The Photoshop Law

In a media obsessed world, it was a relief to find a law being passed to stop the over use of photoshop on models. This law is being put into legislation in Israel where 2 percent of girls 14-18 have severe eating disorders. The fact is that this problem is happening throughout the world. Photoshop is routinely used to fix images of women, even if they do not need it. This "Photoshop law" would force adverts in magazines to disclose the fact that women were digitally altered to look thinner and stop the use of underweight models. There is a revealing slideshow in this article, http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/326778/20120411/supermodels-without-photoshop-photos-louis-vuitton-2010.html,


























that reveals photos of what models really look like. It is not surprising the unrealistic expectations that girls are forced to live up to, when they only see photo shopped pictures of models that are only a small percentage of women. I hope that other countries take a page out of Israels book and start passing laws to force the media to show women how they truly are. Not a digitally enhanced view of what advertisers think women should look like.

Suicide: Seemed the ONLY Way Out of Marrying Her Rapist

I am always so inspired by women who fight policy and absurd laws...but ENRAGED every time I hear about things like this.
 I found this article http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/14/200577.html a few weeks back.  The story is of a Moroccan girl, Amina Filali who was 16 years old.  She was raped and when her parents pressed charges, they were told she would have to marry her rapist to uphold the "honor" of her family.  The fact is, this is an actual archaic law that holds if a man rapes a woman, but marries her, he is not liable for the crime. She then had to marry him, went to live with him and his family, was raped again, and starved and beaten.  She felt her last resort was to kill herself and she did.  Women of the region have taken to protesting the law (http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/17/201337.htm), trying to enact change and have the law abolished.

             (photo courtesy of http://images.alarabiya.net/68/86/640x392_45040_201337.jpg)

The "backwardness" of the law is that they say it is meant to "safeguard the honor of girls who are raped", but all it does is cause them to be more dishonored when the state is blaming the victim and then in essence, punishing HER by making her live with her rapist! Now she is forever at his mercy (because she cannot divorce him) and will be raped again!
The more I continue to read about the injustice of girls and women globally the more I am disgusted about the 'who-is-wearing-what /who-is-dating-who' "news" of the U.S....... girls and women are dying because of patriarchal laws and the devaluation of women....this is NOT OK!!

What Is Digital Literacy?

One of the major ideas presented in this course stems from the question - "Is simply knowing the ways that media influences culture and society (viewers, listeners, readers, etc.) enough to satisfy as literacy in the digital age we find ourselves in?"  And this - "If we know what a profound effect media has on us as citizens, as women, as young girls, as students, as employees, as people, then would it be more effective to encourage a contribution to the media presented and available, rather than simply a healthy awareness of what other people and corporate companies are putting out there?"

Obviously, teaching girls that they are in fact effected by the images placed before them and the content of the songs they listen to or the tv shows they watch may not be as innocent as they may think is important.  Many young girls are not even taught to question the ideal body type, the sexualization of their favorite television show characters, or the constant barrage of commercials that are selling them products aimed at changing/bettering their appearance in some way.  And because this is a sad truth, educational programs are indeed necessary and good.  But to stop there implies the notion that there is nothing that girls can do about it, and I feel as though that is the major problem with the majority of resources available.

In browsing, for example, I came across this website, Media Awareness Network.  It offers a variety of tools and resources for parents and teachers that allow them to broach the subject of media with their children and students, which is wonderful.  But I can't seem to find any sort of encouragement in giving a girl a video camera, or digital camera, and setting her up with her own editing system so that she can learn to contribute to the conversation that the media has begun and continues in regards to girls and women.  We have at our disposal, things like BlogSpot, Wordpress, Facebook, and YouTube.  These are tools that can very easily be utilized in basic media production for girls, and communities can be formed that question the status quo of what media has been allowed to present for so long.

Where are the sites and resources that foster that type of literacy?

Empowering Women & Men Through Photography

Jimmie Briggs is the man behind the Man Up Campaign, and with his help and organization, an exhibit was put together in New York City last month of positive images of women in order to shed light on the cultural ideologies that implicitly turn a blind eye to violence against women.  The photographs are all beautiful, and Jimmie Briggs responded to a series of questions regarding its inspiration here.

Here are some of the images displayed:

Please also visit Man Up's website here!  Way to go men!

Science Chic

There has been a lot of talk about which jobs are likely to experience a boom within the next twenty years or so, and which will become obsolete due to automation.  Engineering, in all of its forms, is one field that is expected to experience continued growth as the technological advancements, which are occurring at an alarming rate, will offer new avenues of scientific study, exploration, and offer a whole new set of problems that people in engineering will be commissioned to figure out for us.  One looming question being, how long before we use up the earth and its resources beyond return?

We, as a country, and as members of the global community will need to figure out ways to encourage the next generation to pursue science, technology, mathematics, and engineering if these are issues we would hope to solve, and opportunities we would hope to seize.  The organization, Women in Technology Project, is looking for ways to tap into traditionally ignored demographics of students, encouraging their growth and interest for the benefit of all.  Check it out here!

Alyssa

Barbie And Her Toy Box Pals Go Bald For A Cause

So I think this is really neat that the toy manufacturers are releasing these bald dolls. I understand that it can be quite powerful to see an image that looks like oneself in media. For me, being able to play video games and see queer characters makes me feel more comfortable, not because of any issues of identity I have not resolved, but because positive images occur when culture has positive ideas about a specific group.

More specifically about these dolls, I love how a social media campaign on FaceBook led these companies to go from producing one doll for a cancer-stricken girl to releasing a whole line of Barbies and Bratz that are bald. Although consumerism is not a path to agency (in my opinion), I think that these dolls work as a sign of solidarity for young girls (and boys) that are affected by such a severe illness. The power of social media in situations like this makes me feel better about living in a globalized world filled with huge conglomerates.

YWLP "Leading Out Loud!"

Last Friday the Young Women's Leaders Program at UCF hosted 5 elementary schools and three middle schools for a "Leading Out Loud (L.O.L)" workshop that was created to empower middle school girls to help stop bullying in elementary and middle schools. The audience of the workshops consisted of 5 elementary schools (both boys and girls) who participated in activities and games that advocated for school safety and students’ potential to “stomp out school bullying”.

The American Association of University Women awarded UCF's YWLP a grant to create and promote this workshop along with other efforts to help stomp out bullying among young girls and boys. Bullying has evolved in the past 15 years through the development of technologies that makes it easier to do, immediate, and online anonymity absolutely makes bullying more accessible to those who would not normally do it face-to-face or over the phone. "Cyber-bullying" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. (stopcyberbullying.org). This definition necessitates minors instigating against other minors or minors being on both sides of the conflict or otherwise the name of the offense would be cyber-harassment/cyber-stalking. The change in rhetoric based on age places cyber-bullying as a less threatening and less traumatic offense than cyber-stalking even though it may be exponentially worse in practice.

When bullying is accepted as a normal but unfortunate part of school, as it so commonly is, it also dulls its seriousness. This then translates to boys and girls not reporting issues of abuse and bullying to adults or friends. According to the AAUW “Crossing the Line” executive summary, “girls were more likely than boys to talk with parents and other family members and more likely than boys to talk with friends”. This inability of boys to talk about bullying or report is detrimental to all bullying because, as students police other students and therefore reinforce gender stereotypes as puberty progresses, boys would typically be the most able to stop bullying if the threat didn’t loom over their heads that much more. Even though bullying and harassment is more likely to affect girls and be performed by girls, boys are expected to take the path of least resistance in order to not be emasculated.

According to the AAUW “Crossing the Line” executive summary, sexual harassment differs by legal definition but is just as prevalent is middle and high schools. “Sexual harassment by text, e-mail, Facebook, or other electronic means [affect] nearly one-third (30 percent) of students. Interestingly, many of the students who were sexually harassed through cyberspace were also sexually harassed in person” (exec summary). Harassment and bullying are strongly tied to the high school and middle school experience and as technology advances and new outlets are created for virtual communication, harassment takes new and harsher forms. Therefore, efforts to null or stop this destructive behavior need to address both and all avenues. The YWLP LOL workshops taught young students how to spot, speak out against and prevent bullying in their schools. They were taught to find a teacher or an adult or call for help when they witness something or to speak out themselves and not take the path of least resistance. These in-person tools also theoretically translate to online prevention.

The AAUW executive report further explains “girls were more likely than boys to be sexually harassed, by a significant margin (56% vs. 40%). Girls were more likely to be sexually harassed both in person (52% vs. 35%) and via text, e-mail, Facebook, or other electronic means (36% vs. 24%).” According to another AAUW report, girls are more likely than boys to be cyber bullies. This cycle of “girl hate” and trauma experienced by young women disproportionately makes them more vulnerable online and therefore perhaps less likely to explore the boundless possibilities of helpful resources and revolutionary girl-power that may be found in the virtual world.

Throughout the day, the middle school girls were nervous about leading workshops. The middle school girls are “little sisters” in the Young Women’s Leaders Program at UCF and were put in charge of creating their own workshops and creating campaigns at their schools to help stop and prevent school bullying. Due to the dominance of technology, the girls focused a lot on preventing cyber bullying or fighting back against cyber-bullying. This topic of online bullying is hardly ever touched on in traditional anti-bullying lectures regardless of its increasing prevalence. It’s very important to reach these young boys and girls in the terms that they are most familiar with and have the most agency over. If one ignores the internet or technology as a factor in any situation in the coming generations, they are ignoring a crucial aspect of life.

http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/CrossingTheLine_ExecSummary.pdf
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html

Girls Around Me App

The “Girls Around Me” app is used to locate women in the surrounding area through social media like Facebook. As the writer of the Forbes article points out “this is a great tool if you’re a stalker,” which is most likely why this app was recently pulled from the iTunes app store. Though Forbes writer Kashmir Hill seems to believe that these women want to be found since they are generally savvier when it comes to privacy settings. Luckily the writer of this article Erik Kain has more sense and goes to discuss why this is not so “This is true—some women want to be found this way, I’ve no doubt. A dating app that you mutually sign on for, however, is an entirely different beast than an app that only lets other people find you… Girls Around Me is a lopsided application, placing all the power in the hands of the men using the app.” Kain goes onto to discuss how most likely the women who are shown are most likely not so tech savvy as those not shown. Whatever the reasons why these women pop up on the app does not matter, so much as the app itself which encourages men to find women; whether they want to be found or not. Below is a link to the article. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/06/the-problem-with-the-girls-around-me-app-isnt-that-women-are-lazy-about-privacy/

Media Awareness

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_girls.cfm


This is a site devoted to spreading media awareness within the female youth population. It discusses issues such as online hate, media stereotypes, and more.

Rethreaded!

http://rethreaded.org/

Hey, everyone!

I wanted to share this website with you all to see an organization that has gotten its start with the help of the internet and Facebook.  Facebook is definitely becoming a massively utilized forum to share ideas and advertise for organizations and companies to get the word out about particular causes.  Rethreaded is a company that seeks to offer work to women who have recently escaped the sex trade, both internationally, and locally.  Check out their website or Facebook page and show some support!

Alyssa

The Virtual World & Me

I am a bit of a romantic.  I might even classify myself as someone who falls into the “Golden Age” notion of the past was better than the present.  That being said, I am, admittedly, a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to technology and my own digital literacy. 

When I was young, we didn’t have a computer in our home until my mother remarried when I was in the 6^th grade.  Up until that point, if I had homework that required the computer or internet access, my mother would trek down to her office with us after our after school activities, and we would get on for only what was needed and get right off because it was a company computer, and we now had thirty minutes to drive home.  My first real interaction with the internet came with the advent of the middle school social scene taking to Instant Messenger.

I remember that in order to be allowed to use the internet in my new step-father’s house, you had to pass a typing test.  I don’t know if he had software or there was a site we used, but regardless, we had to show progress to be able to do what we wanted to do.  I hated it!  But, I believe that it was one test that I passed that enabled me to create a screen name for AIM, and that was the primary means of communication, and the way I was the most comfortable in expressing my identity as a young teen.  As a shy girl in person, I really felt as though I was given an opportunity to express myself when I spoke with my friends and with boys online.

Even when I did finally have access to the internet, I was completely flummoxed when it came to the idea of “surfing.”  I didn’t understand what it was that people could possibly be searching for, and it all seemed quite overrated to me.  Give me AIM, and I was good to go.  As the years passed, my next major interest in the internet came with the myriad of song lyric websites.  I searched for all of my favorite songs, and made them my screen names, or my “Away Message” on AIM.  And for a very long time (all the way through high school), email, AIM, and Microsoft Word were the only things that I utilized by way of technology.  I even had an old Canon camera with the roll-up film all the way until my sophomore year of high school (which was 2004, by the way).

I loved to communicate over the internet.  It helped me to navigate my youth and adolescence in a way that I didn’t feel I was capable of in person or over the telephone.  I was a different person online; very funny and outspoken.  In person, I was the shy, wallflower type.  AIM gave me the courage to say what was on my mind because no one could see my face, and when no one was looking at me, I was much less likely to blush.  But despite my love of online conversations, I never went into chat rooms; I didn’t have an interest in talking to people I didn’t know.  I never have utilized MySpace; mainly because I found myself disinterested in learning how to navigate my way through a site.  And as far as Facebook is concerned, I did not create my first profile page; a friend of mine did when we were all going off to college, insisting that this was the only way we would be able to keep in touch.

I did learn much more about the internet, and expand my technological knowledge base in my first year or so of college, but even still, it largely consisted of Facebook and the “Chat” feature, therein.  The purchase of my own laptop opened up a world of music in mp3 format, PhotoBooth, and YouTube, however, I have only just recently made my first YouTube video, and that was only because it was a class assignment.  I must admit that I am not all that interested in being a producer of media that can be so closely connected to my likeness.

I still much prefer the anonymity of blogs and chatting.

What about you?

We Aren't Friends

So, I work mainly nights. Not all night, but it's unusual for me to arrive at my store before 4pm, and very unusual for me to be home before my partner is asleep. This means that the customers that I know are an entirely different crowd than the 6am-cup-of-black-coffee-to-go crowd that my manager imagines I deal with. There are a lot major differences in the kinds of people who buy a cup of coffee at eleven at night and seven in the morning, but I'll just list a few. First, the seven am person (Let's call them "Alex") is usually a professional on their way to work or meeting. They prefer drinks that are "skinny" or just black coffee. They know the morning staff, and usually have a conversation with someone before leaving with their drink. The eleven pm person (Let's call them "Mo") is usually a student who doesn't own a planner and needs to study for the next eleven hours because they have a HUGE text tomorrow and haven't opened their books yet, or a young international student from Saudi Arabia, there to meet with all of their friends. The students think Frappucinos have caffeine, and the Saudis order small hot lattes. All the night customers prefer to finish their drinks in the store, but miraculously have not learned any staff members name. The night customers, in short, are jerks. However, at night is completely okay for me to tell them that. Which is where this is going. (I know, I know- bear with me).
It is so much worse to work in the day, even if 99% of the customers are nice, know what they want, and communicate it clearly. Because for that ONE guy, you have to apologize for things that aren't your fault and pretend like this person's business is really important to you. At night, if a customer waits until they get to the pick-up bar to ask for milk in their solo espresso over ice, I can just say "No, that's a latte." This makes me feel better, and gives appropriate feedback to the person who tried to get a cheap latte. However, this conversation is really different when I have it than when my male coworkers have it. And I'm not the only one to notice this. A brief look at "The Customer is NOT Always Right" shows the immediate response of customers to women:

http://notalwaysright.com/additional-charge-for-unlimited-sexism-plan/18212
http://notalwaysright.com/an-open-and-shut-case/8497

Anyway, I was reading this part in Camgirls and this is what I started thinking about...
"To manage their emotional states, employees engage in two sorts of act- ing. ‘Surface acting’ is the equivalent of faking a smile or acting as a char- acter without personally identifying with the role one is playing. In ‘deep acting,’ the employee works to identify with the feelings she needs to project to keep customers satisfied. Whether she engages in the acting consciously or unconsciously, and whether she enjoys herself or not, this acting requires effort, which Hochschild qualifies as labor, arguing, “When deep gestures of exchange enter the market sector and are bought and sold as an aspect of labor power, feelings are commoditized.”32" (page 9)

I guess where I'm getting at is, I think women are expected are to be better at, or to do more, deep acting. Women in my workplace are supposed to develop relationships with customers. The men are allowed to just do their jobs for the most part, and be friendly. I have to field questions like "Where do you live?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "What are you doing after you get off? Wanna hang out?" And the answer is: No. We aren't friends. You just think we are because I get paid to smile and ask how your day was every day, when you buy two minutes of my labor and about eighty cents of supplies that I have access to.

This Gamer Girl is Awesome

I honestly thought the whole "there are no girls on the internet" thing had died and gone away.  It clearly has not.  There are so many preconcieved notions and assumptions about online gamers in games like World of Warcraft floating around.  This article is a good read, and seems to tie into our readings from the last unit we covered.   

Whitney talks about what its like to be a girl on the internet and in an MMORPG like World of Warcraft.  She talks about getting called a slut just for being a high level character in game.  Despite WOW being a general escape from reality for so many people, women still can't escape slut-shaming and sexism.   

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_17/109-OMG-Girlz-Dont-Exist-on-teh-Intarweb-1

Hunger Games

So, is anyone else completely psyched about going to see Hunger Games? Well, if not, you should be. Because Hunger Games is gonna kick butt.

A lot of people are gettin' real worked up about the Games... You can read about disability here and race here and here, and gender here. Caught up?

Okay, so let's talk about girls. First off, can I just tell y'all that when I was about ten I pretty much assumed that I would know how to shoot a bow and arrow by now? Sadly, I have failed in that particular life goal. (Also: I do not own a magical blue Cinderella dress, and I am not any better at walking in heels.) And now there's going to be an entire new generation of girls who want to shoot bows and arrows and want magical red fire dresses! This is only good news, to me.

Also, I read the Hunger Games trilogy as an adult so I'm not even sure what I would have gotten out of it as a kid, but it's a pretty metaphor ready book. In it, there are some really explicit critiques of exploitative labor practices. Since I work at a Starbucks near a movie theater, I was able to take advantage of this. On opening night, we were flooded with Hunger Games fans. We agreed to keep our tip jar out, but to also display a jar for "District 12", which we would donate to Yaya. We didn't get a ton of money, but we talked to probably a hundred fans about farm workers in Central Florida in a context that they were excited about. Which, I think, is kind of cool. The Hunger Games might not be perfect (and I'm sure that there are at least twenty really great reasons why it isn't), but it gave us a moment to connect with younger women who have connected with fictional laborers about actual laborers.

Thoughts?

African American Woman in Hollywood

This article I found also provides a unique perspective of how Hollywood is still not giving African American Woman in america the necessary roles and credit in movies. In the article, an actress states that, the film industry is "no different than corporate America" by the way black woman are treated in respect to jobs.

http://www.theroot.com/views/black-women-and-hollywood-shuffle

African American Woman struggles

This article talks about the struggles that african american woman go through on a daily basis. It talks about how young african american woman struggle to fit in and try to be someone they are not. It explains that there are so few african american woman that are in political office and gives you a good perspective of what people face.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/world/europe/black-british-women/index.html

Sexual Assault

In the other service learning project I am currently invested in, I am doing it on the unbelievable process that goes on every day about woman raped and sexually assaulted in our armed forces. This happens all the time and we need to do something about it. This article is about the sundance film called the "Invisible War" which is the organization I about doing my service learning project on.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/invisible-war-sundance-film-review-285506

Woman shackled in pregnancy

For one of my service learning projects, I am doing it on the barbaric struggle about how incarcerated woman are shackled and in chains during pregnancy. This process is disturbing and not practical. I wanted to share this article that gives information on it and shows a few statistics.

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/shackling_women_in_prison_during_childbirth.html

Mom Puts Daughter on Diet Then Writes About It

Dara-Lynn Weiss decided that her daughter should to be put on a diet after her pedestrian labeled, the then 7-year old Bea, as obese. Bea was six at the time and was 93 pounds. After her daughter lost weight, Weiss wrote in article entitled “Weight Watcher” in Vogue describing her daughter’s process of losing weight. The article is receiving backlash, not so much for her the daughters need to be put on a diet, but how she went about it. She would withhold food from Bea, even as her daughter would cry that she was hungry or wanted something in particular to eat. At one point Weiss states “I once reproachfully deprived Bea of her dinner after learning that her observation of French Heritage Day at school involved nearly 800 calories of Brie, filet mignon, baguette, and chocolate.” I honestly do not have a problem with the fact that Bea had to be put on diet, so much as the that the mother is sending the wrong message to this young girl. The point is not to withhold food or deprive someone of certain foods, but to learn to eat in moderation. After losing sixteen pounds in the last year Bea was adamant that she was not different to which her mother writes, “I protest that indeed she is different. At this moment, that fat girl is a thing of the past.” I beg to differ that this girl’s problem is a thing of the past, as this seven-year-old is going to be dealing with years of therapy for what her mother put her through and the eating habits incurred.   

Girls Inc.

I was doing some research for my S/L project and found this website that looks legit and not sponsored by some advertising group. One of their missions is to provide Media Literacy for girls. Girls Inc develops research-based informal education programs that encourage girls to take risks and master physical, intellectual and emotional challenges. Major programs address math and science education, pregnancy and drug abuse prevention, media literacy, economic literacy, adolescent health, violence prevention, and sports participation.

Cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout

Reebok recently launched an ad campaign with the slogan "Cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout."  The ad is, of course, highly offensive for a multitude of reasons.  Fortunately, the ad has been pulled and Reebok is apologizing.

I have to wonder how this ad even made it to billboards, magazines, subway stations, and internet ads.  I don't need to preach to the choir about why this ad is disgusting and offensive here, but it says something about the world we live in.  I can't help but think about how ads like this are affecting young women.  Ads like this give a message that women don't matter.  A workout is more important than respecting your female partner.  Why does a company need to devalue women to sell athletic gear?  I have to hope that there are some badass 14 year old grrls blogging about how to rail against machismo and patriarchal dominant culture.   



http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/20/reebok-pulls-ad-urging-people-to-cheat-on-your-girlfriend-not-on-your-workout/

YWLP Event Volunteer Opportunity!

Good afternoon,

The Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP) needs help from our UCF community! 

YWLP is a mentoring program that is housed within the UCF Women's Studies Program.  We work at three area middle schools and pair 7th grade girls with UCF women to develop a "sisterhood" of love and support as well as fostering an environment of developing lifelong leadership skills. 

This year, we were fortunate to have received a national grant from the American Association of University Women called the Campus Action Project grant.  Through this grant, we are hosting a workshop called "Leading Out Loud (L.O.L.): YWLP's Campaign to Draw Lines Against Bullying and Harassment."

Our current YWLP middle school student participants will be co-leading this workshop with their mentors to an audience of over 100 local fifth grade girls and boys!  We want all students to have the skills and courage to STEP UP, SPEAK OUT, and STOMP OUT BULLYING in their schools!

We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to reach out to our community but in order to do so, we need some help from our Knights! 
Attached is the flier for the event containing important detailed information. PLEASE post this filer and/or share with others (feel free to forward this email as well).  We are in NEED of men and women to volunteer!
Thank you for your time and please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Go Knights!

Maria Roman
YWLP Coordinator

University of Central Florida-Women's Studies Program
Young Women Leaders Program
Office: 407-823-6502

maria.roman@ucf.edu
www.womensstudies.cah.ucf.edu/ywlp

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Sexy Baby

Sexy Baby is a documentary looking at the impact that the internet has on teenage girls. The Tribeca Film Festival site describes the movie as “Nakita, a former porn star, and the effect she has on Laura, a plastic surgery patient, and Winnifred, a middle school student, amidst the rise of a new sexual landscape via the cyber age.” The documentary looks at how living in a digital age has affected a change in how sexuality is viewed and how it has changed advertisements, music videos, movies, etc. The site includes a trailer for the film.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Exclusive-Trailer-Tribeca-Film-Festival-Entry-Sexy-Baby-29833.html

Personhood laws

Personhood laws are expected to be on the ballot in 12 states this election year. Although this topic doesn't connect directly to this class, it does effect the rights of every woman! Please know what is on the ballot in your state and VOTE! We can also use the internet to get the word out to others.

Photoshop Horror

For my service learning project I have been working one-on-one with girl and showing her various thing that I have learned through this class. I feel like our talks have really sparked an interest because my mentee showed me this site:

http://www.beautymyths.org/

It's a pretty neat site that shows pictures before and after photoshop. It was awful to she how thin they make women appear in magazines.

The 10 Worst-Paying Cities in America for Women

It's interesting to note that the number 10 spot goes to a city very close to Orlando.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/03/08/10-worst-paying-cities-for-women/

Hardy Girls Healthy Women

I came across this blog when browsing various activism sites. I was particularly thrilled to see the blog address certain "fashion trends" that state "Allergic to Algebra" and "Too Pretty for Homework" and can been seen in stores like JC Penny and Forever 21.


http://hghw.org/blog/

getting your period: or becoming a woman in the "developed world"

My project is about helping girls get feminine hygiene products in areas where that might not be very easy. To begin, I wanted to do a survey of what <a href="http://www.beinggirl.com/article/signs-of-your-first-period/">getting</a> <a href="http://www.girlshealth.gov/body/period/index.cfm">your</a> <a href="http://www.always.com/period/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Always+Teenage+Development_1011&utm_term=first%20period&utm_content=sBWHA9iwv|pcrid|9878923745|b|first%20period">period</a> means to us, here.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FRf35wCmzWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

We've all seen these kinds of commercials, right? I mean, it's not even shocking anymore. And why not make fun of tampon commercials while offering essentially the same product in a cooler wrapper?

"Your period. It's a rite of passage. The miracle that allows you to create life. And it's what makes you a woman." -Actual quote from "Always.com".
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The thing is, it's not even hard to make a joke about periods. They're so taboo, the<a href="http://ubykotex.com/the_mission/why"> company trying to capitalize on making their brand cool has to convince people in this country that periods are an acceptable thing to make cool</a>. Because, what's girl power if you can't sell it, right?

This statistic struck me as really odd, "More girls rely on the media over a teacher or school nurse for vaginal health information." When I read that, I thought "So...?" I mean, come one. I rely more on the internet for information about literally everything over a school nurse. I can't even remember the last time I thought asking a teacher was a good ending point for research about something...

I know this is a really un-scientific survey, and that I basically just googled "first period", but I think it leaves me with some good questions. If we all think of periods, vaginas, and puberty as gross and embarrassing, and we all agree that it shouldn't be- what's the IDEAL? What does it look like when you have the perfect "talk", the perfect feminine hygiene, the perfect attitude towards your period? Is there such a thing? Could it ever be "okay" to be embarrassed, ambivalent, or frustrated with your period?

Just a few thoughts.

LoveSocial.org & Missrepresentation.org: In Honor of International Women's Day

My SL project is working with Girl Future (especially posting for them on their FB page) , which is where I originally found this video.  It is a very good example of raising awareness of digital influences and literacy with / for girls.  "We are proud to release the below infographic and video, created in collaboration with the lovely folks at LoveSocial.org, in honor of International Women’s Day," says the missrepresentation.org website.  

LINK: Cause And Effect: Why We Need To Tell Herstory

Check it out and share it with the girls in your life.  I sent it to my nieces and posted it on my FB wall :)

             

International Women's Day

Here's a link to a Youtube video about the Girl Effect 12 It shows how helping a 12 year-old girl can change the world. Happy International Women's Day!!

To Get Her There

ToGetHerThere (To Get Her There) is an organization sponsored by the Girl Scouts to provide information and mentors in three areas: - Support Girls in STEM - Prevent Cyber Bullying and Aggression - Promote Healthy Images of Women The organization strives to help girls reach their full potential. YOU CAN HELP!! Senator Larkin is sponsoring a bill called the Successful, Safe and Healthy Schools Act It is designed to help end Mean Girl Bullying. It's easy to send a message to your Senators and Representatives on this website and ask for their support of the bill. Quote from the website. "Bullying can take many forms, but girls are more likely to use behaviors like shunning, taunting, spreading rumors, and betraying a confidence, both online and offline. Teachers and parents tend to write off these behaviors as a “part of growing up,” but the impact is severe. Girls say technology allows them to treat their peers more cruelly, without having to see the immediate response to their behavior. 38% of girls worry about their emotional safety when spending time with their peers. Cyberbullying starts as early as second grade, and 85% of middle-school students say they’ve been cyberbullied at least once." Thanks for your support of this important legislation.

My Service Learning Project

For my service learning project I am starting a non-profit organization that I had wanted to start anyway called "Diabuddies." The goal of this organization is to set up newly diagnosed diabetics with diabetic mentors. So far I have contacted the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation who is really supportive of me starting a branch in Orlando. Also, I will be tracking my progress, as well to daily living with diabetes on a blog I just started! So far I have received a lot of positive feedback from other diabetics who have read it! If anyone would like to follow this journey or help and spread the word, I would really appreciate it!

diabuddies.wordpress.com

Although I was unable to watch the Academy Awards this year, I am not surprised to find this article, "Dear Oscar: Women Have Stories, Too"- by Tara Sophia Mohr, as an apt reflection on lack of female representation.  As Ms. Mohr points out in her article, " The LA Times reported that men compose more than 90 percent of the five branches of the Academy, such as cinematography and visual effects. Only 6 of the 43 members of the governing board of the Academy are female, and only one is a person of color."  

There are loads of female directors, producers, cinematographers, and the like out there making meaningful films that constantly get passed over or are only recognized in the indie circuit.   Katheryn Bigalow is the only woman in Oscar history to have won for best director in 2009 for The Hurt Locker. 

I agree with her thoughts on how this effects girls (and women for that matter) in that they grow up thinking that this is not an arena of creativity for them and further perpetuates the idea that their only place is in front of the camera. I think that is why classes like ours are so important to learn and be able to raise awareness.

(photo from reelmaniacs.com)

Oh Em Gee. The Mary Sue!

You probably heard my fangirl *squee* when I discovered the site, The Mary Sue by way of my last blog post regarding the article "Who In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? CEO, Intellectual, & America’s Most Positive Latina Role Model". I have not spent a ton of time vetting it, but from what I have seen I am in love. The About Us page begins

The Mary Sue hopes to be a place for two things: highlighting women in the geek world, and providing a prominent place for the voices of geek women. Because all we really want is to just be able to geek out with all geeks, of any gender, without feeling like our femininity is front and center for scrutinization.

*swoon* The tag line declares the site is "A Guide to Girl Geek Culture" and the rotating masthead predominately features an assortment of "iconic and well loved female character (s)" . The image above is Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, one of my favorites. The name of the site is from the trope of the generic "Mary Sue". The Mary Sue turned 1 year old yesterday so this Girl Geek has a bit of catching up to do!

Carmen Sandiego

A post on the Miss Representation Media FaceBook page sharing a link had me at "Carmen Sandiego". The poster at Miss Representation shared this quote from the essay by Frances Martel of The Mary Sue

"Sandiego has a particular impact on girls—or, at least, had a particular impact on me—because she was a symbol of cultural rebellion. She is the first major American pop culture example of a mischievous yet beloved hero who also happens to be both a woman and a Latin American."

While I never watched the TV show, I certainly played the video game. Not even when the game came up in my digital autobiography last did I give Carmen the full attention I now see she deserves.

Virtual Girls: Girls and Digital Media: My Digital Autobiography

My Digital Autobiography (link here)

Digigirlz Dubai

I thought that this was a interesting article about digital literacy in another country. I think that it is very important for girls to learn as much as they can about technology. These hands-on experiences can be very liberating for girls.

download.microsoft.com/.../Digigirlz_Dubai_Digital_Literacy.pdf

My Digital Self

I popped open MS Word to work on the Digital Autobiography assignment and found myself drawn to producing a visual chronological timeline. This is due in part to my homeschooling friends who were touting the flexibility of sharing the past when you didn't have to rely on a text book. I cut some from the adult years of my timeline since this course focuses on younger girls. I may add back to it at some time when a grade isn't attached to it. Tabatha's Digital Self This was a fun assignment!

Actress protesting

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/02/23/xena-star-lucy-lawless-boards-ship-in-new-zealand-to-protest-arctic-oil/

-This is an interesting story about an actress doing something good and protesting, I thought this was a cool story and thought I would share.

My Kind of Princess

As a longtime fan of digital animation and Pixar Studios, I was thrilled to see they are releasing a film with a strong female lead. Brave is the story of Princess Merida breaking cultural stereotypes for her class and gender. The title of the movie attaches a typically masculine attribute to Merida, with "Brave".

I certainly hope there is more of the same in store for viewers after watching the latest trailer where she breaks conventions by speaking out against her arranged marriage by winning her own hand with her archery skills. She splits her own perfectly targeted arrow while disobeying her mother; showing that sometimes the path to standing tall begins with the tiny act of letting go. Check out the trailers here.

Gender Reinforcement via Cartoon Doll Emporium

According to it's banner www.cartoondollemporium.com is an online "safe haven for imagination;" however safe can have a multitude of definitions. From what I can see from the site "safe" really means "traditional". All of the games on CDE are reflective of traditional roles of femininity. You can find many dress-up/make-up games on the site. Although the site is primarily for little girls there is even a "love and marriage" category for games where every "princess" marries her "prince". The "career" games also portray girls as air flight attendants, teachers, waitresses, etc.

Is this site really exercising the imagination? Or is the site reinforcing traditional gender roles?

Website Recommendation!

In my IM conversation with my partner for class this week, she told me that she felt as though most websites geared toward females are very stereotypical and gender-conforming. I made a recommendation to her that I would like to let everyone else know about as well!

www.autostraddle.com

Autostraddle.com is a non-gender-conforming and awesome website, that (despite its very obvious political bias) is full of alternative and interesting articles. They cover everything from politics to movie reviews, fashion to cooking recipes, and advice columns to music recommendations. Additionally, Autostraddle does this from a queer perspective which celebrates all gender expressions. They have regular bloggers who discuss their trials and tribulations as both M2F and F2M transsexuals. Their fashion articles are geared toward feminine dressers, and those who have more alternative tastes, and their advice columns are based directly on reader questions, and are therefore helpful to many people who may have not found anyone else to ask.

You guys should check it out! :)

Underweight Women in Japan Face Health Problems

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/02/diminishing-waistlines-a-national-health-problem-in-japan/

The article discusses how Japanese women are facing the health problem of being too skinny. One of the women in the article, Shiho Aoki, points out the reasoning for the problem being “the pressure for young women to be thin is greater than ever, largely because popular Japanese models are getting skinner. At 5 feet 1 and weighing 100 pounds, Aoki said she was considered ‘fat’ among friends.” The notion that this young woman and her friend’s think she is fat for her height is seriously scary. Though I think this follows suit of young girls and women in America that think they are overweight based on models and actresses. I also found it quite interesting that the opposite can be said for older men to which “Nearly 40 percent of men in their 40s and 50s are considered overweight.” Obviously women are more affected by images in the media than what men are. 

Six Man Panel to Decide Birth Control - Please join the fight with your voice! I am so enraged by this! It feels like we are back in the 1900's and men are still deciding our fate. You can send a message to your representatives by going to this link: http://www.now.org/ Let them know that birth control should be covered by our insurance! We should be represented on a panel that is deciding our fate! Why is Viagra covered, but birth control not? In the Senate, a vote is coming up soon on the so-called "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act," an anti-birth control amendment Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is trying to force through as an attachment to a must-pass transportation bill. If passed, this legislation would deny countless women contraception coverage in their employee health plans. In fact, the amendment would allow any employer or insurance provider (with or without a religious affiliation) to refuse to cover any health care item or service they object to on the basis of "religious beliefs or moral convictions." "Far from being about religious liberty, this ongoing campaign by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and their conservative cronies in Congress is a blatant attack on birth control in the United States," said NOW President Terry O'Neill. "Women, regardless of where they work, should have access to health insurance that covers preventive health care, including contraception, with no co-pays and no hassles," said O'Neill. "Employers should not be allowed to enforce their personal beliefs on employees regarding birth control coverage or basic health care. Simply put, all employers and insurers should play by the same rules under health care reform." NOW is closely watching two other, similar bills, one authored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and the other co-authored by Rubio and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va..). Both bills would allow any employer to strip birth control from their health insurance plans. NOW is urging all reproductive rights supporters to contact their senators to ensure defeat of these bills. Birth control is a fundamental part of preventive health care for women in this country, and restricting it is wildly out of touch with the values and desires of the American people. A recent survey by Public Policy Polling shows that 56 percent of U.S. voters -- including men as well as women -- support the requirement for health plans to fully cover birth control. "Enough is enough," said O'Neill. "People are growing fed up with the politicization of basic health care and birth control, and legislators should take note: politicians who try to restrict birth control will pay a price at the polls this November."

Chris Brown Grammy Performance

After his Grammy win, Chris Brown tweeted "Hate all u want becuz I got a Grammy now! That's the ultimate f**k off!" he raged on Twitter in a message that has since been deleted from his page. "I'm back so watch my back as I walk away from all this negativity,". He deleted the message since then but what you put on the internet is there to stay. I just think it's funny that instead of using digital media to show the world that he's learned from his mistakes he continually shows that he's not sorry for what he did and that he hasn't changed at all.

http://blog.music.aol.com/2012/02/15/chris-brown-grammys-2012-critics/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D135907

Can Elmo inspire your kid to become a scientist? Article by Bonnie Rochman

http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/09/can-elmo-inspire-your-kid-to-become-a-scientist/


Sesame Street is now adding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) inspired shows to their line up! This is fantastic! Millions of young children watch Sesame Street, I know my kids did, and to incorporate STEM into the show is great news! Read the article in Time Magazine. The message Sesame Street is putting out for kids is about learning, trial and error, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, and then trying again. I find this great news! Check it out!
"If the program is as successful with science as it has been with introducing preschoolers to language and other skills, that should bode well for the future of America’s doctors, engineers and astronauts." (Rochman, 2012)

Work Cited

 http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/09/can-elmo-inspire-your-kid-to-become-a-scientist/#ixzz1m60B6pgW

Breaking Bread, Breaking Digital Dualism

New York Times author David Carr has a wonderful, mouth-watering piece about the joys of sitting to dinner with a group of friends and eating home-made bread baked from a recipe passed on from the host’s mother. Then he finishes the column with this point about face-to-face interaction:

All of which is a way of saying something that is probably obvious to others who are less digitally obsessed: you can follow someone on Twitter, friend them on Facebook, quote or be quoted by them in a newspaper article, but until you taste their bread, you don’t really know them.

I agree with most everything he says in the column because, besides the last paragraph, his column is a antidote to digital dualism–the idea that online and offline worlds are somehow separate entities, one “virtual” and the other “real.” But his column brings back digital dualism at the end–and does a disservice, in my opinion, to the rest of his points. He starts by explaining how the dinner group first met each other mostly online, then had this beautiful dinner together, and then shared the recipe over email–and ponders whether or not Google would ever find this recipe. (It seems that Carr asked the host, Clay Shirky, for the recipe and I have a feeling that it might soon end up where Google can find it.) 

READ THE REST HERE

'Girl Project'--check it out

Photographer Kate Engelbrecht shares images and diary-like entries from 13- to 18-year-olds

‘Girl Project’ Reveals What Teens are Really Thinking

http://thegirlproject.org/

I probably shouldn't be surprised...

http://jezebel.com/5881895/watch-telafloras-super-sexist-super-bowl-ad

This article talks about a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. I found this while researching for part of my service learning project and I thought I would share it here, as well.

Dove Evolution

YouTube is not allowing me to embed the video, but please go take a look at it if you have a moment. It shows us why our self-image and ideas of beauty are so distorted.


http://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U