Cancer Free at 33, but Weighing a Mastectomy

This article was so moving i was about to cry at the end of it. It's incredibly upsetting that this woman had to learn about her dangerously high risk of developing breast cancer while she's at such a young age. The anxiety it puts her through is devastating. While many people would see the availability of a DNA test so that she can take preventative measures as a positive thing, I can see it as incredibly tearing. It would be so hard to know the fate of your health and not take action on it, but when that action is extremely drastic, it's just as tough to make a move as it is not to. It's a huge gambling game. She struggled with this decision, and turned to her family to help, all of whom weren't particularly supportive. The main reason she struggled with the decision to prevent breast cancer or not, is because it meant a mastectomy, which means removing her breasts, and although she could get implants (reconstructive surgery) it wouldn't be the same. She would look different, feel different, and no longer would she have the option to breast feed. So in a way, this is a form of body modificaiton, but for a very different reason than in our previously discussed articles. Those people modified their bodies to look different in order to stand out, when all this woman wants to is remain healthy so that she can have children, and raise a happy, healthy family. She's actually the opposite of them in the way that she would much rather not have to modify her body, but feels complied to do so in order to maintain her future health.

"Mark and Shawn: Flagrantly Queer"

This part of the essay talks about a couple of two gay males, who are very interested in body modification. They own a body modification shop together to help other people obtain similar experiences to those that are very significant to them. Mark and Shawn believe that body modification is a very intimate, symbolic ritual. I feel like i keep learning more and more from these essays that we read... Mark and Shawn are into piercings, brandings, tattoos, and they each have extenders in their ears. They do these things to be different, and to display a part of themselves to the community. I guess some people have very different motives when they take part in body modification. I never really realized it was such a big experience and such a big part of some peoples' lives. At one point in the interview Mark talks about how it's even an emotional experience, and how they do it surrounded by lots of people who care about them. Because of this significance, Mark also talks about his disapproval of frats taking part in activities such as branding. I can see how if this is such an important experience for him that it can be frustrating or even upsetting to see college kids participating in this ritual which for them has no real significance beyond a hazing activity. When these students walk around with brandings that mean nothing, this inadvertently decreases the significance of their personal body modifications, which mean much, much more. They no longer seem any different because it becomes a common practice, just like piercing your ears is. Everyone has it, so their purpose is now completely defeated.

"Body Artists Customize your Flesh?"

This is an interesting subject to read about. I guess just how there are people who like having a lot of piercings or tattoos on their body, there are people who like to have implanted shapes. This is an odd idea to me, but I like to try to respect other people's personal decisions that they've made for various reasons if not just to be different. However, the medical aspect that is discussed in this article is worrying to me. Changing your looks on the outside when it puts you at a large risk for permanent deformity or infection, it's just not worth it. People making this decision need to make sure they're going to a certified medical doctor who knows what they're doing, and the people attempting these procedures should have malpractice insurance and be in a safe, sterile environment that will provide the best scenario for their patients. It's disrespectful to those who you're working with as well as your family and friends to disregard your own safety and wellbeing, because many more people are affected by your poor choices than just you.

In response to Danielle's "I HATE MeMe Roth"

I also, was shocked by the video we watched in class today. In all seriousness, when the news clip of MeMe Roth came on the screene I thought it was some sort of a joke. I completely agree with Danielle... who does this woman think she is to judge others like this? This woman is indeed very opinionated, and but like Danielle said, "She has a major in PR and Marketing so what gives her the qualification to call someone overweight?" This woman has absolutely no right to be on the news judging anyone's right to success based on their appearance. I was shocked that she was calling Jordan Sparks obese. Different people have different body types and living styles. Their health and their weight is their own personal business, and any health issues that may or may not arise are also their own responsibility to deal with. When MeMe suggested that Jordan shouldn't be the next American Idol soley based on her weight, I agree with Danielle that it was completely uncalled for and ridiculous. To me, it just makes MeMe look bad, and shows that she judges people on their looks only. If America can learn to look past outer beauty and see people for their personality and talents, which is obviously what America is doing on American Idol, I think we're a lot better off than if we're worrying about being a couple of pounds heavier than a supermodel.

honestly people...

After reading the two articles from this week I have lost a little more hope for the human race.

I knew people discriminated against others of opposite skin colors and races and religions/beliefs, and I believe i've already stated my thoughts on that being completely ridiculous... but with that already being such a big issue, do people really need to be discriminating against different shades of color within their own religion/culture????!?!??!?!? i'm in shock. I had no idea that, for example, Indian women find it a very negative thing to be a darker shade of their skin tone. This quote really stood out to me as I read Nicole Leistikow's piece... "When I was a child my grandmother took me to one side and said make sure you're good at something, no man will ever marry you for your looks," the word that came to mind was pretty much... "honestly??" and I had no idea "skin lightening" products were such a huge industry. i'm all for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I guess if companies really want to market these products, they should have the right to do that. we certainly alter enough other aspects of our body... but I of course do not agree that these brands should be such a huge market. They only are because of the belief that dark skin is bad, and bc we listen to everything the media tells us, and this is a perfect example- im confident that this idea wouldn't be around today without some type of reinforcement. it doesnt effect your health, your personality or your intelligence.
... otherwise no way these would be multi-million dollar industries. we make them that way.

Hairpeace

This article was a little confusing at first. I couldn't really tell what the author was getting at, and didn't understand what she was even complaining about. My thought is that possibly she was being partially sarcastic about her need to fulfill a quota of hair stories because it can be such a huge deal to people, and she's trying to make out the point that it's just hair, and although she used to spend 2 hours a day obsessing over it being straight and perfect and not the way she wanted it, she finally realized, at age 18 that it just wasn't worth it anymore. She was supposed to "fix" her hair to make it "good hair" instead of letting it be natural. She shares stories with the reader that exemplify how much (excuse my language) shit that people gave her over her hair being curly instead of wavy and beautiful and strait. By half way through the piece i managed to understand this general idea of what she was getting at, and she really makes a good point. It's sad that people feel they need to change their own image to be right, and even worse that those people judge others for not doing the same. I also like the title that Pearl Cleage gave her piece. hairPEACE.... implying the ending of per story where she comes to peace with her hair, and realizes that she doesn't need to alter her body in order to be beautiful, bc she already is.

Essay 2

I ended up writing my essay about gender roles, and how they effect athletics in American culture, and I was really happy about how it turned out. I discussed how these gender roles can negatively impact both men and women, and how they are enforced by the media, our peers, and older and influential people surrounding us in our community. It really made me think about how these ideas of "normal" impact my daily life, and how they have a huge effect on how i view people and events in my daily life.
I really like what the other two people in my editing group did with their essays too. It's interesting to see different people's thoughts on normalcy, and how they express their specific area of interest pertaining to it. I learned a lot by reading their essays both about them and about the subjects they chose to write about. Through reading and editing other peers' papers I feel like i learn more about my own style of writing, because i can compare the way that i write to theirs, and it makes me think more about how to better express my ideas and thoughts.

Essay 2 Topic

I have to confess I haven't started writing my rough draft of this essay yet, and one of the main reasons is that I'm having trouble deciding what to write it on. I'm going in the direction of option 3. I think it would be interesting to write and explore how we push normalcy in our culture, because we really do. We even lie to ourselves about it... such as we say different it good... you should be an individual... as long as the way in which you decide to be an individual is in an accepted way that's normal. The assignment sheet says to pick one body-related issue to discuss, and I think gender roles and expectations would be very interesting. This is definitely seen in tv shows and advertisements. Gender roles have existed since the beginning of time, although some of the changes in our culture that have and are taking place make this an even more interesting topic, bc a lot of the new ideas allow for much more flexibility in one gender than the other, which leads to major questioning of what those normal gender roles now are.

"Cultural Fixions of the Freak Body"

As I read this essay, I kept going back the the statement that said, "Who’s exploitative, the critic who condemns the performer or the producer who pays him a salary?" I think this was a very interesting comment. The thing is, it is ultimately the choice of the performer whether or not they want to take the job, and be labeled as a "freak." I think it actually may be rude to assume that people who would not be a candidate for this show to judge those who are in it. They may be perfectly fine being called a freak. It doesn't necessarily have to have bad connotations with it. Obviously people pay money to see the interesting things they can do with their body... i think that's kind of cool. So the critics who wanted to get rid of the term "freak," may actually be doing their would-be-clients a disservice. They didn't ask for help, but the critics created a problem for them. If they want that job, and they want the salary, I feel like the critic is the one being exploitative, because they're the ones who gave the negative connotation to the word "freak," and the job these people have. It's just an interesting topic to think about, and I think an individual's view would definitely depend on their own personal experiences, but I definitely feel like the critic is doing the performers a disservice in this situation.

in response to Danielle's Post "What is Normal?"

I agree with Danielle about the movie "freaks" that we watched in class. I definitely made me think about the concept of normalcy, and that your personal view of what is and is not normal is based on your perspective. People from different backgrounds would definitely see all of this differently. Like Danielle said, we tend to judge people's "normalcy" based on how they look to us. If they have a characteristic that stands out to us as not the same as everyone else, we say that is abnormal. That characteristic should be respected though, and not criticized. We're all freaks, just in our own ways, some of which are more readily noticeable than others. People who look different on the outside still have the same potential to be decent people as people who fit into the "normal" category. The movie "freaks," shows us that these people who do not necessarily look the same actually turned out to be the decent human beings, who looked out for their friends, and helped those in need, and didn't take advantage of the situation. The "normal" people in the circus were the ones plotting, manipulating, taking advantage. I guess it just goes to show, don't judge a book by it's cover.

In Response to Christine's "Advertising"

I agree with Christine's thoughts on "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt." This article and our class discussion really made me think about some of that tactics that advertisers may be using to get us to notice and purchase their products. Some of the ideas that the author had about the ads seemed a little ridiculous and like she was over analyzing what the ad was saying, but at the same time, we have to realize that these ads are gradually impacting our society and the way we think. If society sees certain things in magazines, although they may not agree with them, those things start to gradually become more and more of a normality and a thing of daily life. The first time we see a "riskay" type of message in an add it may shock us, but we won't believe it. However, as we see more of those ads, we are desensitized to the idea of having those types of ideas exposed to the public in the form of ads. It become okay to us bc it is the norm. We see it all the time. In this way, on individual ad is not destroying society, rather the reappearance of many different types of ads are gradually changing society's opinion of what does and doesn't belong in a magazine, or an a billboard.

"The Masculine Mystique"

This piece, is sort of an interview with Stallone about his new decision to become a different type of man. He's known to most from his boxing movies. He's a very masculine man. Is that possible? In today's society have have a certain set of perceived guidelines for how a male vs a female should look and behave. For men, i think it's probably a worse thing then for women nowadays. Men should be tall and strong. They should be unemotional and able to cope with whatever life throws at them. However, for women, we are not expected to be taller or stronger than men... actually we should be the opposite. Society says that we should be the more docile of the two sexes and that we should be more concerned with how we look and what people think of us. However it's much more exceptable for us to be emotional and vulnerable, whereas this is not ok for men. Stallone was the stereotypical strong, masculine figure... and this is also who he played in his movies. The very muscular, deep voice, ready-to-fight type person. The interview is about how he decided to change this. He wanted to be in a movie about a nobody type person, and had to put on a lot of weight (aka stay out of the gym and eat a completely opposite diet) in order to do it. What he realized, and says in the interview is that by being heavier, society doesn't treat him the same anymore. We have such a standard for how these people should look that we take a once respected actor and just because he has gained weight (even though its just for a movie) he has lost respect and standing with his fans. They don't want to come see him in his movies because he doesn't represent that strong masculine character that we all want to watch. I just think it's interesting to hear his point of view on this being someone who actually made the transition and has literally been on both sides of the fence. I guess our society wants what it wants.

in response to ellen's post about "The Combat Zone"

I agree with Ellen's thoughts on "the combat zone." overall, this piece had a strong, well meaning message, but i dont think it's one that many women can directly apply to themselves. Yes, women need to face the facts that the idea of female helplessness is not just a traditional stereotype. Men, on a whole tend to be larger and stronger than the majority of women in our population. Vigilance and self defense, especially in secluded areas or late at night, is a must. But i can't agree that all women should carry a gun as a means of an equalizer. As ellen mentioned, a gun can and is likely to be used against you if you don't know what you're doing. I feel like by carrying a gun you might become more paranoid about people following you, and being jumpy could cause you to pull out the gun in unnecessary situations. A gun should be a very last resort, not a first. It might be a much better idea for women who are concerned about their safety to take a class on self defense, and get into good shape so they know how to defend themselves. Preventative measures are the best.

those (unnerving??) ads using real women

These two articles that we have for Wednesday are really interesting. One is about the dove campaign for "real beauty" and the other is about men's underwear advertising. I have seen ads for the dove campaign before on tv, and i've of course seen the bill boards that they mentioned. I thought it was a really cool idea, and brave of dove to incorporate real women in their ads, rather than skinny 100lb 6 foot super models. I found the article "those unnerving ads using real women" annoying. This women rants about dove using real women, and how they're in the underwear on huge bill boards. I disagree with her. I mean, dove is a company, and they have the right to do whatever they want. The women in the ads are there by choice. It's not vulgar, and i dont find it disturbing in the least. Yes, i believe that at least in part the company is doing this for money, and because its a good advertising scheme. Of course they aren't doing it just to change peoples' images of themselves. but i think this woman is just making herself look insecure by criticizing the fact that average sized middle aged women will put themselves out there in their underwear. If you were to compare this ad to the women in tiny bikinis holding alcohol on billboards, im not sure the dove ad looks so bad anymore. I think its good for society to finally realize that real women are not sticks, and so i think dove's idea is kinda cool. these women are just putting themselves out there and saying here, are you a real person? our product is for you. we don't promise to make you look impecable, and we admit that all the people who use our product do not become super models overnight. if its raisesing their sales, good for them. big companies and their advertising have a big impact on the way that other people think, and so this is a much better thing for people to be seeing than a lot else thats out there in the media.

something i don't think i'll ever understand...

The two readings that we have for Friday are both about color/race, and as I read them I found myself sort of surprised by the way people refer to themselves. I grew up in suburb, and it's generally made up of typical comfortable middle-class people. We have a very nice town, but we're sometimes referred to as the "bubble," because it's a calm, secluded sort of area, and very unchanging, which is very different from the nearby city. The people who originally settled the area were German farmers, and so that's pretty much who is still there. I guess it isn't a very diverse area and so maybe this is why I'm at a complete loss for understanding this sometimes, and I don't mean to be offensive in any way shape or form, but I just don't understand what the big deal is with the way people look. We all come from different ethnic backgrounds... everyone. So we're all different, right?

Each ethnic background has its own characteristics that typically accompany it. I think we should celebrate those differences because it's so cool that our country is made of up so many cultures. It's exciting that we're all different! It's like the difference between having a British accent, or Irish red hair. We may have German blue eyes, or we may have Egyptian eyes. We're still all people, these are just characteristics that go along with where we're from. These factors are celebrated, and not at all a subject of taboo. However, as soon as we move on to skin color, it can become an extremely touchy subject. Why is this? It's okay to comment on someones blond/black/red hair, but it's not so comfortable when you start talking about their black/white/yellow/brown skin??? And not only is it just an uncomfortable subject, sometimes people treat each other completely differently because of it. Does this make any sense to anyone? If it does please explain bc im lost.

I don't mean to be insensitive...I understand that there are some events in our past history that have caused a lot of racism (and this makes no sense to me either but it is in the past). We are in 2008, and it's time to get over it. People are people, and in the history of the world every race/ethnicity/culture has been prosecuted at some point. Let me repeat, everyone's background has been prosecuted at some point. So shouldn't we all be trying hard to keep things neutral now? Aren't we kind of done with discrimination? That was so the 1800's.

So why is it still such an issue now? These readings discuss people who have darker skin feeling uncomfortable in a neighborhood of mostly lighter skinned people. So let me get this strait... if you're blond are you going to be upset if everyone on your street has brown hair?? I don't think anyone has the right to make anyone else feel uncomfortable anymore than that second party has to make them feel uncomfortable regardless of hair color or skin tone or whatever people are going to come up with next. Whatever you look like, wherever you're from... flaunt it because it's beautiful, and don't ever let anyone make you question that.

"The Socks" -Marjane Satrapi

I really enjoyed reading this. It was a really different format, but I feel like Satrapi managed to get her point across much better in this manner than she would have accomplished any other way. The "graphic novel" illustrates her experiences in Tehram, and how the culture in the area was very difficult for her to adapt to. I can't imagine living in an area where you aren't allowed to wear what you want, have to keep everything covered and the rules are extremely strict. I think by illustrating her story, Satrapi makes it easy for the reader to relate to it. If i were reading about this situation it would be so absurd to me that it would almost seem unreal. The fact that I am looking at faces who are speaking actual words makes me realize that there really are cultures where women, just like us in the US, have practically no rights. It's almost incomprehensible that a government would have the power to be forcing women to always fully cover themselves, and not look at men, and not be able to run in public. I can't imagine showing wearing makeup or showing my wrist as a form of rebellion... those are things people in our culture do without even considering that it would be unacceptable. It never ceases to amazing me just exactly how much we take for granted in our lives.

In Response to Ali's Post on "Body Collage"

I read Ali's post about her experience writing her body collage, and I agree that it was a nice change-up from high school to be writing about ourselves rather than a random topic. I felt like it was sort of a self exploration piece to see what we could come up with. It took some creativity to come up with how exactly to present the story, but I feel like the steps we did in class really helped lead into our papers. I also feel a little insecure about my writing, and am a little anxious to see what my peer-editors had to say about what i wrote, especially since we were writing about such personal subjects. However, it will be nice to have feedback from both our peers and teacher. I agree with Ali that the input will definitely be a great way to improve upon my writing.

Essay 1

I have started the rough draft of my essay, and I'm really happy with my first vignette. I wrote about my 5th grade self, which is before I had any incidents with my ankles that meant large changes for me. I decided to do this because of what we talked about in class Monday. I think it's a really good way to start off the piece. For my second vignette I think I'm going to talk about the first ankle injury i sustained... and how although i was always getting cuts and scrapes i never actually had any real injury before this incident. It was in 6th grade while i was at gymnastics, and this also affected me because it made me really realize my love for gymnastics because of how much i missed it while i was out. It's surprising how much insight breaking and ankle can give to a 11 year old. I'm not sure how much space this will take up, but I'd like to maybe just briefly mention how many other ankle injuries I've had, and then talk about high school next, and how I hurt my ankle before varsity gymnastics sectionals in my senior year and wasn't able to compete, but that I managed to rehab it and get ready for club competitive season... and was able to qualify for state championships, then regional championships and missed national championships by .25 of a point. i think it's interesting how my several ankle injuries have definitely set me back in gymnastics, but at the same time i think they may actually be the reason i am so dedicated to gymnastics because of what I've had to work through, and all of those injuries are pretty much the reason for the major that i'm in right now.

In Response to Jodi's post On Stuttering

I completely agree with what Jodi says about stuttering. The way that Hoagland he wrote the piece really made me think about what he was going through because of the way he talked. I also agree that its interesting how he was able to speak without the stutter more successfully if he was fired up about something. As I read her post, it reminded my of a couple of people in my life who have a stutter when they speak. At time's it may be a little difficult to listen to them, but I really don't even notice it anymore. A history teacher I had in my junior year of high school had a stutter, and still managed to teach classes 5 times a day. We quickly grew accustomed to it, and I don't remember anyone making any comments to him or about him because of it, but I guess it never really occurred to me that he might be self-conscious about it. His job required him to expose his stutter to high school kids, who can be absolutely brutal. I realize now that to get up in front of his classes every day might have been a much tougher thing for him than I would have ever thought. Hoagland talks about how his stuttering influenced him to become a writer, so that he wouldn't be forced to speak as often. It made me almost feel proud of my history teacher because of what he overcomes every day in order to do what he loves.

"At War with My Skin" -John Updike

"At War with My Skin," by John Updike, was very interesting. There are a couple of things that he did in his story that I really like a lot. The first is that he manages to share the personal details of his story with the reader without making his story a complete pity party. He understands his skin condition, and definitely was self-conscious about it throughout his life, however writes that he had come to the realization that really another condition could have been a lot worse. He starts to call it a disease, but stops because "disease seems strong, for a condition that is not contagious, painful, or debilitating." It sort of makes the reader think about how much a more serious disorder would have such a greater impact on everything that most people would consider activities of daily living. But still, he lets his psoriasis stop him from doing a lot for a superficial disease. The other thing I really like about his writing is his use of "scab picking." This phrase really stood out to me as he used it to describe what he was doing. This is a comparison that all readers would be able to relate to, which makes it a much strong way to describe how he feels about this.

"Free Union" -Andre Breton

I read the assigned poem "Free Union" by Andre Breton, and found it interesting, and I must admit slightly disturbing. Throughout the entire poem, Breton is describing his wife using all different sorts of metaphors to compare physical aspects of her body to inanimate objects. He begins at the top of her body with her hair and teeth, and moves on down to her "rump," and then finally finishes by describing her eyes. By using metaphors instead of similes, he is saying that his wife is this perfect image, rather than that she is comparable all of these nice ideas. This makes his voice and description much more straightforward and sincere. My first time through reading the poem, I began to picture a very beautiful, delicate and graceful woman. He achieved this immediate effect because of those metaphors.
However, on a more personal level, the second time I read through the poem I began to find it a little creepy. Breton really focuses in on his wife's specific physical aspects, and not on the happy quirks in her personality, or the way she makes him feel. He sees every aspect of her body as impeccable, and wants his readers to be as drawn into that as he is.

"beauty when the other dancer is the self" -Alice Walker

I found "Beauty when the other dancer is the Self," by Alice Walker to be very interesting. I enjoyed her writing style, and the amount of detail that she is able to put into her memories. It made her overall message much more clear, because she was able to tie everything in together at the end. Another thing I found interesting is that Walker wrote the entire piece in the present tense. Instead of saying "When I was eight years old, I was a tomboy," she writes "I am eight years old and a tomboy." I think this puts the readers in the mindset of picturing the memory as kind of a flashback rather than a story. The first flashback describes how she felt before her brother accidently shot her in the eye, and how confident and sure she feels of herself. For example although she was very young, when her father was deciding who to bring to the fair with him, she knew she would be chosen, and tells her father "Take me, Daddy, I'm the prettiest!" In the flashbacks that follow the "accident," she feels unsure of herself and ends of focusing on the negative things around her, rather than being her old positive self. She looses confidence because of the white scar tissue on her face. She says how she wouldn't look up at anyone because of "the hideous scar. Later on she asks her family if she changed after the accident and they tell her no. However, she disagrees. This is because she lost confidence in herself, and until the scar tissue was removed, she did not regain that confidence. She felt that others were looking at it when really the only one who cared was her. Until she has her first child, she does not realize that she has nothing to be ashamed of. Her 3 year old daughter comments on how amazing the blind eye is, and how it is a world, and beautiful.