If it's possible, I think that I think a lot. Maybe it's because I'm a sensitive person who likes to mull over everyday situations, maybe it was the way I was brought up, or maybe it's because I'm an air sign. I'm always thinking about various social outcomes, big possibilities, people I know, and the culture I live in. I keep myself up at night thinking about these things; sometimes I cry in my car or in my bed thinking about these things.

Something that I am frequently "thinking about" is my role as a woman, or a young woman, since I'm still 19. Usually when I start thinking about how I'm treated as a woman by my family, my friends, and people in the streets, I move on to think about how any woman is treated as a "woman," or every black man or woman treated as a "black man" or a "black woman," etc. I'm always thinking about why minorities are still underrepresented in jobs or media, why there is still a pay gap or "glass ceiling" for women when it comes to higher-up corporate jobs, why men are still raping, abusing, and assaulting women, and why these people who are always underrepresented and mistreated are always blanketed in social politics with easy-to-understand "problems" that relate to their role.

It's because, sadly, they are not being taken seriously as individuals affected by societal problems. Was that obvious? Seemingly at first, yes, that is why there are still these social issues. Because these people are not taken seriously. But when you debate with your family, friends, or watch news channels, these people are still being blanketed with these easy to understand phrases, like "feminists fight because there's a pay gap between genders, but the gap isn't even that much!" or "new programs are issued to guarantee minorities jobs or get acceptance into college, so it's harder now for the white person!" The main problem with the wording constantly seen in articles, on television, or in the comfort of a familial debate is that they always seem to fail to address why there's a pay gap, or why minorities have trouble getting jobs.

It's because they're not taken seriously as capable, sensitive, thoughtful humans! Is that ever mentioned? Why is that never mentioned? Why doesn't anybody in media who covers these pressing issues get told to address that men keep raping women because they don't take their consent seriously? That minorities can't get out of dangerous neighborhoods because no one takes them seriously for opportunities that can help them? That there's a pay gap because employers don't consider women as serious workers? That the only people who decide who they want to take seriously is the white man?

It's like everyone pretends that these issues exist just because they exist. That the only people who can ever have motives behind what they do are men (except when they abuse women, that always seems to be excused). The only people who are ever asked "why" they shot up 20 people in a school are the white men who do it-- what made them go "crazy?" But the two middle-eastern men who bombed the Boston marathon were just "terrorists." I have seen hundreds of white, male terrorists, but that's just not a "thing" in this culture.

White men are always taken seriously as individuals, because they are the only ones who are still in control. The only way for change to start happening is for media outlets to start asking their viewers, readers, and listeners "why" there is this violence, mistreatment, and underrepresentation.

-Tauba Auerbach, "Static"

With his shopping cart, his bags of booty and his wine, I'd always 
       found him inoffensive.
Every neighborhood has one or two these days; ours never rants at 
       you at least or begs.

He just forages the trash all day, drinks and sings and shadowboxes,
       then at nightfall
finds a doorway to make camp, set out his battered little radio and
       slab of rotting foam.

The other day, though, as I was going by, he stepped abruptly out
       between parked cars,
undid his pants, and, not even bothering to squat, sputtered out a 
       sorrowful disease, 

and that a slender adolescent girl from down the block happened by
       right then, and looked,
and looked away, and looked at me, and looked away again, and 
       made me want to say to her,

because I imagined what she must have felt, It's not like this, really, it's
       not this,
but she was gone, so I could think, But isn't it like this, isn't this just 
       what it is?
-C.K. Williams, "Harm"


Daily dose of culture brought to you by the wonderful artist Tauba Auerbach, equally wonderful poet C.K. Williams, and of course, my outstanding curation of both (and my ability to use interesting, relevant adjectives). I always hear on one hand people discussing how the internet is either going to make us all socially inept, indoor drones, and on the other I hear constant spewing of "INTERNET EVOLVING THE HUMAN RACE AS WE KNOW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" crap. I'm 19 years old, and I've been logged onto the internet since I was 10 (and I'm not internet famous by now?), and I have to admit, I consider my quality of life to be a little bit on the low side when I go multiple days without logging on the computer, like I have been this week. The internet can be linked to almost all portions of my life; like interaction, school, music/art/culture, and self expression. That's why I feel at ease when I have down time to surf the web and find artists like Tauba Auerbach. Even though I'm sitting in my pajamas at my desk, I still feel the satisfaction of a constant, fresh stream of consciousness. This little blurb is kind of all over the place, but all in all, I'm happy I have this stupid little blog to share it, because I can.