Honfest

The film brings up some interesting questions about Honfest, particularly what it means that one group of Baltimore residents dresses up and acts like a caricature of another part of the population–”hons,” or working-class women (so named for their supposed habit of calling everyone “Hon”).
From the Honfest website:
The Bawlmer term of endearment, Hon, short for Honey, embodies the warmth and affection bestowed upon our neighbors and visitors alike by historic working-women of Baltimore. HonFest is an annual celebration in honor of these women…
In answer to the question, “Is the hon a dying breed?,” Denise Whiting, creator of HonFest, exclaimed, “No! Absolutely not. Hon will live on forever in our hearts, and HonFest gives everyone an opportunity to celebrate and embrace their heritage.”
The festival includes a Miss Hon contest. Here is a photo of Miss Hon 2007:

The website’s description of hons:
…the women who vie to become Baltimore’s Best Hon are a vision of the sixties-era. They are women with beehive hairdos, bright-blue eye shadow, spandex pants and anything with leopard print!
But commentators in the documentary argue that some of the things being parodied–big hair, certain makeup and clothing styles–are still common, particularly in the working-class areas of Baltimore. From this perspective, it’s not just that people are mimicking or parodying the past; there’s also an element of class ridicule involved (since the style, taste, and speech associated with working-class women are being fetishized and parodied by other, often wealthier, women). This brings up a number of questions: Is this just good-hearted fun? Is it truly honoring these women, or mocking them? Does it bring attention to Baltimore’s working class residents, or simply treat them like they are historic relics?
(In)famous Baltimore resident and “Hairspray” director John Waters says,
It’s condescending now. The people that celebrate it are not from it. I feel that in some weird way they’re looking slightly down on it.
This might be useful for a discussion of social class and issues of representation–is Honfest respectful and fun or condescending? Does it make any difference whether some of the styles and mannerisms being parodied are still used by working-class women? Does it matter what the class background of attendees and participants tends to be? You might compare it to the controversy surrounding American Indian sports mascots for a discussion of concerns about representation more broadly. (Original post by by gwen on Nov 16, 2008 on blog "Sociological Images")

Tammy Crabtree

Tammy Crabtree, 42, lives in a dilapidated trailer with her four teenage kids. Although she's off welfare after 18 years, her job cleaning bathrooms at a local Burger King requires her to walk ten miles a day to and from work. Called "trash" by her neighbors, Tammy also has to contend with the preppie aspirations of her 16 year old son Matt, who doesn't want to be seen with her and has designs of becoming a lawyer, although even he seems to sense the limitations that await him. How realistic is Matt's belief that he is "Classier" than his mother and brother? Realistically, what do you think are Matt's chances of achieving his life goals? What are the obstacles in his path to achievement? If you don't think either mother or son will "make it", how do you reconcile that opinion with the American belief that hard work is always rewarde with success? If the Crabtrees were to meet Ginie Sayles could her formula help them rise in class?

Can you learn class?

Author and motivational speaker Ginie Sayles grew up poor but ended up marrying a millionaire. Vessa Rinehart, her eager student, has tired of dating men without cars or gas money and has come to Sayles to learn the ways of moving with the rich and powerful. From how close to stand to people (16 - 19 inches is the preferred distance) to which colors to wear (a woman of "pedigree vintage" always chooses bright colors), Sayles has developed a precise formula for how to mix confidently with the upper classes. On the agenda is a makeover and shopping spree on Rodeo Drive and attending an upscale art auction, where the subtleties of class are on full display as Vessa mills around putting her newly learned skills into practice. Will she meet the rich man of her dreams? And can we learn to change classes, or are we forever trapped in the one we grew up in?

Do the things you buy reveal your social class?

Joe Queenan gives us a tour of some upscale shops where people can buy wine with names no one can understand and kitchen utensils that your garden variety Target shopper could not recognize. He explains that buying items like this allows one to demonstrate that they are "one step ahead of the curve, one step ahead of the great unwashed" and seems to be an important middle-class trait, and part of a lifelong desire to try to fit in and impress our friends. Queenan describes this as a sort of a high school that never ends. Do you feel that in high school one of the ways that you try to fit in and impress your friends is by owning certain items? Are there items that you or your family own that represent your social class? Do you think that class is represented by the things we own? If you had to bring in one item to 'show and tell' about your social class, what would it be and why?Heres a catalog page from this winters Nordstrom Catalog. Is "Juicy" still "in"?

Social Class

As in "middle class," "working class," "upper class."
It's the 800-pound gorilla in American life that most Americans don't think about: how do income, family background, education, attitudes, aspirations, and even appearance mark someone as a member of a particular social class?
Class is, in many ways, the most important predictor of what kind of financial and educational opportunities someone will have in life. And yet, according to the video, it is a difficult subject to talk about in our country. Why do you think that Americans avoid talking about the subject of social class? Do you think people in some social classes are more reluctant to discuss class than those in others? Why or why not? How do you feel when we discuss class in class?

The Broken and the Crushed

We have discussed the various systems of Global Stratification, Including the Indian Caste system. These two articles discuss the plight of the Dalit class that still exists in spite of the fact that the Indian government formally abolished the Caste system in . The second article talks about the controversial quota system currently in place in the country. Do you think that quotas are a good idea in this country? Why or why not?

The Broken and the Crushed
Quota System

Slavery Is Illegal, So Why Are Millions Still Held as Slaves?

Hadijatou Mani was 12 years old when she was sold into slavery in Africa. Her mother was already a slave, and her mother's master sold the girl to a friend for $500. Mani spent the next 10 years cleaning her master's home and working his farm fields without pay. If she worked too slowly, he beat her.
Mani's story sounds like something out of the American slave-trade era of the 1700s, but it isn't. Mani is 24 years old, and she only recently won her freedom. This year, she sued the African country of Niger for not protecting her from slavery. Although Niger outlawed slavery in 2003, Mani's master didn't release her until 2005. On October 27, a West African court ordered Niger to pay Mani $19,000. A lawyer for Niger said his country would abide by the ruling.
"Nobody deserves to be enslaved," Mani says. "We are all equal and deserve to be treated the same."
Mani's case has drawn attention to a disturbing fact: Worldwide, more than 12 million people are trapped in slavery. They are "victims of abominable practices," says United Nations (U.N.) Secretary-General Ban Kimoon. Many are children, some as young as 4 years old. "Countless children are forced to become soldiers, work in sweat shops, or are sold by desperate families," Ban says. "The fact that these atrocities take place in today's world should fill us all with shame."AGAINST THE LAW
Slavery is illegal in almost every country, yet people are still forced to work against their will. In Asia, human rights groups have rescued children who were forced to work in clothing factories and shrimp-processing plants. In Africa and Latin America, people have been forced to pick cacao beans and cut sugarcane without pay.
The U.N.'s International Labour Organization says stopping slavery is difficult. Slavery is often kept hidden. U.S. officials say some governments aren't doing much to stop slavery because forced labor has helped fuel their countries' economic growth.MODERN SLAVERY
Slavery today takes many forms. Mani was born into a culture of slavery. In parts of Africa and Asia, some impoverished parents have sold their children to work as slaves. The parents say their children are better off learning to fish or farm than staying home and starving.
A more common form of slavery in South America and Asia looks legal from the outside because the "employers" are sneaky. They lure workers from poor communities to faraway factories or farms. The workers are promised money, but instead, they end up owing money. Their employers charge them for meals and fine them if they don't work fast enough. The workers' debts increase, keeping them enslaved to an employer they can never pay off.
Irma Martinez found herself trapped in another form of slavery when she left the Philippines as a teenager to work in the United States as a maid. She wanted to make money to put her siblings through school and to help her impoverished parents. When she arrived in Wisconsin, though, the couple who hired her took away her passport and threatened to have her arrested as an illegal immigrant if she tried to leave. Martinez worked 15-hour days for 20 years before her employers were arrested. The couple was found guilty of keeping her in forced labor and sentenced to four years in prison.
Illegal immigrants are vulnerable to slavery because they believe they can't turn to the police for help, says Mark Lagon, director of the U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Children who are kidnapped by rebel groups in other countries are often manipulated in the same way: They are forced to commit crimes and then told they can never go home because they will be put in prison.STOPPING SLAVERY
The League of Nations, the world's first international governing body, tried to abolish slavery worldwide in 1926. However, in many places, antislavery laws aren't enforced, Lagon says. The U.S. State Department lists more than a dozen countries that it says aren't doing enough to end slavery.
The continuing problem of slavery has been on the minds of ambassadors at the U.N. as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery approaches on December 2., The U.N. General Assembly announced on October 20 that it would build a memorial to commemorate this year's 200th anniversary of the end of the transatlantic slave trade. Kenyan Ambassador Zachary Muburi-Muita called the memorial "a permanent reminder of man's inhumanity to fellow men and a [promise] that never again should such a horrendous institution be allowed… in our society." CE