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 * 23 July 2013 - Week 1**

As I was sitting in today's lecture I pondered lots of aspects of women's health and representation throughout history that I previously had overlooked. One topic that I found of particular interest was the notion that specific toys were selectively available for girls and boys. One example of this is the "Barbie" doll. The doll its self is portrayed as a slender Caucasian teenager/young adult with long blonde (sometimes brunette) hair and is predominantly dressed in pink colours and colours associated with being ultra feminine. In just the appearance of Barbie through clever marketing techniques the buyer is brainwashed and persuaded in the delusion that Barbie is designed exclusively for young girls only as a portrayal of the "ideal" women. As a young girl growing up I had a plentiful supply of Barbie dolls which I played with on a daily basis until I outgrew them, however I never pondered the ideals and morals they represent to young girls, fortunately not falling into the trap many young girls do. One of these is the "perfect" woman. In order for a young girl to be perfect she needs to aspire be a living breathing barbie doll. There is statistical evidence to suggest that young girls are literally starving themselves and exercising at extreme rates to achieve the perfection presented by these dolls, although this is quite unrealistic. This evidence is presented in the following articles: .http://www.dnaindia.com/health/1822431/report-how-barbie-dolls-are-causing-women-to-develop-eating-disorders http://www.chapman.edu/students/student-health-services/psychological-counseling/_files/eating-disorder-files/13-barbie-facts.pdf. My question is:

Are dolls with wafer-thin and unrealistic body proportions to be blamed for the wrong body image that young girls are suffering from and willing to literally die for?

Or are there other factors at play which contribute to the rates of eating disorders and health issues among women throughout the world?

It is frightening to realise that a doll intended to be for play has created a phenomenon among women throughout the world, it has instigated a movement primarily directed towards an unhealthy approach to our body's. I wonder whether it is too late to reverse the already irreversible effect created by a simple piece of plastic.

References: http://static1.refinery29.com/bin/entry/2e4/x/1028167/barbie2.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lc7dS6nQB5Q/UFFSlj16wBI/AAAAAAACjq8/rEKpw470Xeg/s1600/original%2BPink%2Bdiamond%2Bbarbie%2Bdoll.jpg http://www.dnaindia.com/health/1822431/report-how-barbie-dolls-are-causing-women-to-develop-eating-disorders http://www.chapman.edu/students/student-health-services/psychological-counseling/_files/eating-disorder-files/13-barbie-facts.pdf.


 * 30 July 2013 - Week 2**

This weeks lecture in a nutshell provided some evidence in the debate of "sex" versus "gender". For women the differences between "sex" and "gender" is much more clearly defined then for our male counterparts. Behavior and activities such as going to the pub for drinks, swearing, sitting without legs crossed or even being the breadwinner in the household is still today considered to be out of a woman's ability and it is clearly a masculine behavior. Women who go against this are looked down upon by both men and other women. For a woman living in today's society she is expected to follow distinct social expectations and attitudes that from a young age. She is instructed by society to stay within the boundaries and always rely on a male to ensure she progresses naturally to the next stage in her life e.g. marital status has much more emphasis placed on it for females then it does for males.

The aspect of the lecture which I found to be really fascinating was the aspect which discussed "breasts" and how society already has a predetermined description of what they are to look like despite the fact that no two women's breasts are the same shape, size or even colour. After listening to Julie-Anne deliver the information on the overwhelming body crisis faced by young women today, I remembered an article I had read in a magazine just the week prior and how it showcased a woman who was in pursuit of the world's largest breasts through plastic surgery. I was quite horrified to see a young woman who genuinely believes that the bigger her breasts will determine her womanhood and femininity, and the fact that breast implantation is on the rise worldwide. This is an example of how the worldwide body image crisis is affecting women.

Both male and females are bombarded in their everyday lives with pictures of how the "perfect" female body looks. Often I find myself questioning these images as to how authentic they are from what the model looks like in reality. These images are frequently edited to emphasis the breasts of females and thus are placed on the cover on magazines targeted specifically for female readers and male readers. This is seen here with two different magazines, both have reality star Kim Kardashian on the front cover however the target audience is completely different and it is obvious by the way she is dressed in both covers. On both covers the emphasis is placed on her breasts as they are not obstructed by writing, instead they are in clear view of the reader whether they be male or female.

Personally I look up to role models such as Pink (Alicia Moore) who unlike many female celebrities has broken away from the constraints placed by society and taken a more gender fluid approach by sending positive messages to her female fans by encouraging them to be their own person and to not define themselves by their social status or by their boyfriend/partner/husband etc. This is most evident in her "Stupid Girls " song and music video. I believe this video places emphasis on struggles faced by young women today including breast size, weight, education, occupation, hair colour, etiquette, clothing, behaviour. I admire this artist for taking a stand and through media she is sending a positive message to women of all nationalities and ages. I hope that females take this example and use their brains not their breasts to become united and to break away from the constraints placed on them by society. Otherwise I am genuinely frightened for what the future will hold for the next generation of young women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4yQFZK9YM - Stupid Girl's video.

References: http://fabzz.com/kim-kardashian-cosmopolitan-magazine-australia-july-2011-2.html http://www.loopycomments.com/tag/zoo-magazine/ https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480458_453909831295803_1939325319_n.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4yQFZK9YM


 * 5 August 2013 - Week 3**

Well what an interesting and insightful lecture we had today. Today we explored the topic of women's representation throughout history in advertisement, social and economic status, health, violence and aging. It was an extremely interesting lecture and I am glad I attended as it allowed me to ask so many questions which previously I had bluntly ignored because personally I believed that there was no other option. As a woman myself, I find it quite laughable that there is this misconception out there that women have an obsessive compulsive relationship with money. Whilst that may be true for some women, I am not denying that there are the compulsive spenders out there (for example Courtney Love) it totally ignores the fact that there are women out there who are equally successful as men and who are very wise with their financial decisions (for example Liliane Bettencourt).

I would love to know why this belief happens? What has given men and society the right to determine that women have a weakness for an addictive relationship with money because they believe women do not have the mental capacity to be responsible? Is this all related to the ancient tales of Adam and his 'temptress' Eve? This belief downright enrages me because it pays no attention to the fact that even some of the worlds most powerful men have indeed filed for bankruptcy (e.g. Donald Trump).



The other aspect of this lecture which I found both fascinating and outraging was this idea that a women ideally aims to achieve in her life to be a wife, homemaker and mother. Of course I would love to one day get married and have children of my own. However I do have aspirations and dreams of my own which I wish to accomplish throughout my life. For example I am not going to university to get a degree only to forfeit it once I get married to become the little "wifey" who is happy to stay home. I wonder why there cannot be a balance between both men and women? After all are fathers not also just as much parents to a child as the child's mother? Why does all the responsibility of child raising placed on women?

Today I was wondering whether the rates of stress, anxiety and depression would be much lower among women if their partners were to take a more active role in the home and assist in the raising of the children. No wonder these women are depressed, especially when they are bombarded in their every day lives with images of models with happy babies working, it would make any new mother depressed especially if they are still trying to negotiate the delicate balance between work life and home life. We have to realise that the "supermum" is not the model who is photographed with the baby, it is the millions of mothers and women who look after their children day in day out. This article abstract discusses the various interpersonal stresses that women have to face: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032702004305

I think it is important for society to accept and acknowledge that women are a fundamental part and without them, the next generation would be non-existent. Women are just as important as men are.

References: http://www.gocitygirl.com/FashionImages/1_money.jpg https://www.motherpedia.com.au/images/directoryimages/2644/mum-working-with-baby__large.jpg__ __http://www.momlogic.com/images/flirting-with-forty2-pm-thumb-270x270.jpg__ __http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032702004305__


 * 13 August 2013 - Week 4**

//"Although every organized patriarchal religion works overtime to contribute its own brand of mysogyny to the myth of woman-hate, woman-fear, and woman-evil, the Roman Catholic Church also carries the immense power of very directly affecting women’s lives everywhere by its stand against birth control and abortion, and by its use of skillful and wealthy lobbies to prevent legislative change. It is an obscenity—an all-male hierarchy, celibate or not, that presumes to rule on the lives and bodies of millions of women."//

ROBIN MORGAN, Sisterhood Is Powerful

Today's lecture was both inspiring and at the same time a little depressing to realise that now in the 21st century our methods of birth control and views towards abortion are still quite primitive, thus once again giving men domination over women. The first topic we discussed today was abortion. It was quite breathtaking to see what torture those who wanted and helped give abortions were subjected to once discovered or found out. I found it of particular interest that the Jewish religion have stayed true to their original beliefs about abortion, whereas the Catholic religion which is in some respects similar has changed its mind many times over. The quote above I found to be particularly eye catching as simply putting it, it states that the church which is an **all-male** hierarchy has the __POWER__ to directly rule over the minds and bodies of women throughout the world.

I myself am a practising Catholic, having been to catholic kindy, preschool, primary school and high school. I do not believe that abortion is 'right', however I am aware that there are certain situations where it could be a valid option for example if the pregnancy was resultant of a rape. The victim would be subjected to distress both physically and mentally, that is not right nor fair, especially with the rapist getting the easy option of walking away. I do think that the **WOMAN** has the **RIGHT** to make the decision whether to continue with her pregnancy without being judged by others based on the circumstances upon which she became pregnant. However, the church is being quite contradictory by saying no to abortion, they are basically giving men the green light to rape us. At least in my opinion I think they are.



I believe that these images are very powerful and direct in supporting the message the quote conveys that the church rules over the lives and bodies of women.



The above image is a very graphic photograph of an aborted fetus and the quote below I find to be particularly discriminatory towards women. This is a very primitive and anti-feminist remark which yet again determines women to be the lesser valued of the human race. This brings me to the next topic of our lecture which I found to be of particular interest.

"Complementarianism" is the theological view that although men and women are created equal in their being and personhood, they are created to complement each other via different roles and responsibilities as manifested in marriage, family life, religious leadership, and elsewhere. It is rooted in more literal interpretations of the Creation account and the roles of men and women presented in Scripture. It is also known as the Traditionalist or Hierarchical view." (sourced from http://www.theopedia.com/Complementarianism).

While I respect this as a theological view I do not think it is at all supportive to feminism. Women in every country throughout the world are judged and subject to social and poilitical and economic views and stances everyday of our lives, according to how we live, relationship status, children, jobs, money etc. We as a cohort are already so far behind the men, who knows if we ever really will achieve equality universally? I don't think in my life time we will be able to achieve this.The core value of feminism is that women are entitled to **__EQUAL RIGHTS.__** Complementarianism is in my opinion basically a polite mannerism to say that women are only both physically and mentally able to do certain activities which are of course limited when compared to our male counterparts. In my opinion it is the total opposite of Feminisim.

References: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KkMVKeeViBg/Tl9CRL0qq9I/AAAAAAAALCs/TMhxpbL6FiM/s1600/abortion+%252B+mental+health.jpg http://www.fletcherarmstrongblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Jesus-Hand-Only-475.jpg http://www.amightywind.com/abortionf/abortion05.jpg


 * 20 August 2013 - Week 5**

After hearing today's fantastic lecture, I have taken a whole new approach to the way I view the fashion industry and the portrayal of women in the media. This lecture gave me a great insight and a different perspective on the whole industry, who knew the Barbie dolls I adored when I was younger have such a detrimental effect on some girls. One image that came to mind when Dr Angela Dwyer was discussing body image and they way it impacts you individually was the infamous photo of a painfully thin Nicole Ritchie running on a Malibu Beach in 2006.

When analysing this picture, it really is quite sad to see a beautiful young girl have such a horrid relationship with her body that can indeed be fatal. It is obvious to me after listening to today's lecture that all Nicole Ritchie is guilty off is fitting in with what society deems as "normal" and "the only way to be". How can this be so? She was scruteinised so heavily when really she was a picture perfect example of how the media portrayed the perfect woman: young, beautiful, tall, big boobs,and painfully skinny with all bones visible. Essentially a living breathing Barbie doll.

I cannot understand why we do not celebrate all women's body shapes and sizes, at the end of the day as long as your healthy isn't that all that should matter?

Well presumably it's not. Health and wealth are based on trivial factors such as how skinny you are, whether you eat organic food, if your on a gluten free diet and of course calorie counting. It seems to me that the media place more value in showing images of girls who have the appearance and body shape of a 12 year old dressed in clothing which makes them sexier and more importantly __**BRANDED**__ as a __**PRODUCT!**__ As a product these "models" will eventually "expire" and a new generation of sickly thin girls who have gained inspiration from these models will replace them. It seems to be a deadly cycle which seemingly unlike the models has no expiration date.

 HOW ARE OUR YOUNG GIRLS SUPPOSED TO GAIN A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR BODY WHEN THEY ARE EXPOSED TO IMAGES SUCH AS THIS IN THEIR DAILY LIFE?



I think the above images are an ideal example of how from a young age our young girls are branded to believe that in order to love your body you need to be skinny. The girls pictured in the Victoria's Secret add are all of a similar height, shape and weight and realistically it is very hard to tell the difference between these girls. The Dove image however is a more accurate example of what a __**WOMAN**__ looks like and how it is "normal" and "healthy" to be any of these shapes or sizes. More images need to be presented throughout the fashion industry such as the dove campaign.There is much more diversity in the bottom image and I hope that the trend shifts to representing woman who are of all different shapes and sizes. Money should be spent to advertise healthy lifestyles not bones and diets.

References: http://www.beutifulmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Screen-Shot-2012-08-25-at-12.38.15-AM.png http://www.styleite.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/0-miumiuad.jpg http://fitceleb.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/irisvp1-500x646.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/10/nickeir130806_228x461.jpg


 * 27 August 2013 - Week 6**

Dr Yvette Miller was a fantastic guest lecturer who provided a detailed insight into a woman's perspective of having a baby. From the beginning of the lecture today I was very much engaged in the topic. I was quite fascinated to know that there were two vastly different philosophies on pregnancy and birth: the "organic" non-Medical approach and the "mechanical" Medical approach. As I have no children myself I do not really have an opinion as to which approach I would take but I would assume that when I become pregnant in the future I would take the non-Medical approach as much as possible, however I do not think I would be able to go through an entire pregnancy and subsequent child birth without any medical intervention. Personally I feel I am in the middle of the two philosophical approaches.



One topic which was discussed in today's lecture which I found to be particularly fascinating was that pregnancy and birth are classified as a "pathology", previously I only considered illnesses and diseases to be a pathology, it never really crossed my mind that pregnancy and childbirth would fall into these categories. I do believe that pregnancy is a **__NATURALLY OCCURRING__** event if a **__WOMAN CHOOSES__** to become pregnant. I do not agree with the increasing human tendency to classify a normal human experience as a disease.

I was quite shocked when I was shown the statistics which demonstrated the vast restrictions imposed on women and their choices when it comes to how and where they birth their baby's. My conclusion that I have come to is, if a woman wants to have her child in her home setting, she should be allowed to and if she wishes to deliver vaginally or have an epidural she should not be denied these as it is only she who is experiencing the birthing process. Personally I would ideally have my baby in a hospital via a "natural" birth so that in the unlikely event something were to go wrong there is immediate access to emergency services for both myself and my baby.

The medical industry is largely a male dominated industry and after the lecture I was contemplating the theory that perhaps women's choices are so limited when it comes to pregnancy and birth because ideally at the end of the day the final choices such as should I have my baby naturally or is it in my best interest to go with a cesarean? or Should I have some form of pain relief throughout my labor? are made mostly by men. Even though only a woman can have a baby some of these crucial decisions are made by men who really cannot sympathies with women while they are in this situation.

The tutorial today I also found to be very interesting as it showed an ideal woman's life time plan from age 20-35. According to the ideal life plan we would like to have kids at age 34, however biologically that can be very difficult as the chances for complications dramatically increases. I was really interested to see the life plan mapped out for me and to realise that for women the time span from when we complete our education and then gain materialistic items such as a house, marriage, car etc the time frame for when to have children is very limited. I would like all women to realise that if having a child is a priority, to make it a priority and other things which are deemed as materialistic can wait. Having a child is a life changing experience different to any other and I value it more than getting a high paying job.

References: http://drlindagalloway.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/labor-and-delivery-s600x600.jpg http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/files/2009/09/perils-of-home-birth-300x272.jpg


 * 3 September 2013 - Week 7**

Today I was engaged in the lecture from the beginning until the very end. It was extremely interesting and I am glad I got the chance to hear all the information that Julie-Ann had to offer. There were two points of the lecture that personally found to be of particular interest. One was the division of gender when it comes to household chores and the other was the comparison between the video we were shown in the lecture and the one we were shown in the tutorial.

I found it particularly interesting that even today in the 21st century there is still such a division among the household chores and that women are still expected to engage in many of the chores while a man is expected to do very little around the house as it is a woman's job to be the primary caretaker of the home. I thought it was amazing especially because really is there any words that relate to household maintenance that are exclusively feminine or masculine? Of course not, so why cant the jobs be shared equally among men and women? why are women still stuck in the 1950's era of cooking cleaning while the door of potential opportunity is never closed to a man.

Although there is ever increasing opportunity for work becoming available for women, it still is a great challenge for her to become very successful in her corporate world when she is still expected to take care of the household on top of her work demands I now understand where the phrase __**a woman's work is never done**__ comes from. It is so true in our society today, women are working 24 hour days whereas men are only working the average work day of 9 to 5. No wonder cardiovascular disease is the greatest killer of women, they would be so stressed out constantly that managing their blood pressure would become extremely difficult.

The other aspect of today's lecture and tutorial that I found to be of particular interest was the comparison between the two videos we were shown in the lecture and then in the tutorial. They both demonstrated polar opposite representations of women who had vastly different goals in life. The first video from the lecture showed two women who's life goals were to please their husbands and to ensure that what ever they do pleases their husbands. Whereas the second video demonstrated an independent woman who was in control of her life and knew what direction she wanted to take her life in.

I hope that women are shown the second video and are encouraged to pursue all their dreams and attain whatever their heart desires. I am looking forward to next weeks lecture as I have really loved this topic so far.


 * 10 September 2013 - Week 8**

Today's lecture was one of the more grim topics that we have covered this semester. To be honest I wasn't as excited for this lecture as I had been for others simply because I didn't really like the topic and I thought it was going to mostly be statistics and pictures of unfortunate women who are victims of domestic violence. Once the lecture began however my perspective on the whole topic changed as I realised that there was many different types of domestic violence and quit often it is the psychological abuse which is much more harmful then physical abuse.

In my life I am lucky enough to have never witnessed any acts of domestic violence or know anyone who has been subjected to it. I know though that I am most likely a minority as statistically it is proven that domestic violence unfortunately happens quite often here in Australia. It is very hard for me to comprehend that someone could be so cruel to subject someone that they "love" to such torture and really what would drive them to initiate such an act. I know that in our modern day society life is increasingly becoming more stressful and that women and men endure higher amounts of stress then in the past, but really this is __**no excuse**__ to attack someone simply because you are frustrated.

One aspect of today's lecture which I was really shocked to hear about was that the first investigation into domestic violence only happened 8 years ago in 2005. That I thought was quite horrifying as who knows how many thousands of women who had been victims in all the years prior and post this study. To me I interpret that study as people only acknowledging the significance of domestic violence in 2005, I firmly believe more study should be conducted into this to ensure the right support is able to be given to both the attacker and the victim and that it can be eradicated from society. I found it really interesting that the majority of incidents of domestic violence towards women happened on residential properties between 6-9pm on Saturday and Sunday's and the attacker was more often then not well known to the victim. I found this to be very interesting, I did wonder what would be the cause of this and I think that perhaps the fact that people most likely will drink more on the weekend as well as the fact that both persons involved are most likely to be home on that day.

In the tutorial I learnt a valuable life lesson on how to be aware of domestic violence and to ensure that I never allow myself to become trapped in that situation. Another aspect which I found to be of particular interest was the analysis of the Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast". I had never really analysed the movie in this aspect before and then I realised how the movie indeed portrays a young girl who is trapped in a relationship where she is threatened constantly and at the same time falls for her captour and in the climax of the movie risks her own life to save him from being killed. I think the video and images below is an excellent feminist evaluation of the movie and after watching the movie again out of curiosity I did notice some scary similarities to domestic violence.

[]

I am looking forward to next weeks lecture as although the topic today wasn't one of my favorites, I did learn many lessons.



References: [] []


 * 17 September 2013 – Week 9**

Aboriginal Australians, the first people to inhabit this great land that we live in have been suffering at the hands of modern intervention. One of the greatest events of suffering of these people in modern history was the “Stolen Generation”. There has been many arguments and evidence to suggest that as a collective community have experienced to some degree post-traumatic stress disorder due to the scars left from these past events on these people and every generation since. As a result of the interventions beginning with colonization, the stolen generation has left what was once a strong culture to be discriminated, victimized and ultimately isolated from the greater Australian community. During today’s talk, I wondered a few times, would the health of Aboriginal Australians be overall much better if they remained in a sense “segregated” from the highly processed western way of life. The statistics continually prove that our Indigenous people have poorer health outcomes then their Caucasian counterparts. Since the initial colonization, many diseases were introduced to the Indigenous people that previously they had never been exposed to and consequently had no immunity to. This is however only one aspect of their poor health, however Aboriginal Australian’s especially women are lacking in the areas of education, employment, as well as the cycle of poverty and the subsequent loss of their cultural identity as a result of colonization. Currently there are many interventions by the Australian government, to try and improve the status of these people. As the below image shows the “Aboriginal circle of health”. I believe if the appropriate allied health services continue to work with these people to break down the communication barriers, perhaps improved overall health could be attained.



One aspect which I feel is strongly related to the health outcomes of the Aboriginal Australians was that through all the interventions, their identity as a culture was lost. Consequently with each new generation the traditions of the past are slowly being lost. I think this will be extremely detrimental to the health of all Aboriginal Australians as their identity is so critically important. If the identity of these people is lost, then I’m afraid of what the future holds for the founders of Australia. I hope that the government continually works towards creating better health outcomes for these people to ultimately improve their health which is so critically important. I do personally believe that improving the health of Aboriginal Australians should be made one of the government’s top priorities as I feel it is an extremely important part of ensuring the future of these people. I enjoyed the discussion today as it really opened my eyes to many issues that previously I wasn’t as aware of.



References: [] []


 * 24 September 2013 – Week 10**



Today’s guest lecturer Professor Debra Anderson presented a fantastic lecture that was extremely in depth and covered all aspects of women’s health and the various factors, which can influence women’s health. As I didn’t do this topic for my website, I was very keen to listen to all the information that this lecture had to offer.

One of the aspects of this lecture, which I found to be very interesting, was that how I am now with regards to the way I eat, my health etc. would affect me later on in life. I found this to be quite astounding as it put it into perspective that whatever I do now will have a direct impact on the way I age and how I will age. To be totally honest this information frightened me a little as it was very confronting, however at the same time it was very informative to hear how estrogen changes and adapts to the way I live as an individual as well as where I live in the world.

I already was aware that a person’s demographic is directly related to their health status. However to see the difference of Australia when compared to the rest of the world for example Japan was defying information. It was amazing to see how overall the women who live in Japan were much healthier and had greater health outcomes when compared to women who lived in other countries throughout the world for example Australia and the United States.

The relationship between women and heart disease was also quite remarkable to hear. One factor, which made an impact on me, was the gender differences between an individuals relationship with cardiovascular disease. I did wonder a few times why when a woman presents to a doctor or a paramedic with the symptoms of a heart attack she is more likely to be treated for depression or anxiety whereas if a man presents with the symptoms of a heart attack he will more likely have an ECG. I wonder why this is? Is it because we think women are more likely to over react or a more prone to anxiety? Or is it because many women are more afraid of dying from breast cancer then cardiovascular disease?



The above pictures demonstrate the difference in the expression of an elder woman possibly having a heart attack when compared with a man, quite different indeed. In conclusion today’s lecture was extremely informative and greatly put into perspective how important women’s health is. I hope that there is continued work to keep spreading the message and creating an emphasis on the importance of women’s health.

References: [] [] []
 * 8 October 2013 - Week 11**

This weeks lecture I found to be quite interesting as I have never really been educated on "lesbians". It was a real eye opener as this is such a highly debated issue in modern times.

In our society today, people who do not conform to what is traditionally seen as the "norm" are subjected to much more additional hatred and hardships that perhaps they would not if they were what society deems as normal.



I think this photograph is an ideal example of how the media portrays marriage as exclusively for a man and a woman in a heterosexual relationship. However ironically the photograph is actually of two women not a man and a woman which was what it was originally intended to be. I do think it is unfair that persons who identify as lesbians are automatically subjected to a different set of rules and expectations. In my own experience growing up, I have noticed that "gay" men are more accepted in society, whereas lesbians are either expected to be porn stars or the modern equivalent of witches. I do at times wonder are "gay" men more accepted because they are still "men"?

Women in general are already so discriminated against in society, so it is a fair guess that lesbians are subjected to much more discrimination and hatred then a heterosexual women. I personally think that discrimination against any one regardless of their "sexual orientation" is completely unacceptable. I do hope that women who identify as lesbians are one day treated as equals in our society. After all, love is love. Is the love between a mother and daughter or between two girl friends deemed as unacceptable in society? NO! Therefore I do not think it should be tolerated that women who love other women should be subjected to additional hatred. If two people love each other and it is a fair relationship, then what should it matter if its a man and a woman, or a man and a man or a woman and a man?

As we did not have a tutorial this week, I was a little disappointed that we did not explore the topic further as I had never been exposed to it before having been to catholic kindergarten, preschool, primary school and high school. We were never told that it was okay to be "gay". None the less, I found the lecture this week to be very insightful as well as informative as it really demonstrated the hardships that lesbian's have to endure as well as all the health risks which they are subjected to.

References: []


 * 15 October 2013 - Week 12**

As with same sex couples which was discussed in the lecture last week; mental health is also a highly contentious issue in modern day society. I was well aware that is seen as a sign of weakness to say that you are not feeling okay mentally. As I learnt in week 10, women who are suffering a heart attack are often told that it is an anxiety attack, whereas it is the polar opposite for men. Why are women deemed so mentally unstable?



The above image shows a woman who is obviously dealing with some extreme issues in her life and is turning to alcohol as a way out. It is no wonder with the stresses of modern day life that women are turning to substances to help them deal when they do not feel mentally strong enough too. Perhaps the government should create more incentives to talk about mental health, and remove the stigma that is so often associated with it.

I was quite horrified to hear how in some cultures, women are isolated during the time of their period as it is viewed as an abomination. I do realize that at the time they did not understand the reasoning for the menstrual flow, but at the same time, I wonder if the situation were reverse, would men be isolated from society?

The other aspect of the lecture which I found to be a real eye opener was the amount of women who get addicted to drugs smoking and alcohol. I had no idea the statistics were as high as they were. I had always thought that men outnumbered females by far. It is quite sad to see that these women feel that they have no way out other then to use substances as a way out. This lecture reminded me of a school dance back in 2007, a girl at my school who was quite depressed consumed an entire bottle of vodka and then passed out on the floor. She had to be resuscitated by paramedics and she was consequently quite ill for some time after that. For me personally it was quite a scary experience. I do hope that more focus is placed on women’s health especially mental health.

References: []


 * Week 13 - 22 October 2013**

No lecture and presentations during tutorials.