Beatriz

Males have an Impact on Sexualized Culture

 Posted by on Fri, 10/7 at 11:56pm  ideas  No Responses »
Oct 072016
 

Donald Trump is known for his crazy and over the top comments and personality. He is also known for his poor attitude towards women. A week ago, Trump was on the spotlight for body shaming Alicia Machado, a 1996 Miss Universe contestant. He said she was a pig and had gained weight during her reign. He went on to say that she was the worst contestant he has ever had. He focuses on women’s body and sex appeal. A tape of Donald Trump just surfaced headlines and news stations today as they showed Donald Trump saying crude comments about women. The tape is from 10 years ago. At the time of the tape, he was recruiting people for his show The Apprentince and also beauty pageant Miss Universe. He was also well known for his buildings, Trump Towers. Just a background story on Trump at this time: he was married for 4 months. In the tape; however, he is talking about hitting on a woman and saying she is so pretty and he has to have her. He also says he was hitting on her and trying to have sex with her, but the woman was not giving in. He tells his friend that eventually all women give in to him. This is where the crude comment comes in: “all you have to do is grab them by their p****”. That is hugely offensive and overly grotesque. It degrades women and even their private part. He assumes that because of his position he can get what he wants. He objectifies women and only cares about looks and sexual acts. He is aggressive and rude towards women and finds that intimidating them will make him appear stronger and that people will take him more seriously. Trump is not a Presidential candidate I take seriously. Any person, especially, a man,  to shame girls and objectify them is not someone I trust. There are so many more important issues to talk about and put focus on than beauty and  sexualizing girls.

As Trump is running for President, this is a man with no judgment, no character, no common decency towards others and no sense of compassion towards others, especially women.  It’s  men like Trump that hold this mentality of girls that promotes and increases assault, sex violence and rape in our culture. It normalizes these issues and diminshes  concern because “it’s biological to find a mate”, “boys will be boys”.. For these men it’s a laughig matter, but do not know how much their words and  behavior impact/influence  others in society. They do not hold the guys accountable for their actions towards girls, instead they blame the girls. For example, there are many guys out there that say “she was wearing a dress or skirt, so she was asking for it”. Umm..really? What a freakin lame cop out.  No, you’re just a coward and a horrible person to begin with. You’re the one who was responsible, not the victim. Stop blaming the victim. Stop shaming girls. Clothes are not a risk factor. The only risk factor is the presence of a rapist. Even if a girl was wearing jeands, they’d still find a way. No one deserves to be raped or wishes rape upon themselves. Even if someone is dressing sexy because they want to have sex, they still get the choice of who and when. No one dresses sexy because they want to be raped. Attention, maybe, rape, absolutely not.

There are even cases that we see him objectifying his own daughter, Ivanka:

“I don’t think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her”. 

“Yeah, Ivanka’s really something, and what a beauty, that one. If I weren’t happily married and, ya know, her father…”

This comment about his daughter, Tiffany:

“She’s a very beautiful baby,” Trump replied. “She’s got Marla’s legs. We don’t know whether or not”—he put his hands to his chest to indicate breasts—”she’s got this part yet, but time will tell.”

These are disturbing comments! So creepy! Who says these things about their daughters? These comments create blurred lines between protective, loving father to  creepy, old sex-driven man. These comments can cause dis-trust towards him and also diminishes their innocence. The relationship of daughter-father drastically changes. He is a predator and goes after any woman he deems beautiful, including his own daughters! Gross! He has an overly twisted, sick mind. He judges women. He treats women as though they are disposable, for entertainment. He does not value other qualities, such as, personality, character, work ethic in women. He creates this criteria,idealism and competitiveness for beauty and girls attacking eachother on their looks. Instead of girls empowering each other, inspiring each other and celebrating one another’s achievements; there is only hate and creates a divide.

http://www.dailydot.com/via/donald-trump-ivanka-sexist-comments-daughter/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/donald-trump-files-tiffany-trump-breasts

No more cover up

 Posted by on Fri, 10/7 at 8:10pm  reading  No Responses »
Oct 072016
 

We all know little girls love to play with their mom’s lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara, etc… It’s just innocent fun, right? Well, that behavior and habit actually promotes sexualization at a young age. Applying makeup has shifted from a teenage rite of passage to something little ladies now go gaga over in a selfie-obsessed culture. Kids are being pushed into dressing and acting beyond their years by their parents. We can all see this in the show, Toddlers and Tiaras. In the show, 2-5 year olds run in a beauty pageant. The little girls look like tweens. The mom cakes on the makeup, curls and hairspray, flippers(dentures for kids), whoreish costumes you only see in halloween. You just see the moms in the stands cheering on the daughter and getting way into it. It is the parent that shoves and pushes the child to do the pageant. The moms get extremely upset when their daughters don’t get 1st place and the little girls are just happy making new friends and eating candy. It is scary to see these moms and what they are doing to these girls and it develops issues in child development. These little girls don’t have a chance at being kids. At younger ages, girls are introduced to adult sexuality and objectifying. We see some celebrity kids experimenting with makeup as little as 3 years old. We see this with Tori Speling’s daughter, Stella who wore red lipstick, Suri Cruise who wore little heels and red lipstick at age 3 years old. Especially, Farrah Abrams on Teen Mom, lets her daughter, Sophia, 6 years old wear makeup. On air, we see Sophia with blue eyeshadow and red lipstick on. It even looks at times that she is wearing mascara. Parents need to use common sense when supervising or teaching their little girls about makeup. Something shimmery or light pink is okay, but something darker is sultry and does not suit well on a young girl.

Take a look at this photo below:

This is the same person. In the Before picture, we see that the girl’s face is more circle, nose is wider, high forehead, and no cheek structure. In the After picture, we see that with makeup she has defined her cheeks and nose more, her jawline is more defined and with her hair-do her forehead is smaller. It comes to show that with makeup, you can alter your face/look. You can appear more attractive to appeal the opposite sex or feel more confident about yourself. The problem is that if you wear too much makeup that you look like 2 completely different people, it is likely that you are hiding something. You  look fake and deceite other people. Makeup is the most common mask we wear. We use makeup to cover up blemishes, dark circles, which is okay, but it is not the true reflection of yourself. You are covering up what you really look like. It seems that girls wear makeup because they are ashamed of what they look like when really makeup enhances the way you look. It does not define you.

Alicia Keys has started no makeup movement in light of these issues. She vowed that she did not want to be under pressure in wearing makeup. She will wear it if/when she wants. Alicia Keys went to MTV VMA Awards without makeup. She says, “I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing”. It is very insirational for girls to appreciate their natural look and love themselves. No more hiding. I also do not wear makeup on daily basis. I prefer my natural glowy skin then feeling all melty and cakey. My daily regimen is washing my face, moisturizer, eye cream. I feel that with a natural look I look younger. Also makeup sits into your pores and under eye which causes more wrinkles.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/6925-is-it-unfair-to-men-when-women-wear-a-lot-of-makeup 

http://www.eonline.com/news/790899/alicia-keys-stopped-wearing-makeup-and-the-world-is-still-having-a-hard-time-adjusting

Makeup and The Sexualization of Young Girls

Not so Innocent

 Posted by on Sun, 9/25 at 11:45pm  ideas  No Responses »
Sep 252016
 

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I went to Disney this weekend and had a thought after seeing the parade. Little girls look up to these princesses from Disney movies, but have no idea that they have an impact on their hypersexualization starting at a young age. For example, when watching or really looking into some Disney movies, it’s quite fascinating that such innocent movies really do have an effect on how girls are living/acting in this generation. For example, when we look at Snow White she is a princess who is the prettiest in the whole land. That is what she is valued for and what saves her in the end by the prince. Looks are everything. Girls learn that guys like pretty girls, not nobodys. When we look at Cinderella, that same can be applied. Cinderella goes to the ball and dances with the prince. Not one word is uttered, they just dance. Looks are everything. He searches the whole land when she loses her glass slipper on the stairs. He is searching for the pretty girl at the ball. It also suggests that the prince likes blondes and not brunettes.  The Disney princess, Ariel wants to win the love of Prince Eric, but she is mermaid. The witch, Ursula casts a spell on her and grants her to be human for 3 days. Ariel loses her voice. When she asks, how she will communicate with the Prince, Ursula says, “You’ll have your looks, your pretty face”. She says for Ariel to understand the importance of body language. This is interesting because everyone knows that this is another way to say flirt with him. By flirting you are touching his arm or leg, leaning towards a guy, smiling, laughing at jokes(even if they are lame), etc…This is teaching little girls how to get a guy. It’s a bit early to teach young girls how to snag a guy and it is a bit misleading that these movies are teaching girls to just rely on their looks. Personality obviously doesn’t matter, ha. It is very superficial and promotes sexualization of girls to believe that the only way they can achieve pretty is by makeup. Jasmin is one of the most sexualized princesses. Her eyes are larger than proportionally accurate, her lips are big and her nose is tiny. Her top falls down her shoulders and her stomach is exposed. In the movie, Aladdin, we see Jafar trying to snag princess Jasmin. He is after her looks and has a very aggressive behavior in trying to get her. She plays with Jafar’s head when she sees Aladdin hiding behind a chair in the room. He is there to save her. She talks in a low, seductive voice to Jafar to distract him and says, “Jafar, I never really noticed how handsome you really are” and kisses him. This scene is a bit sleazy. Jasmine uses her body and sexuality, to seduce Jafar. This too is a dangerous message to send to young girls because it tells them that they can use their bodies to get what they want. It is showing girls it’s okay to manipulate.

Disney movies are not as innocent as you think they are. Look a little closer and you will see the impact these Disney movies have on little kids.

Snapping for “beautiful”

 Posted by on Sun, 9/25 at 10:59pm  reading  No Responses »
Sep 252016
 

 

 

 

 

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Social media has helped us connect with friends and family. It also encourages us to share with others what is going on in our life. We share photos and videos of our children, dogs, cats, our trips, achievements, etc…Lately, I see a lot of people abusing social media,especially the women. They take way too many selfies. One reason for this may be snapchat. Snapchat offers their users a variety of filters to make their photos more fun, cute,pretty and exciting to share with others. Users can play with backgrounds and effects on their photos. These different filters, however, can also alter someone’s appearance. Snapchat has photoshop like features. For example, on snapchat there is a “pretty” filter or also called flower crown filter. This filter can alter skin, hair, nose, and eyes. In this image, you can see that the nose is skinnier. The photos are all lightened to produce a much paler result. Skin becomes a lot smoother, the face more flushed with a rosy tint, and the jaw is visibly thinner. The hair becomes shiny and lips become rosy. This filter covers blemishes, birthmarks,freckles. Also in this photo, you can see that the zipper on the after section is a little bit lower than previously. It is a very subtle discovery, but it is a significant find; showing a little more skin is part of sexualization culture. This speaks volume. Why do we have to show more skin than what we are comfortable with to appeal to men? The fact that this form of faux beautification is being considered the definition of “pretty” is problematic in itself, because nobody should have to look any particular way to feel pretty. It’s painting a picture of a very singular view of beauty to an immense platform of people, which can in turn result in a variety of self-esteem issues. The girls that use this filter stem from insecurity and feel that this filter makes them look prettier. These sort of filters encourage others to show what we think they want to see instead of who we truly are. The filter shows us, “this is what you should look like” and “you would look better if you looked like this”. Using these filters keeps telling girls that this is what is sexy and attractive; this is what guys like and what societal expectations of beauty are. I also noticed that using the flower crown filter on snapchat covers your part of your forehead. For example, if you have a big forehead or receding hairline they will cover it with a flower crown. This filter encourages girls to believe that their beauty is not good enough. By encouraging girls to use this filter, they are also letting girls lie about their appearances in fear that others will not accept the way they look like. It is a very superficial app. The point of being connected through social media is not to compete looks with other girls, but to have genuine connections with others. It is also not about accepting a cookie cutter image. Don’t hide your imperfections. That is what makes you real and truly sexy.

 

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/stop-sexualization-snapchat-filters  

http://verilymag.com/2016/06/snapchat-lenses-social-media-beauty-photoshop

Sex Sells

 Posted by on Thu, 9/22 at 11:33pm  mini analysis  No Responses »
Sep 222016
 

I chose Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” music video to demonstrate how sexualization of young girls is so prominent in our culture. The song is about how when you are with someone you feel so in tune with, they make you feel comfortable and make you do things you normally wouldn’t do. You feel free to take risks, try something new…in bed. In this video, we see Ariana Grande in black lingerie and on top of the bed. Black underwear, bra, lingerie  means sexy. It is welcoming the unknown, mostly pleasures and passions. that it’s going down tonight. She is lying on the bed and shows off her legs and butt. The camera tends to zoom in on her face, specifically her lips and eyes. They focus a lot on her sultry eyes, innocent face. Also on her mouth: her coy smile. We also see her touching her face, her neck and stomach. They focus a lot on her neck as well. Ariana Grande also tends to put her finger on her lips and bite her finger. This suggests something that is arousing her and inviting someone to initiate sex. She is playing a tease. This is showing that she is inviting  a guy’s interaction, guy’s touch. The video focuses on her long hair; something guys love, especially during hot and heavy hook up sessions. There are several scenes in the video that Ariana Grande is on the bed and has her head tilted back, arching her back which can imply moment of orgasm. We also see several close ups of her boobs. There are also scenes of her holding a pillow, tightening her grip on it. This can suggest hidden desires that she doesn’t reveal, or sensing an orgasm. Another aspect which is interesting is the lighting. At times, the light is dark and blue which suggests something mysterious, intriguing, dark fantasies. At other times it is light and pink which suggests fun, warmth. These are two sides to sex.

This video is obviously targeted to the male audience. The video is all about hooking up and sex. This intrigues the male audience because they are depicting everything guys love about girls: big lips, ass, sultry eyes, big boobs. They over emphasize on showing her body because that’s what a men finds attractive(slim) and it cultivates this idea that this is what girls should look like when hooking up with a guy and look like to attract guys. Or vice versa this is what guys should look for in a girl and expect when hooking up. I’m sorry but this is false expectations.

Ariana Grande is trying way too hard to get a guy’s attention. Confidence is sexy, being yourself is attractive. A smile is personality. Ariana Grande looks rehearsed/stiff. It looks like she is searching for a guy’s validation that she is sexy by doing all these poses and positions in the video. Look at a close up of my lips, aren’t they sexy? Look at my ass, is it too big? If you think you are beautiful. Believe it. You don’t need to change anything or look for validation from guys or the media. Do not be influenced by what is all around you. You don’t have to wear short skirts to prove you’re sexy. Sometimes that can bring about the wrong impression of you. Be yourself and be true to yourself.

Girls in Society

 Posted by on Sun, 9/11 at 11:45pm  Uncategorized  No Responses »
Sep 112016
 

My topic is about sexualization of women in society. The problem is that the media(magazines, TV, advertisements), men, and society have ideals of what women should look like(body), act, dress in public. Women face this issue everyday. Women have faced this issue since they were 6-12 years old. When girls are growing up they play with Barbies, not realizing that these dolls hold a superficial and un-realistic image of women’s bodies. The Barbies have tiny waists and big boobs. Nowadays, girls grow up with Bratz dolls who are way sexualized for girls who are 6. These dolls have full makeup on, their lips are usually large, and have short skirts. It does not portray a positive image for young girls. Sometimes it’s not the girls’ fault when it comes to succumbing to sexualization of girl’s bodies at a young age sometimes it’s the parent’s doing. We see this in shows, such as, Toddlers and Tiaras. In the show, 2-5 year olds run in a beauty pageant. The little girls look like 12. The mom cakes on the makeup, curls and hairspray, flippers(dentures for kids), whoreish costumes you only see in halloween. You just see the moms in the stands cheering on the daughter and getting way into it. It is the parent that shoves and pushes the child to do the pageant. The moms get extremly upset when their daughters don’t get 1st and the little girls are just happy making new friends and eating candy. It is scary to see these moms and what they are doing to these girls and it develops issues in child development. These little girls don’t have a chance at being kids. At younger ages, girls are introduced to adult sexuality and objectifying. When girls reach puberty they want to explore with makeup, short skirts, shaving their legs, new hair, heels, etc.. not knowing that this is a product/result of society expectations of them(mostly men). They are a product of society. Girls get ideas of how to dress by looking at magazines and advertisements and TV shows. They compare their bodies with these models who are 5’9+ and skinny. The girls then develop self-esteem issues, eating disorders and even depression. Statistics show that Ninety-five percent of those with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.
Statistics also show that women are much more likely than men to develop an eating disorder. They yearn to change their bodies to be like these women and this behavior can lead to depression as well. TV shows such as “Keeping up with the Kardashians” do not help with girls’ self image because these girls are all plastic. The show shows the three daughters: Khloe, Kylie and Kim who have exaggerated on surgeries it seems like. Khloe has a huge butt and big lips, Kim has the big breasts and Kylie has also followed their sisters’ path and got a nose job and lip fillers(went horribly wrong). These girls prove that this is what women  should look like and what guys want. We also see Kourtney’s boyfriend (ex now), Scott over emphasize their sex life on the show. He keeps asking her to have sex and it makes viewers think that this is normal behavior and expected of men and  girls have to accept this to be in “happy and lasting relationships”. Especially when it’s a little girl’s role model and they look up to these girls then their whole up-bringing/behavior can change because they want to imitate someone of high status and trend. It’s not just in the media that we see this sexualization trends in girls. We also see more and more women on Facebook and Instagram posting their weight loss journey for everyone to see. While I think it’s great to celebrate losing 10 pounds or whatever it just makes it an uncomfortable post because these girls usually post their pictures in little booty shorts and a sports bra or worse, a  bikini. They are exposing/exploiting their bodies. This also can reflect that they have bad low self esteem and are seeking attention from others(strangers) to feel good. A study conducted in Brunel University in London stated that people who post about  accomplishments are more narcissistic. Narcissistic people broadcast the effort they put into their physical appearance for all to see and envy. With 50 likes on a picture it boosts confidence. The only problem is that men post on these kind of pictures and they are not celebrating women’s weight loss journey but rather their butt and legs. The girls who post their weight loss journey then get upset that men are leaving such crude comments. Umm.. what did you expect? You posted it to show off your new body so this is what you can expect from men. I don’t think women realize what audience they are attracting with these posts. The more that men objectify women as just sexual objects than this can effect the way men and women communicate. One study shows that when men are checking a girl out(focusing on body part), the girl picks up on that and it dehumanizes/degrades them. It creates distance between the man and woman. Men fail to interact and deal with emotions and only value their appearance and little else. It also is quite interesting that such honored professions such as nurse and teacher are being sexualized by men. As women increase power in society the possibilities of equality for women have been met with oppositional reactions intended to maintain men’s dominance. The widespread of media images of highly sexualized women is hypothesized to maintain men’s dominance by designating women’s bodies as property that can be evaluated, looked at, and touched at the impulse of men’s desire.

http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/12/opinion/henson-toddlers-tiaras/

https://storify.com/solelylo_/the-negative-side-of-bratz-dolls

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.fau.edu/science/article/pii/S1740144516301577 (Journal article,peer reviewed)

https://www.quora.com/What-exactly-is-wrong-with-men-objectifying-women

Barbie Lead Designer Blames Moms, Not Doll’s Crazy Proportions, for Girls’ Body Issues

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a55017/kim-kardashian-naked-selfie-empowerment/

http://womenandadvertising.weebly.com/women-as-sexual-objects.html

http://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/where-did-the-243308.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darryl-roberts/sexualized-culture-is-creating-mental-health-issues-in-our-youth_b_5994148.html

Shocker: Science Says People Who Post About Their Workout on Facebook Are Narcissists

The Importance of Writing

 Posted by on Fri, 9/9 at 1:16am  Uncategorized  No Responses »
Sep 092016
 

I fully enjoyed Ballenger’s article, “The Importance of getting Curious”. The article was about letting students pick their own topic to write about and let them have the freedom to explore and write what they are passionate about and have genuine interest in. This article is motivating for students who don’t think they are good writers or have never written a research paper/essay before. It gives the students confidence that they have interesting thoughts and they should share them with others. Ballinger encourages writers to explore and get in depth with what they are curious about. I love the fact that this article makes research writing fundamental and fun. It’s kindof like an investigation. The more clues you find the juicier the case, the more you see how it happened and why. Writing is like that. You have to have a purpose and questions to figure out what you are looking for and once you get answers the real fun begins. Research is never ending. There are million things that trigger a thought another angle you want to investigate. I like the tips Ballenger for writing exercises. It makes students really focus and look at topic more in depth. The exercise encourages students to write down a list of topics that they are interested in and then write questions that they are curious about that topic. It gives them a focus and makes their paper more organized and concise. I also  like the writing exercise that makes students look at objects because it makes them become critical thinkers and also it allows them to get creative with their questions. It develops new thinking and new ways to look at things that they didn’t notice before. I like the advice that Ballenger gives writers that they should always look at their topic with new eyes. This allows the purpose for your paper to get stronger. There is more meaning behind it. Your purpose will guide you to what you need to investigate/examine. I highly recommend teachers who are struggling to get their students to write or have students who don’t have interest in writing or think they don’t have any good ideas what to write about use this article as a resource. These are all methods and strategies I learned in school and grad school to write research papers and always had successful papers.

I like the idea of blogging and think they are great to motivate writers. They have free space to write about whatever they think are interesting and get to share their ideas/views with others on a forum. They get to exchange their thoughts and beliefs. I also think it’s great that they are exposed to publishing their work and get recognized by others. I think it’s all great, but the way the author bashed traditional writing/writing courses kind of turned me off. Where would students be without English classes or writing courses to even know how to write? Let alone write interesting blogs? They need the basic foundations to write. So really I think the author was hypocritical. The author states, “not even writing intensive courses…work towards expertise”. Yeah, if the teacher doesn’t have fun actives, strategies to make writing fun then yes writing will be dreadful. I think it’s important to note that the author also contradicts himself when he says that there is not end when you are an expert. Of course there is no end because you are learning something new and improving. So would you say someone can’t reach “expert” level when writing in English class/writing courses? The more they write it’s likely that they will perfect their technique, structure, style, etc… It’s only a matter of time. Everyone be an expert at something. I think the author’s comment is really careless and insulting. The author also says that “writing assignments are short-lived”. Oh, really? I’m in grad school and still writing papers. I have an essay due every week on Thursday for this semester and also am taking this course that requires me to write on wordpress every week. So that comment the author made is false. You will always have to write whether a letter, paper, etc… for school, job, whatever. Even for presentations there is writing required. I guess whether it’s short lived or not  depends how much time the teacher takes with students to let them write and make them realize the importance of writing.

When I was little I used to read a lot. I also loved to write, but then it kind of died down because of school, life, etc… I still from time to time pick up books to read on my leisure time but its getting harder to do that with all my course work. I have done a lot of writing (8years to be exact) mostly academic. I am used to analyze, support my claims with evidence, make inferences.. It is all I know. It has made me more of a critical thinker, careful reader and make me question the purpose, the author and even people around me. Which I mean it has made me more aware of the influence that I allow people to have over me. I don’t have to agree with everything someone says me and can call them out. I have also become more aware of how people speak to me if they are being too persuasive I know they’re up to no good and are not letting me think for myself. That’s the great thing about writing/reading stories. It can teach you a lot about yourself,  your experiences and how you evolve.

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