A day in my life, which might not be that interesting.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653

		I will marry Justin Timberlake.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Venice in our fabulous Apartment.
		We will have 1 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a green Toyota Prius.
		I will spend my days as a lawyer, and live happily ever after.

This was freaking hard.

I had to write a paper on HPV for my women's studies class. I need to stop doing these things last minute, but here's what I wrote:

HPV: Gardasil and Sexual Education
The Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, is a dangerous and rapidly spreading STD. Education about HPV and mandatory tests for it at routine pap smears can help decrease the occurrence of this potentially fatal virus. According to the American Social Health Association, “it has been estimated that 75% or more of sexually active Americans will contract HPV.” This makes HPV an obvious concern to all sexually active people, but especially women, since HPV can lead to abnormal cell changes, and even cervical cancer. There has been much research done on HPV as well as ways to combat it, but none are more controversial than the vaccine Gardasil and sex education.
According to its website, Gardasil is “the only cervical cancer vaccine that helps protect against 4 types of human papillomavirus (HPV): 2 types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and 2 more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases” (www.gardasil.com). This definitely makes it a significant scientific achievement. Unfortunately, the vaccine brings with it many questions.
The Centers for Disease control has given its support to Gardasil. It explains on its website that the vaccine is recommended for “11 and 12 year-old girls...also recommended for girls and women age 13 through 26 years of age.” It also states that it can be given to girls as young as 9. It is important that young women receive this vaccine before they become sexually active or have had any exposure to HPV. Gardasil has been extensively studied in women between the ages of 9 and 26, but there are studies currently being conducted on subjects over the age of 26. Unfortunately, since there is no test to determine what HPV strains one has been exposed to, Gardasil may not help those who have already had a strain of HPV; however, a sexually active woman might still benefit, since Gardasil fights four strains of HPV.
In 2007, Governor Rick Perry of Texas signed an executive order mandating that schoolgirls be inoculated with the Gardasil vaccine. This caused a firestorm of controversy. Many parents were irate, and called their Senators to complain. There were many issues that caused concern for the parents. They did not believe there had been enough study on the vaccine. Some did not like the government interfering in what they felt was a family decision. Still others believed that giving the vaccine would encourage promiscuity in young girls. Due to the outrage, the state Legislature passed a bill later on that year that “would block state officials from following [Governor Perry's] order” (www.msnbc.com).
Those parents may have been correct about one thing. Governor Perry signed his order in 2007, while Gardasil had only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006. The FDA did studies on Gardasil, but “the study period was not long enough for cervical cancer to develop, the prevention of these cervical precancerous lesions is believed highly likely to result in the prevention of those cancers” (www.fda.gov). This raises questions for people who are facing a decision on whether or not to give their daughters a potentially lifesaving vaccination.
Matelita Ragogo of the Fiji Times claims that the vaccine is linked to “21 deaths and 9749 adverse reactions, including 78 outbreaks of genital warts and 10 miscarriages.” She also states that “Gardasil is still in its testing stages and will not be fully evaluated for safety until September 2009” (www.fijitimes.com). This speaks directly to some of the concerns of those parents in Texas. While no one can argue the potential benefits of a vaccine that could possibly help eradicate a large percentage of cervical cancer, people must be assured that it is safe before they can be expected to subject their children to it.
The Food and Drug Administration fast tracked the approval of Gardasil, probably due to the concerns over HPV and its links to cervical cancer. While Gardasil may be an important lifesaving tool, it would have been better if the vaccine had not been distributed to the public until all the studies had been completed. Perhaps, the best defense against HPV would be a good offense. This would be where sex education in schools would come in.
HPV notwithstanding, sex education is a contentious topic in and of itself. There is much debate in the United States over whether abstinence-only education is the best way to educate school age children. In fact, “for more than two decades, the federal government has consistently funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs despite a lack of research suggesting that these programs are effective” (www.communityactionkit.org). People seem to feel that teaching children comprehensive sex education teaches them to be promiscuous.
The American Psychological Association (APA) begs to differ. It conducted over fifteen years of research and found that “both comprehensive sex education and abstinence only programs delay the onset of sexual activity” but that “abstinence only programs show an unintended consequence of unprotected sex at first intercourse and during later sexual activity” (www.apa.org). This means that parents and the federal government who support these abstinence only programs are unintentionally allowing ill-informed young people to gamble with their health. It cannot be stressed how important it is that young people are educated about sex and its potentially life threatening consequences including more than just HPV, such as HIV and AIDS. Without knowledge of these viruses and diseases, kids are at a loss to protect themselves.
There have not been any studies to show that comprehensive sexual education causes adolescents to have more sex or to have sex earlier. These education programs do not encourage children to have sex, but do advocate teaching about birth control and contraceptives. It is important not only to teach about sex, but to educate about the consequences as well, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HPV. Teaching abstinence as well as the encouraging fewer sexual partners are also cornerstones of these programs.
The APA recommends that “only those programs whose efficacy and effectiveness has been well-established through sound scientific methods should be supported for widespread implementation” which excludes abstinence only programs (www.apa.org). It is unfortunate that the federal government would support an educational program that shows no scientific proof of preventing unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among school age children. The focus should be more on what has been shown to be more effective and scientifically sound that what is a politically safe choice.
The Human Papillomavirus is a scary thing and should not be taken lightly. When the Food and Drug Administration is finished studying Gardasil and its potential side effects, it could prove to be a formidable opponent against the virus and its escalation into cervical cancer. This, coupled with arming adolescents with comprehensive sexual education, may help put a dent in the escalating spread of this dangerous virus. Knowledge is power, and the more that is known about HPV, the better to combat its deadly ramifications.


Also, may I say I fucking love my icon. I have a hard on for Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Quantum of Solace was awesome!!!

And I am officially in lust with Daniel Craig.

We are constantly exposed to media images, from television shows and commercials, to magazines and billboards. It seems that we really cannot escape our exposure to and the influence that media might have on us. Everyone advertises, whether it be Viagra, sanitary napkins, condoms, or lube. Some of these ads would not have been seen even ten years ago, but the world of media is ever evolving. This is not always a positive evolution.
I have seen many negative images in the media, but I admit I never really paid attention to them until I had watched Killing Us Softly 3. There are some ads which I had found offensive that probably do not bother anyone else, such as a paper towel ad where a little boy spills something. Him and his dad sit there, watching the soda inch toward the carpet, arguing about how many sheets of paper towel will be needed to clean up the mess, when the mom swoops in a cleans it. Or an ad for bleach, which I found to be charming until I really thought about it. There are these two adorable little boys that are playing in the mud and having the time of their lives. They are just so cute, and it does help that it is an African American boy and a white boy playing together and they jump up and hug and they are all muddy. Then, at the end of the commercial, it shows a little girl and her mom folding the laundry. I might be nitpicking, but why does it have to be the mom and the little girl doing the laundry? Maybe the little girl would rather be in the mud playing with the little boys.
After watching the video, however, I realized that I could think of many more instances when I felt that I was either being insulted or marginalized by the media. Sometimes it is so subtle that I never even noticed it until I thought about it. Others were patently more obvious. First off, I think that the new version of 90210 has some things to answer for. There are many thin girls on the show, but there are two in particular which are alarmingly thin. There is the main character who is about 5'2” and weighs 90 pounds and then there is a girl on there who is 5'7” and weighs 100 pounds. That is extremely unhealthy and has raised the ire of many reporters, magazines and bloggers. I also think it has caught the attention of young girls, who might see this as something they should aspire to.
Another two sources of negative views of women come from two very different sources. One would be Maxim magazine and the other would be Cosmopolitan. Now Maxim might not seem as such a surprise, since it is a men's magazine which always has a scantily clad vixen on the cover. What might surprise you though is why I find it offensive. While I find the content about how to get women in bed and the pictures of women who always happen to be in lingerie, it is really the interviews of the women that are on the cover. Somehow, no matter how intelligent I might have found that actress/singer/model, during the course of the interview she always manages to mention how she drinks a lot of beer, loves sex and has gotten into fights over her man. Or how she hates to wear underwear. It is as if these women believe that men will no longer like them if they come across as well spoken and knowledgeable about issues other than sex and rock and roll. I find Cosmopolitan offensive for almost the same reason. Now the women interviewed typically try to go for the exact opposite of the women in Maxim, but then there is the rest of the magazine you have to contend with. The articles are all about how to find a man, how to keep a man, how not to be too independent as to scare him away. All the models in the magazine are pin thin, and even on the rare occasion when they decide to throw a bone to the fat girls, their “plus size” models are probably a size eight or twelve at the most. There is not a picture in the magazine that I can relate to as an overweight Asian American.
Which brings up another point. I rarely see Asians in ads. Or on television shows. When there is one, the person is typically of Chinese descent. I wonder if people in this country realize that there are more countries in Asia than China, and no, not all Asians look the same. Often, when I am reading a magazine telling one how to apply eye shadow, they never feature the almond eye shape. So I end up fending for myself and hoping I don't look too ridiculous.
I turned on the television the other day and there was a promo running for the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency which is a reality show on Oxygen, which is supposed to be a channel for women. On the show they were bringing in some “plus size” models for a Halloween photo shoot. I say “plus size” because none of these women were fat by any measure of the word, except when you compare them to the other models on the show. Well, Janice started screaming about how she cannot work with cows. This is coming from someone who has over-Botoxed and inflated her lips to a point where she is no longer recognizable.
This is not to say that I have not ever seen positive portrayals of women in the media. I have really been enjoying all the positive attention that Christina Hendricks from Mad Men has been getting. She is a very voluptuous actress who is an object of desire on the show. She came to the Emmy's in a formfitting green gown and even the fashion police who normally embrace the skeletons running around the red carpet, where falling all over themselves with praise. It was a pleasant surprise. There has also been positive attention paid to actresses such as Kate Winslet, America Ferrara, Nikki Blonsky, and Salma Hayek, who are not your typical stick thin actresses. Now, they still do not come near my heft, but I am glad they are receiving positive recognition.
I also appreciate Queen Latifah's ads for Cover Girl. She is just as glamorous and beautiful as any other Cover Girl, it does not matter that she might weigh more. She is really an inspiration to me as a talented, successful, intelligent woman, who also happens to be beautiful.
There are ads for Playtex and Fruit of the Loom which also show real women, and these women are often in their underwear! It is not to be sexy, or in an unrealistic way. They also are not wearing lingerie, but real underwear that real women buy at Wal Mart. The emphasis is on looking beautiful, but not at the expense of being comfortable.
The advertisements for Gardisil are great. The use a lot of young women and their mothers from different races and backgrounds. There will be a girl with lots of freckles, a goth girl, a preppy girl. All of these girls and their mothers are concerned about their health and vow to do something to prevent them from becoming a statistic.
I was flipping through a magazine which I received from the Human Rights Campaign and saw many ads that I responded to. There was an ad for American Airlines which featured a lesbian couple, an ad for IBM showing an Asian woman and a white woman working with a black man and a Hispanic man. There was an ad for a bank, advertising that diversity is their specialty. I know that since HRC is a magazine that is specifically targeted towards a group of people who often feel excluded from society they would have ads that speak to almost everyone.
There have been other forms of media I have seen celebrating women of different sizes and different colors. Christina Aguilera's music video for her song Beautiful shows a young girl who, at the start feels bad about herself, but then realizes she is strong and beautiful. A plus size model won a cycle of America's Next Top Model. On Grey's Anatomy, there is Callie, a curvy, confident, sexy Hispanic woman and there is Christina, a driven, ambitious Jewish Korean doctor.
There is also the show Sex and the City, with its four strong female leads. They each represented characteristics that each of us have, but the two characters who stood out to me, were Miranda and Samantha. Miranda is a lawyer who becomes partner at her firm all while maintaining her independence. Even when she feel in love and got married, you knew it was because she wanted to, on her own terms. Then there was Samantha, who was unapologetic with her sexuality. If she wanted someone, she went after them, and she did not allow others to determine how she felt about herself.
I do think that images of women and girls in the media have an affect on the way we feel about ourselves. Media presents an unrealistic and unattainable goal of attractiveness and body size which has an influence on how we live and how we spend our money. Look at the epidemic of plastic surgery, botox and restalyne injections. Women end up with foreheads that do not move and lips straight from the fish market. We convince ourselves we need four hundred dollar face cream to look like a certain celebrity. We buy diet pills, exercise machines, hair dye, and cosmetics. We seem to think that young, skinny, tall and blond is the ideal and we bend over backwards to achieve that look. We get nose jobs, breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks. There are even women in Asia who are getting their eyes reshaped to be more Western. If that is not insane, I don't know what is. We also buy bodyshapers and push up bras which contort our bodies into weird shapes.
There are many misconceptions about how women and girls are “supposed” to look that I think should go away immediately. Women are supposed to have long legs, a flat stomach yet still have curves, have large breasts and nice hair. We are supposed to wake up in the morning looking presentable and not have morning breath. We are never supposed to stink, sweat, or have any bodily functions such as going to the bathroom, passing gas, or having our period. We never have hair in weird places, and right after we have a baby, we are thinner than before we got pregnant. All of these have become things that men (and women) seem to think really happen somehow. I don't know how we got to this point, but we must all realize that these are misconceptions and we cannot live up to these impossible standards.
I am not sure where feminists and NOW can start to help promote healthier attitudes to our girls and young women. First and foremost, in our own homes, we can tell our sisters, our daughters, our mothers, our friends every day how radiant, strong, and smart we all are. Let another woman know how much you admire her for both her inner and outer beauty. I think we need to start encouraging schools to have self esteem seminars for all our children, but especially to pay attention to young girls. We must pay attention to our own behaviors and make sure we do not pass any unhealthy attitudes about food and weight to our daughters.
We can also let advertisers and television networks know when they present something that is offensive or dangerous to women. We can boycott or write letters. If enough of us care to do so, we might be able to change the way women are viewed by these companies. If they think we are passive and do not care enough to make a fuss when we are trivialized, they will continue to do so. If we let them know that we have to power to cost them money, they will think differently about how they portray us.
I hope we are able to make changes, so my daughter does not feel like a marginalized forgotten person when she looks at various forms of media. I also want my children, both boys and girls, to not grow up with an unrealistic view of what true beauty is. Jean Kilborne gave me a lot to think about, and I will be paying more attention to advertisements and the products I buy. I will think twice before buying a product that insults me in its ads. I will also make sure my friends do the same.

http://www.thecreativecoalition.org/events/youvotevideo.htm

Everyone, it be a really huge favor to me if you could all post your personal definition of what feminism is.

Thank you so much!

God, its been a while since I blogged hasn't it? Since my human sexuality teacher outed me to the rest of the class.

A lot has gone on, but at the same time I feel like nothing has happened. Let me give you the run down:

I finally graduated with my associates. Yay! I received an Associate of the Arts from Tarrant County College, and I did it with High Honors. Unfortunately, history and math foiled my plans for Highest Honors. Damn you, functional approach to college algebra!

All semester leading up to graduation, I knew I really needed to pick a school to go get my BA, although to tell you truth, I am REALLY tired of going to school. It took my four years to get my AA for goodness' sake! Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy learning, but I wish I could just focus on school ONLY, or work ONLY, not both. It is really kind of taxing to do both. But that is another rant entirely, and besides the point, because as much as I love school, I have to eat to live, so work will continue. Anyhow, I have been in love with the University of North Texas since about a year and a half ago when I took a campus tour. So I finally decided to apply and I got in. I was ecstatic about that. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline to fill out their very convenient scholarship application, but I did get a transfer scholarship based on my grades, so that helps. I also received federal financial aid and a very reasonable loan. I am transferring in as a junior and I will recieve my degree in sociology with a minor in community service. I don't necessarily know what I want to do with this degree, but it was something I was interested in, as well as allowing me to graduate without ever having to take another math! Woo-hoo! This degree could allow me to teach, or become a counselor, or work for a non-profit agency. All of which interest me, so that is good.

One bad thing about this is I will be going to school full-time for the next two years, including at least one summer semester. Then I might go back to TCC and take seven more courses to get my early elementary education teaching certificate. For those of you who know me well, you know I love children, and I like teaching, so it seems like a valid career path for me.

Work has become exceedingly stressful, and since I work on the computer all day, I really don't feel like being on it when I get home. I apologize to those of you who have sent me messages or comments and I haven't responded. I promise it isn't personal. I will get back to you eventually, I promise. I am just tired, frustrated and lazy.

Well, that's it for now, I suppose. I have to get back to my delicious lemon cream cheese cupcakes.

I took this from dopesexyhot.

If you'd like, fill this out for fun.
& I'll do the same for you. : )


1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
2) What was your dream growing up?
3) What talent do you wish you had?
4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
5) Favorite vegetable?
6) What was the last book you read?

7) What zodiac sign are you?
8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
9) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? I
18) What was your first impression of me? (hmmm...careful!)
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) If you could live anywhere in the world where would you choose?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

37) What do you prefer to be called?
38) Age?

39) Where do you live?

I am at work. And while I suppose I should be working, instead I am surfing the internet, and even then, since the navy censors what I can see, I am still incredibly bored.
I swear if people could see inside my dreams, they would seriously consider committing me. I only faintly remember last night's and it included King Kong, my getting married at my community college and assorted other events that make absolutely no sense.
The shittiest thing ever happened to me on Friday. This girl Crystal who I have known for about three years, but haven't really spoken to for the last year or so, invited me out to a restaurant for her birthday. We used to hang out like 24/7 but this past year I have been busy with school and stuff and she has been busy partying, so we really don't have that much in common anymore. She also hangs out with a girl named Lauren now and they always party in Dallas and I really hate going to Dallas, so again, no point in us hanging out. But there wasn't an ending of the friendship or anything like that. Anyway, my friend Steehly and I went to the restaurant. Not long after we got there, Crystal's cousin (who I have met before) Cindy comes up to me and asks me if I will take her downtown to get her husband, Albert, who was drunk and got kicked out of The Library (this bar, downtown). I took her just to be nice, and my friend Steehly came with me because she didn't really know anyone else there. So we went and got him, and on the way, Cindy apologized like 5000 times and told us both that she would pay for our food. So we were like, that's cool, free food! We had already ordered our food before we left, so its not like we turned around and ordered something super expensive just because someone offered to pay for it. Anyway, so we get her stupid ass drunk husband and we go back to the restaurant. We ate and then we left. We said good-bye to Cindy as well as Crystal and Lauren and DID NOT pay for our food. Well, the next day, I get a NASTY text from Lauren asking why we did such a fucked up thing like leave without paying. I was LIVID. I explained to her the situation and she understood. Well then I called Crystal and asked her for Cindy's number and she didn't want to give it to me. She also alluded to the fact that I might have been making the whole thing up. God, I was so pissed I was almost crying. I am more mad at the fact that a table full of people think I am a deadbeat. I would never go to a restaurant and not fucking pay.

Arrg. That whole paragraph made me mad. I have something else to post about that made me angry, but maybe I will wait to post that one, so you guys don't think I need antidepressants or something.

I know Cici said I don't post much and I am not trying to make a liar out of her, but I have to ask a question.

Do any of you know what I can do about an ear infection without going to the doctor? I really don't have time to go, so I am trying to think about home remedies. My entire ear hurts, along with my jaw and neck. It hurts to chew, it hurts to lie down on that side of my head and it hurts just to hurt.

So if you know of anything, please let me know. It is driving me crazy. Especially since I was on the phone all day at my job and it is my habit to use that ear!

Sorry guys. I love reading your entries and commenting, but I have been in a really funky mood lately. If you know me irl, you know that I am usually such an upbeat person, but sometimes I just get in these moods where I kind of insulate myself from everything and just stay that way until I get over it.

So I will have a lot to catch up on later.

I will read and comment when I feel up to it.

This is going to be really short, but I have to say, I need to stop watching American Justice/Cold Case Files/The Crime & Investigation Network/48 Hours Hard Evidence/Forensic Files/Body of Evidence/City Confidential/so on and so forth before I go to bed.

I have been having some fucked up dreams lately.

Last night I had a dream that there was a dead body in front of my computer and I called the cops. That was basically it.

Also, I need to clean my room/house. On the off chance I DO get murdered, I don't want to be embarrassed!

I am still not doing my homework. This is going to be a running theme for me.

Go Cowboys!

Damn, dude. I am supposed to be studying right now. I have a test in my Organized Crime class today. It is over Italian Organized Crime, Latino Organized Crime, Russian Organized Crime and Asian Organized Crime. Also, a bonus part on MS 13 and a special part for Pablo Escobar and Amado Carillo-Fuentes. Man, that is a lot of crime and a lot of criminals to learn about!
One thing they all have in common though, is drugs. Maybe if we would quit being such crackheads, these huge criminal organizations would no longer be able to function. I'm sure though that if we quit using drugs (which is probably never going to happen) they would find some other avenue or criminal enterprise to exploit.

Anyway, back I go to studying. Thanks again Janine for all the helpful info you provided me yesterday. I printed out an assload of information, but its okay, because I was using a navy printer! Mwhahaha. :)

Um. I never post in here. I am going to start doing it more often.

But Janine posted a meme (I still don't get why its called that, but whatever) that I thought was cute, so...

Ask me ANY 5 questions and I will answer them!

I have been tagged to post some things about myself. Isn't it weird that if you didn't ask me, I could think of things all day long that are kind of interesting about myself, but now that I sit down and think about it, I'm grasping at straws?

Anyhoo, here's hoping I'm not too boring!

1. I chew everything. I mean all food. Even if it doesn't need to be chewed, I chew it. Pudding, ice cream, oatmeal, everything. I can't stand swallowing anything remotely solid without chewing it first.

2. I read in the bathroom. It might be weird or whatever, but there are like six Cosmos in there along with a Harry Potter book.

3. I eat with my hands occasionally. And I pick up things with my feet. And I point with my lips. All these sound odd, but you know what? I'm half filipina!

4. I am scared to blow up balloons. I don't know what the deal is, but I am scared it will pop in my face.

5. I have been going to school for what seems like ages, and I have yet to even earn my associates. It really makes me feel inadequate, especially when people tell me how smart I am and how I should have a masters by now or something. In my defense, its hard to work full time and find time to go to school and do homework. Not to mention I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up!

6. I am basically computer illiterate. I can get on here and get on myspace, but other than that, I'm useless! I just now got an MP3 player, and I don't know how to work it, and I don't have a digital camera. Its kind of infuriating, but I'm trying to figure out that MP3 player!

7. If I didn't have my Tivo, I would die. I know that probably says something about me that I'd rather not admit, but oh well. I have to have my General Hospital and As the World Turns, as well as Grey's Anatomy and Golden Girls. I watch too much TV...but I can admit it!

I don't know how to tag people, but um, I tag everyone on my friends list except Janinechan because she did this already!

I chose an article regarding gender concepts, which was written by Gabrielle Poeschl. This article is speculating on why, at a time when women are breaking through more glass ceilings in the professional world, do “typical” gender roles at home only seem to be strengthening. Roles such as maintaining the household, even while working outside of the home as much, if not more than their spouse. She also points out the fact that while husbands and wives both acknowledge that the wife does much more around the house, women seem to express satisfaction with what little work is done by their husbands. Poeschl points out that there are many hypotheses on this issue, but the most interesting one states that women themselves are determined to keep the status quo. She states that these practices seem to make women feel like they have the power in their relationship, as their husbands are dependent on them to raise their children and “satisfy their daily needs.”
On pages 222 and 223 of the textbook, it is pointed out just how early children learn gender stereotypes. They explain how at as early as ages 3 and 4, children already associate things such as a cleaning product or stove with their mothers and a car or a tool with their fathers. This helps the children reinforce their gender identities and help them learn sex-typed behavior.
All of this astounds me. I really don’t know what to think. I am not a wife or a mother, so thankfully I have time to sort this stuff out before that ever happens. I just find it hard to believe that here, in 2007, women are still teaching our daughters that we are the ones that clean the house and take care of dad, and that dad sits on his butt when he gets home from work. Obviously I know that is not what the book or my article are saying but that is really the gist of it for me.
The horrible thing is, it seems like we almost don’t have a choice but to perpetuate these stereotypes to our kids. Everywhere you look, whether it is movies, tv shows, commercials, books, magazines, the stereotype is there. It really seems inescapable. In my own household when I was growing up, my parents both worked outside of the home, but when it came down to taking care of us kids, keeping us all fed, keeping the house clean, my mom did all the work! It just seemed normal. I didn’t grow up thinking that my dad was some sexist Cro-Magnon, I just thought that is how life worked.
Now that I am older and my future looms ahead, I notice how much social pressure there is on women. Even though I am only 23 people constantly ask me when I am getting married, or when I plan on having kids! As if there is some invisible clock over my head, telling everyone my time is running out. Not to mention, since women have a limited time to have children (as opposed to men, who can sire children until death), women feel the need to map out their lives. Finish school by this age. Work until this age. Have a baby at this age. Go back to work when baby is x-years old. Work a little longer, have second baby….so on and so forth. And while you are having those children, be sure to teach them that mommies cook, clean and work, while daddies work and get to be the fun parent.
I know I sound a little bitter about this, and it’s probably because I am. I am not the best cook, and every time someone discovers this, whether they are a man or woman, they make sure to let me know I better learn how before I get married. Are you serious? Is it not possible that I might find a man who loves to cook and I will never have to lift a finger in the kitchen? Or maybe I don’t want to get married ever, and will just subsist of Chinese takeout and pizza for the rest of my life? Heaven forbid either of those is true. It is not like we emphasize to men over and over again that they better learn how to cook and who knows a woman who doesn’t want to get married and become the portrait of domesticity.
I also think that when people have children, they should not actively find ways to teach them gender-typed behaviors. I know this is a stretch, but if your little boy wants to play with dolls, why not let him, as opposed to making him feel like you are horrified by it. If your little girl wants to act like she’s the President, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, maybe you should try encouraging her, instead of buying her an Easy-Bake Oven.
I could really go on and on about this issue. Of course, I don’t have a solution for it either. I would just say that when we have children we should try to emphasize contributions that can be made by both their parents and not draw clear lines as to “what mommy does” and “what daddy does.” Maybe have mom show both genders that she knows how to fix the sink when its leaking, and have dad show that he sure knows how to whip up some good spaghetti.
Hopefully by the time I have a kid, if ever, I figure out how I plan on teaching them that mommy and daddy are both important contributors to life inside of the home as well as outside of it.


I sound bitter don't I? This is why I'm never getting married, or popping a kid out of my uterus.