Women & the World

Presentation Tomorrow

2008-04-27T22:17:00.002-05:00

Well we have our presentation tomorrow. I'm hoping that it all goes well. If not, it wasn't for a lack of effort.

Jeff Phillips

Second Post

2008-04-27T11:14:00.001-05:00

Hey!

This is Kira, posting for the second time so I can be sure to get my points! HA!!

We're very nearly finished with our project, we're meeting this afternoon to go over everything and work out the details of our presentation.

I'm sure I speak for the group when I say we're looking forward to sharing our topic with everyone in class!

-K

Resources for you!

2008-04-26T16:59:00.002-05:00

Hi group,
Here you go... more info!
This past week, there was a excellent radio interview program on the topic of trafficking in under-age females in the US.

You can find this Forum program on the KQED website: http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R804240900

Thu, Apr 24, 2008 -- 9:00 AMTeen Prostitution in Oakland Oakland officials are mobilizing to address what they call a disturbing rise in child prostitution. We look at the causes and proposals to treat the problem.Host: Michael KrasnyGuests:
Barbara Grady, reporter and staff writer for the Oakland Tribune and Media News

Norma Hotaling, founder and executive director of SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation)

Good luck with your important work!
Dr. Sue

2008-04-25T15:45:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!Our project is extremely important because it talks about a traditional practice that has been going on for centuries and is now becoming a hot topic because of the human rights issues that surround it. I did not know that much about FGM, female genital mutilation when the topic was first suggested for our project. I was surprised to learn how old the practice is and how it is in social tradition not religious beliefs that it has been allowed to continue for so long. It was hard at times to read personal accounts and see pictures of what is done to little girls and how, sometimes, the memories and physical anguish stay with these women for the rest of their lives. I hope you enjoy it and learn something too.

Mary Wyrsch

Awareness Groups

2008-04-25T15:37:00.003-05:00

My specific area of interest while writing the paper was anti-FGM awareness groups that are trying to reach out to people all over the world to stop FGM. These groups such as, UNICEF, Amnesty International, WE are Women Activists, and IAC are working hard not only to reach women and young girls but men and religious leaders as well. It is important that everyone works together to end this practice that has no real purpose behind it except generations of social traditions. There are groups who want to educate people about FGM using articles and research, groups who want laws and policies to change, and groups who simply want women to share their stories so that people will learn by example. These groups do amazing work and everyone should take a little time to learn about what they are saying because FGM happens to young girls all over the world not just in Somalia.

Mary Wyrsch

2008-04-25T15:29:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday!

Our project is extremely important because it talks about a traditional practice that has been going on for centuries and is now becoming a hot topic because of the human rights issues that surround it. I did not know that much about FGM, female genital mutilation when the topic was first suggested for our project. I was surprised to learn how old the practice is and how it is in social tradition not religious beliefs that it has been allowed to continue for so long. It was hard at times to read personal accounts and see pictures of what is done to little girls and how, sometimes, the memories and physical anguish stay with these women for the rest of their lives. I hope you enjoy it and learn something too.

Angela Merkel

2008-04-25T15:27:00.003-05:00

I specifically worked on Laws and Policies in Somalia concerning female genital mutilation for our project. Since I have a double major in Criminology and Anthropology, this section was right up my alley. I analyzed the different laws that are existing in countries around the world and the push to criminalize FGM, while also looking at the cultural implications of this practice and how it violates human rights. From my research, I was able to see which countries still practice, what awareness groups are available, and what criminal punishments are being applied.

Sarah Affalter

Angela Merkel

2008-04-25T15:15:00.003-05:00

I really enjoyed working on this project and researching about women that are less privileged than the women in our country. I had previously heard about female genital mutilation, but didn't really know anything about it and never thought about researching it thinking it wasn't that big of a deal. The more my group and I looked into Somalia and it's FGM related practices, we realized how this issue has really effected the whole world, even the United States. We were able to clear up a lot of rumors and speculations about FGM, that we had all thought to be true. For example, we all thought that FGM was a religious practice, but found that it predates many religions and is culture-based. I am very proud of the work we have done and that we have the chance to not only educate our class, but hopefully with the website, to educate many others as well.

Sarah Affalter

2008-04-24T22:23:00.002-05:00

Hi, I really think that this project is going to be very interesting. After everyone gets the chance to present to the class, I'm sure we will learn something different about women in these different countries. During my research I seem to find weird or might I say unique pictures of women in the different countries that pertains to beauty. I thought that was quite intriguing.

~Ashley Jones

Yulega Tymoshenko

2008-04-24T18:17:00.001-05:00

I am also very excited about our presentation! During my research, I was very shocked to see all of the elements behind sex trafficking. I was more so shocked to see how the U.S. and our many sex industries contribute to the problem. As a woman, it made me cringe to think about the many young girls who are exposed to such heinous acts. Prepare yourselves, class...

2008-04-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

This is for Ashley.

2008-04-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

This is a test... hi group!\
This is for Ashley

Yulega Tymoshenko

2008-04-23T14:47:00.002-05:00

I feel the information that we are going to present about sex trafficking is going to be informative and shocking at the same time. Without giving out too much information, sex trafficking is something that most people don't think happens here in America. When someone typically thinks about something like this happening in other countries. As the presentation will show, sex trafficking is not only a global problem but it also happens locally. I am looking forward to presenting and seeing the reactions of our class.

Thai prostitution

2008-04-22T23:35:00.002-05:00

So, I was doing a little research, and found out a lot about prostitution in Thailand. Our group is focusing on Thailand, Amsterdam and the U.S. but Thai prostitutes are so much easier to find information on. Anyway, apparently many Thai women (not the prostitutes) feel that open and accepted prostitution in their country reduces the rate of rape....I think I should look a little more into statistics on that one.

Also, the different types of prostitution was strange. There are "short time" girls and "long time" girls who stick with men for a night and usually the next day. The strangest thing to me was that many prostitutes provide men with "girlfriend experiences". This is when one girl sticks with the man for his entire vacation. She actually pretends to care about him and acts like a loving, doting girlfriend.

Sandra McLeod

Saudi Arabia

2008-04-22T22:34:00.002-05:00

So we are just a week away from our presentation! Being first is great, but there is pressure. We're hoping to meet with Dr. Sue tomorrow to tell about what all we have done so far and see what else we need to work on. This group has been so easy to work with, seeing as we all have something very different to bring to the table. Good job Dr. Sue! Our topic is a very open-minded topic, one that we can present facts for, but ultimately the listeners/readers will make their own opinions about the religious effects on women within marriage.

Jessica Cosby

2008-04-22T00:20:00.002-05:00

Hello, for this project I will be looking up information for North America. This will include the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I will focus on the beauty standards which usually are the skinnier you are the better. I will look at women go through to be beautiful and some of the negative aspects of it.

2008-04-21T22:37:00.003-05:00

All though our research is not completely composed of plastic surgery facts, I do think that it is important to mention. I think are some surprising statistics that we hope to discover about plastic surgery and who gets it done.

Standards of Beauty for Women

2008-04-21T22:15:00.004-05:00

My part of our project is researching the beauty standards of women in Western Europe. This region includes Ireland, The United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany mostly. I will hopefully find out what people in these areas find to be beautiful. I also would like to find out what women do in order to make themselves more "beautiful".

INTRO

2008-04-21T21:49:00.002-05:00

Hi,
Our group is focusing on SE Asia prostitution. We will discuss the living conditions, lifestyle, and treatment of these women. We also plan on comparing Thai prostitutes with those in Amsterdam and the U.S. We are trying to identify the perspectives of these women, their choices within their market, address their societal concerns within respective country.

Is this a taboo or a right?

Pratibhas Patil-Intro

2008-04-21T20:01:00.006-05:00

Hello!

Our group project focuses on the standards of beauty for women in North and South America, Eastern Asia, and Western Europe. We have gathered data that examines the unwritten rules that women are expected to adhere to based on beauty. These social rules vary greatly in the different regions that we are exploring.

Angela Merkel/FGM

2008-04-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

Hello Everybody
From a social standpoint, FGM is a major requirement that young girls must meet in order to become a woman. The process of infibulation not only marks young girls transition to womanhood, but also allows them to marry within their social class. Aside from the position in social class infibulation also determines their sense of beauty, since in the culture males regard a circumcised vagina aesthetically pleasing. The sense of natural inferiority that many women feel prior to the procedure, which is only remedied by an extremely painful and traumatic procedure, it is no wonder why there are severe psychological side effects, on top of the negative effects to a woman’s physical health. It is difficult to read about this topic coming from an outside point, looking in on Somali culture. I find it intriguing as to how such a drastic procedure has survived since ancient Egypt, even predating Islam or Christianity. This just goes to show that FGM is so ingrained in Somali culture and tradition, that in order to bring about any reform you will literally have to change the hearts and the minds of the culture.

-Josh B.

Angela Merkel/FGM

2008-04-21T18:39:00.001-05:00

Hello Everybody
Social constructions that surround FGM in Somalia are extremely diverse in their application to the practice. One such social construction is the beliefs and ideals of Somali society, that the practice promotes good hygiene and good health, it helps make a woman fertile, and even some people believe that if a baby touches a woman’s clitoris during birth that it will die. Sounds absurd I know, but these are just a few of the reasons why it is promoted, and still widely practiced in Somalia.

-Josh B.

Assumptions about surrogacy

2008-04-21T18:37:00.002-05:00

When Americans may think of surrogacy they assume the long process is performed by single, low-income women when in fact there has been a relatively new trend taking place--military wives. The rise of surrogates in military wives has risen since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. We thought it was interesting that these women turn to such measures to help supplement income. This allows women to feel a sense of fulfillment while subsequently spending time with their children that may not be possible if they were working.

-Stefan Pugh

Surrogacy here and abroad

2008-04-21T18:13:00.007-05:00

The portion of I plan to cover from the MichaelleJean group: Surrogacy in India, is the relationship of income and how that disparity forces the women of India to turn to surrogates as opposed to more traditional professions. Surrogacy may be their only option for income because of their gender or not belonging to a particular caste system.

-Stefan Pugh

Image

2008-04-21T16:06:00.004-05:00

As our topic is on surrogacy farms in India, this picture, we felt, showed what the service seems to be about, at least when used in terms of exploitation--lack of individual identity and objectification (since the women are treated as walking wombs).

-Julie

Comparison

2008-04-21T16:03:00.004-05:00

My portion of the project will be to do a comparison between surrogacy in the U.S. and surrogacy in India. I will try to focus on conditions, treatment of the women, the amount of monetary compensation, and the way society views such services.

-Julie

Surrogacy Farms in India

2008-04-21T15:48:00.002-05:00

Our (Stefan, Maggie, Julie) group decided to do our project on surrogacy farms in India.

Couples mainly from the United States and Great Britain have relatively recently begun to seek Indian women to be surrogate mothers for their embryos. The controversy over this development stems from the fact that the women involved are poor, and it becomes a matter of exploitation.

We look forward to discussing this topic further.

-Julie

Angela Merkel

2008-04-21T14:25:00.003-05:00

Hi all,
Our group, Angela Merkel, is focusing on FGM, Female Genital Mutilation specifically in Somalia. Our goals are to work together to bring awareness about FGM and the social constructs that follow such as the institution of marriage and religious beliefs behind the practice. We also want to bring to light the physical and psychological effects that FGM has on women and the lives they lead. We also want to look at anti-FGM groups and organizations and the groups that are educating women on FGM and the right to choose. Our comparative element is male circumcision.

Yulega Tymoshenko

2008-04-21T14:04:00.010-05:00

Okay I do not remember what we are supposed to post for five points but I wanted to at least get the first post for our group up and running because I think there has been a little confusion about everything ahh. I can't believe our projects are due sunday. Is anyone else freaking out? We are focusing on sex trafficking in the United States so keep a look out, should be very eye opening. Anyway I thought this picture was very powerful (no pun intended).
Whitney Steffen

Queen Elizabeth II

2008-04-20T23:18:00.003-05:00

It is another point of our project that we acknowledge there is a very ambiguous way of veiwing a lesbian. So she is very hard to define, but our project will try very hard to define her in a context that will give her the ambiguous definition she deserves. Another thing we will try to explain is the multiple realities that lesbians of color experience in their lives. It has to do with the intersectionality that we learned at the begining of the semester.

Mia Cosentino

Lesbians of Color

2008-04-20T23:07:00.003-05:00

So I wanted to give some more insight into the goals of our project. It is important to note that we are not focusing on the coming out of any lesbians but we are focusing on the comparitive experiences within community that lesbians of color have compared to the experiences that white lesbians have. This focus will be mainly center in the experience in the experience of american lesbians. It is nearly impossible to tell the experience of lesbians in other countries that are not of western base, because lesbians are not acknowledged in these countries. Which means literature would be very difficult to get on them.

Picture

2008-04-20T22:48:00.003-05:00

I thought this picture was interesting for the entire Women and the World Project. Women of all different cultural backgrounds holding hands in a circle of unity.

Check out the video where this picture comes from: http://www.thestoryproject.ca/women_support/videos/womensupport.mov

Rachel

Luisa Amanda - Comparative Element

2008-04-20T22:32:00.001-05:00

As Kira mentioned we will compare the similarities and differences of the Political Revolution of Women in Nicaragua to the Feminism Movements that have took place in the United States. Hopefully, by comparing these two movements will we see what factors helped contribute or contributed more to the progress of each movement and what circumstances that these women are still living in, in a political sense.

Kristen

Luisa Amanda Espinosa

2008-04-20T22:30:00.003-05:00

Like Kira said, our group focus is the role of women in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Currently we are exploring what these women went through. So far, they are incredibly amazing and strong.

A little background on our group name: Luisa Amanda Espinosa was the first woman to be killed in the revolution. The organization AMNLAE (Luisa Amanda Espinosa Association for Nicaraguan Women ) was formed in 1979 in her honor. Luisa Amanda Espinosa became synonymous with female strength.

Rachel

Luisa Amanda Espinosa - INTRO

2008-04-20T22:27:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!

This is Kira, writing out the intro for the Luisa Amanda Espinosa group. We have a lot of information, so I'll just summarize it for you. Our project is about the political revolution in Nicaragua and how women are involved. Our comparative element is the USA and we're really looking forward to sharing it with everyone because it's turning out to be pretty interesting!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

-K

Sarah's Post

2008-04-20T16:05:00.003-05:00

Hi, my name is Sarah Heimerman and I am a member of the Madeline Albright group. Our project focuses on the fight that women in the country of Tanzania face to avoid being infected with the AIDS virus. The number of women and children infected in this country multiplies by ridiculous amounts everyday. These women are being raped in the streets and then orphaning their children, leaving them with no means to care for themselves. This is a subject close to me because I do have some friends who have immigrated to the United States from Tanzania, and they do still have family back in the country. I hope that we can find sufficient information to help inform people of what we can do to help.

Away From Hope: AIDS in Tanzania

2008-04-20T16:00:00.003-05:00

Hi y'all....our group is Madeline Albright, and our project is called Away From Hope: AIDS in Tanzania. Our focus is shedding light of the plight of women in Tanzania who are being infected the the HIV virus everyday, most doing so unwillingly and unknowingly. Women are being forced to sleep with men they don't even know, and the widespread of the AIDS virus is ensuing. We will compare life in Tanzania to that in the U.S and show what women can do to help themselves.

Queen Elizabeth II - INTRO

2008-04-20T13:35:00.003-05:00

Hello all. We are Queen Elizabeth II group, we are Kerry Herndon, Maria Cosentino, and Andy Viebrock.

For this project, our goal is to help educate the population about the struggles faced by lesbians of color, and bring awareness to the invisibility they face from their communities in the United States.

our title

2008-04-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

We chose our topic and originally entitled this project, Bound in Chains: Marriage in Saudi Arabia. However, after researching statistics, third party views, and scholarly research, we can wee that although these women might be living with less than they deserve, but their survival skills are admirable.

Jessica Cosby

How to earn extra points!

2008-04-19T14:52:00.002-05:00

OK, if you got this far, you're getting close! :-)

Make sure you are signed in to blogger.com (look up at the url... you're there!) by using the group gmail account name and password. You will find the sign-in link in the upper right-hand part of the this blog page.

If your group hasn't begun your INTRO page, check the tutorial pages. Adam, the webmaster, has posted instructions there for you. Follow his lead!

After the INTRO page is completed, post again (and again). In the labels window at the bottom of your post, list at least one descriptor, or label. At least one of those labels should be your group name (or some shortened version of it). For example, you can see that I posted twice, entering the label "Louisa Amanda."

Check out the posts already there, and see how they are listed.

Good luck!

Note from me to you

2008-04-19T14:26:00.006-05:00

OK, group, here I'm going to post this one with "Louisa Amanda" in the label, but also Dr. Sue's Sage Advice... see how these are arranged...

2008-04-19T14:07:00.006-05:00

Hi Louisa Amanda group!
Good for you for being the first to get your blog up and going. I'm posting this to congratulate you, but also to demonstrate what this looks like on the Women and the World blogpost page. This should appear on the right-hand side, but with a different label, because I'm entering something else in the "label" window. For example, I'm going to list "Louisa Amanda" in the label.

Now, when all of you post within this label (Louisa Amanda), it will appear under this post. Try it!

Oh yeah... go back into your INTRO post and edit it. You can do this through your "Dashboard."

Then, of course, I have to hit "publish post" to, well, publish it!

Yea!
Dr. Sue

About Google documents

2008-04-17T23:52:00.003-05:00

Hey all!

I've just created a Google document for you all so you can collectively edit your groups table online. If you're not familiar with Google documents, it's an awesome service that allows you to store documents and stuff online as well as collaboratively edit documents with other people at the same time. It's GREAT for group projects.

Check out the link I created to the right titled "Google document - Groups table and progress"

You'll need to sign in with the e-mail address and password for your group and then you will be ready to start editing the table. Test it out and let me know what you think!

*oh, and you may need to reinsert the pictures you found into the table - the file was too large to upload with the images... sorry =(

~adam

Intro

2008-04-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Our group is learning so much through this project. We chose to compare the women in Saudi Arabia with the women in the United States, according to marriage and religion. Whoa. What we thought was an open and shut case is an intricate study of radically different and shockingly similar cultures. Marriage in Saudi Arabia is a social structure that falls under the powerful influence of Islam. We will look at this particular social structure from several angles, as we compare the lives of these women.

Jessica Cosby

Quick blogging tutorial

2008-04-16T18:35:00.001-05:00

Greetings students!

This is you friendly webmaster/media parkour who is assisting Dr. Sue with this blog. She's asked me to post a quick tutorial to help those of you who might not be very familiar with this whole blogging thing. Below is a list of stuff that will hopefully make the process easier.

1. Create a Gmail address for your group and send it to Dr. Sue. That way, she can add you as collaborators on this blog and you can freely post and edit this blog to make it uniquely yours.

2. After your group is added, an invitation will be sent to the e-mail address you created... so check that and accept the invitation!

3. To post, log in at blogger's main page (blogger.com). In your "Dashboard" you will see "Women & the World" and a bunch of options underneath like: "New Post, View Blog, Posts, Settings."

Click "New Post."

Enter a title for your post (e.g., scissorsisters introduction) and then a description for your group (or if this is after you've already introduced your group, a post about your group's project).

If you want to add a picture, click the blue-ish square button next to the spellcheck button (ABC) in the top toolbar. Then upload the desired picture.

Next, towards the bottom you will see "Labels for this post." This is important. Enter some descriptors here to identify your post, separated by commas (e.g., diversity, work, globalization). For your first post, however, in which you are introducing your group, you should put "yourgroupname - INTRO" so it can be easily accessed from the blogs navigation menu. In every post you create after that, there is no need to have INTRO after your group name, so only your group name is fine (in addition to the other descriptors for your post).

Hit "Publish" to save it to the blog. Then you're in business.

4. To comment on a post, there is a link below each post that says "comments" with a number in front of it (to show how many comments there are for that particular post). Just click that "comments" link and it will allow you to comment on the particular post you're on.

I hope this helps. If you have questions/concerns practice using the "comments" function and leave me a comment. I will try to help out as much as I can. Have fun!

Getting Started!

2008-04-01T12:00:00.003-05:00

Hi Worlders... How ya doin'?
This is a place where you can post your progress, comments, and questions about your Women & the World project. This is mostly YOUR space, so use it however you want. (Be respectful, of course.)

For example, you might let others in the class know your working title, your topic, and what you plan to do.

You might want to share websites and/or other resources. And you might want to ask for help from others who share interests similar to yours.

I'm testing to see if we can copy images in here... this is one that I had on your handout:

OK, looks like that works!

So, for instance, what would YOU like to see as an image for this entire project -- Women & the World? In other words, the image would have to represent ALL of us, not just your individual project. Let me know what you think, and post an example of your own recommended image. I suggest we stick to one or two per group at this point, just to keep from overwhelming the blog at this point.

Have fun!
SW