Saturday, January 13, 2007
"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.
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12 comments:
Okay, I have to leave another post. I was thinking it would be really neat to redo the in-class exercise "I like being a boy/girl because" but let the girls fill out the boy paper and the boys fill out the girl paper. I would love to see what some of the answers would be!
Janice Clayton
What did you all think of the State of the Union address last night?
Hey guys, I've been really sick this past week so I missed the class on Thursday. I would really appreciate it if one of you kind people would loan me some notes to look off of. Thank you thank you thank you....
Jenny Holly
In the spirit of politics i decided to post this. It doesn't have to do with gender directly but it is still important for all people. There are ten very important bills awaiting passage at congress from socialized health care plan to no permanent bases in Iraq. Many other important bills. Please educate yourself and hell, maybe write congress in support of some. Thanks.
http://www.alternet.org/story/47273/
I had to share this with everyone! These guys are really good for a laugh.
http://www.redstateupdate.com
Cameron Griffith
If this doesn't get us off our asses I am not sure anything will.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7eICghe040&search=savedarfur%20darfur%20genocide%20sudan%20allisonjanney%20savedarfurcoalition%203:57
Janice
Alright...
So the porn documentary...
Wow... There were parts during the documentary where I really wanted to turn it off... I was really disturbed about the whole kidnap/rape/murder shoot... My stomach really turned itself into knots...
Sheesh...
hey guys! i just told some guy who was saying that feminism was a load of crap that he himself WAS A FEMINIST. I love this class.
http://jjohnmadison.blogspot.com/
That's a link to my blog... It's interesting :)
It's new so don't be hatin' on me.
I also was arguing with a friend of mine about feminism, who said that only hairy legged lesbian men-haters are feminists, and all they want to do is kill men. I argued with him forever, until he said something (I don't remember what- something about women having babies), that was totally out of line (he was joking, and I knew that, but still)....so I went to smack him, and he said "SEE! all feminists want to hurt men!"
I thought everyone would like this:
Tell the Media: Stop Sexist Campaign Coverage
The media are up to their old tricks. One of their favorite pastimes is judging presidential candidates on superficial traits—like their hair or weight—rather than their positions on important issues. A popular feature of this brand of reporting is assessing how well politicians fit into outdated gender stereotypes.
Action Needed:
Sign NOW's petition telling the media that the presidential election is not "America's Next Top Model"!
Background:
With female as well as male commentators getting into the action, here are a few of the burning questions of the 2008 race, according to our friends in the media:
Is Hillary Clinton's voice grating? Chris Matthews has gone out of his way to portray Clinton as a nagging housewife, with a voice that makes manly men cringe. On NBC's The Chris Matthews Show on April 28, he was at it again, asking this burning question about Clinton's performance at the Democratic debate: "Did she have the right modulation? Was she calm and grown up? Or was there a little bit of stridency in the voice still?... [W]as she shrill? Was she strident? Or was she solid?" Panelist Katty Kay from the BBC Washington Bureau responded with the absurd accusation that Clinton was "shouting" in the debate and criticized her "tone of voice."
Is John Edwards too feminine? The recent controversy over Edwards' expensive haircuts allowed the press to pull out the old "Breck girl" nickname they hyped during the 2004 campaign. On April 23 Adam Nagourney of The New York Times took credit for introducing the public to this slur, which originated in the Bush camp, and then blamed Edwards for keeping it going. In an April 21 New York Times column, Maureen Dowd wrote: "Whether or not the country is ready to elect a woman president or a black president, it's definitely not ready for a metrosexual in chief." She added: "In presidential politics, it's all but impossible to put the man in manicure. Be sensitive, but not soft. Effete is never effective."
Is Barack Obama's wife emasculating? When Michelle Obama portrayed her husband as an everyday kind of guy, members of the media twisted it into a threat to his masculinity. Matthews asked his panel of pundits: "Do you think Obama wishes he could dial Michelle back a notch?" For months now, Dowd has been fretting that Obama comes off as weak, calling him "Obambi" and "a Dreamboy" and comparing him to "Scarlett O'Hara" and "a puppy." Dowd even fires off two gender-based insults for the price of one, with: "If Hillary is in touch with her masculine side, Barry is in touch with his feminine side." (Yes, Dowd takes the liberty of shortening Barack to Barry.)
Is Al Gore too fat to run for president? Despite Gore's achievements, and the belated credit he's receiving for his work on global warming, the media can't help but snicker at his weight. In an April 15 Washington Post article titled "Gore '08: Does He Round Up or Down?" writer Sridhar Pappu declares: "Yes, we've certainly seen a lot of Al Gore lately. And there's a lot of Al Gore to see. Calling Planet Girth!" He tells us that we'll know Gore is serious about running for president when he loses some weight. Pappu gets in a dig at Obama, too: "There are moments where one fears that if Obama were to lose any weight he'd be on the cover of Us Weekly with Lindsay Lohan."
Even the Republicans aren't immune to this foolishness. Dowd claims that: "The Daddy Party, sick with desire for a daddy, is like a lost child."
These petty criticisms take the place of substantive campaign coverage, and they play on our society's lingering discomfort with women and men who step the least bit outside traditional gender roles or violate our national obsession with body image. Does this sound productive to you? If we are to elect a president who can help turn this country around, someone who will advance rather than dismantle women's and civil rights, then voters need real information about the candidates and their platforms.
Sign NOW's petition telling the media that the presidential election is not "America's Next Top Model"!
And read our recent examination on the media's coverage of Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and other women in politics.
Take Action NOW, before another candidate lands in the White House because the press says they might be fun to have a beer with!
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