I have 1 main question. Why do certain genders get away with certain things?
The main concern Is:
why can guys have sooo many sex partners and girls can have like 1 or 2. Back wen i was in high school the boys would talk about how many girls they “hit” and they would be “the man” ., one boy said she had sex with over 13 girls and everyone thought he was lying but still thought it was funny that 13 girls would actually give him some. but when they asked this girl how many dudes did she get down with, she said 9 she started to get these weird looks from everyone. I know about the whole body is a temple thing but why can you give your body away but not get looked at differently? I mean I think anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 with 9 or 13 sex partners is uncalled for but that’s your body, do what makes you happy, just don’t be dumb about it and KEEP IT 2 UR SELF. So why did she get weird looks and he didn’t? Please tell me.

Then you have the kiss on the cheek when you greet the other person. (mostly ladiiees). Why can men do that.. Is that gay? LOL. Well 2 me it is but If thats what you llike then so be it.

Okay then comes the dancing all on each other at the club. Why isnt that gay 4  women? I mean I think any of the same sex dancing all on each other sends off a radar, but then again if that’s what u like then so be It. i have so many other points its just ridiculous. Like hairstyles, women can get a haircut but if a man get s a perm it’s all hell. lol. Then, men can drink out of the bottle but for women its unladylike. Everything about these topics are just funny to me because the opposite sex really cant get away with it.

Thankx 4 listenin.
Keneatra

I think Gender roles are very over rated. like for example. My parents let my brother stay the night over his friend’s house all the time. My parents usually didn’t even when I was in highschool because they either believed that my friend’s parents could do something to me, or that I would sneak out and do something crazy and end up with my boyfriend somewhere. Why they thought such things, i have no idea because I’m a pretty good kid. My grandma also has this idea that if i stay the night over someones house that their parent’s might kill me in my sleep?! because she read a story about something like that happening in the newspaper, and then another girl who was rapped by her friend’s dad and a couple of his friends. But honestly though what are the chances that such things will happen more then once. I’m not denying that rape happens, but I think that these thoughts are overstimulated. I also think it’s dumb when guys can sleep around and say not get called anything, but when a girl does something she’s a whore. It’s takes too to tango, so the blame shouldn’t just be on the female.  Another thing that I’ve also grown up with is that my dad is old school about their whole husband and wife roles. When he gets home he expects dinner on the table and the house nice and clean, my mom has to fix his plate and pick it up for him after he’s done and whatever he needs hes always calling forr my mom to do it. I understand that he comes from work tired, but I know that when I’m older I am not going to be in the kitchen cooking a meal stressing over whether i’m going to have it ready in time or not. I think that couples these days should help eachother cook, or at least have some kind of equal work effort. I don’t want my brother growing up thinking that he should be the “man of the house” and be in charge and boss people around, thats so 1950s. Even though i’m 18 my dad is still really strict on me, he doesn’t like when I’m out late, he won’t let me get any tattoos or peircings, he doesn’t even like me dying my hair. He’ll constantly call me to see what im doing when I’m out. I think a lot of it has to do that he doesn’t want me making mistakes like he once did, and he wants me to focus on school and not so much on my relationship. but with my brother he wants him to focus more on baseball and then school. So he treats us very differently.

jeannette chapa

I mean, come on. Stuntman Mike was a TOTAL creeper and psycho. There’s no doubt about that. But the first set of girls were more self-centered and on the prowl for a nice looking guy with a hot car or something along the lines of that. Compared to the second set of girls who were very strong willed and could spot his creepiness from the very start. One major difference between the two sets of girls is when stuntman mike called the girl from New York a chicken shit because she wouldn’t give him a lap dance. She was apprehensive at first but she wouldn’t be able to live down the title of chicken shit in his book, so she went ahead and gave him the lap dance. Personally, I feel that if he were to call one of the other girls a chicken shit, they would not have had that and they would have gone to town on stuntman Mike much earlier than they did in their part of the movie. I’m not promising that this is going to make sense to anyone, but it does to me. it’s just hard for me to get it all on here in words.

I liked the second set of girls much more in that they knew what they wanted, who they wanted, and how they would get what they wanted when they wanted it. Wow, sorry guys. I don’t think that stuntman Mike knew what he had coming after him when he originally was going to kill the three girls. I liked that the roles were switched and they didn’t just go with the fact that it was, “A hell of a good time”, or whatever he said. Honest;y, I wasn’t expecting as much of an ass-whooping as Mike got, but he had it coming to him long before this.

One more thing, the blonde chick at the bar; she was a complete waste of space and I was more than ok with her being killed. Typical bar girl just looking for a way to get home since she obviously can’t take care of herself and I think that Mike saw that more than him just being a psycho killer. That’s all

-Jordan

P.S. Jenna,

I commented Danny’s and Esther’s posts. It’s 10:33 A.M. and I’m coming to class!

When i was thinking of what to write about as far as gender goes.  I would like to talk about two things the movie and the world is a text reading.  First off i loved the movie death proof.  As far as the characters go the first group of ladies i felt were very dumb and annoying.  They didn’t know the reality of how creepy some people can be.  Like the one chick that had stunt man mike drive her home was completely stupid and ignorant.  Why the hell would you drive home with someone you don’t even know, especially when that person has a very scary car.  The second group of women were strong and knew how to handle tough situations, they had girl power.  They stuck to stunt man mike literally.  These women were powerful and knew who they were, they were going about trying to pleasure random guys, they do things for themselves and aren’t afraid to show some masculinity.  That was a basic summary of how i felt about the characters in death proof.  AS far as the reading goes in the world is text i thought it was very interesting when it said how we basically automatically assume someone is a girl or a guy just by the why they look, act, or do things.  I always think,yeah I’m all for whatever your heart desires do it and don’t let anyone judge you for it. Be the individual.  But sometimes i feel like i can be a hypocrite because i do follow the rest of stereotypical beliefs for some gender ideas.  Such as men should be more of the manly man, whereas the women shouldn’t be rough and brutish.  But it all depends on how you were brought up.  If a female was brought up with three brothers, then she most likely would be comfortable being just one of the guys.  Where on the other hand if a guy was brought up with all girls, he might be in touch with his feminine side a little more then most men.  Like i said that’s my judgement and i could be completely wrong, but take it as it is.  Girl-power…Boy-power, which ever one is better, you make the choice. 

Kellie Clifton

so, i am not really sure what i should write about. i am sort of doing this at the last minute. so ill just talk about general boys and girls i guess. boys play ball. girls play house. that is the way it should be. that is the way it has always been (with humans at least (i do not care about lions and sea horses)). if you think otherwise that,  girls should be the provider of a family/household and boys should be the primary care-giver, your wrong, but entitled to your opinion that happens to be frowned upon by ninety-nine percent of households in the united states. at the end of this sentence i will have one-hundred and twenty-one words.  now, why am i ninety-nine times more right than you (i am speaking to my opposition, if you agree, you are smart and deserve a sandwich from the wife)? because, the world thinks so, and so does nature. before “back in the day”, when man was making fire and developing a culture, tribes and early civilizations succeeded because of the success of their chiefs and kings. notice how i did not say chiefettes; i am sure early man would not have made it past a single  generation without women. do not let me go off on a tangent. i now have two-hundred and twenty-six words. the point i am trying to make is very broad, like the shoulders of the man who created the standards and expectations of how a family should work. i would like to say i am not sexxxist. i do not think women are incapable of doing a mans job (many women have more than enough capacity to do what ever they like), however, i like it when things work well. i like it even more when its been working well for millions of years. thus, i like it when men are given the task to provide, and women are there to care for and raise a family. please do not think i avoided the fact that in some cases, men care and women wear the pants. sometime that works, and sometimes it works very well. however, my focus is not exception. exceptions do not make up the majority, they hardly ever happen. i now have more than three-hundred and fifty words.

C. McG

I think that people are confused about what they think is right. You believe men and women should be or act a certain way or act a ertain way, pershely. Unfortunately, there are a lot of women who are in situation were they have to raise boys to men, but i believe that that is impossible. I know that sound crazy and u might be up set but hey its my opinion. I think that women are women and can not teach a boy how to become a man because they are not a man. Not that a women cant love and raise a boy to a man to the best of her ability because a woman can and we see that happen every day. But a boy need some kind of man to show them how to be a man. If a boy is raise by just a mother does not state that the boy wont grow to be come a man because look for father figures or men that that they look up to. But on the other hand people believe that a mother is more fit to raise children rather than men are. SOOOOOOO false I think that men and women are equal fit to raise a child as long as the child is give the things need to become a adult, and a parent can do that. Which ever sex. Because the child is raised by the parent and also a community because everybody have different experiences out side of their home as well.

Because of the gender of a person they “from start” treated different. I was just talking to a boy in my dorm about this same issue. He was saying that if he had a son and daughter that the procedure to getting a car would be different. if it was the boy he would pay a certain amount for the car and the boy will have to pay the rest including the car note and insurance. If it was a girl he would just pay most of it and the insurance. I said why for the boy it’s harder and why can’t they have the same treatment. he said that he want the boy to understand that he have ot earn what he want ………… and more. I think that they should both have the same treatment becuase it teaches the girl to become more independent and the boys too.

either way it goes the world have a rule about what is acceptable for  men and women. but i think any way we all should have the same treatment and resonsiblility because we all want the best out come.

Renee Blanchard

Well, so that’s the deadline for our last blog post.

If you’re late, you need to send me your posts and comments for credit because I won’t be back on here again anytime soon.

Also, I guess I’ve learned my lesson about pushing back assignment due dates: 8 of you didn’t post! (Even though 2, A.A. and C.D., commented without posting. Not sure why?).

Thanks, guys. Nice work.

~Jenna G

Recently I was watching a music video on Youtube.  It is a pretty popular video, produced by the world renowned Boyonce. What puzzled me was the title of this music video. The title as many of you may already be familiar with was “If I Were A Boy”. No can someone tell me why in the world, would one of the most beautiful women in the world would want to be a boy? When I first heard the song it seemed to be bashing the male gender as a whole. To give you readers a breif overview here are the lyrics to “If I Were A Boy” by Beyonce Knowles:

If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I’d roll outta bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted then go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I’d kick it with who I wanted
And I’d never get confronted for it.
Cause they’d stick up for me.

[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I’d be a better man.
I’d listen to her
Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
Cause he’s taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

[Verse]
If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it’s broken
So they’d think that I was sleepin’ alone
I’d put myself first
And make the rules as I go
Cause I know that she’d be faithful
Waitin’ for me to come home (to come home)

[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I’d be a better man.
I’d listen to her
Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)
Cause he’s taken you for granted (granted)
And everything you had got destroyed

[Bridge]
It’s a little too late for you to come back
Say its just a mistake
Think I’d forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong

[Chorus 2]
But you’re just a boy
You don’t understand
Yeah you don’t understand
How it feels to love a girl someday
You wish you were a better man
You don’t listen to her
You don’t care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
Cause you’ve taken her for granted
And everything you have got destroyed
But you’re just a boy. . .

The closer I looked the more familiar the situation seemed. Men do take women for granted. No matter how faithful his girl is, no man can help but gawk as a model walks down the street or even if a cute waitress catches his eye. It’s nothing personal, it doesn’t mean that he loves you any less, it’s just his nature. Boys will be boys. Beyonce in this video captures how ignorant a man can be about little things, such as not noticing how a girl wakes up early to make his breakfast and he doesn’t even give it a second glance. One thing worse than being put down, is being invisible, and that’s how she must feel when he doesn’t notice all the things she does for him. Theoretically, men should be able to understand and women should be a little less emotional, however this world doesn’t run off theories, it runs off cold hard facts. The fact of the matter is that he’s just a boy, not a girl, and that’s why he’ll never understand how it feels to be a girl. Overall I think a lot of guys need to go and Youtube this video, it shows a lot of things that words just can’t convey.

I was listening to this song the other day and when we were assigned this blog I thought it would be very fitting to include this in my post. In the song, Beyonce talks about what it would be like to be a boy, the things that she could do as a man and not get confronted for, and the way guys think when they are in relationships. I hope any of you guys reading this don’t take it too offensively, but I do think that she has a point. I also think the things she talks about are something that you should think about when talking about gender roles. One of the first things she talks about is clothes. She sings “I’d roll out of bed in the morning/And throw on what I wanted and go.” I would like to refer to Ivan’s post about this, and point out that it is almost expected of most guys to literally throw on the first thing that they see. It seems almost unfair when you think of how much work a woman has go through to look decent. For a man to look a little dishevled and not well put together and be respected is okay, but for a woman to do the same is not acceptable? Another thing that she talks about in the song is how that if she were a boy she could hang out with whoever she wanted and no one would be able to say anything to her about it. Many girls, especially teenage girls are sometimes ‘forbidden’ to hang out with certain people. A girl may not be able to hang out with a certain friend or have a certain boyfriend because her parents won’t let. Some girls boyfriends’ that I know won’t let them hang out with guys. I find this really silly, and think that people, no matter what they’re gender, should be able to hang out with whoever they wanted. I just realized that this was very, very much like our last essay, but I found it relevant to our topic.

-Maryam Yousif

Hi everyone!

For this blog I have posted an image and I have put my point of view on this, but I want to know what you guys think about it.                                                   

I found this online and it made me question if boys really experience any of the things it says, I am sure there are some who do. I have had guy friends that talk to me on the phone and end up crying… for sure (even if its mean) I’ll joke around with them 2 days later about how they were crying the other day… just to get back at them for any harsh comment, but whenever I stop to think about how much stereotypes have destroyed our emotions it makes me stop… then I try to get out of the picture and analyze.

What does it feel like to have to hold back your tears every single time… to even have to hold them back from yourself in your silence? How is the past dealt with if it is only held in? I wonder if that is why we see many people, guys and girls come to moments in their life where they are bitter. It makes me want to rebel against every stereotype placed before us. It fills me with frustration when I see the media scream out their model for each gender in every way possible to grasp our attention and guide our thoughts.

How many of us girls really do act weak just because people portray us that way and our mind has just absorbed it to such a level that we believe it and our bodies react to that belief? … Now, what if we told ourselves that we are strong in every aspect… what if we told ourselves this every day? How would our personal image be… and what about the accomplishments we would make along the way? Now… what about you guys? What if everything was more relaxed and instead of people talking to you about your mistakes they talk to you about your accomplishments and strengthen you in your weak moments? And how much would you enjoy life if crying could now become part of life… where when you cry you could have a hug instead of a laugh? …. But even more important than everything just said … what if instead turning on the television to watch the media secretly dictate our thoughts we could rebel against it and show those self-esteem dictators what we really want and who we really are?…

Esther Mikhail

I cant even sit and watch a movie anymore without analyzing every little detail from the lighting to the camera angels and, of course the acting. It’s sweet and sour because while I love picking apart the minutia of a cinematic production, i sometimes miss just being able to sit and be entertained, but that’s just another discussion. Here, I’m indulging the analysit in me, and exposing dear, Quintin, through my eyes at least.

First of all, this is a dirty old man, no offense buddy. I love his style, he unabashedly presents the rawest he can, while at the same time adding some artistic flare and a sense of playful mischeif. In the first half of the movie, the group of women who died wore really short shorts, and were very focused on sexuality. Much of the conversation was about sex, past present and future. The second half of the movie has the women still dressed for the weather, but much less sctatly clad. They wore jeans or pants, t-shirts and the only one who didnt was the one used as an object of lust, she never actually came in contact with Stunt Man Mike. This group fought back and won. And, though they did have a scene focused on sex, their entire interaction wasnt sexual. In fact, it ran the gammat from past stories of goofiness, to self protection to desires for adventure. These characters were written if not necesarily acted, much more complex than the other group. Their relationships much more connected with more positive histories. They were more real. Now, if it were anyone else who wrote this, i would have to acknowedge to connection between the presented promiscuity and their ultimate deaths. These women drank, smoked, and had sex with boys, these is what happens when you act like them. Not to mention the fact that he purposely attacked them at a bar, while the girls were drunk driving, oh! the dangers of drinking and driving PSA! PSA! BUT…. it’s Taranteno, and i know better. Of course, there’s also the idea of reality vs. fantasy. Stunt Man Mike was an over-the-top character, very fabricated of different traits forming the villain of the movie. When the equally fabricated group of girls faced off against him, they failed: one cannot promote progession and change while maitaining the same system as that which you are raging against. While, in contrast, the second group, the more independant and strong willed women, when pitted against the over dramataized expression of raging testoterone fueled masculinity, overcomes through their different, left side approach to his oppresseive, murderousness.

Or it could always be as simple as the old: fight the bully back and he’s not so tough!

Whatever the interpretation, it’s an interesting film, and one of my favorites. It forces the watcher, well, me atleast, to look beyond the incredible situation and accept it as convention. The true purpose of meaning of the movie, of course, is a few layers deeper.

V. Weatherpsoon

As we talked about in class, the way a girl can act really depends on who she is raised by. I have one sister who i’ve lived with my whole life. Her name is Sasha by the way. We were both raised by our mom and dad in one house. But for some reason, she was always the one who hung around with my mom and I always hung around with my dad. We’re 6 years apart, but just because of who we preferred more to be around, we ended up being completely different. We may look alike, but our personalities are almost opposite. Sasha is probably one of the most “feminine” and girly type of girls you’ll meet. She wears pink almost everyday, her hair always has to be perfect, she also wears heels and a dress every time we go out. I really think this is because she’s been around my mom so much ever since she was little. My mom always dresses really nice and girly everyday too, so I think Sasha learned this from her. On the other side, you have me.. Since I always was around my dad growing up, I was taught to wear whatever is comfortable, so to this day I wear jeans and a t-shirt every single day. The odds of you finding me in a dress and heels is very slim. I also don’t have like long perfect hair like Sasha. I have choppy brown hair with red highlights, which definitely shows the difference in our appearance. I really believe that who you spend time with growing up really shapes you to be who you are. Another thing that shows our differences is our skills. I can probably fix anything you hand to me, I can take apart a computer and put it back together, and I am still learning on how to fix cars. My sister can’t do anything that involves anything mechanical! I don’t even think she can change a light bulb! I’m not saying she is dumb, I’m just saying that our skills are very different. Sasha is good at a lot of things that I am not. I think this is because she spent a lot of time with our mom. 

My sister is bigger than me but I really think we could put up a fair fight. Ever since I was little, hanging around with my dad and all, I learned to be strong, tough, and not let anyone take advantage of me. I was definitely raised to be more masculine than Sasha. I’m not saying I’m like manly or anything. But I guess you could call me a “tom-boy.” Because we turned out the way we did, it caused us to have completely different friends. Sasha has really pretty girl friends that are much like herself, and almost all of my friends are guys. The funny thing is, my guy friends don’t even consider me a girl, they talk to me and treat me like one of the guys. Which I really like, because I don’t like being treated different. So, just because my mom spent a lot of time with Sasha and my dad spent a lot of time with me.. it affected who we wanted to hang around at school. I don’t really see this as a problem, but you can definitely see that whether your mom or dad raises you, makes you who you are for the rest of your life. 

Gender definitely plays a role in raising children, as you can see from how different my sister and I are. 

-Gabby Fawaz

Many people are judged by their behaviors. Most people think that your sex determines your behaviors or what a sex should be doing. Only one sex should be allowed to do some things. There are some things that both of the sex can do.  For a long time women were always looked upon as being weak. The only thing women were good for was staying at home and taking care of the activities around the house and the kids, if there were any.  Women didn’t have the right to stand up for what they believed in. It was always about what men believed. Women couldn’t vote, own any property or have the same jobs like men. Well… that was some bull crap!!! Thank God I didn’t live during that time!! I probably would have went crazy or ended up in jail!  I salute to all of the women who fought for women rights. Women can do anything that men can do!!  Who cares that most men are physically stronger than women!  That doesn’t mean that we can’t have the same occupations. Some people believe that women are out of place for being a police officer, fire fighter, truck or bus driver and working in the factory. That is so wrong!  Some people still believe that it is gay for a guy to be a nurse, waiter, maid, beautician, model, or make- up artist.  Well…I don’t think that it is gay.  Males and females should be allowed to have any occupation. When people say that women are equal to men, people tries to blow it out of proportion.  For example, a guy told me if women are equal to women then we should do some of the things that guys do for their mate. Like, open the door, pay for the dinners when out on a date, and pay half of the bills. LOL! I thought that was so funny.  I guess some men feel like that. Even though men and women can basically do the same things, some things only men should do. For example, I think that women should not approach a guy.  I never approached a guy in my life.  If a guy didn’t talk to me I didn’t talk to him. If he likes what he sees then he will speak. A guy should always open a door for a lady, carry bags, pay the majority of the bills, and be masculine. Guys please don’t wear make-up or tight fitting clothes!! Everyone has their own perspectives about gender.  I think it all depends on how a person is raised and what their values are.

Darice Collier

Gender roles are different from family to family, and even region to region. Most notably gender roles are set in very strict boundaries in say the middle east, where women can’t even show their face to other men other than their husband, and have virtually no power or role in the governing bodies of their countries. In America it is quite the opposite, women are free to do as the wish, wear what they want and take in active role in politics, just as men have done. There has always been a myth or idea that women are weaker then men, and on a physical stand point more often than not this is true. Dating back to the days of the cave man, when the biggest strongest individual was the boss, women probably weren’t the ones in charge, and I think that idea was just passed on through the ages, and only until recently has there been a change in the roles of women and men. Even 30 years ago, most family’s consisted of a man that was the breadwinner, and the woman who stayed home, took care of the house and kids. Today it can go either way, sometimes, the woman is the money maker, while the man stays home, works as well, and the kids are taken care of by a day care or babysitter. How a man or woman acts, or what role they take in the family setting can debatably be drawn back to early childhood. If a man grows up with all women in his family, having a lot of sisters and no brothers, possibly he could take on some feminine traits, or patterns of thought. Likewise a woman who grows up with all brothers could be more of a tomboy. To a parent, having a son or daughter can also take on different aspects. Letting a son go out at night, certaintly s different than letting a daughter go out, yes they are both your  children, and may be the same age, but no matter how strong the girl is, the parents are probably going to worry about her a little more. This again I think goes back to the differences of physical strength. A man is expected to be able to protect and defend himself, while to many a woman would not be able to do this, so she brings a man along when she goes out, or she goes out in a large group of her girlfriends.

Galen Calligan

semester for this class is almost over. it’s been SO MUCH fun! what was your fav memory from this class or what you liked about it?

~peace out~

Gender never really played a role in my family. I was raised by a single mother, and she played the role of both my mother and father. I never came to realized it until I began school, and would hear other kids talking about their father. Then curiousity began to grow in my mind, because i started to wonder what was the difference between their father and my mother. The difference was gender which didnt really matter to me because she was all that i needed.

Growing up my mother always managed to multi-task. She cooked, cleaned, and helped me with my homework. However, she worked two jobs, took out the garbage, and fixed things around the house maintaining to pay the bills on time like a “MAN” of the house would. As i began to get older, i started to help my mother with things around the house. My chores were things such as cleaning up the kitchen and bathroom, and washing clothes. As i got older i began taking care of most of the “WOMANLY” things, while my mother did the “MANLY” things. Together we worked as a team.

My mother raising me on her own didnt leave me as a disadvantage, because i had the best of both worlds. I also believe that my mother being a single parent helped her grow. Since the age of twenty my mother has been independent, while playing both roles. At the age of twenty-eight my mother gave birth to my brother TyRez. She taught my little brother to do masculine things such as, taking out the trash, and teaching him to use the bathroom how a father should do.

At times she would be mad because she had all those responsibilties to take on by herself. I remember times when i wish i had a father because i’d hate to see her down like that. When she had important things to do such as work, i had to take care of me brother and sacrifice things i wanted to do as an normal teenager.

Women can play the masculine role when it comes to family because my mom did it by herseld. Thanks to her i am well equipped to do the same.

~Treniece Copney

T-t-time is up like Morris Day for all my late posting students in the 9:35 class. No blog shall be counted for credit from this moment forward.

If you posted and I didn’t get your comments, send them to me via email.

If you’re from my other class and you’re confused: don’t worry, I’m not talking to you.

~Jenna G

                Feminism is something that I have always been confused with. I understand what it means to be a feminist however anytime I see an extreme of a viewpoint I get kind of upset at how radical some views are. In my opinion there is no such thing as total equality. There will always be people disappointed and left feeling like they were discriminated against. With that said, there will always be people that act in certain ways towards a certain type of person. By this I mean that there are people in this world that will treat others differently on the basis of something as small as the way they look. In my complete opinion this way of thinking is wrong, however I realize it will never be completely gone. One of the main focuses of feminists is to establish women’s rights in the work place. I believe that the best and most capable person to do a job should do that job. It does not matter to me what race, religion, age, sex, etc. a person is, if they can complete a task better than a competitor I would seek their help. Where I draw the line is when people expect that in every instance that a man is given an opportunity there should be a woman in that same position. People feel as if they are always being discriminated against and it is seemingly impossible to make everyone happy. When I was in high school our baseball team raised enough money to purchase a new scoreboard and they were about to do so when the softball program complained that if we were to get a new scoreboard they should as well. Unfortunately they did not have the money to pay for such a scoreboard and therefore resulted in our team not being allowed to get one. This doesn’t directly relate to feminism however it just shows that people do not take kindly to others’ success. This is one of the hardest things to overcome as a society. Women’s rights as a whole have come a long way throughout history and I hope they gain every opportunity as men in every aspect of life if they deserve and are well qualified to be in that position.

Aaron Cornett

I believe the reason why men became our Kings, Presidents, and always had more authority over women is for one reason; they were stronger. Not stronger in intelligence, leadership, or really anything that has to do with the brain. Men were just built to be stronger in fitness. Men can run faster, carry more, lift heavier things, and I believe this is what caused men to take the power in the very beginning. Men still like today can be and are usually stronger than their women companion, stronger in fitness ability, even if it is just by a little. By being strong they knew that they would have to hunt for food, and be able to provide. The women stayed at home and dealt with the children. In a way that makes a lot of sense to me if you think about times where people had nothing. The men went to hunt for food to provide their families, the women gave birth and took care of the babies because they had milk for the babies being produced in their bodies, and the children and mothers planted food, gathered berries, and cleaned maybe. Now that we are in 2008, we obviously don’t live in tribes and shit happens. My parents got divorced 10 years ago and my mother still isn’t remarried. That didn’t happen back then. In this world today we have just as many wants as needs. Most times families even need both mother and father to be working in order to provide everything for a family.  This should send a reality check to any males or females who want to stay at home and raise children. In today’s age we need a lot of money to be living comfortably and the days where women stayed at home seem almost impossible to reach. In my heart, I love children and babies, and I would really enjoy having a bundle of them and watch them grow while I raised them. I know I sound old fashioned. But as I see it, it will not be to great of a possibility. As we talked about it in class, children should have a balance of both their mothers and fathers, but what happens to those who are raised by a single parent? This topic of gender just raises one million questions for me to ask. Although I believe the reason behind male dominance is because of their strong fitness skills, I believe we are equal in everything. I believe a girl can achieve anything a man does in any skill. It just happened that we were born with different shaped bodies.

~Jessica Chyz

I chose to do my post on Jamie Nared she is a 6’1 girls basketball player who is being recruited by many top universities and she also has a commercial with Lebron James. I heard about Jamie from the T.V. show E60 on ESPN. The bizarre thing about this story is she is only 13 years old. The gender part comes in when she joined a boys basketball team after dominating the girls league with girls 2 years older than her. She had been playing for a year before but after putting up 40 points in a game her father got a call from the league saying she couldn’t play on a boys team and was only allowed to play with girls. There are two different sides to this story the first is Jamie’s side which she feels she was kicked off of the team for being too good and dominating the boys. After an interview from E60 to a journalist from her local newspaper in Portland, Oregon the journalist said it was the parents more than the kids that were upset because their sons were losing to a girl. The other side of the story is the parents felt that because Jamie was a girl playing in a all boys league it took away from basketball and more focusing on that there was a girl on the floor. They said because she was a girl the boys were scared to foul her and were taught not to hit a girl. The point is the boys have to adjust how they play because they are playing against a girl. I could see this making sense if she wasn’t as good but since she is dominating most of the games the boys shouldn’t be afraid to foul her any different then they foul another kid.  I don’t think she should be discriminated because of her gender she has proved she is too good for the girls and has earned the right to play with the guys. I can see her having trouble in the future especially in high school if she trys to play on the men’s team

                                                                                                    Pat Cecile

so. again i waited until last minute to type this–computer froze, and now it is late. im actually okay with that because it gave me time to gather more evidence for what i planned on writing about.  though there are statistics which prove the glass cieleing, if you will. in other words, though it’s not written, women can only move so far up. also, we do not get paid as much as males get paid. though i work in retail for minimum wage (meijer) therefore its not exactly comparable to working in multi million dollar law firms, for example.

I am not trying to make this a.. pat my self on the back and took my own horn, type of blog, however i would like to explain that myself, along with a few other girls, get preferential treatment at work.  at meijer, if a manager notices that you are doing a good job, or doing  something out of the ordinary to help either a costomer and/ or the company they sign a “you are remarkable” card, which later get turned in for prizes. even though we all mock the cards, and say..its more more of a slap in the face to get one, and never turn them in, every single employee still gets excited to receive a signature. i will use two of my coworkers and myself to get an example of this profemale sexism that occurs in our store. Coco, who is a cashier, usually gets the job of dressing in nice clothes rather that the typical red and khaki, and walks around attempting to get people to apply for meijer credit cards. another friend, john, works in the bottle room.  i also work in the service department, doing miscellanious jobs depending onwhere they need help. today, the Customer Service Lines Leader, Sam, me two cards completely filled out (8 signatures total) i was jokingly bragging to john in from of sam later in my shift. john said he didnt get a card and sam ignored him. coco (dressed up) said that she wanted a card, so he handed her two and told her to go back out on the floor.  John then complained to me about how sexist sam is. I agree, but like most things, when it positively affects you personally, you dont care how unfair it is. ha.

once there was a cart attendent inside doing some work and he was wearing his coat still. he was told that he wasnt allowed to inside, even though it was plain black, because it had a hood. that very day i was wearing a bright blue hollister hoodie, and not one word was said to me. i was even given a thumbs up by sam while i was covering a greeter’s break.

the manager of produce asked me to switch to his department for the holiday season do make fruit baskets. while i was discussing this possibility with a couple of my managers they were arugueing over whether he wanted me because i am a hard worker, or because he thought i was cute.

the head cashier of each shift is called the service coordinator. there was one guy who sometimes does this, nate, and there are several female cashiers that can flirt their way into getting the lane they want, or not gettign on a lane at all, when he is in charge.

while it is wonderful having the ability to flirt my way into certain situations. (though, i believe a lot of it is because i do bust my butt 100% of the time at that store) i still have gotten offended. sam get’s his bonuses each year depending on the costomer service friendly score servey. one day, he told me to stand at the end of the self scan lanes, and tell me about the survey, ONLY if they first said that they had a nce shopping trip. well, it was busy and we were getting backed upso i began helping people bag. same then called my primary manager, linda, and told her that i was not allowed to be, i was supposed to stand there, smile, and look stupid. pretty much using my bubbelying personality for HIS benefit.

kelly smith

Hey. Its 4pm. 2 hours past the time the blog was due, so anyone posting after this is late. 

(Been having a few problems with folks on this)

A pretty good job by all thus far, especially considering our time constraints.

~Jenna G

To see a girl defend herself makes me happy.  In the beginning of the movie  i was really confused and disturbed by the creepy guy stakler/serial killer, and all of the blood and gore kinda freaked me out but i guess i’ll have to get used to it if i’m going for my nursing degree…lol… but it made me really happy when the girls in the second part of the movie literally beat him to death.  The ending kick to the face just really set it off and i was really pumped up about it.  Movies that have the girls all cowering in fear and acting so helpless, just anger me.  I, being a girl, think that it is really important for girls to be able to defend themselves, especially when society expects us to be all girly and helpless.  I am a kickboxer, and i have become one just for that reason.  My aunt and my mom were both victims of domestic violence.  Their now ex-husbands abused them and thankfully they got out of it right away, but i never want to be put in the situation that they were in and not be able to defend myself and be helpless.  Since then, i have taken numerous self defense classes and have been a kickboxer for almost three years now. Now, i can definitely defend myself against any creeper that might try to hurt me haha..plus, they wouldn’t expect it because i am such a girly girl!…Now my brother warns any guy that I’m around and says “You know shes a kickboxer, so if you try anything, she’ll lay you out.”  Haha so he doesn’t have to worry about boys being mean to me…lol.  But i am really proud of my aunt and my mom because hey have taken those classes with me and now know how to defend themselves.  Luckily i haven’t had to use my kickboxing moves on anybody yet…haha…but for my senior project in high school i broke boards in class with my elbow and my foot.  Needless to say, all of the guys that were in there and saw me break them were afraid of me..haha…Im glad that i’ve become a kickboxer.  It has definitely gave me self confidence and im not afraid.

Sara Burdette <3

What do you think of when you think of gender?  Do you think of man and woman?  Boy and girl?  Masculine or feminine?  Gender essentially refers to an individual’s “psychological type”, it is acquired through experience.  On the other hand, gender roles refer to the attitudes and behaviors that class a person’s stereotypical identity.  Both of these topics are quite different.  For example gender in the world today is more generated towards biological sexes of humans.  Like the difference of signs on bathrooms in a mall.  One has a picture of man and reads “MEN”, while the other has a picture of a woman and reads “WOMEN”.  Gender is not necessarily an issue in the world today.  Each individual can do just as much as another person.  Anybody can be whatever they want to be without much criticism or harrasment on their choice or preference of a job or work.  Which leads me to talk about gender roles because I believe it goes hand in hand with gender in the world today.  Gender roles as mentioned above refer to attitudes and behavior.  These help to create their identities.  For example, in the world today it might be considered weird or strange for a man to be walking around in some form of skirt in America, while in other places of the world such as Scotland, men wears kilts, skirt like clothing and it is considered completely normal and a part of many men’s everyday apparal.  Another example of gender roles in the world today are that men and women can hold the same professions and people are completely fine with it.  For example, sports used to be dominated by men, but over the last couple of decades, professional women sports have grown to be quite large.  There are both professional mens and women’s basketball leagues and both have a numerous amount of fans that support each league.  Last but not least, women are starting to come up in the rock-n-roll music industry as well.  While most bands consist of hard rockers, genres have expanded and have transformed.  One of the biggest bands in the world today, Evanescence is headed on lead vocals by a woman.  Amy Lee.  Not only does she have an amazing voice, but she also knows how to put on an awesome concert.  I think it is amazing how far gender and gender roles have come in the world today and that we as people are reluctant to judge others because of their choices in life.

-Matthew Albo-