Author: misshalfrican

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A Mother’s Love

While doing my normal “news checkup” on CNN I came across this article that made me think.

The article is about mother’s with overweight toddlers who see it as normal, meaning they don’t realize that their child is overweight/obese.  As mothers we want to see our children healthy and happy.  But what does that translate to visually.  What makes us know or believe our child is healthy and happy.  Is it noticing some sort of growth and development as they transition through the phases of life?  Is it noticing that their shoes don’t fit and they’re growing out of their shirts and attributing it to them growing up?

Whatever the reasoning behind a mother’s sometimes flawed view of their child, it is becoming a concern.  A lot of these women don’t realize that their child is overweight which causes problems in and of itself.  It isn’t just cute little baby fat.  What can we do to correct these parents’ skewed views of their children in order to promote a healthier society?  Because obesity rates are skyrocketing in our society.  And we all know that children are vulnerable in many ways.  How we raise them is important because it’s usually an indicator of how life will turn out for them.  If they are obese as toddlers then it will not necessarily be something they grow out of.  And this could be extremely dangerous with our already ridiculous obesity rates.

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/07/9-in-10-moms-see-overweight-toddlers-as-normal/?hpt=he_c2

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Face Transplants

I saw this article relating to a face transplant that occurred in Maryland within the last week or so.  This article is extremely relevant to the book we just discussed (Autobiography of a Face).  The man who received the transplant needed one due to a gunshot wound and damage from about 15 years ago.  The article can be found here:

36-hour face transplant ‘most extensive’ ever

The story is an amazing one.  The medical technology and techniques that we now know are phenomenal.  I wish I could interview this guy and ask him how he feels about having a new face after hiding behind a mask for so long and having to use a breathing tube to breathe.  The transplanted face came from a donor whose other organs were also donated to save 5 lives.  The article states that the recipient’s new face is a combination of his own face and the donor’s face and a little bit of customization.  I wonder how this man feels about having another person’s face fused into his.  I also wonder how that impacts his identity.  How would you feel?  Would you be relieved to have the new face so you can appear what is “normal” to society?  Or would you have some reservations and other ideals about how this re-creates your identity?

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Deceased “Etiquette”

The media heavily covered the death of legendary singer Whitney Houston.  There was much speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death all of which were reported on in the media.  The latest story about the singer’s death is the National Enquirer publishing a photo of the late singer in her casket.  There is an article on Celebritology on the Washington Post which reports on this latest media frenzy.  Where do we draw the line when it comes to respect of the deceased?  Is showing their body in a casket appropriate, especially when her family did not authorize such a photograph to be published let alone taken? 

The singer’s entire life was in front of paparazzi as is any other celeb’s.  But is this same extreme invasion of privacy acceptable after death when the star is no longer her to be a voice for herself?  The media feeling the need to publish such a picture is extremely indicative of  how we view bodies.  Whitney was famous mostly for her voice, however the voice went with the face and body.  At one point in time she was a model, however her notoriety came from her vocal skills and stylings.  So following death people do not separate the two?  The deceased corpse is no longer able to produce the angelic sounds that it once did, however there is such a focus on the body. 

In my opinion it is extremely disrespectful of not only the celebrity but her family as well to post pictures of her body in a casket.  Why does the media feel such a need to be so intrusive into the lives of people?  There should be more of a line drawn between reporting on what needs to be known or what is of interest and respect of the privacy of those being reported on.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/national-enquirer-publishes-photo-it-alleges-shows-whitney-houston-in-casket-has-a-line-been-crossed/2012/02/22/gIQAjrrnTR_blog.html