Week 2 Response to Jackie

I think there are many reasons why men's sports are thought to be more exciting than women's. First, the promotion of men's sports is 1,000 times greater. Secondly, men sometimes appear to be more aggressive which may translate to passion for the sport. Thirdly, men have been allowed to participate in sports much longer than women, therefore have a longer legacy in the sport world.
These examples, don't make it right that men receive more attention than women but it is a hard cycle to break

Week 2 Response to Professor M.

I find myself adhering to a traditional gender role as a female. It may be because of the way I was raised. Now my parents are divorced, however growing up my mother cooked, cleaned and took care of the kids while my father basically worked and came home. He expected to be catered to even though he never publicly stated this. Being a police officer, I knew he had a stressful job but I always found it odd that he would come home from work and expect dinner on the table. I wonder what it would have been like if my mother forgot or decided to wait until later to provide this.
Another observation, was that my traditional parents followed roles that of their own parents. Both sets of my parents acted the same way. The female took care of the home and kids and the male worked.
Being in my mid 20's and unmarried, I still think this would work for me. If in a relationship, I notice that I enjoy these roles a lot. I work full-time and am an excellent business person but yet I often find myself in the traditional woman's role at home.

Week 5

The boardroom. Many of us have found ourselves sitting around a table brainstorming and meeting to try to better our company. One thing I noticed yesterday is split of responsibilities in meetings, despite titles. Yesterday my co-workers and I met to discuss our plans for 2011. Instantly, the owner (male) turned to a female in the group and asked her to take notes. Immediately I thought 'she isnt a secretary,' yet we have a male data entry clerk who was hired to input data and organize company reports and minutes from meetings. The topic of budgets came up and even though we were in a mixed group, it became a one-on-one with the males. The owner asked a male co-worker (who has never done a budget in his life) what he thought about the costs for a certain topic. In reality, the manager (female) should have been the one answering these questions as she constructs budgets and has an idea of where to spend and how much.

Afterwards I was thinking about the meeting and realized the split was even bigger. The outcome required many tasks to be completed and followed up on, yet the split was simple. The men took the business end and were asked to investigate contracts, expenses and possible deals. The women were given housekeeping tasks like thinking up slogans/logos and transcribing notes. How is this fair when both sexes are involved in each of the tasks. It was almost a phoneme to me how clear the line was drawn. Creativity goes to the women and business goes to the men.

Week #3- Response to Lindsey

I definitely do not think its the bad thing to have the last word. It often finalizes anything- whether it be a conversation or argument. Having the last word is something I feel like I was raised with. In a family of screamers (the parents), it was hard to be heard. Eventually you learn to speak back or not be heard. At the same time, it also bring comedy to situations. I find myself saying something smart to make a situation lighter. Bring humor in with the last word leaves both parties smiling, even if the discussion wasn't the most pleasant

Week #3- Response to Jackie

I think there are many reasons why men's sports are thought to be more exciting than women's. First, the promotion of men's sports is 1,000 times greater. Secondly, men sometimes appear to be more aggressive which may translate to passion for the sport. Thirdly, men have been allowed to participate in sports much longer than women, therefore have a longer legacy in the sport world.
These examples, don't make it right that men receive more attention than women but it is a hard cycle to break

Week #3

So summer television programming brings about a slew of all new shows and brand new seasons of favorites. Today I overheard my interns talking about 'So You Think You Can Dance' on Fox. The topic of one of the male dancers come up and that was immediately followed by 'Do you think he's gay?'

It's ironic that many people would see a male dancer on television and ask if he is gay. As a viewer, you have no personal interaction with the person and know nothing about this person. So what makes a person automatically ask if a male dancer is gay? Is it the culture you're raised in? Or did something else tip the intern off to ask such as his mannerisms or inflection in his voice?

I think in many instances children are taught what is a male role and female role. Women are supposed to be caretakers and choose careers that are female dominated like teaching or nursing. Men are supposed to aspire to be authoritative and choose career paths like policemen and construction workers. Never do you hear a parent telling their son to grow up to be a dancer.
In the same regards, children's toys arent generically focused. Girl's toys revolve around the home with baby dolls and house sets. Boys get cars and army figures.

So what is it about being a male dancer that would make others think he is gay? Maybe society doesn't have enough male dancers as role models in the public. Or on the other hand- maybe society doesn't want this?