National Museum Of Women In The Arts Blog 8

When I entered the National Museum Of Women In The Arts I started at the first floor and then went on to explore the second and third floors. The museum is very beautiful and in a great spot in Washington DC. When I was there I saw many interesting pieces of art that I was not expecting. At first I thought I was going to see a lot of artwork like Judy Lorber’s that we have seen in class. The museum had a lot more paintings then I had expected. Three paintings really stuck out to me while I was there. The first painting that really interested me was in the permanent exhibit, which was located on the first floor. “Portrait of a Young Boy” by, Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun really shocked me. The painting is a little boy who I would say to be around the age of six or seven years old holding a very large rifle. The rifle is practically bigger then him. This painting really stood out to me because of the message that it portrayed. In class we have discussed in the past about how everyday men are portrayed as violent in the media. They are shown fighting, and using violence to get what they want. This painting was made in the 1800’s and is portraying the same message that we encourage today. Boys must be violent in order to become a man. In the painting the little boy is painted to look very innocent and almost girl like. He looks to be of the upper class because of the way his clothing is painted. He is very proper and is smiling in the portrait. This painting was very interesting to me and shows a message that is still encouraged in our society.

            The second painting that I found to be very interesting was from Anna Ancher’s collection on the third floor. I chose “The Maid In the Kitchen” which was maid in 1883-1886. I found this painting interesting because it was different from all of her other paintings in the exhibit. I noticed that a lot of her paintings were of her life and what was happening around her. She painted the beach and women and men working in the fields. This painting was of African American women in the kitchen making dinner. In the painting Ancher draws a very small kitchen that does not look very clean, it seems to be very old and unused a lot. From this painting I feel like this women is actually in her home and not in her employers home. The message that I received from this was that this woman is busy taking care of someone else’s family that she does not have the time to take care of her own. When she gets the chance she does as much as she can for her own family. This also reminded me of The Help where black women are raising white children and are not able to take care of their own family. I think this painting was very powerful and sent a very strong message to a lot of people.

            The last painting that I saw that interested me was "Virgin and Child" by Elisabetta Sirani. This piece is very similar to the one we were shown in the beginning of the semester of "The Madonna" by Leonardo Da Vinci. The painting in the museum portrays Mary and her baby Jesus. In the painting Mary is very innocent and pale looking and very motherly. This image is shown over and over again throughout time where a woman should be motherly but at the same time should be able to get a husband.

            The National Museum Of Women In The Arts is a great museum. I think it is very beautiful and the setup of it makes it very easy for you to explore and see everything that they have to offer in the museum. My favorite part of the museum was the Anna Ancher’s exhibit I enjoyed how there were different rooms of different paintings and not just her paintings. I found it interesting that there were a lot of painting done by her husband Michael Ancher. This exhibit was set up in way that you were able to explore and walk through every room and you would get something different every time. The museum was a great experience you could really see each of the paintings and how much work they put into each stroke and each painting. There is a lot of detail that you miss when you are looking at a picture of it on the computer or in the brochure. I think there should be more museums dedicated to women artists and showing a lot more of their works. I thought the trip overall was very helpful to understanding the art and what the artists were thinking at the time.

Blog Post #7

         This weeks reading and activities focused on the expression of dance. Dance is a way people can tell their stories and be themselves. It allows for freedom and can be very relaxing and also liberating. In the guided activity we watched different forms of dances being performed. "Walking With Pearls Southern Diaries" was a dance were all the women wore the same outfits but there was more then one dance. They had a lot of different dances choreographed and in the music the story was being told. "Walking With Pearls Africa" was very different from "Walking  With Pearls Southern Diaries" they all wore different colored outfits but the dance was more unified. They worked together at the same time. There also was not a lot of music and just narration in the beginning. The reading Memory Walking With Urban Bush Women's Batty Moves  By, Ama Oforiwaa Adunum really related these types of dances to her own life and how they are so influential.  The "Batty Moves" dances that she describes shows women in their natural light. They are free and open with their dances and how they portray themselves. They show their history and where they are from and show that they are not afraid to be who they are. They really give off a strong message to all women everywhere. Ama is Ghanaian she grew up in Africa but went to college in the United States. This was obviously a huge transition for someone to go through. When she came to America she never felt at home. Her culture and the way she grew up did not fit the social stamina at the college that she attended. She was seen as different and she felt that she was looked down on for being African. Ama felt she was being pressured into pretending to be someone she was not just so she could fit in. When she saw the "Batty Moves" dances this all changed for her.
          "The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.         

Blog # 6

         In this weeks lecture our main focus is on Gay and Lesbian rights. This is a very current topic and an ongoing debate. Recently the state of Maryland just passed the law for marriage equality for everyone. As of January of 2013 nine states have legalized gay marriage. This is a huge step for the gay and lesbian movement.  Lady Gaga is a huge supporter of the gay and lesbian rights movement. Her song "Born This Way" represents a lot of things to many people. According to her song she believes that you are born gay and it is not something you chose to be. In her song she repeats this concept over and over to get the point across. Because she believes you are born gay there should be no discrimination against people for that reason. Sexuality is a way we oppress people like what we have done with race and gender in the past. You should not be discriminated against because of the person you fall in love with or who you date, and you should be able to get the benefits of being married to someone you love. There are so many benefits when it comes to getting married. For example tax benefits, housing benefits, government benefits and many more.
         In the graphic novel Fun Home By, Alison Bechdel she discusses many issues involving gay rights and her life story. In her graphic novel she uses pictures and her words to describe her life story and her relationship with her father. She had always felt different as a child and never wanted to do all the girly things that other girls had wanted. Her parents also put her in many positions that young girls would never be put in. Her father and her had a very complicated relationship he had a lot of issues and didn't know how to show his love for his children. When Alison realizes that she is gay she is very open about it. She wanted to tell her parents right away and hope they would understand. When she does this though she is very wrong her mother takes it the hardest and tells Alison something that she never knew. Her father had been having affairs with men all of his life. Throughout the book Alison talks about her father's mannerisms and how they were complete opposites. Alison had always wanted to dress up like a boy and have muscles like one and her father wanted to be more of a girl. He always dressed her up in dresses and made her put clips in her hair. Two weeks after Alison had come out to her parents her father had passed away. There is a lot of speculation about how he died and if it was an accident or not but Alison realizes that her parents lives were very abnormal. Alison's story relays the message that you should always be who you are no matter what. Her father pretended to be something and someone else his entire life and in the end he couldn't handle it anymore. Alison had always known that she was different and she embraced it in her life. Thats all you can ever do is be yourself and hope others will accept you for who you are.

Blog Number 4

            When the feminist movement and the disability movement combined it created more opportunities for everyone. People were nervous that the joining of these two movements would limit it to only women with disabilities but it did the exact opposite of that. It allowed for these two movements to broaden their horizons and talk about everything that they were being discriminated for. Their body type, gender, image, and beauty anything that people used to but them down for. In Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory written by Rosemarie Garland Thomson, she talks about the two movements and how it can really make a difference in the world. She says “The constituency for feminist disability studies is all of us, not only women with disabilities: disability is the most human of experiences touching every family and if we live long enough touching us all.”  This shows how this movement isn’t just about a specific group of people its about everyone and how we are perceived in the world. The media plays a big role in this and how people see themselves. They portray body image in a way that is unrealistic way. The classic Barbie doll is shown as a blonde extremely skinny girl with big boobs. If you made Barbie into a real person her proportions would be so ridiculous she would not look like a normal person. The Barbie gives the impression to little girls that they should look just like that when they grow up. The goal is to change the way we represent ourselves in the media and in society. Disabled people are seen as weak and with out a man how could they ever take care of themselves? The way people think of disabled people need to change. They are not dependent they are strong and just because they have a disability does not mean they need anyone or even a man to feel responsible for them.

“Women and the disabled are portrayed as helpless, dependent, weak vulnerable and incapable bodies.” In the movie Frieda, Frieda Kahlo gets into a bus accident when she is young and becomes disabled. At first they believed that she would never walk again but she overcomes this and does walk. She is an amazing painter and her disability only helped her strive to be better then she ever was before. She never let anyone tell her what to do and how to live and she never needed a man to help her when she was disabled. When Frieda does get married she still shows how she doesn’t need a man to take care of her. She is strong and outspoken and lets her artwork speak for herself. She breaks the stereotype that women with disabilities are “helpless”. Frieda plays a very important role for many women. She is stronger then anyone else in the movie and is portrayed as independent. Frieda makes her own name for herself and even when her and her husband have problems she manages to get by on her own. Throughout the whole movie she stays true to who she is and even until the end. When she is sick and dying she still manages to make her way to her own exhibition even though the doctor and her husband tell her not to. Frieda is a good representation of what a disabled women looks like. They are strong, independent and do not need to be taken care of.

Blog post 3

         The novel Peyton Place written by Grace Metalious was a book that was very ahead of its time. I honestly did not see any of this coming from the time period that it was written in and from the title of the novel. It was written in 1956 and it was very different from anything else at the time. It reminded me more of our time were we are more open with things like sexual abuse. Peyton Place revolves around three women who are not your typical women. Their stories alone are very different and they are outcasts because of it. Constance Mackenzie has an affair with a married man Allison Mackenzie and he dies a few years after the baby is born. So she moves back to Peyton Place and tells everyone that she is a widow with a new baby. The fact that she lies to people about this is because at the time it was inappropriate for women to have children out of wedlock and it was defiantly not acceptable to have an affair. Women at the time did not have the freedom that men did if a man had an affair people ignored this fact about him and pretended like it didn't matter. But for a women to do such a thing was unthinkable. This book reminds me of a soap Oprah. It is very dramatic and has many common things that are shown in todays shows. Things like abortion are emphasized in the book and sexual abuse. These women are very ahead of their time abortion is still a touchy subject today. I believe its a women's choice whether or not they should get an abortion or not. This book changed the way people saw women. Women make mistakes and terrible things can happen to them. The book was a hit but it was very different than anything at the time. It really changed the way people could write. They were able to write more freely and openly about these types of topics.
          The United States is not a classless society. We have a major wealth gap between the wealthy and the poor. We live in a capitalist society. The wealth gap is growing more and more everyday. The middle class is shrinking and the gap between the rich and the poor is expanding. Class standing has a very big meaning in our society. It is the difference between a good education and a good job. Being apart of the upper middle class has many advantages things like SAT tutors. SAT tutors are extremely expensive not everyone can afford a tutor for this test. People who have SAT tutors are more likely to get a higher score on the SAT's and because of that are more likely to go to a better school then someone who can not afford a tutor. This small thing of just being able to hire a tutor can easily change your life. Kids who do not have this advantages suffer because of it. It's unfair but its the reality of the situation. Not everyone can afford the same things and because of that we are all unable to have the same lifestyles. All americans do not have equal opportunity to succeed. Inheritance laws ensure a greater likelihood of success for the offspring of the wealthy. It is all just luck of where you are born into. The wealth gap is a major problem in our country and we need to find some way to have equal opportunities for everyone.

Blog post 2

         Women have been minorities politically and socially throughout history. They have been viewed as "second class citizens" for a long time. Abolition was one of the first things that women fought for. Maria W. Miller Stewart played a big role in this movement. She spoke about religion and how every person had natural rights. "She based her claims on natural rights, and she saw those claims as equally applicable to women like herself." Her speeches made a difference even though she could only speak in front of a small crowd. Women had to fight for their rights and had to work hard to get them. With out people like Maria Miler Stewart or Betty Friedan I might not be able to be in college right now getting an education. These women are the reason why every women today are able to support themselves with out a husband and able to make something of themselves. 
         The Feminine Mystique Written by Betty Freidan fought to end discrimination based on sex. She was a college graduate and a suburban house wife and in her book she points out how women are dissatisfied with their lives. It shows how women can be so much more then just a house wife. She tried to show women that they should want to be succesful and be a mother. This is an issue that we still see today. Women are pressured to make a choice between a career and a family. But why is this not the same for men? There are plenty of successful men that have it all the career and the family but why is that much more difficult for women. There is a stigma on women that they should still be the stay at home mom. Even though it has become less of a shock when there are stay at home dads the majority are still stay at home women. There have been some changes though like with the laundry commercial that shows a stay at home dad doing the chores and taking care of the kids. But this still is not the norm and women are still discriminated against in the work force. The fact that women get maternity leave make men want to hire a man over a women for this reason alone. So women are being punished for potentially having a family. And then there is another stigma that if you are a women and you have a successful career and no family you are looked down on for that. You can never win as a women.
      Women have come so far since the fist women's movement but at the same time we are not as progressive as we think we are. There are still stigmas put on women who have a career and don't have a family and the same for if you have a family and no career. The Women's movements have made the paths for us women to be as successful as we have been and has allowed us to come as far as we have. With out them and all of their efforts we might of never had the opportunities that we have had. 

blog post 1

  In this weeks material there were a lot of different points brought up. I would like to start off discussing the article "How Big is Big Enough?". The show Sex and the City was really one of the first shows to show women's point of view about men. In every show and every movie you see how men make women look like objects and possessions, but in this show it's the other way around. In the show these four women are all very different but are still best friends. They all have a stereo type put on them Miranda is the hardworking lawyer who is always being criticized for her job. She is the "bread winner" and because she is so successful a lot of men find her intimidating. If Miranda were a man she would face none of the problems that she does throughout the show. There is a social stigma that is put on her because of her job and her lifestyle. In one episode Miranda goes to buy an apartment for herself and is constantly being criticized for being alone and not having a boyfriend or a husband. Samantha is portrayed as a bachelor she never settles down with just one man and enjoys being single. Her character is a very different view of women she does not desire a husband and enjoys being independent. This idea of a women not wanting a husband is unheard of.

          Charlotte on the other hand is the complete opposite of Samantha and can be seen as the stereotypical women. In every relationship Charlotte has all she wants is for him to be her "prince charming". She has an unrealistic notion of love and has a fairy tale lifestyle set in her mind. A lot of people can relate to Charlotte because that is supposed to be the norm in our culture. Women are supposed to meet a great guy and marry him and have a happily ever after ending. Sex and the City shows how this notion is not realistic. Carrie the main character does not believe in the fairy tale ending and love throughout the show she doubts the notion but at the same time looks for commitment with Big and does want to be happy. Overall Sex and the City shows the different types of stereotypes that are put on women in our society. The show also challenges these stereo types and shows us a different side to women and men that we have not been shown in the past. 

In the other articles we see men being portrayed as violent and irrational. The Sandy Hook Shooting was a horrific event that shocked everyone. The news portrayed this event as rare and something that does not happen very often but as the article shows this is completely false. In the last year we have had horrible incidents happen with a white, angry male. The two most horrific shootings happened in the last year. The shooting at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises were one angry white man went into the movie theater and murdered 12 people and over 58 people were injured. Then only a few months later the Sandy Hook shooting occurs. This event is something that continues to happen in our country. The problem is advertising showing that in order for men to be masculine and powerful they must be able to take care of themselves by being able to use a gun or being violent. In every television show and movie men are getting into fights and shootings over and over again. This shows men in a violent light which can relate to why all of these shootings continue to occur. We need to change the way our culture sees men and the way men see themselves in order for violence in our country to lessen.