Pretty, Pressure, Pills

This was my first production project, and I chose to create a portrait of my best friend, Bethany who is recently sober after struggling with addiction throughout her adolescence. She readily admits that her drive to escape has been rooted in the pressures for perfection from society, her family, and herself. As an aspiring actress, Bethany is subject to all kinds of images that are detrimental to self-love. I wanted to convey her buoyancy and hope in this short video piece
.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUGg4RCoF0s

A History of Oppression Through Superheroes' Eyes

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55437507/Comic-Book-Projecct

Comic books are a mirror for American culture and life. People write what they know about and much of history can be found in the oldest comic books created. But world wars, propaganda, explosions and history are not the only things contained within the pages of the comic books. Oppression,inequalities and decades of sexist and chauvanistic ideals litter the pages of the comic books that we still read today. A lot can be said about these ideals, as so many of them have not been erased. The commodification of a womans body is the most obvious issue with these comic books. By making a female superhero scantily clad,or a buxom babe, she is made to be a view for the male gaze,just as any women in America is today. Gender inequalities are also extremely visible in these comic books,as women superherous, were few and far between and were rarely ever given the storylines that were well deserved. Many of the ladies were girlfriends of the superheroes, only placed within a comic book as the bat, the dumb girl that has to be saved by her man. The seeds of these inequalities are planted into young male readers,the primary market. How are women to become equal and stop being the victim of violence when the chavanstic mentality is taught at such a young age? Just like Wonder Woman the remake couldn’t catch a break and become a normal television shows equal over trivial things(after all, there are many shows with horrible scripts that stay on television) women cannot seem to because the chances are so few and far between.

How making your morning coffee at home can save a village.

Portrayal of women and the factors that influence it

For my final project I wanted to research any factors that led to the development of the current roles of women in the Polish media news broadcasting as well as the  portrayal of women in general. More specifically I looked in to the development of feminism during the communist regime in Poland. I wanted to see if the political environment influenced the development of the feminism in Poland or whether it hindered it. Most importantly I wanted to also see the influence of "historic" people on the current state of Polish media.

I have found three very influential women, who have been tv celebrities throughout the communist period, which provided me with some evidence that women had better chances at entering the TV industry in communist Poland than in a free/ democratic and capitalistic United States.

Krystyna Loska, Edyta Wojtczak and Bogumila Wender

In the end I have found that the the Catholic Church, traditionalism have also advanced feminist goals in Poland i.e. portrayal of women in the media.

Here's a link to my essay after the jump:

Taylor & Hollywood

Last semester when I took Asian American History class at Hunter, I met an interesteing girl named Taylor. We got the same interest and passion in films. But the difference between us is that where as I am just starting to make small films here and there, Taylor in the other hand was in big Hollywood movie and TV productions. Though she didn't have big parts in it, she was in the scene. She knew people (actors,producers, directors etc.) and she knew how the business goes. My big question to her was why go back to NY, if she was there, the place where aspiring filmmakers have dreamed about, what happened?

My short documentary takes on her journey in Hollywood. She talks about the celebrities she have met and the various events she attended that so many people wants to be part of. She further talks about the tough decisions she had made and the life style that people has to go through to be part of the scene in Hollywood. At the end, she tells her story on why she went back to NY and go back to the college life at Hunter College.

In addition, there are comments by the lecturer in my Med160 class, Martyna Starosta, with her views and opinion on how women in movies are viewed. During the semester, she invited Anita Sarkeeian from www.feminist.com to talk about the subject. I didn't have an interview with Anita because I didn't have my film equipment and she was flying back to LA days after, but she did give me permission to use her video on my documentary. And lastly, the indie filmmaker Thomas Seymour on his views on women characters in movies and how the times had changed. I also including a clip from my short film "For The Win" to set an example on how I used the male gaze.

In total I got over 1 hour and 20 minutes of footage. I shot each person individually in different days from Hunter College and in LaGuardia Community College. Taylor was nice enought to share her pictures with her celebrity friends and even shot some footage at the place she currently worked at. I edited it to a 10 munite short documentary and will show only 6 minutes for the class presentation. It's still a work in progress because I want to get more interviews from different people, including Doris.

To view the video, click here: http://youtu.be/461zHOFxwuk

Sources:

The Oppositional Gaze - Bell Hooks

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema - Laura Mulvey

Introduction Reel to Real - Bell Hooks

Tyson (Documentary, 2009)

Breaking The Code: Chris Jericho (Documentary, 2010)

the DOUBLE STANDARD: Female Promiscuity

When thinking about this project I was very much confused on the topic as well as medium I would use to present. We all know there are many issues Women face and many things in the world it would be great to see women take on and have a positive affect. I chose a topic dealing with sexual health because of my past work with the subject as a peer educator and conversations I've had with people in my life. It just seemed to fit at the time. The idea for a magazine, well web zine came because I wanted to challenge myself a bit creatively within reason. Meaning no camera work. Through this process i learned that being an "editor" is not easy in any form. To give me a small taste of being an editor of a magazine I enlisted outside help in the form of writers and subjects (interviewees).
My topic question is To be or not to be... a slut?! It looks at the idea of sexual promiscuity and the negative impact of the word slut. With this issue of my zine I hoped to take away the negativity and stigma associated with promiscuity and embrace sexual freedom in order to decrease sexual abuse of ourselves and each other. Towards the end I had to question whether or not my goal had been achieved and to be honest.. I'm still very much questioning this.
But here at the Double Standard I encourage you to form your own opinion. So Read on :) .

Healthy Print Ads

Healthy Images: An art piece to bring awareness to the harmful images portrayed within media.

The idea behind this project comes from a lifetime of viewing the disgraceful images created by our media; which objectify, oppress, shame, and over sexualize women. The specific images I am responding to are beer, lingerie, cosmetology, and shoe advertisements within there general categories. For example I focused on beers unhealthy images and the messages they send to society, instead of Budweiser, and there particular images. In most cases these specific categories work to sell the product through portraying male dominance, female passiveness, sexual violence towards the female, over sexualization of the female, and reducing the female to a mere object. Researching for offensive ads was as easy as picking up a magazine, researching healthy ads which do not do any of the above was extremely time consuming and prove to be difficult. I looked at “Anti-Advertising” for inspiration; I also looked at Cindy Sherman, as an artist for inspiration. She uses photography and photographs her self in specific situations/places in order to make a statement. Although her goal is not to create feminist photography, a lot of her work was inspirational to me in that aspect. The images are what I wanted to attack, and try to recreate. The images which I have included are images which could be included in ads. I made this decision because the images are what people from all cultures see, these images are the most persuasive device used in marketing, so I believed I needed to recreate the images themselves. These images are meant to be displayed as a print portfolio, because they are images that could possibly be used in print or web advertisements, however they could have been displayed in a gallery as a photography project. In the future I would love to have my in gallery, in the medium of photography; I believe the message of female empowerment can reach more people that way. In the future I would also like to transform the prints into a larger art project by combing them with other mediums, creating a collage perhaps. My goal for this project was to recreate healthy images which drew attention to the women in these photos in a light that was not demeaning violent or oppressive, and I believe I did that. I directed and modeled in the shoots, my colleague Kayla Duffy shot the photos. The models include me, and Allison Meade.

Final Project-Womens Depiction in Latin American Novelas

      Welcome to my short film concentrating on the depiction of women in Latin American Novelas. To prepare for this interview/conversation I looked to Oprah Winfrey, Katy Couric and Zach Galifianakis as role models and took into account their interviewing talent.











This is my first interview and my first use of Final Cut Pro. In the filming of this footage I used my Panansonic hand held 3.1 megapixel video camera and a tripod. My husband stood behind the camera to make sure we were centered and he also assisted on the editing of this film. The lighting used was basic floor lamps and natural light and was filmed in my living room.
    Josephina agreed to be interviewed and was very helpful with her candid take on Novelas. Without her and my husband, this film could not be made and I am very grateful.
   So, sit back, relax and enjoy my film!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9skd9Q2wZuw 



INSPIRING INTERVIEWS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-3FQap7iw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsbHhhJfTHg&feature=fvsr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AITlyeUoQ5E

The images on this blog came from Google Images


TELENOVELA CLIPS SHOWN DURING THE INTERVIEW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meSgQa5WLjQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkzaucWLdIg&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpfhdOGF__w&feature=related





 

Resources for NYC Women with Diabetes

We are all told that diet and exercise will help us lose weight, will keep us healthier. Changing one’s lifestyle is difficult with out motivation. According to the 2009 New York City Community Health Survey there are approximately 324,000 female diabetics here in New York City alone. Type II diabetes can be managed by diet and exercise.

When one is diagnosed with diabetes, if she is lucky, she is referred to the nutritionist. Other exercise and education programs may exist at a more robust clinic; however, most clinics are not equipped with health educators, certified diabetes educators or even nutritionists. Health care team education is vital.

If she has access to a computer, an internet search would provide her with some information. Patient education is critical. A website where women can enter their NYC zipcode and find best practice resources for diabetes. The best practice resources would be contributed by diabetes care team members. Today I'm presenting my best practice resources.

A link to my presentation is below:

http://prezi.com/zcra-6incu1a/diabetes/

Bibliography

Lorig, Kate, et al. Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions: Self Management of Heart Disease, Arthritis, Diabetes, Asthma, Bronchitis, Emphysema, and others, third edition. Boulder: Bull Publishing Company, 2006. Print.

McCord, P., et al. “The Effect of Low Impact Dance Training on Aerobic Capacity, Submaximal Heart Rates and Body Composition of College-aged Females.” Journal of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness. 29.2 (1989): 184-188. Print.

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Epiquery: NYC Interactive HealthData System - [Community Health Survey 2009]. [Apr. 30, 2011]. http://nyc.gov/health/epiquery. Web.

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. My Plate Planner. Print.

Shimato, Hedeki, et al. “Low Impact Aerobic Dance as a Useful Exercise Mode for Reducing Body Mass in Mildly Obese Middle-aged Women.” Applied Human Sciences. 17.3 (1998): 109-114. Print.

The Reimagined Interpretation of Dance as My Final Project

According to Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, Hip-Hop culture is a key social medium through which many young men and women from communities of colour in the USA construct their gender. However the case may be, today, dance within the hip hop media is depicted as hypermasculinated featuring one or two muscular males and a hand full of scantily clad women dancing in over-sexually suggestive mannerisms. But can the same be said for female dancers within our spectrum of reality? That is what my final project tries to convey. My final project dissects the prevailing notions what is it means to be a female dancer on-screen in order to provide "real" dancers with the respect, definition, and interpretation that they ultimately deserve. The subjects of my project were my dearest friend and one of my dancing inspirations, Shelby "Shellz" Felton as well as my cousin with a strong connection to the fashion industry, American Apparrel. The reason I chose Shelby is because, unlike the media's portrayal of women and dance represented as half-naked women, Shelby uses her uniquely aggressive and heartfelt style of dance not only as her way of artistic expression, but she also uses her body and movements as her personal form of women empowerment. Very interesting as it is, her interpretative dance style allows her to convey a story which deviates from the prevailing ideas of dance as a form of dominating one's opponent or showing off flashy moves. I chose Wendy because she is an all-rounded dancer who understands that dance is much bigger than what individuals normally see on television. To Wendy, dance is defined as a story that each and every women tries to paint in the hopes of allowing their audience to understand their emotions through bodily movements rather through spoken word. I hope you all enjoy and understand my surreal message :].

Link to my documentary below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1eA-AdmKqU

Apologies for late post. The youtube link took roughly 12-13 hours to fully process.

By the way, I wish everyone ALL THE BEST OF LUCK first or last (and in between lol)!!!!

Female Correspondents in the White House Press Corps

According to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, women have comprised the majority of college journalism majors since 1977. However, according to the Poynter Institute’s American Journalist Survey, done in 2003, women represent only 37% of personalities on television, 33% of writers for daily newspapers, 22% of radio personalities, and 20% of representatives for a major wire service. Shockingly, the results of this survey differed very little from a similar one conducted by the Institute in 1982. Add onto this the fact that many of the stories given to female journalists are considered “fluff” pieces – centered on the entertainment industry, fashion, and beauty – and the severity of this issue becomes more apparent.

For my project, I decided to focus on a group of serious female journalists, journalists that are not degraded to "fluff" pieces based on their gender. I chose to make a movie in the styling of a broadcast news piece, highlighting three of these correspondents who stand out for various reasons.

Santeria Empowerment: A Female Perspective

My final project is about the religion of Santeria and the empowering effects it has had for the women who practice it. In order to explain these effects I decided to interview four priestesses ordained in this religion. These four priestesses have years that vary between three to thirty-six years. It was video recorded in an interview format a ranging from questions of their experiences as Iyawos, new initiates, to being madrinas, godmothers, to other initiates and other godchildren. This one of the many rare moments many of initiates in Santeria ever speak of their experiences before, during and after ritual and ceremony. I also discuss if there is problems with the compromising integrity and equality. In the process, I came to realize there have not been problems of that sort at all. This is due to the relationship between the godparent and godchild within an ILE, a house of worship or equivalent to a temple. Furthermore, the varying differences of respect between the senior elder, the Iyawo, and the godchild. My video is only a hard copy, and will not be viewed as a link.

Works Cited

Abimbola, Wande. Ifa Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yoruba Religion and Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury: Aim Books, 1997.

Brandon, George. Santeria from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell Memories. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1993.

Brown, David H. Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation In An Afro-Cuban Religion. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Cuando los Espiritus Bailan Mambo. Dir. Bobby Shepard. Prods. Bobby Shepard and Marta Moreno Vega. 2002.

Drewal, Thompson Margaret. Yoruba Ritual: Performers, Play, Agency. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1992.

Elebuibon, Chief Priest Ifayemi. Apetebii: The Wife of Orunmila. Brooklyn: Athelia/Henrietta Press, INC., 1994.

Johnson, Paul Christopher. Secrets, Gossip, And Gods. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002.

Murphy, Joseph M. and Mei-Mei Sanford. Osun across the Waters: A Yoruba Godess in Africa and the Americas. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.

Omari-Tunkara, Mikelle Smith. Manupulating The Sacred. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005.

Vega, Marta Moreno. The Altar of My Soul: The Living Traditions of Santeria. New York: The Ballantine Publishing Group, 2000.

Film Credits

Title:Santeria Empowerment: A Female Perspective

Directed and Edited by Brian Tayco

Interviewed conducted by Brian Tayco

Women Interviewed:

Millie EwinTola

Barbara OshunTolu

Maria Alabi

Elizabeth OshunAladeKoide

Music Credits

"Yemaya Cantos"

Performed By: Emilio Barreto and Orlando "Puntilla" Rios

"Ochun Rezos"

Performed By: Emilio Barreto and Orlando "Puntilla" Rios

Stories of Abuse

So for my final project I chose to do a video on domestic abuse. I’m fortunate enough to have never been abused in my life but I’ve watched other people’s lives destroyed from abuse. Whether it’s physical or emotional, abuse cannot be accepted. For my video I interviewed some people on their own experiences with abuse and the result is some graphic accounts of abuse in their lives. This is a silent epidemic that needs to be dealt with. When I first started making this video I really didn’t have anyone in mind to interview. Through some small asking around I ended up finding four different women, all with a very unique and personal story. I struggled editing this video because honestly these stories barely need to be edited. Instead I chose to keep the video pretty simple, no major effects or music, just the stories.

Stories of Abuse Video

Password to access video: womenandmedia

Works Cited

Crane, Beth. Personal interview. 20 Apr. 2011.

"Domestic Violence Statistics | 2010 and 2009 Abuse Stats." Web. 15 Apr. 2011.

Domestic Violence Factoids. Richard J. Gelles. Web. 7 May 2011

Frank, Heather. Personal interview. 21 Apr. 2011.

Fuller, Karen. Personal interview. 19 Apr. 2011.

Get the Facts: The Facts on Domestic, Dating and Sexual Violence. Web. 7 May 2011.

"Introduction - Domestic Violence." Creative Communications Group, Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .

Ncadv.org. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2005. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .

Manchester, Tiffany. Personal interview. 19 Apr. 2011.

THIS IS A WAR.COM. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .

Stop Violence against women

Although the Constitution of Nepal provides protections for women, including equal pay for equal work, the Government has not initiated any significant steps to implement its visions.
South Asian countries Like NEPAL are primarily linked with the status of women in family, society and the state structures. Traditional ethical code of the society expects women to remain restricted within four walls of home, which is still a common occurrence. In some of the countries of South Asia women are outlawed even to cast votes. In NEPAL, women are discriminated, because of son preference traditions of the society dominated by religious beliefs. Daughters are discriminated from birth to funeral ceremony. Women are also suffering from domestic violence, wrong tradition and cultural malpractices. Some awful examples of violence are: sex selective abortion, wife battering, child marriage, polygamy, rape, sexual violence, trafficking of women & forced prostitution, sexual harassment, dowry, Tilak system, suicide, killings, and domestic violence, still prevailed. They are still accused in the name of Witchcraft. Members of Parliament have beugn working for the passage of tougher laws for such crimes but have had little success so far. Therefore I decided to my final project on status of women in NEPAL and violence against them.Hopefully my final project will create awareness among 21st century generation of women in USA and in NEPAL. In order to execute my final project i used website as a medium and here is the link to the website.







Reference:
Acharya, Meena,(2000) Labor Market Developments and Poverty : with Focus on Economic Opportunities for women, TPMF and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Kathmandu.


Česky. "Nepal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2010-04-08.

http://southasiarev.wordpress.com

The mass media have powerful forces in society. The media gives us important information to help us to understanding social status, social values. Our understanding of female athletes is influenced by the media. I will Exam the coverage of female athletes. I do some research on history of Women in Sports and pay Inequity in Athletics, and use pie chart to organize the data that I find online. I also create an online survey. In addition, I will collect local newspaper to see whether they have equitable coverage of female and male athletes.

My blog: http://mediacoverageoffemaleathletes.blogspot.com/
Online survey. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G9XKFLJ
Please spare a few moments to take my survey. Your feedback is important!

“History of Women in Sports Timeline” http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/timelne4.htm


“A Quarter Century In The Evolution Of Women's Sports” http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Equity-Issues/A/A-Quarter-Century-In-The-Evolution-Of-Womens-Sports.aspx


Suggs, Welsh. “A Place on the Team”. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press, 2005.“Pay Inequity in Athletics”

http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Equity-Issues/P/Pay-Inequity-in-Athletics.aspx


“Media Coverage and Sport: FACTS AND STATISTICS”
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Media-and-Publicity/M/Media-Coverage-and-Sport-FACTS-AND-STATISTICS.aspx

Image from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://s4.hubimg.com/u/1523463_f520.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hubpages.com/hub/Pay-Inequities-Between-First--and-Third-World-Nations-Distributive-Justice&usg=__GxMICY-oUl_KohUlZI0PZp860tg=&h=339&w=520&sz=31&hl=en&start=49&sig2=9U0kwbyPQKCIbos6nyZh8w&zoom=1&tbnid=8gecc4HUi7plGM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=177&ei=WT2zTbLlCMX40gHZ8KCTCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DPay%2BInequity%2Bin%2BAthletics%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1020%26bih%3D564%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=203&page=4&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:49&tx=130&ty=70

http://everyjoe.com/sports/espn-the-magazine-body-issue-nude-female-athletes/

http://www.examiner.com/tennis-in-national/river-strand-golf-country-club-to-host-adult-tennis-summer-series

http://marquettejournal.org/blog/2009/12/features/carousel/a-golden-histor/

Eye of the Beholder...

I have witnessed many different forms of subtle racism throughout my lifetime. As a product of a mixed race relationship, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something about my mere existence that rubbed people the wrong way. Could it be that I was representative of both the progressive fight against anti-miscegenation and the struggle of many races to keep their “blood clean?”

As I have grown up, I have been subjected to many comments, sneers, jokes and the like because of either my parents’ relationship, or the relationships I chose to engage in. I have always dated Black men or men of mixed race. I never, ever gave the time of day to any other race, although I did date a White man briefly. After all the years of hearing “date a White guy, he’ll take care of you” or “Girl, you better stop it with these Black dudes, you know they’re no good,” I found my soul mate in a man who was neither one.

One day in college, where many eye-opening experiences occur, I went to lunch with a couple of friends of mine. Two females, both 18, one was Black from the South, and the other was mixed race, with a White Jewish mother and Black father. As we ate in the Ramskellar, we began to discuss interracial relationships. The Black female, proceed to say that she could not stand seeing Black men with White women. She felt that it completely ruined the integrity of the Black race. “Didn’t we fight to allow them to be with their own, and us to be with ours? I wouldn’t mind it if the woman was Asian or something, they are minorities, too [hahaha].” My jaw was on the floor. Did she not realize who she was speaking to? Did she not realize how completely ignorant and insensitive she was being in front of two people whose very existence stemmed upon the relationships she was presently criticizing? As my mixed friend and I both began to explain our backgrounds, her jaw dropped. She was sorry, but she was “keeping it real.” That’s how life is for a Black woman, and for many women, she said. We would never understand what it’s like to be forced to feel like you can only date one race, because we can date whoever we want, because we’re mixed. And she’s not.

Here is where my project begins. Stories from women (and a couple of men), different backgrounds, and different lifestyles. Stories of their experiences, recorded here the way they told it. Stories of parents happy to see mixed races, and stories of near death experiences because of the partners who were chosen. Stories of a United States, still divided and still torn by the issue of color

Horizontal Academics

A look on female sexuality and contemporary U.S. views on it when a joke thesis goes viral. Karen Owen, a recent Duke University grade made the mistake of sending out a fake thesis of her sexual encounters with athletes to a few of her friends which soon spread like wildfire over the internet. She has received harsh criticism. I analyse the contemporary views, her power point slides, language, as well as the factors that contribute to this story.

Download here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dboe47


Works Cited:

Carmon, Irin. "College Girl’s PowerPoint "Fuck List" Goes Viral." Jezebel.com. 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://jezebel.com/5652114/college-girls-power-point-fuck-list-goes-viral-gallery>.

hooks, bell. Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000.

"Karen Owen's Duke Sex-Rating PowerPoint Goes Viral (VIDEO)." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/07/karen-owen-duke-sex-rati_n_754186.html>.

"Today Show" Spotlights Female Duke Student's Sex Thesis With Athletes." You Tube. 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uz0pKUE_TQ>.

"Club Gaze"

Since we learned about the "Male Gaze", I had begun to see its relevance in everything- even when I was out at the club. So, for my project I made a VLOG about what I had been seeing, and included interviews of people. The men in the interviews gave me their perceptions of men and women at the club- from what they wear, how they act and why they go in the first place. What I got was proof that the male gaze is relevant at all times, not just in media.

View my VLOG here:

Pornography's Depiction of Women

For my final project I focused on pornography and it's negative depictions of women. Most of my research comes from feminist theory on porn, however I also did a critique of Playboy and Hustler. This multi-billion dollar industry precipitates female subordination and male dominance...and that is what the crux of my paper is about.
The link to my paper is below.
Enjoy!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55405242/Pornography-s-Depiction-of-Women

Women in Univision

My final project is on Women in Univision.
Univision is the biggest Hispanic channel broadcasting in the US. I used the information we learned in class relative to "women's position in media" and specifically with regard to TV, to research how it may apply to a mainstream-commercial, non-American channel... Is the objectification of women an American phenomenon? Are women "treated" differently in Univision? What is the position of women and how they are being portrayed on this major spanish- speaking channel? I looked at women in news, weekly programs, and telenovelas....I found photos & videos to support my case and with the help of my friend, Manolis, I am presenting this video as my final project....

Beautiful: What does it mean to you?

We learned a lot this semester but the part that stuck with me the most was the idea of media images teaching girls from birth that they are not enough. Media images teach girls to always 'fix' their skin, bodies, hair, ect. as if there is something perpetually wrong with them. This just didn't/doesn't sit well with me.


Having three kids of my own, it's always important to me to give back and teach them whenever possible. I took the opportunity of making this project as a way to teach not only my children, but their friends and particularly the girls around them. I hadn't awoken to the effects of media on my life and actions until this class. There was no reason for the teens around me to have to wait that long. The video I made will hopefully teach teen girls about media and its effects on teens and their body images. In order to effect true change, we need to start with younger girls. They are our future. I use the end of the video to give ideas on where to start learning about change for the betterment of us all.

It has definitely become a labor of love. I only hope the people who watch it will be able to learn something from the time spent watching. I hope you enjoy it!

http://gallery.me.com/uaclady#100017

Female Force 2011

Link to My Article on Scribd.com

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55381698/Female-Force-2011

My final project is a research article that both discusses and exposes what it is to be a female in law enforcement throughout history and today. I discuss the progress they have made to date, which is not enough. The mistreatment and sexual discrimination against police women. I also wrote about the fact that our NYPD needs improved training policies on stereotypes and discrimination and how our recruiting strategies are inadequate. I introduce my source Rosa Otero and explain her experience on the force, which makes her information and testimony valid. Lastly I discuss examples of police women in the media that have both hindered and helped women to progress in the field of law enforcement.

Madness

How does it feel to be the unwanted recipient of men’s catcalls, comments and aggression? Ask any woman you meet and she will have a story to tell you. Every woman knows what it feels like to be assaulted whether through words, looks or force.

Living in a culture that condones the ritual harassment and abuse of women is maddening. We are conditioned to endure the humiliation, fear, anxiety and shame of our experience.

I recently heard comedian Chelsea Peretti say, “I read somewhere that men’s biggest fear is that women will laugh at them. And women’s biggest fear is that men will kill them. Kind of different stakes that we’re working with”.

Different stakes indeed...and it’s madness.

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=MmHZOm

A League of Their Own

Penny Marshall is an amazingly diverse and unique actress and director of American films. She has directed one of my favorite movies, A League of Their Own and various other films such as Big, Renaissance Man and Riding in Cars With Boys. Her acting career, which includes Laverne and Shirley has also had a strong influence on her directorial achievements as well. She has grappled with failed relationships, struggles between family and career and her strong passion for sports.

Her movies have all included some sort of masculine/ feminine struggle or a gender role battle of sorts. In Big, for example, Tom Hanks is a child who has been transformed into an adult man. A huge scene in this movie occurs when the main female character, Elizabeth Perkins, seduces him and has him lose his virginity. The following day, Tom Hanks appears more mature, more adult-like in his nature and most importantly, more masculine because of the seduction of his female co-star.

In the film, A League of Their Own, which is set in 1943, Marshall attempts to show the strength, perseverance and character of the female characters through one of her passions: baseball. In this film, she explores gender roles, sexism, feminism, and the struggle for independence experienced by women in WWII United States while their husbands were at war. Marshall also shows the pain and defeat some women experienced after the war ended, when, after working so hard to support their husbands at war, they were forced to leave the workforce and return home. Marshall uses her filmmaking to demonstrate that women have a huge voice, and can lead and take control over any situation. This is somewhat indicative of what Humm is trying to say in Author/Autor: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film. Humm states, “the separation of the female way of thinking, and a recognition that women's experiences have been effectively silenced by a masculine culture.” In other words, Marshall is attempting to break free of the silence of the “Masculine culture” that has dominated the female voice by playing the boys at their own game. By using masculine activities controlled by a female group, she demonstrates that women can take charge and empower themselves in any situation.

Marshall’s desire to show something different is reflective of Bell Hook’s stance on the viewer in the cinema: “truth be told, lots of us, myself included, go to the movies to learn stuff. Often what we learn is life transforming in some way." Marshall attempted to transform and empower women by showing them how women were able to carry an entire country on their own. They were, in fact in, “a league of their own.” Marshall showed that although gender roles were so strict, and so rigid, the female character could be strong and could be better than the boys.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001508/#Director
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Marshall
http://www.biography.com/articles/Penny-Marshall-9542495
Hooks, Bell. "Introduction Making Movie Magic." (n.d.).
Humm, Maggie “Author/Auteur: Feminist Literary Theory and Feminist Film”