Where's the Intimacy ?

Until recently, I don't think I've really considered media's complete influence on society. And I think part of the reason I haven't is because I am a digital native. I don't know a world without technology, so how can I completely understand the changes media has brought about? I think digital immigrants have a much better understanding of just how drastically media has influenced our lives. Today, we discussed the ways in which media influences dating, friendships, sex, speaking, privacy, and so on. Basically what I've taken from this is that the more media there is, the less intimacy we have. I don't think you can have both, so it's just a sacrifice we'll have to make as the future becomes more and more advanced. Online dating for instance, where's the intimacy in that? And the whole idea of "sexting" (sending sexual text messages/performing sexual favours through text).. what???
Media also removes intimacy from our homes. My house consists of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, dining room, and basement with an additional kitchen. And honestly, there are time when I'll be thinking I'm the only one home, when really my siblings are too. But because we're off doing our own things in different spaces, its hard to tell who'se home and who's not. With little-no interaction with eachother, there's less intimacy in the home. In fact, I remember years back when msn was first introduced when me and my sister would IM eachother when we we're just across the hall from one another. Its ridiculous.
And of course, there's media's influence on privacy but I think that's pretty obvious to comprehend.
Basically, though our lives become much easier as media advances, we loose intimacy in virtually every aspect of our lives. In my opinion, this is very disappointing. What do you think?

Not Everything Is What It Appears To Be ..

- This is not Audrey Hepburn.

The Imaginary is the new Real

A few years back I was in Toronto for a tennis tournament and while I was down there, I had the opportunity to do pretty much whatever until the day of the tournament. My friends and I were wandering Yonge St. and ended up at MTV, a popular TV network station , originally known for airing music videos, but currently airs a variety of content. Just in time for the airing of MTV Live, we joined their live audience. MTV Live, for those of you who don't know is a popular talk show that features daily news, celebrity interviews and live music performances. Anyways, the point of my story is that after all these years of experiencing the imaginary (on TV), I became a part of the real. It was cool and all, but let me tell you.. watching the imaginary all of those years, all of a sudden, was a more enjoyable experience for me. Actually being in the studio was so much less appealing for me. Seeing the set, all the cameras and unflattering lights, the dusty floors, etc. It was like I was in a totally different environment. Also, turns out there's only three rows of audience members whereas on TV it seems like there's an incredible audience every time! I was very disappointed. At the same time, it was cool to see the people run the show, and how everything was put together. I guess what I'm trying to say is it seems that as we disconnect with real, and connect more with the imaginary, not only does it replace the real but seems more appealing than what is real.

So much, So little time

I'm not looking to write something intelligent here; I have 15 minutes before my next class and have yet done something productive today, so this is where I've ended up.. blogging, trying to accomplish something, anything. I guess thats not the best statement to be making.. it actually scares me a little that I have so much due in the next month and so little time to do it, and here I am doing nothing but procrastinating. Part of me wants to say theres no time, but really, theres lots of time (approx. 35 days!) I don't know why I've been a little closed-minded lately.. I can't seem to get myself to do anything productive and when I do, the focus is hardly there. Maybe I'm just distracted. With spring break just finishing, the Olympics, and the nice weather (finally), I think I'd rather just do other things...

Classtime!
See you all tomorrow!

Lesbian lip-locks, racy stage performances, Ellen & Portia!

SO sad I was not able to attend neither of this weeks lectures on the "Queer Theory". I've heard a few of the responses to tuesday's and thursday's lectures and needless to say, it seems that everyone found them enjoyable. Again, so sad I wasn't there. However, I did manage to read most of the readings and a few of my classmates' blogs and I felt inspired to write one myself. Last night I began thinking a little about homosexuality; I started linking it to some of the course material we've already learned: racism,ideology, and binarism. The binary opposition is obvious: Heterosexuality vs Homosexuality. Homosexuality is a lot like racism in the sense that homosexuals are discriminated by those heterosexual, just as non-whites are discriminated by whites; and like racism, homosexuality is very much swept under the rug (I really believe this). We, as members of society, say we believe in equality and fairness. But if this were true, do you think there would be such big commotions towards Lady GaGa and her genitalia, the infamous kiss between Britney and Madonna, and, more recent, Adam Lambert's racy stage performances? No. As for ideology, it turns out to be a very powerful thing: ideology is to blame for inequality and unfairness. The constant reminder that heterosexuality is normal instantly depreciates homosexuals. What if homosexuality was the norm? Whose to say it isn't? Ideology; it constantly reinforces heterosexuality. What I find particularly interesting is that even though both men and women express homosexuality, gay men are more subjected to discrimination. For instance, take Ellen Degeneres and her female lover Portia de Rossi. Ellen has always been very open and proud of her sexuality and so has Portia. Wouldn't you agree that this lesbian couple is very respected? Perhaps one of the most respected lesbian couples there are. This is not to say people did 'talk' or 'make deal' of Ellen and her partner - I mean, surely there were those who disapproved.. but I don't think its wrong to say their relationship is highly respected to some degree. In contrast, when a homosexual man reveals his sexuality, its like he receives twice the discrimination as homosexual women, and enough publicity and criticism to last MONTHS. What do you think?

Racism on a Chessboard

Why is it that the white team always starts first?

Maybe? Maybe not..

Okay so maybe not. Maybe my last blog post didn't make much sense.. but it sure did at the time. Mind you, prior to blogging I had just finished one of the assigned readings which, needless to say, was very complex to comprehend making it more than likely, for me to get lost somewhere in it. Nonetheless, I appreciate the comments :)
Moving on, I don't really have much to add this blog, maybe just a comment or two on our previous lecture on "The Cyborg". No, I haven't actually read it just yet but I will (really) because I'm quite enjoying feminism thus far. I'm finding it less far-fetched than say, Psychoanalytic theory and just overall more interesting. Aside from learning what a softy Dr. Pound is, I've taken in a lot from the past two classes. After realizing men and women have both masculine and feminine traits, I thought about some of the masculine traits I may have as a woman: so I wear a ton of plaid, have leather cowboy-like boots, and since I am not the most curvaceous women, I guess that could be considered more masculine than feminine ..

The End.

The other

Sadly, I couldnt think of a better, more interesting title for this blog. But I can certainly relate it to today's lecture on feminism and the patriarchal structure. The "other" is a representation of women. To be the other is to be everything men are not: powerless, penis-less, nameless, etc. Or at least this is what I'm getting from today's lecture. I suppose the lowercase letters show how women lack identity and power. Maybe this was unnecessary because I think the word "other" alone is vague and unspecific enough to not have any significance in comparison to the word "Man." And if the "other" has no significance, it certainly doesn't belong in the center of a system such as a patriarchal system. Rather, the other belongs in the background, off to the side, in the margins, etc. As a woman, you can imagine, that this doesn't sit so well with me as I'm sure it doesn't sit well with many, if not ALL of my fellow lady classmates. And it shouldn't, because it's not right. But it comes so naturally that we hardly recognize it. We understand that its there, but we simply just accept it...sort of. Hm. I want to take a step back to talk more about the "other". So if the other has no stability or identity, it's kind of cloudy, or imaginary you would think. So does this mean that women are closer to the imaginary? Maybe this is why we always feel that we are lacking something, whether it is beauty or a particular shape, or something. We see these imaginary ideals or fantasies and this is why we always feel we are lacking something. Make sense? maybe.