Disney is continually a disappointment (as is society)...

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been lacking in the blog posts for a little while. I've been working like a crazy person and trying to study for MTELs so I can actually student teach and not be a bum for the rest of my life. ANYWAYS, I meant to write about this last week but I waited until meow to do it. The "this" I am referring to is the gender stereotyping that the Disney store does all the way down to their beach towels. Now you may think that a beach towel is no big deal and that I'm making too much of it but what I noticed was just a representation of a larger issue. Let me try to explain what I'm getting at by sharing with you all a little anecdote...It was a beautiful Friday morning in mid July (aka last Friday) and I had the day off so I was planning to go to the outlets with my dear friend Jamie. We went out to a delectable lunch, got handcrafted cupcakes, and then were off to explore the newly opened outlet bonanza that resides in Merrimack NH. On a good note, I got some great bargains, a little bit of a tan (which means more freckles but eventually they'll blend together to form a tan), and some quality time with one of my favorite people. We were just moseying along and found out that there was a Disney Store Outlet. Now if you know me, you know I LOVE Disney. I have been critical of it this past year, but only in theory (get it??) yet I still really enjoy the films at face value. Well, as we walked into the Disney store what I had previously thought about Disney's gender stereotypes was only intensified. There was a large table of beach towels adorned with beloved Disney characters and I really wanted to purchase one. This was until I discovered that the "girl" towels only had princesses and Minnie Mouse on them AND they were significantly smaller than the "boy" towels. The "boy" towels were not only larger in size but they had superheroes and cars as the characters. This really made me upset because it's sending the message of what girls and boys are "supposed to" be interested in and if they have different interests, something is wrong with them. The store is also separated into the Boy's side and the Girl's side with the same character differences. It made me think about how gendered ideals of social normalcy are thrust onto people at a very young age and even though they do not understand what that means, they do learn what is considered "normal" and feel badly about themselves if their interests differ. I think that every child should be able to play with whatever toys he/she wants to and I will encourage all of my future students to do whatever their hearts tell them. Why should children be forced into a strict gendered way of thinking starting so young? It just sets them up for differences later on in life and leads them to focus on the way people are separated rather than how they are alike. Needless to say, I did not buy the towel or anything else in that store and I am going to be more aware of the way I approach gender with children. Childhood should be a place of exploration, freedom, laughter, and whimsy but that is difficult to achieve when abiding by gender stereotypes is pushed onto children so stealthily and at such young ages. Readers,what are your thoughts about this? Am I a crazy koala about this? Please share your thoughts!

Proud to be a Liberal

So, I don't know if you peeps heard or not BUT these past few days have been pretty eventful for Liberals and for me in particular. I officially signed up to volunteer with the Obama 2012 campaign and then got invited to hear Caroline Kennedy (yes, the daughter of the incredible JFK and Jackie O, both of whom I idolize) speak on behalf of Obama. It was so incredible and she articulated stances that I passionately support and believe in on a level that gave me new perspectives on how important this election really is. All elections are important but so much of my personal future as well as the future of the nation are at stake and the issues are crucial to the well being of the country as a whole and its citizens. She touched on the importance of great teachers and a more streamlined and effective public education system that Obama has fought for these past four years and will continue to fight for in the future. She also said that women will be the deciding factor in this election and we need to fight to keep control of our own choices about our bodies and many other areas. The GOP keeps trying to politicize the jurisdiction over women's bodies and we need to make sure these natural rights stay intact. Caroline was such an inspiring person to hear speak and it was an honor to even be in her presence. In other news, today the Supreme Court voted to uphold the Affordable Care Act commonly dubbed Obamacare. Even though I do not fully understand all of the ins and outs of the new plan, I understand the main points and how much it will benefit all Americans thus benefiting the nation. It is better for small business owners, younger people who are struggling to find work (never mind work that provides benefits...), older/aging people who may be retired and have no constant source of income beside Social Security, a myriad of people who may be unable to support themselves, and everyone in between. This will lower the premiums for everyone, create an insurance marketplace for people to find what insurance plan suits them the best, give women access to the treatment and screenings they need in order to prevent worse maladies, more money for medical research, allow people to receive insurance even if they have some preexisting conditions, expand Medicaid and Medicare, all while working to make health care and health insurance more streamlined and efficient. No one knows if all of this will occur but with the support from the SCOTUS and Congress accompanied by vast support from the people, I believe that this can smooth over the cracks in the health care system and make it better for everyone. Please share your thoughts about Obamacare and the political status of the country in the comment boxes! Alrighty, that's it for political banter for the evening. I'm off to watch Suits (one of my fave summer television programmes) and eat some freeze pops (one of my favorite summer freezer treats) and then work tomorrow. Goodnight lovely blog readers! (Whoever you are...)

An interesting observation on my day off...

Even though I don't look like a million bucks when I'm at work (let's face it, I barely look like $7.82) I still attempt to put some semblance of mascara on, brush my hair, and smell not like a foot (aka I shower on the regs.) On my day off this past week,I had no plans thus I woke up around 10:30 and hung out for a little while and then accompanied my dear mother to the grocery store which is one of my favorite activities. In lieu of the fact that it was hot out and I was only going to Market Basket, I put no makeup on, wore a VERY casual outfit that could have doubled as an outfit for a game of pick up basketball, and threw my hair up in a rough hewn manner with no cares in the world. I was in a YOLO state of mind, to put it in the words of today's young people. While I was walking around the grocery store and interacting with people, it seemed as though I was getting weird looks. Yes, I was dressed like a slob and yes I might have looked like a hot mess but it was my choice to look that way. The people in Market Basket were a small sampling of the general population (and not a great representation at that...) but it got me thinking about looking good and feeling good in relation to societal pressures. When I look nicer, which takes more time and effort than just throwing on clothes and pulling my hair back, I feel more confident and have a more positive self image but is that because of my own personal feelings or a result of societal conditioning? I honestly have no idea but I get upset if people do not look a certain way, they are treated less than or just not given the same attention as people who abide by and uphold the "normal" standards of beauty. Everyone has their own sense of style and it seems unfair to judge him/her in comparison to an often unrealistic standard of beauty. I wish people were less critical of physical characteristics(even if it is unconscious criticism) and be more attentive to a person's character as his/her defining quality. That's all for tonight! Stay cool! -Mere :)

Creativity vs. Creation

Hello lovely readers! I've been needing a space to express my random thoughts and experiences that I usually gush about at school over a meal, in class, or just hanging out with friends thus I'm starting this blog. Yay! For my first entry I want to write about something that is a culmination of recent thoughts/observations I've been having lately. The subject is the essence of the creative and what classifies something as being so. The root of the word creativity is "create" but are people who are considered "creative" always creators of something? I like to think so but lately I have been doubting my own creative spirit. I constantly ask myself, "What am I actually producing?" but beyond my own self-doubt, I found myself in a place of reassurance after thinking about how all things can be creative in their own ways. I have many creative outlets that range from simple random thoughts to poetry and writing to drawing/doodling to singing to ways that I arrange fruit slices for catering orders. You see what I'm getting at: everything can be an act of creation.It may seem foolish but I try to be creative when I'm at work cooking, prepping, and catering. It makes my job 100 times more enjoyable and I know that it results in a much better product for the customers. I'm glad that I have found a way to be creative in almost all aspects of my life because after school ended, I was in an intellectual rut the size of my Norton Critical Theory book. (ironic analogy, I know...) Thankfully I got my creative groove back and this blog is one of the representations of that. While creative genius can be a curse (eg. Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, etc.) so much beauty, majesty, and passion is revealed about people by the ways they creatively express themselves. I promise that my need and desire to create is positive and I cannot wait to share myself with all of you fine readers! Blue skies and beautiful thoughts, Mere :)