women and their struggle for equality

Distorted and unattainable sexist mass images are the inevitable

Consequences of a social system in which those who are thin and big

Breasted benefit most.  We as a society have created an environment so

Image obsessed that those with power give approval for being thin and

Disapproval for being fat, creating a generation of women so self-conscious

About their body image, that it is affecting their health.  In this essay I

Plan to discuss the inexcusable methods in which the mass media encourages

Young women to disfigure and mutilate their bodies.

 

        When an obsessive media targets and forces young women to hate

Their bodies, it makes them more vulnerable to emulating media stereotypes

And prone to compulsive dieting.  "Perfection looks like magic to those who

Stand aside and do not know any better.  The main problem with perfection

In a society so obsessed with perception is that it looks too easy.

  Media purveyors promote the

Message that unrealistic thinness equals sexiness and popularity, which

Equals beauty, success and all the "good" things in life.  Yet, recent

Interviews have revealed that even glamorous and successful supermodels are

Afraid of getting fat and what it might do to their careers.  In many cases

The media has constructed faulty images that suggest that the influence of

Gender in terms of "human nature" compel people in the eyes of the media to

Behave and act in certain stereotypical ways, in turn causing young

Impressionable women to be wrongfully misled.

 

        "Babies aren't born hating their bodies but instead grow up to

Learn that fat is bad; and thinness will bring you happiness." states Sarah

Stephen in the 1998 article "Fat is Still a Feminist Issue" These images

Are being taken to extremes throughout the fashion industry, often

Displayed by the waif look of hollow cheeks and skeletal bodies.  It has

Been proven that media images do have a powerful effect on young women

Today due to the extensive reinforcement on our everyday lives.  Everywhere

We look we see unattainable images swarming around us, it seems as though

It is a fad we cannot get away from.

 

        Women are all too often described in terms of what they look like,

Rather than what they think or what they do.  Women’s accomplishments are

Often based upon her physical appearance as opposed to her personality or

 

Possible mental capability.  It is clearly apparent that stereotypes are

Not limited to the prejudiced or the bigoted, to racial categories or to

The unschooled.  It is to be said that those who are considered more

"Attractive" beginning at a young age are led to believe that women are

Successful in part by their appearance and monetary value, which leads

Impressionable young women to believe that prestige go hand in hand.

 

        In my opinion I believe that many solicitors of the mass media try

To lay on bandages of political correctness but only magnify the on going

Battle against women and their bodies.  Yet, we as a society seem to

Passively disregard the fact that distorted, unattainable sexist mass

Images are the product of the constant exploitation of women and their

Bodies as well as our losing battle against anorexia and bulimia amongst

Young women today.  Today's pretty woman represents a new breed, mannequins

With sex appeal, as glamorous as movie legends and as famous as the

Designer clothes they parade.  However, the wide emphasis on beauty and

Perfection illustrated and promoted everywhere from sitcoms and commercials

To magazines and billboards across the nation is only a small reflection of

Society’s constant obsession with image and outer beauty.  According to the

Narrow-minded society we live in, there just doesn't seem to be a limit on

How beautiful one can become.

Racism is in the corner

Comparison of Racism Today to Racism of the Early 1900s

Racism today is both the same and different from racism of the early 1900’s. Some areas of racism that are the same include that of the dark colored skinned population being segregated from whites and groups ganging up against people of a colored skin. Areas of racism that have changed dramatically include that amount of criticism the groups receive and the forms that they receive criticism.
Some people have always looked down the dark skinned population upon for generations and generations. When the United States was formed black colored people from Africa where used as slaves, they where property and not a human being. Since this time many people have believed that whites are the supreme power and beings.
Today, many people do not segregate based upon race o rskin color. This was not the case in the early 1900’s. At that time slavery was an issue that was just being put to and end and many people still saw the blacks as property. Other people saw the blacks as a hard worked for a low amount of pay. At this time, it was looked upon as British forming the new colonies. Most of these founders where of the white skin and found other skin colors as intruders or people in there way. These founders then just used them and saw them as cheap labor. Today though, many blacks make more or equal money and live a better or equal life then most of the white population. Look at a basketball or football team, it is mainly consisted of very talented dark skinned people. No longer do whites and blanks have different bathrooms and drinking fountains. We are on our way to becoming all one, being united. Unfortunately not all people feel this way and today there are still people that believed blacks should not exists and that they are just in the way. Blacks are still segregated in some ways today, but not near as much as they had been in the early 1900’s.
Racism is obviously not something God planned, it is a sin, we are all equal with no one being better then anyone else. Racism has changed a lot during the past hundred years, working toward the goal of everyone being equal as we are in Gods eyes. 

I have faced many obstacles to overcome in my life’s path to get where I am today. Overcoming obstacles has always been a part of my life and due to the valuable experiences that I have had, I know that I have prepared myself well.

 I was 10 years old, when my mom and my siblings first moved to downtown Douala, Cameroon. We had no money at all, my mom didn’t have a job or experience because she didn’t had the chance to go to school like every other kid. I was raised in poverty, so to go to school in the morning, first I had to sell cane sugar with my mom, to get some money to pay my tuition. As a child my dream was to free my mom from our misery and to give her anything she never had. But my mom always told me “if you go to school then you would have anything you desire and no one would tell you what you need to do”.

With the purpose to succeed, on February 14, 2009, I came to America. In order for me to succeed I brought with me all my dreams and the determination to achieve them, along with my personal motivation, perseverance and positive attitude. When I first arrive I didn’t know how to speak English because my first language is French. But over the last two years, I had not only expanded the command of the English language but also the challenges that I had faced living in and learning about a new culture have been met with enthusiasm and determination. While been in the US, I met a teacher who always told me that “nobody will believe in you unless you believe in yourself”. He explained to me that I must believe in myself in order to accomplish great things in life. All this happen because of my mom’s will, to bring us here, to have a better opportunity that she didn’t beneficiate when she was a child. My mother has been through so much, yet, she still, keeps going no matter what, and she never let anything push her down. She is a marvelous woman, who I would proudly call my mother. Everything I do, wherever I am is for my mom because she suffers for us so now it is time for me to thanks her by working hard and be the best person I can be in life. To accomplish my goals, I need to graduate from high school then go on to college to get my degree in medicine.

Overcoming these obstacles has made me a stronger person, emotionally. I have learned how to survive without luxuries, depend on my family. Now I can offer the strength o f experience, determination and the knowledge I have acquired throughout my life at Trinity University. Participating in the hiscip program, would be a great experience for me. I hope to learn more about the college life. 

the meaning of empowerment

 Feeling empowered comes when one is enabled to believe and/ or do something for their

Self they have always wanted to but yet have never done before. With empowerment comes a raise of ones self esteem, confidence, and courage that enables one to feel self powerful, and always used with humility.... This enabling of ones self can come through another person who we admire or has given us some form of an emotional/mental tool that encourages us to move forward in our life and we do. The suggestions of self empowerment have many sources, but until we apply any of them to our own lives, it is only unused information. Working through personal issues that have burdened us, to then find forgiveness and peace with them is very empowering to a person, as we then continue to walk our journey with much less baggage. To feel enlightened by certain information that is found in say a self help book, is to then know we have finally "got it" so to speak, and will then apply this to our lives for healthier all around living. Enlightenment which comes quite often through spiritual awareness or awakening is also self empowering and lifts one up to another level of consciousness into a state of calmness, peacefulness, and serenity that one may have never known existed. To see and feel anything in a better light is empowering for the person, even if they do not recognize this as self empowerment, in truth, it is. Feelings of empowerment, enlightenment generally occur when one is searching for a truth they know exists and then find it quite unexpectedly. There have been many times I've felt empowered as this is a part of everyday life for me, because I am open to learning something I haven't before or just haven't got the meaning to yet, like reading something over and over again but today it took on a new meaning for me. I will then implement this into my life which will empower me in becoming a little better of a person. To be enlightened is directly related to empowerment, and all of which is used for the good of anything.

Empowerment is not just about words it takes action to achieve.