Paper Bag Princess Book

I know this is kind of late but...

I think that the Paper Bag Princess is a great book for all children to have. I wish that they had a book like that when I was growing up. It would have been nice to see the flip side of all the fairy tales we read.

When I become a parent one day I plan on purchasing this book for my children. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Men Working

So I don't know if anyone ever drives down comanche street in front of the alkek parking garage but for the past few weeks there have been people outside working on the garage. Everyone morning I drive by the garage to go to the LBJ parking garage and I notice a sign that says "men working". I found this to be crazy considering the society that we live in. This sign makes the inference that there are only men working on the parking garage and, of course, I found this extremely concerning to our society. Just wondering if anyone had noticed.

Dominance in Advertising 12/1

Today in class we looked over the magazine advertisements and one thing that I was noticing and we talked about a little was in some pictures the man is shown to be taller or above the woman to represent dominance or superiority. What I find interesting though is when I look at old family photographs of my great grandparents and other family from the early 1900's the husband is always depicted sitting in a chair with his wife standing next to him. I find it interesting that in some ways representation of how we percieve the male and female levels maybe has changed. In the old days the man was shown sitting down to possibly represent the man of the house, the head of the household. Respresentation has changed in the way that the man would need to be shown higher up physically to depict his dominance.

12/1

Today in class we discussed advertising. I am worried about young kids growing up and looking at advertisements that show women and men that have bodies that are not obtainable. I am worried because young kids grow up with this image of beauty in mind, and when that is not achieved is when low self esteem and eating disorders start happening. Average women do not look like the models in magazines, so why is there not more average looking people in them? If a clothing company is trying to sell clothes, why wouldnt they put them on a model that matches the people that are actually going to wear them. I know "sex sells" but when is society going to say enough is enough and not buy a product because there is a half naked woman selling it?

Pregnancy discrimination

According to the statutes under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers must treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in the same manner as other employees or applicants with the same skills or limitations. As long as a woman is able to perform the essential functions of a job, an employer can't fire, refuse to hire, or deny a promotion to her because of a pregnancy-related condition. Furthermore, if she's willing and able to work, she can't be forced to take her pregnancy leave early. In general, pregnant women must be treated in the same way as any other temporarily disabled employee. This may mean employers must provide modified tasks, alternative assignments, or disability leave when a pregnant woman is temporarily unable to perform her job. Employers must also hold open a job for a pregnant woman the same length of time jobs are held open for employees on sick or disability leave, as well as provide the same level of medical benefits. In addition to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, pregnant women may also have rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act as well as under individual state or local laws. If you think that you're the victim of pregnancy discrimination, you can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Associate( Must See Movie)

Laurel Ayres is the smart and single woman trying to make it up the Wall Street corporate ladder, until one day she finds out that she is passed over for a promotion because she is a woman. Unable to face the fact that her less smart and sexist male protege (Frank) has now become her boss, she quits and tries to start up her own company only to find out that the male dominated world of Wall Street is not interested in taking an African American woman seriously, and thus is forced to create a fictional white man (Robert S. Cutty) in order to be judged on her own merits. Ayres financial wisdom is joined by the intelligent and computer-savvy secretary Sally Dugan who also was not properly recognized for her talents, and together they are able to become the most successful independent stock brokers in the world while helping a struggling high tech computer company stay afloat.

Laurel Ayres talks business at a party.

However, the ruse eventually runs into problems, as Cutty is still getting credit for Ayres great ideas, and competing firms and tabloid journalists are willing to do anything in order to bring the wealthy and elusive Cutty into the public and on their side. Thus Ayres is forced to get her gay best friend (who works at a nightclub as a female impersonator) to create an effective disguise in the mould of Marlon Brando to try and fool the naysayers; when that fails, she and Dugan decide to kill Cutty only to be charged with his murder. Frank uncovers the ruse and pretends that he is now the front man to world famous Cutty.

The film ends with Ayers donning the Cutty disguise one last time to attend a meeting of the exclusive gentlemen's club to accept Cutty's awards and unmasking herself in order to teach the male dominated industry the evils of racial and sexual discrimination. Ayers is finally given credit for her work and creates a huge business empire with her friends at the helm.

oh....and I think any person who touches a child like that should and will burn in hell