How Important Are Muscles and Sports?

I really don't think having muscles or being involved in sports have anything to do with being a "real" man. I personally think men with huge muscles are gross. They don't prove anything and they don't make a man what he is because it is just a physical trait. I also don't think sports should be what characterizes someone as manly. I have never been involved in sports, watched sports or really cared at all about sports. I get along better with guys who aren't athletic. I don't see them as any less of a man because they don't play a sport.
Seeing those traits as what characterizes someone as a man is just as bad as characterizing women as beautiful for just their breasts. We should be more focused on intelligence and personality. Where will sports get most people in the long wrong? Most people can't make a career out of it and just watching it certainly doesn't make you manly. Having muscles is only physical and it won't really get you any farther in life unless you have other talents. Being smart and having some character will get you a lot farther in your work and personal life.

Interesting Article

I believe the article with the most interesting information we have read in class so far would be 'Only Two Percent of Women Describe Themselves as Beautiful'.
I think this because even though we all know most women are uncomfortable with their bodies the numbers and data gathered from the surveys support those assumptions far more than we would originally think.
Dove surveyed women from around the world to get those numbers, which is even more shocking. When we ourselves think of women being beautiful or women being insecure we automatically think about our own society. However, women from all other societies and cultures are just like us.
This information is extremely important for readers to know because it has to do with almost all of us. The media sets standards for beauty way too high. Our standards for beauty are also set by the way men see beauty. Women, especially younger girls, growing up in this time period feel extreme pressure to look skinny, wear hip and popular clothes, wear makeup and have their hair just perfect. These standards are nearly unattainable. Because nobody can reach that kind of perfection, we feel bad about ourselves.
The fact that only 2% out of so many women found themselves attractive is depressing and sickening.
I think that if more of these surveys and facts were sent out more and more people would realize how insecure women are about themselves. It isn't healthy and maybe someone will finally do something to help.

Pornography

Pornography has been around for centuries. I believe its role in American society is to entertain and bring pleasure to its viewers but there is also a proper time, place and age for its viewing. Many people in our society have a problem with pornography. I found an article called 'The Deception of Pornography' written by Mark Larson (http://www.cvillechurch.com/Articles2007/Article_TheDeceptionOfPornography.htm). He claims porn is addictive, promotes all kinds of sex that is "wrong" and that it is immoral and impure. Another article of his claims that pornography leads to divorce. Others on numerous blogs and forums argue against those claims, saying porn is "essentially harmless" and that sex is natural. It brings us pleasure so it shouldn't be considered wrong. Sure, there are people out there who are addicted to sex and watching pornography. There are people who's marriages are ruined by partners cheating which is blamed on porn, but there is no real data that can prove porn causes infidelity or any real harm. As long as the privilege isn't abused (by the majority it isn't) when you get down to it watching porn is as harmless is watching a regular movie.

Many people benefit from pornography. The actors, producers and everyone in the making of the film making their living out of it. The distributers are making money off of it. The internet grows from it and makes it even stronger. Viewers find pleasure in it. It's a huge money maker, profiting billions of dollars. But there is also a downside to it. The makers of the films are making money, however free porn made by amateurs or pirated videos on the internet is causing them to lose money. The porn industry is being harmed by other porn. Minorities of American's are also being harmed by it. A slim few do become addicted and do allow it to effect their personal lives. People try to claim it's also harming our morals, ethics and youth, but that's often disagreed and can be a controversial topic.

What is Sexy?

I believe that our popular culture regarding beauty and what "sexy" is is not at all healthy. The media is mainly at fault for this. Over the years, especially more recent years, the standard for beauty and being sexy has been set way too high. According to our class survey to be sexy a women must have large breasts, be skinny, have a pretty face, have great hair, have a nice butt, etc. Many women have only one of these features. Some have none. That does not my any means make the majority of our female population ugly. However, from a young age we've been bombarded by images on billboards, commercials, shows, movies and the internet of women who are "perfect." A generation of kids exposed to Pamela Anderson, "reality" shows, MTV, and Hugh Hefner's Girls Next Door. 99% of these women are not  naturally beautiful. The vast majority of them have had plastic surgery after plastic surgery. Botox injections. Pounds of makeup plastered on their faces. The media has told us what our standards as a culture are, and we have followed. As a country we are very shallow people. We focus way too much on physical appearance alone. But, this is because it's what we've been taught and it's hard to reverse things taught by a culture we've been emerged in all of our lives. I agree with Barbara Ehrenreich in her article 'Why Don't We Like The Human Body?'. She suggests "maybe we could start making friends with our bodies again. They need nurturance and care, but like any friend, they should be good for a romp now and then..." And it's true. Our bodies aren't meant to be pushed to it's limit with exercising and dieting. A little fun once in a while won't kill us. As a society it might even make us a little less miserable!