The Fat Boy Chronicles

So, it never fails...I get sick every year around Halloween. I feel like my head is the size of a watermelon. To top that off, I havent slept well this past week, so I am incredibly exhausted! Regardless of how I feel though, I still have to work. I still have to go to school. I still have to do papers and projects :) andddd I still have to put on a happy face for the Halloween party I am attending tomorrow night!!! :)

So, in my last blog I said I would write about representation from my text book....well my text book is at home, so I am going to side track a little bit because I am writing this while I am at work.

For this project, I have to have three text references. One will be from my text about representation (i swear it will be my next entry!!!) and the second one will be from a book that I just read for my health and physical science education class.

The book is called The Fat Boy Chronicles. This book was fabulous. It was about a boy however. But, for the purposes of gender studies, what happends in the book can surely happen to women also.

The Fat Boy Chronicles is about a boy named Jimmy who is way over weight for his age. He is a freshman in high school and is 5'5". As you can guess, everyone makes fun of him because of his weight. It is very sad that kids made fun of him so bad!!! So, bullying and body image is the message for this blog. And...this is a true story by the way!

I wont go into details about the book because it is a classic case of a boy in high school that is bullied. However, this book has a happy ending. Jimmy is a Christian boy who loved going to church and who had a very supportive family. With the help of both of his parents, he decided to lose the weight. 60 POUNDS to be exact. He did it in 7 MONTHS!!!! He felt so much better about himself, and even got a girl friend!!! Kids at school still bullied him a little, but the joke was more on them in the end :)

Overall, this book really inspired me to conquer my goals. I have lost almost 30 pounds and still have 20 more to go. I am ready to lose that weight!!!

I liked this book because it can really relate to the problems that women have. It doesnt just teach you about how to diet and get healthy. It teaches a lesson that anyone can use for all of their problems. Jimmy had his faith and family support, but most importantly he had the desire to lose the weight so he literally wouldnt die. By Jimmy conquering his weight, he can use those same methods for all the aspects in his life. 

Women (i know because I am female!) can have many problems, and they can easily let those problems build up on top of one another. However, using coping strategies and having self confidence can truly help you conquer anything!!!!

I guess the moral to this book is to never give up. Jimmy could have killed himself and he did think about it. BUT he didnt. Jimmy knew he was better than that and when he put his mind to something, he achieved his goal.

In today's society, women are under a lot of pressure and I think it is important to hear success stories like Jimmy's to keep us going sometimes. It is so easy to get lost in the world, and the pressure of all of our surroundings is too much sometimes. There are soooo many people getting bullied and pressured for the correct body-image these days, and we really need to sit back and figure out how to stop this epidemic.

Maybe self-confidence is the answer....that's what Jimmy had...???

I encourage everyone to read this book. It is really great and I am very proud of Jimmy for not letting the pressures around him get the best of him. And I hope that everyone reading this does what Jimmy did. Never let people put you down. You be the better person!!! I promise it feels good to have self-confidence...it is probably the best feeling in the world!

CARRIE UNDERWOOD IS AMAZING!!!!!!

Hello loves! So, like I said in my last blog, I had two test yesterday and then I went to the Carrie Underwood concert. Well, although I was soooo super stressed studying for my exams, I am pretty sure I got two A's on my test yesterday! YAY! Go me! It is sooooo nice getting good grades! Then, I attended the Carrie Underwood concert that Billy Curington opened. Billy is pretty sexy!!! He is an awesome singer, and his songs are really fun :)

But the main event was all about 

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

I am amazed at how spectacular she is.

She is my idol and inspiration.

Besides the lights and the cool set, Carrie did things that truly surprised me. Carrie Underwood got her fame from American Idol. She is from an extremely small town and is a devoted Christian. While she was singing Jesus Take The Wheel, She broke into a gospel for about 2 minutes. It was awesome. How many singers today show their faith to everyone? NOT MANY!!!!! Many of her songs either mention her faith or God, and that is truly inspiring. I like being a hard core fan of a singer with wonderful and true values that I have also.

Since this class is about gender studies, I also wanted to talk about how Carrie was represented. Carrie probably had about 6 outfits last night. EVERY ONE of the outfits were classy. She wore two short dresses, but they were never short enough that someone could see something they werent supposed to. She also wore two big dresses, and then had a few cute outfits with leggings and jeans.

So, let me get this straight....she is classy and a Christian...Carrie Underwood is an inspiration and she represents herself so well. She is someone who has never lost sight of what is important in her life. I was in awe last night watching her. She has it all. I think it is rare today to find famous people that are actually good people. Carrie is such an amazing role model, and I am glad I FINALLY got to see her in real life. She is my faveeee! But...I think many singers, actors, etc. lose themselves once they become famous, but Carrie hasn't (and I hope she never does!) and that is awesome.

Some examples of people that have lost themselves are Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. These two girls had three phases in their careers....sweet and innocent, crazy and rebellious, and then to sophisticated and restructured. Although these girls have gotten their lives straightened out, they still lost themselves for a period of time and that was not how they wanted to represent themselves! It is sooo easy to misrepresent yourself in today's culture.

Well, I am at work, so when I get home I will talk more about representation according to my textbook. Representation has been one of my favorite topics in the book and I think it really important in today's society. See you later guys!!!! :)

(Ill also post a pic or two of the concert last night because it was SOOOOOOO super duper awesome!)

Reality TV? NOT reality TV!

hello hello hello! 

I have been sooooooo super busy the past few days. I hate it when everything happends at the same time. Like for this week, I have two test, and the Carrie Underwood concert and HALLOWEEN!!!! yay! I havent dressed up for Halloween in years, but this year I am. I am going to be Sammy from the Jersey Shore. It is going to be sooo funny! Talk about body image.....the girls on Jersey Shore have all the self confidence in the world to be wearing what they are wearing. But anyways....it should be really fun :) I just have to make sure I have my fist pump down. (Not really!)

So since the last time I wrote, I have been thinking a lot about this project....what I am going to write about each time and what not. I really wanted to do well on this assignment, so it took me two months to even figure out what I wanted to do. So, I apologize to my teacher for starting this blog so late. However, I wanted to make sure I got something out of this assignment, so I am glad that I actually took my time to figure out what I would get the most out of. 

Now to todays topic. This is going to be a fun one!!! Well...it will probably only be fun for the people that actually watch reality TV. Otherwise, you may not get what I am saying.

TV has had an amazing history and an outrageous effect on culture! I remember growing up and not having anyyyyy reality television shows. Now turn on your TV and tell me how many reality shows are on. It is crazy how many reality tv shows come one in this day and age. I have to admit too, that I am a reality tv show junky. I love it! I cant get enough of it!!!! Now, I know that most of it isnt really reality, but hey! it is entertaining!!!

So instead of just talking all about reality tv, I want to just focus on a few areas of this very wide network. The first thing I want to talk about is The Hills, which used to be on MTV. (I was so incredibly sad when they stopped running it!) The second reality tv show I want to talk about is Jersey Shore. (That show is so addicting!) And lastly, I want to talk about Keeping Up with the Kardashians. (I love these girls!)

(http://www.mtv.com/photos/the-hills-season-5-cast/1608233/3806011/photo.jhtml)

First comes first! The Hills!!!! I miss this show sooooo much! I like this picture above because it really shows you all the characters in the show. 

So? Is The Hills real or fake? It is both from what I here. What do yall think? I think a lot of the story lines are real, but there is no way that a lot of the conversations seen on the show were not egged on! NO WAY! If reality tv is like this though, you know, real and fake, then why do people watch reality tv?

Like I said above, IT IS ENTERTAINING!!!!! 

The Hills started with Lauren and Heidi moving to Los Angeles. They were best friends and trying to become known in the fashion world. However, their friendship was split up when Heidi chose her very nasty and rude and horrible boyfriend Spencer over Lauren. From here, the story line was based around Spencer and Heidi versus Lauren. To this day, Im pretty sure that Lauren will not ever be best friends with Heidi again because of Spencer. Also, rumor has it that Spencer and Heidi are NOT getting a divorce. Boo! I was hoping they would.

(http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/1825721/the-hills-season-5-promos-01/)

Anyways, reality tv really sucks you in. I mean, you can see from what I just wrote, that I am just about obsessed with the Hills. And why? Because they are gorgeous people living a fabulous life and they have drama just like everyone else in the world. (I must say my drama has never equaled to the drama in this show though. Thank goodness!)

This brings me to my next reality tv show that of course is on MTV also, is Jersey Shore! This show is a reality TV show phenomenon. The cast to this show is EVERYWHERE!!!! I mean, come on, I am being Sammy for Halloween!  

(http://thenextreporter.com/jg/jersey-shore-season-2-episode-4-breaking-up/089063/)

There they are! The very unique cast of the Jersey Shore! Man o' man...I do not even know where to start with this show. This show is so ridiculous. But I do love it. This show is about 8 people that are from New Jersey that were picked to live in a house together for I think about three months. These 8 people brought a whole new outlook to what Jersey is like. These 8 people are fist pumping wild animals! They not only introduced the fist pump, but a whole new language! For example, smooshing and grenades. If you have never seen the show, then you have no idea what these two words mean, but if you do watch the show, then you are probably just laughing.

This show is extremely, extremely popular. And just like The Hills, it is popular because it is entertaining. Although, I think this show is just so stupid, you have to watch. :)

(http://www.episodeshowcase.com/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-s5-e3-the-missing-ring)

Last but not least, is Keeping Up with the Kardashians! This reality TV show is about three sisters and there very busy and fabulous lives. I had never heard of any of these girls until this show came one. I was like "who are these girls?" Little did I know that really they are just three lucky girls that happen to have a step-father who was an Olympian gold metalist and a real father who was in the music business I think. 

Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim all have extraordinary lives. They own nice things, and basically get whatever they want, and when they want it! The characters on this show are really down to earth and they are just too much fun to watch! This show is hilarious, and is truly entertaining!

So, overall, reality TV shows are one of a kind. Some are realer and some are faker than others. I do not think we will ever really know what is real and what is fake, but I think if we knew the whole truth, then we wouldnt watch these shows. Our culture loves these shows, and I do not think they are going anywhere any time soon. Also, why do we watch these so called reality shows? We watch them because they are entertaining and fun. Something interesting always happens in thee shows, and I think it is 30 minutes to an hour that we do not have to worry about what is happening in our lives! Maybe an escape route from our own lives?

Well, I guess this wraps up my second blog. Im really enjoying this blogging thing! It is fun and it is nice to put my words on paper and not worry about grammar and all that fun stuff. 

So, make sure you watch some reality tv for me this week. I will be!!!!

My first blog---body image!!!

Hello!!!! I have created this blog because I am taking a Gender for Women Studies class and this is my project! My project consist of writing about cultural, social or political commentary through blogging. I have never blogged before, so I thought that blogging instead of doing community service would be a new way for me to do class work. So, since this is my blog, I am going to get comfortable, and let my thoughts flow freely. Sorry if I offend anyone, but I don't think I will!

i think i am going to focus my blog on one central theme. i think this theme will be how women are portrayed in the media. i think i, and many people could probably write a few books on this topic, but im just going to blog around ten hours about this subject. i am a very organized person, so i think i will come in each time i blog and write about one central thing/ idea. Hopefully i can blog for about an hour each time, so this will only consist of 10 blogs. (maybe a little more if necessary)

i think the first thing i want to talk about is something everyone sees everyday. No, im not talking about the TV. Im talking about magazine covers. Think about it, every check out line you are in, you see about 20 different magazines, and most of them have a women on the front dressed in nice to sexy clothes, and all-in-all, looks fabulous. I have to admit that when I look at these covers, I am jealous of these women. I am not an obese woman or anything, but i could stand to lose 20 pounds to be back to my high school skinny look! lol. I really envy these women, but then i look back at the big picture...most of these women, maybe for example jessica biel, work their butts off to look that good! One thing i like about jessica biel is that she is not afraid to admit that she works out all the time and cant eat Burger King everyday to have a nice body. She is a true role model!

But back to the real story about magazine covers. 

body image! photoshop! body image! photoshop! body image! photoshop! 

i am a communications major and in a lot of my classes we talk about ethics when it comes to magazine covers and photoshop. One prime example of a magazine doing a very unethical thing to a certain celebrity is...................GQ Magazine and Kate Winslet!!! 

(This picture is from http://www.zeberka.pl/art.php?id=5206)

REALLY???? Look at Kate's body on the right side...she looks fabulous!!!!! Then look at her on the left side. Do you see what I see? A few things to point out, which were first pointed out to me in one of my comm classes, is her waist, thighs, and calfs. Yes, the picture on the left looks hot, but it is photoshopped like crazy and portrays winslet as being overly skinny. Most women cant even get that skinny no matter how hard they try!!! 

So now, the question is...is this ethical? I say NO! NO! NO! Unless...you were to get the actresses permission first. On an ethical basis, I think that a little photoshop here and there isn't a big deal. But this was altered so much that even Kate Winslet made a statement saying that she does not look like that, and that she is happy the way she looks in the picture to the right. Kate Winslet is another woman  who is a very good role model, and I do not think she would have EVER let that magazine on the stands if she would 

have seen it before it was distributed. 

Magazine covers are such a joke. What is real? What is fake? I don't know. No one knows. 

I think that editing like this should not be allowed anywhere! From Kate Winslet's point of view, this magazine is just saying that it is okay to portray her body that way even though its not the truth. I guess some celebrities wouldn't care, but I sure would. 

So what do magazines such as Seventeen & Cosmopolitan tell young girls walking past them? I think this is a real big problem. Body image is soooooo important to young girls, and having this GQ magazine displayed tells little girls that they have to look that way 

in order to be cool and accepted. This is very sad...because it does not just target 

young girls! I am about to be 24 and I even look at the covers and tell myself

 that I have to make a lifestyle change soon. 

I really wish body image wasn't such a big deal. What happened to liking curves and actually looking healthy? As a side note: I really enjoy the Dove commercials on TV. Women of all shapes and sizes who are proud of their body and flaunt it!!! Thats when the saying "You go girl!" is always appropriate! 

Well, I guess I will wrap up my first blog! I actually wrote a whole hour! yay! So I guess I will leave y'all with a few words of wisdom from me....

Always be proud of yourself and don't ever let anyone put you down. 

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!! :)