Why did I start this blog?

The perceptions that people have of others interests me. Perhaps this is why I decided to major in Communication, along with Political Science. All aspects of communication fascinate me-how we verbalize what we feel, our nonverbal signals, along with the interpretations that people make of others based on not just conversation, but environmental factors and the socialization of society as a whole. Our culture in the West has indoctrinated us with this notion that we are somehow superior to the other cultures in the world, with our higher levels of technology, our interpretation of intelligence, scientific methods, health systems, and many more areas. One of the most discussed area of our superiority is how our society deals with sex and gender, and the roles that men and women play in our society. We buy into this idea that we are evolving into a society that has no gender-boundaries, no specified role for gender, and one that is able to spit in the face of socialization and do as we want. We are free to make decisions that are not bound by our sex or gender, and the implications of those decisions should be equalized between the sexes. A male nurse should be no more surprising or confusing than a female construction worker. There should be no stigma attached to it, there should be no hesitation, no second thoughts. It should be seemingly natural that the gender roles we once were forced to conform to are now disappearing. Gender lines are blurring. Is that really the case though? Have we really reached that epitome of human advancement where things like sex, gender, race, religion, or orientation come secondary to the fact that we're human? Are those really not primary indicators of who we are, and what we should traditionally do?

If you haven't sensed any sarcasm (which you might not have, I didn't really write much) or did not seem in tune with the direction I was heading in, I will be explicit. I don't buy into that notion at all. Do I believe that any culture is inherently superior to another? No, I don't at all. The reason why the West seems to be superior to other cultures is because
A)We were given a little more time to advance
B)Must we really go down that long road of European invasion,
colonialism, dominance, restructuring of many of the societies
that we now view as culturally inferior or less advanced?
C)Western culture has set the model that other cultures now must
look up to in terms of advancement, we forced that upon them

I could go on and on, but I would really digress from my point. Do I believe that in the West I have more opportunities to have my sex define me less than women in other cultures? Yes and no. For instance, many women in the West pity the poor women in the Middle East that are forced to veil themselves and are shoved into these gender roles and having society tell them what to do as a woman. Well, are we in any better positions really? We have society telling us that our physical characteristics are what makes us more desirable as a woman. The size of our breasts, our legs, our face, the amount of body fat we have. Those are just some of the characteristics that we feel makes a woman "a woman." We read our magazines, our Cosmo or US Weekly, and we see these gorgeous celebrity women as the epitome of what a woman should be. How does that support our claim of moving past assigning gender roles? Yes, we have a choice to do that or not, but do we really? Like women in Morocco that have the choice to veil or not, do they really? You can keep your autonomy and choose to not veil, but you lose the esteem society gives you because you're seen as less desirable, less devout, more Western, at times even more sexually promiscuous. You could veil and get esteem, but lose that autonomy to do what you want. For Western women, you can choose to show the cleavage or the legs, or be beautiful, get the hair extensions and make-up, and you gain some type of esteem from society because you fit into that ideal of what a woman should be. Or, you could choose to not live up to those standards and do what you feel makes you comfortable, and keep that autonomy to choose what you want to do, and lose esteem. So, while we have made some progress in the West, there's still much progress that is ahead of us. We're not all that and a bag of chips.

Okay, let me bring everything full-circle. Why am I ranting about this? I'm ranting about this because I feel like society doesn't truly give us the choice to do what we want without being labeled. Why are we forced into these black and white categories with no room for gray? Why does gray confuse us so much? For instance, I'll use myself as an example. I would fall into the category of being a "girly-girl" by all means. I love getting my hair done, my nails done, I love dresses and shopping, and I like lip-gloss and cosmetics. I go on celebrity gossip sites, I watch reality tv from time to time, and I'm deathly afraid of insects! I am an intelligent female though. I go to a great, well-known university, I can follow sports, and I love politics! I love politics so much. I love arguing and debating and analyzing and making predictions. I cannot turn down having a political debate. Why does it have to be one or the other? I have men telling me all the time that they've never met a girl like me, who can be seemingly clueless at one point in time, and then come back and kill them in a political debate. I know I'm not the only female out there that's experiencing this. Why must you be a clueless princess or a ultra-feminist? Why can't we enjoy laughing about the antics of Samantha on Sex and the City, and then have a fiery debate about why we think the Republicans are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to courting new voters and remaining faithful to The Tea Party? It's not impossible, and quite frankly, I'm sick of people telling me it is.

So, that's what I'm going to do. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo is a total hottie, and my favorite part of the game is the end when they take their shirts off...but yes, I think that the Republicans will put up Governor Tim Pawlenty as one of their main men in the upcoming months to enter the Republican running for 2012. The word "chic" is described as being stylish or smart. I do think that there is room for a new type of politics, and I want to help spearhead that. We can discuss scones and politics, and damn anyone who tells us different! We can discuss Jimmy Choo and Anthony Weiner! What is the problem here? There should be none.

With that being said, I'm also sick of the old politics. Generation Y! is not being respected, not being included, and not being looked to. Let's face it, within 10 years, we're going to be in charge! All the decisions being made now directly will influence and change our future forever, and we have to make our demands heard now. Most of the people in power and influence today will not be truly affected by the decisions they are making now. We are the ones who will have to deal with energy policies, foreign policy, economic policy, environmental destruction. We need to get more involved in the decision-making process and let our voices be heard. We don't have to follow the format for politics that they've set for us, we can create our own. It can be hip, it can be stylish, and it can be chic. Now, let's talk politics.