Allison's Blog

After reading some of the articles from chapter 10 this week, it left me with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.  It reminds me of what kind of world we live in; a sick and disgusting one.  I don’t think many people realize how much violence occurs in the world against women.  After I read a story about the young Thai girl named Siri, it just really got to me.  A girl being so young having to experience being sold into the sex slavery business and being foced to have sex with strange disgusting men.  What kind of man would ever want to have sex with a little girl, I mean thats someone who could be your daughter.  Not only that, the brothels clients were mostly men who were politicians.  I think that even disgusted me more.  The people who run the government being involved with buying sex with a little girl.  Even the police of the city where the brothel was located were paid a percentage of the brothel’s income, so whenever a girl would try to escape and they were caught by the police, they were returned.  How alone must these girls feel when they live in a world like that; one where there seems to be no escape?  These girls even suffer from being emotionally broken down into believing that they deserve to be there.  That these girls must have done something so wrong in another life to be born a female.  That just disgusts me.  No woman should ever have to experience what girls like Siri have gone through, especially someone as young as her.

The other day, I went to my hair salon with my mom for a haircut appointment she had made us.  While we were sitting in the waiting area, another mother and daughter came in.  They had just made an apointment for the daughter to get her hair cut for a pageant that she will be in coming up (Miss Teen USA or whatever).  The daughter looked about 16, thin, blonde, and short.  The daughter also obviously let all the attention about her being “beautiful,” “pretty,” and “gorgeous” get to her head, you could just tell by the way she talked and carried herself that she just kind of had that “I’m so much more superior than you” type of attitude.  The mother kept going on and on how her daughter ws runner up the previous year, and saying that hopefully this year is hers. 

I just really dispise beauty pageants.  I think they have to be the worst idea anybody has ever came up with.  1) I don’t think its right to judge women on their beauty, 2) I think it is the dumbest way to get a scholarship on earth, I mean why would you give someone a scholarship for being what society deems “beautiful” and not for being smart? 3) I also don’ t think it is good to keep telling women (especially young ones) that they are beautiful all the time because then thats all they learn to value.  Also, not to mention that in the interviewing part of pageants, most put up a front that they have smarts over what is asked (they fake being smart).  Why in the world would anyone want to give a person money, FREE money to go to school for being beautiful?  That money could be put to better use by going to someone who is in reality actually smart, but doesn’t have the money to go.

Lately after reading some of the chapter 8 articles about what chores are typically known as women’s chores; the ones that men usually never want to do, I got to thinking about who mostly does these chores in the household that I live in.  I ended up coming to the conclusion that both my parents do both an equal amount of time into what is so-called “women’s work.”  For one, my mother hates cooking, she says she is a terrible cook and everything she trys to make turns out burnt or bad.  My dad is the one who does all the cooking around the house, and he doesn’t mind at all; he is very good at cooking too.  Both my dad and mom clean the house, wash dishes, do laundry, etc.  My dad actually tries to get more done than my mom, or finish it before she wakes up in the morning to surprise her and let her have a day to relax.  Never once can I recall my dad complaining about having to do any kind of work in the house.  He’s not one that sees some work as only work of a certain gender.  I think it is really great that my dad has a personality like that and will actually do the work and not make a big deal about it.  He also has never done a half ass job on cleaning either.

I have always been really big and into music.  Lately I have been thinking about how singers such as Brittney Spears  sometimes get alot of flack for some of what people call controversial songs.  Now, I am no way a big fan of Brittney, I just think its rediculous some of the crap she gets from critics..  I cannot believe all the critisim Brittney Spear’s song If You Seek Amy gets from some adults.  The song is basically saying F.U.C.K. me, and that is what stirred up alot of commotion with some people over it.  I just cannot believe people think its so bad of her to have a song like that but yet not as much is said about male artists who seem to talk alot about fucking bitches and hoes etc.  It just pisses me off a little that its so wrong for a female to talk like that but yet if a man does, he hits all the top charts and everyone gives him a pat on the back saying that is such a great song, good job.  Yeah, the song “If You Seek Amy,” may not be the best message to distribute to the youth, but then again neither is alot of the other songs by male artists that are out there and slander women.  Even some women dislike Brittney Spears cause of her references to sex and how she too can slander men, but it seems like when a male artist disrespects women and talks about having sex all the time, well then thats fine.  How rediculous?

I really cannot think of too much that has happened in this past week that can be connected with what we all have learned in this class in general.  However, I could not believe some of the articles that I had read that were assigned this week.  One article that was assigned was called “My Fight for Abortion,” which I had found really sad.  The woman in the story was married and had 3 children already, she ended up pregnant one day and knew she would not be able to afford another child.  She ended up resorting to try and conduct an abortion herself, but it went wrong and she was found nearly dead on the floor, but she survived.  The part of the story I had found really upsetting and sadening was when the woman asked the doctor how she could prevent ending up pregnant and back in the same situation she had just found herself in, the doctor just basically chuckled and told her the only way would be to have her husband sleep on the roof.  Well some time later, the woman did end up pregnant and back in that same situation, only this time she didn’t survive.  I found this story so sad because all this woman wanted was a solution to being able to be sexually active with her husband but not have to have that chance of becoming pregnant.  Nobody seemed to have a solution for her though. 

I also had watched the youtube video that was assigned called “Libertyville Abortion Demonstration,” and I could not believe that all of those anti-abortionists didn’t have an answer to the question “what should the punishment be if a woman had an illegal abortion?”  This video just made me feel like most of those anti-abortionists are just running their mouths and trying to make people feel bad, but they don’t seem to have put much thought into it to back them up other than abortion is wrong because its killing a life.  I mean really, if they want it illegal so bad, wouldn’t you think they would have put some thought into a punishment?

After reading about how much emphasis is put into women’s appearances, I started thinking about when I started caring so much about my body weight.  I was a sophmore in high school, and I was 15 years old when I started thinking I was not thin enough and that I needed to lose weight.  How this got started was, I was walking through the hallway with some friends and there were these other girls who were juniors and they weren’t getting over in the hallway, then one of them called me a “fat bitch.”  The funny thing about that this girl was a good amount bigger than me and I was probably a normal healthy size, I had never been callen fat before, so this really had got me thinking that I was and really made me feel bad about myself.  My friends were trying to talk me out of the fact that I was fat by telling me I’m a good size to be and that that girl was even bigger than me,  I just could not stop thinking about it though.  I remember working out alot, and starting a diet where I would eat one small portion a day, for example I would only eat 1 cereal bar, and that was it for the entire day.  Well, I didn’t realize the dangers of the situation I was putting myself in until having health class, and it made me realize that I should probably be taking better measures.  Luckily I realized this almost right when I started trying to diet and work out. I started giving myself a limit to the calories I ate, which was only about 1,000 a day.  I didn’t allow myself to snack or anything. 

Once the weight started melting off me, it was like I became obbsessed with losing weight.  I worked out everyday and started weighing myself everyday, and if I was over a certain weight, I wouldn’t eat at all that day.  I started not caring if I was being healthy or not.  I remember my grandparents making comments about not getting too thin, and I was almost to that point but not extreme, I got down to about 110 pounds, and I was 5’4″ tall.  I know some people say that is within the range a person of that height should be, but it was close to being too thin, not that my rib cage was showing or anything, but I was getting there I guess you could say. 

After a long time of getting over my weight issue problems, I started gaining weight back and I was ever so slowly with becoming ok with it.  It was really hard to stop going down the path I was going, I forced myself not to step on the scale, and now I hate getting on one, I’m too afraid to see what I weigh.  I’m deffinately not that thin anymore, and I would say the weight I am at now is where I should be, but I just don’t want to know how much I am.  It is sometimes still hard when thinking about it, but I try not to.  I just am so happy that I never got in too deep, and had to go to rehab or anything, I basically somehow fixed my problem on my own.  I’m not really dieting, but I do try to eat healthy.  I went vegetarian about a year and 7 & 1/2 months ago and I love it.  I just feel more refreshed and healthy.

I really didn’t know what to write about for this blog up until late last night around 11 pm.  I was helping my younger brother on some of his math homework which he had put off to do way too late.  When we finished around 10:50 pm, he asked if I would take him to the gas station to get him an energy drink for the morning so he could be a little more awake in the morning.  I told him yeah I would so we headed off to get him one.

On the way back, we were stopped at a light in the left turn lane coming from Illinois and turning onto Thomas Road.  I started to hear something coming from the car next to us in the other lane going straight, and it didn’t sound too pleasant.  I turned down the music playing and listened to what was going on.  When I looked over at the car I noticed there was a big Dodge truck next to the car with two white men inside.  The car next to me had a black woman in it.  All I could hear was what was coming from the driver in the truck, he was threatening her and calling her a “black bitch” and he kept saying “yeah white power bitch”.  When the light finally turned green the lady in the car started going slowing down, stoping, and going quicker trying to get away from the truck.  The truck however was keeping up with her and continued harrassing her.  I did get the license plate number of the truck and reported it.  I just really hope that that woman was ok. 

I could not believe this.  I was so overwhelmed with anger towards the men in the truck, for one I despise racisim no matter what the race is.  I have one cousin who is mixed with black, white, and hispanic and my boyfriend is biracial as well.  I’m not saying thats why I hate it, but I just think anybody no matter what race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender you are should be treated equally, as a person.  I also was pissed that they were also calling her a bitch.  I really don’t like that word.  I really don’t like being called one by peoplpe, especially if they do not know me but just refer to me as that bitch.  That is just how I feel about that.

I usually don’t watch television too much, but  this week when I have I have noticed some of the comercials that are on.  One thing I have noticed (and this isn’t really something new), is that for quite a few comercials that women are in, they are just portrayed as basically a sex object.  Some of the comercials that would involve this include any of the axe commercials, car commercials, and comercials for alcohol.  Most of them I can’t really seem to remember for what they were advertising, but I know that I have seen quite a few comercials that portrayed women this way.

I know that in todays day and age, sex is what sells but it just kind of got me thinking, is that really how I would want to be portrayed.  I would rather be portrayed as an intelegent individual and not just some object for sex and pleasuring men’s thoughts.  I don’t know, thats just what my thoughts are about that.

I’m not saying that all commercials with women are bad either, some actually portray women fine.  I just think that it seems as our society is obsessed with sex and selling products by that.  I also kind of find it funny that that is how our society trys to sell items, yet it also seems like our society doesn’t really like to talk about sex or anything like that.  Thinking about it, I find that quite a majority of the society that we live in seems very conservative.

The other day I had trouble starting my car, it just would not start.  I came to find out that the batery on my car was completely shot and would have to go out and buy a new one.  I ended up going to walmart for the battery and found one that should have fit my car according to the digital catelogs they had. 

Once I got home and tried putting the new battery in my car, it would not fit.  Apparently ford does something with their cars so that you have to buy their name brand for the battery to fit.  There was a slight indent around the battery case in my car which cause the new battery not to fit.  If that indent was not there the battery would have fit perfectly.

Anyways, I ended up taking the battery back to Walmart and explained to them what was wrong with it and they gadly took it back.   After that I went to Autozone to see if they would have a battery that would fit.  They brought out the same battery I had just returned at Walmart, so I tried explaining to them the situation I had just encountered with that battery and that it would not fit.  They just looked at me funny and acted like I didn’t know what I was talking about and insisted that it would fit.  So, I called up my dad and he came in, got a battery that would fit not problem and no questions asked.  That really just angered me a little bit.

Hello everyone,

I’m very new to this whole blogging thing, but it seems fairly simple.    I’m looking forward to working with blogs because I have never had or used one before.  I hope everyone does well this semester!  I look forward to working with you all and learning in this class.