Gender Neutral Children

In recent years, more and more parents have chosen to raise their children in a manner that masks their gender until they are old enough to decide for themselves. One way parents do this is by allowing their child to wear whatever he choses to wear. Some days, this is a skirt, and other days it is a t shirt and shorts. Parents also allowed their children to play with whichever toys they picked up. For example, a child could play with super hero action figures or barbie dolls. The purpose of this is so the child is brought up choosing who he/she wants to be without society putting stereotypes on who they should be. Many parents are able to mask the gender of their child up until they start school around age 5. At this point, it is next to impossible for the child to be kept in the dark any longer due to the presence of other children, as well as gender separated bathrooms. Psychologists have differing views on the practice. Some, like Dr Daragh McDermott claim that it is very difficult to predict the long term effects of such an upbringing. McDermott suggests that there is not enough long term evidence to suggest one way or another what effects this type of parenting will have on a child. Other scientists, however, have differing opinions. Dr Harold Koplewicz, a U.S. child psychiatrist was appalled by the practice. Kopelewicz insisted that when children are born they are not a blank slate. He claims that there is a reason that baby boys behave a certain way and baby girl behave another.  Personally, I do not worry about the biology of the child, rather than the difficulties he/she will have integrating with other children. Young kids can be very cruel without understanding of the feelings of others, and a child who wears a skirt is a prime target to be bullied in schools. In a perfect world, maybe this practice does work, but it is very difficult to integrate this behavior into present day primary school systems. 

Going Viral

           It is not easy to make a trend go viral. Since the explosion of social media, many different trends have been able to claim viral fame as the internet has expanded to so many different audiences. The term “going viral” refers to any creation that is being shared, particularly on the internet, at an exponential rate, such that it reaches many more viewers than just those known to the creator. In todays world, it seems like a new concept or image goes viral every day, so often that it become hard to keep track of them all. With so many ideas exploding into mainstream success, we thought it would be easy to create our own concept and get the message heard.

            The College of New Jersey is a medium sized college that competes in Division III athletics. It is no secret around campus that a great majority of our sports teams are fairly competitive and perennially contend for conference, and even NCAA championship titles. However, despite the plethora of talent hailing form our beautiful institution, my partner and I felt that school spirit was not anywhere near the level that our athletes played to represent. It was for this reason we decided to launch the hashtag “#WeAreNJ”. This hashtag was meant to mirror that of other famous athletic institutions and boost overall campus pride in athletics.

            Our primary medium for this experiment was snapchat. We reached out to tcnj.snap, the campus snapchat account, and asked them to promote the hashtag and send us any snapchats they got with people who used the hashtag in order for us to be able to count how many people took part in the fun. Our secondary medium was Instagram, which we elected not to use as a primary medium because we feared many people would refrain from using he hashtag in it’s early stages due to the fact that it was not yet popular and wouldn’t get people the “likes” they so desperately desired. In addition, it would be impossible for us to see how many people with private accounts used the hashtag. TCNJ contains around 6,500 undergraduate students, as well as countless alumni, so we decided to set the bar pretty high and hope for 1,000 participants. Unfortunately, we fell short. We got around 40 members of Greek life to take part, while getting around 17 athletes, totaling to approximately 57 participants. Even though we did not accomplish our goal, we felt it was a good way to spread school spirit, even in the most miniscule way.

            We realized that our mistake was that we attempted to target a large group of individuals at once. According to an article written in Entrepreneur Magazine, the way to make something go viral is to write it for just one person, and make it so that it has such a profound effect on that individual that they can’t help but share it (Viral Paradox). According to shareprogress.org, the concept of sharing ideas is crucial in making an idea go viral (The Math of Going Viral). Our hashtag was something that was primarily motivated by us, not by the individuals using it. It was for these reasons we believe our hashtag did not reach it’s intended goal.

DiPiazza, Daniel. "The Paradox of What Makes Something Go Viral." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2016. <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254630>.

@shareprogress. "The Math of Going Viral - ShareProgress." ShareProgress. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2016. <http://www.shareprogress.org/blog/math-going-viral/>.

Social Networks

One strange phenomenon centered around the generation of millennials is the plethora of social media websites. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can serve many different purposes for many different people based on wants, likes, and needs. Personally, I used to be pretty into social media, particularly with the three aforementioned sites. However, I have since used the flood of emotional, election related posts to abandon social media in a personal social experiment. In the days following the election, I have completely restricted myself from Instagram, Twitter, and Yik yak, and have allowed only the sending of snapchats to friends, as well as very limited facebook use. At first, it was really tough to find other ways to spend my time. It was like my body had developed a certain muscle memory that kicked in whenever I was bored, and my fingers would pull my phone from my pocket, click the home button, open the phone and proceed to go straight to the previously mentioned apps. I had to catch myself a bunch of times and close the apps just to ensure I was able to stay on track. I treated it like an addiction, and although it wasn't necessarily ruining my life or tearing my family apart, it was definitely something I felt I could better myself with by eliminating it from my daily routine. To eliminate the muscle memory problem, I downloaded several news apps (BBC, CNN, ProPublica, Fox news, etc.) and replaced them in the spot where the folder with my social media apps were. In hindsight, this was not the best way to avoid talk about the election, but at least the breadth of resources allowed me to find my own opinion instead of going off of hearsay. For the purposes of this post, I made a brief return to facebook, and thankfully the political theses and 5 page essays of assumed political knowledge had subsided a bit. The vernacular of the internet is a strange concept, couple that with human behavior and desire to be heard in order to have a voice in a crowd and I'm not sure what to make of it. Of course, everybody lives their lives differently and with different motives. Psychology, however, tells us that the average human mind endures a lifelong struggle with self-efficacy and the climb to the top of a mental hierarchy that takes us through our lives in a mere instant in the spectrum of the universe, while somehow seeming like an eternity to us. Some people use social media as an outlet to be heard, and others use it for pure enjoyment. Many people think they can help the world by spreading their opinion on what is right and what is wrong, but that is simply not the case. Everyone is different. The search for validation in our opinions is what perpetuates the machine that is social media. To be honest, since giving up on social media, I cannot say with 100% certainty that I have been happier. The internet can be a very funny place, and sites like Twitter and Facebook make it easy to keep up with current events. Everything must occur in moderation. Social media is like a diet. If you enjoy things in proper proportions, your mind and your life will be fit, but if you over indulge, everything will turn to mush.

Reality Television

The television show "Scrubs" is a sitcom about a young resident doctor, JD, who goes about daily life working at the Sacred Heart hospital. JD is not exactly the staple of human masculinity, but he does display several traits that give him a place on the gender spectrum. JD exhibits multiple qualities that make him seem masculine, for example, season 1 episode 1 opens up with him shaving in preparation for his day. This display shows the characters engagement in an act that a typical male starts his day with. Jd also looks in the mirror and says to himself "I'm the man" and says it other times throughout the episode, as the recurring theme is confidence and strength in a new environment. JD attempts to show no fear and be stoic when he first meets the other employees of his new workplace. JD has a discussion with his best male friend, Turk, about rap music, which is a staple of urban masculinity. JD exhibits another aspect of masculinity when he meets a fellow resident doctor, Elliot, and is visually attracted to her. JD makes mental notes of her physical appearance and by the end of episode seems he is attracted to her personality as well, even though she betrays him in the middle of the episode. JD looks at her butt and does not let her beat him at anything since she is a girl. This displays masculine desire to be better than girls at everything, as JD races Elliot up the stairs at his own expense of becoming out of breath and exhausted. However, gender is a spectrum, and JD displays emasculating qualities as well. For example, he often asks the nurses to preform his procedures for him for fear of messing up and killing a patient, displaying a quality of fear that is not typical of the classic masculine body. JD also elaborates on his emotions in his own audio soliloquies that tell his thoughts throughout the episode. A "real man" does not ever talk about his feelings or display emotion. Another dilemma JD faces throughout the episode is his desire for companionship. He is afraid of losing his best friend in a new environment, but lacks the courage to even ask him to live with him when Turk claims he might want to live elsewhere. This need for companionship also displays weakness and emasculate behavior.

Summary: Reality TV resets tween, teen girls' expectations about own lives

Recently in pop culture, reality tv shows have become a major brand of entertainment. There has been much speculation from parents and others that reality tv is affecting the way that the minds of young girls develop and grow. In October of 2011, a survey was released called "Real to Me: Reality Girls and TV" in which the Girl Scout Research Institute polled girls on what they think about reality tv shows and corresponding aspects of life. In this study, the surveyors separated the questions between girls who watch reality tv shows and girls who do not, however, 86% of all girls were found to have believed that reality tv shows pit girls against one another for ratings and to make they show more enjoyable overall. When segregating the polls between girls who watch reality tv shows and those who don't, there were some significant differences in opinions. For example, 86% of girls who watch reality tv shows were found to believe that gossiping was a normal part of female friendships, while only 53% of girls who did not watch reality tv shows believed the same to be true. Girls who watched reality tv shows were also more often found to believe that girls must compete for a guy's attentions and are happier when they have a significant other. The survey suggests that more often than not, young girls today are taught to work against each other rather than collaborating to achieve common goals an promoting overall social wellness. This leads to the perpetuation of a "mean girl" stereotype that makes the behavior more socially acceptable. The survey also suggests that girls who watch reality tv shows are significantly more worried about appearance, evident by the 72% of reality show viewers who say they spend a lot of time on their appearance as opposed to the 42% of girls who do not watch reality tv shows. In addition, almost 40% of girls who watch reality tv shows believed a girl's value is based on how she looks. Despite evidence of superficial mindset and behavior, girls who viewed reality tv shows were polled to be more confident than girls who did not. By means of aspiring to leadership, believing themselves to be leaders, and believing that they are role models for other girls, those who watched reality tv shows responded more confidently. Personally, I do not believe that this is evidence of the affect of reality tv shows as much a predisposed personality traits and nurturing. Reality tv shows only appeal to a certain type of person, so it makes sense that the type of personality that is more attracted to said forms of entertainment could be the more confident, superficial person. One upside to girls watching reality tv shows was that it displayed a correlation between viewing and believing in oneself. 68% of girls agree that reality tv shows have made them realize that they can achieve anything in life, while 48% of girls agree that reality shows have made them aware that there are girls out there like them. Perhaps most importantly, 62% of girls reported in believing that they were made more aware of social issues from their time spent viewing reality shows.

Boys, Girls and Toys - Oh my

For as long as any of us can remember, most of the products we buy have been linked to the gender we identify with. As a kid, I played with Power Rangers and G.I. Joe while my female friends played with Barbie and Bratz dolls. This is not surprising or deceiving to any of us, but what can be misleading is the marketing used to get us to buy these products. Think of a baby shower. You can easily tell whether the woman is having a boy or a girl by the colors they display, blue being for a boy and pink for a girl. However, it was not always this way, as the color pink used to be for boys while the color blue was for girls. Whatever the reason for the change may be, it does not have to define who you are as a consumer or as a person. The internet sensation Riley, a little girl who spouted off about how only superheroes are marketed for boy and only dolls are marketed for girls, makes an excellent point. There is a line that gets crossed when toy companies start taking opportunities away from children. Before we get all crazy and launch an all out rebellion against marketing agencies for telling us what gender to be, look at the facts. Companies who use gendered marketing almost always experience a profit increase. In the mind of a consumer, if somebody sees a person of the opposite gender buying a gender neutral product, they will likely assume that the product has a connotation of that gender, making them less likely to buy said product. By placing the words "for men" or "for women" on a product, the producers eliminate this barrier. Even though the products likely do the same things, in our minds they are just the right thing for us. Whose fault is that really? Are you really going to blame Dove for your ugly skin just because you didn't want to buy their product that has a girly bird on it? It's our fault as Americans for letting ourselves get so caught up in doing things the right way instead of doing them our way. Dove doesn't mind though, their line of "for men" products has garnered them an extra $150 million in revenue. So hey, if you want spend an extra $150 million a year on soap, keep giving in to gendered marketing.

Gender and the Military

The United States Military has traditionally been a more conservative body. The men and women of the armed forces are among the most respected individuals in the country. What about the "men and women" of these groups who identify as "women and men"? Ever since World War I when women were first able to serve in the military, gender has played a significant role in social standing among military members. It is rare, even today, to see a woman fighting on the front lines of battle in most combat situations even though all aspects of the military have officially been opened up to women, as well as men. It was not until last summer in June of 2016 that congress passed the ruling that all women who turn 18 are to register for the Draft. Although great progress has been made for women in the armed forces, the pathway for other social groups is still much cloudier. For years, the armed forces employed the policy of "don't ask don't tell" by means of which no person was to ask about their sexual orientation or outright tell others of said information in order to stifle the homosexual presence in the military. If said information was to come about that a member of the service was of a homosexual orientation, they would be discharged from the military, despite whatever qualifications they might have possessed.  Since 2008, the Obama administration has made a point of political correctness and spreading such practices to all facets of government and beyond. These policies have also made their way to the Armed Forces, as the "don't ask don't tell" ban on gay and lesbian service members was repealed in September of 2011. This was a crucial step in the integration of all social groups to the United States Military. However, the newly published handbook regarding transgender service in the military is a step backward. Under these new rules, commanding officers are now responsible for accepting or denying soldiers requests for gender reassignment surgeries. This is a hindrance for any genderqueer member of the armed forces because now someone else has control over how they use their body. If a soldier has an unfair CO, they could deny their request for said surgery just because they do not believe in the practice, or because they are not tolerant of other peoples views. Although the Obama administration tried to move forward, they ended up moving a class of people backward by again making them oppressed by those around them. This could create problems between soldiers and their COs which could lead to problems with the entire platoon of soldiers.

Halloween essay

            Halloween is a time of year when people can escape from their ordinary, normal personas and branch out and experience the feeling of being someone else for a day, night, or in the case of college life, an entire week. Every year people flock to thrift stores, Halloween shops, and other textile merchants in order to find or create the best (or worst) Halloween costumes imaginable. However, Halloween costumes have very different intentions for feminine or masculine purposes. While masculine costumes often represent folk heroes and strong, powerful personas, feminine costumes rarely represent the same. Halloween is a gender stereotypic holiday because it does not promote equal expressive opportunities for both ends of the gender spectrum.

            Halloween costumes that promote masculinity are particularly popular, and provide an enhanced sense of testosterone boost around the holiday. As Alexander writes in “The Corporate Masquerade”, Halloween costumes are usually pulled from mythical stories from pop culture that celebrate masculine champions of humanity. Examples like Superman, Batman, cowboys, Native American chiefs, and other figures commonly regarded as exceptional beings identify as strong personas that are extraordinary in ways that normal people could never hope to be. These costumes provide an escape for people who choose to identify with masculine gender types to a sort of fantastical element that cant be reached during everyday life.

            On Halloween, people choosing to identify with the more feminine end of the gender spectrum cannon enjoy quite as many powerful identities. When one walks through a Halloween store or shops for unoriginal costume ideas, they will easily find a vast majority of Halloween costumes to be scanty and unprofessional. These costumes often do not try to hide what they are, being called “sexy nurse” or “sexy policewoman” or other degrading concepts, but even costumes that are not outright scandalous can carry unappealing stigma with them. Last Halloween, a mother took action against Party City for only having three costumes for little girls, one of which was a police officer wearing a low cut shirt and short skirt. This is an outfit unbecoming of an officer of the law, and certainly even less appropriate for a little girl who simply wants to go out and get candy on Halloween night.

            One bright spot for the future of humanity is the growing population of gender neutral costumes with clever based ideas. More and more people are leaning away from the ideas of basic, store bought costumes and branching out to try to be clever and use new and original ideas. For example, one idea seen over Halloween weekend was three girls who wore white shirts with yellow circles in the center and devil horns on their heads, calling themselves “deviled eggs”. Ideas such as this are becoming more and more popular as people are beginning to defy gender stereotypes. Maybe this just has to do with college kids being poor and not being able to afford store bought costumes, but it does reveal a slight generational shift. As generations progress, people will carry more situational awareness and Halloween will experience progressive change just like every other aspect of human life.