Pearlle

Now that Big Brother Africa is over, the spotlight has moved from Beverly Osu back to Tonto Dikeh. Here's the video where she admits to skin bleaching:

First off, I really appreciate her honesty but I find it hilarious when she says that skin bleaching can be done right because she sounds like a scientist. Apparently, there are some bleaching creams out there that don't have hydroquinone, who knows? I highly doubt it that she does not use hydroquinone because her skin is just so much lighter. I also find it problematic because I feel that many people out there will get the message that bleaching is okay, because it can be done "right".

Self-hate?
Self-hate is usually believed to be the cause of the bleaching phenomenon. Tonto obviously thinks that being light-skinned is so much more preferable than dark-skin, and she alludes to this by proudly saying "Don't get me wrong, I've always been light skinned". I disagree with the self-hate thesis, and I DO NOT think that people bleach their skin because of low self-esteem either.

Charles (2003) defines low self-esteem as "a persons overall positive or negative attitude toward him or herself". A skin bleacher is obviously concerned with their body image, particularly their skin. We all know the politics of black skin, especially as it relates to the black female body. If you had a positive attitude toward your dark (or darker skin), why would you feel the need to make it lighter?

Charles study indicates that 9 respondents surveyed for the level of self esteem scored a median of 23/30. 7/9 respondents had self esteem scores over 20. Charles explains that the survey was carried out on adolescents who may be bleaching due to environmental influences rather than low self-esteem. Four of the respondents said they bleached because it prevented pimples. He writes that this is a very small sample of the Jamaican population, and there certainly are some skin bleachers who suffer from self-hate, however, this is not the entire story. He brings up an interesting point, that thousands of white tourists who flood tanning salons are not deemed to be suffering from self-hate. Double standards, anyone?

Decolonizing our minds
We need to decolonize our minds and re-teach ourselves that our standards of beauty should not be defined by European ideals. Black is beautiful! We say it so much but do we actually believe it and practice it?

If you work with a lot of PDFdocuments and love keeping them organized, Mendeley is for you! I write numerous papers all semester, and it can be frustrating having to go through files of documents in my computer. Or trying to input a citation but you can't figure out what document the paragraph is from. Mendeley literally saves my academic life!

I write about acne so much on this blog, but with good reason. My skin has had its highs and lows, but during the lows, aloe vera always saves the day.

Why is aloe vera so great for skin, you may ask. Aloe Vera contains a combination of minerals and vitamins including vitamins A, C, E and B-12. It also has essential proteins and fatty acids, calcium, zinc, magnesium and germanium.

Here's how I used this awesome plant on my skin:

1. After washing my face at night, I apply Dickinson's witch hazel. This toner is everything! I heard about it for years but didn't think I would be able to find it in Canada. I found it in the pharmacy aisle at Walmart.

2. After the witch hazel dries, I would cut a bit off the plant, slice it open, apply the gel and leave it on my face overnight.

That's it. My skin cleared up pretty fast and I haven't had breakouts since although I stopped using aloe vera.

1. f(x) - Rum Pum Pum
Colorful, playful, flirty, cropped tops, I could go on and on about how much I loved the fashion in this video! I'll let the clothes speak for themselves.

Amber is so pretty

2. Brown Eyed Girls - Kill Bill
Wearing leather right!!

Here's my final reading reflection for my social movements class. In case you missed the others, check them out below:
1. Reading reflection 1 on the Trayvon Martin movement
2. Paper proposal on apathy in the Niger Delta
3. Reading reflection 2 on the Divest fossil fuels campaign
4. Apathy and social movements final paper

My reading reflection focuses on Korean popular culture, known as Kpop. For the purposes of this entry, I use the term Kpop in reference to Kpop music not Korean popular culture as a whole. My entry centers on brand equity and transcendence in the kpop industry. Korean entertainment agencies are known for their over-the-top promotion and marketing techniques. I focus how Korean entertainment agencies manufacture idols in order to create brand equity.

When many people think of Kpop, “Gangnam Style” the song by Psy, that is now the most viewed Youtube video, comes to mind. However, most Kpop videos are very different from Psy’s and the Kpop industry is not as bright and flashy as the videos suggest. The top 3 entertainment companies in South Korea are SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment. To get signed with one of these companies (or others in Korea), one has to go through a multi-stage audition process. Auditions take place in many countries worldwide, an if a person successfully auditions and is recruited, they become trainees. A trainee undergoes the training process for an average of five years before launching as part of a group. Although the training process differs slightly between companies, trainees usually live in dorms and go through tedious singing, dancing, and language classes, while earning minimal income, and facing the fear of being dropped at any minute if their skill is not progressing. The rigorous schedule continues even when a trainee become music star, usually referred to as an idol. In a given week, an idol may be recording an album, filming a drama, shooting an ad, doing interviews and making variety show appearances. Former Kpop stars like Han Geng has talked about being subjected to physical abuse and being forced to perform on stage just after having surgery.

Without a doubt, brand equity is important in Kpop. Entertainment agencies do not want the audience to be aware of the ugly side of the industry. Idols are “manufactured” to look perfect when they debut in the music industry. It is quite common to see leaked pre-debut and post-debut pictures of idols. Bantjes writes about the marketing and promotion that builds brand equity (244). Before a Kpop video or album is made available, teaser pictures and videos are released daily of individual group members. Super Junior, one of the most popular guy groups has thirteen members, and a teaser picture, and sometimes video of each member is released daily usually spanning thirteen days. Each member gets a different photo-shoot theme (clothes, hair, and makeup) to build excitement for the upcoming music release. Bantjes explains that brand equity “persuades consumer to buy into the unique magic of brand identity”. This is largely the case in the world of Kpop. TVXQ, the most popular Asian male group was in the Guinness Book of World Records for being a music group with the most numbers of fans. A whopping 800, 000 registered fan club members

Kpop is a worldwide phenomenon. From my friends in Canada watching Korean variety show to a Korean dance competition organized for high school students by the Korean embassy in Nigeria. Several Kpop idols are of Korean descent, but born and/or raised in the United States or Canada, and chose to audition for various entertainment agencies and move to Korea. There are several idols who are not of Korean heritage as but now live and work in Korea. Bantjes brings up the idea of brand transcendence when “brand meanings become instantiated in everyday p ractices that determine intimate qualities of human interaction, aspiration, and identity” (245). He uses examples such as the hipness of Starbucks and the idea of creating dreams used by Nike (“just do it”). In Kpop, the attraction is millions of screaming fans around the world who care about an idol’s life, not just their music. To a potential trainee, it usually does not matter what hardships trainees go through, it is all worth it to become a huge Kpop icon. Bantjes writes that “the sneaker merely becomes a medium for the sale of the brand idea”. SM Entertainment, for example, is the medium through which fame and stardom can be achieved. Kpop is one of the few genres in the world where fans do not just listen to the music, but actively follow the lives of idols. A majority of Kpop groups have at least five members, and most fans know the names of all 5 members. It is quite absurd.

Bantjes also writes about the commodification of human qualities such as when human capacities that ordinary people can realize on their own are now commodified (246). The top 3 entertainment agencies are listed on the Korean Stock Exchange, and there is a direct link between increased entertainment activities and stock market prices. Fans also see themselves as “partners with corporate sponsors” (246), as exemplified by fanwars in Kpop. Fan wars are very rampant in Kpop, and so are sasaeng fans. Online fan wars are usually started by fans of various groups, who feel like it’s is necessary to defend the group as well as the company behind the group at all costs, despite allegations of unfair treatment of idols. Sasaeng fans are obsessive fans who stalk their idols and invade their privacy. The commodification of Girls Generation, for example, builds brand equity for SM Entertainment.

Hey folks,

I've been away for a minute, still finishing up my summer semester. Here's a paper I wrote for my social movements class. It's about the Niger Delta, and I'm posting only an introduction and the rest of the paper links to Google Docs. The rest of the paper can be viewed here

Oil was discovered in 1956, in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. The 2006 population census indicates that about 30 million of Nigeria’s population of 140 million citizens lives in the region (National Population Commission, Nigeria). Since the 1970’s, oil revenue has been the backbone of the economy, accounting for about 65 percent of budgetary revenue (OPEC), which is largely derived from nine Niger Delta states. The largest ethnic groups in the region include the Ijaw, Ogoni, Efik, Isoko, and Urhobo, to name a few. Economic marginalization of indigenes is the main basis for agitation in the region. Oil revenue has done very little for development, but pollution and environmental degradation is rife. The Niger Delta crisis has been described as the greatest challenge facing the Nigerian state since the onset of democratic rule in May 1999. The crisis has led to the emergence of numerous protest movements, such as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Ijaw Council for Human Rights (ICHR), Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Niger Delta Focus (NDF), and the Women Initiatives Network (WINET). I argue that these protest movements have not been successful due to apathy that is the result of class relations, ethnicism, violent state repression, and alienation.

This afternoon, in my 2 and half hour long Comparative Politics class, our professor made a comment about how flawed the Social Sciences and Math Building was due to its lack of coffee. My university has about 11 places on campus where you can grab food/coffee but all of them are at least a 3 minute walk from the Social Sciences & Math building, the Business/Economics building and a few other buildings with a huge cluster of students.

Umm, yeah, there are poor kids in Canada too!

As the conversation continued, a student said "first world problems". Another said "exactly, it's not like we have to walk miles to get drinking water" and I'm thinking "wtf". What's with ridiculous white people thinking that the global south is this monolithic existence where everyone is suffering? It's so condescending. Yes, I'm Nigerian and some of my people face disease and poverty, but some of us also worry about our ipods, cars, fancy jewelry, the newest phones, etc. What the hell do most 'first world people' know about 'third world problems'? You do know that some people in the 'third world' have the same problems as those in the 'first world', right? Here's a first world problem, the fact that you have such ignorant views about the global south?

I have to admit, I also use the 'first world problems' phrase
. But I use in direct relation to my experiences living in the global south. "Omg, I have to choose between a McDouble and grilled ranch snack wrap at McDonalds. First world problems" I didn't have to do some mundane thinking over fast food in Nigeria cos fast food in Nigeria is very different than North America. I don't know if that's the best example to illustrate my point, but it's the best I could come up with right now. I admit that I am speaking as a person who was raised in a middle class family.

All I want is for people who love the phrase "first world problems" to understand that a monolithic experience does not characterize the "3rd world". Just like the global north (there's poverty here too, duh), there are many kinds of people with different socio-economic backgrounds and a 'first world problem' or 'third world problem' label doesn't apply to everyone. You'd think this was obvious, but it unfortunately isn't.

TL;DR: Ignorantly using the phrase 'first world problems' ignores the existence of people in the 'third world' who are relatively financially well-off. If you weren't too ignorant, you'd probably know about them. Also, it assumes that everyone in the 'first world' enjoys the same luxuries. It's not a geographical distinction, but a socioeconomic one.

#educateyourself

It's always been hard for us to formulate resume objectives. It's easy enough writing "To utilize my excellent customer service and sales skills in a fun and energetic environment." for a customer service job. But what about when you need something more specific?

Fear not, because About.com is here to save the day. Check out this link for 260 resume objective examples from all sorts of occupations. There's probably something here for everyone. My friend told me about this resource over the weekend and I've used it to tweak my resume for 2 very different jobs since then. Check on it!!

8 months ago, I decided to move out of home and get a place of my own. The apartment hunting process was fun, and I found a place on Day 3 of my search. I basically spent Day 1 glued to my computer going through online apartment listings, calling and making appointments. Day 2 was spent looking at 4 different places, and only 1 really stood out for me but was out of my price range, which was a bummer. By the end of Day 2, I kept searching for places online, and also decided to create a rental resume.

My place has a nice kitchen and I take advantage of this!

On Day 3, I checked out another place which I really loved and gave the owner and his partner my rental resume. This place was AMAZING and my sister and I were really excited about it. I believe my rental resume made me stand out from other prospective tenants.

Here's what my rental resume looked like:
Note: I did this on MS Word with regular formatting.

BOMA’S RENTAL RESUME

Looking for a place close to insert school name to call home

• Date of Birth:

• Contact information: insert Phone number & email address

• Current address: Family home with mum and two sisters. Leaving because it’s almost an hour away from school

• Current employment:

• Past employment: Community Leader aka Resident at .... university. (this makes me look very responsible lol)

• Extracurricular activities: Cooking, event planning, student Ambassador, African &

Caribbean Students’ Association communications & events coordinator

• Personal references: insert 2 references

• Vehicle information: none

• Pet(s) information: none

Below is a paper proposal I submitted for my social movements class. I had a hard time writing this because I was so conflicted. I have never lived in the Niger Delta and I probably do not have the best understanding of the situation. I got feedback from friends and family. My cousin who works with Shell has a different opinion on the cause of "apathy" in the region. I'm also very conflicted on the use of "apathy". In the words of a friend, what looks like non-participation can be a form of resistance. I love having pictures in posts, and while searching for images, I stumbled on this post with multiple images of the Niger Delta on Nairaland.

Taylor and van Dyke define protests as "sites of contestation in which bodies, symbols, identities, practices, and discourses are used to pursue or prevent changes in institutionalized power relations (2004: 268). The current conflict in the Niger Delta is as a result of tensions between foreign oil corporations and ethnic groups in the region over the adverse effects it has brought to the people in the region and the implications on the environment. The Niger Delta crisis has led to the emergence of numerous protest movements, such as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP, Ijaw Council for Human Rights (ICHR), the Niger Delta Focus (NDF), and the Women Initiatives Network (WINET). I argue that these protest movements have failed to take off due to apathy among Nigerians.

Image source

Protests have been used as a tool to influence decision making in the Niger Delta. Although some of these groups have transitioned from protest groups to militant action, my paper will show that these groups had a core protest agenda at their formation. I will touch on the struggle of these movements to mobilize the media and powerful actors in the Nigerian state as explained by Della Porta and Diani. The success of these protest movements are important to the Niger Delta because of their ability to influence state legislative policy making, which in turn can target the practices of oil companies in the Niger Delta.

My paper will argue that Nigerians have become apathetic to various Niger Delta movements due to the nature of class relations, ethnicism, alienation of supporters by various movements and state repression. My paper uses the term apathy based on the definition by Bignall (2010, 8) as "socially indicated by a systemic loss of interest and attachment". Ethnic identities are weapons for contesting political power and hence access to oil wealth (Ojakorotu) in a plural society like Nigeria. An example is the Ijaw-Itsekiri (dates) conflict which was oil-induced (Okolo). The violent techniques some of these protest groups have engaged in have alienated supporters. MEND, for example, uses tactics such as guerilla warfare, kidnappings, and pipeline bombings. Della Porta & Diani state that the use of violence has both symbolic and instrumental aims. Violence can be used as a symbolic refusal of an oppressive system and can be used to win specific battles, such as media attention. They also identify some limitation of the logic of violence, such as the possibility of alienating sympathizers (174). State repression techniques in the Niger Delta usually include military action by the state-led Joint Task Force and the "destruction of communities by state security forces abound: in Umuechem 1990 and 1993, in Uwheru in 2004 and Odioma in 2005" (Ojakorotu, 2009). This raises important questions for human security especially in a region where poverty, disease, famine, and unemployment is rife.

Image source

Colonial rule had a divisive impact on intergroup relations in Nigeria. The British artificially divided Nigeria into Districts, Divisions and Provinces which pitted groups against each other (Aghalino, 3). He further notes that "the history of the struggle for autonomy and property rights dates back to the pre-colonial period" and so has the politicization of the common wealth derived from the exploitation of oil. I will analyze oil exploration in the Niger Delta using a trans capitalist lens. In addition, how does the ideology of global capitalism help explain the power struggles over oil profits (whose wealth is not shared by all) and what roles does discrimination based on ethnicity and fascist policies play in these struggles? Can trans capitalism help with resource control or common wealth?

My paper will also touch on the Marxian approach to political economy and class struggles. Using the Marxian perspective that the most important human concern is that of economic struggle, I use this logic to argue the point that this drives apathy in the Niger Delta. The Marxian view point that the only way man can act freely and express himself and his potential is in a "classless society where the interest of all is entrenched and enforced by the rule of the proletariats and power-free social relations"(Omoyibo, 21) results in indifference. Niger Deltans are indifferent to various protest movements happening in the region due to class consciousness and their interactions with the bourgeoisie.

Here's part 2 of my reading reflections for my Social Movements class. This week, I focused on the Divest Campaign since the assigned readings were about the environment. Here's part 1 in case you missed it:

Texts:

Bantjes, Rod. Social Movements in a Global Context: Canadian Perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars', 2007. Print.

Della, Porta Donatella, and Mario Diani. Social Movements: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. Print.

The Divest Campaign, launched by GoFossilFree.org encourages institutions to divest from fossil fuel companies. Fossil fuels are the greatest contributors to global warming and the campaign hopes that institutions can properly address climate change by withdrawing economic support of a socially irresponsible industry, pushing climate change higher on the national political agenda. In my reading reflection, the Divest UVic campaign came to mind, especially because of its efforts to get UVic to divest its endowment funds from fossil fuel extraction, transportation, and refining companies. The UVic endowment fund is invested in energy corporations like Enbridge Inc, Encana, Nexen Inc, and Suncor Energy (University of Victoria Combination Pension Plan, 2011 Annual Report).

A little over a year ago, Suncor Energy was charged with spilling more than 26,000 litres of drilling mud into the Atlantic Ocean from an oil platform off Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 (Financial Post 2012). Bantjes makes reference to firms who try to camouflage their environmentally destructive practices with misleading advertising (258). This is seen in the controversial ad in 2010, where Suncor compares tailings to yogurt. The ad which employed tactics known as green washing was criticized for downplaying the toxicity of tailings.

Transnational networks are critical to a campaign’s success. Della Porta & Diani also provide insight necessary for looking at campaigns such as Divest using a transnational lens. They explain the emergence of new networks of relationships of trust among movement actors, operating within complex social environments (94). The rampant use of technology among university students makes it easier for communication and coordination to take place between Divest activists in the Global North and South. Supporters of the Divest campaign organize under a collective purpose which prompts them to act collectively, irrespective of geographical location. The campaign is active in over 300 campuses in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, India, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and the Netherlands. However, not a single school with an endowment exceeding $1 billion has agreed to divest. Harvard recently hired a VP Sustainability in response to the campaign, although it has refused to divest its $30.7 billion endowment fund (the largest university endowment in the US).

Della Porta & Diani explain that informal communication networks, interaction and mutual support are an essential replacement for the scarcity of organizational resources. Being identified as part of a movement “means being able to count on help and solidarity from activists” (94). UVic’s Divest campaign, which is very similar to other Divest campaigns in higher education institutions in North America, uses informal communication networks such as text messaging, blogs, and Facebook to mobilize. In addition, UVic’s divest campaign works with limited financial resources, and as such, the solidarity of supporters and fellow activists is crucial.

College campuses have been fertile ground for widespread social and political change. The Divest campaign has been called the biggest student movement in the US in years, unfortunately this is not the case in Canada. Divest campaigns in Canada lack the perception of authority and legitimacy seen in its American counterparts. As a result, it is unable to influence target actors and spark widespread change. To date, no Canadian university has agreed to divest.

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April

Thoughts: On Tonto's skin bleaching and self-hate

Tuesday Tips: Organize pdf files with Mendeley

Reminiscing Mondays: How I stopped my breakouts with aloe vera and Dickinson's witch hazel

Pearlle Kpop chat: Kpop MV fashion spotlight featuring f(x) and Brown Eyed Girls

Brand equity and commodification in Korean popular culture

Apathy and social movements in the Niger Delta

Shut the hell up: To people with privilege who talk about first world problems

Tuesday Tips: Need help with formulating resume objectives?

Reminiscing: On apartment hunting and writing a rental resume

Paper proposal on apathy in the Niger Delta

Reading reflections on the Divest fossil fuels campaign

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