Linda

From the western perspective, I agree with many of the points your sight but it is much deeper than visibility, there lacks of diversity in the roles that matter, designer, boardroom etc, and by diversity, this also included women (but that's for another day).

In the west, Fashion itself is a form of art, and from a western semiotic perspective, it is inherently racist, violent, extortionate.

I would go further and say that for certain ethical groups discrimination will always linger regardless of economic strata. Caucasians continue to experience privilege in the global south. Whilst ex-pats from the global south are more likely to be thought of as migrants, the idea that expertise can be exported to the west is still novel.

Taken aback....never thought of it that way.

I think it is predominantly our poorly structured education institutions coupled with various other factors such as societal expectations. Moreover, we don't teach the required skills to handle difficult situations,

We must also look at it from the perspective of those who live in these regions. After all the Uk voted for Brexit. ( Bitter-sweet fact)

This article in Garage presents arguments from both sides, what caught my eye was this.

"Bullfighting is like liturgy, says Rubén Amón, who writes about el toreo for the newspaper El País. It reveals things hidden in society’s shadows, “what everyone wants to ban and hide,” he says—death, violence, and sacrifice."

It made me ask what is it about bullfighting that we hate and how different is it from what happens in slaughterhouses every day, globally?

Why don't we feel the same about the animals we fatten and slaughter for food, after all an animal or animal(s) usually die...is it because we don't see it?

What if we 'saw' how animals were treated, would we eat meat? The death, violence, and sacrifice would probably be too much for many of us to handle.
Just go to PETA.

I do think it's an oxymoron to be against bullfighting and a meat-eater, and there are some deep-seated issues that we all need to confront first. In other words, bullfighting is quite low in the list of priorities, let's tackle the meat industry first.

My own perspective is that animals should not be harmed for the satisfaction of humans.

It is morally acceptable for anyone to wear dreadlocks. The problem at hand is power dynamics.

Challenging racism is more about reconstructing systematic, institutionalised practices and power imbalances. Tanning is a rather fickle subject in the grand scale of things.

Am all for 3 days and 1 day off. Never thought of that.

Am experiencing cognitive dissonance, out of curiosity how can stereotypes be neutral?

According to the Cambridge dictionary , stereotype is

A set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong

or

to have a set idea about what a particular type of person is like, especially an idea that is wrong

or

An idea that is used to describe a particular type of person or thing, or a person or thing thought to represent such an idea.

How can a set idea be neutral when neutrality is fundamentally having no opinion?

Based on the definition and meaning of stereotype, it is still an opinion, not factually accurate. regardless of being positive or negative.

I understand your perspective. Perhaps this question is very hard to handle due to lived experience of both negative and positive stereotypes. This is especially true when you are part of a marginalised group since stereotyping can also be used as an inductive hypothesis.

Am caught in an unusual circumstance, on one hand, am expected to keep my relatively unusual maiden name, (simply because it is) but can justify a name change if for example a) my husband has a name that would be economically advantageous to me.

Interestingly name lineage does not exist in my family, meaning that my father and I carry a different surname, the only people I share a surname with are my mother and siblings. if the tradition is kept it also means I would never have the same surname as my nieces and nephews. Which makes me want to hang onto my surname for dear life.

Not sure what I would do, it's hard enough finding a compatible partner.

Did not consider these items bitter, clearly an acquired taste, more for me.

I think protests of all kinds have a function; all movements start with intellectual discourse and justification for the cause, but at some point, some do become violent, and this is often what captures mainstream attention.

Wiki has a good selection of different protest types and quoted that unaddressed protests grow and widen into civil resistance, dissent, activism, riots, insurgency, revolts, and political or social revolution. So, therefore, whilst peaceful protests have a function, those that disrupt power, systems, and the status quo are also necessary, and this is where protesters are likely to experience resistance.

Peaceful protests are rare and take decades for results to be achieved (Gandhi, Mandela), but they can run simultaneously with other forms of protests for the same objective.

Emma Raducanus win is a great achievement for British sport and tennis in particular not necessarily for the world.

I most certainly do not possess a rich vocabulary. Moreover, with [230 languages becoming extinct between 1950 and 2010] (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/saving-dying-disappearing-languages-wikitongues-culture?), what exactly is a rich vocabulary?

-Is it the number of words one knows in a particular language?

OR

-In a truly globalised world, is it one who converses in several languages such as English, Latin, Mandarin and Cantonese?

OR

Someone who speaks a rich language such as Greek?

OR

The language keepers, who despite being displaced, globally have preserved their language such as Hebrew?

OR

Those speaking or forming their own Lingua franca which brings different groups of people together?

Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton...You cant imagine them without one and all have had relatively successful and long music careers.

I recently read an article that discussed how British children and young people are struggling with contemporary life, and the mental health crisis is concerning. I wonder if outdoor learning could help tackle some of these issues? Enrich children's lives and well-being and help them have a sense of belonging?

Speaking from experience (personal account) :

I grew up on a tropical farm before the age of 7, , as such am an advocate for children spending a large proportion of their time outdoors. I learnt how to seed, harvest, love animals (we had 10 dogs), fend for myself and make pottery from mud, amongst other things. It was utter bliss. At the weekend, we would go to my grandfather's farm- which was industrialised. Here I learnt about mechanics, soil types and perennial plants. My late grandfather also built a children's garden full of [mimosa plants] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o18UUSJgQA). (tickle me plant). We would also visit my other grandmother who had orange courtyards. I couldn't reach the oranges through! So it was less fun.

HOWEVER, I struggled in school; all I wanted to do was play outside. ..it took me a while to settle into classroom settings. Nonetheless, I did what I was supposed to.

On reflection, however, the lessons I learnt outside in the humdrum of daily life are more vibrant and meaningful than academia. Don't get me wrong; I love academia; I have spent decades in it, but much of what I have learnt has faded away over the years. Being outside teaches children skills they can't get in books, and the confidence for adventure, how to deal with setbacks and look after the earth.

Utterly fascinating, this was a great read!

It's absurd to be racist to anyone.

I don't think dreadlocks are inherently black, all hair can be dreadlocked.

Actually wearing dreadlocks is holistic, clean and more environmentally friendly than trips to the hair salon, or hair products full of pollutants, regardless of what you consider yourself to be!

YES

There will be consequences WHATEVER women wear, that's the problem. Not women.

Trousers
Hijab
Head-veil France
Tight Jeans

Not scientifically true, if you look at the blood types or sample groups in most pharmaceutical studies, for example, there is a high marginalization of certain characteristics which can be found in other demographics. Particularly marginalised communities who tend to be people of colour.

Guns kill people = no, they do not!! 😂
Some people with guns kill people.

I really enjoyed reading your take on the subject and agree that some western countries are not built to sustain polygamy. (Although France confuses me. )

Would you say that polygamous relationships require a greater level of trust and communication?

Weirdly, as I became older, a polygamous relationship seems appealing. . . Although I consider this different to an open relationship, which I would struggle with.

I love this metaphor, it reminds me of Japanese [Kōans](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/zen-buddhism-koan_n_563251dce4b0631799115f3c?ri18n=true in Zen Buddhism).

You make some great points and liked the context in which you described free, just wondered based on this what does freer mean to you?
I say this out of curiosity as I struggle with the concept of a free market.

We could talk about this all day! The topic of love, at first sight, is huge. I present my view from the viewpoint of someone to whom we are attracted.

I believe that love exists at first sight, but I do not understand the conditioned expectations?

Is it not possible to fall in love at first sight without ever wanting to act on it? Without the desire of having it in physical reality? Do we doubt it, when we act? Since we seek feedback from our actions to validate our perceptions of another? In simpler words is reciprocity required?

From a mental perspective, is it healthy to remember, imagine and hold onto the memories of our first sight love(s)? Would it not be better if we learnt how to let go or forget?

I love this film by Nacho Vigalondo; I think it perfectly illustrates what I am trying to say.

In most western discourse, sex is largely taboo, and there is a lot of shame associated with it. Maybe it started with the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve- (but I haven't read the Hebrew version).

Paradoxically sex is also a virtue* in western culture**, since in the words of John Berger
'Sexuality is used, either explicitly or implicitly, by publicity to sell things. The message it conveys is that being able to buy is the same as being sexually desirable or loveable.' (See John Berger, Ways of Seeing. )

That slightly leaning Samsung from a semiotic perspective perfectly depicts a nude. It has monetary value, but it's not considered sacred or spiritual. It is purely transactional.

This is why we struggle to be open about sex..because how we perceive it is constrained, despite being bombarded with sexual stimuli everywhere.

I enjoyed reading ancient texts such as Egyptian, Chinese, and Sanskrit texts on sexuality, eroticism, and emotional fulfilment in life, which seem to be much healthier and holistic. I think the act of sex is sacred, and if we considered it as such, we would have better sex and less transactional sex lives.

• If we consider western capitalism, which is now the most dominant economic system globally.

** western culture is not only bound to Europe, US.

Your response is interesting; it supposes that human rights are of western origin, and genocide is a concept that exists outside of western civilisation.

Curious to learn how did you come to this conclusion? and
Can anyone claim human rights as their own?

I think our dating culture is generally driven by fetishism. We take time to make friends why don't we do the same with dating, marriage, cohabiting?

In fact, arranged marriages follow a better logic.

I think it does, but it does not have to; names are not static, travelling and living abroad will broaden your perspective.

The premisses of this question are silly.

If demographic data refers to socioeconomic information expressed statistically, then how can race and gender be?

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, ethnicity is included, but the classification is entirely subjective

This is also true in the US, apparently

However, the categorisation is pending reclassification in Scotland and Ireland; there is a desire to move towards nationality rather than racial categorisations. The current debate on the BAMEacronym developed in the 70s is also interesting to note.
( https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/28/exclusive-scrap-use-bame-label-race-commission-tells-boris-johnson/ )

My understanding is work performance is quantifiable while race, is not. Gender once was, but new classifications has clearly differentiated it from biological attributes, (sex). (https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/48642.html)

In British society for sure, we talk about race too much but the class disparities are deeply rooted and pervasive. The 'establishment' wealth remains largely inaccessible to most British folk. In fact, the City of London has its own government, mayor and independent police force.

Worthy a read:
https://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2011/02/london-corporation-city

No one should use the term 'woke'. The term woke is banal and should be banned.

Are you sure we are not introducing eugenics into the question?

How did it get funding in the first place, that is what I want to know!
Nevertheless, scientific journals are making headway in actively retracting papers that are scientifically ambiguous...think with increased connectivity this will became more common!