The roles, stereotypes, and expectations of men and women in intimate relationships. What were some of these roles and stereotypes?

In relationships, we talked about the everlasting traditional stereotype of men being the bread-winners in relationships, having to take on the role of dominance as a protector. On the flip side, the woman isa housewife ideal – someone who stays home and whos every duty is to abide by every need of their partner. They act like the damsel in distress and aren’t meant to speak out or up-end the man.

To what extent are gender roles and stereotypes prevalent in your life? Gender bias? Privilege?

There are many ways gender ideals play a role in all our lives, whether covalent or obvious. The narrow it down before I express some ideas, these are prevalent in areas such as:

My family:I have a twin brother, so many things become explicitly more prevalent to me consideringour being the same age – such as how our different genders impact us. For example, my parents are clearly more worried for my safety, and sometimes it seems unfair or frustrating – such as when we go overseas, I’m never allowed out on my own yet my brother can go wherever he wants whenever. Furthermore, my mom will comment on things she would never care to mention about my brother, such as how I dress, how late I’m out, the guys I see and talk to, etc. However, in the end, I also understand my mom can and does trust both my brother and myself very highly, but when it comes to having a daughter and simply being a girl – it is the rest of the world and people around you/her that you can’t trust. And even though it seems unfair to put on so many more boundaries, rules, and arguments – it is only given our society today that pushes these into a necessity.

My School:In my school, one of the ways gender stereotypes become most recognizable is given subject choices. For example, giving into these stereotypes: Compsci, DT and physics are boy’s subjects. However, fine art, biology, literature, dance and girl’s subjects. For one gender to take the subject of the other’s stereotype is often laughed about or judged, or people respond with shock or are impressed. This is not necessarily in a bad way, and many people don’t intend to give off this impression – but their reaction always shows the stereotypes built into them are present. This can be demotivating or frustrating at times. For example, my compsci class has 9 boys and 2 girls, and when I tell people I do compsci, they ask me if its weird being in a boy’s subject, or that they are impressed thinking many girls didn’t do it, or pester me to justify why I chose it…

Society: So much about society in this aspect frustrates me that I won’t even attempt to write all or explain all of it. Primarily, I want to discuss safety and dressing. When a woman goes out dressed up, completely put together for a night out – people comment that she’s trying too hard, trying to attract attention, who is she trying to impress? She’s a slut, a try-hard, attention-seeking, air-headed, obsessed with herself and her looks, goes out too much. When a woman goes out with no effort, sweatpants and no makeup, people comment she’s lazy, she needs to try harder, shes never going to get a man like looking like that, she’s a prude. Every level in-between, or no matter what you do or how you dress, you will always receive negative comments. I remember my mom told me this once, she told me whenever we go to the mall together, she notices that the Singaporean men (considering the conservative culture) look at me and stare in a way that makes her and me very uncomfortable… yet the Singaporean women will stare and look disgusted and turn up their noses. It is as if people will always pick out what they can and what they want to, and judge by appearance no matter what you wear – there’s always something to criticize when it comes to women.

Furthermore, I hate that in society, so many boys and men think it’s fine to constantly hit on Girls. I’m going to give an example of when I was in Greece last summer, mostly because I’m using this post as a field to complain now. I absolutely love adventure, and I refuse to stay home. This, of course, bothers my parents because when I’m overseas, I always want to be out. The first night at the dinner table, I told my parents I was going to go for a walk around the town. I was about 5 meters away when my brother came running up to me saying my mom said I had to come back because a group of teenage boys had started following me. The rest of the trip I wasn’t out alone. It became me constantly complaining day and night for someone to come with me, just so that I could walk around town and explore, but could only do it with someone supervising me – albeit my brother would run off whenever he wanted to wherever he wanted. Additionally, you would think this is because they were teenagers, that they will mature – but so many men I’ve met still disgust me with how they act towards women, and I’m scared for any girl in society who comes to think that it is okay or hasn’t learned to stand up for herself. Even the traditional stereotype that women are meant to give in to the needs of a man – that when a girl turns down a guy, she apologizes so much and tries to give excuses and enough reasons. Is this because she has learned that she should feel bad, or because she’s scared of how he will react otherwise? When a guy doesn’t go for a girl who likes him, no one cares – shes being desperate. If a girl doesn’t go for a guy who likes her, she’s a bitch – “give him a chance!” There are so many double standards like this in society between genders, so many hypocrisies and small things that have become so natural that we are used to them and believe them.

During our final activity last week, we were given a role and asked to step forward when answer questions about self-determination, education, safety, etc.

My role was as a closeted lesbian woman, and I ended much further back than many. This, to me, metaphorically tells us how people in society are told that if they work hard no matter where they start, they can reach greatness and succeed. However, this experiment showed that there are so many other factors at play into someone’s success. For example, simply because my gender was a female, I got many fewer opportunities in life and became of my sexuality, I was not accepted by many, I was judged by many and in many instances, it made life much more difficult for me. On the other ends of the spectrum, we saw how someone’s ethnicity played a role, how someone’s job, someone’s family background, someone’s relationship role…

List some personal examples of either experiencing or seeing gender bias or gender privilege.

• How girls and guys can dress
• Job and the work field, leadership roles
• Stereotypes on what their hobbies are. Therefore, parents sign their daughters up for ballet and sons up for boxing. Why are our OWN HOBBIES chosen for us at such a young age?

What can you do within your community to combat negative gender stereotypes or gender bias?

Raise your children right. Teach them what’s right. Give them choices. Empower both genders. Stop stereotyping. Encourage individuals to act freely.

“Every year, many, many stupid people graduate from college – John Green

We live under the illusion of choice. From a young age, the notion that someday we will be packing our bags, teary eyed adolescence saying goodbye to our parents at the steps of our imminent future – of which has regrettably become a moment we subconsciously welcome and adhere to.
The fallacy that to attend university, respectively one of high appraise, is imperative to reaching success – resides at the back of our mind. Even in youth, we decipher this from the world around us; from a constant stream of subconscious cues – strung from movies to an overheard conversation, earnestly congratulating one’s daughter on being accepted into Harvard.

For many, the approaching date of ones college years brings heightened pressure, driving the subsequent misapprehensions that we are working towards a successful future. Never once do we truly stop to consider,do I want to go to college?
Albeit for many, it is somewhat rhetorical – the answer will not taint what is set in stone. However, within this generation, college may no longer be the stepping stone to pursuing success.

First and foremost, nearly 45% of college graduates are working in jobs that do not require a degree – questioning whether we falsely overstate the importance of a $150,000 piece of paper (NYTimes). Furthermore, roughly one-third of millennials admitted regret in going to college (Forbes). So are those anxiety-ridden yearsworththe struggle?

Secondly, attending college itself may ironically be the conflicting factor stunting the pursuit of success. This considering that not all college applications ensure a high-paying job, with 85% of college graduates returning home jobless (shtfplan.com). Additionally, these students return tied down by the average $25,000 burden of student loans, which typically (assuming a bachelors degree), takes 21-years of hard work to pay off (usnews). Hence, is the outcome trulyjustifiable?

Finally, as perfectly stated by Dale Partridge:
“Success is about personal development, self-control, integrity, communication skills, relationships, a learner’s heart, and boatloads of uncontainable passion. And most importantly, successful people know we learn by doing, not just learning to do.”

Unfortunately, this creates no easy decision. As regardless, each choice draws a compromise. It remains certain that many jobs require a college degree, especially to qualify in numerous high-paying fields; And as presented through the cliche-likes of movies, college presents the broader opportunity to reinvent yourself, experience new things and meet unforgettable people.
All in all, it may be difficult to stray away from societys propaganda, but finally – you have a choice. There is no black and white; Simply the understanding that a college degree doesn’t guarantee success, and not getting a college degree doesn’t guarantee failure (Forbes).

Sources:
Andersen, Erika. Do You Really Need To Go To College? Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Nov. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/08/06/do-you-really-need-to-go-to-college/#7cb252fe2d49.
Rapoza, Kenneth. One In Five Americans Work From Home, Numbers Seen Rising Over 60%. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Feb. 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2013/02/18/one-in-five-americans-work-from-home-numbers-seen-rising-over-60/#40e51daf25c1.
Touryalai, Halah. Student Loan Problems: One Third Of Millennials Regret Going To College. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 May 2013, www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2013/05/22/student-loan-problems-one-third-of-millennials-regret-going-to-college/#7dec5c367797.
Nowhere to Go: 85% of College Graduates Will Return Home Jobless. SHTF Plan – When It Hits The Fan, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You, 24 May 2011, www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/nowhere-to-go-85-of-college-graduates-will-return-home-jobless_05242011.
Student Loan Expectations: Myth vs. Reality. U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/10/07/student-loan-expectations-myth-vs-reality.
Partridge, Dale, et al. 4 Brilliant Reasons To Not Go To College. StartupCamp, 5 Jan. 2017, startupcamp.com/4-brilliant-reasons-to-not-go-to-college/.
4 Reasons Why a College Education Is Necessary These Days. The Cheat Sheet, 26 Oct. 2017, www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/4-reasons-you-should-go-to-college.html/?a=viewall.

Note: Submitted to The New York Times, under 18 (persuasive editorial feature), under 450 words.​

How an event of my summer links to a psychological approach and conceptual understanding

Photo: Cliff jumping in Naxos, Greece.

Biological approach:

When jumping off the rock, naturally fear kicks in – it is a natural response we as humans have hardwired into our genes – a built-in survival mechanism. For obvious reasons, it seems unnecessary for humans to take risks that would likely lead to death or pain with no reward or objective insight – such as jumping off a large rock Therefore, from an evolutionary perspective, our natural emotion of fear allows us to sense what is dangerous or a threat, and therefore allowing us to react in a way that would protect us and allow us to survive.

So wouldn’t participating in extreme sports and activities go against our natural behaviour and instincts? Yes, but as many have explained, these individuals choose to perceive fear as something that is positive. However, it is also down to biology why some people like myself get “addicted” to the thrill of extreme sports.

The Optimum Arousal Theorystates that we all desire a level of arousal that is between relaxed and excited, many of us falling right in the centre. For myself, I seek high sensations such as the thrill of extreme sports – which explained in biological terms looks into brain functions.

One of these is the Monoamine Oxidase Theory, which is to do with the synapse between neutrons (in this space, actions take place such as moods and energy levels). One of the neurotransmitters released in extreme sports is dopamine – and scientists have found that individuals with high thrill-seeking tendencies will have higher levels of dopamine in the system which is what gives the extra push.

The rush of dopamine and adrenaline that comes from participating in extreme activities is also what we know as a reward system of the brain. These hormones are unique in that they create feelings of positivity and happiness – which links to the study under cognitive approach in which extreme-sport seekers reported a feeling of transformation, which spiritually and emotionally makes sense in this context.

Additionally, dopamine is a nerve signal which is involved in the experience of drugs, it also becomes clear how people could actually become addicted to the rush of these activities.

This shows that overcoming initial fear and natural instincts actually leads to a positive psychological outcome, in which we get rewarded with a psychological high.

Overall, we first must consider the natural instincts that have evolved in human nature of fear, to keep us safe. But conflicting this comes the positive trigger of dopamine in the brain that comes from the fear felt in such experiences. Therefore, this hormone might explain the addiction some people have to extreme activities and sports.

Cognitive approach:

On one side of the scale, my mom is afraid of heights and thinks I’m absolutely mad to even WANT to jump off a large rock. However, I, on the other hand, feel no fear in doing so. Ill climb up and jump off over and over until I get bored and stop.

Why is this?

One finding from researchers Erik Brymer and Lindsay Oades in 2009 on a study of people who engaged in extreme sports found that the root of their passions in some way related their experience to personal transformations that relate to humility and courage, which are present in activities that involve a real chance of life or death. For example, a rush of immortality when a skydiver falls through the air. To briefly apply this to myself, I know that when I bungee jump or skydive I love the feeling of absolute freedom in the moment – and I love the risk that it holds, the mix of fear but also overcoming that fear that gives you so much power.

Also, linking to the biological approach, these individuals may be highly motivated by release of dopamine when engaging in such activities. Such as craving the feelings of a optimistic high similar to drugs. So for myself, jumping off the rock repetitively was an addiction to trigger the reward system over and over until I was tired. However, to link to cognitive, I am aware that when I jump off I will feel a high, and I will feel great afterwards. So from memory, I choose to make the decision to jump and overlook my natural instincts telling me to back away from the edge of the rock.

Furthermore, coming down to thinking and decision making, I know whenever I do a bungee jump or skydive – I have to tell myself not to think. Similarly, you probably have seen a time when someone was about to do something risky, maybe jump off a high diving board, and the people around them said don’t think about it! Just do it! Here, I feel that sometimes to overcome human nature comes down to our own minds and our own self-control – the ability to shut our minds off temporarily. Because from my own experience, the longer we sit in our minds, we will only pull ourselves in deeper – and suddenly we will think of all the dangers and everything that could go wrong – and in this headspace, we will never act

Overall, engaging in extreme sports might cognitively give individuals the feeling of personal transformation which motivates them to continue – and we can observe the decision making as people can overlook the fear to find the fun.

Socio-cultural approach:

One of the root reasons I love extreme and wild activities is because of my twin brother. Growing up with a twin brother meant that the both of us have been extremely competitive with one another from a young age, so we would always see who could climb the highest, jump the furthest, run the fastest. Because of that, it has started both of our loves for thrill-seeking – being a huge positive as no matter where I am on holiday, Ill always have someone to do something stupid with me. H

However, out of the two of us, I’m much more thrill-seeking and fearless – which I feel also comes down to my need prove stereotypes wrong. This comes from how in society, people always stereotype men and boys as the adventurous type. I know whenever I do anything slightly risky, people are always shocked – even when I was jumping off the rock in this photo, my mum told me that all the women on the boat were saying I was absolutely mad – I had climbed to the very tip of the rock that everyone else refused to try climb. And naturally, being the oldest twin, my brother has always mimicked the footsteps and followed after me. However, it might in some ways be a negative that I feel the need to prove myself in this way, but I also love bending the stereotype. I remember last summer I did the biggest bungee jump in the world in New Zealand. It was me and 3 middle-aged men about to go, and I remember these strangers kept joking that I wouldn’t be able to do it. One of them asked me straightforward what a young girl was doing up here. And I can say it absolutely pissed me off. When it came to the jump, 2 of the men backed out, and since I was the smallest and therefore lightest I had to go last in the order (they adjust the weights by adding them on) – I stood back and ran before jumping off the edge just to shove it in their faces; and when I got pulled back up afterwards I loved the look on their faces.

So in a sociocultural approach, the root of my fearlessness came from a competitive nature with my twin brother – and is highly motivated by my need to break stereotypes and prove myself, especially as a girl.

SOURCES:

Britt, Michael, and edwin zappe. “Extreme Sports And Psychology | The Psych Files”.Thepsychfiles.Com, 2018, http://www.thepsychfiles.com/2007/11/episode-35-the-psychology-of-extreme-sports/. Accessed 15 Aug 2018.

Bane, Michael. (1996).Over the edge: a regular guys odyssey in extreme sports. New York: Macmillian.

Brymer, Erik., & Oades, Lindsay G. (2009). Extreme sports: A positive transformation in courage and humility. Journal of Humanistic Psychology49: 114-126.

Gower, Paul L. (2003)Psychology of Fear. Nova Science Pub Inc.

Homework – Going into IB mathematics 🙂

(The file is too large to upload as media to this post, so there’s a link to it in drive!)

LINK TO VIDEO!

Animal Agricultural Sustainability in Singapore: Veganism/Vegetarianism

For our last GPERS unit, surrounding the topic of Sustainability in Singapore – we each got the opportunity to select the topic we were most interested in. For myself, this was the subject of animal agriculture – as not only have I been vegan for several months now, but I have researched intently on the topic. Prior to this project, I had watched many documentaries, read many books and seen many articles, all springing from my strong moral and love towards animals. Therefore, I understand that the animal agricultural industry is by far one of the leading causes of global warming and the destruction of our planet, and easily the most influential difference we can make as individuals.

Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to discover this industry under the light of Singapore; especially considering it is one many of us, despite living in this tiny country, were not aware existed. Conclusively, it wasverydifficult to find and source credible information – considering the sector is a very tiny part of Singapore’s economy and therefore the coverage is minimal.

Also, a disclaimer, considering we were told to chose the topic that we were most interested in – this fueled my motivation to find out as much as I could. Therefore, I apologise if my project is quite extensive and long… but I truly did find every moment of research and preparationreally interesting, and my informative project is a real representation of everything I have uncovered in the past weeks.

Gpers- ANIMAL AGRICULTURE – Ellen-t88mx0

If I was to apply Sachs method of determining a so-called good society onto the basis of Singapore as a country, I believe that it would cover many of the required fields, as it is a very highly developed country.

Under the first topic being an investigation into Singapores economic system, it is the 7th least corrupt and one of the most open in the world. It has the third highest international GDP and low tax rates. For all of these reasons, it is clear to state that Singapore would be considered a rich society as stated by Sachs. Albeit, the stronger point of his speech highlighted the fact that this economic wealth must be distributed widely among the population – rather than held by a few, leaving the rest of the population poor. However, in Singapore, there is a fairly large wealth gap that is recognizable growing and causing a concern among many. This wealth inequality increases the likelihood of tensions and problems within the society.

The second criteria follow that of social inclusion, in which wealth and equal opportunities are spread between different genders and races, and all other forms of equality between people. I believe that Singapore is extremelydiverse and a country in which every individual is encouraged to preserve their ownunique culture and traditions, and appreciate and respect that of others. Although on a more economic level, I believe that this is not the case – as is still a gap between the opportunities and wages of minority groups and slight prejudice and stereotyping that follows one based on such background.

Additionally, it covers the point that these are shared amongst all regions of the country so that there is not a pocket of prosperity. I believe that there are some cases of this in Singapore. For example, there are areas like Sentosa, which are where the majority of the richest families live – such as many friends in my school. Furthermore, there is the idea that the closer you live to the main city area, being Orchard, housing prices are expected to increase and therefore there is inexplicitly but shared understanding that those are the people with more finance to spend. However, of course, this is not always the case; for example, some people choose to live closer to school for convenience or live in other areas such as my own family who wanted to buy a house rather than rent one.

Under the third criteria, being environmental stewardship, I believe that Singapore is not perfect under the fact that it does, in some ways, contribute to the path in which we are fundamentally changing the earth’s climate in a way that is unrecognizable, pulling an idea of danger. This being because of the fast-growing and emphasis of human development. For example, some major environmentalissues in Singapore includeindustrial pollution and limited freshwater sources. Although, this also comes from the fact that Singapore a whole is a very small country. Overall, despite this, I believe that Singapore, in general, is one of the best – as even according to a survey of expatriates living in Asia, Singapore is regarded one of the cleanest – and this is present even on the streets of Singapore, being that of air, water and general litter. Furthermore, Singapore strongly puts in place many environmental goals, such as encouraging the use of greener transportation by building new biking paths and train platforms, and for example, introducing Obikes. Therefore, I think that as a whole – Singapore is very strong in the third criteria and continues to work towards environmental sustainability to support the wellbeing of future generations.

Finally, the fourth and last criteria are how the government functions. Singapore is, as mentioned, the seventh least corrupt country in the world, with strongly enforced and clear laws, as well as low taxes. I believe that therefore, the people of Singapore – no matter what race or background – have a lot of trust in the Singapore government to be looking out for our own individual well-being and pushing towards the success of our society as a whole. Additionally, there is no discrimination in the eyes of our government, and everyone is treated as an equal.

All in all, I believe that Singapore is a wealthy, prosperous, inclusive, environmentally sustainable and well-governed country; therefore, under the requirements of a “good society” by Jeffrey Sachs. Therefore, despite minor improvements to be made, I believe it can firmly resolutely be classified as, and with the positive intentions, of being a “good society.”