Appearance: how much is too much?

In today's society, we are bombarded with images of what it is to be the 'perfect' woman. With primped and preened princesses such as the Kardashian sisters gracing our screens on prime time television, magazines criticising celebrities who put on a whopping 3lbs over Christmas and the huge amount of money we Brits spend on plastic surgery and cosmetics, it's hardly surprising that we feel pressured into looking a certain way.

However, recently shows such as 'Snog, Marry, Avoid?' and 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' seem to question just how much is too much, satirising women (and men) who abundantly slap on the fake tan, foundation and pink tutus, turning them into objects of comedic value rather than the perfect human beings that these people aspire to be seen as.

Is this fair? It's the media's fault that people are so image conscious, and now the media who is bringing people who take it 'too far' down to earth with a bump. This will only be brief because I really don't have the mental energy to bother getting all worked up in the way that I usually do for my blogs but I've just watched 'Cherry Healey: How to get a life' which examined body image and how the degree of attention to which we give it can affect our lives.

First off, Those Pesky Dames. They say that it is empowering for women not to remove any body hair whatsoever because they say it shouldn't matter what other people think, and getting used to that way of thinking can improve your self-confidence. Now, while I have no doubts that ignoring other people's opinions with regards to how you carry yourself will improve your self-esteem, I've got to say that I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that not shaving can actually improve your life.

Personally I think it would dramatically change my life, and not in a good way! I can't imagine my chances of attracting boys would exactly improve (and I'm sorry but what single girl doesn't one day want to fall in love and settle down?) and I can't even begin to imagine the amount of put-downs I'd receive! Imagine if my enemies found out I didn't shave my armpits! I can see the Tweets now! It doesn't bear thinking about! It might have been natural in the past but I think that as a society we have evolved into the belief that it is unnatural and biology just needs to catch up. Whether Those Pesky Dames like it or not, girls that don't shave will still be seen as hippy lesbian feminists and a couple of girls with a YouTube channel unfortunately won't change years of negative attitudes towards body hair.

My second point is in reference to two men, one of which thinks that by spending a (literally) unhealthy amount of time and money on tanning products he will end of having his own reality TV show and being as famous as his idol, Amy Childs, and another, a male stripper who thinks that his body is the key to Hollywood fame, referring to himself as 'the next Sylvester Stallone'. I don't see anything wrong per se with these men choosing to dedicate so much time to their bodies. While slightly selfish and definitely narcissistic, I guess it's personal choice.

However, I must question a society that raises it's teenagers to think that having a day-glo tan will bring you more success than a university degree or spending your life stripping is the equivalent of spending your childhood at a fancy performing arts school. It was more sad than anything to see a middle aged man with tribal tattoos saying that he saw no reason why he couldn't be the next Brad Pitt, and even more disheartening to learn that Amy Childs is now officially seen as a role model, somebody to look up to and aspire to be like.

I can't stress enough that in a society like ours, where education is not only freely available but we are actively pushed into it, we must take advantage of it. Qualifications are the foundations of success, not the biggest lips or the longest eyelashes in Liverpool.

Actually, I'm lying.

Images of Desperate Scousewives are popping, uninvited, into my head, alongside headlines that scream that postgrads can't find jobs. As much as I don't want it to be the case, maybe an orange boy from Blackpool has it all worked out. Maybe I should forget my degree and instead be taking out loans for the biggest boobs in Britain. They'd make me more money than my writing ever could, unless of course I write a fan-fiction of Harry Potter, adding some whips and chains to the mix. Oh, Hermione, you!

Is scrapping the housing benefit for under-25s a good idea?

Recently, there has been uproar about David Cameron's suggestion to scrap the housing benefit for under 25s, claiming that it would save £2bn a year and send out a clear message on welfare. Cameron asserts that by doing this, the government will be sending out the message that hard work pays off, people who can't be bothered to find work aren't automatically entitled to benefits and that the family should hold a larger responsibility for their children rather than palming them off onto the government.

Now, let's get this straight. Cameron is not suggesting we take away ALL benefits for under 25s, only the housing benefit. All the other kinds of benefits such as jobseeker's, incapacity benefit, child benefit, disability benefit, income support, crisis loans etc., will still be on offer to those that need them. Cameron understands that if you have no legs and the only available jobs demand the presence of all your limbs then you simply won't be able to take those jobs, and as a result of this, you will be entitled to a whole range of benefits to account for your situation. Simply taking away the housing benefit is not some kind of awful prejudice against young disabled people, or people that can't find jobs no matter how hard they try. It is essentially saying that if you don't work for a living due to having a child at a young age or whatever, then the government will support you and your child but sees no reason for you both to have a gorgeous apartment or three-bedroomed semi when there are other people with full-time jobs who still can't afford such luxuries.

I have heard the most ridiculous arguments against Cameron's idea, which I am about to examine (and totally destroy) in this article.

#1 What if parents refuse to take their children in? How is it ethical to send a person back to a possibly violent home?
If I'm being honest, I don't really see that it is David Cameron's problem if some cold-hearted parents refuse to give their otherwise homeless child a roof over their heads. If it was made obligatory for under-25s to live at home if they couldn't afford a place of their own then it would be the parent's responsibility and not the government's. You can bang on all you want about how this shouldn't be the case but in my opinion, if you are a good parent, then you will not see your child out on the streets, and by promoting this ideal of families pulling together and supporting each other, Cameron is trying to bring back the old-fashioned values that the Conservative government favour.

What's more, Cameron has already stated that some would be exempt from the bill, such as youngsters leaving care without a stable home to go to and people escaping violent or otherwise abusive homes, thus obviously not intending to put poor little defenceless people in the grips of the utter evil that they've spent 24 years trying to escape from.


#2 But 25 year olds are adults, they shouldn't have to live at home.
Maybe 25 is a little too high. Maybe the bill would be more suited if it was aimed at under-23s or something, but for the most part, I do believe that young people should be at home. Statistics show that 56% of under 25s live at home and 19% in student flat shares, with only the remaining 25% living away from home. Under 25s living away from are in the minority, and why should the rules be made to suit a minority? It's the same with Jeremy Kyle cases who have popped out babies aged 18 and never intend to work a day in their lives verses the odd 24 year old who has just finished university with a doctorate but can't find work so is having to sleep on the streets. Statistics once again reveal that only 1/6 of people on housing benefit are working. You can blame it on the lack of jobs or you can just admit that chances are the majority of the people (5/6 to be precise) are sitting around smoking weed and getting fat. You shouldn't pass a bill to suit the minority of a minority. It just isn't logical and if every government did it then we'd never move forward.

#3 But there are no jobs out there because dirty immigrants are stealing them all
I HATE this argument. If I half-heartedly looked for a job for, oh I don't know, an hour, then chances are I wouldn't find one. However, if I handed out CVs absolutely everywhere, trawling the streets in all weather conditions, signing up to website such as Gumtree and emailing every single offer advertised I'd find one. Yes it may be doing something I don't particularly want to be doing such as cleaning toilets but when you're unemployed you can't afford (literally, ha) to be snobby about what you do for a living.

I've just opened Gumtree to prove myself right and it tells me that there are 6709 jobs available in Manchester. Now this may not sound like a lot but remember that most chain stores and big businesses won't advertise on websites like this, and even if they did, Gumtree is ONE website. One among many similar websites. It'd take me about five minutes to find a job on there so I simply can't accept that it is IMPOSSIBLE for little dole bums to find jobs when uni students like me, who are inexperienced and inflexible with their hours (in term time, when we have lectures during the week), could find one at the click of a button. It might be tough to find jobs but it's not impossible, and my guess is that people would be searching a damn sight harder if there wasn't the option of sitting on their Xbox's all day long while money was thrown at them from all directions.

#4 It punishes poverty
I found somebody saying this on a thread on The Guardian and I wanted to smash the computer up. This kind of argument is your typical left-wing Marxist crap that socialists will spout WHATEVER the problem. Asda's sold out of pizza? This punishes poverty. The cost of petrol is rising? This punishes poverty. A middle class girl won The X Factor? Yeah, you've guessed it, it's a capitalist ploy to punish poverty.

If you can't be arsed getting a job and so live in squalor than you deserve to be punished. There. I've said it. Everybody believes in Darwinism these days but for some reason they seem to think that survival of the fittest doesn't apply to humans. Well, newsflash, if you believe that we descend from apes than you must also hold the view that those lazy, incompetent drains on government money are destined to die out. Sorry bout it.

Groups of people that spout the same argument at every possible opportunity need to find a new one. It's the same as a feminist saying "all men are evil" even in cases where men are actually the ones losing out. It's immature and not worth taking seriously.

#5 Some people can't help but have kids young, what about rape victims?
Not everyone who has children under the age of 25 is a rape victim. Not everyone who is raped is under the age of 25. Not everyone who is raped gets pregnant. Not everyone who falls pregnant from rape decides to keep the baby. Not all babies that have been kept as a result of rape survive the entire pregnancy. It's another example of the minority rule. Women under 25 who have children as a result of rape are in the minority. Rape and resulting pregnancies don't just occur every 5 minutes in women under 25. We can't alter a bill that suits the majority in order to suit this strikingly small minority. (No, I don't have statistics to back this up because it's such a stupid argument it frankly doesn't warrant the time it would take to find some).

#6 David Cameron is rich, he doesn't understand what life is like for poor little people like me
Er, what? David Cameron received a first class degree from Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He knows a hell of a lot more about these things than the majority of people, especially those WITHOUT a degree in said subjects. Also, having done a hell of a lot of work in his time (not like the dole bums complaining then) and having had experience being prime minister, I hardly think that this man has lived such a sheltered life that he doesn't understand your situation. He probably understands it more than most. Just because his decisions don't make it easy for you to do nothing all day long doesn't mean the man is stupid. Please don't sit there in your council house being so arrogant as to assume that you know what is best for the country and David Cameron doesn't, or that you know more about economics than he does. Please light a cigarette and get back to watching The Jeremy Kyle Show.

To conclude? I'm glad that this bill has been discussed. For once, we seem to have a government that recognises when people need help, but also recognises when they are taking the piss.

The Albino Witchcraft Murders

A few years ago I watched a documentary about child abuse in Nigeria, and how witchdoctors and evangelical pastors over there are reaping the benefits of money and fame in exchange for spreading the vile rhetoric that if your baby cries in the night or if somebody in the family dies or loses a job shortly after you give birth to your child, than your child is a witch and the evil must be beaten out of it.

It shocked me because, prior to that I'd never suspected that in this day and age people actually believed in witchcraft, especially to the extent where they would harm their own child over it. However, sadly the documentary that I watched tonight didn't shock me, and that in itself disgusted me more than the actual subject matter of the show.

'The Albino Witchcraft Murders' focused on a growing phenomenon in Tanzania, whereby people with albinism are murdered or maimed for their body parts, which are believed to transmit magical powers. Witchdoctors all over the country are telling heavily superstitious, poverty stricken people that all their problems will go away if they can get hold of the limbs of an albino. Hair, arms, legs, skin, eyes, genitals and blood are used in rituals or for witch potions. Fishermen are told that if they incorporate albino hair into their fishing nets, then they will catch more fish than usual, or will find gold in the belly of their fish.

Flip the coin the other way and you still find albinos being persecuted for being born with albinism. Those that don't believe their limbs are sacred and the key to monetary success believe that to be struck with albinism is a sign of the devil or 'white demons' and that to prevent the spread of evil, albinos must be killed. As a consequence of both these beliefs, albino life is not valued anywhere near as much as the lives of the other members of society, if at all. The poor fishermen struggling to make a living believe that they have no choice but to kill in order to better their own lives and to be in with a chance of driving the fancy cars that they see the witch doctors driving, thus not thinking about the fact that they are murdering a human being who is the same as them in every way apart from the colour of their skin and the people on the opposite end of the scale believe that they are doing society a favour by ridding their country of satan and his minions.

Those who are not murdered, the "lucky ones" are cut to pieces and left without limbs. They might lose an arm or a hand in a brutal attack. A girl who remains unnamed on the documentary says 'they held my arm out and cut it off, then went to get kerosene from my brother's shop. They told my mother to pour it on me.While she did that, the others beat up my brother.' When asked if she thinks she will ever return to her village again, the girl replies 'No because if I go back they'll come and slaughter me.' She does not cry when she says this. Her voice does not falter. Even though she is just a child, she has accepted the beliefs of the people of her village. Though she does not agree with them, she has accepted that this is the way life is for her and so she must remain locked away at a special school for albinos, away from home, from her family.

Further atrocities include albino girls being raped due to the belief that having relations with a girl with albinism will cure AIDS. Around 1.4 million people among a population of 40.7 million people living in Tanzania have the AIDS virus, a virus which was spreading quickly enough even without this new misguided belief that sleeping with an albino girl will rid you of the disease. Ernest Kimaya, head of the Tanzanian Albino Society, said that there is a huge social stigma attached to reporting being raped and so it is difficult to know just how many people have been made rape victims as a result of this belief.

So why, in 2012 do these terrible crimes occur? I am no sociologist, but upon watching the documentary and listening to people speak to casually about such events, laughing and joking about the killings, it became clear to me that many of the people in the communities where the killings occur believe that:

a) If a knowledgeable man tells you that all your dreams will come true if you kill somebody for him, there is no reason why you should not do it. The effect of killing somebody on your conscience can be dealt with: poverty cannot.

b) People with white skin are cursed/their body parts have magical properties. These superstitions are held in high regard and the people of the communities really take heed of what witchdoctors and evangelical pastors tell them with regards to what to believe in and how to conduct your life. Religious beliefs are seen as fact and so if you truly believe that somebody is possessed by the devil, killing that person would not be seen as a sin by you or anybody else who shares the same beliefs.

c) The people who witness the crimes but do not share the same beliefs as the killers still seem to empathise with them, saying 'It's strange for a white child to be born to a black man. That's why they call you a curse.' Obviously, in our Westernised world, with everything media saturated and technologically advanced to the highest level, we understand albinism. We understand that it is a condition in which people's skin lacks melanin and the protection it affords against the sun, causing a partial or complete lack of pigment in the hair, skin and eyes. Only a child would look at a albino person from a black family and think it strange. Josephat Torner, a man with albinism who has dedicated his life to raising awareness and improving the living conditions of people suffering, says 'There's only one thing in life that's helped me. Only one thing. Education.'

See, living in poverty, combined with high levels of superstition and a lack of basic education makes events like the slaughtering of hundreds of innocent albinos seem, dare I say it, understandable. Who are we to say that we would be doing any different if we were in the killers' shoes? How can we know for certain that if we had a choice of killing a stranger or letting our families go hungry we would not do it? We can't. The people of Tanzania cannot have been born evil, or born killers. Their morals and prejudices have been shaped by a society that is severely lacking in its treatment of the citizens within it.

The first ever conviction for the killing of an albino occurred in 2009. Despite albinos having been murdered for years before that, it was nevertheless a step in the right direction for Tanzania. The three men held responsible for the death of 14-year-old Matatizo Dunia were sentenced to death by hanging, but if Tanzania is to truly move forward, it must take into account that merely punishing men after they become killers will not stop the problem. Education is the key.

Hopefully, with the awareness of charities such as The Tanzania Albino Society, communities can begin to learn the error of their ways and Tanzania can move forward. In recent years, albino children have been sent to special schools guarded by police where they can pursue an education in safety, and adults from certain villages have to live in walled camps away from the rest of society. While institutions like this have no doubt prevented huge numbers of unnecessary deaths, people shouldn't have to be locked away and hidden from the world. These people are not criminals. They should not have to live in prisons. Torner says 'I do not know what our future will be like. Will we be a segregated and forgotten society?' and gestures to toddlers saying 'They are growing up without knowing their parents.'

Hopefully the actions of the charities, documentaries such as this one and Torner's efforts to raise awareness, such as a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in an attempt to prove that people with albinism are just as strong and just as human as everybody else, the people of Tanzania will begin to see things differently and change their ways. While Tanzania has a long way to go, things seem to be moving in the right direction.