Campus engagement: "Taking up space"

On Monday, April 16 I attended “Taking up Space: Middle School Girls’ Responses to (cyber) bullying. I was excited to go to the event because bullying is something that I feel commonly occurs and is experienced my many. I thought the event was going to really focus on personal accounts of girls that have been bullied. However, the event really emphasized the process of gathering and analyzing the data. The main purpose of the project was to examine the relationship between anti-bullying instructions in a local mentoring group. According to the speaker, the program has had very positive feedback in schools, from both parents and students.

            The members of the project really wanted to see the responses of girls in middle school towards bullying. According to surveys conducted, discriminatory language is ok among friends.This did not surprise me. I have heard the way students in middle school refer to each other, using degrading language is now the “norm.” All of the girls that were interviewed in regards to their experiences with bullying were asked open-ended questions. Responses from parents were displayed and they all basically said something along the lines of how the school really didn’t step in to stop bullying.

            I was also surprised at how hard the Seminole county public schools made it to conduct the research by denying study requests pertaining to cyber bullying. The school systems reluctance to participate made me think that they know about the bullying that occurs in their schools, and they just turn a blind eye on the matter. The parents’ responses all basically said that the school did nothing; the bullying was prevented due to the course of action the parents were taking separately from the school.

            I think the research being conducted is a great idea that hopefully brings to light an issue that is often times swept under the rug. I think that focusing on seventh graders is a great focus group because I really do believe middle school is the time in which bullying really starts to take place. For me, middle school was honestly terrible. I was going through my awkward phase and I can remember getting teased. I hated going to school due to the harsh things kids would say. So from my first-hand experiences, I can say that bullying is very common and needs to be stopped. Teachers and faculty should know when a student is crossing the line and enough is enough. I think by bringing light to the issue and really talking to girls will help soothe the problem.

Service Learning 2

During the week of April 2^nd, I had a lot of contact with my community partner, in which I received most of my service learning hours. I tabled with VOX on Wednesday, informing the student body about “Let’s talk about sex, baby.” I then went around to different businesses in the Orlando area, informing them on the upcoming event and asking if they would be willing to make donations. On Thursday, I handed out flyers in the student union, which gave information about the event. Friday was the actual “Let’s talk about sex, baby” event, in which I helped set up, and sold guests raffle tickets. The week overall was very successful. The activism I did this week relates to women on a macro level because I feel that much of the work I did was empowering to women and their sexuality. In the reading Women’s sexuality, it really hits on the point that there is a double standard in our society. Men can be open about their sexual encounters and are frequently praised by their peers, friends, etc. Women, on the other hand face repercussions when being open about their sexual encounters. “This fundamental contradiction between encouraging men’s sexuality and expecting women to be chaste results in the construction of two categories of women: good and bad women, virgins and whores” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 151). Women cannot speak as openly as their male counter parts because most women do not want to have a negative label such as “whore” associated with themselves. In the reading “Guadalupe the Sex Goddess,” la Virgen de Guadalupe is very ashamed of her sexual desires and body due to the culture she was raised in. However, as she gets older she comes to terms with herself and finds her sexuality empowering. “I have found her. She is Guadalupe the sex goddess, a goddess who makes me feel good about my sexual power, my sexual energy” (Kirk-Okazawa-Rey 166). Sandra Cisneros discovers her sexuality and comes to terms with her body image. She really embraces her sexuality. “Let’s talk about sex, baby” was similar to Cisneros experience of embracing her sexuality. The event was actually pretty raunchy and made me feel that one’s sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. Sexuality should be explored in a safe way and what a woman does should not be scorned upon in society. I feel that after all the engagement I had this week, what I personally got from my experiences was that despite ones ethnicity, gender, or race, one’s sexuality is something that should be free to safely explore without having to face negative and hateful judgments by others. One’s sexuality does not entirely define a person; it is a piece of who they are that they should be able to express safely.

Works cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. NY:
McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.

Service Learning week 1

During the week of March 26, I went around to different businesses in the Orlando area and asked if they would be willing to make some kind of donation to the “Let’s talk about sex, baby” event. The successes that I had were that all the businesses took the letters, and a few even seemed willing to donate. The pitfalls I faced were that many of the businesses I approached were chain corporations so they couldn’t really commit to making a donation before speaking to their corporate manager. I fixed this problem by going to smaller local businesses instead of such large chain businesses. The activism I did this week relates to women’s lives on a macro level because I saw first-hand how uncomfortable some of the business owners were when I explained what the event was, and that it was supported by Planned Parenthood. The week’s events have influenced the way I view feminist activism and women’s issues quite significantly. After reading the “Women’s Sexuality” chapter, I definitely saw a lot of truth behind how society oppresses women’s sexuality. However, after going to different businesses, my eyes were opened even more after an actual real life experience. When I would say the word sex and explain that the event would be informing the Orlando area about safe sex practices, I could feel customers in the store looking at me. Many of the women managers seemed to not be phased when I explained the event, yet male managers were definitely a lot more uncomfortable. I feel that my community partner would think the differing reactions enforce the oppression that women face. You would think that because the whole purpose of the “Let’s talk about sex, baby” event is to promote safe sex practices among society; everyone would be all in to help support this event. However, I could tell how uncomfortable many of the male managers were when even mentioning the word sex. Researcher Heather Boonstra, reviewed evidence that abstinence-only programs do not end or even delay teen sex (Kirk-Okazawa- Rey 153). So you would think that businesses and society as a whole would be willing to donate to a cause that would teach and encourage safe sex practices. However, this is not really the case. In our society today, images of celebrities such as Brittany Spears and Beyonce are everywhere and display stars reveling in their sexuality in public (Kirk-Okazawa-Rey 151). Sex is everywhere and I feel that it is better to openly talk about it and be informed than feel uncomfortable and be in denial. After this engagement, what I gained from this was a close and personal experience. We read in class about the accounts of discrimination faced by many different women. Well, I got to experience first-hand how different people react when sex is the topic of discussion and how uncomfortable this word can make people feel, especially when it is coming from me, a young female student.

works cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. NY:
McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.

Extra Credit

After watching both One Born Every Minute and The Business of Being Born, I noticed many similarities and differences between the two. One similarity I noticed was that many of the things The Business of Being Born frowned upon during labor in hospitals were evident in the show. The Business of Being Born really reiterated the fact that hospitals make it hard for women to have natural births because they in a sense persuade them into taking drugs. Once you take a dosage of one, you have to keep having more, therefore many women go in with the idea that they are going to have a natural birth and end up leaving without accomplishing that. In the show One Born Every Minute drugs were highly encouraged and more than one kind was given to the women in labor. A major difference I noticed was the way the women acted in labor. The women displayed in The Business of Being Born were very relaxed and in calm environments, free to walk around and do what helped them deal with the pain. The women displayed in One Born Every Minute appeared to be in a lot more agony and highly stressed out, which has to be less healthy for the baby. The women giving birth in One Born Every Minute had a whole team of people who helped with the arrival of the baby. The main doctor who delivered the baby was also a male. In The Business of Being Born, only one female mid-wife was present during the pregnancy. In watching both, it seems as though the women in The Business of Being Born had a lot more control over their pregnancy and that the mid-wife seemed to genuinely care more, because she had a more personal relationship with her patient. The interests and concerns of the women in One Born Every Minute are a lot less important. The doctors will pretty much do what they deem necessary to speed up the amount of time women spend in labor. In The Business of Being Born the woman giving birth is depicted as being knowledgeable because it is her  body that is going to naturally do what it is supposed to. In One Born Every Minute, it is definitely the doctors that are more knowledgeable. The doctors and nurses pretty much tell you what to do and why you should do it instead of letting a women’s body run its natural course. Birthing in One Born Every Minute is portrayed as being long, scary, and painful, while birthing in The Business of Being Born is portrayed as natural, peaceful and calm. I think all of this can greatly impact women’s health. There are clearly negatives and positives of giving birth at the hospital and at home. By closely looking at the two, we can figure out methods that work best and most efficiently for women, thus making the whole experience of birthing a much more positive experience for many women.

Advertising Analysis Blog

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/daniel+radcliffe+broadway

The image I chose is of Daniel Radcliffe and everyone knows him from his role in Harry potter. I chose this image because just like women being portrayed as objects of sexual desire in advertisements, many men are also depicted in this shallow and un realistic way in which I feel affects women.

In this image, Daniel is shirtless and bearing a chiseled chest. He is seductively holding items in his hand and not looking at the camera. There is also mist that is behind him in the picture. All of these things contribute to the sultry tone that this image is displaying. In real life, Daniel wouldn’t be standing shirtless, with fog in the background, and seductively gazing off. All of these things are what create the seductive tone of the picture. Ideal beauty standards are ageist, heterosexualist, and racist (Kirk and Okazawa-Ray 208). This is very much true for women, but also for men. Daniel Radcliffe is a young, good looking, heterosexual, white male. He falls into all the categories in which advertisers use when looking for their models. This ad relates to women’s bodies on a macro level because women see these men used for ads and feel pressure not only from the thin female models, but also to attract the “perfect” male depicted in ads such as this one. Media representations and ads overwhelm girls with an ideal of beauty that is: thin, tall, young, lean white, well-groomed hair and flawless skin (Kirk and Okazawa 208). Media representations and ads of men include much of the same things: Heterosexual, white, well-groomed. Women see the ads featruing attractive men with good looking women and assume that the only way they stand a chance with someone that is as good looking as Daniel Radcliffe is by losing weight and conforming to what they think he would want, or what the female models posing with them look like. This ad is used to promote Daniel’s new play, and I definitely think him wearing no shirt along with his seductive stare and posture are strategic ventures made to gain hype for the play.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives 5th 
            Ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.

Service learning proposal

Charlotte Albone
February 2, 2012
Meredith Tweed
Wst 3015- 002

Contact information:
Title of proposal: VOX service learning community partners, spring 2012.
Name of community partner: VOX
Group members: Erika S, Lydia H, Scott V, Kelsey G, Charlotte A
Community partner profile:
Name: VOX, Voices of Planned Parenthood
Contact: Alexa Nelen
Community partner mission statement: “Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood-UCF chapter exists to educate the University community about reproductive health and rights, to translate increased awareness into pro-choice activism on campus, and to serve as a coalition partner to state, national, and international reproductive rights efforts” (“VOX UCF”).
Political/and or social basis for organization: VOX strives to obtain equal reproductive justice for women. VOX works with Planned Parenthood to help achieve this goal. Equal reproductive rights for women are being threatened by a number of political initiatives in which Planned Parenthood is opposed to. Some current concerns that will be addressed this semester are: birth control refusal under the affordable health care act, pro-life protests at the Planned Parenthood clinics, general access to sex education and contraception.
Community partner needs: Many of Vox’s activities are reactions to things that are going on politically therefore, the organizations needs may not be known that far in advance. Some of the organizations immediate requests include:

• People to solicit donations for the “Lets Talk About Sex” event- This is a benefit event that has a lot of raffle prizes, games, and music. We have been asked to go to businesses and ask for donations for the event.
• clinic escorting-We will be helping patients safely enter Planned Parenthood when protestors are present. Training is necessary for this and VOX will provide this later on in the semester.
• tabling oustside of the student union- A table is set up in which members of VOX inform students who approach the table about safe sex, current reproductive issues, any questions they may have. VOX also has condoms readily available for students.

Plan proposal:

Specific problems my student learning partner will address: Equal reproductive rights for women, informing students about “safe sex,” and access to contraception. This is relatable on a macro level because recently, contraception has been a big issue for the Obama administration. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will be required to cover the cost of birth control and other women’s preventive services without charging a co-pay or deductible. Churches and other houses of worship are exempt from the requirement to offer insurance that covers contraception. This is a problem because it would be wrong to deny them coverage for contraceptives that all other employees will have. The specific needs of my community partner include: help with the “let’s talk about sex event,” clinic escorting, and tabling.

Rationale for women’s studies: VOX’s mission really highlights educating people about reproductive rights for women and awareness of pro-choice activism. Unlike, “first” and “second wave” feminism, “third wave” feminism really emphasizes multiple identities. Issues brought about by a variety of women make us question assumptions on issues such as health care (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 14). All these different women with different skills and backgrounds have different opinions regarding reproductive rights. Just because we are all women does not mean we have common viewpoints on everything. What we have talked about in class really ties into this. Every person has experienced different social and historical situations that have produced different experiences, also known as situated knowledge (Kirk and Okaawa-Rey 56). This is why not everyone shares the same beliefs regarding women’s reproductive health. If you grow up in a conservative family in which it is instilled in you that abortion is wrong, you will most likely hold these views when you are older. Situated knowledge plays a big role in how people form their opinions. The goals of VOX can also be affected on a macro level. The government has the ability to pass laws that can restrict or help the reproductive rights of women. The price of birth control, who has access to it, access to abortion services all depend on rulings made by a national institution.


VOX is a pretty active student organization so more events are likely to come about as the semester progresses.
Action: We have met with Alexa Nelen, the president of VOX at UCF. She is aware that we are available for service learning and has made some requests in regards to getting donations for “Let’s Talk About Sex.” We will continue to attend meetings throughout the semester and respond to needs as they become apparent.
Timeline: Again, new needs will arise as the semester progresses, so a full timeline is not possible at this time. Some presently known events include:

• “40 Days of Life,” a 40-day sustained nationwide protest targeting Planned Parenthood clinics, will last from February 22nd through April 1st. There will be a recurring need for clinic escorting throughout this event (“40 Days for Life”).
• A training session for clinic escorting will occur “in the coming weeks,” according to meeting notes from VOX’s Facebook group (“VOX UCF”).
• “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby,” which will happen “sometime in March” according to VOX’s website (“Events”).
• Tabling will occur throughout the semester.

                                                Works cited

" 40

" 40 Days for Life."    40 Days for Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

            <http://www.40daysforlife.com>.

"Events - VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood at UCF." VOX: Voices for Planned

            Parenthood at UCF - About. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

            <http://www.VOXUCF.org/events.html>.

"VOX UCF." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

            <http://www.facebook.com/groups/2200915873/>.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. NY:
              Frank Moritmer, 2007. Print.

Roe v Wade campus engagement

I recently attended the 39th Roe v Wade Anniversary celebration, which was held at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando. The Roe v Wade court decision nullified the State of Texas’s criminal abortion laws in regards to its finding that the right to decide whether to have a child is an indispensable right promised by the U.S. Constitution (“Roe v. Wade and the Right to Privacy”par.1). The event I attended was supported by Planned Parenthood, which had a lot of staff from the Orlando clinic present. The event also had students from the UCF college Democrats and NOW. After arriving at the church, I talked with other people that were at the event and signed a poster stating what choice meant to me. Everyone was then ushered to take a seat and listen to the different speakers for the night. Some of the speakers included: Planned Parenthood staff, members of the church, and UCF students. The speakers also consisted of both males and females, young and old. Some of the speakers told personal stories, while others informed the audience about everything that Planned Parenthood has done for women’s health. A common theme I noticed in many speeches was that of, “why choice is important."

In my opinion, being pro-choice isn’t being pro-abortion. Being pro-choice means giving women the right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies. Women shouldn’t have to feel as if they are trapped and have no options. History shows that women will seek abortions whether they are legal or not. Before legalization in 1973, an estimated 200,000 to 1.2 million abortions occurred in the United States yearly with an approximate death rate at between 30 and 40 per 100,000 (Cates and Rochat , Teitze par.3). It is evident that women will seek abortions illegally, thus harming themselves. One of the speakers told a story about how a girl from his high school died because of a botched abortion. Although abortion was a big topic, it was not the only thing discussed at this event. Sue Idtensohn, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando discussed everything they do for women’s health. Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides contraception, screening for various cancers, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to name a few.

Many of the speeches made that evening were completely inspiring and accurate. I agree that a woman should have the ability to choose what to do with her body. A woman should not have to resort to illegal and unsafe practices in order to terminate a pregnancy she cannot support or does not want. Planned Parenthood does so much more than just performing abortions. Planned Parenthood informs women about how to take safe sex precautions and provides cheap and affordable health care services.

I am so glad I attended this event and got to hear from these amazing women and men who left me inspired.








Works cited
"Roe v. Wade and the Right to Privacy [part 1 of 4]." Contemporary Women's
Issues. Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2012.
Cates, Rochat, and Teitze. "Policy update on safe legal abortion, 30 years after
Roe v. Wade." Contemporary Women's Issues. Institute for Women's Policy
Research, Oct. 2003. Web. 21 Jan. 2012.