Starfish 4/24

Yesterday’s little experiment proved to be very interesting. I noticed many different things. When the women in the room were the only ones allowed to talk, different women who never spoke up that much in class before had a voice. They participated in the conversation and added a lot of solid contributions. I wonder why they spoke so much now, and not during regular class periods. Did it have to do with the men not being able to have a say? Did they feel more comfortable with just talking to women or did they feel obligated to say something since the men could not contribute to the discussion?

Another thing I noticed was how many of the men in the room reacted to not being able to speak. Many of them seemed bored and others seemed angry or anxious. Many of them wrote down messages, but some of the men in the room’s comments were not valid contributions to the conversation. It seemed that they were writing silly or stupid comments just to get attention back. Was it really that hard for them to just sit there, and listen without being immature? A couple of the men in class stated that women should not complain about not being heard because in today’s society they have just as big as a voice as men do. I wish this was the case but it is not true all the time. I have felt like my voice was not as important as a man’s before and I am sure many other woman can think of one time they felt the same way. I think this exercise really allowed the men to know what women in the past and present have had to go through to get in a word here or there. “Every woman has known the torture of beginning to speak aloud.” –Cixous. Some of the men in the room got the chance to endure that “torture” as well.

Wouldntulike2know 4/24

I absolutely loved yesterdays class. What a great idea from Dr. Rog to limit the mens expression to writing! Seeing how frustrated they got actually brought me satisfaction that I really didn't even know I needed. This experiment proved that I, falling into Althuser's position that People who believe themselves to be outside ideology are in fact, completely in ideology. Irigaray reinforces this in explaining how women are not aware of their own desires, sexual or not. She says "Must the multiple nature of female desire and language be understood as the fragmentary, scattered remains of a raped or denied sexuality? This is not an easy question to answer. The rejection, the exclusion of a female imaginary undoubtedly places woman in a position where she can experience herself only fragmentarliy as waste or as excess in the little structured margins of a dominant ideology, this mirror entrusted by the (masculine) "subject" with the task of reflecting and redoubling himself." The fact that I didn't even know that women are oppressed in this manner was rather shocking. For the thirty minutes that we engaged in this role reversal, it became clear how we as a society operate, "excluding the female imaginary" thereby allowing us to experience ourselves "only fragmentarily" Seeing the few men get so irritated by this exercise, forcing their voices to be fragmented, was highly enlightening. I think we should do it more often!

kMO Cixous & Butler

I never regarded feminist theory as being important to a critical media and culture major but after reading Judith Butler I see the connection. Dr. Rachel Ward somewhat discusses this topic in my communication 300 class which has helped me understand some of the more difficult concepts such as women denoting a common identity. Over the years it has become more prominent for the term woman or women to represent a “site of contest” which has led to some studies regarding name significations. I found this quote to be extremely interesting…”If one is a woman, that is surely not all one is; the term fails to be exhaustive, not because a pregnedered person transcends the specific paraphernalia of its gender, but because gender is not always constituted coherently or consistently in different historical contexts…” The political assumption that there must be a universal basis for feminism, one which must be found in an identity assumed to exist cross culturally has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. It would be interesting to get more in depth on this topic because as a woman I feel very uneducated. We represent an entire group which has been stereotyped for years so it would be of interest to me to find out how this affects current day mass media.

Bella Post Class4/25

Class yesterday was an extremely interesting experience. I have never been put in a position where a male professor put the girls in power of the class, on purpose. One thing I find interesting is how, though there are far fewer males in most of my classes than there are females, the males still tend to assume roles of power at time. I really enjoyed Dr. Rog’s comments about raising our hands, and commenting on the boys’ behavior. I know most of the guys, especially Danny, became extremely frustrated by not being able to speak. Some of the other guys sat quietly and listened, but many of them felt the need to express themselves. I think I learned a lot yesterday about the disjoint between men and women. For instance, Danny said he is not able to accomplish anything when he works with a girl or a group of girls–he says he has to take charge of the situation in order to finish the project. I have worked with Danny and I would say he is quite the opposite. He doesn’t always bring his full attention to the project or to class and is often focused on other things. If I were to respond to Danny, I would tell him that he doesn’t take control of a group, his group takes are of him. I think that many men are spoiled–they think everything comes easily, they don’t have to work to get a woman, to be successful, some of them just believe it’s going to be handed to them. As a woman, I know that I will have to work twice as hard as my male peers in order to be successful. Depending of where I decide to work after college, I know I will struggle to be as competitive as my male colleagues. The struggle of being a woman is something I have grown up and am fully aware of, so experiences like yesterday’s class, where the women are specifically put in power, was extremely interesting.

July-->Helene Cixous

Helen Cixous’s subject line is so interesting and controversial because it talks about the feminine role that women have either encountered or will encounter. There are a few men enrolled in my class, which means it is dominated by women, so I am excited to read the comments from my fellow colleagues. Blogging will definitely relieve some tension about women vs. men. Inequality that separates a man from a woman can easily be compared with racial inequalities among the black and white community.

Gender roles in society are supposed to be equal to one another, but as a woman I will have to admit that it has not reached its goal yet. Cixous agrees by mentioning, “Organization by hierarchy makes all conceptual organization subject to man” (male privilege). The United States is dominated by men, especially in hierarchy positions. Ever since we’ve established a government in the U.S. it has been a man holding down the fort. I don’t mind men holding higher ranks, but it becomes a problem when their success comes with a negative attitude. Respect is often the reason why both sexes can’t maintain a successful relationship.

Also, in reference to the domination that a man holds in the United States often comes with a shift in attitudes from the man and woman. We are not subject to be inferior to men, but in some cases women are more passive because it’s a common norm. Masculinity is normally forced on a man when he exits his mother’s womb. If it’s a boy he gets a blue room, once he grows old enough to walk he gets to throw a football, in his teenage years he is taught his role in society, and as he gets older he maintains an ego that causes he to believe he is higher than all women.

kMO Cixous & Butler

elizabeth byrne -april 24

I thought todays class was really able to show alot about how men and women interact not just in a classroom setting, but also in American Society. Through out history women haven't had much of a voice, but at the same time I think it is up to an individual to make her voice heard. I don't think Hillary Clinton is a good example of a women getting into power because she has prior history and knowledge that helped her get to where she is now. Not just any women could make it to where she has gotten her self. But at the same time, Hillary Clinton (regardless of her political beliefs) is showing women and girls around the country that it is possible. It is a movement that women are continuously getting higher positions in the corporate world and regardless if men like or not- it is happening every where right in front of our eyes. After class, elyse and i were talking about confidence in men and how secure they are with themselves in regards to the wife/ woman making more money.  Because of ideologies and society men feel that they have to hold more power or be a more dominant figure and now that women are going that extra step men have to step back and realize that yes this is the 21st century and they are going to have to actually work for a top position rather then getting it just because he is a man. In my brothers case, he has finally realized that it is not about Wallstreet and so what if his wife makes more than him or if he isnt making the amount of money he is making each year. Why sacrifice happiness for money when happiness is what matters? 

As I said earlier I think it is a sign of security for men to be happy with women as top figures and ceo's of companies , I also think that it is a sign of insecurity when women are afraid to have their voices heard or to act dumber around boys/ men. Just as men follow some ideologies i also think that women let themselves fall into the women roles (household chores, lower jobs, less income etc.) just because it is the easy way out.