What is racism? What is racism to you?

- Racism is what it is. It is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

- what racism means to me is when someone doesnt like a particular race. I feel like when a person is racist they are uneduacated. I think this because they obviously don't know much about that race if they think that they are un equal. Everyone is equal no matter the race. I feel like racism is also one of the things the have GREATLY effected the human race because it effects peoples relationships and the right to be happy. The whole thing of being racist led to slavery because white people felt that they were better than every other race, especially African-Americans. I feel that as much as people try racism will always be here because everyone is different and has their one opinion. If they feel a certain way, their going to feel that way no matter what.

"Strip" review from Body Outlaws

I liked this chapter. The start thing that struck me was the line "If you ever want power:strip." This struck me because I had a positive and negative response to it. The first thing I thought was why does stripping always have to give you power ? It just shows that you strip in front of men, you control what they see and ultimately you getting their money shows you have power. Then after reading the chapter I understood what Diana meant. Sometimes doing that can make you see your flaws and accept them.

I also liked how she stayed true to herself and she didn't let all the discrimination stop her from being who she was. I believe trassexuals and gays are one of the strongest people because they have to deal with so many cruel people but they always stick by how they feel and who they want to be.

Would I ever consider stripping?
Not normally, I would try to find as many jobs as I could to make ends meet before I would consider stripping. But if I had no other chose and I needed to quick money, I would do what I have to do to survive. Most of the people who strip do it because they need to take care their families or pay tutition for school.

Dancing Body Redemption Review

~ I really liked this chapter. When I first started reading it what it made me think about is how there is a lot of sterotypes about any or EVERYTHING. The woman talked about her image of what a topless dancer is.That a lot of them are on drugs, are tall, have breast implant and go on Jerry Springer to reveal their "secrets". I used to have the same image of what a topless dancer would be also. But as I got older I realized NOT ALL stripers are on drugs, tall, blonde, backstabbing and slutty. Some do it because the economy is bad. They don't have family or a husband to help them make ends meet. Being a stripper you make a lot of money FAST. That's what drives woman to strip. FAST MONEY. It doesn't make you a bad person. Some people just choose different jobs to make money.
~ Reading how her parents didn't really pay much attention to her feelings when she told them about not feeling comfortable with her body made me sad because they should of talked to her about pubity and developing. Maybe if they sat down with her and explain it, she would of understood the situation more when she was younger. I could see that she was self conscious and needed a mans compliment to make her feel better but I believe that the reason why after a while she got annoyed with the men because she needed to see that she was beautiful and accept herself before she got the acceptance of others. Once your confortable with your body, you have space for others to like your body.

Body Outlaws, summary of "the butt, its politics, its profanity, its power"

This chapter of the book was about body images and stereotypes. Mainly about the butt. It talks about how in the media having a big butt is negative and how it makes woman specifically women of color feel ashamed of having a big butt. The author of this chapter gave stories about having a big butt. How having one did attract men. A lot of women are more quicker to say negative things about a big butt rather than embrace it. This chapter also talks about the history of black woman and how some famous people actually did recogonize having a big butt as a good thing. Also the author talks about how when she saw normal people around her and famous people ex. Tyra banks have big butts it helps her to feel better about her big butt. As a community, people are publishing things showing this different type of beautiful that is not the average look you see in sports illustrated. The biggest part of this chapter is to learn to accept your big butt and anyone elses.

Regardless of your race, how do you feel about your body??

I feel good about my body. I LOVE every curve of my body. I was taught to love my body no matter what anyone else feels about it. One of the most important things about being comfortable in your own skin is loving your body. I was told that every body size and shape is beautiful. No one is made the same. God made us all different for a reason. Beautiful has no specific definition. When I was younger I did struggle with liking my body because I saw skinny girls and how they could eat anything they wanted and still be skinny. I couldn't understand why. As I got older I had to realize that some people have fast matabalisms meaning their food is broken down quicker so it doesnt just sit there and turn into fat. I guess slower matabalism runs in my family because bigger woman are on both my mom and dads side of the family. During my elementry and middle school years i wasn't skinny but I wasn't big either. So, it didn't bother me much. When high school came it was a different pace of life and it was more teenagers so appearance was more of an topic. I always was my own person so I didnt let it bother me too much. I would tell myself everytime that I am beautiful. It is something that makes me feel good about myself. Loving my body wasnt easy but with all the steps, I was able to love me for me and anyone who wants to like me relationship wise has to love me for me.

what is it you value most in a relationship? why?

What I value most in a relationship is trust and communication. These two things are one of the most important things to have in any type of relationship. I value these things the most because even if you love one another or your happy it is imposible to have a healthy, good relationship without it. How can you confide in that person if you dont trust them?? How can you introduce them to people who you actually do trust?? If there is trust is makes it easier to talk to the person. Easier to trust them around other people and ultimately trust them with your life. Communication is also something I really value in a relationship. One thing I know is not having communication can cause many fights because you and other person aren't communicating to agree or agree to disagree. Also, no communication can make the relationship boring because you all don't talk about much of anything or much of a variety of things. Not communicating can also break up in any type of relationship because if makes you feel distant from eachother. If you have communication it will help to make the relationship stronger.

Who am I? Who Are You??

Who am I ? I am Me. I am someone who hs dreams and who wants nothing but the best for myself. Like Dr. Martin Luther King had dreams of what he wants to see in the future, so do I. I am the hope and dream of my ancesestors who didn't have much of a dream to accomplish or didn't really get a chance to know or find who they are. I am a beautiful black woman. I am someone who sets a positive example for younger folks who want to find theirselves and go in the positive directions. I am faith and determination. I believe where theres a will theres a way. I am who I am happy. I am me.

Who are you??? You are whatever you make yourself out to be. You are what you want to be. You are your actions and words. You are our present and future. You are our leaders to make the world a better place. You are you.