ttttake away

This class has provided me with the insight I need to examine the inner-workings of our gendered society. Honestly, my favorite part about having taken this class is being able to point things out to my friends. I like being able to take a gender-critical outlook on everything I interact with. More specifically, the issue of pink v blue, domestic workers, plastic surgery, masculinity, etc. Whenever friends of mine make comments like "oh he does/looks like this, he must be gay," I can swoop in with my knowledge and provide my newfound insight.

Take Away

Besides my newfound inability to watch TV without analyzing every commercial and trying to somehow relate it to a concept we've talked about in SWMS, I believe that I have learned a lot from this class. First of all, what this new mindset shows me is that I definitely think a lot more critically about things that would have surely gone way over my head before. Not everything is the way it is because of some natural phenomenon - pink isn't for all girls just because that's the way it is and women aren't housewives because their bodies are biologically hardwired to perform as such. Rather, our culture has evolved in a manner to promote these ideologies and that is why they may seem so "natural." Secondly, I believe I have a better understanding of human interactions and relationships. Before I took this class, everything seemed very easily categorized - you could be straight, gay, or maybe even bisexual. But after having taken this class I have learned that this is not necessarily the way things work. People ascribe to different sexualities, different attractions, for different reasons at different times; not everyone fits as cleanly into a slot as one may think. Third, and perhaps the most important point that I've learned, is that self-identification is an important aspect of one's life. I don't mean that everyone has to decide who they are and label themselves as such, but I mean that it's important to think for yourself, to realize how much of yourself is actually you versus how much of yourself has been taught to you, or rather shoved in your face by a longstanding society. At often times it may be hard to differentiate between the two, but it's important to think more critically about what you learn in everyday interactions and to not automatically accept anyone's opinions or rules without thinking them through for yourself.

Take Home Message

I have learned so many concepts and beliefs that American society has set forth for millions to believe in the categories of race, gender, sexuality, and class. Each of those categories have issues that we face everyday; men being superior to women, homosexuals vs. hetersexuals, and race and class. America is an unfair, messed up place where many people believe anything that the majority believes. Men should be over women, homosexuals is invalid, people of color are unequal, and people that live life under the expected standard of living is not important. I just hope and pray that America will recognize all these problems and strive to correct them. Nobody is perfect and each and every human on this Earth should have an equal opportunity and should be able to live life without worrying what others think of them.

Take Home Message

What really sticks with me from this course is how society easily downgrades women. I never realized how much pressure through the media that is put upon a female to achieve a perfect image. As a male I get self conscious myself, it could be from the past knowledge I learned from growing up or just a natural feeling I have. I don't really pin point it on the media that I see today, but how the media emphasizes the perfect women I cant imaging how it would be if it was the other way around for men. If being self conscious was just a natural feeling, the media definitely enhanced that feeling for women over men and put a far more pressure to achieve a certain appearance.

Take home message

This class made me more aware of gender ideologies, and how it seems that as a society, we hold on to stereotypes about men and women that are not always true. We classify people according to male or female, and many times it is difficult to move past that category because of the way people view others according to their gender. I also saw how gender is a societal construction, fiercely upheld by society: from the way fathers discourage their sons from playing with toys that may be feminine in any way, to how men discourage undesirable behaviors by calling them gay. These types of thoughts are everywhere and the only way to escape them is to realize they are present and try to change our outlooks on them. The problem is that most people do not even realize they possess these ideologies because they are so engrained in us from birth that they seem natural, or even biological, not socially constructed.

Take away message

It’s my first time that I’m taking a class related to gender issues. But this class changed my view point about different things that I’ve accepted without even thinking about them. It got even more interesting towards the end of the semester. I learned a lot about the concepts of femininity, masculinity, domestic labor and etc. However, one of the important things that this class taught me was that advertisements always portray something which is not real. Likewise, Disney movies always show female characters that are perfect in every way, and this is why women in real world try so hard to reach the same unreachable perfection. The important message that I got from this class is that media has a huge influence on us, even though we are not aware of it.

Take Away

I'm glad this course re-educated me on the definition of feminism.  I understand the roles society has created for gender better and do see it a lot of my life now; smaller things such as the products I buy and the characters from the movies I see remind me of the concepts I learned in this class.  Sometime, I do feel a little bit self-conscious about my choices because they do follow a lot of what society expects of femininity, but I've learned to stop caring about gender constructs.  I realized it's not about fitting into any role, but keeping myself from being pressure to consider them in terms of separate categories.

Looking Back

I think some of the things that really stuck with me from this last semester were things like, structures of feminity and masculinity, the differences that race can have on these structures, and of course, the talk about body image.  However I've gotta say, the thing thats stuck with me the most was the final book we read, by Orenstein.  The whole princess culture and pink culture really hit home with me since interactions with said culture basically defined my entire childhood, and will probably help define the way I choose to raise my daughter some day.  How to balance my love for all things Disney, with my understanding that such an obsession has many negative connotations.  It was a real eye-opener for me.  I really appreciated this class as it helped me to see every day interactions in a new light, and while I may not have been given a solid answer on how to fix the problems i see, at least I can now recognize that theyre there.

Take away message

I thought this class was extremely enlightening and very interesting, for I had never delved into the implications of gender and masculinity/femininity in today's society.  My overall take away message from the class is to just be conscious and aware of others' situations and strive for tolerance and equality.  Although the message is broad, I think that all topics we covered in this class relate to this motto - sexuality, masculinity, femininity, domestic labor, and race relations.  As mentioned in a previous blog post, this class tends to present a problem in society, but fails to offer solutions, so one of the most important things we can do (in my opinion) is to spread awareness on the problems in hopes of instilling tolerance and acceptance in society.  This in itself will help solve many problems of racism, bias, and intolerance.

My Take Away

This course ended up being my favorite one this year. This class challenged me to think beyond the social constructions that I've been raised with. I needed to view everything objectively, and analyzing how restrictions in some areas have a profound impact on other areas of life. Such an example is how the fanily wage restricts women's ability to be economically independet. It's topics like these that we've taken a deep look at and it has helped change my outlook on opportunity and results in the this world.

My Take Away Message

Before this class, I had never taken a gender or social issues course. For the first time in my academic life, I had to closely examine the world around me and unearth the factors that create our norms and beliefs. It was great to have an opportunity to hear new ways of viewing things that I had previously accepted so readily. One of the things that most impacted me was our discussion about sexuality. I had known that female beauty was portrayed in one very specific way about the media, but I had not considered masculinity and our culture's aversion to blatant sexuality before. I found it really interesting that our perception of sexuality, in some ways, affects and is affected by patriarchy. I also liked hearing about the fear of sexuality that culture has linked to childhood.

Take home message

What I have learned from this class was not only concepts on gender roles but also different views regarding something I haven't recognized before. For example, As everyone does, I also like Disney movies. Until this class, I've never even imagined what the Disney movies really portrayed. Who can even realize the Disney movies actually display an appropriate image for a women and also delivers stereotype about the female to the world. For example, in the Disney movies, the main female characters are always very beautiful and well-shaped. As a result, girls just believe they should also have such skinny and well-shaped body which is not good for their health. One of the main message I got from this class is that even though we haven't realized so far, we have been exposure by media which encourages stereotype of women and it delivers misunderstanding  of gender roles in society.

Take Away

My take away from the class was about gender roles, as well as other identities that are prescribed to us, from most facets of life whether it be through media, peer interactions, interactions with adults and so forth. How conventional gender roles perpetuate themselves, and why deviance is stigmatized, or controlled. As a kid I never understood why it was that girls could wear pretty anything, but boys could wear pants or how come boys were supposed to do this and girls were supposed to do that, while everyone else around me just blindly accepted it. I remember being very upset when I wasn't allowed to do some things, because it wasn't appropriate for my gender,  or even feeling ashamed about it and it's good to feel sort of redeemed by learning how it's only a social construct.
I also never thought as deeply about how race and class affect gender intersectionally, and my eyes are opened now.

Take home messages

This class has made me much more aware of the fact that gender is socially constructed, and that gender is also something that is not predetermined; rather, one becomes a woman or a man.  This class has opened my eyes to the underlying meanings of several of the things in my life that I encounter on a day-to-day basis.  For example, advertisements are something that everyone encounters in their everyday life, especially with the influx of media and technology in today's society.  This class as a whole in addition to my media project allowed me to realize the power that media has over society, and how people's ideologies are truly constructed based on what different mediums integrate into our lives.  After taking this class and being exposed to the several different topics we've discussed, I've come to view advertisements in a much more critical light, and I've also noticed myself not immediately assigning gender to someone by solely looking at them because this class has certainly taught me that not everything is as clear as what meets the eye.  As cliche as it is, you can't judge a book by its cover, and this class definitely reinforces that ideal.  After reading Simone de Beauvoir, I started to reflect on my own relationships with the women in my life and ask myself if we build each other up and strongly support one another, or if we aren't too supportive for one another.  Some relationships, like with my mom, are very strong and I know that she always tries to encourage me in my pursuits.  However, sometimes with friends I can sense that they aren't as happy for me as I am for myself in a given situation.  I think a good example of this is in relation to college acceptance letters.  When I was accepted to USC, I was ecstatic, but when I told my best friend, I could tell in her voice that she wasn't as happy for me as I was for myself.  These the main lessons I have learned from this class and the ones that I will take away from this class.

Thoughts on this class

I had never taken a class that revolved around masculinity and feminism and about race and gender issues before, and at first honestly I thought it was just too repetitive and that some people took it too personally. But now I've started to have a different view on these issues and also became more interested in this class after getting into more diverse topics. I still love Disney but can see the negative affects of it too, and I still love fashion advertisements even though I know they cause harm to other people. Therefore from this class I will take on a more open-minded view on matters. Also, I think what this class lacks is a solution. We talk about all the problems with media and society, but we never think about solutions, what can be done to change this. So, many questions still remain on my mind, such as what could be the substitute of Disney Princesses in young girls lives?

Take home message from course

The main take home message i got from this course, in addition to concepts on gender roles, is actually something we talked about in discussion today. Although I consider it only one take home message, it is something that i think is very interesting and that i will remember in the long run. As a girl, I always was fascinated by Disney movies, as are most girls i suppose. However, it was not until this class that i truly analyzed what the Disney movies portrayed-- from both lecture, discussion, and the readings. I learned that Disney movies not only display an image for a women that is unreachable but also a stereotype of the female that is a part of society. I say "unreachable" since the main female leads are always beautiful, skinny, princesses who end up with their prince charming happily ever after; this is not accurate in real life as we can see with the constant divorce rates and quarrels in dating/marriage. I also think that it portrays a stereotype of women being dependent on men and as domestic housewives doing housework. This is one message that i will take from this class: that even Disney movies are representative of gender roles in society.

domestic work.

Yes. For a number of years growing up my dad had a housekeeper come clean our house every other week. My dad always tells me that when he was growing up he decided that as soon as he had enough money to hire domestic help, he would. He wouldn't buy a nice car or a nice house, he would hire someone to clean up after him. And when he got more money, he would hire someone to make his meals for him. While the latter did not happen, the former did and for some odd years. Gabriela. Our house was never really messy because he never really had any furniture and my father would always make me clean my room before she came to clean it because he just wanted her to do the vacuuming and washing and not actually putting away my clothes and my father would seemingly complain every other week about the crappy job she did and yet when we moved to the new rental she followed us and when we moved to the other new rental she followed us and when we moved to other rental she followed us. And while I didn't interact with her too much (she always came while I was at school) I would see her on the occasional Wednesday off and we would make small talk. My dad always tried to go out to run errands when she came because he didn't want to get in her way but I know they talked often because he would tell me about her children and her husband and her life and honestly it seemed as though my dad took a liking to her (I mean he kept her for years so I would assume that anyway) because my dad really isn't a big people person. Unless he has to be. But he would give Gabriela a bag full of the clothes I didn't want because he figured it could help her out. And during the holidays he would give her a pretty large bonus. And we were by no means rich but my dad liked to have a clean house and he didn't like to clean the house. We moved up to LA last summer and after a few weeks living in another new rental, I remember him joking "I miss Gabriela." And I think he did. And I don't know if it was just him missing having someone clean our house or if he actually missed her as a person, but I do like to think of it being the latter.

My grandparents, on the other hand, have a great deal of money and have a housekeeper or live in maid or something. I feel like she's not there all the time but I also feel like whenever I come visit, she's there. Her name is Thelma and just last weekend I went over to their house for a large family dinner and my grandma thanked Thelma and referred to her as her "other daughter." And while I don't really know the whole situation there, I know my grandparents are both getting old and I know my grandma doesn't cook so I'd assume that they're both pretty reliant on Thelma.

Domestic Workers

I have never had a nanny or a maid at my house, but when I was in elementary school in Taiwan, a cleaning lady in her 60s would come to my house once every week and swipe the floor, windows, and also clean the bathrooms. My family’s relationship seems was pretty nice with her. Every time she saw me she would ask how I am doing and give me a warm smiling face. Sometimes, I would visit my friend who has a Pilipino maid at her house. The maid cleans their house and helps maintaining their garden. Her relationship seems to be pretty good with my friend’s family. Once in a while my friend’s mom would buy some of her favorite food for her, such as fried chicken. The costs of labor in Taiwan are extremely low and the domestic workers are treated well. It was a shock for me after seeing clips from “Maid in USA” because I have never seen maids treated as hostile as the maid in the movie.

Domestic work

I don't have a great deal of experience with domestic labor, but my mother (a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan) spent time in college cleaning houses to help pay tuition. I asked her if it felt demeaning at all; she said no. She said that she was treated very well by the families who employed her, and that although it was difficult work, it was still worthwhile. She was satisfied with the time she spent as a house-cleaner; in fact, she did such a good job that her employers requested her again and again until she simply got too busy to continue. Personally, cleaning other people's houses would be a last resort for me in terms of job-searching, but that makes me respect domestic workers even more for doing such hard work daily. In my mother's case, her employers did treat her with respect. I suppose her experience demonstrates a good, healthy relationship between domestic laborer and employer--which goes to show that although there are many instances of domestic workers being mistreated or unfairly looked down upon, positive relationship examples do exist as well.

Domestic workers

In the movie we watched in discussion, Douana was treated as a maid who would cook and clean when she originally thought she would take care of the children. Her employer was not honest with what her responsibilities would entail; yet, she was supposed to go along with it anyway and not complain. The owner of the house mostly bossed her around, and did not treat her with much respect. She even openly watched one of her guests kiss Douana without Douana’s permission. She did not stop the action when it was inappropriate. Once again, Douana was expected to go along with it. Douana came to France with the expectation that she would be able to see the country, go outside and experience the outside world, but she is trapped inside the house. She is not allowed to leave. She seems to be bound to another’s household just because she works there, which does not seem right. It is situations like these that show how people treat domestic workers. They treat them as if they are lesser, which is completely unfair because they are people just like anyone else.