Portral of Vampires Throughout History

As a child I have always been fascinated with vampires. From old to modern books like Dracula, Blue Bloods Series, and The Twilight Saga. Movies like Interview with the Vampire, Underworld, and Day Breakers. Even one of my favorite graphic novels is American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Stephen King. I am even taking a course at Anne Arundel Community College in the Spring 2012 called Gender & Sexuality in Vampire Literature.


Something that is interesting and can be quite annoying is what I call "Vampire Fever" that has purged on every being walking the planet these days. Vampire's are popular and heavily prevalent in pop culture right now. And what I find interesting is the way these creatures gender and sexuality have been portrayed over hundreds of years.

The oldest and most popular vampire fiction novels is Dracula written by Bran Stoker and published in 1897. Dracula came into theaters in 1931 where audiences were frightened and captivated by the sinister villain. Count Dracula is portrayed as wealthy, who can turn into any animal he desires, stronger than twenty men and rendered useless when exposed to the sun. The heroines in the book/film were victums of the vamp's allure and power as he had uncontrollable power over these women.

In contrast, America fell in love with one of the biggest selling young adult book's called Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and after great success morphed into movies that turned into box office excellence. Different from Dracula, the Cullen family is a clan of vampires that were once human but turned into vampires by their "father" Carlisle only because they were dying. These vampires are portrayed as good-hearted, beautiful, porcelain, strong and possess special powers like reading peoples minds and knowing the future. Bella Swan, a mere human, is captivated by a member of the clan, Edward. Bella wants to give up her future, family, and literally life to be forever bound to Edward.

Writers are making their own twists on the classic and now very popular topic of vampires. But, why are we captivated? Why is it that even in a movie like Underworld, where the main character is a female who pulverizes men in every other scene is still portrayed as weak in the eyes of her male peers, sexualized, and still undermined throughout the film?

Change in a World of Male Dominated Sports

In a very competitive and more open minded world, more women are participating in male dominated sports. But unfortunately, this attempt for cross-gender sports can still be a difficult subject when addressed in certain company.

Over the past decade women integrating into more aggressive sports that are male-dominated, like football and ice hockey, has been rough yet successful! Women are literally "taking the bull by the horns" (like becoming female matadors) by organizing and joining athletics that many people once deemed as unsuitable for a woman.

Although the media doesn't discuss mixed gender sports, because they are few and far between, having all women sports is a huge step in the right direction for feminism! Now there is a Independent Women's Football League that have teams located all over the U.S. consisting of all women players that take football seriously. There are also college women's hockey leagues where these devil's on ice fight for that puck!

This year Life Magazine created a page on their website showing the beautiful and strong women that consider themselves female matadors. These women are risking their lives against beasts that weigh a couple hundred pounds and have sharp horns. These women show the beauty, elegance and poise a matador is expected to possess. But, women being accepted into this sport still generates harsh judgments amongst families that have generations of male matadors. Being a matador in countries like Spain is a sport of male-dominated pride that is passed from generation to generation. So why is there a double standard of the tradition being passed to a daughter?

A sport that is becoming so wide spread that started underground and is now being featured in various movies, is women's roller derby! There is even a Women's Flat Track Derby Association where women try out all over the country in a brutal and aggressive sport. I first came across roller derby over a year ago when I lived in Savannah, Georgia when I wrote articles for my colleges paper called The Inkwell. My editor skated for the womens derby team, The Savannah Derby Devil's and she was a feminist goddess in my eyes...Even though I never told her.

This is a subject that truly intrigues me. I am so proud to be a strong woman in our society today. And I am proud of the strong women in the world who challenge the conventional male-dominated world of sports and speak for many women around the world.

Today's Consumers: A Different Animal

Ad's are everywhere! And advertisement agencies are becoming more creative each day, finding new ways to advertise in more places. For example, domains like youtube.com that now, unlike before, places ad's before the viewers selected clip. And hulu.com is a website that's main goal is to provide it's customers with as many television shows and movies at the comfort of one's home and now, unlike in the past, now interrupt's the viewers program with periodic ad's. Exactly what it's customer's tried to avoid. And something that we all are becoming more conditioned to, is product placement within television shows that cleverly place name brands like Coca-Cola and Cover Girl Cosmetics into an actors hand for all viewers to see.

Advertising constantly changes because advertisement agencies try to produce what their consumers want. For example, in a study conducted in 2006, tweens and teens were more likely to purchase a product if it was advertised by a celebrity, sports star, or movie star. But, recent studies, like a study conducted in 2010, shows that consumers aren't as stimulated by celebrities and aren't as willing to buy a product because it was advertised by a celebrity. The study also showed statistics that less than twelve percent of ad's using celebrities exceeded a ten percent lift of that product.

Today ad's are becoming more aesthetically creative for it's viewer's. Such as these ad's found by Pokkisan:

Fed Ex

GNC Weight Loss Supplement

Laser Hair Removal


Law Enforcement for Graffiti

Audiences today, are more likely to be persuaded to purchase a product through social networking. This means that not only social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter are loading their side bars with advertisements, but also through what their peers say. That's why websites and other tools are adding rating systems of their products that immediately place them on their profiles for all their friends to see. Companies are also creating profiles to update their "friends" about new and exciting products. Colleges are joining the band wagon and actually hiring individuals to solely control and operate their social networking sites. These individuals answer all students and future students questions and everyday post upcoming events and campus news.

It's funny if you think about how advertising influences our lives. Even if it seems to be a small impact in your life, it still impacts various decisions you make. And with the upcoming holidays, see how the influence of ad's and product placement influence your decisions on what holiday ham to buy, what gift card you buy for your sister, or even what coffee you buy for your relatives coming in from out of town.

Single Sex Education Should Be Extinct

Yesterday, I was driving home from work and listening to the radio. An ad came on the radio for a local all boys school stating that the transition from middle to high school was a tough transition for boys and they need help from male leaders in the class room to athletics. Right after that ad, a local all girl's school came on with an eighth grade girl saying how her teachers are always there for her whenever she needs help and the teachers specialize in hands-on interactive learning.

As I continued to research the topic of single sex education, teaching boys and girls separately, I came across the reason as to why some individuals believe boys and girls should be taught in different classrooms. The reason being boys are naturally competitive and being amongst other boys will "soften their competitive edge". And girls, are naturally shy and being with other girls will help them "take risks in a single sex setting". This same article continues to state that there is no real proof that backs up the idea that boys and girls learn better when separated.

Several articles even go as far as assuming, like most of society, that boys and girls are heterosexual and go on to say that single sex education helps prevent many issues like girls fighting over boys and boys worrying what other girls think of how they play sports. No matter what, these issues will be present. Wake up, world!

I came across a book called, "The Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents" that helps teachers and parents learn different ways to help boys and girls learn differently...And in my opinion, be different. This just helps separate men and women by furthermore placing them into two very distinct categories. Generalizes that boys like the color blue and like being outdoors in the mud and girls love the color pink and love shopping. I feel like schools like this help support the statistics saying that boys are "naturally" better at math and science and girls are better at English and history.


I'm hoping that the lines of gender are blurred one day. I especially hope that parents aren't trying to push their generalized expectations about gender onto their children, like forbidding their son to have a pink slinky because "pink is for girls" (like a parent did at a past job of mine). Or a mom suggesting her daughter join cheer leading instead of playing soccer because soccer is too aggressive.

Disney Is the Root of All Evil

Disney World is portrayed as a magical kingdom for families to come and share memorable moments and spend thousands of dollars doing so. But, to me, Walt Disney is the root of evil. Maybe that's a little over-exaggerated, but I refuse to be a part of the growing community of Disney and boycott all thing's Disney related.

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, The Walt Disney Company not only slaps their name on everything, but also owns a number of multi-billion dollar production companies such as Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films to ESPN!

I see Disney not only as racist and sexist, but also homophobic. Before you say, "Well, at Disney World, they have Gay Week!" I say, if we were all seen as equal, why the hell would we have a specific day for gays and lesbians to be themselves? And Walt Disney has not even addressed the rights of transgendered individuals.

Some individual's will also fight me about how Disney is not racist claiming that the introduction of the leading African American princess, Tiana, in Princess and the Frog, shows strength in the black community. But, to me and other people, this is just a slap in the face to African Americans. The portrayal of Princess Tiana is more unnatural and that of a white woman. Tiana has light colored skin and permed hair. Even down to the frogs in this animated film, are portrayed as almost ghetto-centric. And like most evil Disney characters, the evil voodoo man is dark skinned. Fun fact: Think about it, every person/thing in a Disney movie that is portrayed as evil/bad, is colored, even if it's purple, never light skinned.

It's sad because Disney possesses the great ability to reach individuals and help teach future generations about respect and tolerance, but they continue to shove heteronormalcy (normalization of heterosexual relationships) down children's throats, among other things...
Therefore, Disney is the root of all evil.

Beauty In the World

The quote, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a well-known phrase world-wide, meaning each person see's beauty in a different way. There is not only exterior beauty, but also interior beauty. The idea of beauty is defined in different ways around the world. What one country primarily see's as a normal beauty regimen, another country may not have ever heard of.

There was a show that debuted on the VH1 channel called "The Price of Beauty" starring Jessica Simpson, who is a well-known American pop star, along with her two friends. The trio traveled around the globe to places like France, New York, Uganda, Brazil, Thailand, and Morocco. Jessica often interviewed women and men to find out what the cultural standards of beauty were in that country.
The show really opened my eyes! In France, Jessica had an interview with the famous French model Isabelle Caro and discussed her fight with anorexia because, like the common beauty standard in America, women are seen as more beautiful and of a higher class if they are skinny. In contrast, when the crew went to Uganda, being more full and voluptuous is more desired. For example, two months before a woman's wedding day, she is placed inside what is called a "fattening hut" to in fact fatten up before her wedding day to please her man. The show continues to address skin whitening creams, plastic surgery, clothing, extreme expectations of wives and daughters, and so many other issues.
The idea of beauty in the United States isn't just black and white. We are all different. It varies from generation to generation. From person to person. In the U.S. the stereotypical idea of beauty is thin, tall, and tan. This idea has changed over the years. Women, even in the 60's, were seen as the ideal woman if she was curvy. This meant she had money to eat and even more "fertile" looking. Even being tan in today's society is more recent. This means you have more money and leisure time to spend looking like you spent the weekend at the beach instead of working.
Even though our society is becoming more progressive in terms of beauty and beliefs, others who do not fit the norm are criticized. On a more personal note, I have my ears stretched which is a process most common in Africa and other parts of the world, where a person takes a pierced area of the body and gradually over time continues to stretch out the hole to whatever their desired size might be. This is not painful if done correctly. I loath the criticism I get for having them. People tell me that I won't get a job for having them done or "what are you going to do when you get old?". Honestly, I feel like saying, "I wouldn't hire you because you look like you starve yourself." or "How are you going to stop looking like a dried up orange peel?", but someone would really need to push me for me to say that. But, having bright pink hair and piercings helps me express who I am.
I think what is most important is for parents, grandparents, teachers, siblings, and so on to be good self-esteem enforcers. Trying to allow kids to see that their mom thinks she's beautiful or that their sister loves her curly hair and doesn't straighten it.
I love who I am and I want to pass those beliefs onto my children. Why not be proud of who we are and not judge others? We're all beautiful in our own perfect way! Embrace it!

WoW..An Addiction

World of Warcraft (WoW) according to the World of Warcraft Beginners Guide is "an online game where players from around the world assume the roles of heroic fantasy characters and explore a virtual world full of mystery, magic, and endless adventure." This role playing game has reached well over twelve million players in 2011. But, how has this game dominated not only preteens/teens, but also adults? And what are the consequences of such an addictive game?

From the very beginning WoW players are to "define" or design their character. The player is not only amazed by the colorful clothing, bulky armor, and the many different body forms they can choose from, but also get to choose their race and class. Choosing the characters race is important because characters can only communicate with it's same race. And class determines what players can and can't do. Sounds like history repeating its self, but in video game form?

WoW provides a militaristic agenda. When a player first starts their game they are promptly given orders by orcs to kill harmless creatures. Players maim, dismember, decapitate, and slaughter their victims. From then on, like many militaristic games such as Call of Duty or Diablo, players are rewarded after killing their victims by leveling up, presented with new weapons or abilities, and move on to a new exciting mission.

What also makes this game so appealing is the players ability to talk to other players around the world online through chat or headphones. In WoW groups form to have battles and this can be rewarding and more incentive for players to keep playing. This interactive appeal can also turn for the worse when players loose a battle or mess up in some sort of way. Some players become so entranced that they actually threaten other players.

WoW is designed to keep new players or "noobs" playing by being drip-fed enough for them to keep coming back for more. Many players have become addicted to the game investing hours upon hours of game play. Some individuals have even committed suicide due to the fact that they were banned from World of Warcraft or even because their character had died. There are even some cases of individuals who have lost touch with reality completely and forgot about their health, like a twenty-eight year old gamer in Beijing, nicknamed "Snowly" who died when he was approaching a major level due to exhaustion and no eating. There are even websites such as Wow Detox that provides support for people who were addicted to the fantasy game and need help to keep away.

Another online role playing game pegged more for kids is Neopets, which blew up when I was in middle school. Neopets allowed you to create and decorate your own Neopet and you could level up by placing them in duels and playing strategy games. Honestly, I was extremely addicted. I would come home from school and try to level up my plethora of Neopets for hours on end.

Role playing games, like World of Warcraft, and other video games, are making millions of dollars off of so many people around the world. And many of these games sponsor the idea that violence is acceptable. But, where is the line between video games and real life? And what are parents doing to help separate the difference between a killing fantasy land and harsh reality?