Source: @ Blend Images / Alamy Stock Photo |
Thursday 14 January 2021
#payhealthcarestudents
Monday 23 November 2020
The best decision I made this year
Source: Aman Kalkat |
It goes
without saying that 2020 has presented challenges and frustrations for everyone.
The pandemic has changed the course of thousands of lives and may have suffered
different forms of loss, whether that be loved ones or life changing opportunities.
Whilst loss has weighed heavy on our world this year, the opportunity for reflection
and gratitude has risen as a consequence.
And as a
consequence of everything that changed around the world, I want to take an
opportunity to express how grateful I am for the life I am currently living.
As part of
my degree I am inclined to spend a year abroad to help with the development of language
skills. This is something I had been anticipating for form the moment I had
applied to university way back in sixth form. However, when the pandemic hit,
my plans had been changed and the year I had planned to have was looking very
different. The logistics of moving abroad became much more complicated and of
course the health aspect made me a lot more anxious to go through with it.
There were so many moments where I had considered passing up the opportunity
and staying at home because I was just so scared to move my life at such a time,
but almost two months on, I can say, the decision to make this move has been one
of the best decisions of my life.
The emotions
and rewards I have experienced during my time here are incomparable to anything
I have ever felt, and I am indefinitely grateful to everyone who supported me
and pushed me to do this.
2020 has proved
how unpredictable life can be. In every country across the world, things are
constantly changing, opportunities and circumstances transform so quickly now.
Moving my life here has shown me just how important it is, especially during the
circumstances we are in now, to completely step out of your boundaries and make
the most of the advantages that are in front of you right now.
I would also
like to say I recognise how privileged I am to be able to sit here and write
something like this during what has been a difficult year for so many people. Although
I have been presented with challenges this year, I am incredibly lucky to be able
to travel freely and enjoy my current environment.
Whatever your situation may be, I hope that my words can encourage you to not let your losses completely define you and make the most of what our world has to offer.
Thank you for reading!
Aman
Thursday 13 August 2020
White America: “Under Attack?”
Thursday 2 July 2020
The sexist obsession with what women in politics wear
Leading
women are usually presented in the media as women first, and then powerful
figures second. This phenomenon of a gendered representation in media is known
as ‘gendered mediation’, a “new phase in the study of women, politics, and themedia”, which focuses on the “stereotypically masculine narrative used inpolitical reporting”. This takes place when media representations of public
figures choose to reinforce social gender stereotypes, often regarding women as
trivial and men as essential.
In the last 20
years, female figures in politics have become more accepted and they are now
more recognised for their skills and abilities, yet there is still undeniable discrimination
against these women, simply for being women. It would be expected that as the
world has begun to open its arms to female politicians that media would mirror this
shift in its own language. However, by comparing the ways in which Margaret
Thatcher and Theresa May have been described by the media, it is clear that there
is still an overwhelming presence of gendered mediation.
Research by
Blair Williams showed that during the first three weeks of her term, Thatcher’s
appearance was mentioned in only 15% of the articles commenting on the new
Prime Minister.
In the case of May, however, her appearance was noted twice as often. Newspapers
chose to focus on May’s style and fashion choices, adopting clothing items to
identify her, something which rarely, if ever, occurred with Thatcher.
For example,
May has often been referred to by the likes of ‘The Sun’ as “kitten heels” as a
result of her frequent style choice of footwear. We saw this again in another headline
by ‘The Sun’: “HEEL, BOYS – New PM Theresa can reunite Tories & deliver
Brexit”. The headline was accompanied by a large striking image of a high heel
shoe above a selection of male MPs. Both the image and the syntax of the title
place more emphasis on May’s shoe choice and even suggest that her identity
lies primarily in the items that make her a woman, something that would not happen
to a male Prime Minister. Her choice of dresses, variety of necklaces, even the
shades of her lipstick all manage to create headlines where the changes she is
bring to the British government should be, all in a negative and critical
manner with an aim to denigrate her, simply because she is not a man.
Another
woman in a high position of power is Angela Merkel, the first female chancellor
of Germany. Merkel’s own wardrobe choices take part in determining what
language is used to regard her in the media just as with Theresa May. For years
Merkel’s signature look has been a colourful blazer jacket usually worn with
contrasting colour suit trousers. Merkel has long created consistency in her
dress choice and perhaps this is why “you barely waste a thought as to what she
is wearing and immediately move on to think about what she has to say” as
suggested by, Dara Ford in her article titled: ‘What Theresa May can learn fromAngela Merkel on Fashion’. But isn’t Ford simply saying that it is Merkel’s downplaying of a stereotypically
feminine trait that has earned her more respect than May in global politics?
Are women only deemed respectable if they supposedly dress like men?
Angela
Merkel’s appearance is described by the New York Times as a modification of
“the male uniform” allowing the German chancellor to remain “within the
traditional framework”.
Here the pairing of the words “male” and “traditional” gives the impression
that in the political world, men in power are the norm and that women are
required to mirror their features in order to succeed as leaders. Instead of being celebrated as the
first woman chancellor of Germany, Merkel is instead presented as a man and is
associated with the powerful images of male leaders. It is this masculine
identity which ultimately earns her more respect on the behalf of the media in
comparison to someone viewed as more feminine like Theresa May.
Leading women are caught in a
paradox. A paradox which requires them to be strong, authoritative, and
powerful, yet not so much so that it takes away from the stereotypical characteristics
of a woman. Often women in leading positions find themselves subject to criticisms
for leaning too far into either of the tensions.
Mainstream media are simply unable to disconnect a woman’s identity from her appearance. Theresa May is much more than her heels, and Angela Merkel is much more than her androgynous suit choices. Both of them are formidable women who have led significant changes and decisions in both of their countries. Why does it matter what they look like and what they wear?
Thank you for reading!
Aman
Thursday 18 June 2020
2020: Activism at full speed
Source:news.sky.com |
The Premier League made a return
yesterday and whilst many fans were excited to see the sport return to screens there
was considerable attention placed on other aspects of the match.
As I watched the nation’s reactions
to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ written on the players jerseys, the moment of
silence, and the blue NHS across players’ chests, I realised just how central
activism has become to each of our lives.
Now let’s not forget that there has
been a long history between athletes and activism; Colin Kapernick’s decision to
kneel during the national anthem as a protest against police brutality; Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar’s protests after the assassination of Martin Luther King; Venus Williams’
impact in equal pay for women players in tennis. To extend that list one could
mention the names, Muhammad Ali, LeBron James, or Tommie Smith and John Carlos
and there are clear examples of changes that they have influenced.
Its not hard to go back through history
and discover that sports protesting runs deep especially within American sports,
whether the protests be about race, pay, gender or nationality - sports has always
had a place for activism.
Yet few of these examples come from the
UK. Does this contribute to the narrative that the UK likes to appear as a non-racist
country? Would openly protesting in ways that American athletes have hold up a
mirror and reveal a reflection that the UK does not want to see?
2020 has definitely been a year like
no other. We have endured an unprecedented global pandemic and been witness to
one of the biggest civil movements in history, one in which many of us have
been active participants. And it is this combination of these two events which
has produced a response like no other.
What is being brought to the forefront
of every family home and every company building is the reality of human vulnerability.
Never before have I seen my Twitter feed full of petitions from those supporting
the Black Lives Matter movement to petitions in support of the Yemen crisis. It
seems that the affects of such deep world crises have truly been education and action,
often on a small level, but nonetheless a level much higher than I have ever
witnessed.
Seeing those players take a kneel
yesterday and finally acknowledge a problem that does not only exist in America
but in every culture and country seemed like a real turning point especially
for the UK and its problems with racism. From the actions of these players, to
call to actions created by social media influencers like Jackie Aina, 2020 has
seen millions of people find the activist in them.
I mentioned the reality of human
vulnerability and I really do believe that this is the year in which people
have finally been able to separate politics, and human vulnerability. Of course,
the outcomes of the movements, petitions and protests are to create law reforms
and influence changes in politics and state rulings, but this renewed wave of a
stronger involvement from people who aren’t MPs or aren’t State Governors, has
truly revealed that change doesn’t just come from a few people in suits and
ties, it come from us, the real people.
“I don’t claim to have the education of an MP in parliament, but I do have a social education”, Marcus Rashford 2020.
Thank you for reading!
Aman
Monday 11 May 2020
Let’s talk about the mental health of our keyworkers
Source: ohsonline.com |
Source: liverpoolbidcompany.com |
Saturday 11 April 2020
My Sister Needs PPE Now
Source: change.org |