Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Never Ending Cycle
Saturday, November 27, 2010
*The Power of MuSiC*
For purposes of this BLOG entry, I have decided to peruse my favorite music and discover music that represents topics we have discussed in class throughout the semester. Specifically, the week we discussed rape, and how it is constructed after the fact, as well as what determines that rape has occurred. Sometimes I think we take for granted and underestimate the power of music and lyrics. The emotions attached to music are unavoidable, in my opinion.
The first song is: 'Boys Who Rape' by The Raveonettes
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed.
Boys who (boys who) Rape should (rape should)All be (all be)Destroyed.
Three-to-one girl How can you win One horrid ni-ight
You hope that it's a bad dream They rip you to shreds Make you feel useless
You'll never forget
Those fuckers stay in your head
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed
They rip you to shreds Make you feel useless You'll never forget
Those fuckers stay in your head
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed
Boys who, (boys who) Rape should, (rape should)All be, (all be)Destroyed
Boys who (boys who) Rape should (rape should)All be (all be)Destroyed
B-boys, b-boys who rape shouldB-be b-be be destroyed
B-boys, b-boys who rape shouldB-be b-be be destroyed
B-boys, b-boys who rape shouldB-be b-be destroyed
B-boys, b-boys who rape shouldB-be b-be be destroyed
**Now, if this song isn't direct, I don't know what song is. I remember the class when we discussed what rape looks like and what nonverbal cues are associated with it. We also discussed, by watching several movie clips, if the situation was indeed rape. Obviously, this song is loaded with anger and someone in this band, or someone they know, had to experience an awful event. I imagine that if someone listening to this song had a similar experience, it would bring up those memories instantly.
The next song is: 'Date Rape' by Sublime
"The next day she went to her drawer, looked up her local attorney at law, went to the phone and filed the police report and then she took the guy's ass to court. Well, the day he stood in front of the judge he screamed, " She lies that little slut!" The judge knew that he was full of shit and he gave him 25 years And now his heart is filled with tears. That night in jail it was getting late. He was butt-raped by a large inmate, and he screamed. But the guards paid no attention to his cries. That's when things got out of control. The moral of the date rape story, it does not pay to be drunk and horny. But that's the way it had to be. They locked him up and threw away the key. Well, I can't take pity on men of his kind, even though he now takes it in the behind."
**The song actually reads like a story. This is only the last half of the song. Most of Sublime's music is pretty fun to listen to, not typically slow or sad sounding. This song is no different, but it is very easy to hear the words accurately.
These are only 2 songs that address the issue of rape. I know there are TONS more out there. It is a very serious issue that, unfortunately, seems to linger in a gray area.
Below are the links to both music videos:
Sublime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMeDihwyrg
The Raveonettes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DpulDH89IE
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Vision of Women on TV & in Pictures
Friday, November 19, 2010
The "Juno" Perspective
This past week, I had the privilege of traveling to San Francisco to attend the National Communication Association conference (NCA). This was my first NCA experience and it was an INCREDIBLE one. I met so many amazing people and attended many panels where young scholars were able to present their research. One panel in particular was in the Feminist Studies genre and focused on media portrayals of real experiences of women. Specifically, one paper focused on the experience of pregnancy and all the ideas and behaviors that it entails. I would love to share that analysis and then provide my own thoughts on the topic.
The main thesis behind the paper was that the way media, specifically in a set of movies (Juno, Citizen Ruth, and Precious) portrays pregnancy as being an experience that is either positive or negative based on socio-economic status. The final analysis showed that we frown upon pregnancy and treat is as though a woman of low economic status is incapable of successfully raising a child. Though she may work hard, be loving and caring, strive to be greater and a potentially great mother, she is not treated as such. Her options are to give up the child or terminate the pregnancy before it is "too late." For this BLOG, I will focus on Juno, as I am most familiar with this movie.
Juno, a 16 year old girl, from a low/middle class family finds out that she is pregnant with "Bleeker"'s baby, another 16 year old boy from a middle class home. Immediately upon becoming pregnant, Juno calls Planned Parenthood to schedule an abortion. There is no discussion or reference to alternatives at the start. The "best" thing to do in Juno's mind is to just "take care of it." As she heads toward the building to have her procedure, a friend of hers is protesting out front repeating "All babies want to get borned." Juno reluctantly continues to head toward the building. Finally, the young protester tells Juno that her baby already has finger nails. With this comment, Juno promptly decides that an abortion is not what she wants. Instead she consults with a friend and searches for a family looking for a baby.
After telling her parents about her pregnancy, they tell Juno that they will support her in any decision she makes. Although Juno's parents were surprisingly receptive to the news and gave their daughter the option to keep the baby, Juno still decides to give the baby up for adoption. This decision supports the idea that Juno is doing "the right thing" based on her current age and social class. This is what society will accept as the best thing for the baby. But, is it unnecessary? Could Juno and her family taken care of her baby? I would argue that they most certainly could have. At the end of the film, however, the baby is given to a wealthy, white woman who is "prepared" to take care of the baby. This provides us with an image of what a respectable household to raise a child in looks like. All is well that ends well. Juno returns to her life as a 16 year old, with no more responsibility than she had pre-pregnancy. Does it always work out this way?
Another film I will touch on briefly is Precious, a movie following the traumatic and disturbing life of a young black girl. She is abused by both of her parents and becomes pregnant with her father's child (for the second time). She has the baby and attempts to raise it herself, but the hardships continue. This highlights the message that it would have been a wise decision for Precious to have given the baby up for adoption. The plot eventually informs us that she has contracted HIV, only emphasizing the trials and tribulations of someone of her socio-economic status. Though these films are simply that, they are very impressionable and easily correlate with how we view reality.
The presenter's final analysis revealed that these films, and I venture to guess many others, send a message that certain factors must be present for women to have children. Typically, pregnancy is only seen as acceptable, happy, and joyous in situations where the woman is married, financially well off, surrounded by a good family, and is essentially an outstanding citizen. In my opinion, society essentially controls who can have children. At least, they control how we view pregnancy. If you take a minute to stop and think of situations where you have found out someone was pregnant and recall their age, marital status, economic class, etc. What did you think of it? Better yet, how did you discuss the situation with friends and others? In my experience, I know these factors have unknowingly made an impact on my opinions of having a child. How much agency do we have in these thought processes? Or, are these public portrayals so ingrained in us we do not even recognize their influence?
What came first - the Chicken or the Egg??
This semester in our class, we spent much time discussing how we find beauty in our society, as well as what the 'good' and 'bad' girl typically look like. Should they be blond and wear pearls to be attractive? Or should women be dark headed, sultry ladies with a red shade of lip color? Either way, these discussions brought me back to my research. I was interested in seeing if there was a direct correlation between perceived physical attractiveness and student misbehaviors. Little did I know, I was getting myself into quite a mess. As I continued reading on the topic, I found that physical attractiveness had been linked to increased credibility, immediacy behaviors (smiling, calling students by name, humor, etc.), student motives to communicate, etc. As an instructor myself, I thought it would be interesting to find out just how important attractiveness is.
Is this attractiveness based on simple human nature or did society create this apparent need to be attractive? Well, either way, I found it is VERY important, especially in the classroom. In the psychology research, studies have shown that perceived physical attraction increases perceived credibility. Findings also show that perceived credibility increases perceived attractiveness. So, we come back to the question of what came first. Research supports both. Using McCroskey's Source Credibility Scale, instructors have been rated by students on the three dimensions of competence, goodwill, and trustworthiness. To think, being good looking impacts all of these things! Can't you just be smart? If that was not enough to report on, I also found that physical attractiveness is impacted by instructor immediacy, clarity, and communicative style. At this point, there is no real scale to measure student misbehaviors, only a few categories such as not turning in work, showing up late to class, being absent, basically the things that instructors find disrespectful. I initially thought that maybe attractiveness was curvilinear, that at some point you could be so attractive it caused students to disrespect you more. Maybe future research will pinpoint an answer, but for now, the journey continues.
It is incredible the amount of importance our society places on beauty. As I go into job interviews, I find myself quickly thinking - Is my lipstick on? Am I wearing a flattering outfit? Is my hair looking fabulous? What does this person think of me? Even in my own classroom, I find myself wishing I could get a quick glance in the mirror to make sure my walk across campus didn't mess up my hair, because I know my students are examining my every move. I think it would be fascinating to research this further based on age group. I would predict findings would suggest that the older kids (high school and college) would place more emphasis on attractiveness as far as affect for the instructor is concerned. This would also be a fruitful study on the basis of gender. Just some food for thought.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Porn Industry's Portrayal of Women
These thoughts brought me back to the week when we discussed the "good" and "bad" girl images. We have not come very far in the last 60 years. The good girl is still polite, not openly sexual, dresses conservatively, avoids random sex and alcohol, and strives to make her man happy. This has been, and continues to be reinforced as an ideology we have adopted as an American culture. We perpetuate this ideology all of the time through our advertisements (when is a man going to be "swiffering" the kitchen, or cleaning the toilet?) and movies, TV shows, etc. Specifically, in the porn industry, we reinforce the "male gaze." We discussed this pretty thoroughly in class and examined some examples in photos. Not that I am a big pornographic film watcher or anything, but of the films I have seen, I have noticed a reoccurring theme. Typically the film begins with the woman by herself. The camera moves up and down her body, much like the way a man watching might look at her. Soon, a man enters the room. He walks in confidently and usually already nude. Almost always, the sex does not begin right away. Instead, the female begins to perform some sort pf pleasurable act on the man. We never really see her look to the camera, it always at the man.
So what? Why does any of this matter? For me, it is the irony that lies within these artifacts. Crystal and I showed the class a video of porn stars highlighting important events in women's history, something that we, as women, should be proud of, right? Personally, it offends me that these women, who probably know nothing about women's rights and are reading from a script, would even associate their "profession" to what historical female figures fought for. Do I think women have the right to be open about their sexuality and that fact that they enjoy sex? - of course! We are ALL human, after all. Despite my opinion, however, these women who specifically do porn because it empowers them, are actually perpetuating the vicious cycle of women's desires to only please her man. It is an ongoing contradiction of what some of us want to go against. It is a choice, just like many other things in our lives. It is the association, however, of pornography with empowerment that serves to discredit these women who speak of women's rights.
So...would you say my argument is reinforcing the idea of the "good girl"? Can there ever be a happy medium? Or are we doomed to constantly oppose this behavior with a new argument only to find we have once again reinforced it? Just some food for thought.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
that's wiggity wack
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Does Eve = Evil?
There are several places we find the apple as a symbol of evil in popular media. First, the show Desperate Housewives depicts all of the main female characters standing together, with one woman in the center holding the apple. Not only is this image representative of women as tempters of others, but the intro to the show even has an Eve-like lady appear while the opening credits are being displayed. Similarly, the new reality series "Real Housewives of [insert city]" has all of the housewives standing next to one another holding some sort of fruit. Reference to Eve? I think so. We do not see any men in these images. But why would we? We're the evil ones. Another example is the popular book and movie series, Twilight. On the cover of the book, and in the first of the four movies, 'Edward' (the main character, who also happens to be a vampire) is shown holding an apple, which he conveniently catches and presents to his mortal love interest. Though Edward is male, he is a vampire...and represents something dark and sinister...a damned soul. According to folk beliefs, vampires are "blood-sucking demons." We also see the symbolic apple in Disney movies such as Snow White. The image of the apple in reference to something evil has not lost its appeal since biblical days.
I will leave you with the song lyrics from an Indie rock band's (Bell X1) song 'Eve, the Apple of My Eye'...
You left it, I sent itI want it back
You left it, I sent it
I want it back
If I had you here, I'd clip your wings
Snap you up and leave you sprawling on my pin
This plan of mine is oh so very lame
Can't you see the grass is greener where it rains
You left, I died,
I went and you cried
You came, I think
But I never really know
I've served my time
I've watched you climb
The wrong incline
But what do I know
Accept it, Don't let it
Turn the screw
Accept it, And let it
Scream back at you
Now this applies both equally to you and I
The only thing we share
Is the same sky
These empty metaphors
They're all in vain
Like can't you see the grass is greener where it rains
In the garden Snake was a charmin'
And Eve said let's give it a try
Now lead us not into temptation
But no matter how hard I try
When in the garden and
Snake is a charmin'
And Eve says let's give it a try
Eve is the apple of my eye
And I lie behind you
And a cradle you in the palm of me
And I pat your hair down
I think will we sink or swim?
'Cause we could do either on a whim
This song was played during a scene in the O.C. when two of the main female characters shared a lesbian kiss. Are you surprised? Those bad, bad girls!!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
To be GoOd or to be BaD?...THAT is the question!
We follow specific rules of playing "the game" (see previous post) so that we don't screw up the relationship too early. But what are the rules? People are so complex and see the world through so many different lenses that it seems almost impossible to simply follow a set of prescriptions and badda bing badda BOOM - a relationship has formed! It formed because you have done everything exactly right and did nothing to screw it up. The weird thing is, I know people that give it up on the first night and have ended up in a relationship. On the other hand, I know people who have given it up wayyyyy too early and everyone knows "nobody wants to buy the cow if you're giving away the milk for free." Ultimately, I think it depends on the individual. Stafford and Canary (1991) created a list of 5 maintenance behaviors that individuals use to maintain their romantic relationships: [1] positivity, [2] openness, [3] assurances, [4] social networks, and [5] task sharing. I feel that these same maintenance behaviors are used to initiate relationships. We like to make people feel good about themselves with positivity and encouragement, we are open with people when we hope for reciprocity, we tell those we care about that everything will be okay even when everything sucks, we enjoy being around other people that are important to the person were dating or trying to date, and we like to help the other person out when they need it or just to be kind. But, even if we engage in all of these behaviors, will having sex too early ruin the relationship? If you ask a man about women who have sex extremely early in a relationship, they will typically tell you that they lose respect for them very quickly. Though we talk about the "bad" girl being the epitome of every man's fantasy, it is ironic that these behaviors seem to represent nothing that a man respects and wants for the long hull. So then, as a woman, do I do it or do I not? Should I be worried that if I sleep with a man too soon that I have sealed my fate? And what justifies "too soon?" The first night? The first week? The first month? What's the answer? Steve Harvey's Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man suggests that women should wait 3 months before giving it up. Is that long enough? Is that too long? The answer is: I have NO idea.
What I do know is if waiting gives me the respect I deserve...then waiting it will be.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
In it to win it...
Wolfram Shultz, who conducted an experiment on monkeys and their dopamine neuron levels when they received consistent v. inconsistent rewards of juice, made some interesting discoveries. The monkeys always receiving the juice after the prompted noise eventually acquired a loss in dopamine neurons firing, until they stopped firing at all. The monkeys receiving inconsistent rewards, however, continued to have intense rushes of dopamine (ultimately making them very happy) because they never knew when they were going to be rewarded. Why does this science experiment have anything to do with relationships you ask? Well...I believe there is a strong connection here in the sense that we play these games and find ways to keep people interested by being the guy or girl that is hard to get, available "sometimes" but not all the time, and we give a little, expecting some in return, and we wait a little to see how things play out. I wonder how things would work out if we just decided to say to ourselves, "ok. I am into him/her and am curious about where it will go. I will be up front about it and that way there will be no confusion on where I stand." Doesn't that sound ideal? I mean...who doesn't value honesty? Sadly, this directness will most likely lead to boredom if we reflect back on Shultz's study. I am assuming when we play these games it is simply to keep ourselves and others interested and excited about the relationship. There is no arguing with human nature I suppose.
I have personally been a victim of "the game." I, evidently, do not know how to play to win. Does anyone have instructions because that would be super? I spent almost 6 years in a relationship and that was all I knew for a very long time. I did not become "available" again (I am not much of a fan of the word "single", too many Friday nights spent watching Bridget Jones' Diary will do that to a girl) until I began graduate school last fall. I fell for someone, who did not fall for me. If anything, I consistently felt 2 inches tall with him. I do hope that men realize that thinking they do not have bad intentions does not mean they are doing nothing wrong. Novel concept, I know. The good news is, it seems that having someone else to peak your interest takes attention away from another. The vicious cycle, however, continues. I am interested in someone else who, over the past month or so, has shown genuine interest through his nonverbal communication with me. I began to reciprocate by acting in a similar way when around him. The past 2 days, however, have seemed to tell a different story. The genuine interest seems to have faded, not much affection, and even some awkward run-ins where conversation doesn't feel right. Thus...I wait...I wait like a monkey in a lab that is starving for juice. And, should I receive such juice in a timely fashion...I shall wait again.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB25Nb24vdM&feature=related
This got me thinking of how, and in my recent post I mention, that the media continues to portray women as aggressive and "cat fighting" all of the time. According to these images, we are divided by culture and usually fight amongst one another. Unfortunately, it is episodes of shows like Fresh Prince that attempt to bring to light all that we are doing wrong in how we treat one another in society. Unfortunately, in my opinion, I think it simply creates further problems. I suppose TV would not be as entertaining if it consistently demonstrated what the CORRECT way is to treat one another. Very sad, though :(
My point was proven further when I typed the word "women" into the YouTube search box. Here is the pre-constructed search list that popped up:
women wrestling
women drivers
women giving birth to a baby in hospital
women wrestling in bathing suits
women fighting in public
and my personal favorite... women having sex in bed without clothes with other women.
I mean....REALLY?? Not sounding too great for us women if these are the most popular search links!
When I typed in "men" it resulted in a variety of "men at work" phrases.
Now, I realize that things have changed over the years. Prime example is Barbie...let's see how she has evolved since the 1950's...
This is Barbie in 1959. The picture up top is "Teacher Barbie"...it is a 2010 version of Barbie. HHmmm...does Barbie have to be a teacher? Or a secretary? Seems like were not too far from 1959 after all.
I would say this is a smidgen less clothing than the 1959 bather!
"I hate to say it...but it's a lost cause"
I spent some time letting that question roll around in my mind. It made me think of Gil and Vazquez's (1997) piece about expected roles of the Latina woman. Do these harsh demands and familial expectations go beyond cultural values? Is it just the way of the world? And, unfortunately, in my opinion I am afraid they do. It seems that we, as women, are expected to do "boy" things poorly. If we are crappy in sports, it's expected. If we can't fix our cars, it's expected. If we can't lift a heavy box, it's expected. If we can't old our liquor, it's expected. I could potentially go on forever, but I won't. It is not that these unfortunate roles have stumbled upon us as women, like a set of strict societal laws we can't overcome. Instead, I propose that we reinforce such roles and expectations every single day. Television and movies continue to perpetuate this cycle, as well. Today, I walked outside to find my car had been broken into. The dirty thieves cut my battery wires, assuming I had an alarm to protect my 12" speaker behind my passenger seat. That must have been what they saw, because my 2002 Dodge Ram pickup doesn't exactly look like a desirable vehicle to break into. In the process of stealing my valuables, they sure did do a job on old Sam (Sam is the name of my truck...yes, I am perpetuating the cycle by naming my truck after a prominently male name). In any case, I immediately called my brother-in-law, assuming, as a man, he would know how to repair my battery. He did, and I am so grateful. But I realized that I, without thinking twice, began to scan through my mental file folder of the men in my life that I could call. After watching the process of welding the wires of my battery back together, I decided that it was not that tough of a task after all. I am now devoted to learning how to fix such "car-like" problems.
Behm-Morawirz and Mastro (2008) examined portrayals of women in teen movies and discovered that these movies (e.g. Mean Girls, Bring it On, Clueless, Save the Last Dance, etc.) promoted negative stereotypes of women, specifically dealing with gender roles and female behavior in friendships. Apparently, women are seen as much more aggressive than their male counter-parts. This finding disturbed me, considering we seem to value men as the strong, aggressive type in our society. So, it's okay for men, but not for women? Are we always supposed to be seen as weak, clueless (about cars and the like) individuals that need men to balance us out and carry us through the trials and tribulations of this life? I don't really think so. However, our consistent use of placing females in such stereotypical roles only perpetuates the "reality" that we have constructed all on our own. Can we break the tradition? Will we ever get to a point of equality? Probably not. And that's okay. The only conclusion I can draw from these unfortunate pressures and unrealistic images is that applauding those who break the mold is an important component in our constant struggle to break the chains of traditional female roles.