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Impacts of the media on society
Impacts of the media on society
What is the importance of respect
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Today I was watching flipping through the channels on TV and came across a show on NBC called ‘Superstore’. I had never seen the show before, but it I decided to watch it. The show takes place in a big box retail store and follows the lives of the employees who work at the store. There was a character on the show named ‘Garrett’. Garrett was physically disabled and not able to walk; he was in a wheelchair, yet was able to work just like all of the other employees. The employees did not treat him differently because of his physical disability and he was able to adapt to the needs of his job just like any other employee would need to. I was surprised that there was a character in a wheel chair on the show- just like me. And I felt very …show more content…
represented by the inclusion of a character with a physical disability. No one made him feel like he was “lesser” or needed extra help, and I think that is an important part in informing the rest of the community. People often treat me different because of my disability, but I really am no different than anyone else- I’m just not able to walk. When I was watching the news this morning on Good Morning America, a segment ran titled “Raising Good Women” (link to segment: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/college-age-young-women-open-coming-age-metoo/story?id=52744005).
In this segment, 7 college-aged women sat down together to talk about their reactions towards the #MeToo movement and dating/relationships. Being an “almost-college-aged” man, this segment really made me stop and think. There are so many stories going on in the news right now about young women sharing the experiences of sexual assault and is really devastating to hear how many women have been disrespected in this way. However, as a young man, I feel that there is not enough light shown on the “good guys”. Although we continuously hear about the bad situations, and sexual assaults experienced by these women- there are never stories about men who treat women with respect or men who do honor boundaries in relationships. Stories like these often make me feel misrepresented; I feel like there extra pressure or a negative shadow on men of my age because of these stories coming forth in the news. But I would never to that- I was raised to treat women with respect and I wish that, among the horrid stories of sexual assault, there were more stories showing how men have respected women and relationships
thriving.
Most people feel relatively uncomfortable when they meet someone with an obvious physical disability. Usually, the disability seems to stand out in ones mind so much that they often forget the person is still a person. In turn, their discomfort is likely to betray their actions, making the other person uncomfortable too. People with disabilities have goals, dreams, wants and desires similar to people without disabilities. Andre Dubus points out very clearly in his article, "Why the Able-bodied Still Don't Get It," how people's attitudes toward "cripples" effect them. It's is evident that although our society has come a long way with excepting those with physical disabilities, people do not understand that those with physical disabilities are as much human as the next person
Nancy Mairs, born in 1943, described herself as a radical feminist, pacifist, and cripple. She is crippled because she has multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic disease involving damage to the nerve cells and spinal cord. In her essay Disability, Mairs’ focus is on how disabled people are portrayed, or rather un-portrayed in the media. There is more than one audience that Mairs could have been trying to reach out to with this piece. The less-obvious audience would be disabled people who can connect to her writing because they can relate to it. The more obvious audience would be physically-able people who have yet to notice the lack of disabled people being portrayed by the media. Her purpose is to persuade the audience that disabled people should be shown in the media more often, to help society better cope with and realize the presence of handicapped people. Mairs starts off by saying “For months now I’ve been consciously searching for representation of myself in the media, especially television. I know I’d recognize this self becaus...
In the past, all of the disabled characters that I had seen in movies and tv shows, were more plot devices than people. They were the main character’s disabled son, who was merely the struggle for the main character to overcome. They were the lesson for every character who thought they had a difficult life, just to show the
With one in five college students experiencing sexual assault during their college career who wouldn’t be afraid? This remains especially true for young women between the ages of 18-24 (“The Realities of Sexual Assault”). While a woman’s freshman and sophomore year of college are when she is at a most risk for assault, it can happen at any time. According to Robin Gray in the article on sexual assault statistics, “between 20% and 25% of women will experience a completed and/or attempted rape during their college career,” (Gray). At Northwest Missouri State University for the 2016-2017 academic year there are 5,618 undergraduate students enrolled. With the ratio of male to female students being 44% to 56%, there are about 3,147 female students. In terms of the statistics estimated by Gray, 630-787 of the female student population at Northwest Missouri State will experience rape during their college career (“Northwest Missouri State University”). This is a disturbingly large figure. Women are not the only ones susceptible to these acts, but men are too. It is said about “10%” of all sexual assault cases involve male victims (“The Realities of Sexual Assault”). While this number is slightly lower for men it is often believed that male victims of sexual assault do not often report their crime due to the social stigma surrounding their assault. Men may feel
Stephen has helped to shape society by connecting with able bodied people in an attempt to remove ‘stereotypical’ (Havard, 2014, p.76) values concerning wheelchair users. Stephen Sweetman’s experience provided firm examples of some of the ways in which connections and disconnections ‘produce differences and inequalities’ (Havard, 2014, p.79).
The article, “Why We Still Need Feminism”, written by Casey Cavanaugh (2014), describes how women are treated and why feminism is looked at in such a negative light. She focuses on how the feminism movement doesn’t only concentrate on women and what concerns them, she also talks about how the movement can positively impact all humans. Cavanaugh explains how the treatment of women can go on for generations and how many women are simply dealing with the ill-treatment (Cavanaugh, 2014). The writer gives a few examples of how women are treated and the different ways that it can be changed for the better.
Women with disabilities are seldom represented in popular culture. Movies, television shows ,and novels that attempt to represent people within the disability community fall short because people that are not disabled are writing the stories. Susan Nussbaum has a disability. She advocates for people with disabilities and writes stories about characters with disabilities . She works to debunk some of the stereotypes about women with disabilities in popular culture. Women with disabilities are stereotyped as being sexually undesirable individuals , that are not capable of living normal lives, that can only be burdens to mainstream society, and often sacrifice themselves.Through examining different female characters with disabilities, Nussbaum 's novel Good Kings Bad Kings illustrates how the stereotypes in popular culture about women with disabilities are not true.
Imagine how bad you would feel having difficulty getting out of bed every day. This is what fast food does to you and why I believe fast food outlets should be closed down. This arguments three points to support this statement are that firstly fast food can cause health problems. Secondly, it makes you feel bad about your body, and finally they take money from the most vulnerable.
Women’s issues are a huge concern to me as I transition into the adult world, especially when sexual assaults are associated with the college culture. From the streets of America to a child bride in Africa, women are suffering from abuse, harassment, and mistreatment. The feminist movement has enhanced life for women, but, in modern society, there are many areas that still need improvement. If we want to resolve issues over the treatment of women, we must tackle and overcome negative views of women, take preventive measures to ensure the safety of women, and bring attention to these injustices.
In the past century, America has made great leaps in terms of equality. With the efforts made by the civil rights and suffrage movements, all people gained the right to vote. We are even moving forward with marriage equality, and currently fifteen states recognize same-sex marriage. But regardless of all of our progressive institutional movements forward, we continue to socially oppress women. Men’s violence against women has grown to be an internationally recognized epidemic, and will continue to grow unless measures be made to stop it. Domestic violence continues to be prevalent in the lives of many families, and is the primary cause of homelessness in half of cases for women in children. Many women have been forced to alter their behaviors out of fear of being sexually or physically assaulted. One out of every three women is sexually or physically abused in their lifetimes. The first thing that comes to mind is, there are a lot of people abusing women out there. Many people with opposing ideas may claim that men can be victims of violence perpetrated by women, but in instances not used for self-defense, it is rarely part of a systematic pattern of power and control through force or threat of force. In fact, 99% of rape is perpetrated by men, but when confronting men about the issue of violence against women, it is often combated with denial. Jackson Katz writes in his book, The Macho Paradox, “We take comfort in the idea of the aforementioned child-rapist murderer as a horrible aberration. A monster. We’re nothing like him.”(Katz 30). The sad truth is that most women who are raped are raped by men they know, or even men they love. Many men have a hard time believing that saying that most violence is perpetuated by men does not...
Since sexual assault is a big deal and very important and people need to be more aware about it and how young ladies are affected by it. Did you know, “The most recent reports show that 16 forcible sexual assaults were reported at Yale University in 2012, 13 such assaults at UConn and 12 at Connecticut College the same year? In 2011, Yale reported 18 forcible sexual assaults, UConn reported eight and Connecticut College reported four” (Yale, UConn and Connecticut College Have Most Sexual Assaults in State, Reports Show)? One of the reasons I support sexual assault getting noticed on college campuses is because every female or male should feel safe no matter what. If a female or male was sexually assaulted they should feel safe enough to go to someone and tell them what happen and
Today, we are surrounded by males and females who are standing up to the wrongs that have been done to them. They stand up to the people who thought they could violate someone else and get away with it because of their status. The MeToo movement has been growing with vigor and passion, yet there are still people who are still being treated unjustly (“You”). When they speak up about what has happened to them, they get pushed aside and are told to ignore it. Others have to leap through hoops to get someone to listen to them, only to have their case thrown out.
Disability is an topic that has produced conflict, and is viewed very differently from either side. For able-bodied people to truly understand what disabled people go through they need to see disabled people more; see their lives. If seeing disabled people more often became reality, they would be viewed as normal more, and it would make interacting easier for both sides. Disabled people have a hard life, but it does not mean it is not worth living. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson all have physical disabilities, and have written about their experiences and views. In their writings, they touch upon both similar and different points. A very present similarity between the authors is they all play to the same audience. In their messages, both Mairs and Johnson agree that able-bodied people automatically assume that disabled people have a lower quality of life or are unhappy. The strategies used by each author plays to their message, and aids them in getting across their position. Disability isn’t always easy to understand, and these authors help illustrate that.
Many excuses are made to defend rapists, abusers, or harassers, such as “she was dressed provocatively” or “she was under the influence and came onto me.” Most young girls think that being harassed, raped, or abused is something that everyone goes through. Heather Hlavka, a sociologist at Marquette University, analyzed interviews with 100 girls between ages three and seventeen who may have experienced sexual assault. The study identifies several common reasons why girls do not report their assaults, including shame, fear of retribution and distrust of authority. The most alarming conclusion, however, is that young women “regard sexual violence against them as normal.” Moreover, the girls interviewed believed that men “can’t help it” and perceived “everyday harassment and abuse as normal male behavior.” (Duberman 2014). Hlavka writes, “Objectification, sexual harassment, and abuse appear to be part of the fabric of young women’s lives. They had few available safe spaces; girls were harassed and assaulted at parties, in school, on the playground, on buses, and in cars. Overwhelmingly described as ‘normal stuff’ that ‘guys do’ or tolerating what ‘just happens’, young women’s sexual desire and consent are largely absent. Sex was understood as something done to them.” Actions like these drive young women to believe that men ‘can’t help it’. Younger women are taught
In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...