The article "The Heavy Cost of Light Skin" was an enlightening article about the topic of women bleaching their skin in order to make themselves more pallid and "attractive", in their eyes. But, these treatments are not salubrious and end up causing a lot of harm to the women who use them. They use the products to embellish their beauty, and i think its a horrible idea. It's even worse that women who choose NOT to do this to themselves are considered second-class citizens and shunned by those who do use them. Although it may not mention it in the article, I bet the non-use of skin bleachers affects the dowry of the women, if men don't accept the women because they find them "unattractive".
I don't understand how men can find skin bleaching salacious, if all it does is destroy skin and cause major health problems such as skin cancer. It's as if we have returned to the middle ages, where white skin was the pinnacle of fashion, and women tried their hardest to be as pale as possible. Instead of progressing, we have in fact regressed.
While many women jovially explain how they believe lighter skin makes them more attractive, others disagree. Many doctors and specialists are commenting on the unhealthiness 0f this treatment, and warning against its use. Some men even disagree with the idea that whiter skin is more pleasing. And i must say, i don't think bleached-whiter skin is anything other than disturbing and terrible.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Dove Commercial
1. What were your gut reactions to this commercial?
When i first saw this commercial , I was horrified at seeing just how many beauty ploys there were out there. It wasn't until then, until i had seen them all together, that I realized just how drastic the measures were the beauty industry had taken to insure their worldwide spread. I felt bad for being part of this industry, simply by buying products. And when it showed all the surgical procedures taken by women in order to look better, it disturbed me, That women do so much to fit in, to be "beautiful", it appalled me.
2. What do you think about the central message of the commercial? Be specific and give examples to support your ideas.
I believe the central message of this commercial was to show the public exactly how horrible the beauty industry was, and to warn us of how it affects children, even at a young age. When little girls see this kind of thing on TV or on a billboard, they immediately think that its something they should achieve. From a young age, they are taught by the public that beauty is all that matters, not brains or personality. And you really have to teach your children the true meaning of life is not to gain beauty. For example, it shows all the billboards, and magazine articles, and TV shows, and diets, then shows a little girl. Effectively showing us the effect these images are taking on her.
Our Seminar
Today in humanities class, we had a seminar about the four cardinal virtues of society, written by Greek philosophers over 2500 years ago. We spoke a lot about our beliefs on how to reach these four virtues, what they were at the essential root, how they affected everyday life. It turned out to be far more in-depth than i ever expected. Our class has a myriad of opinions and ideas concerning how we think the world should be and why. I spoke a bit about what i thought bravery was, in my opinion, how i think it could be achieved. I thought that bravery shouldn't just be something a HUGE it could also be something small, like talking to your friend, or standing up to a bully, that could be considered brave.
My peers had amazing ideas about other topics, the other virtues in mind: prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. for example, when we had the discussion about whether walking into a lions den was bravery or stupidity. I found that its all a matter of perspective. To some, saving a child is to be seen as something to be commended, something brave beyond all reason. And to others, is to seen as the opposite. Why save the life of someone who you care not for? What does this for to you? Some people are truly happy with living their lives with not helping anyone ever, and its just part of their personality. Personally, im of both natures. I would try to help someone in need as much as possible, but there would always be a moment when i would wonder why i am doing it. Wonder why i am being good, why i am being charitable, because it does nothing FOR me. It may make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't help me physically. It doesn't better my position in this world.
And when it comes to piety, and it being considered ignorance. I believe in that, to some extent. There are some who take piety to the extremes, who take it so much to heart, take it so literally, that they forget human nature, They take a simple slip up as a horrible sin, and end up punishing innocent people for something they did on accident, or with no malintentions. For example, the Salem Witch trials, As far as we know, those women did NOTHING wrong, but they were still cruelly captured, many of them killed heedlessly. I think too much piety blinds us to the world, shields us from the truth of it all.
If i were to continue on about our conversation today, it would take many many pages, i kid you not. So, i believe i will stop here, and leave you with the note that our class has a deeper sense of the world than you can ever imagine.
My peers had amazing ideas about other topics, the other virtues in mind: prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. for example, when we had the discussion about whether walking into a lions den was bravery or stupidity. I found that its all a matter of perspective. To some, saving a child is to be seen as something to be commended, something brave beyond all reason. And to others, is to seen as the opposite. Why save the life of someone who you care not for? What does this for to you? Some people are truly happy with living their lives with not helping anyone ever, and its just part of their personality. Personally, im of both natures. I would try to help someone in need as much as possible, but there would always be a moment when i would wonder why i am doing it. Wonder why i am being good, why i am being charitable, because it does nothing FOR me. It may make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't help me physically. It doesn't better my position in this world.
And when it comes to piety, and it being considered ignorance. I believe in that, to some extent. There are some who take piety to the extremes, who take it so much to heart, take it so literally, that they forget human nature, They take a simple slip up as a horrible sin, and end up punishing innocent people for something they did on accident, or with no malintentions. For example, the Salem Witch trials, As far as we know, those women did NOTHING wrong, but they were still cruelly captured, many of them killed heedlessly. I think too much piety blinds us to the world, shields us from the truth of it all.
If i were to continue on about our conversation today, it would take many many pages, i kid you not. So, i believe i will stop here, and leave you with the note that our class has a deeper sense of the world than you can ever imagine.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Women in Ancient Greece
1. How did women's roles in society differ from Athens and Sparta?
Women in Athens were thought of as liabilities, good only for keeping the house and the children clean and well fed, fetching water, doing menial chores around the house. They were never given a high part in society, especially not government. It was vastly different in Sparta. Here, women were taught how to read and write, and were expected to be able to fend for themselves. , Academically, they were treated much the same as the men were. This is only a fraction of the differences between Athenian and Spartan women, but still , you can see the differences in the way the were seen and treated.
2. If the Greeks are considered so advanced, so culturally elite, why do you believe gender equality (equality between men and women) was not established?
I believe gender equality was not established, because there was really no idea of it even being possible. No one had ever imagined the possibility of a woman having the same rights as a man. And even if it had been thought of, i honestly don't think the men could have stood the competition. They probably thought it an insult to even consider a woman as strong and powerful as a man. The mere thought of a woman in government sent chills up their spines. Imagine, this person who was supposed to be at home making dinner, running their empire?!? Impossible! I believe, if they had out higher stock in the women, they could have easily come up with some sort of gender equality. But they would have never allowed themselves to do such a thing.
3. Based on your understanding of women in Ancient Greek society, how do you think women were depicted by artists at this time?
I would think that women were portrayed much less commonly than men, and that when they were, it was either doing some mindless work, or as a goddess. I think this was pretty much the only excuse they had for adding women into art. I doubt that female nudity was insanely common. Once again, i must say that it was usually the goddesses that were portrayed in artwork.
Women in Athens were thought of as liabilities, good only for keeping the house and the children clean and well fed, fetching water, doing menial chores around the house. They were never given a high part in society, especially not government. It was vastly different in Sparta. Here, women were taught how to read and write, and were expected to be able to fend for themselves. , Academically, they were treated much the same as the men were. This is only a fraction of the differences between Athenian and Spartan women, but still , you can see the differences in the way the were seen and treated.
2. If the Greeks are considered so advanced, so culturally elite, why do you believe gender equality (equality between men and women) was not established?
I believe gender equality was not established, because there was really no idea of it even being possible. No one had ever imagined the possibility of a woman having the same rights as a man. And even if it had been thought of, i honestly don't think the men could have stood the competition. They probably thought it an insult to even consider a woman as strong and powerful as a man. The mere thought of a woman in government sent chills up their spines. Imagine, this person who was supposed to be at home making dinner, running their empire?!? Impossible! I believe, if they had out higher stock in the women, they could have easily come up with some sort of gender equality. But they would have never allowed themselves to do such a thing.
3. Based on your understanding of women in Ancient Greek society, how do you think women were depicted by artists at this time?
I would think that women were portrayed much less commonly than men, and that when they were, it was either doing some mindless work, or as a goddess. I think this was pretty much the only excuse they had for adding women into art. I doubt that female nudity was insanely common. Once again, i must say that it was usually the goddesses that were portrayed in artwork.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
You, Plato, Socrates, and Beauty
1) What is so beautiful about youth?
Youth. When i think of youth, i don't usually think of beauty. I think of recklessness, of immaturity, of innocence, of being blissfully unaware of the problems of the world. But I suppose that, in and of itself, is beauty, at least the innocence and blissfulnesses. I think of youthful beauty not only as smooth skin, and good looks, but as the ability to see the world as it is, unpolluted and untarnished. If you ever want to really know how the world would impact a stranger, ask a child. They see everything at the most basic level, the way some things were supposed to be seen as, before they were blown out of proportion. This is what I imagine as youthful beauty, not only the physical "perfection" of someone who is young.
2) We know what "perfect" most likely means to Socrates by looking at ancient Greek sculpture and art and drawing inferences, but he doesn't describe this "perfect" human form. What are your thoughts on the idea of a "perfect" human form today? What is it in your culture for men? women? What are your thoughts surrounding those ideals?
I think the idea of a perfect human form hasn't changed much since ancient Greek times. at least, for women it hasn't. The ideal female image has always, and probably always be, curvy, proportioned, perfect in every way. But that of itself is confusing. Every culture has a different ideal as to what they believe as "perfect". Some cultures, the American culture for example, think of perfection as a stick thin body, with exquisite features, paying no heed to the emotional or mental beauty of the woman. For men, the standards are less lax, the demands less extreme. I think the only ideal is that they be "handsome". But handsomeness is by perpective. Some people think of some man as handsome, while their friend thinks hes hideous. Everyone has a different idea, different ideals. It has always seemed different for women. And truly, there is no reason for it. The very idea of beauty makes no sense, because no one is ever unanimously "beautiful", its impossible. Socrates may have had his own ideas on the concept of beauty, of it being part of youth, but others may disagree.
Youth. When i think of youth, i don't usually think of beauty. I think of recklessness, of immaturity, of innocence, of being blissfully unaware of the problems of the world. But I suppose that, in and of itself, is beauty, at least the innocence and blissfulnesses. I think of youthful beauty not only as smooth skin, and good looks, but as the ability to see the world as it is, unpolluted and untarnished. If you ever want to really know how the world would impact a stranger, ask a child. They see everything at the most basic level, the way some things were supposed to be seen as, before they were blown out of proportion. This is what I imagine as youthful beauty, not only the physical "perfection" of someone who is young.
2) We know what "perfect" most likely means to Socrates by looking at ancient Greek sculpture and art and drawing inferences, but he doesn't describe this "perfect" human form. What are your thoughts on the idea of a "perfect" human form today? What is it in your culture for men? women? What are your thoughts surrounding those ideals?
I think the idea of a perfect human form hasn't changed much since ancient Greek times. at least, for women it hasn't. The ideal female image has always, and probably always be, curvy, proportioned, perfect in every way. But that of itself is confusing. Every culture has a different ideal as to what they believe as "perfect". Some cultures, the American culture for example, think of perfection as a stick thin body, with exquisite features, paying no heed to the emotional or mental beauty of the woman. For men, the standards are less lax, the demands less extreme. I think the only ideal is that they be "handsome". But handsomeness is by perpective. Some people think of some man as handsome, while their friend thinks hes hideous. Everyone has a different idea, different ideals. It has always seemed different for women. And truly, there is no reason for it. The very idea of beauty makes no sense, because no one is ever unanimously "beautiful", its impossible. Socrates may have had his own ideas on the concept of beauty, of it being part of youth, but others may disagree.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Beauty and my thoughts on it
What is beauty? Beauty is a word that explains what we as a person find attractive, not only aesthetically, but emotionally, spiritually, many things as well. These pictures are small examples of what I find beautiful.
I think lightning is beautiful, because its something amazing that we cant really explain. Lightning is part of nature, and just because of that it can be beautiful. When you see it, it makes you feel small and insignificant, because, what are you compared to this? Its amazing, beautiful, and wonderful.
I think lightning is beautiful, because its something amazing that we cant really explain. Lightning is part of nature, and just because of that it can be beautiful. When you see it, it makes you feel small and insignificant, because, what are you compared to this? Its amazing, beautiful, and wonderful.
The aurora Borealis, another thing that i find both beautiful 
and amazing. It is rare, so few people have actually seen it. its another thing that makes you feel small. It makes you wonder what makes this world so fascinating, what makes these things happen. Its awing, is what it is, more than beautiful.
I don't like to think of THINGS as being beautiful, more ideas, thoughts. What we think up can become something beautiful in and of itself.
and amazing. It is rare, so few people have actually seen it. its another thing that makes you feel small. It makes you wonder what makes this world so fascinating, what makes these things happen. Its awing, is what it is, more than beautiful.I don't like to think of THINGS as being beautiful, more ideas, thoughts. What we think up can become something beautiful in and of itself.
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