Online Activism- Feminism Fights Back With Hashtags

If social media does one thing, it provides a platform in which various groups and people and get their message out there for people to see. Many social media campaigns have rocked our world the past couple of years, the biggest possible being #BlackLivesMatter. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, multicultural groups often utilize Twitter and other social media to make their voices known. One movement that often engage in online activism is the Feminist movement. 

So, what exactly is activism? Activism is an intentional action to bring about social and political change. activism and advocacy are similar in nature (Steele, 2016). Often, activism takes place in waves online. 

So, let's talk about two feminist hashtags that took over Twitter to bring about social and policitcal change. 

• #RedMyLips

This hashtag is named after a campaign that was started Danielle Tansino in 2012. She started this hashtag movement after she was sexually assaulted while she was drunk. Her case was never taken to court because she was told that "jurors don't like drunk girls". This campaign became an outlet for survivors that are blamed for their sexual assault. Assault is NEVER the victim's fault. 

I felt this was appropriate to touch on since April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. 

To view the campaign's website, click here.

• #FreeTheFive

This campaign swept social media after 5 Chinese girls that protested domestic violence in blood spattered wedding gowns were arrested in 2015. Their arrest soon led to outrage all over the world, and even led to grassroots protests. 

A feminist Chinese blogger even told the New York Times: "I think we can call them the first modern, independent, feminist, grassroots actors in Chinese history," 

Here is some examples of Tweets: 

All they wanted to do was help women's rights on #IWD2015. Protest isn't a crime. #FreeTheFive 

http://amn.st/60144eGO

翌日の抗議活動の準備中。
香港から。
RT"@Anon_Snufkin: making preparations for tomorrow#FreeTheFive solidarity protest in #HongKong"

These are just two campaigns out of the many. To find more feminist online campaigns, click here. 

Other examples are #OlderWomenVoices, #RapeCultureIsWhen, and #EverydaySexism. 

Online activism is important for multiple groups. For feminists in particular, it gives them a platform to discuss and expose what women go through that the larger population may not even realize. In the #FreeTheFive example, it provided world solidarity for girls that were merely standing up against domestic abuse. 

In Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, he says that the internet age has provided people with a way to easily gather for a cause. This is evident in the numerous Twitter campaigns that have taken place. However, Shirky also admits that though online activism gives groups a way to mobilize and say their opinion, people don't do anything about the causes in which they are fighting for. 

Now, I have heard this argument before. That all we do is tweet, but we don't actually do anything about it. I think people don't give online activism enough credit. There has been many instances when I found out about an issue merely from social media that I would have never seen on the news. 

All the things I have talked about before: power, stereotypes, privilege. These are things that are continuously exposed through social media. Can we do more that tweet? Of course. We can always do more. 

However, educating the masses and bringing attention to these social problems is a good first step. 

#FreeKesha-The Use of Twitter to Create Discussion and Sympathy

Recently, pop star Kesha took her producer Dr. Luke to trial with allegations that he was emotionally, verbally, and sexually abusive towards her while they worked together. Kesha, famous for her many hit singles, fought the good fight in a recent legal battle. Dr. Luke has worked with many other celebrities, and is responsible for a lot of pop hits that have come out over the years.

However, the judge did not rule in Kesha's favor, and ruled to have her keep her contact with Dr. Luke and Sony. Here is a picture of her reaction:

This decision erupted in a advocacy campaign on Twitter in which many other female celebrities showed their support for Kesha. Lady Gaga, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, and Kelly Clarkson were just a couple of celebrities that showed their support for Kesha, along with thousands of fans. The hashtag #freekesha was used. 

Here are a couple of examples of tweets supporting the singer: 

Lady Gaga wrote: “There are people all over the world who love you @KeshaRose. And I can say truly I am in awe of your bravery.” 

the fact that kesha has to choose to either freely make music or avoid the person who abused her is outrageous and degrading#freekesha

If you don't see why this Kesha issue is a big deal, you're part of the problem. This is exactly why I speak up the way I do#FreeKesha

Demi Lavato

#FreeKesha  this is only gonna make you stronger, you brave and beautiful girl. Prayers are with you@KeshaRose

This case tragically demonstrated how sexual assault cases are still handled horribly in the U.S, and showed a high profile case of the Justice System failing yet another survivor of abuse.

This case also displays that rape culture is still prominent in our patriarchal society, a society in which, in this case, privilege allowed for excuses and deniability. 

The hashtag feature like this has been used to call attention and create discourse for countless other social problems as well. Sarah Florini has studied how "Black Twitter" often uses hashtags to "signify" and call out in justices on Twitter. Examples of these include #staymadAbby and #ferguson. 

The hashtag feature is extremely important in creating a dialogue on social media. Social media affords the multicultural public a platform in which to show their thoughts on an issue. Twitter is a powerful tool, because it has 560 million active users that tweet 5,700 tweets a second (Steele, 2016). 

Over the years, I have witnessed great uses of social media to call out on issue. I have even participated in a couple myself, feeling as if I have a way to actually get out my frustrations. This is what makes social media so important. It offers us a way to engage in the problems we see fit. 

Dove and Advertising

I usually never watch ads when I am on Youtube. However, when a Dove commercial comes on, I be sure to watch it the whole way through. This is because Dove is absolutely brilliant when appealing to women and gender issues.

Whenever I see a Dove commercial, I immediately want to go out and buy every Dove product I can get my hands on. As a young woman, I think Dove knows how to appeal to an audience that uses their product the most: women. I know this because they appeal to me, and are some of the best advertising I have seen

What exactly is advertising? It is a from of media with a goal of selling and consumption of products. (Wilson, Marketing and Advertising).

Dove commercials evaluate beauty norms and what it means to be beautiful. Dove is also the only company I have seen on television that discusses what it means to be a young girl or woman in our society.

In this commercial, women from all over the world choose whether or not to define themselves as average or beautiful by walking through two door ways. Most of the women start out walking through the Average door, and they talk about why they chose that, some saying that they didn't even have to hesitate. Another woman says that she didn't know if she chose Average because of what has been told to her, or what is constantly bombarded at her. Another women even says that beautiful is too far out of reach for her. As the commercial comes to a close, these woman start to make the choice to choose beautiful.

The commercial is called "Women from all over the world make a choice"

What I like most about this commercial is that not only does it represent real struggles of women, but women of many different cultures under one common problem: how women see ourselves.

In multicultural media, underrepresented groups connect more to brands that acknowledge their struggles in their advertising (Dr. Steele, 2016). This is one reason why Dove is brilliant, because it obviously knows what it is doing: appealing to women of all cultures and backgrounds, and acknowledging that we all face certain struggles as women.

Media scholars Blumler and Katz coined the uses and gratifications theory when it comes to media use. This theory suggests that we have an active role in seeking out media, and media that appeals to us emotionally, socially or psychologically. It also suggests that us as media user are goal-oriented (Dr. Steele, 2016). This fits in pretty well with Dove's advertising as well.

This commercial particularity appeals to me because it shows what women deal with socially and emotionally. Most women do struggle with the way we perceive ourselves, which is what this commercial is aiming at. Dove has many other commercials that will tug at your heart strings.

I think in a consumer driven world, it is nice to have commercials that make you think.

South Park-Society's Views on Sexual Crimes is Not "Niiiice."

I'm pretty sure I have loved South Park my whole life. No, really I have. The show has been on as long as I have been alive almost, and I remember when I was young laughing at it with my dad. 

However, as I grew up, South Park started to make a lot more sense to me. I started to actually get the joke. It became a space for me to laugh at all the things I found stupid in society, because that is what South Park does best.

 One thing about South Park is that they make fun of everything, and they don't hold back. 

Take this clip. I remember when I first saw this episode. It is an an episode about Ike, the main character Kyle's younger brother, who is having a sexual relationship with his female teacher. I remember this episode came out during a lot of high profile cases of teacher and student relationships were all over the media, because South Park tends to be pretty timely. The only one that cares about the fact that his brother is getting taken advantage of his Kyle. 

In this clip, Kyle attempts to go to the police to report the crime. The cops freak out when they think it is a guy teacher having sex with a girl, but when they find out it is the "hot kindergarten teacher" and the victim is a boy, they immediately don't care. They begin to play the crime off as a joke. 

This is of course outrageous. 

When I first saw this, I remember thinking "That is genius." South Park is obviously making fun of how society sees sexual assault when the perpetrator is a woman, and the victim is a male. Society's stigma on male sexual assault victims is often a negative one. 

This is what South Park does best. Sometimes it is overtly funny, while other times there is a deeper meaning to the joke. This make sit my favorite satire on television. What is satire? According to literarydevices.net, it is technique used by writers to show foolishness about an individual or society. 

There are two types of satire: horatian and juvenalian. Horatian satire is more gentle, while juvenalian is bitter, angry, and contempt (Steele, 2016). I would argue that South park is a juvenalian satire, because it often presents its arguments in very controversial ways. 

Satire employs four techniques to get its point across (Steele, 2016). These four techniques are: 

• Parody- to imitate certain aspects of person or society
• Reversal- to present the opposite of the normal order 
• Incongruity- present things that are out of touch with their surroundings 
• Exaggeration- to enlarge something enough so that its fault can be seen 

In this particular clip, I would argue that South Park used reversal and exaggeration to get their point across. That is because they put the cops in the opposite of how they should react to a crime, and make them act like complete idiots, basically. 

In this clip, South Park is following the "golden rule" of satire. What is the golden rule? Always "punch up" towards those people or ideas that hold power (Steele, 2016). In this case, they are punching up at a justice system and society that has certain schema about male sexual assault victims, and female perpetrators. 

I think South Park typically does a good job of pointing out faults in our society. Though sometimes they go too far, often they have something to take away from an episode. 

Deadpool is a Different Kind of Comic Hero, for Many Reasons

I have recently become a big fan of Deadpool. I got my first Deadpool comic book for Christmas this past year, and loved the movie that came out back in February. He is easily now in my top three Marvel hero favorites, along with Iron Man and Spider-Man, of course.

For those of you that don't know Deadpool, he is technically an anti-hero. He is a mercenary, often called "The Merc With the Mouth". He talks a lot, and works for money. He is also insane, but has his moments of clarity. He often switches sides, helps other heroes to do more good than bad. His most notable team-ups are withe The X-Men, Thor, Spider-Man, and Cable. Deadpool also frequently breaks the fourth wall. He knows he is in a comic book in the Marvel universe.

Deadpool's origin story is actually rather tragic. His childhood changes depending on what comic you read, but no version is a good one. As a young man, he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He leaves the love of his life. Vanessa, and becomes an experiment with Weapon X, the same people that made Wolverine, in hopes of getting a cure to his cancer. He goes through terrible torture that leaves him permanently scarred all over his body. After he is almost killed, his healing factor kicks in that makes him pretty much immortal, unable to be killed easily. There is of course more to the story. If you are interested google him, or read a comic, because they are pretty great.

Deadpool is fascinating for many reasons. He represents a lot of marginalized groups. What do I mean when I say marginalized groups? According to encylopedia.com, these are groups that are often pushed to the outside of society, and kept there.

Firstly he is disabled, both mentally and physically. Deadpool has tried to kill himself many times in the comics, yet his healing factor always brings him back. He has severe PTSD, depression, and often talks to voices in his head in the comics, eluding to the fact that he is Schizophrenic. These voices often appear as Yellow or White boxes in the comics.



Physically, he is scarred and deformed, and even faces discrimination and bullying at times, something that many disabled people face.

 He also is the victim of rape at the hands of Typhoid Mary in his earlier comics. It is rather uncommon when light is shown on male victims or rape in general, even less so at the hands of a women. The fact that Marvel tackles tough issues such as sexual violence is important, because this shows that even heroes face the same problems many people do. For triggering purposes, I will not put up the comic strip that deal with Deadpool facing his assault. It's rather heartbreaking.

However, seeing that this is a blog about gender and sexuality, I'm going to talk about just that: Deadpool's sexuality. Deadpool has been confirmed Pansexual. What is pansexuality? It's the sexual, emotional, or romantic love towards those of any sex or gender identity, according to stophomophobia.com On top of the marginalized groups that he can relate to before, this is another one.

Deadpool has never had any romantic relationships with anyone other than the opposite gender, but he often shows attraction towards other male heroes and pretty much anyone he finds attractive. Here is a couple comic strips detailing what I am talking about.

 

This is a real variant comic cover, by the way. 

There is a lot more where this came from. I guess what makes Deadpool's sexuality interesting is that he is in a typically hetero normative universe. Hetero normative societies promote heterosexuality over other forms of sexual orientations. Let's face it, straight relationships and damsels in distress often make up the core of other heroes' stories. Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy anyone?

We have not seen a queer Marvel character come to the big screen until Deadpool. However, those that have only seen the movie may have not noticed his sexuality, and the movie has gotten a lot of negative flack for that. People obviously enjoy Marvel movies, but don't read comics. I would suggest that in the next Deadpool movie we see some evidence of Deadpool's sexuality in order to bring attention to this part of Deadpool that makes him different. Ryan Reynolds, mastermind behind the Deadpool movie, even said that he would like Deadpool to have a boyfriend in the second movie!

There are not a lot of queer characters in the Marvel universe, and the fact that he can appeal to so many different kinds of people is what makes him different. I think Marvel knows that it needs to do to appeal to more people, and this is a great way to do just that.

Long story short, Deadpool is the best.

The Most Powerful Women in Video Games

Today, I had the pleasure to attend a free lecture by Bonnie Ross. She is a video game leader of the popular franchise Halo, and the Corporate Vice President of 343 Industries and Microsoft Corporation.

This lecture was appealing to me for many reasons. Firstly, she graduated in my major. I admit I was interested in hearing her story. Secondly, the lecture interested me because she is a powerful women in a heavily male dominated industry.

The lecture was interesting for many reasons. One part that amazed me was when she compared graphics from Halo 2 to Halo 2: Anniversary. She explained how motion capture has made an awesome difference in the way graphics can be achieved, and how better graphics enhances storytelling. She also explained how user generated content and empowering the player has become an essential part of Halo.

However, the most important part to me was when she explained her challenges of being a women in the field. She had some statistics about women as well. 43% of people that play video games are female. Only 18% of women go into Computer Science or Information  Science. This is actually down from 35% in 1985.

Also, technology is a great background to have. By 2018, the U.S. will have 1.4 million new jobs in the tech field, and only 61% of those jobs will be filled.

Ross laid out three obstacles that can get in the way of women pursing technology degrees. These three obstacles are:

• Lack of Support
• Lack of Exposure
• Lack of Understanding 

She explained how these obstacles played a part in her life. She didn't have a problem with lack of exposure. She started off as a Engineering major, and had full support of her father who was also an engineer. She soon found it hard in a male dominated major to find people to study with, except for the one other girl student that she knew. That is where lack of support came in. Lack of understanding followed when she couldn't figure out what to do with an engineering major, so she switched to Technical Communication. She stared off with an internship at IBM, and worked her way to where she is today. She also discussed how hard it was beginning at Microsoft as a women, but how he liking of sports helped her bond with her male coworkers.

I felt elated after hearing her talk, mostly for selfish reasons. I often feel behind in my major. I didn't have a computer until I was 14, so the technical parts of my major often make me feel very intimidated. However, after hearing her talk I feel more confident than ever.

Also, the fact that she is a woman that has accomplished so much was very inspiring. I think this is more so because she climbed her way to the top in a very male dominated business, and that is an accomplishment worthy of taking notice.

I feel that in a patriarchal society, or a male-dominated society, young girls are often denied the privilege of being told we can be scientists, doctors, and engineers. I know I was never told I could be these things, but I should be a teacher or a nurse instead. I know if I ever have a daughter, I will be sure to tell her she can be anything. 

Now I think I'll go play some Halo.

The Media's Use of the Oppression of Women to Perpetuate Hatred of Islam and Fear of Sharia Law

One thing I have noticed over the years is the news media's love of using the oppression of women in Islamic countries to perpetuate an anti-Islam agenda. If you don't know what an agenda is, it is the media's ability to influence the way the public views an issue.

There is no doubt that women in certain regions of the world face terrible odds compared to their male counterparts. I know that I am very lucky to live in a country where I as a female can have access to education and many other rights.

However, people love to use the oppression of women in Islamic countries to hate Islam as a whole, and perpetuate the idea that everyone should hate Islam too.

Recently, I watched a CNN special called Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door. The special focuses on conflict that arises in a small Tennessee town over the proposed building of an Islamic community center and mosque. No surprise, the oppression of women is used as an excuse to lead a force against the Muslims in this town. To see the part in which I am talking about, skip to 31:25 in the video.

I have seen this as well in the news media, which has really never been kind on reporting on Islams or Muslims in general. However, oppression of women is constantly used to perpetuate fear of a religion and Sharia law.

What is Sharia Law? It is a system of laws that govern civil and criminal law based on the Quran, according to duhaime.org Legal Dictionary.

Take this Hannity panel on Fox News. On this panel, five men debate on whether or not Islam is truly a religion of peace. Eventually, Hannity mentions the oppression and abuse of women in countries under Sharia Law, saying that Christians have never interpreted the Bible so literally as to kill and abuse women and gays.

To view it click here.

Eventually, Hannity asks "Is Sharia often used to oppress women and minorities?" One member of the panel comes back that it depends on the place and interpretation, which is also what the expert in the CNN special I mentioned above says as well. Some Sharia Law is interpreted as progressive towards woman, others are not. It is interpreted differently depending on where you are at.

I guess my problem with the news media is they love to throw around "Islam" and "Muslims" like everyone under this group is the same. Islam is one of the big three religions with millions of followers around the world. Literally anyone can follow Islam.

Researchers Omi and Winant coined the term Respectable Racism when referring to Arabs and Muslims on T.V, and found certain themes are associated with this group on T.V. One of these themes is an "Us. versus Them" narrative, which is often present in news media. Often, it is Americans versus Islam or Muslims. The term Muslim is also conflated to fit this narrative, though as I mentioned before anyone can be Muslim.

Do women in the certain areas of the Middle East face oppression? Of course. In Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive or leave their houses without male supervision. However, that is Saudi Arabia, one country among many that have large Muslim populations. That doesn't mean we should use that as an excuse to hate a religion.

Not all Muslim women are oppressed, and Sharia Law is different for everyone in different places. Women historically and now face terrible odds all over the world under many religions, not just Islam. Instead of looking at it as a religious issue, we should look at it as a human rights and gender equality issue.

The point is every religion has its extremists that take holy books too seriously.It's when we get the idea to put every person that belongs to that religion under one umbrella, and attach a stereotype to them, that it becomes problematic.

I found this video interesting as well. In it, a Muslim community leader replies to a Bill O' Reilly segment on the issue. In it, the community leader explains passages from the Quran and how every religion has its extremists when it comes to women.

Take a look:

The Middle and the Representation of the Working Class in Sitcoms

I would like to start off this post by saying I love The Middle. I have watched this show on and off again since high school, and I can say that it is one of my favorite shows, as far as sitcoms go.

If you don't know what The Middle is about, it is pretty simple. The show revolves around The Hecks, a working class Indiana family and the various parts of their family lives.

Mike and Frankie are the parents, and Axel, Sue, and Brick are the children. Mike works for a construction company, and Frankie often has on and off again jobs. These two parents do whatever they can to support their children and make their goals a reality.

However, after recently watching the documentary Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class, I began to associate a lot of what the documentary had to one of my favorite sitcoms, The Middle.

The documentary pointed out five typical ways in which the working class is framed in the media. These frames are:

• Seen has buffoonish of they attempt to move out of their class
• Often need makeovers if they want to move up 
• working class men are depicted as unintelligent or weak, loving beer and sports 
• not interested in politics
• poor work ethic and no leadership skills, dysfunctional family values

A couple of these made me think of the Hecks. The one that stood out to me is the unintelligible beer-loving father figure. I immediately thought of Mike Heck. Though he is a very loving and hard-working dad, he has his moments when he is uncaring, especially when beer or sports are around. Take this clip of when him and Frankie got the wrong baby Brick at the hospital when Mike is so caught up in a football game, he brings back the wrong baby. 

The next one that hit me was the dysfunctional family values frame. Now, I would argue that most families are pretty dysfunctional, so a lot of people could relate to this. However, dysfunctional family makes up a large part of Heck life, especially with interactions between the kids. Mike and Frankie are always trying to do something to make their kids get along. This is seen in numerous clips like this one where Frankie is explains why her kids can't stand each other around Christmas time: 

Or this one where Frankie tells Mike, beer in hand, that he is a lazy parent. When she tries to go out and play with the kids, she is also lazy, and ends up loosing her patience and getting knocked out by a football:

I could add many more clips, but I think you get the point. Middle class families are framed in specific way in the media more often than not. Often these portrayals are the opposite of the class that makes up the bulk of American society. 

However, this show is called The Middle, so a working middle class family and the struggles that they endure makes since for a show of this type. However, the fact that middle class families are depicted with these characteristics across the board is interesting. Think about your favorite sitcom, and see if these apply. 

Fox News Shouldn't Try To Talk About Women...Or Try Harder

I love The Young Turks. This Youtube channel does a fantastic job of critiquing various media clips from different news sources.

In this clip, they critique a Fox news clip of a panel discussing a Pew Study that found American society is shifting to women becoming the breadwinners in family households, and that has had a negative effect on children and marriage.

The Fox news clip starts off with Fox anchor Lou Dobbs introducing the topic of women becoming breadwinners in America, and refers to this as "concerning" and "troubling". The Fox lip then goes to another corespondent talking about the fact that something is going wrong in American society, and our children are doomed.

Another Fox correspondent goes on to talk about that fact that conservatives know science too, and uses that fact that males are dominant in the animal kingdom. Since males are dominate in the natural world, we are letting our society go to shambles.

This is obviously wrong. Roles of male and females vary by species. The Young Turks use many examples such as the Praying Mantis and Penguins. Female Praying Mantis often kill males after mating, and female Penguins are the ones that go out to get food, while the male penguin stays with the egg.

The first thing that I noticed about this Fox clip was the fact that this panel is made up of all dudes. Not one women is there to defend females' roles in society.

Besides the complete under-representation of women on this panel, I would also like to discuss the way the issue is framed.

The Young Turks mention framing in the beginning by talking about the way Lou Dobbs framed the issue by referring to the Pew Study findings as terrible. Right off the bat he framed the issue before even going into the panel.

So, what is framing and why does it matter? Framing is the selection of certain aspects of an issue and making them more prevalent. According to Robert Entman, framing can consists of four things, but not all. Those four things are: promotion of a problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation.

This Fox News clip included all of these, but I would like to focus on the part that the Young Turks mention, which is the way that the problem is defined right off the bat by using words like "concerning" and "troubling". He really didn't need to describe the issue in this way, bu the did, framing it in a away that set up the issue for the audience.

Framing maters because it shapes the way people view issues, and how those issues are talked about by the masses. If the public only sees frames put on by a certain mass media, that shapes the way views understand and attempt to resolve problems. It also is powerful in shaping opinions of people.

In a perfect world, the media would report on issues with dignity, but in Journalism the audience matters. News channels will frame issues in a way that they know their audience will agree with,

If I had a say, I would recommend stations report and practice Journalism the way it should be: with integrity. However, that would be a perfect world.

The Daily Show Critiques Coverage of Planned Parenthood Shootings

When I saw this clip, I thought it was genius. Of course, most content produced by The Daily Show is. 

In this clip, Trevor Noah explains how the coverage of the shooting at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood was flawed. The shooting left three people dead, including a police officer. 

I would like to start by saying that this is not a pro-life or pro choice discussion. I am choosing to do this topic because Planned Parenthood provides important services to women, and the way the shooting was covered was simply interesting to me. 

To put this incident into context, this incident happened during a time when politicians have been spewing hate rhetoric after videos were released of Planned Parenthood selling fetus tissue. Those videos were soon found to be fake. The debate to de-fund Planned Parenthood is still ongoing. 

However, that is a different conversation. I appreciate this clip because it discusses the exact same thing I was thinking: why was the media scared to call this shooting domestic terrorism? This was an attack with ideological violence behind it. He even said during the attack "no more baby parts", a reference of the fake videos I mentioned earlier. 

The answer is simple: because he was white. Priming is a powerful tool in journalism. Priming is the fact that the media sets the stage on an issue, and how the audience understand said issue. 

According to a study done by Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. and Shanto Iyengar, the media often resorts to race when reporting on crime, and this has a large impact on the way a crime is viewed. 

In this clip, Trevor Noah shows many clips of various media outlets debating if this was terrorism. One of the clips makes the point that if the shooter was Arab, journalists would report it as terrorism, and this is true. If the shooter had been a minority, this crime would have been reported on way differently. Let's just admit it. 

I agree with what Trevor Noah says in this clip. If we have to ask to call an attack terrorism, how about we just call it terrorism. 

That's So Raven educates about Privilege

When I was a kid, I loved the show That's So Raven. The show about a teenage psychic girl and her friends. For those that are around my age now, so early twenties, you remember this show as well.

Recently, this episode came to my mind. I remember this episode well. It is one of the many episodes that attempted to teach young people about various social problems. In this clip that I found from the episode, Raven has a psychic vision that she did not get a job because the manger does not hire black people. She spends the beginning talking to with her friends about racism. She sends her friend Chelsea, who happens to be white, to apply and she get the job. Chelsea, who is white, gets the job and wears a hat with a hidden camera. Raven then dresses as an older man shopping in the store, and the manger tells Chelsea to follow her around while she shops. Towards the end, she tells Chelsea that she does not hire black people, and Raven and her friends end up exposing the discrimination in the store.

To view the clip click here.

This clip came to my mind because recently I have become familiar with the term privilege. The term privilege in this sense is a special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste. Those that are privileged are often unaware.

This system acts as a detriment to non-dominant groups that have not historically or traditionally had access to the dominant culture's institutions. Privilege can come in many forms, including white, male, and able-bodied privilege. For this post, I am focusing on white privilege.

I also want to make it clear that this does not mean white people do not experience troubles in life. This term means that systematically and socially white people experience privileges that minorities do not.

In the reading White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack by Peggy McIntosh, she lists numerous aspects of privilege that whites carry around with them and use in everyday life, but are often unaware of these tools. One of these tools she "unpacks" is the fact that she, as a white female, can often go shopping alone without being followed or harassed while in a store.

Upon blatant acts of discrimination and racism, this episode of That's So Raven obviously displays this when the manager asks Chelsea to follow Raven around the store while she is shopping. I have also witnessed this many times in my life. I remember my Latina friend feeling very uncomfortable once when we were shopping because an employee decided to follow her.

I, as a white girl, have never had this happen to me. This in itself is a privilege that I was never aware of until I became educated on this concept.

However, I realize now that this one episode of one of my favorite childhood shows attempted to educate me on this fact of life way before higher education did. I appreciate the fact that I grew up on shows that called out the problems with society, instead of trying to cover them. I think more shows should aim for this as well.

As white people, Peggy McIntosh calls that we must understand our privilege instead of denying it, and use it to change the way the system operates. I think my generation has hope in doing this, because we are realizing and becoming educated at a rate faster than any generation before us.

So the next time someone asks you to "check your privilege", don't become defensive. Instead start a conversation. Try to understand. Understanding and education is the key to change,

I realize this post is not as much about gender, but it is about show that, as a young girl, I really admired. Raven is a character that often stoodd up for what she believes in. In one episode, she also stands up to body shaming. She is as character that I was happy to grow up with.

Stereotypes and Prejudice of the Gay Male as Seen in Braveheart

The other night I was bored. There was nothing on T.V, so my roommate and I decided to watch some show about celebrity scandals. We watched episodes about Robert Downey Jr. and Sean Penn. Riveting stuff, really. Naturally, one episode came on about Mel Gibson. For most of us that can remember his fall from fame, we know how controversial he became. He has been accused of being anti-Semitic and sexist. Homophobic also has been added to his character traits.

This news isn't new, of course. No one could escape his scandals as they were happening. Watching the show describe the controversy around Passion of the Christ was no news to me. I remember that well.

The one thing that I learned from this show was something I already knew. What I mean is the controversy surrounding one of Mel Gibson's most successful films: Braveheart, I have seen this movie multiple times. It's violent but riveting. One thing this bad celebrity show revealed to me was that Braveheart was also homophobic. This was a fact that I had seen, but never even noticed.

The show talked about how GLAAD, one of the most prominent gay rights groups, took large issue at the depiction of Prince Edward the II, and the scene where his lover is thrown out the window by his father. Suddenly, it clicked in my head.

First, lets start with how Mel Gibson, the director of the movie, decided to depict Edward II. Edward, who may have actually been a bisexual according to historians, is depicted as weak, effeminate, and cowardly in this movie. He is shown as being a bad leader, and in stark contrast to his father who is cruel and shown to be a good leader.

Sadly, this is how gay males have been depicted in movies and other forms of media for years, leading to people to construct stereotypes around gay males that we use to understand that group of people.

According to Richard Dyer, a professor in the department of Films Studies at King's College in London, stereotypes that are placed on gay people are widely believed to be correct. This is damaging because it leads said group to believe stereotypes about themselves.

To stereotype gay males, movies often use one form of stereotyping called Iconography, according to Dyer. This a way to show a character's gayness by bestowing certain qualities on them, and a way to explain that charterer's actions later. In this movie, merely depicting Edward II as physically small makes him look weaker than his fellow male characters.

This leads us to controlled prejudice. This is the final and last stage of acting out prejudice. It is intentional and accepts these stereotypes as valid. We accept gay males depicted this way, and accept it as mostly true. Mel Gibson, being the director, chose to depict this character in this particular way.

The most disturbing thing that I realized was the shear coldness of the window scene. As I mentioned before, I have seen this movie multiple times, but I always found this scene among others to be particular disturbing. Now I understand why. This scene is meant to be a funny one against the backdrop of a very intense story, and this is problematic.

 This is a scene that starts out as an argument, and ends in an abrupt death of Edward II's lover by being thrown out a window. It sounds sad, cruel even, but he way it was shot made it look almost comical. Now I understand why GLAAD took issue with this scene, and this movie. This scene made it seem like it was totally okay that a man was thrown out a window with the most cruel intentions. The sheer nonchalant nature of the murder is also upsetting.

Mel Gibson, know for his racism and prejudice, decided to shoot this scene to be comical. To me, and others, it is just disturbing.

State Farm Commercial Displays Dominant American Roles and Family

You've all probably seen this commercial. It is all over television right now. It starts off with a young college-aged man at a party, telling his friends that he will never get married. After many events, and adamantly being against each life change, he ends up with two children and a wife in the suburbs, and proud of his family.

Don't get me wrong, when I first saw this commercial I thought it was very cute. Honestly, it does a very good job at playing to one's emotions, which is a common tactic in advertising. One of the many clever strategies companies use to get us to buy their stuff.

However, after I had seen it for about the tenth time, I realized something: this is exactly what us as a society views as normal. We are told that a career, marriage, white picket fences and children are our ultimate goals in life. If we progress through this journey called life without achieving these goals, we are different. That's just the facts. This, to me, fits into what Marxist philosopher Antonia Gramsci termed cultural Hegemony.

To first understand this term, we must first understand culture. Put simply, culture is a community large enough to sustain itself, and has had thoughts and behaviors passed down over time. Hegemony, according to Gramsci, is a concept in which everyday practices enforce a dominate group. According to him, parts of a culture should not be seen as "the norm" or "inevitable". This all is merely a system of coercion and consent.

It is a system of rituals we fall into that promotes an idea of "normal" In this commercial, the main male character gets married, has kids, and has a house in the suburbs, all the while trying to push away those rituals. He has a suburban house with a white picket fence, and a wife that is shown doing laundry, filling in the role as a wife that does the housekeeping. As he grows up, he looses his want of partying or being different, and settles down. His final point of  maturity is at the end, when he finally accepts that he is a father and husband with a stable suburban house. He is secure and middle class man.

He eventually accepts these choices, and his happy with what he has accomplished. He finally fulfills his "role" as a white American male that achieved his American dream. His family is shown as happy and a "normal" one.

Okay, I get what your are thinking. Why am I getting so deep on a simple State Farm commercial? Well, because the media is all about people. It has to appeal to the people. To do this, it often avoids showing values that are different.

According to James Lull in Gender, Race, and Class in Media Second Edition, Ideas outside of the norm typically appear on low budget media forms that are not as well known. This leaves T.V. and commercial media, This means that mass media helps contribute to the idea that those that do not fall into the "norm" must conform.

This commercial shows what a "normal" American's life is supposed to be. Men should be fathers and husbands. Women definitely should be mothers and wives. Kids should have both parents. Parents should be married. Families should have a cute suburban house with a white picket fence. All those practices in between enforce a dominant group and idea of normal.The problem is, not all families are like this. Some deal with divorce, poverty, and broken homes.

So, what about the rest of us? If one grows up, and doesn't achieve these things, especially marriage and children, they are seen as sad, lonely people. I have experienced this even at my age. When I tell people that I have no desire of having children or getting married, they often are appalled. Those things should be my goals, right? According to this commercial, however, we will all eventually fall into these roles in the dominant American middle class white picket fence culture.

We are told to fulfill these roles and fall into these practices from a very young age, or else our lives will not be happy ones. The man in this commercial finally achieved ultimate happiness after he had achieved being a husband and father, fulfilling his role as a man in America.

This commercial shows the typical "American Dream", but isn't it possible to achieve a different dream that's just as fulfilling?

I believe this commercial fails to show how most families are in America, and further promotes an idea of the "normal" American family. However, I give it credit in using its sweetness to appeal to peoples' emotions. However, I feel that it fails to appeal to people that are not like the family portrayed in this commercial.