Greetings,
I'm packing my bag and heading off to Cheltenham for a while, for the Greenbelt Festival. Over the next five days I shall be discovering new bands, dancing in the crazy way that I do, eating lots of crap, getting very little sleep and throwing all inhibitions out of the window!
I shall return on Tuesday, hopefully with a nice long blog-post thought out in my mind, ready for my last evening of peace before I return back to the SCHOOL OF DOOM.
In the meantime, keep standing up for yourself and hating the sickness in society!
Best wishes,
J
xxx
Thursday 27 August 2009
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Gender and its Complications
The world is obsessed with gender.
Whether it is those who solidly stick to their conservative belief in the defined roles of men and women, or those who make tacky television programs centering around unfortunate teenage transsexuals, gender is constantly on the agenda (if you will forgive the rather awful pun!).
I have been watching the press go wild over the current dispute centering around Caster Semenya and her high testosterone levels, and marvelling at how obsessed people are with being "masculine" and "feminine." People just cannot accept that there are men and women who do not fit into society’s expectation for them. Indeed, feminist groups in South Africa are angry at Semenya's treatment; I watched a woman on BBC News yesterday exclaiming that "a woman's integrity should be respected." Of course, if there is something fishy going on in Semenya's case, the matter changes considerably.
Yet whatever the outcome of the situation, it is clear that peoples' feelings on what a woman should be are still set in stone. Gender is a difficult issue. I have often felt that people place too much emphasis on the difference between men and women and not enough emphasis on the difference between human beings. "He is better at maths than she is, because he is male" would be an example of this. Why cannot people accept that being good at maths is a quality that some men AND some women have, and some men AND some women do not have?
Perhaps I am biased because I've never really felt any pressure to fit into a feminine norm. My mum always jokes that I have a "male brain," to which I always protest because I hate to be labelled. Mum would argue that my "male characteristics" include a loathing of shopping, channel-hopping with the remote control, laziness, not being able to ask directions, not being able to ask shopping assistants for help, not being able to find anything in the fridge, and various other characteristics. However, this is completely ridiculous because those are only a few aspects of my personality, which is as complicated as any other human being's. I wear make-up, I have hair long enough to brush and shampoo seperately, I'm much more creative than I am technical, and I probably speak more words in a day than most women, let alone men. These are very girly characteristics. So... judge at your leisure, but I like to think of myself as 'me' before I think of myself as 'female.'
But I am one person. Aside from certain times in history when gender boundaries were blurred, perhaps most recently the 1970s and 1980s with the popularity of glam-rock, new-wave, electro-pop and glam-punk, it is only the gays, the geeks and the mega-creative who dare to go against society's restrictions.
What REALLY gets on my nerves is when women metaphorically queue-up to make friends with gay men. These women are of the opinion that "every girl needs a gay best friend." This is like "diamonds are a girl’s best friend," or "hair-straighteners are a girl's best friend." In short, the gay friend is yet another commodity, another must-have. People fondly look at gay men who are happy to wear make-up or more flamboyant clothing and say, "It's OK, they're gay, it's fine." Excuse me? So it'snot OK for straight men? The world is so mixed up! I love David Bowie's gender-bending stuff, but I often ask myself whether he would have done it if he hadn't been famous. If you're a pop-star, people see you as an entertainer, almost like a circus-freak who can do what they want when they want, and it's fine because you're famous. I think the answer is that Bowie probably wouldn't have bothered with the make-up if he hadn't been Ziggy Stardust and had his stage-act.
Women, especially, often feel pressurised to look a certain way (as I often bang on about in my blog, I apologise!). It's as though sexuality, money, gender and attractiveness are all tied in together in one 2D-appearance. It must be pretty difficult, trying to give off this is straight, rich, pretty impression for your average girl. And sadly, it makes life harder for those who are not bothered about appearances, because they may be judged to be things that are not true.
I apologise for rambling!
XXX
Whether it is those who solidly stick to their conservative belief in the defined roles of men and women, or those who make tacky television programs centering around unfortunate teenage transsexuals, gender is constantly on the agenda (if you will forgive the rather awful pun!).
I have been watching the press go wild over the current dispute centering around Caster Semenya and her high testosterone levels, and marvelling at how obsessed people are with being "masculine" and "feminine." People just cannot accept that there are men and women who do not fit into society’s expectation for them. Indeed, feminist groups in South Africa are angry at Semenya's treatment; I watched a woman on BBC News yesterday exclaiming that "a woman's integrity should be respected." Of course, if there is something fishy going on in Semenya's case, the matter changes considerably.
Yet whatever the outcome of the situation, it is clear that peoples' feelings on what a woman should be are still set in stone. Gender is a difficult issue. I have often felt that people place too much emphasis on the difference between men and women and not enough emphasis on the difference between human beings. "He is better at maths than she is, because he is male" would be an example of this. Why cannot people accept that being good at maths is a quality that some men AND some women have, and some men AND some women do not have?
Perhaps I am biased because I've never really felt any pressure to fit into a feminine norm. My mum always jokes that I have a "male brain," to which I always protest because I hate to be labelled. Mum would argue that my "male characteristics" include a loathing of shopping, channel-hopping with the remote control, laziness, not being able to ask directions, not being able to ask shopping assistants for help, not being able to find anything in the fridge, and various other characteristics. However, this is completely ridiculous because those are only a few aspects of my personality, which is as complicated as any other human being's. I wear make-up, I have hair long enough to brush and shampoo seperately, I'm much more creative than I am technical, and I probably speak more words in a day than most women, let alone men. These are very girly characteristics. So... judge at your leisure, but I like to think of myself as 'me' before I think of myself as 'female.'
But I am one person. Aside from certain times in history when gender boundaries were blurred, perhaps most recently the 1970s and 1980s with the popularity of glam-rock, new-wave, electro-pop and glam-punk, it is only the gays, the geeks and the mega-creative who dare to go against society's restrictions.
What REALLY gets on my nerves is when women metaphorically queue-up to make friends with gay men. These women are of the opinion that "every girl needs a gay best friend." This is like "diamonds are a girl’s best friend," or "hair-straighteners are a girl's best friend." In short, the gay friend is yet another commodity, another must-have. People fondly look at gay men who are happy to wear make-up or more flamboyant clothing and say, "It's OK, they're gay, it's fine." Excuse me? So it'snot OK for straight men? The world is so mixed up! I love David Bowie's gender-bending stuff, but I often ask myself whether he would have done it if he hadn't been famous. If you're a pop-star, people see you as an entertainer, almost like a circus-freak who can do what they want when they want, and it's fine because you're famous. I think the answer is that Bowie probably wouldn't have bothered with the make-up if he hadn't been Ziggy Stardust and had his stage-act.
Women, especially, often feel pressurised to look a certain way (as I often bang on about in my blog, I apologise!). It's as though sexuality, money, gender and attractiveness are all tied in together in one 2D-appearance. It must be pretty difficult, trying to give off this is straight, rich, pretty impression for your average girl. And sadly, it makes life harder for those who are not bothered about appearances, because they may be judged to be things that are not true.
I apologise for rambling!
XXX
Friday 21 August 2009
On Happiness and Modern Society
Earlier in the day I fell across an interesting article written by a BBC entertainment journalist about what happens at an X-Factor audition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8209429.stm
The article confirmed the feeling of disgust, sadness and discomfort that I feel when watching the early stages of The X-Factor (and, to a lesser extent, the later stages). I didn't watch it last year, and don't intend to this year, because of my increasing feeling that the makers of the program are both reflecting and contributing to Britain's deeply unhappy culture.
For those who are genuinely talented and are purely looking for a "big-break," The X-Factor is undoubtedly a useful tool. I'm not a fan of Leona Lewis, but I appreciate the incredible range and tone of her voice and enjoyed watching her rise to fame. I don't know her personally, but from her story it seems to me that she was always a reasonably happy, well-rounded individual with a few normal self-confidence issues.
However, there are thousands of sad, deluded individuals who audition each year and are mocked and humiliated in front of millions of viewers as their human need to be loved and adored is crushed. This is, I think, because people in our sick British society today feel that they need to be famous, beautiful and talented to be loved and adored, and are looking for love and adoration from people they don't know rather than those closer to home. A religious figure recently said that he felt social networking sites are detrimental to society, because people now feel that having 1000 friends on Facebook is more important than having five friends in the real world.
Try explaining this observation to your average viewer of The X-Factor, and they will probably shrug and respond: "They put themselves up for it." Yes, of course they do. It's a choice. But would they make that choice if society was not infected with the pressures of fame and fortune? To laugh at these "freaks," to mock their pathetic attempts to become "the next Michael Jackson," is to laugh at our society, and to accept the way our country has become.
People "choose" to have boob-jobs, "choose" to mimick specific celebrities, "choose" to become glamour models. "Isn't it wonderful," people say, "We are free now. Sex is no longer a taboo, women are free, we can choose to dye our hair how we like, we can do what we want!" People are obsessed with shaping their own identities in the way they look, sometimes distorting their bodies, rather than letting their personality and inner beauty shape their personality.
The reality is, that freedom and "choice" is an illusion. People are slaves to fame, slaves to fashion, slaves to everything that makes someone unhappy.
REAL choice is a beautiful thing. Choosing to put two fingers up at our X-Factor culture, choosing to search for real happiness when the rest of the country is walking straight into its own misery, choosing to love those who may not find acceptance anywhere, and believe they can find it in fame.
OK, I'm not the perfect advocate for this! I'm not a saint. In my life I've done my fair-share of laughing at X-Factor auditions and wishing I could be adored by the general public. I'm ashamed to say it, but I know that I'm not totally free of the scars of our society.
But I do realise, and I think many people don't, that money and wealth and fame and beauty and fashion don't make you happy. "Money doesn't buy you happiness" is, of course, an age-old proverb, but no one takes it seriously. Even though there is much proof around, everyone believes that they will be an exception to the rule. Studies show that Lottery winners, once they have got over the initial rush of apparent well-being and excitement, return to their prior level of happiness or unhappiness within a reasonably short time.
An individual's freedom, an individual's choice, an individual's happiness, is a beautiful thing. But fake freedom, fake choice, fake happiness is threatening to extinguish the light that is in every human being.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8209429.stm
The article confirmed the feeling of disgust, sadness and discomfort that I feel when watching the early stages of The X-Factor (and, to a lesser extent, the later stages). I didn't watch it last year, and don't intend to this year, because of my increasing feeling that the makers of the program are both reflecting and contributing to Britain's deeply unhappy culture.
For those who are genuinely talented and are purely looking for a "big-break," The X-Factor is undoubtedly a useful tool. I'm not a fan of Leona Lewis, but I appreciate the incredible range and tone of her voice and enjoyed watching her rise to fame. I don't know her personally, but from her story it seems to me that she was always a reasonably happy, well-rounded individual with a few normal self-confidence issues.
However, there are thousands of sad, deluded individuals who audition each year and are mocked and humiliated in front of millions of viewers as their human need to be loved and adored is crushed. This is, I think, because people in our sick British society today feel that they need to be famous, beautiful and talented to be loved and adored, and are looking for love and adoration from people they don't know rather than those closer to home. A religious figure recently said that he felt social networking sites are detrimental to society, because people now feel that having 1000 friends on Facebook is more important than having five friends in the real world.
Try explaining this observation to your average viewer of The X-Factor, and they will probably shrug and respond: "They put themselves up for it." Yes, of course they do. It's a choice. But would they make that choice if society was not infected with the pressures of fame and fortune? To laugh at these "freaks," to mock their pathetic attempts to become "the next Michael Jackson," is to laugh at our society, and to accept the way our country has become.
People "choose" to have boob-jobs, "choose" to mimick specific celebrities, "choose" to become glamour models. "Isn't it wonderful," people say, "We are free now. Sex is no longer a taboo, women are free, we can choose to dye our hair how we like, we can do what we want!" People are obsessed with shaping their own identities in the way they look, sometimes distorting their bodies, rather than letting their personality and inner beauty shape their personality.
The reality is, that freedom and "choice" is an illusion. People are slaves to fame, slaves to fashion, slaves to everything that makes someone unhappy.
REAL choice is a beautiful thing. Choosing to put two fingers up at our X-Factor culture, choosing to search for real happiness when the rest of the country is walking straight into its own misery, choosing to love those who may not find acceptance anywhere, and believe they can find it in fame.
OK, I'm not the perfect advocate for this! I'm not a saint. In my life I've done my fair-share of laughing at X-Factor auditions and wishing I could be adored by the general public. I'm ashamed to say it, but I know that I'm not totally free of the scars of our society.
But I do realise, and I think many people don't, that money and wealth and fame and beauty and fashion don't make you happy. "Money doesn't buy you happiness" is, of course, an age-old proverb, but no one takes it seriously. Even though there is much proof around, everyone believes that they will be an exception to the rule. Studies show that Lottery winners, once they have got over the initial rush of apparent well-being and excitement, return to their prior level of happiness or unhappiness within a reasonably short time.
An individual's freedom, an individual's choice, an individual's happiness, is a beautiful thing. But fake freedom, fake choice, fake happiness is threatening to extinguish the light that is in every human being.
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Off to France
I'm off to France tomorrow!
This is very exciting, and carries none of the apprehension that I felt on preparing to leave for India. I'm rather a francophile... oh, the joys of gay Francais! Warm weather, lovely frites (yes! The chips are one of the best things), elegant architecture, lovely language... Bring on my proper summer holiday!
I will miss this blog, however, although it will be great to have a break from repetitive strain injury. :)
I'm going to try and be academic while I'm away (or that's the plan, anyway!), and take a few books for English Lit and Politics with me in my suitcase. This will mean my personal statement will no longer be lying: my draft currently says I've read things that I haven't.
But when I'm not being "academic" (which I will believe when I see) I intend to do absolutely nowt. Nil. Zero. And I shall have a fantabulosa time in my tent with my iPod. Yum.
Talking of iPods... I'm getting a bigger one! 8GB is no longer enough for me, and now I'm being forced to take stuff off my iPod to make more room, I've decided enough is enough. I've given my Uncle's partner the task of finding me a 'Pod on eBay, and hopefully it shall be waiting for me on my glorious return!
Au revoir,
J
xxx
This is very exciting, and carries none of the apprehension that I felt on preparing to leave for India. I'm rather a francophile... oh, the joys of gay Francais! Warm weather, lovely frites (yes! The chips are one of the best things), elegant architecture, lovely language... Bring on my proper summer holiday!
I will miss this blog, however, although it will be great to have a break from repetitive strain injury. :)
I'm going to try and be academic while I'm away (or that's the plan, anyway!), and take a few books for English Lit and Politics with me in my suitcase. This will mean my personal statement will no longer be lying: my draft currently says I've read things that I haven't.
But when I'm not being "academic" (which I will believe when I see) I intend to do absolutely nowt. Nil. Zero. And I shall have a fantabulosa time in my tent with my iPod. Yum.
Talking of iPods... I'm getting a bigger one! 8GB is no longer enough for me, and now I'm being forced to take stuff off my iPod to make more room, I've decided enough is enough. I've given my Uncle's partner the task of finding me a 'Pod on eBay, and hopefully it shall be waiting for me on my glorious return!
Au revoir,
J
xxx
Sunday 2 August 2009
DIY Botox
Hello Internet,
Yesterday I was having a conversation with the good old 'rents about an article that was apparently on the television concerning so-called "Do-it-yourself Botox."
This is, according to Dad, a method by which you can personally inject your face with a syringe that can be ordered online and sent directly to your door.
What the hell has the world come to?! Women are actually injecting themselves in the face?! This is complete lunacy! I am so angry that these things have not been banned, it's completely disgusting!
(OK, end of rant, I will now resume my more subdued writing style...)
I have three significant objections to the concept of DIY Botox.
1) Older women are feeling increasingly pressurised to remain young. This implies that being old, having wrinkles and showing maturity is a bad thing. Beauty products offering the illusion of youth are worrying enough as it is, without the addition of Botox for home-use. Personally, I think older women can look stunning. As with younger women, there are those who are especially beautiful. I really think it's time people changed their perceptions so that there is no such thing as being "past-it." Humph.
2) This is extremely dangerous. Botox freezes your face, so imagine if you were to overdose on it! Syringes in general aren't the safest of things. I think injecting yourself with this stuff is as bad as injecting yourself with drugs. Your mind will be twisted in a similar way, and you will become completely self-obsessed and feel delusional about your wrinkles.
3) The wider availability of such treatments as Botox potentially opens up the market for other DIY products. What will it be next? The beauty industry is so destructive now. There was once a time where everyday beauty was about impeccable make-up and walking with good posture, which were more than achievable for your average girl-next-door. Today everyone wants to look like a Hollywood star, and Hollywood stars are generally skeletal, Botoxed creatures of doom. If Botox starts becoming a casual treatment, like having a manicure, then it becomes acceptable, and if it becomes acceptable it becomes increasingly difficult to challenge. That frightens me.
I hope I'm not the only one who finds the whole concept hideous!
J
xxx
Yesterday I was having a conversation with the good old 'rents about an article that was apparently on the television concerning so-called "Do-it-yourself Botox."
This is, according to Dad, a method by which you can personally inject your face with a syringe that can be ordered online and sent directly to your door.
What the hell has the world come to?! Women are actually injecting themselves in the face?! This is complete lunacy! I am so angry that these things have not been banned, it's completely disgusting!
(OK, end of rant, I will now resume my more subdued writing style...)
I have three significant objections to the concept of DIY Botox.
1) Older women are feeling increasingly pressurised to remain young. This implies that being old, having wrinkles and showing maturity is a bad thing. Beauty products offering the illusion of youth are worrying enough as it is, without the addition of Botox for home-use. Personally, I think older women can look stunning. As with younger women, there are those who are especially beautiful. I really think it's time people changed their perceptions so that there is no such thing as being "past-it." Humph.
2) This is extremely dangerous. Botox freezes your face, so imagine if you were to overdose on it! Syringes in general aren't the safest of things. I think injecting yourself with this stuff is as bad as injecting yourself with drugs. Your mind will be twisted in a similar way, and you will become completely self-obsessed and feel delusional about your wrinkles.
3) The wider availability of such treatments as Botox potentially opens up the market for other DIY products. What will it be next? The beauty industry is so destructive now. There was once a time where everyday beauty was about impeccable make-up and walking with good posture, which were more than achievable for your average girl-next-door. Today everyone wants to look like a Hollywood star, and Hollywood stars are generally skeletal, Botoxed creatures of doom. If Botox starts becoming a casual treatment, like having a manicure, then it becomes acceptable, and if it becomes acceptable it becomes increasingly difficult to challenge. That frightens me.
I hope I'm not the only one who finds the whole concept hideous!
J
xxx
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