Invisible Woman

Cleo Thompson's argument states that role models are vital people that serve a purpose to women because "they provide a sense that change is possible,  a glimpse of the future,  an alternative perspective on what life might be like “there”,  perhaps some tips and hints on how to get there"(Invisible Woman Syndrome). This blog addresses the topic on women in the media because it emphasizes how people in the media are focused upon because of their looks. However, Thompson focuses on women in a different angle. She follows up on a story in where there are two celebrities in a science related series, husband and wife, but the husband gets more attention because of his appearance and states how the wife, Gia, gets left in the background. Instead of being recognized as Gia, she began to be recognized as "Brian's wife" and although that bothers her, she states "I’ll just continue washing his pants" while she figures out how she fits in the picture.
Cleo Thompson addresses the issue well because she does not only summarize it and give details about the situation, she provides outside reliable sources and she includes her input on it. Thompson provides support and makes the post seem conversational, and she also includes questions in her blog posts which I feel I could adapt into this blog. The format of her blog is not split into two paragraphs, but more than ten- they are not long though. It just gives it more of an ease when reading so it is not just straight forward. It could be considered a good reliable source of a paper to serve as a supporting evidence because she provides many links so the reader knows where she got her information from and makes good points in her argument and claim.

Feminista Jones

Going through blogs, I come across a blogger who immediately catches my attention. Feminista Jones. Feminista Jones is a very insightful and an inspiring blogger. Addressing may issues that others wouldn't dare talk about such as domestic violence, , and . In  her post "#NaBloPoMo- In the Nick of Time", Feminista Jones discusses this topic by beginning with the percentage of women who die from domestic abuse. She then goes further into the topic giving off cues about the severity of domestic abuse. Feminista Jones invites readers of all kinds to stop and think about this issue and to head way to those who are affected. She gives a strong argument about the severity of domestic abuse and challenges those who are abused to take a step back and to evaluate their own self worth and if they deserve the abuse they continue to receive. Feminist Jones provides her readers with an outreach group and a hotline for people to get in touch with. She is an inspiration and a writer I highly admired due to her courage to write about topics others are uncomfortable and to confront and try to ease the issue. Feminista Jones is clearly a feminist who enjoys discussing serious issues, mostly pertaining to women. She is very persuasive and reliable as she talks about her research and where she gets her facts from. Feminista Jones is someone who I would consider a good source and an excellent writer. Very enjoyable.

Link to the inspiration

Watch Out!... For Women?

          In Susan J. Douglas's article, "Girls Gone Anti-Feminist", Douglas argues that the idea of "girl power" and "feminism" is an idea that is way too overrated in today's society. She argues that the media places unrealistic images and thoughts into women's heads about "how their lives should be" and how much they should spend being invested on improving  their lives. The images portrayed in the media "insist that purchasing power and sexual power are much more gratifying than political or economic power".  Douglas suggests that women have lost sight of their "place" in society and that wanting more than simplicity is something that has been put too high on a pedestal.
          Douglas's argument is that "women in fictional settings can be in the highest positions of authority, but in real life maybe not such a good idea." I completely disagree with her argument and her reasons for it. I believe that women haven't been trying hard enough to achieve that "power position" simply because it's not expected of from a women. I believe that women have so much more potential in many aspects of life whether that's in the form of political or personal power. I believe that women are expected to fail in today's society and that it's ideal to "be supported by a man" and to let the position of power be something "the man" attempts to achieve.  I believe that especially in today's generation, it's time for women to take their stand and tie for women to emphasize their place, emphasize their wants in the world and achieve that achievable goal of being in top and in power.


LINK TO ARTICLE:http://inthesetimes.com/article/5575/girls_gone_anti-feminist

B U T...

In "Media, Men Should Stop Objectifying Women" by Joanna Rothenberg, Rothenberg caught my attention by comparing women to beer bottles. Rothenberg argues that people accept women's seductive portrayal as something accepted in culture. She pulls in the reader by providing examples of advertisements that included women posing seductively advertising a product that is not relevant to the product. She made me realize that with women being portrayed a certain way in the media can cause women to think of themselves as objects that need to be a certain set of beauty. Her argument is pretty persuasive but I disagree when she suggests "But until the media starts to take women seriously, not as objects but as real people with real thoughts and feelings, I fear realistic representation is too far off," and when she mentions that women go exercising for a chance to escape the world and men take advantage of the opportunity to honk or whistle. I have to disagree because most women run to stay fit and to please the media's perception of beauty. By them exercising for the media's ideals it allows the media to choose the idea of beauty and continue to define it. If women want the media to take them serious I suggest women first start with themselves. Women should not let the images they see on TV or the media get to women's "thoughts and feelings." If women are "supposedly" these strong individuals then they will not let the thoughts of others perceptions on what you have to look like in this society get to them. I do agree with Rothenberg on the part of advertisement and I could see how these arguments can be persuasive to women, specifically teenagers.

Body Dissatisfaction

In this academic article by Natalie King, Stephen Touyz, and Margaret Charles, they examine how women's perception on female celebrities affect how they feel about their body. Taking in consideration that I am not going in depth with their process of analysis and how they concluded to their reasoning, they state that the media's portrayal on the ideal body figure for a women is connected to the increase in commonness of "body image disturbance". Their research has shown that the media's ideal body figure has only affected certain women and that the ones who are not satisfied with their body feel that way because they are provoked and affected mostly by the images the media presents, however what is unknown is the reasoning behind why it affects them. It has also shown that because women view these "thin" models and celebrities, they overestimate their own weight which leads to their exaggeration.
This all leads back to the influence celebrities and women in the media in general have on how one might feel about their body and just about themselves. The media should not continue to present thin women as a usual thing because women begin to think that if an everyday women looks like that then so should they. There are different body types and women are never content with how they look and one of the huge contributors to that is women in the every day media. King, Touyz, and Charles's argument is persuasive because they provided research information, which can be found in this link: Research Information. They admit to the fact that the media is not entirely to blame for because it affects women differently, however this is a result of a similar amount of media exposure. Will the media ever come down to the understanding that different body types need to be equally presented?

Back to 2012

             In this issue of “Feminist Currents” Eileen Boris and Elizabeth Currans examine the issues women faced during the 2012 elections. Women became women firsts, senator from their state or representative from their ethnic group. Republicans fought a “war on women” with Indiana candidate Richard Mourdock’s claim that "God intended" pregnancies from rape, and Paul Ryan’s pro-life position regardless of the form of contraception. A record number of women were elected to congress. One of the pressing concerns of the 2012 election cycle is the state of our national and local economies, a downturn that might impact women’s, gender, and sexuality studies well into the future.
            This article brings up some very important events. Although it is unfortunate how women’s rights were brought up during the elections, it proved that there is a problem with how women are treated and brought women’s rights up for discussion. However, women did reach a record number in congress, which shows that progress is being made even though there are outspoken people trying to stop it. Boris and Currans mention that due to the struggling economy, proposals were made to charge fees by majors in order to encourage supposedly practical preparation for the workforce. These proposals could severely effect the number of students to major in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, which would be a major setback for women. Overall, women’s rights seem to be struggling to improve, but since the 2012 elections progress has been made.


The original article: http://library.calstate.edu/northridge/articles/record?id=FETCH-LOGICAL-p1224-3195d461ffb0c6aa59d5ea518bde497212522cbd7e3ded886fd2045fbddceda01

"Then and Now" - Linda Martin Alcoff: New Wave of Feminism

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=99e6bbb2-b74d-41ba-8712-eca23df17d74%40sessionmgr4001&vid=1&hid=4201


         Alcoff discusses the idea of horizontalism and its relationship and overall reflection with feminism. She argues that feminism has "profoundly influenced the processes and organization styles used in movements against cooperation." Alcoff brings up and emphasizes the need for equilibrium in the social hierarchy in the world between todays men and women. The idea of "deconstruction" is brought up. The removal of any "difference" between men and women. This was an idea that was shut down completely. Others argue that attempting to neutralize the difference's rather than acknowledging them, takes away from the possibility of finding "positive epidemic possibilities" in the future. Alcoff mentions the significant difference in treatment and "expectations" that are put on women. She, the author, brings the reader back to times of sexual and emotional violence. Times where women were the "play things" of men and "lived" to do their bidding. Alcoff pushes and urges her readers to start right now. She urges her readers to begin a "new" style of feminism.

        Personally, I think that Alcoff takes an interesting approach and look at the whole " feminism needs to change". I look at feminism as a way of being, morals and beliefs if you may. I don't believe that feminism is necessarily an unwritten code, but more or less feminism is a choice of respect and equality. I do not see why there are "differences" between men and women, at least why there is such a great difference that nowadays there is a social hierarchy of how "men and women should act". I believe that this is the time for a new wave of feminism and a new way of looking at the gender hierarchy and it starts with the generation today.