Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Excuse me?


So, my disgust with the BYU Women's Services has been long running. It began with horribly executed and addressed "eating disorder awareness" posters and is maintained not only by those still existing posters but also but the mere fact that they list "pornography" as a women's issue-presupposing that if a husband has a "problem" with it, it is the wife's duty to take action and seek out options.



Today, my disgust increased. We are back in the fifties ladies and this upcoming Feb. 19th, it will be made manifest:

January 22nd: "Nutrition for the New Year"-cooking for one...or TWO!

February 19th: "Flirting 101"--for singles AND married!
*****this is the one!

March 26th: "Lifelong Learning"-extend education beyond your degree!

Now, I do realize that the mission of the BYU WC is to address topics relative to the campus, but why are these topics culturally relevant in the first place? Why are eating disorders and pornography problems so prevalent here? You could say its a matter of noticing or being more aware or knowing that pornography is a sin and therefore being hypersensitive to it. I would say that it is the attention to control and perfectionism that is rampant in Mormon culture. It breeds this interior hysteria over the notion of "Perfect". Eating disorders are about control-women and men who have them are not "Fed Up With Food", as the poster slogan says. Pornography, culturally, lies in the level of mystery and wrongdoing which is so appealing-when something becomes "bad" or "sinful", it becomes enticing and interesting. Sex is interesting and alluring. I don't reject addiction to control or sex or what have you-I just don't think BYU is addressing the core issues or -in case of women and pornography-the right audience. That's not to say that if it is a real issue in the household, that wives shouldn't be involved. Pick your addiction, couples do need to work together and help each other to overcome and work through them. I'm saying, why should only women be addressed publicly for seeking help, on campus? Why are the posters aimed at them? I see dramatic inequality in responsibility and a huge discomfort in talking about sex. Why not a Men's Services then? Why can't men be addressed to help a loved one with an eating disorder?

**Note: Another problem I have with the porn poster is the idea that only men look at porn or have problems with it!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

l'enfant vert ou le bebe qui n'existe pas



my french is terrible. but my sense of humor isn't. and turns out i am really, REALLY intelligent and extremely attractive too. so it makes up for my french. did i mention that i am really, REALLY attractive?

anyways marc et moi, are working on our "green baby" installation where we will make babies out of recycled materials and showcase them in a local dumpster. we don't have anything against babies-just the idea that consuming could possibly be "green". the baby stands as the consumer in all its potential. now reusing or buying less-that would be "green". buying products under the assumption that it will help the earth or is "friendly" to it is absolutely absurd. products and products and products will not solve the problem of too many. so the dumpster comes into play with a current distress-the economy. magazines, blog headlines, newspapers-once filled with concern on how to "shop green" are now vomiting up ways to be "credit crunch chic"* (as Harper's Bazaar would put it). nobody cares about being green when the economy sucks- even though truly "green" practices fall into the category of saving money and resources. we propose a dumpster because a recycling bin has so much hope, and a budding reduction of guilt, whereas a trash can reduces whatever it holds to added destruction-at least mentally. "green" baby and home books are on sale by the dozens at our local Borders, where a few months ago it would have seemed like "green" was here to stay. so, babies, made out of recycled materials-kind of like straw dolls but made out of newspaper/plastic bags-left in a pile-hope abandoned. i don't know if something else will take the movements place- but if its consumer based-it will face a similar fate.

*Bazaar had an article about swap-meet parties that I thought was interesting. trading clothes, wearing used clothes-that would fall under the category of green as well as "credit crunch chic". :)

This is a great article called "Buying Into the Green Movement".




creepy green baby <----not part of the show but equally entertaining

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

killing me slowly

Carbonated water
Caramel color
Aspartame
Phosphoric acid
Potassium benzoate (to protect taste)
Natural flavors
Citric acid
Caffeine
.......................................
The chemical composition of my blood these days