Food, Inc. is a well put-together, well-meaning documentary about the dangers of the modern American diet and takes a very disturbing look at the places from which much of our food comes from. Michael Pollan, a well-known food author and farmers who both work for the Big Food industry and for organic farms are all interviewed to paint a picture of the greed- and convenience-driven capitalistic market that mass produces almost all of the food that Americans eat today.
It discussed how chicken farmers who work for just a few gigantic corporations take out hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the equipment needed to do this grueling work in order to make a measly average of $15,000.00 a year, an amount far below the poverty line. Not only are these people underpaid, but if they refuse to comply with updates to their contract which could involve the inhumane treatment of the animals, the contract can be terminated with no consequence to the companies. The giant food conglomerates are able to sue individuals who publicize anything about the companies that could be seen as slanderous, and usually win because of the exorbitant court costs the average individual is unable to pay.
This documentary sickened me. I told my roommates I would never be able to eat meat or produce not grown locally ever again. I vowed to eliminate fast food from my diet and purchase only organic products. I threw out my lunch meat, hot dogs, and non-organic yogurt. I was ready to be healthy and take a stand for America by putting my money towards foods that were ecologically and sociologically sound.
Then I woke up the next morning. I was running late to class and I found that after eliminating processed foods from my kitchen, I had nothing that could easily be prepared and eaten in a span of five to ten minutes. I had some organic yogurt, but I was, per usual, not in the mood for organic yogurt. Thus, I tossed all my brand new thinking out the window and headed to McDonalds, which is less than half a mile away from where I live. I got a hash brown and a coffee and I was ready to start my day.
Thinking critically about how little time it took for me to forget the information I'd learned, I am curious as to how strongly the American food culture is actually affecting me. I believe that it is partially nurture, and partially nature. Quick, chemically engineered foods just taste better. They are cheap, and as an unemployed college student relying on the goodwill of my parents to keep me afloat, I don't have a lot of money to spend on produce that will eventually rot away in my refrigerator from disuse. I am frustrated by my attitude. I do not come to this blog entry with solutions, but with problems. How do we reverse this terrible cycle?
Showing posts with label ksmunn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ksmunn. Show all posts
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Is placing children in gender roles harmful?
Several things we have discussed in class this semester have started me thinking about the gender and sexuality identities society places on children from the moment they are born. Jeanne Maglaty in her article, "When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?" poses that the 'pink is for girls, blue is for boys' stereotype began in the 1920's when department stores dictated that pink was a "boy color." This idea evolved into the dichotomy we know today largely through the advent of prenatal sex tests and a desire by parents to purchase "gender specific" clothing.
Finding this disturbing, I searched online using the terms "gender confused children." I found an old episode of Dr. Phil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1hV4ERlEE) addressing the idea that some children from very young ages like three or four do not enjoy the toys and clothes that have been designated for their sex. Dr. Phil states that less than 20% of "transgendered children" grow to become transgendered adults. This seems to me to be a huge red flag about the gender roles assigned to young kids, because the facts seem to say that childhood gender identity has little to do with what a person will actually decide to become in their adult life, when their cognitive abilities are developed enough to make such a decision. Of course, it is probably difficult for parents raised in generations that have historically reinforced these ideas to accept that they are not necessarily essential and possibly detrimental to successful childhood development. Maglatay even mentions that there is often an irrational fear that if children are reared wearing the "wrong" clothes for their sex that they will grow up to be "perverted." However, I would like to pose that these gender stereotypes largely serve to harm these small minds and, in these cases of child gender confusion, they can often be incredibly hurtful to the growing process, setting up societal prerogatives to steer the child away from their wants and needs and subjecting them to unnecessary problems such as schoolyard bullying.
Additionally, on Monday in class, Professor McCaulliff said something that has been ringing in my mind ever since. She was explaining that her young daughter has a very close friend in day care who happens to be male, and that the employees at the daycare often like to joke that the little boy is her daughter's boyfriend. Professor McCaulliff went on to say that she likes to remind these adults that perhaps her daughter "won't want a boyfriend" when she is older and pointed out to us that babies do not flirt or have relationships because they are BABIES, and that she is seen as the "weird mom" at daycare. No matter what gender or sexuality adults seem desperate to place on children, their tiny undeveloped minds are simply not wired for this type of complex thinking.
Although my parents and many influential adult figures throughout my childhood have done nothing but provide me unconditional love and support, and I am forever indebted to them, I cannot help but wonder the kind of person I would be today if I was not raised as a heterosexual girl, a girl who had boxes upon boxes of Barbies and was shown in school that glitter, pink, and purple were the best kinds of clothes if I wanted to fit in with my peers. As an adult I am making more efforts to gear my thinking less toward these "black and white" classifications of gender and sexuality, but I will admit this is an extremely difficult task. I am hoping that in generations to come, society's thoughts about these things will become more advanced and children will finally grow up in a world where it is okay to be anywhere on these spectra and not have to worry about whether they will be considered "perverts."
Finding this disturbing, I searched online using the terms "gender confused children." I found an old episode of Dr. Phil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1hV4ERlEE) addressing the idea that some children from very young ages like three or four do not enjoy the toys and clothes that have been designated for their sex. Dr. Phil states that less than 20% of "transgendered children" grow to become transgendered adults. This seems to me to be a huge red flag about the gender roles assigned to young kids, because the facts seem to say that childhood gender identity has little to do with what a person will actually decide to become in their adult life, when their cognitive abilities are developed enough to make such a decision. Of course, it is probably difficult for parents raised in generations that have historically reinforced these ideas to accept that they are not necessarily essential and possibly detrimental to successful childhood development. Maglatay even mentions that there is often an irrational fear that if children are reared wearing the "wrong" clothes for their sex that they will grow up to be "perverted." However, I would like to pose that these gender stereotypes largely serve to harm these small minds and, in these cases of child gender confusion, they can often be incredibly hurtful to the growing process, setting up societal prerogatives to steer the child away from their wants and needs and subjecting them to unnecessary problems such as schoolyard bullying.
Additionally, on Monday in class, Professor McCaulliff said something that has been ringing in my mind ever since. She was explaining that her young daughter has a very close friend in day care who happens to be male, and that the employees at the daycare often like to joke that the little boy is her daughter's boyfriend. Professor McCaulliff went on to say that she likes to remind these adults that perhaps her daughter "won't want a boyfriend" when she is older and pointed out to us that babies do not flirt or have relationships because they are BABIES, and that she is seen as the "weird mom" at daycare. No matter what gender or sexuality adults seem desperate to place on children, their tiny undeveloped minds are simply not wired for this type of complex thinking.
Although my parents and many influential adult figures throughout my childhood have done nothing but provide me unconditional love and support, and I am forever indebted to them, I cannot help but wonder the kind of person I would be today if I was not raised as a heterosexual girl, a girl who had boxes upon boxes of Barbies and was shown in school that glitter, pink, and purple were the best kinds of clothes if I wanted to fit in with my peers. As an adult I am making more efforts to gear my thinking less toward these "black and white" classifications of gender and sexuality, but I will admit this is an extremely difficult task. I am hoping that in generations to come, society's thoughts about these things will become more advanced and children will finally grow up in a world where it is okay to be anywhere on these spectra and not have to worry about whether they will be considered "perverts."
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Parasocial Relationships and Me
Unfortunately, I am the type of person to say things first and reflect on them later. Yesterday I said something aloud which shocked me and made me come to the conclusion that I have a parasocial relationship with a celebrity; that is, I am emotionally invested in a pop culture icon who (most likely, unless he's seen my tweets at him), is hitherto unawares of my existence. What I said was so ridiculous that I thought I would share.
On Thursday, MTV aired its "Video Music Awards." Despite the fact that most critics agree the program is a cultural abomination, showcasing the fact that America's youths seem to be growing stupider and more party-obsessed annually, I tuned in, lured by the fact that my precious darling Frank Ocean would be performing and was nominated for Best Video and Best New Artist. Tweeting furiously throughout Lil Wayne's pathetic caterwauling, Pink's undignified crotch shot, and Drake's tearful speech about childhood bullies, I waited for Frank's awards to be rightfully presented to him.
Much to my disappointment in humanity, Frank Ocean lost both awards to boy band One Direction.
I get it. I am twenty one years old watching a program I feel I outgrew at fifteen, expecting an artist who actually wrote, composed, and produced all his own songs to win against these adorable tweens. The camera panned to Frank Ocean and I saw that he looked pretty unsurprised by the news.
Cue me, yesterday. My roommate asked me how the awards turned out, because, sadly, she knew how excited I was to watch them. I told her this" "Frank Ocean lost to One Direction in both categories. He wasn't surprised. He knew it was a stupid awards show. I saw it on his face. We both knew it."
I am still stunned that I said such a thing.
This incident leads me to question what role these parasocial relationships have in our lives. I definitely know that my consideration of a person who is totally unavailable to me is coming at somewhat of a social cost. How would we be as people if a celebrity culture did not exist? Maybe my life would be much simpler. I am not qualified to go into the psychology of the matter, but I am interested in the implications of a fictional world created by a person obsessed with a public figure.
On Thursday, MTV aired its "Video Music Awards." Despite the fact that most critics agree the program is a cultural abomination, showcasing the fact that America's youths seem to be growing stupider and more party-obsessed annually, I tuned in, lured by the fact that my precious darling Frank Ocean would be performing and was nominated for Best Video and Best New Artist. Tweeting furiously throughout Lil Wayne's pathetic caterwauling, Pink's undignified crotch shot, and Drake's tearful speech about childhood bullies, I waited for Frank's awards to be rightfully presented to him.
Much to my disappointment in humanity, Frank Ocean lost both awards to boy band One Direction.
I get it. I am twenty one years old watching a program I feel I outgrew at fifteen, expecting an artist who actually wrote, composed, and produced all his own songs to win against these adorable tweens. The camera panned to Frank Ocean and I saw that he looked pretty unsurprised by the news.
Cue me, yesterday. My roommate asked me how the awards turned out, because, sadly, she knew how excited I was to watch them. I told her this" "Frank Ocean lost to One Direction in both categories. He wasn't surprised. He knew it was a stupid awards show. I saw it on his face. We both knew it."
I am still stunned that I said such a thing.
This incident leads me to question what role these parasocial relationships have in our lives. I definitely know that my consideration of a person who is totally unavailable to me is coming at somewhat of a social cost. How would we be as people if a celebrity culture did not exist? Maybe my life would be much simpler. I am not qualified to go into the psychology of the matter, but I am interested in the implications of a fictional world created by a person obsessed with a public figure.
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