responses [weeks 3 and 2]

Week 3:

To glenn's blog:

I think that there are several reasons for this phenomenon. 

The main reason is that men already in power made the decisions that affected the media up until recent times. And this still may be true today.

Historically, men and not women have held leadership positions in almost every field mentioned here. The movie industry, music industry, and even publishing companies have all been run by men. I guess it was natural for them to elect men as representatives in these fields, and I understand why this would happen. I don't blame these men because they did not necessarily exclude women on purpose, but simply thought men were more fitting of whichever role they were looking to fill.

To Tiffany's Blog:

Tiffany,
Personally I am not too offended by this book title, but I also don't find it appealing. It seems sort of gimmicky to me and its trying to be too 'cool'. I feel like the author just wants to grab attention with this somewhat shocking but not too shocking title, and it just isn't something that I think I would buy.
I could definitely understand why someone would be offended by this. Some people have experienced hard times and name calling throughout their lives for whatever reasons, and probably would not want to purchase a book that reminds them of these difficulties that they have endured. 
As for the 'skinny' aspect--- it is what a lot of people want but I also think that many women are learning to love their bodies even if it isn't the typical 'perfect' body. Nowadays I feel like people emphasize health over thinness, so this book might be a little late with that.

To Alex's Blog:

Personally, I tend to lean the other way.

It isn't OK to blame either sex for problems in the environment, but I think its actually women who tend to be more conscious of the way their own actions affect the environment. While there are many activists that are both male and female, I feel that women have a louder voice in the environmental movement than do men. 
One example of this is Laurie Lennard, former wife of comedian and producer Larry David. Laurie Lennard is one of many celebrity wives that spends her time campaigning for the environment. She is known to be among the loudest environmental activists in the US, and is one of many women who support similar causes. 
I also think that many women are involved in lobbying for legal activism regarding the environment.

Week 2:

To Ashleigh's Post:

I totally see what you're saying.
I think it also depends on the child. When I was little, i refused to wear anything that wasn't pink or pretty. As soon as I had a sense of myself, I constantly wanted to dress myself in 'pretty things'.
Maybe this was the result of the fact that I was a second child and received many hand-me-downs from my brother. A lot of the toys that I played with were probably considered 'boy toys', so when I could get something girly, I lept at it. 
I even remember my first day of school. I started first grade at age 5, and it was a private school. I wasn't allowed to wear my favorite pink shoes because it was a Jewish school with a strict dress code. I wouldn't stop crying, so they finally let me wear my crazy pink shoes. 
I think that children need a sense of independence about their tastes. Its ok to guide them or joke with them a little about it like (like if a boy wants to wear his mom's high heels), but i don't think its ok to restrain their tastes.
May 21, 2008 6:17 PM



To Jason's Post:

I think that its definitely OK for a man to be in touch with his feminine side. 
As a woman, I've never had a problem with men that can put in their honest input about my dress matching my shoes. 
I'm not sure why some men or women might have a problem with this. Perhaps they aren't as comfortable in their own skin as you are?
May 27, 2008 10:17 AM  

Week 3 Class business post

Many people believe that the days of gender discrimination in the workplace are over. While this may be true of many low level positions, some of the worst cases of gender bias in the work place actually occur in higher level positions. Because these types of positions often require great levels of responsibility and wit, discrimination in high level positions hurts some of the world's most talented and highly motivated women.  

Recently, I came across the following article on BBC news. While I do believe that conditions in the workplace have improved immensely, we must not be too quick to assume that women and men in all areas of work/industry will enjoy the same opportunities: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2523427.stm

The field of science is one that has historically been dominated by men. While many brilliant and motivated women have contributed to the field, successful and award-winning scientists most often tend to be men.

Personally, I feel that there are two reasons for this; discrimination, and expectations.

 While discrimination among top tier scientists may not be so obvious on the surface, its clear that many female scientists feel that they have been overlooked because of their sex. Male scientists may not actively harass their female colleagues, but there is still a distinct feeling among many women in the field that they are not considered as trustworthy as comparably-abled men.  

The other problem, expectations, results from society's notion of the proper role of women. Many people still feel today that a woman's main purpose is to stay at home and care for the family. Even if a woman does work part-time, its often for the purpose of gaining and extra- income, and not to contribute to the annals of scientific discovery.

Although many female scientists probably feel that they are in fact able to balance family and ever demanding lab-work, male scientists might be reluctant to work with female scientists that have a family and other responsibilities. For this reason, women may not be given as many opportunities as men, even though they are just as capable of handling the work.

...What do you think??

Do you agree that there is still discrimination in the workplace?

If so, is it for the reasons that i've provided, or for different reasons altogether?? is it possible that in some fields or situations, women actually have an advantage over men?

Week 2 Class Business Post

When someone brings up the topic of witchcraft, most Americans automatically think back to 1692-- the height of the Salem Witch Hunt.

 Among the first images that come to mind are feline familiars, broomsticks, and hideously unattractive elderly women reciting demonic incantations while celebrating the devil.

 

While few people today fear that their neighbor has recently signed the devil's book, there are areas in the world  where genuine witchcraft beliefs are still a part of popular culture. 

 

Furthermore, in these areas, it is still the case that substantially more woman than man are accused of and executed for supernatural crimes. 

 

I came across this article today while browsing BBC.com:

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7413268.stm

 

This article discusses recent witchcraft accusations in Kenya, which ended in the murder of 11 elderly Kenyans by an angry mob. What I find interesting is that of the eleven people murdered, eight were women while only three were men.

 

While its not clear whether or not the people murdered were actually involved in ‘witchcraft activities’, I find it interesting that regardless of the geographical area, those accused of witchcraft overwhelmingly tend to be women. Even among fictional depictions, its difficult to imagine a male witch.

 

I think that gender expectations in pre-industrial societies have a lot to do with disproportionate amount of women murdered for witchcraft. When the American Colonies and England were in a similar economic state to some areas of Africa today, women were accused of witchcraft more often than men because they were seen as the weaker sex and therefore more vulnerable to falling for the guiles of the devil. Even the wealthiest women were not allowed to own property to the degree that men could (because they were not seen as capable), and therefore had little leverage in societal affairs.

 

 During the Salem trials, single women or women with questionable sexual/familial backgrounds who often had little money were among the first targeted. While the accusations did eventually expand to men and women with more money, it was mostly the vulnerable ones who ended up burning at the stake.  Because women have historically been seen as the weaker sex, even female accusers would target a woman as her tormentor before she would target a man.

 

There is no doubt that witchcraft in Kenya is very different than the witchcraft crises that occurred throughout Europe and in the Americas centuries ago. Still, it is important to note that women are still among the most targeted, along with the elderly. In this recent tragedy, all victims were over 80 years of age, and the majority were women. The fact that the people murdered were elderly further supports the idea that marginalized groups are easier to target and eliminate. Clearly, women in many areas, including this part of Kenya are also a marginalized group, seen as more of a burden to feed than they are worth.

 

I believe that gender expectations play a huge role in the way justice is carried out, even if that justice takes the form of an angry mob. While women in America and many other developed nations today enjoy the full benefit of the law, there are still countless women who are victim their own society’s lack of expectations for them. Witchcraft murders are only one example of this. What do you think?

Week 1 business post

Its hard to talk about politics nowadays without bringing up the issues of race and gender. With the tight race between Hilary and Obama heating up, it seems that many people care less about the issues and more about the candidate as a person. While I do think that it is important to look at the personality of the candidate him or herself, its difficult not to wonder to what extent gender roles affect the popularity of each candidate, and whether or not this is a legitimate way to judge someone's potential competence in office.

As a former first lady, some people may think that Hilary Clinton has an advantage over Obama in the race for the democratic candidacy. And because the Democratic Party considers itself to be the party of equality and change, it is no surprise that the first female presidential contender may end up representing this party. Still, statistics have shown that men of all races tend to support Obama over Clinton.  In Wisconsin, for example, Obama won blue-collar male support, while Clinton still won the support of women and other groups (http://www.slate.com/id/2184689/). 

To what extent do you think existing ideas about Gender roles play a role in statistics such as these? is it possible that men like those in Wisconsin genuinely relate more to Obama, or must this disparity between voters of similar economic backgrounds be necessarily attributed to gender ideals in the US?

Is Thomas Beatie really the worlds first pregnant man?

While I normally commend Oprah for choosing interesting and edgy topics for her show, calling Thomas Beatie the worlds 'first pregnant man' is an attention grabbing misnomer.

Regardless of Beatie's opinion on his own gender identity, he is still biologically a woman, and therefore very understandably capable of carrying a child. While his relationship and lifestyle may be unconventional, the pregnancy itself is nothing out of the ordinary. Artificial insemination is quite common for lesbian couples nowadays, and Thomas Beatie's situation is no exception. 

While Thomas Beatie may consider himself to be a man by Gender, his sex is still female, and so he is not the world's first pregnant man. And although Beatie and his wife do not consider themselves to be a lesbian couple, their chosen method of reproduction is not really out of the ordinary. 

Aside from the fact that the child's father is transgendered (something that is also not completely uncommon), this situation is not groundbreaking for the transgendered community. 

A more important issue to raise is whether or not it would be possible to ensure that there is no discrimination taking place with regards to Beatie's medical treatment.     

Hello all!

I do have some experience in blogging, but have never used this site before. 

I'm looking forward to having some interesting discussions with all of you, and I hope we have a great semester together  :D