Haiti

L'Haïti, officiellement la République d'Haïti est un pays des Antilles. Avec la République dominicaine, il occupe l'île de Hispaniola, dans le plus grand archipel d'Antillean. Sa capitale est le Port-au-le Prince. Le créole français d'Haïti et français sont les langues officielles. L'Haïti est le pays le plus pauvre dans les Amériques. Contrairement à la conviction populaire cependant ce n'est pas le plus pauvre dans l'Hémisphère de l'ouest. Sur les diverses occasions, il a éprouvé la violence politique à travers son histoire. Le plus récemment, dans le 2004 février, une rébellion armée a forcé la démission et l'exil du Président-Jean Bertrand Aristide, et un gouvernement provisoire a contrôlé avec la sécurité fournie par les Nations unies Mission de Stabilisation à Haïti. Rene Preval, le président actuel, a été élu dans les élections législatives haïtiennes, 2006.

Baby Princesses?!?

This is by far the one of the creepiest things I have seen relating to Disney and fairy tale characters. Why does this image of all the Disney princesses of babies even exist? Better yet why is it on the second page of google images about Disney princesses? This is just an example of how our society takes things and runs with them. These are grown women in diapers! They have breasts they are obviouslly not babies!!! I find this very disturbing and gross on many levels. Is this attractive to men? Who is this marketed for? Does anyone find this cute instead of disturbing? Things like this make me long to have Disney and it's images out og the popular culture and mass media. Ewww.

Princes

Today I stumbled across this image on the internet. It connected with a lot of things people were talking about in their presentations last week about what women are looking for in a man. I never thought about it the other way that Disney is not only teaching girls these are the attributes to look for in a man, but also they are teaching boys these are the things you must be in order to get a princess. I found this very interesting as we have rarely talked about it or thought about it from this viewpoint. Not only does it present an interesting viewpoint but the question at the bottom through me for a loop. The only people I can name are Aladdin, Prince Eric, and Prince Charming. I never realized I did not know the names of the other princes, this emphasizes the point we have been discussing that the princes are just there to move the story along. This seems more and more true given we don't remember anything about then, simplest of all being their names.

Peach: Damsel In Distress?

This weekend I was watching my boyfriend and his friends play the video game Mario. It occurred to me while watching the game that the story we see throughout all the classic fairy tales has made it's way into the video game plots of today. Peach is a beautiful princess who has been captured by evil characters and hidden away. She is a classic damsel in distress, a woman in need of a strong man to rescue her. In comes Mario not your classic prince charming, actually an Italian plumber, but none the less he is her knight in shining armor, her savior. This video game marketed towards boys teaches the message we have referred to again and again throughout the semester. Women need men to come rescue them and save them from the problems of their lives. Peach does not try to escape on her own she waits for Mario her savior to come rescue her from danger. Boys are then playing the male role of saving females and this message is being taught as their job, their responsibility from a young age. Video games like this crop up all over reinforcing the classic knight and damsel in distress concept. Why do we still love and play these games regardless of the obvious stereotypes and warped message?

Disney For Boys

I thought the point that Felix brought up in his presentation and I some what touched on in mine about the Disney movies for boys was really interesting. He brought up that there are not very many Disney movies for boys that include actual characters and that most of the Disney films geared towards boys are movies about inanimate objects coming to life and talking ie. cars, monsters inc, etc. I think it is weird that there aren't many Disney movies for boys that actually include real people or characters that look like real people. Why are films for boys so different from films for girls? Does Disney think boys don't connect with real characters and only with weird things like cars and furry monsters? It seems like a general concept about what little boys connect with and I am not sure I understand the logic behind it.

Wedding Dresses??

Today I was looking around for something to blog about and stumbled upon a shocking and horrific discovery....Disney has a line of wedding dresses! I know, I know, I could hardly believe it myself. Not only does Disney constantly teach young girls to be happy they must grow up find a prince and get married but now they are carrying this same delusion through to the wedding itself. Now every Disney obsessed female can look like the beautiful ANIMATED characters they have looked up to and dreamed about since young girlhood. I think this is very dangerous and creates women who live in a world built solely on the fantasy of an animated cartoon woman's life. These woman are actually trying to be the character down to a tee rather than being themselves and living their own lives. I was very disturbed and upset by this idea and am very curious about what kind of woman would play into this Disney capitalist machine like this?

Disney Sexism Outside The Cartoon

While researching my project I set my pandore (and online radio station) to play Disney songs. I though listening to the Disney songs would help with inspiration and get me in the mood. Once I started to listen to the lyrics I realized Disney's sexism does not just show up in the animated films but also in the other films such as the song You Are Sixteen Going on Seventeen from The Sound of Music:

[Rolf:]
You wait, little girl, on an empty stage
For fate to turn the light on
Your life, little girl, is an empty page
That men will want to write on

[Liesl:]
To write on

[Rolf:]
You are sixteen going on seventeen
Baby, it's time to think
Better beware, be canny and careful
Baby, you're on the brink

You are sixteen going on seventeen
Fellows will fall in line
Eager young lads and rogues and cads
Will offer you food and wine

Totally unprepared are you
To face a world of men
Timid and shy and scared are you
Of things beyond your ken

You need someone older an wiser
Telling you what to do
I am seventeen going on eighteen
I'll take care of you

[Liesl:]
I am sixteen going on seventeen
I know that I'm naive
Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet
And willingly I believe

I am sixteen going on seventeen
Innocent as a rose
Bachelor dandies, drinkers of brandies
What do I know of those

Totally unprepared am I
To face a world of men
Timid and shy and scared am I
Of things beyond my ken

I need someone older and wiser
Telling me what to do
You are seventeen going on eighteen
I'll depend on you



I found these lyrics egregiouslly sexist and massively contributing to the large bank of Disney sexism in lyrics and storylines.