Friday, February 26, 2016

Sex Trafficking

http://www.crossmap.com/news/study-porn-consumers-less-likely-to-be-concerned-about-human-trafficking-25511

This link is to an article that talks about how people who consume porn and other things of that nature. The article then explains that they are less likely to be concerned about sex trafficking. I think this is an interesting and disturbing point to bring up because a lot of people in society probably view porn and go to strip clubs. This then dulls people's emotions to sex trafficking because they see more of it in person. Some people have been made to think it is ok to view these things and by doing that they are not at concerned with what happens with young girls as well as the women they watch in porn or at a strip club.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Human Trafficking-So silent yet so close

I was searching on the web more about human trafficking cases in Texas because I do not feel like the media talks about it as much as it should. As I was sat this evening watching the news, I couldn't help but notice that they talked about everything from robberies, Presidential campaign, a police chase, and even complaints from people about businesses but not once did they speak about the real life dilemmas being faced in the area like human trafficking or slavery. So then I decided to do some researching and came across this article that spoke about a recent charge against two young men age 19 that forced a 15 year old girl to have sex with several men for two weeks before she escaped. Now,  we assume that these "pimps" are either older or not white however in this case the men were not only young but one was hispanic and the other white. I mention this because I think that society and the media often labels certain races as criminals or highly dangerous. I wanted to mention this also because I feel that its important to see that these crimes and acts can be committed by anybody regardless of race, gender or age. I think its also important to note how easily these crimes are committed through the use of social media and the internet as we spoke about this in class today. Most of the time we are closer to our perpetuator than we think and parents need to watch what their kids are doing more than ever. In this same case, kids/teens need to be made aware of the danger that they put themselves in when they speak to strangers and add/friend people on social media just to gain attention or followers. They are putting not only themselves in danger but also their friends, family and people around them being that these perpetrators gain access to their personal life. I find it interesting that social media can often do more harm than good and unfortunately we are not safe from any of it. This needs to be given more coverage and spoken about in schools to bring further awareness to what is currently happening around us and how easily it can happen to everybody.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/a-colorado-group-is-on-a-mission-to-end-human-trafficking/56612919


Human trafficking

In class we have been talking a lot in depth about human trafficking. This is a topic that really drives my attention simply for the fact it's heart breaking to see so many innocent lives ruined. Many people who are victims of trafficking are drawn in by deceptive/misleading ads for potential occupations abroad in local newspapers, and employment and travel agencies mislead people to believe that they will be migrating for legitimate jobs. 
Below I have attached a link to a website that I would love for to review. It's called Sex Workers Project. It's one of the first programs in the nation to help and assist survived victims of human trafficking. The beautiful thing with this organization is they provide legal and social services to those who reach out, without being judgmental. 
They have many resources listed on the page from domestic violence hotline phone number, suicide hotline, and many other crisis. Again, this is a really helpful website if you guys are interested in getting to know a little bit more about human trafficking. 


http://sexworkersproject.org

Join the Fight


Image result for a21

Lately in class we have been discussing the issue of human trafficking a lot. Human trafficking has been something that I feel very strongly about for many years now. Every time I have had to write some sort of informational or research paper in school I always chose a topic related to human trafficking. Just knowing that innocent, helpless human beings are being exploited and abused each and every day breaks my heart. It has been very eye-opening to learn of all the different causes that can lead someone into a life of slavery, as well as watch multiple videos over the facts and harsh truths concerning modern day slavery.

With that said, during Christmas break this year I attended Passion, which is a huge Christian conference that has the most influential Christian speakers and musicians come out and talk or preform. One of my favorite speakers that spoke at Passion is a woman by the name of Christine Caine. Christine is an amazing woman from Australia who for an extensive portion of her life was forced to endure horrendous sexual abuse. Years later, being the strong, successful, inspiring woman that she is, she has founded an organization, called A21, that rescues woman who have been forced into human trafficking. Not only does A21 rescue woman being trafficked, it prosecutes the traffickers, works to prevent future human trafficking, protects the woman who have been rescued, and does everything it can to educate people all across the world about human trafficking.

I strongly encourage everyone to go to A21's website and read about their mission and see all of the amazing success they have had in combating the horrific battle of human trafficking.

Here's the link!: http://www.a21.org/index.php?linkid=2319


Feminism and Politics

Today I was on Cosmo snapchat sorry, surprising, I know, and I was reading through some of the 2016 election confessions. One of them was a woman claiming that she stood with Gloria Steinem on  Steinem's claims that most woman Bernie supporters are just supporting Bernie to impress their friends who are men. Obviously, as someone who is voting for Bernie Sanders, I was really upset. Hillary supporters are constantly have to deal with critics claiming the only reason they're voting for Hillary is because Hillary is a woman and they are too.
The big issue is that why are we constantly trying to invalidate what women think and their political opinion. Steinem, being a huge feminist activist, I think crossed a line here. Feminism is about validating other women's opinions whether they are what you agree with or not. You are not only a feminist if you vote for Hillary, you are a feminist if you support women and gender equality. I think that regardless of who you're voting for, it's important that we show women that the fact that their political voices are being heard is what's significant here.

Human Trafficking

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2014/07/24-arrested-two-teens-rescued-during-human-trafficking-sting-in-denton-county.html/

So I stumbled upon this article from 2014 about a trafficking ring in Denton that got busted. I would love to say that this is a shock to me but it really isn't. At the exact same time though it shocks me that this goes on everyday inside the U.S. and is circulated in the media but the American public still believes that this is a foreign issue. That is what is crazy. This is happening 59 minutes away and we act like its 10,000 miles. How have we become so complacent that we can trick ourselves into thinking that this doesn't happen. My freshman year of high school the local authorities busted a child pornography production and distribution ring and obviously everyone knew about it but no one talked about it. Everyone pretends that it never happened. That's what gets me. How can we as a society fix the issues we want to address when we don't address them?

Crisis Text Line


                Watching the videos this week and learning about human trafficking was eye opening to me. I knew it was a thing, but I never knew that human trafficking was such a problem. I was especially affected by Traffick 911’s website and the thank-you letters they got from young girls.
                I started to think about a different Ted Talk I saw recently by Nancy Lublin, who is the CEO of DoSomething.org. DoSomething is a great organization that encourages young people to be charitable, but that is not what the talk was about. She, instead, talked about an organization she founded because of a call for help DoSomething received from a girl via text. Nancy founded the Crisis Text Line. It is a way for young people who need and want help to text in their concerns and get a quick reply. It’s a lot like a hotline, but it’s through text.
                I think this is very smart because, as Nancy pointed out, text is how young people communicate in today’s world. A lot of young people don’t like to talk over the phone.
                I think this text line could be very useful in helping young, vulnerable people get out of situations where they are victims of human trafficking. According to Traffick 911, youth sex trafficking is a huge problem. Texting a helpline may not be easy for someone in that situation, but it sure might be easier and safer than calling a hotline or running away.
                I don’t think the Crisis Text Line deals a lot with victims or human trafficking, or if they have ever dealt with victims of human trafficking. However, I do think that they could be a lot of help if they did. It is a great organization, none the less, for young people who are victims of domestic violence or mental health disorders.

Here is the Ted Talk. It is short and interesting. I highly recommend watching it.

If anything, check out their Crisis Trends website where they compile data so it is easy to see how time of day, day of the week, month of the year, and location effect different problems young people face and text about. It also shows the most common words in texts about each issue.
http://www.crisistextline.org/trends/

Wednesday, February 24, 2016



Earlier this week in class I was talking with Spencer and Dr. Lowry regarding our upcoming visit to SafeHaven.  We were discussing how the women in the shelter would feel having me and Spencer being there since we are men and many of these women are in this shelter due to an abusive history with men.  Originally, our thoughts were that we should not talk as much because we do not want to seem like we are ordering the women around and giving them memories of their husbands who did not treat them properly. That night though, we were instructed to watch Jackson Katz's video "Violence Against Women: Its A Mens Issue" and since me and Spence live in the same dorm, we found ourselves discussing it after we watched.  Katz talks in his video about how, although he does not agree with it, men are listened to more so than women are and in knowing this, "we need more men with the courage to stand with women, not against them" (Jackson Katz).  These wise words from Katz as well as the experience I have had so far in this Women in Gender Studies class has motivated me to want to live out Katz message and close the gap between men and women. After watching this video, my thoughts on the visit entirely changed.  Instead of fearing that I will come off as demanding and being a reminder of these women's husbands, I want to show them that men do see the issue here and understand that men are truly responsible for what has happened to them.  Katz's video inspired me to hopefully show these women that men DO want to unite with women and fight this issue side by side rather than ignoring it and creating the gap between men and women larger.  This picture above was something I saw awhile back that I really thought was inspiration because of the shirt but also the positioning of his body and symbolism of that pose.  This picture radiates the desire to have men and women united together which is something I hope these women can see after me and Spence visit.
Additionally, I am really into videography and film and I thought that it would be cool to create some form of a video of men saying something along the lines of "I stand with women, not against them" and then sending it to Katz because he definitely has contributed in a very positive way to this issue and I want to do my part as well.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Tyler Clementi, a gay student bullied for his sexual orientation





The article by Bates about bullying and sexual orientation made me recall the suicide of Tyler Clementi at Rutgers University, which received national attention. Tyler Clementi was a gay student and his roommate allegedly streamed video of him having sex with a man via Twitter through his roommate's webcam on his computer. His roommate did this on two occasions, invading Clementi's personal space and not receiving his consent to videotape his "sexual encounters." His roommate's response to the "sexual encounter" on Twitter was "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay." For Clementi's second "sexual encounter" with a man, his roommate tweeted: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9.30 and 12. Yes it's happening again." Bates said the number one problem between bullying between the LBGQT community and suicide is attitudes toward sexual orientation. Clementi's roommate did not have a positive attitude or respect toward Clementi's sexual orientation in his preference toward men. Clementi's roommate was not open or welcoming to Clementi's sexual orientation, but rather was bullying him and harassing him by streaming the videos online for the public to see. This story is relevant to our class, because as we continue to study gender, we become more aware of the discriminations people of the LBGQT community face. People of this community are not always provided the protection and safety from those who do not have open attutides to their sexual orientation. As a niece to a Uncle who is happily married to his partner and who is a wonderful father to his son, I feel bullying should not be addressed by teaching people the signs or symptoms of someone who may commit suicide. I agree with Bates and I feel bullying should be addressed by affirming attitudes. A person does not necessarily need to accept someone's sexual orientation, but a person should at least respect it.

Link to article:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/30/tyler-clementi-gay-student-suicide

Thursday, February 18, 2016

The Intimate Partner Violence Club (No Gays Allowed)

An article from the Huffington Post, "How Heteronormative Paradigms Ostracize Queer Populations in Intimate Partner Violence Research," delves in to the issue of intersectionality and domestic violence in a way that I had not previously considered. Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw's main point in our class reading, "Mapping the Margins," was that the intersectionality of being an African American or immigrant women can make domestic violence a greater threat and a more inescapable reality. She makes an excellent argument, but focuses on male violence inflicted on women. Statistics show that the majority of domestic violence is committed by men against women, but is this because the research is not taking everyone into account? The article from Huff Post makes the claim that the research being done today is influenced by "heteronormative biases under the dominant gender binary paradigm." Members of the LGBTQ community are left out of the conversation entirely. The lack of research would imply that no one is concerned about victims of sexual violence unless those victims are women, and their perpetrators are men. Incidents of intimate partner violence happening between LGBTQ couples do not fit this mold.  As we continue to move forward in accepting all gender and sexual orientations, we need to start using "language that includes all identities," especially when talking about possible victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is already in isolating experience, but when all of the shelters for victims seeking help are predominantly designed for women in heteronormative relationships, all other victims are left feeling marginalized to an even greater extent. 




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samuel-chiron/how-heteronormative-parad_b_9171030.html

Transgender children being treated differently

I recently came across this blog on the Huffington post on parents talking about their transgender children. In my favorite one (link below), the mother is talking about how, all of a sudden, her child's body is not THE topic of discussion. She talks about how her child's very personal body is all people talk about and all people want to ask this child about. They want to know what this child has gone through and what "parts" they have. To me, I cannot stop thinking about what we have been talking about in class this past week... privilege. As a female, I am never questioned my sexuality or gender. Is this because I "dress like a girl?" Why, in 2016, is it anyones business who I like? Why is it anyones business if I decide to identify as a female or male? What if I am both? Why is this so far from the norm? Why would I be looked at as different?

I cannot lie, I am guilty of looking at people who are different than me in a different light. But that does not mean I judge them or make automatic assumptions about them. I wish that society would look at people who are different and think to themselves how they feel. I want people to see people who are not the norm as being THE NORM. It's so sad to me that people are not accepted. I do believe, though, that one day all people will be accepted. The topics we bring up in class are very serious topics that need to be addressed not only by our class but by the whole world.


Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-hanssen/off-limits-my-transgender_b_6481682.html

Controversial South Dakota Bathroom Bill





While scrolling through Facebook the other night, I stumbled upon this piece of Women and Gender Studies news, and I thought I would share it. (I decided to give y'all a break from the NFL this week...your welcome.)
South Dakota is currently in the process of voting on a bathroom bill that would be the first of its kind. The bill states that a transgendered individual is to use the bathroom that they are physically and biologically assigned to and not the bathroom for the gender they associate with.
To be perfectly honest, my first reaction was shock. Shock in the sense that there hasn't been a bill like this one passed in any other state up to this point. In many of the readings in class a reoccurring theme seems to continue to pop-up, that of uncertainty--for the individual and society around them. As we see with this example, society still doesn't know how to handle this type of situation, and when they do, they handle it in the wrong way.
Its 2016 people (Mainly South Dakota...), transgendered people are all around us in every day life, and its awesome! It's what our great country stands for...to be able to be yourself...your true self! With this bill I feel like were going in the opposite direction that we should be moving.
We're moving backward, when we should be moving forward.
It's the job of the feminist movement and all who support it to stand up for what's right, continue moving our society in the right direction, and prevent silly bills like these from cluttering up my news feed.


Women and Work

This week, I read an interesting article that discussed the concept women in relation to maternity leave. The article mentions that the United States is the only nation that does not provide paid maternity leave to women. This notion is backed behind the belief that someone in the family should be always home caring for the baby -- and that person is the woman. However, companies are providing less and less time for women to be outside of work to do this exact phenomenon. To add to that, the article mentions society's myth that working is optional -- however, in today's world, working and earning money is a necessity. When the two are put together, women needing to care for children at home as well as working to earn money, women are placed in a dual role that is difficult to manage. Thus, I wonder how this concept of unpaid, and very little of it at that, maternity leave in combination with the necessity to earn an income came to be a societal norm/expectation of women.




https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/02/05/we-act-as-if-work-is-optional-for-women-its-not/

White Privilege--Hillary Clinton


This week we talked all about privilege. Although it has always been there, I think more recently it has become a topic of discussion. For instance, although having experienced many of the privileges (yeah, I’m half Spanish and still feel white privilege), I had never heard the term “white privilege” until after the Black Lives Matter movement was in full effect.

            I think many of us have experienced key moments of realization of our privilege. In the video linked below, Secretary Clinton is asked about white privilege. She goes into detail about when she first remembers realizing her privilege. I think we can all realize that it hasn’t been easy for her as a female politician, but it’s refreshing to hear such a powerful woman talk about this subject.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Sexual Objectification: TED Talk



In this TED Talk “The Sexy Lie” the speaker analyzes the idea that sex sells. She explains sexual objectification and the effect that it has on women in society. She explains that sexual objectification occurs in thousands of ads. An interesting point she makes is that these ads not only occur in men’s magazines but in women’s magazines as well. This has dramatic effects on women and their self-esteem. When exposed to sexually objectifying behaviors, women’s self-esteem lowers, sex drive decreases and insecurities grow. I feel like I can relate to this talk because I feel as though girls my age, myself included feel an immense amount pressure to look like girls in magazines or movies. An interesting quote she says regarding our country and recognizing sexual objectification is “It’s like being raised in a red room, being pulled out of that red room and asked to describe the color red.” It is so prevalent in today’s world that many people don’t even recognize it as a problem due to the lack of education and discussion regarding the topic. I think this is a really informative talk with an interesting perspective.

Breaking Free

Ruby Rose came into the spotlight with her appearance on the show, Orange is the New Black. The show is diverse in sexuality, gender representations, and race. However, it took a little bit for people to figure out the work for the LGBTQ community that they was doing in real life. Rose wrote, directed, and produced a video, for which I've attached the link below, about gender fluidity and being trans. I so applaud Rose for using her platform to touch on serious pressing issues and to try and raise awareness about what it means to be gender fluid. On another note, I found it really interesting how even their behavior changed when they transitioned into a man. Even in the process that is so against gender norms, we are still able to point out behaviors stereotypically attributed to each gender. Obviously, part of that may be due to the fact that the video was made for the general public and needed to be more drastic to be fully understandable and get the point across. You can see in the video that once Rose transitions into a man, they start aggressively cussing at the camera, their face becomes more stern, closed off, and they smoke a cigarette with a cold stare into the camera. I'm not saying that as a woman or as a man, Rose must act a certain way but when contrasted with their behaviorisms as a woman earlier in the film, it's extremely stark. This could be due to some other fators but overall, I found it to be very thought provoking.


Thursday, February 11, 2016

How I knew I was transgender



So glad this week in class we had many conversations about intersexuality and oppression. I came across a really intriguing YouTube video that reminded me of the article we read in PLS by Weil "What if it's sort of a boy and sort of a girl." This YouTube explained how "she"(before translation) came into telling her friends/family how she wanted to transition into a guy. One interesting thing that he mentions is how he never "knew" at a young age that he was always meant to be a guy, it just happened. I also love how Ryan feels like he's reached a point in his life where he doesn't care about the hate/blacklash he receives from media and society about identifying as a male. It's devastating knowing that transgender oppression is a "common" thing that I personally believe hasn't been fully addressed/acknowledged.



 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DoTp0m7ZKLU

Transgender Transformation- Gigi Gorgeous




I was really excited when we started to speak about transgender changes and the issue that those who feel like they are in another body have and are gender fluid. The main reason this brought excitement to me was because I have been following a couple of people on youtube who have done the gender transformation. The main one that catches my attention is the now famous "Gigi Gorgeous" whom if you see her now you would never had guessed she was once a he. In her journey, she underwent through several surgeries including the sex reassignment surgery, breast implants, hormone replacement and even the removal of her adams apple. In the midst of these procedures she spoke about how she finally felt like she was being freed from this fake body that she was living in. At one point in one of her videos she  compared it to feeling almost like being incarcerated for a crime she did not commit because she couldn't do anything about feeling that way and although she had never been in a jail she felt that people who are condemned for crimes that they didn't commit probably felt the same way. When we watched the video about the young girl whose mother allowed her to change genders at an early age and supported her it immediately brought me to remember Gigi except that for her she didn't have the courage to come out until she was already an adult because of fear from her parents that they would not support her. Its very sad to see that these things happen and that those who feel trapped have to feel this way for so long before they are finally able to speak up but even more sad it is for those that take their lives away due to the challenges faced and feeling of desperation. I hope that transgender and being gender fluid gets more media coverage and that it continues to be exposed more and more and eventually accepted worldwide so that nobody should have to feel this way in their own body and especially not live their life like this. I posted one of the first videos of Gigi who was back then Gregory before her transformation. You can see her address her feelings and the second video shows her more recently and now as Gigi. Feel free to look her up on Youtube and see just how incredible her transformation is, you would never be able to tell because she is smokin' hot! 




The Key Word is "ALL"


This week in class we discussed hegemony feminism. I'm not sure why, but this issue really resonated with me. Feminism is a movement and an idea based off of equality. Therefore, feminism should include EVERY type of woman despite race, social status, age, sexual orientation, or physical appearance. To think that some woman have felt secluded from a movement that should make them feel empowered and confident is so upsetting. As I was finding a picture for this blog post the majority of the pictures that popped up on Google search were of middle aged white woman holding protest signs. It took a fair amount of effort to find a feminism picture that included woman of different races.

All of this really causes my thinking to come back around to something else we learned in class, intersectionality. Woman are not just about nice bodies and makeup; we have so many more qualities and characteristics which make us uniquely who we are. Thus, making feminism a movement that should include woman from every walk of life because every one of us is different in such a beautiful way. In order to conduct a successful movement that ensures equality for woman all across the globe, feminism should be open to ALL women and cease to make some feel unequal.    

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Transgender Kansas City Girl

After watching the video in class earlier this week on the young girl who transitioned from a boy to a girl, I recalled a story that my roommate told me earlier this year.  My roommate is from Kansas City and he told me about this 8 year old girl who transitioned from a boy to a girl that he is good family friends with.  He told me that he has never seen a happier girl in his life and that she said she was incredibly proud that she can finally say she is "comfortable and relieved."  In this YouTube video, the parents are interviewed by KCTV5 and they are extremely supportive of their daughter.  The thing that I like about these parents that I cannot say other parents would do in this situation is that they told everyone else who asked about it that "it is going to be ok."  We have learned about a lot of instances where the parents of the child who has transitioned sexes are not supportive and distance themselves from their child.  This video was bittersweet for me because I was extremely happy for this individual case, yet at the same time it made me sad to know that there are so many kids out there struggling in their decision to face the reality of what they feel they identify as no matter there anatomical makeup.  After watching this video, I came away from it with a few questions that I really want to know the answers of.  Can we offer a protective shelter for kids to run away to that they can stay at when they know there parents are not going to be supportive of their decision?  I think that would be extremely beneficial and I would definitely love to help out at something like that.  I would love to discuss in class ways we can try and encourage kids to speak out on who they truly identify as because I know people see these YouTube videos just wishing they could do the same.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Gender in Super Bowl Commercials



                This post relates more to last week’s topic of gender norms and the man-box, but I think it’s relevant anyway.
                There were two super bowl commercials that really caught my attention for the way they portrayed genders, particularly males.
                First of all, the Axe commercial, called “Find Your Magic.” This commercial could be super empowering to both men and women. I certainly felt inspired by it. The commercial starts off questionably, showing a billboard with models. However, it then goes on to question that standard. “C’mon, a six pack? Who needs a six pack when you got the nose?”
                It then goes on to discuss a bunch of awesome qualities a man could have that aren’t muscles and strength. It talks about rocking heels, cuddling kittens, being fashionable, and having intelligence. It ends with the line “Who needs some other thing when you’ve got your thing?” which I think is a great question and I am totally going to start thinking about that.
                This commercial isn’t going to start a revolution. It certainly doesn’t touch on many topics. It’s mostly about different ways to show masculinity and impress women. However, I think it is a great step in the right direction, especially by a company that’s known for using “man-box” qualities to sell their product.
                In contrast, a Hyundai commercial called “Ryanville” did not break any barriers concerning gender norms. I have nothing against Ryan Reynolds, but in this commercial a town full of his clones is the perfect town. He is portrayed doing a lot of masculine activities, like playing football and working on construction. The women in the commercial seem so distracted they almost hit a version of Ryan Reynolds walking a lot of dogs. If that is the perfect town, I’d hate to think what people who don’t look like Ryan Reynolds think about themselves after seeing that commercial.
                It’s not completely adhering to gender norms. Some of the clones are friendly. They aren’t all violent and angry.
                Fortunately, I didn’t notice any commercial during the super bowl that was over sexualized or really terrible for either gender. The halftime show was certainly a great statement about LGBT rights.
Here is the “Find Your Magic” commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzTSE6kcLwY
Here is the “Ryanville” commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih4VYnbm6Sw

Monday, February 8, 2016

Gender Fluid

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/03/gender-fluidity-has-a-toxic-masculinity-problem.html

This article is basically talking about gender fluidity and how it is accepted for some people but not others. It discussed Ruby Rose and Miley Cyrus saying that when they came out as gender neutral or gender fluid they were celebrated and found a sense of belonging that they previously did not have. However the article switches gears and brings up their male counterparts in the case of Jaden Smith. Smith is seen from time to time dressed in what one would normally convey as "women's clothing" and has been recently chosen to be the face of Louis Vutton's women's campaign. With this reveal many said Smith was a "confused young man". Society still has more acceptance for women to slightly bend the rules but only a tiny bit but society's stomach still turns when men try to detour from the roles they were born to play.

Friday, February 5, 2016

First boy featured in Moschino barbie commercial

Link: http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/this-new-moschino-barbie-commercial-features-a-fierce-boy

This new barbie commercial features a young boy playing with the Moschino barbie. This commercial demolishes the stereotypical male behavior that boys do not play with barbies or care about fashion. The young boy in the commercial who is playing with the barbie is dressed fashionably and seems to highly care about his appearance, which is not expected of masculine gender behavior. This commercial relates to our current discussion in class about gender identity in regards to the articles about the male children who like to wear dresses and play with feminine toys, like dolls. The commercial is implying that the Moschino barbie is gender balanced and that boys and girls can play with barbies, instead of having children-targeted products for boys and girls. This commercial is the first time the Mattel company has used a boy to market a product, in which it is getting praise, yet backlash as well. This commercial is the perfect example of breaking gender stereotypes. This commercial also stresses the ability to allow a children to embrace their self-expression, like the families did with their young boys to allow them to wear dresses to school or play with both gender toys. This commercial brings to the forefront one of the biggest controversies surrounding being gender fluid or otherwise known as the "middle space." Society continues to question whether it is socially acceptable to all boys and girls to dress, behave, and play in any way they choose whether it be considered masculine or feminine. I think Mattel is headed in the right direction to include boys in their barbie commercials.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

David Bowie and Being Different



This week we talked about gender fluidity and the highs and lows that come with that. I came across this article with no thought of our blogging assignment and immediately I couldn’t think of a better person to talk about other than David Bowie. David Bowie is not only a music icon but also an icon in the LGBT community. Bowie taught people everywhere, especially teens, that is was ok to be different in a time where social norms were everything. After his recent passing, in my opinion, a lot of talk about the gender fluidity topic came up. It came up in a positive way rather than a negative. What David Bowie did in his life was seen as incredible, not only in the LGBT community but everywhere. A man who will wear a dress because that is what he wanted to do that day but also a man who wanted to wear a suit has no problem fitting in. Of course people disagree with this but I think that there always will be hatred towards the LGBT community but as years go on it grows less and less. The strides the world continues to make towards a better life for everyone is amazing to me and I think that with more people like David Bowie more teenagers, children, and even adults will never have to be afraid of being themselves. As soon as people start seeing the world for what it is, accepting people for who they are no matter what, and believing in themselves the more beautiful it will be. So, David Bowie, thank you for making people who I do not even know feel comfortable in their own skin. For showing them that they are not alone and that how they feel is absolutely ok.

Link: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/bowie-lauded-as-an-artist-who-made-it-ok-to-be-different/