Short paper

Veronica Cantu
Short Paper: Kabul Beauty School
November 19, 2009
While I was sitting in class watching the “Kabul Beauty School” film, I was immediately taken back by Deborah Rodriguez’s courage to go into such a dangerous country like Kabul, Afghanistan, and start a beauty school that would help women gain freedom and independence. With Afghanistan in shambles from the Taliban war, Deborah came with her curling irons blazing and her styling gel locked and loaded. She was a woman with a mission ready to give the women of Kabul a total makeover inside and out.
The women were so eager to get started that Deborah had to guard the door and fight the flock of women wanting to enroll into the school. Classes got started and the women were ready to learn the proper way to cut and style hair. I was so amazed that the woman kept coming to the school despite the negative views and reticule from their husbands and families. Equal rights and independence is something that does not come cheap in Kabul, especially for women. The film made it very clear that the women and men of Kabul have very different roles in and out of the household as opposed to American culture.
“The family is the single most important unit in the Afghan culture. Men and women's roles are much more defined along traditional lines. Women are generally responsible for household duties, where as men will be the bread winners.” (Afghanistan-Language) Taking the traditional views and costumes and throwing them out the window was a major culture shock for everyone and especially for the men. The women of Kabul pushed on and continued with the class, this showed me how strong and determined they were to learn how to style hair. They wanted this and despite what the whole city thought about them, they preceded in moving forward in fulfilling their dreams.
At first I thought Deborah’s “Kabul Beauty School” was strange but I quickly saw what she was trying to establish. Her mission gave women skilled salon training that would give them confidence in themselves and ultimately put cash into their pockets. Changing the “social norms” one by one Deborah was faced with negativity from others (mostly men) around the city. She might have been portrayed as this “wild American” trying to persuade the woman of Kabul to conform to American ways of living, but I saw drive and passion in Deborah’s mission. She was sharing her gift of hair styling and makeup with others to empower woman and give them something they can contribute to their community.
On the other hand I can also see how outlandish the city of Kabul thought her mission was. The beauty school was going against all of their beliefs and social and traditional customs they strongly believe in. Her mission came off as trying to take over and change the way the country has been ran for several years, and that automatically made the men become definitive.
I know that the school in the end had to shut down, but we cannot forget the lives Deborah Rodriguez touched when she was in Kabul. Her drive and passion touch so many women and changed so many lives. I do not see her closing the beauty school as a failure, because you cannot expect to change a society that is predominately ran by men and is mastered by traditional and religious cultural beliefs; it is out of your hands. If there is one thing I have learned about this film and in this Woman and Gender class, is to speak your mind and stand up for what you believe in. As Susan B Anthony says in chapter two of “The F word” text when giving her speech about women and the right to vote “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union… Men, their rights and nothing more; women and their rights and nothing less” (The F Word). These wonderful works these women have done will stay close to my heart and will motivate me to stand up for what I believe in.

Works Cited
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/afghanistan.html/Afghanistan - Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. The F-Word Feminism in Jeopardy Women, Politics, and the Future.

Blog 10

The film "Tough Guise" really opened my eyes of why some guys act the way they do. A benefit maybe that this "tough guy" mentality can lead people to fear them and then they will respect them. They become confident and feared by others and that may make them mean and develop a "big ego", I would candider this a disadvantage. I think some people would consider this film "male bashing" because it points out the flaws in men and their mentality. This film also points out that men are the ones doing all the violence and crime in society and ultimately puts a negative image on men. But we have to remember that not all men are alike, some are lead back and they don't use violence to gain respect. A lot of the men who are feared don't get bullied. "Male bashing" is the negative act portrayed to men by using negative images or portraying men in a negative way.
The way this film shed light on the stereotypes of African American and or Hispanic men. The media shows them always wearing saggy pants, caring a gun and or associated with a gang. We may see black men on the cover of a sports magazine or locked up in jail. Hispanic men maybe seen in a baseball magazine or sealing weed to one or his hommies. The media stereotypes men all the time. I think men see these stereotypes and they feel like they have to live up too them. They feel like they have to be tough and bully people to get their manly point across. this "Tough Guy" image can be embedded into their minds at a very young age by there fathers or a male role model they grown up around. This mentality can be pasted down from generation to generation creating men into monsters.

Blog 9: Response to Belkin's essay

In Lisa Belkin's essay she mentions two paths women can take while juggling a career and parenthood. The first one she mentions is that when a women has a child, she can rearrange her career and take on the responsibility of being a full time mother. The second one Lisa talks about is when a woman has a child, but decides to juggle the two and keep her job and continues to work for her company, this decision will forced her to place her child in a day care facility. When I was younger my mom was a single mom, working an OK job. My dad paid child support, so that help so much in meeting me and my siblings needs. She worked full time, she put us in day care for about a month and then took us out because we hated it! My aunt or one of my moms friends would pick us up from school and keep us until my mom would get off of work. She did what she had to do and it all worked out. I think my mom did the right thing listening to us and taking us out of daycare, she could have left us in their because it was easier than finding someone to watch us everyday after school. In my last blog assignment I budgeted how much money I would get in food stamps and daycare allotment. I had a 62$ co payment for daycare, a $485.00 food stamp allotment and WIC (nutrition Program) allotment that would take care of meals for me and my family. With the allotments I am given and my 2 oldest kids on a special meal plan at school, I feel like my kids will be getting very nutritious and appetizing meals at home.

BOLG 8!

Women’s Studies
Veronica Cantu
10-20-09


Since I am from Pryor, Oklahoma, the scenario will be based upon living and working in the city of Pryor, Mayes County, Oklahoma.


Income—
Monthly-- $1,048
Annual-- $12,576

The federal government offers a program, Section 8 Rental Assistance, to help individuals and families who are at or below 30 percent of the area median income. This annual amount for residents of Mayes County, Oklahoma, for a family of four is $14,600. Since the income for this scenario is more than $2,000 below the cutoff amount and the assistance is available, my plan includes a monthly budget using the available resources offered through our government programs.

Application was made at the Department of Human Services in Pryor, Oklahoma. Assistance was approved for the following amounts—

Monthly rental allotment for a 3 bedroom apartment-- $554.00
Monthly utility allotment-- $289.00
Monthly child care allotment—Oklahoma Department of Human Services will pay full-time childcare for the 1 year-old and before/ after school care for the 5 & 6 year-old children less a $62.00 monthly co-payment.
Monthly food stamp allotment-- $485.00
Monthly WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program)—Vouchers for formula, cereal, juice, and baby food for 1year-old.
Total Monthly Allotments-- $1,328.00
Income + Allotments-- $2,376.00


Expenses—

Rent—Pryor Creek Apartments, 3 bedrooms/ 2 bath, 1100 square feet-- $675.00
Utilities—Average monthly cost—MUB (Municipal Utility Board) includes electricity, water, gas, sewer and trash-- $295.00. Pryor’s cost of living is 21% lower than the Oklahoma average.
Child care-- $62.00
Food-- $280.00
Clothing-- $275.00
Transportation—1998 Toyota Camry/ Vehicle was gift from parents—no payments. Daily cost to drive to/ from work (Orchid Product—Pryor Industrial District—5.2 miles) and to/ from Glenbrook Daycare Center (1 year-old, 5 and 6 year-olds ride bus from daycare to and from school)-- $2.75, monthly estimate for gas and liability insurance-- $122.50
Personal care items including toiletries, diapers, school supplies-- $325.00
Total Monthly Expenses-- $2034.50

Income/ Allotments-- $2,376.00
Less Expenses-- $2,034.50
Monthly Funds Available-- $ 343.50


















Pryor Creek Apartments 1706 S Elliott Street








Living room





1988 Toyota Camry

Blog 7

Middle Class Privilege:

1. If someone was to look at my outfit they would not notice any famous clothing labels or out outlandish jewelery.
2. I am a bargain shopper, it makes my day when my entire outfit cost me about 25bucks.
3. I feel like I hit the jackpot when I run into an awesome deal at Ross or TJMaxx.
4. My family spends our vacation, visiting other family members, instead of going on a week long cruise to Hawaii.
5. Don't be surprised if I am not driving a new 2010 Mustang GT
6. Friday night movie night is the best way to kick off a wonderful weekend.
7. Budgeting is something I have been taught to do all my life.
8.The first rack I go to in a store is the one that has a HUGE red sign on it that says CLEARANCE.
9. I go shopping for winter coats at the end of the winter season to get the coat I want for 75% off
10. Where we eat dinner if were going out is determined by the nightly special at our various local restaurants.

Blog 6

I can’t decide on whether this ad is trying to sale jeans or Eva Mendez. Calvin Klein’s “sexy Jean ads” are very popular in the media all over the world. This ad shows women, in order to be sexy they have to be thin and half naked. This ad is supposed to be advertising jeans to women, but the half naked Eva Mendez looks like their trying to sale them to men. Where does your eye go when u see this ad, on the jeans or her half naked body, hum.. The media is spending so much money on half naked ads and trying to get their point across, but their point gets lost in translation amongst all of the oil and nakedness.

Readings: I agree with what Bell Hooks said in chapters 5 and 6. I think having control over our own bodies is very important. She mentioned that improving the sex education in schools would dramatically reduce the number of unwanted pregnancy. She then talks about body image she says, "I often wonder if women will every stop judging themselves on how they look. I hope one day we will. We are all self conscious of how we look, who ever said that women are supposed to be perfect. Learning to love our body and feeling comfortable in our own skin is very important in gaining confidence and boosting self esteem.

Essay. 1

Veronica Cantu
Women Studies
Paper 1
Growing up in a single parent home with my mom has taught me a lot of life lesson throughout the years. My mom is a very strong, independent, smart woman and she has passed thought’s traits do to my sisters and I. When we started kindergarten we moved to Siloam Springs, Arkansas about two hours away from my dad. I remember one weekend when my dad wasn’t around my mom wanted to rearrange the furniture in the living room; my brother was at a friend’s house so the house was to us girls. I looked at my mom like she was crazy and said “I thought we needed guys to help us move furniture”. She turned to me and my sister and said “we can do this”. So we go out the vacuum and all the cleaning supplies and as soon as we realized we had rearranged everything from couches to chairs, and we did it ourselves. We took at step back to look at our newly rearranged and very clean living room. My mom turned to us and said her famous words “who needs a man”. Right then I realized that you can survive without a man around all the time. I realized my mom’s independent personality and I was intrigued. It might not seem like a big deal to someone else but to me and my sister moving furniture was a man’s job and we just proved that wrong.
Another gender experience in my life was when I was younger. I grew up around our brother since my older sister went off to college. He taught us how to shoot a BB gun and catch a football. One day we were playing outside and my brother needed to go to the bathroom, instead of going inside, he went behind a tree. I wanted to do it! I had never gone to the bathroom outside, let alone while standing up, so I had to try it. I went behind the tree, pulled down my pants and started to pee. Well of course it went everywhere, all down my legs and on the back of my pants. I was confused and upset that I had pee all over me and myself and my brother didn’t. I went inside and my mom saw what I had done and she was not very happy. She said to get in the bath tub and she would be in there in a minute. So I ran the water and got in, I explained the situation to her and she started to laugh. I didn’t know why she thought it was funny, but at least I wasn’t getting a spanking. She began to explain that only boys could pee standing up and girls couldn’t and other differences between girls and boys. Suddenly I came to grips and realized that boys are different than girls. I saw the effect of me peeing standing up and I never tried it again.
I went to school the next day and told my friends the interesting fact I had discovered over the weekend. That day I began to notice that boys were rough and a lot louder than us girls. I started realizing the differences between boys and girls first hand. The boy’s were always getting into trouble in class. I thought, who are these boys and where did they come from? In about the second or third grade the “boys are from Jupiter” saying became popular. My friends and I would say this to boys to make fun of them. I think about the saying today and it was very degrading to boys. What made us think we were better than boys and what made the boys think that they were better than us?
My mom has always encouraged us to be ourselves and believe that we can do anything we set our minds to regardless of gender. Listening to Dr. Lara on the way to my dad’s house was very helpful to my sister and me, when we were in our teens. I remember one program we were listening to about “men and marriage roles”. Dr. Lara was encouraging the woman to let her husband be the husband in the relationship and how it’s healthy to let the husband take on that manly role. It all made since. I understood what Dr. Lara was saying. Men need to feel like they are taking care of their wife and kids, when they don’t they began to fill like they are not needed and not fulfilling their duty as a man. This is when I realized that gender plays a part in many walks of life, from kindergarten all the way to marriage.