"your dark and ugly"

We’ve watched several videos and clips about children stereotyping, being able to differ between black and white, or even notice what the colour our friends, teachers, or even mothers. I never thought I’d across an incident which I have ran across this weekend. So let me tell you, this weekend I was at a cultural gathering where a little girl approached me by noticing my cartilage piercing, so one conversation lead to the other. The little girl disappeared and came back while I was with one of my girl friends, the girl than pointed at my friend and said “Eww you’re so dark”  we all were so caught off guard, we asked the girl what she meant, her response was “I don’t like dark people and she’s dark” pointing at my friend. We were so shocked at the little girls response, because she was little and because she was only FIVE years old, and of course of a lighter skin tone. We were so puzzled and wanted to how she formed this mindset, so we asked her some more questions:

Me: who told you told this?

Little girl:my mom

Me: is you're mom light skin?

Little girl:yes, and she's beautiful

Me: what about you're dad?

Little girl:he's dark, but he's mean

The girl than went on about all the shows on the family channel and how all the girls on there are light skin and pretty. She referred to a movie called Cadet Kelly where the main character was Lizzie Mcguire. In the movie she was the rich happy typical girl and the black girl was the 'ugly' poor girl (mind you this is all coming from the 5 year old)she than ran off, we began to ask ourselves that if the younger generation view themselves as worthless and ugly or are judging other others based on what the media is telling them, what's going to happen to their kids,? and their kids. It's so sad.It's one thing to learn from your mother but to build that up from what they see on tv is different and is quit sad.


Duaa Mohamed

Humanity is at odds with itself 

On march 1st, together with a group of students, I helped organize a forum on the topic of "Representations in the Media". 

The purpose of the forum was to provide an insightful panel discussion, engaging presentations and motivational and articulated speakers to open discourse on the topic of representation and its effects in all forms of media. We hope to deconstruct information and critically analyze knowledge created through representations of marginalized and privileged groups. Our purpose was to combat recurring discourses of colonialism, privilege and oppression that perpetuate discrimination and violence against marginalized groups in society. We also had two guest panel speakers; one being the award winning sports reporter for Canada's biggest newspaper the Toronto Star, Morgan Campbell and the executive director of the non-for-profit organization Black Pearls, Kim Tull. I was very surprised to discover topics so prominent in the past were still very significant until this day and time. Such topics being underlined with messages in advertisements, shows, and movies. One particular topic that arose a discussion was the topic of racial skin tone and how it is still relevant in a time where racism has supposedly been eliminated. Sad to say that there is still racial discrimination in the media. Lighter girls 'shine' on the screen where darker girls are in the shadows.  Darker girls are categorized to be the 'casts offs' only used for sexual purposes rather than their personalities, or appearance per say. The main blame of this is the media. Why do we allow the media to justify beauty? We are told every day, subconsciously, through the media how we are supposed to look, act and eat. What’s bad is that media is forming the views of the upcoming generations of young susceptible people. These younger generations grow up to being adults who believe these impossible standards that are enforced upon them and other people around them. The issue not only lies in one race but in numerous troubling perceptions worldwide. Humanity is at odds with itself because we forget how to celebrate and respect our differences. Instead we are constantly struggling to prove who has the better race, sex, religion, class etc.

- Duaa Mohamed

Selena Gomez: A Sex Object

It seems like Selena Gomez, a former Disney Star is all grown up and gone into womanhood. Does womanhood equal to being a sex object? Apparently it does, based on the representations of women in the media. But because Selena is only 19 years old, she has to prove that she is a real woman by posing in a sexually provocative position.

This magazine cover perfectly supports Goffman’s analysis of the relationship between girls and women in culture. Goffman argues that “little girls and grown women are presented as essentially the same, wearing the same clothes, having the same hair, doing the same things” (2009, pp.13). Because women never seem to leave childhood.

The infantilization of adult women have equated grown women with childhood and consequently increasingly equated young girls with mature womanhood (2009, pp.14).

It is no wonder, that young girls are increasingly dressed more and more provocative and sexually suggestive because girls are bombarded with such representations of how they should perform their roles as females.

What do you think a young girl will articulate after seeing this image of Selena Gomez? Especially if they were audiences of Disney’s Wizards Of Waverly Place.

-Angus Yeung

(2012, January 31). Selena Gomez Cosmopolitan Cover: Former Disney Star Is All Grown Up. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/selena-gomez-cosmopolitan-cover_n_1244440.html

Selena Gomez Cosmopolitan Cover: Former Disney Star Is All Grown Up [image]. 
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/31/selena-gomez-cosmopolitan-cover_n_1244440.html

Danica Patrick A Bitch?

Recently in February 2012 on the local Fox news network in San Diego, there was a news report on the race driver Danica Patrick. The sports news anchor made an insulting sexist comment towards Danica Patrick. The comment was made in reference to an interview she did, in which she questioned why female athletes are almost always described as sexy and nothing else. And questioned whether or not other words can be used to describe her. 

Just because she wanted to be acknowledged as an athlete, does that mean she is a b****?

Danica Patrick is a perfect example of deviation from constructions of how women should behave, because she does not conform to performances of gender. And because sexy, beautiful, powerless and weak are used to describe femininity, Danica is viewed as challenging representation gender. Thus she was viewed as a bitch.

 Traditionally sports have been exclusively for men because they are constructed as masculine spheres, but within the past two decades there saw an increase of female athletes (2009, pp. 18-19). This becomes confusing because athletes require skill, strength and courage, which are almost exclusively used to describe masculinity. Danica Patrick, for example participates in the most rugged sport of all; car racing. And as a result Danica is identified as not being a “real” woman, because she deviates from constructions of what femininity is. 

So female athletes alike have to perform ritualized displays of gender in order to prove that she is a real woman. And to communicate her heterosexual femininity (2009, pp. 19). In order to perform ritualized displays of gender, she posed for men’s magazines such as Maxim, FHM and Sports Illustrated. In all of these magazine spreads, she is shown in the most defenceless and sexually available positions that normalizes her in the eyes of culture (2009, pp. 19).

As you may notice in the news clip, one of the co-anchor questioned why Danica presents herself in sexually provocative advertisements when she does want to be viewed as sexy. If he truly wanted to understand why, he should be questioning the constructions of how we should perform our gender. And if consumers of media such as himself would stop objectifying women then these images would not materialize. So Danica Patrick is not to blame here.

-Angus Yeung

(2009). The Codes Of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture. Media Education Foundation, Transcript, Retrieved Februrary 9, 2012, 
from http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/238/transcript_238.pdf

 Fox5 San Diego Sports Anchor Ross Shimabuku calls Danica Patrick a Bitch [Video file]. 
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4lzRgNUkaw

Danica Patrick Sports Illustrated 2009 [image]. 
Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/swimsuit/modelfeatured/danica_patrick/2009/danica_patrick/index.htm

Media: A Gendered Institution

According to conventional codes of gender, 

we categorize ourselves as males or females based on the two sex and gender distinction as we are brought up to be one or the other. 

And we are led to believe this is the “natural” order and the norm, because this is the institution in which we live in.

As Bell Hooks suggests, mass media in itself is a gendered institution because it reinforces the interlocking system of oppression of class, race and gender (Aronson, Kale, Kimmel, 2011, pp. 241). This is accomplished through the bombardment of constructed images of “reality” in our everyday lives.

So, in a sense we are institutionalized by the images we see that tells us how we should perform our roles in order to conform to the social constructions as masculine and feminine.

We are institutionalized by images of media through constructions of gender and we have interned these images as offering us models of what manhood and womanhood is (Aronson, Kale, Kimmel, 2011, pp. 241). Because media continues to reproduce gender inequalities by presenting these inequalities to us as the natural order of existing gender differences (Aronson, Kale, Kimmel, 2011, pp. 241).

-Angus Yeung

-Aronson, A., Kale, A., & Kimmel, M. S. (2011). The Gendered Media. The Gendered Society Reader: Canadian Edition, 241-271.

Codes of Gender [image]. Retrieved from http://genderqueer.tumblr.com

Institution [image]. Retrieved from http://heroesrising.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/underoak-tells-it-like-it-is/

Meet the M&M's 'spokescandies' family

We have Red, the original and the often time cynical red mascot for the M&M's chocolates. Equipped with a mouth for sarcasm, Red's face appears the most frequently in relation to the other M&M's spokecandies alongside his partner, Yellow.

Yellow, the mascot of the peanut M&M's division. He appears to be slightly taller than Red. He can be characterized by his happy and gullible personality. As a result, he is often scolded by Red for his naivety and cluelessness. 

There is the cool Blue; spokescandy for the almond M&M's. The seductive Green; spokescandy for the peanut butter M&M's. Oh and don't forget the neurotic Orange; spokecandy for the crispy M&M's. (Mars Incorporated, 2012)

Up until 2012, the five spokecandies dominated in representing the M&M's as mascots for their respective divisions in the company. However, February 5th of 2012 marked the introduction of Ms. Brown, the CCO (Chief Chocolate Officer) of Mars Inc., and boy did she take center stage. As CCO, Ms. Brown is in a position of power, nonetheless looking the part; clad "in eyeglasses and platform pumps by Marc Jacobs and Judith Ripka diamond custom glove links" (Mars Incorporated, 2012). 

On the one hand, we have the physical; characters imbued with life, personalities, limbs, eyes and of course, roles adapted and designed to tailor to each and every mascot at hand. On the other hand, however, sits the material reality; they are M&M chocolate candies. The phenomenon presented before us finely illustrates the blurring of the physical / material dichotomy to which I have chosen to focus.

Even with this so called hybrid of the physical and the material; the relentless portrayal of the sexes by popular media in addition to the gender stereotypes that largely permeate the realms of the physical fails to cease and instead remains intact. 

The genders have been objectified by way of materialization. Sure the males are also subject to such treatment, but their demeanour is definitely more varied compared to their female counterparts; they exhibit a much wider array of emotions and personalities; from the sarcasm employed by Red to Yellow's gullible nature; the cool, laid back Blue to the overly neurotic Orange. Contrast to this, the only emotions and expressions available to the 'female M&M's' are that of seductiveness and allure. It is as if they serve the purpose of being merely eye candy (no pun intended) for the consumers of the male dominated media. 

In terms of appearance, the males share the somewhat uniform look of plainness; thick brows, half closed eyes (with the exception of Orange as he is neurotic), clay-like arms and legs met with white work gloves and what seems to be shoes. The females, on the other hand, are given much more detail in this regard; thin and intricate brows, thick lashes, delicate lips, thin limbs and attention paid to the gloves and shoes (pumps in Ms. Brown's case, from Marc Jacobs at that). Is this the result of a positive focus on the female sex by the media? Far from it. The media is simply tailoring to the 'equally as male' dominated consumers. I say this as Ms. Brown was introduced on February 5th of 2012 at Superbowl XLVI. Football takes place at a Superbowl. Football is a largely male dominated sport. Simple deduction would suggest that Mars Inc. introduced Ms. Brown as to elicit the attention of a male audience in hopes of increasing sales. 

Before signing off, I would like to focus a little on Ms. Brown. Not only is she given the most attention of the spokecandies with the aid of such designer brands as Marc Jacobs (what does this say about female portrayal of the media?) and accessories such as spectacles to complete her look; we forget the fact that she is the CCO of Mars. Inc., meaning that she is in a position of power for having managed such a successful business. But is she really in a position of power? Or was she simply placed under such a label as consequence of the stereotype of the 'seductive office lady / librarian'? I am prone to believing the latter; after all, what better way to tap into the attention and awareness of a largely male dominated audience at an adrenaline pumped event (Superbowl) than with a stereotypical 'strict on the outside naughty on the inside' lady of the profession?



"M&M's spokecandies." M&M's Home. Mars Incorporated, 05 02 2012. Web. 3 Mar 2012. <http://www.mms.com/us/>.


Martin Wonnacota. M&Ms Spokecandies. 2012. Photograph. WikipediaWeb. 3 Mar 2012. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/M&M_mascots.png>.


Martin Wonnacota. Ms. Brown. 2012. Photograph. M&MsWeb. 3 Mar 2012. <http://www.mms.com/us/MsBrown/assets/images/mms_brown_gallery_print_full.jpg>.

A Brief Introduction

Hello there, my name is Eric Wai. As part of the trio responsible for the operation of this blog, I welcome you. This first post under my belt is mainly for the purpose of getting myself acquainted and familiarized with the how-to's of the blog. More importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to further introduce myself and to give you, our readers, a glimpse into the topic I hope to provide coverage for. So without further ado...

A little bit about myself first. Name aside, I am currently a fourth year student of the university. I double majored in the mental health studies department in addition to the sociology department. I believe this has granted me a dichotomous mode of thinking; in which I can be analytical when need be due to the former and also theoretical when the situation calls for it as a result of the latter. The majority of my current semester is composed of spare elective credits that I am in need of in satisfying my degree requirements. I have two reasons as to why I chose to enrol in WSTB13 (as well as WSTB12). The first being I find enjoyment in experiencing the unrestrictiveness of students in voicing their opinions and in sharing their personal stories. While it does get one sided at times, more often than not an opposing opinion would surface and the students would, for a lack of a better phrase, duke it out. Such is signature to the two courses aforementioned when compared to the other electives I am currently taking / have taken. The second reason being my analytical background I mentioned above; when said heated discussions do surface, though I do not like to speak out and participate in the discussion itself, I do nitpick at what is said internally. 

For the bulk of this project, I am fairly interested in analysing the relationship between the physical and the material as portrayed by today's media. This would also serve as a segway into my critical paper due later on in the semester. Now to elaborate, by physical I am referring to the biological; the female body and physique would be of main focus in this regard. On the other hand, by material I am referring to anything that can come under the possession of an individual; cars are a great example and would serve as the forefront of a material that a male would desire to possess. I believe that the relationship between the two has gotten much too intimate and intertwining in that what should be physical has been confused as the material and what should be material, the physical. 

   Hi and Welcome to our blog. The objective of this blog is to attempt to provide you; as consumers of media with a more well-rounded approach in critiquing and analyzing representations of gender. 

   Representations of gender is an integral part of our everyday lives because mass media is the main vehicle, in which images of bodies are presented to us. The images we perceive are derived from codes of gender that reinforces the interlocking systems of oppression based class, race and gender. But we have been brought up to believe these images are the norm and that it is part of the natural order.

   According to the late sociologist Erving Goffman, there is nothing natural about gender identity. They are merely socially constructed categories based on the conventional two sex and gender distinction (2009, pp. 2-4).

  

Sex: The biological differences and characteristics we are born with.

Gender: Socially constructed differences of sex within culture.

   In this blog, we will be taking a look at various forms of media.

-Angus, Duaa & Eric

-(2009). The Codes Of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture. Media Education Foundation, Transcript, Retrieved Februrary 9, 2012, from http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/238/transcript_238.pdf