Funny Freddie

Hey guys! So Kristen and I were hanging out and turned on the TV, and coincidentally turned on a parody of Frederick Douglas - Funny or Die. Thought you guys might want to check it out at this http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d47e6a33a5/drunk-history-vol-5-w-will-ferrell-don-cheadle-zooey-deschanel

Though it may be seen as disrespectful, it is honestly rather humorous, and Kristen and I found it both very entertaining and it referenced the history we learned in class! (p.s. definitely LOL worthy)

Sexism is Alive

Many Americans see sexism as a thing of the past. However, it is very much alive today. Though many may claim that they do not a sexual predjudice, I believe that subconsciously many males have a superiority complex, and find themselves better/more important than women. This can be seen by the example below. Punctuation is powerful and the vast difference between the statements made by the two sexes is alarming.

Both sexes seem to make their gender seem more important than the other. It could be argued that many women harbor deep-setted resentment towards men. Women and men are both usual culprits of being sexist today. On the Sexism Watch: The 2010 Black List it becomes clear that women's independence and skill are not appreciated by Hollywood. The majority of the top movies of 2010 were produced by men and films starring a female role had the female starr "in service of men." One of the Top Movies of 2010 includes Twilight: Eclipse, in which a young girl is dependent to the point of suicide on a male (vampire). The media, as has been noted before, has a large impact on our world. It is hard to believe that the media still contains subtle promotions of sexism.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I hope everyone is having a day full of family, laughter and warmth. Christmas is a religious holiday that has been turned into a capitalist sensation. While opening gifts today also think of how lucky you are to have  such gifts, that you can afford a Christmas tree and that you have a family that loves you. Even though Christmas as turned into a way to help the economy and promote Santa, I ho-ho-hope everyone can truly get in the holiday spirit and appreciate this holy day.
(Also, while listening to 93.9 FM for holiday jams, I realized every single one for the hour I listened involved Santa. Sure, he's an awesomely generous and magical old man, however why does he symbolize the material things of Christmas. Gifts. Money. etc...)

Nobody can do everything but everyone can do something...

"I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives. " ~Tracy Chapman

 In this holiday season, you can be an angel, you can make a difference.

Unbelievable Apparel

Following the body-image theme from Thursday I would like to call attention to a shirt that my favorite store, Urban Outfitters, once had available for sale. The shirt has a rather frighteningly direct message (see image below):

Many woman of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds have seen this shirt in stores and on-line. It is fittingly worn by a stick-skinny model and most certainly tells customers that they should "Eat Less" to achieve model-worthy beauty. This is disgusting. Many media sources subliminally tell girls to watch their waistlines, however something so direct and offensive scares me. Urban Outfitters has always been my favorite store, but there is no way that I would ever support the "fashion" statement this shirt is sending. Actress Sophia Bush was also appalled at Urban Outfitters for producing this shirt. She wrote a letter of complaint as follows:

UO,

 I have been a supporter of your store for many years, but now I’m through. I am fortunate enough to star on a wonderful TV show called One Tree Hill. I play a fashion designer named Brooke Davis, who started a campaign on the show called “Zero Is Not A Size” and the outpouring of love and gratitude that came my way from girls and women ALL OVER THE WORLD who have body image issues brought me to tears.

 To promote starvation? To promote anorexia, which leads to heart disease, bone density loss, and a slew of other health problems, not least of all psychological issues that NEVER go away? Shame on you. I will no longer be shopping at your stores. And I will encourage the tens of thousands of female supporters I have to do the same. I have fought to boycott BP. I never imagined I would also be boycotting affordable fashion.

You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message. It’s like handing a suicidal person a loaded gun. You should know better.

I sincerely hope that next time you decide that making fun of serious issues is comedic, or ‘snarky in a cool way,’ that you rethink your decision.

With Sincerity but NO respect,

Sophia Bush

Bush eloquently was able to write her and my anger in writing. The shirt is not funny. It's dangerous, and if UO needs to make a shirt commenting on weight, it could sell millions of shirts with the message below:

If anything, I would buy a shirt with this message. Society continues to shock me.

"Celebrate the things you don't like about yourself- love yourself." ~ Lady Gaga

Everyone deserves their own love. I can only hope that our culture of body hatred can mature.

Barbie Inc. stopped The Body Shop from printing this add. I have never seen an ad that compels me to buy something more. The ironic thing is that real Barbies, loved by millions of little girls, are promoting the message that an ideal and beautiful body is one that is about 7 feet and 2 inches tall and about 101 pounds. If this "ideal" Barbie was alive, her vital organs would not even fit in her body and she would be dyeing of malnutrition. What message are we sending to our youth?

I hope to send the message that: Everyone is beautiful in their own way. Society is the one that's disgusting.

With My Bare Hands

Today I went on an excursion with my advisery to the North Shore Dojo in Glenview to learn basic self defense techniques. And wow, it was most definitely not what I expected. Sensei Jeff taught us to not only avoid dangerous situations but how we can maneuver our way out of dangerous spots, even when facing a 200 lb. male. He did not mince words. Within the first couple minutes of entering the dojo we were told that "can't" and "sorry" were not allowed to be in our vocabulary and that there was no f***ing around. He had no filters for profanities and sexual references. He tried to scare us, anger us, and empower us.
Within a half hour of his incessant drilling and ferocity to the slightest giggle, I realized that learning to defend myself was not just to protect my  physical and mental health, but also to protect my civil liberties.
It's not fair that rape and assault is so common on college campuses around the world. It's not right that a woman is raped every 6 minutes...day and night. When one is sexually assaulted their freedoms of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, speech etc. are put on hold. The individuals life is unwillingly held in the hands of another.
Now that I know basic wrist, nose, ear and head jabs, I feel somewhat more liberated and able to exercise my rights.

At the end of our two hour training session we each were called upon to break a relatively thick wooden board with our bare hand (as if it were an attackers face). After i slapped it and failed several times, only succeeding in a very bruised and red hand, I got angry. The anger I experienced was the exact emotion Sensei Jeff had been trying to instill within each of us the entire time. It is not okay to allow your civil liberties to be taken away (by assault or any other way) and you have to learn to protect yourself and mean it.
The empowerment I felt when I slammed the board and cracked it in half was unreal. The experience added to my confidence in my abilities to defend myself and my rights. Everyone deserves to have the same confidence.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Now that it's December, the holiday consumer madness has begun. On every street corner holiday wreaths and lights hang. The odd thing about this though, is that all of the advertisements seem to be directed towards Christmas shoppers. Check-out clerks make it a point every year to say "Happy Holidays," versus the singular and discriminatory, "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hannukah," or "Happy Kwanza." At the same time in our towns the street lights have a christmas wreath tied with a red ribbon. A wreath doesn't say "Merry Chrannukwanza" but solely "Merry Christmas." Why is this okay?
If there has been controversy in stores over the superiority of the phrase, "Happy Holidays," why is it that the JCPenny ad (and their entire website) is written in entirely in green and red writing?
I understand that a larger percentage of Americans celebrate Christmas, but why begin to try to send a univeral seasons greeting that is directly pointing to one religious sect and holiday?

When I typed in "Happy Holidays" into Google images the first image that popped up is above. Does it seem to be favoring a certain holiday to anyone?