It’s safe to say that social norms were completely different just a few decades ago: bigotry and prejudice were more commonplace, and tolerance wasn’t yet where it is today. To list all the marginalized groups throughout American history would take many more than 400 words, but chief among them is women. In all of recorded history, women have been seen as subservient to men. This 1974 men’s shoe advertisement from Playboy captures the perceived role of women in society very well, in an offensive and disappointing way.

There are so many ways to market a product, why choose this problematic one? I figure that the goal was to make potential customers feel powerful. “If you purchase our product, you will dominate women” is the message the ad conveys. Perhaps it was effective. I bet lots of men saw the ad in 1974 and decided that purchasing the shoes would cause a woman to lie on their own floor gazing at their shoes. It’s also important to consider that this ad was published in Playboy, so I’d be inclined to believe the men reading the magazine are particularly susceptible to sexist thinking already.

Another component of this ad I deem worthy of analysis is the text. “Keep her where she belongs…” Not only does this indicate that women are meant to be on the floor, beneath the level of men, but also that they are down there in the first place. In the year 2022, I’d hope that nearly all men wince upon reading the phrase, as women are very clearly not destined to lie on our floors gawking over us or our belongings.

Lastly, the woman depicted is naked. As if this ad weren’t problematic enough, it just had to express that women are solely sex objects and essentially pieces of meat intended for the pleasure of men. Of course depicting her with clothes on couldn’t have saved the disgustingly offensive ad anyway, but it most definitely doesn’t help that she’s unclothed.

How could this horrendous ad possibly have been effective? Given that women are known to be the primary purchasers, even of men’s clothes, this ad missed the mark on several levels. Besides being offensive, this ad was probably also ineffective. It did however give me a chuckle and a chance to perfect my eye rolling.

Have you ever taken a photo of a beautiful view, like a vivid sunset, and examined the picture later only to find that it doesn’t effectively capture the beauty of the view? Perhaps the colors don’t pop the same way on an iPhone that they did in person. I always feel disappointed when I can’t fully convey the visual to somebody else. Travel can be very similar to this, in that some experiences must be had first hand to be truly understood.

An example of this in my adventures is my visit to Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It was the first stop on my trip around China. My guide was a young, pleasant Chinese woman who had proved herself to be extremely knowledgeable and informative on the first day of our visit. However, as insightful as she’d been prior, she very pointedly omitted some major details regarding the Square’s history as we strolled about. In an infamously unjust tragedy on June 4^th, 1989, the Chinese government responded to a peaceful student-led pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square by sending armed troops and tanks, which resulted in an estimated several hundred civilian deaths and thousands more injured. You’d think that such a significant historical event would be front and center in a guided tour of the Square, but when asked directly she opted to deflect by discussing just its architectural features, specifically the giant portraits of Mao Zedong, instead. An event that I took to be an undeniable fact and point of important conversation is strictly unspeakable for Chinese citizens.

Down south, off the east coast of Argentina, the Falkland Islands are home to only about five thousand people and more rockhopper penguins than you can count. Despite their sparse population, the islands were source to great controversy when the British territory was invaded by the Argentine military in 1982. The invasion spanned ten weeks, and less than one thousand people were killed, only three civilians. One may think that forty years later this conflict would be water under the bridge between the two nations, but that’s surprisingly untrue. Argentina and the United Kingdom still disagree over the ownership of the Falklands Islands, and it remains a hot button issue. Although I was there but a short while and I never initiated the conversation, both sides drew me into passionate discussions about the war. I don’t think the rest of the world appreciates the depth of emotion and animosity.

Sometimes, a retelling just isn’t as powerful as it ought to be. That dull iPhone picture of the sunset won’t do the brilliant image in your memory justice. A great trip will challenge your preconceived notions. Often times with great travel, you have to be there to get it.

The year is 2022. Americans are at war, and we have been since late June. However, our lawns aren’t littered with empty shell casings, and tanks don’t roam our streets. Rather than fighting some distant, foreign military power, we face the oppression of a domestic institution originally intended to ensure our freedoms.

What other institution could I be describing than our very own Supreme Court? I wish the irony of this particular situation were amusing, but the matter is far too serious. My particular interest in the rhetorical artifacts I’ve selected stems from the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade by SCOTUS.  What  I believe will make both of my projects interesting is that the artifact I’ll analyze in my speech is a cartoon drawn in 2016, six years before the overturn of the age old pro-choice ruling.

The cartoon showing two men in suits speaking with one another outside the Capitol Building was featured in The New York Times in Spring 2016. One man wears an elephant pin, indicating his affiliation with the Republican Party. He makes a remark about former president Barack Obama nominating a politically moderate candidate for SCOTUS, to which the other man responds “That’s so out of touch with the country.” The image was drawn by cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, a man who’s moved around for much of his life and lived both in the US and abroad.  Two notable American publishers he’s worked with are the left-leaning Boston Globe and New York Times.

The rhetorical situation Chappatte was addressing was the difficulty President Obama had had getting his Supreme Court nominees approved by Senate Republicans near the end of his presidency. He’s clearly expressing contempt for the partisan nature of the process, a refusal to compromise with the President and Senate Democrats.

Fast forward six years to the present. Renowned international cartoonist Dave Whamond draws up an image that was published in the Scranton Times-Tribune, a local newspaper from my hometown. Following the overturning of Roe V. Wade, the Times-Tribune released an article regarding the issue, and it featured Whamond’s cartoon of SCOTUS justices running away with the word “freedom” as a woman yells it with her fist raised.  Whamond’s intention is clear in his depiction that the Supreme Court is failing to reflect the will of  a vast majority of Americans.

I’d say Chappatte’s 2016 cartoon sets the stage for Whamond’s 2022 one. Chappatte somewhat warned that the Republicans’ unwillingness to meet Democrats in the middle by approving a more moderate Supreme Court justice would lead to a situation like the overturn of Roe V. Wade.  Both of these cartoons beg the question, “What do we expect of the Supreme Court?” Chappatte frames the problem; Whamond shows us the result.

402 feet high and open air, there were airplanes actually lower than us, as we stood atop Sydney Harbour Bridge. At 15,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes, the air is so thin that even walking is hard. 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the Pacific Ocean is bright blue-green, and it is loaded with wildlife, from humpback whales to playful seals to graceful sea turtles. All three situations present some degree of peril, but part of a good adventure is facing and overcoming fears.

From the ground of the Sydney Opera House I could see the harbor bridge with what appeared to be ants crawling along the impossibly high arches. Who knew that the next day I would be one of those ants? I felt apprehension mixed with anticipation as I strapped on a harness preparing for my ascent. My first step was nearly my last step, however there was no way I would not have this tale to tell. Two hours later, as the sun set, I descended into the growing darkness with a sense of relief and pride. In retrospect, what I first perceived as an act tempting death, in reality had been nowhere near as bad as my preconceptions.

In contrast, however, the Andes proved themselves to be truly dangerous. I definitely expected hiking such high mountains to be unsafe to a degree, but to confront them head-on took a great deal of courage. While the endless valleys and dramatic rock faces were absolutely captivating, I could never  look unless I was stationary. The paths were narrow and naked. Watching my every  step was mandatory, since I wanted to live to see another day. These wonderful vistas came with an element of thrill.

While snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands I came within seven inches of accidentally touching the most venomous fish known to man.  Although I had been warned about sharks and jelly fish, I am no marine biologist, and after all, a cool fish is a cool fish. The best story is learning you had been in danger after the fact.

I wouldn’t let the knowledge that there are such menacing beasts lurking in the water keep me from jumping in at that same spot tomorrow. I wouldn’t decline hiking in the Andes again, knowing now how easy it would be to plunge to my demise. I also wouldn’t turn down the Sydney Harbour Bridge because I know there’s no element of real danger or discomfort.

Believe me, I love digging my tootsies in the sand and vegging out for a whole day… sometimes. Half the time though, I like to test the edges of my comfort zone. That’s where a person can go from good to great.

I have swam with the sharks of the Great Barrier Reef and caught blue crabs at the Jersey Shore.  I witnessed wild lions mating on a plain in Africa and I have nearly thrown up from enjoying Disney’s Mount Everest roller coaster too many times. I have experienced a lot while traveling and, in this blog, hope to share with you what to me defines great travel.

A lifetime of anecdotes is both the point of travel and the truest sign of a successful adventure. Good or bad, it does not matter. The retellings allow the moment to live on, long past the inevitable return home. One of my favorite topics is the universal connector, food.

The end of the first day of my first big trip presented a problem. I arrived in Beijing after 20 hours on a plane. It goes without saying that I was tired, dirty, hungry and baffled by the language. Simply put, I was out of adventure. Could it really be… the green mermaid! I was beyond relieved that the familiar comfort of a Starbuck’s breakfast sandwich was right there in front of me. I grabbed my order from atop the counter, opened the paper to the wafting steam, and savored the first bite. What the heck is that green ooze dripping off the edge? Not delicious! Tears welled up in my exhausted eyes.  I finished it, because I had no choice, but to this day the green jelly remains a mystery. To say it didn’t enhance my dining experience is an understatement. Fourteen years later, it is still a family joke that gets pulled out in conversation often.

Much more recently, at the beginning of the summer, I visited the Andes and the Amazon of Peru. Cartoons have taught me that piranhas eat everything, but I never thought that I would be the predator. Do you know what you need to catch a bunch of piranhas in the jungle? A stick, six feet of string, a hook and a cut up roast is all that’s necessary. Oh yeah, you also need a willingness to possibly lose a fingertip. What do you do with them after you catch them? You eat them on a banana leaf on the lake’s edge. What do piranha taste like? Why, chicken, of course. Delicious in contrast with the green jelly served in the Beijing Starbucks!

These were two food related tales. Sharing these is an easy way to make a personal connection:  nearly everyone has an exotic food story. I love telling mine and getting a reaction; I love hearing others’ and broadening my bucket list. In future blogs, I will be exploring some other aspects that qualify a great travel experience.