The "F-Word"

It seems as if a few of you guys are doing projects that are somewhat exploring the connection between the media’s portrayal of women’s bodies and the negative impact on the self-image of women and young girls it has, so I thought I would share this pretty cool video with you that address that topic. The video is a TEDxTalk and is entitled “Stripping Away Negative Body Image” and the presenter is Lillian Bustle, a burlesque dancer. Now I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry she doesn’t give the audience a performance during her talk. It is not that kind of video, I promise. She does however deliver a wonderful message that being beautiful isn’t what people think about us; rather it is a choice that we make about ourselves.  Given the fact that self esteem seems to be at an all time low for women in today’s society, Bustle’s message provides hope that we are on the verge of a new moment of body love and acceptance! If that doesn’t make you want to watch it, she also references Lydia Thompson and the “British Blondes”!

White appreciation vs appropriation

First of all, I am a HUGE fan of rap music. Being that I am a privileged white male, I thought this author's points about white appreciation of rap versus appropriation of it were very interesting. Enjoyment of the genre from all races is really a big factor in whether or not it persists as a cultural form of expression, so white audiences are important. That being said, I don't think listening to rap as a white dude (like me) should make you feel like you've lived through the struggles of the rappers themselves, or that you truly understand what things can be like, fighting against an oppressive system, growing up with a lack of pivotal black characters on television, and so on. Unfortunately, for some of the white dudes, that's exactly the train of thought. I thought this meme I found summed up that way of thinking pretty well:



I can understand the blowback within the African American community as far as white people using this form of cultural medium to their advantage, given the historical connotations that the author of this week's reading illustrates, but before this class I was taken aback by a recent J. Cole lyric in Fire Squad (a song off of his new album) "History repeats itself and thats just how it goes, Same way that these rappers always bite each others flows, Same thing that my *&%$@ Elvis did with Rock n Roll
Justin Timberlake, Eminem, and then Macklemore, While silly *&%@! argue over who gone snatch the crown, Look around my &%$#@ white people have snatched the sound, This year I'll prolly go to the awards dappered down, Watch Iggy win a Grammy as I try to crack a smile, I'm just playin', but all good jokes contain true shit, Same rope you climb up on, they'll hang you with." I now kind of understand his and others' issues with this better, but before this class, neither I or any of my close friends had any idea what blackface minstrelsy was or of the extent to which white media has historically mis-projected the African American community as a whole.

I think this is the hard part for more modern white rap fans to understand. I'm not saying that things in America are fair between the races, I think that would be extremely ignorant to think, but racial relations are a lot better than they were at the start of rap. I think that leads to white Americans (like me) misperceiving what exactly it means to try to live through someone else's culture, when that culture has a history of being repressed through that form of media and others. Again, personally I'm not trying to live through it, I just love to appreciate the work of great rap artists, but I think this misperception is what can lead to white people offending African Americans through their expression of a culture that is not their own. Obviously I can't completely understand this issue, or the complexities therein, but it's just a thought I had while reading.

Also, I think the second half of the reading would be really useful to a couple of the presenter's final projects!

Mo 'mojis, Mo problems

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/10/how-apples-new-multicultural-emojis-are-more-racist-than-before/

    So Facebook linked me to this article, which after reading, makes me mad at the world. Seems like political correctness has consumed our lives as Americans. Don't get me wrong; in some ways this is a great thing, but in others, it makes life completely miserable out of fear of offending someone else for something you feel is so minor. This is the case with Apple's new emojis- along with the software update, emojis can now be customized by skin color. Apple listened to what consumers were demanding, providing them with new diverse emojis. But of course, with change comes controversy.
    The article I linked to above was written for the Washington Post by a young black woman named Paige Tutt. She explains that Apple's new set of emojis presents all sorts of new problems in her life- is she now strictly to use the black emojis? will people act more prejudiced towards her because of her emoji selection versus theirs? will people judge her if she chooses the wrong skin tone? People are now complaining that Apple "whitewashed" the emojis, not changing facial features and only skin tone.
    OMG. If these are issues in your life, then you have it pretty good, in my opinion. I feel as if complaints like these are just another excuse for someone to bitch about something. Racism, prejudice, and race relations DO matter, but emojis do NOT. Yes, whitewashing is awful, but did Apple really have to create a different version emoji for every single race of iPhone user for people to be satisfied?? If so, people still would not be satisfied because Apple would change the facial features according to race (the author used plumper lips, wider noses as examples for black emojis) which would seem even more racist! It really goes to show, people will always find something to complain about- what do you guys think about this?!

Reverse Racism

•  http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/beverly-bond-responds-white-girls-rock-hash-tag/

   

   I found this interesting article in response to hateful tweets from white women about an award show called "Black Girls Rock", especially targeted at black women who are making a difference in our society, whether in film, music, or their community. Here is my response to those who say "It's not fair that black girls have their own award show- that is sooo racist."

   

  I agree that racism is not limited to only one race hating another. It could be blacks towards whites, whites towards Hispanics, anything. The term reverse racism is not referring to blacks hating whites,which is just called racism, but referring to calling something racist that is actually working against racism/prejudice. But, to say things like "if there were "white girls rock" events, then there would be an uproar". Look around- it is a white's world. It may be hard to see it if you are the majority, and that is called white privilege and its a very real thing. Same with straight privilege and other things like it. As humans, it's more difficult to see/worry/care about things that don't affect us directly. Years of oppression by the majority on the minority (blacks, gays, etc) has given whites a couple award shows and then some, like the author says. It is not blacks against whites, proving they are better in anyway, but representing blacks in a way that whites have been for hundreds of years more. Growing up, I bet you saw a lot more characters "like you" on tv/cartoons. I saw none like me- that is the exact thing this woman is saying when she says that black girls grow up without a picture of them in their own homes. Look at catalogs, advertisements, most movies and tv shows. Blacks or other minorities, if featured at all, are on backs or added to just be the "token " black kid so the company doesn't get backlash. This award show was about proving that black women are more than tokens, they are equal to anyone else. Empowering women, white black gray yellow, should be celebrated. I will teach my babies that everyone is beautiful, everyone matters, and race doesn't. But until we don't see color, I will support the minority when being oppressed by the majority, I will defend what I think is empowering, and I will celebrate everyone.

Kylie & Zendaya's most recent racist news

Hello! So while perusing Facebook, I found an article on how the Disney actress Zendaya had to apologize for supporting Kylie Jenner's supposedly racist pictures. I was intrigued so naturally I read through it. What happened is that Kylie posted a picture from a special project she was working on, and Zendaya then commented "Eff it up" with a bunch of clapping emjois (whatever that means). Other viewers of Kylie's photo then said it appeared that she was in black face. Zendaya immediately went to Twitter to apologize for not seeing it that way and thanked everyone for keeping her "on point." Here is the article if you want to see Kylie's pictures or Zendaya's tweets: http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/news/a29811/zendaya-weighs-in-on-kylie-jenners-photo-shoot-controversy/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1442_165079529

So my feelings about this are mixed. First of all, I don't think that picture looks like black face, and I doubt I would have considered it if I had seen the pictures before this article. Second of all, why should Zendaya feel like she needs to apologize?! She didn't do anything wrong, but she still felt like she needed to explain herself. I also wonder if Zendaya's earlier issues with racism affected her action to this. Earlier this year, some racist remarks were made about Zendaya's award show hairstyle. So I guess I just wanted to see what you all thought about Kylie's picture and the way the whole situation was handled.

Rant on the Media

We often talk about the media and its portrayal of society. The book we have been reading seems to blame the media for the fact that the different sides of the feminine battle were not equally shown to the public.

Here, we come to a question. Does society cause media? Or, does media cause society? Who is calling the shots? After class on Thursday I went to the media and journalism department and talked with my professors about these questions.

The media gives the public (society) what it wants to see/hear. During the beginning of feminism, the sides of the battle were uneven. There were way more white powerful men than there were upset feminists. Therefore, the people who were intaking media were MOSTLY white powerful men. Therefore, the media chose to showcase what the white powerful men wanted to see, not what the feminists wanted. Why would the media choose to upset everyone by pleasing a minority of viewers?

Think of it this way. Nowadays, there are many news outlets that cater to different sides of politics. For example, some people HATE Fox News, and would never choose to watch it. On the other hand, some people watch it faithfully. During the time of the feminist movement, there was only one media outlet. People couldn't choose between Fox News and CNN. Not everyone can be pleased when there is only one option.

Or better yet, some people don't like Hoodie Allen. Some people do. No one is ever pleased with whom CAB brings in for a concert at USD. You cannot please the tastes of both the minority and the majority.

Not everyone in the late 60s was pleased with what the media was offering them. But, the majority was pleased.

The media only gives society what it wants. The media cannot be blamed for what society wants. If you want to blame someone for what the media shows, blame yourselves.

As someone who is studying media and journalism, it bothers me so much when people blame the media for everything. The media does have much power, don't get me wrong. But, the media can only do so much. Society also holds much power.


**I will note that yes, there are some media outlets that are absolutely bat poop crazy and release biased, unfactual news stories. BUT, by the professional definition of the word "news," these outlets are not news at all, and only sources of fiction.

Extreme Feminism

http://modernwomandigest.com/disturbing-new-feminist-trend-free-bleeding/

Many of you have probably seen something written about this new trend online, but I thought that it went along perfectly with our class on Thursday when we discussed radical feminism and the impressions that it made on society. These extreme actions fed into the stereotypes and negative beliefs of the equality opposition- perhaps setting the tone for the negative stigma surrounding the term "feminist" in today's American society!
This is new trend of "free-bleeding", or the boycott of pads/tampons during menstruation (sorry Mason!). I found a pretty good article about it, but I still don't completely understand it myself- seems a little too drastic, and a lot too unsanitary, for me personally. I mean, I'm all for fighting the status quo and standing up against oppression, but I'd rather not partake in this trend. Along with the staining of clothes, I feel like there are much more effective and respectable ways of fighting for equality, but that's just my opinion. I am very interested in what you all have to say about this!