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Showing posts with label venting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label venting. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Flying Pigs and Eating Crows

Its pretty difficult for most people to admit that they were misinformed, misguided, or just plain wrong.... myself included! Consider this me eating crow about how I was completely wrong about feminism, and that the world is-right now- just as it should be. And yes... that was a pig flying by your apartment window ;)

WOW! How could I be so wrong about a gender balance that favors men? Women can be anything they want to be. With the right motivation and education can't we all?

Facts:
  • Since 1964, male voters outnumbered female voters in every presidential election.
  • BJ Gallagher (author of "The World's Best Advice from the World's Wisest Man) says men make great bosses because they are 
    • better coachers 
    • better mentors
    • better problem solvers
  • Men hold 98 of 535 (18%) seats in the 113th Congress
    • 79 House Representative are male 
    • 20 Senators (plus 3 delegates) are men 
  • Of the 100 largest American Cities, 12 have male mayors.
  • Men have better aim throwing a baseball at all ages.
  • 2012 elections saw 5 male state governors elected.
  • multitasking test had 50 men and 50 women do four tasks in 8 minutes: results show men better able to reflect on problems while also doing others tasks 
    • men are better at multitasking
  • James Flynn is a researcher that found the IQs of men in the US, Europe, Canada are higher than women's
    • men are smarter
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics says that since the Recession hit in 2007, 80% of the workers who lost their jobs were women.
    • men are recession proof
  • Harvard Business Review recently published a study on male to female leadership ability. The study says that leadership is quantified by 16 central personality traits
    •  men are judged to be better than women on 12 of the traits (10 showed a statistical significance). 
      • men better leaders
  • Men are judged in employee evaluations to be more positively perceived at:
    • Executive Management (Men 57, Women 52) 
    • Senior Managers (Men 56, Women 50) 
    • Middle Managers (55 Men, 51 Women).
  • US Census Burea says 17 million men and 12 million women live in poverty in the United States, which is the highest level since 1993.
  • Rothstein Kass finance shows that male hedge fund managers outperform female competition.
  • 48% of all men experience psychological aggression in their lifetime
  • 37% of families led by single fathers nationwide live in poverty.
    • only 6.8% of married parent families do (2009 Heritage Foundation Study)


Clearly, men make better leaders, are smarter, and are generally more valuable and have more to offer than women in the workplace. Most of you shouldn't be surprised... Americans just "know" these facts to be true: males as a group are supreme to the weaker, more fragile feminine sex.


April Foolsssss :)

All the above "truths?" Just replace every man/male/masculine word from the above quotes with woman/female/feminine to switch the statement. Every single fact originally was written to be the exact opposite...for example "37% of families led by single mothers nationwide live in poverty" is the true information.

They are exactly opposite of what the data from many studies are finding when comparing the average man to the average woman.



As in- studies are showing that women in general have more leadership skills, higher IQs, vote more,  are rated higher in employee evaluations, and are more educated as a group than male peers.

Surprised yet?

How can a congress of 82% rich white men know anything about making laws that govern the contraceptive and maternity rights of 51% of the population? It can't.

Although feminism is geared to helping girls and women reach the equality that males are privileged with from birth, feminism at its core promotes equality of all people regardless of gender, sex, race, or class. The movement is about not about being better than men, its about women being valued by the world as more than a "slam-piece;" more valuable than the sum of her curves. Women are human, too.

I hate to have tricked you reader, but with all the "Men's Rights Movement" propaganda floating around, I wanted to make sure you realize that we all still need feminism. I am so about helping men-central issues like the high suicide rate of teen boys, the male problem of homelessness, and the constant societal pressure to be an alpha male. Such a shame that legitimate concerns like the above (and many more) are being ignored to solely bring down the feminist movement.


Make tomorrow better,
Brooke






Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Mind Your Own Business

What society says is "right"
I remember how 7th grade girl's athletics would be the next period after lunch. Have you ever ran "horses" right after devouring chili cheese fries? Basketball practice with Coach Oliver was NOT going to be pleasant post-lunch... so we 13 years old "athletes" did what any person would do: we just didn't eat. I will never forget the locker room talk that came from parental concerns about our protruding ribs and knobby knees: Momma Shaw telling us this is unacceptable, and that to be healthy, you must eat. 

Its funny how exercising for a 50 min class period, then 2 hour volleyball practice, followed by a 2 hour cheerleading practice every day can whittle a person down. Its funny how hours spent at basketball tournaments and track invitationals can deplete fat stores into nearly nothing. 

Although I'm much more comfortable these days at 22, I can still hear the voices of my classmates' accusations, "You're anorexic aren't you?? I KNOW you are!" I can still hear my parent's worry as they ask if something is the matter, if I need help, that they're concerned. I can still recall the exact moment, where I was, and what I was wearing when my high school boyfriend told me that his friends had asked him how he can even hug me without breaking me.

I can still feel the shame of being "skinny."

Love yourself! Everyone else can Kick Rocks Eat Glass.
Turns out, I'm not alone in this. "Skinny-Shaming"-- the practice of embarrassing or degrading a person for their body being subjectively "below average"-- is exactly what I was, and still am put through. This is not a "poor me, people are so mean!" post: no one should feel embarrassed about their body, and all the "real men don't want bones" and the "real women have curves" billboards send the message that I am both unwanted, and also not a woman. So apparently I'm an alien? A child? A sea monster? Its another way that I have been judged inadequate by those around me. 

How dare the number on the scale be used to define who I am. Why would it EVER be appropriate to make snippy comments about how much I, or anyone else, weighs? When I think about all the forced down food, day in and day out, that I painfully stuffed myself with; all the unwanted swallows that proved to others that - no- in fact, I am "normal," ..... 

Well now I'm just angry.

Family members, classmates, strangers on the streets... think first of how your words affect another person. If I had reversed their comments of 
YOU are more than your body
  1. "WOW you skinny bitch! How about some junk food!" 
  2. "Do you ever eat??" 
  3. "Here, let me make you a sandwich, you're the one that needs it..." 
 into something like 
  1. "WOW fat-ass how about breathing, too?" 
  2. "Do you ever stop eating??" 
  3. "Let me take that food off your hands, you clearly don't need it..."
can you see how hurtful this can be? 

I am PROUD to be who I am. I understand that there is a societal "thin privilege,"and I am sorry for those who, because of disease or disability, are overweight. But pardon my lack of sympathy for the men and women who think their body is anyone's fault but their own. If you do not like your own body, do not take it out on me. Instead of belittling the women who park far away from the store entrance, who take the stairs, who skip dessert every now and then-- how about go exercise? How about go improve your SELF before you get the "privilege" to judge others. Better yet, how about you keep your unsolicited opinions to yourself. 

My biggest pet peeve in the entire world is hearing "GOSHHH IM SO FATTTTT" right after watching someone devour 4 pizza slices to go with their large Dr. Pepper. Do you remember the last time you went to the gym? How about the last time you stopped eating before you went into a semi-food coma? According to the CDC, 1/3 of American adults are obese; considering the number one cause of death (heart disease) is related to obesity, the fact seems significant. 

We need to change how we view both our own and other's bodies by their ratio of muscle to fat to blood to bone, into judging by what a body and a mind can accomplish. If all you do is watch netflix and eat chips, I really don't feel bad for you if you're packing a few pounds. Likewise, if you eat healthily and make lifestyle choices encouraging your longevity and ability to perform life skills-- keep it up! Go run that marathon girl! But don't let the words of others define you.

In the words of Mr. Glenn Marla, "There is no wrong way to have a body." Worry about your health first, your ideas second, and your physical "size" last. 

XOXO,
Brooke

Friday, February 7, 2014

The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

I am too opinionated for my own good.


Well that's what my "friends" on FaceBook like to let me know, at least. "Friends" because I certainly do NOT know 2000 people.

That I am not always politically correct or "lady-like"...whatever that is.... with my thoughts. 

That I should post kittens and rainbows and statuses like:
"What a blessed day! I cannot believe how amazingly perfect life is!!!! Love you all!!!!!!!"

Probably me very shortly...
Definitely me eventually.
That I should just stop.

Well, Internet that leads me to my next point.... here I am starting my first blog so that my poor, poor FB friends can get a break from all of this sass ;) Bear with me cause I hear its a learning experience!

Wheeler's quote "The pen is mightier than the sword" is perfection because it. is. truth! Did you know that China actually PAID workers to find blogs with negative comments about communism and switch up the conversation? 

After WWII and especially after the Cold War, America was THE world power, but now we really have become just a country of complacency...

We're too worried about poppin' molly and learning how to twerk. 
About raising minimum wage when we should be lowering the price of an education.
About what's trending instead of what matters.

As a millennial, I've always had information right at my finger-tips, so why would I waste my brain power on publicity-stunting celebrities and their gossip? These people earn MILLIONS to speak words that are not their own and to almost physically become someone they are not. I really just don't get the hype.

I'm new here to the blogosphere (that's a thing....right?.....) but I want to hear and be heard! 
I want to have lively debates here about the things my friends are sick of hearing me talk about.

Like I said, new here! I just want to express my thoughts and hear what each of you have to say!  Any blogging tips you'd like the share? They would be accepted VERY graciously. Any topic ideas? I'd give it a stab. 

Until next time beautiful people,
Brooke