Category: pop culture

Gender Bias

paris22Leave a comment

There is a strong double standard in today’s culture.

For a woman, it is considered “improper” to show as little as show her bra strap. Yet, I see multiple men and boys sagging their pants, walking around shirtless, and more.

Most people today, including myself, don’t give it much thought when this happens. It’s normal for a guy to be able to show most of his body, while a woman is reprimanded or judged for showing a strap on their shoulder. 

CBS wrote a very interesting article about the dress codes in work places, and the “dress codes” seem to transition into people’s personal lives too.

There also seems to be an uproar when a woman asserts herself in her career and lays down the law, and she may be called some less than polite words.

I’m not calling anyone out here, or placing blame. But, the expectation for how men present themselves is, in some cases, much lower than the expectation for women.

Gender Inequality

Of course, this double standard goes both ways. Men aren’t expected to be emotional or sensitive, and in some cultures, are judged for it.

Men are also though of as “weak” if he is a stay at home dad, does the laundry, or cooks dinner because it is thought to be a woman’s role.

Why should the public be able to judge two different genders completely differently, on the same subject, and have it be thought of as OK?

Tim Burton

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Tim Burton has always been my favorite director. 

From the first time I saw Nightmare Before Christmas I knew I loved his style.   Burton’s dark and quirky genre of film has attracted many fans, including me, over the years.

The thing that always appealed to me about his work, is that no matter how dark the colors and the characters may be, the movie always seems so bright. 

Take Edward Scissorhands, for example. This movie terrified me the first time I saw it, 7-year-old me would cling to my mother at the sight of a transformed Johnny Depp.

As I got older, I began to look past the frightening front of this movie to the much deeper meaning found in it. 

Edward Scissorhands was much more than a bizarre story about a man with scissors for hands.  It was about isolation and self discovery, and I learned so much from it. 

Movies have always been a constant in my life. 

Whenever I was sad, angry or just felt alone, the eccentric and beautiful characters of Tim Burton would fill me with laughter and joy. 

I related to his characters so deeply – so much they’ve almost became apart of me.

In my life, I’ve always been considered an outsider, I’ve done my own thing and been happy while doing it. 

When I started high school things began to change.  If you weren’t like every other girl in the school you were suddenly weird. 

Not fitting in is an age-old story, especially for teenage girls, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.  I was different, and I knew that, except suddenly it didn’t feel so great.

 Naturally, I turned the imagination of Tim Burton.  His characters are almost always outsiders, look at Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice or Sally from Nightmare before Christmas. 

These two outsiders both have huge hearts and make a difference to the people around them.  That’s what I strive to be. 

While I know I’ll probably never be a Tim Burton character (though Tim if you’re reading this, call me), I know, no matter how weird or different I may be, I can make a difference.

And that’s what I’ve learned from Tim Burton.

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Photo Credit to: http://www.d2fzf9bbqh0om5.cloudfront.net

 

I thought the insult ‘Queer’ was dead already

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I was shocked to hear it. I really thought it had stopped being ‘cool’ a long time ago.

“That’s so queer.” He said, the first time, referring to someones Instagram account. I looked him dead in the eye. “Stop. You have no right.” But he didn’t. The words ‘Fagg*t,’ ‘Queer’, and ‘Gay’ were used several more times as an insult throughout the conversation. Eventually I left, utterly disgusted.

So why is it so important to stop using these terms like this?

Well first of all you may think it’s cool, but I don’t care how many bro-points you gain, insulting someone via their sexuality. But really, that’s only the surface of this issue. Yeah, it’s mean, but it’s so much more too.

Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? So essentially, everything you do makes ripples. It goes a lot further than you thought it would, in a lot of ways.

  1. You make gay synonymous with bad. You make kids feel lesser for their feelings.
  2. You are furthering this insult, keeping the cycle going. Just stop.
  3. YOU ARE HURTING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY
  4. You are bullying. I do not care if you said it to a gay person or not. You are being a bully. End of story.
  5. 23% of gay or bisexual teens have tried to take their own lives and 56% have self harmed. You are an accomplice to these murders of young children who did nothing wrong.
  6. You are saying that it’s ok for millions upon millions of people to be degraded world-wide so you can… be cool? Grow up.
  7. You are creating a community that is unsafe
  8. Back to the statistics – More than 85% of LGBTQ+ youth have been harassed at school in the past year. You are making your school a place where kids may be afraid to attend.
  9. So, so much more.

So why would you use these descriptive terms as insults? Can you honestly not grasp the idea that there are other words out there? You want to be ‘cool?’

Buy a dictionary.

Photo Credit to: http://www.goabroad.com

#FOODSTAGRAM

beetlejus

In today’s culture, constant sharing of people’s day to day lives has become the norm.  Particularly, sharing of pictures of food.

But why has it become so important that we share images of our meals with the whole world?  Food has evolved from former functioning as nutrition into a source of status and culture.

For example, through the popular social media site Instagram, you’ve probably seen countless pictures of people’s bubble tea from Urth Caffe or someone’s In-N-Out burger. 

Where does this need to share their food come from?  The aestheticism of food has become more important than actual consumption. 

The tradition of mealtime has drastically changed from an intimate gathering to something shared with the whole world.  Specifically, rather than be engaged in food and conversation, individuals remove themselves from the present moment of the meal in order to stage the scene of their food. 

The closeness of a meal is lost by revealing the location of a person as he or she eats. 

The image of restaurants has become a status symbol that is spreading through social media. People have become obsessed with proving their participation in this trend by taking pictures of locations that are coined “popular”. 

The concept these restaurants put out, with help from socialites creates the obsession surrounding it.

Our culture has become brainwashed with the idea that what they eat helps their image.  This also contributes to the growing number of people who believe that their social media image is essential to their lives.

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photo credit Konnectifi

“Just Being Miley”

raining17Leave a comment

Miley Cyrus, known for being outspoken and drastically altering her appearance, just opened up about her sexuality and her dislike for labels.

When questioned on Facebook about her sexuality, Cyrus announced that not all of her relationships have been heterosexual, though she did not give any details. Cyrus did not come out as bisexual, however – she stressed the fact that she never wanted to label herself as she wants to be open.

Photo Credit: http://www.eonline.com

Along the lines of labeling herself, Cyrus declared that she never liked the female stereotypes and expectations, and while she never felt like a boy, she never fit in with girls either. Cyrus simply didn’t appreciate the confinement and what was expected of her, but she has grown to live outside of the conventional expectations.

Cyrus’s progressive thinking along with the action she’s taken has caused lots of uproar. However, the negative attention is unfortunate, for Cyrus is an important advocate for similar causes, and doesn’t care about negative opinions or bad publicity. Simply, Cyrus takes action where others won’t.

Granny Hair

raining17Leave a comment

After an eternity of hair turning gray with old age, and years of people dyeing their hair to hide the gray, that pattern has been reversed.

A new fad, commonly referred to as “granny hair” has taken over today’s fashion. No longer do people need to tediously eradicate all signs of gray hair, for now it is in style.

People much younger than the true age of gray hair are ahead of the curve – embracing the color before it becomes a reality. It is considered to be very fashion forward, and more and more people are actually dyeing their hair to achieve the look. Some truly do end up looking elderly, but most sport the look perfectly.

Photo Credit: amazingly.co

Celebrities including Lady Gaga and Kylie Jenner have adopted the new style, and top fashion designers are also styling their models with gray hair.

This newfound liking for hair that originally meant old age is catching the interest of more and more people each day, and continues to spread through modern fashion.

Long or Short

lanative1Leave a comment
Buying a prom dress is hard.
Yes, I know that makes me sound like the ultimate spoiled white brat, but it really is.  First, prom dresses are ridiculously over-priced.  Second, you don’t want to get the same one as anyone else, so you need to try to find the most low-key stores.  And third, you have to obey “the rules”.
At some schools, the rules of dresses are very prominent at a social level.  Although never articulated on paper, it is a well-known tradition that only seniors can wear long dresses.  I have witnessed actual shaming of 11th grade girls who have worn long dresses to prom.  As a result, I was nervous when trying to find a dress for OVS prom.  I do not get dressed up often, and when I do, I like to go all out.  I had never worn a long dress until just a few weeks ago, aside from the school musical.  When I went shopping with my mom for dresses, I fell in love with the first one I tried on.  One problem:  it was long.  I texted multiple friends that were seniors at OVS asking if they would care about me wearing a long dress, expecting a rage in response.  However, I was completely surprised with the positive response.  Apparently, the “rules” were non-existent at OVS.  Once I got over my shock, I was pleased.  This absence of the rule, although small and insignificant in the long run, shows the loving, family aspect of the OVS community.

Fifty Shades of Grey Review

kennyrooLeave a comment

While certain critics may claim the series is “sugar-coated” domestic violence, that has not stopped crowds of people from overwhelming the box office this Valentine’s Day weekend.

The film is based on the highly successful novel written by E.L. James.

The film tells the story of a young, and devilishly handsome billionaire Christian, played by Jamie Dornan. The young woman he desires is named Anastasia Steele, played by Dakota Johnson.

This movie has audiences in uproars. And people are not staying quiet about it.

“Fifty Shades of Grey is not the lame, hot-and-bothered fantasy romance many, including myself, thought it would be. It’s got wit and humor and a modest intelligence about human behavior that, say, the Twilight movies never had,” said a writer for Vanity Fair.

Personally, I thought the two stars were excellently casted – the chemistry they had together was almost palpable.

I’m not going to sugar coat this either – some parts of the film were horribly cheesy. But those parts gave the audience a break from all of the romantic endeavors of Grey and Steele.

I would not recommend this movie to be seen as any sort of “family film”. This film will make you blush, I can assure you.

For a girl’s (or boy’s) night out, this is the perfect movie.

While this may not please the harsh critics eye with its plot or casting, it’s hard to argue with its great cinematography. I thought it was excellently filmed, and produced with a high budget.

I would say it’s worth the hype. While this may not be the most valuable movie to your life, seeing it in theaters is not a regret of mine.

Photo Credit: http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net

 

Tiny Wins

kennyrooLeave a comment

“The more your praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey

Yes, I just quoted Oprah.

But maybe, just maybe she has the right idea about this topic.

I like to call these daily praises and celebrations “tiny wins.”

These tiny wins can really be anything, but I think it is ever so important that we at least acknowledge them.

It could be, as big as passing your license test the first time, or as small as learning all the lyrics to that new song you love. But these happy moments in life must not be wasted.

Everyday may not be great, but there is something great in everyday.

I know it is so easy to talk about all the annoyances in your life – but when we’re old and grey are all of these minuscule inconveniences going to matter?

Looking back on my life on want to celebrate my tiny, and huge wins with an enormous grin on my face.

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Photo Credit to: http://deliveringhappiness.com/

We live in a generation where so much is shared; so let’s start sharing our wins instead of our losses.