Sunday, November 16, 2008
Website Title
The Words group has been placed in charge of creating a title for our class project’s website. Our idea was to gather information from everyone in class in hopes of creating a title which conveys the message and ideals of both or class and our website. To do this we need your input, so please post any title ideas, suggestions, or merely cast your vote for a title you found particularly compelling. As the week goes on I will keep the blog updated with a list of all suggested titles, and the number of votes cast for each one. I am hoping to have a final title, or at least a few finalists by Friday. If it is split between one or more titles after Friday, we will attempt to conduct a quick vote on Monday to make a final decision. Thank you for taking the time to read, and respond to this blog.
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Hello classmates. I am a member of the WORDS group, and I have been given the task of formulating a title for our end of the semester class website. I have been thinking about titles for the last few weeks, and have formulated a few ideas, which I believe might be catchy, but more importantly they should be a meaningful portrayal of the goals, and ideals that we as a class have discussed during the course of the semester. I, however, really want your input into the title, as I believe it to be one of the most important things of our website. The title not only sets the tone for the entire website, but also is the first glimpse that a purveyor of our website will be privy to. The title then, in my opinion, should encompass our collective identity not as women, and men, but as part of a greater movement whose goal is to question not only our self-identity, but that identity which the media, tradition, and history have enacted upon us. When you think about a title, I would like you to think about this collective identity, and what over the course of the semester we have learned about how those identities are formulated, and the power which a title acts as not only a link to that which it signifies, but also as part of a chain of signification which together can properly define who we are. An identity not based upon images, but upon an ideal. The ideal that no matter, what one’s race, sex, creed, background, tradition, ideals, or sexual orientation we should strive each day to understand one another better, and to be more compassionate and accepting of those components which define us as a collective. In order to, hopefully, one day no longer be able to stratify one another based upon our difference, but upon our similarities. The first step in doing this is in naming, our title then should convey this message, our message for a change in realization, a change in identification. Please, however, realize that this is only my opinion, and I realize that my idea might not run parallel, or even close to what other people in the class believe should be the aim, or message, of our website. So please take a second and post your thoughts, because one head is better than none, two are better than one, and 40 even better still.
!Title Ideas!
[Feminist Iconoclast’s or (F.I.)]
When I thought about this as a title for our class project, I reflected back upon that in class activity, where Professor West asked us several questions and we had to open our hands in correspondence to yes or no questions. I answered yes to every question that day, except the last one when Prof. West asked, “Do you consider yourself a feminist.” That day I answered no, I did not believe that I was a feminist, but over the course of the semester, I believe that my stance has changed. I have begun to understand more the implications of that signification, and now I believe that I can honestly answer, “Yes I am a feminist.” Feminist, in my opinion, has taken on a new signification, one not solely concerned with the plight of women, but the plight of all peoples who have false images, or ideals attached to them. I have begun to understand more completely the weight these false significations can have on constructing the identity of those to whom it is attached.
This leads me to the second word of the title Iconoclast’s. The Iconoclast as it is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, “a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions.” This is kind of what we have been doing over the course of the semester we have been questioning and deconstructing societies traditions and beliefs in hopes of heightening or own knowledge, and when necessary breaking away from these previously unquestioned beliefs in hopes of proposing a new more understanding world, a world of equality and acceptance. We have been deconstructing images in the media, our present day icons, and in doing so have become a new wave of iconoclasts.
This was kind of my ideal for a title for our website, and I also came up with a few variances that would maybe make this more specific to our class such as…
(Collegiate Feminist Iconoclasts)
(Young Feminist Iconoclast’s) –I believe the majority of the class stated that the project would primarily be aimed at High School Students, or a slightly younger audience
(Avant-Garde Iconoclasts) – I kind of like this title also. Merriam-Webster defines Avant Garde as, “an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts,” and is that not what we are? A group of intelligent people who have come together to deconstruct images and to propose new experimental means of both looking at and developing imagery in the arts, in our case more specifically images in the mass media.
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In conclusion, I look forward to seeing the ideas of the class. Thanks so much for taking the time to offer your feedback, and thanks for reading my post. If you post on this Blog I will form a list of titles, and if you just want to voice your support for someone’s title you can do so, and I will add a tally to the side of that title. I hope that collectively we can decide on a title which truly conveys our class ideals, in much the same way that we got together to create our class statement at the beginning of the year.
!!!!Thanks For Your Time!!!!
Okay. I am not really good at coming up with creative ideas but I do like the "Young Feminist Iconoclasts" as the title and also I thought about a fun title. This is not set in stone or anything, but maybe something along the lines of "Girl Power". I dont know just maybe something to get younger girls interested! Sorry if I'm lame! :-)
I mentioned this in the other blog, but maybe something like:
"Breaking Out" of the stereotype, or something to do with redefining what society takes for granted as true.
I agree with Xaviera. It should be fun and catchy not a serious tone. I do not think that high school aged girls would know what iconoclasts mean at first because I know I did not. I can not think of a title but that is just my suggestion for the Words groups to maybe think about when trying to come up with a title for the website.
I think that Feminist Iconoclast’s or (F.I.)would be a great title. While girl power would be fun, In the education department, most of the stuff is for teachers and some for parents. so maybe a more proper name would be best, but then again girl power or something along that line is catchy and fun. It might attract more people.
I think Feminist Iconoclast’s or (F.I.)] wqould be a good name for the website. Girl power is cute and catchy but we want more than just high school kids to go to this site. in the education part it is mainly for teachers and parents. So maybe a in between title would work better
i like the feminist iconoclasts (F.I) title idea. I think it sounds good.
I agree with Xaviera and Laneceya. I think the title “girl power” would be a catchy title for high school girls. I think it is important that the title of our web site itself interest young girls to go to the site to see what the we are all about. However, Christina does have a point. The title should at the same time be some what series and pertain to parents as well. The title name for the web site that I came up with is “false perceptions.”
I won't object to anything, but I'll give you my input.
I feel the title should be something catchy that the average person can understand. Before the definition was explained to me I had no idea what the word iconclasts means; and I'd imagine most high school students wouldn't either.
The title girl power may not work because most classes in high school would probably be unisex- unless were dealing with an all girl school- and that could cause some hesitations from male students.
I'm game for something simple, that could possibly include the word feminist in it..
Maybe "exploring feminism" or "a feminist approach" or "the feminist reach" or "feminism for all ages" or w/e...
I just think that a wordy title may scare some students away. But again, I'm okay with anything the class decides on.
I feel that the "young feminist iconoclasts", is not really something that young Highschoolers would go for, but i do agree that it needs to be a catchy title.
What about "Lets talk Truth" or the "Truth and the Media." Since we are going to be telling them the truth about the meidia's lies.
(Sorry i am not that creative... if anyone else has any ideas hahaha)
I definitely agree with going along the lines of something simple and catchy. We don't want the audience to be scared away by a title that seems sort of scary. Although we do want to educate them we should ease into words like "feminist iconolast's."
I like the "Feminist Iconoclast" title, but I also agree with others as well about it needing to be catchy. Maybe we could include the "girl power" theme in the title somehow?
I think Young Feminists Iconoclast's is good. It may not be "catchy", but I think "iconoclast" is a pretty eye-catching word as you don't see it everyday, and feminist of course is always eye-catching. Maybe some people feel it sounds too academic, but our goal is pretty academic in nature, and I'd like to give our high schoolers the benefit of the doubt and not assume that they'll be scared off by big words. In any case, I think we should steer clear of cute, cliche titles like "Girl Power", as they undermine the serious tone we are trying to establish.
I really like F.I. I think something like Girl Power would turn guys away from the site. Like Miller said, feminism isn't simply for girls... it covers issues for various groups of people. I agree that the title may not catch a highschooler's attention immediately, but perhaps the website can be appealing to a younger audience. I know it is for teachers, parents, and students but maybe it could have a contemporary deisgn or something.
I feel that the title Girl Power is a little bit cliche and something involving feminism or anything a bit more serious would be a better attention grabber.
Rekesha G
So I am not the most creative person when it comes to titles and themes and I would think that a website title should appeal to everyone and be an attention grabber for those who may not have had any previous interest or knowledge about female representation in society. Yes, we definitely should draw in our younger generation that is most affected by the media but we also have to keep in mind that there are adults, male and female who are unfamiliar with many of the facts as well. The title should be easily understandable so that no one is intimidated by not knowing what it means and thinking the website is too advanced for them.
So, I agree that a title that is too technical will not grab the attention of younger students, which could possibly be the audience that is most affected by our website. I also think Girl Power is a little too over used and may seem like it does not include the male perspective. I agree with Lindsey and I like a title that says something about talking about truth. (or something similar) I think it is catchy and shows what we are trying expose people to. Thanksss!
Wesly
I agree with Ashley C. I like the idea of conveying a serious tone.
However, I think it should be
The Feminist Iconoclast.
Not Feminist Iconoclast's. I don't think we need the apostrophe there.
Thanks! :)
I really think that the idea of feminist iconoclast is okay, but I agree with Douglas, what about the parents and the males? I feel like some people would be opposed to the website because of the word "Feminist." While we have explored what it truly means to be a feminist, or not, many others out there still have the misconception of what the word means. I feel the title should be catchy and something high school aged kids and parents should want to remember to pass on, but it's difficult to agree on something with so much depth. I feel we do need to be unique and not cliche like Julie V. suggested, "Girl Power" just isn't doing it for me.
I kind of feel like we need to encompass both ideas like "Deconstructing Feminism: Power to the People"
I don't know, just an idea.
"Truth and the Media." And "Breaking Out" are the 2 that i like the best. I think that these titles would get more people involved and scare less people off. When there is a title that has Feminist in it or Girl Power, it will scare many guys off.
I actually like jackie e suggestion of breaking out.Because the site will help the girl break out the media mold and be who they truly are
I also like the idea of Breaking Out because it doesn't spell out exactly what we are about (creates interest in the site) and doesn't scare people away. I also would suggest a title like What Women Want. Girl Power seems cliche and F.I. a little too technical to me.
Anna N
The word feminist does tend to scare of males sometimes and many people have misconceptions about the meaning. "Breaking Out" has an interesting sound to it, and can stand for many things. The term "deconstruct" caught my attention as well. Maybe a sub title?
The word iconoclast does explain what we are doing but if no one that is looking at our page knows what that word means then we wouldn't be drawing people in to explore the website. I'm not totally against it considering it is very appropriate for what we are trying to do but I think it'll scare people away.
I also agree with Douglas that "Girl Power" might scare the males away. I agree with him that the title should have something about feminism in it. Something about exploring it, about it not being what you think it is, or about how it can be a topic for all ages. I know when I started the class I had a particular view of feminists which has completely changed because I've had to opportunity to explore the meanings and connotations behind the word. If I happened upon a "feminist" website before this class I would have quickly exited the page. So if we can off the bat let people know its a different view on feminism then what they automatically think then maybe they'll actually take a minute and read our page.
I also liked in the actual post for this blog how it says "questioning and deconstructing societies traditions and beliefs " so maybe something along those lines.
Just some thoughts.
Breaking out sounds interesting. One thing that came to mind is that some people initially may think its about coming out (sexually speaking). So that might be something to consider.
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