Racial and Gender Stereotyping

2/20 9am
TV--Ellen DeGeneres
Scarlett Johanson plays a character in "He's Just Not That Into You" that is part of an affair. On the show to promote movie and played that clip.
Gender Stereotype

2/21 11:45am
CMT--Toby Keith Video "As Good As I Once Was"
He plays a character that picks up twin girls from the bar.
Gender Stereotpye

2/21 9pm
Film-- Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
One white girl attempts to dance at a Cuban club and everyone stares at her.
Racial Stereotype



2/22 11:15am
Poster--Adams Tower
A flyer for a Hip-Hop class with pictures only of black people.
Racial Stereotype

2/22 7pm
TV--ABC Oscars
Best Actor/Actress category only comprised of caucasians.
Racial Stereotype

2/23 6pm
Radio--KJ103
DJ talking about the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident.
Racial Stereotype

2/24 10:40am
Magazine--US Weekly
Ad for denim showing a half-naked woman posing in jeans only.
Gender Stereotype

2/24 5:30pm
TV--ESPN SportsCenter
Only male broadcasters on the show.
Gender Stereotype

2/25 2:30pm
Magazine--An older Vogue that I found at my work
Cover has Gisele Bundchen and LeBron James. She is wearing a beautiful dress and he is wearing athletic gear and holding a basketball.
Racial and Gender Stereotype



To be completely honest, I was very nervous to begin this assignment. I didn't think I would be able to find enough stereotyping. I was proven very,very wrong. I knew that there was a lot of stereotyping in today's society but what I wasn't aware of was how much I would see on a daily basis, especially when I was looking for it. I actually had a hard time only using two per day. It seemed that everywhere I looked I could find some form of racial or gender stereotyping. I came to the conclusion that if you're out to look for it, you can find it almost anywhere.

I know that from personal experience, I try not to make stereotypes of people on a regular basis. It can be hard to do sometimes but I am actively trying not to. Race, Gender and Media is also helping me realize what stereotyping can do to society and is helping me make an effort to be more cautious of my thoughts and opinions. In social experiences, stereotyping can become awkward. For instance, I was in the car with a friend that is black when I heard the horrible stereotying that was being said of Chris Brown. It was very uncomfortable and sad to be seated next to my friend during that circumstance. I can only imagine what was running through his head.

After a week of constantly looking for racial and gender stereotyping, I became very aware of what was happening, and what will continue to happen to our society. It really made me think about what it means to be a young woman in the world today. It also all begins to make sense. I think I have always been aware that it was OK by society if men didn't have the perfect body and women are criticized if they do not. Looking for gender stereotypes has made me believe that that is the case even more. My concern is that "sex sells" and if advertising agencies continue to follow that rule, these stereotypes might only get worse.

We need to teach our children that stereotyping is not a good thing and that people should be open to every gender and every race. If we all make an effort to lay of the stereotyping, our society could make some great changes.

Extra Credit Big XII

After spending quite a bit of time researching schools in the Big XII that have race-based admissions, I only found a few.

The University of Texas does ask for your ethnicity on the application.

The University of Kansas does not affect your admission, but filling it out is optional.

The University of Colorado says that it is optional to check the box as well.

The University of Missouri is optional for ethnicity and for gender as well.

The University of Texas was also optional.

Kansas State University did require the applicant to give ethnic information.

Oklahoma State University does not require ethnic or gender information.

Those were the only schools I could find race-based admission information on. To be honest, I'm glad OU does not have information online about whether or not were are race-based. I think that one's race or gender should have nothing to do with admission. Schools should accept students based on their applications, involvement and grades, not on the color of their skin. I think it would be disrespectful to a lot of people to admit people into a school simply on the color of their skin. I am happy that all but one of the schools I found information on were not race-based admission colleges. I hope that is because America is working towards a more accepting society. 

Miss March Extra Credit

Coming out of class on Monday night I was very interested in gender stereotyping. When I heard about an opportunity to see a movie that was about being a Playboy bunny, I knew I had to see it in order to learn more and see more stereotyping. Little did I know that there would be such an abundance of it in one movie.

"Miss March" was a funny movie. I laughed a lot but at the same time I was quite disgusted in the way women were portrayed throughout the entire film. Parts of it were even very crude and uncomfortable to watch being a woman myself.

The movie was about two young guys who have been great friends for a long time. One of the boys goes into a coma for four years and during those four years his girlfriend becomes the March centerfold of "Playboy." That, in and of itself, is very stereotypical of the type of girl that these boys would date. She was a dumb blonde and probably did not have much self-confidence. 

His friend, Tucker, also had a girlfriend in the movie and for her birthday he bought her a stripper pole to use. The girlfriend took the stripper without any hesitation. That insinuates that all girls would like to have stripper poles in their bedrooms, which is definitely not the case. 

A friend of the two boys brings about the most gender stereotyping in the movie. Their friend is a rapper who makes very derogatory music videos. His song titles are even too horrible to name. One of his videos show a bare chested woman bumping and grinding and showing no morals. I was extremely offended by that because I believe that women are better than that and that girls should not resort to doing that type of work.

The rapper brought the two friends on his tour bus and on the bus there were a lot of promiscuous women. At one point, the rapper told one of the girls to go have sex with Tucker and she nodded and went. She was letting some man tell her what to do and control her. It was, in my opinion, the saddest part of the movie.

Once the friends made it to L.A., they arrived at the Playboy Mansion. The mansion was full of blonde bimbos with little dogs and a ton of pink. None of them seemed to portray intellectual women. In fact, there were no women in the movie that were portrayed as "smart" or "intellectual." Every girl was seen as dumb and easily convincible. 

Although the movie was funny, I would never see it again. It was extremely crude and offensive toward women. It's goal was to show how dumb girls are and that all they are good for is looking good and being sex symbols. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Hit or Miss: Grammy Style

This past Sunday night I got to watch one of my favorite television shows of the year--The Grammy's. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards not only bring out the most talented musicians of the year, but also the greatest fashion of the year. As a lover of both fashion and music, it is easy to say that I love this night. 

Usually the Grammy's bring about some crazy fashion trends, but this year I was pleasantly surprised with how well I thought most attendees came dressed. From Carrie Underwood to Leona Lewis, "high-fashion style" was the theme of the evening.

Carrie Underwood looked as gorgeous as usual wearing a beaded gold Zuhair Murad gown that really complimented her skin tone and hair. With beautiful diamonds and a fabulous gold clutch, Carrie's look really was "classic."

Another favorite of the night was Kate Beckinsale. Although she is not a musician, she presented a Grammy and coincidentally had one of the best dresses of the entire evening. The fitted black bodice with a mermaid train was spectacular. It showed off her every curve in ways that most women dream. She made the perfect decision to wear her brown ha

ir down and lightly curled. Her entire appearance was breathtaking. With a look this good worn to the Grammy's, I can only imagine what she will look like next month at the Oscars. 

Although I mentioned that I was pleased with most of the fashion this year, there were some exceptions. Before I begin on the next victim, let me first give this woman props for attending. M.I.A. was due to give birth on the very same day as the Grammys and still came. She not only attended, she performed! However, there are no longer any excuses to be given to pregnant women; there are beautiful maternity gowns these days that need to be worn! M.I.A. showed up in a dress that looked as if it should be worn in a stage production of "The Wizard of Oz" by the munchkins. Not to mention that she wore her dress with high-top sneakers. 

As stated earlier, I really was impressed by the red carpet this year. I think fashion is really exciting and I always look forward to seeing the latest trends. Now it's time for the Oscars! 

Media Literacy: My Opinions

In the following blog I address the Seven Debates associated with the article "The Seven Great Debated in the Media literacy Movement" by Renee Hobbs.

Should media literacy education aim to protect children and young people from negative media influences?

No. I do not necessarily believe it should be aimed to protect from negative media influences. However, I believe that the teachers and parents of the children should limit the range of information the children will be exposed to.

Should media production be an essential feature of media literacy education?

Yes. I believe that media production should be essential for media literacy education. I know that from personal experiences that I tend to learn more when I am engaged in something creative rather than having a person simply telling me what to do.

Should media literacy focus on popular culture texts?

On this question I have differing views. I believe that in this day and age 

children will learn more if they have entertaining subjects that they can relate to. Often times, it can make their learning experience more fun and in return, they might pay more attention. However, I also see the relevance in teaching with traditional texts because traditional texts have a lot of good insight to offer students on a wide variety of subjects.

Should media literacy have a more explicit political or ideological agenda?

No. I disagree with this very much. Media literacy is meant to teach media literacy, not persuade children to think or behave in any certain way. There should never be anagenda when teaching media literacy.

Should media literacy be focused on school-based K-12 educational environments?

Yes, media literacy should be focused on K-12 educational environments. Children in school are in the ideal setting for media literacy education. Giving them the propereducation at a younger age will greatly help them in their futures.

Should media literacy be taught as a specialist subject or integrated within 

the contexts of existing subjects?

I think that media literacy should be integrated within the contexts of existing subjects because I think it is more relevant and efficient for not only the students but the schools as well. If media literacy is integrated into regular curriculum, students will be learning multiple subjects at one time.

Should media initiatives be supported financially by media organizations?

I don't think that it should be demanded that media organizations support media initiatives but I think it would serve the benefit to the media organization. There would be more exposure to thousands of students by financial support and in return, the children might always remember the brand that helped fund their programs.

I think that media literacy is a very important tool to have in the modern day and will continue to be useful as the world gets more and more media driven. Below, I have given links for some helpful media literacy sites.

http://www.medialit.org/about_cml.html#education

http://www.frankwbaker.com/default1.htm

Traveling: More than Pretty Places

Traveling is a passion of mine that I have had since I was a little girl. I love everything about it. The different types of people, the new cultures, the history of the places and most importantly, the types of experiences you can take away from somewhere new. 

I have had the privilege of doing a lot of traveling in the United States. I've been lucky enough to see some of the most well-known places in America from the East Coast to the West Coast as well as many places in between.  Not only do I come away from memories from these places but knowledge as well. And although I have never been outside of the country, other than to Mexico, I still believe that I have come away with insight to the way other Americans live their lives.

Traveling, to me, can be such a great learning tool for those who might not always enjoy simply reading about exciting places from pictures in a book. I've always been the type of learner that would rather "experience" new information. There is so much to learn from traveling. I especially think traveling is a fantastic learning tool for children. Children need to be exposed to more cultures and experiences to fully understand the world and how things work and in my opinion, traveling is a great tool that parents can use to teach those things in a fun way. 

If I could choose one place in the entire world to visit, I would choose Ireland. I am almost 100% Irish and I still have very close relatives living right outside of Dublin in a county called Clonakilty. I've always been interested in genealogy and love my Irish roots. My grandparents have gone to visit our family in Ireland and still keep close contact with many of them. Seeing where my family comes from would be one of the greatest experiences I can think of. My family actually owns a pub as well as a bed and breakfast (pictured below). I have recently spoken to some of my cousins and I am praying that I get to visit soon and finally get to meet part of my family.

 

Traveling should always be fun and if you take the time to explore, traveling should also be informational. If there are two things in this world that are worth the expense, traveling and education rank among the top two.