Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Activism Log 9
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
May, 2010
• Activism
This week I worked on my Service Learning reflection paper. In addition I dropped of my ours sheet at Leandra Prestons office.
• Reflection
While writing my reflection paper I really came to realize the importance of solidarity between marginalized groups. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be shown the powerful work of Animal Safe House and how it helped not only women but men too. I know that my work with Animal Safe House has helped people from every single background. This is the ultimate reflection of solidarity. I was reminded of the article I read for my discussion leading; "The rising cost of whiteness" According to Kaye/Kantrowitz when we lose our sense of solidarity with other marginalized groups we lose our ability to stand for one another.
• Reciprocity
I feel like we definitely accomplished what we set out to do. Now we begin the process of preparing for our class presentation.
Nina Perez
WST 3015
May, 2010
• Activism
This week I worked on my Service Learning reflection paper. In addition I dropped of my ours sheet at Leandra Prestons office.
• Reflection
While writing my reflection paper I really came to realize the importance of solidarity between marginalized groups. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be shown the powerful work of Animal Safe House and how it helped not only women but men too. I know that my work with Animal Safe House has helped people from every single background. This is the ultimate reflection of solidarity. I was reminded of the article I read for my discussion leading; "The rising cost of whiteness" According to Kaye/Kantrowitz when we lose our sense of solidarity with other marginalized groups we lose our ability to stand for one another.
• Reciprocity
I feel like we definitely accomplished what we set out to do. Now we begin the process of preparing for our class presentation.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Gonna Beat My Wife????
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
20 April 2010
Media is one of the most pervasive influences on the lives of people all over the world today. It can set or break trends, it can perpetuate stereotypes, it can propel elections. It can also lead to violence against people, especially women.
Songs like "I'm Gunna Beat My Wife" create space for people to think it is actually okay to beat their wives and partners (DUH!).Our text confirms that songs that are pro-intimate partner violence or normalize it are effectively a, "cultural legitimization of male violence" (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 266). Take this line from the lyrics of the song as an example; "....Oh baby please don't beat me, baby I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more!". Those lyrics represent the pleading sobs of someone’s girlfriend, wife, mom, and sister, partner before her death. What kind of norm does this set up for the 12-year-old boy who overhears this song? What kind of solemnest does this steal away from victims of intimate partner abuse?
The lyrics in this song are very repetitive and short, however when we look at the line where the woman being killed states; "Baby please, I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more" it's clear that the lyrics are creating an excuse for the male abuser and placing the blame on the woman. This is something that happens all too commonly, in families, in the police department and in society. These excuses have allowed male violence against women to grow and change over time, according to our text "rape has evolved historically as a form of male reproductive behavior," (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 264).
It is fairly uniformly accepted that diverse images represented in the media help to create a more egalitarian and accepting society. Why then is it a stretch for some people to think that images of abuse and violence against women portrayed as positive on TV or in music could lead to an acceptance and perpetuation of this behavior? It shouldn't be.
Men and women in our society have an obligation to stand up against oppressive or sexist language in our media so we can save the future generations from violence and hate. Lady Gaga is one example of a superstar today who has come our and declared her stand against sexist and homophobic lyrics her mantra around messages in the media is a simple but true one, "It's always wrong to hate, but it's never wrong to love."
Work Cited:
Dead Milkmen. "Gonna Beat My Wife." Rec. 1 Jan. 1988. Beelzebubba. Grooveshark. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .
Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 257-271.
Nina Perez
WST 3015
20 April 2010
Gonna Beat My Wife
Media is one of the most pervasive influences on the lives of people all over the world today. It can set or break trends, it can perpetuate stereotypes, it can propel elections. It can also lead to violence against people, especially women.
Songs like "I'm Gunna Beat My Wife" create space for people to think it is actually okay to beat their wives and partners (DUH!).Our text confirms that songs that are pro-intimate partner violence or normalize it are effectively a, "cultural legitimization of male violence" (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 266). Take this line from the lyrics of the song as an example; "....Oh baby please don't beat me, baby I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more!". Those lyrics represent the pleading sobs of someone’s girlfriend, wife, mom, and sister, partner before her death. What kind of norm does this set up for the 12-year-old boy who overhears this song? What kind of solemnest does this steal away from victims of intimate partner abuse?
The lyrics in this song are very repetitive and short, however when we look at the line where the woman being killed states; "Baby please, I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more" it's clear that the lyrics are creating an excuse for the male abuser and placing the blame on the woman. This is something that happens all too commonly, in families, in the police department and in society. These excuses have allowed male violence against women to grow and change over time, according to our text "rape has evolved historically as a form of male reproductive behavior," (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 264).
It is fairly uniformly accepted that diverse images represented in the media help to create a more egalitarian and accepting society. Why then is it a stretch for some people to think that images of abuse and violence against women portrayed as positive on TV or in music could lead to an acceptance and perpetuation of this behavior? It shouldn't be.
Men and women in our society have an obligation to stand up against oppressive or sexist language in our media so we can save the future generations from violence and hate. Lady Gaga is one example of a superstar today who has come our and declared her stand against sexist and homophobic lyrics her mantra around messages in the media is a simple but true one, "It's always wrong to hate, but it's never wrong to love."
Work Cited:
Dead Milkmen. "Gonna Beat My Wife." Rec. 1 Jan. 1988. Beelzebubba. Grooveshark. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .
Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 257-271.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Activism Log 5
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Activism:
This week was a slow one for me. I continued to spread the work about our event that is in just a few weeks through facebook and by word of mouth. I also worked on my info board for the day of the event.
Reflection:
According to Paula Ettelbrick, the author of Since when is marriage a path to liberation?, Homosexual couples “must compare ourselves to married couples” (318). This quote made me think of alot of the friends I know who are gay couples in Florida and cannot adopt. Many of them have pets who they adore and think of as their children . I'm sure that it's doubly important for these types of couples to have a rescource like Animal Safe House.
Reciprocity:
Thinking about the work of Animal Safe House through the lense of my gay male friends and their pets expanded my traditional thinking of men and domestic violence. We're all seceptible to becoming victims of domestic violence regardless of our gender.
Work Cited
Ettelbrick, Paula. "Since When Is Marriage a Path to Liberation?" Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5 (2010): 317-320. Print.
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Activism:
This week was a slow one for me. I continued to spread the work about our event that is in just a few weeks through facebook and by word of mouth. I also worked on my info board for the day of the event.
Reflection:
According to Paula Ettelbrick, the author of Since when is marriage a path to liberation?, Homosexual couples “must compare ourselves to married couples” (318). This quote made me think of alot of the friends I know who are gay couples in Florida and cannot adopt. Many of them have pets who they adore and think of as their children . I'm sure that it's doubly important for these types of couples to have a rescource like Animal Safe House.
Reciprocity:
Thinking about the work of Animal Safe House through the lense of my gay male friends and their pets expanded my traditional thinking of men and domestic violence. We're all seceptible to becoming victims of domestic violence regardless of our gender.
Work Cited
Ettelbrick, Paula. "Since When Is Marriage a Path to Liberation?" Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5 (2010): 317-320. Print.
Activism Log 4
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Activism:
Our team this week worked alot to build momentum in the run up to our donation drive event. We continued to use every opportunity to hand out flyers, I attended multiple Democratic Party events and used them as a platform to spread the word. I was encouraged by people in the community and their positive responses. I've had several verbal commitments to make donations. I do worry about people being willing to take on fostering, but I got one new foster parent this week who signe up online.
Reflection:
Megan Seely in Fight like a Girl espouses that, “Throughout the world, in many cultures, there is an expectation that women are to be the keepers of the faith in their families and that they carry the responsibility to pass on these traditions to their children” (105). With this in mind it delivers an extra sense of commitment to this cause and the depth of it's importance. If society learns it's values and faith from women we must do what we can as a society to respect and treat them equally. We must have strong women figures for which our youth can look t for inspiration.
Reciprocity:
Recently at a mixer for a local gay rights groups I spoke a little bit about my project with Animal Safe House, the response I got was overwhelming affirming and positive. I was thrilled at the intersectionality that was revealed of the opression of LGBT peope and women in domestic violence situation.
Work Cited
Seely, Megan. Fight like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Activism:
Our team this week worked alot to build momentum in the run up to our donation drive event. We continued to use every opportunity to hand out flyers, I attended multiple Democratic Party events and used them as a platform to spread the word. I was encouraged by people in the community and their positive responses. I've had several verbal commitments to make donations. I do worry about people being willing to take on fostering, but I got one new foster parent this week who signe up online.
Reflection:
Megan Seely in Fight like a Girl espouses that, “Throughout the world, in many cultures, there is an expectation that women are to be the keepers of the faith in their families and that they carry the responsibility to pass on these traditions to their children” (105). With this in mind it delivers an extra sense of commitment to this cause and the depth of it's importance. If society learns it's values and faith from women we must do what we can as a society to respect and treat them equally. We must have strong women figures for which our youth can look t for inspiration.
Reciprocity:
Recently at a mixer for a local gay rights groups I spoke a little bit about my project with Animal Safe House, the response I got was overwhelming affirming and positive. I was thrilled at the intersectionality that was revealed of the opression of LGBT peope and women in domestic violence situation.
Work Cited
Seely, Megan. Fight like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print
Swiss Not So Much Of A Real Family Robinson
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Swiss Not So Much Of A Real Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson is a film that was one of my personal favorites as a child. As an adult and someone who studies women’s studies I must say I look back in a certain degree of horror at the number of stereotypes and unstable constructions presented in that historic Disney film.
In class we spoke about women and young girls being portrayed as always being whole some and good and feminine. The people in this film who are portrayed as “good”, “wholesome” and “nurturing” are the group of people who make up the group that contains women and looks like the “traditional”, white hetero normative family; The Robinsons. Meanwhile the pirates, who are portrayed as male, are also animalistic, foreign, and brown skinned.
The Caucasian, European, Robinsons are portrayed as people who are outside of nature; they are of the city and of the world and thus toil with nature. We see them in their struggle with the violent, seas and with the challenge of day to day living on the barren island.
In contrast, the brown, indigenous pirates are portrayed as masters of the sea and people can easily maneuver through thick tropical rainforests.
As is typical in many films when women encounter danger from nature/the pirates in this film, the men become suddenly masculine and begin to work to protect the weak and defenseless woman. I was reminded of our class discussion reflecting on the passage from the first Gaia Girls book; “Girls are conditioned to being delegitimized by their parents and society and are constantly sent the message they can’t perform the same ways men can.” (Eco-Feminism)
Throughout the film the characters work to reinforce the idea of a hetero normative nuclear family as well as the unstable notion that men are meant to be fathers and women are meant to be mothers. The father figure in the family does this by calling his wife mother instead of by her own name and visa versa.
In the film the family uses their own form of “Monkey wrenching” to booby trap the Island in hopes of preventing the pirates from penetrating its borders. “Monkey wrenching is a form of eco activism that seeks to prevent humans from harming the environment.” (Eco-Feminism) In this scene the pirates are also portrayed as “masculine” and thus destructive to the island and the family. This unstable idea of masculinity and nature is broken down by Kirk, “based on their analysis of the connections between masculinist social institutions and the destruction of the physical environment” (Kirk 539)
However over sensitive this might sound thinking about Swiss Family Robinson in this way makes me a lot less comfortable with my future children watching it. I don’t want my children trapped by traditional roles as espoused in this film.
Work Cited:
Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 535-549.
Eco-Feminism, In-Class Notes, Womens Studies 3015, Nina Perez, April 14th, 2010.
Nina Perez
WST 3015
14 April 2010
Swiss Not So Much Of A Real Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson is a film that was one of my personal favorites as a child. As an adult and someone who studies women’s studies I must say I look back in a certain degree of horror at the number of stereotypes and unstable constructions presented in that historic Disney film.
In class we spoke about women and young girls being portrayed as always being whole some and good and feminine. The people in this film who are portrayed as “good”, “wholesome” and “nurturing” are the group of people who make up the group that contains women and looks like the “traditional”, white hetero normative family; The Robinsons. Meanwhile the pirates, who are portrayed as male, are also animalistic, foreign, and brown skinned.
The Caucasian, European, Robinsons are portrayed as people who are outside of nature; they are of the city and of the world and thus toil with nature. We see them in their struggle with the violent, seas and with the challenge of day to day living on the barren island.
In contrast, the brown, indigenous pirates are portrayed as masters of the sea and people can easily maneuver through thick tropical rainforests.
As is typical in many films when women encounter danger from nature/the pirates in this film, the men become suddenly masculine and begin to work to protect the weak and defenseless woman. I was reminded of our class discussion reflecting on the passage from the first Gaia Girls book; “Girls are conditioned to being delegitimized by their parents and society and are constantly sent the message they can’t perform the same ways men can.” (Eco-Feminism)
Throughout the film the characters work to reinforce the idea of a hetero normative nuclear family as well as the unstable notion that men are meant to be fathers and women are meant to be mothers. The father figure in the family does this by calling his wife mother instead of by her own name and visa versa.
In the film the family uses their own form of “Monkey wrenching” to booby trap the Island in hopes of preventing the pirates from penetrating its borders. “Monkey wrenching is a form of eco activism that seeks to prevent humans from harming the environment.” (Eco-Feminism) In this scene the pirates are also portrayed as “masculine” and thus destructive to the island and the family. This unstable idea of masculinity and nature is broken down by Kirk, “based on their analysis of the connections between masculinist social institutions and the destruction of the physical environment” (Kirk 539)
However over sensitive this might sound thinking about Swiss Family Robinson in this way makes me a lot less comfortable with my future children watching it. I don’t want my children trapped by traditional roles as espoused in this film.
Work Cited:
Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 535-549.
Eco-Feminism, In-Class Notes, Womens Studies 3015, Nina Perez, April 14th, 2010.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Activism Log 8
Michael Farmer
Nina Perez
WST 3015
12 April 2010
Activism Log 8
Activism:
This weekend our group had our donation drive for Animal Safehouse of Brevard. Our event took place Louie and Maria’s Italian Restaurant in east Orlando. Our goal was collect donations to provide to foster parents and, more importantly, to encourage guests to become foster parents for the Animal Safehouse of Brevard. Getting to the event was a stressful time for me, my car ended up breaking down. However, I borrowed a friends car and brought all the donations I had collected through the past months so we could make sure they were all together. We sucessfully collected more than the expected amount of donations we expected we got rave reviews from our service learning agency, and overall our event was a huge sucess.
Reflection:
I was glas to be able to connect with my classmates outside of class. I got to know my collegaues on a deeper level that I have all semester. Although we were very satifsfied with our results, of course everyone hopes that their activism can start a movement. We took comfort in the words we found in Fight Like A Girl, “No act is too small; you may never know the full extend of your impact. Activism is contagious. While you may be one person, your voice and actions can touch others, whose voices and actions can touch others, and so forth” (Seeley 16).
Reciprocity:
I had a fabulous experience meeting people who came by to support our event and enjoy some yummy pizza. Just putting this small event together over this semester has really made me realize the tough work it takes to make an organization like Animal Safe House tick. I felt awesome knowing that we touched lots of new people and brought them into the folds of the work of Animal Safe House, I know lots of these folks will help the organization keep up the steam.
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