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These two areas are very closely related. Sexual abuse is a form of domestic violence and often occurs with what most people think of as domestic violence (physical abuse). I believe that the most important connection between the two is that sexual abuse has to do with power, not sex. We talked about this a little bit in class and I think it's important to note because many people believe that a rapist or child molester has some kind of sexual disorder; that they have these sexual urges that they try to fulfill by preying on vulnerable individuals. The reality is that most rapists do not even orgasm because of the lack of sexual pleasure involved.

The other connection between the two is that they both affect all kinds of people, across all lines of race, class, gender, sexuality, location etc. There is no way to identify a violent person based what they look like or where they live. I read a book in another class that discussed the flaws in the system that is meant to protect victims of rape. The overall flaw has to do with the fact that our laws are meant to protect people from stranger rape (Megan's Law, for example), when in actuality, acquaintance rape occurs far more often than stranger rape. I think part of the reason the stranger rape myth is around is because 1) people feel safer thinking that they can protect their families from strangers by keeping their children close to home and whatnot, and 2) stranger rape makes for great media coverage. A Dru Sjodin case attracts more interest than a friend-of-the-family case. I think the same goes for cases of violence. It is fairly rare to hear about domestic violence situations within the home, but it is common to hear of street/stranger violence. I think people are afraid to accept the fact that domestic violence/abuse occurs so close to us. There is still this idea of "what goes on in the home stays in the home"/ "public vs. private spheres." But we should really be paying more attention to violence within families/close associates and less attention to stranger danger. I don't know if anything has changed since I was in grades k-12, but I remember being told to not talk to strangers, to lock your doors at night etc. but there was never any talk about what to do about violence in/near the home.

I agree completely about abuse and violence not being isolated to one specific group in regards to victims as well as abusers.  People like to think that it couldn't happen to them as well as think that people of a similar social status, race, gender, etc couldn't commit such crimes as well.  I think you made a very valid point with the idea of "comfort because that concept plays a large role in people's opinions of people's opinions about such issues that were covered in a many of the presentations we had for class.

 

Take women in the military or in sports for example, the main reason that either of these issues are brought up is because the general public doesn't seem "comfortable" with women being in male dominated fields.  The same concept applies to women in industry in terms of women not being competent or "cut-throat" enough to do the same job that men do.  People also are not often comfortable talking about sex trafficking unless it is about that ever present "other" so they don't fear it would happen to them.

 

All in all, one way to help make steps in the right direction in solving the various issues that we have discussed in class is to continually talk about them and help educate others about the reality of these issues, rather than the sometimes off representation these issues receive in the mass media.  As always, education and "spreading the word" is something we can at least do on an everyday basis to help make a little bit of change.

Two topics discussed last week that are very similar are women in sports and women in the military. Women's participation in both these activities has been very limited until recently and women seem to face many of the same obstacles, the major one, of course, being the "good old boy" traditions that still dominate them both. Women have faced funding obstacles in sports because of the false belief that there is not an interest in watching women play sports. Women in the military face obstacles to advancement and are prohibited from taking on some roles within the military sole based on their gender. Although the military has said they are only trying to protect women, the lack of choice they are given and the idea that women "need" protecting shows the extent to which stereotypes are used to limit women in the military. I also found it interesting that both groups mentioned women being seen as homosexual because of their participation in these male dominated activities. I find it a strange association that just because women participate in activities that are often viewed as "unfeminine", they should be labeled a lesbian. Again, this just goes to show how deeply rooted our ideas about what is "acceptable" and "unacceptable" gendered behaviors.

The presentation topics that I thought were similar were women in the military and women in sports. I though they both represent the idea that women don't want the same things that men do and that women need some sort of protecting from physical harm. Women in the military, for example, are not allowed to be on the front lines with men. Women's sports teams have a lot less money compared to men's teams.
If you look at these topics together, it is easier to see the differences in how women and men are treated and a supposedly equal society. Women are assumed not to like sports and get less scholarship opportunities to play sports in college. Also, professional women's teams are not heavily advertised like men's teams and have little national recognition. Women in the military do not have many high level positions or positions close to the action. Women are thought of as being too sensitive to play sports or go to the front lines. Looking at these issues interesectionally, it is easy to see that gender effects these two issues more than race or class because in sports talent matters most and it doesn't matter when you join the military. Class effects women in sports because less scholarships are available to women and women who join the military often don't have a lot of money and join up to pay for college.

I would like to compare the relationship between the Dove campaign and the cosmetics industry with the underground hip hop movement and mainstream hip hop culture. The main connection is resistance to the established degradation and objectification of women.  Obviously, there are huge differences. The underground hip hop movement is local and community driven, whereas the Dove campaign is national and based in a corporate ad campaign. But while they may have different goals and varying degrees of effectiveness, they face similar opposition.

 

Both mainstream industries offer negative illustrations of women. The woman in the hip hop video is completely sexually available and submissive to the power of the man. The woman in the cosmetics ad is unattainably flawless, making every non-airbrushed person less than beautiful.  Both represent an ideal woman, in the music video she's ideal for a man and in the advertisement she's ideally beautiful among women.

 

Part of the flaw in the Dove campaign is that they are just trying to replace the current ideal. It is a step in the right direction to put larger women and women of varying skin shades in their ads, but it has to go beyond just making a slightly larger, darker ideal. And as was pointed out in class, the shapes of those women don't really vary all that much, even though they vary somewhat in size. And they all have flawless skin and teeth and nice shiny hair. So, they do conform to some standards that I'm sure we could all attain if we would just use Dove products.

 

Another similarity between the mainstream hip hop and cosmetics industries is their relationship to social hierarchies. The hip hop presenters pointed out that knowledge of that art serves as cultural capital. This capital is used to establish hierarchies. In a similar way, makeup represents a woman's position on the established social hierarchy. Higher class women can afford expensive colors and cosmetic surgery, whereas lower class women are limited to cheaper brands and can't afford to go under the knife. On the other hand, makeup is also presented as a means to moving up the social ladder. If you paint your face in a certain way, you can fool the people above you into thinking you are one of them.

 

Although it certainly isn't perfect, the Dove campaign for real beauty represents a larger trend of women rejecting the unattainable and undesirable mainstream ideal of beauty. The underground hip hop movement, with its roots in political resistance, also rejects the mainstream norms of degrading women for male power. Female fans and performers are changing the image of hip hop, just like real women are changing the image of female beauty.

Two of the presentations that stuck with me the most were the Dove Beauty campaign and the hip hop music presentation. The Dove Beauty campaign was topic is very interesting because the of the way they examined the techniques and strategies they used to gain awareness about the issue of body image, while still gaining business and earning money by the profits generated. The Hip Hop presentation was interesting becasue of the way they dug deeper into they lyrics of the songs, and took a closer look at rap music here in MN. Whats interesting is the way both theses topics analyze the female image and identity that's assumed and portrayed. The dove campaign does a good job of changing the "ideal" image and promoting unique beauty that says everyone is beautiful, in order to start a change from societies ideal image. While in the Hip Hop industry and music women are portrayed in such a negative connotation on so many occasions. Both these presentations take a closer look at the identity of women, and how it presumed, portrayed and defined. This is so key in society because all these key factors play a role in the way society judges and identity the type of woman a female is.

The presentations of sexual abuse and domestic violence are very closely related. Stereotypes have a large impact on both of these issues. It was clear through both presentations that the media plays a very powerful role in reinforcing the stereotypes that society has created.  Most people want to believe that abuse/violence only happens to a certain "type" of person completely different from them however this is far from the truth. These issues occur among all different kinds of people no matter what race, class, gender etc. they are.

 

Society seems to want to believe that women are always the victims and that men are masculine and would never be the ones being abused. I think comfort plays a huge part in these stereotypes as well. People only want to think about what the norm is and what is comfortable so, the truth is not always what we see. It's important in both of these issues to be aware of what the truth is and what the media is portraying because these can be two completely different things.

 

The bottom line is that abuse and violence are not isolated to one very specific group of people. It is happening everywhere across all types of people whether we want to acknowledge it or not.

Among this two week's presentations, I would like to talk about women in sports and women in military. Traditionally, sports and military are dominated by man. Women were sometimes forbidden to serve in the two areas. However, during the last decade, women have increasing involving in the two fields. I think the way that women status changes in the two fields can fairly express the women's status in the society. Although women status has been improved, there is still more to work on.

In women in sports' presentation, it is mentioned that although the condition and benefit of women's sports players has been increased, there is still some gap between male and female athletics. Even though the passage of Title IX has recognized and helped to increase the right and freedom of women, there are still limitations that hinder the gender equality. WNBA and NBA has drew my attention that regardless how many effort has put to increase the equality between the two gender team, there is gap between's the earning and popularity. It is like in the current society, although there are continuous efforts to improve the equality and people are educated about the equality of genders, there are still some undermining problems.

Women are stereotyped to be physically inferior to men and that had been the fundamental discrimination that happens within the military. In the presentation, it is mentioned that women are treated somehow differently in the military. They are not allowed to serve on the front line because there are gender stereotype in the mind of the military men. In other word, one would say that they are being "protected" and has a lesser opportunity to take up a high risk job which would hinder their performance in the field.

By looking at the two issues together, we would think that stereotyping is the main concern. Women are always stereotyped to be weaker and more subordinated although there are many campaigns and laws about gender equality have been carried out. I think race does not play an important role here, but classes and gender do.  Military targeted at the lower class poor people and usually recruit their force from the lower class people while sports are usually played by some wealthier people.  Also, women in the two fields are always being discriminated because of their physical ability. Men think that women are inferior to them and this has further hidden the road of gender equality in the two fields.  In order to achieve the full gender equality, I think there is still a long way to go.

A connection that jumped out at me was the similarities between domestic abuse presentation and some of the issues that lie with hip hop representation and lyrics.  For example, in the domestic abuse presentation, it was discussed that domestic abuse is tolerated much more among younger women.  Hip hop also conveys this as the "abuse" portrayed in lyrics and in music videos almost always features young attractive females. Additionally, the bottom line is that domestic abuse is about power, not sexual preference.  In my opinion, a lot of the negative actions that go down in hip hop lyrics or videos are about power as well. It's about being the best, the most masculine, the wealthiest, the most badass, etc. 

I think that insights we can gain from these two presentations is that abuse, and more specifically, abuse of power is prevalent everywhere. It's in the home behind closed doors and it's also in the public via mass media forms such as the radio, television, and internet.  And it transcends to everyone regardless of class, race, or gender.  Abuse happens to those of lower classes, but it also "exists" in the world of wealthy rappers whose work depicts it. 

And while abuse is obviously real in the so-called real world, I think that the big question is: what is the reality of the abuse depicted in hip-hop work?  Does it have a strong affect in influencing potential/existing domestic abusers? Or does it just provide a mean-world syndrome where people just think that there is more violence than there actually is, just because violence is so prevalent in the media?   

 Hi Gomol, in response to your question, I personally believe that you answered it yourself by stating that you understand that it is a long-term goal. As mentioned in my blog, I concluded that we as individuals all do conform to these ideologies. As much as we may try to avoid it there is no escaping it. We see it on a daily basis from advertisements, to billboards, and commercials. Capitalism has done wonders in making sure that everyone knows exactly what they need to make them "feel better" or "be better". Who doesn't want to fit into that ideal beauty type?

 If you read The Culture Industry Enlightenment as Mass Deception by Adorno and Horkheimer, you'll realize that from our very decisions to what we do, it has been instilled on us through culture, we have become objects ourselves, and there is no sense of individuality.  Adorno and Horkiemer states that "Through manufacturing the desire and need for 'art' and 'entertainment' the industry is able to assign ideological codes and meanings into these commodities...through constant repetition, the culture industry hypnotizes the unknowing masses, who are "helpless victims" to what is imposed on them". So in response to your question to reject the Dove campaigns? Even if we try, there is still no way in which we can ignore these ideologies. My point that I was trying to get across when stating that Dove is still a part of these ideologies is that no matter how hard we try, we can't escape what culture and society "assigns ideological codes in". I may sound fatalistic, but I guess I can blame that on the Cultural Studies department here at the University.  

As for your last question I find myself a bit confused. I am not all too familiar with hip hop and its origins to what is originally rapped about, (as well as the general population), so I find the "newer form of rap" as the only form of rap that I know due to mainstream media and culture. A misconception? Perhaps, but this allows me to be a perfect example for you. Seeing that I have no idea about the "remnants of the social and political resistance it once was", I myself have conformed to a stereotype that hip hop culture is simply based on black men rapping about "money, cars, and hoes", because that is what is produced to the masses.

Basically you could use the same answer I have just written about earlier. I have no control what so ever in what is and what is not allowed. I simply believe that due to culture and society, ideologies are created and thus cannot be changed. What I call for is just an awareness of what is going on, that what looks like "change", only carries over into what they are trying to change. 

I would like to connect domestic violence and sexual abuse. Both of the issues are related because they deal with stereotypes, first of all. Most people believe that victims of sexual abuse are young, white children. This has to do with the media portraying images such as these and not telling the whole story. This relates to domestic violence because often times the only victim shown in the abuse is a woman. Media plays an influence in reifying stereotypes in this situation as well. Both issues ignore the fact that there are a wide variety of people who are affected by both cases of abuse. Putting race, class, and gender issues aside, these occurrences affect everyone.

Both issues also involve the downplaying of female perpetrators as well. Often times with domestic violence, women who hit their intimate partners are looked at as less serious or as a joke. The same goes with sexual abuse, we never hear about women perpetrators, even though they do exist. This, I believe, has to do with gender roles and the fact that the media and the rest of society are trying to protect the "femininity" of women who could not be capable of such evil acts.

By looking at both issues, one would begin to realize that such incidents are not isolated and that often times the media plays a false role in portraying who is really effected. An intersectional perspective would help someone see these connections by looking at the problems that people face across race, class, and gender.

I also chose hip-hop culture and women in advertising for my two topics to compare and analyze. I enjoyed reading your response, and I think you put more eloquently what I was trying to say about the comparisons between the two, in terms of the American woman. I definitely agree that in both instances, women are frequently objectified and portrayed negatively. What I struggle with is the decision to dismiss as a whole both Dove's campaign, as it still conforms to the ultimate message (like all marketing campaigns I'm sure) that one needs to beautiful, and mainstream hip-hop. I think you took an incredibly decisive perspective, choosing not to buy into the idea that women should ever, under any circumstances, feel that they need to subject themselves to such standards, or beauty standards at all. I understand, and I think that is also an incredibly long-term goal. My comment more so regards what you think should be done. Do we reject the campaigns, such as Dove's, because it still buys into the system in which women are fed an idea of beauty, even if that beauty ideal becomes more inclusive? And do we allow the culture of hip-hop to be swallowed up in this newer form of rap - one that is only about money, cars and hoes, even though there are still remnants of the social and political resistance it once was?

After listening to the presentations over the past two weeks, I chose to write about the similarities between Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence.  As presented, incidences of Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence know no boundaries - it occurs to victims regardless of economic class, race and gender. Both are widespread problems with long term effects to the victim and respective family members. Luckily, with an increase in awareness of the problem and education on available help and assistance, more battered women and children are coming forward and reporting their abuse and abuser.

Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior not a single incident. Each incident becomes more severe and more frequent. Domestic violence can take many forms, including sexual abuse.  The abuser often assaults the victim sexually in which force is used to obtain unwanted and undesired sex.  Domestic violence also takes the form of physical, assaultive behavior. It can take the form of emotional and psychological abuse where the abuser afflicts fear in their victim through intimidation and controlling or domineering behavior. In many cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse, the abuser, in many cases the man, has an overwhelming desire to overpower and control the woman and children in the household. The man is the head of the household and may result to violence and abuse to reinforce this status. Any forced act of sex, physical assault, and intimidation are acts of violence.  The majority of reported cases usually involve men as the abuser and the woman as the victim. Many times, incidences of domestic violence and sexual abuse go unreported. Shame, secrecy, and feelings of isolation are reasons why the victim will not report the act of violence against them. Fear of more severe abuse and violence if reported is another reason why these acts of violence go unreported. Children often won't report their abuse for fear of repeated abuse, fear of others not believing their story or because their abuser has threatened them or family members if the child reports the abuse. Abuse and violence against boys and men often go unreported for similar reasons, but also because of fear of being viewed as being "gay" if the abuser was another male or fear of being weak if the abuser was a female.

Unfortunately, society in the past believed it was okay for men to use whatever force was necessary to control the behavior of women.  In addition, society perceives the care and responsibility of the family, including the care of the wife and children rests with the head of the household. As a result, society hesitates to interfere with the family unit when domestic violence or sexual abuse is involved. In addition, since abusers often repeat learned behaviors, there are times where the abuser does not feel they are using excessive force or acts of violence to get their point across. Alcohol abuse and mental illness also contribute to domestic violence, often leading to the victim feeling somewhat responsible for the abuser's abuse of alcohol.

Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse have many common factors. In addition, in a majority of domestic violence cases, sexual abuse is common. As noted above, abusers often repeat a learned behavior. Adults abused as children have an increased risk of becoming abusers themselves. Even as witnesses (versus being the victim) of abuse and violence, women and children can be affected in the same way as people who are physically and sexually abused. Children of domestic violence may believe that is the way to show affection or respect.

Continued education and awareness of the growing problem is needed to break the rapidly growing problem. As noted, individuals in differing economic classes, race, and gender are not immune to the problem. Unfortunately, the media tends to focus on stories of abuse and violence of white, upper-class girls leading to the public's perception that abuse and violence among minority and lower-class is more common.  Domestic violence, in which sexual abuse is very common, is a wide-spread problem.  It will take abused women, men, and children to come forward and tell their stories before this problem can be brought under control.

 

Women in the military and women in sports are related because both issues relate to areas that have been dominated by men in the past, or solely available to men. Women are criticized for being in sports and the military because they are "too masculine" or they are not places for women. Women have had to fight hard for equality in both sports and the military, and we still have a long way to go. By comparing these presentations, we can see the struggles women have gone through to enter into male-dominated areas. At the same time we can see similar discrimination regarding sexuality ("Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and stereotypes of female athletes as lesbians). By using an intersectional perspective, we can see the similarities between the military and sports on many different levels in regards to discrimination and fighting oppression. For both sports and the military, there is an assumption of physical health and abilities. One area that these issues differ is with the level of poverty. Typically the more impoverished kids and communities have less opportunities to play sports, while for the military, recruiters try to recruit below the poverty line because those communities have fewer options for their futures.

I also think that women in the military are in the media more than women in sports, and are often involved in more scandals than we hear about women in sports. The military puts women in more unique positions outside of the country, which women in sports do not experience in the same way. Each of these issues has different effects on the mental health of participants as well; the military can often lead to mental health disorders such as PTSD and depression, when these disorders would not be considered side effects to playing sports. I am not sure if this was mentioned in the military presentation, but I do not think the military has any spending differences with men and women recruits, nor do they have any gender quotas to fill. The military is also a more unique experience because men and women work side by side, whereas sports are still separated by gender for the most part. It would be interesting to try to integrate men's and women's sports, but I do not foresee that happening in the future beyond intramural and club sports. I know little about how high the levels of interest for women in the military is compared to the interest of women in sports, I think that this would be interesting information to compare the two issues as well.

For my final blog entry I am going to discuss the intersectionality between trafficking, child abuse/domestic abuse. 

It was not a surprise to find out in when doing the research for my groups trafficking presentation to find out that many individuals who are trafficked were/are abused in some form as children.  Children who experience abuse(sexual/physical)at the hands of someone they know or do not know are placed into a lifelong pattern of enduring pain that is known to be responsible for destroying not only their childhood, but the remainder of their own life as well as those in close relation to them, as well as their own children. This is the cycle of abuse that is talked about. 

If a child is fortunate enough to get away from an abuser and being abused there are invisible scars that will remain and more than likely resurface at various times in their lives. 
There are stories everywhere that are heard of children who were abused or came from homes where domestic abuse was evident where they have forgotten or repressed many of those traumatic memories only to have them haunt them later in life in countless ways.

As well as the child who will have a long road of healing.  Possibly at various points in their life, individuals who are trafficked experience  much of this same trauma.  If a child is being abused by someone they are related to and/or live with they are dependent on that person in every way possible. They are at the mercy of their abuser.  Trafficked individuals also depend on those who are  trafficking them for their basic life needs.

Abuse and trafficking, which is a form of abuse is about having and keeping control and power over another person(s).  This is not only done in a physical way.  it often starts out as emotional, psychological & verbal abuse. Their is an unequal hierarchy in these relationships, which can vary from all areas of race, class and gender. 

Abuse and trafficking happens right in front of our faces.  Becoming educated and learning the signs to watch for is a first step towards awareness.  Becoming involved, making it your business instead of it being a "family problem or societal/racial problem" is like failing to report a crime you know is being committed.  It might feel intimidating to step outside of our comfort zones and take our blinders off when we are aware of someone being in any of these situations but the fear that we might temporarily feel is really nothing compared to what that individual who is being abused or trafficked is living on a daily basis. 
Often times it is known that victims/survivors are not believed or taken seriously.  Women might be seen as just being overly emotional or exaggerating their situation.  Children might be seen as having an overactive imagination.  Taking someone's claims seriously is the first step in breaking this devastating cycle. 

For this blog post, I want to look at the relationship between sex trafficking and sexual harassment/child abuse.  Both of these topics are very serious problems in our society.  First, sex trafficking is a problem with younger and older girls/women in all cities and countries across the world.  Sexual harassment relates to sex trafficking because both of these issues can happen to anyone.  Intersectionally, sexual harassment and sex trafficking can happen to both males and females but mostly it happens to females.  Both of these issues can happen to people from all sorts of socio economic backgrounds, from lower to upper class.  Both of these issues can also happen to any ethnicity.

I chose to take a closer look at these issues because I think we often stereotype victims of sex trafficking or child sexual abuse.  THE IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS THESE THINGS CAN AND DO HAPPEN TO ALL PEOPLE.  The best thing we can do as a society is be aware of these issues, identify the early signs of someone experiencing these problems, educate the community, and also provide SAFE and PRIVATE resources for all people to access if they need help.  In many cases, victims of abuse feel embarrassed, guilty or ashamed and never tell anyone about their abuse.  This cannot happen because it is a vicious cycle and victims experience many behavioral, emotional and physical problems and also perpetrators continue to abuse other victims.  As a society we need to make changes to protect the lives of all individuals and help stop sex crimes.

I agree with your analysis of how these two presentations are interconnected due to the fact that they are male-dominated fields. The one thing that I beg to differ on is when you said that "To me, there are too many centuries of gender discrimination backing sports and the armed forces that complete equality will never be achieved." I think that this is something that can be changed. I think that it has to start with an overall re-structuring of the thought process that society has on each gender,  but I don't think that it is something that seals the fate for all generations to come. When you look at history, there were many things that people have achieved when the majority said it could never be done. For example, when my mom was a child, she told her teacher that someday we will land on the moon. She was scolded and put in the corner for what the teacher thought was such a radical thought and possibility. But we made it to the moon and back successfully since the first landing numerous amounts of times. I just think that we should give humans more credit than what appears to just be the inevitable due to the fact that we are becoming more liberal-minded as a society. I think as soon as the generations of more conservative and republican-minded individuals die off, it will leave room for the more democratic and open-minded people to make changes for gender inequalities.

The two presentations that I chose to analyze and draw connections between were the Women in the Military presentation and Women in Industry.  The reason that I chose these two presentations is because there is a blatant and direct interconnectedness between them since both deal with the careers that women hold and how they are treated in those careers.  Women working in the industry deal with sexual harassment and the denial of some of the same opportunities that are given to men working in the same industry, which keeps many women stuck in their positions with no chance of promotion.  Though the military does not have as much of a wage gap as many "corporate" type jobs as described in the Women in Industry presentation, the military does seem to have stricter requirements for women then men to join in the first place, which means that many women are overqualified for their positions and making the same amount of money as their less qualified male counterparts, which is very similar to not being paid for the same work since higher qualifications should warrant higher pay.

 

In regards to looking at these two different issues from an intersectional perspective, one of the most important insights shown from analyzing both issues together has to do with not only accounting for and recognizing our own personal biases in regards to race, class, and gender in the work place, but also recognizing the affect of being in a doubly (or even triply) disadvantaged and what the affect that that has not only on your career choices and opportunities, but also on the way that you are perceived by your employer, whether it be the military or a more corporate job.  Though being more disadvantaged does obviously correlate with having less opportunities and a higher likelihood of being discriminated, I still feel like gender plays the largest role in regards to male dominated fields, such as many corporate cultures and the military.  I feel that many businesses are more likely to hire a minority male than a white female, given that they have similar qualifications.

I have chosen to write about the intersections that the issue of women in the military has with women in sports. I think that they are connected in numerous ways that reflect the overall societal view of them. They are both fields that are dominated by male influence and leadership, but this can transcend to any field that a person can look at within American society due to the fact that we live in patriarchic society. For this reason, women are always deemed as being the weaker of the two sexes and are pushed to live up to those standards through laws and regulations that are set to make sure they do.

This can be shown through the 'risk rule' within the military, that was discussed in the presentation, that says that women are not allowed to serve on the front lines due to fear of imprisonment and for their overall protection from having to be forced to do so. In sports, this 'risk rule' can be seen when women were only allowed to do certain types of sports, mainly cheerleading, before title 9 was enacted. In both cases, these rules made sure that they were to stay within their gender normative roles that have been set by society; to not get dirty, to look cute, and to support the men in all that they do-quite literally.

Even though women were given more rights and freedoms after title 9, there are still limitations on women within what is seen as overall-male dominated fields. One clearly displayed example of this is women in hockey because "After the 1990 Women's World Championship, body checking was eliminated because female players in many countries do not have the size and mass seen in North American players" (Wiki.org). This gender discrimination is something that begs me to question: Well, then are American men able to check in hockey because across ALL countries, they are the same size and body mass? I beg to differ. For example, if you look at the height and weight of men and women from Asian and American societies, there are clearly major differences in height and weight of individuals, so shouldn't this rule also apply to men's hockey? This lack of physical contact has lead the popularity of women's hockey to drop because we are a society fixed on seeing things in confrontation and without checking, there really are no other opportunities for 'legal' contact for women in hockey. This can be connected back to how women may lose interest in the military due to the fact that they are unable to 'get down and dirty' with the men on the front lines. Overall, there are laws set in both fields in order to 'protect' women, but who says we need protection in the first place?

Another issue that arises in both of these fields is the stigma that is set by the men in society that women are trying to take away their jobs as men and leaders. This notion has been seen across all of American history, dating back to the civil war. Women, when men left for the war, were put in the role of being responsible for the upkeep of the home and family while the men were away. This meant that they had to take over the male-dominated fields in order to keep them intact for when the husband came home. Then, after the war, women's freedoms were restricted back to only involving work within the home. This was due to the fact that the men were there, so why should the women have the right or responsibility to take care of the 'manly' duties. This same kind of thought process can be seen through women in sports because of the effects it had on the number of sports that men had after title 9 was enacted. More sports were opened and created for women to participate in, but then the number of men's sports decreased, so there has been a lot of controversy with this issue. In the military, there can be this overall notion that if women are able to be on the front lines, then they are taking away the more 'leadership' types of roles that men have had for so long. Both of these situations exemplify this issue that men have over women if they are able to have the same rights.  

            Overall, an intersectional perspective has allowed me to see all of these issues within these two fields as connected by looking at how gender plays a large role in keeping women in a more subordinate role than men. I think that race and gender have some grounds for qualifying as reasons to why there are so many differences (like for the reason why women are not allowed to check in hockey), but I think that gender is the one facet that overshadows all of the others. It is something that cannot by biologically changed, but the ways in which the views and norms are perpetuated for each gender within society should and can be changed because it is a societal construct.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey

Between last weeks and this weeks presentations, I've decided to talk about Hip Hop and Women in Cosmetics. These two are related in one obvious way and that is the emphasis of women in American culture.

I may be over generalizing, but focusing in on mainstream Hip Hop and their videos, African American women are always portrayed as sexual objects and are exploited. From Hip Hop lyrics to barley there bathing suits in videos, bell hooks states that, "the black female body gains attention only when it is synonymous with accessibility, availability, and when it is sexually deviant"  (66).                                                                         

As for Women in Cosmetics, it's apparent that representations in media to advertisements seek a specific type of women to represent what every woman should aspire to. Either a size 0, blonde, with perfect boobs, or an exotic other, with perfect skin, hair, and bone structure. Cosmetic surgery is available for those who can afford it, while others develop eating disorders to fit into a number that the average American woman is not. While Dove is a step in the right direction, the controversy (Axe spray "Bow chicka wow wow") around it still addresses its flaws. As a classmate in class had addressed, these women that are suppose to represent all women still have perfect hair, teeth, and complexions (not to mention that their bodies are proportionate with no rolls/love handles showing). Dove in the end is still a beauty product used to "better oneself".

The correlation between the two is that women are either oversexed or not perfect, and they are objectified and constantly judged in how they look. By looking at them together, we can see that society still upholds the standards of beauty and the lack of respect for women. Popular culture is perhaps the main contribution to these forms of thought, and we all unconsciously conform to these ideologies.

With an intersectional perspective, we can see these connections in many ways. As discussed in the presentations, race, class, and gender all come into play. For Hip Hop in it's mainstream, African American women are usually the models. They are "aspiring" models that hope to get discovered. For women in cosmetics, surgeries are for those who can afford it. Cosmetics from Christian Dior to Mac usually run between $60-$100 dollars, clearly not affordable for those who are low income, and so you have your generic brands at the local Wal-Mart. Let's not forget our Cosmo girl who trains in "looking like she's rich to catch that man". The message? In order for you to be good enough, objectify yourself and conform to societies ideas of beauty. 

Works Cited:  hooks, bell.  Black Looks. Boston, Ma: South End Press, 1992.

 

This blog post is due Friday. I'd like you to select two of the presentations we heard this week and last week and draw connections between them. How are the issues related? What insights can we gain into both of these issues by looking at them together? How does an intersectional perspective help you to see these connections?