Future material

I know Dr. Lambiase said she is always looking for new material and I have an idea I don't think we covered in class.

Daytime talk shows, especially the Maury Povich show because it portrays minorities in a negative light.

Paternity testing and sex confessions make up most of the Maury show and black people make up most of those episodes. These people are shown as irresponsible players, sluts and cheaters. The women don't know who their babies fathers are and the men hope the lie detector test doesn't bust them for sleeping around.

This perpetuates the stereotype that black women are careless with sex and black men are untrustworthy.

Other programs that could be looked at include court t.v. shows that portray white trash stereotypes.

Rejecting gender stereotypes

I've never the seen the Horse Whisperer, but I understand what Bell Hooks is saying. Many movies and books send the message that women think they can be happy with a successful career and no husband until they fall in love with a man and realize they were wrong.

I don't appreciate these portrayals because it perpetuates the theory that if a woman is frigid, she just needs a good man and a good romp in bed with that man. I know guys who believe sex is just the solution to ease what they see as an "uptight" woman.

Hooks also goes on to say that media portrays feminism to be negative and culpable for women straying from traditional gender roles. This "blame feminism" phenomenon is something I've been frustrated with for a while now. Feminism is the notion that women are people, and therefore, equal to men. It's not about refusing to shave my armpits or hating men, it's about ensuring that I get paid as much as my male counterpart; or speaking out about horrendous crimes against women such as rape and domestic violence.

We've also discussed how the media portrays situations to have no happy medium or gray areas. A female is a career woman, or a mom. She's either good at her job or good at taking care of her family. The media tell us there can't be both. I know this to be untrue because my mom is valued at work and at home.

Dads who can't do anything right

Wow. How frustrating. I can't imagine being a competent father who lives in a society that stereotypes as incompetent because I am male.

This is a HUGE stereotype because of shows with premises about husbands and dads who just can't do anything right and the wives and kids who love them anyway.

The stereotype is that men just can't be as efficient at taking care of children because men are not naturally nurturing, unlike women. I know this is untrue because of experience-- I've met men who are very sensitive and nurturing and plenty of women who aren't.

This view of dads is damaging because if a couple has a child and the father makes a mistake about taking care of the child (i.e. the formula in the bottle is too cold) it could be dismissed because he is a man and the woman gets into the practice of not holding the dad accountable for mistakes later on because he is male.

I've also seen first-hand some even more negative consequences because of the incompetent dad stereotype. I've known a couple of friends whose moms made all the decisions with regards to the child's upbringing against the father's wishes because these moms assumed they knew more about child-rearing because they are women. I had a friend in middle school, for example, whose mother allowed her to dress provocatively and let boyfriends spend the night against her dad's wishes because she insisted she knew more about what was good for her daughter because she is, afterall, her mother. The mother would undermine her husband's authority in front of my friend and gave her permission to do things she wanted secretely after her father said 'no.'

"Okay, just don't tell your father."

As a result my friend felt her father's word was not valuable, and definitely not final.

This stereotype is especially frustrating to me because my dad is very competent, both in taking care of us physically and emotionally.

Just like with any other stereotype, all I can do is not perpuate this one.

Black female experience

I am curious as to why black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, by a lot. I am even more curious as to why they receive less help. I'm sure that lack of financing is a factor-- but it can't be the entire reason.

"In South Carolina, black women made up nearly 30 percent of all democratic primary voters in 2004. This year, polls show a significant number are undecided, torn between choosing the first African-American or first female Presidential candidate."

This may be slightly off topic but why, when voting, do people sometimes only consider which candidate is most like them in color, gender or religion? This is commonplace and really pisses me off. A black woman should not be torn between two presidential candidates because one is black and one is a woman, the only reason she should be torn is if there are two candidates that both closely reflect her political values.

But I guess they do have more of an excuse to vote for someone like them because they're a minority. I can't really speak about what that's experience is like. Although I am a minority because I'm a woman, I don't feel like one. Is it because I'm white?

The article read that the lack of blacks in higher education and business causes racial disparity and effects the construct of the black family. It goes on to say that interracial marriage between black females and white males had jumped by 39,000 marriages in just five years. Is it possible that the lack of blacks in education and business cause black woman to seek a life partner in a white man since he is statistically more likely to have an education and have a white collar job, or have people just become open-minded? The former thought is surely a pessimistic one but I can't help but wonder if there is a connection.

I'm GLAAD to be open-minded

Gay or lesbian relationships are not immoral.

Not allowing gays and lesbians in the military to be open about their sexuality because it could make others uncomfortable is immoral.

I agree with all the liberal beliefs about homosexuality: being gay is not a choice, any two consenting adults ought to be able to marry, gay couples should be able to adopt children.

This is my favorite commonly used conservative statement:

"If two people of the same sex are allowed to marry, we will soon be allowing people to marry animals."

This "logic" implies that there is no difference between two consenting adults and an animal.
Ridiculous.


Another harmful stereotype I've noted is that many people believe gay men are very likely to be pedophiles and they should be kept away from children. Some stereotypes are true, this one is not. Its been proven that heterosexual men, who are often married, are more likely to commit acts of pedophilia.

David Sedaris has a great essay in Dress Your Family in Cordouroy and Denim where he talks about listening to a radio show in which the callers and the DJ are discussing pedophilia. They begin interchanging the titles "pedophilia" and "homosexual" as if they are one in the same.

I sympathize for the stereotypes that many gay people must face all the time. Just like any other preventive measure, people just need to be aware of these stereotypes and I think GLAAD is going about that the right way. I hope people get the message.

Enough is Enough

I think it's positive that "Enough is Enough" are sending a message that rappers and what goes on in their music videos is not a reflection on nonwhite minorities.

I've heard from some black people that modern rap and its accompying images paints the American black race in a negative light. I think that rap videos further common black stereotypes such as they are more likely to commit crimes and degrade women because these are common things in just about EVERY rap video.

A rep. even stated that the campaign is not "anti-hip hop" or "anti-BET" but rather an attack on the stereotypes they perpetuate. This makes me think even more so that it's a sensible and much-needed camapign.

A protestor said that "rap just isn't rap anymore." I agree for the most part. I miss Run DMC.

I wasn't even aware that William and Rosalie Schiff were speaking at UNT but I now plan to go.

Two summers ago I wrote for the NTDaily as an intern and had the privilege of interviewing Craig Hanley, who won the NT Mayborn institute grant for his book William and Rosalie: A Holocaust Testimony about the Schiff's experience during the Holocaust.

I was really moved by their story. It's an unbelievable one. The fact that they even survived their time at the camps and found each other afterward is remarkable enough, but that they share their story so openly is a privilege for the rest of us.