(OMG this got deleted the first time)
My response is in regards to ‘My Cosmetic Surgery’ by Cindy Jackson. Reading this, I felt both sympathy and resentment towards her. Sympathy, because as a female myself, I have felt many insecurities about my appearances. Who doesn’t really? And reading about how she went through a marathon of cosmetic surgeries, many enough to call her an addict – really saddened me and think about how awful her life must have been. To be torn with envy is hard to experience. The deep desire to be liked by someone, is too.
Near the end, she says that she ‘cut her[old self] up’ after she became this new woman. I think it is possible to change dramatically after drastic changes done to anyone’s physical appearance. Even a simple nose job, even. In fact, I believe every human being acts a certain way in public due to the way we visualise ourselves like it. People get up and dress and get ready for a reason. If people had no eyes and couldn’t judge, we would not care about our physical appearances. Beauty may be ‘in eyes of a beholder’ or ‘skin deep’, but let’s face the cold truth: It is an unbelievably powerful mental tool that controls (mostly) woman implicitly. Not everyone is born equally beautiful – as world is not fair. Some are fortunate enough to realise and accept themselves as they are, and consider beautiful hearts to be desired for more. Some don’t.
In the end, I cannot say whether I am against or for cosmetic surgery. If it helps the individual, I think it is a gift of modern technology. But also at the same time, women should fight against the stereotypical ‘beautiful’ we see on media, and have a voice for ourselves, and the realistic, natural beauty we all own.
I’m responding to the article ‘The Return of the Pig,’ by David Brooks. This article is discussing the mentality that men have towards women mostly and it mentions the mentality of women towards men. As stated in the title, ‘pig’ refers to males because they have been often referred to as male chauvinistic pigs. I’m not quite sure how that name was created. Brooks states how society views women and how they are not shown any respect. For example, on MTV and BET, women are referred to as ‘hoes’ and ‘bitches.’ This is definitely true because there aren’t many rap songs that don’t mention those words or words of greater severity. I used to listen to those kinds of songs primarily because I thought it had a catchy beat and was fun to listen to; however, the lyrics were often very offensive towards women. Brooks states that men see women as pleasure toys and not as real human beings. However, he also states that women also like to see men as pleasure toys, and the funny thing is, men do not seem to have a problem with that. However, the feminists believe that this is an important issue.
Brooks makes an interesting point stating that it is the least privileged parts of society that are most sexist, reactionary, and even materialistic. I think I know why this is so, because the least privileged are ones that receive the least education and often times their parents didn’t have a decent education either, so they cannot teach their children things that can only be taught in school. Like learning classroom rules and learning how to respect your fellow classmate. So, children see how their parents act towards other people and toward each other and imitate what they see. This is basically how our culture is. The article stated that this one guy dumped his girlfriend just because his friends said that she had him wrapped around her finger. The problem was that he still liked her but he was willing to dump her just because he was afraid of what his friends would think of him. I think that’s really sad, but he probably did that at a younger age. So, he probably wasn’t emotionally mature yet. To conclude, I strongly believe that society needs to change its view on women and start looking at them as fellow human beings and not as objects that can satisfy his needs
Comment by Therese Kochuparampil — July 6, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
My response was to the first article of the assigned reading, “The Myth of the sexual Athlete.” I thought this article was very poignant, touch upon the latent hypocrisy that sadly exists in the lives of many young males, especially within the athletic circles. The emphasis on sexual prowess and reputation, whether it is true or false is a demoralizing one, and in the face of potential embarrassment and humiliation it would seem a lot of men tend embellish upon their experience with women, something I can agree with having experienced it first hand from my friends, classmates and even my own experiences to say as a former male adolescent. Their seemed to be a sense of misogynistic competition that permeates the teenage males life, some feeling that their worth and value was questioned by the volume of their sexual conquests, and as the author pointed out this is especially true when it pertains to those geared towards winning and achieving like an athlete would be.
Comment by Marsailis Bryant — July 7, 2009 @ 6:40 am
Cindy Jackson is famous for attempting to turn herself into a “living barbie doll”, and although I feel sympathy for her, I don’t believe her when she says she is not a plastic surgery addict. She says she simply just doesn’t want to stop (getting procedures done). There is not one person in this world that is 100% happy with themselves, physically – and i have relatively liberal views with cosmetic procedures. I think if theres something about oneself that makes them feel insecure, then why not change it? Confidence makes worlds of difference in a persons life, not only socially but in every facet of life. A confident person isnt afraid to take chances and pushes for that extra step, whether it be to persue a woman (or man), or go for that promotion at work, anything – it takes a confident and content person. I don’t however believe in changing one’s entire appearance to the point where theyre unrecognizable, but who is to say what is going too far? At what point does there need to be a cap?
My response is related to the reading, ‘My Cosmetic Surgery’ by Cindy Jackson. Reading this, I sympathize with her somewhat because I know I have felt insecure about my appearance in my life. I think that envying another person for their appearance is unhealthy, but it happens sometimes. I understand the self confidence issue, but when it comes to a point where someone is getting multiple surgeries to look like someone they are not, that is going way too far. Cosmetic surgery, in my opinion, is just another reason that people are fake these days. Beauty is not only about physical appearance, and plastic surgery just makes physical appearance that much more important. People focus too much on looks these days and that is the reason plastic surgery is becoming so much more popular. People just need to learn to be happy with the way they look or learn to be happy with it. Plastic surgery is just a way to make people more fake. Why would you feel better about yourself when you look in the mirror if you are looking at someone other than yourself? I just feel that the person in this reading has horrible moral values because I don’t think I could ever look in the mirror, see someone completely different than I had always seen growing up, and be happy with that. The ranking of moral values have completely changed as time has gone on. People should be worrying about being a better person such as being more honest, happier, and even having more fun. They shouldn’t be worrying about changing their entire physical appearance to attract people that only like them for that characteristic. The people she will be attracting are people with low morals as well. I pity people that feel so down on themselves that they need to completely re-do their entire physical appearance. I don’t think that anyone should ever go through that unless they have a physical defect or something that makes them less than normal. That said, having a little excess fat or wrinkles are definitely normal things.
My response is a combination of all three of this weeks readings. They all relate to each other because the central idea is that certain genders have certain behaviours that are associated with them and almost expected from them. For example, in “Return of the Pig,” it talks about magazines and tv shows that allow men to objectify women, and the women involved in it just let it happen. I think that many women feel that they need to look a certain way to gain the attention of men (like wearing very provocative clothing) but all this does is gives men reasons to call us names. The role of men in society is also stereotyped as we can see in the “Beer Commercials” story where men are portrayed in typical roles such as sitting on the couch watching tv or playing some sport outdoors. These commercials have almost become a guideline for men on how to behave but its the beer companies that promote this because they want to sell their product. “My Cosmetic Surgery” further illustrates how women measure themselves by what men think of them. She didn’t have any self esteem when she thought she was unattractive, but as soon as men began paying attention to her, she had the confidence to do anything she wanted. I think confidence is comes from within and regardless of how you look, it’s how you carry yourself that really leaves the lasting impression.
My response this week is my reaction to Cindy Jackson’s interview with Danny Danziger. After seeing the photos of her during class, I have little sympathy for her, or anyone who gets extensive plastic surgery. In my opinion, she was not at all unattractive before she underwent her transformation. Her low opinion of her looks, coupled with her obsession with the positive features of specific classmates makes it obvious that she has some sort of mental problem. Even the most naturally beautiful women will eventually get older and less attractive, and we all know how freakish older women look when they have too much plastic surgery. Does this mean that once Cindy gets to the age where she can no longer be physically beautiful, she will no longer consider herself “the real me”, and be unhappy with herself? What will happen when the Mr. Right she could only find because she was attractive, realizes that with his money and success, he can find younger, more beautiful partners? Whether or not you were born beautiful, ugly, or made attractive with plastic surgery, we all have to accept the fact that we will not always be young and pretty, and that eventually everyone will become old and ugly. Everyone deals with this. And the fact that Cindy’s happiness depends on her physical appearance is simply pathetic. We also cannot excuse her behavior simply because she states that she felt as though she was trapped in the wrong body, like many transgendered people do. These people simply want to have a body that mirrors that of the opposite sex, and it doesn’t matter if that body is young, old, pretty, or ugly, it just matters if they appear to naturally be the gender that they wish to be. Cindy’s newfound beauty will never be able to stand the test of time, and she will eventually have to fix the mental issues she has that have caused her to equate physical beauty to happiness.
Comment by Laura Shishkovsky — July 7, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
I have decided to do my response on “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. I think it is such a shame the amount of time and effort us women put into ourselves to make us more beautiful. Cosmetic surgery can be very dangerous. I do not like the fact that media and entertainment put so much emphasizes on there definition of beauty. Instead of focusing on inner beauty the entertainment industry focus on outer beauty. This has a big impact on the younger generation. The younger generation will assume that you have to have a great face in order to have a good man when that is not true.
The author made an interesting point when she said that this is a “mans world”. I agree with her because women tend to make decisions based on a man.Women stop working, get cosmetic surgery just to please their man. No one wants to be alone and when you feel like you just have to have a man you will go the extreme to get and keep him.
When you have cosmetic surgery you know longer look like yourself. You lose the very thing that made you unique from everyone else. Then you have other people who have cosmetic surgery to look like someone else. This is really a sad case that needs to be addressed. There was a woman who had cosmetic surgery to look like someone else. After she had the cosmetic surgery she stole the person she took interest in identity. I think with cosmetic surgery there should be boundaries because people are taking it too far.
There was a woman who got in a car accident and it messed up her face. If you were to see a picture of her it looked nothing how she looks now. Something like this is ok for cosmetic surgery, but when you use it for personal interest than that is when I have a problem with it. Beauty is skin deep and the sooner people realize it the better off we will be.
Comment by Ashley Griffin — July 7, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
It is apparent when interest turns into obsession, when a want becomes a need, and when a few tries turn into a lifestyle. It is not a secret that Cindy Jackson got more surgeries than anyone should, especially after being in the Guinness Book of World Records for having had the most surgeries than anyone else in the world. After years of comparing herself to other girls around her, she finally decided to have her first surgery at age 33 with her dad’s inheritance. Whether or not her dad’s death meant anything to her or if it lead her to “embark on a marathon of surgery” is not the appropriate question here. It is more so important to wonder why she never stopped.
I can guarantee that every girl in their high school years compares themselves to the others around them and feels insecure about their eyes, nose, lips, belly, or legs. There is some truth to cosmetic surgery acting like quick sand; once you step one foot in that direction, you are stuck there for good. People that get their face rearranged voluntarily to look “sexier” don’t just stop at one procedure. They keep comparing themselves to someone prettier. But, we don’t need to have cosmetic surgery to constantly compare ourselves to others. My sister is two years younger than me and she looks like a doll. She is ten times prettier and there is no denying it. When we go out, she is the first one guys notice and they cling to her all night. It hurt and I felt unattractive. As I started to mature, though, I saw my own beauty, the parts that made “me” and I grew to love myself. If you let it, those insecurities can reflect how you live your life and Cindy Jackson made cosmetic surgery her life.
Maybe Jackson couldn’t stop this uncontrollable cycle because she had nobody to guide her and tell her she was beautiful without the procedures. It appears as if her guidance came from the media, the side saying she needed to look like Barbie. Support from family and friends is crucial to living a smart and healthy life. In my opinion, Cindy Jackson wasn’t living either. Although she was fluent in three languages and knew how to write and talk, she is dumb for not showing off those skills. Instead, she goes around writing books about surgery secrets and strutting around her fake body.
There is a saying, “To each his own,” with which I agree, unless someone is using their bad habits and showcasing them to others, recommending that their way is better. Cindy Jackson can sleep with needles by her side for all I care, but it is wrong to advertise that as the only thing that makes you “you” and influencing others to join the group of plastic obsessions.
Comment by Sejla Kulaglic — July 7, 2009 @ 3:39 pm
Ryan Lim
Eng 3010
You should be happy with what God gives you. The phrase is blatant with its meaning. What you are born with is what you should be happy with, or what comes of you naturally should be cherished. However this is a surreal idea, and does not set well in minds of many. Millions of people go under the knife and get cosmetic surgery. Things like liposuction, face lifts, and tummy tucks are common procedures performed on many people. While heart valve replacements are being performed in one operating room, a face lift is being performed in another. Something just doesn’t fit. Surgeries were once thought to be performed as a last choice or in life threatening situations, but today both men and woman willingly experience surgery for superficial purposes. Cosmetic surgery is getting out of hand.
Why would anyone want to have cosmetic surgery performed on them? In modern media, companies aim for women, specifically younger teenagers. In many of these ads, physically beautiful women are portrayed with their product. The problem is that these young impressionable girls view these women as idols due to their physical attraction. In their minds they feel that if they look more like these women that they will be more attractive to men. These insecurities spawn many of today’s cosmetic surgery addicts; women who constantly undergo surgery because they are never satisfied with their body image. Surgeries such as facial implants to the extremes of a total body reconstruction. Artificial beauty is in the eye of its beholder.
Cosmetic surgery has gotten ridiculously out of hand. The type of people who undergo this type of surgery include both male and female, black and white, fat and skinny. The point being is that there isn’t just one specific group who go through cosmetic surgery, but one thing that they do have in common is that they all share similar insecurities Whether they stem from past or recent events, these issues are enough to force these people to change who they naturally are. Instead of fixing what is on the outside, these individuals should change what is on the outside.
David Brooks failed to make a convincing argument in his article titled “The Return of the Pig.” Brooks started by making an attack on Maxim Magazine which was followed by an attack on rap music. I disagree with Brooks because there is more to Maxim and more to rap than Brooks mentioned in the article. He argued that Maxim and rap are degrading to women and prety much that people who read and listen to them have no depth and are not smart.
I used to read Maxim few years ago (when I used to have more free time) and I also listen to rap music. Maxim is an entertaining magazine that contains a wide variety of topics that range from swim suit model of the month to fashion, humor, movies reviews, cars, and many more. Maxim attracts a certain population and is pretty popular. Brooks failed to compare Maxim to women’s magazines that could be more degrading to women and are seen on the same shelves next to Maxim. Cosmopolitan and other such magazines are aimed at women with many topics that anyone could probably argue are promoting unhealthy life styles as they encourage images of thin figures and topics like “how to have better sex tonight.”
This is in response – in general – to all of the articles which were required reading. It’s a sad state of affairs when men are routinely seen as those that objectify women and women are the proverbial and ritualistic victims. As I stated in class earlier today, it is a sad state of affairs for the feminist movement when the N.O.W. (National Organization of Women) has been reduced to nothing more than a pro-abortion lobby for Congress. Unfortunately, humanity seems as though it will be humanity (formerly known as “boys will be boys”). Women will debase themselves, their intellect, and their worth to be objectified by men who are more than happy to see women as another of their toys, except, considering the men targeted in this article, their toys usually get more attention, care, and respect.
Too, humanity seems more than okay with objectifying men in the same way. While Brad Pitt has done little to convincingly sell the world he actually may have a brain, we certainly know his political leanings and his attitude toward gay marriage (vowing not to get married until gay marriage was nationally legal; something he either forgot about or actually thinks is national marriage policy, ’cause he is now married). Other “lookers” within the male category aren’t as vocal, and certainly not as intelligent about their views and/or opinions. Females don’t fare much better, though. (Unless you consider Miss California; ask Perez Hilton what she thinks of gay marriage?!)
For the truly intelligent in our society, we know that you actually have to LIVE with the “significant other” you choose, and that – sad, but true – everyone’s looks WILL eventually fade. There’s NO amount of plastic surgery that can help age and/or gravity! WAY too much attention is given to everyone’s looks, and we are judged too often and too harshly by people we just don’t care about – least of all their opinions, etc. “Cosmetic surgery” – you know, the euphamism for the real version of cut and paste – has gotten out of hand. It’s a MULTI-billion dollar industry! REAL surgeons that are taking care of malignant tumors don’t get the same kind of praise, respect, and money from Hollywood as their plastic surgeons. “Please let me have stomach cancer, but dear God don’t let me get fat or have a pimple show itself in a noticeable spot at the Oscars!” Sadly, this mentality has worked it’s way – not only into middle “Iowa” America, but it’s now becoming an obsession across the globe for those that can afford it! Humanity has a sickness, and it’s clear about what the diagnosis is: those that state we should accept all of us for who we are are the first to try and become like someone else. In short, they’re hypocrites! Nice!
Itabari Njeri is pleased when she heard the hotel operator in Dar es Salaam say, “Sister, welcome to Tanzania… Please tell everyone in Harlem hello for us,” because it was close to the first welcoming response she had received on her trip. Every other African had judged her, wondering why this American had an African name. To them, the two were not the same. All Njeri was trying to do is be aware of her heritage and pay homage to it by changing her name to something African, and they looked at her like the was not even the same race. The hotel operator and also the old woman on the hill, understand that she is one of them even if she is from somewhere across an ocean. They look at the blacks in America as just another tribe with a very different culture. This is kind of an example of racism or segregation in somewhere other than the United States. For years, they tried to keep blacks and white separate in America. They were viewed as basically a completely different species. Of course, here it is not like that anymore. But when they go home to Africa, where they originally came from centuries ago, they once again are viewed as separate: obviously different and not pure blood African. And because of all the bad media coverage of African Americans in the United States, even Africans believe the stereotypes about them. Africans perceive Njeri’s cultural identity to be basically “wanna-be African.” Americans consider her cultural identity to be black rights activist trying to make a stand by changing her name away from her God given name. Njeri considers her cultural identity to be an aware African American woman trying to embrace an almost forgotten heritage.
Comment by Rebecca Whisenhunt — July 7, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
My response is going to be about the article “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. This article is about Cindy and how she thought she was very ugly and how no one really noticed her if her older sister was there with her. Cindy does not realize her decision to have plastic surgery done on her is mostly out of being jealous from her sister. I can relate to how she kind of felt during her childhood, however, there are a lot of things that I do not agree with her. One of the things that I can relate with her is her insecurity about her looks. I have two older sisters that have always seemed perfect to me in every way. I always used to envy them but as I got older I could understand that they were not born with everything they have; whether that is their beauty or their brains. Like everyone else they had to work hard to maintain their beauty, by going to a dermatologist and using the cream or treatments they would recommend. If you really want to look good then you have to work hard to make sure you achieve that beauty, you cannot get everything just handed to you. Of course there are girls out there that are just beautiful, however, that does not mean they do not have to work hard to maintain that beauty.
Beauty does not equal happiness in my book. Every female in this whole universe is never happy about her body. There will always be something that they do not like, whether it is their nose, eyes, lips, etc. Nobody is happy and that is a lesson we just have to learn. Cindy needs to realize that taking the short way is never going to make everything fine. Even though she has done all these plastic surgeries on her and is still doing them to this day, she still has insecurities about getting older. Cindy has gotten into a habit of ever body noticing her for her body and not her personality. Cindy thinks that she is very happy now, however after reading this article I feel that she is not happy with her looks at all because she is always finding something to get surgery for. Cindy does not realize that she has a problem with not accepting getting older because getting surgery done all the time does not mean you are not getting old, and Cindy needs to realize it, and stop with all the surgery she keeps getting done.
There were a lot of options for Cindy to get beautiful throughout her life before she got plastic surgery. All she had to do was go to a dermatologist and ask his or her opinion on what she should do. Cindy could have exercised to lose the fat she had or watched what she ate. There are so many options for every female out there to make themselves beautiful rather than just getting plastic surgery done. From all of the plastic surgeries Cindy has done, she needs to realize she is not that person; she is just a hybrid of every person feature that she took to get her surgery done. To make yourself an individual and be respected you have to show common sense and in my opinion Cindy with all her education and accomplishments has no common sense. She needs to realize that a guy is really not worth your time if all he wants you is for your looks. Looks do matter but if that is what you want your whole to be about then what is the point with being with that person?
In short, Cindy has gone way over board with the surgeries she has done and keeps getting done. She needs to come to a realization that looks may play a role but not to keep putting that much stress on your body. Especially, after your reach a certain age you need to accept that you are getting older because doing plastic surgery to look younger does not change the fact that you are getting older every year.
Comment by Sukhreet Sandhu — July 7, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
The article I chose for my third response is “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. The article talks about one woman’s battle with her feeling of not being pretty enough, leading to her obsession with plastic surgery. In the article Cindy talks about several occasions where the way people saw her were completely different than the women that people found attractive, an example from the article being “I can remember so many times I’d be out with a guy, walking down the street, and when a prettier girl walked by they would turn and look them up and down” (Jackson)
I chose this article because to a certain extent I could relate to the feeling of constantly being compared to other people and sometimes coming up short, or being treated differently just because I was not as attractive as someone else. I do not agree with the way she went about changing herself because I feel she took the easy way out, as opposed to eating right and going to the gym to better your body and self, though it may not have as dramatic results as cosmetic surgery I feel that is a much better way to gain confidence and better yourself.
I know a few women that have undergone cosmetic surgery and as I said before I do not agree with it and would never do it myself, because they are my friends I definitely support their choice to do so. I think that everyone has different insecurities and there are many ways to handle them but on the same note I think that both men and women should explore all options on how to better themselves before cosmetic surgery
In The Return of the Pig by David Brooks, he talked about how men are degrading women in tv shows, certain magazines and rap music. He explained that women are now allowed to be as open about their sexuality as men. He pointed out that Maxim magazine is the single-minded pursuit of horniness. I believe that Maxim magazines are just like most magazines. However, Maxim is intented to strike males. Therefore, they include pictures of women in lingeries or bikins. I believe Brooks does not think outside the box. He doesn’t address the reasons why Maxim magazine have those kinds of pictures. Women have the same rights as men so they are allowed to “hook up” with anyone they please.
In rap music, He explained the rap industry is full of low-class hip-hop thugs. He quoted “It is the least privileged parts of society that are often the most sexist, reactionary and even materialistic.” This quote is totally wrong. I believe these underprivileged people are enjoying the life they never had. They are able to get what they want now since they are rich and famous.
Comment by Christina Anagonye — July 7, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
Response #4
“My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson
I read this and was absolutely amazed at how she wrote it because I think everything is true. This was probably the best line in the essay “A man does not have to be good-looking to get a woman, or to get ahead in life. But men value women for their looks.” I laughed at the part where it said women don’t even need a brain, it’s optional if they have looks! That is so true there are so many celebrities that they show that are beautiful to society but are well, stupid. Some of the things these celebrities say are just ridiculous. I remember Paris Hilton was talking about Walmart and actually said “Do they sell like walls or something?”. Come on! If you are a women and have the looks they anything is possible for you but if you’re a women and are trying to get ahead in society without looks, well good luck. It’s so hard to succeed but even when women have looks and are smart, most men try to get something from the women and tell her that’s how she can succeed in her work. I felt like the women getting cosmetic surgery tried so hard to fit in to society and becoming beautiful that she began to see every single flaw in her looks and went overboard with the surgeries. I feel like the media impacts so much on people today that it has really hit hard on women and their self-esteem’s. I also feel like she just had bad luck because when men are ready to settle down they do look for a women with looks but also for a women that can do be the house wife. A man likes to be taken care of too. I also feel like the way she feels like so confident about herself and her dating she should have felt like that before and maybe she would have been more successful. I feel like looks are such a big part of today’s society but even if you’re not the supermodel then it’s not that big of a deal. Nobody is perfect but if you have the right amount of confidence in yourself then it shouldn’t be that hard to find someone who appreciates you. I really did like this essay because it does show what most women go through growing up and trying to be the prettiest girl like the way the media portray them. The one thing I didn’t like about the essay was that I felt like she forgot who she was and the last line really proved that about her saying she was dead. That was who she was and she shouldn’t forget what she went through and how she felt and become so shallow just because she got a prettier face.
Rich Gorski
The reading, by Lance Strate, was interesting and I decided to analyze his three ways that beer is integrated into the work world. “Beer is integrated in the work world in three ways. First, it is represented in some commercials as the product of patient, skillful craftsmanship, thus partaking of the virtues associated with the labor that produced it.” I can recall the Miller Lite commercials that state that there is triple the hops in each bottle of Miller Lite. On the label on a Budweiser bottle it states, “This is the famous Budweiser beer. We know of no brand produced by any other brewer which costs so much to brew and age. Our exclusive Beechwood Aging produces a taste, a smoothness and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price.” Both of these suggest that it is carefully made and that a lot of hard work goes into brewing each bottle. I can see how these examples can establish the relationship between beer and work. Strate, then continues with “beer serves as a reward for a job well done, and receiving beer from one’s peer acts as a symbol of other men’s respect for the workers accomplishment.” I can relate to this with a job I had about a week ago. The customer offered a beer to the group I was working with as a way of showing their appreciation for a job well done. “Third, beer acts as a marker of the end of the work day, the signal of quitting time, the means for making the transition from work to leisure.” I can remember viewing a lot of beer commercials that show the end of a work day and workers will end their day with a beer. I even get calls at the end of my workday sometimes to go get a drink somewhere.
The first article I want to touch on is the one about the beer commercials. I do agree that most beer commercials are geared toward men. I feel that this is because most consumption of beer is by men. Although you do see many women have beer to drink I personally do not believe it is the top choice. The comparison could be that Malibu Pineapple Rum is geared toward women, although men do drink it from personal experience it is mostly consumed by women. On the argument that the commercials are very sexiest I do agree that they are. The commercials really objectify women to be the “eye candy” rather then actually in the plot of the commercial. The article author then stated that all beer commercials are very negative, this is the area were I do not agree. There are hundreds of the commercials that are not negative at all (prime example is the Molson Canadian beer commercials). Finally the example the author gives forth that beer is made to seem natural or from nature, and that it is giving a false image of beer. Really this part did not really make much sense to me. While yes the product is not very “natural” the components are surprisingly naturally rich. Many high quality beers use filtered quality stream water, and very expensive hops.
The next article is “My Cosmetic Surgery” in which the author underwent many plastic surgeries. I feel that even though she was not comfortable with her previous “body/life” it is totally wrong to do plastic surgery for vanity reasons. It seemed from the discussion and readings that the man reason she did feel uncomfortable was because she was the ugly sister for most of her life. The only time I really feel that it is ok to get major plastic surgery is for medical or serious repairing of the body. An example is a cleft lip which is a serious deformity of the mouth that needs to be repaired. Plastic surgery is a great thing when it is not abused for personal vanity. I also feel that the doctors should have required major physiological testing for the author. If they did do the proper test I am very confident that they would have picked up some type of instability in the author.
This is a response to both “The Myth of the sexual Athlete” and “The Return of the Pig”. Reading these articles, I found that I could not relate to either of them. I believe the behavior/mindset of men described in these articles are actually specific to individuals rather than the entire male spectrum. There are instances where young men compete with each other in regards to their sex lives, and there are men who have less than fair outlooks on women. The people I have surrounded myself with in my life, however, are far from what these readings are describing. As a matter of fact, growing up, me and my friends would often make fun of these alpha male characters and their antics. Maybe it was because my group of friends were mainly creative types that were not interested in competition. Either way, I don’t think being a male automatically means you have this default mindset. Instead, I think this particular attitude is a choice many young men run into when they are growing up, even if it is indirect. I was also raised by a single Mother who came to this country with nothing and manifested an entire new life for herself. Because of that, I greatly respect the single mother and all hard working females in general. Also, in “The Return of the Pig” when Brooks talks about lower parts of society being the most sexist along with rap music, he fails to recognize the history of hip-hop where the music used to be colorless, sexless, and a positive way of life during times of great hardship. Once hip-hop was cashed in and taken over by money, it transformed completely. So perhaps what Brooks blames on rap and the less privileged is actually a problem with the values and morals of society today.
Comment by David Pietrusa — July 7, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Cosmetic surgery is an interesting thing. On one hand it can be seen as selfish, self-centered, and shallow. On the other hand it can be seen as life changing, up lifting, and miraculous. Some procedures are seen as egotistical while others are seen as necessary and extraordinary. I personally don’t find plastic surgery to be as disgusting as some of my other classmates.
I believe that Cindy Jackson is a complete extreme but I don’t think that she is as disgusting as others may perceive her. Yes, she used her inheritance from her father to pay for her plastic surgery. Is that inappropriate? Maybe not, who’s to judge; it was left to her to spend as she chooses. Some people purchase material items such as cars, jewelry, homes, and so on. A nose job can uplift someone and it can last up to fifty years, I would consider that to be a worthwhile purchase.
Many people have insecurities; many of these insecurities have been there present since childhood. I know a person who has been heavy and over weight her entire life. She lost almost all of the weight but couldn’t get rid of all it despite her best efforts. She recently treated herself to liposuction on her thighs. Is she selfish? Is she shallow? Someone might try to label her one of these titles but they don’t know the truth. As seen today, people will over look characteristics and see what’s only on the surface. No one cares to see how intelligent and accomplished Jackson is.
Jackson states that her new look, which is a direct result of her multiple surgeries gave her enough confidence to “quit letting men treat her like a doorman.” Cosmetic surgeries can be very uplifting to one’s morality and self esteem. It can be very surprising to learn that there are many different procedures that are characterized as cosmetic surgeries such as correcting cliff-palates, laser hair removal, breast reductions, and any more. Many of our soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and in Afghanistan are badly burned as a result of IEDs. Many of these soldiers have 3rd degree burns covering their entire bodies. To correct their disfigurements they must undergo a little thing called, cosmetic surgery.
Yes, Cindy Jackson is an extreme but cosmetic surgery is not as bad as some people make it out to be. It is your body and your right to chose what to do with it. Don’t judge a book by its cover even if it’s had some tweaks or a facelift or two.
Comment by Alexandra Hutting — July 7, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
I chose to write my response in regard to our class discussion today on “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. I found this article and discussion particularly interesting because I have always argued that society, in particular the media, is to blame for women who have low self-esteem and then use cosmetic surgery as an escape from who they are to who they feel they “should be”. If you look at most magazines for teens, music videos, models and singers you will find that an overwhelming amount of the women have what society would call “the perfect body/look” or “beautiful”. For young girls today who are very impressionable and deal with peer pressure, this sort of beauty standard is extremely difficult to digest. Although you have some shows such as “America’s Next Top Model” who somewhat try to embrace plus size girls (although that may only be a size 8) it still does not represent the significant amount of women in our country who are not a size 0-2. To have girls who may be a size 6 to think they are fat is ridiculous and poses a serious problem. This is problematic for many reasons, one being that these same girls grow up fearing to gain any weight (which is natural with aging) or develop any sign of aging on their skin and their solution to this “dilemma” is cosmetic surgery to keep them maintaining their youth. To me, this is the most disturbing reality because I, personally, find it very strange when I see a woman who is in her 50s+ who looks as if she’s in her 20s. It’s just weird. Once people reach that age there comes a certain respect and image that one expects. Wisdom and guidance are the most common characteristics your average person expects of someone who has aged. It’s a little difficult to have that image of someone who looks like they’re your age.
Another reason this article was disturbing is because Cindy Jackson mentions how women don’t even need a brain just the body/look…that this is what men really want anyway. For her to publicly state something as offensive as that baffles me. She knows that she has many young women who admire her and will more than likely read her book and that one statement will have a significant impact on the mindset of the impressionable readers. This encouragement of not needing an education but simply hold a certain look is by far the worst advice/recommendation I have heard to this day. Cindy Jackson is no role model in my eyes, and not simply because of the amount of cosmetic surgeries that she’s had but moreso because of her psychological mindset in how she processes what’s important in life. I fear how she will impact the lives of upcoming women in society and how this will continue to negatively impact out society. With women like her publicly speaking in favor of this behavior, it makes it just that more difficult to rebuke it.
Comment by Shaquitta Stanley — July 7, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
The article “Just Walk On By” by Brent Staples really sums up how living in a city can feel. First off, the way he describes his “first victim” is how many youths in Detroit are looked at. Unfortunately, regardless of color or demographic, the youth in general is viewed as sketchy and are not to be trusted. I also agree with Mr. Staples in the sense that I too believe for some unconceivable reason young males feel the need to adhere to the embrace the tough-guy image. The measures he takes to alleviate the problem are good to make others feel comfortable, but he shouldn’t feel the need to be subservient.
I found the article “Beer Commercials: A Manual on Masculinity” by Lance Strate is a good way of summing up male behavior. The article isn’t true in a literal sense, but can be viewed as a paradigm for male behavior. I completely agree with the statement that masculinity is a social construct. Beer commercials exemplify what a “real man” should be; however, a real man wouldn’t need a commercial to tell him how he should carry himself. A real man would enjoy his beer, have a free-will and live his life on his own terms.
Today’s discussion essays are based on the differences of males and females on different aspects. Such as “The Return of the Pig” is reflected contrast in views of men and women, like how the media and society categorized in two stereotype; masculine and feminine. This stereotype is clearly mention in our daily life style, media use different ways for the publicity and attracts the audience of both sexes. For example; in auto mobile advertise, you always see a young man having a new model car and he is going to get his girlfriend for date or a newly married man going home where his new wife wait for him. It is less likely that you see a mom going to pick her kids from school or going to make grocery. Similarly, for the cosmetics, hair colors and women products, they always show that after using those products she got a boyfriend. So, audience can conclude those ads like that if men have or buy a new car so they can easily find a girlfriend or the happy life is basically depends on the new model car. Same thing happen with women, they more likely use those beauty products to get more chances to attract men and make their life easy.
In addition, in the essay ‘ my cosmetic surgery’, author Cindy explained her past life experienced and those circumstances by which she compelled to performed her cosmetic surgery. As she said, she was not that pretty and she want to be like other pretty girls to get the attention of more guys, and finally she performed cosmetic surgery at the age of 33. If we consider her age, she was not that immature that cannot handle the reality; I mean she already spent her half life with her natural features, but still has an ideal face with attractive features from different pretty girls since her childhood. It show she was waiting to be pretty till the age of 33, and most important thing is that the only reason she mentioned is ‘popular boys didn’t pay attention towards her’. She had normal face neither very pretty nor ugly that people didn’t like her, but still wants to be pretty to get more rich men.
In conclusion, I just want to say that this is the media’s magic that whatever it represents to the audience, intentionally or unintentionally they start to follow it. For example, as media shows that rich guys, with new model car or with good physic only, can get the pretty girls; women with full groom personality or with good quality makeup or perfect hair color only have chance to go for date with a rich partner. People try to be like that and spent more time and money to be like that but off course not possible in the real world. As resultant, they feel inferiority complexes against those perfect ideal advertised peoples and their lives.
Comment by summera kanwal — July 7, 2009 @ 10:59 pm
What I am going to talk in my response this time is about the article in Seeking Common Cause called “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. This is the one thing that is truly a pet peeve of mine is when someone wants to change something about themselves physically. Not to sound all religious and what not, but God made you for who you are for a reason. I would cherish your body and embrace it as well. Cindy Jackson did so many cosmetic surgeries on her face and body you would need all of your fingers and toes and some of your friends to count the times she has been under the knife. Once you do it once, it almost becomes an obsession over it, and it is with many of things such as smoking or locking the doors. This whole deal with cosmetic surgery is all about self confidence. If you are not self confident with yourself you are going to seek every opportunity to satisfy yourself. And that is what Cindy Jackson’s problem with her, is to satisfy herself. If she is not loved and adored at every single moment, she thinks that there is something wrong with her, and there is; she is practically obsessed with cosmetic surgery! It’s as simple as that, and no gray area. She lastly stated in her interview that she doesn’t even associate herself with her without the surgeries. “She’s dead. I cut her up.” Cindy Jackson does have a point. The beautiful woman that did not have any done with her face is gone and now we are stuck with a wannabe Barbie doll obsessing every moment to have something done with her face.
Comment by nathan missler — July 7, 2009 @ 11:33 pm
I’m writing in response to the article ‘The Return of the Pig,’ by David Brooks. This article is directed towards women and the way men view them as “sexual icons.” Brooks began his argument by attacking Maxim Magazine, to sum all his criticism up, he felt that any man that read or viewed Maxim was a pig. He also mentions how men see women as pleasure toys. In my opinion Brooks made a really poor argument with this article. I say this because he seems to focus only on his opinions. As mentioned in class, there may be a reason why he is so hostile towards anyone who reads this magazine, perhaps a nasty break up. As the article continues, Brooks makes a big jump to attack rap music. However, he attacked rap quit similarly to Maxim. He proposes that rap music in general is degrading towards women, and anyone who listens to it has no “depth.” While reading this portion of the article, I started becoming a little frustrated. Brooks seems to be attacking all rap music, if he really knew the culture of rap he would know that not all rappers talk about “bitches” and “hoes.” Rappers such as Lupe Fiasco or Common, send a really good message, whether it be on the worlds issues or a relationship. On the other hand, there are some rap songs that do indeed degrade women. In that aspect I believe that all goes back to parenting, and what you allow your children to grow up listening to.
All in all, I don’t believe Brooks convinced me with his argument; he should have attacked this issue in a different direction.
The return of the pig really seemed to strike me the wrong way. I do not think that all men that look at maxim magazine or swimsuit editions are pigs. The female body is a beautiful thing, and to look at it is wonderful. These men are not peepers; they are looking at a picture of a perfectly consenting female. The author writes a very weak piece on what he calls “retro sexism”. He says women are now just as chauvinistic as men. Compared with older times, I would not call women more chauvinistic, I would call them more open with their sexuality.
A person who listens to rap music is not a woman hater. The artist is expressing whatever they have on their mind, not the listener. Music (rap) is entertainment. A mature and stable person knows how to draw the line between listening to what an artist says, or listening to what is right and wrong.
Comment by Jill Starnes — July 13, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
(OMG this got deleted the first time)
My response is in regards to ‘My Cosmetic Surgery’ by Cindy Jackson. Reading this, I felt both sympathy and resentment towards her. Sympathy, because as a female myself, I have felt many insecurities about my appearances. Who doesn’t really? And reading about how she went through a marathon of cosmetic surgeries, many enough to call her an addict – really saddened me and think about how awful her life must have been. To be torn with envy is hard to experience. The deep desire to be liked by someone, is too.
Near the end, she says that she ‘cut her[old self] up’ after she became this new woman. I think it is possible to change dramatically after drastic changes done to anyone’s physical appearance. Even a simple nose job, even. In fact, I believe every human being acts a certain way in public due to the way we visualise ourselves like it. People get up and dress and get ready for a reason. If people had no eyes and couldn’t judge, we would not care about our physical appearances. Beauty may be ‘in eyes of a beholder’ or ‘skin deep’, but let’s face the cold truth: It is an unbelievably powerful mental tool that controls (mostly) woman implicitly. Not everyone is born equally beautiful – as world is not fair. Some are fortunate enough to realise and accept themselves as they are, and consider beautiful hearts to be desired for more. Some don’t.
In the end, I cannot say whether I am against or for cosmetic surgery. If it helps the individual, I think it is a gift of modern technology. But also at the same time, women should fight against the stereotypical ‘beautiful’ we see on media, and have a voice for ourselves, and the realistic, natural beauty we all own.
Comment by Julie Lee — July 6, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
I’m responding to the article ‘The Return of the Pig,’ by David Brooks. This article is discussing the mentality that men have towards women mostly and it mentions the mentality of women towards men. As stated in the title, ‘pig’ refers to males because they have been often referred to as male chauvinistic pigs. I’m not quite sure how that name was created. Brooks states how society views women and how they are not shown any respect. For example, on MTV and BET, women are referred to as ‘hoes’ and ‘bitches.’ This is definitely true because there aren’t many rap songs that don’t mention those words or words of greater severity. I used to listen to those kinds of songs primarily because I thought it had a catchy beat and was fun to listen to; however, the lyrics were often very offensive towards women. Brooks states that men see women as pleasure toys and not as real human beings. However, he also states that women also like to see men as pleasure toys, and the funny thing is, men do not seem to have a problem with that. However, the feminists believe that this is an important issue.
Brooks makes an interesting point stating that it is the least privileged parts of society that are most sexist, reactionary, and even materialistic. I think I know why this is so, because the least privileged are ones that receive the least education and often times their parents didn’t have a decent education either, so they cannot teach their children things that can only be taught in school. Like learning classroom rules and learning how to respect your fellow classmate. So, children see how their parents act towards other people and toward each other and imitate what they see. This is basically how our culture is. The article stated that this one guy dumped his girlfriend just because his friends said that she had him wrapped around her finger. The problem was that he still liked her but he was willing to dump her just because he was afraid of what his friends would think of him. I think that’s really sad, but he probably did that at a younger age. So, he probably wasn’t emotionally mature yet. To conclude, I strongly believe that society needs to change its view on women and start looking at them as fellow human beings and not as objects that can satisfy his needs
Comment by Therese Kochuparampil — July 6, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
My response was to the first article of the assigned reading, “The Myth of the sexual Athlete.” I thought this article was very poignant, touch upon the latent hypocrisy that sadly exists in the lives of many young males, especially within the athletic circles. The emphasis on sexual prowess and reputation, whether it is true or false is a demoralizing one, and in the face of potential embarrassment and humiliation it would seem a lot of men tend embellish upon their experience with women, something I can agree with having experienced it first hand from my friends, classmates and even my own experiences to say as a former male adolescent. Their seemed to be a sense of misogynistic competition that permeates the teenage males life, some feeling that their worth and value was questioned by the volume of their sexual conquests, and as the author pointed out this is especially true when it pertains to those geared towards winning and achieving like an athlete would be.
Comment by Marsailis Bryant — July 7, 2009 @ 6:40 am
Cindy Jackson is famous for attempting to turn herself into a “living barbie doll”, and although I feel sympathy for her, I don’t believe her when she says she is not a plastic surgery addict. She says she simply just doesn’t want to stop (getting procedures done). There is not one person in this world that is 100% happy with themselves, physically – and i have relatively liberal views with cosmetic procedures. I think if theres something about oneself that makes them feel insecure, then why not change it? Confidence makes worlds of difference in a persons life, not only socially but in every facet of life. A confident person isnt afraid to take chances and pushes for that extra step, whether it be to persue a woman (or man), or go for that promotion at work, anything – it takes a confident and content person. I don’t however believe in changing one’s entire appearance to the point where theyre unrecognizable, but who is to say what is going too far? At what point does there need to be a cap?
Comment by Irene Mahmud — July 7, 2009 @ 8:37 am
My response is related to the reading, ‘My Cosmetic Surgery’ by Cindy Jackson. Reading this, I sympathize with her somewhat because I know I have felt insecure about my appearance in my life. I think that envying another person for their appearance is unhealthy, but it happens sometimes. I understand the self confidence issue, but when it comes to a point where someone is getting multiple surgeries to look like someone they are not, that is going way too far. Cosmetic surgery, in my opinion, is just another reason that people are fake these days. Beauty is not only about physical appearance, and plastic surgery just makes physical appearance that much more important. People focus too much on looks these days and that is the reason plastic surgery is becoming so much more popular. People just need to learn to be happy with the way they look or learn to be happy with it. Plastic surgery is just a way to make people more fake. Why would you feel better about yourself when you look in the mirror if you are looking at someone other than yourself? I just feel that the person in this reading has horrible moral values because I don’t think I could ever look in the mirror, see someone completely different than I had always seen growing up, and be happy with that. The ranking of moral values have completely changed as time has gone on. People should be worrying about being a better person such as being more honest, happier, and even having more fun. They shouldn’t be worrying about changing their entire physical appearance to attract people that only like them for that characteristic. The people she will be attracting are people with low morals as well. I pity people that feel so down on themselves that they need to completely re-do their entire physical appearance. I don’t think that anyone should ever go through that unless they have a physical defect or something that makes them less than normal. That said, having a little excess fat or wrinkles are definitely normal things.
Comment by chris henien — July 7, 2009 @ 9:56 am
My response is a combination of all three of this weeks readings. They all relate to each other because the central idea is that certain genders have certain behaviours that are associated with them and almost expected from them. For example, in “Return of the Pig,” it talks about magazines and tv shows that allow men to objectify women, and the women involved in it just let it happen. I think that many women feel that they need to look a certain way to gain the attention of men (like wearing very provocative clothing) but all this does is gives men reasons to call us names. The role of men in society is also stereotyped as we can see in the “Beer Commercials” story where men are portrayed in typical roles such as sitting on the couch watching tv or playing some sport outdoors. These commercials have almost become a guideline for men on how to behave but its the beer companies that promote this because they want to sell their product. “My Cosmetic Surgery” further illustrates how women measure themselves by what men think of them. She didn’t have any self esteem when she thought she was unattractive, but as soon as men began paying attention to her, she had the confidence to do anything she wanted. I think confidence is comes from within and regardless of how you look, it’s how you carry yourself that really leaves the lasting impression.
Comment by Alyssa Lopez — July 7, 2009 @ 12:03 pm
My response this week is my reaction to Cindy Jackson’s interview with Danny Danziger. After seeing the photos of her during class, I have little sympathy for her, or anyone who gets extensive plastic surgery. In my opinion, she was not at all unattractive before she underwent her transformation. Her low opinion of her looks, coupled with her obsession with the positive features of specific classmates makes it obvious that she has some sort of mental problem. Even the most naturally beautiful women will eventually get older and less attractive, and we all know how freakish older women look when they have too much plastic surgery. Does this mean that once Cindy gets to the age where she can no longer be physically beautiful, she will no longer consider herself “the real me”, and be unhappy with herself? What will happen when the Mr. Right she could only find because she was attractive, realizes that with his money and success, he can find younger, more beautiful partners? Whether or not you were born beautiful, ugly, or made attractive with plastic surgery, we all have to accept the fact that we will not always be young and pretty, and that eventually everyone will become old and ugly. Everyone deals with this. And the fact that Cindy’s happiness depends on her physical appearance is simply pathetic. We also cannot excuse her behavior simply because she states that she felt as though she was trapped in the wrong body, like many transgendered people do. These people simply want to have a body that mirrors that of the opposite sex, and it doesn’t matter if that body is young, old, pretty, or ugly, it just matters if they appear to naturally be the gender that they wish to be. Cindy’s newfound beauty will never be able to stand the test of time, and she will eventually have to fix the mental issues she has that have caused her to equate physical beauty to happiness.
Comment by Laura Shishkovsky — July 7, 2009 @ 2:35 pm
I have decided to do my response on “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. I think it is such a shame the amount of time and effort us women put into ourselves to make us more beautiful. Cosmetic surgery can be very dangerous. I do not like the fact that media and entertainment put so much emphasizes on there definition of beauty. Instead of focusing on inner beauty the entertainment industry focus on outer beauty. This has a big impact on the younger generation. The younger generation will assume that you have to have a great face in order to have a good man when that is not true.
The author made an interesting point when she said that this is a “mans world”. I agree with her because women tend to make decisions based on a man.Women stop working, get cosmetic surgery just to please their man. No one wants to be alone and when you feel like you just have to have a man you will go the extreme to get and keep him.
When you have cosmetic surgery you know longer look like yourself. You lose the very thing that made you unique from everyone else. Then you have other people who have cosmetic surgery to look like someone else. This is really a sad case that needs to be addressed. There was a woman who had cosmetic surgery to look like someone else. After she had the cosmetic surgery she stole the person she took interest in identity. I think with cosmetic surgery there should be boundaries because people are taking it too far.
There was a woman who got in a car accident and it messed up her face. If you were to see a picture of her it looked nothing how she looks now. Something like this is ok for cosmetic surgery, but when you use it for personal interest than that is when I have a problem with it. Beauty is skin deep and the sooner people realize it the better off we will be.
Comment by Ashley Griffin — July 7, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
It is apparent when interest turns into obsession, when a want becomes a need, and when a few tries turn into a lifestyle. It is not a secret that Cindy Jackson got more surgeries than anyone should, especially after being in the Guinness Book of World Records for having had the most surgeries than anyone else in the world. After years of comparing herself to other girls around her, she finally decided to have her first surgery at age 33 with her dad’s inheritance. Whether or not her dad’s death meant anything to her or if it lead her to “embark on a marathon of surgery” is not the appropriate question here. It is more so important to wonder why she never stopped.
I can guarantee that every girl in their high school years compares themselves to the others around them and feels insecure about their eyes, nose, lips, belly, or legs. There is some truth to cosmetic surgery acting like quick sand; once you step one foot in that direction, you are stuck there for good. People that get their face rearranged voluntarily to look “sexier” don’t just stop at one procedure. They keep comparing themselves to someone prettier. But, we don’t need to have cosmetic surgery to constantly compare ourselves to others. My sister is two years younger than me and she looks like a doll. She is ten times prettier and there is no denying it. When we go out, she is the first one guys notice and they cling to her all night. It hurt and I felt unattractive. As I started to mature, though, I saw my own beauty, the parts that made “me” and I grew to love myself. If you let it, those insecurities can reflect how you live your life and Cindy Jackson made cosmetic surgery her life.
Maybe Jackson couldn’t stop this uncontrollable cycle because she had nobody to guide her and tell her she was beautiful without the procedures. It appears as if her guidance came from the media, the side saying she needed to look like Barbie. Support from family and friends is crucial to living a smart and healthy life. In my opinion, Cindy Jackson wasn’t living either. Although she was fluent in three languages and knew how to write and talk, she is dumb for not showing off those skills. Instead, she goes around writing books about surgery secrets and strutting around her fake body.
There is a saying, “To each his own,” with which I agree, unless someone is using their bad habits and showcasing them to others, recommending that their way is better. Cindy Jackson can sleep with needles by her side for all I care, but it is wrong to advertise that as the only thing that makes you “you” and influencing others to join the group of plastic obsessions.
Comment by Sejla Kulaglic — July 7, 2009 @ 3:39 pm
Ryan Lim
Eng 3010
You should be happy with what God gives you. The phrase is blatant with its meaning. What you are born with is what you should be happy with, or what comes of you naturally should be cherished. However this is a surreal idea, and does not set well in minds of many. Millions of people go under the knife and get cosmetic surgery. Things like liposuction, face lifts, and tummy tucks are common procedures performed on many people. While heart valve replacements are being performed in one operating room, a face lift is being performed in another. Something just doesn’t fit. Surgeries were once thought to be performed as a last choice or in life threatening situations, but today both men and woman willingly experience surgery for superficial purposes. Cosmetic surgery is getting out of hand.
Why would anyone want to have cosmetic surgery performed on them? In modern media, companies aim for women, specifically younger teenagers. In many of these ads, physically beautiful women are portrayed with their product. The problem is that these young impressionable girls view these women as idols due to their physical attraction. In their minds they feel that if they look more like these women that they will be more attractive to men. These insecurities spawn many of today’s cosmetic surgery addicts; women who constantly undergo surgery because they are never satisfied with their body image. Surgeries such as facial implants to the extremes of a total body reconstruction. Artificial beauty is in the eye of its beholder.
Cosmetic surgery has gotten ridiculously out of hand. The type of people who undergo this type of surgery include both male and female, black and white, fat and skinny. The point being is that there isn’t just one specific group who go through cosmetic surgery, but one thing that they do have in common is that they all share similar insecurities Whether they stem from past or recent events, these issues are enough to force these people to change who they naturally are. Instead of fixing what is on the outside, these individuals should change what is on the outside.
Comment by Ryan Lim — July 7, 2009 @ 3:46 pm
David Brooks failed to make a convincing argument in his article titled “The Return of the Pig.” Brooks started by making an attack on Maxim Magazine which was followed by an attack on rap music. I disagree with Brooks because there is more to Maxim and more to rap than Brooks mentioned in the article. He argued that Maxim and rap are degrading to women and prety much that people who read and listen to them have no depth and are not smart.
I used to read Maxim few years ago (when I used to have more free time) and I also listen to rap music. Maxim is an entertaining magazine that contains a wide variety of topics that range from swim suit model of the month to fashion, humor, movies reviews, cars, and many more. Maxim attracts a certain population and is pretty popular. Brooks failed to compare Maxim to women’s magazines that could be more degrading to women and are seen on the same shelves next to Maxim. Cosmopolitan and other such magazines are aimed at women with many topics that anyone could probably argue are promoting unhealthy life styles as they encourage images of thin figures and topics like “how to have better sex tonight.”
Comment by Ala Jammalieh — July 7, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
This is in response – in general – to all of the articles which were required reading. It’s a sad state of affairs when men are routinely seen as those that objectify women and women are the proverbial and ritualistic victims. As I stated in class earlier today, it is a sad state of affairs for the feminist movement when the N.O.W. (National Organization of Women) has been reduced to nothing more than a pro-abortion lobby for Congress. Unfortunately, humanity seems as though it will be humanity (formerly known as “boys will be boys”). Women will debase themselves, their intellect, and their worth to be objectified by men who are more than happy to see women as another of their toys, except, considering the men targeted in this article, their toys usually get more attention, care, and respect.
Too, humanity seems more than okay with objectifying men in the same way. While Brad Pitt has done little to convincingly sell the world he actually may have a brain, we certainly know his political leanings and his attitude toward gay marriage (vowing not to get married until gay marriage was nationally legal; something he either forgot about or actually thinks is national marriage policy, ’cause he is now married). Other “lookers” within the male category aren’t as vocal, and certainly not as intelligent about their views and/or opinions. Females don’t fare much better, though. (Unless you consider Miss California; ask Perez Hilton what she thinks of gay marriage?!)
For the truly intelligent in our society, we know that you actually have to LIVE with the “significant other” you choose, and that – sad, but true – everyone’s looks WILL eventually fade. There’s NO amount of plastic surgery that can help age and/or gravity! WAY too much attention is given to everyone’s looks, and we are judged too often and too harshly by people we just don’t care about – least of all their opinions, etc. “Cosmetic surgery” – you know, the euphamism for the real version of cut and paste – has gotten out of hand. It’s a MULTI-billion dollar industry! REAL surgeons that are taking care of malignant tumors don’t get the same kind of praise, respect, and money from Hollywood as their plastic surgeons. “Please let me have stomach cancer, but dear God don’t let me get fat or have a pimple show itself in a noticeable spot at the Oscars!” Sadly, this mentality has worked it’s way – not only into middle “Iowa” America, but it’s now becoming an obsession across the globe for those that can afford it! Humanity has a sickness, and it’s clear about what the diagnosis is: those that state we should accept all of us for who we are are the first to try and become like someone else. In short, they’re hypocrites! Nice!
Comment by David Riley — July 7, 2009 @ 6:04 pm
Itabari Njeri is pleased when she heard the hotel operator in Dar es Salaam say, “Sister, welcome to Tanzania… Please tell everyone in Harlem hello for us,” because it was close to the first welcoming response she had received on her trip. Every other African had judged her, wondering why this American had an African name. To them, the two were not the same. All Njeri was trying to do is be aware of her heritage and pay homage to it by changing her name to something African, and they looked at her like the was not even the same race. The hotel operator and also the old woman on the hill, understand that she is one of them even if she is from somewhere across an ocean. They look at the blacks in America as just another tribe with a very different culture. This is kind of an example of racism or segregation in somewhere other than the United States. For years, they tried to keep blacks and white separate in America. They were viewed as basically a completely different species. Of course, here it is not like that anymore. But when they go home to Africa, where they originally came from centuries ago, they once again are viewed as separate: obviously different and not pure blood African. And because of all the bad media coverage of African Americans in the United States, even Africans believe the stereotypes about them. Africans perceive Njeri’s cultural identity to be basically “wanna-be African.” Americans consider her cultural identity to be black rights activist trying to make a stand by changing her name away from her God given name. Njeri considers her cultural identity to be an aware African American woman trying to embrace an almost forgotten heritage.
Comment by Rebecca Whisenhunt — July 7, 2009 @ 6:16 pm
My response is going to be about the article “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. This article is about Cindy and how she thought she was very ugly and how no one really noticed her if her older sister was there with her. Cindy does not realize her decision to have plastic surgery done on her is mostly out of being jealous from her sister. I can relate to how she kind of felt during her childhood, however, there are a lot of things that I do not agree with her. One of the things that I can relate with her is her insecurity about her looks. I have two older sisters that have always seemed perfect to me in every way. I always used to envy them but as I got older I could understand that they were not born with everything they have; whether that is their beauty or their brains. Like everyone else they had to work hard to maintain their beauty, by going to a dermatologist and using the cream or treatments they would recommend. If you really want to look good then you have to work hard to make sure you achieve that beauty, you cannot get everything just handed to you. Of course there are girls out there that are just beautiful, however, that does not mean they do not have to work hard to maintain that beauty.
Beauty does not equal happiness in my book. Every female in this whole universe is never happy about her body. There will always be something that they do not like, whether it is their nose, eyes, lips, etc. Nobody is happy and that is a lesson we just have to learn. Cindy needs to realize that taking the short way is never going to make everything fine. Even though she has done all these plastic surgeries on her and is still doing them to this day, she still has insecurities about getting older. Cindy has gotten into a habit of ever body noticing her for her body and not her personality. Cindy thinks that she is very happy now, however after reading this article I feel that she is not happy with her looks at all because she is always finding something to get surgery for. Cindy does not realize that she has a problem with not accepting getting older because getting surgery done all the time does not mean you are not getting old, and Cindy needs to realize it, and stop with all the surgery she keeps getting done.
There were a lot of options for Cindy to get beautiful throughout her life before she got plastic surgery. All she had to do was go to a dermatologist and ask his or her opinion on what she should do. Cindy could have exercised to lose the fat she had or watched what she ate. There are so many options for every female out there to make themselves beautiful rather than just getting plastic surgery done. From all of the plastic surgeries Cindy has done, she needs to realize she is not that person; she is just a hybrid of every person feature that she took to get her surgery done. To make yourself an individual and be respected you have to show common sense and in my opinion Cindy with all her education and accomplishments has no common sense. She needs to realize that a guy is really not worth your time if all he wants you is for your looks. Looks do matter but if that is what you want your whole to be about then what is the point with being with that person?
In short, Cindy has gone way over board with the surgeries she has done and keeps getting done. She needs to come to a realization that looks may play a role but not to keep putting that much stress on your body. Especially, after your reach a certain age you need to accept that you are getting older because doing plastic surgery to look younger does not change the fact that you are getting older every year.
Comment by Sukhreet Sandhu — July 7, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
The article I chose for my third response is “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. The article talks about one woman’s battle with her feeling of not being pretty enough, leading to her obsession with plastic surgery. In the article Cindy talks about several occasions where the way people saw her were completely different than the women that people found attractive, an example from the article being “I can remember so many times I’d be out with a guy, walking down the street, and when a prettier girl walked by they would turn and look them up and down” (Jackson)
I chose this article because to a certain extent I could relate to the feeling of constantly being compared to other people and sometimes coming up short, or being treated differently just because I was not as attractive as someone else. I do not agree with the way she went about changing herself because I feel she took the easy way out, as opposed to eating right and going to the gym to better your body and self, though it may not have as dramatic results as cosmetic surgery I feel that is a much better way to gain confidence and better yourself.
I know a few women that have undergone cosmetic surgery and as I said before I do not agree with it and would never do it myself, because they are my friends I definitely support their choice to do so. I think that everyone has different insecurities and there are many ways to handle them but on the same note I think that both men and women should explore all options on how to better themselves before cosmetic surgery
Comment by Kyle Mueller — July 7, 2009 @ 7:53 pm
In The Return of the Pig by David Brooks, he talked about how men are degrading women in tv shows, certain magazines and rap music. He explained that women are now allowed to be as open about their sexuality as men. He pointed out that Maxim magazine is the single-minded pursuit of horniness. I believe that Maxim magazines are just like most magazines. However, Maxim is intented to strike males. Therefore, they include pictures of women in lingeries or bikins. I believe Brooks does not think outside the box. He doesn’t address the reasons why Maxim magazine have those kinds of pictures. Women have the same rights as men so they are allowed to “hook up” with anyone they please.
In rap music, He explained the rap industry is full of low-class hip-hop thugs. He quoted “It is the least privileged parts of society that are often the most sexist, reactionary and even materialistic.” This quote is totally wrong. I believe these underprivileged people are enjoying the life they never had. They are able to get what they want now since they are rich and famous.
Comment by Christina Anagonye — July 7, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
Response #4
“My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson
I read this and was absolutely amazed at how she wrote it because I think everything is true. This was probably the best line in the essay “A man does not have to be good-looking to get a woman, or to get ahead in life. But men value women for their looks.” I laughed at the part where it said women don’t even need a brain, it’s optional if they have looks! That is so true there are so many celebrities that they show that are beautiful to society but are well, stupid. Some of the things these celebrities say are just ridiculous. I remember Paris Hilton was talking about Walmart and actually said “Do they sell like walls or something?”. Come on! If you are a women and have the looks they anything is possible for you but if you’re a women and are trying to get ahead in society without looks, well good luck. It’s so hard to succeed but even when women have looks and are smart, most men try to get something from the women and tell her that’s how she can succeed in her work. I felt like the women getting cosmetic surgery tried so hard to fit in to society and becoming beautiful that she began to see every single flaw in her looks and went overboard with the surgeries. I feel like the media impacts so much on people today that it has really hit hard on women and their self-esteem’s. I also feel like she just had bad luck because when men are ready to settle down they do look for a women with looks but also for a women that can do be the house wife. A man likes to be taken care of too. I also feel like the way she feels like so confident about herself and her dating she should have felt like that before and maybe she would have been more successful. I feel like looks are such a big part of today’s society but even if you’re not the supermodel then it’s not that big of a deal. Nobody is perfect but if you have the right amount of confidence in yourself then it shouldn’t be that hard to find someone who appreciates you. I really did like this essay because it does show what most women go through growing up and trying to be the prettiest girl like the way the media portray them. The one thing I didn’t like about the essay was that I felt like she forgot who she was and the last line really proved that about her saying she was dead. That was who she was and she shouldn’t forget what she went through and how she felt and become so shallow just because she got a prettier face.
Comment by Christina Bekris — July 7, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
Rich Gorski
The reading, by Lance Strate, was interesting and I decided to analyze his three ways that beer is integrated into the work world. “Beer is integrated in the work world in three ways. First, it is represented in some commercials as the product of patient, skillful craftsmanship, thus partaking of the virtues associated with the labor that produced it.” I can recall the Miller Lite commercials that state that there is triple the hops in each bottle of Miller Lite. On the label on a Budweiser bottle it states, “This is the famous Budweiser beer. We know of no brand produced by any other brewer which costs so much to brew and age. Our exclusive Beechwood Aging produces a taste, a smoothness and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price.” Both of these suggest that it is carefully made and that a lot of hard work goes into brewing each bottle. I can see how these examples can establish the relationship between beer and work. Strate, then continues with “beer serves as a reward for a job well done, and receiving beer from one’s peer acts as a symbol of other men’s respect for the workers accomplishment.” I can relate to this with a job I had about a week ago. The customer offered a beer to the group I was working with as a way of showing their appreciation for a job well done. “Third, beer acts as a marker of the end of the work day, the signal of quitting time, the means for making the transition from work to leisure.” I can remember viewing a lot of beer commercials that show the end of a work day and workers will end their day with a beer. I even get calls at the end of my workday sometimes to go get a drink somewhere.
Comment by Rich Gorski — July 7, 2009 @ 9:30 pm
The first article I want to touch on is the one about the beer commercials. I do agree that most beer commercials are geared toward men. I feel that this is because most consumption of beer is by men. Although you do see many women have beer to drink I personally do not believe it is the top choice. The comparison could be that Malibu Pineapple Rum is geared toward women, although men do drink it from personal experience it is mostly consumed by women. On the argument that the commercials are very sexiest I do agree that they are. The commercials really objectify women to be the “eye candy” rather then actually in the plot of the commercial. The article author then stated that all beer commercials are very negative, this is the area were I do not agree. There are hundreds of the commercials that are not negative at all (prime example is the Molson Canadian beer commercials). Finally the example the author gives forth that beer is made to seem natural or from nature, and that it is giving a false image of beer. Really this part did not really make much sense to me. While yes the product is not very “natural” the components are surprisingly naturally rich. Many high quality beers use filtered quality stream water, and very expensive hops.
The next article is “My Cosmetic Surgery” in which the author underwent many plastic surgeries. I feel that even though she was not comfortable with her previous “body/life” it is totally wrong to do plastic surgery for vanity reasons. It seemed from the discussion and readings that the man reason she did feel uncomfortable was because she was the ugly sister for most of her life. The only time I really feel that it is ok to get major plastic surgery is for medical or serious repairing of the body. An example is a cleft lip which is a serious deformity of the mouth that needs to be repaired. Plastic surgery is a great thing when it is not abused for personal vanity. I also feel that the doctors should have required major physiological testing for the author. If they did do the proper test I am very confident that they would have picked up some type of instability in the author.
Comment by Anthony Injic — July 7, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
This is a response to both “The Myth of the sexual Athlete” and “The Return of the Pig”. Reading these articles, I found that I could not relate to either of them. I believe the behavior/mindset of men described in these articles are actually specific to individuals rather than the entire male spectrum. There are instances where young men compete with each other in regards to their sex lives, and there are men who have less than fair outlooks on women. The people I have surrounded myself with in my life, however, are far from what these readings are describing. As a matter of fact, growing up, me and my friends would often make fun of these alpha male characters and their antics. Maybe it was because my group of friends were mainly creative types that were not interested in competition. Either way, I don’t think being a male automatically means you have this default mindset. Instead, I think this particular attitude is a choice many young men run into when they are growing up, even if it is indirect. I was also raised by a single Mother who came to this country with nothing and manifested an entire new life for herself. Because of that, I greatly respect the single mother and all hard working females in general. Also, in “The Return of the Pig” when Brooks talks about lower parts of society being the most sexist along with rap music, he fails to recognize the history of hip-hop where the music used to be colorless, sexless, and a positive way of life during times of great hardship. Once hip-hop was cashed in and taken over by money, it transformed completely. So perhaps what Brooks blames on rap and the less privileged is actually a problem with the values and morals of society today.
Comment by David Pietrusa — July 7, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Cosmetic surgery is an interesting thing. On one hand it can be seen as selfish, self-centered, and shallow. On the other hand it can be seen as life changing, up lifting, and miraculous. Some procedures are seen as egotistical while others are seen as necessary and extraordinary. I personally don’t find plastic surgery to be as disgusting as some of my other classmates.
I believe that Cindy Jackson is a complete extreme but I don’t think that she is as disgusting as others may perceive her. Yes, she used her inheritance from her father to pay for her plastic surgery. Is that inappropriate? Maybe not, who’s to judge; it was left to her to spend as she chooses. Some people purchase material items such as cars, jewelry, homes, and so on. A nose job can uplift someone and it can last up to fifty years, I would consider that to be a worthwhile purchase.
Many people have insecurities; many of these insecurities have been there present since childhood. I know a person who has been heavy and over weight her entire life. She lost almost all of the weight but couldn’t get rid of all it despite her best efforts. She recently treated herself to liposuction on her thighs. Is she selfish? Is she shallow? Someone might try to label her one of these titles but they don’t know the truth. As seen today, people will over look characteristics and see what’s only on the surface. No one cares to see how intelligent and accomplished Jackson is.
Jackson states that her new look, which is a direct result of her multiple surgeries gave her enough confidence to “quit letting men treat her like a doorman.” Cosmetic surgeries can be very uplifting to one’s morality and self esteem. It can be very surprising to learn that there are many different procedures that are characterized as cosmetic surgeries such as correcting cliff-palates, laser hair removal, breast reductions, and any more. Many of our soldiers who are fighting in Iraq and in Afghanistan are badly burned as a result of IEDs. Many of these soldiers have 3rd degree burns covering their entire bodies. To correct their disfigurements they must undergo a little thing called, cosmetic surgery.
Yes, Cindy Jackson is an extreme but cosmetic surgery is not as bad as some people make it out to be. It is your body and your right to chose what to do with it. Don’t judge a book by its cover even if it’s had some tweaks or a facelift or two.
Comment by Alexandra Hutting — July 7, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
I chose to write my response in regard to our class discussion today on “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. I found this article and discussion particularly interesting because I have always argued that society, in particular the media, is to blame for women who have low self-esteem and then use cosmetic surgery as an escape from who they are to who they feel they “should be”. If you look at most magazines for teens, music videos, models and singers you will find that an overwhelming amount of the women have what society would call “the perfect body/look” or “beautiful”. For young girls today who are very impressionable and deal with peer pressure, this sort of beauty standard is extremely difficult to digest. Although you have some shows such as “America’s Next Top Model” who somewhat try to embrace plus size girls (although that may only be a size 8) it still does not represent the significant amount of women in our country who are not a size 0-2. To have girls who may be a size 6 to think they are fat is ridiculous and poses a serious problem. This is problematic for many reasons, one being that these same girls grow up fearing to gain any weight (which is natural with aging) or develop any sign of aging on their skin and their solution to this “dilemma” is cosmetic surgery to keep them maintaining their youth. To me, this is the most disturbing reality because I, personally, find it very strange when I see a woman who is in her 50s+ who looks as if she’s in her 20s. It’s just weird. Once people reach that age there comes a certain respect and image that one expects. Wisdom and guidance are the most common characteristics your average person expects of someone who has aged. It’s a little difficult to have that image of someone who looks like they’re your age.
Another reason this article was disturbing is because Cindy Jackson mentions how women don’t even need a brain just the body/look…that this is what men really want anyway. For her to publicly state something as offensive as that baffles me. She knows that she has many young women who admire her and will more than likely read her book and that one statement will have a significant impact on the mindset of the impressionable readers. This encouragement of not needing an education but simply hold a certain look is by far the worst advice/recommendation I have heard to this day. Cindy Jackson is no role model in my eyes, and not simply because of the amount of cosmetic surgeries that she’s had but moreso because of her psychological mindset in how she processes what’s important in life. I fear how she will impact the lives of upcoming women in society and how this will continue to negatively impact out society. With women like her publicly speaking in favor of this behavior, it makes it just that more difficult to rebuke it.
Comment by Shaquitta Stanley — July 7, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
The article “Just Walk On By” by Brent Staples really sums up how living in a city can feel. First off, the way he describes his “first victim” is how many youths in Detroit are looked at. Unfortunately, regardless of color or demographic, the youth in general is viewed as sketchy and are not to be trusted. I also agree with Mr. Staples in the sense that I too believe for some unconceivable reason young males feel the need to adhere to the embrace the tough-guy image. The measures he takes to alleviate the problem are good to make others feel comfortable, but he shouldn’t feel the need to be subservient.
I found the article “Beer Commercials: A Manual on Masculinity” by Lance Strate is a good way of summing up male behavior. The article isn’t true in a literal sense, but can be viewed as a paradigm for male behavior. I completely agree with the statement that masculinity is a social construct. Beer commercials exemplify what a “real man” should be; however, a real man wouldn’t need a commercial to tell him how he should carry himself. A real man would enjoy his beer, have a free-will and live his life on his own terms.
Comment by Ryan Hearld — July 7, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
Today’s discussion essays are based on the differences of males and females on different aspects. Such as “The Return of the Pig” is reflected contrast in views of men and women, like how the media and society categorized in two stereotype; masculine and feminine. This stereotype is clearly mention in our daily life style, media use different ways for the publicity and attracts the audience of both sexes. For example; in auto mobile advertise, you always see a young man having a new model car and he is going to get his girlfriend for date or a newly married man going home where his new wife wait for him. It is less likely that you see a mom going to pick her kids from school or going to make grocery. Similarly, for the cosmetics, hair colors and women products, they always show that after using those products she got a boyfriend. So, audience can conclude those ads like that if men have or buy a new car so they can easily find a girlfriend or the happy life is basically depends on the new model car. Same thing happen with women, they more likely use those beauty products to get more chances to attract men and make their life easy.
In addition, in the essay ‘ my cosmetic surgery’, author Cindy explained her past life experienced and those circumstances by which she compelled to performed her cosmetic surgery. As she said, she was not that pretty and she want to be like other pretty girls to get the attention of more guys, and finally she performed cosmetic surgery at the age of 33. If we consider her age, she was not that immature that cannot handle the reality; I mean she already spent her half life with her natural features, but still has an ideal face with attractive features from different pretty girls since her childhood. It show she was waiting to be pretty till the age of 33, and most important thing is that the only reason she mentioned is ‘popular boys didn’t pay attention towards her’. She had normal face neither very pretty nor ugly that people didn’t like her, but still wants to be pretty to get more rich men.
In conclusion, I just want to say that this is the media’s magic that whatever it represents to the audience, intentionally or unintentionally they start to follow it. For example, as media shows that rich guys, with new model car or with good physic only, can get the pretty girls; women with full groom personality or with good quality makeup or perfect hair color only have chance to go for date with a rich partner. People try to be like that and spent more time and money to be like that but off course not possible in the real world. As resultant, they feel inferiority complexes against those perfect ideal advertised peoples and their lives.
Comment by summera kanwal — July 7, 2009 @ 10:59 pm
Nathan Missler
Response 4
What I am going to talk in my response this time is about the article in Seeking Common Cause called “My Cosmetic Surgery” by Cindy Jackson. This is the one thing that is truly a pet peeve of mine is when someone wants to change something about themselves physically. Not to sound all religious and what not, but God made you for who you are for a reason. I would cherish your body and embrace it as well. Cindy Jackson did so many cosmetic surgeries on her face and body you would need all of your fingers and toes and some of your friends to count the times she has been under the knife. Once you do it once, it almost becomes an obsession over it, and it is with many of things such as smoking or locking the doors. This whole deal with cosmetic surgery is all about self confidence. If you are not self confident with yourself you are going to seek every opportunity to satisfy yourself. And that is what Cindy Jackson’s problem with her, is to satisfy herself. If she is not loved and adored at every single moment, she thinks that there is something wrong with her, and there is; she is practically obsessed with cosmetic surgery! It’s as simple as that, and no gray area. She lastly stated in her interview that she doesn’t even associate herself with her without the surgeries. “She’s dead. I cut her up.” Cindy Jackson does have a point. The beautiful woman that did not have any done with her face is gone and now we are stuck with a wannabe Barbie doll obsessing every moment to have something done with her face.
Comment by nathan missler — July 7, 2009 @ 11:33 pm
I’m writing in response to the article ‘The Return of the Pig,’ by David Brooks. This article is directed towards women and the way men view them as “sexual icons.” Brooks began his argument by attacking Maxim Magazine, to sum all his criticism up, he felt that any man that read or viewed Maxim was a pig. He also mentions how men see women as pleasure toys. In my opinion Brooks made a really poor argument with this article. I say this because he seems to focus only on his opinions. As mentioned in class, there may be a reason why he is so hostile towards anyone who reads this magazine, perhaps a nasty break up. As the article continues, Brooks makes a big jump to attack rap music. However, he attacked rap quit similarly to Maxim. He proposes that rap music in general is degrading towards women, and anyone who listens to it has no “depth.” While reading this portion of the article, I started becoming a little frustrated. Brooks seems to be attacking all rap music, if he really knew the culture of rap he would know that not all rappers talk about “bitches” and “hoes.” Rappers such as Lupe Fiasco or Common, send a really good message, whether it be on the worlds issues or a relationship. On the other hand, there are some rap songs that do indeed degrade women. In that aspect I believe that all goes back to parenting, and what you allow your children to grow up listening to.
All in all, I don’t believe Brooks convinced me with his argument; he should have attacked this issue in a different direction.
Comment by Joumana Amine — July 8, 2009 @ 1:06 am
The return of the pig really seemed to strike me the wrong way. I do not think that all men that look at maxim magazine or swimsuit editions are pigs. The female body is a beautiful thing, and to look at it is wonderful. These men are not peepers; they are looking at a picture of a perfectly consenting female. The author writes a very weak piece on what he calls “retro sexism”. He says women are now just as chauvinistic as men. Compared with older times, I would not call women more chauvinistic, I would call them more open with their sexuality.
A person who listens to rap music is not a woman hater. The artist is expressing whatever they have on their mind, not the listener. Music (rap) is entertainment. A mature and stable person knows how to draw the line between listening to what an artist says, or listening to what is right and wrong.
Comment by Jill Starnes — July 13, 2009 @ 10:36 pm