Has baby, has to take off of work, is not going to be paid?

Many women have said that having a baby is one of the best things in the entire world. A child brings joy, happiness, and a new appreciation for life. The downside of having a baby is having to take that time off of work to care for the child since you know, the child can do literally nothing to take care of itself. You would think that taking off of work would be great and relaxing. However, women are not given paid maternity leave. This is a huge problem in the United States as well as a hot topic in political debates. Why is one of the most powerful countries in the world, built on democracy, the only country who does not give mothers paid maternity leave.

Yes under the Family Medical Leave Act, families get twelve weeks of leave to care for their children but it is unpaid. The United States comes in dead last compared to other countries for paid maternity leave. Ireland, Italy, Poland, Japan, Chile; all have paid maternity leave. Different levels yes but still more than zero. Also the U.S. is one of about nine countries that does not have any sort of leave policies for fathers. Parents need the opportunity to take care of their children after they are born.



While states have took the federal regulations and added to provide more maternity leave and better benefits, there is still none that give paid maternity leave. Women are already making less then men and when they have to take off work and take care of their child, even more of their income is gone. Single mothers, mothers who are the primary breadwinner, and mothers who's partners are out of work especially need to have a paid leave. Why should they be punished when the mother decided to have a child? And sometimes they did not make the decision, it could have been a surprise, and the parents would need all the support they can get.

The government needs to look more closely at the policies in place and look at how to change them for the benefit of new mothers. Also companies need to be more active in voicing the concerns of their employees. There needs to be change made for new mothers as well as fathers for an equal share of child rearing.

"Feminism"

The word feminism may come off in a variety of ways to different people. In actuality it is not a negative word, it is simply the believe for the social, political, and economic equality between the sexes. It is not a group of women hating on men, refusing to shave, and everyone is gay. It is a very important topic hitting the country right now going with women's rights. There are many different aspects of feminism as well as many different branches. Some of those different branches are: radical feminism, liberal feminism, and womanism.

The Different Feminisms:

Radical Feminism- the goal of this type of feminsim is liberation from the patriarchal system that dictates our country, With grassroot coalitons the group aims to tear down the system and start from scratch. This means basically redoing society as a whole.

Liberal Feminsim- the goal of this type of feminism is to obtain equality through the government and policy. Reforming the already established system, creating new policies, and having high authority within the government are important aspects to liberal feminists.

Womanism- Womanism is generally women of color discussing the multiple oppressions they face. The goal is eliminating oppressions and it is the need to take into account all women, all people, and all issues.


Throughout history we have seen feminsm as only being for white, middle-class women, but in realtiy it is for everyone. Men, women, people of all races and ethnicities. The goal is equality, getting rid of oppression, and developing a sense of mutual respect. It is a social movement for social justice and a response to the ideology of patriarchy which has been basically the foundation of this country. It is time for change and it is time for feminism.

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."- Marie Shear

I want my rights and I want them now

 Protests, after protests have filled the streets of both major streets of the United States as well as small town roads. The most recent march, the Women's March, is what I wish to focus on. The Women's March took place on January 21, 2017 was a fantastic sight to see. It occured in New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, St. Louis, and so many more. It was filled with men, women, and children from all different races standing together to make their voices heard. I gladly got to be a part of it in New York City. The march was to call attention to the rights of women being threatened by the newly elected president and his cabinet.

President Trump has begun to pass bills that threaten the rights of many individuals including women. One of these rights specifically is taking away access to birth control, defunding Planned Parenthood and many others. The right to affordable birth control, doctor checkups while pregnant, free testing for sexually transmitted diseases and infections are what women are afraid of losing. Especially when it comes to Planned Parenthood. For years women have fought for the right to vote, to be seen as equals, and now we have to fight for the right to access health necessities.

99% of sexually active women have taken some sort of birth control at some point. Whether is be the pill, IUD, an arm insert; some sort of precaution was taken and generally worked to prevent preganay. This is a womans right, no one should have the fear of getting pregnant every time they have sex. Birth control is also used to regulate womens menstrual cycles, it relives cramping, and other serious issues like vomiting while a woman is on her mestrual cycle. A study done by Guttmacher provided a look onto the positives on birth control, how 63% of women said being on birth control has allowed them to continue working and support their families financially. 56% cna complete their education because they are not getting pregnant and they can actually attend school while on their menstrual cycle instead of staying home becuase of how sick they feel. Marching for this right is extremley important and a necessity for all women to have. We will still fight for our rights no matter how long it takes.

Works Cited:
www.plannedparenthoodaction.org

For the "This I Believe" project I would like to talk about the topic of divorce and how it can be positive in the future for families and for the children affected. "I Believe in Looking Towards the Future" would talk about how divorce affects children and the family unit, it can be a positive thing in the future with healthier relationships and a more stable family life. Yes divorce is a horrible experience to go through but the outcome can result in a much healthier family dynamic like it did for mine. My other idea for the "This I Believe" would be to discuss diversity, in my experience coming from an area that is extremely diverse then coming to Penn State which is predominately white has been somewhat of a surprise. "I Believe in Diversity" would talk about the concept of what diversity is and my personal experience of living in such a diverse area which I believe has provided a worldly outlook on life.

My ideas for my Civic Issues blog is to discuss the issue of women being scrutinized for their appearance in the workplace. Many women, especially African-American women, have been told to change their natural hair, have been scrutinized for wearing "inappropriate" work attire, and women are continually judged for the way they look compared to the work they produce. My other idea is to discuss the role of athletics on college campus'. How athletes are put on somewhat of a pedestal, given many resources that other students are not, but also how much time and effort they put into practicing/ working out. The athletes also make a large amount of money for the school and are not unionized or paid.

For my Passion blog I would like to continue the same topic of looking at the genres of romantic comedies and romance movies in general, discussing how they portray relationships and whether or not they provide good relationship lessons.

Past Public Speaking

My past public speaking has been extensive over the years, pertaining to different topics and in different areas. Reading with talking points, simply speaking with only thirty minutes of preparation, and having to do speeches for this class. Some strengths I would like to capitalize on are my delivery and how comfortable I am speaking in front of an audience. I would like to slightly improve on not gesturing to the visuals and keeping direct eye contact with the audience. I also feel that my openings are personable and connect with the audience in some way.


I would like to improve on directly stating my thesis so it is clear and working on my transitions through the speech. Preparing more extensively such as going through the speech multiple times and laying out all of my talking points will help me improve on this. An extesnive outline with specfic points that I need to discuss would help me improve greatly. Also giving a more clear preview sentence highlighting what I will be speaking about will be beneficial to my speaking as well. I plan to practice going through my speech extensively and practicing with my visuals to be able to perfect my cues and flow of the speech.

Through practice and preparing a detailed outline I believe my speaking abilities will improve greatly in terms of context. For delivery I hope to continue to capitalize on my ability to speak comfortably in front of an audience. I hope to remain calm, cool, and collected.

Her True Colors

Everyone has some bad in them but I like to think that the majority of people have a lot of good in them which in turn cancels out the bad. While reading The Circle I am honestly not so sure of that anymore. It is understandable in my opinion why The New York Times referred to Mae as a dull villain and not a victim. Mae has been put in the position to play the victim, the ignorant girl who is captivated by all of the power that the Circle seems to hold. In reality Mae has a dark side that she is not afraid to show, she betrays her friends and family, ends up aiding in a way to the death of one of her love interests and is unapologetic for all of her actions. Mae is a villain, whether she knows it or not, just though her simple but knowing acts of betrayal.

The betrayal of friends is hard to see, especially when it is a close friend who has done so much for the other person. While Annie has her faults as welt was surprising to see Mae climb to the top so quick;y without caring who she stepped on in the process. Annie got Mae the job, became almost like a mentor to her, but in the end Mae still betrayed her. In the ending scene, watching her friend in a hospital, not showing concern but wondering when the technology will be available to read peoples thoughts. Mae shows no emotion in this scene, in my opinion showing signs of psychopathy, unable to emulate human emotion or show empathy.

Betraying ones family is a more concrete reason for considering Mae to be a dull villain, family is one of the most important things in a persons life. They are supposed to love you unconditionally and always be there for you. Understandably not all families are like the description above but Mae had a good family. They were originally supportive in their daughter and proud. However they began to see the dangers of the circle and the dangers of going transparent. Mae would not listen, refused to understand, and ultimately ended up losing her family for "the good of the Circle". Mae also lost one of her other love interests, Kalden, who turned out to be the creator of the Circle Ty (holy plot twist). She gives the ultimate betrayal in promising to aid him in the destruction of the circle because he understands the danger of it. He even predicts a totalitarian rise within the company. Mae ends up telling the other Circle member and forever silencing Kalden/Ty.

Mae is in fact a dull villain, it just takes the readers some time to come to the realization. At first we sympathize with Mae, pity her, even show empathy because we too get led astray when it comes to technology. However I would like to believe that the readers are capable of feeling human emotion and are able to see the lack of goodness that is in Mae. Betrayal of friends, family, and loved ones is something only a villain could do. She did not do it for the good of humanity, rather for the good of the company that she herself was beginning to take control of.

Love Lost

Love is complicated on the internet, especially on social media. Usually couples are perceived a certain way through their posts and now even more people are meeting online. Relationships are even more complicated in The Circle, especially when transparency is involved. Mae's relationships are all complicated by her transparency and her lack of understanding of a healthy relationship.

Her relationships with three other characters are rocky at best, the first one being with Mercer. Mercer seemed to mesh well with Mae and at first I was grateful for a love interest, I thought they would do well. Unfortunately Mae's involvement with the Circle and her transparency forced Mercer away. He was not comfortable with their private life on view for the rest of the world, which is understandable, and she eventually lost him.

Another one of Mae's love interests has been the elusive Kalden. He is skilled in dodging her questions as well as keeping their meeting private. Their relationship becomes more of a sexual one than anything. After Mae becomes fully transparent she is curious as to how he keeps himself so private. This curiosity "killed the cat" in a sense and their relationship seemed to falter.

The last of Mae's love interests have been Francis who is the most frustrating out of all. They seem like complete opposites but if opposites attract then they are the poster couple for that saying. Francis is blunt, does not support transparency, and Mae is extremely attracted to him. Francis has his insecurities and faults but their relationship seems to be something that could flourish into a long lasting one.

Mae's transparency leads her to not being able to have a full healthy relationship with anyone, privacy is a thing of value seen by some of the love interests, but she just doesn't understand. Her lack of knowledge of a healthy relationship, as well as why privacy is a good thing gives her the consequences that can be foreseen. No relationship, and a lack of utter disappointment.