Ashamed

Amsterdam.

Posted on by laynenthecity

On Thursday, February 26th, I flew from Spain to Amsterdam. I met up with three of my friends that also go to Texas with me but are studying abroad in other countries. Sarah is studying abroad Sweden and Allyson and Suzanne are in Prague.Thursday night, I was the last one out of the four to arrive to Amsterdam by about 30 minutes but once we all met up it was wonderful. We went to the bar downstairs and within 5 minutes of us all being together again we were laughing so hard that we started crying.

Then Friday rolled around….we started the day at the Van Gogh museum, and afterwards we went to The Pancake Bakery we were told we must go to! Honestly both the museum and the pancakes were amazing and so underrated. I ordered the “Mexican Pancake”, Ally had the “American Pancake”, and then the four of us shared the dessert pancake, and wow was it all unreal!

Of course, my friends and I had to check out the Red-Light District. Which could only lead to trouble for us four. As my friend Ally explained “Just four young college girls, walking through the red-light district checking out the other girls who actually work there”. Its Friday night and the party-goers are getting ready for a night of craziness. After walking around for a couple of hours, I began to wonder about the controversies pertaining to the women under the red fluorescent lights.

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I am unclear if the debate about these working women is the similar in Amsterdam as it is in America. In the United States, many people believe that the requirements and uniforms at Hooters are inappropriate, degrading, and that the restaurant is sexist towards the women that work there. Obviously, the women’s jobs in Amsterdam are more intense than the jobs the women carry out at Hooters. But it is best example I have personally come across in the United States with similar arguments following. I know that in America there have been hundreds of protests regarding the attire that the women wear at Hooters are required to wear. Noticeably, the women’s outfits in the red-light district are wayyyyy more revealing compared to the Hooters uniform.

It has been rumored that Hooters has certain requirements for the women working there. Starting from a woman’s outer appearance down to how much she weighs.

On one side of the debate, people believe that the outfits are embarrassing, shameful, and demeaning. They think that women should never be told what to wear to work, especially not this outfit. Where the tops are tighter than tight and the short shorts are very short. Together with, the g-string underwear and the barely there bra. Although the intentions of both are different the debate is the same. On the other hand, these women know what they are getting themselves into and the requirements for the job when they apply. Hooter_NewLogoTankTop2

Is it acceptable to objectify women if they are okay with being objectified?

Barca, Barca, Baaaaaaarca!

Posted on by laynenthecity

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In today’s society, when visiting another country, it is 100% normal to google: 25 things you must do in Barcelona. Mostly, if not every time someone does google this, attending a Barça game is definitely going to be on the list.

Based in Barcelona, this professional football club was founded by a group of men some people might never expect. In 1899 a Swiss man, an English man, and a Catalan man all created what is now one of the most popular teams in the world. Barcelona+Media+Open+Day+UEFA+Champions+League+9Anj_6mdKlSlThis franchise would never have been possible with out the advertisement Hans Gamper placed in Los Deportes, announcing his want to form a football club. One month later, eleven players attended the first meeting and FC Barcelona was born. Many people that don’t live or have never lived in Europe don’t know or realize that FCB (Futbol Club Barcelona) is actually a symbol of the Catalan culture, and its motto is “Més que un club” which literarlly translates to “more than a club”.

Many factors play a part in sports violence. For Spain there are three main components that have lead to atrocious behavior by the fans: racism, rivalry and politics.

In 2005, FCB’s Samuel Eto was a victim to racial slurs during a match against Real Zaragoza fans. Whenever Samuel had the ball in his possession the spectators made monkey noises and peanuts were thrown onto the field. After the game, Barça won 4-1, Eto said that he danced like a monkey because the rival fans treated him like one. In a more recent story, FCB player Dani Alves was assaulted when Villarreal fans threw a banana at him in 2014. fcb-crest-historyDani picked the banana up, peeled it, and then he bit it. Alves claimed that the person who threw the banana at him should be shamed publicly.

The Barça versus Real Madrid rivalry is deeper than just what you see on the field. The friction between the teams has been this way since Spain had a dictator. The two clubs were strangely created simultaneously during a one of the most chaotic times in Spanish history. During the revolt against the Second Spanish Republic, General Franco wanted FC Barcelona to be removed while Real Madrid was not in question. Teams like Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were linked to franquista groups. Whereas, FC Barcelona was bonded to the independents movements in Catalonia.

Today, Barça is worth $3.2 billion, making it the number two most valuable sports team in the entire world. FC_Barcelona_(crest).svgUnfortunately, FC Barcelona falls short behind Real Madrid which is worth $3.4 billion. Through out the years the skill level on both teams has fluctuated. During the 1930’s Real Madrid was the stronger team, beating FC Barcelona 8-2. But then two months later they were crushed 5-0. In the more recent years, FC Barcelona have had the upper hand against Real Madrid.

The battle between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid escalated in the 1950’s when both teams fought to sign Alfredo Di Stefano. Both Barcelona and Madrid came to the conclusion to share Di Stefano, but after a couple games playing for Barça, they canceled the after Real Madrid put up more money. After this, Di Stefano became known as a Real Madrid player. Another example, Luís Figo, moved from Barça to Real Madrid which stirred up trouble when he returned to play at Camp Nou. Barça fans threw a pig’s head, phones, and bottles onto the field.

Real tragedy struck when in 1991, Frederiq Roiquier, was wrongfully killed by FC Barcelona troublemakers who mistook him for an Espanyol hooligan. Then in 1992, a 13-year-old died due to a flare impact in his throat. Along with many other incidences, the authorities since have made attempts to control the acts of hooliganism. But in 2007, before a Real Madrid match, several cars were totaled and policemen were injured by flares and bottles. The violence in Spain has decreased since the hooligan laws were implemented in the 1990’s. Fines can add up to 600,000 euros and bans of two years into stadiums. In 2008, FC Barcelona publicly took a stand on violence.

The stadium is build for fans, with the home team on one side and the opposing team on the other side. Camp Nou is also built for a riot and is always ready for one. Today the opposing team’s fans sit in the top tier behind the Gol Sur, inside of a section that is blocked off and they are closed in. During the FC Barcelona versus Manchester match it was observed during the game, at half, and once the game was finished that on the big screen it stated something along the lines of “Manchester fans, please remain in your seat until security has told you otherwise”. The Manchester fans were blocked outside of the stadium until most of the Barça fans had entered. Also, they were not allowed to leave their seats until Camp Nou was cleared of Barça fans, due to their long standing competitiveness. Many people that enter a soccer stadium in Europe understand that there is always a chance for violence to break out during a match when playing a rival team.

Interview questions: When you were at the Barça game did you ever feel unsafe? Did you have previous knowledge of any fights or assaults that have ever taken place at a professional football match? Did you feel at any point during the game that your surroundings might become unsafe? Did you notice where the other team was sitting?

More The Merrier?

Posted on by laynenthecity

A good friend that I met abroad once told me, that her mother told her that “she should never participate in anything that she would be ashamed to confess to her future partner”. Dating in today’s society has become very casual, which can be very beneficial depending on what you are looking for. Whereas, on the other hand it can be very detrimental to others and possibly your health. In my life, I have came across many sides to this debate.

My mother explained to me that you should never settle down with the first person you fall for. You should date around, so that way you can experience and find out what you like and what you don’t like.

tumblr_m7suj3egAB1r1c49to1_500My best friend, that recently just got out of a 4 year relationship, believes that how many people you sleep with matters and that you will be judged on choices. She spelled out that if you don’t know how many people you’ve been with, then thats already too many.

My sister’s boyfriend clarified that people don’t care about how many people you have slept with as long as you don’t care.

I have always believed that what you want to do behind closed doors is your own choice, as along as both parties are being safe, then who cares!

7b46874d5e8c664958f8536f34bb9825On the other hand, if you asked a guy if their number mattered, I have a solid feeling that they would say that it didn’t. But here is where it gets interesting…as a woman would you feel the same about the man you were in love with if he didn’t know how many people he had been intimate with. Although there is a double standard against women for how many people you sleep with when your young, I feel that the double standard is flipped when it becomes time to settle down for marriage. In today’s world, when you are young, women get judged harder for being promiscuous than men do. However, if women keep up their Madonna reputation and the man is the “philanthropic” one then she’s the one that is turned off.

So, does your “number” only matter if you think it does?

Just recently saw this on buzzfeed!