My Thoughts on Politics

If you live in the UK I'm sure you're WELL aware that there is an up and coming election in just a few weeks time, I wanted to share with you my personal view of what I thought about the whole thing!

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I’ll be honest, before March this year I didn’t really understand or care about politics – shameful I know! I thought all politicians were the same and that none of them seemed to do anything, so thought that voting seemed pretty pointless. 

I spoke to friends and family about the upcoming election and it was soon apparent that a lot of first time voters like myself have so many unanswered questions and things we just do not understand: why do we have to vote for ‘seats’?  Why can’t we just vote for the parties as opposed to a local MP? Why is voting for some parties a ‘wasted’ vote?

A fair few people said they wouldn’t vote at all this year – me being one of them – and the main reason was simply because they just didn’t understand how the system worked. It’s also evident that not many people actually trust MP’s due to deceit and lies in the past from the members of parliament. One infamous example being Nick Clegg pledging to oppose any university tuition fees before the 2010 election and then being one of the MP’s to support the proposals to raise the tuition fee up to £9,000 a year. 

Political jargon is another reason I was never really interested in politics, I didn’t understand what was being said so I became bored and disengaged – a feeling I’m sure many have experienced. However, I have decided that I will vote this year because when you consider that people had to fight and protest for women to be able to vote in this country, and that people in other parts of the World don’t have the right to choose their leader democratically, it’s almost a waste not to vote. 

Whilst researching parties and their manifesto promises, it became obvious that a popular pledge was to lower the voting age to 16 and 17 year olds. This very much surprised me after my experience with politics – or lack of it. It’s something that has been debated over the years but after the Scottish Referendum where 16 year olds could vote, it is now something that could become a reality before the next election.  

A poignant point for lowering the voting age, was the fact that a sixteen year old can join the Armed Forces and make the commitment and brave decision to fight and serve their country but is not currently allowed to vote for matters which could directly affect them. 

Speaking in the Scottish parliament Mr Salmond said 16 and 17 year olds had shown themselves to be "serious, passionate and committed citizens" in the referendum. Labour leader Ed Miliband also addressed the issue, saying that it was “time to hear the voice of young people in our politics." 

However, it was pointed out by Philip Cowley, a professor of parliamentary government at the University of Nottingham, that people should be very wary of trying to draw lessons from the Scottish referendum, saying "What we had in Scotland was very high-octane, very simple, an existential system where the stakes were incredibly high on both sides. You don't get that in general elections," he says. It is doubtful as to whether 16 and 17 year olds would vote in the mass they did in the Scottish Referendum in a UK general election where turnout is normally only about 60% anyway. 

Like all things in life, in this election anything could happen so it’s worth considering what you would and wouldn’t like to happen in the World of politics and vote accordingly – if your age permits it! 

Abi :)

Sexual Objectification

Hey chums,

A more serious tone compared to my other posts but I felt it was something which needed to be written!

After watching a video by Laci Green about this topic, my mind was exposed to the overwhelming reality we actually live in. For clarification, the definition of objectification is “the viewing or treatment of people, usually women, solely as depersonalised objects of desire instead of as individuals with personalities and desires of their own.”

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The more I thought about it, the more I began to realise the extent to which society depersonalises women and the inevitable negative effects this has. One example of this is on TV shows, be it The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother or Two And a Half Men, where it is the norm for women to be portrayed as something pretty to look at or something to try and have sex with. Laci also pointed out that in many of these TV shows (and even movies) men of all different body shapes date women of just ONE body type.

As stated above sexual objectification can also be seen on the front of women (and men’s) magazines, which are littered with airbrushed female celebrities pouting provocatively, with their cleavage screaming for attention while wearing shorts that barely cover their derriere. Even TV adverts can’t resist selling yoghurt, perfume or jewellery without somehow incorporating a woman’s sexuality or body into the mix – sometimes it’s hard to work out what the product being advertised actually is!

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This constant portrayal of women as sex objects is something which is very much manufactured and is not without consequences; Laci says that we’re so heavily exposed to this imagery that scientists have found that both men and women see women’s bodies as a bundle of sexual body parts while we see men as whole people.

One issue we’ve probably all heard about is breastfeeding in public; on the one hand we are bombarded with ‘sexy’ cleavage from magazines, films, music videos and posters, but on the other hand we have people saying that breastfeeding in public is obscene and that those mothers should be ashamed.

Due to the fact that females are subject to constant thoughtless criticism, they learn at a young age to self-objectify. The American Psychiatric Association reports that self-objectification results in low self-esteem and anxiety towards body image which could go on to result in to depression or an eating disorder.

It’s strange to think that we live in a society where sexual objectification is so normalised that until it’s pointed out that women are treated so differently to men, we aren’t even aware of how bizarre and unequal society can be.

What do you think?

Abi :)

My Response To THAT Article About Zoella

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Some of you may have seen an article making it's way round the internet written by Chloe Hamilton titled: 'Of course, teenage girls need role models - but not like beauty vlogger Zoella.' (I HAVE LINKED THIS FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT)

Firstly, I am not a huge Zoella ‘fan’ I do not squeal with delight at every video she uploads or every tweet she tweets, I am however a believer of standing up to what you think is right and standing up against what you think is wrong.

It is clear from the onset that the writer is definitely NOT a fan of her saying her name is ‘So irritatingly Disney-fied it makes my stomach churn.’ The fact that most of Zoe’s videos are aimed at teenagers and the writer is most likely in her 30’s seems to have escaped her mind…

Although not even middle aged Chloe Hamilton sounds like a grumpy old woman in this digital World, referring to Youtube as ‘The YouTube machine.’ As she goes on in her article you almost get the impression she’s actually jealous of Zoe’s achievements as she states that she’s an ambassador for a health charity, has launched her own beauty range, has a Penguin book deal and now has two Teen Awards under her belt – yet all Chloe can do is nitpick on minute details.

Zoe does not ‘prattle on to young girls about how to look good’ she gives fashion and beauty ADVICE and her own PERSONAL TIPS on how they could experiment with make up or fashion. In fact Zoe often tells her audience that she isn’t an expert and that she’s just doing her own take on a hairstyle or make-up look, maybe Chloe didn’t listen closely enough to what Zoe was saying when watching her videos…maybe she was too busy scrutinising her ‘enormous eyes’ – now whose being ‘ironic?’

Another flimsy point Chloe made was that Zoe has ‘made it her business to tell teenagers how to put make up on…’ she didn’t pay, beg or advertise the 6 million subscribers she now has to subscribe, she doesn’t force herself onto YouTube demanding us all to sit up straight and listen, that would be making it her business, not merely uploading a video once or twice a week with little updates or beauty talk.

When trying to level off her piece (rant) Chloe writes that Zoe should be making videos on how girls can and should feel confident wearing no make-up and feeling less anxious about their appearance, yet as her subscribers know Zoe DOES vlog about being confident in your own skin!! It’s actually on her second channel ‘MoreZoella’ (which Chloe clearly doesn’t know about) she frequently vlogs without make up letting her audience see she is comfortable to be seen without make up so we all should be too.

My advice to Chloe would be to not write about something or someone you have done no in depth research into!

Sorry for the rant but I just couldn't believe how WRONG this article was!!

Abi :)