May 8: What is your issue? Why is this an issue that we should care about? In your blog post, you should cite specific research that you have done. Your blog post should be 1-2 paragraphs in length. (Period 8)
My issue is ableism in the media. There is a lack of accurate portrayals of people with medical conditions or impairments. A lot of the media in America favors people who are completely able-bodied. Not only do able-bodied actors get most of the jobs but they also are seen more positively. Stereotypes and stigma is produced through the media surrounding people with medical conditions. It's a problem because in America, there is a diverse population. It used to be that some people were born with congenital disorders. Now, it's that more and more soldiers are coming home impaired. With a higher population of people with medical conditions in America, it's important to allow for more opportunities of accurate portrayals of people living with impairments in the media to dispel stereotypes and stigma.
Given the increasing necessity of education for economic advancement within society and the strong correlation between lack of education and criminal behavior there are serious issues with the education system funneling certain students into the prison system and/or taking away their opportunities to complete their education. Not only is this issue significant because of the way in which our educational system functions in a way that doesn't support students, but it also disadvantages certain groups more than others. This issue at the pre-school, elementary, and high school levels is especially damaging in the way students are then viewed after these occurrences and the serious limits it places on these students when progressing through future stages of their education.
My project will be about why the anti-feminist movement started, and I will present some ideas to fix the problem. This issue is important because women are still not treated equally in America. The wage gap still exists, women are over-sexualized, they are often attacked for saying no, etc. I believe that while firm legislation and control of the way that the media treats/represents women will help, it will never happen without popular support of the movement. At the moment, feminism does not have that support. Only 23% of women identify as feminists, and 16% of men. In order for laws and rules to be passed, there must be some way to regain that support and to stop the spread of misinformation about the movement. That’s why my project will focus on the anti-feminist movement led by women, the group that stands to benefit the most from the feminist movement. I think that if these women joined the movement and presented a more united front, stopped spreading misinformation (which would encourage more men to join), the movement will be able to progress.
My issue focuses on the stigma that homeless people must face. I'm curious to understand how someone can go from being treated as an equal one day and then as soon as they lose their home, they no longer are seen as full members of society. The person internally didn't change, but all of a sudden they are looked at differently just because they are sleeping on the street or in a shelter. This is an important issue because people often ignore homeless people and assume that it is their own fault for becoming homeless when this is rarely true. It is important to understand how we are subtly being socialized to believe that homeless people are inferior to everyone else and how difficult it actually is to escape the stigma. I have researched for the demographics of homeless people. I have also looked at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and various news articles for existing solutions. There is a Housing First program in place in Utah that gives homeless people homes instead of sending them to shelters. It has helped the state save money and prevent chronic homelessness.
Our issue is about the low wages of city workers, specifically construction workers and firefighters. These are more physical jobs, as opposed to the highly valued intellectual jobs which typically require a college education. Many of these workers make wages lower than the average cost of living in Chicago, especially the single parents and ones who have multiple children. We will look into where the money for these wages comes from and which organizations in the city who can help provide to raise these wages.
My topic deals with the lack of food pantries that are in predominantly lower class or more specifically black areas while areas that are more predominantly higher class or white. This leads to those who statistically, are not in the most need of food pantries to enjoy the benefits while those who are in desperate need to travel greater distances and, in some cases, not be able to uses these services at all due to the fact that they are unable to go those distances. This is a problem for a few reasons, the first reason is that people who need the services that food pantries offer are not able to reach them because they are not in their communities. About 1 in 4 black households are food insecure while white households are only about 1 in 10. Another reason that this is important is because this is another case of institutionalized discrimination because instead of distributing the food pantries evenly throughout the city, they are more closely clustered on the North side of the city.
My issue is the fact that Latinos on TV are pretty rare, and when they are on TV they are usually playing very stereotypical or insignificant roles. A study concluded that only about 4.2% of speaking characters in the top grossing movies are Latino, while the Latin American population is just over 17%. Latinos also buy about a quarter of movie tickets, so they are seeing these movies but not seeing people like themselves, so they will start to believe that they are insignificant. Non-Latinos will not see anything other than the stereotypes they are seeing on the movies, and be socialized to believe that Latinos are nothing more than janitors, cholos, drug lords, women with hot accents, etc.
My issue is about the how the city is not putting bike lanes in poorer neighborhoods because they think that poorer people don't bike and they shouldn't waste their money doing so. What the city is doing by not having bike lanes in these neighborhoods is causing people to spend more money on gas for cars and money for public transportaion, while also not getting much exercise. Most importantly is perpetuating the cycle of poverty in these areas by not giving people proper, safe bike lanes to use to get to work.
My issue is ableism in the media. There is a lack of accurate portrayals of people with medical conditions or impairments. A lot of the media in America favors people who are completely able-bodied. Not only do able-bodied actors get most of the jobs but they also are seen more positively. Stereotypes and stigma is produced through the media surrounding people with medical conditions.
ReplyDeleteIt's a problem because in America, there is a diverse population. It used to be that some people were born with congenital disorders. Now, it's that more and more soldiers are coming home impaired. With a higher population of people with medical conditions in America, it's important to allow for more opportunities of accurate portrayals of people living with impairments in the media to dispel stereotypes and stigma.
Given the increasing necessity of education for economic advancement within society and the strong correlation between lack of education and criminal behavior there are serious issues with the education system funneling certain students into the prison system and/or taking away their opportunities to complete their education. Not only is this issue significant because of the way in which our educational system functions in a way that doesn't support students, but it also disadvantages certain groups more than others. This issue at the pre-school, elementary, and high school levels is especially damaging in the way students are then viewed after these occurrences and the serious limits it places on these students when progressing through future stages of their education.
ReplyDeleteMy project will be about why the anti-feminist movement started, and I will present some ideas to fix the problem. This issue is important because women are still not treated equally in America. The wage gap still exists, women are over-sexualized, they are often attacked for saying no, etc. I believe that while firm legislation and control of the way that the media treats/represents women will help, it will never happen without popular support of the movement. At the moment, feminism does not have that support. Only 23% of women identify as feminists, and 16% of men. In order for laws and rules to be passed, there must be some way to regain that support and to stop the spread of misinformation about the movement. That’s why my project will focus on the anti-feminist movement led by women, the group that stands to benefit the most from the feminist movement. I think that if these women joined the movement and presented a more united front, stopped spreading misinformation (which would encourage more men to join), the movement will be able to progress.
ReplyDeleteMy issue focuses on the stigma that homeless people must face. I'm curious to understand how someone can go from being treated as an equal one day and then as soon as they lose their home, they no longer are seen as full members of society. The person internally didn't change, but all of a sudden they are looked at differently just because they are sleeping on the street or in a shelter. This is an important issue because people often ignore homeless people and assume that it is their own fault for becoming homeless when this is rarely true. It is important to understand how we are subtly being socialized to believe that homeless people are inferior to everyone else and how difficult it actually is to escape the stigma.
ReplyDeleteI have researched for the demographics of homeless people. I have also looked at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and various news articles for existing solutions. There is a Housing First program in place in Utah that gives homeless people homes instead of sending them to shelters. It has helped the state save money and prevent chronic homelessness.
Our issue is about the low wages of city workers, specifically construction workers and firefighters. These are more physical jobs, as opposed to the highly valued intellectual jobs which typically require a college education. Many of these workers make wages lower than the average cost of living in Chicago, especially the single parents and ones who have multiple children. We will look into where the money for these wages comes from and which organizations in the city who can help provide to raise these wages.
ReplyDeleteMy topic deals with the lack of food pantries that are in predominantly lower class or more specifically black areas while areas that are more predominantly higher class or white. This leads to those who statistically, are not in the most need of food pantries to enjoy the benefits while those who are in desperate need to travel greater distances and, in some cases, not be able to uses these services at all due to the fact that they are unable to go those distances.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem for a few reasons, the first reason is that people who need the services that food pantries offer are not able to reach them because they are not in their communities. About 1 in 4 black households are food insecure while white households are only about 1 in 10. Another reason that this is important is because this is another case of institutionalized discrimination because instead of distributing the food pantries evenly throughout the city, they are more closely clustered on the North side of the city.
My issue is the fact that Latinos on TV are pretty rare, and when they are on TV they are usually playing very stereotypical or insignificant roles. A study concluded that only about 4.2% of speaking characters in the top grossing movies are Latino, while the Latin American population is just over 17%. Latinos also buy about a quarter of movie tickets, so they are seeing these movies but not seeing people like themselves, so they will start to believe that they are insignificant. Non-Latinos will not see anything other than the stereotypes they are seeing on the movies, and be socialized to believe that Latinos are nothing more than janitors, cholos, drug lords, women with hot accents, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy issue is about the how the city is not putting bike lanes in poorer neighborhoods because they think that poorer people don't bike and they shouldn't waste their money doing so. What the city is doing by not having bike lanes in these neighborhoods is causing people to spend more money on gas for cars and money for public transportaion, while also not getting much exercise. Most importantly is perpetuating the cycle of poverty in these areas by not giving people proper, safe bike lanes to use to get to work.
ReplyDelete