Universalizing and Eliminating Unearned Privileges

      Certain privileges in our world today are unearned and should be either universalized or eliminated completely. As a straight person, I have the privilege to marry who ever I want in any state I would like. I feel that this privilege should be universalized and extended to all people. I believe that if you truly love someone, you should be able to marry them regardless of sex or gender. Some states have already legalized gay marriage. I feel that the federal government should step in and make the executive decision to legalize it in all states. Since straight people don't have to give up their rights, there should be no harm in this. Eight states have already done it. The world would be different because gay couples could start to earn the same financial benefits that straight couples have in the comfort of their own state. They wouldn't have to move states just to get married.

      One privilege that I think should be eliminated is the accusations made towards non-white people. Because I'm white, I have the privilege of not being as suspected as a non-white person. If it was me against a black or Hispanic man/woman, most likely the majority would assume or question him/her first. If something is stolen or damaged, or a person is shot or beaten, 9 times out of 10 a non-white person will become the suspect. People in today's society automatically assume that a person of color or different race did these bad deeds. This is so wrong. Everyone is "innocent until proven guilty", so why should a person of a non-white race be accused or questioned more than a white person? I'm not talking about the incidents where they have sufficient evidence towards a person, but rather situations in which people start to assume and point fingers when they have no clue what happened or who did it. A person's color shouldn't be a factor in this. Maybe if people learned to stop assuming, stereotypes would diminish and racism could start to cease. Some people may not even be aware that they do this. Learning to be more aware can really help you in the future. 

Special Topic Post

Using Women

      How would one define pop culture? Pop culture is the shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, images, and actions of the "majority" of the population. Pop culture is publicized through the mass media such as internet, TV, radio, and newspapers. While pop culture claims to represent the majority of the population--this is not always the case. In my opinion, pop culture represents the beliefs of the privileged groups. For example, in "No Girls Allowed: File Sharing Culture and BitTorrent" from http://www.feministfrequency.com/, the internet  advertisements of BitTorrent are solely directed towards men, when in fact there are actually more women in the United States. I'm sure this is also the case for many other sites as well. 

      Pornography, half-naked women, and sexy poses consume today's advertisement world. In her video, she discusses how all of the ads are directed towards men. Not just males, but heterosexual males. These ads support the beliefs and images that only heterosexual men like, therefore supporting male and straight privilege. Our culture today also assumes that all gamers/bloggers/geeks/tech-freaks/internet users are all male which is definitely not the case. I know from personal experience how much I (a female) use the internet and social networks and games and so forth. Ad companies somewhat discriminate against women by creating an undesirable environment for women to get involved. Some sites and ads make it  almost impossible for women to have a say-so or input which is very unfair. Although I agree with this, it still doesn't stop me personally from using the internet. I'm able to just overlook the negative images and move on, but others can't simply do this. After all this isn't based on an individual level, instead it is on a more cultural/institutional level.

     The advertisements displayed in the media almost always use a sex appeal. Today's culture is somewhat more open about discussing sexual topics than in the past which is why majority of the ads use women as a prop. Whether its on a TV commercial, magazine ad, or website pop-up, women are frequently used to attract viewers. As stated earlier- mainly heterosexual male viewers. These images degrade and dehumanize women. They make women seem inferior to men because they use them as a prop or object. If society claims that 'men and women are equal', then why are women the only ones to be portrayed in this fashion? Who made women the target of sex appeal? Some of the time the product being advertised has nothing to even do with women. Sometimes we look at ads and wonder "what are they even trying to sell?" These ads suggest that women won't amount to anything life and that their sole purpose is to please men, which is entirely not true. Women have the potential to be just as smart and successful as men do and should use this to their advantage. Not all men are to blame though.

       Women sometimes put themselves into these situations. Why even agree to do a photo shoot or video like that? Maybe I'm 'blaming the victim' but since I'm a female also I feel that I have a right to say something. Women of today should have some self-respect. We claim we want equal rights and to be viewed equivalent to men, but yet women still degrade themselves by participating in these actions. We can't really blame the men for all of it if women agree to it. What happened to the olden days when a women's body was sacred and only for her husband's eyes to see? Or when talking about sex was considered highly inappropriate and possibly a punishable action?  If women stopped putting themselves out there and stopped participating in these acts, then maybe we could actually start to be considered equal and viewed as a normal human being instead of just a sex object. We have to tear these barriers down to start making progress.

Are Men Really More Athletic Than Women?

     Patriarchy is a hegemonic ideology that often presents the assumption that men are more athletic and strong than women. This ideology presents this as a brute fact when in reality, it is a social fact. This ideology makes it seem that no woman could ever out lift or out run a man when in fact that is not always the case. Women have the potential to be just as athletic as men. Some women may not have the desire to workout or stay in shape as well as some men, but that does not make them incapable of doing so. Yes, men have more testosterone than women but that necessarily doesn't make them more athletic. Some women may workout or train much harder than their male peers. This is a social fact because over time it could change and this assumption may not have necessarily been the case in the past or across all cultures. The fact that men are supposedly more athletic/strong than women is merely a common sense assumption when it isn't always true. I'm sure most of you know of women that are more athletic than men.

Privilege

Although I have many privileges such as being white, American, and  English, one privilege that I would like to discuss is being straight. Until this class I never really understood or even thought about this as a "privilege". I always just considered it to be my preferred sexual orientation. Yes, I knew it was considered to be the "norm" in our society, but who constitutes what is "normal" anyways? 
Being a straight female, I never realized how many things I take for granted. Simple things like being able to be affectionate in public such as holding a guy's hand and going on dates without receiving strange looks or questions is indeed a privilege. Never am I questioned or looked down upon for being affectionate with a guy. Being able to get married in any state I want or being able to get married in a church are also other privileges I receive just from my sexual orientation. Never am I harassed or discriminated against because of my sexual orientation. Never am I denied a job or position because of my sexual orientation. It's crazy to me how all these little things so unnoticed. This goes along with the article we read about how privileged people are taught not to notice these things and ignore them if they'd like. Learning about how many privileges I do have will make me at least stop and think of some of the experiences and hardships underprivileged groups have to deal with.

"Doing" Gender

      As a lady, there are certain actions you should perform and specific things you should do to fit in with society. One thing that I find wearisome and annoying to keep up is always crossing my legs when I sit down. I know it's a tiny problem but I find it so uncomfortable to sit with my legs crossed. When I was a child, my mother would constantly fuss at me for sitting with my legs open or apart. I understand I should sit like this when I'm wearing a skirt or a dress so people can't see up my clothes, but when I'm in jeans or shorts, I don't see what the big deal is. I'm constantly reminding myself to cross my legs and sit more "lady-like".

      If you look around at all the girls in a public place, probably 98% of them are sitting with their legs crossed. I'd much rather sit with my feet normal and flat on the floor. Or with one leg on my chair and the other flat on the floor. This is just more comfortable to me. Constantly having to think about this and do something I don't want to do is a hassle. Sometimes I do sit correctly and sometimes I don't. As I said before, I will if I'm in a dress or skirt, or if I'm in a really formal place like a banquet or something. I don't sit "lady-like" in a classroom or on my own time. I know this may sound like a tiny problem. Actually, half of the women reading this probably don't even think about it- it just comes naturally to them. I just don't understand who came up with the idea of sitting with your legs crossed. Nobody should be able to dictate how I sit.