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"American tragedies occur where middle America frequents every day: airplanes, business offices, marathons. Where there persists a tangible fear that this could happen to any of us. And rightfully so. Deaths and mayhem anywhere are tragic. That should always be the case. The story here is where American tragedies don't occur. American tragedies don't occur on the southside of Chicago or the New Orleans 9th Ward." No comment yet.
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"China's one-child only policy and historic preference for boys has led to a surplus of marriageable Chinese men. Young women are holding out for better apartments, cars and the like from potential spouses...30 to 48 percent of the real estate appreciation in 35 major Chinese cities is directly linked to a man's need to acquire wealth — in the form of property — to attract a wife." Tags: gender, folk culture, China, podcast, culture, population. 
Taylor Brown's comment,
May 4, 7:59 PM
Brides in China are treated like princesses. They get money given to them, apartments bought for them, and the whole wedding and it's paid for as well. All of this is very expensive for the Husband and his family, which is why some of the people in China are beginning to want boys instead because they cost a lot less money.
Ryli Smith's comment,
May 5, 2:30 PM
In China, weddings are beginning to become more expensive. The brides are asking for higher bridal prices so it is more expensive for the groom and his family. This is because there are fewer women due to the one child policy, therefore, in order for Chinese men to find a wife, they have to pay a very large sum of money to get her.
Iryl Bacdayan's comment,
May 5, 6:25 PM
For men who want to get married they have to "give" the bride a hefty price. They are expected to give them an apartment, a car, and then pay them a high amount of money.
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Seth Dixon's insight:
Recently, Five women activists have been arrested for wearing prayer shawls at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Israeli policewomen detained members of the religious group Women of the Wall for breaching orthodox rules governing prayers at the site, which only allow men to dress this way. This is Judaism's most holy site and orthodox traditions govern the legal code over who is permitted to be in this place and what they may do; this fight represents a struggle to redefine the meaning and usage of public space in Jerusalem (among other complex issues). Tags: perspective, Israel, culture, gender. religion, culture, Delete the scoop?
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"The WomanStats Project is the most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world. The Project facilitates understanding the linkage between the situation of women and the security of nation-states. We comb the extant literature and conduct expert interviews to find qualitative and quantitative information on over 310 indicators of women's status in 174 countries. Our Database expands daily, and access to it is free of charge. Click here if you are a new to the project."
Seth Dixon's insight:
I have linked to the WomanStats Project in the past because their global datasets and maps are perfect for get students to explore a potential topic that might be of interest to them. I'm resharing this now because they have recently updated their maps page to include 28 statistical measures to indicate the status of women around the world (including this one on the gendered discrepancy of access to secondary education). The WomanStats Project provides important data and maps regarding issues of gender, access and equity with a spatial perspective. Delete the scoop?
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This map show Mother's Day celebration dates around the world.
Seth Dixon's insight:
While most of the world celebrates Mother's day in May, March 21st (the vernal equinox) is day most countries in the Middle East celebrate Mother's Day. So, why might the first day of spring be the day used to honor mothers? Hint: think about agricultural cycles and fertility symbols. Happy Mother's Day! Delete the scoop?
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International Women's Day: political rights around the world mapped
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is late for International Women's Day, but it is never a wrong time to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of the expansion of women's political rights. This interactive map is excellent for seeing these few metrics, but a more expanded dataset with maps concerning gender (in)equality in the world and the status of women is WomanStats. Tags: gender, mapping, statistics, political. 
Nancy Watson's curator insight,
March 15, 5:19 PM
The UN Millenium Goals include gender equity and gender empowerment. The goals are set to be achieved by 2015. Delete the scoop?
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Gender imbalances in China have created a generation of men for whom finding love is no easy task
Seth Dixon's insight:
Cultural preferences for boys in China has led to a gender imbalance which has some unintended consequences, especially for the those seeking to have families with limited financial resources. Tags: gender, China, population. 
Annika Della Vedova's comment,
May 4, 4:05 PM
Because of the gender imbalance females get more of a chose on who they marry. They are however basing much of their choose on wealth. because of this their are about 40-50 million bachelors who are mostly poor.
Cassie Frazier's comment,
May 4, 8:45 PM
Today in China, love has become more about wealth than romance. Because of the gender imbalance created by the one child policy, there are many more men than women, as boys are the preferred sex. This has shifted the task of choosing a spouse to the women, and they want fancy things. Therefore, they tend to choose the rich to marry. The problem is that there are at least 40-50 million poor men in China, and the majority are alone. When men reach 30 and are still unmarried, they are called "leftovers". These men are much more likely to get into trouble. This is so sad because they are so lonely. By preferring males, China has created a huge group of men who may have to live forever alone.
Taylor Anderson's comment,
May 6, 1:43 PM
There is a huge gender imbalance making people choose between love and money
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France declares war on the English language. Erin Burnett reports....
Seth Dixon's insight:
France is famous for trying to slow the linguistic diffusion of globalization's most powerful online language (which also happens to belong to their age-old cultural and political rival). France has a commission dedicated to removing new words that have English origins since 1996 with the goal of introducing words with have linguistic roots in French. Recently then have done away with the Twitter term #hashtag to #mot-dièses. This video criticizes this cultural practice and it is also derided in this NPR article. However this does not mean that France is immune to cultural pressure to change linguistic traditions. There was been a movement to alter the term Mademoiselle on official documents with a new title that allows women the freedom to choose the form of address that they prefer (and not to force them to reveal their marital status--think Ms. vs Miss). Questions to Ponder: Why (and how) do languages change over time? Is it possible to keep a language 'pure?' Tags: language, culture, globalization, unit 3 culture, France, gender. 
John Peterson's comment,
April 30, 10:39 AM
This video shows how something as simple as a word can bring about some sort of action by a differing political and social group. While English has become the main language in the world, France seems to have a hard time accepting this fact and attempt to keep popular, worldwide, phrases from being said in their country. This petty attempt to keep French people using solely French words shows that language can be a touchy subject in some regions of the world. While this policing of words may be accepted in France, it would definitely not be accepted in other areas such as in the United States. While French civilians will accept this word policing, in the United States there is a much higher value in being able to speak in your own way and not being forced to change which words you use. This illustrates the very different social and political views and practices of different regions that may not be very acceptable in some other areas of the world.
Jess Pitrone's comment,
May 5, 5:16 PM
A war on banning American-English phrases? Obviously France didn’t get the memo about the growing global community, either that, or they are choosing to fight it tooth and nail (Whoa. Too many puns). The world today is more united then ever, whether it be economically, politically, or socially; everyone is connected somehow. We share everything; the whole world is sitting around eating sushi, wearing Northface jackets made in Bangladesh, watching their country’s version of The Voice (a show of Dutch origin), and i-chatting someone across the world. Needless to say, the world has become a very small place.
France has become known as a country that is steeped in tradition. The French are very sensitive about every part of their culture, and try very hard to preserve it. But why would they reject words that, yes, have American-English origins, but have distinct meanings across the world? I’d say that it’s just another attempt at the French to combat outside influence, and most notably, deter its society away from all things American. Let’s see how they feel the next time we change our language to include freedom fries! Ha-ha 
Sylvain Rotillon's comment,
May 5, 5:44 PM
It's not so simple ! You can't say "the French" as if everybody rejects english words. It's a national policy but in fact it's mainly a rearguard action denied everyday in the street.
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The U.S. economy once worked like a finely meshed machine. That is not true anymore. The U.S. economy is still a powerful engine, but workers aren’t seeing the benefits, less-educated men are struggling, and the rich have disconnected from everyone else.
Seth Dixon's insight:
The problems with the economy are not universally spread throughout society. Certain segments are impacted more than others by the current struggles, especially when with look at axes of identity, such as class, gender and ethnicity. While planning on a blue-collar job in the 1950s could have been a solid career plan for a young man in the United States, not so in the 21st century. Delete the scoop?
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Seventeen years after she stared out from the cover of National Geographic, a former Afghan refugee comes face-to-face with the world once more. The original cover is one of the more famous National Geographic photos of all time, and yet the woman in the photograph has not lived a life as though millions of people could recognize her eyes. This is her story. 
Sam Capron's curator insight,
March 27, 9:34 PM
While this article was very informative, I think it is the image that really speaks volumes, just as it did in 1985 when the picture was first taken. The women in the picture does not appear to be 28-30, rather she looks much older. Clearly she has led a tough life, and the evidence of that is written on her face a mere 15 years after the original was taken. Delete the scoop?
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Peter Dopson's comment,
October 1, 2012 7:25 AM
@ Don Brown Jr. It is possible this will help them better understand the need to help place local women groups to lead the local efforts of relief distribution, and work towards correcting the ongoing need.
Kalin B.'s comment,
November 5, 2012 11:34 AM
Infographics can be infinitely useful in persuasively conveying important data. I especially appreciate this, considering I make them myself!
Lauren Jacquez's curator insight,
February 12, 1:39 PM
Gender Development index - CHapter 9 materials Delete the scoop?
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Here are some seemingly eclectic topics. All of them center around the appropriateness of the body being displayed publicly and the cultural norms that shape how we think about the issue. I've included a sensational restroom, public nursing, top-free protests, and of course, the Kate Middleton scandal. Tags: culture, popular culture, gender, place, space. 
melissa stjean's comment,
September 20, 2012 1:54 AM
Thousands of women each year sun bathe topless around the world.. Do we make a major scandal about those women? No. But when Kate Middleton does it, its a recipe for disaster. How is it different from a woman nursing her child in public? Well, Kate was sabotaged by paparazzi on their private honeymoon while women openly chose to nurse in the public.
Victoria Morgia Jamolod-Umbo's comment,
September 26, 2012 10:11 AM
Hilarious! The breasts of women are human parts of a woman which should be respected because it is where a human being feeds. It is a symbol of life.
Don Brown Jr's comment,
September 30, 2012 8:07 PM
This cartoon clearly shows how breast are sexually marketed in our society and how we will can accept the fashionably sexual display of breast in public yet consider breast feeding offensive. In many ways this cartoon seems to show how some social norms seem to interfere with common sense as we should be more critical of the sexual advertisement of breast while breast feeding on the other hand should at the very least be tolerated.
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Landesa partners with governments and local NGOs to ensure the world's poorest families have secure land rights, which develops sustainable economic growth and improves education, nutrition, and conservation...
Globally speaking, women are the primary agricultural workers yet rarely own land. 
Michael Crumpton's comment,
March 20, 8:38 PM
I'm not quite sure i understand why the woman aren't allowed time saving technalogy if it is they who till the fields. Why is that?
dilaycock's comment,
March 21, 1:30 AM
I think the answer lies in the patriarchal nature of many societies in the developing world. Women provide the labour, but are not in a position to make decisions about management of the land. This situation is exacerbated by gender inequities regarding access to education.
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"Private girls' schools are now allowed to hold sports activities in accordance with the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law. Students must adhere to 'decent dress' codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the Education Ministry's requirements. The decision makes sports once again a stage for the push to improve women's rights, nearly a year after two Saudi female athletes made an unprecedented appearance at the Olympics." This news comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has allowed women to ride bikes (sort of). Tags: Saudi Arabia, culture, gender, religion, Middle East. Delete the scoop?
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Here are two shirts are from the Avengers. Both are designed for their children apparel production line, but I don't have to tell you which one is marketed for boys and which one is marketed for girls. Questions to ponder: How (and why) do companies use cultural ideas and values to market their products? How do companies shape cultural ideas and values? What impact do messages like this have on a society's culture? Do seemingly subtle differences is pop cultural products like this matter?
Tags: perspective, culture, gender, popular culture. Delete the scoop?
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The Chinese government says its so-called "one-child policy" has succeeded in reining in its population. But more than three decades after the policy's imple... Via Natalie K Jensen
Seth Dixon's insight:
This short video is an excellent summary of some of the societal consequences of China's one-child policy in a culture that prefers male offspring. Tags: gender, China, population. 
Sallyann Griffin's curator insight,
April 2, 5:14 AM
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. 
Jessica Martel's curator insight,
April 29, 2:44 PM
"women hold up half the skye" I like that haha. Anyways, the gender imbalance in china is rediculas. Hopefully be trying to forsce the women are equal thought this will in a generation or so fix itself. This way, there will also be less abortions per family. Delete the scoop?
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"Every year, as a result of prenatal sex selection, 1.5 million girls around the world are missing at birth. How do we know these girls are missing if they were never born? Under normal circumstances, about 102 to 107 male babies are born for every 100 female babies born. This is called the sex ratio at birth, or SRB."
Seth Dixon's insight:
How do local cultures create these demographic statistics? How do these demographic statistics impact local cultures? Tags: gender, technology, folk culture, statistics, China, population. Delete the scoop?
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MOUNT GERIZIM, West Bank (AP) — The Samaritans, a rapidly dwindling sect dating to biblical times, have opened their insular community to brides imported from eastern Europe in a desperate quest to preserve their ancient culture.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Some folk cultures, such as the Samaritans, have historically intermarried and have been plagued by genetic diseases. Recently, they have turned to global solutions to their local demographic woes. "Five young women from Russia and Ukraine have moved to this hilltop village in recent years to marry local men, breathing new life into the community." Tags: folk culture, gender, population, Russia, religion, culture, Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
I imagine I could tell you what I think about this image, but my opinion is just one man's opinion. I'm sharing this to provoke you to have your own thoughts, feelings, perspectives and reactions to this political cartoon. In what way(s) is your perspective a product of your cultural, historical and geographic setting? Tags: perspective, culture, gender. 
Peter Siner's comment,
April 30, 4:18 PM
There is absolutely a huge difference in the way multiple cultures view lifestyle choices, however there is a line in which we can tell right from wrong. Yes, each country, culture, people, religion etc. are entitled to their own opinions but it does not always mean the majority is incorrect in disagreeing. For example the cartoon above is showing an example of how two woman, one barely clothed woman from the US, and another fully clothed woman from the middle east are both shocked by the other. But there is something bigger to this, the women in the United States didn’t always have it they way they do now, they had to fight for their rights and for a sense of independence amongst the people of the United States, they dress how they do, and they work where they work because they have fought for that right. Suppression is no longer such a dominating issue that woman cant even drive cars. However in the Middle East, while some woman may be accepting of the life they have, we must also realize the few rights they do have in their countries. Whether it’s a cultural perspective or not, it is not right to allow the suppression of woman their rights as human beings.
Brianna Simao's comment,
April 30, 10:28 PM
This cartoon depicts two completely different cultures. It plays a huge role in our everyday life and what we wear is one example. Although the Arab culture has strict guidelines they still have a choice in whether or not they wear the religious coverings. It is just unfortunate that there are some consequences and negative reactions when they don’t. They only have to wear them out in public not when they are in the comfort of their home. These strict “rules” that Arabs have will make their opinions toward how an American woman dresses seem hateful and disgusted. In my opinion, it is not so much about a ”male- dominated” society, it is really about how strict or laid back a culture is toward something as simple as clothing. We just have to look at it at different cultural perspectives. I do believe however the full body covering is a bit extreme and the way some American women dress and be repulsive and degrading.
Kevin Cournoyer's comment,
May 1, 12:53 AM
I enjoyed this political cartoon because it’s short, but manages to still be incredibly effective and powerful. The cartoon represents the idea of Middle Eastern and Western cultures as being so vastly different and contradictory. The cultural differences between the two are nothing short of incomprehensible.
What I like most about this political cartoon, however, is the fact that is plays off of people’s stereotypes and perspectives. I think people tend to assume that Middle Eastern women are automatically miserable because they live in such a strongly patriarchal society. They make assumptions and never stop to think that perhaps Middle Eastern women (not necessarily all of them) are okay with their situation because it’s what they know and what they were born into. People in the Western world have a hard time thinking that maybe it’s our culture that appears oppressive to others. Delete the scoop?
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When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day.
Seth Dixon's insight:
There certainly is a dark side to large sporting events as this article on human trafficking makes perfectly clear. The 'event economy' based on tourism (even without trafficking) also has some negative impacts. Delete the scoop?
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If you are up in space looking down on America west of the Mississippi, one of the brightest patches of light at night is on the Great Plains in North Dakota. It's not a city, not a town, not a military installation.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This patch of light is baffled me since clusters of light on this image almost always are connected to high levels of urbanization and North Dakota has no major population center of that magnitude. This is the Bakken formation, a new oil and gas field that is producing over 600,000 barrels a day. The lights are oil rigs that are lit up at night, but even more because many gas flares are burning leading locals to call the area "Kuwait on the Prairie." Oil men from far and wide are flocking to the rural, lightly populated area raising rents sky-high. This has caused a huge localized gender imbalance, changing the demographic and cultural character of the region because of the drastic the economic and environmental shifts in the area (see the national gender balance here). This is a great reminder that the physical and human geographies of a region are fully intermeshed one with another. Tags: resources, gender, environment, economic, migration. 
Heidi Zumbrun Bjerke's comment,
February 12, 9:52 PM
Use google earth and you can compare the two images.
Mary Patrick Schoettinger's comment,
February 12, 11:55 PM
that's an excellent idea, especially to have students suggest what the light might be in the photo. The question is , is the bright light a one time occurrence or does it continue?J
Mary Rack's comment,
February 13, 6:08 AM
I'm having trouble installing GoogleEarth on my iMac. Looking forward to the comparison. Big adjustment after years in the PC world.
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There will soon be 7 billion people on the planet. Find out why you shouldn’t panic—at least, not yet. This whole year, National Geographic has been producing materials on the impacts of a growing global population (including this popular and powerful video). Now that the year has (almost) concluded, all of these resources are archived in here. These resources are designed to answers some of our Earth's most critical questions: Are there too many people on the planet? What influences women to have fewer children? How will we cope with our changing climate? Are we in 'the Age of Man?' Can we feed the 7 billion of us? Are cities the cure for our growing pains? What happens when our oceans become acidic? Is there enough for everyone? Tags: population, National Geographic, sustainability, density. Delete the scoop?
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In a country this battered, fractured, dysfunctional – how much can she really hope to achieve? The issue of female education in Pakistan has exploded after Malala Yousafzai was attacked by the Taliban for publicly advocating for girls to receive more schooling. This attack has lead several media outlets to take a more serious look at the gendered cultural and economic opportunities (or lack thereof) for girls within Pakistan. This NPR podcast also speaks of the real options in front of so many girls like Malala and the cultural and political contexts within which they navigate their lives.
Tags: gender, South Asia, podcast, culture, Islam, development, unit 3 culture, education. Delete the scoop?
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From technology to equality, five ways the world is getting better all the time... This article by former President of the United States Bill Clinton, outlines numerous ways that globalization can improve the world, especially in developing regions. He uses examples from around the world and includes numerous geographic themes.
Tags: technology, medical, economic, gender, class, globalization, development, worldwide. Delete the scoop?
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This is a most decidedly dated reference for pop culture, but a great movie for making explicit the idea that the way we speak is connected to where we've lived (also a good clip to show class differences as well as gender norms). The clip highlights many principles and patterns for understanding the geography of languages. Tags: Language, class, gender, culture, historical, London, unit 3 culture and place. 
João Carreira's comment,
September 4, 2012 1:24 PM
...Even as portuguese, I apreceated it very much. Thank you.
Don Brown Jr's comment,
September 6, 2012 9:30 AM
This movie clip does demonstrate how language is connected not only to space and location but individual or group experiences as well. The languages used by the upper and lower orders in addressing each other or an “outsider” are very distinct within this film. Therefore if you’re socioeconomic status effects the way you speak then perhaps the type of langue you use can indicate what different social groups within a society consider comical or entertaining such as dance and music?
Jess Pitrone's comment,
April 29, 9:18 PM
My Fair Lady has always been one of my favorite movies, and it really sparked my interest in linguistics and accents. Not only does your accent define where you’re from physically, but it defines where you’re from socially, as well. While Eliza Doolittle is from the same country, region, and city as Prof Higgins and the people coming out of the theater, she sounds completely different. Right away, her speech gives away what kind of social background she comes from.
Similarly to the “When did Americans lose their British accents?” article, this article helps relay how accents can help define a physical area, and it also shows a connection between accent and economics. Accent is both a cultural and an economic part of geography. Delete the scoop?
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This is a controversial Op-Ed article that discusses how place and the major axes of identity (race, class and gender) shape and intersect with the the national memory of violence and the media portrayal of violence. According the David Dennis, "The media seems to forget about New Orleans and any place that the middle class can't easily relate to."
Tags: race, class, gender, place.