Rick Santorum: Birth Control Stance

Washington Post Article On Rick Santorum's BC views

Even though Rick Santorum has recently bowed out of the race for presidency, his view points are still noted amongst the population, especially his views on birth control.

Religion has played a large role in Santorum's stance on birth control, which is that contraception is actually "harmful for women". In the end he does not support the production nor the actual use of birth control because it attempts to "diminish" the bond between a man and a woman that God intended for them.

In this day and age, birth control has been promoted as a necessity but Santorum has been stating otherwise. 

Levi Ad Contradiction Sparks Controversy

One of the most notable shopping essentials for women has always been a pair of amazing jeans. And Levi has been at the forefront of the jean industry. Yet their latest advertisements for their new Curve ID line, a specific line meant for "women of all shapes and sizes" created in order to cater to all women who are not a size 0, has caught major attention. 

CBS Cover Story About Curve ID

The advertisements for the Curve ID lines have only contained women of slim body figures, despite the fact that the average American woman is a size 14. Consequently this choice of marketing has caused quite the uproar throughout the country.

See Levi has presented an unavoidable contradiction with their presentation of their advertisements. For a company attempting to promote "curves", they do not feel like "risking" it and choosing models who actually have curves. This poses an interesting topic for discussion.

Why do we still feel the need to hide behind a slender model even though the clothing is meant for curvier women?

Ultimately there is a major miscommunication of perspectives coming from the Curve ID advertisements. Levi's misrepresentation of "the curvier woman" is outright prevalent throughout the advertisement chain. I feel that by choosing to promote skinny women in place of the curvier women, a radical mix up is taking place. If you are going to represent a particular type of woman, why not take the time to do it right?

Shine Article of Curve ID Controversy

Yet in this article it is said that the Curve ID line has had a fantastic year in sales even though their advertisements are created off of false notions. What does this mean for the character of the people who are in support of the actual line? 

As a woman on the curvier end of the spectrum, I do see why the Curve ID line is popular throughout the plus size community. It is hard to find a good pair of jeans that fit just right. I just wish that Levi would take the time to match the woman to the jeans.

-Raymi Damo

An "Awkward." take on Body Image

The T.V. show Awkward is about a 16 year old teenager named Jenna Hamilton and her daily experiences with high school, boys, bullies, as well as her home life. Her witty humor and sarcastic banter is rather refreshing in order to cater to the current generation of teenagers in America. 

A specific episode of the show, called “Knocker Nightmare”, deals with Jenna and her body image; more specifically how her body is portrayed to the public. In the episode a popular female takes a nude picture of Jenna and distributes it throughout the school in retaliation for Jenna supposedly having “a thing” for her boyfriend. Within minutes the entire school has access to Jenna’s bare chest. In an effort to seek comfort she locks eyes with the boy she is involved with, but instead she is crushed when he makes a comment about “there’s not even much to look at”. 

Awkward. Episode 2. "Knocker Nightmare"

The episode brings to light the concept of a young girl’s body image and the scrutiny that she may endure because of her peers. Granted Jenna’s body was judged on a insanely large scale, but it still raises the problem of other people having an influence on another person’s body image. In this day and age it is extremely easy for other people to criticize, mock, and judge a person’s body image, especially a young girl’s body image. Technology has a great part in the big scheme of it all, making it incredibly easy for people to communicate. And it played a significantly detrimental role in Jenna’s overexposure based on the fact that the photo was sent out within seconds of it being shot. Jenna is at first mortified, but then attempts to take the “high road” approach by acting as if it does not bother her. But in the end it does strike her hard. It is disheartening and vulgar for other people to think that they have the right to judge a young girl’s body, yet so many people decide to do it anyway. 

The episode, along with the rest of the season, gives an interesting perspective into the life of a present day teenage girl. The sarcasm, humor, and life perspectives proposed throughout the show is very indicative of the time that we live in. All in all the episode was an entertaining piece that dealt with the concept of body image. Besides her lack of humiliation at the beginning of the episode, everything else was for the most part “spot on” with how a normal teenage girl would possibly deal with the horrific experience.

If you do take the time to watch the episode, take a mental note on how the lead characters deal with the idea of body image. Do you think they have take a practical approach to dealing with the uncomfortable situation?

Thanks for reading :)

-Raymi Damo

Movie Spotlight: Precious

Viciously abused by her mother (Mo'Nique) and pregnant by her father, Harlem teen Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) has an unexpected chance at a different life when she enrolls in an alternative school. Teacher Blue Rain (Paula Patton) encourages her, but Precious must battle unimaginable barriers everywhere else in her life. Lee Daniels directs this drama that features appearances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz.

The movie “Precious” covers a lot of themes throughout its storyline. It covers sexual, mental, and physical abuse, body image (obesity), motherhood and teen pregnancy, illiteracy, and poverty.  I will focus on the main three since it is what we have mostly covered on this blog.

Sexual Abuse

Precious’ father sexually abuses her which results in two pregnancies. Her first child Mango is born with Down syndrome and her second child Abdoul is born healthy. Towards the end of the movie Precious discovers that her father had HIV and that she as well has HIV from the incestuous rapes. Throughout the movie Precious goes to counseling to receive help from the government and at these counseling session Precious discovers that her father had been molesting her since the age of three and maybe even before then while her mother was present. 

Mental and Physical Abuse
Precious’ mother physically and mentally abuses Precious. Precious’ mother is constantly telling her that she is stupid and that school is not going to help her accomplish anything. This type of mental abuse puts barriers up for Precious who strongly believes she cannot learn anything. This changes once she goes to an alternative school. The physical abuse Precious receives is from her mother. Her mother throws pots, pans, and T.V.s at her throughout the movie.  The audience later finds out that her mother is envious of Precious because her father gave precious more children than she gave her mother. In reality Precious is not to blame for her father’s actions. It is silly to believe that a three year old was trying to seduce a middle-aged man.

Fight Scene Between Precious and Mother

Body Image

This movie pushes the barriers on body image with the main character (Precious) being obese. The movie displays a stereotypical obese character because Precious, although pregnant, is constantly asking for McDonalds. There is also the scene where Precious steals a ten-piece bucket of fried chicken just for herself. You would think that a mother of two would try to be healthier for her children. What the movie lacks to display is how Precious’ body might be both a prison and a sanctuary. 

Precious Stealing Fried Chicken

My Comments

This film is a powerful film that depicts a sad story.  The movie, although, it does use a lot of darker African Americans tries to comfort the audience by placing a few lighter African Americans playing into the stereotype that you cannot get ahead without assimilating to the respective “white American.” The people that help Precious overcome some of her barriers are either light skinned African Americans or Caucasian. For example, the principle that helps her find the alternative high school is Caucasian. Then once she arrives at the alternative school her teacher is a light skinned African American. We see this again in the delivery room, the nurse that Precious takes comfort in is a light skinned, African American, male nurse. Even her counselor that helps her defeat her greatest barrier, leaving her abusive mother’s home, is a light skinned African American. Finally, throughout the movie when Precious leaves the real world into her dreamland where she dreams of being a famous actress, her boyfriend is a light skinned male. There is also a scene where precious is getting dressed and as she looks at the mirror her reflection is of a skinny, white female. Precious plays into the stereotype that black is bad and white is good. 

-Daisy Magana

Domestic Violence Caught on Tape

Domestic Violence in the Home

• As Discuseed before, Domestic Abuse is the most common type pf abuse toward women. It can happen in many different ways such as through physical violence, verbal abuse, or even sexual abuse and it is a continuing cycle that never ends.
• Married women, in particular, are women who do not seperate from a violent partner either because they feel emotionally attatched or most commonly because they have formed a family with children and are afraid that their kids will not support her or that she might lose the love of her children. 
• In some situations, the women who seperate from their partners, do get reproaches from the children. Kids might blame their mothers for leaving their father behind, or they might even get blamed for causing the violence.
• Still, women who are domestically abuse MUST report the abuse not only for them but for their children. For the women who have kids, they have to take them away from such a violent environment, otherwise the children can grow to be violent or grow up angry at both parents because they allwed it to keep happening.
• Many women who are domestically abused by a partner have specific thoughts and feelings as to what it going on in their lives.  Some of those thoughts are:

1. A woman worried about speaking her mind because she is afraid that her partner will disagree.
2. A woman feeling useless and not worthy of her partner.
3. A woman feeling helpless or dependent of her partner.
4. A woman avoiding certain topics of discussion afraid of what her partner will do to her if those topics were to arise in a conversation.
5. A woman thinking that she deserves to be abused, either sexually, verbally, or physically because they are not good enough.

Below, is a video of a woman named Susan is recorded by her son getting verbally and physically abused by her husband while her other son is also in the room watching. Susan is humiliated and hurt and her kids have to watch her suffer. Luckily, Susan was one of the few women that are able to escape this domestic cycle abuse and she tells her story of what is was like living with a violent partner, her struggles, her fears, and her reasons for staying quiet.

• To start the discussion, here are some questions:

1. What was you first reaction to this video and how did it make you feel?
2. If you were her children, do you think you would have had the courage to step in and defend her? Why do you think her children did not?
3. Does watching such a tragedy make you appreciate your family even more or do you feel like domestic violence is not such a big deal?
4. Are there ways in which women can prevent this suffering before it even begins? Is there anyway we can end domestic violence or is too widespread already to do anything about it? What are some ways in which you think communities can join together and help prevent domestic violence?

                                                                                                                                                              -S.G.

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence is a form of abuse in which women are hurt either physically, sexually, or verbally in their own home. Usually, the aggressor is a man who feels he has power over women such as a husband. The aggressor though, never hurts the woman just once and a cycle in which the woman is being abused develops. 

It starts with the incident in which the woman is abused; either hit, raped, or verbally brought down. Then, there is the making up stage in which the aggressor apologizes for what he has done and makes false promises such as that he’ll never do it again. Then comes the calm stage in which both the victim and the aggressor are happy, calm, and keeping their promises to each other. After, there’s the tension building in which the victim feels as if anything she does might upset the abuser and he can hurt her again. The abuser starts to become angry, he brakes his promises and then the cycle starts all over again and it never ends.

Some people wonder why domestically abused women stay in the harmful relationships?

Many women decide to stay with their partner because they have been taught since a young age to be dependent on their partner economically or emotionally. Some of the women do not work because they take home to take care of their families and therefore are tied to their artier because they have no way of taking care of themselves and their children financially. Another reason why women stay in an abusive relationship is because they want to keep their family stable. It is harder for the women who have children to separate from their husbands because they do not want their children to suffer. Some children turn on their mothers and might blame her for destroying the family, therefore some women rather suffer in a relationship than tear her family apart.

Some of the signs od somestic abuse are very clear and people involved in a woman's life (who is domestically abused) may see a difference in their attitudes now  to how they would act before. Some signs though, such as the thoughts and feelings going through a woman's mind are never obvious and that is a reason to why Domestic Abuse can never go away; because women are afraid to speak their minds due to their abusive partners. 

In summary, milions of women around the world suffer from domestic abuse. Most never escape their realities because they are economically or emotionally dependent on their husbands, and others care more about their family than themselves. Domestic Abuse is a serious crime in the United States, but very few aggressors are punished throughout the years because women are afraid to speak about what is going on in their lives. 

Jessica Simpson Takes a Stand

In this video Jessica Simpson stands up against a male contestant on her fashion show. It's great to see a female celebrity taking a stand against a chauvinist man.

Here's a video that gives a more humorous perspective on the what a "feminist" is. Do you agree with what he's saying?

- Raymi Damo

Movie Spotlight: North Country

The movie North Country, starring Charlize Theron, came out in the year 2005. The screenplay for the movie, written by Michael Seitzman, was inspired by the book entitled Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law penned by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler. The book documented the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company. The case was filed in 1988 on behaf of Lois Jenson and the other female workers of the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota. The case was the first ever class-action harassment lawsuit in the United States. 

TRAILER

Charlize Theron plays the part of Josey, a single mother with two children who, in an effort to provide for her family, seeks work at the local mine, which is the town’s main source of steady income. Yet once she begins work at the mine, the men who she works with begin to verbally and physically harass her as well as the rest of the female workers. 

(Photo found here)

By far one of the most important themes throughout this movie is the actual oppression women encounter when participating in a job that is non-traditional, or in other words "a man's job". And Josey's situation epitomizes the struggles and hardships of a woman dealing with oppressive behavior from the opposite sex. From what was shown in the movie it appeared that the men who harassed her thought that they could do so because she was a woman. Superiority played an essential role in fueling the abusive behavior against Josey because by harassing her, the men were demonstrating their power over her. A particular scene from the movie which is a prime example of this can be seen here, where a fellow female worker, Sherry, is tossed around in a port-a-potty:

Harassment at the Workplace

Besides oppression within the workforce, Josey faced other difficulties such as physical and sexual abuse both at home and at work, social oppression that her entire family experienced because they were treated differently than the rest of the town, and also stigmas associated with being a homewrecker and bad mother even though that was not the case.

(Photo found here)

It took one woman to rise above the rest and address the issue before the rest of the women workers followed because they realized that in the end, standing up for their rights had greater outcomes compared to conforming to the ideals that were deemed "okay" by the male workers of the mine.

Some questions that we came up with after watching the movie are as follows:

1. Back around the time when  the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company took place, how did women in the workforce face harassment? And if they chose to stand up for their equal rights, how did they deal with the possible negative repercussions for their actions? Take some time to compare the possible actions of women from that time period and the women in our modern society.

2. What are some of the ways societal expectations categorize women based on the jobs they hold and the family dynamics expected of them back in that time period? Do these expectations still exist today?

3. In the movie, Josey's relationship with her father took on various forms. How do relationships between a woman and her loved ones abide by and/or resist the ideals society has placed onto it? Does society play a significant role in influencing a woman's relationship with another person dear to her?

Feel free to express your ideas and opinions on the matter and thanks so much for stopping by!

-Raymi D. and Melanie C.

The Big Question: What is Feminism?

On January 19th 2012, the momentous topic of Feminism was brought about and defined by my Intro. to Women's Gender Studies teacher, Professor Amy Moff. According to my notes, the term Feminism is women fighting for equal rights. The actual concept of Feminism is not to benefit solely any one group of women, race, sex or class and it does not aim to give privilege to women over men. In fact, Feminism is is not even focused on women specifically nor is it set on taking power away from men. It is ultimately about a shift in conciousness. 

To this very day there is Feminism. But like every other ideal that has been thought up since the beginning of time, Feminism has taken on various shapes, forms, and goals; as if changing with the times and evolving. Before this class, I knew that there was such a thing as Feminism, but I was not aware of it. But after gaining knowledge and insight into Feminism, I can now see it all around me. 

In today's society Feminism is everywhere. It's in the movies we watch, the books we read, the art we see, the music we listen to. 

Are you personally not aware of any examples of Feminism within our pop culture? If the answer is yes, do not worry because that is why this website exists in the first place. We will post videos, talk about books, look at art, and listen to music that deal with the topic of Feminism. We will even let you give your own opinions on Feminism. 

In the end, we want to converse about Feminism and its presence within all types of media in our modern society. 

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for our first post:)

-Raymi Damo