Talking Points

I can’t believe this semester is coming to an end. We’ve definitely have talked about many subjects and I have to say I learned a lot. I decided to put the following links so you guys can view. Overall we as society have to realize that when you are a teenager you are at the most important and influential stage of life whether it’s going to shape your life for good or will take you to some bumps on the road.

http://youtu.be/UP42v07aGUw     TEENS AND DEPRESSION

http://youtu.be/gGZcE7w74bQ     How the media affects young women

Glee-Full Images of Teenagers

I never followed Glee TV series but it doesn’t mean I didn’t heard about it; it was interesting seeing these 3 episodes and how they portrait teenagers in “high school”, a lot of rivalry and competiveness take place not just with girls but guys too. But one of the main focus of the last two episodes was bullying in this case is Kurt who is being bullied by Karofsky because he is gay. Bullying is a big issue taking place in our schools especially among teenagers; unfortunately we’ve seen more and more cases ending in suicide of these young victims. But what are we doing as a culture, is there true consequences for the one’s harassing?

Anyone who pretends that our culture is not feeding this rash of suicides is deluded. We still have national politicians calling gay people abnormal, and as evidenced in these comments, there are clearly still parents teaching their children that being gay is one of the worst things one could be. That kind of "teaching" does not go unnoted. Just look at the gang in the Bronx that targeted three gay people for brutal torture...bet they started by bullying kids in school. I am always surprised when people think this issue is a new one; Homosexuality and bisexuality are older than human civilization. The ancient Greeks, for example, were notorious for their varying sexual practices. Furthermore, it requires the schools to respond differently. It's important for parents to know if the school doesn't respond, they can file charges with the state's department of civil right. One the positive side is that now is more organizations promoting bullying awareness and guidance to parents on knowing how to respond if his/her daughter is being a victim.

 

Hip-Hop Wars by Tricia Rose

I was not born in the United States I came here when I was 13 years old so I basically don’t have a more real understanding when it comes to Hip- Hop music meaning that I really never care for it or affected me on any way. I have to say coming to the United States opened my eyes to see how much diversity and culture is all over and for my personal experience I learned to embrace and respect everyone not because I “had to” but because I in some way felt alienated (language barrier, no friends, starting all over again and so on) but you cope with it. When it comes to Dr.Tricia’s argument about the wrong perception of Hip-Hop meaning it is accused of glorifying crime and sexism. I liked how she gave a brief history of how Hip-Hop originated in New York around 1970’s, it was a form of self-expression of the people of the poor, struggling communities, and it was a form of an outlet for them and also creativity. Within the upcoming years it has become just more commercial and losing the real “essence of Hip-Hop. She mentioned on the Time Entertainment article: “Look, I don't want it to seem like I'm bashing everything about Lil Wayne and Jay-Z, because I'm not. I think they're both very talented. If you look at the metaphors Lil Wayne produces, they're amazing; they're very creative. It's the substance. What are you making metaphors about 24 hours a day? Same thing with Jay-Z. Even he has acknowledged that he's "dumbed his music down" so that he can sell records. This economic imperative has had more of an impact on hip-hop than [on] rock or soul or R&B”. Hip-Hop “was mostly for fun and for play. It wasn't primarily an economic industry, where people got involved more for money than for creativity”

 
Probably everyone heard that most parents blame “this music” for their children’s bad behavior such as being disrespectful, bad grades, the baggy pants. Is it really the music? It is something to really think about.

Masculinity and Teen Violence Post # 8

Kimmel makes really good points on trying to explain why  men in “general” are more aggressive and I have to agree that it’s not biology (testosterone)  to blame is the environment boys are raised and how can really shaped their lives. One of his quotes is “There is no question that there’s a boy crisis. Virtually all the books cite the same statistics: boys are four to five times likely to kill themselves than girls, four times more likely to be diagnose as emotionally disturbed, three times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and 15 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes”. (pg. 1).But why is this happening? It is alarming seeing that all these characteristics are applied to boys because as we all know that each person is different regardless of their gender or beliefs. It’s all about social construction boys unfortunately are thought not to show or express their feelings and emotions “that is a sign of weakness”, the famous phrase “boys don’t cry”. This horrible thing to do to a child everyone should be able get their feeling out; it’s the best way to take care of oneself and your overall wellbeing. Girls are socialized to be less aggressive than boys are. In connection girls are supervised more closely than boys are. Males are more likely to display physical aggression, while females display relational aggression.

Females fear that anger will harm relationships, and males are encouraged to react to anger with moral outrage; in addition to blaming other's for their discomforts. Females are also more likely than a male to be targets of sexual abuse and physical abuse.

The "boys" part has a kind of a sexist connotation, it implies that boys will be mischievous, childish, and wild and there's no use trying to change or deny this innate tendency. (“Boys will be boys”) as if they can't control their actions. So, not only should we accept their negative behavior, we should sigh & smile knowingly & appreciate that their misbehavior is actually part of their charming "male" personality.

We as society are ok with this concept. Kimmel makes the reference of some books written by Gurian and Biddulph that are blaming “feminist” for the “boy crisis”. Kimmel concludes that they are “the real male bashers”. “Feminists imagine, and demand, that men (and boys) can do better. Feminism offers the possibility of a new boyhood and a new masculinity bases on a passion for justice, a love of equality, and the expression of full range of feelings”. (pg. 3.).  This great way to see feminism, it’s all about individuality and equality.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter & Brave

                                                     

I will start with Orestein’s statements on how Disney Princesses influence little girls. She explains even though she tried not to expose her daughter to this “ideology”, somehow it was almost impossible to avoid it because she will be taught by her school friends, or other girls of her age just by playing.  But who doesn’t know about Snow White, Cinderella, Bella, ect?, it is part of our “culture” a secret education. Orenstein states that “Princess has not only become the fastest-growing brand the company has ever created, it is the largest franchise on the planet for girls ages two to six”. (Page 14).  She points out how gender roles are portrait by these princess characters such as the need for girls to look pretty and focus on their appearance over their overall potential as human beings; meaning that girls expectations or ultimate goal of life is to be beautiful, feminine, passive and wait for the prince charming who is going to take care of her forever after.  Julie mother of one of Daisy’s classmates was one among the moms that joined Orestein’s chat about princess culture she said “I want my daughter to have a strong identity as a girl, as a woman, as a female. And being pretty in our culture is very important” (page 19). Furthermore she stated that she had a son too and that he embraces him differently “encourage his intelligence” and on the other hand her daughter gets rewarded by telling her she is “pretty”. Orestein’s main point is gender role is such an important concept not just on Disney’s princesses but our overall “society” these include all media, merchandise (clothes, toys etc.). She just wants her daughter to be a unique individual and reach her potential not to do what it is expected from our society.

Brave: It was the first time seeing this movie and I loved it, you can see how Disney is trying to have a different approach of what “beautiful” means.  Merida was not the stereotypical “princess” she was tomb shish, was an expert on archery. She didn’t want to be like her mother; she wants to be in charge of her own life and not follow their tradition of marrying one of her father’s allies’ sons. This movie does not focus on looks but rather the inner strength of a woman.

Final Project Ideas

Like everyone is saying this semester is flying... well I don't have a group yet so I have basically no idea how this final project is going to turn out but I think I can still make the effort on researching some interesting topics. I read some of my classmates post and I like Celine's and her group’s topic (BODY IMAGE). Furthermore I've been thinking about doing my final on BULLYING why? I think it would be interesting digging a little more about this delicate subject and maybe been able to find some explanation on what is causing this epidemic.
What makes a Bully is it media? I guess I will find out.

Another topic I found interesting is parenting meaning how today's parents deal with teenagers "Nowadays" has it changed from the previous generations? Or parents have to cope with teenagers hectic lives?

Mid-Term Post

I'm working in a group with Eian, Tyne, Missy we decided to do #3 from the project prompts. I will be working on Teenagers are Not Some Alien Life Form one of the course themes with Missy but unfortunately Missy is a little sick. !!Hope she gets better!!!. So far we had a plan on posting videos or use material from our blogs but it's till debatable. See you Tuesday