Group Paper, Laura Ann

I completely forgot to print this out- I will print it out and bring it to you!!

Group Presentation Paper

Throughout this semester our group has been working on a presentation that centers on the advertisement world. We decided to take an in-depth look at how women are portrayed through advertisements spanning from the late 1950’s to today.

We wanted to see how our topic related to our class and ended up finding out more than we thought we would. There were several similarities that we found. Wilson page 75 describes motherhood as one of the hardest and least (money wise) rewarding job. This is something that we found of interest because most of the older commercials that we found were portraying women as homemakers rather than businesswomen. It would have been a sin for a woman to work rather than to be a mother. In our class we have learned what hardships women like, Alice Paul went through to advance women to the point that they could be considered equal to men; and these commercials show women solely as homemakers- chipping away at everything the women before them had done.

The sexual nature that advertisements uses create a false image that causes women to feel like they aren’t good enough. “’Companies rush to create emotional relationships… centered on idealized notions of how their bodies should look and what they should buy.’” (Wilson, 123) This shines through the whole presentation spanning from the late 1950’s until today.

We have also included advancements in advertisements, for example Dove- the soap company is working hard to make sure that women of all ages love their bodies for what they are- not what society tells them it should look like. “The Dove Self-Esteem Fund was developed to help free the next generation from self-limiting beauty stereotypes.” (Campaignforrealbeauty.com)

I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about leadership through this project. I have learned that if you see a problem, you should work to fix it. There are so many different ways that we can help get the word out about this ongoing epidemic, and we hope that this presentation will bring light to this subject and help our peers see the unequal treatment that women have in advertisements.

Blog Posting, Laura Ann

There isn't any reading due for today and I was sick last week so I missed the speakers. I suppose that I will just blog on the class and what it has taught me.

I have really enjoyed this class because it has taught me how far women have come and how far women still need to go in respect to equal treatment. I think that since the class was opened up with the movie Iron Jawed Angels it really put the class into the feminist mindset. The film was eye opening because I had never realized how much those women went through to help us get where we are today. This class has helped me to recognize oppression and to try and do something about it. Our group project has also helped me see how women are used to sell products. It never occurred to me before that women were used to sell things- through advertisements. In our project there are different advertisements and commercials going back through history that show how women were told what they were supposed to do (be homemakers) and use sex appeal to sell products. The project really helped me to put into action what we have been learning this whole semester. I have really also enjoyed all of the guest speakers- I am really sad that I missed the last one. They have all taught me something about leadership and the advancement of women. The common theme that they all passed on was passion. If you dont have a passion for what you are doing, then why are you doing it? I really have enjoyed this class and I hope that you continue to offer it so that other students (maybe even a guy or two) can learn from it what we have.

Helen Samhan (Katie LN)

As Shannon said, Helen Samhan did not really discuss leadership directly. However, she did discuss an issue, which affects leaders and really anyone on a basic day-to-day level. It is important to talk about who we are and how we impact the people around us and how they impact us, which seemed to me was a large part of her discussion. Also, it is beneficial, to everyone, when we learn about cultures and beliefs other our own. From the very involved discussion we had in class, I think people were learning from this and definitely benefiting from.
It was interesting to hear the different statistics she gave about what American’s want & value versus what Arab speaking person’s want & value. While I was not surprised by the information, I can see how many it would surprise so many people. Finally, watching the film was really interesting. It was good to see the different the perspectives the women had.

She was by far my favorite speaker. It was really interesting to hear the history of how the Arabs migrated to this country. I did not realize that the earliest immigrants likely had an easier time adjusting to the American lifestyle, compared to later immigrants. One would think that with more knowledge about other countries and better means to communicate, it would have been the other way around. However, it made sense considering a majority of the earlier immigrants were not Muslim.

Last Post: Helen Samhan (Shannon)

As you all know, from my previous reflections on our guest speakers, I have really enjoyed listening to how these influential women first became interested in their own leadership potential. When Helen Samhan spoke to us though, I noticed a distinct difference between her and our other guest speakers because she didn’t really speak of anything specific (an experience or a person) that triggered her interest in her own leadership. She did mention something about her mother’s upbringing that might have contributed to how she was later brought up and the kind of confidence that was instilled in her at a very young age. Samhan talked about how her mother was one of five daughters growing up in the 1920s and how her father encouraged all of them to go out and get an education. This is very interesting to think about considering the time that her mother and her aunts were growing up and how most women were raised primarily to fill the role of wives and mothers. I am sure that this did affect how Samhan was raised and it is probably what made an impact on how she views herself both as a leader and as a woman...

Presentation

Well, I cant send the presentation over email because it is too large... any ideas?

I am trying to send the updated version of the power point out. I think that it might be too big for the mason email... i am sending it from my earthlink. let me know if you didnt get it!

Final section of Exploring Leadership

Although this book was long, and difficult at times to get through, I absolutely loved it and plan on keeping it (rather than selling it) to use as a reference tool in my future leadership roles!
For the last few chapters of the book, I'd like to place most of my focus on the Chapter 14, as I feel that caring for one's own inner-environment is one of the most important aspects of leadership.
The section on Leadership Development as Renewal seems to me not only a great framework for leadership, but definitely a wonderful framework for life as well. I feel so excited by Covey's idea of the 'Principle Centered Leader': "They are continually learning. They are service-oriented. They radiate positive energy. They believe in themselves and in other people. They lead balanced lives. They see life as an adventure. They are synergistic. They exercise for self-renewal." (pp.33-39, 424.)
To take these qualities a step deeper, I think that it would be fair to say that a whole book could be written on how to further cultivate this kind of life style. Currently I'm really exploring within myself, how to be fully who I am, and how that fits in with my relationship to the outside world. I have felt somewhat different from most based on a lot of the questions that I've been asking myself, and feel such a great sense of reaffirmation upon reading (especially) the last section of this book.
A very strong personal belief of mine has always been, that the way we treat ourselves will be directly affected in the way that we treat others. I think that this idea is magnified especially in close-knit group situations. So to pull this idea back into the text, (for me) means that the most important thing I can do to really cultivate the Principle Centered Leader within myself is to first turn all of these ideas inward in the hopes of striving towards increased integration (integrity) which seems to be the foundation of successful leadership.

4 and 5

I was really excited to realize that part's four and five were a lot like the last part that we read in that the Komives book is getting a lot eaiser to read. The social change model made a lot more sense to me than the relational leadership model and the comparison of the two was interesting to read about. There are seven main principals that you have to go by in the social change model and each of these principals are important. Congruence was my favorite one of these seven principals because I really like the idea that streamlining your own personal principals with the ideals and goals of a group can help the group function with a lot more ease. As well, I liked the part where they talked about Ghandi's son finding peace. The principals that were mentioned were principals that I am familliar with because they are very important to the Buddhist religion. Some of these truths are wealth without work, politics without principal, and religion without sacrafice. My favorite was definately wealth without work because I think this is important to reflect on. When you give someone something that they didnt work for, it never seems to work out well. This is really important to reflect on when it comes to leadership because getting something that you didn't work for doesn't pave the way for good leadership.
Part 5 was about change within yourself. Self transformation is also an essential part of leadership. This is also especially important for women in leadership roles because changing and remaining dynamic in your leadership role is always important. I find myself often getting caught up with life and forgetting that in order to be a good leader you have to stay fresh and currnet in your role and change within yourself is really important for this.
thats all for now!

Komives, parts 4 & 5

Part 4 of the text is all about change. The authors attempt to clarify the necessity for change, how to deal with it, why people resist it, & how you can help manage change so people are less resistant. The very first thing the authors wrote about this section is a quote from Alvin Toffler: "'...change is the process by which the future invades our lives.'" (p 325)I loved this quote because while we all know that some change is good, it does not necessarily mean that wee have a choice in the matter. The future is coming at us and we just have to deal, because we cannot stop it.
In chapter 11, Understanding Change, the authors stated that, "Human beings...want to control their environments, and some experience an even greater need to be in control of their surrounding." (p 331) At my previous university I was on student government. After being on for a couple years, a person ran for President & won. However, this person was never on student government before - so had no idea how things worked. She came into the organization she was going to run the place (being president, and all...) however, it was not her job. Her job was dealing with administration. It was actually my job to run the board & meetings. She had a lot of changes to deal with at one time - not only was she joining a new organization, but she took on a leadership role with no experience. This quote reminds me of her: she was struggling to remain in control of everything, because of all the changes she was faced with as well as her false expectations. I think if she had better understood what she was getting into, she would have dealt with it better.
I love the quote the authors used in chapter 12 from Saul Alinsky: “’Change means movement; movement means friction; friction means heat; heat means controversy.’” (p 351) Change almost never comes easy, no matter how many people may be in favor of the change, there’s always going to be one who is against it.
It was also interesting to read about the differences between the Relational Leadership model and the Social change model. I like that the social change model focuses on the “dynamic interplay between” different people and groups. It’s very much related to how we live our everyday lives.

Part 5 of the text discussed development and renewal. I really appreciated the last chapter which focused on the person. On page 422 the authors asked you to list your top five strengths. I did and it was interesting to see what would make them my “signature strengths.” I have been considering different career possibilities and those strengths that were my “signature strengths” really fell in step as necessities for those careers that I’ve been thinking about. From this reading and personal experience, I feel it’s important to find a career that fits in with those strengths so I can have a job that does make me happy.

Nance Lucas & Robin Gerber (Katie L.N.)

I really enjoyed listening to these two women speak. I thought the way they started, talking about their experiences, helped them to make more of an impact (on me anyways).
One thing that I loved was that Robin was open with the fact that she dropped out of college. So many people brush that fact aside when it is part of their story. It is just "go to college," without any room for discussion. But, she is right, college is not for everyone! And that does not mean that you are not smart.
My favorite part regarding what Nance said was her insistence on being happy, making sure that you love what you do so it will make you happy & maintaining a balanced life. As I said in my presentation, & I am sure many other times, that is my biggest struggle. While I know the importance of it - sometimes the execution is not quite there. My problem is, I know what makes me happy - but finishing school is in the way of that and adding to my stress. (sadly) Which is obviously why I appreciated what Robin had to say.

Updated Power Point

I think I have it. I am going to keep working on it and i don't know when I sent it out of anyone else added anything to it. I will bring what I have to tomorrow.

Sarah I

This is a good article, its from the Washington Post, it is titled Sex, Blood, and Advertising.

Washington Post

Here is part of the article:

Krissy Benner of McLean wrote: "Everyday I read the KidsPost with my boys after school. This morning I tore out the KidsPost page to save it for them. I was very horrified when I turned the page over today and saw a full-page ad . . . featuring a smiling man with blood splattered all over his face. How am I going to explain this disturbing picture?"

The Post may be the only big newspaper in the country with a staff-produced daily page for children; it usually runs on the back page of the Style section or just inside. Advertising executives don't monitor what goes on the back of KidsPost, but editors try to keep an eye out for inappropriate ads.

Katharine Weymouth, vice president of advertising, didn't see the ad before it was published. She said she would have tried to change it had she known. Executive Editor Len Downie found out about it late in the evening and alerted Publisher Bo Jones, who felt it was too late to change.

Another questionable ad ran in April on the back of KidsPost -- a full-page body lotion ad featuring a nude woman. Weymouth wrote to an upset reader: "We actually had a fair amount of internal debate about whether to run it and ultimately, decided to take it. We erred on the side of running it because we felt that, while she is nude, it was reasonably discreet. As a mother of three young children myself, I take your point about putting it behind the KidsPost page."

Ads with sexual content draw complaints. Lucy Cooney of the District wrote that one ad was "offensive beyond words. I am appalled." David Brown of Gaithersburg wrote about two more: "Am I the only reader getting sick of seeing all the ads, usually on Page A3 or A4 (this morning both!) advertising 'better sex for life' ?"

Presentation

Does anyone have the most updated part of our presentation?

Guest Speakers and KLM: Parts IV & V (Shannon)

As I have said before in my write-ups about our guest speakers, I really enjoy listening to the stories that these inspirational women tell about how they first became interested in their own leadership. Robin Gerber explained how she dropped out of college, started working, and soon discovered that “sexism was alive and well.” This experience got her interested in women’s organizations like NOW and YWCA, where she found a mentor who saw leadership potential in her that she didn’t see (something that Nance also talked about). Nance Lucas told us how she went to PennState for their pre-med program so that she could become a surgeon. She couldn’t see herself doing eight years of school and she ended up changing her major four times. In one of the courses she took about career planning, she was able to develop a mentoring relationship with a professor who recommended that she go into Higher Ed. Both of these guest speakers had the experience of people telling them that they would make good leaders—they didn’t necessarily see it for themselves.

Chapter 11 was focused on understanding how and why change happens, but it also incorporated many of the ideas that we talked about in class last week. The chapter emphasized the fact that you need to understand yourself and others before you can collectively work toward change, which relates back to the Relational Leadership Model. It seems like change is either something that people embrace or that they resist at all costs—but I’ve also noticed that a lot of times how people respond to change is very dependent on the situation at hand.

Chapter 12 introduced the Social Change Model of Leadership Development which describes the values that a leader must possess if she is to work toward successful change. After reading about each of the values, the diagram on page 360 really gave a nice visual representation of how the values are connected because of the way that they all affect each other. I was glad to see that the end of the chapter was about conflict. I am always looking for ways that I can deal with conflict because I tend to avoid it in any way that I can. KLM say that “dealing, or not dealing, with that conflict can determine the success of the change effort” (378). This is so true! It’s hard to give a successful group presentation when there is unresolved conflict among several members of the group…

Chapter 13 again stressed how important it is to learn about yourself and to know who you are before you can develop a leadership identity to lead others. Then chapter 14 explained how part of being a leader is being able to go through renewal so that you can reach your full potential. I liked when the authors wrote about the woman with the sign on her refrigerator that says: “Don’t should on yourself today” (417). The authors then encouraged us to think of all of the “should” messages that we give ourselves each day. I think that women probably have “should” thoughts more frequently than men, and I know that it is something I do to myself all the time. If I don’t get as much work done as I had hoped to do, I have thoughts like “I shouldn’t have taken that 20 minute break” or “I shouldn’t have gone out with my family/friends.” After reading this section though, I see that these thoughts are a bit unrealistic (and negative!) because those breaks that I take from my work allow me to find the mental energy that I need to come back and finish up whatever I was doing.

Other Dove Websites

http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-07-07-dove-usat_x.htm

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/press.asp?section=news&id=3073

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dove_Beauties

Lindsey Stokes on CNN

CCN Transcripts
AMERICAN MORNING
Aired July 19, 2005 - 09:30 ET

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/19/ltm.04.html

COSTELLO: Real women have real curves. That's the message that Dove is sending with a new ad campaign for its firming cream. The company selected six regular women with regular figures for its marketing campaign. The ads, which were not touched up or airbrushed, now appear in magazines and billboards across the country.

Joining me now from Chicago, two of the Dove models, Lindsey Stokes and Gina Crissante.

Welcome, Lindsey and Gina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

COSTELLO: Lindsey, let's start with you. This was a big casting call. Why did you decide to take part?

LINDSEY STOKES, POSED FOR "REAL WOMEN" AD: Basically, I mean, it's -- honestly, it's just a positive message. It's telling girls, you know, to stand firm and enjoy their curves, or celebrate their curves, and you know, they had let us know, they informed us it's going to be in our underwear, and there's a big controversy. Honestly, we felt that it was really nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, why not just do it, and be real and honest about it, celebrating our real beauty? I felt great about doing it.

COSTELLO: Well, Gina, you got paid very little for doing this, right?

GINA CRISANTI, POSED FOR "REAL WOMEN" AD: We were compensated for time and travel, but really we were participating in this campaign, because we believe in the message. We believe that, you know, beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, so I'm happy to help Dove launch their new line of firming products since they're using it as a means to a really positive end.

COSTELLO: So what's it like, though, walking down the street and seeing yourself in your underwear on a huge, giant billboard?

STOKES: Go ahead, Gina.

CRISANTI: It's unbelievable. It's really inspiring. I grew up not being happy with my curves at all. I know from personal experience that body image is linked to self-esteem. So for me to now see myself celebrating those curves on billboards and in magazines, it really means a lot to me.

STOKES: And you know, I was just talking to Gina earlier about this, I grew up with girls, you know, seeing Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, I mean, these are the girls we grew up with, these models, and it's almost like they're unattainable, you know, and to even be put in that category, as, you know, playing model, I guess you could say it's just so wonderful, and it's so -- it's like a dream almost, and a great opportunity.

COSTELLO: Go ahead.

CRISANTI: I was gonig to say it's a great opportunity to encourage young girls to grow up feeling good about themselves, and that's another really important part of this campaign. And actually by...

COSTELLO: We do hope it sends a positive message.

CRISANTI: Right.

COSTELLO: Lindsey and Gina, thank you.

I want to talk more about this with Kate Betts. She's editor-in- chief of "Time Style & Design," a supplement to "Time" magazine.

Welcome.

KATE BETTS, "TIME STYLE & DESIGN": Welcome.

COSTELLO: And I wanted to get your perspective, too. They seem very proud of what they did. The thing that bothers me about these ads, the women are in their underwear, and I just don't see the point of that.

BETTS: Well, I think the point of that is to show their curves off. And I think the point...

COSTELLO: A bathing suit, perhaps?

BETTS: Well, it could have been a bathing suit. I mean, I think the point was to give them sort of, you know -- to expose their curves and to make it look sexy and somewhat natural. I mean, I guess a bathing suit would give a different message, in a way.

COSTELLO: I guess so. The only thing, too, is they're advertising a firming cream. So if you need a firming cream, are you really all that happy about your curves?

BETTS: Well, I don't know. I mean, the thing that struck me about these ads is it's hard to tell what the ad is for when you first see it, because, you know, they're there in their underwear, and it could be an underwear ad. But I also think that -- I agree with them when they talk about the positive message. I think that's really, really important, and I think that nowadays especially, we're so train to want to look like, you know, a 16-year-old, basically.

COSTELLO: A 16-year-old boy.

BETTS: Yes, exactly. And so I think it does send a really great message. I think that it's going to take a while for people to be untrained that way in advertising. So hopefully this will be the beginning of a trend.

COSTELLO: You know what women say to me? And i've talked to a lot women about this, because I thought it was only me. It's the type of underwear they chose to put on these women. It's strange. It doesn't really look like underwear that most women wear.

BETTS: Right, it's neither sexy nor underwear-ish. Yes, that's true. You think they're going to go to the extreme of putting them in their underwear, make it look really sexy.

COSTELLO: Or attractive. And it's not the most attractive thing to be wearing. And if you have a regular body, certainly you can wear attractive clothes?

BETTS: Right. Well, I mean, they were probably going for a uniform look.

COSTELLO: A uniform look.

In the end, will this really work? Because aren't women buying the ideal when they buy beauty products?

BETTS: Well, that's the problem. I mean, that is the thing with advertising, is you do want an ideal image. You want something inspirational, and even though I think these girls look really great, I mean they are in great shape. It's not like they're flabby or anything. I think that it's -- we're so trained to want to look like a certain ideal, and it's going to take time for us to see a billboard like that or an ad like that in a magazine and say, oh, wow, I want to look like that. That's our instant response to advertising. And so to sort of like rethink that is going to take a little while.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see what the sales figures are for dove in the future.

BETTS: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much. Kate Betts joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. Thank you -- Miles.

BETTS: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Well, they're certainly getting a lot of mileage out of it, aren't they?

All right, Daryn Kagan, what do you think of the ads? Do you like them?

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think it's great. Any time you expand the idea of what our woman's bodies should look like. You know, it reminds me, we're having Serena Williams and her sister, Venus Williams, on later this morning. These are two women who are redefining what women's bodies can look like.

http://www.wanderings.net/notebook/Main/DoveAdCampaignARealKnockout

This website has a quote from Lindsey Stokes on it- the woman that I am trying to get in contact with- see below!

Dove model and Chicago transplant Lindsey Stokes, 22, didn't hesitate for a minute when asked to appear in the unretouched ads. Approached at her part-time job at the Gap at 555 N. Michigan, this Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago fashion design grad says the spots were "nothing to be ashamed of. Obviously, you have issues growing up. I'm finding as I'm growing older, I'm becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

"We're real women; we have real curves," continues Stokes, herself between a size 8 and 10. "We're all different, but we're all universal, you know what I mean?"

Robin Gerber and Nance Lucas & Part IV; Laura Ann

What can I say? I know that we are supposed to blog about section IV but before all of that I wanted to talk about our speakers. When they were talking to us they had this presence or something that was so captivating- they just made you want to talk with them and hear their experiences. I really enjoyed all of the advice that they gave us. It was like they were talking to each of us individually, like they were giving me advice. I liked that they were adamant about honesty- keeping your reputation respectable. I like how Nance said that "honesty is the number one expectation of leaders." I completely agree. Being honest fits into my moral compass. I would rather be honest and wrong then dishonest and right- Nance said that "being honest will get you further in life." Take Martha Stewart for example, a really nice lady, but by lying she was sent to jail- rather than telling the truth she lied and faced a worse fate. In my other leadership class a speaker told us that he tells the people working for him: "You can't do anything wrong [that isn't immoral or illegal] that I can't fix." I wish that more people would understand that being honest and hardworking will get you far in life.

Chapters 11 and 12 were interesting. In chapter 11 there is a set of hypothesis of why people are resistant to change- I think that if I am resistant to change it is either because of satisfaction or habit. I am so busy with the day to day that I think sometimes I don't realize that there might be something that needs change. Although somethings don't necessarily need change, everything always changes- its part of nature. I like that table that shows the 8 steps for large scale change because it really lays out what needs to happen to make successful change. Chapter 12 helped me to understand how to be an agent of change. I liked the quote: "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead. That reminds me about Alice Paul. She helped the women gain their political freedom. The common characteristics of leaders that I like the most has to do with Group Values. I think that if a group all has the same values and the same ideologies there will be a better chance that change can and will be done.

Sears Commercial

The new Sears commercial has a women screaming with excitement, it then goes on to say that all those things she has been wanting are on sale at Sears, it shows washers and dryers and all different appliances.. at the end it says "don't just give gifts, grant wishes."

ugh.

commercial

this one is long...but it's a perfect example for the homemaker aspect. I'm sure we wouldn't use it because it's too long...just wanted to show everyone...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWqkIdIKDls

http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/hornor/homepage.htm

what do you think of this site?

Laura Ann and group

what is the website you use to do the work cited page?
I also can I also get from everyone their phone number and email.
My number is 7038435336

Exploring Leadership Assigned reading

I have to agree with Laura Ann, in that Chapter 4 was definitely my favorite thus far. I know that I've mentioned this before, but I really see so much value in exploring this idea of integrity. I am so glad to see it discussed in this book! Reflecting on some of my strengths and weaknesses (while thinking about my psychological type) I would have to say that I am definitely more comfortable with open-deadlines. In other words, I have much difficulty getting things accomplished on time. I'm trying to figure out this might be considered a strength, but I probably shouldn't think too hard on figuring that out! I know that I am most definitely an extrovert, and feel incredibly energized after connecting with people in a meaningful way.
I also really liked this ideal of "A Person of Character" p. 133-134. I was actually thinking last night about how I could improve in some of these areas (I feel that I'm focusing on these qualities more as strengths that I have, and am improving upon them, rather than focusing on my weaknesses- so as not to disempower myself.) Most of these characteristics I feel pretty solid in, however the idea of accountability (especially with following through, and with deadlines) is a work in progress.

KLM part 2

hey ladies!

I loved reading part II of Komives even though I'll admit I haven't enjoyed much else of the book... This is one of the main reasons that I am looking forward to talking to Nance Lucas tomorrow because now I finally feel like I have good questions to ask her. I think learning about yourself is one of the most important parts of leadership, but one of the parts that people often overlook. Even I sometimes forget that knowing my own strengths and weaknesses is one of the most important parts of being a good leader. I often try to blame others for my lack of good leadership just because they're not listening or because they aren't as excited as I am for any project or group. I loved reading about discovering oneself and understanding oneself is such an integral part of good leadership. It all goes back to that old saying that if you don't love yourself, than who will. I think that same saying applies here, and I think Nance will agree! If you don't know how you lead, if you aren't able to play to your strengths, than where are you really as a leader. This is something from part II that I think every leader should understand and embrace as a part of good leadership.
see you in class!
alli

Group Proj

Hey y'all. I was wondering what y'all talked about yesterday. It seems like the project is coming along well. I am kinda confused as what part of the slides are "mine." It looks like all of the homemaker/housewife slides are done...which is totally fine- but I definitely want to contribute to the presentation. Should we add more slides? Would you like me to do more of the research part? Let me know!

Thanks,
LA

KLM 2, Laura Ann

KLM Part 2

I enjoyed this part of the book (much like the others in my group!) This part talked about how you shape your own personal identity. It made the reader think about their motivations. It is weird because this ties into all of our speakers and most of our interview stories. They all wanted to express to us how important it is for us to discover what we are passionate about, what motivates us. This class, along with my other leadership class is helping me to understand that working needs to be centered around what I love and what I stand for, not around money and fame. The things that I am passionate about have spurred from my values and upbringing...which is also mentioned in the text when talking about how you develop your character. I think that with out the set of morals and values that I have developed I would definitely not be the same person. I definitely think that knowing your self is very important to developing your own style of leadership- with out knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are you aren't able to fill a team of people that work well with each other. I liked that the book pointed out that women aren't the only ones that can be nurturing towards their children- I don't understand why it is hard for society and men to understand that. Just because a woman has the child that doesn't mean that she has to be the sole provider for that child.. men should learn to help... That's all for now!

Komives 2 (Katie L.N.)

This section was definitely a lot easier to read than the others! My favorite chapter was chapter 5. I think understanding others is essential to life -not just being an effective leader or group member. While I do think it is important to understand and respect differences between people and cultures - I think it is equally important to understand and respect the similarities. Furthermore, the same understanding should come between men & women. The authors quoted another in saying: "'...the degree of overlap between the sexes is as important, or more important, than the average differences between them.'" If men and women could spend more time focusing on things they have in common then what sets them apart, maybe we could better bridge that divide that exists in so many different settings of life.
In chapter 4, the authors pointed out that in order to truly understand yourself, you have to ultimately figure it out on your own. (p. 121) I think this is important to remember. Many people rely on others to help them understand themselves. And, while that may help - it can not get a person to the end result.
Self awareness is not only good for the self, but for others as well. The section discussing ethical behavior in chapter 4 states that, "a person of character promotes ethical decision making and expects ethical behavior from others." (p 133) So, understanding the self promotes "good" behavior and in turn not only expects it from others but provides an example, as well.
Furthermore, in chapter 6, the authors states that "'leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation.'"(p 194)

Komives

Wed Meeting

To all of the new members: we meet on Wednesday's at 10:30am. We meet on the 2nd floor by the elevators. Please look on both sides, we usually meet on the same side as the program board, freshman center, and women's center. We are usually at a table around the corner from the elevator. Please let us know if you are not going to be able to meet- it is very important for all of us to meet and get on the same page. On that note, I actually cannot meet on Wednesday because I have a doctors appointment in Stafford... pretty crappy. Please let me know what yall discuss and what I need to complete!

A girl wants to join our group her name is Sarah Robinson and she sits next to me. I told her I would ask you guys if it is ok for her to join. her emial is srdoinsf@gmu.edu her phone number 703-395-4779

hay what do you guys think of this? Sarah I

From the begging of time the household and the children were the roles of women.

Society saw women- housewives and takes care of the cleaning, shopping, and the children.

Wives become the responsible for buying, using, cleaning, and maintaining consumer goods. (1980s)

Men were the ones that got the job and their responsibly for the fiancés.

The women were the ones that did all the work in the household so the advertisement was designed to target women they were the buyers.

1947 90% consumers were women

Their job and role in society was a homemaker.

When the producers advertise housekeeping appliances they used women because it was their role in society at that time.

The appliances would decrease their time at one chore and allow them to get their housework done faster and better and time to do other housework at the same time.

“By glamorizing appliances as partners in achieving health and happiness, advertising and design have encouraged women to embrace housework as women’s “natural” calling”.

Lupton, Ellen. Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines From Home to Office. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003.

KLM: Part II (Shannon)

I found this part of the book to be very enjoyable and easy to relate to because of the fact that it focused on knowing yourself, getting to know those around you, and understanding what it means to lead ethically.

Chapter four explained how you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses before you can effectively lead others. It also emphasized the idea that rather than dwelling on our weaknesses, we should focus on our strengths. This is the whole idea behind StrengthsQuest, which is a very helpful tool to give you insight into those amazing qualities that you do have but tend to ignore because you spend so much time thinking about how to improve your not-so-good qualities. I found myself nodding my head at one point during this chapter because I could completely relate to it. When discussing how we can reframe our weaknesses to think of them as strengths, Komives, Lucas, and McMahon said, "you may have felt bad when thinking of your personality as shy and quiet, but you might feel empowered to frame those same characteristics as thoughtful and reflective…" (128). Up until a few months ago, I viewed my shyness as a big problem. You never hear people say positive things about being shy so I had fallen into the mindset that being quiet is a negative thing. When I took my first leadership class last fall though and learned how being quiet can be an advantage (listening to and observing the situation before taking action), I have found myself not focusing on it as much. I know that there are times when it is better to listen and observe and I also know that there are times when I have to speak up, even if I really don’t want to. I don’t dwell on my quietness as much anymore (I still do...just not as much...), which in a strange way has actually made it easier to do things like speak up in class.

I also enjoyed the section in chapter five that talked about how we can understand others when it comes to differences in gender. The chapter explained that women "tend to credit their successes to external factors like luck and being in the right place at the right time...[and] they credit their failures to internal factors like not being prepared or not having the right skills or not having enough time" (KLM 156). Men are completely the opposite--crediting successes to internal factors and failures to external factors. This reminded me of when Laura Liswood said that "women are heat-seeking missiles for the negative" and how we will focus on the one negative comment that we received on an assignment rather than realizing that all of the good things we did outweigh that one negative.

I found chapter six to be the most interesting chapter from this section because it raises a lot of questions about the ethics of leadership. In my other leadership classes, I have seen that ethics forms the core of leadership and that ethics are one of the factors that can really make or break a leader. I thought it was interesting to think about the questions that were posed in the "Practical Applications" section about ethical dilemmas--when right-versus-right collide. Truth versus loyalty is one that I could see coming into play quite frequently in situations where you know it is right to tell the truth, but in telling the truth, you might be betraying someone close to you. "Would you turn one of your siblings or your best friend in to the FBI if you thought he or she was the Unabomber?" (KLM 205). I would like to think that I would...

Jerri Bird (Katie L.N.)

While she was not the most outgoing speaker we've had in this class, I think she might be my favorite. I loved hearing about her experiences! I think her attitude on life is just what the world needs - if you see a problem fix it, don't complain. For instance, when she was abroad she had to home school her children; to change that she started a school. This not only allowed her children to have more interaction with other children who had fathers (and maybe mothers) in the Foreign Service, but brought awareness to the problem.
I think the group she formed in Saudi Arabia (I thought that's where she formed this group, but it's not in my notes) is a great example of reaching out and learning about others. The sole purpose of the group was to learn about others so the two cultures would understand each other better. Furthermore, I thought it was great that in forming this group, they didn't take the "little things" for granted. They had groups that talked about parties & politics! Because that's what life's about - not just politics (as important as it may be to know what's going on).
I also thought the quote from the women she interviewed was very interesting and astute: "...American women allow themselves to be sex objects..." It's so true! Things can sell without the gorgeous woman - if someone wants something, they'll but it despite the advertisement not because of it. I understand that advertisers want to entice people to buy things they don't need, but they must not be creative at all if that's the only way they can think to do it. However, that woman is right, shame on women for allowing this to occur. It wouldn't happen if we didn't participate in it.
One of the questions Ms. Bird asked at the beginning of her presentation was, "does success equal leadership?" While I think that her life is an example of why this question could be a resounding "yes!" I don't necessarily think so. There are so many people that are "successful," but what about being successful makes a person a leader. For instance, a person who has earned a lot of money is perhaps successful in their career. But how does that equate them to being a leader? Why should I follow that person just because they make a lot of money. I think too often people do follow the rich, they confuse the idea of success with good leadership, which is likely part of the reason for the many problems our country has.

Comments on Jerri Bird- Laura Ann

I really enjoyed hearing Jerri Bird's experiences last week. It was really interesting to hear her experiences of being around the world. I am really interested in traveling to the middle east, but I am not sure if I would actually want to live in the middle east. I would really love to attend one of the tour dates of Jerusalem Women Speak. Ms. Bird's experiences of living in Saudi Arabia because she described them so well. It was interesting to hear about how things had changed from the first time that she lived there. It was also encouraging to hear about how women there have decided to pursue education and are being treated somewhat equally. I love that Ms. Bird felt so inspired by the women in Jerusalem to begin this tour about peace.

Part of our proposal

For the homemaker part of our project I will be researching how advertisements portray women. I will be working in conjunction with Sarah Iglesias to find how the portrayal of women in the home and the office has changed from the past to the present. I am going to find articles and book sections that show how the trend of devaluing women has stayed the same, but also has improved. We are going to have several examples of commercials and advertisements that show how women in the past were only homemakers and mothers. We will have several commercials and advertisements that show how women today are portrayed as only homemakers and mothers but also as real human beings who are also valued in the workplace. We will use Closing the Leadership Gap as one of our sources for our project. We will also be taking excerpts from several journals and books. Please see our works sited page.

"Adclassix.Com". 2007. (Wednesday October 31, 2007). <www.adclassix.com>.

"Cadillac.Com". 2007. Wednesday October 31, 2007. <http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/footer/downloads.jsp>.

"Classic Tv Ads". 2007. Wednesday October 31, 2007. <www.classictvads.com>.

"Creative Pro". 2007. (Wednesday October 31, 2007). <www.creativepro.com>.

Jacobsen, Michael F. and Mazur, Laurie Anne. "Sexism and Sexuality in Advertising." Marketing Madness: A Survival Guide for a Consumer Society. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.

Komives, Susan R.; Lucas, Nance; McMahon, Timothy R. Exploring Leadership. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Wilson, Katrina. "Media Know All". 2005. Wednesday October 31, 2007 2007. <http://www.mediaknowall.com/index.html>.

Wilson, Marie C. Closing the Leadership Gap. New York: Penguin Group, 2004.

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1991.

Wood, Julia T. Gender Representation: Communication, Gender, and Culture. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2004.

Jerri Bird Sarah I

I believe in what everyone has said about Jerri Bird. She was an excellent speaker and she kept in captured the whole way through. I was nice to hear what she witness over seas and get their point of view on how they see American women. I believe in what those women see when they look at American women as sex models. Its true every where you look you see women half naked advertising music videos, clothes, or lingerie. Women have been only seen as the sex models since the beginning of time. I don't think women will change that because with out women advertising the music CD will not be bought, or the amazing looking car with the women in the bikini on the hood of the car. Men look at women as being the sex models. I really enjoyed her coming and talking to the class. Thank you for that experience.

Household Advertisement (Sarah I)

I found numerous of advertisement and it is all advertise by women. Women do all the cleaning in the house and know even more out of the house.
Women advertising vacuums
cooking supplies(ovens)
cleaning the stove
ironing
cleaning the bathroom
cleaning the kitchen and trash can that opens with your foot
doing the laundry
using a washer machine
on Housekeeping Magazines from 1910 till know
advertising a bucket for better cleaning
no more mopping on your hands and feet use a mop
I never saw a man advertising anything in the home. Women were seen as the household wife that did all the cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children.

Jerri Bird (Shannon)

It has been interesting to hear the different ways in which each of the guest speakers who have visited our class have become interested in leadership and in the idea of being leaders themselves. Laura Liswood described her "shower question" where she thought about what it would be like to have a woman president. Panny Rhodes explained how she was one of the only women in her engineering field and how that affected her work. Jean Cunningham expressed how she never really saw herself as a leader until Metro Richmond Leadership drafted her to run for outgoing representative Doug Wilder’s seat. And last week, Jerri Bird described how she became interested in the leadership of Saudi women after living in Saudi Arabia for ten years while her husband was in the foreign services. Each of these women have had such tremendous experiences with their leadership and listening to their stories is so inspirational.

When Jerri Bird was talking about the organization that she runs with Saudi women in the United States, I was reminded of something that our first guest speaker, Mary Jo Larson, said. Larson advised us to consciously try to find out what is going on with other people and other cultures around the world. She told us that this would give us the information we needed to come back and question our own system. Doesn’t it seem like this is what Jerri Bird did with Partners for Peace? She lived in a handful of Middle Eastern countries for a good portion of her life, and when she came back to the United States she realized that Saudi women were not receiving the sort of media coverage that they needed to share their stories. She started Partners for Peace after educating herself about another part of the world and after noticing that there was a problem that was not being broached.

There was an interesting article in yesterday’s Style & Arts section of The Washington Post called "Touching Up (and On) Feminist Roots." It talks about the Wack! exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and then it also talks about Hillary Clinton and how she doesn’t just want women to vote for her because she’s a woman—she wants them to vote for her because she’s the best candidate.

Link to the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/26/AR2007102600462.html

Jerri Byrd

I know it's a little early but I wanted to write about Jerri Byrd while her presentation is still fresh in my mind. I thought she was amazing and even though she may not have been as funny or as engaging as Panny and Jean or Laura, she had a very unique perspective on women in leadership roles. I think because of her age she views leadership a lot lot LOT differently than we do as teenagers and young twenty-somethings in the world today. I couldn't believe it when she said that they didn't even have TV when she was growing up and I really liked what she had to say about her Husband's tenure in the foreign services, especially when she referred to it as such a partnership. She often said when "we" were in the foreign services which makes me believe that she considered herself to be just as much involved in the process as her husband and that is just amazing. I find it so inspiring to listen to the speakers that we have in class because even though they are from a completely different generation than I, a generation that as Jerri pointed out gave them three career options, they still managed to come out as strong and influential leaders. I am excited to be a leader in the world today, and I feel like doors are flung open to me everywhere, however it's interesting to reflect about the kind of leader that I would have become if I didn't feel this way. I don't know if I have the courage to stand up to that kind of barrier and overcome it and I have a deep deep admiration for these women who did just that.

Part 1

For me, part one of Komkives really conveyed this idea of a fluid leader. What I mean by this, is a person that truly understands that it is the communities with which they are involved that shape their position as leader. That one couldn't exist without the other, and along this theme is strength in delegation. As a few of you ladies mentioned, the absolute importance of knowing your strengths/weaknesses and teaming up with people who compliment you.
I have to say, that while reading this section, I began to think about my own orientation towards leadership, and began to realize that I associate a fair amount of 'being in control' to being a leader. The more I'm reading and analyzing this material, it's becoming clear that perhaps I should really examine my intention behind being a leader. I can't imagine that I would be very effective or approachable as a leader if my main concern was being in control.
So I'm starting to reshape my definition as to what a leader is. At this point it seems that a good definition of a leader for me is someone who is great at organizing. (I realize that of course this is not the only quality a leader must have, but I'm trying to challenge my previously held beliefs about leadership by introspection, and simplification.)

Guest Speakers, Sec 1 KLM, Laura Ann

Hey hey!!

I really LOVED the speakers! They were both really inspiring! Although I was a little sad when one of them (Jean I think) said to not tell people that you want to be a Senator or Governor or anything like that because... that is what I want to do! But, it's okay because they had a lot of really great advice! I love that they were both passionate about their jobs and helping the community. I liked how Jean said to be prepared to play the cards that you are dealt. She was deff not ready for her husband to die, or to take on a political position, or to be a single mother, but instead of dwelling on the bad she turned it around and made something good out of it. I like that Panny said to be prepared to take some bashing- which is so true. Movements dont happen when people are polite, they happen when people who are passionate about something strive to make things happen- strive to make a difference which will piss some people off.

The first part of this book begins to give the steps that you need to take to become an effective leader. It points out that there are new ways of leadership and that leadership is always changing. The chapter talks about followership and how to become an effective group member. The leadership process is not about things- it is about people.

Ads for the presentation - homemaker

So, this ad, I thought, was perfect for the homemaker. Here we have a perfectly happy woman taking a break from her day - having tea & cookies or whatever. With her iron sitting just so next to her - which is obviously what she's taking a break from.
I'm still working on finding a specific quote for this one...but, obviously that won't be hard. I wanted to find one from a different refrence though, so we could mix it up a bit.

Ads for the presentation - sex appeal

So, here one of the ads that I found, below is a similar ad that I think we could use with this one. The first is showing that beautiful women (star ballerina's) can get guys. The second as is obviously showing that men have to be the hero to get beautiful women. Basially, just furthering the stereotypes - or perhaps making them. These ads were from 1955.

I can't remember which ads I was supposed to look for & which Alli was going to - but I found a ton, so I just did both.

For these ads, I think we could refrence Wilson, from chapter 7. Here she talks about Barbie. She mentions unrealistic body images. Which I definitly think the ballerina portrays that. Also, on page 123, she quotes the NY Times - "'Companies rush to create emotional relationships...centered on idealized notions of how their bodies should look & what they should buy...'"

Komives 1 (Katie L.N.)

The first section of Komives basically focused on who is a leader and what is a leader. Some ideas the authors presented that I liked are:

"'leadership is not something a leader possesses so much as a process involving followership' [and] followership is really leadership in action among people in the group."(p 13) This is definitely something I've always believed and also one of the main points Christine (the woman I interviewed) stressed. We have to remember to be a leader, people choose to follow - that's an active process not passive.

"'Public leadership does not engage followers; rather, it involves collaboration, audiences, and other self-organized groups...effective leaders are forced to become 'leader-followers' simultaneously. [I]t is shared at different times by different people.'"(p 16) I thought this was a good point. Again, stressing the importance of followership. But, also that a leader needs to know when to step aside because someone can do better or enact more change or inspire more. Furthermore, this in not a bad thing, it's knowing your strengths and weaknesses, like Shannon had pointed out in class.

"'...[l]eadership means different things to different people.'"(p 35)

"'Leadership is a process in response to a situational need for change facilitated by a vision and tangible action motivating others to the achievement of that vision.'" (p 52) To me this is the point of leaders & leadership. We follow certain leaders because we believe they would do the best, at that time, to enact the changes which are perceived to be needed. Whether the change or vision is positive or negative, people will follow someone who presents an issue they believe in.

"'Competent, confident leaders tolerate honest mistakes that are not the result of negligence. A leader who sets a standard of ＆zero defects, no mistakes' is also saying, 'Don't take any chances.'" (p 77-78) So often people think that you have to be perfect in order to be "good," at anything. But, mistakes are essential to learning and improving yourself and things around you.
The last point is about competition & collaboration, which the authors discussed as a process of relational leadership. Whether competing to outdo yourself or another, Americans are always trying to be the best. I am the same way in many things (or maybe all!) For me though, I am generally trying to outdo myself. It should always be better than last time - whether it's a presentation, homework assignment, cooking (because I love to cook) or something to do with work. I wonder what it is that makes so many people feel they have to be perfect. I don't feel I can't take chances, but definitely am disappointed when I mess up.

FOLGERS
"In this mile-long series of commercials for Folgers Coffee, the story was always the same - the wife is terrible at making coffee, and the husband sure lets her know it. Perhaps this was the true catalyst of the womens' lib movement of the 60s! We have Folgers Coffee to blame... sexist to the last drop."



CHATTY CATHY


BARBIE
Listen to the words in this one!

Guest Speakers & Part I (Shannon)

I really enjoyed the guest speakers from last week—especially Laura Liswood. I loved her analogy of the elephant (the man) and the mouse (the woman) and how the mouse must know everything about the elephant and all other mice, while the elephant only really has to know about elephants. I also thought it was interesting how she got the class involved when we had been quite unresponsive and then made the point that everyone she had called on had something good to say even though they hadn’t raised their hands. It just demonstrates how women are socialized to observe and listen to others and also to mask any sense of assertiveness that they might have…

Liswood also made a nice connection to part I of Exploring Leadership when she said that the ultimate role of leaders is to change things, but that making change is only dared by a few. Komives, Lucas, and McMahon emphasize over and over that the relational model of leadership is the process of getting people together to accomplish positive change. I thought it was funny that Liswood compared this to observing the process that a crowd goes through for a standing ovation. She said that the first group jumps up, the second group follows, and the third gets up because they can’t see the stage. This is so true! The first group to stand gets up so immediately that it looks like they didn’t really even have to think about standing, the second group gets up because they’re following along with the first group, and then the third group just seems apathetic about the whole idea. This relates to leadership so well, and I’m sure we’ve all worked with groups that we can look back on and figure out who fell into which group of "standers"... :)

Jean Cunningham was interesting to listen to as well—she seems like such an amazing woman. I liked when she said to "never declare that you think you’re a leader because if you’re truly a leader you will emerge." I completely agree with this statement and I’ve noticed that sometimes the people who are the best leaders are those who do unexpectedly emerge from the crowd. They don’t necessarily establish that they want power right off the bat and that is what makes them so good. This is one of the reasons why I like how the Exploring Leadership book exchanges "followers" for "participants." The word "follower" implies that those who have not established a leadership role within the group can’t think for themselves and are just doing whatever the person in power tells them to do. The word "participant," on the other hand, makes it seem more possible for everyone to feel empowered and for everyone to have a role in the leadership that is taking place.

Feeling so inspired!

I would just like to say that I have been feeling so fantastically inspired by the interview presentations given last week!! The theme that I took away from most of the interviews and the advice given by the women leaders was, "Let your passions guide you." I'm thinking that this is going to be one of the most challenging and rewarding times for me-the discovering of what my passions are and how I want to utilize those in a career.
On another note... This whole exploration of women and sexuality in the media has been very helpful and eye-opening for me. I grew up with a mother who loved me and did the very best she could with the resources she had. However, one thing that never changed was her dissatisfaction with herself. She was never happy with how she looked. I wish that I could post a picture of her on here, because she is probably one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. As much as I wish I could say that her constant self-dissatisfaction didn't have an effect on me, it did.
Up until taking this class actually I've struggled with body and self-esteem issues. I think that this group project and exploring women's portrayal in the media and advertisements, is going to be wonderful for me in the sense that I'll really be able to question these false, overly-high expectations of beauty that I feel.

Interview Stories and Komives III

I really enjoyed the first few interview stories in class today. I think my favorite was the woman who works in the white house. It was really interesting to me to see women with that kind of power in the "most important" house in America! Also, I'm pretty glad to have mine out of the way, as well as glad that I think it went pretty well.
Komives is such a dense book I have some issues writing about it in this blog. I thought that part III was insightful if a little dull. The authors talked about how leaders need confidence to succeed and I believe this is pretty true. My favorite quote from the section was this. "strength is not in the individuals, but in the team" I think that quote really speaks to what leadership means to me. Leadership and group dynamics are never really any stronger than their weakest link. This is important to remember in any kind of leadership situation.
I also thought the section about group dynamics was really interesting. I liked reading about the different stages of group development. Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing are important steps in group formation and it was sort of neat to actually see a name put to that.

Speaking of Dove ads....

I just got off the phone with my dad and he said that he is going to talk to the lady who he worked with whose daughter did the dove commercial.. he said that he thinks that she lives in DC.... keep your fingers crossed!

Transportation Magazine

The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. This was quite serious at its time and written for male supervisors of women in the work force during World War II - a mere 58 years ago! Obviously, the intent was not to be "funny," but by today's standards, this is hilarious!

For those of you with efficiency issues, pay attention to #8.

There is no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters. They are less likely to be flirtatious. They need the work, or they would not be doing it. They still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It is always well to impress upon older women, the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but also reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses that would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress, at the outset, the importance of time; the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite daylong schedule of duties so that they will keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they cannot shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she will grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point cannot be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

New Amazing Ad by Dove!!

You all have to watch this! It is being put out by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund and it is great! I was actually looking for the one called "Evolution" that I was talking about at our meeting today, but then I stumbled across this one which could be better! It really portrays the emphasis that is placed on women's appearance and bodies along with the possible objectification that this leads to...

Here's the link: http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/dsef07/t5.aspx?id=7373&filmno=0

And you can watch the "Evolution" one as well on the same page--just click on the link. :)

See you all tomorrow...

Today's Meeting

For next Wednesday have 1 ad and 1 reference!

Here are some helpful websites:
classictvads.com
genderads.com
vh1mystery.com

Things to look up:
Killing Us Softly 3

Some videos I found:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BrGgg6r9YyI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CZAA8hLutjs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=H5ro68Xs4Lc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jNFXvUxLXU0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e3N_skYSGoY
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9t0z04Qz61Q
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C7143sc_HbU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_FpyGwP3yzE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uq3fTXvCkS0


Thanks,
LA

Komives III (Katie L.N)

While reading this book, I just picked out a few quotes that stuck out to me, to discuss. I found this to be easiest since there is so much information...
When talking about Creative Conflict, the authors inserted a quote that I thought was good advice for not just leaders but for everyone. The quote: "...'Find the truth in what you oppose; find the fault in what you espouse!'"(p 230) I think in doing this, a person will be able to understand others better & therefore be a better person, not just leader.
In the chapter about communities I kept thinking that even the solo person, or the loner, is part of the community - even when they may not want to be or think they are not. And that is just what a community it - that loner is an essential part of the community. On page 289 the author said, "[a] person can lead an isolated life while surrounded by people..." While this is not the ideal situation, and most people would likely get more out of life if they did not isolate themselves, it is a reality.
There's not much I need to say about this quote, it tends to speak for itself. "Building community is creating a feel of 'we' out of lots of "I's""
The last thing that stuck out for me was from chapter 10. The author said, "[b]eing right can mean that others never have the right answer or approach."(p 313) I am one of many who likes to be right, all the time. While I do try to learn from my mistakes & admit when I am wrong, it's hard to do. What the authors said makes me look at it from the "other person's" perspective. I never considered that someone might feel that just because I am right it means they are wrong, or my way is better. But, I guess, that is essentially what it is and probably makes the other person feel unimportant.

Interview Stories and Part III (Shannon)

One thing that really stood out to me last week while I was listening to the interview stories presentations was that nearly all of the women leaders we were introduced to did not view themselves as leaders. Do you all think this is because of gender roles in our society and the way that women are not traditionally viewed as leaders? Do you think women are afraid of looking too ambitious or too confident like Marie Wilson continuously suggested in "Closing the Leadership Gap?" I just thought this was really interesting to observe in terms of what we have learned about and discussed in this class so far…

There were some interesting suggestions that Part III of the "Exploring Leadership" book gave to help groups work through conflicts and to make sure that members get the most out of their group experience. I have been in some nightmarish group situations in the past where the work load was totally uneven and unfair. I never really knew how to handle those kinds of situations effectively and I feel like the part about thinking of groups as communities (chapter nine) may have helped. I’m not sure if this would work as well in group scenarios at the undergrad level as it would at the organizational level. It’s hard to get people to feel a sense of commitment and identity to a group project or course that they really don’t care about…

I also enjoyed reading chapter ten about the renewal process and I thought that a lot of what was suggested could be applied to some of the principles and ideas that NCC promotes in its learning communities. I liked the idea that "the group dynamic changes in amazing ways once we quit trying to lay blame" and also that we need to share responsibility for our successes as well as for our losses (KLM 314). This is a popular idea in NCC learning communities especially when giving group presentations. We are encouraged to say things like "what WE found in our research was such and such…" rather than "what I found in MY research was such and such…" While this can be incredibly hard to do—especially if you’re the only one doing the work—it really is essential to the practice of shared responsibility, and I know how frustrating it can be for one person in the group to use "I/my" instead of "we" because it makes you feel like they are taking credit for everything.

KLM III, Laura Ann

• Forming, storming, norming and performing- sounds like a really good idea but I don't know if groups really use this formula. I think that most groups do this on their own- not necessarily with such boundaries as this chapter points out.
• Roles- a lot of times in groups that we form for school activities we don't have set roles. Usually we just do what needs to get done. I like that this chapter maps out what each role or positions descriptions are though.
• Creative conflict- usually the conflict that the groups I have been in tend to be bad- not constructive or creative. Chart 7.3- usually the conflict lies on the liability side..not usually the advantages side. Although, now that I have read this I can try and turn conflict into an advantage.
• Decision making- I am glad that we all decided that vote is the best way to make our groups decision because the book points out that having one person make decisions for the group can cause controversy.
• Organizational culture- how valuable is a companies "hero?" I don't understand how someone can become so valued that they are virtually immortal.
  
• Community- the stronger the community the stronger the organization
• The renewal process- continuous renewal is necessary in groups and orgs in order to renew values- deep change
• Empowerment- you can empower those that you trust- if you don't trust someone it is hard to know if they have the best interest in mind
• Understanding change- change is not always a bad thing- sometimes change is needed to revitalize an org or company- without changing a bad thing to a good thing you will be taking the path towards downfall
• Civic engagement- in order to be productive you have to become engaged- we have the responsibility to create a better future
  
• Joining with others- find something that you think needs to be fixed or addressed, find people that are also affected by it and inspire and empower them
  

This book is hard to blog about- I feel like I am just somewhat summarizing this section.

Labyrinth and Pipeline Articles

I really enjoyed reading both of these articles. I appreciated what I perceived as the author's intention in the pipeline article. It seemed that the pipeline article was geared at rallying women and inspiring them. I have to admit, I definitely felt inspired after reading it too! Immediately afterwards, I read the Labyrinth article. I have to say that I felt that this article had much more weight than the first. It addressed some of the real issues and complexities that we face as both emerging and current women leaders.
I wonder about the subtlety that exists between being communal and agentic. Is it possible for a woman to embody those more relational tendencies and also at the same time, to be assertive and more self-interested? I think it's a good question to ask. After reading Marietta Nien-hwa Cheng's quote, about deepening her voice I was at first a little upset because it seemed like she was attempting to take on more male characteristics (a deeper voice) in order to be seen and respected as a leader. I went back and re-read that section a few times and realized that her 'adjustment' with her voice could be perceived as an honest acknowledgment of an existing power-imbalance, and changing the tone of her voice was an attempt to create a more level 'playing field.'

Pipeline & Labyrinth (Katie L.N)

Hawkins, in her article Operation Pipeline, points out the "no-problem problem." (86) For me this point, that people not thinking there is a problem and therefore doing nothing about it, is one that can't be stressed enough. Time and again I hear comments about women's role in society, which lead to believe they feel women have gone as far as they can & are in every way equal to men. In order to really fix the problem people's mind-sets have to change. We need a shift in perception and sadly it's not just for men, but women as well.
In Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership the authors, Eagly and Carli, assert that if employers can change their focus from the class ceiling problem to a Labyrinth problem, and then change their practices women will become equal. However much that will help, I think the problem will not go away until everyone's perception changes. If employers make these changes but a majority of the population is not on board, and do not agree that the changes are needed (and face the issue head-on) how much good can it really do?

Pipeline and Labyrinth, Laura Ann

I really liked how the articles analyzed the role of women both in the workplace and in the home. The labyrinth article pointed out that women in the work place put in work hours both at home and at work but only earned 81 cents for every $1 that a man made. It is really annoying to read that because everyone knows that women put in more time emotionally then men do but we still get the crappy end of the deal. The article also said that "marriage and parenthood are associated with higher wages for men but not for women. " I would think that if anyone is going to get paid more for that it should be the women. That is like what Shannon said about her mom- having kids is a good thing! Why dont people get that? The pipeline article was interesting. It pointed out that "even women with the talent, drive, and moxie to clear every hurdle dont see themselves as political victors." I think that is really sad because men go out there knowing that they might not be the right guy for the job but they have the courage to just do it. I hope that eventually we can have some women that are more courageous to fill positions, it even says "midlife women are great candidates: they have rich skills, comfort, in their own skin and good stories to tell."

Our preliminary proposal

The topic that we have decided to research is "How advertisements portray women to the American public." We have split our group into 3 mini-groups in order to split up the work. The first group will research the history of advertisements particularly dealing with sex appeal and the role of women in society. This group will be made up of Katie and Alli. The second group will research how advertisements portray women by using sex appeal. This group will be made up of Shannon and Danielle. The third group will research how advertisements portray women in society. This group will be composed of Laura Ann and Kamryn. We will try to incorporate some sort of interactive activity with the presentation.

Motherhood as a Barrier to Women's Leadership (Shannon)

Both of the articles for next week talk about how motherhood often affects the pathway to leadership for many women. In “Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership,” Eagly and Carli explain that “decision makers often assume that mothers have domestic responsibilities that make it inappropriate to promote them to demanding positions” (Eagly and Carli 68). Why aren’t the children considered for men who are applying for higher positions? Shouldn’t fathers be just as important in children’s lives as mothers?

In “Operation Pipeline,” Hawkins asserts the fact that family still “remains an issue for women on the campaign trail. In trainings, women rehearse how to handle questions about whether they’re neglecting husbands or children” (Hawkins 90). Do people ever ask men if they’re neglecting their wife and kids? Does this idea even cross peoples’ minds? Probably not. Our current way of thinking about what is and is not acceptable for mothers and fathers needs some serious readjusting.

A couple of years ago, my mom applied for an upper management position at her company that she has been at for a good 23 or so years. During the interview, she was asked a question about how she would deal with difficult people and/or situations if she happened to get the position. In her answer, my mom said something about how she had raised three kids on her own and felt that she would be able to deal with any situation that presented itself. Immediately following the interview, the job candidates were given feedback and my mom was told that her biggest mistake was in saying (or admitting?!) that she was a mother.

While I was totally disgusted when my mom told me this story, it makes sense considering society’s current conceptions about the roles of men and women and what we expect of them. In Closing the Leadership Gap, Marie Wilson argues that “motherhood, often used as an excuse to keep us down, is actually one of the best sources of our power” (Wilson 71). Though it is one of our best sources of power, I guess we are just not allowed to talk about it yet as my mom mistakenly did in her interview…

meeting this wednesday

I just wanted to make sure I have this right....So our meeting time is Wednesday and we'll be meeting this week in the JC, right? Alli said that she isn't available until 10:15, so does 10:30 work, to give her a few minutes to get there?
I'll be there by 10:15 to get us a table - and I'll be in the area by the elevators --so just look for me.
Also, should we just plan on meeting every Wednesday, from now on? And if we don't have anything important we can cancel it - but this way we won't have conflicts in our schedules when we do need to meet.

Meeting times...

So here's the deal...for the schedules that I have (4 out of 6), Wednesday between 10am and 12:30pm works the best. And, is basically the only time that was posted where more than 2 people were available. However, I don't think it works for Kamryn.
Other times are (though, from what I have, these times only work for 2 people) -
Tuesday - 10am - 12pm
Wednesday - 10am - 2:30pm
Thursday - 9am - class
Friday - 9am - 12:30

Were people willing to meet on the weekend? Or have other times that are free even if just for a 1/2 hour?

Group meeting time

Hey All~
I'm just reminding you that I am still waiting on some peoples' schedules (so we can set a meeting time). If you could get them to me today, that would be great. So far it's looking like Wednesday would be the best time... I have class tonight, so when I get home I will finish this up, so hopefully you can get your times listed by then. But, if not I will just post what the best times are, with what I have, and we can go from there.

NMWA & Chapter 9 and the Afterword

National Museum of Women in the Arts

I really enjoyed the museum on Thursday and I am looking forward to taking a trip back on my own to see more of the exhibit that I wasn’t able to see during our visit. Like Katie, I felt myself looking at some of the pieces that the docent was not talking about—she seemed to be avoiding some of the more “controversial” pieces and those that may have warranted more explanation and discussion. I did, however, like the section of the exhibit that put women at their place in history. I missed the name of the woman who redid Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres’ painting called “The Turkish Bath,” but I found all of the paintings in that little room to be quite empowering. It seems like much of the history that we are taught in this part of the world ignores the fact that women had anything to do with where we currently are now—all of the important things have been accomplished by men alone. I felt that that specific section of the exhibit gave women their chance to be seen in places like the front lines of the revolution, which is a place where many people had probably never pictured women before.

Chapter 9 and the Afterword

The way that Marie Wilson ended her book with a collection of quotations from powerful women was very inspiring and moving. She said that the power of what these women said came from their interconnections, which is something that I definitely agree with.

One of the quotes that really spoke to the themes of this class was the one by Phoebe Eng on page 154. She said, “…I’ve learned that once people get used to the image of power embodied in different kinds of people, change begins…consistent presence is key.” As long as men AND women continue to see women taking on leadership roles and constantly being in the spotlight, I think it is very true that they will become more used to and comfortable with the idea of women as leaders. Consistent presence is key because if women leaders slip out of the spotlight and out of attention it seems like we would have to begin all over again. We can’t give up.

I liked the quotes that centered on Eleanor Roosevelt’s “Do something to scare yourself today” statement and the idea of taking risks and getting out of your comfort zone. This is something I really push myself to do—especially when it comes to my shyness and my discomfort with public speaking. Cathy Salser’s quote was perfect for this: “If you struggle with shyness…keep reaching beyond what is comfortable, and surround yourself with a few key women who will cheer you on, listen to the ups and downs, and encourage you toward your greatest dreams for leadership…” (Wilson 158). I have gotten in the habit of taking on public speaking opportunities (voluntarily speaking in class, participating in panel discussions, etc.) that I would normally run away from—and I even have people who know me well (and some who share my “fear!”) that I know I can go to for encouragement and also to share progress with.

Imagine how much growth women as a whole would experience if we all pushed ourselves to do one thing that scared us every day. I think we can make it happen if we all stick together and encourage each other along the way…

Museum of Women

I really enjoyed the museum. Though I often found myself looking at works that the tour guide was not talking about (I was multi-tasking, listening to her but looking at other things). I guess I tended to like the more provocative art, which she was avoided talking about.
One of my favorite pieces, which she did mention, was the painting of the naked men (which was a remake of the naked women) - sorry I really should have wrote the name down. I think I liked it because it was different; we don't often see art, especially paintings, with naked men. It was a whole new perspective - a good way to see how other women view men. (Instead of seeing how men view women, which is the standard.)
Another piece that I liked was the collection of quotes and such from documents regarding torture & imprisonment. It was a really moving piece to me. It was an interesting approach to show the injustices people suffer. I love that the exhibit was so large! It is a great way to impress upon people how much women can really do, and have done. It's not just the individual pieces, such as the dress made of white gloves, but the amount of them that makes an impact.