Post Number Ten

On November 8, 2010

During this class we talked about Homophobia. Rob stated that the book says that research shows that men tend to be more homophobic than woman. Rob then asked us why do we think that is the case? He wanted us to draw from personal experiences/observations and our learning in the course so far.

This was my response: I feel that through my own experiences this is true. I feel that our society has made it more acceptable for women to befriend gay men and men to view gay women to be “hot”. Also our society believes that gay men always possess feminine traits which are not always the case!

Rob wanted us to understand that masculinity is very fragile. Rob also stated that gender functions as a kind of ideology police force and that social expectations are enforced by gender. I believe this to be true. Our society puts a huge importance on gender and how if you are not within the “norms” than there is something wrong with you.

All this talk about sexual orientation and gender roles really makes me think about the recent suicides that were caused by bullying do to the kids not playing their “normal” gender role. I know that by becoming a teacher I will probably teach some children who may be homosexual and I feel that by being the compassionate, caring and open-minded person I am it will give me an advantage. I hope to help those children feel accepted and confident in themselves.

Rob concluded the class with Madonna’s, “What it feels like for a girl,” music video.  Rob told us that the video was telling us that it is ok for a girl to look like a guy but for a guy to look like a girl is degrading. I feel the video was a great way of opening the controversial topic and saying look enough is enough. It personally bothers me when people act like a person who is homosexual is less of a person than a heterosexual person. I feel a lot of the negative beliefs have been taught and embedded through religion. I think it is becoming more of an accepted thing now because many people are choosing to not follow a religion.  I feel it is a lot to do with how you were raised. I am very fortunate that my parents were both very open minded.

On November 10, 2010

At the beginning of this class Rob mentioned the term Mysogny, which is the hatred of woman. We talked about the word bitch and what it is meant when it is said by women versus when it is said by men. As a class we discussed this idea and it was almost unanimous that we believed that men say it as a sign of hatred towards gay men. I personally believe that the term is very degrading to women but especially when it is said towards a man, as it implies that the person is acting like a woman which implies there is something wrong with being a woman.

Rob talked about contraception, pregnancy and childbirth. One important statement that Rob made was that your life is not over when you have a child. I am super happy to hear that! My two best friend’s have had children at a young age and I hate when people tell me that they have ruined their lives. Because my sister had such a hard time conceiving that I now see every child as a miracle. I think it is very important to surround yourself with a positive support system. Rob talked about some pregnancy issues. He talked about baby blues, postpartum depression, influences of narcotics, alcohol and smoking while pregnancy.  In my Psychology classes we look at these pregnancy issues and effects in detail.

On November 12, 2010

Rob started the class off by showing us a video from Monty Pythons the meaning of life: the miracle of birth part II- Every Sperm is special. I found this video to be hilarious! I was raised Roman Catholic and I am very familiar with the belief of not using any form of contraception. I personally believe in the use of contraception as I would rather be prepared and ready to give my child the best life possible rather than struggling to provide for them. I know that I would be a great mother but I would prefer to have my education behind me.

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