March 28, 2012 Sexism

As a female, sexism can be a very difficult topic to think about and face on a daily basis. Like every other social justice issue that we have discussed, we like to think that as a society we have come a long way, but even still the issue of sexism still exists. Women face this issue everyday in the workplace, school, grocery stores, etc. There's no escape to it. For example, this past weekend I went with my fiance to buy paint at Home Depot (which btw was my fiance's idea, not mine) and the older man who checked us out said, "Alright buddy, now you can grab some Bud Light, kick back and watch her do her thing." When he said that I was instantly uncomfortable because I felt like he said that because I was wearing shorts? Then I thought about it some more as we were leaving and I thought that maybe he meant it as painting and decorating is a woman's thing. Which btw is so stereotypical and sexist because my fiance enjoys painting and decorating more than I do. It has nothing to do with being a woman or a man. That's just stupid...I'm not sure what he exactly meant but either way it was sexist. I feel as though sexism is similar to racism because even though things have gotten somewhat better and we would like to think that it doesn't exist, the truth is that it still does. How is sexism not around if women are earning only 77 cents to every dollar that a man earns? I found an interesting article from Time magazine that talks about this issue : http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html

Last semester I also took a class called Sociology of Gender with Dr. Christine Williams. I normally don't plug classes because I hardly ever really enjoy them, but this class was definitely worthwhile. As a female it was an awesome and interesting class that taught me things about sexism and gender issues that society trys to ignore and pretend like they aren't there. It's very eye opening once you start looking into sexism. For women it's actually quite scary and frustrating.

Although it's easy to think that sexism is only about women issues and oppression of women, we shouldn't forget that even men can face this issue. Adams talked about the different aspects of sexism that's not only about women, which I found interesting. I know when I hear the word sexism, I automatically think of women, but we're not the only ones who face this issue.

Like every other issue that we discuss in social justice, I feel like the only way to put an end to this is for us to take a stand. Men and women everywhere have a voice that can be heard. Also, one small way to make a difference is to acknowledge comments that you find offensive. For example, if I could go back I would have asked that man at Home Depot, "What exactly do you mean by that statement?" Once he clarified the meaning then I could have let him know that I didn't appreciate his comment and that he shouldn't say things like that. That way he might be more hesitant to say it to the next female. Just a thought.

Here are some images I found interesting this week:

Classism/Racism

Sexism

March 21, 2012 Achievement Gap Lecture

Hello. My name is Nikki Bonsall. I'm from Nederland, TX. I graduated from Nederland High School as the #29 student out of 365 students in my graduating class. I received awards for all A's since 5th grade. I was a member of both the National Junior Honor Society and National Honor Society. I was also Vice President of the Spanish Honor Society. I was a member of HOSA for two years and also received many awards for that. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah!

Ok, so my introduction above was only to prove a point. I know most of you probably don't care about anything that was said. If you did, you would have asked me or someone else about it. Most likely, you came to my blog with the expectation of me writing all my thoughts, opinions, and questions about the lecture we sat through this morning. I know for sure you didn't come to my blog to read a long, drawn out introduction about myself and my accomplishments. That's not the point of my post. So why did the lecture today turn out to be such a thing?

I walked into the Utopia theater thinking that I was about to sit down and learn about the Overachievement Gap. Honestly, I had no clue what that was because i've actually never heard of it. (At least not with that title, anyway) I have always known that there have been differences between whites and non whites in the education system, as well as in jobs. I was hoping that Dr. Jonah was going to fully explain what the Achievement Gap is, explain the differences, and make known what can be done to fix the issue. Instead, we all got to sit thru half of the lecture listening to awards and acheivements of the panel. Don't get me wrong. Everything that they have done in their careers should be rewarded and acknowledged, but seriously, I felt like this lecture was turned into and award show.

The whole time I was sitting there with my notebook and pencil ready to take down notes and be engaged with the speakers. I kept waiting to hear about cultural or race differences and issues that are affecting the children in our society, but halfway through Dr. Jonah's speech I thought to myself, "Ok? So when are you going to talk about the Achievement Gap and it's issues?" Sadly, I don't think he ever really did. It was as if the whole lecture may have been a plug for the Stand for Children organization, which by the way I didn't learn much about either.

I was very disappointed at how there was only time for two whole questions. Which by the way, weren't even correctly answered. I felt really sorry for the woman who seemed so concerned about bullying. She asked a good question and only got vague answers that didn't help at all. Especially when the other woman took the microphone to "answer" the question and basically stated that bullying could be stopped by having children in a "good environment." Are you serious? If it was so easy then why are there so many problems? Does she really think that it's that easy to provide a "good environment?" If that was the case then everyone would be living in a world full of rainbows and unicorns. World peace would be attained too. As if! That answer really got on my nerves. I mean, yes she is right that placing children in good, healthy environments will promote appropriate behaviors. But that wasn't the woman's question. She wanted to know how to deal with bullying that is already going on. You can't simply move all the children around to make them function in a good environment.

I was also disappointed when they mentioned someone who worked at Kealing middle school, but failed to discuss it more. I'm very familiar with Kealing because I am taking a class called, "Leadership in the Community," with Dr. Lauderdale. Kealing is in the East side of Austin and is a block away from an open air drug market. My class meets every Monday (It's made up of all UT star athletes and a fellow SW student and I) and we all go to Kealing and meet with the kids to motivate them to do well in school and stay away from gangs and drugs. Kealing is mostly made up of black and hispanic students who do poorly in school, do drugs, are in gangs, have sex, etc. These children are high at-risk. I felt like Kealing would have been a great example for the lecture to discuss the Acheivement Gap. It would have been nice to hear some discussion on that topic since I have ties with that school.

I'm not totally bashing the presentation, but I felt like I left there unsatisfied. I had certain expectations that weren't met by the speakers. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be. It would have been better if the introductions were cut way shorter and there was more time for questions. I also think the speakers should have discussed the achievement gap and explained what it was. It would have also been nice to have better suggestions for what we can do to help, instead of giving broad statements like "Take a Stand." Or answering a question with a question. If all they could tell me is "Take a Stand," then I feel a little hopeless. Obviously, as SW students we all want to "Take a Stand," on something, otherwise we wouldn't be going into this profession. We know that already.

It would be helpful to everyone in the School of Sw if they could email everyone who attended an evaluation survey. That way we could all express what we thought and what could improve future lectures.



But anyways,


Saw this and thought it was cute:

March 9, 2012 "Peace Be With You.."

"Lean into the Discomfort." I felt like that quote from The TED talk with Ms. Brown hit hard this week with the discussion on religion. As i've mentioned before in class, religion is a difficult subject for me to openly express myself on in class. It is comforting though to know that I am not the only one in class that struggles with this issue. I didn't get to fully explain my thoughts in class, so here it goes...

I grew up going to the Catholic church every weekend since I was born. My whole family was devout Catholics, especially my grandparents. I had to be baptized, go to mass every weekend, go to CCD classes every year until confirmation, practice Lent, etc. For those who don't know what Lent is, I don't want to waste alot of time explaining it, but for my purpose all you really need to understand is that we can't eat meat on Fridays. (By the way, it really pisses me off when people feel the need to question why we do that and argue that seafood is meat so we shouldn't eat that either. I don't question others' beliefs so don't question mine.) Anyways, I remember when I was little I went to my friends birthday party when we were around 7 or 8yrs old. She went to the same church that I did and her grandparents usually sat near  my family. her birthday was during Lent and they ordered pizza for everyone. I knew I couldn't eat meat so I got cheese pizza and her and the rest of the kids ate the hamburger pizza or whatever. When my mom came to pick me up, her grandma told my mom that she was so impressed that I didn't eat meat. I didn't know it was such a big deal because that's what I always did. The point i'm trying to make with that story though is that nowadays Catholics are alot less strict than they were in the old days, except my grandparents. Also, that just shows how kids are socialized and taught what they're supposed to do from an early age and they don't usually question that.

So basically I practiced like I was supposed to until I moved away for college and then I quit going. I started to question certain beliefs and wasn't sure if I really wanted to continue being Catholic, especially when I started dating a Muslim. At that point, my mom was so afraid that I would convert to Islam. While we dated I learned about the Muslim faith and agreed with certain things and also disagreed with alot of others.  Also, when I was younger I used to attend a Baptist church with my best friend when I would spend the night with her. I've never been closed minded to other people's religion or faith, but i've never felt that way about other people when they judge me for being Catholic. I feel like movies and media portray Catholics as being these evil people with ridiculous beliefs. I always hear stereotypes that we "hide things" and that priests are perverts, etc. Obviously, not everyone is perfect and there's always going to be weirdos out there, regardless of faith.

Since i've started the School of SW, i've noticed that there have been quite a few times when I feel as though i'm hesitant, nervous, or ashamed to say that I am Catholic. For example, i've noticed a bunch of times when people want to bash Catholics because of the birth control issue. I certainly don't agree with that belief because I personally use birth control and i'm not ashamed to admit that. I am a woman and I have a right to use whatever I feel necessary to protect myself. Just because i'm Catholic it doesn't mean that I agree with that belief. Besides, there are other religions who believe the same thing (Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't Mormons the other people who don't believe in contraceptives?)

So anyways, Wednesday's class discussion about religion really helped me with all my internal struggles dealing with Sw and religion. I loved how Dr. G said that you don't have to agree with every single belief to be considered a part of a faith. I've always felt that I am a true Catholic even though I don't believe every single detail. I'm also very open to learning about other religions as well. I feel like everyone has something good to offer that anyone can use in their daily lives. I don't think that makes me any less Catholic than somone who follows the "rules" step by step. Thanks to everyone who expressed their beliefs on religion and spirituality. It really helped me.

So after hearing Rush's comments on birth control all I have to say is OMG! I saw this post on Fb today and loved it


Enough with the oppression of women and double standards!

I don't understand why people want to bitch (excuse my language) about too many people being on welfare and "taking hard earned tax dollars", then turn right around and say that birth control isn't necessary. WHATEVER.

In the words of Veronica, "Think before you love." <--Love that! lol

March 3, 2012 Walmart and Adams

Walmart: "Save Money. Live Better"...After watching the film this week over Walmart, I find myself reading their quote and thinking," Yeahhhhhh Right." I know this is geared towards the consumers, but for the employees it seems as though it should be, "No money. Live worse." The whole time I was watching I felt like my eyes were widened in shock by everything that was being said about Walmart. My heart goes out to all the small business owners who lost their business because of Walmart, especially that cute old man that owned the hardware store and his wife that was ironing the clothes. I know it had to be heartbreaking to work so hard and be so successful for so many years, only to shut it down becuase Walmart moved into town. That's so sad and such a shame. They always say if you work hard you will be successful and be where you want to be in  life, but after hearing these stories of the small business owners it seems as though that may not be true. The comments made by those people about Walmart getting a grant or some kind of government funding but they were turned down just goes to show how shady our government can be. I mean, if these people have had a store open for so many years then obviously they have been successful and are doing something right. So why shouldn't they deserve to get help? I think they deserve it more than Walmart actually because nowadays Walmart has grown to be such a powerhouse that it's like they don't have to put forth any effort. They just pick a spot and set up shop then the money comes rolling in.

As much as i'd love to be the compassionate social worker and sensitive person that I should be, I know I can't lie to myself or ya'll and say that I won't ever go to Walmart again. I know that sounds really bad, but let's be real...I've been going to Walmart my whole life because that's the place that I can get whatever I need for low prices. I'm surely not agreeing with how they are functioning in society and what they do to their employees, but on the other hand, I still can't afford to shop anywhere else. So what should I do, ya know? Hopefully, one day there will be enough people who stand up for themselves and convince Walmart to fix their issues. Or perhaps the government will wisen up and step in. There's always hope.

Also, as social workers we should always try to see the good in others. In Walmart's case, I always think it's cute how they hire the elderly people to be door greeters or cashiers. I'm sure having a job makes them feel important and have a sense of purpose. I don't know, maybe i'm wrong. That's just something I thought about when I was thinking of Walmart.

So anyways, one comment I had to make about the reading that talked about upper/middle class women hiring lower class women in their households was that I think it's a shame. It's always sad to hear how women can oppress other women. We should be fighting for each other, not working against one another. It reminded me of the stories that my aunt would tell me. She said that she remembers when she was little that a black lady would always come over and help clean her grandmother's house. She also remembers that her grandma would keep a seperate coffee cup for that lady to drink out of and have coffee before she left. Luckily, her grandma was nice enough to let her sit down and have coffee after a long day of work. Alot of times the women who hire maids were really mean and insensitive to the them. The only thing that was wrong about her grandma's situation is that she felt the need to have a seperate cup for her because she was black. She wasn't doing it out of hate. That was just the mentality of people at that time, which is still present today. I still remember when I was little a black man knocked on our door and asked my mom for some water. My mom is nowhere near a mean or hateful person, but I remember she put it in a plastic cup and told him he could keep it. I just think that people continue to think and act in those ways because that's how everyone was brought up. I feel like I talked more about racism than classism, but then again that's just an issue that can affect every aspect of society. I feel as though classism is somewhat based on racism. They go hand in hand.




Here's an image just for you to look at and think about:

How come all the girls in the picture are white, but they decided to make the black girl look bigger and be the center of attention? Hmmm...