FEMINISM! IN THE NEW YORKER!!!!

Extra Extra! Read all about it! Once again feminism is relevant in society believe-it-or-not!

  

I found this very funny comic while browsing the September 7, 2015 edition of the New Yorker. The cartoon illustrates two ducks about to cross the street complaining about a sign that has a "mother duck" leading its babies safely across. The caption reads, "Society puts a lot of pressure on women to have kids." 

While I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, it is unsure of the cartoon's true message. Is it supposed to paint issues pertaining to feminism so that people laugh? Or perhaps, is it mocking the beliefs of feminism by using ducks? 

I think that the cartoon is actually agreeing with feminism but it could be taken as mocking it. The sign is just about ducks crossing the road and the meaning behind it is so that drivers don't hit them. The message behind the sign is not that society puts pressure on women to have children it just represents ducks as having children. The reader of the cartoon might get confused, as I did, of the cartoon trying to label feminists as misinterpreting everything to be sexist towards women. However, I think that it's just a cartoon and is trying to be funny. Everything is open to interpretation. 

My Perspective of Feminism

As a male, I feel like it can be difficult to talk about feminism without sounding like one of these:

Personally, I feel like meninism is stupid. It has no reason to exist. Feminism is the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. I need feminism just like other men and women, and everyone in the world needs feminism.

I need feminism because as a boy, I was told growing up that it was "unmanly" to cry. Girls the same age are taught that their feelings are important and to this day, just like many other men, it is difficult for me to show emotion.

I need feminism because my mental illness isn't taken seriously. Its a common misconception that men can't get depressed, that they can just snap out if it because they are supposed to be strong. In fact, the male suicide rate (Article Here) is about three times higher than that of women. Men often do not get help until it becomes too late because again, they are inclined not to show their emotions.

I need feminism because I have been told that I will become attracted to other men because of the absence of a male role-model in my life. I have been told that no one taught me how to be a man, only because I was raised by my mother. I am free to love whoever I want and my sexuality shouldn't be based on whether other men taught me how to be masculine. (This is an actual theory, believe-it-or-not.)

Men are told that they cannot be vulnerable. To be vulnerable is to be feminine, and who wants to be feminine, right? Feminism seeks to abolish the roles and attributes attributed to gender. I need feminism because I, along with other boys, am taught that the more masculine I am the better. In reality, masculinity is one of the most vulnerable and fragile things in this world. Ones masculinity or femininity, or lack thereof, should not determine their value in society.

This is just why I personally think feminism is important. Not everyone believes that they need feminism (especially men) but I would like to think that everyone does (especially women). Feminism encompasses so much and it can become confusing and seen as "man-hating" when it is in fact just the opposite. I hope we can one day reach gender equality but I think that everyone needs to be on the same page and take feminism for what it really is. 

Disney, What's Good?

Okay so I'm not a huge fan of some of the choices Disney has made after reading that article by Deborah Ross. The article talked about how the Little Mermaid and Alice in Wonderland show feminism in the wrong way and how Beauty and the Beast is good but it could be better, with which I agreed. However, I do think that Ross overly analyzed the content of Disney movies which are intended for children's entertainment.


^Deborah Ross

I think Disney now is starting to realize that they are not so "with the times". Two examples are: Mulan and Frozen

In Mulan, she goes off to fight in the Chinese army and saves China, proving everyone wrong and that she could do whatever she set her mind to.

In Frozen, there is no praise for the concept of marriage. Elsa strikes down Anna when she asks for her blessing on marrying a man she just met. In the end of the movie, it is eventually Elsa who saves Anna and not the "man of her dreams", showing the importance of Family over Marriage.

These are just some of my favorite Disney movies and I think that Disney is going in a good direction if it follows the ideas that are more common these days.

Things that I would like to see in future Disney movies include: non-traditional gender roles, LGBT characters, racial minorities and cultural appreciation, characters with different religious backgrounds, characters with divorced parents, characters with mental illnesses, and characters with physical handicaps

I think that if Disney incorporates these characters into their future movies then children of today will be more open minded and accustomed to adversity. If we start with children, they will be some of our biggest advocates to taking down the culture of power (SCWAMP).

Take Me To Church - Hozier

Okay so I really like this song and I decided for my random blog post that I would explain why.

 

My lover's got humourShe's the giggle at a funeralKnows everybody's disapprovalI should've worshipped her sooner
If the heavens ever did speakShe's the last true mouthpieceEvery Sunday's getting more bleakA fresh poison each week
"We were born sick," you heard them say it
My church offers no absolutesShe tells me, "Worship in the bedroom."The only heaven I'll be sent toIs when I'm alone with you
I was born sickBut I love itCommand me to be wellAmen. Amen. Amen.
Take me to churchI'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your liesI'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knifeOffer me that deathless deathGood God, let me give you my life
If I'm a pagan of the good timesMy lover's the sunlightTo keep the Goddess on my sideShe demands a sacrifice
Drain the whole seaGet something shinySomething meaty for the main courseThat's a fine-looking high horseWhat you got in the stable?We've a lot of starving faithful
That looks tastyThat looks plentyThis is hungry work
Take me to churchI'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your liesI'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knifeOffer me my deathless deathGood God, let me give you my life
No Masters or KingsWhen the Ritual beginsThere is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly sceneOnly then I am humanOnly then I am cleanAmen. Amen. Amen.
Take me to churchI'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your liesI'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knifeOffer me that deathless deathGood God, let me give you my life (from azlyrics.com)  
   

  So first of all let me start off to explaining what is the meaning of the song. Hozier is singing about being in love. Love songs are pretty common right? But, this is not any old love song. This song is about being in love with someone so much that it becomes like religion. Hozier is one of the first people if not only person to write a song comparing love to religion. Why might that be? Well, religion is considered a taboo subject nowadays. Not many people are as spiritual or religious as they used to be perhaps, 20 to 30 years ago. This is one of the reason why I love this song so much. I don't mean to offend anyone who is religious or spiritual in anyway and I do not think this song mocks religious people. I think love is something we all need to practice perhaps put it over going to church and being religious. I really love the metaphor. I'm not a very spiritual person but listening to this song puts religion into perspective for me. I think that it's a really beautiful thing to love someone that much to talk about sacrificing yourself in worship to that person. They are all you think about and they are the most important thing in your life and they save you. Love is a really beautiful thing and this song shows a side of love that we don't normally hear in love songs.     The second reason that I really like this song is the music video. The video shows two men who are in love. Of course being in Russia, they need to hide it from everyone because it's still illegal to be gay in Russia. I feel like this is a really good way to make the point of the song. Imagine being so dedicated and in love with a person that you're willing to hide it from everyone and risk your lives to be together. This is pretty sad that one of the men dies but this is the reality for gay people in Russia. I feel like Hozier used Take Me To Church and made it into a message about love and acceptance and that we should fight for people being treated this way. Yeah. So that's why I really like this song, not everyone does and a lot of people find it confusing and that's okay. I just think that it has a good message. 

Power of Persuasion/Standardized Testing

     Let me start off by saying that, I have never liked standardized tests. In recent years, these tests have become more important to my value as a student. Normally, the function of a test is to show us how well we understand a concept. However, standardized tests show us how better we understand concepts compared to other students of similar age and a projected range of ability level. I have never learned anything from a standardized test. It has not helped me in anyway as a student other than to see how I compare to other students. I completely think that all standardized tests should be disregarded when considering the achievements of a student. With the upcoming PSAT, the main thing I have to worry about is to do well enough to out-score other students competing for scholarships and the attention of colleges. If this is what we are teaching children from as early as Kindergarten, I cannot understand why people wonder why kids do not like standardized tests.

"Something is wrong with our system if we assume a certain number of kids will vomit" 

     This is quote from the aforementioned John Oliver video entitled, "Standardized Testing". I agree with everything that John Oliver posed in his argument. This was that we need to admit that standardized testing does not work and fix it or try and come up with some benefits to it. We need to fix the education system of our country. While watching the John Oliver video, he provides specific examples that strengthened his argument as well as persuaded the audience to agree with him. The clip of the girl explaining why she had to drop out of her advanced English class because she receives low state test scores, and the clip of the teacher who was cut in pay because his 6th grade student received a perfect score but less than projected score based on her ability impacted my take on standardized tests greatly. Even without my prior experience with standardized testing, I still would feel greatly angered and understood the frustration of both the teacher and the student. This is legitimate proof that standardized testing does not work. Oliver appeals to logos by citing studies and showing accounts of the frustrations of standardized tests and he appeals to pathos by the use of humor and to get people to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

     I really liked this video. I already agreed with John Oliver before I knew what he was arguing but now I feel like it is my job personally to speak out about the problems of our country's education system. As a future teacher, I hope to change that or at least do what I can to help my students. Hopefully, the problem of standardized testing is fixed by then. It is going to take everyone to challenge the big companies and the initiative to get ahead of other countries in academic ranking.