Islam and Homosexuality

I was trying to figure out what to write about for this weeks blog. I began a search on the world wide web and I came across a documentary on the LOGO website called "A Jihad for Love". In this documentary they revealed the lives of gay and lesbian Muslims living in the southeast Asia. This amazing film showed social struggle as well as the religious conflict they were faced with in accepting their sexuality. I was really moved by the film-in many of the Muslim states being a homosexual is a capital punishment and they can be stoned to death and or even sentenced to jail.

The word "jihad" is thrown around in the American media as if it is a bad word but in actuality the word literally means"struggle". The one thing that stuck out to me while I was watching the films was the fact that even though the people they were interviewing were not accepted in the Muslim community they still had a very strong sense of religion and were not going to give up their religion. In essence they were not being accepted by their "God" and not worthy of love. Being Muslim and homosexual is a subject that is not discussed because it is taboo therefore no attention is being paid to the subject. A lot of them are forced to flee their countries and move to Europe and North America where it is not illegal to be a homosexual. But after 9/11 it is difficult for Muslims all over so moving is not necessarily the best thing given the racial profiling they often face. They are faced with daily fear of incarceration, death, and shame in the name of their sexuality.

An amazing film it opened my eyes to their "jihad" and showed that at the end of the day everyone is looking for acceptance and peace.

Looking Good Ladies!!

I was flipping through the cable channels this evening and I came across a show called "How To Look Good Naked" hosted by Carson Kressley. I was thrilled to see a show that celebrated women of all shapes, sizes and colors and in a very therapeutic way showed the women how to appreciate their bodies!!

On the episode I saw the host Carson takes two women(mother and daughter) places them in just a bra and under ware. And through a series of very clever task and techniques he shows the women how to feel good about their bodies and themselves. Carson showed the daughter three different body images, and asked her to pick the one that she thought had the best overall body.

Not knowing that one of the three bodies was hers and believe it or not she choose her own body! That spoke volumes to me, how can you look at your body everyday, shower your body and dress your body and not know what it looks like. Carson is able to address some real issues with real people that will prove to be a priceless form of intervention.

Society bombards us with images of beauty that are so far from what the average woman's shape is there's no wonder women are ashamed of their bodies.But in his own very unique way Carson has come up with a way to combat some of the negative stigmas attached to women that do not fit into mainstream beauty and I applaud his efforts. Great show!!

Blame It On The What????

I went on recent trip to South Carolina and while driving I like to listen to the local channels to see what they consider worthy of the radio. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and other times I am get exactly what I expect. Music that really isn't music just a beat from a beat machine layered with derogatory lyrics. On this occurrence I listened to the Jamie Foxx song "Blame It" I have vaguely heard the song but never really listened to the whole thing. I honestly was not that impressed with the lame chorus (it seemed a bit cheesy at first). On this trip I had the pleasure of hearing the song a whopping 23 times!! (can you believe it-and that was after I refused to count anymore) So of course the chorus is stuck in my HEAD!

I talked to my sister Kelly about what she thought of the song, she said to me "I love that song, it is so true!" So I went to YouTube watched the video and listened again with a in tuned ear. I began to think how many women can say they did things out of character because of alcohol? I came to the conclusion that probably a lot can think of a moment when they were under the influence and made a comment or had a little extra courage or even tried something they would not have under sober circumstances. So I ask why not "blame it on the alcohol"-the only problem I am having is that it really sends the message that it is OK not to be responsible for your actions. The world does not need another excuse for irresponsible risky behavior. Because unfortunately "blaming it on the goose" is what leads to rape and other unlabeled sexual assaults.

I read a article at Mentalhealth.net regarding drinking and rape and I was amazed to read that women that are raped while intoxicated blame themselves and not the assailant for the assault. In some cases they don't even consider what happened to them rape, they respond "I was drunk, that doesn't really count" Just because you had too many drinks does not make you worthy of rape. A song like this does a huge injustice to the acts of rape that take place in the environment of intoxication. There should be a sense of responsibility from the artist to produce music that is not only entertaining but socially appropriate.

Just as a foot note-what is done in the dark will eventually come to light and the question will be just how far will blaming it on the alcohol take you?

Black Barbie?

Earlier this week in class we discussed Barbie and how Barbie has made a huge impact on the American culture. Basically, Barbie has set the beauty standard unrealistically high and as a result women are under an extreme amount of pressure trying to attain and keep the look of Barbie. Since the development of Barbie she has lead a life that a lot of women envy-that's right, women not children although the children that play with Barbie ultimately grow up.

Unfortunately, Lil Kim is a victim of this Barbie theory. She has changed her appearance by having multiply plastic surgery procedures in order to look more like Caucasian or "Barbie" like. She has had skin lightening, cheek and breast augmentation, rhinoplasty(nose job), and a brow and fore head lift all in the name of beauty. Barbie has crossed the culture line, at one time Black women embraced their natural beauty and was proud of it what happened? I believe that Lil Kim is a product of the White standard of beauty trend that African American women are now taking a part in. In my opinion Lil Kim is a prime example of how powerful it is, and to what measures people or "women" rather are willing to go to be accepted by mainstream. I don't but maybe her change in physical appearance is an attempt to bring a more positive image to her character Lil Kim. Maybe it is a desperate attempt to keep herself in the public eye? Whatever it is it is clear that celebrities are not exempt from the culture standards of society if anything they are the ones that exacerbate it.

(Check out the interview Lil Kim did with BET, I tried to put a link to it on the side bar but I was not successful at doing so but the second highlighted Lil Kim will link you to the article. It was pretty interesting when the reporter asked her about plastic surgery she immediatley hung up!)

Human Trafficking for the Sex Industry

I came across an article on line trying to find something to write about for this weeks blog. The article speaks about the very lucrative business of sex trafficking also called sex slavery. Young girls are bought and sold-often times bribed into the sex slave market. Trying to escape the meager financial situations that most if not all of these young girls come from. Human trafficking is a huge problem according to the World Health Organization, this ugly and degrading form of slavery is 30-40 billion dollar industry each year. Once they are sold into slavery they are then placed in the personal care of a "pimp" or a "mistress" at this point they young girls have to work off their debt to the them and it can take any where from 3-5 years . "An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders, due to the “hidden” nature of trafficking activities, gathering statistics on the magnitude of the problem is a complex and difficult task. The statistics are accurate as possible, given complexities, but represent an underestimation of trafficking on a global and national scale." The real numbers will almost never be known because of this, in America alone an estimated 18,000 persons are brought over the borders and held against their will.

Activist against human trafficking argue that there is a huge market for prostitution globally and the US is not exempt even though the problem is greater in Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Russia. If there is no demand there would be no market, prostitution is not a new profession but in all fairness some prostitutes choose their profession unlike these individuals. There are looking for a better life in most cases trying to escape their poor and option less situations. Instead they are exploited, tortured, abused physically and emotionally and forced to live like commodities instead of a human being. Because of the rate of sexual exploitation all over the world the "UN finally reached a n accepted international definition of trafficking and an agreed upon set of prosecution, protection and prevention mechanisms which countries can base their national legislation."

Disabled on TV

When I wake up in the morning I like to listen to the morning television shows to hear what the world thinks is important today. This morning I over heard a host talking about a British TV show for children called"CBeebies" that has a host named Cerrie Burnell who was born without the lower part of her right arm. The picture to the left shows the 30 year old host and co-host Alex Winters. When I first saw the picture I honestly didn't notice her arm missing, but some parents in the UK are terribly upset about it.

I was actually pleased to see woman born with a physical handicap was the host of a television show, in my opinion this would be the ultimate in acceptance towards disabled individuals. But instead of this being considered a significant step forward for disabled individuals equality, there were parents that complained about her presence on television. The BBC reports that, "parents had complained that their children were asking difficult questions about her missing arm" and some were "scared" of her. I am the mother of a nine year old daughter and for another parent to make a bigoted comment like is in the name of your child is despicable. You should use this time to teach your child about differences and how to accept them. A parent should love and accept their children not matter what they LOOK like and instill the very same thing in them- that looks do not matter it is who you are inside. Very basic social skills at least I thought, I do not believe children are asking their parents about "the one armed woman" I think the parents are ignorant, intolerant people that should be ashamed of themselves. Maybe the parents should watch a few episodes of the children's show they may learn a thing or two.

Race and Media

Race and what it means to identify with a particular race is based on a number of characteristics, for example the color of your skin, the shape of your eyes, the texture of your hair or is it? In the DISCOVERY magazine there is an article called "Race Without Color" by Jared Diamond, the author relays that there are other valid ways to determine race. It seems to me that the "traditional" way of determining race is of no significance any longer. "Basing race on body chemistry makes no more sense than basing race on appearance". But what does that mean to the rest of us who are not scientist. Diamond makes an excellent point, that the "classification of humans is different only in that it shapes our views of other people, it fosters our subconscious differentiation between us and them to justify political and socioeconomic discrimination". It seems that this very ideology of different "races" has driven everything in the media, film and radio, as a society people look to the media for a sense of who they are and what it means to be a part of a specific race. So if this is where we get our identity from why isn't accurate and fair, it almost feels like an impossible task. The media conglomerates control everything from who is on TV to what they act like, perpetuating the very stereotypes that need to be destroyed.