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MisperceptionMISPERCEPTION 31st May 2015 Issue no. 1

2015 electionsThe public reacts

Body image and the media Is there a right way to percieve your body?

Let’s break the stigma! An alternative to mainstream brands

Brands, brands, brandsWhat is your brand

Contents

Welcome

The team (left to right): Natalia Kaluza, Adonelle Sagoe, Karena Swarn, Jemma Cullum, Georgina Elliott and Raisa Ismail.

4 Elections 2015 how did Britain react?

5 Is proportional voting the way forward?Is it time for UK to change its electoral system?

6 Let’s break the STIGMA! Here is why you should say no to consumerism

7 Brands, brands, brandsLet’s change our attitudes towards brands and go for alternative choices

8 Fake or reality?Here are some answers to what body image means from girls around the city

9 The media and body perception don’t believe what the media says. Make your own choices about your body

T his magazine is the first of its kind which talks about real world problems with the media and how we, the public, are being influenced to believe certain things and act in a certain way. We want to break the hold that the media has on us and publish articles that will open your eyes to the reality of the media today.

Elections 2015:The public reacts

General Elections 2015 culminated in Conservatives’ victory and thereby David Cameron’s party took the majority of 331 seats. It seems like many people are dissatisfied from such development, however the bulk of votes decided that David Cameron and his party will rule the UK for next 5 years. We decided to ask what Coventry residents have to say about General Elections’ results.

“I’m a bit shocked by what happened to the liberal democrats who are a decent party and they did what they thought was right. A lot of liberal democrats felt it was wrong. It seems to me that the people have punished them for going into coalition with the Tories who they don’t like by voting for the Tories and I actually don’t get that. I don’t think it’s very good for politics not to have a third voice. Just a two party system with two parties who are strongly opposed to each other doesn’t seem very good for politics. Coventry city council’s own leader has said that about politics in the city that it is actually good for the conservatives who have gained a couple of seats. I think Nigel Farage and the liberal democrats and others are quite right - we do need an alternative to the first part of the system which is unfair, which does mean a large number of people will never be represented” -Simon Pipe

“Disappointed that Labour had lost. I feel now there is nobody supporting the working class people and their families who go out to work everyday, We are essentially the backbone of the economy. - Harvey Swarn

“Lib Dems flopped. Everything just fell apart for them. Labour were betrayed by the Scottish you voted for SNP and David Cameron looked very smug at the end of it. UKIP got a lot more attention” - Ieaun Thomas

“I was fairly disappointed with the outcome of the elections as it didn’t seem to fully represent the views of the people. There is nothing we can do about it now though I suppose, and all of the parties were too similar to each other to distinguish a real difference anyway” -Ange Elliott

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Proportional voting- time for electoral change?In light of the recent UK election results several parties have spoken out against the current first-past-the-post electoral system used in the country. There have been calls for a change to reform the electoral system since 1884 by the Electoral Reform System. Maybe 2015 will be the year they find success.

The results of the 2015 general elections. The

Conservatives won a majority vote of 331 seats

First-past-the-post (FPTP), also known as winner-takes-all or the plurality system, is an electoral system used in the United Kingdom where the candidate has to receive the most votes to win. They only have to receive one vote more than the opposition to win meaning they do not need to gain over 50% of the votes to win. People opposed to this system have called it undemocratic, and unrepresentative of the electorate and many are campaigning for reform of the way the country votes.

In light of the recent general election results several parties have spoken out about electoral reform. Most notably, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP) told the Telegraph “We do need electoral reform and we will be pushing for electoral reform”. UKIP, under proportional representation would have gained 82 seats in Parliament compared to the 1 seat they received with FPTP after gaining 3.9 million votes. Even the Green Party’s Natalie Bennett has called for reform after her party won 1.1 million votes and just 1 seat in the general election when under a proportional system, the Greens would have won 25 seats in Parliament.

It is clear that this system is in dire need of reform because the 4 million people who voted for UKIP and the Green party, as well as the Plaid Cymru and other independent parties, will not be represented in Parliament fairly.

The first-past-the-post encourages a two-party race which we have seen grow over the years between Labour and the Conservatives.

The Electoral Reform Society has been campaigning since 1884 for a change in the electoral system. They encourage adopting the proportional electoral system which would allocate seats in Parliament based on the percentage of votes gained by the candidate. For example, if a candidate won 35% of the total votes cast they would be allocated 35%

of the 650 seats available. This system, apart from being more democratic, is also more representative of the public and makes sure that each vote counts. With the way the system works now many people are disillusioned with politics and refrain from voting at all, believing that their vote will not count towards anything. The United Kingdom is ranked number 76 in the world for voter turnout. This from a country that prides itself on being democratic

is unacceptable. As said by the Electoral Reform Society on their website “ Our voting system was designed for an era when almost everyone voted for the two big parties. But people have changed: they support a wider range of parties than ever before. It’s time the system caught up with how we actually vote”.

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Whenever the word ‘coffee’ is mentioned, most people think of massive chains, such as Starbucks, Costa, Pret A Manger and Cafe Nero...But what about

the others? Why do people choose well-known coffee brands compared to less well-known ones? We asked a few coffee fanatics about why they choose big brands over smaller brands.

Choices, choices, choices… There are thousands upon thousands of different coffee shops across the globe, but why do people stick to just a few?

Let’s break the STIGMA!

For example, in the Ellen Terry Arts & Design building at Coventry University, most students tend to walk over the road to Costa Coffee or into town to Starbucks Coffee rather than using the machine situated in the building.

But why? A cup of coffee from big brand names such as Costa or Starbucks usually costs well over £2.50, whereas coffee from drinks machines normally costs £1.50 at the very most.

What’s the difference? Here’s the catch; there isn’t one. In a typical latté, the same ingredients are involved; just coffee and milk… Fair enough, the packaging may be different, and fair enough, it might be considered ‘fashionable’ to carry around a Starbucks cup, but the downside is still the big difference in cost.

Basically, it’s all just an illusion. Why not choose a life more ordinary?

Don’t bow down to consumerism.Go independent.

BE independent.

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What’s your brand?

what is the big deal with brands and products? Why do we prefer designer gear compared to high street shops? When it comes to products such as trainers, majority of people will choose well known brands that we know compared to look-a-likes in normal shops. But why is that? Trish Matambo, an 18-year old college student says: ‘I prefer branded trainers, as they are usually better quality than the fake versions’. ‘Also buying the fake versions of them makes you seem like you’re cheap and can’t afford the real thing, so people will make sure they get the actual brand out of peer pressure to fit in and gain acceptance.’

How free are we when it comes to deciding on things for ourselves? We believe that we have a vast majority of products to choose from and shops to shop from, but what is the main difference between River Island and Topshop? When it comes to high street trends, most shops, if not all have the same clothes. The same tank top you will find in Topshop for £10, you can get it for less than £5 in Primark.

Wesley Boyedoe “I’m not that fussed when it comes to designer clothes, most of the time its too expensive for me to purchase so I buy similar looking clothes that’s just as good as the designers.”

Jamal TaiwoI “like to keep up with the trends because I can afford it, I like to look good all the time so people will respect and accept me”

Teniola Paul “I hate designer things, I dislike it when people try and flaunt it especially when they don’t have the money because most of the time you can tell when they are forcing a certain ‘image’. Most of the designer clothes I think don’t even look nice and are a waste of money. I’d rather look nice and not spend too much, than go broke”

When you see this photo how does it make you feel?Bowo Adeboyega When i see this photo It makes me feel like that the world revolves around these main companies. It’s shocking to see that all these brands and products you see in shops are just apart of the same 6 companies.

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Fake or reality?Fashion magazines, television programmes and advertisements constantly send the wrong message out to females about the reality of being overweight.

Caption tells us something about the picture, but also

provides an extra way to grab a reader’s interest.

T here is a shared issue among many women around the world but what is the problem? We are all struggling with our insecurities. These insecurities are created through the media’s perception of how

we as women should look, through the illusion of photography and social media. These images create a look that is far from reality, the perfect skin, make-up and body that no female could ever achieve. Why do we all end up conforming to what the media think is beautiful? In this modern age surely we should be able to make our own decisions are own choices and ignore this stereotype created by the media. The majority of women around the world will say they are unhappy with their body image from expensive cosmetics to plastic surgery. The struggle to achieve that celebrity

look that the media say is beautiful is causing women to feel insecure. In reality thinking you have room for improvement just means you are human. If this is the case why is it when we don’t feel good about ourselves we feel we can’t leave the house. The answer is simple, the media’s perception is built on the idea that the way you are is not okay. This can be seen in fashion magazines from Glamour to Vogue where Photoshoped images show the perfect body branded with ‘this is how you should look.’ Unsurprisingly this type of branded body image is the cause for many eating disorders in young girls because of their desire to be slim and to be that girl in the magazine.

How do you feel about your body?

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The media’s bad perception of body image by Karena Swarn & Jemma Cullum

Zoe Sugg shares her feelings on body image

on her Youtube Channel ‘Zoella’

The introduction of online beauty is bringing a new touch to the idea of body image. We can all agree that popular beauty bloggers such as Zoe Sugg known online as Zoella show a different approach to attracting new audiences. This has now formed an industry of it’s own, which inspires females to be themselves. Her motivational videos and honest opinions of her life experiences, allows her viewers to form an emotional connection as well as the self confidence to feel great in there own skin.

Zoe suffers from anxiety and often blogs about the worry of being judged by other people, which is something that many of us can relate too. She does this in her video called ‘Everyday makeup tutorial’ found on her Youtube channel. In this video she provides inspiration to young women with her braving the no makeup look to an online audience, which shows that it’s okay to rock that natural look. This highlights how the media make young women feel Zoe explains this as something “that quite honestly terrifies me. Although I think that not everyone has perfect skin I am quite insecure about mine.” This is just another example of how the media and their illusion of reality have an effect on women.

Zoe is not alone as Meghan Trainor is another former celebrity who speaks out about the media’s perception of body image. Her hit single ‘All About that Base’ although being controversial at heart is a positive body image anthem. The song was dedicated to her fans and carries the message that your body is beautiful setting an example for young women. Following on from this Trainor’s fans had become inspired to come out about their insecurities on various social media platforms in response to this single. The singer has admitted in the past that she struggled with confidence from a young age. As she would say every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.

Beauty in the modern world is always evolving and it is every girl’s independent choice on how they perceive what real beauty is. We can safely all agree that the media does not help build confidence but rather take it away. However the growing industry of online beauty begins to promote the natural approach to body image in a way that has never been done before. Lets be honest we all have that celebrity idol we gain inspiration from but unfortunately this is not reality. The evolution of online beauty is quickly creating a new way of thinking and more importantly a new way to feel.

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