I Thought The Picture Was Relevant But Most Likely Controversial...We'll See

The article titled: A Peril in War Zones: Sexual Abuse by Fellow G.I.’s presents an issue that is most likely a thousand times more common than the majority of Americans are aware of. The problem of sexual harassment in the military is something that was not very much of an issue up until recent years. As the article says, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the first multi-front wars that require women to live alongside men for months and sometimes longer. I definitely would never say it wouldn't be naive to think otherwise, however it should not be this way. This article tells the story of Capt. Margaret H. White, who was harassed and stalked by an officer that she began a relationship with. The article says that, "Captain White said she had feared coming forward, despite having become increasingly despondent and suffered panic attacks, because she was wary of she-said-he-said recriminations that would reverberate through the tightknit military world and disrupt the mission." This does not seem to be very different from how woman in the real-world may feel when presented with the same predicament in the civilian world. This only serves to reinforce the statistic that we learned in class stating that the majority of victims were targeted by those that they had previously or were currently in a relationship, and that its often a person the woman knows. In the military and otherwise, this is definitely something no woman should ever have to deal with.

"Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting In", deals more with the problems that may arise sometimes due to the fact that women and men live and work together in the field. One part of the article that i felt was particularly interesting was the paragraph talking about Sgt. Joelene M. Lachance. She says that she has kicked her "guys" out of the truck so that she could pee in a bottle. She also maintains that wherever her "guys" are sleeping, she's sleeping, and recalls a time that she stayed in a truck for five days and she even slept in the truck with them, and she tries not to complain about not being able to sleep somewhere, or things of that sort. This is something that I feel it is important to point out. There is no reason that women should be treated any differently than men in the military. However, they should not be treated any differently than the men that they are in the trenches with...to an extent obviously. So a woman shouldn't have to shower with men if she doesn't want to, she shouldn't have to sleep in the same barracks with them if she doesn't want to, and certain other select situations. But for the most part it should all be an equal field. Which would involve equal promotions and such also. But as long as a woman isn't looking to be treated any differently, I think that within years there will be major advancements in the way that women and men interact in the military.

Oh and look at this link...it's ridiculous but completely relevant to what we talked about in class

Responding to Logan's Post

Who's responsibility is it to decide at what age certain behavior is no longer considered 'provocative', and is just simply someone choosing to express themselves in a certain manner? I would put the blame and the responsibility solely on a person's parents. But I know that I, along with many received my first sex education in the 7th grade. What were we thirteen? If I can remember, it was always stressed that abstinence was the best way to ensure a life free of disease and children, but sex was never deemed to be wrong by any means. Sure the education may not be suitable enough for the changing times, and maybe they really don't fully inform teenagers of the multiple types of contraceptives at their disposal, but it is only natural that kids are going to become curious about the other sex if they are learning about it...regardless of the hormones going crazy in adolescent males especially.

For Levy to assume that the media is training women to behave provocatively is placing too much stock in the images that are portrayed, and not enough in the values that parents instill in their kids. As well as differing environments and pressure among peers. Also, people have been having promiscuous sex for decades. It is true that pregnancy rates would much likely be lower if more young women were better educated on the matter, but this is not to assume that there would be more or less intercourse happening within younger groups. If anything I feel it would just become even more present in high schools, and even middle school. One of my best friends lost his virginity the summer before freshman year of high school, and I can tell you he made sure he was protected and we never thought anything of it. Perhaps because I'm a guy.

In address to Logan, I think that her statement that girls are having sex for attention is almost complete B.S., and if I were a sexually active girl I would be quite offended. I have a hypothesis...girls have sex because they love it. As should anyone who chooses to engage in such behavior. If someone were to accuse me of only having sex with a girl because of some desire to be recognized, I would be pretty angry. Perhaps because one night I was lonely, or "disoriented" but those are different matters completely.

Here's a link to some images that were censored back in the 20's for being too "provocative". I think we would all agree that in this day and age these would be less than G rated. But it's just for kicks...

Pigs in Training? Check out the Jug on a Saturday Night.

Ariel Levy seems to focus her chapter, Pigs in Training, on high school students and teenagers. But the truth is, we have this exact same problem at Colgate. Girls are having sex, just for attention. Girls are dressing provocatively to get the attention of the boys in our school. Just head to the jug on a Saturday night and it becomes more than obvious: high school never ends. There are girls in their twenties doing the exact same thing at Colgate. And at this point in time, these girls have received sexual education. So if we were to impose proper sexual education on high schoolers (not just abstinence) would things change. I think Levy does make a good point, US teenage pregnancy rates are much higher because of lack of contraceptives. Why is that? Girls in the US should be able to afford it, being one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It is because the system refuses to acknowledge that times have changed. Money shouldn't be spend promoting abstinence in schools, but rather telling young girls how to be safe and saving it for the right person, regardless if you are married. I think Levy makes some good arguments, however, she tends to group all high school girls together. She makes it seem like every girl in high school is like this, and that is no where near true.

I think Walker's idea is hopeful, yet unrealistic. I have heard of many cases where women, very capable women, are attacked and freeze. It has nothing to do with athletic ability, but rather with fear. Many women can't even scream when they are being raped. Also, Walker's whole idea of self defense is naive. Many women can't even afford to put dinner on the table for their children, let alone take some karate classes. Many women have absolutely no time to spare, and all their free time is spent taking care of their children. In fact, single mothers, the women who probably need it the most probably would find it the most difficult to take these self-defense classes. It's great that it worked out for Walker, unfortunately that isn't the case for most women.

As for Morgan, I don't really have much to say. What happened to her was awful and by no means will I try to imagine what she went through.

Scared Sphincters Don't Open

Atul Gawande wrote and article for the New Yorker about the progression of modern birthing methods and techniques and includes a true story about a woman, Elizabeth Rourke, and her journey giving birth. Gawande argues his beliefs that old birthing techniques are inferior to what a modern hospital can provide for a mother today, such as drugs that make the mother numb below the waist and drugs to force contractions. It is very clear the Gawande is all about modern medicine and its progress and for very good reason because he is a doctor; it is good that he has a passion for what he does. However, modern medicine may not always provide the best solution for childbirth, as Henci Goer argues in her response to Gawande's article. The story of Rourke included in the Gawande's article tells the story of a young woman that is about currently in the process of giving birth; the story starts right when she is starting to have contractions. Prior to going into labor, Rourke states that she would like to have a natural vaginal childbirth without any of the commonly used medications or procedures like an epidural or a Cesarean. Long story short, Rourke ends up having difficulty dealing with the pain, her cervix has not yet dilated to the full 10 centimeters after about 50 hours of labor, and the baby's head gets "stuck." All of these problems are "solved" by modern medicine with the use of everything that Rourke wanted to avoid and ends up birthing her child through a C-section. Gawande argues that C-sections are becoming routine, efficient, and safer.

Goer, to say the least, is the polar opposite of Gawande, she argues and provides large amounts of data to support that natural childbirth is the most effective and healthy way to birth a child. More specifically, she advocates the use of a midwife and/or a doula (a knowledgeable birthing coach). By using these individuals, Goer provides statistics that say that both mother and child have a better chance of coming out of the whole process alive and well, and even says that babies born the natural way outside of hospitals are healthier and of higher birth weights.

When is all comes down to it, it all depends on the mother and how and where she prefers to undergo the task. Gawande and Goer can give all of the information and statistics they want, but if a woman isn’t going to feel comfortable giving birth in a hospital or other birthing center, she won’t. I believe that it all comes down to personal preference and what the mother feels comfortable doing.

It Rhymes With Shmashmortion

I believe that abortion truly is a matter that should be left to women. Judith Arcana's article urges the reader to realize that abortion is a "motherhood" issue, in which only the mother can make the decision. Although I can find one or two objections to a portion of this statement, when Arcana talks about how when a pregnancy is planned or expected, it is called a baby, but during an unwanted pregnancy, it is referred to as an embryo or a fetus, it struck me as all too true. She contends that "Conception is the beginning of maternity", meaning from the very first day the woman has entered motherhood. This seemed important to me, because I understand that since men will never (thank God) have experience a little person growing inside of our bodies, or face the decision of that baby's eventual life or death, we will never be able to understand the emotions this situation causes a woman to experience.

However, is it fair that Arcana worked in an abortion clinic? I feel as if its okay for her to be pro-choice, but working so close to one option is sure to skew her thoughts towards one direction over the years, whether she realizes or not. There is not much mention of alternative methods that do not end in abortion, but also do not force the mother to care for the baby once he/she has been born. Also, although eventually I believe it should come down to the woman to make the decision, in the case that the father is a concerned and permanent part of her life, it is the woman's duty to at least take his opinions and feelings on the matter into account. Otherwise the woman is no better or worse than those trying to dictate what she does because they both had a part in making the baby. But, were I in the situation, depending on the stage of life that I was in, and my relationship with the mother, I would respect any final decision that the mother was to make because in the end it is her body.

The Roe v. Wade decision was obviously one of the biggest steps in the pro-choice movement for women and stands one of the most fundamental cases in this country. Never should it be illegal for a woman to make a choice either way. I feel as if this is almost as fundamental as denying a person the right to vote, but even more pertinent because it deals with life and death.

NEWSFLASH: The Third World War

Hundreds of years ago, hermaphrodites were accepted. They were not seen as outcast, nor were they excluded from activities because of their genitalia. In fact according to Anne Fausto-Sterling in her book, Sexing the Body, the term hermaphrodite is derived from ancient Greek mythology, combining Hermes and Aphrodite. Sometimes, it is even said that Adam himself was a hermaphrodite before he divided into Adam and Eve. Hermaphrodites, in older times, were also seen as special and although they might have been seen as different, they were not judged the way we tend to view them today. It is unfortunate that it is the year 2010, or in the case of this article 2009, and we still cannot seem to look past the outer layer. Society is too focused on this patriarchal society that we refuse to accept anything that is out of the ordinary. Hermaphrodites today are ostracized and there is no doubt about that. But being experimented on as if a human was a dead frog in a science class seems unethical, yet this happened to 18 year-old Caster Semenya as if it were routine procedure. As if the poor girl did not have to deal with enough, the media and the IAAF (international governing body for athletics) had to make her life a little harder. Although hermaphrodites have gained some acceptance into society, it is still a current problem that our society refuses to give the same respect and treatment to these unique human beings, as given to all other men and women.

This article deals with South African runner Caster Semenya. Semenya won the 800 meter gold medal at the World Athletic Championships in August 2009. The event was held in Berlin and Semenya set the best women’s time in the world in the year 2009. Although the IAAF claimed they were questioning Semenya’s gender prior to the race, it was this event in Berlin that caused them to run the tests. They claimed that her performance in previous races caused them to question her masculine characteristics.

“Under IAAF rules, any time there is suspicion about an athlete's gender, the athlete can be asked to attend a medical evaluation before a panel consisting of a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist and an expert on gender issues.” – CNN

The media, prior to the release of the results, claimed that Semenya was indeed a hermaphrodite. It was said that she had no ovaries, but rather internal testes. The IAAF warned the public to be very careful about what they choose to believe in the media. Unfortunately, South Africans didn’t take it too well. Her spokesperson claimed that she is just a normal girl, living her life and enjoying her youth. He made it clear that Semenya was enjoying becoming a young woman.

So how does this happen? How does the media feed off this innocent and very talented young woman? One would think that in the year 2010, the world would be accepting of all sorts of people, yet we still face this unnecessary and undeserved hatred. Caster Semenya was born a hermaphrodite, yet she was raised as a woman. She succeeded in life, so far, as a woman. Now she may even face losing her medal because society says there cannot be a physically different woman competing in international competition. In Anne Fausto-Sterling’s book she talks about how doctors used to simply assume that there were only two sexes. And that it was unethical for a baby to remain a hermaphrodite, so the parents had to make a choice. Unfortunately, they tend not to think about the possible problems down the road for these innocent children. The most obvious would be that the doctors and the parents made the wrong choice. However, this problem is one that society often overlooks. What if the child embraces the gender that he or she has received, but society won’t accept it? In the case of Caster Semenya, she accepted her gender and succeeded. Unfortunately, society does not feel the same way. She had to undergo a multitude of tests, just to decide if she was eligible to compete. There are many complications in this situation, and it is ill-fated that this 18 year-old had to be in the middle of it. Society has still yet to come to any type of conclusion or acceptance about hermaphrodites, and that became clear through runner Semenya.

There is another article that runs parallel to the previous one and I believe it is just as important. Caster Semenya, after all the allegations and media trouble, posed for a magazine cover. Contrary to her usual tied-back hair and runner’s uniform, she was posed with her hair down, all dolled-up, in feminine clothes. Semenya felt the need to prove her womanhood after all the allegations, and who could blame her? However, it is a flaw of society that a perfectly healthy human being needs to prove to the world her gender. In Jeffrey Eugenides novel, Middlesex, Calliope faces the same problems as she lives her life as a male in a woman’s body. Luckily for Semenya, she is happy with her gender, however she still feels as though she needs to prove herself. Ariel Levy talks about raunch culture and the need for women to proclaim their feminine sexuality. Is this the same situation? Is Caster Semenya just like Danica Patrick or other female athletes who exploit their bodies as sexual objects?

South Africa is irate at the current situation, as any country in support of their young athletes should be. “South Africa will fight back if Semenya is excluded from further competition, Stofile said, adding, "It will be a third world war." Says the CNN article. The problem hermaphrodites face in our society is ongoing, and the solution could take years. If we do solve one part of the issue, another incident is bound to arise putting girls like Caster Semenya through hell. The only real solution is for society to change. Society needs to be more accepting and more understanding. Caster Semenya trained just as hard as her competition, she worked towards her goal and achieved it. Now, societies “standards” are threatening to take away all her hard work. The world needs to understand that it is no longer okay to just be black and white. There is such thing as in between and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Caster Semenya deserves the same respect that the other men and women runners receive, regardless of what her genitalia looks like. The only way for this problem to be solved is for society to change.

NEWSFLASH!: She's Come A Long Way From Daisy Duke

Fame and fortune are two things that many people wish for before they go to sleep at night, and hope for every morning when they wake up. But even though we tend to envision the life of a celebrity as a glorious journey through Hollywood, the spotlight is often something that ends up being more of a nuisance, and often a source of negativity. For the past few years, this has been the problem for Jessica Simpson. Not to say her earlier years were filled with any real problems. She has always been the sweet, angelic blonde, who very nearly was a mouseketeer and destined to wait until marriage. For years she fit the image that the media and the industry laid out for her falling into the same mold as other 90’s and early 2000’s pop stars, e.g. Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. As of late, however, things have started to get a little rough for Jessica. A few days ago Jessica Simpson appeared on the Oprah television talk show to open up about the last few years including relationships, and most importantly her recent weight gain, and the way the media has criticized her. You can read the full article here at Oprah’s website.


When I first heard about this interview with Oprah, it seemed as if the timing was nothing short of perfect. This seemed to resonate all too clearly as it coincided with our reading of Brumberg’s “Body Project”. The picture above is the one of a group of pictures taken at an event in 2009 that started the media frenzy, as Jessica was wearing so-called, “mom jeans”. Jessica also acknowledges that she had gained ten pounds, but that she did not feel that she should be ashamed. Brumberg’s book examines our culture through the past dcades and how
women, but also men, have turned their bodies into ‘projects’, whether as a form of expression, or to find a means to feel connected and accepted by society. The chapter of Brumberg’s book that examines the adolescence and early womanhood of Yvonne Blue illustrates how even a century ago, women were feeling an unnecessary pressure to look or feel a certain way. Although, in Brumberg’s chapter, The History of Svelte, we find out that dieting practices were in some part very much frowned upon by many. In fact, at this time, many people still placed value in a larger, full-figured female physique. She even uses a quote from a college newspaper that said, “ If preventative measures against strenuous dieting are not taken soon, Smith College will become notorious not for sylph-like forms, but for haggard faces and dull, listless eyes.”(99) We may say that we have progressed as a society, but it seems as if today, more than ever, we put more stock in women’s’ figures and images than a hundred years ago. We talked about women’s pants sizes, and the article actually addresses this issue, “According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average American woman wears a size 14. Jessica says the jeans she's wearing in the now-infamous photos are a size 4.” Hearing this put into those terms made this whole thing seem even more ridiculous. It’s crazy that Jessica wears about ten sizes smaller than the average, and for the past 6 months or so she’s been called overweight by the media. However, unlike Yvonne in Brumberg’s book, Jessica did not begin to diet and attempt to change her image to fit the standard that was being forced upon her. In many ways I think that she took the stance that Brumberg wishes more women would choose. Women should diet or exercise because they want to be fit and healthy, not because they feel compelled to make themselves into someone that people will accept. Just underneath the quote from the Department of Health, Jessica says, "I'm not going to ever be size 0, and I don't want to weigh 90 pounds," she says. "It's a really hard thing for me to talk about because I celebrate women of all sizes. I think that we're all beautiful." I definitely think Brumberg would agree that if all women (and men) felt this way, the body would no longer have to be a source of self-consciousness in women.

Jessica Simpson’s appearance on The Oprah Show is definitely something that everyone should pay attention to. She sends a message that I’m sure many women, and especially adolescent females should be able to relate to and learn from.

News Flash: Customers don’t want to come in and see a pregnant woman behind the bar

I stumbled across this article and it was like a beam of light broke through the clouds and shined down on me. This is the perfect combination of things we’ve talked about in class. I found this article on CNN.com. It’s about this exotic dance club or gentlemen’s club in New York called Café Royale. Looking at their website, I would say that this place is trying to be an upscale establishment, they have a VIP section and “celebrity” guests and it is in the heart of New York City. So the news article said that this woman, Jennifer Paviglianiti, worked as a bartender at this club and was making a pretty substantial amount of money doing so. Up until she got pregnant. So because of her pregnancy and the theme of her workplace, Paviglianiti began to get nervous that her job would soon be in jeopardy if her boss, John Doxey, found out her pregnancy. Paviglianiti continued to delay telling her boss the news and low and behold, Doxey found out, and this makes Paviglianiti a little more nervous. Paviglianiti tried to protect herself and her job by recording her conversations with Doxey and during one particular conversation, Doxey can be heard saying, “Customers don’t wanna come in and see a pregnant woman behind the bar!” Doxey responded to this by saying that he could lose customers and money by continuing to allow her to work there. According to the article, he can legally say that she has to maintain a “sexy look” and in that case Doxey would have had to acknowledge that before Paviglianiti was hired that she would be working as a model and a bartender. Apparently this is how Las Vegas hires bartenders and workers for their clubs and casinos.

This is an interesting story because Paviglianiti is a woman working in the men’s entertainment business, and she is pregnant. I understand that men go to gentlemen’s clubs for leisure, to escape their lives as workingmen and fathers and to have a good time. They do not want to go into these clubs and be reminded of what they are trying to escape. I am not saying that all men feel this way, just patrons of these establishments. Furthermore, women themselves that are not involved with the pregnancy see it as unattractive as well. Finally, men my age do not want to think about having a kid or pregnancy because we do not want to grow up anytime soon. However, pregnancy is a natural process that is essential to the continuation of our species so how can it be seen as negative? By using perspectives and ideas from Joan Brumberg’s Body Project and Anne Fausto-Sterling’s Hormonal Hurricanes: Menstruation, Menopause, and Female Behavior, I will examine why I believe that the owner, John Doxey, was right in his action.

First off, I would simply just like to discuss pregnancy and how it is viewed in popular culture. For the most part, young adults try to avoid becoming pregnant. The main reason is people my age, people in college and/or with a job, simply do not have the time or resources or maturity to raise a child. Students that attend college are always very busy with schoolwork and young professionals do not always have enough income or job security to reliably take care of a child; not to mention these people most likely aren’t married. However, I do understand that there are young adults out there that can successfully work a full time job and raise a family not long after high school. Continually, on the other hand, it is not fashionable for young women to become pregnant because, working with themes from Brumberg, women are still working on their “body projects.” Being pregnant puts a lot of stress on the mother’s body, they gain weight, and they get dreaded stretch marks. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have seen a commercial about a cream that eliminates these “obscene” marks. Women cannot wear the “fashionable” clothes that are constantly being pressed upon pop-culture, although recently designers have been making maternity clothes. The point I am trying to put across is that pregnancy has become very unpopular with pop-culture, and therefore a pregnancy is seen as a negative occurrence for young women.

Next, it is generally a bad idea for a woman to work at a bar or a club while she is pregnant. Let me try to paint a picture of a club on a Friday or Saturday night. There are usually going to be a lot of people if the place is popular, and being in New York City, they probably have a large clientele base. The majority of the customers that enter this establishment are probably going to be drinking or drunk and this can create a loud and stressful environment. Intoxicated people are not very patient and can sometimes grow violent which can result in a potentially dangerous environment for the unborn child. Furthermore, regular patrons often become friendly with the workers and will frequently buy drinks for the bartender; the bartender does not have to consume this beverage but the temptation is there. Bartending often means late nights and long hours, and the entire time is spent on your feet and you cannot leave your bar, with the new stresses on the mother’s body, I can understand how this would be a difficult task. Finally, referring to Fausto-Sterling’s work, pregnant women do have a lot of hormones running through their body and combined with the stresses of working at a club that could be the recipe for disaster.

What I am trying to convince you, the reader, is that a pregnant woman working at a bar is not a good idea, and I believe that Doxey was correct in his action to move Paviglianiti to a different position, presumably less demanding. Yes, there is good reason for Paviglianiti to want to retain her original position because she was making more money, but most likely she can resume her position once she has had her child if should would like to have it back.

BECAUSE ANDREW WANTS A TITLE

In Rebecca Walker's "Lusting for Freedom" she talks about her sexual experiences and how she had learned the hard way. She notes that most of the information women get about sex is spotty, and in the media, women are often humiliated. But she says this needs to change. And although sex is a solo learning experience, we need to create an awareness. I agree with Walker when she says that we need to stop wondering why young women are having sex. We can't pretend like it's not happening, nor should we continue to preach abstinence. More importantly, we should acknowledge it and make sure that young women have what they need to "make sex a dynamic, affirming, safe and pleasurable part of our lives" (23). After reading the article, I am under the impression that Walker wants sex to be more.... personal. As women, we shouldn't cater our sexual desires to please our partners. We need to explore our bodies and have sex for our own enjoyment.

I found "Tight Jeans and a Chania Chorris" quite interesting. This was the same idea that I had covered in my newsflash. Tiny clothes and "raunchy" dancing are two things that are frowned upon in a WHITE society. I thought it was interesting how her parents accepted her sisters midriff just because the outfit was from India, rather than from Macy's. I think culture is a factor that feminists often overlook. Shah hit it right on the spot. I think we often analyze "the situation on white feminism's terms, which don't recognize cultural duality" (228) and it is important we start looking further than simply black or white.

I thought the Collin's article was quite interesting mainly because of the examples she presented. I do believe that Josephine Baker and Sarah Bartmann supported her argument quite well. However, when she provided examples of sexually repressed black women in the media today, she failed to acknowledge that many other females who aren't ethnically diverse also fall victim to the over sexualized media culture today. Destiny's Child? Jennifer Lopez? Britney Spears? Christina Aguilera? Destiny's Child "Bootylicious" lyrics are no different from Aguilera's "Dirty" lyrics. I do think she provides a valid argument, however her support can be questioned.

I think that the entire of idea of making sex and sexuality something that shouldn't be talked about needs to be changed. Schools need to stop preaching for abstinence and start promoting safe sex. Times are changing, and young men and women are having sex at a very young age. Even for the older generations, sex shouldn't be seen as tacky or slutty. I think the only way to change our oversexualized culture, is to be more open about it and begin exposing it to the younger generation.

The Bears Can Smell the Menstruation

After reading Fausto-Sterling’s article, Hormonal Hurricane, I guess you can say that I learned a thing or two about menstruation and menopause aka “the change.” Her article, I would say, describes the history of the study of the menstruation and previous thoughts that are now obsolete. The article discusses how menstruation was/is thought to have affected working habits negatively and therefore women couldn’t hold certain jobs. It was quite surprising to me when I read the part about how doctors thought that the symptoms that women experienced were simply just made up, fake. I also thought it was interesting how one person speculated that in the days when humans were still hunter-gatherers that women had fewer periods in their lifetime because of a low fat diet whereas today women can have around 400 in a lifetime. I have had encounters with such individuals that were on their period, actually just one, my sister. The end I don’t want to discuss anymore. Period. I knew when older women went through menopause, they had symptoms like hot flashes and mood swings but I did not know that actual physical changes occurred because of it, like increased amount of facial hair. I can only image what it must be like to encounter an individual going through “the change.”

I’m no poetry expert but I will do my best to decipher this poem by Anne Sexton, The Celebration of My Uterus. This is a very short poem so it does not really give me much to work with. I believe that Sexton is trying to express how she feels connected to women everywhere because of her uterus, and it is kind of like a celebration of women and their physical nature.

Valdes’ s article is about her desire to want to become a true feminist and not the stereotypical dumb bimbo who teaches aerobics classes. I think her outlook might be a little skewed, its like she cannot feel good about herself being a feminist while teaching fitness classes. Not all people go to the gym or a class just to loose weight, for some people it is something they enjoy doing. Me personally I like to go to the gym and workout because I leave feeling energized, a sense of accomplishment, and generally just feeling good about myself. Valdes is forcing herself to fit this mold she envisions that she should be apart of, to me it appears that she enjoys teaching these classes but for some reason she feels she cannot like it because men like to see women in spandex. Although it was somewhat ironic that after she went to grad school and was working as a writer and feeling like a feminist that she still had to write about fitness.

You're So Vain

Brumberg's article is interesting, but I'm pretty sure my views are just a tad bit different, and luckily I get to have the main post today. In all honestly I'm not 100% positive what Brumberg's argument is. Is she angry that this whole 'body project' went on throughout the last century? From what I gather she's a little less than pleased. I remember using the Flapper reference in one of my earlier posts, and it's interesting that this comes back around. Brumberg starts off the article with the example of Yvonne Blue. She uses diary entries to chronicle the journey of Yvonne from a 150 pound girl to a 125 pound woman. Please note that I only said girl to woman because of this change really did occur in the adolescent years of her life. Brumberg cites the changing media influences, as well as pressure to belong in her college years, as reasons she may have felt compelled to change her image. These changes manifest in subtle changes such as a haircut, but also in the form of strict dieting that negatively affected her health. In the end Yvonne ended up 30 pounds lighter and had totally changed her lifestyle multiple times before graduating college. Brumberg goes on to talk about other issues such as breast size and body piercings. However, the basis of her argument, for the chapter with Yvonne at least, is the unnecessary pressure placed on younger girls by media and other outlets.

Every generation has it's influences. Is it necessarily wrong for a young girl to see images in a magazine or on television, and decide that that's what they want to be? I've never been a young girl so I couldn't comment, but I would venture to say that the case of Yvonne is nothing that different from what millions of young girls throughout the past decades have felt. However, I do think it was a somewhat extreme case. I mean there's only so much blame that we can place in images. At some point, the responsibility must be placed on the individual. I can say that I would love to be the worlds strongest man, but I'm not going to go out and buy a thousand dollars worth of anabolic steroids and spend the next five years of myself trying to be the Incredible Hulk. Although it's sad to see stories such as this, and it is a shame that it happens, every teenager goes through years of angst and self-consciousness. It is no secret that as each new generation has emerged, different forms of expression have also emerged, often involving the body as the main canvas for expression. But I suppose the question I pose, which isn't really anything new is...When is it necessary to stop blaming pictures in magazines and on the t.v., and start focusing on the individual?