WM_Blog

I received two responses to part one of my online blog project.  Both responses I found to be unique and great critical analyses of my topic on sex in the media and its effect on the younger generations.  Sex is a subject that everyone thinks about more than they would like to admit making it an easy topic to critique and analyze.  What I liked most about my two responses is that I received one from both a female and a male, which allowed me to hear both perspectives on the issue.  On the female side there was a great analysis that reflected on her youth and how much different times are now in middle school.  She remembered being in “fifth grade, so ten years old, [having her] first ‘boyfriend.’  [She thought] it was a big deal when they held hands once, or when he gave her a valetines card.”  She then goes on to discuss how she hears of kids in elementary and middle school being fully aware of sex and how much that shocks her.  Her mother, being a first grade teacher, told her of a “girl coming into class giving a step by step process of how to have sex.”  The girl then went on to share her knowledge with the rest of the class.  She concludes her response by stating the reality of our society’s situation: something needs to be done to monitor the early knowledge of sex to our youth.  This was exactly the response I was trying to elicit.  While she gives great examples of her childhood comparing them to modern day examples, she also talks about changes needing to take place in our society.
The male perspective I received gave less reflection on his youth, but more analysis on our society’s problem and what should be done.  He claimed he liked the post “because of the question it brings up, do you want your kid at age thirteen to be surrounded by all of this?”  This was exactly what I was hoping for, a response that questions our culture and it’s realities.  He then goes on to discuss parents and their responsibilities.  It is the parent’s job to monitor what the child sees and doesn’t see, not the media.   I like the way he discusses the relationship between parents and children and how important it is to the child’s adolescence.  This was a great idea that I did not discuss in my post which I now wish I had.  The relationship that a parent establishes with his or her child is one of the most important aspects of the child’s character.  Not only is it essential for the character of the child, but it enables the control parents have over their children.
The responses I received for my project were exactly what I was hoping for.  The post made these two people think and reflect on the topic at hand.  It gave each of them ideas about how to change our society’s culture and how prevelant this topic is in our society today.  I applaud each of them for their analyses and reflection discussing sex in the media and the effect it has had on our society.

Online Blog Project – Is sex a good thing to know about at age 13?

Is sex a good thing to know about at age 13?  Is it good to have sexual desire as a sixth grader?  This is a tough question to think about as a college student but put yourself in the shoes of a parent of a middle school student.  Think of how young you felt sixth grade, and the maturity you have gained since then.  Is sixth grade too early for sexual intercourse?  I hope your saying yes.  The sexual activity in middle school has continued to rise due to growing exposure of sexual references in the media.  A manhattan psychologist discussed the early experimenting of middle schoolers and described the new era by saying, The Face of Teenage Sex Grows Younger. Oral sex is like a goodnight kiss to them.”  This compilation of opinions and ideas by psychologists and reporters can be seen on Middle-School Sex! More! Faster!! This early experimentation with sexual activity is a direct result of the culture we live.  Popular culture today has made early sexual activity an acceptable act.  SADD statistics stat that, “youth exposed to sexual content on television were more likely to overestimate the frequency of sexual activity among peers and more likely to have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.”
(http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#sexualactivity

After watching this video, you should be asking yourself if that should really be broadcasted on national television where everyone, no matter how old can watch it.  Do you want your thirteen year old daughter watching a commercial with sexy women in little clothing talk about being hot, sexy and moving in a sexual manner?

The subject of popular culture and what we see broadcasted these days is a tough idea to think about at our age.  In a time when hormones are at their highest we are very biased in our opinions of what see.  As I said before though, put yourself in the shoes of a mother or father with a middle school child who is sitting in front of the tv watching a Victorias Secret commercial?  Do you want your kids viewing these sights at an age where they don’t understand the satisfaction or pleasure of any of these concepts, they just watch them because it is a part of culture?

It would be interesting to take a survey in one day and keep track of how many commercials have a sexual reference in them.  Take these first two commercials for example, each of these are focused around a human organ to create humor.  Is that the only thing we find humorous?

I don’t balme you for laughing because I was too.  The question I’m asking is that you think if that’s a good thing that we find this funny on national television where there are ten year olds watching the same thing you are?

INF: Kennedy

How does this essay relate to popular culture?

This essay is directly related to popular culture due to presence in racial profiling in the United States and the world today.  As much as many want to ignore this truth, it is prevalent in our society.  As kennedy pointed out, in a city, cant remember which one, but 80% of all people pulled over in one year were either black or hispanic.  This particular city was 5% black and hispanic…those numbers don’t exactly add up.  Although Kennedy does not discuss popular culture, there are several implications of it throughout his essay.  Take sports for example.  There is a lot of racial profiling when it comes down to sports like basketball and football.  Everyone knows the phrase, “white man can’t jump.”  Racial profiling in popular culture? yeah…  Rap singers is another good example.  When most people think of rap, they think of a black, ghetto artist who comes from the streets and acts badass.  This is all a prime example of popular culture and racial profiling within that culture.

my baby…

INF: Focusing the Research Questions

Title: Awareness to sex at a young age.

Research Question:  Should tv and radio be allowed to broadcast sexual references to the general public with children listening?

What do I know:  I know that a lot of little girls and students in middle school (my little sister) have begun to dress like little sluts and are interested in stupid pop music that talks about sex.

What don’t I know:  I don’t know exactly what artists are legally able to do but I want to find out.  What can people show on tv, physically?  What can they say over the radio?

FW 9: Favorite halloween costume

My all time favorite halloween costume was when my sisters and I dressed up as the dogs from 101 dalmations.  My little sisters birthday is around the time of thanksgiving so as a birthday present all my other sisters and I dressed up like dogs and walked around with her.  She was 9 at the time, I was a senior in high school and my other sisters were both out of college.  It was pretty hilarious to tell you the truth.  Once we were fully suited up, you couldn’t even tell who was who.  Emily, my oldest sister bought some black and white paint and decked us out, it was comical for sure.

INF: Myth of the boring topic

Buffalo Wild Wings:  Is fast food good or bad for our culture? or… Should it be legal to go to war but be denied from a bar after 10 PM?

Deck of cards:  Is online gambling a scam and/or trustworthy?

USB cable:  Does it help to have everything you do available on the internet?

CD:  Should it be legal to download music and put on CD’s and take money away from production companies and artists?

Film:  Do movies transform who people are and their ideas because of what they see celebrities doing?

Candy:  Should candy be sold cheaper to children when the obesity rate  in the United States is so high?

Postcard:  Should there be public advertising for the prostitution and gambling of Las Vegas?

FW 8: What pisses me off?

One of the biggest things that pisses me off is people who chew with their mouth open.  Nobody ever wants to hear or see you chewing food.  It is one of those simple manners that you should not have to think about.  It truly pisses me off.  Another big one for me is manners and people who don’t say please and thank you.  Like when you hold the door for somebody and they walk through and ignore you as if you were never there.  I usually yell, “Your welcome!” just because it bothers me so much and i can then feel better after yelling at them.  That is another one of those manner things that noone should have to think about.  Please and thank you should be an instinctual saying that you are brought up with and should never have to be reminded.  I would say these two things are my bigest pet peeves and piss me off the most.

FW 7: What advice would I give my high school self.

Time management and fewer sports.  Throughout all of high school I played a sport every season of every year.  3 seasons of sports a year left me with no free time.  I don’t know why but i always felt like keeping busy was good but looking back i wish i had atleast one season a year off from athletics.  Getting behind in school was an everyday occurrence.  You have school from 7:30 till 2:15, then you go to practice till about six.  Drive home, shower, eat dinner then right into your homework hopefully around 8:30.  Go to bed whenever you are able to finish and wake up and do it all over.  This crazy busy schedule was part of the reason i took time off before coming to college, along with financial reasons.  I needed a year and a half just to recoupe after high school and get my head straight.  My advice to my high school self is CHILL with the sports and just take a season or two off so you can have a good time and get all your work done.  Life is supposed to be fun not a drag, and if your too busy to never enjoy it then your doing something wrong…Carpe Diem!

FW6 – Favorite toy.

My favorite toy as a kid was a 50 CC honda dirtbike that i used everyday I could.  When i turned 8 i recieved my first dirt bike and loved it ever since.  It never got boring to me.  Growing up on a farm was perfect because it was an ideal location to own a bike and ride around the ouside of the fields and the woods that sorround.  I never really had many toys in the sense of action figures nor wasi ever really interested in them.  I remember having a tonka truck to play with the dirt, but the honda was always my favorite toy until i turned 11 and saved up enough money from working on the farm that a bought a a bigger bike and that became my new favorite toy.  This was basically a ongoing trend that didn’t really stop until last year when I gave it up.  Everybody has a secret hobby that they love and will never forget, thats mine…