Kassie Barber Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Rights Movement

Hello, my name is Kassie Barber, I am a sophomore and I am majoring in business.  My ultimate goal is to open a bakery after I graduate from Eastern that specializes in breads, deserts, and cakes that are diabetic friendly in dedication to my sister who has type one diabetes.  I chose the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Rights Movement as my blog topic.  I thought it would be interesting to start off with a little bit of history about  Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual people.  Liking the same sex, or both sexes isn't anything new or a trend that people are following.  Being with the same sex or both sexes has always been a part of human nature it just wasn't always an "okay" thing to admit.  Even today people are hesitant to come out with who they really are in fear that someone may judge them or treat them differently.  In the US people didn't actually start to create advocacy groups for Gay. Lesbian or Bisexual people until after World War Two.  The major group to actually recognize gay men as an oppressed minority was the Mattachine Society.  The first Lesbian support system was the Daughters of Bilitis.  These two groups helped pave the way towards the rights of Gays, Lesbians, and Bisexuals.  But clearly the movement only starts there, this website shows how it grows, and moves through the important times in American history and how they have been fighting right along the way.  This is the website I found all of my information from and hopefully you find it as interesting as I have!
-Kassie

http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx

Kristen Damron's Violence Against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Peoples

Hello, my name is Kristen Damron and my blog topic is about violence against gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender peoples. As history is in progress people of the gay community are establishing more rights and fighting much harder for what they believe in then they have in the past. Gays are gaining more rights and establishing more movements for themselves. In the past it was very unheard to "come out of the closet" because it was socially unacceptable. Most of the time your family, friends and community would go against you, hurt you or even kill you at the extremes because it was seen as sinful. We have made some progress sense that but the problem is not totally fixed. There are still so many bullying cases in schools or even in public. It is hard for most couples of the gay community to go out into public without getting stares or harassed. The United States also has gay pride week and parades, there are always rioters trying to make the situation awful for the gay community and cause violence mentally and physically when they are just trying to express who they are as people like heterosexual peoples do. Even though progress is being made the gay community is still fighting to protect themselves and earn their human rights they believe that they deserve. It is amazing how hard people fight for who they are and their beliefs to live their lives and take the risks of the violence instead of staying in the closet or afraid to come out so they don't have to deal with how some of society treats them.

-Thanks for reading, Kristen.  

Women In Sports

Hello everyone, my name is Midori Harrison. I play Volleyball here at EMU. I recently transferred from South Florida over the summer. Originally I am from Cleveland, Ohio so I am accustomed to the cold and snow Michigan will bring in these next few months. Since I play volleyball at the division 1 level I do know what it takes to make it to this point. I know what its like to be a female athlete these days. This is why I chose the topic of “Women In Sports”.  Not only did I choose this topic because I can relate to it, but I also chose it to find out more about the women who started the movement for young girls like me to play.  Gaining a better understanding will allow me to appreciate the game that has brought me so far. Women today are still making tremendous strides to keep female athletes on top. I have included the URL to the Women’s Sports Foundation. This site contains a lot of interesting articles, stories,  shops and ways to donate to keep women in the game!

http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/ 

Aidan Munn's Blog Introduction

Women and Hip-hop

                  Whether it be the songs they sing themselves, the way they dance in the music videos, or even they way they are talked about in lyrics of songs by males, women are involved in hip-hop. My name is Aidan Munn and my blog is going to be discussing the different ways women are involved in hip-hop. Women and the involvement in hip-hop is very complex because it depends greatly on the circumstance. When women themselves are singing hip-hop songs, they can be very pro-woman and empowering. When women are in music videos a lot of the time they can be dancing provocatively and can be seen as objects for males. They can also be seen this way in the way they are talked about in lyrics by many male hip-hop artists. I choose this topic because I personally love hip-hop and rap music. I listen to songs and usually just listen to the beat and sing the words without giving them a second thought. When I actually listen to them, I can see how some of them are pretty disrespectful to women and that really interests me to look further into it. I also love music in general and am very curious to know more about women that are in the hip-hop industry. Whether you like hip-hop or not, this blog will show you great insight into the world of women in the music industry as a whole. Stay tuned for my new posts on this great topic ;-) 

<3 Aidan

Tayler Thornton Introduction- Masculinity and Hip Hop

Hi, my name is Tayler Thornton and my controversial blog topic is about Masculinity and Hip Hop. My topic in my opinion is very interesting and very deep rooted. Hip Hop music goes back until the 1970's starting off as a good beat with meaningful lyrics, but as the years passed the beats changed and so did the lyrics. Rappers took on a whole new outlook on life, from rapping about coming out of the their struggled lives and talking about real life things, they focus more on being "The Man" with the all the money, girls, cars, and "iced out" jewelry. Rappers have definitely created this image for many young males, that they need to have the cool car or the jewels around their neck to be a man and that is something that I do not agree with. I am not saying that all rappers portray this image and Im not saying that all rappers lyrics are bad, but I am saying that hip hop music needs to get back to rapping about deeper things, rather than the high-lifestyle they live. The music video "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac, is an example of hip hop music having a positive influence on not just the African American community, but everyone that heard it. In his song he talks about women on welfare, his mother raising him, and some of the things he went through as a child. The lyrics in this song display a great amount of positive masculinity. The reason I feel this way is because he gives out a motivational and inspiring message, about keeping your head up and standing tall in the toughest times. One rhyme that stood out to me was that he said "I give a holla to my sisters on welfare, Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care". With Tupac saying this one line it shows his support and passion for the struggling females in America, telling them that he is there for them. As an authentic artist Tupac delivered thoughts provoking heartfelt lyrics that touched people of the same demographic and all around the world, he truly set the bar high for lyrical content with a purpose of enlightenment. Views on Masculinity have changed in real life and in the hip hop industry, due to the most popular rappers images and lyrics. Stay tuned for more engaging and exciting lyric dissecting moments with me. I hope you enjoyed the first one.

Tayler T.

Abbie Minsker's Introduction- Women and Country Music

 

Strong Women in Country Music

 

 

My name is Abbie Minsker, and my blog topic that I am very excited to share is Women and Country Music. This is a topic I feel very strong about because not only is country music my favorite music genre, but also because it is a music genre that possesses the most inspiring artists. Country, however, would not be the same without their women artists, in whom I believe are the strongest singers of them all. Every song they sing or write sends a strong and meaningful message to their audience. Women country artists have helped me overcome times in my life where I felt weak or pressured as a woman, and their songs have shown me that women are just as strong, if not stronger than men. Women roles in country music are mostly hard working, determined and independent. I chose this video to begin my topic introduction because it is a good start in introducing seven of country music's toughest and most inspiring women. This video helps explain some of the negative struggles and expectations women face everyday, and also how these women deal with the pressure. In their songs and music videos, these women are not afraid to show their masculine side by proving their superiority to men, and showing that they wont be pushed around as females. Many of their song topics include physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual violence against women, love, heart break, tragedies, independence and the power of women.  In other words, you don't want to mess with women in country music. I hope you enjoy, and want to learn more. I have much more information to come on my topic of Women and Country Music.

 

Abbie

Incarcerated Black Men!!

MORE PRISONS ARE BEING BUILT THAN JOBS ARE AVAILABLE! THE QUESTION IS WHY AND WHO IS IT FOR???????

Are we living in a country where our system is set up for a certain ethnic group to fail!?! If so what type of laws are we supporting or better yet IGNORING!

For a long time now black men were always predicted "more likely" to go to prison than any other race in America; rather it be for armed robbery, racial profiling, 1st degree murder, gun charge, grand theft, DUI, and most prevalent Drug Offences. These victimless crimes constitutes 86% of The Federal Prison Population!

Welcome!

Welcome to the class blog for Professor Currans's section of WGST 202: Introduction to Gender and Sexuality for fall 2013.

Each student will post on a topic related to the class.  Be sure to check back often to see what people have added.

Professor Currans