Pop star Miley Cyrus recently revealed to several publications that she considers herself to be gender fluid and pansexual, claiming that she doesn’t label herself as neither boy nor girl and doesn’t limit herself to those labels when choosing romantic partners. Pansexuality is not new, as experts say there have always been people who fall within … Read more
“Students wrote about them as if they were embarking on a fruitful challenge: maxing out the total credits they could take, being involved in every club, not sleeping. They would reap the rewards of A’s today and impressive resumes later, the health of their bodies not even considered. Several months ago, I was doing the … Read more
I found this set of photos interesting, particularly because it shows women defying previous “cultural norms.” Women in these photos are seen and portrayed as doing tasks and occupations that men usually have done in the past. There is one in particular that shows the contrast of the woman holding the baby and working and … Read more
Teenage filmmaker Kiri Davis created a short film about race and young women in America. She recreated the “doll test” that was used by Dr. Kenneth Clark to settle Brown vs. Board of Education. She documents the result in her 7 minute documentary. This video reminded me of a time I was helping out with … Read more
Gender inequalities do not discriminate by age. Recently, a 7-year-old girl named Charlotte Benjamin wrote a letter to the Lego company to complain about the differences in not just the dominant ratio of male Lego people to female Lego people, but their roles in the games, as well. Charlotte mentions that the male Lego people … Read more
The film, It’s A Girl (available now on Netflix watch instantly), casts a light on the way girls in India and China are discriminated against because of their sex. According to the film’s website, the UN estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing because of female infanticide. The film also explores dowry and … Read more
In this article, a sociology student (!) in Liberia is organizing to stop a common practices: young women pressured to exchange sex for grades. Yes, this happens in the United States as well, as we discussed in class this week. It appears that it has not been publicized as a problem in sub-Saharan Africa until … Read more
This Cuban Hip Hop group is interesting: Remember the critique that many black women in the US have of white feminists, and so they prefer the term “womanist” to “feminist”? Check out this group’s discussion of this issue and how they are framing themselves: Black Cuban Feminist Hip Hop Band Also a reminder of … Read more
In the article below author, Lochana Sharma, describes the cultural practices of several villages in the Western Region of Nepal near the Tibetan border. The men literally steal or abduct their wives which brings the men a sense of honor and pride. This article brings up the notion of cultural relevance. When should you intervene on … Read more
Maggie Frelang’s article YouTube Star’s Video Ignites ‘Slut-Shaming’ Reaction , discusses how Youtube star Jenna Marbles’ (aka Jenna Mourey) recent video, “Things I Don’t Understand About Girls Part 2: Slut Edition” has resulted in a backlash from viewers for slut-shaming other girls. Frelang reports that in the video Jenna discusses how she feels that while it is … Read more