reason #329423 why i hate macy's
Because they think it's a swell idea to hand out free copies of Maxim. To women!
However, to its credit, Maxim is a great magazine to dissect, to see how they portray/construct hegemonic masculinity. After perusing the magazine, I propose they change their name from Maxim to Erect Penis because every punchline and end result seems to hint as that being of prime importance. Ultimately, Maxim does the same thing to men that magazines targeted at women do: attempt to convince them if they don't have a repository of naked women, have sex 24/7 (unless you've cut out five to ten minutes from that to read Maxim, of course), own trendy clothing, smell a certain way, or use the right deodorant (because god forbid you have deodorant residue) they're useless as human beings. It's not exactly a shocking revelation by any means, but the mainstream mentality simply reminds me precisely why magazines are essentially dead to me.
I don't remember how I stumbled upon it on Wikipedia, but, now, for the first time in years, I want to subscribe to a magazine. The magazine in question? Bitch (www.bitchmagazine.org). I want to learn more about feminism, and after browsing a few articles on this site, Bitch has successfully earned a spot on my list of awesome. And, they make me wish I came of age in the early-90s so I could've snagged a subscription to Sassy instead of Teen and YM like I ended up doing. Man, was I sold to advertisers (side note: I'm kind of writing an essay about the topic).
My interest in feminism stems from my Men's Lives class, of course; but more immediately, it's taken root from Emily S. (not using full names on this blog anymore because people Google themselves), a girl that lived in my residence hall last year. We're friends on Facebook, and she identifies as a feminist. Anyway, she's doing an internship with Ms. Magazine and has been posting all these wonderful links this summer that I've been clicking on, learning more. Feminism used to be something I avoided (along with any discussions about race) because I thought it was a touchy subject, because of the negative stigma attached to these words, these topics. But now, I feel like I have to learn as much as I can, just because there's so much I don't know, so much I wish I knew when I was younger. I wish I had known earlier. I earnestly believe I would have been a better person for it. I really want to intern for Bitch next summer.
Is it just me, or was LJ down for the past two days? I kept trying to visit, but my browser/Internet connection was not having it.
Oh, did I mention: Now, thanks to MLK-threatening letter sent earlier this month, I actually volunteer somewhere. Who woulda thunk it? I work at a food pantry in Bed-Stuy as an intake worker, meaning, I put people's names and info in the database so they can get food and give them job referrals if they want/ask for it. I really like it; both because it requires me to use WINDOWS LOL (which is pretty easy to troubleshoot if anything goes wrong), and I interact with people that I normally wouldn't interact with. Of course, no healthy food in the area, so I bring in a lunch box, lol (mostly because I haven't used a lunch box since eighth grade). I've been off refined sugars/enriched food for so long that my body can't process junk. Even if I had the desire to eat it (which I don't, thanks), I just end up feeling like shit for days.
Life's been going well. I'm ready to go back to school and give it my all (even though that sounds totally tacky), but I don't feel a particular aversion to Long Island. To be honest, I don't hate being here. There are aspects of the suburban lifestyle I don't like, such as being completely dependent on gas-guzzling cars to get pretty much anywhere, and, yes, I would rather live in NYC, but LI's close enough to NYC that it's not a disaster and a half to live here. Once I let go of my pretensions, it's not so bad here. And there are high-speed Internets
I don't know what my "best" or "all" will entail, but I will make a list about it:
My Goals for the Fall 2009 Semester
I think bed is going to happen. I'm feeling the telltale marks of sleepiness.
However, to its credit, Maxim is a great magazine to dissect, to see how they portray/construct hegemonic masculinity. After perusing the magazine, I propose they change their name from Maxim to Erect Penis because every punchline and end result seems to hint as that being of prime importance. Ultimately, Maxim does the same thing to men that magazines targeted at women do: attempt to convince them if they don't have a repository of naked women, have sex 24/7 (unless you've cut out five to ten minutes from that to read Maxim, of course), own trendy clothing, smell a certain way, or use the right deodorant (because god forbid you have deodorant residue) they're useless as human beings. It's not exactly a shocking revelation by any means, but the mainstream mentality simply reminds me precisely why magazines are essentially dead to me.
I don't remember how I stumbled upon it on Wikipedia, but, now, for the first time in years, I want to subscribe to a magazine. The magazine in question? Bitch (www.bitchmagazine.org). I want to learn more about feminism, and after browsing a few articles on this site, Bitch has successfully earned a spot on my list of awesome. And, they make me wish I came of age in the early-90s so I could've snagged a subscription to Sassy instead of Teen and YM like I ended up doing. Man, was I sold to advertisers (side note: I'm kind of writing an essay about the topic).
My interest in feminism stems from my Men's Lives class, of course; but more immediately, it's taken root from Emily S. (not using full names on this blog anymore because people Google themselves), a girl that lived in my residence hall last year. We're friends on Facebook, and she identifies as a feminist. Anyway, she's doing an internship with Ms. Magazine and has been posting all these wonderful links this summer that I've been clicking on, learning more. Feminism used to be something I avoided (along with any discussions about race) because I thought it was a touchy subject, because of the negative stigma attached to these words, these topics. But now, I feel like I have to learn as much as I can, just because there's so much I don't know, so much I wish I knew when I was younger. I wish I had known earlier. I earnestly believe I would have been a better person for it. I really want to intern for Bitch next summer.
Is it just me, or was LJ down for the past two days? I kept trying to visit, but my browser/Internet connection was not having it.
Oh, did I mention: Now, thanks to MLK-threatening letter sent earlier this month, I actually volunteer somewhere. Who woulda thunk it? I work at a food pantry in Bed-Stuy as an intake worker, meaning, I put people's names and info in the database so they can get food and give them job referrals if they want/ask for it. I really like it; both because it requires me to use WINDOWS LOL (which is pretty easy to troubleshoot if anything goes wrong), and I interact with people that I normally wouldn't interact with. Of course, no healthy food in the area, so I bring in a lunch box, lol (mostly because I haven't used a lunch box since eighth grade). I've been off refined sugars/enriched food for so long that my body can't process junk. Even if I had the desire to eat it (which I don't, thanks), I just end up feeling like shit for days.
Life's been going well. I'm ready to go back to school and give it my all (even though that sounds totally tacky), but I don't feel a particular aversion to Long Island. To be honest, I don't hate being here. There are aspects of the suburban lifestyle I don't like, such as being completely dependent on gas-guzzling cars to get pretty much anywhere, and, yes, I would rather live in NYC, but LI's close enough to NYC that it's not a disaster and a half to live here. Once I let go of my pretensions, it's not so bad here. And there are high-speed Internets
I don't know what my "best" or "all" will entail, but I will make a list about it:
My Goals for the Fall 2009 Semester
- Find a volunteer opportunity I have Habitat as a backup, of course, but I want to find something I love, something I'm passionate about. It'll matter more to me, I'll be more passionate and engaged. I'd love to do something with food policy; but the Cornell Co-op Extension is the only thing I can think of at the moment and I get the sense that they only do seasonal things. Maybe I can volunteer at Planned Parenthood?
- Don't make everything about grades Yes, I have a scholarship that is requiring me to maintain a 3.3 GPA. But I'm obviously doing well for myself outside of that requirement. I don't want to fret so much about grades and worry more about craft (which I guess I have to, since four out of the five main classes I'm taking this semester are writing courses). If I worry about things in terms of grades only, that becomes reductive, an encumbrance to learning something like how to write a feature, for instance. Yes, there are classes I'm taking as prerequisites for other classes or because it's required for my major, but they're still opportunities to learn new things. That should be my final objective. Plus, I am taking the least amount of credits since...Spring 2008 (15 credits), so that should be something, at the very least. My classes are in a horrifying cram sandwich that starts at 9:25 AM and doesn't let up until 5:15 PM, so I am a bit scared.
- Live I don't do a very good job at this, I let myself get absorbed in my work and don't do much else outside that. I'm scared because many of the people I talk to regularly are moving off campus and I'm scared I'll either limit or completely cut off interaction with them AND THE HUMAN RACE minus my professors because of it. So I think I'll go out to at least one event a week and work out hanging out with people for lunch/dinner, especially on my free days.
- Spend less money I spend money so frivolously, it's ridiculous. I think logging my expenses as they happen will hopefully put my ridiculousness into harrowing perspective.
- Stop being so passive Being passive gets me in a lot of unnecessary situations. I really need to become an advocate for myself, for my own good above anything else.
I think bed is going to happen. I'm feeling the telltale marks of sleepiness.