Friday, November 5, 2010

Women Making Money


The Serbian Public Prosecutor, in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, conducted an investigation into the case of a Serbian Facebook group “Death to Women“ (”Smrt ženama”), which was propagating hatred towards women.


According to the Serbian daily Press,Tomo Zoric, spokesman of the Serbian Prosecutor's Office, said:


The group “Death to Women” is currently under investigation, along with other groups that call for violence. Unfortunately, Facebook was not founded in Serbia, and sometimes it is difficult to identify the founders. We are trying to establish cooperation with other countries.


In the first 24 hours after the group was set up, more than 450 people became members, posting some very abusive slogans:


“Stop women's abominations, fraud and deception!“; “You want to be equal with men, to do men's jobs, but not to obey men!“; “They are cowards who do not deserve to live!“; “Let's beat and kill women!”


The group's page was overflowing with photos of tortured and mutilated women, as well as men “in action,“ brutally beating women whose faces were covered in black and blue bruises.


Very aggressive tone was detected in a message directed at one of the group's opponents:


We're not gays, I swear by the venerable Cross that we are not gays, but we will not tolerate women while they are taking the money out of our pockets making asses out of us. Okay, you defend them and you will end up in the grave with them.


Bobana Macanovic, an activist of the Autonomous Women's Centre, concluded that the group was the most horrible evidence of the thesis that aggression had become the way of communication in the Serbian society. She stressed that violence often went unpunished, revealing that 26 women ended in obituaries since the beginning of this year as victims of abusive partners.


Psychologist Maya Antončić said it was not an insignificant fact that this group emerged in the month that saw an explosion of violence in Belgrade's streets during the Gay Pride Parade. But she was more worried about the number of the “fans.” She observed:


This group pays attention to the fact that violence against women exists, and still there are people who do not hesitate to publicly denounce women as weaker and less worthy beings who deserve to suffer violence.


In an article published in Kurir, Neven Cveticanin, a sociologist from the Institute of Social Sciences, pointed out that this phenomenon was a reflection of the general situation in the society. She saw it as an expression of social frustration and a form of violence against the minorities.


The editorial staff of Kurir alarmed the Serbian police about the issue, asking them to take the necessary measures against the group.


One of the earliest responses to this cruel anti-women group was establishing an alternative Facebook group - “Let's Get Rid of the Group ‘Death to Women'” (”Ukinimo Grupu 'smrt Zenama'”) - which currently has over 5,400 members.



As you may or may not have already heard, Life and Style reported last week that an insider (most likely Gary's friend Jordan) spilled the beans about the Teen Mom salaries. Your first thought might be, "Who cares?" But some people do seem to care a lot, admittedly including me. The question is, why?



Many applaud the show for being a hip pregnancy deterrent. Others insist that it doesn't paint a dismal enough picture. Those who believe it does a disservice by making young motherhood look less than hellish often cite their belief that the only thing saving the cast from public housing is the bags of money MTV is showering upon them. But really, are the girls' lives much different now than they were when 16 and Pregnant first aired? Even if we believe that MTV has turned Teen Mom from a docu-series to a scripted drama (frankly I don't think any of the cast are good enough actors to pull that off), they have stayed true to the girls' roots. If the show never existed, would any of them be in dramatically different living situations than they are now? I doubt it.



MTV works hard to portray the Teen Mom cast as broke and struggling to provide for their babies. Catelynn, despite placing her baby for adoption a year ago, is still stuck at home in a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive family. Amber and Gary seem to stay in their volatile relationship for no other reason than having nowhere else to go. Farrah works rough hours and needs her late boyfriend's SSI to help support her daughter. Maci seems to do alright but that could be attributed to her parents' assistance, though she still worries about moving out of their house and paying the rent on a new apartment.



None of their situations strike me as unrealistic. I was a teen mom, I know quite a few teen moms, and I've seen all of these scenarios (and more) play out in real life. What does seem odd to me is that they are living the way they are if they're getting $60,000 paychecks. Compared to the other top MTV stars' salaries, $60,000 a season is chump change. But it's a respectable full-time yearly salary for an American family, especially in the areas where the girls live. They could live comfortably on that particularly with their additional sources of income, which actually makes a lot of people angry.



Recently I spoke to a young woman ("T") who backed out of 16 and Pregnant's second season. She wanted to go on the show because she felt she could be a positive role model to other young mothers. But MTV producers wanted to focus a lot more on her struggles with bulimia, her less than stellar relationship with her mother, and her 20-year-old boyfriend's religious family who kept her a secret and pushed her to place the baby for adoption. She was offered $2,500 during filming and an additional $2,500 when her episode aired. If the father of the baby was involved, he would get $1,000. "Hardly 'rich', but enough to help with the expenses and leftover medical bills," she told me.



I asked her how she feels about the show now that she's a mother:



The show mostly shows the hardships in my opinion, the moments all mothers reach at some point when they are sleep deprived, frustrated, and just need a break, but it is looked on more harshly because of the fact these are teen moms and not 30-something-year-old women.



When I watched season 1 of 16&Pregnant, it psyched me out beyond all belief. They showed the girls tired, run down, emotional, and struggling with everything. I was so worried I could not handle it, because I literally thought my life was going to be made up of only those frazzled moments shown on TV, but when my daughter was born I was surprised to find it was not as bad as I thought. Sure, it was frustrating, tiring, and there were times I wanted to rip my hair out, but it was not like I had hyped it up to be.



And that is the crux of the issue.



People must care about the money because they're searching for an explanation. They want to know why the girls on Teen Mom are not destitute and seething with regret. Every season during the Dr. Drew finale wrap-up, I get the feeling he's doing PR damage control by constantly reiterating, "You love your child but life would be sooo much easier if you didn't get pregnant, right?" Sure, each of them has her own problems (some bigger than others) but they are not "teenage mom" problems so much as they are personality flaws or unfortunate family situations that anyone at any age could be strapped with. Still, because of our assumptions about young mothers, the only way their lives make sense is if they have enough money that the hardships don't matter as much. But a lot of young moms who aren't on TV say the same thing: It's difficult, but it's worth it. It's not as bad as they thought it was going to be. That makes people very uncomfortable.



I asked T what she or her friends think about the claim that MTV glamorizing motherhood and whether she thinks the show curbs pregnancy:



Whether or not it is a deterrent is relative to who watches it. Someone might see it and think "wow I don't want that, I better be more careful!" and others might see how amazing pregnancy and birth is and think they want it NOW. It really depends on the person.



It occurred to me that's the bottom line. We debate whether MTV is encouraging or discouraging pregnancy. When it boils down to it, I'm not sure they're not really doing either. MTV is presenting us with a relatively straightforward narrative about the lives of young women who often have little in common with each other besides giving birth. We're filling in the rest all by ourselves.



Ask people their opinion about the show and you can infer a lot about their politics. The comments on the episode recaps I've been doing for MomHouston.com are often shocking in the depth of hatred and disgust pointed at sexually active young women. Even self-proclaimed feminists who should be supportive of all forms of reproductive freedom chime in with pearls of wisdom like, "The answer to all teenage pregnancy is abortion!" 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are an endless festival of slut-shaming served up as an educational tool.



Teenage pregnancy sits squarely in the intersection of our most pathological American obsessions: female sexuality, public aid, race, religion. Teens moms are an easy target, because who is going to defend them? MTV tapped into a gold mine with this one -- a topic so emotionally fraught and politically intense that hardly anyone can resist offering their opinion about it. Like the proverbial train wreck, once you see the show you can't drag your eyes away. We care about it because we like scapegoats. We care about it because we like to pat ourselves on the back when our prejudice is validated and enjoy the indignation when it's not.



So next time we as a nation sound off about "babies having babies" and how much money they are or aren't making for doing so, let's question whether we are really interested in social reform or if we are playing into cultural attitudes about age, gender, sex, and socioeconomic status. That, I think, could be the enduring lesson we salvage from the Teen Mom phenomenon.







eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

The Serbian Public Prosecutor, in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, conducted an investigation into the case of a Serbian Facebook group “Death to Women“ (”Smrt ženama”), which was propagating hatred towards women.


According to the Serbian daily Press,Tomo Zoric, spokesman of the Serbian Prosecutor's Office, said:


The group “Death to Women” is currently under investigation, along with other groups that call for violence. Unfortunately, Facebook was not founded in Serbia, and sometimes it is difficult to identify the founders. We are trying to establish cooperation with other countries.


In the first 24 hours after the group was set up, more than 450 people became members, posting some very abusive slogans:


“Stop women's abominations, fraud and deception!“; “You want to be equal with men, to do men's jobs, but not to obey men!“; “They are cowards who do not deserve to live!“; “Let's beat and kill women!”


The group's page was overflowing with photos of tortured and mutilated women, as well as men “in action,“ brutally beating women whose faces were covered in black and blue bruises.


Very aggressive tone was detected in a message directed at one of the group's opponents:


We're not gays, I swear by the venerable Cross that we are not gays, but we will not tolerate women while they are taking the money out of our pockets making asses out of us. Okay, you defend them and you will end up in the grave with them.


Bobana Macanovic, an activist of the Autonomous Women's Centre, concluded that the group was the most horrible evidence of the thesis that aggression had become the way of communication in the Serbian society. She stressed that violence often went unpunished, revealing that 26 women ended in obituaries since the beginning of this year as victims of abusive partners.


Psychologist Maya Antončić said it was not an insignificant fact that this group emerged in the month that saw an explosion of violence in Belgrade's streets during the Gay Pride Parade. But she was more worried about the number of the “fans.” She observed:


This group pays attention to the fact that violence against women exists, and still there are people who do not hesitate to publicly denounce women as weaker and less worthy beings who deserve to suffer violence.


In an article published in Kurir, Neven Cveticanin, a sociologist from the Institute of Social Sciences, pointed out that this phenomenon was a reflection of the general situation in the society. She saw it as an expression of social frustration and a form of violence against the minorities.


The editorial staff of Kurir alarmed the Serbian police about the issue, asking them to take the necessary measures against the group.


One of the earliest responses to this cruel anti-women group was establishing an alternative Facebook group - “Let's Get Rid of the Group ‘Death to Women'” (”Ukinimo Grupu 'smrt Zenama'”) - which currently has over 5,400 members.



As you may or may not have already heard, Life and Style reported last week that an insider (most likely Gary's friend Jordan) spilled the beans about the Teen Mom salaries. Your first thought might be, "Who cares?" But some people do seem to care a lot, admittedly including me. The question is, why?



Many applaud the show for being a hip pregnancy deterrent. Others insist that it doesn't paint a dismal enough picture. Those who believe it does a disservice by making young motherhood look less than hellish often cite their belief that the only thing saving the cast from public housing is the bags of money MTV is showering upon them. But really, are the girls' lives much different now than they were when 16 and Pregnant first aired? Even if we believe that MTV has turned Teen Mom from a docu-series to a scripted drama (frankly I don't think any of the cast are good enough actors to pull that off), they have stayed true to the girls' roots. If the show never existed, would any of them be in dramatically different living situations than they are now? I doubt it.



MTV works hard to portray the Teen Mom cast as broke and struggling to provide for their babies. Catelynn, despite placing her baby for adoption a year ago, is still stuck at home in a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive family. Amber and Gary seem to stay in their volatile relationship for no other reason than having nowhere else to go. Farrah works rough hours and needs her late boyfriend's SSI to help support her daughter. Maci seems to do alright but that could be attributed to her parents' assistance, though she still worries about moving out of their house and paying the rent on a new apartment.



None of their situations strike me as unrealistic. I was a teen mom, I know quite a few teen moms, and I've seen all of these scenarios (and more) play out in real life. What does seem odd to me is that they are living the way they are if they're getting $60,000 paychecks. Compared to the other top MTV stars' salaries, $60,000 a season is chump change. But it's a respectable full-time yearly salary for an American family, especially in the areas where the girls live. They could live comfortably on that particularly with their additional sources of income, which actually makes a lot of people angry.



Recently I spoke to a young woman ("T") who backed out of 16 and Pregnant's second season. She wanted to go on the show because she felt she could be a positive role model to other young mothers. But MTV producers wanted to focus a lot more on her struggles with bulimia, her less than stellar relationship with her mother, and her 20-year-old boyfriend's religious family who kept her a secret and pushed her to place the baby for adoption. She was offered $2,500 during filming and an additional $2,500 when her episode aired. If the father of the baby was involved, he would get $1,000. "Hardly 'rich', but enough to help with the expenses and leftover medical bills," she told me.



I asked her how she feels about the show now that she's a mother:



The show mostly shows the hardships in my opinion, the moments all mothers reach at some point when they are sleep deprived, frustrated, and just need a break, but it is looked on more harshly because of the fact these are teen moms and not 30-something-year-old women.



When I watched season 1 of 16&Pregnant, it psyched me out beyond all belief. They showed the girls tired, run down, emotional, and struggling with everything. I was so worried I could not handle it, because I literally thought my life was going to be made up of only those frazzled moments shown on TV, but when my daughter was born I was surprised to find it was not as bad as I thought. Sure, it was frustrating, tiring, and there were times I wanted to rip my hair out, but it was not like I had hyped it up to be.



And that is the crux of the issue.



People must care about the money because they're searching for an explanation. They want to know why the girls on Teen Mom are not destitute and seething with regret. Every season during the Dr. Drew finale wrap-up, I get the feeling he's doing PR damage control by constantly reiterating, "You love your child but life would be sooo much easier if you didn't get pregnant, right?" Sure, each of them has her own problems (some bigger than others) but they are not "teenage mom" problems so much as they are personality flaws or unfortunate family situations that anyone at any age could be strapped with. Still, because of our assumptions about young mothers, the only way their lives make sense is if they have enough money that the hardships don't matter as much. But a lot of young moms who aren't on TV say the same thing: It's difficult, but it's worth it. It's not as bad as they thought it was going to be. That makes people very uncomfortable.



I asked T what she or her friends think about the claim that MTV glamorizing motherhood and whether she thinks the show curbs pregnancy:



Whether or not it is a deterrent is relative to who watches it. Someone might see it and think "wow I don't want that, I better be more careful!" and others might see how amazing pregnancy and birth is and think they want it NOW. It really depends on the person.



It occurred to me that's the bottom line. We debate whether MTV is encouraging or discouraging pregnancy. When it boils down to it, I'm not sure they're not really doing either. MTV is presenting us with a relatively straightforward narrative about the lives of young women who often have little in common with each other besides giving birth. We're filling in the rest all by ourselves.



Ask people their opinion about the show and you can infer a lot about their politics. The comments on the episode recaps I've been doing for MomHouston.com are often shocking in the depth of hatred and disgust pointed at sexually active young women. Even self-proclaimed feminists who should be supportive of all forms of reproductive freedom chime in with pearls of wisdom like, "The answer to all teenage pregnancy is abortion!" 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are an endless festival of slut-shaming served up as an educational tool.



Teenage pregnancy sits squarely in the intersection of our most pathological American obsessions: female sexuality, public aid, race, religion. Teens moms are an easy target, because who is going to defend them? MTV tapped into a gold mine with this one -- a topic so emotionally fraught and politically intense that hardly anyone can resist offering their opinion about it. Like the proverbial train wreck, once you see the show you can't drag your eyes away. We care about it because we like scapegoats. We care about it because we like to pat ourselves on the back when our prejudice is validated and enjoy the indignation when it's not.



So next time we as a nation sound off about "babies having babies" and how much money they are or aren't making for doing so, let's question whether we are really interested in social reform or if we are playing into cultural attitudes about age, gender, sex, and socioeconomic status. That, I think, could be the enduring lesson we salvage from the Teen Mom phenomenon.







eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

eric seiger

Joy Village by gwenbeattie


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

The Serbian Public Prosecutor, in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, conducted an investigation into the case of a Serbian Facebook group “Death to Women“ (”Smrt ženama”), which was propagating hatred towards women.


According to the Serbian daily Press,Tomo Zoric, spokesman of the Serbian Prosecutor's Office, said:


The group “Death to Women” is currently under investigation, along with other groups that call for violence. Unfortunately, Facebook was not founded in Serbia, and sometimes it is difficult to identify the founders. We are trying to establish cooperation with other countries.


In the first 24 hours after the group was set up, more than 450 people became members, posting some very abusive slogans:


“Stop women's abominations, fraud and deception!“; “You want to be equal with men, to do men's jobs, but not to obey men!“; “They are cowards who do not deserve to live!“; “Let's beat and kill women!”


The group's page was overflowing with photos of tortured and mutilated women, as well as men “in action,“ brutally beating women whose faces were covered in black and blue bruises.


Very aggressive tone was detected in a message directed at one of the group's opponents:


We're not gays, I swear by the venerable Cross that we are not gays, but we will not tolerate women while they are taking the money out of our pockets making asses out of us. Okay, you defend them and you will end up in the grave with them.


Bobana Macanovic, an activist of the Autonomous Women's Centre, concluded that the group was the most horrible evidence of the thesis that aggression had become the way of communication in the Serbian society. She stressed that violence often went unpunished, revealing that 26 women ended in obituaries since the beginning of this year as victims of abusive partners.


Psychologist Maya Antončić said it was not an insignificant fact that this group emerged in the month that saw an explosion of violence in Belgrade's streets during the Gay Pride Parade. But she was more worried about the number of the “fans.” She observed:


This group pays attention to the fact that violence against women exists, and still there are people who do not hesitate to publicly denounce women as weaker and less worthy beings who deserve to suffer violence.


In an article published in Kurir, Neven Cveticanin, a sociologist from the Institute of Social Sciences, pointed out that this phenomenon was a reflection of the general situation in the society. She saw it as an expression of social frustration and a form of violence against the minorities.


The editorial staff of Kurir alarmed the Serbian police about the issue, asking them to take the necessary measures against the group.


One of the earliest responses to this cruel anti-women group was establishing an alternative Facebook group - “Let's Get Rid of the Group ‘Death to Women'” (”Ukinimo Grupu 'smrt Zenama'”) - which currently has over 5,400 members.



As you may or may not have already heard, Life and Style reported last week that an insider (most likely Gary's friend Jordan) spilled the beans about the Teen Mom salaries. Your first thought might be, "Who cares?" But some people do seem to care a lot, admittedly including me. The question is, why?



Many applaud the show for being a hip pregnancy deterrent. Others insist that it doesn't paint a dismal enough picture. Those who believe it does a disservice by making young motherhood look less than hellish often cite their belief that the only thing saving the cast from public housing is the bags of money MTV is showering upon them. But really, are the girls' lives much different now than they were when 16 and Pregnant first aired? Even if we believe that MTV has turned Teen Mom from a docu-series to a scripted drama (frankly I don't think any of the cast are good enough actors to pull that off), they have stayed true to the girls' roots. If the show never existed, would any of them be in dramatically different living situations than they are now? I doubt it.



MTV works hard to portray the Teen Mom cast as broke and struggling to provide for their babies. Catelynn, despite placing her baby for adoption a year ago, is still stuck at home in a dysfunctional and emotionally abusive family. Amber and Gary seem to stay in their volatile relationship for no other reason than having nowhere else to go. Farrah works rough hours and needs her late boyfriend's SSI to help support her daughter. Maci seems to do alright but that could be attributed to her parents' assistance, though she still worries about moving out of their house and paying the rent on a new apartment.



None of their situations strike me as unrealistic. I was a teen mom, I know quite a few teen moms, and I've seen all of these scenarios (and more) play out in real life. What does seem odd to me is that they are living the way they are if they're getting $60,000 paychecks. Compared to the other top MTV stars' salaries, $60,000 a season is chump change. But it's a respectable full-time yearly salary for an American family, especially in the areas where the girls live. They could live comfortably on that particularly with their additional sources of income, which actually makes a lot of people angry.



Recently I spoke to a young woman ("T") who backed out of 16 and Pregnant's second season. She wanted to go on the show because she felt she could be a positive role model to other young mothers. But MTV producers wanted to focus a lot more on her struggles with bulimia, her less than stellar relationship with her mother, and her 20-year-old boyfriend's religious family who kept her a secret and pushed her to place the baby for adoption. She was offered $2,500 during filming and an additional $2,500 when her episode aired. If the father of the baby was involved, he would get $1,000. "Hardly 'rich', but enough to help with the expenses and leftover medical bills," she told me.



I asked her how she feels about the show now that she's a mother:



The show mostly shows the hardships in my opinion, the moments all mothers reach at some point when they are sleep deprived, frustrated, and just need a break, but it is looked on more harshly because of the fact these are teen moms and not 30-something-year-old women.



When I watched season 1 of 16&Pregnant, it psyched me out beyond all belief. They showed the girls tired, run down, emotional, and struggling with everything. I was so worried I could not handle it, because I literally thought my life was going to be made up of only those frazzled moments shown on TV, but when my daughter was born I was surprised to find it was not as bad as I thought. Sure, it was frustrating, tiring, and there were times I wanted to rip my hair out, but it was not like I had hyped it up to be.



And that is the crux of the issue.



People must care about the money because they're searching for an explanation. They want to know why the girls on Teen Mom are not destitute and seething with regret. Every season during the Dr. Drew finale wrap-up, I get the feeling he's doing PR damage control by constantly reiterating, "You love your child but life would be sooo much easier if you didn't get pregnant, right?" Sure, each of them has her own problems (some bigger than others) but they are not "teenage mom" problems so much as they are personality flaws or unfortunate family situations that anyone at any age could be strapped with. Still, because of our assumptions about young mothers, the only way their lives make sense is if they have enough money that the hardships don't matter as much. But a lot of young moms who aren't on TV say the same thing: It's difficult, but it's worth it. It's not as bad as they thought it was going to be. That makes people very uncomfortable.



I asked T what she or her friends think about the claim that MTV glamorizing motherhood and whether she thinks the show curbs pregnancy:



Whether or not it is a deterrent is relative to who watches it. Someone might see it and think "wow I don't want that, I better be more careful!" and others might see how amazing pregnancy and birth is and think they want it NOW. It really depends on the person.



It occurred to me that's the bottom line. We debate whether MTV is encouraging or discouraging pregnancy. When it boils down to it, I'm not sure they're not really doing either. MTV is presenting us with a relatively straightforward narrative about the lives of young women who often have little in common with each other besides giving birth. We're filling in the rest all by ourselves.



Ask people their opinion about the show and you can infer a lot about their politics. The comments on the episode recaps I've been doing for MomHouston.com are often shocking in the depth of hatred and disgust pointed at sexually active young women. Even self-proclaimed feminists who should be supportive of all forms of reproductive freedom chime in with pearls of wisdom like, "The answer to all teenage pregnancy is abortion!" 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are an endless festival of slut-shaming served up as an educational tool.



Teenage pregnancy sits squarely in the intersection of our most pathological American obsessions: female sexuality, public aid, race, religion. Teens moms are an easy target, because who is going to defend them? MTV tapped into a gold mine with this one -- a topic so emotionally fraught and politically intense that hardly anyone can resist offering their opinion about it. Like the proverbial train wreck, once you see the show you can't drag your eyes away. We care about it because we like scapegoats. We care about it because we like to pat ourselves on the back when our prejudice is validated and enjoy the indignation when it's not.



So next time we as a nation sound off about "babies having babies" and how much money they are or aren't making for doing so, let's question whether we are really interested in social reform or if we are playing into cultural attitudes about age, gender, sex, and socioeconomic status. That, I think, could be the enduring lesson we salvage from the Teen Mom phenomenon.







eric seiger

Joy Village by gwenbeattie


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

Joy Village by gwenbeattie


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger eric seiger
eric seiger

Joy Village by gwenbeattie


eric seiger
eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


big seminar 14

Wouldn't it be great to know what women want? Well, now you can. In fact, women, like men, are evolutionarily engineered to be attracted to certain characteristics of the opposite sex. Back when we were still cavemen, women needed a strong man who could defend her and feed the family. Although women of the Stone Age don't have the quite the same needs as the women of today, they're still looking for qualities of a strong man. Now, however, being a strong man doesn't mean being a muscular guy who can wield a heavy club (at least, not always). Being strong, in the eyes of women today, consists of several qualities, including wealth, health, confidence, and a various others. From one of the most helpful guides for aspiring pick up artists out there, Savoy's Magic Bullets, here's what women want in men:

Health
Women still look for a man who is healthy, because back in the Stone Age, a man who wasn't healthy could die at any moment. This often meant that the whole family would die. So, you have to show women, or at least give the impression, that you are a healthy guy. This may include telling them you eat healthy foods or play an active sport. While bragging about how lazy you are or what kind of junk foods you eat may be funny, it certainly doesn't send a "come get me" signal to your target. You don't want to linger on topics of being sick or tired because it all reflects characteristics of an unhealthy person. And, most importantly, don't frown over your looks. Why? Good grooming is more important than good looks. If you shave well, smell good, and look snazzy, a girl will find you far more attractive than a handsome fellow who is too lazy to get rid of that 5 o'clock shadow.

Social Intuition
Girls don't like guys who can't interact with other people. You have to be a social, loud, and friendly guy who can solidify connections as he pleases. Socially connected also reflects your social value, meaning you get invited to more parties and social events. This means, unless this tends to work out for you, being awkward is not funny! Your best way to practice social intuition is to simply force yourself to talk with strangers. Ask about clothes or initiate a friendly conversation at the mall. Any practice in the field will help you understand the flow of conversation, and conversely, what tends to kill it.

Humor
Believe it or not, girls value how funny you are. Shelley Berman, the first comedian to ever win Best Comedy Album at the Grammys, said that "when you laugh, and when you cry, you've been moved to an extreme. And thank god for those moments in our lives." Humor, like crying, opens up your brain to things that you'd normally ignore or reject. Humor, a communication tool, breaks social barriers and creates social bonds. When you laugh, chemicals are released in your body which triggers positive emotions. Laughing with someone will cause you to associate those positive emotions with that person. Being funny is critical for a woman to associate her positive feelings with being around you. Just remember, it's not worth it to get cheap laughs at the expense of making fun of yourself. While it may be funny, other alpha males will try and take advantage of your weaknesses, and girls will find more flaws in you that you should have never revealed.

Status
When people just meet you, they categorize you. This will influence how they talk and interact with you. When you meet a new group of people, it's important that you demonstrate a high-status, which can be achieved in several ways. Going to a bar often and meeting the bartenders or owner will give you greater status around the place, and even more opportunities when you want to take a girl there. Suggesting a good idea or teaching a guy something will show that you are are a leader, a critical quality of someone who has high-status. Finally, high-status people don't ever display traits of low-status people. Showing that you're high-status includes never being envious, needy, worrisome, or overcritical.

Wealth
Women will feel safer with a guy who has a lot of money because he can provide for the family. Like the caveman who has the ability to bring in day's food, today's wealthy man has the ability to buy whatever he needs, whenever he needs it. Don't fret, though, if you're in college and not actually making money yet. Majoring in something that will lead to wealth, like law or medicine, is just as valuable to a woman as having the wealth. Though, don't be obvious about showing off your wealth; it comes off as needy and ostentatious. Rather, subtly leave signs of your wealth for her to catch onto: drive a nice car, buy expensive wine, or simply dress nicely. All of these will demonstrate that you're not someone who will end up clinging onto her for money.

Confidence
Confidence demonstrates success of a man, showing that he can overcome adversity and know that he can, too. This is probably the most valuable trait that women look for in men. Confidence is shown in body language and in the way you speak. Having relaxed shoulders or maintaining eye contact shows confidence. So does good posture and fluent speaking. Confidence is something that must be practiced constantly to finally develop a strong foundation. However, remember that confidence and arrogance are not synonymous. Being arrogant and self-centered, in fact, shows the opposite, revealing that you are so insecure as to cover up your flaws with excessive bragging. Your confidence should appear, and be, natural to all who see you.

Pre-selection
Pre-selection means that there are already women interested in you. To other girls looking at you, this makes you a greater challenge to get, and consequently, more attractive. On the other hand, not being pre-selected causes women to think that you may have a quality that women have chosen to steer clear from. So, it is important to demonstrate that you are pre-selected to your possible targets. How do you do this, though? When talking with your target, mention your ex-girlfriend or the camping trip you went on with three of your girl friends. If you can, walk into the bar with two or three women who are your friends. While it may be clear to most women that they are simply your friends, it always relays the fact that those women like to spend their time with you. Simply being around women will imply pre-selection, a powerful trait that will trigger envy of other women, and heighten their desire to win you over.

A Challenge
A man is challenging because he has a set of standards. Setting standards implies that the man has had a measure of success, otherwise he'd jump for anything that came knocking on his door. Being challenging shows that you're successful and that the girl will have to work to keep your interest. This is where "playing hard to get" comes in. If you meet a women and show that you're interested in her way too quickly, she'll decide you're not a challenge and walk off. Although you shouldn't display no interest, otherwise she'll find you boring and leave, it's important that you show less interest than her. This means you can be friendly and enthusiastic, but don't go asking a hundred questions about her to keep conversation from dying.

Source: Savoy, "Magic Bullets."
Lewis Black, "History of the Joke." The History Channel.


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

Small Business <b>News</b>: Building Your Small Business Empire

Thinking big in your small business will stop you from ignoring potential markets, and allow you to try those super cool ideas you might think your business is.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 11/5 - Arrowhead Pride

Good morning! Almost there. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

Why MSNBC Isn&#39;t The Liberal Fox <b>News</b> - TV Guidance - Macleans.ca

The network just gave an “indefinite” suspension to its star pundit, Keith Olbermann, for giving money to three Democratic candidates. The president of MSNBC, Phil ...


eric seiger

No comments:

Post a Comment