Children's Media Experience & SEX

Today I saw a great poster! In bold and in very large letters was the word SEX! This is a poster no matter what your morals or gender you have no choice but to walk over and read it. Many people their first impression is “I’m offended!” So they walk over to yank it down without reading it. This almost happened while I was sitting at a table in front of the poster. I told the person after they asked me to move so they could specifically yank down the poster, “You don’t even know what it’s for. Why don’t you read it first?” I was definitely in defense mode at this point. The man walked away in a huff mumbling, “I don’t care. I don’t even want to know” still not bothering to actually find out what the poster was about. This is ignorant judgment. You should avoid this type of behavior and people who insist on acting this way. Always know what you are doing. Never jump to conclusions. In the words of Mr. Ready my high school biology teacher, “Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and an ass out of me.” This is a good and common saying but he said it on a regular basis to all of his students. Others are also offended but at least they walk up and read the poster and then seeing the actual reason it is hung there they leave it alone and walk away. There are also people that see it and think, “I like sex. I’m interested!” This is a poster that you have to engage whether or not the subject offends you. Talk about effective marketing!

The poster turned out to be an invitation/advertisement for a sex addiction counseling group for men at a local church.

This brings me into my real topic: sex in media outlets that are intended for a child audience.

Just like this sign, you can’t turn on your TV, radio, or computer, open a publication, or drive down the road without seeing an advertisement that is using sexual suggestion to sell a product, service, idea, or program. With being a mother of a young child I am concerned about sex playing too large of a role in my son’s media experience. I don’t want him to have negative connotations about his own self-image, or believe that his future partner should look a certain way or they aren’t worthy of his love, or even cause him to have abnormal sexuality (not talking about homosexuality) that may cause him to be a society outcast.

I find it troubling that even while watching TV stations that are traditionally aired for a child audience, there is regularly blatant sexual suggestive dialog, actions, or content. Even on Disney there are many tween shows that show children kissing and engaging in adult like relationships or wearing clothes that leave little to nothing to the imagination.

That being said I do NOT think that the government should ban ALL media that contains ANY nuance of sex. I am a full supporter of the 1^st Amendment of the United States Constitution but I also support a limitation on the venue of certain speech; especially when children are involved. I believe that blatant sexually suggestive content should be banned from media outlets that are targeting a child audience.

Let me clarify when I am talking about children, I mean any person under the age of 18 and the content I am talking about is blatant (obvious) sexually suggestive (indicating the desire or probability for sex) that the average parent would not approve of their child engaging in.

If I had a daughter I would certainly not approve of her prancing around or posing seductively in her skivvies like the women on the Victoria Secret underwear advertisements do. I wouldn’t want my son doing this either for that fact.

These days our kids are on media overload. With even two parent families having to work full time, media has taken the place of family time. Many families even experience media together because they are too tired or too broke to leave home to do anything and even when they do they usually still pick some media outlet to experience together, albeit more expensive. In our parent’s time, or at least mine, there were enough chores to keep you running around like a chicken with your head cut off before and after school so that by the time you were done with chores, homework, and dinner all you wanted to do was go to bed. Not watch TV or listen to the radio late into the night. Watching a movie was a sometimes treat instead of an everyday occurrence.

The only TV channel that I have seen that seems to have any type of censorship is Nick Jr.; which is intended for a preschool age child. Nick Jr. instead of having commercials has brain building puzzles or music during down time between shows. I don’t believe that this level of censorship should be the standard for all child audience directed media. I do believe however that there should be some kind of censorship.

The Supreme Court is very involved with deciding whether or not censorship should be allowed. Censorship on content is usually severely frowned upon and laws that ban certain content are usually deemed unconstitutional unless they pass the strict scrutiny test applied by the Justices. In this case, because I am proposing a ban on content in a venue (child audience intended media), the court would apply the less restrictive test of intermediate scrutiny. I believe that my proposal would be upheld by the court.

Opposition would argue that I am giving up my parental responsibility to monitor what media my child is exposed to but this is definitely not the case. I am only asking that the government impose this ban so that as a mother, I have a way to provide my son with media experiences that are both positive and appropriate for a child. I want HELP to be a good parent by allowing me an avenue to succeed in this endeavor. As a good parent I am advocating for this ban, which is in my opinion, in the best interest of my child.

Back to the poster.

 Since said poster was in a college, a venue traditionally directed and intended for adult use, it is perfectly appropriate for the poster to be hung there. However, if the poster would have been hung in the daycare across the street, I would have been just as offended as any other sensible parent and rightly so.

 Sex has its place in life but it should not be located in media outlets that are intended for a child audience.

Below is the poster I referenced, it didn’t last through class.

Free Bird Travelers

Today it was my pleasure to pick up a friend from DIA to hang out until it was time for said friend's bus to leave. A fellow mother it was nice to talk to someone face to face without having to worry about sounding like I was whining or being a pain in the rear when I asked her to hold my son so I could use the restroom.


However...


Said friend is what I call a Free Bird Traveler.
Upon picking her up from DIA and driving her to the Greyhound station I find out... she never bought a ticket for the next leg of her journey! Me, this would never happen. I would have all of my tickets in hand and be half packed with a typed up and printed out list of what I needed to take and how much money I would need and the whole ten yards a week in advance. But not my friend.
The ticket master then informed her that she could get tickets cheaper over the phone. So we called. Then the lady on the phone told her that tickets were even CHEAPER online. GREAT! Being on a very tight budget my friend decides that we should trek to the nearest Starbucks and get her tickets.


Problem...


You have to print them and they have yet to install printers onto laptops.


So we call again. This time we get a surly woman who even I can't understand (and I can fluently speak and understand Deep South - and if you don't know what that is... its relative to what the guy in overalls speaks in Water Boy). Come to find out in order to get tickets over the phone you must purchase them at least 3 hours in advance and besides what the ticket master told us... the specific terminal we were using... does NOT allow over the phone or Internet purchases. At this point my frustration at being talked to like I was an idiot by some woman who couldn't enunciate if a hot poker was jabbed into her behind, was immense.
I finally get out of the woman that we have to purchase the tickets from the ticket master and that we must do it one hour prior to departure. Her bus leaves at 1:40 and it is already 12:50 CRAP!
My friend sprints from the cafe we are sitting at and goes to buy her tickets. Now someone is lying because the ticket master gave her the tickets without a problem at 1:00pm.


None the less and no worse for the wear but out of breath from all the arguing and running and hooha my son and I (Ive been packing him on my hip throughout this ordeal mind you... he even yelled at the lady on the phone for me - too cute) get her on the bus and safely on her way.


Now...


My question is how can people travel this way?! How can you leave home with $100 in your wallet and just go without knowing how you are going to pay for things, where you are going to stay, or even how you are going to get where you are going!!!


I have several friends that are this way. One of whom hitched his way clear to where I was going to college just to hang out for the weekend and accompany me to the bar. Although for him he has always wanted to hitch at least once in his life so he got to have an adventure and make a check on his bucket list all at the same time.


I admire these whirlwind fly by the seat of your pants travelers because they are so entirely sure of themselves. They know they will make it.


Maybe we should all take a hint from them and have a little bit more faith that we are all going to make it. Not out on the open road but in life in general. If you know you are going to make it. You will.


Here are two websites that I think are very insightful on travelling with children:
From TSA
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm
in general
http://www.travelsense.org/tips/children.cfm

The Job Hunt - Discrimination

In today's society there are so many different jobs to be had it is hard to imagine oneself in a typical, mundane, low wage, back breaking, boring job. Many people, thinking it beneath them to toil at one of those mundane jobs, but having one of the more prestigious and well paid jobs where they don't have to worry about paying the mortgage or the grocery bill and God forbid if one of the kids needs braces or wants to join an after school program.

But then the economy slithers its grubby claws around your wallet,extending its venom into you home and your family. Ruining marriages creating criminal records and a number of other disastrous consequences.




Now what?




I am going to graduate with my second degree in less than a month and have NO job prospects. It isn't as if I have been searching either. Ive sat so long in front of the help wanted ads on craigslist and applied for so many positions that it has subsequently block me from applying to any more ads because its thinks i am a Bot. I even resorted to using a staffing agency to help in my search (which is a great tool by the way for you jobless persons reading this)but to no avail.

And although there are many posting in my field, they are all looking for someone who has 5+ years of experience. What about me? What about the fresh from the press, eager to please, and not incompetent newbie?




I have considered the possibility that it may be my resume or my cover letter or my writing sample but after my eyes beginning to glow from proofreading and editing them I cant find anything else to edit or even jazz up without sounding like a flower child happy hippie. This I have concluded that there is something that these human resources people are looking for that they aren't telling us about.




But what is it?




I recently read an article. Although I do not remember the name of it. That actually concluded that weight can be a factor in whether or not you get, retain, or receive equitable promotions compared to your skinnier peer. It said that on average, women who are within the socially acceptable body weight, that is anything under a size 6 for your information. Anything above a size 8 is considered a "plus" size according to several TV clothing shows I have watched which utterly disgusts me. I would LOVE and I mean LOVE to be a size 8 or 10 or even a 12. Those girls are NOT FAT or even in my opinion overweight. I know I am overweight and out of shape. And yes I do think that I am beautiful, but you aren't going to see me wearing booty shorts any time soon either for everyones' safety. Don't even begin to get into a conversation with me about people who do not wear the appropriate clothing for their body type. Skinny people are guilty of it just as large people are too so don't get your feathers ruffled. Anyways I digress...

Back to the article. It stated that socially acceptable figured men and women make an average of $7,000 a year MORE than their non accepted counterparts. For women the skinnier you are the more you make and it is just the opposite for men. The taller and bigger you are the more money you make whereas your skinny and shorter counterparts don't receive promotions or bonuses.




This brings into question whether there should be a constitutionally protected class for persons who fall into the socially unacceptable body type? Could you sue if you found out that your employer passed you over for a promotion or a bonus just because of your looks? What about if another person with fewer qualifications received the position because he or she was "more attractive" than you? There is only so much a person can do about their looks without paying thousands of dollars for plastic surgery. How would this make you feel? What could you do about it? How could you even prove it? Could an employer put a box where you have to fill in your weight to even qualify for the job?




How would you feel if you found out your child was not being chosen for a team (such as cheer squad) even though they were GOOD at the sport and were passionate about it just because of the way they looked?




At this point I am praying that I get a job despite my weight that will pay the bills and if I'm lucky has benefits. I am also praying that God has mercy on me and makes that snickers bar I just chowed down fat free and calorie free but in the meantime waiting for that miracle to happen I'm going to go search for that article so you all can read it and join me on my soapbox.

THE ARTICLE:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/10/07/study-your-weight-affects-your-salary/
THE STUDY:
http://www.timothy-judge.com/Judge%20and%20Cable%20%28JAP%202010%29.pdf

WELCOME TO TODAYS JUNKBOX! ADHD

Welcome Readers!

This blog is dedicated to my son who keeps me busy busy busy! This is where I will share our joys, sorrows, sucesses, failures, adventures and anything fun or interesting we find.

Today we have two teeth!

Below is a link to an article that is an interveiw of parents and friends of a 12 year old boy who has ADHD that I think is insightful.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/family-parenting/article.aspx?cp-documentid=28194464

Have a Great One!

A & P