Definition of Beauty during Maoist Time and Modern China

We talked about the equality of men and women during Maoist time in China. I want to clarify two concepts: Equal to men and Same as men.

The definition of equality during maoist time means doing exactly as men, which is also a characteristic in the first wave of feminism movement in 1911 revolution. Women wear exact clothes and do exact jobs as men: their clothes are all military styles, same color (green, blue, grey); they read same books as men and do same jobs as men (soldiers, workers, farmers...) Such feminism disregarded the physical and psychological differences between men and women.

Actually, the equality between men and women means the freedom to do what they can do. Both men and women can take advantages of their physical characteristics and take their interests into consideration when they make decisions. That is what post-Maoist feminists think about. In modern China, women have same rights as men in getting education, choosing jobs, reading books, watching TV programs, they are more open and free. Despite some rural areas where traditional gender role still exist, Chinese feminism is getting close to the worldwide trend of  emancipation of female.

Comparison of feminism between Maoist time and Modern Ages

Comparison of feminism between Maoist time and Modern Ages

In Maoist time, feminism was strongly influenced by Marxism. So the society sought to liberate women from the family and provide them job opportunities. Women apperaed as steel workers, cotton workers or red guards, oftern in contexts where production for the good of society was the dominent theme.
Here are some images of women at Maoist time.

We can see that the ideal women had shining eyes gazing into the distance, strong hands and robust bodies. They oftern symbolized energy, hard work and passionate commitment to an ideal. And the most important characteristic of women at that time is the effacement of feminity.

The ideal woman today is more femine than they were in Maoist time.
This picture is a famous Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.

She is much whiter than normal Asian women. She daubed her face with thick make-up that empharsizes her eyes, lip and nose. It is obvious that she is trying to match up the Western beauty. . Her features correspond with a view of “oriental woman”,that corresponds moew closely with Western fantasies.The Chiese women is no longer mainly identified with local Chinese concepts of Chinese identity. But why does the image of women change enormously in just twenty years?

Images of Chinese women change over time, because ...
During the economic reform, China was opened to foreign investment and reconnected to the global order. Current Chinese conversations about sex – can not be categorized as either repressed or liberated. Indeed, Chinese conversations about gender and sex are entangled with larger social preoccupations. When Chinese talk about gender, they concerned about what gender relationships are appropriate to a modern nation. In short, images of women are images of a nation.

However, the beautiful Chinese woman does not stand for a universal notionof womanhood applicable to all Chinese women. The modern and urban women displayed in media neglect the vast majority of Chinese women: the rural, backward women. By excluding this kind of women, it reinforces hierarchies. Here are photos taken by my friends show the real images of today’s Chinese women.

Leftover Women in America

I found the concept of left over women really interesting in Xiaoxin’s lecture on Wednesday. I think the parallels between that idea in China and in America are really striking. In my opinion, I feel like there is still an unspoken idea in the United States that women who are high-achieving are also undesirable in our culture as well. We see it in the media all the time. There are numerous movies and shows, such as Sex and the City, that depict successful women who are happy in all aspects of their lives except for their dating lives. They agonize over how they could improve themselves in order to attract dating partners rather than appreciating their hard earned achievements. I think this sort of ideology transcends into the lives of everyday women as well. Many highly successful women in our society seem to struggle with reconciling their success in their professional lives with success in their personal lives. It seems that even in America, there is somehow a stigma against successful women- it is thought they either work too much and do not give themselves the opportunity to date, or that their success is somehow intimidating to suitors. Then, much like in China, after a certain point these women seem to reach an age where it is no longer acceptable for them to even pursue dating. I find this strange, because it seems to me that there are plenty of successful men in the world who are able to find significant others, but this seems much harder for successful women. I think this a reflection of how even though we are considered more modern than China, Western nations like the United States can sometimes also be backwards in their beliefs regarding women and success as well.

Interracial Marriages

There was a lot that Xiaoxin went over in her presentation, and another topic that I was interested in was the difference in how people view Asians marrying outside their race and the different reactions they receive based on their sex. An interesting video that I came across a while across interviews women as to why they date outside their race, especially emphasizing Caucasian men. Many of these Asian women explain that they find them attractive and that they are more confident than Asian men. However, the Asian community is one that prides itself on its homogeneity and discourages marrying outsiders. Some go as far to say as to call them traitors, as Xiaoxin explained in class. They are mixing their blood with others because of their lust, desire to rise in socioeconomic class, and so on. One thing that is interesting though is that these negative responses don't seem to be as prevalent in where the relationship has an Asian man and a Caucasian woman, in fact it seems to be respected and something to even strive for for many.
The idea is foreign, but could be fueled by ethnic pride. Not restricted to the Chinese only, but other Asians have witnessed the dominating Imperialistic presence that the United States has had on other parts of the World. In a way, is this a way for Asians to reclaim some power, position, or status? Or is it simply because there is an unsaid assumption that for some reason, white men like Asian women but not many white women like Asian men? It could possible that there are, and the argument has come up that the media intentionally hides this from the public in order to keep Caucasian America on top. White men marrying other races, but other men from different ethnicities being unable to do so as well. One thing is certain though, that there is a difference in how people see men marrying other (different) women and women marrying other (different) men. Some interesting videos on the subject can be found below.

(Why Asian girls like White Guys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI3lPLsbwjw

(Why Asian Guys should Date Outside their Race)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcQc_vYmgw

Which girls are allowed to be "Free Spirits?"

The presentation that we had concerning women in China made me realize something that I've observed this before. As an Asian, I'm more than familiar with how Asians see marriage as a norm that must be adhered too. Even in literary works and in cinema that I've seen in High school, we see the moms that fixate on their daughter's future as a bride one day in the future, going as far as to use her network of friends and relatives to find potential suitors for their daughters. Marriage is just something that every woman is supposed to look forward to. From what I've observed in my own culture, it has do with a sense of pride in not only your culture but your family's blood, heritage and the continuation of the family's line. It's about honor, tradition, and bringing further descendants down the line. However, this isn't something that is as highly regarded, I believe, in Western culture, as well as a sense of independence and the idea of a "free spirit."
In TV and in movies, there are more than several examples of women (typically Caucasian) that seem independent, unrestrained by the cultural norms, and unconcerned about getting married. They are the ones that seem happy and care free about the future. Men that have difficulty courting these women rationalizing it as being difficult because she is a "free spirit." But what's interesting as I saw this is that Eastern culture doesn't have the same views on a independent female spirit as Western cultures have seemed to do so lately. In the East, if a woman were to act in such a way, it would disappoint and worry many mothers and perhaps make them labeled as being different, peculiar, even odd; this typically leads people to ask themselves, "What is wrong with her? I don't understand why she doesn't think or care about marriage." It is interesting how different the perspectives are between Eastern and Western culture. But I wouldn't go as far to say that this is how it is, black-and-white, plain-and-simple. But I do believe that it is a distinction that is clear, especially for Asian-Americans that live in America and can see how differently people approach life here, compared to what they've observed and are taught indirectly at home.

Leftover Women

Today Xiaoxin referred to "leftover women" as women who were unmarried mostly because they were either unsocial or unattractive to men. While the reasons for remaining single appear to be out of choice, financial conditions and traditions in China leave most of these women little choice but to remain single. To most Asian cultures, education is synonymous to success. Education, culturally, is vital to most Chinese women which ultimately creates more competition among the Chinese students, resulting in the need to study and work even harder. According this article http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/asia-pacific/not-enough-jobs-to-go-round-for-chinas-6-3-million-graduates-a-year, education only provides an opportunity for students to obtain a fairly decent, sustainable job and unfortunately not a guarantee. The nebulous, depressing outcomes after education only persuades female students to work even harder in an attempt to surpass the competition and stand out among the rest. Although some may argue that these women should just marry other men who already possess a respectable job or career, it is much harder than the proposal sounds in that most Chinese men do not prefer to marry women of high education and potential. These men traditionally like to be the "men in charge" in the household. In essence, "leftover women" do not choose to be single, but it is rather how Chinese society indirectly coerces most of these women to be single.

Leftover Ladies in China

I am quite interested in Xiaoxin's lecture today, and I have some thoughts on the leftover ladies which Xiaoxin interprets as a kind of "failing Chinese women". In my opinion, the rise in leftorver ladies in China is due to the traditional Chinese value that "women are inferior than men".
I think the the swift growth of leftover ladies in China is inevitable due to the change in gender roles in the society. As they receive the opportunity to attend schools and work in offices, women also gain the right to find their true loves. Although women become progressively independent and successful, they are less competitive on the stage of marriage than their forebears. Even though modern women in China recognize themselves as an equal to men, they still maintain the traditional standard of finding husbands who have a higher status and income than they do. Unfortunately, this mind-restricting tradition applies to men too. In other words, an outstanding woman wishes to marry a more successful man, but a high qualified man would rather find a less educated woman, so an outstanding woman doesn’t have a perfect match and becomes “leftover”.
In this way, women face trade-offs between independence and marriage. There are a few women who choose independence because they feel free and comfortable to stay single and don’t want to be caged by marriage. They retain this unwavering belief regardless of what others comment. In this situation, they are proud to be called “leftover-ladies”. The majority of women in China still prefer to find a husband because the tradition of “family” is deep-rooted in their mind through their culture. An unmarried forty-year-old man can be understood by the society because he has been pursuing his career, but a single thirty-year-old woman faces pressure from different aspects in her life, including her family, her peers and the society.

Lieutenant Nun in Theater

I was curious about the other adaptions of Lieutenant Nun after Professor Velasco showed us two of its adapted movies, so I looked up online and found a short excerpt of the play The Adventure of the Lieutenant Nun. It's a scene that Erauso flirts adeptly with a married woman.
This play is presented by Macha Theater which is just located in West Hollywood. Macha Theater's main target is to improve people's understanding to the LGBT community. Erauso in The Adventure of the Lieutenant Nun is characterized more as a lesbian than a transvestite, and the play is reviewed as "an exhilarating, bawdy romp". Despite our impression on Erauso from the original book in which Erauso narrates her story with little emotion and mainly conveys her violent and masculine aspects, it is interesting to see Erauso's emotional behavior. By the way, I think the actress who plays Erauso is pretty passable.

http://www.machatheatre.org/reel_lieutenant_nun2.htm

Definition of Beauty

Sorry, I forgot to post this after our Week 8 discussion.

After class discussion last week, I found the question “who defines beauty” very interesting. To be honest, I do not know for sure who defines beauty, but I know people have different definition of “beauty” in each culture and each generation.

In ancient China, different dynasties have very different definitions on how a beauty should look like. In Annals of Spring and Autumn, because the king loved women who have small waist, many female starve themselves in order to get the attention of the king and therefore the definition of beauty in that generation is women who have small waist. In Tang Dynasty, people believe that fleshy women have stronger ability to give birth to boys (sons are considered better than daughters at that time), and therefore people generally think that chubby women are beautiful. Also, women who looked sick were also considered to be pretty in many dynasties because men would feel like they have the obligations to protect these women.

According to the Chinese history, it seems like the definitions of beauty is largely decided by men; women then have to adjust their diet in order to satisfy the standard. Even though it seems like even nowadays some women try hard to meet the standard of beauty that is defined by some men (for example, a boyfriend asks his girlfriend to go on diet), but since societies today is very different from ancient China and we are no longer ruled by any emperor directly, I believe that women today have more rights to decide how they would want to be like.

Dr. Pepper Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTs-BmLOGWQ

Over the weekend I saw this commercial for the first time and, for obvious reasons, I thought it would be great to talk about for our class. The commercial shows stereotypical male interests in quick succession and points out its doing so at the same time. Lasers, explosions, and car chases all moving at a breakneck pace. At the end, the slogan that runs across the screen is "not for women".

In my opinion this commercial is satirical. I think that it is playing on the preconceived notion that diet drinks are "girly". Dr. Pepper is trying to shake that connotation for its product by marketing it in the far opposite direction. Interestingly, I believe it is fair to say that popular opinion believes this to merely be offensive and not an effective ad or social commentary. The top rated comment for the video is "really? holy shit could this get more sexist?". Whats your opinion? Is the ad distasteful?

Gender starting at an early age

I believe that gender is a social construction that is taught to us by our parents (people we are raised by) and the society we live in. It all starts before we are born when our parents start decorating our room with blue (if we are a boy) or pink (if we are a girl) colors. Once our rooms have been decorated with this color we are then clothed in this same color (blue or pink) It is funny to notice that when a baby is in a "gender neutral" color, such as red, green, or yellow, then an opposing parent won't be able to distinguish if the baby is a boy or a girl. And a lot of the times you will notice babies with blue or pink bows on their head. Even though they don't have enough hair on their head for a bow, many parents like to make sure that others can distinguish their baby as a male or female.

Once the baby starts playing with toys parents make sure that they get the correct gender's toy. For example, boys must play with trucks and girls must play with barbies and dolls. This socialization that takes place institutionalizes little kids into believing what a boy should do and what a girl should do in life. As these kids grow up their toys grow as well. Boy toys start to become more aggressive with darker colors. For example if you look in any Toys R Us store you will notice the huge selection of Nurf guns, Power Ranger swords, and Captain America Shields. Girls toys start to become more "caring" and "loving." A good example are the Easy Bake Ovens, toy babies (that you can dress up), and "House" toys.

Gender as a Social Construct

Below is a link to a Tide commercial reiterates the theme of gender as a social construct in our culture. In this video, a so-called “normal” mom is upset because her young daughter is not adhering to the standards that define a “typical” young girl. The little girl in the video enjoys playing with blocks, getting dirty, and wearing loose, baggy clothing- traits usually assumed of young boys. The mother is obviously distraught at her daughter’s perceived deviance from normal behavior, lamenting that the laundry detergent could keep her daughter’s clothes clean, but that it cannot change her perceived atypical behavior.

However, this brings into question the idea of what is “normal” and “not normal” behavior for male and female children. Just because one’s biological sex is determined as one thing, does not mean society should determine the roles for that person’s gender based on his or her sex. Who are we to determine that a little girl who is a tomboy is any more or less of a female than a girl who is extremely feminine, without any input from the girl herself? But too often, our culture creates binary divisions between genders in order to simplify the complexity of our lives. It is easier to confine people to specific roles based on their physical characteristics rather than to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing what one’s role should be. Unfortunately, people are not two-dimensional, but three. In classifying our roles into two oversimplified divisions, we restrict people from being comfortable with who they really are because they would rather conform to the norms of gender that our society has created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9LTRbWsGOI

Explanation of "pressure of keeping fit" from an angle of physics

Last week we talked about the definition of beauty in our discussion, I roughly explained the pressure of keeping fit from an angle of physics but I didn't stated that very clearly.

Entropy measures the degree of disorder. Suppose a room is clean, and everything is exactly in its position, then the entropy is low; suppose  a room is messed up: clothes are piled on the floor, books are thrown everywhere, then the entropy is high. In physics, reducing entropy needs work.

From the perspective, women are defined as "beautiful" if they are slim and are kept in fit. In other words, being beautiful largely means having a good body shape for women. Therefore, lots of women do efforts to keep beautiful and fit: putting fat in places where it is expected to be; clean up and choose a suitable perfume, wear carefully picked dress to make them in perfect body shape.

If people don't do something to keep fit, the fat will accumulate almost everywhere, which makes a disorder and increase the level of entropy. Keeping fit, in other words, putting fat in exactly places is a process of reducing entropy and therefore needs work. Similarly, designing a suitable hair style, using make-ups cleaning body also needs works.

As for man, their concern of body beauty is less than women, therefore, their work on self-cleaning is less, and they have less pressure.

However, being "handsome" does not only means having a beautiful face, but also means being humor, being experienced, having leadership skills, having charming muscles. Most of these are inside-characteristics which are more difficult to change than outside characteristics. To some degree, men, in order to reach the public expectation of masculine beauty even have more pressure than women to be beautiful.

Last week's discussion

(I forgot posting this, sorry if this seems late)

Last week's discussion of
why women spend more effort and time on beauty than men?

I could not say it in discussion due to lack of time in the class and I consider it to be closely related with evolution. It is not about evolution or creation but evolution of men and women in their processes of looking for "best match."
For men, it has been considered attractive to be capable of earning more resources for long time - during prehistoric age. In the prehistoric age, the capability was ability to collect more food, usually done by hunting. Because of this, muscular men have been considered more attractive to women as a trace, although it was considered a prime aspect in choosing a man in prehistoric age. Nowadays, it is financial and social background. As often shown from multiple researches, choosing a spouse, women usually prioritize economic ability and personality.
In contrary, men prioritize beauty. The beauty includes complex concepts but usually represent femininity. Criteria of the femininity appear as big bosoms, hips and skinny body. The traits are symbolic aspects of feminine woman - which means better ability to give birth to children and raise them. It is undeniable that a prime trait men look for from women is their beauty. Personality is taken account as well, just like women do.
Considering that beauty appears as a superficial while economic and social background have to be revealed, beauty is easily detected and effective to appeal to men. However, they are all similar in an aspect that they are the biggest appeals to the other sex. Thus it can be considered that women seeking beauty and men seeking for masculinity - usually appear as weight lifting in gym - and economic background are equivalents. Men's efforts are usually not as easy to detect as women's efforts for beauty because eager for economic background and masculinity can originate from other factors as well: such as desire for expensive products and health. In the sense, it is not that women spend more time and effort to make themselves more attractive than men do.

Beauty as Social Construct - By Alisa Harada

Beauty is a term that is broadly defined, as different people would have different definitions according to their own perception. Depending on which cultural background you come from and which point in history we are discussing about, the concept of beauty may conflict one another. However, we can say that the accepted perception of beauty of women in the modern days can be established by idols like Angelina Jolie (Hollywood actress) or Adriana Lima (supermodel), and beauty of men is standardized by celebrities such as David Beckham or Orlando Bloom.

Yet, there seems to be more societal pressure on women to be 'beautiful' compared to men in general. As we discussed in class today, movies exemplify how men could get away with being ordinary, or in fact even below ordinary, but still attain happiness through meeting a partner because of their charisma. On the other hand, we do not see many movies that centralize ugly female characters. Not only does this reflect inequity between the gender, but it also demonstrates how women are always deemed inferior to men in the eyes of the society.

Women tolerate with greater societal expectations in which they are always reminded of this notion of accepted beauty (being skinny and flawless). I feel like women are often put on a pedestal, where they are expected to perform what the society demands, and if not, they are frequently criticized, ostracized, or discriminated against. If the society can accept a man to be ordinary but have a good persona, why can't it accept the same for a woman? When people say things like beauty comes from the inside or inner beauty is all that matters, do they just say them without actually meaning them?

Is "Nun Transmutes into Man" a criticism of society?

In the Nun Transmutes into Man, the author narrates the story of a manly nun, Maria Munoz, who undergoes several physical examinations to determine whether or not she has male genitals. Although other religious officials and nuns have discovered that she possesses some masculine characteristics, Maria Munoz is prohibited from speaking about this matter or from making a public scene. The convent is portrayed as a superficial, selfish organization prioritizing its own reputation and image rather than the health or condition of its own member. Maria, instead of being freed immediately, is "isolated in a cell" and treated as a monster. Later, when Maria's father finally comes to inspect Maria, he realizes that he finally has a male offspring for inheritance. Rather than sympathize with Maria due to her conflict, Maria's father prioritizes his family name and belongings over Maria and demonstrating, again, a sense of superficiality and materialism. Although the author of this narrative may appear to have written the story for shock value, slight criticism of different branches of society is apparent throughout the narrative.

Gender Fluidity as Comedy

So, I was surfing the Internet, as I do when I'm bored, and I found this "article":

Article-Beer Warning

My first instinct was to be horribly offended. I didn't care for the suggestion that women are irrational, argumentative, and stubborn. While this may be true in some cases, it is certainly not a standard. I also didn't appreciate that men turning into women should be warned against. While the idea is totally illogical and unfounded, it insinuates that changing from a man to a woman would be a downgrade and should be guarded against.

After a bit of thought, I realized how closely this article relates to one of our first class readings about gender fluidity and spontaneous change from male to female. Both articles suggest that exterior factors can affect a person's gender. The main difference between the articles is tone. The original article is completely serious. It is meant to warn against a very real and devastating possibility. The second article is meant to have comic value, although I don't really understand the humor. I find it interesting that such obscure and inaccurate medical history can make its way into modern comedy.

Challenging Standards in Beauty

I think it’s useful to analyze the example of Jennifer Miller to examine the often rigid standards of beauty we have in our culture today. Jennifer is a woman in a very unconventional way, and though it can sometimes be uncomfortable to see and hear her story because her situation is not common, I think she is really courageous for defying the standards of what a traditionally “beautiful” woman is supposed to be. Women are held to many unrealistic standards about appearance, and that includes removing body hair that is otherwise natural on the female body. We fuss and fret over shaving and plucking to fit in to a conventional definition of “normal”. But Miller’s refusal to change her appearance to adhere to societal standards and her emphasis on being a woman with a beard, rather than a bearded lady, reaffirms her confidence in herself and strength as a person. I think that is a true act of true beauty.

On a different note, there is an old episode of the show America’s Next Top Model in which the ladies in it have to pose as characters from a circus show, which I thought was remarkable because the images of the circus “freaks” they are supposed to represent directly contradicts with the traditional images of beauty that the show often represents. I find it an interesting juxtaposition. Here is the link of the video that shows the pictures of these women as these characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6vi9b7ERzg

A parallel between Chinese and western women at ancient times

Sry that I had a post problem before.

In the lecture we discussed that Christian women are expected to stand "Holy" to be perfect, specifically, those perfect women are ascetic and virginal. However, in China, women in ancient times also had doctrines about their "Holiness". (as following listed items)

1. One women could only marry one time during her lifetime. (She was unexpected to remarry if she hated her husband, if she was abused by her husband, or if her husband died.)

2. They should have no mind to get themselves educated, enter the bureaucrat, or do other men-related activities. (They should only concentrated women's gobs: weaving, farm-working, cook, etc.)

3. They should always be loyal to their husband. (Women might be starved to death deliberately by their families to show the loyalties to their husbands.)

4. They were expected to band their feet when they were children (this act started from Tang Dynasty, 618 to the early 1900s ), to show that they were docile to their husbands and they are willing to suit men's interests(women with small feet) as well. 

To sum up, Chinese doctrines towards women also include "asceticism and virginity". To some degree, making flesh wound on oneself can also be a sign that one succumb to power(In western context, it's the loyalty to god; in eastern context, it's the loyalty both to men, to elders, to gods.)

Under different culture background, people's view towards gender, towards power (whatever men or god) can be that similar. There are definitely some origin we can trace that relates to human as a whole.

Femininity and Power

Something really struck me today in class while we were watching the video about Jennifer Miller. She had said that her circus was full of women performing strong female roles. The very next shot in the video was of a female performer in a traditionally male costume. She had a short haircut and was even putting on a deep voice. I don't understand this. I've seen a few sketches from the lesbian performance group Split Britches, and one of their main performers--Peggy Shaw-- uses similar tactics. The idea is that it gives a woman power by allowing her to take on male characteristics. To me, it has the exact opposite effect. How does pretending to be a man give a woman power? The way I see it, this type of action only facilitates the outdated view that a woman can't have her own power. The woman has to dress as a man in order to be seen and heard. I believe that the duality of maintaining power AND femininity is a much stronger statement.

P.S. Here is the Split Britches video. The entire program is an hour and a half long, but you'll get the idea after just a few minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lT-Fb-LElk&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL32AFBE47B370FE74

Trend in Standards

After the discussion today, I started to think about the different standards women have been pressured into throughout time. Before women became anorexic for religious reasons: to be like the Virgin Mary. Someone presenting mentioned how men at this time had a higher status as priests. Males playing a dominant role in a religious society pressured woman even more to be like the Virgin Mary. The society as a whole was driven by religious beliefs and way of life. Not only were these women being pressured by the men to obtain this Virgin Mary image, but woman also found this a neccessity in order to fit in with there other female friends and family. Eating less, and becoming anorexic was a way of life. To those women, there was no other way; it was the norm.

Now, flash forward to today and our society is NOT as dominantly controlled by religion or by men. Although, men do hold a stronger status- this is changing. It is now more acceptable for a woman to be in charge and do what was once considered "a man's job". The pressure for woman to stay at home has seized to exist as "the woman's role" and in some cases is now the man's role in a relationship. Men are more likely to accept these standards now. So where does this pressure for a woman be thin come from now?

Obviously, the media plays a pivitol role in this. For woman, the pressure to look a certain way is dependent on the woman's other female friends. If you are in a group of friends that dress proper, are thin-and you are not-there is that one thing that will make you feel less acceptable. I have many girlfriends who are very high maintenance: can only wear a certain brand of jeans , shirts, shoes, purses(that cost $100s). But for me, I don't really care about spending $100s on a pair of jeans or shirt. I must admit though, I do have one pair of jeans that were over $100. I couldn't tell you if I got them because I liked them or because I felt "as a girl" I am obligated to own at least one pair or these type of jeans. Even when it comes to dressing up to go to a party: if you ask most guys(at least the ones I've met) "does this look good"? Most will say "sure, I dunno, I don't care". So who am I dressing up for? The men or the woman?
Maybe it depends on where you are from? I went to a high school which required us to wear a uniform. Girls wore polos in various colors and we had the option to wear a plaid skirt, shorts, or pants. The plaid skirt was the same for everyone while the pants or shorts were tan. EVEN with a uniform girls would make fun of other girls for wearing "those shoes, that polo .. with that skirt". That's BIZZARE!
The media, men, woman: whoever influences us has really skewed our idea of what is real.
Take a look at this Dove Commercial. You will see what it really takes for a girl to be "Beautiful".
Dove Commercial

Newsweek: Should a Fetus have rights?

(Yes, this article is a bit old)

The article is briefly about debate rising from confused criterion on time point when a life begins. A term for "ability to maintain life," viability plays a significant role. It is indisputable that once a fetus is considered to be viable, exercising power over a fetus so that it is killed should be punished with homicide. Trying to find a middle point between pro-life and pro-choice campaigns, the argument over viability expands even further: to sperm and egg in extremities and embryos in current scientific level. The article focuses on suggesting pro-life and pro-choice campaigns' arguments and this being expanded thanks to the scientific development.

Because the article is about so many topics - abortion, debate between the camps, fetal rights and complicacy of viability due to medical advancement that enables survival of fetuses that would have been aborted otherwise and specific cases - I would focus on abortion only. As a pro-choice rather than pro-life, I believe that parents should have decision over the abortion. However, there should be a limit on age of the fetus so that a full baby is not aborted. About the matter, I believe this does not have to be argued when the fetus is fully grown because with current level of medical technologies, it is nearly impossible to abort a fetus on such developmental stage. Due to Roe v. Wade court decision, abortion is primarily allowed on pregnancies from sexual assaults and deformation. In reality, there are numerous cases of pregnancies from failure of family planning and such case leads to unwanted marriage, which often causes increasing divorce rates. As leaving more room for parents' will to intervene would leave more leniency so that parents can have higher quality of life - as sometimes, asking for responsibility is not the best option.

Woman with a Beard - Max Bard

I came across a "Woman with beard" channel on youtube and found this: http://www.youtube.com/user/sszzggt.

It is in fact a Youtube Channel that hosts a woman (I don't believe we know her name yet) who periodically videotapes herself. She expresses her feelings about having a beard and the way society reacts to her. She also try's to reach out to help other woman that may happen to have beard. She even has a few "inspirational" videos on bearded women (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhjDUnsL45U&feature=channel_video_title).

I found this woman very interesting because she reminded me of the Thomas Beatie situation on youtube. Thomas Beatie had his own youtube channel where he expressed his feelings and opened up his life to society very much like the bearded woman has. I believe that as our society grows and progresses we will have a more people coming out, sharing their personal lives, and expressing their "problems."

Freakshow in The Phantom of the Opera (2004 Movie)

When Professor Velasco introduced the definition of freakshow in today's lecture, it reminded me the freakshow scene from the 2004 movie, The Phantom of the Opera. It's a flashback memory of Madame Giry, a mid-aged choreographer of the opera house. As Madame Giry recalls her trip to a carnival freakshow when she was a young girl, we perceive the distress childhood experience of the "phantom". The phantom was born with a deformed face and is deserted by his mother. He is named "the devil's child" in the freakshow to attract people's interest to see him. He is caged and his head is covered to disguise his appearance. The crowds are screaming and laughing when they saw his face. The scene is pretty ironic because although the crowds (except Madame Giry) is despise and make fun of the young phantom, the audiences may feel sympathetic about him.

The phantom has nothing wrong with his deformed appearance while people judge him as a monster simply because he looks different from the norm. It's so cruel for an innocent young child to be displayed on the freakshow with people pointing and cursing on him. Even though he is not a born a monster, he gradually turns to a monster of hatred because of his dark experience. As we can see in the scene, he feels ashamed when people stares at him (even when his face is covered) as he lowers his head. Although he seems tame, he accumulates his hostility and eventually he strangles the man for revenge.

Unlike Jennifer Miller who is willing to display her "difference" in the freakshow, the Phantom is displayed by force and the horrible experience distorts his personality and indirectly leads him to become a mad murderer in the last part of the movie.

Here is a link of the movie and the freakshow scene begins at 15'30''.
http://tieba.baidu.com/相对论/shipin/play/716638184cf690464c45b46f/