating the men. Interested in just showing them if you break something we will fix it if you spill something we will clean it up.If you rape a child, we will give them the counseling you're going to need to get past this thing that we can’t stop and will happen to you again before you reach the age of 5. What the fuck is going gone?

I am happy to of been born in the United States because I wouldn’t wish rape on anyone it is the worst thing anyone could do to someone is take their innocence.

Countless men are slowly being prosecuted and imprisoned but not rehabilitated just stored away to become angrier. Rehabilitate the minds of  men or build a solid iron castle 100 of acres around in Liberia and put all the women in it to start their world.

In Bunia, rape prosecutions are up 600 percent, yet the govt is aware of its loss in keeping women and children safe. Perhaps we should seek towards a safe culture.

301

Inequality in Housework

It’s a well known fact among many that women tend to earn less in the workforce than men in the same jobs but people seem to forget that often times these women are also working more than their husbands or male coworkers at home. Even with the issue of unequal wages the workload is also skewed quite a bit. In chapter 8 of Woman’s Voices, Feminist Visions it’s spelled out pretty clearly, “married women currently perform about two-thirds of all household labor.” The massive amount of housework shoveled onto women is generally coded as ‘feminine’ work, cooking and cleaning and making sure everyone is happy. Even kin keeping- tasks relating to family such as remembering birthdays and planning vacations is placed on female shoulders merely because it’s expected of them. Even if a women were to hire someone to do the cooking and cleaning around the house to lighted their load this job is often taken on by a women of color, continuing the circle that perpetuates all of these encoded gender roles.

As a person that assigned male at birth, regardless of any gender identification I could choose I will always have an advantage others whether i want to or not. Not only this but I’ve been raised and socialized to have certain privileges and expectations. I don’t like when external forces like societally enforced gender roles effect my loved ones but it’s difficult to stop thinking in a way or doing something that has been going on for so long without me noticing it. Me and my partner have had conflicts about housework in the past and I’ve become more aware of how deeply it runs, completely abolishing it will take a lot of effort but I’m willing to do so.

Zine Outline

Madison Petri, Keely Lambert, Raul Juarez, & Ann Arnett

-Title

-Table of Contents

-Letter to Readers

-Opinion Piece- Music and Female Empowerment

-Top Ten- Female Empowerment’s Top Ten

-Opinion Piece-Ann Arnett writing about how the fashion industry is or is not empowering women through their lines and marketing

-Song Lyrics/Music Review

-Advertisement

-Opinion Piece - Madison’s analysis of the movie “Tammy”

-Book/Movie Review - 3 Short Show Reviews written by Madison

-Opinion Piece- Keely’s response to Petra Collin’s essay on female censorship and her photo series titled “discharge”

-Interview

-Feature Article (Co-Written)
-Notes
-Bibliography

Smashing the wedding bells

From a young age girls are taught to be ready to get married, all excited and planning it on Pinterest, but what is not discussed is how totally unnecessary a marriage as an institution is.  Why must people have a document to prove that they are in love?  Marriage is a total trap and a preconceived idea.  Just because two people don't want to get married doesn't mean they can't buy a house, raise a family, be successful all around and live together for the rest of their lives.  Even if this wasn't the case, why the need for marriage?  From what I understand, marriage is for religious reasons (which is understandable and totally reasonable, though I do not agree), for financial reasons (insurance, etc.), an unplanned pregnancy (again, two people could still raise a child if they weren't bound together by the law), to possibly hide one's homosexual preference, among other reasons.  Marriage as an institution seems really only to be about reproducing, which America in 2017 DOES NOT NEED.  As Emma Goldman stated in Marriage and Love, “marriage is primarily an economic arrangement, an insurance pact- in taking out an insurance policy one pays for it in dollars and cents, always at liberty to discontinue payments.  If, however, women’s premium is a husband, she pays for it with her name, her privacy, her self-respect, her very life, “until death doth part.”  Marriage is just one more thing to spend a bunch of money on and make you feel “more complete.”

Stay at home mom: a full time job

I am sick and tired of women being told being a housewife or stay at home mom isn't a job.  Motherhood specifically, is 100% a full time job and the fact that people degrade women for choosing to be a full-time mom is sad and close minded.  The point of a job or career is to be happy doing what a person loves.  I do understand that it is not feasible for every mother to be a stay at home mom and that there is a sense of privilege attached to it.  There is also a lot of negative female history tied to this in the sense that women were once forced to do this.  But those who dedicate decades to raising their children shouldn't be degraded.  I also believe women that choose to be stay at home moms should be paid for this work.  Although, homeschooling should be added to what is required of a stay at home mom, if there is a salary involved, where children should learn school based curriculums but also learn and help mom with any and all chores she would be expected to do. Taking a step back, stay at home dads should be responsible for the same things.  This idea of mine is a solution to unpaid labor in the home, but also taking care of the “85 percent of men in the United States that are ‘cleaning impaired’” as stated in Shaw and Lee Work Inside and Outside the Home, because all children regardless of gender will learn how to cook and clean.  But why stop at stay at home mom's and dads teaching the children how to cook and clean?  This quality should be mandatory in schools.  Anyway, Shaw and Lee also stated that, “reproductive labor includes care and domestic-related activities such as unpaid housework, the emotional care of family member, and the raising of children.”

Women and Religion outline- Bria,Chundria, Rashad

1. Title

2. Letter to readers

3. Table of Contents

4. Advertisement

5. Interview  
                                                                               
6. opinion essay  
        •Chundria- western religion(Christianity and its denominations

  7. Book/Movie review
     
 8. opinion essay
        •Bria-western religions outside of Christianity(Judaism and Islam)
        •Misrepresentation of islamic women

9. co-written article
      •how women turn their religious  oppression into empowerment

10. opinion essay
       •Rashad-eastern Religion(Hinduism, Buddhism)

11.  Myths about topic

12. Dos and Don’ts

13. Bibliography

14. Notes Page

Welfare Moms vs Middle Class Moms Response

In todays ideal society on motherhood it seems that there is no winning in an department or way that we try. I speak as a young lady,who has vitnessed it first hand. On how society convey us women as mothers and working class mothers. You'd think that in the same circumstance of a mom, who has a child, should all have a equal right to be able to stay at home and take care of their child or children but that is not always the case. Why is it that a woman of a middle class status has the leisure to stay at home and be with her child. Yet a mother who is getting welfare are given no choice but to work. Over all a woman who has little children or a child should have that time to spend with her babies. In moat cases will have to come out of pocket to put here child im daycare if ahe is a single mom, which leads to more financial problems. Consider the fact that a middle class woman doing the same thing but, she can't get a job and her husband is working. She Doesn't have time to focus on her career nor things that she want, then she'd be considered selfish. See their is no win-win go our problems, their is always a snag to were something can go wrong or a con. No matter what financial status you are in, being a mother is hard. In some cases it's not meant for everybody, some people can't handle it. But all in all, it's how us women can handle all juggling.

Weekly Response--4/4 Kellen Gable

The reading "The Politics of Housework" really made me think of the way I, as a woman, do housework. I like to clean because I find that it helps me de-stress, as odd as that may sound to some people and I like being in a clean house. I do not think it is because I am a woman but I think that is just how I am as a person. And the person that taught me that cleaning was a good skill was not my mom, but my dad. He has almost always been a stay-at-home dad and he always did the cleaning because my mom worked all day and just did not have the time nor the energy to clean. I did not learn housework from the traditional way many other women do but I still feel like it is an important thing to do.
Now that I live in my own apartment with my significant other, a man, the reading really made me evaluate how the housework works now. I still do as much housework as I did when I lived at home but now I am questioning why I am doing it. Is it really just because I like to clean and live in a clean environment or is it because society has ingrained this belief that the woman does the housework into me?

Two Jobs and Not Enough Pay - Emily Martinez 4/4

This week had me thinking about women and work. More specifically, the notion that being a woman implies that she already has a job. In society's eyes, a woman's 'job' is to cook, clean, and produce then raise babies (which is a job in and of itself). That is your job, society says, why would you want to work? Why would you want to earn money doing something you enjoy? We're going to force you to give up your autonomy and live off your husband while you dedicate your entire life to housework and child-rearing 24/7. And that's the issue: that society is trying to make a decision that is not theirs. If a woman decides that she wants to stay home and raise her babies, that's perfectly fine. If a woman decides she wants to work full time, again, wonderful and fine. The issue comes when she is expected to perform these duties alone, like a single lighthouse in a storm of laundry and crying toddlers. All we see in the media is a husband coming home, kicking off his shoes, and reclining.The husband gripes and groans about his work day being so long and how he's too tired to help. Meanwhile his wife is buzzing around the kitchen and probably hasn't sat down since 6 am that morning.  Sorry your desk job is so demanding, John! Geez.

Naturally these roles have changed over the years. With the economy in the toilet, more women are being brought into the workplace to provide an extra income for the family. The problem comes when these working women are still wholly expected to perform the duties of a housewife upon returning. We've all been tired after work, no one wants to go home and do a second job. But there are women that do, with no pay, grueling hours, and grumpy customers. I think it's time the 'man of the house' stepped up and did a few chores.

Feminism and Prostitution-Bria Shelby

Carol Leigh's article is one that I find interesting because it brings together two seemingly opposing subjects:feminism and prostitution. According to some, one should have nothing to do with the other. What seems even more strange is the fact that feminists themselves have actually tried to outlaw prostitution because of its danger to feminism.
 I understand the concern because the sexualization of women and their depictions as  objects have been a major problem over the years; There is a fine line between women expressing themselves sexually and becoming objects and prostitution hovers right over that line.
But we should not blame sex workers and jeopardize what could be their only way of making a living just because we feel uncomfortable with their lifestyle. It is their choice what they want  to do with their bodies and as long as they are safe there should not be any problems. The thing is that they are not safe. We often hear of sex workers being physically abused by their clients and bosses. There are no benefits or unions to help them in their line of work. But again, we should not blame sex workers for what happens to them, only the people who are inflicting violence. They are only treated that way because of men's misogynistic tendencies and the assumption that sex workers are second class citizens who deserve to be abused. The worst thing about prostitution is the stigma that we hold along with it and if we get rid of that then eventually we may  be able to develope a healthy line of work for sex workers.-Bria Shelby

Weekly Response- Ann Arnett

When women with families go to work, it is usually that they have two jobs. The first job is one where they leave the home and get paid to work. The second job starts before and when they get off of work from their paid job. Women are most often expected to do the majority of housework, such as cooking and cleaning, as well as taking care of the children if she has them.  In the past women performed most of the housework and continue to do so. Statistics show that men have increased their performance of housework, but there is still a huge gap between the amount women and men do. There are exceptions where a man and woman have agreed to do equal work and have an egalitarian marriage. Although there is this exception, I still see many women continuing to work after they have clocked out. Women still come home and cook and take care of her kids while her husband sits in his chair watching tv and relaxing. Women often wake up before and go to bed after their husbands, because they are cleaning, helping the kids, or preparing for the next day. Although some women don't mind doing this, it can be frustrating. Men often overlook how much women do for them and will often say “please do this for me, for I am so tired after a hard day at work.” What they fail to realize is her workday has lasted much longer than his, and she is just as tired.

Clothing & Identity Zine Outline

Title Cover
Letter to Readers
Table of Contents
Essay 1
Ad
Essay 2
Interview
Essay 3
Horoscopes
Dos & Donts
Collab Essay
Top 10s
Notes
Bibliography

Revision:Violet Newborn.......................Outline

Cherokee,Taylor,Violet

-Title

-Table of Contents

-Letter to Readers

-Opinion Piece- Feminist Art

-Top Ten- Feminist fashion and art

-Opinion Piece-Cherokee art aspect of feminist fashion in relation to gender and sizeism.

-Poem: by Violet

-Advertisement:

-Opinion Piece - Taylor

-Horoscope- by Taylor

-Opinion Piece- Is feminist art triggering or empowering to women who are survivors of sexual abuse.

-Interview: Adult women survivors of abuse

-Feature Article (Co-Written)

-Notes

-Bibliography