Ok, there’s sexism and then there’s just insanity. Personally, this makes absolutely no sense. Female professors scored lower than their male counterparts, EVEN WHEN they were evaluated on skills females are stereotyped as having. This study is designed to remove all other bias, so clearly there is a serious issue with sexism in academia-and it isn’t coming from the top, its coming from the students. I have no idea how to even begin to address fixing something like this. We have a long road ahead to perfect equality for women in america.
Flawed Journalism
The fallout over the Rolling Stone UVA article over the last few days has been shocking. It is terrifying to me that Rolling Stone allowed such flawed and horrific “journalism” to take place. Facts were not checked, and thats bad, but what is even worse is that “Jackie”, the protagonist of the article, asked to back out and the reporter did not honor her wishes. The reporter used stereotypes and lies to slander an entire fraternity, not to mention the specific individuals.
Rape is a very serious problem on college campuses. University administrations’ failure to appropriately handle sexual assault cases is well-documented and currently a hot-button issue, subject to White House-level action. A story like this only makes it harder for victims to come forward. Somewhere between 2-8% of sexual assault cases are fraudulent (commonly cited statistic), but that means somewhere around 95% of them aren’t. By having such a public unraveling of this particular story, it raises perception that sexual assault victims lie. This is hugely problematic, because sexual assault cases especially come with little evidence. The fact that this particular story has been corroborated is a huge step back for the fight to end sexual assault.
This story was not good journalism. Lives and reputations will be wrongfully ruined by this story, and, perhaps more importantly, there will be serious ramifications on this issue nation wide, all due to the negligence of one writer and her editors.
“Girls are only as good as boys a few days per month”: Gendered Gaming, Gendered Education
This week’s readings were focused on gendered gaming, and how games marketed toward girls are a) not mainstream successes, and b) often dependent on stereotypes that girls are only interested in makeup or shopping or clothes.
I was VERY into computer games as a child. When I was 3, my brother was born and he had some issues that required my mom to spend more time dealing with him than the average newborn. Consequently, I got as many computer games as I could handle, and by the time I was 4 I could open a computer game, walk through the installation process, and play happily for hours. This love of computer games continued throughout childhood. I had a variety of games, some educational and some pure recreation. My favorites included Zoo Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon, in which you build and manage a zoo and theme park, respectively. I also had a lot of PuttPutt the car games, and Zoombinis, which famously educates kids on key logic and computer concepts. None of these games, except for a Nancy Drew Mystery game, were explicitly gendered, especially because I later had to share my games with my brother. I played computer games because I liked the challenge and thought it was fun to beat levels and advance. The success of nongendered games that attract girls, like the Sims, prove that girls don’t NEED girly games.
However, I side with the authors in that if pink and purple games make girls want to play, why not offer them too? Why not have lots of different games and let kids play with what they want? The caveat to that is that the pink and purple games must be equally intellectually stimulating and challenging, not the $10.95 bargain bin makeover crap that exists now. Who cares if the protagonist is a pirate or a princess if the skills are the same? As long as the skills are truly the same, I think there is a place for targeted market games in the industry. There is also a place for Sims-like crowd-pleasers, which is the best case scenario.
Gendered gaming can be problematic, but gendered education can be similarly troubling. Consider this article about single-sex schools in Austin. At first, the article seems promising, turning run down middle schools into upstanding beacons of hope. There is nothing wrong with that. However, the justification is based on “science” that is absolutely insane. “The complaint claims that administrators read books written by sex-differentiated teaching specialists who believe that boys are better at math because their bodies receive daily jolts of testosterone, while girls have equal skills only “a few days per month” when they experience “increased estrogen during the menstrual cycle.”” I’m sorry, what???? That is absolutely insane. Like gendered gaming, gendered education can likely have good results, but so can mixed-gender classes. The issue, with education and games, is that the quality matters more than the targeting.
Disney Princess AND Street Harassment
Ok, so I already posted today BUT I couldn’t resist sharing http://www.buzzfeed.com/abagg/this-is-what-beauty-and-the-beast-mightve-looked-like-if-it
They take audio from the hollaback 10 hours video and intercut into the opening number from Beauty and the Beast. So, this video is:
a) a remix
b) related to women rights in the context of the street harassment discussions
and c) a riff on disney princess.
All in all, too good not to share with all of you!
On Women in SciFi
This article from The Atlantic poses an interesting perspective that I had not considered. In future dystopias, there are usually a wide variety of social issues, but they are primarily centered on class as opposed to race. In The Hunger Games, for example, there’s a huge socioeconomic gap between the impoverished outer districts and the wealthy in the capitol, but there doesn’t seem to be race or gender issues, as stated in the article.
Often, science fiction centers on issues of class. Robots vs. Humans, Astronauts vs. Aliens, science vs. the public, and the list only goes on. This article’s take on the genre’s unwillingness to take the class strife into the realms of gender and race relations is very telling.
In several of my film courses, we’ve discussed the theory that the content of media in a culture, be that film, novels, or tv, reflects what is going on in a society. For example, after 9/11, all cops and law enforcement on TV were “good guys”, no corrupt anti-heros of the law. It was only in the last 5-7 years as we as a nation moved on that those antihero characters came back. Perhaps because of all the race and gender issues in society currently, no director or producer wants to touch the subject in their films. After all, the purpose of most sci-fi is to entertain, and if a film is too heavy it may not be successful commercially.
As You Wish
This has been making the rounds on Facebook among my friends this week. Using the hashtag #feministprincessbride, people have been rewriting key lines of dialogue to be feminist or related to feminist issues. It’s hilarious. Granted, The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies, but I think this is a great use of pop culture to further spread the feminist message. I highly recommend looking at both this article and just searching the hashtag on twitter, as you wish.
Keyword Video
This is my keyword video on Male Gaze-referencing some material from earlier in the semester, but still interesting and relevant of course. Taking a look at magazines from fall 2014, we delve into sexist ads that show male gaze. Enjoy!
More Audience Sexism
http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/male-tv-host-wears-same-suit-for-a-year-to-highlight-sexism
This article from Buzzfeed talks about the fascinating year-long experiment by an Australian news anchor. He wore the same suit every day, and no one noticed. During that period, many comments were made about his female co-anchor’s outfits. He changed his shirt and tie, but kept the same suit this entire period.
First off, I commend Karl Stefanovic on this experiment. He clearly is a feminist and cares about women in media, something that would be very easy for him to write off or ignore as a white man in the broadcast industry. The dedication of wearing a suit for a year is a testament to how serious the issue is and how seriously Karl takes this experiment.
As far as the result, I think its really interesting. I think it absolutely makes a big point about how women are criticized for their appearance and dress all the time and men are not. He shone a light on this major double standard, which is really important. It’s interesting that no one noticed, but because men’s suits are more similar than the wide variety of outfits available to professional women, I think its not quite as shocking.
This issue of men repeating outfits is also relevant to regular people that are not professional TV stars. For example, as a college-aged woman, I frequently attend formals. I am expected to wear a different dress to every formal, but my date can wear the same suit to every one and no one will care or notice, especially if they are black tie-then he has to wear the same suit! This double standard has always bothered me but I am not really sure how it can be changed. Men are always able to be professionally appropriate in a shirt, tie and slacks, but women have 3849723 choices for any given situation that could be “business casual”, for example. In this way, society sets women up to lose; we can never quite be wearing exactly the right thing at any point.
Something as simple as choosing an outfit can be really loaded with gender politics, and kudos to Karl Stefanovic for bringing this issue back into the spotlight.
More Mansplaining!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/adamdavis/this-guy-mansplained-catcalling-on-cnn-and-got-totally-shut
Lily Rothman of The Atlantic defines “Mansplaining” as “explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman. In this video, a totally sexist CNN commentator attempts to mansplain catcalling, as depicted in the viral Hollaback video we discussed last week in class.
Fortunately, in this video, the man in question is shut down by the female guest there as a counterpoint. The man suggests that women would not object to catcalling if the offenders were “hot.” The women absolutely jump down his throat for that, judging and shutting him down by explaining basically that catcalling is harassment, plain and simple.
He also goes on to say that he doesn’t understand what women go through, but berates them for their behavior nonetheless. Basically, this guy is a jerk and hypocritically backtracks all over the place. While this is obviously a ludicrous behavior on an especially sensitive example, mansplaining is all too common.
I think a lot of the time, men don’t realize that they are “mansplaining” and are not doing it with sexist intent. I have found that guys do this even at MIT, explaining science or engineering to me like I don’t already know what I’m talking about. I don’t think they mean any harm, but I can’t figure out why this is such common behavior among otherwise thoughtful, polite, non-woman hating men. Anyone have any ideas why this is so common, even here?
Hard Out Here
Last week in class we spent quite a bit of time discussing and learning about music videos and their role in the societal objectification of women. In fact, at the very end of class we watched a Lily Allen video, for her song Smile. Allen is known for her at times subversive lyrics and messages. Consider her songs, “It’s Not Fair” and “Alfie”, about female dissatisfaction in the bedroom and her weed-smoking little brother, respectively.
In this video, for her song Hard Out Here, Allen tackles the objectification of women head on. The video starts with her on the operating table getting liposuction. The video then proceeds to show her in objectifying situations, like in a body skin suit, twerking, or pouring champagne on booty-popping backup dancers. The video even makes fun of other videos directly, especially Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video.
Allen’s song itself is a pro-feminist anthem. With lyrics like, “There’s a glass ceiling to break, uh huh, there’s money to make, and now it’s time to speed it up cause I can’t move at this pace,” the message is clear. The chorus repeats “It’s hard out here for a bitch.” By calling herself a bitch, she is acknowledging the “bitch” stereotype that goes along with powerful women and embraces it, owning it to the point that she wears it as a badge of pride rather than a mark of shame. The song goes through stereotype after stereotype, busting them down and doing it all to a heavy beat.
But rather than simply having an overly sexualized video coupled with her subversive lyrics, Allen takes it further. Even without the sound, this video would be subversive. That’s because Allen draws attention to the absurdity of this type of video by showing the “making” of the video, having her suit-clad manager showing her how to twerk or seductively eat a banana. These acts look ridiculous, drawing attention to the ridiculousness of the very videos she is mocking and strengthening her message.
In short, this video may appear at first glance to play right into the objectification of women, but is actually a counterpoint statement to that. By mocking these videos, Allen sheds light on their sheer absurdity. Her lyrics show her true message, and by taking back the word “bitch” she makes a powerful statement on powerful women.
bowsoverbros1 