Service Learning Log #1

Activism

This Thursday, my partner, Lindsey A. Q. and I met after class to discuss what stores we were going to get in contact with for our supply drives (from 1:17 P.M.-2:14 P.M.). We searched on Lindsey’s computer and found the Publix website and stores in the area. I called five different Publix stores, one Winn-Dixie, and one Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store. Every store besides is fully booked. The lack of availability is the obvious pitfall in the project because some of the stores are booked until November. My partner and I did not contact our community partner this week, but we already received the go-ahead from Maria Roman, our program contact. Next week, we will go to the UCF Bookstore and/or local kid’s establishments to ask about availability.

Reflection

            The Women’s Bodies, Women’s Health chapter clearly relates to the work of YWLP and our personal project for YWLP. YWLP enables girls to be leaders and possess self-esteem. I believe my partner and I exhibit those strengths. We took this project into our own hands and continually take the initiative to accomplish our goals. To have self-esteem, people have to love themselves. This also relates to their bodies. Body image is at the forefront of people’s minds because it is the first thing that they see. Kirk and Okazawa-Rey state that, “Feminist scholars have analyzed the oppressive nature of ads and media representations that bombard women and girls with the ideal of beauty…” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 208). To combat this, the YWLP website offers the Little Sisters the opportunity to watch positive movies about women and one of them happens to be Real Women Have Curves (YWLP). Movies like this showcase real women and not the idealized version that the media usually shows. My partner and I will be able to contribute to these girls and hopefully we will gain knowledge for ourselves.

Reciprocity

I have always loved to work with or on the behalf of children or young people. It is so important to inspire young people and specifically young women to be all that they can be. My partner and I are working to give the Big and Little Sisters the supplies necessary to accomplish these goals. In today’s world, supplies for small and even large organizations are vital. Without them, it becomes increasingly difficult for these groups to survive, and hopefully we can help alleviate some of these issues.

From a feminist perspective, I believe that YWLP does exactly what the definition of feminism states: “…feminism concerns the liberation of women and girls from discrimination based on gender” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 4). For me, if these middle school girls are educated about the patriarchal society around them, they will be better equipped to deal with it and work against it when they mature.

Works Cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives 5^th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

Young Women’s Leaders Program (YWLP). University of Central Florida. Web. 25 February 2011.

Analysis of an Advertisement in Vogue Magazine (March)

         

This advertisement from Vogue magazine’s March issue really stood out to me because of the underlying message behind the image. As far as the image goes, I do respond positively to advertisements that highlight women in the workforce. The image shows that the women are serious about their careers because of their suitcases and suits. The suits consist mostly of pants with a few dresses/skirts shown. Even so, the pant suits are predominantly showcased and this image helps cement the prevalence of gender bending in society.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel is the lack of minority representation. Funnily enough, when I first saw this image, I did not even think that there was a black person in the advertisement, but upon further review, the black woman is in the spine of the magazine and can barely be seen. For some reason, I found that to be really odd. It could have been on accident, but even if it was, she was still in the background of the shot. There could be other minorities in the advertisement (the possible cut off Asian woman on the right corner and the possible Hispanic woman on the right image), but they did not immediately stand out to me.  

This advertisement implicitly portrays and assumes that only thin, attractive, and mostly white women work and that they dress a certain way for their careers. The advertisement explicitly states that women who wear Jones New York will feel more "empowered" by wearing their clothes. Because of this, Jones New York is attempting to sell their clothes to women and particularly female professionals. On a macro level, the hidden and obvious meanings associated with this advertisement clearly exclude women who work and do not necessarily fit the “professional” image that the advertisement portrays. Moreover, not all women are able to relate to the “perfect” bodies projected to them.

To tie this into the “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Health” chapter, my advertisement only shows the fit, white, and professional aspect of the workforce. The textbook states that there is “…an ideal of beauty defined as thin, lean, tall, young, white, and heterosexual, with flawless skin and well-groomed hair” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 208). This ad plays into that message perfectly. On the minority issues, there do appear to be a few minorities, but it takes a lot of searching. Besides that, the minorities and the white women have perfect bodies, hair, skin, etc. and the textbook explicitly states that: “Where women of color are used, they are often light-skinned and conform to the same body type” (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 208).

            Overall, I found it ironic that the ad mentions that women constitute half of the workforce, but the ad and its message probably does not represent 50% of women in the country.

Works Cited

Jones New York Advertisement.Vogue Magazine. March issue.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5^th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

Word Count: 466

Service Learning Proposal

Service Learning Proposal for Young Women’s Leaders Program

By: Sarina D.

February 9, 2011

Meredith Tweed

WST 3015-001

Community Partner Profile:

Community Partner: Young Women’s Leaders Program

Address: 4000 Central Florida Blvd. P.O. Box 161994 Orlando, FL 32816 CNH 411

Contact: Maria Roman, ywlp@mail.ucf.edu

Community Partner Mission Statement: “The Young Women Leaders Program is a mentoring program sponsored by the UCF Women’s Studies Program. YWLP originated at the University of Virginia, and UCF launched the program in the Orlando community. YWLP promotes middle school girls’ leadership abilities, pairing collegiate women with middle school girls. In mentoring pairs and small groups of Big and Little Sisters, participants focus on learning competence and autonomy, independent thinking, empowerment, self-esteem, and encouraging girls to think about their futures” (YWLP).

Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: YWLP empowers middle school girls (Little Sisters) in the Orlando area to become strong leaders in the future. The middle school students meet with college age women (Big Sisters) and they instill values that will help the girls realize their potential. Essentially, the two hour meetings revolve around vital issues like: “leadership, friendship, autonomy, body awareness, tough decisions, connection, and looking ahead” (YWLP).

Community Partner Needs: YWLP needs volunteers to hold supply drives for the Little Sisters and Big Sisters. These supply drives accumulate needed items to be used during their mentoring sessions. The items range from snacks, journals, index cards, markers, etc. that can be donated by patrons of stores or restaurants, etc. (YWLP).

The Proposal:

Memorandum

TO: Meredith Tweed

FROM: Sarina D.

DATE: February 9, 2011

RE: Proposal for the YWLP Service Learning Project

The proposal states what YWLP needs and how my partner and I will be fulfilling those needs. My proposal also shows how the service learning project relates to classroom lessons. The timeline may need to be adjusted according to unforeseen issues, etc.

Need for Volunteers for the Community Outreach Program:

YWLP needs the community to aid in their effort to inform middle school girls about how to become leaders in society. The Big Sisters (college age women) teach the Little Sisters (middle school girls) about a variety of issues and present many examples of how women can positively contribute to society. In fact, on the YWLP website, Little Sisters are provided with books, websites, activism ideas, and movies to further empower them outside of the mentoring process (YWLP). Through donations of supplies or money, the program is able to function. This means that volunteers and donations are crucial to the strength of this program, so any form of help is appreciated. Supply drives fuel this need and provide some of the basics that keep the program running.

Plan Proposal:

YWLP needs supplies for the Littles Sisters who will be participating in the program. These supplies include: “snacks, poster boards, jelly bracelets, digital camera(s), journals, paper plates, napkins, age appropriate prizes, yarn, magazines, stapler(s), stationary, cups, index cards, markers, and stickers” (YWLP). To meet this need, my partner and I will be holding two supply drives. We must contact Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store and Publix to have our venture approved. Then, we will need to create and post flyers and set up a table at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store and Publix. We will ask customers to remember the girls of YWLP when they are making their purchases. My partner and I will split up each of these tasks equally to ensure fairness. At the end of our endeavors, my partner and I hope to be able to give the Little and Big Sisters of YWLP some, if not all, of the necessary supplies to accomplish their mission of educating young women.

Rationale for Women’s Studies:

My project for the YWLP relates to WST 3015-001 for numerous reasons. It debunks one of the common myths associated with feminism. The myth states that “feminism is ideological,” but the textbook states that, “Women studies courses and projects seek to link intellectual, experiential, and emotional forms of knowing with the goal of improving women’s lives” (Kirk, Gwyn, Okazawa-Rey 5). That is the core of YWLP and my personal project with my partner. We will be helping supply items to YWLP so that the participants in the program can prosper and become better girls. I also think that the program represents what how women can choose how they will live in our patriarchal society (Kirk, Gwyn, Okazawa-Rey 55). By teaching these girls to be leaders at young ages, they will be better equipped to deal with our society and learn to be active against patriarchy and not settle (Johnson 69).

Action:

I have written an e-mail and my partner (Lindsay Q.) sent it to the program contact (Maria Roman). She informed us of the options we had and advocated our own creativity as well. My partner and I have loosely planned two events- one at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store and one at Publix. We will hold supply drives outside their stores and raise the necessary supplies. My partner and I will create the flyers and supply what is necessary to conduct the supply drives (table, chairs, donation buckets). If additional items are needed, we will contact our YWLP contact.

Timeline:

I, along with my partner, will present the project on April 21, 2011. It should be noted that these dates are tentative and may change throughout the semester as needed. As of now, there will be two supply drives-one at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store and one at Publix.

1. Publix Supply Drive March 15-20

            2. Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store Supply Drive March 15-20

3. Write Draft March 25

4. Edit Draft April 8

5. Present Draft April 21

Works Cited

Johnson, Allan G. “Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us.” Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5^th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 69. Print.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5^th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.

Young Women’s Leaders Program (YWLP). University of Central Florida. Web. 9-10 February 2011.

Word Count: 944