| At the age of 13, I began taking Tae Kwon Do classes with my brother and quickly became one of the strongest, most aggressive fighters in our age category, I was the only girl. I really loved Tae Kwon Do, and I don’t doubt it made me a stronger, more confident person. I was a competitive fighter and regularly came in first or second in my age category. One thing that sticks out to me when I think back to my experience in a male dominated sport is how being a girl, is used as an insult. ‘You fight like a girl’ or 'you kick like a ballerina' were commonly used as insults, from other fighters or the instructors themselves.
| |
| | | I thought this was an interesting topic, not necessarily in relation to women or feminism but in social hierarchies in general. The nerd or geek was traditionally someone who was looked down upon, and now they seem to be on top. Its suddenly cool for youth to be intelligent and well read. I watched a comedy recently about this social change among youth called 21 Jump Street.
| The movie was about two men going back to high school in their mid twenties and realizing how different things are now. The 'jock' was now considered uncool for his crud behavior and lack of environmental awareness. Of course the scenarios were exaggerated, for comedic effect, built i think some of the fundamental points are true.
| |
No, I do not think Lady Gaga is a feminist. People think she is progressive because she is shocking. Her primary goal is to entertain people, she is always in character. The video I posted posted below, to me, is just another one of her characters. The whole thing is overly dramatic with violins playing in the background. As a pop star, I can't take her views on feminism seriously because she embodies popular, mainstream, ideologies.
 Growing up In the GTA has exposed me to alot of different kinds of people from different ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. Although I think Islam has some really beautiful ideas and practices, I personally never felt comfortable seeing women completely covered up. I don't mind if women want to cover their bodies or their hair, but I find it uncomfortable when I cant see someone's face. A person's face is how we identify and connect with others around us, taking that away (to me) denies these women of their autonomy. I think women's bodies are objectified whether they are on display or completely covered up. Even if you can't see their body, they are marked as female, through their attire, and only can can be seen as such if there is nothing to signify their individuality. Since my partner is Muslim, this is something he and I frequently debate about. Personally I avoid both extremes, I dress in a more androgynous way, I don't deny my femininity but refrain from being seen as provocative. .
| The presentation on FGM was really intense. When I was 13 years old I read an article in CosmoGirl Magazine about a young girl, who experienced this practice in her youth. She explained how it was imposed by her family (mostly her mother). She gave a detailed account of the day and how it felt to have a cold sharp blade piercing her. It was one of those stories you never forget. I had no idea these sorts of things happened around the world and how lucky I am to live the life i do. There seems to be a trend with mothers inflicting pain on their daughters in hopes that they find a husband.
| |
 I only know about Helen through poems and the movie Troy. She never really plays an active role in anyway that I've encountered her. She is born of rape (Between Zeus and a mortal) and her beauty is the cause of the Trojan war. She really isn't a menace, her beauty is. I feel like in all stories or traditions the blame the worlds problems on the existence of women, follow a very similar trend. For example, I've always believed that the fruit in the Biblical creation story was meant to be metaphorical for some sexual encounter, and that it is a woman's sexuality that is being blamed for the worlds woes.
| HELEN By H.D
All Greece hates
the still eyes in the white face,
the lustre of olives
where she stands,
and the white hands.
All Greece reviles
the wan face when she smiles,
hating it deeper still
when it grows wan and white,
remembering past enchantments
and past ills.
Greece sees unmoved,
God's daughter, born of love,
the beauty of cool feet
and slenderest knees,
coul love indeed the maid,
only if she were laid,
white ash amid funereal cypresses.
[One of my favorite poems about Helen of Troy]
|
My hair
|  Before this course I never thought twice about hair textures and how conscious people were of them. I knew what kinds of hair I thought were attractive, but not really why I thought so. It was heartbreaking when I watched the little girls on the Tyra show express how they hate their hair because of its texture; especially the little girl with the Hannah Montana wig. How do we change our cultural perceptions of 'good hair'?
|
Sasha spoke at great lengths (during her presentation) that the Dove campaign was a really positive change in representation of women through cosmetic advertising. Although, I like the idea of Dove trying to represent 'real women', I think this campaign is undermined by several factors. The first is that Axe and Dove are owned by the same company, Unilever. I posted above two commercials, one by Axe, and the other by Dove, the contract in their ideologies is ironic Secondly, they women chosen for the Dove campaign are no, in my opinion, do not represent the average women, they look more like plus sized models. Finally, the campaign still is fundamentally sexist, their focus is on women and their 'need' to be beautiful even if it is just in their own way. Marketing towards men does emphasize the need to be beautiful in the same way. It does sugguest that you will be more desirable if you smell like their product, but why can't soap advertisements be more neutral and just focus on being clean?
 Maria had some really valid points in seminar about how Disney provides messages to young girls that are less than ideal. The Little Mermaid was my most watched movie as a child. After the discussion I decided to watch again now. There are some seriously problematic messages in that movie. This is one that especially struck me as inappropriate:
"The men up there don't like a lot of blabber, they think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yes, on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word , After all, dear, what is idle prattle for? Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation, true gentlemen avoid it when they can, but they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who's withdrawn, It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man."
I've started this blog as a way to connect my thoughts, feelings, opinions to the content being read, presented and discussed through the remainder of this course. Enjoy.
|
RSS Feed