Environment

As the book describes, environmentalism is seen as a feminist issue because of its often direct effect upon women around the world. The authors communicate that part of taking care of other people, a job usually designated to women and those with concerns for the community, means taking care of the planet (537). Some groups find other means of connecting feminist issues to ecology such as the aptly named “ecofeminists”, a group that sees the “domination of women and the domination of nature” to be indicative of the cultures in power (537). On a more tangible level, women show the effects of a toxic environment earlier than men do because of “low body weight or because women’s bodies become what some have termed ‘unhealthy environments’ for their babies” (536). So a woman’s health does not impact just her own life, but sometimes the life a woman might be trying to carry to term. With this in mind, I see a clear connection between environmentalism and reproductive justice. In this sense, environmentalism is perhaps a part of what could make greater reproductive justice possible. One of the things discussed is the example of women doing cleaning jobs or working in nail salons that are constantly exposed to harsh, harmful chemicals. If a woman working under those conditions were to become pregnant (and probably be still working well into the pregnancy) she could be at great health risks that could negatively impact the health of her baby (218). But when it means the choice of having a job or having no source of supporting themselves and possibly a family, there is sometimes little choice as to where women find work. In the cases of immigrants or certain racial groups such as Asian women for nail salons, they have fewer options as to where they can work. Sometimes this involves issues with citizenship and sometimes it has to do with skill set, education, or just race. This, of course, then ties in with the subject of women’s work within feminist studies. Things like race, sex, and age contribute to the difficulties of finding a job as a woman. However, it gets worse with any time she might have spent away from work, at home to take care of children. So even when a woman is fulfilling what is often considered her highest duty—motherhood—she is still penalized when looking for work, and it often leads women to jobs that are dangerous or hazardous to their health. All of this loops back to our treatment of the earth, products, and the cycle of “stuff”.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 217-223, 535-548. Print.

Advertising Analysis

My decision to choose John Travolta in his iconic role of Danny Zuko was based on his situational interest in Sandy depending on the presence of an audience. In this picture, the light colors, Sandy’s bubbly expression, and the style that Sandy expresses (the pure, virginal look that she is criticized for by other characters throughout the movie) communicates that this is set in the summer of their budding romance before the social pressures drive Danny to push Sandy away.

The double standards of society that punish women for being too sexual or not sexually available also punish men for being emotional and not sexually virile enough (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 150). Here is an example of a very powerful and far-reaching media representative of these standards. Not only is Sandy’s sexuality only a response to Danny’s supposed desires (that end up seeming more social than physical), but Danny’s affection and attachment only seems validated when Sandy presents herself as a sexually available enough. There is an eroticization of the “bad girl” façade that Sandy puts on by the end of the production, the tainting of her wholesome, all-American cheerleader character that makes her someone that a “cool” guy like Danny would pay attention to. In essence, it would seem that the only way their relationship finally mended was with the female’s willingness to follow the gender roles. Kirk and Okazawa-Rey point out that, in such an emotionally stifling culture for men, one of the only acceptable forms of intimacy that fits in with the male/female gender roles is sex (152). When recalling his experience with Sandy to his friends on the first day of school, he gets more and more wrapped up in talking about what they attempted sexually rather than how fondly he felt for her. Throughout the movie, that same theme seems to surface—that Danny’s feelings are only acceptable when there is no one else around. Not only does this do damaging things for Sandy by objectifying her and making her assume a role in public that she probably cannot maintain for very long—the movie did end notably soon once Sandy walked out in a black cat suit—but it does not allow for Danny to express any preference far beyond sexuality in front of anyone else. This is one of the ways that society teaches teens that guys can only be gentle and emotional in private and girls should be ready to present themselves as whatever their male partner might want (because their pleasure is assumed to be fulfilled in meeting their male partner’s needs).

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 150-160. Print.

Service Learning Proposal

Lydia Haver
Meredith Tweed
Wst 3015- 002
02/15/12

Contact information:
Title of proposal: VOX service learning community partners, spring 2012.
Name of community partner: VOX
Group members: Charlotte A, Erika S, Scott V, Kelsey G

Community partner profile:
Name: VOX, Voices of Planned Parenthood
Contact: Alexa Nelen

Community partner mission statement: “Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood-UCF chapter exists to educate the University community about reproductive health and rights, to translate increased awareness into pro-choice activism on campus, and to serve as a coalition partner to state, national, and international reproductive rights efforts” (VOX UCF).

“Through Vox, college students across the country organize events on campus to raise public awareness about reproductive health and rights, educate young people at concerts about sexual health, work with and support their local Planned Parenthood health centers, and mobilize advocates of reproductive rights.” (Planned Parenthood)

Political/and or social basis for organization: VOX strives to obtain equal reproductive justice for women. VOX works with Planned Parenthood to help achieve this goal. Equal reproductive rights for women are being threatened by a number of political initiatives in which Planned Parenthood is opposed to. Some current concerns that will be addressed this semester are: birth control refusal under the affordable health care act, pro-life protests at the Planned Parenthood clinics, general access to sex education and contraception.

Community partner needs: Many of Vox’s activities are reactions to things that are going on politically therefore, the organizations needs may not be known that far in advance. Some of the organizations immediate requests include:

• People to solicit donations for the “Lets Talk About Sex” event- This is a benefit event that has a lot of raffle prizes, games, and music. We have been asked to go to businesses and ask for donations for the event.
• Clinic escorting-We will be helping patients safely enter Planned Parenthood when protestors are present. Training is necessary for this and VOX will provide this later on in the semester.
• Tabling oustside of the student union- A table is set up in which members of VOX inform students who approach the table about safe sex, current reproductive issues, any questions they may have. VOX also has condoms readily available for students.

VOX is a pretty active student organization so more events are likely to come about as the semester progresses.

Rationale for Women’s Studies: The subject of reproductive health and rights is one very important aspect of women’s lives. By advocating these rights, women can be given more freedom to exercise their sexuality in a safe, healthy, and positive way. As first brought into the public eye by radical feminism, part of the Second Wave, sexual and reproductive rights have become a huge priority in modern-day feminism (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 12). Being allowed access to things like contraceptives, STI testing, and abortion services can have an effect on women, regardless of age, race, sexuality, or experience. In this sense, it is a point of connection between women of many different walks of life. Whether or not someone is sexually active, other things sex education and reproductive health that Planned Parenthood provides are things that everyone can benefit from, female or otherwise. The concept of the pro-choice movement insinuates that this is a cause about women having a choice about their sexuality, body, and future.

By getting involved with VOX, we can help to educate students on campus and turn that education into action, as the UCF VOX group mission statement says.

Action: We have met with Alexa Nelen, the president of VOX at UCF. She is aware that we are available for service learning and has made some requests in regards to getting donations for “Lets Talk About Sex.” We will continue to attend meetings throughout the semester and respond to needs as they become apparent.

Timeline: Again, new needs will arise as the semester progresses, so a full timeline is not possible at this time. Some presently known events include:

• “40 Days of Life,” a 40-day sustained nationwide protest targeting Planned Parenthood clinics, will last from February 22nd through April 1st. There will be a recurring need for clinic escorting throughout this event.
• A training session for clinic escorting will occur “in the coming weeks,” according to meeting notes from VOX’s Facebook group.
• “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby,” which will happen “sometime in March” according to VOX’s website.
• Tabling will occur throughout the semester.

Works Cited

VOX. "Events." VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood at UCF. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Feb. 2012. .

http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/2200915873/

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/boards-initiatives/youth/college-campus-groups-4638.htm

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 12. Print.

Word Count: 728

Campus Engagement

The event I attended was a screening of "The Help" with a bit of discussion afterwards. The movie itself was, as expected, funny and oddly intimate. Watching a movie about being let in on secrets makes you feel connected to personalities that don’t necessarily exist, and the discussion brought that forth. There was little talk about themes, motifs, or questions about the movie. A huge majority of the speaking that happened when microphones were extended to audience members was about colored maids that each individual person had known of or employed.

Some of them were there to sing all the praises they had about family members from previous generations that had served in those same places. There was a lot of pride coming from those talks, and it made me feel full to bursting with the joy that these women at least communicated to their children and grandchildren that they felt their jobs allowed them plenty of dignity because of what strong women they were to begin with and what steadfast work they always knew they did. However, I had to remind myself that this was them making the best of their terrible situation at times.

The one that really hit me, however, was the admission from a white student no older than me that there was a certain level of shame he felt in having grown up with a “Mammy”, as one woman dubbed them. He had little more to say than the fact that he felt particularly stricken by the idea that he and his family contributed to the same kind of struggles and unfairness.

It made me sit back and wonder to myself how I would feel about having been raised by a black woman and then being confronted with a movie like this. Obviously, plenty of maids—or “domestic technicians, as one woman insistently called them—have different experiences ranging from unusually good to horribly bad. And unless my parents had raised their voice against a maid and given me some sense of panic, I would probably never have questioned whether or not the maid was being treated fairly. I certainly wouldn’t know how about maybe how far she had to travel and at what inconvenience. I wouldn’t know what sort of wages she would have been making. And I think I would feel a certain level of shame for having assumed that she loved her job as much as I probably would have loved her there. Of course, the movie did touch on the complex tangle of feelings that the maids might have had if they felt emotionally connected to a child, so it wasn’t as if they all hated what they did. But watching a guy in his early twenties admit that he had to rethink his childhood a bit hits you.

It was a gently eye-opening experience that I'm glad I had the chance to sit in on.

Introductory Letter

Hello there! Welcome to my blog, specially made for WST 3015-002.

Let's begin with basics, shall we? My name is Lydia Haver, and I'm a senior at UCF majoring in Humanities (AKA Huge Manatees).

You could certainly say gender has been important in my life because it's played an obvious role in my understanding and creation of my identity, as it does for all of us. It's affected my relationships with my family and friends as well. I grew up in your very standard white, middle-class, Christian family who still held onto the values that said women should be in the home and certainly under the authority of her husband (and of course any woman left unmarried was to be pitied or suspected to be a lesbian, God forbid). I hated it mostly because it meant that so many doors felt closed to me, even as a child. There were loads of games I wanted to play, clothes I wanted to wear, or groups of people I wanted to be a part of but wasn't allowed because it "wasn't for girls". When I joined the soccer team and cut my hair short in the third grade, my dad used to make comments about how he missed how sweet or pretty I used to be (which is hilarious considering what a horror of a child I know I was even before then). But it was what I wanted to do, so the only retorts I was ever able to come up with when he said things like that were something along the lines of, "Well, now I'm tough instead of pretty." I considered it a fair trade, especially in third grade when boys were still gross anyway.

I can say that for about as long as I've known the word feminist—one that has shifted in my understanding over time—I’ve identified as one. I like getting the different reactions when I call myself a feminist. I was never particularly put off by the negative connotations, but maybe that was simply in the spirit of defiance. When I first heard of feminism it really was just a lot of stereotyping insults and bad press being flung around, but I think that’s partially what attracted me to it. I admired the idea that some women had the courage to not care if they were considered pretty or sweet, because they wanted something different for themselves. I’d seen the quiet, steadfast strength of my mother, but I’d never seen a woman with the kind of ambition, confidence, and importance that the picture of a feminist carried in my head.

To be honest, I'm surprised I've never taken a women's studies class before. I’ve been interested in how other women have approached the concept of equality between the sexes, but trying to find accurate and all-encompassing information on the subject in the Age of Information makes you feel a little bit carried out to sea sometimes. It can feel like an overwhelming endeavor, but I’m thrilled to have some direction and a group to go through it with.

And as requested, I have read, understood, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocol.