I found it in me

So I thought about this over and over, trying to convince myself to be able to put this out there. I even tried writing it in my essay but it seemed easier to just let it out here. But, I think that I found it in me to actually let it out. Although a lot of people already know and accept it for what it was, I dated a girl for almost a year. Talking about people against gays really started to make me upset. Watching the video and hearing about a guy that got killed just by walking a little "gay" was the most upsetting thing I listened to in class. I always think, like what if that was me? What if my friends and family didn't accept me having a girlfriend? I hide it for so long and I still do to new people that don't know me very well. It's not that I'm embarrassed because I'm not, i just don't like the feeling of possibly getting judged and to be looked down upon just by the person im interested in. I am so grateful and lucky to have so many amazing friends and family who knew about my relationship and never thought any different of me. Although it was and still is hard for me to just come out and say yeah I dated a girl, I'm proud I did, and I'm proud of who I am today. Whoever I decide to be with, girl or guy, I'll know who the true people are in my life, with who's standing by me in the end. 

Born this way?

I came across this today

and well...it was on Twitter so I'm not entirely sure on if this was a true Nelson Mandela quote, but nonetheless it caught my eye. I've heard similar quotes before on the similar topic and how it isn't genetically wired for anyone to hate certain races, religions, genders, etc. This allows me to question the basis of where these character habits find their origin. Its easy to blame the society we grow up with, where we are raised, our parents, our friends, and more because these are the environments and people we are exposed to. These people and environments are what shape us.

 What I have noticed though, is that it seems to be a lot easier for people to be mean than nice. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone! But this may tie into the idea that kindness is seen as weakness. Nobody likes to be seen as less dominant than the other, which may drive a person or group of people to find the need to hate others. This hatred was seen throughout history. Think about the different wars and genocides among the world. They were all mainly based around race, culture, and religion.

Anyway, just thought you'd all like to see this and hopefully respond!

This section in ERW a has really caught my attention. I like it because it really points out a huge problem in our society. People get judged for the smallest things by just walking how they walk or have a too high or low pitched voice. People are getting killed for something that is out of their hands. I'm also very interested in the whole sexism is a problem and how feminism is starting to become a huge thing, which is true. Women get looked down upon everyday. Were considered weak, and just the maid of the house pretty much. Girls and guys should all be equal. should all be free. Because we do live in a free world don't we? 

BBP#2

Now this blog post I just want to talk about ERW class as a whole. Although I hate the work, I have grown to love the class. Every time we get assigned something I just complain and automatically become stressed, but once I get something completed I let out a big sigh of relief. At the end of an assignment, I always find myself reflecting back on it, realizing it wasn't even that hard to begin with and I learned from it. Recently with this group assignment I was really freaking out. I already struggle with writing by myself and I was no where near prepared to write something with three other people. At first I thought it may be easy considering I wouldn't have to do as much work, but trying to stay with the topic and getting everything to flow was confusing and more difficult than expected. I had to rewrite my section a couple times because I kept feeling as if it didn't fit correctly. Now that it is over, I am extremely proud of the public service announcement my group put together. With a lot of revising, everything went together smoothly and now I am no longer scared of group writing assignments. I learned that even if you're super duper confused about what the hell you're doing, just go at it anyways because nothing bad can come out of it. 

Brooke’s Blog Post #1

Today we listened to a couple more assignments and I found myself really liking what Ally said in theres. Like specifically her part. She really summed up everything a woman goes through in a couple paragraphs. It's very true that society has this picture of a perfect, standard woman. But why? All this does is cause people to believe that that woman is what they must look like and if it isn't, then they are less than perfect. Anorexia, bulimia, low self esteem, low self-confidence, etc are all caused because of this. I do also agree with what ally was saying about ads and commercials. There's no need to have naked women everywhere. It's sickening that Carl's Jr. has to show off a woman's body to sell their product. It's really disrespectful in a way. I understand it's appealing to the eye and that's there way of grabbing people attention, but there are plenty of other ways to get people to buy your product. If the only way you can sell a burger is by almost having nudity in your commercial then the burger must not be all that great. I also really love and have always loved the idea of having realistically sized models. On social media im constantly seeing posts about this topic. In some magazines they show off "plus sized" models that are skinnier than I am. Since when has being a regular, proportioned woman turned into being plus sized. It blows my mind. What has society come to? 

Phylosophe

In Judith Butler's article "Phylosophe" she talks about how a boy was thrown off of a bridge and died just because people didn't like the way he walked. Why is it so wrong for someone to want to be who they are and not have to be afraid of getting bullied for it. People should not be put down for who they are or who they want to be. Also why do people care so much about the way others walk or talk? It is their life and they should be able to do whatever they please. It should not matter whether a boy acts feminine or a girl acts masculine but for some reason it does. I think that people refuse to except that the world is changing, 100 years ago it would almost be impossible to come out and say that you are gay or lesbian because it was just not allowed. Now even though it is not fully accepted in society people are more willing to accept you for who you are. Not saying everyone will accept or not accept you but society has gotten better. No matter if you are straight, gay, lesbian or whatever you choose to be there are always going to be people who will not like the person you are. It sucks that people have to put other people down, whatever their reasoning is. It is not right and should never lead to the murder of someone. 

Indirectness vs Directness

In our society women are automatically given lower status than men and are judged especially by the way they talk. It has been that way all through history, women are just looked down upon and judged which is unfair and wrong. Men are seen as powerful, as for women they are seen as weak and powerless. In "His politeness is Her Powerlessness," Tannen states that women's ways of talking uttered in a spirit of rapport, are branded powerless. Just because some women speak indirectly doesn't mean she is weak in anyway she may just be trying to not sound so demanding. I think that indirectness is powerful in itself; for example, if your girlfriend was upset with you and just gives you that look you know you're in trouble, it shows. She doesn't need to say anything except show it through her face expressions and the way she's acting around you. Men on the other hand are more direct, they would be direct with their words and yes it may seem powerful but indirectness is just as powerful. Do you think being direct is  more powerful or do you think being indirect is just effective?