I've just started the emotional journey that is also known as The Office. You can find it on your local Netflix account, all nine seasons, right at your fingertips. My blog isn't about pop culture or new television shows. It's about civil rights and social issues. This may lead to the question: Sydney, why the heck are you writing a blog post about Michael Scott, the manager in this series?
I'm writing a blog post about Michael Scott because he is an utter major douche lord who does not consider anyone else's feelings. Yeah it's scripted and I totally get that. I'm not bashing the office. I love Michael's character, but that doesn't take away the fact that he's a booty-hole sometimes.
He makes jabs at all of the characters. If you haven't seen The Office yet, leave, right now. There may be spoilers, but probably not because I'm only on season two.
-He says women's issues aren't real issues
-He doesn't take Jan's "no" seriously and continuously tries to pursue a relationship with her after she's stated her want
-He's racist, and islamophobic
-He pretends to have a disability after he grilled his foot (sounds horrible, but I laughed until I cried, and that lasted for a solid seven minutes) this insults individuals who actually have a disability
-He's a bully. He doesn't have a filter, he lacks social skills and constantly jabs people about their looks and beliefs
These are all traits that at least one person in our life actually possesses. That's crazy. Michael's character is easy to laugh at, but if you take a step back and actually listen to what he's saying it's offensive.
I'm not upset about his character, it makes me laugh, but only because I know it's not serious.
stay peaceful (and peep The Office)!!
Sunday, February 28, 2016
The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women
Jean Kilbourne is an amazing activist and cultural theorist who has studied the image of women in advertising for over forty years. Kilbourne speaks about the affect advertisements have on everyone and how they can alter the way our minds see certain people and groups of people.
At the age of six-months, babies are able to recognize the logos of large corporations, this has now shifted the target audience of advertisements to younger ages. Ads affect people regardless of how they think they perceive them. You may say you don't pay attention to certain aspects of the advertising world, but your subconscious definitely picks up on these messages.
Photoshop seems to be the main culprit of these advertisement woes. Eliminating thigh gaps, but also taking away a very important female reproductive organ on accident. In a Ralph Lauren advertisement, Kilbourne shows the audience that the models head seems to be bigger than her pelvis which is an anatomical impossibility. She also lets us know that this extremely thin model was fired from her job for being "too fat". She was probably a size 0 model, there is no situation where anyone should be fired from a job because of their size.
The following picture to the right is an ad for hair gel, but it seems to focus on other aspects of a woman's body. It reads:
"Your breasts may be too big, too saggy, too perky, too flat, too full, too far apart, too close together, too A cup, too lopsided, too jiggly, too pale, too padded, too pointy, too pendulous or just too mosquito bites. But with Dep styling products, at least you can have your hair the way you want it."
Now obviously this ad isn't cerca 2014, when the TEDx talk aired. It's probably from the fifties or sixties. It's still shocking to see how sexualized women are in advertisements. Put in unnecessary positions and postures to sell jeans, or a sandwich. A Burger King advertisement mentioned by Kilbourne contains highly sexual suggestions for a sandwich. A sandwich of all things.
Little girls are being hired to model for padded bras and thong panties when they haven't even hit puberty yet. It's upsetting how sexualized women are in advertisements and the media. It definitely shapes the way everyone views women. Weak, vulnerable, for male consumption, wherever and whenever they want it. This fuels rape culture and misogyny and only increases the need for feminism and equal treatment.
Yes, I know men are sexualized in ads too. An advertisement for a cologne doesn't need a wet man sitting in the shower in his underwear. Advertisements that sexualize males teach them how to be sexual and how to view women, not portraying them as sexual objects.
If you love TEDx talks as much as I do and are interested in listening to more of Jean Kilbourne's amazing work, click here!
stay peaceful (and be wary of the media)!!
At the age of six-months, babies are able to recognize the logos of large corporations, this has now shifted the target audience of advertisements to younger ages. Ads affect people regardless of how they think they perceive them. You may say you don't pay attention to certain aspects of the advertising world, but your subconscious definitely picks up on these messages.
Photoshop seems to be the main culprit of these advertisement woes. Eliminating thigh gaps, but also taking away a very important female reproductive organ on accident. In a Ralph Lauren advertisement, Kilbourne shows the audience that the models head seems to be bigger than her pelvis which is an anatomical impossibility. She also lets us know that this extremely thin model was fired from her job for being "too fat". She was probably a size 0 model, there is no situation where anyone should be fired from a job because of their size.
"Your breasts may be too big, too saggy, too perky, too flat, too full, too far apart, too close together, too A cup, too lopsided, too jiggly, too pale, too padded, too pointy, too pendulous or just too mosquito bites. But with Dep styling products, at least you can have your hair the way you want it."
Now obviously this ad isn't cerca 2014, when the TEDx talk aired. It's probably from the fifties or sixties. It's still shocking to see how sexualized women are in advertisements. Put in unnecessary positions and postures to sell jeans, or a sandwich. A Burger King advertisement mentioned by Kilbourne contains highly sexual suggestions for a sandwich. A sandwich of all things.
Little girls are being hired to model for padded bras and thong panties when they haven't even hit puberty yet. It's upsetting how sexualized women are in advertisements and the media. It definitely shapes the way everyone views women. Weak, vulnerable, for male consumption, wherever and whenever they want it. This fuels rape culture and misogyny and only increases the need for feminism and equal treatment.
Yes, I know men are sexualized in ads too. An advertisement for a cologne doesn't need a wet man sitting in the shower in his underwear. Advertisements that sexualize males teach them how to be sexual and how to view women, not portraying them as sexual objects.
If you love TEDx talks as much as I do and are interested in listening to more of Jean Kilbourne's amazing work, click here!
stay peaceful (and be wary of the media)!!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Kesha
The music industry is huge. There's competition and drama around every corner, but I've never heard of anything as devastating as what is happening with Kesha right now.
A law suit filed in October of 2014 has just received it's verdict or decision. The suit is looking to void Kesha's contracts with Dr. Luke, her producer and manager. For ten years, Kesha claims Dr. Luke sexually, verbally, physically and emotionally abused her. Her manager, who she should have been able to trust controlled her in unimaginable ways. Kesha developed an eating disorder and nearly died to the stress she was under.
Kesha didn't bring this up to anyone or talk about it for ten years because of the power that Dr. Luke has. He's a successful producer and has worked with stars such as Kelly Clarkson and P!NK. He has monetary power and power of recognition. If Kesha came forward with these accusations, she feared that he would destroy her, with both her career and her mental health.
With these accusations, Dr. Luke countersued Kesha and her team for defamation and breach of contract. Also claiming that Kesha's "false" accusations and refusal to record music are near extortion. But who would want to record music with their abuser? Their rapist? The one man who controlled her for so many years? People are claiming that Kesha has no case because she's had a chance to record music. I don't blame her at all for wanting to get the hell away from this controlling man.
Judge Kornreich, who oversaw the case has decided to wait to announce her decision about dismissing the case or not. Kornreich wants to hear the California Courts' decision and hear more substantial evidence before setting her decision in stone.
Kesha is not alone in this battle. Her multitude of fans have come forward to support her, standing outside the courthouse as the case proceeded. Holding signs that say "Free Kesha!" Multiple other artists have stepped forward in support for Kesha. Taylor Swift gave the artist $250,000 to help her financially during this difficult time. Last night at the Brit Awards, Adele received her award and publicly stated her support for Kesha. Artists such as Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus have also posted on social media, showing their support for Kesha.
I don't care if Kesha's able to record right now and choosing not to, she still deserves to put her attacker and personal terrorist behind bars. He abused her in every way imagineable. That's unacceptable. I don't care if he's a well known producer and a major player in the music industry. He's a monster that doesn't deserve to life a normal life while his victim can't.
Read more about the case here, at Rolling Stone!
stay peaceful (and support Kesha)!!
A law suit filed in October of 2014 has just received it's verdict or decision. The suit is looking to void Kesha's contracts with Dr. Luke, her producer and manager. For ten years, Kesha claims Dr. Luke sexually, verbally, physically and emotionally abused her. Her manager, who she should have been able to trust controlled her in unimaginable ways. Kesha developed an eating disorder and nearly died to the stress she was under.
Kesha didn't bring this up to anyone or talk about it for ten years because of the power that Dr. Luke has. He's a successful producer and has worked with stars such as Kelly Clarkson and P!NK. He has monetary power and power of recognition. If Kesha came forward with these accusations, she feared that he would destroy her, with both her career and her mental health.
With these accusations, Dr. Luke countersued Kesha and her team for defamation and breach of contract. Also claiming that Kesha's "false" accusations and refusal to record music are near extortion. But who would want to record music with their abuser? Their rapist? The one man who controlled her for so many years? People are claiming that Kesha has no case because she's had a chance to record music. I don't blame her at all for wanting to get the hell away from this controlling man.
Judge Kornreich, who oversaw the case has decided to wait to announce her decision about dismissing the case or not. Kornreich wants to hear the California Courts' decision and hear more substantial evidence before setting her decision in stone.
Kesha is not alone in this battle. Her multitude of fans have come forward to support her, standing outside the courthouse as the case proceeded. Holding signs that say "Free Kesha!" Multiple other artists have stepped forward in support for Kesha. Taylor Swift gave the artist $250,000 to help her financially during this difficult time. Last night at the Brit Awards, Adele received her award and publicly stated her support for Kesha. Artists such as Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus have also posted on social media, showing their support for Kesha.
I don't care if Kesha's able to record right now and choosing not to, she still deserves to put her attacker and personal terrorist behind bars. He abused her in every way imagineable. That's unacceptable. I don't care if he's a well known producer and a major player in the music industry. He's a monster that doesn't deserve to life a normal life while his victim can't.
Read more about the case here, at Rolling Stone!
stay peaceful (and support Kesha)!!
Sunday, February 14, 2016
It's Valentine's Day
February 14th. Valentine's Day. The day of love and celebration with your spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, galpals and family. It's kind of overrated. Just saying.
Am I saying this because I'm single? Most likely. This may be too personal, but yolo. A lot of the things I blog about are "too personal" and semi-controversial. Love is a silly thing. In today's world it's advertised everywhere.
Social media has consumed us. If I open twitter I constantly see tweets about relationships. "Omg you guys are so goals" or "Omg I wish my boyfriend loved me this much!! #jealous". Yeah, I'm guilty. Seeing pictures of cute couples being together and smiling make me jealous. Who wouldn't be jealous? Everyone wants to be loved, don't they?
The tricky thing with today's relationships is that they might not all be true relationships. Society puts constant pressure on couples everyday. Be cute together, have matching clothes, the guy HAS to spoil the girl, the girl can't talk to any other guys, constant PDA is a must. All of these are obvious necessities or else the relationship is pointless and not real, right?!
HA NO! If you're in a relationship, you're with one other person. Disregard polygamy and polyamorous relationships for now. Young people, and adults, are too consumed with the opinions of others and how they're perceived to be truly invested in their own relationships, which brings me back to Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day puts too much pressure on everyone. "Cuffing season" was developed so that people would have someone to date by Valentine's Day, but also break up with if they weren't "right enough". That's stupid. Men, or women, shouldn't be expected to spend hundreds of dollars on their partner. That's not true love if you have to buy gifts to show how you love someone. Spending time with that person should be more than enough.
Valentine's Day also puts emphasis on those people that aren't married or don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend. You shouldn't depend on another person to make you happy. You have to make yourself happy before you can be with anyone else. Depending on others is stupid, especially when there's such a huge chance of getting hurt.
So go out there, get a heart shaped pizza and a box of Russell Stover's. Live your life, if you love someone tell them. If you don't, love yourself. Valentine's Day is fun for everyone if you celebrate it the correct way.
stay peaceful (and love yourself)!!
Am I saying this because I'm single? Most likely. This may be too personal, but yolo. A lot of the things I blog about are "too personal" and semi-controversial. Love is a silly thing. In today's world it's advertised everywhere.
Social media has consumed us. If I open twitter I constantly see tweets about relationships. "Omg you guys are so goals" or "Omg I wish my boyfriend loved me this much!! #jealous". Yeah, I'm guilty. Seeing pictures of cute couples being together and smiling make me jealous. Who wouldn't be jealous? Everyone wants to be loved, don't they?
The tricky thing with today's relationships is that they might not all be true relationships. Society puts constant pressure on couples everyday. Be cute together, have matching clothes, the guy HAS to spoil the girl, the girl can't talk to any other guys, constant PDA is a must. All of these are obvious necessities or else the relationship is pointless and not real, right?!
HA NO! If you're in a relationship, you're with one other person. Disregard polygamy and polyamorous relationships for now. Young people, and adults, are too consumed with the opinions of others and how they're perceived to be truly invested in their own relationships, which brings me back to Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day puts too much pressure on everyone. "Cuffing season" was developed so that people would have someone to date by Valentine's Day, but also break up with if they weren't "right enough". That's stupid. Men, or women, shouldn't be expected to spend hundreds of dollars on their partner. That's not true love if you have to buy gifts to show how you love someone. Spending time with that person should be more than enough.
Valentine's Day also puts emphasis on those people that aren't married or don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend. You shouldn't depend on another person to make you happy. You have to make yourself happy before you can be with anyone else. Depending on others is stupid, especially when there's such a huge chance of getting hurt.
So go out there, get a heart shaped pizza and a box of Russell Stover's. Live your life, if you love someone tell them. If you don't, love yourself. Valentine's Day is fun for everyone if you celebrate it the correct way.
stay peaceful (and love yourself)!!
Saturday, February 13, 2016
"Like a Girl"
"You run like a girl"
"You hit like a girl"
"Why are you crying? That's so girly"
Yep, I run like a girl, because I'm a girl. Mhmm, I hit like a girl, because I am a girl. Yeah, I'm crying, but it's not girly. It's human. When did "like a girl" become an insult?
You wish you could run like a girl. We jump through obstacles and face problems everyday just because we have two X chromosomes.
Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I always have to be happy or that I need to wait for a boy to save me. I can save myself. Girls are seen as bossy, weak, ditsy and overdramatic. Society limits us and what we can do by placing these stereotypes on us.
Always, the feminine hygiene brand, has made it their personal mission to get rid of the lack of confidence that girls in society face. Their main goal is to build confidence in young girls throughout the world. During puberty, a young girls confidence levels plummet. They fall off the face of the earth, and feeling limited by society only helps them fall further.
Always hasn't just started this movement. For the past thirty years they have worked with educators and administrators throughout the world to educate young girls on puberty and cycles. Education doesn't stop at just "period talk" for Always. They're determined to teach little girls how to retain confidence and even grow confidence in themselves.
72% of girls feel like society limits them. Only 28% do not. That's not cool or acceptable. We need to make an effort to change that.
Watching the videos on Always' YouTube channel is inspiring. These little girls know their limitations, they know how they've been limited but they're not just going to take it. They're going to show the world how strong they are and how unacceptable it is to be limited.
I'm excited that Always is making an effort to change society, and to change the way girls view themselves. Little girls know how strong they are or how strong they can be. If these girls don't realize this when they're young and before puberty, they won't be able to easily teach themselves how truly amazing they are.
What about boys? Yeah, boys lack self confidence. They feel the need to be strong, protective and the "alpha male". But I don't think they are nearly as limited as girls are. They're not told they have to act a certain way. They're not necessarily criticized for being who they are. If a girl doesn't wear makeup, she may not be considered "girly" enough. But if a girl does wear makeup, she may be considered a liar for "false advertising". That's disgusting.
I hope you learned a little bit today. If anything, watch Always' videos on YouTube, they're amazing. I encourage more people to use #LikeAGirl in the good context that it should be used in.
Check out the Always webpage and learn more about how much effort they're making in the battle to raise girls' confidence! Click here!
stay peaceful (and #LikeAGirl)!!
"You hit like a girl"
"Why are you crying? That's so girly"
Yep, I run like a girl, because I'm a girl. Mhmm, I hit like a girl, because I am a girl. Yeah, I'm crying, but it's not girly. It's human. When did "like a girl" become an insult?
You wish you could run like a girl. We jump through obstacles and face problems everyday just because we have two X chromosomes.
Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I always have to be happy or that I need to wait for a boy to save me. I can save myself. Girls are seen as bossy, weak, ditsy and overdramatic. Society limits us and what we can do by placing these stereotypes on us.
Always, the feminine hygiene brand, has made it their personal mission to get rid of the lack of confidence that girls in society face. Their main goal is to build confidence in young girls throughout the world. During puberty, a young girls confidence levels plummet. They fall off the face of the earth, and feeling limited by society only helps them fall further.
Always hasn't just started this movement. For the past thirty years they have worked with educators and administrators throughout the world to educate young girls on puberty and cycles. Education doesn't stop at just "period talk" for Always. They're determined to teach little girls how to retain confidence and even grow confidence in themselves.
72% of girls feel like society limits them. Only 28% do not. That's not cool or acceptable. We need to make an effort to change that.
Watching the videos on Always' YouTube channel is inspiring. These little girls know their limitations, they know how they've been limited but they're not just going to take it. They're going to show the world how strong they are and how unacceptable it is to be limited.
I'm excited that Always is making an effort to change society, and to change the way girls view themselves. Little girls know how strong they are or how strong they can be. If these girls don't realize this when they're young and before puberty, they won't be able to easily teach themselves how truly amazing they are.
What about boys? Yeah, boys lack self confidence. They feel the need to be strong, protective and the "alpha male". But I don't think they are nearly as limited as girls are. They're not told they have to act a certain way. They're not necessarily criticized for being who they are. If a girl doesn't wear makeup, she may not be considered "girly" enough. But if a girl does wear makeup, she may be considered a liar for "false advertising". That's disgusting.
I hope you learned a little bit today. If anything, watch Always' videos on YouTube, they're amazing. I encourage more people to use #LikeAGirl in the good context that it should be used in.
Check out the Always webpage and learn more about how much effort they're making in the battle to raise girls' confidence! Click here!
stay peaceful (and #LikeAGirl)!!
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Bernie Is A Lot Stronger Than You Think
Presidential elections are complicated and very confusing. Caucuses and primaries are even more confusing. A lot of people disregard Bernie Sanders as a frontrunner in the 2016 elections. That's stupid.
Just because Hillary's last name is Clinton, or because she is in fact a woman doesn't mean that she'll automatically win all female votes. Bernie is coming in hot and much stronger than a majority of the country believed he would.
The Iowa Caucuses on February 1st acted as a foreshadow of the elections we're just getting into. Hillary Clinton was the predicted winner, as expected. Bernie has a lot of support in Iowa, but most people didn't expect him to come as close as he did. Some people didn't know who Martin O'Malley was until he announced he wouldn't be running for President anymore.
Hillary Clinton only won the Iowa Caucuses by .3% of the votes. Less than 1% of the votes determined the winner of the caucus. In one precinct they even resorted to tossing a coin. (This was controversial. In the caucus rule book it states that the winner of the coin toss must give up a delegate. Hillary was crowned the winner of the caucus and the coin toss, but she should have lost a delegate. Politics, man. Crazy stuff.)
The caucuses were also exciting because Donald Trump didn't win. He accused Ted Cruz, the actual winner, of stealing votes and tricking caucus-goers. I'm glad that Trump didn't win, but Ted Cruz isn't much better. This is just my opinion. As I saw on the #IowaCaucus twitter handle, "Saying Ted Cruz is better than Donald Trump is like saying gonorrhea is better than chlamydia." That's definitely one of the best tweets I've ever seen.
Last night was the New Hampshire primary. Bernie won by a landslide, receiving 60.4% of the votes to Hillary's 38%. That leaves Bernie with 36 delegates so far and Hillary with 32.
Elections are complicated and you can't fully forget about a candidate until all the primaries and caucuses are done. America is in search of a political revolution. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I would vote for Hillary. That's stereotypical. I believe there are women who will vote for Hillary just because she's a woman, but that's immensely stupid.
stay peaceful (and vote)!!
Just because Hillary's last name is Clinton, or because she is in fact a woman doesn't mean that she'll automatically win all female votes. Bernie is coming in hot and much stronger than a majority of the country believed he would.
The Iowa Caucuses on February 1st acted as a foreshadow of the elections we're just getting into. Hillary Clinton was the predicted winner, as expected. Bernie has a lot of support in Iowa, but most people didn't expect him to come as close as he did. Some people didn't know who Martin O'Malley was until he announced he wouldn't be running for President anymore.
Hillary Clinton only won the Iowa Caucuses by .3% of the votes. Less than 1% of the votes determined the winner of the caucus. In one precinct they even resorted to tossing a coin. (This was controversial. In the caucus rule book it states that the winner of the coin toss must give up a delegate. Hillary was crowned the winner of the caucus and the coin toss, but she should have lost a delegate. Politics, man. Crazy stuff.)
The caucuses were also exciting because Donald Trump didn't win. He accused Ted Cruz, the actual winner, of stealing votes and tricking caucus-goers. I'm glad that Trump didn't win, but Ted Cruz isn't much better. This is just my opinion. As I saw on the #IowaCaucus twitter handle, "Saying Ted Cruz is better than Donald Trump is like saying gonorrhea is better than chlamydia." That's definitely one of the best tweets I've ever seen.
Last night was the New Hampshire primary. Bernie won by a landslide, receiving 60.4% of the votes to Hillary's 38%. That leaves Bernie with 36 delegates so far and Hillary with 32.
Elections are complicated and you can't fully forget about a candidate until all the primaries and caucuses are done. America is in search of a political revolution. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I would vote for Hillary. That's stereotypical. I believe there are women who will vote for Hillary just because she's a woman, but that's immensely stupid.
stay peaceful (and vote)!!
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Good Job, Barbie!!
Everyone knows Barbie. From Malibu Barbie to the catchy theme song they played during "girls skate" at the local skating rink. She's a staple in society and such a strong role model for young girls. Sure, her body isn't realistic but her goals and her multiple established jobs that she's possessed can be an inspiration to little girls (and boys) around the world.
Barbie was a staple for me growing up. I remember at my fifth birthday party I got at least three Barbie dolls and I was beyond excited. There was something about her bleach blonde hair and perfect blue eyes that intrigued me. I wanted to be her. This is kinda scary actually. Little girls grow up with this idea of a tiny waist, big blue eyes, bleach blonde hair and glossy pink lips. It knock down their self confidence and messes with their self image.
Hopefully, things will change soon. Barbie has recently come out with a tall, petite and curvy doll. These designs are more realistic to everyday girls and women's body types. There are tall curvy girls and short curvy girls, but at least Barbie is not only tall and skinny with blonde hair. Barbie influences girls all around the world to be strong and independent. To follow their dreams. Have courage, bravery and stick up for their friends and themselves.
If you don't believe me that Barbie strongly influences people, you will after I tell you this. Go on google images and search "Real Life Barbie", you'll be astonished. Valeria Lukyanova was never really happy with just playing with Barbie's, she wanted to be one. She denies having any plastic surgery to maintain her physique, but she does remain on an almost all liquid diet. She's living her own life and that is totally okay with me. I just wonder what kind of message this is sending to little girls around the world? Will this greatly influence how they portray themselves and how they want to be seen by the world?
Barbie also did something pretty amazingly awesome this past week. They've released their first technical lesbian Barbie doll. This doll comes in the form of retired soccer champion, Abby Wambach.
Toys and dolls, regardless of which gender plays with them are the medium for kids to express their dreams and craziest ideas. Little girls get to portray their sky high goals and ambitions and so do little boys. It's only fair that they have dolls and toys that they can identify with as they do that.
The fact that Barbie now has four different body types and eight different skin tones means that more little girls (and boys) will be able to live out their wildest dreams in the comfort of their own home.
I'm proud of you, Barbie, thanks for showing me how awesome I can be.
stay peaceful (and buy a Barbie)!!
Barbie was a staple for me growing up. I remember at my fifth birthday party I got at least three Barbie dolls and I was beyond excited. There was something about her bleach blonde hair and perfect blue eyes that intrigued me. I wanted to be her. This is kinda scary actually. Little girls grow up with this idea of a tiny waist, big blue eyes, bleach blonde hair and glossy pink lips. It knock down their self confidence and messes with their self image.
Hopefully, things will change soon. Barbie has recently come out with a tall, petite and curvy doll. These designs are more realistic to everyday girls and women's body types. There are tall curvy girls and short curvy girls, but at least Barbie is not only tall and skinny with blonde hair. Barbie influences girls all around the world to be strong and independent. To follow their dreams. Have courage, bravery and stick up for their friends and themselves.
If you don't believe me that Barbie strongly influences people, you will after I tell you this. Go on google images and search "Real Life Barbie", you'll be astonished. Valeria Lukyanova was never really happy with just playing with Barbie's, she wanted to be one. She denies having any plastic surgery to maintain her physique, but she does remain on an almost all liquid diet. She's living her own life and that is totally okay with me. I just wonder what kind of message this is sending to little girls around the world? Will this greatly influence how they portray themselves and how they want to be seen by the world?
Barbie also did something pretty amazingly awesome this past week. They've released their first technical lesbian Barbie doll. This doll comes in the form of retired soccer champion, Abby Wambach.
Toys and dolls, regardless of which gender plays with them are the medium for kids to express their dreams and craziest ideas. Little girls get to portray their sky high goals and ambitions and so do little boys. It's only fair that they have dolls and toys that they can identify with as they do that.
The fact that Barbie now has four different body types and eight different skin tones means that more little girls (and boys) will be able to live out their wildest dreams in the comfort of their own home.
I'm proud of you, Barbie, thanks for showing me how awesome I can be.
stay peaceful (and buy a Barbie)!!
Saturday, February 6, 2016
It's Okay to Cry
It's okay to cry, trust me. I cry a lot. Sometimes over stupid situation and other times over very serious situations. You can call me a "cry baby", I really don't care. Crying helps me relieve stress. I feel one hundred times better after I cry.
I keep things bottled up sometimes, which only makes the cries more intense. Sometimes their quiet and only a couple tears fall, other times they're loud, obnoxious cries with weird breathing and snot coming out of my nose. It's gross, but true.
This may not be a "civil rights" issue. But it's definitely a social situation that puts stress on men and women. I feel like when women are in touch with their emotions and choose to cry, they're seen as drama queens. Or attention seekers. It's annoying. Sometimes you start to cry and you can't stop, you can't choose where you're going to cry sometimes and that's okay.
Crying is also tough for boys and men in today's world. When men cry, they can be perceived as wimps. For any reason. It's not wimpy for men to cry, it's healthy. One cannot simply go about their life without expressing sadness and heartache. It's a part of life, deal with it. Men who can connect with their emotions and who can express them are not any less masculine than a guy who scowls all day and wears "bro-tanks" to school.
Crying also has multiple health benefits.
It relieves stress! I don't think this will come as a big surprise, but crying helps to relieve stress and release pent up emotions. Even if the circumstances of that situation are still the same, having a good cry allows to you to "come to terms" with it, in a way.
Crying actually releases toxins from your body! Of course, tears that are sparked by irritants help to get rid of the irritant from your eye. But tears that are sparked from stress help your body get rid of nasty chemicals that can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
For more info, click here!
stay peaceful (and have a good cry)
I keep things bottled up sometimes, which only makes the cries more intense. Sometimes their quiet and only a couple tears fall, other times they're loud, obnoxious cries with weird breathing and snot coming out of my nose. It's gross, but true.
This may not be a "civil rights" issue. But it's definitely a social situation that puts stress on men and women. I feel like when women are in touch with their emotions and choose to cry, they're seen as drama queens. Or attention seekers. It's annoying. Sometimes you start to cry and you can't stop, you can't choose where you're going to cry sometimes and that's okay.
Crying is also tough for boys and men in today's world. When men cry, they can be perceived as wimps. For any reason. It's not wimpy for men to cry, it's healthy. One cannot simply go about their life without expressing sadness and heartache. It's a part of life, deal with it. Men who can connect with their emotions and who can express them are not any less masculine than a guy who scowls all day and wears "bro-tanks" to school.
Crying also has multiple health benefits.
It relieves stress! I don't think this will come as a big surprise, but crying helps to relieve stress and release pent up emotions. Even if the circumstances of that situation are still the same, having a good cry allows to you to "come to terms" with it, in a way.
Crying actually releases toxins from your body! Of course, tears that are sparked by irritants help to get rid of the irritant from your eye. But tears that are sparked from stress help your body get rid of nasty chemicals that can raise cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
For more info, click here!
stay peaceful (and have a good cry)
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Return of Kings
Return of Kings, also known as ROK, is terrifying. ROK is a group of men (and possibly maybe women?) Their website is filled with misogynistic, racist and homophobic articles. I can't even read through an entire article without being offended and annoyed.
I didn't go on the internet in hopes of finding an offensive website. The website kind of found me. I went on twitter this morning and a girl that I followed retweeted a tweet that shared a link to the ROK website. The page I opened was horrifying.
ROK is a men's rights movement. They probably associate with meninists and they probably expect their wives and other women to be subordinate. Let's be honest, do men really need to congregate and fight for rights? I think not. Women have been held back and pushed around since the beginning of time. Men weren't expecting us to ever open our mouths and speak out but we did and it pissed some of them off.
The reason ROK was brought to my attention is quite horrifying actually. I got on twitter this morning and a tweet appeared on my screen. The first thing I ready was, "If anyone's near these places, stay safe or kick ass." There was a link attached so of course I opened it. It popped up to a page of meeting places for ROK activists. Forty-three countries are involved, FOURTY-THREE! There is even a meeting place for my city, a semi-large city in Iowa. That means there has got to be enough "members" of this organization living in or around my area who don't believe women should have rights. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some of the boys from my school show up at the meeting. The meeting was set for Saturday February 6th.
Just now I went to check the page and look at the list of meeting places. The meeting has been cancelled.
"The world is moving against us. I’ve gotten reports of over a dozen organized protests at our meeting points. Dozens more are being organized privately. Since this meetup was never intended as a confrontation with unattractive women and their enablers.."
This statement was recently posted by the organization's founder, Roosh Valizadeh.
This organization is full of uncultured and uneducated individuals who don't think of anyone besides themselves. They support Trump (misogynist) and they want to make rape legal, can you believe that? No one in their RIGHT MIND would try to legalize rape.
Watch out for yourself, whether you're a woman or not. It sounds like these men would do anything in their power to get their point across.
stay peaceful (and safe)!!
I didn't go on the internet in hopes of finding an offensive website. The website kind of found me. I went on twitter this morning and a girl that I followed retweeted a tweet that shared a link to the ROK website. The page I opened was horrifying.
ROK is a men's rights movement. They probably associate with meninists and they probably expect their wives and other women to be subordinate. Let's be honest, do men really need to congregate and fight for rights? I think not. Women have been held back and pushed around since the beginning of time. Men weren't expecting us to ever open our mouths and speak out but we did and it pissed some of them off.
The reason ROK was brought to my attention is quite horrifying actually. I got on twitter this morning and a tweet appeared on my screen. The first thing I ready was, "If anyone's near these places, stay safe or kick ass." There was a link attached so of course I opened it. It popped up to a page of meeting places for ROK activists. Forty-three countries are involved, FOURTY-THREE! There is even a meeting place for my city, a semi-large city in Iowa. That means there has got to be enough "members" of this organization living in or around my area who don't believe women should have rights. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some of the boys from my school show up at the meeting. The meeting was set for Saturday February 6th.
Just now I went to check the page and look at the list of meeting places. The meeting has been cancelled.
"The world is moving against us. I’ve gotten reports of over a dozen organized protests at our meeting points. Dozens more are being organized privately. Since this meetup was never intended as a confrontation with unattractive women and their enablers.."
This statement was recently posted by the organization's founder, Roosh Valizadeh.
This organization is full of uncultured and uneducated individuals who don't think of anyone besides themselves. They support Trump (misogynist) and they want to make rape legal, can you believe that? No one in their RIGHT MIND would try to legalize rape.
Watch out for yourself, whether you're a woman or not. It sounds like these men would do anything in their power to get their point across.
stay peaceful (and safe)!!
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