I feel that there have been many things that I have learned from this class. From day one I did not really know what to expect, and put my expectations as just becoming a better writer. From all of my English classes I have taken previously I was shocked to see the pace and depth this course went into. All other classes that I have taken just show the basics and structures, bet have never applied things to the real world. I am also very happy in how my writing has improved. With all of the new ideas and concepts that I have learned in this course I was able to pick out a subject to write about. Before coming into this course it was very difficult for me to decide on a topic to write about, and now I feel I have learned to look deeper and pull out important details that are not seen right from the start. Some of the stories we read were very shocking, but I am happy that I put in a class that presented these concepts to me. I have always been aware of difficult situations and problems different classes and people have faced. After the things we have read, and to the depth we had to go to discuss and regurgitate what we had learned gave me a greater knowledge. I have seen a lot more perspectives and problems that occur everyday that I never even think about. Most importantly, I feel that I have taken on a greater respect and understanding for people that do not seem “normal” to me. Gender and rhetoric is a very important topic to discus because we face it every day. My expectations were passed and I am happy that i stuck through this course.

Last one...

I dreaded this class more then any other class this semester. If you ask any student at Purdue what their hardest class is, chances are it would not be an English class. I'm not saying that it's easy, but English comes naturally to a majority of students. But that's not the case for me. In math, one plus one has to equal two. In science, the trajectory of a canon ball can be calculated. To say that a paper can be written only one way is impossible. To say that we knew exactly what the author was thinking when he wrote a piece of work is illogical.

I can confidently say that even though my writing skills are not to the level that I would like them, I have become more confident in my writing. I'm not afraid to write a paper. The mistakes I make will always be there. My understanding of the English language is less then others, but I'm not afraid of that anymore. Once I start to write, I feel a passion to continue. If I feel someone wants to read my work, I become motivated to get my point out on paper, no matter how weak the structure may be. If I could take this class again, knowing what I know now about the English language, I think I'd happier with the grade I would receive.

I don't feel comfortable in talking about my teacher during this blog but I will say that, if I would have taken English with a different teacher, I doubt my confidence in writing would be where it is today. I wouldn't have found a teacher that would take an hour out of his week to work with me on the fundamentals if writing and the very basics of English. Did I learn every little rule to fallow when structuring a sentence, paragraph, of paper...No. But I stuck in their and learned the basics and when it's all said and done, I'm a better writer because of the time my teacher spent with me. The confidence I have in writing is at a level I've never had before.

My expectations for English 106 were very different from the actual class that took place. I learned things that, not only will help me in the rest of my life as a student, but my life as a person. I feel I am a better person because of this class. (Movies will not be the same, that's for sure.)

The only way I would recommend English 106 to incoming freshmen, is if they had Richard Severe as their teacher. I can't see any other teacher that would have the impact that he has had on my reading skills, writing skills, my ideas on society, and the thought process of my day to day actions. Where would I be if I had the English teacher who had his/her class watch movies all day, just to discuss what type of hero the movie portrayed? I can only imagine.

Class

Since the first day of English class, I have come to realize and recognize many of society’s stereotypes and social issues. Before, I did not really think about stereotypes, such as race expectations, as deeply as we have covered in class. The ideas were very interesting, but I think maybe more, meaning not only blogs, could have been related to these topics. I did not expect much from this class, being an English class, but overall, it has been a very interesting experience full of ideas, but has been much more difficult that I had expected. My expectations in terms of learning about social issues were met; the writing aspect has seemed to be a bit random, with papers and grades seemingly coming out of nowhere. It seemed a bit unorganized, but I do not really have any way to fix or correct it in a better way. If a freshman student was very interested in learning and understanding social stereotypes and issues, along with some interesting argument writing types, I would really recommend this class, even though it was a harder class than one would expect. While we had interesting discussions, I myself learned and was more interested in the reading and ideas themselves rather than the discussion of them. Overall, it was a very interesting class, a bit tough, but worth it in terms of the changes it brings to one’s thoughts, ideas, and view on society itself.

Sources

English 106 has helped my to learn different writing techniques, different research techniques, and how to look at a piece of writing from multiple angles. All of these are important for a collage student to be successful in their journey to graduation, however the most important of these would have to be learning different research techniques, and learning how to spot a good source, from an unreliable one.

Granted I'm only a first year student at Purdue, but if I would not have taken this class, chances are I would still be unaware of the Purdue libraries search tool. Would other teachers have told me this page exists, or would my roommates find the time to show me this helpful search devise that would benefit me for the rest of my collage career. In asking one roommate (who tested out of English at Purdue) if he knew about the research tool on Purdue's website, his response was no! He's been going to school here for two years and was unaware of this incredible search engines at our disposal. Needless to say I showed him where to find the page and how to use it.

Another aspect of research that I have learned from this class is how to identify a good source from an unreliable one. The internet, in general, is a vast world of endless knowledge. But we must be careful what we read and what we believe is true. In our paper about important topics that plague and divide our nation, I found a cite that was against prayer in school. As I read on, I learned that this cite had no credibility what so ever to the causes they were speaking out against, not to mention any foundation for what they supported. In other cite reviews I found public speaker's, founding fathers, the chain of high-ups, supporters stories, reviews from important and infantile individuals, and credible information on the group at hand.

To say that English 106 is going to help me in my quest to write better papers, produce better research, and get me through collage is a large understatement. This class has taught me to find sources for a research paper, review different sources for credibility, and use them effectively to produce a paper that I can be proud of.

Oh English 106 Class!

I came into English 106 expecting it to be like any other English class I have had. I heard from older siblings that this class was an easy A so I was rather excited. Little did I know how much I was about to learn and how much my writing would change. The first Monday in the computer lab was one of the scariest days of my life! I did not know what I had gotten myself into and I was estimating my possible grade already. But once I surpassed the first week or so I began to be more comfortable and open to what we were learning. This class has far surpassed by expectations and I feel more socially aware of the world with respect to gender and rhetoric. I loved the class discussions because they helped me analyze stories involving gender issues. This class has been extremely useful and I feel more socially intelligent and I can even see the things we discussed in class during every day life! It is amazing how I never realized these things before. I have looked back at my first paper and compared it with the last paper I wrote and I cannot believe the difference. I never thought writing was my strong point, but now I am more confident in my writing abilities. I have also become stronger in editing my own papers as well, after our editing exercise I can pick out grammar flaws and transition errors. I would highly recommend this class to every incoming freshman, so Mr. Severe get excited to have about 7,000 students next year!

Day on campus is one of the most relaxing and yet overwhelming days of my collegiate life. The entire day is filled with tours, lectures, money spending, and of course getting the so important class schedule. At that exact moment that my advisor made my class schedule that included English, I was not so happy. English is a subject that is either loved or hated. Through my rigorous years of English studies, frustration has been the common emotion expressed. English class comes easy to some people and vigorously challenging to others. The first day of class was the low down lecture on how many papers we were going to have to complete. The worst thing about the day was that Mr. Severe said,"this class is going to be harder than every other English 106 class." It is a fact that this class was harder than most. Every other person in my major has loved their English classes for the fact that they may happen to write a paper or two that are a page or two long and have a crappy no brainier topic. It is proved that this English class has brought me a ton of new information on several aspects of grammar as well as my reading comprehension.
The way this English class changes my views about society and gender related issues would blow most people away. The ways men and women interact is seen differently by the information we have learned in class. My expectations have been met in some ways but not in others. If I could change anything about this year, it would be my lack of attention to out of class work. One of the things that I feel I have accomplished well is my writing. After comparing the first paper to the last, it is obvious how my grammar has changed.
If I could give advice to an incoming freshman, I would tell them to request Richard Severe if you want to get your moneys worth. To be honest, I hated the fact that it was English class, but, having Mr. Severe as a teacher made the class awesome. It could have been called a party instead of class. The discussions we had in class made everybody delve into themselves for their core beliefs on different topics. This class is really relevant to day to day life issues. The first day we had a discussion, I felt like the smartest person in the world. Overall, I have enjoyed all aspects of this amazing English class.

The amazing English 106 class of 2006

I enjoyed this class more than any other and that is my honest opinion. I learned not only a lot about writing but about society as well. I looked forward to the days that we discussed the green book most of all. Discussing how male and female roles in society can become problematic is something that I don't think I will ever stop thinking about. Even today, I find myself watching movies and commenting to friends about the male and female roles within the movie and the erotic triangles forming. I have definately changed since the first day of class. I see myself as being more aware of gender roles as well. I definately think that all my expectations were met about this class. Not only did I fulfill my required english credit, but I learned a lot and had fun while doing it. I will have nothing but great things to say about this class and would definately advise freshman to take it. I would recommend this specific class to anyone. I'd do this because I really think that this class better prepares you for life after college. I am here to learn how to lead a stable life in my later years and am 100.00% convinced that this class will help me out. The discussions were great, I loved hearing everyone's opinion about the subject matter because the discussions allowed me to see how different people have different opinions of the subject matter. I've been stressing a lot on how much I enjoyed this class and how much I've learned about society but I've also learned a lot about becoming a better writer and I think I have done so. I think that my organizational skills and my ability to articulate what I want to say have both improved greatly. I attribute this to the writing exercises and the editing of papers which we did often. I hope my comments have been helpful. I really haven't been critical of anything because I don't think that the class can improve enough to be significant.

Overview

When I first arrived to the classroom in August, I was scared and a little overwhelmed. I didn't know how I would be able to handle this class but now looking back, I am incredibly greatful that I got placed into the class that I did. I have learned a great deal in this class, and also learned to observe people in a light that I never knew existed. When I was home for Thanksgiving break, I gave a big speal to everyone on homosocial bonds and male friendships and how they have evolved over time. I was shocked with what I was saying, but had a sense of accomplishment and pride that I have gained from this class alone.
The main thing that I will take away from this class, is how I should not ever judge people. after reading the things that we did in class, things have changed, and my views on other people have been forever changed. All my expectations that I had for this class over the summer have been met 100% and I would definantly recomend this class to any incoming freshman, and I would hope that they got a class as great as ours. I am so glad that we had a theme to the class that is applicabe to the world that we live in, and are surrounded by each day, and that is what I appreciate most about what I have learned. I can honestly say that I will miss coming in a having our class discussions!

English 106

The first day, I was completely shocked. This class was nothing like what I expected an english class to be like. I figured it would be another boring english class, where we have to write uninteresting papers. But this class was the complete opposite. This class helped me open my mind and make me more aware of the world I live in, while at the same time, writing papers. I think I have improved my writing, and developed a new way of thinking and organizing my ideas. My thoughts have changed drastically, I find myself noticing things we've discussed in class. Associating some of the reasons of behavior to my boyfriend. When he says some things or acts in a certain way around boys, what use to not make sense, now does. I have always been a generally open person to different ideas. But I've found myself trying to get others to open the minds, and be more open to different ideas, even if they don't fully agree with them. I've learned a greatly understanding to people that have different believes or act in ways that aren't socially accepted by society. I would definitely recommend this course to incoming freshman. It may have been a lot of work, but in the end I learned so much. And the work that was done, was writing on subjects that became interesting. The content of the material overall was new information, there were some things I had heard before, but overall it was a new experience. The discussions in class were always interesting, and helped make this crazy world make sense, well at least a little bit. Not only were the discussions worthwhile, but learning about grammar was really helpful. I have never really learned all the rules, or at least remembered them. It was really nice to have the review, and a better understanding of the english language. This class has been a great experience, opened my mind and prepared for my next semesters as a college student.

This class was definately not exactly what is was expecting elnglish to be, but it definately turned out to be a valuable course to my overall education. Since i am in engineering, most of my core classes are all science and math so it is nice to be able to do some creative thinking and exploring outside the parameters of mathematics. Thius class was structured to provoke thought from a different perspective and it really helps in life in general to be able to see things from another side. It is very tough to get students to analyze views from a different view, but mr. severe presented the material in many different ways ranging from readings, to personal experiences, to class discussions, to movies. He basically covered each area of possible methods of teaching to make sure everyone got the general message in one way shape or form. Also, since my though was stimulated through this course, i feel my creative writing, structuring of my papers, and grammar have all become much stronger than before. as much as i hate these blogs, i look back at it and they truly areis is key if you want students to understand what is going on in a course especially one like this. a great way to express views, thoughts and work on your writing. i was getting better at my writing skills by typing blogs and i didnt even know it until now. I liked how mr. severe didnt assign busy work to justg give us grades, he was more worried about understanding concepts than completing assignments,. th Also, i feel he has made me feel more confortable in stating my beliefs whereas before i would sometimes be slow to share how i felt on a certain situation in fear of offending someone else. overall, this class has been a great experience and i enjoyed it very much. Plus mr. severe was helpful in any way he could be of service to make us better writers and people in general. the ideas and topics this course is built on gives you much more insight and understanding to differences people have.

English 106

English 106 has been a good experience. Although this class proved to be much more difficult than I had anticipated by forcing me to spend a significant amount of time on the papers and reading, I have learned a great deal about gender, writing, and reading. Also, the discussion portion of this class, although out of my comfort zone, was interesting.

Before starting classes this semester I talked to my brother and sister about the level of difficulty of the classes I would be taking. Both of them, along with their friends agreed that Bio 121 and Chem 115 were the most difficult, while english and lab modules were a breeze. To my surprize, I ended up spending as much time in English as any other class, and have a very good chance of getting a B. Although sometimes I am upset about my grade in this class and kind of wish that I had tried to find a less difficult teacher(Nothing against you), I am very pleased with the amount of learning that I have done. Even though I may get a B I have learned a lot.

My writing and reading skills have gotten much better over the course of this semester. I have never been forced to really put thought into what I was writing or reading; normally producing a document got me an A. This pressure forced me to think about how to approach writing and reading. I learned that clear expression and fluid transitions were much more important than using large words and lengthy sentences. The latter method only makes writing sound pretentious. Also, I learned how to read for great detail. The quizzes for LOTF were the most difficult quizzes I have ever taken. Never have I been forced to read for such great detail, which forced me to read on another level. Although my quiz scored were horrible I became a more effective reader.

Although my grade in this class has put a lot of pressure on me, it is necessary to cause a deeper level of learning. If I had a 98 percent all semester, I would have learned half as much as I did. Mr. Severe's methods of teaching, although causing me a lot of stress, were effective in their purpose.

ENGL 106 Evaluation

This class was definitely not what I expected it to be. After we were assigned our first reading and I read it, I was asking myself, “What the heck is this class?” I still really do not like that story, but now I understand what the meaning behind of it was. I really think this class opened my mind up to thinking deeper about certain situations and evaluating people’s responses and actions more. When I am watching TV I find myself seeing the topics that we have discussed, such as homosocial bond, memetic desire, mob violence, scapegoats, heternormative, assimilation, and emasculation. Our discussions in class were very interesting and fun to me. It was hard to put those thoughts down on paper though. I never really figured out how to go about that. This class was very challenging and required a lot of time, more so than I thought it would. This was unfortunate for me though. I want to be a nurse, but I have other classes that go more towards my major that I had to develop my time to. I liked taking this class, I just wish it would have not been as challenging so I could have done better in it while still being able to do well in my other classes. Even though English does not apply to every major. I think it is important to be able to write well, speak well, and to expand your horizons about what is going on in the world around you. There are a lot of kids that come from small towns that are not aware of all the stereotypes and discrimination in our country today. I do feel that my writing skills have improved and my expectations were met.

106

I have to admit that I was intimidated on the first day of class. It seemed to me that college English was something I would not be able to handle. That first story we read about the incestuous boy really made it hit that I wasn't in high school anymore. As the semester went on, though, I really got into the discussions. I was used to a teacher just picking some random theme or symbol from a text that had nothing to do with anything and focusing on that. I always thought that was pointless, and it was. The great thing about this semester is that we search for meaning in the text that exemplifies the behavior of people we see on a daily basis. That makes it seem worthwhile reading the book and, for me, much easier to discuss in class. I also appreciated going over some of the basic grammar rules. It did seem somewhat juvenile at times, but the fact that we struggled with some of the concepts shows that we needed it. Its hard to remember things we learned six years ago or so. Many teachers would just leave it alone and then penalize heavily for mistakes on papers. Its nice that we got a chance to improve our grammar and increase our chances of doing well on papers. It really sucks when you write a good paper, then get all of your points stricken by dumb little mistakes.

Our English 106 Class

Overall I have really learned a lot from this class. Not only have I learned how to be a better writer, but I have learned that I do not mind writing. I have always considered myself more of a math and science person. Now, I think that I was shaped this way because of past experiences. In high school I was challenged more in my chemistry and calculus classes than I ever was in my literature classes. I was never really taught a lot in English, and therefore did not feel completely comfortable with my writing. However, this class has done so much for me. I know I have become a much better writer, and I know this will benefit me throughout the rest of my college years. My views on both gender and society are much different now. As I am a very quiet person, it was very difficult for me to always participate in the class discussions; sometimes, the ideas we were talking about were so new to me that I did not even know where to begin. It was interesting and enlightening to hear the many different viewpoints of my classmates, and how they developed throughout the semester. It is funny because now, as I am with my boyfriend or other male friends, I notice things they do try and appear more masculine. However, I also notice men acting against the social norms. It is not uncommon at all for my dad and brothers to say “I love you,” to each other. I am also able to view different ethnic groups in society differently, and notice more of the hardships they must face on a daily basis. The blogs we wrote also helped me to get my ideas out on paper and it was interesting to see what classmates thought as well. However, I wish we would have had more of notice on some of the blogs. For example, on Tuesdays after English I have two more classes, a two hour lab that often runs late and a power hour. I found it difficult a few times to make it to a computer with enough time to send my blog by 10:00. My expectations for this class have been more than met. I came in on the first day thinking this class would be reflective of my high school English classes, however, I have learned so much more. I am very glad I had the opportunity to learn so much, and would recommend this class to any incoming freshmen that are willing to work hard.

Class Evaluation

On the very first day of school I was dreading going to this class and having to take it for an entire semester. I had always struggled with writing in high school and I knew this class was going to be very challenging for me. Even though I still do not enjoy writing this class definitely kept me interested and made writing a little easier. The subject matter of society, gender, and rhetoric was something that none of my previous classes had ever discussed before. Because of this I learned a great deal about the society that we live in and how viewpoints on certain topics differ between different races, religions, and backgrounds. I have gained much knowledge on areas that I was unfamiliar with and naïve about before. This class opened my eyes to many issues facing society and taught me to be more opened minded about the beliefs and view of everyone around me.
In addition, the class discussions that we had were great because they made the class interact together and I could hear the different opinions of my classmates and how they compared with my own beliefs. These class discussions made the class much more interesting for me because I knew I was going to learn something new every day.
As a writer I think I have improved in several ways. For starters, I am not as intimidated at the thought of having to write long papers as I used to be, and I know how to better create ideas and get them down on paper. Although I believe my writing has become more college acceptable I still know there are many aspects of writing that I need to work on. This class has also given me resources, like the Purdue online library and writing lab, which I can use in many different classes throughout my college career.
Overall I thought this class was much better than I had previously thought on that first day of school. I learned a great deal, not only about myself as a writer but also about the world that we live in. I would definitely recommend this class to any incoming freshman because even though it has been very challenging at times, in the long run students will learn so much that will help them in the future.

This past semester has been a very big experience for me. Not only was this my first semester in collage, but it was also the first time I was truly challenged in an English class. When I first walked into the classroom, I honestly thought that this was going to be a pushover class, on the account that every upperclassman informed me that it was easy. This thought quickly changed when our work load began. The work was not a whole lot, but what we did get really made me think. Not only did this class make me think about many things while doing my homework, but it also made me think about issues while watching movies and doing other trivial activities such as surfing the net. For example, when my roommate turned on Legally Blonde last week, I actually began to think about gender in society and how it related to some of the scenes in the movie. This is not the only way I have been effected by this class; I also believe I became a better writer. First and foremost, I definitely learned how to use citations properly. I remember my first paper got a low grade because of citation errors, but my second paper had no such problems. Because of this class, I have no doubt in my mind that I have been properly prepared to type collage level papers, although I probably have things that I still need to learn. I would definitely recommend this class to incoming freshmen on the account that it does not baby them, it prepares them for what is to come for their future semesters. The discussions were thought provoking and made me come to terms with some real life issues, such as how hard it is for some males to grow up, expected to act strong all the time to be considered a "true man." At times, it was hard to actually participate in conversations on the account that at times I felt like I did not know what to say, at all, but as stated earlier, these conversations really made me think about many topics. At times, I felt like I was being pushed too much into doing too much work in too little of a time slot, but as I said before, it was preparing us for what is to come. If we can not handle these freshmen classes, we might as well stop now, because it is only going to get harder from here on out. I say all freshmen should have to take a class like this, if only to prepare them for what collage will be like, or to maybe even teach them how to think about basic things in our society.

Sources

Throughout the semester we have utilized numerous sources that have been very helpful. These sources include the course packet, Purdue online library, and the writing lab. The course packet contained stories that dealt with various controversial issues. I learned a lot about different cultures, religions, beliefs, and how people can have very different viewpoints on similar topics. These stories really made me think about the society that we live and opened my eyes to many issues. Additionally, I not only enjoyed reading these stories but our class discussions about these controversial topics were also very interesting because you got to hear the views of your peers and give your opinion as well. The Purdue online library was very beneficial for finding books and articles when writing our papers for this class. For both papers the search engines, Jstor and the Academic Search Premiere, had a lot of great information that I could use. Knowing that these search engines were credible places was helpful because you knew you were getting accurate and solid information. Lastly, the online writing lab was very useful when I needed help with MLA format or just simple grammar questions. On many occasions I emailed the people at the writing lab with questions about my papers, and each time they responded with very helpful information. Even though there were many other sources that we used during this class I felt that these three were the most valuable to me. The knowledge that I gained from the course packet, in combination with the resources of the online library, and writing lab, are things that I will be able to make use of throughout my college career.

Sources

When I think about the sources that were given to us this year I think of the green book, the Internet, Purdue’s Internet library, handouts and our discussions in class. Each source was helpful in different times. The green book helped open up my mind to thinking deeper about things and what this class is really focused on. It was not always pleasant to read, but I learned a lot from using it. The Internet was very helpful when we were doing or argument paper. Since we needed up to date information the Internet was an easy way to find such things. Purdue’s Internet library really came in handy on this last paper. Using scholarly journals was new to me and gave me a different outlook on writing a paper. The handouts of grammar and irregular verbs really refreshed my memory and made my papers sound and look better. Our discussions in class were probably my favorite thing. It is interesting to hear people’s opinion on different topics. Also talking about the subjects made it easier to understand what the class is about and helped me get a new perspective on things. I tried to use all of the sources to my benefit and to get everything out of them that I could. It was not always easy though. I am used to just using books or the Internet as sources to write either and opinion paper or a research paper. So it was difficult when I had to come up with the basis of the paper and only be able to use selective material. However, for what we were doing in the class is was important to know about these sources and to be able to use them.

stuff

The sources that we used throughout the course of the semester ranged from very helpful to unhelpful. I really didn't think the text was very useful just because it did not really give much insight past people hating another group of people. The strories conveyed good messages, it was just that it was all basically the same, and that is being you need to repsect people for who they are. The movies and tv shows we watched were extrmemly helpful because i am more a visual person and it was also entertaining at the same time. IT was nice to be able to watch simpsons and get useful academic information out of it as well. I would have to say my favorite was when mr. severe did the presentation on purdue's library sources and having him force us to research different things. this was especially useful and i must admit if he never showed us this method of research, i probably would not have even used these valuable resources. The only one i did not really care for was Jstore just because it was a bit confusing to me and it didnt really deliver much information that i felt i could use. I am also very glad that we were shown exactly how to use the library search engine, this helped me a ton for the two papers we wrote which required textual references. Overall, i was really pleased witht he resources available to us in the class.

English 106 Sources

I have to admit that most of the stories or documentaries we read in the “Big Green Book” were extremely hard to read. It was not the way stories were written, or the content, they were just extremely long at times and boring. But, I am glad that we read them. I would have to admit I’m a sheltered girl and I feel as though I have experienced so much more about the world just by reading these stories. I liked being more aware of how each race feels living in America and also about the gender conflicts, especially the story of the Navajo tribe. The story “To Be Poor and Transgender,” opened my eyes to a world I had never even heard of. Mr. Severe said in class that he has about this since he was younger living in Miami, and through this story I realized that I was sheltered and that the world is a lot different than I thought. Reading the stories on mob-violence was extremely beneficial to be because I remembered our conversations in class and I applied it to my Lord of the Flies paper. After reading all these stories I am starting to analyze everything now! It is crazy but I notice more and more in movies, especially the Grey’s episode we had to write about, it was full of so much we have been learning about! All the stories fit into our curriculum in class this semester. Some stories took extra thinking to understand the points they were trying to make, but most seemed clear and to the point. All the readings and class discussions have helped me think outside of the box and to analyze events even closer. The next time one of my friends is having an issue with two boys that like her, I will explain to her that she is involved in an erotic triangle!

Sources

The sources that helped me the most were the writing lab and Purdue online library. Both of these greatly helped with my writing through both easily finding research and composing my paper correctly. The writing lab and online library proved to be very beneficial in writing for this class.

The writing lab was very helpful in both helping me organize my paper and write my paper. At times I had difficulty with expressing what I wanted to say in the correct fashion. A visit to the help lab helped me see more clearly exactly what outline would express the idea I wanted to get across most clearly. Also, after creating the structure for the paper I often had trouble with details of my writing. It has always been difficult for me to see clear ways of writing introductions and conclusions and how to connect my ideas with transitions. The writing lab helped me with this by giving suggestions for improvement.

The Purdue online library was very beneficial in my research for papers this semester. The variety of search engines and subjects within this site were extremely helpful in research. The great volumes and topics covered in this site were impressive and contained a great deal of advanced information covering biology to literature. Also, this site greatly decreased the amount of time needed to do the research. Instead of spending hours in the library reading through volumes of text in order to get a couple of key points I can retrieve only the portions of the text that I need. This is very helpful in research.

The two sources that helped me this semester were the writing lab and the online library. These were greatly helpful in every aspect of writing my papers from planning to actually composing. The writing lab and online library are very helpful.

Useful Sources

Throughout this semester I have grown a lot as a writer. But I attribute my growth to many of the resources that this class has introduced me to. To begin with, I'd like to say that the green book was a great tool used not just for the enhancement of my writing but for the understanding of different people and cultures. The rhetoric used to represent different aspects of the book, I felt, changed the way I write. Furthermore, the different examples and handouts given in class showed me the right way to write. I felt a lot more confident writing and using the proper format when I had an example. The english guidelines packet also aided me greatly. Throughout most of my high school career, I never thought about why the english language is the way it is. I never totally grasped all the rules and even today I still have a lot to learn. However, I believe I have grown by leaps and bounds because of these exercies. Also, the verb tense practice was also extremely useful in my learning process because verb tenses are more of those things that I never had the chance to learn in high school or in my younger years. The OWL website was also very useful while writing papers. Many times, I'd be unsure of the proper format of something and I'd find myself searching the OWL website and finding the information that I needed. I really enjoyed this class and learned a lot from it. I will definately miss it when I take something far less interesting next semester.

Sources

Of the many sources in the green binder, I found some helpful and some less so. It seemed like there were two basic types of articles; some gave statistics and facts, while others told stories. The latter I found more helpful for the purpose of this class. Statistics can portray the way things are, but when the articles gave personal stories it helped to make the situations feel more real. It gave me a feel for for people in different cultures and situations. In a class where we discuss tolerance and differences, I found that it is much more helpful to think about the subjects of our discussions in terms of people instead of just facts and figures. Many of us are used to the way things are at home, and have never experienced different cultures. I doubt that there is anyone in our class who has not learned a great deal from at least a few of those personal accounts.
Another source I found highly useful was the MLA page on the OWL website. I do not think there was one paper written that I didn't have that page open in the background to help put everything in the proper format. I can never remember the proper way to do a works cited page, despite the number of times I've tried it. Usually I search online for a description of how to do it, but there are so many conflicting viewpoints. On the OWL page I know that the way presented is the way Purdue teachers will grade them, so it is a very reliable source for writing papers.

Class Resources

We have used a variety of resources throughout the semester in our English 106 class. Many of these sources I have found very helpful and will use them or the information learned with use of them throughout the rest of my Purdue education. The fist resource that I found extremely helpful in writing papers was the OWL website. I found myself referring to this site many times; I generally used it for MLA reference and when citing unusual sources. It was very useful as it provided many examples for me to refer to and imitate. This source was certainly essential to this class as it guided me in my papers. Next, I found the Purdue Library and webpage useful in search of books and articles for my papers. However, while the library was useful, and I was glad we spent some class time learning about the resources and what they have to offer, I still don’t feel completely confident in my ability to use all of these many resources the library has. Again, this source was important as I wrote papers for this class. I also used JSTOR quite often in my search for articles in my research papers. At first, I was intimidated by this journal archive; I had trouble finding what I wanted and got frustrated with it. However, in researching for my Lord of the Flies paper I was able to utilize this source more and learned what a useful tool it could be while researching. The course packet, however, was useful in a different sense. Through the information it provided on gender, equality, and such I was able to learn about different groups of people and perhaps how they may feel. It helped me form more scholarly opinions on many views. I was able to form these opinions as I became more informed and educated on different issues. It also helped me to think about society in a new light and view different people with a new perspective. This was likely the most important part of this class as we referred to it throughout, on many different issues. The topics we discussed in class originated from this book and were then continually developed. Overall, I think the sources we used in class were important and useful to not only this class, but in helping with other future class projects as well. All of the sources I have mentioned were necessary for me to successfully complete class assignments.

English Resources

Even though the green book was really thick and intimidating, it was very useful. The contents in this book were so useful, I learned so much about different cultures, and even differences between sexes. It also discussed the creations of our society and the common beliefs that are held by our society. It covers issues that are present in our society, transgenders, racial, homophobia, this are all issues found in our society. This book gives personal experiences and has helped open my mind to different things, and understand a little bit of their reasoning. This reading also made male behavior more understandable, and helped to slightly understand their reasoning for their behavior. I think this book was very important to the class, the class was greatly centered around this book. All the topics we discussed and all the ideas that were formed, originated from this book. Although, the readings were sometimes long, they were always interesting. This book helped to demonstrate all the ideas that were presented in class. Such as, the homosocial bonds, homophobia, and many more. This green book was very useful while writing our last paper in correlation to Lord of the Flies. A lot of the ideas that were found in Lord of the Flies, were found in the greenbook and helped me generate my ideas. The OWL website has also been very useful during this semester. There has been many times that I have resorted to it for information, or to clear something up. I used it often to check citations, that was the most useful. This website was very easy to understand, and I was able to quickly locate what I was looking for. I believe that all the resources were greatly useful in guiding the class.

Grey's biology

Just to get started, I would like to say that Grey’s Anatomy is a great show! Getting hooked has become pretty easy since all the people I hang out with suckered me into it. A lot has been going on with all of the relationships in the whole plot and scheme of the show. Grey’s anatomy is centered around Meridith Grey who seems to intertwine with every male specimen that approaches her. As of right now, all of the male doctors and rookies have taken an adventurous trip into the wilderness with McDreamy. Alex and George are both rookies and while on their endeavor in the free spirited wild begin to fight after Alex tells George that his so called girlfriend, Cali, is sleeping with one of the other doctors. Doctor Preston Burke is one of the best characters in the show because he is so smart and handles stressful situations with class and skills. But, after being shot, Preston’s hand becomes disabled in a way so that he struggles to perform surgeries. Although, he attempts to hide this little defect so that he will not get kicked off the rotation. But while on the trip, George sees Burke having trouble with his fishing line and catches on that he has something wrong.
In this episode there are quite a few instances that portray what we have talked in our English class such as: Homosocial bonds, memetic desire, gender performance, and the erotic triangle. By fighting, Alex and George strengthen their homosocial bond. While McDreamy is off on the trip his nemesis, McSteamy, he attempts to steal Meredith from McDreamy. This is an example of memetic desire because McSteamy has hooked up with every girl that has laid her eyes on McDreamy. The gender performance is portrayed by a male that is making a rough transition to womanhood. The males name is Daniel, but is going to be Danielle. Daniel puts on a performance and will go to extreme measures to have the resemblance of a female even if it means life or death. Daniel would like to have a surgery to remove his penis and replace it with female genitalia.

oh miranda grey...how you narrate the workings of english 106

In the most recent episode of grey's anatomy, several of the concepts we've discussed in class were represented. For starters, homosocial bonds, both the presence and absense of them. Burke points out to Shepherd that he really doesn't have any guy friends and that he needs to work on that, so eventually he does, with the guy friends Burke brings along. Secondly, homophobia is fleeting and minor, but still present. The Chief doesn't catch on that the bartender and his quest are in fact lovers..when he does, he's not sure how to handle it, but is able to relate. And thirdly, most blatantly and obviously, is the concept of an erotic triangle. Because this entire show is primarily driven by the forces of the erotic triangle, it will never be without a triangle, or a square, or an octagon or two...you know, it's grey's, these things are meant to happen. Previously it was Derek, Finn, and Meredith...before that it was Derek, Meredith, and Addison. Now it's Callie, George, and McSteamy...but he's also working on Addison still, and easing his way in (or trying to anyway) with Meredith; he's ALMOST successful there, but Meredith's a smarty and catches on to the evil ways of the McSteamy. I didn't feel that there was a whole lot of scapegoating, except maybe when Derek blames Burke for all of the extra visitors. As for Bailey and Christina's situation, I supose it can be looked at as mimesis, in that Christina is in with Burke and had taken Bailey off the board so she would not get caught helping, and now Bailey wants to know what's going on.

Grey's Anatomy

In the last episode of “Grey’s Anatomy”, many of the gender and social themes discussed in class were made clear and reflected. Right from the beginning, the gender expectation of a male was defined to be a wild, dirty thing, with the group of men camping out in the wilderness to show their manliness. Women, in contrast, for example, told the guys to make sure they had sun screen, their repellent, and all of the other caring roles that women are socially generalized for. The episode even featured a man who had a sex change, who then wanted a penis inversion, all in order to recognize what he/she truly was; a woman. Eventually, she is told that the hormones she has been taking have stirred up what could be breast cancer, but she still goes ahead with the surgery and the hormones. The episode puts forward the idea that the need to express one’s inner gender is so great, that one would be willing to risk endangering one’s life for it.
Another idea discussed in class was the idea of homosexuality and the homophobic nature of today’s males. During one scene of the episode, the chief had no where to sleep, so he asked to sleep with the guys with the biggest tent. Each pair of men really looked away from the situation, all blatantly homophobic, except for the gay couple in the large tent. Once their relationship was established, the chief looked completely different at the couple, and seemed to disassociate himself from the idea of homosexuality.
One of the scenes involved men arguing and actually fighting over an argument, portraying that initially men can only solve conflicts by fighting. In contrast, the women seemed to want more discussion and talking to solve their internal wounds and conflicts, again portraying the gender act stereotypes. One of the scenes involved a dead baby, with the intern crying for the news she had to report, basically showing the compassion of women. In general, the episode represented and portrayed what our class has been discussing the whole semester, and basically strengthened the arguments which we discussed earlier.

Greys Blog...

This assignment was difficult because this is the first episode of Grey's Anatomy that I have seen. A friend had to catch me up on who was dating who and what role each character played. We see many ideas discussed in class in this episode. The homosocial bond between males and females, the heterosocial bond between couples, and almost a sort of erotic triangle between three of the characters.

First we have the couple of Joe and William. They have been with each other on and off for ten years. Each show tremendous compassion for one another in different situations. When William gets hurt, Joe is there to show his concern. He holds his hand through the "surgery" and expresses how different his life would be if the other were not there. The "chief" sees the two interact and it reminds him of his wife and how much he misses her. Even though the two are men, he sees the love they have for one another, looking past the homosocial bond they have.

Next we see the homosocial bond between Alex and George. This bond isn't because they love each other, so to speak, but that they are friends. Alex tells George that his girlfriend, Tarres, is sleeping with "Mc Steamy" and they get in a physical confrontation because of it. The friendship between Alex and George is put to the test. Alex is just the messenger but George still feels it right to fight him, as a way to get his anger out.

We can also see a heterosocial/heterosexual bond between Daniel (Donna) and his wife. Daniel is seen struggling with gender identity. He has been taking a hormone to stop facial hair from growing on his face, and to help him form breasts. Unfortunately for him, the treatment was causing cancer in his body as well as feeding the cancer. If he continues to take the treatment, the cancer will spread and he will die. , Daniel wants to continue taking the pills, go through with the surgery, and fight the cancer later on. He would rather die early as a woman, then live longer as a man. This creates concern for his wife. Twice she walks out on him only to return. She wants Daniel to stay a man, but knows she loves him/her as a person/friend.

So the erotic triangle was sort of a misinterpretation of characters and couples but the idea is still there. George is angry because of the thought of his girlfriend sleeping with another man. Shepard sees this and it makes him think of Grey. The episode clearly zooms in on Shepard during George and Alexis dispute. So there is an erotic triangle (almost) between Alex, Shepard, and the idea of Tereze and Grey (ex-girlfriends) being with other men. George and Shepard really have no interaction except when Shepard sees the pain George is in, with the thought of his ex-girlfriend sleeping with "Mc Steamy." This idea makes Shepard want Grey back.

So I've just had the last six weeks of Grey's Anatomy explained to me and not only am I confused, but slightly........very slightly intrigued. Will I watch the rest of the season? Only if there's not a football game on at the same time.

Grey's Anatomy

There were a few subjects in that episode which pertained to what we have discussed in class. One of them had to do with the camping trip. I thought the small guy who obviously had never been camping before was pretty funny. When they were all leaving, he seemed so anxious to go. He got all his stuff together, pretended he knew what he was talking about, and even told his wife off for treating him like a child, after which he asked her to zip him up. That character shows the pressures of gender role playing. He probably has many good skills, but it was very important to him that people think he is good at camping, an activity that is widely considered manly. I have always thought camping was interesting in that aspect because many guys who would normally be considered manly would be completely out of their element when out in the wild. I would say that the character I was just describing is somewhat similar to Piggy. In a setting of just men, he is the one who portrays the feminine role, though he tries to be manly.
Another part of this episode that reminded me of previous class discussions was the trans gender husband. I remembered the article we read a few weeks ago, and how it described the internal struggle of people who want to change their sex. When asked if she was exited about having the penis removed, she replied that it was even more than mere excitement. It seemed that to her, it was not just a procedure, but that she was becoming who she really was.

Grey's Anatomy

I had honestly never seen an episode of Grey’s Anatomy until I watched last weeks for this class assignment. I normally do not feel like I have the time to watch much TV, so I was glad for a good excuse to watch this episode. I was surprised by how much this episode could be related to our class discussions. I first noticed the camping trip was like an act of homosocial bonding for the men that were participating. Then, I noticed that there was some uneasiness between some of the men with regards to the gay couple on the camping trip. This seems to be very heteronormative in society. However, the aspect of this episode that most reminded me of our class was the man, Daniel, who wanted to become a woman and preferred the name of Donna to Daniel. Daniel had been taking drugs to make him appear more like a woman, and was preparing to have his male genitals removed when the doctor told him that the drugs were giving him cancer. His wife stood beside him until he decided that he wanted to go ahead with the surgery and continue to become a woman. Daniel/Donna did not want to live longer as a man when he had the feelings of a woman. What I found was surprising was that all though at first Donna’s wife was upset and left by the news of this, she soon came back. She returned because man or woman, Daniel/Donna was her best friend and the person she wanted to be with. She even commented that when she had went on dates with other men she always came home wanting to tell her best friend which was Donna. It was very interesting to watch everything that took place in this episode, and see how it could be connected to our classroom discussions. I may even start watching this series on television.

Grey's Anatomy

This episode of Grey's Anatomy entailed a great deal of the information we discuss in class. First, the homosexual couple that joined the doctors on their camping trip showed how although the relationship consisted of two males, essentially the feelings felt between them were authentic and the same as a heterosexual relationship. The man who was turning into a woman emphasized that some people feel that they truly are a female in a males body, even to the point of dieing before living as a member of the wrong gender.

While taking time off of work to vacation, the doctors were all exposed to a homosexual couple. While in conversation, one of the men in the relationship expressed how special his partner was, and how difficult it would be to live life without him. Also, after his partner was injured accidentally, he expressed genuine concern for him that reminded us of a man protecting his wife. Although the experience ruined the maculine experience, the homosexual relationship emphasized how similar a homosexual and heterosexual relationship truly is.

The male becoming a female reminded us that some struggle with their gender identity for their entire lives and that although eccentric, transgenders are people with equal rights. The male in this episode felt for his entire life that he was a girl which led him to have a sex change operation. Before the operation he discovered that he had breast cancer and the operation would more than likely lead to his death. This man detested his male body so strongly that he wanted to have the surgery even with the added risk, which devastated his wife. In a discussion with his wife, the doctor gains insight into how even though her husband put her through this she still loves him and will be there for him the entire time.

This episode of Grey's Anatomy gives evidence of the similarities between homosexual and heterosexual relationships and reminds us that homosexuals and trandgenders are just as human as anyone else.

Grey's Anatomy

Before this blogged was assigned, while watching Grey's I immediately noticed the ideas we have talked about in class. One of which was the boys camping trip, which they considered to be "manly". This could be considered a way of forming homosocial bonds. On this camping trip is a gay couple. You can notice the tension of this situation at first. The Chief stutters and doesn't know the appropriate way to act around them. The fear of homosexuals is obvious. Back at the hospital, there is a male that wants to remove his genitals so that he will appear more feminine. This is one instance in which a male wants to be emasculated, instead of it being forced. But his wife, does not support this operation, this is not a heteronormative. It is not openly accepted in society and his wife is also having a hard time accepting it. David, or Donna, wants this operation so bad, that she is willing to risk cancer. The estrogen he has been taking has caused cancer, and the doctor does not recommend continuing with the surgery. This is so important to David that he is willing to risk his life. This is similar to the readings from class, where the people in the stories were willing to take great risks to appear how they feel on the inside. Finally, at the end you see an erotic triangle forming between, Meredith, McDreamy and McSteamy. But it seems that McStearmy only wants Meredith because she is wanted by McDreamy, this would represent a mimetic desire. Luckily Meredith goes for McDreamy in the end, because McSteamy just gets with everyone!

Grey's

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got the e-mail saying we were doing a blog on Grey’s Anatomy. I absolutely love this show. Last weeks episode, while not particularly exciting, did have a lot of things going on. First off, the show has an interracial couple, Cristina and Preston. After being shot, Preston’s hand did not completely heal and Cristina has been helping him keep his secret because she is his girlfriend and that is what she is supposed to do. Even though people like Miranda and Meredith are being either hurt or pushed aside because of this secret. Cristina is very surprised when she finds out Preston is going camping, because “people named Preston don’t go camping”. However, the boys just want to get out and be “boys”. While camping the chief finds out about Walter and Joe being gay partners and awkwardly replies “man love”. Also during their trip in the woods, Alex decides to tell George about how Callie slept with Mark. They then begin to fight against the chiefs and Derek’s will. However, Preston thinks it will be a good idea. Next we have the man that wants to be a women and his wife who is uncertain about the whole situation at first, but at the end of the day realizes the person inside is still the same and that person is the one who makes her happy. Preston has to stitch up Walter after he hits his head on a rock because of the fight. George puts all the pressure on Preston and he manages to do the job, tremor-free. Toward the end Preston has a talk with George about how hard he is being on Callie and that he needs to learn that people mess up and to forgive. When they get back to the hospital Preston forgives Cristina for being so controlling. There were too things that surprised me in this episode, when Addison and Callie were clicking and at the end when Meredith and Derek finally decided to be together. There for a second I was scared Meredith was going to make another mistake. So really this episode is not about being gay, or being a man, or having pride. It is about being happy. Being happy with someone else, does not matter who just as long as at the end of the day they put that smile on your face.

I have never watched Grey's Anatomy before this assignment so i wasn't sure really exactly the basis of the show was. This episode, however, dealed with every apsect of what our class has been covering over the entire semester. The show starts out with the guys going out on a "manly" camping trip in the mountains. After a few minutes a man named Donna wants to have a sex change and have her male genetalia removed. his wife Vicki is not fond of the operation because he used to a regular man, but she quickly found out her husband wanted to be a woman. She even started taking estrogen to develop breasts and it ended up giving her cancer, which is discovered later on in the show. Back at the camping trip, they find out two of the guys who are camping out are gay and it becomes obvious which is the more masculine and who is more feminine. When all of the guys are fishing, Walter is reading a book and his boyfriend tells them that they want kids someday. After a while, the guys at the camp realize that homosexuality is not such a wierd thing because they are happy together and that is all that really matters. Back in the hospital the doctor recommends that donna doesn't go through with the operation, but she decides to anyways and vicki storms off. After the operation you find her sitting by Donna's side and she said her reason for coming back because she still loves that person regardless of their gender, they are someone they trust and it is her best friend. As i said before this single episode of greys anatomy is everything our class is about in a nutshell.

Greys Anatomy

First of all I love Grey’s Anatomy, and last weeks episode was awesome. This past episode dealt with many of the ideas we have been discussing in class throughout the semester. For starters, Donna, aka David, was a transgender and wanted to have a sex change operation. This situation correlates to the article we read in our course packet called “To be poor and transgender.” When they first introduced this scenario Meredith, along with much of the audience I am sure, was surprised. Even the ex-wife of Donna expressed her concern and difficulty dealing with the issue. It is not a normal everyday circumstance where you see a man wanting to become a woman. The transgender issue is not one that our society still fully understands or accepts as heteronormative.
Another event that we saw unfolding during this episode was start of an erotic triangle between Meredith, McDreamy, and McSteamy. McSteamy tries to convince Meredith that McDreamy is not right for her and goes out on a date with her. In a way, I believe that McSteamy was only after Meredith because he knew her and McDreamy were trying to make things work; this can be considered a mimetic desire. But in the end Meredith chooses McDreamy, thank goodness!
The last idea that we have been discussing in class occurred on the boys camping trip. For starters there is a gay couple camping with them and one can sense tension, and an uncertainty among the others of what to say around them. Since most men are homophobic, or have a fear of gay people, this explains why the Chief and other men have problems acting normal around the two gay men. In addition, O’Malley and Corev get into a fight and are forced to have an open fisted fight, or slapping each other. This type of fighting is considered a very girly and you can sense in their expressions that they feel less masculine when they fight this way.

Grey's Rhetoric of Gender

I've never actually sat down to watch this show before, so bear with me if I get the names wrong or what not. There were many events taht occured in this episode that reminded me of instances of discussion during class. The first one was of course Daniel... excuse me, Donna. "She" wished to become a woman, but apparently the drugs "she" was taking to prepare herself for the operation was giving her cancer. Donna was faced with the choice, live a man or die a woman. What was truly sad was that "she" was prepared to die a woman. What was also strange to me is that Donna had a wife that was fully supporting in the operation (usually I could not see a woman support her husband in becoming a woman as well). The wife was angry that Donna was making this decision, to die a woman, and left, but eventually returned by the episodes end. Another topic from this episode that related to class discussions was the male only camping trip (Now here is where the naming will be ignored on the account that I can't remember anyone's name so I'll have to stick with descriptions). The highlight of this trip was of course the fight, which started because some one's masculinity was hurt. I personally found it funny that they got angry that they had to have a "sissy" slap fight, but they did it anyway to get to the other guy. Lastly, there appears to be an erotic triangle of some sort between Mc Steamy, Mc Dreamy and Grey. I'm sorry if I got any of this wrong, once again, I don't watch this show and am not familiar with who is who.

Grey's: Gender Rhetoric

Being that I am an avid Grey’s watcher, I was excited to notice some of the things we have been talking about in class in this episode. First, I will start of with Donna. Donna reminds we of the story we read about being transgender and poor. She is going over the top to become a woman by sacrificing her life to breast cancer to become a woman. Meredith at first is confused when she meets Donna because Donna looks like a woman. Once she find out about Donna she is a little freaked out, but she seems excited about helping out with this unique surgery.
Now switching to the campout, the Chief finds out about the gay couple and he is a little over accepting, but saying he is all for “man-love.” The Chief also learns that the couple is not that different from him, because they want kids. He realizes that he does not have kids because his wife would be raising them all alone and the same is with the couple because one owns a bar and is always working there too. O-Malley and Corev get into a fight over Dr. Torez. O’Mally has to defend his manhood, but he has to defend it by open-hand combat (a slap fight). Also on the camping trip, every man shows or proves the gender performance theory. They have the firly-man, Walter, the Chief who had the hotel pack him pate and crackers along with silver wear to go camping, and the two outdoors manly men, McDreamy and the bartender.
Lastly, Sloan (Mc Steamy) is trying to start a erotic triangle with Meredith and McDreamy by making Meredith decide who to date. And just a little side note, I am so glad Meredith chose McDreamy!!!

Grey's Transexual Couple

Well, it is official. I have watched my first episode of Grey's Anatomy and I'd have to say, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Although at many times I was overwhelmed with sadness, I could see how much of the episode related to class, particularly with gender roles. To begin with, the introduction of Daniel or 'Donna' as she likes to be called is one of the most important moments in the episode. This moment establishes society's problem with accepting 'Donna' as a woman. The male doctor has no problem while Grey is very uncomfortable with the experience (easily obtainable observation involving her facial expressions). The wife of 'Donna' is also significantly overwhelmed by the fact that her husband is unsatisfied with his masculinity and wishes to become a woman. The struggle with masculinity is not limited to Donna but also with two of the males that go on the camping trip. Although I do not recall the name of these two males, their quick result to fight about their problem is a sign of their masculinity. When told by the elderly black fellow that this will be an "open-hand" fight, I almost fell out of my chair. These guys both feel that in order to protect their masculinity they must fight, but in order to do that, they must slap the hell out of each other. I also think that the relationship between the gay couple who went on the camping trip is a learning experience for everyone as well. Particularly for the guy who is having problems with his wife or girlfriend (it's my first episode so try to stick with me). When told that the gay couple is thinking about adopting kids, the other guy (a straight man) is able to relate to their struggles of having only "one person" there to raise the child. I think that the end of the episode where the wife of 'Donna' comes back is also a very symbolic gesture that symbolizes society's acceptance of the gender confusion that Donna is experiencing. I'd like to end this blog with this: I think Grey should have ended up with the other guy, I mean come on he was trying his hardest but still gets shut down...

Sexy Disney...

What ever happened to Snow White, Cinderella, and Bell with their elegant gowns and conservative clothing? Disney has changed the image of their female characters drastically to the risque roles of Ariel, Jasmie, and Pocahontas. These females can routinely be seen in sexy cloths showing a lot of skin. These females have undergone changes in there appearance through the years. But, has Disney really made an effort to make their females sexier?

Snow White, not a princess till the end of the movie, was considered a common girl. Living with seven other guys, she was targeted for being beautiful, even though she never showed a lot of skin. She didn't have to. There was no reason for her to be in sexy cloths. Cinderella was portrayed as being very beautiful as well, even though she never showed a lot of skin. Even in her elegant and formal gowns, she was never provocative. But as a princess in Europe and America, they were not supposed to show skin. It would be considered "unladylike".

Jasmin, in tiny, see through clothing, was a Persian princess. In order to show the stories place and time, Disney gave Jasmin Arabian looking cloths. How funny would she look dressed in a formal gown like Cinderella. The same can go for Ariel. Could you imagine someone trying to swim in the ocean with a big poofy dress on?

Disney has portrayed their females the way they have because of the roles being played. The girls haven't gotten any "sexier," their character roles have just changed.

Cosmo Review

Cosmo is a standard example of the propaganda geared towards girls these days. Every bit of either magazine is about sex, appearance, and man baiting. It is completely superficial, and it sells like hotcakes. The magazines are proof that despite what they say, many girls really are not a whole lot more than whats on the surface. Even women who do have more to offer would like to cover up the person they truly are and appear as another sexy vixen in order to get a man. Not only does this affect girls' view of themselves, it also affects what they see in a man. Cosmo would have people believe that a girl's target has to be a big, muscular man, and that the only way to get and keep that man is to be as good looking as possible. The pages are flooded with rhetoric supporting that idea: pictures of beautiful women, naked guys, tips on how to "please your man," and ads for beauty products. This all affects a person's image on how to live. Even I feel like I have to please my man better after fliping through it. I really cannot blame Cosmo for doing what it does, though; it would go out of business if it was not what people want to read. I suppose it really isn't Cosmo that makes women (and men) so superficial, its actually the exact opposite. There is something else about people that makes us want to see pictures of pretty people and groom ourselves to "perfection." As long as we do that, magazines like Cosmo will continue to thrive.

cosmo

I have, in the past, attempted to read a cosmo magazine. However, all i was able to do was stare, wide eyed and wide mouthed, at the extremely appealing pictures displayed all over the magazine. The written content, while interesting and appealing as well, seemed extremely shallow and dull to me. It is all about sex and how to be good at it, etcetera. This stuff may very well be interesting to some people, but to me it just seems like a load of crap, particularly when it comes to relationship stuff. It is impossible to predict what some ones partner might like. Each and every person is extremely different in their sexual and emotional preferences; there is no magazine in the world that can accurately portray what one should or should not do because, as a fact, you never know.
Cosmogirl is just a toned-down version of cosmo. It does not have nearly as much sexual information but it still does incite teens to dress "sexy", therefore implying that sex is good at the age of their targeted audience. I personally believe that cosmogirl is just yet another way to promote sex and sexuality at an early age. In other words, cosmo and cosmogirl are basically sex handbooks trying to teach everyone something that can only be learned from experience.
Furthermore, the sex that cosmo so poorly portrays is most definitely not everything there is to it. Sexual relations are about loving someone to the point of exhaustion; being able to do anything and everything for someone other than yourself and expecting nothing in return. That is love, and sex should definitely not come without love.

CosmoGirl and Cosmopolitan

I have read both, mostly Cosmopolitan, so to refresh my memory I went to the CosmoGirl website. These two magazines are some what similar but at the same time they slightly differ. Starting with the cover, CosmoGirl has some of the same famous people on the cover, but they aren't represented in the same way as Cosmopolitan. On the cover of Cosmo, the people are portrayed as sexy, and very revealing, with the attention of capturing your attention. The contents of the magazines are some what similar but yet again, not covered in the same way. In Cosmo, there are sex tips, positions and all types of advice. While CosmoGirl discusses sex, it is more in the manner of informational. Readers will submit questions, or situations, in which they are answered, as I have seen, not promoting sexual intercourse, or at least safe sex. CosmoGirl is more geared to younger teens, discussing make-up, fashions and how to look good, and boy issues. While Cosmopolitan, is geared for older teens and adults. Cosmo still has articles on fashion, make-up, but also half naked boys, sent in sex stories and much more. The length in the two differ, Cosmopolitan being much longer than CosmoGirl. These are mostly for females, but as a few have mentioned that they have flipped through a Cosmo once or twice, my boyfriend being one of those as well. I personally don't take these magazines seriously, but it entertaining every now and then to read and get a few laughs out of.

Cosmo is a girls best friend

So now that we are not in class and there is no awkward tension, I would have to say that I have glanced at a Cosmo once or twice. It really does not help when your girlfriend and her roommate own a subscription to it. Cosmo is very insightful reading material for young people. Most of what you read is most likely not going to happen any time soon. Also, Cosmo is mainly directed towards females from the age of 16 up to low 20’s. The reason that this class of women is the directed audience is simple. It consists of hair colors and styles, body types, what men want, how men act, how to be a better lover, working out, and how to take care of womanly things.
Every ad, picture, and model has to be a naked women wrapped in a risqué ribbon. The magazine is based on sex. For instance, taking care of condom malfunctions, sex moves, seducing the man, and every possible interesting thing about sex is talked about in true and exaggerating terms. Cosmo also gives the interpretation that every female is out for sex. It also states that every female is sexually active and therefore needs sexual advice on how to please the opposite sex. A lot of women do not need relationship device, which is why it is a magazine. The last 20 to 30 pages in the magazine are covered in half naked male pictures. To be honest, I would rather not have to witness it.

I have seen Cosmo and Cosmo girl before, but I am not much of a fan. My ex girlfriend used to buy Cosmo all the time. I would always skim through it and would just laugh. I remember seeing and article that was a poll or written by guys. I would read through it and laugh, because I don’t remember any of the things I read pertaining to me. She always told me that it was a good magazine, and that it helped understand things. It drove me nuts because it was completely opposite of me. I always said it was crap and just shook my head every time she bought one. I could not compare anything from the article to her at all, and never understood why she thought it was so good. After thinking about this for a while, I thought about the old blog assignment we did concerning Myspace. I compared these together, both having all of these sexual things, things you would not say when describing that person. I still do not think that I can explain the reason for this very well, but possibly from pressures of society. I also compared to these magazines to young men and football. People would always talk to me about me having to play football, and I’m a guy, it’s what I am supposed to do. Society helped pushed me into football, and I believe society plays a main role in young ladies believing that they enjoy Cosmo.

Cosmo

As I saw the cover of a Cosmopolitan magazine, I was surprised by the sexual buzzwords and content. From, “GUYS AND SEX,” to, “Get a Sexy Bod,” the magazine definitely emphasizes sexiness and beauty for teenage girls. Today, someone like me would not expect this to be such a big deal considering the change in today’s society. I think the magazine is another form of media that pressures girls in present day society to HAVE to have these traits, to have to think this way, in order to keep up with the fast changing times. I do not know really pay attention to other popular girl’s magazines, but I bet there definitely are many magazines that portray the same ideas and tips as Cosmopolitan. These magazines all combined force the sexy female image on all teenagers, but after I thought about it, the same type of ideal and image forcing happens with teenage guys too.

Maybe it is just a girl thing, since when I look at those type of feminine magazines, they leave me wondering, “Who the **** would waste their money on this shit?” I can almost relate the general ideas in the magazines to the princess or “perfect” woman idea, but in this case it deals with the image and ideas of the definition of the sexy or popular girls of today. The magazines to me portray false or “too” perfect scenarios, or too perfect beauty standards, just like how the image of a princess portrays too perfect beauty and obedience. I still can not see why anyone would buy it except for pure kicks and entertainment, but who knows, I’m just a guy.

Cosmo/Cosmo Girl

Both Cosmo and Cosmo Girl are both geared directly towards sex. Although Cosmopolitan is more blatant with their approach, Cosmo Girl also consists of a great deal of sexual articles and suggestions. While cosmopolitan is appropriate for the age group targeted, Cosmo Girl should is inappropriate for the viewing audience.

Cosmopolitan based on sex. Every article I glanced at in this article was either about " Eight Ways to Catch His Eye" or " How to Undress Your Man." In addition to being thoroughly disgusting, this magazine emphasizes mostly only one aspect of relationships. The information contained in this magazine only condones physical aspects of happiness, skipping for the most part other aspects. Cosmo is a magazine for physical relationships.

Cosmo Girl is thouroughly innapropriate for females younger than 18. Although the authors are slightly less blatant with their message, when viewing the articles a great deal are about sex. There is no chance that my daughter will ever own a copy of this magazine with my knowledge. There is no plausible reason for a female to be condoned for this type of behavior at such a young age. Magazines such as these contribute to the pandemic of sexually transmitted diseases across the world. The world would be a better place without this magazine.

Although Cosmo is acceptable for its readers, Cosmo Girl is not. The sexual articles in Cosmo are very expressive compared to the Cosmo Girl, but Cosmo Girl is entirely to mature even for the most precocious teens.

cosmopolitan

When I was younger I was never allowed to read magazines such as Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, or Cosmo. Once I was about sixteen I could get Seventeen and Cosmo Girl but Cosmo was and still is off limits. Granted if I really wanted Cosmo I could go to any grocery store and buy it off the shelf! I was talking to one of my friends earlier today about this blog and she said that her mom would get Cosmo and hide it in a drawer, after her mom would leave her and her friends would go and steal it and then read it. The main problem with these magazines is the content within them. As I was looking at Cosmopolitan.com I was appalled at what I saw, they had a sex position of the week, ways to “entice him” even more, and so on. It is clear that Cosmo is not out there to show the latest fashions, health tips, or exercising moves. The message is all about sex. These magazines are polluting young teenager’s minds about sex. It is very similar to the movie we watched, “No Cinderella Story,” teens are having sex at younger and younger ages. This magazine can be purchased by 13 and 14 year old girls who are just starting to enter puberty, they should be learning how to love their body instead of trying to perfect it and solicit it to guys. If teenagers stood up to the magazine and voiced their opinions of its appalling content Cosmo may stop showing up on grocery shelves, but until then Cosmo will still be on the shelves promoting promiscuous behavior among our young teens.

Cosmopolitan

When I was younger I was never allowed to read magazines such as Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, or Cosmo. Once I was about sixteen I could get Seventeen and Cosmo Girl but Cosmo was and still is off limits. Granted if I really wanted Cosmo I could go to any grocery store and buy it off the shelf! I was talking to one of my friends earlier today about this blog and she said that her mom would get Cosmo and hide it in a drawer, after her mom would leave her and her friends would go and steal it and then read it. The main problem with these magazines is the content within them. As I was looking at Cosmopolitan.com I was appalled at what I saw, they had a sex position of the week, ways to “entice him” even more, and so on. It is clear that Cosmo is not out there to show the latest fashions, health tips, or exercising moves. The message is all about sex. These magazines are polluting young teenager’s minds about sex. It is very similar to the movie we watched, “No Cinderella Story,” teens are having sex at younger and younger ages. This magazine can be purchased by 13 and 14 year old girls who are just starting to enter puberty, they should be learning how to love their body instead of trying to perfect it and solicit it to guys. If teenagers stood up to the magazine and voiced their opinions of its appalling content Cosmo may stop showing up on grocery shelves, but until then Cosmo will still be on the shelves promoting promiscuous behavior among our young teens.

I recently went to the local convenience store and thumbed through the two magazines cosmo girl and cosmopolitan. I also contacted a profesional (my girlfriend) and got an inside word on this topic. i was very suprised at how the marketing of these two different magazines is supposed to be targeted at teenagers for cosmo girl and 19 and older for cosmopolitan, yet the content between these two magazines is not different at all. each magazine magazine had content that included the latest fashion tips, stories from girls with experiences ranging from boys to emabarassing moments in their life, and the infamous sex tips. what really suprised me is they were putting sex tips in cosmo girl! this is a magazine that freaking 7th graders read. 7th grader sure as hell do not need any sex tips that early in the game. I do believe however they put this content in there just because girls at thet age or more curious about exactly what sex is rather than actually performing the act. I also feel that they are mking this information too permiscous for kids this age. I understand that this a magazine that is supposed to answer questionf for young teen girls who want to know sexual things, but it is sometimes jut a little too blunt. Also, i noticed the advertisements that they had in the magazines,. They all depict women as being tall and slender. this can make girls this age feel down on temselves becasue obviously not all of them have gone through puberty and developed. it can casue some bad habits early with girls this age. they need to reaanalyze the target audience and content they put in the cosmo girl magazine,.

Cosmo

101 sex tricks to try before you die, The certain kind of sex he's thinking about 24/7, How to get the looks guys crave, and The most crucial thing to ask your Gyno, are some of the headlines that are plastered on the cover of the September 2006 edition to Cosmopolitan. I have read this magazine before, and usually flip through and read the things that I find interesting, but never before have I realized how much this magazine probably influences young readers. Obviously the magazine is geared toward young adults who are interested in fashion, gossip, and sex. The problem with this magazine, is that anyone is able to pick it up at a corner drug store, and read all about sex tricks, and this could pose problems if eleven year old girls read this text and feel as if it is geared toward them. I have heard Cosmopolitan Magazine referred to as "girl porn" before, because of the sexual rhetoric, instead of visual that guys usually like. Cosmopolitan explains things in great detail that young readers should never see or read. Cosmo girl, on the other hand, is just simply a toned down version of the magazine. The same gossip, and fashion tips are in Cosmo girl, and the same "how to get sexy stares from guys" dance accross the headlines of the cover. If this is the toned down version of the magazine, and actually includes the word "girl" in the title, then from a mothers stand point, I would think that something like that would be appropriate for my little "girl". Cosmo focuses on winning acceptance from the oppisite gender, and to me, they should be teaching girls more important things like study tips for entering high School. these are tings that middle school girls should be focused on, not how to look sexy for other 13 year old boys who aren'e even worrying about girls yet, and probably are completly oblivious to the extra blush that his classmate put on that day.

The Cosmo Image

I have never subscribed to the Cosmo magazine, so the only times I have looked at them were with friends or bored in a waiting room. However, these few times in addition to the website browsing I did last night are enough to give me a good idea of what this magazine is about. Its primary concern is sex. It is all about ways to be sexy, tests to see how sexy you are, the things men look for in women, ways to have better sex, and how to appear more like the beautiful model on the front cover. These magazines do not really do much for me except make me feel like I need to change my whole physical appearance in order to be successful with the men. I can not believe that girls younger than me, many times in their early teens, are reading these magazines. I had never really considered how easy they were to access for these girls, but after talking about it in class I realized what a major problem this was. Most parents let girls read these magazines, but if they do not the girl can easily pick one up and look through it while her parents are shopping throughout the rest of the store. Then we wonder why so many young girls have such a poor body image or are just concerned with getting and keeping a boyfriend. I think beauty magazines hold much more blame than a Barbie doll. These girls are much too young to be thinking about sex, and there they are poring over those magazines as if they hold the key to the world. I think this is serious problem, and it really concerns me as to what will come in future generations.

What is wrong with Cosmo

I have never looked at these kinds of magazines before on the account that I never liked "girly" stuff, such as make-up and things like that, but there is a first time for everything. Looking at some of the various covers of Cosmo and Cosmo Girl, and going to their websites, I've come to realize something, apparently they think all girls are good for is sex and being sexy. Every single cover has beauty tips for looking more sexy and a lot of them have tips for "pleasing your man." The websites are not any different either. An example is that as soon as I got to the Cosmopolitan website, there was a link on the homepage to, and I quote, "Rate the sex position of the week! G-Force." Another sex related thing I found on the website, and once again I quote, "You and I should hang out around the house buck-naked and brush up against each other "by accident." The next thing you know, we'll be going at it." This was from an article entitled "Sex Tips from Guys," and I could not figure out why they would put that in there. I could not figure out what girl in their right mind would just walk into her boyfriend's house, strip down to nothing, then just go find him naked and "accidentally" brush up against him. I am guessing that there are some girls who do do this, but the fact that these magazines are for girls around my age and younger (middle of high school) disturbs me. I honestly can say that I'm never going to read one of these magazines, unless it is for laughs. In fact, if I have a daughter, I will not allow her to read neither Cosmo Girl nor Cosmo until she is out of collage and can recognize that these magazines are a waste of paper and ink.

Cosmo

Occasionally, I will pick up a Cosmopolitan magazine to cure my bored ness. The last one I picked up is the October issue. However, the main reason I picked it up is because there is a section on Patrick Dempsey, who is Dr. Shepard on Grey’s Anatomy. Although on the front cover there are other things: 30 Sex Boosters, Every Guy’s Private Marriage Checklist, Gorgeous Skin, Sexy vs. Skanky, Discover The Sex Fantasy 68% of Men Have, and 21 Sneaky Tricks to Get Guys to Do What You Want. One could easily guess this magazine is around making yourself more attractive to guys and everything that has to do with sex. About 75% of the stuff in this magazine is just pure crap. It should not be taken seriously; women can get by in life just fine without following the guidelines in Cosmo. Whereas Cosmo is geared more toward high school and above, Cosmogirl is geared more towards middle school and early high school. Cosmogirl is basically the same except it does not directly talk about sex. It will tell you “how to get guys” or “how to be sexy”. Both of these magazines are just so superficial that women should be careful reading them. It is magazines like these that make women feel self conscious and insecure about themselves. This is not a good thing especially if young girls are reading it. No one should feel like it is what Cosmo says that makes someone a woman. I do not feel there is anything wrong with reading this as long as you realize to take everything with a grain of salt, but not everyone gets that. I would not want my daughters reading this. I would not want them getting any ideas.

Cosmo

Occasionally, I will pick up a Cosmopolitan magazine to cure my bored ness. The last one I picked up is the October issue. However, the main reason I picked it up is because there is a section on Patrick Dempsey, who is Dr. Shepard on Grey’s Anatomy. Although on the front cover there are other things: 30 Sex Boosters, Every Guy’s Private Marriage Checklist, Gorgeous Skin, Sexy vs. Skanky, Discover The Sex Fantasy 68% of Men Have, and 21 Sneaky Tricks to Get Guys to Do What You Want. One could easily guess this magazine is around making yourself more attractive to guys and everything that has to do with sex. About 75% of the stuff in this magazine is just pure crap. It should not be taken seriously; women can get by in life just fine without following the guidelines in Cosmo. Whereas Cosmo is geared more toward high school and above, Cosmogirl is geared more towards middle school and early high school. Cosmogirl is basically the same except it does not directly talk about sex. It will tell you “how to get guys” or “how to be sexy”. Both of these magazines are just so superficial that women should be careful reading them. It is magazines like these that make women feel self conscious and insecure about themselves. This is not a good thing especially if young girls are reading it. No one should feel like it is what Cosmo says that makes someone a woman. I do not feel there is anything wrong with reading this as long as you realize to take everything with a grain of salt, but not everyone gets that. I would not want my daughters reading this. I would not want them getting any ideas.

Cosmo

Occasionally, I will pick up a Cosmopolitan magazine to cure my bored ness. The last one I picked up is the October issue. However, the main reason I picked it up is because there is a section on Patrick Dempsey, who is Dr. Shepard on Grey’s Anatomy. Although on the front cover there are other things: 30 Sex Boosters, Every Guy’s Private Marriage Checklist, Gorgeous Skin, Sexy vs. Skanky, Discover The Sex Fantasy 68% of Men Have, and 21 Sneaky Tricks to Get Guys to Do What You Want. One could easily guess this magazine is around making yourself more attractive to guys and everything that has to do with sex. About 75% of the stuff in this magazine is just pure crap. It should not be taken seriously; women can get by in life just fine without following the guidelines in Cosmo. Whereas Cosmo is geared more toward high school and above, Cosmogirl is geared more towards middle school and early high school. Cosmogirl is basically the same except it does not directly talk about sex. It will tell you “how to get guys” or “how to be sexy”. Both of these magazines are just so superficial that women should be careful reading them. It is magazines like these that make women feel self conscious and insecure about themselves. This is not a good thing especially if young girls are reading it. No one should feel like it is what Cosmo says that makes someone a woman. I do not feel there is anything wrong with reading this as long as you realize to take everything with a grain of salt, but not everyone gets that. I would not want my daughters reading this. I would not want them getting any ideas.

Disney Princess

After going to the only true source of information about this admired Princess', but the disney website, I found the progression of female disney characters. I noticed that the attire of the early princess was very conservative, full dresses, revealing nothing. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, were all examples of this. They were very well mannered and polite. Snow White, goes to the dwaft house and immediately begins to clean. This fulfills the typical role of females as they are viewed in society. Cinderella is forced to do chores around the house and is treated like a maid. But as time goes on, each princess begins to reveal more. Pocahontas, Jasmine, Ariel are wearing the very least of them all. These princess' are also, much more free spirited. Pocahontas ventured off on her own, but was still restricted by the rules of her father. Ariel was roamed the waters, but was also restricted by her father, and unable to go on land. The three mentioned above, were more adventurous and more eager to push the limits. While Snow White and Cinderella, followed the rules and accepted their place. You notice that Cinderella does in fact break the rules by going to the ball, but she lacked a father role model to go against. The original princess' all lived in castles, while as time progressed the princess' appeared in different places. These different places also contribute to the princess' to discover different things, and break the social norms. But no matter the change in location, the change in fashion each princess is looking for her prince charming to rescue her in the end. Even though the appearance of some of the princess' has changed the need for a romantic ending has not. These movies are created for children, even though the appearances portrayed by the princess' is not always age appropriate. These movies, from the beginning, have young ladies believing that they are in search for their prince charming. And that when they are in danger he will come rescue her. The appearance of these princess' may change but the story plot will always remain the same.