F-A-T

After watching Joy Nash and her fat rant, I'm ready to come out and say: I'm fat. I'm 5'8" and weight 174 lbs. I play water polo and horse back ride, and my favorite flavor of ice-cream is vanilla. I've struggled with my body for a long time. I've always been a bigger girl, but it wasn't until college that I realized how much it bothered me. I hated my body, and I hated that I wore a size 14-16. I felt embarrassed to go shopping, and to get desert at D Hall. The worst part of being big for me is trying to find bracelets. I can only get the kinds that have clasps, because the kinds that slip on wont fit over my hands. I know I'm fat, but I'm big too. We measured the the length of my shoulders against one of my guy friends and they were the same size. I'm not a small girl. I came to college weighing 184 lbs. I literally ate my feelings and they seemed to show up in my stomach and thighs. When I came to JMU, I looked around and said I am really really fat. So when my roommate asked me if I wanted to go to the gym with her I said yes, and I stated to get salads at D hall. I lost a lot of weight in a healthy way, but as I began to lose more weight I felt more insecure. This isn't right. I'm supposed to feel happier when I'm skinny. The truth is I didn't. I started to find more and more things I hated about myself. The way my thighs looked when I sat down, and how they stuck to the plastic desks in class. Fat rolls created by bras became my worst enemy. I was not happy, and it showed.
It took a long time for me to feel comfortable with being 10-20 lbs lighter. I know that I look much better and feel healthier, but I still struggle with saying, "Hey it's ok, so I'm still a double digit size. I look good." Being comfortable with yourself is not easy. We all say that we should love ourselves, and we should, but it's important to remember that we can love ourselves and still get healthy. I wish someone had to me that it's ok to struggle with truly liking yourself, it's worth the hardship. I work everyday on staying healthy, I do better on some days that others, but I always try and remember that I'm ok with me.
Watching Nash was very inspiring. I think she is right on, and I hope that more people can hear her message.

All Blocked In

We are all equal in this country. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe in this statement. The majority of the wait staffs at dinners and restaurants are women. African-Americans and hispanics are the dominant races seen in construction work and landscaping. While white men are the faces of huge companies like GM and Microsoft. We may be equal in the eyes of the law, but some of us are more equal than others.
I already discussed what privilege is, and that white people especially are privileged because of their race. This is called White Privilege. There is a distinction placed between privileged and White Privileged because White Privilege is a little more complex and exclusive. White Privilege is "a right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities." White Privilege explicitly pertains to the advantages given to people because of their race. For example, because she is white she can live in this neighborhood. Although it is illegal now to discriminate against someone based on their race, it is still an all to frequent occurrence.
Now I know what you're thinking. Why is she talking about White Privilege in a Women's Studies blog? Privilege is based off of oppression. It is objective, and just like people of color women did not have a choice. People are born into a race, and people are born a boy or a girl. No one gets to choose, but once they are born into a race or gender they are given or denied privilege. It's like an involuntary membership to a club that you have to go to, and is impossible to get rid. The Birdcage Analogy explains this. Oppression is made up of a bunch of don'ts or can't, and lets say that each one of those don't and can'ts is a wire, and all the wires are joined. One don't leads to another don't, so those wires become linked, until all the wires come together forming a cage of don'ts and can'ts.
This particular image did not work for me, so here's how I understand it. I think of a brick wall sealed together with mortar. Each one of those bricks is a stereotype, or a lack of privilege, and they just start to pile up on one another until they from this big wall that you can't climb over or walk around. This is oppression, but what I like about the brick wall metaphor is that the wall can be deconstructed and so can oppression. The tick is that it is hard work, and you can't do it by yourself.

My Privilege

We are all given advantages and disadvantages. Some of us have a talent for playing sports, while others can to math problems with their eyes closed, but it seems that some advantages are valued more than others. I'm guessing that the kid who loves math was not as popular as the quarterback on the football team in High School. The quarterback, blessed with his size and throwing capabilities, was privileged as high school royalty. Privilege is the advantages people have over others based on their status or position in society. Because of his position as quarterback he was popular, or a member of high-high-school society. Let's sat that several years later the strange kid that loved math invented a new computer programing software, and the high school football star wrecked his knees, and is now working as a security guard in the mall of his home town. The kid with the math skills gained advantage through success, while the football players status lowered because of his physical injuries.
Everyone can be discriminated against based on their physical mobility, metal capacity, race, gender, sexuality, looks, and much more. Privilege is not something that can be earned, nor is it stable. Like in the example or the football player and the mathematician, both people experienced privilege, but at different times in their lives and for different reasons.
I have experienced privilege in many ways. I am a middle-class white American, and because of those three aspects I have had access to a private education, and expensive pastimes like horseback riding and boating. I am very lucky to have had these experiences and the opportunities that have been presented to me because of them. I do not expect to be privilege throughout my whole life, but there are certain aspects about me that will result in my continuous privileged state, like my race. I will always be white, and because of that privileged, but when I gradate from college I will be on my own financially, and will no longer hold the title of middle class. Privilege will come and go, but it is not often fair.

Are We a Family?

In today's society, the definition of family is changing. There are families with divorced parents, single parents, families that have parents of the same sex, and many more. But what makes a family a family? In this course we defined family as a part of a kinship system or patterns of a relationship that defines family forms. This definition is very broad because the idea of a family is not concrete. For example, an adopted child might not consider his/her birth mother "family," even though they are biologically related. Families are built from relationships both biologically and emotionally. A family can start with a marriage, or with a birth of a child. Even without children, by our definition married couples are considered family.
Marriage plays a key role in the traditional idea of family. In many societies, families begin with a marriage. Marriages act as an official statement of commitment and responsibility towards one another. However, what about families that are unable to obtain a marriage license? Gay marriage is a highly debated topic, even though it is legal in some states. There are many families that are unable to marry and make that commitment to one another. Although there are alternatives for Gay couples like civil unions and domestic partnership, there is a stigma attached with marriage. The idea of marriage is meant to bring security to the family. In American society we take marriage vows very seriously, and try to uphold the promises that were made. Marriage is a key element to family in America, and it helps to establish a stronger bond.
Although marriage is not necessary to have a family is tends to make the family seem official. This idea is reflected in step-families. For example, two people with children from previous marriages decide to get married, and new sets of relationships are formed. There are now step brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. But what happens if the parents divorce? The children are no longer related, but are they still family? I don't have an answer to this question, but if anyone else would like to comment and tell me what they think, I would really like to discuss what their "family" situation is in this situation.

Big or Beautiful

In American culture today, we are obsessed with fat. We like to cook with it, we try to loose it, and some of us try to gain it. Radio stations like PBS warn us about the raising obesity rates, especially among American children. TV is filled with ideas about fat. There are tons of TV shows that surround the idea of being fat. There's shows like The Biggest Looser, and Dace Your Ass Off that show case large people and their struggle to lose weight. ABC Family just launched their new summer sires Huge staring Nikki Blonsky, from Hairspray. Huge takes place at Camp Victory, a camp designed to help overweight teens get healthy. The catch comes when the star of the show, Willamina (Nikki Blonsky) declares that she doesn't want to lose weight but gain it. Why should she have to change herself when she likes who she is?
This show offers a very different perspective on body perception and what makes a person beautiful. I watched the season premiere of this show last Tuesday, and was really impressed. TV has never addressed fat like this. We get a look into the lives and feelings of very overweight teens, and start to understand "fat" a little better. One female camper post pictures of fashion models and titles them as "Thinspriation." We are always encouraged to be thin. The media, and fashion magazine use models that tend to be stick thin as their spokes person or representative. We idolize thinness, and look down upon fat. I think this show will be an extremely good look into America's perception of beauty, and how people perceive themselves.

CR Groups

Before the second wave movement, women were had become isolated. There was not a lot of discussion happening about women’s oppression and position in society, but that soon changed. Radical Feminists in particular adopted the practice of hosting Consciousness Raising Groups, or as the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (CWLU) refers them, CR Groups. CR Groups consist of a group of women and a topic. Women come together and discuss things like their role in the family or workplace, or even about political issues like abortion. The idea behind CR groups is to get women talking to each other, and break away from isolation.

CWLU hopes to inspire discussions about “the ideas and actions that helped women liberate each other from oppressive beliefs and old social habits.” CWLU encourages women everywhere to start talking. They eve have a FQA section for college students, and a list of colleges that have already started chapters of their own. I think it would be great if JMU started their own form of CR Groups. Our school is mostly made up of female students, and I think we could come up with some really great topics to discuss. JMU is a great school, and I love coming here, but even in some of my classes I feel that I’m being treated differently because I am a woman.

I think starting CR Groups at college campus would benefit a lot of women. As educated women discussing topics like Career vs. Family Responsibilities would be extremely beneficial.

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 in Massachusetts. By the age of three Anthony could read, and was well versed in her love of learning. Anthony was extremely bright, and was one of the most active women suffragettes. She met Cady Stanton in 1851, and ever since then was a forerunner for the Women's Right Movement. She traveled around the United States giving speeches and protesting for Women's Rights. She was arrested in 1872 because she refused to pay the free the street car. She said she was protesting at the government's expensive. She was found guilty, and was fined $100, which of course she refused to pay.
One reason why I chose to write about Anthony was her versatility and dedication. Anthony was not just a suffragette. She was a school teacher, an abolitionist, and writer. She used all of her talents to gian equal rights for all, not just women. While doing some reading on her, I found this quote, and I think it describes the whole attitude of the First Wave. She said, "Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences." To me this quote means a lot, and I found it quite reliant to some of today's issues like Gay marriage.
A recent Supreme Court case questioned the public's ability to have access to the names of the people who signed a petition against gay marriage. People who signed this petition were afraid of "intimidation" and did not want their names released. However, the court ruled against keeping the names privet. They signed a public petition and the rest of the nation has a right see that petition names and all.
Like Anthony said, if you believe in something you have to fight for it regardless of social discrimination, and I have to agree. If you want to make a change you have to be willing to stand for it publicly, and that is exactly what Anthony, and other suffragettes did.