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Salem's "Strength Is Not How Much Muscle You Have" Post: I completely agree with what you're saying. Concrete stereotypes don't do anyone good, and they leave each of us feeling isolated and alone in our suffering. However, it's hard to escape the stereotypes. A lot of people feel like they cannot break down the walls that the media has used to confine them without ostracizing themselves entirely. The dynamic feels very much like it is confined within the lines of "either/or." It's hard to watch my male friends wrestle with their masculinity, just as it's difficult to watch my female friends struggle with defining their femininity. I also have friends who don't identify with any one of these categories, and defining what exactly that means to them has proved very difficult. Everyone wants to feel like they belong, but no one wants to feel like their have to sacrifice their authenticity. Because of this, we feel an intense, frustrating sense of cognitive dissonance, and we don't know what to do with ourselves. And in all of time, we haven't found a solution. I thought that you put the problem very eloquently, and I enjoyed you post.

Blaise's "Emotional Pack Mule" Post: I think that you make an interesting point - one that I as a woman might never be able to fully understand. However, I think that the association of sternness with masculinity and vulnerability with femininity works both ways. I do not display any feelings of sadness or emotion publicly because I do not want to be told that I am "too feminine," or that my thoughts are illegitimate because I am female and therefore "too emotional." As a consequence, suppressed emotion builds up inside of me and oozes out of me as anger and frustration. I hope that we can start to alter the narrative now. I hope that the men in my life can start to feel authorized to talk about their feelings without fear of judgement and that the women around me are able to stop exaggerating their emotions because they think it will make them more feminine and stop hiding their emotions for the sake of keeping up appearances.

Comments

Why? (Post 5)

Social media baffles me. I, being the grandmotherly woman that I am, have tried to steer as far away from it as possible. However, it seems like a majority of the youth population has willingly embraced it as part of their lives. I do not understand why. Some of my friends, particularly those from ostracized groups, tend to use it as a way to connect with their communities. My queer friends who feel isolated at school use it to connect with others who share the same experiences in the hopes of feeling less alone. My Jewish friends use it to keep tabs on the people we've met at summer camp. Others use it as a convenient communication platform in the cases where iMessage doesn't suffice. But when I talk to most of the people my age about why they use social media, they say that they aren't totally sure. I've been told that it's just a part of culture. But I don't seem to grasp why is has to continue to be a part of the way we interact. What about the correl...

An Ode to Barbara (Post 8)

One of the people interviewed in the PBS Frontline episode "Merchants of Cool" was 13-year-old Barbara, who epitomized the impact of media on youths and youth culture. Barbara, who had grown up watching Brittany Spears and the other over-sexualized Midriffs of the world, was intent on becoming a model and looking like the women she had seen on TV. And it broke my heart. It was horrifying that a child, a 13-year-old girl, was so moved by the image of femininity forced on her by advertising that she flew to the International Model and Talent Association's annual convention and walked on a stage to be judged by adults who wanted to use her in advertising campaigns that would further perpetuate the stereotypes she fell prey to and line their pockets with money. She beamed when she was told that she could pass for a 16 or 17-year-old, and she was told that she was a "good girl," when she said that her main goal was "success." She wore skimpy, sexualiz...

"Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." (Post 3)

Many of the ideas presented in The Persuaders , a documentary on the advertising industry by Frontline PBS, both shocked me and rang alarmingly true. The line that struck me most was, "Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." As sickening as this concept is, I think we can all accept that there's truth to it. Humans feel the need to be accepted, and when they're not receiving the validation they want from the people around them, they turn to something with which they can affiliate. This is where advertising is successful. Cults require social sacrifice and the worship of an immediately visible leader. Brands are simply more convenient. They require monetary sacrifice of a certain, specified amount, and you don't ever have to see the faces of the people whose pockets you're lining. And all the while, your affiliation with that brand gets you the social acceptance you have always longed for. When an individual becomes affiliated with a brand to t...

Unsolicited Commentary From the Youth Perspective

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