Blogging

I have been currently taking classes at Antelope Valley College for Fall 2010, and I have been required to write Blogs for my English 259 Gender, Image, and Rhetoric. All these questions I had to answer dealt with mostly feminism and gender roles. I have always been a feminist myself, but writing and reading just really isn’t my thing. I am a performer and I want to be an actor when I grow up. Writing is a skill I will not require for my acting career. As for reading, I actually don’t mind reading a script because it pertains to acting. But when it comes to reading a book; I’d rather starve for a day than do that. I have never liked books and I don’t think I ever will. Reading a story is just something that does not interest me and it bores me. I can see if I’m learning something out of it, like maybe a text book, but I don’t really see how a story will teach “me” anything. Yes I do know that stories in books can teach one a lot, such as moral lessons, but since I know I get into books with a closed mind, I know that I am not going to take it seriously and will not get with the message. I prefer to watch a movie and see an actor’s performance, including facial expressions, imagery and sounds in the video etc. I know one would think that sounds very lazy and lacking of imagination. But trust me I do have an imagination, just not in the mental outlook. I am more of an external imaginative mind. I am very creative and love to do arty and crafty things. I also like to perform and just generally talk. Reading and writing just never really was my strong suit, therefore I will not continue writing blogs after I am through with this class. I don’t want to sound like a grumpy and attitude-ish person, but people just like what they like. So don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this class and learning about gender roles. I just did not like the reading and writing. I had to do a presentation for my final at the end of the semester, and that was the part I enjoyed even the most. Not only because I did not have to read, but I had to put things together and then present it, or in other words, perform it. My plan is to become an actor, not a writer. I will pursue that career and I will be happy because that is what I like. To me, external expression is very important. Yes you can say a lot through words, but it doesn’t have the same tone as actual vocal words. When one speaks one can hear the tone of their voice and what they are really feeling, as well as see facial expression. I’m sorry but you cant see all that in textual words. It is also possible to misinterpret words as well, because like I said, I might sound like I’m a bitch, but I’m actually not mad or have attitude towards my feelings at all. I will still continue to have the same thoughts of feminism, if not even stronger and positive beliefs, except I will not express them through writing. I will express my feelings in an externally…

Gender Segregation in Education

            I believe that the educational system should be based on the idea of “Separate, but Equal.” This idea was first introduced to keep different races separate but equal when racial segregation was still around. Given what Restak said, that there has been many researches and studies among men and women (which were all most likely different races and ethnical backgrounds), nothing about their race was mentioned at all. So racial segregation was a different thing because I don’t believe that a person’s race determines how they think or act, so that wasn’t even necessary. But what about gender segregation? There are biological facts that prove that men and women learn and act differently throughout their life. Since this is true; I do believe that there should be some kind of gender segregation in schools. Of course I don’t believe that there should be all girl schools and all boy schools. Instead of that, they should have a school with boys and girls, but have all boy classes, and all girl classes. This might sound sexist, but given what Restak said, boys and girls have to be taught differently, or at least boys do. Restak said that modern education is favorable to girl than boys. So if that’s the case; the idea of gender segregation in school does not sound as sexist as it did.

            One can also ask the question, “Will all boy classes and all girl classes affect the way boys and girls interact with each other?” I see how one will ask that question because one might think that if a boy or girl is always around their gender, they might get too comfortable around their own sex, and not want to interact with their opposite gender in the long run. Obviously, boys and girls in school have recess and lunch every day, so that would be one way where they can interact with each other. But even that is not enough for boys and girls to get comfortable with each other.  If there is all boy classes and all girl classes, I believe that the solution to prevent children from getting too comfortable with their own sex; is to have days where both sexes have to interact with each other. For example, have a day of the week where girls and boys are brought together and learn things that are compatible for both girls and boys, and not favor a certain gender. Another way can be, half the day girls and boys have and all boy class and all girls class, and learn things favorable to their gender, and the other half of the day, they come together have something taught that is compatible for both of them.

            Hopeful I didn’t sound biased to male because I am a male, but I do have a perspective from both sides because I am a gay male. So I have sympathy for both males and females. I was just giving the example for elementary schools because that is where Restak when into detail with. He didn’t go much into detail with higher levels of educations, but he did say that higher education favors men over women, so that is why I gave that example. So if elementary favors females, and higher education favors males; that is why I believe that modern education should be revised and changed.

Offensive Ads

While I was browsing through the internet, I came across a set of two pictures which was an advertisement for a company that gives children karate lessons. The two pictures depict a little boy (about 5 years old) who is most likely at risk of becoming a homosexual. This message is sent out because in both pictures it shows him playing with his mother’s things. The first picture shows the little boy in a room (which appears to be his parent’s room) sitting on a bed, while holding a mirror and applying some lipstick on his lips. The second picture shows the same boy in a room (also appearing to be his parent’s room) standing in front of a closet, while trying on a pair of red stilettos. On both these pictures, the logo of the company RDCA is stamped, and next to it has a caption saying, “Karate lessons.”
These ads were very offensive to me, not only because it is promoting Homophobia, but also because I myself am a homosexual male. By implying that a parent must take their child to karate lessons if they want to prevent their child from becoming gay, is basically promoting Hate and Homophobia. Children at a young age are naturally curious and tend to do silly thing, but that does not mean that is a “gay thing” (given that the child’s actions does not match up to the expectations of their gender role). A parent is going to do what they feel is best for the situation, whether they just simply laugh about it, or the have a talk with their child and tell them that what they did was wrong. These advertisements not only suggest that Homosexuality is wrong and should be avoided, but also it suggests to parents on how they should raise their children. I parents want to be told what to do, they’ll go and read a book about parenting. Ads like this shouldn’t just subliminally tell parents how to raise their children and promote homophobia.
I believe that the creators of these advertisements should have really thought about how it might offend a group of people, or society in general. And if they did think about it, and it was their intention to send out this message and are too homophobic, well then I think they should discontinue the ads if someone got offended by them. I know that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this ad is just wrong. I have many gay friends who I am truly proud of, and are one of the best people I have ever met. I hate the fact that big companies like RDCA use their power and their ads to promote hate. So I sincerely ask if RDCA and/or the creators of this ad would discontinue that sort of promotion.



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The Media and Society

In today’s society, the media puts too much pressure on everyone, and especially women. For example, women in magazines, posters, and commercials are always thin and pretty. This puts so much pressure on women because they think they have to look and act exactly like them. In reality, no one looks like that. Women in magazine, posters, and commercials are just models. You really don’t see those kinds of women in society. They all are off in their mansions away from regular society and nowhere to be seen. Even though the pressure is so exhausting and frustrating for women to become like models, people really bring it towards themselves. No one is going to want to see a acne written chubby girl on a huge billboard or in a magazine article. People want to see these gorgeous women with a perfect bottle body half naked. People “want” that, and the media “gets” it for them. So the phrase "you get what you want; you want what you get" is a 100% accurate motto for the media industry.
Gender roles are another pressure that the media put on people. Men and women are always portrayed in a very stereotypical form. Where the man is strong and aggressive, and the woman is sensitive and passive. Is this even who we are? Are we forever going to be crafted in the image of the media? Sadly enough we will be. The media projects on to society and society determines how a person is going to be. People are crafted and influenced by their parents, school, friends, work, and society in general. Why must we put all these expectations amongst ourselves? In spite on how the media have crafted people’s lives for decades, I honestly believe that the power media has, it deteriorating. The movie, "Sexual Stereotypes in Media: Superman and the Bride," was most likely made in the 1970’s and that is the time where the media’s power was at its highest. Now people are becoming more open to different types of people and their customs.
One example one how society has become more open is on the topic of homosexuality. Back in the days, homosexuality was seen as an abomination and a taboo subject. There is still people who don’t agree with it, but back then, the majority of the population wasn’t. Now I see many girls who have a sassy gay best friend. I think it is a wonderful thing that society is beginning to be more open. Not only in society, but the media is starting to pick up on it too. In television and movies, we are starting to see many different types of characters with different personalities and different life styles. Where as back in the days, television and movies had very common characters“1) The movie, "Sexual Stereotypes in Media: Superman and the Bride," suggests that the images we see in , and families were all the same. A typical family on television and movies would be a Caucasian family with two or three children, a house mom, and a working dad living in the suburbs. Now we see many varieties of characters and families in television and movies. I believe this happened because people started to get bored of the same-old-same-old stuff. So obviously we wanted something else, and we got what we wanted. So whatever the media sees that we want, the media is going to give it to us.

Unreliable Narrator

Does it even matter how a novel ends if the story was told by an unreliable narrator? Well that’s exactly what I think, I’m not going to really care or even believe the ending of a story if it was told by an unreliable narrator. For “Written on the Body” the narrator says himself/herself that he/she can not be trusted or may very well be biased. To me it just seems like a terrible waste of time if I’m reading a biased story, because it might as well be a diary instead of a novel. To me, reading a diary is a way to better understand a person and know more about the writer, even though they will be biased because it is from their perspective. But when you read a diary, that biasness is not as annoying as it is in “Written on the Body” because it may be bias, but the narrator really does not open up completely or give out any details (especially gender) about himself/herself.
So if you ask me if Louise was alive or was she an apparition at the end of the story, I’ll just have to say that it really does not matter and she can be either be dead or alive. The fact that the narrator had been in many different affairs before Louise, indicates that he/she is not a stable person. I don’t care if the narrator states that there is biological evidence that supports how long “love endorphins” last in the body when one is in a relationship, because I don’t trust him/her. That can very well be an excuse on his/her part to cover up how unstable he/she is with relationships. Again, the fact that the narrator is unreliable and bias, just makes me even wonder if he/she is telling the truth about that. The narrator doesn’t even tell me his/her gender, which is one of the most important qualities of a “human”, so that there loses my trust and their credibility. To me, the narrator may as well be insane, not only because he/she is unstable in relationships but is passionate about love, but also because it still bugs me that he/she does not tell me his/her gender. What is he/she trying to hide? If a person is going to open up and tell the story about themselves, why keep certain things secret? There is no point in saying anything at all if that is the case.
So even though Louise at the end of the story was left for the reader to decide if she was dead or alive, I believe that she might have been dead because how I stated earlier, the narrator just seemed insane to me. The image of Louise at the end can very well have been a figment of the narrator’s imagination, because I still question the narrator’s sanity and that will never change. Unless there is a sequel to “Written on the Body” and the narrator tells us more about what happened after that or if he/she finally decides to tell us what gender they are; Louise is dead to me…

Art Has Endless Possibilities

There only so much that can happen in one day, as well as analyzing every single detail in it. Whether your reading a story or journal, watching a movie, or simply have a story told to you by someone else, there is just so much to look into what it has to say. The simple idea of something being so vague leaves on wondering the infinite possibilities of it meaning. Everyone has a different to interpretation to something that is said or reflected. With all the endless possibilities of interpretations and ideas, it is a great way to lose yourself to what the meaning of the matter is. Especially if every single detail is captured by a person, and then told with great detail.

If one were to document every single hour of a day, and give accurate details about visionary and dialogue, one can already learn a lot. For starters they can see the type of lifestyle the person has, and what their inner thoughts say. Not only can one take the detail, thoughts, and dialogues literally, but take it to another level where one can explore why everything happened. One can ask question on why the person thinks the way they do, why they pay attention to certain detail, and why they say what they had to say. We can often assume what has happened in their life before that day, to have a better understanding on why they did what they did.

Take for instance a phrase like “Today I cleaned my house thoroughly and was very proud of it”. What can we possibly interpret with that? One has to really dissect the phrase and ask many question and make assumptions to better understand it. Questions can be said like: Who is saying it? Why are they saying it? Why did they have to clean their house? Why did they clean the house so thoroughly? And why are they so proud of it? There are just so many questions we can ask and assume about who said the phrase. One can have many versions on why the person said the phrase. One could say that the person cleaned their house thoroughly because there were going to invite important guests or friends over. They were really proud of cleaning it because they have never cleaned their house like that before. Or one can also say this person had to clean their house because there parents told them so. They had to clean the house in order to get permission from their parents to go out somewhere or maybe even get an allowance. So many things I was able to say and ask with just from a phrase with just twelve words. With many different possibilities and combinations, I would say, yes, it is possible for a work of art to be told from one day and with such vastness. That is the beauty about art, is that one can interpret it the way they feel or assume. It can be a painting, picture, movie, book, almost anything can be created as a work of art, and the possibilities are endless.

!HOMOSEXUALITY!

Homosexuality… It is something I know first hand about, mainly because I myself am a homosexual male. I have been gay all my life, so I’ve always had to keep close tabs on anything pertaining to homosexuality. Ever since I can remember, I knew that I was different. I’m not exactly sure how I knew that it was wrong and not normal to be gay…but I did… All I know is that I was in the closet and I had to stay there because if anyone found out; my ass was grass. And for most of my childhood and teenage years, I kept my sexuality a secret. I was always so reserved and kept to myself because I feared that if I expressed myself too much, people might find out who and what I really was. And let me tell you; it was hard to stay in the closet for so long… Living in a disguise and not really expressing who I really was, it just ate me up inside not be able to be free like everyone one else. Not having anyone to talk to about it, for fear that they might reject me…

But now that I look back, I see that as a child I was really unaware of what homosexuality was and what it meant to be a gay. I remember doing things like: playing with Barbie’s, being the mom when playing House, and liking girlish stuff like The Little Mermaid. How could people who knew me as a child, not have noticed that I would have turned out gay (like my parents)? And now that I am out, they tell me that they always suspected that I might be gay, but never questioned it until I became an adult… So why did I grow up knowing that homosexuality was wrong and why I should not be the way I was? I don’t remember my parents being religious at all. My parents separated when I was a child, but neither one of them ever went to church every Sunday or read The Bible. I know they weren’t Atheist…I was raised Catholic, but never followed it. I guess other people who read The Bible and are influenced by it, also tend to rub it off on society directly and subliminally.

For example: school and the children in it play a part in condemning homosexuality at a very young age. My fellow peers and friends in Elementary School would say “EWWWW! GROSS!” when they thought of someone being gay. How do young children know what a “gay person” was?! Obviously their parents must have told them what it was and how it was wrong (most likely referencing their religion and/or The Bible). I don’t understand how it is okay to talk to a child about homosexuality and not about sex! Most parents are afraid of talking about sex, but they will turn around and talk about homosexuality?! How corrupted is that?! Why teach something that can be used for discrimination? Why not teach something that is perfectly natural like sex? Why are they focusing on certain parts of The Bible and not the whole thing? NO ONE follows The Bible 100%. In The Bible where it says that homosexuality is an abomination, not too far from it, it says that eating meat (such as pork and shrimp) is an abomination. People who judge homosexuality are ALL HYPOCRITES! Not only because it says “Love thy neighbor”, but because most of the population at one point have eaten meat in their lives and continue doing so most likely. So I guess it goes to show how people like to cherry-pick certain things in The Bible and use it as a weapon for hate & discrimination. People always want to have something to hate, and they will always turn to The Bible to find something. I am POSITIVE that God did not intend for The Bible to be used in that way. Why can’t we all just live in Peace and Harmony?!