Race, Gender and the Media: Week 8

I’ve never much cared for rap or music videos of any musical genre. I wasn’t surprised by what we watched in class, but it still makes me sick.

Thank God for the few and far between instances, like the TLC video. Too bad it’s not enough to break up the loud and blaring message girls get from society that drown them out. Parents have to be active in making sure their children get the correct message.

I’m glad mine were. I hope I’m able to get it across to my daughters, my little sister, and my niece and nephews. And any other children I come across.

Race, Gender and the Media: Week 7

“The More you Subtract, the More you Add,” freaked me out.

It’s amazing how I’ve been surrounded by ads like these my whole life, but never looked beneath the surface of “they’re using sex to sell.”

I’m so scared to raise two daughters in this society. And what’s even scarier, is that the U.S. probably has one of the least masogynistic societies in the world.

The British watch advertisement she talks about in this article? Makes me shudder.

Race, Gender and the Media: Week 6

I really enjoyed the class presentations. My favorite one was Ashley’s presentation about the gay club raids in the 60′s versus the ones in Fort Worth this last summer. I thought the differences between the coverage were a positive change, and show we’ve come a long way in a relatively short time.

Race, Gender and the Media: Week 5

Just by sheer coincidence, I happened to read the entire book, “Blink,” by Malcolm Gladwell last fall. I loved it. And this story about the auditions behind the curtain was one of my absolute favorites.

The whole dichotomy of the subconcious’ innerworkings is fascinating. It’s unbelievable to see how much of one’s thought process is ingrained by our socialization.

I think it would be really great if all job/school interviews and such were “behind the curtain,” if you will. People have subconcious leanings that are outside of their control. For example, non-Americanized, non-white names can be an immediate subconcious red flag for a potential employer.

People tend to pick things they can relate too. So what about having numbers on job applications rather than names? I know that in choosing doctors, when you don’t have much more than a name to go on, I go for American sounding names. Not because I’m consciously racist (I have got some serious white guilt) but because I just feel more comfortable with that choice.

Race, Gender and the Media: Week 4

The “Queen Bee” article has me thinking about why I myself sometimes feel sexist toward women. Both of these women must be intelligent and hard working, or they would not have made it as far as they did in this highly competitive industry. Contrary to popular belief, it does take more than a pretty face to make it in broadcast.

I know they had no control over what was written in the article itself, or how it was written, but they could easily have said, “look, I’m a professional and you will not portray me as a sexual object or put me in some silly, contrived pose.”

I’m angered by the fact that they allowed themselves to be photographed the way they were. I feel it is these actions (and in this context, this is one of the most minor violations women make) that make me have to work that much harder to gain respect from my male counterparts.

These stereotypes exist for a reason. It’s self fulfilling prophecy. And it drives me crazy. Women that are serious about being taken seriously have to break all kinds of ground and put up with all kinds of harrassment because of those who perpetuate the perception of females as vain, shallow sex objects, who are either dumb or manipulatively conniving.

If all women would step up and act like responsible and intelligent citizens of society, this problem would be quickly eradicated. You can only blame (white) men for so much. At some point, women (and minorities in similar situations) need to accept the cards they were dealt and take the responsibility upon themselves to break the cycle.