'Killing Us Softly 4' offered me ideas I had never considered. For example, the part addressing eating disorders and the models hit me the hardest, especially the idea behind the sizing of girls clothing. I never thought about the 0 and 00 sizes, but Ms. Kilborne's comment that this "leads us to think that girls should just disappear" broke my heart. All the images to support this idea--the girls' concave bodies seeming to curl into themselves, their eyes turned down, shoulders hunched, and legs pulled in tight. I realized in seeing these images how the have been impacting me over the course of my life because I recognized not the exact pictures, but similar characteristics in television shows or movies that girls and women portray these roles in which they simply try to disappear or stay on the periphery of the action.

Ms. Kilborne's ideas of the sexual representation of women and pornography's use of their bodies as simply objects tied into Ms. Struck and Mrs. Kinsbury's presentation on Monday. Both argued that the objectification of women in history has lead to our present role and challenge in society. This history of being seen as an object for one purpose, maybe two, has pervaded society's mind and actions. Sharing our stories of being women today, laughing at each others embarrassing moments, really brought us together at the end of their presentation and I think that is the promise of our generation. I like to think that we are much more open and willing to accept things (homosexuality, transgender, integration of different cultures) and we have the tools to do so on a casual and regular basis. With these empowering open-minds and technology, also comes the responsibility to use them in the right way. By sharing our stories and being honest about who we are, we empower others like us, not just women, but everyone, to be more comfortable with who they are. I have noticed that the people I know who are completely honest about themselves with themselves are the people I like to spend time with and those I feel most empowered by because I feel completely comfortable around them and know that they will not judge me.

Taking this idea to this course, if we are all a little more willing to laugh at ourselves and share our stories and experiences with others, they might be more open to seeing that we are all just humans who want the same things.