TED Talk

Wow. Watching TED talk was amazing. I strongly suggest watching this video if you have not watched it already. I learned so much from it, and he put a lot of it into a context that is easy to understand. He was completely right when he said that dominant groups don’t think about themselves when talking about race, gender, etc. People are compared to that dominant group, and it isn’t right. As he went on he talked about how the victims are the ones being blamed for violence, and this isn’t right. The victim has done nothing wrong, so the questions and blame should be pointed toward the attacker. It is sad to think that when women try to stand up for themselves and other people they are called such awful names. This shouldn’t happen. Women should be able to stand up for what they believe and not be ridiculed. He makes so many good points throughout this speech, and I liked when he said “men should stand with women not against” because we should all be seen as equals. We are living together and we should fight together. We shouldn’t be fighting against each other. It doesn’t make sense to me why men and women fight against each other. He spoke about bystanders and made great points. No one should watch another person get abused and just stay quiet. I loved that he quoted Martin Luther King Jr. It tied in well with what he was saying and it really made you think about many incidents that could have been prevented if people just spoke up.

Changing Sex, Changing Teams

(photo is from the article)

The article Changing Sex, Changing Teams is a must read. It is sad to read that Tony gave up something that he loves so much because he was afraid of being bullied. I think there should be a law allowing anyone that is transgendered to play sports in school and in general. It is sad to see that no more than 12 states have just made changes to their rules to allow transgendered people to play in sports. I just don’t understand. 12 out of 50 states have changed rules… There is so much wrong with that. Every state should have rules changed because everyone deserves to play a sport if they choose, but they should also assure the students that they can play without being bullied. If the bullying was controlled maybe more transgendered athletes would continue to play in sports, instead of quitting. The article ended with Tony saying, “To be who I am, I’ve had to give up something that’s really big in my life.” I think this is really sad because no one should ever give up what they love doing to be who they truly are.

Also reading the article I was shocked to see that Olympics and NCAA have people take such drastic measures so that they are allowed to play sports. The article said “The International Olympic Committee initially required transgender athletes who want to compete in the Olympics to undergo a full sex-change operation and hormone therapy. The National Collegiate Athletic Association requires male-to-female transgender athletes to complete a year of hormone therapy before they may compete on a women’s team.” This was all done to ensure that everything was “fair,” but is it really fair for the person that has to go through that. Why should they put their bodies through that just to play or compete in the sport that they love so much? What if they never wanted to go through with the surgery or hormone therapy? I just didn’t find that fair to the athlete in anyway.

Pictures Of People Who Mock Me

The woman that wrote Pictures of people who mock me was inspiring. It just goes to show that if you don’t fit in with the “ideal” look you will be judged. It is so sad to see that people say that she is “lazy” and other terrible things. Sadly this is the typical reaction when they see someone that they believe to be “overweight.” People in today’s society rarely think that someone could have an illness that is linked to weight gain. The woman said that eventually she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which caused her to gain weight. People never took into perspective that she could have an illness, and that upsets me because people shouldn’t be so quick to judge another person.

Another thing that bothered me was that one of the pictures was about two cops and one of them had his hat over her head, and both of them were making faces. Police should be looking out for citizens not making fun of them for being different… This is awful, and it made me extremely angry. What gives them that right? Nothing. They should never judge or make fun of anyone because of their size, and that goes for every other person out there because you never know their story.

(photo is from the article)

This woman was so inspiring because instead of being hurt and angry she took on a challenge. As she said in her article “I’m fine with who I am and don’t need anyone’s approval to live my life. I only get angry when I hear someone comment about my weight and the image does not reflect the criticism.” I think that more people should be okay with who they are because the people that are going to judge you are only trying to make themselves feel better by hurting you. If you choose to not let it affect you because you are proud of who you are, then they will gain nothing because all those people are looking for is a reaction.

Where is the Equality?

Without a doubt there is a wage gap between men and women in the workplace. Why? Because even in the work fields there is segregation. Whether within the same job type or over a wide range of jobs, there is a major difference between the salary of a male and a female. This is because when a job is considered “masculine” it is mostly made up of males, but if there are more females that are working in that field then the salary becomes lower and is considered “feminine”.

What happened to equality? Will we ever get it? Doubtful. Sometimes if given the chance women are given a job are a CEO, for example, in a failing company. This means that she is being set up for inevitably failing in her position. Many women aren’t even given that chance. Many women are held back by “barriers” that stop them from moving forward in their careers

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Rape is Not a Joke!

After listening to both of the stories the two girls told, I can’t believe people use the word rape like it is a joke. This isn’t right. People shouldn’t just toss out the word because they don’t know the story behind everyone around them. It is hard to believe one of the girls lost some of her friends because they wouldn’t stop using rape in a joking context. This isn’t what should happen in our society or anywhere for that matter. This is a serious matter, and it is definitely nothing to joke about.  As stated in the article A Rape A Minute, A Thousand Corpses A Year, “every 6.2 minutes a rape is reported.” That means that everyday about 8,928 rapes are report, but the article states that the estimated “total could be 5 times higher” because many rapes aren’t even reported. Rape can happen to people of any age, which makes this topic an extremely serious matter. In the article Solnit talked about a 4 year old that was raped and also an 83 year old. How can people so many people use the word rape as a joke when in reality it has an effect on so many people?

No one should have to walk around waiting for someone to use this work in a joke or out of context. No one deserves to have flashbacks or triggers just because another person thought it would be funny to say. So the next time you see someone use the word rape out of context I encourage you to stand up for the people that have gone through it.

Criminalizing Pregnancy

I think that women should go to prison if they take any type of drugs while they are pregnant. That may be just my opinion, but while I was reading Criminalizing Pregnancy for class I couldn’t believe how upset I was. Why would anyone put their child at risk just to “get a quick fix” while they are pregnant. They should be more worried about their child, and it is so frustrating.  I am glad to see that Alabama has that law because people shouldn’t be taking drugs while pregnant, but I can’t believe that people are saying that it isn’t a criminal issue. Taking many different types of drugs that aren’t prescribed by a doctor is illegal and punishable by jail time, so what make this any different? The mothers that take drugs while pregnant should not get special treatment because they are putting another person at risk. I totally agree with the prosecutor says in this interview. Mitch Floyd, the prosecutor, says, “Addiction is ‘a very powerful force, However, there’s a force that’s more powerful than that to me, and that is a child is helpless, and God has put one person on this planet to be the last-line defense, to be the fiercest protector of that child, and that is its mother. My wife would literally claw someone’s eyes out — fight you to the death for our children. I mean, that’s just what mothers are supposed to do. When that child’s ultimate protector is the one causing the harm, what do you do?’” This is the sad reality. Who is going to protect them if their mother is the one hurting them by taking drugs? There should be more laws like this I think because those babies need to be protected too. This article completely ticked me off. No child should lose their life because their mom can’t stop taking drugs, no matter what the reason may be it just isn’t right!

Effects of the “Man Box”

Everyday women are given more room to be themselves and act how they want, but men aren’t given those same privileges. Men are confined in what is described as a “man box,” in which they are supposed to talk, act, and look a certain way. Since this man box was formed, men are unable to show their emotions and are called names for talking about their thoughts and feelings. This is why when most men become upset they act out with anger or take risks (driving too fast, fighting, etc.) In the article Macho Men Die Early they say that men are more likely to commit suicide because they are more likely to let their problems bottle up until they can no longer handle them instead of asking for help. On October 19^th, 2011 a 16 year old boy committed suicide because he was going through more than he could handle and he chose hide his feelings and not ask for help. He was a good friend and lost the battle within himself instead of looking for someone to help. This boy had an amazing spirit and was always there for anyone who needed him. This idea that opening up and asking for help is wrong and weak cost him his life.

This idea of the “man box” needs to be put to rest because a man should be able to say what is wrong with him, and he should not be judged by society. This man box is only hurting men rather than helping them, and that is not okay! Men may be less likely to fight issues they can see with their bodies and go to the doctor, ask for help instead of choosing suicide, and maybe they would take less risks with their life if they were given more space to be a person rather than confined to this “man box,” Men should be given increasing privileges just like women, and maybe we would see less men dying at such a young age.

Business of Being Born

When we watched Business of Being Born in class I was amazed by the fact that doctors will just give someone a c-section because they want to do home. It also amazed me how often they will give someone a drug to induce labor. I don’t think that labor should be on the convenience of the doctors. I give the mom’s that have their babies at home A LOT of credit. Pregnancy should be natural, not medicalized. What is the need for drugs or surgery just for the doctors to get out early? I just don’t think that it is right.  

Anorexia is Healthy to Who?

             

             I watched a family member suffer from this awful illness, and for what reason? She was inspired by Brittney Spears, before her major break down. She learned that Brittney would do 1,000 sit ups, so my cousin would skip dinner and go up to “bed” early. We later found out that when she went to bed at the early times she was actually doing her 1,000 sit ups, just like Brittney Spears. My family member also began to hide food once her mom had admitted her into the hospital. Today she is perfectly healthy, excelling in college, and loving who she is.

            Society has created this image that women must uphold, and if they do not meet it then they will be criticized. We hear women talk about what they would change with their body, I will admit I am one of them, but they never highlight what they truly like about themselves. Women can look at their features and think that some actress has a better body then them or that a certain actress wears this outfit better.  Women don’t remember that famous women have pictures that get fixed with Photoshop. Many actresses are anorexic, and anorexia is a very hard illness to overcome living in this society. All women talk about is dieting, counting calories, how much they want to lose, etc. and it gets so drilled into our minds that it needs to be stopped.

           We have set ideals for the perfect women, but how often does a woman actually meet that ideal? I know a woman who is about 5’2” and weighs no more than 120 pounds, and while shopping for a swimsuit she found herself in the plus size department. This woman by no means is a plus sized person, but our society has changed by making sizes smaller in clothes to make women feel as though they are overweight. What example is this setting for young girls? We are teaching young girls that their body sizes matters because people will judge you based on looks, and that is not how our society should work. 

If I Could Have Three Wishes for My Son…

I think that the blog post If I Could Have Three Wishes for My Son… by Sarah MacLaughlin was really interesting to read because these are three things that everyone should have, but in today’s society it is seen as “wrong” or “feminine” for men to have compassion, show how they feel, or have a sense of humor that doesn’t offend someone. Sarah gives reasons as to why she wants her son to have these three things, and I think she is right. Men shouldn’t bottle up how they feel because in the end they are only hurting themselves. I just don’t understand why society makes it seem “manly” to but someone else down or hurt them just for a laugh. Many people, not just men, have lost a real sense of humor and like she said “Nothing is good when you have zero ability to laugh at yourself, or life for that matter.” So think about the future if you have a little boy, what would be your three wishes for your son in the society that you live in?