#phk32

"No means no. No exceptions." I came across this video on my Facebook page this morning that really summed up the issues of rape. Vice President Biden clearly depicts what occurs at different college parties across the country for multiple women. I appreciate how Biden mentions that it is not just saving the victim but the potential rapist as well. A lot of rape incidences would not occur if more college students were to take notice and step into these situations. This really reminded me of 'The Hunting Ground' as well since it mentions the same exact problems and ideas. 

For the Gaze assignment, I watched Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michelson and Girl in a Country Song by Maddie and Tae. I was unable to pick one because I felt like both really gave off the same message. I knew both of the songs before watching the videos and each music video in response to the song surprised me. In both music videos, it appeared as if there was almost equality between the roles of the males and females. In ‘Girl in a Country Song’, the boys were switched to play the roles of what females normally play. These boys were the ones swinging around and dancing with few clothes on. As a result, the cameras focused in on the clothes and bodies of the males as much as they normally do for females. The only problem I had with this video was that every single actor in it was white. I felt like the whole country theme and the little diversity made it stereotypical. The men in ‘Girls Chase Boys’ were a more diverse group of men. The camera also focused in on both the male and female bodies equally especially in the lower body like the butt and the legs. They dressed the male and female dancers similarly by putting makeup on the males. This new appearance of the males helped them come off the same way as the females in the video so nothing really changed when the female dancers came in. I think overall, there did not seem to be this dominant power in the video due to the males and females playing the same roles which I thought was great for a change.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the racial caucus group assignment. From the beginning, it made me feel uncomfortable with my own race because we were the first ones called to gather in another classroom. This was where the majority of the discomfort came from. Participating in the group itself wasn’t too bad but I felt like we couldn’t discuss as many racial issues amongst ourselves unless we had the other races come together with us. Despite all of us being white, we did come from different backgrounds and different ways of living. Some of us had interacted with other racial groups when we were children while others didn’t. When we came back into the classroom and discussed as a class, I did not think it was as bad as I expected because I was a little afraid that our group would unintentionally say something that would offend somebody in the room but we didn’t. Each ethnic group was actually struggling with one issue or another and I had wished that we would’ve discussed how to maybe solve these world-wide racism issues a bit more.

This past Wednesday, Wendy Cai Lee came to Trayes Hall to discuss her life with DRC women. She began with her childhood history as an immigrant from China. She grew as the member of the family who had to learn English and how to obtain her drivers license so she could teach her parents these things. It was simple for her to attend college because she had already learned to be independent her entire life. Then she went further to discuss her involvement in the business field as one of the few women. She has been sometimes very honest and she admitted to being even a little ‘introverted’. To many, Wendy Cai Lee working over 100 hours a week was a shocking discovery but she had the time and the drive at age 24. When she began to raise a family, she really learned how to handle her time so she did have the chance to be with her family a little more. I couldn’t easily relate to the beginning of Lee’s discussion but what really stood out to me was how she didn’t really care what anybody thought. She had her own voice however; she made sure to maintain a balance between what other people thought and what her family thought of her. Another concept that I related to was Lee’s discussion about time management. That’s something that has always been difficult for me and I think it was important for me to know where I should and shouldn’t be applying my time at different points of my life. The quotes she added to the end were also positive and inspiring. Overall, I thought the plenary was simple and to the point which was nice in a way.

Today, I attended the premiere of the long-waited documentary, ‘The Hunting Ground’ inside the College Avenue Gymnasium. I was pretty aware of the plot of the movie before I got there since Rutgers University has clearly marked their position on sexual violence since I enrolled here. The movie itself however, brought the idea of sexual violence a whole different meaning for me. I did not know a lot about rape or sexual violence before I got to college but now, the idea of ‘victim shaming’ and the unawareness angers me. The statistics for rape on college campuses really stood out to me in the film because ironically, the schools of good standing were trying to hide the sexual violence incidents on their campuses to hold a good reputation yet; they were just making themselves look worse by ignoring the problems. I think its all pretty embarassing but I’m proud to be a part of a university that supports anyone who was sexually assaulted or raped. I also thought what the women did in the film :quitting school and advocating for these problems, was very inspiring because it isn’t that simple to leave a university even after something so traumatic. Especially since they were there to earn a degree and to be educated in the first place.

I just watched this on my Facebook and I thought it really resembled what gender expression should be about since the men realize the comfort in the leggings they tried on. It wasn’t about how ‘feminine’ the leggings were.

When I was a lot younger, I found abortion a disgusting subject. All I knew was some extreme surgery to extract the fetus. Also, it was discussed in politics. I never really understood what it meant besides killing a fetus. Many years later, I have become much more aware of the truths of abortion thanks to Lauren Rankin’s speech today. Her tone and discussion made me feel a little scared and angry at how abortion is treated as a whole. I found it absurd that women weren’t allowed to decide on the fate of their bodies. As a woman myself, I think every woman deserves the right to make her own choices especially if they weren’t allowed to decide whether or not they were raped or placed in an uncomfortable situation. The statistics she gave were very overwhelming as they were never in favor of women. I was not surprised that women were scarcely represented in politics since that has been ongoing for years. It confuses me how abortion is a right similar to gay marriage yet; it is looked down upon. Both have been linked to politics since the majority of politicians are angry Catholics with Conservative views. Additionally, I was surprised when Lauren helped me realize that I was in fact, a feminist. I really do care about equality and rights for my gender.