The Rationale

In ENGL 373 Women in Literature, I was given the assignment to create a blog to practice writing for public audiences. To be given credit for the blog assignment, a list of minimum requirements was given and if these requirements are met then the actual posts will be evaluated. I have met the criteria for the assignment because I have completed all the minimum requirements and each of my posts summarizes the novel read and analyzes key points that link to the readings and to the theme of my blog.

The first step I took in meeting the criteria for this assignment was to complete all minimum requirements. On my blog Literature and Contemporary Times, I have five blog posts titled "Depression and Alcoholism: A Horrific Combination," "Coming Out in Today's Society," "Doing Hair in Different Cultures," "The Importance of Art," and "Is It Better to See Color or to Be Colorblind?". Each of these posts is 500-750 words with the shortest post being "Is It Better to See Color or to Be Colorblind?" with 501 words. Each post has a link and a multimodal aspect. In "Depression and Alcoholism: A Horrific Combination," I included an image of the cover of The Liar's Club and links to a college drinking fact sheet and UofL's Campus Health psychiatric services. In "Coming Out in Today's Society," there are two videos related to coming out and a photo of the cover of Fun Home. There is also a link to an AIDS crisis timeline. In "Doing Hair in Different Cultures," there are images of both the Americanah book cover and of the author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. There is also a video about a salon for Muslim women and a link to the news article that further explains the incident I mentioned that happened at my high school. In "The Importance of Art," there is a video of a TedTalk and an image of the cover of Station Eleven and a link to an article discussing President Trump's plans to cut funding to the arts. Finally, in "Is It Better to See Color or to Be Colorblind?" there is a video that discusses colorblindness, an image of the cover of The Help, and a link to PBS where the reader can learn more about the Jim Crow era. Because I have five blog posts that all meet the word count and each has a multimodal aspect, I have met the minimum requirements.

In addition to meeting these minimum requirements, my blog also efficiently meets the other aspects of the assignment. Before getting to my key point, I made sure to summarize each of the novels. Each summarization can be found near the image of the book cover. I mentioned the novels' title and author and a short summary of the book. I gave enough information that my readers would know how the novel was connected to my key point but I made sure not to give away the entire book because I wanted my readers to want to know more and pick up the book themselves. After the summary, I dive into my key point. My blog is about taking a theme from each of the books we read for class and discussing a way in which the theme is connected to today's society. In "Depression and Alcoholism; A Horrific Combination," I use Mary Karr's mother and her experiences with depression and alcohol to discuss how the prominence of drinking in college can be detrimental to one's mental health. In "Coming Out in Today's Society," I talk about Alison Bechdel's experience with coming out to her family and compare that to what a young person today might experience when they come out. In "Doing Hair in Different Cultures," first, I talk about how Imfemelu had to go all the way across town to get her hair done and then use that to talk about discrimination I have seen based on hair and getting your hair done when you are a part of another culture. In "The Importance of Art," I talk about how art is important to the Traveling Symphony even after the Georgia Flu and use that to discuss how the arts are taken advantage of today. In "Is It Better to See Color or to Be Colorblind?" I use The Help's theme of racism to discuss what is really means when someone says they "don't see color" and the lack of an effect that statement really has on fixing institutional racism today. In all of my blog posts, the language is engaging, but still academically tight prose. I write in a way that is comfortable and thought-provoking to my readers. I talk about my own experiences but use research as well. By summarizing the novels, analyzing key points, and using engaged but academic prose, as well as meeting the minimum requirements, I have met all the criteria for this assignment and have thoroughly enjoyed writing for a public audience.

Is It Better to See Color or to Be Colorblind?

Well, what do you think? Is it better to see color or to be colorblind?

I recently picked up The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The Help is a novel that gives the reader an insight into the lives of Black maids during the Jim Crow era. It follows Aibileen, Minny, and Miss Skeeter, a White woman that wants to tell their stories.

From the moment you pick up the book, you are forced to think about the racism of that time. Just in the first 20 pages, the novel shows that some Whites thought that Blacks were dirty and even had diseases that were not carried by Whites. The novel also shows how White neighborhoods were bigger and nicer than the predominately Black neighborhoods. While reading, I thought a lot about the concept of race and my own skin color. Yes, we have come a long way since the Jim Crow era, but it would be foolish to say that race doesn't still play a huge role in today's society.

(Want to know more about the Jim Crow era? Click here.)

When the concept of race is brought up today, there are a lot of people that will claim that they "don't see color" and they'll say it like it's a good thing. But is it really a good thing to be "colorblind"?

The basic idea behind colorblindness is that you are the kind of person that doesn't treat someone different because their skin color is not the same as yours and that's fantastic! However, when someone says that they are "colorblind" they may also be turning a blind eye to the fact that racism still exists and yes, so does White privilege.

Check out this video from MTV News that discusses race and why being colorblind does absolutely nothing to stop racism.

The video mentions that it is important to see color to understand how racism is systematic and to help find solutions to fix the system. I totally agree with this! So why are people so quick to claim colorblindness?

Coming from the POV of a white female, I think people claim to be colorblind so that they aren't labeled as a "racist". I know I am definitely guilty of using the "I don't see color" line but I soon realized that acknowledging racism doesn't actually make anyone a racist. Shocking, I know. It's important to know that you can see color without enforcing negative stereotypes about people of color.

So, what do we do? Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know how to change an entire system but I do know that it doesn't happen overnight. It's frustrating, but a lot of baby steps are involved. The first and most important thing we can do is acknowledge that systematic and institutional racism exists and that we need to talk about it. Secondly, I challenge all of my readers to start questioning the world around them, especially the institutions they are directly involved with. 

Change starts with us.

The Importance of Art

Can you imagine life as you know it coming to end?

That's exactly what happens in Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. In the novel, most of the civilization is wiped out by the Georgia Flu. The story goes back and forth between before the flu and the world after it. In the world after the flu, surviving is all anyone can really think about, but the Traveling Symphony believes there is more to living than just mere survival. The Traveling Symphony is a caravan of actors and musicians who go town to town playing music and performing Shakespearian plays. They believe in the importance of art.

Reading a book about a civilization that was almost completely wiped out by a horrible sickness but still believes in the power and the importance of art got me thinking, "How important does our very own civilization think art is?"

Everywhere I go, I see and hear art. Art is on the walls of buildings, coming from the radios of our cars, and on the faces of women (and even some men) in the form of make-up. It's everywhere!

Check out this TedTalk given by art historian, curator, and writer, Katerina Gregos who talks about the importance of art in today's society.

One thing Katerina Gregos mentions is how it's hard to convince politicians to give art programs good funding. It seems like the first thing to go in a budget cut is the arts. In fact, President Trump has recently proposed budget cuts to several programs including arts, humanities, and public media (see full article here). All funds that would go to these programs would now be invested in defense and homeland security.

Now, of course, I am in no way opposed to living in a safe and secure country. However, I am opposed to eliminating the arts, humanities, and public media. As Katerina Gregos said, art is a means of expression and a way to exercise our first amendment right. When the government starts to take away these programs, they start to take away our voices.

Other than being a great way to express yourself and a way to exercise freedom of speech, art has many other fantastic benefits. In an article titled "The Mental Health Benefits of Art Are for Everyone", Deane Alban gives the following reasons why art is so beneficial:

• Creating art relieves stress
• Art encourages creative thinking
• Art boosts self-esteem and provides a sense of accomplishment
• Art increases brain connectivity and plasticity
• Art lessons make children better students for life
• Art increases empathy, tolerance, and feelings of love
• Art improves quality of life for Dementia patients
• Art eases the burden of chronic health conditions

As you can see, art is pretty awesome and is so much more than just something to look at or to listen to. In my own personal experiences, I can say that I may not have made it through some very rough times if it wasn't for the music I listened to and I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who can say the same. I mean, we all have that band we feel we owe our lives to, right?

Imagine, one day, it's all gone. There's no more music, no more paintings, no more artists. Horrible, I know. When it comes to convincing the government of how important art is, though, it might just take a Station Eleven situation to do it.

Doing Hair in Different Cultures

I couldn't tell you how many hours I've spent in front of the mirror doing my hair in my lifetime and I think almost all of us can relate. Even though it can be very time consuming, I love doing it. I love scrolling through Pinterest looking for something new to try. I love wrapping my hair around the curling wand and ending up with the perfect curls. I love these things and many others about hair, but putting my hair up in the perfect bun is the ultimate victory.

I'm a White female. My hair is straight, soft (only a great conditioner is to thank for that), and cut a little bit below my shoulders. In terms of hair, I think I have it pretty easy. I could do nothing but my regular shower ritual (Pantene shampoo and conditioner) and let it air dry and I would be totally fine. Other White women have curly hair that they can't even brush for fear that it would just turn into a huge puff ball on their heads, and they struggle with almost impossible to tame frizz. 

I recently read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (pictured below) and my eyes were opened to the hair care of other cultures. The novel is about a Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the United States of America to complete her university schooling. It is told from Ifemelu's perspective and follows her as she experiences American culture. The story begins with Ifemelu traveling to a different part of town just to get her hair braided. Hair is mentioned several times throughout the novel and it often comes back to Ifemelu in the salon. 

I've never been oblivious to the fact that American Blacks and Non-American Blacks have different hair than I do, except maybe in elementary school when I was oblivious to just about everything, but I never knew to what extent and I never really thought about it too much until reading Americanah.

The main character, Ifemelu, talks about having to go to a different part of town just to get her hair braided because in the majority white neighborhoods around Princeton, where she has a fellowship, there are not any good places that know how to do her hair. She talks about having to take her hair out of braids and putting relaxer in it so that she would look "appropriate" for interviews. She also talks about how the chemicals in the relaxer started to make her usually natural hair fall out.

Up until reading this novel, I never thought about these things. I was most shocked to learn that employers really think that braided hair is unprofessional. It brought back a memory of something that happened at the high school I attended. A short time after I graduated from my beloved high school, news started to circulate that showed my school in a negative light. The high school I graduated from is a traditional high school with strict dress code and hair policies. A controversy erupted over the policy that banned corn rows, twists, and dreadlocks. The school admitted that their policy was outdated and has since changed it to allow these hairstyles, but it was very important to address this policy because, as I learned, to American and Non-American Blacks these hairstyles are not only a part of their culture, but also for some they are essential to best taking care of their hair (see full story here).

What about other cultures? Hijab wearing Muslim women often avoid having their hair done in a salon because they must always be covered and wearing the hijab in the presence of non-familial men. If a hijab wearing Muslim woman was out getting her hair done and a man walked in, she would have to quickly cover herself in the middle of her cut or color. PopSugar covered a salon that wants to create a "safe space" for Muslim women (see video below).

Understanding cultures different from yours can be a difficult task and often times people just don't know where to start. One thing that women across all cultures can relate to is hair. Although hair care varies from culture to culture, all women love to do their hair and it's something we all do to embrace our femininity. So maybe the key to understanding differences in other cultures is to start with what we all have in common. 

Coming Out in Today's Society

Everyone has been told to be themselves probably more times than they can count, but I think being able to actually be yourself is a luxury some of us take for granted. One very important component of our identities is our sexuality, and if you are LGBTQ+ it's a lot harder to be yourself than if you were simply just heterosexual.

I recently finished Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. It was the first graphic novel I ever picked up and I was floored by the blatant honesty of it all. In the beginning of the novel, Bechdel lets the reader know about her father's death caused by being hit by a truck and says she's unsure if it was an accident or a suicide. She writes about her dysfunctional childhood and not only her father's struggle with sexuality, but also her own. 

Alison Bechdel is a lesbian and came out when she was 19 years old. In Fun Home, Bechdel discusses coming out to her parents via letter, her father's approval, and her mother's difficult time with acceptance. Bechdel also discusses her father's own struggles with sexuality. 

He writes a letter to his daughter saying, "I'll admit that I have been somewhat envious of the new freedom that appears on campuses today. In the fifties, it was not even considered an option." In the 1950's, being anything other than heterosexual was basically unheard of.

When Alison Bechdel came out around 1980, she could be openly homosexual and join the Gay Union at her college. Obviously, she had it much better than her father but it was by no means easy. She was denied from bars and not long after she came out began the AIDS crisis (see AIDS crisis timeline here).

During the AIDS crisis, also known as the "Gay Plague", it was certainly not easy to be LGBTQ+. Some doctors and nurses refused to treat AIDS patients and people believed they could contract the disease just by breathing the same air as an LGBTQ+ individual. Certainly, no one would want to come out during this time.

Coming out today is obviously much more likely to be accepted but it's not as easy as it seems. I once knew someone who would lower his voice and try his best to "act heterosexual" for fear of what his mother would think and that his father would beat him. Marriage between LGBTQ+ persons just recently became legal and still, there are people who want to take that away. Marriage is something I've thought about since I was a little girl and I honestly can't imagine finally discovering who I really am and no longer being able to have my dream wedding.

Buzzfeed put out a video in 2014, illustrating the things that people went through when they came out.

I think an LGBTQ+ person's biggest fear about coming out is rejection. On season 2, episode 18 of One Tree Hill, the TV show illustrates this fear and shows one of the show's main characters coming out to her parents (see below). For this well-liked and successful show to do something like this was huge. It showed LGBTQ+ people that they were not alone and maybe even gave someone the courage to come out to their own parents.

As a heterosexual, white female, I can't say that I know what it's like to struggle with my sexuality and coming out, but I have watched people I love struggle with it. I know that things are better than they used to be, but LGBTQ+ persons still face an incredible amount of judgment, inside and outside of their families. The judgment that they face makes it so much harder to "be themselves" like we were always told to do growing up. In fact, LGBTQ+ persons are 3 times more likely to experience a mental illness such as depression or anxiety disorder, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness because of the difficulties that they face from day to day.

So if you can fully and comfortably be yourself, you may not realize just how lucky you are because, for some, it is a lot more difficult than you think.

Depression and Alcoholism: A Horrific Combination

College. Most would describe it as the most fun time in their young adult lives. There's the school work, making new friends, joining Greek life or other university organizations, and, of course, the parties. It's no secret that one of the "essentials" to party throwing and/or party going is the alcohol. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "60% of college students ages 18-22 drank alcohol in the past month" (Check out this college drinking fact sheet for more).

For some college students, however, the drinking they participate in can make the mental health problems they struggle with a lot worse. According to Healthline, "44% of college students report having symptoms of depression." When someone who suffers from depression adds alcohol to the mix, it will only amplify the symptoms of their illness. 

Recently, I've read The Liar's Club, a memoir by Mary Karr, in my Women in Literature studies. In the tale of her childhood, Mary Karr writes about growing up in east Texas. Karr and her older sister were stubborn and tough kids who weren't afraid to get into a fist fight and really had no filter no matter who they were talking to. Their father was a working man and their mother was an artist. Both of their parents were heavy drinkers and their mother, Charlie struggled with mental health issues. Karr and her sister basically raised themselves, especially when their parents separated for a long while. Karr tells of the good times and the bad, and she tells it with an honesty that is hard not to admire.

Although Mary's mother, Charlie, was not a college student, she turned to alcohol in the midst of her depression and makes it clear to us that depression and alcohol are a horrific combination.

After her own mother died, Charlie turned to alcohol. It seems as if she was always drunk no matter what time of day. In one instance, Charlie took her daughters' clothes and toys and burned them in the back yard. The girls finally went back to their room that had been torn apart and soon saw their mother standing in the doorway with a knife, hallucinating that she had stabbed them to death. I realize that this is a very extreme situation,  but it still sets an example of what mixing depression and alcohol can do to you.

Charlie went on drinking and drinking and drinking some more all throughout the girls' childhoods. The way she drank alcohol like water reminded me of the stories I've heard about my peers day drinking and taking shots before class. In my opinion, these aren't normal things to do.

In The Liar's Club, it shocked me that no one ever tried to stop Charlie's alcohol abuse or even really said anything about it beyond acknowledging it existed. In my opinion, her loved one's lack of intervention just allowed the problem to go on a lot longer than it should have. If you realize someone you know is showing these signs of alcohol abuse, it is important to speak up:

• Alcohol consumption interferes with work, school, or other activities
• Memory loss
• Drinking even when there are conditions (such as mental illness) that will be worsened by alcohol consumption

College is the time and place to have fun and discover who you are. Struggling with a mental illness is not easy and can take the fun out of a lot of things. Alcohol is not a solution, but there are a lot of places where you can get the support you need. For example, at the University of Louisville, Campus Health Services offers confidential psychiatric services at no-charge to any student enrolled (for more information click here).

In The Liar's Club, anyone who had a mental illness was just classified as "nervous". My advice to you? Don't be like the people in that book. Take the time to educate yourself and know the signs and symptoms of depression and alcohol abuse. You could save a life.