News #10

Barbie comes out in support of same-sex marriage 

                Just after the same-sex marriage in Australia was legalized we hear some very uplifting news from Barbie. Mattel posted on Instagram an image of Barbie and a doll version of Aimee Song, a fashion designer, both wearing t-shirts with “Love wins” slogan. It was in support of Pride month for which the t-shirts were prepared. The money earned on them will go to support LGBTQ youth. The post on Instagram became very popular and collected mostly positive comments. A lot of people understood it that Barbie was shown as queer and that the whole action was in support Pride movement.

                As I see it, this is a little bit of an overstatement. Barbie was employed to promote a certain t-shirt: true. The t-shirt is a part of the LGTBQ campaign: true. But, I don’t think that a conclusion that Barbie is queer because of sitting next to another doll-girl wearing this t-shirt makes any sense. People like looking for conspiracy theories everywhere. The same happened a few years ago when a Polish MP had a problem with Tinky-Winky‘s gender.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/29/barbie-comes-out-in-support-of-same-sex-marriage

News #9

Anorexia is narcissism, says Joan Bakewell

                I have just read an article which made me see red. The woman believes that anorexia is an outcome of having too much choice, too much time and being overindulgent. She cites situations in Syria and in Britain during the war as examples of times and places  when and where people don’t have this problem. As far as she is concerned, when there is a lack of food, you don’t suffer from anorexia. What is more, she believes that in the olden days people had different problems rather than preoccupation with body image and shape. She blames social media among others.

              To my mind, Ms Bakewell just doesn’t get the problem. First of all, she bases her point of view on tell-tale and not on serious research. No results are known as far as the number of people suffering from anorexia during the war and “we have never heard about it” is no proof that it didn’t exist. Also she doesn’t seem to understand the reason of the problem. I think it’s lack of acceptance and a need for control when you don’t have any rather than boredom and shallow need for looking nice. She is a flagship example of stereotypical thinking, indifference and the lack of need to understand.
 

Sources:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anorexia-is-narcissism-says-joan-bakewell-0bz5qrr6r

News #8

Android given Saudi citizenship has more rights than women

                The news of Sophia the robot being granted Saudi citizenship has appeared quite a time ago. Since then I have been thinking about it. It seems my doubts are quite similar to those who spoke out on the subject. Many Saudi women are upset because Sophia is the only “woman” who doesn’t have to wear a headscarf. She also doesn’t need any consent from her mahram to go out or travel. That’s a lot more than Saudi women are entitled to. The same goes for people who want Saudi citizenship. It is very difficult to obtain, and Sophia got it only because she is a very expensive piece of machinery.

                To me this situation is beyond my understanding. How can people out of their own free will consider a robot a person? What is more, give more rights to this “person” than any living woman has? This will definitely lead to some tragedy in the future. It might not be the same as in “Terminator” but the moral dilemma has already been born. Now we have to cope with it.

Sources:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/android-sophia-given-saudi-citizenship-has-more-rights-than-women-cc96f7tgk

News #7

 

Facebook asks users for nude photos in project to combat revenge porn

 

   I have recently come across a new kind of crime: revenge porn. Many people take nude pictures of themselves and share them with partners. However, partners are changeable- a person once loved might become your enemy later. They may decide to shame you by public sharing of the pictures you previously sent in good faith. A new technology has been developed in order to prevent this. It’s called PhotoDNA. And, it has recently been tested by Facebook in Australia. You have to send the picture you are concerned about to yourself on Messenger and let Facebook authorities hash it. In this way it is marked and will never be uploaded again.

   I think it is terrific that Facebook is taking some action against abuse. No one deserves to be publicly exposed and shamed. Especially if you take into account people who might lose their jobs because of this: teachers, politicians and civil servants. However, the whole process takes a little bit of trust to Facebook Administration. After all they can share your photos too. Therefore, the best option is not to take them at all- it’s kind of creepy.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/07/facebook-revenge-porn-nude-photos