I always get excited in this class when we study issues that are as ground-breaking as the subject matter of Tolman's piece.
I found Tolman's article to be perhaps one of the most profound of this class. I think she has happened upon some unexplored territory.
Female sexuality, in dominant American culture (and Western thought as a whole) is often seen as deviant and taboo which makes the issue controversial and virtually unspoken of.
Tolman explains in her article that the image of a "good girl" isn't in fact good. The idea of being good is accompanied by assumptions of asexuality, lack of desire, and need for romance. Thus, there is a blatant double standard. Men are seen as animalistic and sex-crazed and that is accepted as 'normal' male behavior in our patriarchal society. If man desires sexual pleasure he is refered to as a 'player' where as woman who desires sexual pleasure is called a "slut".
I enjoyed her interview of Isabel, especially taking into account Isabels being white and of middle class standing. Teenagers are of course consciously familiar with the idea that Raby called "the storm" or the explosion into adolescence and angst that young people experience. A huge aspect of the "the storm" is the experimentation and often the discovery of sex. Isabel was struggling to find her sexuality in the world and kept speaking about not being attracted to men and saying things like "I don't fantasize about having sex". I have to say that I think Tolman's perspective was a bit harsh on Isabel, essentially assuming that the girl hadn't been truely freed within herself sexually. I definitely believe that a prevailing vision of women as only objectified women is in fact internationalized by much women in the American population. But asexuality isn't a bad thing and is just as natural as being extremely sexual. Check out this site on asexuality, it is very imformative. Asexual
Isabel, amongst young girls in popular culture, isn't expected to masturbate or at least not discuss it publicly in the way men are allowed. Male masturbation is humorous right? There is every term in the world for it; beating your meat, flogging the dolphin, etc. Off hand I can't think of any terminology for female masturbation because NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IT! I heard open conversation about it for the first time a performance of The Vagina Monologues when I saw it at RIC a few years back. No adults ever discussed it with me in high school.
I think this is an exceptional version of the 'good girl' and man, are her teeth white.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Miller and Teens and Social Media Findings
I found Vincent Miller's article New Media, Networking and Phatic Culture very challenging and hard to understand. After reading it through a few times I think I have a better understanding but overall his writing was dense.
Things I Understand:
Miller began his article with a description of phatic culture or "namely a flattening of social bonds as we move into ‘networked sociality’ and a similar ‘flattening’ of communication in these networks towards the non-dialogic and non-informational". I think Miller is describing how the use of internet as a source of sustaining relationships has changed the form and foundation of relationships. I don't understand his use of 'dialogic' in his explanation of phatic culture, maybe we can discuss that in class.
Miller also divided his article in to for distinct sections:
1) Firstly, he expalined "blogging culture and its relationship to the social contexts of individualization". He writes about the power of individualization and the separatedness of American culture and how the internet support the individual nature of people allowing relationships online to become fleeting and even temporary. At the same time, these relationships can be extremely open and trusting yet often through rapid and continuous communication.
2)Secondly, Miller discussed "the social networking profile within the contexts of ‘network sociality’ and the rise of database culture". The idea is that relationships have become ""informational" and not "narative". This is seen in profile on MySpace in which a person describes "likes or dislikes" or maybe "single or in a relationships". Photos have also become a strong component in formulation of relations between to people and even commenting on thoose photos on sites like Facebook.
3)The third section on Miller articles was concerned with "microblogging, connected presence and the ascendancy of phatic culture". The online world using "objects" such as Facebook to fulfill easy access to communication in a "postsocial" environment.
4)Lastly, Miller explains "the usefulness of phatic media". I think that it was extremely important that he cover this subject considering the information in the article wasn't exactly a positive analysis of current mass media culture. In a way, this fast information highway is a successful marketing tool, a way to bring succinct messages to the public. I understand that these new platforms of communication are speedy but I don't exactly understand the value behind it besides the gains made by capitalism and consumerism.
I grew up with the internet and as a an "internet native (as Morrison and McMillan would call me) much of my communication between friends and even family is through email, Facebook, and MySpace. Although I am an avid internet user I sat in shock when I read in Teens and Social Media that "93% of teenagers are online". Is that only shocking to me? Only seven percent of the teen population isn't involved? I am also blown away that a landline is still the most common way teens communicate. I figured that since cell phones have become so popular landlines could be almost obsolete. I wonder what the reasons of this are. Maybe there is a comfort in using a family line from the house or the fact that a landline almost always has service?
Before I entered this class, I also had no idea how popular blogging was/is. "Half of all online teens (49%) now read the online journals or blogs of others, up from 38% in 2004". Holy cow!
I also love how the article took into account that the most active teens online are often the most active offline. Perhaps a stereotype of "the teen online" has entered my mind in some way, picturing a kid who has no life outside of the internet.
Sometimes when I'm online, I find myself thinking about what I would have be doing with my time if I was a teen in the 1980's. I don't have any time to be bored because I can always log on and be entertained by a video, a conversation, or a song someone uploaded to a music site.
I didn't know how much money people can make on blogs. This video was very informative!
click here
Things I Understand:
Miller began his article with a description of phatic culture or "namely a flattening of social bonds as we move into ‘networked sociality’ and a similar ‘flattening’ of communication in these networks towards the non-dialogic and non-informational". I think Miller is describing how the use of internet as a source of sustaining relationships has changed the form and foundation of relationships. I don't understand his use of 'dialogic' in his explanation of phatic culture, maybe we can discuss that in class.
Miller also divided his article in to for distinct sections:
1) Firstly, he expalined "blogging culture and its relationship to the social contexts of individualization". He writes about the power of individualization and the separatedness of American culture and how the internet support the individual nature of people allowing relationships online to become fleeting and even temporary. At the same time, these relationships can be extremely open and trusting yet often through rapid and continuous communication.
2)Secondly, Miller discussed "the social networking profile within the contexts of ‘network sociality’ and the rise of database culture". The idea is that relationships have become ""informational" and not "narative". This is seen in profile on MySpace in which a person describes "likes or dislikes" or maybe "single or in a relationships". Photos have also become a strong component in formulation of relations between to people and even commenting on thoose photos on sites like Facebook.
3)The third section on Miller articles was concerned with "microblogging, connected presence and the ascendancy of phatic culture". The online world using "objects" such as Facebook to fulfill easy access to communication in a "postsocial" environment.
4)Lastly, Miller explains "the usefulness of phatic media". I think that it was extremely important that he cover this subject considering the information in the article wasn't exactly a positive analysis of current mass media culture. In a way, this fast information highway is a successful marketing tool, a way to bring succinct messages to the public. I understand that these new platforms of communication are speedy but I don't exactly understand the value behind it besides the gains made by capitalism and consumerism.
I grew up with the internet and as a an "internet native (as Morrison and McMillan would call me) much of my communication between friends and even family is through email, Facebook, and MySpace. Although I am an avid internet user I sat in shock when I read in Teens and Social Media that "93% of teenagers are online". Is that only shocking to me? Only seven percent of the teen population isn't involved? I am also blown away that a landline is still the most common way teens communicate. I figured that since cell phones have become so popular landlines could be almost obsolete. I wonder what the reasons of this are. Maybe there is a comfort in using a family line from the house or the fact that a landline almost always has service?
Before I entered this class, I also had no idea how popular blogging was/is. "Half of all online teens (49%) now read the online journals or blogs of others, up from 38% in 2004". Holy cow!
I also love how the article took into account that the most active teens online are often the most active offline. Perhaps a stereotype of "the teen online" has entered my mind in some way, picturing a kid who has no life outside of the internet.
Sometimes when I'm online, I find myself thinking about what I would have be doing with my time if I was a teen in the 1980's. I don't have any time to be bored because I can always log on and be entertained by a video, a conversation, or a song someone uploaded to a music site.
I didn't know how much money people can make on blogs. This video was very informative!
click here
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