Hollywood's tendency to "whitewash" characters of color...

I thought you all might find this interesting.  Hollywood has a tendency to portray people of color in a negative light in films.  Ironically, when they do present a positive role for a character of color, it is often played by a white actor/actress!  That is the case with this upcoming film...

http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/dont-whitewash-rumi/?aktmid=tm91886.rdALR3&t=1&source=conf

Essay Question...

Essay: To be completed on your blog (question is posted on my blog as well).  Answer one of the following.  Use evidence and examples of what we learned in class or from other research you have done.  You will be assessed not on having the “right” or “wrong” answer, but on your reasoning and how well you can defend your position.

Option A:  Is the U.S. a patriarchal society?  Why or why not?  

Option B: What can we do as a nation to achieve a greater level of gender equality?  Be specific.

The difference between sex and gender...

Here is a useful link from the World Health Organization that explains the difference...

http://apps.who.int/gender/whatisgender/en/

What is gender?...

We are wrapping up our unit on class with our exam on Tuesday.  And we will be starting a new unit on gender next week.  So to start thinking about the issues that will be addressed in that unit I want you to reflect on the following.  Answer these questions on your blog...

What is gender?

What is sex?

Are they the same or different?

What is gender identity?

What is sexual orientation?

Give me examples of these ideas.  What has been your own life experience with issues of gender?

Why is inequality on the rise in the United States...

In class today we discussed income inequality in the U.S.  One of the resources we used to introduce this topic was the following video...


Watch the video again and respond on your blog to the following questions...


1. Name three reasons given in the video for increasing income inequality (the loss of the "middle class" as they call it in the video).


2. What are some other reasons for growing income inequality that we discussed in class but that are not mentioned in the video?


3. What do you think could be done to reverse the trend toward growing income inequality?  In other words, what can we do to make things better?

Myths about the gender pay gap...

Some of you in class have raised questions about the validity of the gender pay gap.  I have tried to answer your questions in class, but maybe this article will further help resolve any doubts you might have on this issue...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/no-the-gender-pay-gap-isnt-a-myth-and-heres-why_us_5703cb8de4b0a06d5806e03f

Gentrification gone haywire!...

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!  Cabrini Green was once one of Chicago's most infamous housing projects.  It once housed 15,000 people from low income families.  In the early 2000s the Chicago Housing Authority began to dismantle Cabrini Green, which was increasingly surrounded by high end real estate.  Now look what's happened to the property...

http://chicagoist.com/2016/02/08/2_bedrooms_in_cabrini-greens_new_hi.php