Blog 5- Response

This was a tough assignment for me. I never have really paid attention to gender in the songs I listen to. These songs don't necessarily represent gender for me, but I feel like they showed the major change in music from the old generations to the present. The Beatles songs I chose all had to do with love between a man and a woman, and then I chose a few songs that are popular now. The difference is huge between the different kinds of music. Now, we have Brittney Spears and Beyonce representing women across the world, I don't know if that is necessarily a good thing. However, back when The Beatles were around, they could have been representing men in the world. All of the songs now are pretty much disgusting with durrogatory terms about both men and women. I feel like women are bashing men, men are bashing women, or it's about how a couple broke up and hate the other person. It's all a little bizarre to me, this is why I don't think I could find songs that represented gender to me. As for my taste in music, it has never really changed. I will always be a fan of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Songs come and go today, but I don't see them effecting people like the music did a couple of decades ago. The Beatles will always be classic, I can't say I see the same thing for Britney Spears.

In response to Pipher's story, I can not imagine being forced to not be myself because I was scared of society's opinions. My parents have always taught me to be who I am and stand up for what I believe in. I got called a tomboy throughout my childhood because I loved sports and hated dresses. I never looked at that term as durrogatory towards me, and I'm not sure if the kid who called me a tomboy understood it either. I understand times have changed, but I think it is very important to keep teaching children to be comftorable in their skin, it doesn't matter what their gender happens to be.

Blog 5- Playlist

Blog 4

I did not know there were so many classes for women studies! I have never strayed far from the medical/science classes so it is all very new to me. All of the classes look very interesting, and I would most likely learn a lot in them since I know nothing about any of the subjects. I think almost all of these classes would be useful to me, since I am a woman and know almost nothing about the history of women and what people have gone through before me. I just applied to the OUHSC for radiation therapy and I will find out in May if I got in. If i did get in, I won't have any choices for what classes I will be taking for the next two years. So unfortunately, I found these classes a little too late in my schooling. However, gender will play a huge role in my future job. The medical field is hugely biased, men are all doctors and women are nurses. The profession I hope to hold one day, is mostly held by men. My mother has been a nurse for fifteen years, and faces the daily struggles of gender bias in her field. She is a very strong woman, and if she is ever told she can't do something, better believe she will do it ten times over. There is only one job that I can think of where gender played a role. I used to work at a veterinarian's office a few summers ago, the owner (also the veterinarian) refused to higher males. She stated "they have no attention to detail." I thought it was odd when I applied for the job, that there were no men in the office, but never thought too much about it. It wasn't until a month into my job a co-worker had told me she won't higher a man. I was a little shocked, because I had never run into a gender related problem, and then began to think if I had ever applied to a place that would refuse to higher me because I'm a girl. I soon after quit that job and moved on. Other than that, I can not recall a time when I or a co-worker has been treated unfairly at a job. Who knows though, a lot can change once I get into my profession. After reading Hull's article I realized that I have never really thought about the struggles black women face. I was raised to not look at a color of a person's skin, but I know not everyone has that same opinion. I can't imagine having to struggle with ignorant people everyday because of my skin color.

Blog 3

I was not able to get a hold of the movie, so I am going to work with what I saw in class and on youtube.com. I think the most surprising thing about the movie was the fact that I had never seriously thought about having the right to vote. When I voted in the presidential election this past year, I never stopped to think, wow, the women before me fought for this. I take a lot for granted, and I think many of us do. I mean it was not THAT long ago when Alice Paul and the NWP and NAWSA were fighting for the rights we have today. I understand that not all the women agreed with the tactics of Alice Paul and the NWP, but I feel like that had no choice. People expected the women to sit around and be polite while kindly asking for the right to vote. Alice Paul knew this wasn't working, and they had to take more drastic moves. The women were able to overcome their differences when they began to get unfairly treated in the prisons. No one deserves to be treated like that and forced fed, even if you don't agree with what they are doing. Alice Paul and the others finally defeated the President by having the support of hundreds and thousand of men and women behind them. I would like to think that I would be one of those supporters if I would have lived during that time, but who knows. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for something you truly believe in, I admire and respect all of the women involved in the movement. I can't even begin to think where we would be today without them. As for the readings, I am still working on hunting down the second book, FIFE. I plan to have it this week!

Blog 2

I interviewed my mother, who is 52 years old. My mom is one of the strongest women I have ever known. I was raised to believe that women are equal to men in every way. My sisters and I were not raised to think we should get married and have children and that's all we were good for; my mother is definitely the dominant figure in our household. She remembers the feminist movement when she was a teenager and she said she attended quite a few meetings. It made her realize that women were more than just housekeepers or cooks, but could do anything they put their minds to; she has been a strong woman ever since. I have always been conscious of gender, but never really thought much about it. I was raised to think that we are equal and I never questioned it or let my gender hold me back in anyway. In the article "Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality" states that competitiveness is stronger in males and tends to push them harder, where it might defeat girls. For example, the article states that, "competition is simply a greater part of male life, even among children." My sisters and I are probably some of the most competitive people you will ever meet. Competition has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Competition pushes me to do my best and makes me want to succeed more than ever. My mother has raised three strong women, and all of what we learned came from her.