Grade 9 Links: Esther Webquest

1. Canadian Encyclopedia - New France
2. Canadian Encyclopedia - Gilles Hocquart
3. 17th Century Clothing
4. Louis XV
5. Filles du Roi

"Honey I'm home"

Well this is a delayed post, as I unwillingly forgot to post this earlier. This is likely the last post I will make altogether. Likely there will not be any responses, but just something to ponder about as the blog closes. Why is it that in media, usually the males are seen as the ones chasing the females, instead of vice versa? Why is the latter rarely shown? Does this have any relation to the gender roles portrayed by media and/or the dominant discourse observed in society today regarding gender? Does this reveal the objectification of women? (Ok fine I just wanted to post the picture more than anything)

The evolution of Television Theory.

It seems television has had a massive change over the years. The days of classic family sitcoms and wholesom commercials .

Television back in the day was full of nice relaxing sitcoms that the whole familywould gather around and enjoy together. There are the few sitcoms today that do the same but they are very few. Now television seems to have evolved into mostly reality TV shows, where an american celebrity brings a regular person along with them to see how their life is. As for commercials, back in the day you used to see a stay-at home or little old lady advertising washing detergent or dishwashing liqud to young women bouncing around selling underwear.

How else do you think television has changed over the years, how does it affect the public viewers?

Latinos in the Media

As a born and raised Dominican I've grown up around the negative view the media has portrayed to the Latin community, our culture and views. Its not only dominicans who have to undergo the pressure of the media, but every hispanic nation.

For instance in the states if you speak the language Spanish you are autimatically assumed to be Mexican and an illegal immigrant. Movies have had a great deal in portraying this negative view of all Mexican's where they have tattoes, are in jail, and sell drugs like the movie the came out called "Blood in Blood out" of a group of young and old man in Prison trying to re-enstate their power as the superior to whites and blacks in jail. Regardles of the country itself if we speak the language and our apperance is hispanic we get judged as all been the same. The media portrays all the Latin guys selling drugs like Pablo Escobar from Colombia or Scarface from Cuba. Not to say these man weren't lengends but not every descendent of the Hispanic race sells, does or deal with drugs. We fear it because of the way it has damaged and corrupted our country. Not only do man have a negative reputation from the media but woman in their own way do as well.

When watching t.v and a commercial comes on promoting a new cleaning supply or a hotel laundry mat or the room a hispanic middle age woman who's chubby is portrayed as cleaning the space. We are viewed as cleaning ladies in order to make a living. For instance a huge movie with Jeniffer Lopez called " Maid in Manhattan" trully proves my point. We are not also known as that but as Sl*ts just because the younger generation has a figure and likes to show it off. We get judged on the way we dress and the way we carry ourselves. I've gone out with a bunch of my Latin freinds for a night out and we get looked at very strangely and made weird faces at.

Those are just a few of the way the media has portrayed the hispanic people. The list can go on and on with the way were viewd by the public eye, We like to drink and get drunk and we can't control it, we think were the hottest things around and we have no education because we come from the developing world, and we want to find a ruch sugar daddy to give us everything just to add a few more things.

Discussion Questions:

Is the way I perceive the media to portray my people correct or over exsaggerated? explain your answer.

Who else either then Latin people have to watch the media give their people a negative view to the public?

If you seen the movies blood in and blood out or Maid in Manhattan, did you think it was a realistic view on the Hispanic popilation?

Paco Rabanne- 1 million perfume/colgone commercial

I was watching T.v today and I came across two commercials for the perfume/cologne entitled "Paco Rabanne- 1 million". I believe that the goal of this perfume/cologne ad is to persuade people to buy it and feel like " a million bucks" when they use it (as the title suggests). It shows the audience that if one was to use this perfume, they'd get practically anything they ever wanted.

There are two versions of this commercial; one for men and one for women, both commercials have it's fair share of the common male and female stereotypes.

Here is the link to the Male version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPHVygoca4
and this is the link to the female version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1lP7scdurI&feature=related

These commercials have many of the common stereotypes of males and females.
For example, In the male version the male snaps his fingers and he gets everything he wants; he snaps, There's a car, A woman drops her clothes, a bag of money falls etc.
It shows the typical stereotypes that guys are interested only in money, cars and women.
What really got me thinking is how the commercial attempted to show Male dominance over Females.
He snaps his fingers and the woman loses her clothing... it makes it look like the woman is less than the man and that she obeys his commands.

Then in the female version: she snaps she gets several cars, she stomps and she gets tons of heels, she snaps again and she's surrounded in a sea of men. For me, the key highlight of this commercial is how a male gives her a diamond ring and she snaps and it grows in size.
There's a saying that "diamonds are a girl's best friend", when I researched the meaning of this statement a site defined it as "A statement that suggests, while love is a luxury, material wealth (particularly jewelery) is more valuable in the long run."
So it basically says that female's too are interested solely in material things as well.


For discussion:
1)How do you think younger audiences would react to this commercial?

2)Do you think these commercials are powerful enough to have influence over the
minds of younger audiences?

changes in gender roles.

Long time ago, women had to stay home, take care of their children, cook, clean and do all the other house work. Meanwhile, men use to go outside and hunt for food to feed their family. However these gender roles are changing in some parts of the world. Now women are getting education and a job. Both the husband and the wife are earning money. Recent studies are showing that more women are graduating than men in the western society and this number is growing as we speak. Also the drop out rate of boys in high school is higher than girls. Women are getting employed for many jobs due to their education and their training. When the husband and the wife are both working and they have a child, these days the one that earns more income goes to work meanwhile the one with less income stays home and takes care of the child. In some situation, the husband has to stay home with the child meanwhile the wife goes to work. Long time ago women had no value but these days their are laws that protects them and gives them their rights. In some parts of the world, women couldn't even think about getting education but now they are starting to go to school and are getting jobs?

Recent studies are showing that woman are graduating more than men. Keep in mind that long time ago, men were the dominant ones and woman had no value. Do you think that in the future women will be the powerful ones due to their education and occupation? Do you think that they will control their husband?

For those individuals who don't want a nanny for their children and want to take care of their children by themselves, will you see more husbands staying home since they had less education? (In the future)

Most jobs that men have, do you think that they will be taken over by the women in the future for example: will you see a lot of female presidents in 50 years?

Hip-Hop And The Media

Hip Hop is a cultural interest group that coalesced in the early 1970s. It was known for many various things such as break dancing, deejaying, graffiti and rap. All of these were different cultural movements put into one and named Hip-Hop. Graffiti was the art of hip hop it was typically staged in New York where it was born. Also break dancing was part of the art perspective, causing different b-boy dancers to battle each other for money and prizes or for the fun of it. Rap and Deejaying were the musical perspective of Hip-Hop.

Like everything things got to change. Hip-Hop changed dramatically during the late 90s and early 2000s. The style of hip-hop became more aggression towards money, then its other purpose which was towards freedom of speech and appeal to emotion. We see “Gangsta Rap” arise in the early 90s and has a big effect later on as you see rappers such as 50 cent in rap videos portraying toughness and waving guns in addition to wearing a bullet proof vest. Along with this when 50 cent released his album it was huge on the charts because he was satisfying the people by talking about guns, violence, and women. This influences people like me and you to think rap and hip hop is corrupt and violent when only a few individuals only represent negative images.

Lastly I want to show there is also the positive side of Hip-Hop for everyone who has the bias that it’s completely damaged and misguiding. A rapper by the name of Chamillionaire wrote an album called “Ultimate Victory” which is out of the ordinary because it does not have any profanity also violent speech as well as no portrayal of women in the sense of nudity and disrespectful. K’naan also who’s a rapper who is from our hometown Toronto, formally he was a poet and usually he raps about freedom and equality. Hip-Hop being a multifaceted culture transcends into many popular characteristics creating Hip-Hop fashion. Hip-Hop fashion is also a positive aspect in the media, by turning your own style of wardrobe to share with nations around the world who relate to this particular music.

My question to you is the following:

Do you think Hip-Hip in the media is completely negative and misguiding and if so why? How do you think we can stop the negative stereotypes within hip hop?

Long Hair Too Girlie For All American Quarterback

In the this NFL season , all star quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, started growing his hair, since his wife asked him to grow his hair and keep it long. As the hair grew longer fans started comparing Brady to Justin Bieber, questioning the quarterback’s manliness and ridiculing him. After a couple of weeks the hair grew long enough that the helmet could not contain it. Brady’s hair became a joke by fellow teammates who were not accustomed to seeing their leader with long golden locks swaying as he played football. Also the media took great notice, from sports analysis taking about Brady’s hair instead of how well he played on the field, to newspapers, and magazines writing articles about the hair and hair cut options. All this comes down to the media, in the media most women are shown with long hair and in this case Tom with long hair seemed feminine and less manly since football players are shown as tough men.

The way feel about this, is the media is hyping up the hair too much, by having sports analysis talking about hair and not the game. Also your appearance is your business and other people should not intervene in your personal life.

My questions are: What are your opinions about Mr. Brady’s hair does it makes him less manly?

Do men all have to have short hair to accepted as profession athletes who are serious of about their careers?

Questions for the guy (sorry ladies) if you started growing your hair long would you get harassed to get a hair cut by friends and family?

Final question if Mr. Brady was a female with long hair and cut his hair very short do you think the media would react the same way and make head lines.

Gender equality - Is it even possible?

Sigmund Freud once said that, even in his 30 years of studying the human psyche, the one thing he can't seem to answer is, what do women want?
Well, now we know Freud was a quack, but his statement brings up an interesting question, what do women want?
This might sound like an ignorant question that the y chromosome in my body brings out, but it is actually not too far from the topic I want to address.
The true question I wish to address is, what do females want as someone in our society?
Do they wish to be treated as equals?
Now, let us assume they DO want to be treated just as a man is in society.
If they do so, would they then lose what makes them females? Would men be allowed to hold door for women or pull chairs out for women or would that be seen as some insult to women? would they get offended at the inequality that this brings out?
Would the whole idea of what makes a woman today have to be completely changed just to fit this new equal status?
Would equality turn women essentially into the same as that of a man?
Now, assuming they DON'T want this, and they wish to have their chairs pulled out for them, doors opened for them and coats given to them.
Is this advocating gender inequality? Is doing this demeaning women in some way?
What about sexuality? Would equality of both sexes cause a loss in sexuality for, perhaps BOTH sexes?
Or, is there some balance of both that one can achieve? But is that REALLY equality or some false form invented to please the female sex?
The question, although it perhaps sounds a bit ignorant in the start, really is;
What do women want?

He's covered and She's not?

See the two pictures I have up. See anything? Maybe you should look closer (but not too close). Yes, I think the point is clear as to what I am trying to say. The first image is of the well renowned actress Jessica Alba, and the second picture is of Robert Downey Jr. another famous actor. Comparing the two pictures; It's weird to see how Jessica Alba is posing in her very slim tang-top and her super small shorts, but Robert Downey Jr. is wearing a shirt, and is fully covered.

My point ladies and gentlemen, that I'm trying to make is why are women more revealing as oppose to men? Several arguments could arise. People could say "Oh, the women has a sexy body so she deserves to be shown", (which by the way I find is a little perverted) but someone could also argue that "A man has an equally sexy body, therefore his muscular body should be shown too". An example of what I'm talking about is, I was reading a magazine in a store and I came across two different watch advertisements. One showed a man who was in a fancy suit advertising the watch. The other had a lady who's dress was flying everywhere, revealing her legs and body. and the watch wasn't advertised anywhere, except the bottom right corner of the page. I honestly thought it was the dress being advertised.

In my blog it seems as if I want to say that men should be more revealing as well, but that's not my idea at all, because at times men are also shown without their shirts.

My final question is, has mankind become so primitive that they have to show semi-nude images of females and/or males to sell something?

Just Me And My Teenage Depression!

Don't you just have those moments that you want to run, or destroy any obstacles in your way?Cant speak,doing bad socially and academically?Always frustrated,sad,confused,or just bi-polar? Yes,finally,depression hit us,especially to us teenagers. So much changes occur in a teenagers life, puberty,school,friends, what's expected from them and what's not.Teenage Depression is what impacts us very hard,not only does it affect the teenager themselves, it affect those around the individual.If its left untreated, it can lead to problems at home, drug addiction,self loathing, and to extreme levels, suicide.Parents,teachers and friends may worry,but teens with depression find that really annoying,especially if their's to much attention focused on them.One of the most major leads towards teenage depression is what we all loathe,hate,and have to face everyday,Bullying. Cyber-bullying,school bullying, it hurts an individual,especially when theirs attention from a crowd, where everyone can witness,gossip, and make fun of the depressed individual. Depression breaks that person's ego and their pride. Most teens go through this, causing them to hate school,becoming anti-social and really private,which can affect their future life completely.

How would you open to someone who suffers from depression on a daily basis?How can you stop the causes of depression,such as bullying? How would you feel if you were in this person shoes?

“Oh Gosh! What if he’s hiding a bomb somewhere?”

Extremists. Did a picture pop into your head of a bearded man, possibly Muslim? Was he evilly planning to knock down buildings? Or maybe slay someone in the name of his religion? This is what happens when media has driven it’s poisonous sword right through your head. Halimo’s post made me think, Muslim men (especially those who are bearded and wear the Islamic dress) are not only seen as oppressors, but majority of the time as extremists.
Media has it’s way of spreading stereotypes, on the news, magazines, shows and movies. Iron Man, released in 2008, was one example that played with our delicate minds. The “terrorists” that forced Tony Stark to build the suit were Muslim. Yes, they looked like Muslims, they dressed as Muslims, sadly, they even named one of them Abu Bakr. And as if they didn’t cross the limit enough, these terrorists even spoke Arabic throughout the movie.
Muslim men, in the media are portrayed as violent Jihadists, this just profiles all of them. Nobody looks at Muslim men in reality, men who care for their families, live happily with their loved ones and men who hold the hands of their parents at old age. It just isn’t as exciting as a bearded maniac, hijacking planes. Islam is a religion that brings together the hands of every individual. Most people think Muslims are terrorists, but did you know only 6% of the terrorist attacks on US soil has been committed by Islamic extremists, according to FBI reports?

So my questions to you are:

Why are men, who rightly symbol being fatherly, wise and servants of God being showcased as extremists?
Why do you think Muslim women are not labelled as extremists? Extremists can be anyone right?

Cootie Catchers

I’ve noticed nowadays that almost every cartoon or kids show has some sort of innapropriate matter in it. Whether it be kissing, or having relationships at a very young age. This influences kids, and pressures them to also do the same. My little sister was having a conversation one time, with my other sister, talking about boys, and who likes who in school, blah blah blah.

This got me wondering that the media is putting things into vulnerable little childrens’ minds. Kind of saying that kids kissing and having a gf/bf is the norm, when it clearly isn’t. If I can recall, back in the days girls thought boys had cooties and to boys girls had cooties. Being a kid is all about innocence and playing almost 24/7, not worrying about being in a relationship at age 5. Theres a saying that childhood is a journey, not a race, so why is the media influencing kids to do things that they’re not even old enought to understand? What do you think is the reason for this?

Can Gay's be Free?

Representation of homosexuals in the media is shown nowadays through T.V., public opinions, news, magazines etc. Growing up I have noticed that people have hypothesized that being gay is a crime. But now we tend to be more accepting towards the "gay" attitude.

My question is why? What has changed out minds?

Here's an example. We all know who Ellen DeGeneres is. Ellen is a comedian who runs her own talk show. If you dont already know, Ellen is Gay. In 1997 Ellen was brought on Opera to talk about her sexuality. At the moment people were a little shocked to know, but over time we as the people learned to accept her and her sexuality.

Another example is Jessica Capshaw who plays Arizona Robbins on the hit show Grey's Anatomy. Dr. Arizona Robbins is a lesbian on the show, but she's shown as a very successful attending doctor, not some who everyone hates, or someone who is hated because her sexuality is different.

Another example I would like to direct attention to is the fashion industry. Fashion industries have gay men in them, yet we still are attracted to their fashions, why? Because it looks good. At that point we tend to put aside our thoughts of gay people and openly accept them and their style.

In my opinion I think people over react towards gay and lesbian people. I really don't think these people are any different then us. Do you guys think its right to degrade gay people?

How woman are portrayed in music videos

Today’s music videos portray a very negative image of women and I think that the media is responsible for how they are portrayed. They push this idea of what is sexually attractive on us and if they didn’t we wouldn’t think that. I think that the media is using reverse psychology on us because the media doesn’t tell us what to like. We tell the media what we want, by buying, and accepting it. The media tries a bunch of different things like putting different kinds of women on ads. So when they see which product sells the best they think that these people really like it, let’s just keep on doing it and give them what they want. So the media doesn’t make us want it, we actually decide what we want, and that’s why we see all theses scandalous and sluty women in music videos. The media portrays a negative image of women in music videos because of the lyrics being said in the song, what they’re wearing, and basically what goes on in the video. I think that some people have accepted this and it has become a norm in our society. Also most of the stereotypes that revolve around women come from music videos and especially the media. I don’t think it’s appropriate for women in music videos to act like this because they are already exposing themselves and each other. The fact that they have little or no clothes on makes the situation worse and makes it seem alright to these younger girls when it’s actually not and this is encouraging a lot of younger girls to do the same thing. These women are bad for our future and our society because younger females watch music videos everyday and they look up to these women because it’s what they see on TV.

Why do you think music videos portray women in a negative image? Are woman in music videos there just to bring the status of a man up? Do you think that women in music videos are bad for the younger female generation watching it? Does the portrayal of women in music videos affect the way women are treated in society?

"Stripper breath scented"

So as I was doing some regular discrete browsing of the World Wide Web, I came across an interesting article. A company called Koi Kouture™ decided to make candles for “manly men”, because it has become apparent that men do not like the smell of daisies, lilies, and all that cal. (Thumbs up if you get the reference) They decided to take the bottoms of recycled beer bottles, and use them as a sort of container for these candles. That’s not the most alluring part however, it’s the names of the different scents they offer that I find to be quite interesting. The variety of scents offered range from; “Hooters waitress scented”, “stripper breath scented”, “Axe body spray scented”, and many other “manly” scents. Also what caught my attention is the disclaimer by the company; Koi Kouture does recognize that they cannot alienate the fairer sex and admits that these candles are also for the “awesome girls” that drink beer like “real men”. I find the disclaimer to be a bit of an oxymoron, but I’ll leave that up to discussion.

How do I specifically feel about this? I actually don’t know what to feel, as I’m not sure if the production of these candles is just mere satire, or something to be actually taken seriously. If it is something to be taken seriously, I believe that our definition of “manliness” is quite skewed and distorted due to the prevalence of the stereotypical “manly” man in media, and because the media has continually perpetuated this stereotypical image. Nevertheless, I would like to discuss the stereotypical “manly man” as portrayed by the media today. Stereotypical traits such as facial hair, covered in dirt, cocky, bold, arrogant, chops wood at 5 am, and all that cal. I would like to hear your opinions on this subject.

Article: http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=3659

How do you feel about this article? Through your point of view, how does media portray “manliness”? Is this a fair conjecture? Do you think it reflects our societal view of “manliness”? Do you feel that the media perpetuating “manly” stereotypes also further perpetuates gender inequality? What is your definition of true “manliness”?

Behind the beard

As mentioned in Mariama’s post, Muslim women are stereotyped as being oppressed, weak, victims of abuse, etc. Muslim men, on the other hand, are represented as being the exact opposite. Instead they are portrayed as being the oppressors, violent, brutish, controlling, abusive and by in large, angry. Both stereotypes of Muslim men and women only complement each other in providing a complete yet distorted picture of Muslims globally, a people that only consist of submissive women and manipulating men. Although stereotypes of Muslim women are often noted and pointed out, it is stereotypes of Muslim men that go unmentioned necessitating this discussion.

A lot of stereotypes of Muslim men revolve around their relationships towards their families. They are frequently shown as abusers and dictators. Recently, headlines such as “honour killings in Canada” have sparked much interest and debate. But it’s interesting to note the number of times in which the perpetuators and victims are Muslim, the act is suddenly dubbed “Islamic honour killing”. The act is pointed towards Islam, although religion has nothing to do with it. The obvious question here is to ask whether or not there is such a thing as “honour killing” in Islam. Often times the dividing line between cultural traditions and Islam become heavily blurred, where one is often associated or even mistaken for the other. In one particular case of an “honour killing”, Muslim teenager, Aqsa Parvez, is strangled by her brother and father because of her rebellious acts towards both cultural and religious values. Aqsas murder had less to do with her lack of religious obligations but rather more to do with defending family honour. “In an interview with police, Aqsa's mother, Anwar Jan Parvez, said her husband told her he killed his youngest child because "this is my insult. My community will say, 'You have not been able to control your daughter.' This is my insult. She is making me naked." Her father was scared that she would disgrace him in front of his community indicating his deep concern for his reputation rather than religion. Putting such a harsh light on the fact that the crime was committed by a Muslim man, particularly towards a Muslim female relative, only re-enforces the stereotypes of Muslim men mentioned above. I question whether or not this article or others like it would be given such importance (it received headlines for almost the entire day) if it was committed by men of other religions. I am in no way undermining what has happened to Asqa as it is tragic, but in reality such acts of this nature and even worse are committed every single day but are only briefly mentioned in the news.

Television frequently depicts Muslim men as either a member of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, etc or an independent terrorist. If he is neither of these, he is then, at the least connected or related to ones who are. The typical picture of a Muslim man consists of men with beards, stern looking and unclean, usually holding monstrous guns. The most problematic attribute to a stereotypical terrorist is the beard. The problem arises from the fact that all Muslim men are required to grow the beard. If the majority of men sporting beards in the media are “alleged terrorists “or a “radical Muslim”, it gives the allusion that the average bearded Muslim man is a terrorist. This is dangerous especially since the beard is now used, even systematically, to spot terrorists making most Muslim men now victims to open hostility.

With all the efforts the media puts into depicting both Muslim males and females in such a manner, I no longer question the apprehensive, pitied, or even plain disgusted looks I get in public.

How do you think such stereotypes effect Muslim man or hinder them from being accepted by the society?

What do you think is the purpose of creating such bigotry, through stereotypes, against Muslim men in the media?

Gender Roles Through Disney's Eyes

Disney Films have always been among one of the most popular films to younger generations as well as an important part of our culture for decades now. We've all one way or another watched a Disney film growing up whether it be Toy Story, Lion King, Cinderella, The Hunchback of Notre Dame etc. and have embraced these fascinating stories. Though they maybe fun and magical they don't depict woman in a positive light and thus presents a scewed idea and perception of gender stereotypes to children that aren't represented in real life.

The vast majority of Disney Films portray the female characters as being homemakers, princesses or queens. They are therefore displayed as being helpless, dependent damsel in distress creatures who lye around waiting for their handsome prince charming to rescue them in whatever situation they got themselves into. An example would be Rapunzel, Cinderella, Bella from Beauty and the Beast as well as Ariel from Little Mermaid. This idea sets a message to younger girls that they always need a man to be dependent upon and make the decisions for them. While the Disney male characters are seen as being these rough, tough, strong, powerful, independent, heroic, macho man who are capable of doing anything. An example would be Gastone from Beauty and the Beast and the Beast himself as well as Tarzan, who in this case has his shirt off the entire film and is jumping off trees trying to rescue the girl. Also, these animated films show female characters such as Ariel, Jasmine and Bella( and almost every other female character) as being tall, thin waisted, slender, unrealistically and ridiculously curvaceous and quite vulnerable which creates low expectations to girls and can also impact how they percieve themselves in society.

Don't get me wrong, these movies and stories were made during the 40s and 50s and perfectly fall under the stereotypical gender roles from that time, but even newer Disney films such as Hercules and The Incredibles put their characters into the "traditional" stereotypical gender role. I'm not saying all these films are depleting woman, considering that Mulan was the dominant character in that film who saved all of China and also Cruella from 101 Dalmations.

Considering how these films affect girls, how can they affect a boys perspective on gender roles? the same way? positive? or negative?

How can we as a society prevent the stereotypical gender roles of men and women influence children? and is Disney intentionally trying to portray these themes or are they trying to convey what is "norm" to society? p.s. sorry for the essay:)

Whatever happened to the bubblines of Duff?

Celebrities portray themselves, or are portrayed in a way that keeps their fan base strong, and keeps the fans demanding more. Overtime, the expectations of music fans has become very high for what they receive in the media as entertainment. Exposing sexuality has become an easy way for celebrities to make money. It was not long before Miley Cyrus, who was an "adorable" role model for every 10 year old girl, turned into a "hot" and downright sexy money making machine. On the contrary, singers like Hilary Duff faded into the background because they did not deliver the fan's expectations.

Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, and Nicole Scherzinger are all examples of "successful" music artists, who, although very talented, have used their sexuality in one way or another to become popular among the masses. An exception is Taylor Swift; she is a 'clean' yet successful singer because she is able to differentiate her music from her competitors. She has a new feel to her music - mixing Country/Pop together which brings a new sound into the entertainment business and keeps her in the game.

So here is my question to you: Do you think that the media is only trying to live up to the public expectations? Or do the music artists show us what they want on the media, and in-turn influence us to believe that revealing sexuality is a norm in society?

Media's Puppets

Overtime media have taken control of our thoughts, our feelings and almost everything which once belonged to us. Childern to older people, teens to adults they all under media's influence and act like they are puppets of media. Is it ok to let media influence us?

Mainstream Media

I was on youtube and saw this video, and i think it effectively and humorously sums up my opinions on the mainstream media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV5UTHRx0a4

now my question to you is, if everyone knows about these media issues? why is it that these issues still remain MAINSTREAM?

According to media, Homosexuals have no place in Heaven

There is still a lot of debate concerning the controversy of whether homosexuality is genetic or simply a choice. But one thing is crystal clear, religion and homosexuality do not mix any more than water with oil. When all else seems to fail, society falls back on the one thing it can find comfort in...namely religion. the above picture is an example of how media is effectively trying to alienate gay people from religion all together. what could be the solution to this? is it too late to do anything? and could this possibly end sometime in the future?

How Gays and Lesbians are shown in the media

I believe that gays and Lesbians are stereotyped in the media and other form of entertainment and the media trys to annihilate the gay and lesbians on TV by making fun of them for being who they are and making character of them to laugh at them for liking the same gender man being a heterosexual and woman being lesbian to show that they don't approve of it.

Why do you think that gays and lesbians are made fun of in the media?

do you think it's ok to be gay or lesbian and why?

why does the media try to get rid of gays and lesbian?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I seen this on facebook a while back. I was surprised because I heard on the News that the United States had the Don’t Ask Don’t tell policy in the army. The policy prohibits people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." First of all how did this officer on the left know that is soldier was gay? Secondly how has the media contributed to people thinking that if a homosexual joins the army and tell people he is gay it would as they say it “would create an unacceptable risk”? Thirdly what would u do if you where the officer? I personally don't think it is anyones business if someone is gay, and would have no problems at all serving with someone who was gay, so can someone please explain what the whole issue is to me?What exactly is all the fuss about repealing "don't ask, don't tell"?