Seeing Gender

From Castellanos' play, I decided to look into the scene where Lupita receive a gift supposedly from her husband. The gift, a bikini, came with a note that called her "little kitten," something she had never been called before. At this point in the story, Juan is a successful businessman and Lupita is the stay-at-home wife with the two children who are at each others' throats. The scene climaxes to Lupita knowing Juan's secretary sent the bikini because it is way too big to fit her and the "little kitten" remark in the note. Gender in the scene was way more than typical. The wife is a homemaker that has nothing better to do than fuel her children's arguments for fun and watch the television. This is a very typical assumption that the man is the bread winner and the wife really does nothing with her days. Of course, Juan is a very successful man. He is so successful in fact that he apparently doesn't have time to buy his own wife a gift, so his secretary does it for him. Gender relations in this part of play is somewhat typical to what society expects from a marriage. The man is such a super power and is clearly not giving his wife real love and attention. It wouldn't surprise me if Juan was having an affair with his secretary from the lack of respect she showed Lupita on the phone. Not only did he not pick the gift out, he didn't even bother to check what his secretary had gotten or written in the note. Lupita is supposedly the helpless wife that does nothing because she has to stay with her beloved husband. She defies the helpless house wife by taking action. The gender issues that were highlighted showed the imbalance of power and money in relationships. Also, Castellanos touches upon the respected duties that are often designated to be the woman's or man's job. Lupita is the homemaker while Juan seems to be the free spirited workaholic that supports his wonderful family. I think Castellanos wants the reader to see the typical beliefs and often misconceptions of gender roles. Castellanos is subtle in parts, but screams from a mountain top in other parts. I think the point of the scene that I chose to dissect is to show that the "typical" roles and beliefs can be broken or changed at any time.

Blog #10

Access is a pro choice organization that believes in women being able to choose what they want to do to their own bodies. Their work is based on a feminist model of empowerment and self-determination for all women. They use a combination of direct services, community education and policy advocacy to promote real reproductive options and access to quality health care in California. I was unable to find reviews of Access' work but this organization is worth while because they promote for women to have a choice on what to do with their own bodies. For women or anyone to have the right to do what they want with their lives and bodies is an important right for people to have.
This is a gender issue because this organization fights for the reproductive rights of women. It's entire mission is to protect the rights women have to make their own discesions for their bodies.

Gender Paper

The movie Billy Elliot displayed many different things concerning gender. The film portrayed Billy's dad and brother as tough manly men that work in a coal mine. The grandma was living with them and needed complete care. Billy is the caregiver for his grandmother, normally the role of a nurturing woman.
The one scene that stands out the most to me is when Billy's ballet teacher comes and talks to his dad. Billy's dad was the typical manly father who wouldn't allow his son to be a ballet dancer. Billy's father screams and yells at the teacher that she will not tell him how to raise his child. Billy's father is very in control and steadfast in his position. The teacher argues back to his father, but of course ends up giving in at the end. The grandmother is in the scene not saying anything, just letting Billy's father say everything. Billy doesn't get to say anything either. In this household, the father is in charge and no one else. The women are "submissive" or let the men control, and the men are boisterous and controlling.
In Tannen's article "Put Down that Paper and Talk to Me," she talks about the difference in how men and women talk. She says that women generally talk more than men verbally, but men speak more through body language. Also, the amount that a man or women talk is due to status a lot. Men are seen talking more because they talk more in public. In the households, women are the primary talkers, however. Women tend to talk for rapport and men talk to gain information. This ties into the movie because the father is the primary talker in the household when issues come up. It is interesting, though, that in times where they were sitting around the house, they sat usually in silence or had very little conversation. This could be due to the fact that Billy's mother was deceased and the grandmother was the only woman of the household.

Blog 9

The most recent movie I have seen lately was House Bunny. The movie was advertised by showing an ex-Playboy bunny turning around the geeky sorority into the top house on campus. The trailers showed the girls in the "loser" sorority getting makeovers and learning how to act around boys. I thought that this was interesting because the one who was showing them all of this was a Playboy bunny, the most stereotypical view of women in society. Although that statement is true, I never thought and still don't think there is anything wrong in playing up our cultural stereotypes. There wasn't too much about gender relations except for the Playboy bunny trying to date a man that would be interested in brains rather than just looks. It was funny to see the girls in the sorority try to help her get a guy like that then see the girls being taught how she could get guys in the past. I thought the gender was equally represented with stereotypes and how they interacted. In all honesty, it portrayed our society's beliefs and expectations well. It was a little slapstick in the humor, but it was fine. I guess I just don't get affected or believe half of the stuff the media and Hollywood shows because its not real.

Post 8

In this advertisement, a beautiful and slender blond women finds a good looking man over a martini with Skyy Vodka. The text is only the name of the vodka, Skyy. In this advertisement, gender is represented by the stereotypes of good looking young men and women in today's society. It also gives the idea that two people can be attracted and connect over alcohol. To me, it is just typical of how the women is showing a lot of skin with the backless dress and the long slit up her leg. The man is dressed in a nice suit. This advertisement just embodies what Wolf talks about in her definition of "beauty." The media has portrayed what men and women should look like to be beautiful and it is completely incorrect. Also, this demonstrates that two beautiful people attract one another. In accordance to Scott, this advertisement shows how fashion for women and men are also in the definition of beauty. These two people in this ad are clearly dressed in outfits that would be trendy and in style. Overall, this advertisement is full of stereotypes that is portrayed now for young men and women.

Ethnographic Paper

For my research, I decided to look at the whether or not women should enter the draft. I decided to specifically look at this issue since the feminist movement is trying to achieve equal treatment and rights for all women. Also, I thought this would be interesting because I figured most people would agree that women should not be drafted. The thought that people who agree and support the feminist movement might not agree with women being drafted was very irritating. I feel that if women want to be treated as equals and have equal rights, the draft should be included in that equality. In order to investigate this further, I will need to interview a woman who is serving or has served in any of our armed forces. I think it would also be beneficial to interview a supporter of the feminist movement and get an opinion from that perspective.

In order to gather information, I plan on visiting the University of Oklahoma Armory Center and talking to a woman ROTC member. My focus is really on whether or not an actual member of the armed forces believes woman should be drafted. I plan on observing a woman in ROTC at OU while completing some of her duties.

For the interview, I plan to ask whether she has ever felt discriminated against for being a woman in ROTC. I want to ask if she thinks there is a difference in men and women in the military and which gender may be more useful at certain tasks they may have to perform. I want to know if the difference in physical strength plays much of a role. Also, I would like to know if there are jobs that are normally gender specific, whether the job is for men or women. Then, I would like to ask about the draft and if women should be drafted. Depending on her answer, I would like to know why she thinks the way she does. If she believes women should not be drafted, then my question would be why you would expect equality if you wanted to be excluded from the draft.

In my observation period, I was able to witness how the women in ROTC interacted and were treated just as all of the guys were treated. There was no evidence of discrimination or treating the girls differently. It seemed to me that all the members believed that they were all equal. Girls were expected to do the same things as guys. They didn’t do anything special, but having some of them together looked like a group of all guys or all girls. Through my interview, I was able to learn that discrimination did not occur. Physical strength is a very small part of everything and the jobs are not gender specific. She felt that the draft should not extend to women because they need to stay at home with their families. Then, I asked if she believed in the feminist movement and she did. I found this to be ironic since equality is the purpose of the movement. This kind of double standard is not appropriate; you cannot select where you want equality and expect to get it.

According to our readings, there are certain jobs that are considered “pink collar” or especially made and dominated by women. This also goes along with the idea that women cannot complete a man’s job with great success. These jobs are dominated and run by men. From my observation with the women in OU’s ROTC program, this is not true. Most people do not think of a woman being a soldier, but many are. Also, many of our readings talked about discrimination in the work place, especially in one dominate by men, but there was no evidence or mention of it in my interview and observation. What could be missing is that in different parts of the country in different fields, discrimination could be occurring. Anthropologists need to examine different fields in different areas to have a better idea.

Blog #7

After reading Belkin's argument and finding another article responded to Belkin's article, I find it hard to see who is actually more correct. What I found while reading Belkin's article was that she was using the Princeton graduates to demonstrate how hard it is for all women to work and have a family life. I feel that she wrote specifically about these women to show that even having a master's doesn't make juggling life any easier. In the response article that I read, it went into how unrealistic Belkin's subjects were compared to the actual workforce. As I have just previously stated, I think she used those women as prime examples for every woman. In my life, my mom did quit working when she started having children, but it was her own personal choice. I do understand that there are many hardships for women who have to work to help support the family, however. I do also know, that having a parent stay at home with the children is far better for the child then being given care by anyone else. I will say right now that when I do have kids, I plan to stay at home then re-enter the work force in a "part-time" field of my choice, which is personal training. To me, this has nothing to do with having trouble getting back to work in my same profession. It has everything to do with a personal choice that I have decided upon for myself. I don't even have a husband yet, but if that is possible, that is exactly what I am going to do. To me, every woman needs to "make it work" to the best of their ability and roll with the punches. I am so tired of people wanting everything in life to be a breeze. What is the purpose of life if there is nothing worth fighting for?