Blog Post #3

My issues concerning Dorothy Leigh's piece. 

In Dorothy Leigh’s piece The Mother’s Blessing, she makes a point that there isn't happiness without god. That a person who is ungodly is defined as “wicked.” She states that if a man is godly then he will be able to go about the right way in finding the perfect woman for him.  I think that just because someone is religious and they study the bible, does not mean they have a match maker license! People make mistakes all the time, nobody is perfect. And the reason divorce rates are higher now than ever doesn't always have to be because of how much society has changed but because a lot of people (godly OR ungodly) realize that their significant other wasn't for them. So by Leigh saying that a man can only find a woman through god confuses me.

Also, what if he finds the perfect woman without being godly, or by her religious standards? Or what if he is godly, and finds the perfect woman and she isn't godly? Personally, I believe that drawing lines to which you can and cannot be happy with is the most “wicked,” thing someone can do.

So let’s say two godly people do find each other…

On page 663 Leigh says “Bear with the women, as with the weaker vessel. Here God showeth that it is her imperfection that honoreth thee, and that it is thy perfection that maketh thee to bear with her.”

At first I got the impression that honoring god was enough, but I guess I was wrong. Do women have to then honor their husbands as well? This also confuses me because earlier in the piece she says that sometimes men will try to change their wife into a “servant and drudge.” By “bearing with her,” that makes the woman seem less mentally and/or spiritually. And in my opinion, that’s degrading her just as much as making her a slave. 

PS here's my Medusa Halloween outfit :)

Blog Post #3

In another class that I am taking, I connected what we were learning in our class to that class. Now I would like to share information from a different class to this class. In another English class I am taking, we are reading a book about an Indian boy and the cultural differences.  Some cultures are more privileged than others and there are some that are, in a way taught that they should not acknowledge these privileges.   In an article we had to read, they compare this idea to the thoughts on men and women.  The article talks about how white people are "taught" to not acknowledge their privileges and they compare this to men and that they are also "taught" to not think that have have more rights than women.  I never really thought about this idea and I found the article very interesting!!

http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html

Discussion Questions for 11/2- Chelsea and Kaylee

Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 in England. She was given a decent education for a girl at the time because of the literature her father gave her. She and her family were devout Puritans and left for America to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bradstreet was a dedicated mother to eight children. In her poetry, she often commented on political, social, and domestic issues.

“The Author to Her Book”

1. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet compares her book to a poor, dirty child. Why would she compare her work to that image? What does this poem reveal about her view of herself and her role as a woman writer? Based on her message/theme of this poem, does this remind you of any other pieces we have discussed in class?

“Before the Birth of One of Her Children”
2. This poem is like a letter. She is giving advice, sharing her fears, and saying her goodbyes. Who do you think the speaker is writing this for? Why is it important that she wrote this?

 “In Reference to her Children…”

3. What does the bird metaphor throughout the poem represent? Does the metaphor and message still apply to motherhood today?

 Sylvia Plath was born in 1932. Her writings are complex and look at women’s anger and creativity. She started getting her work published at a young age, when her work was published in Seventeen Magazine. She suffered from many mental issues, but still graduated from Smith College. She did get married to a man named Ted Hughes, and they had two children together. Less than a couple months after her divorce with Ted Hughes, she committed suicide.

 

“The Disquieting Muses”
4. In this poem, and even in the title, Plath mentions muses and ladies. She says things such as, “from muses unhired by you…” or “but those ladies broke the pains.” Who do you think the muses are?
5. Have you personally experienced or have seen any extremely positive or extremely negative mothering experiences? How has it shaped you/that person?

 “Medusa”

6. We have read a couple different pieces in this class so far that talk about Medusa. Each piece takes a different stance on who Medusa is and creates an image about her. Who is Medusa in this poem? What is the image of Medusa in this poem?
7. What do you think the speaker’s relationship is with the person she is comparing to Medusa?

 “Nick and the Candlestick”

8. We noticed that the beginning of the poem has darker images compared to the second half of the poem. For example: in the first line it says, “The light burns blue.” Later it says, “The candle gulps and recovers its small altitude, its yellow hearten…” Based on the contrasting images from the first half to the second half of the poem, what do you think that represents about maternal instincts?

Along with many other people in the class, I found the reading by Emily Martin very interesting. The concept of women being wasteful with their eggs, while men are not wasteful with their sperm is strange to me. All I kept thinking of was a scene from Legally Blonde. In the scene, the law class is having a discussion and Elle Woods says, "For that matter, any masturbatory emissions, where the sperm is clearly not seeking an egg, could be termed reckless abandonment." It is a funny quote, but does apply well in this context. Men are wasting sperm every time they masturabate, but it isn't wasteful because they can make more sperm? It is almost annoying that science textbooks are so biased in their wording. Based on the image they created of the egg being passive and waiting for sperm to do all the work, it should be considered wasteful then for men to release sperm when not trying to get a woman pregnant.

Blog Post

I found Emily Martin’s “The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles” very enlightening and surprising. I had always objectively read my science textbooks and taken them as fact, not bothering to look at biases that the authors had operated under. After reading the piece, I thought more about why the authors had written the texts like they had. The first thing that I thought about was the idea that women were wasteful with their eggs. I agree with Martin, this idea came from the view of menstruation as “failed production.” Women are viewed as non-sexual objects in our culture so the only “acceptable reason” women in our culture have sex today is to produce life. That is why the textbooks were written with the idea that women are wasteful with their eggs. Every period is viewed as a missed opportunity to have created life. In reality, if any gender is wasteful it is the male with their sperm. I also thought it was interesting that female eggs were looked at as weak and passive while the sperm are aggressive and active, when in reality that might not be the case. If our social views can be brought into something as seemingly objective as science, what else are they affecting?

Blog Post #2

Our class discussion today about Emily Martin's, The Egg and Sperm: How Science has Constructed a Romance based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles was very interesting.  It really got me thinking about being in high school learning about the reproductive system. I never really recognized that even in science, there are stereotypes between men and women.  Another important issue from the text was that women are more wasteful during their reproductive life.  I can understand two very opposite opinions on this issue but I think wasteful isn't the right word for this text.  Yes, I understand that women obviously produce less eggs than a man does sperm and in a way, I suppose that it is being a little 'wasteful'.  But look at men, they 'waste' their sperm in different ways as well.  Just because women produce less eggs, it doesn't mean men are at any less of fault for being 'wasteful'.  The whole point of releasing an egg is kind of the point of wasting some of them, never will they all be used.  No woman or even man will ever use all of their eggs or sperm. I may be reading a little to into it but it kind of seems like saying its a woman's job to have children. For a man to waste sperm, it is not seen as an issue, but when a woman 'wastes' her eggs, it is seen as wrong. From reading this, it almost made it seem that men has a bigger role in reproduction which is 100% untrue.  As talked about in class, sperm cannot create a baby alone, and an egg cannot create a baby alone.  In my opinion I do believe women have a bigger role in reproducing.  A lot of biology books don't really talk about what happens after the egg gets fertilized, which I think is a big issue.  A woman has to take care of a human being that is growing inside of her, unlike a male.  A woman has much more to go through with taking care of herself and restricting herself from certain things when she is pregnant.  If a mother to be didn't take care of themselves during their pregnancy and made poor decisions, some of us wouldn't be here.  Men on the other hand don't really have this connection or responsibility of carrying a baby.  Another reason women have a bigger role in reproduction is, that if women didn't have the strength and body structure to have a child, men would not be here.  And I think a lot of men, and people in general forget the power of a woman's body, strength, and nurturing aspects of  motherhood.  Women do not get enough credit and respect for their bodies nor motherhood.

Leaders 10/31- Mary and Melissa

 Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich was born around 1343.  She was educated by eleven Benedictine nuns.  When she became ill, in the year 1373, she experienced a series of sixteen spiritual revelations or "showings."  The Book of Showing or Revelations of Divine Loe recorded all of Julian's visions.  She could read but she could not write, or that she was not literate in Latin.  Julian acquired a spiritual advisory named Margery Kempe.  She was not the first writer to consider the motherhood of God, her treatment of this theme is more elaborate than that of any predecessor.  Julian presents Christ's motherhood as "a complete and connected cycle of life."  In her narrative she writes about the development of a fetus in the womb, the mother's labor and delivery, nursing the infant, teaching the older child, and loving the adult child until its own demise, when it is reborn on God's womb. She believed that women are defined by their bodies and it is a powerful site of women's spiritual expression.

Questions: from Showing 

1.) "So Jesus Christ, who opposes good to evil, is our true Mother" (page 656). If our mother is symbolically represented by Jesus, the Son of God, then what can that imply for women? 

2.) In the realm of the bible, Jesus' death on the cross is seen as the ultimate sacrifice for his children.  So, if Jesus symbolically represents "our Mother" then does that mean women are expected to sacrifice everything for their children?  Have you ever seen your mom sacrifice anything for you or your siblings?  

3.) Do you think the fact that Julian Norwich was a nun, a woman who will remain abstinent for life, effected the way in which she wrote about motherhood considering she will never experience being a mother? 

Dorothy Leigh

Dorothy Leigh's book "The Mother's Blessing" got published shortly after her death in 1616.  This book was one of the most popular advise manuals of the 1600's.  Between the years 1616 and 1640 "The Mother's Blessing" was reissued 19 times.  Dorothy Leigh bypasses the normal prohibitions on female public speech, due to the fact that she knew she was going to die soon.  At this time, women were only aloud to instruct their children in their husbands house; but in Leigh's circumstance she would not be able to, leading to her to forget about the "usual customs of the women" and to her composing a written legacy of religious advise. 

 Questions: The Mother's Blessing

1.) Dorothy Leigh speaks of motherhood as a career of sorts where your duties are to prepare your children to live a "Godly" future.  Leigh believes that the most important task you can complete for your children is teaching them how to read so that they can read the Bible.  Is there anything in today's society that women feel like they have to teach their children?  Do mothers today try to prepare their children for the future in one way or another?  Do you think the fact that Leigh was dying effected her writing this guide of motherhood?

2.)  Throughout The Mother's Blessing, the majority of advice to children is directed towards young men who are choosing their wives.  Her main point is once you make a decision, you need to stay with that choice.  Is this being taught in today's society or is divorce so prevalent that parent's don't feel the need to teach their children that marriage should be permanent?  Does the high divorce rates for our parent's generations effect the way we think about marriage?  

3.)  Is there a significance that Dorothy Leigh's writing is mainly addressed to her sons and not to her daughters?  Being a feminist writer, do you find it odd that she mainly focuses on what her sons should do? 

CWW-Cher

Cher- The Goddess of Pop

     Cher was born on May 20, 1946 as Cherilyn Sarkisian.  She is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist.  She is the only person in history to have won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes, and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in film, music, and television.  She is mostly known for her big break as part of the duet of Sonny and Cher. Together they came up with hit songs and a television show.  Some of her most famous songs include "I Got You Babe," "Turn Back Time," and "Believe."  Some of her most famous movies are Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck in which she won her first Oscar.  Cher has also done her fair share of Broadway work as well in such productions as Come Back to the Five and Dime, and Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.  Eventually she started doing shows in such places as Las Vegas.  She has broken numerous records such as being one of two women in history to win an Oscar and have a #1 hit song.  

     Cher has 2 children.  The one most known is Chastity who is more commonly known as Chaz now, after his sex change.  Cher is now incredibly involved in the GLTB community and is always speaking out for the cause and does charities to support them.  

     For being 66 years old, Cher looks pretty darn good.  She has been accused of plastic surgery many a time.  Her response to these accusations consists of many cheeky combacks, one being "If I want to put tits on my back, it's nobody's business but my own."  Cher is also known  for her outrageous outfits, make-up and hair styles.  She is kind of one of the first "Lady GaGa's."

  She has also been accused of being gay because of her part in the movie Silkwood but she is not.  

         Fun note:

Many drag queens dress as Cher and also as other famous women because they love to embrace the souls that have overcome insult and hardships just as the drag queens have.  And they are all just as fabulous!  

Chad Michaels as Cher on RuPaul's Drag Race

Lyrics:

Feeling brokenBarely holding onBut there's just something so strongSomewhere inside meAnd I am down but I'll get up againDon't count me out just yet
I've been brought down to my kneesAnd I've been pushed way past the point of breakingBut I can take itI'll be backBack on my feetThis is far from overYou haven't seen the last of meYou haven't seen the last of me
They can say thatI won't stay aroundBut I'm gonna stand my groundYou're not gonna stop meYou don't know meYou don't know who I amDon't count me out so fast
I've been brought down to my kneesAnd I've been pushed way past the point of breakingBut I can take itI'll be backBack on my feetThis is far from overYou haven't seen the last of me
There will be no fade outThis is not the endI'm down nowBut i'll be standing tall againTimes are hard butI was built toughI'm gonna show you all what I'm made of
I've been brought down to my kneesAnd I've been pushed way past the point of breakingBut I can take itI'll be backBack on my feetThis is far from overI am far from overYou haven't seen the last of me
No noI'm not going nowhereI'm staying right hereOh noYou won't see me beggingI'm not taking my bowCan't stop meIt's not the endYou haven't seen the last of meOh noYou haven't seen the last of meYou haven't seen the last of me

This song is so perfect for this class.  It demonstrates the struggles that women feel.  It shows more of an emotional side of women than the literal side.  These lyrics are so strong and powerful with their words.  Lyrics such as;

And I am down but I'll get up againDon't count me out just yetShe is saying that even if she has been torn down she isn't out of the picture just yet.  She doesn't plan on fading out and becoming nothing.  She is persistent on making a comeback in the world.  She is admitting that she is down right now but then she says that she WILL get up again. Not that she is going to try to get back up, or maybe she will get back up, she says that she is going to get up.  
I've been brought down to my kneesAnd I've been pushed way past the point of breakingBut I can take itI'll be backBack on my feetThis is far from overYou haven't seen the last of meYou haven't seen the last of meThe chorus is one of the most powerful parts in the song.  She sings about how she has been pushed and shoved down to her lowest point and that not only can she take it, but she has the courage to get back up on her feet.  But i'll be standing tall againTimes are hard butI was built toughI'm gonna show you all what I'm made ofThis is where she shows you "what she is made of." Where we see that this woman really is made of metal and she isn't budging for anyone.  You won't see me beggingI'm not taking my bowShe is not being a coward and begging for her life back. She is going to do it on her own because she knows that she can.  She's "not taking a bow" which in the world of showbiz of course means that the show is over and there is no more to see.  She says that she is not bowing because there is more to her that people need to see. 

Blog Post #2

I found "That Year" by Sharon Olds to be a very dark, yet interesting poem.  It seems that the poem is coming from the point of view of an older girl/young woman that is so tramatized by her abusive childhood that she compares it to the Holocaust.  This author obviously didn't go through the Holocaust herself (she was born in America in 1942 and the Holocaust ended in 1945) but she feels as if she went through something similiar in her childhood to the Holocaust victims, or at least she is mentally affected as so.  She seems to be empathasizing with the Holocaust victims; putting herself in their shoes by remembering the pain and horror inflicted upon her by her father.  I found the line "and in Social Studies, we came at last/ to Auschwitz, I recognized it/ like my father's face, the face of the guard/ turning away--or worse yet/ turning toward me" to probably be the strongest and most haunting in the poem.  Although I haven't had the greatest relationship with my father, I still can't even imagine comparing him to one of the monsters that was a part of the Holocaust.  I always thought of these guards as soul-less, evil human beings that displayed no emotion or mercy for anyone.  The speaker's father must have been incrediably abusive--physically, emotionally, and most likely even sexually.  The question of sexual abuse is another part in this poem that I found interesting, since she mentions the characteristics of her going through puberty.  "That was the year/ I started to bleed" and "the shame of vomitted buttermilk/ down the sweater with its shame of new breasts."  The fact that she mentions her "new breasts" as shameful seems to me that someone must have gave her a reason to be embarrassed of them.

 I found another poem of Sharon Olds that also speaks of paternal sexual abuse, titled "My Father Speaks to Me From the Dead."  I find this poem even much more disturbing than "That Year."  It comes from the point of view of the speaker's father who describes his daughter's body.  "I love your- what can I call it,/ between your legs, we never named it, the/ glint and purity of its curls" just goes to show the extremity of the incest feelings this father has for his daughter.  (The rest of the poem is here: https://www.aprweb.org/poem/my-father-speaks-me-dead.)  I think that Sharon Olds must be very brave and have a strong stomach to talk about these gruesome and disturbing topics. 

Blog # 3

Blog 3

 

Throughout class we were discussing the gender roles of motherhood and fathers within the household and I found it very interesting to hear the differences within other peoples households and the experiences that others had experienced. I heard from one of the girls that, the traditional way a family is thought to be like was the way her household was ran, for instance: her mother and father would come home from work and it was common knowledge to know that her mother was to be making dinner. This was shocking, in the sense that a class mate who spoke up about how her household was very different in the sense that she grew up with only a mother in the household.

For I had my own experience growing up where my mother and father both worked but both took on roles for the house. My mother usually doing the bills while my father was doing more "womanly" things such as cooking and cleaning. However, he was also outside doing the more "manly" activities such as fixing the house and grilling on the grill. I saw a mixture of things not only within my family but the family's surrounding us who both shared the household roles and I'm very greatful to have been able to experience both.

I also wanted to point out when Susan Rubin Suleiman makes a statement about how she writes poetry and feels that she's noones mother but she's just herself. To me that's a very powerful statement in regards to my personal experiences. Motherhood isn't exactly the easiest thing and I find that the women in my family are very strong. My grandmother had ten children and her husband, my grandfather, passed away at age 51, leaving her to raise ten children on her own. All ten of her children became very succesfull and smart people. She then had to watch two of her daughters pass away from breast cancer and still care for 8 other children as well as grandchildren at this point. With this, I feel that his specific quote can relate to my grandmother because she was always strong through it all and still is today, and that even though she had to always be that strong mother that I know she had her moments where she had to have a moment to herself, and not be a mother, whether it was poetry like Suleiman, or even just a simple walk in the park.

CWW: Amanda Hocking

Amanda hocking was born and raised in Austin, Mn aka SPAMtown USA.Fun Fact: This is where SPAM was invented and they even have a  SPAM museum. Her roommate/assistant/platonic life mate Eric is very supportive of her writing and her obsession with animals.She has a dog, three cats, two fish, and Eric has a guinea pig.

Amanda began telling stories as a child even before she could write. When she learned to write she would jot down all of her tales.When she was 12, she decided that writers were boring people, and she didn’t want to be boring, so she saved writing for her “safety” career while she tried out other ones. She had written her first novel at age 17. It was never published. After high school she was eemployed as a group home worker until 2010, she wrote 17 novels in her free time. She self published her books through e-readers in 2010 and became a success. Some of her most poplar works are: My Blood Approves series, Trylle series, and the Wake series.

Connecting it to the class
Self publishing was also not her first option. She had tried for years to be published but was always rejected. She kept writing and trying to be published instead of giving up. As we read from bell hooks, she is a very popular and influential writer. An excerpt from her essay "Talking Back"; Although i have wanted writing to be my life-work since childhood, it has been difficult for me to claim writer" as part of that which identifies and shapes my everyday reality. Hocking has known and announced she is a writer from day one. She didn't feel the discrimination from friends or family as hooks did which made it all easier for her.

 Hocking writes about female protagonist in supernatural situations. She loves to write about teenagers and their struggles. Adding in all of the supernatural things just makes it more interesting and she enjoys the paranormal romance genre even before it became really popular. Spoiler alert:

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.
With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

With all this talk about motherhood, i though this book would be best to showcase because of the disconnect between a mother and child. SA: Wendy was switched at birth and her mother knew that she was not her daughter. Growing in a home where your mother can't stand you or consider you her own is awful. Throughout the series she discovers where she came from and what lies ahead for her future. She faces discrimination, heartbreak, and twist of fate. Hocking puts in many life choices that almost all teenagers have to make. One in particular is: Who do i want to be?

Samantha Frew and Stacie McElroy Discussion Leading

Emily Martin

     

THE EGG AND THE SPERM: HOW SCIENCE HAS CONSTRUCTED A ROMANCE BASED ON STEREOTYPICAL MALE-FEMALE ROLES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65BV5dXXxzM

  

1. Throughout the first few pages of the text it summarizes how science textbooks talk about female and male reproductive systems. The text states that "The stereotypes imply not only that female biological processes are less worthy than their male counterparts but also that women are less worthy than men" (pg. 486). Gender stereotypes are hidden within the scientific language of biology. Have you as a woman ever noticed this in any of the biology textbooks we have read throughout our education?

2. Women are looked at as being wasteful because they process less eggs compared to men who create millions of sperm a day. The text states "Degeneration continues throughout a woman's life: by puberty 300,000 eggs remain, and only a few are present by menopause. "During the 40 or so years of a woman's reproductive life, only 400 to 500 eggs will have been released." However, when talking about a male, the text states "during an average reproductive life of sixty years, he would produce well over two trillion sperm in his lifetime"(pg 488). Who do you think is being more wasteful from these statements? Remember waste implies an excess of something, so why do you think women are portrayed as being more wasteful then men?

3. Why do you think there is such a huge gap between the amount of eggs a woman produces compared to how much sperm a male produces? Also, do you think this is why men are "superior" to women and could this be why women have "penis envy", which was talked about in our previous class discussions? 

4. Do you think this is why women in earlier times got pregnant so early? Now it is seen as "immoral" to have a child out of wedlock or before one is suitable to provide and care for a child. Why do you think this has changed over the years to be unacceptable for women to get pregnant at an early age? Remember it was acceptable for women to have a child as young as 15, 16, or 17 years of age. Even for our grandmothers it was acceptable to get married and have children at the age of 18 and only being a housewife for the rest of their lives.  Could you have pictured yourself having a child as a teenager? Also, do you think this had an impact on why women think they should only be a housewife and not be able to work or do things that men were allowed to do? 

5. After hearing all this about how women are portrayed in biology textbooks, who do you think has a bigger role in reproduction, the male or the female? Has reading this text changed your opinion about the female and male roles of reproduction?

Blog Post #3-Sharon Olds-"That Girl" and "Sex Without Love"

I really enjoyed all of the poems by Sharon Olds. Her poetry was unlike any other poetry that I had read before. I really liked how intense they were, the messages of them, and the fact that they told a story. Her words truly have the power to impact readers. Two of these poems in particular really made me think.

One poem that really had an impact on me was “That Girl.” One thing that is shocking about this poem is how vivid the details are when Olds describes the rape with extremely graphic details. The fact that the girl had to live through this event is absolutely horrifying. She experienced something that no one should ever have to experience. Not only was she raped, but she had to watch her friend go through the same thing and end up dying. The details really make readers cringe because they feel as if they are there watching this brutal event unfold. This poem humbles people and makes people acknowledge the fact that really horrible things happen in the world, especially because she does not sugar coat anything. Olds makes readers deeply sympathize with the girl. Readers also feel for the girl when she has to re-live the sexual assault, rape, and murder when she testifies at the trial. However, I feel that the end of the poem was very empowering. The fact that the girl was able to move on with her life was amazing. Not only did she move on with her life, but she was able to become a cheerleader, which was really incredible. Although some people saw this as negative, I saw this as a really great thing. I thought this was symbolic because she did not let the fact that she was raped strip her of her sexuality, prevent her from flying when she “throws her body up into the air,” or let her body be forever victimized. She was able to carry on with her life. She knows how lucky she is to be alive because she survived when her best friend died. Shaking the “shredded pom-poms in her fist” at the end of the poem is a form of liberation, empowerment, and strength.

Another poem that I really connected with is “Sex Without Love.” This was a unique poem to read because like “That Girl,” the poem is about a topic that is not typically written about. I thought that Olds did a wonderful job discussing this topic. This poem can be read a few different ways. On one hand, it was very interesting because she was contemplating how anyone could ever have sex without being in love with their partner. Sex is such a personal, emotional, special thing and she did not understand how people could “glide over each other like ice.” These people are purely having sex for pleasure. However, these people recognize that they are alone in the world and are not dependent on anyone. I thought that the messages in the poem were great to hear because sex has become a very casual thing for many people in this generation. It can be hard to find people who wait for love because there is less of an emphasis on it today, which is sad. Because of this, people who do wait often face judgment, are made to feel inadequate, or are treated as though they are naïve, when in reality, what they are making an empowering choice for themself. These people have the strength to stick to their beliefs, not succumb to peer pressure, and do what is best for them. Sometimes, people regret their decisions to not wait for the right person, so it is important to be sure of your decision, regardless of what you choose. On the flip side, this poem also could be read as an admiration and curiousity of people who have the ability to have sex without love. This is something that many people do not have the ability to do. The author could actually be somewhat jealous of people who do have this ability. She wonders how people can have sex and still survive with the truth of being alone after forming such a connection with someone. She does not understand how someone can do this beautiful act with someone and not become emotionally attached after this experience. I also think that it is very important to  examine this interpretation of the poem because people are able to have sex without love, and if that is what they want, then that is what they should do. People should not face judgment for choosing to live independently while at the same time, engaging in activities that give them pleasure, whether or not there is an emotional connection involved. Not everyone is able to do this, so if people are, then more power to then. Also, women should not be subjected to double standards about not having causal sex when they are single because it makes them a whore when a man can, is praised for it, and it is expected of them. This is a very unfair idea in today’s society. Sometimes, women have very good reasons for being single and not wanting to commit themselves to a relationship, such as wanting to start their career. Overall, people should live their lives the way that they want to without the judgment of others because sex is a personal choice that is different for everyone.

A few thoughts from today's class

Just a few thoughts I had that I didn't get to say in class today - Similar to several of you, I work at a summer camp over the summer break. Race-wise, it's pretty diverse but it is in a very low income area. I found out this summer that over 80% of the kids that attend camp can only attend it because of donors to the YMCA and their financial assistance program. I have the pleasure of working with the 6th-7th graders, and several things I've learned related to our discussion in class today. Many of them are in summer school, and come straight to camp after. They would frequently ask to use my smart phone because they had homework for school, and they had no computer at home to be able to do it. Growing up in a middle class family, I never could have imagined not having the necessities I needed to do my homework. The school most of them attend is split down the middle poverty wise, and I think some teachers overlook the fact that some of these students don't have the resources they are being asked to have to complete work. All of the campers, girls especially, are amazed with the fact that I go to college, "school after school" as they say. Many times, they've made comments about how they would never go to college because "my mom/sister didn't". When I'm home during winter breaks, I work at the after school program through the Y. The same kids I see come to camp at 7AM and get picked up at 7PM, are the same kids who attend the before and after school programs during the school year. Many of them have single parents who have to work these insane hours everyday just to provide to their families. It really is eye-opening, and important to remember as a future educator. Just wanted to share!

Shifting the Center: Race, Class, and Feminist Theorizing About Motherhood

I really enjoyed reading this piece a lot. I think this piece did a great job of highlighting struggles that people in privileged situations do not always take into consideration. I found the fact on page 642 to be a complete shock. It says, "African American children face an infant mortality rate twice that for white infants...and one-half of African American children who survive infancy live in poverty." This statistic was a real eye opener. She made the problems of white- middle class families seem so small in comparison. She starts off that whole section by saying, "Physical survival is assumed for children who are white and middle-class." The way she wrote this piece was so bold and well stated. It really makes you thankful for what you have. As white women are looking to assert their independence, there are many women of different races constantly working to keep up the community for their children. It is actually very inspirational. Another point I wanted to bring up was on page 648. It talks about how children of color are constantly bombarded with negative images or stereotypes in media that reflect their culture. As a future teacher, this is really concerning to me. I want to make sure that I always infuse multicultural aspects into my lesson- that reflect all types of people (not just stereotypes). It must be so hard for children to grow up and assert themselves as individuals and not be forced to assimilate into the mainstream culture they see in school and in media. This is something I am going to pay close attention to as a teacher. Lastly, I liked a paragraph on page 647. It talked about how many black women receive respect within communities for not only mothering their "blood children." The paragraph talks about black women developing their communities and being mothers to children that aren't biologically their own. I witnessed this first had at my summer job and it is quite empowering. I worked at a YMCA summer camp in Buffalo. It was a predominately African American community, and it was quite clear how close this community was. Everybody knew everybody and many of the adult women who were head figures at the camp were considered mothers to the children and were given the highest level of respect. I saw how hard these parents worked and how much they appreciated each other for taking care of their children. It was amazing to watch everyone come together to help these children grow.

Danzels in Distress?

I have a pretty busy weekend coming up so I decided to read ahead and got up to Mondays assigned reading, and found it really interesting!

The Egg and Sperm: How science has constructed a romance based on stereotypical Male-female roles

The part of the article that really drew my attention was Egg and Sperm: Scientific fairytale.
 I had no idea that male sperm had masculine trait's as well as females eggs having feminine traits. On page 7 of the article an egg was said to have a corona or "crown" and were seen as being passive and dependent on sperm for rescue. Which is a common stereotype given to woman from society and the media (a lot of Disney movies from when we were little....see below).  Even the physical side of the sperm was seen as being "strong" and efficiently powered. The article talked about how the tail was efficiently powered and in control, which can also be a metaphor to men.

(most of these movies included a male figure entering there lives to either save them or change their lives for the better)


On page 12 the article stated "The egg selects an appropriate mate, prepares him for fusion and protects resulting offspring from harm". Thats crazy how society isn't the only one giving females the image that we need to be the nurturing protector of our children...our own bodies are as well!