Friday, June 3, 2011

Best four blogposts

I would like to choose blogposts #3,5,6,9 for grading.

Course Reflections

1.      I think it was fun to do the research paper#1. First, the topic (Black Males) was  interesting. I have more knowledge about this topic because I read books and articles that related to it.  Second, I learnt how to do the research paper after I finished it. For example, how to find relialbe sources, how to do annoted bibliography and so on.
2.      It is good to have debate in the class. But I don`t like the debate because I`m nervious about it.
3. Blogger is very useful for this class. It makes this class interesting. It is very clear for us to know what we need to do for each assignment and what we need to focus on. Also, i can share my ideas with other classmates as well as i can see their work. When i check our Google Doc, I think it is very cool to see what I have done for this class in this semester. i feel that I learnt a lot from this class. I think my writing skill has been improved by the end of this semester.
4. I read one article which is not required in the class. The article is interesting too. I think I`m excited to do the performance of the article even though i`m not good at it.  It is really enjoyable to see other students to perform.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Blog post #12

Connection between Bromantic comedy and Gazian`s article

By reading the article “The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as a Collective Activity” by Gazian and watching the movie “The Hangover”, we can see that men show up their masculinity through their close relationships with other men, such as group action. For example, Gazian mentions that “the ritualistic use of alcohol is normative on college campuses, particularly for men (Martin and hummer 1989), and students largely describe pregaming as an economical and efficient way to get drunk before going out into the city….it also seems that pregaming is a bonding ritual that fosters social cohesion and builds confidence among young men in anticipation of the challenges that accompany the girl hunt” (326). Also, it mentions in the movie that four main male characters chose to drink on the roof before they went to the nightclub. They both show us that these men want to prepare themselves as a group to get ready for the girl hunt. They want to get excited and build confidence by drinking.What`s more, Gazian also mention that “Finally, once the locus of action moves to a more public venue such as a bar or nightclub, the much anticipated “girl hunt” itself proceeds as strategic display of masculinity best performed with a suitable game partner” (328). It means that men worked together and helped each other out in the nightclub to get girls. They didn`t only care about themselves but also cared about their friends. They supported each other. Meanwhile, in the movies, it shows us that Phil, Alen, Stu tried to remember what happened to them on their bachelor party in order to find their missing friend Doug who is going to get married on next day. Through finding Doug, we can see that these men didn`t complain about each other even though they met difficult problems. They worked together and tried to figure out a way to get Doug back. All those behaviors show us that there is a close bond between these men. They were responsible for what they had done as a group and they tried to save the bad situation. They give each other a hand when they need even though sometimes they may tease each other for once a while.         


Works Cited:
Grazian, David. "The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as a Collective   Activity".  Men's Lives.  8th ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner.  New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2010.  320-337.Print. 
The Hangover.  Dir. Todd Phillips. Perf.  Bradley Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha. Warner Bros, 2009. DVD.
.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Blog Post #11

Joan: He is so handsome when he dances in the bar. He is such a good dancer. I feel falling love in him when I saw him.
Ying: how can you say that? Just by dance?
Joan: well, he is not just a good dancer. He also has attractive appearance. Every girl in the bar is trying to talk to him and hang out with him.
Ying: Ok, except attractive appearance and perfect dance, what else?
Joan: he is talkative person. We have a nice conversation in the bar. He seems to know everything.
Ying: That sounds nice. You can`t only account on that. Actually, you know what? What he did in the bar is what all males will do and try to get girls. That`s the only goal we want to achieve. Also, we always bet who will get more phone numbers from girl in the bar. You are just one of his targets. Get it?

Joan: Well…..but he seems so different.
Ying: Different? That`s what you think? Tell the truth, he is one of my friends ‘friend. I know him better than you do. He just pretends cool when he is in the bar. In fact, he is nothing but a playboy.
Joan: Are you kidding me?  How can I like that kind of person?
Ying: Stay alert. You should not just judge a man by his appearance and behavior in the bar. Except that, you seem to know nothing about him. You need to know more about a man by getting involved in his life.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Blog Post #9

Fathering: Paradoxes, Contradiction, and Dilemmas

I think fathers are getting more in children`s developments. According to the article “Fathering: Paradoxes, Contradiction, and Dilemmas”, it mentions that“increases in women`s labor force participation…” (Coltrane 437) and “when mothers of school-aged children are employed more hours, their husbands tend to do a greater portion of the child care and housework, and fathers tend to be more involved to the extent…” (Coltrane 439). It shows us that women no longer just stay home and take care of their children and they tend to work more hours than they used to be. In other words, men have to spend more time with their children. Also, it has to do with men themselves. It says in the article that“…father get more involved when they have a strong fatherhood identity or actively embrace father role” and “...Fewer work hours and more flexible work schedules.” (Coltrane 439). It means that men feel they are capable of playing father role in the family and like to show that they can take care of the children. Besides, they don`t have to work for a long time with flexible schedules. So, they can have opportunities to spend time at home. Furthermore, environments help them more involve in children`s developments too. For example, in the article, it says that “in terms of social support fathers tend to be more involved …” and “…kin and other community members support father involvement” (Coltrane 439). It tells us that they begin to get supports from the society. People tend to understand them to get more involve in children`s developments. Even better, people in society encourage them to do so.
Work Cited:
Coltrane, Scott. “Fathering: Paradoxes, Contradiction, and Dilemmas”. Men`s Lives. 8th ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A.Messner. New York: Allyn&Bacon, 2010.432-449.Print.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Blog Post #8 - Revised Annotated Bibliography for William’s“The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions”

I think it depends on the position that the man has. We have different expectations of men in different positions. The glass escalator effect helps men get advantages in female job over women. In some” female" professions, males still have advantage in hiring and promotions. For example, it mentions in the article that one of the interviews says that it’s nice to have male in pediatrics. But for social pressure, people think men shouldn’t do female’s job. For choosing nurses in obstetrics and gynecology, they refuse to hire men
Williams, Christine L. “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions”. Men`s Lives.5th ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A.Messner. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2001. 211-224. Print.
            The article “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions” shows us that men have advantages that helps them be improved easily in the “female” positions. Also, they face pressures from the work environments and outsides.
The article “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions” is appropriate for the research paper because it was written by professorial author. The author is Christine L.Williams. She has Ph.D. and is professor and chair of the sociology department at the University of Texas at Austin.  She writes on gender, race, and class inequality in the workplace. Also, she teaches course in gender, sexualities, labor and labor movements, and qualitative research methods. What`s more, In 2001, the article was published by Allyn & Bacon which is a leading publisher for higher education in the areas of education, humanities and the social sciences. Furthermore, the article has adequate references support the author`s claims, so we can rely on that article.
Men have advantages in the female position because people think it is nice to have men in their work environment. In the article “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions”, it says that “there is a preference for hiring men in these four occupations” and “many of the men perceived their token status as males in predominantly female occupations as an advantage in hiring and promotions” (Williams, 213). It shows us that men have advantages in hiring by their employers because they are men and they prefer men in these positions.

Friday, April 29, 2011

blog post#8



According to the article“The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions, Men have advantages that make them easily improve their positon in the “female” positions.
The article is research paper. it has a lot of references that are reliable .the author reads a lot about the topic and interviews a lot of people.
 I think it depends on the position that the man has. We have different expectations of men in different positions. The glass escalator effect helps men get advantages in female job over women. In some” female" professions, males still have advantage in hiring and promotions. For example, it mentions in the article that one of the interviews says that it’s nice to have male in pediatrics.
  Williams, Christine L. “The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the “Female” Professions. Men’s Lives. 5th ed. Ed.  Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. New York: Allyn & Bacon,2001.211-224.Print.



Wednesday, April 13, 2011

BlogPost #7

Chicano Men and Masculinity

Zinn writes in “Chicano Men and Masculinity”,
          We must understand that while maleness is highly valued in our society, it
           interacts with other categorical distinctions in both manifestation and meaning.
          As  Stoll   (1974:124) presents this idea, our society is structured to others (e.g.,
          men over women) but the system is not perfectly rational……, so that “one can    
          never be sure this aspect of one’s self will not be called into dispute.(29)
From the quote, we know that comparing to Black men, Asian men, and Chicano men, the white men are viewed much more valuable than them. In other words, if you are a white man, you can be treated better than other. Furthermore, comparing to women, men also have advantages over women. However, when the masculinity relates with race, ethnicity, and other statuses, we may find that it will work differently. It may change the way we used to think about the masculinity. For example, as a Black man, he doesn’t have any advantages when he is a salve. Even though he has his masculinity, he can’t use it and enjoy it. Instead, he has to hide it in order to survive because their masters don’t allow them to show up his masculinity. Even worse, he lost his position in his family. Because of his salve status, he can’t bring his family anything. Instead, Black women are in charge of the family. They play important role in their family. Also, for some white women, if they have a good job and earn a lot of money, they may become the person who is in charge of their family and their husband has to listen to them. They play important role in the family.  It means that they have more power over their husband. So, the race, class, and the status that you are in or different categories that you belong to, which all will affect your masculinity.

work cited:
Zinn, Maxine Baca."Chicano Men and Masculinity". Men`s Lives. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. New York: Allyn &Bacon. 2001. 24-32. Print.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Blog Post #5

All Man Are Not Created Equal: Asian Men in U.S. History
By reading the article “All Man Are Not Created Equal: Asian Men in U.S. History”, I notice that Asian men are struggling with their masculinity by losing economic ground and power both in public and at home. When Asian men live in their county, usually most of them are dominant. For example, they have a good job, earn more money, have power and are respected by other people. But as immigrants of color in the U.S., they lose their positions. They don`t have good economic supporting which forces them to work in “feminized” job, such as domestic service. As domestic servants, they become the subordinate of the white people which makes them lose their power in public. They can`t do what they want to do before as immigrants. They need to do what they want them to do in order to get paid.  In the article, it says that “…he worked as a domestic servant for a white family who treated him like a cat or a dog” (Espiritu 34). It seems that the white people don`t even give them the equal relationship as a human. Also, because of the wartime internment, they lose their economic ground and the dominant authority over their wife. They don`t have any their own businesses for themselves and their next generation, so they have to work back in labor market. They are not the only breadwinners for the family. Instead, their wives can also support the family. It mentions that “…women`s earnings comprise an equal or greater share of the family income…..these shift s in resources have challenged the patriarchal authority of Asians men.”(Espiritu 38-39). In other words, Asian men are no longer having more power than women at that time.  They are not treated as they want to be as a man.

work cited:

Espiritu, Yen Le. "All Man Are Not Created Equal: Asian Men in U.S. History". Men`s Lives. 5th ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. New York: Allyn&Bacon, 2001. 33-41.Print.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Final Draft of Photo Analysis paper#1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u0fIhO_mlQ3aErt5-BxsY8MMINen-GakEC___P6tXGo/edit?hl=en&authkey=CN2ul8EL

who`s the man?

I think the  masculinity that the male shows in the Theroux's "The Male Myth" is different from the Black male from Marable's "The Black Male: Searching Beyond Stereotypes" because one is focus on the their inner masculinity, another one is focus on their physical appearance and how they show us their power work as slaves.

Work cited:
Theroux, Paul. “The Male Myth”. Across Cultures: A Reader for Writers. 7th ed. Ed. Sheena Gillespie and Robert Becker. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008 101-105. Print


Marable, Manning. “The Black Male: Searching Beyond Stereotypes”. Men`s Lives.5TH ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.17-23. Print.
 

MASCULINITIES: in-class Quick Write April 1: Who's the Man?

MASCULINITIES: in-class Quick Write April 1: Who's the Man?: "Activity start time- 8:00 a.m. Must be posted by 8:20 a.m. Please go to your blog, and read your Blog Post #3: Theroux and Blog Post#..."

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Blog Post #4


The Black Male: Searching beyond Stereotypes
             I think the way the white people treat black men is not what black males should deserve. For the way the white people treat black men, we can see that as a black man at that time, he was just viewed as a white society slave: white people`s tools which can meet their needs. In the article, it says that “…as such, their proper role in white society was as laborers, not as the managers of labor”, It shows us that the white people viewed them as physical power for them and they deprive of black male`s right to get their own achievements. Even worse, they are viewed as “the only acceptable behavior of any black male was that of subservience—the loyal slave” (Marable18).  It sounds like if they want to live in that society, what they have to do is to obey their masters without any questionings. In other words, whatever their masters ask them to do, they must do it. It give us a image: a loyal dog waiting for the master`s rewards, but finally he gets nothing. How sad it is! That`s what the white people treat black men. When we look back in white history in the article, we find that black men helped the white adapt the difficult situation. “Africans were the first to cultivate wheat on the continent…, who cut down most of the virgin forest across the southern colonies. (Marable 17). Even more, in the times of war, black men protect the white in order to save their lives and property. But unfortunately, the white people look like the snake treats the farmer in the fable of “the farmer and the snake”. Even though the farmer saves the snake`s life, the snake bites the farmer which leads him to death.

Work cited:
Marable, Manning. “The Black Male: Searching Beyond Stereotypes”. Men`s Lives.5TH ed. Ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.17-23. Print.
 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Blog Post #3

The Male Myth
I think sports are good for men because it will bring benefits to them. It helps men form strong muscle and build health body shape, also men can learn how to cooperate with other people in the team work. Even more, they can learn leadership skills which make them more responsible. In the article “The Male Myth” by Paul Theroux, he says “high-school basketball teaches you how to be poor loser”, and he also mentions men as “social misfits, moral degenerates, sadists, latent rapists and just plain louts”, even more negative thoughts, he says that “high-school sport is far worse than marijuana.”(Theroux 102). For what he thinks sports bring to men, I disagree with him. Actually, if you want to get in the sport team, you should be good enough to meet the requirements that school sets up. In other words, you have to a good student. For example, you not only need to maintain a good grade, but also you have to master good sport kills. If you miss either of them, of course, you don`t have other chances to get in. On the other hand, it makes me think of the fable of The Fox and the Grapes. It tells us that the fox is unable to get the grape, when he leaves with saying that the grapes are not ripe yet. When I think about these bad words that he wrote, it reminds me of the author himself as a man. I was wondering that he may have bad experiences with sports which causes him reject the sport. By doing this, it may comfort himself.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Blog post #2

Response to Lorber's "Night to His Day"

Each society has its own norms and expectations of gender for people. As an individual, you may choose the gender that you want to be as long as you fit these requirements. Otherwise, you will be kicked out of the society. Form the day you were born, the society already has its rules for female and male no matter what you like it or not. These rules already exist there even you don`t know when the society starts to use them. These rules are passed down from one generation to the next generation. Gradually, they will affect people`s behaviors, the way they treat others, and the way they be treated. It is just like the example mentioned in the article. In one African society, as a man, you should eat wholeheartedly with whole mouth when you eat something. Maybe you never think about why you do it. You do it may just because everyone does it. So, for them, It is just the way that a men needs to do. Another example from the article is when a baby was born, most parents gender them by naming, birth announcement, dress. It is a natural way for parents to prepare children like that in order to make sure that their children are on the right track and fit in our society, which means they want their children to be either a male or female. As a child, in the beginning, he or she seems like a blank paper. They doesn`t know about which gender they should belong to. But as the article says that from the process that they grow from the early childhood to adolescents to adults, they all will interact with their parents, the opposite gender, and guided by the schools, media, even the society stratification system. Later on, they all will know what exactly they should do to meet the rules. All in all, for the gender that we have, once we follow the rules, we will be fine.

description of photo

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gC9w7RkJB4f3oM0VbqsJJqeMdEWlCizQOdhheU3OpNg/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJnNj4cE

Friday, March 11, 2011

Blog post #1

Are males born or made?
             Before I read the article “how to build a man”, I don`t even think about that question. It is natural for me to think that men are born not made. It just comes to my mind without thinking about it. But now that article makes me change a little bit. Men could be made by certain surgeries (let us call them men so far), but at some point, actually they are not real man even though they have certain traits that all men have. They can pretend to be men, but it is painful for them because when it comes to compare to the real man. They are still not. What comes next? They may treated by other people differently or to be someone else. Also, it is unfair for them too. They don`t have choice. They are already made to be men no matter what they want to be or not because when they are baby, other people (parents) already make the decision for them. They just accept the result. It is similar as the example mentioned in the article. When a boy was born with less than 0.6 inches long penis, he will be made to be a female, just because medical practitioners think that kind of change may be good for the baby. But who knows? That will be nice to the baby. When “she” grows up, “she” may be a female (not real woman), which may hurt her feelings too. Or she still has the desire to be a man. What can she do next? Change back!?