Kiersten M.

Wright, G. gawright@samford. ed. (2018). “I’m a Soldier, not a Gender”:1 Iraq War Literature and the Double Bind of Being a Woman in Combat.  Women’s Studies ,  47 (6), 657–672. https://doi-org.proxy-ship.klnpa.org/10.1080/00497878.2018.1492406 Jessica Trisko Darden. (2015). Assessing the significance of women in combat roles.  International Journal ,  70 (3), 454. Use the 3 sources from previous blogpost. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/women-dont-belong-in-combat-units-11547411638?fbclid=IwAR0BFQ5OyE1RGfWPK2oIdCM-R7io5RBywbSHanIly3Y_xooawKsubvzg5iE In this article Heather Macdonald uses statistics to support her reasoning as to why she thinks women shouldn't be in combat. She talks about how the standards are being watered down because women are seen as weaker and this is an issue. She also goes in to discuss about how women have a different genetic makeup then men and how the standards are different from men and female weight. https://mwi.usma.edu/women-arent-problem-standards/ This article is from WestPoint the United States Military Academy for the Army. They discuss the roles of women in combat as well as how they are not the problem, the standards are. The stress can be very taxingly different for men and women. They also talk about the physical attraction within gender roles. Overall they say that changing culture takes time. https://youtu.be/URGhMw1u7MM This video doe...

During my process of becoming a better writer, this semester I learned a lot through the writing process. I learned how you must be meticulous every step of the way, it will reflect in my grade. Over the course of the semester I was able to find how I could use the resources around campus to my benefit outside of class to improve my grade and writing. Working in the drafting stage and proofreading stage of my writing gave me an idea of what I can look for on future papers. Through this process I learned that my writing is better, the more people that make corrections. I found that when having more options in the writing process I am able to use my judgement to make my paper great. I also learned that spending more time on an essay in the drafting process is beneficial to giving a quality paper. When rushed for me, I do not feel it is my best.  When completing my paper on the underlying truths of Instagram, it was hard for me to gather thoughts on this paper, which is why I ...

The first video I watched was titled the Black Lives matter and Law enforcement episode. The supporters for each side tried to come to a conclusion that both sides matter and if they could see eye to eye. I do think that this debate was valid and very interesting to me, simply because I personally hold a non biased stance towards to both sides because I feel that it depends on the situation and I think there is more to a situation than the lives. Like what happened to cause something etc. The next video I watched was about immigrants and Trump supporters. As someone who has a lot of friends that are immigrants from the are I grew up, I have a good experience with people of this nature. So this video did a really good job at showing some of the underlying things that people wouldn't necessarily think or talk about when thinking of "Trumpers" or "immigrants." The immigrants in this video share their story in the video and the Trump supporters hear them out and t...

Jean Kilbourne, a media critic talks about the toxicity that is in our media today, she says, " “ Just as it’s difficult to be healthy in a toxic physical environment, if we’re breathing poisoned air for example, or drinking polluted water.  So it’s difficult to be healthy in what I call a “toxic cultural environment”--an environment that surrounds us with unhealthy images and constantly sacrifices our health and our sense of well being for the sake of profit" (Kilbourne). Jean Kilbourne, a media critic, talks about how the image of women is falsified, " T he image isn’t real; it’s artificial, it’s constructed" (Kilbourne). Relating to many examples of how it affects others, how the media sees it, how it is portrayed, she relates it to how the image of the women involved are artificial and not natural.

In the video by  Anita Sarkeesian she describes the different components of how women are seen and portrayed in video games. I do not play video games, however I have seen ads in New York City and other metropolitan areas for major video games like Grand Theft Auto which is a racing game but legitimately degrades women and police officers. Although it does have a explicit rating most parents of children have no knowledge of the true meaning behind this racing game.  “ At the same time that we allow our children to be sexualized, we refuse to educate them about sex.  The United States is the only developed nation in the world that doesn’t teach sex education in the schools.  And our children pay a very high price we have the highest rates of teen pregnancy and the highest rates of sexually transmitted illnesses by far, in the developed world.” In this quote it relates to what Sarkeesian was saying, these women are portrayed so negatively that kids think its ...

The first quote discusses stereotypes and characteristics that people tend to believe, most of them being false. Looking at society today this has positives and negatives. Next, there is talk about influence and how things impact kids at such a young age. This is unfortunate as most of it is falsely portrayed. Motivated representation is when there are specific visuals doing things to fit stereotypes and satisfy what is actually shown in our society. (ie white male doctor). I like in Archie's article he describes how they wanted to live their lives differently. They also discuss how media shouldn't be believed solely based off of that specific point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cYgyqA_7BM&t=40s I selected this video from my cousin vinnie because it represents the stereotype of a lawyer and what they should look like. The image is constructed, because lawyers are suppose to pose that they have a facade and are very professional, however this is not the cas...

In class we discussed some examples of what positives and negatives are in shows that we watched as kids and what we we are watching now.  We had discussed The Vampire Diaries, and how all the vampires are skinny, attractive and built. How there was no characters weren't any variation of different. This can be an issue of people comparing themselves that are watching. One example was the positive and negatives of Disney films. There was a discussion on how back then the princesses were predominately white and it wasn't until recently that princesses were of color or a different race. Disney films also portray that the woman always need saving and doesn't give males the encouragement to be emotional. There are cultural poisons in our society today, and I think social media is the revolving issue. We tend to compare ourselves and put on a facade of who we really are. There also is habits that form as well, such as the constant need to be on social media. For example, ev...

One thing that I noticed while watching the video was that it is teaching younger children at such an early age that its their job to imitate the dominance that is shown in the movies. The "heroes or villains are more often than not something that children will look up to while they are younger, and its simply motivating the thought of being "alpha, strong, and in charge." Finally, in the article, Doc is a 7 year old girl of color that works on her stuffed animals to fix their wounds and make them feel better as well as encourage them to keep good hygiene and wear seatbelts etc. This girl is an icon and a character that all little girls that come across the show. To relate to this more personally, I have a sister that is 5 that enjoys watching this show and even has a stethoscope and doctors kit that Doc McStuffins carries with her. I think that it all comes down to what is portrayed in shows for kids of what they comprehend and "learn to be ok with." One ...

I found it difficult to hear some of the underlying truths in Guante's 10 responses. Especially the line where he talks about boys wearing blue socks, girls wearing pink socks. At such an early age children are packaged and created a certain way instead of being "different." And I think that this just keeps repeatedly happening because its "tradition" or thats their "upbringing." We tell our children stuff at such an early age "its ok, don't cry" and they listen. When they mature and get older they have this mentality of "man up" and I feel as though this is an unfair image portrayed by the media and unsaid standards to be met. Men are victims and have emotions too, not just women.  

In the beginning of the semester I established three goals for myself as a critical thinker; be more curious, ask questions and look things up that I am unsure of. With each of these goals, I have been actively integrating them into all of my classes by starting class with an open mind and wanting to improve myself. This has been a struggle for me simply because of the stress level that goes along with a semester in college. All of that aside, I have found myself this semester being more proactive with my school work by asking questions when I am unsure of something.  For my blogs I try to do things that others would not think of. I like my coursework to be unique where others most likely others have not seen anything like it. I think that with my blogs I have applied the coursework  meaningfully by trying to keep it original and one of a kind. This demonstrates my ability to think outside of the box.  Using other classes for example, I have put the skills we have ...

  My parents drive me every day at 0530 on cold, ear piercing mornings to my high school while I am a pint size freshman. When I arrive, I circle to the parking lot to be the first person there to work out in the morning with the JROTC Raider team. A physically demanding team that imitates what a basic training would be like for the Army. Thirty five pound rucks that make your shoulders crumble in pain, wet boots from running in puddles, clothes that are cold and wet, yet you sweat to the point where steam is coming off you, instructors yelling and pushing you to run your two mile time to max in fourteen minutes, a pushup where you are screaming in gut wrenching pain to complete it. This routine of waking up early before school to work out had become a passion of mine. After each morning practice each member of the team would eat breakfast together, each day I could feel the sense of camaraderie increase. The bond that myself and my teammates had been inseparabl...

While watching Jean Kilborne's Ted Talk and what she has been researching for a very long time has sparked my interest in her campaign and others. The topic of advertising is very controversial and unfortunately does portray men and women in derogatory and demeaning ways.  Illustrating several ads were women without clothes and posing inappropriately and Jean says "Ads sell more then products." Her statement is referring to how skin sells and that it is attractive and eye catching when women and men are undressed.  She also came across the theory that, "just about everyone feels personally exempt from the influence of advertisements." While people may think that they are simply just watching an ad because its on TV and ignoring it, the harsh reality contradicts this. Jean talks about how you are still influenced by that product based off of the ad that has been showed on TV.  Finally at the end of her Ted Talk, Jean emphasizes how "men and women inhab...

1 .      “Walnuts were thumping to ground in the night like stalking footsteps of some large thing that never quite came into view.” As a writer I can observe the illustration that using mysterious and such vivid writing you can almost make the reader feel a sense of suspense. This makes the audience want to keep reading. 2.      “She snatched his nearest ear and until his jaw fell loose.” This line specifically makes the reader feel and imagine the pain that Harold was in. However, it shows us as writers that with such lessons presented, such as being thankful what you already have instead of desiring what you don’t. With such language, you can present lessons in writing. 3.      “Walnuts were thumping to ground in the night like stalking footsteps of some large thing that never quite came into view, and Jessup had paced on this porch in a worried slouch, dented nose snuffling, lantern jaw smok...