Are You There God, It's Me Margaret Review Citations

Cabot , Meg. "Are You There God? Margaret's Not OK for Tweens ." Meg's Diary. Meg Cabot, 24 2010. Web. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. .

Marchino, Lois A. "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret." Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series (1991): 1-2. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 13 Nov. 2012

Weekly Activism Blog 3

Activism:
This week was the execution of our Body Appreciation workshop. The day had finally come to put our hard work to the test. We arrived on Sunday around noon to set up. We got things into place and sat down to begin discussing the day and all the specifics. However, we were interrupted when some of the Littles showed up thirty minutes early. So without any more prep, we were thrown into the project. We decided that we should start off with our paper chain activity (which wasn’t originally supposed to be the first activity) so the girls who arrived early would have something to begin doing. So already the day began with us being flexible. Slowly the rest of the girls began to arrive. We completed the paper chains with them and it took a bit longer than we thought it would. Then we went outside for our hula hoop icebreaker. After that we did our relay races, which were incredibly fun and the Littles seemed to have a great time participating in. We headed back upstairs for a snack and to complete our body part drawing activity. The Littles did a great job and with the help of our community partner Emily V. in the discussion aspect it went incredibly smoothly. Next we had a dance break and then went outside for some yoga led by Maddie. These were my two favorite activities by far. We ended off with some charades and then sent the Littles on their way. I personally had a blast!

Reflection:
This week was very eye opening for me. Not that these concepts are simple, or changing people’s views on matters of the body is simple either, but it did come as a surprise to me to see how easy it was to facilitate a conversation about the body with seventh grade girls and help them to understand the basics of these concepts we are trying to portray about health being more than just the physical. I don’t know how much it will stick with them, but it was especially cool to hear their thoughts.
Though the activity went well, listening to the Littles talk with each other, I won’t lie… was quite terrifying. Their conversations reminded me of Nancy from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” when she says she wants to grow up and look like the girls in playboy (Blume 6). The Littles were talking about wanting to get older and get tattoos, go to parties, and so many other things. We were constantly shocked by the things they would say. I think that we underestimate girls a lot. While they are young and impressionable they are also brilliant. It’s quite a scary combination.

Reciprocity:
I’ve learned a lot this week about young girls. Despite previously being a part of YWLP it still fascinates me working with young girls. On the other hand though, it reminds me that working with young girls is probably not something I would want to do for my career. On my seemingly never ending path of trying to figure out what I want to do this project may have helped me cross one thing off the list. And I mean that in a good way. I have a very high respect for people like Emily V. who have chosen to do this for their careers or even just for a while. Even though, as females, we all have gone through this time of girlhood, and made it out alive, it is still hard to bring yourself back to that time and remember what it was like. I think this issue is incredibly important and I am happy we have people dedicated to it.

Works Cited
Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. New York, NY: Random House, Inc, 1970. Print.

Weekly Activism Blog 2

Activism:
This week we had to submit our final draft to Emily V. We also had to have our weekly meeting and run through in the Women’s Studies office with Emily V. We got comments back from Emily V. about our final draft. She was concerned we were straying away from our goal of focusing on the body and having fun. There was quite a bit of confusion amongst the group because we believed we had changed our lesson plan to focus more on being active and having fun. We met on Friday for about an hour and a half. With Emily V.’s suggestions we changed some parts of the lesson plan. We took out our kickball game and replaced it with a series of races (wheel barrow race, three legged race, etc). We also added in a craft activity that would connect the race activities with thinking about the functionality of the body. It was a bit stressful because our project is taking place in two days. So there was definitely some frustration in room. We worked hard and completed the editing of the final draft and I believe we have a solid workshop now. Hopefully it will run smoothly and the girls will enjoy themselves.

Reflection:
This project has definitely allowed me to deepen my understanding of health more. While I believe I have always known, on some level, that health entails more than simply physical aspects. However, I think it is so easy for us to automatically think about health being physically based. These other factors like emotions and happiness play such a huge role. In our meeting today Grace mentioned how her personal definition of health barely considers physicality as a part of it. I thought this was incredibly interesting. It also shows that health looks differently for everyone. I think that is what Nomy was trying to portray in her article “Fishnets, Feather Boas, and Fat.” That we each have our own definition of health and what makes us happy and that is ok. Health doesn’t look the same for everyone.

Reciprocity:
I won’t lie, this project has been incredibly stressful. However, I have learned a lot. I have learned how vital everyone is to being a part of a team. There have been a lot of difficulties but I think this can only make us all more effective as individuals entering group projects from here on out. In our college careers many of us have had positive group experiences, but working together on the level we have had to for this project is not the norm. I think this is a benefit to us because we weren’t able to simply meet up once or twice, turn it in, and be done with it. We have been meeting almost every week since the beginning to mid semester. We have had our trials and difficulties but our first workshop was very successful and I think our workshop on Sunday will be as well. So overall, this project has helped me learn more about working in groups and being an effective member.

Lamm, Nomy. "Fishnets, Feather Boas, and Fat." Body Outlaws. Ophira Edut. 2nd ed. expanded and updated. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2003. 219-224. Print.

Body Appreciation Workshop Rationale

Kelsey Paul
WST 4022
Professor Tweed
November 8, 2012
Word Count: 512

Body Appreciation Workshop Rationale

After much discussion we came to an agreement that the goal of our body appreciation workshop would be for the YWLP Littles to recognize that health is composed of many factors such as physical, mental, emotional, etc. As stated in the Body Project, “many young girls worry about the contours of their bodies--- especially shape, size and muscle tone--- because they believe that the body is the ultimate expression of self (97). Just as girls see themselves and their identities as bodies, girls also tend to see themselves and their health as only related to the body. We want the Littles to recognize that health is comprised of more than just the physical and all of these emotional, mental, etc. factors are important when taking care of self and keeping oneself healthy.

Many young girls equate being healthy with being skinny or having a certain figure. Many girls begin to watch their weight and appetite at the age of nine or ten (119). This shows how much importance is placed on physical appearance. Being healthy does not mean to diet or exercise constantly. Being healthy doesn’t have one mold that everyone needs to fit.

For our workshop we originally thought of a lot of applicable ideals, but honestly, they were really boring. We switched up our workshop to gear it towards what seventh grade girls might actually enjoy doing. We simplified it and decided to stop trying to teach the girls or show them these concepts about health, but rather let them experience it. We want to be guides not lecturers. We also want the girls to have a fun time and not feel like they are sitting in a classroom.

We decided the best way to accomplish our goal and have lots of fun would be through a variety of activities. We will be going outside and playing a friendly game of kickball. We will be using our creativity and craftiness to create paper chains that promote positive thinking about their bodies. We will be playing emotional charades in order to highlight the importance of emotions and feelings in regards to health. Also, we will be participating in yoga facilitated by Maddie.

At the end of it all we will have a brief discussion to connect our activities back to health. I think this is an issue that needs to be talked about. So often health is incorrectly defined and this can have negative consequences for all, but especially young girls. In “Fishnets, Feather Boas, and Fat” Nomy Lamm talks about her comfortability with her weight. She ways that “good health is not about being thin; it’s about doing things that are good for your body. You can be fat and healthy” (81). She makes an excellent point. We want these young girls to be healthy, but we don’t want them to automatically think of “skinny” every time someone mentions health. The two words are not synonymous. If we can help the girls to recognize that being healthy isn’t solely about physicality then I believe we will have accomplished our goal.

Works Cited

Lamm, Nomy. "Fishnets, Feather Boas, and Fat." Body Outlaws. Ophira Edut. 2nd ed. expanded and updated. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2003. 219-224. Print.

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

Weekly Activism Log 1

This week I worked with members from our group on various occasions. On Monday I met via phone conference with our group. I could not be at the meeting to debrief about UCF day, so I called in while I was in the office at work. I had to listen on and off since I would sometimes need to help someone who came in the office, but overall I was able to listen in and get a general understanding of everyone’s thoughts on UCF day and thoughts for our Body Appreciation Workshop. On Wednesday I met up with Maddie and Alexa at Panera Bread. We discussed what we thought our objective should be and talked about some possible activities that were related to our new objective. On Friday I met with Emily, Ann, Catherine, and Grace in the library for or usual weekly meeting. At this meeting we looked over the feedback from Emily V. on our Body Appreciation Workshop second draft. There were many concerns addressed from Emily. We decided to take a step back and reevaluate our thoughts for the project. We realized our draft wasn’t very fun and decided we shouldn’t focus so much on teaching the girls to appreciate their bodies, but rather let them do activities that will allow them to appreciate their bodies.

At my meeting with Alexa and Maddie we had a lot of discussion about the ominous mind body divide. We talked about it in connection to health as we were talking about our project. We wanted to help the girls recognize that there is more to being healthy than just eating habits and physical activity, but rather that emotions and relationships heavily affect your health. This got us talking about the mind body divide. I still have a lot of hesitancies with fully accepting this idea of the mind and body all being one. In Torres article “At Home in My Body” she says “Separating mind from the body in the appropriate context, in my case, has led to a better union between the two” (223). Though I am definitely aware that the mind and body are intricately connected, I also can see the strength that can be gained from separating the two. This project has allowed me to think about this concept a lot.

This service learning project is definitely a growing experience. We have obviously had many frustrations as a group but have been really trying to work together and make our project successful. This project has taught me a lot about myself. I sometimes feel fearful or worried about joining groups or working for causes because I feel that I am unworthy in a sense. For instance, I am passionate about LGBTQ rights. However, sometimes I will refrain from working with a group for that cause because I feel that there are so many activists that know more about the cause than I do and I don’t feel I have enough to bring to the table. This project has helped me to see that I don’t have to know everything to be a beneficial part of the group. In many of our meetings I feel that I am helping to keep the group focused or make specific and tangible goals for our meetings. I may not know everything about girls and the body or the mind body divide, but I can still help our group to complete its overall goal and that is nice to realize.

Works Cited
Torres , Allison. "At Home In My Body." Trans. ArrayBody Outlaws. Ophira Edut. 2nd ed. expanded and updated. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2003. 219-224. Print.

WST Engagement #2

On Friday, October 19th I went to hear Gloria Steinem talk in the Pegasus Ballroom. Overall, the experience of getting to hear her speak was wonderful. Gloria spoke a lot about the upcoming election and the importance of going out and voting and encouraging others to go out and vote. She referenced a time she was at a speaking engagement at a college in Florida and found that about 100 of the 700 people in the audience that had gone to vote had been prevented for some reason. I didn’t realize there was so much going on to prevent people from voting. It is really disheartening really and shows the importance of why we NEED to go vote if we are able. Because even some people who do everything they can to exercise their right to vote are still not able to.

Gloria talked about a wide variety of wonderful things. She talked about how she has spent her life dedicated to the women’s movement. She said a question she gets a lot is “Aren’t you interested in anything other than the women’s movement?” and her response is “tell me one thing that is not connected.” I thought this was very powerful. Especially, in our class how we are trying to show the connection of each issue we discuss to larger institutional and macro level issues. There always seems to be a connection. I think recognizing this is important to the women’s movement and people who do not think the women’s movement is important or affects them. It affects us all and we need to be aware of that.

Another quote that Gloria said that stuck with me was in response to another common question she gets asked. “Who are you going to pass your torch to?” Gloria said when people ask this she says “I’m not, I’m using it to light other people’s torches. There will be a lot more light if everyone has a torch.” I thought this was a very powerful response. We have this idea that only one person can head a movement, but that’s not true at all. We all need to be fighting and working towards this common goal. Especially since there are so many different issues that all connect back to women’s issues. We can all take up a torch for a different part of the problem and still be fighting for the same cause.

All in all I had a wonderful time hearing Gloria speak and I came away inspired!

This week we read two texts. The first was “Unwanted” from My Sisters’ Voices. In this text a fourteen year old girl, called Precious, describes her battles with depression and cutting. She talked about how unloved she felt by everyone and how her only comforting thought “was to cut on my arms when I returned home” (Angel 201). The young girl uses cutting as her form of escape from all the negativity she is feeling around her. In our second text “Marked for Life” from Body Outlaws we read about a woman and her experience and views of tattoos. She talks about how she used tattoos to help her cope with hard situations and how they served as a “reminder of my belief that I was going to make it through a difficult and painful time” (Talvi 212).

These two stories are connected in strange but meaningful ways. Both of these women have used some sort of body altering methods that cause physical pain to deal with their emotional pain, whether positively or negatively. It ties into this major theme that altering the body can alter one’s emotional state or that if you change this thing then you will be happy. These stories don’t necessarily confirm or negate that theme; they just relate to it. In “Unwanted” she harms her body to try to escape the pain of real life, but clearly this isn’t the answer to finding emotional healing. However, in “Marked for Life” the tattooing of her body serves to help her overcome her challenges and find this positive self-identity.

I’m not really sure what this says about the ideas that we are separate from our bodies or that we are our bodies. There has been a lot of talk about this idea lately and I personally am not completely sure which is the right idea. It is definitely something I would love to discuss more in class.

Works Cited

 

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.

WST Engagement 1

On Saturday, September 15th I attended the Women's Health Panel at the Youth Organizing and Policy Institute on the UCF campus. The speakers were Jenna Tosh, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando, Scott Randolph, the Florida State Representative, and Dr. M.C. Santana, the director of the women's studies program at UCF. The panel was shorter than I expected. I think there were some time issues. So I would have liked to hear more, but overall it was pretty good. Scott Randolph talked about the affordable care act and the equality it can create in insurance payments. Dr. Santana was probably my favorite speaker, although I am probably biased because I know her, unlike the other two speakers.

Dr. Santana spoke on some of her personal experiences with reproductive health. She talked about the hard time she had getting her maternity leave from UCF when she had one of her children and how she had to be back within two weeks of having her baby. She talked about how she took her son and daughter to both get the HPV shot and how this brought about much reaction from the clinic staff. Everyone saw this to be a huge deal. Scott Randolph discussed how our Governor Rick Scott is one of the most disliked governors. He discussed the breakdown of how people voted and who voted and said that in the end it took less than 20% of the population to vote for Rick Scott for him to get elected.

I think Dr. Santana’s stories are a great example of how women’s health and sexual health affect us all in our everyday lives, and Scott Randolph’s discussion about Rick Scott shows the importance of getting involved and voting. Towards the end of the panel someone asked Dr. Santana what brought her to the movement? Or why she is involved like she is? Her answer was simple: “Because you have to!” She said, you can’t life and look the other way. This was something that really stuck with me. How can we ignore issues that are affecting all of us? How can we not vote and leave our futures and our vaginas futures up to representatives that we don’t even support. Anna Eskamani, a Planned Parenthood representative, ended off the panel in the perfect way. She said “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.” I completely agree. We have to stop ignoring and start being active.

Wingapo! (That's hello according to Pocahontas)

My name is Kelsey. I fancy myself Pocahontas sometimes though. My current motto in life is naturally inspired by her Disney movie in that I want to go wherever the wind takes me. A little about me: I am a senior this year (thank goodness). I am from Largo, fl. I am majoring in criminal justice… but it’s not really real. I’m double minoring in sociology and women’s studies and consider those my real majors. It might not seem to make sense but I understand it so don’t worry! I’m not sure what I will do after graduation. My real plan is just to follow my previously stated motto. Overall, I’m a happy person. I’m a jokester and try not to take myself too seriously...as you can probably tell.

I am interested in studying girls and body image because I know it is a very prevalent issue. I am aware of the harmful and damaging effects of poor body image among girls. It breaks my heart when I hear young girls saying they aren’t skinny enough or they need to go on a diet. My mother suffered from bulimia nervosa for 9 years before my brother and I were born. She now works as a psychotherapist for women and girls with eating disorders. So that is a topic that was frequently talked about in my household growing up. Because of my mother's struggles her goal in raising children was to instill a high self-esteem in us. Because of my mother I have been spared a lot of the insecurity issues typically faced in girlhood. That is why I am so hurt to see girls buying into the altered images the media show us. I think this is an incredibly important topic and that is why I have chosen this class.

In conclusion, I am very excited for this course. I hope to learn from all your experiences and unique perspectives on the topics. I look forward to getting to know you all as the semester goes on. Good luck to everyone!