Gender Norms are Stupid

Gender norms are stupid. It's as simple as that. In today's society so many things are oriented towards men or towards women. Why? It's hard to believe that in 2015, in the United States no less, we're still deciding what kids and adults should like based on their anatomy.

One of my favorite YouTubers, Manny MUA, is a beauty vlogger. This may offend people, but I really don't understand why. Manny is so good at makeup, and it's something that he loves. Just because he can grow a beard and has a penis doesn't mean he can't wear mascara and a bold lip on a regular basis. Makeup may be more oriented towards women, and it has been for years, but many more men are stepping into the makeup scene. Patrick Star, Manny, and Jeffree Star are all breaking gender norms and deserve a huge round of applause.

I also commend Kayla, a girl in my orchestra. At each formal concert our orchestra performs, the girls have to dress up in long black dresses and boys have to wear a multiple-piece suit. Kayla doesn't like dresses (but I mean, who really likes the orchestra dresses?) and wanted to try something new. She decided to wear a suit. When I first saw her, I'll admit I was surprised. I had never seen a school activity in which someone was "breaking" a gender norm. She definitely got some weird looks from the boys and girls in our orchestra, but she was brave and was able to break out of her shell to make sure she was comfortable while doing an activity that she loves.

This blog post was inspired by a recent family dinner. "Pinterest isn't really a boy app." What? I didn't know that we were assigning a gender to a certain number of gigabytes on a phone. I got kind of mad. I'm tired of people being judged for what they like or who they are based on the gender that is typically associated with those things. There are so many more girls playing video games and boys who like makeup or princess costumes.

There is one thing I'd like to point out. If a boy goes against gender norms, I think it's more difficult for them to be accepted in society than if it was a woman breaking gender norms. Women are typically seen as more "dainty" and "fragile" and when we break gender norms, and we act a little bit tougher, some guys might find it attractive. However, if a man was to break gender norms, and wear makeup everyday I'm worried that he would be harassed. There's more of an expectation that follows boys around. I think they're expected to be manly and strong.


This sweatshirt in the right adds comedy to a real issue. Feminist Apparel has great clothes that share a great message! Look into their merchandise if you want to help spread the importance of feminism and other social issues!

In conclusion, gender norms are stupid. Girls can play video games and be engineers, boys can wear makeup and be stay at home dads. Everyone is different, and if you can't comprehend that, get over yourself.

stay peaceful( & open-minded)!!

For the Last Time: No Means No

For my AP Language and Composition class I have to read 100 pages a week out of a book picked from a reading list that our teacher provides. The book I am reading at the moment is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I've actually grown quite fond of the book, but that's a different story. This blog post is to talk about the seriousness of the phrase, "no means no."

I recently read an excerpt from P&P and it struck a nerve.

"'Really, Mr. Collins," cried Elizabeth with some warmth, "you puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my refusal in such a way as may convince you of its being one."

In this passage, Mr. Collins has proposed to Elizabeth, but she has refused the proposal. However, Mr. Collins does not register the rejection and keeps persisting with his proposal. Not surprising, men during this era had little regard for women and their opinions. I'm just upset at how little thing have changed.

No means no, it's pretty simple. Stop means to quit doing what you're doing, it's either annoying me or making me uncomfortable. Many boys and unfortunately many men as well consider no to be an invitation to try again, or to keep persisting. No means no, and yes means yes. There is a pretty thin line between yes and no.

Whether it be the 1800s or 2015, women's opinions and views have been pushed onto the back burner and are repeatedly ignored. This post was more of a rant than anything, but it ticks me off when people don't understand the meaning of the word no!

stay peaceful (and respectful)!!

Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom

If you watch only one more thing on Netflix, watch Winter On Fire. This documentary about Ukraine's fight for freedom will send you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I never knew I could feel so many different things in only one hour and thirty-eight minutes. I felt anger at the Ukrainian government. I felt sadness for the pain and suffering that these peaceful people went through. But I also felt a lot of anger towards myself. Why didn't I know about this? It only happened two years ago.

In 2004, Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian candidate ran for the Ukrainian presidency and won. After questioning the trueness of the election, the Orange Revolution succeeded and got him withdrawn from office. However, Yanukovych was not done and ran again in 2010 and won the nomination. Yanukovych won the election by promising to make Ukraine part of the European Union, however, he was untrue to his word. This is where the revolution begins.

Instead of signing an agreement with the EU, the Ukrainian government began negotiations with Russia, basically signing away the future of Ukraine. Maidan was formed. Maidan stands for independence. What started as a peaceful protest in a city square quickly turned into a full fledged war in a matter of months. Maidan quickly became a fortress of people unified against the government.

Berkut, the military forces in Ukraine, were dispatched to disband the protestors. Keep in mind, these protestors were peaceful. They were only holding sign, not weapons. I had to cover my eyes while watching this documentary too many times. I can't watch violent situations. I couldn't keep my eyes on the screen while seeing Berkut attacking individuals with iron sticks. People who only wanted freedom and equal opportunity. I saw too many puddles of blood, battered faces and crying people. It was even speculated that the Berkut hired antagonists to pose as protestors and attack police officers and military officials. These antagonists would give the "law enforcement" workers a reason to "defend" themselves against the protestors.

One of the most horrific things that saw in this documentary were groups of Titushky men. Titushky men are violent men, mostly ex-cons. The government releases these men and pays them (PAYS THEM) to beat protestors.

The government had no mercy. As some protestors stated, "they were not acting like human beings."
Religious officials who were only praying were shot at and attacked. Red cross workers who only wanted to help injured people were shot in the leg.

All of this suffering and injustice was thankfully worth something. In February of 2014, Yanukovych is seen fleeing Ukraine and seeks asylum in Russia (surprise, surprise). Ukraine still suffered afterwards. Putin and Yanukovych worked together to build Pro-Russian troops that have worked to take over Crimea. They've also began invading Eastern Ukraine, killing nearly 6,000 people.

The fight in Maidan is over, but Ukraine's fight for full independence is definitely not. Civil rights are not being recognized for millions of people. This needs to stop. Why do we keep trying to resolve our issues with violence and guns?

stay peaceful (and informed)!!

It Gets Better

Being gay in today's world is scary. It's common sense to know the struggles that these individuals face and suffer when they come out. People of all ages come out to their family and friends each and every day. These brave people may be welcomed with open arms, and others are disgraced. Turned away from their families and abandoned because they're viewed as an embarrassment.

I'm so excited to blog about the It Gets Better Program, which I recently learned about. It Gets Better is a project organized to communicate to lesbian, gay and transgender youth that it does get better. This program is so inspiring and uplifting for many teens that consider suicide as the only way out. PFLAG NYC states that gay teens are 8.4 times more likely to report having committed suicide and 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression when compared with teens that have not been rejected by their families.

It Gets Better Program posts videos from celebrities, employees of major companies and everyday people who upload their videos themselves. These videos have personal stories with messages that it gets better, and overall messages of support. Watching these videos was eye opening. Gay youth go through so many emotions. Worrying about what their friends will think, if their parents will support them and having to deal with bullying from classmates. I hear things in school I wish I didn't. Derogatory words intended for gay individuals and it angers me. Why is it so hard for us to accept other people for who they are?

It Gets Better is not just a resource for LGBTQ+ youth, it is a resource for all ages, races and sexual orientations. By watching these videos I had a better idea about the struggles youth face everyday. I know I can be more supportive. No one can do it on their own. They need a strong emotional support system behind them that tells them to keep going.

There are also so many ways to can get involved with the It Gets Better program. You can donate, buy a (super cute vintage) shirt which proceeds all go to helping youth. You can also take a pledge to help the LGBTQ+ community and even record your own video. By sending out a message of support to anyone that needs it, who knows how many people you may have just saved?

The bottom line is that we need to get involved. There's an alarming suicide rate amongst gay teens that needs to drop. Suicide is unbelievably hard on families, and tortures the individuals that are considering it. By spending ten minutes to record a video of love and support, you can save thousands of lives. Get involved, donate, buy a shirt, and make a difference!

LGBT Youth Hotline: 1-800-246-PRIDE (7743)
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
To learn more and help make a difference visit itgetsbetter.org

stay peaceful (and supportive)!!

"I agree with feminism, but I'm not a feminist"???

What? Maybe I heard you wrong? Oh I didn't? That doesn't make any sense? How can you follow and agree with feminist arguments, but not call yourself a feminist?

This is so confusing to me. I'm a feminist, I agree that everyone should be equal. EVERYONE. Transgender individuals, gay individuals, people of color, people of different religions, and get this: men and women. Feminism is not the idea that men should be "destroyed and gotten rid of". Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.

I think women, and men are afraid to identify as feminists because of the stereotypes that society has developed. Some stereotypes surrounding feminism include hairy arm-pits, anti-femininity, man-hating, angry individuals. Some feminists may have hairy arm pits, be masculine and tough individuals. "Man-hating" feminists don't follow the true meaning and message of feminism.

Feminists like these, that nit-pick what to follow give the movement a bad rep. You cannot only support your cis siblings, you must support your transgender siblings as well. You cannot only support white individuals, you must support every race and color of skin to be a through and through true feminist.

If you don't fully understand what feminism is, look it up. My biggest pet peeve is when someone disregards and "bashes" someone else's beliefs before they truly understand what they stand for and actually believe. Understand what feminism is and be proud to be a feminist. You're following in the footsteps of hundreds of brave women who fought and died for you to vote. Most of them didn't see the successes of their work, it took years for policy to change, and only later women got to reap the benefits that their blood, sweat and tears helped to grow.

stay peaceful (and proud)!!

Halloween

I hate to say it, but slut-shaming and Halloween go hand in hand. I'd like to think that I don't judge someone based on their costume, but I do, and I did last night. Mostly because it was 40 degrees outside and there were girls without pants on. But who am I to judge them? If they want to kill it in their baseball jersey or be cat for Halloween, my opinion doesn't matter.

In one of my classes the other day, I overheard and conversation, no I was not eavesdropping. What I heard made me mad. A girl in my grade wasn't invited to a party because the party thrower thought she would "dress like a slut, like always."

First off, it doesn't matter what she wears, if she's comfortable and wants to show off her features that make her confident, she can. She doesn't need anyone's approval of her Halloween costume. Any and every costume is up for criticism on Halloween. Last night I went as Rosie, and I trick-or-treated for UNICEF. There were definitely some people that took a second look at my costume. But I'm a feminist and I chose a strong and independent woman to dress up as.

Why do we slut shame anyways? Some people do it to feel better about themselves, which they shouldn't. All too often in society women are shamed for being sexual. Men can be sexual and they get high fives from their "bros", but when women are sexual, people get uncomfortable.

We can't get mad at girls for dressing the way they do on Halloween, when all the costumes advertised are "sexy". I recently went to Halloween store to look for costumes for my dogs, yes I am that person. There was a full wall with pictures of costumes on it, once you found one you liked you told the worker the number and they would get you the costume. All I saw up on that wall were leather cat costumes and costumes where the butts hang out.

I hope next Halloween you'll think differently about the costumes that everyone wears. They obviously chose that costume for a specific reason. It may represent something they believe in, or characteristics that they already possess. Be careful of what you think as well. Try not to judge a book by it's cover, we all need to work on that!

stay peaceful (and open-minded)!!

Hollywood Is Listening

It's no surprise, one look at cast lists and scripts will show you how male oriented Hollywood is. But it seems like they're learning something.

On this morning's airing of ABC's Good Morning America, they revealed a plan for an all female cast of Oceans Eleven. Oceans Eleven is a movie with A-List celebrities like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. OE centers around a group of men robbing the Bellagio, a grand casino in Las Vegas. It's exciting to hear of an all female cast for a movie of this genre, because it's not typical. I can only recall one movie where a group of women are stealing a large amount of money. I am in no way encouraging women to go out a steal millions of dollars as a stance for equality, but this sort of story line doesn't typically portray women.

Another movie set to release in 2016 is Ghostbusters, this cast is also all female, with stars such as Kristen Wig and Melissa McCarthy. Ghostbusters will be just as empowering as well, showing strong independent women who "don't need no man" to fight off monsters.

Movies, books, and plays can be tested using the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel tests evaluates an entertainment piece based on how many women in the cast are talking to each other about something other than a man.

I'm not saying every cast needs to be all female, or that movies and tv shows can't have a heavy male presence. I'm just excited about this equal representation that we are beginning to see. I'm excited for the little girls who will watch Ghostbusters (probably not Oceans Eleven) and be empowered. We are influenced so much by what we see as we grow up. I'm exciting for what Hollywood will be able to teach the next generations, and how empowered and well-rounded they will become.

stay peaceful (and go to the movies)!!