Self Help Magazines

The latest issue of Cosmo Magazine is no different than any other month - It is filled with headlines that will help women to become more attractive to men. Out of the 9 article headers on the front cover, 6 are geared towards helping women reinvent themselves to create an image that would be just what a man wants. Whether it's how to be better in bed (not so she enjoys it more, but so he enjoys it more) or how to look better so you can find a man to try these techniques out on, none of the articles are aimed at helping a woman improve her sense of self worth or esteem. On the contrary, they do everything to diminish these qualities. The overwhelming message in these magazines is to play on women's insecurities about their bodies and identities in an attempt to sell not magazines, but adverstisement. You heard me. The publishers of Glamour, Cosmo and GQ aren't out to sell magazines, they are out to sell the advertisers. They make very little from the subscription price of selling a magazine, instead they make their money from the people who choose to advertise in their magazines. They have a chosen demographic for their product and guess what? You're it! That means that publishers have to do something drastic to make their target demographic take notice of their product in order to buy it. That means selling what women are most insecure about. Their bodies, their relatioships and their self esteem. They print articles that mislead women into believing that they are helping them to overcome their weaknesses, but instead they are seeking to reinforce that women are flawed if they fail to live up to society's ideal of what is considered sexy, beautiful and feminine.

Halloween Costumes

Yesterday I took my kids shopping for Halloween costumes. My oldest daughter is 10 and this is her favorite holiday. She starts thinking about what she will dress up like for the next year before she is even done trick or treating. She's a tomboy. She is anti- girl as she puts it. Gotta love her for it.... Shopping is certainly cheaper. But I've noticed that as she gets older, the costumes keep getting more and more inappropriate. She went in looking to be a pirate. Her idea was to be a girl pirate like Keira Knightly on "Pirates of the Caribbean". But what we found instead were "sexy pirates". Tummy showing, short skirted, fishnet stocking pirates. My daughter is a tall thin child, so it's difficult to find things that fit her that are long enough, but these costumes had built in breast cups for a size 7/8 costume and they barely covered her bottom!!!! Now, a good mom might be able to make her daughter a costume to fit, but not me.... I own a sewing machine purely for sewing straight line stitches that always unravel. So we search and search. We try on the boy version of the costume, but it too shows the stomach.
I give up temporarily to help my 7 year old son find his costume. It's a little better, but still...... Most of the costumes have built in padding to make them look more muscular. I realize women aren't the only ones who are bombarded with messages about their bodies.
So, finally after surviving the two oldest I move onto my youngest. My 5 year old daughter who is the opposite of my oldest is in search of the latest "Barbie" costumes. She picks out butterfly barbie. Other than the fact that it cost entirely too much for a piece of pink netting with Velcro wings it seems appropriate.
All and all, we survived another year of costume shopping, but it was definitely a journey in the exaggerated land of gender identity.

Pharmeceutical Ads

So.... my husband and I love to laugh at all of the pharmaceutical ads on t.v. I mean there are ads for allergy medications that promise they will help alleviate your allergy symptoms and then in the last few seconds of the commercial will add the disclaimer of the possible side effects, which not only include symptoms similar to allergies such as watery eyes, but also other bothersome effects such as permanent liver damage. Who are these companies advertising to? The answer is of course, the general public who have the ailments which their drugs promise to treat. So why market to the general public when doctors are still responsible for prescribing these medications? The problem is that patients then ask their doctors to prescribe these medications based on some glorified television ads, when that medication may not be the best one for their particular situation. I don't believe that public advertising should be allowed for prescription medications. Doctors are responsible for prescribing the right medications for individual patients and they hopefully make their decision based on their proven effectiveness and safety.

The Ghost in the Shell

There are several themes addressed in the movie “The Ghost in the Shell”. The first theme is that identity is formed from what we are told and how people react to us. The input we receive from external sources is so great it can cause us to question our own identity. For example, in this particular movie, the Major’s shell is that of a female and is human in form. However, the reality is, that the Major is a man and that he is no longer human. Instead he is a cyborg. In one segment of the movie, the Major tells Batou that his transformation has caused him to question if he is human or not. The external reaction that the Major is receiving from people is in reaction to his outward shell. Eventually this juxtaposition causes him to question his own identity because the information he is receiving is different than how he sees himself.
Another theme that is largely addressed in this film is gender identity. Because the movie only subtly touches on the fact that the Major is actually a male in a female form, the viewer is afforded the opportunity to later reflect on their own limited ideals of what makes gender. The viewer will realize that they believed the Major to be female purely based on his outward appearance. Early in the movie, there is nothing to differentiate the Major as male or female, other than his physical form. Gender and identity are more effectively argued when the viewer’s own reliability is called into question.
Batou’s attraction to the Major is a good example of how the outward appearance affects how we feel about an individual. Nothing about the Major has changed other than her shell is now that of a woman. A critical viewer might question why Batou’s attraction is more acceptable now that the Major is physically female? He is obviously uncomfortable by his attraction to the Major and this is never more evident than in his interaction with the Major after his new shell becomes that of a young child.
Overall, this film questions how much of our identity is formed by how people relate to us by our outward appearance. The Major struggles throughout the movie with several aspects of his identity and how his shell relates to how he perceives himself.

How women are judged

So......I can't remember where I heard this from, but it is so true - Women are juged first by what they look like and then what they say, and men are judged first by what they say and secondly by what they look like. For men, lines of aging on a face make them look distinguished and knowledgeable, those same lines for women make them look tired and old. It's easy for people to hate on the Jessica Simpsons and Paris Hiltons of the world, but the truth is, they are selling what American's believe and want to buy. Men who develop a craft such as songwriting and singing are admired for their talent and ambition, no matter what they look like. A woman on the other hand, is either smart and unattractive or gorgeous and dumb. And in this world, you are more likely to become wealthy and admired as a woman for being attractive and dumb than you are for being smart.
The truth is, men can marry a woman 15 years younger than them because of this double standard. If a 50 year old man is at a bar, he is going to bi-pass the 50 year old woman sitting next to him and head straight for the 35 year old sitting across the room. That 35 year old might actually be attracted to his confidence, knowledge, maturity and experience. But if the tables were turned, and an attractive 50 year old woman hit on a 35 year old man, she's considered a "Cougar". It might seem cool to the guy, but everyone else thinks it's sad and desperate.
There's even a new show on called "Cougar Town" with Courtney Cox playing a 40 year old single mother. She's still attractive, but she's feeling the clock tick. Not the fertility clock, but the "loss of youth" clock. Biolgically a woman is going to deal with hormones that are going to wreak havoc on her face and body and Courtney Cox's character like the millions of other 40 year old women out there is completely aware of this looming . Now the reason this loss of physical attractiveness is so much harder on women is because men are extremely visual people. Unlike women, who are attracted to how a man carries himself and how he dresses. Men are far more attracted to how a woman looks.

New Rumors

So the newest rumors surrounding Jon and Kate plus 8 are circulating on the web as we speak. So where should I start?
1. Rumor has it that Kate has been offered $400,000. to pose for Playboy. But who cares about that?! What's truly disturbing is that she turned it down because she was mortified. Now why would she be so mortified by this offer? Is it because she doesn't want her kids to think that she would exploit herself for financial gain? Well guess what.... that's what she's been doing to her family for years and she still continues to do it.
2. Rumor aslo has it that Jon had an affair with the nanny. Is anyone truly surprised to find out that this 32 year old father of 8 was sleeping with his 20 year old nanny while Kate was away financially supporting their family? Of course not...

Artifact Selection

According to a 2005 MSNBC poll, 56% of Americans believe that there are too many reality television shows, yet 54% of Americans tune into reality television shows on a regular basis. This shows us that even though, we as Americans claim to be tired of this overwhelming trend, we’re tuning in at a high percentage rate. So what is it that draws us to reality television? Is it purely for it’s’ entertainment value? Or, are we learning something from the pseudo reality that these television shows portray? Also, as these shows become more prevalent and their shock value wears off, what affect are these shows having on the viewing audience as a whole and also the participants - in particular, the children who are featured on these shows. The newest reality television fads have been shows like; The Super Nanny, Wife Swap, and the most famous of all, Jon and Kate plus eight, which feature the lives of parents and their children placed under the microscopic vision of the American public where everyone has an opinion. These children are forced participants. The fall-out that occurs or the spectacle that is created by these shows affects the participants and also the viewer. For my artifact, I will look at how the reality television shows have grown in popularity and evolved into mainstream American culture. It is also inevitable that because of the broad reach of these shows, that in some way our personal relationships, society and also the participants themselves, have been changed or shaped by this trend. Also, I will research why Americans are so drawn to this type of programming. What is it that makes us continue to tune in even though we realize that it is not a true portrayal of reality?
The cultural significance of reality television stems from its’ prevalence and mainstream accessibility. Whether people watch it for pure entertainment, because they are curious about how other people function within their community or to expand their standard for what is considered normal, the plethora of the material has in no doubt permeated our culture in one way or another. It is a part of the lives of 54% of the population. That is a significant amount of people in our society who are partaking in the media exploitation of someone else’s life. And whether you find yourself hugely addicted to a particular reality series or just merely curious, one thing is for sure, we all find it somehow disturbing and fascinating at the same time.