Blogging Assignment Week 7

I found a blog that questions the role that women's athletics plays in our society. In the second picture, the comic hints at how different men's uniforms are compared to women's uniforms. In volleyball, for instance, why do women wear tiny bikinis but men don't wear speedos? It hints to the fact that popularity for certain women's sports may be as high as it is because of the spectacle of seeing a nearly nude woman. In the first picture, the comic concerns why women have to be focused upon physical appearance so much instead of just athletics. Do you think a woman would be a popular athlete if she was ugly but extremely talented? Does success, especially monetary, for women athletes involve looking beautiful? Interestingly enough, many famous women athletes sometimes decide to pose for Playboy (or other magazines) after their athletic career hits its peak. What does this say about the extent to which women's athletics are popular for attractive women athletes or women athleticism?

The original blog can be found here: http://modernfemaleathlete.blogspot.com/

Blog - week 6

In 2007 Rikki Arudnel created a social organization called Gender Shift. The purpose of this enterprise is to encourage and “help create fairer world in which every persons gender, gender identity and gender expression is accepted and respected”.

For those interested you can check out:

http://gendershift.blogspot.com/

They have some interesting pictures of TransHistory - slides:

http://www.slide.com/r/Rm9GjnRE4j-_7w77DjU0_ILhhp7ddklR?previous_view=TICKER&previous_action=TICKER_ITEM_CLICK&ciid=2738188573486669742

Difference between men and women

Week 7 Discussion Questions

Hi,

Please submit your questions for Week 7.

weight talk is scarier than sex talk?

I found this article and thought it was interesting so i wanted to share with the class

http://www.modernmom.com/blogs/the-perfectly-unperfected-project/what-s-scarier-than-talking-to-your-teen-about-sex-talking-about-food-and-weight

weight talk is scarier than sex talk?

i found this article and thought it was interesting so i wanted to share with the class

http://www.modernmom.com/blogs/the-perfectly-unperfected-project/what-s-scarier-than-talking-to-your-teen-about-sex-talking-about-food-and-weight

Blogging Assignment Week 6

I was thinking about our discussion on Tuesday, and I remembered a runaway groom. In Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, the groom, at the altar, refuses to marry his girlfriend. I could not find the clip of it, but the guy decides not to marry her when he finds out that his girlfriend is responsible for putting his friend(who is a prostitute) in jail for a long time. He reveals this to everyone who is at the church about what she did and leaves. He runs off and goes to jail to visit the prostitute and ask her for forgiveness. It's hard to explain, but I recommend the movie especially because of the intensity of the wedding scene and the runaway groom.

Blog Post: Single-Sex Education

Several people have blogged about single-sex education, and I thought I would touch on this because I attended an all-girls high-school myself. I understand that it is natural and logical to come to the conclusion that single-sex education would lend itself to stronger gender barriers. However, what I found throughout my high-school experience was that the all-girls environment actually had the opposite effect. The motto of the school, "Women Learning; Women Leading," encouraged and inspired me to cultivate my interests and passions as a young woman and do it "as well as the boys," so to speak. The classroom environment was comfortable, intellectual, and open, and the absence of boys, if anything, made me less self-conscious about expressing my opinions and fostered in me a sense of confidence that I continue to carry with me now, as I take part in co-ed discussions. 

One may think that transitioning from a single-sex to a co-ed school would present a dramatic shift and require a student to make the effort to blend in or set gender biases aside. However, I'd like to think that I am the walking evidence of the positive effects of a single-sex school: instead of perceiving males-in-the-classroom as foreign, I simply see them as my peers and feel prepared and confident to engage in normal academic conversations with them. In a sense, the all-girls high-school was perfect in helping me "blossom" (as clichéd as that may sound) and developing/expressing my individuality before entering the "real," "co-ed" world. Single-sex education, if done right, can therefore be empowering. 

CNN Article on Transgender Kids

I'm sure that none of you missed this today. The front article on CNN.com is entitled "Transgender kids: Painful quest to be who they are." Now judging from our discussion sections I can tell that the room is split on how we are feel about the issue of transgender people ala Thomas Beatie. What I don't care for in this article is the actions of the parents to start administering hormone blocking medication to halt the nature occurance of puberty in the young boy known as "Tammy." Experts argue throughout the article that gender identity disorder is completely reverseable and does in fact occur in most cases. Therefore I cannot support the idea of giving children as young as 8 years old, hormone medication to halt the onset of puberty. It is argued that by halting puberty, it gives the child an opportunity to find out who they are before these body changes occur. Puberty is a hard enough time for young boys and girls, an event that is occuring earlier than previous generations.

I won't comment on the rest of the article as it is up for your own interpretation. But I just can't see the rationale behind the administering of these drugs to children. Your thoughts?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/health/transgender-kids/index.html

Blogging, Week 6

I believe the topic of gender change in children has been mentioned quite a few times since the start of class, but I don't think we've really looked into a real life scenario yet.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/27/health/transgender-kids/

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/27/too-young-to-know-your-gender/

The article's pretty longwinded so here's basically what's important.

This 3 year old kid who has a speech impediment can finally communicate with sign language, and the first things he says is that he's a girl. His parents say that he always acts depressed until they let him put on a dress/act like a girl. They've put him on hormone blockers and allowed him to be called Tammy.

To this, CNN says that the parents have "been accused by family, friends and others of being reckless, causing their youngest child permanent damage by allowing her to live as a girl."

Note the media spin of "allowing _her_ to live as a girl." Interesting take by CNN, and possibly a direction that media wants to take?

I personally am against what they've done. He's simply too young, just as the CNN blog discussion title says: "Too young to know your gender." There was a study conducted "following 109 boys who had gender identity disorder between the ages of 3 and 12. Researchers followed up at the mean age of 20 and found 12% of these boys continued to want to change genders." 12% is close to one in ten. That means if everyone took hormone blockers, then 9 people would regret it. Furthermore, who's to say that it's not the hormone blockers that are influencing one's personal gender views?

Blogging Assignment Week 6

I came across the same article about single-sex education in which educators are thinking about dividing classrooms based on gender. Their reasoning is that it in results in better academic outcomes and that boys and girls need to be taught differently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/education/23single.html?scp=1&sq=same-sex%20classroom&st=cse

I do not agree with this because I think that it is increasing sexism and the gender gap. It will weaken the relationship between boys and girls from the start, dividing them into separate classrooms. It does work for some such as children who attend private all girls or all boys schools but not all boys learn in a specific manner and neither do all girls. They will have to grow up and work together regardless so it is better and healthier for them to start at a young age in school where they can help each other and work cooperatively.

Blog - week 5

To show my point I looked through many ads in my magazine collection that use beautiful, young, half naked women to sell their products, but I shortly realized that many people in the press and in the media have already written plenty on this topic. So I searched for “sexist ads” and there are many interesting reviews and articles on the subject. I really think that this one is worth sharing. Please see below.

This article is from the Huff Post Media written by Alex Leo. It is controversial and for some very offensive, but it tells all. I will provide the link at the end, but for those who just want to skim through this blog here it is. I am posting only parts of this article, because it is too explicit and inappropriate for our forum. Also, it is intended for mature audience only, however if you are interested to read the rest of it here is the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-leo/five-trends-the-advertisi_b_149354.html

September 25, 2011

This was a big year for women: The first serious female presidential candidate, the first predominately female state senate, the first female Top Chef. Yet the advertising world has not caught up to the advances of half our population and continues to use stereotypes and violence to prey on our most vile desires. Here are the worst of them--the trends that won't die despite our cultural outrage, and personal boredom.

1.

BONDAGE - This year Remy Martin debuted it's "things are getting interesting" campaign that features a mediocre Website and a series of billboards/magazine spreads depicting women in degrading bondage positions. You may think, "hey this one shows two women, there aren't even men involved, how can it be sexist?" But most of the ads (not available online) have men between the two women in controlling positions. And even without that, these women are obviously putting on a show for an outsider, not having a passionate lesbian love affair for themselves. These types of ads gain traction in cultural periods of female advancement--capturing the fantasy of "putting us back where we belong."
Remy Martin describes its followers as "influential, social, and multicultural urban males, ages 25 to 35." Men of this ilk and age range (read: over 16) should know better than to fall for this kind of pandering. If we switch the view from this being sexy, to this being a pathetic attempt to make an undersexed male feel powerful in the face of female accomplishment, the image loses its appeal. I would like to start a "things that are not interesting" campaign, which would include men insecure enough about themselves that they can't talk to women who aren't physically degraded. I would also include cognac.


2.

RAPE -- The world of high fashion has been the worst offender in the violence-as-art game. Cavalli had pirates, Chanel had a wife beater, and now Dolce and Gabbana has this.
Let's get this out there now: It's not edgy, it's ridiculous. This is a gang rape, and any woman that sees those shoes instead of that message deserves those shoes. Any man who doesn't see that this is rape is probably looking at one of the hard bodies in the background and therefore not really a threat to women.

For examples 3, 4 and 5 you can go to:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-leo/five-trends-the-advertisi_b_149354.html

Week 5: Runaway Groom

During the lecture Dr. Velasco asked us to try to remember more scene where there is a runaway grooms rather than runaway brides, but I couldn't remember any. So, I went on google and searched "runaway groom scenes" (in different word variations), but instead of finding what I was looking for, I found similar images to the one posted above, and an article named, "Run Away, Groom!". (The article can be found here: shttp://www.slate.com/id/2167299/).

The reason I found these sources interesting was because of the way the bride is depicted. The article attributes/justifies runaway grooms to the phenomenon of the "bridezilla". This makes me feel like, regardless of who is running away, (generally) the bride is is being antagonized.

Does anyone have a different take on this article and image?

Week 5 Blogging Assignment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWlo162rYhM&feature=related

This is a scene from The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement that depicts Mia, the Princess of Genovia (the main character) deciding not to get married because she does not love the man and believes it is not right to marry a guy, as part of a law, just so that she can become queen. Instead, at the altar, she asks parliament to change the law so that a woman can rule without a husband. Thankfully, it passed and the typical happily ever after ending ensues. This is just another example of the runaway bride that Professor Velasco showed clips about in class. In this particular movie, the use of the runaway bride brings about the power play between love and law/duty. Disney's ending message leaves the audience with the belief that love is more important than any law. Yet they still show that both can be appeased through the use of compromise. In any case, all the movies include a woman leaving her man at the altar. I believe this idea is used so frequently to advocate not only that women always have the final say in marriage, but also to show that nothing is set in concrete until actually completed. Grace Huang.

Week 6 Blogging Assignment

This article published in the New York Times is refuting "scientific" evidence which supports the idea of a single-sex classroom environment. It was widely believed that classrooms which featured just boys or just girls provided the best learning environment, due to the differing ways in which adolescents retained information. With an all male classroom it was thought that boys would be less distracted by the opposite sex and that lessons could be tailored to their needs. In contrast, girls performed better in school than young boys, therefore they would be less bothered my their male peers and could focus more on their educational development. Scientists are now worried that this structure could have adverse affects on male and female relationships in the future workplace and further gender stereotyping.

I myself have never been a supporter of all male or all female schools. We are all destined to work in the same environment in the future and to break down those gender barriers is essential to lessening the gender gap. Just as boys could profit from the insight of female students, the inverse is correct as well.

What benefits or problems do you see in the structure of all male or all female classrooms?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/education/23single.html

Blogging Assignment Week 6

I found a website with new findings based upon sound scientific research about gender differences. It appears that men and women behave differently because they're biologically programmed to do so. Here are some of the more interesting ones:

1. This article suggests that women are sensitive to the pitch of a man's voice in terms of memory and also for choosing someone for a relationship. The pitch can evidently help a woman determine if the male is of good quality, and whether he has undesirable behavioral traits. From the two experiments conducted, scientists found that women were more responsive to the lower male voice. Do you think that this is because of genetic traits, or because society determined that men should have low voices?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110912143359.htm

2. In a slightly more morbid article, statistics suggest that women are less likely to commit suicide through a method that disfigures their face or head. In a 10 year period, women were found much less likely to shoot themselves anywhere above the neck in comparison to men. However, the author highlights that it is not because of vanity. Beyond this, the article does little to explain further in terms of gender differences. Why do you think that this difference exists? Do outside gender influences play a role in this?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110830091107.htm

3. This third article isn't much of a behavioral difference but still interesting in terms of gender differences. In botox procedures, men need more botox in every area to achieve the same result as women. At the current period, women are much more likely to perform botox on themselves, but the number of men is increasing. Men need more botox because of the general greater muscle mass of men in the body compared to women. Additionally, larger men need more botox than slender men. Why do more women get botox compared to men? Is it purely vanity?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071228215539.htm

Week 5 Blogging Assignment

I found an article stating that single-sex schools have a negative impact while providing little to no benefits.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/single-sex-schools-negative-kids-study/story?id=14581023

The articles says that kids in single-sex schools "showed an increase in gender-specific stereotypes" meaning they acted more according to cultural stereotypes (girls have tea parties). This just goes to show how society pushes for separation of the genders. The people supporting single-sex schools "argue that boys' and girls' brains are wired differently, and therefore require different teaching styles."

If there was more mingling at a young age, then gender roles/stereotypes would have a much smaller impact later on in life. The fact that it's not like that says something about society's power structure.

Week 6 Discussion Questions

Hi All,

Please submit your questions for Week 6.

don't ask don't tell-

An article on the repeal of don't ask don't tell. It should have happened sooner.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44597683

Week 5 Blog

While I was reading "Holy Anorexia,"I was wondering about the difference in behavior between anorexic females and males. Although male anorexia seems to be under the radar, "Male eating disorders are much more common than people know," according to this article. I found many of the points here (see link below) to be relevant to our discussions about gender and society's expectations from males and females, respectively. Unlike anorexic females, who typically "use extreme dieting as a gateway into an eating disorder" and are thus more visibly unhealthy/frail, anorexic males "are more likely to fixate on exercise, which may appear deceptively healthy." The notion of dieting vs. exercise already splits anorexic behavior into female vs. male categories. Furthermore, the article discusses the shame that faces men with eating disorders: "For many males, the fear behind acknowledging their eating disorder and seeking treatment is that others will see them as feminine, unmanly, or gay.” It is interesting that even in the most extreme circumstances, some males still feel bound to maintaining their masculinity and are fearful of succumbing to "a disorder that has always been seen by society as a 'female problem.'"  

Finally, the following quote echoes an excerpt from "Holy Anorexia" ("Her newly won self-esteem and confidence initially receive the approbation of those she depends upon (...) causing her to deepen her self-denial pattern until it takes over as the only source of her sense of self.") : "In fact, a slender, muscular man is likely to get positive feedback and praise for his physique, which reassures him that his self-destructive behaviors are ‘paying off.’" Although males and females may deal with anorexia in different, gender-specific ways, they are still unified in their concern about their physique/body image, and in their desire to be accepted.   

  

Here is the article: http://www.eating-disorder.com/Eating-Treatment/Eating-Disorders/male-anorexia-eating-disorder.htm

Week 5 Blogging Assignment

In the linked article, there are talks to let people in the UK choose what gender they would like to be associated with on passports. As you've heard me state in class on multiple occasions, I feel that the idea of selecting one's own gender to be comical to say the least. The article even goes on to say that people may now select from a third option of "X." What I don't understand from this designation is who is the target of such a change. Is this designation for those who identify themselves as transgender or hermaphroditic? Or is it more focused on individuals that simply don't want to be identified by their given gender. Either way I don't understand the logic behind such a decision. Or gender is encoded in our DNA, I just don't see any room for alternative suggestions on this topic. If a person decides to undergo gender reassignment surgery, they are just making superficial changes. It does not change that fact that genetically they are either a man or a woman.

Call me a skeptic if you wish, or that I'm intolerant. However it does not change the fact that people are born with an inherent gender that cannot be changed through surgery.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/19/home-office-gender-free-passports

Week 4 Blogging Assignment

Our talk in discussion and the Oprah video we watched in lecture made me think of one other transgender person that has been in the news a lot recently: Chaz Bono.

In this article: (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-ehrensaft-phd/chaz-bono-dwts_b_968816.html), the author talks about how objections to Chaz Bono's presence on Dancing With the Stars could be damaging to children, and then goes on further to talk about several children that identify as transgender. This seems to resonate with the articles we read earlier in class about very young children who lived as the opposite of their biological sex.

Blog Assignment, Week 4: Pregnant Man

So, in the article "He's pregnant. You're Speechless.", there is a line that says "Mr. Beatie does not have a penis; his clitoris was surgically reconfigured to mimic a phallus".... I, for one, had no idea what that meant. So, of course, I looked it up.

First, I looked up phallus: "a symbol or representation of the penis."
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phallus)

Which, to me, didn't really clarify what the above statement meant. So, I kept searching, but i didn't really find a source that could tell me what this statement meant. Although I did conclude that the statement above and "bottom surgery" aren't the same thing.

But, I did find a couple of online sources that explain the male-female and female-male bottom surgery:
http://www.hiltonheadmedctr.com/Articles/Sex-Change-Surgery.html
http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/64/Sex-change-surgery.html
They also explain other issues concerning the surgeries.

I hope this helps, whoever else was wondering about it.

Week 4 Blogging Assignment

I was talking with a friend about religion, and he explained that his beliefs were held in the Baha'i Faith. As a newer religion, its core values include: humans are one family, there is one God, science and religion are in harmony, and women & men are equal. In essence, the key words or themes of this faith are balance, harmony, and humanity. To further question his beliefs, I asked why he believes that women and men are equal and should be treated that way. He answered with an explanation or an analogy of how treating the lower class with respect (ie. making conversation with the maid or cooks or janitors) should be always done because they are just another human being. In the same respect, women and men are still both humans. Both are trying to survive and prosper, finding the meaning in their own lives. As for the connection to our gender studies, I hope to keep that in mind when we read how societal pressures has created these differences and because of that has formed problems specifically for one gender (example: anorexia and women). Grace Huang

Blogging Assignment Week 5

I read an interesting article about Elmhurst College openly asking applicants their sexual orientation which has not usually been directly asked by colleges. Depending on their answer such as if they consider themselves to be a part of the LGBT community, students are eligible for scholarships. I think this is surprising because before people were punished for openly stating a sexual orientation which did not match those accepted by society and now there are scholarships available to them. This fosters acceptance and a more diverse campus.

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/elmhurst-sexual-orientation/?scp=10&sq=gender&st=cse

Week 4 Blogging Assignment: Thomas Beatie

During Wednesday's lecture, I remember Professor Velasco mentioning that Thomas Beatie is now a proud father (or mother?) of 3 children. I was really interested by this so I decided to look further into it. Surprisingly, I came across Thomas Beatie's official website. I was highly impressed by the fame that Beatie still possesses. I honestly thought that after his first pregnancy, Beatie would disappear from the headlines and that his fame would only be short-lived. But apparently, he still seems to be an important figure within the LGBT community. This website endorses Beatie as the first pregnant man and even promotes his new reality show (which can only be seen online). There is also a blog created by Beatie himself in which he shares news about himself and his family. Beatie also appears to be wearing "Define Normal" gear-- a clothing line that is targeted towards lesbians and gays. The publicity that Beatie has acquired really shocked me. If, in fact, Beatie wants to see himself as a "normal" father, I don't understand why he attempts to sell himself out. My question is: Is Beatie trying to regain the publicity he initially started with? To what extent is the media important to HIM in his life? Feel free to check out the website: http://www.definenormal.com/

Blogging Assignment Week 5

Australia is the first country to give equal passport rights to intersex citizens. The country added a third category under gender called "indeterminate" in which the letter is X rather than M or F. Transgender citizens can choose M or F based upon how they feel they are with medical proof that they are transitioning. The change is significant because while other countries allow for changes between male and female, some countries require proof of sex reassignment surgery and intersex people may not feel like male or female fits. The only problem is that the passport officials still warn individuals that there may be traveling difficulties based on the disparity between how one appears and how one was born.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/news-and-trends/travel-news/australians-have-third-option-for-gender-on-passports/article2167802/

Blog - week 4

Norm is a relative term designed by certain group or society, bound by location. Depending on a culture, certain norms are acceptable by some, while very unacceptable by others. It is a subjective set of rules that people conform to because of the strong influences that surround an individual. 

Therefore, what in Irvine (where I live) grocery store may look unacceptable, like paying groceries with the change and stalling a checkout line for more than couple of minutes, might not be even noticeable in some other areas, like East LA,  where these occurrences are common, acceptable, and even considered normal. 

It is nice and decent to respect the environment and conform to behavioral patterns within a group or society that surrounds an individual, however, one should keep an open mind – hey you never know what kind of experiences you are missing out on by being a slave to those norms. 

Have you ever violated a social norm? How did you feel about it?

Thomas Beatie

We saw an interview with Beatie in the section. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jho1UCPDqXg

Week 5 Discussion Questions

Please submit your questions for Week 5.

Blogging Assignment Week 4

With our readings this week about pregnant men and transgenders, I looked up some additional information about current transgender rights and found this interesting piece on NCAA transgender athletes' rights.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/ncaa-adopts-new-policy-on-transgender-athletes-1.3167863

The ruling now states that anyone with testosterone in their bodies will not be allowed to compete in women's competitions. However, if men are transitioning to become women, they can compete in female competitions if they can prove that they've taken testosterone suppression drugs for one year.

How fair is this to biologically born females who compete against transgender females? Does this give transgender female athletes a competitive edge over real females even despite the testosterone suppression?

In relation to our reading, how far would transgender rights extend in terms of abortion? Previously, women were the only individuals who could give birth so legislation was not concerned with any categories beyond women. However, now transgendered men who kept their reproductive organs, in the case of Thomas Beatie, can also give birth. If he/she hypothetically wanted to have an abortion, would the laws apply to him/her?

response to pope article

its sad to see how someone of such importance could be so critical of the gay rights movement

Week 3 Blogging Assignment

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/07/pope-gay-marriage-spain_n_780049.html

This is an article about the reactions from the Spanish people when Pope Benedict XVI came and visited Barcelona, Spain. In response to his pro-life and traditional family beliefs, gay rights supporters had a kiss-in protest. I thought this was interesting since Spain has passed laws allowing gay marriage whereas America has not completely. Yet, the Spanish people still have to support their laws especially because a major figurehead and role model is openly going against that modernist ideal. This is Grace Huang.

Blog Assignment # 4: Thomas Beatie

Although in some point in time male pregnancy was viewed as nearly impossible, this is not the case in today's society. Technological advancements in medicine have actually allowed for such changes, as well as an individual's willingness to "come out of the closet" and challenge the traditional gender binary system. Some have even decided to completely transform their physical appearance so that they can become the opposite sex. What are your thoughts to this? Does it bother you to some extent?

Blog Assignment, Week 3: John Frog

Professor Velasco asked a lot about what might be the equivalent of a comedy about a pregnant male in our generation so I went on youtube and did some searching.

This is one of the videos I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMGZJXgi_Qk&feature=pyv

I wouldn't exactly consider this a comedy though. I've considered that this might be the beginning of what will be films based on a true story, in the future.  With all the technological advances we have and are working on and the biological and anatomical sex changes humans are adapting to, this might be a realistic scenario in the future.

I actually found this video very touching, and I'm looking forward to male pregnancy being acceptable around the world. (Although I know that may take a couple more centuries.) What do you think?