I Am Malala

Malala Yousafzai, a young girl from Pakistan, was shot by the Taliban for standing up for women’s rights to education. At the age of 15 years old, she had the courage to speak out against the Taliban for taking her rights away from her. She made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the head and neck at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school. Now 16, she is the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. She stands as a global symbol of peaceful protest. Malala grew up in a society where men are considered more valuable than women; however, Malala fought for her rights to an education. Malala’s story is proof that it just takes one person’s voice to be the change in the world.

A Post About Rape: From “Real Men”

When I first hot play on this video I was terrified of what was going to happen. I actually physically steeled my body in preparation for what I was about to see. I wondered if what I was going to watch was even legal, or how this guy got away with it! When I finally watched the video it was a big surprise! I encourage all of you to watch this and then read the article after. My boyfriend is actually the one who sent this to me, and it was a great insight into what real men think about rape culture.

The Purity Myth

Hey guys so this week I thought I would make a post about the Purity Myth which fits really well into our discussion for this week. The Purity Myth was written by Jessica Valenti (the author of the Cult of Virginity) and its a really interesting book that talks about America’s obsession with virginity and how the extreme focus on chastity is damaging to women. She talks a lot about the virginity movement and discusses its presence in schools, media, etc. Its a really interesting read and I highly recommend it!

Sexplanations

Here is the link to the YouTube channel, “sexplanations”. There are a lot of videos on this channel that talk about most of the things we discussed today.

Gay sex-ed

So in primary school we are typically taught sex-ed, but it is always about heterosexual relationships and sexual encounters. I was curious if any schools in the state also teach children about safe sex in homosexual relationships. I didn’t find anything specifically regarding the U.S. but I found an article about Scotland teaching students about homosexual sex-ed, which is really rad. I personally think that if at a younger age we were taught about these things as we grew up we would be less likely to shun those who live that lifestyle. I know that as a child if I were taught about it I would have probably been more comfortable in my own skin and possibly would’ve been more accepted by my peers and bullied less.. but that’s just a personal opinion.

Introduction to Women's Studies

Category Week 8