After a string of youth suicides thrust the issue of gay bullying into the national spotlight several months ago, Fort Worth City Council member Joel Burns gave a speech about the challenges he faced as a gay youth. He encouraged gay teens to keep their head up, and be brave, because it does get better.
The video quickly went viral, as millions watched on Youtube around the country. It's an incredibly articulate speech that offers hope and encouragement to young people struggling to find their way into the world.
The fact that we live in a society where a gay politician from Fort Worth, TX can make such a speech is testament to how far the nation has come in the area of civil rights.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Body Image
In response to our class discussion about the relationship between body image and advertising, I thought I'd post a few facts about the most iconic children's toy in American History.
For more than 50 years, Barbie has, more than any other single figure in pop culture, encapsulated the image of beauty for American girls. But how well does she represent the average American woman?
When the doll first came on the market, it was sold as a "teen-age fashion model" and 350,000 were sold during the first year of production. Back then, Barbie looked a bit different.
This is Barbie from 1964 doing what she knew how to do at the time, model.
Today, Barbie is promoted as a career woman role model to young girls. Here she is as a TV reporter.
But aside from her changing profession, conflict has raged for decades among many who believe the doll's body type promotes unhealthy, unrealistic expectations for young impressionable girls.
At 1/6 the scale of a real woman, it might be hard to tell, but Barbie's measurements are astounding.
Real life Barbie would stand 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 110 lbs. She would have a 36-inch bust, an 18-inch waist and 33-inch hips. Researchers at the University of Helsinki found that she would likely lack the roughly 20 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.
In 1963 and 1965 "Barbie Baby-sits" and "Slumber Party Barbie" both came with an accessory that was a book about "How to Lose Weight." The inside of the book advised one thing: "Don't eat." Barbie must have heeded that advice because if she were real her estimated BMI would put her in the range for anorexia.
In response to the criticism, Toy-maker Mattel released a Barbie with a bit larger waist line in 1997, which they said would, "better fit with today's fashions."
But some say the doll is still reinforcing negative female stereotypes in different ways. In 1999, Mattel came under fire for offering a barbie that was pre-programmed to say, "Math class is hard!"
Whether or not Barbie is a positive influence on young girls may be up for debate, but Americans should at the very least be mindful of the impressions we're leaving on impressionable youths, and parents should explain to their daughters that Barbie's body is not a reflection of real life.
Because if it were, this is what women would look like:
For more than 50 years, Barbie has, more than any other single figure in pop culture, encapsulated the image of beauty for American girls. But how well does she represent the average American woman?
When the doll first came on the market, it was sold as a "teen-age fashion model" and 350,000 were sold during the first year of production. Back then, Barbie looked a bit different.
This is Barbie from 1964 doing what she knew how to do at the time, model.
Today, Barbie is promoted as a career woman role model to young girls. Here she is as a TV reporter.
But aside from her changing profession, conflict has raged for decades among many who believe the doll's body type promotes unhealthy, unrealistic expectations for young impressionable girls.
At 1/6 the scale of a real woman, it might be hard to tell, but Barbie's measurements are astounding.
Real life Barbie would stand 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 110 lbs. She would have a 36-inch bust, an 18-inch waist and 33-inch hips. Researchers at the University of Helsinki found that she would likely lack the roughly 20 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.
In 1963 and 1965 "Barbie Baby-sits" and "Slumber Party Barbie" both came with an accessory that was a book about "How to Lose Weight." The inside of the book advised one thing: "Don't eat." Barbie must have heeded that advice because if she were real her estimated BMI would put her in the range for anorexia.
In response to the criticism, Toy-maker Mattel released a Barbie with a bit larger waist line in 1997, which they said would, "better fit with today's fashions."
But some say the doll is still reinforcing negative female stereotypes in different ways. In 1999, Mattel came under fire for offering a barbie that was pre-programmed to say, "Math class is hard!"
Whether or not Barbie is a positive influence on young girls may be up for debate, but Americans should at the very least be mindful of the impressions we're leaving on impressionable youths, and parents should explain to their daughters that Barbie's body is not a reflection of real life.
Because if it were, this is what women would look like:
The Black Press
I've always fancied myself to be more informed than most about American History.
That's mostly thanks to the hours and hours I sat at home watching the history channel as a young child, a steady stream of educational Christmas and birthday gifts from my Aunt Saundra and an unusual interest in the civil war.
That's why i was so surprised when we talked about the history of the black press in class. I'd never heard of the black press, not in any of my Christmas-present books, any of the history channel documentaries and certainly not in any of the history classes I took during my 12 years in the public education system.
Few institutions played as important a role ushering in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s as the black press. By shining a spotlight on the social injustices of the early 20th century, black newspapers provided a voice that united black communities across the country. For the first time, black Americans were given the same access to information whites. With knowledge came the power and organization that led to the successful fight for equality.
It's a shame that public schools don't teach that side of the civil rights movement. I think if more people were aware of the accomplishments of the black press, Americans would have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the power of the press.
That's mostly thanks to the hours and hours I sat at home watching the history channel as a young child, a steady stream of educational Christmas and birthday gifts from my Aunt Saundra and an unusual interest in the civil war.
That's why i was so surprised when we talked about the history of the black press in class. I'd never heard of the black press, not in any of my Christmas-present books, any of the history channel documentaries and certainly not in any of the history classes I took during my 12 years in the public education system.
Few institutions played as important a role ushering in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s as the black press. By shining a spotlight on the social injustices of the early 20th century, black newspapers provided a voice that united black communities across the country. For the first time, black Americans were given the same access to information whites. With knowledge came the power and organization that led to the successful fight for equality.
It's a shame that public schools don't teach that side of the civil rights movement. I think if more people were aware of the accomplishments of the black press, Americans would have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the power of the press.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Gender Stereotypes
The media's portrayal of men and women in news coverage, entertainment and advertising in print and over the radio and air waves, has for years been slanted to project specific gender stereotypes.
These roles generally cast men as dominant forces of masculinity, leaders in the home and at work, breadwinners, thinkers, actors, do-ers. In contrast, women are typically shown as weak and delicate followers, loving caretakers who serve to please and control men with sexuality and femininity.
While broken from time to time, these molds are overwhelmingly reinforced in media today.
Advertisers, especially, focus on the shy, dainty, sexualized females as models of femininity, and men are usually defined as confident, brooding individualists.
In print ads specifically, female body parts are typically cut off or isolated in the frame of the photograph.
This is an ad for a cell phone.
This is an ad for a computer programing training program.
Images like these symbolically objectify women in the eyes of both male and female viewers, and can lead to low self-esteem and unrealistic expectations. Images of men in advertising emphasize the idea that men are superior to women and often use them to fulfill their own desires.
If you can't read the text in this cigarette ad, it says, "Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere."
Funny, I'd expect the opposite is true.
Today, Axe ads seem to be among the worst offenders. They typically consist of an average looking man age 18 to 30 who is surprised to find that after using the axe product shown in the ad, women are enthusiastically, sometimes violently attracted to him. Sometimes, women can be degraded without even being shown in the ad at all. Here are some examples, courtesy of axe.
These roles generally cast men as dominant forces of masculinity, leaders in the home and at work, breadwinners, thinkers, actors, do-ers. In contrast, women are typically shown as weak and delicate followers, loving caretakers who serve to please and control men with sexuality and femininity.
While broken from time to time, these molds are overwhelmingly reinforced in media today.
Advertisers, especially, focus on the shy, dainty, sexualized females as models of femininity, and men are usually defined as confident, brooding individualists.
In print ads specifically, female body parts are typically cut off or isolated in the frame of the photograph.
This is an ad for a cell phone.
This is an ad for a computer programing training program.
Images like these symbolically objectify women in the eyes of both male and female viewers, and can lead to low self-esteem and unrealistic expectations. Images of men in advertising emphasize the idea that men are superior to women and often use them to fulfill their own desires.
Funny, I'd expect the opposite is true.
Today, Axe ads seem to be among the worst offenders. They typically consist of an average looking man age 18 to 30 who is surprised to find that after using the axe product shown in the ad, women are enthusiastically, sometimes violently attracted to him. Sometimes, women can be degraded without even being shown in the ad at all. Here are some examples, courtesy of axe.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Antoine Dodson
We talked about Antoine Dodson's viral youtube video in my Race and Gender in the Media class Monday. For those of you who haven't seen the video, it's crazy hilarious.
Apparently, though, it's also crazy racist.
And that's something I'm not sure I understand.
As it was presented in class discussion, the news clip takes a serious crime - attempted rape - and makes light of it by exploiting the victim's overenthusiastic brother to get a few laughs. The class consensus was that the TV station knew it was inappropriate to use the brother's interview but decided to go ahead with it because the station wanted the publicity. Subsequently, a youtube posting of the story quickly went viral and spawned a slew of - even more hilarious - Antoine Dodson remix videos.
fantastic.
And in my opinion, completely kosher.
Did the story perpetuate racial stereotypes? probably - the TV reporter was a frumpy white woman who looked not just slightly uncomfortable to be in the Lincoln Park community - but are news outlets obligated to censor coverage in order to avoid them?
I don't think that's the answer, and I don't think this story exploits Antoine Dodson.
If the job of news outlets is to act as the eyes of the public, that's exactly what this story did. It reflected the same attitude taken by the victims of the crime. By making an attempt to avoid Dodson, the station would have failed to convey the truth about how the family felt about the crime, because as Daniel Tosh pointed out in his introduction for his web redemption, Antoine Dodson hates rape.
And that's something we can all agree on.
And that's something we can all agree on.
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