A
s
a
young
and
impressionable child, the
concept of gender and what
it meant to be a “proper” girl were
enshrined into seemingly every
fabric of the world that surrounded
me.
When I visited Target to spend
my carefully accrued Tooth Fairy
money, the segregated blue and
pink aisles quickly indicated which
section I should browse. The girls
section was filled with gendered
stereotypes to carefully cultivate
a new generation of domesticated
women
through
marketing:
Instead of Lego sets, we were
offered baby dolls that needed to be
“mothered” by us with mock baby
bottles and diapers; instead of Nerf
guns, we were gifted Easy-Bake
Ovens that introduced us early
on to the concepts of cooking and
baking; instead of Pokémon cards,
we got to browse an assortment of
plastic Barbie dolls who modeled
how to girl-boss through women-
dominated fields of life while
perfectly maintaining Eurocentric
standards of beauty.
Concealed behind fuchsia plastic
was the societal goal to slowly
condition a generation of young
girls to collectively understand our
“proper place” in the world without
asking any questions. While the
boys got to be boys, the girls were
fed discreet corporate messages
about their predetermined roles in
society.
While
sex
concerns
the
biological
differences
between
females and males, gender is much
more complex. According to
Dr.
Zuleyka Zevallos, a Peruvian-
Australian
applied
sociologist,
gender is “a concept that describes
how
societies
determine
and
manage
sex
categories;
the
cultural meanings attached to
men and women’s roles; and how
individuals
understand
their
identities.” Gender, she explains,
“involves social norms, attitudes
and activities that society deems
more appropriate for one sex over
another.” She adds that gender is
further determined by “what an
individual feels and does.”
Y
ou’ve
probably
heard
the names Johnny Depp
and Amber Heard being
thrown around recently. Maybe
a meme here or there, or a clip of
some movie stars in a courtroom.
But what’s the scandal? Who’s
suing whom? Isn’t Johnny Depp
a pirate? As someone with a little
too much interest in both “Pirates
of the Caribbean” and the judicial
system, I’m here to tell you exactly
what’s going on and what the true
importance behind the trial is.
Johnny
Depp
became
a
household name after his role
as Captain Jack Sparrow in the
widely
popular
movie
series,
“Pirates
of
the
Caribbean.”
As a family favorite, loved by
children and adults alike, fans
were devastated when, in 2016,
rumors that Depp had abused his
ex-wife, Amber Heard, began to
spread. Almost overnight, his high
reputation was slashed, costing
him millions of dollars as fans and
employers began to boycott him.
As a beloved pirate-turned-wife-
beater, Johnny’s reputation and
career were over.
Denying the abuse allegations
from the beginning, Depp set out
to save his reputation through a
series of defamation lawsuits.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion
8 — Wednesday, June 22, 2022
From The Daily: demystifying
misconceptions about gun violence
I
n the past month, a string of tragic
mass shootings have dominated the
media. Witnessing the senseless
barbarity has left many Americans in
despair over what can be done to stop the
monolith of gun violence. With increased
media coverage and civic dialogue,
the
recent
shootings
have
publicly
demonstrated just how false common
arguments against stricter gun control are.
As Democrats in Congress push for even
minor policy changes, ordinary voters
have an opportunity and obligation to put
the pressure that is clearly needed on our
elected officials to prioritize gun control.
In order to begin unraveling a system that
has enabled repeated acts of gun violence,
we must work to demystify the common
misconceptions that prevent necessary
change.
MISCONCEPTION 1: Arming good
guys with guns can help to stop bad
guys with guns
One widely accepted myth about gun
violence prevention, especially touted by
Republican members of Congress, is that
providing guns to the “good guys” can help
stop bad guys with guns. After all, if we
arm our teachers or school security with
ammunition and firearms, then they can
take action to stop a shooter themselves,
right?
Wrong. A perfect example of this myth
in action can be observed in the recent
school shooting at an elementary school
in Uvalde, Texas, in which the shooter
killed 19 children and two teachers.
Despite the fact that officers of the Uvalde
Police Department, a U.S. Border Patrol
tactical team and deputy U.S. Marshals
were all armed and on the scene at Robb
Elementary, 77 minutes passed before the
tactical team was finally able to enter the
locked classroom and kill the shooter.
While the Chief of Police, Pete
Arredondo,
attributed
the
delayed
response to “measures meant to protect
teachers and students in mass shooting
situations work(ing) against police trying
to gain entry” — including the fact that
the classroom door was “reinforced with
a hefty steel jamb” to prevent forced entry
from intruders — these facts do not change
the reality that good guys with guns were
unable to stop the bad guy with a gun from
murdering innocent children.
In fact, a 2021 JAMA Network Open
study that analyzed every incident
from 1980-2019 in which “one or more
people was intentionally shot in a school
building during the school day, or where a
perpetrator came to school heavily armed
with the intent of firing indiscriminately”
found that “no association” existed
“between having an armed officer and
deterrence of violence.” This damning
statistic proves the unfortunate reality that
good guys with guns are often unable to
stop school shootings, even when they’re
properly armed and trained to do so.
This trend can be further seen in the
examination of other mass shootings in
which armed officials were present at the
scene. During the recent mass shooting at
a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., in which a
white supremacist targeted and murdered
innocent Black shoppers, an armed
security guard and former police officer
named Aaron Salter attempted to stop
the shooter with his weapon. However,
because the gunman shielded himself
using an armor-plated vest, Salter’s shots
did not stop the shooter. Salter was
ultimately killed, making him one of the 10
victims from the mass shooting.
And yet, these armed individuals are
not even responsible for being incapable
of defending others from mass shooters.
The fault lies within the fact that good
guys with guns are rendered practically
defenseless when faced against assault
rifles, a popular weapon of choice among
mass shooters. While the majority of
shootings are perpetrated using handguns,
assault rifles are significantly deadlier,
explaining why some of the worst mass
shootings have been perpetrated using
AR-15-style rifles — including the Uvalde
shooting (12 killed), the Las Vegas shooting
(59 killed), The Pulse nightclub shooting
(49 killed) and the Sandy Hook shooting
(27 killed). The AR-15 itself is a destructive
semi-automatic rifle which was originally
“intended for the U.S. military” because of
its ability to kill mass amounts of people in
an efficient manner. Without the proper
protection, even a good guy with a gun
could be annihilated by the bullets of an
AR-15-style rifle.
MISCONCEPTION 2: The “lone
gunman”
Another
common
misconception
surrounding
gun
violence
is
the
perpetuation of the idea that one sole
individual is behind the act. In reality, there
are a multitude of forces and contributing
factors that bestow these gunmen with
the ideological methods by which they go
about their sprees. Many conservatives,
whether they be politicians or political
commentators, are under the impression
that the issue of mental health is the reason
for the uptick in gun-related violence, but
this is absolutely unfounded in terms of
scientific and social evidence. To shift the
conversation towards mental health and
away from the actual problem of guns
avoids the problem entirely and creates
damaging stereotypes against those in
America who struggle with mental illness.
I am a woman. But not in the way you
may think.
What the Depp v. Heard trial means for
domestic abuse survivors
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SUMMER EDITORIAL BOARD
SOPHIA LEHRBAUM
Opinion Columnist
AMY EDMUNDS
Opinion Columnist
Read more at michigandaily.com
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