carlyjd

[carlyjd]

Woman = the sex object.

Advertisements these days are craaaaaaaaaaaazy... Objectifying women and not even pretending that it's not all about food, cars, and sex. 

For example, the Fiat commercial where the man is staring at the woman with obviously large breasts and a short dress. She starts yelling at him in a foreign romantic language and instantly starts being extremely forward and sexy. The man closes his eyes to lean in for a kiss and when he opens them, she's gone and there in her place is the Fiat, with the same color paint as her dress was. Obviously objectifying the woman into the car, the commercial, like everything else shows that sex sells.

In another commercial for Carl's Jr./Hardee's, the woman starts stripping and intimately eating her sandwich, jalapeño by jalapeño, drawing attention from a nearby man and his annoyed date. The commercial shows a still of the sandwich and the woman's breasts close-up, in an extremely low-cut dress. This commercial is obviously showing that if you eat this sandwich, you can have a lot more "fun" than if you eat any other sandwich.

Both of these were Superbowl 2012 commercials, but the Carl's Jr./Hardee's one was banned!! (Hmm, I wonder why with all of the family-friendly dialogue.)

This idea that in order to sell a product that is clearly capable of selling without a beautiful woman taking her clothes off or implying something sexual, you must be PG-13 and get your commercials banned. What happened to the simpler days when there would be a cute song, a few facts about how the car was better or the beef was natural? Something about the product rather than sex, sex, sex.

Especially when so many people are watching, you know that you're bound to appeal to someone. 

[carlyjd]

Break the Ceiling! Break it now!

My mother has worked at her job for 25 years; she has received most training and offers, taken all of the classes, and been extremely loyal and beneficial to the company.

But since the economy has taken a dump on itself, the jobs aren't as stable as they once were, and hers is at risk. The men that have been there for less time than she has, are less qualified, skip more, and know less are being offered more opportunities and promotions while my mother is being smashed against the glass ceiling. It's unfair. 

For women that are just as qualified, smart, strong, and independent and the men that are also employed, why should my mom, one of the hardest working be fired because she wasn't a man? 

The glass ceiling needs to break! My mother hit it a few years ago and is either about to break it or take the elevator back down. The ceiling limits the possibilities of millions of workers just because of their gender. 

Imagine if the limits were reversed and women were the main sex and men were to be considered the minority group, only making 77 cents to every dollar we made. (It's a nice thought, I know.) 

People need to realize that women can be, could be, and are just as good of workers as men in any aspect, if not better than some, and that thinking otherwise is just plain ignorant. 

[carlyjd]

The Weekly Shifts

Usually, when I think of the Second Shift, I think of the mother completing it, but lately I've noticed within my family at least, but I've seen this with friends, too, that the father comes home from work and cleans, takes care of the children, and sometimes cooks. Mom does her share, too. She cooks and takes care of the doctors' appointments, etc. Maybe it could be because of good communication--or really bad communication--but the father will clean up and keep the children away from the mom while she is cooking or doing her thing. 

It's pretty equal, when you think about it. Dad does this, but mom does that. So defining the second shift as one solid shift that takes place after the first shift by the mothers is inaccurate, at least within my family. I see the shift as taking place throughout the week, by both parents; sometimes 50/50 and sometimes only 30/70. 

The Second Shift is relative to most, but I'd more accurately call our family's "The Weekly Shifts." 

[carlyjd]

Self-segregation

            I’ve noticed that in our lunch room and in other places that people tend to sit with their own race, or self-segregate. Most times the reason of it is either because of their socio-economic status or the culture that they have grown up with.

            As society in the 1960s we decided that segregation was bad. And now, within high schools and other public areas, we’re voluntarily committing the act.

            The people with the same socio-economic status seem to have the same opportunities, take the same routes, and live near each other in small towns like Elgin, so it’s easy to see that from a young age, two mothers let her children play together and they became best friends, going to school together, spending the night at the others’ house, etc. And it wouldn’t change because they’d never move and never change their status. So by the time the two had entered high school, they would have already known each other and sat with one another.

            One’s culture is vital. Without culture, there is not much left. The cultural values you behold can affect whom you associate with, how often, and under what circumstances. Sharing the same hobbies can bring you closer at the lunch table because the similar interests usually have a correlation with your socio-economic status, being that those sharing the same status in a smaller area are usually of the same race.

            When talking about segregation and self-segregation, I can’t help but think of the idea of feeling “out of place” when being the minority group within a large number of people, whether it be because you are Caucasian or a female. Several people that I know, and myself, have expressed feeling out of their element when amongst a large group of African Americans or Latin Americans and they are speaking a different language that you only know certain words of. No implements that one race is better than one other or that Latin Americans should “learn the language,” but maybe that has the biggest role in this of all. People stick together because, either consciously or subconsciously, some just feel uneasy when not around those of their own race.

[carlyjd]

The Jersey Shore

When people think of MTV's Jersey Shore, the first thing that pops into their head is probably Snooki, drunk as can be. The MTV show causes much drama because of the obvious references to sex, alcohol, and a basic outline of how not to live your life. It causes strong reactions in parents because even though the majority of teenagers behave that way already, their parents would rather shield their eyes. There’s no doubt that the cast deviates from every day normal behavior, but for a bunch of college age kids, what’s the real harm?

To an extent, the behavior of the Jersey Shore members can be expected. Many people in their early to mid 20s enjoy social drinking, hanging out with friends, and dancing. The only difference between them and someone you would know is that they’re probably not going to be on television for it. The media can stretch and expand anything that is said and done, manipulate your words and face to make things completely out of proportion. Like the saying goes, “Norms were meant to be broken!” (Right?)

Once the cast starts being arrested for disorderly conduct and start fighting physically with each other and others, they’ve crossed the imaginary line that the media lets you have. Once crossed, it’s hard to go back. The show also depicts a lot of abuse within relationships; Ronnie and Sammie have been shown in several episodes with their hands on each other, throwing each other’s things over balconies, and even a punch or two; Nicole (aka Snooki) and her off-cast boyfriend, Jioni have been through it all—yelling, crying, leaving foreign countries without a word—but at the end of the day, they seem to have an alright relationship, for the shore; finally there is Jenni (aka Jwoww) and her off-cast boyfriend Roger who have been relatively stable throughout the seasons, have also had their own trust issues, but kept it mainly off the show. The couples advertised in the show on a network watched by teenagers and pre-teens says that it is okay to be in an abusive relationship, whether it be verbal, physical, or emotional as long as by the end of the day, you’ve had your drink and you’re back together, even though, not only is the message inaccurate, but it is known that alcohol can contribute to domestic violence.

The show, in my opinion should definitely only be watched by a mature audience that knows the difference between having a drink responsibly and blacking out, a healthy relationship and an unhealthy one, and a healthy lifestyle and an unhealthy one.