Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Feminism: What's not to Like?

Feminism is a difficult topic for me to write about. Not because I find it uncomfortable or disagree with it's ideals, but rather because I have so many thoughts on the subject that that they often get jumbled. I struggle to gather my thoughts and piece them together because I will say something and then find an argument against it that leads to another idea, and I lose track of what I am supposed to be writing about. For that reason I apologize if this ends up sounding more like one continuous thought.

The article "Bad Feminist" focuses primarily on the issue of defining feminism. Particularly how to be a feminist. The author brought up some good points, and gave valid opinions. Being a feminist is sometimes described as "angry men-hating women" when that is not always the case. Feminism has been stereotyped and looked down upon because it's meaning has been warped into something that it wasn't meant to be. The idea behind feminism is that it was supposed to be a fight for equality between genders. It just so happens that women are the primary victims of the inequality and so the name "feminism" was adopted. The problem is that some people have made feminism to be a strange culture that hats men and wants women to have more power than them. I will not deny that some feminists think this way (unfortunately probably more than just "some") instead of the way of equality.

The strangest thing about feminism is that people fight against it, mostly men, but women as well. I can understand people being against the all-the-power-to-the-women destroy-all-men way of thinking, but why would anyone fight for inequality? Are the women afraid of change? Do they not want to define themselves as feminists because of the meaning that title carries? Do men simply want women to stay on the bottom? Are they afraid that if there is equality, they will be treated the way they treat women?

One of my favorite parts of the article was when the author was talking about liking pink, and long dresses, and rap music, even if it sometimes dehumanizes women. Some feminists believe that liking "girly" things or liking things that don't seem to like women is wrong and going against feminism. If there are things that you like, then you are allowed to like them! It is never "bad feminism" to enjoy something that brings you happiness. Just because something is stereotypically "female" does not mean that you should hate it because of it's stereotype. Why is it seen as "bad feminism" or even weakness to like something THAT REPRESENTS FEMININITY? In my opinion there is only one way to be a "bad feminist" and that is to fight against equality.
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Sunday, October 18, 2015

You Can (Not) Be Imaginative

I'm not sure how to respond to that article. This is probably because I love Disney (even if its mostly just for the animation). When the author of the article spoke about Alice in Wonderland and how they believe that it discourages imagination, I was awestruck. I adore Alice in Wonderland. It is a fascinating, creative, and beautiful story. For me it provides a constant reminder to always be more imaginative because the mind is infinitely creative. This article dumbed down my favorite story to foolishness that is supposedly telling girls to avoid creativity. (I will admit that the books are better than Disney's movie).

While the article didn't hit the bullseye, it didn't entirely miss the mark either. Disney is an imperfect studio that often gets some facts wrong, or changes the point of a story completely. Even though the author makes a few decent points, and backs them up with sufficient evidence, she seems to take these movies a little too seriously. Her point is that these animated films are changing young girls' perspective on life, but what little girl is going to look at a Disney movie with such critique? The evidence that the author provides is so subtle that it likely has no effect on children. For Alice in Wonderland, she states that at the end of the movie Alice becomes afraid of her imagination and wants to go home. Well sometimes imagination is and sometimes you do want to go home, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be creative. Look at how much fun Alice has in the beginning of the story, and how by the very end she stands up to the Queen (and avoids decapitation).

Perhaps I am including too many personal feelings into this, but if we look at everything through too critical of a lens then aren't we killing our own imagination?

The one idea that I do agree with is that Disney (as well as other production companies) should not be   sending the message that girls only have one option in life; MARRIAGE. Why is it that the movie always ends when the female protagonist gets married? It's because some people are convinced that a girls adventure ends when she is married, and so the movie should end there too. Not everyone gets married, and for those who do it is not The End. Young girls are likely to watch these movies and think that because their favorite characters always get married, then they should too. (For some reason I never felt this way. Instead I always imagined myself as the male protagonists rather than the females. I suppose that could be another topic for discussion because some children will associate with their favorite characters instead of the ones that match their gender.) By refusing to show girls that they have options, you take away bits and pieces of their imagination.
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Thursday, October 15, 2015

This Probably Should Have Been Done a Few Days Ago

It didn't take me a long time to realize that I am horrendously lazy. That sounds like an awful way to start a blog and a likely intro to self-depreciation, but it has been weighing on my mind and i have to write something. So here it is.

Right now it is 9:02 PM on Wednesday night and tomorrow this very blog is due. That may not seem like a big deal if you think about how homework is usually assigned the day before it is due, but this was not assigned today. It wasn't even assigned yesterday. This blog was assigned on Thursday of last week. The fact that I am sitting here typing this now and not a few days ago is what gave me the idea to write about my problem. Why would I wait so long to start this when I was told about it nearly a week ago? Did I think maybe if I don't do it, it will just go away? No. Do I find the subject boring and therefore lack motivation? Also no. After thinking for a while I realized that there is no decent reason for my procrastination, except for the undeniable fact that I am lazy.

I have a good amount of free time. Now that tennis season is over I will have even more, but will I use it wisely? No. This is the source of the problem. Time management is something that I (and I'm sure plenty of others) struggle with. * When managing my time I will usually put the things that I want to do first, and the things that I don't want to do last. The problem with this system is that most of the things that I don't want to do are things that need to get done. I almost always end up wasting my time and finishing my work much later than expected. This actually wouldn't be so much of a problem on its own, but my procrastinating leads to stress and that stress leads to panicking. I bring these things upon myself and I could fix them if I had a little more self-discipline, but I just cannot stop myself from waiting for the last minute to start a job that needs to get done. I'm told that this will change with maturity, and I certainly hope that's true.
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* -Perhaps you noticed this little star in paragraph three. I wanted to mention that at this point I stopped writing and read my book for about 30 minutes. I procrastinated my post about procrastinating.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Standardized Testing (John Oliver)



In my personal opinion, standardized tests are one of the worst things to ever happen to the American school system. Based on the video, John Oliver probably feels the same way. Standardized tests have played a huge part in my generations life. When I attended public school in Massachusetts, all students were required to take a standardized test called MCAS (often referred to by students as the "Massachusetts Child Abuse System" because we were never told what it actually stood for). Doing well on the MCAS was the students and teachers goal. Oliver talked about this in the video; how students and teachers work towards nothing but these "important" standardized tests at the end of the year. Almost everything taught and learned in school is done in preparation of these tests, but why? It could be argued that they are play an important role in determining ones future, but the same question can be asked again-- why? Why is it that a single test has such a huge impact on the future of someone's life? These tests are considered to be so important that students stress about them to the point of break downs, depression, crying, and as mentioned in Oliver's video, vomiting. The tests were designed to help students in getting a better education, but they are really doing more harm than good.

John Oliver is obviously opinionated in his video, and works throughout the video to persuade the viewers to agree with his opinion. He does this by providing facts, giving examples, and even using humor to get the audience on his side. Oliver uses ethos, pathos, and logos to assist in the persuasion of the views. He makes the idea of standardized testing seem nonsensical by stating numerous counterarguments, and then giving reasons why those arguments won't work. For example he states that the test is not only for students but also teachers. The test will show how much the students are learning from the teachers based on scoring. Then Oliver shows a video of a teacher who received a poor rating because the predicted score for one of his students was higher than what she was capable of getting on the test. Oliver later appeals to the emotion of the crowd. He talks about the pressure that is put on students, and how that pressure leads to stress and sometimes break downs. He then proves his point by showing a video of a girl giving a speech on standardized tests. She talks about how her future should not be so swayed by a single test. The girl struggles to speak a she obviously fights back tears. The audience sympathizes with the girl, and realizes just how stressful these tests can be.

Oliver also uses humor to get the viewers on his side. While watching the video a crowd in the background can often be heard laughing and cheering. However, Oliver doesn't abuse the use of humor. He gets a laugh while proving a point, for example he compares the formula used to create standardized tests, to the formula used to impregnate cows. The statement is humorous, but also makes a point of the ridiculousness of standardized tests. Oliver also doesn't overuse humor. He will say something humorous (perhaps to keep a light mood) but then he changes back to a serious tone. This ensures that he is taken seriously.

I enjoyed this video to the point where I had my parents watch it with me. John Oliver makes some impressive points to persuade the audience to agree with him. I often found myself thinking I hope this isn't the end of the video because I wanted to hear more. The video provides further evidence that something needs to change when it comes to standardized tests. Now we just have to ask ourselves when.
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Thursday, October 1, 2015

Sorry I'm Late...


I am almost always late to the party. Sometimes the last one there. This is usually because I choose to. I often think to myself "if I show up later I won't have to be there as long, and won't have to socialize too much.". This isn't because I hate people, or because I believe I am wasting my time talking. I try to avoid social interaction because I find it to be physically exhausting, and unenjoyable.  I have been this way all my life, and at some point I decided to figure out why I struggled to interact with other people while my mom and brother seemed to enjoy it. I found that what I was experiencing could be because I was introverted.

Being shy and being introverted are sometimes used interchangeably, but in reality they are slightly different. When a person is shy they are often quiet, easily embarrassed, and do not like to voice their opinions, usually out of fear of disapproval. Introverts may experience these same symptoms, but in addition they are also physically affected by social interaction. Introverts are not positively stimulated by interaction with other people, and become worn out by simple conversations. In contrast, extroverts are stimulated by social interaction and can gain energy though simple conversation. I  find this to be completely fascinating because I have no idea what being an extrovert would feel like as I have only ever had an introverted perspective. Instead of socializing, introverts find other activities to be stimulating. For example, I have found that after reading, drawing, or simply being left to my own thoughts, I gain energy. Sometimes such activities will better my mood as well. These results can then be compared to how I feel after a two hour party. (Allow me to explain how almost every party or social gathering goes for me in these next few sentences.) For the first 15-20 minutes I am able to introduce myself, laugh, and make light conversation. After that period of time I am usually a little tired, and will likely get something to eat or drink and sit by myself on the couch or at the table. This is were problems occur. People will see me sitting alone and think that I am lonely, when in reality I just don't have the energy to talk much anymore. Then I get people coming up to me and trying to make a conversation, and I truly want to talk to them because I know that they are being nice, but I can't hold onto the topic for more than about two minutes and they eventually leave. If others continue to come up to me I usually retreat to en empty room (the bathroom is always nice, no one will bother you there). I attempt to spend the remaining time at the party in relative or absolute solitude. The end result is me going home and falling asleep almost instantly. 

That may have seemed like an unnecessary explanation, but I believe it is relatable to those who are introverts, and a good way to describe what being introverted feels like. To extroverts, it probably sounds pathetic that someone would leave the company of others in favor of a bathroom, but this is one of the only ways that introverts can cope with an extremely extroverted society. Over time, society has decided that an extroverted personality is more desirable than an introverted one. However, it is not realized that introverts are often the thinkers and creators of the world. This is not to say that extroverts are unintelligent, rather they spend more time socializing than thinking. For example, I would say that approximately 10%-15% of what I think about is vocalized, and only 45%* of my day is socializing (*this is when I am in school). I keep most thoughts to myself, and will often think about a topic long after it's discussion has ended. After asking my mother (who considers herself extroverted) she says that she vocalizes 60%-75% of her thoughts. I was shocked when she said this. "How could anyone share this much?" I thought. She also brought up another good point. She said that she shares more with those closer to her, for example friends and family. I would have to agree with her on this, and say that around very close friends and family I probably share around 30-40% of my thoughts, but certainly not any more than that. 

Being introverted is a fascinating thing to be.
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