Field site Observation

Friday even March 28, 2008 I took the train from Holmes train station to the West End Station. I met with one of the members of the subculture, prostitution, which I will be observing and researching in the following weeks. The girl, whom I met by the West End train Station, is apart of the unique subculture of prostitution. She is about my age, 19 years old. She is a few inches taller than me, had dark smooth skin, and looked like she weighed about 130-135lbs, and was African American. As we met up and exchanged greetings we began to walk toward the street where she usually began her business for the day. (You are probably wandering how I found a subject to meet with and observe in this unique subculture. This answer is I knew this girl before she decided on such an interesting choice of jobs. I contacted her recently and asked would she mind me interviewing her for the subculture I was researching and observing) the area were she started off her day was very urban many of the houses looked dingy, run down, and old. The streets were small in narrow like many of those in the down town area and they had slightly headed down both ways of the main streets. I heard many cars playing rap music some doing what you would call, beating down the block( playing music loud from your car speakers, usually one installed, you feel the music rumbling through your house)and people some people shouting greeting toward my friend as she came down to the street she live and did business on. She lived in the section they called Pittsburgh. These are some of the questions I asked her and responses she gave:
Q- How long have you lived out here?
A- About a year and four to six months
Q- How long have you been doing turning tricks?
A- About a year and two months
Q- Why did you start prostituting?
A- I started doing this because I could not find a job I needed money and this was easy fast money. It’s not hard at all I could probably make 150-250$ in a couple of hours and be done working for the rest of the day.

There were many more questions I asked that day but this is all I am about to blog for the moment.

Act V- Questions/Answers

Q- What do the individuals in the subculture value?

A- They value being treated like human beings.

Q- What they disdain or what is taboo?

A- They do not like being treated like animals or discussing the crimes they committed.

Q- How do they obtain group membership?

A- To obtain group membership they only have to ask to join.

Q- What activities are important to the subculture?

A- Being involved in an activity to keep their minds active is important to them. An exsample is the acting that the do.

Q- What artifacts or behaviors are important to the subculture?

A- Being able to be themselves and not have to put up a tough front is valuable to them.

Prostitution

Research Topic: Prostitution

Citations:

"prostitution." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 Mar. 2008 .

"qedesha." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 Mar. 2008 .

"Sluts and Riot Grrrls: Female Identity and Sexual Agency." Journal of Gender Studies. Nov. 2007.Ebsco Host.17 Mar.2008

"The Trials and Tribulations of Being a 'Slut' - Ethical, Psychological, and Political Thoughts on Polyamory." ETHICAL Slut. Dec. 2006. Ebsco Host.17 Mar.2008.

Hubbard, Phil. Matthews, Roger. Scoular, Jane."Regulating sex work in the EU: prostitute women and the new spaces of exclusion".Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography.2008.Ebsco Host. 17 March 2008.

Which Article Helped me the Most:
The item from above that helped me the most was the excerpt from the Britannica Encyclopedia about prostitution. This piece helped to broaden my thoughts on what prostitution is thought of. It helped me see how other cultures viewed prostitution and see some of the losses and gains of prostitution socially. I learned that in some cultures prostitutes are used to help others worship the god(s) that they serve.And I learned that it could be legal in some areas, but still looked down upon. Another thing I learned was how prostitution in some places is used as a way for girls to acquire a rite to puberty.

Geeks, Nerds, or Genius

My Topic: Geeks/Nerds/Genius

Citations:

Bennis, Warren. Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments . Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.

GEEK FESTIVAL 2.0 FEATURES WII COMPETITION AT SCIENCE MUSEUM OF VIRGINIA. 2008, February 13. US Fed News Service, Including US State News. Retrieved March 13, 2008,from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1429937141).

When Nerds Turn to Jocks. 2008 March. March 14, 2008, From Research Library Database. (Document ID: 31213150).

NUGENT, BENJAMIN . "American Nerd: The Story of My People." Vol. 255 11 Feb. 2008 p58-59. 14 Feb 2008

Bowman, James. "Nerd-Do-Wells.Find More Like This." Ebsco Host. Feb. 2008. 14 Mar 2008.

Reflection: The Article that helped me on the topic I plan to do research on is "Nerd-Do-Wells". This Article was more on the line to the type pf nerd I was looking to talk about in my paper. The type of nerd that I was looking to talk about in my paper was nerd that are intellects. Some of the other articles I looked at talked more about nerds acoording to what type of groups a person was associated with that most Americans viewed as weird such as: medieval festivals, comic books, bugs, and etc. This article went to explaining how nerds are perceivcd wrong in our society,and how they should be perceived. It helped me see nerds in a new light and see what other things I should focus on writing in my paper.