Blog 4

This week, since we talked about homosexuality in our readings, I wanted to share a story that took place when I was in high school. There was a young man in my class who always was a “big shot.” He was in football, wrestling, and choir. Being in choir did not change his image because at my high school, it was choir or FACS (Family and Cooking Sciences), so all the “jocks” decided to be in choir, rather than cook and sew.

One day, this young man wore pink nail polish to school. Instantly, word got around at school, and everyone soon knew that this guy had pink nail polish. In high school, this is the worst scenario for young guys to be in. Of course, people started calling him gay and a fag. People had no real reason to call him these names, other than the pink nail polish.

Weeks went by, and with no notice, he stopped coming to school. It turned out that his mom had passed away from breast cancer, and the PINK nail polish was for his mom. I remember some people crying because they had no clue that this young man’s mom passed away. He was always a guy who stood out and he knew everyone, and everyone knew him. Yet, some how no one managed to find out that his mom had passed away. He was the kind of guy who just smiled and acted like this did not bother him, but I always wondered why he never told anyone about his mom, instead of just trying to defend his sexuality. The only reason we found out was because the principal of our school had to tell our class about it in the lecture one day when the whole class got called to an emergency meeting about bullying.

I do not recall him coming back to school, but I imagine that it had to do with him mom’s passing and the fact that everyone called him gay, when really, he just had his own way of sort of publicly acknowleging his mom.

It was something I never will forget because so many of us learned not to judge someone because they are doing something that another sex would do.

Blog 3

As reguards to feminism, I have been randomly studying and watching people and how they act around men. I did this at the gym that I work out at. It is really intersting how women will act when it is all women in the gym, as opposed to there being men in the gym with them. When it is all women in the gym, it seems like women did not work as hard. Overall, women were walking slower paces, using less weight on the machine, and using less resistance on the cardio workout machines….

When men entered the gym, it was like looking at all new women. All of a sudden (when the men entered the room) the other women were running and jogging faster, lifting and working out with more weight, picking up their paces, and overall sweating more.

I do not have all of the answers or reasons as to why women would overall want to perform better in the gym with men than they would with all women are present. I believe that it is due to the feministic “bubble” that women have been placed into. I feel that men have been judging women and saying and believing that they are slower and lazier than men, that they do not have a place in the gym, so to speak. It feels like men laugh at and make fun of women when they work out and they really do make women feel like they have to give it their all when men are around to show what they can do.

It is awful that men have led women to feel intimidated in the gym, but then again, I do not know 100% if this is the reason why women would change their overall attitude in the gym. What do you all think? Do you think that men make women feel like they have no place to work out in a gym setting?

Blog 2

I have found it austonishing how different people act when they are put on the spot in a “sticky” situation. I have been living with my boyfriend for 2 1/2 years in the place we are currently staying. I have always been the one who cooks and cleans. When I say clean, I mean clean it all: the laundry, the dishes, the dusting and vacuuming, the scrubbing and maintaining of a clean home. This is on top of me having to work 3 jobs (one is full time thirds) and also taking full time credit hours. He only works one full time second shift job.

Lately, it has become quite a pet peeve of mine to come home after I had completely cleaned the home before I left, and find it extremely dirty. I am amazed how much mess one 24 year old man can make. However, I have been trying my best to maintain a positive attitude and not completely yell or get mad at him for constantly having to clean up after him. Last night, I  asked him if he could please help clean up a little bit and put his clothes away and any of his stuff that he wasn’t using. He said “I’ll try.” This instantly upset me, because what does that even mean? How can you try to do something that does not need any effort? So, when I woke up for school today, he was sitting on the couch watching tv and had not begun to clean anything at all. I was upset. I asked him why he had not helped, he said to me, “IT IS YOUR JOB. YOU ARE THE WOMAN.”

I never have heard anything like this come out of his mouth. I do not know if he said this becasue he knows I am taking this class, or because he honestly feels that way. I was hurt and outraged because this is a prime example of the feminists roles that we have become such a victim too. I am supposed to clean and cook and do everything else because I am a “woman.” I still am fired up about this because it just happened today and last night, but I can not believe that men still think that we have obligations only becasue we are women. I need help! Advice, please and thank you.

Blog 1

I want to share an incident that happened to me recently at my place of work. I work a full- time third shift job, and there is one manager in particular that I feel may be a little prejudiced against women. I believe this because of the most recent situation that took place between him and me. One of our dress code rules is no piercings or tattoos that are visible, other than earrings. Well, this particular manager walked by two of my fellow co-workers, one of which is covered with tattoos on his face, neck, arms, and hands, and also has many piercings on his face, some of which are gauged. The other co-worker of mine has piercings on his face, as well as a tattoo on his arm. The manager did not say one word to either of him, and I know for sure that he seen them since he nodded his head to both of them. However, as soon as he glanced my way, he asked me to approach him (even though I was about five isles from him), and he asked me to remove my nose ring. I was shocked at the fact that he let two men continue to work with as many piercings and tattoos that they were showing, but did not let me continue my job with my nose ring in. This has had an extreme impact on me because I do not want to be treated unfairly due to my sex.

Blog 1 Test

This is a test for the class blog