Service Activism Log #6

1. The event was successful! I certainly expected the turn out to be much more astounding, yet I was still pleased with the crowd. It was nice to finally be able to chit-chat with Jackie, since we've only been communicating via facebook and e-mail. When I arrived, Jackie didn't have the movie, which obviously was a concern. Suddenly I remembered that I had Netflix and thankfully it was on Instant Play. I thought that having the actual movie would be the easiest part, yet I guess in the whole process of planning I forgot the simplest and most important responsibility! I guess next time I do something like this I will make certain that I have all the necessities for a successful movie extravaganza!

2. This week was exciting. I learned a lot from the planning and I definitely realized how easy it is to pull a group of people together for activism. Seely gives 12 simple steps to follow for creating an event for feminist activism. Although events are exciting to plan, sometimes I think people can get too wrapped up in their day-to-day lives, which is why I found an excerpt from "Fight Like A Girl" so inspiring; "I live my life as an activist. I live my life politically. We can all do this. We all have it in ourselves; titles don't make us leaders. It is our actions that mean something and impact our community. It is our voices that inspire. And our commitment to justice that makes a difference (Seely 24)."

3. I was impressed with the encouragement that NOW supported me with. It was definitely difficult not being able to go to my community partner's meetings since I had class at that time, but I managed and they were very excited to have me working on an event. Hopefully next semester I won't have class during the meeting times and I will get to join in on even more events, but if not at least I will know that they are extremely responsive to me.

Works Cited

Seely, Megan. Fight Like A Girl. New York, NY and London: New York University Press, 2007. 24. Print.

Service Learning Activism Log #5

1. This week I e-mailed and Facebook messaged Jacqueline Sheppard about the upcoming event. Since Patricia won't be able to attend, I offered any extra assistance they might find neccessary. I am still waiting for a response. It's making me feel very antsy and I just want to fast forward to the event. I will be missing one of my classes, which is definitely a downfall but I think that the event's success will certainly be worth it. Something I find exciting is that "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" will be screening for the event. I'm anxious to be in an environment that is contributing to the masculine community, since it will be a polar opposite to what I've been learning about in my Women's Studies class.

2. In the trailer for "Bigger, Faster, Stronger," it asks the audience, "If you had to take a drug, with the known side effects of anabolic steroids to keep your job right now and support your family, would you do it?" This quote has the most obvious correlation to the global war on drugs, which is analyzed in further elaboration in the text. Clearly, there are medicinal purposes to steriods just like there are for other drugs. In 1986, however, Ronald Regan passed the Anti Drug Abuse Act which made a "critical break with the concept of drug users as a medical population in need of treatment and instead targetted them as a criminal population (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 484)." My community partners understand that women will do anything to support their families and that although there is no justification for the illegal trafficking of Class A drugs, minimum mandatory sentences for crimes such as treatment programs and community service have become the most common forms of punishment (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 484).

3. Although I know a little about anabolic steroids, it will be interesting to see how it will be defined through perspectives of masculinity. Not only will it be interesting but I'm hoping it will be beneficial to my understanding of gender roles in our culture. Extremely excited!

Okazawa-Rey, Margo, and Gwyn Kirk . Women's Lives - Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 484-485. Print.

Women and the Workforce Assignment

Last night I finished the first season of Dexter. If you are unfamiliar with this TV show, it is primarily based on a serial killer who works for a Police Department in Miami. He works as a dective and a blood analysis specialist.The show follows Dexter Morgan through his many trials and tribulations at work as well as at home. There are three main women that I found had the most prominant characters in the show. His foster-sister, Deborah, works alongside him at the Police Station as an officer. He is dating Rita, a single mother of two children whom works at a hotel. Dexter's lieutenant, Maria has a major role in the TV show as well. Although there is a main plot for each episode that follows Dexter himself, there are side stories that follow these women as well and the correlation with how the media and society depicts and percieves women in the workforce is astoundingly conspicuous.

Rita is always being depicted as distraught. Although she is portrayed as a sweet, calm, and happy woman, her hair is never in place, she is always picking up after the kids, and she is constantly trying to avoid confrontations with her ex-husband. Initially, like for most viewers, I was oblivious to the message that the media is trying to send regarding working, single mothers. I asked myself, "Why isn't Rita impeccable, vivacious, and confident? Why does it seem like she never has anything completely under her control?" It can be "...argued that it is not motherhood itself that is oppressive to women but the way our society constructs motherhood (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 307)." The only plausible reason for Rita seeming like a complete mess is that she is a single mother and needs to juggle her work as well as giving her children a sufficient amount of 'TLC.'

Deborah represents the 'Ultimate Mommy Tax," in reference specifically to 'childlessness.' A steady increase in the percentage of middle-aged, educated, American women who remain childless went from about 9 percent in the 1950's to 10 percent in the late 1970's, and in the 1990's about 17 percent (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 344). Deborah is loud, assertive, very committed, and attractive. Her schedule is flexible - she works when she's not on the clock and enjoys it. Don't let all this fool you, however. Deb still has a soft spot for love, and this is shown when she begins to date a doctor named Rudy (which happens to be a serial killer). Although Deborah probably dreams of having a family, contemporary work ethics show that "...the longer a woman postpones family responsibilites, and the longer her 'preparental' phase lasts, the higher her lifetime earnings will be (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 342)." Society molds Deborah into a delineation of the equivalent of idealogies of a man, "but trying to be a man has its own risks. Many baby-boomer women postponed families only to discover that they wanted to become pregnant, it was too late (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 342)."

Maria also faces the same desires Deb does. In one episode when she saves a little boy from a murder scene, her motherly instincts get the best of her and she is reluctant to give the boy back to his family. What I find the most interesting is that Maria and Deb never openly admit to wanting children, which supports the idea that, "Americans have a hard time realizing that such deeply personal choices as when or whether to have a child can be powerfully circumscribed by broader social or economic factors (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 344)." In confliction with popular beliefs, making decisions between family and work is much more of a deal-breaker in America, than in European countries where there are more 'favorable' policies that encourage pro-family ideals (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 344).

Okazawa-Rey, Margo, and Gwyn Kirk . Women's Lives - Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 301-369. Print.

Service Activism Log #4

1. This week was uneventful mainly due to the fact that from this point on everything should go along smoothly. The anticipation of the event is absolutely dreadful since I'm looking forward to it so much. I have been telling my friends as well as strangers about the upcoming event and they also seem to look forward to it. Honestly, other than spreading the word there really isn't anything on my to-do list. Patricia invited me to help her make food for the event but she lives really far away from me and I'm not quite sure to get around Orlando yet so we'll see. Still looking forward to tabeling with her outside of Publix to fundraise for Animal Safehouse!

2. This week we read and discussed about women in the workforce, which directly correlates with our service learning project specifically under the topic and reading "The Mommy Tax," by Ann Crittenden. Because this reading was based on an issue that is critical for pregnant women and mothers today, I found this reading especially appealing. I had heard of the concept of the "Mommy Tax" but never really read or looked too much in depth with it, so I feel as though this was a good opportunity to become more knowledgeable about issues our mothers are facing today. In order to support her context, Crittenden writes, "...research reveals that working mothers not only earn less than men, but also less per hour than childless women, even after such differences as education and experience are factored out (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 337). " I found this fact extremely startling as well as unsettling. Furthermore, in reading and a class discussions about feminists' solutions to this obstacle, my classmates and I concurred that by creating an equal wage for comparable work could offer more stability. Aside from the unequality of equal labor, however, I find myself struggling to interpret the hypocrisy of the employers' perceptions of women's worth ethics. In a comic, a boss says to his worker, "This society doesn't value children anymore! You women would rather persue a selfish career than stay home with your kids!" In the next drawing, the woman is seen holding her child in a non-work environment and her boss says, "This society doesn't value work anymore! You welfare mothers would rather stay home with your kids than get a job!" (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 303).  I think this comic depicts the confliction of what mothers are going through in the workplace perfectly.

3. I'm really looking forward to the event because I feel like I will take a lot from it during as well as after, in retrospect. I'm hoping to take a lot away from the event with a more solidified feminist perspective on expecting mothers and hopefully this knowledge will benefit me personally as well.

Okazawa-Rey, Margo, and Gwyn Kirk . Women's Lives - Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 211. Print.

Service Learning Activism Log #3

1. VOX has decided to converge another movie night that was supposed to be held in November with ours. Having two movie nights in one month seemed excessive to Anjella. I found myself relieved that this was happening because I was beginning to stress about the dilemma of being able to rent a room/be provided with multimedia technological devices/have a supervisor, etc. The change of plans is an ultimate success, provided that our project isn't going to be as independent as we had initially hoped (which could be considered a pitfall if you look at the glass half empty)! Next week I plan on getting more information, relaying the event information to my friends, getting the DVD, and begin to think about food/drink that will be provided!

2. I feel adamant in my belief that VOX contibutes greatly to the progressive community in the aspect that it promotes and encourages safe sex and reproductive health, which is crucial to age bracket of students that attend UCF. Aside from the numerous reasons for why women become pregnant, although the experience is considered extremely personal it is also something that is highly concentrated on a macro level (Okazawa-Rey, and Kirk 211). It is apparent that VOX firmly supports the freedom for women to make decisions regarding the health of their child and themselves.

3. On a personal level, the experience of working with VOX has given me more insight to how hard the progressive community at UCF is working to make a breakthrough of undivided attention from peers as well as the community. Also, I have become more cognizant of the the fact that my future, in terms of reproductive health, is essentially in the hands of the progressive community.

Okazawa-Rey, Margo, and Gwyn Kirk . Women's Lives - Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 211. Print.

Service Learning Activism Log #2

1. This week was a bit stagnant in terms of progress. However, Patricia and I did discuss the route of which we are going to go about things regarding renting a room on campus - so it's good that we have that under control. I also spread word about the event and told friends I would keep them updated when we got our exact date for the event. A success of mine was being informed and cordially invited to assist Patricia with her personal project tabling in fron to Publix to fundraise for Animal Safehouse and learning that the hours I spend fundraising with her can be counted as Service Learning hours. No pitfalls - hopefully there won't be any. Also, next week we plan to create a facebook group for our event.

2. Although the reading's this week were not very relevant to our service learning project, we watched the documentary The Business of Being Born. This documentary follows the lives of several women in their stages of pregnancy and portrays what women in the U.S. face in terms of the maternal and financial systems, midwives vs. hospitals. I was completely oblvious to this entire scam before I watched this documentary. I feel as though our reproductive service learning project is even more important now since it regards reproductive health. I think it would behoove us to relay the incredible statistics and information we learned from the film to the people that come to our event.

3. Since my mother gave birth to me by means of a midwive, I felt I should discuss with her about the documentary. Sure enough, she told me exactly what other women in the film discussed, "I had an incredible surge of power. I felt like I was connected with all the other women who went through this incredible and indescribable experience." Among hearing this, I decided that I definitely want to consider this approach if I ever get pregnant and I feel empowered just by being cognizant of the infant mortality rate in the United States in comparison to other medically advanced countries.

Women's Health Assignment

Waris Dirie - FGM victim and now a Somali model, actress, author, and human rights activist.

1. "An estimated 135 million girls and women have undergone genital mutilation, and two million girls a year are at risk- approximately 6,000 per day. Although it is predominantly practiced in twenty-eight North African countries, FGM is not inherent to any nation or religion ("Amnesty International USA"). The procedure of female genital mutilation is almost always done without antibiotics/anesthesia and it is common for the surgery to be done in a barbian-like form. For example, the medical instruments used consist of broken glass, tin can lids, blunt knives, scissors,  or razors ("Amnesty International USA"). There are different types of FGM procedures such as clitoridectomies, excisions, or infibulations. The  two major concerns of this procedure is the rising number of women who are suffering the "...physical, sexual, and mental" ("Amnesty International") consequences of the surgery and women who are being genitally mutilated against their will.

2. Key concepts that we've been discussing in class like that of patriarchy and "gender stratification ("Amnesty International USA")" are extremely influential to the core concepts of why FGM is practiced.  "In FGM-practicing societies it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to marry if she has not undergone mutilation"("Amnesty International USA"). In societies where FGM is practiced, women find themselves succumbing to the discrimination because they have such little opportunities - they can't go to school or get jobs, which makes them extremely reliable on the men ("Amnesty International USA"). Because of this gender stratification and patriarchal structure of a society, women are forced to be considered "useful" for only two reasons: to bear children, and give men sexual satisfaction with no reciprocation ("Amnesty International USA").

3. I envision my Utopian egalitarian society to celebrate the rites of passage to womanhood with something comparable to a Bar-Mitzvah, a celebration. Women don't need to be degraded in such a violent form, especially when infection and disease comes into play. I think the ultimate goal to obtaining equal rights in this case (as in many others), would start with awareness. I honestly think a lot of women either A.) Think that we have equal rights, or B.) They are too scared to face the reality of the horrors that are taking place. And that's where feminists come into play, if we raise awareness we can make baby steps to creating a "prowoman" environment on a macro-level.

4. It is important to be informed and aware of the cultural aspect of FGM. Since FGM is a deepy rooted custom, you cannot stop it. Instead, a healthier and more positive way of promoting rites of passage to womanhood would be more effective in the longrun and essentially what this would do is give women back their rights ("Amnesty International").


Works Cited
"Women's Human Rights - Female Genital Mutilation." AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA. Amnesty International USA, 2010. Web. 14 Oct 2010. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against-women/female-genital-mutilation--fgm/page.do?id=1108439>.

Service Learning Activism Log #1

1.      Patricia met with the president of VOX - Cristina Calandruccio. Unfortunately, I could not accompany her because I had a class that interfered with their meeting. Patricia reported back to me however, and informed me that they discussed Men's Health Week and the HPV awareness event being produced by Rachel Collins. Patricia and Cristina also discussed the movie event we had planned to host and came to a mutual conclusion that the event should be held in an on-campus setting (renting a room). In order to get a larger turn-out, we would find it effective if you encouraged your students to attend by offering extra credit. Successes: I still ended up meeting Cristina when I went to meet Patricia at the library, which I was very content about. Aside from that however, a success was changing our setting to a more effective environment. Pitfalls: Not being able to go with Patricia to discuss the event. Next week we should get the ball rolling by renting the room on-campus and make a Facebook event and invite our friends to attend.

2.      Our Service Learning project directly correlates with the last reading we were assigned from the textbook Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives; “Women’s Health,” pp. 211-224 for the reasons that it discusses how reproductive health reflects on women’s perceptions of themselves. This topic is brought up numerous times; “Sexually transmitted infection can affect how a woman feels about her body and her partner and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease or infertility” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 215). Our event will be effective because sex is a popular topic for almost everyone and raising awareness about healthier sex will only encourage people to be responsible with contraception and help maintain relationships with foundations on respect; “…factors that limit women’s ability to influence their ability to influence their partners to wear condoms…include the power dynamics between men and women, women’s assumptions about what it means to be a ‘good lover,’ and their ideals of giving and sharing” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 215).

3.      Reciprocity: This is the first time I’ve ever been able to actually label myself as an activist and part of the progressive community and it’s really refreshing to be able to surround myself with people who have similar viewpoints as me – makes me feel a little less cynical.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspective. 5th. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 211-218. Print.

Women and Advertising

Click Here To Watch Maybelline Commercial

            The consumerism of the corporeal infatuation of the 21st century is conceivably the drug people overdose on, on a daily basis.People abuse this “drug” regardless of whether they believe or don’t believe, are aware or completely oblivious to being targeted for superficial marketing and a very much strategized commercialism. Imagine an 8 year-old chubby brunette with freckles getting off her school bus and seeing a huge billboard and on it observing a tall, tan, long blond haired woman clad in revealing attire and wearing a promiscuous expression on her face and having the effect on the little girl that THAT is what she HAS to look like in order to be “accepted.” And the cycle of oppression begins.

          The Dream Liquid Mousse produced by Maybelline is a makeup corporation that solicits to all types and ages of women (this made obvious when a random African American woman is shown only for a second) that strive to be desirable. The affects applied to the 30 second long commercial create appeal with the articulation and visual aids. What drew me in the most to the commercial, however, was the exotic and seductive model, Adriana Lima. With her luscious lips and entrancing blue eyes, it’s hard for any consumer to resist wanting to look like her immediately and hopping into their cars and driving to find the closest Sephora with Dream Liquid Mousse. In advertising images and popular culture, sexuality is the prerogative of the young, slender, and able-bodied(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150). Many of these images portray white women(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150). Melba Wilson noted that racism and sexism converge in mainstream stereotypes of women of color as “exotic creatures of passion” (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150).

Something else that caught my eye after further analysis was the fact that the woman’s voice that was delineating the makeup had a low, mysterious, sensual, whispering, growl-like tone. The tone alone could be described informally as, “creepy,” but add the redundancy of the message she is trying to send and the audience could feel like they were being brainwashed. Women are expected to be modest and virtuous, to look beautiful, and simultaneously, to lure men and fend them off (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150). “Like it’s been airbrushed,” sends the message that although the pictures you see in magazines of models are airbrushed, physically having the appearance of looking airbrushed is possible, and that ultimate perfection can be reached. First of all, what and who defines what perfection is? Second of all, is our culture so aesthetic obsessed that pores are considered a flaw? Third of all, what makes pores imperfect and what does that have to do with what a woman is or expected to be? Ads that use women’s bodies to sell products also sell ideas of heterosexuality(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150).

As sex objects, women are commonly portrayed as child-like or doll-like playthings(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150). These images flow from reinforce macro-level patriarchal constructions of gender and sexuality based on the following assumptions: Heterosexuality is prescribed or natural for women and men, men are the initiators in heterosexual encounters, and men’s sexuality is assertive and in need of regular relsease (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 150).

The advertisement wants you to believe that perfection is real and that with their product, you will be perfect. Also, since they spend so much time talking about how pores are imperfect and “flawed” it shows that women are still being oppressed in the fact that looking “100% flawless” is expected of women and that if a woman looks anything less than “100% flawless” than she shouldn’t be accepted by our culture’s standards. The negative mannerisms and values this commercial sends are astonishing after intense scrutiny – and I never would have noticed all of this if I was just waiting for my TV show to come back on. Feminist scholars have analyzed the oppressive nature of ads and media representations that bombard women and girls with an ideal beauty defined as thin, lean, tall, young, white, and heterosexual, with flawless skin and well-groomed hair (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 208).

Works Cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women. Fifth. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 150. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women. Fifth. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 208. Print.

Service Learning Proposal For VOX
By Kara C.
September 21st, 2010
Meredith Tweed
WST 3015-0001

Community Partner: VOX
Address: 4000 Central Florida Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32816
Contact: Cari Cruz, ccruz1017@yahoo.com
Community Partner Mission Statement: "Being pro-choice, we believe that every man and woman have the right to make choices pertaining to their own bodies. In short, every individual should have the fundamental right to manage his or her fertility. VOX supports full access to comprehensive reproductive and complementary health care services in settings that preserve and protect the essential privacy of and rights of each individual." (VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood).

Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: VOX acts as a liason between the university and the reproductive health centers and promotes safer sex practices through education and organizing events for the "advocation of public policies that gaurantee these rights and ensure access to such services" (VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood).

The Proposal
Memorandum
TO: Meredith Tweed
FROM: Kara Corallo
DATE: September 21st, 2010
RE: Proposal to Write a Feasability Report for a Service Learning Project
The following is a proposal to outline the needs, rationale and feasibility for a service learning project to benefit VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood. The following proposal contains background on the need for and benefits of a Reproductive Health Awareness Event, an outline of the work I plan to do, the rationale for its inclusion in WST 3015, and a scheduled timeline. This proposal may need to be revised after beginning the project and must be flexible to meet the needs of the both the Service Learning project and the community partner.

The Need for Increased Awareness of Reproductive Health and Rights
The contingency of reproductive health and rights for men and women both depend chiefly on raising awareness. Abstinence-only advocation has generally become a road with a dead-end sign, as the 21st century's culture laughs at the concept of abstinence. It is only realistic and preventative to raise awareness in the sense that fornication needs to be approached with the education of birth control, etc. VOX works through Planned Parenthood as a Student Organization at UCF with organized events and advocation.

Patricia P. and I plan to advertise and organize a movie night at Natura, where we will be showing the production of the film "Juno" directed by Jason Reitman, starring Ellen Paige. The movie follows the life of a quirky 16 year old girl whom has an unplanned pregnancy, although the film is meant to be a comedy - it shows emotion and physical strength it has to go through something so unexpected at such a young age. Then after the film we will have a question and answer session regarding our awareness project. After running it over with the president of VOX, Cari Cruz, we plan on making contact with Natura and booking a night for as soon as possible with them. Next, we will advertise the night by making posters and sticking them on the walls around campus. When the time comes for congregation at this unique and in-vogue cafe, we will also make it known that we are accepting donations for VOX.

VOX also brought up the idea of raising awareness regarding HPV transmission among men. This establishes the concept that Planned Parenthood is for both women AND men! As more information is given out on this awareness project, I will blog about it in more elaborate detail.

We plan on taking on both of these tasks in order to support VOX.

Rationale for Women's Studies
I believe that reproductive issues are extremely critical to third-wave feminism and how young people view sex and reproductive health at this day in age. "Researcher Heather Boonstra (2007), a policy associate at the Alan Guttmacher Institute, reviewed compelling evidence that abstinence-only programs do not stop - or even delay - teen sex"(Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 153-213). Education and awareness of contraception is more valuable and effective regardless of whether or not a person is sexually active - it is the fact that they are aware of how to protect themselves in the case that they find themselves in a sexual situation with a partner. The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy of all industrialized countries (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 153-213). Reproductive health and Planned Parenthood relate to women's studies tremendously from demographic studies to contraceptives and abortion clinics to sex education. These aspects of reproductive health give all women a standpoint and/or attitude on some aspect of their lives, whether they realize this or not.

Steps of Action
Patricia Parker and I will be making a reservation at Natura to host an awareness event on sexual education and reproduction health. We will be showing the movie Juno, as mentioned previously, which follows the life of a 16 year old girl who copulates with her best friend and ends up getting pregnant. We watch Juno (actress Ellen Paige) struggle with finding a good family to adopt her child and the responsibilities of an expecting mother. We agreed that Juno would be entertaining and informing enough to show because it is relevant to the topic we are raising awareness for, clearly. Immediately after the movie we will take any questions that our audience has and promote safe sex. Also, I will be giving out free condoms to anyone who needs them. If we get a decent amount of donations we will consider having another event of some sort..

Timeline
Natura event - Within the next 2-3 weeks depending on their schedule book, TBA
Up until the event - Rent Juno from Netflix, start advertising the event, buy condoms to pass out
Event to raise awareness for HPV transferred among men - TBA by VOX

Word Count: 953

Works Cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives. Fifth. New York, New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. 153-213. Print.

Introduction

My name is Kara Corallo. I turned 18 about a month ago and I am currently enrolled at UCF as a freshman. I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Women's Studies with hopes of ultimately becoming a social worker and maybe even eventually writing a novel. The topic of feminism and the study of women was introduced to me after reading a heart-wrenching article in VOGUE magazine about Waris Dirie - an FGM (female genital mutilation) victim from Somalia and now a well-known model. The story broke my heart and I realized I would never be satisfied with myself if I never helped these victims in some way, shape, or form.

As I mentioned in class, gender and sexuality are completely different things to me. Gender is pink and blue, sexuality is male and female. Although I am "pink" and my gender preference is "male", I still feel very adamant about protecting other peoples' preferences that may not be widely accepted. The stereotypes for feminism and sexual orientation are frustrating to me because the people who joke about them are ignorant due only and completely to the fact that they are basing their judgements off of folly misinterpretations that happen to be in vogue.

My favorite type of writing is creative writing - mainly poems, short stories, even random sentences that pop into my head. I once dreamed of becoming a lyricist but I'd prefer to have a more rewarding career.  I am incredibly interested in 2nd-wave feminism and the historical aspects of the feminist movements - such as famous women during these time periods. I've always been really interested in Valerie Solanas and I've been looking to buy her SCUM Manifesto. Although I find her philosophies and theories preposterous and extreme, I can't help but find the intensity with which she writes powerful and extremely alluring.

Also, I don't know if you guys are familiar with the magazine BITCH but I bought my first one about a month ago and it made me feel rather empowered, so anyone who hasn't heard of it or has but hasn't read one yet - I'd encourage you to buy one at your nearest book store!

I think gender is important to me because it establishes who I am as an individual. I think that the previous sentence can be misconstrued so let me clarify. The label itself has no establishment on my individuality, but the fact that I think of myself as a "pink" allows me to embrace specific aspects that I
consider "pink" in nature. The effect that my gender has on me makes me self-aware and independent. Our culture is infatuated with superficial characteristics. I'm tired of being harassed, hit on, whistled at, watching my friends lose any ounce of self-respect they thought they had at clubs and parties. I have a brain. I am not just an object. I am beautiful on the inside and that's the only thing that matters to me and the only thing that should matter to everyone else. I don't support women who hate men. That is one thing I will never understand and something that will continuously frustrate me. If men are respectful of women and their boundaries, if they act like gentlemen and behave in an appropriate and mature manner then I will respect them as well. I think that every relationship (platonic or not) depends on respect and that's why I can't comprehend women who "hate" men.

I have read, understood, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.