Choice To Voice

1. There is a lack of education and access to alternative medicine. Women are uneducated about their options and are being forced to endure the bureaucracy of the medical world in order to simply follow a system.

2. There is a lack of education not only among the public, but also among physicians about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). A study was conducted among 751 physicians at the University of Colorado Hospital which discovered that few physicians felt comfortable discussing CAM with their patients, and the overwhelming majority (84%) thought they needed to learn more about CAM to adequately address patient concerns. Physician recommendation of CAM was most strongly associated with physician self-use (Corbin and Shapiro).

Too many mainstream doctors today become so specialized that they treat the body parts and forget they are treating the whole body. This is fine for surgery, emergency or trauma but not for perpetuating good health (altmedangel.com). This truth is ever-present in the shared experiences of women forced to abide by the patriarchal system of the medical world.

On a macro-level, the institution of education is failing our physicians and not providing them with the necessary tools to inform their patients about alternative forms of medicine. This, in turn, leaves each individual uneducated about what their real options for treatment are.

3. Holistic health care isn’t fully covered by most health insurance providers. Therefore, women aren’t being given the opportunity to choose their methods of treatment or birth plans.

In her article, Sara Calabro explains how in many ways, a practitioner of alternative medicine follows the same steps for treatment that a conventional medical doctor uses. But because alternative medicine is still considered outside the scope of traditional health care, many insurance companies do not cover these visits or offer limited coverage.

It has been discovered that alternative medicine is more popular among women than men. This reflects the patriarchal system that seems to govern the medical world. They don’t consider the educated opinions of women and their bodies. They dismiss them and respond with the “doctor knows best” theory. This is denying women the power to govern their own bodies.

What should exist is a system that returns this power to women, grants them the right and choice of how to treat their bodies.

4. We should have insurance providers fully covering alternative medicine practices. We need physicians to be trained in a number of different modalities. Many alternative practitioners use high-tech, scientific diagnostic tools to pinpoint imbalances or underlying problems in major organs. Through a thorough line of questioning, they determine the probable cause and work with you toward a cure (altmedangel.com). We need the world of the American Medical Association (AMA) which is aligned with the multibillion dollar pharmaceutical industry to step back and allow women the choice to voice what medical path they want to take.

Works Cited

Calabro, Sara. "Alternative Medicine: Is It Covered?" Everydayhealth.com. Every Day Health Inc. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .

"A Comparison of Alternative and Modern Medicine." YOUR GUIDE TO NATURAL HEALING. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .

Corbin, Winslow L., and H. Shapiro. "Physicians Want Education about Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Enhance Communication with Their Patients." Pubmed.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 27 May 2002. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .

Activism Log #1

1. I unfortunately missed our last meeting and am still waiting on the notes. I have emailed Nicole and posted to the Google Group asking for them, but have yet to receive them. Professor Tweed did fill me in on the main points of the meeting. The 5k date has been set to October 30, 2011 and the theme will be Halloween. A final name hasn’t been set yet but I know one of the working names is Run for the Ghouls (instead of girls). I think we can come up with something clearer, maybe The Mummy Run (mummy as in mommy as in women). I also thought of a sort of subtitle for the run being Run for Fun and Fun for All. I need to still run my ideas by the entire group. Our next meeting will be held Tuesday, October 12 at 5:30pm. At this meeting we will be deciding on a final name for the run. Once the name is finalized I will be able to start creating a logo and flyers and t-shirt designs based around the name. I’m thinking the main colors of the design will me orange and black. This will allow everyone, men, women and children, to feel comfortable at the run rather than making everything pink or purple.

2. Our activism project relates to what we are currently learning in class because its main goal is to illicit awareness of women’s studies throughout the community. It will help give a voice to women and give everyone the tools they need to become informed and in turn make informed decisions. Through this event we will not only raise money for important community partners like YWLP, but we will also open up the community’s eyes to the real need for women’s studies. Allan G. Johnson states in his essay “Patriarchy, the System”, it isn’t men that are the problem it is this corrupt system which they are inherently governed by and we must think of creative ways to go against “the path of least resistance” (Kirk and Rey, p.71). By raising awareness, we can help everyone take a step back from this patriarchal system we all blindly perpetuate and get people thinking about what they can do to make a difference.

3. This is the biggest thing I have ever undertaken and it supports something I strongly stand behind, spreading awareness of women’s studies and feminist thought. I am equally anxious and excited about the project. Also, the fact that I am in charge of the media plan adds an entire other level of excitement because this is what I want to do after I graduate, so its providing me with real world experience. This is a huge project and I am so proud to be a part of it, making a difference in the world of women’s studies and giving the program a voice in the community.

Dove's "Real Beauty" Campaign

"Racism and sexism as practiced in America includes body hostilities. I didn't grow up with the belief that fat women were to be despised. The women in my family were fat, smart, sexy, employed, wanted, married, and the rulers of their households" Quoted in Edison and Notkin 1994, p. 106 (Kirk and Rey, p. 209).

These ads are examples from Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign. Having a background and genuine passion for the advertising world, I am so impressed and inspired by this campaign. Among the hundreds of advertisements society is bombarded with every day using the “sex sells” approach, it is refreshing and eye-opening to see real women with their real bodies. This is what appeals to me most.

The Dove ads stood out because they were different. And in this case, different is good. The advertising industry constantly objectifies and commodifies women by using their bodies to sell things. Feminists scholars have analyzed the oppressive nature of these ads and media representations that bombard women and girls with "an ideal of beauty defined as thin, lean, tall, young, white and heterosexual, with flawless skin and well-groomed hair" (Kirk and Rey, p. 208). This beauty standard is backed by a multi-billion dollar beauty industry. This industry signs the checks of the advertising industry, thus leading them to portray women and their bodies as a series of problems in need of correction.

The mood/tone these ads provoke are ones of acceptance, power and real beauty. Finally, every woman can see an ad and see a body that resembles their own. Instead of another ad to perpetuate the "tyranny of slenderness", as Kim Chernin calls it, women can see these ads and finally put an end to pursuing this unattainable beauty ideal (Kirk and Rey, p. 208).

The explicit message is that every woman, every shape and every size, is beautiful. The implicit message, from what I can gather, is trying to make every woman, and man, really believe that. Jean Kilbourne describes in her article, "The More You Subtract, the More You Add", the "toxic cultural environment" surrounding U.S girls and women and shows how advertising images can severely undermine girls self-confidence and sense of agency , which can lead to serious physical and emotional health problems (Kirk and Rey, p. 208). The message these ads are trying to illicit is one of encouragement to the young girls and women driven to unhealthy, often fatal, lifestyle habits. The ads can prove to women that they aren't the only ones who don't look like Kate Hudson or Ashely Olsen. They can encourage these women to see and accept their body and find a healthy and happy way to maintain it and love it.

The ads are trying to sell Dove products, body lotion, deodorant, shampoo etc. But, more importantly, the ads are trying to “sell” the idea of real beauty. They want society to see real women, accept their beautiful bodies and feel comfortable with them. The ads are assuming that society doesn’t already do this.

What these ads are telling me about how gender operates within culture is that culture is dominated by men. It is a fact that "patriarchy permeates the world’s religions, political systems and socio-cultural structures, which allows for, and supports, the power of men" (Seely, p. 4). And it is clear that the system of patriarchy runs the advertising world. These are some of the first ads I’ve ever seen that are geared towards women portraying them as exactly that, real women. Not supermodels, not Barbie dolls, but real women. And these ads are seen as revolutionary and thought provoking because we have never seen women like these before in the media.

This entire campaign wants us to love our bodies. And they want men to see them and love them as well. They are showing off the beauty of the female form as it really is.

Works Cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa- Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspective. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.

Seely, Megan. Fight like a Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print.

Latinas and Body Image-Extra Credit Response

Latinas and body image was an event showcasing a documentary titled Perfect which discussed body image and plastic surgery among women in Venezuela. I learned that the past few Ms. Universes were in fact Venezuelan women. The documentary showed both Venezuelan men and women discussing and explaining their opinion of female beauty. It was explained that in Venezuela it’s difficult to find an advertisement without a half naked women with a perfect body. And since it has been made perfectly clear that advertising and media are what project ideas of beauty onto society, it is no wonder that girls as young as 14 and 15 years old in Venezuela are already planning and saving for their surgeries.

One point made by a man in the documentary that I didn’t agree with was that Baywatch was the catalyst for this change in body image in Venezuela. This makes it sound like American’s are at fault for making Venezuelans act and feel a certain way. I understand that American media as a global effect but I believe that there must have been other factors in this transition.

After the film we discussed our reactions. A lot of people felt that women were only getting surgery in order to satisfy men, therefore taking steps backwards in gaining equal rights and status in society. Others believed that women were doing these surgeries to satisfy themselves, either for medical reasons like breast cancer reconstruction or personal reasons like low self esteem. I personally don’t judge others who choose surgery because it’s not my place. Every case is different. However, I can say that I would never choose it for myself.

Service learning proposal for 5k to support Women’s studies and YWLP

UCF Women’s studies department

By: Lauren Ellman

September 21, 2010

Meredith Tweed

WST 3015

Community Partner Profile

Community partner: UCF Women’s studies program

Contact: Meridith Tweed

Email: Mtweed@mail.ucf.edu

Mission statement: “The Women's Studies Program at the University of Central Florida is an interdisciplinary discipline using research and teaching to focus on the relations of gender among various races, ethnicities, sexualities, and other differences in our society.

Through its curricular and co-curricular programming on campus, the Women's Studies Program enhances diversity and supports women and their endeavors. Off campus, the program recognizes its responsibility to serve the larger Orlando community by striving to build and sustain partnerships that demonstrate the pragmatic importance of the issues concerning the program (http://womensstudies.cah.ucf.edu/).

The proposal

Memorandum

TO: Meredith L. Tweed

FROM: Lauren Ellman

DATE: September 16, 2010

RE: Proposal to plan a 5k fun-run fundraiser for the UCF Women’s studies program to benefit the YWLP

The following is a proposal to outline the needs, rational and feasibility for a service learning project to benefit the UCF Women studies program along with their community partner, YWLP (Young Women Leaders Program). The following proposal contains information on the need for and benefits of a 5k fun-run fundraiser for the Women studies program, an outline of my personal responsibilities behind the project, the rationale for its inclusion in WST 3015 and an approximate timeline.

Need for awareness and funding for the UCF Women studies program

The Women studies program at UCF is a relatively small program with limited funding. They currently sponsor their community partner, YLWP, by pairing collegiate women with middle school girls to promote the girls' leadership abilities. In mentoring pairs and small groups of Big and Little Sisters, participants focus on learning competence and autonomy, independent thinking, empowerment, self-esteem, and encouraging girls to think about their futures (YWLP site).

Being such a small program, this fundraiser will bring a much needed awareness to the Women’s studies department out in the Orlando community. This awareness will provide the credibility this departments needs in order to gain the reputation and respect it deserves.

The money raised will help benefit the staff and students of the UCF Women’s studies program by providing work materials, scholarships, books and even more staff members. This fundraiser will afford the UCF Women’s studies program and their community partners with the support necessary to allow them to accomplish their main goal which is to enhance diversity and support women and their endeavors.

Plan proposal

Throughout the remainder of the semester and on through next fall, our team will be working behind the scenes planning this fun-run fundraiser. We will be putting in the hours to perform the necessary, extensive research needed to provide the most efficient execution of this event. Although the event isn’t until next fall, a lot of work needs to go into it in order for it to accomplish its goal, which is to raise awareness and funding for the UCF Women studies program which will help benefit the YWLP.

Since the event is still in its preliminary stages, nothing has been set in stone. However, we have delegated responsibilities throughout the team. These responsibilities include funding, event/race day planning and execution, media campaign and the UCF administrative team.

This is an enormous event to undertake, and being the first one ever, it requires diligent planning and extensive research. That is what this semester is for. Once we have finished all of that, it will be our responsibility as a team to execute this event. If it all goes according to plan, we should see an overwhelming support for the UCF Women studies program through funding and community awareness. The money raised will benefit the department along with its community partners and the recognition will hopefully allow the fun-run to become an annual event.

Rationale for Women’s studies

This race is more than a fundraiser to raise money for a school program, it is an active way to bring awareness and cement our place in the academic community. Women’s studies haven’t always been a part of academia. It wasn’t until the 1970’s did we see the start of many women’s studies programs across the United States building on the insights, energies and activist commitments of the vibrant liberation movements of the times (p. 3, Kirk and Rey). However, the emphasis currently placed on the women’s studies department, specifically here at UCF, isn’t something to become complacent about. Yes, it exists, but to its full capacity? Of course not. That is why we need to incorporate fundraisers, such as this fun-run, in order to not only raise funds, but also awareness of our goals, our purpose, and our position.

The awareness raised through this fundraiser will help open the community’s eyes to what the Women’s studies program actually is. It will hopefully enlighten them on the true meaning of the feminist plight and erase their false notions. I hope to teach the community that “feminism simply means that women are equals of men” (p. 1, Seely). A lot of people are unfamiliar with real feminist goals, and I think that has to do a lot with miscommunication. By going out into the community and showing what we stand for, we will be able to educate them on what we’re really about, finally burying all of those nasty rumors and myths. In a way, the fundraiser will serve as a form of activism, because activism means “sharing our realties to educate one another on the challenges that persist” (p.15, Seely).

Finally, this fundraiser will support girls in the community by benefiting the YWLP. This will allow these young girls to be taught the fundamentals of women’s studies. The work done with the girls will provide them with the confidence necessary to succeed.

Action

My personal responsibility lies in the media campaign behind the event. I am responsible for securing and creating T-shirt design, race logo/graphics, race website, registration forms, race photography, media campaign (tv, radio spots, print), along with other marketing and promotional tasks. I do have close connections to graphic designers and Orlando news media, as well as experience in the industry to help make sure this media campaign exceeds expectations. Our team will be connecting via our Google group bi-weekly to provide status updates and meetings will be held throughout the semester to track our progress.

Timeline

Fall 2010-Prelimenary stages of planning and research

Spring 2011-Peparing event: Gathering volunteers, marketing the run, registering runners, etc.

A date for the fundraiser has yet to be determined, however, it will be taking place sometime at the beginning to the Fall 2011 semester.

Proposal word count: 982

Works cited:

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Seely, Megan. Fight Like a Girl: How to be a Fearless Feminist. New York: NYU, 2007.

University of Central Florida: College of Arts & Humanities: Women's Studies Program. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. .

University of Central Florida: College of Arts & Humanities: Women's Studies Program. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. .

Making an entrance

Hello ladies,

My name is Lauren Ellman. I am Junior Advertising and Public Relations major with a minor in Writing and certificate in Women’s Studies. I was born and raised in Miami, Fl and can’t wait to move back there. I currently am a diehard spinning fan, wannabe yogi, reality television junkie and devout animal lover.

I have always been interested in women’s studies and gender roles. As I’ve gotten older I feel like I have a better understanding of what it really means to be not only a woman, but also a strong, smart, respected, powerful, classy woman in today’s society. I make an effort to encourage the girls and women in my life to take pride in being a woman and to value themselves and love themselves. I also try to enlighten the boys and men in my life to open their minds and accept the fact that women are to be treated with love and respect. These are issues I feel passionately about and try to fit in to all parts of my life. I wasn’t aware that this class was a service learning class, but when I found out I was genuinely excited. I am very much looking forward to going out into the community and enriching the lives of young girls and women who aren’t as fortunate.

In regards to gender and the role it plays in my life, I’d have to say it doesn’t really affect me directly on a daily basis. However, I have come across my share of sexist remarks or old school mentalities that make me speak up. In my opinion, the only difference between the genders is the different ways society has been taught to view them. Sure, I’d say I fit neatly into a certain gender role, but what about those who don’t? What about those young men and women who have to struggle everyday to try and fit in to societal standards of what they should wear or say or act? I want to be a voice for those people and spread the word as much as I can that they aren’t any different.

I am looking forward to learn in this class about the history of women’s rights, what our current rights are, what are today’s societal differences between men and women and the presence of specific gender roles and how they change from place to place. I am hoping that by learning more about these topics I can gain a better feminist insight and more effectively share it with anyone willing to listen.

This class seems like it’s just what I need to push myself further in my efforts to open up the minds of those tied down by gender roles and sexism. I am hoping it will give me the confidence to pursue a future in feminist activism, because it has always been something I’ve thought about but never had an outlet for.

I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.