"Hey, Guys!": Just a Fun Greeting, or a Derogatory Phrase?

Tonight my father brought something to my attention. The two of us, along with my mother and aunt, went out to eat at an Italian restaurant. He enjoyed himself and had a good meal, but one thing irked him: our waiter kept addressing us as "guys" and my father was the only man there. Nothing against the waiter, for he did a good job serving us, but my father found fault with this because he's a food writer and notices things like this. He felt that instead the waiter should have referred to us as "folks" to make the term more collective. At first I didn't see the big deal with this because "guys" is such a general term, and I think I have addressed both my female and male friends as "guys" from one time or another. I think I may have also addressed you, my faithful readers, as such once or twice as well.

But then my father told me something that somewhat altered my thinking. What if the table had three men and one woman, and the waiter addressed us as "ladies?" Then all of a sudden it becomes weird. Why is it that it is so normal for us to call groups of people regardless of gender "guys," which is regarded as a male term, but we would never call groups of people "ladies" unless they are women, which is regarded as a female term?

Being the feminist that I am, this weighs on me further. Is addressing everybody as "guys" the social norm because we still live in such a patriarchal society? Should I be offended by this? As a woman, when I use the word "guys," am I insulting myself? I say this because after thinking about this now, I am kind of considering "guys" a sexist term. I never really thought of the term "guys" as sexist that much, but I'm having second thoughts about using it now.

This idea reminds me of the lyrics to Madonna's song "What it Feels Like for a Girl":
Girls can wear jeans
And cut their hair short
Wear shirts and boots
'Cause it's OK to be a boy
But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading
'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading

Source

Is this the same thing? It's okay for us to call people "guys" but the title "ladies" or even "girls" is only reserved for females. Is it an insult to be called "girls" because it is degrading to be a girl and is it okay to call anybody "guys" because it is okay to be a "guy?"

Is the simple word "guys" symbolic of a bigger picture and we use it without even realizing it because we are so used to it being part of our culture?

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For...My dis connect Review is Now on The Montclarion Website!!!

Photo from dis connect website

This is so exciting!!! In dis connect Generation Y questions "why" technology is taking over the lives of so many people. I loved loved LOVED this play and everything about it! :D I really hope you enjoy the review!

Best of luck to the senior BA Theater Studies majors of MSU as the graduate and move on to bigger and better things in the theater world. :) Here's to hoping as well that the dis connect phenomenon will catch on and become a published play performed for years to come!

dis connect Review

For more of the dis connect experience, check out the official website.

Peak Performances @ MSU Facebook Fan Page

Photo of the beautiful Alexander Kasser Theater from the Facebook fan page

I can't believe I never thought to post this before but here is the Peak Performances @ Montclair State University Facebook fan page and Facebook group. Here you can find out more about the shows at MSU. There are a lot more shows that play on campus than I cover on this blog, so if you'd like now you can become a fan to be more informed! :)

dis connect Promotional Video

Promotional Poster in Memorial Auditorium

During my sophomore year at Montclair State University I have befriended senior English and Theater Studies major Amanda Schott. She is the Assistant Director of the upcoming Peak Performance dis connect, which is a brand new original production, more specifically the senior BA Theater Studies project, about our use of technology. It is premiering in the L. Howard Fox Studio Theatre next Thursday. The idea for a play like this had to have happened sooner or later considering how technology is so prominent in our lives nowadays haha.

Because Amanda has been trying to promote the show via Facebook (ironically), I decided to help her by making this promotional video, starring Amanda herself. In it she discusses the background of dis connect, what she wants the audience to take with them from the performance, etc. Interestingly she talks about how our generation, Generation Y, is mainly affected by technology. I can vouch for that. Here I am promoting a production trying to convey that very message by using my Canon camera, MacBook Pro, Facebook, Blogspot, and YouTube.



Also, here is a preview of the show, which is discussed in my interview with Amanda. (Contains some choice language):

If you want more details, please check out this Facebook event. For even more details and ticket information, please click here.

If you are in the Montclair area, please come check out dis connect. Good luck to the cast and crew! It promises to be a very memorable show!

I GOT PUBLISHED!!!

Last month I became a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), which is an honors society that helps its members obtain certain tools to reach their goals. It provides its members with different opportunities such as scholarships, while also other activities to get involved, including the new TalkNerdy2Me: A College Life Blog. Naturally, I was interested to get involved with this one. ;)

TalkNerdy2Me premiered in late March, so it is a relatively new blog. I noticed that the NSCS Facebook fan page posted the lastest issue so I decided to take a look at it. As I was reading it, I came across a headline that says "From Entertaining to Annoying: How College Ruined Cheesy Pop Culture". It looked interesting, so I decided to read it. As I was reading the first paragraph, I thought it sounded familiar, and then realized it was my piece that I had submitted! It came as a surprise to me because the editor told me that she would be able to use it April 20, so this is sooner than I expected.

I am so excited and honored to have my first blog post in TalkNerdy2Me published today! You get to read me discuss Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan (vaguely), "Dancing with the Stars" "American Idol," "The Bachelor," and what I have to endure when checking my e-mail. Enjoy! :D

Proud to be a pop geek!

My Grapes of Wrath Review: Traveling Across the Country on the Kasser Stage

Let us return back to my theater oriented theme. What we have here is another one of Stefanie Sears's lost articles that could not be used for publication, much like my On the Town and Sweeney Todd articles. Though the Sweeney Todd one may not be considered a "lost article" considering it was published in The Montclarion, I decided to publish the original draft on here so people are able to read that version as well.

This is the most recent, and most likely final, installment of my Grapes of Wrath at MSU Coverage. I call it coverage because other random blog posts I have made in the past were associated with MSU's production of The Grapes of Wrath in some way. Check out the other installments just in case you want to refer back to them. They include my interview with Corinne Chandler and my piece about Ma Joad for my Women's History Month series "Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious)".


I originally wrote this piece for The Montclarion, but unfortunately they could not use it, so I decided to post it here. Enjoy! :) It was the first show I saw at Alexander Kasser Theater this semester and I had been hearing so much about it prior so needless to say I was pretty excited!

*There may be spoilers in here to those of you who a) did not see the play, b) did not read the book, c) did not see the movie, or d) all of the above.*

The much anticipated play production The Grapes of Wrath, based on John Steinbeck's classic novel of the same name and written by Frank Galati, directed by Susan Kerner, had its run from March 9-12 at the Alexander Kasser Theater. It was a very amazing show that was very well done with its imagery that made you feel and think with its intensity. The sizable cast, introducing child cast members to the Kasser stage, very well depicted the struggles their characters were experiencing, thus conveying the message of togetherness of family to the audience and narration through use of song by the narrators who accompanied the cast onstage most of the time. It had the ability to cause audience members to look at their own lives and be thankful for what they have.

Lead man Tom Joad, played by senior Dustin Fontaine, discovers on his return back home after being in prison that his family has been forced to leave their Oklahoma home. The Joad family, along with Tom, then embarks with both enthusiasm and fear on a journey to California, where the good life is currently being advertised and jobs are promised, hitting snags in the road along the way. Ma Joad, played by senior Lena Chilingerian, was clearly the heroine of the play, trying to keep her family together while protecting them as it gradually falls apart, accepting the fact that things may not seem to go as planned after all.

What was interesting is that two characters could be having a conversation center stage, but the actions of the rest of the characters in the background would stand out just as much. This, the scenery, the use of water, the presentation of rain and sunlight, and the lifelike truck that provided the Joads with shelter throughout the play and drove on and offstage when pushed by other cast members made the play that much more realistic. The play was emotionally driven, the family faced with doubt and rumors treading into the unknown, with occasional humorous moments, nudity, and violence. The show also included a dance sequence to add more to the artistic imagery. The most beautiful scene, however, was the final one right before curtain call consisting of seniors Elizabeth Mackintosh as Rose of Sharon and Albert “AJ” Johnson Jr. as the Man in Barn. (Even though this is the ending of the play, I feel it deserves a mention, so I apologize for the spoiler.)

In the scene before this Rose of Sharon, the eldest Joad daughter who has been pregnant throughout the play, gives birth to a stillborn child. Seeking shelter from the rain, the Joad family runs into a barn at first unaware that it is already occupied. A man (Johnson) lies on the floor of the barn, dying, and it is explained by his son (Titus Gandy) that he does not have enough strength to eat solids due to starvation. Rose of Sharon offers her services and after everyone leaves the barn breastfeeds the man, thus being able to nurture someone after all. This single act embodies the work as a whole, for the theme of the play was to help each other in times of need and do what you can to survive.

Ultimately, it was the type of show that made you say, “Wow.”

FEMME Festival at MSU: The Feminism Celebration Continues!

Taken from the Femvolution: MSU Facebook Fan page

Lately I have been getting involved with a feminism organization on campus called Femvolution: MSU that prides itself in bringing more feminism awareness to Montclair State University. You can also check out their Facebook fan page and their Facebook group.

This week they are holding a week long festival of activities called the FEMME Festival that will be touching upon different things associated with women. I am going to use this post to notify you of what exactly will be happening this week.

FEMME Festival: The Fashion of Feminism

FEMME Festival: "don't need you" Film Screening + Discussion

FEMME Festival: Craftivism 101

FEMME Festival: Flirting with Burlesque Discussion Group

From what I hear, there are even more activities than what I posted here. If you are able to come to any of these, please do so!

*The following info was added Tuesday, April 5, 2011:*

Tuesday, April 5: A hippie morning after: eco-feminism and women's alt. health
2-3 p.m.: eco-menstruation (Drop-In Center)

Wednesday, April 6: 2:30-4: Lecture on sex work and media (Brantl, Dickson Hall)

Friday, April 8: Activism through action and the moving image
3-8 p.m.: Sin Cinema: a Night of Subversive, Gendered Film (Brantl, Dickson Hall)

Check out the article in The Montclarion for more information.

AS OF TOMORROW, "TAKING IT ONE 'STEF' AT A TIME" WILL BE NO MORE

That's right, folks. I hate to say it but it turns out that this blog has become too much for me. I appreciate the support you, my faithful readers, have given it, but it cannot continue. I have decided that I want to focus more on school and studies and also on other publications. I mean, I don't know what else I could write about for this blog for I feel like I accomplished what I needed to do on here. It had a good three month run, and I had fun with it, but I must get my priorities straight. It has been additional stress. I have enough writing to do as an English major in college so I don't want to put any more unnecessary work on myself for it has a tendency to take up too much of my time and energy.

Like I said before, I am pretty protective of my writing, so I have decided to just keep my pieces private for the time being. I need time to get over that insecurity. Sometimes I wonder if creating this blog was a mistake, like maybe I did it too soon. I have been thinking about this for some time now and it has been weighing on my mind, and I don't need these kind of thoughts when I am trying to focus on other things. I've been debating of whether or not I should discontinue it and tell you all, so I have decided that I cannot wait much longer. I am sad to say it, but this is my last post.

I just wanted to notify you all of this just in case you want to read some of my pieces for a final time, for I am deleting this blog tomorrow. I bid you all farewell and am glad that you appreciate my writing and pieces. Once again, thank you all for everything. <3


Oh, and by the way...




























APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! GOTCHA! You definitely haven't seen the last of me! :D Have a great weekend! :)