Week One Blog!
Hi everyone! My name is Justine, and I am a sophomore this year. I went to the U last year, and I think my major will be specified mass communications. I also want to go to law school someday. I am kind of a TV junkie, but I really like going out with friends and doing activities like dancing or swimming.
When I think of gender, power, and everyday life I firstly think of men and women and how they define themselves and how society defines genders. I personally believe that gender is the first thing most individuals use to judge a person, and then they start looking at other aspects of the person. Although what I think most people focus on is gender and race. When I think of power and everyday life I generally think of race and ethnicities and how they affect people. Sadly I think people are judged mostly upon race and gender. Some individuals will base a person worth or creditability off of unfair stereotypes. For instance a person might think an average white male is more intelligent than a woman from a minority group based solely upon race. People often make decisions based upon general stereotypes rather than finding out the facts of a person. I think this class will teach us how to avoid stereotypes and see the strength in every person no matter what their gender or race may be.
I also think a lot about stereotypes when I hear the terms gender, power, and everyday life because the stereotypes that people and society have accumulated over time are how people define gender or race. I have always wished that people would not stereotype other because it is completely unfair yet I find it hard myself to avoid stereotypes. In my everyday life I find it easy to get mad at someone and blame it on their race or gender, but then I remember how angry I get when I feel like I am being defined by a stereotype. Usually the stereotype I deal with is being over sexualized by my male peers. I don’t like the pressure of being gawked at by men for my body, or when I boy I thought was my friend turns out only to want me for less than innocent reasons. I constantly question whether a boy likes me for me or just for my looks.
I hope to learn a lot from this class about how gender and power affect everyday life. I think gender and power are concepts that have infinite definitions, opinions, and ideas circling around them. There really is no way to put these terms in black and white definitions, but I think learning about their connections and the gray areas around gender and power is the only fair way to use these terms when describing other people.