In reading this article I was shocked to learn that civillian women are more likely to be killed in war than soilders. Even though people typically equate war with men, since they are more likely to serve in the armed forces, women are involved and affected just as much if not more. Women are also more likely than men to be refugrees and victims of sexual violence in war. Another way women are negatively affected by war is through an increase of domestic violence in wartime. This information was a little more surprising to me because it is something I would not have linked together. This increase is thought to be due to an increase in available weapons and because of the soilders or former soldiers due to their frustration and aggression. The media promoting violence for conflict resolution is another possibility for why domestic violence increases during wartime. The loss of family in war affects men and women but because women are particularly the primary care givers they are affected in a gender-specific way. A few other ways women are affected by war is through loss of work, destruction of the environment, and military spending because it affects their ability to provide for their children.
Women can respond to war in different ways. They can join although they tend to occupy feminine roles. They can also work in the defense industry even though these are found to be some of the lowest paying jobs in the labor force. Militaries often use propoganda that links motherhood, nationalism and militarism. By enlisting women it urgers their husbands or boyfriends to enlist. It is not socially acceptable for these men to not enlist because men are supposed to be the tough ones on the relationship. If their women enlist and they do not then they will be seen as weak. Some women respond to war by mourning their losses in public as a protest against war and some women resist war through other types of anti-war organizations.
This article discusses something we've talked about some in class. It talks about the debate about whether women are distinct from men when it comes to their biological nature. Although research shows that men and women do not have an essential nature, conservatives and some feminists use the claim that women are different from men which is why they should not have to fight in war. Since the data indicates that women are not biologically different when it comes to things like aggression that would indicate that they should have to fight in war; however, since they have been cultured to be different from men they are not necessarily programmed for fighting in war.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween
This Halloween I really got to thinking about the way girls and boys act on Halloween and how that relates to what we've been talking about in class. First of all, most girls (referring to college age) on Halloween dress somewhat provacatively to put it nicely and if not then they at least dress cute. Then again, girls can and do dress like this at parties on any given day but just not to this extreme. On halloween, some boys also sometimes take the slutty costume route but the difference is that guys are not allowed to dress like that all year round. Halloween is the one night guys are actually allowed to play dress up. I even saw guys wearing girls costumes on Halloween which is something that would certainly not happen any other time of the year. On the other hand, I did not see any girls wearing guys costumes but why? I think that girls dress up slutty because they know that is what guys want to see. If a girl wears a costume that de-sexes her appearance then guys are not as likely to be interested. At the same time though, guys talk about how slutty girls dress on Halloween and girls do not typically want to be called sluts. So this leads to the dichotomy that girls are constantly faced with. If they are not dressing sexy enough then guys do not want them but if they dress sexy then guys are going to think they are slutty.
After writing that first part it got me thinking about they way guys dress at parties. Guys never have to expose their bodies in the way girls do to be sexy. Typically a guy at a party is going to be wearing jeans and a shirt which covers most of his body. A girl on the other hand is probably going to be wearing either a low cut shirt, a short dress, or something along those lines. So why don't guys have to try to attract females by exposing themselves? I think it is because girls are first of all trying to attract guys and then guys will pursue these girls if they are interested. Then ultimately the girl will make the decision about whether she is interested in the guy pursuing her and whether or not she will hook-up with him. I think that guys do not have to expose themselves to attract girls because for the most part girls are not going to be the ones to make the first move. This is at least what I have come up with from what I have observed here at school.
After writing that first part it got me thinking about they way guys dress at parties. Guys never have to expose their bodies in the way girls do to be sexy. Typically a guy at a party is going to be wearing jeans and a shirt which covers most of his body. A girl on the other hand is probably going to be wearing either a low cut shirt, a short dress, or something along those lines. So why don't guys have to try to attract females by exposing themselves? I think it is because girls are first of all trying to attract guys and then guys will pursue these girls if they are interested. Then ultimately the girl will make the decision about whether she is interested in the guy pursuing her and whether or not she will hook-up with him. I think that guys do not have to expose themselves to attract girls because for the most part girls are not going to be the ones to make the first move. This is at least what I have come up with from what I have observed here at school.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Female Aggressiveness
Today in class we discussed aggressiveness in girls. There is certainly a distinction between the ways in which girls and boys exhibit aggression. Boys tend to be physically aggressive whereas girls are usually indirectly aggressive. In a way, I think this type of aggression is even worse than physical aggression. Girls can be very coniving towards one another and in some cases they will secretly be harming other girls. When one girl is angry at another she might tell everyone a rumor about the other girl in order to hurt her emotionally. At least when guys are aggressive towards one another they know it is happening.
In the movie clips we saw some of the different ways in which aggressive women are portrayed. The clips got me to think about other movies that have aggressive female characters. The one movie that instantly comes to mind is Mean Girls. In this movie, the girls all partake in aggressive behaviors. Their aggressiveness is also done in an indirect and coniving way. When the one girl decides to take out the alpha girl of the group she decides she needs to do a few key things to destroy her. These things include turning her friends against her, ruining her body, and getting rid of her guy. So basically this girl is taking away all that which the other girl defines herself by. I highly doubt that a guy would plot to destroy another guy's life in this way.
Okay, so Mean Girls is just a movie and it is somewhat exaggerated, but this type of behavior certainly occurs, especially in high school. In fact, the movie is rather similar to events that took place in my high school. Anyone who thinks girls are not aggressive should pay a little closer attention to the actions of high school girls.
In the movie clips we saw some of the different ways in which aggressive women are portrayed. The clips got me to think about other movies that have aggressive female characters. The one movie that instantly comes to mind is Mean Girls. In this movie, the girls all partake in aggressive behaviors. Their aggressiveness is also done in an indirect and coniving way. When the one girl decides to take out the alpha girl of the group she decides she needs to do a few key things to destroy her. These things include turning her friends against her, ruining her body, and getting rid of her guy. So basically this girl is taking away all that which the other girl defines herself by. I highly doubt that a guy would plot to destroy another guy's life in this way.
Okay, so Mean Girls is just a movie and it is somewhat exaggerated, but this type of behavior certainly occurs, especially in high school. In fact, the movie is rather similar to events that took place in my high school. Anyone who thinks girls are not aggressive should pay a little closer attention to the actions of high school girls.
Ecofeminism
For class I read chapter 7, Ecofeminism, which introduced me to another type of feminism that is brand new to me. Ecofeminists think that because women are culturally tied to nature, ecofeminists argue there are conceptual, symbolic, and linguistic connections between feminists and ecological issues. They also believe that beliefs, attitudes, and values are shaped by patriarchal framework. All ecofeminists believe that women's and nature's liberation are a joint project.
As for the roots of ecofeminism:
Although environmentalists all believe that human beings should respect nature the reasons for doing so are broken into two groups. The groups are human-centered environmentalism (shallow ecology) and earth-centered environmentalism (deep ecology). Human-centered believes that when we harm ourselves we harm the environment and that the environment is instrumental to our needs. Human-centered views nature as a machine. It is criticized for being arrogant anthropomorphism. Earth-centered reverts to ancient conceptions of nature as an organism. They believe that we should preserve integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. Criticism of earth-centered poses the question of what is the source of nature's intrinsic value?
There are a few different types of ecofeminism:
Spiritual ecofeminism embraces a religious, Earth-goddess view.
Transformative ecofeminism believes that women's connection to nature is socially constructed and ideologically reinforced.
Global ecofeminism states that women are more engaged in the work of sustaining daily life and are more concerned with elements (air, water) because they need to raise healthy kids.
Ecofeminism faces criticism:
Nature ecofeminism is criticised for being reactionary instead of revolutionary and for reducing women to mere bodies.
Spiritual ecofeminism is scrutinized for substituting religion for politics and for being too out there. For instance, they are said to spend too much time "dancing in the moonlight."
Transformative ecofeminism is said to be too demanding for the degree of activism.
Some of the points of ecofeminism make sense such as how women are culturally more tied to nature but I think some of them go too far. For instance, one ecofeminist said that if we do not control our population then the government should do it for us so that nonhuman animals have enough food and space. Of course I want animals to have enough food and space too but you cannot just allow die backs as one critic said. You cannot control the population in any humane way that I can think of but perhaps there is something I am overlooking.
As for the roots of ecofeminism:
Although environmentalists all believe that human beings should respect nature the reasons for doing so are broken into two groups. The groups are human-centered environmentalism (shallow ecology) and earth-centered environmentalism (deep ecology). Human-centered believes that when we harm ourselves we harm the environment and that the environment is instrumental to our needs. Human-centered views nature as a machine. It is criticized for being arrogant anthropomorphism. Earth-centered reverts to ancient conceptions of nature as an organism. They believe that we should preserve integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. Criticism of earth-centered poses the question of what is the source of nature's intrinsic value?
There are a few different types of ecofeminism:
Spiritual ecofeminism embraces a religious, Earth-goddess view.
Transformative ecofeminism believes that women's connection to nature is socially constructed and ideologically reinforced.
Global ecofeminism states that women are more engaged in the work of sustaining daily life and are more concerned with elements (air, water) because they need to raise healthy kids.
Ecofeminism faces criticism:
Nature ecofeminism is criticised for being reactionary instead of revolutionary and for reducing women to mere bodies.
Spiritual ecofeminism is scrutinized for substituting religion for politics and for being too out there. For instance, they are said to spend too much time "dancing in the moonlight."
Transformative ecofeminism is said to be too demanding for the degree of activism.
Some of the points of ecofeminism make sense such as how women are culturally more tied to nature but I think some of them go too far. For instance, one ecofeminist said that if we do not control our population then the government should do it for us so that nonhuman animals have enough food and space. Of course I want animals to have enough food and space too but you cannot just allow die backs as one critic said. You cannot control the population in any humane way that I can think of but perhaps there is something I am overlooking.
What a Girl Wants
Today we watched the movie, What a Girl Wants. In this movie, several girls between the ages of 10 and 15 were interviewed. Some of the statements of these girls were pretty shocking and rather concerning.
In the interviews the girls talk about different teen role models including Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, and Christina Aguilera. One of the girls said how these stars were perfect and that it made her lose confidence. What kind of role model makes you feel bad about yourself? This tells me that young girls need better role models that show that they have imperfections just like everyone else.
It was amazing to me how these young girls could identify how something in the media was ridiculous and degrading but at the same time they enjoyed watching it. For instance, one girl was talking about the Thong Song, how its just a booty video and just how it was ridiculous, but then at the end she said yeah I love that song. Even though these images make young girls feel self conscious and create unrealistic ideals, young girls cannot help but like them. Why? If they realize that the media doesn't portray realistic images why don't they just ignore them? I think that it is probably because they have to like these things in order to fit in and be cool. They simply cannot escape the culture that we live in.
I find it appalling, but not surprising, how so many young girls think they are too fat. With "premature toothpicks" as the one girl said, as role models of course they are going to feel bad about their own appearance. I know when I was young I thought I was too fat. It is sad that even though we as girls can recognize that it isn't realistic to be perfect like the girls we see in the media, we still get down on ourselves for it. These ideals are so ingrained in us that we cannot even help it.
In class we discussed whose fault it was for these problems, the media or parents. As in most cases, I would have to argue that it is some of both. Clearly the media does not give young girls the best messages and a change in this would be very beneficial. However, it is not likely that the media is going to get better any time soon. Parents can control what their children see to an extent but they could never prevent them from all of the inappropriate messages out there. I think it is important for parents to make sure they talk to their kids about certain things they see in the media and hear from their friends in order to let them know which messages they should not listen to. Even still, it is impossible to overcome our entire culture.
In the interviews the girls talk about different teen role models including Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, and Christina Aguilera. One of the girls said how these stars were perfect and that it made her lose confidence. What kind of role model makes you feel bad about yourself? This tells me that young girls need better role models that show that they have imperfections just like everyone else.
It was amazing to me how these young girls could identify how something in the media was ridiculous and degrading but at the same time they enjoyed watching it. For instance, one girl was talking about the Thong Song, how its just a booty video and just how it was ridiculous, but then at the end she said yeah I love that song. Even though these images make young girls feel self conscious and create unrealistic ideals, young girls cannot help but like them. Why? If they realize that the media doesn't portray realistic images why don't they just ignore them? I think that it is probably because they have to like these things in order to fit in and be cool. They simply cannot escape the culture that we live in.
I find it appalling, but not surprising, how so many young girls think they are too fat. With "premature toothpicks" as the one girl said, as role models of course they are going to feel bad about their own appearance. I know when I was young I thought I was too fat. It is sad that even though we as girls can recognize that it isn't realistic to be perfect like the girls we see in the media, we still get down on ourselves for it. These ideals are so ingrained in us that we cannot even help it.
In class we discussed whose fault it was for these problems, the media or parents. As in most cases, I would have to argue that it is some of both. Clearly the media does not give young girls the best messages and a change in this would be very beneficial. However, it is not likely that the media is going to get better any time soon. Parents can control what their children see to an extent but they could never prevent them from all of the inappropriate messages out there. I think it is important for parents to make sure they talk to their kids about certain things they see in the media and hear from their friends in order to let them know which messages they should not listen to. Even still, it is impossible to overcome our entire culture.
The Playground Gets Even Tougher
This article by Pamerla Paul really hit home for me. One day, when I was in the 7th grade, three of my best friends suddenly decided they hated me. Actually, one of them decided they hated me and convinced the other two that they should take her side along with anyone else she could persuade. What possible reasons could one 7th grader hate another? Well, looking back I guess it probably was a result of parenting. For instance, the article says that the mother of a mean girl would probably say things like "you don't look nice today." I am almost certain that this girl received this type of criticism. At the time, however, I was told all sorts of ridiculous reasons for them not liking me such as my shorts were too short (not true), I was a slut (even though I had a boyfriend?) and that I jumped from friend to friend (this really made no sense to me and was not true). One day, this girl got on the bus and pulled out a list of things about me that she did not like. Most 7th graders are pretty insecure and want to fit in so to sit there and listen to a number of things that I now had to be insecure about in addition to whatever I already was insecure about was really hurtful.
It was a constant struggle to put up with the hatred coming from these girls because they were everywhere, in my classes, on my sports teams, on my bus, at any parties I was invited to, just everywhere. Even when I was at home I wasn't free from it. One day, they called me and pretended to want to be friends again just to further torture me and rub it in my face that they didn't like me. In order to deal with the harrassment I cried a lot and even kept a journal to let out my anger and sadness.
This issue of young girls treating each other in this awful way is a serious issue, in my opinion. The effects are long lasting which I can attest to. I am constantly afraid that my friends do not like me or are going to turn on me. Because of this I often do not allow myself to get close to others. I often do not speak up about my feelings because I do not want to give someone a reason not to like me. It may seem ridiculous to feel these things due to something from so long ago but it truly was scarring to me. I guess I don't know for sure that I am like this because of these past events but I think it has certainly contributed to it.
I think that there are a few things that could be done in order to help this problem. Perhaps the topic of bullying could be addressed in school at an earlier age. Like the article said, children are maturing sooner which is increasing this behavior at an earlier age therefore it should be addressed sooner. Since parents are a part of the problem, somehow addressing them could help fix the problem. However, I cannot think of a good way in which this could be done. Maybe parents of students in elementary school could be required to recieve instructions on how to prevent and deal with bullying. Another way that could possibly lessen the problem would be to provide television that does not have socially aggressive characters which was thought to be a problem in the article.
It was a constant struggle to put up with the hatred coming from these girls because they were everywhere, in my classes, on my sports teams, on my bus, at any parties I was invited to, just everywhere. Even when I was at home I wasn't free from it. One day, they called me and pretended to want to be friends again just to further torture me and rub it in my face that they didn't like me. In order to deal with the harrassment I cried a lot and even kept a journal to let out my anger and sadness.
This issue of young girls treating each other in this awful way is a serious issue, in my opinion. The effects are long lasting which I can attest to. I am constantly afraid that my friends do not like me or are going to turn on me. Because of this I often do not allow myself to get close to others. I often do not speak up about my feelings because I do not want to give someone a reason not to like me. It may seem ridiculous to feel these things due to something from so long ago but it truly was scarring to me. I guess I don't know for sure that I am like this because of these past events but I think it has certainly contributed to it.
I think that there are a few things that could be done in order to help this problem. Perhaps the topic of bullying could be addressed in school at an earlier age. Like the article said, children are maturing sooner which is increasing this behavior at an earlier age therefore it should be addressed sooner. Since parents are a part of the problem, somehow addressing them could help fix the problem. However, I cannot think of a good way in which this could be done. Maybe parents of students in elementary school could be required to recieve instructions on how to prevent and deal with bullying. Another way that could possibly lessen the problem would be to provide television that does not have socially aggressive characters which was thought to be a problem in the article.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Boys Do Cry
I was happy to see another reading by Jessica Valenti on the reading list since I really enjoyed her first one. In this reading, Boys Do Cry, it states that men are affected by feminism too. I am sure that a lot of people probably do not realize this, me being one of them prior to this article/class. Men are expected to be masculine and thus not feminine. The problem is that violence often gets tied up into this idea of "manly." There is a lot of pressure on men to act a certain way and in particular the media promotes the tough guy exterior. For instance, the article talks about how in one commercial a man who acts girly gets killed by a beer can. This type of message just reinforces how dangerous it is for a man to step outside of the box. A man who acts girly may not actually be killed in real life but they will most likely experience harrassment and might even get beat up.
There has been a resurgence of boyhood being the cool standard opposed to how it used to be cool to take care of your family. I would assume that this degression is probably related to increased feminism awareness. The more powerful women become, the less powerful men become which goes against what they think it means to be a man. This loss of power in men is then probably related to an increase in violence against women. Violence is a way to show power and it is conceivable to claim that the less power men feel they have, the more likely they are to be violent in an attempt to gain power.
Valenti says that in order to fix the problem, the whole concept of masculinity has to go. This sounds like a great idea but I cannot come up with any way in which it could be done, at least not all at once. The only way I think men can get rid of the extreme pressures to be manly is through a slow and gradual change in the way we define masculinity. One thing that could help, at least some, would be a change in the way the media portrays men. If the media portrayed it as acceptable for men to avoid violence and be sensitive, perhaps that would help.
There has been a resurgence of boyhood being the cool standard opposed to how it used to be cool to take care of your family. I would assume that this degression is probably related to increased feminism awareness. The more powerful women become, the less powerful men become which goes against what they think it means to be a man. This loss of power in men is then probably related to an increase in violence against women. Violence is a way to show power and it is conceivable to claim that the less power men feel they have, the more likely they are to be violent in an attempt to gain power.
Valenti says that in order to fix the problem, the whole concept of masculinity has to go. This sounds like a great idea but I cannot come up with any way in which it could be done, at least not all at once. The only way I think men can get rid of the extreme pressures to be manly is through a slow and gradual change in the way we define masculinity. One thing that could help, at least some, would be a change in the way the media portrays men. If the media portrayed it as acceptable for men to avoid violence and be sensitive, perhaps that would help.
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