Paying extra for larger sizes.

I read Alicia's post on her response to "No fat sizes". It got me thinking about clothes for plus sized people. If you are ever shopping most stores charge you extra for larger sizes. I started thinking about it, and i know there is the argument that they need to charge more because they use more cloth. This raised the question for me about why they only charge more for sizes once you get in any size larger than a large. If the argument about using more cloth is used then why doesn't a medium cost more than a small and a large more than a medium. There is more cloth used in each size other than a small. So in my opinion you either need to charge more for each size up or stop charging more for "plus size" clothing.

In Response to "No Fat Sizes"

I agree that it is wrong for clothing stores to exclude plus size clothing. A proposed question is why do clothing stores carry petite size but not plus size? Also to think about there are plus size stores specifically that don’t care petite or small sizes. One of the main problems with this I think is that women are conforming to these ideas. When this happens it encourages the younger generations to do the same and it ends up being a chain reaction. What should we do about this conformation or is there anything to do? Considering the image that America accepts and promotes, that is nearly impossible to achieve. What do you think?

Just a few thoughts...

I have a couple different things that I would like to cover in my post:

The first being a short film that everyone should watch if they have time.
Love Is All You Need? is the name of the film and it explores the idea of "heterophobia". In the film homosexuality is normal in society, while heterosexuality is viewed as deviant and abnormal. If you haven't seen this somewhere else already, I highly recommend anyone to watch. It really changes your perspective on things and society in general. And its only about 20 mins long.

Additionally, I just wanted to share a few thought on Tuesday's discussion of plastic surgery. I couldn't help thinking about surgeries that may be "necessary" or beneficial to an individual's personal health, but possibly sometimes viewed negatively. For example, breast reduction surgery may be viewed negatively and has been in the media. In the popular film "Superbad", the main character Seth says in regard to this surgery, "That's like slapping God across the face for giving you a beautiful gift." In this case even a sometimes beneficial surgery, that for example may help reduce back problems, is viewed as problematic.

Lastly, I think that the issues we have addressed in this class are extremely important and need to continue being challenged and discoursed. I know that society takes a long time to see changes and progress, but to sit in a classroom where many individuals feel changes need to be makes the future of change feel somewhat more promising. We are the future generation and even if we can't make progress ourselves, we can hopefully pass the knowledge and inspiration down to the next one.

In Response to 'So Awful'

I think that Violence against men is a huge problem too.  There most likely isn't a "ex-boyfriend" target, but there are tons of examples of music where violence against men is made to look 'humorous' or even justified.  I'm going to post a few examples.

The first is from Pink.  Although the video is supposed to pay homage to Steven Kings "Misery" the way that it is done is supposed to be comical.  If the roles of Pink and her boyfriend were reversed how would this hold up?  Wouldn't there be a public out cry against it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eocCPDxKq1o

The next is from Martina McBride.  This song is about a women who burns down her house after being abused by her husband.  It also alludes to the husband dying in the fire.  Is killing someone justifiable because they hit you?  The song mentions that people in the town knew that the husband was evil, so it would have been possible for the wife and daughter to get help without killing someone and without sending the daughter to a county home because the mother is in jail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPpAZ9_qAw

The next song is from the Dixie Chicks.  This song is about a women who is abused by her husband to the extent where she does get a divorce, but again he beats her.  The victims bestfriend comes back and they decide to kill the husband.  They are successful but they way that is portrayed again is comical, when is killing someone funny?  In any instance?  I don't know about you but I'm starting to see a double standard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs

This song is from Carrie Underwood.  It's about a women who finds her boyfriend is cheating on her, so she destroys his car.  People watching the video probably think, "wow, she got him" where in reality she's probably going to get a law suit.  This is suggesting that it's okay for women to do this to men.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8

Miranda Lambert sings this song about killing a spouse after he beat her.  He's getting out of jail and she is going to greet him by shooting him dead.  Lambert's family growing up would often take in women who had been abused by men.  Often times in her songs if she covers a song about a women being abused she will switch the lyrics so men are actually the ones being abused.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajoI8X8Ys94

Again, we are killing men because they have cheated on a women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vyZeF_DLq4

This song is from Lily Allen.  Although it is funny and catchy, the video shows how she had her cheating boyfriend beaten up, his apartment sacked, how she fed him laxatives and then ruined his job by destroying the records that he DJ's with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WxDrVUrSvI

This next pair of videos are from Lady GaGa, the first is Paparazzi where she kills her boyfriend after he subsequently attempted to kill her.  She poisons him.  The video does show her leaving the mansion and heading to jail, but the newspaper headlines say, "she's innocent" and "we love her again" both of which give her crime a positive reinforcement.  The next part, Telephone Ft. Beyonce shows the two of them poisoning Beyonces boyfriend and most of the people in the restaurant.  The video even gives the recipe for the poison.    The police at the end of the video are looking for them, but they just keep running.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2smz_1L2_0

I think I have supplied enough examples.  I believe that songs and music videos like these have more influence over a target that someone can purchase from the NRA.  These videos and songs play constantly on VH1, MTV and the Radio.  They are far more accessible to all generations of men and women rather than just a target that someone chooses to purchase, sometimes you don't have an option to the radio station.

All violence is wrong it doesn't matter if its women against women, man against man, man against women, or women against men.

Plastic Surgery Thoughts

As we were talking about plastic surgeries and especially thinking about bridalplasty I remembered a TV show I had watched a long time ago and wanted to reflect on that. I believe this show came on when I was in middle school, over 8 years ago. But the show was on mtv or vh1 and it was about a woman who was getting plastic surgery (I tried to find it, but have not yet). This sounds standard with what we had already talked about, however, this woman was perfectly in shape and already a model. But this woman wanted to have a tummy tuck and surgery on her chest. Her entire reasoning was to have a layout in playboy magazine. She was only ten pounds from her goal weight, but surgery was her solution. Now this show obviously made an impact on me, and I can imagine many others her were watching. I guess this exemplifies what plastic surgery kind of means to myself, personally I feel people often have surgery for very shallow reasons. And to make these varying plastic surgery shows so often just encourages the negative thinking about our "natural" selves. So should we be taking such a serious surgery and process and making them into game shows or shows at all?

So Awful

http://www.policymic.com/articles/40049/nra-sells-an-ex-girlfriend-target-that-bleeds-when-you-shoot-it

OK, this isn't really related to anything we've discussed in class recently, but I thought it was relevant in general and wanted to share. Someone posted this in one of my other classes and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Apparently, an NRA vendor is currently selling a shooting target called "the ex-girlfriend". When you shoot it (strictly for target practice, of course) it actually bleeds. I do not understand how this type of thing is even allowed! It obviously perpetuates violence against women and gives men the power and authority to exert this violence against someone that they think is deserving.

Men's violence against women is no small matter. These types of things do not just happen in small, personal, anecdotal ways. This is a widespread social problem due, in part, to the fact that our society teaches men to be strong, violent, and sexually dominant. Boys and men are constantly being given messages telling them that they have the power in our society. This article explains that in the US, domestic violence is the leading cause to injuries against women- more than car accidents, rape and muggings combined. One third of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner.

Domestic violence and violence against women is not OK. This mannequin is helping perpetuate this problem and, in my opinion, is condoning it. There is nothing OK about selling this type of product. Any thoughts?

Plastic Surgery

The focus of Tuesdays discussion was on women and how undergoing plastic surgery was becoming a cultural norm.  If this is the case, wouldn't that make it less deviant?  Men that undergo plastic surgery are up to far more scrutiny than women.  Plastic surgery is seen as a feminine thing to do.  I think this is based on the presumption that women are supposed to always look young.  Men can have their hair grow grey, but women must start dying their hair as soon as one grows in.  This is heard on just about every hair dye commercial, 'grey coverage.'  I understand that there are hair dye's for men but I think that is even seen as feminine.  Looking at men participating in plastic surgery would have really opened opportunity for discussion in what is socially okay for women to do and not men.  Often times we are bogged down by women being suppressed, but what about men?  And not just men of minorities, but the men that are part of the majority?  We often overlook the majority and ignore their problems.    Plastic surgery also shows how selfish our nation is.  Most plastic surgery is not necessary and is only done to make people "happy with themselves."  Rather than plastic surgery maybe they should go to counseling and learn to embrace what they have been given.  There are other people in the world that need plastic surgery in order to have a shot at a good quality life.  Girls who think their noses are a little too big, or think their breasts are too small should think about the little kids in third world countries that aren't allowed to attend school because their face is actually deformed.  This discussion on plastic surgery just reminded me that we all need a wake up call and little prospective every now and then.

Abercrombie & Fitch

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-explains-why-he-hates-fat-chicks/

I've seen the article posted above a couple of times now on my Facebook news feed, all with expressions of outrage. To summarize, Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO says "he hates fat chicks" and that he does not want these people at his stores. They supposedly will devalue his brand if seen wearing the companies clothes; he only desires beautiful people. Of course this strikes one first off as a very poor business decision, as a significant portion of the American public is overweight and consequently are alienated from the store. Furthermore, all of A & F's competitors make clothing for larger women. Why they think this is a good move is beyond me, though they seem to have survived to this point.

A second interesting point is that the store still makes men for plus sized men. The CEO says he only does it to appease larger male athletes. So what about larger female athletes? Clearly their is a sexist double standard here. Finally, to finish it all of, the CEO himself is no looker. That's right, google Mike Jeffries and ask yourself if he'd be desired by the company if he wan't their CEO. Probably not. The hypocrisy here is astounding. And to top it all of, Jeffries said he doesn't care if he is criticized for his views. The company will continue in this fashion despite criticisms or protests.

So perhaps this is what is causing all these unhealthy images and media distortion of ideal body types. I always thought it was bigger than any one person, but maybe it is just a few maniacal people like Jeffries. Anyways, it's encouraging to see a few people outraged about this. This may be too much to hope for, but perhaps this will cause some people to not shop at Abercrombie & Fitch anymore? One would hope so. It seems the only way people can do away with Jeffries and A & F is to vote with their wallets.

Tattoos as deviant?

So I just noticed that this never posted over the weekend...I think I hit 'save' instead of 'publish'...sorry about that!


I thought our conversation about tattoos was really interesting and I enjoyed hearing a few different opinions. I think our society, as a whole, has come a long way in the past couple decades in regards to views on tattoos. I think that a lot of people have them, and most people know someone with one, and most people know that it doesn't change who you are as a person and having a tattoo doesn't define who you are. I do see how some people may still "disapprove", however, since the tradition of tattoos have stigmas attached. My grandpa from Puerto Rico still reminds me that most of the time when a woman has a tattoo "back home", it means she's a prostitute. But I do think that these views have changed over time and will continue to change.

I'm happy we talked about tattoos in the workplace, especially when it comes to being a teacher, because that is something that, I think, still has a long way to go and it's quite frustrating. I feel like in these instances there are still very traditional views and that's in order to maintain a certain image. People on the street may be more accepting, but when it comes to certain institutions there may still be traditional values in place in order to maintain a certain "look", and therefore not risking losing money. Unfortunately, when these institutions in our society hold these views, it still makes people feel like there is something wrong with tattoos and people with them are somewhat less professional or competent than people without them. I hope this changes one day because it is absolutely not true.

I found a few really neat pictures of parents on Pinterest who have tattoos and are posing with their children. I just think it's interesting to see people who may be pictured as being "rebels" or "deviants" with babies/children. It shows that everyone is capable of love and nurturing, and a little bit of ink doesn't change that.

No Fat Sizes

While perusing the internet, I found the following article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-wants-thin-customers-2013-5#ixzz2SSY5zAd0

This article shows the cultural focus of the nation. The clothes we consider to be "cool" or "awesome" are inaccessible to those who don't conform to certain sizes. As we read in "Women and the Knife", "for virtually all women as women, success is defined in terms of interlocking patterns of compulsion: compulsory attractiveness..." (168). What message are we as a culture sending when a clothing store, which is considered to be "good clothing", when there are no plus sizes. To a woman, it is demeaning, excluding them from these "cool clothes", and making them the "other". In this way, I feel it is discriminatory and reduces women to a position where they feel they are unnatural. This is not the message we as a nation should be sending.

As the knife cuts, we come full circle

As we have seen in class this past semester several ideas have come together for one last important topic to discuss and that is the topic of cosmetic surgery. This topic deals not only the women having to suffer due to medical authority telling them how to look, but also this topic has a freakshow twist to it. Women who are almost chomping at the bit to enhance and improve their distorted image all in the name of feeling better about themselves is something out of a horror show. It seems that society itself has only gotten worse with all the lessons we have learned from history, members of society are still hopelessly addicted to what the medical world can do for them, rather than what the medical has done and how it has affected us as a society in a negative way. I was almost speechless when I heard that celebrity joan rivers would rather die having plastic surgery than having any other type of surgery. I was shocked even further when no one even asked if she rather die of natural causes in a peaceful state. This in some small fraction is where we as a human race are at right now, mindless moldings of the medical world just waiting for our new and improved selves to become a reality. Personally, from a psychological background anyone who thinks they need plastic surgery should probably seek mental screening before hand. Perhaps negative body image is one of the great downfalls of our current society. What do you think?

-William Webster 

Cosmetic Surgery/ Is 14 to many?

Artifact: Joan Rivers on The Drs

http://youtu.be/5w7JHd4lE6w


14 Surgeries and Counting
Cosmetic surgery has played a key role in women’s lives in the last few years. Women have been manipulated by factors that allow them to look at themselves and brand themselves as “ugly”. In “Designing Women” by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughey, the two authors talk about cosmetic surgery and women, “Cosmetic surgery is an expression of women’s agency” Women express themselves through cosmetic surgery because they want to be “beautiful” in the eyes of society, especially men.
The artifact that I’ve chosen to represent cosmetic surgery is a panel of people talking with Joan Rivers and her surgeries. This is a great artifact because it shows a public figure and her child/daughter discussing important questions when thinking about cosmetic surgery. The discussions that occur between Melissa and Joan in this artifact portray a concerned daughter talking to her mother. The video starts off with an explanation about why Melissa and Joan Rivers are both on the show, “The Drs” by talking about Joan and Melissa’s new television show, “Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best”. In the video, Melissa expresses her unhappiness with all of her mother’s cosmetic surgeries. She expresses to her mother that 14 surgeries are enough and that she should not get any more.
The artifact and cosmetic surgery are nicely related to each other. Joan Rivers has been an American icon for approximately 30 years. She is the face of cosmetic surgery, having 14 different procedures performed on her. An important moment shown in the clip of the panel is when Joan Rivers says, “I’d rather die having cosmetic surgery than knee surgery”. This was important because it shows the amount of surgeries women can consider to make them perceive themselves as “beautiful”. “surgical procedures, anesthetic, post-operative drugs, predicted and lengthy pain, and possible side effects, that include death is that her access to other forms of power and empowerment are or appear to be limited that cosmetic is the primary domain in which she can experience some semblance of self-determination” (177). All of these risks are situations that women are subjecting themselves to, in order to obtain society’s standards. Women have not educated enough to understand these risks and therefore are exposing themselves to danger. Melissa Rivers said, “You’re also a woman who had a hysterectomy and tummy tuck at the same time” Melissa Rivers’ quote is showing that her mother takes full advantage of every chance she gets to get cosmetic surgery. Melissa says Joan takes the opportunity to get a tummy tuck when undergoing critical surgery. In Kathryn Pauly Morgan’s “Women and the Knife”, Morgan explains the problems the patients may have towards cosmetic surgery, and “Patients sometimes misunderstand the nature of cosmetic surgery. It’s not a shortcut for diet and exercise.” These two quotes display how women go about changing their bodies to fit the standards of society.

Discussion Questions:
1. What factors contribute to women considering to cosmetic surgery and subjecting themselves to factors like Morgan describes in Women and the Knife, “surgical procedures, anesthetic, post-operative drugs, predicted and lengthy pain, and possible side effects, that include death.” Do you think that women educate themselves enough prior to receiving surgery?
2. How do lower and middle class women afford these procedures that they believe are necessary to make them self’s “beautiful”?
3. The media has a huge impact on women in our society with the bombardment of society standards to be beautiful and desirable. Why do you think women are drawn to meet these standards the cosmetic surgery?  As stated in Patrica Gagne and Deanna McGaughey in a statement from a woman “I remember seeing a model in Cosmopolitan, and her breast weren’t very big, but at least she had some. And I thought that’s what I want mine to look like.”
4. What do you think are the cultural norms that “Designing Women” talks about and what controls these norms?

Artifact Links

Here is Part 1 of the artifact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu6TdZRQpSE
Here is Part 2 of the artifact
http://main.stylelist.com/2011/02/02/bridalplasty-allyson-donovan/


Darren Pope

Cosmetic Surgery/ Bridalplasty Artifact

Going Under the Knife

                The artifact chosen to represent cosmetic surgery has two parts. The first part is a video clip from the TV show, “Fox and Friends”. In the clip, the panel discusses a new reality show entitled, Bridalplasty, which focuses on women competing for a chance to receive plastic surgery for their wedding. In the second part of the artifact, the winner from Bridalplasty, Allyson Donovan, talks about her feelings about getting plastic surgery and what her motivations were behind competing on the show.

                The first part is the video clip of a review of the show, Bridalplasty. The panel reviewing Bridalplasty on “Fox News and Friends” consisted of a news anchor, celebrity plastic surgeon, and a psychologist discuss the immoralities this show produces for its viewers. The panel talks about the aspects of the show that makes it controversial. The clip describes the risks and cautious mentalities the viewers of the show should have. The cosmetic surgery that the panel refers to is assumed to be uneducated procedures decided by the women on the show. The women are thought to be consumed by the prize and do not care about the risks of the surgery. The commercial that the news channel features shows the many changes that women consider when choosing to have cosmetic surgery performed. An important topic from the discussion of the panel also includes talking about how women are changing their looks in front of the public eye. The clip gives a list of procedures that include teeth whitening, Botox/skin resurfacing, breast lifts and augmentations, liposuction, tummy tucks, and nose jobs.

                The second part is the interview with Bridalplasty winner, Allyson Donovan. In the interview, Allyson talks about her rationale for competing in the show, “I just wanted what a lot of women that are in their 30s that have had children want: to lose the baby weight, get rid of the belly pouch, erase wrinkles and have boobs that don't sag down to your belly button.” Allyson tells the interviewee about how she used to be slim and in shape when she met her future husband, but eventually she gained weight after having children and wanted to get back to her previous appearance. Donovan also talks about her health issue with diabetes and how it affected her opportunities to have cosmetic surgery performed, instead replacing the surgeries with healthy alternatives. At the end of the interview, Donovan admits she was not nervous about arriving to the wedding and receiving a negative response from the attendees and her fiancé. Allyson’s husband John was not able to see her while the show was being produced and had to read about her appearance on the internet. It turns out that he also became motivated because of the show and lost some weight as well.

                This artifact relates nicely to the works of “Women and the Knife” by Kathryn Pauly Morgan and “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughey. The artifact shows women seeing themselves as ugly and wanting to make themselves more beautiful to not only themselves, but to the male gaze that Gagné and McGaughey talk about. Even though Allyson’s husband was not there to motivate her to get these surgeries, the producers on the show, or the pressure of remaining beautiful for her husband was enough to make her want to get cosmetic surgery. Morgan in her piece talks about how women seek cosmetic surgery because their bodies fail to show youthful femininity. The media can also have a huge impact on women by showing what it means to be beautiful and desirable. Women that have had children want to achieve the look they had before and perceive themselves as looking like the woman before motherhood. The authority shown here comes from many different locations. The male gaze is authoritative because women are influenced by male figures to be beautiful and attempt to meet those standards. Media also plays a huge role in being an authoritative figure in shaping women’s minds. In this artifact, it is unknown whether or not these women have educated themselves about the risks of cosmetic surgery. Media serves as an example of Focault’s Panopticon, where these women are being watched by society and do not know if they are making the right decision or not.

                The first part of the artifact shows the numerous procedures the women are competing for to win. While it shows the number of procedures, it does not show the cost. In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan describes the total costs to have cosmetic surgery, which can range from $10,000-35,000 for the surgery alone. The show does not even hint at any costs of having surgery and aims at making these women “beautiful”. This first part of the Artifact mainly is focused on the inconvenience the media has on women’s minds. The news segment is aimed at dismissing the aspects of the television show while the show itself is promoting women being more beautiful through cosmetic surgery. Around the twenty second mark of the video, the anchor describes of twelve women competing with one another to get surgeries performed on them. This could be important when we remember the concept of women comparing their bodies with one another from “Women and the Knife”. At the 45 second mark of the clip, the end of the commercial says that “the winner gets cut”. Gagné and McGaughney talk about how cosmetic surgery is an instrument to control their bodies and lives. In this show, there is no feeling of self-control because these women are competing to get so many surgeries done to their body. Towards the 2 minute mark, the question of the male gaze arises again in a different form. The men are isolated from their women, only to see them at their wedding with all of the changes taking place. The male gaze should still exist here, and the women are trying to maintain a look that their husband, as well as any other male watching the program will be pleased with. Finally at the end of the clip, the comment regarding the women feeling regret after a few years of marriage brings up a controversial issue. This should make women think twice before experiencing cosmetic surgery because they may end up not appreciating their own look after some time has passed. Cosmetic surgery is not really worth the time and the money to spend if the woman will feel regret later down the road.

                The second part of the artifact is important to use because it shows the many different aspects of thought processes towards cosmetic surgery. Morgan describes these thought processes of women considering cosmetic surgery, “We see working girls, dental technicians, middle-class women who are unhappy with their looks or are aging prematurely” Donovan talked about her displeasure with the way she looked after bearing a child, “When I first met John, I was in the best shape of my life. I was finally down to a size 6 and happier than ever. I had pretty much been overweight my entire life and finally lost all my weight.” The change from being “beautiful” to being “ugly” in Allyson’s eyes caused consideration towards getting cosmetic surgery.  Regret was a common issue that was brought up in the first part of the artifact and is just as important in the second part. At this point in Allyson’s life after the television show, she is contempt with her appearance. If there was a second interview conducted 5-7 years after she competed for surgery, there could be some different answers that Allyson would provide to those reading the interview. Allyson said she enjoyed the process which could lead to other women being influenced based on the “shared beauty culture” Gagné and McGauhney talk about in their reading.

                Authority plays a key role in these women’s lives. The authority can come from many different directions and cause pressure to force these women into deciding cosmetic surgery as an alternative to obtaining beauty. This artifact presents the issue of authority very nicely and can create many discussions on why cosmetic surgery is both positive and negative for women.

Discussion Questions:

1.      1.  In Morgan’s reading, “Women and the Knife”, Morgan talks about the three paradoxes of choice. These paradoxes are, “The Choice of Conformity-Understanding the Number 10”, “Liberation into Colonization”, and “Coerced Voluntariness and the Technological Imperative”.  What is the importance of these three paradoxes of choice? Is there an apparent male gaze described in these paradoxes and does the male gaze present any problems in the three paradoxes?

2.     2.  In the “Bridalplasty” clip about the review of the show, it’s revealed that the winner of the competition will receive the ultimate cosmetic surgery and be revealed at the wedding to everyone. What is the importance of media in challenging these women to get plastic surgery? Could this show possibly persuade other women to get cosmetic surgery because of their “shared beauty culture” described by Gagné and McGauhney?

3.     3.  In “Women and the Knife”, Morgan passes on some information from a surgeon in the field, “Patients sometimes misunderstand the nature of cosmetic surgery. It’s not a shortcut for diet and exercise” (168). Motherhood along with many aging factors attribute to women deciding to get plastic surgery. Are women being perceived as more lazy getting cosmetic surgery? Do you think women are ignoring health risks that come along with cosmetic surgery?

4.     4.  In “Designing Women” written by Patricia Gagné and Deanna McGaughney, the authors talk about how surgery allowed patients to be treated in a way that they perceived themselves, such as getting more attention from men, and feeling young. What are examples of positive perceptions that will result from surgery and what are some examples of negative perceptions? Do these negative perceptions outweigh the risk of getting cosmetic surgery? 

Darren Pope

Don't eat that donut or you'll get FAT!!!

In this week's post, I wanted to give my "two cents" on the whole idea of the "fat tax" that most airlines want to use. I think that is extremely discriminatory and plain stupid. The idea of taxing a heavy person for flying is very sad to me because the airline companies just keep wanting to make a buck and they will find anyway to make said buck!! I can't believe that the airlines will go this low to make a quick buck. This is horrible and the person who came up with this idea should be fired on the spot.

I mean so what if a person is a bit too overweight or maybe a bit "hefty," they should still be treated like me and you. I don't care if a person is fat, they are still a person to me no matter what!! Fat is both cultural-based and genetics-based. We mentioned in class that people would rather spend $5 at McD's for dinner than go out to the store and buy groceries for a week's worth. In this day and age, people are too fast-paced to go out grocery shopping for healthier options. I mean my mom and I made it a weekly trip to go to TOPS to buy food for our family. We planned out what we wanted to have a week ahead of time so we could watch for coupons in the paper. Today people are so worried about everything else that they don't want to go home and make a meal; all they care about if this fast-pace world we live in.

We should not judge people just because they are hefty. I mean heavy people know they have a weight problem and many are fixing it. We should NOT ASSUME that just because someone is a bit heavy that he/she don't exercise or you know the old saying.

In the end, don't judge someone for being hefty. We need to stop labeling!!

~Chad S.

Tattoos in the work place

This week we talked about tattoos and whether or not they are acceptable in the work place. To me I think it depends on the occupation. If you are going to be working with younger childern I think that you should be more cautios about what you have and where they are. When working with the young children the parent might look down upon you even if you are the most qualified for the job. Tattoos shouldn't be a reason for someone not getting a job at all.

When I was in high school the leader of my senior high youth group at my church was heavily tattooed. He had space scene from star wars on his one leg, as well as an almost full sleve on his right arm. But he was one of the most caring and easiest people to talk to. I feel like because he had those tattoos it made it easier to talk to him because we were able to connect with him better.

Missing Arm vs. Tattoos

Going off our conversation we had on Thursday about where tattoos should be acceptable, I think in the end the issue will never be 100% solved. People will always have different opinions on what is the most appropriate way to look. I think the best thing any tattoo having person can hope for is the world just getting used to them. Even though tattoos have been around for a long time, people still feel this since of distraction and unprofessionalism towards them. It has gotten better though; certain professions  have started to allow them. Personally I have seem several professors, artists, doctors and dentist with him. Like I said in class whenever I see someone with tattoos it puts me at ease because I connect a since of openness with anyone who has a tattoo. Not everyone is going to feel that though, which it totally okay. It's like when certain restaurants only hire "attractive" waitress or hostess because they feel that they will have a better business. Issues like these will always be opinion based, which I feel gives people who have tattoos a greater shot of winning people over.

Also I'd like to talk more about how tattoos can be seen as a distraction. I agree that tattoos are something that makes you different from others but how is having a tattoo any less distracting then someone missing an arm? Is it because people choose to get tattoos and usually people don't choose to get their arm cut off? Does having sympathy for said person make it an "okay distraction"?  Bringing it into education and teachers, would someone not hire a teacher with say one leg or one arm simply because it would be a distraction to the kids? I don't see why your body has really anything to do with how someone teaches children. If those distractions are to the extreme, then maybe yes I could see there being as issue but anything less then that I don't.

Occupations that are not accepting of tattoos and piercings

A recent Pew Research study shows that 4 in 10 people between the ages of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo. This is a pretty high number, so what is the fate of these people when they going into the working world? Considering different occupations, some are more accepting of tattoos than others but it seems that for the most part tattoos can be problematic in being taken seriously by a potential employer and then being offered a job. Some of the jobs that we considered in class as tattoo-friendly and even encouraged at times were artist or graphic design jobs, while a job in education or law this would be considered unprofessional.

This article discusses 10 occupations where tattoos are still deemed unacceptable and overall unprofessional. Although the popularity of tattoos has grown immensely and yet they are still viewed in this way by many employers. Do we believe there will be a change in this attitude towards tattooing or will it always be viewed more negatively in some professions than in others.

Tattooing in other cultures

So while we discussed the disapproval of tattoos in certain professional aspects on a whole tattooing is accepted and seen as a common act. However in Japanese culture it is highly frowned upon, to the point of people seeing the act as criminal and even forbid people in places if they have tattoos.

The article below gives an idea of the ideas shared by many Japanese people and the restrictions put in place over this current social issue. 

http://japandailypress.com/the-view-of-tattoos-in-japanese-society-295623

Considering the comparison between the two countries makes me wonder if our culture ever had such drastic ideas to the point of limitation to those with tattoos and if this will lead to change for the Japanese culture in future years.

Joan Welch

Breast Cancer Survivor Tattoo Controversy

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/19/facebook-removes-breast-cancer-survivors-double-mastectomy-tattoo-picture_n_2716057.html

I mentioned in class that just a few months ago, there was some controversy dealing with a picture of a woman's chest covered in a tattoo and Facebook removing it.  Facebook claimed this was against their nudity policy, however the image was of a woman's chest after a double mastectomy.  The woman no longer has breasts and her chest is flat, similar to a man's chest.  The area where her breasts used to be, as well as the surrounding area, are covered by a huge tattoo.

While I understand that bare breasts do fall under nudity, I feel it is completely unfair that Facebook took this image down multiple times.  This tattoo very obviously has meaning behind it.  This woman has been through hell and back and has literally lost a part of her that represented her as a woman.  She has survived not only a disease, but losing a part of herself and she reclaimed that part of her body with art.  She had no choice but to modify her body and get a double mastectomy, otherwise this image probably would have never existed. There have been many petitions going around to allow this image to be displayed, which wasn't even via her personal page, rather it was displayed on a tattoo parlor's website.  They displayed this not only to show the work they have done, but to show the strength of this woman and how a meaning of a tattoo can go very deep and far beyond modifying your body. 

A note on tattoos

This discussion these week got me very intrigued in people's motivation and tattoo stories. I remember in class we talked about if a tattoo was really considered sincere or worth it if it had no meaning. This is because many people think that a tattoo has to tell a story or mean something in order to serve its function. Perhaps this follows the older views of tattoos or sailor and military folklore.

Regardless, I think of the major issues is that you have the right to get a tattoo and express yourself. It follows one of our constitutional values. My issue with tattoos are those who criticize it because essentially there are criticizing that specific person's right to express oneself.

On a unrelated side note, I find tattoo stories or people's tattoo's to be very interesting to potentially understanding that person on a deeper level. My mother had a work friend who's husband worked in a factory and could not wear jewelry. So instead of wearing a ring, he got a tattoo of the ring on his finger so he could always remember his wife at work. That is one of the more touching stories I have heard. Perhaps if others want to share any stories they have I think it would be very enlightening for this conversation!

When is Too Much?

For the class on body modification we talked primarily about tattoos and how people expressed themselves freely through the permanent images they placed on their body. The artifact that was presented was interesting because the woman who had all of those tattoos was trying to cover up her condition. But a question that is important in bringing up is, “when is it too much?” Certainly individuals have their own preferences and some can tolerate tattoos more than others. This question could also branch into two smaller questions, “When is too much to get” pertaining to having tattoos added and, “when is too much to look at?” The class talked about how some people get too many tattoos and can take away from the message trying to be portrayed by the body images. I think that many people overreact to tattoos but in some instances can be right in overreacting. It’s all about the context and how tattoos are portrayed by whomever is looking at them.

Darren Pope