There is a horrid lie we humans tell ourselves: that things will change, someone will rise up and change things. Decadent is the ever growing responsibility and character of the layman and fewer are those bold enough to strike with the caliber to take a stand. What prevails in the hindrance of human nature? What obstacles perpetrate our actions, strong enough to cement us to the common road, rather than the road less traveled? Why are humans so prone to acceptance and tolerance of our fears, rather than stand up against the grain?
Human nature is persistent and resists change: it is the stubborn child of a mother too sensitive to enforce punishment and guidance, rather allows the child to run rampant and do as he pleases. Human nature will continue as long as society allows it, and society will allow it to persist because it is in our nature. It takes a great force of nature to inflict any subtleties other than the conventional popular culture fluctuations, which can hardly be called referred to as 'forces of nature', rather the product of the society machine, cranking out whatever the populace wants out of the media. In order to break this chain of acceptance and blind religious faith in this social machine, there needs to be a resurrection of a neo-counterculture.
A staple vastly unnoticed in modern society is the oppression of women, which most believe does not exist anymore. Sadly, rather than diminishing in dynamics, the movement has metamorphisized, changing with popular culture and manifesting in the homonculi we fabricate. Women may have more 'power' now, being in the form of career choice, but take a look at the United States: out of a nation that is 51% women, only 17% of congress is female. And those women in congress are hardly taken seriously; instead women in power are chastised for their physical appearance and are harassed on their physical objectivity rather than their achievements and abilities. Hilary Clinton saw politics as a 'man's game' and attempted to be masculine in her demeanor. She is ultimately looked on as 'the bitch'. Sarah Palin attempted to embody a more feminine approach and was turned into a sex symbol, referred to as 'the ditz'. And that is the cancer of society: the objectivity of women. Being a woman, I was raised hearing physical compliments, and we are reared to desire and chase after those physical compliments: "Aren't you pretty?", "You look so hot!", "Gosh, that's so sexy", "You're looking cute today!" Women are treated merely as eye candy and another material possession, as demonstrated in any one of MTV's highlight music video of the week can put into perspective. As a result, women are seen as excessively hormonal, and are expected to take our lower positions in society. Men are expected to be emotionally constipated and are not allowed to show their feelings, and any man who displays any emotion other than complete dominance is deemed as 'weak', or 'womanly'.
Here's the point of this whole barrage of pathos: if anything is going to change in this world, we are going to have to do it ourselves. Our generation. Our hands. Our toil. For me, the concept of gender studies struck the hardest. All I knew about my assumptions of female empowerment were fabrications passed down in a traditional sense. The women I looked up to in media who were supposed to be empowered were merely the result of the men who run the media (look at how tight their clothes are: being a black belt I would not choose a pair of heels to save the world and kick ass in, and I would NEVER wear jeans I couldn't move my legs in.) Sadly the ideology of these strong women were only the current definition of 'sexy'. I dare you to look at the little boys and girls who go trick-or-treating this time of year. How many little girls are wearing revealing clothing or WAY too much make-up for their age? Look at Disney (this breaks my heart, being a Disney-raised-rat) and the way they portray women figures. Only recently women figures in this franchise don't wait for their 'prince' to come and save them. Mulan and Tiana go off and fight their own battles.
Look at the man or woman you love. When he or she compliments you, is it because of how you appear, or because of what you do on a more intimate level? Are you complimented on the physical objectivity you display, or of the abilities, talents, and personality you possess?
I dare you: make a change, defy norms. Because if I'm going out into the world to 'make something of myself', you better be damn sure I'm going to spark a revolution. Any step forward is better than retreating backward, and we are a new age. So let's start a revolution.
xoxox
2nd Degree Burn
P.S. I made the t-shirt and art, thanx!
