Rap it up

So I have so many wonderful things to say about this class. I have learned so much this semester and I’m glad I got the chance to start a blog and put my brain knowledge on the interwebs. This is the only class where I got graded for being on the internet and reading blog posts. I enjoyed this the most because it wasn’t just writing blogs, it was reading about world issues like women’s issues, presidential election, and other social issues. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be a very good blogger because I’m awful at remembering to write them and I sometimes never have anything to write about.

I’m gonna miss this class because we talked about real issues like youth/gender/racial identity, sexuality, coming out, body image, and women in stem. I enjoyed these topics because I could relate to some of these issues and I’ve found support forums and blogs in the process. The class also helped with finding my identity. In class and online class discussions were amazing because I got a chance to get to know my classmates. Having such a small class made the discussions more personal and easier to participate. I enjoyed hearing different perspectives and different opinions of my classmates. I’ve learned so much just from their likes/dislikes, lifestyles, and personal interests. Since this class I’ve never heard of child-free, I didn’t know women had a hard time establishing an identity in the game world, and how much social networking affects our entire existence.

I’m gonna miss all of you guys and I’ve connected with all of you, even just by being in class and sitting next to you.

Racial Inequality? What’s That?

http://feministing.com/2012/04/20/race-in-arizona-banned-books-and-closed-minds/

So the article I read today pretty much summed up how stupid Arizona is. They banned the ethnic study program and the Mexican-American Studies program may be next. The Governor also introduced the integration of The Influence of the Bible on Western Culture class in the schools. Arizona also went to ban classes and future classes that influence overturning the government and the good ol American way. They also don’t like the idea on promoting racial equality and students ethnicity – they banned The Tempest by Shakespeare because it might have possessed the childrens virgin minds and possibly convince them that being equal is okay.

What the hell is wrong with these people, what are they scared of? Why is the education of race and equality(of any kind) so intimidating? I guess one day all the minorities are going to find out that there has been a history of oppression and start riots all over the world, overturning the government. Are people in denial that racial inequality exists, is it uncomfortable, do people think banning books and classes will make the problems go away. I would hate to live in a world where my heritage, race, culture was banned, ignored, and could possible overturn the government.  We live in a world of diversity: race, culture, sex, gender, etc and its about time we act like it. Ignore the differences wont make them go away, it brings them to the light because they ARE being ignored.

class powerpoint

cyberbully

What The F***???!!!!!

I just want to start off by saying why in God’s name would people think its okay to make such disgusting, vile shit such as the “nigger cake” let alone a Prime Minister. I was so appalled, I facebooked like all of my friends and had no words to describe such obscene and crude material.

So basically the Swedish prime minister had a party to celebrate God knows what and thought it would be funny to have a cake in the shape of an African woman, black face, with skin the color of dirt, hair pinned up in locks, with an exposed clitoris. This resembles the image of Sarah Baartman, whom I talked about in my Zine.

Side note: If you don’t know who Sarah Baartman is, she’s a 19^th century slave, sometimes referred to as “Hottentot Venus”.  Her body was used as a sideshow attraction and objectified Black women in its most blatant form (Brooks, 2004). She was a slave brought over to Europe for her “unusual” genitalia, large buttocks, breast and wide hips and was told she would become famous. She was then sold to a circus in France to dance and entertain the men. The body was so fascinated with that when she died in 1815 her preserved genitals, brain and skeleton were put on display in Paris. (Clip from Zine).

Why would anyone think that making this awful cake is okay and cutting the genitals for a “mock” female mutilation is funny? This shows ignorance, hatefulness, stupidity, and just downright disrespect. When will the world rise above our so called differences and put the hatred away. This is racism. Black face is racist. Well what if a black person does it? It’s still racist. I’m fucking disgusted that world leaders would participate in suck mockery and are having the time of their lives while cutting fake genitals off of a cake. Haven’t we progressed in this God forsaken world, haven’t we learned anything? Ughhh this makes me so angry.

Apparently the artist, Makode Linde made the cake for awareness of female mutilation, but why in this way? Why not just make a film, have a lecture with a slideshow, pass out fliers, why go and make a mockery of the stereotype Blacks have been trying to escape since slavery.

Holding Hands Lead To Sex

This is really late, but Ive been in bed all weekend with an awful stomach bug.

So I just recently read an article about Tennessee not wanting kids to engage in any activities that could lead to sex…….like holding hands. Yes. Thats it. Holding Hands. Tennesse is making an abstinence only bill and adding abstinence only curriculum to the schools. This prevents teachers and parents from encouraging sex gateways like holding hands, hugging and kissing.

“The bill gives parents “a cause of action” so they can sue any teacher that breaks the rules by “demonstrating gateway sexual activity” and also bans the distribution of materials “that condone, encourage or promote student sexual activity among unmarried students””

Instructors aren’t also allowed to distribute condoms, give advice, or promote anything other than abstinence.

When will these states realize that abstinence only education doesn’t work for everyone? I mean come on, look at Texas. Statistics show that schools with this curriculum have a higher teen pregnancy rate. When teens do decide to have sex, they don’t know what’s going on. They don’t have the proper education to know about condoms, birth control, etc so they get their information from the TV shows, movies and skin-e-max. It’s like these people are in denial. Next thing you know they will ban looking at each other.

Invisible

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/14/world/europe/black-british-women/index.html

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/10/13/british-black-women.cnn

An article Ive recently read was about how black women whether in the UK or American have trouble creating a positive view for themselves because of the stereotypes and depiction of black women.  Because racial groups tend to be grouped together, it creates this “well black women do this” “Black women act like this” view that separates out nation and puts racial groups in boxes. There was also a video included with the article where four black women from the UK were interview where they had the opportunity to talk about their experiences, how they felt underrepresented, the bad reputation, and how it affects their life. They talked about how it was sometimes hard to find a job, how they’re treated in a social setting because of the misrepresentation of black women and how it is hard to be their true selves. One woman pointed out that black women (other races as well) are treated as a homogenous mass and because we have different background, religions, places of origins, were all different. An action of one doesn’t mean it applies to all; the conduct is defined by race.

“Social invisibility is a struggle that African-American women deal with as well. In a 2010 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers found that African-American women are more likely than black men, white men and white women to go unnoticed by others in a group or social situation”

Black women are also underrepresented in media, TV, movies, commercials, advertisements, hair and makeup products. According to the video, black women spend up to six more times on hair and makeup products yet the population is still ignored. I have noticed that most hair product commercials rarely have women of color and I also don’t see natural hair products advertised on TV. Even women with relaxed hair don’t have products advertised. Also makeup for women of color isn’t advertised. Black women are underrepresented to the point where they may feel invisible. Is it because of society’s Eurocentric views and institutions being run by people higher up on the totem pole? Maybe it ties in to the pressure to “act white”. I myself have felt the need to act different, talk a certain way, and dress a certain way to not fit the black women stereotype. I will walk away or avoid being in a situation where I will be stereotyped. Now don’t get me wrong, I love being Black, a black woman at that, I just don’t like the bad stereotypes that come with it.

It’s funny to know that women from the UK see American women as inspiration for change because I’ve always thought black women from the UK had better experiences than women in America. I’ve read and heard from others that the UK doesn’t focus on race or view black women as “different”. Then again I don’t live there so I don’t know what it’s like. I respect and admire being an inspiration for these women and hopefully speaking up about the topic will create change for them.

Cyberbully

I’ve been back and forth with my topic for the past few weeks and I’ve finally made up my mind about my topic: cyber bullying. I’ve been reading about it on my blogs and I’ve been watching the good ole lifetime movies and I hadn’t put 2&2 together. Cyber means internet which equals topic for Tiara.

So on the recent post of the blog I’ve been following, it discusses an organization (To Get Her There) sponsored by the girl scouts that provide information and mentoring in preventing cyber bullying and aggression. Senators are taking a closer look at the issue and sponsoring bills to prevent bullying, shut down websites, and spread awareness. Parents and teachers are overlooking the problem and not recognizing the impact of what bullying can do. This starts in middle school and makes it was to high school, where teens pay more attention to image, social groups and fitting in.

This reason I picked this topic is because social networking, blogging, texting, etc has become more popular and the age group for this participation has gotten younger. You see this on the street when you see grade school kids with iphones.  This generation has become more technologically savvy and uses these things to communicate and make friends. I’ve been an advocate for bullying and I currently mentor children who are being bullied and when they tell me their stories about school and how the teachers aren’t doing anything I just feel awful. Teens are using the internet, text messages, videos, and other interactive technology to put cyber bash their peers and it’s no joke because they are hurting themselves over it.  Some may sit back and watch but it’s important to talk to the child and teach them to speak up and teach the authority figures that kids aren’t resilient and put the madness to an end.

Creative Title Goes Here

So I wanted to do my project on Christianity and why you’re not allowed to call yourself a liberal, but I felt that I would have a hard time formulating ideas to create such a wonderful presentation and I’m also not sure how I could connect this to the interwebs. So anyways, since I know a lot about hair and I love fashion I decided to talk about this because it would also be a lot easier for me.

Hair blogs are ways women, men, or anyone with hair can find online support, get different styling ideas, and product reviews for their hair. Although the blogs are geared toward black women, all curly, wavy, and kinky haired lovelies are welcome. Black women I think have a hard time being “accepted” when it comes to having natural hair because you don’t see it much in the media. You usually see women with straight hair, which is the norm. Now I love hair extensions and straight hair for hair versatility, but I don’t feel the need to use or do those things to fit in to the norm. Natural hair is becoming popular and I’m starting to see it every day and this is why I love the blogs.

Some women may feel less feminine when they cut their hair so the blogs will offer tips and fashion advice to lift their spirits and the look by adding big earring, headband, or a pretty scarf. Naturals may not get much support or get criticism from their peers and family so they look to the blogs and YouTube for other people who have experienced the same issues. It gives a sense of security to know that they aren’t alone in the process. Blogs also have stories about bad hair experience, dyeing experience, certain products that can make your hair smell like cotton candy, and my personal favorite: protective hairstyles for sex. Ha!

I’m super excited about the presentation, I just don’t know how I’m going to talk about it for 30 min.

Theres A New Princess In Town

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/brave/

http://virtualgirlsucf.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-kind-of-princess.html

The movie is about a young Scottish princess, Merida, who chooses to set her own life path. She doesn’t want men to fight for her hand and doesn’t believe in being “lady like”. She defies their culture customs which brings a curse to her kingdom, so she must rely on her bravery, archery skills, and badassness to fight the demon or whatever.  Kind of like Mulan. Point is, it looks awesome and I wanna see it.

I’ve been a fan of princess movies since I was a kid and yes, I STILL WATCH THEM. I love all the movies but I hate the messages behind them. Some of the princess movies are usually about woman being taken, threatened, beaten, or something terrible by some scary demon woman and then a man coming to slay the dragon, or beast to come and rescue her. For instance Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. In my opinion, these movies teach little girls that they have to rely on a man to come and save them when they’re in trouble. Also if you’re beautiful, scary women will be jealous of you, come after you and try to kill you with an apple. I love the Little Mermaid, but I hate that Ariel gives up her beautiful voice and family to be able to walk and be with the man of her dreams.

The movies influence gender stereotype and gives ideas about what’s normal or expected, like women are supposed to clean, are expected to be pretty, gentle, and sing with creepy animals in the woods. I have no problem with little girls dressing up as their favorite princess, I did, and my kids probably will because I will force them to relive my childhood, but the expectation to have a man rescue them when they’re in trouble is problematic. Expectation to be pretty to get married and have men fight over you like they have to “win” you enforces stereotypes.

The movies also teach boys that it’s okay to lie to get the love of another, women are weak, and have to depend on a man for support.

This movie seems like it will be different. She speaks out against her arranged marriage and ignores her mother’s request to act like a lady. She’s not the stereotypical princess either, she doesn’t look like Barbie, doesn’t have an invisible waist, and her hair is curly, unruly and just plain awesome.

I wish I had more to say but it’s time to go to work = (

Let talk about sex baby…..

The blog interviewed a doctoral student in child development and talked about her work in teaching sex education to children and how it is beneficial.

“These experiences shaped my current work, which is about promoting positive possibilities for adolescent sexuality development. I’m thinking about what positive sexuality development in adolescence could look like—what are the key elements? What people, institutions, and experiences could or should be involved? How can we, as a society, prioritize healthy sexuality, and what steps can we take to make positive change?”

“I think that sexuality education and youth development can do a lot for each other. Youth development is about nourishing the strengths of diverse youth, connecting youth and adults, building life skills, and providing opportunities for leadership and civic engagement.”

I agree with this because children aren’t getting the proper education about hormones body parts, sex, birth control, condoms and other types of protection. Parents may not talk to their children because they feel uncomfortable and schools think that teaching their students about sex with make them want to have sex.  Sex education should teach about the options of whether to stay abstinent or not depending on their upbringing or the readiness level. There should also be different levels of sex ed depending on the age group. Information should slowly transform into the topics of safe sex, STD, STI, and pregnancy prevention. Although accidents happen, like condom breaking, etc, I think the STD and teen pregnancy rates would be lower if people had the correct education.

The interviewee also touched on the idea that learning about other sexualities can contribute to sex education and impact how they feel about sex. They will learn about the world around them and that sexuality comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s also hard to be open-minded about human sexuality because it’s controlled by society and politics. They tell us who to be attracted to, how certain fetishes are “weird” and what’s okay and not okay to participate in. This creates stereotypes for those who don’t fit the norm, so it’s beneficial to talk about stereotypes, homophobia, sexism, and other things controlled by the institutions.