all good things...

this is my last blog for race/gender, and i must say i'm a bit sad! i enjoyed this class, even though it frustrated me sometimes. i am definitely finding myself looking at media in a more critical light. there were times when i disagreed with what was being said during class, but it's always interesting to see how other people think, and how they've been brought up.

race/gender is definitely my most memorable college class so far. i've already recommended it to friends!

america the beautiful

i really loved the documentary in class on thursday. i almost wish we would've watched it earlier in the semester, because some of it seemed a little repetitive now. but i thought the section featuring gerren was completely fascinating, and sad. she was a beautiful young girl, and seeing her have a mental breakdown after being told she was too big was really hard to watch. it really shows how crazy the fashion industry is when a 6 foot tall girl is too fat at a size 4.

i had a few friends in high school suffer from eating disorders. they were all friends from dance, and they were all girls who were skinny to begin with. one of my friends, who mostly did ballet, had to go to a rehab clinic for anorexia, and I know it's still something she struggles with today. she's healthy now, but still finds herself counting calories and other things every so often.

in jr. high and high school, i was really interested in the psychology behind eating disorders/body issues, and read 'wasted' by marya hornbacher. it is a autobiography about her struggles with anorexia and bulimia, and was completely fascinating. it's one of the hardest books i've ever read. usually i read books straight through, but this one i had to actually put it away at times. she becomes bulimic at age 9, and anorexic at 14. she was in and out of treatment centers, and finally had to be put in a mental hospital. she talks about being on a diet at the age of 4, because she was following her mothers example. it's a haunting book, that really gets you in the mind of someone dealing with eating disorders.

here's one of my favorite (saying favorite seems weird. maybe most memorable?) quotes from the book:

"The bragging was the worst. I hear this in schools all over the country, in cafés and restaurants, in bars, on the Internet, for Pete's sake, on buses, on sidewalks: Women yammering about how little they eat. Oh, I'm Starving, I haven't eaten all day, I think I'll have a great big piece of lettuce, I'm not hungry, I don't like to eat in the morning (in the afternoon, in the evening, on Tuesdays, when my nails aren't painted, when my shin hurts, when it's raining, when it's sunny, on national holidays, after or before 2 A.M.). I heard it in the hospital, that terrible ironic whine from the chapped lips of women starving to death, But I'm not hun-greeee. To hear women tell it, we're never hungry. We live on little Ms. Pac-Man power pellets. Food makes us queasy, food makes us itchy, food is too messy, all I really like to eat is celery. To hear women tell it we're ethereal beings who eat with the greatest distaste, scraping scraps of food between our teeth with our upper lips curled.

For your edification, it's bullshit."

-marya hornbacher

catching up!

i had to go photograph an event for my photojournalism class, so sadly, i didn't get to attend the spike lee event. i heard it was really inspiring though!

and last night, i had to leave class during the break because i was going to a midnight show of harry potter, (i know, not a good excuse. but it's the end of my childhood!)

but at the movie, i found something to blog about, that related to our class topic! success! one of the hundred trailers we had to watch was for a movie called "from prada to nada". i know, wonderful title. it's apparently a retelling of sense and sensibility. two spoiled sisters in beverly hills, who have to move to be with their aunt in east LA after their father dies.

here's the trailer:

in just the trailer there are:

-immigration/ hop across the border jokes

-showing mexicans as hired help, and a girl saying she won't tip them.

-stereotyping hispanics as poor

-the stereotypical mexican guys in the car hitting on women.

-a girl thinking a boy won't love because she's poor and unworthy.

there are TONS of stereotypical things in here, and i thought it was really funny that i would see the trailer for this after watching the video we watched in class. i still think there's still a very specific way latinos are shown in the media. they're either very sexy, exotic types (like gloria on modern family) or as criminals. or you don't even know they're latino! i had no idea rita hayworth was hispanic until last night, and in the past i've been surprised finding out someone was hispanic. alexis bledel (rory from gilmore girls) is latina (i think. i've heard this in the past, and i can't verify it on IMDB right now), but you would never know if based on her roles.

"look at your life! look at your choices!"

look at this sweet little child:

now look at her, 10 years later:

now read this:

Why do you think people are shocked by you?
Honestly, dude, I don’t fucking know.

Maybe it’s because people don’t expect a 17-year-old to dress the way you do and say the things you say. Like when you joked that your best friend is your vibrator.
Hey, I’ve never said I don’t need to get off once in a while, man. That (vibrator) fits right in my suitcase. That shouldn’t piss people off. Girls should be allowed to masturbate. Guys can masturbate. So why can’t girls? Why is that such a hidden topic from the world?

Well, everyone pretty much accepts that guys are born with their dicks in their hands…
Yeah, but dude, we’re born with our clits in our fingers. C’mon. It’s the same fucking thing. It’s totally sexist to think any other way, and the fact that it’s an issue at all with people in s completely insulting women.

It seems like, in the last few years, a lot of young women have become famous first via leaked sex tapes. What do you think about that?
I don’t care what people fucking do in their own home. If it’s a good sex tape, I’ll watch it. Other than that, I don’t really give a shit. I like some adults stars. I have a couple of favorites. But I will say this: That Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson video wasn’t very good. I wouldn’t fuck Tommy Lee.

(text and cover taken from Revolver Magazine Nov/Dec 10)

Taylor Momsen is 17 years old. Call me old fashion, but I don't think 17 year olds (especially one a TV show aimed at young teens) should be talking about her favorite porn movies, and her self-pleasuring habits. Now, I'm not dumb. I'm know there are many 17 year olds (and younger) who do the same thing. But they aren't famous, and don't have teenage girls looking to her as an example. Not that Taylor Momsen is super high on the list of teenage role models, but I'm sure some girls do admire her.

I can't believe, first of all, her PR team hasn't reigned her crazy self in, and that someone thought it was a good idea to put a 17 year old (technically a child) on the cover of a magazine in that outfit. It's so sexual, with the thigh highs and the gun hooker shoes, and the pounds of eyeliner. At a recent concert, Momsen flashed the audience, with only a flesh colored pair of pasties covering her nipples. Which is very very very close to being child pornography.

We all say and do stupid stuff at 17. That's a big part of being 17. But thankfully, most of us aren't filmed, photographed and transcribed when we're that age. I think the media is a big reason of why Momsen is acting this way. She likes being "shocking" and provocative, because she gets a big reaction from media outlets and the general public. It's like a 2 year old throwing a temper tantrum, except with more leather and eyeliner. If we ignore her, maybe she'll go away.

I also think it's interesting that the recent GQ Glee cover (shown above) has gotten bashed all over the media for bordering on child porn, I haven't heard a word (outside of all my gossip blogs) about Momsen's cover. Everyone in the Glee shoot is well above legal age. Lea Michele and Dianna Agron are both 24, and Cory Monteith is 28. While the shoot was tacky (and it was shot by Terry Richardson, who oozes trash and slime), I don't understand how it is causing more of an outrage than Momson's cover, and the content of her interview.

playing catch up

last nights class seemed pretty well timed, with what all has been going on in the media lately. i was surprised we didn't talk more about all the "it gets better" videos, especially since it's been so celebrity/hollywood driven. i really love this campaign. bullying, even for non GBLT kids, is such a problem in schools. my little brother got teased all the time in jr high. he was quiet, and a little socially awkward, but very intelligent. he couldn't relate to some of the other kids in his grade, and a bunch of boys started calling him a "fag" and using all sorts of gay slurs against him. he's not gay, but these words still hurt. no one ever got physical with him, but they did threaten to hit him a couple of times. i hate that kids think it's okay to treat people that way, and hopefully the celebrities making these videos will make them think differently. if they see their favorite celebrities saying how wrong it is to bully, maybe it will make them think twice before they call someone a name.

here's my favorite it gets better video, from neil patrick harris. (btw, i was really excited we watched a clip from how i met your mother last night. it's one of my favorite shows.)

i'll come back and add more to this later, but those were my intial thoughts. i was very happy with how i did on the test! i wasn't that confident, so i was so really surprised i ended up with an A. :)

i have to say, i was really disappointed in the presentations last night. i was excited to hear the ideas that other people in the class came up with, and i was very underwhelmed. granted, i left after the 20 minute presentation about the george lopez show, so maybe they got better after i left. or maybe the people with interesting topics didn't present. i feel bad being critical of other people's work, but i was just completely bored with the topics that got presented. i didn't even understand what the main points were for a few of the speakers.

i thought this week's class was pretty eye-opening. i've never really thought advertising had much effect (affect? i need to find my stylebook) on me. in high school, i did feel pressure to dress and look a certain way, but that was more peer driven, not advertising. i wanted to wear the cool clothes, and have my hair a certain way, and i looked to the cool girls to figure out how to do it.

but during class, i realized that while advertising hasn't had much pull on me, another form of media has. television. and not commercials, the actual shows. i was a pretty shy kid (still am, actually), and i looked to tv for role models. i aspired to be these outgoing, sassy, super confident girls like buffy summers, rory gilmore and joey potter. but even then, it wasn't completely looks based. i admired their strength, wit and intelligence. (and how they all got their boys using those things.) even in elementary school, i wanted to be like topanga from boy meets world, because she was smart and funny. (and had really fabulous hair.)

when talking about a solution to the image problem, i sadly don't think there is one. the fashion industry is a huge influence on advertising (especially fashion/womens magazines) and the fashion industry is rock solid in it's beliefs. they might have starting the whole "minimum weight for runway models," but i think that's mostly to save face with the general public. fashion is a manipulative, deceptive industry, and they pride themselves on their inclusiveness.

i did have a problem with the way some people were talking about the little girls in the single ladies video. i heard someone say that they were "trashy" and someone else said "skanky" and i hate that those words were used towards 7 and 8 year old girls. i am a dance teacher, and have lots of girls who compete (like the girls in the video), so i feel like i have a different perspective than most people in our class.

these girls did the choreography they were given, and did it flawlessly. now, i don't think the choreography was appropriate at all, but you can not fault the girls for that. i actually think the costume was more scandalous than the dance, i don't know who in the world thought it was a good idea to put thigh-highs on a 7 year old. i just wish that people would watch what they say about these girls, because they have very little control over what they do. it's the adults (parents, teachers) who showed poor judgement, and who should take the fault.