Women In STEM

Kylie Gillette

Professor Melissa Santos

ENGL 199-003: Women In Pop Culture

24 April, 2015

STEM

Although more and more women are entering STEM programs every year, they are still incredibly male-dominated fields of study. This discussion came up when we reviewed “The War on Boys Narrative is Back. Ugh” by A.K. Whitney. As a woman entering the field of biological study, I know just how male dominated the sciences are.

From day one, little girls are shamed out of experiencing and indulging in their love of science. They are told that it isn’t lady-like to crawl in the mud, digging for insects, or to spend the afternoon building a replica of the solar system. Encouraged, instead, to go play with their dolls, or with their dress-up costumes, little girls aren’t allowed free rein to explore the scientific world the way boys are.

This also applies to medicine. I am determined to build a career for myself as a trauma surgeon. Surgery, like medicine in general, is dominated by males, and women are discouraged from becoming surgeons. I have noticed this a lot in my own personal life.

When I tell fellow women that I am working towards a career as a surgeon, they support me in my decision. All the women I have ever told, have encouraged me to keep working, and they all believed in me.

However, every time I tell a male that I want to be a surgeon, with the exception of my father, perhaps, they have questioned this goal of mine. All the males I have told, asked if I could handle the job. “Are you sure you can work in that environment?” “Thats a fast-paced job? Can you handle it?” “Are you sure you can handle seeing a dead body?” “You’re not afraid of blood and guts are you?”

I feel as though the male response to my career goal trivializes my decision. It seems that they question a woman’s ability to function in less-than-lady-like conditions. I find it offensive, and belittling, so I tend to avoid telling males my ambitions because, frankly, I’m sick of hearing their crap.

I think at least part of the reason I want to be a trauma surgeon is because of this this gender gap. I want to prove that women can enter male-dominated-fields and prove that they deserve to be there. I want to show that I can be just as competent and skilled, if not, more than my future male co-workers, while simultaneously encouraging young girls to chase their dreams, no matter how discouraged they are from doing so.

Blog Entry #13

Ilenny Nunez

Professor Santos

ENG199-003

Blog Entry #13

 

            This week one the articles that were discussed in class The “War on Boys”. Narrative Is Back. Ugh by A.K. Whitney. When I first looked at the article by the title I thought that it was going to be something that will support women in a way. But then when I started reading it I couldn’t believe what the author was saying. One of the things that were mentioned were I was just like “smh” was when the author said that men can’t no longer find their Mrs. in college because of the careers that women pursue are not the same as before and that’s why I asked myself but what’s wrong with women trying to get themselves involve in careers that men are mostly the dominants ones. Because if society claims that men and women are equal then why can’t we have the same career?

Another thing that it just made me mad was when the author tried to imply that is women fault the fact that they are so many sexual assaults events on colleges because now are more women coming to college and this made me think that if men feel pressure form women this is not a solution or neither will stop women coming to college. Also this part made me think that for some reason women are always the one to blame when they are abused in a certain way; like I remember when I was in middle school in the Dominican Republic that there was this time when a boy attacked me in the wall and he was kind of choking me and then I hit him but the professor just took it as a game and said to me you can’t blame him you are cute and also smart so he feels intimidated by you. I honestly didn’t know what to say but I feel that it shouldn’t be like this women are not the ones to blame for men acting violent towards us.

Something else that was discussed in the class was the fact that a lot of women are competitive and we do have that feeling that we want to be better than guys and also this contributes to the reason that now women mostly wait until they are fully done with their career to get married and start a family, which again in my own opinion I don’t think it’s wrong because we can choose for ourselves what we want, like in my case I have always been really independent and that’s why I want to have my own future built because if one day I don’t want to keep being with someone I won’t have a problem by living on my own. I really don’t believe in the fact that a certain careers are only for men and the others for women, neither I believe in the fact that women don’t need education because they are meant to take care of the family.

Women in Comedy

Rachel Nee
4/17/15










                                                              Women in Comedy






               This week in class we discussed women in comedy, these women have the power to discuss issues they have faced and make light of them, such as bullying. They bring something different to the table, they aren't like the movie stars and models we see in society, they're simply doing what they love and that is making people laugh. I am a huge fan of comedians, I like that they're different and that they are able to joke about whatever. They don't care what people think about them. What I admire about women in comedy especially is that they haven't given up, so many people disagree with the fact that women can be funny, they don't believe they should be in comedy they believe it should be left up to men to do the job. Yes, male comedians are funny, but so are women, why is that so hard for society to understand? It's society that makes it seem as though it's a competitions, these comedians don't see it that way, they are able to collaborate with each other, they respect each other. This is why I love shows such as Saturday Night Live, where we see both men and women collaborating with each other and they are able to make their audience laugh. I think society makes it a bigger deal, it shouldn't be a competition, it always seems to be the male dominance that comes into play in any situation. Society believes it is the males job to be good at everything, because he's a guy and he's good at everything. People recognize more male comedians than female, even with this movie I guarantee some people wouldn't even recognize some of the names yet they could name 10 male comedians right off the top of their head. It sucks that society can't see that these women can actually be funny, that they do have a talent. Being able to make someone laugh is not something you learn, it's something that you're born with, and these women have been able to share that talent with their audience. In movies like Bridesmaids, we see this talent displayed by an all female cast, people questioned this movie before it came out due to the fact that it was an all female cast, they didn't believe it would be funny. The movie became a huge success once it had hit theaters and made people realize these women in comedy were not stopping what they were doing anytime soon. I look up to these women because they're different from the other women we see in society, there always seems to be an image of a perfect looking woman being successful. The women in comedy are all shapes and sizes, and that is why I admire them because they aren't the "ideal" looking woman society usually displays, and I believe that also plays a role in why some people don't want to accept them for who they are. They have been able to show that women can do anything a man can do, they can make people laugh, they can be successful. These women I believe are great role models for girls who don't believe in themselves, these women have shown that nothing is impossible and no matter how much negativity you've received in your life, you can push through it. This is why I love that they include jokes about topics such as bullying in their acts, they're able to laugh at the bullies and show them that if anything they are what made them push through and got them where they are today, and here they are talking right to that bully making a joke about them. I look up to these women, I love the empowerment they have been able to give women. I believe if anything women in comedy are becoming a lot more powerful and I hope it continues. I's a way to show society that we aren't ever going to give up on anything people doubt us about, if anything it pushes us to want to prove those who doubted us wrong.

Women and Pop Culture Entry 11

Alexandria Scudder

17 April 2015

Entry 11

Comic Relief

            This week in class we discussed female comedians such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Wanda Sykes, and Mindy Kaling.  These women all use comic relief to discuss issues in society to entertain and inform people.  Some topics these women discuss are fashions styles geared toward different body types, racial terms, men and women inequality, and rape.  Although these topics are not something to joke about by putting a humorous tone to them it makes the topics easier to discuss.

            No one enjoys talking about rape and the awful frequency of it but by adding a humorous tone to topic of rape these comedians open up a more comfortable discussion.  For example Wanda Sykes states, “That’s why I wish our pussies were detachable.  That way you could just leave it at home.”  (Sykes, 47) Indicating that women should not be forced to do something that they do not want to do and that the world would be much more simple if we were able to detach our female genitalia.  With the comic relief provided encouraging people not to be uncomfortable discussing an uncomfortable topic Wanda Skyes also speaks more serious saying “No means no…in a perfect world. But, we don’t live in that world.”   (Sykes, 46) Assuring the reader that she is fully aware of how unfortunate these circumstances are.

            When comedians discuss such serious topics people tend to give them a lot of backlash when in reality they are not being cruel or non-understanding they are simply trying to make the topic more comfortable for people to talk about.  Creating a more comfortable scenario for people who want to discuss the topic but feel to uncomfortable.  In my opinion, comic relief helps more than it hurts and these women are making a change with the books they have written.

Blog Post

Mindy Lara

Professor Santos

17 April 2015

Women in Comedy

            This week in class we had readings and watched a film based on women in comedy. I enjoyed readings because I learned that women in comedy try to send messages through their jokes and try to let the audience see how this is serious but doesn't have to be read in a serious way. Almost done so they know the audience doesn't get bored. One I loved in particular was Wanda Sykes section on Kobe Bryant. She speaks about how he was charged with rape. She goes on talking about how it’s always portrayed as “the women was up to no good” when at times it is the man’s fault. She also states how it’s ok to say no in situations where you are not looking to sleep with a man only because you had a couple of drinks but that’s only in a perfect world, sadly and truthfully stated. Women are always the one to blame when rape occurs and it’s sad and just wrong because some men just don’t care about the needs of others when they are horny and it’s so unfair to women  because no one deserves that to happen to them.

            In the film why we laugh we got to learn about why these famous comedians do what they do. It was pretty obvious that it’s because they love it. They do believe that comedy was once a male-dominated world because those were the only types of comedians you would see but now things are changing. They claimed that as female comedians they have to choose between starting a family or their careers. This was interesting to me because I didn't know they had to go through this. I knew that it was hard for them to take this career on but didn't realize how they all had to basically decide whether they wanted to start a family or their careers. They explained that they do this because it’s a gift for them to talk about any personal experiences and even topics that people need to be more aware of and turn it into jokes. Many do this because it makes them feel good and I believe these women are all great at what they do because you can tell they love it and enjoy it. They are funny when speaking about anything and it’s a gift not everyone has. Comedy is the one thing I believe everyone needs in their lives because having a good laugh is great therapy at times.

Blog 12

Kristen Butler
April 17, 2015
Blog #12

 Girl Relationships

                This week in class we discussed the importance of girl relationships. I personally believe these relationships are extremely important. I have always been extremely close to my sisters and my mom, they are definitely my best friends, but they are also much older than me. They don’t fully understand everything that is happening to me in my life. Even though they have gone through most of the same things it’s hard to talk to someone that is going to know the outcome. It may be useful, but who ever really wants to hear the truth about what is going to happen in certain situations?

            All growing up I never was a person that had a lot of friends I always had like one or two close friends in each grade but then I would change friends the next year, I never had constant girlfriends. However I have had one friend that I have had since 1^st grade, she knows everything about my life and I know I can trust her to help me with everything and anything. Throughout middle school and high school she was really the only person I could count on to be there for me. Through those years I never would really go out or hang out with people I mostly stayed at home. I always would look at everyone’s pictures they posted and wished I could be a part of that big group of popular girls that always seemed to have so much fun.

            Finally once I got to college I was able to find that group of girlfriends I had always wanted to have. These girls that I have met in college have completely changed me for the better. They are girls I can talk to about absolutely everything. We can talk for hours about the most ridiculous things. It made me realize how important it is to have these relationships in your life. Having such strong relationships with these girls has made me get past such tough times at school that I would not be able to get through without them to constantly support me. I completely think it is important for every girl to have someone or a group of other girls they can go to with their lives. 

Blog 12

Alessandra Bisconti

April 17, 2015

Blog 12

Why We Laugh

            Laughter initiates from deep within and explodes from your body instinctively. It can uplift your spirits immediately. So why does it matter where this laughter stems from? No matter the quality of the comedy, women are always degraded for their effectiveness as a comedian. Society proclaims the face of comedy to be man. Women aren’t funny; so we are told. The women in the documentary “Why We Laugh” discuss female comedian roles through first hand experience.

            The proof is ubiquitous. We live in a time where comedy is still predominately geared towards masculinity in a man’s world.  Joan Rivers discusses in the documentary how, in her opinion, the percentage of lesbian women in comedy averages to about 70%. This is because they have an advantage due to their strong connection to their masculine side. These are the qualities that our world deems funniest. I believe that masculinity should not and does not have any correlation to the amount of funniness. Like mentioned earlier, it should not matter where the source id coming from. Laughter is a feeling that comes natural, and we shouldn’t limit it just because of gender.

            Gender also hinders female comedians in other ways. Not only do women have to struggle with stereotypes on stage, but their personal lives suffer as well. Starting a career and being successful is a difficult task. Maintaining a normal life at the same time is also a challenge because starting a family is impossible. Male comedians have no restraints because they have wives at home to take care of the kids. On the other hand, women comedians are expected to care for the children, provide all meals…oh and be funny too.

            It’s a shame that women are so overlooked in the comedy world. Today in class, I barely recognized half of the women in the documentary. They are not marketed as much as males are. Women comedians are like diamonds in the ruff. The movie Bridesmaids has an all female cast, and I personally find that movie powerful, positive for women, and hysterical. If collaborations with female and male comedians were put in place, we could strip comedy of gender reliance, and focus on the quality of performance. They should be appreciated more and stripped of stereotypes and sexual connotations. What’s funny is funny, so just laugh!

            

Blog Post #11

Gina Lagrotteria

April 17,2015

Blog Post #11

Women In Comedy

In this weeks class period we talked about Women in Comedy. We looked at famous comedians books/articles like Tina Fey, Amy Poehlr, Mindy Kaling, and Wanda Sykes. I really enjoyed reading all of there articles and found them enjoyable to read. Something I like about Comedy is that you are able to talk about serious issues and problems in a funny joking way. It is a space for people to share real life problems and situations in a presentable manner. One of the issues that it talked about it is the issue of bullying. Bullying is a huge problem in today’s society, so it is good to be able to see a female comedian talk about it and be able to relate to it.  The way they express these real life issues is not in an offensive way, they make it in a comical way and a way to be able to relate to it. One of the articles that I liked in particular was “Dear Internet” by Tina Fey, where she is replying to the negativity that people say about her. She replies to these online posters in such a mature, respectable, funny way.

            We also watched a documentary outside of the classroom for a classroom discussion called “Why We Laugh: Funny Women”. I really enjoyed this documentary and it made realize how women can be really funny but this society is so male dominated that women are usually not seen in that way. I feel as though women are more funny then man are as there jokes have more to them, rather than a mans.  I feel as though when a women says a joke it has a meaning behind it but when a man makes a joke it is just a dry sense of humor joke that has been heard a million times before.

            Another class discussion that we talked about was the importance of a girl group of friends.  Growing up I had friends that have came and gone in my life. In my high school years though, I had friends but they were nothing like the group of friends I now have in college. It was not until this year in college though, that I met a group of girls that I know I can call my life long friends. I know I can go to them with anything and they will be there for me.  When we are all together, we all have so much fun no matter what we are doing. They are someone that I can tag along with me no matter where I need to go. They are someone that I can share anything with and I will not feel judged on what I am telling them.  Even though I have a best friend that is a boy, and he is someone that I can talk to about certain things, he is not someone that I could drag along with me to the mall or tell me if an outfit looks good or not. It is good to have a group of girls that can relate to me, and I know they will be there for me no matter what I am going through.

Women in Comedy Blog Post

Lorena Labour Aguasvivas

Professor: Santos

17 April 2015

Blog post

Women in comedy

During this week in class we focused on women in comedy, we talk about how people don’t considered women as funny because they just don’t see women in the comedy world because society has tell us that comedy is just for man, that they are the only ones that can make people laugh.  I realize that all my life I never saw a women comedian who made people laugh I will always see women on movies and TV shows that would said something that were funny. However, I never look up to them as the funny person from the movie. But that changed after I saw the documentary “ Why we laugh: Funny women” now I have a different perspective of comedian women. I never knew that women could be so funny, and people sometimes would not see this because they believe that is not a women job, is like if society is treating to fit women into a category where they think they belong. “My mom would still prefer if I was a dental hygienist or stewardess”-Kathy Griffin here you can see how even comedians parents would want their child to be something different from what they really love doing, which I think is wrong because we cannot be telling people what they should do, I believe that people have the decision to do what make them happy, instead of doing something doing that they don’t like doing. Another quote from the documentary said, “ Comedy is not a woman's field. If you look at comedy, it’s a very male, masculine profession.” - Joan Rivers but them, another quote said, “When I think of the women that have made the most impact, those are the women that weren't afraid.” - Judy Gold so this explains me how if you really want to successful and make an impact you have to do things that are out of your conference zone because those things is what really challenge the rest to stand up and make an impact in our society, to be successful you cannot be afraid. After watching this documentary I realize that there is nothing that women cannot do they are capable of doing anything, there will just be some obstacles that will have to be overcome. Women have proved that there is nothing that they cannot do. Anything is possible if you want it.

blogpost12

Kristen Coyne

April 17, 2015

Blog Post 12

Women in Comedy

            This week in class we discussed women and their role in comedy. Women in comedy are a great aspect in the media and society because they address topics that people are often not comfortable talking about. They address serious topics that need to be addressed but instead of making it serious and uncomfortable to talk about they speak of it in a lighthearted and humorous way.  For example, some female comedians talk about the topic of bullying, which is a sensitive topic for most. They talk about their own experiences with it and show that it has less of an affect on them now that they are older. This is a great topic to discuss in this manner because many teenage girls struggle with being bullied and it causes them to be insecure, but seeing comedians bring it up in this manner may cause them to realize that it doesn’t matter what people say about you and you cant let it get to you because no one is perfect and the people criticizing you are already below you. These women also talk about difficulties they face in life in this manner as a way to cope with it. They say a perfect life is not funny. This is also a positive message to other women because seeing comedians find the best out of bad situations is inspirational and may cause other people to see things in this light.

            Another thing that we discussed about females in comedy is how they are far less popular than male comedians. Being a comedian is considered a “male masculine profession”. However, as I said earlier women actually tend to have an intellectual side to their jokes and send important messages while men just make dumb jokes about their genitals. Although being a comedian is considered a masculine job, females are beginning to become a lot more popular in this industry than they used to be. Amy Poeler and Tina Fey transitioned from late night comedy shows into main stream America and helped other upcoming female comedians such as the women in Bridesmaids Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy be comfortable in this career. Also, the show on MTV called Girl Code, which, is very popular among teenage girls and discusses common topics about girls such as periods and boys is causing female comedians to become better known. I feel that female comedians are gaining more confidence because it is becoming more common for women to be comedians and funny nowadays. It is great that women are becoming more popular in this industry because they address more important topics than male comedians and also send a good message to women all over the world.