Month: March 2024

As a woman, I have learned some unfortunate truths to stay safe. It’s hard to keep so many tips straight and know what to do when something happens.

Women’s safety is incredibly important, and now more than ever, I suddenly feel like I’m not in crimeless and safe St. George.

Last week, I was picking up a prescription at Harmons when a man came up to me. He asked if I liked jokes, and I instantly felt uncomfortable. I told him “no,” but he still decided to tell me a crude joke and wouldn’t leave me alone.

I looked around at various people walking past me and mouthed “help” to a woman. Then, she laughed at me and walked away. He must have sensed my hesitation because he randomly ran away and I went about my shopping, staying vigilant.

To my shock, the man who had been following me came into my checkout lane. In fear, I looked to the cashier, who still did nothing. I asked him if somebody could walk me to my car, and he didn’t say anything.

When I finished paying, I waited for the cashier to help me, but he didn’t. At that moment, I grabbed my bag and ran to my car and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as I could.

This situation just proved to me that everything I had ever learned just didn’t help me. I knew what to do, yet nothing worked to help me.

In my life, I have learned so much about women’s safety, and I keep all of these tips with me wherever I go.

Tips

1. Be mean. As a woman, it’s impossible to be mean without being called bratty or other awful words. But being mean can save your life. In Harmons, I said, “Leave me alone,” “I don’t want to talk to you” and other things to get him to leave. Don’t feel like you need to say “sorry” to make yourself seem nicer. Just be assertive and walk away.
2. As you walk up to your car, check underneath it to make sure nobody is hiding under waiting to grab you. This one seems silly, but human traffickers can sometimes hide under your car to grab you if you’re targeted.
3. Don’t grab any type of paper or object that’s on your car until you are far away. This can be a lure for people to grab you.
4. Never load groceries in your trunk, and always load them in the back seat and create a barrier between the car door and the cart to ensure you can’t be grabbed.
5. Don’t ever go for walks or runs at night—ever. Even if you’re with a friend, it’s incredibly dangerous to walk at night.
6. Always, always look over your shoulder. I wouldn’t have noticed that man following me in the store if I hadn’t stayed vigilant and checked my surroundings. If you see the same person multiple times, tell somebody.
7. If you see something, say something. I was honestly shocked that nobody at Harmons helped me. I have always been told to tell a worker that something was happening in a store, and I can’t tell you what I should have done instead because I thought I did everything right.
8. Meet any dates in a public place during the day. If you meet somebody online, your first date should be during the day, at a coffee shop or for lunch in a busy place. Once you know they’re safe, you can meet them for dinner or something else at night.
9. Always have a weapon on hand, or know how to defend yourself. Women carrying a gun or having some kind of weapon are far more likely to get out of a dangerous situation than if they had no weapon.
10. Take a self-defense class. The Utah Tech Police Department has S.A.F.E classes offered for students to learn how to defend themselves without a weapon.

Being a woman is incredibly frustrating. I feel like I have to always look over my shoulder and be vigilant with my surroundings. I constantly fear that my outfit is too revealing and something could happen to me if what I wear is “asking for it.”

I hate that as a woman, I have to fear for my life even when I’m in my own home. As a society, it’s ridiculous that women are unsafe and have to protect themselves when the problem should be addressed at the source.

If instead of teaching women how to be safer, what if we taught assaulters how to not assault or advocated for victims instead of blaming them?

I wish women didn’t have to look behind their shoulder during walks, and instead men just stopped attacking women. Teaching men how to stop attacking could end so many assaults if we just targeted the root of the problem, instead of blaming women for not being safe enough.

Women’s safety is so important, and with these tips, I hope any woman out there can stay safe and feel protected.

Content warning: Topics discussed in this article contain sexual and emotional assault.

“Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” documented the emotional, physical and sexual abuse of production sets from hit childhood shows like “The Amanda Show” to “Drake and Josh” and many more.

After watching “Quiet on Set,” every thought I had about childhood television changed.

While I was growing up enjoying my childhood, these childhood stars were paying an unbearable and horrific price that has affected the Hollywood scene forever. In an adult-driven industry, I am appalled to see how children are treated on and off set.

I hate that shows geared toward children couldn’t be as wholesome and fun as the show was intended to be for everyone else. Because abusers try to get wherever they can to do whatever they can to get to children, the kid’s television and acting industry is unfortunately the perfect place to do it.

Former child actors, costume designers, staff writers and more alleged abuse and toxic behaviors. Racism, workplace bullying and sexual innuendo are all mentioned in the documentary. This is a documentary not for the faint of heart.

Episode after episode in this four-part series brought so much information that hadn’t been released before.

Drake Bell, formally known for his role in “Drake and Josh,” has come out to have been sexually assaulted by Brian Peck. Peck, at the time, was a dialogue coach for shows like “All That” and “The Amanda Show.” In previous years, it was unknown who Peck abused, but we now know from the documentary it was Bell.

Bell describes the abuse as, “Think of the worst thing someone could do to someone as a sexual assault, and that’ll answer your question.” Peck was convicted of two counts and sentenced to serve 16 months in prison. He’s registered as a sex offender.

Right out of prison, Peck then worked for Disney Channel’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” Finding out this information did not sit well with me. The fact that Disney hired a registered sex offender for a child set should have been illegal.

It wasn’t just childhood stars getting the abuse, even though the documentary mainly focuses on them. Everyone behind the scenes was affected by sleazy managers and executives from Nickelodeon including Dan Schneider.

Schneider, one of the main abusers mentioned, was at one point the backbone of Nickelodeon. Schneider and his company, Schneider’s Bakery, are responsible for hit TV shows like, “iCarly,” “Victorious” and “Henry Danger.” But his sexual jokes on and off screen, constant massages on set and toxic behavior allowed for predators and illegal activity to happen on set.

Even though Schneider has come out with statements trying to prove the documentary is misleading, there is so much more information to prove how horrible of a person he is. Schneider should be blamed for every event that occurred on his television shows. He, along with the executives of Nickelodeon, should see repercussions from the events that happened under their leadership.

At the end of the day, Schneider allowed and knew about the abuse that was happening. His multiple investigations and eventual leave from Nickelodeon in 2018 should speak to the kind of man he is. The fact that unfair wages, sexual acts and overall abuse happened for over 20 years on this network should be punishable in multiple ways.

Parents, writers and cameramen were all manipulated to not know what was happening on set. There were multiple times mentioned in the documentary when showrunners and producers had no idea how extreme the abuse was on set, even years later.

This documentary needs to be the push to change child acting. This hasn’t just happened in Nickelodeon. It has happened all throughout this industry. Drew Barrymore and Shirley Temple are both examples of young stars who were abused in the film industry. Alyson Stoner, Drake Bell, Bryan Hearne and Giovonnie Samuels are not the only ones who have spoken up about their experience in this industry in recent years.

They are brave and pioneering individuals who know they have a strong enough voice to promote change. If the #MeToo movement changed the film industry for women, we need to do the same for children.  

Kids are not entitled to work. There are child labor laws for a reason, and the acting industry is the perfect loophole. Children deserve to be shielded from any harm, and it’s the industry’s responsibility to ensure that the loopholes that allow for abuse are closed. The wholesome and fun nature of children’s programming must be untainted.

As we continue to push for progress and accountability, let’s remember that children are not commodities but individuals deserving of protection and respect.

Sexual assault hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Dun dun… dun dun… dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnn.

This foreboding song is easily recognizable. It’s a song meant to strike fear in the hearts of all who hear it–the sound of “Jaws.”

Are sharks really as frightening as the movies make them seem? Are they really these horrifying, human-eating monsters? The answer is “no.” That’s just what the media has trained us to believe.

It is important that the media takes responsibility for its role in the public’s negative perception of sharks and the stereotype it has created.

When I was younger, I wanted to be a marine biologist thanks to the ocean documentaries I spent hours watching. I continue to see the ocean as a fascinating and magical thing and something worth protecting. Sharks are a very important part of ocean ecosystems, and without them, we would all see negative repercussions such as a disrupted food chain and the loss of reefs and habitats.

The 1975 film “Jaws” is largely responsible for the way people view sharks today. The film was released at a time when very little was known about sharks. This lack of previous knowledge made the film’s negative depiction of sharks many peoples’ first impression of the animal.

Galeophobia is an irrational fear of sharks. According to Psychologist Gabriella Hancock, people are not born with a fear of sharks. This fear is something learned and reinforced by society. There is this popular belief that sharks intentionally attack humans.

The truth is sharks would much rather avoid people because humans are not a part of their normal diet. Regardless of the evidence scientists give that proves otherwise, people continue to have an excessive fear of sharks. Scientists call this “The Jaws Effect.”

In a documentary called “Saving Jaws,” marine biologist Ocean Ramsey and underwater wildlife photographer Juan Oliphant bring light to the negative effects the media has had on the world’s perception of sharks. In the beginning of the documentary, people on the street were interviewed and asked “What is the first word that comes to your mind when I say sharks?” Many had the same answer: “fear.” When asked why, they all answered that it is because of the movie “Jaws” and other movies and media surrounding sharks.

The narrative around sharks in the media is widely negative, focusing on this idea that they are “mindless eating machines.” There is such a wide range of shark movies out there, many of which have outrageous plots such as “The Meg” or “Sharknado,” but they all seem to boil down to a similar message: sharks are a danger for humans.

Thanks to this negative perception of sharks fueled by the media, inhumane practices such as shark finning are overlooked by many. Humans kill 80 million sharks annually, whether it be for their fins, for sport or as accidental bycatch. People’s fear of sharks causes them to overlook such a terrifying number because it’s not the same as if they were told 80 million harmless dolphins were being killed; that’s something they would take seriously.

Sharks are apex predators, meaning they deserve our respect. However, they should not be seen as monsters.

Since 1988, the Discovery Channel has dedicated a week to a special programming event called “Shark Week.” Shark Week highlights the flip side of the negative representation of sharks in other media with the goal to captivate and educate their viewers. A variety of shows during the week bring awareness to the importance of the role sharks play in the world.

Whether negative or positive, the media holds a lot of power when it comes to shaping people’s perspectives. The villainizing of sharks is a perfect example of how influential the media can be. Before producing content, it is crucial that we take into account the lasting impressions it may leave and what consequences it may have. Being more educated on the topic is one way to ensure the content we produce is not creating false narratives.

In the United States, about 80% of women do not like how they look. Around 35% of men are anxious about their weight, and up to 85% are unhappy with their muscularity. This translates to the high number of $13.5 billion spent on aesthetic procedures in 2016.

Utah is ranked 5th in the nation for worst body image issues. The high standards for beauty in Utah often make women and men want to change the way they look.

Utah is seen as a more sophisticated and well-educated state from both people in and outside of the state. This can be for many different reasons, such as the culture or the ideals of beauty.

The culture in Utah is very specific to the area. A lot of the time, one of the main goals for many young women who grow up here is to get married, have children and be a good wife. This can make the focus on beauty very prominent.

There is a stigma in Utah that women must be very pretty or else they won’t find a good husband or won’t be pretty enough to get married. Billboards all over downtown Salt Lake City advertise aesthetic procedures, encouraging people to change their appearances. This does not help this stigma. It makes it worse.

Having this knowledge makes me upset and mad. I will never understand why there is a need to spend billions of dollars on surgeries to change the way our faces or bodies look. Being happy with who you are and what you look like is something that should be valued more, not changing the way you look to fit society’s standards.

If there is a realistic change that you want done to your body, find a natural way to do it. Whether that be working out, applying a little bit of makeup to brighten the eyes up, or even going outside and tanning during the summer, there are so many better alternatives.

For both men and women, the need or pressure from society to get that perfect match while you’re still young can be overwhelming. People change the way they look in order to appeal to those around them rather than just being who they are. 

All around the world, beauty seems to be a key element in how successful you are. The fear of being “ugly” or not the “right” kind of pretty can be detrimental. Trying to achieve that perfect body can cause lasting effects, from eating disorders to permanently altering your body to appease the masses.

About 23,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on teens who were 19 years of age or younger in 2022. Some of these cases can be for medical reasons, but those other cases were meant for appearances only due to insecurities or trends that took hold. This shocks me because these people are so young. A lot of these surgeries are not simple. They can be invasive and harsh to the body. For these young people to be changing their bodies based on opinions and thoughts from other teenagers around them in high school makes me really sad.

The mental state many of these young people get into in order to feel that they need these procedures done is often a negative one. The climb to get out of that headspace is incredibly difficult and can worsen as time goes on. The fact that this mindset is set in these teenagers at such a young age really worries me for future generations.

I can see how each state has its own sort of perfect image or what people find pretty based on the location, but society often forgets that each person is different. This is not just with their mental ideals and how they think, but biologically, everyone is different. 

Their face shape, bone structure, metabolism or even the way their hair grows is vastly different. Identical twins aren’t even 100% identical. For society to put up a picture of the “perfect” person is ridiculous and heartbreaking. 

Social media also has a big part in these images, and in Utah alone, it has impacted countless people. We all know how people on social media platforms edit or pose themselves in order to contort themselves into the “perfect” image. 

I have found, for my own mental health and well-being, that deleting or unfollowing all of those negative influencers or accounts off my devices has made the biggest difference. I limit myself to following people who show positivity both mentally and physically. I am still able to follow accounts like ballet, clothing or gym accounts with specific limitations.

I do my research and look into the platforms to find out what kind of message they are trying to send with what they are posting. If it is a negative message or they only focus on how they look and not deeper things in life, then I don’t support or follow them. This is something that I have found helps me stay away from that hard mindset that many of us fall into.

In the future, I really hope to see more people posting the reality of themselves and not being ashamed of it. Be proud of who you are and what you really value in life, more so than just the way you look or the way you think you should look. You are beautiful just the way you are. Having wrinkles, smile lines or freckles just shows the life you’ve lived and the emotions you’ve felt. There is nothing wrong with that.