Turn Down The Music
Noise pollution, much of which we all have become unaware of since it’s ever-present, can do more than damage hearing (28 million people have hearing loss to some degree, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association).
Intense noise can also result in loss of libido, sleep deprivation and higher blood pressure, cholesterol and stress.
We’re thinking that, other than hearing loss, these other symptoms only affect adults, not teenagers, who seem endlessly immune to really loud stereos. (From September/October Utne Reader)
* The reality of having it all: Calista Flockhart, a.k.a. Ally McBeal, says there is much speculation about whether her TV character is a real feminist. Flockhart says McBeal just reflects the real-life dilemma of young women: “We are women who are told, ‘You can have it all! You can have a career; you can have a husband; you can have a child!’ And suddenly, now, if you don’t do all of that, you’re a failure,” she says. (September Harpers Bazaar)
* We are what we watch: Socialization makes us who we are, and stories are how we learn our social roles, says George Gerbner, who has for decades been the guru of TV viewing — what we watch and what effect it has on us.
“If you are overrepresented in the culture’s stories, you see many opportunities, many choices. If you are underrepresented, the opposite is true,” says Gerbner, who, since retiring as dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, founded the Cultural Indicators Project, a nonprofit group that studies violence on TV.
Women between the ages of 25 and 35, for example, are generally cast (on TV and in movies) only in romantic roles, Gerbner says. “According to the Screen Actors Guild, most of its female members stop getting calls when they turn 35 and only start getting them again when they’re old enough to play grandmothers. … What does this teach women about their role in society? What message does that send to young girls?”
What, indeed. (From August The Sun)
* Get it straight: It’s the women who are obsessed with sex, not the men, at least according to a recent Time magazine study.
Folks at the magazine tallied the articles on sex and fitness in the last four issues of Men’s Health and in Cosmopolitan. The results: In Men’s Health there were 17 articles on how to have hard abs, six on orgasms; in Cosmo, the tally was four on abs, 10 on orgasms. (From Aug. 31 Time)
* Get ‘em early: Lest there be a shortage of MBA-aspiring children, a group of Calgary, Alberta, business folks has proposed a charter school focusing on business skills. The students at this grade school would wear shirts and ties and dress shoes and be encouraged to carry their homework in briefcases rather than backpacks. (From September/October Utne Reader)
* Just say no to celery sticks: The rallying cry at the recent Million Pound March in Santa Monica, Calif, attended by a heavily female crowd of about 200: “We’re fat! We’re here! Get over it!” (From Sept. 21 Time)