Gender

This chapter on gender wants to teach the reader how to read
gender but without the expectations and preconceptions we have
made in the past. In the beginning the author explains the
difference between “sex” and “gender”. “Sex” is biological
differences between male and female whereas “gender” is
constructed or invented through society and our behaviors. What
the author means by gender is constructed is there are certain
external and internal traits that our culture assigns to both males
and females and to prove that they posses these traits each gender
sends out signals. For example, strength, rationality and stability
are all characteristics of manliness, so to prove he is a man he would
work out, play sports and drive fancy cars.

The author then brings up the term “doing Gender” which refers to
participating in any behavior associated with a certain gender such
as wearing earrings or growing a beard. The author translates this
into men being dominant and women being submissive. For instance
most people associate nurturing, refined, and dainty with women
whereas rough, aggression and brutish are linked with men.

Another point the author makes is gender is created by factors
which include stereotypes, tradition, culture and family. I believe
back in the day family was probably the single largest effect on the
roles of male and female. The men worked all day and brought home food
while most women were housewives, taking care of the house and children
and preparing dinner. However in today’s society with both men and women
working full time jobs and with so many single parents the family effect
on how we see gender is decreasing.

Finally the last point the author makes is the double standard in America
regarding males and females. Women are expected to be thin, refined and
sexually inactive whereas men are encouraged to be comfortable and
sexually adventurous. If a woman dates a few guys then she is
considered a “slut” or “whore” but if a man gets with a few
women then he is considered “the man” and gets praised for doing so.

Movies

To be honest, rarely do I ever analyze a movie unless it's for a
class or a project. In my opinion movies are meant to be viewed
for fun with friends and family, as a way to get your imagination
to wander or to just relax. However the author of this piece believes
movies have a deeper meaning, which I would agree with. All movies are
packed with sexism, racism, cultural and social content but I believe
that it goes side by side with the society we live in. Before the civil
rights and woman's right movement movies always portrayed blacks as
inferior and women as housewives since that was the culture in those
days. Now in movies today women and blacks play larger, more significant
roles such as doctors, lawyers and business people because the culture
has changed. This is makes movies not only fun to watch but a great source
to discover how culture is expressed.

The first reading on I robot starts by explaining what goes into
making a movie. The business rules, filming, the plot and special
effects are all factors that should be taken into consideration when
making or even viewing a movie. He then talks about how I robot was
based on two books which Hollywood directors combined together to
create a single movie. The only problem that he believes viewers will
have with the movie is the essence of the movie is gone, which I don’t
believe is a big deal. Most movies today are made from books or are
re-makes of older movies that have been tweaked in some way to make
it more modern and appealing to the audience. Even the Twilight movies
which I have never seen because they look stupid are based on books and
I am certain that the books have lost some of its essence since they
have to make the movie appealing for children and young adults.

The second reading was on Star Wars. It basically explained how Star Wars
even though it took place in space, with robots and laser it is nothing
but a simple western flick. Just as western movies have good versus bad
and cowboys versus Indians, Stars Wars has the same good versus bad
conflict and just replaces the cowboys and Indians with Jedi’s and evil
empires.

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together?, Sports Taboo, Censoring Myself

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together?

This reading is one that almost everyone that ever went to school can easily relate to. The author was basically saying that when you look at a cafeteria it's noticeable that black kids are sitting separate from white kids. Anytime I entered the cafeteria in my high school it was obvious that there were tables where only blacks, whites, Indians, or Asians were sitting. However at the same time there were tables that were diverse and had people of all races sitting together. Now in my mind I don't believe it has any connection to students being racist against one another, I believe that it is easier to connect to someone if they have the same traits as you and this is why the same race is always sitting together. In high school I was part of the Diversity Club and for one of our missions was to get the cafeteria to be more diverse. So what we did was we offered free ice cream to anyone that would move to another table so they can interact with other people. The upside was that it worked, mainly because of the free ice cream but the next day the cafeteria was back to the same arrangements.

Sports Taboo

This section talks about how certain races are better in certain sports. It associates certain races with sports such as whites are the better quarterbacks where as blacks are better runners. It also goes to talk about how African-Americans are better suited for sports because of the higher testosterone, muscle mass and wider shoulders and longer legs. No matter how we want to look at it there are differences between all races, some races will have an advantage over others. Or as the author referred to maybe some races just care more about certain things. If you dissect it, more African-Americans play basketball than baseball because they are just not that interested in baseball however more Dominicans play baseball than basketball and many people will say the reason why Asians don’t play many sports is because they care more about their studies.

Censoring Myself

Betty Shamieh is an Arab-American Christian that is scared to single herself out because of the stage we are in, in American History. She starts off by saying that a significant amount of Arabs are Christians which comes to a surprise to many because Arabs are usually associated to Islam in the minds of most people. She then goes to talk about how even in the wake of 9/11 and with her background as a Palestinian she still believes that she doesn’t have to censor herself because it wouldn’t help improve the way Arabs are viewed. She also believes that her Palestinian experiences deserve to be heard and if she can’t write about her experiences then she can’t write at all.

Race and Ethnicity

This chapter on race and ethnicity was interesting and definitely the best reading to date. It basically talked of stereotypes, assumptions and discrimination that people make based on skin color and ethnics instead of the individual as a whole. When a common trait of a certain group is perceived then all individuals are put into a certain group where offensive, impolite, unfair generalizations can be made. Living in America the most diverse country in the world where people also have the right to freedom of speech it is understandable that some people would be racist or make stereotypical comments even in public. However as a world we have made great steps through the women rights movement, the civil rights movement and the ongoing gay rights movement to get where we are today. For the first time we have a black president as well as if I remember correctly more women than men are now graduating college, so this all proves the improvement we are making as a country.

In high school I took a course called Race, Class and Gender that basically dealt with stereotypes in our society today. The objective of the course was not to lean us one or another on certain topics but to teach us to be better understanding of people that had different beliefs than us. If it was about gay rights, abortion or skin color we did not have to agree with the decisions that person had made but we were taught to respectful or their decisions and not make any unfair judgments because of that. It was a course that I took a lot from because even though I am not a person who uses stereotypes or judge people on where there from or their skin color it really showed me how to become better individual.

The Black Bart Simpson and MTV

The two reading assignments we had both revealed how television has had lasting effects on our society. The first reading “The Black Bart Simpson: Appropriation and Revitalization in Commodity Culture” by Peter Parisi talks about the obsession of “black Bart Simpson” t-shirts in the black community during the summer of 1990. The shirts acted as billboards and personal ads for the people wearing the shirts with slogans such as “it’s cool being black” or “we are all brothers and sisters so live in unity, love and peace”. However even though the “black Bart” t-shirts reflected peoples attitude and was a phenomenon that swept through the entire country many people both of white and black race disapproved of Bart’s underachieving character. In a time when dropout rates were low, parents, teachers, and schools did not want the Bart character that curses and doesn’t complete homework to be a national icon for young children. Even young seven year old children were quoted saying “You can’t learn anything from that! You don’t learn you’re A-B-C’s!” Children should instead be looking up to iconic figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

The second reading “The Next Plague: MTV’s Sexual Objectification of girls and Why it Must be Stopped” by Maribeth Theroux explains that through reality shows such as “Next and “The real World” women are beginning to be viewed as objects in which they are only being viewed for their sexuality. Women are looking to these shows understand what it is like to be women and know what role they play in society and by watching shows such as “Next” they are only learning to sexual objects since that is how other women are portrayed on television. The author also reveals that feminism in America has to be dead since women not only view these programs, but they accept what they see and act the same way in their daily lives.

Television definitely has an effect on our society, but we must learn that what we see on television, even on reality shows is mostly fake and set-up to send a particular message. However we should not base our lives off these messages because they change us into people that we don’t try to be. People that portray Bart Simpson character or women that sexually objectify themselves because of what they see on television are doing in the wrong direction. We should not look towards television to direct our lives, we should act the way we are.

World is a Text 119-125

Who would rather read a long boring book when I can watch my favorite show or favorite sports team in action? However this chapter in a World is A Text takes a negative spin on television and actually presents reasons to why reading a text offers more structure than a television program. First of all just as the text said, a book has an author, someone that can take credit and ownership of what they have done, when I am watching a movie or television show I have no idea who to give credit to. The book also makes another good point that I can physically connect with a book because it can be held in my hands and carried with me wherever I go. However why would I want to carry around a two hundred page book, when I could stretch my feet out and watch television. The book also goes into detail that even though we may think television is free, when you add up the cost for television itself plus the monthly subscription it is actually much cheaper to just own a library card and check out a book.
This chapter also goes into that a book has an intended audience but television doesn’t because it could be intended for anyone. I also disagree with this because to me if I am watching a show I already know who it is intended for. If I see “SpongeBob” a cartoon show then I know it is for children but if “House” is on then I know it is intended for adults. To me the reason why television is so popular even though it is costly and doesn’t offer the same physical attachment as a book does is simply because people do not like reading two hundred pages book when they could easily watch a show on the TV. Television also attracts us in society because it is visual, we can see what’s taking place such as the explosions, car chases, love and drama. When reading a book the reader has to visualize those situations and events inside their minds.

World is a Text 1-21

I cannot lie when I say this chapter was boring and difficult just to finish. However it does offer some very interesting points. From the beginning you can tell that this book is trying to develop the readers reading skills. It wants to teach the reader that books and stories are not the only objects that can be read, but anything that we encounter throughout our daily lives can have some kind of meaning. In addition the book also wants the reader to develop a deeper and more critical thought process on objects. Instead of reading an object and understanding its simple meaning the book tries teaching how that object can relate to a bigger picture such as the world. Furthermore we may not realize it but we do a lot more reading than we realize each day. When we watch television, listen to a song, or view other people we usually attach some meaning to it and during the process did not even recognize we were reading it.

The one subject I am able to relate to is "The Semiotic Situation"(Or the Moving Text) which is when we try to make sense of our surroundings. When I was in high school I played basketball for the school team and as one of the shorter and faster guys on the team I played the position of point guard. As the point guard it was my responsibility to run the offense and call the plays on each possession. However if I was going to call the plays that would work I had to know how the opposing defense was playing our team and I did this my reading the players on the other team. I had to know if the defense was in man or zone and if it was zone what kind of zone it was. I can still remember my coach yelling at me that making the right call, finding open guys and generating points laid completely on my shoulders by the success or failure I had reading the opposing defense.