CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT

Topic Summary Perhaps you’ve noticed it in your Facebook or Twitter feeds – those people who always point out the political side of an issue. You might also have noticed that while these social media friends are great at pointing out the flaws from someone else’s point of view, they are suspiciously blind, deaf and dumb about criticism toward their views, even when the same kind of criticism is appropriate.

Reading introduces girls and young women to worlds and the possibilities of life outside the world they actually live in. It teaches them they do not have to be defined by their circumstance but can rise above it.

Who comes to mind when you hear the phrase bad role model? Do you think of a celebrity? Do you worry about the influence a celebrity has over your child’s values?

The right to privacy refers to a person’s right to have a private space, be it around the body (aka personal space) or associated with the home and personal property or having private matters in the person's life staying private. The right to privacy also refers to the right a person has to control the degree of access by others to a person’s private domain.

Male role models are critical in shaping what girls and women value and what they reject. Girls and young women learn how to interact in a variety of situations from the male role models in their lives just as they do their female role models. What men appear to value influences how a young woman shapes herself, her behaviour, and her aspirations. So men have an extraordinarily strong influence over what girls and young women value just as the entertainment industry does. That is why the Robin Thicke / Miley Cyrus 2013 performance brought such criticism.

Recently, Taylor Swift said she looks to no one – at least in her own industry – as a role model. During a Time magazine interview, she wondered with open embarrassment what her grandchildren would think if she behaved public more like her peers, such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, exposing herself and selling her image through her body.

In response to many requests via my website here is the long awaited discussion of The Shearing. I've included the poem first for ease of reference.

The poem shows the connections between people and the complex nature of place: physical, social, generational, and cultural. The poem portrays the ways in which individuals live and interact in a specific social context.