The Big Question: Do I Report Sexual Assault or Not?

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[youtube]https://youtu.be/ZGnFjF0ts4w[/youtube]

At the end of this video, I was speechless. To think that the people that are supposed to protect you and look out for your best interest could dismiss you so easily is frighting. More and more, I hear stories on the news or see stories online about women not reporting sexual assault. Statistics are getting higher and higher everyday of rape and harassment and how the culture of rape is growing. This discussion of women that are involved has to change as well; It can not longer be about “what she was wearing” or “how much did she have to drink.” What kind of message does that send to young girls and even to young boys??

To watch this young women tell others, that have been sexually assaulted, to “not have high expectations,” of the justice system is horrifyingly sad; it highlights how truly broken it is. We need to be the change for all the young girls in the future. We need to change it for the women getting sexually assaulted at this very moment. Lets change it so we never have to hear “The guy didn’t look like a creep,” and know that our claims are being categorized as insignificant. Lets change it so we can feel safe and valued.

New Law for North Carolina

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Recently North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a new state law that won’t allow local government measures to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to USA Today, the law halts cities and counties from putting their own anti-discrimination policies in place, as it sets a standard for the entire state that leaves out gender identity and sexual orientation.

One criticism warns that the state risks losing money for education due to Title IX Anti-Discrimination regulations. Those who oppose this law also believe that it is a huge step backwards for human rights. Supporters of the law state that it “protects all people from having to share bathrooms with people who make them feel unsafe” as it requires all people to use bathrooms that match what biological sex is on their birth certificate.

Based on what we learned in Chapter 1 of Julia T. Wood’s book, Gendered Lives, biological sex and gender are separate. So is it fair that this law requires people who might identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex to use a certain bathroom? Additionally, what about all people having the right to be protected from discrimination?

So what do you think? Based on what we have learned in class, is this law unfair?

“Real Men Work”

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Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of rap music by a variety of artists. One of my favorite rappers, Wax, has a song called “I Ain’t A Real Man.” The catchy hook qualifies the title:

I ain’t a real man, real men work
Digging, digging, shoveling dirt
The kind of work, that when you get home your back hurts
Blood stains cover your shirt, that’s real work

[youtube]https://youtu.be/rVIIUaWxvb8[/youtube]

The rest of the song goes on to explain how Wax doesn’t consider himself a “real man” for working in the music industry as a rapper when there are firemen, soldiers, plumbers, migrant workers, coal miners, truckers, and even McDonald’s employees who are laboring under worse conditions for worse compensation. I thought it was an interesting perspective, considering most rappers take pride in boasting about their masculinity and degrading that of any competition in the industry.

We learned that masculine identity is often expected to include certain elements of success and self-reliance in one’s field of work, but in spite of this, Wax admires laymen who work more labor-intensive jobs for less wages. Listening to the song is helpful in understanding the dynamic logic he offers, so I encourage you to check it out!

Women’s Products or Sexist Pricing

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If you scroll through Target’s webpage, you’ll notice men’s body wash is in the four to seven dollar range. Women’s on the other hand, is the five to ten dollar range. Weird, right?

Boots is a UK originated retailer, similar to Target or Wal-Mart. Recently; the store has tried to resolve the issue of sexist pricing. It was brought to their attention by a petition that was written titled, Boots – Review the Sexist Pricing of Everyday Products. The description is very opinionated.

“An investigation by The Times found that women are being charged 36% more on average for products marketed as ‘women’s products’. The Fawcett Society describe this as a sexist surcharge for women – and I think that’s exactly what this is.”

While you may be thinking it only applies to women because feminine products are more expensive – think again. What about the men who purchase these items for their wife, mother, daughter, or sister? Or, to shake up your brain, what about the men who use these products? This applies to us all.

Gloria Steinem’s Real Time Comments

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After a visit to Bill Maher’s show, “Real Time with Bill Maher” Gloria Steinem found herself under fire for comments made about young women’s candidate preference for the 2016 Presidential race. Steinem is quoted saying,

“When you’re young, you’re thinking, ‘Where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie,” insinuating that young women are only backing Bernie Sanders, because that is who many young men are supporting.
These comments struck a nerve with many and ignited social media, with the hashtag “#NotEntitledToMyVote” becoming popular. What was most odd in this situation is that Gloria Steinem is a strong figure in the feminist movement, yet she made sexist comments implying that young women are making their decision for the democratic candidate based on hormones. This is what most shocked me, and made me want to share this story with the class.
This reminded me of the reading, Oppression by Dr. Marilyn Frye, because Dr. Frye expresses that commitment to political ideas is one of the many networks in which women are exposed to penalty (p. 12). Frye states that, “The experiences of oppressed people is that the living of ones life is confined and shaped by forces and barriers which are not accidental or occasional and hence avoidable, but are systematically related to each other in such a way as to catch one between and among them and restrict or penalize motion in any direction.”
The fact that a renowned feminist icon is expressing sexist ideas, such as “young women only want to impress boys,” shows that some patriarchal notions are deeply ingrained in all of us. They can and should be avoided, especially by someone who has fought for gender equality for years, yet here they are being used as a way to describe why young women may not necessarily vote for Hillary Clinton.
Additionally, I thought of the term heteronormativity. She is assuming that all young women choosing to back Sanders instead of Clinton are heterosexual and “just there for the boys.” Her statements are dismissing intersectionality and completely disregard LGBTQ supporters of Sanders, which was not taken lightly.

Adidas is Amazing

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Many sports attire stores such as Nike, Puma, and Under Armor use male and female when trying to promote couples athletic wear. Although on Valentines Day this year Adidas pushed the boundaries on the “couples wear.” As you can see in this picture it is two girls most likely kissing and working out. Now when I first saw this picture I didn’t think anything of it, but then I read the comments about people being upset and saying Adidas shouldn’t have done this. In chapter 7 we talked about ways that women should do when they are Growing Up Feminine. Women should be worried about their appearances, be sensitive and caring, negative treatment by others, and be superwomen. In this add it is showing women, not only being in a relationship, but also being fit, working out, and getting stronger. Many people had a problem with this add because it’s two women, but all I see is love for and individual and love for being healthy.  Thoughts?

*click on the Adidas word to view the image*

 

Longwood’s Steps to Acceptance

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Last night I was scrolling through Facebook, as one does on a Wednesday night when all their homework is done and they’re trying to go to bed early for once in their life, and I saw that a few of my friends had shared a link to a Rotunda article, and the title was what caught my attention: “Bigender Student Receives Bid into Fraternity.” The article talks about Beasa Dukes, a student who identifies as bigender, or not solely male or female, who received a bid from Phi Mu Delta, a fraternity here at Longwood University. Reading this article made me think about Dr. Jes Simmons’ talk with us in class about how open-minded Longwood is in regards to the LGBT+ community, and the progress that the University is making in regards to accepting people of all genders and sexual orientations into University organizations.

Pacquiao in Hot Water Over LGBT Views

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Boxing legend, Manny Pacquiao is in hot water from the LGBT community, as well as Nike, for his recent comments on his beliefs of same-sex marriage. WVUE of New Orleans recently published an article about Nike cutting ties with Pacquiao over his opposing views.

Pacquiao said, “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?… If you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.” He went on to say, “I’m not condemning the LGBT, What I am condemning is the act.” Pacquiao states his views come from his Christian faith.

Nike said it opposes any sort of discrimination, and that is the reason they will no longer sponsor or support Pacquiao.

What do you think?

Careful What You Play With

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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be9pwMTtzW4[/youtube]

 

A couple of days ago, I watched an episode of Friends that called my attention and made me think about some of the things that we are discussing in this class. In this episode, Ross’ son, Ben, seems to enjoy playing with a Barbie, which makes Ross feel very worried because it isn’t really a toy that boys “should” play with. In his efforts to make Ben drop the Barbie, Ross brings a G.I Joe for Ben to play with since he is the “toughest guy in toy land”. I thought this had to do with something I read in Chapter 7 about growing up masculine. One of its themes was to be aggressive, which  involves being tough and not run from confrontations. When I read about it, I thought that of course it would make more sense for a boy to play with a G.I Joe rather than a Barbie, but this shouldn’t mean that it is “wrong” to play with toys that don’t reflect the traditional views of feminine and masculine. I remember that my sister and I used to play with Barbies while growing up but we would also ask our parents for Max Steel’s since we thought they were pretty cool too. But to conclude this thought, I just don’t think that we should be as worried as Ross because we see a toddler play with a toy that is not very “according” to their sex. In the end, a toy wouldn’t make that much of a difference because there are so many other factors that influence how we will decide to perform our own gender.

Who wouldn’t want to be Bruce Wayne?

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http://griid.org/2013/02/12/normalizing-male-dominance-gender-representation-in-2012-films/

Every Friday my roommate and I host movie night at our apartment. Unconsciously, we have exhibited our gender identity. We have experienced gender differently and have an idea of what it means to be female or male. Every part of movie Friday reflects our personal beliefs of our roles. The boys have picked movies like the Dark Knight Rises and American Sniper (which the girls thoroughly enjoy as well). As they have been socially taught and encouraged by their parents throughout their lives that it is masculine to be aggressive and self-reliant. In both cases the men are heroes that are dependent upon themselves and kick but all while looking good. As tradition would predict they are successful and strong men who save the day and eliminate the bad guys. I can’t really blame them for looking to Bruce Wayne  as a role model or manly goals… I mean he gets the ladies with ease, is a successful billionaire (sometimes), is strong, and has toys that blow things up. Moral of the story he embodies everything that our culture and most personal influences have deemed masculine. There are many more similar examples in the link provided that give insight on such movie characters.