Abelism

We've talked about race, gender, sexuality, religion and class. We haven't talked too much about representation of people with disabilities in media,

I tried to rack my brain for people that I saw in media who were disabled while I was growing up.  I remembered Stevie from "Malcolm in the Middle" who was an African American whiz kid, Dr. Charles Xavier from "X-Men" a white male mutant, Jimmy in Degrassi, who was black, and Lt Dan from "Forest Gump".  I was unable to think of any others that left an impression on me.

I think this is an issue that should also be talked about in the context of this class. I can't think of any Disney movies that represent people with physical disabilities.  Children and people with these disabilities don't see people like them in everyday media.

This brings me to Kylie Jenner and fashion's use of disabilities to sell their products....I think the tweet below says it all.

Below is a disabled model's response to the ad Kylie Jenner was featured in. 

Physical disabilities should not be exploited for gain. 

More recently, I can still only think of a few physically disabled characters in media.  Maggie from "The Mindy Project", John Locke from "Lost"and Walter Jr from "Breaking Bad".  What I do appreciate about these characters, is that they exist in these shows as very normal people.  Maggie is sexually active, and always has a witty quip.  Walter Jr's condition is addressed in "Breaking Bad", but he is shown having a wide variety of emotions, taking his driver's test, defending his mom from physical abuse, ect.  These are well rounded characters that are a positive step towards more inclusive programming.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/kylie-jenners-wheelchair-photos-are-slammed-for-being-ableis?utm_term=.hczqNVlL3#.by389lRDx

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3362220/Disabled-model-poses-PVC-corset-response-Kylie-Jenner-s-hypocritical-wheelchair-shoot.html

Tina Fey, why do you do this to me?!

I am a HUGE fan of Tina Fey. Her skits on SNL and her Weekend Update segments with Jimmy Kimmel helped get me through high school.  As I become more aware of the problems of race and sexism around me, I find it harder to enjoy Tina Fey's comedy (and other's as well).  Her decision to "opt out" of the internet and her refusal to answer to criticism is very problematic to me.  As someone who has experienced online harassment, I can understand a celebrities' decision to not have a Twitter or an Instagram account where they open themselves to everyday abuse.  However, Tina Fey has chosen to not acknowledge any thoughtful criticism of her work either.  It's one thing to ignore and avoid the trolls and abusers, but it's another to refuse to engage in thoughtful discussions about concerns people have regarding race and gender.

I watch the movie Tina Fey wrote and starred in, "Mean Girls" and I still am able to enjoy it. I do hesitate though every time the "cool Asians" scene comes up.  I think Fey used a stereotype about Asian teenagers and young women in the wrong way.  The two Asian girls who fought over the chubby PE teacher dressed provocatively and epitomized the sexy and agressive Asian seductresses.  This is in contrast to the meek Asian school girl stereotype that is also prevalent in American media. I think shows how un-creative we as a society can be that we pigeonhole Asians, particularly Asian women as either the "model minority" or as sexual beings desperate for white male attention.

"The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" is such a joyful show that I can't stop laughing for the entire episode.......until a Native American scene comes on.  For some odd reason, Fey chose to cast a white woman as a Native American posing as a white woman.  I wonder sometimes if Fey wanted to demonstrate the pressures Native Americans feel to be whiter or to assimilate into white society, but I doubt it.  I suppose its possible that Fey is using Jacqueline's character to show how ignorant white society is of Native Americans.  The actual Native American actors playing Native American roles do have dialogue and answer and refute Jacqueline's racism. Perhaps it's not all bad, but I still don't get it and feel that Fey could challenge racism in a much more intelligent and witty way.

I haven't had a chance to finish Season 2 of "Kimmy Schmidt", but the second season has controversy surround it and a plot line regarding Asians and Geishas.  Fey trys to take down "outrage" culture on the internet, but at the same time, I feel she is missing a major opportunity to engage her fans in respectful and intelligent discussions on race and comedy.

http://www.avclub.com/article/tina-fey-done-explaining-her-jokes-internet-230086

http://www.vox.com/2016/4/19/11441502/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-race-season-2

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-native-americans_us_5722747fe4b01a5ebde515be

Colorism, inspired by Stuff Mom Never Told You

I listen to this podcast every week and it's really opened me to inter-sectional feminism.  The podcast is hosted by two white women, who make a point to address their privilege and to also discuss the struggles of women and men of color from a respectful position.  Cristen and Caroline also are sure to address cis-gendered issues while still acknowledging their privileges.

This episode was really interesting because it discussed how darker skinned black girls in school are more likely to be suspended than lighter skinned black girls.  Whenever people tell me that black people have the same opportunities as whites in America, it's so incredibly frustrating.  The imbalance of the justice system and how black men are more likely to be incarcerated, and how darker skinned black men are more likely to receive the death penalty.  I just ordered "The New Jim Crow" to read once the semester is over.

This podcast makes a very important point, that the solution to colorism ISN'T telling darker skinned black women that they are beautiful or sexy or desirable. That's incredibly insulting, racist and demeaning.  The answer to the problem of colorism shouldn't be to tell a woman she is valued as a sexual being.

The podcast also discussed colorism around the world and discussed India at length.  I have seen several short news stories on how skin bleaching in Brazil and other South American countries have led to women being hospitalized.  Lighter skin is valued around the world, and it leads to increased violence against darker skinned people. Emma Watson has come out in the past couple years as a feminist, and as someone who has launched the #heforshe campaign.  She is often accused of being a "white feminist" and she has been criticized for a skin whitening cream she promoted several years ago.

In the notes of this podcast, they reference an article about how there is a movement in Pakistan to combat colorism and encourage self-acceptance among darker skinned girls.  The article and the podcast both made sure to discuss how colorism is not just about women, but that this is a men's issue too.


http://www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/podcasts/colorism/

http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/forget-fair-and-lovely-dark-is-divine-pakistan-s-first/article_8d1f87ae-1f5d-11e5-8684-0bfe7ff82da8.html

http://asia.be.com/beauty/beauty-news/celebs-beauty-news/emma-watson-is-accused-of-promoting-skin-lightening-117649.html

Representation in Disney

So, Disney is supposedly making "progress" and we discussed this in one of our class sessions.

While sure, it's true they've had a few women of color as their main protagonists, but that doesn't negate the fact that people of color are still under-represented in Disney films and media overall.

I thought this tweet below was a great way to respond to Disney and media defenders.  Progress has not been made quick enough, nor has significant progress been achieved.

Online Harassment

So, I am pretty active in the Twitter community. I am faced with harassment online all the time, so the video by "Just Not Sports" hit very close to home.  I am have been threatened twice online with physical violence, one man telling me, "I want to tape your bitch mouth shut."  I have been told in person by a man when I worked at ROSS to, "shhh your fucking mouth."

The video by Just Not Sports made me cry when the men almost refused to continue speaking.  I re-posted the video on my Facebook and two male co-workers came to talk to me about this.  These men have never talked to me about anything else I had ever posted on Facebook, and they are openly anti-feminist.  They both told me that the video disgusted them and made them really question what they had thought about women being harassed online.  I told them to take a look on Twitter or on the comments section of a female celebrities blog or Facebook and they will seen rampant sexism and threats of violence and rape.

A man I am friends with on Facebook recently liked a post on Jennifer Lawrence making a suggestive hand gesture.  I counted ten posts saying something to the effect of "I want to hold her down and fuck her mouth."  I stopped counting at ten because the other comment surrounding it were even more vile, it was hard to stomach.

Just today, a man tweeted this to me.  I had tweeted about how happy I was that Ted Cruz dropped out of the Presidential race.  He is a Trump supporter.  I don't understand why he clearly felt the need to tweet these things to me, but he did....

being called the "C" word on Twitter is new for me.

http://jezebel.com/i-hope-you-get-raped-again-female-sportswriters-listen-1773096108

Scarlett Bot

I was horrified when I saw that a man has created a Scarlett Johannsson robot for himself.  The creation of this robot demonstrates that men feel that they are entitled to a woman’s body.  This robot creator doesn’t have the ability to be with Scarlett Johannsson, so he felt entitled enough to create her for himself, giving himself access to what he wants without Scarlett’s consent.  It’s incredibly problematic that we as a society feel that celebrities OWE us their bodies.  Amy Schumer recently encountered a scary male fan who told her that she OWED him a selfie.

I thought this article was interesting because mentioned how Siri is a female voice and that technology tends to have women as “helpers”.  Female voices are used in technology to help people with things, like they are our secretaries.

Female celebrities are constantly being harassed, objectified and violated.  This is yet another form of violence that Scarlett Johannsson is subjected to. She has had her personal photos stolen, photos that were meant for her husband.  Recently the “Fappening” released hundreds of stolen photos of female celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Audrey Plaza and many others.  Erin Andrews just recently won a lawsuit against a man who filmed her against her will in her hotel room. She has spoken out about how she every day someone tweets a screenshot of the video to her. Everyday someone tweets an abusive tweet to her regarding her body.  She described men shouting and catcalling at her about what they saw in the video.

In this day and age, we are unable to escape harassment.  The internet remembers everything and never allows victims to forget that their privacy was violated and stolen from them.  We hear about teenagers who kill themselves because of bullying, and I feel that they have increased since the internet.  These teenagers, men and women, straight and gay, can’t escape their tormentors when they go home from school.  

http://www.today.com/popculture/amy-schumer-rethinks-photo-policy-after-1-fan-scares-her-t89946

http://www.wired.com/2016/04/the-scarlett-johansson-bot-signals-some-icky-things-about-our-future/

Gender doesn't just mean women

I re-watched the first ten minutes of “Tough Guise 2” three times because I feel it was such so well written, I wanted to listen over and over. The culture and glorification of violence in America is deeply troubling to me. I recently criticized Piers Morgan on Twitter, and he re-tweeted me. Hundreds of his fans, who I assume are mostly British began to tweet back at me photos of Sandy Hook, Donald Trump and jokes about Americans and guns. I didn’t defend myself against the jokes at the USA’s expense regarding gun violence, because they were all right. We have an obsession with our guns and masculinity in America is tied very closely to violence. Just look at the violence that is encouraged at Donald Trump rallies (a man encouraging and inciting violent actions in other men).

I married into a gun loving family, and this past Christmas, my 12 year old nephew was given a gun because it’s a transition into manhood.  He proudly showed it off to all his friends (who were all male) and practiced shooting stances. My mother-in-law said to me, “oh, boys will be boys.”  I personally am disgusted by the idea of a 12 year old having guns, but this is the culture in where I live.  The idea that Jackson talks about, how “men’s violence is somehow inevitable” is incredibly dismissive and damaging to men. Men’s violence is only inevitable because the media and culture perpetuate, glorify and reinforce it.

“All of this is partly a function of how dominant ideologies work linguistically to conceal the power of dominant groups” (Tough Guise 2).

I was most intrigued by Jackson’s commentary on how the dominant group (whites, heterosexuals, and males) are allowed to remain invisible. The words and phrases the media uses are deliberate, or were deliberate at a time.  The focus on race when African Americans and Arabs are involved is appalling and so incredibly obvious, I can’t believe media outlets defend their reporting.  I had not thought about how violence when perpetrated by women is reported. According to Jackson, “gender becomes the story” (Tough Guise, 2). I really appreciate that this video was assigned because this class is called “Race, Gender and Media” and as the video points out, gender is not just women. I hope that men in this class will feel safe in our discussions to talk about the pressure towards violence and how its portrayed. The "gender cops" discussed in this video have no place in our classroom and I hope that men are able to reflect on this video and see where they were "policed" by these cops, or cases where they themselves were a "gender cop". I can relate as a woman who has been "slut shamed" and has also "slut shamed" others. I have learned how those experiences hurt me, and how I hurt others.

#womennotobjects

I first heard of the #womennotobjects campaign on Twitter. I went on their site, womennotobjects.com and learned about the filters they use to determine if an ad is objectifying. I decided to dissect a few ads myself because this class has brought this issue to my attention, and now I can't thumb through a magazine without being frustrated with the advertising in them.

The site lists filter 1 as “Props”: “Does this woman have a choice or a voice? Has she been reduced to a thing?” I thought about ads I have seen in class and in magazines. There is a company, “Suitsupply” which I only recently learned about who is known for their controversial ads and how they depict women. I have done some research into this company and this ad campaign below is titled “Toy Boy” and claims to be sexist towards men, and not women. Their ads are truly disgusting.

Suitsupply ads have been criticized for years because of their overtly sexual ads and their depiction of women, but the company remains successful and defiant of its critics. Like their ad campaign, they are "Shameless".

Another example of women being used as props is Robin Thicke’s music videos:

I think it’s ESPECIALLY important to combat the use of women of color specifically as props to white celebrities. Miley Cyrus was criticized for this recently because of her treatment of Black women in her performances and music videos, but who could forget Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls? 

This is a disgusting trend that we need to speak out against. Celebrities overall have been dismissive of the criticism, but we can’t continue to allow white people to appropriate and use people of other cultures to their advantage. These women that celebrities use are not granted a voice in the performances or videos, they are only props and it needs to stop.

The other filter that I was interested in was filter 3 Parts: "Has this woman been reduced to a provocative body part?"

Once again I found myself thinking of "Suitsupply" and how their ads routinely reduce a woman to a part and how this removes a woman's voice, face, and overall status as a person. She is now only an ass, something to sell a product.

Or this Tom Ford ad for a MANS COLOGNE. 

I think the ads above are evidence of just how important the #womennotobjects campaign is. I think that this Media Literacy course has helped some people in our class to see just how harmful and pervasive ads that objectify women are. Before this class, I hadn't thought about how ads reduce women to a body part and the ramifications on that in society. 

http://womennotobjects.com/what-is-objectification/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/suit-supply#.nwRnd3A8e

Diversity on TV and on Netflix

I haven’t had the opportunity yet to watch too many Netfix Original Series. However, I’ve been able to watch a few of them, and have read positive things about the direction towards diversity Netflix seems to be taking.

One show I’ve watched in “Master of None” which follows an aspiring actor in New York. Aziz Ansari, an Indian American created and stars in the show. I remember there was a running joke on “Parks and Recreation” where Leslie Knope insisted Tom (Ansari) was from another country, when he was really born in South Carolina. I think it’s absolutely fantastic that an man of color created and is now starring in his hit show. The best part about this show is not just that a man of color is behind it, its that other people of color are included in the main cast. Unlike “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother”, “Master of None” features a group of diverse friends.  “Master of None” features an inter-racial relationship as being 100% normal, and mocks a person in the show who takes issue with it.  “Master of None” features other men of Asian descent as Ansari’s best friends. The show also features a woman of color who is also a lesbian.

My favorite episode is when Ansari auditions for a small role in a TV show.  This role calls for “an Indian cab driver’.  Ansari auditions without a stereotypical Indian accent and is dismissed because of it.  Later in the episode, an executive likes Ansari and wants to cast him in a lead role in a TV show.  However, Ansari’s friend, who is also Indian, misses out on the part because “you can’t have two Indian guys on a show”.  This made me think of other shows that really only have 1 character of color, surrounded by white people. I am really grateful that Netflix is producing content that is honest about these issues in the entertainment industry.  The really refreshing element of this show, is that it's not a show based on an Indian man being Indian. It allows an Indian American to be an average-everyday person whose ethnicity is a part of him, but it doesn't define him, it doesn't limit him, and it doesn't stereotype him.

I also really appreciate how “Master of None” took on feminism and allowed the women in the show to tell their own stories. Ansari’s character listened to the female leads in the show. I loved that this episode also called out the advertising industry as well.  Ansari and several women are in a commercial for a store like “Home Depot”.  Ansari is originally featured at the BBQ, while a woman brings him a cold beverage.  This show mocked the stereotypical gender roles that advertising reinforces. 

I really hope that network television sees the success of these kinds of shows on Netflix and reconsiders their programming. The American public is clearly interested in more intelligent and diverse programming, so from a monetary perspective, it only feels like a smart investment.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/18/asian_guys_get_to_be_sexy_too_finally_tv_gives_me_the_romantic_leads_ive_been_waiting_for/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/11/12/master-of-nones-refreshing-take-on-diverse-friend-groups/

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/20/you_dont_get_a_cookie_for_doing_the_right_thing_how_master_of_none_evades_the_very_special_episode_trap/

W. Kamau Bell extra credit post

W. Kamau Bell’s lecture was fantastic. He brought up how when we talk about racism in America, we like to keep things safe and comfortable. I both love and hate that he approached this discussion on racism with humor. I think he's witty in his approach, but I hate that in order to feel comfortable talking about race, we need to do so with humor.  
He talked about People magazine's most beautiful people edition. I knew that people of color were under-represented in the editions, but I did find it concerning that only 2 african american males were ever featured as the "sexiest man alive". It's disgusting that people of color are often not considered beautiful. 
In the PBS series, "Black in Latin America", Professor Gates shows a news and magazine stand where no women of color are featured, despite the tremendous amount of ethnic diversity in Brazil.  This is not just a problem in the United States, but a global issue.  The idea that white is what's beautiful spread with imperialism.  
W. Kamau Bell talked about an incident where he was discriminated against because he is black. He is married to a white woman and he was accused of harassing her and her friends at a restaurant. It's really important for students in this class to have heard about this story, because it's such a common occurrence for men of color to be seen as harassers of white women. Black men used to be lynched if they were accused of looking at, talking with, harassing, or just engaging in consensual relations with a white woman.  This part of our history is still continuing in different ways and it does not benefit America to not talk about it.

It's hard to enjoy romantic comedies for me as a feminist

I recently read an article Mindy Kaling wrote in 2011 titled, “Flick Chicks: A Guide to Women in the Movies”.  The article starts with Mindy admitting that her guilty pleasure is romantic comedies. She admits to suspending her disbelief in “contrived situations that occur only in the heightened world of romantic comedies” (Kaling, 2011).  Kaling and I share a love of the ridiculously contrived and implausible worlds of romantic comedies. No matter what else is on, if “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is on, I stop everything and allow my brain to shut off for a bit.

I enjoyed reading this article because sometimes I struggle as a feminist to watch any kind of media.  Romantic comedies are especially hard for me to enjoy the older I get and the more I learn about how society views women.  I try and comfort myself by saying, but my favorite movie is “10 Things I Hate About You” and that Kat helped to shape my own personal feminism. 

Kalings light-hearted but biting breakdown of how romantic comedies portray women has allowed me to permit myself some enjoyment again from romantic comedies.  I know that these stereotypes and portrayals of women who don’t exist in real life are harmful to society and women. Perhaps I’m looking for someone to tell me, “It’s okay to enjoy something despite the misogyny” so I can feel better about myself, I don’t know....and I'd like not to think about it too much.

The “Ethereal Weirdo” was the woman that I found most unbelievable.  The Manic Pixie Dream girl is most famously portrayed by Natalie Portman in Garden State and most of Zooey Deschanel roles. I find a lot of characteristics about this trope to be positive, these women are often self-aware and confident which I admire.  However, the fact that these (always) white and adorable women serve to make the loser-boring-mopey-cynical (always) white male feel better is troubling.  These quirky, upbeat, positive women who don’t take life too seriously would never waste their time in a relationship with these male characters. 

This class in incredibly frustrating. I was warned by friends who have taken this course before, but I clearly did not take them seriously.

The past couple class meeting have been embarrassing for me as a white woman. Another white woman asking “Can women be sexist against men?”  or “can black people be racist against white people?” is depressing. When discussing systematic and institutional racism against African Americans, several white students felt the need to share experiences where they have felt people were racist against them. How can a 4000 level student be so ignorant of their privilege? It’s inexcusable at this level of college, in an ethnically diverse state in this political climate.

This last class when discussing how women are “cut down to size” by advertising, the conversation veered into how dress codes are needed for girls and women’s protection. A few men expressed feeling uncomfortable and attacked. One man felt the need to say “not all men rape”. One woman called a man’s motivation behind enforcing a dress code for his female employees “a wonderful, wonderful thing”. What planet is this? Why are women defending patriarchy and misogyny? Why is my professor allowing this distraction?

I honestly can’t believe that these distractions from the group being discussed are allowed. Whites should not be permitted to draw the conversation on race to themselves and men should not be able to distract a class from a conversation about women’s experiences in representation.  I understand that college courses are a place for discussion, debate and disagreements. That being said, one doesn’t walk into a Biology course and say “EVOLUTION IS A LIE” and be taken seriously. Not all opinions are valid or worth hearing. This course should not be about whether African Americans live in a different America than whites. THEY DO. People should not be able to suggest that men are not privileged over women or that society doesn’t permit and encourage their dominance. THEY ARE and IT DOES. Move on.

Why are we wasting our time listening to people detract from the conversation? Why is this permitted?

In our discussion about women and advertising, we barely touched on how women of color experience this in different ways. The video talked about it briefly, but because men diverted the conversation back to them and how they felt attacked, we left out a very important part of the conversation. We didn’t even talk about how trans-gendered individuals are advertised and represented. 

My time was wasted.