The day after Winter Break, I decided to create a collage of several magazine pictures to define the word "Beauty" and to discover how much my own goals have changed. On the top of the collage I have the word "Beauty" and next to this a small sticker which reads "Inspired By The Mystery".
The first magazine pictures include two large pictures of soccer players. I have always enjoyed playing soccer, and one of my childhood goals was to go on and play professionally. However, in high school I learned those chances were very thin, and my competitive nature decreased. I look at myself today and I long to be as physically fit as I was then. This made me really happy to see that I still feel one of my goals is to be proud of my health and to enjoy sports.
The next large picture rests within the middle of the two soccer pictures, and has a woman smiling really big. I have crossed out several words, and all thats left reads "Great..Affect...Love...Feel Daring!" One of things I have always enjoyed was reading about true love, and thinking about what that means. One thing I would like to improve is my confidence, and I hope to smile as much as this woman, and to be proud of my accomplishments. I left the words about love because I wanted to remind myself if I do someday fall in love I want to make sure I remain who I am. But now I need the time to discover who I am.
Around these pictures I have smaller ones which reflect my ideal fashion style, which includes rock & roll t-shirts, long hair, jeans, and nice outfits.This shows my desire to take pride in my appearance, and motivate myself to wake up earlier when getting ready for class.
I also have a picture of paper cranes, which was one of my goals. I read a book about a girl with leukemia, who tried to make 1,000 paper cranes. There was a legend where if you make 1,000 of these cranes you would be granted one wish. At the end of the story, she dies before finishing her goal. Her family and friends end up making the rest of the paper cranes, as a smybol of hope. I have this picture to remember to always help anyone in need and have a positive outlook no matter what happens.
I want to thank you all for taking the time to read about my collage. My ultimate goal with this collage was to see how far I could step back from the male gaze. I find that I still have trouble when thinking about physical beauty, but I hope to always remember that with beauty we can make of what we wish, and it should not fall into the make gaze. There are images we can put into our society which can help motivate and inspire women to be more confident. I hope with this project I can make myself confident and hopefully more talkative in class. :)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn
I have studied music since I was little and recently remembered learning about Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix's sister. While Felix gets most of the attention, a fair amount of musicologists argue that Fanny was the more talented of the two. Who was the more gifted composer makes no difference; what does is that Fanny was discouraged from pursing a career in music from her father. As this link Fanny Mendelssohn describes, Fanny's dad told her that women had no role in a music career, and that their place was in the home. What is sad is that Fanny was extremely gifted in her craft and she produced several "great works". Had she been able to pursue a career in composition, she may have created many other pieces. Thankfully her husband did encourage her to compose music, and thus we still have some of these today. Clearly we see a double-standard, as a father tells his daughter what her role should be, and encourages her brother to pursue the opposite. Sadly this is still present in today's society as there are "clearly marked" roles and occupations "suitable" for men and women.
Rebel nun talks female priests, women in church
Rebel nun talks female priests, women in church
Here is a link to a 3 min video of a nun speaking about women's rights within the Catholic church. We discussed in one of our classes about women roles within churches (mainly behind the scenes kinds of work), and this video touches on that aspect as well. She clarifies that she is not "challenging the Vatican", as the media likes to spin it, but is suggesting it's time to rethink women's roles in leadership positions. She also gives a clever definition of what feminism means to her: "the radical idea that women are people"... which I thought was humorous given the context, but also a really great way to briefly describe why feminist movements and ideologies serve a crucial purpose in our society. Props to this nun and those supporting this cause for pushing "radical" ideas within a predominantly male sphere.
Here is a link to a 3 min video of a nun speaking about women's rights within the Catholic church. We discussed in one of our classes about women roles within churches (mainly behind the scenes kinds of work), and this video touches on that aspect as well. She clarifies that she is not "challenging the Vatican", as the media likes to spin it, but is suggesting it's time to rethink women's roles in leadership positions. She also gives a clever definition of what feminism means to her: "the radical idea that women are people"... which I thought was humorous given the context, but also a really great way to briefly describe why feminist movements and ideologies serve a crucial purpose in our society. Props to this nun and those supporting this cause for pushing "radical" ideas within a predominantly male sphere.
SAND
This past weekend I went to SAND (Student-Alumni-Networking-Day) in the Science Center (it was really great by the way and I would definitely recommend it for anyone to attend next year!).
There were a lot of alumni (mix of men and women) there and one thing that I noticed when I was in two of the workshops, when the alums had to introduce themselves, was that it seemed to me that all of the women worked for someone else (they worked for a company, had a boss, etc.), while most of the men that were there WERE the boss of THEIR OWN company. Not everyone fit this category, as one woman was a psychologist and she owned her own practice, but every other woman that I met there worked for someone else!
I am curious if you all notice this in your daily lives. I feel that most companies are not headed by women and that men are the ones who are the bosses and own those companies. Why do you think this is? It really baffles me, especially for the day-and-age we live in. I find it odd that there are not a lot of women who are "at the top" when it comes to business and owning companies, being CEOs, etc.
Maybe women are too busy working, being married, and having kids to be CEOs or to own their own companies, but that can't fully explain this unbalance, can it? More women are graduating college now than men, so wouldn't it make sense to see more women become bosses, and company owners?
Can someone shed some light on this for me?
There were a lot of alumni (mix of men and women) there and one thing that I noticed when I was in two of the workshops, when the alums had to introduce themselves, was that it seemed to me that all of the women worked for someone else (they worked for a company, had a boss, etc.), while most of the men that were there WERE the boss of THEIR OWN company. Not everyone fit this category, as one woman was a psychologist and she owned her own practice, but every other woman that I met there worked for someone else!
I am curious if you all notice this in your daily lives. I feel that most companies are not headed by women and that men are the ones who are the bosses and own those companies. Why do you think this is? It really baffles me, especially for the day-and-age we live in. I find it odd that there are not a lot of women who are "at the top" when it comes to business and owning companies, being CEOs, etc.
Maybe women are too busy working, being married, and having kids to be CEOs or to own their own companies, but that can't fully explain this unbalance, can it? More women are graduating college now than men, so wouldn't it make sense to see more women become bosses, and company owners?
Can someone shed some light on this for me?
Women Farmers
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/17/women-farmers-increasing/1993009/
Here is an interesting article focused on the role of women in farming. It touches on a larger picture, of course, which is the inferior role women are given in society. Even though in 2013 women may play a larger role in certain jobs, in earning money, etc, it is still invisible. It is not addressed as it should be, and therefore more people are unaware of the progresses which are made.
I specifically think this article is interesting regarding its connection to the Super Bowl which was centered around a sport men play, full of alcohol ads objectifying women and complete with the performance by Beyonce which is debatable as to whether or not it is empowering for women or objectifying for women (or both).
Here is an interesting article focused on the role of women in farming. It touches on a larger picture, of course, which is the inferior role women are given in society. Even though in 2013 women may play a larger role in certain jobs, in earning money, etc, it is still invisible. It is not addressed as it should be, and therefore more people are unaware of the progresses which are made.
I specifically think this article is interesting regarding its connection to the Super Bowl which was centered around a sport men play, full of alcohol ads objectifying women and complete with the performance by Beyonce which is debatable as to whether or not it is empowering for women or objectifying for women (or both).
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Lady in the Streets, Freak in the Sheets
This past Thursday, I was at my Sister-2-Sister meeting and we brought up the topic of women in the media and how that transfers into the household. The media has given the women of society two very conflicting roles. It is the idea of the slut vs. the idea of the lady. Often on music videos, TV shows, lyrics to a song, etc. you will see, or hear, about women who are either staying at home with the kids, or holding down the household, or there are the women that are going out every night finding a different guy to sleep with and doing whatever men want her to do.
The idea is that every man wants a lady in the streets but a freak in the bed. This is how all of our roles are stereotyped in modern society. You are either one or the other or you are both, but you keep one tightly concealed. We are supposed to be strong independent women out in public, but turn into sex kittens when we get home. These are the main portrayals of women. But it gets confusing at times because at one time we are asked to be at home and take care of the household, but then it gets turned around and we are asked to go out into society and act more like a man and work. Also, there is the idea that we should be innocent and keep our virginity sacred, but it seems as though that is more when it comes to being with other mine, but it's perfectly fine to be a sex goddess with only one guy.
The media has changed the viewpoint of how women are in society. There was a time when marriage was the number priority of women and now it is all about being single. It is to the point of where the morals of women have changed. We are constantly being assigned conflicting roles where it is almost as though women have no true identity until the man decides what he needs.
The idea is that every man wants a lady in the streets but a freak in the bed. This is how all of our roles are stereotyped in modern society. You are either one or the other or you are both, but you keep one tightly concealed. We are supposed to be strong independent women out in public, but turn into sex kittens when we get home. These are the main portrayals of women. But it gets confusing at times because at one time we are asked to be at home and take care of the household, but then it gets turned around and we are asked to go out into society and act more like a man and work. Also, there is the idea that we should be innocent and keep our virginity sacred, but it seems as though that is more when it comes to being with other mine, but it's perfectly fine to be a sex goddess with only one guy.
The media has changed the viewpoint of how women are in society. There was a time when marriage was the number priority of women and now it is all about being single. It is to the point of where the morals of women have changed. We are constantly being assigned conflicting roles where it is almost as though women have no true identity until the man decides what he needs.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Reproductive Justice
First off: In no way am I trying to promote pro-life or pro- choise. This is just a little something that I found kinda interesting! Hope you all do as well!
I came across a small article today that was centered around the phrase 'Reproductive Justice' and its rising popularity. It gave reason and explanation for this developing trend being used by abortion- rights advocates. It is meant to shine light on the inequality that gets in the way of womens reproductive choices. This term is being used instead (in favor) of, and alongside, the term 'choice' or 'pro-choice'.
The term was coined by feminist activists in the 1990's who thought choice was too much of a constricting word to frame their discussions and support off of.
The article quoted:
"We realized choice was an aspiration and not a reality for many of us, and was too narrow to speak to people without privilege... We decided what we needed was reproductive justice--the removal of the structural inequalities that blocked our access to choice."
I found it very interesting and slightly upsetting that I have never heard of this term before. I feel as though I am always seeing/hearing things about pro-life and pro-choice movements, although this phrase has never been mentioned.
I thought I would bring this little bit of information to the blog and see if anyone is familiar with this term or any history behind it?! Or, what do you guys think about the term being used? (just the term, not about the pro-choice arguement. I don't what to bring any negative tension about this sometimes touchy subject) :)
I came across a small article today that was centered around the phrase 'Reproductive Justice' and its rising popularity. It gave reason and explanation for this developing trend being used by abortion- rights advocates. It is meant to shine light on the inequality that gets in the way of womens reproductive choices. This term is being used instead (in favor) of, and alongside, the term 'choice' or 'pro-choice'.
The term was coined by feminist activists in the 1990's who thought choice was too much of a constricting word to frame their discussions and support off of.
The article quoted:
"We realized choice was an aspiration and not a reality for many of us, and was too narrow to speak to people without privilege... We decided what we needed was reproductive justice--the removal of the structural inequalities that blocked our access to choice."
I found it very interesting and slightly upsetting that I have never heard of this term before. I feel as though I am always seeing/hearing things about pro-life and pro-choice movements, although this phrase has never been mentioned.
I thought I would bring this little bit of information to the blog and see if anyone is familiar with this term or any history behind it?! Or, what do you guys think about the term being used? (just the term, not about the pro-choice arguement. I don't what to bring any negative tension about this sometimes touchy subject) :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)