The Dark Side of Superbowl Sunday

The Superbowl is known for being the highest grossing sports event in the US, hilarious commercials, and probably a day of fun, food, and friends. The "big game" is assumed to be wholesome, American fun that everyone can have the opportunity to enjoy. Unfortunately, there is an ugly side to this fun-filled weekend that most of us never consider. America's most popular sporting event has also been called out as one of the largest venues for human trafficking in the world. The article that I'm attaching with my blog outlines the reasons why sex trafficking increases around the Superbowl and provides stories of women who have been trapped in this abhorrent industry. While this topic may seem to be somewhat unrelated to our week's discussion, I felt it was important to recognize this issue as this weekend many of us will be watching the Superbowl from the comfort of our couches, while thousands of women will be trapped in modern day slavery.

In Manifesta Baumgardner and Richards emphasize the idea of consciousness raising. They bring about this idea in terms of bringing women to the realization that they are marginalized and in need of feminism. However, I think that the concept of consciousness raising can be used for many issues. Specifically, when considering sex trafficking many of us may picture this issue to be something that does not occur here in the US, but is a large problem in other parts of the world. This is, of course, not the case. In fact, DFW is one of the largest sex trafficking hubs in the United States. In terms of consciousness raising for the issue of sex trafficking I think we can all do our part by making the issue known. Talk about it, tweet about it, post articles on Facebook. The more people who are aware and conscious of this atrocity, the more advocacy that can occur. The article I am attaching is worth the read and the issue is most definitely worth our attention.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/79235/you-ll-never-see-this-side-of-the-super-bowl-on-tv

Importance of Image In Advertisements

What is the most common go to method advertisement companies use to sell their products? Beautiful men and women wearing very little clothing, or at least what we have been conditioned to believe is “beautiful”. It is not a secret that our society values what they can enjoy visually, it seems as though superficiality consumes us. From the article "Sex DOES sell: Attractive men and women in ads affects our capacity for rational thought" it mentions that half dressed men and women are said to convince people to buy a product more effectively then advertising logical facts and information about it. In fact, “researchers found seeing an attractive man or woman in an advert excites the areas of the brain that make us buy on impulse, bypassing the sections which control rational thought”(Daily Mail Reporter, 3). The importance of image has literally been embedded in our brains, and because of that the old saying “sex sells” is more valid then ever. Can our rational thought overcome this learned behavior?

I can’t help but wonder what problems this brings forth. First of which came to mind is the simple fact that this type of marketing is objectifying human beings. These men and women are being portrayed as objects. This leads to problems especially with women. This type of presentation only allows the public to view women as superficial objects to admire with no further substance. Another problem with this type of advertisement is people compare themselves to unrealistic photo shopped images of what is considered perfect. This can affect men and women negatively by adding unnecessary pressure to measure up to the people in the advertisements. As consumers we tend to forget that these advertisers will do whatever it takes to sell their product.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2040218/Sex-DOES-sell-Attractive-men-women-ads-affect-capacity-rational-thought.html

Dinner Party Dialogue

In The Dinner Party, the women who met to discuss their lives, their questions, and their perceptions and experiences—particularly related to feminism/intersectionality— mentioned how a fear of judgment and condemnation often causes women to keep silent about important topics. This silence stems from prior experiences with discriminatory and oppressive attitudes. The text reads:

"We simply want to demonstrate the difference between being paralyzed by silence, shame, or self-blame, and that not inly is a girl with an STD or an unintended pregnancy not alone, she is one of millions. Even if people don't judge a woman who has a sexually transmitted disease— or one who is depressed, bulimic, has been raped or sexually molested, chooses to sleep with a lot of people, ends an unwanted pregnancy, or brings a child into this world despite her poverty— that woman is still certain that the rest of the human race will condemn her."(Baumgardner, Richards 28)

Later in the chapter, the authors discuss the issue that men often fail to take accountability for their actions regarding sex, consent, birth control, and awareness of any STIs that could affect their partner. The responsibility falls on women to do or know these things, sometimes impossibly, and if they fail to do a perfect "job" the blame falls on them as well. Similarly, rape culture is a pervasive societal belief that it is a person's job to prevent rape, rather than not to commit rape. And, if a person (most often a woman) fails to take all often-contradictory precautionary measures, the rape is their fault— or it was not rape at all.

This is an increasingly discussed topic in the media and on social networking sites, and this video demonstrates how theoretical trends and belief systems can change or even end a person's life.

In my opinion, this social norm is one of the roots of rape culture. These impossible standards end up blaming the victim, which enforces profoundly damaging shame, self-blame, and silence. Of course, this is not an exclusively female issue, but I would encourage all of us to consider two salient points. First, this is not a women's-only problem, but it is an overwhelmingly female one. Second, among male victims, the pressure that leads to silence often stems from the fear of emasculation or a revocation of status as male. This exemplifies one of the ways that patriarchy's oppressive reach is not confined to one social group— the rigidity of standards, extreme rejection of those who do not fit a very precise mold (straight, white, middle/upper-class male), and definitions of masculinity that incorporate violence and domination are damaging to all people. This is why feminism is necessary for everyone— not just to obtain equal rights for all people, but to reconstruct the social order in a way that does not require oppression to function.

Equality for Women

As I was trying to figure out what I should do for my first blog post, I turned to everyone's favorite social media site, Facebook. What I found was a Facebook group called, "Equality for Women". Among this site, there are many articles and pictures of various ways that women are not being treated equal in our everyday society, as well as articles about how we are slowly but surely on the path to overcome feminism. 

When I saw this picture, it really caught my attention. Forever feminism has been seen as something that is only for women, something that men do not or can not understand, but this is far from the truth. What this picture depicts is that feminism effects us all, male or female. This man is saying that he should not be looked at as better than the rest because he is one of the very few men that understands what feminism is and believes that something must be done. He is saying that everyone has rights and everyone should be granted those rights and just because right now our society favors men that they should stand up and fight for women's rights too and that women should not have to face it alone.

Our text talks about the common misconceptions of feminism and how people perceive it as something that only women should be involved with and that it's women wanting to over power men rather than just be equal. A quote Pat Robinson said in our text states that feminism, "encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, and practice witchcraft." ((Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, p.4)

In conclusion, I believe if more people were educated on what exactly feminism is and how it's just an idea of equality, more people, men specifically, would be willing to get on board and fight for this cause. 

https://www.facebook.com/Equality4Women

Team V!

What is a healthy relationship to you? 18-25 year old leader have set out to create debate and raise awareness to what exactly is a healthy, fulfilling and supportive relationship. There goal is to address girls and boys beginning to form romantic relationship and what they should and should not expect in a relationship. The alarming truth is that most youths don’t know where to go if their relationship takes an alarming turn. Furthermore, they may not know what behavior is unacceptable or harmful in relationships, but how could they? Currently 26% of teens have not received sexual or relationship education. This leads to statistics like one in five teens believe its okay to tell a girlfriend or boyfriend what to do. Similarly, nearly 75% of girls and 50% of boys have reported some sort of emotional partner abuse. If we continue to not talk about relationships there’s no hope in these statistics ever changing. The women in Manifesta were able to make progress through open dialogue about their current situations. By bringing women together they were able to open up and express their true feelings on relationships. They were also able to connect each other to other support groups in which they were involved in. 

Currently 81% of teens experiencing abuse never have access to support. The leaders from Team V are hoping to change that. They are currently working with support groups to open up a dialogue about relationships. Along with this they are using social media, a potential trademark of fourth wave feminism, to reach out to teens across the globe. The volunteer positions range from bloggers to support services to photographers and are available now.  In order to improve the social norms we need to feel comfortable talking to younger generations about issues such as sex and relationships. I personally will be the first to admit that the talks may sometimes be uncomfortable. However I believe the goal is to get to the point were everyone is so vulnerable that no one is vulnerable. If we can do this, similar to the women and Manifesta, we can create global change.

For the link to the Team-V video click here

Body Image, Eating Disorders and Social Support

In light of the recent #TeamSkinny scandal on our campus, I wanted to take the time to discuss the issue of body image as it is very prevalent in the lives of many across the country. Unfortunately, it has been increasingly common for people to not be satisfied with their weight and how it makes them appear to others. Particularly in the case of women, there is often a pressure in many facets of their lives to uphold a specific image or adhere to a standard of beauty that is nearly impossible for everyone to achieve. As shown in this blog from the Huffington Post, women are often bombarded with articles, advertisements and commercials that promote things like "ways to get a flat stomach." Even though some may argue that these advertisements are done in the name of health, their primary goal is to make people feel unsatisfied with how they look. This lack of body satisfaction doesn't only impact  adult women, but can impact girls as young as age 6.

When people constantly feel unsatisfied with how they look, the steps that they take to work towards body satisfaction can be potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, body image issues can lead to eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, working out excessively etc.), which further jeopardizes the mental and physical health of the person that is impacted by the disorder. The relationship between body image and eating disorders becomes more apparent as an increasing number of fashion models are developing eating disorders as a result of their profession. If fashion models are often meant to exemplify the standard of beauty in our society, are we not contributing to the development of eating disorders by continuing to validate that standard of beauty?

While reading The Dinner Party in Manifesta, I was amazed at the variety and depth of issues that were discussed among the author and their peers. In the reading, people gathered to discuss the issues that were most prevalent to them as women, which was likely to spark action, even if only in their personal lives. As a TCU senior that has been frustrated with the social climate on campus in the past, I feel that these types of consciousness-raising groups would greatly benefit students on campus.

At TCU, the issue of body image is arguably more prevalent than it is in general society; and eating disorders occur more frequently here as a result. Because of this, I feel that students should take action to raise awareness about the issue on campus. Initially, it would be wise to create a safe space for people to talk about their struggles with body image and eating disorders with other students. The Counseling Center has a lot of great resources for students looking to begin a recovery process, but acknowledgement of the issue among the general student population is necessary if we are going to reverse the trend. One idea that I recently came across that might have value is the concept of Lean In Circles. TCU students could adopt a similar concept and create focus groups that are dedicated to a variety of issues that effect women on our campus. In the case of body image and eating disorders, students that have overcome eating disorders could work with students who are recovering from or currently have eating disorders to offer them social support during the process. By having various avenues of social support on campus for people struggling with eating disorders, it may seem more manageable for people to confront the issue if they are not doing it alone.

I definitely don't feel that this is the answer to body image issues on our campus, but it would help start conversations about the issue that could potentially lead to some action. It is my hope that students will continue the conversation about body image and eating disorders long after the #TeamSkinny controversy is current.

Women of Color and Feminism

Why is it a constant struggle for colored women to feel excepted by feminism and women issues? As Anthea Butler states, “Women of color have never had the luxury of simply focusing of women’s issues” (Butler). What seems to amaze me is that all women are fighting for the same equality but cannot unit as one and tackle the cause with full force. Why does race and economic statues have to block women from all working toward the same goal? It all seems contradicting. White women are fighting for equal rights as me, but are discriminating against their own gender. How does that make sense? As Anthea mentioned in her article, why are white women the face of the feminist movement and all of the colored women having to sit on the bench and watch.

In the article Heartbroken by Rebecca Hurdis she says, “Feminism is a white woman’s thing…represent privilege, power, and opportunity” (289). The definition of feminism is, the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of political, social, and economic equality of MEN. Feminism doesn’t mean equality of white women to men or rich women to mean. It states the equality of ALL WOMEN to men.

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/07/28/women-of-color-and-feminism-a-history-lesson-and-way-forward/

Should Sports Be Gender Specific?

Why is it that when women want to participate in a sport that is labeled by men as a “mans sport” they have to fight for the right to participate.  When did a sport become gender specific?  As a female who has the right to tell you that a specific sport is not for you?

For centuries women were told that they could not participate in sports because it would have an affect on their reproductive organs and that they are weak and helpless.  Since 2006 Women ski jumpers have been fighting for the right to enter the Olympics.

The Russian coach, Alexander Arefyev, for the men’s ski jump team thinks women should not be allowed to participate in the sport because their injuries could end up far worse than a man’s.  He went on to say, “it’s too hard work and that the purpose for women is to have children, do housework and to create a family home.”  His views of the individual, especially women, are certainly are based on “assignment to a sex category on the basis of what the genitalia look like at birth” (Lober, page 65). 

This relates to our classroom discussion regarding the Lego ad.  The company took a product that was neutral and made it gender specific.  In my opinion if children are taught that certain things are gender related, it limits the things we do and what we can become.  But more important, it limits how we view ourselves as that gender.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/russian-mens-ski-jump-coach-against-women-ski-jumping#sthash.8INYZ0Ae.dpuf

The Ringleaders of Sexism: Dark Side to Advertising

The Ringleaders of Sexism

http://daisygreen.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/vintage-ads-chef.jpg

Advertisements that involve sexism are really intriguing to me because they are developed to draw in consumers; furthermore, they relate to the average American.  The average consumer has to be able to share the direction of the product in order to generate a purchase.

A male authority runs many large corporations. This news wasn’t surprising to me when I saw this old Kenwood mixer ad, which is run by male advertisers. This picture is insinuating that all men go to work, hints the business suit, and all the wives stay at home to cook. “In our society, women are socialized to care for men” (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey 4) and are portrayed as delicate and submissive. In class we talked about how society expects the women to do the cooking and cleaning and the men to be the “bread winners”. What if the husband was a stay at home dad? Would a man that liked to cook be less masculine than a man that didn’t? If a woman couldn’t cook would she be a bad wife and mother? All these questions arise to the notion this advertisement brings forth. Men and women need to be viewed in a more equal light at home and in the business world.

Goldieblox

This commercial is aiming towards engineering toys for girls. It starts off by showing three little girls watching a show on TV that is all pink and promotes "girly" things. As you can see by their faces, the little girls are bored and do not like the show. Then the commercial changes gears towards the little girls building things to destroy all of the "girly" toys that society has told them to play with. The song used for this commercial is somewhat of a parody of the song from the Beastie Boys.



As we read and discussed in class, gender has been socialized by society. We have always told our little kids that girls wear pink and play with gentle toys. Meanwhile, we have told our boys to play with strong toys and to build things. We have made blue a "boy" thing and have tried to make them be tough. Well, this commercial is doing the opposite. The idea behind it is that girls can do whatever they want to do. If they want to build and become engineers, then they can. Goldieblox is taking a step towards a future of equality among women and men. It is promoting a different mentality among parents.



In order for us to end oppression among women and to make this world more equal when it comes to gender, we must speak up. This is exactly what Goldieblox is about. Speaking up for those little girls who want to build, and who want to be strong. It is about both girls and boys using their mental and physical strength without being judged. Of course many people, especially feminist, support and like this change. Others, however, do not appreciate the commercial and what the company is trying to do. Some men may feel threatened because it has always been about them being the strong ones in this world.



Here is the link to the website for the Goldieblox company and what they are aiming towards.

http://www.goldieblox.com