Saturday, July 16, 2011

Eventful Friday

Today was a day well spent. Class was great, the weather was perfect, and the day ended with a showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Class today was very engaging. In the morning, we discussed gender stereotypes by writing out words that describe how a male should act compared to name’s he is called if he doesn’t portray the typical male image. We did the same for the way a lady-like woman should act. Many of the girls chose the same words and phrases, which surprised me because we’re girls from all around the nation, and when I went around looking at what groups wrote down, everyone had nearly all the same words written down. This shows how commonly words such as “faggot,” “easy,” “pansy,” and the B-word are used. As a matter of fact, many girls even begin referring to each other as “sluts” and other degrading terms. This is inappropriate, but in our society, almost unavoidable. Degrading sexist terms are found everywhere.

At lunch, nearly my whole class ate lunch in the V-Dub cafeteria. This was a first, and it was an honor being included in their plans. Almost all 22 of us were squeezed in at one table, hoping to be able to talk about life outside of the classroom. It was really unifying.

After lunch, we watched a video in class that was about Women in the Media, and how the media has shaped women’s roles in society. Women are photoshopped to the point where they look like completely different people and in some cases, they are! Four different peoples’ body parts are even used to create one image of a woman used for advertisements. In the media and advertisements, the models are seen to be white if not light-skinned, have large eyes, a thin neck, and virtually no pores or imperfections on their faces. Also, advertisements were made to make it seem like women were cars or bottles of beer. This turns women into objects, and a lot more likely to become victims of violence. Because of what I watched in the video “Killing Us Softly” by Jeanne Killbourne, I became more aware of how women are used to advertise nearly everything and how it can negatively affect their roles in society.

After a lesson-filled day, the ILC group met up with Ms. Williams at Providence Place Mall and shopped around. It felt great being able to relax in the city. We ate dinner at the mall and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. It was a great way to end my first week here at Brown.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Real Time Web Analytics