The Real World?

I don’t know if I can gauge how the media’s portrayal of women has changed in my lifetime. My relationship with the media has changed significantly since I was a teenager. Since I have come to college I have begun to challenge these ideas of body image. When I came to college I suddenly became aware of how the media effected girls. I never really watched MTV or fell for Abercrombie and Fitch so I was unprepared for dorm life. In my dorm there were girls who were glued to MTV and subscribed to fashions blindly. In my small world of high school I didn’t realize that this cult of pop culture existed. These girls tried to be like these reality television stars. I remember the first night I spent in the dorm all the girls were putting on really skimpy outfits to go out in. I was so naïve; I had no clue you were supposed to dress like this for party. I felt rather inadequate in my jeans and modest tank-top. Living a year in a dorm I had a good taste for what the media was doing to women. I felt like a lot of the kids in the dorm were trying to reenact “The Real World.” I was introduced to the ideas of hook-up culture, Uggs and bulimia. A lot of these girls were really smart too and they would hide it in order to appear more attractive. I have never been able to understand that and from this point on I began to experiment with my comfort level in rejecting these norms. I guess there is this myth that when you go to college you become really liberal and stop shaving your legs. Well that happened to me. I stopped wearing make-up, shaving and bought my clothes at the thrift store. I think the biggest hang up I have with the way media portrays women is how they are supposed to silenced, meek and sexual. I have found that by being vocal and expressing who I am was the biggest revolution for me. You don’t need quit shaving, you can still wear Uggs but a least speak your mind and make conscious decisions.

MY "MANIFESTA"

There are a lot of things that piss me off when it comes to women's issues. But I think the one thing that gets me the most is lack of knowledge and rights women are given about their bodies. Our bodies our ours and no one else. Women, it's about time that we take back our bodies. Doctors, politicians, cat-callers on the street, have been telling us what we can and can't do. George W. was against woman's choice to have an abortion, he was for abstinence-only sex education and never once told the public whether he was for or against birth control (we can assume that he thought women shouldn't be able to use it). Why are we letting these politicians control our bodies based on their wacky religious right views? Some pharmacists refuse to fill birth control or emergency contraception prescriptions despite the fact that these women have legitimate "permission" to have it. Last time i checked I don't go to the CVS to get the advice of the pharmacist or his moral views. Another problem I have is how little information we are given about our bodies. I didn't find out I had a clitoris until I was 17, and I didn't learn how to use it properly until I was 20! I believe that we have the right to enjoy our bodies but these abstinence-only sex-ed programs are denying women sexual information as well as information to keep them safe from STD's and getting pregnant. Do they really expect girls to deny all sexual urges until the ring is on their finger? It doesn't make sense. Other information i think that all women are entitled to have is how does your period work? I mean they tell you that you get it about every 28 days, that it happens because an egg was released and it didn't get knocked up... so you bleed. Other than that it is hush hush because bleeding is gross and not a subject for the dinner table. But i feel like we should know what is going on in our bodies at this time; why we get moody, acne and bloated but also why we are irregular, have really bad cramps and bleed too much. We should know how to predict all of these changes. I know most doctors will tell you to go on birth control if you are irregular. That is totally ignoring the problem. If we were taught to read our cycles we could find out so much information about our health. Having a healthy cycle is a sign that you are pretty healthy (for the most part). But if you are not you could have a thyroid problem, you could have polycystic ovarian syndrome or something else. Birth control seems to be the quick fix for everything (i mean i am all for it as a way to prevent babies and i am all for it if that is what you want and are aware of your options). Women just aren't informed on their options. We should embrace our cycles and learn to read them. Menstruation is viewed as such a dirty annoying thing. Bleeding is Beautiful! These are our bodies ladies and we should embrace them, we should decide for them and we should feel safe in them.