When recalling my grade school science days, all I remember are half-hearted experiments and tests that I always failed. We learned about influential scientists, but did we ever stop and wonder why all those scientists were white men?
If we stop and take a look at the history of science it's a field overwhelmingly dominated by men. In our grade school science classes, we learn about the achievements of male scientists, the theories of male scientists, and the underlying societal message that men are scientists. We don't learn about people like Rosalyn Yalow.
On May 30th, 2011 Rosalyn Yalow died at 89-years-old.
Yalow, who was only the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in medicine, was no stranger to the sexism and oppression that would litter her path to success in the field of science.
As the New York Times reports: "Dr. Yalow told interviewers that she had known from the time she was 8 years old that she wanted to be a scientist in an era when women were all but prohibited from science careers."
Yalow was rejected from several colleges because of her status as a Jewish woman. She eventually went to an all women's college in New York where she was the first woman to major in physics.
Rosalyn Yalow serves as an example of women that deserve recognition for their work. There are women scientists who have done revolutionary work throughout history and yet they are never highlighted in the science education we receive as children, and many times even as adults in college.
It's important to highlight these women so that more and more young girls will be inspired by their stories and will have the confidence and encouragement they need to enter the field of science and further diversify the scientist.
Thank you, Rosalyn Yalow, for your work in medicine and for your perseverance in the face of sexism and oppression. You are an inspiration.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A is for Arnold
Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's infamous governor, has found himself in the spotlight several times, whether under surveillance for alleged sexual assault, his recent divorce with his wife or his biological involvement in the birth of children that didn't belong to his wife.
Though Schwarzenegger's personal life scandal is "juicy" and newsworthy, the media attention it is receiving is reminiscent of scandals such as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky-an event that happened over a decade ago.
How women are depicted and treated during these scandals, however, hasn't changed much at all. Schwarzenegger's affairs are being glorified and Schwarzenegger who E! Entertainment is now declaring the "Sperminator" is being pushed to a pedestal of masculine greatness witnessed throughout patriarchal history.
The player and the ladies man is an image of masculinity we have seen in the media again and again. Schwarzenegger's behavior is glorified because sleeping with a lot of women, whether they birth illegitimate children or not, is stereotyped as a masculine characteristic.
We begin to see spin-offs, feature stories and even an blog editorial like this one from the LA Times, who claimed that it wasn't Schwarzenegger's fault that was a "guy who had sex with the Guatemalan help" because men are supposed to sleep around, especially powerful men.
The article claims that we should be turning our attention to more important issues (which I agree) and not making fuss over the small issues because:
"In fact, men in general screw around. The nature of a male is to spread his seed. Certainly, that's not productive for men in a committed relationship, or those with children and families. But that's the absolute biological truth."
While I agree that the issue is being blown out of proportion, this kind of thinking is exactly the kind of thinking that glorifies Schwarzenegger's behavior and makes his treatment of women 'okay'.
Other Schwarzenegger News:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/19/arnold-schwarzenegger-maria-schriver/
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/19/stan-lee-the-governator-unaffected-by-schwarzenegger-sex-scandals/
Though Schwarzenegger's personal life scandal is "juicy" and newsworthy, the media attention it is receiving is reminiscent of scandals such as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky-an event that happened over a decade ago.
How women are depicted and treated during these scandals, however, hasn't changed much at all. Schwarzenegger's affairs are being glorified and Schwarzenegger who E! Entertainment is now declaring the "Sperminator" is being pushed to a pedestal of masculine greatness witnessed throughout patriarchal history.
The player and the ladies man is an image of masculinity we have seen in the media again and again. Schwarzenegger's behavior is glorified because sleeping with a lot of women, whether they birth illegitimate children or not, is stereotyped as a masculine characteristic.
We begin to see spin-offs, feature stories and even an blog editorial like this one from the LA Times, who claimed that it wasn't Schwarzenegger's fault that was a "guy who had sex with the Guatemalan help" because men are supposed to sleep around, especially powerful men.
The article claims that we should be turning our attention to more important issues (which I agree) and not making fuss over the small issues because:
"In fact, men in general screw around. The nature of a male is to spread his seed. Certainly, that's not productive for men in a committed relationship, or those with children and families. But that's the absolute biological truth."
While I agree that the issue is being blown out of proportion, this kind of thinking is exactly the kind of thinking that glorifies Schwarzenegger's behavior and makes his treatment of women 'okay'.
Other Schwarzenegger News:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/19/arnold-schwarzenegger-maria-schriver/
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/19/stan-lee-the-governator-unaffected-by-schwarzenegger-sex-scandals/
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
P is for Peace Corps
Peace Corps is an organization dedicated to social justice and activism around the world. However, after more and more female volunteers are speaking out about their experiences with sexual assault and a lack of support from Peace Corps administrators, it seems as if Peace Corps isn't all that great.
Stories of brutal sexual assault and violence are being taken to courts and media sources across the nation. Female volunteers who do work abroad are voicing their anger over the lack of support that Peace Corps offers women who have been raped/sexually abused while on the job.
The women's stories have sparked congressional hearings on this matter, one of which was held Wednesday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Huffington Post, who covered the meeting, quoted Jessica Smochek's personal experience with a gang rape in Bangladesh.
Smochek claimed that after the incident happened, Peace Corps medical officer took her cellphone, forbade her from calling other volunteers and speaking about the incident, didn't give her a proper medical examination and sent her back to the U.S, where she was ordered to claim that she was back to get her teeth worked on.
Smochek detailed her concerns with Peace Corps here:
"Shortly after I left, the country director -- who never attempted to contact me after I was raped -- called a meeting of several women in my former volunteer group and told them, without my permission, what had happened to me," she said. "Then, he told them that rape was a woman’s fault and that I had caused what happened to me by being out alone after 5:00 PM. As for the other women in the group, who had been very vocal about being constantly stalked and afraid, he threatened them with administrative separation."
This issue has gotten huge. The statements from the country director are both shocking and disturbing, but they also reflect an attitude that our society perpetuates.
Often women are blamed for rape because of the way they were acting and dressing. In court cases, it is almost the number one defense for a suspect of rape.
Why is this even a valid argument? No woman asks to be sexually assaulted, no matter how she dresses. For the Peace Corps, who I believe does generally good work, to encourage and utilize this vicious stereotype/excuse as a response to the assault of their female volunteers is absolutely unacceptable.
According to the director of the Peace Corps, Aaron Williams, there is going to be change brought to the organization.
Williams said, "We do not place Peace Corps volunteers in unsafe environments."
Obviously, though, they do. And obviously their response to the aftermath of placing volunteers in unsafe environments is less than "peaceful".
Why did it take the Peace Corps this long to realize that their response to rape and sexual assault was inappropriate and unacceptable?
According to Williams, he was surprised and "amazed" that this kind of response had been happening. But according to the victims, it isn't something new.
Our society's ideas about rape and sexual assault need to change. It's time that we stop blaming the victim for sexual assault and instead work on reducing the amount of rape that goes on.
Stories of brutal sexual assault and violence are being taken to courts and media sources across the nation. Female volunteers who do work abroad are voicing their anger over the lack of support that Peace Corps offers women who have been raped/sexually abused while on the job.
The women's stories have sparked congressional hearings on this matter, one of which was held Wednesday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Huffington Post, who covered the meeting, quoted Jessica Smochek's personal experience with a gang rape in Bangladesh.
Smochek claimed that after the incident happened, Peace Corps medical officer took her cellphone, forbade her from calling other volunteers and speaking about the incident, didn't give her a proper medical examination and sent her back to the U.S, where she was ordered to claim that she was back to get her teeth worked on.
Smochek detailed her concerns with Peace Corps here:
"Shortly after I left, the country director -- who never attempted to contact me after I was raped -- called a meeting of several women in my former volunteer group and told them, without my permission, what had happened to me," she said. "Then, he told them that rape was a woman’s fault and that I had caused what happened to me by being out alone after 5:00 PM. As for the other women in the group, who had been very vocal about being constantly stalked and afraid, he threatened them with administrative separation."
This issue has gotten huge. The statements from the country director are both shocking and disturbing, but they also reflect an attitude that our society perpetuates.
Often women are blamed for rape because of the way they were acting and dressing. In court cases, it is almost the number one defense for a suspect of rape.
Why is this even a valid argument? No woman asks to be sexually assaulted, no matter how she dresses. For the Peace Corps, who I believe does generally good work, to encourage and utilize this vicious stereotype/excuse as a response to the assault of their female volunteers is absolutely unacceptable.
According to the director of the Peace Corps, Aaron Williams, there is going to be change brought to the organization.
Williams said, "We do not place Peace Corps volunteers in unsafe environments."
Obviously, though, they do. And obviously their response to the aftermath of placing volunteers in unsafe environments is less than "peaceful".
Why did it take the Peace Corps this long to realize that their response to rape and sexual assault was inappropriate and unacceptable?
According to Williams, he was surprised and "amazed" that this kind of response had been happening. But according to the victims, it isn't something new.
Our society's ideas about rape and sexual assault need to change. It's time that we stop blaming the victim for sexual assault and instead work on reducing the amount of rape that goes on.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
O is for Osama Bin Laden
While America celebrates the death of Osama bin Laden, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah is healing from a leg wound she received when she defended her husband.
According to ABC News Fatah, bin Laden's youngest wife, jumped in front of bin Laden in order to protect him from the U.S. Navy SEALS as they fired their last shots. Taking a bullet in the leg, Fatah is now in custody, held by Pakistani officials who claim she is too injured to speak to the U.S.
Many Americans are celebrating the death of bin Laden. His actions on September 11th haven't been forgotten by any American. It's safe to assume that we'd be very hard pressed to find an American who mourned his death.
However bin Laden had a family, a considerably large family, who have to deal with his death and with the excitement and celebration that surrounds it.
Fatah, his youngest wife, made a desperate attempt to protect his life. Bin Laden and Fatah's daughter was there as he was shot to death. His family members witnessed, what must seem to them, a brutal execution of someone they cared about.
Is it wrong, and even hypocritical, then to celebrate his death the way we do? It's understandable to me that people would be relieved that bin Laden was captured and killed, his actions on 9/11 and his terrorism around the world is more than enough evidence of the man's evil.
But this excitement, this ecstatic excitement that has been seen across the country this week is disturbing. It's cold blooded almost, that our thirst for revenge has been sated and that people have no problem openly expressing joy at the death of a man.
In no way is this meant to belittle the heroic efforts of the U.S Navy SEALS, what they had to do must have been both terrifying and difficult. Concern has been popping up about the morality of bin Laden's death and if shots needed to even be fired.
Facebook, especially, is a buzz with status' of concerned citizens who think that bin Laden should have been captured instead of being shot in front of a family.
According to the Guardian, Pakistani's foreign minister is questioning the way that the U.S handled bin Laden's death and the "legality" of it.
There is no question in my mind that if found, bin Laden should have been captured by the U.S. There is no question in my mind over the relief that Americans have expressed over his death.
However, was this the wrong way to handle the situation?
According to ABC News Fatah, bin Laden's youngest wife, jumped in front of bin Laden in order to protect him from the U.S. Navy SEALS as they fired their last shots. Taking a bullet in the leg, Fatah is now in custody, held by Pakistani officials who claim she is too injured to speak to the U.S.
Many Americans are celebrating the death of bin Laden. His actions on September 11th haven't been forgotten by any American. It's safe to assume that we'd be very hard pressed to find an American who mourned his death.
However bin Laden had a family, a considerably large family, who have to deal with his death and with the excitement and celebration that surrounds it.
Fatah, his youngest wife, made a desperate attempt to protect his life. Bin Laden and Fatah's daughter was there as he was shot to death. His family members witnessed, what must seem to them, a brutal execution of someone they cared about.
Is it wrong, and even hypocritical, then to celebrate his death the way we do? It's understandable to me that people would be relieved that bin Laden was captured and killed, his actions on 9/11 and his terrorism around the world is more than enough evidence of the man's evil.
But this excitement, this ecstatic excitement that has been seen across the country this week is disturbing. It's cold blooded almost, that our thirst for revenge has been sated and that people have no problem openly expressing joy at the death of a man.
In no way is this meant to belittle the heroic efforts of the U.S Navy SEALS, what they had to do must have been both terrifying and difficult. Concern has been popping up about the morality of bin Laden's death and if shots needed to even be fired.
Facebook, especially, is a buzz with status' of concerned citizens who think that bin Laden should have been captured instead of being shot in front of a family.
According to the Guardian, Pakistani's foreign minister is questioning the way that the U.S handled bin Laden's death and the "legality" of it.
There is no question in my mind that if found, bin Laden should have been captured by the U.S. There is no question in my mind over the relief that Americans have expressed over his death.
However, was this the wrong way to handle the situation?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
V is for Viral, Vicious and Vile
Though many pop culture phenomenon's caught my eye this week, I'd like to focus on something that's a bit more serious.
A trans-gender woman was attacked in a McDonald's restaurant in Baltimore last week by two women and suffered severe injuries. The attack was filmed by a McDonald's employee and then posted to the internet, where it quickly became viral.
The employee who filmed the attack was encouraging the attack and made no effort to contain the two women who were assaulting the victim, a woman named Crissy Lee Polis. The other employees, who can be seen in the video, also made little to no effort to stop the assault.
According to a filmed statement released by Polis, the women began their assault after Polis left the woman's restroom in the restaurant. They began to hit, spit and kick at her despite her several attempts to shove them off and leave.
At one point in the video, the two women attempt to drag Polis out of the restaurant by her hair. Polis is then seen going into a seizure near the entrance of the McDonald's, where finally the two suspects leave.
According to speculation on the internet, the employee filming the attack decided to load the video onto YouTube in an attempt to gain internet fame.
The video quickly became viral, and instead of serving as a form of entertainment, it launched a pretty big activism effort on the behalf of Polis as well as the trans-gender population of America.
Does this video serve as pop culture? Can pop culture act as activism?
Filming events/actions via cellphone and then loading these videos to popular sites like YouTube has become a pop culture phenomenon of our generation. There have been a few notable times when an attack has been filmed and it has spurred activism.
The internet is buzzing with feedback and responses to the brutal assault of Polis. Blogs and news websites are alive with updates and follow ups of Polis' story as well as the fate of the McDonald's employees.
The victim herself released a video statement, that has become viral on YouTube, about the attack she experienced.
All these things would make this event a part of pop culture news. It utilizes pop culture tools, it is viral on the internet and, for a change, it has encouraged and engaged activism instead of entertainment.
A trans-gender woman was attacked in a McDonald's restaurant in Baltimore last week by two women and suffered severe injuries. The attack was filmed by a McDonald's employee and then posted to the internet, where it quickly became viral.
The employee who filmed the attack was encouraging the attack and made no effort to contain the two women who were assaulting the victim, a woman named Crissy Lee Polis. The other employees, who can be seen in the video, also made little to no effort to stop the assault.
According to a filmed statement released by Polis, the women began their assault after Polis left the woman's restroom in the restaurant. They began to hit, spit and kick at her despite her several attempts to shove them off and leave.
At one point in the video, the two women attempt to drag Polis out of the restaurant by her hair. Polis is then seen going into a seizure near the entrance of the McDonald's, where finally the two suspects leave.
According to speculation on the internet, the employee filming the attack decided to load the video onto YouTube in an attempt to gain internet fame.
The video quickly became viral, and instead of serving as a form of entertainment, it launched a pretty big activism effort on the behalf of Polis as well as the trans-gender population of America.
Does this video serve as pop culture? Can pop culture act as activism?
Filming events/actions via cellphone and then loading these videos to popular sites like YouTube has become a pop culture phenomenon of our generation. There have been a few notable times when an attack has been filmed and it has spurred activism.
The internet is buzzing with feedback and responses to the brutal assault of Polis. Blogs and news websites are alive with updates and follow ups of Polis' story as well as the fate of the McDonald's employees.
The victim herself released a video statement, that has become viral on YouTube, about the attack she experienced.
All these things would make this event a part of pop culture news. It utilizes pop culture tools, it is viral on the internet and, for a change, it has encouraged and engaged activism instead of entertainment.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
S is for Snooki
As the popularity of the MTV Reality Show "Jersey Shore" grows, many of us are wondering what the big deal is. Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi is plastered all over pop culture and entertainment news and she is constantly in the spotlight.
Snooki's popularity isn't only national but local as well. During Fall Term OSU students participated in a Comcast University contest that would bring the "Jersey Shore" cast here to Corvallis to party at local dive bar, the Peacock.
OSU had the most amount of students participate in this contest and therefore "Jersey Shore" cast members made a trip to Corvallis. Facebook was a buzz with gossip and "Jersey Shore" scandal.
I expected to find that people, like myself, would be disgusted that OSU's claim to fame was now that we could bring "Jersey Shore" to our town. However, I was surprised when Facebook status' popped up all over my news feed, claiming: "I can't wait to meet Snooki!", "Gonna Party with Snooki tonight", etc.
Why is our society obsessed with Snooki?
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, who put the "lovable" "Jersey Shore" girl on their cover, Snooki claims her popularity came about because "I say what's on my mind and I'm real. And I'm tan."
Snooki's statement may seem absolutely ridiculous (really? We like her because she's tan?) but let's look at the evidence. She is featured on the March Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. A quick Google search brings up thousands and thousands of features on Snooki.
People follow her every move whether she is fighting with some one, sleeping with someone or losing weight for the summer.
Snooki, though her media coverage started out as a joke, has morphed into a role model for women. She is no longer receiving cynical media coverage (though a lot of her media coverage still has hints at this sarcasm). She is landing roles in magazines like Rolling Stone, a rather prestigious magazine with a reputation for solid reporting.
This is dangerous. Snooki is an overly sexualized, objectified and ridiculed woman. She is concerned with her looks and her body image. She has contributed little to society and still has been put on a pedestal. She is a role model for woman, she is a message that women get attention when they act bad, ridiculous or outlandish.
Where are our women scientists? Our potential Nobel Peace Prize Laureates? Why are the women who are getting attention in the media women who are doing nothing positive for our society? We've seen this again and again with Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, and now Snooki.
Let's give our youth something else to aspire to.
Snooki's popularity isn't only national but local as well. During Fall Term OSU students participated in a Comcast University contest that would bring the "Jersey Shore" cast here to Corvallis to party at local dive bar, the Peacock.
OSU had the most amount of students participate in this contest and therefore "Jersey Shore" cast members made a trip to Corvallis. Facebook was a buzz with gossip and "Jersey Shore" scandal.
I expected to find that people, like myself, would be disgusted that OSU's claim to fame was now that we could bring "Jersey Shore" to our town. However, I was surprised when Facebook status' popped up all over my news feed, claiming: "I can't wait to meet Snooki!", "Gonna Party with Snooki tonight", etc.
Why is our society obsessed with Snooki?
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, who put the "lovable" "Jersey Shore" girl on their cover, Snooki claims her popularity came about because "I say what's on my mind and I'm real. And I'm tan."
Snooki's statement may seem absolutely ridiculous (really? We like her because she's tan?) but let's look at the evidence. She is featured on the March Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine. A quick Google search brings up thousands and thousands of features on Snooki.
People follow her every move whether she is fighting with some one, sleeping with someone or losing weight for the summer.
Snooki, though her media coverage started out as a joke, has morphed into a role model for women. She is no longer receiving cynical media coverage (though a lot of her media coverage still has hints at this sarcasm). She is landing roles in magazines like Rolling Stone, a rather prestigious magazine with a reputation for solid reporting.
This is dangerous. Snooki is an overly sexualized, objectified and ridiculed woman. She is concerned with her looks and her body image. She has contributed little to society and still has been put on a pedestal. She is a role model for woman, she is a message that women get attention when they act bad, ridiculous or outlandish.
Where are our women scientists? Our potential Nobel Peace Prize Laureates? Why are the women who are getting attention in the media women who are doing nothing positive for our society? We've seen this again and again with Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, and now Snooki.
Let's give our youth something else to aspire to.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
B is for Beauty Ideal
Yawn. Pop culture and entertainment news tends to focus their stories primarily on the lives of actresses and actors. Instead of the talent that these celebrities may or may not have, entertainment news lives to fuel the unachievable beauty and body ideal standards our society has rigidly set in place.
Popular entertainment stories for this week include Jennifer Lawrence, the break through star of the Academy Award Nominated film 'Winter's Bone', who is set to play Mystique in the anticipated film 'X-men: First Class'. Lawrence is featured in the popular men's magazine GQ wearing 60's style bathing suits that leave little to the imagination. The article that accompanies these pictures, which is found on the Huffington Post Entertainment section, focuses very little on Lawrence's strengths as an actress but instead on her 'naked' role in the upcoming 'X-men' film, her appearance in GQ, and the rumors surrounding her love life.
Not only are Lawrence's talents belittled this week, but so are those of host of the popular cooking show, Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi.
However, it is Lakshmi herself who belittles her own talent, by telling Parade Magazine that she's "been a model for 15 years, and I’ve been on Top Chef for eight seasons, and before that I had other cooking shows, so I’ve learned a thing or two about how to camouflage certain areas and how to draw the eye to a preferable area of the body." Lakshmi, a model, is hardly what anyone would call 'overweight', but she insists on defending an idea about body image (size 0, size 00,) because she has done something outside of the modeling box and is actually part of a show that encourages eating.
Instead of embracing this, Lakshmi scrambles to find a way to denounce her role in the Top Chef world.
This obsession with the beauty ideal, the idea that women can only be beautiful if they obtain the impossible standards set up by the media world, constantly influences the way we consume our entertainment news. It taints many stories, and in fact is the main focus of these stories more often than not.
Is this the only way entertainment news can be entertaining? No way...so let's spice it up and do something a little different.
In other pop culture news this week:
Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper Date
And Joaquin Phoenix comes back on to the acting scene
Popular entertainment stories for this week include Jennifer Lawrence, the break through star of the Academy Award Nominated film 'Winter's Bone', who is set to play Mystique in the anticipated film 'X-men: First Class'. Lawrence is featured in the popular men's magazine GQ wearing 60's style bathing suits that leave little to the imagination. The article that accompanies these pictures, which is found on the Huffington Post Entertainment section, focuses very little on Lawrence's strengths as an actress but instead on her 'naked' role in the upcoming 'X-men' film, her appearance in GQ, and the rumors surrounding her love life.
Not only are Lawrence's talents belittled this week, but so are those of host of the popular cooking show, Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi.
However, it is Lakshmi herself who belittles her own talent, by telling Parade Magazine that she's "been a model for 15 years, and I’ve been on Top Chef for eight seasons, and before that I had other cooking shows, so I’ve learned a thing or two about how to camouflage certain areas and how to draw the eye to a preferable area of the body." Lakshmi, a model, is hardly what anyone would call 'overweight', but she insists on defending an idea about body image (size 0, size 00,) because she has done something outside of the modeling box and is actually part of a show that encourages eating.
Instead of embracing this, Lakshmi scrambles to find a way to denounce her role in the Top Chef world.
This obsession with the beauty ideal, the idea that women can only be beautiful if they obtain the impossible standards set up by the media world, constantly influences the way we consume our entertainment news. It taints many stories, and in fact is the main focus of these stories more often than not.
Is this the only way entertainment news can be entertaining? No way...so let's spice it up and do something a little different.
In other pop culture news this week:
Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper Date
And Joaquin Phoenix comes back on to the acting scene
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