Blog 11

In my psychology class, we have been discussing the topic of roles and transgenderism. One of the big picture questions was, “Do you think that transgenders have a psychological or a medical disorder?”

Although it is already a heated debate, I would like to know what you think about this. One thing that was interesting from one of my classmates was she said it is ok for women to want to be men, but not ok for men to be women… WHOA!

This instantly caught my attention because of this class itself, and I wonder if it has to do with power/control, or just the fact that society would instantly judge a man becoming a woman more than they would a woman becoming a man.

One interesting story that I found on line about transgender teachers is from this website below, and it might be a surprise to some of you to read some of the comments and statements that people are making:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6414895n

The woman on the left (the transgender) talks about school systems and that gays and transgenders can be fired from their job if students don’t want gays and transgenders teaching them. She is clearly defended because this lady on the right said she had a MENTAL DISORDER…

There are laws being debated to protect these teachers and professors from this issue, but I am afraid that this negative stigma will never cease.

One thing I know is that I could never allow myself to even THINK about calling someone who is transgender “mental” or having a “psychological disorder.” I feel like it is a life choice and if someone wants to be a different sex, then it is their choice, not mine to make for them or judge.

Blog 10

I know that this blog was not assigned but I had to get this one off my chest. Lol. I read a lot about domestic abuse and battery this week…

I feel like too many women are not reaching out to the people that they need to talk to. It is easy to be scared of someone, especially if they are mad. I know that people can lose sight of what is really in front of them. For example, it is easy to think that someone else loves you because you want them to love you or because they may tell you that they love you. The truth could really be that they do not. I wonder if falling out of love is one of the reasons that men abuse their wives in this way?

I do not know about sexual abuse or domestic violence, but I tell myself that I would never be too scared to put up a fight. I also know that if someone said “If you do / don’t do ____ I will kill you,” then I would listen. I would rather not take the chance of being killed and just suffer through the violence. This is where I think most women choose to stay victims. The sexual assault is something that women are more likely to try to fight againgst, because they mostly is with strangers (but not always). It is the marriages that I think women feel like they have no choice but to stay.

This is a confusing and head spinning topic and debate, because I could argue reasons for why I would leave, and why I would stay.
What would you do?

Blog 9

This week’s topics are ones that we all can relate to at least some point in our life, it not right now.

I think that women today are struggling with all of the stereotypes, prejudice, judgements, and negativity that is going on. Women are constantly being looked at negatively when they are prostitutes and when they perform pornography. Many young teenagers and young adult women dream of having thier time of fame. BUT…. what I think that people fail to see is the fact that SOME of these women who have to “sell” their bodies to be able to support themselves or their family. Some women simply do not have a choice, and I know that sounds hard to believe, because everyone has a choice. What I am saying is that it is not easy to find a job, and it IS easy to get paid to have others enjoy your body through picture, video, or sexual pleasure….

One example that I have is a young mom I know who has young children, and she just recently resorted to stripping for money and her son is olde enough to ask, “is mommy taking her clothes off tonight?” when she leaves him… It is a horrible situation, but there is a song that I heard when I was in elementary school. I bought the cd, and the song is touching I think becasue it reveals a lot of truth….

Here is the link!: http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/City+High/What+Would+You+Do%3F–2154740

Blog 8

I have mentioned before about some work related issues that I have had with one of the managers because I am a girl….

This week, I am going to tell you about a new situation with the same job, but a different manager. I have noticed that I have “had it easy” so-to-speak when this manager (a man) is the one working during the shift. He refers to me as “his little trooper,” and I just noticed that it is getting to the point where he will not even call me by his name.

He favors me (because I am a young woman, as opposed to everyone else who works my shift who are men and much older women).  He lets me choose what I want to do, what I wish not to do. He allows me to get away with certain things that other people get in trouble for. It is a HUGE double standard, but it is different than all of the double standards that I am used to.

Usually, men treat women in a negative way in a factory ( I work in a warehouse and do a lot of “factory” work). Therefore, I thought that all of the managers would make me do more work to try to pull my own weight. I am not complaining that I am being treated great by my manager, but I feel horrible that I am getting away with things that other people would get away with.

Has anyone else ever heard of a woman ACTUALLY being treated better and being praised more for her work than a man in a factory? Let me know what you think about it, and why you think he would treat me differently…. Thank you .

Blog 7

This week, I was the most touched by the PBS video about trafficking….

The fact that so many girls and women are being forced to grow up and live a life that they would never ask for is such a tragedy. Girls are supposed to be girls. They are not supposed to live a life full or murder, rape, pain, torture and abuse….

These poor girls are being starved and neglected, only being used for sex and abuse. They are experiments of drugs and addiction and have no control over the fact that they have to be sold into slavery and prostitution for no reason, other than the fact that those men are cruel.

I can not imagine having to live a life that is nothing but misery and questions. You know these young girls are going to have a million questions as to why this happened to happen to them. They do no understand why they were drugged and forced to live a life like that.

When I read that so many women disappear every year due to trafficking, and are never returned to their families, it made me realize how lucky so many of us are, but never take the time to appreciate it. So many of us take so much for granted, and we think we have it bad, when really we do not know ANYTHING the way these young victims know it. They have truly lived  and are living lives that none of us ever want….

I never knew they human trafficking existed until I was about 15 years old, when I watched a movie that I never should have seen…. I wish I never would have watched it because it hurts to know that so many innocent girls are going through that right now, in this moment.

Blog 6

The weeks are still flying by, and I can not believe that we already in week six…. Since we are talking about pregancy a lot in this section, I would like to write a little about pregnancy and birth control.

When I was in high school ( just three years ago) birth control was a greatly discussed topic amongst the high school couples. The girls especially talked about it quite a bit amongst their female friends, about whether or not they should take it or not, and what kind is the most effective, and questions like that.

I never talked about it because I was the type of high school girl that thought that if I spoke about birth control too much or to the wrong people, that it was going to give me a bad reputation that I was “sleeping around.” Granted, I did have a high-school sweetheart, and we dated from when I was 14 until I was 18.

My mom decided that when I was a freshman in high school, she wanted to put me on birth control just in case. I was only 15! I was scared, embarassed, and I remember crying because I thought that my mom didn’t trust me not to have sex in high school. In the end though, I was 15 years old and I started taking birth control, and I am still on them. So, for the past 6 years, I have been taking birth control, and I always felt like I was too young when I started taking them.

To me, I felt like my body was still growing and had a lot of maturing still left to do, and yet, I was forced to take birth control that was making my body make changes before it ever had the chance to make its own natural changes….

I guess the point that I am trying to get to is knowing when the right age for girls to start taking birth control is. How young is “too” young to start taking birth control: when should young girls start taking the medication? Also, d0 you think that it is normal for young girls to talk about birth control like it is part of the normal lifestyle? I sort of think that high school girls are too young to really understand the significance of getting pregnant at a young age, so taking birth control is wise, but I also feel like birth control is asking a lot of a young highschool girl, on top of adjusting to the high school atmosphere. What do you think?

Blog 5

Wow… It is hard to believe we are already on summaries for chapter 5. Since this section is about body image, I want to talk about MEN and their body image….

Normally, men have been known to want to have “perfect” muscles, “bulging” abdomens, and “huge” arms. Have you ever noticed or even known a man to not want these things, but to want the exact opposite?… One thing I have come to realize is that when you hear about eating disorders, people tend to think of women. Bullemia? Women. Anorexia Nervosa? Women…. But did you know that “1 in 10 cases of these disorders involve males,” according to The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (http://www.anad.org/get-information/males-eating-disorders/)

1 out of every 10 men! 10% is a really big number when you realize how may men there are and how LITTLE you hear about men not liking their body….

I am not talking about obesity or being overweight, but the men who think that they are too “fat” and do not eat at all… With numbers as high as 10%, that could mean that any given male in your family could suffer from an eating disorder of some sort, but it might be hard to notice, until you are aware of the major signs or symptoms.

I am really curious if any of you know any men personally or have witnessed men around you suffer from eating disorders… If so, how is it different than when women suffer from them?

Also, do you think that too much exercising to make oneself appear “too” large is considered an eating disorder? Men tend to overexercise because they want to gain muscle, but do you think most men are exercising because they are afraid to have weight be fat?