Too much Serena?

A student discovered this story about a racy TV commercial starring Serena Williams that has been pulled following an outcry over its overt sexuality.

Here's what the student says:

It is about a commercial marketing a video game. The commercial stars Serena Williams; it seems as though it is too riske and won't be aired. However, people are questioning why it won't be aired. There are plenty of other commercials and billboards with half-naked athletes on them ... why not one more? Or is there something more behind their decision?

YouTube has pulled the ad off its site at the request of the company that produced it, so it's difficult to judge the situation. The description makes it sound as if the commercial uses common advertising conventions: scantily clad women simulating sexual pleasure and availability for the consumption of a mostly heterosexual male market. Why was this considered over-the-top? Why draw the line here?

Diesel Sells

From a student, a bunch of Diesel ads from 2010:











Wow. Don't even know what to say about these.

Women in Hollywood

This video from a student about the dearth of female directors and women-centered films given Academy Awards:




This is what the student says:

This link talks about movies and how they are shown from the male gaze and how they are male-centered. It relates this to a small percentage of Hollywood directors that are women. It was interesting to see that most films that won best picture over the years have been male-centered. The link also makes the point that a lot of movies from the female gaze are about shopping, love, etc.

When Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for best director last year, a lot of the commentary focused on the fact that she had directed a male-centered film. Would she have won, observers wondered, as a woman directing a film about women? Bigelow herself told the LA Times she was looking forward to the day when gender would not be an issue.

Beyonce: Conforming to the 'Dreamworld'?

A student took notice of Beyonce's performance during the halftime show of the NBA. (The video is no longer available on YouTube due to copyright infringement.)

We had recently watched Sut Jhally's film Dreamworlds. This is what the student says:

[S]he is kind of wearing a skimpy outfit. That reminds me of the music videos. How the women in them are wearing what the men would like them to wear. ... And when Drake enters (a male artist) she acts almost as if she is blown away by his presence. That reminds me about how we talked about men being the dominant sex and the stereotype that women are blown away by a man's presence.

I think he's referring to Jhally's argument that even female artists must conform--if not initially, then eventually--to stereotypes defined by male, heterosexual desires in order to achieve commercial success in the music industry.

It's worth noting that Beyonce is in the news this week for another reason: a controversial photo of her appearing in blackface and tribal paint.

Dr Pepper 10 -- For Men Only

A few students have mentioned this commercial, which advertises a diet soda as "not for women."

According to this blog post, diet soda is too girly, so they're upping the man factor.

To be honest, I think the ad has the potential to be funny but doesn't quite get there. Others have thought it's just weird. What's your take? Are they playing with gender binaries and constructions of masculinity/femininity, or endorsing them? Or both? Funny or not?

UPDATE: Des Moines was one of six test cities for the product. See a DM Register blog post here.

Wrestler Defaults Rather Than Face Girl - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

A student calls our attention to this item out of Iowa. A boy defaulted on a wrestling match at the state tournament this morning rather than wrestle a girl. The student points out that the comments below the story reflect binary thinking about gender, which we have discussed in class. What do you all think?

Wrestler Defaults Rather Than Face Girl - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

On the Assault of Lara Logan

Salon has published a poignant piece of media criticism pointing to some offensive statements by bloggers about the sexual assault and beating of CBS reporter Lara Logan while she was covering the protests in Egypt.

Commentators have let fly some sexist, racist remarks about her assault, along the lines of "she's hot" and "they're savages" -- so, you know, she got what was coming to her.