Thursday, December 10, 2015

Last Exploration: Elizabeth Scott

     One thing I found particularly interesting in the article was when it talked about how to keep the cost of labor low. On page 18 of the article, they wrote " In this way it is possible to maintain a "pool" of people who are in the threatening position of being mere consumers, landless and also poor, and who therefore are eager to go to work for low wages - precisely the condition of the migrant farm workers in the United States." I thought this was interesting because I feel like it really relates to today's society - in specific, the young adult generation of today. Many young adults today are living on their own, with children and a family already at such a young age, and struggle to keep on top of everything. They are then forced into jobs making minimum wage or barely above that just to provide food for their kids and families and to pay the bills. I just found this interesting because even though the author of the article was talking about the farm workers, I also can see this being portrayed in today's culture.

     One thing that I think isn't really given much attention at all and is particularly relevant in today's younger population is issues of self-image. I think so many people today, girls in particular, are prone to being unhappy with themselves and how they look. Thin, perfect looking celebrities and things like the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" that was a few nights ago result in younger people feeling insecure about themselves. I saw several posts on social media saying things like "time to watch the VS Fashion Show and cry because I'll never look like them [insert a million crying emojis]" and other negative things like that and I think it's a huge HUGE issue. So many young people focus on wanting to look like or be like someone else instead of being happy with themselves or focusing on good things. I feel somewhat strongly about this because I used to be the same way until I actually did something about it and started going to the gym a lot. Some people may occasionally tell me I look "manly" or that I shouldn't get "too big" or "too muscular" but I have learned to ignore what people say and do what makes me happier with myself and happier in general. I'd rather have muscles bigger than other girls my age (and some guys my age as well) and go to the gym and lifting heavy weight instead of just running so I look "thin" enough to fit in with today's view of what is attractive. If that's what makes me feel better, that's what I'm going to do.  I think more people should do the same. By this I mean not necessarily lifting weights unless that's what they're interested in, but ignoring what society tells them about how they should look or what is attractive or how they should act and instead focusing on being how they want to be - not how everyone else wants them to be. 

1 comment:

  1. I too agree with what you are saying about the whole body image issue that is affecting our generation. I think that one thing that has been a contributing factor to girls having self image issues is Barbie. On Facebook I see all the time that people have shown what barbie would look like if she were really a person. Her body measurements are impossible to achieve without any type of body shaping surgeries. This is an issue that has been prevalent in our society for more than fifty years and the issue is just getting worse. I think that one thing that could be helping this situation is the promotion of the no body shame campaign created by Whitney Thorpe. The no body shame campaign shows and teaches everybody to be accepting of their body and their body is beautiful.
    http://nobodyshame.com

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