Blog #2

           Today I am going to write about the documentary we watched in class, "The hidden face of Globalization". I have been told numerous times, "eat that, there are children in Africa who have no food" (as horrible as that sounds), or "recycle, it'll help save the world!" As a kid, I did not realize the reason why my parents and elders told me these types of things numerous times. Well, today I now know that these types of things are very, VERY important at their core.
           This documentary put things into perspective for me. I never really thought of myself as privileged, having grown up in poverty. But, I have always had something to eat and a roof over my head. I did have to work until I was 15, and even then I did not really need to work. These types of things I did not realize not everyone has. This documentary showed me things I do not see from day to day, women working 20+ hours for 11 cents to 17 cents an hour to produce shirts for Wal-mart. Women being beaten and sent to prison if they asked for the wages owed to them. And here I am, complaining about my five hour shift at Domino's where I get paid about 9$ an hour. It is amazing to me the difference in economy and lifestyle across the world, and how putting things into a world perspective as an American makes me see how truly lucky I am. I have never had to starve, sleep in a hut, or work 20+ hours a day. It seems to me a big reason for this lifestyle difference between different parts of the world is the advancement of capitalism and who is at the forefront of this movement.
           The U.S. has developed seriously fast, going from the industrial revolution where child labor was prevalent and working 20+ hours a day was common to working a mere 8 hours a day 5 days a week for a good amount of money, in comparison to the rest of the world at least. But, with this serious revolution it has had consequences for the rest of the world. The U.S. has become so much about consumerism that people base their worth, their own self-worth, after their material goods. To keep up with this demand, corporations have had to do some seriously horrible things to keep up. The documentary shows women working hours and hours on the same exact activity, whether it be sewing a button or folding clothes, I cannot imagine how horribly boring that would be or how tired you would get doing this for 20+ hours some days. Not to mention, they make little to nothing doing it. They have gotten stuck in depending on these jobs to, so they cannot complain otherwise the corporation will threaten to leave and take their business elsewhere.
            When it comes down to it, I believe the reason why these women are suffering is because of us, the consumers. This documentary just showed one example of the unfair treatment people are getting across the world in factories. The U.S.'s value system has become based on profit and consuming, the cores of capitalism. This documentary has caused me to be much more wary of my buying, and try to buy local as much as I can, because the only way this serious issue is going to be solved is if us, as consumers, start buying from the people who give their workers fair wages, and create products that are environmentally stable and healthy for people. Many people think they cannot do anything about this issue, being a small person vs. a corporation. But us, as a whole, do have a vote. And that vote is in how and where we spend our money.

Blog #1

Skin lightening is something I did not realize even existed. I learned about this phenomenon in the "Yearning for lightness: Transnational circuits in the marketing and consumption of skin lighteners by Evelyn Nakano Glenn" within Chapter 6 of the E&Z book. Racism, as everyone knows, has been around for a very long time and still exists today. I believe the reason I have not heard of this new trend is because, as you may have guessed it, I am white. I am also a woman, so I do know the pressures of society to be beautiful are daunting.

It was said in the book that "women's worth is judged heavily on the basis of appearance" (Glenn). It is sad just how much this quote is true. The trend of skin lightening stemmed from a long history of racism, where being of a lighter color has many advantages. These advantages still persist today. In the African American community, "mulattos" are people who are mixed in color between black and white. These people were treated with more respect than people with darker skin back when slavery was very prevalent. It is interesting how a person could be treated like dirt or a peer based solely on the color of their skin. Skin lightening now is a fad because of this history.

All over the world, "white privilege" has been for a long time. Within Chapter 6 in the E&Z book, Evelyn Glenn said “the ideology of white supremacy … included the association of blackness with primitiveness, lack of civilization, unrestrained sexuality, and dirt” (Glenn). This ideology is why skin lightening exists today, those of color want opportunity. Skin lightening is very dangerous and has been banned in many places, including Southern Africa. These products are banned for good reason, “containing mercury, corticosteroids, and high doses of hydroquinone” (Glenn). Even though the people using these products are aware of the dangerous, life threatening side effects it means more to them to live a short life of being beautiful and having opportunity than a long one full of experiencing injustices done to them and an overall unfair life.

There have been many effects of the harsh racism that once existed, one being that it still exists today, in a different form. Also, the beauty ideology has been formed through this part of our past, with most wanting to be “lighter.” Even those who obtain the most power in the world are white, and this was influenced by the ideology that “white supremacy” is fact. Overall, this trend is sad to see but is just one of the horrible things that have stemmed from a long tension between those of color and those not.