Nail polish

Scarlet Letters “E-L-E-A-N-O-R” My teacher leans over me, exasperated, as she loudly spells out the letters of my first name for me. “What kid doesn’t know how to spell their own name?!” Third grade standardized testing is bad enough, but being scolded for not knowing how to put the letters of my own first name into the little boxes in front of the whole class just makes it worse. I’ve gone by “Ellie” for as long as I can remember. It’s a good name; solid, catchy, and most importantly (for…

In 1974, in a studio in Naples, Italy, a woman stands still as a man aims a loaded gun at her head. Hundreds of people stand watching the scene, but only one decides to push the gun away. The woman, performance artist Marina Abramović, asserts later when the event is over: “If you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you.” The ordeal was of course part of her performance piece Rhythm 0, which is a notable example of how the audience has a tendency to react alarmingly when presented with…

Racial groups are shown in television, advertisements and Disney films, which shows society different beliefs and values. When race is shown within media, it is shown as a stereotype of a certain race. Research has proven that within advertisements it is all white, and if there is colored people or different ethnicities they will be used as background characters. Disney films portray different races as the bad guys and never the heros. Disney also stereotypes racial groups by the design of the…

framing present in hockey is both Canada and the United states, Billie Jean King 's fight for a united women 's tennis union, and the cross cultural comparisons of women 's soccer in the United States and the Netherlands. Poniatowski 's article, The Nail Polish underneath the Hockey Gloves, statistically analyzes how North American women hockey players were framed in relation to men hockey players (24). More specifically Poniatowski compares the framing of Olympic women hockey players in the…

Wolf Wagon Jenny Mars ‘Hey Renna. Come here.’ She hesitates; then swivels around. The Freo Doctor blusters in, and tiny white-capped waves roll onto the shore. Pelicans drift on an updraft. She could see the Swan River from here. Room seven, what a great view she thought. He was asleep with his mouth open. Now he was calling out to her again. ‘Get me some Coke and ice.’ She pulls his oxygen mask away from his face so that she can hear him. He waves his hand, and points to his mouth…

Wisnowski’s article, Raising a Gender Non-Conforming Child, she recounts the ups and downs she has faced raising her second child, Bobbi (not real name). Bobbi was born male, but from early childhood found greater interest in things such as Barbie and nail polish as opposed to “typical boy toys.” Wisnowski explains that while she was capable of controlling the home environment for Bobbi, allowing him to play with/do what he liked (male pronouns are used in this part of the article), the years…

rule. But unfulfilling expectations have led to disappointments and resulted into furious fits of hitting, spitting, biting, head banging etc. At the same time his feminine behavioural attributes have become more propounded. He tried to paint his nails and tied batteries to his shoes to showcase that he is wearing high heels. He asked openly many boys to marry him and coyly conveyed to boys to conceive child and to become mother. The doctors were using two parallel tracks: (i) Firm containment…

In today’s age, many people are still trying to gain equal rights. One would think 59 years after the start of the majority of civil rights movements that everyone would have their natural born rights as of now. Although people of color officially by law have the rights of any other white person, most white men have not gotten the memo yet. The same goes for women. Rape is still the woman’s fault. Women get paid less than the average man. It is taboo to see the woman as the head of a household.…

Shelters for Safety Imagine yourself as a sixteen-year-old girl from Afghanistan, awaiting your wedding ceremony to begin. Hands trembling, you adjust your colorful burka, making sure only your face is shown. Modesty is key. Clunky necklaces dangle from your neck, weighing your head down. A few minutes later, you are introduced to a bearded man, about the age of fifty -- the man that’s about to become your husband. You feel your body shaking as you greet him by kissing each cheek, hoping…

through it a million times, and I did. I went through the pain and the ache of it everyday. That day repeats itself repetitively throughout my head, and I wish to see her again. Her bright smile, when something made her laugh and her royal blue nail polish, she would scratch off in math class. I wish to get one more day with her, just one, but that night was the end of it. The feeling of finding out what happen to her stays with me and as much as i wish for it to disappear there's nothing in my…