When you google current little girl toys, you get a lot of dolls, housekeeping items, and beauty items such as painting nails and play makeup. Their dolls are all barbies and princesses. Girls toys are marketed in nurturing others and maintaining one's beauty. When you google current little boy toys, you get cars, guns, and items involved in sports. Their "dolls" are modeled after soldiers and superbeings. Boys toys are more about protection and things that are considered more masculine.
I think toys do influence the way children play. I can remember the times when I was little and I would play with the boys because I felt that the girls were to boring. They always wanted to play pretend or talk while the boys would play sports. I did not have dolls early in my age, but I had an older brother who I would always wrestle and rough house with. As I got older and my younger sister got old enough to play with, I began to have more baby dolls and barbies, and now that I think of it, is when I began to play with more girls and find more interest in their games. My best friend was a boy until the age of 7 and then we just found other interest.
I would not say that toys influence the way we will become because even though as girls we played with the same toys, I would say there is a variety of interests that we all had. I will say that it did have some influence of when someone would ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" as a little girl or boy. Girls will typically answer something that involves having to be beautiful or a mommy, while boys will answer something with power or sports affiliated. I would not say that my experience with dolls has influenced what I have decided to be my occupation. When I was younger, I wanted to be a model, a singer, and a princess. When I got older, I wanted a job that involved security for my future and something that I felt would be enjoyable to me because it fit me.
My favorite childhood toy, up to the age of 7, was my Fozzie Bear. It was a stuffed teddy bear that looked like Fozzie Bear and I used to love that thing. I don't know why. My favorite toys moved to Barbies. I had the pink convertible that I could actually ride in, the dream house, my barbie had her own pink convertible, the life size Barbie, Ken (black and white) with his little brother, little sister Kelly, the big head of Barbie so you could do her hair, and every race of barbie imaginable (more African American barbies though). I was dripping in Barbie. My sister and I played Barbie all the time. I would play house with Barbie, do her hair, she had her own show, just any and everything imaginable with Barbie. We had a lot of Barbie because me and my sister would share toys since I am just 2 years older than her.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Blog 4: "Tough Guise"
I think some benefits of putting on the tough guise for boys and men is more of a bonding experience for them. I guess it could also help with their self esteem if they are accepted for the tough guise that they present to the world. The benefits would only come from the acceptance of others which would probably come from other males who partake in the tough guise and have also been accepted for it. It is effective and adaptive in the protection of themselves and others, but it can be self-destructive in taking on the ego or personality of the person. It could also be dangerous to others in that they might feel that at all times that their manhood cannot be threatened and in doing so they will hurt others or put themselves in dangerous situations to maintain the status of their manhood. If you are on the other side of the tough guise, such as those who are homosexual or who may not be as big or strong as others, you will be disadvantaged from the tough guise in that males will use you to make them feel more "manly" which can also be dangerous.
I think that many people see gender's issues synonymous with women's issues because women are seen as more disadvantaged than males because history has often portrayed women as less than. I think it is also because women are more vocal about thier issues than that of males. It's just like the same situation when you say minority issues and people typically think of African Americans, but that is not always the case. I think it is also because men are taught to "man up" so having issues is not "manly." So if men go around talking about their problems with body image or not being treated fairly they are seen as less than or a "wussy" because they are not considered masculine enough to just take it. This thought process leaves men not being able to express their emotions, so instead of crying when they are sad they will express it in anger in order to keep the status of being masculine enough. They will break something rather than express their hurt so that their manhood is not threatened. It is very destructive for everyone involved because you don't know what they might do to express their emotions.
The potential effects of boys and men trying to live up to these cultural ideals of physical size and strength is the same dangerous effects as the cultural ideals of size and beauty among women. There is bigorexia and manorexia more common now more than ever. It is just as emotionally destrucive and health concious as women's issues. I remember watching a tyra show with a male who suffered from bigorexia who got so big to the point where his arm actually exploded. Everytime he looked in the mirror, he just saw someone who needed to be bigger even though he was huge to everyone else. Even after the whole ordeal and getting to a healthy size, he still looked very big. Steroid use had become an everyday habit to him. The bigger he got the more he saw himself as big, strong, and powerful.
The media in some way inspire change because their constant message on what you should be and look like and people pay close attention to every little detail. There so much attention paid to the tabloids and what is the hot new look that the media strongly influences what IS the beauty standard for both sexes. People has the top 50 most beautiful people in the world while maxim has the hot 100. Its everywhere telling people what is beautiful and who is the new "it" person to watch and wanna be. People see celebrities on tv and they think they are so beautiful and confident unlike me and so I want to be that person I see on the tv screen, I wanna have people look up to me as I look to them. People tend to make this supersized version of the person they see on tv which is why they say that you should never meet your hero because you will realize how human they truly are.
I think that many people see gender's issues synonymous with women's issues because women are seen as more disadvantaged than males because history has often portrayed women as less than. I think it is also because women are more vocal about thier issues than that of males. It's just like the same situation when you say minority issues and people typically think of African Americans, but that is not always the case. I think it is also because men are taught to "man up" so having issues is not "manly." So if men go around talking about their problems with body image or not being treated fairly they are seen as less than or a "wussy" because they are not considered masculine enough to just take it. This thought process leaves men not being able to express their emotions, so instead of crying when they are sad they will express it in anger in order to keep the status of being masculine enough. They will break something rather than express their hurt so that their manhood is not threatened. It is very destructive for everyone involved because you don't know what they might do to express their emotions.
The potential effects of boys and men trying to live up to these cultural ideals of physical size and strength is the same dangerous effects as the cultural ideals of size and beauty among women. There is bigorexia and manorexia more common now more than ever. It is just as emotionally destrucive and health concious as women's issues. I remember watching a tyra show with a male who suffered from bigorexia who got so big to the point where his arm actually exploded. Everytime he looked in the mirror, he just saw someone who needed to be bigger even though he was huge to everyone else. Even after the whole ordeal and getting to a healthy size, he still looked very big. Steroid use had become an everyday habit to him. The bigger he got the more he saw himself as big, strong, and powerful.
The media in some way inspire change because their constant message on what you should be and look like and people pay close attention to every little detail. There so much attention paid to the tabloids and what is the hot new look that the media strongly influences what IS the beauty standard for both sexes. People has the top 50 most beautiful people in the world while maxim has the hot 100. Its everywhere telling people what is beautiful and who is the new "it" person to watch and wanna be. People see celebrities on tv and they think they are so beautiful and confident unlike me and so I want to be that person I see on the tv screen, I wanna have people look up to me as I look to them. People tend to make this supersized version of the person they see on tv which is why they say that you should never meet your hero because you will realize how human they truly are.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Blog 3: The Beauty Myth "Work"
The general ideas that I found recurrent in the reading was that women are not measured by what they offer mentally but what they offer physically. In the workplace, women are not accounted for because of the work that they put in but more because of what they look like. Knowing this often makes females feel self-concious about their work because they never know if they are where they are because of the work they did or if it is because of the way they look. In history, there have been many trials working in favor of the workplace instead of the female counterpart who felt she was objectified in the workplace because of her dress or the way she looks. This only makes women feel more helpless when they are harassed by their boss or coworkers. Another general idea of the text was that women earn $6 - $7 thousand dollars less annually then men unless it is a profession focused primarily on beauty such as: modeling or prostitution. Before reading this, I was under the impression that equal pay was prevalent any and everywhere and that was a distant memory. It makes me wonder if I have ever been deprived of pay for all the work that I have done.
Beauty, body image, and sexual attraction is a function of "social construction" because it is socially acceptable that the men make the money and that women be pretty enough to get a man that makes a lot of money. In the workplace, it is as if they are saying men can make more money than women because their supposed to. Women are supposed to look pretty because they are supposed to be there to catch a man. It's confusing as a woman because if you do really good work but you are not "pretty" or constantly making yourself "presentable" then you will not get as much recognition but someone who is beautiful but does poor work gets the acknowledgement but they are not taken seriously. You have to have it all to get the kind of recognition you deserve. You have to work harder than any male and look pretty and put together while doing it and it is socially acceptable.
In the reading, the most shocking story in the book was the one where the woman was raped and the court did not go in her favor because they said that she wore provocative clothing that provoked the whole ordeal. Stories such as these scare me to go into the workplace. Things such as these should not be so prevalent. Another thing that was mentioned in class, was that women get used to the cat calls and side comments made by customers or male coworkers and it just makes you wonder why should we as females have to put up with it or get used to it. Why is it acceptable? It all reminds me of when I was working at a restaurant as a hostess. I would constantly get hit on by male coworkers and they would comment on my clothing or compare me to other female coworkers. I never said anything but ok and just brushed it off. Another thing is that my brother told me that it was not a real job and I was just being paid to stand and look pretty. I was really offended because there is a lot more work into being a hostess than just standing and greeting guests. There is a lot of organization that goes into it and making sure that the waitstaff is presented a fair amount of guests. It just goes to show how some males continually undermine the work of a female just because she wants to look good while doing it.
Ideals of female beauty function as a form of social control in that they make a standard that females are supposed to adhere to only to later say they only got that position because they look a certain way not because of there efforts. She is not respected as the head of the company or the boss but only the secretary. Women have to work 2x as hard as males to earn the same equality and pay. Females are just supposed to be pretty and that is the main purpose. This limits women's life choices because this idea of women weakens women's self esteem in that they will not feel good enough or worthy enough for their efforts. So many females are qualified, but society constantly telling you "you can't" can make many women believe so because they do not feel worthy of anything more. Women are looking to models and celebrities as their role models instead of the female ceo or the president (because there is no such thing as a woman president.)
Beauty, body image, and sexual attraction is a function of "social construction" because it is socially acceptable that the men make the money and that women be pretty enough to get a man that makes a lot of money. In the workplace, it is as if they are saying men can make more money than women because their supposed to. Women are supposed to look pretty because they are supposed to be there to catch a man. It's confusing as a woman because if you do really good work but you are not "pretty" or constantly making yourself "presentable" then you will not get as much recognition but someone who is beautiful but does poor work gets the acknowledgement but they are not taken seriously. You have to have it all to get the kind of recognition you deserve. You have to work harder than any male and look pretty and put together while doing it and it is socially acceptable.
In the reading, the most shocking story in the book was the one where the woman was raped and the court did not go in her favor because they said that she wore provocative clothing that provoked the whole ordeal. Stories such as these scare me to go into the workplace. Things such as these should not be so prevalent. Another thing that was mentioned in class, was that women get used to the cat calls and side comments made by customers or male coworkers and it just makes you wonder why should we as females have to put up with it or get used to it. Why is it acceptable? It all reminds me of when I was working at a restaurant as a hostess. I would constantly get hit on by male coworkers and they would comment on my clothing or compare me to other female coworkers. I never said anything but ok and just brushed it off. Another thing is that my brother told me that it was not a real job and I was just being paid to stand and look pretty. I was really offended because there is a lot more work into being a hostess than just standing and greeting guests. There is a lot of organization that goes into it and making sure that the waitstaff is presented a fair amount of guests. It just goes to show how some males continually undermine the work of a female just because she wants to look good while doing it.
Ideals of female beauty function as a form of social control in that they make a standard that females are supposed to adhere to only to later say they only got that position because they look a certain way not because of there efforts. She is not respected as the head of the company or the boss but only the secretary. Women have to work 2x as hard as males to earn the same equality and pay. Females are just supposed to be pretty and that is the main purpose. This limits women's life choices because this idea of women weakens women's self esteem in that they will not feel good enough or worthy enough for their efforts. So many females are qualified, but society constantly telling you "you can't" can make many women believe so because they do not feel worthy of anything more. Women are looking to models and celebrities as their role models instead of the female ceo or the president (because there is no such thing as a woman president.)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
BODY OUTLAW
Body image is one's own perception of their body. It may or may not be the reality of what they actually look like but how the person perceives they look like and how they think that other's may view them as well. We study body image because it is an important issue that is constantly presented to us daily. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other's and thinking about how we are viewed in the world today. We are constantly trying to present some kind of image towards others.
The first wave of feminism was about women's rights, suffrage, and voting. The second wave of feminism was about equal pay and equal work. The third wave of feminism doesn't have one true voice, it is an individual movement. Feminists today are so diverse that there is not one true isssue that can be agreed upon there are many opinions and many voices speaking upon their own issues. The center of the third wave is pop culture.
According to Ophira Edut, a body outlaw is someone who goes against the norm and accepts their body for what it is. They rebel against the standard of beauty and create their own rules. I would consider Tyra Banks a body outlaw because of how she stands for women's rights and when the tabloids called her fat, she took it upon herself to make a speech and demand to be heard with the quote heard around the world, "Kiss My Fat.... " well you know the rest while wearing a bathing suit. She stood up for herself and on a following show she had the whole audience wearing red bathing suits with their weight on the front. She is not afraid to stand up for herself because she knows what is right and it only makes you love her more for it. She is a BODY OUTLAW to the fullest.
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