One of my roommates is an education major and was recently talking about the idea of single-sex classrooms for children. I started thinking about this and found several articles online about the topic.
Follow this link to watch the clip from the Today Show. Polygamist parents speak out
An interesting article on "Geisha Guys," a new trend in Japan, made me think about this new step towards equality in gender. Prostitution and the idea of "female companionship" has been around for years while male escort services are relatively new and somewhat less acceptable. Not that anything about prostitution is acceptable but it is a more underground and private matter whereas male escorts can be seen out with women in public.
Before the group presentation on queer studies, I had absolutely no idea what the term actually meant. If I had to guess I would have said it was the study of gays and lesbians. While this is true in part, I had no idea that queer studies was an actual field of study and coursework offered at colleges. I guess OU, being in the middle of the Bible Belt, has yet to adopt the liberal idea.
Queer studies is the growing field of study involving issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation. City College of San Francisco was the first school to create a department of gay, lesbian, and bisexual studies. The department was established in 1989. The number of colleges offering classes in this field has increased greatly in recent years. There are more than 40 degree granting programs available and at least five institutions that currently offer an undergraduate major in queer studies.
The purpose of queer studies is to use academics as a way to examine literature, political science, history, psychology, as well as other fields and how they relate to the perception of queer people. As well as analysis and study on these topics, many programs also place emphasis on community involvement and activism in the field. The purpose of queer studies is to enlighten people on the culture of this group of people and create a larger wealth of knowledge and acceptance.
Larry King, an eighth grader in California, was shot twice in the head by fourteen-year-old Brandon McInerney. The reason? He was gay. The death of King lead to an uprising among activists who demanded more tolerance be taught in middle schools and to younger students. I think the death of Larry King is a tragic and startling wake up call for anyone who thinks gay tolerance is not an important issue. The fact that such young children have already formed strong hatred for people who are different than them is frightening. It makes me wonder what parents are brainwashing their children to believe. I wish classes like Race and Gender in the Media could be offered to younger kids.
I thought the majority of the comedians in the social comedy presentations were very vulgar and offensive. These kinds of comics are considered social comedians because they are commenting on race, gender, and their place in society. It is an obvious source of controversy because it focuses on reinforcing and making light of serious stereotypes.
Claire Tucker, Mara Sljivich, Hilary Strat, & Hillary Wright
Miscegenation is defined as the blending or mixing of races. It is most commonly used in today’s society to refer to past practices and is considered offensive in contemporary usage. Today words like interracial, mixed marriage, and cross-cultural are more common and acceptable.
Historically interracial marriage in the United States was viewed as taboo. In 1691 Virginia passed the first legislation prohibiting interracial marriage. In many states, these marriages were already illegal when the term ‘miscegenation’ was invented in 1863. The term was actually used in a political pamphlet meant to help the Republican Party win the 1864 election.
Anti-miscegenation laws banned marriages between whites and blacks and also between whites and Native Americans and Asians. In the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, the court ruled Virginia’s miscegenation laws were unconstitutional.
In 1967, Stanley Kramer’s landmark film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? came to theaters and sparked a great deal of public discussion. The film tells the story of a white daughter who brings her fiancé, a black man, home to meet her parents. The movie was the first of its kind to address the topic of miscegenation and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The film immediately followed the tumultuous period of the Civil Rights Movement and in the same year as its release, the daughter of the U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, married a black man.
The numbers of mixed marriages in the United States has increased greatly from only 26,000 in 1960 to 80,000 in 2000. A 1991 Gallup Poll reported that for the first time in history more Americans approved of interracial marriage than disapproved. In today’s society, there are more interracial models in magazines, as well as interracial couples shown in television shows and movies. Popular TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Will and Grace,” “ER,” and “Lost” all feature interracial couples.
The taboo of interracial couples is still somewhat present in our society. However, images of these couples are becoming more mainstream and reoccurring in the media. Real life celebrity examples such as Halle Berry and Gabrielle Aubry and Seal and Heidi Klum are opening doors for interracial couples. However, corporate America and movie conglomerates are still not as accepting and comfortable with miscegenation. Although there have been movies featuring interracial couples, such as The Body Guard and Monster’s Ball, the images continue to be stereotypical and reinforce racist attitudes across the U.S.
The recent casting of the movie Hitch actually involved a great deal of controversy. Producers felt a white woman playing opposite African American Will Smith, would be too controversial, but casting a black actress would make audiences view the film as a “black movie” which could hurt sales. Eva Mendes, who is Cuban-American, was eventually cast as the leading female role.
Something good to see is now more than ever, interracialism especially in the media is being presented as a matter-of-fact situation that is not commented upon nor is the focus of the plot. This positive development is showing the American people that interracial relationships are not an abnormality but rather an acceptable part of society. Clarence Krygsheld, who is white, and Faye Hightower, who is black overcame many social obstacles when they married in 1968. Some of their family members even refused to attend the ceremony. Today, the couple finds that people are much more accepting of their relationship.
Interracial coupleI have been following news on MSNBC.com and read a startling article today regarding minorities and disease diagnosis. The article talked about the racial disparities in cancer diagnosis, a statistic that I was not familiar with at all.