Saturday, November 27, 2010

“What was disturbing to so many U.S. citizens about the September 11, 2001  attacks on the World Trade Center is that these attacks disrupted their sense of safety at “home”, quoted by SmitFor many of us the attacks may not have hit extremely close to home, possibly knowing no one being affected by the terrorists’ attacks of 9/11.  I find this ironic especially with everything that is on the news about the airports doing body scans through x-ray or body searches.  It is funny how people are concerned about their own freedom and they say they were go to all extents to be safe, but when they are actually asked to do it, it is another story. If there was to be another attacked on the United States due to airplanes being high-jacked, and after September 11 there wasn’t increased search/security; the people would be upset that the airports never attempted to do anything to prevent what happened. But since people are being somewhat inconvenienced and slowed down in their travels they are crying out that their privacy is being invaded. Is there a happy median to this or is the saying true, “you can never make everyone happy”?

Rape Statistics

I find the topic of rape disturbing yet all too to its victims.  Some of these statistics are show its occurrence in our society and show that this horrible crime does happen. I feel that some underestimate the impacts that this has on a woman.  I know of a woman who had a child in her late forties due to being raped. Her other two children were 21 and 18 years old putting an 18 year gap between her children.  When she came to a family birthday party of mine she put her beer in a water bottle, he’s reluctant to go to bars and has a terrible time facing the father.  Due to instances of people making false accusations I feel that unless the woman seeks immediate medical help it may be hard to determine if it was consensual; but I feel where cases are clear that there was rape there should be harsher punishment for the perpetrator of the crime. This website gave stats on rapists, the victims, numbers, and reporting to the police. (http://www.rainn.org/statistics)

Who are the Victims?

Breakdown by Gender and Age

Women


1in6 graphic
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).1
17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.1
9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2
While about 80% of all victims are white, minorities are somewhat more likely to be attacked.


Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:1
  • All women: 17.6%
  • White women: 17.7%
  • Black women: 18.8%
  • Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
  • American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
  • Mixed race women: 24.4%

Men

About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.1
  • In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.2
  • 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.1

Children

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.3
  • 29% are age 12-17.
  • 44% are under age 18.3
  • 80% are under age 30.3
  • 12-34 are the highest risk years.
  • Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.4
  • 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.5
  • Of these, 75% were girls.
  • Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.6
  • 34.2% of attackers were family members.
  • 58.7% were acquaintances.
  • Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

Effects of Rape

Victims of sexual assault are:7

3 times more likely to suffer from depression.

6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.


    Pregnancies Resulting from Rape

    In 2004-2005, 64,080 women were raped.8 According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is 5%. By applying the pregnancy rate to 64,080 women, RAINN estimates that there were 3,204 pregnancies as a result of rape during that period.

    This calculation does not account for the following factors which could lower the actual number of pregnancies:
    • Rape, as defined by the NCVS, is forced sexual intercourse. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, oral, or anal penetration by offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Certain types of rape under this definition cannot cause pregnancy.
    • Some victims of rape may be utilizing birth control methods, such as the pill, which will prevent pregnancy.
    • Some rapists may wear condoms in an effort to avoid DNA detection.
    • Vicims of rape may not be able to become pregnant for medical or age-related reasons.
    This calculation does not account for the following factors which could raise the actual number of pregnancies:
    • Medical estimates of a 5% pregnancy rate are for one-time, unprotected sexual intercourse. Some victimizations may include multiple incidents of intercourse.
    • Because of methodology, NCVS does not measure the victimization of Americans age 12 or younger. Rapes of these young people could results in pregnancies not accounted for in RAINN's estimates.

    Saturday, November 20, 2010

    The Politics of Housework

    In the article, “The Politics of Housework” by Pat Mainardi, I wonder if that’s what her husband really said or if that’s what she interpreted it as. I also get the feeling from the reading that they didn’t have children or maybe she didn’t have a full time job.  I believe if they both had a full-time job, her husband would see the difficulties in working and doing ALL of the housework.  As I stated with my group, my mother worked night shift at a hospital for some time so my father had to cook, clean, shower us kids, get us ready for bed and school.  He didn’t have much of a choice.  If we had a babysitter for the day she would do most of these things, but if they weren’t done my father would take it upon himself to do some of the chores.  I would probably be upset if a guy every said these things to me but then again the reading was from about 40 years ago so that does make a different how housework and raising children and who’s responsibility it was implied a different meaning.

    Stay at Home Dads

    “On Fathers Day, an estimated 159,000 stay-at-home dads, or 2.7 percent of the country's stay-at-home parents -- almost triple the percentage from a decade ago -- will celebrate what has become a full-time job, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.” I think this statistic may be due to a variety of factors. Women are now finishing their high school diploma and entering college to further pursue another career.  With more women seeking higher education they wish to continue their jobs after they started they have children, whether it is they wish to no longer to stay in the house or to help financially support the family.  I think it is more critical that at one point that a man and woman in the family both have jobs, due to the declining economy, many men are losing their jobs therefore are staying home to take care of the children, while the women continue to work. I believe too, that if a man or woman needs to stay home with the child/children that normally the one with the highest income and most stable job is going to continue working to ensure financial stability.  I find that stat astronomical that the number of stay at home dads almost tripled in only a decade, and besides what I predicted could be some of the factors it would be interesting to see what else influenced this increasing trend. One conclusion of this may be that it is now more acceptable for men to be considered a stay at home dad then it was ten years ago, so they are more open about the fact.  I think our society still has view that dad goes to work, mom stays home and does housework, cooks meals, and takes care of the family, but with changing times the structure and how a family functions must change too.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601289_2.html

    Thursday, November 11, 2010

    Partners as Parents

     I was raised in a Catholic family, so the object of gays and lesbians wasn’t a discussion because to many in my family it’s not right in the eyes of the church, therefore it’s not right at all.  I’m not saying this mentality is right, but I feel that it’s not wrong. We are all entitled to our opinions or raised in a certain manner.  Personally, I have no objections to gays or lesbians; I feel that God made two sexes for a reason, but at the same time people are entitled to live their life the way they want to live it.  I find it frustrating that the government is opposing marriage especially when it would benefit people financially is so many ways and assure their children benefits, that I am sad they are denied these rights.  Also, I find it frustrating that there are as many children looking for good homes, yet same-sex couples are being denied the right or have to go through such a long and tedious process to give these children the opportunities of having a good home.  The argument that the government/adoption agencies are scared their sexuality is going to be influenced I think is a bunch of b.s., because if you look at many homosexuals they probably come from heterosexual couples and obviously there wasn’t an influence there.  I think with changing times, our government need to change and adopt to our society, and I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it’s not my life and I feel that they are people and should still be given equal opportunity whether homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual. 

    Monday, November 8, 2010

    Marriage and Love

    Reading “Marriage and Love” for me was a somewhat frustrating reading for me.  I feel everyone is entitled to their opinion but I totally disagree with what she had to say.  She could feel this way because of the household she came from and how she was raised but I feel totally different from what Emma Goldman expressed.  “Marriage and love have nothing in common; they are as far apart as the poles; are, in fact, antagonistic to each other.  No doubt some marriages have been the result of love.” I know there is a 50% chance that couples get divorced but I still believe that when most couples get married they are in love. My dad recently took a job in another state and is unable to come home often so every other weekend my mom goes by him and every other week during the summer I went by my dad. I feel that if my parents didn’t love each other and they wouldn’t make an effort to see each other, talk to each other and express our love for each other.  Our family has always been passionate, caring, and loving; so all these concepts that she states are difficult to grasp because of different viewpoints and standings on the issue of love.  I also disagree that the husband makes the house a prison. Our house was a safe haven, a place we knew we could always come back to for support, love, and shelter.  Possibly she feels this way because of the way she was raised and I’m not saying her opinion is wrong but sometimes its frustrating reading articles such as this that are strongly opinionated and contrary to my beliefs. I was raised that love does exist and that when you get married a house just isn’t a house but a home.

    Friday, November 5, 2010

    Between "Girl Power" and "Reviving Ophelia" Constituting the Neoliberal Girl Subject

    I find this article interesting (although on the long side and didn't see it was optional) but it raised good points.  “Girls Power represents a “new girl” assertive, dynamic, and unbound from the constraints of passive femininity. On the other hand, Reviving Ophelia presents girls as vulnerable, voiceless, and fragile.” I do agree that there are these types of woman in the world but I don’t see either of these being bad qualities to have.  I don’t feel that being vulnerable, voiceless and fragile is a horrible thing but just home some girls are and how they feel comfortable acting and some girls feel more comfortable being assertive, dynamic, and unbound from the constraints of passive femininity.  I don’t think being vulnerable, voiceless and fragile are excellent qualities to have but for some is a choice of how to act; and if all girls were assertive, dynamic, and unbound the constraints of femininity that there would be no diverse personalities and all girls would act the same.  In our country I believe being a “Reviving Ophelia” or a “new girl” is more of a choice where in some countries girls are expected to act as a “Reviving Ophelia”. Overall I thought it was a good article to think about, at times it was a little difficult to follow but it gave some different sight. 

    Girls Rock Camp & the issues of eating disorders

    I thought the movie Girls Rock Camp that we watched in class was very interesting and gave some really interesting facts.  It was also kind of neat to see all the different personalities of the girls and to hear their stories.  One fact that alarming stood out that that girls are starting to diet at the age 8.  The fact that girls start dieting at age I find totally alarming and shocking.  When in discussion some of the girls in the camp discussed how so many girls wanted to be size zero or two and one of the girls states that she did not like herself for the way she looked.  I decided to look up some statistics on eating disorders a horrible disease that is often masked by their victims and ignored by the ones they love.
    National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2010: Statistics about eating disorders
    Did you know…
    • 1 in 5 women struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating (National Institute of Mental Health)
    • Eating Disorders affect up to 24 million Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide (The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders)
    • 90 % of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25 (SAMHSA)
    • It is estimated that currently 11% of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating
    • disorder (ANAD)
    • While women are more commonly affected by eating disorders, more than a million men and boys battle the illness every day (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org)
    • 91 % of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted “often” or “always” (Kurth, Krahn, Nairn, Drewnowski, 1995)
     Or that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness?
    A young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without
    Anorexia (American Journal of Psychiatry)
    • Five to ten percent of anorexics die within ten years of onset, 18-20 percent die within twenty years of onset, and only 50 percent report ever being cured (American Psychiatric Association)
    • 20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems (The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders)

    Wednesday, October 27, 2010

    "What Girls Want" & "In Search of Elusive Orgasm"

    Reading “What Girls Want” and “In Search of Elusive Orgasm” I could kind of relate to the stories of how every girl looks for the man in a novel she read.  At the same time this is a great thing to image and hope for, the romantic, thoughtful, charming, and athletic man but at the same time it is really not reality.  I believe I realized this maybe sooner than most girls because in high school and now my 3 best friends are guys.  When I am around them I see their true character and how guys truly think and act.  They are great guys don’t get me wrong but they are far from romantic, thoughtful, charming, and the ultimate athlete; although they do hold all of these characteristics they are definitely not romance novel material.  Being best friends with guys makes me realize the difference between reality and novel material. Knowing their true characters and personalities and that we can be ourselves when we are around each other, I almost wouldn’t want it any other way. Sadly I see romance movies and read books and think they are fake and most likely to never happen, but it still gives me a hope there is a Mr. Right out there for everyone.  

    "What is Bisexuality" & "Prue Shows Her Knickers"

    I felt that “Prue Show’s Her Knickers” and “What is Bisexuality” had to do with more than sex, sexuality, and intimacy but accepting who you are and being able to express yourself in public as this person, and not caring what others think of you.
    Although I found the reading on “What is Bisexuality” interesting, I also found it hard to follow.  I believe it is good to hear about other people’s stories to have a better understanding for who they are and also to be more open and unbiased to ideas I would normally object or shun.  I feel she does a great job of defining and giving explanations behind being bisexual and how it possibly came about and out in the public.  I guess I get a little uninterested in the reading is when she goes into detail with all of the names, books, and readings I have never heard of.  Because these names have little importance to me I feel as if they are just being used to support her point but what the real importance behind the name. But as I stated I do feel she does a great job explaining the theories behind bisexuality and defining it, which I feel has made me a little more aware and open minded to the idea.  I feel reading articles like this it helps me be more accepting of people in these situations, because they are already aware that a majority of society or their families may not agree with their decision which may make them feel outcastes or alone.  
    In “Prue Shows Her Knickers” I found this story kind of funny just because it seems like most kids go through this stage or you hear similar stories from your friends.  Even though these children where handicapped they are still accepting of their bodies. I feel they were probably more accepting of their bodies because the rest of the children they were in school where with had some sort of handicap or deformity too.  For the most part I feel that it was a interesting story to read and I feel gave good advice on being accepting of our own bodies no matter what they look like. 

    Friday, October 15, 2010

    "Hermaphrodites with Attitude"

    Going into the nursing field I found the article “Hermaphrodites with Attitude” interesting.  I feel that this article gave a new perspective on hermaphrodites, especially the troubling consequences that the victim and its family must go through.  I do somewhat agree with the doctors in the case of giving it a single gender, although I definitely see the problem in doing so.  Is giving a baby a specific gender worth the consequences for the individual and family in the long run, and does the doctor really want to carry the weight on his shoulders knowing he/she could have assigned an individual the wrong gender.  The comparison that I found intriguing was the number of hermaphrodites to the number of cystic fibrosis patients, since I have a cousin with cystic fibrosis.  I think this article brought and new perspective and awareness to this basically all too common problem that a lot of us underestimate its number and are unfamiliar with.

    "Breast Buds and the Training Bra"

    I found the article “Breast Buds and the Training Bra” interesting partially to the fact I work at Victoria’s Secret.  Being a sales associate I interact with a lot of customers of various ages and shapes.  Especially in our Pink collection it is truly intended for a younger population and that is what we see busy mostly the Pink bras.  Also, Pink bras run in the smaller sizes for the younger girls especially.  For how young of an age group the Pink is targeted at, at times I feel their designs or patterns are too sexy.  Does a 14 year old really need to be wearing an all lace see-through bra or a bra with leopard or zebra prints on it? Our Pink collection isn’t just for the younger population but for the college and high schoolers too.  For the older age groups the all lace or leopard and zebra prints I feel are acceptable but at the middle school ages I feel it is not necessary to wear something that looks “sexy” especially at that age when no one else should be seeing it. Also when they mentioned that in each room of a store they had cards with suggestions of bras of what to wear with dresses, dressy shirts, or every day wear. We still use this as a marketing/sales technique when people come in, ask them what they are shopping for, what kind of specific bra they are looking for, and also if they would want to be measures to be assured they were getting in the right size; another marketing/sales technique that was started in the early 1900’s. To me reading articles such as this are interesting due to the fact how you can see how things evolve and change over time.

    Thursday, October 7, 2010

    Love the Riches, Lose the Rags

    I found this article to be very interesting.  A mother takes a little girl to a see the Cinderella play and the little girl wonders why Cinderella is in rags and not her beautiful dress.  I believe the concept behind this thinking it’s necessarily Disney’s fault.  At a young age, I feel children don’t grasp the concept of being poor.  That there really are people in the world who live in rags and not all people own beautiful dresses and sit down to a dinner at a table every night.  Most parents prevent their children from seeing this and facing this reality.  I do believe that the little girl would rather see Cinderella in a big beautiful  ball gown rather than rags, but I don’t think at a young age they grasp the concept of being poor, and the when she has the big ball gown they don’t grasp the fact that she’s rich.  I don’t feel this is the fault of Disney because as we mentioned in class Disney’s audiences are at a younger age then attended for so they are not fully aware of what is going on in the movie. 

    What’s Wrong with Cinderella?

    I found this article interesting and as if the mother overacted.  I believe every little girl goes through the princess stage at some point.  I think it’s the appeal of being pretty and having pretty dress and getting treated special.  Although this is perceived through TV, I believe it’s a phase at some point all girls go through, but they do learn to out grown.  What little girl doesn’t want to wear a tiara and have a big ball gown dress? Granted they only want it because they see it on TV, but I believe it’s a way for their imagination to grow and prosper.  I feel that the mother expressing her dislike towards the princesses somewhat undermines her daughter’s imagination because the little girl was always commenting on how her mother didn’t like princesses, so it almost seemed at what the little girl was doing was almost a disappointment or at disapproval of her mother.  I feel the little girl was too young to understand the whole concept behind be called and princess and acting as one besides what she learned from TV; therefore she couldn’t grasp her mother’s idea of a princess and why she was so opposed to it.  I do understand the mother’s view point of many children today are very spoiled and treated like princesses and she may not want her child to grow up in that manner.  I also feel though that the mother should let her child experience the princess stage and realize it’s a phase and it will pass. 

    Wednesday, September 29, 2010

    Women and Education

    I choose this article on women and education because I believe it tied in with my other blog which was a story wrote by Virginia Wolfe, “Thinking About Shakespeare’s Sister.”  Her story was mainly about women and how they were denied the right to an education and in “Women and Education” discusses women and their education in the past two centuries and the milestones that have been reached. Some interesting points the article states is, that women were looked upon as lower class and therefore didn’t deserve an education and also a women who did get educated was discontented with her current status and irritated with men.  It was also said an educated women would through of the social balance of time.  Some of the milestones mentioned with the opening of  Oberlin College in 1833 which was a the nation’s first college is accept women and blacks, also the Convention of Seneca Falls, and 1972 Title XI are to name a few. 

    "Thinking about Shakespeare's Sister"

    I enjoyed reading the story “Thinking about Shakespeare’s Sister”.  I thought Woolf gave a very good perspective to how life was and how women were portrayed in the earlier centuries.  Woolf writes, “ For it needs little  skill in psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift for poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by other people, so that tortured and pulled asunder by her own contrary instincts, that she such have lost her health and sanity to a certainty. “ I liked this passage because I believe it paints an image of how limited women were back then and could not express or even talk about their talents or passions. Like so many others I wonder how many great pieces of art were produced by women that took on a pen name of a man or had a man took credit for her work. She writes that in the time of Shakespeare, women would not have been granted to go to school or even choose her husband.  It’s interesting to reading passages written in the 1929’s and comparing it to a passage wrote in the 1970’s. It’s interesting to look at the two passages and see how there are still similarities in how women were limited to what they could do and how things have changed in fifty years.  Now we have the opportunities to go to school, express talents, vote, choose to marry who we wish and many more opportunities.  Reading statements and passages like this make me feel fortunate to have the opportunities that we do today.

    Sunday, September 19, 2010

    Women Earning More Doctoral Degrees Than Men in U.S.

    I found this article very interesting and a huge step in progress for the women in our country. Relating back to the article, A Day Without Feminism from the book Women’s Voices Feminist Visions to shows that women are excelling at an opportunity they were once denied/restricted in.  Even though the percentage men to women who obtained their doctoral degrees isn’t overwhelming, I feel from a women’s perspective it is still an accomplishment that so many women are going to school and obtaining and excelling in their degrees.  I believe this is an opportunity for women to show and prove that we are equal to men, even though I feel as though our country is improving and has drastically improved; I believe there is still room for improvement to make this country an equal opportunity for all men and women in all aspects of our living.  

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/education/20iht-educBriefs20.html

    Response to "A Day Without Feminism"

    I was of fond the reading A Day Without Feminism by Jennifer Baumgarder and Amy Richards, it really made me appreciate all the things that women are able to do now, compared to 40 years ago.  Rarely being denied anything I have wanted to do or participate in during my lifetime. Reading this article made me appreciate all the things I am able to do such as: sports, attending school and picking my career, and being able to vote.  Being an athlete ever since grade school I can’t imagine what I would do with my spare time had I been denied this opportunity. Another aspect I would say I take advantage of is the opportunity to be in college, even though now women are accepted into almost all universities in our country; around the world many women are denied an education all together.  Another aspect that I feel fortunate about is the ability to pick my own career; according to the reading women were expected to have majors in teaching, home economics, or maybe a language. We are granted to be in the military and be just more than a nurse but to choose what we want to do.  There are more job opportunities offered to men and women and businesses are discouraged against discriminating on sexes, compared to the 1970’s and previous years.  A huge revolution in this country was the opportunity for women to vote and have our voices be heard in our government.  Personally, I would have to say I take a lot of these opportunities that we are given for granted, due to the fact of never being denied any that were faced previous to the 1970’s. This article definitely shed a new light on how fortunate the women in our generation and how much our country has evolved in 40 years to attempt to make our country have more equal opportunities for men and women.