Dr. Pepper Ten Commercial Gets a Thumbs Down

03 November 2011

My ten year old daughter came home from spending the weekend at her dad’s and told me stories about the fun times she had playing with her cat, playing games on her computer, and hanging out with her dad. She described all the things she did and didn’t get to do as she is an avid storyteller.

She then began sharing with me a conversation she had with her dad about a television commercial that aired during a football game they were watching together. She told me that her dad was explaining how ridiculous the commercial is because it’s telling men that diet soda is for women, except for their soda of course. Their diet soda is only for men. Immediately intrigued I asked “Wait a minute, what commercial is this?”

The next morning, I searched You Tube to view this Dr. Pepper Ten commercial.

Is There a Battered Woman's Defense?

02 November 2011

By Sarah Bellemore

On October 6, 2011, a jury found Barbara Sheehan not guilty of murdering her husband Raymond, a retired Sergeant from the NYPD, in 2008. Barbara had always admitted to killing her husband. The jury had to decide whether the killing was done in self-defense.

Barbara experienced violence at the hands of her husband for 17 years. One day after an explosive argument, Barbara decided she was leaving. She packed a bag and took one of her husband’s pistols with her for protection. As she attempted to leave the house, Raymond saw her and pointed a gun at her, threatening to kill her if she left. After years of abuse, Barbara believed her husband when he told he would kill her and so she shot him before he could shoot her.

The prosecution, however, told a different story. They painted a picture of Barbara as a manipulative woman who was after her husband’s life insurance money. They told stories of her husband’s kinky sexual desires which they say made Barbara grow to despise him. They claimed that Barbara executed her husband and then lied about the abuse to avoid jail time, pointing out that there had been no police records of prior abuse.

Real Housewives Cover Real Issues

01 November 2011

real housewives
By Jamie Lynn

If there is one thing I have learned from watching REALity television it is can often be difficult to identify real relatable issues from episode to episode. This holds especially true when watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Don’t get me wrong, I am an avid fan of the reality show that airs on Bravo, but sometimes it seems hard to find the realness in throwing a $50,000 birthday party for a four year old or spending $25,000 on one pair of sunglasses. However, this season there is one thing that is extremely real and unfortunately very relatable for millions of viewers and that is the issue of domestic violence.

In an episode that aired on September 20, 2011Taylor Armstrong talks about painful feelings she has over her failing marriage and admittedly reports that she is scared for her child. Although Armstrong did not talk about the abuse directly in the episode she spoke out in an interview with Entertainment Tonight describing the violence she endured for several years before she decided to end her marriage. She talks about the challenge of identifying where to draw the line when it came to her husband’s unpredictable rage, and the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, painting a seemingly real and relatable picture.

Eyes Up Here

31 October 2011

OWS pic
By Angela Marandola

So by now you’ve heard of Occupy Wall Street, but have you seen how “hot” the female protestors are? You can if you watch the video, “Hot Chicks of Occupy Wallstreet.” This video created by documentary filmmaker Steven Greenstreet has been making headlines since it hit the internet with a Tumblr of the same name. If you haven’t heard of the video here is some background. After seeing some attractive women at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, Steven Greenstreet made it his mission to film them for a video cleverly titled, “Hot Chicks of OWS.” That’s it. That’s the background. Are you inspired yet?

Greenstreet mentioned that initially he was only interested in taping the “pretty girls” and nothing else but once he started filming he was surprisingly moved by what the women had to say and that it changed the course of his project. Ah. I see. Greenstreet set out to objectify attractive female activists through camera but once he SPOKE to them he learned that they were articulate, intelligent, inspiring. Who knew that there was more to a woman than her breasts, her lips, or her bare shoulders? It’s embarrassing that he couldn’t be engaged before being sexually attracted. The message being reinforced by Greenstreet is that before anything else women will first be judged by their sexuality and then by their content but that’s only if you decide to talk with them. Is it really impossible to showcase the female protesters at Occupy Wallstreet without reducing them to “hot chicks?” I don’t know about you, but being referred to as a fluffy baby chicken has never empowered me.

My Wish List for Public Education

28 October 2011

emperor-penguins-with-baby-photo

By Jessica McCauley

My wish list for inclusion into public education:

-Communication skills
-Relationship skills
-Parenting skills

There is a myth floating around our society that the above skills are inherent, innate, built into our genetic code. It is true that they come naturally to us—“naturally” being whatever was modeled for us growing up. In other words, we learned how to treat our partners, our children, our family members, friends, co-workers, ad naseum, by how we were treated by our primary caregivers, and how we saw them treating each other. What is built into our genetic code is what has happened in generation upon generation in our families, and beyond that, the collective cultures they exist in. This is one of the reasons our focus this year on children who witness abuse is so very important.

Some of us may know we don’t want to do things the way our parents did. But then who do we look to? Maybe we are lucky enough to have had an aunt and uncle, a couple at our church, or neighbors who exemplify an equitable, respectful and joyful relationship. On the other hand, many of us are just floundering around wondering: What does intimacy look like? What is a “healthy” relationship and how do I go about creating one?

Blog Disclaimer

Blog postings and user comments reflect the opinions of the responsible contributor only, and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence accepts no obligation to review every posting, but reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete postings that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate.

NetworkedBlogs

Blog:

RICADV Blog

Topics:

relationships, violence, abuse

Follow my blog