issue 11 / volume 41 Not that kind of role model » Lena Dunham's questionable childhood shines a light on dark area of parenting Elliot Chan ©... Opinions Editor m=: Mopinions ty #4 @theotherpress.ca he awkward years of adolescence—we’ve all been : there. For many of us it’s an aspect of our life we don’t revisit : often. We tend to bottle up our past, repress memories, and avoid conversations where we open up about those “innocent” : isolated incidents. We do this because as an adult it’s hard to say that those behaviours were in fact innocent. The fine line between curious sexual discovery and negligent abuse is a problem that recently surfaced : in social media discourse. I’m of course drawing connection to the events described in Lena Dunham’s memoir Not That Kind of Girl where she confessed to bribing her sister Grace with candy for kisses, in addition to having her sister expose herself. Inone : ; ; : : story of incestuous behaviour to : : awareness for parents. incident, Lena was a seven- year-old; Grace was one-year- old. Lena jokingly described herself as a sexual predator, and that statement ultimately caused a backlash. Judgment rained down from Twitter, and the Dunham sisters’ parents took the brunt of it. Although Lena’s behaviour : may seem repulsive to some, the : : Dunham sisters stood by each other, instead turning their Policing young children’s : sexually driven activities is : not a simple task, and for : many parents, they bypass the : optional birds-and-the-bees : lecture all together. Without : guidance, children may find : themselves in situations that : might leave permanent scars. One could argue that the : Dunham sisters have turned : out fine, but because it’s such a taboo subject, there are : probably countless cases out : in the world that go unspoken, : and many more occurrences go : unseen. A child’s actions will : always bea reflection of the : parents. The relationship : between siblings, especially : those with a significant age- gap like Lena and Grace, has : been shown to be one where : the older child has dominance : over the younger. This case : requires the parents to be in : constant conversation with : their children. Parents need to : educate the elder and assess : the younger. They need to : encourage curiosity, yet set : strict boundaries. Still, another : element causes unease: how : young should children be : educated about sex? opinions // 19 Once children start : interacting with other kids ina : physical manner, be it violent : or sexual, then a conversation : needs to take place. Few : parents will have the resources : to supervise a child for long : periods of time, and a lack of : trust can become detrimental : for both parents and children. : When children are forced : to interact, parents must : explain what is appropriate : and what is not. It doesn’t : matter if it’s a sibling or if it’s a : schoolmate, violating personal : space through coercive or : manipulative means is never : appropriate. It’s incredibly bold of : the Dunham sisters to be : open about sucha sensitive | : experience in their personal = : many people approach them : and their parents with scorn. : Who of us can say that we : didn’t perform a questionable : act in our youth, regrettable or : not? And cana parent out in : the world really say that they : know exactly what to do in such : a situation? There is no clear : procedure to parenting; it’s trial : and error. But with so many : educational resources out in : the world, there is no reason for : any aspect to be brushed off. lives. It was a shame to see so All you need 1s love? » There will never be a good McDonald's slogan Elliot Chan Opinions Editor = Mopinions si @theotherpress.ca D McDonald’s advertising team: no word combination : : and promotional items. or phrase will ever make your company more appealing. You over again, but you don’t need to convince us that you love anything. Just keep churning out your delicious mutated meals and you'll be just fine. In 2003, McDonald’s unveiled its “I’m lovin’ it” campaign with vocals by Justin Timberlake. Over a decade later the jingle still resonates—it’s brilliant; it’s so incredibly stupid. I have not met a person who genuinely “loves” the slogan. It just existed to cause us to cringe a little bit, more so than tasting the watered-down 7-Up from a malfunctioning soda fountain. Then in 2008, McDonald’s dared to change people's “lovin’ is greater than hatin’ : And a synchronized groan can be heard from the 99-billion : customers served. : opinion of their food by : introducing a new slogan: : “What we’re made of.” With : no cameo from any boy band : members, the lacklustre : campaign fizzled out and appeared only on packaging Now, 11 years since we can use the word “love” overand : heard the “ba-da-ba-ba-da!” : brain-branding tune, rumours : heard through the Internet : grapevine suggest that the : behemoth fast-food chain will : be introducing its new slogan : for 2015. At this moment, the : possible slogan appears to be m9 : rather “lovin’ beats hatin” or ” I hope dearly that both those options are in fact just ; jokes, because the last thing : want McDonald’s to do is : remind me of what I hate : and what I love while eating : shitty food. Like an unhealthy : relationship, McDonald's is : lying to me. Please, McDonald’s : : advertising team, if you are : throwing the slogan online to : gauge the public’s reaction, : note that it sucks. Don’t put us : through 10-plus years of “lovin’ beats hatin” —it’s not even : clever. Will I stop going to McDonald’s because of its : crappy slogan? No, but it upsets : : me that there is a department of ! : people up in the Micky D’s ivory : : tower, making such a dumb : decision and that this is what : McDonald's is focussed on at : the moment to earn customers’ : love and loyalty. A slogan means nothing, and there will never be one : that will inspire me to go and : eat McDonald’s. However, : McDonald's does many things : well: the Monopoly promotion : is one of the most successful : “golden ticket” marketing ; campaigns of all time and the : kid toys are another brilliant : payoff for feeding our youths : unwholesome food. It upsets me when I see McDonald’s try to appeal to : an audience that will never : be converted. Stop trying to : prove yourself to the health : freaks and the haters. There is a : devoted and large demographic : out there that will never stop : going to McDonald's or other : fast-food chains. For many, we : have committed to this lifestyle of heart attacks, obesity, and diabetes and we are no more or less unhappy for it. We are fine, : we are living our lives, we are : just trying to find contentment, : and we are the people you : should care about. So, if the advertising team is reading this, understand that : whatever slogan you end up : agreeing on, we'll always hate : it. Don’t waste your time and ; money with such a pointless : initiative. Instead, do what you : are already doing, treat us better, : and stop lying to us. Because ; tome, McDonald's beats : nothin’ It’s the Taylor Swift of : nourishment—shake it off.