Born A Girl by Manic Street Preachers

Born A Girl by Manic Street Preachers

 

Do I look good for you tonight
Will you accuse me as I hide
Behind these layers of disguise
In the mirrors of my own happiness

I've loved the freedom of being inside
Need a new start and a different time
Something grows in the space between me
And it's twisting and changing this fragile body

And I wish I had been born a girl instead of what I am
Yes I wish I had been born a girl and not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man

The censorship of my skin
Is screaming inside and from within
There's no room in this world for a girl like me
And place around there where I fit in

And I wish I had been born a girl instead of what I am
Yes I wish I had been born a girl and not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man
And not this mess of a man

 

 

 Hello!  Its been a while since my last blog.  This week, I wanted to try something new.  I feel that music is a passageway into thinking so I thought that a song would be suitable to talk about this week.  I personally have never heard of this song or group until I had looked it up so I thought I would give it a listen.  However, I could not properly take in what the song was saying by just listening to it so here are the lyrics.  This song, in short, talks about how the composer does not feel comfortable in their own male skin and if only he was born a girl, he/she would not have to hide who she really is.  However, he also says, "there is no room in this world for a girl like me".  I thought that this was implying that no one would accept him if he was who he felt he was, which was a girl.  Since she is different, she felt like, no matter who she was she would never fit in.  If only she was born a girl. She wishes she could live in a world where gender or appearance does not define people.  If he was born a girl he would not have to try to look good for others (first line) or hide
Behind these layers of disguise.  It is sad to think that this actually happens to real people and not just in a song.  When I first listened to it, it did not occur to me what it was actually saying until I sat down and read the lyrics.  This song helped to open my eyes to reality to see how easy it is to take advantage of simple things like knowing who you are.  I hope that one day, this song would be just a memory instead of reality where we could look back and think, "we do not have to worry about that anymore".      

 

 

 

all the pieces of femininity are coming together

Okay, so...  I found these two pictures separately on google when I searched feminine and I thought that they fit together perfectly.  However, it does take a little while to explain, so bear with me. 

If you look at the picture on the bottom of the girl coming together by putting the puzzle pieces together, you will see that it is as if society is putting her pieces in the right spots for her, or at least that is how I took it.  They are giving her a specific skin tone and shaping her the way they want by the different shaped puzzle pieces.  Then, the picture on the top shows a puzzle put together except it is missing one piece, and that piece is confidence.  When society puts generalizations and stereotypes on different kinds of people, these people feel, in a way, obligated to look the way that society is telling them to in order to fit in.  However, by doing this, they loose a piece of themselves and the confidence that they have in the person that they really are, look and action wise.  Also, the top picture is made up of all white pieces.  I saw this as if society shapes people to make them all the same, in this case a plain white puzzle, and everyone starts to blend together and look the same.  But, they are all plain and normal, and actually boring.  I mean, who wants to look at a plain white puzzle when you could look at a puzzle of the jungle or a city that is full of different colors and shapes???

cool... i guess

What is the definition of the word, 'cool'.  Well, according to the dictionary, it means, "fashionably attractive or impressive".  When I think of cool I think of the kids at school who stand out for being popular and having a lot of friends and being involved in a lot of school activities, sports in particular.  But who does this definition actually fit??? What are the standards you need to face in order to be considered cool??? How do you become cool???  The answer to all of the questions comes back to the topic of masculinity.  The definition actually fits those who are perceived to be masculine and be fashionably and physically attractive.  In order to become cool you must be masculine and you can only become cool if you are masculine.  However, why does whether or not you are deemed masculine affect if you are considered cool??? This is because we look up to those who stand out because they are strong or fashionable.  We decide who and what is cool.  But, we also decide what is masculine and what is not.  This is very unfair to the rest of the people of society who are not considered cool.  We have set so many standards for men that we are now telling boys to want to grow up and be masculine  and make a lot of money, play sports and be strong, and to never show their emotions.  We think that we are helping these boys, but, in fact, we are hurting them and holding them back.  Being less masculine is like taking a step down.  Everyone wants attention and wants people to like them but we are focusing too much on this aspect and now, boys are losing a sense of personal identity because of it.  I personally don't understand why a guy cant play with dolls, or like art, or play the flute without being identified as less masculine.  But, I guess the rest of society who makes the rules disagrees.  So, how can we change their minds???

Educaiton 101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMBSBgzxil0

Disclaimer: This blog requires you to watch the attached video above before reading.

And now...

On with the blog!!!!

So, I know this blog is kind of weird because we didn't really do much in class, but I figured I would find a cool video with a couple of cool fun facts and write about that for a bit.  In the video, it talks about the American education system.  I particularly liked this video because it was not biased in any way, as some of the other videos I watched were.  The video says that we, as in the United States, are ranked 14th in the world based on our education, however, then it goes on to say that 14% of adults are not literate/ cannot read. I find it challenging to wrap my head around that.  The fact that the American education system is looked so highly upon makes it hard to believe that a pretty significant percentage of our adult population cannot even read.  You might be thinking, well, how is this possible?  And that is a very good question, in which I do not have the ability to answer.  In a different video I watched, it said that the number of kids attending school is decreasing more and more every year.  I think that part of the reason for this could be the significant amount of money parents have to pay in order for their student to receive an education.  Take a look back at the video, 1:07 in particular.  That blows my mind. I will leave you with this very familiar question, who does the American education system truly serve?
Thanks for reading,
Samantha :)

the forgotten gift

Throughout class this past week, we talked about the general topic of education.  During the Socratic seminar, we talked a lot about all of the flaws in the current and future education system.  I made note of the fact that a majority of the conversation was based on how creativity is being taken away from the current and future students and the importance from creativity is being shifted to the core classes.  I feel like this quote by Albert Einstein perfectly replicates what it was that we were talking about.  To have this special gift is a major blessing, but often times we forget about the significance of these gifts and focus on the ‘faithful servant’ that is always there no matter what.  This, in part, is due to the schooling system putting more emphasis on grades, testing, and the S.T.E.M. classes.  It may sound pleasing to give the servant a minute in the spotlight but, how would you feel if you were the sacred and special gift.  As you read this next part, try to put yourself in the shoes of the gift, in this case, creativity.  You are a one in a million gift, you are special and there is only one of you.  You know you are unique but you still feel left out because everyone else looks the same.  You no longer feel special and start to transform into being the same as everyone else because you are being forgotten.  Okay, now, bringing it back to reality, how does this make you, the gift feel? It probably does not make you feel good about yourself or special anymore, however, this is reality.  We are forgetting about you, the gift. We are leaving you behind for something more standard and uniform.  We are shifting away from your kind to that of everyone else.  We are leaving you for the thing that we are supposed to be.  So, I leave you with this thought… don’t forget how special you are, don’t be afraid to shine, because you are a gift and you deserve to stand out. 

Who does the American education system truly serve???

The past few days in class, we have been talking about all of the flaws in the American education system.  The issue that most caught my attention was students not having equal opportunities.  This cartoon, for example, highlights and explains this flaw in further detail. 

Not all students have the same abilities, but can all excel in their own ways.  The elephant can not climb the tree as easily as the monkey would and, as Thomas Edison said in the quote at the bottom, the fish can not be fairly judged by its ability to climb the tree.   However, the American education system uses unfair standardized testing, or in the carton exams, to rank these students.  This method is very unequal because a student could be not as confident when it comes to testing or not have the money to afford to retake tests (AP tests, SAT, ACT, etc.).  So, how are these students supposed to be compared fairly when it comes to this type of testing.  This students are put at a disadvantage and have no way to get out.  In addition, the future of these students depends on these unfair tests.  Colleges base most of the application process on SAT/ACT scores.  These effects of such testing continue on and on to follow a long list of consequences and effects, however, they all revolve around the students.  Being a student makes this topic seem even more apparent and even more serious, so why aren't we doing anything about it to fix it?  The future of the world is in the hands of the current students so what is next?  How will we change the system?  It is up to us. 

I'm Fine :(:

 

So, this week in class we focused a lot on the art of modern language manipulation.  Although it was charity week and things were often thrown off in class because of it, I feel like the material that we did incorporate were very valuable.  Remember how we had the assignment of finding an example of how modern language manipulation? Yes?!?! well, I chose this as my piece.  I liked it because it was very simple, yet it had a lot of meaning behind it. Not only did the artist manipulate the language by using the clique phrase of, "I'm fine" when people really aren't fine, but he/ she  also manipulated the words themselves.  I found the fact that when you turn the quote completely upside down it says something completely different very interesting.  It helps to symbolize that deeper meaning and show how we manipulate language to make us seem 'fine'. In my blog from last week, I talked about how we manipulated language all of the time throughout our everyday life without even knowing it.  Although this example is a little more noticeable when you are talking that you are not actually saying what you are meaning to say, we do and use this phrase all of the time and then act like nothing is wrong when someone replies with this phrase.  This cognitive decision is one that leaves me thinking how language manipulation really works.  How do we allow it to get all the way to our heads and control us into thinking that the manipulated language is correct.

The Art of Language

Before reading, I want you to read both of the quotes and chose the one that you agree with the most.  There is no wrong answer, however, I will be discussing the one that I agree with the most below.  Then, after you are done, please watch the crash course video.  ( you don't have to watch it all, just watch from 1:04-7:23)

So... language.  In all of the pieces that we read this past week in class have focused on how language sets people apart from each other in a negative way.  The first quote highlights this claim.  It implies that if you don't speak another language, the one you speak now is useless because you won't fit in and will not be able to communicate.  In the video, however, Hank Green talks about how people and animals learn to communicate through actions and sylabols when they are young.  And, not only do they learn it, it comes naturally to them, kind of like common sense.  If babies and animals can do it, why can't everyone.  I mean, "everyone smiles in the same language", so why can't everyone communicate in the same language.  On the other hand, I can see how some people could simply think, if I don't speak japanese, then how am I supposed to communicate??? Well, lets break it down.  When you are walking in the hallway at school, you wave hello to someone.  You just communicate without saying a word.  Now, was that so hard???  We have so many different gestures for so many different things.  You can shrug if you don't know and answer, you can raise your hand if you do, you can give a thumbs up if something is good, or a thumbs down if something is bad.  You communicate so many times throughout the day that you probably don't even think about.  So why is language a barrier?  Why does it hold people back and seperate them from eachother?  Why is, "a language we don't know a fortress sealed"?  I hope that this blog made you really think about the real meaning of language and how easy it is to communicate without actually speaking.  If you feel so moved, please leave a comment below and let me know what you thought about this topic, I would love to hear!!!
~Samantha Tousignant :)