Ingrid Illustrated

  Polite speech is something that we are all taught growing up, but is it really necessary? A simple “May I use the restroom?” or “Could you please pass the salt?” may seem unnecessary and redundant at times, but it can usually get you further than you’d think. For instance, in a classroom, being polite can even raise your GPA. If you are at an 89.4% in the class, instead of demanding “Round up my grade!” politely asking your teacher, “Is there any way you could round up my grade or give me an extra credit opportunity?” could bump your grade up a whole letter. Another example of when polite speech is crucial is in a courtroom. I have seen a video of the defendant constantly making aggressive comments toward the judge like, “What are you looking at?” which actually resulted in the judge giving them a longer sentence than originally planned. However, I have also seen videos where the defendant is very polite, addressing the judge as “Your honor” and “Ma’am” or “Sir” and clearly expla...

  I want a husband who will take care of me. A husband with movie-star looks and a great sense of humor. I want a husband who takes me out to date-night every Friday and constantly sweeps me off my feet. A husband who doesn’t stare at other beautiful women on the street and is loyal to me. I want a breadwinner, a go-getter. I want a husband who makes at least 6 figures, so my family will be taken care of. This way we can buy a house big enough to fit me, my baggage, and my closet! I want a husband with a steady job, but one who doesn’t travel too much and makes time for me and the kids. I want him to be a great father, of course, to make up for the times I am not always a great mother. I want someone who will discipline the kids, but also have fun with them. Someone who takes them to the park and pushes them on the swings. A father who will give his daughter his ice-cream cone when she drops hers. I want someone who is loving and affectionate, but also knows when to leave me alone....

  In Hollywood, women are 9 times out of 10 designed to play housewives, maids, mistresses, party girls, waitresses, and all other kinds of side characters. One of my favorite movies that breaks gender stereotypes is Hidden Figures . It is an inspiring story of three, brave, African-American women working at NASA. Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn worked as “human computers” for NASA, which was at the time not only male dominated, but also very segregated. Ever since she was a little girl, Katherine was out-smarting all the older boys and girls in her class, even after skipping grades. This alone breaks gender stereotypes, since in most movies, and in real life, boys are seen as smarter than girls. Also, Katherine’s favorite subject to excel at was math, when girls in STEM were almost unheard of.  The three women continue to break gender barriers as they enter their careers at NASA. Katherine is robbed of all her hard work when lead engineer Paul Stafford tak...

I completely agree with Deborah Tannen’s idea that women are always judged by their appearance and choices. A powerful quote she says is: “Gender markers pick up extra meaning that reflect common associations with the female gender: not quite serious, often sexual” (Tannen 553).  A prime example of this and the first thing that popped into my head when I read this was in Legally Blonde, when Warner told Elle he needed to break up with her because he needed someone “more serious”. By that he basically meant someone less blonde, less girly, and less attractive. Elle was heartbroken and wanted to follow him to law school. But when she told her friends and family her plan, they said the same things Warner did. That she was “too pretty” for law school or that she wasn’t smart enough. Just because Elle was the stereotypical blond hair, blue-eyed sorority girl, the people around her assumed she was less intelligent and took her a lot less seriously. So how come Warner wasn’t laughed at or...

  This podcast left me shocked, sad, and very angry. I was appalled by the comments the parents at the board meeting were making. Things like: “So I'm hoping that their discipline records come with them, like their health records come with them.” And even “We are talking about violent behavior that is coming in with my first-grader, my third-grader, and my middle schooler that I'm very worried about.” And the fact that after these comments were made, huge waves of applause followed?! Absolutely horrifying. The worst part is, parents and children from Normandy like Nedra and Mah’Ria had to sit in terrifying silence as these blatantly racist comments were being made about them. At one point, Mah’Ria said she wanted to say something to defend herself, but the overwhelmingly negative responses made her feel scared to even voice her opinion. Something else that shocked me was the color blindness from these events that took place not even 10 years ago. A woman proudly declares, “This...

  In “A Raisin in the Sun”, Mama wants to buy a house in the Clybourne Park neighborhood with the money she received from her deceased husband’s insurance. She wants to achieve the American Dream of living in an actual house with rooms for each family member, she wants bathrooms she doesn’t have to share with her pesky neighbors, and she wants an open yard where children can play. However, this dream may not be achievable for her. One reason is the price of the homes in this neighborhood. Houses were expensive and everyone in her family wanted a piece of the $10,000 Mama received. Another main problem would be that this neighborhood was probably primarily white, since the wealth gap for whites and blacks was huge during this time. Housing discrimination was a prominent issue in “A Rasin in the Sun” and, appallingly, still is in real life today. Despite efforts to eliminate it with laws prohibiting the refusal to sell a home to a person based on race, we can clearly see the effects ...

  With the holidays right around the corner, the annual discussion of Thanksgiving vs. Christmas is also approaching. Some say the two holidays are very similar while others say they are not at all, so what’s the verdict? Thanksgiving or Christmas?  One main difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas is that it is debatable if Thanksgiving was originally rooted in religion. It is a holiday of giving thanks and gratitude, bringing families together for celebration. It started in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast. The food we eat on Thanksgiving also varies from Christmas. It is traditional to eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and more.  Christmas is usually a very religious, Christian holiday. Christmas was traditionally a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. Religious families usually attend church Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, depending on what branch...