The Coming Out Craze

The Coming Out Craze - Works Cited

Clemons, Rick. "Embracing a Gay Lifestyle: the Surprise Benefits After Coming Out." HuffPost Gay Voices. Huffington Post, 11 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/>.

Johnson, Ryan D. "Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture." AllPsych. N.p., 30 Apr. 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://allpsych.com>.

Sasson, Eric. "It's OK to Choose to Be Gay." New Republic. N.p., 16 June 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.newrepublic.com/>.

Urquhart, Vanessa V. "My Husband’s Not Gay Misunderstands What It Means to Be Gay." Slate. N.p., 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.slate.com>.

Wood, Peter. "Debating Same-Sex Marriage." National Association Of Scholars. N.p., 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nas.org/>.

Autoethnography: Non-Conformists

Works Cited

Dictionary.com. "Non-Conformist." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nonconformist>.

Free Dictionary. "Anti-Conformist." Free Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Anti-conformist>.

G, Jimmy. "The Conformity of Non-Conformists." Teen Ink. N.p., 15 Aug. 2010. Web. <http://www.teenink.com/opinion/all/article/72423/The-Conformity-of-the-Non-Conformists/>.

Imhoff, Roland, and Hans-Peter Erb. "What Motivates Nonconformity? Uniqueness Seeking Blocks Majority Influence." Sage Journals 35.3 (2008): 309-320. Web. <http://psp.sagepub.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/content/35/3/309.full.pdf+html>.

Merriam-Webster. "Non-Conformist." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonconformist>.

"Non-Conformist." Urban Dictionary. N.p., 12 May 2006. Web. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nonconformist&defid=1748984>.

"Social Drifter." StudentConcepts. Blogspot, 22 Sept. 2004. Web. <http://studentconcepts.blogspot.com/2004/09/social-drifter.html>.

TEDx Talks. "TEDxGurgaon - Abhinandan Chatterjee - Penguins, Light Bulb and a Beer Belly." YouTube. YouTube, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBLCWg37R6Q>.

Wang, Forrest. "Comfortable with Nonconformity." The Press Democrat. N.p., 18 Apr. 2011. Web. <http://teenlife.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/11215/comfortable-with-nonconformity/>.

Wikipedia. "Hipster (contemporary Subculture)." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(contemporary_subculture)>.

Works Cited

(2012, December 3). Career overview: Broadcasting. Retrieved from Wetfeet website: www.wetfeet.com

(2015, March 6). Steve prefontaine. Retrieved from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Prefontaine

Dontigney, E. (2015). The advantages of positive feedback. Retrieved from Chron website: smallbusiness.chron.com

Robinson, Peter. "Welcome to the Toughest Job in Broadcasting." The Independent on Sunday: 48. Jul 15 2012. ProQuest. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

Runco, Mark A. "Creativity." Annual Review of Psychology: 55. (2004): 657-87. ProQuest. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.

Feeder 2.3

Stonequist, Everett V. (1937). The Marginal Man, New York: Charles Scribner & Sons.  

(Stonequist, Everett V. The Problem of the Marginal Man. Chicago: The University Of Chicago Press, 1935. 24-25. Print.)

• Stonequist argues on “the unwillingness of White society to distinguish between what he calls "mixed bloods" (mulattoes) and "full bloods" (Blacks).” Evidence comes from studies, as Stonequist is a sociologist. The unwillingness described by Stonequist affects biracial people. I have personally experienced what Stonequist speaks on.

Howell, Jennifer L., Sarah E. Gaither, and Kate A. Ratliff. "Article Caught in the Middle: Defensive Responsesto IAT Feedback Among Whites, Blacks,and Biracial Black/Whites." (2014): N. pag. Web.

• Study done by the author’s suggests that people are defensive in response to feedback indicating that their implicit attitudes differ from their explicit attitudes. Surveys given to white people on to show views and opinions of the opposite and biracial race. In my script I speak on how people need to reflect on their beliefs and actions towards biracial people to see how they truly and implicitly feel about them. Many people share a feeling of indignity when faced with the possibility that they themselves do not hold an egalitarian view toward different races, even if that is the case.

Bradt, Steve. 'One-Drop Rule' Persists (2010): N. pag. Web.

• The One-Drop Rule, although being more of an accepted idea now than a rule or law, is the thought that if there is one drop of African American ancestry in someones bloodline then they are considered African American. If this was the case then many white people would be considered African American. This is an example as to a tool white people used, and still use, to systematically categorize blacks, even if they may not have much black ancestry. Many people consider biracial people to be part of their own minority instead of just apart of both races they represent.

Rockquemore, Kerry A., and Tracey Laszloffy. Raising Biracial Children. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press, 2005.Harvard Educational Review. Web.

• Raising Biracial Children argues that most schools and communities lack a clear understanding of the unique experiences and needs of mixed-race children. The authors draw on their experience as  family therapists and their research on racial socialization and identity development as it pertains to the “one drop” rule and the current idea of “blended identity.” It builds off the one drop rule mentioned in my earlier citation and pertains to the troubles of cognitive development in biracial children.

Melnick, Meredith. "Passing as Black: How Biracial Americans Choose Identity." TIME. N.p., 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

• “Passing” is a term used to describe the act of biracial people choosing one ethnic identity over the other. In Jim Crow times biracial people often identified simply with their white side to avoid racism and harm. The author argues that, based on a study by sociologists, people of biracial decent are now choosing to “pass” as black insteaf of white. One main reason for this is because Americans cannot tell the difference between blacks and biracial people.

The Religious Background of Gay Rights

In this excerpt from a ten minute interview, Kevin Edmondson interviews me on what I think causes prejudice against gay people and their basic human rights.

Kevin: Which leads me to my next question, what do non-gays gain from banning gay marriage and is it just religious? As in, do people maybe have their own agenda for banning gay-marriage - maybe the religious aspect is just a surface factor and they have their own reasons? Do you think there could be other reasons maybe?

Alberto: I’ve never really heard any other argument other than the religious argument and that it is just “morally” wrong and “incorrect.” But, really, what are you basing that off? Are you telling me, if you are straight, that your love for a woman is innate? Like where you born that way or did you chose to be that way? One can’t really argue like that when what you’re arguing doesn’t really have any physical evidence. But I don’t know, if you really think about - there’s no need for children. Its not like we’re losing population or we need to have more people in the world. We have an abundance of human beings. So, to sexually reproduce as a man and a woman do, our situation isn’t exactly dire at this moment. In finality, the only arguments I hear against it are religious arguments. Plus, I mostly only hear those arguments in Southern Christianity or other areas of the nation were very conservative Christianity is practiced. In the North, on the West Coast, even in Europe - not counting Russia, that’s another hell of its own - diversity is embraced and love is accepted by the grand majority. Other religions, such as Islam… well, Muslims just outright completely condemn it. But again, that’s a highly conservative society where you can get killed for just about anything that is a tad bit progressive. Jews embrace love, I know this for a fact. East Asian religions and practices, now this one is very different as it goes one of two ways - either you’re an outright disgrace to the family or you are to be loved as every other human is to be loved. Honestly, I would say religion and the social standards religion set are what have caused many people to believe being homosexual is wrong.

Life of a Psych Major

Alberto: When did you decide to study psych?

Me: Well from a young age I’ve always been interested in the minds of people and why people do what they do, what makes them tick; the clockwork of the mind. I’d say what really made my path concrete though was when my best friend suffered from depression. It came out of nowhere; he had a great life a great family, people who cared for him and he just told me he didn’t want to live anymore and I didn’t understand it, neither did he. He was not the only friend who I’ve had suffer from depression but that was the most impactful on me because of the closeness of our relationship; he actually tried to take his life. That just made me want to figure out the cause of it and the possible cures, especially depression that comes out of the blue for no apparent reason.  

Alberto: Since that experience do you analyze people when you meet them, read them so to say?

Me:  I wouldn’t say just because of that experience. I think I’ve always had a tendency to maybe over analyze people. When I first meet somebody. Just their posture, their gestures, the way they speak, the way they shake hands, what they’re wearing. Just all in all can give me an assumption of what kind of person they are or their background and I would say that plays a pretty big part in why I want to become a psychologist. Just being interested in people and why they tick.

Alberto: Is that something that maybe you acquired from your family? Just being able to read people? A lot of people say don’t judge a book by its cover but you can tell a lot about a person from your first experience with them.

Me: I would agree with that. The cover of a book so to say tells a lot about the book itself. Maybe you shouldn’t but you definitely can get a general analysis of somebody, not always accurate, based on initial impressions. I would say my family would play a role in that. My mom has always been one to analyze people, especially my friends. And she’s usually right, almost as if she has a sixth sense, so I can’t even get mad at her for that

Alberto: Is there a bond would you say between psychology majors at least on state campus?

Me: As far as a bond we definitely connect often times for simple fact that even though we aren’t underrepresented we are definitely underestimated. People think oh you’re a psych major because you may not be good at the more empirical sciences and maths dealing more strictly with numbers, since psychology is a science based often times on theory. As a psychological community we all understand that. We all understand that the pay for psychology majors if you don’t pursue a medical background is probably going to be pretty low so if you are a psychology major you have to love what you’re doing and want to help people. I’d say all psychology majors are in it to help people.

Conversation About Being A Music Student

In these two excerpts, I talk to Megan Glova about how schools receive their music programs and what it’s like to be a part of the music programs. I talk about how other kids view music students, and where they fall on the social ladder. We also talk about the stereotypes that are associated with music students and art students, and how some of them are true and how sometimes they are false. Lastly, we discuss what it’s actually like to be a part of the program and the memories I have in the program and with the friends I made.

Excerpt 1:

Megan: Do you think people who are in music groups and people who identify with music are significantly different than people in other groups?

Me (Alyssa): Uhm, I guess it depends where you are, when I was at my school, I definitely would be considered kind of in the nerdier part., because I wasn’t like a band nerd and I wasn’t like not a band nerd. I was somewhere in the middle, people weren’t like, “Oh yeah, chorus! Like go chorus!” but they weren’t like completely mean about it, I mean they were mean about some stuff, but there was definitely like the cliques that would go along with it.

Megan: How do you feel about the stereotypes such as “art freaks”, that people in music, in the chorus, in art, in band, and in theater and everything have?

Me (Alyssa): I mean, it definitely could apply to there. I could definitely tell you that there were some WEIRD kids in my chorus class, weird kids in the music program. But like, I don’t know, I didn’t feel like I was really that weird, like I like to be like funny, have fun with my friends and stuff, but I never felt like I was super weird. Although I know that lots of people thought I was weird, because I associated with the chorus people and the band people, and I was all friends with them, and we were all kind of high-strung and hyper at school and stuff.

Excerpt 2:

Megan: Do you have any fond musical memories, like chorus-wise or otherwise?

Me (Alyssa): Oh definitely. When I first came into chorus, I was quiet and really overwhelmed, because all these people knew each other because I was new to this environment, and as as sophomore I was still testing out the waters, like trying to find where I fit in the group. But as I became a junior and a senior in high school and in chorus, I became like, more of a “main member “, and it became more fun because it seemed like everybody just flocked to me, and I don’t know, I just felt like a part of the group, a big part of the group. I was the funny one in the class, the class clown, and we always had so many fun times. Like when we would dress up for concerts, our dresses were just awfully ugly, and we would make fun of them, like we would’ve gotten them sophomore year, and we would be wearing them senior year, and we be sucking everything in. We would be like, “We are not this small anymore!” And, I don’t know, I hung with a lot of chorus people my senior year, and we always had so much fun together, whatever we were doing, because we were just weird, and we all understood how weird we were.

This is an interview between Alyssa Fisher and myself. Alyssa talks to me about my identification as a “TV Production Kid.” I talk to Alyssa about how my interest in TV production developed, my current employment with Wolfpack Sports TV, and what I hope to accomplish in the future. 

Alyssa: So how did you become so interested in TV production at such a young age?

Meghan: Well I just signed up for my TV production, student-run television run station in elementary school. It always kind of just stuck because I just kept editing videos at home and everything and then, I don`t know, I was kind of inspired to do it because my dad was really really good at broadcasting - like radio broadcasting for football and stuff. He really wanted to go into that in college, but his dad said that he would not pay for his college education if he went into that and he ended up not doing it. So he was all for me doing it, and so we share that same interest. 

Alyssa: Okay, so you were fulfilling your dad`s dreams?

Meghan: Yeah, I am doing the work for him… But I like it too! It`s not just for him, that is just a bonus. 

Alyssa: That`s good. Were there any classes that catered to your interest in TV production that were available for you throughout your schooling? Like in elementary school or middle school?

Meghan: In elementary school and middle school it was just like a hobby, but then high school I had an actual TV productions class where they did the morning announcements or whatever. And then I ended up coming to State and then I got a job on Wolfpack Sports TV, so I do that now!

Alyssa: How have you continued your TV production in college basically? Like you kind of talked about it, can you go more into Wolfpack Sports TV?

Meghan: I basically for them I do random intramural, club, and varsity sports. I cover those all throughout the year, but the most consistent thing I do is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I film a show called “The Daily” and it is just basically a recap of all the sports throughout the week. I do that, and it does not take long. Literally it is just a little mini recap show that takes like ten or fifteen minutes. I just do that and that has been really helpful because my boss is all “certified” in all the broadcasting type of majors and everything, so he has given me really helpful tips that I never even thought of using. Like he told me how if you are talking and there is a list, like a list of names or something, you should be going from higher pitch to lower pitch throughout the list or low to higher. It should never be just straight reading monotone. Little things like that that you would never even think of.

Alyssa: I hate when people read in monotone. It`s just like, “oh my gosh I can not listen to you.” 

Meghan: Yeah, so that has been really helpful having actual people who know what they are talking about being able to tell me what to do and even correct me because I still do a lot of stuff wrong. I haven`t done anything that serious yet. In high school no one really cared, but here they actually care how you are doing and how you present yourself when so speak. So it is a good job experience for the future. 

Alyssa: How do you want to continue TV production in your future? Because you are a communication-media major, so I am assuming you want to continue that. 

Meghan: My big big goal is to move to New York or California, like stereotypical TV goal, and then be more on something entertainment wise, those kind of stations. But I would totally settle for some random news station in Charlotte or something because that is where I`m from. I have a friend whose dad works as a news anchor for NBC Charlotte, and so that always seemed like a decent way to go. I`d be perfectly happy with that, I just want to be in front of the camera mostly. 

Alyssa: Sounds good, good luck with your future, Meghan. 

Meghan: Thanks, thanks I hope I don`t fail.