Absolutely Shocking!!

Flicking through the Daily Mail on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea is my guilty pleasure, I am regularly sent through a mixture of emotions on the different articles! Happy that the guilty have got justice (Philip Garrido getting caught resulting in the release of Jaycee Lee Dugard; a captive of 18 years) to being saddened by the loss of innocent lives (a recent jet crash during an air show killed 2 pilots).


A story I've read recently sickened me, a group of boys attempted to hang a seven year old boy called Bradley in Portsmouth; although this is shocking enough, whats even more shocking is that the boys who attempted to hang him were SEVEN YEARS OLD. Seven?!? In a move common of the Bulger killers, the three boys tempted the young lad down to Branbury Park telling him that they were going to play a game. On arrival they told the Bradley to wait outside a "den" before they tied him up.

Luckily the boy survived, however the offenders are too young to be prosecuted so will get off with a stern warning. Is it just me or does this sound like the future killers starting early?



I would like to say that this is a rare thing, but nowadays this is seen everywhere. The most infamous being Jamie Bulger; this was a disturbing display of remorseless killing; yet the two boys are out living a life that we pay for (including new faces, lives and houses). If the killers were older, they would be away for life yet they get away for being children? How does this make it any better?

The most graphic I have heard is the killing of Tiffany Eunick, she was only six when she was murdered by a 12 year old boy in his home whilst supposedly "practicing" wrestling moves. However the coroner found evidence to suggest events that were much more sinister.



It is things like this that worry me, what sort of children are being raised here? Are games, films, parents, upbringing and other variables creating the next Charles Manson, Ted Bundy or Berkowitz? We need to act now, sure I understand that placing a child of seven in prison with other adult offenders is unthinkable but they need to serve some form of punishment or they are going to grow up believing that this behaviour is OK! We need to be stern now to save the future!!

What makes these children killers though? Its the classic argument of nature and nurture...

Personally, I believe its the nature of the person! Two children can grow up with exactly the same upbringing yet one becomes a killer and the other one doesn't! What stops them both becoming killers? What stopped Fred and Rose Wests children from killing? They were brought up being constantly raped by their parents and listening to the screams of victims, so what made them decide NOT to follow in their parents footsteps?

1 blog- 2 Television Shows

As a busy girl I don't really get the chance to watch television until late into the night; even then, I rarely pay attention as I usually have chores to complete so it easily becomes background noise.
However, I still have the (admittedly shameful) addiction to what I call "car crash television", the ones that you watch purely for entertainment value. You don't have to think; you just have to watch. Shows such as Jeremy Kyle, Trisha, and Big Brother are easy viewing; I do have an addiction to a show called Charm School.

This is a show hosted by Sharon Osbourne, who takes the winners from a previous reality show called Rock of love and is determined to turn them into ladies- teaching them everything from etiquette to business skills. This is not as easy as it seems as each lady have very public problems with alcohol, drugs, manners and social skills- the first episode I watched was the contestants viewing videos of their previous behaviours. Within minutes I was hooked, these girls were shameful. I have seen teenagers behaving with more maturity.

These ladies are mid twenty to thirties and behaving like rowdy teenagers. Where are their mothers? Who taught them to behave like this? Sharon has the hard job of trying to turn these vile people into young women, and to watch the transformation is amazing- by throwing the girls into situations they're not comfortable with it forces them to become strong, confident people.

To make it a little more interesting, each episodes there are expulsions in which a contestant who has acted particularly bad has to leave charm school and loses out on the prize money of £100,000. The eviction process is what makes me tune in again and again- the girls are given a chance to justify their actions to Sharon (the headmistress). This creates chaos amongst them, which makes for good viewing; in the recent episode, there were so many arguments that Sharon had to make people wait outside for it to calm down.

Its a good thing, I suppose, that I find the girls behaviour so vulgar. I would be more worried if I looked up to them- watching them just enforces that I have been "brought up not dragged up" and I take pride in the fact that I will never be like them.

14 and Pregnant

I was flicking through the various television shows one evening and came across a documentary with this title. Compelled, I decided to watch what it was about (because the name can be deceiving) I was shocked to find that the young "star" of the documentary was Rebecca who was, infact, fourteen and seven months pregnant. This is an on going documentary which follows eight people, all of which are pregnant or have just given birth before there GCSE year.

Two questions always spring to mind when I see shows like this:

Where are the parents? -Single, nuclear or distended families make no difference in this, as long as there is a parent or carer for the child (and I say child because, lets face it, they still are). Why are they even thinking of sex at fourteen, and why are they not comfortable enough with there parents to discuss it?
My mum taught both my brother and I about sex at a young age (12-15) to ensure that we knew how to be safe and, more importantly, to ensure we knew that if we had any questions we could go to her for advice. As my mum said, "if you cant talk about it, then you shouldn't be doing it? So why aren't these morals installed in all parents?
Rebecca happens to have a cousin who, at 17, is pregnant with her second child and the family is happy about it! What are they thinking? By showing that its ok, what sort of role model are they being for there children?
The documentary didn't show how hard it would be, the emotional suffering and after effects of having kids. The lack of sleep, the feeling of seclusion and the possible depression; I feel this is part of the problem surrounding todays teenagers but I will get into that a little later.

Where was the educational system?- By fourteen, I had been forced to attend so many sexual education classes that I knew everything from periods to sexual diseases. My school took it upon themselves to show us the right thing to do, although we were young I felt confident to talk about, and ask questions on any subject.
This obviously had not happened in the case of these girls, one who which admitted to trying for a baby at fifteen with her boyfriend!! The parents were okay with this?

Why are the teachers, parents or even friends not explaining the emotional sides to pregnancy? That being pregnant is not a solution, its not an easy way out of problems? On shows all you see is the girls getting there own flat, and pulling their lives together for a final happy ever after. It doesnt however show the emotional strain that you suffer through; the pain of labour, the stress of all tests (blood tests and tests for possible illnesses) and the stress afterwards. The late night, the depression and the feeling of seclusion when their friends are out celebrating.

This show only helped bring out the anger that I feel whenever I see another young girl pregnant, do they not realise what they are giving up? Even worse, what they are taking on? How can a child be fully responsible for another child? A show that represents young pregnancy perfectly is Hollyoaks- Ste struggling to look after his infant son whilst holding a job and keeping a flat. It explains that having a child is not easy and shows the suffering that he is going through just to get through the week.

I strongly believe that, if schools, parents and shows represented pregnancy in this way we would have a much lower pregnancy rate. I think it is the responsibility of everyone to show the seriousness of young pregnancy and stop making it seem so "glamourous" on the television shows.

Finally a tv show that represents family life properly!

If you are anything like me, you will sit watching television shows endlessly when the boredom hits or late at night before bed. I, personally, am addicted to American tv shows, such as Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars and the Gilmore Girls; these are all great shows although I noticed recently that the relationships seem fake. Yes, I know that the shows are fake and the characters are actors/actresses but shouldn't the show represent relationships how they really are?

When I was 13, I became interested in Charmed, a television show about three sisters who happened to be sisters. I was hooked after one episode, not because of the action (although that was certainly a factor) but because of how the relationships were represented. The opening scene involved two sisters who live together in a house they had inherited in their grandmothers will. Within minutes, the sisters were having a small argument about Piper (the middle sister) being late home to meet the electrician; finally, a show that represented family life. Its not all smiles and laughter, its hard, frustrating and at times arguing is going to happen.



Me and my mum have one of the closest parent/daughter relationship I have seen, we share everything and ensure that each other knows they have a support network but even we argue. Watching Charmed helped me to deal with issues I was having at home, it still does today, as the sisters deal with the same family problems that I have to face everyday. It may seem strange, but this proves theraputic to me, knowing that there going through the same thing (and yes, i know there characters but they start to feel real after a while).
Also, as in a real family, the different characters have different personalities, and I see myself in each and everyone:

Piper- Pipers character is down to earth, a mother to everyone; She will do anything for anyone whether it puts her out or not. In my times of stress, when I think everything may get to much, I watch how Piper copes with it; as the show progresses I start to feel more calm and like I can handle anything.
Phoebe-The free spirit, after her grandmother died Phoebe ran away to San Francisco as she felt she couldn't deal with the stress anymore. Her relationship with Prue (the older sister) is very strained and Piper is often left in the middle to pick up the mess.
The free spirit in Phoebe inspires me, whenever I watch Phoebe I feel like I can do anything. The way she thinks everything will be ok as long as she stays positive and keeps her heart open, shes inspiring.
Prue- The character that represents me more than any! The workaholic, Prue has constantly got responsibilities which stress her out. She works all hours god gives her to provide for her family so she doesnt have much time to be sociable or caring of others. I strive to have her strength and courage in times of fear or stress.
Paige-Paige is the adopted and slightly cookey sister. She is fun loving and caring, this means that there isn't much to get her down; she feels tied to her family and wishes for her freedom (although she loves her sisters).

I think I love this show so much because it has everything, action, drama, adventure and romance all rolled into one. I've started to care for the characters as if they're my friends and watching there lives unfold you start to get addicted. I'm not the only one either!! My mum has recently got addicted to the same television show!

With shows becoming more and more addictive, the need for socialising is getting a lot less! My addictions have got worse, thus taking up all my time. It was originally just Charmed, its slowly progressed to Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars, Charm School and 90210. This means I'm spending less time talking or socialising with friends; on the plus side it keeps me from getting up to no good so it cant all be bad!

So, in closing, I have to ask! Do you think television is good or bad?

What are these magazines thinking?

Most stores around the world sell different magazines of all genres; from general celebrity magazines to specialist subjects such as golfing and model making. The one thing that all magazines have in common is that they are all financed through the adverts that they feature.

My favourite genre of magazine is "glossy" with titles such as Company and Cosmopolitan. I am an avid reader who purchases them religiously. These are aimed at young adults aged 16 to 21, they feature the normal interests of readers at this age: sex, friendships, relationship advice and ways to improve their lives. Recently, magazines such as these have come under fire for being to image conscious, by not showing more 'curvaceous' models, the public believe they are promoting an unhealthy image, and until a few weeks ago I had sided with the magazines that they are showing a healthy image of how young adults should look today.

Many of the adverts featured in my magazines are for the typical merchandise that the magazines target audience would be interested in: make up, perfume and other beauty products. A few weeks ago, I was flicking through the advertisement pages at the back of Cosmopolitan and was appalled at what I saw. There was a A4 sized advert promoting COSMETIC SURGERY. In a magazine aimed at readers who are as young as 16, they were promoting surgery; these magazines are a massive inspiration to many of there readers, by publicising this as an actual way to lose weight can they not see what they are promoting to viewers?
With the 'power' these magazines have over young adults, it should be promoting healthy eating, exercise and general well being- not this 'quick fix' attitude.

It would be bad enough if there was just one advert promoting this but there are many spread across 4 pages stating campaign lines such as
"The best thing I ever done" and "a new more affordable you"
This just added to my shock- affordable- so now the magazine is telling readers that they can have their dream bodies, if they're willing to pay a little extra for it.
I have grown up reading these magazines and, occasionally, dreamed of being as skinny and pretty as the models, so I understand the wanting; not just to look like these people but to have the "glamorous" lifestyle that surrounds them, by placing these adverts next to images of models it will really make the reader think about the surgery (which is, understandably, good advertising however it is still immoral in my opinion)

I have felt passionately for a long time that magazines such as these don't understand the power they have over their readers. I am particularly appalled by adverts such as these as it does not only affect the readers opinions of themselves (to be considering plastic surgery, they have to have low self esteem!) but also the way they view their lives. By magazines as influential as Cosmopolitan creating 'quick fix' methods to problems, how long is it till this rubs off on other areas of their lives? How long until they start to believe that there will always be an easier way then to generally work hard?