Final Exam Review

Due to the presentation schedule, we do not have class time for a final exam review. Let's see how it goes to have Q&A via the blog. Please also note that I have office hours on Tuesday afternoons and am available on other days by appointment.

"Discuss It" Here

I am providing this thread for open discussion of any issue. This can be anything the class wants to make it - ask a question about something you didn't understand in lecture, alert the class to an interesting story in the news, arrange a study session before the exam, etc. To post a comment, click where it says comments below.

Week 1 Blog Topic

Welcome to POL 446! All students must post at least one comment by Sunday, January 21st, at midnight. Please share with the group why you are taking POL 446, The Politics of Sex. The primary purpose of this post is to make sure everyone knows how to use the blog before the graded assignments begin next week.

Week 2 Blog Topic

Let's continue our discussion of the various feminist and conservative interest groups we explored today in class. Remember, blogging is fun, but it's also part of your grade! So, guidelines are as follows: You must make at least one comment that is around 250 words. Sunday at midnight is the deadline for getting your comment in, but I encourage you to comment early and comment often to make the blog more interesting.

Week 3 Blog Topic

Nice discussion yesterday in class. Good job! Let's continue with some of the themes from class. We talked a bit about how politicians use the gender gap to garner votes from potential swing-voting women. More specifically, we talked about Soccer Moms (Clinton) turned Security Moms (Bush). Several options for discussion here: How useful is it to categorize women in this way? Who does this leave out and what types of policy issues are thus de-prioritized on the campaign trail? We also talked about whether women vote for women. What is the most important predictor of vote choice -- partisan identification! There seemed to be some conflicting thoughts in the room though about whether Republican women might vote for Hillary Clinton if she were to secure the Democratic nomination for President for the sake of making history. What do you think about this? What do your Republican friends, parents, others think about this? You may address one or both of these topics -- just be sure to follow the guidelines on blogging distributed in class.

Week 4 Blog Topic

This week most of our readings deal with women and the media. A great deal of research (sometimes conflicting) is presented regarding media treatment of women in general, female candidates for office, office-holders, female versus male journalists, and so on. A recurring theme is the role of the media in "framing" perceptions of women. Nimmo and Combs refer to this as "mediated" realities. Whitaker writes on page 81, "These mediated realities are perceptions, which are focused, filtered, and fantasized by the mass media". Your task in this blog entry is to critically analyze the media you come into contact with (newspaper, news shows, tv shows, commercials, etc.) and write about this "mediated" reality or "framing" of women in the context of the readings that were assigned for this week (note that this may also include the sex discrimination readings in the Cushman book).

Week 5 Blog Topic

Here are several topics to discuss in your blog comment for this week. You may pick one, or comment on more than one. (1) Do women contribute to the way they are sometimes portrayed in the media as we've discussed this week (i.e., sexualized and comments about their appearance)? In other words, as a male colleague told me, if women in positions of power or who aspire to be in positions of power want to be taken seriously they need to stop wearing skirts and pumps and jewelry and colorful clothes. (2) Regarding why more women don't run for office - how can we change that? (3) In the article about campaign consulting, men and women commented that women were held to a higher standard than men in most every way on the job. They also faced speculation about having a sexual relationship with the male candidate. In some of our other readings the point has been made that this "holding women to a higher standard" is not just something that is done by male bosses, but that females (bosses, journalists, etc.) also seem to hold women to a higher standard. What do you make of this? Does this strike you as true based on your experiences and what we have read thus far?

Week 6 Blog Topic

Who do you think will win American Idol???

Since I've been out sick, you may comment on virtually anything this week. I want you to stay in the habit of blogging. The requirements for your comment apply to this blog comment just like the usual ones (see the grading rubric).

Comment on anything as frivolous as Idol to as serious as Iraq.

Week 7 Blog Topic

First, please note that your comment on this blog post is not due until Tuesday at noon. I've been swamped this week catching up after being sick and completely forgot to post a topic! This week we're covering similar ground as previous weeks, though in the context of the federal and state government. So, instead of commenting on the readings, your blog assignment for this week is to blog on another blog! The only requirement is that the blog you choose must be related to this class (e.g., it could be a blog about pay gap, sex discrimination, female political candidates, female elected officials, occupational segregation, feminism, etc.). Comment on the other blog (you may choose to use your name, a pseudonym, or comment as "anonymous" if permitted) and then copy and paste your comment into THIS blog. Please be sure to include the URL and name for the other blog so anyone who is interested can check out the blog you found (it will also help to put your comment in context). How do you find another blog? They're everywhere! The easiest way though is to do a blog search on Google. Please let me know if you have any questions and have a great weekend.

Week 10 Blog Topic

Please note there were no blog posts (hence, no blog grades) for Weeks 8 and 9 due to the Midterm exam and then Spring Break. Also note that I am tardy getting this post up, so blog comments are not due until midnight on Monday. I do encourage you, however, to comment more than once and to read what others have written before posting your comment. Some of you who tend to comment late in the week have been repeating what others have said. Ideally, the blog is interactive - not just make a comment and don't look at it again until next week.

This week you have several options for your comment. Choose 1 or more. If you choose number 4, though, you need to also choose one additional topic.

1. Did President Glasser's talk with us on Tuesday have a meaningful impact on you? How? Why? Was she different than you expected? She has a very distinct style, as she noted... "my passion is my compassion". Do you think a male president of a University would make a similar comment? Any other thoughts on President Glasser?

2. Yesterday we focused on sexual harassment. There was fairly broad agreement among you that there is often some gray areas regarding the "hostile environment" type of sexual harassment versus the quid pro quo type. A final question was asked as class was ending, so we didn't have the opportunity to discuss. I promised it in the blog, so here it is. I don't remember Rob's exact words, so he should feel free to correct me in his comment. Do women invite comments about their appearance when they dress in a provocative manner in the workplace? Is it fair to claim sexual harassment if you wear a mini skirt, tight clothing, wear revealing low-cut tops, etc.? Aren't women "asking for it"?

3. Is there a substantive difference in the way male judges rule in court cases and the way female judges rule? This was the last PP slide for lecture yesterday, but we didn't get there due to the discussion about sexual harassment in schools that led to the more general discussion about bullying. Aren't decisions of judges grounded in the law and the Constitution? If so, why does it matter if a judge is male or female? Shouldn't the ultimate outcome be the same, regardless gender?

4. Even though it is off topic for this week, I feel compelled to allow space for additional discussion about the bullying issue. If you comment on this, that's fine, but please also comment on one of the other three topics listed above that is on topic for the readings for this week.

Week 11 Blog Topic

Nice job in class discussion these past two sessions. I've been sitting here for ten minutes trying to think of a post on our topics for this week -- pregnancy, childbirth, and reproductive rights -- that won't unleash a firestorm of vitriol on the blog. Okay, now make that 15 minutes trying to come up with a topic.

1. A state senator in Texas has introduced a bill to pay women $500 dollars to not have an abortion and give their baby up for adoption. Here's the link (there are various other stories on this topic you can find by doing a Google search) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4654720.html Discuss!

2. For those of you in class with children, what positive and/or negative experiences have you had in the work place or in educational settings as a working mother and/or working father? Why do you think you had those positive and/or negative experiences (e.g., specific to a particular boss, some larger policy issue, etc.). What role do you think government should play in helping working parents balance the demands of career and familial obligations? Should the government play a role at all? Students WITHOUT children are certainly welcome to weigh in on the latter part of this question and/or to share experiences they have seen co-workers encounter who have children.

3. The tangential topic of government promoting marriage that we spent quite a bit of time on today seemed important to many of you. Shall we discuss a bit more here? Here are some links so you can better understand what is meant by "government promoting marriage"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13964621/

http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/members/news/2005/August-News/Professor_says_government_should_promote_jobs_and_education_rather_than_marriage.htm

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul151.html

http://www.unmarried.org/

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/funding/child_support.html

Discuss!

Week 13 Blog Topic

Here are some blog options for this week:

1. Blog on LULUs, NIMBYs, or BANANAs of any type (does not have to be related to SOBs).

2. Blog on the viewpoint that pornography is degrading to women and should, thus, be heavily regulated or banned. Be sure to address how to deal with the First Amendment issue.

3. Blog on the viewpoint that pornography is empowering to women. How? Why? How do you respond to the claim that it hurts women individually and women as a group?

4. Find a current newstory about pornography or SOBs and discuss it in your comment. Please provide the link so we can all take a look at the story.

5. Becca wanted to have a competition in class of who could name the most porn stars. I told her to take it to the blog. So, if there's interest in so doing, go ahead, but it does NOT count toward your blog grade (obviously!).

Week 14 Blog Topic

What are your thoughts about the material presented by our guest speakers on Tuesday?

Any additional thoughts about Don Imus or pornography that have not already been presented on the blog?

Week 15 Blog Topic

Please comment on the presentation topics - not on the style or "grading" of the presentations - but generate conversation about the topics covered in the presentations.

Week 16 Blog Topic

Same as last week.... Please comment on the presentation topics - not on the style or "grading" of the presentations - but generate conversation about the topics covered in the presentations.