Boys and Chores

      Going over this topic in class really made me think about all the types of chores that I had to do when I was little. I would always have to sweep, and do the dishes, or do a load of laundry. But my brothers rarely did things like these. They would have to mow the lawn or help my dad clean up the garage. To me; cleaning up the garage looked easier. My dad would play music, and they would just have to separate greasy tools. Once I asked if I could help outside, and my dad thought that was a terrible idea. Why? Becuase I was his little girl and I shouldn't be getting grease stains in my clothes. After this, I think my parents sort of caught on, and the boys started to help inside too I didn't have to do the dishes by myself, and I would wash and dry the laundry, they would just fold it.
    
     One day I remember more than any other; was in the year 2006. It was a few days before my brothers graduation from High School. My mom was out of town for the weekend and my dad was at work; and lo and behold his work uniform wasn't clean. I was 13 at that time and had to teach my older brother, how to work the washing machine. And in case you are wondering, no; it wasn't new!

When I think of Family...

When I think of family, many things come to mind. First off, love, trust, and honor. Why honor? I say honor because a family name is a  big thing. It is something that you represent in all that you do, whether it be good or bad. Secondly, I think that many people think of the traditional family, One mother, One father, and some children. Now days, many people are in families with either two mothers or two fathers. Do you think taht this changes any meaning of the family? Do you think that they get told that they are not a family? I think too many judgements are made upon people these days. I think they should be able to do their own thing. In my family, you don't have to be a blood relative to be considered one in the family. You just have to have love, honor, and trust for the rest of the family.

Who really wants to look like Barbie anyway??

Being a high school cheerleader, I always heard girls saying that they wanted to be skinnier, that they wanted to have the shape of Barbie, so they would look good in their Homecomign dress. I thought to myself, sure, it wouldn't hurt for me to lose a few pounds, so we all tried stupid little diets. When some of the girls didn't see the results they would have liked to have seen, they turned to some dramatic alternatives. They would eat an apple. Once a day. An apple, and drink water. That's it. On top of this, they would go to the gym, and work out all four hours that it was open. In my mind, I thought this is ridiculous. You don't need to be a size 0 just to look good in a dress. These girls were all beautiful to start with, and soon, they looked sickly. When I was thinking about what to write for a blog, I thought about things I used to hear about.

Growing up, I remember hearing some people talking about what Barbie would look like if she was a real human being. Well, I am going to show you just how disgusting she would look. After viewing this I decided, lets keep her as an 11 inch doll.

REAL WOMEN
Average woman’s height is 5’4″
Their weight is approx. 140 lbs.
They wear a size 14 dress
Their bust is between 36″ and 37″ (B cup)
Their waist is between 30″ and 34″
Their hips average between 40″ and 42″
Their shoe size is estimated to be between 8.5 and 9.5
BARBIE
Barbie’s height would be 7’2″
Her weight would be 101 lbs.
She would wear a size 4 dress
Her bust would be 39″ (FF cup)
Her waist would be 19″ (same as her head)
Her hips would be 33″
Her shoe size would be a 5

http://www.peacelovelunges.com/sports-fitness/ask-sam/what-if-barbie-were-a-real-woman/

Girls Rock

The Girls Rock documentary that we watched in class was very inspirational to me. I think that they are
doing a great thing by showing these young girls that it is okay to be themselves. I think it is important for girls to know that they too,  can scream and yell and dance around just like the guys. There are not boy instruments and girl instruments. Either sex can play any instrument. I think this program gives girls the self confidence that some girls never get the chance of overcoming.

Girls do rock, and they could rock harder with your support!

The "Perfect" Guy

I think movies and book shave a lot to do with how women decide that they want their man to be. Dark hair, blue eyes, tall and muscular, and they always seem to have a good paying job. GAG ME!!

When I was little, I would always look for the popular guy, because that's what they did in movies.
No matter who the girl was, she always wanted the popular guy; and she always got him.

When I got to High School, I finally grew up. I realized that there really is more to a person than their "social class." I have found that the best looking guys, usually turn out to be jerks, and the average guys, that have had to work for everything they have, treat you like a princess, even if it means working overtime.

Now I'm not an expert on this, but from my experience...

Men don't just fall out of the air, and they aren't created to satisfy your liking. No matter who you chose, you are going to have arguments, and I'm sure you'll find at least one thing about them that just drives you crazy, but regardless, you love them.

Maybe at first looks matter, but in the end, looks fade; but the heart never changes. :)

Follow your heart :)

Ad's do not have an age limit...

For the past two years, I have worked at Kmart near my home town. I cannot even begin to explain some of the things that I saw happen there with little girls. When I would work in the clothing department, I would hear little girls and mothers argue about the child's weight. This one time, I will never forget; I heard a mother tell her 7 year old daughter that if she don't lose weight she was going to get ugly. When I heard this, my heart broke. That little girl was average weight, she wasn't going to get sick because of her weight, the mom was (in my mind) just being an idiot. That little girl, just looked at me, and started to cry. That was one of those moments that you have to think to yourself; Do I say something? Or just walk away? Well I couldn't take it. The little girl was standing outside of the fitting rooms waiting for her mother and i knelt down and said "You are beautiful, just the way you are."

When we were watching the Dove videos in class, my mind went back to this memory. I hope that someday, this little girl will see these dove ad's, instead of the Victoria's Secret ones.

Dove..The Brand...Not the Bird

      I think that "The Self Esteem Project" by Dove is an amazing thing. All of those pressures that we felt to be beautiful when we were 13, they won't have to face alone. This project partners with Girl Scouts, The Boys and Girls Club, and Girls Inc., to make sure that chidren know that they do not have to be a size zero and 5'9". They want girls to know that they are beautiful just the way they are. Doves' goal is to reach out to 5 million young girls by the end of the year 2010. If you think that they are doing this strictly for profit, I really think you are wrong. Sure, it might look good on sales paper, and some people may have switched to dove brands becuase what they are doing is such a great thing, but I don't think that is actually why they came up with this program. just because you see this ad, does not make you want to rush out and purchase their product. I believe in this program, and i didn't rush out to buy some dove products because of it. Dove was a popular brand before this program, and they are still going strong after it. Congratulations Dove, your making a difference!! :)

Here is a link to everything that the dove project really does.

http://www.dovemovement.com/movement/about

Enchanted

       To me, this movie seems like it gives people hope. They make it seem, like miracles can happen, even in the worst situation. Giselle found love, even when she wasn't living in the fairy tale world. She went somewhere where she didn't know anything, or anyone, and found true love, even though she thought she had it before. When others watch this movie, I hope that they realize that just becuase you move to a new place, like college, or a new town, or something of the sort, that doesn't mean that you won't enjoy yourself, and that the stress won't be worth it. Everything happens for a reason.

Mean Girls

If you haven't seen this movie, its a pretty good one; that I will surely never forget. I feel that it relates to this cless because they take a girl that is new to their school and needless to say turn her into a popular snob. She starts out being in what we call "different" group of friends, and decides that she wants to scam these girls to try to make them less popular. In the process, she starts to really enjoy all of the attention that she is getting and finds that she really does enjoy being a "mean girl." The girls change her hair, outfits, amount of make-up she wears, and of course, her whole outlook on life. Her new clothes are skimpier and a lot more showy than what one would usually wear. [thought that related to the stereotype activity that we did in class] Youtube has many clips regarding this movie...go check em' out!

Phenomenal Woman

This poem stuck with me. This woman strikes me as not only a phenomenal woman; but also as a role model. She is letting us females know that we do not have to look like a super model, we can simply be ourselves and enjoy life. I think that is what she means when she says "Men themselves have wondered what they see in me. They try so much but they can't touch, my inner mystery." To me, her inner mystery is the fact that she is comfortable in her own skin, and is happy with what she has. I truely wish that all women could experience being comfortable in their skin. Our book talks about a poll that was taking that said in a survey of 200 women, NONE of them said that if they had the opportunity to change something about their body they would keep it the same. What is it that is making women feel like they should look differently? The modeling industry? Advertisements? Media in general? Studies show that only 5% of women fall into the supermodel height and weight categories. So that means 95% of us have different shapes and hieghts than them. Since when does minority rule? Isn't this getting out of hand??? In my opinion, media is to blame for women being unhappy with themselves. Being different sizes and shapes is part of what sets women apart from eachother. It's part of being unique.      :)

A real princess...

In response to Nintendo's Youtube video for Super Princess Peach from the "What's Wrong with Cinderella?" reading.

"If you can stand up to really mean people, maybe you have what it takes to be a princess."

I think being a girl (or princess) really is tough; and you really do have to stand up to a lot of people. High school is rough, we have all been there. When you are a girl you have everyone looking at you. I know in my school that if you didn't waer the right clothes, and get the right grades, and you were a girl...You might as well kiss popularity goodbye.

Looking at all of the strong women that stood up and fought for equality years ago, and are still fighing; they had to stand up to so many people, and tell them what they believed in. I'm sure they were laughed at and mocked. I don't think I could do that. What about Sarah Palin? She stood up and ran for a government position and became the governor of Alaska, when no one thought she could. She fought and stood up for what she believed in. In my mind, disregarding whether she is republican or democrat, she is a princess.

If Women Ran Hip-Hop

This blog will be a reflection to the reading in our textbook on page 534.

I think that this was a great piece. I saw all aspects of hip-hop and how some are represented poorly now days and how the instincts of a woman or mother could see ways to change them for the better.

But I also have to wonder... Are guys really to blame for hip-hop becoming what it has over the years? Or would it have just gotten that out of control no matter who was singing?

Just a little something to think about.

What does equality mean to me?

–noun, plural -ties.

1.

the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability.

2.

uniform character, as of motion or surface.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/equality

I know books and dictionaries could give you the perfect definition, but I'm going to give you mine and I would like to know what it means to you. Isn't this what this class is about? Isn't that what a feminist wants? Equality! One word. Why is it so hard to get?

Equality... Such a powerful word right? It sounds powerful. But the actions taken to follow through with what the word really means...Not so much.

We have been fighing for equality for centuries. But when will we see an improvement? What is it going to take?

To me; equality means rights. It means fairness. It means no more discrimmination. No more standards, and no more expectations. Equality  should mean that a women should not have to feel like people are going to give her dirty looks or snarl at her if she doesn't want to wear make-up and designer clothes. Guys don't have to wear make-up to cover their acne and imperfections. They would probably get looks if they did wear it. So why should we wear it?!

WHO CARES?!? I guess in my mind equality basically means freedom for everyone to be comfortable and free; in their own skin.

Gold Digger??

How many music videos today do you see where men dance around in skimpy outfits? Not many! Why is it that women are always portrayed as the "things" that people want. I think that it's videos like this that ruin women's free will. I think that videos like this are partially to blame why men see women as items sometimes and why women often feel like they are --only wanted for thier bodies or what they have to offer. Is this correct and based on fact? No. Simply opinion. Everyone has on right??

Watch this video. Gold Digger By: Kanye West and I'm sure you will agree with the things that I have said. And if not; I hope this at least gave you a better outlook on why women sometimes feel like they are items.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY&ob=av2e

A Response to the Readings

The first thing that I would like to react to is a quote from the book that states "Women's lives are marked by difference". In reading this, I thought to myself; is this why men call males that seem to be "different from them "girly-men"? Or could this be because of the fact that women are the people that will fight for a difference?

I wasn't sure if this was a good statement, or a bad one. Are they saying that women are marked as different?

The second thing I would like to react to is another quote from the book. "Normality tends to reflect those in power." I agree with this statement 100 percent! Look back to high school... Who were the ones that always made fun of the people that were "different"? Were they the "nerds"? The "druggies"? NO! They were the people that thought that they "ran the school". The jocks. The football, basketball, and baseball players. I don't know about your school, but in mine... It was mostly the girls that did all of the smack-talking. The cheerleaders. In my school, it was "Normal" to be a jock. And if you weren't, well then you could kiss populatity goodbye! Was this view even correct? Who knows. I guess "normality" varies with location.