The Power Struggle at the Occidental Child Development
I have conducted ethnographic research at the Occidental Child Development Center where I have spent many hours participating and observing with the children of the center. I am not an outsider to this center, because I have been working with this particular bunch of children for a year, so I am well accepted when I asked to join in the games with the children. The center has a total 45 preschool students aging from 2-5 years old and seven staff members and five student workers. Throughout my research the director, teachers, and my fellow student workers accompanied me at all times, however I have not included all 45 children and all eight staff members. I have narrowed my research and included observations where children practice more power over other children, an example of personal agency, and an example of the family oriented atmosphere.
To protect the anonymity of the children I have observed I have labeled the children according to their classroom and sex. In the following ethnography I refer to the Hungry Caterpillars, the Busy Bees, and the Terrific Tigers. The school is broken down into three classrooms according to the child’s age and skills. The two year-olds are the Hungry Caterpillars (HC), the three year-olds are the Busy Bees (BB), and the four year-olds are the Terrific Tigers (TT). The children are aware of their classroom names and often refer to them when addressing others or themselves. I must make a note that some of the children are held back because they lack certain skills they need before they can move onto the next classroom so I have also included the age of the children to clarify for
the reader. One might think that this affe...
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...ing to the Western notion that marks children as incompetent adults. I believe it would be valuable for ethnographers to use feminist methodologies to help redefine this Western notion of childhood, and give the children a chance to speak for themselves.
References
Chin, Elizabeth. Feminist Theory and the Ethnography of Children’s Worlds: Barbie in New Haven, Connecticut.
Gailey, Christine Ward. “Feminist Methods” Ch. 6 in Bernard, H. Russell Ed. Handbook of Methods In Cultural Anthropology. London: A Division of Sage Pub, Inc.
Leavitt, Robin. Power and Emotion in Toddler-Infant Day Care. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1994.
Rosaldo, Michelle Zimbalist, “Woman, Culture, and Society: A Theoretical Overview”, in Lamphere, Louise & Rosaldo, Michelle Zimbalist, Ed. Woman, Culture, and Society. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. 1974.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
A Comparison of Barna di Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Rogier van der Weyden’s Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child
Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Rebel Without a Cause. Dir.
After Woodrow Wilson earned his Ph. D. from John Hopkins University, he later became the president of Princeton University in 1902. He was a scholar who was valued and known for his intelligence and writing ability. In 1910, he was chosen to run for governor by the Democratic Party because of his great reputation as a profound public speaker. Although he won the election, he surprised the Democratic Party by welcoming reform. He directed Legislative to t...
30, No. 4, New Feminist Approaches to Social Science Methodologies, Special Issue Editors, Sandra Harding and Kathryn
Brother doesn’t realize that his pride has done damage until the damage has been done. Brother looks back years later and he realizes that his pride got the best of him, and he won’t be able to get his brother back. When brother is younger he doesn’t realize how he has impacted Doodle’s life sometimes in a positive way but mostly in a negative way.
...ir racial characteristics. He also knew the value of the ethnic vote. Wilson on the other hand was a racist who brought his Virginia attitude with him to the White House. Perhaps the most ironic thing about these two men is the fact that Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904 for helping resolve the Russian-Japanese fighting, and TR never was in office during the Great Wars while Wilson was. However, we did end up getting the United Nations from Woodrow Wilson’s presidency.
It is believed that Apple Cider Vinegar has such an amazing effect on our body because the ingredients put our PH balance in a more alkaline state. First thing you should do if you are going to try using apple cider vinegar to help with any kind of health ailment is to buy a PH balance kit, available in most drug stores, and test your PH balance. If your PH balance is higher in acid content you will most likely find great benefits in the healing power of Apple Cider Vinegar. Here are some health benefits of apple cider vinegar 1. Apple Cider Vinegar is great at reducing the acid (remember Apple Cider vinegar is alkaline) in your stomach and relieving heart burn. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before or after dinner can make heart burn never appear or greatly reduce it. 2. Apple Cider Vinegar can help with detoxifying your body. 3. Apple Cider Vinegar has been used to help relieve the symptoms of allergy attacks. 4. People who drink apple cider vinegar on a daily basis feel better and look better as it helps to make your skin
Martin, Karin A., 1998. “Becoming a Gendered body: Practices of Preschools” American Sociological Assosciation (4): 510.
I myself am still the owner of 10-12 well-worn Barbie dolls. They are the outcome of much begging and pleading with my parents and their many unsuccessful attempts at getting me to stop sucking my thumb. Barbie was fascinating to me because she was a woman, not a baby like my other dolls. My sister and I spent hours creating complex "grown-up" scenarios with Barbie and her counterparts. Although I have fond memories of those afternoons of make-believe, I am now a more consciences adult aware of Barbie's shortcomings as such a powerful cultural icon. Although some people would call Barbie a feminist due to her multiple careers and her independent, fun-loving personality, I now see that Barbie’s unrealistic body size, her association with consumerism, and her potent sexuality make her a negative and harmful American icon.
McCann, C. R. & Kim S. (2013), Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives (3rd ed.) (pp 161-173).
Marge Piercy is a poet who often writes about women’s movements. During the 1960s, she was involved with Students for a Democratic Society, but her interests in the women’s movement became the focus of her writing. This focus is apparent in her poem ‘Barbie Doll’ where she expresses her feminist views of the image society portrays of the perfect woman. Piercy’s description of the girl in ‘Barbie Doll’ is a reflection of herself and her personal experiences with sexism in life. However, unlike the girlchild in “Barbie Doll,” Piercy did not allow herself to be driven by society’s male driven image of what the perfect woman should be. Instead, she used her writing as a platform to speak out against such sexist stereotypes ("Barbie
To question women’s approach during the World War II era to attain equal rights, one does not need to address the worldwide theories of socio-cultural development, unlike most anthropological studies; however, instead, a valid assortment of research is to attain detailed regional studies of cultural traits to understand the ...
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
By the late 1900s, approximately five billion human beings occupied planet Earth. Whether they crawled on top of comfortable carpets or scurried across dark alleys, five billion people carried the ability to not only walk on the earth, but also to shape it, to mold it with their footsteps. Among this era's sculptors that molded the ground below them with their various talents was Walt Disney, a man who grew up to become a film producer, a screenwriter, a director, an animator, an entrepreneur, an international icon and a philanthropist. With his imagination, ambition, and a little help from a special mouse, Disney transformed both the entertainment industry and international culture itself. He pioneered full-color animated cartoons, created "the happiest place on Earth", and introduced the world to inspiring family movies that to this day encourage both children and adults alike to pursue their dreams and chase happiness. However, while Disney's movies all end with a "happily ever after", the actual tales the movies are based on are far from happy; they are rather morbid, realistic and poignant. The Little Mermaid, Disney's movie about a young princess lusting after a prince, serves as an example of a story in which Disney strayed far from the actual tale. The basis of Disney's feel-good, family movie is Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, which shocks readers with the death of the mermaid's beloved prince, the mermaid's awareness of her physical pain, and the loss of her innocence. Analyzed through a psychoanalytical lens, both Walt Disney's and Hans Christian Andersen's A Little Mermaid displays female subjectivity in favor of a dominant patriarchal world.