Essays, Writing and Other Stuff

Matthew Thomas
11/15/2025
NT752.1258 (Political Science)
University of North Texas
Reducing the federal deficit while reducing Cost of Living
When participating in the “Fix the National Debt” exercise, I aimed to make minimal cuts in healthcare spending and improve education outcomes.  My approach is designed to balance personal responsibility with the betterment of American society. This meant making difficult decisions in terms of tax values, work requirements, and getting it just enough to meet the 7750-billion-dollar threshold. The decisions include reducing the amount of money spent on defense, as I believe we spend excessive amounts of money on war weapons, and that we should focus more on the living crisis here in America. (40% of global military expenditures are by the U.S.)1 The main ways to improve the cost of living are to build and maintain affordable housing, reduce prescription drug costs, increase federal funding for K-12 schools, and offer free/reduced-cost community-based college, thereby encouraging a more highly skilled workforce as the Center for Economic Performance notes that “the average educational level of an establishment is positively and significantly associated with productivity in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.”2
Now that being said, those things are not free; nothing is, so something must give. Taxes must be reformed to redistribute some of the wealth from the high-income to those impoverished. As such, capital gains taxes must increase, there must be limits on government spending on those who have more than enough money, and many of the financial loopholes need to be closed to ensure accountability. (The U.S. loses 1 trillion annually to this)3 Other taxes that would be enacted would be on carbon emissions, gas, tobacco, and alcoholic products.
The reason for my choosing this is not to tax too much on essential goods and to encourage efficient transportation and manufacturing.  According to a 2024 report from the World Bank, 24% of global carbon emissions are taxed, though not enough to meet the Paris Agreement goals.4 All of this takes careful consideration and, therefore, is quite difficult to reduce the deficit while ensuring Americans' basic needs are met. There must be enough funding for the military to properly defend the country, enough workers to ensure that the government runs smoothly, and enough money to fund public education.
Now, this is just my take on it; however, governments need to account for unstable economic conditions, as things can go sour quickly. Taxes need to be reasonable and in check. Public services must be of good quality. The varying levels of government (local, state, federal), Congress, and executive and judicial employees must reach a consensus for any economic or political proposal to be enacted. Also, short-term and long-term impacts must be considered to make well-informed economic decisions. To conclude: I decided that we should increase spending on education, curb excessive spending on foreign affairs, hold everyone (including the ultra-wealthy) accountable, and ensure that everyone pays their fair share. I also thought that immigration reform may reduce some of the burden on federal workers and ensure compliance and work requirements.
 
Works Cited
Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “The United States Spends More on Defense than the next 9 Countries Combined.” Peterson Foundation, 12 Aug. 2024, www.pgpf.org/article/the-united-states-spends-more-on-defense-than-the-next-9-countries-combined/.
Valero, Anna. “Education and Economic Growth.” London School of Economics and Political Science, Apr. 2021.
Rappeport, Alan. “The U.S. Is Losing $1 Trillion Annually to Tax Cheats.” The New York Times, 13 Apr. 2021, www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/13/business/stock-market-today. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
World Bank. “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024.” World Bank, 21 May 2024, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/05/21/global-carbon-pricing-revenues-top-a-record-100-billion. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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Thomas, Matthew
10/23/2025
ANTH 1150.4000
University of North Texas
HOW GENDER IS CONSTRUCTED IN CHINESE SOCIETY
Gender is the notion of what is acceptable or normal for people of both sexes (though not always binary) in terms of style, apparel, and behavior. Gender is constructed in the sense that it is learned through the environment one grows up in, as opposed to being inherited. Gender is different from sex in the sense that gender is a culturally constructed performance, while sex is biological in nature. [Nelson, Lesson 2.2 Lecture] In this essay, I will explore the film Hidden Letters, examining Chinese cultural norms surrounding gender.
In Lecture 2.1, we come to understand that the construction of gender “reflects a patriarchal society” and that, as a result, women decided to create their own language. Patriarchy is what is known as male dominance within social structures, especially in the way men hold more respect, authority, and value than women in many societies. Nushu is “women's writing” that is designed to overcome their disempowerment. Nushu is not some secret language; it is just not the mainstream Nanshu or men's language. A characteristic of Nushu is that most of the women who speak it are of the working class, due to women not being able to have access to education, work, or even live freely in public society. It is not all cut and dry, as women influence society on a domestic level, even though they tend to get paid less and work “dead-end service jobs” [Nelson, Lesson 2.2 Lecture]
Hidden Letters is a 2022 documentary directed by Violet Du Feng. The story follows two Chinese women, Simu and Hu Xin. They are intrigued by Nushu, the language that we discussed earlier in the essay. Simu is a young singer, and Hu Xin is a tour guide, struggling to confront issues such as the issue of capitalism, the commercialization of the Nushu language, and the pressure for them to get married. In the film, we see that men hold dominance, with Hu Xin stating, “In my marriage, my husband was the boss.” It is also noted that Nushu was designed to allow women to communicate with one another, giving them a “sense of hope” and that they “don’t have to be obedient unconditionally” and that they should hold acceptance and resilience within the struggle for women’s liberation.
Another thing noted within the film is the issues surrounding Hu Xin’s issues with domestic violence, the pressure to have a male child, resulting in her having an abortion, or the termination of a pregnancy. Hu Xin’s mother states that “we should feel blessed if the men don’t scold or beat.” This denotes that it was worse in the past. Hu Xin goes into how women fail socially despite their achievements in society. This unfortunately notes how society values women within Chinese society.
The men in the film talk about how Nushu makes them feel a sense of love, especially when Nushu appears on male clothing. This denotes how Nushu is starting to be seen as a fashion symbol, with the former Nushu Museum Manager stating, “Nushu has to be commercialized,” and that it “will have a huge social impact.”
Society wants women to sacrifice everything for a man; However, nobody wants to be trapped by external pressures. It makes them feel devalued, and quite frankly, it does, limiting women to what they can do for a man is failing to realize the value women have on their own. So, women having a language that allows them to free their souls from those pressures enables them to find peace and solidarity within society.
The story of Hidden Letters reveals how patriarchy shapes the way gender is constructed within China. Especially in how women are expected to be obedient to their male counterparts, and that they must sacrifice everything for their husbands. As a way of combating the sexist norms within Chinese society, Women produced a language for other women known as Nushu. This allows women to talk secretly with one another to produce ways to fight against the patriarchy, express solidarity, and reclaim their voice within society. The film highlights the continuing struggle women face, as well as the power of linguistic expression in challenging problematic gender norms.
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Matthew Thomas
 
3/27/2024-4/24/2024
 
ENGL 1320.028 (001)
 
First-Year Writing ll
 
Kyle Kaczmarick
 
Exploring the Frontiers of Technological Advancement and its ethical implications
 
Technology has come a long way from the days when computers were the size of an entire classroom. There have been incredible strides in areas such as inter-connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence, content creation, communication, and productivity. We use our computers to author papers, make spreadsheets, and edit photos and videos. We use our phones to check social media. We use our Xboxes and PS5s so we can keep pawning noobs in Fortnite, and we use the internet to stay connected with global society.
 
I will be going in-depth on the various advancements in computer technology, from the dawn of the personal computer, computer graphics, the internet, social networking, and artificial intelligence. Now we must go back to the beginning. In 1832, Charles Babbage needed to create a device that could speed up calculations, so he immediately went to work. Charles authored a paper “On the Theoretical Principles of the Machinery for Calculating Tables” intended to educate the public about his new idea, then having gained support for what he called the Difference Engine. The government caught on to this, so they gave him “one of the first government grants for research and technological development.” (Britannica) When developing the Difference Engine, he hired various people and created a fire and dustproof environment for developing and assessing it. Though he only managed to hit the prototype stage, he went on to create another product the “Analytical Engine,” a general-purpose, automatic mechanical digital computer capable of holding 1,000 50-digit numbers. (Britannica)
Lovelace was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron and the mathematically inclined Millbank. She was so fascinated with Babbage's Difference Engine, that she asked various pointed questions, and became an expert on sequencing instructions for the Analytical Engine. In 1820, Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar of France invented calculators, and in 1874 Remington Arms Company, Inc. produced the first typewriter and later the census tabulator in 1870. (Britannica)
 
In 1930, We will see the dawn of the first modern analog computer. Created by Vannevar Bush at MIT, the “Differential Analyzer” was a calculator that could solve differential equations helping accelerate the solving of physics and engineering-related problems. 9 years later, Harvard professor Howard Aiken in conjunction with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), created his fully functional computer known as the Harvard Mark I. The machine was bulky with it being fifty feet long and weighing 4,500kg. To do input and output calculations, the computer needed to use paper tape, cards, and computer paper. Aiken later developed the Mark II and IV and became the first to develop a fully automatic large-scale calculator. (Britannica) It was not until Alan Turning, a math student at the University of Cambridge, that the pursuit of creating an all-round computer kicked off. Titled the “Turing Machine” Turing (no pun intended) created a computer capable of resolving all mathematical problems. (Brittanica)
 
In 1939 John Atanasoff, who was a physicist and mathematician at Iowa State University, developed a small prototype electronic computer designed to evaluate two things: capacitors to store ones and zeros and logic circuits to do arithmetic equations. Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry then created a larger computer designed for more general computing called the AtanasoffBerry Computer (ABC). The machine used three hundred vacuum tubes, which were designed for controlling, arithmetic, binary calculations, and logic operations. The first personal computer was contrived by John Blankenbaker in 1971. Titled the Kenbak-1 computer, it featured 256 bytes of RAM and had “small and medium scale integrated circuits on a single circuit board.” (Computer History Museum), however, in 1973 French engineer Andre’ Truong Trong Thi created the first microcomputer. The Micral (as it was called) used an Intel 8008 processor clocked at 500KhZ and supported up to 2kb of memory (Micral User Manual) But that wasn’t the only microcomputer around the block, there was EPA’s Micro-68 using a Motorola 6800) and the Apple using MOS 6502 running at a speed of 1.023MHz
 
In the 1980s we saw a computer boom with IBM’s PS/1 and PS2, The Microsoft DOS operating system, and the Macintosh. Furthermore, Sony and Philips introduced CD ROM in 1983, enhancing the audio abilities of computers. (Lavine) Then in 1985, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), also known as the Famicom in Japan. The console revolutionized gaming and brought third parties to make games, and had graphical features such as tile-swapping, multi-scrolling, and background maps. (Copetti)
 
The nineties then came along, and computers were advancing at a rapid pace. Such developments include the Super Nintendo with its 16bit graphics allowing for more advanced 2d graphics, the Windows 95 operating system introduced features like a start menu, a taskbar to see what applications are running, the Direct X API allowing for advanced 3D rendering, Internet Explorer, and plug and play support making it easier to add new hardware.
 
In 1995/1996, gaming went into the third dimension with Sony’s PlayStation, Nintendo’s Nintendo 64, and the Sega Saturn. The PC had 3D accelerator cards with the flagship 3DFX’s Voodoo FX enabling features such as texture mapping, Z-Buffering (memory management for polygons), Gourmand Shading (simulating dithering effects), and Anti-Aliasing (smoothing rough edges on pixels). But the most revolutionary of which was the launch of the World Wide Web, enabling people to communicate on a global scale.
 
Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, revolutionizing how we listen to music. In 2003 and 2004, we had the introduction of Myspace and Facebook, both being the first social networking platforms to allow people to communicate in groups. In 2005, three employees (who formerly worked at PayPal) introduced YouTube. The platform had the motto “Broadcast Yourself” and allowed for people such as Smosh, Fred, and millions of others to upload videos for the entire world to view. YouTube ushered in the streaming era with Netflix getting the inspiration to launch their video streaming platform in 2007.
 
This boom in social media also ushered in the smartphone era. Though smartphones were introduced in 1992 with IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator, they had limited features and were quite clunky. But that would change almost overnight, during the 2007 Macworld Convention, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, a device that combined a cell phone, web browser and mp3 player into one device. This revolutionary device was made possible due to the emerging technologies such as: lithium-ion batteries, multi-touch displays, ARM based CPUs, 2G cellular service and WI-FI. After the iPhone, the world has changed massively with everyone buying one, using it to do all their everyday tasks from taking photos, texting their friends, listening to MP3s, checking Facebook, posting tweets on Twitter (now X), and playing Angry Birds. (Phone Area) However, technological advancement is not all sunshine and rainbows.
 
There are various ethical considerations when dealing with the rapid advancement of these technologies, especially with Open AI releasing ChatGPT 4 and Microsoft releasing VASA-1. VASA 1 is an extremely advanced neural network that can take a photo of someone’s face and voice to create astonishing realistic videos. It is so realistic that Microsoft made a video of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona
 
Lisa” rapping to the Anne Hathaway’s rap song “Paparazzi.” Though advanced, this video caused controversy due to concerns of it being used to spread misinformation. The use of AI doesn’t end there. According to Vulture, Canadian Rapper and Singer Drake recently made a song that used A.I generated voices of famous rappers Tupac Sukaur and Snoop Dogg to diss rapper Kendrick Lamar. As such, Drake has gotten some push back with a fan writing on X (formerly Twitter) “Manipulating the deceased voice with your own words for beef is the corniest shit I have ever seen”
 
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Other ethical considerations that we need to take into count include: data collection, excessive screen time, job displacement due to automation, algorithmic biases and misinformation. Personalized advertising, tracking, cookies, surveys, facial recognition all are characteristics of this modern technological age that leads to the deterioration of privacy. Children spend most of there childhood’s watching Cocomellon on their iPads, with each hour leading to a 6% decrease in class participation and a 6% reduction in math proficiency. (National Library of Medicine) Teenagers are staying up all night scrolling through TikTok and Instagram with them spending 20% of their day on their screens (Gallup), and AI is dangerously close to causing widespread unemployment, with the World Economic Forum estimating that 85 million jobs will be automated.
 
Consequently, you may ask the question: How do we minimize the harmful effects of these scientific and technological advancements.? The answer to that question is REGULATION. We must call on our elective officials to pass the necessary legislation to ensure the safety, efficacy, transparency and privacy of these technologies.
 
In conclusion, Technology is a rapidly advancing field that went from computers the size of an entire classroom to smartphones to neural networks. As such there are various ethical considerations from privacy, safety to automation that need to be resolved. By adopting advanced computer and media literacy skills and by passing the necessary regulations we can ensure that technology is used for the greater good.
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Works Cited
 
Computer - Apple Inc. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer/Apple-Inc
 
“Computer History Museum.” What Was The First PC?, Computer History Museum, Mar. 2011, www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/297.
 
Lavine, Scott. “The 1980s.” IEEE Computer Society, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 13 May 2023, www.computer.org/about/cs-history/1980s.
 
] Copetti, Rodrigo. “Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Architecture: A Practical Analysis.” The Copetti Site, Rodrigo Copetti, 4 Feb. 2024, www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/nes/.
 
Computer Networking History. (2019). Computer Networking History. Computerhope.com. https://www.computerhope.com/history/network.htm
 
Morris, Ian. “Seven Ways Windows 95 Changed the World.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Aug. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2015/08/24/windows-95-changed-theworld/?sh=54468eaa2ad3.
 
Alpherene. “R/Nostalgia on Reddit: The Most Popular YouTube Channels Back in the 2000s.” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/ezffrg/the_most_popular_youtube_channels_back_ in_the/. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.
 
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Tocci, M. “Smartphone history and evolution,” Simple Texting, Simple Texting, LLC, March 18th, 2024. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024
 
Hristov, V. “Apple iPhone history: the evolution of the smartphone that started it all” Phone Arena, February 29th, 2024. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024
 
Ough, T. (2023, April 2). The surprising ways cell phones have changed our lives. Www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230331-the-surprising-waycellphones-changed-our-lives
 
Dr. La Shawn Paul, DSW. “I Cannot Believe Yall OK with the Canadian Rapper Using an AI Tupac. Manipulating the Deceased Voice with Your Own Words for Beef Is the Corniest Shit I Have Ever Seen. NGL Tupac Would Have Hated Drake. Pic.Twitter. Com/2a8s6kdSfn.” Twitter, Twitter, 20 Apr. 2024, twitter.com/TheSWDiva/status/1781578523339043104.
 
Smyth, Tom. “Snoop Dogg Reacts to Drake’s New A.I. Diss Track: ‘I’m Going Back to Bed.’” Vulture, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024, www.vulture.com/article/drake-ai-diss-track-reactionssnoop-dogg.html.
 
Islam, Ariful. “Disadvantages of Technology.” LinkedIn, 22 June 2023, www.linkedin.com/pulse/disadvantages-technology-ariful-islam.
 
Muppalla, Sudheer Kumar et al. “Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management.” Cureus vol. 15,6 e40608. 18 Jun. 2023, doi:10.7759/cureus.40608
 
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Rothwell, Jonathan. “Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media per Day.” Gallup.Com, Gallup, 9 Feb. 2024, news.gallup.com/poll/512576/teens-spend-averagehours-social-media-per-day.aspx.
 
Rostron, Mark Talmage. “How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect Jobs 2024-2030.” Nexford University, Nexford University, 8 Mar. 2024, www.nexford.edu/insights/how-will-aiaffect-jobs.
 
Burrows, L. (2021, October 19). The present and future of AI. Seas.harvard.edu; Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/10/present-and-future-ai
 
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Works Cited
Computer - Apple Inc. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer/Apple-Inc
Computer Networking History. (2019). Computer Networking History. Computerhope.com. https://www.computerhope.com/history/network.htm
Chayka, K. (2023, May 18). The Birth of the Personal Computer. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-birth-of-the-personal-computer
Ough, T. (2023, April 2). The surprising ways cellphones have changed our lives. Www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230331-the-surprising-way-cellphones-changed-our-lives
‌ Burrows, L. (2021, October 19). The present and future of AI. Seas.harvard.edu; Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/10/present-and-future-ai
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Homophobia in American Society
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(CW: Strong Langauge including Homophobic Slurs
 
In a hetero-normative society, there is a lot of negative perception of people within the gay and lesbian community. Homophobia is the fear or strong disdain for homosexuals, homosexuality, and same-sex relationships. Homophobia is a great problem in society as it leads to shame, hatred, violence, and suicide of people within the gay community.
 
Examples of homophobia include using slurs (i.e.: “queer”, “faggot”, “dike”, “groomer”, and “sodomite”), making comments like “pause”, “that’s gay, etc.), discriminatory laws (such as bans on the teaching of LGBTIQQ subjects, laws prohibiting gay and trans people from donating blood, and laws criminalizing homosexuality). Homophobia is not just using offensive terms or making stereotypical jokes, but also hate-motivated violence and passing discriminatory laws.
 
One example of homophobia would be anti-LGBTQ laws. These laws include Banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. Allowing schools and businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people on religious grounds. Targeting drag performances. Laws prohibiting the teaching of LGBTQIA topics. Banning books involving homosexuality and gender fluidity. Banning transgender students from sports. Prohibiting using bathrooms based on gender identity. Prohibiting/ restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. [1]
 
The states with the most aggressive anti-LGBTQ laws are Florida, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. [1] Furthermore, 64% of likely voters say they oppose legislation prohibiting the rights of LGBTQ people. 70% support same-sex marriage, 54% oppose bans on gender-affirming care and 60% believe that LGBTQ books belong in middle schools. These statistics demonstrate how unpopular these discriminatory laws are. [1]
 
Now onto the social effects of homophobia. According to the CDC, negative attitudes towards gay, bi and men who have sex with men, contribute to issues such as difficulty in
 
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keeping and maintaining a job, obtaining access to quality medical care, substance abuse, unprotected sexual activity, mental health issues, and lack of social issues. [2] As such, LGBTQ people are 8x more likely to commit suicide, 6x more likely to deal with depression, 3x more likely to use illegal drugs, and 3x more likely to engage in anal or oral sex without the use of a condom. [2] This greatly demonstrates how the stigmatization surrounding gay and bisexual men's negativity affects their physical and mental well-being.
 
No industry’s more homophobic than hip-hop culture. From P.Diddy to Royce 5’9 to Lil Wayne, you’ll tend to hear phrases like “pause”, “us” and “no homo”.
 
Lyrical examples of how homophobic attitudes in music include: "It's crazy how you can go from being Joe Blow / to everybody on your dick...no homo." – Kanye West, “Run This Town” and more egregious examples such as “You faggots keep eggin’ me on till I have you at knifepoint …Hates fags? The answer’s yes.”- Eminem. [3] However, the bigoted attitudes associated with hip hop have a more primary focus on male homosexuality, though women who have independent or fierce traits are stigmatized as “lesbians” [3]. These trends in hip-hop music tend to demonstrate the homophobic, sexist, and transphobic attitudes of our culture.
 
It’s not to say that hip-hop as a culture isn’t improving, we have seen progressions in mainstream hip-hop, to allow for lesbian and bisexual women, and for some, such as Kevin Abstract, Lil Nas X, and Frank Ocean to come out as gay or bisexual. [4]
 
The sports industry also has a history of homophobic attitudes. According to a study of 12,000+ LGBTQ participants from Out on The Fields, it is found that 80% of people witnessed or experienced homophobia and from the same study it is also found that 50% of gay men have been personally targeted about the 28% being heterosexual. [5] Furthermore, 84% and 82% of
 
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gays and lesbians had heard verbal slurs such as “faggot” and “dike” [5]. This demonstrates a great deal of toxic masculinity within sports and as such gay men play sports at half the rate of their peers [5] Also women also tend to avoid playing sports such as rugby due to fears that people will automatically assume they’re lesbians. As such LGBTQ+ people don’t feel particularly accepted in the sports community and as such “feel they must make the active choice between coming out or continuing to participate in their chosen sport. As a result, players and athletes tend to drop out altogether.” Most American public researchers state that the discrimination against gay and bisexual boys is a “critical public health issue”. [5]
 
Solutions to this include learning more about 2SLGBTQ+ issues, talking to LGBTIQQ relatives, friends, co-workers, and students about their experiences, recognizing our homophobic bias, identifying ways heteronormative norms affect us, understanding the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, calling-out homophobic jokes, comments, bullying, slurs, and insults and using language that is respectful and inclusive to all members of the community. [6]
 
Homophobia is the strong dislike or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality. Homophobia can be found through derogatory remarks, slurs, and homophobic jokes. Negative Attitudes can further add to the stigmatization, bullying, violence, drug abuse, and suicide of LGBTQ+ people. Homophobia also contributes to discrimination whether in jobs, housing, health care, and in governmental laws. Homophobic attitudes are reflected in mainstream music and sports. We can fight for a better future by treating others the way we want to be treated and by learning more about LGBTQIA history and what they go through.
 
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References
 
Peele, C. (2023a, May 23). Roundup of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation advancing in states across the country. Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-antilgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country
 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Stigma and Discrimination Affects Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/stigma-anddiscrimination.htm [2]
 
Haack, D. (2010, April 22). Hip-hop lyrics indicate homophobia in the industry. The Ithacan. https://theithacan.org/16413/opinion/hip-hop-lyrics-indicate-homophobia-in-industry/ [3]
 
Lippiello, E., Baniak, S., & Pereira, I. (2023, June 28). LGBTQ+ hip-hop artists use their spotlight to express queer joy. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/lgbtqhip-hop-artists-spotlight-express-queer-joy/story?id=101716136 4.
 
Out On the Fields and Outport. (n.d.). World first study finds homophobia common in American sports: USA ... Out On The Fields. https://outonthefields.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/USA-Out-on-the-Fields-Final-Release.pdf [5]
 
Vancouver Island University. (n.d.-a). How to combat homophobia and heterosexism. How to Combat Homophobia and Heterosexism | Positive Space | Vancouver Island University | Canada. https://adm.viu.ca/positive-space/how-combat-homophobia-heterosexism 
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HOW SOCIAL NORMS CAN BE HARMFUL
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Matthew J Thomas
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of North Texas
MRTS 2010.001 (5271): Introduction to Media Arts Writing
Peter Alfano
4/21/2024                           
 
Abstract
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Social norms refer to values, belief attitudes, and/or behaviors shared by a group of people”. Examples of social norms include: greeting people when meeting them, saying “bless you” when someone sneezes, and/or location-specific norms, such as: being quiet in a library. This essay will go over the negative aspects of these norms and how we can tweak them to create a more ethical, just society                                                                                                                                                    
      Social norms are vital for our society, as they ensure a sense of order and predictability, making it easier to see problematic behavior within a given society. However, there are many things that we consider “socially normal” that are quite limiting and, in some cases, harmful. From heteronormativity to ableism and systematic racism, I will explain in-depth how we need to reexamine the norms of our society so that it is inclusive to all people.
         Examples of toxic social norms include being silent when injustice occurs, stigmatizing mental illness, hating marginalized groups, finding justification to harm others, judgemental attitudes, and toxic masculinity. First of all, silence during signs of injustice is problematic, as it essentially communicates that we as a society are okay with people being discriminated against and/or wrongfully put in harm's way.
  Another toxic social norm is heteronormativity. heteronormativity is characteristic of our society, and is the “assumption that heterosexuality is the standard for defining normal sexual behavior and that male-female differences and binary gender roles are the natural and immutable essentials in normal human relations.” (APA, 2023) The problem with heteronormativity is that it makes people who don’t fit in with these norms feel alienated. Another issue with it is that it inherently enables homophobic and transphobic beliefs, as it makes an “us versus them issue”. (Tompkins, 2017) This is an example of how social norms cause people to feel alone and less likely to be themselves.
        Social norms can also be the cause of the stigmatization of mental illness. This is due to how these norms dictate what is “normal” and “acceptable”, as such since people with mental illness tend to deviate from these norms, people tend to see it as a sign of weakness or low moral standards. (Tan et al., 2020) This is exacerbated by how those who are mentally ill are depicted as “violent”, “dangerous”, or “creepy” in the media.  This is especially problematic as it often dehumanizes and demonizes these indivuals. These examples show how social norms and the stigmatization of mental illness are directly correlated.
        The final issue with social norms I like to touch on is racism. Social norms greatly affect the prejudgments a person may have, as we tend to think the same way as other people around us. For example, if all your friends thought that x meant x, you probably would also think that x means x. The norms also set boundaries as to what is or isn’t acceptable to say or think, as being mindful of the social atmosphere is critical to solving bigotry. (Neuman & Adams, 2021). There are ways social norms can be positive (i.e. non-white people not being allowed to use the N-word, or people not being allowed to dress in blackface), but there are negative aspects of it such as making jokes and comments that demean others.
       Overall, social norms, though important for establishing social order, can also perpetrate issues of racism, toxic masculinity, mental health stigma, and heteronormativity, which all alienate and prevent people from being their true selves. As such, we must reexamine the societal and systematic norms so that it is better for all people. We can do this by encouraging people to love one another, maintain peace, forgive one another, and treat everyone equally with dignity and respect
       
 
 
Works Cited
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, July 22). Social norms can result in positive or negative outcomes. https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/main/prevention-information/35
American Psychological Association. (2023, November 15). Hetronomitivity. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/heteronormativity
Tompkins, C. (2017, July 18). Why heteronormativity is harmful. Why Heteronormativity Is Harmful. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/why-heteronormativity-is-harmful
Tan, G. T., Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M., Ong, W. J., Wei, K.-C., Verma, S. K., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2020). Mental illness stigma’s reasons and determinants (misread) among Singapore’s lay public – a qualitative inquiry. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02823-6
Neuman, K., & Adams, M. (2021, February 6). Changing social norms is the key to addressing racism. Environics Institute. https://www.environicsinstitute.org/insights/insight-details/changing-social-norms-is-the-key-to-addressing-racism
​
Matthew Thomas
 
Mrs. Vogt
 
English III
 
14 February 2022 (12 GRADE)
 
The prevalence of media bias and its polarizing effects
 
—WHAT IS MEDIA BIAS
 
The media can drastically affect how we view current events.
 
Media Bias is the unjust or prejudicial favoritism in reporting of specific topics and political
 
candidates. This can be done in all sorts of ways, from the organization of articles, to headlines.
 
Media bias is a strong factor in the division in our country.
 
—HOW MEDIA BIAS CAN SHADE HOW WE VIEW LAWS
 
One example of this phenomenon is how the different networks covered the equality act.
 
According to the Television News Archive, MSNBC covered the Equality Act 40% more often
 
than Fox News. And When Fox News did cover the legislation, they highlighted many
 
falsehoods such as calling it an “women’s cancellation act”, and “an attack on religious
 
freedom”. This not only promoted opposition to the act, but dehumanization of LGBTQ people.
 
Furthermore, when networks did cover the equality act, they only reference it vaguely. For
 
example, The New York Times reported that it would “prohibit discrimination on the basis of
 
sexual orientation and gender identity” without going into detail into how it would do that. [49
 
Anderson, Avram, and Andy Lee Roth]
 
With the lack of context in the media, it ends up harming the American people by not giving
 
them the full story. Media has a substantial role in public discourse, and media bias has a great
 
influence on that.
 
—HOW MEDIA BIAS HARMS OUR DEMOCRACY
 
Media bias polarizes how we view election legitimacy.
 
For example, a study from Oxford university showed that people who watched Fox News were
 
less likely to trust the legitimacy of the 2020 election than those who watched other networks.
 
[44]
 
To show how people of different political parties watched the news. An article from Carnegie
 
Mellon University states: “Fox News was uniquely trusted and consumed by Republicans and
 
not Democrats”. [Norris. P. Why, 48] This shows how polarized media works as political and
 
social confirmation that polarizes perceptions of election integrity. It is also found that
 
right-wing media outlets have increased in recent years, as Republicans became less trusting of
 
so-called “mainstream media,” which President Trump had referred to as “fake news”. [47] This
 
demonstrates the lack of trust and the increasing polarization in the media.
 
—HOW WE CAN MISINTERPRET BIAS
 
A lot of times we perceive things as biased when we get met with news stories that don’t confirm
 
our point of view. This is known as the hostile media effect (HME). Lots of factors go into this,
 
with an academic journal from Arizona State University stating: “a controversial topic is most
 
likely to show evidence of HME only inasmuch as it increases the likelihood of inspiring highly
 
ego-involved partisans on both sides. A sufficient level of ego-involvement (the degree to which
 
a participant identifies with an ideology) is required to demonstrate this effect, and the degree of
 
such partisanship is positively correlated to the degree of perceived hostile bias “[Litovsky, Yana
 
50]. Although This does make sense, oftentimes we can be presented with conflicting
 
information from various sources and the different sides of the story can be easily manipulated
 
and portrayed in a way that confirms the audience’s beliefs.
 
—CONCLUSION
 
Media bias is prevalent and can have a polarizing effect on how we view information.
 
To understand the whole picture it's important to read from a variety of perspectives from
 
conservative to liberal.
 
Knowing all the facts and being able to identify biases is vital for democracy and public
 
discourse of current events
 
—Sources:
 
43. Berlinski N, Doyle M, Guess AM, Levy G, Lyons B, Montgomery JM, et al. The Effects of
 
Unsubstantiated Claims of Voter Fraud on Confidence in Elections. 2020.
 
44. Berry JM, Sobieraj S. The outrage industry: Political opinion media and the new incivility:
 
Oxford University Press; 2013.
 
45. Aronson E, Tavris C. The role of cognitive dissonance in the pandemic. The Atlantic.
 
2020;12.
 
46. Fitzgerald J, Wolak J. The roots of trust in local government in Western Europe.
 
International Political Science Review. 2016;37(1):130-46.
 
47.Grant, Marrissa D., et al. “When election expectations fail: Polarized perceptions of
 
election legitimacy increase with accumulating evidence of election outcomes and with
 
polarized media.” PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 12, 1 Dec. 2021, p. e0259473. Gale In Context:
 
Opposing Viewpoints,
 
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684455631/OVIC?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=bebbb40
 
e. Accessed 31 Jan. 2022.
 
48 Norris, Pippa. Why Electoral Integrity Matters. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
 
49 Anderson, Avram, and Andy Lee Roth. "Media Bias Threatens Equality Act Protections for
 
LGBTQ+ Americans." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In
 
Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
 
link.gale.com/apps/doc/ZGWEKD706388843/OVIC?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=
 
34d8dbaf. Accessed 31 Jan. 2022. Originally published as "Corporate Media Biases Threaten
 
the Passage of Landmark LGBTQ Protections," Truthout, 27 Mar. 2021.
 
50 Litovsky, Yana. "(Mis)perception of bias in print media: How depth of content evaluation
 
affects the perception of hostile bias in an objective news report." PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 5,
 
26 May 2021, p. e0251355. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
 
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A663144646/OVIC?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=faef10cb.
 
Accessed 31 Jan. 2022.
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