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.

Super Bowl Ad -- What Did You Think?

From the same student, this commercial, which ran during the Super Bowl:



The student writes:

In this commercial it seems like the wife is punishing her husband for trying to break his "diet." I have two issues with this: One, if this commercial was reversed in the gender roles, it would have never made it to TV. They would never show a man kicking his wife, or shoving her face in a pie. Also, this plays into the angry black woman stereotype.

I, too, found this ad problematic. Other thoughts?

'Hot Latina' Under Construction

I was wondering if Gloria from Modern Family would come up when we discussed the "hot Latina" stereotype in class. I even had a YouTube clip ready to go. This item on Yahoo!--in which actor Sofia Vergara is seen without makeup--is fascinating on multiple levels. First, it reveals her hair is naturally blond and her skin is fairer than it appears on the show, which is interesting in itself because it shows how the role has been constructed.

In addition, here's what the student says:

This actress plays a hot vamp on the show Modern Family. It's almost like she broke a law because she was out in public without her hot seductress hair and makeup. And regardless of ethnicity, why isn't it okay for a woman to go out in public without her hair and makeup done?

Great point -- it's as if she's breaking character and breaking rules about femininity.

Situating Serena

In class recently, we read an article by James McKay and Helen Johnson that argues media treatment of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams is essentially a reinscription of the Hottentot Venus of the 19th century. The argument is that the media eroticize, exoticize, and animalize the Williams sisters' bodies because they can be seen as a threat to white, male dominance.

A student found this photo taken of Serena Williams at the U.S. Open, which provides a visual aid for the argument. The white, male gaze of the camera situates Serena's body as "other" by accentuating her breasts and glutes. We are meant to see her as different, threatening, titillating.

This is not to say Serena Williams is not an active participant in media constructions of her. She is. But even that would be in keeping with the story of Saarjite Baartman, who shared some of the profits from her display.

Female Athletes

A student discovered this video about media coverage of female athletes. It's a relevant topic for college students, many of whom are athletes themselves:



From the same student, here are some guidelines from the Women's Sports Foundation about how journalists can make sure they are covering female athletes fairly. What do you think about the list? Did they miss anything?

Lest we forget ...

Anyone remember the 2008 election? A student calls attention to this article about news coverage of Hillary Clinton while she was running for the Democratic nomination.


The student says: "I feel this is a good article because it shows how sexism has played a [role] in politics. Had sexism not occurred, perhaps we would have a female president."

Here is a video on the same topic produced by the Women's Media Center:



What do you think?