Adam Scott Green
Jeanine Perez
Introduction to Women's Studies
for February 10, 2009.
Activism
While the proposal was being finalized we began our activism work to establish a First Women's National Holiday. So far, we have experienced some generational conflicts, between older second wave feminists of NOW and us. We may not be able to get support from our local NOW. That is only a minor obstacle. We have decided to send letters to Women's Studies Departments, NOW chapters, feminist agenda organizations, and other potential supportors of our campaign. In addition we have created a facebook fan page. I am an administrator on the page and "policing" the sexists has been a challenge. I have had to delete a picture someone posted. I have atttatched it to this blog.
Reflection
We need to educate the community. The stuggle of suffragists has been forgotton. According to Seely, "The feminist movement has a rich history-full of struggle, sacrifice, justice, resistance, and many victories. But, unfortunately feminist activism is often left out of textbooks, the halls of our educational institutions, and, as a result, far too often our consciousness" (Seely 27). I actually never heard about Alice Paul or understood the suffrage moement until this class. I don't think that I am the only one who has forsaken her legacy. This campaign has a good chance of ending the cycle of repressing women's history.
Reciprocity
I am realizing that this grassroots campaign is not going to be free of the naysayers. I have found it impportant for me to maintain the mission of our project despite sexist opppostition. My first project was to do research on the obstacles the government went through to establish the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. There was oppostition against establishing that holiday too. Realistically, this is not going to be an easy journey. Still, I believe we should have an Alice Paul National Hliday; I have work to do. My next project is to find a comprehensive women's history to post on the facebook and research names of potential supporters in the Northeast.
Seely, Megan. Fight like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Service Proposal
Community Partner: The National Organization for Women, UCF Chapter
Contact: Jeannina Perez
Community Partner Mission Statement: According to their website, NOW's mission is "…to take action to bring about equality for all women. Now works to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, schools, the justice system, and all other sectors of society; secure abortion, birth control, and reproductive rights for all women; end all forms of violence against women; eradicate racism, sexism, and homophobia; and promote equality and justice in our society."
Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: NOW is formed on the basis of equality, freedom from sexism, racism, homophobia, and all other types of discrimination. Our view is that the utter lack of any holiday recognizing the fight for women's rights is a form of discrimination, and as such, falls under the aims listed in NOW's mission statement.
RE: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for the effort to create a national women's holiday.
This proposal aims to outline the needs, reasons, and feasibility for a service learning project with the intent to create a national holiday for a woman influential within the women's right movement. Contained within is background on the needs for and benefits of a national women's holiday, an outline of the work we plan to accomplish, justification for its inclusion in WST3015, and a proposed timeline. This proposal may need to be adjusted after we begin the project, and also needs to be flexible in order to meet the needs of both the project and our community partner.
Need for a national women's holiday: This project does not have a community partner in the same way that others do. Our community partner is our professor, and our effort spans from student organizations to national organizations and politicians. However, the need for the proposed holiday is clear. There are holidays recognizing many historical and influential figures, such as Martin Luther King Day, yet there are no holidays recognizing women, particularly those who fought and died to secure basic rights of citizenship for women. Such a holiday would promote awareness of the heroic sacrifices of such women, and would demonstrate a movement of our society toward equality and equal recognition.
Plan Proposal: We propose that we will carry out our plan to create a national women's holiday by formulating a letter detailing our rationale, and send it to student organizations, local, state, and national politicians, national organizations, etc. We will base the letter on legislation that created other similar holidays, such as MLK day. By doing this, we will raise awareness among the community of the need and lack of such a holiday recognizing women. This increased awareness will, we hope, lead to a grassroots effort to create this holiday.
Rationale for Women's Studies: Women's studies is concerned with both looking to and shaping the future of the struggle for equality, and honoring and recognizing the contributions and sacrifices that have been made in the past. The holidays recognizing public and historical figures that exist today inspire education because they make common the knowledge surrounding that figure. The fact that there is no such holiday recognizing women such as Alica Paul mean that far too many people in our society are utterly unaware of this crucial knowledge about the progression of women's rights. Our efforts for the future must be based firmly on a critical understanding and full appreciation of the repercussions of past events.
Action: To begin, Rachel will write a letter detailing the rationale and necessity of this holiday. All other group members will then read and contribute to this letter, and then this letter will be read and finally edited by you, our professor. The rest of the group will be looking up national, state, and local governments, politicians, and student organizations. We will create a Facebook page to promote awareness of our cause. We will then collaborate to distribute our letter to all of these places. We can use the unlimited printing in the honors computer lab to print the letters that we need.
Timeline:
Meet with Nina to discuss the plan on 2/1.
Turn letter in to Nina on 2/5/10.
Create Facebook page – 2/5/10.
Establish definitive list of organizations to send letters to by 2/17/10, then email the ones that we can and send letters to those we can't by 2/22.
Turn in completed reflection paper on 5/3/10.
Contact: Jeannina Perez
Community Partner Mission Statement: According to their website, NOW's mission is "…to take action to bring about equality for all women. Now works to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, schools, the justice system, and all other sectors of society; secure abortion, birth control, and reproductive rights for all women; end all forms of violence against women; eradicate racism, sexism, and homophobia; and promote equality and justice in our society."
Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: NOW is formed on the basis of equality, freedom from sexism, racism, homophobia, and all other types of discrimination. Our view is that the utter lack of any holiday recognizing the fight for women's rights is a form of discrimination, and as such, falls under the aims listed in NOW's mission statement.
RE: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for the effort to create a national women's holiday.
This proposal aims to outline the needs, reasons, and feasibility for a service learning project with the intent to create a national holiday for a woman influential within the women's right movement. Contained within is background on the needs for and benefits of a national women's holiday, an outline of the work we plan to accomplish, justification for its inclusion in WST3015, and a proposed timeline. This proposal may need to be adjusted after we begin the project, and also needs to be flexible in order to meet the needs of both the project and our community partner.
Need for a national women's holiday: This project does not have a community partner in the same way that others do. Our community partner is our professor, and our effort spans from student organizations to national organizations and politicians. However, the need for the proposed holiday is clear. There are holidays recognizing many historical and influential figures, such as Martin Luther King Day, yet there are no holidays recognizing women, particularly those who fought and died to secure basic rights of citizenship for women. Such a holiday would promote awareness of the heroic sacrifices of such women, and would demonstrate a movement of our society toward equality and equal recognition.
Plan Proposal: We propose that we will carry out our plan to create a national women's holiday by formulating a letter detailing our rationale, and send it to student organizations, local, state, and national politicians, national organizations, etc. We will base the letter on legislation that created other similar holidays, such as MLK day. By doing this, we will raise awareness among the community of the need and lack of such a holiday recognizing women. This increased awareness will, we hope, lead to a grassroots effort to create this holiday.
Rationale for Women's Studies: Women's studies is concerned with both looking to and shaping the future of the struggle for equality, and honoring and recognizing the contributions and sacrifices that have been made in the past. The holidays recognizing public and historical figures that exist today inspire education because they make common the knowledge surrounding that figure. The fact that there is no such holiday recognizing women such as Alica Paul mean that far too many people in our society are utterly unaware of this crucial knowledge about the progression of women's rights. Our efforts for the future must be based firmly on a critical understanding and full appreciation of the repercussions of past events.
Action: To begin, Rachel will write a letter detailing the rationale and necessity of this holiday. All other group members will then read and contribute to this letter, and then this letter will be read and finally edited by you, our professor. The rest of the group will be looking up national, state, and local governments, politicians, and student organizations. We will create a Facebook page to promote awareness of our cause. We will then collaborate to distribute our letter to all of these places. We can use the unlimited printing in the honors computer lab to print the letters that we need.
Timeline:
Meet with Nina to discuss the plan on 2/1.
Turn letter in to Nina on 2/5/10.
Create Facebook page – 2/5/10.
Establish definitive list of organizations to send letters to by 2/17/10, then email the ones that we can and send letters to those we can't by 2/22.
Turn in completed reflection paper on 5/3/10.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Legally Blonde
Adam-Scott Green
Jeanine Perez
February 17, 2009
WST 3015
Legally Blonde
“Girls are put in a terrible bind; they are supposed to repress their power, their anger, their exuberance, and be simply nice, although they also eventually must compete with men in the business world and be successful” (Kilbourne 232). Elle Woods, the main character of Legally Blonde is definitely caught in this dichotomy. Being “thin, lean, tall, young, white, and hypersexual with flawless skin and well-groomed hair” accurately translates Elle Woods into the beauty ideal for women (Kirk 208). And yet she is brilliant, smart, and resourceful too. Watching a female trapped in a body that actually fits beauty ideals, and on top of that proves that she is more than capable of competing with her male colleagues provides the comic undertone of this film. There is obviously something more intellectual involved in this depiction of women.
We cannot forget why Elle went to Harvard in the first place. She is chasing a boy, trying to get married and live happily ever after with a cute boy. Common themes in the movie are that women are romantically driven, women are overly concerned with their body or appearance, and that women are dumb. These are implications that force me to question this movie’s portrayal of women as oppressive or liberating. Elle’s client had the perfect alibi; she was getting a liposuction during the murder she was charged with. She chose to keep that a secret from law enforcement. Shame of the procedure and fear that it would damage her career as a fitness expert hint that women would trade freedom for their reputation and for the sake of their physical body. Certainly, that is a far-fetched misrepresentation of women. In addition, why does Elle Woods have to prove that she is intelligent? What are the implications of the stereotypes that this movie reinforces? The blonde stereotype is foreshadowed in the movie’s title. Mythically speaking, because Elle is a white sorority girl with blonde hair that cares about make-up, fashion and boys, she must be a dumb, ditzy, and passive woman. She is almost too feminine and all of society’s demands on women oppresses her character. Our society expects that “women must be overtly sexy and attractive, but essentially passive and virginal” (Kilbourne 232). So, as the plot employs, Elle Woods defeats the odds of being another stupid feminine sex object and proves that she is legally legit, intellectual, female, and blonde. She blends the dichotomy, and she wins the case.
To everybody’s surprise she is not just a pretty blonde, but she is smart too. After Elle wins the case for her client in the trial scene, the judge, Elle, and the defense attorney all repeat the line: “Oh my God.” Apparently, a divine power must have had something to do with a legally blonde attorney winning this case. Nobody expected her to succeed. Still, Elle succeeds without conforming to sexist expectations or turning down her femininity. Instead, she excels with the limitations of being female, still brightly displayed by her pretty pink dresses.
Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add"Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print
Kirk, Gwyn. "Women's Bodies, Women's Health". Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print
Jeanine Perez
February 17, 2009
WST 3015
Legally Blonde
“Girls are put in a terrible bind; they are supposed to repress their power, their anger, their exuberance, and be simply nice, although they also eventually must compete with men in the business world and be successful” (Kilbourne 232). Elle Woods, the main character of Legally Blonde is definitely caught in this dichotomy. Being “thin, lean, tall, young, white, and hypersexual with flawless skin and well-groomed hair” accurately translates Elle Woods into the beauty ideal for women (Kirk 208). And yet she is brilliant, smart, and resourceful too. Watching a female trapped in a body that actually fits beauty ideals, and on top of that proves that she is more than capable of competing with her male colleagues provides the comic undertone of this film. There is obviously something more intellectual involved in this depiction of women.
We cannot forget why Elle went to Harvard in the first place. She is chasing a boy, trying to get married and live happily ever after with a cute boy. Common themes in the movie are that women are romantically driven, women are overly concerned with their body or appearance, and that women are dumb. These are implications that force me to question this movie’s portrayal of women as oppressive or liberating. Elle’s client had the perfect alibi; she was getting a liposuction during the murder she was charged with. She chose to keep that a secret from law enforcement. Shame of the procedure and fear that it would damage her career as a fitness expert hint that women would trade freedom for their reputation and for the sake of their physical body. Certainly, that is a far-fetched misrepresentation of women. In addition, why does Elle Woods have to prove that she is intelligent? What are the implications of the stereotypes that this movie reinforces? The blonde stereotype is foreshadowed in the movie’s title. Mythically speaking, because Elle is a white sorority girl with blonde hair that cares about make-up, fashion and boys, she must be a dumb, ditzy, and passive woman. She is almost too feminine and all of society’s demands on women oppresses her character. Our society expects that “women must be overtly sexy and attractive, but essentially passive and virginal” (Kilbourne 232). So, as the plot employs, Elle Woods defeats the odds of being another stupid feminine sex object and proves that she is legally legit, intellectual, female, and blonde. She blends the dichotomy, and she wins the case.
To everybody’s surprise she is not just a pretty blonde, but she is smart too. After Elle wins the case for her client in the trial scene, the judge, Elle, and the defense attorney all repeat the line: “Oh my God.” Apparently, a divine power must have had something to do with a legally blonde attorney winning this case. Nobody expected her to succeed. Still, Elle succeeds without conforming to sexist expectations or turning down her femininity. Instead, she excels with the limitations of being female, still brightly displayed by her pretty pink dresses.
Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add"Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print
Kirk, Gwyn. "Women's Bodies, Women's Health". Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print
Monday, February 8, 2010
Dolce and Gabana Make-up Ad
The celebrated sexy, starlet Scarlet Johansen is the poster-face for the new Dolce and Gabana make-up collection. In order to sell a cosmetic product that can make women more beautiful, Dolce and Gabana presents Scarlet as a passive woman upholding oppressive beauty ideals. In this ad, she is poised lying down in a childlike position, with her plump air brushed lips open, and cleavage apparent. In my opinion, Scarlet epitomizes the “beauty ideal.” She is “thin, lean, tall, young, white, and hyper sexual with flawless skin and well-groomed hair" (Kirk 208). One can assume that the ad is sexist; it objectifies Scarlet as a sexual or beauty object. It is racist, in that it only reflects the interests of white women. Naturalness and diversity are ignored in this presentation of beauty.
The ad does not show any of the cosmetic products Dolce and Gabana is piloting. Instead the ad is selling Scarlet’s beauty. It is important to note that this is a cosmetic ad, and cosmetics are supposed to fix the natural flaws of women. Furthermore, this ad achieves the oppressive goals of beauty ideals, “to promote insecurity, self hatred and distorted perceptions of size, appetite, and attractiveness, so that we [women] will consume the countless products, diet plans, and cosmetic surgeries marketed to remedy our [women’s] alleged deficiencies”(Kirk 208).
In my opinion this ad is another declaration of society’s definition of feminine beauty, a fabricated illusion of females. The woman depicted in this ad is not smiling. She does not look like any of the women I have ever met. I don’t even think Scarlet woke up looking as preciously unblemished as she is presented in this ad. It’s amazing to note how unrealistic this ad is. And yet, ordinary women who come in different shades and sizes should be convinced to buy Dolce and Gabana’s makeup or in other words, aim to look like a Scarlet Johansen!
Even if she was not denaturalized, I wonder what kind of perfectionist message this ad is presenting. I guess women should strive to look like Scarlet and buy the best make-up money could buy, Dolce and Gabana’s advertising pitch. I begin to wonder the immense pressure and expectations this preeminent model of beauty would have on women. At a micro level, a woman could find this ad as another oppressive tool. She could look in the mirror, find that she does not look like Scarlet Johansen and possibly conclude that she is ugly to society’s standards of beauty. I conclude that at a macro level, media executives, economics, and notions of patriarchy are prevalent in this ad. In particular, I imagine the advertising executives of Dolce and Gabana’ deliberately choosing a woman that was not ordinary to sell a product to ordinary women, perpetuating the unattainably beauty myth.
The ad does nothing to appeal to women who are not white, thin, young, flawless, or hypersexual. The truth is most women will never look like Scarlet Johansen and because of this ad they may not value their individual beauty. Dolce and Gabana markets this beautification product, which exceeds the reality of ordinary women. Indeed, this ad is a negative representation of women.
Kirk, Gwyn. Women's Lives: multicultural perspectives
5th ed.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Iron Jawed Angels and Mary Poppins
There was a time when a public opinion was "that women were not as intelligent as men, that they were weak, tainted with Eve's sin and so forth"(Kirk 9). This was the time when women were not given the most basic citizenship privilege, the right to vote. The United States of America was a land where women and men were legally unequal. Women resisted this oppression. Despite the truth that women were socially and legally ridiculed, arrested, assaulted, and killed, intelligent fearless women affected change commencing the suffrage movement. Iron-Jawed Angels and Mary Poppins portray scenes from the first wave of Feminism. Mary Poppins has a unique way of showing that the suffrage movement wasn't that rough. Iron Jawed Angels is a more realistic portrayal and it shows the gruesome reality of feminist struggle.
Mrs. Banks is the main activist in Mary Poppins. While she seems passionate about getting the right to vote, there are several dynamics of her character that subjugates her identity as a woman. She is a subservient wife who maintains a system of female servant hood in her home. She is a suffragist, but she maintains the notion and role of a woman who must serve her man. As she politely hangs up her sash before her husband gets home, there is no depiction of resilience and resistance.The movie has a satirical tone altogether. It is a musical and everything is happy go lucky. That's cute. Then again, is this the way we want women's history to be portrayed?
Iron Jawed Angels is based on a true story and it even tells one. The movie depicts true characters. The main character Alice Paul is a suffragist. She is intelligent, intellectual, radical, and progressive. She is passionate about women's right to vote and she is shown in the trenches working for this equality. At the same time she is resistant to men and does not have a relationship like Mrs. Banks. In general the men in both movies are equally oppressive. The husband of Mrs. Bank and Senator Leightman are property owners, their wives are subservient to them.Both Mrs. banks and Mrs. Leightman are rebellious women. There husbands are not supportive, but they are still suffragettes.
In the same way, all the actors are not active in both films. We hear about Mrs. Banks activism, but we don’t see any struggle. The main characters in Iron-Jawed Angels were very active and militant. But since this movie shows a realistic version of the suffrage movement, there are some passive activists portrayed too. Alice Paul lead a group of women to separate from the National American Women's Suffrage Association to create the Women's National Party. Alice Paul and the other main characters were not as passive as the older suffragists and patriots in the NAWS and wanted a radical approach against inequality. Iron Jawed Angels actually shows the realities of a hunger strike, daily protesting, back room politics, rallies, and strong women running a day and night campaign for equality. Mary Poppins just sings about it.
Mrs. Banks is the main activist in Mary Poppins. While she seems passionate about getting the right to vote, there are several dynamics of her character that subjugates her identity as a woman. She is a subservient wife who maintains a system of female servant hood in her home. She is a suffragist, but she maintains the notion and role of a woman who must serve her man. As she politely hangs up her sash before her husband gets home, there is no depiction of resilience and resistance.The movie has a satirical tone altogether. It is a musical and everything is happy go lucky. That's cute. Then again, is this the way we want women's history to be portrayed?
Iron Jawed Angels is based on a true story and it even tells one. The movie depicts true characters. The main character Alice Paul is a suffragist. She is intelligent, intellectual, radical, and progressive. She is passionate about women's right to vote and she is shown in the trenches working for this equality. At the same time she is resistant to men and does not have a relationship like Mrs. Banks. In general the men in both movies are equally oppressive. The husband of Mrs. Bank and Senator Leightman are property owners, their wives are subservient to them.Both Mrs. banks and Mrs. Leightman are rebellious women. There husbands are not supportive, but they are still suffragettes.
In the same way, all the actors are not active in both films. We hear about Mrs. Banks activism, but we don’t see any struggle. The main characters in Iron-Jawed Angels were very active and militant. But since this movie shows a realistic version of the suffrage movement, there are some passive activists portrayed too. Alice Paul lead a group of women to separate from the National American Women's Suffrage Association to create the Women's National Party. Alice Paul and the other main characters were not as passive as the older suffragists and patriots in the NAWS and wanted a radical approach against inequality. Iron Jawed Angels actually shows the realities of a hunger strike, daily protesting, back room politics, rallies, and strong women running a day and night campaign for equality. Mary Poppins just sings about it.
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