Rebecca Walker raises very interesting points some I agree with others I do not in her article Lusting for Freedom. First of all it takes a very strong women, to admit when she lost her virginity. Her article was interesting because she provides an idea about sex that is very rarely discussed. Sex is not a bad or shameful act, but is often portrayed that way or to be dirty. I appreciated her acceptance that at times sex can be an avenue that can lead to self hate or unwanted pregnancies or disease. She says this should not be the case and women should be given the knowledge about safe sex or birth control methods and apportion options. Most importantly she argues that women should be given the opportunity to learn our bodies and "self-exploration (should not be) blocked by cultural taboo, government control or religious mandate... Without being able to respond to and honor the desires of our bodies and our selves, we become cut off from our instincts for pleasure, dissatisfied living under rules and thoughts that are not our own." This is very powerful!!!
She is not saying that we should go out and be slutting around but that wanting sex is a natural desire and we should fulfill it. Only when we listen to our bodies do we learn more about ourselves. "We learn much of what we know from television, which debases sex and humiliates women." There needs to be an emphasis that sex is a space where we learn about ourselves only from our experiences not from what we see, read or hear. Thus it is imperative that women are given the opportunity to have safe sex and know what is available to them. We must address the question, "what do young women need to make sex a dynamic, affirming, safe and pleasurable part of their lives... how do we build the bridge between sex and sexuality, between the isolated act and the powerful element that, when honed, can be an important tool for self-actualization?" These are the questions we should strive to answer and the answer needs to be changed in how it is presented on television or movies.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Problems on being a women
My problem with women and feminism and women as well as men trying to say we are all equal is that to do this we must throw away a sense of what makes us (women) us. Alisa L. Valdes piece "Ruminations of a Feminist Fitness Instructor" really angered me in some way. Here Valdes "Just saying my title is enough to make most people laugh: feminist aerobics instructor." She starts off her article saying that she was a contradiction. She used to tell her students to eat whatever they wanted and they would look at her as if she were the mad hatter. I can understand this. She was offering a class to a wide range of women, many who felt pressured by a patriarchal society to fit and be a "certain body". How could any good feminist offer such a class and thus also succumb to the patriarchal society? However, my problem lies in the fact that she is giving up something of herself to fit into another piece of herself. Why must we as females choose pieces of ourselves appear correct?
Here is what I mean and what I am trying to get out. As a young girl I grew up with two older brothers. My father always told me I was no different than boys and offered me the opportunity to play in every sport my brothers did. However, at the time when this was offered I was a true girly girl. "Do they have pink shoes?" "No?" "Then I don't wanna play" This is actually quite comical seeing how I played all these sports and games with my brothers on the weekends and after school and was always the first girl and even the first person to be chosen for games of football, kickball, or dodgeball in recess. I was in a sense hypocritical at a young age. I must say however, that one of the biggest reasons, besides not having pink cleits, for not wanting to play was because I would be on an all girls team- I would not be with my brothers or the boys I normally played with and this did not interest me.
At the same time this was going I was also involved in swimming, horse back riding, as well as dance- all forms of dance. I grew to love dancing. It become not something I did but who I was. I danced with the Moscow Ballet Company, had major roles in productions that my school put on, went to Governor's school for the arts. At one point in time I was dancing up to around 20-30 hours a week if not more. If something was bothering me I would dance. It was just me and the music and suddenly everything would be okay. If I was happy it would come across in my dance. Dance was my outlet and I did it for no one but me.
Yet after reading Valdes piece, she like me loved to exercise and dance but eventually she felt the need to stop and pull herself "away from the contradictions?" It seems like she notices the fact that excessing is huge in her life and is something that does make her happy, yet at the same time she looks around and sees women trying to obtain an imperfect body that is supposed to be attainable. I understand that she did not want a part of that. Yet, I think she looses herself by riding fitness and claiming that women who choose to exercise are "suffer(ing) at the hands of a patriarchal society, a society that even convinces us to hurt ourselves, so that we are kept from the real business of our lives." She does not allow herself to realize that she can, as well as other women, love to work out or dance and not be a contradiction to feminism.
Today, I do not dance, at least not like I used to. I do not swim or run like I used to. (Forgot to mention that these are also things I did- and loved to do. When I was running or swimming I was not thinking about anyone but me and the clock (when it came to races, but other times running and swimming also provided me an outlet to just clear my head). Today I cannot stand here and say "When I go to the gym my only reason is for myself- of course there are other motives- I do want to look good. Yet, that is not to say that when I am sad or confused or just need an outlet I do not turn to these avenues. Tonight I started dancing again, and the happiness I felt made me question why I ever left. I believe myself to be a feminist. To believe that women and men are equal, but I do not thing women need to give up things that may be deemed "womanly" to be a good feminist. We should not have to choose one piece of ourselves over another. We are complex human beings and this is okay!!!!
Here is what I mean and what I am trying to get out. As a young girl I grew up with two older brothers. My father always told me I was no different than boys and offered me the opportunity to play in every sport my brothers did. However, at the time when this was offered I was a true girly girl. "Do they have pink shoes?" "No?" "Then I don't wanna play" This is actually quite comical seeing how I played all these sports and games with my brothers on the weekends and after school and was always the first girl and even the first person to be chosen for games of football, kickball, or dodgeball in recess. I was in a sense hypocritical at a young age. I must say however, that one of the biggest reasons, besides not having pink cleits, for not wanting to play was because I would be on an all girls team- I would not be with my brothers or the boys I normally played with and this did not interest me.
At the same time this was going I was also involved in swimming, horse back riding, as well as dance- all forms of dance. I grew to love dancing. It become not something I did but who I was. I danced with the Moscow Ballet Company, had major roles in productions that my school put on, went to Governor's school for the arts. At one point in time I was dancing up to around 20-30 hours a week if not more. If something was bothering me I would dance. It was just me and the music and suddenly everything would be okay. If I was happy it would come across in my dance. Dance was my outlet and I did it for no one but me.
Yet after reading Valdes piece, she like me loved to exercise and dance but eventually she felt the need to stop and pull herself "away from the contradictions?" It seems like she notices the fact that excessing is huge in her life and is something that does make her happy, yet at the same time she looks around and sees women trying to obtain an imperfect body that is supposed to be attainable. I understand that she did not want a part of that. Yet, I think she looses herself by riding fitness and claiming that women who choose to exercise are "suffer(ing) at the hands of a patriarchal society, a society that even convinces us to hurt ourselves, so that we are kept from the real business of our lives." She does not allow herself to realize that she can, as well as other women, love to work out or dance and not be a contradiction to feminism.
Today, I do not dance, at least not like I used to. I do not swim or run like I used to. (Forgot to mention that these are also things I did- and loved to do. When I was running or swimming I was not thinking about anyone but me and the clock (when it came to races, but other times running and swimming also provided me an outlet to just clear my head). Today I cannot stand here and say "When I go to the gym my only reason is for myself- of course there are other motives- I do want to look good. Yet, that is not to say that when I am sad or confused or just need an outlet I do not turn to these avenues. Tonight I started dancing again, and the happiness I felt made me question why I ever left. I believe myself to be a feminist. To believe that women and men are equal, but I do not thing women need to give up things that may be deemed "womanly" to be a good feminist. We should not have to choose one piece of ourselves over another. We are complex human beings and this is okay!!!!
misplaced anger
Veldes' article is the first of those we have read thus far that I am in complete disagreement with. Granted, it sucks that she had to pursue a field that was not her passion for so long just because she comes from a lower class family and had to pay the bills. But I think she is taking out her years of frustration and debt on the fitness world far too harshly. Her particular method of exercise, aerobics, does have lots of sexual connotations associated with it. The spandex, the thongs, the smiles, the big hair, we're all well acquainted with it. And its true that all of this sexualization of aerobics has to do with men. But to say "the gym has really become just another painful way we are all distracted from the serious business of our lives" is quite close-minded.
Valdes' particular experience with the gym and exercise appears to have been quite negative. Aside from it keeping her from her true dreams, she clearly was exposed to the ugly side of fitness; that of starving oneself, bingeing on cocaine, over-exercise etc. For many women, the gym has become a tool of the patriarchal society we live in, where women nearly kill themselves trying to achieve perfection [for a man]. But that is not the case for myself, or for nearly all of the girls whom I associate with.
I recently met with an energy healer, Sean, who was teaching me about the powers of meditation. He was trying to explain to me what the moment of "peace" (that one reaches when they become good at meditating) is like. He was trying to relate it to something I may have already experienced in my life, so he asked me what my hobbies were. I told him how I run every day. He said, perfect. "Runner's high" is a term commonly used to mean the feeling one achieves after you've been running for a long time, and you no longer feel the pain of running on your body anymore. For those who haven't experienced it, its as if you lose feeling in all your appendages, you feel nothing, but in a good way; no, in an amazing way. You could run for hours and hours and hours. Sean told me that a Runner's High is very similar to that which he achieves when he meditates, an out of body experience during which you feel totally at peace with yourself and the world. I go to the gym everyday without fail to feel this way, as well as to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Now tell me, how is that feeding into patriarchal society? How is that 'distracting me from the serious business of my life'?
Before I came to Colgate, I was a full-time athlete. I played on a varsity sport for fall, winter, and spring, every season from my freshman to senior year. I could talk for hours about the merits of participating on these teams, and one thing I know for sure, is that none of these merits had anything to do with boys. When I was on the field or court, the only thing that mattered in the world was the game, it was my escape. I loved being able to clear my head of everything that was bothering me, which at the ages of 15-18, was 80% boy problems. None of the pressures of the outside world (the patriarchal outside world) mattered when I was playing. And yes, Ms. Valdes, we wear skirts and spandex when we play field hockey and lacrosse, but I couldn't have cared less how I looked in them, I was just trying to bring my stats up.
Accepting One's Body
Joan Brumberg’s chapter, “Body Projects,” transitions smoothly into Alisa Valdes article, “Ruminations of a Feminist Fitness Instructor.” Mrs. Valdes shares her experience as a feminist aerobics instructor. She explains that women should feel free to eat whatever they want whenever they want. Mrs. Valdes clarifies that she has seen too many problems with weight and dieting issues throughout her career as an aerobics instructor. Societal biases too often make women believe that they should look similar to the American doll, Barbie. The author explains the falseness behind this assumption “If a woman of Barbie’s proportions existed, she wouldn’t be able to walk, breathe or digest food” (Valdes 26). Throughout the article the author expresses disapproval with her own career path. She feels that she has betrayed her gender by not fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a feminist writer. The reader may often feel empathetic for her because she has not been able to accomplish this feat. It was not until the end of her work that I made the connection that she wrote the article in which I was reading. She has successfully accomplished her goal of becoming a feminist writer.
What are the benefits and disadvantages of gyms and group classes? On one hand, these places provide an atmosphere that inspires motivation, participation, and friendship. On the other side of the spectrum, these arenas are often breading grounds for eating disorders and self-abuse. Alisa Valdes explains that atmosphere that exists within her classes. “Anorexics fill my classes like worshipers in a church, and no one stares. Other instructors starve themselves and do cocaine for energy with a regularity that would surprise many of their admires” (Valdes 31). Women, as well as men, need to be more accepting of their own bodies. Until biases within society decrease, eating disorders will continue to persist.
Anne Fausto-Sterling analyzes menstruation, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), and menopause, within her chapter, “Hormonal Hurricanes: Menstruation, Menopause, and Female Behavior.” She offers past research that analyzed PMS but explains that more credible studies are needed that offers a more accurate understanding of the female population. Previous research concluded that women’s potentials were limited because of physical and psychological factors. Scientist of the 1800s argued that the rigor of education would cause serious damage to women’s reproductive systems, citing women who could not bear children because they chose the education path that was commonly allotted to men. The truth is that without women and their menstruation cycles, the population would cease to exist. Menstruation symptoms in all women are not the same. One must recognize that one size does not fit all. Therefore, it seems naïve to believe that all women classify under a similar branch. Just as it would be naïve to believe that all men share identical attributes. Near the end of her chapter Fausto-Sterling clarifies that testosterone, in normal amounts, if often beneficial to the male population but at too high of a level antisocial behaviors often result. Studies need to provide an understanding of one’s body instead of criticism of it.
What are the benefits and disadvantages of gyms and group classes? On one hand, these places provide an atmosphere that inspires motivation, participation, and friendship. On the other side of the spectrum, these arenas are often breading grounds for eating disorders and self-abuse. Alisa Valdes explains that atmosphere that exists within her classes. “Anorexics fill my classes like worshipers in a church, and no one stares. Other instructors starve themselves and do cocaine for energy with a regularity that would surprise many of their admires” (Valdes 31). Women, as well as men, need to be more accepting of their own bodies. Until biases within society decrease, eating disorders will continue to persist.
Anne Fausto-Sterling analyzes menstruation, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), and menopause, within her chapter, “Hormonal Hurricanes: Menstruation, Menopause, and Female Behavior.” She offers past research that analyzed PMS but explains that more credible studies are needed that offers a more accurate understanding of the female population. Previous research concluded that women’s potentials were limited because of physical and psychological factors. Scientist of the 1800s argued that the rigor of education would cause serious damage to women’s reproductive systems, citing women who could not bear children because they chose the education path that was commonly allotted to men. The truth is that without women and their menstruation cycles, the population would cease to exist. Menstruation symptoms in all women are not the same. One must recognize that one size does not fit all. Therefore, it seems naïve to believe that all women classify under a similar branch. Just as it would be naïve to believe that all men share identical attributes. Near the end of her chapter Fausto-Sterling clarifies that testosterone, in normal amounts, if often beneficial to the male population but at too high of a level antisocial behaviors often result. Studies need to provide an understanding of one’s body instead of criticism of it.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Consumption of Ads
Gloria Steinem’s article, “Sex, Lies & Advertising,” discusses the triangular relationship between advertisements, print (newspapers/magazines), and readers.
She primarily focuses on the women’s magazine, Ms, of which she was the founding editor and publisher. Media is too often driven by money and relies on advertisements in order to increase profit. This allows outside entities to exert substantial influence over media. When Ms Magazine started, it wanted to incorporate advertisements from various car companies as well as electronics in order to prove that women, like men, are also substantial consumers in these arenas. This was a task that turned out to be much more difficult than one would initially expect. Ms. Steinem evokes interesting questions near the end of her article. “What could women's magazines be like if they were as ad-free as books? as realistic as newspapers? as creative as films? as diverse as women's lives? We don't know. But we'll only find out if we take women's magazines seriously” (9). The problem is that it is nearly impossible to cover the cost of producing a popular magazine without advertisements. While advertisements and media may share the same vehicle, the ties between the two need to be severed. As newspapers and magazines become less popular and the twentieth-century brings about a society dominated by the Internet, the future of printed advertisements becomes uncertain.
Joan Jacobs Brumberg elaborates on the pressures placed on girls within American Society in his book, The Body Project. Girls of the twentieth and twenty-first century must fit certain stereotypes in order to be considered attractive or desirable. With continuously earlier hormonal maturation, young girls focus on their physical appearance at a consistently younger age. This section of Brumberg’s book focuses on weight, diet, bras and breast size, as well as body piercing. If Mrs. Brumberg wrote her chapter today, it would be likely that she included tattoos as well. What I found most interesting within this section was the discussion of African-American girls. Brumberg explained that some studies show that Africa-American girls are more relaxed with respect to their body images. The author explained that this is probably more closely correlated with economic status instead of cultural differences. There often appears to be a direct correlation between increase in one’s wealth/resources with obsession over one’s appearance. With affluence and concern over one’s body image come eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia. It is interesting to note that in poor regions with inadequate food supply, there are minimal eating disorders. Until we as a society re-clarify our priorities and values, this system will continue to perpetuate. The death rate from anorexia nervosa in the 1960s and 70s was between 6 to 20% (Hilde Bruch). The current death rate from this disease is between 5 to 20% (WebMd). In spite of multiple medical advances, limited progress has been made in treating eating disorders, which predominately, but not exclusive, affect women. Relating back to Ms. Steinem’s article, certain advertisements too often encourage this type of behavior.
She primarily focuses on the women’s magazine, Ms, of which she was the founding editor and publisher. Media is too often driven by money and relies on advertisements in order to increase profit. This allows outside entities to exert substantial influence over media. When Ms Magazine started, it wanted to incorporate advertisements from various car companies as well as electronics in order to prove that women, like men, are also substantial consumers in these arenas. This was a task that turned out to be much more difficult than one would initially expect. Ms. Steinem evokes interesting questions near the end of her article. “What could women's magazines be like if they were as ad-free as books? as realistic as newspapers? as creative as films? as diverse as women's lives? We don't know. But we'll only find out if we take women's magazines seriously” (9). The problem is that it is nearly impossible to cover the cost of producing a popular magazine without advertisements. While advertisements and media may share the same vehicle, the ties between the two need to be severed. As newspapers and magazines become less popular and the twentieth-century brings about a society dominated by the Internet, the future of printed advertisements becomes uncertain.
Joan Jacobs Brumberg elaborates on the pressures placed on girls within American Society in his book, The Body Project. Girls of the twentieth and twenty-first century must fit certain stereotypes in order to be considered attractive or desirable. With continuously earlier hormonal maturation, young girls focus on their physical appearance at a consistently younger age. This section of Brumberg’s book focuses on weight, diet, bras and breast size, as well as body piercing. If Mrs. Brumberg wrote her chapter today, it would be likely that she included tattoos as well. What I found most interesting within this section was the discussion of African-American girls. Brumberg explained that some studies show that Africa-American girls are more relaxed with respect to their body images. The author explained that this is probably more closely correlated with economic status instead of cultural differences. There often appears to be a direct correlation between increase in one’s wealth/resources with obsession over one’s appearance. With affluence and concern over one’s body image come eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia. It is interesting to note that in poor regions with inadequate food supply, there are minimal eating disorders. Until we as a society re-clarify our priorities and values, this system will continue to perpetuate. The death rate from anorexia nervosa in the 1960s and 70s was between 6 to 20% (Hilde Bruch). The current death rate from this disease is between 5 to 20% (WebMd). In spite of multiple medical advances, limited progress has been made in treating eating disorders, which predominately, but not exclusive, affect women. Relating back to Ms. Steinem’s article, certain advertisements too often encourage this type of behavior.
Women's Issues
Steinem and Brumberg articles discuss issues particular to women. Brumberg's The Body Project had significant importance to me. Several amazing women in my life have eating disorders and this weekend I just learned that my younger 15 year old cousin who is absolutely beautiful has bulimia. I was so sad to learn this information. I wish she could see herself the way everyone else does. There is nothing wrong with her! I think Brumberg as well as Steinem's article really emphasizes the extent that adds and media really shape how women look at themselves.
The articles raise the question to who's standard are we living up to? These models we see in the magazines, on tv, on bilboards are all extremely skinny to begin with and on top of that are all air brushed. They are not being portrayed in their real skin. The images that surround us are unrealistic. How can any women live up to this, if even the models cannot? I was really proud of the Dove campaign for real beauty. This campaign has focused their attention on this issue and uses real women and girls in their beauty commercials. It is refreshing to see women who look like me and my friends being portrayed as beautiful. Just because we are not 5'11 with size 24 in waist does not mean we are not beautiful! Below I'm posting a video on how beauty in other respects is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
The first time I saw this video I was amazed at how the person in the end looked nothing like the person who walked in. Beauty that we see is not real and I wish women could begin to see themselves for how beautiful they are. I think there needs to be a real push to make advertisers be responsible to represent beauty in a real form. If they want to have models that are skinny and lanky fine but to go in and air brush their flaws is ridiculous. Many of these models also have issues with their own weight which if so ironic seeing how they could be seen as perpetuating their own problem.
The articles raise the question to who's standard are we living up to? These models we see in the magazines, on tv, on bilboards are all extremely skinny to begin with and on top of that are all air brushed. They are not being portrayed in their real skin. The images that surround us are unrealistic. How can any women live up to this, if even the models cannot? I was really proud of the Dove campaign for real beauty. This campaign has focused their attention on this issue and uses real women and girls in their beauty commercials. It is refreshing to see women who look like me and my friends being portrayed as beautiful. Just because we are not 5'11 with size 24 in waist does not mean we are not beautiful! Below I'm posting a video on how beauty in other respects is done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
The first time I saw this video I was amazed at how the person in the end looked nothing like the person who walked in. Beauty that we see is not real and I wish women could begin to see themselves for how beautiful they are. I think there needs to be a real push to make advertisers be responsible to represent beauty in a real form. If they want to have models that are skinny and lanky fine but to go in and air brush their flaws is ridiculous. Many of these models also have issues with their own weight which if so ironic seeing how they could be seen as perpetuating their own problem.
hierarchies and lipsticks
I was intrigued by Steinem's article on advertising, as it is an industry that, though I'm enveloped in daily, I know very little about. Throughout the course of our readings I'm continually surprised by the close-mindedness of many powerful people in this country throughout history and in contemporary society. Many times in Steinems article she references editors of big name publications, or CEO's of "cash cow" industries etc who perpetuate prejudices and stigmas with their practices and decisions. For example the editor of New York Magazine who told the people at Ms. that they should "position" themselves against lesbians.
At first response, I find myself blaming the individual. How could someone be so ignorant and close-minded? But another one of Steinem's examples made me rethink my judgement. "Some of them come from JVC, whose vice president, Harry Elias, is trying to convince his Japanese bosses that there is something called a women's market."(p.3, Steinem) I realized that there is something bigger at work here. It reminded me of what I learned about the civil rights movement in the American School course here at colgate; how a huge percentage of students in school who espoused racial prejudices were only doing so because of their parents, when in actuality they got along very well with their black classmates. The systems in place in corporate America don't allot for much personal opinion. Though Mr. Elias felt a certain way about where the company should go, the hierarchy in place didn't allow for him to make changes. This reminded me once again of Alan Johnson's article about the "systems" we have set in place. So often in our country there is a small, small minority who wields the majority of the power. Is this not entirely contradictory to the notions our country is founded on?
Steinem concludes her article asking the readers if we can do better than this. I truly believe we can. Two-thirds of the women's magazines being published today disgust me. I physically can not stand them. What bothers me the most are the filler articles about advice for women: "Why doesn't he love me?" "What they really mean when they say this..." "10 new ways to make your man happy" "How to tell a friend she smells bad" I mean are they serious? Why do they feed us this crap? And let's not even dive into the painful world of the tabloid magazines...All of these magazines portray such a negative image for women, they're skewing our priorities and brainwashing us. I believe Ariel Levy would espouse this belief as well. Women's magazines are drenched in raunch culture, women selling themselves out for a quick buck, and selling themselves short in the name of what pleases men. "What message is your lipstick sending?" My lipstick says it does not care. I bought it because I liked the color, not because its a name-brand that you tell me everyone else likes or that will find me my husband. We deserve a little more credit than that.
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