Final Post - Mike Murgo

Listening to everyone's paper topics was not only intellectually stimulating, but also very fun. I learned a lot of interesting little facts, like how there is only 1 out, gay athlete in professional athletics. I was also intrigued by how many students focused on masculinity in their papers. I never really thought about all the subsets of it and ways that it could be interpreted, so listening to all the things that my classmates did with it truly expanded my mind. I felt that Josie's paper, which dealt with women in the middle east, was the most unique topic. Her presentation, along with many other students' presentations, made me wish I could read my classmates' papers. The presentations were a nice way to get the gist of the topic, but I wanted to delve deeper. Ellie's paper, for example, dealt with the correlation of homophobia and gender. As a social justice oriented person and an advocate for the queer rights movement, I almost wish she just read her entire paper to the class right then and there.

Overall, I truly enjoyed taking this class. I feel like I learned so much about the world that I never really understood or delved into before. My favorite units had to be Sexuality and The Social Construction of Gender and Socialization. Before taking this class, I knew that masculinity and gender roles were problematic in many ways, but I never really knew how they came about. This course taught me how they are formed, taught, and spread throughout society.

Although I enjoyed learning about all these topics, I don't know if any class has ever depressed me as much as this one has (in a good way, though - now we know what to attack in order to fix it). Naturally, sociology is about critically examining our society. Unfortunately, this critical analysis reveals many unsettling statistics and facts. The most memorable ones, for me at least, involved the degradation of women. Miss Representation did a fantastic job of revealing the atrocities that women still face in this supposedly progressive age, but I don't know if that movie will stick with me throughout my life as well as a scene we watched in class where male band members slapped pieces of bologna on a woman's butt. Of the two major genders, women are undoubtedly the more oppressed gender, but I would have liked to learn more about male oppression as well. I feel that we focused primarily on issues of feminism, which is fine and incredibly valuable, but it would have been great to have a lesson on the difference between feminism and the men's rights movement, and how men can face oppression as well (like how the general public typically does not take women raping men as seriously as men raping women, how they perceive it as humorous, etc), granted, to a much lesser extent than the oppression that women face. This article takes an interesting approach: http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/whats-the-difference/

I would have enjoyed having a discussion about it with the class. Furthermore, I feel that we didn't explore the tensions and divides within feminism as much as we could have. I often felt that issues arose, a stance was taken, and everyone agreed with it. FGM was a great example of what I was looking for; we examined the dynamics and ethics of choice and how the world influences such decisions, and not everyone agreed on the topic. I also liked how we were all in a circle for that discussion, as I felt that it really encouraged participation and it made it easier to accommodate. I know that, for me, round-table discussion always makes me speak up more.

In the end, I truly enjoyed taking this class and will be sad to let it go next semester. Thanks for the awesome few months, Professor Jafar and all my classmates!

Meg DeJong - Final Post

I really enjoyed listening to people’s paper topics yesterday. It was interesting to hear what people had chosen to write about and to learn a little more about the topic. I thought that Gracie’s presentation on birthing was very informative and it really resonated with me. I think it’s really interesting to think about how perceptions of birthing have changed over the years, and I was horrified to hear about how many unnecessary C-sections are happening in hospitals around the country. I was also really fascinated by Josie’s presentation, especially after watching Professor Jafar’s TED talk. It’s interesting to think about how our society perceives people in other cultures and how many of the perceptions we have are actually misinformed, biased, and and based off our own society’s norms and values. Lastly, I was very intrigued by Keith’s presentation about homophobia and sports. I had no idea that only one professional male athlete had every come out as gay during their professional sports career. This made me think about how hard it would be to be a gay male athlete and how much pressure they must feel to keep their sexuality a secret.

Going off on the topic of masculinity, this class taught me a lot about how many are portrayed in the media. Before this class, I definitely paid a lot of attention to how women’s bodies were sexualized and objectified in the media because I knew firsthand how those images affect women’s self-esteem and their perceptions about themselves. However, I had never really looked critically at how men are portrayed in the media. This class made me realize how much pressure many men feel to achieve unattainable masculine ideals that are becoming increasingly present in our country’s mainstream media. Watching the documentary “Wrestling with Manhood” made me think about all the distorted images that men get about what it means to be a real man and about how a real men should act and treat women. Overall, I feel that this class made me a much more critical consumer of media, and also made me more aware about the social construction of gender. Because we are forced into gender roles from the time we are born, it becomes so easy to forget that gender roles are socially constructed and to see them as something natural.

During this class, I also really enjoyed listening to other people’s opinions on the topics we were talking about. It was fascinating to hear about other people’s perspectives and to hear about people’s personal experiences related to the topic. I really appreciated how honest people were during in-class discussions, as well as in their posts and comments, because I think it enhanced the overall class experience. I believe that everyone brought something unique and important to the class discussion, and that it was a rare opportunity to get so many different perspectives on topics such as the social construction of gender, masculinity, family roles, homophobia, sex tourism, etc.

Josephine Bingler - Final Response

          At first, I didn't really think much of each student presenting their research topic to the class but after hearing them all, it was amazing to see what interested each of us the most and how we decided to explore that. I found John's topic very interesting. I was very surprised and appalled that only 2% of Sports center is dedicated to Women's sports highlights. In high school, I remember how much of a struggle it was to get fans to our soccer games compared to the boy’s team who always had full stands. The boys’ games were always so much competitive and fights broke out which is why they seemed to draw a bigger crowd. The worst was seeing people cheer on the fights and giving positive reinforcement to the players that received red cards for punching the other in the face. For us, "cat fights" on the field were incredibly frowned upon. This speaks directly to the two very different societal expectations of each gender. I was amazed at how early gendering starts. As a tutor in an elementary school, I can't help but observe how differently the little boys and girls are treated. It is even reflected in their uniforms, which for girls is a dress, which completely restricts their play activities.

            This class has completely shifted the way I view media and its impact on our society. One of my favorite assignments was our presentation on either children's shows or parenthood in the media. My friends always roll their eyes when I watch TV with them because I can't help but point out every enforced gender role. It is amazing how much our media propels women towards motherhood and life in the private sphere while pushing men away from the family and into the business world. I think I was most shocked by the commercials for Swiffer that portray women as loving their housework as they dance around in heels and smile while scrub the kitchen floor. This relates to Gracie's topic around how media portrays women and birth. I was amazed at how society makes hospital birth the norm and the safest option, ignoring water or at home births. The way media glamorizes motherhood is pretty disturbing considering how many women die in childbirth.

            I leave this class with a very, very different view on our society. I see our world through a much more critical and gendered lens. This class was incredibly engaging and I enjoyed our class discussions. While I am now stuck in a habit on analyzing the Disney movies I know and love, TV commercials, and music videos, I am thankful that this class opened my eyes and provoked many thoughts about why we think like we do and how our social roles and gender roles are constructed. 

Final post by Melissa Monsalve

     First, the presentations done yesterday for the last day of classes were all great and informative. What I found interesting is that a lot of people in the class did research on masculinity in various ways, either through advertisements or in sports. I appreciated the presentation on masculinity of homosexual men because, as mentioned, our class discussions around masculinity revolved around heterosexual masculinity. Aside from that, the topic of homosexual men acting heterosexual is very interesting in general because the stereotypes and characteristics society attributes to homosexual men are considered to be threats to heterosexual masculinity, so it although it may not seem to make sense for gay men to act like in line with heterosexual masculinity, in a way it does, because it gives gay men away to escape the amount of ridicule flamboyant gay men receive. All the other presentations were really interesting as well, but I just found this particular topic stood out to me the most.
     As for the semester overall, I found the topics we discussed to be very engaging. When talking about gender and sexuality, what usually comes to mind first is women and our problems in terms of that. However, this class material has opened up the conversation in order to realize how much men have it bad as well. It seems to me that despite how oppressed women are in society as a gender, men are so much more boxed in than women are, making life a little more difficult. It's also interesting to view these conversations in terms of people who identify as members of the LGBTQ community and how what applies to homosexual people shifts in these cases.
     These conversations are both helpful and depressing. It absolutely sucks to find out screwed up society is and how everyone has somehow been manipulated by the "hidden curriculum" in life. However, it's important to have these conversations to so that we can be educated on these topics and make changes in out own lives accordingly in terms of what we don't like.

John Gallagher Final Response

First off, the final research presentations that were done most recently were all interesting and informative.  I was able to learn a lot in just the 2-3 minutes that people presented.  I was really impressed with Brooke’s presentation on media coverage of female politicians.  It is so true that the big females in politics (like Palin) are always connected and tied to their families.  She is just as much a mom as she was a potential Vice President candidate.  You just never see this with the male politicians.  It would be really interesting if one day a woman was elected president just so we could see how the media followed her and "the first man." I also thought Mike had a really interesting topic.  It’s a phenomenon that really goes unnoticed and I have never pondered it.  It’s totally unexpected and different to think about how masculinity applies to gay men.  The spectrum is huge though.  Most people in our society assume gay men to be feminine and by no means masculine.  I did too.  But I thought it was interesting when you mentioned the Bear community and how there are big, burly, and hairy gay men out there with their own identity.  Keith also surprised me when he mentioned in his presentation that there are no openly gay athletes in mainstream sports right now.  I can only imagine it’s a short matter of time before athletes come out before they retire.  That should be interesting, and hopefully not a negative outcome for the individual. 

This semester has really put a lot into perspective for me.  I honestly can say that I look at things in a totally different light after reading the articles, and our in class discussions. I am 100% on board with what Emily Hunter said in her last paragraph of her post.  I see the world though a gendered lens as well now, which I think is for the better.  We never question gender norms until we actually see and/or experience it.  Examples such as mothers doing the laundry and staying at home, and dads doing the grilling at the family cookout.  All little types of things have been brought to my attention in this class, and I look forward to exploring these issues more so as I get older and eventually enter the real world. I think that our class as a whole had a very good dynamic, and everyone brought a different and unique outlook.  The parenting and children’s television presentations and readings were really cool and interesting I thought.  Obviously you don’t pick up on the types of themes we did in this class when you’re a little kid watching TV, but I can truly say that I see all those shows differently now.  And in reference to the parenting presentations, they were all so well done.  Everyone presented distinctive images and video clips.  

Lastly I want to touch on my research paper and what I have learned as I have gone through the process.  Like some of you mentioned, the decrease in women’s sports coverage over the past 10 years is so alarming.  I have learned along the way that the amount of young girls playing sports in 2011 is much higher than what it was 15 years ago.  With all the increased emphasis on equality and women’s rights in our society, one would think that ESPN would do a little more in its power to show women’s sports.  I have learned a lot through my project, and listening to everyone else talk about theirs.  

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.  

Emily Hunter: Final Response

Emily Hunter-Response to Paper Topics and Class Experience

                After hearing the paper topics explored by everyone in the class, I noticed that a large number of students, including myself, analyzed media representation of gender, either through film, reality television shows, magazines, or commercials.  Through these unique forms of media, in addition to children’s media that we explored earlier in the semester, we see the same gender representations forming.  Men are almost always represented as being strong, active, athletic, and emotionless, while women are most commonly represented as weak, dependent, tiny, and beautiful.  With such a lack of alternative forms of gender representations in media, how do we expect people to learn to step out of the stereotypical gender norms?  Media have the power to advance the exploration of gender fluidity by representing alternative forms of gender, but I am unsure if media will ever fully engage in blurring gender boundaries.

                Previous to last class, I had never given grinding much thought or analysis, but after doing so, I cannot help but think of all the gender norms that are represented in the form of dancing done on Saturday nights.  Grinding essentially leads to the overall objectification of women for when a man is looking to dance, he picks his partner based on the thinness of her legs, the shortness of her skirt, and (as it appears to me anyways) , the drunkenness of the women.  As I mentioned in class, there is no desire to take interest in the women outside the realm of sexual experience.  Thus, the girl could have a 4.0 GPA, could be an excellent singer, or could have an amazing sense of humor, but none of these factors matter.  In the world of grinding and hooking up, girls are a commodity that if obtained may raise the man’s social status in relation to other men within his homosocial environment while also allowing the man to display his heterosexuality.  What is more frustrating to me in regard to grinding/hooking up is that we have created an environment in which so much social enjoyment and social success is focused around “hooking up”.  The problem is if, as a girl, you choose to excuse yourself from grinding, or from the random hook up scene, you have essentially isolated yourself for the remainder of your college career.  Even worse than this is the fact that while girls may consciously remove themselves from this objectifying culture, they still find themselves questioning their performance of femininity.  For example, I have heard (and been a part of) numerous conversations in which girls attempt to determine why they were not “picked” by a boy at the dance.  The questioning results in the girl analyzing her weight, her appearance, and why she isn’t consider beautiful to the men on campus.  Not only does this foster an environment in which women will obsess over body image and beauty, but the culture also prevents girls from feeling fully successful as women.  As we have learned throughout the semester, women are taught that their primary goal in life is to earn male attention, and therefore, regardless of how successful the girls are in the classroom, on the sports field, or in the workplace, they will never feel successful without the attention of a man.  I have always wondered whether there is a male equivalent to this feeling of worthlessness many women feel at the end of a Saturday night when they return home alone.  Maybe, if men understood the feelings of objectification and victimization that women experience on Saturday nights, the too would restrain from the hook up culture.  I do not think that desiring sexual pleasure is wrong in any way.  Instead my problem with the hookup/grinding culture lies in the fact that this conquest for sexual pleasure ultimately results in the loss of women’s self-worth and objectifies women at this, and many other, colleges.

                Overall, this class has provided me with the opportunity to look at the world through a gendered lens.  Now that I have examined an array of gendered issues, I can no longer view my life without analyzing the gendering factors that influence every aspect of what I do and who I have become.  I must say that coming into this class I was not sure whether I fully classified myself as a feminist, but now I can proudly say that I do.