Modern family, the L word

In the article Modern family, the L word and telling our stories by Rudolph, D., it talks about the struggles of HIV positive people in the gay community. It also discusses the difference between living life as an HIV negative person vs. HIV positive. He is an HIV positive person. It touches on the stereotypes and correlation people face with the HIV positive people mostly in the gay community. In 1983 Denver Principles was written. It discussed the leadership roles and rights of HIV positive people. He also puts in his sassy opinion that he doesn't understand why they are looked at as any differently. He believes they should not be categorized. One of my favorite parts was when he mentioned the fear of blood tests. He talks about the bias in the workplace and in dating. It should not be a competition of HIV positive people with HIV negative people. He also mentions what society believes HIV positive people would do and how to handle it. Even though they have no idea. I wish he could have elaborated more on his brother and his brothers loss of his partner due to AIDS. In facts I wish he could have given a specific example of when he felt the most discriminated against. It would have made the article more personal, maybe more people would have really understood. While reading the article I could not stop thinking about the fear people have of this disease. While yes it can be uncomfortable to live with and talk about, but if it is so uncomfortable to live with why aren't people more cautious? I understand his article was about the opposite and he did not appreciate when people said this, but I feel like people can be more cautious, unless they choose otherwise. I understand if your partner has it and you do not mind, but why is there such a fear of being the recipient of this disease? Especially because only one form of HIV is seriously life threatening.

Gender Neutral Children

While the idea of gender neutral children seems like a great idea there are so many obstacles and 'what ifs' that come into play. The parents said they gave the infants a neutral name but Sasha does sound more feminine to Americans. Although I am aware they are living in Canada. I also wonder what happens when a child came over to play with Sasha? If a little boy cam over would, they judge Sasha because he was playing with legos while in a dress? What if a little girl came over, would she make him fulfill the role as prince? In the photos shown you can clearly tell he is a boy. The parents perpetuate gender stereotypes. It is almost like they are attempting to raise him as a transgender or transsexual. The crazy layers are almost childish on the parents part. Like the child should at least be dressed in a real outfit and not playing dress up all the time. I truly believe in freedom of expression, but I do believe that reality and the "real world" will catch up to him. This idea of a gender neutral child can cause developmental issues, mostly psychological. The scariest part of the article is the fact that they referred to their son as 'the infant', it is a very cold term. Children should be loved and neutered, I am not saying these people do not love their child I am suggesting that the term is very cold. I  have to wonder if the parents are transgender or why this is topic of gender stereotypes is so important?

When reading the comments the funniest comment was someone who said "They obviously wanted a daughter". At first I said that the comment was rude and inconsiderate. The more I thought about it the more it makes sense. Multiple other comments included the child be brought up in an alternative home. So many people were concerned that this child is neglected. Many are offering up foster care, adoption and living with different family members.

Molly Mullee and I’s original Post: We live in a very judgmental society, and as a result, people are afraid to freely express themselves. There is so much pressure to act or appear a certain way, and if you don't meet those expectations, then you aren't "normal." I am challenging this issue by starting the trend #ExpressYourselfFreely and this represents doing what makes you happy without being afraid of rejection. Please support this trend by using the hashtag in your own status and include a picture/video of how you express yourself, whether it is through a hobby you enjoy or something more personal. This hashtag applies to all people, regardless of age, gender, race, etc. so don't be afraid to show what you are passionate about!

We posted this first then posted our own picture with this as the caption.

Mackenzie Rose

Ready, Set, Go Viral!

Express Yourself Freely

The five faces of oppression affect millions of people a day. Exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, violence, and culture of imperialism are the five faces of oppression. Iris Young says the definition of societal oppression is when people reduce the potential for other people to be or to act as fully human. The idea is to make other people less human. The oppression in our society and the amount of social disorders create too much negative mentality in our society. Molly Mullee and I agreed that the “social norm” in our society makes some people feel inadequate when they do not reach the American standard. An online dictionary website (dictionary.com) says social norm is defined as an expected form of behavior or attitude in a given situation. In our society some very specific expectations are to shake hands when you them, direct eye contact, wear clothing, especially new and trendy, shower, say please and thank you, be kind to your elders, do not steal, do not harm one another and acknowledge of personal space. Most social norms can be put in more blanket general terms like use manners/edicts, be respectful, follow the rules/laws and of course personal hygiene. With all these standards and regulations Molly Mullee and I decided it was time to spread some positive thoughts.

Our goal was to have people post on facebook, or whatever social media site they preferred, a picture or video of them expressing themselves freely. It represented doing what makes them happy without any negative comments or connotations. The activity applies to all people, regardless of age, gender, race, etc. The obvious goal was to go viral, unfortunately our standards were slightly high. Other than just posting the explanation on facebook we attempted to spread the word. We reached out to our organizations, sports teams, friends and of course family. We faced a few small challenges. While we preferred facebook some people did not have facebook. Another issue was many people did not want to post it. Some wanted an incentive. Many asked that once they post it, can they remove it down in a few hours because they thought it would not receive enough “likes”? While we wanted as many people to post as possible so we allowed this to happen. I think this is the biggest challenge our society faces. People believe they are marginalized by our social status on the internet. I believe we are marginalized but much more than that. We are marginalized from our socioeconomic status, to race, to our occupations, down to our clothing, and of course the music we enjoy. Tricia Rose wrote an article called There Are Bitches and Hoes. Rose said that, “To be publicly and strongly against sexism in the music industry is to guarantee one’s marginality” (Shaw, 387).

Generally speaking Molly and I came to the conclusion our post was not very successful. She reached out to her organizations, sports teams, friends and of course family a week before I did mine. She received just under five posts on facebook. Once I jumped in on the second/third week, our number raised slightly. No posts were made in the fourth week. In total we received sixteen facebook posts that were not deleted. Four posts were deleted from facebook. There was also a total of four instagram posts. In total the number varies due to the fact that a number of people posted, left it up for a few minutes then removed it. I do not believe successfulness is marginalize by a number, I believe we were successful to those people who did post. It got the people thinking about what really makes them happy, free of marginalization and judgement. I also believe we were successful because we received all different types of posts. Some people express themselves from participating at comic cons and doing cosplay (where you hand make a costume and dress up like a certain character), being a volunteer EMT, going hiking, skydiving, being a mom, being a volunteer firefighter, eating, beach walks, sports and many more things. All in all I believe this was an eye opening experience because it showed us how many of our close friends are scared of judgement and marginalization on and off social media.

Here are a few examples:

How It Feels to Be Viral Me

"Asians in the library song" went viral with over 4 million views worldwide. Receiving harsh feedback the video was removed from youtube. Many remixes were made including Jimmy Wong a man with an average youtube channel. A completely racist, obnoxious music video that landed him a part in an indie film. At the young age of 23 he chooses to spend his free time filming a remix of a racists music video. The article continues on about the Asian American youtubers and their strategies. becoming a youtube star includes: copy right, intellectual property rights, with effective modes of branding, distribution, news reporting, and target audiences. Asian Americans dominate the topten-channel lists. These people are called youtube celebrities or youtube stars. These stars have the option to perform their identities in ways that are not possible elsewhere, meaning everywhere else they go they are given lines or a part, stars are not allowed to do anything freely. Which is why I believe being a youtuber is so popular. Wong Fu productions proves that there is a voice, face, an desire for Asian Americans in the mainstream world. If you get into a large company like ISA or Kollaborations there can be opportunities to expand globally.  Elizabeth Eun and Julie Ma from the Korean claim that youtubers have changes the business of entertainment. It has lowered the standards of comedy because you can watch someone in their pajamas and be hysterical laughing or you can go pay to watch someone on a stage and be laughing just as hard. The article also talks about the knowledge one must have before uploading their first viral video. The ability to change the lighting, edit, talk comfortably and know your material. The Asian American "attitude today references a broader set of emotions than just anger and rage, but still performs the affective labor of transforming alienating episodes into a common understanding". The last point the article made is the fact that if we really followed the channels of some of the youtubers we would be amazed by the different views they have and not just on the video that went viral.

Social Networks

My "friends" on facebook include over 1,000 friends, but I probably only know 1/5 of them. When I was in middle school the more friends on facebook you have the better. Which is now equivalent to the same as the amont of followers/likes you get determines how "popular" you were. Anyway when I scroll down my facebook I see a lo of nonsense. Its birthday posts for their "bff", food, obituary posts for someone who lost a loved one, some fitness person going on and on about how they ran a breezy 10 miles today, people sharing their opinions on facebook with no hard facts, many adorable puppy posts, someone doing a "check in" at the airport or a restaurant, optimistic posts/quotes, and many more people posting crazy statuses. A few things posted in the last few days that caught my eye was a 17 year old girl fro my high school who got pregnant and the father is 29. He beat her Friday night and the baby miraculously survived. She uploaded a selfie of her and the father in the hospital with the caption "love is always stronger than violence". I was extremely confused as to how they made up so fast, why he beat her, and of course why did she forgive him especially when she is carrying his child. I had to ask myself is she serious or is she just fronting for facebook? I mean her face is mauled, her child barely lived, and she is perfectly fine with all of this? Another post I see a lot is the same girl doing a "check in" at the hospital. She's 16 from a very low socioeconomic family. I swear this is like a daily post. I must be the only person who thinks this is a cry for attention all the time because theres always tons and tons of comments telling her to text them if they need anything and to get well soon. In the comments you can always figure out why she's in there that day. The post I saw this weekend she was in there for "a really bad stomach ache!!! Ive had it for hours and it just wont go away mom thinks I could have an issue with my gallbladder!!". She went to the hospital for a stomach ache and is jumping to the conclusion while in the waiting room that she has a gallbladder problem. I have never had a conversation with either of these females, but with the amount of posts they choose to post a day makes their name well known on my friends list. They also both share a ton of almost random photos and posts on facebook. There is not a time I am ever on facebook without seeing a post from one of them, it almost screams for attention.

I believe in our society we all can seem to have a alter ego. On my facebook I must come off as an extreme dog freak, I constantly share photos or videos of dogs. I believe the posts I see about dogs are aimed mostly at women, the dogs are always in cute sweaters, or have flowers in their fur, or accidentally broke into a women's makeup. I do not believe all posts or ads are gendered, but they can easily be. I believe most of the posts on facebook have a story behind them. They are usually aimed toward a certain person on their friends list. I see so many people post about back stabbing family members, as if their family wont see it. Many people front for all social media, not just facebook.  Social media is really good for connecting people or keeping up with people you don't get the chance to see often. What you choose to post and share is a huge part in your online image. It can be extremely misleading the things people say and post.

Slightly off-topic: When doing my homework while sitting next to my boyfriend he asked what homework I was doing, I read him our prompt. He laughed and said "I post about how I'm an exhausted EMT who makes less saving lives, in comparison to garbage men". I thought this was interesting about how many people complain about lack of upward mobility or low pay on facebook.

Reality Tv

One of my favorite shows is How I met your mother, it is not exactly a reality television show, but I do not watch television. I only watch How I met your mother and friends, which are both on netflix. The gender roles are definite on How I met your mother. Lily and Marshal or marshmallow and lilypad have been together since the first day of college. He is a lawyer who brings home the bacon she is a shopaholic teacher. They are a very stereotypical young and in one couple. Barney is one of the most interesting characters as he is your typical bachelor. He has slept with a girl from every country, he video tapes every time he has intercourse, and his goal is to never get old.  He is also making good money, at the same company as Marshal yet does nothing. Barney's gender role is met, his love for being a bachelor is very typical on shows where the young man is very wealthy. Ted is a boring architect who cannot seem to find love. He gets his heart broken all the time and it is always by a girl he really loves. He is trying to find the american dream, a wife, house, family, and being successful. Robin is canadian. She is outcasted slightly because of her nationality and she is a new york city news caster. She doesn't have much of a family. Barney and Ted were both in love with her. Robin defies the typical female role because she is strong and independent. This show is very realistic. This is a very odd friend group considering they all do not have much in common, but of course it is possible. 

 this is Ted going after a future girl friend.

 this is Barney explaining the Hot ad Crazy scale of a women. 

Week 10 I am Cait

Time.com realized an article on the transition from bruce Jenner to Cait Jenner. She was a former olympian and TV start on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. She realized the information that she had long identified as a women, I along with many other people are very skeptical. Usual reality Tv shows would feature Jenner as a fun haps person. Jenner has taken the broadcasting of her transformation as a platform for define the ways in which the public sees transgender people and describe the world from a transgender perspective along with the associated challenges. Her goal is to be a real reality show, apparently. Time described the families emotions as “remarkably unremarkable”. While I do believe her family's emotions are real, I do see this as another publicity stunt by the Jenner's. Jenner show will be broken down into three key events in 2015. The first was her interview with Diane Sawyer where she announcing her transition. The next was her picture on the cover of Vanity Fair. The final one was her acceptance of the ESPY’s award where she described her new found motive in life. She hopes to shed light on the topic of transgender and show the real struggle that people face. Jenner also mentions showing the different definitions of the public world. 

The one line in this article that infuriated me was, "But for all its unwillingness to indulge whatever is dark in Jenner’s life, the show has an apparent willingness, at least in its first episode, to place Jenner’s ease of life in contrast to that of a family who accepted their son but lost him anyway". If your son was really a transgender as he claimed he has been most of his life his family would not be sad that they "lost their son". they should feel like they never had one in the first place, if he was female identified. I also believe the media is way too focused on Jenner, a great example is this: Caitlyn Jenner won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. The runner-up was Army veteran Noah Galloway, who lost an arm and leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq, and now competes in Crossfit events, runs marathons and competed in the 58-hour Death Race. Many also believe it could have been  Lauren Hill, a 19-year-old college basketball player who died of cancer, should have won.

Is the media focused on Jenner because of her transition or because it is an already well known name?

Reality Televison

reality-noun:the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. (wiki)
What really is reality on television? Nothing. Not even the news. Taking a few different general tops I discovered nothing really is reality. The news is swayed meaning it is the opinion or the news casters version of the story. All reality television is made up, all the women are housewives or work very little, the men work, they have a few kids, it is just an exaggerated version of what could possible be a real family. Even sports are not usually accurate. Rumor has it in boxing they usually have a decided winner before the match. It is usually a well paid loss. It is almost like reality does not exist in our society anymore. 
Using a specific example I would like to focus in on one of my favorite cheesy shows, the jersey shore. If you do not know what the show is about it is about the exaggeration of a group of Italian New Jersey residents parting hard in seaside. When the show first started they are all anywhere from 18-26 years old living together during the summer in a party house. They had a job at a t shirt place on the board walk and almost never showed up. The entire show was about GTL-gym tanning laundry of and of course partying. While there was never any drugs featured on the show it was a well known fact that most of them were drug users or addicts. The show featured lots of crazy drama usually involving alcohol or that being the cause of the drama. 
In the one episode Snooki got arrested for being so drunk in public she could barely stand, then attempted to fight a grown man when he told her to go home and sleep it off. While this actually did occur it was completely over exaggerated and Snooki must have felt extremely embarrassed. This is not reality because she was forced fed alcohol that night before she left the house. Snooki was not even of age to be drinking at the clubs. 
Another episode featured the shows "favorite couple" Jwow and Ronni in a physical fight. Ronni was so messed up he tried to push her, she ended up spending a few weeks home because 'he scared her so bad  she did not want to be around him'.We later found out she was paid to go home and "milk it". While yes they did get into a physical fight while they were drunk but both people were unharmed. The couple was fine within a few days. This is not reality because they made her go home even when they were fine as a couple. 

Gender performance on Halloween

The objectification of women stems from a young age of cultural influences. A large cultural influence is being placed on young kids for their halloween costume. The choices that differ between males and females ridiculous. Boys occupational halloween costumes include cops, fireman, doctors, scientists, cowboys, pirates, boxers, construction workers or animals. Girls occupational halloween costumes include nurse, equestrian, ballet dancer or animals. Now boys also have the choice of villains, criminals, or superheros. Girls have the choice of princesses. While you see the difference in amount of choices between the sexes, you should see the actual costumes.

Many parents were outraged by the gender stereotypes in halloween costumes this year. Little girl’s costumes have more skin and less clothing, while the boys have realistic costumes. The girls section does not give the choice of a realistic cop outfit with slacks, they can choose the skirt with the large decorated feminine belt. An article on CNN’s website titled Halloween costume showdown: Superheroes beat princesses this year talks about different children’s and parent’s views on the topic between girls and boys costume. Brown said. "Girls can't run and be active with short skirts and boots", this just shows how a parent views the objectification of his daughter’s costume choice.Because why can’t little girls be superheros too?

Why does toddlers costumes need to be gendered? What does it matter if the pumpkin costume is for a little boy of little girl? This is about gender performance, and gender acquisition. How are the little boys halloween costumes sexualized? They are not. The little boys costumes are very realistic. The girls costumes are always dresses or a skirt, even if the career involves like crime fighting. How is a cop supposed to chase after someone in a skirt? The fact that the only option is for little girls to wear dresses starts the sexuaisation of girls from a young age. An article online on parent tool kit talks about what psychologist Dr. Michele Borba thinks about this topic, “The bottom line is we want to raise happy, healthy, strong kids. If we stereotype in gender, race, age, we really start to pigeon-hole them and it begins to set up bias that there are certain things they can’t be.”

For halloween weekend I went to rutgers to visit a friend on college avenue. The outfits I saw on halloween night were not costumes. Girls walked around with lingerie on with some sort of ears or tail. They also wore knee high socks or sexy stockings. Of course I saw a ridiculous amount of girls in high heels. Each girl was more sexualized than the one before. I almost felt bad for the girls I saw because they were freezing, their feet hurt, some were uncomfortable, yet they felt like they HAD to be dressed like that to receive any form of attention. The sexualization and objectification of the female body needs to stop.

The male costumes are all the same. They throw on a jersey and claim to be some sort of athlete. They do not have any pressures and can practically wear what they want. All I saw all weekend long was men standing there objectifying women and checking out their bodies. The women just let it happen. They had no response when a man “cat called” a girl dressed in a one piece skeleton outfit. The objectification of women stems from childhood and its time it comes to an end.

debate Essay

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sY3AL-nhT47uC8kdEceq_UU7NRzzTw13oOSRrtcdR0w/edit?usp=sharing

Boys, Girls and Toys- Oh My

The video we viewed about the little girl in the toy shop was so ironic. Little kids tend to always pick up on the little things like that. I agreed with her why cant little  girls own anything that isn't pink. Any store you walk into there is a bright pink toy section and a bright blue toy section. There are no gender neutral toys or even clothing. I would be overwhelmed in a toy store. The boy's section is nothing but blue while the girls is nothing but pink. The boy's toys are very manly and have lots of weapons involved. The girls side has lots of dolls.

In my research there was many toys that stood out to me as typical gender associated toys, but this one got under my skin. Of course the two different colors, but the fact that the boy has a medical bag while the girl has more of a purse. Lil' nurse and jr. Doctor, not only  is it a gender stereotyped toy it is also completely wrong by degrading women. Why can't the little girl be a doctor? Why can't the little boy be a nurse? Men in the nursing field are degraded and under appreciated. There are many few male nurses and I believe it is because it is not respected if a man is a nurse. This toy fits all the gender stereotypes.

Another toy stereotype but this time a puzzle and its packaging. Why can't the women have a tool box? Why can't the boys carry a pen and paper or candy in their handbag? Of course we see the typical blue and pink toys, but we also see the early expectation of young girls who need things in their handbag to enhance their beauty. We also see the early expectation that boys need to be able to fix things and repair broken things.
As a child I took after my older sister who hated pink, if she didn't want to wear or own anything pink neither did I. One year for christmas my sister and I decided we didn't want santa to bring us anything pink or dolls for christmas, let's just say my mom had a million mini panic attacks every store she went to as the little girl's section was filled with pink. Somehow she pulled it off that we received no pink. It just goes to show that some advertisements are wrong, not all little girls love pink and dolls.

Sound and Furry

Sound a Fury is an article about Fred Phelps. He is a pastor at the Westboro church, but he is not so holy. He was found violating his wife and 13 kids on multiple occasions. 4 of them left home and never went back. From not being able to participate in extracurricular activities, to not being allowed to celebrate holidays, to being forced to run daily, he physically and mentally abuses all of his children. His kids age range from small children to adults. Two of the children are found with horrible bruises all over their backside and back of their legs, to the point where they cannot walk. The school takes action, but it is overlooked because Fred says they had bad grades. They all are forced to participate in the selling of chocolate bars to keep up with family expenses. This is one of the only forms of income the family has, they travel from city to city. Fred's children being to act out and attempt to run. Each relationship one of the kids has Fred does not approve. Unless they run way/elope they are never wanted in the family. Most of the kids ran away with their loved ones to start a family. Each child has their fate determined since like birth, and are punished if they go outside of it. Fred was no longer allowed to practice law due to false accusations. Many articles and and publicity were published on the Phelps family.
The scariest part is Fred probably didn't only abuse his own family. I am sure there are many other unknown or closet cases of his abuse. What shakes me the most about this story is that the neighbor's definitely knew this abuse was occurring. If they were selling chocolate bars in their neighborhood as income, being beaten so bad they had to always over up, and the attempts to escape always ended up with the whole family running around the area looking for the escaped child, how did no one say anything? How did no one else see the belt marks and bruises? Someone had to have heard screaming. This is just an extreme case that should have been dealt with long ago.

Gender and the Military

This article took me by surprise. This took me by such a shock because the fact that women do not even have equality yet. The first female who went to ranger school and graduated was only September of last year. While I have known many "butch" females who joined the military I also know many people who are transgender (FtM) who are also in the military. This is a big issue because it will cost the military a lot of money, the shower curtains, and increase amount of female products. I also believe it is worth every penny. I soon wonder when the first case of inequality will come up because it is bound to happen. It will probably go viral as well. I also wonder if the females are allowed to use the restroom when needed. Most of the men are told to turn around and pee during training that way you do not miss any training time. I also wonder in the field how women will be able to cleanse themselves and wipe, if not an infection could happen. I believe military wives are cut more slack then military husbands. I have a feeling many military men have self-esteem issues because they cannot support their family financially. 
While the military has had a regiment for HIB law, it is still ongoing. It is to prove yourself as initiation. When walking up to a new platoon there is a large group of young men and a few in charge. To prove to your commander how dedicated you are there is many forms of old time harassment that occur. The one my National Guard boyfriend talks about is koalifying, the person to hug the tree upside down the longest wins. He won so he "proved himself", whoever won got the reward of choosing where they stood in the combat triangle (a combat triangle is a formation used in combat when going through a very wooded area to stay tight together). He chose point man on the triangle. Another thing they do is the person who finishes the ruck march or march for miles last has to clean the bay that night. 
Harassment has caused many issues in the military, but my personal opinion is it will not stop. the article talks about, "focus on the mental and emotional well-being of anyone who wishes to serve,” but the army is not about the emotional and mental stability. The military's goal is to tear you down and build you up from nothing, that is not mental stability. It also does not care about your emotional issues. Unless a close family member died they show almost no mercy. I believe if you join the military you understand what you're signing up for. The media does not present or portray the soldiers a certain way, they are accurate. You are to be a strong soldier no matter what.

Christy Mack's Beating

In the middle of the night Christy Mack's ex boyfriend, "war machine", an MMA fighter showed up at her house uninvited. Jonathan Koppenhaver began to beat her and her friend once he found them together. He then continued to violate just Christy. he made her undress and shower then continued to beat her. Jonathan then continued to cut off a lot of her hair with a dull knife. When he realized the knife was too dull he went to the kitchen to find another. Christy with many severer injuries took off running at this time. Once someone finally opened the door for Christy she was rushed to the hospital where they found out she had 10 broken bones, a broken nose, missing and broken teeth, a fractured rib and a severely ruptured liver from a kick to her side. Her friend also had multiple abrasions and a few bone fractures. 
First of all the article discloses in the title the fact that she is a porn star. The next thing you see is a promiscuous photo of her with a snap back hat on. I believe they were trying to make you think of her in a certain way before even viewing the article. The article also mentions the fact that "war machine" has been involved in the pornography as well. The article also mentions the age gap between Christy (23) and Jonathan (32). At the end of the article is of course copies of both parties tweets and horrific photographs of her injuries. 

Intelligence vs. Icon

Marilyn Monroe is one of my favorite old time celebrities, she was a sex icon. I have multiple photos of her on my wall. I have heard before that she was an extremely intelligent women so that's why she is one of my idols. Marilyn lived in a time where women were supposed to be a representative of their man so the ideal women was a nice petite house wife. But not Marilyn, she was the complete opposite. She was a size 12 thick sexy women who flaunted what she had.The world she lived in women were not supposed to have their own opinion let alone have brains. She was forced to hide her brains to be successful. I believe her definition of success was different than most people's, i believe she just wanted to be happy. The article said something that really struck me it said, "But whatever demons haunted her, the spirit of intellectual inquiry never abandoned her", it means no matter how hard you try to hide who you are it will always come through. Dowd wrote that she "aspired to be smarter than she was", meaning she loved learning. Marilyn was not just the show piece many people thought she was. 

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta also known as Lady Gaga is a musical genius. I do not mean in the music she recorded. Gaga attended  New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to become an actress. While Gaga knew in high school she was musically advanced that wasn't the path she wanted to go down. At NYU she learned over 10 instruments, mastering the piano. She technically is ranked on a level just under Beethoven. Gaga soon dropped out due to a signing bonus with sony via Def Jam Records. She went on to do solo acts here and there until Akon found her. To this day very little people know how much talent and intelligence Gaga holds. If she came out as a mastered pianist attempting to have a career before she became Lady Gaga I doubt she would have been as successful. In the beginning of her career she even admits to not attempting to actually play an instrument on stage. In one of her recent concert performances she started by playing piano for over twenty minutes.  Gaga was scared to show her music genius as a young artist. If she came off too talented maybe people wouldn't have liked her wild pop songs. She also wore clothing that was anything but normal. While she is still scared to "show what shes got" I believe there is a lot more to Gaga then meets the eye. 

Susan Striker

Recently I had the honor of listening to Susan striker speak. Susan had a very mellow and chill attitude, but her knowledge was wise beyond her years. She began by reading the first few chapter in her new book that will be published in 2018. She spoke about the "sickness to citizenship" basically the history of the transgender community. she mentioned a lot of different examples including Beyonce's performance at the Superbowl, Micheal Brown's case from Ferguson, Big Freedia claim to fame, Bradley Mannings transformation to Chelsea Manning, Wesley Morris "we obsess over our identity", and Laverne Cox on time magazine's cover. Striker gave a brief synopsis about all of their stories and what each person did for the community. Then she went in to describe the 19th century social apparatus making it unwanted and unwelcoming to be apart of the transgender community. She described every bit of history from the patients in mental hospitals, to the silent protests that became violent. Striker compared the feminist movement and community to the LGBTQ community. She also claimed that if it weren't for the feminist movement the LGBTQ community would not have been so successful. Striker ended by answering questions and speaking on peoples opinions.
While I thought she was a wealth of knowledge, she did not allow much time for questions. She also spoke in the worlds most monotone voice that almost made it unbearable to stay focused. While I understand that this was a serious matter she did not care about the audiences attention. Despite all this I would listen to her speak again. The knowledge I gained in an hour is the knowledge it takes people years to learn. I appreciate everything she taught me.

Advertisements:
1. Bandwagon ads: Bandwagon advertising uses a techniques to try to convince an individual that a product is worth purchasing no matter the price. If it is good for them it is good for you. You can "jump on the bandwagon". If everyone else is doing it why don't you have the privileged to do it as well. 

2. Experts: Having or showing special skill because of what you have been taught. Coming from knowledge or experience. The knowledge might not even need to be proven, backed up or explained. 

3. Plain Folks: advertisers will use 'plain folk' making the product relateable to the regular people in the world. This is supposed to relate to mostly middle class white Americans.  Walmart, Target, and Kohl's are all examples of very general middle class store. Walmart's slogan is save money live better.

4.Celebrities- "giving a face to the name", companies will use famous celebrities that most people know to produce their product. They try to choose classy celebrities most people will recognize from a quick glance. Like OPI nail polish introducing annual justin bieber colors. 

Intermediate ads:

.1. Name-calling - This advertisement technique links a person or object to a negative symbol. By saying that something is negative, it makes people want to steer away from that item, regardless if there is actual proof that that statement is the truth. Like the way fast food resteraunts go after eachother, claiming to both have a "better" product.

2. New: old is considering boring. We all want to make new improvements and inventions. Companies will make a simple change and consider it a new product. Every year new car dealerships come out with "new" cars, but how many improvements are their really on that new car? improvements that aren't physical?

3. Nostalgia - Advertisers portray more traditional images. It relates to the "good old days". It is often used to make you feel at home with traditional images. images of Marilynn Monroe and the ionic "we can do it" rosie the rivitter. 

4. Scientific Evidence - Many people believe in science and scientists; so without proof people automatically believe scientists. While usully scientists cannot explain in the allotted time their methods, there is no need to prove it. All the new age defying wrinkle creams fall under this category. 

Advanced ads:
1. Scapegoating: Related to the loss of jobs is because of how much exportation happens to and from China.  Scapegoating is used here to claim that the loss of jobs in the United States is 'only' due to China. 

2. Analogy - This advertising technique uses a comparison to persuade consumers in a compare and contrast sinerio. Sometimes Old and New is compared, or clean and dirty.

3. Ad Hominem: Used when in need to attack the opponent. It is when they are usually out of data or out of an argument. Usually one party blames the other for "the problem" claiming they have the solution. 

4. Majority Belief -It uses the concept that if a majority of people believe something, then it must be true. Very similar to the "Bandwagon" technique.

In the Time article, "It’s Time to Stop Beautifying Violence Against Women for Fashion," it shines a light on the implications some ads give in order to sell clothing, like the idea of glamorizing sexual assault and rape culture. The Times author brought attention to photographer Raj Shetye, a recurring offender when it comes to the implications of rape culture. The article focused on a few of his photos where it is very clear the beautiful model is completely uncomfortable with the forcefulness of the male model. The female model seems to be extremely outnumbered in a 1 to 3 and or 4 ratio while wearing very little tight clothing. She is also being forced in to sexual positions. You can see the despair and agony on these woman's faces. The implication of rape culture and sexual violence is clear. These ads are for clothing brands, yet it is very hard to see the actual clothing the woman are wearing. These model's parents have spoken out about these photos, these bring shame to their culture, their daughter, and their family. The family believes photo shoots like these should be banned. What impression would these photos leave on a young child? The article talks about how it is impossible to view these ads and not take notice of the uncomfortable dominance the man has over the woman. These photos hit home to victims and their families, "35% of women experience sexual and domestic violence", most people never imagine it could be them until they are the victims.
As a woman viewing these photos made me uncomfortable and angry. Sexual violence is something that is overlooked in our society. Sexual assault happens to men as well, but is rarely heard of. I think it is a huge double standard that photos of woman being helpless exist, but no photographer would never have the idea to put a woman in the dominant role leaving the man helpless. While people attempt to bring awareness it is things like this advertising that needs to stop. How would you react if your daughter was a victim? How would you react if your son was the culprit? 


article: http://time.com/3093670/indias-gang-rape-plague-violence-against-women-for-fashion/

Adoltolescence

Technology has one of the biggest effects on the development of children. Now that children have full access to everything that is on the internet they have the ability to gain the same knowledge as a grown adult. When I was a kid I had to be home when the street lights came on, now kids have to be home when their parents call them or facetime them. Scholars are saying sexual maturation happens six years earlier than it did in the 1850's. They estimate this age to be about 7. From the large amount of knowledge children have at such an early age of adolescence this has shortened the time of early adult hood. Adultolescence is the time between adolescence and adulthood. It says, "puberty is not so much a fixed physical state as it is a complex sociological experience". The dangers of children being able to view anything via the internet includes watching live surgeries on youtube, vulgar television shows, rated R movies, urban dictionary searches, all social media, and even pornography. Some parents will attempt to monitor what the child searches, but I am sure the kids are smart enough to erase their searches. The average lifespan has nearly doubled since the 1850's. According to the American Fertility Association the average couple gets married at her 25 years of age and his 27 years of age. I do have to wonder why there is a two year age gap. These ages are up % years since the 1960's. Women are also having babies much later than in prior years. The article says “Right now, we’re in the era of the 40-year-old mother,” said Arrison “There will be a time when we’re in the era of the 70-year-old mother", this surprised me because I never thought about the change in parenthood age. In my grandparents era they wanted to have kids as soon as they got married. I seem to notice many young newly weds want to have a honeymoon phase after marriage before they begin to have kids. I am not sure if this has any correlation to conception issues, but it wouldn't surprise me. I believe it is also taking people longer to land a "good job" after college. I also see some young couples wanting to travel before settling down. If technology and research is allowing us to live longer and grow up earlier will the average person in time live to be over 100?

Post 3

All in the family-While reading this article I was slightly puzzled at some times and at others I was amused. In reviewing this article there was some phrases that stuck out, one being "The more attached a man is to the size of his paycheck, the more difficult the transition will be" says Coontz. This stuck out to me because, it reflects on how a man views his masculine duties in life. From a young age men are told they have to pay for everything when out with a women, and many years ago most woman did not work. I believe in a man's mind the size of his paycheck determines how well he can take care of his family and it determines his success. While I disagree with that statement and believe your own person happiness is a reflection of your success, I am sure to some this is not the case. Another phrase that stuck out to me was "my entire self-image pretty much got shattered" Ron Mattocks. I never quite thought about how a man builds self confidence/image. Other than looks what else do they base it off of? I believe many find confidence in their looks, families, jobs, woman and financial state. Comparing a nontraditional nuclear family and a traditional modern family I believe they both have equal opportunities to succeed. The depression and realization might me tough for a man when he realizes he will not be "bringing home the bacon", but once the family gets adjusted it sounds like a great opportunity for a father to see the daily life of a stay at home mom.

While reading this I did find this article amusing because I have a slightly swayed opinion, my father was a "stay at home mom" while my mother worked. I grew up with this lifestyle and I can say the article is accurate. I live in a white-picket-fence neighborhood where my dad was the ONLY stay at home dad out of over 100 houses. My dad would wake me up for school in the morning pack me lunch (it was never a good one) walk me to the bus stop then would continue to work around the house, do laundry and clean. When we came home we had till 4:00 to relax and have a snack then he would sit down with my sister and I to do homework. My mom would have left by the time we were woken up for school and would come home shortly after 4:00. Dinner in my house was a group effort between the four of us. Then my parents alternated daily who put the kids to bed and told the bed time story. There was some strengths my dad had that my mom didn't, like punctuality. I rarely missed the bus and he was always there when the bus was dropping us off. My mom was better at laundry, but my dad was way better at telling bed time stories. Bottom line is I enjoyed reading this article because it was like I was reading about my life, My family turned out just fine, my house was filled with just as much love as the one next door.

societal gender roles

Fa'afaine-"the manner of women"
An american somoan society  in the south pacific. Where every man and woman had a specific role. children who are males could take on feminine tasks at a young age. After becoming fa'fafine they begin to ask like a female like dress, dancing the siva (a traditional dance) and fufilling female roles in the home. They usually end up taking care of the children and their elderly parents.
Hijra- 
From south Asia. Some people choose to be transgender. They have almost their own category by the government. Sometimes they have their own community and leaders as well. Young boys in these communities usually get used as sex workers. The gender role they take on is determined by social rank and education. 
Sworn Virgins- Balkans
These were chastity women who took on male roles to usually  avoid the duties as a female. They also usually participated in cross dressing. These people never really get the chance to marry or have children. 
Kathoey-Thailand
Where young men exploit their sexual orientation. These men portray typical feminine qualities untypical of a man, for appearance and behavior. Sometime they are called lady-boys and are usually role models. This is like a third gender in Thailand seen as not men nor women.
Bugis
The Bugis acknowledge three sexes female, male, hermaphrodite. They also accknowledge four genders women, men, calabai, and calalai. They have a fifth meta-gender group, the bissu. Bissu have their own distinctive clothing. They are a combination of all genders. To become a bissu, one must be born both female and male, or hermaphroditic. They recognoze 5 genders called makkunrai, oroane, bissu, calabai, and calalal.
In comparison to western society all these roles are very different, our government would never think of a third party for a gender. I do not believe it would be possible to ever have chastity women as a group because of how sexualized our society is. We are very accepting to transgender and cross dressers. I also believe we would never be able to keep the genders straight and be able to identify who is who because personally I already struggle telling the difference between them. I think we should do something about the bathroom situation. Maybe turn the third bathroom that some businesses have that are for families into a family and "other" bathroom. I believe there are many improvements we need to make in our society but baby steps will get us there, 

Gender in Blurred lines

I have recently reviewed three different music videos, one being an original song blurred lines by a well known artist Robin Thicke. The other two videos were personal takes on the song and the video, a boylesque version and a feminist parody. My prior to watching the video opinion was a dirty song, very popular and very catchy. As I began to watch the original music video by Robin Thicke I became extremely uncomfortable. The sexualization of women in this video actually made me want to turn it off with anger. While the men in this video were extremely well dressed in suits, the women were practically naked dancing and shimming around. The vulgar phrases and lyrics made me extremely upset. For example they refereed to girls as "good girls" and suggesting "I know you want it". Along with the ass smacking and hair pulling I was not surprised that Robin Thicke chose to make his music video so sexual. In today's culture it did not surprise me at all, but I wish it did. 

The second video I watched was a boylesque version where the woman were dressed in suits while the men were practically naked dancing around. It was the same video as Robin Thicke but with reversed roles. At first this video almost made me uncomfortable, but by the end I was laughing and enjoying seeing this change in gender roles. In Thicke's version there was women sexually riding animals, it did make me want to look away when the men in this video began to do the same. I was also very unsure how I felt about the phrase "good boy" instead of "good girl", it is something I never really heard. In fact the only time I have ever said "good boy" was to my dog, but people tell girls all the time that they are a "good girl". This video made me feel empowered because I want to show it to every male in the world to prove to them the way women are sexualized. If we could switch gender roles for a day nation wide I am sure men would realize the way women are sexualized. For example the difference it makes when a woman walks down the street in comparison to man. 

The third video was my favorite. A feminist parody of blurred lines. It features naked men, women dressed in business formal outfits, and a completely new set of lyrics. My favorite line said, "so we can fuck this mans world, with all its bullshit, girls don't deserve this" which I find to be so true. Woman do not deserve to feel sexualized with every move they make. Most choices woman make involve thinking about how a man would view this choice. The one scene I found to be the best depiction of a woman was when a man with no clothes on other than an apron had just made a sandwich. This is what most people view the typical house wife as. The viewing of all three videos showed what can happen when you view something from a man's point of view versus a woman's.

I find it repulsive to think about how our culture views woman as a whole. We are grouped together and viewed as these house wives with little rights. The woman suffrage act in the nineteenth and twentieth century got us to where we are today, but since then we have not made many big changes. It is time for gender equality, in hopes that I never have to feel uncomfortable doing something so simple as watching a music video. 

video 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU

video 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKfwCjgiodg

video 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1XtnLRLPM