Soc. 3251W Race, Class, and Gender

Grades, Papers and Tests, and Thank You!!!

2007-05-15T20:34:17Z

I just wanted to let you know that we finally finished grading and I posted the grades today (May 15th), so you should be able to see them on Onestop within the next 24 hours. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade, don’t hesitate to email me.

Also, your final papers and final tests will be available for you to pick up in 909 Social Sciences Building during normal office hours (8am to 4:30pm, Monday through Friday). As we announced in class, we didn’t comment a lot on the papers or exams, so if you have any questions about your grade on anything, again, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Finally, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed this semester. You were a great class and I really appreciated the careful thought and hard work you put into this class. Good luck in all you do in the future!

Racial Stereotypes in Disney Cartoons & Films

2007-05-13T19:49:50Z

For more than eight decades, the Walt Disney Company has been paramount in the field of family entertainment. Disney is a forerunner in childhood culture and presents itself as a company rooted in innocence and magic. However Disney is a corporate mogul owning media giants such as ABC, ESPN, ABC Radio and the Disney Empire itself.

]]> Disney movies I realized do not provide an accurate representation of race. If a character is from a race other than white, they are reinforcing cultural stereotypes in their portrayal. Race is underrepresented in Disney movies which than provides children with a false sense of reality. This under representation could cause children confusion and they may have a difficult time deciding which characters to identify with. Furthermore, Disney is been able to hide behind the innocence of family stories. Children begin to associate real life situations and people with things that they see on the movies. Some of the examples of race in Disney movies include the Pocahontas, Lion king, Aladdin, Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp, and The Little Mermaid. In Pocahontas Native Americans are portrayed as brutal savages, and the good characters are mostly white. In the lion king, the hyenas are portrayed as very unintelligent beings, and they have African American voices. In the Little Mermaid, dark characters versus the light characters, all “bad�? characters are dark while all “good�? characters are seen to be white. This type of movies than further teaches these children from a young age that it’s somehow better to be white than black. Finally, I believe that these stereotypes shape children’s views and can carry through their adulthood. Disney movies are very popular and almost every child in America watches it. Overall, from noticing little things around me I am now more aware of them than I was before, and I believe this has to do with taking this class.

All Entries Graded

2007-05-13T18:58:55Z

Please note that all reactions/response/media journals have now been graded. Any additional entries will not be graded or count towards your final grade.

Balancing being Asian-Americain

2007-05-12T23:46:59Z

I Stumbled acorss a CNN article focusing on Asian-americain life and the still existing stereotypes. I think this article is really interesting because it actually sheds light on a lot of the problems we talked about in class, and seemed to give information with an unbiased sense. This article I think is kind of a positive thing, because it seems to bring these issues into focus, reminding people that being American is not only for people that are white, without also being negative towards them.
One thing I liked especially was noting that you can't simply say one is Asian and have that encompass all cultures, languages, and people. The term Asian-american seems like such an old un-updated word, that still floats around carrying all of it's stereotypes, such as not being able to speak enlglish very well or to be good and successfull only in math or science. The acticle also mentions 'Apu' from "The Simpsons" as the old Asian-american stereotype, and how our society is finally starting to move away from that.
I think that this relates to our class topics because of all of the inequalities we talked about considering race. Especially now, I'm very undecided which direction society should strive to head for. Whether it's important for society as a whole to move towards more terms for people of different areas and cultures, or if we as a whole need to move away from labels completely. It seems that by eliminating labels we may be throwing away important pieces of culture, but by creating more distinct labels it could simply increase stereotypes, assumptions and inequalities among us. I generally feel that in our specific society, we would be better of without labels in all aspects, because labels in America generally only lead to further discrimination. What do you think?

Autistic Rights

2007-05-12T20:41:18Z

Lately a lot of press has been spent on the idea of the "loner" in society. After last months shooting at Virginia Tech, a lot of people have been speculating on what makes somebody "become a loner", as well as what can be done to create an air of inclusiveness in which people can be open and honest, and not be afraid of being bullied or otherwise excluded.

There is a significant minority of the population that doesn't have a lot of the social abilities that the mainstream populace has. Autistics, specifically "high-functioning" autistics, have a tendency to feel withdrawn from society, not necessarily because of a lack of social development, but because of (possible) physical conditions which prevent them from understanding social culture and norms. Many report several people not wanting to "fit in" arguing for their own ability to stay excluded, because this is how society makes sense for them.

Is it possible that we could be forcing a minority into assimilation by trying to create an "inclusive" society? Aspies for Freedom (http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/) seems to argue this point at times.

Jessica Stiffam

2007-05-12T19:37:11Z

Posted by Jessica Stiffarm
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/23/turner.prom/index.html

This article is form Ashburn, Georgia
This article was about a prom for the first time ever was going to be a mixed white/black prom. All the other previous years the proms wer held seperate one for blacks, one of whites. Alot of parents disapproved of this and didnt let their kids go, and some kids did not agree either. But the town deciced it was time for a change. Although they had a mixed prom they had a white prom a week before. What is that really showing?? That the white race is more important than the black race? I think that a change should ahve happened along time ago. I think this is a great example of how racism still exsists in our society. What do you think about this article? IS this fair? From taking this course we have learned that to some degree there is a white/black divide but is this just pushing things to far?? I think it is only teaching younger generations the white/black divide. What do you think?

This article I found really alarmijng that this kind of thing still happen in America.

2007-05-12T19:34:27Z

While women strive for equality, men are in denial.

2007-05-12T18:45:40Z

http://www.askmen.com/money/career/16_career.html

This article posted on askmen.com brought up many of the interesting issues we talked about in class regarding gender biases against women in the work place. I was especially intrigued by the chart on the second page of the article which outlined many of the different behaviors men and women exhibit in the workplace. Of the eight characteristics listed, all of them show the favorable attributes women display compared to men. It is obviously a generalization, but I can relate to all of the items and have seen them in everyday interactions with men and women. This article was written by a man, and his insightful commentary is impressive. He states that while women have made great strides in achieving some steps toward gender equality in the workplace, many men write these successes off to women using their attractive looks or flirting skills to achieve what they want.

]]> As we learned in class, this may be a valid point, but only to a minimal extent. It was shown in studies that women were more likely to receive better scores in class based on attractive looks. Some women may use this to their advantage, but doesn't that leave men to blame for treating women differently based on physical appearance? Also, once a women is in an upper level position, she will have to use her skills to maintain that position. More women are graduating from colleges now than men are, so the education gap between the sexes is decreasing. Even with this closing gap, some jobs will always be seen as men's work, such as police officer, farmer, and garbage man. This is based on surveys given to men and women. It doesn't mean women aren't capable of doing these jobs, just that they have a stigma about them that decreases the likely hood women will do those jobs.

sex change

2007-05-12T18:21:39Z

Buhendwa Nathalie

Media Journal : Sex Change

On April 25th, 2007.USA channel showed an episode of sex change. In our class we saw how Sexuality is Socially Constructed, in a sense that people sexual orientation is imposed and med-up. This case support and contradict this believe. The case was of two identical twins, they were both boys. One of them got a very bad sirconcision that they had to remove the entire male organ. Well, one specialist convinced the parent that if they remove every thing from the boy as far as the male organ is concern and make him a new female sex; the boy will be no different then other girls in the neighborhood. The Doctor argument was that sexual identity is made up by society and that if the boy is raise a girls he will be nothing else than a girl. So they went on with the sex operation, hormone therapy the works. The journey for the young boy was not easy he as a little girl acted as a boy, he got often sick and was handful for the nannies most of them quit. One of the skim was to never tell the now girl that he was ever a boy so they change birth certificate at the hospital and every thing, no one except the parent and the sex Doctor new about this. Unfortunately at fourteen, the girl started loving girls and making out with them the parent panicked and increased the amount of therapy which involved making the twins kissing each other. I know it is gross but it does not end there. The girl was raped, on the scene, there was a male seaman of a twin, and the detectives assumed it was the male twin, but it was the girl who was raped, not the boy. How do you emplane this? The whole story unveiled for both the detective and the twins. The twins arrange to kill the doctor and even leave saliva on the scene but the detective can not tell who did it.
On one hand the case of gender construction is very accurate as we studied it in class, this case shows that the boy in most of the time behaved like a girl, had breasts and spook like a girl. She did feminine chores and every thing that women do. The case of sexuality as constructed by the society is proved to be wrong because the boy steel producing male seamen and prefers having sex with women when he was raised to love boys. It seams to me that in this case, her body spook to her, that there are some stuff that no one can control, some stuff are just
biological not imposed by society .

Male Killers.

2007-05-12T15:49:10Z

A month or so ago, Virginia Tech went through a very devastating experience that affected the whole nation. In the wake of the massacre, Channel 5 news (KSTP) did an interview with a Sociology professor at the University of Minnesota that focused on the killer in the massacre, a male student. The reporter asked many questions regarding the gender of the killer. Majority of serial killers, mass murderers, etc. have been males. There is always an exception to the rule but why do men kill more then women? In society, we place a huge importance on making sure men are manly. As little boys, they are given GI- Joes, cars, trains, weapons, whereas women are given dolls, Barbies, dresses, make-up. We tell boys that they have to suck up whatever they have wrong with them and fight their own battles. They are taught to be tough and that they should not cry. Boys eventually grow up to be men and as they grow up, they typically turn into these harden people that do not like to show emotion and who take care of themselves like they were told many years before. With this harden attitude, men create this idea that if trouble comes around, they need to take care of it themselves. Men also believe that they have to be powerful in every aspect of what they do: relationships, teamwork, work, etc. This idea of power sometimes over takes some men in society and they end up becoming a murderer, mass murderer, serial killer.

This interview relates to the course because we talked about how social construction affects society. We discussed how men and women differ throughout society and within this realm, men and women do differ. I discussed how boys and girls are treated when they grow up which is a social construction that society places on every girl and boy born.

Gender Testing

2007-05-12T15:46:02Z

I read a story from a science website saying you can now test the gender of a fetus after six weeks. It is causing problems with anti-abortionists. I think it is a useful tool but I also think that it can be misused. This is relevant to our class since it is about gender and how some people have a preference for one gender or the other and now you can find out early on and possibly abort the baby if it is not the gender you wanted.

Sorority Evictions Raise Issue of Looks and Bias

2007-05-12T09:45:42Z

For my media journal, I read a New York Times article about a very diversified sorority from DePauw University that suddenly discriminated against some of its minority members. What happened is that some of the girls from this sorority were suddenly asked to leave the house and live elsewhere, some were asked to leave the sorority for good, and when it was time to meet the new freshman recruits, only certain girls were allowed to meet the potential recruits. The problem is that, consistently, the girls who felt the negative impact of these actions were those girls who were not white. Additionally, several of them were overweight, not real popular, and overall not the typical pretty sorority girls.

]]> This has raised a lot of controversy on the DePauw campus because it was so blatantly obvious that only the pretty skinny white girls were allowed to stay in the sorority. This clearly comes across as a racially biased issue. However, some are beginning to wonder if it is more of a gender issue- what the perfect female should look like- as opposed to what does the perfect race look like. It is hard to say as there is no way to read the minds of the girls who did this.
One thing that is both painful sad and yet so real is that whether the disgraced girls were discriminated by their race or just general look, there is an issue of physical characteristics and the need to conform. This is an upsetting issue that girls encounter nearly every day of their lives. This is created by the gender inqualities in America. Men have the upper hand in America and they determine the way women perceive life. The fact that a girl would be dismissed for her appearance shows how deep the need to look good is rooted.
This is perhaps the largest gender issue present in America. It is the reason for eating disorders, painful self-consciousness, and just the overall insecurity girls have. As a girl I feel swamped by this every day and it really wears a person down. I would like to think of myself as independent and not in need of a man's approval, but being surrounded by other girls who DO care so much and will clearly go to any extent to ensure that they gain such approval.....well in time, that can get to anyone.
It is sad because you would never see a fraternity cutting members who weren't physically attractive. That would be absurd to hear about. And yet, it really wasn't so surprising to read of a sorority that cut girls for their looks. It seems typical in fact- almost expected- almost okay. The thing is I don't know any guy that consciously makes girls feel this way, but we do. I don't know how to solve this issue though. It is so tied into our culture and backgrounds. From the time you watch your mom taking time to dress up for a night out with your dad or with friends, it starts to become engrained that looks matter. I know I am beginning to get off topic, but this article really got me thinking about just how little power women have in America- we have no ups on anyone except for other women. And how do we get that? By straightening our hair, wearing heels, applying blush, by being prettier. No wonder girls aren't taken seriously- we would rather sell out our friends because they are ugly and might ruin our chances with a guy rather than see their personality for what it is and enjoy that.
The link to this article is: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/education/25sorority.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=586cb157d02771f3&ex=1330059600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Sorority Evictions Raise Issue of Looks and Bias

2007-05-12T09:45:42Z

A "model middle school"?

2007-05-12T07:25:43Z

A recent article in the The New York Times talked about a "model middle school" in New York. This middle school is Briarcliff. It has earned the title of a model middle school because it had gone beyond the norms of just teaching subject to "focusing on how adolescents think and develop" and to help them cope with the stressful middle school years.
This is all well and good for them, but they spend an average of 24,738 dollars per student. The school can even afford to buy multiple copies of book for each student so they can leave one copy at home.
While this is a great advantage for these students (91 percent of the student population are white) it leads me to think about the stuggling inner city poor schools that can not afford books at all. This is a prime example of where wealth is not being evenly distriputed to those that need it the most, and it is a very sad fact.
In addition, while this school is able to expand past the bare minimum of teaching children their lessons, they develop lessons and skills that focus on critical thinking, moral values and organizational skills. Children from inner city and poor schools do not recieve these opportunities, so how and why should they be expected to compete with children who have been raised with all the "luxuries" of a extremely rich school?

TV making smarter kids?

2007-05-12T07:04:07Z

I stumbled upon this blog on the star tribune's website and it relates to some discussions we have had about families. The link is http://www.startribune.com/blogs/cribsheet/ and the article in discussion is called "Couch Potater Tots." The article is written by a woman who doesn't know if she should let her children watch much TV. They are under two but there is much pressure and advertising by television programs that they can make your kids smarter. Series' like Baby Einstein or Baby Mozart are out there and are telling her to have her kids watch them so they become smarter. She had watched Sesame Street as a kid and she implies but never expicitly says that that is proven as a benefit towards children's education.

This relates to the conversation we had in class about families and the parents changing the developments of their children. The mother here is struck with the decision of how can I make my kid as smart as the other kids out there and it is a tough spot. With parents having such an impact on the development of her child could be altered by whether she buys her kid fancy movies and what-not. Furthermore, this strikes a deeper chord in relation to whether or not people can afford these intellingence-advancing devices. Assuming that Baby Einstein does in fact make kids smarter, what about the parents without the money and time to make that happen. Is this yet another area where the poor will struggle more to educate their children at as sophisticated a level as the rich? If intelligence is purchased, is smart kids to some degree something you need money to have? If yes, the rich will keep getting richer and so on unless changes are made.