Probes in Vaginas?!

Recently in Virginia legislation was trying to pass a bill that required a women to undergo an ultrasound by inserting a probe into her vagina to determine the age of a fetus before her abortion. A women did not have any say in wether she was okay with it or not, if she wanted an abortion it was required. Initially, Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell supported the bill and agreed to sign it. When the nationa media found out about these ideas people began to protest and argue that the ultrasounds were too invasive. After a staff meeting with delegates, McDonnell randomly decided that the ultrasounds were to invasive and not to discard the bill, but only to amend it. They claim that the reason for the emergency meeting with other delegates was because they did not realize how much of an issue it would cause and that a mandatory probe being inserted in the vagina against a woman’s will was forced vaginal entrance. Seriously?! 

Virginia Democrat David Englin tried to correct them with the idea that women should have to give written consent to allow the insertion of a probe into their vagina, but Virginia Republicans voted down the amendment. 

It seems like they made it pretty clear by voting down the amendment that they knew what they were doing and what the bill would impose. Once people starting getting angry their entire viewpoints changed.  After the meeting, Bob McDonnell made a statement and said that “Mandating an invasive procedure... is not a proper role for the state. No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure.” I am sure thats exactly what David Englin proposed in his amendment, the amendment that they voted against. I think its so funny how he completely switched sides and changed his entire mind to make himself look like a better person. At the end of the day Bob Mcdonnell is strictly against abortion and will figure out any way to prevent or make it very difficult for a women to be able to get one. 

For the Kids

THON is this weekend! Is everyone excited? I hope that you all plan on going and experience some part of it if you are not already involved. For those of you who do not know. THON is the biggest student run philanthropy in the world! Penn State receives donations from everywhere to donate to Hershey Medical Center to help children fighting Cancer. Last year THON raised over 9 million dollars and in all THON has raised over 78 million dollars. Its crazy to think that students can raise this insane amount of money. 

When I was just pondering on the different ways we have come to raise so much money, Ethos, Pathos and Logos came to mind. I then realized how they play a huge role in how we persuade people to donate for THON and the cause. Initially when anyone in the area hears about THON they instantly want to participate and know exactly what it is. Throughout the years THON has build a great amount of credibility and made a good name for itself. This appeals to ethos because the common name persuades people to want to get involved. The way THON is also in capital letters plays a large part in this also. It makes the audience see THON as something big and important because of the large font. There are also those people who are not familiar with THON. Whenever anyone asks about THON they first thing people talk about are the accomplishments and the amounts of money that has been made. These impressive numbers appeal to logos because logic is used to support the claim. Pathos is also shown by the way that fundraising for THON touches donators hearts just by the fact that we are donating to children. Whenever someone see’s people asking for donations for people in need its always very difficult to say no because of the way it triggers the audiences emotions.

 Just think, with Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, Penn State has raised over 78 million dollars for such a great cause. I hope that everyone comes out to THON this weekend and shows their support. Its going to be an amazing event and something you do not want to miss. 

Rhetorical Questions

When in conversation many times people ask questions that they obviously know the answer to or questions that they did not expect an answer for. This is considered a rhetorical question. I find myself and others asking rhetorical questions very often commonly for sarcastic use. They appear to be of no importance and completely irrelevant, but they definitely have a way of making a conversation lively and funny. 

A rhetorical question implies its own answer and is a way of making a point. For example, saying to someone “Are you crazy?!” does not mean that you think they are actually crazy, and does not require the person to explain why they did what they did, but to imply that person must have done something insane. Another example is when something bad happens and ones response is “Why me?”, they are not necessarily asking for an answer to why, its just an expression of their feelings in a question form. 

Sometimes rhetorical questions are also used to get someone thinking and and to persuade one to understand your opinion. For example, in advertisements and commercials rhetorical questions are used to get the audience thinking and interested in the topic or product that they are trying to sell. 

Speakers can also use rhetorical questions so that they can proceed to answer them. For example, during a speech someone would say something like “Do we need a change? Yes!” They do not expect they audience to answer they only state the issue in a question form to make a stronger point. 

I’ve noticed that rhetorical questions are used in so many everyday situations, in my readings for classes and on television shows I am watching on my free time. If you really actually pay attention to them and focus on how it was used and the point that was trying to be made it can be very interesting. 

This Gieco commercial is a great example of rhetorical questions and how they are used, and its pretty funny. =]

This I Believe..

What is Feminism?

         In my Women’s Studies class the idea of what feminism is and how it is seen in todays society has been a huge conflict.The dictionary definition of feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. In society a feminist is considered a wild rebellious man hating woman.

         During the Feminist Movement women did many rebellious things such as burning bras as a symbol of how they deserved the same rights as men. They worked very hard for gender equality and to protect women against domestic violence and sexual harassment. Although today these issues are not as crucial, they are still prevalent. In todays society although women are still fighting for the same because people come up with assumptions that they are anti-sex when they are only fighting for equality. Many women in modern society do no want to claim being feminist and their pride in being independent women because of the way feminist are stereotyped. It has become a serious issue today because feminist are stereotyped as man haters, masculine, and unattractive. Thee misconceptions have dispelled greatly. Feminists do not hate men, they just want to be treated with the same respect and regard as men do. Feminist do engage in relationships with men, many of them just do not believe in women only doing domestic jobs and men being the bread winners. They believe in men being able to do domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children. Feminist are also not masculine and try to dress or look like men. They do wear makeup and wear women’s clothing, they just do not believe in women dressing in a way that is degrading and that makes them look like sexual objects for men to take advantage of. 

        In conclusion, society should understand the true meaning of what a Feminist is today and what the word actually means, and women should be more open about their views on women's rights and independence.