Talking Point #3

Generation M: misogyny in media and culture
Directed by Thomas Keith


Quotes:

        This film focused on misogyny which is the hatred of women. There were a couple of things that the interviewees said that stood out to me. The topic discussed was "Female Empowerment" and Nancy Grover stated "teen girls are bombarded by messages saying there is only one way to experience sexuality ... to be powerful is to exert some sexual power over men". This stood out to me because by society standards its true. We are taught that we can "control" men with sex and that sex is their weakness; which leads to the only way we can be in power is by hitting their weak point. One thing that sticks out the most to mean is the saying "pussy is power". I feel weird just saying it but its what is constantly repeated in the music I listen to and on social media. It is stuck with us females from a young age. We shouldn't be taught that we are only powerful when we are sexual, we should be raised that you gain power from using your brain, being smart not from sex just like the males are taught. Another quote from the film that stood out to me was when Palmer a famous plastic surgeon was being interviewed about cosmetic surgery and who he thinks influences women do it and he said "... it's not guys but fashion ... it's not attractive to men". I disagree with him maybe for that time being it wasn't attractive for men but in today's society it is. He says that the women see famous celebrities that way and therefore they want to become just like them. Why is that? Because they are liked and desired for what they look like which is fake like their big boobs and fat ass, men like that. So I believe it is influenced by men because they want to look "sexier" and beilieve by having big boobs its sexy or a fat ass. All over social media you can see this men retweeting all these models who have unrealistic bodies. The models have really tiny waists weigh like 100 pound but are like a DD and its clear that it's fake. Of course we shouldn't be doing things to please men especially when it comes to physically changing our bodies to please them but that's it's purpose. We are taught at a young age to please a man and that are looks are what define us. That's where it comes from and it's all connects back to pleasing the men. I'm not trying to bash men but this is a clear explain of misogyny in our society. Another quote that goes along with misogyny in our society is what JEan Kilbourne says when explaining the human qualities that as humans we are taught that are "feminine" only, "qualities that are considered feminine are compassion, empathy, nurturance, sensitivity, passivity, dependence, powerlessness". She goes on to explain that by telling girls that they are suppose to be dependant, passive and sensitive that we are like stuck in how we should act. But these qualities are just found in women but in men as well they are human qualities not gender specific. Our society praises masculinity and makes sure that there is an obvious contrast between what should be "girly" and what should be "tough". This society just can not accept women as equal to men and this film tried to point out these problems and educate us so we can try to fix it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-is-the-kind-of-bullsht-you-face-as-a-woman-in-the-music-industry_55df67fce4b0e7117ba93ec6

At the end by saying that we become the product and give into to this misogynistic society by buying certain magazines or video games that are demeaning to women it made me see it in another way. Although I don't agree with any of it all by playing GTA I guess I'm agreeing with it. So my question is how do we fix these type of things and make it be known how bad the problem is?

Talking Point #2

Allan G. Johnson, Privilege, Power, and Difference

Argument:

       Johnson argues that people who are privileged aren't necessarily aware of the struggles people who aren't privileged go through or how their privilege affects other. The whole article which is from his book explains privilege and the power of certain words like "sexism", "white", "racist". As stated in his introduction, "... my primary goal is to change how people think about issues of difference and privilege" (Johnson). As a white heterosexual man with privileges he could talk about and own up to how wrong it is and how it affects people of color, women, and homosexuals. He wanted to raise awareness of the white supremacy and hope that by raising awareness to it the problem could be addressed and possibly be changed. He discusses how primarily white people try to redefine or delete words like "racism" and "sexism" and by doing this they are ignoring the actual problem. They get offended and are apparently put in uncomfortable situations because they automatically think it's a personal attack when in reality it's a global issue that needs to be addressed. Johnson also spoke about his own experience with these words and being told to explain certain issues without the use of the keywords, he described this situation as "... a doctor trying to help a patient without ever mentioning the body or naming what's wrong. We can't get anywhere that way - and we haven't been".
This is so true, it's stupid to even think of doing that. In this article he brings up the late Rodney King's question "Can't we all just get along?" and tries to explain why we haven't been getting along. It has to do with our social status and privileges. According to Johnson the only way to solve the problem if for people of privileged mainly white people is for them to empathize with those who aren't privileged and according to this system will never be. By empathizing they can see it from a different perspective and stop the hate and segregation that has been in us from generation to generation. He hopes that it will not carry on into the next generation.

http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html

 
I wonder how it would be if people knew they were privileged and how it affected others. Is being aware of it all that it takes to end this hate? I think that there is more to it for equality. Empathizing is only the beginning of the solution.

Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner, The F-Word Feminisim in Jeoparday

Extended Comments,

As I read Verrie's blog post I began nodding my head immediately. I agree with her when it comes to race in feminism. This article was from a white women's view on feminism and how her family has contributed to it from generations, however I don't think it was stressed enough how difficult it was for black women fighting for the same rights and the urge for equality in all ways. They had to deal with racism and sexism. As Verrie talked about in her blog Brownmiller's response to the question "Do you think women of color were excluded in the second wave?" pissed me off. Of course I knew that she would try to defend the movement, especially since she was considered "a prominent white second-wave leader"; however what she stated just proved how oblivious she was to the actual problem. On page 27 she states "... we are often rebuffed because there was still the sentiment that black women should be working with black men on civil rights issues- they were torn" which wasn't the case they shouldn't have to pick either or when it comes down to both issues affecting them equally. By saying they were torn to me is making it seem as if they were devastated and didn't know whether being treated as an equal race was more important than being treated as an equal when it came to gender when in reality we should be equal in all ways, once again just like Verrie states what the definition of feminism is and equality is all it's about.

There was another quote that stood out to me when it came to race in feminism it was on page 27 Rowe-Finkbeiner said , "... women of color and white women often worked for change alongside one another, instead of as part of the same overall movement". What is it that keeps two groups fighting for the same thing apart from fighting together? Doesn't it make more sense that the more people fighting for the same thing together be better than two different groups fighting on their own for the same thing? Racism kept them apart, especially since the second wave happened in 60's-80's although the Civil Right's act was passed during this time doesn't mean racism was over. Towards the end of the article when she talks about the third wave it had more to do with my generation and I do agree that the fight isn't as strong anymore and the main point is getting lost but I believe we more of us becoming educated we can make sure it continues.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/black-feminists-guide-white-feminists/

A little intro ...

Hey guys,
My name is Romira. I'm a Junior at Rhode Island College. I'm a Psychology major, but also double minoring in Neuro Behavioral Science and Gender & Women Studies. I'm taking this class for my minor and also because I would like to learn more about feminism since I believe I'm a feminist. Hopefully after this class I will be educated and a legitimate feminist. Over the summer I made sure I went to the beach at least once a week. I tanned as much as I could and I feel accomplished. When I am not in class i'm working like I did for the rest of the summer. If Im not working I'm in my room lounging or trying to workout at the gym. Other than that I don't do much. Well that is it for my first post.