BLOG #2: Self-Identity & Representaion

                                                                           BLOG #2: Surfboards

     The cultural object that has had a significant impact on my life are my surfboards. My dad’s side of the family is from Cabo San Lucas and he has been a life guard for almost 17 years at La Jolla. He has been the one who taught me to appreciate and love the ocean at a young age. The reason surfing has had an important impact on my life is because it provides me with trill, peace, fear, and escape all at the same time. 

     Though surfing is a world-wide sport, media and pop culture depicts surfers as caucasian with blonde hair and thin figures. And I don't fit any of those descriptions. Most of the time when I am surfing, I’m usually the only dark skin one out in the line up. At a young age when  I was first introduced to surfing I remember being very scared because I was easily convinced that everyone gets attacked by sharks, which was mainly due to messages in movies like Jaws. 

     This artifact still has an influence on my life today by pushing me to travel to more places to experience different waves and seek new thrills. As I reflect on my artifact, I notice that it does challenge pop culture stereotypes about my identity. There are many traditions in the hispanic culture but avid surfers are not one of them. Which I experience on my mother’s side of the family. They enjoy the beach but don’t really understand the concept of surfing or why I love it so much. And I have tried to bring along some of my cousins but they are not so intrigued, which it totally fine. But in the end I see it as a great thing because I still hold tight to my hispanic heritage/traditions but I feel like I have added another one to pass down to my own family some day.

Suits In Pop Culture

                                                                                                                              Emilio Razo  

                                                                                                                                WMST 205

                                                                                                                           March 7, 2019

                                                                          Suits In Pop Culture

                                                                

Prompt 1

The cultural artifact I picked to write for my first blog is a mens suit. The reason I chose a suit is because it has been involved in the male culture since the 17th century, making its appearance during the French Revolution. In addition the traditional fashion of the suit has evolved greatly over time. It went from wearing a wig and knee breeches to a blazer, neck tie, and slacks. It seems that lately and a combination of classic and modern looks are becoming more acceptable such as suspenders and different mismatching jacket and pants. Also the rise in women in corporate America as given them their own version of suit evolution and has made it more acceptable to wear was once a male-only cultural object. So who knows where it will change to in the next 100-plus years.

Prompt 2

The social world that revolves around a suit is mainly with elegance and professionalism. Just like wedding dresses, it is a resemblance of wealth. Weather the suit is for an office setting or a formal function, a man with a very expensive, nice fabric, and tailored fit is looked highly amongst others. Not sure how many other men this applies to but I was taught by my dad and other male figures in my life to always to have at least one decent suit. Many are also taught proper etiquette that comes with wearing a suit such as the “sometimes, always, never” button rule. Or how far your sleeves and length of the jacket should reach. The creators/producers of suits are designers such as Burberry, and companies in the wedding industry, and retail chain stores such as Men’s Wearhouse. The receivers of suits are men who need it for work or a special occasion. From a male perspective we want to look back at pictures of that wedding or dance and say the way I looked along with the memories created while wearing a nice suit.

Prompt 3

The world we have lived in as a society has told and sold us that a suit should only apply to males. But as mentioned earlier, trends have changed that has evolved the style of a suit for men and women. Though the appearance of women in business settings is not at the level it should be, it is a lot more than it was 30 years ago. And the result of that is women now wearing more powerful suits and even neck ties. This resembles the strong female appearance in a predominately male industry. But over the recent few years we have seen more members of the LGBTQ community take part in breaking the traditional norm of who and who shouldn't wear a suit. With gay marriage being legal we see many appearances of the women couples wearing a tux. This has caused an uprising in people challenging traditional ideas which is great. I believe change is good and even though many wont support it, society cant stop it. Change is imminent and we have seen it in sports, film, business, and practically every industry possible.