Event Number 2!

Last night, December 3, 2012 I attended a conference on appropriate terminology for individuals that are different and seen as something other than what they were born as such as transgenders, lesbians, bisexuals, gays etc. This conference was in my hometown at my high school (Douglas High School) and was put on by one of the students that I graduated high school with in the year 2008. She is a lesbian herself and comes from a family who has lesbian relationships in them. She started doing these conferences because of the fact that she was getting sick of people who are not educated on the appropriate terms, using the wrong ones. I haven't seen her since graduation but was super excited when I found out that she was having this conference. She has grown to be such an educated and inspirational young woman with a lot to educated others on. This conference was much like the discussion that we had in class about the appropriate terms as well as some that are not necessarily appropriate for some situations. I learned a lot of information from this conference, but more than just the appropriate terminology. I learned that it is great to advocate for something that you believe in as well as showing that it is okay to be different from the norm and that others will still accept you for who you are because of those differences.

Talking Point #12

I find that it is important to first off be aware that any individual can be what they want to be no matter what.  Stereotypes of what individuals should be do not make them individuals.  It is accepted to be something that others might not view you as being.

Both of the readings talk a great deal about privilege.  This reminded me of the reading that we had done previous by Johnson.  In the Blanchard article, privilege is mentioned, but it gets more in depth throughout the Ayvazian article.  The reasoning behind this is because in the Ayvazian article, it is stated that people who have privilege tend to have more power throughout the economy and more dominance.  Johnson states "privilege, power, and difference".  Many connections throughout these three articles.

The Blanchard article really touched me because it made me think about bullies or others who find it appealing to make fun of or to pick on others.  I found that the studies that were done in this article were very interesting and makes me think a lot about what some of the students are thinking about in this generation.  It also shows me that my thoughts are a lot different than the students in this generation.  Scary sometimes how fast things change.  I find that it is powerful for students to do little acts of kindness to make others realize that individuals can be accepting as well as kind to one another.

Media and Ideology

One quote in the reading that really stuck out to me read as follows: "Ideology, then, is not just about politics; it has a broader and more fundamental connotation." This quote made me realize that just because in the previous sentence in the reading, it was stated that ideology is a worldview, belief system, and values; those do not always include politics because I don't particularly enjoy politics.

It is read in the reading that when problems happen throughout the United States, there are a majority of times when the media is to blame for those actions.  Some examples that the article talks about includes the shooting at Colorado's Columbine High School in the year 1999. The majority of the blame for these shootings seemed to be steered towards the violent video games that the high school students seemed to be playing at the time. Another example includes President Clinton's Impeachment in the year 1998.  A majority of people seem to think that the media was blowing the scandal out of proportion which caused the impeachment of President Clinton.

When it comes to the media, there are many times in which individuals feel that the impact is very strong.  Some of the examples of impact from the media that comes up in my life a lot due to the fact that I am a health major is the amount of young girls that end up with eating disorders because they see beautiful, skinny, attractive women on the television, in magazines or in music groups and they feel they have to look like them to be attractive.  So other than the media having an effect of our society, it can also cause health problems throughout our society.

OBAMA vs. ROMNEY

YAY OBAMA is the first statement that I wanted to make.....

I went home the night before the election to make sure that I got my vote in first thing in the morning!  As much as I am embarrassed to say, this is the first election that I have voted in.  Yes, I'm 22 years old, but I was never registered to vote before this past year.  Because of this class, I have been a lot more educated and interested in this election versus any previous election.

I had a soccer game at 8:00 last night which was when all of the votes were starting to be tallied.  My soccer game got over at 9:15 and my team and I walked up to the bar after our game and started watching the votes getting tallied.  When we got up to the bar, the television was on and the first thing that I saw was that Mitt Romney was way ahead of Obama.... :(  As the night went one, and the pitchers emptied, the race got closer and closer... My friend Dan explained to me that due to the fact that the time change from the East Coast to the West Coast is a 3 hour difference, California, Washington, and Oregon were the three states that are typically Democratic States have yet to be tallied and that when they do, Obama would have a significant lead and he was right!!!!!!!! Those three West Coast states were practically the states that won it for Obama!!!

I also wanted to state that many of the people who did vote in this election were not very educated on the difference backgrounds of each candidate....this is a funny SNL video that makes fun of the Americans that are undecided voters, and some of the statements might be a little exaggerated, BUT I thought it was accurate for this years election...and its funny !!!!


I couldn't have been happier with the results of the election from 2012 and I'm sure that the majority of the other students in the class are as well :D

This skit is from SNL (WHO DOESNT LOVE SNL...) about the debate and I thought that it was just a little funny skit that would give some laughs...

8 Ways To Be Positive You're Sex Positive-quotes

There were many good points that I as a health education and community health major see the most confusion about.  There are some statements in this article that I thought were true until I took the sexual education class and other personal health classes that are required for my major.

1. "Sex positivity has long been about "owning our desires" but it should also be about owning our lack of desire, which is totally OK."  I find that as a health educator (almost) some students that I have student taught are very undereducated in the topic of protective sex and the safe ways to take care of yourself.  I have found that this article showed that it is acceptable to not want sex.  I find that either refusing sex or even just not wanting it has made woman seem so much more independent.

2. "Talking about your sex life as if it's better than someone else's is glamorizing sex, and that does not move the dialogue forward."  This quote I can relate to a lot through my work.  There are so many younger girls that work with me do not seem to be very experience on the safe ways to have sex and the effective ways to say no.  Some of the stories that I hear scare me because they are so young and so undereducated on the important facts of their sexual health.

3. "Just because you like something sexually doesn't mean its good for you."  This is also very true...also coming from the health education background, I have heard some people say that they have had sex without a condom and they think just because they are on birth control, they will not get pregnant so they don't need to use the condom.  It might feel better, but that doesn't mean its safe.

I really enjoyed reading this article mostly because of my interest in health and the fact that it is what I am going to major in.  Very interesting to read.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter...

This was a very interesting article to read, mainly because I am a female and can relate to this a lot.  I found it interesting when Peggy Orenstein stated that parents were having trouble with their children and raising girls with the view of disney movies surrounding them.  The main reason that I found this interesting is because I was not one of those girls when I was growing up.  I never liked girly things, I would have rather played in the mud with the boys around the neighborhood than play dress up with the girls.  The reason I can somewhat understand and see what Orenstein is saying about these females is due to the fact that my sister is 20 months older than me and she is the complete opposite of me.  Growing up, she always had to wear the shoes that made noise...she would always want to get ready with my mom when she was styling her hair or applying her make up...I was never like that.

I do find that these disney movies portray a very inaccurate upbringing for females.  They all show that you will grow up getting the majority of what you wanted and asking "Daddy" to get the things for you that are missing.  Also, these movies show that the princesses have a prince charming in their future....(I'm still waiting for mine to come around)

This video is from the disney princesses and mean girls, it is showing that they are relatable...

What Little Boys Are Made Of--Quotes

There are some quotes throughout this article that bring up some valid points about the meaning of "feminism" and how all of the main focus has seemed to veered towards women and that men and boys have been forgotten.

The first quote that I found was "Because of feminism, they say, America has been so focused on girls that we've forgotten about the boys.  Other writers blame patters of male development, while still others find in feminism not the problem but its solution."  I find that Kimmel states a very confusing point in this quote.  Not only because he is a male himself, but because he might not be a feminist it makes me think that he does not agree with all of the aspects that a feminist inquires.

The second quote that I found that struck me was "Virtually all the books cite the same statistics: boys are four to five times more likely to kill themselves than girls, four or five times more likely to be diagnosed as emotionally disturbed , three times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and 15 times more likely to be victims of violent crime."  This is a very true statement and I see that boys or men have a much higher chance of these things happening to them or being diagnosed with these issues.

Another point that Kimmel makes is that not all of the issues that arise between boys and girls solely happen due to gender, they also happen due to privilege.  The following quote explains a good thought from Kimmel.  "The cause of all this posturing and posing is not testosterone, but privilege."  Kimmel also states that "The books that are written with an understanding of male privilege--and the need to challenge it--are the ones that offer the most useful tools to improve boys' lives."


I wasn't sure who Kimmel was so I GOOGLED him and found out a little more about him...