What's up caffeine addicts,
Here is another great video that talks about something that Scotland has been trying out.
https://www.attn.com/videos/14093/these-boxes-are-literally-saving-babies-lives
I have heard of other countries doing this before. The idea of sending care packages to new parents is incredible. It can be very difficult and expensive to take care of a newborn and this will give everyone a great head start to help them out.
If something like this was implemented in the United States I feel like it would greatly improve the quality of life for millions of newborns and ensure that they get everything that they need in those crucial years of their life. By doing this you will also ensure that their development at a young age will go more smoothly with less stress from the parents trying to figure out how to handle such a daunting task.
The biggest reason I am a proponent for this is for single parents especially. Raising a child with someone else is tough enough but doing it while depending on only one source of income is insanely challenging for both the parent and the child. And with the prevalence of single parents lately, I think this could really make an amazing difference if it were implemented in the U.S.
Stay awesome.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
An interesting car story
What's up caffeine addicts,
About a year ago, I was visiting a friends house. It was me, Dorya, and another friend of mine, Kameron. After a little while, we had to head back to my high school because Kameron and I were going to play at a concert there. Dorya's mom decided that she would drive us there instead of making us walk the dreadful 30-minute walk. This is where it all started.
I made it pretty clear that I wanted the window seat because, I mean, who wouldn't. Plus, I almost always end up in the middle somehow. So it was me in the right window seat, Kameron in the middle, and Dorya was on the left side.
I minded my own business when all of a sudden Dorya's mom started complaining to Dorya about not having me sit in the middle. According to her mother, Dorya was disrespectful to me as a man for not having me sit in the middle. She basically thought of her daughter as a terrible person because she disrespected me so much. She was then backed up by one of her friends who was also sitting with us in the front of the car. They were both condemning the actions of both Kameron and Dorya when, in actuality, I just hate sitting in the middle. Her mom continued by saying that if something were to happen, I would have no way of protecting everyone in the car because I wasn't in the middle. Apparently, I was completely baffled. I have never eve heard anything like this. I didn't even know what to say. I mean really think that through for a second. If something actually did happen, how in hell would I be able to protect everyone in the car? With my penis, I guess because that's the only reason why she sees me more fit to protect them than anyone else. In her mind, the man in the car is an all powerful being apparently. It was really mind blowing and eye opening to see someone speak like that to their own daughter because of something that is so deeply rooted her tradition and religion. It clearly depicts the problems that we talked about in class in the ways men are depicted compared to women.
Anyway, it was an interesting car story.
Stay Awesome.
About a year ago, I was visiting a friends house. It was me, Dorya, and another friend of mine, Kameron. After a little while, we had to head back to my high school because Kameron and I were going to play at a concert there. Dorya's mom decided that she would drive us there instead of making us walk the dreadful 30-minute walk. This is where it all started.
I made it pretty clear that I wanted the window seat because, I mean, who wouldn't. Plus, I almost always end up in the middle somehow. So it was me in the right window seat, Kameron in the middle, and Dorya was on the left side.
I minded my own business when all of a sudden Dorya's mom started complaining to Dorya about not having me sit in the middle. According to her mother, Dorya was disrespectful to me as a man for not having me sit in the middle. She basically thought of her daughter as a terrible person because she disrespected me so much. She was then backed up by one of her friends who was also sitting with us in the front of the car. They were both condemning the actions of both Kameron and Dorya when, in actuality, I just hate sitting in the middle. Her mom continued by saying that if something were to happen, I would have no way of protecting everyone in the car because I wasn't in the middle. Apparently, I was completely baffled. I have never eve heard anything like this. I didn't even know what to say. I mean really think that through for a second. If something actually did happen, how in hell would I be able to protect everyone in the car? With my penis, I guess because that's the only reason why she sees me more fit to protect them than anyone else. In her mind, the man in the car is an all powerful being apparently. It was really mind blowing and eye opening to see someone speak like that to their own daughter because of something that is so deeply rooted her tradition and religion. It clearly depicts the problems that we talked about in class in the ways men are depicted compared to women.
Anyway, it was an interesting car story.
Stay Awesome.
The dichotomy of religion and sexism
What's up caffeine addicts,
Yay more videos! Huzzah! Here is one from someone named Chelsea Shields where she gave a TedTalk about how she has been able to use Mormonism as a source of empowerment and tried to reflect that by fighting for equality.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chelsea_shields_how_i_m_working_for_change_inside_my_church#t-184452
Mormonism is an incredibly strict religion in the way that they deal with the different sexes. As Shields points out, women aren't even allowed in many meetings just because they are strictly male only. And I think it's interesting that she points how we focus so heavily on equality in society but seem to forget our own religions and give religions a free pass. In today's society, not allowing women to join a conference is incredibly frowned upon and innately sexist. And it's easy to say that its just part of the tradition but traditions are eventually meant to be changed when the change is for a greater good. Many of these regulations were written in a time where women were seen as barely human. Nowadays these stereotypes are slowly changing for the better, and our religions should reflect that as well.
It is also important to see why it is so difficult to change the perceptions of so many of these people who are deeply rooted in their religion. Shields talks about how, according to their rules, just by wearing a shirt that reveals her shoulders, she won't be able to see her family in heaven. From this context, it is easy to see why so many of these people are resistant to change. They fear what might happen if they violate the rules put in place by their prophets or creators. This is why fighting for equality has to occur slowly. Making slow changes as we go along will allow them to mount up into something incredible. Proposing a radical restructuring of any religion will be met with huge uproar and a lot of fear from its believers. Although making small changes here and there is the long, hard road to achieving equality, for many religions, it may be the only way that change can be made at all. That is why I applaud people like Chelsea Shields who are in it for the long game and stick to her people why also attempting to change them.
Stay Awesome.
Yay more videos! Huzzah! Here is one from someone named Chelsea Shields where she gave a TedTalk about how she has been able to use Mormonism as a source of empowerment and tried to reflect that by fighting for equality.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chelsea_shields_how_i_m_working_for_change_inside_my_church#t-184452
Mormonism is an incredibly strict religion in the way that they deal with the different sexes. As Shields points out, women aren't even allowed in many meetings just because they are strictly male only. And I think it's interesting that she points how we focus so heavily on equality in society but seem to forget our own religions and give religions a free pass. In today's society, not allowing women to join a conference is incredibly frowned upon and innately sexist. And it's easy to say that its just part of the tradition but traditions are eventually meant to be changed when the change is for a greater good. Many of these regulations were written in a time where women were seen as barely human. Nowadays these stereotypes are slowly changing for the better, and our religions should reflect that as well.
It is also important to see why it is so difficult to change the perceptions of so many of these people who are deeply rooted in their religion. Shields talks about how, according to their rules, just by wearing a shirt that reveals her shoulders, she won't be able to see her family in heaven. From this context, it is easy to see why so many of these people are resistant to change. They fear what might happen if they violate the rules put in place by their prophets or creators. This is why fighting for equality has to occur slowly. Making slow changes as we go along will allow them to mount up into something incredible. Proposing a radical restructuring of any religion will be met with huge uproar and a lot of fear from its believers. Although making small changes here and there is the long, hard road to achieving equality, for many religions, it may be the only way that change can be made at all. That is why I applaud people like Chelsea Shields who are in it for the long game and stick to her people why also attempting to change them.
Stay Awesome.
How Latino men are represented in media
What's up caffeine addicts,
Yes, yet another video because videos are absolutely incredible when you find the right ones with useful information. This is another one from "Mitu" about how men are represented in the media and how it affects them.
https://www.facebook.com/wearemitu/videos/1760266704273764/
In this video, they ask the question about whether or not Latin men are naturally "machista," which is the equivalent of a male chauvinist. These are men who are incredibly aggressive and sexual and Latin men are pretty much always thought of in this way.
It's the same idea of being "exotic." Just like in class, where we talked about how Latin woman are oversexualized because they are exotic or different, Latin men are seen in a similar way. From movie to movie, these men are widely represented as criminals or drug lords. Even when they aren't pictured as aggressive, they are highly sexualized and seen as aggressive, sexy, a ladies man, and more. This is a huge generalization though. It causes this idea that a Latin man who isn't like this is stripped of his heritage and sex just because he doesn't fit in this outrageous trope.
A fantastic book called The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao delves into this idea completely. Oscar is Dominican. And I can tell you from first-hand experience on how Puerto Ricans think of Dominicans that they are always seen as the type to show off, act pompous, be complete assholes, and womanizers. Oscar isn't like this at all. He is a comic book loving nerd that is deeply depressed because of no one, not even his own family, sees him as Dominican. It created a terrible situation in which he doesn't feel like he can fit in anywhere. Every group he tries to identify with immediately shuns him because he isn't man enough or Dominican enough. Honestly, Puerto Rican men are seen in the same way which just shows how sad it is that even Latin people stereotype other Latin people even though we are all lumped together by everyone else.
I have always really connected with the way Oscar Wao's story was told in the book. I was that kid in my family that was always seen as different. I was pretty chubby when I was younger, and I didn't have a girlfriend for a long time. Yet just because of those two reasons, my family never saw me as Puerto Rican enough, and it felt like shit that I couldn't fit in with my own family. I had to develop my own sense of what it means to be Puerto Rican, and now I am proud of my heritage and anyone who thinks of me as "not Hispanic enough," which happens all the time because of my white complexion, I dismiss as just someone playing into stereotypes and ignorance.
Stay Awesome.
Yes, yet another video because videos are absolutely incredible when you find the right ones with useful information. This is another one from "Mitu" about how men are represented in the media and how it affects them.
https://www.facebook.com/wearemitu/videos/1760266704273764/
In this video, they ask the question about whether or not Latin men are naturally "machista," which is the equivalent of a male chauvinist. These are men who are incredibly aggressive and sexual and Latin men are pretty much always thought of in this way.
It's the same idea of being "exotic." Just like in class, where we talked about how Latin woman are oversexualized because they are exotic or different, Latin men are seen in a similar way. From movie to movie, these men are widely represented as criminals or drug lords. Even when they aren't pictured as aggressive, they are highly sexualized and seen as aggressive, sexy, a ladies man, and more. This is a huge generalization though. It causes this idea that a Latin man who isn't like this is stripped of his heritage and sex just because he doesn't fit in this outrageous trope.
A fantastic book called The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao delves into this idea completely. Oscar is Dominican. And I can tell you from first-hand experience on how Puerto Ricans think of Dominicans that they are always seen as the type to show off, act pompous, be complete assholes, and womanizers. Oscar isn't like this at all. He is a comic book loving nerd that is deeply depressed because of no one, not even his own family, sees him as Dominican. It created a terrible situation in which he doesn't feel like he can fit in anywhere. Every group he tries to identify with immediately shuns him because he isn't man enough or Dominican enough. Honestly, Puerto Rican men are seen in the same way which just shows how sad it is that even Latin people stereotype other Latin people even though we are all lumped together by everyone else.
I have always really connected with the way Oscar Wao's story was told in the book. I was that kid in my family that was always seen as different. I was pretty chubby when I was younger, and I didn't have a girlfriend for a long time. Yet just because of those two reasons, my family never saw me as Puerto Rican enough, and it felt like shit that I couldn't fit in with my own family. I had to develop my own sense of what it means to be Puerto Rican, and now I am proud of my heritage and anyone who thinks of me as "not Hispanic enough," which happens all the time because of my white complexion, I dismiss as just someone playing into stereotypes and ignorance.
Stay Awesome.
Parents explaining birth control to their kids
What's up caffeine addicts,
Here is another amazing video. This time it's a bunch of parents awkwardly explaining birth control to their kids!
Alright so besides the fact that this video is pretty hilarious, and I'll get to that later, I think it's incredible that these parents decided it was important to have a conversation with their kids about birth control. With so many people out there, pretty much everyone who promotes abstinence education, there are millions of lies told about sex and so I feel it's important to have parents filter all of that out for their kids to receive the correct info. If we do this, and if we make sure the parents themselves know what's up, it could significantly improve everyone's knowledge on how to prevent pregnancy so that unwanted children or abortions won't occur as often as they do now. That being said, two of those kids were definitely far too old for this conversation. This is something that should occur earlier to prevent misinformation from affecting their minds right away.
On to my second point about why this is so funny. You see, its pretty easy to see that this is funny purely because it is cringe-worthy/awkward. It's even uncomfortable for the kids themselves. This shows how deeply rooted our ideas of sex are. We are told that sex just isn't something you should talk about with your parents because it's shameful and private. But in actuality, sex is something that is completely natural and should be discussed more openly for that reason alone. The fact that this had to be taped for these parents to talk this subject with their kids just for a couple of laughs and maybe get viral hit shows how we think about sex.
Stay Awesome.
The Connotations of "Puta" and how it reflects culture's representation of woman
What's up caffeine addicts,
Here is an interesting video I found on my facebook feed from "Mitu" that talks about what the word "Puta" means in Latin American culture and how it promotes inequality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzzc8ahNxrg
In many ways, the word "puta" has the same significance as "bitch," "whore," or "slut." Its a way for Latin Americans to condemn women for being too sexually available or pretty much just not having an opinion that you agree with.
As the video suggests, there are so many scenarios that women can be called a puta that they all contradict each other. So much so that it ends up encompassing all women. And if this word basically becomes synonymous with women, it creates a problem in which women can never do anything correctly without someone insulting them.
This happens in my family all the time. My family consists of a lot of very gossipy people, so this is nothing new to them. Whenever a woman does anything even remotely wrong, they are labeled a puta. Even worse though, if a guy is labeled a puta, they are immediately stripped of their masculinity card.
Another part that I found interesting in this video was the way they flipped the gender roles at the end to show the guy how it feels to be shamed for what they wear. All throughout history, woman are told what they can and can't wear. What's too revealing and what's not revealing enough. There is almost never a middle ground. By flipping the gender roles and making it so that it seemed as though he was being shamed for what he wore, it allowed him to understand why it affects woman so much. I think that is an incredibly important part of being a feminist; being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes to see how you would feel in their situation.
Stay Awesome.
Here is an interesting video I found on my facebook feed from "Mitu" that talks about what the word "Puta" means in Latin American culture and how it promotes inequality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzzc8ahNxrg
In many ways, the word "puta" has the same significance as "bitch," "whore," or "slut." Its a way for Latin Americans to condemn women for being too sexually available or pretty much just not having an opinion that you agree with.
As the video suggests, there are so many scenarios that women can be called a puta that they all contradict each other. So much so that it ends up encompassing all women. And if this word basically becomes synonymous with women, it creates a problem in which women can never do anything correctly without someone insulting them.
This happens in my family all the time. My family consists of a lot of very gossipy people, so this is nothing new to them. Whenever a woman does anything even remotely wrong, they are labeled a puta. Even worse though, if a guy is labeled a puta, they are immediately stripped of their masculinity card.
Another part that I found interesting in this video was the way they flipped the gender roles at the end to show the guy how it feels to be shamed for what they wear. All throughout history, woman are told what they can and can't wear. What's too revealing and what's not revealing enough. There is almost never a middle ground. By flipping the gender roles and making it so that it seemed as though he was being shamed for what he wore, it allowed him to understand why it affects woman so much. I think that is an incredibly important part of being a feminist; being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes to see how you would feel in their situation.
Stay Awesome.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Fox's blatant sexism
What's up caffeine addicts,
Watch this astoundingly sad compilation of several instances where people at fox are being misogynistic: https://www.facebook.com/MicMedia/videos/1467799599909492/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED\
So pretty much every single one of these instances just blew my mind. First of all, screaming at anyone and telling them "Know your role and shut your mouth" is condescending, rude, unprofessional, and shows cowardice no matter who you are telling that too.
Another thing that I found horrendous is how some of these Men basically just screamed at women and attempted to order them into liking or disliking certain things. The whole idea that one of them proposes that "women choose" to get paid less is just deplorable. I know plenty of women who have great ambitions and want to make an impact in society. Generalizing all women by saying that they are all happier at home because it's "God's way" is lazy, uninformed, and sad. Blanket statements like these are what lead to discrimination. All he was doing was telling women what they like instead of hearing them out.
Anyway, this is kind of a shorter blog than usual but this video just baffled me.
Stay Awesome.
Watch this astoundingly sad compilation of several instances where people at fox are being misogynistic: https://www.facebook.com/MicMedia/videos/1467799599909492/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED\
So pretty much every single one of these instances just blew my mind. First of all, screaming at anyone and telling them "Know your role and shut your mouth" is condescending, rude, unprofessional, and shows cowardice no matter who you are telling that too.
Another thing that I found horrendous is how some of these Men basically just screamed at women and attempted to order them into liking or disliking certain things. The whole idea that one of them proposes that "women choose" to get paid less is just deplorable. I know plenty of women who have great ambitions and want to make an impact in society. Generalizing all women by saying that they are all happier at home because it's "God's way" is lazy, uninformed, and sad. Blanket statements like these are what lead to discrimination. All he was doing was telling women what they like instead of hearing them out.
Anyway, this is kind of a shorter blog than usual but this video just baffled me.
Stay Awesome.
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