Lyrics for Sale?

P386 Directed Freewrite

With the overly controlled music industry, these few music mega companies that monopolize the industry have full control over the content released. Are these companies therefore responsible for the affects the music has on our society? No, they are not. This materialistic nation we live in, fostered these businesses and these businesses are interested in making money. If the lyrics and ideas portrayed in the music sell , then at the end of the day, they did their jobs. The problem is not in the words, but in the society that buys these lyrics.

I agree with the critics that women “discussed” in these songs, and within the hip-hop and dance culture, may find some sort of “affirmation and power in the fear that their sexuality…creates in men”(Lipsitz 386). I believe that these women feel like that because our culture allows them to see these lyrics as empowering rather than derogatory. The question is, is this idea of empowerment just another thing we are buying into? Weather the lyrics are derogatory or responsible for the perpetuation of gender roles is not the main issue, it is what Americans are purchasing. It is about what we are investing our money into. As long as we continue to support this business, they will continue to meet demands.

If the hip-hop culture is what is popular, then the companies will continue to invest in it. In this capitalistic economy, it is not the morals of society that are important to us; it is the revenue that the music creates and the jobs that this huge business supports. The key to analyzing this topic is to look at the profit versus the responsibility to the community. Unfortunately media businesses are not held responsible for the content they provide, mostly because it is the American people who are the driving force behind the business.

A Slough Time

At the age of 14, I was playing volleyball, dancing competitively, and about to start high school. Between the hot Arizona summers and my vigorous conditioning, my skin was stating to take a hit. I started breaking out and having to deal with a very complex skin cleansing regiment every morning and every night. I went to my trusted dermatologist with a hope that she would have an easier solution to my very embarrassing skin problem. Unfortunately all she had to offer was a tube of nightmares.

She kindly prescribed a Benzoyl Peroxide wash and a Differin .3 gel, which she instructed me to use and avoid the sun. I went home, goods in hand, and hope in my heart. That night before I went to bed I tried out my new wash and spot treatment cream.

The next morning I awoke and wondered in the bathroom. I was startled awake by the face staring back at me in the mirror. I was startled to find my complexion red and peeling. I became very worried and quickly began to moisturize, but clearly this facial peel was beyond repair and was going to have to run its course.

I quickly logged on the web to research my new found “treasures”. The consumer reports quickly warned me of the dangers of these products and the affect that they can have on ones skin tone. These particular products are known for their cause of dryness; feeling of warmth; irritation; itching; peeling; redness; stinging. All of which were written all over my face. As a result an even more self conscious teenager had to battle out her first few weeks of high school with a dry, red, itchy face, and only a bottle of moisturizer as a weapon.

Week 8 blog reviews

Victoria-

For the post on 10/13 I am assuming you were responding to p310 #1. I like how you separated out your response into an intro, a summary, and a response. I really liked the way you lead into this but I would have like to see more details in the second paragraph and more focus on the ramification in paragraph three. I think your flow was nice, this piece was just lacking a little attention to detail. Great ideas!

In regards to your 10/15 post, you have a great understanding of the argument at hand here. I think my main suggestion is to fully respond to the prompt. I think you could use a few specific examples from the text and then argue the other side. You make some great points, like that “it really just depends on your own views are, and where you fall in this argument.” I think that personal opinion can skew this information in many directions, guess we’ll ever have an answer.

Brittany-

10/13

I’m assuming the prompt you are answering here is on p310 # 1. I think you handled the first part of the prompt well when you discuss the traditions of our culture. I especially like the idea of your concluding sentence that say , “with this being said maybe humans don't really fall in love but more so fall into a mating ritual, that as soon as your ready to settle down is when your brain tricks you into thinking your in love.” I think it would have benefited you to write more about the affects of changing these beliefs on our society, as directed in the prompt. You are on the right tract with this one but a little more information from the text and fallowing the directions of the prompt could have really boosted this entry’s efficiency.

I’m not seeing a post from 10/15 to review here

When I went back it loaded, sorry about that

I loved how you picked the article on Hyenas. I think your piece was very informative and brought up another side to this very complex argument. I felt this post was done really well and I think it is one of the best ones I have read by you in this section. I think you can use a lot of the facts on your argument essay if you decide to talk about gender.

Lauren-

10/13

You did such a great job attending to all the points in the prompt. Your intro and summary are great and your transitions went smoothly. I think you put a lot of thought into your response and as a reader, and I truly appreciate that. You balanced support from the text with your ideas very well. For example I loved how you used arranged marriages as a change that would really affect our ideas of romance. I completely agree with your last paragraph that a lot of this is biologically predetermined but in the end we have free will!

10/15 - I think this is p 339 “class discussion, right?

I think your summary of the argument from both sides was very effective. I love how you connected the idea of what is normal and what is natural and how these arguments can be used to condemn peoples actions. I think when you say, “our culture teaches every person what is natural, and since there are differences in cultures, there will be differences on naturality” you have a really good start for an great argument. What is natural for human beings should be consistent through out the different cultures since we are all one species. Great job, I always enjoy reading your posts, especially because I can see the effort you put into them!

"Aint Nothing But Mammals"

Page 339 "Class Discussion"

Klugar’s retelling of the facts in Biological Exuberance, raise many important aspects of “biological homosexuality,” an endless debate over homosexuality as an innate trait. He declares that many different animals are “doing it”, but humans are the only ones who are oppressed for it (Klugar 337). As far as the among of animals participating in homosexual mating, a shocking twenty percent of the 2,000 species, whose mating preferences have been studied, demonstrated same sex relations (Klugar 338). These species are not limited to animals who participate in sex for pleasure, like the dolphin, but also mice, elephants, giraffes, the bonobo monkey, and many more (Klugar 338). Another very strong point that not many people may realize is that these unions are not limited to one night stands or for temporary satisfaction, but can last a lifetime, just like any successful marriage (Klugar 338).

As pointed out by the text, someone opposing human homosexuality would say that the animals being studied might have other motives behind their mating (Klugar 339). It could be that they were not selected to be a mate by someone of the opposite sex and their instincts told them the next best option was a mate of the same sex. It is also possible, and plausible, that these particular pairs are an exception to the rule. How many individuals within that 450-specie range are demonstrating homosexual behavior? If it is a small percentage of that species, it can almost be written off as a fluke. Clearly it is not a large number because it still takes a male and female to reproduce and carry on the species, which is still the goal of evolution. If it were nature’s intention to have these unions, there would be a way for them to carry on the gene pool and be the “fittest” in game of survival.

In order to use this data presented in Biological Exuberance we need many more case studies. It is clear a wide variety of animals are showing a “natural” homosexuality, but to know their motives is impossible. Personally I do not think that using examples from the animal world will really help support the idea of innate homosexuality because there is just not enough definitive proof behind it. There are many other arguments for gender development and the argument at hand is just not fully developed enough to make a difference.

A Tall Order

Page 310 #3, the article I chose to translate from scientific text into a non-academic wording is titled “Height, Relationship Satisfaction, Jealousy, and Mate Retention” by G. Brewer and C. Riley which can be found here.

Women are more likely attracted to a tall man versus a short man. It’s depicted in movies, television shows, and magazines, but is it science? Women may think it is just a visual preference, but in reality, it is programmed into them. We prefer more fit partners that are more likely to pass on the better traits to our children. Women are even more fascinated with tall men during their more fertile stages of their cycle, therefore enforcing the idea that tall men carry desirable characteristics.

How Far Are We Willing To Go?

Women who are dating tall men will actually start exercising more extreme strategies to keep their man around. These methods include improving their appearance and fitness in order to keep the man interested in them. Apparently it is working because tall men reported that they were more satisfied because their partner was conscientious. Women with tall partners are working on themselves, does that mean women with shorter men are not? Why are we so concerned with impressing our mates based on height?

Short Men, Short Relationships?

Women are so much more attracted to tall men, that they are even less likely to cheat. Infidelity rates are much lower with taller men than shorter men. Are we just waiting around for someone better and fit? Women in this study even warned that short men should watch out for more attractive rivals who could lead their partner to infidelity. Short men also expressed more jealous behavior- rightfully so.

Short End Of The Stick?

In contrast to these so-called desirable traits, short guys have a “platform” of their own. Bigger guys have more testosterone and testosterone can lead to aggression. Therefore smaller guys with less testosterone have a smaller chance of acting aggressively with others or their partner. They also try to keep their mate interested by increasing love and care towards the other person unlike tall guys who may monopolize your time because they know they have nothing to lose.

Week 7 blog reviews

I really tried to put out constructive criticism, I hope this helps you select the posts you use on your next paper! I also noticed we all had some formatting errors, something to think about!

Victoria:

MEN!!

I loved how you could apply the topics to many aspects of your life. I agree that Tannen’s ideas will help with my relationships with the men in my life. I did find a few errors that could have been fixed with a quick read through, but I am just as guilty as rushing to post my blog as well. A little more support through out would have made for a stronger post, but you certainly painted a picture I can relate to!

One Mate, One Marriage

I enjoyed reading this post, I certainly agree with your main points. I think it is very important to look back to the assignment at hand. We are supposed to take an evolutionary perspective and not just reflect. I know I struggled with this at first because my opinion on the subject got in the way. Although your opinions are interesting I would have like to see you support your claims with more text from the book and take a more scientific approach. Again, I saw few typos here and there that will easily be resolved by rereading your writing.

Lauren-

Emotional Women, not so Emotional Men

I think you were very success with this assignment in describing your experience and using Tannen’s methods to help fix them. I know I can relate to your situation. I think to be fair we have to point out that men can be emotional too, they just handle it differently than women. The only corrections I would make would be to add a few more sentences to really wrap up your thoughts. Another thing I noticed is that when you insert a quote you don’t need to capitalize the first word unless is starts your sentence.

‘Till Death do us Part

I loved how you used the scientific information to shape your argument. I will say I was little confused about the second paragraph. I think you just need an introductory sentence to introduce your main idea here. I felt the third paragraph was the best combination of science and opinion. I completely agree that society has shaped marriage into something it was never intended to be. I think you really used the text to support your claims and were very successful in responding to the prompt.

Brittany-

Women Can Drive Too-

Well first of all I completely agree. It is interesting how men and women argue and I think it was a great topic for this piece, especially when we are looking at communication. What better way to look at difference in men and women than in a fight? I think your introductory paragraph could use some work on the flow. I think the ideas didn’t really flow well or introduce your main point very clearly. All in all I love your topic and I wish you luck with your next argument J

Should we mate for life?

I think for this piece it is important to build on your ideas. You definitely developed an argument, and I loved how you played “devils advocate”. The only thing is you really need to fully express your opinion along side the facts. I did notice a few citation issues. I know Professor Patel suggested a blog to reference as a guild in an earlier post. I loved how you pulled from a lot of different topics from the reading as well.

The Evolution of Commitment

Every year millions of couples say, “I do”. They do so against the odds: the fifty percent chance that they will not fulfill their sacred vows (Wright 288). These couples must be compelled by some very strong feelings of love and attachment in order to make a promise with a poor probability of fulfilling it. It is something much deeper than just words. Not just love influences such a decision; instincts compel us to join in this life-long commitment as well.

In order to reproduce naturally humans, like all other mammals, need a male and female. Humans, engage in these monogamous relationships just like the Ring Doves and many other animals (Buss 271). The difference is that humans have a much greater recourse, a fully developed frontal lobe. This portion of our brain helps us to bond and commit and engage in monogamous relationships. Because of this advancement, we have many more distractions that can pull us away and distract us from our mates. Evolution has created this concept of love, and ultimately ruined it (Wright 284).

Unlike more primitive animals, our biggest problems are not that our mate can’t reproduced and is therefore expendable like in Ring Dove, or a bigger more fit partner comes along like with male elephant seals (Buss 270 & 271). We also need to deal with the environmental influences around us, like the fact that men are greatly impacted by the images of Playboy models that influence their perceptions of women (Wright 286). We also have to deal with a woman’s attraction to richer partners that can lead to infidelity (Wright 287). Distractions like these fuel the fire of jealousy that inhabits our relationships (Buss 270). These natural feelings are magnified by our ability to think at a higher level.

Love between men and a woman is a universal natural thing (Wright 284). According to Wright, the key to correcting our immoral behavior is to realize that was just that, immoral; the thing is we have the potential to be moral. A combination of our instincts and our high capability to reason, we need to overcome the temptations of our society along with the ones already programmed into us. The institution of marriage still has a chance, humans just need to really consider their promise before vowing to spend their entire life with another individual.

Directed Free-write: Lost in Translation

I found both the article by Deborah Tannen and the one by Candace West and Don Zimmerman wrote to be very interesting and informative. I know when I was reading then I could definitely apply them to the conversations I have with my brother, dad, and boyfriend, especially the parts about physical communication. Tannen’s section on The Sounds of Silence really applied to my life as well. I often feel like I am talking a lot more than my brother about feelings rather than events. Usually communication with men is not a huge problem in my life because I have adapted to their style of conversing and arguing.

My biggest communication problems involve my cell phone. Whether it is through texting or talking, it always creates more conflict than necessary. When discussing pressing topics or making plans over the phone or through texting can be very frustrating to me. If I am trying to set a plan and my boyfriend’s words are short, I assume he is ignoring me and is busy with something else and lose interest in pressing the plans. The same thing happens when I am on the phone with my dad. He lives in Ohio and always calls to check in, but ultimately just comes up with a list of things for me to do. As a woman, I am much more driven to discuss family issues, feelings and thoughts (Tannen 242). As a male my father wants to demonstrate his hierarchal power and give me a list of chores from across the country (Tannen 242).

With the help of this article I can now see how different communication between and within different sexes is so different. I can see how the topics of these articles play out in real life. My brother never looks at me when we are having a conversation. He can stare and the TV and I automatically assume he is not caring about what I have to say. Apparently when he positions himself next to me rather than facing me, he is able to listen and care about what I am saying (Tennan243). By recognizing that we have such gaps in communication from body position to actual topics I can work on my style of communication with the males in my life.

Week 6 blog reviews

Brittany Molnar-

I think the movie Raising Helen was a really good choice about the transformation from a girl to a woman. I love how this displays some very true tough choices that we have to go through in order to grow up. I like how you summarized the plot of the movie and then went on to describe how it applies to the prompt. I would have like to see a little more support on your claims but I definitely agree that Kate Hudson represents all of those stereotypical “Wild Woman” characteristics. Wish I could review your October 1^st post, but I look forward to reading more of your Gender and Sexuality unit posts.

Lauren Petrovich-

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a great representation of a wild woman under wraps. She represents the role of a housewife but during the day but is the exact foil as she is a hardcore assassin at work. I love how you worked in the comparisons Sleeping with the Enemy because it really does show a fearless and empowered woman. In regards to your post about D’Emillio’s article, you brought up some interesting points about the effects of the birth rates on projected job opportunities. I think it is interesting that these social networks will create revenue that will also boost the economy. All in all I enjoyed your take on the changes of society and the changes in the economy and how that will change the “American Family”.

Victoria Presley-

I love how you picked Crossroads as the movie you decided to critique. It really does compare to the story of Thelma and Louise. You found some strong points that draw the two together like the fact that in both cases the women leave behind their boring live to pursue a better opportunity all on their own. This sends a very important message that “real woman change their lifestyle to get where they want to be” Would have loved to read your post from October 1^st, but I look forward to reading your next posts.