Week 3

This week nothing really popped up to me about what to talk about. So I looked back through some of the articles we read and came across something that made me think. It's the idea of "coming out" and proclaiming yourself as something (in this case homosexual).

In Yep's article, I read a section discussing the point that "homo/heterosexual binary is only an issue of enormous importance for a relatively small, discrete, and fairly fixed homosexual minority". To me, this statement sends the impression that the difference between hetero and homo is only a big deal to the people who are homosexual. Meaning that this idea of being "homo" is important to those who are, but everybody else (hetero) doesn't seem to mind much of the idea. I can even take that farther and say that the idea of "coming out" is significant/important because those who "come out" make it significant. Would you agree or disagree? If you agree that could even build farther saying that homosexuals kind of bring it upon themselves the importance of their sexuality, leading to their peers making it a big deal that they are homosexual (this isn't the only reason why people make it a big deal). I don't see heterosexual people talking with friends and mentioning how they're straight. Now I'm not saying that ALL homosexual people claim themselves as "gay" in a "coming out" way, but for those who do, why? Because I feel like by them doing that, they're the ones drawing the attention to their homosexuality. I could say that "coming out" as gay is like an African American "coming out" that they're African American. It's like the idea of, if you don't want people to treat you differently for your sexual orientation, don't act like it's different.
I know that when I characterize myself, I might say outgoing, athletic, family-oriented, but I wouldn't say heterosexual; I don't draw attention to my heterosexuality. But that could just be because hetero is seen as the norm. Yep also said that, "heterosexuality is considered a 'default identity' achieved without much effort, thought, or struggle". So maybe I don't draw attention to my sexuality because it's just seen as a "default identity". You could even say that hetero people don't take their sexuality serious enough (me). Maybe you could argue that sexual orientation is "underrated" and should be emphasized more among people (introductions, characteristics of each other, etc.).

I'm not saying that my ideas are right here, that I'm right for not saying I'm hetero, or that homosexuals are wrong for "coming out". I'm just throwing a few things out there, please don't take them the wrong way.

Week 2

I feel like the theme of this past week's talk has been centered around magazines and what effects they seem to have on us. During the discussions many people talked about how certain magazines make them feel about themselves through comparison to the beautiful women on the covers. Girls seem to look at the cover woman and think, "I wish I looked like that," or "I need to look like that in order to be famous/liked". We even talked about how when guys look at the covers and smile, their significant other might feel like she needs to look like that in order to please her man. Many times those women on the covers are celebrities and stars that many girls look up to and somewhat strive to look like.

Well that whole discussion got me to thinking about what kind of effect the magazines (many of the times at the end of check-out aisles at stores) that portray the "real" celebrity look have on those same women. I'm sure you all have seen them before (and I even have an example for you at the bottom of the page), celebs with cellulite, photo-shoot cover-ups of their fat, etc. It got me thinking, are these magazines good or bad for the public; I feel like it could go either way. I could support them by saying that they give those women who see the "cover girl" (sometimes celebrities) as normal and flawless, a sense of, "well maybe, those people's bodies aren't perfect after all; maybe they do look just like me". This could give confidence to that woman picking up the magazine, making them less stressed about comparing their looks. On the other hand though, those "cellulite celeb" covers are demeaning to the women they have in them (if the pictures are even real). The portrayal of their bodies in the public might lead them to come up with the eating disorders we've mentioned so many women have today. Which in turn will end up coming out to the public women as "look who lost 50 pounds in 3 months," leading to making those girls in society think they need to do the same.

I don't know what to think. I wish I could simply say no to those "cellulite celeb" magazines, but what if they're that one woman's only hope to feeling better about herself. What if comparing herself to those "real" pictures is just what she needed to think better of her own body? Are the fat pictures of celebs on the covers of the grocery store shelves good for the public or not?

http://cosmetic-makeovers.com/files/posts/cellulite_2.jpg

Week 1

I had a few ideas come into my mind about what I wanted to talk about this week when reading the article by Bordo, Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body. One of those ideas was to relate some of the components of the past to the lifestyles I see today. For some reason when I was reading pages 200-205, I couldn't get my mind off of Kanye West. These pages of the article were dedicated to discussing the dress and "style" of some African Americans during the time of slavery. So many things that were discussed kept bringing up these images of how I see Kanye West presented through the media.

I'm sure many of you know who Kanye is and how he presents his "style" in public many of the time. He's wearing a collared shirt and sweater with the shiny jacket over top. He's got the glow-in-the-dark shade glasses with a bandana scarf and shiny gold chain around his neck. It all shows off this colorful, vibrant look that is discussed in the article relating to the opportunities slaves had during Sunday mass to "take back one's own body". I feel as if Kanye has this same sort of motivation to "take back" something, just as the slaves wanted to do in the past. I feel like he's taking back what the norm of society wants him to look like and be (whether it’s subconsciously or consciously). I look at it as a comparison. The article says, "Slaves were often stripped naked and instructed to show their teeth... etc." That correlates with why they'd take the opportunity to escape to church in dazzling, colorful outfits. I see that comparing to Kanye in a way that the "norm" of society expect people (him) to dress in matching, correlating outfits. Instead, just as slaves would on a Sunday, he escapes from that (invisible) bondage to show off his flashy combination of clothing.

That was just one thing among many that reminded me of him during those few pages. Also mentioned in the article was how some conceive that “showing off one’s body-particularly with sensuous fabrics-is a “fag” thing”. Does some of the public view Kanye as a “fag” because of his attire? I’d say so.

Intro

Hey what's up everybody, my name's Dylan McKinney. I'm a junior here at Ohio University studying to be a Physical Education teacher. I hope to take that a little bit farther after school and become a basketball coach as well. I'm from Mason, Ohio where I've lived my whole life. I have two older sisters and three little nieces. I love everything to do with sports, both playing and watching.I'm a huge North Carolina basketball fan; it's my one outside passion that I can just lose myself in. I've never had much interest in writing in school, language arts was always my weak subject. I do like writing in my own style though, not always having to be grammatically correct, so hopefully this blogging type style will be enjoyable throughout the quarter.