Conflicted by Culture: Current Issues with Dress Codes and “Appropriate” Attire

From: http://girlsgenerationwallpaperss.blogspot.com/2013/10/girls-generation.html

By Remington Jensen

Whether you’ve have had a School Resource Officer question your overall health on the appearance of your outfit or have possibly been sent home due to observable bra-straps, it’s plausible that you’ve seen the rise in strict dress codes, especially those in schools.

Though schools aren’t the only location that dress codes are enforced; workplaces, public spaces, and even homes are all authorized by those who can control what others wear. In strict households this could be a parent who doesn’t enjoy the openness of an outfit, at work it could be a Human Resources member, in public even the government has the power to deem what is or isn’t allowable to play

We need to talk about Earth

By Kali Nelson

Let’s take a moment to think about all the problems the US is facing today. We have wildfires consuming the Pacific Northwest, Montana, and California. Hurricane Harvey is flooding Texas and Hurricane Irma nearing Florida. The whole country either needs water or it has too much, and that’s only in the US. Here in Moscow, where I live, there’s so much smoke in the air that we are now at a hazardous air quality. The world has become a gray haze outside my windows. I can’t enjoy the breeze at night or else I risk waking up in a cloud of smoke and hurting my cat’s lungs.

I can’t help but wonder if  we need to take a step back and think about the impact we have on our planet. Maybe we need to have a serious and grown up conversation about climate change.

Love or Livelihood: Women’s Choice?

 

“Please excuse me as a take a little time off to create life” picphotos.net/maternity-leave

 

I was recently sitting in one of my Journalism and Mass Media courses “interviewing” one of the female faculty here on campus who is a professor in the JAMM major, and something struck me as she spoke. During the “interview,” she spoke about the fact that female journalists find it hard to get ahead in the industry not only because of sexism within it, but also because being successful as a journalist while also having a family is extremely difficult. She said that because it’s incredibly difficult to be a journalist and report on breaking news if you have children that need to be taken care of and can’t travel freely. Now, since I want to be a successful journalist while also having a family, this concerned me. It made me think that there is the possibility that I will have to give up one for the other.

Romance and the Hidden Woman

 

The classic milkshake date http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/how-to-eat-in-a-restaurant-dating-tips-from-the-1950s

 

Relationships seem to be dominated by men. Whether this is because of the social/cultural expectation that men are supposed to be powerful, or because they are always assumed to be the dominate gender, I’m not sure. I think that it is a mixture of both. Men are seen as in control; they make the first move, pay for dates, buy gifts, etc. This idea that a man should be the head of the relationship has been around since the dawn of patriarchy, but the American expectations in relationship related behavior seems to be heavily based on the traditional 1950’s “American Dream” ideal.

If Ads Were Realistic

By: Madelyn Starritt

We are constantly immersed in media and advertising; getting bombarded with messages even if we don’t want to. These messages often feature unrealistic beauty standards and try to convince us that we will not be happy unless we buy these products. This constant intake of messages and images has an effect on us and it is not for the better. These companies are just trying to make money and will do whatever it takes to do so. Below I have recreated popular ads that are often directed toward women to be more realistic.

The Ultimate Spring Break?

 

Picture taken from: http://www.ranker.com/list/best-spring-break-destinations/island-hopper-dan

 

The generic college dream is to spend spring break on the beach, in a swimsuit, with loud music and people to party with. The “College Spring Break” ideal has been broadcasted through movies, showing a radical time with no consequences where anything goes. And this idea seems to stick with students for some reason. Rather than going on a weeklong hiking trip or going to save the pandas, a lot of college students seem to choose to have the beach free-for-all of every movie’s dreams. I never thought that I would be into that at all. I’m more of a save the pandas kind of type and not a huge partier. I can go weeks without drinking or partying or basically doing anything related to it and I will freely admit I am more of an introverted homebody. But this spring break I decided to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and see what the “College Spring Break” was like.

Listen, She’s Not Into You, Okay?

When I say the word “no”, I mean it. Unless someone is offering some of their food, because in that case I’m just trying to be polite. But in almost every other situation, the word no means what the dictionary says it means. No is equivalent to no, a definitive denial or refusal towards, for, or about something. This principle of saying the word “no” and meaning it applies to everything, except interactions between a man and a woman when she says she is not interested. When a man is pursuing a woman either romantically, sexually, or both, it seems like the word “no” and the phrase “no thank you” or even the utterance of “no I am not interested” is hardly taken seriously. Apparently in our society “no” means “yes sir, keep trying, I’ll come around.”

Fashionista: White T-Shirts and Combat Boots

This is a picture of me wearing one of my masculine mixed with feminine outfits.

By Lauren Orr

I have never liked being told how to dress. Growing up with conservative parents, my parents always told me what I could and couldn’t wear as soon as I hit puberty. When I was little, no one really cared how I dressed, but as soon as I “blossomed,” the way I dressed mattered to everyone. My teachers, my friends, my parents, random people on the street. All of a sudden I wasn’t really dressing for myself anymore, but for everyone in the world around me. Instead of just wearing what I wanted and what I felt good in, I wore what my parents allowed me to wear and what everyone else expected me to wear.

Growing up, and now as well, I was always close to my older brother who is less than a year older than me. Because of that, and the way my home life was, I think I developed a lot of “manly” mannerisms. I’ve never been much of a girly girl in my life, despite the fact that I liked playing with Barbies and make-up; I’ve always been more interested in what the boys liked to do. I generally have closer friendships with men than I do woman (until I started living in my sorority) because I just seemed to get along better with them and enjoyed doing “boy” things. This tendency that I have to lean more towards the masculine side of my personality trickled into my fashion sense as well. While I read Vogue and Allure and tons of fashion magazines, and keep up with a majority of fashion trends, I still look at men’s fashion with a higher level of appreciation.

Question your heroes

By Tess Fox

This article contains graphic language.

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos quarterback, has retired. If you can’t think of who is, he’s the football player on the Papa John’s and Nationwide commercials. He’s had a long, successful career without any major scandals that have become typical of NFL players. Well, except for this one time in college. Manning is accused of assaulting a female staff member during his time at University of Tennessee.

Dr. Jaime Naughright (at the time, Jaime Whited) was an athletic trainer at UT while Manning was a student there.

“Boys Will Be Boys” is No Excuse

By Sam Kennedy

“He’s just teasing you.”
“That’s just how boys are.”
“Don’t let him get to you.”
Is it any wonder women stay in abusive relationships? From an early age young women are told that if boys are mean to you, that means they like you.
Now, an abusive relationship may seem like quite a conclusion to jump to based off of how children act towards one another in regards to crushes and flirting. Allow me to elaborate though through two scenarios: