Monday, February 28, 2011

WGS 310 - week 7 FloTV - Spine Removal

For my class I was asked to watch a Super Bowl commercial and to give my opinion on how these commercials represent women and to discuss any significance it may have to women and rhetoric. My reaction will be addressed in this open letter to the creators of this FloTV commercial.

Dear FloTV and the advertising company used to create this commercial:

Guess what!?...I don't like shopping and I'm female! I know that may be a hard pill for the people at this company to swallow - but, it's true. I really hate shopping - and I know other women that actually share these same negative feelings about malls and shopping centers as me! Therefore, my opinion is not that unique.

While creating this commercial I can imagine you were trying to appeal to football loving males since this was a commercial to be shown during the Super Bowl. But, seriously - do you need to feed these men this pathetic image of women just for the sake of selling a few more hand-held television devises?

Also, while commercials like these continue to be made - have you ever stopped to wonder how the male population likes being insulted by these "weak" attempts at humor? I seriously think that if you really put some thought into the creation of next years Super Bowl commercial that you will have the opportunity to use your money more wisely.

The quote from this commercial that makes me laugh is, "Get out of that skirt Jason"...guess what? I think men who can wear kilts actually look hot.

Thank goodness my worldview is much more developed than the creators of this commercial.

Thank you,

"God Loving Slut"

Here is a link to the commercial for those that may not have seen it:

FloTV - Spine Removal

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Working Together

I offer my sincere prayers and condolences to the family and friends of loved ones who were killed during the 18 days of protest in Egypt.

May their bravery and determination never be forgotten as Egypt and her people move on towards a glorious future of freedom.

I know many people all over the world are concerned with the future of this country - but, I believe it is time to put our faith in the people to do what is right. Besides, haven't they gotten this far without our help?

I want to leave you with a couple beautiful photos I have seen come out of Egypt during these last few days. May these photographs be an inspiration to all of us and to be a reassurance of the strength and beauty we all have within us.

Thank You Egypt!

Here is a photograph taken by Nevine Zaki which has circulated through Twitter.  As posted on her yfrog page - Navine explains that this a photograph of Christians protecting Muslims during their time of prayer on a day of demonstrations.
http://yfrog.com/froggy.php?username=NevineZaki
Here is a photograph posted by @arwasm on her yfrog page.  Today in Egypt was a day of cleaning and rebuilding.

http://yfrog.com/h050vucj
Peace! 

http://yfrog.com/h4t2opj

Friday, February 11, 2011

WGS 310 - week 5 Posting

Powell, Raymond A. "Margery Kempe: An Exemplar of Late Medieval English Piety." The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 89, No. 1 (2003): 1-23.

This is a source I have chosen to explore while researching information about Margery Kempe which comes from an article written (at the time of its publication) from a Graduate Student in European and American Religious History at the University of Virginia. This article was published in a Catholic Historical study publication. The author, Raymond Powell explores the different theories and opinions that have been looked at over the years by different scholars, some of these interpretations have led to negative opinions of Margery Kempe while others have regarded her more positively and have even associated her writing as an example of early feminist rhetoric.

I feel that using this source will help give me a certain insider’s point of view since it is written from a person that has studied the significance of the religious culture in a historical context. An example of this can be found while reading about an interesting method of personal spiritual development used during the late Middle Ages called Meditacions. For my paper it will be nice to explore the significance of Margery’s society while at the same time trying to understand the passion and devotion that Margery Kempe would have felt as she struggled to understand her feelings about faith, motherhood, and womanhood.

Clement, Jennifer. "The Queen's Voice: Elizabeth I's Christian Prayers and Meditations." Early Modern Literary Studies (2008).

My second source of research will be used to explore the writings of Queen Elizabeth I and the influence these writing may have had on her reign as a powerful and successful Queen of England and as the Supreme Governor over the Church of England. This particular article explores Queen Elizabeth’s writings and the challenges she would have faced particularly with the prayers that were questionability written by her during her time in power. The author of this article explores the delicate balance of power, humility and God’s authority which she would have had to demonstrate in her writings.

I will more than likely use this resource to explore the differences the Queen of England and Margery Kempe experienced when it came to being able to assert any sort of religious or spiritual authority. I will also try to compare and contrast how these two women both shared a strong religious devotion to the church and how each woman faced different and similar challenges.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Animore 369

Since Bloggers and Twitter users can help facilitate a revolution - I thought maybe my personal blog can help bring true love together.

I love this song and all the hopes and dreams this person has put into it, I hope you enjoy it...and maybe we can work together to help these two get together.

http://animore369.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/animore-ellen/
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Friday, February 4, 2011

WGS 310 - Week 4 Blog


I believe the earliest and the strongest influence of our development of our understanding of cultural norms are created from what we learn in the home during our childhood.  But, the time during which we start to expand and explore our understanding of the world we have come to know usually begins during the time start learning from our peers and from our teachers in school.


School sponored and other childhood organizations often teach boys what sports they should play and that girls are often best suited as the cheerleader standing in the sidelines cheering for the boys during these games, just as I have seen in an organization called “Upward Sports” where the boys are invited to be the basketball players and the girls have cheerleading opportunities. Not only by teaching gender appropriate roles to our children - doesn’t this whole system influence what is even means to be American? Football games and soccer moms are symbols of what it means to live and grow-up in the United States.

In addition to these extra-curricular activities which are often highly valued in our culture and help us develop an understanding of our place in the American Dream - we are also taught what it is means to be a female or male American within our education system. The history of our country and the people that have influenced it's development is taught to us from text and lessons that have been developed by the male ethnocentric point of view. This just happens because historically women have not had the opportunities to develop skills outside of the home and for the women that have had the chance to receive an education or to become writers or artists were usually through the support of a male partner that allowed them the opportunity to develop and practice these skills.

A perfect example of what I am trying to say can be seen in a video released in 2002 by Disney which is titled “Disney’s American Legends” a compilation of stories that demonstrate the spirit and vigor of what it means to be an American – unfortunately, in this movie women are not represented in any of the stories of our American Legends.



Tuesday, February 1, 2011

United as Women!

Covered or uncovered;
Young or old...
We all have a voice that needs to be heard!!

Here is a very interesting photograph NohaAtef posted online with this quote, "Women of Egypt have been demonstrating 4 almost 200 years! - Photo was taken in 1919."  

I love it!!  I wonder what these women were protesting?

Posted by NohaAtef at http://twitpic.com/3v60ni