Blog 9 & 10

There were many reading for this class but a few in particular that are going to stick with me for a while. All of the readings were somewhat interesting but the three that are most important to me have really taught me something and I instantly felt this while I was reading them. The three readings are Goffman’s gender advertisement reading, Susie Orbach’s articles on “Fat as a Feminist Issue”, and the CRAP principles by robin Williams. Before reading Goffman’s ideas I notice them on everyday television but I was not aware of what they were. Now when I am watching a movie or flipping through a magazine I can immediately point out feminine touch or the family. I think mostly everyone can relate to the things he talks about because it happens every day and his ideas are everywhere. Function ranking is probably the most relatable, although some agree that the man shouldn’t be the head of everything it usually works out that way. Goffman had a very different way of explaining things that seem so common to us and that is what caught my attention. Even if I don’t think about it while driving and I see an advertisement I will think first of what it is doing referring to Goffman and then realize what the advertisement is actually showing. When I was reading Susie Orbach I was thinking of myself. She speaks about the weight issue of women and although some women say they don’t care about their weight I feel it’s not true. I feel that every girl whether underweight or over weight has something to criticize about their body; I include myself in this group. Orbach is a true feminist that speaks her mind about women and the issues that they are presented with. In the particular article, “Fat as a Feminine Issue”, she touches over how women have the connection with their children because women can reproduce and breast feed, which men obviously cannot. She speaks of what is expected of women and what they are taught to be like as far as clothing, weight, and grooming. Orbach makes a point that the women who are overweight should stand up for themselves and not make it out to be such a bad thing, even if these women can rise about their weight issues I still feel that inside they will always strive to be thinner. That brings us to the last most important reading to me, the CRAP principles. I feel these principles will help me through a lot of writing and organizing in the future. These principles are telling us how to arrange important writings to make them the most presentable. Williams points out that you will rarely use only one of these principles; they go with each other hand-in-hand. I was mostly aware of contrast and repetition, but alignment and proximity I was not as familiar with. Proximity is the idea that similar items should be grouped together, but things cannot be too closely together because then they might be confused as a whole group. It is important to separate the different idea and make them clear. Alignment basically states that nothing should be placed randomly on a page, it must have a proper place and go with the flow of the rest of the page; this keeps the page looking neat. All of the readings in this class meant something to me but these three in particular stuck out.

Blog 8

As Pollan takes us through his experiences he explains how certain animals are treaded. He also explains where our food comes from; how the animals are slaughtered. He goes through a few different perspectives but I would fit mostly with his meat perspective. Pollan takes us through the slaughter process of many of animals. Personally I do not eat many of the animals he discusses; I’ve always found the thought of eating them gross. My brother on the other hand would eat just about anything put in front of him, no question about it. When we were younger he would always eat duck, rabbit or even deer; I found the thought of eating these animals wrong. This was even before I knew how they were slaughtered. Finding out this information I was even more repulsed by the idea of eating these foods. I was always a very picky eater and knowing more about where my meat comes from made it even harder for me to find thing I would want to eat. Chicken was always a main source of food for me and after reading Pollan and watching that video in class I am even hesitant to eat chicken now.

The processes that are followed for killing these animals cannot really be changed. Those who kill these animals try to do it in the best way possible to ensure the animal feels the least bit of pain. Although some may still see this as very torturous there is no other way. Pollan goes through the process that he has learned about these animals but there is simply no completely harmless way to kill our meats.