Just For Fun, with some Mac Demarco

Even though my gender blog posts are finished, I wanted to throw in one last post-just for fun. And by post, I mean a shameless plug to a great song.

For the record, I was going to include this in my ‘mapping’ blog post, but it just slipped my mind. But anyways, Mac Demarco just came out with an awesome second album released back in April, and I thought one of the tracks on ‘Salad Days’ kind of embodied woman power and also had a delicious summer vibe to it. The song, “Treat Her Better” reflects Mac Demarco’s views on how to treat your lady right, and I respect it. It’s awesome

Enjoy.

 

Mapping- Female Musical Artists

 

 

This meme of Nicki sums up most of themes discussed throughout our Gender Course, but also reinstates one of my favorite topics. And that is gender socialization. How the process of gender is constructed through social scripts and the roles of each gender should be fulfilled. And with this stigma of there being a concrete definition of what gender should be plays in part to how society views us and how the media influences these perceptions. One medium in particular I wanted to focus on, is the music business.

For my mapping blog post, I thought it would be interesting to map the origins of a handful of female musicians and to  cover the topic of how female musical artists are viewed in the public eye. How they are treated, stigmatized, and separated from male musicians.

I started mapping out female artists who were some of my role models within the industry and those who embody feminist standpoints. The first singer that came to my mind was 25  year old Lauren Mayberry, of the scottish synth-pop band CHVRCHES who back in September made a public statement that she will not be a subject of sexist comments after online misogyny was directed towards her that poked fun at rape culture. “What I do not accept, however, is that it is all right for people to make comments ranging from “a bit sexist but generally harmless” to openly sexually aggressive. (Mayberry, 2013)”. Mayberry mentions that she understands that being a musician comes with critique and criticism, but what she will not accept is a hostile environment generated from sexually harrassment. She explains that her main motive is to create music and to not spend time worrying about misogynistic comments generated from the public.

I firmly stand by to Mayberry’s statement, and after reading this article back in the fall, it sparked my interest to cover female musicians as my mapping topic. I selected a handful of artists that are or were dominant in the music industry, and mapped them based on their origin by prevalence in America’s society. The mapping ranged from local areas like Manhattan, New York: home to Caroline King. From all the way to South Korea where Karen O, frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is originated. I thought it would be interesting to get an understanding to where each female musician originates from. However, my mapping solely focus on the individual.

Certain female artists like Lauren Mayberry who actually publicly address online misogyny were the locations that I pinned in a ‘blue’ color to differentiate from the red pins. The blue color indicates individuals who personally addressed the media with letters, blog posts or verbal statements. Another example would be just recently in March, pop singer Sky Ferreira (Who just opened for Miley Cyrus’ ‘Bangerz’ Tour), gave a message to her fans her “”exhaustion’ with the sexually abusive messages she receives on a ‘daily basis”. Ferreira explains that the constant sexual harassment hinders her from focusing on creating and making music, as it directs her energy in worrying about sexual threats. “I have this reputation for being difficult, but 50-year old men were telling me how to be a woman! (Ferreira, 2014). Other musical artists that defend their viewpoints using social media, is electro-deep pop canadian artist, Claire Boucher, or known by her stage name ‘Grimes’. Grimes actually took it upon herself to address misogyny, and wrote an in-depth tumblr post about it circa April of 2013. Grimes summarizes that she basically just wants to be respected in her community when making a living, but also “I don’t want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction (Boucher. 2013).” Grimes took it upon herself to make a statement about the treatment she received, and other female artists prasied her for standing for what she believes in. California-based alternative sister band, Haim, in a 2013 interview, Alana Haim exclaims “She (Grimes) took a huge stand this year”, regarding how she addressed online misogyny. Danielle Haim also explains how grateful she feels that Grimes made this issue public. ” And that there are ways to express your own opinions through social media and stuff. The fact that Grimes did write that open letter and people saw it, there’s a chance for us to say what really happens.” (Warner 2013). 

And unfortunately, Ferriera and Mayberry haven’t been the only ones to be viewed negatively in the public eyes. Might I remind you all of Miley Cyrus? Her MTV Music Video Awards controversy back in the fall generated so much buzz from ‘twerking’ on Robin Thicke, that sexist comments and backlashes were the front page of CNN News. (For the record isn’t news, it’s tragedy porn) Cyrus received backlash from everyone labeling her a “jazebel” or a “slut” for acting provocatively and always sticking her tongue out. What was really disheartening was even when “mapped” singer Sinead O’Connor wrote a letter to Cyrus addressing her promiscuous behavior and arguing that she doesn’t need to perform this way to get attention. ” I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos (O’Connor. 2013)”, Sinead O’connor states as if she’s expressing concern. But in reality, that to me is a classic “Mean Girls” tactic. Reinstating the “Stop calling yourselves whores and sluts. It only makes it okay for Guys to call you that.” Defending why us as a society views this as normal.

The underlining theme here is that, the way society perceives women is not only highlighted through well-known musical artists, but when female artists don’t take a stand to acknowledge this discrimination they are only allowing these misogynistic comments to continue. As to why I chose to map these artists, I guess I wanted to give one a perspective of how plentiful of influence there are for everyone to look up to. The map includes powerful female artists like Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin and even Nicki Minaj who embody traits of independent women who can inevitably influence change in a growing society.

 

Sources

Boucher, C. (2013). I don’t want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living. Tumblr retrievedfrom http://actuallygrimes.tumblr.com/post/48744769552/i-dont-want-to-have-to-compromise-my-morals-in-order.

Ferreira, S. (2014). Sky Ferreira takes stand against online misogyny with Facebook post. The Guardian. retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/05/sky-ferreira-online-misogyny-facebook-post.

Mayberry, L. (2013). I will not accept online Misogyny. The Guardian. retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/sep/30/chvrches-lauren-mayberry-online-misogyny

O’Connor, S. (2013). Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to Miley Cyrus. The Guardian retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/03/sinead-o-connor-open-letter-miley-cyrus

“Interview” – Breadwinners and gender

So when I first looked into who I was going to interview for this blog post, I initially didn’t think I had anyone who stood out to me that embodied dominant views on gender… and someone that would do an interview on such late notice. Finding an interviewee was also half the battle, so I didn’t even consider a distinguished topic to interview on. Thankfully, that came later with the interview.

Luckily, one of my good friends- Julia, 21- a Junior at JMU studying IDLS with a minor in Theater, sister of Sigma Sigma Sigma and a friend from my hometown decided to be my designated interviewee. I consider Julia to be one of my closest friends, but I also consider her one of my more “polar opposites” of friends. From the music and movies we like, to what activities we do and what kinds of food we like, we’re kind of on different spectrums. She’s someone who obsessively loves ‘Titanic’, Top 40 Billboard charts and tanning…and I’m someone who loves Wes Anderson films, alternative/local music and not—tanning. However,  I believe we connect on a moral level and share similar beliefs. And post-interview I discovered the reasons why we connect can be attributed to how we were raised by our parents and the gender roles they display.

Here is the  interview.

Since I didn’t have a prompt or a specific topic yet organized I decided to ask her basic questions that reflected the “Doing Gender” reading and blog post (West & Zimmerman 1987). Questions like “How do you view your gender identity?”, “How do you do Gender?”, “What are some gender roles you fulfill?”, etc. etc. Julia answered with answers that I knew would have been practical and respectable to who she is. She considers herself a female “Between the eyes and Between the Legs” as she said. In ‘Gendered Lives’ Wood describes sex as “designation based on biology” and gender as “socially constructed and expressed”, so Wood would probably agree with Julia’s interpretation.

But what really stood out to me when interviewing Julia was when I asked about her family dynamics. Julia stated that she has a family of all women besides her dad, “I have a mother, father and two sisters. Our house is full of women.” Julia describes herself as “outspoken, social and personable” which are generally characteristics displayed in feminine. And even though she says that she learned these traits through her mother, she also tells me that her mom has always been the primary “breadwinner” and source of financial support for the upper middle-class family. Merriam-Webster defines “breadwinner” as ” a member of a family whose wages supply its livelihood” (no where does this definition state this this role is fulfilled by a man or a woman).  I found this the most interesting, because most of my friends families are well-off and the primary “breadwinner” is the father, and society and the popular media also states that men are the primary breadwinners of the family. So to find out that Julia’s mother is the breadwinner was kind of empowering and an awesome tid-bit I didn’t know.

For the record, my mother is the “breadwinner” of the family.

But what makes mine and Julia’s situation a little different is that my mother never used to be the primary source of income in my family, and Julia mentions that she can’t remember a time when her mother wasn’t the “breadwinner”.

Until this past year, I also couldn’t remember a time when my dad didn’t bring home the bread. My dad was always the one I turned to to ask for pocket money. My dad was always the one to pay for bills. My dad was always the one to not be home on the weekdays because he was at work. But recent events had caused a shift in that gender roles, and now my mother works two jobs just to make ends meat to pay for bills.

When my father was the primary financial provider, I saw this as normal since most fathers did this anyways. But now that my mother is the primary financial provider, I now view my mother a little differently because I never thought that she would be able to handle this responsibility, because I somehow thought that was “Man’s Duty”. Shame on me.

Moving on. Whenever I think of the female as the primary breadwinner, I automatically think of the Megyn Kelly Fox News debate with Erick Erickson and Lou Dobbs regarding female “breadwinners” and how the debate turned sour with a nasty remark from Lou Dobbs. If you haven’t seen the debate here’s the link. 

 

In the debate Megyn Kelly addresses an article written by Erick Erickson who agrees that women should not be breadwinners of the family because it’s “anti-science”. Basically stating that men should be the one bringing home the money, not women. This argument has been such a prominent issue throughout history regarding stay-at-home moms and what not, but to simply call it “anti-science” when women display any form of dominance in a family setting is offensive. And even though I don’t really relate to the views of ‘Fox News’, I do agree with Megyn Kelly’s anger. In the interview, she argues her point of view and when trying to make an intelligent factual statement that refutes Erickson’s idea, she is called out by Lou Dobbs for being “dominant”. A comment that probably wouldn’t have been present if a male was saying this.

Both men stated that the reason why females can’t be breadwinners, is because it ‘scientifically’ will have negative implications on raising their children, and Lou Dobbs stating that “society is dissolving around us”.

Ugh. Still disgusts me.

Now I’m able to see both sides of the coin. Having a father as the breadwinner. And now, a mother as the breadwinner. And after reflecting on whether this has had negative consequences on mine and my two brothers’ mental growth, I can say with complete honesty. No. There are no ‘scientific’ consequences to having a female “breadwinner”. Society didn’t dissolve around me. It’s still the same as it’s ever been. A washington post article, “When women are the breadwinners and men are the caregivers, how will innovation change?”, actually suggests “emergence of even more types of technologies that cater to the traditional strengths of women – sharing, communication, openness and participation (Basulto, D. 2013 Washington Post).” Basically stating that with the thrive of women breadwinners emerging, this could pose as a healthy influence in society. 

So I guess I can narrow down now what came out of the interview, and that was regarding the role of “breadwinners” of the family. I reflected on my personal experience and realized that Julia and I have no evidence of “negative consequences” from having a female breadwinner. Everyone is different, yes. Everyone was raised differently, yes. Everyone is, who they are today because of the way they were raised, yes. But one things for sure, the gender role of the “breadwinner” does not negatively affect the person someone is today.

But what I’m really trying to say is that, both of my parents are superman and superwoman to me. No matter who brings home the bacon, I have learned so much for what they both do for my family. They both have worked so hard to provide for my brothers and me, while teaching us how to be amazing human beings like them. After interviewing Julia, I’m sure she can say with confidence that she agrees as well. And there are no tests or scientific experiments that can measure that. E

Sources

Basulto, D. (2013, June 25).

Interview. (Julia Gessler. Personal Interview. May1, 2014) When women are the breadwinners and men are the caregivers, how will innovation change?. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/06/25/when-women-are-the-breadwinners-and-men-are-the-caregivers-how-will-innovation-change/.

Logiuarto, B. (2013, May 13). Fox News Host Megyn Kelly Shreds Lou Dobbs and Erick Erickson over Women in The Workplace. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/megyn-kelly-erick-erickson-lou-dobbs-breadwinning-poll-2013-5#!Jhasd

Wood, J. (2008). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture.  8(20-22)

“Gendered Violence highlighted in media” – General Blog Post

As I was working on my “Interview” blog post, I was procrastinating (obviously) and was on Facebook. Thumbing through my “friends” and their feeds and what they’re up to at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday…nothing fulfilling… I was distracted by a link to a video one of my friends posted as their status. I decided to deter my attention away from my “interview” blog post to write about this instead because I very much love what this video stands for.

So, here’s the video and the blog entry that describes it that’s written by Julianne Ross, a writer for PolicyMic.com (Ross 2014). The title of the blog post was the attention-getter for me. “The White House just released an Anti-Sexual Assault Video that Every Man needs to see”. Yup, caught my attention.

Apparently this video was released by the White House and went live…like 7 hours ago? So yeah, go me for being on top of my game. Anyways… I gave the PSA my undivided attention… and honestly I was pleasantly surprised. The video is about 60 seconds and features a handful of male celebrities including Seth Myers, Daniel Craig and Steve Carrell all advocating to end sexual assault against women.

The PSA is apart of Vice President Joe Biden’s newest campaign ‘1 is 2 Many’. A campaign that pushes to end violence against women, which includes sexual assault, violence, rape, etc. etc. and the ad reflects the viewpoints that are trying to be conveyed. In a recent ‘USA Today’ article, “Biden: Colleges must step up to prevent sexual assault” explains how Vice President Biden has made it his initiative to end gendered violence. “I understand all the excuses and I understand all the rationale…but colleges and universities can no longer turn a blind eye or pretend rape or sexual assault doesn’t occur on their campuses” exclaims Biden (Madhani & Axon 2014) Such viewpoints probably catalyzed Biden to encourage  him to release this advertisement. I think this campaign and ad is awesome.

Finally some awareness about gendered violence. Even though it’s kind of biased because it solely pertains to how women are affected– the campaign is still making an effort to acknowledge this controversial issue. And what better way to raise awareness than with a video? And with notable celebrities like James Bond, Michael Scott and ‘SNL Weekend Update’ anchor Seth Myers. All trusted men in the public eye. Of course Biden made his appearance in the commercial, with a special cameo from his very own Batman– President Barack Obama. Some other randos were in it like Benecio del Torro…but anyways, I think the advertising team for this ad did an overall excellent job casting their spokespeople. They knew this was going to be a controversial ad, so they included celebrities that were well-rounded and credible men that general public doesn’t dislike.

Meaning… The White House wouldn’t choose O.J. Simpson to be the spokesperson for this PSA–too far? Eh, whatever. But you see my point.

And my point is that by including a 60-second ad with a stacked roster advocating for a touchy topic like rape and sexual assault is just what we as a society needs to push us in the right direction to enlightened on. Gendered violence is no joke and has to be taken seriously, which reflects the tone of the commerical. This makes the message convey a more important perspective and that issue shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s something that we need to be able to rack our head around to start making a change… and the only way we can make a change is if we actually care about ending gendered violence. In ‘Gendered Lives’, Julia T. Wood describes gendered violence as a “physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, and visual brutality that is inflicted disproportionately or exclusively on members of one sex (Wood. 2009).” The ad focuses more on the physical nature of gendered violence specifically “sexual assault” and why it is imperative to stop it. Wood defines sexual assault this as the “sexual activity that occurs without the informed consent of at least of the people involved”.

To wrap things up, I think this ad did a great job of addressing a difficult topic of sexual assault and gendered violence. It was poignant and affective. So kudos to you Vice President.

Sources

 

Axon, R., Madhani, A. (2014, April 29). Biden: Colleges must step up to prevent sexual assault. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/29/biden-colleges-sexual-assaults/8460745/

 

Ross, J. (2014, April 29). The White House Just Released an Anti-Sexual Assault Video That Every Man needs to see. Policy Mic. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/88613/the-white-house-just-released-an-anti-sexual-assault-video-that-every-man-needs-to-see utm_source=policymicFB&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

 

Wood, J. (2008). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture.  8(284-309)

“Reflection”

Throughout this semester, this course has opened my eyes on a lot of subjects that I was once ignorant about. I feel as though I’ve become more enlightened on a variety of subjects including gendered violence, how media affects gender and even the basic defining what “sex” and “gender” is. Overall, I feel this class has provided me with a worthwhile perspective on how to approach communication and gender. 

Each class I leave a little more enlightened, and every class discussion has encouraged me to speak up and join in on discussing difficult topics. Even Though each class was extremely interesting and held my undivided attention, The Gender Politics presentation sparked most my interest considering these topics are extremely prevalent in today’s culture. Certain presentations that stood out to me were Gender and Politics and Gender and Sports. 

On the last day, Gender and Politics were discussed and this topic sparked most of my interest since I feel I was the least knowledgeable on this topic. This presentation provided me with a great deal of insight on how political figures are portrayed in the media and how it will differentiate based on gender. How media portrays each gender in politics then goes hand-in-hand to how culture views female and males. The presentation reflected on themes discussed in ‘Gendered Lives’ and the 5 themes of femininity displayed in Western Cultures especially the fifth theme: ‘There is no single meaning of feminine anymore’. This is a dominant theme that explains why media views Hilary Clinton as a “bitch” and Sarah Palin as a “pin head”.  Because Hilary Clinton displays characteristics of a headstrong, determined and intelligent woman she is viewed as “bossy”  amongst her male peers. And Because Sarah Palin is an attractive, outspoken and caring mother, she is considered “Dumb” and “Neglectful”. Two women who are dominant female political figures both are scrutinized because they aren’t fulfilling the duties of being “feminine”, and in reality no one can fulfill that duty because culture has made it impossible to define what “femininity” truly is.

How females are viewed in the media can stem from basic descriptive words that reflect their character, which ties in with how sports views female athletes as well. I appreciated how each gender politics presentation addressed that certain descriptive words can alter the perception of each gender. Just like how sports announcers will refer to male athletes as “men”, and refer to women athletes as “girls”.

This key theme was displayed effectively in the “Scandal” clip we watched in class with Lisa Kurdrow who addresses that certain verbal actions can remind people that women are women without using the word.

From all the topics discussed in this course, this concept stuck with me the most. Verbal communication reflects how we address certain groups of people and how it can affect our perceptions of genders Like how I will call a group of my girl friends “guys” instead of “gals”. After light was shed on this topic I’ve become more aware on my word selection and how I communicate regarding male and female descriptions. 

“Doing Gender”

Throughout my life, I identify myself as female. For the present, I identify as female. And for the future, I believe I will continue to identify as female. Regarding how I “do gender”, I follow a pretty standard pattern in fulfilling my gender identity along with my femininity. I embody characteristics of the  “feminine” gender both externally and internally, but I also integrate a few internal characteristics that are considered “masculine”. The artifact I choose to represent my definition of “doing gender” would be my black Doc Marten combat boots. Viewing this artifact alone, one would perceive these boots to be generally a masculine article of clothing because of the rugged and clunky exterior. According to the perceptions developed by society, women are supposed to dress like “ladies” and not dress “rugged” and “clunky” because that displays characteristics of masculinity. So whenever one goes against the grain, it challenges the binary or gender identity standard, thus society viewing it as abnormal. An article of clothing shouldn’t be loaded with predetermined perceptions or associations. Even though I view myself as feminine, the doc martens represent how I like to incorporate characteristics from the opposite gender to make a statement that material things shouldn’t be assigned a predetermined gender.

I identify myself as a female and I like to consider myself pretty feminine. I care about the way I present myself. I enjoy fashion, I enjoy making myself attractive, and I’m very self-aware of my body. One of my defining personality traits is that I’m loquacious, and therefore communicating to other individuals is not an issue for me. Because of my talkative nature I’m also outgoing. I believe that the combination of these two traits has influenced how my behavior is predominately feminine, since according to Julia T. Woods, one of the five characteristics of being feminine is to “Be Sensitive and Caring” (Pg. 179 Gendered Lives) I enjoy meeting new people, I crave gossip, and I also like to be a confidante for my friends. This has influence me to become more empathetic, maternal, and caring. I believe that these personality traits are a prime internal indicator of my femininity.

An external indicator that I believe helps to define my femininity is clothing. My style and clothing selection is my number one form of expression that I feel best represents who I am.  I care about my everyday appearance so I make certain that I take the time out to appear as though I’m ahead of the trend and put-together. It’s also another form of obtaining my daily self-confidence. I research, follow, and pursue fashion and am adequately knowledgeable on the industry which sparks my interest in dressing well (A hobby highly considered feminine by society). Most days I wear neutral colors and incorporate certain items of clothing to make my outfit fashionable. I categorize my style as minimalist/bohemian/chic and pull style inspiration from musical artists like, Solange Knowles, Kurt Cobain and socialite, Alexa Chung. I also sometimes dress androgynously because it displays a level of fashion understanding. I like to wear men’s flannels/jeans/shirts because I enjoy the slouchy fit. I wear my clunky Doc Marten’s to appear edgier and to display my obsession with the 90’s grunge-Nirvana inspired style. I don’t wear bright colors or jewel tones because it takes away from my minimal taste. That being said, I don’t categorize myself as a masculine dresser, I just sometimes choose to wear masculine clothing. I consider myself rather feminine but just because I don’t wear Lily Pulitzer, pink sweaters, and cowgirl boots, society’s perception of my femininity decreases. According to the concept of gender identity, in order to solidify our perspective on each gender we must dress, act, and behave, accordingly to our assigned genders. Unfortunately we as humans are assigned gender roles from the time we are born. Mentioned in Gendered Lives, Woods explains that we develop gender preferences through socialization (pg.165), meaning that yes we are born with an assigned biological sex but outside factors will influence our self-identity and gender.  And when that is altered, it comes across as abnormal. I should be able to wear my combat boots without others calling be “butchy”. Men should be able to wear pink and not be called a “pansy”.

Moving on. Growing up with heterosexual parents has definitely shaped and contributed to the person I am today. I learned how to be caring, kind, and feminine from my mother. And I learned how to be competitive, down-to-earth, and aggressive from my father who also taught me how to drive stick and how to change the oil in my car. I grew up with two brothers, so I enjoy indulging in video games, Games of thrones, and Earl Sweatshirt. But I also love fashion, music, and am a hopeless romantic, which I have learned from my aunt who I consider the biggest role model in my life. Being a fashion designer in New York, she has taught me the essence of style and embracing my creativity.  She has also taught me how the importance of being a powerful and driven woman. My family members definitely have a huge impact on shaping my gender identity. I’m thankful for being exposed to a plethora amount of characteristics displayed in both genders because it has allowed me to become more versatile and open-minded.

Two aspects I feel that has influenced how I identify my gender, is being multi-racial, and being a DJ for my college radio station. I’m half Chinese, and it’s evident. People view me as ethnic based on my looks, and also discriminate me because of it as well.  It’s slightly intersected and affected my social identity. Not only am I discriminated against for being a woman, but viewpoints are also changed because I’m a minority. “Oh you’re a woman and Asian, you must be terrible at driving”, is a frequent statement I get a lot. So regarding my gender and race, perceptions are definitely intersected.

Being involved with college radio has also influenced how I display gender identity. I have noticed that my choices and actions alter slightly whenever I’m at a radio event or the station. Whenever I’m in this particular environment, I tend to dress more androgynously to reflect the types of music I listen to. I’ll usually wear quirkier outfits because I feel as though I have more freedom to wear whatever I like because individuals within this club generally dress in a similar fashion. I enjoy being in this environment because it encourages me to have freedom of expression and still maintain my gender identity.

I hope to retain the characteristics and values I have acquired from my family, and the experiences that have helped shape me to be the person I am today in defining my self-identity. In the future I see myself “doing gender” how I always have. With balance and an open mind.

Making the “abnormal”, normal

Controversial issues are like tacky pop songs. You hear it once, dislike it, and get annoyed because of the overplays. Then after a while the catchy tacky song gets stuck in your head for weeks, then you download it, and now it’s on your top 25 played songs on your iTunes Playlist forever.

Controversial issues operate in a similar fashion. You try to avoid it because it stirs issues, but once you’re aware of it you start to think about it more and more. Regardless of your opinion on any controversial issue, you are now exposed to it. You’re aware. And you’re thinking about it.

Movies, tv shows, blogs, music, etc. have extreme influence and impact on today’s society. Because it’s quick, accessible, entertaining, and visual; messages resonate with us on a daily basis. Within these media channels, exposure is everything and highly inevitable. Based on what we allow ourselves to be exposed to, it also shapes our morals and beliefs. For example, if you were to only watch FOX news for the rest of your life, then your viewpoint would become whatever FOX news feeds you. 

So essentially what I’m saying, is media is extremely powerful in conveying a mindset for individuals. Media can also help to bring controversial issues to light and awareness to the public. Even a hot topic like LGBT equality, have been frequent themes and are apparent in popular tv shows, and movies to encourage acceptance amongst the masses.

One example in specific I have in mind,has to deal with the Disney Channel. A television station primarily directed towards young children and tweens. Recently, the Disney Channel introduced their first openly gay couple characters that aired on ‘Good Luck Charlie’ on January 26th,2014. Featuring two mothers who’s daughter is invited over to the main characters house for a play date.

As stated on Huffington post, producers of the series explain, “the episode was developed to be relevant to kids and families around the world and to reflect themes of diversity and inclusiveness.” All I have to say about this is: you rock Disney Channel. Applause. Snaps. What have you. This is just what we as a growing society needs! The more that the media gets behind controversial issues, especially when it deals with equality, it’s a step in the right direction! By airing an episode like on “Good Luck Charlie”, it will be viewed by millions of people, exposing it to millions of people. Making millions of people, aware, conscientious, and thinking. Like I said earlier, the more we are exposed to an idea, the more we think about it. Making something more visible will help to resonate a message more affectively.

So when I read this article on Buzzfeed, I was honestly surprised because I recognize Disney Channel to be on the safe and almost conservative side as it’s main viewers are censored by a guardian. However, I’m extremely pleased and impressed. But of course there are haters. And views this character placement done by Disney, as “abnormal” and “wrong” because it’s outside the “norm”.

To get more of a spectrum on this controversial issue, I visited websites that offered an opposing view. Christian Post.com explains how the Conservative advocacy organization One Million Moms think this is an abomination done by Disney Channel. “Just because something may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct”…”Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda”. To put this delicately, but fuck you One Million Moms. You tried to get rid of Ellen when she was the face of the 2013 JC penny’s Campaign, but you were unsuccessful. So screw you, stop messing around with progress!

So what I’m trying to say here is that the more we (as the public) are presented with controversial issues in everyday media, the more we learn to accept it. THe more the “abnormal”, becomes the “norm”. We see this progress also demonstrated in movies as well. The recent and Academy Award Nominated film ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ introduces an HIV positive transgender character portrayed by Actor/Singer Jared Leto. Huffington post reports Jared Leto took home a golden globe for his performance. Not only did Leto execute this character affectively, but it also pushed boundaries and made light to the public on the troubles and obstacles transgenders face in everyday life. By giving a powerful and convincing performance, we as viewers are able to feel compassion for this character.

Just like the Disney Channel, I’m impressed with you Jared Leto. You took on the daunting task of portraying a controversial character in society. And you rocked it. You made me cry with your performance, but also made me understand what it would be like to be an outcast. To be hated by society just because you are a certain way, and “abnormal”. What I desire and hope for, is a society where there are no more constructed and assigned “norms”. That the “abnormal” becomes the normal. With the influence of media, we might just achieve more acceptance from the masses.

So my advice to anyone who is tickled by a controversial issue. Let the song play. Listen to it. Download it. And replay it over and over again.

Netsmart-Research

While developing my discussion post for ‘Netsmart”, I ended up actually spending quite alot of time searching for twitter and other social media articles to boost my argument on how it’s beneficial for an individual regarding network. I came across this hilarious article about a live twitter feed that happened over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/this-epic-note-passing-war-on-a-delayed-flight-wins-thanksgi

I found this source entertaining, since the individual was live tweeting about a feud on an airplane he had with another incompetent passenger. The tweets were satirical, well executed, and hilarious, thus gaining this individual a significant amount of support and recognition on twitter and social media as a whole. This exemplifies how one can affectively use social media for one’s advantage.

(Twitter Image from Elan Gale’s Twitter Feud)

Hipster- Research

While doing searching for articles pertaining to hipsters for our project 4, I came across something that I found humorous and interesting. Hopefully satirical (probably not), the wikihow “How to be a hipster” offers certain steps on how to achieve the facade of being a hipster. I say facade, because being a hipster isn’t something that one can buy, or practice, it’s an attitude. Therefore, stumbling across this “wikihow” was comical to me since it is giving readers a false perception of this culture.

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Hipster

 

Hipster-Research

While accumulating research for my Project 4, I stumbled upon some great blog entries online.

http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2013/01/10-albums-that-all-hipsters-love/

This pigeons and planes, ’15 albums that hipsters love’ not only provided me with entertainment since this subject interests me and I have a big love for some of the bands that were listed (Wilco and Radiohead), but it also established a better understanding of what this sub-culture prefers to listen to. I incorporated this list into my methodology findings in regards to establishing credibility for one of the pinterest boards that was being discussed.