The Tunnel of Oppression is a program that goes from school to school to spread awareness about all types of oppression. The tunnel is filled with different sections that contain information about topics such as ageism, sexism, racism, veterans, economics and other issues that influence daily lives. As I walked through each room, I became a bit disturbed with all of the phrases, pictures and videos surrounding me. These issues intertwine with communication studies and gave me an idea of what students can do to be proactive.
The room that hit home for me was the sexism and sexual harassment area. All around the room there were phrases like, “hey baby” and “let me get your number sexy.” There were also empowering poems written by women and how they feel about this type of oppression. I felt a connection with this room as a young women living in a large metropolitan city like San Jose because situations like this happen to me all the time. I think that things like this happen to women my age so frequently that most of the time people just laugh it off and pretend like it's a joke, when in reality it’s demeaning towards women and disrespectful.
I believe that the media is a strong enforcer of belittling women, and making them feel as though looking a certain way will benefit them and make them happy. Everything revolves around outer beauty, and the less you wear the more attention you will receive from guys. Guys on the other hand, are taught to be as masculine as possible and “holler” at girls as much as they can. They are taught through the media to have sex with as many girls as possible, and that treating girls like a piece of meat is the cool thing to do.
It’s important to spread the word and get this out there to other groups of people. Guys can be aware of the disrespect shown to women, and treat all women with a higher respect. Gentlemen should also be good friends to ladies and reinforce polite behavior amongst each other. Girls can also spread the word about oppression and not give in to the medias trap.
I really enjoyed being exposed to the Tunnel of Oppression because I had no idea what it was before. There were a lot of things I didn't necessary want to see or read that happen in every day life and it’s great that people are getting exposed to all of these perspectives. It really was an eye opening experience, and I know that just by being aware that these types of oppressions occur will make me more proactive.
This is a really great topic to bring up. I definitely agree. There is nothing I hate more than going out with my girlfriends, trying to have a good time, and you get all these creepers annoying you, bugging you, and making you feel very uncomfortable. I think the media plays a big role in this and both men and women allow it to keep happening by following everything they see in the media. This is something that definitely needs to be brought to peoples attention. Great topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree that women shouldn't be reduced to objects for guys to try and get at. Unfortunately, this kind of mentality is everywhere, particularly in music and television. Even though we believe that we are in control of how we act, it is no secret that media plays a huge role in how we behave. But we can't just blame the media and play victims to their influence. Minor steps in the right direction can contribute to social change over time. We all posses the power to resist the norms we do not agree with. Perhaps we need to collectively reconsider the way we approach sexuality and relationships in our culture.
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