I recently attended a job training where the new employees (directed at the females) were told not to wear clothing that "invited" particular comments/actions that were considered to be sexual harassment. There was an emphasis on what women could/could not wear without similar restrictions being outlined for men. Why is the fault of sexual harassment falling on the victim and their clothing/style choices rather than on the perpetrator? Seriously... Victim shame much? ...

(PSA: Victims can be male or female, and perpetrators can be male or female. However, for this particular instance, my manager was emphasizing male harassment towards women in the work place.)

So...
Dear employers and HR Departments, do not shame women for their body, its natural differences, and the actions of others that are outside of their control. Women and men are both not responsible for the actions/words of others. In no way, is an outfit ever responsible for acts of sexual harassment.

In addition, the fault of sexual harassment always lies with the perpetrator. NEVER should a woman/man feel shamed regarding actions that were not their own.... or be made to feel that their own work environment would not support them if (in the horrible happenstance) an incident of sexual harassment would occur.

I honestly can't believe that I am even writing this... did I mention that the person training me was a woman? Literally girl to girl body shaming and its not okay. Makes my heart hurt, but also makes me realize the importance of raising awareness about sexual harassment and how it can actually be combated..... not just telling girls that they should dress more conservatively.

- SP

My reaction, shock. I think that I had mixed support for both candidates regarding many issues, but I never thought that Trump would actually make it to the presidency or past the primaries (tbh), So when my look of shock, hurt, and betrayal by half of my nation was apparent on my face for the 4 and a half hours I watched the TV screen as Hillary's defeat became more and more apparent, my mom leaned over to me and said it's okay I know you have a little democrat in you. I'm out of the closet.... I'm officially a moderate conservative. Okay, so not too exciting but considering my entire family had varying degrees of smiles on their faces tonight tells me that being a moderate is like being the odd ball out in my family. Frankly, I am happy that a Christian VP will be in office and that the Supreme Court will remain balanced. I am disappointed how far back feminism has been placed, and that our country supported an alleged rapist over a strong female candidate. But there is nothing to do now, and the vote that I made either way would have left me feeling similarly. But I think that the world and half of American voters feel that we have had the carpet ripped out from under us by a man who had no shot at winning... How this happened, we can only postulate and I will pray for him and our country moving forward. 

I will not say that I am happy with the results. When I looked at my ballot and thought of Trump, his words of misogyny ran through my mind. And, yet, I vehemently disagree with some of Hillary Clinton's stances on political issues. Still, the thought of having a woman so close to the white house made me extremely happy and hopeful for our nation and woman's equality. I hope to see a female president by the end of my lifetime, and one that I might be able to more passionately support in her political views. But, for now and for the sake of our country, I will support Donald Trump for the good of the American people. Woman's representation in the political arena made huge strides last night with several elected senators and congress women, but we have a long way to go. The battle for social change does not end here... it simply shifts with the tide of our nation. And that nation has chosen to support Trump.

In conclusion, I leave with these words as the salve of my own disappointment and millions of others regarding the image of women that our nation has chosen to condone...
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​​Sincerely,
Sienna Pagett

This is my short commentary that I posted on Facebook regarding Tim Gunn's amazing article in the Washington Post.

"I love the American fashion industry, but it has a lot of problems, and one of them is the baffling way it has turned its back on plus-size women." -Tim Gunn

Tim Gunn is hitting the nail on the head once again with this stunning portrayal of plus-size exclusion, in his Washington Post article, from the fashion industry.

Whether it is the fact that there is a severe gap in the market for plus-size clothing or the fact that "nude" undergarments still refers to cream and lightcomplexioned skin tones means that there is a lot of work to be done in the fashion industry to get up to speed with their own customers.

ALL WOMEN want to feel beautiful. Exclusion from a piece of clothing for any reason based on someone's appearance is absolutely ridiculous. However, I am so happy to see strides being made towards remedying these issues from people and companies like Tim Gunn and Nubian Skin who are making an impact in the fashion industry for the better.
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Strictly speaking numbers and missed market, Tim Gunn talks about the fact that this is not simply an issue for the size 12 and up buyer but one that is to the detriment of designer and customer alike.

- SP

Read the Article Below:
Tim Gunn: Designers refuse to make clothes to fit American women. It’s a disgrace.

Pretty much an unedited rant on the things I find disturbing in Disney Channel shows, despite my love for their comedy... they are teaching lessons to children that need to be stopped. This is especially concerning considering that some children spend more hours in front of a TV than out socializing after school; so this is their main source of learning social interactions and how to treat others.

Let's start....

I love Disney, but I do not love Disney channel... their racial and gender stereotyping that is. For the moment, I would like to focus on a particular image of a recurring stereotype that is personally offensive... Blonde White Girls... as I am one.

I am blonde, Caucasian, and female but that by no means indicates that I am dumb and have a mind that is focused solely on friendships, clothing, boys, and all things self serving. My interests, believe it or not, expand far beyond those demeaning stereotypes that Disney is doing nothing to counteract in the minds of our youth.

Let's examine the current female blondes parading the Disney screen:

Liv&Maddie:
Liv- interested in acting, shopping, looking good, singing, boys, friends, and is portrayed as a ditz for the majority of the show
Maddie- interested in sports, friends, boys, doesn't care about appearances as much (which is totally refreshing as well as being openly active and competitive!), shows no major interest in academics as far as I can recall..... However, this is the besst female blonde character that Disney seemed to be able to come up with.

KC Undercover:
Marisa- dumb blonde and best friend to KC who provides comic relief out of her stupidity and self absorption and who's sole represented values are her appearance, clothing, shopping, gossip, boys and the maintenance of her friendships

Girl Meets World:
Maya Heart- does not care about school or grades, is artistic, cares about clothes and boys but not overly... she is mostly represented as being her own person, but kind of lacks a strong identity or backbone outside of her interest in art and her friendships (once again only creative talents are featured as a Caucasian female's strongest suit) 

Bunk'd:
Emma- into fashion, started a blog, likes boys and her friends, is a ditz all of the time and jokes are made out of her naivety, she is the "pretty blonde" with the represented low self esteem 

Best Friends Whenever:
Shelby- completely clueless and messes things up out of her stupidity, into clothing and appearances, superficial, there was one episode where she learned how to code a website for trading crafts (however the only person who is taken seriously for his brain is Barry, the socially challenged brainiac who turned Syd and Shelby into accidental time travelers). So Shelby is known for being a stupid, yet charismatic, friend. 

Those are the main shows that seem to be airing, and there is not a single one that airs a female blonde for reasons beyond being the male interest, the comedic relief, etc. Maddie and Maya are the closest to positive female role models that we can see, but none show a strong independent mind that can show young girls that they can be more than a pretty face.

But there are girls like Tiffany (Bunk'd) and Smackle (Girl Meets World) who fit the stereotype of the girl who is struggling to socialize but is academically gifted. Both characters must be taught and assisted by their more socially aware friends to be more "normal" and less "weird." Tiffany is made a mockery of for using science jokes to try and flirt with a boy, and the fact that Smackle thinks that the main "attractive" boy character (Lucas Friar) is into her is represented as a joke. By showing that they are out of step socially it indicates that they are somehow "lesser" than other characters; yet their less academically gifted friends are not represented as that way because they are never "helped" by the smarter characters to be more "normal."

So blonde white girls are superficial and primarily only into their friends, the arts, clothing, friendships, and boys. "Typical White Girl."

Other girls who break out of this stereotype impressed upon girls are of other ethnicities and are portrayed as socially challenged and not well rounded individuals.

These are just the issues of Disney Channel's portrayal of girls..... I should add that I do think that there needs to be at least one Disney show with a male lead.who is not blonde and relatively clueless (Austin& Ally or I Didn't Do It). Boys need good role models as well!

I've also ignored the clear stereotyping of numerous characters like Ravi (Bunk'd and Jessie) based on race, or Willow (Liv & Madi) and Lou (Bunk'd) based on their body shape. Ravi is portrayed as the nerdy Indian boy who lacks social awareness, is awkward with girls, has an over dramatized accent, and has no skills in sports. Willow and Lou are the best friend comic relief to the blonde girl lead.... First off, why aren't their main characters who are smart and blonde, or curvy and get the guy, or  racially diverse and sporty? "Diversity" should not simply be hiring actors and actresses of different races and then putting them into roles that fit unjust social stereotypes. Diversity should display beauty in all different kinds of people without societal restrictions and varying interests. It's appalling that this is being fed to our youth. How are we to bridge the gap towards racial and gender equality if we are still teaching our children to accept limitations based on the way we were born?

*This article or rant was prompted by this article that I saw linked on Facebook. Check it out.

The third Prime Minister (1966-1977 & 1980-1984) of India, Indira Gandhi, was the daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

She was India's first female Prime Minister and served for 15 years until her assassination in 1984.

Born in 1917, Indira Gandhi grew up in a political atmosphere, and was active with her father's efforts in the nationalist movement for India's independence from Britain; which achieved in 1947.

As a child, she is said to have even burned her own doll because it was made in England.

When she was twelve she lead the Vanar Sena (Monkey Brigade) with over 70,000 young revolutionaries who did everything possible to support the nationalist movement. They did everything from making flags to putting up advertisements for public demonstrations.

Even in marriage in 1942, Indira Gandhi was setting the stage to be a maverick of her time. She married Feroze Gandhi, a Parsi. However, Indira Gandhi was Hindu. Mixed marriages were not common at the time, and the fact that the marriage was not arranged was very taboo.

The marriage caused such a spectacle and backlash from the public that Mahatma Gandhi (a family friend of Indira Gandhi and with no relation) had to issue a public statement requesting that the public dismiss their unease and vocal distaste of the union for blessings instead.

As Prime Minister, she led a newly independent India into self sufficiency. Through the Green Revolution, India became independent for grains.

In 1971, Pakistani conflict erupted and she was vocal of her support of the Bengali movement to separate East Pakistan from the West, and create an independent Bangladesh. India then provided much needed refuge to over 10 million Pakistani citizens; which thinned Indian resources and became politically "complicated" with the United States. However, U.S. war with India was avoided with Pakistan's surrender.

When Indira was found guilty of electoral malpractice, she declared a state of emergency rule.
Freedoms were limited, opponents imprisoned, the press censored, and millions were sterilized in the face of over population. When she finally ended her undemocratic emergency rule she lost re-election in fear of her sterilization policy; which was used to sterilize 7.8 million men.

Despite her shortcomings, and marriage that was filled with her husband's illicit affairs. She is still held as one of history's most influential female political leaders. Why is this? She practically declared a dictatorship when she faced being kicked out of office for malpractice, and sterilized 7.8 million boys and men within India without any form of consent....

However, for the time her actions and political power were revolutionary. A friend to Margaret Thatcher and Mahatma Gandhi, a saint to Pakistani refugees in their fight for freedom, and the ruler of an independent India with a firm hand following her father made Indira Gandhi a forced to be reckoned with. She will still be remembered and honored for the incredible work she has done and for pioneering a way for strong female political leaders in the future.

We will hold lessons to be learned from her both empathetic and controversial actions throughout her political career as India's first female Prime Minister.

​-SP

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Works Cited:
https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html
http://www.history.com/topics/indira-gandhi
http://www.biographyonline.net/politicians/indian/indira-gandhi.html
​http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913
http://www.biography.com/news/indira-gandhi-biography-facts

​Images Provided By:
http://www.conservapedia.com/Indira_Gandhi
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Indira-Gandhi
http://www.gyaaninfo.com/indira-gandhi/

Katy McLean is the 30 year old athlete taking on the Rio Olympics representing Great Britain playing rugby... what does she have to say to young women? 

quote + images courtesy of ESPN

Amazingly, McLean and her sevens team were playing as an amateur level team until winning the 2014 World Cup.
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Watch her get wrestle for the gold medal tomorrow in the Rio Olympics!!! Support a woman who broke against the norm and became the front runner in most inspirational female athletes competing in this year's summer Olympics!
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Information and Images Courtesy of ESPNW and others:

http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/15745810/from-school-teacher-full-time-rugby-player-katy-mclean-finding-balance
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/mUweipj627d/Olympics+Previews+Day+1/yluBI0PYsiO/Katy+McLean
www.zimbio.com/photos/Amy+Turner/Katy+McLean
https://www.marketingweek.com/2015/08/27/a-marketers-essential-guide-to-the-rugby-world-cup/
http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/community/new-year-honours-south-shields-rugby-star-katy-mclean-wins-mbe-1-6343389
https://rugbywarfare.com/rugbywarfare-talks-england-rugby-captain-world-cup-winner-katy-mclean/
​http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12321/10519310/englands-katy-mclean-eyes-world-stage-double-ahead-of-rio-olympics

- Sienna Pagett

Confucius was by no means a woman, but this quote I needed to share. 

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As I started my podcast series this week, (SoundCloud) I began contemplating how people play a psychological effect on how much we feel that we can accomplish. People can make us feel small and weak. If only we were just facing the fears right in front of us in the world, but instead some people go out of their way to make us feel fearful as well. It is not okay, but it happens. However, I think that even when I feel small if I try to remember that if I just do something little now, then I am just setting myself up for something bigger in the future.

Even when we are at our best and feeling 100% it is still important to break down the big picture, ad not be overwhelmed by the overall picture. Remember Steve Jobs didn't start Apple in a day. 

Just some thoughts on something different in this section for a change.

- Sienna

She is the teen who created the social movement for young girls to develop a self body image outside of the media. (Project MOVE)