Challenge #9: Reflection

I had mixed feelings about senior year blogs at the beginning. I had blogged twice before, once in a personal setting and once for my sophomore year English class. I dreaded every time I needed to post for the sophomore blog, because we had little freedom with what we blogged about – our teacher would give us topics, and I didn’t like being so limited, so I was hesitant about starting Challenges ♀f Charlie.

My worries were appeased with the idea of using an umbrella or a lens. I chose a feminist umbrella, which is a topic I’m interested in. It’s made coming up with blogging topics easier because it’s usually research I would’ve done even if I wasn’t writing a blog. I tend to genuinely like the ideas for my blogs, like when I examined Frozen and Scandal, which again helps the writing flow. I’ve learned that I write better when I’m personally connected to the topic. For example, blogging about Malala and my views about education, as a student, came a lot easier than blogging about Islam and the veil because I don’t know many people who are Islamic or who wear a veil. That will unquestionably affect how I choose what to write about second semester.

As first semester has continued, I’ve gotten better at incorporating more into my posts, ‘more’ being more multimedia, linked articles, and pictures. When I scroll through the page and see the posts lined up, the newer, higher posts are a lot more colorful than ones closer to the bottom. I’ve always been good at doing research before I write about something, it’s a habit from debate and definitely a strength as a blogger, but now I’m finding information easier to incorporate and link to.

However, I’ve struggled to balance that research and explanations with original analysis. When I wrote my blog about Frozen, I originally had half of the blog post as an explanation of the plotline, because I felt like the reader should understand it before I made my points. However, this left little space for me to actually make the points, due to the limited attention span of the average reader. I ended up only including the plot points I thought necessary, and interlocking the arcs with the analysis to make sure the post flowed. I’ll keep working on editing to find an explanation/analysis balance next semester.

My favorite Academy blog is easily Jacob Levin’s, because of its humor and because he posts more prolifically than the rest of us. When I check feedly, he almost always has a  new post, which I can’t say the same for myself or the rest of this classmates. I’ve laughed out loud when I read his satire, especially when it’s directed at other Academites, such as ‘"I don't care what these scientists say about the whole global warming conspiracy," noted local dimwit Alex Kaplan,’ from his global warming post.

On a more serious note, I also like Katy’s blog and Jack’s blogs because they make it very easy for the reader to comment. Katy covers ethical dilemmas, and Jack takes the side of the ‘devil’s advocate’ and they both cover controversial topics, like religion in schools or ‘selfies,’ but they only express their opinion and leave the rest of the debate to play itself out in the comments section. I want to do a better job of incorporating the reader into my blog posts, so people feel like they can comment because they have something to say.

I believe the idea of ‘incorporating the reader’ should be the direction that Academy blogs should take. I think it’d be an enlightening experience if, say, a third of the class was assigned to blog by one date, and then the remaining two-thirds of the class had a few days after that to debate in the comment section, almost in the spirit of a moodle discussion only more student-driven. I think right now the way we blog is very shallow and not integrated. People write just to get the assignment done, and comment in the same fashion. I’ve rarely seen more than 2-3 comments on a blog, and the comments themselves are unconnected islands, which isn’t how a blog or a comments section is supposed to work. I think that system would encourage higher quality blog writing, because the writer will know 10+ academites will be reading it, and more depth to the conversations that will play out later. 

(748 words)

Cia♀,
Charlie

Challenge #8: Princess Expectations

Frozen promotional banner - the snowman (Olaf) is my favorite because he loves summer!

***Spoilers ahead****

I'll be honest, I'm not a big movie person. I never see them in theaters, and even though I have a Netflix subscription, I stick to binge watching bad TV than the numerous movies I could watch at the click of a mouse. I watched three seasons of Gossip Girl (a probable post for the future) over winter break while most of my friends saw the movie above, Frozen. When I got back to school, everyone was raving and singing the songs and I thought, perhaps I should give this one a chance. So, in a rather large break from finals studying this weekend, I loaded it up on my computer and sat back in bed. 

My first impression that it was undeniably cute. It started off with two cherub-like little girls singing about snowmen. What's not to love? I mean, from a feminist standpoint....a lot. The animation distorts the female body - literally, the eyes of Anna and Elsa, the female protagonists, take up a third of their face and are bigger then their wrists. But that's pretty common across all of Disney's animations, and for this post, I want to defend Frozen from a feminist standpoint. 

There are two main things about this movie that I think make it a huge step forward from the typical Disney-damsel-in-distress movie: first, the male characters and second, the relationship between the sisters. 

The men of frozen: Kristoff, an ice-trader, and Hans, a prince with twelve older brothers

Take a look at the two men in front of you. They're the two love interests for Anna. Now it's Disney. Who do you think she ends up with? If you guessed Prince Hans you'd be.....wrong! Finally, a Disney movie where the Princess doesn't marry the Prince. Happily ever after is changing. 

Now, Anna meets Hans first and experiences the typical Disney whirlwind romance. She's never been on a date before, but of course they meet in a cute coincidence and dance at the ball until he proposes before the night is over. Realistic? Heck no. But that's not where the story ends! Anna runs off to save her sister and meets Kristoff. Then it's revealed that Anna, whose heart is turning to ice, needs to be saved by a 'true love.' 

She tries to get Hans to kiss her but he reveals that he's actually an evil megalomaniac. Score for Disney! Not only does she not get the Prince, but they also squashed the idea of love at first sight/marrying your true love. In almost every Disney movie, the princess marries the first boy to cross her way. That happens to uh, no one in real life. We go through many significant others until we finally find 'the one'. Anna isn't even saved by Kristoff - even though they do love each other which is awesome because Kristoff is a totally ordinary character. He's a common, loveable working man, not a prince. 

Which brings me to...the other thing I love about Frozen. 

A tale of two sisters: my wonderful sister, Carolyn, and I,
and the sisters in Frozen, Anna and Elsa

The sisters' 'true love' is what saves the kingdom in the end! For me personally, I love this because I have a close relationship with my sister. We fight like Anna and Elsa, but we also protect each other the way that Anna and Elsa do. I know she'd have my back way faster than any boy I've dated. This is again, a major change for Disney and makes many feminists (and sisters!) very happy. The two girls took initiative and used each other to save their kingdom, not the new man in their life. 

I hope girls everywhere who see this movie will take that message to heart, and that Disney continues to stray away from their usual plotlines by embracing all that a strong female character has to offer. Then, maybe we can work on changing the animation. 

Now, I really do need to go study for finals! 

Cia♀,
Charlie 

"In Summer" from Frozen, by Olaf, the snowman.

 It's the most adorable song by far, 

because the snowman doesn't know

 that he'll melt in summer. 

Challenge #7: 2014

2♀14

It was New Years Eve, 2013. I was getting ready to host my friend, Kendall, for a night of baking (or, fulfilling traditional gender roles, as she would say) when suddenly the commercial below popped onto the screen. I turned around when I recognized the voice of the first girl, Malala Yousafazi, who I blogged about here, and was mesmerized for the next minute. I'd heard of most of the women it mentioned - Malala, Janet Yellon, Gabrielle Giffords. and Margaret Thatcher - but not all of them. I was inspired by their stories, whether I'd known them before or not, and felt proud to be a woman in a year that unfortunately had a lot of negative publicity for women. From Miley Cyrus's monthly scandals, to Kim Kardashian's baby-naming coverage, I felt like the women who were really making a difference daily had been overshadowed. 

The commercial made me hope for a better 2014, for all women, everywhere. It'll be a big one for me, personally. I'll graduate high school and enter college, and join other women who make up the majority of college students nationwide.  Two out of the three colleges I've been accepted to have more females enrolled then males - and at Georgetown, there's a 12 point gap (56% female, 44% male). 

2014 will also see more women take power. Angela Merkel will leader Europe's largest economy, Germany, for a third term. Janet Yellen will continue to act as the first female Chairwoman of the United States Federal Reserve. We'll have the 2014 mid-term elections, where women's issues will continue to play a large role in how citizens vote. Women running for office will (hopefully) continue to succeed and lower the gender imbalance in Congress, where they currently make up one-fifth of all Senators and about 18 percent of all Representatives. Both Democrats and Republicans are succeeding in getting women to run for office. I know I personally would love to spend my summer working on a woman's campaign in Illinois. In 2013, women were credited with ending the shutdown of the federal government - who knows what they'll accomplish across the spectrum in 2014.

Tulsi Gabbard, freshman Congresswomen who took office in 2013,
representing Hawaii's 2nd District. 

For the first time ever, the United Kingdom's list of New Year Honours for 2014 had more women than men, proving that women are continuing to dominate the media. 2014 will see women receive better access to preventative care measures specific to their gender, under the Affordable Case Act. The 'glass ceiling' for women has never seemed lower, or more breakable. Women in 2014 will continue to fight to decrease the gender gap in pay in the United States and fight for the rights that have been taken away in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and other countries, and they'll be more successful than ever before.

I wish everyone, regardless of their gender, good luck and fortune in 2014.

Cia♀,

Charlie 

Challenge #6: Veiling

            Our topic today is not a challenge I personally face as a pretty nonreligious teenager, but it’s one that Muslim women across the world struggle with every day. In my English class, we’ve started to read Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi, which is an incredibly insightful book into the world of post-shah Revolutionary Iran, circa the 80s and 90s. One of the major internal struggles that Nafisi faces in her memoir is should she acquiesce to the new laws requiring her to wear the veil in public and while she teaches, or should she silently protest the oppressive law by refusing to teacher?

            The debate over wearing the veil has recently become a political one, not a religious one, which I find upsetting. With countries like France enacting a full-scale ban on burqa’s and other face-covering veils in public places and others implementing minor bans in airports and citizenship ceremonies, while still other Islamic countries in the Middle East take the flip side and require women to be veiled in public – see Saudi Arabia and Iran – it’s hard to determine how the arguments over the veil should be resolved.

Map of Veiling by country

            I think a crucial step would be to de-politicize the matter, while still allowing the women to have control. Any type of veil that is going to be worn should solely be a personal, religious decision, not one that is clouded by the perspective of a women’s government, family, or husband. While in certain countries where the line between religion in politics is blurred this will be difficult to enforce, the women’s rights and democracy enthusiasts should focus their efforts on their, instead of in Western countries.

            “Now the chador was forever marred by the political significance it had gained. It had become cold and menacing, worn by women like Miss Hatef and Miss Ruhi with defiance,” (p. 192). Nafisi comments this when describing her memories of her grandmother, a devout, religious women who chose to wear a chador (see chart below) when women in Iran were free to wear whatever they wanted under the shah. They key word is ‘chose’ – she had a choice, unlike the present day Muslims.

A educational graphic showing the physically differences in veiling by country

            I understand the principles behind ‘burqa-bans’ – they might hinder integration into a new country, and it could be a potential security threat at airports, etc – however I am far more persuaded by the case a women,  S.A.S, is making in Europe. She is suing the French government for impeding her freedoms of religion, expression, association and prohibition of discrimination and the case is being handled by the European Court of Human Rights. As someone who’s always grown up hearing all the positives of freedom of religion, I’d like to preserve those benefits.

            Western women should be more open to the veil – assimilation is two way street. Both sides should make the effort, and the government should acknowledge some of the statistics working in Islam’s favor, like in England where less than 2% of the population weekly attends church while the number of Muslim converts is growing. We need to work on looking beyond the veil and beyond restrictions to let the religion be how it should be. 

             Cia♀,

            Charlie

Challenge #5: Women in Debate

Debate has been a major part of my life since the beginning of my freshman year. This past weekend was one of my favorite tournaments of the year, the Glenbrooks. As a debater from the Glenbrooks, it was my job with my teammates, to run our half of the tournament. I was one of South’s Student Directors, which, for followers who debate meant that I sat at the main tab table, checked in all the ballots, and answered many, many questions about room assignments and bathrooms, and for followers who don’t debate (which I highly recommend) meant that I was the person everyone came to for help finding debates and resolving minor crisis.

In my view from main tab, I was able to clearly see the lack of female participation in policy debate, from looking at ballots with all-male names to seeing few women walk past me. Debate has long been acknowledged to be male-dominated environment, which has led to cases of rampant sexiam. Some say times are changing – we’ve had women win college nationals, and be the top speaker (best debater overall) both at that tournament and the high school national tournament, but I’d disagree. To take this weekend, for example: this was the first year that 3 female students ran the Glenbrooks, and there were only 5 women in the top 25 speakers at the tournament. Not a single one was in the top ten. And this is one of the largest tournaments of the year!

So, why do so few females participate in debate? The common argument is how women are treated by men. Often times, women get perceived as ‘bitchy’ when they try to act like their male counterparts, or make any attempt at being aggressive. Some think that judges are inherently biased against women, and give then lower speaker points, making it harder to be successful. Others just point to the gender disparity on teams, and recognize that maybe as a high school girl, spending 72 hours per weekend with boys who tend to make racist, sexist, and mean comments to you doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.

While all those points are valid, I’d like to add another one: how women treat women. The few women who survive dealing with the men in debate tend to be competitive, ruthless and judgmental. I’ll be the first to admit that, in my attempt to make myself feel better about my chances of winning, I've judge female opponents. I’m rarely judging them on what I know about them as a debater – it’s usually about how high her heels are, how short her skirt is, or who I know she’s friends with/has dated. In reality, none of those things matter. Yet, it’s what debate girls tend to focus on. We’re probably quicker than the boys to call another girl bitchy because she was mean to us in cross-examination, even when we know that we do the same thing when we answer questions.

As women in debate, we walk a fine line. But we should work to cooperate more, because we all love the activity, and we'd like to see more women/girls in it. We should prevent ourselves from being a barrier to that inclusion. More on this topic to come later….

If you're interested in helping prevent sexism in debate, please sign this pledge. 

Ciao♀,
Charlie

Semifinals: 1 female debater, 3 men 0 female judges, 3 men.
Congrats to Kat Sears (far right) for winning this round (and the tournament!)

Challenge #4: The Media

            

Even the promo poster needs a man

            My high school had its first, glorious 3-day weekend since Labor Day this weekend. I celebrated with my favorite introvert activity: Netflix. I watched The West Wing this summer, much to the enjoyment of a few of my classmates (see their blogs here and here), and now I’m watching Scandal, a more recent political thriller. The show is the only show on television to place an African-American woman in the leading role, the fabulous Kerry Washington.

            Washington’s casting and consecutive success in the role of Olivia Pope, Washington DC’s communication ‘fixer,’ and secret mistress of President Fitzgerald Grant, has led to both criticism and praise. Like mentioned above, she’s the only African-American star on TV and is the first African American female star on TV since Teresa Graves in 1974.

            1974?!?

            America went 38 years without an African-American woman heading up her own TV show in primetime. In the words of Seth and Amy, Really!?! When you take into account all the long-running TV shows, but also the many that tank after a season or two, that’s a lot of TV and that speaks volumes about race and gender within our country. It’s something female actresses shouldn’t stand for.  

            That fact alone ensured that Washington created a buzz when the show started, and Scandal has continued to make waves with the topics that it covers: from mocking the constant political drama of Washington (see the multiple sex scandals Pope has to deal with, ranging from a Governor’s cheating wife to allegations of two Supreme Court Justice nominees and even President Grant himself, three times) to predicting a PRISM-like scandal with a government program called ‘Thorngate.’ From dealing with problems like these, it’s received acclaim, but there’s also been some heavy criticism.

            Most of the criticism, unsurprisingly, centers on Pope’s relationship with the President. There’s the race side, which led to an awkward Season 2 Sally Hemings reference, and also the gender card. Pope, for the majority of the show, is cool, calm and collected and acts the part of one of the most powerful women in Washington. However, when it comes to ‘Fitz,’ she’s a mess – always making bad decisions and getting herself and her friends into trouble.

            Why?  Why do smart women on TV always have a male Achilles’ heel? It’s been seen repeatedly, whenever there are strong female roles on TV. There’s even a test, re: the Bechdaltest, to prove just how male-centric women on TV are made to be. You’d be surprised by how many famous shows and movies fail. I hate to throw around the word patriarchy, but this is exactly what even seemingly-feminist shows like Scandal are propagating. I understand the star-crossed, meant-to-be-but-can’t lovers’ plotline, but does Pope really have to make so many mistakes to extend the plotline?

            What I loved about The West Wing was that it was political and didn’t let relationship get in the way of that beauty. CJ Cregg, the show’s leading lady, flirted with a reporter for all seven seasons, but the relationship didn’t blossom until the very end when writers were tying up all lose ends. It allowed Cregg to do her job, the same job as Pope had – White House Communications Director – and come into her own as a successful woman. If Pope had been able to do the same, I can only wonder where the character would be now.

            Even amidst my criticism, I’d highly recommend my readers to watch Scandal, on ABC Thursday nights. Pope, for all her flaws, is still an incredible character and Washington does her justice.

          Cia♀,

          Charlie 

Challenge #3: Violence and Harrassment

Violence against women is something that is unfortunatel common worldwide. We’ve heard about in the media a lot lately, with the controversy Daisy Coleman in Maryville, Missouri, where a freshman in high school was raped by an upperclassman football start.  In America, there are laws to protect women in court (or, at least in theory as the Coleman case disproves). However, this isn’t the case in other countries. We hear in the news regularly about places with child marriage, common domestic abuse and the continual raping of women in conflict areas. Perhaps the best-remembered instance occurred in 2011, when Lara Logan, a CBS Foreign Affairs correspondent, was in Cairo reporting on the uprisings against then-President Mubarak and was brutally gang-raped then left for dead.

Since then, coverage of Egypt’s rampant sexual assaults has been minimal – until this July, when another journalist was gang raped, this time from the Netherlands. She, like Logan, had to be flown out of the country for days of medical treatment because her wounds and internal damage were so severe. The mob violence that allowed her attack is a constant presence in Egypt’s major cities, and the ‘revolutionaries’ aren’t just attacking foreigners; Egyptian women are also prime targets. The trend of attacking journalists is viewed as just a way to get the message of ‘women don’t belong in politics and don’t have a right to a voice’ easily publicized worldwide. For the women who live in Egypt, that message is given through assault daily.  According to CNN, there were 63 reports of assault within a single two day period in Cairo this July, and that’s probably a low estimate.

Why is this happening and what can be done about it? Egyptian women have been lower-class for decades due to the Islamic law employed by both Mubarak and successor Mohamed Morsi and are often subjected to cruel treatment, like genital mutilation, lack of access to education, and restrictions on movement. Women who are subject to sexual violence are branded as prostitutes if they seek medical attention, and sexual harassment is nearly constant and has only never brought up in government, except to declare it a non-issue that can’t be prevented. This all culminates in the obvious results of a Pew research study: more men disprove of gender equality in Egypt than support it, and these statistics and stories are only exacerbated during the riots and revolutions.

As for what can be done about it, that remains to be seen. How many horror stories about the physical brutality of rape can we hear, before we become desensitized? Education, both of the outside world about Egypt’s dire situation and of Egyptian women, is essential. To prevent the attacks, which often can be extremely violent and involve all sorts of weaponry, would be to let those who support excluding women from the government win.  Human Right Watch, an organization that put together an informative video about the topic, describes the culture as an epidemic, and encouraged the government to take action, but without a stable system their calls will fall on deaf ears.

I am lucky enough to have never lived in the constant fear that Egyptian women do, and lucky to live in a society where women are mostly supported. However, there are still too many instances of abuse like Coleman’s that go unprosecuted because of discrimination and fear. We as a country should work against these cases and refuse to let these perpetrators walk free. 

Cia♀,

Charlie

For more information about women in Egypt, please watch this video: