Sex as Feminist Practice -- Quotes

In "Sexy From the Start:Anticipatory Elements of Second Wave Feminism", Scanlon argues that this Thrid wave of feminism is essentially broken down into two groups. Onhe group which still feels that There is no way that you can wear lipstick and skirts, and get you nails done and still be feminin. They feel that this is ruining all the progress that femist have made so far, and only further oppressing us. I can relate this to the article "Oppression" by Frye.
 In that article she talks about men oppressing woman as a femist issue. And this sexualization that woman do is only conforming to it. However Scanlon feels that you can still look sexy and not be conforming to the oppression. You can get your hair done and nails done, and still be a feminist. Some quotes from the article that support this view are" It is a feminism no longer on the defensive, with a fun, playful aeshetic that acknoledges the erotic carcisstic pleasure women reiceve from beautyfying themselves, a pleasure not to be denied". She is saying that is she enjoys makeing herself up and looking pretty soley becasue it makes her feel good, then why wouldnt she do that?? If it makes you happy and feel good on the inside there no reason why you should deny yourself like that

Another quote is, " being smart is important, but being smart and good looking has even greater rewards." I don't think that this quote means anything rude, i think that she means if you feel good about yourself and you take a little pride in your appearance you'll be smart and confident, and no one can beat that! Finally, "... dressing up was a performance , one that makes you feel female'". Again she is saying that dressing up doesn't oppress you it highlights you and your beauty.

Alternate Class

So when we had the guest speakers i learned a lot and I defiantly think that it was a fun class. I think that the whole point of the "what does the word sex mean" game was to get people to realize that it means something different to everyone and to be conscious to to seclude different life styles from your meaning. Also the shuffle activity was fun too. I think that the whole purpose of the eye contact at the end was to get people to realize, okay I'm not the only one who walked so that means I'm not alone, other people are like me too. And once you realize that you realize you have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm so proud of myself and everyone else for being so open and honest about everything. You feel so much better when you don't need to hide things and can just be yourself!

Legal Struggles for Justice-- Connections

An Article that I read from the New York Times, was very upsetting that I feel happens way to often in society, is the blaming of the victims of  rape for their attacks. No one asks to be raped! bottom line. A very disturbing case I read about on line was about an 11 year old girl from Texas who was gang raped. This was said to have happened last November, in the town of Cleveland, about 50 miles out side of Huston.  They took the 11 year old girl who apparently lied about her age, to an abandoned saw mill and raped her.  The 11 year old girl was raped by at least 18 men, both juveniles and adults.

"Every adult male that had sex with this child should go to prison, I don't care what the color is. But I do not believe black males are the only ones that had contact with this young child," said Quanell X, the leader of Houston's New Black Panther Party. "It appears to me there's only been the selective prosecution of one community, which is African American."
In the article it was said that this particular town had a history of African American violence. There may be a great deal of prejudice here and that might be why only African Americanise were blamed for the rape of this young girl. but I highly agree with Quanell X that there were other races involved in this horrific act.
Something I find even more disturbing is people's reactions to these events, aka, "blaming the victim". Republican law maker, Kathleen Passidomo stated, “There was an article about an 11 year old girl who was gang raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute." Really? No one asks to be raped! This is ridiculous that she would literally say that because of the way this 11 year old girl was dressed she deserved to be raped. No matter what you are wearing you could be at risk to be raped. But the way someone dresses by no means gives consent. This article relates to another article that we recently read "The Lesbian Continuum by Adrien Rich. It relates because it she addresses  rape and how it suppresses women.  " Forcing male sexuality upon women: rape, incest, torture, a constant message that men are better, and superior in society to women." In riches article it talks about domestic violence because a larger and larger issue. The number of incidence is sky rocketing. This just more and more suppresses a women. Not only does this apply with domestic or rape charges but also with harassment, and sexual assault. Men use this to make women feel trapped and worthless, like helpless sexual objects.

Another reading that we have done that relates to this topic is "Oppression" by Frye. This article relates because rape in itself is oppression. this allegation or rape is not only oppressive and disgusting, it is degrading. men feel stronger and women are further degraded. "You can't win you are caught in a bind, caught between systematically related pressures."  Girls are pressured in so many ways, to look pretty, and look amazing, but while doing that should they have to be afraid to look so good that they could be more vulnerable to rape? I think that in Frye wants us to draw away from the oppression and stand strong in ourselves, and not let anyone push us down or degrade us.
And no victim is ever to be blamed for being raped, it is never your fault.

In addition to Social Justice event ...

I would also like to add some ways that this event connects to some of the class readings that we have done.  One of the first readings was The "F-word". A quote from that article was  "Before women achieved their goal, many suffered for the cause- some were jailed, fined and endured hunger strikes-..." This had a a lot to do with everything that was talked about at promising practices. The fact that to see change and to get to that state in which equality in one way or another is achieved, it takes a lot of people to struggle first and to go through what they did to achieve something so great. it takes a lot of bravery not only for Feminist, but for minority's and outcast to take a stand to help change something that might not even be fixed for generations upon generations to actually get there. Another article that we read that applies to this is the "Oppression" article. This talked about women being oppressed in one way or another, hindering there sense of self, and their voice. "You can't win you are caught in a bind, caught between systematically related pressures."  This relates a lot to my workshop at promising practices on bullying, and fighting the pressure and frustration of it. bullying can be so severe and although a child may appear to be brushing it off deep down inside it is torturing.  I inserted a link about a girl that was so severely harassed, that at just 15 years old killed herself Harassment that lead to death. Finally I found another article that we have read in class to go along with this event, "Something About the Subject Makes It Hard To Name". This talked about the different kinds of racism and how the ignorance of people not understanding racism causes them to be racist! However,  no matter what your background, you are worthy of respect and of equal privileges. I like how she said that "the color of your skin is not the cause of the hardship".  People need to realize that they chose there own destiny, not there orientation, gender, or color of their skin. This relates to my transgender workshop, that a lot of people don't understand transgender and what they don't know they fear, causing them to be "ignorantly prejudice" for something that they know so little about! And finally how does this all relate to Feminism? Everything I have learned in class and every thing I have realize in this event can pretty much be summed up for me in one sentence... Just because we are DIVERSE does not mean that we are UNEQUAL.

Social Justice Event-- Relection

I attended Promising Practices this past Saturday for my Social justice event.  I found the event pretty interesting. At first we were separated into different groups, depending on which workshop you had chosen. I first in the anti-bullying workshop. We talked about different scenarios and situations of bullying. We were separated into small groups there and each group had different scenarios, some groups talked out loud about their scenarios others put on a skit for the class. Each form of bullying was different, from lunch room bullies to cyber bullies to the bullies at gym class. In all situations the bystander has a huge advantage to overpower the bully by standing up for the person being harassed, but if the bystander remains silent the bully has much more control. It was entertaining and everyone enjoyed it, but it also got you to think and learn from it. Some parents in the class asked questions in the end because they had children in school that were being bullied I think that they also got a lot out of it and I really hope that it helped them. I think though that in schools they need to have more proactive anti bullying programs implemented into the normal weekly routine of the school. Stop bullying before it even happens. Just telling g the kids to “knock it off”, or “just get along”, is very passive for something that is so serious. Teachers and students both need to become more informed on the topic so that they can be a help to stopping bullying and not just playing the role of the passive bystander. The second workshop that they tied into this one was informing us on transgender people. Elizabeth Henshsaw ran this discussion. She was very into it and is sure everyone could tell.  She tied it in to the previous topic because these transgender people get bullied so badly for something that they cannot even help, which is very sad. “Creating awareness” is the first step to getting people to understand and accept these people.

 A quote that I liked that was on her PowerPoint was, “What we don’t know we fear, what we fear we shun, what we shun we don’t know”. So learning more about something makes it seem not so bad after all. The more knowledge you have the more open minded and accepting you are.  She taught us about some of the ways we can be more respectful of people’s differences creating a more comfortable environment for everyone. Some of the ways you can be more sensitive to these groups are, using gender neutral pronouns and words, be understanding and observant, don’t separate groups into boys and girls and also include gender diverse books and posters in curriculum.  I defiantly learned a lot from this part of the workshop as well. After this we went to a teen empowerment session. This was interesting seeing the 3 people who all had different but also similar backgrounds coming together to help other struggling teens, and to provide a strong, positive and powerful message, that we are all strong individuals. They were aiming to some us that we all have a voice and the power of just one voice can go a very far way. They all provide message that success will be reached with ambition and hard work, but it is by no mean unachievable. The last thing we did was hear a message from the youth panel. I really enjoyed all the stories that they had to share with us, I found them very interesting.  Over all I am happy that I chose Promising practices as my social justice event. I think that I got a lot out of it.

Combatting Intentional Bigotry and Inadvertently Racist Acts-- Extended comments

I am doing extended comments on heathers blog. I think that its true as said by Blanchard that racism can be created through a lack of knowledge. I know that when  I was growing up I was extremely sheltered. I went to a Catholic school up until the 8th grade with only 20 kids in each grade and I think there was only one or two black people i n the entire school. And then going into high school i lived in a very small town, it was the only high school in the town and there were probably less then 8 black people in the whole high school. So i didn't really get a Chance to migle too much with a wide variety of races or religions. “Encouraging multiracial friendships and exposing naive students to students of color can help to strengthen the knowledge base of students and decrease the incidents of race.” I wish that growing up I had more of theses interactions and friendships. The codes of racism remind me of the article we just read "something about the subject makes it hard to name".  This article was about the different forms of racism. sometimes when you aren't exposed to other cultures and races it makes it hard to realize that you are doing something wrong. which is why you should try and learn more about different cultures outside of your own and not just think "who cares" just cause it may not directly be affecting you. 
 Like heather said "working together" will help fight racism, ignorance will not.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter-- hyperlinks

Cinderella ate my Daughter was an interesting read. I think that you can make a lot of outside connections to this article. When you are really young and your playing with dolls and watching little kid TV shows, you can pick up on a lot More things than the adults sometimes do. There are hidden messages, and if you aren't looking closely you are not going to see them. Kids really do realize and notice things more than you think.I think that the princess culture that is  discussed in the article teaches girls that "Their value derives largely from their appearance." This is very true. Girls begin to realize what is pretty what is not. What gets others attention and what doesn't. Their value they believe comes from what other people see on the outside rather than what is on the inside. In reality, what is on the out side might get you the interview, but it wont get you the job! The show toddlers in tiaras these young girls are getting rewarded for the way that they look. They don't need to be the smartest girl or most polite girl in the competition, they just need to be the prettiest, with the fake tans and make up and everything that's not teaching girls to set very high goals and expectations for themselves, and the direct sexulization of young children. The link I just posted shows exactly why this is characterized as just that.

 Another thing that we talked about in class was the kind of beauty that is portrayed in barbie dolls and doll princesses. the majority of them are white, with long Flowing hair. I saw a comercial the other day for the "i can be barbie" Barbie collection which were the barbies with careers, every single girl and doll in the commercial was white.  I couldn't find a Single I can be barbie commerical with a colored doll. I think that that doesnt send the most positive message. I think people just need to be more aware of these things and display more different images. Because even when I was younger I always tried to pick the doll that looks most like me. So marketing a wider variety of dolls will make a wider variety of people feel less excluded.

Deployment :(

So.. I just found out probably not even a week ago that my boyfriend is getting deployed sooner than I thought. He just left today to go to his temporary base before Afghanistan. I know he will be back before thanksgiving for a little while, but I'm not exactly sure when. I've been stressed and pretty sad all weekend and I haven't Fished my work to blog tonight. Just posting to say not to expect anything until at least tomorrow.. I'm sorry :(

What Are Little Boys Made of? --- Quotes

Growing up I can't even count the number of times I've heard some say to a boy, "Just suck it up", "Quit being a sissy", or worse"your acting like a girl." These are all statements meant to teach boys that it isn't okay to show emotions. It makes them feel like if they are sad about something and shed a tear that it isn't okay. This always made me feel bad for boys that are told this. everyone needs to show emotion, its the healthy thing to do.  This reminds me of the piece in the text where it states "In Real Boys Pollack calls it 'The Boy Code' and 'mask of masculinity'- a kind of swaggering attitude that boys embrace to hide their fears, suppress dependency and vulnerability, and present a stoic front." I think that showing too much emotion in our society for a male, is depicted as being less masculine.
Another thing that struck me in this article was the idea that boys are so much more likely to misbehave and not do well in school. Also, that boys are at a predisposition to misbehave and be rambunctious.

"It's nature, not nurture, that propels boys towards obnoxious behavior, violence, and sadistic experiments on insects..... "boyhood is defective". it is possible that boys are biologically wired to have more energy, but there are obviously ways to channel this energy other than destructive behaviors. It is not an excuse to go run around and commit violent acts and be like, " oh sorry I'm a boy i cant help it". There are plenty of men and young boys out there that participate in, healthy, energy releasing activities and focus it in a positive way. 

Finally, It is said that "In adolescence both boys and girls get their first real dose of gender inequality, and that is what explains their different paths.' Girls realize that sometimes boys really do have the upper hand. But i also think that boys notice things about girls too that maybe we get more attention then they do. I think that the inequality goes back and forth and it is not perfectly equal on either side. The stigmas  do not hold only true to boys. there is plenty of it for the girls too. That we aren't as good at math as boys, we aren't as strong as them, we have less common sense, etc. Until all the Ism's in society are gone, we are still going to see these stigmas.

Something About the Subject Makes It Hard to Name- Reflection

In the text, Something about the Subject Makes it Hard to Name, Gloria Yamato talks about racism and it's effects. She basically first i saying that racism is something that racism is something that is so common that it becomes referred to as "that's life". we see it everyday whether its clear as glass, or silent but deadly. racism has been around for so long. it is like a very old tree with a huge trunk. it s roots are so strongly embedded in the ground that just one hit of an axe would never be enough to chop it down. This is what Yamato is saying. People seem to think that with "one hour debate" racism roots would be severed from the ground. this is not possible.
She also speaks about oppression. Racism is the mistreatment of a group for whatever reason, and other people conforming to this mistreatment. whether it be lack of respect, segregation, ignorance, or slavery. Also she said that people can be the the oppressors of themselves. when they begin to believe that the oppression is okay, and that there's nothing they can do about it, they think they deserve it. i think that these people are just brainwashed by society. But you can see this in relationships, people stay with a partner that treats them badly, because after a while they think that's the best they can get, and its what they deserve, even thought that is not the case what so ever.
The first type of racism she talks about is aware/blatant. This is the very obvious form of racism its right there in your face. you can with chose to face it head on, or back away from it and hide. Basically it come down to would you rather have a group of people talk and scheme against you behind your back. or would you rather them say it right to your face. The second type of racism is aware/covert racism This is the kind of racism that you can see in a more abstract way. it is there but the evidence that it is there is not always that clear cut.  I saw a show on this once, they secretly filmed people, to see how race affects different situations, and when they caught people doing it, after woods they were ambushed.  for example. A black and white customer were both actors and at separate times. The car salesman is the one being ambushed. The white man inquires about a price of a car, the white sales man gives him a price. The actor leaves and about an hour later the black male actor inquires about the same car and gets a significantly higher price. later that day the sales person is questioned about his actions. he Denys being in anyway racist, but cannot provide a logical explanation for the price difference.  I found something very similar to the story I was just saying. 

 The third type of racism is unaware/unaware/unintentional. I think that what she is saying is that this is a type of racism that could be considered whites trying to suck up to patch the holes of wrong doings that have been done. She is saying that just being "nice" doesn't make up for the "lack of privilege". And Finally the last group which is the unaware/self-righteous. I believe that there are the people that think that they can do no wrong. they think that racism has nothing to do with them personally and they refer to themselves as the "good whites", and the rest just have to deal with whatever they don't want tot themselves.
I think that through all this one of the most important things that basically "people of color" no matter what your background, you are worthy of respect and of equal privileges. I like how she said that "the color of your skin is not the cause of the hardship". she is talking about life, like for may people isn't a walk in the park. Don't like the color of your skin predetermine how your life is going to be.  you need to set your own expectations of yourself.

The Lesbian Continuum

So What I got out of Richs piece  was that women are heterosexual beings, unless they are deemed otherwise. women are also Suppressed by men in society which in turn they are repulsed by men and turn lesbian. Rich states, " lesbian is simply her acting out in bitterness towards men".  From looking up this topic on google I found examples of what rich is saying are suppressing acts towards women. " Forcing male sexuality upon women: rape, incest, torture, a constant message that men are better, and superior in society to women." In riches article it talks about domestic violence because a larger and larger issue. The number of incidence is sky rocketing. This just more and more suppresses a women. another example is "Cramp women’s creativeness: male seen as more assimilated in society (they can participate more, culturally more important". This is seen so much in society, religious political , and social leaders are depicted as male figures. men are taken more seriously because of this pre notation that they have the ability to lead. I think that rich trying to say that heterosexuality also equals power in our society.But revolt becaus they know they have just as much strength.

 Being heterosexual in this world is the norm and the lesbians of society are just living in it. I just recently noticed TV ads, shows, movies, advertisements, gays and lesbians being brought into the picture, as a way of bringing them into society to became more accustomed to it so instead of being more of a shock to society it becomes much more of a norm. I tried my best to untangle riches words. I'm sure in class discussion it will become even more clear.

People Like Us _ Film Review

The quote said by Lawrence Mead, I believe to be false and misleading. What he tried to say is that people of the lower class remain lower class because they are too lazy to move elsewhere in life.  In the Video People like us, that we saw, Showed three different distinct groups of social class. Each of these groups had a different story and view about their class.  The first reason I think that this is not true is that When you are in the lower class it is not as easy to “grasp the golden coin” even though you can see it there. A man said that in the video and I think that it is so true, even the ugh the opportunity may seem like its dangling in front of your face it’s not as easy to grasp it. If you come from a poor family, you don’t have the same “resources” as someone in the upper middle class does. You don’t have the money to get a car and go all around for a job. It is just different! Secondly In the lower class there is a true sense of “invisibility”. For example, The Co-op grocery store being built in a neighborhood populated with many lower class poor citizens. It too so many struggling voices to fight for this market to not be put up because of its costly products, and still they were over ruled. I think it made them ask themselves, can anyone even see us?? Thirdly, when you are upper middle class “you are griping opportunities” constantly you are getting the chance to meet more people do more things, build stronger network and connections. You have better “resources”. Life in a sense is “moving at a faster pace”, than someone in the lower class, walking at burger king walking 10 miles to work every day as we saw in the film. Another point I would like to make is that we were taught from many years ago to separate from the poor lower class.  Name calling and segregation such as “poor white trash.” It is impossible for them to climb up the latter when everyone at the top won’t even lend them a hand up it. Finally my last point is that Lower class people realize that at some point they need to be realistic in their goals. If they want to get a great job, and get a college degree, but all they can get is a minimum wage job, and they don’t even have a car, it’s time to step back and find a plan that will at least get you your essentials. For an upper class person born into money or job that gives them their freedoms, opportunities are endless.  It’s time to realize that there is a huge separation between class, and the people that are a part of a class that are struggling through life, it is not because they are too lazy to get out of it, it’s because society’s class barrios are keeping them in a tight leash.

I enjoyed the film a lot. A lot of things made people laugh, but of course a lot of it was very shocking and sad. We had a good discussion in class. Shelia told some pretty interesting stories like she always does!! And class without a teacher went pretty smoothly.

Miscellaneous Post one

On the today show today They had a story about a boy, Jamie Rodemeyer. He posted a lot of YouTube videos about how "it gets better". He talked a lot about bullying and being gay.

 He was constantly made fun of for it to the point where he felt completely worthless. people would tell him that he is better off dead, and none one would care if he died. His strong words in his videos were stronger than what he was able to be. He ended up killing him self at the age of 14. Lady Gaga was one of his biggest idols and referenced her many times. she even dedicated a song to him after his dead. Gaga met with president Obama also to talk about making bullying Illegal. At the homecoming ,dance Jamie's Sister went to after his death, when Gaga came on the bullies chanted once again that he is better off dead . That is just disgusting at this point it made me sick to my stomach. You just drove someone to commit suicide and you are actually proud of it?  I think this relates to the class, because segregating people just because they are different than you is not okay, just because someone is gay does not make you better than them in ANY WAY. Jamies parents still Carry out the message that "it gets better" and this poor by can rest in peace knowing that he did make a difference.

Economic Justice as a Feminist Issue- Argument

 I read on the Center for Working Class Studies website first about just what was "working class studies".  I agree  with the author "  Center for Working Class Studies "that class separates who we are and completely shapes our lives. If you grow up in the upper middle class vs. the lower middle class, you life and your opportunities i believe don't even compare. If you as a someone at the lower end of the lower middle class, are extremely motivated, have set goals, and are willing to work your but off to get what you want , you just may be able to achieve what a much less goal oriented and much less driven to succeed person would be able to easily achieve. The working class is a very large group. I don't think that the article is saying that there's anything wrong with being working class, its just that some people chose to ignore the fact that they are a part of that, or that there even is a social class at all. That is the main point I feel that the author is trying to make, that there is a lot of different people that make up this working blue collar group.
"By making the working class more visible, we help working-class people gain respect.This is huge for me because my first two jobs have been a part of the working class. It's tough to gain respect because i feel like people look down at you like just because your serving them food, of doing something for them, that you are there temporary servant.


 I think that the working class suffers from economics inequality which turns into a feminist issue. I also read in another article That "Women have unequal access to economic resources, such as capital, credit, labour and land, and limited opportunities for employment and career advancement which restricts their ability to improve their economic situation. " Women have a more difficult time getting jobs I think because people in general don't take them as seriously. If that wasn't the case since the beginning of time, why is it then that there still has yet to be a women president. Technically there is a better chance for a women to be president because there is more women in the world than there are men. I think that society formed an image about women being poor decision makers, and too emotional to take control.


" In American society, class divisions generate public policies that allow the "haves" to get more while the"have nots" keep falling further behind" This is true on the economic level. The people that have more money gain more money, and high status leads to higher status. Men and women i believe both suffer from this. But it is our original roots that put us in this predicament  Its almost like you are genetically wired to be a have or a have not. It is what you are born into. There I agree also with the author when he says that "there is much diversity to these groups". If we looked into the numbers of races and gender to see what really consist of these economic groups, i think it would help to understand why it is important to realize that there are separations, and they shouldn't just be pushed behind a curtain. Its easier to draw ignorance on what class you are in or why he or she belongs to a certain class, but its time to start asking questions, because it we don't inequality will become inevitable.

I playied around with the People like us website too. The game was interesting. I guess I somewhat agreeed with what it said. It said that my definition of social class is by the things that I buy. Whcih I can see to be somewhat too. but just casue you have something doesnt nessicailly mea that you can afford it !! Also I found a question that was interesting "how do income, family background, education, attitudes, aspirations, and even appearance mark someone as a member of a particular social class?"
These are all interconnected. One affect the other. At one point you become realistic after thinking all your life your are going to become an astronaunt and your are growing up in a poor family that cant afford to send you to a college, and your resources to excelle are limited, your dreams and aspirations are probably going to change. Depending on the class you are from you suffer from oppression in one form or another from it.

Oral History For The Qualitative Researcher

Interviewing is clearly a process. You want to try to get in depth as possible, all while trying to let the interview flow naturally as well. You are essentially trying to form a story about a person, diverging from a set of questions that you are asking them.
Oral history has been around for so many years. "Oral history grew out of oral tradition". Now a days we have all types of technology to record and replay the stories that are being told. years and years ago they didn't have that they had to rely solely on word of mouth. one quote that stood out to me was, "Oral history is a collection of stories and reminiscences of a person or persons who have firsthand knowledge of any number of experiences." This is what I thought of when I interviewed my Mem. I used her first hand experience growing up during the depression, and raising seven children in the 1950's and 1960's to gain knowledge from her point of view. The article defiantly let me see how there are many ways to get the background of a person and really get in depth to their past.
Another thing in the article that stood out to me was, "A sense of history forces us to make sense of who we are." I learned so much about my Mem that I never knew. It makes so much sense to me now, why she is the way that she is. Past experiences and background all added together makes us who we are.

Oppression- hyperlinks

In the article by Marilyn Fyre she talks about the word "oppression" and how it can be over used. I agree that the term is over used.She says that "it is tough to be masculine". It is really tough to be either feminine pr masculine. there are standards to be met for each sex. One is brought up to hide feelings, one is brought up to express. One is brought up to play with trucks the other with dolls. But if one trait overlaps the other in some certain human being does that make us any less masculine or any less feminine. In it of itself, both sexes have their own set of difficulties to overcome, and expectations to be met.

Something that I could relate to in high school especially, that was mentioned in this article was about the pressure of young teens to be sexually active. To be prude or not to be prude. In the article she talks about how either way you are screwed. Whether you chose to have sexual partners or you choose to stay a virgin you will be harassed. Unless you are apart of the group that can "do no wrong", and get away socially with everything. There is so much pressure in high school not only from the boys but from the girls too. You see all of them doing it, but if you dare to follow in their path you will forever be gossipped about throughout the halls. "You can't win you are caught in a bind, caught between systematically related pressures."  This can lead to something very severe. Girls don't always know how to deal with this constant criticism and harassment. it can often lead to depression and suicide. I inserted a link about a girl that was so severely harassed, that at just 15 years old killed herself Harassment that lead to death.

I believe that this article relates to the idea of oppression because the Phoebe, was so pressured from looks to sexual activities, etc. that she took her own life. It is so sad and it happens way too often. It states in this article that
"The harassment that day, by one male and two females, "appears to have been motivated by the group's displeasure with Phoebe's brief dating relationship with a male student that had ended six weeks earlier," she said."  She was harassed by not only girls but boys too. Because of their ''Displeasure" with a relationship she had with This is just one example of how social peers so strongly affect us.And how we all feel that if our expectations as a male or female are not met, we have failed, and are hopeless. We need to speak up and find our voice, and not let other dictate who we should or should not be!

The F-word... Quotes

I really enjoyed reading "A Tsunami in History". I think the title in itself represents a change that was massive, but much destruction had to have occurred to got to this unrecognizable state compared to where it had begun. A quote from the beginning of this essay that I think ties in the destruction made is "Before women achieved their goal, many suffered for the cause- some were jailed, fined and endured hunger strikes-..." And through the generations the author describes each unique struggle women went through. I think that The author did a good job breaking down the generations into "waves", or cycles of how the movement slowly evolved. Women began with hardly any rights at all. I feel that each generation had a goal for what they strive to attain. The first was gaining the right, or the privilege to vote, but more deeply to obtain a voice, Instead of having the men speak for them. Taxes and literacy test were created to weed out the "lower class" voters. This also separated out people of different races. Equal Opportunities were no where to be found. I believe this was formed to weaken the group of women. The less there were, the more vulnerable, and easily attacked. Once the women attained a voice, it was now time to attain their freedom. Women around the 1950's were stereotypically the stay at home mother. " It took  another wave to break through the barriers that confined many to 'womens work' which at the time included a quite narrow job selection". At this time jobs were limited that women were "allowed' to do and they didn't pay much either. Many women so badly wanted to expand their horizons. Women are always in the home taking care of the family, they do not have a chance to earn their own money and expand their freedom. This was a time of struggle between being a home-maker to a money maker. Also at this time women of color were less acknowledged. "Many allege that the second wave represented mainly the concerns of middle and upper class white women issues and did not focus on the voices and many of the issues of women of color..." This means that they had even more minority hurdles to over come and they were battling apart from white women. Finally, in the last wave the struggle for a title. To be able to boast yourself up in the world and gain the same job title that a man has and gain it with equal opportunity.  This is not only true between men and women but also between different races, and classes in society. We are still struggling today with this. Gender and racial segregation still is an issue today.  As they say in the finale wave, " The glass ceiling has only cracked..." this mean that there is still work that needs to be done to fully overcome in equality and equal opportunity.We are a part of the Forth wave.
In Fear of feminism the author is attempting to explain why women are afraid of feminism, and that there is reason behind that. I think that to stand out against majority or crowd about anything is a scary thing to do. The more voices you have doing that the louder you’ll be heard. But before you go around doing so you need to know what you are talking about and what your getting yourself into. There is a fear of male violence. In the article they state, “-itself a recognition that it could happen to me.” Women need to not be in denial about this. Do not allow yourself to become vulnerable. Be aware! Young women do not like to imagine this because they don’t think it may happen to them but it so easily could. But allowing yourself to think about it can help prevent it from really happening. Another quote that supports this is …sexual harassment and date rape on campuses all over the country, still insist on believing that women’s equality has been achieved.” This is something that is a serious issue. The system need to change. Also the fact that men trying to over power women is being reiterated in this article. I think this article is taking everything shown in the previous article about gaining a voice, and is now showing us how to use it!

INTRO

Hi Everyone I'm Sydney. This is my first year at RIC. I like it alot so far, minus parking prior to noon. I'm going for Radiology. I plan to start the program probably next June. I'm really excited about it. When the program is over my ultimate goal is to get my degree somewhere in Radiation Theapy. So I will probably graduate in 2014-ish.
I Just started working at David's Bridal this summer. Knock on wood so far I love it! I'ts been a lot of fun. Who doesn't like looking at wedding dresses all day!? (haha) I enjoy it so it's a good thing. I am just starting to also Volunteer at Hasbro Childrens Hopstial about once a week. I love being around kiddies and helping out. So my schedule right now is kinda busy. In my free time I like to be outside, biking, hiking, walking. Hang out with friends, shop, get dinner ect. and just be around people I love!!