Here are the discussion questions for today:
1. What does Orbach mean when she writes "every body requires a context?" How has this context changed throughout history, and why might it be more "dangerous" given today's media climate?
2. Many women experience beauty and body practices, such as wearing make-up and dressing attractively, as pleasurable and empowering. What is the paradox about "choosing" these activities that Orbach sees as a form of coercion by mass media?
3. How do you think body context affects men differently than women?
4. Orbach states that children today are growing up with the idea that their bodies are "always in need of attention and transformation." Can you think of any evidence to support this claim, either from your experience or our past readings? What do you think are the implications of a generation raised to feel inadequate?
5. Think about the context for your own body. How has this context evolved, and what are the pressures through which it has been shaped?
Not really related... but...
Here's the link to the video. Making one of these might make for an interesting group project. What types of gender related issues face women here in the RGV?
http://www.upworthy.com/a-french-film-showing-men-what-being-a-woman-feels-like-kinda?c=reccon1
not gonna lie the film was pretty crazy. I took French in high school and I was excited to visit but if being a woman in that country is anything like what that guy had to go through count me out.
ReplyDeletei know there are still injustices in our home country but if a guy talk to me like that in public oh you better believe that would be the last time he addressed a woman in that fashion.
Vicotoria Alonzo
Hey Victoria!
ReplyDeleteYeah -- I agree. I think it's an extreme example, not an everyday experience. My friend told me that there's a lot of street harassment there in France, but it's kind of a part of their culture, particularly the homeless girl cat-calling at the poor guy (not the violence thing; there's no excuse for that, but we have our share of gender violence over here, too, though maybe more of it happens behind closed doors and looks different). Anyway, it's pretty provocative, isn't it? I wonder what a gender flipped video of the RGV would look like? Or even the experience of a trans/queer teen in the RGV?
Thanks for taking a look at the video and commenting!
K.