Superhuman

1. I found the steroid video to be quite interesting. It is rare to see news casts about the topic showing that steroids actually don’t have an effect on some people in a negative way. However, the clip failed to show some kind of population study of the effects on people as a whole. It just focused in on a couple healthy men who had no health issues related to their steroid use. In turn, a weak argument could be that steroids have no negative effects on people. It is too generalized and obviously this type of substance use differs for individuals. After watching the testimonies of the two men though, I do agree that steroids could be used responsibly. Both men clearly knew what they were doing, one being a body builder for decades and another being an editor of body magazine.

2. First of all, I feel that teens in high school are too young to be toying with steroids. I don’t think that the age group is mature enough or educated enough on the topic to be injecting such substances into their bodies. With that I feel that it is necessary to randomly test high school aged students, not only for the sake of cheating in sports but for the protection of youth. However, I feel that the standards should be different for grown men, especially those who participate in body building. I feel like steroids are part of body building, even if that might sound inappropriate. What I mean is that having/making a bigger body is the nature of the sport, almost making the use of steroids an exception to the rule. For all other professional sports and high school sports though, I don’t think that the use of the drug should be allowed. It’s unfair for participants with natural talents to have to go up against ones who are consuming superhuman drugs.

3. In a way I feel that Hoberman’s statement is kind of true. With the high demands of physical talent in professional and even high school sports, I can see how being bigger, stronger, and faster puts a lot of pressure on athletes today. However, I also feel that it is an issue that can be turned around. If steroid tests are enforced and regulations are followed through then I don’t see this “double standard” being as big of a problem as it is. If certain age groups are banned from them, then no one will feel any kind of pressure to consume steroids. The only motivation they will have is to naturally work harder and become better on their own, which is the way it should be.

To Drink or Not to Drink...

Georgetown University is putting their foot down and is becoming extremely strict with dealing with university party life. The rules and regulations are completely ridiculous. Even though drinking is illegal for people under twentyone, how can a university expect students to change their ways of socializing? Dan Castrigano, a student, says, "you can't just change the culture of a college campus" (qtd. in Kinzie). One of his roommates, Pat DePoy even started a facebook petition against the madness, accumulating almost 2,000 signatures (Kinzie). I couldn't agree more with these students. Their social aspect of college is being deminished and the liveliness of campus is vanishing.



After it was decided that enough was enough, Georgetown University has decided to put their foot down and regulate any party activity on campus. Parties have definitely been roaring out of control and trickling into the backyards of neighbors, leaving them annoyed (Kinzie). Solberg, a police commandar, states that "We have tried a variety of different tactics..." (qtd. in Kinzie). Basically, students are still getting obliterated and the school just chose to crack down. Lawful actions are definitely what's best for the university right now. Students' lives could possibly be at stake, and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Paraphrasing Practice

Lester says that the use of quotations in students' research papers are used too much. He also feels that when writing research papers, one should limit the amount of translation they insert into their work.

Portfolio #2: Thesis Statement

The dangers of social, environmental, and academic stress is a crucial issue and students’ academic loads should be lessened for the safety of the collegiate community.

GI Joes and Body Image?

1. The first article in the Envision text argues that plastic male action figures display an ideal masculine body figure for our culture today. It uses visual examples showing how GI Joe’s and Luke Skywalker’s bodies have changed throughout the years, thus putting physical pressures on boys and men to have such masculine bodies. Pope, the author, also brings up the point of how body disorders do exist in men and not just in women. More specifically, dysmorphic disorder, a disorder including the obsessions of having large muscle mass, could possibly be a result from the bulkiness of such well-known action figures.
The second article, written by Folstad, argues that it is ridiculous that people try to support the idea that buff action figures is a cause of people’s bad self-esteem. He simply states that they are just toys and there is a reason people stop playing with them at a certain age. They are objects of imagination and fun and should not be taken so seriously.

2. The first article’s tone comes off more professional and precise while the second article’s tone is more angry and sarcastic. I feel that both approaches are effective, but I also feel that the audience is different for each. The first article’s tone would appeal to scholars and professionals perhaps or even overly concerned parents. However, the second article would appeal more to the average person who allows their children to play with Barbie dolls and GI Joes. An example from Pope’s argument would be that he mentioned dsymorphic, which is a medical condition, thus appealing to professionals. On the contrary, Folstad states, “ They are toys. We all know that”. I feel that when he says “we”, he is referencing the average citizen/parent.

3. I mainly agree more with Folstad’s article. Growing up I liked to play with Barbie dolls and I can’t say that they have affected the way I feel about my body. I feel that I was too young to care about body image, and, as Folstad commented, I stopped playing with them in elementary school. I don’t necessarily know anyone who has had body image issues due to a toy as well. Also, my parents were never too overprotective about what toys I played with. In other words, I don’t think they were concerned that a Barbie doll would affect my body image. Like most parents, I think their main concern was me being exposed to toys, movies, or books that were not age appropriate.

I'm Not Hungry

1. Pro-ana and pro-mia websites have created a scary community of undercover, distressed females who blog about their practices of anorexia and bulimia. After viewing the sites and blogs, the conversation appears extremely disturbing to an outsider like me, but completely normal in their world. One girl stated how she never craves anything, but was craving salt, so that was her choice of “food” to consume for that day. Another girl had her “GWs”, or goal weights, listed by date as a list of inspiration as well. It is upsetting and uneasy to see these people not only going along with their eating disorder, but consciously making an effort to be pro-active about it. These sites are unhealthy and should be abolished. The physical health of society is being compromised as well as mental and emotional health. Easy access to such explicit bodily corruption is unsafe and twisted.

2. After reading and analyzing the pro-ana and pro-mia websites, I found that they act as a therapy for lost, confused females. Women who feel uncomfortable in their own skin and dislike themselves run to these sites for support that a person can not find anywhere else. The conversation and motivational interactions between the site’s participants appears as a sisterhood and support group. Being a female, I will willingly admit that weight is one of the top subjects on a girl’s mind. So what could be better than having a network of supporters? No other place in the world would actually supply such raw ambition to lose weight to better the confidence of a person.

3. Before researching on the web, I never really knew much about pro-ana and pro-mia networks. However, it is understood why people who are educated on the controversy might feel that they are completely absurd due to the actions of encouraging EDs. Contradicting the matter, the sites almost seem to uphold the morale of many of its participants. So if the sites were taken away or eliminated, it is hard to say what the effects would be. One viewpoint, again, would probably think it would be what is best for society. But what would happen to the community of people who have participated religiously in their eating rituals and used them as havens of escape? Taking away such hidden worlds could possibly turn out to be a huge dilemma.

Logical Fallacy

Ad Hominen

"She is a cheerleader. What could she possibly know about participating in a real sport?"