This week I read "Tales From the Bible Belt" by Shelby Knox and I decided to do a little more research on how she came to be who she is today. That's when I found an article by Jehmu Greene and Shelby Knox concerning Superbowl Sexism.
First of all, I never used to be a fan of the Superbowl. I would watch it with friends and enjoy the company, I would pay attention to the commercials, and I would scarf down the deliciously un-healthy foods that go with it. But never did I pay complete attention to the game.
Then I came to college. I made friends with so many football fans it was almost a culture shock. See Orange County, California doesn't have a team that we really associate with, so the Superbowl was never a super big deal for me. But today, everyone I know pays attention to football, so I do too, and honestly, I really like it. It is exciting. It is addictive. It is yelling-at-the-tv worthy. But it is not for everyone.
Continuing on:
In the article, Shelby Knox and Jehmu Greene number off all of the sexist things that revolve around the Superbowl, and it got me wondering:
1) Are the ads really sexist? Or are they just appealing to their audience?
2) Is there a line between comedy and sexism?
and 3) Can we blame the companies for trying to sell their product in these ways? Should there be some sort of restriction on what companies can use as advertisement campaigns?
So let me try and answer question #1:
"$1200 - price of 4 Bridgestone hot rod tires. The official tire company of the NFL served up a particularly disturbing version of male devotion to their automobiles. In this ad, a faceless driver tosses his wife out of the car and into the clutches of a waiting evil villain rather than surrender his tires. Simple math: if the tires are worth $1200, how much is this wet, abandoned woman to whom he's supposedly pledged his life worth? $1000? $800? Shameful. "
While the idea that a car is more important than a woman is awful, I'm not really sure that the aim of the advertisment was to say a woman is worthless. Saying "you will care for this car MORE than the woman you love" is pretty gross, but I don't think they intended to say a woman is worth less than a car... Bridgestone is just appealing to what their audience thinks is funny, and considering most of the audience of the Superbowl is made-up of men, that is the market they are trying to reach.
So take a second to ponder question #3: Can we blame them for this?
Now let's go to #2:
"2 older women sacked by big, bulky football players. In what kind of culture do we live when slamming an older women into the ground makes an appearance in not one but two commercials? Snickers rags on older people by comparing lagging players to Betty White and Abe Vigoda and then slamming them into the ground. The Focus on the Family ad tried a strange stab at humor when Tim Tebow sacked his own mother. Not funny, just unsettling."
26. The number of laps Danica Patrick led the year she placed third at the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first woman to ever place in the top three. That she is such a successful sportswoman in a field dominated by men makes it even more frustrating to see her reduced to the GoDaddy.com logo across her breasts year after year. Even though GoDaddy.com sponsors her race car, she's never portrayed on the track. This year she's trying to live her normal life - getting a massage and appearing on a talk show - but perky blonde women keep insisting on ripping their clothes off for her. Whether it's some writer's idea of a primetime lesbian fantasy or just more catnip to draw men to the soft porn commercials on their site, GoDaddy.com is once again one of the worst sexist ad offenders of the year.
OK, so is there a line between comedy and sexism?
Honestly, when I saw Betty White being tackled to the ground I wasn't thinking it was unsettling or sexist, I did think it was funny. It was a ridiculous situation and it was shocking. Snickers isn't encouraging people to go out and tackle their feeble grandmothers, they were just appealing to their audience through shock comedy. Now if you say "that is awful to say that old women are tired and weak", well, they usually are... So I'm not really sure that Betty White being smacked down was really so much of a feminist thing and more of just a comedic way to get the audience to buy Snickers bars.
As for the Diva Snickers commercials, well maybe that is a little sexist. I mean, basically they are saying when men get hungry, they turn into whiny bitches who expect everything. Who is a whiny bitch? A woman, specifically a Diva. At the same time, Diva's pride themselves on getting everything they want and being picky about what they like, so maybe it isn't so much sexism as it is a stereotype. The men aren't turning into an everyday woman, that would be sexist, they are turning into a stereotype, specifically one where those who are stereotyped take pride in the name.
Now what about GoDaddy.com? Well, I went online and checked out a few of their commercials. My opinion? I'm mixed. They do advertise with beautiful women being half-naked, but they also make the men look like idiots. Every woman who is objectified physically, is also the one who is strong and independent. The men all seem meek and stupid. At the end of "The Contract" the guys all stand around the t.v. watching the commercial and proceed to guffaw like air-heads. So while it is choosing a low-brow way to advertise to men, they still include a sense of power for women.
Now back to question #3: can we blame them?
The advertising agencies only have one mission: to sell. They will do this in any way possible. So at an event that is dominated by mostly men, every business is going to advertise to this male market. Now what do men like (not all men obviously, just the market majority)? The answer is women. Boobs. Legs. Beautiful faces. A business can sell anything with these backing its product.
So while some advertisements really are just gross, insensitive, low-brow, and tasteless, it is just a way to sell a product and we have to remember that. So as long as the commercial isn't saying "put your woman in her place" (which i must say is close to the Dockers ad) I think we can let them slide, for now...
(For some real hind-sight sexists ads, visit these three sites: 1, 2, 3. Keep that in perspective, and let's just hope for the future.)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Disnification
While taking attendance today, we were discussing our favorite animated movies. Due to the day and age we're in, almost everyone said their favorite movie was either a Disney movie or Pixar film. When it came to me, I proudly raised my Toy Story folder. But then I realized, even though I am a total Disney nerd, and always have been, Disney has been horrible for the female image and expectation of love.
In the first few movies, the damsel is rescued or chased down by the prince (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella.) Eventually it switched the female protagonists to become smart and independent, but they still relied on the men (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas.) Granted in these past few movies the women were still mentally and physically able, the climax of the film is when love between the two is pronounced.
This image is courtesy of Kristen McManus. I did not create it, but I thought it was appropriate.
So why is this bad for the female image? Each of these princesses gets the man because they are physically attractive (and unrealistically so.) Yes, the men fall in love with them for other reasons (Pocahontas teaches John Smith the way of the land, Belle teaches the Beast to read and love...) but the first reason is because of their beauty.
Now, their unrealistic beauty? Big boobs, big hips, small waist, and extremely petite. OH! and they have perfect skin, complexion, and seemingly naturally looking make-up faces.
But as always, there is a disclaimer. I still am a Disney girl because I think the message overall is wonderful. Belle teaches us about inner beauty and true love, Pocahontas about following your heart and respecting nature, Jasmine about challenging what you believe is wrong, and Mulan about kicking as and proving yourself as a woman- anything you can do I can do better.
STILL, this is where all of this has been leading. Sorry to all of you who haven't seen Tangled yet but this was my experience:
While watching Tangled with my 4 other girl friends, there was a couple behind us with their three little girls. At the end when Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel's hair in order to save her, it turns from glowing gold flowing locks to a brown pixie cut. Now personally, I loved it. I thought it was a great challenge to the image of beauty of the past; no longer the long locks of gold, but brunette. The line "I have a thing for brunettes" was just the cherry on top. HOWEVER, when this happened, immediately the little girl behind me said "SHE WAS PRETTIER WITH BLONDE HAIR! Now she just looks gross..."
Wow
Wow
REALLY?!?!
All 5 of my friends (I am included) looked at each other. Every single one of us was a brunette. Just when our image was proudly presented as beautiful (compared to blue eyed blonde haired) a little girl shatters my dreams.
But where did she get this idea? The media. I mean, yes, she could've thought that Rapunzel was prettier with blonde hair, but she's a cartoon character. SHE'S PRETTY EITHER WAY!? So why did she say it? Because her image of beauty, whether she realizes it or not, is based off of Barbie and Disney. She likes the tall, thin, big boobed, small waisted, blonde beauty. Even at such a young age she has already been brainwashed into the beauty ideal.
So how do we change this? Well, take a tip from Tangled: start changing up the beauty image and ACKNOWLEDGE it. Belle was brunette, and yes she did beat out the three dumb blondes, and yes that is partially why she is one of my favorites, but her change in beauty stereotype was never mentioned. No one ever thought differently.
I must say, at least Disney has expanded it's characters of beauty. Since Tiana, from Princess and the Frog, they have brought back the Asian beauty, Mulan; Native American, Pocahontas; and Middle Eastern, Jasmine. They always had the red-head, Ariel; Brunette and brown-eyed, Belle; blue-eyed and dark brown hair, Snow White. BUT they were all dominated by the blue-eyed blonde-haired Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
So no offense blondes out there, you truly are beautiful; BUT, you are the "standard" of beauty and it needs to be changed. Right now, the younger generation is just a little too ridiculous, and before they know it, they will be sucked into the crazy ideals of today.
In the first few movies, the damsel is rescued or chased down by the prince (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella.) Eventually it switched the female protagonists to become smart and independent, but they still relied on the men (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas.) Granted in these past few movies the women were still mentally and physically able, the climax of the film is when love between the two is pronounced.
So why is this bad for the female image? Each of these princesses gets the man because they are physically attractive (and unrealistically so.) Yes, the men fall in love with them for other reasons (Pocahontas teaches John Smith the way of the land, Belle teaches the Beast to read and love...) but the first reason is because of their beauty.
Now, their unrealistic beauty? Big boobs, big hips, small waist, and extremely petite. OH! and they have perfect skin, complexion, and seemingly naturally looking make-up faces.
But as always, there is a disclaimer. I still am a Disney girl because I think the message overall is wonderful. Belle teaches us about inner beauty and true love, Pocahontas about following your heart and respecting nature, Jasmine about challenging what you believe is wrong, and Mulan about kicking as and proving yourself as a woman- anything you can do I can do better.
STILL, this is where all of this has been leading. Sorry to all of you who haven't seen Tangled yet but this was my experience:
While watching Tangled with my 4 other girl friends, there was a couple behind us with their three little girls. At the end when Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel's hair in order to save her, it turns from glowing gold flowing locks to a brown pixie cut. Now personally, I loved it. I thought it was a great challenge to the image of beauty of the past; no longer the long locks of gold, but brunette. The line "I have a thing for brunettes" was just the cherry on top. HOWEVER, when this happened, immediately the little girl behind me said "SHE WAS PRETTIER WITH BLONDE HAIR! Now she just looks gross..."
Wow
Wow
REALLY?!?!
All 5 of my friends (I am included) looked at each other. Every single one of us was a brunette. Just when our image was proudly presented as beautiful (compared to blue eyed blonde haired) a little girl shatters my dreams.
But where did she get this idea? The media. I mean, yes, she could've thought that Rapunzel was prettier with blonde hair, but she's a cartoon character. SHE'S PRETTY EITHER WAY!? So why did she say it? Because her image of beauty, whether she realizes it or not, is based off of Barbie and Disney. She likes the tall, thin, big boobed, small waisted, blonde beauty. Even at such a young age she has already been brainwashed into the beauty ideal.
So how do we change this? Well, take a tip from Tangled: start changing up the beauty image and ACKNOWLEDGE it. Belle was brunette, and yes she did beat out the three dumb blondes, and yes that is partially why she is one of my favorites, but her change in beauty stereotype was never mentioned. No one ever thought differently.
I must say, at least Disney has expanded it's characters of beauty. Since Tiana, from Princess and the Frog, they have brought back the Asian beauty, Mulan; Native American, Pocahontas; and Middle Eastern, Jasmine. They always had the red-head, Ariel; Brunette and brown-eyed, Belle; blue-eyed and dark brown hair, Snow White. BUT they were all dominated by the blue-eyed blonde-haired Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
So no offense blondes out there, you truly are beautiful; BUT, you are the "standard" of beauty and it needs to be changed. Right now, the younger generation is just a little too ridiculous, and before they know it, they will be sucked into the crazy ideals of today.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Girl Power
In today's class we discussed gender roles in marriage, love, sex, parenting, and society. I was sitting there being a loud-mouth, as usual, and BAM! Powerpuff girls popped into my head, specifically the episode with Femme Fatale, the feminist villain. This episode, Equal Fights, is about a female villain who convinces the girls that they are under appreciated in society because they are girls.
So here are the details: Femme Fatale steals Susan B. Anthony coins from the bank. When she is caught by the Powerpuff girls, she convinces them that they should rebel against their town and let her go for the sake of sisterhood. She gives examples of Batman thus Batgirl, Superman thus Supergirl, and how every other superheroine is connected to male superheroes (with the exception of Wonder Woman.) Hearing this, the girls let her free and continue to beat up, ignore, and insult all the men in their lives.
Now, when I first thought about this episode, I thought "HOW AWFUL!" They made feminists out to be the villain of the episode. They made feminists look like they are just power-hungry-manipulating-women! No wonder so many young girls are disillusioned!
...and then I looked up the episode to write this blog. I read the synopsis, and bit my tongue. The episode actually goes much deeper.
In fact, the villain, Femme Fatale, is the symbol of the STEREOTYPE society gives feminists. She is manipulative, power-hungry, and all for sisterhood- but not necessarily equality. The Powerpuff girls are the REAL feminists. By the end of the episode, they realize the wrongs of Femme Fatale and understand that Susan B. Anthony was rebelling against injustice, and since it was illegal, she expected EQUAL punishment for her crime from the government. So the episode ended up being a triumph over stereotypes. The girls RESEARCHED the history of feminism and LEARNED what feminism is really about. They came to understand that the stereotype of feminism has been taken way out of hand and has left women in more trouble than it was before. Thus I applauded the episode. With the help of the other women of power in Townsville (the bank owner, police woman, teacher, and amazingly titled, Sara Bellum [the brain behind the mayor]), the girls are taught that they need to look out for fellow females, but they must not forget the males. They learn that so long as they play an EQUAL part in maintaining society, Townsville can maintain it's perfection.
HOWEVER! This argument is not completed... I do have a few qualms with miss Sara Bellum:
The Positives: She is the brain behind the mayor. She always knows the solution. She is rational and level headed. She is the REAL example of female power that everyone can strive to be (even if you aren't mixed with Chemical X.) She is a positive influence for young girls watching the show BECAUSE she saves the day without superpowers, and instead, with critical thinking.
Now for the negatives? LOOK AT HER! She is the stereotypical image of what beauty is "supposed" to be. Her chest is huge, her hips are huge, yet her waist is the size of her ARM! Plus, her hair is huge making the rest of her body even smaller! The only thing that may save her from this perceived attractiveness is that we never see her face, which allows us some decision of what the perfect beauty is.
But still, how far can we allow the image of a powerful female be distorted? Sara Bellum is smart (I mean she's named after the brain that controls cognitive function...) but still. Girls see her as this really powerful influence, but are we sending mixed messages on what a powerful woman is? Sara Bellum is objectified all of the time. The only way she gets out of it (which is a positive) is that she out-smarts the men.
But if this is what we expose children to, what are we telling them they have to be? Is it a positive image? Girls can be smart AND beautiful, it doesn't have to be one or the other. Or is it a negative? You can become powerful if you are smart, but you also NEED the looks to get there. How can we expect girls to live up to that standard of beauty?
I guess I shall accept the Powerpuff Girls, after all the protagonists are all female and it is a stepping stone for little girls to kick some ass.
So here are the details: Femme Fatale steals Susan B. Anthony coins from the bank. When she is caught by the Powerpuff girls, she convinces them that they should rebel against their town and let her go for the sake of sisterhood. She gives examples of Batman thus Batgirl, Superman thus Supergirl, and how every other superheroine is connected to male superheroes (with the exception of Wonder Woman.) Hearing this, the girls let her free and continue to beat up, ignore, and insult all the men in their lives.
Now, when I first thought about this episode, I thought "HOW AWFUL!" They made feminists out to be the villain of the episode. They made feminists look like they are just power-hungry-manipulating-women! No wonder so many young girls are disillusioned!
...and then I looked up the episode to write this blog. I read the synopsis, and bit my tongue. The episode actually goes much deeper.
In fact, the villain, Femme Fatale, is the symbol of the STEREOTYPE society gives feminists. She is manipulative, power-hungry, and all for sisterhood- but not necessarily equality. The Powerpuff girls are the REAL feminists. By the end of the episode, they realize the wrongs of Femme Fatale and understand that Susan B. Anthony was rebelling against injustice, and since it was illegal, she expected EQUAL punishment for her crime from the government. So the episode ended up being a triumph over stereotypes. The girls RESEARCHED the history of feminism and LEARNED what feminism is really about. They came to understand that the stereotype of feminism has been taken way out of hand and has left women in more trouble than it was before. Thus I applauded the episode. With the help of the other women of power in Townsville (the bank owner, police woman, teacher, and amazingly titled, Sara Bellum [the brain behind the mayor]), the girls are taught that they need to look out for fellow females, but they must not forget the males. They learn that so long as they play an EQUAL part in maintaining society, Townsville can maintain it's perfection.
HOWEVER! This argument is not completed... I do have a few qualms with miss Sara Bellum:
The Positives: She is the brain behind the mayor. She always knows the solution. She is rational and level headed. She is the REAL example of female power that everyone can strive to be (even if you aren't mixed with Chemical X.) She is a positive influence for young girls watching the show BECAUSE she saves the day without superpowers, and instead, with critical thinking.
Now for the negatives? LOOK AT HER! She is the stereotypical image of what beauty is "supposed" to be. Her chest is huge, her hips are huge, yet her waist is the size of her ARM! Plus, her hair is huge making the rest of her body even smaller! The only thing that may save her from this perceived attractiveness is that we never see her face, which allows us some decision of what the perfect beauty is.
But still, how far can we allow the image of a powerful female be distorted? Sara Bellum is smart (I mean she's named after the brain that controls cognitive function...) but still. Girls see her as this really powerful influence, but are we sending mixed messages on what a powerful woman is? Sara Bellum is objectified all of the time. The only way she gets out of it (which is a positive) is that she out-smarts the men.
But if this is what we expose children to, what are we telling them they have to be? Is it a positive image? Girls can be smart AND beautiful, it doesn't have to be one or the other. Or is it a negative? You can become powerful if you are smart, but you also NEED the looks to get there. How can we expect girls to live up to that standard of beauty?
I guess I shall accept the Powerpuff Girls, after all the protagonists are all female and it is a stepping stone for little girls to kick some ass.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Potpourri
It's been a while, but I'm not quite sure what I want to talk about, there is just so much.
First of all, I guess I should say that currently there is a piece of legislation that is trying to change the definition of rape. This is being brought up because some Conservative Republicans do not want to have their tax dollars paying for a woman's abortion. They believe abortion is wrong, so they do not want their money supporting it. Well, I understand. EXCEPT changing the definition of rape is just, for lack of any other word, STUPID. The bill would establish "Forcible Rape" as only "forced," like physically forced. So if any woman is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or even, the "DATE RAPE DRUG" it doesn't count as rape and therefore the woman cannot get her abortion paid for by the government.
O.K. so we're willing to put women through physical, emotional, and mental harm because art of the population doesn't want to pay for an abortion that could possibly save her life? Alright....
Jon Stewart, a man very close to my heart, and Kristen Schaal, a woman I aspire to be, discuss their opinions about this, too. Please watch and enjoy.
Now, as made quite clear in bell hook's book, Feminism is for Everybody, "losing ground on the issue of legal, safe, and inexpensive abortion means that women lose ground on all reproductive issues." If women do not have the power to control what happens to their own bodies, how can the government say they have freedom? How can there be equality? Simple: there can't...
The need for proper sex education, birth control, and safe/ legal abortions is QUITE important to the feminist cause, as well as humanity; without the ability to control whether or not you (a woman) want to be pregnant, there is no liberty, no choice, and that is slavery. A woman has to answer to the government for her OWN pregnancy. She can't plan, can't choose, she is a slave to the opinion of others.
Come on people, it's time to change. Let's not go backwards in time. It's time to advance. Sex education is needed for safety; birth control for prevention; and abortion for the times just in case.
First of all, I guess I should say that currently there is a piece of legislation that is trying to change the definition of rape. This is being brought up because some Conservative Republicans do not want to have their tax dollars paying for a woman's abortion. They believe abortion is wrong, so they do not want their money supporting it. Well, I understand. EXCEPT changing the definition of rape is just, for lack of any other word, STUPID. The bill would establish "Forcible Rape" as only "forced," like physically forced. So if any woman is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or even, the "DATE RAPE DRUG" it doesn't count as rape and therefore the woman cannot get her abortion paid for by the government.
O.K. so we're willing to put women through physical, emotional, and mental harm because art of the population doesn't want to pay for an abortion that could possibly save her life? Alright....
Jon Stewart, a man very close to my heart, and Kristen Schaal, a woman I aspire to be, discuss their opinions about this, too. Please watch and enjoy.
Now, as made quite clear in bell hook's book, Feminism is for Everybody, "losing ground on the issue of legal, safe, and inexpensive abortion means that women lose ground on all reproductive issues." If women do not have the power to control what happens to their own bodies, how can the government say they have freedom? How can there be equality? Simple: there can't...
The need for proper sex education, birth control, and safe/ legal abortions is QUITE important to the feminist cause, as well as humanity; without the ability to control whether or not you (a woman) want to be pregnant, there is no liberty, no choice, and that is slavery. A woman has to answer to the government for her OWN pregnancy. She can't plan, can't choose, she is a slave to the opinion of others.
Come on people, it's time to change. Let's not go backwards in time. It's time to advance. Sex education is needed for safety; birth control for prevention; and abortion for the times just in case.
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