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__Week 2__

This week's lecture focused on the female body and in particular, it's anatomy. There was an emphasis on the "sex versus gender" debate and how the world views these two very different (and usually confused) aspects of human life. I found it quite interesting to find out that there were so many different subtleties when determining a person's sex. This starting part of the lecture also made me realise how, until very recently, how little we knew about the female body.

The segment about body image and the problems that women have with this appealed to me, especially when Julie-Anne talked about augmentation of the breasts and labia. These preconceived ideas of what women 'should' look like that the media/society have made up have obviously changed the way a lot of women view themselves. The way women 'should' look is portrayed throughout the media and these, often highly photoshopped, pictures and videos of models and actresses are what a lot of women consider 'perfect'. Three of my female friends, all of whom are my age (19), have gotten breast implants in the past month. I have asked them why they decided to go under the knife and they all gave a different version of the same response, that it made them "feel better about themselves". Julie-Anne said that these procedures are becoming more and more common, especially in Gen-Y females and I have seen this first hand. I think I knew that the media affected body image, but never really understood how much of an impact it has.



__Week 3__ This week’s lecture focused on the way that women have been, and still are portrayed throughout the media and popular culture. The media still has massive double standards when it comes to males and females, especially when they are in the limelight. For example, pop star Justin Bieber has recently been photographed/recorded smoking marijuana, drinking underage, publicly urinating and slandering a former US President. There was small fallout from these actions, but they did not generate nearly as much outrage as compared to female pop star, Miley Cyrus, after she released her video-clip for her new song “We Can’t Stop”. The song has since gone platinum, also breaking YouTube’s record for reaching 100 million views (taking only 37 days). Bieber received the usual “he’s just a teenage boy, and boys will be boys”, while Cyrus copped some serious backlash with comments like “she’s a bad role model for kids” and “ with lyrics like this, there's no wonder this generation is so messed up.” I think that this outrage was caused by society’s expectation of Ms. Cyrus to be the perfect role model for young girls, due to her being a former Disney star. But then, that still leaves the question “what is the perfect role model for young girls?” Is it a Disney Princess who doesn’t have a hair out of place and is generally portrayed as being helpless and submissive? Or is it one of the biggest child stars in generation z breaking out of the mold and selling millions of records while doing it?

__Week 4__

With the election so close, controversial topics such as marriage equality and abortion are thrown into the limelight by the media on a daily basis. Especially with the opposition leader, Tony Abbot’s, views and his remark about abortion being the easy way out of an awkward situation. He was quoted saying “the problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.” You’d think that a man with three daughters would like them to have the freedom to choose what they think is the best option for them.

This week’s lecture delved into the topics of birth control methods, abortion and when the ‘right’ time to become pregnant. The main topic that interested me was that of teenage pregnancy and young mothers. I feel that the media has trivialised pregnancy and becoming a parent with shows like ’16 & Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom’. These shows, in my opinion, are irritating, due to the fact that they make light of very serious situations. These programs attempt to show what it’s like to be a mother at a young age, and they reach this goal some of the time. But the major problem with these shows is that they aren’t really ‘real life’. The girls who are being filmed get paid (probably quite well) for their contribution to the show. A normal ‘teen mom’ wouldn’t have this financial support from a multi million dollar corporation like MTV. Also, I found it strange that Australia, a country with quite a high rate of teenage pregnancy considers it a ‘minor concern’. I think the amount of sexual education provided to teenagers should be increased, as well as the services related to sexual activity. This would also help to stop the spread of STI’s throughout our population.

__Week 5__

This week’s lecture focused on body image, which, in my opinion is a major area of concern in today’s society. The media has a huge role to play in developing an individual’s belief of what the ‘ideal’ way to look is. The way that they critique every aspect of a person’s body (especially women) is what causes so much harm in young people these days. To put this into perspective, nearly every girl that I know goes to the gym several times a week, if not a day. In the last few years, the individuals in my social group (aged 17-20) have become part of a ‘gym’ culture and are constantly working themselves to the bone to appear aesthetically pleasing. This epidemic is not just within the females that I know; the males are just as obsessed with building muscle, some even turning to steroids.



Supermodel, Kate Moss, was quoted saying //“nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”//. At the time she was one of the biggest supermodels in the world and was practically endorsing anorexia. This is without a doubt, one of the most irresponsible things a person in her position could say. Kate Moss is, for lack of a better word, an __idiot__. One of my older sisters battled with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa for four years of her life, nearly succumbing to the diseases multiple times. She was hopsitalised multiple times for months at a time, all because of a preconceived idea of what she had to look like. She was just one of the individuals within the __**nine percent of our country**__ affected by an eating disorder.

__Week 5__

This topic, like a lot of the others within this unit made me think about the upcoming election. The media has bombarded us with coverage of this important event in our country’s year for the past few months, and the heavily controversial topic of abortion has been a main topic. One side is pro-choice, while the other is staunchly against abortion. Tony Abbot was quoted saying “The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience”, which, obviously, caused quite an uproar. Mr Abbott’s ignorant statements are, just that, ignorant. It amazes me that, as a country, we have not allowed women to make these massive decisions for themselves. The impacts from their decisions will impact the rest of their lives and Tony Abbott has the nerve the say that ‘abortion is the easy was out of an awkward situation’. One good thing that the coalition wants to implement (no matter how unsustainable) is their paid parental leave scheme. At least they are showing that they do sympathise with women who are planning to, or are having a baby.

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On another note, the section on ‘Women’s Choices’ struck my interest, especially the choice to give birth at home. I know this is a personal choice and is up to the mother and family. But recently I watched a short documentary about home birthing and the complications that can arise. In my opinion, it seems mildly irresponsible to give birth at home when you could have your baby’s safety ensured in a hospital. Again, I know this is a personal choice, and I probably just don’t understand reasons behind it. I just think that when my future wife is giving birth, I’ll want to know that, if anything goes wrong, I have the best care for her and the baby.

__Week 7__

This week’s lecture focused on gender roles within households and how they are beginning to change in the twenty first century. I was quite shocked at the pay-difference statistics illustrated, and thought that they would be more evenly matched than what they were. In my opinion, this problem of inequality within the working sector stemmed from the way women were treated in previous times, and also, by the way that women view themselves (due to social constructs). This was explained to myself in more detail within the tutorial, when we watched this Ted Talk, which was about the lack of women leaders within the workforce.

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Sheryl Sandberg discussed why a much smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions and the reasons behind this apparent trend. One statistic that Mrs. Sandberg discussed was the fact that even in the non-profit world, women only hold approximately twenty percent of the top jobs. This was a shock to me, due to the amount of women that are shown in interviews delivering aid.

Although there is still a large disparity between genders in regards to pay and levels of employment, it is evident that this is beginning to change. Until recently, the leader of our county was female and illustrated that change is occurring. Julia Gillard was a self-proclaimed feminist and was in the top job in our country. Hopefully this feat is a boost to women and girls within our community, showing them that the top jobs aren’t just reserved for men, but for them too.

Also, the subject of paid parental leave has been on the agenda quite heavily over the past few months, especially after Tony Abbot and the Liberal party unveiled their proposed paid parental leave policy. There is a lot of debate about their policy, and even though it is a good idea, their policy seems unsustainable. Hopefully the Liberals will be able to successfully figure out where the money to fund such a lavish policy will come from.

__Week 8__

Violence against women, everyone (should) say no.

I was always brought up with the notion that everyone should be respected and that we shouldn’t try to hurt other people. A value instilled in me was that violence; especially against women is one of the most cowardly acts a man can commit. I feel like the world has come a way from the days when women were thought of as objects, but the abuse statistics are frankly quite sickening. Sexual assault, and even rape, is still very prevalent in today’s society, with many cases being shown in the media. The fact that marital rape was only recognized in first world countries like England as late as 1991 is mind boggling.

On a different note, as I was eating dinner tonight, a report on a rape came on the news. It was relating to an internationally publicized incident involving a student. She was tricked into boarding a bus, where she was physically and sexually abused so badly that she later passed away in hospital. The four men involved have now been sentenced to death, which in my opinion is a good choice by the officials. I am not ‘pro-death penalty’, however, this was an exceptionally brutal, unprovoked attack on a woman who was just trying to get home. Sometimes the world needs a wake up call, to let them know that if they do something like this, then they will pay a great price.

I read an article on this incident, and it followed on to say that another teenager who took part in a rape was sentenced to a maximum penalty of three years in a reform facility. This troubled me, because this individual was only one year away from being an adult, why did he not receive a more appropriate sentence? Why wasn’t he made an example of? I just don’t understand.

__Week 9__

This week's reflection is going to touch more so on the health of Indigenous Australians in general. The inequalities facing the population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within Australia are evident. From their substandard access to health care, to the major difference in life expectancy in comparison to their non-Indigenous counterparts. It is frustrating to see that even in a first world country like Australia, this level of discrimination and inequality continues. This low level of respect shown to one of the oldest living races in the world is disheartening to say the least. Discrimination of this level has had an impact on my life in an indirect manner, through the policy of apartheid in South Africa. This policy was based on the “White Australia Policy” and was just as detrimental to the Indigenous people of South Africa as it was to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. I was too young to understand this policy when my family immigrated to New Zealand, however, the recounts of my parents makes it clear how similar the two situations were. Segregation and restriction from many everyday facilities was the norm for them, mirroring the types of laws that were in place in Australia. These oppressive laws in both societies were the underpinning factors that attributed to the inequalities within both. The lack of opportunities that were available to non-Indigenous individuals created a gap in education and eventually the overall quality of health in both populations.



The only way that our government, as well as our community will move forward is with the continual and strengthening of the empowerment of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander community through knowledge and better health services. Decisions made for Indigenous communities need to involve them to see results. I would say that a nation is only as strong as it’s inhabitants, and from what I the statistics avaiblabe, this nation’s first inhabitants are not fairing too well at this point in time.

__Week 10__

Healthy ageing

The topic covered in this weeks lecture was quite a foreign topic to me in regards to the fact that I’m a teenage male. However, my Mother is approximately 50 and is experiencing some of the symptoms of menopause. The hot flushes in particular. Everyone in my family will be feeling cold and my Mum is the only one wanting to turn the air conditioning on. It seems like a pretty strange time in a person’s life. My mother does suffer from some chronic diseases such as arthritis and high blood pressure. These are mostly genetic, as she is not overweight, but these diseases are prevalent within her side of the family. It was quite fascinating to see the many different illnesses that can arise if she doesn’t look after herself.



Focusing on the ‘Education’ part of the lecture, I think it is safe to say that this is definitely one of the main factors determining whether or not a woman will develop a chronic disease. If women are not given the chance to know about their health and how to influence it is a positive way, then what hope do they have of combating these illnesses. My Father always says, “The health of a community is based on how healthy and educated the women in that community are”. This has stuck with me, and was a main reason for me undertaking this course. I know that my mother, even with her husband being a doctor, has a hard time knowing what is going on with her health and wellbeing, I can’t imagine what other women in Australia go through trying to determine whether or not they are doing the right thing. Women are the main caregivers to children and are vital role models. How are children going to approach their health and wellbeing, if their mums didn’t look at theirs due to the failure of the health system? Something needs to change!

__Week 11__

This topic discussed in the lecture is of huge debate as of the last couple of months, due to the past election and the leaders involved. The major argument against marriage equality is that people believe that marriage is rightfully supposed to be between a man and a woman. This belief has been the standard since basically the beginning of time. The Bible influenced this heavily. However, many people argue that other rules set out in the Bible have not been followed so stringently and therefore, this should not be an issue. Kevin Rudd was criticized heavily after changing his view on this issue earlier this year. As a Christian himself, he decided that the teachings of the Bible (esp. the New Testament) focused more on universal love and acceptance, which would over rule the anti-gay marriage parts. This is shown in the video below.

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Many other high-profile Christian leaders have adopted this viewpoint as well, including Bishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa. A massive Christian advocate, and he said “ I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place”. The other place, obviously meaning hell. This is a huge step in the fight for marriage equality, and a bold one too. I think that if people look at the marriage/divorce statistics, they would see that the sanctity of marriage has kind of already been lost. Not because two gay women/men are able to get married, but because of the way people abuse it. Fighting gay marriage shouldn’t be the issue at hand to be honest; there are many more pressing matters that we should be dealing with. Equality is a right, and one that is being denied to homosexual individuals all over the world. Now with the election of Tony Abbott in the last month, I don’t think the situation is going to get any better for out gay counterparts any time soon.

Here are some interesting debates on QANDA on this topic..

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__Week 12__

This week’s lecture focused on substance abuse and mental health within women in Australia. The part that I’m going to talk about now is the substance abuse section. This topic made me think, especially in relation to girls my age. I go out every now and then to Fortitude Valley, and it’s clear to anyone in there, that girls drink just as much as guys and it’s showing in their behaviour. It’s scientific fact that different body’s handle alcohol differently, this difference is clear when comparing genders. Most girls my age will (esp. when in a social setting with guys e.g. pre-drinks) try to keep up with the boys, doing shot for shot, knowing that they can’t handle that much alcohol. This may just be the case within the population of girls that I know, but it seems more likely that this is happening throughout the wider population also. From what I see on Saturday nights, it’ s usually only girls being carried out of clubs, too drunk to walk or even stay conscious. I think this trend has been increasing over the past few years from when I started drinking alcohol. In saying this, binge drinking in general throughout the youth of Australia is an emerging epidemic and needs to be addressed urgently. A main factor contributing to binge drinking is the price of alcohol. I know from experience, that people my age would much rather buy a 700mL bottle of vodka for $30, than to buy a six-pack that has been taxed so highly that it’s nearly the same price. This, in my opinion, is a huge flaw in legislation and needs to be reviewed. However, in the end, it is up to the individual to decide how much they will drink, and therefore I think the dangers of alcohol should be demonstrated to our youth in a more direct manner. People my age know alcohol (in high doses) is bad for you, but they just don’t seem to care. As a teenager in Brisbane, I know that the education around the topic just isn’t cutting it.

__Week 13__

The final lecture in this unit discussed the health of women in Australia, as well as on an international scale. The dominant aspect across the board, being the many health problems and inequalities that still plague the female population. The statistics regarding women in India were a shock to me; I never knew that the sexual discrimination was so evident. I liked to think that I, originally coming from a developing nation (South Africa), was not ignorant to such things. But it has become apparent now, that I still have a warped view of the way the world is. This was a rather large wake up call..

These statistics throughout the last lecture made me think of the first tut when Michelle asked us why we chose this subject, and I answered with something that my Father told me (not in these exact words), “A population’s health is completely reliant on the health of the women in it. Women’s health and education are key factors in building a healthy and functioning society.” I think I now have a better understanding of why this is true and I also now know that there is still a long way to go in regards to the inequalities that women face.

In closing, I’d like to thank Julie-Anne and my tutor Michelle for this experience. It has definitely broadened my view of Women’s health and the health problems within this population. Being a teenage male, I do not think I would have had a very good chance to be educated in these matters unless I had undertaken this course. But, I will be able to approach many of these sensitive issues with sympathy due to my now, better understanding of them.

Thank you for this experience.

Jason Radcliffe

Also, I know this is irrelevant, but I found this poet at the start of this semester and this poem about sexism stuck out at me. So, enjoy. //"We often forget that sexism is a family heirloom that we've been passing down for generations"// - Rudy Fransisco media type="custom" key="24316174"