Summary and Response of "Evolution of a Swimsuit"

In swimsuit designer Jessica Rey’s video “Evolution of a Swimsuit,” she argues that women should stop wearing two-piece bathing suits because it makes men objectify them but instead conserve their modesty by wearing once piece bathing suits. Rey gives the history of the swimsuit and explains how women were more modest before the 21^st century by wearing bathing outfits and later one-piece bathing suits. Rey reinforces her argument by reviewing lyrics from a popular song called “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” which describe a women wearing a bikini who is afraid of coming out in front of people. She also argues her point by using a Princeton Study that examined the brain activity of college boys when shown pictures of women in bikinis. According to Princeton researchers, boys part of the brain associated with tools like hammers was activated and the part that feels empathy and sees connections didn’t light up; however, when shown pictures of girls in modest bathing suit, the part associated with empathy did light up. Rey argues that this study concluded that men see women in bikinis as objects to be used and not people to connect with. Although I believe that Rey makes some good points, her arguments are weak because they are not convincing and outdated.

Using the Princeton study only weakens Rey’s argument because it has several holes in logic. The study seems to be convincing at first, but as one thinks about it more there stars to be more flaws in it. The first thing is that the study focuses on college boys; therefore the representation of that group is not accurate of all men. The second is that the boys were shown pictures of women; this is definitely not the same effect as having a live person standing in front of you. If the study had focused on pulling random men of different ages and put live women in front of them, I would have been more convinced that men actually see women as objects instead of people.

Including the history of the bikini and song weakens Rey’s argument because she uses outdated logic. Rey uses the history and song to convey that women have a natural sense of modesty and this is why they wore once-piece bathing suits but society today has pushed women to throw out this modesty and reveal themselves. Rey tries to argue that this is not a good thing because instead of empowering women, it just makes men see them as objects to be used. The reason that this logic does not support her ideas is because women and people in general are not born with a sense of modesty. As young children we all want to run around naked and be free. It is society that teaches us to cover up and be shameful about our bodies. If a women chooses to wear a bikini in todays society, she is confident about her body and feels empowered by it. Who cares if some college boys see us as objects? They see themselves as people and so will real men.

Even though Rey has some good ideas, her use of the study and outdated logic does not accurately convey her point.

Summary and Response of Susan Jacoby's essay "A First Amendment Junkie"

In well-known feminist writer Susan Jacoby’s essay “A First Amendment Junkie,” she explains her stand on the first amendment issues revolving around the pornography industry in the 1970’s. Jacoby explains that many feminists who are usually strong supporters of the first amendment are actually joining with adversaries of the women’s movement against pornography. Jacoby voices that this is very disturbing to her and anyone who believes in an absolute interpretation of the First Amendment. She supports her argument by addressing the unclear distinction between expression of ideas and conduct, in this case related to “kiddie porn.” She makes it clear that “kiddie porn” is an abuse of power of adults and not an expression of ideas and that those adults should be rightfully prosecuted. Jacoby concludes her essay by saying that defending the First Amendment means defending all forms of free speech even if you don’t necessarily agree with the idea.

            While reading Susan Jacoby’s “A First Amendment Junkie,” I realized that I have been a strong supporter of the First Amendment for many years without really knowing.  I’ve always felt that issues like the ones described in this essay were brought way out of proportion and that people spent way too much time on them. I support and agree with Jacoby when she says that supporters of the first amendment have to support all types of free speech even if they don’t like the ideas being distributed. And so as to not be , I am going to look at any type of free speech with an open mind.

            The issue of abuse of power in Jacoby’s essay is the only thing that I think she could have elaborated more on. Jacoby used the issue of “kiddie porn” as an example but I think there are many more issues regarding the abuse of power in the porn industry. In my opinion, porn only becomes an issue when people are being harmed by it. In other words, the matter of minors or adults being forced into this industry unwillingly and even forced into drugs. It is of my strong belief that porn should be protected by the First Amendment only if all parties involved are voluntary consenting adults with no reliance on drugs that could cloud their judgment.  

Summary and Response on “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”

In director of Wellesley College Center for Research on Women Peggy McIntosh’s essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” she talks about how white privilege affects people daily without anyone even realizing it. McIntosh gives a long and detailed list of daily encounters in which the conditions are directed mainly by skin color although she lists a number of other factors that are also intertwined. Most of McIntosh’s examples are things like reading the newspaper and seeing her race being widely represented, or not having her skin color work against the appearance of her financial stability when using checks, credit cards, or cash. McIntosh also makes a point to say that as far as she can tell, her African American friends and acquaintances run into most of these encounters.

While first reading Peggy McIntosh’s essay, my first thought was that there is no way that I could go through life with a sense of white privilege following my steps. I started to reevaluate how I treat other races on a daily basis and realized that I did not treat anyone unfairly in relation to skin color. As a result of this, I read through the entire article and completely disagreed with every word. In my mind, such a thing did not exist. After finishing, I decided to read over it again and that is when it hit me. Just the fact that I had shut down after reading the words “white privilege” proved that McIntosh had a point.

As I read through the essay a second time, I realized that this term “white privilege” was still a real thing. I understood what McIntosh meant when she said that she was taught to see racism as individual acts and not as whole systems. I reread each “condition” very carefully and imagined myself performing these tasks or being in those places and realized how true each one was. If it is by accident or on purpose, I do not know. But I do know now that our society is extremely split between races and I did not even notice it. How could I have let myself overlook this scary truth? I believe I was conditioned, in a way, to not notice. I was taught to treat everyone equally but not to change the dynamics between my race and other races to eliminate racism.

Summary of Harlan Coben's "Undercover Parent"

In Harlan Coben’s essay “Undercover Parent”, the issue of parents putting spyware in their childrens’ computers is brought up. He poses the question of whether or not invading teenagers privacy is wrong or if it is allowable in order to protect their children. Coben uses examples like his friend found out that his straight A daughter was actually using drugs and sleeping with her drug dealer to convey the audience that spyware is okay as long as it is for the right reasons.  Coben ends his summary by saying that even though our society is based on freedom, the extensive amounts of information on Internet can get our children in trouble and parents need to protect them. He also suggests that it is a good idea to tell children that you have put spyware in their computers or just show them his article and have a serious talk about the danger of the Internet.

Hey guys, my name is Antea. I was born in France and lived there until I was seven before moving to the United States. I'm fluent in both languages and go back to France every summer. My current major is Physical Therapy but I'm contemplating changing it to Occupational Therapy. I'm hoping to build on what I learned in English last semester and to keep improving my writing and grammar skills.