Judy Blume tells it like it is . . . and that's why kids love her.Detail Only Available By: Raymond, Allen. Early Years, May 1984, Vol. 14, p22-25, 4p

Subjects:

Children's literature; Authors; Children; Novelists; Young adults; Blume, Judy, 1938-

TUESDAY 11/13 CLASS

Judy Blume: new classicism for kids.Detail Only Available By: Garber, Stephen M.. English Journal, April 1984, Vol. 73, p56-59, 4p; DOI: 10.2307/816587

Subjects:

THURSDAY 11/15 CLASS

Young adult literature; Adolescence in literature; Authors; Children; Novelists; Young adults; Blume, Judy, 1938-

Database:

Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson)

 http://ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login?URL=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=503012743&site=ehost-live

 Where is Judy Blume? Controversial fiction for older children and young adults.


http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/ehost/viewarticle?data=dGJyMPPp44rp2%2fdV0%2bnjisfk5Ie42fOK8NvsjKzj34HspOOA7enyWK%2bnrUmypbBIr6ieSa%2bwsUq4q7c4v8OkjPDX7Ivf2fKB7eTnfLujr0i1p7BJrquxPurX7H%2b72%2bw%2b4ti7feTqpIzf3btZzJzfhrurrkq2rbBIr66kfu3o63nys%2bSN6uLyffbq&hid=110

Body Appreciation Rational

Objective:

By the end of the Body Appreciation Workshop the girls will understand that the construct of health is multi-dimensional and relative to the self and the needs of the self. Our activities will work to foster a better awareness and appreciation for body functionality in relation to health and happiness. Movement can be productive, but it can also be fun, energizing and good for you. Our goal is for the girls to walk away from this workshop with the power and strength to express their individual happiness and wellness.

These days’ teen girls lack something very important, self-esteem. A majority of teen girls try to fit in by having the hottest clothing, perfect hair, and perfect bodies; while also trying to be cool, and popular. They do this in order to fit in. They worry more about their appearance, instead of working on their school work. Their concentration is on their bodies and clothing.

Girls low self-esteem, worries many teachers and parents. The question is, why does their self-esteem change, why they lack it, and why they focus on their physical appearance? Some experts conclude that a pre - teens focus shifts, the body becomes an all-consuming passion, and that is their main focus. "Self-esteem becomes too closely tied to physical attributes; girls feel they can't measure up to society standards." Significantly, girls are rushing to get whatever the other teen girls are getting, while affecting their self-esteem.

The attitude of teen girls who think that they do not have perfect hair, perfect bodies, or perfect clothing can wreak havoc on a teen girl’s self-esteem. Importantly, the question is how can we help them raise their self-esteem? Some opinions from experts and stay at home moms are, "Watch your own stereotypes; let daughters help fix the kitchen sink and let sons help make dinner." Self-esteem matters a lot, it is your courage, your confidence, and it is self-respect in yourself.

For decades teen girls all over the world have lacked self-esteem. Some girls will let people put them down and they will not stand up for themselves. They need to realize that we are all unique individuals, and don’t have to be a copy. Hopefully things will change and get better. It’s obvious that we need to take some action, and help teen girls understand that looks don't always matter. What matters is on the inside, your character and how you treat people; not having the perfect body, or perfect hair, but your inner beauty.

Action:

In order to fulfill our service-learning requirement, our group has several different components that we will be implementing. We will be working with the girls at Body Appreciation Workshop through a variety of activities, we will engage the YWLP participants in a setting in which they can experience leadership through the functionality of the body. 

The girls will participate in three different races: wheelbarrow, three-legged, and chair race. We will use bandanas to tie their legs together for the three-legged race. The chair race requires the girls to work in teams of three, where two girls will link their arms in a way that will support the third girl, who they will carry during the race. After, the girls will be split into groups, and each member of the group will be given a different body part to draw: feet, legs, arms, ears, and hands. The girls will make their drawings and individually brainstorm functions performed by their assigned body part, in relation to the races completed in the previous activity. After five minutes, the group will discuss each drawing, adding insight to each other’s ideas on body functionality. We will also have them participate in dance and yoga. We want the girls to experience what is fun and energetic. As in our readings from Body Outlaws “Fishnets, Feather boas and Fat” our girls need to be able to express themselves in a variety of ways, that build inner beauty and strong confident young women that can grow into great role models for their generation and many more to come.

Lamm, Nomy. “Fishnets, Feather Boas and Fat.”  Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image. Ed. Ophira Edut. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2003. 78-87. Print.

Service Learning Actvism W/E 11/2

This week our group meet a couple of times during the week to iron out our second draft and make certain that what we had planned for the girls was fun and informative. While meeting via the phone on Tuesday and then again before class on Thursday is finally started to feel like we where headed in the right direction with the activities planned for the day. On Friday the group got together with some thoughts from Emily V. about changing some of the activities, I wasn't at this meeting because I was on a mission to obtain all the supplies needed for our crafts and journal needs. While visiting local businesses I was able to get all the donations we needed. Publix gave me snack packs of crackers, and between Big Lots and the Dollar Store I got, pens, colored pencils, markers, construction paper, memo pads, and tape. We should be ready to put together our final draft next week and do a dry run with the YWLP coordinator next week. I think the girls will come away from this event with a strong understanding and appreciation of their body and what it is possible to do through fun activities and different things they don't do on a regular basis.


Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.

ELECTION DAY LEARDERSHIP

Tuesday Nov. 8, 2012
Taking up the opportunity to complete a campus engagement, and help some of my elderly neighbors I ran a Gerri's Taxi Service before classes on election day. While walking my dogs on Mon. morning I ran across some of my friendly and not so friendly neighbors  that had different candidates signs posted along their yards. After speaking to some of them I offered my services to drive them to the poles to vote on Tuesday morning. I was surprised to see how many of them took me up on my offer. So starting at 6:30 in the morning I started driving back and forth to the pole set up at our local Knights Of Columbus/ Bingo Hall.
While being 5th in line waiting for the poles to open my neighbor told me she didn't like either candidate, but she knew that if she didn't vote she would be letting someone down. What I found startling was that see knew nothing about the 12 Amendments that where on this years ballot. We did discuss #6 in great detail and when she was done voting she told me she voted no but if I hadn't talked to her she would have voted yes to all 12. After dropping her off back home I returned to my home and picked up my sample ballot and the 8 x 10 mailing I received that was a summary of all 12 proposed amendments to the Florida's  Constitution. This turned out to be the best tool to have on hand to explain what each amendment was. When you get to the poles to vote you are given a ballot that basically you need a law degree to understand what they are asking you to vote for. Actually there was on 11 amendment since #7 needed to be rewritten and reinstated on the ballot as #8. I was very grateful that I didn't throw this away yet since I voted a week earlier. I drove 9 people to the poles that day but what happened at the poles was much more exciting. While waiting for them all to vote I hung around the line of voters and spoke to many about amendment #6.
Most people were going to vote yes and it scared me to see how little people understood what they were voting for. I used Gloria Steinen's statement during her speech " Would You Want Rick Scott In Your Doctors Office With You" and it worked. They got the message and I am happy to say that amendment did not pass in Osceola County. Now in no way do I think that I made the difference in that amendment but I do know that the 50+ people I spoke to that day during my 6 different trips to the poles did make a big difference. I felt really good about what I accomplished that day. 

Service Learning Rational

Girls Power Play

Right when we are born we are gendered. The little pink and blue blankets hold so much more baggage than just a warming device. They hold roles, normative behaviors, and body ideals. “Historically, studies that explore “childhood” broadly, or the experience of growing up generally, have often been based to represent the experiences of boys” (Lipkin 4). They study boys and apply the same information to girls even though our gender roles and experiences are different from the time of birth. It is important to understand girls because our experiences are different. Girls have expectations placed on them and also preconceived notions are given to them too. It is important to not study girls only from the anglocentrism lens (Griffin 29). Everyone is different because race and class intersect and it is important to recognize those differences from white privileged girls. Each group of girls has preconceived notions attached to them creating a tightrope which girls have to tread on carefully. “Girls are told they can be leaders and it's okay to be smart, but they then may be critiqued for being too ambitious or too pushy, a process that doesn't necessarily change when they grow into women” (Lipkin 12). Girl's learning strength and leadership is important because it educates them on the societal pressures placed on girls; this education is intended to implement change in our societal construction of girlhood.

In our readings from “The Body Project” there were discussions about women working with adolescent girls that I thought was interesting, especially considering we are working with YWLP. The quote is on page 18 and it says “Most of this entire protective umbrella meant that girls had many projects-other than their own bodies-to keep them busy and engaged”. I don’t necessarily agree with the whole “protective umbrella” thing but I like how it talks about keeping girls engaged in projects rather than focusing on their bodies. By giving them activities where they can still see what their bodies can do but also focusing on leadership and teamwork; helps them to see what they can achieve and not just focusing on the body as an all-consuming project.

Also from another chapter we’ve read in Body Projects; the author states that before the twentieth century, girls simply did not organize their thinking about themselves around their bodies-especially shape, size, and muscle tone-because they believe that the body is the ultimate expression of self (97). The author also states that the body is a consuming project for contemporary girls because it provides an important means of self-definition, a way to visibly announce who you are to the world (97). I believe what we are trying to do with this project is help girls to see that the body is not an all-consuming project and to focus less on what their body looks like and more on what their bodies can do and help them achieve.

This project is relevant to our Girls and the Body course, as well as the Girls Studies movement; because it is a project geared directly toward having girls create and develop their strength and ability that can move themselves forward. All teenagers can learn about leadership and define for themselves what it means.  It is important that these girls understand they are young leaders in their day-to-day lives, and that leadership is not reserved for adults or for those in formal leadership positions. Leaders are those who think for themselves, communicate their thoughts and feelings to others, and help others understand and act on their own beliefs; they influence others in an ethical and socially responsible way. Through our activities the girls will have the opportunity to recognize and then utilize the leadership skills which they already possess, and in doing so they will be able to further develop other leadership qualities as their years and experience progress.

Action:

In order to fulfill our service-learning requirement, our group has several different components that we will be implementing. We will be working with the girls at UCF Days, through four different group activities, we will engage the YWLP participants in a setting in which they can experience leadership through the functionality of the body. Following the activities, we will facilitate a guided discussion connecting body experience with applied leadership.

Discussion Questions:

1)         What did it feel like to use your body in different ways in different activities?

2)         How did you display leadership during the activities?

3)         What did you have to do differently during the challenges when you weren’t allowed to speak, move, or see?

4)         Were there times when you used your body to lead? When you used your body to follow? What did you find was effective, and what was ineffective? Did you feel uncomfortable at any times?

These questions will be used in a group setting after completing the activities for UCF Days.  We hope that the girls can share their experiences from the activities with us, and gain some insight of what they have the ability to do. As in “At home in my body” Torres speaks of how “she learned to reach her goals, her mind had to be convinced that her body could do the impossible”, I hope that these girls can come to the same conclusions while having fun doing our activities for the day.

Works Cited:

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.

Griffin, Christine. "Good Girls, Bad Girls: Anglocentrism and Diversity in the Constitution of Contemporary Girlhood." All About The Girl . Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Lipkin , Elline. Girls' Studies. Berkeley: Seal Studies, 2009. Print. pg 29

Torres, Allison.  “At Home in My Body.”  Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image.  Ed.  Ophira Edut.  Emeryville, CA:  Seal Press,  2003.  219-224.  Print.

Weekly Activism Log w/e 10/27

UCF DAYS was a big success.
Not only did the girls have fun, I believe that they also learned a few things that they didn't think they could do. In our discussion portion after the activities the girls shared some of their feelings and thoughts of the day. What really stood out was the blindfold challenge, they spoke of heighten hearing senses taking over to hear their big and follow the directions they were giving. They also learned trust that their big's were not going to let something happen to them while being blindfolded. But then of the flip side of that activity we found that a few of the little's took advantage of their big's by directing them into trees and waving palm branches in their path in order to scare them. Everyone had a good laugh. They also discussed the challenge of shipwreck and not falling into shark infested waters while needing to trust their teammates to keep them on the overturned boat. I helped run the Body Spelling activity and found it very interesting how the different groups achieved the goals of spelling different words. One group stood spelling their words while the other two groups laid on the ground to spell their words. This challenge was carried out using no verbal communication, it was interesting to see a little take control of the group and show them were to go and how to shape their body to form certain letters. This also included one little dragging others into position until being told they couldn't break each other.

All said and done this was a great day for me and the YWLP organization. I am really looking forward to our next event during alumni weekend. The body appreciation workshop will be able to express positive aspects or functions of their bodies. Also they will be able to walk away with the ability to continue the conversations about body appreciation with their friends and family.

As a group we will be meeting this week to debrief on the event and continue to develop the activities for the workshop that we will be hosting for these girls, on Nov 11th. We now have a better understanding of who these girls are and what the are capable of doing and are eager to incorporate their abilities into the activities. 

GLORIA EMPOWERS

On Oct. 19^th I attended the Legislative Lunch with Gloria Steinen on UCF campus. The Impact of the Upcoming Elections for Women was the topic of discussion yet I came away with so much more. I was in high school while Gloria was known as an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s. She began her speech by asking if we would like to have Gov. Rick Scott in the Doctor’s office with us while being examined!  If Amendment 6 is passed that is exactly what will be happening.  Family health help will be in jeopardy if passes. Abortion decisions should only be made by women and the support of their doctor not the government.  Medical care will be taken away and the cost will fall on women and their families.  

Gloria stressed the importance of women and all American’s to vote in this election. “The power in the day is in our vote” was what she said and I could feel the energy in the room come alive.  Also stressing Voters for Choice, Choice U.S.A., the need for Sex Education in schools, Equal pay would be the most economical stimulus in the U.S. would create not only jobs but power.

The quote that stands out the most from her amazing speech was “Femininity and Masculinity are made up roles. We are all human, and roles manipulate both men and women. We should not be ranked but linked as human beings”. I’ve never been so empowered by hearing someone speak. I’ve never wanted to act out and go out and do something to perpetuate these feelings before. As I walk around campus now and since her speech the first question I ask young students is are you going to vote? And PLEASE vote no for amendment 6.

Tattoos

In "Marked for Life" Silja spoke of  her tattoo's being a source of inspiration, to get her through her struggles in life. Living in many different areas and cultures she found it very difficult to fit into many stereo typical  groups, she retreated deeper within herself. Tattooing gave her Strength, and empowerment over things she could not control. Many people look down on women that decorate the bodies in the same manor as men.
Although these are the same people that buy into the cosmetic industry, jewelry including belly piercing, and breast implants as a normal part of women's lives. Many women are not comfortable or accepting of themselves and the cultures they come from. Most people say regret will come later in life when your older and you still have the tattoos you got when you were young. I myself have a very small tattoo in a place that only my husband see's. I didn't get this tattoo for the same reasons Silja did, I got it on a dare, but I love it and what it stands for, as I am sure that is what Silja feels also.

I found the stories on "Unwanted" much more of a concern then the "Marked for Life". I feel that cutting is an outward cry for help. In Precious Angel when someone finally noticed the pain this young girl was in no one could help her. Sure they tried to "fix her" through nurses, doctors, hospital, and counselors, yet at the end of her story she could only say she is better yet she did consider suicide. I know a girl that was a close friend of my son and his crew of high school friend. She is beautiful, intelligent, friendly, and what I thought was very confident. One day during a summer party at my home I noticed she wasn't in the pool, or not playing volleyball. After asking her if she was alright she stated that she didn't bring a suit. after offering her shorts and a tank top I walked in on her changing in my room to see cuts on her thighs. These were only a day or two old and I was shocked, I looked closer to see many scares from past cutting. I started to cry and so did she. we spent a couple of hours talking to find out that she was to horrified to speak to her very busy mother who she felt wouldn't care anyway. This girl was hurting in a way that I couldn't help other then letting her cry and talk with me. Finally I told her that I would go with her to speak to her mother, and if her mother couldn't give her the help she needed I would find someone that would. 

It has been along battle for 'Amy'  (not her real name) but today I get long emails and photos from her along with pictures of her beautiful twin daughters that inspire her everyday of her life to be a strong, empowered women, with her knowledge she has made a vow to never cut again and to be there for her daughter when the teenage world grabs a hold of them.

Both readings and my sons friend have a connection in the struggles young girls go through just to live life in what they believe to be an acceptable way of dealing with pain within themselves.   

570 words

Talvi, Silja J.A.. "Marked for Life: Tattoos and the Redefinition of Self." Body Outlaws. Ed. Ophira Edut. 2nd ed., Expanded and Updated. Emeryville, California: Seal Press, 2003. 211-218. Print. 

Angel, Precious. "Unwanted." My Sisters' Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out. Ed. Iris Jacob. New York, New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2002. 201-203. Print.

Beauty Quiz

Link to Beauty Quiz
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/fitness/quiz.jsp?quizId=/templatedata/fitness/quiz/data/1146513593096.xml

I saw this old ad for Legos and thought how wonderful that the girl is in regular play clothes, enjoying a non-gendered toy.  No princess outfit, tea sets, glitter or dolls.  The caption says it all for me, "What is it is beautiful."

Introduction

Hello my name is Gerri and this is my junior year at UCF. I am seeking a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, Majoring in Art History and Humanities and minoring in Woman’s Studies. I love cooking and gardening, hiking, and sailing.  I am not your normal college student but I have noticed that there are quite a number of 50 + year old students on campus. It’s great to see that people are going back to school and starting a new chapter in their lives. I am a wife, daughter, mother, sister, and aunt and soon to be grandma that want to be a mentor to young girls to help them see that life is more than what TV and Magazines shows and how to succeed in life  becoming  strong and independent.

I am interested in woman and girl studies so that I can use the experience I have in living life with the knowledge that I will acquire through these classes to help relate with girls. Raising two strong young men to respect woman was an accomplishment that I am very proud of and enjoy their success in their personal relationships with strong young woman. My oldest son is married to a strong independent woman that he respects and supports in all of her interests and endeavors.   

I believe that popular culture strongly affects the way girls think of their bodies and their self- esteem. They seem to be afraid to be themselves for fear that they will not fit in or belong in the same group as their peers. 

Growing up in a disconnected family I learned the majority of things from classmates instead of from a strong female that I believe would have made a significant difference in the way I viewed myself and developed my self-esteem. Due to a lack of that strong female in my life it took a long time for me to understand what I was capable of doing with my life. That old saying comes to mind “ If only I knew than, what I know now”. But saying that I still wouldn’t change the last 30 years of my life. I now have a strong family and believe that my boys have a strong female in their lives that has made a difference in the way the view themselves and the value of the woman in their life.