Get It in Writing

In writing class we are using a textbook called New Directions Reading, Writing, Critical Thinking. It offers five themed units each with readings and writing assignments. For the first half of the semester we worked on the Education unit and now we are working on the Gender Roles unit. One of the exercises in that unit asks us to identify a set of adjectives as male or female traits according to what you think most people will say. You may not necessarily agree with the associations. Here are the words and where I think most people would place them. A word may be placed in both categories.

Female Traits: compassionate, frivolous, intuitive, jealous, sensitive, sentimental, sophisticated, submissive

Male Traits: adventurous, aggressive, ambitious, competitive, decisive, jealous, self-reliant

There do seem to be tendencies that tilt these adjectives to one side or the other even though there are ample examples of crossovers, e.g. woman who are aggressive, ambitious, and competitive and men who are sensitive, sentimental, and compassionate. It is preferable, in my view, to minimize the tendencies and see each sex as capable of any of these traits. Generalizations can be helpful at times, but they can also be misleading. The trick is knowing which is the case.

Gender roles have been profoundly affected by Title IX of the 1972 Education Act passed by the United States Congress and that states:

"No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Dr Mary Curtis and Dr. Christine H.B. Grant at the University of Iowa. "Gender Equity in Sports." WWW. February 3, 2006. (http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/GEREDESIGN.html)

This legislation requires all educational institutions to promote and allocate resources equally for women's and men's sports. Now, 27 years later, women athletes are more common, debunking the notion that only men were interested in and play sports.

This law and the effect it has had in changing a perceived gender role is a great topic for an essay. I plan to write about it for the second essay assignment for the Fall 2009 Academic Writing class.

388 words

Posted by Ron Corio at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The government of the City of Richmond is criticized heavily, some deserved, some not. Now, after three years of hosting the National Folk Festival and two years of replicating it in the Richmond Folk Festival, the city can proudly proclaim a smashing success.

This year's Richmond Folk Festival was the second version of the local spinoff from the National Event. From Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, the area around the Tredegar Iron Works and Brown's Island was filled with the melodious and rhythmic sounds of roots music from the corners of the United States and from countries around the world.

The western music of Wylie Gustafson and his Wild West came from Montana; Jeffrey Broussard and the Zydeco Cowboys brought Louisiana music; Swamp Dogg dished out Virginia rhythm and blues, and Paul Williams and the Victory Trio wowed crowds with bluegrass gospel. From around the world there was La Gran Banda from Colombia, the Irish music of Martin HAYES and Dennis Cahill, the Jamaican reggae of Clinton Fearson and the Boogie Brown Band; Korean Dance by Sounds of Korea, and Puerto Rican bomba from Puerto Rico by Jorge Negron's Master Bomba Ensemble. From Kenya was the rumba and soucous Samba Mapangala and Orchestra Virunga. From the streets of Washington, D.C. came Trouble Funk and their bass-laden rhythms that had the jam-packed dance pavilion swinging and swaying in one giant mass.

The three days of music and music workshops was a musicologist's dream and everyone's time out from the day-to-day. Dedicated fans block out all other events for these three days and ensconce themselves in front of one of the several stages or in the dance pavilion to see and hear their favorites and some newfound musical treasures.

The wonder is seeing masses of people of all sizes, ages, colors tuned to the same cheerful vibes that float like a cloud above the gathering. A feeling of unity of people of community pervades and makes the shared experience all the more precious.

May the Richmond Folk Festival live on year after year and remind us of our commonality and the power of diversity.

358 words

Posted by Ron Corio at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)