Pinker Ink - Comments

Sanchez - BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 4

Sanchez - BLS 3024 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:52:17 +0000

I went away to VA Beach last Wednesday, March 3rd on a softball trip. On the first day of practice, one of the assistant coaches, who is a Puerto Rican male, was hitting pop ups for the girls in the outfield to catch. He hits about three to each person then the girls switch, one comes in and the next one on line is up. We rotate in a way that everyone gets to catch and throw for all the different positions regarding the outfield.
It was my turn to catch at the base of the line up where he was hitting and he was trying to explain how I've progressed throughout the two years I've been playing. Then out of nowhere I heard him refer to me as "mami!" It shocked me and made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I didn't understand whether I was uncomfortable because I was upset about it or it was because he's a coach, or it was his age, which he's like pushing forty, or if it was just something else. The other issue was that if it really was because I was upset, why was I?
Then as I was finishing the reading on "New York Ricans from the Hip Hop," it hit me that it was probably because that is a stereotypical word. On top of that, nobody really uses that terminology anymore nevertheless someone who is a Latino. But regardless of who uses the word "mami," it's offensive because I do have a name! I do not know about anyone else but stereotype names are offensive to me.
Since I did not react right away when he used the word, I would like to explain how offensive and uncomfortable his use of "mami" does to me, which I'm sure others have felt uncomfortable about but do not say anything about it.

Huston_3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 4

Huston_3024 — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:14:13 +0000

On saturday i was out with my mom, doing some food shopping at cotsco in yonkers. So after we were done we decided to split up the the party and my mom stood on one line while i stood on another. when my line dwindled down i called for my mother to come to my line with the cart. immediatly this white male standing behind me decided to catch an attitude, so me being me i turned and looked at him with a "is there a problem look", his response, "there's no problem i know you have to gethome to cook your collard greens and hamhocks". With respect to this being an educational site i wont say my moms response, but the guy went on and simply stated that it was in my moms nature to be mad and loud because she was a black female. At the end my mom was the one escorted out of the store "for disrupting the shopping experience of other shoppers". Currently my mom is taking action against this matter.

Nreca- BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 3

Nreca- BLS 3024 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:50:01 +0000

For this Gender Watch I would like to write about a panel I attended at Barnard College, the woman's college of Columbia University. The women who were leading the discussion were formerly incarcerated women of color. They each served time at several facilities in New York for various reasons: one stabbed and killed her husband while he was choking her. Immediately I wondered why she had to serve time if the self-defense law protect her, but according to this law you have to be in "immediate danger." I still don't understand why it isn't considered "immediate danger" that he was choking her. In any case, she was in jail for a number of years, and now she cannot find a job because of her record. No one cares that she stabbed her husband while he was choking her. No one cares that she had been a victim of domestic abuse for more than ten years. Another woman also talked about her struggle to find a job even though she had been drug free for about 8 years. The issue she was most passionate about a new law that gives women their children back after they have served their time. She has five children, one of which is under age, and she feels that if they took him away she would not have anything to live her. Each of the women on the panel works at the Woman's Coalition, helping to raise awareness and helping to promote the idea that your power is in your voice. They stressed the idea that even though they served their time in jail, they still feel as if they were incarcerated because their actions are so limited. They are considered violent offenders. There is no help, even though there is a 3-week program before the woman leaves jail. There are no means of finding housing or a job or any progression in society. They blame the recidivism rate on this lack of help. Women end up being sucked into this funnel where you are set up for failure over and over. If we use our voices we could help these women who do not have anything else. They want us to advocate for the Woman's Coalition group. They want us to talk about this and use our voices for all the women who are victims and have nothing and no one else.

christine Santiago comments on Can Research Be Racist?

christine Santiago — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:05:00 +0000

Reading La Vida upset me. I can deffinitly undersatnd why you felt so angry reading this text. It first of all was written by the "other". Oscar did not even do this reasearch on his own. He sent someone else to get findings. And on top of that he generalizes all Puerto Ricans as slum dwelers and compares them to mexicans. So now the Puerto Rican culture is being bashed instead of embraced and respected.
It works like this that make cultures look bad. Its why we have such a hard problem showing the world that we are not slum dwelers. we are loving and genuine people and deserve to be treated and spoken of respectively.
Looking at this in another perspective would bring me down to a level of ignorance, so i can not see it any other way. It is a piece of worlk that in my eyes should have never been published!

christine Santiago comments on Porto.Puerto.Nuyo.Neo...RICAN?

christine Santiago — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:21:38 +0000

I feel culture will always affect everyone around you in a good or bad way. While reading chapter 8 of the text i must say i was smiling the entire time because i grew up listening to hector lavoe's music. He is a part of my culture and most cherished childhood moments. At every one of my birthday parties my parents played his music non stop. I felt a strong love and bond with my culture while reading this. The desire to just fly straight to puerto rico itched me and i teared up just thinking about it.
Hector Lavoe was in the same struggle as most Puerto Ricans living in America, being stuck in that in-betweenness. Although he migrated to America, he still embraced his culture through his music and adapted as much as he could and was willing to the American culture as well. Although moving to America in my eyes he is still an authentic puerto rican because what makes yo authentic is not where you live but what you embrace and feel.

Nreca- BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 2

Nreca- BLS 3024 — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:19:58 +0000

For my gender watch I want to discuss the double standard that we all know exist between the number of sexual partners a woman has versus a man's sexual partners. I want to focus in particular on something that has become so popular and such a joke on television. As many of you have seen on For the Love of Ray J Part 2, one of the women on the show, Luscious, had slept with one of Ray J's friend before she came on the show. She was completely honest about her interaction with the man she slept with and Ray J knew about it. However, on the episode where some of Ray J's friends came to visit the house, the men made such a big deal about the fact that Luscious had slept with Ray's friend. They even came with a song on the spot: "Luscious, she smashed a homie. Luscious she smashed a homie, etc." Obviously this is very immature but it is very disrespectful. The men were so rude because they were screaming this while Luscious was right outside. She did hear them and confronted them. I was embarrassed for her because she was in tears about how negatively she was being portrayed because she happened to have slept with one of Ray's friends. Although the show ended over a month ago, this scene continues to be played because of how entertaining it is for people to see Luscious cry and see the men sing that song. This issue was even brought up at the reunion show. Luscious couldn't understand why everyone was blowing the situation out of proportion, when all she did was have a life before she came on the show. She even said that Ray J had "smashed some of her homies." Of course this was not surprising and Ray even smiled at her statement. There is such a discrepancy between the number of sexual partners men and women have. Women are seen as promiscuous and loose, while men are proud of their number.

Lelenta - BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 4

Lelenta - BLS 3024 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:16:25 +0000

Standard for Five star chicks

I'm at home when I get this picture sent to my cell phone from a friend of mine. The picture is of a model, Noemie Lenoir he says she is an actress and that she recently was the leading lady in Usher's "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" Video.

The next thing he asked me was just so wrong I couldn’t believe he said it. He said “Should I put this on Facebook ? and say this should be the standard for a girl to call themselves a five star chick”, I paused for a minute and I shook my head in shame. I replied, “Why would you do that? Don’t you think anyone who doesn't look like that would feel offended? He replied “your right.” At that point I was glad I was able to talk some sense into him but then I wanted to see why he felt that girl was the standard for all woman to look like. I thought she was ok.

My friend is dark skin like myself. All the women he has always showed interest in always look the same, light skinned. I took this opportunity to ask him why he always likes the same type of woman. He said he always had liked light skin girls ever since he was young. Then I asked him “do you think that is by coincidence or is it something else.” He said “nah I just always felt like this. I said I feel it has a lot to do with the media and how if we are no paying attention they consciously sway our minds to think a certain way. I asked him who is the light skin icon for black girls females he said Beyonce I asked him what about dark skin females ? I am stilling waiting for the answer.

Valdez-BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 4

Valdez-BLS 3024 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:12:50 +0000

On my usual journey to school i had one of those moments where u take a glance at something and keep walking but can't help it and have to take a second look. I was on my way to the R train where I passed by a newsstand and saw this magazine called Asis. I couldn't help it but to take a couple of glances at it. On the cover of this magazine was this big booty black women in a thong and bra. Her back was turned as if her ass is the best thing she can show. On the top of the cover it states "the benefits of beauty, booty and brains." This illustration of black women brings a conclusion to people that this is all they know how to do, pose and show what they got. This is one of those rap magazines where they have no respect for women and have them shaking their ass. The caption "the benefits of beauty, booty and brains", gives young ladies the thought of " i can be in a magazine if i have a big booty, beautiful and smart, look at all the benefits i get from it. The sale of this magazine should be restricted, anyone can get this magazine and can view the black female gender wrongfully.

Valdez-BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal No. 4

Valdez-BLS 3024 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:04:31 +0000

On my usual journey to school i had one of those moments where u take a glance at something and keep walking but can't help it and have to take a second look. I was on my way to the R train where I passed by a newsstand and saw this magazine called Asis. I couldn't help it but to take a couple of glances at it. On the cover of this magazine was this big booty black women in a thong and bras. Her back was turned as if her ass is that is the best thing she can show. On the top of the cover it states "the benefits of beauty, booty and brains." This illustration of black women brings a conclusion to people that this is all they know how to do, pose and show what they got. This is one of those rap magazines where they have no respect for women and have them shaking their ass. The caption "the benefits of beauty, booty and brains", gives people young ladies the thought of " i can be in a magazine if i have a big booty, beautiful and smart, look at all the benefits i get from it. Then sale of this magazine should be restricted, anyone can get this magazine and can view the black female gender wrongfully.

Nreca- BLS 3024 comments on Gender Watch Journal 1

Nreca- BLS 3024 — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:43:33 +0000

This video elicits mixed feelings. Firstly, as Adam says, I don't think this video is going to plant a new ideas into teenagers' minds about getting marrying their boyfriends to keep them. I think this happens by other means, whether is it by what they have seen other women in their lives do or because they have no education or bad role models. Secondly, I think the point of the video is that if you marry a rich man and become his housewife and mother of his children, you will be rich. What teenager is a millionaire? Maybe a Hilton or a Johnson, as someone else wrote. I don't think the video encourages young girls to get pregnant by any man, as we can see with Kelly Rowland's boyfriend at the end of the video. In a positive light, the video encourages girls not to settle for just any guy. I actually think this is a good thing especially with how many girls get pregnant everyday with no idea about how they will support their baby. If Kelly's character would have waited before she settled down, her life would have been better than ghetto clothes and a life in the hood (disclaimer: this is what she is portrayed as, not my opinion). Ideally, she shouldn't need to wait for a man to sweep her off her feet and provide for her, but in the context of this video, I think the scenario works.
Thirdly, I don't think "50 Cent's song perpetuates the stereotype of black women desiring to be simple "baby mamas" instead of honorable, repectable wives and women," as Gordon writes. In 50's fantasy, Kelly is not a simple baby mama. She is portrayed as his honorable, respectable wife. She actually does wear a ring on her left ring (2:30 in the video). Further, while Kelly is a woman of color, this video is not exclusive to issues women of color face. I am interested in the breakdown of how many women are housewives and what their nationality is. We see white women as housewives on television all the time, on popular TV shows, the news, or even in commercials.
Finally, my biggest problem with this video is that Kelly Rowland is the woman in this video. I really don't understand why she is playing a role in a music video, as if 1. she didn't have the means to get other work or 2. 50 cent couldn't hire a model to play his wife. Kelly didn't have to do this "favor" for 50. He didn't need her favor. It is just puzzling that she would be in bed in lingerie with this rapper when she has a husband.