Wonder Cox

          Happy Independence Day! Just to put this out there, I found a picture of Laverne Cox as Wonder Woman. You're all welcome. (Here's the link to the original twitter post by @_DownToEarth.) What better way to celebrate my country's independence than to post a picture of this iconic woman as one of our most iconic superheroes? Go, Laverne! 

Celebrate a New Week with Gender Equality

          Happy Monday, everyone! Pride month is drawing to a close, but it's been a pretty great one this year. I know that Mondays are kinda rough for some people, so I'm cheering you all up with a cool comic that perfectly embodies the true spirit of gender equality. 
          Here's the link to the original imgur page, but I'm also including the image below. It's kinda big, but it's worth the read.
          Remember, sexism isn't a "men's issue" or a "women's issue". Sexism affects everyone negatively, although I do have to admit that women have it kinda worse. (Femicide, anyone?) However, the stereotypes that claim that men always have to be interested in the same things, act the same way, and not express emotion are ridiculous and incredibly harmful. All in all, I agree with the message of this image- Sexism will not be overcome until both women and men can recognize it as a serious issue that hurts both groups, and work together.
          Have a great and world-improving week!
 

Update: I can't seem to get the image to be at a good size for reading that doesn't fall out of my post, so you can either zoom in your browser to view it here, or view the original on imgur. If anyone knows how to fix the issue, please shoot me a comment to let me know! Blogger needs to add some more features... 

Food for Thought: Abandoned Innocents

          On the night of April 14^th, 2014, almost 300 Nigerian schoolgirls from the village of Chibok were kidnapped by Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist organization. I did not write an article about this event.

          Why am I writing about it now, two months “late”? Well, even though the entire media was in an uproar about it in April, I haven't heard a word about these girls for many weeks- not from news organizations, not from open-source websites, and not from human lips. Are the young scholars still missing? Yes. Are they still being kept as sex-slaves and many being indoctrinated into Islamism against their will? Yes. Does the public still care? Not really.

          After two months of imprisonment, surely these girls have given up hope. If I were among them, I would have. Despite a twitter campaign, empty promises from the government, and many people claiming that "I won't be able to rest until the victims are returned home", the world has forgotten about them already. I suppose that shows exactly how much Western society cares about people who are only an ocean away- and yet, an ocean is enough to separate the lamented from the forgotten, the rescued from the abandoned, and the saved from the damned. 

Image credit to ABC News

Sources: www.cnn.com, videos released by the Boko Haram terrorist group

Ghosts of Prejudice I

          There have been times and places when all human beings were equal. Sadly, such places and times are few and far apart. Yet, in many of those eras when humans were far too unequal, there was no common belief that humans are born inherently less than others- just a lingering belief that that was the way things should be, and always had been. We live in such a time. I now present to you the first in a series of short posts I will write about prejudices in our world today, why they came to be, and ponder why they still haunt us. 

Adam and Eve by Titian

Sexy/Pure: The Female Story

          Today, females are generally expected to be "pure" in order to be accepted. So-called sluts are viewed as the exception, not the rule, and abstinence is encouraged by many who see themselves as patriarchs. Yet, if we look into the past, it doesn't seem to have always been that way. 

          For starters, we have the bible. It's an obvious culprit- an ancient book (I'm not here to dispute whether God wrote it or not, we all can acknowledge that it's old) that is still regularly consulted. Although its readers may have good intentions, its sheer age makes it a perfect preservation site for outdated prejudices. 

          Looking at the very beginning of the bible, to the tale of Adam and Eve, it is obvious that Eve is portrayed as the impure one. It's she who submits to temptation, therefore "sin", and takes that fruit from the snake. Adam is good and upright even after his ejection from Eden, whereas Eve is the first sinner of the pair, a fallen woman. If this truly was the beginning of humankind, the portrayal of Eve was no good omen for women of the future. 

           In Greek mythology, we hear even more cries shouting that women are the slaves of desire. One story depicts Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the Olympian gods, respectively, arguing over who possessed more capacity for lust and pleasure: man or woman. Eventually, the pair consulted Tiresias, a man who had once been turned into a woman. He reported that women were ten times as lustful as men. (Hera blinded him in rage at this, as she wasn't the most merciful of the Goddesses.)

           Many other examples can be found throughout history of women being seen as uncontrollable sex-fiends: court records, literature, mythology, etc. Try finding some of your own information if you like- it's all out there. At some point, though, there was a change. Something happened that turned a woman from a "lustful animal" to a "pure angel". Our best guess is, it began partially with the Christian church. 

          Now, this isn't to say that the change was immediately, inherently bad. Church officials, when they began painting this image of the holy and innocent female, probably thought they were doing women a favor by giving ladies of status a more noble standard to hold themselves up against. Over time, the idea caught hold, and soon the tables were turned- the untrue stereotype of men being pure and upright while women were tainted and wild had turned into the untrue stereotype of men being slaves to their instincts, with women seen as innocent. 

          Wait- there's something strange here. Before, females were kept out of leadership positions because they were seen as sinners, more susceptible to temptation, whereas men were strong enough to keep their emotions at bay. Now, women must live up to an untainted standard, the phrase "boys will be boys" has fully integrated itself into the English language, the good, obedient wife is our societal ideal, and victim-blaming is common in rape scenarios. Despite this turnaround, women are still seen or treated as inferior by many. This switching may seem ridiculous, but with a bit of common sense, anyone can see that it exists. The question is, why? 

-Lily

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, the Book of Genesis

Food for Thought: Money, Money, Money

        I was born into a less than wealthy family. Money was definitely not the easiest thing in the world for us (it isn't for anybody.) Fortunately, a few years into my life, things took a turn for the better. I myself am in a financially stable situation, but I know it definitely isn't that way for everyone- and I know it won't always be that way for me. When I live on my own, the money situation probably won't be quite as cozy. And it's true: the overall U.S. poverty rate in 2011 was 15.0 (27.5 for blacks, 25.3 for Hispanics, and 9.8 for non-Hispanic whites). It looks like this country has a serious opportunity gap, as well as financial gap. But what exactly do we define as "poverty"?

Absolute Poverty:

          Absolute poverty is defined as a condition in which a person doesn't have the necessary resources for survival. Absolute poverty could, in theory, be defeated, if the necessary survival resources were provided to the poor. Poverty is usually measured in absolute terms in developing countries, where it is most common, but also can exist in wealthy countries if the vast majority of wealth is owned by a small minority. 

Relative Poverty:

          Relative poverty occurs when people are "poor" in relation to those around them. For example, in a first world country, poverty might be when a person is unable to afford what is widely available to other people, such as a telephone or electricity. However, in poorer countries, relative poverty could fall under the category of absolute poverty. The U.S. poverty guideline is $11,670 for households of one person. As I said before- 15% of Americans are under the poverty line. That's 46,000,000 people. Unlike absolute poverty, relative poverty cannot be eradicated, as destroying it would require equal distribution of wealth. 

More Info:

          Here's a video with more information about wealth inequality in the U.S, and why it's such a serious problem. But don't take it from me- do your own research and develop your own opinion. Or, if you live outside the United States, find out more about poverty and wealth distribution in your own county.

• Official statistics on poverty in the U.S.
• Article about the history of the fight against poverty in America from the New York Times
• The official Poverty USA website

What do You Think?

          Is poverty as severe of an issue as I made it out to be? More severe? What's the best way for dealing with poverty? If it affects so many people, why hasn't a good solution been discovered/put in place yet? No political party claims poverty to be a good thing. But relative poverty, at least, is an unavoidable part of our capitalist system. How can this problem ever be solved? Please, tell me (respectfully) your opinions and ideas in the comments! Do you plan to take any action against poverty? 

SOURCES: HTTP://ASPE.HHS.GOV

Rainbows for Russia: Muffins

          Ah, Rainbows for Russia. A much more challenging project than I had made it out to be. Do you know how long it took me to figure out how to make rainbow muffins? All month. All. Month. 

          However, I overcame several difficulties and created this masterpiece of a food. Granted, there is room for improvement, but it tasted good and looked pretty good so I am happy. Good lord, I am happy. I finally did it. *pants* I really need to work on my baking skills. Anyway, the point is that here they are: rainbow themed creations of my own making. I am dedicating these muffins to Russia, for their hosting of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics- not exactly without a hitch, but without major disruptions. As proven by many Olympic Games in years gone by,  this is a pretty great accomplishment. More specifically, these muffins are dedicated to the LGBT community in Russia. People can debate the finer points of the reasons for this as much as they like, but it's generally agreed that it is not easy being a LGBT person in Russia. So for that, I make these muffins in their name. 

          Have any of you guys thought of making a Rainbow for someone or somewhere? If you have, please tell me about it in the comments. Thanks!

-Lily 

Rainbows for Russia

          I know it's been a long time, but I'm here as promised. I've been really busy as an important Science Olympiad even has been coming up and I've needed to take a lot of time to prepare for my events. Sincere apologies. 
          So, as I hinted at in my last post, I painted my nails rainbow. I did it for a reason, though, and you can probably guess that too. I wanted to show my support for the LGBTQ community- but more specifically, the LGBTQ community in Russia. 
          Being repressed kinda sucks. Being repressed in Russia, though I can only imagine, must suck a lot. In addition, Russia's been getting a lot of hate from the rest of the world due to some of the goings on at the Sochi 2014 Olympics- tough anti-gay laws, butchering of stray dogs, bad living conditions for guests, infected water- and true, none of these things are good, but they're not the entire country's fault. Claiming that's so is like to claiming that all Americans are responsible for the nation's economy issues and high obesity rates. True, some particular corporations and political parties carry a lot of the responsibility for these issues, but you can't blame the entire county. The same with Russia. 
          You guys know that I love it when the Internet puts positive things out into the world. I mean, who enjoys scrolling through your Facebook feed and coming across sad, depressing, or just mean-spirited words and images? Not many people, I'm guessing. If you do, you probably need some help. I hate it when that happens, personally. So when I noticed a pretty good number of rude and bigoted comments online directed towards Russia- the whole of Russia- I decided to take matters into my own hands. Literally. 
          I painted my fingernails rainbow, because rainbows are not negative. This fact is not up for debate. Rainbows are positive, and they're the most widely known symbol of support for the LGBTQ community. I painted my fingernails rainbow, because they are a positive sign of support for the LGBTQ community, and I painted them for Russia. Here you go, Russia. Have a rainbow, they're free.
          My project for the month of March is to make as many rainbow-themed things that are directed to Russia, and post them on the Internet. The goal isn't to necessarily make these things so that Russia will see them, but that there will be positive things on the Internet about Russia that don't put down other countries, either. If you'd like to help, just make something- write, sing, draw, sculpt, just create- that's rainbow themed. Put it out into the Internet, and comment on this post about it when you do. Bonus points if it's directed at another country. Double bonus points if that country's government is oppressive, especially to the LGBTQ community. Cookies if it's directed at Russia. Well, I can't actually bake you cookies, but you should definitely treat yourself to some. You deserve it. If you're posting to twitter, instagram, or any other site where hashtags are usable, tag it #rainbowsfortheworld, then hashtag the specific country or community that you're targeting. 
          Spread the word. Show off the rainbows. Let people know. I'll keep you updated on my rainbow journey throughout the month. We'll see what happens. 

-Lily