Thursday, May 10, 2012

Final Post By. Ry Hormel


I really enjoyed listening to what people where writing about in their research papers.  I felt the class shared general themes in the papers.  The role that power plays in society and how men are driven in a power hungry role.  Ellie, you presented a very interesting topic.  Looking at gender and homophobia is a very hard topic and I found it interesting that you tied in the civil rights movement to your research.  I thought it was a good sociological perspective.  I found the research John found about Sports center and the percent devoted towards women’s highlights very shocking.  Popular sports have evolved in to something that is much less about the sports itself, and concentrated on the highlight plays that draw in the consumers.  To see a women’s highlight, something has to be spectacular and beat out most male popular sports.  I also really enjoyed Keith’s presentation.  Keith, looking at gay men in professional sports is a really good idea. Being an athlete I am not surprised that there is only one openly gay professional athlete. It is terrible that some men feel pressured to keep their identity to themselves until they retire.  It is understandable though due to the high pressure environment athletes are in.  I am curious how this can change?  What needs to be done to make athletes feel more comfortable with their sexuality? 
While writing my research project I found it very interesting at times, and during others it was troubling.  With a look at advertisements I am truly becoming aware of the hidden, subliminal messages that are being thrown at the viewer.  I would encourage everyone to spend more time thinking about advertisements when you see them.  Think about what they mean and whether the message is good or bad.  One of the most troubling aspects of my paper was finding out how unhealthy society can make people live.  Relating back to The Adonis Complex men and women have this false feeling of pressure to make their bodies and image in a certain way.  Looking at ads it is clear that the people being used all usually fit the same equation.  Tall, skinny, muscular, attractive are just some traits that people are constantly seeing in ads.  When this is constantly being feed to someone, it is a natural reaction to want to become like that.  This can lead to the use of steroids or anorexia which are very serious issues.
Overall I have enjoyed this class very much.  I find myself looking at and analyzing many things differently.  I am much more aware of social and gender issues that our present in our society.  The class was very engaging and it was great hearing others views on the topics we discussed.  I appreciate how open some people were with discussing parts of their personal life.  The class really got a real life perspective in some aspects of our discussions.  

4 comments:

  1. Josephine Bingler

    Ry, like you said in your post, I loved how engaging and open our class was. It was really great how many people felt comfortable to share aspects of their personal lives with us. This class got me thinking so much about the influence society has had on me growing up. I have definitely left with a different perspective on our society. Speaking on Keith's research topic, I like the question you raise about what can be done to make athletes feel more comfortable with their sexuality. I asked myself the same question when hearing Keith's presentation. But I feel like until we stop forcing gender roles and the ideals of masculinity, men will never feel safe or comfortable to come out, especially in professional sports.

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  2. Ry, like you said in your post, I loved how engaging and open our class was. It was really great how many people felt comfortable to share aspects of their personal lives with us. This class got me thinking so much about the influence society has had on me growing up. I have definitely left with a different perspective on our society. Speaking on Keith's research topic, I like the question you raise about what can be done to make athletes feel more comfortable with their sexuality. I asked myself the same question when hearing Keith's presentation. But I feel like until we stop forcing gender roles and the ideals of masculinity, men will never feel safe or comfortable to come out, especially in professional sports.

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  3. Ry,

    I am glad that you enjoyed my topic and I too was very shocked by some of the research that I found. As you know, being an athlete, whether its college or professional, you are scrutinized in the media and the public perception so much and the fact that we have yet to see a big name athlete come out and say they are gay only makes it that much harder for this to ever be accepted in our society. I was really interested in your paper about media advertisements and I would be really interested to see some of the advertisements that you found, as I am sure that you found some controversial ones.

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  4. Ry I was also impressed with the concept of your paper. I have always thought advertisements were fun to look at just to see the messages they are trying to convey. It is so noticeable when commercials use "the ideal body" to try and sell their products. I also want to agree with Josephine's comment on the structure of out class. It felt so open and it was cool to see how people opened up more and more as the semester went along.
    Nice Job

    John Gallagher

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