Explanation for How to Define a Woman Zine

Through are Zine, you can see that the media defines women as...
~sex objects
~people that are constantly striving to improve their image
~people that are destined to cook and clean
~people that must take care of others before themselves
Later in our Zine you can see how, after taking this class, we have come to define women. Obviously, we have learned that there is no real way to put every woman under one category. Every woman is different and can not or should not be forced to be a certain way.

-Emily, Brianna, Megan, Shay, Mercedes

How to define a woman Zine by Emily, Brianna, Megan, Shay, and Mercedes

LIGHT SKIN VS DARK SKIN DISCUSSION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC7eAtB_7Vg This the video I put together about the discussion of light skin vs dark skin skin tone Camilla Dominique Eboni

"The Rachel Papers"

Rachel Maddow has her own show on MSNBC called the Rachel Maddow Show. Rachel is a woman who is respected in accepted by many people even though she is an open lesbian and former activist. Even though our society is moving in a positive direction, it is great but rare that she would have such a big fan base as she does. People agree that Rachel has found a way to be informative, honest, respectful, and at the same time she is showcasing her fun and goofy personality. This is one of the main reasons why people love her and want to tune in to her show on a regular basis. Though many people who watch her show respect her, some people compare her and her rise to fame to Sarah Palin. Though they both might have similar living situations and mannerisms, they both really do not represent the same things. Sarah Palin was very uninformed about what was going on during the last presidential election. On the other hand, Rachel Maddow is very smart and has a way of defending her opinion or what is right without sounding to cocky or wishy washy. Rachel's fame is proof that America is becoming more open minded. Though not everyone is ready for women to be able to do every job men usually do, it is a big step for Rachel to be so accepted in a profession that is usually run by men. Rachel is a very smart women and is perfect for the job that she has. It is about time that there is someone on cable news television that tells it like it is and is able to back up everything she says. If more people were like Rachel, people would be more informed about our country and open to the changes that could help us grow. - Katie Hamilton

"Horning In: The Case for Feminist Metal" by Carissa Dahoney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsuTuAVJrF8


Heavy metal is thought of to be a highly dominated male community that consists of head banging, screaming, and guys being very brutal some harsh lyrics. It is not one of my favorite things to listen to, but of course I had to with my father whenever he was working out in the house. The head banging music was used to help pump up him and his friends. Looking back on it now I understand why they listened to this genre of music, it gets you motivated.
Within recent years, women have been gaining respect in this community and are becoming well known.Heavy metal is now viewed as not being gender binding, it is open to everyone and anyone. Bands like Vixen, Girlschool, and Meanstreak, just to name a few, started gaining their respect in the 1970s-1980s. Today bands like Kittie, Scarlet Sins, and Evanescence have taken over the heavy metal scene. To a great amount of people I'm sure that these bands have not been heard of, besides Evanescence, but these girls are going against the common view of a heavy metal band. Instead of guys screaming the girls are. The women are playing the bass and guitar and drums just as well as, or maybe in better in some cases, than the men of heavy metal bands do.
The link that is posted is of the band called Kittie. They have become popular in recent years and is an all female group. They still stick to dressing very feminine, but usually in all black. But listen to their music and you will soon find out that they can definitely play just as well as the boys. Their screaming lyrics along with the subtle female voice at times gives dynamic to the songs and adds to the meaning of the lyrics. At first listen you would not think that this was a group of females if you did not know. This group is helping to break the gender binding that are being put onto some communities in the world.

Post on "Keep on Trekkin'" by Kate Rights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDNOB6TnHSI


I posted the link to a youtube video that involves a group of students at Ohio State University who created a flash mob. Essentially, a flash mob consists of a large group of people who put together a dance to perform in public, without the public knowing about it before it happens. It usually starts with a single dancer and as the song goes on, others join in. In this case, the students at OSU decided to perform their flash mob to the Glee version of "Don't Stop Believing". Glee is one of the most popular shows on television right now and has many different kinds of characters on it such as a gay student, two jewish students, cheerleaders, football players, a student in a wheelchair, asian students, and an obese student. My initial response to this video was amazement because the dancing is so out of place, and every time another group of students would join in, it completely surprised me. I'm also a huge fan of Glee. I liked it because there were all kinds of students in on the flash mob. Athletes, nerds, dancers, girls, boys, a mascot, and even an older man (possibly the chancellor). 


There are a couple of different reasons why I chose this video to go along with the article "Keep in Trekkin'". First of all, the article focuses on the fact that the show Star Trek had a huge fan base made up of not only men, but surprisingly women as well. I thought that this idea went along well with the video because the flash mob shows how diverse and how extensive the fan base for Glee's songs are, and also for the idea of living in a musical (which is in a sense,"fanfic").  The article also makes it seem more okay for girls to not necessarily be girly-girls which is related to the video because the show Glee has made misfits feel more secure in their own skin. I chose this video mostly for the diversity aspect of it since both Glee, the flash mob students, and the Star Trek cast all have people of different ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds represented, and also because Glee is, like this article, makes it okay for people to be different. Lastly, the idea of stereotyping people by what they watch is mentioned in the article. People who watch Star Trek and people who watch Glee are similar in the sense that they are either being a "trekkie" or a "gleek". 


Kate Rights
Tammy Oler
"Keep on Trekkin"

"That's my Jam" Jonnae' Johnson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE7B6Z6-rls&feature=related

What is culture jamming? I asked myself that before I even began reading this article because it was something I have never heard before, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. From the article I summed it down to this. Culture jamming is taking the same marketing strategy the media uses to persuade consumers to buy products, to expose the truth about those products.  Culture jamming is about sending a message, when people do this they’re not only changing what the Ad says but also what it means. Big companies use billboards, television commercials, and other forms of media to force their products, ideas, and beliefs into us.  When I read about culture jamming immediately I thought of the Truth about Tobacco commercials, many of us has seen how the media has tried to glamorize smoking but in these commercials they reveal what big tobacco companies aren’t. What I was most surprised about when I read this article is all the examples of culture jamming and who it is that does it. Many people all over the world do it that weren’t or aren’t represented in society. Culture jamming is done for religious purposes, simple rights, or even just to get people more aware. From reading the article I realized that sometimes we just accept what the ads are saying to us and do nothing to dispute it and that’s exactly what people are doing when they culture jam. They’re adding a different element to what we’ve already seen plenty of times. 

"Looking for Empire in the U.S. Colonial Archive" pgs. 135-140 - Megan Reynolds

                When I first read “Looking for Empire in the U.S. Colonial Archive” by Morillo-Alicea, I was sort of curious to how far the author actually delved into his topic.  However, as I read pages 135-140, I began to really get a better grasp on the author’s intentions.  In the second part of the article, the author mainly focuses on the classification of the documents and the photographs that he found throughout his process of researching our country’s history and so forth. 
                In the article, the author also talks about two particular photographs, one of barefoot children and another of a classroom of female students at sewing machines, where none of the females are looking at the camera.  I decided to compare this section of the article to a photograph that I found online.   In the article, the author mentioned that the photographs that he found in the archives of the Puerto Rican children in what is assumed to be a schoolhouse is an example of how we illustrated moving the other countries that we claimed into progression, fitting our typical uneducated stereotypes of those from other, less fortunate countries.  The photograph of the women sewing is just a further example of the illustrated stereotypes in the archives that the author mentions.  The photograph that I found online is just one example of the typical stereotype that exists for modern-day American women.  They are expected to always have their hair done, and dinner cooked for their husband as they arrive home from a hard day at work.  I thought that this photograph was a great example of another example of stereotypes that exist for certain groups of people.

"Are My Hands Clean?": Brittany Garrett

White Gold- The True Cost of Cotton

"Are My Hands Clean" by Bernice Johnson Reagon is a song written about an issue that often times goes unnoticed.  While reading the lyrics all that I could think about was how many different industries underpay their workers a large sum.  The cotton industry is one of the main industries that underpays their workers.  After watching the video that I have posted above I now realize how serious of a problem underpaying really is.  Before watching this video I was also not aware that there are many foundations set up to help the victims of underpayment and to stop the problem from continuing.  This video opened my eyes to a issue that I never thought about before.  Next time I put on a cotton t-shirt, which is an action that the majority of us thing is innocent, I will think about the women, men, and children that worked long hours receiving little pay so that I could wear a shirt on my back.  I believe that when Reagon posed the question "Are My Hands Clean?" she was referring to the innocence we think that is involved in making small items of clothes but in reality our hands are "dirty" because of what we are supporting by buying these garments.

Emily Hawks - Javier Morrilo-Alicea

What stood out to me in the article, “Looking for Empire in the U.S. Colonial Archive” by Javier Morillo-Alicea, was how the images portrayed an ‘Americanized’ Puerto Rico post 1898. The connection I found between the article and the image I chose to post was the understanding of how photographs can hold so much history and how that can help others learn the history of a place or people that may be unclear or hard to understand in  text. The photo I chose includes a group of school children standing outside their schoolhouse. The children appear serious in the photo, unsmiling. The girl in the front with her arms folded speaks volumes as to how the children felt about this modernization. Similar images to the one I chose were discussed in the article and depict this time in Puerto Rican history. Just as the article explains, and just as this image shows, children would pose in front of school buildings (usually with their teachers) in order to show that “The photos of children tell the story of Puerto Rico’s modernization, of the U.S. narrative that assured islanders and the world that they were being moved out of the barbarianism and into modernity” (Morillo-Alicea 138). In considering this statement, along with the image, it becomes clear how much we can learn through images. The image I chose illustrates the modernization that the U.S. forced upon Puerto Rico.

Morgan Hayes- Guy Trouble -Shira Tarrant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWMCt35oFY
One of the things that stuck out to me the most in the Guy Trouble article is the focus on young boys today and how pop culture is affecting their masculinity. I know when I was a little girl I probably watched the same Disney movies more then once everyday. I believe that Disney movies do affect children more then parents or kids themselves realize. The role of the superhero or prince charming in every movie helps a damsel in distress or needs a beautiful girl to make his bride. Gender roles and evidence of masculinity is more obvious when looking at the bigger picture in the media of Disney movies. Children watch these movies and see big strong men fighting and being leaders and ultimately playing the dominant role in a society. In this class I am starting to see a second view on things in the media that I have never realized before. Society wants to shape a young boy into a man that is strong mentally and physically who willl have a family and support them. This idea starts off at a young age leading back to the Disney movies. Media teaches young boys to be that man with strong features who can be aggressive, attractive and get the women he wants. A young boy is consuming this idea of masculinity through multiple media sources such as, books, video games, television and movies. "The main message boys have always gotten from popculture is that being male in our society means being tough and invulnerable"(Tarrant 50). I completely agree with this quote in Tarrant's article because it shows how the media is affecting boys concepts on masculinity and how society makes them believe they should be a certain way. In the Disney clip I found it shows many clips from popular Disney movies and emphasizes on the role of a man and their masculinity.

Taylor Fitz: Unraveling Reality TV's Twisted Fairytales

Reality television shows are everywhere we look.  Whether it be a show telling us how we should look, act, dress, and how we should fall in love we get a false perception of bliss.  Contestants sometimes do not even have the intentions that the show may lead us on to believe.  I attached a picture of Joe Millionaire Evan Marriott.  I personally watched this show when it was on television.  I completely had a false impression of a fairy tale love that was set up in a lavish area even though the man was really a poor construction worker.  He seemed to really be interested in finding love and making a life for him.  The reality of it was that he was just in it for the money.  The ultimatum of the show for his choice, Zora was essentially love or money.  I find it funny how in the end Evan was only in it for money and had no interest in love.  False perceptions are forced upon us daily thanks to reality television.  We build up stereotypes of what is reality and what is not.  Thinking that love should be built in a glamorous and lavish setting is completely false.  Most people on television for love are just a way to get free publicity for themselves or other means of self-gain other than love.

Elicia Woehrman, Female Chauvinist Pigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrpXxmDfIlQ
(watch from 2:45-3:11)

            Chapter 3 from Female Chauvinist Pigs by Ariel Levy begins by highlighting the career of Sheila Nevins, who worked for HBO as its president of documentary and family programming. The chapter explains how Nevins was criticized for her work on the documentary G-String Divas, which depicts women in a sexual nature (specifically, the show was about strippers). The show was argued as degrading to women, to which Nevins responds proudly that she loves the “sex stuff” and questions, “What’s the big deal?” Nevins used sex to advance herself within a male dominated field, arguing that women taking off their clothes for the pleasure of others is far less degrading than the idea of not being able to provide for one’s family. Who’s to say Nevins is wrong? She is an example of a powerful woman, yet she uses sex to her benefit.

            Female Chauvinist Pigs highlights that women who embrace sexuality often feel empowered and confident. They let go of their “girly-girl” sides and embrace what men seemingly love: the sexual nature of females. Does this harm feminism or help to build it? By using sexuality to empower ourselves are we degrading the female body or does it make us powerful because we gain the upper hand? These questions are up for debate, but in the end it’s all up to your interpretation of the matter.

 I chose this clip from That 70’s Show not only because I think it’s funny, but also because I believe it represents this debate quite well. Jackie makes a point that sex can manipulate men to a woman’s liking, giving her power. The viewer may find humor in this because she believes Jackie is correct, or that Jackie is stupid and a disgrace to females. Again, it’s up to interpretation. 

Kasey Radcliffe-"Where truth ends and fantasy begins":Caroline Vercoe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAmK2LQ0sWc&feature=related

I wanted to go deeper into this article than just picking out a picture. I looked at so many videos of the real Hawaii and it was shocking to see how my perception is completely wrong. The video above shows the effects on the Hawaiin's from America. I connected it to the article because it is a pure example of the truth, and NOT fantasy. I related the article to this image because this is one of many postcards from the 1930's that developed the American perception of Hawaii. The typical Hula girl with lays, grass skirt, banjo, and Aloha, is showing the sterotyped image of the Hawaiin girl. Vercoe talks about how the media has mistakenly made our veiw of Hawaii. There is another part we don't know. The example of Post-Colonism really plays in to this article. After the Europeans took over, it lead to poverty and death. However Americans do not see that, they see the TOURIST part. It makes me think about how unapprecative and masked this country really is. The article goes a lot deeper than just soldiers being in the pacific in WWII,and the falseness of a image of the Hula girl, it tells the story of how "what you see, may not always be what you get."

Brianna Calamusa "Factory Girl" by Lois Leveen

Just Like Camila I couldn't chose just 1 photo. I picked the Image of Dora The Explorer because the article flat out talks about her, her helpful friend Boots (the monkey) and the stars that they catch along their adventures. For the most part this article was a little more difficult for me to understand...atleast until the end. But what I got from it was that there is a major problem with factory contaminations. This effects not only the products being exported from the factory but the people that work there too. Along with them, their families are also effected. The article talked about how most of the workers are either undocumented immigrants (im pretty sure) or hispanic workers, if not foreign. This relates to Dora in two ways: she too is hispanic and just like the unsafe products leaving the factory, there was a recall on Dora the Explorer toys for having a unsafe chemical in them. So that's pretty much what I got from this article but I'm sure there is way more you can take from reading it. 

*Camilla*

While trying to pick a certain image for my blog entry I couldn't pick just one so I decided on all three.I choose all the photos because they reminded me in some way of the article "The Consumption of Lynching Images" by Leigh Raiford. The first two images really depict the actual lynchings described in the article. The first shows a KKK member holding a noose in front of a confederate flag which some people use to represent white domination of African Americans and Jewish people. This picture could be an example of the images that were used on the post cards that were sent around communities as stated in the article. The second picture comes from the cartoon South Park and it symbolizes an African American bring lynched while a group watches and looks to be rejoicing. This relates to the article because it explained how crowds would come out to watch out of curiosity or entertainment. Something I thought was interesting was how in the article it stated their were sometimes another African American in the crowd or an opposing race looking away in disgust. My response to those two images are disgust because any killing of any individual should be done by a higher power and not another individual. I choose the last image out of humor just because they both interpret the flag to mean different things while the African American men interpret it in a racist way, and the other guy just means it as a way of showing southern pride. The article in itself was interesting and insightful and I am glad I was able to obtain further knowledge about something that is not as talked about as it once was.

Celebrity Philanthropy Corner: seeing (RED)

Miriam Perez’s article on celebrity philanthropy didn’t thoroughly shock me. It seems as if people, both famous and not, want the glory that comes with being a humanitarian without the actual sacrifice of their time and efforts. We’ve all done it. Just think back to last Thanksgiving when we see all the Second Harvest Food Bank Ads or even the Salvation Army Santas outside of every mall and department store, put a couple of coins in the bucket and continue walking with a feeling of shallow self gratification. Fortunately this article isn’t the first of its kind. Many of these companies have recently come under fire for their contradictory actions. I chose this particular image because it featured a child model and I found that to be particularly representative of a PR stunt used by the company. To me, both the image and the article highlighted what we discussed in class last week about becoming socially aware of the media that were constantly consuming.

Perez, Miriam. Celebrity philanthropy corner: seeing (RED). August 28,2010. Print.

Eboni =)

I had no idea what the “Think Before You Pink” article was about before reading. I enjoyed it because it showed the process of how one organization inspired other people to evolve and help a suffering cause. In the case of the article, it was the pink ribbon symbolizing breast cancer awareness. Only five percent of the 1.8 billion dollar budget was used for prevention. Then well-known people decided to help the cause by selling products that would help the cancer organization as a whole with their studies, research, prevention tips, and funding. And as in everything in society today, there are opposing views to this movement. In the eyes of some, all of the fundraising was a distraction to the women that were ill and there were still plenty women dying each year. It was a question of corporate benevolence. These famous people were making millions of dollars for the products they were selling. Breast Cancer was secondary to the profit these companies were making. Cancer organizations seen it as these companies cared, thank you, but we need active solutions. To compare, I chose the evolution of technology or to be more specific cell phones. In our world today, many different cell phones have been created and are used. There are also many various servers. Each service provider feeds off each other trying to manufacture the most appealing phone. Throughout time, cell phones have changed. In my opinion, the purpose they were created for has changed as well. There really isn’t face-to-face communication as much as it was back in the days. People send their feelings and emotions via text. Sometimes not gaining the same response they would have if they were directly communicating with each other. In the case of making people aware of breast cancer, manufacturers such as Avon and Estee Lauder made products that would attract consumers and would sale. The technique that was used lead to people gaining more knowledge about breast cancer awareness. This same process was imitated when Verizon created the Blackberry or the Droid and when Apple created the IPhone both making the world more knowledgeable of how technology has evolved and making communication easier for people.

JenaBee:)

When I started reading the article it  made me feel really down. I started to realize that everyone judges people and it shouldn't happen at all until you meet and get to know the person. It also made me even realize that I do it sometimes too and I shouldn't, even coming from a multiracial background I do judge people and I know better. ( not saying people who don't do, I just think I have had alot of racial experiences)My picture relates to the article because it has racial imagery all over it. Our president has his own money and cause has black he has all different types of stereotypes printed on his money, such as watermelon fried chicken and the kool aid man. People think they can classify a race by the lifestyle some lead and others don't, or because they are different from you. But the bottom line is everyone is different so if you wanted to classify every single person to how they live, eat, work and what they look like you would have like millions of categories to fit everyone specific outline.

Vogue cover

Hey everyone! The image on the right is the Vogue cover that Rebecca Hyman talks about in her article "The Shape of Race" that we're reading for class on Tuesday. The image on the left is another one that Hyman mentions in her article and will be helpful for providing context for her argument.

Intro to blogging

Hi everyone!

This is going to be our class blog. On the first day of class, we will generate a schedule for who is posting when. Your posts should include a form of media that relates to the texts we will be discussing in class for the day you are blogging. It is my hope that this class blog will help you to make links between what we discuss in class and what you perceive in the world around you, so you can make whatever connections you want as long as you explain them thoughtfully. Media can include still images, links to news stories, videos, advertisements, a photograph of a billboard you saw while driving, etc. I encourage you to be both thoughtful and imaginative in the media you choose. Your description of the media itself and the connection you are making to course material should be at least one paragraph (5 sentences) long and you should be clear about what texts you are connecting to your media. If you have questions about blogging, you are responsible for contacting me at least 24 hours before your blog entry is due. On days that you are not responsible for an entry, you are responsible for reading the entries of your classmates - they will be available at least 24 hours before class. You cannot count blog entries toward your 2 required texts on weekly responses, though you may reference them in addition to the 2 texts if you would like.

I look forward to reading your entries!

~ Carrie