“When She Graduates as He” April 15, 2007
Posted by rebeccao in Empowerment, Queen Latifah, Set It Off, bodies, college, politics, power, sexuality.3 comments
The controversy over transgender students (specifically what’s called “transmen” – women becoming men) attending all-women’s colleges is one that seems to have gotten a lot of attention recently, but this article from the Boston Globe on April 8 is the first one I’ve seen which not only addresses the overall issue of transgendering at women’s colleges but also with issues less commonly dealt with, (more…)
Girls, Take a Cue From the Guys April 9, 2007
Posted by priyanka in college, female perfection.2 comments
Judith Warner has a response to “Be Yourself and Be Perfect Too” on her TimesSelect blog Domestic Disturbances. (If you can’t access it, you can sign up for free student subscription on the Times website.) The whole thing is pretty interesting–she cautions, and I agree, that girls our age thinking they need to have the rest of their lives figured out is unnecessarily stressful. Buying into ’success’ leads to an endless assault of expectations, and she suggests adjusting our standards. But then she goes on to say,
“We should also maybe — and I can feel the rumble of disapproval starting already — take another look at our boys. They’re said to be failing, wretchedly falling behind the girls in the great grades race. Yet they still account for half the admissions to top schools. (The trend toward the “feminization” of higher education doesn’t hold up in the Ivy League; in (more…)
“Be Yourself, and Be Perfect, Too” April 1, 2007
Posted by dkirkwood in college, female perfection.1 comment so far
This morning, the New York Times ran an article about the intense competition highschool girls face when applying to colleges. According to the article, in this stressful environment, insecurity is inavoidable, even for ‘amazing’ students. Young girls are constantly bombarded with conflicting messages to ‘do everything’ and “get into a top college” and at the same time, ‘be yourself. Have fun. Don’t work too hard.” They become obsessed with the idea that although it is “cool to be smart, it is not enough to be smart.” The article argues how this (more…)
Imitation of Life February 26, 2007
Posted by rebeccao in Imitation of Life, college, race.4 comments
I really liked this movie…the clothing/wardrobe was absolutely gorgeous and the storyline was filled with so many twists and turns that the viewer was never left bored (not to mention that the guy who played Steve was quite the looker). But I wonder what the take home message of this movie was supposed to be. In the very final shot, where Sarah Jane is leaning on Lora, Lora is holding Suzie’s hand, and Steve is smiling at the camera, all the while they’re following Annie’s funeral parade, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to be thinking as viewers of the time (1959) about the future for Sarah Jane here. The whole movie she has fought to pass as white and escape her mother’s race, and she is portrayed as cruel for doing so, so in the end she comes back to Lora, Suzie, and Steve to do what? Will she continue to pass as white and go to college like Suzie, will she embrace her mother’s role in the Meredith family and become the black maid, or will she run away again and work in an “indecent” profession? I can see the end as saying something about embracing who you are and coming back home, but I’m concerned that for Sarah Jane and the portrayal of black people in this film that that means being a good household worker and not fighting the system. After all, Annie was the perfect maid (she even describes herself as such in the beginning in the beach scene). She has worked tirelessly and loyally for Lora until her death, has raised Lora’s child so she can go out and fulfill her own dreams to be a famous actress, and has saved her low wages only to give back to others and pay for her own funeral. Sarah Jane’s end in this film, I think, only serves to reinforce her mother’s role. She comes back to mourn for her mother and has found her true place within the Meredith family as her mother’s replacement, literally leaning on them for support and following them to the end.
I hope someone else sees something different here and can prove me wrong. Let me know what you think.
