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  1. Advocacy Project

    April 18, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    domestic violence brochure

    This is the final product of my advocacy project. I decided to create  a brochure to spread awareness about what domestic violence is and how someone can figure out when it’s happening. Hope you enjoy!


  2. PAS #7 Kayan Tribe

    April 17, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    The most interesting ideal of beauty that I’ve learned about comes from the Kayan tribe, which is located on the border of Burma and Thailand. The ideal woman of the Kayan tribe starts to practice beauty at a very young age, more specifically the age of five. When a young girl turns the age of five, she begins the ritual of wearing brass rings around her neck. This ritual has been around in the Kayan tribe for centuries. As the young girl grows up, more and more rings are added around the neck. As time goes on, the necks will eventually elongate due to the increasing number of brass rings that the neck has to sustain and make the woman more appealing to men. An article that comes from Oprah.com explains, “The shiny, brass rings are the ultimate sign of female elegance and status.” Women begin to think of the rings as a way of life and after they have grown so used to them, feel as though they cannot take them off because their necks won’t look right anymore. These rings aren’t light either, some women bare quite the amount of weight on their necks.

    The only problem with this ritual is actually something the Kayan tribe can’t really do anything about. The location of where they live is a big tourist attraction so these women are seen as “animals” as one site says. This site about beauty across the globe explains how people go to this area just to take pictures of these women and what they do in their everyday lives. Many women may want to remove these rings later in life because of the health risks that could possibly take place, but there is too much embarrassment that can come along with it. Like I mentioned before, it becomes a part of who they are since they’ve worn them pretty much their whole lives. Another reason is because of the discoloration and bruises that result from the rings as well. So as much as this beauty ideal is tradition and a sign of status in the Kayan tribe it is probably not the best thing for the women’s health.

    https://sites.google.com/site/beautyacrosstheglobe/kayan-tribe

    http://www.oprah.com/style/Beauty-Around-the-World/5


  3. PAS #6 Beauty of Mauritania, Africa

    April 17, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    The perceived beauty of the people of Mauritania, Africa is so different from our culture, it was really fascinating to learn about. Instead of the westernized beauty of being skinny and fit, Mauritania women are considered to be more beautiful the bigger they are. It used to be normal in their culture to force feed young children so they would gain weight, which was the ultimate sign of beauty as well as wealth. Weight is a sign of wealth since the area of Mauritania doesn’t get much rain. While we look up to those that are thinner and more attractive, it happens to be the polar opposite than the women in Mauritania who care more about gaining weight than losing it. According to an article from 2007 about obesity ideals, “a quarter of the 1.5 women in Mauritania are obese” which is quite surprisingly less than the percentage of American women that are obese, but the difference being there are no fast food restaurants in Mauritania.

    On the other hand, this is also hurting the women because the weight obviously can impact their health in many ways including heart disease and diabetes. It is becoming such a problem that the government is trying to intervene and change the way parents are bringing up their children. Even though the ideal woman in Mauritania is considered to be obese, society ideals could be changing every day. For one, there are new television shows depicting skinny model-like women, helping to eliminate the ideals of more overweight women. This is especially for the upper class women too, so beauty is becoming more and more westernized as time goes on. I really thought the practice of force feeding young girls was a crazy ideal for beauty, but learning more about it I realized the efforts that are being made to get rid of the practice. I think that it’s pretty cool that they see larger women to be more attractive and not stick thin women, but I also believe there’s a limit to how large and that force feeding should not be occurring at such a young age.

    http://www.wunrn.com/news/2007/04_07/04_16_07/042207_mauritania.htm


  4. CI #4 Discrimination in Certain Jobs

    April 16, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    There have been studies for both men and women in the job market with findings that the more attractive people are hired. Most would say this type of discrimination is not fair and this should not be allowed to happen. I have come across an article from 2010 that actually says the complete opposite. Another study was done and showed results that contradicted the idea of hiring someone because they were more attractive. Coming from a professor from Denver Business School at the University of Colorado “attractive women face discrimination when it comes to landing certain kinds of jobs.” The findings from this study were particularly focused on women and that the more attractive weren’t hired for certain types of jobs such as, “manager of research development, director of finance, mechanical engineer, and construction supervisor.” I guess these jobs wouldn’t typically be considered a woman’s job, but that’s the problem. There is a stereotype for each of these jobs, especially for the construction supervisor. The fact that attractive women aren’t hired just because of what type of job it is is an issue all in itself. An interesting point that the article does make clear is that attractive men weren’t affected by this and seemed to have the advantage all of the time. This is for sure a double standard within the workforce that shouldn’t be occurring.

    The article goes on to say that there is a name for this type of situation occurring, ” the ‘beauty is beastly’ effect.” The fact that these women may be more attractive than others is actually hurting them when it comes to being hired for certain jobs rather than helping them, which is usually the case. I guess it makes more sense to hire attractive people in jobs that deal with sales and having to interact with people and convince them to buy a product, but that shouldn’t be the only quality an employer looks for.  Also, another point the article makes is that attractive women are still put into roles such as secretaries or receptionists or any other stereotypical feminine occupation. I think these jobs will always be considered more feminine and more of a woman’s job, but I don’t think a male should be ashamed or embarrassed to be hired as a secretary. I think it’s definitely time to move forward and make further progress in striving to get as close to equality as we can within the workforce.

    http://phys.org/news200318394.html


  5. PAS #5 Maori women in New Zealand

    April 15, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    The Maori people are found in New Zealand, but are of Polynesian decent. The Maori have a very distinct and much different picture of beauty than we do here in the U.S. Tattoos, more specifically moko, have a lot of meaning in the Maori culture. Something many consider here in America to not be flattering is actually a sign of beauty in Maori culture. It dates all the way back to ancient times when tattoos were considered a sign of power and status and “the head was considered the most sacred part of the body.” It was originally only for the men at the age they would go through puberty to attract women. Women were also tattooed just not as extensively as men were. For women, the tattoo that was chosen had to have some meaning to it, which contributed to an “individual identity.” Another type of tattoo for women that was considered to be the “epitome of beauty” was getting the lips colored blue. These blue lips contributed to much of their beauty. Tattoos on the mouth, lips or chin are most popular and is what attract men to these Maori women.

    Today, women don’t usually get these tattoos on their face, but now on their lower backs and men on their upper arm. It shows how these times have changed and the tattoos on the face aren’t thought of as being ‘beautiful” anymore. This is another example of western influence I believe. I think the western world may be influencing the placement of the tattoos since tattoos on the face are no longer socially acceptable. I read an article about a women not being hired at a cafe just because of the moko she had on her chin. So it’s obviously affecting lifestyles of women now that it is not common to have mokos on their face. I thought this was such an interesting thing to be considered beautiful because I had never heard anything like it before. It’s just cool to see how different countries have different views on beauty.

    http://www.tattoocreatives.com/maori-tattoos-for-women

    http://history-nz.org/maori3.html

    http://www.squidoo.com/maoritattoosymbols


  6. PAS #4 Beauty of India

    April 15, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    India is all about tradition. This tradition comes into play when considering the beauty of Indian women. From the Indian fashion to their very distinctive beauty secrets, the women display what is considered the beauty of their country. The body part considered to be most beautiful of Indian women is the nose. The nose is a perfect triangular shape and small along with brown or black eyes.

    From the moment they wake up they are already practicing some of India’s precious beauty secrets. Engaging in exercises, such as yoga and other exercises contributing to a good body shape. There is a special tree called a Neem tree which is valuable through and through. It is considered “the queen of all beauty ingredients.” Usually used in medicine, it can also be used in tea that helps with acne and works as a moisturizer as well. Another product they use is honey. Something we have over here too, but I bet you never thought of using it as conditioner! If mixed with olive oil, it creates a great hair conditioner. Honey is also known to absorb moisture in the skin. These are some beauty tips that many of us here in America probably don’t know much about, which is pretty cool.

    The typical Indian dress includes the traditional yet modern “Indian Saris” that are known by all parts of the world. It is called a ghagara- choli and is made up of a shorter shirt (choli) that covers the upper half of the body and a matching skirt (ghagara) to go along with it. Also, something they wear with it is called a duppatta that they wear over their shoulder. I’ve seen these dresses they wear and they are absolutely beautiful and definitely compliment these Indian women. But also, very different from what we wear here in the U.S.

    An article I read about an Indian woman that was born in India but has lived in America most of her life and hadn’t seen anything like what she saw in the magazine in India before. What she describes is that India has never considered being skinny to be beauty and how when she was younger her parents would make her eat to gain weight and not lose it. But what she noticed in this magazine was surprisingly Indian models were skinny and lighter skinned. This just shows how much of an impact American culture has on other countries that had their own values of beauty.

     

    http://www.ibiblio.org/hazine/india.html

    http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/india-culture.html

    http://health.india.com/beauty/traditional-indian-beauty-secrets/

    http://prasadjain.hubpages.com/hub/THE-BEAUTY-OF-iNDIAN-LADIES–A-CULTURAL-LOOK


  7. CI #3 Powerful Women

    April 15, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    Men may be considered by many as the most successful or the best in business, but women are close behind. There are important, successful women all throughout history and today classified in Forbes’ “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.” The article about powerful women all over the world just goes to show that women are certainly more than capable of making a name for themselves and do so in a most elegant fashion. The Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women includes women that have succeeded in politics, media, business, etc. It covers a huge range of jobs, women making it clear that you can be successful in just about any job you work hard for, no matter man or woman.

    Some of the women that made the list are Hillary Clinton, Oprah, Lady Gaga, and Diane Sawyer. The women I just named are from the United States, but there are women on the list from all over the world, such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Ministers, and CEO’s of companies all over the world. One of the youngest women on the list is the Yahoo! CEO as of July of last year. I think most people were shocked when she was chosen and decided to take the job. At only 37 years old it just shows women and younger girls what you can accomplish when you work hard for something. I think that’s a great thing about all these women making a name for themselves, young girls can look up to them and see what they have succeeded throughout their lives and these girls will want to follow in their footsteps. These women are role models to young girls. I think every young girl should have some sort of role model in her life, someone to look up to and strive for similar goals.

    These women on the list of Forbes’ “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” give girls something to strive for everyday. I love the fact that these women are accomplishing things that not too long ago  many would have thought to be a man’s role in society. I would love to see women’s names on that list in the future that are younger and show the world that they have worked hard to get where they are and women too can rule the world.

    http://www.forbes.com/power-women/list/

     

     

     


  8. WIP #6 Advocacy Website Critique

    March 28, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    The website I came across is for an organization that collects donations to fund animal testing in labs and keep medical research going. Speaking of Research aims to “stand up for science” and get others on board to increase awareness and fund further animal testing. This organization is the sister organization of Pro-test, which was shut down, and was created by a college student at Oxford University who decided to speak out to everyone who became opposed to the idea of animal testing. the website has many different sections to read to get a better understanding of what animal research can contribute to and even has a whole page on what types of animal experiments were carried out that have advanced medical research. I do not support this cause because I don’t believe medical research should be tested on animals. There has to be other and better ways of demonstrating advances in medical research than on animals.  The website talks all about how the animals are nothing but protected from harm and only hire skilled workers to work with the animals, but in my opinion I think that these animals are being harmed just by the testing that’s being done on them. There is a section on the website that states their animal research beliefs, basically stating animals don’t have the right to vote or the right to an education like people do, so why would these rights apply to animals? I completely disagree with this logic. Animals are living things and should be able to fulfill the lives they were given just as we are. Maybe they don’t have the right to vote, but they should definitely be guaranteed the right to live.

    http://speakingofresearch.com/


  9. WIP #5 Persuasive Essay Topic

    March 19, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

    I have decided to focus on the topic of the death penalty for my persuasive essay. It will be a question of value as I will try to persuade the reader that the death penalty is wrong and should be abolished for a number of reasons. The first point I will use to support abolishing the death penalty are the expenses necessary to carry it out. Sentencing a person to death costs more than life imprisonment without parole by having to go through more trials with more jurors needed and other experts that need to be hired to make the decision of whether the defendant either lives or is sentenced to death. This money is just costing more for taxpayers. Another key point for the abolition of capital punishment is that it isn’t necessarily a deterrent of crime. There is no evidence showing that national crime rates have gone down significantly since the death penalty has been enacted. Wasn’t that a big part of the point in passing the penalty in the first place? If it’s not making a difference, then what’s the point in keeping it around. The last point I will be making towards the repealing of the death penalty is the risk of accusing and sentencing an innocent person to death. There are a number of reasons the conviction of a person can go wrong, such as eyewitness errors, false confessions, etc. Since the advent of DNA, there have been a number of people in prison exonerated after years spent in prison, while the whole time they were innocent and wrongly convicted of a crime. Many families of the victims of murder have stated that they are against capital punishment as well, and that taking another life doesn’t bring them closure. There are major problems with the death penalty and that is why it should be abolished.


  10. PAS #3

    February 27, 2013 by Taylor Kantner

     

    I started off my passion blog last week with talking about beauty ideals in America. This week I’m going to continue talking about beauty ideals, but focus on what Japanese women consider beauty to be. Obviously, the Japanese see beauty in a much different way than we do here in the US. There are many places around the world that don’t share the same beauty ideals with America.

    For one, Japanese women don’t find “curves” to be necessarily attractive, rather they are thinner and don’t have very prominent hips. They also pride themselves in being pale and achieve this by using beauty products to make their faces that white powdery color. Some women actually get facials done using Uguisu, which is made up of bird droppings, but is said to clean up skin and make it smoother. I read a blog about a woman that describes her experience when she traveled to Japan and witnessed these beauty treatments first hand. She talks about all of the products they sell in the drugstores that we don’t have, such as different creams, lotions and toners that are all for different uses and have to be used in order. Smooth, taken care of skin is obviously an important beauty ideal in Japan. An interesting fact that she mentioned in her blog was how when she went to the beach what she observed was people covered up in clothes from head to toe along with umbrellas trying to keep the sun away from their skin. Very opposite from how we live here where tanning is a big reason why a lot of people go to the beach; we even have tanning salons where people can artificially tan without having to physically go to the beach. Another way Japanese keep their skin so smooth and white longer is their intake of vitamin C. Part of their daily diet is made up of oranges, which “deoxidize and break up melanin”, thus whiter skin results. Some other Japanese beauty secrets include, drinking tea every day, eating fish (Omega 3), and by using seaweed to cleanse the face.

    Although pale white skin is the beauty norm in Japanese culture, there are also several subcultures that challenge these ideals. For example one subculture is called Gyaru, which includes many subcultures under itself as well. This subculture is seen as a sort of “rebellion against Japanese society.”A main difference with this subculture is that people do tan and, therefore, don’t follow the pale white skin norm. Another difference is people will dye their hair in this culture, blond is a popular color, but other colors are possible, too.

    Japan has a bunch of hidden beauty secrets that keep their skin beautifully pale, white, and blemish-free. Just as long hair, a thin body and good teeth are considered to be beautiful here it is always fascinating to see how other countries around the world differ in their perceptions of beauty.

    http://blogs.record-eagle.com/?p=4882

    http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/asian-beauty-secrets

    http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/best-kept-japanese-beauty-secrets/

     


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