THIS ISSUE IS IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE…

Islamophobia: The Causes And Effects

Islamophobia is the irrational phobia of people who are part of the Islamic faith and it can be caused by many things.

Firstly, parts of the media can contribute negatively the epidemic of Islamophobia we see today. Whenever there is a terror attack and the terrorist involved is a Muslim the media tend to accentuate that fact, shedding a bad light on other Muslims.

Doing so fuels the fear and stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. Whenever people hear about a terror attack they tend to attach themselves to the negative facts as they attract the most attention because it might make them feel safer.

Image: Via Wikimedia Commons

Also, many political leaders can drive this phobia. When they run for political office they try to appeal to the interests and fears of their potential voters.

Image: Via Gage Skidmore

Donald Trump, a presidential candidate in America is a man who is doing exactly that. He appeals to voters’ insecurities about Muslims and is trying to exploit that fear to get into power. Donald Trump makes promises to protect the American people from the supposed threat that Muslims possess. A recent promise Donald Trump made was to ban all Muslims from the USA, this was very controversial and outraged many people.

Islamophobia is a current epidemic which represents an unjust view of Muslims who are being accused of terrible, terrible things. This is due to the manifestation of fear in the hearts of many people which worsens with each terrorist attack.

By the way, if you want to know the actual population of “Muslim” terrorists here it is:

Muslims	1,570,000,000,000
ISIS	31,000
Taliban	36,000
Al Qaeda	10,000

Jude, aged 15

Makeup: Do We Need It?

Nowadays every little girl wants to wear makeup, from a little blusher or lipstick to a full face of makeup with: contour, foundation, blush, mascara, lip liner, eye liner!

Makeup can make a person feel good, it can make you feel beautiful and a lot more confident as a person. But makeup isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. It can damage your skin and give you blemishes. It can also hide what you look like naturally.

Image: Via Wikimedia Commons

Yet, makeup these days costs a lot of money and can prevent you from buying more important things in life like: books, clothing and even food. For example, foundation from Topshop costs £16 for one small tube! Accessories such as makeup brushes or a set of them comes up to £26 for around eight brushes.

Something that has affected the minds of most of the girls and some of the boys I know is that their eyebrows must be on “fleek”. There supposedly are many ways to keep your eyebrows on “fleek” such as by: threading, waxing and tinting them.

After speaking to friends of mine this was their opinion on makeup:

“I like wearing makeup and it makes you feel good.”

“Makeup makes me feel confident.”

“To enhance my features.”

“I wear makeup to boost my confidence and make me feel better.”

Personally I think that makeup is amazing, I only wear it sometimes because it makes me feel good. I do not wear makeup to impress anyone and neither should you!

Ashley, aged 13

No Bombs, Beneficial Taxes

Jeremy Corbyn declared that as Prime Minister, he would never push the button to release a nuclear bomb.

Corbyn explained that he does not believe that the taxpayer’s money should be funding an unnecessary nuclear bomb.  He firmly stated, “I do not think we should be spending £100 billion on renewing Trident.” He argued that we should be spending money on looking after male and female soldiers, who risk their lives fighting for Britain. He stated that he would prefer it if the country was nuclear free.

Image: Via Wikimedia Commons

Many British citizens often worry about terrorists coming and attacking the country, however he believes that if more people helped to defend the country, they will be more hesitant about attacking us.

We should realise that taxes could be reduced if this useless bomb was non-existent. Less money would be wasted on Trident and more money could go to beneficial things, such as funding schools and charities.

Also, the money saved by reducing taxes could be put towards your future, which would provide great opportunities. It could go towards funding your university, apprenticeship or college education.

Gabriella, aged 12

From This Moment On Remember You Are Beautiful

Image: Via Pixabay

This issue is important to me because I do feel it is an ongoing issue within society and I feel the strong need to draw attention to it and to help put an end to it.

Why is it that people of my generation are continuing to reinforce the theory of “pigmentocracy”?

The term “pigmentocracy” is been used by social scientists to describe societies in which wealth and social status are determined by a person’s skin colour. Lighter-skinned people are given the highest social status and darker-skinned are at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

So my question is what is informing and reinforcing this self-loathing mind-set?

Is it because the leaders of our society do not reflect the diverse ethnicity within our society not providing positive role-models ethic young people? For example, if we are to look at the members of the UK parliament only 4.2% of the 650 members of parliament are of black and ethnic minorities.

It could also be said that rap music has a part to play. So many rap songs focus on “light skinned women” and if you disagree with me take the time and see it for yourself. In addition, television adverts and beauty magazines do not represent or include many dark-skinned people. This conveys a subliminal idea of what we should perceive as beauty without realising it.

Very recently, I complimented a young male on his beautiful dark skin only to receive a shocking response. He was offended to me referring to him as “dark”. To see such level of self-hatred and denial of his skin colour was an uncomfortable experience.

When I thought it couldn’t get any worse I came across a boy who stated “I’m not black because I don’t act black” even though the wealth of melanin in his skin proved him to be black.

We are now living in a new generation we should be trying to create a new narrative of embracing self-love and appreciation. We should not undermine each other or allow society, the media and the haunting narrative of slavery to dictate self-worth-because of the depth melanin in our skin. Instead we should draw upon the strengths of the leaders who stood for equality and rights, to give us the equal chance to achieve and unite.

Dr Martin Luther King once said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

From this moment on, remember, you are beautiful.

De-onte, aged 15