children can’t be children anymore

Dear Readers,

Remember back in the day when streets were safe for children to frolic and play?
The sounds of laughter, jumping rope, playing tag, hopscotch or jacks. The days when children constructed club houses out of large cardboard boxes and built race carts from materials found around their neighborhoods. Friendly winter snow ball fights, rolling around in hills of leaves in the fall, and sitting outside on warm summers nights.

Lemonade stands, hot dogs, baking cookies, family picnics, community softball games, and dance socials. I remember what a childs birthday party was celebrated by an entire community, and block parties were consider the social event of the summer. One of my greatest childhood memories is my father’s love for the beach. During the summer my family split our time between the beach and the country learning about nature and fishing with my dad. I loved and enjoyed the freedom of my childhood.

Fast-forward…..

What has happened to the rite of passage of childhood, the innocence of their smiles and the heart felt joy of childish giggles? Today’s generation is asked to mature too fast they are rushed to take on the tasks and role of an adult when they are not emotionally ready to make adult descions?

I see children’s daily schedules jammed with activities and I wonder if these over active children have time to just be a kid? My heart goes out to the children who are trapped between over achieving parents, who set expectations beyond their childs abilities.Tiger Moms pushing their daughter’s into beauty pageants in hopes of their princess becoming the next Ms. America. Fathers priming their sons to become sports jocks teaching them that real men are fearless, in control if their emotions and aggressive. All it takes is a scroll through social media to see teenage girls pimped out and fluffed up to look like fully mature women. Young men sagging pants, tattoos, sporting a hard core thug appearance. Society is overrun with underage single mothers and fathers trying to imitate playing house.

The new play ground is hanging out at the Mall, young people living their lives attached to phones, ipads and soical media, their immediate concern is having the lastest name brand clothes, electronics, and hanging out with family is corny and boring. Television show marketed to children are becoming increasingly violent and sexual even the Disney Channel has gone rogue. This generations values and morals are different and planning for the future is something that old people do.

I could go on and on but I think at this point you get the message.

Thank you for stopping by dragthepen ❤️

Designer Women or Vulgarity?

Dear Readers,

I am not a soical media influencer nor do I have millions of followers on my blog, Facebook or my YouTube channel Conversations with J. R. Floyd. As a blogger on a daily basis I conduct research via soical media as a means to create topics for my our soical media platforms. There is no topic that I shy away from because I like to think that my views will help others to engage in conversations that might encourage change and empowerment.

While strolling through various soical media platforms, fashion magazines, and the occasional awards or reality TV shows, I’ve noticed that women of color are exposing more of themselves.The trend of walking the red carpet with plunging necklines, exposed buttocks wearing designer gowns created out of sheer materials, or in some cases no material at all. My concerned is this since the beginning of time women of color have been degraded, sexualized, villainized, and treated as less than worthy. Black women have been contently reminded that they don’t possessed the same higher level of intelligence and capabilities of their white counterpart.Therefore, some women of color find themselves forsaking modesty as a means to make their mark in this world.

For centuries women have fought against the stereotype of only being qualified to
” be bare foot and pregnant.” Women have marched for the right to be ” seen and hear, ” and to be taken seriously, while struggling to prove that the female species is more than just pretty faces and body parts. The argument is that women should be able to wear whatever they want without judgement. While there might be some truth to this statement, my question is this, have society cross the line turning fashion and beauty into a vulgar display of over exposed women dressed in outrageous costumes void of class, modesty, and eloquent?

There is a moment of sisters who are embracing the image of European beauty in an attempt to rid themselves of any trace of African features.The weaves, wigs, and nails are getting longer and outrageous. Body parts are being stuff, and plastic surgery is becoming a norm, breast implants, removal of ribs to make waists appear smaller, butt lift, butt implants, cosmetic surgery for cheek implants, European nose, permanent eyeliner, skin bleaching, extreme diets all in the name of standing out and making a statement. Another concern for bringing up this topic is about the influence that these trends is having on young black women who are not apart of the Hollywood Celebrity Status.

Why are we so willing to turn a blinds eye to how young black women are spending an increasing amount of money and energy to turn themselves into “designer women?” To simulate and emulate what they see on TV, the images of hard core music video vixons, or their favorite reality celebrity. We should be concerned about the emotional, physical, and financial toll trying to keep up a certain image has on our young women. The fear of rejection of not being good enough or fitting into a certain image is real. I can’t tell you how many times as a black woman I have been rejected because I wouldn’t raise my hemline or expose my breast, change my style of dressing or do freaky things. The saddest side of this situation is that women are forming clicks that exclude other women who don’t measure up to the standards of the image of the ” designer women.”

The final part of discussion is the counter argument to the creation of the ” designer women,” is the case for body shaming. The flip side to this battle of the beauties, is society supporting and encouragement of plus size women giving them permission to be over weight, which we all know can and will lead to health problem. There point of view is that society needs to except them as they are. Although there are plus size women in Hollywood, however, look how long it takes them to understand that their health is the issues and not trying to prove that big girls can make it to stardom.

Will that’s it. Thank you for stopping by dragthepen

Myself and baby sis.

They are Least Among us.

newest addition to my family

Dear Readers,

Let’s not show our anger towards the parents who are protesting against children wearing mask 😷 in school or for choosing not to receive the vaccine. Their cry is that government is conspiring to take away our right to choose, and that the political leaders and CDC is using the human race for a New World Order experiment. I am a mother of one and grandmother of three, and I fear for their future. I grow up during an era ( I am a baby boomer) where people trusted that the leaders were during what’s in the best interest of the people. It is frightening in this modern thinking society that because of so much misinformation, abuse of power, racial division, anger, and betrayal, people are willing to sacrifice their lives and the lives of children to make a point.

I not standing on a soap box to persuade anyone to pick a side or to take the vaccine. I made the choice to be vaccinated, and I’m overjoyed that my entire family has chosen to vaccinate themselves against this invisible killer virus. It is my opinion that the Health Care professional and Scientist are doing the best they can with the knowledge that they have to understand how to slow down and eradicate this virus.

This is a dangerous and scary time of uncertainty for our children. Instead of dragging them out into the street to protest against an issue that is effecting millions of people, we need to band together, humble our hearts and minds in prayer, and show compassion. It is the children that need to be protected. As adults our duty is to set examples of good judgement, model moral behavior and teach our children the benefits of good values.Their lives are precious.They are our future. We need to show support for the teachers, students, school staff, and bus drivers. Our children desire to continue to aquire their education in a safe environment. We need to show the same respect to our a Health Care Workers, where would we be without their scarifice and dedication remember they have families.

Lastly, this virus knows no respect of person regardless of age, race, income, or soical or political status. We are in this together.

My youngest sister and her adorable boys

Thank you for stopping by dragthepen ❤️