Breezedls1's Blog

Dualism: Abortion

breezedls1 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:10:52 +0000

Abortion is a common dilemma that many women face on a regular basis. Many assume that it rarely happens or that only promiscuous women encounter this issue; however abortions occurs frequently among women of different race, cultures, social status, religion and ages. Whatever the case may be an abortion can be traumatic experience in a women’s life. After an abortion a women may be left with many emotions that can be overwhelming and this expected. Many women feel they are alone, singled out, in pain, not understood by family or society but this is not the case. There are hundreds of woman who experience the same emotions and feelings. Women should not feel ashamed or guilty after an abortion on the other hand they should stand tall with their chin up. Women need to stand together and change the normative views our society holds. By doing so we would eliminate many issues that are harmful, oppress and limit women’s bodies. If all women stand together many issues would be eliminated. First, it would put an end to unnecessary deaths of women obtaining illegal abortions. Second, it would reduce the amounts of chemicals women intake. Third, it would reduce finger pointing and also hold men accountable for their actions. Last but not least and the most important of them all is to give women the right to do as they deem necessary with their bodies. If every woman on this planet were to set their foot down and stand up for their rights this would be a different world. We need to view and see things outside the normative views and stereotypes our society holds. Each person is different in and everyone has their own identity. Frequently we get caught up in our everyday routines that we forget about our own wants and needs and conform to what our society dictates. Moreover, this shouldn’t apply only to women; we should also raise awareness and get men involved in this process. There needs to be shift in the way we view controversial issues in order for us to achieve FREEEDOM!

Becoming – Week 15

breezedls1 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:35:58 +0000

This week’s readings were difficult for me to follow. I had a main idea of what the article was about but it wasn’t until after our group facilitation that I had a clear understanding. In the article, “Uses of the Erotic: the erotic as power”, the author Audre Lorde discusses how the work Erotic is viewed differently by our society. Our society associates the work erotic with pornography, I being one of the many. Prior to reading this article I agreed with everyone else and associated the word erotic with sex. However, Lorde explains that erotic can also have a different meaning. For instance it can be a type of power, success, an fulfillment that women can experience. Lorde shares, “When I speak of the erotic, then, I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that creative energy empowered, the knowledge and use of which we are now reclaiming in our language, our history, our dancing, our work, our lives.” This week’s reading made me realize that we are so set and accustomed to the dictates of society that we don’t stop and truly comprehend how much and many more things our world has to offer without sexualizing everything. Women are powerful beings and if we put our minds and hearts into something we can achieve it.

This past class meeting we had a guest speaker from Shakti Rising. Prior to this class meeting I had never heard of this program. I REALLY enjoyed and am interested in attending some of the classes they offer. In addition, the activities we did in class were helpful to me and others in the class as well. In a personal level, I think that such activities help us connect with our inner self. It’s something that we often fail to do yet it is very important because it can help us emotionally. I had never done an activity like that and feel that I benefited from the pie chart. This resonated with our readings because if only emphasizes that we need to have a larger association with our wants, needs and desires. We all get wrapped up in our daily routines and society dictates that we tend to forget who we really are. I enjoyed the presentation our guest speaker did and even shared the information with co-workers. We plan to attend one of the classes that are offered. I think it’s GREAT our professor gives us access to sources that are available to women because otherwise I would have never known about them.

Patriarchal Violence and a Cultural of Sexual Violence- Week 14

breezedls1 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:42:57 +0000

This week’s reading focused on violence against women and minorities. Prior to reading the articles this week I was aware that such problem existed; however, when I read the statistics it made me comprehend that this problem is more severe than I imagined. In the article, “History and the Politics of Violence Against Woman,” the author Antonia Castaiteda explains how much money is spend in the attempt to help victims of violent crimes. She shares, “Two hundred million dollars, or five hours of military spending could pay for the annual support of 1,600 rape crisis centers and battered women’s shelters. This amount is extremely high and the numbers aren’t accurate. There are many women who do not report the abuse because in many cases they are scared to do so. I believe that once we are exposed to information like this, all women should make an effort to join some type of group, to raise awareness of this problem. I assumed that this was an issue that had enough exposure; however, I believe that the more women who stand up and fight against this acts will eventually lead to an improvement.

Women being battered, abused and raped is a problem that has been around for a very long time. Every woman has heard of or has a close friend or relative who has or will experience these horrific acts. Abuse doesn’t have to be physical, for instance I had a close friend who was abused verbally by her boyfriend. When she first told me about this I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This had been going on for several years and she finally decided to break her silence. When I asked her why she put up with the abuse her response was, “I deserved it and there was nothing I could do about it.” I felt terrible and advised her to seek professional help. She did seek help and was able to understand that no matter what the situation is no one deserves to be abused physically or mentally. I was grateful she obtained help and is now in a healthy relationship. After taking this course it has made me realize that there are still many issues that need to be corrected when it comes to women and their rights. I have decided that whenever I’m exposed to a program where I could make a difference I will join and provide anytime of support needed.

The Female Body: Medicated, Controlled: Week 12

breezedls1 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:10:00 +0000

This week’s readings were regarding women’s bodies and different “issues” associated with them. For example, they discussed child birth, abortion and women with disabilities. In the article, “Women and Medicalization: A New Perspective” the author Catherine Kohler Riessman informs the readers about the transition between midwifes and doctors. Prior to this week’s reading, I assumed the change occurred for the benefit of improving women’s health and labor. I believed that with the development of new technology, labor became an easier task for women. However, according to Riessman, this is not the case. She states, “The evidence suggests that both maternal and infant mortality rates rose during the period between 1925 and 1930 when midwives’ attendance at birth abruptly declined” (51). The change occurred to because society wanted to provide an example of how upper class people were able to obtain “specialized” assistance and the lower class people couldn’t. The need for Dr.’s assistance did not arise with the intentions of making it easier for women to give birth. In addition, this week’s reading challenged my thoughts regarding how the women’s illness are defined and who defines them. Women’s reproductive illness are defined by men, men when have no idea how a women’s body functions. There are certain aspects of a women’s aging body that should be considered as normal but yet they are labeled as a on illness or if a women displays some type of characteristics/symptoms she is viewed as sick. When in fact if it were a man feeling those same symptoms they wouldn’t be categorized as ill! All women should be aware and educated about their body and its functions so we are not taken advantage by the opposite sex!

These weeks reading also touched basis on contraception, abortion and religion. I believe these are topics that are very controversial. In one of the articles it stated that when contraception became available it was viewed by some women as a way of obtaining some sort of freedom. I agree with them, I believe that woman should have the right to do with their bodies as they wish. Men do! Why shouldn’t women? It was not until the twentieth century when women were able to free themselves from being their husband’s reproductive machines. This topic was particularly interesting to me because I was raised Catholic and “most” don’t believe in the use of contraception. However, these articles came to mind when I was having a conversation with an older friend. She stated that her teenage niece became pregnant and her Catholic mother was not taking it to well. What caught my attention the most was that the mother made a comment, stating, that if she was “smart” enough to have sex, she should have been smart enough to wear protection and avoid the pregnancy. I find it very ironic that depending on the situation, people change their religious points of views. I think that many use religion as an excuse to back up their real believes. I think that this is very hypocritical and if they truly feel that way, they should speak out to their church leaders and ask for a change in the morals, beliefs, and values they pre-program all their followers with.

O Yes: Taboos, Female Pleasure and the Erotic/ Week 11

breezedls1 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:03:02 +0000

These weeks reading were based on woman’s orgasms – its myths, assumptions, and the negative views of women masturbating. The topic I related the most to was the negative views the Catholic Church holds towards women masturbating. I was raised in a Catholic household and even the word “sex” was hardly used. Masturbation was not even a topic of discussion. It was viewed as forbidden and perverse. We were expected to know that anything that had to do with sexual pleasure was immoral. Patricia Beattie Jung would agree. She is the author of Sanctifying Women’s Pleasure. She states, “The fact is that more men masturbate more frequently than woman because nice girls don’t touch themselves”. Sex was only for adults and children/teens were not allowed to even wonder or have questions about this topic. This week’s readings challenged my beliefs. The readings made me realize that to a certain point I still believe that masturbation is perverse whether it acted out from a male or female, although I have become more accepting now. This belief was drilled into my brain as I was growing up. For instance, when my parents were growing up pre-marital sex was NOT an option. In the event there was sexual activity between a young couple they were forced to get married and begin a household. During the course of this semester I have grown to become more accepting of sexual relations, genders, and sexual preferences. I believe that everyone should take a course in sexuality and then determine if they will still hold the same views or become more accepting. Additionally, we also need to take in consideration that our society has become more accepting of sexual activity. We are human beings and have needs there is nothing wrong with a little masturbation, of course, as long as it is done in a private setting and in moderation.

I work for a school district and I’m the youngest in my department. The majority of my co-workers are old enough to be my mother. In fact their children are my age. Despite the age difference I seem to get a long extremely well with all of them. We get together for happy hour on a monthly basis to “de-stress”. Many of them have become more comfortable with our group they have begun to touch on the topic of sex. Most of them shared their experiences with their husbands and made comments that were “typical” of their age group. Most of them were raised in the era were sexual activity was viewed negatively. The topic of masturbation was brought up briefly however they quickly changed the subject and re-directed the conversation to coitus, as this is the norm and that’s how it should remain. I also found it interesting that there our group consists of different ethnicities and yet masturbation was viewed perverse by different cultures. It was very obvious that they viewed masturbation as perverse; however, I believe their age group had a lot to do with their beliefs. On the other hand when this topic is raised by single woman my age they view it as normal and it is almost expected to own a battery operated friend. I believe that our society is and will become more accepting and eventually it will not have such a negative stigma.

Fantasies of Femininity – Week 7

breezedls1 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:47:15 +0000

This week’s readings were from Fantasies of Femininity written by Ussher. The reading focused on two major topics. The first is regarding women’s perception of the “ideal” appearance and the second on the different types of woman there are. Women have high expectations to obtain a perfect appearance. Many woman and teenagers go through great lengths in order to feel better about themselves and achieve that flawless appearance. Often times they even go under surgery whether it’s a nose job or breast augmentation. Most women try to obtain the flawless bodies as supermodels have yet many don’t stop and think that some images are altered. As Ussher states, “The supermodels are impossibly beautiful, impossibly proportioned, impossibly thin” (45). Women get these unrealistic ideas from magazine and advertisements. I knew this was the case even before I read this article however, I didn’t realize how many woman fall for this. Being a woman myself I understand the desire to always look “good” or be a size or two smaller; however, I would never go as far as some women do. This is occurring to younger girls as each day. I find it interesting that woman seem to always give advice to friends about how they shouldn’t let their body image represent who they are, yet we don’t take our own advice. Why do we do this? I think it’s because the media influences on our decisions, immensely. The media will continue to make thousands of dollars by their advertisements unless we all stand together and put an end to it. A woman’s beauty should not be defined by her looks but for her personality and who a person is as a whole.
This week’s reading has made be become more aware of advertisements. They are all over the place. We become so used to billboards, logos, and their catchy phrases that many times we tend to speak them out loud as the commercials are playing! No wonder teenagers are brain washed. Moreover, this week I heard a story from one of my co-workers and it immediately reminded me of this week’s readings. She shared how her daughter was being “bullied” by another girl at school. Telling her she was dumb and not smart. In return my co-workers daughter tells the bully, Well the only “A” you will ever see is your bra cup!! Everyone in the lunch line started laughing leaving the bully in silence. My co-worker said she couldn’t figure out how she came up with such a comeback. Her daughter is only a 5th or 6th grader and yet she knew that the talking about her body image would make her feel bad and ashamed of herself. I think our youth is being taught at an extremely young age that body image and looks are the most important characteristic of people. When I was a 5th or 6th grader there was no way that I would be thinking of such things! Back in my era we were still playing hopscotch and playing with dolls. Our society has changed dramatically when it comes to appearances and it is not for the benefit of woman.

Anne Fausto-Sterling

breezedls1 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:57:25 +0000

This week’s reading focused on hermaphrodites, or as Anne Fausto-Sterling author of Sexing the Body would state, intersexuals. I found the first three chapters of her book very interesting. Our society tends to believe that there are only two sexes- male/female. Prior to reading this book I was one of the many that viewed our society as male/female oriented; however, after the reading and class discussion I believe that this will have to change soon. I believe this change will be a long battle and extremely controversial issue because since an early age our society teaches us that people who are different are weird, freaks, and creepy. This week’s readings challenged my beliefs and made me see intersexuals in a different way. Intersexuals are born that way and it’s something that is not in their control. We should not judge them by their genitalia but for who the person really is. I think that young children should be taught at an early age that there are more than two sexes. Intersexuals should have the right to live a happy life without being judged; after all they are human beings.

In addition to the discussion and explanations of intersexuals, Fausto-Sterling provided stories of intersexuals. She provided information about an intersexual who was in the Olympics and was disqualified due the uncertainty of her sex. Ironically, the media has focused on a similar issue with a South African runner in the Olympics. According to most reports she has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are higher than those of a “normal” woman. I have mixed feelings about this particular story. First, I believe that such incidents should be kept confidential. The entire world has no need to know about her genitalia! I can’t even imagine what the poor woman is going through. It’s bad enough she might loose her medal and then to be looked as a freak by the entire world is just outrageous! Secondly, why are we so critical about intersexuals? This is where my new beliefs come in. This wouldn’t be occurring if our society/cultures were so persistent on maintaining a strictly male/female category. Unfortunately I don’t think this will change anytime soon because we need to start educating our youth at an early age and at this point nothing is being done about it.

Hello World!

breezedls1 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:52:30 +0000