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8/25/2013

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26 Comments

Kendall Ciesemier

9/13/2013 06:24:08 am

I came across this video online that was done by a Catholic media site called "Fix the Family," featuring Catholic father Raylan Alleman. He is sparking quite the controversy as he recommends that fathers don't let their daughters go to college because they will be attaining a degree that they aren't going to use anyway. His ideas could be considered marginalization of women as his is attempting to convince others to exclude women from participating in secondary education or the workplace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cJGETWyviY

Stella Peisch

9/15/2013 07:48:53 am

I found this article on HuffingtonPost about how parents have the "how to protect yourself from sexual harassment" conversation with their daughters, but you never hear parents telling their sons about how to treat (or not treat) women. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it pulls on a lot of themes we talked about in our classes last week. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carina-kolodny/the-conversation-you-must-have-with-your-sons_b_3764489.html

Alexander Vicas link

9/19/2013 12:17:25 pm

I found this article on the Washington Post website about how the changing character of D.C. (in terms of gentrification) is affecting the marginalized African American population of D.C. A lot of it follows the narrative of a single African American youth, and although it does not exactly follow the other articles on the blog, I think it poses another case study relating to oppression and justice in our society.

Ava Arroyo link

9/24/2013 06:16:20 am

I found this article on Thought Catalogue and I immediately thought of our class and the discussion of personal responsibility. This girl says she's sick of feeling sorry about being privileged and that it's not her choice she was born in those circumstances. She does acknowledge that she's aware of those who are less privileged but the conclusion I made from the tone of her argument is that she's still failing to take personal responsibility. She seems a bit cocky and selfish. One of my favorite bloggers, The Man Repller responded with this: http://www.manrepeller.com/2013/09/being-privileged-may-not-be-a-choice-but-acting-human-is.html

Ava Arroyo link

9/24/2013 09:14:41 am

This NYT article (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/opinion/krugman-rich-mans-recovery.html?ref=paulkrugman) brings to light in economic terms what we have talking about when it comes to privileged and the not privileged. It discusses how we should tax the richest in order to provide education to k-5. Many other points in Paul Krugman's article address much of what we talked about in terms of personal responsibility. I personally feel that the top 1 percent should be taxed at a higher rate than the 99 percent who are still recovering from the 2007-2008 economic collapse.

Kristen Shiu

9/29/2013 05:58:25 am

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/09/kids-diverse-group-friends-feel-safer-school/7032/

This article touched on a lot of the issues that we discussed last week and that are covered in our readings this week. I think the connection between safety and cross-ethnic friendships is intriguing. However, I found this comment to be particularly significant: “organizational systems such as academic tracking limit the chances kids have to mix meaningfully with classmates from different ethnic backgrounds”. Ezorsky’s analysis on the origins of institutional racism and racist impact would probably be applicable here. Furthermore, I can’t help but find it disheartening that, as the article noted, homophily still tends to predominate, although it is encouraging to read that where they exist, cross-ethnic friendships generally promote greater favorability towards others.

Montana Landegger

10/1/2013 06:08:16 am

Our conversation in class about institutional racism and more specifically how stories and circumstances are often created only from one side reminded me of this TEDtalks. I had watched in high school during a cultural tolerance conference.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (the speaker), touches on multiple different aspects that we have discussed in class; how she thought only white people were fortunate to be written about, the psychological oppression that came along with this, the systems in place that led to her only hearing negative stories of other dark-skinned people. She also later mentions how her American roommate in college felt sorry and pity for her before she even met her (at 4:45min) , similar to pre-conciveved notions on people based on their names/where they come from/race discussed in class.
She talks a lot on misunderstanding cultures, but much of this misunderstanding and stereotyping is also cast on the race in general.

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

Heather Regen link

10/7/2013 06:29:56 am

Here's an event this Thursday that people might want to go to! The Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor does a great job highlighting issues of oppression in labor, and it provides some great opportunities for activism:

Thursday, October 10, 2013

State of the Black Worker in America Conference: Keynote Panel Featuring Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post
Gaston Hall, 7:00PM-9:00PM
Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor
Please join the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor for the keynote panel of the State of the Black Worker in America conference, featuring Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist of the Washington Post and a political analyst on MSNBC. As one of the most prominent African American intellectuals on the culture scene and author of Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America (2010), Robinson will speak on the "State of the Black Worker" in the Age of Obama. Following his remarks, he will lead a panel discussion with Bill Lucy, veteran civil rights activist and President Emeritus of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; Professor Eric Arnesen of George Washington University, an expert on the history of African American workers and unions; and Nikki Lewis, Executive Director of DC Jobs with Justice.

Kyra Hanlon

10/8/2013 07:37:16 am

Hey everyone, I thought this article from CNN today is relevant to our new unit about sexism. It's especially interesting to hear a modern "male feminist" perspective in comparison to John Stuart Mill's piece.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/opinion/im-a-male-feminist/index.html

Heather Regen

10/15/2013 06:27:08 am

This photo project highlights how the "professional look" in corporate culture is really based around the white idea of "good hair." It reminded me of Chris Rock's documentary of the same name:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2013/10/15/endia_beal_can_i_touch_it_explores_gender_race_and_generational_gaps_in.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m-4qxz08So

Montana Landegger link

10/21/2013 09:21:44 am

When watching the 'Killing me Softly' video in class I immediately thought of this piece by Dove. It shows the makeup, hair and photoshop effects that go into a (typical) billboard or advertisement. It is only a minute long but really shows how the women in ads are anything but natural.

Will

10/23/2013 07:57:30 am

This short, attempting to revert rape jokes back on rape culture and rapist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bAAPkqn8Q0

Marisa Tersy

10/23/2013 09:51:38 am

This Buzzfeed article talks about the recent video of a woman receiving oral sex in public and the debate about whether it was rape or not. Although I have not seen the video, I think this article is relevant to the discussion that we had today about sexual trauma and victim-blaming. A "Men's Rights" activist released the name of the woman who he thought was in the video in order to blame her for a false rape allegation because he believes that the sex acts caught on tape were consensual. Ohio University (where the original incident took place) has said that the woman who was named by this activist is not that woman in the video and they are investigating the incident as a sexual assault but the activist insists that the sex on tape was consensual and that the woman should be punished for false rape accusations. This brings into question what we consider victim-blaming and how we think of sexual activity as consensual or not.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/this-is-what-happens-when-anonymous-accuses-you-of-faking-a

Alex Vicas link

10/24/2013 12:32:21 pm

This is an opinion piece that talks about a specific incident of rape, but also, largely, is concerned with how we as a society talk about sexual assault.

Lorea Dandoy link

10/29/2013 04:29:50 am

Even before yesterday's discussion on inappropriate and morally problematic Halloween outfits, I always thought it was strange for all costumes to be labeled as "sexy" or "naughty." And I always appreciate those who break these modern norms and actually dress as something hilarious or terrifying for Halloween. This article adds to the part of the discussion on how young girls need to "be girly!" and discusses whether it is age appropriate for young girls to be 'forced/influenced' by society to dress sexy. This makes children more sexualized and promotes the social idea that 'sex sells' to the completely wrong age group. But I do understand parents' difficulties in finding the balance between encouraging children to avoid extreme/sexualized versions of gender roles and allowing them to make their own decisions on what/who they want to be.

Lorea Dandoy link

10/30/2013 05:21:51 am

Just adding onto what I wrote yesterday - This is a poetry performance from the Brave New Voices Grand Slam. I thought it was great - these girls talk about defying the norms of sexualized femininity and dressing as Monsters for Halloween instead.

Ava Arroyo

11/5/2013 03:38:46 am

More on the "F" Word…Feminism.

http://www.manrepeller.com/best_of_internet/feminism-simplified.html

Kristen Shiu link

11/5/2013 07:07:43 am

In light of our recent discussion about Halloween costumes, I thought this article about Zwarte Piet in the Netherlands was particularly interesting. It touches on the importance of context in examining racially-charged issues, namely, changing attitudes towards traditional practices over time. It’s hard to say when culture should win over political correctness and positive moral attitudes but this issue has clearly expanded beyond a national debate about cultural practices.

Kyra Hanlon

11/11/2013 11:27:33 am

Hey everyone, Women in Politics is hosting "A Discussion of Ableism and Sexism" this Thursday at 7pm in ICC 204A. I thought I'd post it here since it presents the intersection of two of our class units.

Ava Arroyo link

12/2/2013 06:55:09 am

Is NYC doing enough to protect those with disabilities? Hurricane Sandy proved the city isn't. Who's responsibility is it?

Ava Arroyo

12/2/2013 06:55:34 am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lewis-milford/court-finds-nyc-disabled-_b_4255402.html

Kendall Ciesemier

12/3/2013 11:35:27 am

I found this video really interesting. It shows a man making mannequins to match the bodies of people who have physical disabilities and then the mannequins were dressed up and put on display at a store and the reactions were filmed. It is interesting to see how people react when they see a body that is not the standard or the norm as a mannequin that would be used to entice people to buy clothes. http://jezebel.com/people-with-disabilities-react-to-mannequins-created-in-1475812519

Ava Arroyo link

12/9/2013 05:40:27 am

Men matter just as much as in gender issues as women do! Reminds me of conversations we had during the women's movement section of this past semester.

Ava Arroyo link

12/9/2013 08:40:34 am

Japanese artists says her mental illness is the reason for her inspiration and work! Finding value in mental illness and looking at it as a special ability!

Kyra Hanlon

12/16/2013 01:30:10 am

Francois Hollande announced that neither he nor any other top French officials will attend the Sochi Olympics, and German president Joachim Gauck isn't going either. While they didn't give an explanation, it could be a response to the anti-gay laws in Russia that we debated about in class.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25392175

Lorea Dandoy link

12/17/2013 01:00:08 am

A friend just told me about a case his father (lawyer) was in charge of that exhibits police brutality and disability oppression on a public bus. Brad Hulett, who has partial physical and intellectual disabilities from being hit by two trains, was asked to sit down on the public bus but when he refused (because it causes him more pain to sit), the driver called the police. The police tased him twice and dragged him off the bus, breaking his hip bone along the way.. even though there were other standing passengers in the bus. This reminded me of our discussion on how disabled people are generalized and seen as not being capable of the 'normal' things when in fact they all have different disabilities that require specific types of help if any.

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