Blog 7

First and foremost, my apologies for not posting a Blog 6. I completely missed that part of my syllabus.

Recently there was the case of Republican candidate for the governorship of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin, who said in a speech that being a mother gave her a distinctive edge over her also female opponent, the unmarried and childless Jari Askins. Since when is being a mother a qualification for running a public office? How is that a pro for her? What does that matter in the grand scheme of things? I truly believe that comments like that are part of the reason why women are not taken seriously in politics. You being a mom does not inspire hope in everyone, and is, quite frankly, something I don't give 2 craps about when I am thinking about casting my vote. I want to know what you think about how to improve my state and my country, not whether or not you've been on every field trip or go to PTA meetings or home make Baby Jane's birthday cake every year. Quite frankly, I see that stuff as distractions. I don't care that she's a mom because obviously, that is her right as a woman, but I take offense to that being the reason she makes a better candidate to run a part of my government. The only things that any candidate should be prepared to say is how they are going to be better for their branch of government that their opponent. Why do we, as women, still always find a way to cut other women down with cattiness? Where is that "sisterhood" we speak so much about? Oh, that's right, it's a figment of our freaking imaginations.

Blog 5

I am a nerd. I love school. I love reading my assignments. I love learning. I love doing my tests. I was so excited when I first read the class syllabus and saw that we got to write a paper for our Mid-Term. I prefer writing a paper to doing just about anything.

However, I just turned in 5 pages of crap. I am so worn down and exhausted from this past month. My grandmother was just diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and naturally, all the work with getting her back and forth to doctor's appointments, securing a place in an Alzheimer's unit at an assisted living facility, lining up people to help sit with her and make sure she stays on track until she gets moved...all those things fall to my mom, who is dealing with health issues of her own, which means that the overflow falls to me. I work full-time and since my employers can't dig their heads out of their asses, I am working both 1st and 3rd shifts every week. I don't know when I am supposed to be sleeping, which leads to super fun migraines which take the life out of me, not that I have much left. Plus, it's mid-term week for all my classes and I am blowing them all. This all in addition to the fact that I live an hour and a half away from my mom and grandmother.

What makes this topic so frustrating to me is not that I have to help my mom help her mom, but that it is already falling to me to do so because my mother's siblings won't step up and help my mom. Her two older brothers are both of the mind that she just needs to go into a nursing home, because really they just don't want to deal with her. My mom's oldest brother asked her why she keeps taking my grandma to the doctor and getting new meds and having more tests run when "her life is already over?"  SHE'S 69!!! And he has just given up because things finally got a little tough. And my mom's other 3 siblings just listen to him because he's the oldest and he's a man! My heart grieves for my poor grandma because my uncle is easily her favorite child and she doesn't understand why he doesn't come around anymore. I am not upset at the sacrifices that I have had to make to help my mom and my grandma because they both love me and took care of me my entire life, but I am furious at the injustice of my aunts and uncles throwing away their mother because her care is finally going to cost them more than a card on her birthday and a cheaply chosen gift at Christmas.

And to be honest, the selfish part of me wonders why I have to go through this now when I know that I will have to go through it with my own mother in another 25-30 years. Isn't it enough to have to watch one person you love deteriorate in a lifetime? If Alzheimer's is indeed hereditary and my mom ends up with it...

Sorry for a rant that has nothing to do with anything. Basically, I am going for broke with my final assignment for Mid-Term week. I just don't have anything left in me.  

Blog 4

When I was 13, I asked my doctor to take all my "lady parts" out because I was never going to have babies. He laughed and said I would change my mind once I got older.

When I was 27, I asked my doctor what I had to do to get a partial hysterectomy and he laughed (same doc as when I was 13) and said that I would change my mind one day.

Finally, about a yeara nd a half ago, at 28 1/2 , I asked my new female physician what I needed to do to get a partial hysterectomy because I KNOW with 100% certainty that I never want to carry a child, and she told me that I had to meet one of the following criteria: 1. be 30 years old, 2. have given birth to 3 children already, or 3. have a medical reason to do so. 

I went in last week for my yearly check-up and asked her about it again because I will be 30 on October the 8th and this time she gave me the name and number to a gynecologist in town and told me I would have to take it up with him. I went for my consultation this past Friday and left there so mad I could have spit! He basically informed me that insurance would never pay for it because I have no medical need to do so, that even if I plead my case to them, it would take months of mental health counseling and probably a mandatory class or 2 at some well-baby facility. Then he told me to wait until I got married and then decide whether or not I still wanted to go through it. 

Are you kidding me? Why don't I get to choose whether or not I have these parts in me? Just because I am female, I must certainly want to have children, the miracle of life, blah, blah, blah...NO!! I don't want any of that. If I ever choose to have kids, they will be adopted, pure and simple. I think that pregnancy is disgusting and I would resent a child should I ever choose to carry one. I understand that this is not the typical response, but it's mine and it should be valid. I am a healthy woman, educated and of sound mind and body and I don't want to have babies! Still, someone else gets to decide whether or not I should have to keep the parts of my anatomy that would cater to one. It will never stop pissing me off that I don't have the final say in the matter. The vengeful and spiteful part of me hopes that these doctors live until I hit menopause so I can go in there, CHILDFREE, and say "SEE!!" Grrrr....  

Blog 3

In reading the discussion boards this week, as well as the readings, I have been thinking more and more about the media representations of gays and lesbians on television. (Sorry, but the fall season is starting up and I am all about my television these days!) However, I think this point is a valid one- I cannot recall a single lesbian couple on television right now. Yes, I know Ellen is a lesbian, but I mean, there are none portrayed in any shows on a network station right now. Despite watching a lot of tv, probably too much, I know that I may very well be missing a relationship portrayed on a show I don't watch, of which there are many; however I have not seen any press surrounding a lesbian relationship in any of the new or returning shows in any of the issues of magazines I have bought recently devoted to giving the run-down on the fall season.

I have, however, heard a ton of talk and speculation about whether or not Cameron and Mitchell are going to kiss on "Modern Family" this season. There was apparently a Facebook page devoted to getting the show creator and writers to up the ante as far as affection between Mitchell and Cam. I, personally, never have had a problem buying into their relationship because there is obvious affection between them without them being all touchy-feely. I am in no way grossed out or offended by the potential physical affection between them (I watched all 4 seasons of Queer as Folk and own the British version on DVD) but I am more than a little annoyed that now there is a certain quota of kisses that they need to rack up in a season for people not to feel slighted.

I have lost my train of thought, but I assure you, I had one. I think I was going somewhere with the fact that now it's not only "OK" to show gays on tv, and to even encourage them to kiss, but lesbians are only ok in pornos or on daytime tv? What happened in society that being a gay man became acceptable, but being a lesbian became scary or taboo? It feels like 5 years ago, if you saw two women kissing, it was appointment tv, and again, now you can't find a lesbian couple to save your life. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I just think that society almost can't be accepting of both at the same time, because then what? The gays take over? I don't understand the trending at all.

Blog 2

I just finished reading the "Hunger Games" trilogy and as I was doing the reading for this class, I kept thinking about the books. In them, a female character is the lead, she is the strong one, the fighter and the reason for a revolution. It made me stop and really think, because in addition to being all those things, she is also just a confused, scared, maturing young woman who is going through the same things we all went through at her age, only on a grander scale. She does not ever pretend to know all the answers and is constantly conflicted about the things happening around her. I have more and more respect for the author for creating a character whose gender is almost an after-thought. Yes, she is female, but really, she is so much more. She is "human" and because of that, she is still reverberating in my mind several hours after finishing her story.

It just made me stop and think about how little literature revolves around a strong female character; one who's main goal is not getting the guy. Another one I read recently that has a strong, powerful, meaningful character is "My Name is Mary Sutter". Her gender plays a huge role in who she is and she is "allowed" to be, but in a way where it makes sense that you are seeing such massive inequality.

I love to read and will read just about anything. Reading our chapter and readings this week made me really stop and think about how many of the books I read, and love, are based on male privilege. It's sad to me that even in fictitious worlds, ones where anything can happen, where anything is possible, authors, creative minds, still don't know how to create strong, interesting female characters. Is that because they don't see enough examples of them in real life? That's my question to myself for them week, and my goal for the semester: find the type of women in reality that I want to see in my fiction. I challenge you all to do the same. 

Blog 1

This is the test blog, so I hope that there is no specific assignment attached to it, other than it's creation. I am really looking forward to this class and already find myself reading and reviewing the news with a different mindset than before. Until the next assignment...