I love...

My students. It is so gratifying when someone genuinely tells you they've enjoyed your class, when people go out of their way to make it to your class. I simply cannot tell you how greatfull I feel. When I started to teach I questioned whether I would be able to comand respect within a class, but to be appreciated and enjoyed by students is a fantasy beyond my wildest dreams.

Though I must say this: learning people's names makes such a HUGE difference as an instructor. Since I got back from NY I've been making a conscious effort to learn every students nae in my classes. The value in learning a persons name, is that it builds a connection between teacher and student.
When you use a name you create an interaction, and that interaction can lead to better understanding of an individual, a relationship of sorts is instantly formed. I've enjoyed teaching in the last month more than ever, because of these relationships. I have shared more laughs with my students, more inside jokes and have helped and encouraged more people than in my past two years of teaching. I feel that I finally understand what it means to have a dialog between you and your students. I care about them, they care about me and we share with each other, my students pull me through class as much as I pull them through.

man...this love is forever.

The Whore and the Madonna

This is part of the reason I got into journalism school...

A glistening scantily clad Beyonce gyrates and rolls around in the sand, while a panel of contributors comment about her blatant display of sexuality. Interviews are incomplete without questioning celebrities how they feel they are influencing youth, and the example they are setting for the younger generation. Studies are produced showing a relationship between sex in the media and the attitudes of adolescents, yet the relationship is not clinically understood, recommendations are made. Doctors, columnists, psychologists and laymen alike point the finger at the entertainment industry, recommending parents block, censor and protect their girls from this plague of promiscuity. The injustice is not that sex and promiscuity has become prominent in the media, but rather, that through a lack of understanding we continue to perpetuate archaic gender stereotypes.

“ I feel guilty when I want to look beautiful” admits 20 year old Julie, “every time I go out shopping and I buy something I feel pretty, or god forbid, sexy, in I feel like I am just degrading myself. At the end of the day I don’t want to be seen as ‘that girl’.” Julie is among the ranks of girls who rather than turning to promiscuity as a result of the media, rejects her sexuality and femininity for fear of belittling herself. The issue that Julie addresses is one that is not often televised when it comes to the issue of sex and the media. Julie’s fear centers around becoming “that girl”: a sexually expressive, promiscuous woman compensates for a lack of intelligence with sex appeal.

Julie’s dilemma is not new; women have faced the same issue since the time of Christ. Are they virtuous, good and holy like Mary the mother of Jesus, or are they promiscuous, dirty and sinful like Mary Magdalene? Are they the Whore or the Madonna? For centuries we have taught women that intelligence and virtue are not synonymous with sexuality and free expression of femininity.

In 2007 the message is not sent through scriptures and priests but through the new voice of reason: the media. According to the New Journal of Medicine, “teenaged viewers see 143 incidents of sexual behavior on network television at prime time each week, with portrayals of three to four times as many sexual activities occurring between unmarried partners as between spouses. As much as 80% of all movies shown on network or cable television stations have sexual content. An analysis of music videos indicates that 60% portray sexual feelings and impulses,” But, could it be that it is not exposing youth sex in the media that creates the greatest damage, but it is the reaction that follows that is most damaging?

While peackocks display feathers and penguins create bugle calls; women dance, dress, and flirt seductively to attract a mate. The desire to be beautiful, sexually appealing and alluring is something that is innate to any species that intends to survive. Named one of the basic needs in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, sex is a huge psychological motivator. Not only does sex motivate but it sells, and in a society where money equals security it is not surprising that the media capitalizes upon the power of biology.

And when media sells sex, instead of encouraging understanding and education we force censorship, installing v chips to steer our children away from indecent material. We watch and air programs on TV were critics scoff at artists who dance provocatively in music videos, we write articles about how outrageous sex in media has become. Yet very rarely do we choose to use these media conditions for educational purposes, or to empower women in their sexuality. As we choose to denounce sex in the media we teach our girls that their sexuality is dirty and shameful. This, only conflicts with the realities of the world they live in and their natural desires which only breeds further confusion.

By not teaching our girls to understand all aspects of themselves, we create an environment in which they are either ashamed of their developing sex drives, or overindulge in its temptations. We continue to teach that there are two routes, the virtuous and the un-virtuous. And it is this that is the greatest tragedy. Because we lack the ability to become open-minded we rob our girls of developing into empowered intellectuals who are fully realized sexually, able to both indulge and censor themselves within reason.

It is not sex that we should be battling, or the desire to be sexy or even the exposure of our youth to sex. What we should be fighting is ignorance, and we should empower our girls to discover their sexuality in a healthy way. We should teach them that they can be sexy and intelligent, appealing and independent, strong and beautiful, and that all of these virtues are synonymous with becoming a fully realized woman. We should teach our girls that they can be both the Whore and the Madonna, and they need not be ashamed of either aspect of who they are.

By Barbora Simek

Barbora's Favorite Things

yeah yeah... I copied Oprah so deal with it

Pigma Micron Pens 0.01

These fineliners not only provide a clear and fine line, but feature archival waterproof ink. Ideal for folks like yours truly, who have been known to spill water-bottles all over their journals.

MAC Eyeshadow

Alright, everyone knows that MAC is superior in providing a wicked spectrum of vibrant colour. But a lesser known fact is how long wearing this stuff is. Look, I do Bikram yoga, so I sweat hard. After a night of hardcore dance-floor destroying, a few wee hours of sleep, copious amounts of alcohol I have been known to show up to teach yoga class looking like I was ready for the golden globes....let's see L'Oreal do that. (not that I condone sleeping in make up)

And...during teary therapy sessions MAC always stays put and looks good as new as long as you dab, don't smudge.

Coconut Water

Electrolytes up the ying yang, this naturally delicious drink is delish after a hard workout...try it!!

iEverything

phone, laptop, earphones, TV, tunes, laptop.... long story short I love apple. Bite me.

Nikon D40

My lightweight baby is so ideal for a pro shot in a heartbeat. Love this camera for shooting life's kodak moments.

MAC Lillacrush Lip Gelle

Lipgloss thats slippery not sticky...so pucker up!!

NARS Minoii BodyGlow

There is a reason why the ancients lathered themselves in oil. Oil makes skin glisten in a way that makes lotion jealous. Not only that but lotion is full of synthetic stabilizers to keep it emulsified, leaving that slippery feeling as a result of your skins inability to absorb the junk. This dry oil not only absorbs better but smells like you want to jump between the sheets to boot.

more to come....

Adieu

Dear Vancouver,

I will never tire of your views. Watching the back allies of Gastown grow nearer and nearer on the sea buss will whet my appetite for your streets forever. My westcoast princess, watching the september sun reveal the intricacy of your peaks, bathing in your emerald green waters and searching for cafes amidst your city streets will draw me back time and time again. No, Vancouver, our love affair is far from over. You will always be my metropolitan portal to the wild, my dewed oasis and my home.

But my dearest, things have to change, we cannot move forward the same that we have . I feel caught and stiffed in your smallness, a quaint city no more, I feel held within your perimeters. And now to grow I must outgrow your city limits and move east. Search for a new spaces, places and faces to fertilize the next growth spurt.

My dear, lets make the most of these final moments. I want to see you in your element, be it rain, sun, wind or snow I want to experience the best of you. Let us make lasting memories so that when we part your brilliance will shine so bright in my memory I will be forced to return to you.

love

Barb