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/