End of the Semester - sigh*

The semester is quickly wrapping up and I couldn't be happier! I loved this class. I felt like I was exposed to so much and I learned some really interesting stuff. Most classes are all about theory and history, this class was about exposure and it was great!

I was never bored. Each topic was explained to the fullest and we learned about current events, which I believe to be most useful. It was always a great way to end the week!

Karrine Steffans

Graduates gave their presentations today. I found the one about Karine Steffans to be the most interesting. I had no idea who she was or what she had done. Again, this class has made me feel like I am only aware about what goes on within my community. I have really opened up to learning about other cultures and current events.

I wondered why there hasn't been much publicity of her in magazines outside the black community.

Thoughts about "A Girl Like Me"

I enjoyed watching the movie "A girl like me". I thought it was so interesting and I guess I was kind of ignorant as to what African-American girls go through when growing up. As a Hispanic, I found some similarities between the two races.

I started thinking about how in hispanic communities we often stereotype hispanics by the way we talk or where we are from. There are chicanos, Mexicans, latinos and mix. There are stereotypes within the Hispanic community from the lighter hispanics to the darker, etc.

I thought the study the author of the video did with the dolls was shocking. It's incredible that nothing has changed within our society.

African-American Women

I was very shocked to read that African-American women are so much more likely to get diabetes and die from breast cancer. I wasn't aware of it and found it very much surprising.

I also watched the video on ABC's website about interracial couples and how they are growing. I found it interesting that the number is increasing. The video mentioned how women are meeting men in the workplace and that often African-American men are not at the same professional levels they are. This can be foreshadowed by the number of African-American men in school which is less than that of women.

I don't think that interracial marriage is a problem, it's just interesting to see how things are changing.

Asian Stereotypes

After reading the ABC article about Bruce Lee, I started thinking about Hollywood movies with Asian actors and realized there really aren't any popular movies where Asian characters aren't portrayed as something other than fighters.

I asked my husband to randomly name movies with Asian actors/actresses. Here is what he came up with:

• Romeo must die
• Charlies Angels
• Rush Hour
• Enter the dragon
• Live free or die Hard
• The Last Samurai

In all these movies, the characters portrayed know martial arts. I then asked him if he could name a movie where the Asian character didn't know martial arts. The only one he could come up with, after a few minutes was "Memoirs of a Geisha".

Killer Shoes?

I don't know that I could describe Christian Louboutin shoes as "bondage". It doesn't surprise me much that shoes like these are entering the market. After all, look around at some of the things that people are wearing now and in years past. Think back to the black dog-spiked necklaces or the black cuffed bracelets. All you have to do is walk into a Hot-Topic store next time you are at the mall and get a glimpse of some real "dark" fashion.

These shoes are nothing new.

AXE & Dove Commercials

I found it absurd, and somewhat ridiculous, that Dove would put together this whole campaign about talking to your daughters, then the same company putting together commercials such as the ones presented in class by AXE.

How is it they can get away with it? It is perhaps because there really hasn't been a lot of media coverage on the issue that people aren't aware of it. Companies like this probably know that people aren't informed and know they can get away with it.

Even though, they are not doing anything illegal. Is it considered misleading advertising? Their messages aren't conflicting if they are seen as two separate ads. But it is a question of morality, and the only way to put an end to companies creating campaigns like this would be for people to be more informed and decide if they want to continue purchasing their products.