Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Passion for Fashion
Further Education
Currently I am considering two options for my nearing future: graduate school or cosmetology school. If I get a free ride to grad school then I would be stupid to give it up but I do love doing hair. I do not feel that by doing this I am falling prey to societal influences because I have been actively trying to pursue other career options only to come back to the thought that I love hair, makeup, glitter and fashion.
The cosmetology database I found can give me schools in several states so when I move I have options. I want to be able to do what I love for a career and I would love to one day own my own feminist salon. There are a couple of programs that actually teach you how to own a salon. I would want it to be called “the F-Word Salon and Spa” and have a daycare provided so that women can come in and get the services without having to worry about their children and the child area would be pro-woman, feminist friendly. The toys would be gender neutral and the movies would have strong female themes. I would also like to hold workshops through the salon on positive body image for women and teens to help foster a better relationship with the self.
If I do go to grad school, I am looking at Minnesota State University, Mankato because it has a program that is more tailored to individual’s own feminist theories. I would like to be able to do both grad school and beauty school but I don’t think it would be practical to do at once so the decision is up in the air. I only really need grad school if I want to teach, which I do, and then I would have to go on to get my PhD. I have talked with Maria Bevacqua, Gender and Women’s Studies Director at MSU Mankato, and I feel that it might be a good fit since the program has more on queer studies and I could cater it to my interests. She often brings her class up to Minneapolis, MN to visit the Smitten Kitten, a feminist sex toy store. She would be on the more radical side of feminism and I think that that would be a good fit. The program also offers a Graduate Assistantship that could include a stipend and tuition waver.
Family
I do not believe in having children or really a “family.” I never plan on having children because of my personal adversity to men, doctors and any human under the age of 10; but my maternal instincts have manifested in the desire to have a puppy. I will have a puppy, which is similar to a child but without the force on society to gender it appropriately. I am not sure on whether it will be male or female but either way it will be fixed and I am looking at a Pomeranian or Chihuahua. It will be gendered with a feminist/feminine name of “Miss Suzie Bee Stanton” and will be my constant companion.
Career(s)
If I go the route of beauty school, I will need to get a licensure in cosmetology which varies from state to state and you have to have that state’s license to practice. The reciprocity in some states is very good if you got trained in a state with rather high standards. Also a little food for thought, the more conservative states have higher requirements, whereas the liberal states are rather lenient. So that throws out the option of going to a more liberal state and not having as much reciprocity or going to a conservative state and maybe not being able to be as creative due to their “standards.” I am also looking into the idea of national licensure but I have not gotten enough information yet to delve into that.
Along with the beauty school route, I am also an animal rights activist. I was a vegetarian and a member of PeTA for a while but once I could no longer have soy, vegetarianism was out and PeTA's objectification of women and spoof on the transgender population angered me into discontinuing my membership. I strongly believe that it is morally wrong to test on animals (I would prefer to test on prisoners, after all they are still biologically human) and though I do not agree with, I cannot knowingly use products that harmed animals unless there is no other option. Therefore if I work in a salon the salon would have to have a cruelty-free product option.
Hobbies/Activism
Animal rights and feminism go hand in hand since both parties are discriminated against and are often kept pregnant to serve men’s desires. Therefore I joined a group on facebook and replied to a discussion post. I don’t know what will come from it but it should be interesting. There is the comment that Ben & Jerry’s should use human breast milk instead of cow’s milk. Where I get the point of it feminism is my main concern and I feel that would just be another way to keep women down is to make them give birth and lactate for the purpose of human consumption. I will sacrifice my ice cream to not have to birth. It is just throwing women under the same bus we are throwing cows.
Another hobby I have involves the beauty and fashion industries. I think that the narrow ideals of beauty have permeated society to the point of disillusionment to the actual concept of beauty and what it means to be beautiful. Women have not always had to be white, thin, blonde and tall to be beautiful. In different cultures beauty is defined differently. “Pretty” women have more privilege than “not typically defined as pretty” women and are more likely to be hired on to do jobs that don’t even require beauty. But our culture finds the need to sex up little girls and even adult women to the point of ridiculousness just because the male ideal of beauty just so happens to coincide with their sexual arousal.
Currently I am considering two options for my nearing future: graduate school or cosmetology school. If I get a free ride to grad school then I would be stupid to give it up but I do love doing hair. I do not feel that by doing this I am falling prey to societal influences because I have been actively trying to pursue other career options only to come back to the thought that I love hair, makeup, glitter and fashion.
The cosmetology database I found can give me schools in several states so when I move I have options. I want to be able to do what I love for a career and I would love to one day own my own feminist salon. There are a couple of programs that actually teach you how to own a salon. I would want it to be called “the F-Word Salon and Spa” and have a daycare provided so that women can come in and get the services without having to worry about their children and the child area would be pro-woman, feminist friendly. The toys would be gender neutral and the movies would have strong female themes. I would also like to hold workshops through the salon on positive body image for women and teens to help foster a better relationship with the self.
If I do go to grad school, I am looking at Minnesota State University, Mankato because it has a program that is more tailored to individual’s own feminist theories. I would like to be able to do both grad school and beauty school but I don’t think it would be practical to do at once so the decision is up in the air. I only really need grad school if I want to teach, which I do, and then I would have to go on to get my PhD. I have talked with Maria Bevacqua, Gender and Women’s Studies Director at MSU Mankato, and I feel that it might be a good fit since the program has more on queer studies and I could cater it to my interests. She often brings her class up to Minneapolis, MN to visit the Smitten Kitten, a feminist sex toy store. She would be on the more radical side of feminism and I think that that would be a good fit. The program also offers a Graduate Assistantship that could include a stipend and tuition waver.
Family
I do not believe in having children or really a “family.” I never plan on having children because of my personal adversity to men, doctors and any human under the age of 10; but my maternal instincts have manifested in the desire to have a puppy. I will have a puppy, which is similar to a child but without the force on society to gender it appropriately. I am not sure on whether it will be male or female but either way it will be fixed and I am looking at a Pomeranian or Chihuahua. It will be gendered with a feminist/feminine name of “Miss Suzie Bee Stanton” and will be my constant companion.
Career(s)
If I go the route of beauty school, I will need to get a licensure in cosmetology which varies from state to state and you have to have that state’s license to practice. The reciprocity in some states is very good if you got trained in a state with rather high standards. Also a little food for thought, the more conservative states have higher requirements, whereas the liberal states are rather lenient. So that throws out the option of going to a more liberal state and not having as much reciprocity or going to a conservative state and maybe not being able to be as creative due to their “standards.” I am also looking into the idea of national licensure but I have not gotten enough information yet to delve into that.
Along with the beauty school route, I am also an animal rights activist. I was a vegetarian and a member of PeTA for a while but once I could no longer have soy, vegetarianism was out and PeTA's objectification of women and spoof on the transgender population angered me into discontinuing my membership. I strongly believe that it is morally wrong to test on animals (I would prefer to test on prisoners, after all they are still biologically human) and though I do not agree with, I cannot knowingly use products that harmed animals unless there is no other option. Therefore if I work in a salon the salon would have to have a cruelty-free product option.
Hobbies/Activism
Animal rights and feminism go hand in hand since both parties are discriminated against and are often kept pregnant to serve men’s desires. Therefore I joined a group on facebook and replied to a discussion post. I don’t know what will come from it but it should be interesting. There is the comment that Ben & Jerry’s should use human breast milk instead of cow’s milk. Where I get the point of it feminism is my main concern and I feel that would just be another way to keep women down is to make them give birth and lactate for the purpose of human consumption. I will sacrifice my ice cream to not have to birth. It is just throwing women under the same bus we are throwing cows.
Another hobby I have involves the beauty and fashion industries. I think that the narrow ideals of beauty have permeated society to the point of disillusionment to the actual concept of beauty and what it means to be beautiful. Women have not always had to be white, thin, blonde and tall to be beautiful. In different cultures beauty is defined differently. “Pretty” women have more privilege than “not typically defined as pretty” women and are more likely to be hired on to do jobs that don’t even require beauty. But our culture finds the need to sex up little girls and even adult women to the point of ridiculousness just because the male ideal of beauty just so happens to coincide with their sexual arousal.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Critique of Brad Paisley's "I'm Still A Guy"
"I'm Still A Guy"
When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnic
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You're probably thinking that you're going to change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up but no matter what
I'm still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl (1)
You think that riding a wild bull sounds crazy
And I'd like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog (2), hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy
I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by (3)
I can hear you now talking to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way"
From dragging his knuckles and carrying a club
And building a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try (4)
Well, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I'm still a guy
I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there's dudes getting facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can't grip a tacklebox
With all of these men lining up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair (5)
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy
(1) On the most basic level, this shows an over-sexualization of every aspect of American men's lives. It is a sad day when a man cannot look at art without objectifying women. On a deeper note, many men see drunk naked women as an opportunity for a sexual conquest.
(2) The term "sissy" is often used as a derogatory word towards homosexual men. This is therefore demonstrating the homophobia in American male culture.
(3) This is an example of how men often feel that women are their property. He is not intending to harm the other man to protect her honor, but to show his ownership. It is a sense of territory. This also assumes that a woman cannot take care of herself.
(4) Sexual Assault Warning! She proclaimed that it was just a backrub and nothing more, but he felt that he was entitled to more than just a backrub. Her swatting his hand is not the first "no" but the second. That qualifies his action as a form of sexual assault. But he justifies this as being something that guys just do. It is just a small step away from rape, which is often justified by the idea that "boys will be boys."
(5) There is nothing more homophobic imaginable. Yes, the beauty industry is flawed and not ideal for anyone: man, woman, trans or queer. But to say that someone who is biologically male is wrong to exhibit any traits deemed feminine by American culture, is homophobic and sexist. Because really, if it is so wrong for a man to do something, how could it be right for a woman to do the same thing? He states that by exhibiting feminine qualities men are being neutered by these activities and that male genitalia does not exist in feminine men or not masculine men.
When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnic
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You're probably thinking that you're going to change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up but no matter what
I'm still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl (1)
You think that riding a wild bull sounds crazy
And I'd like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog (2), hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy
I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by (3)
I can hear you now talking to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way"
From dragging his knuckles and carrying a club
And building a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try (4)
Well, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I'm still a guy
I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there's dudes getting facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can't grip a tacklebox
With all of these men lining up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair (5)
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy
(1) On the most basic level, this shows an over-sexualization of every aspect of American men's lives. It is a sad day when a man cannot look at art without objectifying women. On a deeper note, many men see drunk naked women as an opportunity for a sexual conquest.
(2) The term "sissy" is often used as a derogatory word towards homosexual men. This is therefore demonstrating the homophobia in American male culture.
(3) This is an example of how men often feel that women are their property. He is not intending to harm the other man to protect her honor, but to show his ownership. It is a sense of territory. This also assumes that a woman cannot take care of herself.
(4) Sexual Assault Warning! She proclaimed that it was just a backrub and nothing more, but he felt that he was entitled to more than just a backrub. Her swatting his hand is not the first "no" but the second. That qualifies his action as a form of sexual assault. But he justifies this as being something that guys just do. It is just a small step away from rape, which is often justified by the idea that "boys will be boys."
(5) There is nothing more homophobic imaginable. Yes, the beauty industry is flawed and not ideal for anyone: man, woman, trans or queer. But to say that someone who is biologically male is wrong to exhibit any traits deemed feminine by American culture, is homophobic and sexist. Because really, if it is so wrong for a man to do something, how could it be right for a woman to do the same thing? He states that by exhibiting feminine qualities men are being neutered by these activities and that male genitalia does not exist in feminine men or not masculine men.
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