Women...and the Media from Leila Graham on Vimeo.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Women have been represented in many fashions in film, yet despite all these different roles they play, it's usually the same thing over and over. They're always shown in the same way and told to act in certain ways that make watching them like watching a old cartoon, the same ol' background playing constantly in hopes that the audience doesn't notice it's the exact same thing. Just a few examples of this were brought up in my essay and powerpoint presentation but still it's enough to see that despite all the changes the film world has made, some things will never change.
Final Paper
Power Point
Final Paper
Power Point
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Woman and The Dance
My video is 41 min. long, so I wasn't able to upload it to this site or YouTube. I've included a link where you can download the video and watch it on QuickTime.
I interviewed several dancers from around the world about their views on the representation of women in dance and the influences of machismo (sexism), patriarcy, ideas of the female image, etc. and asked them to talk about their experienceas a female dancer and the challenges that they have faced.
This project was such an eye-opener and as a dancer, it gave me insight on my role in this art form.
Link to download: The Woman and The Dance
My video is 41 min. long, so I wasn't able to upload it to this site or YouTube. I've included a link where you can download the video and watch it on QuickTime.
I interviewed several dancers from around the world about their views on the representation of women in dance and the influences of machismo (sexism), patriarcy, ideas of the female image, etc. and asked them to talk about their experienceas a female dancer and the challenges that they have faced.
This project was such an eye-opener and as a dancer, it gave me insight on my role in this art form.
Link to download: The Woman and The Dance
In the eyes of west & In the eye of east
Final Project by Brendan Cheung
My project is actually little zine about this topic. I am trying to compare how people are viewing women from west and from east. It is an interesting topic, which western sides have a few types of stereotyping of asian women, however, on the east side they do not really have too much comment toward about the western women. It is not these eastern people ignore them , but just they have totally no interest on them.
I am going to post some videos, that I cannot shows in my project, in addition with references about my work.
http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?&next_url=/watch%3Fv%3Da54Pu9dTJfQ
My project is actually little zine about this topic. I am trying to compare how people are viewing women from west and from east. It is an interesting topic, which western sides have a few types of stereotyping of asian women, however, on the east side they do not really have too much comment toward about the western women. It is not these eastern people ignore them , but just they have totally no interest on them.
I am going to post some videos, that I cannot shows in my project, in addition with references about my work.
http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?&next_url=/watch%3Fv%3Da54Pu9dTJfQ
Girls Against the World: The Rise and Fall of Riot Grrrl
As a musician, I am always looking for different styles and genres of music. While in class, I was briefly introduced to Riot Grrrl. The thought of these all girl bands playing punk rock definitely peaked my interest, so I decided to explore the movement further.
Riot Grrrl experienced its beginnings in the Pacific Northwest in places such as Olympia, WA and Eugene, OR. At first, the movement started out with different DIY zines, such as Bikini Kill or Girl Germs, which would write about and discuss important issues regarding women’s rights, feminism, sexual assault and sexual abuse. In addition to making these DIY zines, many of these groups of girls began to start bands. These bands include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Heavens to Betsy. These bands began to enter the punk scene of Olympia, WA and were, at first, received with mixed feelings. Whenever they played for all girl audiences, the crowds would always be really into it, but when they would play for more male dominated audiences, the bands were not always as well received. In an interview with Bikini Kill drummer Toby Vail, she talked about how when they would play for male audiences, the shows would sometimes get really violent and that sometimes the guys would try and beat them up.
Regardless, the Riot Grrrl movement really began to create its own buzz as a scene in the Pacific Northwest. It gained a lot of notoriety in both a music sense and as advocators of women’s rights. However, with its growth in popularity, the Riot Grrrl movement started to gain attention in the mainstream media. The problems that began to arise from this attention were a lot of misrepresentation in the causes that these bands stood for and a devaluing of the social problems that they addressed. The mainstream belittled the movement by saying it was just an offshoot of the Grunge movement, even though Riot Grrrl began before Grunge. The mainstream would also focus on the fact that these were girls playing instruments and being outrageous, instead of bringing attention to the issues that these bands were trying to bring to the public eye.
For this piece, I decided to combine my skills as a video editor and animator and create what I like to refer to as a video collage. Basically what I did was take different interviews from some of the women who were involved in the movement, along with some live footage and music videos, and mashed them together to create a narrative documentary discussing the beginnings of Riot Grrrl and how it was belittled by the mainstream media. In addition, to add to the narration of the women, I animated what they discussed with the aid of different images I found on the Internet. My goal by making a project such as this was to try and repackage and revamp Riot Grrrl and bring attention back upon the movement in a way that helps it to achieve its original message; women’s rights and playing badass music.
Riot Grrrl experienced its beginnings in the Pacific Northwest in places such as Olympia, WA and Eugene, OR. At first, the movement started out with different DIY zines, such as Bikini Kill or Girl Germs, which would write about and discuss important issues regarding women’s rights, feminism, sexual assault and sexual abuse. In addition to making these DIY zines, many of these groups of girls began to start bands. These bands include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Heavens to Betsy. These bands began to enter the punk scene of Olympia, WA and were, at first, received with mixed feelings. Whenever they played for all girl audiences, the crowds would always be really into it, but when they would play for more male dominated audiences, the bands were not always as well received. In an interview with Bikini Kill drummer Toby Vail, she talked about how when they would play for male audiences, the shows would sometimes get really violent and that sometimes the guys would try and beat them up.
Regardless, the Riot Grrrl movement really began to create its own buzz as a scene in the Pacific Northwest. It gained a lot of notoriety in both a music sense and as advocators of women’s rights. However, with its growth in popularity, the Riot Grrrl movement started to gain attention in the mainstream media. The problems that began to arise from this attention were a lot of misrepresentation in the causes that these bands stood for and a devaluing of the social problems that they addressed. The mainstream belittled the movement by saying it was just an offshoot of the Grunge movement, even though Riot Grrrl began before Grunge. The mainstream would also focus on the fact that these were girls playing instruments and being outrageous, instead of bringing attention to the issues that these bands were trying to bring to the public eye.
For this piece, I decided to combine my skills as a video editor and animator and create what I like to refer to as a video collage. Basically what I did was take different interviews from some of the women who were involved in the movement, along with some live footage and music videos, and mashed them together to create a narrative documentary discussing the beginnings of Riot Grrrl and how it was belittled by the mainstream media. In addition, to add to the narration of the women, I animated what they discussed with the aid of different images I found on the Internet. My goal by making a project such as this was to try and repackage and revamp Riot Grrrl and bring attention back upon the movement in a way that helps it to achieve its original message; women’s rights and playing badass music.
Enough of this Mickey Mouse Bull Crap
Franklin Taveras
Media 384
Final Project
12/7/09
Silly Rabbit, cartoons are for kids. Even though many of us adults may find ourselves watching Little Mermaid on a rainy day, cartoons are mainly intended for young audiences. The thing that bothers me a lot is that many of these cartoons in modern days are rated G for children, which, in reality should be really rated PG-13 and in even some cases should be rated R. Many cartoons we see are shoved into children’s faces by their parents who see a cartoon and automatically think it’s innocent because it’s a cartoon. Many adults have a twisted view point on this and really need to re-educate themselves on this. Thank God I am here, to inform you about how huge corporations like Disney are trying to buy our children.
Read my article below:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24131977/Enough-of-this-Mickey-Mouse-Bull-Crap
Media 384
Final Project
12/7/09
Silly Rabbit, cartoons are for kids. Even though many of us adults may find ourselves watching Little Mermaid on a rainy day, cartoons are mainly intended for young audiences. The thing that bothers me a lot is that many of these cartoons in modern days are rated G for children, which, in reality should be really rated PG-13 and in even some cases should be rated R. Many cartoons we see are shoved into children’s faces by their parents who see a cartoon and automatically think it’s innocent because it’s a cartoon. Many adults have a twisted view point on this and really need to re-educate themselves on this. Thank God I am here, to inform you about how huge corporations like Disney are trying to buy our children.
Read my article below:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24131977/Enough-of-this-Mickey-Mouse-Bull-Crap
Monday, December 14, 2009
What is Beauty?
What do you consider beautiful?
Has the media distorted your view?
What kind of answers are available today and what do we know about how beauty can be perceived?
These are questions I feel are best answered with in depth analysis of yourself, and the images and ideas which are presented before you.
Make your own decisions.
What is Beauty?
For more fun look at:
umpikanoo.com
or
Captain Moosestash and the Incredible Flying Machine
Thanks everyone
Has the media distorted your view?
What kind of answers are available today and what do we know about how beauty can be perceived?
These are questions I feel are best answered with in depth analysis of yourself, and the images and ideas which are presented before you.
Make your own decisions.
What is Beauty?
For more fun look at:
umpikanoo.com
or
Captain Moosestash and the Incredible Flying Machine
Thanks everyone
"Gender is bewteen you ears, NOT your legs."
“Gender is Between Your Ears, Not Your Legs”
A Look at the Social and Financial aspects of Transgender
Healthcare in America and How the Trans Community is Portrayed on Screen
Back in 2003, two of my closest buddies revealed themselves to be gay to our group of friends. They are both male, aged 15 at the time. The LGB community in Staten Island is a large community but a close knit one; if you know one, then by association, you know them all. I met my first openly Transgender person in 2005, at my high school graduation party. My friend Mark’s boyfriend at the time brought his sister Angelina**. A lovely girl indeed, Angelina was 25 at the time and had the prettiest brown eyes I have ever made contact with and long wavy hair that flowed past her shoulders. Angelina possessed a delicate demeanor that seemed clashing to her deep vocal tone, and her peep-toe black pumps added four inches to her already six foot frame. What I noticed most about her was her indifference to her difference. She was truly a beautiful enigma, and we became fast friends.
It was obvious to see what Angelina was upon first meeting her; but it was the nonchalance to her presence which was most perplexing. Does she choose to ignore the faint stubble across her cheeks? I am sure she either forgot or didn’t have the time to correct that that particular morning. Questions such as these plagued me upon meeting her; you certainly did not see someone like Angelina often in Staten Island, especially one with as much confidence and charisma as she had. Angelina, Mark and his boyfriend Alejandro would introduce to some of the most interesting characters I would ever come across. I would come to learn a lot from this community; they were older by a couple of years and therefore more experienced in love, life and hardship, all with diverse perspectives. I was granted a glimpse into another world where I would say having met such wonderful people in the queer population of S.I. was definitely the pre cursor to my increased interest in the greater LGBT community, and the basis for this paper.
Having met people like my friend Angelina who was Transgender, I wondered, how would someone else like her go about completing the journey into the other sex? I could imagine the cosmetic bills alone as being astronomical (Angelina herself paid a whopping $3,500 for a pair of breasts, but they are the best I’ve ever seen!). I wondered besides the aesthetic expenses, what about the rest of their upkeep; what kind of internal health issues would be addressed differently between a naturally born male/female and a transgender? Is there a difference? I imagine for people like Angelina, Hispanic, living transsexual, that her concerns not easily seen on the surface; I assume her problems would be dissimilar to problems of mine, a heterosexual female; therefore her ailments are unique to diagnose and require sensitivity to treat. How does the American Healthcare system aids in such matters when the institutionalized “binary system” works to exclude the Transgender community? I wonder, in regards to healthcare, what it would be like to live and be treated as a Transgender…
The background on the term Transgender is one in perpetual flux; it is an “umbrella term” that’s constantly expanding to fit a more diverse group of people. A transgender individual is a person with a gender identity which is inconsistent with his or her biological anatomy. Researcher Susan Stryker writes on Transgender, that it “refers to all identities and practices that cut across, move between, or otherwise queer socially constructed sex gender boundaries.” (Transgender Rights pg.4) This quotes means that this term includes incredible variation; the Transgender category embraces a number of sub-groups, including transsexual, transvestite, cross-dressing and androgynous. Originally, the term transgender was coined in the 1970s by Virginia Prince; Cisgender (not coined by Prince) is its antonym, meaning a complete connection and satisfaction with one’s own gender. Prince was the first to use the term transgender, which she used to describe a person who lives full time in a gender other than the one assigned at birth but without body or anatomy modification. Prince was infamous for her disbelief that SRS (sex reassignment surgery) was a suitable approach for Gender Identity disorder (GID), a disorder commonly associated with transgender discussion (Transgender Rights pg. 4).
Read more at...
Full Paper
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24106680/Trans-Paper-Finished-With-Images
PowerPoint
http://www.scribd.com/full/24106689?access_key=key-v3qrmdxi6dwldg9pa95
A Look at the Social and Financial aspects of Transgender
Healthcare in America and How the Trans Community is Portrayed on Screen
Back in 2003, two of my closest buddies revealed themselves to be gay to our group of friends. They are both male, aged 15 at the time. The LGB community in Staten Island is a large community but a close knit one; if you know one, then by association, you know them all. I met my first openly Transgender person in 2005, at my high school graduation party. My friend Mark’s boyfriend at the time brought his sister Angelina**. A lovely girl indeed, Angelina was 25 at the time and had the prettiest brown eyes I have ever made contact with and long wavy hair that flowed past her shoulders. Angelina possessed a delicate demeanor that seemed clashing to her deep vocal tone, and her peep-toe black pumps added four inches to her already six foot frame. What I noticed most about her was her indifference to her difference. She was truly a beautiful enigma, and we became fast friends.
It was obvious to see what Angelina was upon first meeting her; but it was the nonchalance to her presence which was most perplexing. Does she choose to ignore the faint stubble across her cheeks? I am sure she either forgot or didn’t have the time to correct that that particular morning. Questions such as these plagued me upon meeting her; you certainly did not see someone like Angelina often in Staten Island, especially one with as much confidence and charisma as she had. Angelina, Mark and his boyfriend Alejandro would introduce to some of the most interesting characters I would ever come across. I would come to learn a lot from this community; they were older by a couple of years and therefore more experienced in love, life and hardship, all with diverse perspectives. I was granted a glimpse into another world where I would say having met such wonderful people in the queer population of S.I. was definitely the pre cursor to my increased interest in the greater LGBT community, and the basis for this paper.
Having met people like my friend Angelina who was Transgender, I wondered, how would someone else like her go about completing the journey into the other sex? I could imagine the cosmetic bills alone as being astronomical (Angelina herself paid a whopping $3,500 for a pair of breasts, but they are the best I’ve ever seen!). I wondered besides the aesthetic expenses, what about the rest of their upkeep; what kind of internal health issues would be addressed differently between a naturally born male/female and a transgender? Is there a difference? I imagine for people like Angelina, Hispanic, living transsexual, that her concerns not easily seen on the surface; I assume her problems would be dissimilar to problems of mine, a heterosexual female; therefore her ailments are unique to diagnose and require sensitivity to treat. How does the American Healthcare system aids in such matters when the institutionalized “binary system” works to exclude the Transgender community? I wonder, in regards to healthcare, what it would be like to live and be treated as a Transgender…
The background on the term Transgender is one in perpetual flux; it is an “umbrella term” that’s constantly expanding to fit a more diverse group of people. A transgender individual is a person with a gender identity which is inconsistent with his or her biological anatomy. Researcher Susan Stryker writes on Transgender, that it “refers to all identities and practices that cut across, move between, or otherwise queer socially constructed sex gender boundaries.” (Transgender Rights pg.4) This quotes means that this term includes incredible variation; the Transgender category embraces a number of sub-groups, including transsexual, transvestite, cross-dressing and androgynous. Originally, the term transgender was coined in the 1970s by Virginia Prince; Cisgender (not coined by Prince) is its antonym, meaning a complete connection and satisfaction with one’s own gender. Prince was the first to use the term transgender, which she used to describe a person who lives full time in a gender other than the one assigned at birth but without body or anatomy modification. Prince was infamous for her disbelief that SRS (sex reassignment surgery) was a suitable approach for Gender Identity disorder (GID), a disorder commonly associated with transgender discussion (Transgender Rights pg. 4).
Read more at...
Full Paper
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24106680/Trans-Paper-Finished-With-Images
PowerPoint
http://www.scribd.com/full/24106689?access_key=key-v3qrmdxi6dwldg9pa95
Orlan
"My work is a fight against nature and the idea of God. The inexorability in life, DNA-based representation. And that's why I went into cosmetic surgery; not looking to enhance or rejuvenate, but to create a total change of image and identity. I claim I gave my body to art."
Orlan from "Sunthetic Pleasures" (film by Lara Lee, 1995)
c
From Male Objectification to Female Representation
For my final project I have decided to write an essay that discusses how male artist of the early twentieth century objectified the nude and how later on in the century female artist chose to comment on this depiction with the use of their own body. The male artist that I discuss are Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. What these three male artist have in common is that they were thought to have a brand new avant-garde approach to art making yet they still continued to objectify the nude. The female artists that reacted to this depiction and that I have decided to discuss are Carolee Shneemann and Hannah Wilke which through their performances bring up the social issue of the female role in society and their place in the art world. I also briefly bring up how women artists are taking a stand against the institution and through groups like the Guerrilla Girls they are informing the general public about the pervasive presence of the female form but not the female artist in the museum world. And how through works of different artists changes are slowly starting to happen and more people are aware of the unfair facts.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/
I have also attached a powerpoint of my essay which is a brief summary of my topic.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Fashion Perspectives
In my journey to discover how various young women feel about the negative images of women that are put out by the Media, and how if in any way they are effected, I was sent in a new direction. After I finished my interviews and sat down to edit them, my original ideas and intent were out the window. I stumbled across another very interesting topic of which we can all relate to in one way or the other, Fashion.
I created a short video documentary in which I interviewed two young women about Fashion and the Media's effect on it. My first interview was of a Fashionista and the second was an aspiring Designer. I asked them various questions to get a glance of how they thought the Media effects fashion in either a negative or positive way. I made a connection between these two young women as I interviewed them, which was their blind passion for fashion. 
As I started the interviews I began to ask questions that sparked a light bulb in my mind. How accountable are we for the negative images out in the Media? Are we victims or participators? Many young women are well aware of the standards set by society for us, but don't realize how they help these images to continue to exist. My short video documentary isn't meant to point fingers or to shed a negative light on young women, but to help them to realize how innocent hobbies or interests may help negative images to stay alive.Thursday, December 10, 2009
Vlogging for Change: How YouTube Has Become the Safe Space for a Generation of Queer Youth
So. Here it is. My final project, which, as many of you who were in class for my presentation last week know, is on the rise of queer youth vloggers on YouTube. This paper is basically a love letter to these rad kids who put everything out there and are single-handedly re-defining what voices are allowed to share their stories in the public sphere. The paper also serves as a plea to get more LGBT youth web-savvy and pumped to get on YouTube and give the world a piece of their mind.
I hope that you'll all take a couple minutes to watch this selection of videos discussed in my article:
(This one wasn't specifically mentioned in the article, but is a great example of the 5awesomegays style of vlogging...)
Here is my article in PDF form. Click on each page number to get a little preview. The whole document be easily downloaded by clicking the "Download" button at the top of the widget.
VloggingForChange
I hope you all enjoy it, but most of all, I hope you all find it helpful.
Finally, please don't forget to support young vloggers speaking out about important issues on YouTube! Leave them a comment, favorite their video, or subscribe to their channel. These people definitely deserve to be appreciated.
I hope that you'll all take a couple minutes to watch this selection of videos discussed in my article:
(This one wasn't specifically mentioned in the article, but is a great example of the 5awesomegays style of vlogging...)
Here is my article in PDF form. Click on each page number to get a little preview. The whole document be easily downloaded by clicking the "Download" button at the top of the widget.
VloggingForChange
I hope you all enjoy it, but most of all, I hope you all find it helpful.
Finally, please don't forget to support young vloggers speaking out about important issues on YouTube! Leave them a comment, favorite their video, or subscribe to their channel. These people definitely deserve to be appreciated.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Hey Everyone.
Some of you expressed interest in coming to one of my shows and it seems that you enjoyed my project so I've posted the flyer for my show on December 16th at Carolines Comedy Club (1626 Broadway). There's a $15 cover and a 2 drink minimum. Doris said she'd give extra credit if you come (this statement is false).
I hope to see you there! Thanks...
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Breast or The Bottle?
Mother's milk - a vital life source for all children. A mother's milk contains the highest nutritional value for a child, supplying vitamins, antibodies that boost their immune system, neorlogical growth, in addition to a beautiful bond between mother and child. Breastfeeding fosters and important connection and relationship between mother and child, one that cannot be replicated through the practice of bottle feeding. So why then, do people care so much if women breastfeed? In recent decades, breastfeeding has been turning heads and making people very uncomfortable. It is a natural and beautiful thing, and the best thing for a child, so what is all the fuss?
In my research paper, I discuss the problems surrounding public breastfeeding, it's place in the media, and the laws that have been created in recent times in order to protect and accomodate nursing mothers. We will take a journey from the state and federal legislatures, to a nurse-in outside of the ABC studios. We will take (or be delayed on a trip) from Burlington, Vermont to New York City, only to then return to the airport to breastfeed our child in yet another nurse-in. We will venture from the internet pages of Myspace to Facebook, all along the way encountering injustices and sour attitudes placed upon breastfeeding mothers.
One thing that will definitely get you laughing is the ridiculous nature of Barbara Walters, and the backlash from another ABC colleague, Jimmy Kimmel. This clip can be found here:
In my research paper, I discuss the problems surrounding public breastfeeding, it's place in the media, and the laws that have been created in recent times in order to protect and accomodate nursing mothers. We will take a journey from the state and federal legislatures, to a nurse-in outside of the ABC studios. We will take (or be delayed on a trip) from Burlington, Vermont to New York City, only to then return to the airport to breastfeed our child in yet another nurse-in. We will venture from the internet pages of Myspace to Facebook, all along the way encountering injustices and sour attitudes placed upon breastfeeding mothers.
One thing that will definitely get you laughing is the ridiculous nature of Barbara Walters, and the backlash from another ABC colleague, Jimmy Kimmel. This clip can be found here:
Jimmy Kimmel vs Barbara Walters
We will also get a great laugh out of the Facebook experiment Phil Hansen did when they banned photos showing nipples:
Hansen vs. Facebook
and the follow-up
Resolution
and the follow-up
Resolution
I hope you all will enjoy my paper, presentation, and support lactivism! :-)
Changing the Beauty Ideal
For my final project I focused on the obsession women have with being thin. We have unrealistic ideal of beauty that as a society we ascribe to and that is seriously harmful to the emotional, physical and mental health of women. Is it possible to transform this ideal of beauty? And what exactly will it take to do so? I looked at some successful women who have embraced their size and abandoned the idea that we have to be stick thin to be beautiful. Beautiful women come in all sizes we just need to work on helping them believe that they are beautiful.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24286077
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24286077
She Just Needs a Good Shaking: Examining our Attitudes toward Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence in the Black Community
In this essay I am examining the attitudes surrounding sexual assault and domestic violence perpetrated against Black women. When the Rihanna and Chris Brown story first broke I was very taken aback by how people responded. I was particularly bothered by the response of young people, especially the teenage girls who rushed to the defense of Chris Brown and blamed Rihanna for her assault. Some of these reactions can be heard here:
http://www.youthradio.org/news/youth-react-chris-browns-alleged-assault-rihanna
These reactions and attitudes were reminiscent of much (not all) of the feedback I received when I shared my personal experience of sexual assault with some people I had trusted at the time. The connection was very striking so I use some of my personal experience to introduce the topic and refer back to it periodically throughout the essay. I also provide some historical background because I believe it lays the foundation for the current mainstream attitudes towards Black women who have been victimized. I demonstrate how there is often a lack of mainstream media coverage, as in the recent case of the Imperial Avenue murders in Cleveland, or when the media does cover this issue, the responses and conversations about it are often negative towards the survivor. It is my belief that the negativity and victim blaming contribute to the silencing of survivors, leading to under-reporting of incidents. To conclude, I offer a few possible starting points for solutions and note that projects such as No! The Rape Documentary, directed by Aishah Shahidah Simmons, will be vital for helping to change how we talk and think about sexual assault and domestic violence in the Black community.
Here is a trailer of No! The Rape Documentary:
My essay:
WGS384finalproject
http://www.youthradio.org/news/youth-react-chris-browns-alleged-assault-rihanna
These reactions and attitudes were reminiscent of much (not all) of the feedback I received when I shared my personal experience of sexual assault with some people I had trusted at the time. The connection was very striking so I use some of my personal experience to introduce the topic and refer back to it periodically throughout the essay. I also provide some historical background because I believe it lays the foundation for the current mainstream attitudes towards Black women who have been victimized. I demonstrate how there is often a lack of mainstream media coverage, as in the recent case of the Imperial Avenue murders in Cleveland, or when the media does cover this issue, the responses and conversations about it are often negative towards the survivor. It is my belief that the negativity and victim blaming contribute to the silencing of survivors, leading to under-reporting of incidents. To conclude, I offer a few possible starting points for solutions and note that projects such as No! The Rape Documentary, directed by Aishah Shahidah Simmons, will be vital for helping to change how we talk and think about sexual assault and domestic violence in the Black community.
Here is a trailer of No! The Rape Documentary:
My essay:
WGS384finalproject
Maternal Mortality
I did my final project on the issue of maternal mortality, which is one of the most important but most overlooked issues regarding women's health. There are huge disparities between maternal mortality rates in developed countries and the rates in underdeveloped countries.
For example, the UN has statistics that are based on maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2005, Sub-Saharan Africa had 900 maternal deaths, and Southern Asia had 490. These are the regions with the two highest maternal mortality rates. In stark contrast, in developed regions, the number of deaths in 2005 was 9. Even more startling is that 90% of these deaths could be prevented if women in underdeveloped countries had access to simple resources and trained health professionals.
In the past few years, the media has been used to bring attention to women's health issues. In 2005, the World Health Organization held a workshop in Bangkok entitled “Increasing Media Awareness on Maternal and Child Health Issues” which informed media professionals about what they can do to help bring awareness to issues about maternal health.
Former supermodel Christy Turlington is also playing an important role in bringing maternal mortality to the forefront of the media. She is currently making a documentary called, "No Woman, No Cry" in which she travels to Guatemala, Bangladesh, and Tanzania, documenting the lives of pregnant women and mothers there, as well as documenting the lives of mothers giving birth in the United States. In the clip below, she talks a little bit about the film and her interest in the issue.
Media Shaping Gender Roles
For my final project, I am writing an article discussing the results of an interview I conducted on my 10 year old and 13 year old siblings pretaining to gender roles. I used visual medias such as magazines and YouTube videos to exhibit how these images unconciously influenced thier ideologies. Based on the responses I recieved from my questions, I concluded that the media manipulates the way we preceive ourselves and what we believe what our roles are from a young age.
Below are the three YouTube videos I showed to my siblings during the interviews:
Women and Media Final Project
View more documents from Hunter College.
Below are the three YouTube videos I showed to my siblings during the interviews:
w o m e n...a n d...d a n c e
For my project, I am doing a survey on the representation of women in dance.
I will be interviewing several dancers from both Latin America and Eurpoe on their experience as a woman in the dance world and the challenges they have faced as a result of machismo (sexism), the female image, etc.
I will also be incorporating outside research that I have done on this topic.
I am looking forward to sharing my discoveries with you, and I hope you enjoy!
Media Final Project
For my final project I made a short video documentary centered around the question: Do you think women can play professional "male" sports?
The documentary is based only on opinion. I did have two competitions against various boys and girls to help support some opinions, and at the end there are three facts of females who have got pretty far playing in an all males sport, but I tried to keep it all opinion based, because I had to keep it short and I did not want to deter from the main question on how people view females playing in a "males" sports world.
Women...and the Media- Final Project
A documentary style video; I interviewed six girls which was then narrowed down to four interviews for the video, then I acted the interviews out and filmed them. I talked with them about different issues women face today
-What is a women's role?
-What is YOUR role
-What are your thoughts about the media?
Through that I was able to see the differences between the four women, but more importantly the similarities.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Think. a piece on beauty.
This is a rough cut of entitled "Think. a piece on beauty." Basic thought: its time for Christian artists to redefine "beauty." i set out to find some of the best Christian artists i knew to help me define beauty and introduce how they use their craft to do just that. bear with me. theres no transitions, barely any b-roll and no music. hence: "rough cut." :)
Have mercy everyone! lol. My piece is not done, but I'm confident it will be by next week :)
Have mercy everyone! lol. My piece is not done, but I'm confident it will be by next week :)
Gender Inequality in Iran
Hi everyone, I am posting on the blog my PowerPoint presentation on Gender Inequality in Iran. My research paper provides reasons provided by scholars on the remaining social problem of Gender inequality in Iran. The following PowerPoint presents a brief summary of my paper which included an outline of the potential reasons for gender inequality.
Media and Anorexia
I created a 4 1/2 minute informational video about how media is one of the leading causes for anorexia amongst young women. The video includes interviews by women who express their opinion about media's effect on women.
Please click the link below to view.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OA5uvmTt0A
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