Access the validity of the following statement:
During the 1990's until now, women have been degraded in pop culture.
The 1990's sparked a time of new age music and culture throughout America. The "90's generation" truely is a generation unlike any other; however, the 90's also began a time where women were sexualized by the media. While this process began in the 80's with women like Madonna and Janis Joplin, it spread through all of society in the 1990's. The ideal of degradation has been common throughout America for centuries. In the past women were degraded by being kept at home to do the "home chores" and raise the children, while the men worked. The level of degrading women have experienced in recent times, however, has been one of a sexual means, and to an extent where females are still seen as inferior to males. Throughout the 1990's until 2008, it has been apparent that, throughout pop culture, women have been degraded both by men and the media.
The biggest source of mortification on women's behalf is by far the media. The media has the ability to twist and turn their photos and articles to portray women however they want. Generally speaking, women are portrayed as scantily clad with supermodel bodies; such as in document one for instance. Document one shows singer Christina Aguilera in a Sketchers shoes advertisement. One of the Aguilera representations is not even fully in frame, therefore you cannot actually see her shoes in the footware ad. However both models in the ad are only slightly dressed, and are posed in seemingly sexual positions. Of course the maker of this ad would create a sexual aura around the scene because, now days, sex sells. If the designers of the ad had simply shown a picture of shoes, the advertisement would not have jumped out as much and screamed "if you get these shoes, you'll be hot!" In document two, a student from the University of Kansas analyzes how women are constantly portrayed as sex symbols in the media, and how celebrities use it to their ability to gain momentum in their careers. Jenna Mittelmeier states in her article, "today's society is no stranger to sexuality and controversy." This statement presumably sums up modern times in a simple scentence. She also goes to say "...we have far surpassed subway grates and short white dresses. In today's age, tabloids are no stranger to crotch shots of women without underwear (Britney Spears, anyone?) or women kissing women at the Video Music Awards." This statement gives examples of media productions and low points that the media has stooped to in order to gain their headliners, at the expense of the women celebrities. Of course, there is always a possibility that Mittelmeier was writing the article for an "anti-media" reason or simply is just against the media altogether, and so she wanted to point out only negative points. Document three shows various lyrics from three different types of bands, all three songs regarding women. In the first set of lyrics, a rap bands portrays women as "players" and states that "they got a man to meet at least for every day of the week." The second set of lyrics is the infamous "Barbie Girl" song by Aqua. The song has a female singer pretending to be "Barbie" and claiming that "Life in plastic, it's fantastic You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere." This song takes the sexualization of Barbie to entirely new level. The song is twisted and contains multiple puns throughout the entire song, making women up to be a "toy" for men to play with. The third set of lyrics, by Tupac Shakur, portrays a woman in a different light. Generally women are seen as put down by men and the ones that are constantly getting "played"; however, in Minnie the Moocher, a female named Minnie is seen as a genuine player, that completely walks all over men. While the song is showing women in a different light, it is still degrading to women in the sense that it says "Maybe it was her smile, her personality or the way she shook her shimmy or the clothes she wore But whatever it was, Minnie the Moocher was an expert." The song refers to Minnie taking off her clothes (shook her shimmy) to men, which is not exactly showing women in a "positive" light. Document 4 contains only a picture. It shows a photogrpah of a Barbie doll still in the package. The portrayl of the "Barbie doll" is a negative one on it's own. Many women in America look at Barbie like the "perfect female." They are constantly trying to acheieve that level of "perfection" with their bodies, which is where the supermodel looks originates from. However, this body type is not extremely common around the world. and it gives off the attitude that "if your body does not look like this, then you are not beautiful." This gives women from every region a complex that if you do not fit into the "Barbie mold" you are seen as ugly in society. The "Barbie mold" is also generally what advertisements portray as beautiful as well. Most models in ads of all kinds fit the Barbie body type, giving American women even more of a complex, and degrading the actual "real" women of society.
While the media fills the ideal of women being degraded, women themselves on the other hand, are not always so quick to give into society's "perfect woman." In document 5, a female writer named Naomi Wolf describes how the media has set up what a "beautiful woman" is, and how it has affected women around the country. She states, "eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty... thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal." This document gives two different viewpoints. Naomi Wolf points out how the media affects women is in a negative way, while the document itself shows how there are a number of women out there that feed off the media, and feel that if they in fact do not look like what the media says they need to, then they have failed. In document 6, writer Elizabeth Wurtzel, also female, shows how women need to step up in society, and make a stop to their oppression still felt today. She claims that, "We should be comfortable with the idea of wielding power. We shouldn't feel that it detracts from our femininity." The quotation shows that women feel if they take action, then they are no longer seen as "womanly" or "feminine." These ideals were more than likely instilled by the media; but, Wurtzel attempts to break women away from these beliefs, and she says that we need to end our ambivilence to weilding power, that if we do not step up, we will be forever seen as the "lesser gender." However, Wurtzel could just be saying this because she wants women to step up, we don't know for sure that women are ambivilent to holding power, she could simply be saying that to gain momentum for women to start gaining control of power.
Finally, while the media has the prospect of degrading women on a daily basis, there are still men in the world that continue to do so as well. In document 8, a character named Borat, from Da Ali G show, states that the only job for a woman is prostitution. While the character is a satirical one, and while it is a comedy show, the statement shows how Americans feel foreigners view us as a country (or, how they actually do). The "prostitution" remark degrades women as a whole because it makes it seem that women have absolutely no abilities aside from hopping into bed for men's pleasure. Of course, Da Ali G show attempts to try and get people on the edge of their seat, and to complain about it's jokes, that's where it's humor lies, therefore it is a possibility that this was simply said to irk the women of America into causing a scene about it. In doucment 9, an anonymous male posts in his blog about how he views women. In the middle of his rant he states that, "Then come the kids. She wants them to go the the (sic) fancy private schools, away from the inner city riff-raff (most likely the offspring of the badboys she used to *sleep with* when she was younger). " The idea of women wanting to protect their children simply because of their pasts is not only degrading, but is also stretching it quite a bit. It is possible that this man was actually a "player" and he used to sleep with tons of women and knows how the urban areas are, but he places the blame on the woman to protect his own image. Finally, in document 10, another anonymous male numbers off his reasonings for pitying women, one of them is " I pity them for making men the enemy and not loving partners." Not only is rambling off all the reasons you pity women completely degrading towards women, but it also makes this guy look like a genuine moron. Not all women make men seem like the enemy, but instead follow what they say and "obey" them in a sense. It seems possible that this male got broken up with and then he listed off all the reasons he "pitied" women simply out of anger.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
DBQ for the updated version for Mrs. Cole.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
During the period of 1990 until now, how have women been portrayed in pop culture?
Historical Context
*In the 2004 Superbowl half time show, Janet Jackson's top "fell down" exposing one of her breasts. Her agent and other sources claimed it was not a planned stunt, but instead a "wardrobe malfunction."
Oh you don't think you need game, homey you better have it
Cause women cheat like men, only they better at it
You kiss your girl on the cheek, thinkin' she sweet
She got a man to meet at least for every day of the week
RHYMEFEST All girls cheat, American Hip Hop band, 2006.
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a blonde single girl in the fantasy world
Dress me up, take your time, I'm your dolly
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour and pain
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky
AQUA Barbie Girl, Popular Bubble Gum Dance Band, 1997.
Minnie the Moocher was a legend on the block I'm from
A dream girl to many brothers, but true to none
Her reputation was enormous - a real go getter
And once a brother met her, he wanted to get with her
Maybe it was her smile, her personality or
the way she shook her shimmy or the clothes she wore
But whatever it was, Minnie the Moocher was an expert
2PAC Minnie the Moocher, American rapper, 1994.
The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us...During the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty...pornography became the main media category, ahead of legitimate films and records combined, and thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal...More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated (sic) grandmothers.
"The biggest problem that women have is being ambivalent about their own power, ... We should be comfortable with the idea of wielding power. We shouldn't feel that it detracts from our femininity."
In the 1900s: Woman, where's my food?
In the 1910s: No, you can't vote
In the 1920s: OK, you can vote, but no smoking
In the 1930s: DOOOH - I said no smoking, but OK, if you insist
In the 1940s: Thanks for the "Dear John" letter. That's just what I needed here in this piss-filled trench
In the 1950s: I said, Woman where's my food?
In the 1960s: Woman where's your bra?
In the 1970s: Woman where are you going?
In the 1980s: Child Support? You make twice as much as I do!
In the 1990s: OK, The SitComs and TV ads have me convinced - we men really are doofuses (sic). You win. I'll sit here on the Barcalounger™, being hopelessly irrelevant.
There are many job opportunities in the US and of A. For men, construction worker, taxi driver or accountant. For woman, prostitute.
Document 10
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." Bob Dylan
Sadly though, I find that a significant number of men slaving away are not doing it for themselves, but they are doing it because of their nagging wives. They had to move into the suburbs, buy a house with a white picket fence that was way beyond what he could afford. He had to buy the gas guzzling minivan and SUV. Then come the kids. She wants them to go the the (sic) fancy private schools, away from the inner city riff-raff (most likely the offspring of the badboys she used to *sleep with* when she was younger). Then it's ballet and dance recitals, little league baseball and football, and then you have to start putting money away for their college education. From marriage until death, he will always be making payments of some sort. A sad existance (sic) indeed. That is no way to live life.(*edit*)
I am not angry with American women. I merely pity them. I pity them for embracing feminism without any critical thought. I pity them for making men the enemy and not loving partners. I pity them for their unsuccessful struggle with their own rules. I pity them for not understanding that life is about compromise and that compromise is not weakness.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I hate life.
uDuring the period of 1980 until now, how have women been portrayed in pop culture?
Historical Context
*In the 2004 Superbowl half time show, Janet Jackson's top "fell down" exposing one of her breasts. Her agent and other sources claimed it was not a planned stunt, but instead a "wardrobe malfunction."
Oh you don't think you need game, homey you better have it
Cause women cheat like men, only they better at it
You kiss your girl on the cheek, thinkin' she sweet
She got a man to meet at least for every day of the week
RHYMEFEST All girls cheat, American Hip Hop band, 2006.
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a blonde single girl in the fantasy world
Dress me up, take your time, I'm your dolly
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour and pain
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky
AQUA "Barbie Girl", Popular Bubble Gum Dance Band, 1997.
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart
(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater
HALL & OATES "Maneater", a "rock and soul" band from Pennsylvania that gained most of their fame during the 70's and 80's.
In today's world of chaos, turmoil, and destruction; only a restored respect for women can rescue this world out of distress and take it out of its present predicament towards a new century of peace and love. A woman is needed in a leadership position to perform this task. Wherever the woman is disrespected chaos exists in that location. Did you ever stop to think what would happen if today there were no women in the world.
"The biggest problem that women have is being ambivalent about their own power, ... We should be comfortable with the idea of wielding power. We shouldn't feel that it detracts from our femininity."
There are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature.
In the 1900s: Woman, where's my food?
In the 1910s: No, you can't vote
In the 1920s: OK, you can vote, but no smoking
In the 1930s: DOOOH - I said no smoking, but OK, if you insist
In the 1940s: Thanks for the "Dear John" letter. That's just what I needed here in this piss-filled trench
In the 1950s: I said, Woman where's my food?
In the 1960s: Woman where's your bra?
In the 1970s: Woman where are you going?
In the 1980s: Child Support? You make twice as much as I do!
In the 1990s: OK, The SitComs and TV ads have me convinced - we men really are doofuses (sic). You win. I'll sit here on the Barcalounger™, being hopelessly irrelevant.
There are many job opportunities in the US and of A. For men, construction worker, taxi driver or accountant. For woman, prostitute.
Document 10
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." Bob Dylan
Sadly though, I find that a significant number of men slaving away are not doing it for themselves, but they are doing it because of their nagging wives. They had to move into the suburbs, buy a house with a white picket fence that was way beyond what he could afford. He had to buy the gas guzzling minivan and SUV. Then come the kids. She wants them to go the the (sic) fancy private schools, away from the inner city riff-raff (most likely the offspring of the badboys she used to *sleep with* when she was younger). Then it's ballet and dance recitals, little league baseball and football, and then you have to start putting money away for their college education. From marriage until death, he will always be making payments of some sort. A sad existance (sic) indeed. That is no way to live life.(*edit*)
I am not angry with American women. I merely pity them. I pity them for embracing feminism without any critical thought. I pity them for making men the enemy and not loving partners. I pity them for their unsuccessful struggle with their own rules. I pity them for not understanding that life is about compromise and that compromise is not weakness.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Another Final Attempt
How have Americans perceived the relationship between women and power in American society since the 1980's?
Throughout the 20th century women have gained rights and equality in America. For example, in 1920 women gained the right to vote. Also women have achieved the right to more equal job oppurtunities and career options in all fields. During this time men's attitudes towards women have changed.
Document 1
"Rape is a serious problem in the United States today. The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan.""The biggest problem that women have is being ambivalent about their own power, ... We should be comfortable with the idea of wielding power. We shouldn't feel that it detracts from our femininity.”
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." Bob Dylan
Sadly though, I find that a significant number of men slaving away are not doing it for themselves, but they are doing it because of their nagging wives. They had to move into the suburbs, buy a house with a white picket fence that was way beyond what he could afford. He had to buy the gas guzzling minivan and SUV. Then come the kids. She wants them to go the the fancy private schools, away from the inner city riff-raff (most likely the offspring of the badboys she used to *sleep with* when she was younger). Then it's ballet and dance recitals, little league baseball and football, and then you have to start putting money away for their college education. From marriage until death, he will always be making payments of some sort. A sad existance indeed. That is no way to live life.(*edit*)
In the 1900s: Woman, where's my food?
In the 1910s: No, you can't vote
In the 1920s: OK, you can vote, but no smoking
In the 1930s: DOOOH - I said no smoking, but OK, if you insist
In the 1940s: Thanks for the "Dear John" letter. That's just what I needed here in this piss-filled trench
In the 1950s: I said, Woman where's my food?
In the 1960s: Woman where's your bra?
In the 1970s: Woman where are you going?
In the 1980s: Child Support? You make twice as much as I do!
In the 1990s: OK, The SitComs and TV ads have me convinced - we men really are doofuses. you win. I'll sit here on the Barcalounger™, being hopelessly irrelevant.
I am not angry with American women. I merely pity them. I pity them for embracing feminism without any critical thought. I pity them for making men the enemy and not loving partners. I pity them for their unsuccessful struggle with their own rules. I pity them for not understanding that life is about compromise and that compromise is not weakness.
Oh you don't think you need game, homey you better have it
Cause women cheat like men, only they better at it
You kiss your girl on the cheek, thinkin she sweet
She got a man to meet at least for every day of the week
RHYMEFEST All girls cheat, American Hip Hop band, 2006.
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a blonde single girl in the fantasy world
Dress me up, take your time, I'm your dollie
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour and pain
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky
AQUA "Barbie Girl", Popular BubbleGum Dance Band, 1997.
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart
(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater
HALL & OATES "Maneater", a "rock and soul" band from Pennsylvania that gained msot of their fame during the 70's and 80's.
Document 7
There are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature.
In today's world of chaos, turmoil, and destruction; only a restored respect for women can rescue this world out of distress and take it out of its present predicament towards a new century of peace and love. A woman is needed in a leadership position to perform this task. Wherever the woman is disrespected chaos exists in that location. Did you ever stop to thinkwhat would happen if today there were no women in the world?
There are many job opportunities in the US and of A. For men, construction worker, taxi driver or accountant. For woman, prostitute.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
DBQ Documents Drafts
Throughout the 20th century women have gained rights and equality in America. For example, in 1920 women gained the right to vote. Also women have achieved the right to more equal job oppurtunities and career options in all fields. During this time men's attitudes towards women have changed.
Document 1
"Rape is a serious problem in the United States today. The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan.""The biggest problem that women have is being ambivalent about their own power, ... We should be comfortable with the idea of wielding power. We shouldn't feel that it detracts from our femininity.”
"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." Bob Dylan
Sadly though, I find that a significant number of men slaving away are not doing it for themselves, but they are doing it because of their nagging wives. They had to move into the suburbs, buy a house with a white picket fence that was way beyond what he could afford. He had to buy the gas guzzling minivan and SUV. Then come the kids. She wants them to go the the fancy private schools, away from the inner city riff-raff (most likely the offspring of the badboys she used to *sleep with* when she was younger). Then it's ballet and dance recitals, little league baseball and football, and then you have to start putting money away for their college education. From marriage until death, he will always be making payments of some sort. A sad existance indeed. That is no way to live life.(*edit*)
In the 1900s: Woman, where's my food?
In the 1910s: No, you can't vote
In the 1920s: OK, you can vote, but no smoking
In the 1930s: DOOOH - I said no smoking, but OK, if you insist
In the 1940s: Thanks for the "Dear John" letter. That's just what I needed here in this piss-filled trench
In the 1950s: I said, Woman where's my food?
In the 1960s: Woman where's your bra?
In the 1970s: Woman where are you going?
In the 1980s: Child Support? You make twice as much as I do!
In the 1990s: OK, The SitComs and TV ads have me convinced - we men really are doofuses. you win. I'll sit here on the Barcalounger™, being hopelessly irrelevant.
I am not angry with American women. I merely pity them. I pity them for embracing feminism without any critical thought. I pity them for making men the enemy and not loving partners. I pity them for their unsuccessful struggle with their own rules. I pity them for not understanding that life is about compromise and that compromise is not weakness.
Oh you don't think you need game, homey you better have it
Cause women cheat like men, only they better at it
You kiss your girl on the cheek, thinkin she sweet
She got a man to meet at least for every day of the week
RHYMEFEST All girls cheat, American Hip Hop band, 2006.
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a blonde single girl in the fantasy world
Dress me up, take your time, I'm your dollie
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour and pain
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky
AQUA "Barbie Girl", Popular BubbleGum Dance Band, 1997.
Under my thumb
The squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways
It's down to me, yes it is
The way she does just what she's told
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, ah, say it's alright
THE ROLLING STONES Under My Thumb, British Rock Band, 1966.
Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn’t have what it takes." They will say, "Women don’t have what it takes."
There are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature.
In today's world of chaos, turmoil, and destruction; only a restored respect for women can rescue this world out of distress and take it out of its present predicament towards a new century of peace and love. A woman is needed in a leadership position to perform this task. Wherever the woman is disrespected chaos exists in that location. Did you ever stop to thinkwhat would happen if today there were no women in the world?
There are many job opportunities in the US and of A. For men, construction worker, taxi driver or accountant. For woman, prostitute.
Further research for positive stuff
How have male attitudes towards women in America changed since 1940-2008?
"In today's world of chaos, turmoil, and destruction; only a restored respect for women can rescue this world out of distress and take it out of its present predicament towards a new century of peace and love. A woman is needed in a leadership position to perform this task. Wherever the woman is disrespected chaos exists in that location. Did you ever stop to thinkwhat would happen if today there were no women in the world?"
- The Power of a Woman by swami ram charran
"With so many advantages that women possess, how can we talk about the equality of gender? Should we not conclude that women are superior?"
-Anonymous post by manoharv2001
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-greatness-of-women
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Further Research
How have male attitudes towards women in America changed since 1940-2008?
Women often perceive barriers and role conflicts as obstacles in their career development process (Albert & Luzzo, 1999;
Brown & Barbosa, 2001; Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001; Stitt-Gohdes, 1997). Common barriers faced by women included sex-typing of
occupations and sex discrimination, both of which women felt they were unable to control (Stitt-Gohdes). Inadequate occupational
skills, poor academic achievement, and lack of transportation were also found to be major reasons women failed to succeed in the
workforce. Childcare was another issue women saw as a potential barrier to career success (Brown & Barbosa; Stitt-Gohdes). Despite
these perceptions by women, findings from recent studies revealed that females showed an interest in a greater number of careers and
exhibited more gender-role flexibility in their career aspirations than males (Francis, 2002; Mendez & Crawford, 2002; Wahl &
Blackhurst, 2000
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:fj8JaaGL1csJ:scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v22n2/pdf/domenico.pdf+positive+attitudes+towards+women+in+the+20th+century&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us
"Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets." -Anthony Burgess, You've Had Your Time, 1990. A british novelist that lived in teh USA
"There are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature." - Stephen Stills an American muscian in an interview with Rolling Stones Magazine.
“Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes.”
-Clare Boothe Luce, (speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.) an American editor, playwright, social activist, congresswoman, journalist, and ambassador
"Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over."
-Bella Abzug
"The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes."
-Bella Abzug well-known American political figure and a leader of the women’s movement
Friday, May 16, 2008
DBQ
Document #1
In the 1900s: Woman, where's my food?
In the 1910s: No, you can't vote
In the 1920s: OK, you can vote, but no smoking
In the 1930s: DOOOH - I said no smoking, but OK, if you insist
In the 1940s: Thanks for the "Dear John" letter. That's just what I needed here in this piss-filled trench
In the 1950s: I said, Woman where's my food?
In the 1960s: Woman where's your bra?
In the 1970s: Woman where are you going?
In the 1980s: Child Support? You make twice as much as I do!
In the 1990s: OK, The SitComs and TV ads have me convinced - we men really are doofuses. you win. I'll sit here on the Barcalounger™, being hopelessly irrelevant.
Anonymous post by user LoveShark Baby, Inc.
This document has the potential to be useful because it gives a humorous (and slightly bitter) representation of parts of women's lives in the 20th century. It goes through major issues that women encountered during the century in the repsective decades.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080411055254AAXVqHV
Document #2
Johnny Cash - Delia's Gone
Delia, oh Delia
Delia all my life
If I hadn't have shot poor Delia
I'd a had her for my wife
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
I went up to Memphis
And I me Delia there
Found her in her parlour
And I tied her to her chair
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
She was low down and, triflin
She was cold and mean
Kind of evil make me
Want to grab my sub-mochine
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
First time I shot her
Shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
But Jailer oh' Jailer
Jailer I cant sleep
Cause all around the bedside
I hear the patter of Delia's feet
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
So if your woman's devilish
You can let her run
Or you can bring her down
And do her, like Delia got done
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
Delia's gone
one more round
Delia's gone
Aqua - Barbie Girl
- Hi Barbie!
- Hi Ken!
- You wanna go for a ride?
- Sure, Ken!
- Jump in!
- Ha ha ha ha!
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
Come on, Barbie, let's go party
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a blonde single girl in the fantasy world
Dress me up, take your time, I'm your dollie
You're my doll, rock and roll, feel the glamour and pain
Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky-panky
You can touch, you can play
You can say I'm always yours, oooh whoa
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please
I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees
Come jump in, be my friend, let us do it again
Hit the town, fool around, let's go party
You can touch, you can play
You can say I'm always yours
You can touch, you can play
You can say I'm always yours
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
I'm a Barbie girl in the Barbie world
Life in plastic, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, ha ha ha, yeah
Come on, Barbie, let's go party, oooh, oooh
- Oh, I'm having so much fun!
- Well, Barbie, we're just getting started!
- Oh, I love you Ken!
I'm pretty sure this is self explanatory, but yeah. It sets women up to be that infamous toy doll, creating them up to be an object of society. Also, the "doll" gives into whatever Ken says in the song, almost as if they were a slave. The song reached number seven on the U.S.'s Billboard Hot 100 in the 1990's
Document #3
The FBI estimates that 72 of every 100,000 females in the United States wereraped last year. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Statistics, 1996.)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Ok Ok so Chaplin was a silent film star but what exactly was he all about?
Chaplin acted in, directed, produced, scripted and even scored his own films. Chaplin's life in the entertainment business spanned over 65 years. He began performing as a child in music halls and on the Victoria stage, and continued on up until almost his death at the age of 88.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
DBQ. AGH.
By 1870, Europeans began to have more free time in their day-to-day schedule. Due to people in society having more free time they started grouping together and participating in organized sports. Between the 19th and 20th centuries organized sports initiated multiple opinions from Europeans, they saw sports as creating a symbol of nationalism, as a way to stay healthy, and a means to still degrade women in certain ways.
Organized sports created a feeling of nationalism with the people of each country, sports allowed the nation to come together as a whole and truly work together. In document 1, Miroslav Tyrs a cofounder of the Czech National Gymnastics Organization, cemented the idea of nationalism within sports. He compared the sport teams to creating a new race, a superior race, he talked about morphing Slavs into docile yet bold creatures that could set up an impenetrable defense and shatter their enemies. Not only is this an extreme surge of nationalism, however it is also wrapped around the idea of social Darwinism with the idea of creating a superior race. In document 4 an African delegate of a British colony gave a speech to the African Political Association. In it, he stated how in rugby players have to come together as one inseparable whole, with perfect union. They must achieve this to more forward and work together in order to do well in the game. This unit coming together shows how the team came together to form one, which is in a way resembles nationalism. The team comes together as one so that no other force can break it apart; the coming together in rugby is like the nation of the team, coming together. In Document 5, Martin Berner, a Berlin journalist, demonstrated perfectly the view of nationalism being a part of sports. He describes how the Olympics games are essentially a “war.” Many of the participants offer years of their lives for training in order to consume a victory for their fatherland. However, it has to be questioned whether or not Berner had traveled the world and seen such training going on, it is possible that athletes in Berlin were only this dedicated and he was simply basing his opinion off of what he had seen in his own country. In Document 9, a Japanese traveler explained his travels in Denmark from a high school gymnastics exhibition. He stated that when the gymnasts were done with their set they gathered into a circle and bore the Danish flag before them. This shows how close the gymnasts were to their country. They were not required to propagandize their country in their own high school in Denmark; however, they did it because as a team together they believed that they were representing the country, and so they visualized that union with the flag. Finally, in Document 6 there is a World War I recruitment poster. It has an army man with the British flag behind him and smaller images of many men performing different types of sports. There are the words “The Game of War. Join Together, Train Together, Embark Together, Fight Together. Enlist in the Sportsmen’s 1000. Play up, Play up & Play the Game” This poster brings the idea of fighting for your country and sports together, it says that fighting for your country is essentially a sport. The poster gives the viewer a sense of “if you play the game and help your country win the war, you are the ultimate sportsman.” The creator of the poster more than likely made the poster so up beat and sports related because they believed the war would “be over by Christmas”, therefore it would not entirely be a battlefield, but more like a sports field.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Feminism
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914Pankhurst.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/jsmill-women.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Social_and_Political_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage#United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffragette
Women’s Suffrage was the reform movement in which the main purpose and goal was to guarantee women the right to vote.
Great Britain
° Women’s right to vote formally taken away: 1832 Reform Act and the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act
° People and Groups that wanted to women to gain the right to vote:
- Chartist Movement
- John Stuart Mill
- Leigh Smith Bodichon
° Emmeline Pankhurst
- Was one of the founders of the Women’s Social and Political Union.
- Her tactics to gain attention towards the movement for suffrage included hunger strikes, protests, and writings.
- She originally had founded a league known as the Women’s Franchise League, however when her husband died she was unable to continue on with it.
- Her daughters were also very passionate with the cause of women’s suffrage
- After World War I broke out her efforts of gaining women the right to vote were dropped momentarily and she instead urged women to take over men’s jobs.
- After World War I, Emmeline went on a tour of the USA and Canada, upon her return, she lost her passion for socialist beliefs, and in 1925 she joined the Conservative Party.
° Women’s Social and Political Union
- was founded on October 10th, 1903
- Was the leading militant group that was fighting for women’s suffrage.
- first group whose members were called “suffragists”
- the leaders of the organization were Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst
- believed that women’s suffrage was imperative for sexual equality.
- their slogan was “Deeds, not words” to show their militant stance.
- They held public meetings, protests, wrote letters to politicians, created reform bills, and published texts.
° The Right to Vote
- 1918 - Parliament gives women over the age of 30 the right to vote
- 1928 - with the Representation of the People Act 1928, women were finally granted the right to vote on the same terms as men (21 and over)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Question #3: Is the US truly NATIONALISTIC these days?
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, nationalism is “the attitude that the members of a nation have when they care about their national identity.”
I believe that the United States is nationalistic in the face of emergency, only. We have the ability to go out in the streets and revel about how amazing our country is at any point of the day, year, or time period. However, the one time that you saw this form of expression truly explode, was of course, after 9/11.
I definitely have to agree with Maineng, Americans have just seemed to have experienced a burst of nationalism; the burst, though, faded away not long after 9/11. After a while, people removed their bumper stickers, and took the flags down from the front of their house. It was almost as if most people were just “Poser Nationalists.” A majority of those people never once went “hoorah!” over the country they live, but give the nation a chaotic element and suddenly we were all so proud of our country. Within a year or two though, it was like it never happened. The nation, in a way, lost their nationalism, and resumed life back on their computers and 9-5 jobs. Now alls people talk about when it comes to the country is “BRING THE TROOPS HOME!”
I lived about 20 minutes away from Washington DC, and after the 9/11 attacks, it was insane the amount of nationalism that surged. There were suddenly people wearing red, white, and blue garb, hanging flags from every crevice they could find, and cluttering their cars with stickers, decals, and paint jobs that were unimaginable. There were protests against terror, new groups created for people to talk about how much they “love their nation”, parades, and tons of other things people did to show their nationalism. Truly, I think this “nationalism” was sparked solely by fear. I’m sure a lot of people felt that if the “terrorist countries” saw how “unified” we were, then they would know we weren’t giving up. Now that this fear is basically gone, we no longer “hold hands with our brothers of the land.”
On a smaller scale, just to prove that nationalism occurs in the face of an emergency, something similar occurred when I lived in LaPlata, Maryland. On April 28, 2002, a twin-tunnel F5 (it was an F5 when hitting Charles County and eventually decreased to around an F3 for the remainder of its trek) tornado hit Southern Maryland. It was the worst tornado in a loooong time. There were baseball sized hail, and trees literally everywhere. Almost 1000 homes and around 200 businesses were destroyed. After the tornado, people put bumper stickers on their car that said things like “This will NOT keep us down. LaPlata WILL rebuild.” There were suddenly people helping clean up the town, there were farmers markets to raise money to help with the devastation, there were shirts, the county flags, stickers. You name it, it was there. The community was now set on working together to rebuild. People took bricks from demolished buildings and put them on display stating that “we will not be destroyed.” Before the tornado though, there was never really anyone helping each other out. LaPlata people aren’t very nice, haha. Due to a state of emergency however, the city worked together and acted as one. .. You can pretty much guess the same basic thing happened like with 9/11. No more flags, no more stickers, no more shirts. It’s back to looking out for yourself, and not really caring how your neighbor’s doing.
The United States, is, in a way, divided by our diversity, but it’s also the thing that brings us together. Our country has the ability to work together even when our culture and races are so different; however, those cultures blend together to create our nation. Once 9/11 happened all of these cultures worked together to clean up rubble in New York. We were, for a moment in time, truly brothers standing together free in our country. All thanks to a terrorist event. Personally, I find it kind of sad that the only time the United States has the “united we stand, divided we fall” attitude. When our country was attacked everyone worked together, because if we stood together as one, they couldn’t tear us down.
The German States remind me a lot of the United States. The German Confederation had lots of different dialects and cultures. But they all knew that they wanted freedom. The states worked together, and eventually became one.
Oh yeah, I don’t really know where to fit this in. But does anyone else find it humorous that after 9/11’s little surge of nationalism, before the nationalism dying out, we had that small period of time where a lot of the country was unified in saying “George Bush was in on it”?
So it basically went.
Our country gets attacked.
We freak out and “stand together as one”
The terrorism meter drops to yellow.
We blame Georgey Porgey.
No one really cares anymore.
Yay America!
Now if that’s true nationalism.
Then nationalism pretty much sucks!
“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”
-- Eleanor Roosevelt.
And the US, I have to say, pretty much isn't working at it.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Lord George Gordon Byron, the lover of well, everything.
Lord Byron was born in London in 1788. He gained the title of "Lord" when he was ten years old. He was born with a lame foot that he was extremely sensitive about his entire life. Believing that with proper car if could have been helped at a younger age. He attended college in Cambridge, where he resided when he published his first collection of poems. These poems included ones written by Byron when he was only 14. Between the years 1809 to 1811, Byron embarked on the young noblemen customary Grand Tour. Due to the Napoleonic Wars he had to pass on most of Europe, and spent most of the tour in the Mediterranean. Lord Byron died in 1824 due to a violent cold and a fever.
The first Romantic trait the Byron poses greatly is "an embrace of strong emotion". Byron was extremely dedicated to animals, he had many eccentric ones as pets throughout his life. These pets included a fox, a bear, a crocodile, a badger, and many more. Byron was so connected to these animals and was so strongly emotionally connected to them that he did anything in his power for them. When one of his dogs contracted rabies, no one would help the dog with it's sickness. Byron however nursed the dog back to health without fear of being bitten. When the dog finally passed away, he wrote a heartfelt epitaph to the dog. The epitaph has become on of his most famous works.
A second Romantic trait that is easily seen in Byron is "a love of tension and strong contrasts." Byron has been accused of alarming love affairs during his life. While none of them have been entirely proved, it created a certain "tension" for everyone in his life. It has been claimed that while Byron was on his Grand Tour, he fell in love with a young boy of fifteen named Nicolò Giraud. This apparently inspired some of his poetry that related the ideas of pederasty, or the love of a young boy by a man outside of the family. Another love affair Byron found himself entangled in was with Lady Caroline Lamb, beginning in 1812. Byron was the one to end this affair, and Caroline never recovered, constantly begging for him to come back. An alleged love affair was with a woman named Augusta Leigh, who happened to be his half sister. They had not known each other for most of their childhood, so when they finally became close in adulthood it has been speculated that they became, well, close. They have been accused of having an incestuous relationship during their later years. Augusta had a daughter, and when she was born Byron's enthusiasm and happiness shows that he was probably of a closer relationship than uncle, more along the lines of the little girls dad. Byron then married Lady Caroline's cousin Anne Isabella Milbanke. They had a daughter (which he named Augusta, just like his half sister), and their marriage proved unfaithful after adultery on Byron's part, and alleged incest with his daughter Augusta. They were divorced a year later. Byron later had an affair with Percy Shelley's step-sister in law, Claire. This affair gained Byron another daughter, this time named Allegra. Byron and Claire had had a previous affair in London.
A third Romantic trait Byron possessed was "an idealization of freedom and liberation from oppression." Byron found himself in the House of Lords in 1811. In 1812 he made his first speech in which he defended the Luddites. He was one of the few Parliamentary defenders of the Luddites.
A fourth, and final, Romantic trait from Byron was "a love of heroes, always ones associated with rebellion." Byron created the idea of the "Byronic hero." The Byronic hero is an idealized, however, a flawed character. It's traits include,
- having great talent
- exhibiting great passion
- having a distaste for society and social institutions
- expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege
- thwarted in love by social constraint or death
- rebelling
- suffering exile
- hiding an unsavoury past
- arrogance, overconfidence or lack of foresight
- ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner.
So we'll go no more a roving
First off, roving is to roam or wander. In the first line Byron says "so well go no more a roving." The "well" indicates that he is not alone, the other person however, is never identified, leaving the reader to guess on whether or not it is a male, a female, an affair, his wife, a daughter, etc. Byron is explaining here how he was aging, and his antics that he had performed earlier in life we're becoming tiresome and he would no longer be able to keep up with the hectic times of his youth. His heart will still be as loving shows that he still will feel the same way he always has, however, he is going to "grow up" in a sense, and keep certain urges deep down inside of him.
Second excerpt:
'Tis time the heart should be unmoved, Since others it hath ceased to move: Yet, though I cannot be beloved, Still let me love!
(taken from On this Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year)
In the first line, Byron shows how at his age he should be with someone, married, and in love. He should not be moving between people and having affairs, or feelings else where. And in the second line he continues with the idea saying that people his age are already dead, and he has yet to "settle down" in life. In the third line he states that he cannot be someone who is deeply loved and cared for, but that does not matter to him, he still wants to love! He is explaining how he knows that life will soon come to an end, he doesn't have long left, however, while he is still alive, he wants to find love and love. Byron is holding onto his emotions, and isn't letting them go until death, which is extremely Romantic.
When I was attempting to relate Lord Byron to a pop culture individual, it hit me pretty fast. As odd and he may be, the one person I can relate to Byron, is Marilyn Manson (center front). It's pretty easy to see parallels between them. One of the main parallels is the "love of everyone" scheme Byron had going for him. Lord Byron was accused again and again of having "homosexual relations." Marilyn Manson has been accused since 1989 of having love affairs with bassist Twiggy Ramirez (back far left). He has also been accused of having affairs with drummer Ginger Fish (back second from left) and ex guitarist John 5 (not pictured). Manson has never refuted or agreed to any of these claims. His personal life has also had such problems. When formerly married to burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, it was reported that he was having a love affair with his now girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. Byron also generally had age differences between him and his "lovers." Manson was around 35 when he began dating Even Wood, who was 19 at the time. Marilyn Manson is also a ridiculous lover of animals (despite those awesome claims of sacrificing them, because he's stated many times how false that is :)), like Byron who was fully in love with his dog, Manson spends generally all of his free time with his cat. He also has donated money to many animal protection charities., or he said he has in his biographies. Also, Manson is a believer in freedom of oppression, he is a constant voice in the music industry about the government, and how they are treating society.
uno
dos
tres?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Star Three. What was the cult of domesticity and what values did they uphold?
The Cult of Domesticity was a view in Great Britain and America that revolved around the middle class portion of women; women were seen as "homemakers" and existed in an entirely different sphere than men.
The main ideal, according to the Cult of Domesticity, for middle class women was that they were supposed to convey perfect virtue in every sense of the word. Women were automatically placed as the center of the domestic sphere. They fell into the customary routine of being a good mother and wife. They were required to be nurturing and calm towards their children, loving and faithful to their husbands, and all around virtuous. They were also deeply religious, they taught the people around them about their Christian values, and were given the task of inspiring their husbands into religion.
There were four main values that each woman was believe to have to uphold. The first value was piety. Piety means that these women were believed to be more religious than men. The second value was purity. They were required to be pure in heart, mind, and soul. The third value was submission; women were required to give in to whatever it was their husbands said. The men made all decisions and the women were required to go along with it no matter what. And the fourth value was domesticity. This was the belief that while the man was out making the living for the family, the woman was at home creating a nurturing domain for the children and for the husband to come home to.
Due to the nature of how women were supposed to act at home, they became the more suitable gender to become teachers. Women were already raising their children and taking care of their husbands, so they had the ideals and values set in to teach children how to progress in the world.
Victorian British mothers were sometimes referred to as "the angel of the house." She was responsible for the moral education of her children, and to keep her husbands morality. The woman had the task of keeping the household running harmoniously. She has the task of overlooking the accounts and directing the household's servants.
Outside of the house women had very limited options. If a woman was unmarried she could be a companion or a governess. Many middle class married women undertook voluntary charitable work, and protested for social reforms. Women also played a vital role in the struggle to abolish slavery and the slave trade within the British Empire. Women also ran wide ranges of movements into order to attempt to better society, they included improving conditions for the poor in schools and hospitals, the decline of prostitution, and factory hours for women.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_Domesticity
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html
AND
our book mainly
D:
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Sunday, February 3, 2008
Star Two. What main diseases were spread throughout Industrial Britain?
During the Industrial Revolution a fraction of the population were forced to work in the new factories to be able to support their family. Women and children were also now working in the factories in astounding numbers. Between the overcrowding of working space, unsanitary living AND working conditions, and pollution disease was able to make it's way through the cities and create complete devastation.
One of the main diseases during the Industrial Revolution was cholera. Cholera hit London so hard that it was known as "King Cholera." Cholera is spread through contaminated water, and during the Industrial Revolution there was plenty of that. People still generally received their drinking water from rivers so they were easily introduced to the disease. Rivers were contaminated mainly due to the fact that sewage water was allowed to flow into the rivers. With the population's immune systems already declining, cholera was free to spread quickly.
Britain was hit by cholera devastations multiple times. The first lasted from 1831-1832, the second wave lasted from 1848 to 1849, and then again in 1854 and 1867. It was documented that in the 1831-1832 outbreak in London around 7000 people died. That meant that cholera had a 50% mortality rate. In the 1848 to 1849 out break, however, 15,000 people died from "King Cholera."
Another disease to hit Industrial cities was smallpox. Most industrial cities were oblivious to the fact that Edward Jenner had created a vaccine for smallpox. This created a huge re-occurrence of the disease. With most of Britain's population centralized within the cities the disease could enter one city and kill a large population. The overcrowding enabled the disease to spread throughout both living quarters and places of work.
Typhoid and Typhus were both also common throughout the cities. Typhoid is a lot like cholera; it is spread through water or food that is contaminated by fecal matter. Typhoid is characterized, however, by an unnaturally high fever. Dehydration is a common symptom, and if not treated Typhoid can cause hemorrhaging of the intestines, and internal bleeding. Typhoid spread through the city of Croydon in 1852. The Board of Health began searching for a reason of the outbreak, however, they never thought the problem might be the sewage in the water. Typhus, on the other hand, is carried by lice. Rats and mice would carry the infected lice, which would then spread to the people. Rats were common in cities, and had been known to spread diseases before (such as the bubonic plague). Typhus was easily spread due to the overcrowding as well. Lice could easily move from person to person. Typhus was characterized by a rash that spread throughout the whole body. It was not discovered that lice were the carriers until the 20th century, which meant no real precaution could be taken towards Typhus during the 19th century.
While cholera, typhoid fever, and typhus all majorly affected the population, the greatest killer of Industrial Britain was tuberculosis, or TB. TB is highly contagious, it is easily spread by simply inhaling the disease that an infected person has breathed out. With (you guessed it) overcrowding, TB was able to take London by storm. TB easily affected the undernourished and close quartered, and those whom had damp homes. It is believed that TB killed around one-third of all of the British population that died from 1800 to 1850.
Alls I have to say is, medical advances ftw!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/IndustrialRevolution/disease.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/diseases_industrial_revolution.htm
http://universalfacts.blogspot.com/2007/06/industrial-revolution-and-public-health.html
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=261680
