Annotated Bibliography

Pieces I intend to use include:

From the New Humanities Reader:

Robert Thurman's "Wisdom," which addresses directly the relationship between the 'self' and its surroundings. Questions whether or not it is possible to identify yourself and still be connected to those around you. Ths piece also addresses the impact that your surroundings may have on how you identify yourself.

Leslie Bell's "Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom," addresses my main topic straight on, which is the impact that cultural and societal standards can have on the comfort a woman feels expressing her sexuality. She references many subjects she used as interviewees and their own personal take on the matter.

Barbera Frederickson's "Selection's from Love 2.0" addresses some of the ways society could affect our ability to find and express love, how it "often seems to reflect our worst tendencies."

Pieces Cited Within the New Humanities Reader:

Julie Bettie's "Women Without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity" provides insight on girls in different cultural settings and with different ethnic backgrounds. She compares these girls on multiple levels and examines whether the difference in their racial background correlates to their behavior.

Ariel Levy's "Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture" demonstrate how in today's society many women are taking on the stance of being "chauvinist pigs." Consequently, though, this will open them up to being used by men. I will use this piece to examine the influence that societal standards of women have on this relatively modern stance of unashamed promiscuity.

Overall, I hope to use these pieces to assess the societally constructed standards women face today and how it influences the level of comfort they feel while embracing and expressing sexuality. I'm not exactly sure what my focus question is just yet, but something beneath that umbrella topic.