Happy Birthday to THE PILL!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/06/pogrebin.pill.roundup/index.html

It seems like it's been a long time since the birth control pill rose to popularity. However, it's only been 50 years! In that short amount of time, the pill has come a LONG way. It has allowed women to make decisions about their body in a safe and easy manner. It also allowed women to be more free in terms of their own bodies and not be controlled by society.

Another thing said in the article is that women did not have to be scared of having sex or threatened with the possibility of a pregnancy. Going along with that, there has also been a change in the sexuality of women. They seem more comfortable with themselves and their bodies.

Marriage has also been been delayed in the lives of many because women are not becoming pregnant early on in their lives. Due to this, women are also moving on in life to start a career and are not depending on men as much as they used to.

I believe that the pill has made a BIG difference in the lives of not only women, but men as well. Not as much pressure is placed on either gender because there is a much lower risk of pregnancy happening. I think it's also a great thing that it has boosted the self-esteem and comfort of women regarding their bodies.

The birth control pill has come a long way, and hopefully it will continue to progress as time goes on.

How Young is TOO Young?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36717454

It is true that some of today's young adults may be getting married too young. However, when discussing the topic, many people fail to take a step back and look at the world as a whole. There are other cultures out there in which marrying at a young age is acceptable and even encouraged. But the other side of the issue that is not often looked at is divorce.

In Saudi Arabia, a young girl who was married to her father's 80-year-old cousin when she was 11-years-old. However, she was divorced by the age of 12. In most cases like this young girl's, there is no way out. The wife is supposed to go along with the situation and not speak out against it.

In the case of this young girl, she was able to get out of the marriage and reach an agreement with her family. Another great outcome of this case is that there is a possibility that a minimum marriage age will be set. That way other young women will not be forced into a marriage at such a young age. They will have time to mature and understand their culture and why marriage is so important in that culture.

It is important that girls mature before they get married and I think this policy will be very helpful in allowing girls to do just that before they are betrothed for the rest of their lives.

"Wait... the Pill Does What?!"

After discussing embodiment, sexuality, and gender in class yesterday (3/16/2010), I remembered an article I read in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan (April 2010). It's called "Wait... the Pill Does What?!"

The article talks about a new study being done on women who take oral contraceptives versus those who do not. It stated that women who take oral contraceptives are more likely to be attracted to "feminine men" and women who do not take the pill are attracted to "masculine men."

According to the article, women who do not take oral contraceptives have hormones that fluctuate. Therefore, they are attracted to both types of men at different times of the month. However those who do take oral contraceptives have hormones that are under control because of the pill. Thus, they do not get that "primal instinct" that wants a stronger-looking man.

I thought this article was interesting because not only were we just talking about something similar in class, but it's fun to compare the images given in the article (and shown poorly above). I can say that when I looked at the images myself, I could vouch that the article was relatively pertinent to me. The man on the left is the more "masculine" one and the man on the right is the more "feminine" one. Both are the same man but one was digitally altered to have different features. If you are more attracted to the man on the left, then you are most likely not taking oral contraceptives. If you are attracted to the man on the right, then you are most likely taking an oral contraceptive.

We were talking about how all mammals, including humans, had a primitave sexual side even though there were differences between humans and other animals. It's interesting to know that a small pill can change the natural sexual instinct of attraction in humans.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (and Not the Way You're Thinking)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1968110,00.html?xid=rss-topstories-cnnpartner


This article was a rather big shocker. Even though I knew that there were sexual assaults going on overseas, I really did not think it was this bad. First of all, these women are in our military to protect and serve. But the real question is who is there to protect them?

After looking at the statistics, I was very surprised to see how often these horrific acts happen to our femal soldiers. What's even more of a shocker is that many of these acts go unheard of. Many soldiers choose to not report what happened to them for fear of either being demoted or face ridicule among other things.

It is not at all okay for this to be going on. It only further shows that there is still a big gap in gender today. What is supposed to be an honorable title to many women, turns out to be a big nightmare because too many of them are afraid to speak out.

One passage in this article says that some of the soldiers do not report these happenings because they feel like they would be betraying their unit and would not want to disrupt a mission because they have been sexually intruded. In reality, they are betraying themselves and their values. I know know woman out there is thinking, "If I am violated in any way, I should just keep my mouth shut because I would be bringing everything down around me."

Another shocker? Eighty percent of those who are convicted of performing these horrific crimes are given a dishonorable discharge. What is up with that?! First of all, a very low percentage of these crimes are reported. And out of this small percentage, a large amount of suspects are respectfully kicked out of the military.

Clearly, there is something wrong with the system. If women are afraid to report what is happening to them, it is not safe for them to be in military positions. Out of the small amount of crimes that are reported, too many suspects are given leniency. The system needs to change because there is fear running through all female soldiers out there. Hopefully, soon there will be changes made to make these soldiers feel safe and for them to get justice.

Living the Dream?

Alright, firstly, I want to say that I LOVE "Keeping up with the Kardashians." But this is just ridiculous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q69Igo7xcGA

Kim Kardashian is viewed as a role model these days. But with this commercial, I think she's putting forth a bad image for girls and women everywhere. Kim was never a "big girl" to begin with. For her to go out and endorse a diet pill gives off the attitude that she was overweight. Thus giving other women the feeling that they may be at unhealthy weights when they are actually not.

Another thing is that she's got two teenaged sisters. By endorsing this pill, she is also giving off a bad body image to them. I'm not saying that they are overweight in any way, but neither was Kim. Someone who has younger, more easily influenced siblings should be careful of what they publicly endorse.

Her "mom-ager," Kris also is okay with this deal. I know that if I started using diet pill, much less started endorsing them, that my mom would NOT be a happy camper.

At the end of the day, "Living the Dream" could have bad results. There are so many risks that come with taking diet pills/supplements. I would think that it would be hard for someone to know these risks yet try to get others to use a product that could end up hurting a person. So who in the whole scheme of things is actually "Living the Dream?