Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Final Words
As a final post, I decided to use a website called wordle.net and make an image using the content of all my blogs so far. I think it is interesting to look back and see not only what the class was about but also what interested me personally. I really enjoyed this class and all the personal growth that I gained from it!
Family Abuse
Family abuse is such an unfortunate problem in our society, and it saddens me that it is something so common that it is taught as yet another subject in a class about relationships. I personally think that is primarily stems from past experience of the parents. If the parents were raised in a loving, abuse-free home there is no reason they should have for abusing their own children. They would not have any experience to compare it to, and they should have successful parenting techniques that their own parents did use on them. Another factor that I think causes family abuse is substance abuse. Substance abuse lowers the abusers inhibitions and ability to think logically about a situation. It can bring out negative emotions and expand them exponentially. The third factor that I think causes family abuse is the need of the abuser to feel as though they have dominance or control. Perhaps they think that the person they are abusing needs someone to be a figure of authority and they do not know how else to provide for that need.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Eric Dishman
The video we watched in class today was one with a man named Eric Dishman, and he talked about taking healthcare off the main frame. To be honest, I found the video difficult to watch. It seemed as though Mr. Dishman did not really have a lot to say, yet a lot of words were coming from his mouth. I do not even really feel comfortable giving an opinion on his opinions because even after watching the video again after class, I do not know what he wanted to get across. The majority of his speech seemed to focus on the company he works for and the expensive equipment that he wants to sell on a large scale; it was hard not to zone out during these parts from my years of being bombarded with advertisements and self-training to shut them out.
However I did enjoy the class discussion that we had once the video had ended. Many of my classmates shared personal stories of their family members’ experiences in care facilities and I learned a lot about them that I had not known before. This is a topic that I would be very interested in coming back to so that I can learn more about it and form my own opinions on the subject.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Katy Perry from a Feminist Point of View
Today we watched the music video for Katy Perry’s song Hot & Cold. Though I personally enjoy the video, I decided to view it critically from another perspective to gain a bit more understanding of it. From the feminist perspective, I think that the video is extremely degrading to women. It begins by showing a woman upset that a man is unsure of marrying her, as if she needs a man in her life in order to be happy. Then the stereotypical ‘bridezilla’ has a crying, screaming, crazy fit as if a woman cannot even keep her emotions under control if a man does not want to be with her. Then there is a bridge in the video while Katy is shown in various sexy outfits looking pretty, because you cannot have a good music video without showing a sexy woman. The video is then wrapped up by the groom deciding to marry her and of course this is the greatest news she could have- a man to take care of her. Now, I am not sure if this much thought was put into the making of this video, but it cannot be denied that it aligns with quite a few stereotypes that follow the female gender. I still enjoy the song and the video, but I think it is very important to view media critically and consider alternate meanings to the content we are exposed to.
I also found the following article that expands on the ideas of gender and gender roles in a few of Katy Perry's Songs:
I also found the following article that expands on the ideas of gender and gender roles in a few of Katy Perry's Songs:
Group Media Analysis- Katy Perry
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Future of Dating
The discussion today moved from dating in the past to how dating may potentially develop in the future. I think that dating will continue to change and grow in the same direction that it has been moving. Socially, it seems that it is becoming more and more acceptable to wait until you are slightly older to settle down. Rather than dating one or two people for a couple years and getting married, many couple will date for 5 years or more before taking the plunge and get married and/or start a family. I think that the increasing amount of technology has also has a huge effect on dating trends and will continue to do so. Online dating has become extremely popular in the last few years. It began a bit iffy, something that only a few people would try and even fewer would admit to it, but in the past couple years online dating has become near as popular as most other traditional methods of meeting new people. I personally know a few couples who have met online and I’m sure that this trend of increased acceptance and use of online dating will only continue in years to come. I cannot help but even wonder what new and exciting technologies will exist only a few years from now. For all we know, we are on the brink of yet another revolution that could change the ideas we share about dating even further.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Evolution of Dating
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| http://www.ashmiles.com/images/images/portfolio/spreads/amiles_spreadNOBLEED_4_18_112.jpg |
Today’s class discussion was focussed on dating. I think that dating has changed a lot in the past hundred years, although I would not say that that is a good or a bad thing. I think that as our society has developed, our dating practices have changed drastically yet at the same time the hint of old traditions continue to exist. The introduction of feminism had a major impact on dating, in my opinion. The women used to have little involvement in the prospect of planning a date, but today many women are unafraid to be the one to ask a man on a date or even plan the night’s activities. I think that the age at which people are willing to settle down has also changed the ways that we view dating. Young people used to meet each other at dances that were specifically planned for them to mingle and potentially find a partner. Nowadays, many people are not willing to settle down so young- they want to finish school and/or establish a career before they worry about finding a partner. While a lot of dating is still sparked at social establishments, there are still a lot of people who have grown out of the ‘bar scene’ but are still looking for that special someone.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thoroughly Modern Marriage
I am going to be honest, some of the couples in the documentary that we watched today, Thoroughly Modern Marriage, absolutely shocked me. The one that got me the most was the couple that shared their practice of an open marriage. This is something that I have heard about before, but never in real life and I have never heard anyone openly support it. Having had the chance to discuss and think about it, I do not actually have a problem with it being practiced by someone else. In fact I would be curious to learn more about it and ask questions about their decision. Yet I can also say without a doubt in the world that it is not something that is for me. I suppose that it is to do with being from a traditional family, but I am someone who believes in marriage and what it stands for. I think that if you are not willing to give yourself wholly and fully to your partner, then you have no business getting married. Open marriage goes against everything that marriage stands for, in fact the term itself sounds to me like a complete contradiction. I would not judge a couple for being in an open marriage, but I have no desire to try it for myself.
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