Midterm II

Heteronormativity is the idea that heterosexuality is the norm within our culture and anything else is considered odd. We see this in movies and ads and for Valentine's Day. The entertainment industry "assumes" that everyone wants to see heterosexual couplings (172). We have a visual depiction of heterosexual attractions and those of homosexual attractions are kept invisible and under wraps.
With heteronormativy comes other issues. Health care is hard enough for straight couples to acquire. In order to get health care- you have to be healthy and you have to have the money to pay for it (301-303). For some heterosexual couples this isn't a hard thing to achieve. When you put two people's salaries together, things are easier to pay for. With homosexual couples or couples that live together but aren't married come more challenges. Since homosexuals don't always get the benefits from their work it is harder for them to get health insurance. There is also the issue that homosexuals have a higher rate of getting AIDS and with that it is impossible to get health insurance.
As far as touching on the topic of reproductive health, I don't know how it could be associated with anything other than heterosexuality. You need to have a man and a woman to reproduce. I suppose there is the sperm bank and things like that where you can reproduce through other means that aren't natural. There is also the aspect that women are responsible for themselves when they get pregnant and the man typically tries to stay out of that portion of the relationship. I will discuss this more in the next paragraph.
With heterosexual relationships come the dominant construction of masculinity. With relationships the men tend to be the domineer. Men try to dominate women's sexuality. There is also the case where it is okay for men to be sexually active and enjoy sex, but when women do it is not. There is a double standard. It is also hard to justify how they don't want to have any responsibility when they get a woman pregnant. It is then the woman's burden to carry and sometimes the man will help. It also seems that if a woman does get pregnant and whether she wants the baby or not- can be pressured into "fixing the problem" based on what her male partner wants.
Our bodies are the one thing that everyone sees. It can be a positive or negative view based on whose eyes are judging. The media is the worst at putting norms on the woman's body. These norms aren't normal. The average woman is not 100 pounds and 5'7". "What our bodies mean and how they are experienced is intimately connected to the meanings and practices of the society in which we reside" (229).
Tattoos and piercings are ways for each person to express themselves. I have multiple earrings and I have 2 tattoos. I would like more earrings, maybe an industrial and possibly my belly-button and I have wanted an eyebrow piercing but haven't gotten one yet. Now that I'm looking to graduate in a few years and I don't know what kind of occupation I'm going to have so I don't want to hurt that in any way. My tattoos are only visible when I choose for them to be. I have one on each shoulder blade. I'm considering more, maybe the back of the neck- except I wear my hair up a lot so that may not work, maybe one on the top of my foot and one on the inside of my ankle. These practices were "traditionally a masculine or an outlaw, rebellious act - is increasingly a form of self-expression for women" (231). So tattoos and piercings can be labeled as self-expression or in some cases mutilation. It is changing the natural body and either putting something permanent (tattoos) or temporary (piercings).
The female body is sometimes seen as taboo (232). We have a natural process we go through so we can have children later in life. I know that many people feel ashamed and bashful when they have their period, like they have to hide the fact so that no one else will know.
The four points of the beauty ideal: contemporary images of female beauty are changeable, the ideal reflects various relations of power in society, standards of beauty practices are enforced in complex ways, and it is a huge aspect of corporate capitalism and consumerism in the US (235-241). The media fastens close to these ideals and then pushes them harder than a normal person would toward their friends. The media says that you have to be a certain shape or height or skin tone or hair color. I love my natural hair color, I don't remember what it looks like anymore because I've been dying it since the 6th grade. I just have a tendency to get really bored with my hair. I have straight brown hair with some natural highlights. But now its straight and Egyptian Plum (which is a red/purple color and I love it!). It's semi-permanent, I want to get back to the natural color soon and I want to be able to perm my hair one day. I've always wanted to try out curly/ wavy hair. But I can't because of all the color chemicals that are in it right now.
I do not wear make-up. Even though the media suggests I should. I'll wear make-up for special occasions: weddings, funerals, dress events, sometimes at church- depending on my mood. Part of the reason I don't wear make-up is because I get fidgety and touch my face a lot and therefore smear/wipe off everything I put on and then when I do wear make-up everyone comments on the fact that I am wearing make-up and that gets annoying really quick.
We live in a culture of thinness and beauty and materialism. With these come more problems than any of us wish to have.