Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres born in 1958, is now one of Americas most favorite celebrities. She is a stand- up comedian, actress, television host, writer and television producer. Since 2003 she has had The Ellen DeGeneres Show. America knows her for her kind heart, but the gay community recognizes her as a leader.

In 1997, Ellen publicly announces “Yep, I’m Gay”, and was featured on TIME magazine. "I didn't choose to be anything other than a comedian," she tells Time. "I just happen to be gay, and I didn't feel like keeping it a secret, so I announced it. It all turned into this whole big political thing."

            Her being a major public figure, has made a social acceptance for the gay community.  She has opened up to be herself through comedic talents. With being a comedian "You have to be really, really tough-skinned," she tells W. Performing at small bars and clubs, traveling across the country she shows her humor to crowds.

            Later in the year of 1997, Ellen finds love with the actress Anne Heche. “I don’t feel like I’m gay, I just feel like I’m in love” Heche says to Oprah. After almost 4 yearsof being together, in 2000, DeGeneres and Heche announce that they have broken up.  Soon after in 2004, Ellen starts dating Portia de Rossi. She is in love and doesn’t care who knows it, being openly gay started changing things in America. In the year 2008, Ellen at, 50, and Portia de Rossi, 35, get married in their L.A. home and this goes against the Californian’s vote to ban same-sex marriage.  

            Ellen’s confidence and humor establishes that she is in love, and its about time the world knows it. She makes gay acceptance possible with her remarkable career.

Works Cited: 

People  Retrieved from: 

http://www.people.com/people/ellen_degeneres/biography/

Picture: US Magazine   Retrieved from:

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/pictures/celebrity-couples-who-dress-alike-2012222/21006 

Jasmne Marino-Fiandaca

Sex trafficking has plagued the US for years, it has been responsible for the suffering of many people all over the country. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 women are forced in sex trafficking every year in the US.  It can happen anywhere to anyone, and one such woman knows this all to well.

32 year old Jasmine Marino-Fiandaca was living in Massachusetts when she was forced to work as a sex salve by the man she thought was her boyfriend.
For seven years she worked as a prostitute at a massage parlor. She was beaten and treated violently by her pimp and was forced to give up all the money she made from her work to him every day.

Like her, many women all across the US have been subjected to sex trafficking. Some subjected to ears of torture and physical and emotional abuse. Luckily with the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act has helped in protecting those put into these horrid situations.

Jasmne Marino-Fiandaca was lucky to have hid enough money over time to make her escape from the grasp of the man who had manipulated and controlled her. However, despite the fact that the pain and suffering was gone, the memories were still there. For quite some time Jasmine was living out on the streets, resorting to drugs to ease her inner pain. But fortunately she was able to get therapy for her experiences and now works with at risk children and teenage runaways. Though the man that had submitted her to such atrocities is still out there, not charged for his crimes, she does not see any part of his life as important in her eyes anymore.

Works Cited

Former sex-trafficking victim speaks out on 7 years of violence, captivity as warning to youth

BY Nina Golgowski NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Monday, April 14, 2014, 5:30 PM from

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sex-trafficking-victim-speaks-7-years-captivity-article-1.1756116

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act Advances in the Senate Thanks to the Violence Against Woman Act February 12, 2013 By Samantha from 

http://sharedhope.org/2013/02/12/the-trafficking-victims-protection-reauthorization-act-advances-in-the-senate-thanks-to-the-violence-against-woman-act/

Kesha Sebert

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1987, Kesha Sebert’s big break in her career came from rapper Flo Rida’s 2009 number one hit “Right Round.” Her first song to become a hit was “Tik Tok”, and soon after she released her first album, Animal, in 2010. She is a singer and songwriter that was exposed to music at an early age. She worked a lot with her mother, who encouraged her interest in singing because she had landed a songwriting contract in Nashville, TN.

At age 17 Kesha quit high school and moved back to Los Angeles with a producer named Dr. Luke, who had worked on hit singles for other celebrities, to work on her music. She landed a few gigs, but nothing really big happened with her career until the “Right Round” song with Flo Rida. Her lyrics are famous for being about alcohol, drugs, and partying. She says shes “not a babysitter” and “not sorry about it.” Her album attracted many young fans and reached Billboard top hits.

As carefree as now “Ke$ha” may seem, she has struggled profusely with eating disorders-- as many women (and some males) do. She was bullied for weight, although Ke$ha was not even large. She did not fit her manager’s perspective of skinny, and was told: “You need to lose weight! I don't care what you do ... take drugs, not eat, stick your finger down your throat!” by him. She began with a healthy approach, which was eating healthy and exercising, but when she did not reach her goals quickly enough she turned to bulimia.

She was compared to a “refrigerator” and informed that her producers had been talking negatively about her weight behind her back, causing trust issues. She also found much criticism in the way she appeared in her bikini while vacationing in Australia in 2011. "I remember every person who told me I couldn't do something or that I was ugly or too fat,” Ke$ha admits. She was repeatedly told she did not fit in with the modern “pop star” look. When Ke$ha suffered with the eating disorder, the doctors told her they had never seen and sodium so low except in someone who had had a heart attack or stroke. They said it was “a miracle she hadn't dropped dead onstage.”

Women in modern times are expected to be rail thin with the perfect assets. We, as normal every day women, feel this pressure extraordinarily,  so I can only imagine the way celebrities with millions of eyes on them feel every single day. Ke$ha has fought and won her battle by seeking treatment for her eating disorder. She went through a 30 day treatment but then extended her stay, determined to get her health back on track. One of her last photos uploaded says “IMA SURVIVOR” and she wants everyone to know her plan: “To learn to love myself again. Exactly as I am.”

 

Works Cited:

• "Kesha Biography." Retrieved from: http://www.biography.com/people/kesha-562676#awesm=~oBBoXS3RPe31Fy
• "Kesha's Mother Opens Up About Her Daughter's Eating Disorder, Says The Singer Nearly Died." Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/kesha-mother-eating-disorder-rehab_n_4631612.html
• "Kesha's Mom Blames Singer's Eating Disorder On Her Advisors." Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/10/keshas-mom-eating-disorder_n_4575746.html
• "Kesha: Signs That She Was Struggling Before Rehab." Retrieved from: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20772387,00.html
• "She almost died: Kesha's mother claims her daughter was so ill it was 'a miracle' she survived after starving herself." Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2540039/Keshas-mother-claims-daughter-ill-miracle-survived-starving-herself.html
• "Kesha checks out of rehab and leaves dollar sign behind." Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/10/kesha-rehab-eating-disorder-new-name

Katherine Chon

Six women were charged with prostitution after working sixteen to twenty hour days with no pay. The women were just her age. They were both born in South Korea. The brothel was located just near the Brown University apartments where Katherine found rest each evening.  A newspaper article described horrific conditions. All too close to home she felt pulled to the issue and wanted to find a way to make a difference.

This was an introduction into a world of human trafficking that Katherine never realized existed. In 2002 she co-founded the Polaris Project in the United States along with Derek Ellerman. They packed up a U-Haul and moved to Washington, D.C. to open their first office to combat human slavery with holistic strategies. And what were they? Change individual lives, strengthen laws, and build a movement to transform community’s response to slavery in their own neighborhoods.

 

Katherine has initiated a goal with Polaris Project to create long term solutions to change underlying systems. Her goal in combating local needs rather than working as a lobbyist has sent her group into once unreachable places. Federal law has made resources limited. She has found that when states get on board they become the real workhorse of the criminal justice system.

Human trafficking in the United States has been understood as one faceted to many sex trafficking issues sensationalized by the media. Katherine ensures that smuggled immigrants are forced to labor for little or no wages in sweatshops, domestic situations or on farms. Who are these people; enslaved by debt they will never be able to repay?

Globally the Polaris Project is networking. With Katherine’s work the 24-hour National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline has helped over 88 survivors of trafficking in 2012 alone. The program has helped in passing over 100 anti-trafficking laws at state level. Landmark bills are being passed. Katherine has spoken to Congress numerous times, with much anticipation and great reception.

Inspired by the Underground Railroad Katherine has won numerous awards for her work including a 2005 Do Something Brick Award for Social Entrepreneurship presented by Bill Clinton and Named one of the 50 most influential women in the world by Woman’s Day Magazine in 2010. She’s made an impact with bold strategies. She will fundamentally change the criminal markets for slavery. She is determined to win the war of people. Slave free.

Works Cited

Successes | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). Successes | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/successes

Founding Story | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). Founding Story | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/overview/founding-story

2002-2012 Ten Years of Impact Report | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and 

Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). 2002-2012 Ten Years of Impact Report | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/financial-information/2002-2012-report

Bunch, W., & Harvey, C. B. (2006, January /February). Brown Alumni Magazine - Against Their Will. Brown Alumni Magazine - Against Their Will. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/351/40/

Katherine Chon. (2013, April 8). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Chon

Ashley Judd

Born into a well-known, female-driven family of entertainers, Judd learned early on how to perform to please an audience. She was born into an industry synonymous with perfection—perfection that was impossible to achieve, yet still expected. Not only was perfection expected, but as was working with her mother and sister, despite a tumultuous and unhealthy relationship. More of an actress than a singer, Judd, unlike her mother and sister, delved into an industry that ultimately influenced her future devotion.

Spending her childhood in Eastern Kentucky, and even later attending the University of Kentucky for her undergrad, Judd almost immediately turned to activism. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and proceeded onto her dream of graduate school.  After college, Judd planned on joining the Peace Corps, but her plans were swayed after being convinced to move to California to pursue a career in acting.

Judd achieved almost immediate success in her career as actress—leaving behind her degree in Women’s Studies and Anthropology. She was beautiful, talented, and in each of her roles she played a strong female character; however, the entertainment industry did anything but support strong women.

Judd began her humanitarian efforts in the early 2000’s, giving the keynote address on modern slave trade to the 2008 General Assembly of the United Nations, and supporting organization such as Women for Women International, Women Thrive Worldwide, and her advocacy for the International Violence Against Women Act. Violence against women comes in many different forms from sexual objectification to human trafficking. Although Judd came from a strong, southern, family of mostly women, she knew the effects of the entertainment industry. She had been scarred from the criticism and expectation to be thin, to be beautiful, to be perfect.

Judd escaped this violence, but she knew that millions of other women never would. Her current southern values and loves of mediation and gardening, are coupled with a devotion to helping women escape violent behaviors and situations and living for themselves rather than someone else.   

Works Cited

“About the Judds.” CMT Artists. CMT. Web.15 April 2014.

“Ashley Judd.” Bio. Web. 15 April 2014

“Biography.” Ashley Judd. SearchViz. Web. 15 April 2014.

Chicago, Illinois

They told her its survival of the fittest

You must protect your family before you protect yourself

They call it the south side of chicago

but to her its just a city of shooting in Englewood

She just wants an education

She just wants to fit in 

She is different then most

She is bigger and likes to cook

She has mood swings like the weather

Happy as the sun

Depressed like the snow

She spins out with a motive

stabbed like a piece of meat

A pretty black girl is not what she is known for

She is a dark skin

Momma always told her "The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice"

But that only meant something to momma

Daddy wasn't in my life to tell how nice I look

In society its all about being light

She wears dark colors to not show her curves

She works all day to put money in her pocket

From babysitting to wrapping hot dogs

she has to make a living

She has so many responsibilities

Momma struggles to give her lunch money

Daddy was a drug dealer kicked out the house

School teachers don't make the time to help you with school

College seems nice but can you afford it?

She ditches school to hang at the local spot

The MLK Rink better then Cascades

Where it was more then Roller skates

She sees city lights, fights, guns

She hates it. 

Everyone knew everything

The latest shooting or break in

People never understood that wasn’t her

Everyone wasn’t her friend. Gossip was your friend

Police always asked you questions

You couldn’t ignore them or you were known as one of them

Gangs

Vice lord, crip, gdk, gd , bloodz

That’s what you were. That’s what you grew into

Black people was all you had

But black on black crime happened so often she was confused

Mother always took her to Charlotte where she saw beautiful trees 

constant weather of beautiful sun

things she wasnt used to seeing in the city

She wasn’t judge , didn’t always have to wear the latest shoes

She saw a different skin color then what she was used to

They were nice to her and she didn’t understand

They waved and said hello

She felt like herself

She loved her city but it was more then shopping and pretty people

It was about protecting whats yours

This characterization describes the girl known as me. It explains where I grew up around and was used to seeing. It talks about how people weren’t the people I really liked in the world. My life didn’t want to be known around gangs and bad schooling. I’ve been working since I was 10 and I didn’t want to spend my money on the latest gear and or shoes. I wanted to focus on me and that’s what I explained.

Tatiana

Lexington, Kentucky

People call her Lex Vegas,

when she gets wild.

She is a classy lady,

but never scared to get dirty.

She tames, rides, and races those

wild horses, every spring and fall.

Sweet as sunshine,

and nasty like rain,

sometimes they say she is bipolar.

She is strong and wealthy.

Momma and Daddy raised her

as a Republican.

She bleeds BLUE,

and love them CATS.

The Commonewealth.

In the spring,

she watches,

all the trees blossom white flowers.

Young Kentucky girl,

in a push up bra.

She slowly sips on Bourbon

and chases it with Maker’s Mark.

A little cross necklace hangs

around her neck,

and she attends church.

Showcasing her beauty

with her personality.

In the summer she is free,

and will ride on all the

back roads, on the outskirts of town.

Summer bliss.

She wears those little shorts

with black bikini.

She lays on the bluegrass,

and drinks lemonade.

Works hard and some say,

“she treats cancer with her charm”.

Boys want to kiss her,

because they say her kisses

taste like sweet old Kentucky chocolates.

The yellow and

copper colored leaves

indicate that its fall.

She goes to the

ROOTS & HERITAGE FESTIVAL

held every year.

She ate Mexican every Saturday,

called it “Salsa Saturday”,

and randomly ate Italian

on Thursday’s.

She loved making sugar cookies

and snow angles.

A family tradition to go

see the southern lights.

Baby girl, she is determined

to always stand out.

I was born and raised from right here in Lexington, Kentucky. I took the time to go through each season that I have experienced growing up in Lexington. Lexington is a fairly wealthy city. Lexington is the Horse Capital of the world and every spring and fall Keeneland opens and showcase horses from all over the world. The weather is generally always bipolar but each season pays its due. I enjoyed writing this, it made me think and challenge my limits as creative writer.