Difference between revisions of "328 2010--Week 12 Questions/Comments"

It bothered me that the women activists were attributed male qualities just because they didn't completely mold to the feminine ideals of the time. As the article stated, Robinson still completely embraced her femininity; she still took great care that her appearance and clothing were very ladylike & proper, even when shipping off to jail. If she didn't truly embrace who she was as a woman, she wouldn't have cared enough to do this. It also disturbed me that since Robinson's voice was powerful and commanding, it was automatically compared to a man's voice. If anything is aggressive and powerful, then it ''must'' belong to a man, and consequently must be unnatural for a woman to possess. --Anna Holman

It bothered me that the women activists were attributed male qualities just because they didn't completely mold to the feminine ideals of the time. As the article stated, Robinson still completely embraced her femininity; she still took great care that her appearance and clothing were very ladylike & proper, even when shipping off to jail. If she didn't truly embrace who she was as a woman, she wouldn't have cared enough to do this. It also disturbed me that since Robinson's voice was powerful and commanding, it was automatically compared to a man's voice. If anything is aggressive and powerful, then it ''must'' belong to a man, and consequently must be unnatural for a woman to possess. --Anna Holman

Outside the fact that Ebony magazine wanted to make money and focused more on the middle class, there was an attempt to change the stereotypical views of the black women from the Aunt Jemima look to a beautiful “brown-skinned” women.  I think what Laila Haidarali was trying to show how "Ebony" tried to influence perceptions through this ideal “brown-skinned” woman.  The charm schools weren’t just creating models but a self-confident woman who may not become a model but was ready to face the work force with less fears of knowing the right thing to say or the appropriate attire for the job.  An interesting example she used  was Watson’s Charm Clinic, that if you put too much make-up on you could look like you were going to a nightclub not to work.  An important point made in Watson’s address was that one’s appearance reflects one’s abilities.  These options led women to believe that they would improve the view of a black woman and bring her more social mobility.  With all of that being said, where does the dark-skinned black woman fit in?  As I read “More than a lady” by Fleming, they seemed contradictory.  What women activists did defied this ideal notion of a woman black or white.  But what is interesting was when I read how a black female civil rights worker was demonstrating and was grabbed and slapped in the face by a cop and his response grouped all black people together.  If she was a white activist, she probably wouldn’t have been slapped around or beaten as these black women were.  To the cop, she was black and he didn’t care if you were man or woman.  --Mhimes

Outside the fact that Ebony magazine wanted to make money and focused more on the middle class, there was an attempt to change the stereotypical views of the black women from the Aunt Jemima look to a beautiful “brown-skinned” women.  I think what Laila Haidarali was trying to show how "Ebony" tried to influence perceptions through this ideal “brown-skinned” woman.  The charm schools weren’t just creating models but a self-confident woman who may not become a model but was ready to face the work force with less fears of knowing the right thing to say or the appropriate attire for the job.  An interesting example she used  was Watson’s Charm Clinic, that if you put too much make-up on you could look like you were going to a nightclub not to work.  An important point made in Watson’s address was that one’s appearance reflects one’s abilities.  These options led women to believe that they would improve the view of a black woman and bring her more social mobility.  With all of that being said, where does the dark-skinned black woman fit in?  As I read “More than a lady” by Fleming, they seemed contradictory.  What women activists did defied this ideal notion of a woman black or white.  But what is interesting was when I read how a black female civil rights worker was demonstrating and was grabbed and slapped in the face by a cop and his response grouped all black people together.  If she was a white activist, she probably wouldn’t have been slapped around or beaten as these black women were.  To the cop, she was black and he didn’t care if you were man or woman.  --Mhimes