If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published. |
| Bikini or Burka?What really defines Modesty? Image grabbed here
I have just watched a video from YouTube, a speech by Jessica Rey, an actress and a designer who has sparked a debate between the conservative and modernised world about swimwear. Jessica says that the bikini has dis-empowered women where they allow themselves to be objectified by men. Is itsy-bitsy really that bad? Here it is the video of Jessica with her speech
Now, before we really look into the issue, think of all the aspects that needed to be analysed.
The society has this terrible idea ingrained on it's mind for a very long time. Back in the stone age, when people don't know what clothes are, they don't find it awkward to be naked. As time passes and when the world entered into the evolution era, clothes were invented to cover themselves from the harsh environment. Together with that reason, people started to cover themselves as they viewed the human body as a sacred asset. Here, at this point, comes in modesty. And this is completely fine. People covering themselves because they feel the urge to uphold their dignity.
But to cover yourself because you're afraid that men see you as an object? This is where the problem starts.
Like Jessica has said, the invention of bikini was with the intention to objectify women. The definition of women's skin has become SEXY. Who on earth really came up with this word? People have started to view women in a different manner and when they show some skin, it is called sexy. Women have been exploited as objects in various fields from modelling to advertisement ever since then. Have you ever felt that it is huge discrimination when men who employ models for their business calling another common woman on street sluts just because they wear low cut blouses? I say the length of the dress is not going to make a difference in addressing the real issue we have.
A lady who fully covers but treats her daughter-in-law like her slave versus a lady who wears a low-cut dress but does charity work during the weekend? Who is the woman with the bad behaviour? I'm not saying that reverting back to the old swimwear is a bad idea, but the intention in doing that causes more damage to the society as we seem to be seeking approval from people, mainly the gentlemen who may not be so 'gentle and nice'.
Change In Mentality Is What We Need Now
I feel the amount of skin you show shouldn't be used to judge a woman and the common notion of showing skin means sexy or bitchy has to be eradicated altogether. When you cover just because you don't want a man to look down upon you, you are merely seeking approval and dancing to his tune. Force that ignorance and arrogance out of them and let them know a woman is a woman and nothing else grants them the right to objectify her, whether or not they reveal skin.
What modesty really is? I personally don't reveal too much skin, because I don't think I would carry myself well and this is a personal opinion. Another lady or maybe even you reading this, if you are a lady, would feel comfortable walking down the street with a skirt above-knee length that looks fine and not obscene. Everyone has different a personality to carry and if we were to judge someone based on their appearance alone, I believe we are in the wrong track altogether. A well-mannered woman can only be identified through the way she behaves with another human being.
If showing skin is wrong, then every woman in the modelling industry has to resign to be labelled a 'good' lady. Even prostitutes would be slammed hard on this issue if it is wrong to show skin. Do we even grant women to make a choice? To me, it is very wrong for a woman to allow her body to be objectified and for a man to take advantage of any woman no matter how she dresses up. While I feel it is wrong to allow people to objectify us, ladies who are in the fashion line would feel that it is their profession and they would stand up for their choice. At the end of the day, it is about giving a woman the power to choose what they want and taking decisions based on their choice. What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published. Share this post around!  |
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Bikini and Modesty
An Exciting Blog-Hop!
If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published.
Hello everyone, my beloved readers, authors, and writers. I'm feeling very excited about this new blog hop I'm hosting for all of you to share your interesting post on my linky blog. I believe this is an excellent platform to share your thoughts with other readers and viewers outside your network. I hope all of you could expand your network circle and find writers and bloggers who have a common interest with you. This can be anything from books to photography and travel tips. Just about anything except adult content, alcohol, smoking, and advertisement related posts.
I'm hosting this for the next EIGHT days and I'm really looking forward to your participation. How do you get about this? It is pretty simple. I need you to go to the right sidebar of this blog where you could see widgets attached to the side-bar. At the top right-hand side corner, you can see a widget with saying 'this is a blog hop'. You will find 'click here to enter' at the end of the widget which will direct you to a page where you could fill in the relevant details to join in the fun.
Once you have submitted your details, I would get an e-mail for your request to join the blog and I would approve it as soon as I see it adhering to the requirements. Feel free to contact me via Google + to ask me any questions.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published.
Share this post around!
Sunday 23 June 2013
Couch Potato Politics: Why America Is Screwed Up And Why It's Our Own Damn Fault
If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published. |
| Couch Potato Politics: Why America Is Screwed Up And Why It's Our Own Damn Fault |
Couch Potato Politics: Why America Is Screwed Up And Why It's Our Own Damn Fault by Mark A. Prior
A Book Review
Before I start with my reviews on this book I read, I would want to say that EVERYONE, I mean every single person anywhere in the world would be able to relate to at least 70% of this book very much because what Mark discusses in his book concerns all of us. Why? Because every damn single government functions almost the similar way all around the world. So, this is just not for Americans. This is for all of us.
This is a very newly published non-fiction book. The author's motive in writing this book is to highlight the issues happening in America that is very destructible and how its very own people have been the reason behind it. Mark is not an economist or a guy with a political background. He is common as the rest of us. The book is written in a layman's language, one just needs to be able to read to understand what he is saying. It touches on a few very important issues concerning the situation in America in which everyone could relate to, agreeing, or disagreeing with what has been highlighted by him, but most of you would agree with what he has to say. Why?
I like the fact that he has touched on the media to begin with and how it has been highly monopolized by the business people and providing news that is heavily biased or with poor informative quality. He has gone in depth discussing how each media plays a bad role as a newsagent and finally comes to his conclusion of how ESPN provides news that is unbiased. On another hand, I loved the fact that he has brought forth on objectifying women in the news media where people are often swayed from listening to the information it is trying to disseminate. The fault comes back falling on the viewers as they choose to watch news that is misleading or purely basing on gossips. He has also clearly explained how the journalists were 'bought' by the media so easily that their journalistic value doesn't hold anymore.
Another important issue concerning America that Mark has discussed which I highly second is the policy on Gun Control, the same old seasoned yet highly debatable issue of all time in American history. What is interesting is the fact that he has highlighted how the Gun Control Law is not going to stop people from committing crimes and killings. I personally feel the level of the discussion could have gone in-depth touching clearly how having the gun control law wouldn't make a change when the main underlying cause of the issue has not been tackled yet. The author could have taken the readers to the future portraying how the society would react when there is still gun-based violence happening with the Gun Control Law and how the government would be blamed still for not being able to arrest the situation. If gun violence should stop, then people like Adam Lanza should stop committing such crimes and the responsibility falls back on each and every citizen to know that the gun isn't for the purpose of murdering someone else.
This book has also another element that makes it interesting which is the "People Worth Your Time" section featuring people who Mark finds interesting and inspiring. Overall, this book is a good read for everyone who has concern about the current situation in the country. A voice from people like you and made into a book.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published.
Share this post around!
Monday 17 June 2013
Teaching of Religion: Where Is The Extent of Our Obligation ?
If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published. | ||||||
| Has Religion Blindfolded You From The Truth? |
Picture grabbed here
While working on my book, reading some issues I thought would be interesting to be a part of the non-fiction book and to be shared with the world, I stumbled upon an ugly fact on how religion can imprison the mind of a man. What I read was beyond what my mind could take and I felt so disgusted that even people who were educated, living in what we say the most evolved part of the world, could second the hideous idea preached in the name of religion and take into their utmost obligation.
A man can marry and have sex with a young girl who hasn't reached puberty and a man is granted many ways to divorce his wife and take another woman according to the rules and allocation in 'that' religion. Period.
 | |||
| Religion: Option or Obligation? |
I'm totally horrified at the fact that people, including woman, could still abide by the lunatic rules and regulations. I feel that people have taken religion so seriously that anything it says has to be true and needs to be followed. The blind faith and what the holy book has to say have been ingrained into their mind and runs in their blood, like their breath, holding onto it so tight, without which they would die. It seems so hard to knock that blind ignorance out of their small mind because for them to be able to 'see' beyond the veil of religion seems so hard. Even if they have access to education, I strongly believe that the traditional and typical mindset would not be driven out if they do not choose to see things from different perspectives. Education could only feed them with information, but at the end of the day, it is up to them to filter the truth and THINK for the betterment.
I think what society has failed to look at is the reality behind everything that religion suggests. Have we ever admitted to the fact that to some extent, what our religion tells us are all well-manipulated facts by the rich, the more powerful, and the more dominating sex? How can we assure that our faiths and obligation were just merely rules made to dominate us and imprison our minds?
Sometime back I read that the Philippines has long been suffering from over-population as a result of religion prohibiting birth control. This issue has been resolved to favour to women who want birth control for a better quality of life but now the law seems to be hanging over the fence again. In Hinduism and Islam, the ladies are not allowed to pray as they regard the period as 'unclean'. In Hinduism particularly, the girl is subjected to a lot of curfews during her period and I find this utter crap. The reasons I could find over various sources suggest that it is because they are unclean as there is unwanted discharge from their body. Some vaguely suggest that it is due to some scientific reason too.
To me, my take on religion is simple. One can be a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim or a Buddhist but he should not put his logical thinking behind his obligation to his religion. If your religion says the Sun rises in West and sets in the East, would you still agree to it? Or use your brain instead for God sake?
I think what society has failed to look at is the reality behind everything that religion suggests. Have we ever admitted to the fact that to some extent, what our religion tells us are all well-manipulated facts by the rich, the more powerful, and the more dominating sex? How can we assure that our faiths and obligation were just merely rules made to dominate us and imprison our minds?
Sometime back I read that the Philippines has long been suffering from over-population as a result of religion prohibiting birth control. This issue has been resolved to favour to women who want birth control for a better quality of life but now the law seems to be hanging over the fence again. In Hinduism and Islam, the ladies are not allowed to pray as they regard the period as 'unclean'. In Hinduism particularly, the girl is subjected to a lot of curfews during her period and I find this utter crap. The reasons I could find over various sources suggest that it is because they are unclean as there is unwanted discharge from their body. Some vaguely suggest that it is due to some scientific reason too.
To me, my take on religion is simple. One can be a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim or a Buddhist but he should not put his logical thinking behind his obligation to his religion. If your religion says the Sun rises in West and sets in the East, would you still agree to it? Or use your brain instead for God sake?
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published.
Share this post around!
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Thanking YOU, Yes, You All My Awesome 40 Followers!
If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published.
If you are reading this, chances are you found this post on Blogger's blog post updates on your dashboard, from your WordPress or from Google + updates, which all indicate that you are following me hence you see the updates of my blogging world.
Share this post around!
 |
| Thank You So Much Image grabbed here |
I had the idea of making this post on my mind which I thought could be done a few days later when my exam is over. But as soon as I logged into my Blogger today and saw that I have a few more awesome people following my blog, I decided to pen my thoughts right away. This post is dedicated to all of you who have shown interest in my writing and encouraged me to write endlessly. Not forgetting my author and writer friends on Google + as well. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.
I would like to express my gratitude for Adrianna Joleigh's endless motivation, who saw a writer in me and encouraged me to write, turning me to a writer from merely a blogger. I would also love to take this opportunity remembering the super-awesome Vashti Q Vega who has been a sweet lady encouraging my writing on all social media platforms. I remember her adding me on Twitter, my FB fan page, and everywhere else and she is just so adorable. Alana Munro for the supportive nature towards all writers in general through Support-a-Writer Page on Google + community. Glen Perkins for his wonderful support from the early days I started writing blog posts.
For all of you who have been reading my posts or who have just joined my page, I would love to bring you to the point where the writing track has begun. I have been writing for the past three months now without fail. I remember starting this blog of mine when I needed to break free from life's devastation. I knew I already had a Blogspot account where I was writing on a different blog earlier. I barely had ten posts over there and my inspiration waned off so quickly that I stopped writing.
Making use of the platform that has always been there, I started to exploit Google + and all other social media to get myself connected to all possible writers. The support was instantaneous and overwhelming. I write to make an impact. My writings are quite blunt at times and thought-provoking. I would love to make a change if not to the world, at least to my readers and society. My posts are mainly on controversial issues and social issues that are worth highlighting and bringing to YOUR attention. Writing for a good cause I would say in a nutshell.
I have received some critiques, both positive and negative which are very useful in building my writing journey. I am working on non-fiction research which will be made into a book. It features the lives of women all around the globe, unfolding the ugly truths and revealing different faces of gender discrimination. The research would be made into blog posts too in order to get feedback from all of you, my valuable readers. Thank you so much!
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published.
Share this post around!
Monday 10 June 2013
Shame by Jasvinder Sanghera
If you want to know how exciting and awe-inspiring, yet at the same time bewildering and frightening different cultures can be subscribe to this blog via email to get notified every time a new post is published.
During the book sale by Big Bad Wolf, I managed to grab Shame for RM 8 the moment my eyes caught this book. While I took hours to shop for books going for sale at a ridiculously cheap price, I never hesitated or had a second thought to make up my mind on this one! I have seen this book a few years back when I visited a close friend's house where they had this book and I had an opportunity to flip through the book. I loved the theme the author was discussing in this book instantly and the image of the book cover got imprinted on my mind.
So, when I saw this book selling at RM 8, I just couldn't resist. I bought it and I'm glad for the fact that I grabbed the chance to read this book. I am now in the very beginning stage of the book where the story unfolds about Jasvinder being forced to marry someone she barely knew at the age of 14. She flees away from home with the boy of her choice, who is from the lower caste, and Jasvinder was subjected to her family's curse. She was finally disowned by her family. I just couldn't believe how someone can be so mean to their own child who has chosen her own path of life and most importantly how strong beliefs and cultural restrictions could be so detrimental to society.
I did some background study and found that Jasvinder is now an activist advocating women's rights especially those who are subjected to forced marriage. She is also the co-founder of Karma Nirvana. I am looking forward to reading her terrifying true story further as the story develops and reveals what happens next especially the family's reaction knowing that she is now someone successful.
I have read the book. By the time I finish Chapter 1, I was getting chocked up with the extreme hostility in Jas' house. By the end of Chapter 2, I was completely hating the mother.
Shame has traveled from her little word in Derby to every corner of the world where this book made its debut. It is not about Jasvinder's embarrassment, it is about her family's! And about how the culture has made its people look ugly in the eye of a stranger. I believe, you, the one reading this, would feel so lucky being born and raised in a different culture. I could relate to her story so much because I have seen people living life such a way.
Jas' story would make your heart skip a beat, make you want to cry, and feel so bad deep inside for what has happened to her. Above all, Shame will open your eyes to the horror in some women's world. Jas' story has moved me so much and I feel like living in her shoes and experiencing her life which seems so real.
Read it!! It will change your perspective on cultures and people.
Shame has traveled from her little word in Derby to every corner of the world where this book made its debut. It is not about Jasvinder's embarrassment, it is about her family's! And about how the culture has made its people look ugly in the eye of a stranger. I believe, you, the one reading this, would feel so lucky being born and raised in a different culture. I could relate to her story so much because I have seen people living life such a way.
Jas' story would make your heart skip a beat, make you want to cry, and feel so bad deep inside for what has happened to her. Above all, Shame will open your eyes to the horror in some women's world. Jas' story has moved me so much and I feel like living in her shoes and experiencing her life which seems so real.
Read it!! It will change your perspective on cultures and people.
What do you think about this post? I welcome your thoughts and views!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Subscribe to my blog here to be notified every time a new post is published.
Share this post around!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)