The Accessibility And Affordability Of Unhealthy Foods...

â€Å"Beep-beep†, a young boy pushes buttons on the vending machine at school. Cheaper and easier than packing a snack, his mother gives him a dollar everyday to buy a treat. â€Å"Beep-beep†, the boy, now a teenager, plays video games alone in his house. Too embarrassed by his weight to play outside with friends, he spends his days isolated in the basement, seeking comfort inside candy wrappers. â€Å"Beep-beep†, the boy who just dropped out of college, ignores a call from his mother. He has not spoken to anyone in months because of his depression, which only worsened with his growing size. â€Å"Beep-beep†, machines surround the hospital bed of the boy, now a man in his 40s, who just suffered from a heart attack, prematurely brought on by obesity. This young man’s life may have turned out drastically different, if unhealthy habits had not developed so easily at a young age. The accessibility and affordability of unhealthy foods like candy and sod a make it very difficult to break bad habits and pursue healthier options. Imposing a sin tax on unhealthy food choices to combat the growing problem of obesity in the United States would not only help the citizens suffering from obesity, but everyone else in the country in many different ways. Many argue that the implementation of a sin tax infringes upon their freedom of choice. They believe the government plans to further limit American’s civil liberties and manipulate the everyday lives of the citizens with the tax. However, the sin tax doesShow MoreRelatedSin Tax in the Philippines4297 Words   |  18 Pagesand the like. Sin tax is used for taxing activities that are considered undesirable. These types of taxes are levied by the government to discourage individuals from partaking in such activities without making the use of the products illegal. Like other taxes, sin tax also provides a source of government revenue. Since the Senate wants to pass or reform the Sin Tax Bill for some reasons like discouraging youth or people from smoking and alcohol drinking, for health purposes and the like, it has

The Novel Reality Boy Bya.s King - 1127 Words

For this book talk assignment, I read the realistic fiction novel Reality Boy by A.S King. The story takes place in Blue Marsh, Pennsylvania, in the year of 2013. The main character - Gerald Faust - faces a man vs. self conflict. His psychological problem of anger issues hinders him from enjoying his life. His rough past and psychopathic sister, Tasha, also discourage him. Consequently, he decides to run away to his friend Joe Jr.’s circus in Florida with his girlfriend, Hannah. Hannah also has a difficult life, so they both believed that they would be better off escaping their conflicts instead of solving them. While the two characters escape, they have to make sure that they pass their parents and siblings unnoticed. The protagonist has three distinct character traits that have not changed from the beginning to the end of the story. One of these character traits is a contemplative mind. Through many of Gerald’s thoughts, one could tell that he thinks deeply into things. On pages 305 and 306, he narrates, â€Å"Nature is so lucky. People can look at it and think nothing. No one analyzes it. No one blames it. No one underestimates it. Most people respect it...Maybe if we all saw ourselves as nature, we’d be kinder†. This thought proves that Gerald thinks deeply into simple things, like nature. Furthermore, he looks into plain ideas in a different way than other people, as well as applying those ideas to his life, the lives of other people, and how it would help everyone as a

Beebo Brinker Free Essays

The society in which the Beebo Brinker series found its home during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s was an inhospitable one. While homosexuality was nothing new in the world at large, it had almost completely been repressed, especially in a Western cultured world that was not only steeped in Christian tradition, but also notably patriarchal. A masculine woman was called a tomboy, and she was expected to curb her tomboyish attitudes in time for marriage and child-rearing. We will write a custom essay sample on Beebo Brinker or any similar topic only for you Order Now Societal expectations consigned her to petticoats, which in the sixties had been downgraded to dresses and stockings. However, the desires of the woman to dress as comfortably as a man and perform the roles that were traditionally given to men were repressed during that time. While the desires of the woman to have more freedom were repressed, any homosexual tendency was crushed violently. While the violence of lesbian repression might not have been overtly performed, all the women (lesbian or not) were aware of the intense pressure put on anyone who held those feelings or performed those actions. Ann Bannon describes her own wretched experience during that time and the suicidal feelings that necessarily accompanied the tendency toward lesbianism in the 1960’s. She writes that while being in a gay bar in the evenings, she would have extreme fair of it being raided and of herself being taken to jail. She continues: â€Å"I had been extremely low profile, very proper, very Victorian wife†¦ I thought, ‘Well, that would do it. I’d have to go jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. ’ As easy as it might be if you were a young woman in today’s generation to think that was exaggerating, it wasn’t. It was terrifying† (Lootens, 1983, p. 12). The fear that society inspired in the lives of lesbians drove them to underground haunts and secret lifestyles that marginalized their existence in American society. This marginalization drove lesbians to the cities where people were much less concerned with the business of others as compared with small towns. In the Beebo Brinker chronicles, the big city referenced is Greenwich Village, and the life that Beebo leads after she finds the courage to â€Å"come out† to her gay roommate is possible only in that city. She uses the facilities that the relative anonymity of the city grants to lesbians—gay and lesbian bars and apartment life, and this facilitates the unleashing of her hidden desire for other women. The promiscuity that is possible even to heterosexuals under the blanket of city life is also granted to Beebo, and she becomes a butch character playing the role of the male in many short lesbian affairs. This butch/femme role is highlighted in the novels written by Ann Bannon, and Beebo falls staunchly into the butch role. She is described as being one who sits at the bar and lights up a cigarette, holding out the match to another woman expecting her to blow it out. This overpoweringly masculine role goes beyond the level of mere self-discovery into an assuredly male persona. Beebo (and others like her) are shown to have performed the search that many lesbian women must do, and have found and realized her deepest desire to act in that domineering manner toward women. In fact, this emphasizes the desire that these women have to for the feminine body—not to be feminine but to command the sexual love of the feminine woman. This concept of the butch/femme role is, however, a stereotypical one, as many homosexual women find elements of both types within their characters and personalities. This fact highlights the stereotypes that have been propagated concerning lesbianism. Beebo Brinker does serve to facilitate some stereotypes that were cast concerning lesbians. The butch/femme stereotype is one of the major ones upheld in the series. The re-release of the books highlights this stereotype, as Beebo is portrayed as a beautiful yet muscular and domineering woman even on the cover. The cartoon-like nature of the picture (which enables the caricature) further serves the purpose of the stereotype. Yet, the book also depicts the nature of the woman who was confined to living a closeted lifestyle. The fears, frustrations and anxieties Bannon depicts transcends the stereotypical evil and satanic creatures that homosexuals were taken for in that society. It depicted them as human beings who suffered on account of the feelings they had, and the feelings that society had toward them. In this way, the novels attacked some of the negative stereotypes that society had of lesbians. The literary form of the novels falls into the category of popular fiction. These have been compared to the Harlequin and Mills Boon romances that many consider trite and sentimental. However, the feelings and problems dealt with (however tersely) in Bannon’s books were never as tidy as those in novels expressing heterosexual love. The characters in Bannon books were often forced to relinquish the loves that they desired and return to the oppression of traditional life. Even in the Beebo Brinker tales (where lesbianism was more embraced by the title character), lesbians were never able to rid themselves of a social stigma that would oppress them regardless of their success in finding happiness in love. These complexities of life are revealed in the Beebo Brinker novels, and this allows them to transcend the level of the trash novel and to become a historical artifact. Works Cited Bannon, Ann. Beebo Brinker. San Francisco: Cleis Press, 2001. Lootens, Tricia. â€Å"Ann Bannon: A Writer of Lost Lesbian Fiction Finds Herself and Her Public. † Off Our Backs. Vol. 13, Iss. 11, 1983. How to cite Beebo Brinker, Papers

Marriage In The Renaissance Era Essay Thesis Example For Students

Marriage In The Renaissance Era Essay Thesis Irvin Alfalfa Mrs.. Fearer English 1 (College Prep) April 26, 2013 Marriage in the Renaissance Era Marriage customs today are very different than those of the Renaissance era. During this era women had limited options in marriage and life. In Michael Bests article, The Age of Marriage, he indicates that although people did not get married as young as people believed, marriage was still not so much about love. For example, in some noble houses marriages were indeed made at a young age for reasons of property and family alliance, (Best, 1). We will write a custom essay on Marriage In The Renaissance Era Thesis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now A clear example of this is that Caplet wants Juliet to marry Paris to expand their name and alliances. Juliet did not love Paris but was being forced into marrying him by her parents. In addition, girls were obliged to marry a man that was successful and rich. This narrowed down the limited choices for women and although young girls had no interest in marrying they had to in order to get wealthier and have a better life. However, children of noble birth ran a great risk if they tried to marry without their parents prior approval, since they would be oft with no resources. Some marriages were in fact based on love but it was very rare because the bridegroom may not have been wealthy or known. Novel Guiders article, The Institution of Marriage in Renaissance Era, implies that marriage was both secular and sacred. For example, secularly, it served as a coming together of two parties interested in obtaining property, money, or political alliances. This was the main goal of noble homes. Some marriages were also sacred in that it assured the love of a man and woman and searched for reproduction. William Shakespearean ark displays the sacredness of love and marriage. However, some families did not force marriages because, the best marriages were those that were equally consensual and desired by both parties, (novel guide, 1). Freedom of choice varied for each child in a family. Each child had a certain amount of freedom in choosing their mate. The eldest son was under the greatest pressure since he inherited the majority of the land. His marriage was often critical to the family survival because they depended on him for financial support. This article somewhat contradicts Michael Bests article in which he states that all marriages where forced on. Jeremy Goldberg article, The Right to Choose: Woman, Consent and Marriage in Late Medieval England, suggests that marriage was indeed forced on, but by not only parents. Jeremy Goldberg provides an example in which a girl was forced by her attacker to agree to marry him. This was very common during this era. Men eager for money and land would force wealthy and innocent girls into marrying them. John Dale was a man who used physical violence and the threat of it to con Agnes into arraying him. In all, these three articles provide examples of marriage being an important for both men and woman. Some marriages were made to have more wealth and land while others were made simply because two partners loved each measures in order to have a wife. And although women had very limited options and were considered a minority, they managed to have a good life if they chose the right man. Very much has changed during the years. Best, Michael. The Age of Marriage. Roughage Ballads. University of Victoria Library. Web. 1 Feb. 2013. Tap://interrelationships. Vic. Ca/ Goldberg, Jeremy. The Right to Choose: Woman, Consent, and Marriage in Late England. History Today 59. 2 (2008): 16th. General Reference Center GOLD. Web 7 Feb.. 2013 http://go. Colleague. Com Shakespeare. William. Romeo and Juliet. Holt Literature and Language Arts. Third Course. Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009. The Institution of Marriage in Renaissance Era. 1 Feb. 2013. Http:// enveloping. Com/Reporters/ literature/Shakespeare/institution-marriage- renaissance-period-was-both