Freedom of Speech: the Liberty and the Limitations

        In light of recent events such as Charlie Hebdo and protests that have been going on all over the world, a fierce debate about freedom of speech has sparked. Some feel that there should be limitations and boundaries yet others feel that people should have the liberty to say what they want however both opinions are justified with worthy reasons.

        People have always had varied views on what is deemed "offensive" and it can be strenuous having to constantly watch your tongue. Thinking before we act and simply considering consequences before we speak may get us so far but after that we can all be guilty of being ignorant or unaware of how what we can say can affect others. Which is why we must not condemn people for a comment but educate them. Instead of shaming, guilt tripping and harming them, explaining and making them aware of why you're offended will most likely be much more beneficial and helpful in the long term. We do it with children by teaching them the basics of how to be kind and not cruel but when do we ditch the rules and adopt the freedom? Should there be an age limit on freedom of speech and, if so, when? If we do choose to educate others however and yet they still continue to insult us with the only purpose being to mock/harass us then there is another problem to address. I believe that we do have the right to offend, but we also have the right to defend ourselves and call people out on simply mean and hateful comments. It can then turn to bullying and verbal abuse, can these really be condoned? In an abusive relationship can we actually excuse verbal abuse with freedom of speech? 

         It can be worse however when-in some places in the world- people do experience brutal punishments for highlighting a flaw in a corrupt system and "insulting" authorities. Which is why I feel that the purpose of freedom of speech is to speak out against corruption and improve the world we live in. The freedom of speech concept that we have in the western world is the ideology that we can freely speak out without restraint from the government. I feel that freedom of speech is a right that we have to criticise present systems and voice how we can better them-not an excuse to belittle others. I believe that freedom of speech should encourage discussion and give us a voice- it should not allow us to silence and humiliate others.
Fozz.

Advertising: The Hairy Double Standards

                 I was just mindlessly watching TV when a standard hair removal advert came on selling wax strips. It was your typical advert: the pretty girl smiled madly while she ripped the skin from her calves and instead of screaming in agony, she giggled with her friends while stroking her now smooth legs. But I felt uncomfortable watching it. What was it about this harmless advert that made me feel so awkward? Why did I feel this subtle yet sudden sensation of awkwardness? Then I realised the reason. It was because the woman in the advert had removed hair from her leg. Your thought now might be, "Well of course she did- it's a hair removal advert." but no, the woman's leg was actually hairy to begin with and then after using the product, she had a tanned hairless shin. In that moment I realised that no hair removal adverts for woman actually featured any body hair on the woman.

                I had spent years in front of the TV screen watching these women shave already hairless legs. Surely when you sell a product, the majority of adverts will show you the product being used but what use is a razor if you have no hair to shave off? It is not showing us how effective the razor is at all. But when we watch male facial hair adverts we do see the man actually shaving or at least trimming most of the time. Why is that? Why do I see plenty of beards being sculpted yet no legs being freed of furryness?

                I then realised it's because hair is masculine. Not feminine. The stereotypical image of a "masculine lad" has stubble. However if he chooses to have smooth cheeks he is not shamed. Our stereotypical picture of a "feminine lady" has shaven legs and armpits yet if she did have hair in these places she would be shamed. Hair is apparently not linked to femininity unless it is in the form of tweezed eyebrows or luscious locks. When Veet released this advert, they received many complaints explaining how insulting it was to be told that if they choose to embrace their hair they cannot be "womanly around the clock". People fear seeing a woman with natural hair so much that we can't even have a female hair removal advert where hair is actually removed without giving the viewer a feeling of uneasiness. Is it just me who thinks that is absurd? Maybe we need to get over these strange stereotypes and just not shame someone on their own appearance. Or maybe I should just flick over to another channel next time.

Slut Shaming

                For girls and women, the most common insults towards them usually include "slag" and "slut". These names are called out from both boys and girls and are usually in reference to a girl's actions or clothing. Whenever a woman dresses 'provocatively' or behaves in a way which isn't linked to being 'ladylike', a lot of us are quick to label her as a "tart" or even as a "whore". This then encourages girls to act in a particular way- or more accurately not act in a particular way- and they have to find the perfect balance between 'attractive' and 'modest'. They can't wear that revealing dress in case she is "asking for it" and she can't wear that long skirt in case she gains the reputation of a "prude". This can be very harmful to girls as it unconsciously makes them feel compelled to limit and hide their sexuality.

                     All through childhood and even adolescence, girls are encouraged to be 'pure' and 'delicate' and to feel disgusted at any mention of sex yet when boys are teenagers they seemed to be free to embrace their sexuality. If girls were to do this they would feel guilty and shameful-and only because of the people around them. The only problem with the "slut" is the people who humiliate her and judge her actions as if they're dirty and sinful even though it doesn't actually affect them.

                      If whatever this girl does is consensual and safe, then no one else should feel like they are at liberty to categorise her in a shameful way. Clothing should not indicate anyone's preferences or choices and people's business does not need to be anyone else's. Experiencing sexual attraction or not shouldn't be stigmatised or considered as immoral or disgraceful. Judging someone's sexuality says more about you than it does about them.

Fozz.

Parenting 101: Supporting Trans Youth

              In the news recently, many of us have learnt the story of Leelah Alcorn who was a transgender teenager who chose to take her own life by stepping in front of an oncoming truck due to the lack of acceptance and support from those around her- especially from her parents. (Read this article if you haven't been aware of Leelah's story yet: click here) In the suicide note that Leelah posted on Tumblr, she describes the difficulty she had with dealing with her parents' denial and even now her parents still talk about her with male pronouns and as 'Joshua'- her birth name. Leelah's story is one which is not uncommon however. So many people who are not cis-gender and do not have supportive parents suffer from mental health problems and sadly decide to take their own lives. As you can see from the picture below, those who have parents who accept their gender identity have a much securer sense of well-being on average:

                Which is why I feel that it is vital that future parents question the boundaries of their love. As Parker Molloy wrote in her letter to Leelah,  "Before you have children, it’s imperative that you ask yourself whether or not you’re able to truly love your child unconditionally. Whether your child is straight or gay, cisgender (non-trans) or transgender, you need to understand that this is not something you can change about them... If you conclude that you would be unable to love a trans child, it’s your responsibility to understand that you are not fit to be a parent." In a society where people of transgender are already not supported enough, parents should more so have no limitations to the love they have for their child, especially when it concerns the comfort of their child in their own body. I am heartbroken and so sorry to Leelah Alcorn for feeling that the only escape from her parents' and other people's cruelty was to not live at all; but I am angry to know that many in the transgender youth community still are excluded from feeling loved. We should all be angry about this, and we should all work on changing our attitudes. 

Fozz.

Recommended links:

http://transstudent.org/

A Quick Guide to New Year's Resolutions

               New Year's Resolutions have become notorious for being meaningless lists which are always too ambitious and broken too often. But I think that for 2015 we should embrace the ritual and we should truly use it as encouragement to improve our lives. Too often we see the same old 'lose weight', 'drink less' or 'work harder' but we seem to never actually put in the effort and think about how we can make the next year better than the last. How can we actually decide on short-term and long-term goals that are designed for us individuals and are realistic yet beneficial?

                I was thinking about this when I saw Tyler Oakley reblog a post on Tumblr of some new year's resolutions that might be tempting for a large number of people:

                I think these are some good examples of what people can work towards in 2015. With targets such as 'lose weight' it may be useful to think about why you need to lose weight and how it will make you happier. Is it more accurate to say that you want to be fitter/choose more healthier options? Or would it be even better if you worked on a mindset where you can accept and love the body shape you already have? Working on your mindset may be the best improvement you can make in 2015. For example the above "be patient. be thankful." and "don't give a shit about what others think of u" may help you to be generally happier in your day to day even if it does take a longer proportion of the year.
               But if the idea of those ambitions already makes you feel exhausted, then creating new habits and doing simple tasks like "write. write about everything." and "have more solo dance parties in my room" could actually have a positive impact too. They prove to be therapeutic and can therefore benefit mental health which is fantastic considering they are such easy things to do. Whether you want to make small or big changes in your 2015, make sure it is actually your 2015 and that you focus on making it the best year for you that it can possibly be. Happy New Year!