Mini Halloween Rant

Well, it’s that time of year again. So now I’m going to post my mini-rant on how terrible commercial Halloween costumes are for women.

It’s not that there are sexy women’s Halloween costumes on the market that’s the problem- it’s that the vast majority of them are “sexy”, even for young girls. Most of the worst offenders tend to fall into two categories- the “repurposed fetish wear”, which is basically a stripper costume- Sexy nurse, sexy angle, sexy police officer and so on- or something that should never bee made into a sexy outfit, like sexy Kermit, big bird, and bacon. Many of the costumes in the later category look like the same, one-shouldered cocktail dress with different prints on them, sometimes with some ruffs or accessories added for flavor.
Some costumes are innately stripper-like, such as cosplay costumes of characters who are canonically dressed in a "sexy" way. Conversely, some costumes should never be sexy, such as costumes for prepubescent girls.

Yes, you can make your own, not ridiculously sexy costume (which I do every year I need one), but it’s relatively expensive and takes time and skill. There’s also wearing a men’s costume, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Since the default for women’s costumes is always sexy, all the time, it's a reflection of a deeper problem. It says that women are only supposed to wear costumes for other people to oogle at, not because they want to.

Who to blame?

In the movie Orgasm we watched last class it seemed that the pharmaceutical companies were trying to put all the blame of sexual "dysfunction" on women. They only touched on the subject of sex being a unique experience for everyone. It takes two people to have it and if they are not on the same page non-equal pleasure will occur. Maybe its because women have been seen as below men but I find it hard to believe that no one even interviewed the males in the females lives in the movie, especially the woman who got the spinal surgery. Wouldn't her husband having something to say about it, or maybe he was too embarrassed to be interviewed? Either way I feel like as a society we still have the feeling that men can do no wrong. If a woman is having problems getting pleasured then it must be her fault not the man's. The companies, also the world, seems to always want to find a simple and quick fix to all their problems. When in reality anything worth it takes time. As the woman said at the end of the movie "I'm normal!" She realized that not having everything be perfect, like what she sees in the movies, is normal. More people need to see life like that and stop thinking that drugs will help every little problem. Because usually if a drug can fix one problem then the side effects create ten more.

Marina & the Diamonds

One of the most striking parts of Orgasm Inc. was the reactions to the before and after photos of women that got their vagina's reconstructed through plastic surgery. The quote that stuck with me was "they look like 12-yr-old girls." The ideal woman is one that is forever young, and it's scary that some parts of a woman are expected to look so young. 

This somehow reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Marina & the Diamonds! Her first album plays and critiques the idea of the "ideal woman" and misogyny in the world. "Girls" is a song in particular that does this, with one of the reoccurring lines "Girls are not meant to fight dirty, never look a day past thirty." We've discussed in class, especially after the Jean Kilbourne speech, how once a woman "passes her prime" when it comes to beauty, she is useless to society. Advertisements use this image of the ideal woman to sell anti-aging products to try to keep woman looking as youthful as possible. In Orgasm Inc., we see that this anti-aging craze has gotten to an even more incredible level with the option for woman to get their vagina's cosmetically fixed to look younger. 

One of the many reasons that I love Marina & the Diamonds so much is the feminism in her pop music. Her answer to how society wants her to act is that she is "not gonna bend over and curtsy for you." This type of subtle yet apparent feminism in pop music is exactly what I feel artists should be doing, especially when music is such an influential part of our culture. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O2W18RE6nI

Orgasm Inc.

This documentary was a lot different then I expected. I had absolutely no knowledge of anything relating to the sexual dysfunction of women, and to be perfectly honest I didn’t know it really existed. That sounds so terrible but it’s the truth and I think that speaks to the lack of attention and respect that this subject really deserves. Having to watch these women struggle with not being able to orgasm and attempting to correct this by taking such drastic measures was insane. One woman opted to have a surgery that placed a metal chord in her spine that was supposed to vibrate in order to cause sexual stimulation. Seeing this made me realize how easy it is to be a man sometimes. While both sexes can experience sexual dysfunction its pretty evident for males when this occurs. Since women don’t possess this particular type of anatomy they are often left confused as to what’s actually wrong. This then causes women to blame themselves and feel as though they’re broken or dysfunctional. I just think a more conscious effort towards helping women with sexual dysfunction so they know that just like men that its okay and can be treated. Overall this documentary connected with me on a level that I wasn’t expecting when we first turned it on.  

Female Masturbation

The viewing of the documentary, Orgasm Inc., really got me thinking. Why is it that females feel uncomfortable talking about masturbating? I noticed that in the documentary, some of the interviewees were bashfully giggling when it came to talking about achieving orgasm and masturbating. I find that the if female masturbation is brought up in conversation, the conversation usually does not last long and is very awkward. Why can we sit there and listen to guys talk about 'choking their chicken' for hours when us girls can't talk about 'flicking our bean'?! Because I am just a very silly, open person, I talk about masturbation frequently with my friends. My guy friends always think that it is awesome that I can talk about it comfortably; whereas, my girl friends find it so awkward and they blush. C'mon girls! We can do whatever we please to ourselves, own it! I hope that someday girls can open up more and own the fact that a vibrator can please them just as well as a man (or woman) can!

"Orgasm Inc."

I feel that the documentary "Orgasm Inc." can be related to many of the topics we have already disscussed in class. One related topic is the unrealistic depictions in the media. Movies and tv shows create new "norms" for sex, overexagerating and glamorizing it to the point that people have high, unrealistic standards for their own experiences. When their experiences do not always fit these impossible standards, they feel there is something wrong with them and they must purchase something fix them.
 "Orgasm Inc." also touches on the topic of the overmedication of the female body. Much like "The Buissness of Being Born", normal female body functions are being depicted as medical problems that therefore need medical solutions. By labeling Female Sexual Disfunction as a disease, women feel that they need medical intervention when really their issues can be solved through other means.

J.C. Penny's LGBT ad

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/j-c--penney-releases-father-s-day-ad-featuring-two-gay-dads.html

This past year J.C. Penny has gotten some flack for their fathers day ad of a real life gay couple hugging their two kids posted  up above. The ad said, "What makes Dad so cool? He's the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver -- all rolled into one. Or two." J.C. Penny has recently been trying to include the LBGT community in their marketing strategy. Some people are all for it and others are against it. In the link above there is an article written by Michael Krumboltz discussing the controversy between whether J.C. Penny's is using the LGBT community to show represent equality or to save their business. Lately J.C. Penny's sales have been dropping and some people believe that they used this ad to boost their sales. The fathers in this ad are obviously wearing J.C. Penny's clothing. So idea is by putting a happy gay family on the ad J.C. Penny's clothing will appeal to the LGBT community and sales will rise. In my opinion on the article is that whether they used the clothing/ad to boost their company, at least its being put out there. I would rather have the LGBT community be represented by clothing than not at all!

Skinny Minnie?

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/skinny-minnie-mouse-inspires-petition-194641110.html

The above article talks about a new advertisement that Barney's of New York is planning on doing for the holiday season. The ad features Minnie Mouse who fantasizes about becoming a runway model and is transformed (in her dream) into a 5'7" size 0 in order to "look good" in a designer dress and sport it (along with other beloved classic Disney characters) down the Paris runway.

On one hand, the ad could be seen as an innocent, silly thing considering Minnie is dreaming and most runway models really are that size. It is even mentioned that Minnie's dream sequence only lasts a few seconds, and when she wakes up she is her normal size, still wearing the designer dress. On the other hand, it is buying into this beauty standard that we have in the US that being overly skinny is sexy when, really, it's unhealthy. The creative director for Barney's even admitted that Minnie's standard size didn't look good walking down the runway in the dress, so they decided to change her.

There are already plenty of images that surround us on a daily basis, and the media and advertising do a pretty good job with making us feel inadequate. Using a Disney character makes this all the worse since it is targeting young people and showing them that- even if you are well known and loved by many- you are not pretty enough (ie not good enough) unless you are a size 0. That's unhealthy and unrealistic. These companies really need to think about these effects when they are sitting around their board rooms, discussing ways to make more money. What may seem fun and innocent to them could have long term implications on someone else.

Orgasmatron

     Orgasm Inc. was a very interesting film we watched in class that covered topics like "female sexual dysfunction" in which a woman is unable to reach their climax during sexual intercourse, and the drugs on the market that "can fix these problems".Viagra is intended for male consumption and is more a placebo or sugar pill to a female body. Certain creams and testosterone patches were offered to women, as well as genital surgery like clitoral hood reduction which can ultimately lead a woman's genitals to a bloody mess and overall chronic pain. What psychologists and sex specialists want is less marketing and more research, a ton of the products on the market for boosting women's pleasure have unknown side effects for the future. A professional in the film had spoke firmly that, "If you say no to drugs, you'll be saying yes to so much more". I do agree that drugs and surgery are extremely unnatural and unnecessary unless there is a serious problem with the body, and people should try to avoid taking these routes. Often these unexplored sex drugs catered to women have women feeling there's a problem with their average bodily functions, and are just new ways for businesses to make money. Many years ago when women would go to their doctor's with hysteria, they understood the stress in lives of women, raising children in their homes and trying to live up to their never ending "standards", they knew exactly what a women needed, which was simply some "vibration" in their genitals.
     I thoroughly respect the importance of reaching orgasm for both genders, equally. I literally believe masturbation can soften the rough blows of depression. Anyway, in the film they mentioned something called the orgasmatron which is a device implanted into the spine capable of triggering an orgasm. In Woody Allen's Sleeper from 1973, he created a machine called the orgasmatron in his fictional future society of 2173. It is a large cylinder big enough to contain one or two people, and once entered, in a matter of seconds it rapidly induces an orgasm. In this film it was required for all the people to have this technology, as everyone in the future is impotent. It's amusing watching people step in and step out of the machine satisfied and move on with their lives. If only this machine were a reality, I think the world would be a much more healthy, happy place, but a lazy one too!

Offensive Advertising and Commericals

Well watching television with my roommate, a commercial really caught my attention. The commercial was followed a male and as he tried to pick up girls. All the women he went after seemed to disappear because of his dandruff issue. Once he found his handy dandy Axe anti-dandruff shampoo, all of the girls who had previously disappeared, flocked to him after he exited his shower. The end slogan to conclude this commercial was, "Lose the flakes, Get the Girls". If this wasn't bad enough the girls looked entranced by his newly found scalp. Here is the link if you want a closer look:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTTE4heSQ9w

After watching this commercial I was appalled at how the advertising world has become. This commercial is stating to boys that as long as your scalp is moisturized, the girls will come to you. Not only does this make women look simple minded but this even is offensive to men. This commercial is basically stating that if you have a dry scalp, you can forget talking to any women in general. This ad is also stating that having a dry scalp is something you should be embarrssed about. I made a sound of disgust after the commercial ended, realizing all of the injustices that just played not only in front of my eyes but also in front of the world's eyes. My roommate questioned me with a, "What?" It became known to me that since she is not in any Women's Studies courses, she does not understand the way women are sexualized and downgraded through the works of advertisements. This commercial was so normal to her that she did not even raise an eyebrow to the television. That is some injustice right there.

Take Back the Night and other womens rights

I went to this event held on the Fredonia campus mostly because I was highly disturbed about the girl Alexandra Kogut who was murdered by her 21 year old boyfriend on Brockport campus.  Here is the link to the story : (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57523353-504083/alexandra-kogut-murder-boyfriend-charged-in-beating-death-of-suny-brockport-college-student/)

We have discussed in class how violence toward women undermines women in society. It is a fight that is never ending but has seen a lot of progress. I went to this event and was very humbled and saddened at the walk at the end. This walk was in a way dedicated to this young girl who lost her life to violence.

This brings me to another issue I am worried about. This is not the only women experiencing violence. Women are being undermined all around the country. Men think they have a right to decide what happens with women's reproductive rights. Well the truth is they shouldn't. We have discussed in class what might happen if women were to lose the right to abortions and birth control. History shows that this turns into violence, women getting abortions the wrong way. History also shows that this would put women at a disadvantage educationally. The President discussed educational rights for women in the Middle East in the final debate and I think it applies to us as well. He said if women aren't learning than a country only has half of its potential. Well if women are stuck at home having babies they often times aren't going to school. Where will our country be if we allow this to happen, especially in our current economic crisis.

SVU episode by Kate Rapp

Last night I was watching Law and Order:Special Victims Unit before going to bed, and usually I love every episode but as I was watching last night I wanted to throw a hammer at my television. It was a special episode with Kathy Griffin, who is a well known comedian that supports all the people in the "alphabet soup." But I was offended last night in watching her act as a radical lesbian feminist. So the plot of the show was that there was is rapist in the area who is only targeting lesbians, so as the detectives are investigating this they are introduced to a blogger who rallies up protests and is very extreme in her thinking, this character is played by Kathy Griffin. She was a big target for the rapist and after the raper made a direct threat to her the detectives stayed with her for her protection. So while Olivia, the female detective, was with her Griffin's character made moves on her. Griffin's character assumed that Olivia was a lesbian because of her job and because she wasn't married. And when I say she made moves on Olivia she literally went up and tried making out with her, making Griffin's lesbian character hypersexulaized. And this wasn't the only time that the writers had her make awkward sexual comments when in a professional setting. A normal person, regardless of sexual orientation, would never make comments and actions like these. Just because the character on the show is a feminist lesbian doesn't make her more sexual, and honestly people watching who are ignorant to lesbians are probably really freaked out now and have developed a stigma. In the show they also created a character who was what would be considered a "butch" lesbian. This character dressed in all cargo clothes and had her hair tied back and had an extreme angry problem. I know that during the pride panel we talked about shows like these and how they would rather be represented then not, but this episode took the stereotypes too far for me. I'm really surprised that Kathy Griffin took on this role, because she should know more than anyone that these stereotypes do not help the gay community at all. My roommate who doesn't have that much exposure to any gay people stated after watching the episode "See, that's why I always get nervous when I'm around lesbians, they're gonna try to kiss me and that's not what I want- They always assume people are gay and I'm not." After I talked to her about how that is not true and how screwed up this episode was, she still didn't understand and stuck to her attitude towards lesbians. This particular show made me so angry because it had so much of an impact on my roommates attitude in the negative direction. I think shows like these are not helping the LGBTQIPA community at all.

.................wut