“Homework” for this week: Check out ‘Shout Out!’

In lieu of your weekly blog post for this week, please check out ShoutOut! JMU, a student-run feminist blog collective at James Madison University in Virginia. These students are undergraduates from a variety of different departments on their campus. Go to the blog (click the image!), peruse the posts, and thoughtfully comment on at least one. They can also be found on Facebook and Twitter if you’d like to keep in touch 😀

We can talk more in person next week about what you think of the blog collective. I would love to have something similar at SIUC!

SuperPost for week 10: March 27th

PLEASE NOTE:  Your individual blog posts (on your own blogs) are due every week at the normal time even though we won’t be meeting online. If you happen to read this over the weekend and forgot to blog, please just do so by Tuesday.

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Theme for the week: Women in STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math)

Readings to discuss in class Tuesday: 

• Beede, David, et al. “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation.” Economics and Statistics Administration. Web.
  http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/reports/documents/womeninstemagaptoinnovation8311.pdf
  (Only 11 pages, but most are charts. Please read the entire thing and make notes of the authors’ main points.)
  
  
• Resources | Women Who Tech: http://www.womenwhotech.com/resources.html 
• Women in Technology: http://www.womenintech.com/about.html 
  (Peruse the website and check out the events, workshops, and resources offered by this organization based out of Hawaii.)

 

Guidelines for Short Paper #1

Don't be this guy

WMST 491 Special Topics: Women, Gender & Sexuality on the Web — Guidelines for Short Paper #1

Now that we have completed the first half of the semester, covering a range of subtopics surrounding identity formation/maintenance on the Internet, I ask you all to write a brief paper communicating your grasp on the issue. I expect you to make reference to the articles and media we have discussed in order to synthesize our conversations and the arguments put forth.

While your weekly blog posts are allowed – and encouraged – to be informal and conversational, I expect your style for this paper to be more formal and suited to academic writing in order to display your ability to communicate for different audiences. Because of this, you are required to cite sources consistently using whatever format (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) you are most familiar with.

Papers must be between 2-3 pages (a bit longer is okay, but no fewer than two full pages), double-spaced, 1-inch margins, standard size 12 font. Comic sans will make me vomit.

A hard copy of your paper is due Tues, March 20^th when we return from break. If you would like to email me a copy in addition to the printed version, that is fine.

If you have any questions during break, please get ahold of me in whatever way you prefer.

Potential presentation topics…

Here is the list we compiled on Tuesday for your future presentations. Keep these topics in mind, and feel free to comment (click post title, above) with any other ideas. We will talk more about this briefly next Tuesday and I request that you have your topic chosen when we come back from break.

SuperPost for week 7: Feb 28st and Mar 1st

Theme for the week: Trans* YouTube Experiences

Readings to discuss in class on Tuesday: 

• Raun, Tobias. “Screen-births: Exploring the transformative potential in trans video blogs on YouTube.” Graduate Journal of Social Science 7.2 (2010): 113-127. [PDF]
• “GenderQueer in the Midwest” : http://transgroupblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/genderqueer-in-midwest.html
• ***My colleague (Benny) and his partner (Aaron) will be making a special video for us to watch and discuss on Thursday about Aaron’s experiences in TrannystarGalactica (below), a collaborative trans YouTube channel. They are willing to answer questions we have about the experience and process. After reading the above article and watching the video, please come with things you’d like to see discussed.

Additional material to discuss on Thursday: 

(WARNING: POTENTIALLY NSFW)

THE VIDEO RESPONSE!

• “The T in GLBT, Transgender Roundup”: http://www.blogher.com/t-glbt-transgender-blog-round
• Examples of Trans* transitional YouTube accounts – please browse videos and reflect on blog:
  • Art of Transliness (collaborative YT account): http://www.youtube.com/user/artoftransliness
  • TrannystarGalactica: http://www.youtube.com/user/TrannystarGalactica [collab. YT group that Aaron participates in]

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Additional: SOFFA Support (significant others, family, friends, and allies of the trans* community): http://soffasupport.tumblr.com/

THURSDAY Feb 23rd

(Making a separate post so the conversation can be less confusing)

Additional material to discuss ONLINE on Thursday: 

Fat is (Still) a Feminist Issue: (WARNING: POTENTIALLY NSFW)

• Definatalie.com: About Fat Acceptance: http://www.definatalie.com/2010/06/21/about-fat-acceptance/
• The Adipositivity Project: http://adipositivity.com/
• A few fat-positive blogs (check ’em out, look at the posts, see what you think):
  • http://fatpeopleofcolor.tumblr.com/
  • http://deathfatties.tumblr.com/
  • http://chubstr.tumblr.com/

(if you’re interested in MORE, here’s a giant round-up of body-positive/fat-positive blogs: http://glitter-pits.tumblr.com/post/7274662211/big-ol-bodyposi-tumblr-roundup)

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Also: Sam sent me this link and I think it’s pretty great, if you’d like to skim: http://yrwelcome.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/why-im-fat-positive/

A snippet from her list of “Why I’m Fat Positive,” specifically looking at intersections of class, race, and size:

I’m fat positive because I work at being an anti-racist ally, and fatphobia reifies systems of power that erase the bodies of many people of color, and that stereotype, parody and ultimately nullify their experiences. For example, in order to function as an anti-welfare trope, the welfare queen must be a woman (in this case, a single woman), a single parent (careless and promiscuous), poor (irresponsible), fat (slovenly) and Black (the Other, for middle class white voters). The welfare queen stereotype relies on some level on the fatness of the subject in order to function. And, on top of that, it’s predicated on a fear of someone “taking too much,” crossing boundaries and claiming resources that aren’t hers to take, an almost predatory image of a fat woman of color. This theme of “taking what’s not yours” is repeated with communities of color when it comes to welfare, English-only ballot measures, immigrant rights, and more. And, of course, it plays a core role in fatphobia: fat people eat too much, take up too much space, and generally exist to consume.

SuperPost for week 6: Feb 21st and 23rd

Theme for the week: Body Image and Body-Positive Communities

Readings to discuss ONLINE Tuesday: 

Body-Positivity (WARNING: POTENTIALLY NSFW)

• Richards, Amy. “Body Image: Third Wave Feminism’s Issue?” Adios, Barbie: Young Women Write About Body Image and Identity. Ed. Ophira Edut. Seattle: Seal P., 1998. 196. [PDF].
• Refinery29 “Body-Positive Blogs: Helpful Or Hurtful?”  http://www.refinery29.com/body-positive-blogs-helpful-or-hurtful
• Redefining Body Image blog: http://redefiningbodyimage.tumblr.com/ 

Additional material to discuss IN CLASS on Thursday: 

Fat is (Still) a Feminist Issue: (WARNING: POTENTIALLY NSFW)

• Definatalie.com: About Fat Acceptance: http://www.definatalie.com/2010/06/21/about-fat-acceptance/
• The Adipositivity Project: http://adipositivity.com/
• A few fat-positive blogs (check ’em out, look at the posts, see what you think):
  • http://fatpeopleofcolor.tumblr.com/
  • http://deathfatties.tumblr.com/
  • http://chubstr.tumblr.com/

(if you’re interested in MORE, here’s a giant round-up of body-positive/fat-positive blogs: http://glitter-pits.tumblr.com/post/7274662211/big-ol-bodyposi-tumblr-roundup)

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SuperPost for week 5: Feb 14th and 16th

Theme for the week: Race and Ethnic Identity in the Digital

"privilege denying dude" meme

Readings to discuss in class on Tuesday: 

• Video: What Do You Know About Black History? (shared by Tiara)
• ACT for Youth: Ethnic and Racial Identity Development: http://actforyouth.net/health_sexuality/adolescence/identity/ethnic_racial.cfm

Additional material to discuss on Thursday: 

• ColorLines “How ‘Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls’ Blew Up the Internet”: http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/sht_white_girls_say_to_black_girls_viral_video.html   
  Original Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylPUzxpIBe0
• Ms. Magazine “Black Feminist Reflections on a Small Town SlutWalk” (about Carbondale): http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/05/black-feminist-reflections-on-a-small-town-slutwalk/

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Optional: Byrne, Dara N. “The Future of (the) ’Race’: Identity, Discourse, and the Rise of Computer-mediated Public Spheres.” Learning Race and Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media. Edited by Anna Everett. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008. 15–38. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dmal.9780262550673.015 [PDF Link]

SuperPost for week 4: Feb 7th and 9th

Theme for the week:   Sexuality and coming out online

Readings to discuss in class on Tuesday: 

• Gray, Mary L. “Negotiating Identities/Queering Desires: Coming Out Online And The Remediation Of The Coming-Out Story.” Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication 14.4 (2009): 1162-1189.  [Gray, Mary L “Negotiating Identities:Queering Desires- Coming Out Online And The Remediation Of The Coming-Out Story” PDF]
• CNNTech “The coming-out stories of anonymous bloggers”: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-21/tech/outing.anonymous.bloggers_1_bloggers-online-anonymity-persona?_s=PM:TECH

Additional material to discuss on Thursday: 

• A Brief History Of EmptyClosets: http://emptyclosets.com/home/pages/welcome/history-of-emptyclosets.php
  
• VERY IMPORTANT: Marc Maron’s WTFpodcast with Todd Glass (at least listen to first hour): http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_245_-_todd_glass 

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SuperPost for week 3: Jan 31st and Feb 2nd

Theme for the week:   “Virtual Girls”: Youth and identity online

Readings to discuss in class on Tuesday: 

• Huffaker, D. A., and Calvert, S. L. (2005). “Gender, identity, and language use in teenage blogs.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2). http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html
  
• Almjeld, Jennifer Marie. “The Girls Of Myspace: New Media As Gendered Literacy Practice And Identity Construction.”Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities And Social Sciences 69.6 (2008): 2252-2253.
  READ ABSTRACT ONLY: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Almjeld%20Jennifer%20Marie.pdf?bgsu1212610595

Additional material to discuss on Thursday: 

• Spotlight on Digital Media & Learning: “Girls Carve Out Their Own Space Online”
  http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/girls-carve-out-their-own-space-online/
• Virtual Girls class blog (University of Central Florida): http://virtualgirlsucf.blogspot.com/

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SuperPost for week 2: Jan 24th and 26th

Theme for the week:  Cyberfeminism

Have three blogs chosen (from last week’s list) and have them added to your RSS reader

Readings to discuss in class on Tuesday: 

• Cyberfeminism 101 Slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/sajbrfem/cyberfeminism-101

• Gillis, Stacy. “Neither Cyborg Nor Goddess: The (Im)Possibilities Of Cyberfeminism.” Third Wave Feminism: A Critical Exploration. 185-196. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
  Gillis, Stacy: “Neither Cyborg Nor Goddess- The (Im)Possibilities Of Cyberfeminism” [PDF]

Additional material to discuss on Thursday: 

• Cyberfeminist website to EXPLORE (some pages are in French – use Chrome browser to translate) http://cyberf.constantvzw.org/main.html click on anything!
• Old Boys Network (original cyberfeminist site) http://www.obn.org/ check out ‘links’ and ‘readings’ pages specifically

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Add your personal blog links in the comments!

Then we can add each of them to our RSS feed readers.