Jackie Sedley

aspiring journalist, podcaster, storyteller, world traveler, change maker.

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Green Screen Straws Screening

Wearing a trench coat covered in plastic straws, Carla Claure, Santa Monica College (SMC) Plastic Free president, stands on stage in one of the Center for Media and Design’s auditoriums. This coat is not meant to be a fashion statement; rather, the look acts as an environmental call to action. After Plastic Free SMC convinced Santa Monica College to ban all plastic straws from the school cafeteria, the club bought back the straws from the school. The club then donated them to the fashion department, which is how the coat came to life. After a brief introduction lead by Claure and other members of the Plastic Free SMC Club, Film Studies Adjunct Professor Sheila Laffey held a screening of the film Straws, directed by Linda Booker.

The film provides a history of beverage straws, and focuses on the effects of plastic pollution and initiatives that environmentalists and other activists across the country are leading to eliminate plastic waste, specifically pertaining to plastic straws. According to the film, 500 million plastic straws are used and tossed per day in the United States.

Amongst the eye-opening and heart-wrenching scenes featured in the film, Straws documents the ways in which plastic waste greatly threatens the livelihood of many marine animal species. In addition to the impacts of fishing, and the human destruction of beaches, plastic waste is a significant detriment to the health of aquatic species. Sea turtles are profiled as primary species affected by plastic straw waste. The film profiles teams of researchers who created a viral video featuring a sea turtle they had encountered who had a plastic straw stuck in his left nostril. The scientists came to the conclusion that the turtle had most likely tried to swallow a straw, regurgitated it and it ended up transferring it into its nasal cavity.

“It makes me think a lot about a poor whale that’s in the ocean and ends up dying of starvation because their stomach is full of plastic and it adds so much weight,” said Claure. “It’s uncomfortable to have it kind of poking you so I can’t even imagine that poor turtle that had the straw in his nose, I can’t even think about how painful that would be.”

In addition to the factual evidence about plastic waste, the film goes one step further and questions the need for straws. In one scene, a young boy who has clearly been bit by the environmentalist bug is chatting with a woman as he performs conservation tasks. At one point, he looks up at her and says, “do you really need a straw when you’re drinking out of a cup?” Needless to say, the child has a point.

Currently, Plastic Free SMC and Eco Action Club both give out free metal straws at club meetings in an attempt to guide students and faculty away from using straws in their lives outside of SMC. With this initiative underway, Claure hopes to work on reducing the waste of plastic utensils on campus next year. In regard to SMC as a whole, the city instated an ordinance on January 1, banning plastic and aluminum food service ware from food establishments.

The Green Screen series is an extension of Professor Laffey’s course “Green Screen: Films on the Environment and Transformation.” Laffey feels very passionately about this series, and has taught the class for three semesters in a row.

“These students are on fire, and it’s so exciting and the fact that I’m able to open up this course, this Green Screen course, that the public is invited to,” said Laffey. “We have woke students who are taking up the mantle and making a big difference on campus.”

April 8, 2019

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Santa Monica Hosts the City's 3rd Annual Denim Day Event to Commemorate the Campaign's 20th Anniversary

On the evening of April 24, people flocked to Santa Monica City Hall decked in denim jackets, jeans and t-shirts. This crowd’s matching attire was no coincidence; all arrived to attend the city’s third annual Denim Day gathering. Santa Monica’s event was organized by the Commission on the Status of Women and included a multitude of speakers, performances and tabling by various sexual violence activist groups.

Started by Peace over Violence executive director Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans in 1999, Denim Day was initially developed in response to a court case in Rome, Italy. In 1992, an 18-year-old girl in Rome was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor, and although he was initially sentenced to jail, the instructor appealed his sentence in 1999 and got his conviction overturned.

In an official statement, the Court claimed that because the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the instructor remove them, which is an act of consent and therefore does not constitute the event as rape. The women of the Italian Parliament were infuriated by this verdict, and conducted a protest while wearing jeans on the steps of the Court. Shortly thereafter, legislators in Sacramento conducted similar protests, which led Giggans to do the same and eventually spark a movement.

Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans, executive director of Peace over Violence, saw in this “travesty of justice”—as she calls it—an opportunity for protest and advocacy. Giggans organized the first official Denim Day in Los Angeles in April of 1999; 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the campaign.

“Denim is almost a democratic wardrobe…I’d like us to think of our denim as our social justice fabric. We actually can say now that we have a warrior costume, and it’s made of denim,” says Giggans.

Santa Monica city officials used this gathering as an opportunity to vocalize their support for sexual violence prevention movements, as well as to educate attendees on the types of support that the city offers the community. Mayor Pro Tempore Terry O’Day vocalized his pledge and dedication to ending sexual violence not only in Santa Monica, but around the world, in an effort to better ourselves and future generations.

In addition to the mayor, Santa Monica City Attorney Lane Dilg spoke about the need for communities to come together to combat large scale issues like sexual violence. Dilg went on to explain that the City Attorney’s Office offers victim resources and enacts prosecution cases involving domestic violence, sexual groping and other misdemeanor cases.

“If anyone you know experiences anything awful in their lives…they deserve our support,” said Dilg. They deserve our institutions to be institutions where they can come and feel safe and have a safe space, and that’s something that we in the city of Santa Monica are committed to.”

For John Erikson, president of the Hollywood Chapter for the National, making progressive moves toward sexual assault prevention requires the inclusion of people from all walks of life, as well as changing the cultural conventions of masculinity.

“It is critical that we make sure men are involved in this conversation, because we need to learn and promote healthy masculinity in every walk of life. We need to change the culture and it starts with changing toxic masculinity,” said Erikson.

When considering the political climate of today that fosters movements such as #MeToo, Giggans believes that Denim Day really helped ignite support for survivors and education within public institutions that has allowed the development of other movements. In her eyes, Denim Day should act as a reminder to stay educated and to support survivors, not solely on April 24th but year-round.

“For us to continue to look at the ways that we can challenge rape culture and dismantle rape culture, that is going to make our world a so much healthier and safer place for everyone,” said Giggans.

April 26, 2019

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UnUrban Coffee House Aims to Improve the Lives of Santa Monica's Residents

While navigating Santa Monica’s traffic-filled streets, one may be too focused on avoiding a fender bender to notice UnUrban Coffee House on the corner of Pico Blvd and Urban Ave. However, this shop has acted as a hub for community and caffeine since its doors opened in 1995.

Since its establishment over 20 years ago, Pamela Stollings has been UnUrban’s acting manager, and the café has never changed locations. Stollings notes that since the beginning, her goal has been to create a safe haven for the community within the walls of UnUrban.

Beginning with holding live music and open mics, the space has since hosted a variety of events, including quinceñeras, flamenco nights and activist meetup groups.

“I wanted to have a spot [in Los Angeles] where it’s not such a transient big city, where there’s a little bit of community, and I feel like you’ve got to give something back to your community,” said Stollings.

UnUrban is Stollings’ way of contributing a space of wellness and comfort to her community, not only through public events but also through quality food. UnUrban became an entirely organic establishment on Jan.1, using only organic ingredients in all beverages and food. Additionally, the water is now filtered through reverse osmosis with the intention of removing any fluoride. The decision to go entirely organic was a collaborative effort by both Stollings and UnUrban’s other owner, Sam Mala.

“We are both organic in our food, and…it’s funny, we’re the opposite of the big places that tell you, ‘we’re organic!’” said Stollings. “You know, I didn’t want to push my lifestyle on anybody, but…as a business owner, I don’t want to support that, the GMOs…So we’d just decided that our biggest passion was organic food, and sharing it and educating people how food is medicine.”

For Mala, it was his own health struggles that ignited his passion for organic living. Food became his passion after he saw how it healed him. While he initially attempted various methods of dieting, he came to take on a more organic lifestyle which he attributes to his current well-being.

In an effort to provide full transparency and offer customers the ability to purchase organic ingredients for their own homes, UnUrban displays and sells all of the ingredients that they use in their products. Stollings and Mala both agree that organic food does not have to be expensive. They aim to show people that choosing the option that better benefits the body does not have to leave one with empty pockets.

UnUrban hosts community jam nights every first Thursday of the month, open mic nights on Fridays, music showcases on Saturday nights and a variety of other opportunities for the community to present their creative projects.

“They would be the first to rally around any kind of community, any cause,” said customer Doug Knoblauch. “They’re very community-oriented.”

The owners have big ambitions for the future. They include, but are not limited to, establishing their own farm, creating a non-profit, and taking over the entire building they are currently located in to establish a wellness center. Additionally, while they already create all of their own dairy-free milks and nut butters, they recently added refrigerators into their store and are planning on selling their house-made products to customers. They are currently in the process of incorporating a marketplace to expand the café and community hangout.

“People have been healing through the food…I know people come in and they don’t feel so good and then they start eating here and then they feel better, their look changes,” Mala said. “People have been thanking us for doing what we’re doing, so that’s also made us feel good about what we’re doing.

April 27, 2019

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Super Blooms Caused By Unexpected Rains Bring Flowers and Flower Spectators to Southern California

After roughly eight years of drought, uncharacteristically high rains struck deserts across southern California in the fall and winter seasons of 2018. A technicolor bloom now carpets the desert region, also known as a “super bloom.”

This year’s super bloom can be found in areas across the southern region, including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Antelope Valley, Diamond Valley Lake, Carrizo Plain National Monument, Walker Canyon, Griffith Park, Mojave Trails and near the Desert Lily Sanctuary.

According to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s Nature Center Assistant Manager, Kathy DeMunck, the park has not seen this kind of a bloom since 2005.

While super blooms in years past were a result of numerous factors, ecologists are attributing this most recent super bloom to the high precipitation levels over the past year in southern California. In Lake Elsinore’s Walker Canyon, one of the super bloom hot spots this season, the average rainfall is roughly 12 inches; however, over the past year the region has received over 23 inches of rain, according to the Weather Currents website.

Because of the generally dry climates of southern California, these desert regions are primarily inhabited by annuals—short-lived plants that lie dormant in the soil and sprout once the climate provides optimum ability to germinate and reproduce. The combination of these annuals and an unusually heavy rainy season this past fall and winter explains the abundance of super blooms.

In response to these eye-catching blooms, people are flocking to these regions by the thousands to bear witness to the displays before they disappear. While most of the super bloom areas are year-round tourist attractions, the significantly higher turnout this season may pose a threat to the vegetation itself. Amongst the super bloom selfies and travel guides flooding the internet, cities like Lake Elsinore have posted updated guides offering tips to visitors of how to conduct themselves in order to best sustain the natural flora. Common suggestions include staying on established trails to avoid trampling vegetation and not picking the flowers.

“I think it is really important…for people to realize that there are thousands of other people going to these sensitive areas as well and that little actions can have big impacts,” said restoration ecologist Chris Berry. “On its face, picking one flower is not the end of the world but when literally over 100,000 people are visiting a single bloom in a weekend, if only a fraction of those people are picking flowers it can definitely have an impact.”

The influx of ecotourism is also having a considerable impact on the people that reside in the super bloom regions. City officials had to shut down Walker Canyon to the public as a result of grid-lock on interstates and city streets, deeming the traffic congestion a public safety emergency. As the blooms continue to draw in visitors, cities may be forced to put more procedures in place to protect these wildlife regions.

April 5, 2019

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Eating Disorders Need To Be Addressed by the Education System

A class of middle schoolers of all shapes and sizes forms a single-file line in front of a scale in the center of a gymnasium. Some look eager, others ambivalent. A few seem fearful. As students take their turns, a teacher announces numbers as if the children are about to begin a boxing match. And for some, this declaration does foreshadow an upcoming battle. As conventionally thinner girls and boys confidently compare numbers, one bigger-bodied student hides away in the corner, fighting with her inner critic and hoping none of her classmates jump into the ring as well.

In middle schools across the country, this scene plays out almost ceremoniously. This is the Body Mass Index (BMI) testing protocol. While Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that the test intends to create a weight census and ensures privacy when collecting data, this is often not the case. As numbers are announced and peers generally praise each other for lower numbers, students are often left to look at their bodies in a critical way: potentially for the first time in their lives.

BMI assessments are just one example of how weight-centric and body-focused our culture is, propagating an emphasis on physical appearance with little consideration for effects on mental health or self-esteem. A 2005 study conducted by Professor Dianne Neumark-Sztainer of the University of Minnesota discovered that over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors that support the diagnosis of an eating disorder; these behaviors are highly attributed to social factors and are suggested to be combated by school intervention.

As of now, while the United States offers grants to its schools for obesity prevention programs and nutrition education, no grants exist for eating disorder-based education or prevention programs. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, eating disorders affect roughly 30 million people yearly and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness; it is unjustifiable that schools are not mandated to educate their students on these diseases. Equally shocking is the lack of available screening programs on school campuses designed to detect disordered behavior and offer treatment referrals.

There is an appalling level of misunderstanding surrounding eating disorders. Eating disorders are about more than just the food. Eating disorders are about more than just the body. Unfortunately, no major entity in society has taken on the role of educator to correct these misconceptions: including the education system itself.

According to research conducted by the John Hopkins Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Program, the most common age of eating disorder onset is between 12 and 25 years old. With this in mind, society would benefit from eating disorder-focused programs at all levels of education. Within elementary and middle schools, this form of education would ideally include body acceptance programs and the de-stigmatization of weight, as well as teach the signs of eating disorders and means of seeking help. At the college level, screening programs should be accessible to all students, and courses concerning bettering one’s perception of the body, rejecting diet culture and learning about the psychology of eating disorders should be offered.

Eating disorders can be triggered by a wide range of factors: genetics, trauma and sociocultural ideals, to name a few. Therefore, educational programs and screenings would allow those who experience disordered eating to more comfortably address their struggles. For those who may not necessarily have an eating disorder but enact disordered behaviors or hold negative body image, early educational involvement has the potential to alter these attitudes.

There are resources pertaining to diagnosis and care on Santa Monica College’s campus. The Health Services office has recently begun installing MindWise Innovations Kiosks on campus, a screening system for various addictions and disorders that will offer statistics about the diagnosis and resources to contact. The sole kiosk is currently located in the Health Services office, but there are plans to rotate other kiosks throughout different departments on campus. The Center for Wellness and Wellbeing offers psychological counseling and pamphlets for different outpatient and inpatient eating disorder recovery programs.

According to the Eating Disorders Coalition, every 62 minutes at least one person dies nationally as a direct result of an eating disorder. While education may not significantly reduce the rate of diagnosis, it could very well cause a decrease in the rate of death. And while everyone may not have an eating disorder, most people in society experience some degree of disordered eating or struggles with body acceptance. In order to develop a resiliency to a weight-obsessed, diet-enforcing culture, children must understand the consequences of striving to meet society’s unreachable expectations.

March 26, 2019

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Ocean Park Library Celebrates its 100th Anniversary

After a century of acting as an educational and social hub for the Santa Monica community, the Ocean Park Library will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To commemorate the occasion, the Santa Monica Conservancy and the Ocean Park Association are co-sponsoring an event on the library grounds on March 23, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event will provide guests with refreshments, music, games, a photo booth and various arts and crafts.

Completed in 1918, the Ocean Park Library — located on the corner of Ocean Park Boulevard and Main Street — was financed by Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist who was known for his philanthropic projects. While Carnegie financed over 2,500 libraries in his day, the Ocean Park Library is one of the final few still-functioning Carnegie libraries left standing in Southern California.

From children’s story time sessions to meditation classes to film screenings, the Ocean Park Library is known for hosting a wide array of events year-round to appeal to the diverse demographic of Santa Monica residents. Since its opening one hundred years ago, the library has served the community with both its vast collection of novels and its giving spirit. As early as World War II, the library proved its significance and usefulness to the community. During the war, the library’s basement acted as a Young People’s room, providing the city’s youth with a safe space to do homework, play games and read books.

On May 3, 1977, the City of Santa Monica Landmarks Commission officially designated the Ocean Park Branch Library as a historical landmark. In the years since, renovations have been made to modernize the space and make it more accessible to any and all visitors; the most recent constructional enhancements were done between February 18 and March 10. These restorations include teenage and children’s sections, handicap access, new signage and other interior improvements.

“This lovely Carnegie building represents all that is special about Santa Monica and our community commitment to reading and learning. The Ocean Park Branch has played a significant role in the Library’s response to the community’s needs by providing carefully selected popular materials and acting as neighborhood hub… Thousands of people use the meeting room to create community, make use of the public computers, listen to a story, or learn something new,” says Patty Wong, Director of Library Services of the Santa Monica Public Library.

Amongst the March 23 festivities, Santa Monica Conservancy volunteers will be leading free tours of the 1897 Shotgun house on Second Street, which has acted as a Preservation Resource Center since January 2016. Conservancy volunteers will also be assisting visitors to build origami houses as a tribute to the architectural importance of both the Ocean Park Library and the Shotgun house.

March 21, 2019

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Measles Outbreak in the Pacific Northwest Sparks Vaccination Controversy

Although 2019 is only three months in, there have been 206 cases of measles in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those cases, 74 were attributed to the outbreak in Washington and Oregon.

The Pacific Northwest region is known for being heavily anti-vaccination, as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho allow both religious exemptions and personal belief exemptions from vaccinations. Personal belief exemptions include philosophical, moral or other inherent beliefs.

Because Washington and Oregon was host to the most recent outbreak, pro-vaccination states are spearheading a movement toward removing personal exemptions for vaccines. California is included in this group. After a 2015 measles outbreak at Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif. infected 147 people, California Senator Dr. Richard Pan headlined legislation to rid of any vaccine exemption not solely reliant upon medical reasoning.

According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 17 states and Washington, D.C. allow for parents to object to immunizations for their children based upon personal belief exemptions. Forty-seven states grant religious exemptions and all states allow medical exemptions. California, Mississippi and West Virginia are the only states that prohibit every exemption, other than those strictly medically-associated.

Unlike many battles currently occurring between states over potential federal involvement in state laws, the vaccine policy debate is not considered a bipartisan issue. For instance, Mississippi and West Virginia are both considered predominantly conservative states according to their laws and viewpoints, and yet they hold the most restrictive policies on allowing parents to opt out of vaccinating their children.

Vaccines have been a highly-discussed topic of conversation since the 2016 election, during which Donald Trump and other GOP candidates claimed that vaccines cause autism. Although Trump has been practically silent on the issue since his comments ignited a fire underneath an already-existing debate on the correlation between vaccinations and autism.

In late January, Oregon state representative Mitch Greenlick introduced a bill to prohibit religious and personal belief exemptions from vaccinations for the state of Oregon, referred to as OR HB3603. Also in late January, Washington state representative Paul Harris introduced WA HB1638, which would eliminate personal belief exemptions for the vaccine that addresses measles, mumps and rubella. Both senators received negative responses from their respective state populations, Greenlick receiving personal threats via phone calls and voicemails.

A database updated by the National Vaccine Information Center reports that lawmakers have introduced over 140 vaccine-related bills in over 30 states since the beginning of this year. This is a significant increase compared to the 184 bills introduced in total regarding vaccine regulations over the entire course of 2017.

States arguing from the anti-vaccination standpoint argue that mandating vaccines takes away American citizens’ rights to freedom of thought and freedom of religious belief. Vaccine skeptics also believe that doctors should be mandated to provide people a list of vaccines’ trace chemicals and potential side effects.

Those pushing for vaccination legislation are driving forward the concept of “community immunity” or “herd immunity.” The CDC defines community immunity as “a situation in which a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to infectious disease...to make its spread from person to person unlikely. Even individuals not vaccinated...are offered some protection because the disease has little opportunity to spread within the community.”

President and CEO of the nonprofit Immune Deficiency Foundation John Boyle spoke about this concept at a March 5 United States Senate hearing, explaining that “the current decline in vaccine usage is literally bringing back plagues of the past. While those of us who are immunocompromised will suffer first and suffer more, the loss of community immunity is a threat to us all.”

While vaccination is not always mandatory for enrollment into elementary, middle and high schools across the country, some colleges require certain vaccinations in order to attend their universities. However, this is not implemented across the board. At SMC, vaccinations are not required but are offered to students at a cost.

“We’re all in one world, we’re all breathing the same air, we’re all enclosed in places sometimes. If we could all live in our own little bubble, I guess it would be a little bit different,” says SMC nurse Fauzia Hassan when asked about her thoughts regarding the importance of vaccinations.

Although the scientific consensus regarding harmful side effects from vaccines is that these repercussions are very rare, this does not assuage thoughts and feelings of those who believe that mandatory vaccination laws attack citizens’ rights to freedom of personal choice. As the year continues, the conversation about vaccine mandates will continue at the state and government levels, potentially altering states’ control over the health of their populations.

March 11, 2019

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New Sex Education Reform in California Receives Mixed Responses

Ever since the rise of sex education in the 1960s, debates as to the most appropriate way to implement these programs have existed. On February 19, the group “Informed Parents of California” put on a protest outside of school district offices in Chino, California, in response to the implementation of sex education curriculum under the California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA). They publicized this event under the title “SeXXX Ed Sit Out.”

Passed in 2016, the CHYA insists that comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education be mandatory in both middle schools and high schools and that schools are responsible for providing medically accurate information about STD and pregnancy prevention. Additionally, according to the California Legislation Information (CLI) website, the law expands sexual education to include lessons on sexual orientation, gender identity, and relationships and refutes teaching strictly abstinence-only education. In recent months, the act has been actively incorporated in school districts across the state.

Parents involved in the sit-out took their children out of school for the day with an unexcused absence, so that the schools would not receive federal daily attendance funds. Of the complaints by the Informed Parents of California (IPC) organization, members seem to be particularly angered by what they believe is the removal of their rights as parents to choose what their children should know about sex and gender.

“We, California parents, will not allow our parental rights to be stripped from us,” says IPC leader Stephanie Yates. “We will not allow our children’s hearts, minds and bodies to be exploited for socio-political experiments and radical activist agendas. We will stop at nothing to protect our kids.”

Members of the group sent an open letter to the California Department of Education (CDE), claiming that the state is attempting to indoctrinate “children in scientifically unsubstantiated gender theory, from which the law disallows parental opt-out in the name of anti-bullying…[and that] children are taught negotiation skills for consent to sex.”

According to the CDE official website, former Superintendent Tom Torlakson explained that inspiration and support for this act came from Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that show that half of the twenty million sexually-transmitted illnesses that occur in the United States each year are accounted for by men and women ages 15 to 24. With these statistics in mind, education leaders believe that these outcomes are avertible through proper schooling and skill building.

Schools districts across California are attempting to alleviate parents’ concerns about the implementation of the recent state laws. In a response to Informed Parents of California’s protests reported by News Channel 3, the Palm Springs Unified School District released a statement insisting that they plan to make their curriculum available for parents to review, but ensure that all content will be age-appropriate.

Despite complaints, creators of the legislature claim that its intentions are not to take the power away from parents, but rather to “create a streamlined process to make it easier for parents and guardians to review materials and evaluation tools,” and to excuse their children if they wish to do so, according to the CLI website.

Although Santa Monica College’s (SMC) curriculum would not be directly affected because the law impacts middle schools and high schools, SMC students may have siblings or children who will see changes in their education.

"My sexual education was pretty lacking," says SMC sophomore Nicole Forster. "We rely on our education systems to equip us with essential knowledge about our bodies, but I felt they left us dangerously unprepared for the realities of sex, particularly for girls and LGBT youth.

As the sexual health education law continues to be incorporated into middle schools and high schools across the state, responses from parents and students in other regions may impact the future of this law’s longevity as a wide range of reactions may come to the surface.

March 7, 2019

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Boy Scouts of America openly allows transgender applicants to join troops

  On Mon., Jan. 30, Boy Scouts of America’s chief executive Michael Surbaugh announced that the organization would officially begin accepting members based on their gender identity, rather than based on the gender assigned to them at birth. This policy change is thought to be a reaction to a 2016 case in which eight-year-old Joe Maldonado of Secaucus, New Jersey, was removed from his Cub Scouts troop a month after joining. This removal was due to complaints of discomfort not from other children, but from parents of his fellow scouts. Publicly speaking out about their frustration with the Boy Scouts, Maldonado and his mother drew mass amounts of attention to the issue.

 “It made me mad,” said Joe Maldonado to New Jersey newspaper The Record. “I had a sad face, but I wasn’t crying. I’m way more angry than sad. My identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in. It’s right to do.”

 Society’s development in recent years toward a more open-minded, all-inclusive nature undoubtedly provoked this policy change. Prior to the gender identity ruling, the Boy Scouts of America have lifted other limitations based on sexual orientation over the past few years. In 2013, the group began to openly accept gay members, and in 2015 began to allow openly gay leaders.

 “For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on a n individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs,” said the Boy Scouts of America in a post on their website. “However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state.”

 While those who have developed more liberal mindsets over the years view this ruling as a positive good, not everyone feels this way. The Boy Scouts have had a long-standing history of being widely founded and supported by religious conservatives. However, since the 2013 ruling granting gay applicants membership was passed, several Southern Baptist congregations have stopped sponsoring the organization. In response to the ruling, former scoutmaster John Stemberger cut all affiliations with the Boy Scouts and started Trail Life USA, claiming that his organization would uphold biblical traditional values.

 “It’s simply stunning that a leading youth organization which parents entrust the protection of their children with has opted to again appease political activists rather than follow clear, common-sense best practices for child protection,” said Stemberger to Fox News.

 Regardless of whether or not one chooses to agree with the ruling, there is no arguing that the organization’s core principles of integration of tolerance into the minds of America’s youth with the intent of raising competent members of society has not been altered for the worse. Moreover, this policy change has the potential to display a prime example of a traditional organization respectfully and maturely adapting their policies and standards to the changing morals of society for the greater good of its citizens.

February 2, 2017

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Go Against Your Tastes

As society becomes more and more polarized and conflicts of interest continue to gain widespread media coverage, the trend known as confirmation bias—a tendency to search for and favor information that will confirm or support one’s specific beliefs—is greatly contributing to social divides.

Particularly applicable to the arts and various publications, this predisposition causes people to shelter themselves from works or viewpoints that express differing opinions from their own. Instead of simply sticking to what will appease their tastes, people should expose themselves to alternate ways of thinking. Stepping outside of one’s comfort zone grants enough perspective to either reaffirm one’s own tastes or give way to a change of heart.

If people begin to listen to music they think they dislike, read books they think they will not enjoy and watch movies they think will irritate them, one may learn more about oneself and the world around them. Specifically regarding music, listeners tend to either claim that their musical preferences are superior or diminish the quality of other artists by negatively commenting on others’ music inclinations. More often than not, these judgements are made after listening to the hit single of the “untalented” or “unworthy” artist, forming harsh critiques based on the musician’s most mainstreamed content. As a song’s popularity does not necessarily reflect the supreme talent of the musician, this concept hardly leaves the artist a fighting chance.

Due to the rise of technology and easier publicizing of opinion through social media, a psychological phenomenon known as the “bandwagon effect” has grown in popularity. According to www.investopedia.com, the bandwagon effect occurs when people act upon or believe in something primarily because the majority are doing the same.

While many “bandwagoners” and easily-influenced people claim to have created their belief systems on their own, little to no factual evidence is possessed to defend said values. Through exposure to alternative opinions, however, one can become aware of what actually divides two sides of an argument and gain more ground to stand upon when beliefs are challenged.

On the surface, blinding oneself from opposition may seem like the means to an end of extreme debates or widespread societal schisms. On the contrary, shielding oneself from differing opinions actually does more harm than good. Not only does denial of opposing opinions create more tension between opinionated debaters, but it makes both sides of the argument none the wiser.

Through equal acknowledgement to both personal preferences and distasteful content, a person whose mental inflexibility previously invalidated his or her argument may gain the legitimacy needed to have passionate, yet intellectual, conversation about any given topic.

While stubbornness seems to be one of America’s favorite pastimes, open-mindedness should not be undervalued. There is no arguing that sticking to one’s own beliefs and value systems is admirable; however, one can only truly support their own opinions once gaining understanding of the side that causes their animosity.

February 23, 2018

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Street harassment is offensive, not flattering

Defined by oxforddictionaries.com as “to make a whistle, shout or comment of a sexual nature to a woman passing by,” catcalling has been a prominent topic of debate in the media lately regarding its acceptability. New York Post writer Doree Lewak has positioned herself as the front woman of the new pro-catcalling movement after sharing her thoughts through an article on the Post website. Not only was the article entitled “Hey Ladies! Catcalls are flattering – deal with it,” a statement that implies that all females should feel this way, but the article went on to describe the feeling one gets from being catcalled as “nothing short of exhilarating, yielding an unmatched level of euphoria.” She claims women should find being whistled or howled at flattering; however, this statement is as demeaning and grotesque as the act itself. Not only is catcalling extremely degrading toward women and discomforting, but it also places more value on women’s external appearance than their internal characteristics.

Even in modern society, men are met with more privilege than women. Although some men attempt to not benefit from this displacement of power, others take advantage of their so-called superiority. By even exerting just the simplest degrading or sexist comment, they are adding to the pool of undignified remarks left by their fellow comrades. These comments tend to spark a chain reaction; one man catcalls a woman, and another man, not thinking much of it, follows his lead. By putting women simply walking down the street in a vulnerable position, catcalling men emphasize and promote their gendered dominance.

Unsurprisingly, women have started to take action against street harassment. Reporter Leah Green from The Guardian, a liberal newspaper based out of the United Kingdom, hid a camera on her person and took to the streets of London to conduct an experiment on male reactions to female-directed catcalls. Using real-life accounts of sexism on men, Green found their reactions to her taunts, insults and catcalls to be thought-provoking; instead of responding with how they expect women to respond to their remarks, they acted confused and deterred Green’s advances entirely. Not only is this a clear example of hypocrisy, but this project also further reveals how degrading these comments can be to the one getting catcalled.

“If men put themselves in women’s shoes more often, maybe they would realize how ridiculous they can be,” said sophomore Amina Osmani.

For a man to pass judgment on a woman based on her looks is not only demeaning, but can also affect a woman’s long-term self-esteem. One insensitive action of these catcallers, such as snapping or whistling, can leave a woman feeling humiliated and self-conscious. A majority of women are filled with strong feelings of overall discomfort after being openly called out in public. Katarina Hybenova, writer for Bushwick Daily in Brooklyn, New York, passionately explained in her article titled “Catcalling is NOT Flattering: Why I Stopped Running in Bushwick” her feelings of terror and humiliation after being catcalled, and how she began to fear running alone in her own neighborhood so much so that she now only runs in the presence of her husband.

“To approve of catcalling is to approve of male dominance, enforced inequality and intimidation,” said Hybenova.

This should not be the way in which society operates. Women should not live in fear just because men cannot suppress their primal instincts. By shouting out a demeaning comment, an insensitive remark on appearance or a discomforting gesture, the effects can be far more complex detrimental than the simple comment may intend to invoke. In this day and age, for some men to still catcall, shame and degrade is completely unacceptable. With modern feminist movements and anti-sexist campaigns gaining popularity, catcalling needs to become an outdated practice.

September 24, 2014

[jackiesedley]

Prostitution!  Legalize! It!

A recent federal court case decision regarding whether or not prostitution is a constitutional right has sparked debate about the potential benefits of legalizing prostitution across the nation.

In 2015, the Erotic Service Provider Legal Education and Research Project, also known as ESPLERP, filed a lawsuit claiming that prostitution should be protected under the 14th Amendment in the same way that the case Lawrence v. Texas initiated protection under the due process clause for “intimate conduct” between consenting adults. However, on Jan. 17, the case was officially rejected.

This case has brought about discussion of prospective advantages of legalizing prostitution as an act, not necessarily under a Constitutional Amendment but through mandates and legislation. The legalization of the profession has the potential to lead to a safer sex trade industry with less violence and health problems, as well as lessen the stigma around the trade in general.

The United States began to criminalize prostitution as early as colonial times, and as a result society often views the sex trade as a perpetuator of male violence against woman, leading to the belief that customers should be held as criminals.

Yet, studies of Austria, Belgium and Denmark since legalizing prostitution have proven that decriminalizing the act and mandating laws and regulations, rather than treating all participants as criminal offenders, behold immense potential to create a safer environment for both workers and clients.

In a report issued in July 2014 by the National Bureau of Economic Research, an unintentional loophole in Rhode Island state legislation legalized indoor, privatized prostitution from 2004 to 2009. While inadvertent, the legalization paralleled with a 31 percent decrease in reported rapes and a 39 percent decrease in female gonorrhea reports statewide.

The term “victimless crime” is often applied to prostitution. While female prostitutes are often victims of assault and harassment, criminalizing the partakers is not a probable solution to making the profession safer. When carried out as a consensual transaction as intended, sex work does not promote any justifiably illegitimate activity.

According to a 2012 poll on havocscope.com, there are roughly 13.8 million prostitutes in the world. In the United States, there are an estimated one million prostitutes, and 9.1 percent of men in the United States reported to have paid for sex with a prostitute in their lifetimes. Needless to say, prostitution would be nearly impossible to eliminate entirely. Therefore, working toward legalization seems like the most realistic path of reform to eliminate the significant flaws within the sex work industry.

Legalization of prostitution is not to be confused with simple decriminalization, as that would have too little regulation and could potentially breed more human trafficking rings and dangerous activity. Both sex with minors and sex trafficking—defined by sharedhope.org as occurring “when someone uses force, fraud or coercion to cause a commercial sex act”—would still remain criminal offenses.

People tend to embrace the stigma around prostitution because sex workers are often too ashamed or embarrassed to make their professions public. As a result, the most widespread stories and experiences of prostitutes are often the more negative, gruesome tales.

This leaves little room for exposure to more ideal and responsible experiences, and often prevents people from seeing any reason to regulate and legitimize the industry. Additionally, many sex workers tend to stray away from seeking medical care when they are in need due to fear of admitting their professions and facing judgment or attention of law enforcement.

The war on the sex trade parallels to the war on drugs, in that it requires effort from law enforcement and siphons tax dollars from citizens. Criminalization also leads to arrests, fines and imprisonment for “criminals” who have oftentimes done nothing more than partaken in consensual sex. Regarding those who do take advantage of sex workers, decriminalization paired with legalization would set labor standards and regulations intended to prevent or diminish any foul play.

February 22, 2018

[jackiesedley]

‘Walk Up, Not Out’ misses the mark on gun reform movements

Walk Up, Not Out is a recent movement in response to scheduled walk-outs occurring on elementary, middle and high school campuses across the nation.

Sparked by a Facebook post by Texan and retired teacher, David Blair, walk-ups urge students to focus less on civic engagement and more on individual acts of kindness when attempting to prevent future gun violence.

This movement also deters people from focusing on gun control laws as means to limit violence, but instead promotes social inclusion as a means to limit a student’s desire to commit such heinous acts. Despite the apparent intent of the movement, Walk Up, Not Out entirely misses the point of the March For Our Lives protests. Student-led protests act as direct calls to government officials, allowing the voices of those directly affected by gun violence to be heard and taken seriously.

Advocates of Walk Up argue that the movement is a much more proactive alternative to protests like March For Our Lives because kindness toward others can be employed on a daily basis, and can prevent potential “student outcasts” from translating their teenage angst into violence.

While kindness is a virtue, an issue as prevalent and devastating as gun violence demands to be approached with the same level of intensity that its perpetrators carry. Simple acts of consideration toward others cannot promote the sort of widespread change that is so desperately needed right now.

In addition, the Walk Up movement has severe victim-blaming implications. By convicting students that their inclusion of their socially-estranged peers will limit gun violence, it makes children directly responsible for the protection of their own safety.

This pressure places the blame for shooters’ actions on those who appear to be enabling dangerous behaviors by bullying or exclusivity.

Walk-out protests advocate for change at the government level, and promote legislative attention to the issue of gun violence. While both movements demand accountability, Walk-Outs are highly visible demonstrations that place the responsibility on politicians to create laws that ensure the safety of those in the United States.

The call to Walk Up, Not Out is as ineffective as it is irresponsible. The movement’s approach seems to parallel the “boys will be boys” argument regarding rape, which promotes teaching women how to avoid sexual assault rather than teaching men not to perform the acts themselves.

Rather than teaching students not to commit violence, rather than instating legislation to limit one’s ability to obtain a gun, children and teachers are being told that the responsibility lies in their hands to prevent gun violence at their schools.

It also may not be as effective in practice as some may think. The students receiving this “kindness” would be children that are already socially isolated, and publicly labeling them as potential school shooters could have a serious effect on that child’s mental health.

The movement also has racist and sexist undertones. In an outline article rom AlterNet, contributor Kylie Cheung argues that while “we have no problem with accepting black and brown people as dangerous, we pull out all the stops to humanize mass shooters hailing from white communities. Women are disproportionately affected by gun violence, yet they are pressured to proactively stop the hypermasculine violence that targets them.”

Walk Up, Not Out places the level of responsibility that should be held by policymakers and appointed officials onto children and their schools, when they should already be protected by law. Any expectation of the nation’s youth to take on the responsibility of protecting themselves is both preposterous and contradictory to the values this country claims to uphold.

March 30, 2018

[jackiesedley]

Why I Cannot Watch the State of the Union Address, or any other Trump Speech

 On Jan. 30, President Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address to an audience of roughly 45.6 million viewers. I was not one of them.

The speech clocked in at an hour and 20 minutes, the third longest in history behind two from President Clinton.

For the first hour, Trump focused on domestic policy and hardly deflected from the nation’s internal affairs. He called upon the audience to work toward bipartisanship between the country and Congress, and to bridge the gap between political parties.

Trump also called for Congress to take up a new massive infrastructure bill and implement his newly formed immigration compromises. His announcement to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba open reinforced Trump’s incessant desire to erase any remnants of Obama’s two terms. Finally, he pointed out that “Americans are dreamers, too” and used this as justification to prioritize the protection of Americans over immigrants.

According to cnn.com, roughly 80 percent of Trump’s speech was spent acknowledging his past accomplishments, with the remaining 20 percent discussing future plans of action.

I, amongst a large portion of American citizens across the nation, chose to abstain from watching Trump’s State of the Union speech. I gained information of the speech’s details not because I watched the speech, but rather because I read transcripts and commentaries afterward.

Instead of partaking in the endless babble of propaganda and media-based techniques that aim to manipulate and deter the viewer from focusing on true content, reading transcripts allows for better understanding and room to form opinions. This also avoids contributing to the ratings that often inflate Trump’s ego.

Whether we as a nation like to acknowledge it or not, our current president gained his claim to fame as a reality star. Therefore, President Trump has a basic understanding of acting and the techniques used to draw in an audience. Moreover, Trump knows how to distract viewers through tone, cadence, delivery, facial expressions and other persuasive techniques.

As Trump spends most of his time and energy reserved for his political agenda on perfecting his image, one may find oneself easily cast under the spell of these tactics. Whether his authoritarian voice and aggressive mannerisms attract or repulse a viewer, these characteristics nonetheless succeed in distracting from the actual topics addressed within the content of the speech itself.

In addition to personal approaches to manipulation, Trump’s speech included several attempts to deflect a viewer’s attentiveness to detail. Perhaps most significantly was his acknowledgment of 16 audience members who had experienced loss or suffering, woven throughout the speech. These addresses instill the idea of selflessness into Trump’s character, which may temporarily absolve any doubt or frustration felt by a viewer after hearing a particularly controversial point within the speech.

When reading transcripts, all of these distraction tactics become obsolete. While some transcripts include phrases in all capital letters to express the intensity of delivery—which arguably serve to further my point—delivery can no longer influence comprehension. On paper, perceptions are less hazy and skewed by a fog of deception.

This by no means suggests complacency. Just because I choose to abstain from watching his speeches directly, I still feel as though Trump’s actions warrant awareness. However, history has proven that change occurs most profoundly where resistance is implemented.

Through giving the president viewership, one is indirectly enabling Trump’s mockery of the presidential platform by putting him under the misconception that views equate to support.

Overall, removing the superficial components enables one to allow reason and personal judgment to take the reins. So, while President Trump and his surplus of spectacles may be a substantial source of comical entertainment, using one’s literacy skills may be the only way to fully comprehend Trump without interference.

February 1, 2018

[jackiesedley]

Tattoos In the Workplace

According to a 2011 study by www.CareerBuilder.com, 31 percent of surveyed employers voted “having a visible tattoo” as the highest-ranking physical attribute that would discourage them from hiring or promoting an employee. When concerning tattoos, opinions often differ as to whether or not their visibility should be prohibited to maintain “professional” appearances.  Many employees are chastised for having tattoos, forced to conceal their body art and are even looked down upon in the workplace.  However, tattoos do not affect the quality of an employee’s work and, as long as they do not express any potentially offensive sentiments, are not justifiable means for discrimination in the workplace.  While there are varying standards of professionalism among different work environments, there is a point at which principles become less a matter of appearing professional and more a matter of compromising individuality.

For the most part, tattoos are unique and meaningful to each individual, not simply vulgar designs or depictions of rebelliousness against society, as many often assume.  In reality, a tattoo does not necessarily draw any more attention than a colorful hairstyle or flashy outfit.  If employers wish to prohibit tattoos based solely on their potential for distraction, they would have to ban all other attention-grabbing expressions of individuality as well.

“I think that there needs to be a balance between professionalism and the ability to express your individuality,” said Advanced Placement, Honors and College Prep United States History teacher Tyler Lee, who has tattoos himself.

A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that nearly 40 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo.  If nearly half of the newer generation has tattoos, refusal to employ someone based on this attribute could lead to a drastic decrease in the availability of jobs for thousands of people entering the workforce, as well as complicate the hiring process for many employers.  Already, many highly-acclaimed professions, such as jobs within the medical field, have strict restrictions on the exposure of tattoos while on the job.

“Any tattoo that may be considered offensive by patients or visitors must be covered by clothing, a band-aid or make-up [for the time being],” states UCLA’s Health System policy.  “Likewise, tattoos must be covered during work hours to ensure a consistent professional appearance while working.”

Using common sense, one can easily understand why a swastika on someone’s shoulder or a homophobic remark across someone’s wrist should remain covered at all times in the workplace; however, most tattoos are not intended to offend, but are simply meaningful works of art inked onto a person’s skin. Several companies have taken steps in the right direction and have altered their policies, choosing to evaluate potential employees on the merit of their work rather than their physical appearances.

“We have no formal policy about tattoos because we value our differences and recognize that diversity and inclusion are good for our business and make our company stronger,” said Bank of America spokeswoman Ferris Morrison.

One’s choice to personalize his or her own body should not in any way be linked to his or her chances at success in the professional world. Personal life and professional life are two different worlds and should continue to be separately maintained.  Instead of disregarding individuality, employers should embrace a professional’s right to self-expression and acknowledge the fact that a person should not be judged solely on appearance.

December 1, 2015 

[jackiesedley]

Ariana Grande concert-goers face terror at Manchester performance as bomb detonates

 On May 23rd, a suicide bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in England left 22 dead and roughly 60 severely injured. The bomber was identified as Salman Abedi, who died on the scene. The victims of the attack included several children and teenagers.

The bombing has been established as the deadliest act of terror in Britain since 2005 and the fourth deadliest act of terror in Western Europe since 2015. This act of terrorism caused British Prime Minister Theresa May to raise the nation’s threat level to critical for the third time in history, suggesting the impending possibility of another attack. However, May has expressed her intentions behind raising the threat level, wishing for citizens to feel a sense of precaution and protection rather than heightened fear.

“I do not want the public to feel unduly alarmed,” said May in a speech at Downing Street in Manchester. “We have faced a serious terrorist threat in our country for many years, and the operational response I have just outlined is a proportionate and sensible response to the threat that our security experts judge we face.”

While the Islamic state has claimed responsibility for the attack, the fear of another attack and premonitions that others may have been involved are high. By raising the threat level, British police forces and security organizations will be provided additional resources and support as means to heighten their enforcement of security for the nation.

“NPOCC has provided additional firearms support to Greater Manchester police following the recent attack and is working closely with the force to assist with reviewing the security procedures,” said the National Police Coordination Centre in a public address.

Although the terrorist attack is not thought to be linked to Ariana Grande personally, the location of the act has caused the music industry to grow more attached to the tragedy. Grande, in particular, has expressed her values of sorrow and devastation for the city and those affected. 

“I’ll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honor of and to raise money for the victims and their families,” Grande said in an Instagram post.

While Grande’s involvement in the aftermath of the situation was expected given the location of the attack, some celebrities appear to be using “heartfelt” online sentiments to victims and their families as means of publicity. In particular, Kim Kardashian’s tweet including an old photo of Grande and herself at a concert with a seemingly-narcissistic caption turned heads.

“Concerts are supposed to be a place where you can let loose and have fun,” Kardashian’s Twitter photo caption read.  “So scary to not feel safe in this world.  @arianagrande I love you.”

On the surface, the message appeared sentimental and considerate; however, both the photo and tweet have little to no correlation with the actual Manchester bombing itself.  From the caption alone, one with no prior knowledge of the tragedy would assume that something had happened to Ariana Grande herself.  Contrarily, anyone educated on the situation would know that this is far from the case.  Additionally, given positive representation of Kardashian in the photo and her reputation for craving media attention, her tweet as a whole truly appeared as nothing more than a publicity stunt to better her image.

As of May 27th, the threat level has officially been lowered to severe and eleven suspects are currently in custody.  In much less significant news, Kim Kardashian has deleted her tweet in response to negative feedback from other social media users.  As terrorist attacks around the globe are growing in prevalence, society should strive to focus less on how tragedies can be used to one’s advantage and more on how they can help those truly affected.

June 8, 2017

[jackiesedley]

Aziz Ansari’s Accusation Reveals Societal Disconnect

Since October of 2017, an influx of reports of sexual assault seemed to mark a significant shift in the way that the workplace handles and acknowledges sexual misconduct.

After Harvey Weinstein was accused of raping three women and sexually assaulting several others—and being fired from his company as a result—, accusations against men of celebrity status began to pour in almost daily, as tracked by CNN News.

Finally, the world seemed to be transforming into a place where women could voice their discomforts freely and men would likewise be held accountable for their actions. Or, so it seemed.  Unfortunately, while the men indicted seemed to be held somewhat responsible—either fired or reputations heavily tarnished—genuine responses from the accused were slim to none.  Between Kevin Spacey’s transparent attempt to skew the media from acknowledging his actions to Roy Moore’s grotesque denial, every single “apology” seemed hardly apologetic, and far from sincere.

As allegations of sexual wrongdoings continue into 2018, alarming skepticism has been applied less to the legitimacy of the accused’s apologies and more toward the accusations and the women making them. In particular, the internet’s response to www.babe.com’s article recounting a girl’s unfortunate sexual experience with Aziz Ansari supports the notion that society may be regressing into old habits once again, allowing gender stereotypes to override sensibility.

On Jan. 13th, Aziz Ansari was added to the pool of men who let power override their sense of decency and morality.  Choosing to tell her story under the alias “Grace” so as to protect her identity, a woman told of an encounter with Ansari wherein she felt sexually pressured and taken advantage of, much to the supposed unawareness of the actor. Although she eventually removed herself from the situation, Grace claims to have displayed several nonverbal cues prior that should have set the non-consensual alarm off in Ansari’s head.

The Justice Department Archives define rape as “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

Because Grace’s situation cannot technically be deemed as rape by this definition, many opponents of Grace claim that she is simply overreacting to an incident of “bad sex,” as if every woman is expected to endure a similar experience in her lifetime.

These adversaries also claim that if she was that uncomfortable, she should have embraced her feminine courage and left immediately.  While the specific arguments against Grace are something to be discussed, the main issue is not whether or not one chooses to validate her claims. Rather, concern lies in the motives behind criticisms of Grace and her accusations instead of Ansari and his actions.

While I understand that a lot of women have experienced the “mild” conditions explained by Grace, I believe that negative reactions are due in part to the fact that women would rather diminish the seriousness of another woman’s story than open up a long-sealed wound of their own.

For some people, acknowledging Grace’s situation as assault would mean acknowledging that they have also experienced assault. Both women and men arguing on behalf of Ansari are actively choosing to side with the long-standing gender norms that deem it acceptable for an arrogant, dominant man to assert his power over a seemingly willing, submissive woman.  I think that both of these standpoints come from a place a lack of confidence in society’s ability to correct the stereotypical gender norms that many people have chosen to accept or grown incapable of thinking against.

Unsurprisingly, feelings of unrelenting skepticism toward Grace are fueling arguments that the #MeToo movement supports women who are too frightened or ashamed to remove themselves from uncomfortable sexual encounters, but later turn to social media or other platforms to produce “slanderous” content against offenders.  However, most women do not actively choose to remain submissive in moment of contacts; rather, society has ingrained these tendencies into women for generations. And, like any bad habit, breaking out of the cycle of passivity is easier than done.

According to an article entitled “The Aziz Ansari debacle proves it’s time for a new sexual revolution” published by The Washington Post, the sexual revolution of the 1960s’ assimilation of sex as something ordinary seems to have unexpected negative effects. In most social domains, politeness and patience is expected and respected, especially for women. While the normalizing of sex removed the taboo behind sexual expression, finding a balance where one can treat sex as ordinary while simultaneously speaking out against it in times of discomfort is challenging.

“We ought to appreciate that sex is a domain so intimate and personal that more harm can be done than in most social situations…[and] we should expect people to operate with greater conscientiousness, concern and care in that domain than in others.” says The Washington Post contributor Molly Roberts.

Generally, society’s opinions regarding gender seem to have split the population into two categories: those who believe women are submissive and those who believe men are domineering and self-gratifying.  In both categories, people seem to participate in constant criticism of these issues but never push for modification.

I want to believe that there is a third, lesser-populated category: those who believe that neither gender is perfect but that constructive change can occur. In light of constant discussion of sexual harassment, now is a more appropriate time than ever to correct both behaviors and mindsets and move toward acceptable behavior. Teaching the true meaning of sexual responsibility might be easier said than done, but if people grow more open to change, there will be a day where Grace’s experience will become the anomaly.

February 2, 2018