Yearning for Perfection

Pop culture has major cons. However, I must admit that I love pop culture. From some of my favorite shows like Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Bad Girls Club, Basketball Wives to my favorite artists such as Beyonce, Ciara, and Jennifer Hudson, they have  made an impact on my life. It seems as though my day cannot go right unless I see the new episode of Basketball Wives every Monday night. The bottom line is this, pop culture has become increasingly persuasive to its viewers. Pop culture makes violence seems appropriate and sometimes necessary. Therefore, children and young adults like myself begin to believe that it is okay for us to do it as well. In addition, pop culture makes education seem like it should be last on our lists. I do not recall ever hearing a member from the case of Jersey Shore bring up the discussion of college. It showcases that the important things in life are material things and that individuals should primarily focus on having fun. It does not inform its viewers that hard work and determination is needed in order to be successful in life. It encourages sex as well. In all reality, pop culture portrays a fantasy world. This is what makes it fun and entertaining. In addition, research has shown that pop culture has a negative impact on children and adolescents. Many young teen girls are going on extreme diets, trying their best to resemble the characters that they see on TV.  Most of those characters have had numerous plastic surgery operations,  but this is not apparent to the teen girls.
Personally, pop culture has had a tremendous impact. I always find myself on yet another diet, determined to lose "just a little more". I have body issues that I feel I will never be able to get rid of. As I continue watching it for entertainment purposes, I'm pretty sure it will only get worse.

Well-Rounded, OVER-worked, Motherly Mess!

Second-shifting is definitely a form of oppression for women. From my observation of various women performing this, I have taken a personal commitment to never have to experience this. My husband WILL help with keeping the house clean and making sure the kids have everything they need. Although second-shifting is widely accepted in the world, it is not for me. I guess that is why I have not taken the direct initiative to learn how to cook. Hahaha! It's respected because its obvious that it is a hard job and puts a lot of strain on women. This leads to many health problems that could easily be avoided such as depression, weight loss/gain, and high blood pressure.  In my opinion, women do it because they know it will not be done if they depend on the man to get it done. I've seen this from first-hand experience. If a mother neglects to go home, cook, clean, and help the kids although she has just left a 8-hour/day job, she is seen as a "bad mother". It seems as though this job is beneath a man's level. Many think that by doing this it makes them soft or feminine. They don't look at it from the point of view of them being a good father and supporter. They think that as long as they go out and bring home a good paycheck that their deed is done. I refuse to get this sort of feedback from my husband, especially since I would like to have at least 5 children.
Women are killing themselves in order to keep an image. They are working twice as hard as their mothers and grandmothers because back then, women were not allowed to work outside of the home. Sadly, the husbands were lucky to be able to find work. They had nothing else to do besides cook, clean, and birth/take care of children. In today's society, women have a lot more equal rights as men. They can easily find jobs, high-position jobs at that. However, they cannot forget the central role of women that they witnessed from their mothers and grandmothers which is to be a dynamic worker, wife, and mother. However, this WILL NOT be my style of shifting. GUARANTEED!