Blog #4

Instead of reading a lecture for class this week we were assigned to watch the movie Frida. In many art classes and my Spanish class in eleventh grade I have seen and heard about the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera but, I did not know their story. I was very interested in this movie to see the story of Kahlo and Rivera. Frida Kahlo is a prime example of a woman who strives for what she believes in and does not let her disabilities stop her from achieving her dreams. Frida had a love for drawing and painting and even after her tragic trolley accident that left her stuck in bed for long periods of time she was able to create images that expressed emotions that many were feeling but not able to express. Frida was exemplified a strong woman. Frida knew her husband what not being faithful to her but she kept her head high and stuck by his side in New York City. It was not until she found Diego sleeping with her sister that she had the courage to leave him. Her strength, courage, and emotion, and her disabilities allowed her to create more and more images that would later become very well known.

There is a clear connection between the movie Frida and the article “Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory,” by Garland-Thomson. The connection between the two is the theme of disabilities. On page 75 of the Garland-Thomson article it is stated that, “Feminist disability theory addresses such broad feminist concerns as the unity of the category woman, the status of the lived body, the politics of appearance, the medicalization of the body, the privilege of normalcy, multiculturalism, sexuality, the social construction of identity, and the commitment to integration.” Many of these topics are addressed in the movie Frida. A few examples are Frida is physically disable after the trolley accident and has to undergo many surgeries throughout her life, she is unable to have children and miscarries during her pregnancy, she is also not very attractive and has a uni-brow which is considered a disability, and sexually she had the disability of cheating on her husband with other men and she is also attracted to the opposite sex which in that period of time is considered to be a disability.

One part of the article we read that I found to be very interesting is on page 78 where it states woman are “mutilated males.” Woman are always seen as second class to men. The article also discusses how woman are considered physically disabled compared to men and men who “throw like a girl” are also considered to have a disability. This is something that always angers me because I played three varsity sports throughout high school and as good as my teams were or no matter how much better shape I was in compared to a lot of the guys I was friends with, the girls teams were still seen as lower and not as important as the guys teams. I feel that stereotypes against genders shouldn’t also be considered disabilities because women are just as able to play physical sports as men and are sometimes even better then them at various sports. 

Blog #3

After this weeks lecture the social classes in the United States became much more apparent to me. I was intrigued by the concept that we have the highest income inequality among first world nations. There are many people in our society who do not have any money at all and are living in the street while those in our society who have a lot of money just keep on getting more. I feel there needs to be a better divide between income and those that are poor who try hard to find work and gain an income should be rewarded. Another thing that caught my eye was that in the terrible economic problems our country is having those who have the money seem to be getting richer while the poor seem to be getting poorer. Why is this happening? I also feel that our society mirrors that of what Marx-Engels wrote about the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie had power over the proletariat and they did not pay them the full value of their labor. I feel that is also happening in our society today where business owners and managers are making a lot of money while their workers are making just above minimum wage when they should be getting more. I can connect this to my summer job as a lifeguard. For an 18 year old girl I am definitely being paid a decent amount to be a lifeguard at the beach but I sometimes feel that I am not being paid enough. My salary is based on a weekly basis for working 6 days a week an not on an hourly wage when I work 8 hours a day. My salary ends up being slightly above minimum wage when it should be much higher for the amount of work that I do. I think many businesses are trying to get away with paying their workers less than they deserve.

I understand that in the topic of gender women are seen as lower and less important compared to men, but women are also experiencing this in the economy. One part of the lecture that really grabbed my attention was about the deserving and undeserving poor. Who is responsible for deciding if someone is deserving or undeserving of being poor? I believe that no one deserves to be poor but the division of making someone deserving and undeserving should not be based on race, ethnicity, and gender. The image of the Migrant Mother With Three Children in fact does help make a clearer understanding of the deserving poor. This mother left the Great Plains during the time of the dust bowl in order to find work in California to support her children. This image helps to express that there are many single women in our society and during the time of the dust bowl that are desperately trying to support their families they just might need a little help from others in order to do so.

This weeks reading Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, takes place in 1937 in New Hampshire. The novel relates to this weeks lecture because it focuses on different social classes within society at the time. The novel focuses on Selena a character considered to be in the lower class and Allison Mackenzie a character considered to be in the middle class. Not only does this novel help to paint a picture of what is going on socially at the time it also focuses on many topics relating to women such as rape and violence. 

Response to Nicole Kloorfain Blog #2

Similarly to Nicole, One Tree Hill is one of my favorite televisions shows and I completely agree that Brooke Davis helps to show that women can become successful. Brooke Davis exemplified the stereotypical popular high school girl that many aspire to be but what most young girls do not realize is that even popular people have difficult lives. The later seasons of this show can connect to the article we read called Feminine Mystique because Brooke Davis does not want to be a full time stay at home mom that does not work. Brooke is passionate about her work and finds a way to be there for her new born sons and be able to maintain her fashion line that she is so in love with. I find it great that television shows help us to understand many aspects of what goes on in society and while some televisions stick to the social norms and the usual stereotypes of males and females, other shows help to show that it is okay to not fit these stereotypes.

Blog #2

As a woman in today's society it is very interesting to me to see what women in our past have done to gain us the rights we now have. The different waves of rights also caught my attention. It is crazy for me to think that at one point in time women could not even speak up for what they believed in. It is because of the waves of women's rights that have happened in our past that bring women to what they are today. I could not even imagine a time where women could not speak publically and be able to get their point across. In today’s society most women speak publically for their profession and there are many women who are also in the public eye.

After the past few lectures and all of the readings there is one book that always seems to pop into my mind, which is The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynn, the main character in the book is exiled from society and has to walk around with a scarlet "A" pinned to her chest. I feel it is always the woman who gets criticized for making a mistake with a man rather than a man making a mistake with a woman. A Woman is usually the one to lose their friends while men are cheered on by theirs and their mistake is easily put in the past. This story follows closely to the stereotypes that are given to men and women in our society. In this scenario women can be seen as the oppressed citizen in society.

One reading from this week that truly caught my attention was “Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. This reading talked about what it was like for women to be considered feminine in society. Women who were feminine were housewives and did not aspire to have a career. It amazes me that women did not live for themselves back then, they lived to get married at a very young age and were taught how to be the perfect housewife. Women then could not do anything for themselves. When I was younger my mom was a stay at home mom and was always there to be the typical “house mom” but now in the bad economy I am grateful that she was able to get a great education and be able to go back to work to help provide more for my family than she was already providing. Why is it that there is this stereotype that women are meant for the house and not to be out in the work force? Women are completely capable of doing the same jobs as men and men should also be able to take care of their families and help with the house hold chores. Another aspect of the article that I found interesting was that women refused to do things that were unfeminine to them. If women then were worrying about what made them appear unfeminine then the actions taken by women today are to an entire new level. 

Blog #1

The video Still Killing Us Softly 4, by Jane Killbourne is a reminder for most women that controlling images do exist. Although these images and stereotypes are extreme they appear in pretty much all advertisements in our every day lives. The video by Jane Killbourne truly displays the differences in how males and females are portrayed in advertisements and movies. Women are portrayed as skinny beautiful girls. I feel that you don’t need to be anorexic with a face full of make up to be beautiful but most young girls in today’s society feel that they have to because of what they see in advertisements. These advertisements are selling more than just the product there are trying to promote there are selling an image. I find it interesting that while you may think many celebrities love the way they look in advertisements, they don’t. They feel that the advertisements are giving a false image of themselves and they are ashamed of that. They love what they look like naturally and not they way that Photoshop portrays them to look. I don’t understand what the creators of these advertisements have in mind when they create the “perfect” woman on these advertisements. Do they realize they are causing young women to become something they are not? I hope that one day advertisers will realize some of the damage they are creating.

Another article that really caught my attention was “How Big is Big Enough.” Usually women are the ones spoken about as objects to men but in the television show Sex and the City it is the opposite. Four females are the main characters of the show and talk about men in the same way that men talk about women, which most people would have thought was unusual. This television show draws on the topics of privilege and oppression. The men in this show are ranked based on their class, race, economic status, their sexuality, and many other things. This show portrays that there are many different men in our society and there are different ways to view someone as manly or masculine. 

Also in the readings and in class we discussed the controlling images surrounding men. Men are portrayed as strong and powerful. They are many stereotypes surrounding men. One article that really fascinated me was the article about the Newton school shooting. Most school shootings occur when a white young male is angry. A stereotype for males is to be violent and the school shootings that occurred in Sandy Hook and in Columbine help to confirm this stereotype. But also in a way it makes us believe that all white young men are angry and violent when in fact they probably aren’t. From a young age boys believe they are supposed to be strong and most that are emotional hide their emotions until it is too much to keep inside and they become angry and could take that anger out on their peers with a gun. I feel that men should know it is okay to be emotional and they do not always have to be so tough.

Edited/Commented by Alexis Levy:

I agree strongly with what you had said about the Still Killing Us Softly 4 movie.  I also wonder if the creators of these advertisements realize the impacts it has on people, especially women.  They should definitely re-evaluate their definition of "beauty."  In addition, men shouldn't be portrayed as superior to women.  These thoughts are subconsciously drilled into boys heads starting at a young age and sometimes its effects are negative.  Just like you had mentioned, the article, "Why Won’t We Talk about Violence and Masculinity in America?" discusses how young boys believe that they are supposed to be strong and hide their emotions, which should not be the case.  Releasing those emotions in a healthy way can be a positive thing and they should learn that instead.

Comments from Abby Moran: 

Jenni,

I agree with your statement that controlling images do exist in our society. Because of the images seen in magazines, women believe that it’s necessary to be perfect. However, I believe that there is no such thing as perfect. Everyone has flaws and these flaws should be embraced, not hidden. The Dove Evolution commercial proves that the images of the women portrayed in advertisements aren’t real, they’re photoshopped. You also commented on the issue of weight. In today’s society, we are only taught that skinny is beautiful. I did a psychology project last year about beauty and I focused on the aspect of weight. After the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, twitter was filled with posts about having to go to the gym and not eat in order to look like the women in the fashion show. It’s a shame that this is what our society has come to.