Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
After watching the last video in class it opened up my eyes a lot to homophobia and religion. People who are scared of the so called normal will find anything stable and widely popular to back up their views of a subject. With this being said, what is one of the most popular and also controversial things? The most obvious answer is The Bible. The Bible is a book you can read over and over again and each time gain a different perspective from even just reading the same scripture more than once. I'm Methodist but I am also from a very small town. In our church everybody knows each other or know other families very well. Our preacher tries to stay away from the subject of homosexuality because there are members of our church who many suspect to be homosexual and he does not want to offend anyone for fear of losing members. We are a very small church and the more people we lose the harder it is to pay off the bills for the church.
However, if one was to ask around to older members of our church they would all say homosexuality is a sin. They do not place is as the "all-mighty" sin like others and they do not call it an "abomination." They do not see being homosexual as wrong per say but they do not favor the idea either. Different people in the church have different views.
Some believe that you have a choice, but families like mine believe there are instances when you do not have a choice. My family is very open with the idea of homosexuality because we do have them in our family, and they are always the life of the party. Families that are not like mine though, will use The Bible and religion as an excuse to show homosexuality to be wrong because they do not like the idea and because of the way they interpret the readings.
I never realized how much of The Bible has been changed through different time periods because of the change of human views and ideals of that time period until the movie we watched in class. I, myself, have not sat down and read the entire Bible. I also do not go through and pick and choose verses to match a preference of mine when it takes away from the scripture as a whole. Seeing how at one point, eating shrimp was an abomination amazes me at how people can completely look over that because it is something so common. I do not agree with those practices and neither does my church. They always look at things from all angles, which is something many more people should do.
However, if one was to ask around to older members of our church they would all say homosexuality is a sin. They do not place is as the "all-mighty" sin like others and they do not call it an "abomination." They do not see being homosexual as wrong per say but they do not favor the idea either. Different people in the church have different views.
Some believe that you have a choice, but families like mine believe there are instances when you do not have a choice. My family is very open with the idea of homosexuality because we do have them in our family, and they are always the life of the party. Families that are not like mine though, will use The Bible and religion as an excuse to show homosexuality to be wrong because they do not like the idea and because of the way they interpret the readings.
I never realized how much of The Bible has been changed through different time periods because of the change of human views and ideals of that time period until the movie we watched in class. I, myself, have not sat down and read the entire Bible. I also do not go through and pick and choose verses to match a preference of mine when it takes away from the scripture as a whole. Seeing how at one point, eating shrimp was an abomination amazes me at how people can completely look over that because it is something so common. I do not agree with those practices and neither does my church. They always look at things from all angles, which is something many more people should do.
Monday, February 13, 2012
My Oppression
When someone like me sits down and thinks about the oppressions that I face, but also think about the advantages it is easier to think of the oppressions first. I am a young black female. The odds are against me first because I'm young. So one would think I'm inexperienced, immature, and unreliable. Since there is racism in the world, it is hard in certain situations to be a woman of color. Finally, being a woman has its connotations of its own. As we talked about in class, many of those ideals are negative. A woman is seen as dependent, weak, emotional, etc. All of those which are seen as negative aspects to have in the same work environment as a man.
As an educated woman, however, I am privileged. I am privileged to be able to sit in a classroom and work my way to earn a degree. Once I earn my degree, it will open up doors to many job opportunities I would not have been able to have a chance with before. Some people see woman having privileges like getting things done for them, or having people take it easy on them. However, I see that as an oppression also. I do not want to have people take it easy on me because they think I can't handle it. I do not see it as equal. Even though sometimes I do not mind a nice gentlemen to do things for me out of kindness, I do not want it done out of pity.
I do believe that as an educated woman we have a right to mitigate those privileges. I also believe that by first looking at everyone equal without stereotypes we could start to alleviate the oppressions that are brought upon us. It sounds like a simple thing to do, but when you really think about it when you first look at someone how they dress, talk, and look create a big first impression. First impressions aren't always correct and by being open minded it is easier to eliminate the labels that are usually forced upon us.
As an educated woman, however, I am privileged. I am privileged to be able to sit in a classroom and work my way to earn a degree. Once I earn my degree, it will open up doors to many job opportunities I would not have been able to have a chance with before. Some people see woman having privileges like getting things done for them, or having people take it easy on them. However, I see that as an oppression also. I do not want to have people take it easy on me because they think I can't handle it. I do not see it as equal. Even though sometimes I do not mind a nice gentlemen to do things for me out of kindness, I do not want it done out of pity.
I do believe that as an educated woman we have a right to mitigate those privileges. I also believe that by first looking at everyone equal without stereotypes we could start to alleviate the oppressions that are brought upon us. It sounds like a simple thing to do, but when you really think about it when you first look at someone how they dress, talk, and look create a big first impression. First impressions aren't always correct and by being open minded it is easier to eliminate the labels that are usually forced upon us.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Not Girly Enough?
When I was younger, I was never into things that other girls were into. If I wanted dolls of some sort, I wanted action figures. There were a few times that I asked for actual barbie dolls, but it was only because my sister and friends would always want to play with them. I liked to play with race cars and action figures like Buzz Lightyear. My mom didn't really mind much by it because I still had alot of friends and none of them judged me. Soon it did start to bother her though because she started having to force me to wear a dress, even on picture day.
I can remember one time for sure, when I used to go to the Boys and Girls, where my mom told me I wasn't girly enough. I was in middle school around the time and all my friends were either guys or gils who were just like me, not girly. Everyday after school we all rode the bus to the Boys and Girls Club where we would do homework for two hours, then afterwards we could do whatever activities we wanted. I always wanted to play flag football with the guys. Flag football was the only kind of football allowed after a while because girls like me always wanted to play. Surprisingly, I was one of the best players. At first, I was picked last because I was a girl but then they saw I was one of the fastest ones and then I was almost always picked first. Soon the football tryouts for middle school was coming up, and I was playing flag football every day to try and get better. I hadn't told my mom or dad yet because I knew they wouldn't like it, but I also figured they would support me anyway.
Finally the day of tryouts came, and not only did my mom tell me it wouldn't "look" right if I played football but so did the coaches and all my teachers. They all said people would assume I was gay and would give me a bad reputation. Even though I tried out for other sports and enjoyed them, that experience made me pick out what activities to do more carefully in fear of how I may be viewed as "ungirly."
I can remember one time for sure, when I used to go to the Boys and Girls, where my mom told me I wasn't girly enough. I was in middle school around the time and all my friends were either guys or gils who were just like me, not girly. Everyday after school we all rode the bus to the Boys and Girls Club where we would do homework for two hours, then afterwards we could do whatever activities we wanted. I always wanted to play flag football with the guys. Flag football was the only kind of football allowed after a while because girls like me always wanted to play. Surprisingly, I was one of the best players. At first, I was picked last because I was a girl but then they saw I was one of the fastest ones and then I was almost always picked first. Soon the football tryouts for middle school was coming up, and I was playing flag football every day to try and get better. I hadn't told my mom or dad yet because I knew they wouldn't like it, but I also figured they would support me anyway.
Finally the day of tryouts came, and not only did my mom tell me it wouldn't "look" right if I played football but so did the coaches and all my teachers. They all said people would assume I was gay and would give me a bad reputation. Even though I tried out for other sports and enjoyed them, that experience made me pick out what activities to do more carefully in fear of how I may be viewed as "ungirly."
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I see where Lyn is coming from.
I see this a lot where I am from also. Even though I stay just an hour away on the coast, it is normal for girls to ride four-wheelers and hang out with boys. I used to do the same thing. That's why I always wanted to play football and basketball instead of cheerleading and got upset when I was told it wasn't lasy like.
My friend's little brother is about 10. He plays football with the guys but has a lot of lady like tendencies. He crosses his legs and like to play with girls. Everybody picks on him and tell him he is going to be gay. I think it is just because he is around all females and his dad is never home but to yell at him. He likes girls and thinks they are pretty. I see nothing wrong with him wanting to surround himself with pretty ladies.
http://lenciarenae.blogspot.com/2012/02/blog-post-5.html#comment-form
Valencia, it's amazing to see the differences in communites.
Things like this are the reason many homosexuals commit suicide. I understand how some communities are even though mine is the complete oppostie. I have a friend who denies he is gay everyday, but everyone knows he is. He is acted like a girl ever since he was a little kid. He has grown up to be just as feminine as me, but he does appreciate a beautiful woman. He has never had a serious girlfriend, but he has been suspected of having relations with more than one guy.
The difference with my community is that although people tease him and talk about him being a homosexual, it would actually be easier for him to come out of the closet instead of trying to deny it. By denying it, it just gives more people to talk about. A community like yours calls for many sterotypes to be proven. I'm sorry to hear about you have been affected by it, but I'm happy to hear that you have became friends with the guy instead of shunning him like the rest of your community. It shows character.