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.