I don't think that the correct argument is "Is abortion ok" I think that the argument needs to be "Is abortion murder?" And when you get into this argument there are very convincing arguments for both sides.

One being that until the infant is born it is an extension of the mother and therefor it is her choice to do with it what she wants. However a new Alberta law has made it legal for children to sue parents for damages that were incurred while the child was in the womb, But only in the case of a car accident. This law was in response to the Canadian legislation that provinces could allow a child to sue its parents, but only in the case of a car accident.

So if a child can sue for damages that are incurred in the womb then does that not seem to operate under the same guise that an unborn child has rights separate from the mothers while in the womb?

The fact that there is no legal definition for a fetus further darkens the issue. It is fully understandable for a pro choice believer to use the fact that the fetus is simply a lump of tissue and therefor should not be considered as a human child. Many pro life activists rebuke this claim with biological "timetables" stating fetus development.

Another important issue when considering abortion is the relatively newer ability to screen for disabilities at certain stages of fetal development. People argue that this allows society to eliminate people with disabilities it is also argued that because the testing can not decipher between levels of severity that it is unfair to abort based on the results. However many people will argue that aborting can save a child years of suffering or will save unprepared parents from having a child that they can not effectively parent.

My views on abortion? I don't know for sure I'm a Christian and because of that I do believe that abortion is murder I find it hard to see the difference between aborting an infant in the womb and taking a newborn and denying it food or oxygen. However Ive also never been in a situation where Ive had to seriously consider abortion maybe if I was my beliefs would change. I guess its hard to tell. At this point though as far as abortion being a right, Well I don't see murder as being a right. I also believe that if a child who is born can sue its parents for damages caused in the womb then if that child were killed then it would have been able to charge for murder. Like I said though this belief could change. We never really have a full perspective on any issue until we have experienced it.

I believe that the abortion debate will never be easily solved I also believe that the Canadian government needs to put a comprehensive definition out for a fetus and to what extent a fetus should have constitutional rights.

I chose two songs for the lyrics today because I wanted songs that looked at the issue from both sides, I originally made this psot without lyrics but then I decided I wanted them in. I believe that through music we can see issues in a way that makes them less intimidating thats why you find lyrics in my blog.

And then she heads for the clinic
and she gets some static walkin' through the doors
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose
Everlast~What its like

Mommy I dont like this clinic
Hopefully you'll make the right decision
And dont go through with the Knife incision
But it's hard to make the right move
When you in high school
How you have to work all day and take night school
Hopping off da bus when the rain is pouring
What you want morning sickness or the sickness of mourning
Nick Canon~Can I live

I read the reserve articles . . . I really liked the one on plastic surgery and the one on supremacy crimes. But the one on becoming 100% straight irritated me because of all the sports analogy's as for the other two ?

Truthfully the annoyed be beyond all belief I got this vibe from both of them that they were telling me how the world is as opposed to what they believe the world is, I got this vibe like I should automatically agree with everything they said. Well I have a surprise for them NO ONE tells me what to think or how to think it.

Onto other news . . .
Vagina monologues are over *tear* You know at first I was really nervous about them because some of the subject matter can be very well blunt. But as it went further and especially the two production nights I realized that it was more then the monologues itself, What mattered was all of us coming together such a diverse group and all of OUR monologues OUR stories . . . Thats what mattered. Looking at how something like that can change a life, Bring people together, Inspire change and just wow . . . Simply put its amazing.

I dont really know what else to say . . . Im out.


This is all there is, i can see that now
But I have to be careful with it, now its been found, yeah
So fragile, but powerful, yeah this is the light
This is the light of my destiny, come stay with me, through every night
Imogen Heap~Candlelight

I want to start by saying that the movie "tough guise" really irritated me, Allthough the content was good and interesting I felt like the guy kept saying the same thing over and over and over again. I wish I had counted the number of times he went back to media . . . And what made it worse was he would talk about media then another influence and then go back to media so at first I was like huh what ? trying to follow what was going on and then it just started to go on repeat.

Now that thats out . . . I really did like the content of the movie I felt that alot of it was right on and I think Id like to talk to some of my guy friends about it to see what they think just so that I know. I liked the little bits of knowledge about how guns have become bigger as have male bodies yet female bodies are getting smaller. I was absoloutly APALLED at the howard stern comments though . . . It still amazes me that in todays society something like a school shooting could be used for humor and on top of that using rape as a part of it . . . It made me physically ill to hear those comments.

I was trying to think of places that guys were misrepresented or given weird ideas for what they should be that wearnt mentioned in the movie and I came up with the fact that we as females do it all the time probably without realizing it. Unconciously we tend to gravitate towards the males me find attractive (You can not tell personality from across the room) I know that they do it to but I think that both genders need to work on that. Another place where I think some work needs to be done is this conception that a guy who isnt interested in sex is a virgin or flawed, Im a christian and because of this I have met sooo many completly amazing and good lookig guys who are ot interested in hooking up or w/e and I think it makes them that much cooler. However not everyone seems to see it that way . . .

CASE STUDY
I know an amazing boy . . . absoloutly amazing were really close and we get along great hes 18 good lucking athletic well educated goal oriented overall good guy. He has never had a GF or kissed a girl at 18 when I mentioned this to one of my close friends her first reaction was "is he deformed?"


I think we can judge them in the opposite sense though I know a girl who recently started dating a guy. One of the the first questions she wanted answered before she started dating him was how many girls he had slept with. She said that if it had been a large number she would have jokingly called him a slut but would have gotten over it, Another thing she said was that her reasoning was she would liek to know how many girls she was in turn sleeping with. I think this makes alot of sense and I dont know many girls who would say its not justified. So why is it ok for us but not guys?

I think its really sad the the completly rotten guys have given all guys a bad reputation to the point where girls and guys can have the same manurisms but if a girl does it its fine but if the guy does it hes doing it maliciously. . . I dunno


Made of plastic and elastic
He is rugged and long-lasting
Who could ever ever ask for more
Coin Operated Boy-Dresden Dolls

FOOD
wow . . . I think its important that we realize how serious this topic can be and how sometimes we dont even realize when somethings wrong. I have always had issues with food and my weight but Im just now realizing how involved you can be with it but not even realize it . . .

If Im with a group of people I will not eat unless someone else is, I judge how much I eat by what other people are eating and if I see someone eating less or healthier then me I automatically start bashing myself. Sound familiar?

But you know whats worse about this is that its not that bad, Its nothing compared to junior high when I was obsessive about it. Or one of my friends who made sure to exercise away EVERY calorie she consumed. So what is happening that we feel like eating is disgusting ? I know theres the media images of super skinny models. But what about the images where its telling us that eating is just not good if your a female. One specific example is a commercial from V8 juice a few years ago.

2 men walk into a convenience store and get nachos loaded with cheese as they are walking towards the counter they see a young attractive women with a juice they pretty much start to salivate until they realize that she is buying the same food as them then they seem shocked and dismayed

Or ice cream commercials where the girl playfully takes the guys ice cream cone and they both appear shocked that she would be enjoying such a calorie laden food

Why is it that for a female to EAT is considered so disgusting? Do we not have the need for food like everyone else? Its sad really sad . . .

There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world
Dixie Chicks~top of the world

I wanted to look at another type of "media" and maybe look for some positive aspects in it

Pageants . . . Oh how often we hear the word and oh how often we hear the differing opinions truthfully I'm surprised that they have not yet come up as a topic in class yet, But yall know me always looking for the new and exciting so I thought Id dive into this topic headfirst . . . Or is it feet first ?

Im sure we have all heard some sort of argument on pageants
"They demolish girls self esteem"
"They create confidence and poise"
"They put pressure on girls and families"
"They are a scholarship opportunity"


Well thats all fine and good . . . But what are they really ? And what about the different types of pageants? Where do you draw the line ?

Wikipedia defines pageants as

"a competition based mainly, though not always entirely, on the physical beauty of its contestants. Almost invariably, competitions for men and women are separate events, and those for men are not referred to as beauty contests. Beauty contests for women are more common, and winners are called beauty queens. Beauty contests for men, like Mr. Universe, are more likely to be "body building" contests—quite unlike the traditional "beauty contest" in which women are judged upon many attributes other than physical. However, in the 1990s, male "beauty contests" began to shift focus. Instead of only considering unnatural muscle mass, the competitions began to judge the natural physical attributes of the contestants as well as their physiques. These include Mr. World and Manhunt International."

The Miss.USA pageant website defines its delegates as
"These women are savvy, goal-oriented and aware. The delegates who become part of the Miss Universe Organization display those characteristics in their everyday lives, both as individuals, who compete with hope of advancing their careers, personal and humanitarian goals, and as women who see to improve the lives of others. Currently, Miss USA is experiencing a rebirth, playing a critical role in making the next 100 years "The Century of Women." "

Makes it all seem fairly simple doesn't it ? I mean obviously pageants are the devil and the Miss.USA corporation is lying so that no one suspects them of ruining young girls lives . . . Well maybe not. What about things such as cotillions and debutante balls? Well these as well must certainly be evil because of there premise of teaching young women manners and civility as well as arts such as ettiquitte and ballroom dance oh no seems strangly like the lady phenomenon again. Well maybe not.

My town in Alberta offers an event every year to the grade 11s called "queens ball" 40 years old this year and before that it was Nanteen. The event is institutionalized you dream about this you plan on this. The program starts in September where pairs are made boy girl pairs witht he girl commonly known as the "candidate" and the boy as the "escort" Mostly because the girls are queen candidates. After this the real work begins with 2 hours of ball room dance and 2 hours of ettiquitte a week you learn everything the waltz,vieneese waltz,jive and the rumba as well as how to walk how to talk how to hold a tea cup and how to cross your legs. Lets not forget how to pivot and how to curtsy or if your a boy how to escort and seat a lady. Halfway through the program (towards the end of October) is a fashion show where clothing from local businesses is modeled as well as one outfit of the participants choice this outfit is commonly known as the tea outfit and is what will be worn for the formal tea with the judges on the final day of the program. The fashion show is also important because it is the candidates and escorts first experience of the program when they are formally judged (although at the beginning of the program all participants are required to submit a resume of sorts as well as a casual photo")
After the fashion show the work begins again this time focusing on dance as well as more tea ettiquitte. And then about a month and a half later the big day has arrived. For the girls this involves early morning hair appointments (mine was at 10) then you go home maybe eat something and then get your tea outfit on and get picked up my your escort, You then arrive at the tea and are seated by your escort (girls and guys have separate teas) The tea consists of about an hour or so period of drinking tea munching on little dessert type things and being interviewed by the judges. After this is over its time to go home and change into your formal wear. Then you go to the old age home because the Seniors like to see everyone all dressy, Then you go to the school and begin the one on one interviews thats right an interview with you and your escort and 5 judges these questions usually consist of current events politics,issues etc. After this you get to chill out for a bit and then the ball begins. A dance portion where you display your ballroom skills and then the dance floor is opened to the public. At midnight the crowning begins (queen,best escort,best escort runner up, miss congeniality,mr congeniality, best dancers,most improved dancers, Greg dawson and donna nienaber awards) And then the night is over one final waltz and the culmination of 3 months of work work work.

So where did this leave me ? With a new found respect of pageants and so much else. My biggest gain was the ability to go into any situation and feel completely comfortable, a sense of confidence and yah some poise etc. But more then the personal gains was the community you go from a group of 30 to a single body a single goal and everyone wanting to work towards this goal.
I'm not saying all pageants are good, But I do think that some things that we see as negative can have a positive impact, We need to choose our battles and not be looking for who to blame.



She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted
She is everything I want that I never knew I needed
She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted
She is everything I want that I never knew I needed
The Fray~She is

Ive been seeing and hearing a lot of the word "reported" and I'm curious as to what it means because I think that its important to know what were talking about when we throw around statistics.

I think that a common assumption is that reported means having told someone of an incident, However I think that factually reported means that the incident has been reported to authorities (police etc) Whats scary about this is that 8% of assaults were reported TO POLICE when we take that 8% and add to it the assaults that are reported but not put in any sense of record thats an astounding amount, Add to this the number of assaults that are never spoken of . . .

Ive been thinking a lot about silence lately the conceptions and misconceptions surrounding it and the difference (In my mind) between speaking up and speaking out. What is silence ? Is silence not telling people when something happens ? Or can it be something different? If someone tells people that something happened but they still don't tell people the effect it had are they still keeping silent ? What about when you SCREAM something but no one hears, How does that relate to silence? Also it seems to be a common idea that talking helps . . . But does it ? Maybe sometimes before you can talk you need to know what it is you need to talk about. Now for speaking up and speaking out, I never saw a difference between the two but I think there needs to be one. It is possible to speak up and say that something happened, It is completely different to be able to speak out and say that it happened and deal with it. You could have no issues talking about something but when it comes to dealing with it internally you could not even have started the process.

I'm going to end this here because I think I put in a lot that might take some time for anyone to actually understand. I know it took me enough time to explain.


Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
It's hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
I'll always remember you like a child, girl

You know i've seen a lot of what the world can do
And it's breakin' my heart in two
Because i never wanna see you a sad, girl
Don't be a bad girl
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware
Cat Stevens~Wild World

I didnt blog yesterday so I thought I would today, Soooooo last class was a little intense there was a great debate on mental illness and wether or not it is a distinguishable factor in rape/incest/assault etc. My oppinion? Allthough some perpetrators are mentally ill it is a very small population that are and an even smaller population where there actions are caused by the mental illness. And more then that I believe that by saying "Oh well there must be something wrong with them to do that" Then we are validating there actions saying oh well its ok you were sick. What about this as a scenario,

A young girl is molested repeatedly by her friends brother the girl is around 8 and the brother around 14 or so. Would you say he is mentally ill? HE grew up to be perfectly fine with no issues. The young girl on the other hand grew up not trusting people and believing that she wasnt worth a real relationship. She has attachment issues and pushes people away because she feels that they will hurt her. Her self esteem and confidence also suffer from her blaming herself, When she reaced out for help the people around her dismissed it as the boy being curious.

Why are we so eager to make excuses for people? Why are we so eager to convince ourselfs that it is impossible for a human to cause that kind of harm? Are we naieve or is there more?

She whispered softly
To tell a story
About how she had been wronged
As she lay lifeless
He stole her innocence
And this is how she carried on
Well I guess she closed her eyes
And just imagined every thing's alright
But she could not hide her tears
'Cause they were sent to wash away those years
Creed~Wash away those years

I dunno quite what to write seeing as I missed most of class on tuesday, However I do have one thing I want to touch on when I get home from todays class. Its something thats been tugging at my mind strings so check back soon for some controversy cafe!

Im out!