Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Summary and Response of "The Evolution of the Swimsuit."

Swimsuit designer Jessica Rey creates "The Evolution of the Swimsuit," to argue that women do not need to wear bikinis to feel empowered in society and by wearing bikinis women are viewed by most men as objects rather than people. Rey gives background information on the history of the bikini since the 1960s to today and compares the trends of both designs of bikinis. She explains that when the Bikini was first invented, many people viewed it as a repulsive type clothing that would be a disgrace to wear. During the women's rights movement, the bikini was an excellent way for women to rebel against societies ideology of the classy woman and consequently they gained power or so they thought. A study was performed by men of Princeton University to see how the male brain reacted to seeing women wearing the modern day bikini; studies showed that men viewed women as tools or objects of use. Rey created a new swimsuit that would make a woman seem more modest and unrevealing.

Response

Jessica Rey's presentation on "The Evolution of the Swimsuit," was a way to empower women in the other direction. What I mean is Rey shows that the power that women have now is not really power because they are not even viewed as human beings and she is looking to help women become classier and more respected. I agree that women should be more modest in what they wear because it can help them gain a form of respect that could solve issues like rape and gender profiling. If men seem to feel superior to women then do not give them a reason to feel so by wearing revealing clothing that damages gender roles and professionalism.

The Princeton study on the male mind was eye opening because it shows that women are no longer being viewed as someone with morals and values, but just objects. Many feminist fight for their rights as a women, but if other women are sending these ideas to men then how could they ever gain the respect they want? Jessica Rey does not think modesty and classiness is something most women of today could contemplate, but feel that this change could help them gain respect.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Summary and Response to "A First Amendment Junkie"

 Summary
A well known feminist writer, Susan Jacoby, wrote, "A First Amendment Junkie," which conveys her views on pornography and censorship. Jacoby talks about how feminists want to censor pornography, but they want to do it for the wrong reason. Feminist argue that pornography effects women more than other groups, but in actuality, in order, to create a good argument they should address other groups. Also, feminist wrongly accuse people like Larry Flynt for producing pornography related things when they are actually protected under the first amendment. In the end, feminists want the government to enforce censorship, but Jacoby argues that censoring should be dealt by the parents of children and not the federal government.

Response
In Susan Jacoby's, "A First Amendment Junkie," she takes an opposition to some feminist on the views of pornography. I agree on the fact that feminist should not just fight for their interest, but others as well. For feminist to say that pornography effects women worse than anybody else is a completely one sided situation because there are different types of pornography that do not pertain to women. I think there is much credibility added to Jacoby because she challenges the feminist view.

Secondly, I agree that the first amendment protects people under the conditions of pornography and so does the constitution. I enjoy how Jacoby addresses this issue by agreeing with the first amendment, but not with pornography. This shows people that she is more worried about the well-being of the constitution than the actual subject of pornography. She then says it is not the governments responsibility to censor pornography when parents should be doing that anyways which is what also agree on.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack-summary and response

Summary

"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack," by Peggy McIntosh is an article that features a list of privileges and conditions that mostly apply to Peggy's color (white). Peggy is an associate director of the Wellesley Collage Center for Research on Women. Her purpose for writing the article was to show the everyday effects of white privilege in her life. "...my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact with in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions," Peggy exclaimed. She writes this article to convey the definition of racism as not being individual acts of malice, but rather the fact that we live in a society that spreads racism unknowingly.

Response

In Peggy McIntosh's, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack," she talks about how the minority do not get to experience the privileges that her color does. She points out the simple fact that racism is not a series of evil or malicious acts toward the minority, but rather our society has indirectly implemented the use of racism in everyday life. Also, she focuses on mainly skin color instead of referring to ethnicity, class, religion, and etc.

I agree with her opinion on the effects of racism in today's society. Although today's customs promote equal rights and freedom to all, old ideas and traditions may cause people to reminisce on past habits; people to this day still have mixed feelings on the ideas of equality and it is taking a toll on society. When she focuses on skin color it reveals that being white gives many people the mentality that they are privileged to many of the conditions that Peggy listed in her article. Even though there are white people with differences in class, ethnicity, and religion, they have a mindset that causes them to think white is right.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

EH102.103 About me

My name is Philip Sutton and my major is exercise science, but I would like to go into Physical Therapy. I love to work out and challenge myself at the gym. In English 102 I hope to gain a better understanding of how to write a great research paper

EH102.103 Harlan Coben

In Harlan Coben's, "The Undercover Parent," he speaks about the advantages of parents monitoring their children's internet use. In the beginning of the essay, Harlan is told by his friends that they put spyware on their child's computer which he found repelling. Further research and analysis gave Harlan a new view on the subject. He realizes that it's in the child's best interest to be monitored for their own safety. Harlan understands that the internet contains the thoughts of every teenager, but he claims that nothing is private on the internet. At the end of the essay, he concludes his argument by letting his readers know that they should let their children know that there is spyware on their computer, but discuss it with the child and have him or her understand why it's there.