Hi All-
I am so thrilled we'll be tackling this subject together this summer. In this space, each student will post an original response to readings for the day or prompts I provide. Then, each student should respond to the posts of at least two classmates. I recommend you respond to different folks so you all get a chance to know one another.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteJust testing...
Thank you,
Bobby
Hi Bobby, have a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I'm Thomas. I decided to take this course because I was intrigued by the title. What it means to be a girl or what girlhood even is, interests me. I am also interested in social constructions. I like identifying them and trying to figure them out. Maybe this course will help me get to the bottom of some of them. Also I want to look at how society exerts pressure on girls with its messages and expectations. I think these are topics we'll get into. I'm looking forward to all future discussions with you all.
ReplyDeleteThomas
Hi Jen! Hi all. Testing this out to be sure I know how to at least do this much!
ReplyDeleteKaren
You did it Karen. Welcome! I just got on Pintrest for the first time for this class. Way to pry open our minds Jen! Goodonya!
DeleteHi Jen & Class! My name is Hayley. I’m originally from Central Ohio, and I just moved to Las Cruces about a month ago. I earned my bachelors from Ohio Dominican University in Columbus and took a few years off to work before I started grad school.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, this will be a class of firsts for me – my first English class at NMSU, my first online class ever, and the first class I have taken that focuses on feminist theory. I signed up for it because I wanted to start course work toward my masters this summer instead of waiting until the fall, and it was the only English class offered that I could take. After reading the course description, I began to think about the different ways girls are socialized in our culture – I tend to focus on the portrayal of women more than girls. I remember watching the documentary Killing Us Softly several years ago, and it touched on the way girls are depicted in advertising. Going into this course, that’s really my only knowledge of the portrayal of girls and girlhood.
Oh, one thing I have noticed is the difference between toys marketed to girls and toys marketed to boys. The former tend to emphasis appearance or nurturing (Barbies, make-up kits, baby dolls) while the latter emphasize violence and action (G.I. Joes, Transformers, matchbox cars). I find it interesting that these toys mirror the way men and women are expected to act as adults. (I guess men are not expected to be violent … maybe it’s more a passive / active distinction.) That said, it seems more taboo for boys to play with girl toys than the other way around, doesn’t it?
I look forward to our future discussions. I hope everyone has a great semester!
Hayley,
DeleteWelcome to Las Cruces. I hope you've found the city to your liking thus far. Yes, there is a definite demarcation dividing girl toys and boy toys. I have an friend who knows many couples with children of both sexes. Because of this, he keeps toys around that the children may play with during visits. One young boy (7 years old) in particular loves playing dress up with the barbies that are around. He doesn't either know or care that he is "supposed" to play with the more masculine toys like trucks and army men. The father thinks the boy may be gay but I fail to see how playing dress up with dolls at 7 is a an indication the boy is gay. What a silly leap to make. Mind you, I don't care one iota if the child decides he is gay. My problem is at present there is no evidence whatsoever the boy is gay.
Also, yes, men are expected to be violent when it is expected for us to be. I am thinking of being called away to war where your country asks for and expects violence from you if the situation warrants it. These expectations are programmed within us from early on and some guys can ignore it and others are violent all the time since they think for whatever reason it's appropriate behavior or they have anger issues or what have you. I think being violent is pretty lame myself but I do watch violence on TV all the time (pro wrestling, mixed martial arts) and don't really bat an eye at the carnage. So I can WATCH violence in movies and such but I don't like being violent myself. Especially not towards other people.
Hi Hayley,
DeleteWelcome to Las Cruces and NMSU!
I have to agree with you-- it does seem more taboo for boys to play with girls' toys than vice versa. It seems to me that when girls play with boys' toys that the common thought is "oh, she'll grow out of it," whereas if a boy picks up a doll (much like Thomas was saying) it's like a National Emergency and (at least in what I have observed through media) parents try to 'fix' this behavior asap. I also don't understand why parents are so quick to think a boy may be 'gay' if he is playing with dolls (thanks Thomas, for bringing up that point) I also can't find logic in that kind of thinking...
You brought up the Killing Us Softly documentary--I also saw that film--and I wonder why it is girls let advertising get to them but not other forms of media (or at least in my personal life, I usually don't have qualms hip hop songs objectifying women until derogatory words are used... really don't mind about how women are portrayed in film, but it's novels and advertising that get to me) I wonder if girls have been conditioned and desentitized to so many aspects of objectification that some facets of it don't rub off on us anymore? I'm not sure... kind of scary to think of being desentized to such a huge topic of society. ...