Christopher Martinez

Freshman Composition

Professor Rogal

7 February 2020 

Personal Narrative: Morenito but not Bonito

As a child you never really notice you’re different until you face indifference, and once you grow older, the curtain of innocence is pulled down and you see the sad reality. Being born from Dominican parents and growing up in the Dominican neighborhood, I faced this unfortunate reality. Having a darker complexion, a bilingual language,  unique eyebrows amongst other features brought me many conflicts in my neighborhood, my education, and my jobs.

The fall of 2012, my first day of middle school in the former shell of the 34th Precinct. An array of diverse and colorful preteens fill the small building. As I make it to my first class on the 4th floor, I quickly notice that 98% of the population at the school was Dominican. There was one Haitian in my class and he quickly became the center of taunting. Due to his very dark almost ebony complexion, the other Dominican kids would push him around and call him ugly. Eventually as time progressed I made it to the 7th grade, at the age of 13 I had already been bullied for having a unibrow and for my big nose. One day in my last class of the day, a half puerto-rican half dominican girl shouts out that I needed to use Sammy Sosa lightening cream and to have my eyebrows done. And this was when I realized how racist Dominicans can be and how it is not only them, it’s Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and the Latino community itself and something that is deep rooted in society today. After taking my US History and Spanish classes in middle school I learned that this is due to centuries of colonialism, discrimination and ignorance. 

Entering the doors of Art and Design High School was no different, if not worse. At the age of 15, I felt like all the noses of society were sniffing me out, judging me from each and every angle. The art environment was much different and much more diverse, but the judgements were no different. As I make my way into the lunchroom and introduce myself to these new faces, my spanish comes out and the small crowd in front of me looks at me baffled like at the end of a Broadway play. This African-Amercian kid asks me “Oh my god bro, how’d you learn Spanish?”, and I respond a bit confused, “I’m Dominican, I speak Spanish.” He looks at me as if I were crazy and says, “No way you’re Dominican, no way.” He continuously repeats this and then goes around asking others, “Does he look Dominican?” Some people respond with a nod and others shook their head. He looks at this Dominican girl close to me (who’s much lighter in complexion) and then looks at me, confused. Then this fair skinned ecuadorian says to me, “You don’t look Dominican.” He then proceeds to squints his eyes and says,”Oh yeah you do..” This then leads me to question my own identity. Most of the Dominicans I’ve seen in Dominican Republic resemble how I look, resemble my complexion, and many sources can prove that. The African ancestry infused, along with colonialism and racial mixes, Dominicans come in all colors. At age 15 I was able to use my mature way of thinking and dissect the stereotype of how a Dominican is supposed to look and the ignorance of modern society. I still faced many insecurities due to this, many times feeling “black”, or getting told by my grandmother that I need to pinch my nose to make my nose smaller. As I interviewed googled more and more through my desktop, I quickly found out the past of my country and how we are similar but so diverse are a result of Conquistadors, African Slavery and the Taino native people already on the island. Much of this Taino population died due to disease because of the Spanish exposure. 

`When I applied to my first job unrelated to the art industry at a retail store, I was once again exposed to a crowd of judgement. This time these people looked at me and amazement and desire to inquire about me. With comments from one coworker saying “Oh, I didn’t know you spoke Spanish, then they’d laughed and say, I thought you were black.” I’d laugh and continue working paying it no mind. On a workday I was pressed by one of my managers Tracey, a dark skinned African American woman. She asked me “You Español? , speak some Spanish for me. I responded “Klk, dime que tu quiere? Which means “What’s up? What do you want?” Her eyes lit up and her face filled with amazement. She then goes to say “Ohhhhh ok,” smiles and I go back to work. This once again reminded me of the ignorance we have in society today and how we as people living together in society need to educate ourselves. And made me question my identity but then cover myself in my confidence and quickly remember who I am. 

The negativity I received for being a bit darker in middle school, the judgment put against me for my unique physique, and the questions were thrown at me at work all made me value myself more. I dodged anything that tries to hinder who I am and I look in between the lines. I try to educate and insight when given the opportunity to. And after so many questions about my own identity I took an Ancestry DNA test and found a very diverse spectrum. From Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Indigenous Mexico, Indigenous Haiti & Dominican Republic, Armenia, Portugal, Spain, England, Turkey, Italy, and few more. And this goes to show everyone has a history and we are all beautiful and diverse. It is our duty to educate ourselves about it.

Catholicism in the Dominican Republic and its relation to Homosexuality, Homophobia and AIDS

            In the current age, we live in,  homosexuality and the LGBTQ+ community are more widely accepted due to numerous social efforts and widespread acceptance among many nations including the United States. However, there are many who still look down upon it and consider it an abomination. Many of whom mostly** of the Latino community and practice the  Catholic religion among other conservative religions(i.g Pentecostalism). In this essay, I am going to focus on the effect of Catholicism on the Dominican Republic and its particular relationship to homophobia, while taking into consideration the many events that pushed more social mobility in the country.  Are all Catholics homophobic and if not does this mean that the Dominican Republic widely accepts homosexuality? What does the AIDs/HIV epidemic have to do with this issue? Are the members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Dominican Republic getting their respective rights? These questions can be answered in a simplified way but I will state my case with evidence and my own knowledge and prove that the Dominican Republic is yet a gay or gender neutral comfortable environment. 

First, we must investigate the specific laws of the Dominican Republic to determine where homosexuality stands. The Human Rights First Organization states, “ In 2010, the Dominican Republic enacted a new constitution that included a prohibition on same-sex marriage. Article 55 of the constitution defines the family as being based on the core relationship between a man and a woman.”  This illustrates that the Dominican Republic is denying a social right to its gay citizens and prohibiting them from marrying people of the same sex. The actions of the government directly shows their perspective on the LGBTQ community. Furthermore, it is obvious that the Dominican Republic is not comfortable with homosexuality and this would appear to make sense since its constitution is also full of Catholicism. Dios Patria y Libertad are the words spelled on the Dominican flag. These words mean God, Country, and Liberty, while God is not written in every way, he is represented on every peso (currency in DR) and taught throughout the educational curriculum. This in it self shows the influence of religion in this countries history. Being a child of two Dominicans and raised by a Dominican grandma,  I speak from experience. Alarmingly, the Dominican Republic faces many HIV cases along with Haiti (which neighbors D.R), compared to the rest of the Caribbean. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Contributing to the elevated HIV risk of MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) in the DR is the frequent practice of anal sex, having many and concurrent sexual partners, and engaging in prostitution. MSM risks are also exacerbated by how highly stigmatized homosexuality and prostitution are in Dominican society. For example, being labeled a homosexual or bisexual is so stigmatizing in the DR, that it is likely to prevent men from accessing HIV/AIDS prevention services.  Other contributing factors associated with MSM risk for HIV infection are coping mechanisms such as a man believing that as long as he is not penetrated during anal sex, he is being a “man” and does not view himself as gay, homosexual, or bisexual.” This explains that because of the social stigma of being homosexual is so major in the country, many hide their sexuality and relations for fear of discrimination and therefore to pursue medical assistance. In many instances, the people who don’t pursue medical help are usually those who live in poverty and cannot afford it, however, in this situation, it seems that fear of social rejection seems to be more the cause. NCBI states, “In 2003, researchers found a 2% prevalence rate among pregnant women and reported that 1 out of every 40 adults was HIV positive. The areas that are most affected by the epidemic are cities in regions with higher tourism (Romana and Puerto Plata), mainly due to the demand for sex tourism, and large urban areas such as the capital. Researchers hypothesize that bisexual behaviors and homosexuality among men are underreported because those behaviors are highly stigmatized by the health care system and Dominican society in general.” This explains that sex tourism is also a factor of the HIV rate in D.R, and that bisexual and homosexual relations are usually omitted by many due to the judgment and discrimination that the exposure of this information causes by many. Mark Padilla weighs in on this issue in his book Caribbean Pleasure Industry: Tourism, Sexuality, and AIDS in the Dominican Republic, he states, “ Here, by way of introduction, I draw on a growing body of anthropological and social-scientific literature, focusing my discussion on several factors that have contributed to the conceptual problems in public health approaches to homosexuality and HIV transmission in the Caribbean and, perhaps, in other world areas. These include: (1) the tendency to approach bisexual behavior as a bridge connecting otherwise isolated populations of exclusive homosexuals and heterosexuals; (2) a persistent lack of theoretical and methodological sophistication about the ways that stigma and homophobia influence self-reported data on HIV risk behavior;..” This draws on the relationship between the clandestine sexual behaviors of many individuals and how the negative perception of homosexuality and how this, in turn, affects HIV transmission. Due to many in the Dominican Republic being very religious and conservative in their views and homosexuality being such a under the table topic, it is kept in secret and many don’t ask for help.  

The research so far has indicated that the Dominican Republic rejects homosexuality in the majority and stigmatizes the LGBTQ community through the laws enacted. The relationship between homosexuality and its opposition by Catholicism still has to be investigated. However, it is clear that homophobia is prevalent in many in D.R. Padilla states, “Indeed, as described below, the international model of the gay pride parade had a paradoxical dual effect on the country’s first conscious public engagement with Dominican homophobia: it potentiated an unprecedented mode of public expression by the gay community at the same time that it effaced many of the local tensions and abusive state practices that were motivationally salient for the gay men who took to the streets. Thus, while international gay cultural symbols and practices provided a widely recognizable means by which to critique societal prejudices, they also eclipsed the local voices and discursive practices that could have expressed opposition to the various structures and inequities that operate on the ground to marginalize gay Dominicans. (79)” This highlights the reaction of the LGBTQ community against the social oppression and discrimination received by the country and its government officials. This also suggests that celebrations of homosexuality from other places with more acceptance had an impact on the LGBTQ community in the Dominican Republic and this caused more social efforts for representation in society to be created. Taylor and Francis Online’s H Daniel Castellanos explains in his article  Santo Domingo’s LGBT social movement: At the crossroads of HIV and LGBT activism, “While similar calls for democratization were happening in the Dominican Republic, the LGBT movement only started at the very end of the 80s. It is possible that the right-leaning democracies of the 70s and 80s and the collective discourses of hyper-masculinity, homophobia, and conservatism advocated by Trujillo and his successor Balaguer, mainstream society, and the Catholic Church delayed the emergence of Dominican LGBT activism. While the general population still had negative views on homosexuality (Corcino, 2006), societal changes were increasing the ability of LGBT leaders to obtain elite support in the legal, cultural, and media circles.” This shows that due to the influence of Republican political views from the United States during the 70s & 80s, the history of the dictator Trujillo and others after him, and the Catholic Church, support for the LGBTQ was never able to happen until recently. It is important to note that Trujillo was a dictator from 1930 to 1961 in the Dominican Republic, and he took many civil liberties and hated Haitians and encouraged Dominicans to do the same, it murdered many homosexuals and people who did not pass his language test. It is no surprise that still to this day many people in the Dominican Republic still feel this way against homosexuals and Haitians. Castellanos also states, “The HIV/AIDS epidemic forced a public discussion on homosexuality that challenged public officials and leaders to take public health, political and legal actions. By 2000, there were 50,000 documented cases of HIV infection in the Dominican Republic, with 7.6% of them assigned to homosexual/ bisexual contact (UAIDS, 2007). However, the rate could be higher due to lack of HIV testing or disclosure among men who have sex with men for fear of stigmatization and homophobia (Caceres, 2002).” This illustrates that of the people who actually had a chance to get tested a small percentage said it was through homosexual relations and this shows that this is most likely due to fear of being discriminated. And this further explores the homophobia given by the Dominican Republic government and some of its people and its effect on the sexual health of those who live a clandestine lifestyle. 

The rejection of freedom of sexuality by the government shows a grave impact on the sexual health and wellness of its citizens. However, is it really their fault? The Dominican Republic is a predominantly Catholic nation, and in Catholicism, homosexuality has been viewed by many as unholy and sin for centuries. As Living Out’s article What does the Bible say about homosexuality?, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22) If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (Leviticus 20:13).” This means that men are not allowed to have sexual relations or romance with men because it is considered a sin. And if a man does in fact have relations with another man then they will both be put to death. Many religious people still continue to believe in this quote, and therefore believe that homosexuality is unholy and something in the same category as something demonic. Although, homosexuality has been something that’s been prevalent to humanity for a long time. The Dominican Republic’s government is not excused because this completely goes against the rights and liberties of the citizens who are. Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Among U.S Residents of Mexican Descent states, “For example, Crawford and Robinson (1990) found that Latinos in an ethnically-diverse convenience sample of male high school students were significantly less antigay than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Bonilla and Porter (1990), using data from the General Social Survey, found that Hispanics did not differ from Whites but were more tolerant than Blacks in their moral judgments about homosexual behavior (although a majority of all three groups judged homosexual behavior to be “always wrong”.” This explains that when adolescent Latino men were exposed to people of more diverse racial and national backgrounds they accepted homosexuals more compare to other races. Moreover, this explains that there appears to be a relationship between diversity and the acceptance of sexuality when comes to Latinos. This explains why in big cities like New York City, there is such widespread acceptance, because of the diversity it holds. It is possible that homophobia can be coming from the Dominican Republic government rather the people themselves. This could be a result of the leaders being of a different generation or being conservative in their religious views. The Munich Personal RePEc Archive’s Arno Tausch explains in his essay Practicing Catholics and their attitudes on homosexuality. Comparative Analyses, based on recent World Values Survey data, “The official Catechism position that homosexuality can never be justified is still an “electoral” majority position in ….,…,.Puerto Rico, Colombia, Latvia, Estonia, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, South Africa, Italy, and Mexico. (13-14)” This shows that the majority of the government in these countries are totally against homosexuality and that cannot be justified. According to the table on page 16, The Dominican Republic has a 49%  rejecting homosexual neighbors and a 53% of them say that homosexuality is never justifiable. This means that a majority of the country is against homosexuality and this further emphasizes the social stigma this community faces. Tausch further elaborates, “The attitudes of the global populations on homosexuality can be summarized in Map 2 and Table 1. There is a clear tendency that homosexuality is tolerated much more in developed than in developing countries. (13)” This explains that in modern society homosexuality is tolerated in greater value by developed and wealthy countries compared to countries that are still developed and have a lot of poverty. Furthermore, developed nations usually have much more human rights and liberties compared to developing nations which usually lack education and have much more violence. However, the Dominican Republic rejects homosexuality because of religion. As the United States Department of State indicates, “ The largest religious group is the Roman Catholic Church. Traditional Protestants, evangelical Christians (particularly Assembly of God, Church of God, Baptists, and Pentecostals), Seventhday Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have a much smaller but generally growing presence. According to a 2006 population survey by the Gallup Organization, the population is 39.8 percent Catholic (practicing), 29.1 percent Catholic (nonpracticing), and 18.2 percent evangelical Protestant.” This explains that because of the majority of D.R being Catholic, and Catholism showing opposition to homosexuality historically, that the reason homophobia is so prevalent it is because of religion. 

To conclude with, it is clear that in the Dominican Republic, homophobia has been and is still a big factor in society, and this mainly due to Catholicism and its practices against the LGBTQ community. It has also been proven that not all people who follow the Catholic religion are against homosexuals. It is our job as a society to influence and push social reforms for the LGBTQ community in D.R because compared to them we have many rights. If we don’t do anything we face the possible death of many who could contract the HIV virus. 

Works Cited 

Padilla, Mark. Caribbean Pleasure Industry : Tourism, Sexuality, and AIDS in the Dominican Republic. University of Chicago Press, 2007. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=260205&site=ehost-live.

“LGBT Issues in the Dominican Republic.” Human Rights First, www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/dominican-republic-fact-sheet.pdf.

Tausch, Arno. “Practicing Catholics and Their Attitudes on Homosexuality. Comparative Analyses, Based on Recent World Values Survey Data.” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 27 Nov. 2017, mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82681/1/MPRA_paper_82681.pdf.

Allberry, Sam. “What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?” Living Out, www.livingout.org/the-bible-and-ssa.

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “International Religious Freedom Report 2008.” State.gov, U.S Department of State, 28 Oct. 2008, www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/10/Dominican Republic_3.pdf.

Castellanos, Daniel. “Santo Domingo’s LGBT Social Movement: At the Crossroads of HIV and LGBT Activism.” Taylor & Francis, 27 Feb. 2019, www.tandfonline.com/eprint/kN7PzEgcUaxerF9D6J5X/full?target=10.1080/17441692.2019.1585467&.
Herek, Gregory M., and Milagritos Gonzalez-Rivera. “Attitudes toward Homosexuality among U.S. Residents of Mexican Descent.” The Journal of Sex Research, vol. 43, no. 2, 2006, pp. 122–135. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20620237. Accessed 28 Apr. 2020.

In this Self Assessment, I critically analyze my writing. Coming into college as a freshman I faced some challenges, especially in the writing world. I would have difficulty keeping a focus on readings and extracting information. However, with time, I was able to improve my ability and connect information with better fluidity. In

To demonstrate that I have developed the course learning outcome of reading, drafting, and editing. In “Google Is Making Us Stupid” by Carr, I responded in my journal and I successfully developed the course learning outcome of analyzing rhetorical situations. For instance;

With my time in this course I have been able to be able to look at articles and long texts with less difficulty because I am able to look at the authors purpose and intended audience with more ease.

I have gotten better at gathering and expanding information. I think I could work on the sequence of my words in a piece of writing. However I struggled to meet the learning outcome at times with audience and stance, in my exploratory essay. 

However, as I rethought my process, I wrote another essay that was more inclusive in its audience, and it’s purpose to relate more to the reader. In this way I was able to stay a bit more neutral in my stance.

To demonstrate I have located the library databases and 

To demonstrate

For example, to demonstrate that you have developed the course learning outcome of “reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing,” you would want to include, perhaps, copies of the notes you took while reading, journal responses, or annotations from your bibliography to demonstrate that you have developed flexible strategies for reading. 

To demonstrate that your drafting process has changed, you might want to include (and refer to in your Self-Assessment) a first draft from an early and a late assignment, or pre-writing that shows how your writing/drafting process has changed over the semester.

 To demonstrate that you have engaged in the collaborative and social aspects of writing,

Christopher Martinez

English Composition

Lisa Rogal M/W

Can music have an impact on our brain and thought process?

Music has been seen as a healing force to many in times of tyranny, chaos, and depression. As the human race has evolved so have the ways of music. It has become a way of expression, and since we are expressive creatures, it is no wonder that music has a big impact on our brain. As many studies have shown, including the following, music helps our memory, creativity, and even our communication, among other things.

Throughout our development, music plays a huge factor, because our brain links meaningful events with sound. As Johns Hopkins Medicine states, “When 13 older adults took piano lessons, their attention, memory and problem-solving abilities improved, along with their moods and quality of life.”  This illustrates that music can improve memory, among other functions of the brain. This is due to the Hippocampus, an area located in the brain and music produces new neurons and improves by increasing neurogenesis as the University of Central Florida’s Yonetani says. This means that music has a big impact on our brain and how it works because and how sound communicates with it. Johns Hopkins Medicine expresses, “Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory.”  This explains that music can also have an impact on our emotions, and other functions in the body. Although this is no surprise because the brain controls the body and is one of the most important parts of the body and since music benefits the brain in its abilities and also benefits the rest of the body. Other research from Johns Hopkins Medicine says, “New music challenges the brain in a way that old music doesn’t. It might not feel pleasurable at first, but that unfamiliarity forces the brain to struggle to understand the new sound.” This seems very logical because when you are introduced to a new sound for the first time, for instance, some might feel uncomfortable until they become familiar with it, and this means the brain is trying to understand the new sound and determine if they like it or not. 

The relationship between sound and the brain goes back to our primitive stages, going back to the basic functions of speech, hearing, touch, scent, and sight. As The National Center for Biotechnology Information states, “…increases in size elsewhere in the human brain have occurred, notably in the temporal lobes, especially the dorsal area that relates to the auditory reception of speech. The expansion of primary and association auditory cortices and their connections, associated with the increased size of the cerebellum and areas of prefrontal and premotor cortex linked through basal ganglia structures, heralded a shift to an aesthetics based on sound, and to abilities to entrain to external rhythmic inputs. The first musical instrument used by our ancestors was the voice. The ear is always open and, unlike vision and the eyes of the gaze, sound cannot readily be averted. From the rhythmic beating within and with the mother’s body for the fetus and young infant, to the primitive drum-like beating of sticks on wood and hand-clapping of our adolescent and adult proto-speaking ancestors, the growing infant is surrounded by and responds to the rhythm.” This explains that through evolution we developed the abilities to interact with sound because of an increase in the cerebellum, which is in the back of the brain and it coordinates movement and stores our memories. And for this reason, we react to music the way do and we associate memory with sound because of this. And through singing, we are able to express emotion much like body language. This is shown in the many different types of genres in music that express different emotions and are a big influence on people’s everyday lives. When people are at the gym, for instance, planet fitness, there is music like pop and hip hop which serves the purpose of bringing the mood of gymnasts up with upbeat sounds. 

Music seems to play a very big impact on human interaction and history. Throughout the decades, music has defined each one. The 1980s is a big example of this because of its explosion of pop music and culture. For instance, The People’s History states, “Some of the superstars to emerge were Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince. They experienced a level of fame and success not seen since Elvis Presley and the Beatles. These stars influenced fashion through their music videos, giving fans a first-hand glimpse into emerging trends. Their songs set the gold standard for what pop music should be, and through constant reinvention, they were able to navigate the pop culture world and keep themselves relevant. Thirty years on, they are still the standard that today’s pop stars get compared to. This explains that because of the music of these artists, the fashion of many people was influenced, and the culture too. And this, in turn, caused a change in how humans interacted, a change in music and sound, a sound that made you want to get down, and dance. The National Center for Biotechnology Information explains, “Music provides and provokes a response, which is universal, ingrained into our evolutionary development, and leads to marked changes in emotions and movement.” And for this reason, there is pop music in most of the dance clubs because music provokes a response, especially music that has high tunes. 

Lastly, my research has concluded that music is a representation of many things, like time, but it is also a healing resource. It has been proven that it is another form of expression, and it is a positive thing to have, especially in times of crisis. Sound has been our friend since we evolved to listen to it, and it benefits all ages, old and young. Music benefits our brain and thought process and helps us remember. 

Bibliography

Pearson, Steve. “Music Played in the 1980’s Popular Music From the 80s.” The People History, www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html.

“Music and the Brain: What Happens When You’re Listening to Music.” Pegasus Magazine, www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music/.

Trimble, Michael, and Dale Hesdorffer. “Music and the Brain: the Neuroscience of Music and Musical Appreciation.” BJPsych International, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1 May 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618809/.

“Keep Your Brain Young with Music.” Keep Your Brain Young with Music | Johns Hopkins Medicine, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music.

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