Prostitution

This past week we read some information about prostitution in "No Turning Back."  The book claims that prostitution is "according to the concept of 'necessary evil,' society had to tolerate the existence of prostitutes because they siphoned off male lust."  They then go on to states that Brothels are " 'necessary in ministering to the passions of men who otherwise would be tempted to seduce young ladies of their acquaintance.'"  This makes men seem as though they are not human, they need sex, and they are not held responsible for their actions if they go after a women because of the NEED for sex.  This just is not a reality!  This justification to me seems ridiculous.  On another note, I went to Aruba this winter where prostitution is absolutely legal and it is not seen in the same light as we do.  They have specific institutions set up for the business.  They also have laws stating that the prostitutes have to get regular check ups for diseases and if they do not pass then they can no longer proceed with the business until they are completely cleared by medical personnel.  This goes back to what we talked about in class about choice.  These women are not looked down upon like they are in the united states for making the choice, mainly because it is a legal business and they cannot be arrested for doing it.  Just thought that it was some food for thought to think about how different places view this issue, job, profession, or whatever you would like to call it, because it is not the same everywhere around the world.

Metro-sexual..or..Gay?--why is that always the progression?

So last week I was watching Kourtney and Kim take New York (judge me if you want haha) and I couldn't believe that one of the main story lines in thier newest episode dealt with Kim mistaking a straight "metro-sexual" man for gay.  She then proceeded to try and set him up with her other gay friend.  Because she thought that he was gay she let him see her in the dressing room and he helped her dress.  She based her idea that he was gay based on nothing but stereotypes!  And then from there is got even more awkward when to guy had to tell Kim that he wasn't gay and she was shocked.  It is crazy how the crap that is on television (yes it is crap even though I do watch it) perpetuates societal problems on a daily basis.  Why does that guy have to feel guilty and feel like he needs to justify why he spends a bunch of time on himself and why he takes pride in how he presents himself. Who decided that it wasn't "masculine."  Just thought I would bring this up with the idea that we shouldn't take what we see on television as strictly entertainment, we should think about it in other peoples perspectives and be critical of what we are seeing.

Reflection on Presentations

I thought that for the most part all of the Presentation topics have been very interesting.  The one that stood out to me however, probably because of the vivid quotes that were extracted, was the one on the topic of incest.  This is a very taboo topic in our society.  It is funny, even if someone says that they are going out with their 16th cousin, we are quick to judge and think it is disgusting.  Years ago it was more than acceptable to marry a cousin, but we couldn't even imagine that being acceptable now a days.  It was very interesting when we brought up the fact that people could fall in love and not even know they were related until it was to late and the feelings were to strong.  I want to say that it should be acceptable, but because I have been socialized to think it is wrong, I guess I can't look past it.  However in today's society between adoption, loss of family closeness, or any other reasons, it may not be as easy as it sounds to know ones whole family tree.  For instance I was watching the top chef the other night and there were five people left, and they found out their family history, and two of the five people who were left were actually cousins and they didn't even know it.  So it is definitely possible, and I as well as others need to start pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable, I guess.

Dove Evolution Commercial

I always thought that the media portrayed unrealistic women as heroins and people for everyday women to look up to.  I love to bring attention to the dove commercial which shows exactly what goes into making a woman a "television ready woman."  Myself as a woman in this society I applaud this campaign, however I am extremely upset with how little it was actually shown on television.  I had not heard of it until I had seen it in a few of my classes here at Ithaca College.  This is a shame, because for once people were brave enough to show the truth, but it didn't get to be showcased the way it should have.  How does this make you feel?

"Housewivisation"

So I am taking a class called "Gender, the Environment, and Social Change" and we read something that really struck me as an interesting topic to talk about here on this blog.  We always talk about how being a housewife has been an American Ideal and shows women in the perfect suburban families and how everyone should want to be like them, but we never really talk about where the idea truly originated.  I was reading about how housewives were introduced into different cultures, and one of them was extremely interesting and shows how "housewivisation" stemmed from racism.  This piece that I read was an excerpt from "Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale" by, Maria Mies.  She talks a lot about how Africa in particular had many white male settlers come in and marry these African women, but then when the royals of their colonies heard word of this and thought about procreation and mixing of races, the felt that they had to do something to ensure that they would not lose their power over the native African people, so they made it illegal for these men to marry African women, and those who had already married African women had to have their marriages voided.  The colonies even took it one step further and imported white women to become wives for these men while they were living in Africa.  These wives became property and stereotypical housewives for these men while they were working.  And not only that but it perpetuated this idea the African women were good enough to be prostitutes (because that is what they ended up taking on as professions after they lost their husbands) but not good enough to be wives.  Any thoughts on this subject??

Wrestling....can it really be a co-ed sport??

So I was watching the news yesterday and I saw a story on a male wrestler in some high school state finals who refused to wrestle another girl in the tournament who was in his weight class.  I know in many movies we have seen that this happened because the guy is afraid he will lose to a girl, but this boy claimed that it was against his religious beliefs to wrestle a girl.  I'm not quite sure if I believe his story, but I guess who could argue with that politically correct statement.  The thing that bothered me most was the people who were commenting on the story.  There was a male commenting on the story who was talking about how he didn't think it was right for him to deny his opponent no matter if she was male or female, and he thought it was because he was scared that a girl might beat him which would be a huge blow to his ego.  There was also a woman who was debating with this idea saying she didn't feel it was fair fight and that the girl had the advantage because  the guy was going to have to think about how he was "putting a girl in a head lock" and how society thinks we shouldn't do that to "pristine" women who are "dainty" and "lady like."  I just don't understand why this woman was not sticking up for the girl to be a part of the sport.  The girl chose to put herself in the position to be put in a head lock, and clearly she is pretty good at it to get to the state finals.  She worked so hard and its almost like she took one step forward for girls all over, and this woman is not sticking up for her pursuing her dreams because she is wrapped up in these social norms.  What do you guys think about any of this...is if fair for her to compete?....is it fair for her to be denied due to religious beliefs?....were any of the broad casters in the wrong?...

What message are children really getting?

A discussion in class the other day sparked an idea in my mind.  This rose when we were discussing the chapter called "Feminist Education for Critical Consciousness" in Bell Hooks' book "Feminism is for Everybody."  Hooks has stated that "Children's literature is one of the most crucial sites for feminist education for critical consciousness precisely because beliefs and identities are still being formed."  I definitely agree with this statement.  There are not many children's books which have moms are the ones going to the office making a lot of money and the fathers are staying home and cooking breakfast.  But we could talk about all of the stereotypes that women face in children's literature forever, but instead I wanted to mention a specific character that we all know and love, Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh.  I always thought that because rabbit was a male, becuase she didn't have a high pitched "feminine voice" and because she was much more "strong," "confident," "confrontational," and possessed other "non-feminine" or non-stereotypically female traits.  Then I saw an episode of the show where she took in a childlike figure and the characters were referring to her as a girl and it was then that I realized that there are female figures out there who are different from the stereotype.  Although it took her having a "child" for me to realize she was female, it was so strange to me that she was so different because I was so young.  I was wondering if anyone else could think of similar experiences that challenged gender/sexuality from their childhood like I did.