Rachel's topic concerned the portrayal of mentally ill individuals, in particular the portrayal of schizophrenia. It was particularly interesting to know that the portrayal of mental illness has changed throughout time. Which makes sense, it will fit the ideas of the current time it is produced in. What concerns me is how much of an impact these images truly shape our perceptions. As Rachel explained, a large percentage of our time is spent watching television. While in an educational setting it would be more likely to have an accurate portrayal, film and media often exaggerate and entirely get a portrayal wrong. This is crucial for stigmatized/oppressed communities who already face this within society. These wrong portrayals only intensify this fact.
Katie Ann's topic was particularly interesting to me because I had heard the claim that E-Harmony would not let gay and lesbian identified people use their dating service because the research had only been done on straight couples. I had always known the website to not be queer friendly in any manner, so it was very shocking to hear they had developed another site. I wondered why Eharmony developed this new website- was it for an additional source of profit? For example, in my environmental sociology course we talk about producers "green washing" a particular product. I'm wondering if here this company tried to appeal to gay and lesbian people for a better profit. I find this humorous after being noted as a homophobic company. I had yet to hear of Compatible Partners and I'm curious if there is a backlash against the site because of it being owned by eHarmony. Katie Ann noted the differences between eHarmony and Compatible Partners regarding marriage, religion, and children. We can see from this that many offline "real world" depictions translate to online websites.
David's topic concerned high commercial dating websites have essentially turned queer bodies into pornography. This was particularly interesting after Katie Ann's presentation because we can begin to analyze what type of market exists for queer dating websites. Popular websites for gay men to connect and date essentially make the experience into a sexual encounter. Even in the personal information sexual encounters are made apparent by asking the user about penis size. Weekly submissions are used to create pornography. Gay men are over sexualized and their experiences are essentially turned into pornography.
Kelsey's topic concerned cyber bullying as a relatively new area gaining attention from schools and parents. The concept of bullying has shifted out of the advances in technology, making bullying less distinguishable. Many parents who do not have the same skills in technology are isolated from their children and unaware that bullying is occurring. While schools can intervene to a certain extent with use of their own technology, children who use phones are always plugged in to social life. In my opinion, a step toward helping this situation is for parents to become more involved in how much technology their children consume. Children truly don't need to have high tech phones or be plugged into the internet at all times. When I addressed the issue of the digital divide I advocated for children to learn how to use a computer in age appropriate phases. Children do need to learn about technology but in a productive manner. Being constantly tied into social networks is a frightening concept for me because I didn't have a cell phone until late high school. Middle school especially is a time where children are overly concerned about others and I do see harm in being constantly accessible through phones and technology.
Leah's topic concerned the media portrayal of women in the military. The military generally is associated with extreme masculinity. Leah discussed how the military may use tactics to appeal to women which include not being in combat situations, less risky occupations. How should the media portray women in the media? In my opinion the media does not often note the reality of many women in the media, which includes sexual assault and harassment. A large number of women are assaulted and harassed within their own military group. Leah noted that women aren't allowed to be feminine and I've heard another side to this as well. A woman visited UNH a couple of years ago to speak out against Don't Ask, Don't Tell and also discussed her experience as a woman in the military. She was more masculine but pressured to appear feminine. I'm unsure of the current media portrayal of women or if there is much of a conversation concerning these important issues.
Kenlyne's topic concerned cyber cheating and how the internet has change the way in which we think about infidelity. There are blurred lines of trust relating to this topic as I mentioned in my previous blog post. Where everything can be hidden or deleted it seems our relationship must be strong to make it through possible doubts. As Kenlyne noted, the internet has also altered the way we can deal with situations of infidelity. In the past some may have confronted this person face to face, but what do you do when the other person lives so far away? This topic is a great example of how technology is reshaping the way we interact online and perceive trust in our relationships.
Dani's topic concerned the concept of community in relation to online websites such as YouTube. Dani noted that the internet has been used as an example for and against bettering community. However, she also noted that the definition of community through technology, not necessarily for better or worse. Vlogging communities offer the possibility of connecting with others both online and offline, as many are initially connecting online and then later meeting offline. I think it would be interesting to discuss how the definition of community has shifted throughout time and that this is another step.
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