I'm NOT a Barbie Girl, In a Barbie World, Life in Plastic, It's UNfantastic

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in a beautiful pink dream house. She was absolute perfection: "thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three inch waist." She was to die for; since her debut more than 800 million copies of her has been sold. Well, that was until she fell "flat on her face." Her fans came to a realization that her body was very much inhumanely possible. Sorry Barbie...you're almost perfection?
Now this is the problem with people, our society. Why is there such an emphasis on appearance? Through society's rhetoric, people have come to form stereotypes such as pink is for girls and blue is for boys. A girl's room gets pink pillows, pink blankets, pink elephants, and pink curtains. A boy's room gets blue pillows, blue blankets, blue monkeys, and blue curtains. Why is this? Apparently, blue is more bold and striking while pink is soft and dainty. It seems like Barbie is a "liberated women" with all her fashion plazas and beauty salons, but in the end it all comes back to beauty and appearance. This superficial image of women has been brainwashing young girls, tainting their sexuality. Fast forward from 1956 to 2016, nothing much has changed really.

With this mindset, generations have pushed the message of how women can the pretty wife of the king but never his queen. So yes, society has been trying to push women's femininity with things like heels, boobs and butt, petite features, BARBIES. To be honest, I was never a fan of barbies. They're just so rigid and hard, and their limbs are removable... If you wanted to stress how women are soft and dainty, why go and create some hard, plastic toy? They seem pretty masculine to me, which is ironic because even a toy meant for girls isn't able to speak for girls. Also, they hurt when you accidentally step on them. This resembles how women aren't fully able to express themselves freely and are stepped on even though they are not meant to be.
Seeing as to how this issue still persists today, we cannot just "Keep Calm and Love Jesus" because this is a problem society has induced itself. Everyone needs to find their way out of "Barbie's world."

Who Am I?

I am a 5'7", 16-year-old Taiwanese girl with dark brown hair, yellow skin, and brown eyes. When someone looks at me, they'll probably think "Oh, she's a pretty tall Asian girl." My physical features, my genetic traits, are what define me as an Asian, which is essentially my race. Race is an indication of what you were born with; it is unchangeable. I can't wake up one morning and decide I want to be a white or black girl, right?  I will always have to check the box "Asian" on my standardized tests and official documents. Besides race. humans are identified in another aspect. That would be ethnicity. What is your nationality? What religion do you practice? Those questions fall under ethnicity. Ethnicity comes with choice. A person can learn and alter their ethnicity throughout their life. I can choose to devote myself to Christianity one day and learn about the traditions and customs of this religion. I can also convert to Buddhism if I happen to change my mind and be enlightened by the new set of beliefs. So basically, race is something "assigned" to an individual, while ethnicity is "self-identified."

Now, after acknowledging what race and ethnicity is, I now wonder why do those things I stated above define what race and ethnicity are. Why am I Asian? Because I'm Taiwanese. Why am I a Taiwanese? Because my both my parents were born in Taiwan. Why are my parents Taiwanese? Because they live in the country Taiwan. Why are the people living in the country Taiwan known as Taiwanese citizens? Because a mass of people came together to claim independence, drew their borders around their newly found country, and began calling themselves Taiwanese. Hence, my nationality is a social construct. These classifications were created by society itself. In volume II of Maus, Art questions his wife Francoise, "I mean in my book what kind of animal should I make you?" She is a French, but she converted to Judaism. It was society who pushed the notion that those who had didn't have brown hair and blue eyes and practiced Judaism were Jews. Due to this, Francoise claims that she should also be a mouse, and Art evidently draws her that way.
All of these definitions, classifications, and identifications are all drawn by society. People come to a general agreement to create "order." This allowed people to understand each other better, but gave people power over each other, as well. But the thing is, human perception and belief are always fluctuating so nothing is truly set. If we take off our masks and remove the binds that define us, we all are just human beings. However, no one can be sure about who they are because for all we know, it's possible we can wake up one day as a different person, labeled with a different name.

Mix of The Past and Present

In Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus, the panels closely followed both the past and present. Of course, there is a clear gap between the past and present in our measure of time. However, Spiegelman disregards the line drawn between the past and present and understood "how to use every available centimeter to get as much stuff packed into a small space as possible" (Chute). Throughout the novel, the panels shift back and forth from Vladek's history to the present where Art is listening in on his father's survivor tale. Placing panels of the past and present strengthens the general story. This shows how the past and present are always surrounded by each other, separated only by the thin borders of each panel. Sometimes the present is literally bordered by panels of the past. The present revolves inside the events of the past. There is an impact, which can be seen in Vladek's changed personality and view of the world, and in his almost irritable way of retelling his gruesome story to his son. Without both the past and present, the perspective portrayed within the scenes of the Holocaust and Artie's questioning and understanding of that past wouldn't exist.

In addition, smoke is a significant symbol in regards to the idea connecting the past and present. In one scene, as Vladek is talking to Artie, he complains at the smoke from Artie's cigarette. Smoke is a hazy and cloudy substance with gas and particles. It blurs ones vision but doesn't impair it like darkness would. This aligns with the idea of how the past and present aren't so distant. Vision isn't so clear between the past and present because one is history and one is the living outcome of the history. However, the impact the past has on the present allows for slight vision like in smoke.
Another way that cigarette smoke plays a role in this concept is how Art's father "bleeds history". The smoke is a form of release which is similar to bleeding. Vladek is irritated by the smoke which is parallel to his uneasiness when retelling his horrid past. Vladek from the past is bringing his life into the present, while Art from the present is digging up and rebuilding the past.

"I want to tell your story, the way it really happened" (Spiegelman 23).

Everyone Woman Can Be a Warrior

In Kingston's White Tigers, there is a portion which covers the "Ballad of Fa Mu Lan". The extreme cultural standards of the Chinese, especially towards women, are portrayed in that piece. A woman was expected to "grow up as a wife and a slave" (Kingston 20). If people today were told what they will become in the future or if they were given a pre-planned timeline, they would only scoff in disbelief. Life in the plantations? Arranged marriage? Mother from age 15? No way. Kingston brought out the rebellious woman warrior to represent the act of defiance. The woman warrior disguised herself as a man as she went out to fight and save her village. When she came back to her husband, she settled down with a newborn child. She not only filled in the role of a courageous swordsman, but also of a nurturing mother. The word warrior doesn't only describe a person with physical strength and combat bravery. It more describes one's strength for being able to accomplish what she desires as a person, while successfully carrying out her other important duties. The woman warrior killed a life, (to save her village) but created a life (for a complete family) as well.

Take a look at today's world. Cities, towns, and villages are bustling with determined women who seek their dreams and goals. Women all around the world are now taking on jobs which were once known as "men's work". A true warrior woman is someone who can climb high with their ambitions and not forget to cherish love/hold on to family.

Warrior woman's matchmaker grandma doesn't fail to remind her of another importance - love & family

P.S. Why "White Tigers"? I was just thinking that maybe it's because white tigers are a rare and endangered species. That would be parallel to the rarity of true warrior women who stray from traditional cultural standards. However, when they are spotted, we can only awe at their beauty.

Journey Out of Political Darkness

noun

the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.; political administration

This is the definition of government given by dictionary.com. Government is body meant to congregate the ideas of the public and to listen to the people they serve. However, today government has taken a wrong turn and failed to complete its purpose. As stated in "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience", the government now embodies "friction" created by injustice created in society over time. Government should be a country's pillars of support, a country's field of vision, a country's listening ear, a country's voice. In reality, our country has been ignoring the consent of its citizens and has been overstepping its use of power. It has become a machine that mechanically produces products -- politicians or soldiers -- to serve for its own selfish purposes. This disconnection between our country and us citizens destroys the message of a united nation. 

The part that has actually gone wrong is the people's unwillingness to speak out. Some people are even worse that; they would be dragged around like a doll, following along just because they have nothing to say. Thoreau brings this crucial issue to the table through his words. "It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support" (Thoreau). Of course, our country needs to rid of this egotistical quality the government possesses. But first of all, we need to cut down the numbers of people who make choices without using their conscience. People should not give in to the "power of majority" just because they are indifferent to the topic. They are only becoming slaves (one without the capability of speaking his own mind) of the government. Thoreau isn't asking for a new government. He is stressing how the most deadly and long-lasting errors require the existence of indifference. Our country needs that one honest man to step out of the dark and resist the tyranny.

Over two thousand years apart, but together they bring the right message:

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao Tzu

"For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: What is once well done is done forever." -Henry David Thoreau