Her mother was very excited on how they turned out.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What I do
Reading Reaction
The articles in this week's readings centered around women, gender roles, and body politics for college age women. Being a male, it's hard to fit into the shoes of a female, and even harder to justify knowing how to empathize with modern day issues surrounding women these days in higher education. So after reading these articles and relating to things I've learned over the years could I get a grasp of gender roles in today's society and how it affects female college students.
Through my ignorance on the subject, I never fully realized how important the environments and roles that each person plays in developing students. We grow to be stronger people, and specifically for women in college, obstacles are always bound to come up. For this, I blame the media on which everyone I know has grown up with.
The media portrays a male protagonist in many mediums, and the term "damsel in distress" has always followed by. Women are given a disadvantage and not credited as they should be, for example, in the James Cameron's "The Terminator", the female protagonist, Sarah Connor, is rendered helpless against an unstoppable antagonist, The Terminator. It's not until she is saved by the soldier Kyle Reese that we are worried for the couple's safety and wish for their triumph. Another example is that which is given in the article by Bell Hooks about Tina Turner, where her image as triumphant and independent overshadowed a deeper struggle to become her own person. But the media doesn't care for such struggles. The media over-sensationalizes sexuality and the focus of that image because it sells. Is this what children and posterity will focus on when looking back on history? As the media shapes what people should be focusing on, it becomes a time capsule for a disastrous, male-driven society that focused on sex and excitement.
And so work to reverse, and re-energize, an equal standing for both men and women continues. Higher Education institutions which focus on bringing balance to this uneven playing field reinforced by the media has given me definite hope that there is a chance for more unique views in the workplace. What I've learned from the Wolf-Wendel study is that a healthy environment for specific subpopulations of students generates stronger leaders over time. Oprah Winfrey, an actress and TV talk show host, was once quoted as saying, "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." This rings very true, especially in specialized population institutions where in Wolf-Wendel's study it states that "women students in women's colleges are more successful than those in coeducational colleges." In the study, Wolf-Wendel brings good points to what institutions should do to maximize student development. This is exactly what every institution should be doing by providing services and environments for students, because it shows that the institution knows what the needs of their students are. What I would hope is that when these students finally go through the end of their education, they will have the leadership, experience, and academic strength to compete against others that view the predominantly white male as top competition in the work place.
The importance of there being a reinforced environment for female college students to thrive is the tip of the iceberg for the progress of college subpopulations. Only when we understand that everyone is allowed the freedom to be treated fairly and have a pursuit of happiness can we really be a successful culture. So maybe I should always keep an open mind about important perspectives such as those brought to my attention in these articles, because I know it will only attribute to my further knowledge.
Through my ignorance on the subject, I never fully realized how important the environments and roles that each person plays in developing students. We grow to be stronger people, and specifically for women in college, obstacles are always bound to come up. For this, I blame the media on which everyone I know has grown up with.
The media portrays a male protagonist in many mediums, and the term "damsel in distress" has always followed by. Women are given a disadvantage and not credited as they should be, for example, in the James Cameron's "The Terminator", the female protagonist, Sarah Connor, is rendered helpless against an unstoppable antagonist, The Terminator. It's not until she is saved by the soldier Kyle Reese that we are worried for the couple's safety and wish for their triumph. Another example is that which is given in the article by Bell Hooks about Tina Turner, where her image as triumphant and independent overshadowed a deeper struggle to become her own person. But the media doesn't care for such struggles. The media over-sensationalizes sexuality and the focus of that image because it sells. Is this what children and posterity will focus on when looking back on history? As the media shapes what people should be focusing on, it becomes a time capsule for a disastrous, male-driven society that focused on sex and excitement.
And so work to reverse, and re-energize, an equal standing for both men and women continues. Higher Education institutions which focus on bringing balance to this uneven playing field reinforced by the media has given me definite hope that there is a chance for more unique views in the workplace. What I've learned from the Wolf-Wendel study is that a healthy environment for specific subpopulations of students generates stronger leaders over time. Oprah Winfrey, an actress and TV talk show host, was once quoted as saying, "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." This rings very true, especially in specialized population institutions where in Wolf-Wendel's study it states that "women students in women's colleges are more successful than those in coeducational colleges." In the study, Wolf-Wendel brings good points to what institutions should do to maximize student development. This is exactly what every institution should be doing by providing services and environments for students, because it shows that the institution knows what the needs of their students are. What I would hope is that when these students finally go through the end of their education, they will have the leadership, experience, and academic strength to compete against others that view the predominantly white male as top competition in the work place.
The importance of there being a reinforced environment for female college students to thrive is the tip of the iceberg for the progress of college subpopulations. Only when we understand that everyone is allowed the freedom to be treated fairly and have a pursuit of happiness can we really be a successful culture. So maybe I should always keep an open mind about important perspectives such as those brought to my attention in these articles, because I know it will only attribute to my further knowledge.
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