I have always heard the jokes on Family Guy that Walt Disney was an anti-Semitic. There was one episode where Walt Disney comes back to live from being frozen. The person who opens the pod says “Welcome back Mr. Disney” and Disney response with “Are all the Jews gone?” “No” the person responses, than Disney closes the pod and says “Put me back”. I laughed about this because I grew up watching all the Disney movies and I could not believe that Walt Disney hated the Jews. It was not until I took a class where we were talking about propaganda that was used in World War II. Now everyone knows about the propaganda that was used against the Jews in Europe by Hitler, but what about in the United States? My professor told us that one of the largest propaganda markets in the United States was Disney. I told not believe it so I Google “Disney Propaganda” and there were tons of images of Donald Duck wearing a NAZI uniform and wearing the swastika. There was even one cartoon of Donald and his nephews saluting a picture of Hitler. After I saw that a little piece of me died inside. I started to think of all the Disney movies that I have ever seen and whether there were any scenes that were Nazi like. Guess what there is. There is a scene in The Lion King were Scar is plotting to kill Mufasa. In the song “Be Prepared” you get to see all the hyenas marching just like Nazis while Scar is on a podium, just like Hitler, watching them all. It is so creepy to watch because even in the movie Scar plays the part of Hitler because he wants to be king. He illustrates and kills anyone who posed a threat to him. While the hyenas were like his SS soldiers who were brain washed into following his “Master Plan”. If you don’t believe me You Tube it and see for yourself. I can’t believe that was in there. That movie came out when I was a child. I loved that movie. Thanks to that scene my childhood is officially ruined. I wonder if there are any other scenes like that in any other Disney movies? If I ever have children they will never watch any Disney movies or visit Disney World or Land.

Now that this class is over I am so glad that I took this class. I have a psychology background and I am currently back in school majoring in International Studies with a minor in Criminology. So my reasoning for taking this class was mainly personal. The main reason that I took this class was because I wanted a deeper understand of addiction. Back in Cleveland I have multiple friends who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and bad relationships. I wanted to learn how addiction affects an individual in a non medical source. I feel that it is my duty to be more educated than the common person about issues that are taboo. I also feel that it is also my duty to understand why people make the choices they do. Thanks to this course I can understand the pains that my cousins went through while battling with their eating disorders. From watching the movies about eating disorders I know how hard it is to not relapse down that dangerous road. I also feel a sense of pride that I can talk to my friends who have drug addictions and it will NEVER come from a judgmental place. The other thing that I could take away from this class was to look at non conventional forms of addiction. If it was not for the digital scrapbook I would never have thought about shopping as an addiction or playing video games unstop and an addiction.

Now that the quarter is over I would not change anything about the course. I loved that everyone could openly talk freely about the articles and you know that it was a safe place to share your feelings. It was nice that there were women and men there from all walks of life. Each women had a different experience that we could learn from and grow spiritually, physically, and emotionally as strong independent women. Even when we were in our individual groups you could freely talk about the topics tell stories that related and there would be no judgment. Even before we watched “Thin” I talked to one of the girls, who were always in my group, about all the emotions I was feeling. She even told me that I should talk to the professor about what I was going through because she of all people would understand. She was right the professor did understand. While we watched “Thin” I even ran out of the room because it was too much for me to handle and while I was waiting for the bus with other members of the class I was not treated any differently. We were even talking about the movie about how difficult it was to watch. I made the comment, “yeah, well at least you did not run out of the room crying” and they were concerned with how I was doing. For that I appreciate. Even though that was a very hard week for me, thanks to this class I could take that experience that learn and become a better person.

The other thing that I liked about the course was the professor. I loved that you were not a “fema-nazi” blaming all the problems that women experience on men. If everyday focused on the point that everything was the man’s fault then I would have dropped the course. I appreciate that you picked articles that were not written by individuals with that opinion. It was also fun that you called me Twiggy. I hope that I will be the only Twiggy that you will ever teach. Thanks for a great quarter.

Advertisements are broadcasted everyday through television, magazines, and billboards to pursued people to buy products. It is estimated that American will see over three thousand advertisements a year. Alcohol advertisements will tend to use women’s bodies to sell their products. They will tend to paint their logo on their body and will only show certain parts of the body. They will show only beautiful sex women. The women are normally slim and in shape. Even the advertisement that I have linked to this post shows a woman who is tan, perfect body, and presents sex appeal. Even showing a little bit of skin is used to advertise a product. The Barcardi ad shows a little bit of the woman’s breast as well as her butt. The logo is strategically placed the logo on the small of her back were women normally put tattoos. Except tattoos that are placed on the small of the back are referred to as “tramp stamps”.

In class we watched a documentary called, “Killing Us Softly” which touched on the issue of advertisements using women. Before I would look at commercial and not think a single thing was wrong because commercials are supposed to be funny. Now I look at commercials more closely to see hidden messages. In this commercial the woman is only there as eye candy for the man. Sky Vodka has one commercial where a woman’s body is the bottle.

If you want to check it out click HERE

This past week we watched the documentary “Thin” and it was difficult to watch. This movie was a look into an eating disorder treatment center in Florida. Women and girls from all lifestyles are patients here. The rules of the center were simple weighing multiple times a day, no sneaking food out of the dinning hall, daily supplements, group and individual therapy, and surprise room checks. While I was watching, the movie there was a girl who was receiving treatment only because her mother was forcing her. While she was in group therapy, she told the group that she did not want to be there and that she would rather die so that she could be thin. This hit me hard because here I am complaining about my weight and I am healthy. This girl was not even 100 pounds, complain that she has a double chin, and she did not care about her life. I was crying for her as well as myself. At the end of the movie it was not shocking that once the women were discharged many would relapse once they returned home. While others like Polly eventually committed suicide. Eating disorders are silent killers for many men and women of any age or nationality.

I myself have been struggling with my own inner demons due to my weight. There was one part of the movie where I ran out of the room and into the women’s bathroom to cry my eyes out. Since we have been learning about eating disorders, it has caused me to stop and think about my own body image. I am still not happy that I weight 140 and not the 118, I used to, while all I was thinking to myself was I WANT TO BE THIN!! I would start to look at myself in the mirror and all I could see is a belly. I could not stand it that none of my pants could fit or even if they could fit all I could see was a large Buddha belly that was not there before. Everyone round noticed that I was spiraling down into a massive depression. I was even saying thing I would never had said in a million years “Do you know how many calories are in that”. That is not me at all. I am that one girl who loves to go with friends to a buffet and out eat everyone and when we all go to the movies I want my popcorn swimming in butter. There was something seriously wrong with me. If I let it go any further, I could have developed an eating disorder.

I could now see how powerful an eating disorder is. I was having unhealthy thoughts about eating and food for a week, while the girls in the movie had been dealing with it their whole lives. There were girls who had to get on a scale backwards so that they would not see their weight. Counting every calories and fat condense during each meal. Finally, one girl was told that she had to leave the treatment center, the shock and the stress from that news resulting to her old habits of purging.

At least one good thing happened from watching this movie the unhealthy thoughts are gone. I do not want to live everyday counting calories and killing myself inside. I want to be able to eat whatever food I want, with limitations of course, without worrying that I will gain one or two pounds. Do I still want to be 118? Yes, I do. I will never kill myself over a number.

It was interesting to listen to Jill Malolepsy’s story and struggle with an eating disorder. I was able to connect with a couple of Jill’s stories about doctor visits. It still bothers me that many doctors still use the BMI chart to see whether you are anorexic or over weight. I cannot stand that the BMI chart has not been updated in years. The BMI does not even account for heredity, ethnicity, or gender. I was also shocked at all stories about her child. I could not believe that perfect stranger went up to Jill and told her that she had a fat baby. I can only image how she would have reacted if she had relapsed. I have a cousin, who has been battling with anorexic and bulimia, and she just had a baby. While she was pregnant my uncle and aunt monitored her food intake to make sure she did not lose the baby. Now that the baby is born she does not want to feed her daughter as much food because she does not want the baby to get FAT. Babies cannot move and they do have fat, that is why it is called baby fat.
My weight! It has always been a touchy subject with me because almost every doctor has tried to put me in the anorexic category. Even though the day before, I ate a whole box of pizza by myself and they thought I was anorexic. It was difficult being a perfectly healthy normal teenage and having a nutritionist as well as my doctor asking me whether I had an eating disorder. The reason that my doctors worried about me was because I would not gain or lose any weight. He just did not understand that when I was in high school, as well as in college, I swam, kick-boxed, practiced martial arts, and did yoga and I remained 118 pounds. He also did not understand that all the women in my family are genetically thin. When I was born my mother was thirty-seven years old and one hundred – eight pounds.
When I turned 21 I started to have problems with my stomach and I started to throw up three to five times a week. I told my old doctor this; he did not believe me and wanted to send me to a nutritionist. At that point I could not stand it anymore so I switched doctors. I talked to my new doctor about my stomach problems and told her that I do not have an eating disorder. She took one look at me and squeezed my arm and said, “I know you’re not”. She ran every single test on me and diagnosed me with Acid Reflex. With proper diet and medication the acid reflex can be controlled, the only problem is I will have this disorder for the rest of my life and it will return. My doctor told me that when I have an episode I am basically bulimic and I cannot stop throwing up.
After reading the pro ana articles it made me sick. I understand that this is America and everyone can post whatever they want on the internet but pro ana website should not be able to give advice on how to make throwing up easier. I have a problem with girls and boys starving themselves so that they look like a Holocaust survivors and they think that it is sexy. It angers me that girls and boys are throwing up to lose weight and I throw up because there is a biological reason. There are even thinspiration videos which encourage girls to starve themselves because “Bones are Beautiful”.

In Dear Momma Motherhood and a Hood’s Mother there was a distinction that during the 1980s “crack cocaine was a force that shaped black society” and even in 2008 there still issue on whether crack cocaine is still a driving force within the black community. Now I am not racist and I do not believe that one drug is specially made for black or whites. However, the media does have a tendency to discriminate which race does what drug. From the media I have heard that crack cocaine is a black drug because it is cheaper and easier to make. It is also believed that crack is dirtier because it is made in the dealer’s kitchen and there is no control on whether there are any dangerous particles in the drug. Another way that crack would shape black society is that so many children are removed from their mothers because of drug abuse. There is even a special name that society has given to baby who are born addicted to crack and that is “crack babies”. Even though cocaine has the same effect on the fetus as crack we still refer to the babies as crack babies and not coke babies. There is one thing that I never understood was that people think that there is a big distinction between crack and cocaine when there is not. Both crack and coke are made the same way and yet coke seems to be more acceptable. During the nineteen hundreds they actually used to put cocaine in Coke a Cola and it was commonly prescribed by doctors. With a history of being prescribed by doctors it is believed that cocaine is cleaner and it also tends to be more expensive than crack. Back in Cleveland I have a couple of friends who used cocaine for only superficial reasons. One of my friends started using cocaine so that she could stay awake for a long period of time. The other reason she kept using cocaine was because it would cause her to lose an extreme amount of weight in a short amount of time. While another friend, who works at National City, uses cocaine because his fellow colleges use it as well and he would rather use cocaine because he can afford it and he feels more sophisticated. The other reason is that cocaine stays in your system for a very short amount of time so he would be able to pass a drug test every time.

Even though all types of addiction should be taken seriously, in this country when individuals claim that they have a sex addiction they are laughed at. “Sexual addiction is a hidden addiction” and it is because it is harder to identify. When an individual is an alcoholic or a drug addict you can see it, but with a sexual addiction it will be behind closed doors where people cannot see. I’m not going to lie when I first heard that men who admit that they are sex addicts I thought that it was a joke. From an early age I always know that men were addicted to sex because they think about sex over 50 times a day. Although when if women say that they are sex addicts it is unusual because women are not supposed to be sexual creators. Women are believed not to want sex as often as men. Which is not true at all. All the produces that are out are guided for both sexes, so that they both can experience pleasure. Just like it was discussed in class just like any other addiction process has to get progressively worse from an added stimulus. There is still a lot that we do not know about sex addiction but once society accepts that men and women can be addicted to sex they can get the proper help.

P.S. If you want you can save paper be typing any and all comments on my blog.

No mother or father ever wants to see their child addicted to any type of substance. I know that if I had a problem abusing alcohol or drugs my mother would do anything in her power to help me. She would send me to rehab and then afterwards she would have me see a therapist so that I could understand myself why I resorted to drugs or alcohol. I also believe that parents who are involved in their child’s life they can identify whether their child was in trouble. My mother could be able to notice if there was any change in my attitude and or my personality. I remember one time my mother called me and I was wasted and she asked me whether I was drunk. I told her “no” I was not drunk, but she knew that I was lying and came and got me. My mom could tell from my voice when I am drunk and she can also tell from my body language whether I had a hung over. From my personal experiences my do not believe that believe that Koren’s parents could tell when she was drunk. In the book she talks about how her parents went to parties and there would have to be someone at the party who was drunk. Both of her parents should have been able to tell if she was drunk or hung over.

On the other side of the coin I would never want to think of either of my parents having a drug or alcohol problem. In that situation, the roles have changed were the children are the parents and the parents are the children. It is up to the children to take care of the parents when they are too intoxicated to take care of themselves. I could never image what it would be like for my mother or father to choose drugs or alcohol over me. I know that my childhood would have been darker because I would have my parents teaching me everything about drugs. But not in a good way. They could teach me how to make whatever drug they were using and make me sell that drug on the streets so that we would have money to survive. Even though I was not in class on Monday when we watched the movie about Tupac I still look at the discussion questions on Carmen and internet. I did not know that his mother was addicted to crack and that at the age of seventeen he dropped out of school.

Binge drinking is something that college students deal with on a daily basis. It was impressing that a mother was willing to binge drink a substantial amount of alcohol for “30 Days“. I found it interesting that after the mother started drinking she could perform many of the tasks she needed to do. Her youngest child noticed a change in her personality; she was constantly tried, and was not happy. After seeing his mother drunk all the time he says that he is never going to drink. He got to see his mother stumble home, from one of her drunken nights, slam into the front door and start crying because she could not get her key in the door. Unfortunately, her daughter, Jennifer, did not have the same reaction. I remember her laughing at her mother because she could not “hold her liquor”. After a month the mother did not develop any internal damage but if she was drinking for years she would have serious problems with her liver. It was sad that at the end of the episode there was not enough of an impact for Jennifer to stop binge drinking.

First of all I would like to congratulate you for having the courage to tell your story. I know how painful it is to relive embracing memories just so that you can prove a point. Although one of the main problems that I had with your book was that your story is so similar to other stories that I have heard before. Several of my family, friends, and even my sorority sisters have battled with alcoholism and they all claim that “I know I drink, but I’m not an alcoholic”. Guess what you are an Alcoholic. Looking back even you can admit that you had a problem with alcohol when you were in high school. When your pen pal told you that you had a problem with alcohol it should have been a wakeup call for you because she was the neutral third party. You surrounded yourself with people who drink on a regular basis and who would not tell you whether you had a serious problem. It is hard for someone to admit that they have a problem and that they need help. You should not have yelled at your pen pal she was just looking out for you.

I understand that you want to stupid and dangerous activities because you are young, but sometimes you need to grow up. I wish that you would have given more in site on the parents and adults in your community. Just like you I was raised in a rich area and there was nothing better to do but drink alcohol and get high every weekend. Even though there was underage drinking our parents and teachers always talked about the dangers of binge drinking. I have a hard time believing that all the parents in the community were clueless at what their children were doing. My parents, as well as my friend’s parents, knew what we were going all the time and taught us about the dangers of alcohol. You said that you needed to drink seventeen ounces of Southern Comfort so that you could socialize with others. I’m not doing to lie sometimes I need some liquid courage when I feel uncomfortable at a party but I could never drink that much alcohol. One of the problems that I had was the part where you entered college and wanted to pledge a sorority. It was insulting that you were only interested in pledging the “drunk sorority”. I’m a member of a local sorority in Cleveland and we would never have given you a bid. When you are in a sorority you look out for your sisters and make sure that they do not continue down a destructive patch. I do not know whether it is because I’m older and I do not enjoy going to the bars every night getting wasted but there is a point in everyone’s life where they have to grow up. I wish you all the luck in world. I hope that by you writing your story can give hope to anyone who is struggling with some form of addiction.

Twiggy

In my Women Studies class we got to watch a movie called “Spin the Bottle” and it portrait the whole college experience and a little about Greek Life.  I hate watching those types of movies because the message is that women are a lot more differently than men.  If I have to hear from another feminist that I will be blamed for things more because I’m a woman I will scream.  Yes, I know that if I get assaulted in an ally that I will be blamed because I should have known better, I was wearing the wrong thing, and (my favorite) she asked for it.  I CAN”T STAND IT.  It also frustrates the hell out of me when I see documentaries about drinking and who it always relates to Greek Life.  It is because of these documentaries is way people don’t want to be Greek.  As apart of the Greek community I can’t stand it when I hear individuals who know nothing about Greek Life make assumptions about a world they don’t know.  Guess what when I pledged my sorority I did not have to drink my weight in beer and I didn’t  have to sleep with anyone.  While I was pledging and even when I became a sister, if there was an event my sisters would never buy or give me alcohol.  Of course I would drink with my sisters but we were all smart about it.  There was always someone who would cut you off, drive you home, and watch out for you.  The only time that I got drunk with my sisters was on my 21st birthday and we were all other 21.  Even after I turned 21 we always watched out for each other.  Not everyone who attends a house party not everyone is drinking.  It is sad that there are bad apples that  mess everything up for the rest of us.  Does drinking happen in Greek Life, Yes it does, but we are taught to be smart and aware of everything.  Every experience is different, but take everything with a gain of salt.  If you want to be Greek than be Greek and have your own experiences.

After much consideration I have noticed that there is a relationship between addiction and capitalism. In the United States many individuals have dreams of climbing the corporate ladder until they are President of the company. Unfortunately, it is unrealistic that believe that a person will be promoted to president on their first day, they need to work hard to be the president. The pressure of working over forty hours a week can take a toll on an individual. When an individual cannot keep up with their employers demands they can turn to abusive substances. Individuals can turn to illegal substances like speed and cocaine to give them the energy to stay awake for that extra hour or day so that they could finish their work. Besides illegal substances individuals can even turn to dangerous substances that can find in your cabinet or even grocery store. Every grocery store has a whole aisle that is devoted to substances which are geared to staying awake. Thousands of people are addicted to caffeine pills and energy drinks so that they can still be able to perform normally. One of my friends started taking caffeine pills so that she could work full-time, attend school, and study for upcoming exams. Her original plan was to only take one pill for a couple of months until she did not need them anymore. She was sadly mistaken. She started taking, as many as four to five, pills a day because her body developed a tolerance to the pills. She started to wake up in the middle of the night shaking because she was suffering from caffeine withdrawal. She finally had to see her doctor because she thought that she thought that she doing to die. Her doctor told her that she could never take another caffeine pill ever again because her blood pressure was so high and if she was not careful she could truly have a heart-attack. With the help of her doctors and friends she was able to break her addiction of caffeine pills.

I do admit that I have been sucked into an addictive system through my old drinking habits. Both myself and my boyfriend and apart of Greek Life back in Cleveland and when there was nothing to do we drink whatever alcohol was available. Whenever a fraternity around campus would have a party all you would do is play beer pong or flip cup. If an individual did not drink than there was no point of attending the party because they would have no fun. I remember about a year ago myself and several of my boyfriend’s brothers finished all of our exams at 10:30 in the morning and we wanted to celebrate. We could have left campus and went to the movies, out to eat, or even done back home and go back to sleep but we didn’t. We all walked downstairs to the restaurant / bar and started drinking. By noon we were all pretty drunk and did not care. While I was in Cleveland I used to be able drink with the best and I considered it a badge of honor. About a year ago my doctor diagnosed me with Acid Reflex and that I had to change eating and drinking behavior. It was such a culture shock that I’m forced to be the sober person at parties and I wish that I could have a beer even though it will make me sick. Now that I’m a little older and I look at all the drunk little nineteen year olds walking down High Street and I’m so happy that I’m not nineteen and drunk anymore.