Untitled

[wolfinghard]

Laverne: Nicole, does your belief system now change, in which you now know you don’t need him to be there?  Nicole: No. I think what happens is it turns into less a conversation about my blackness and more about relating to humanity, because that’s really what we’re trying to do. We’re just realizing that people are capable of doing it. We’re underestimating people because people said we weren’t viable. [x]

[spoonmeb]

brb crying all over myself

[gaywrites]

Remember that online fundraiser to build a pro-LGBT billboard in the Westboro Baptist Church’s hometown? It worked. Feast your eyes on the “God Loves Gays” billboard, standing proud in Topeka, Kansas for all to see. If any additional funding comes through, it will be used for bus ads in Topeka, donations to LGBT youth organizations, and possibly a similar billboard in Utah. Bless. (via the Huffington Post)

[fuckyeahfeminist]

God bless these people.

[103001amber]

More Potential Sources

http://news.ufl.edu/archive/2011/06/pressure-to-look-more-muscular-may-lead-some-men-to-consider-steroids.html

http://scicurious.scientopia.org/2011/04/25/magazines-media-and-teen-body-image/

http://www.academia.edu/470550/Pressure_to_be_perfect_Influences_on_college_students_body_esteem

http://theconversation.com/boys-arent-immune-to-body-image-pressures-and-never-have-been-3801

[103001amber]

Male Body Image and the Pressure to Use Steroids

While girls typically worry about being too fat or too big, men are preoccupied with not being muscular enough - and sometimes feel the pressure to resort to steroids.

This article focuses on how some men resort to using steroids as a result of the pressure from the media to be perfect.

[103001amber]

Men hooked on having a perfect body - Telegraph

Films, adverts and magazines are making even the fittest athletes feel inadequate about themselves, reports David Derbyshire

This article is all about how men are pressured by media to have perfect bodies and examines the body image issues that result from it.

[103001amber]

Society of the Spectacle

I absolutely agree with Debord. People are constantly surrounded by media and images that represent what we should aim to be like. It has definitely affected the way we behave in our everyday lives, always aware of the pressure to be perfect.

It has always interested me to watch people snapchat someone they are simply friends with, then snapchat someone they are interested in. The difference is astounding, as they go from hilarious contortions of their face to plumped lips and carefully placed lighting.

Another example is the muscle magazines aimed at men. The men that read/see these magazines are given the idea that women prefer buff, overly-muscled men; however, women usually prefer someone that is sensitive and not afraid to show how they feel.

[micdotcom]

Watch: Feminists fight back by reading the real, nasty tweets they’ve received (Mic Exclusive)

Ever wonder what it’s really like to be a feminist? We’re here to help. 

Modeled after Jimmy Kimmel’s celebrities read angry tweets, this short video shows how women who challenge the status quo are treated online on a daily basis. If you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry, join the club. 

While many have tried to describe what it’s like to be the target of constant, horrible abuse online, sometimes it’s easier to just show, not tell.

Follow micdotcom

[sexy-uredoinitright]

God, this angers me beyond words…..

[gingah-ninjah]

Cops are worthless about this sort of shit. My sister had a boyfriend who took pictures of her while she was sleeping naked and sent them to her to bribe her. She called the cops about it and they said “prove you were sleeping”.

[steviemcfly]

And in the comments, all this stuff is referred to as “valid criticism.” So many internet trashpile men use the word “criticism” but have literally no idea what it means.

[103001amber]

Women are constantly pressured to reach for this unattainable idea of beauty. I picked the above article as my example of Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth in the media. 

Scarlett Johansson has been referred to as one of the sexiest women alive many times. She is gorgeous and bad ass, never afraid to speak her mind and kick ass as the Black Widow. So when she goes to the beach and has the confidence to wear a bikini in a world where he every move is documented by the paparazzi, people take notice. This article claims that Scarlett looked "like hell" in her swimsuit and implied that her boyfriend was a saint for going out with her, even though her body is unattractive.

[103001amber]

Hilton Als (part 3)

"stupid Americans define their epoch and defend their privilege through one or two words"

I think these words could be "brave" and "free". Everyone always likes to claim that America is the land of the free and home of the brave; however, this country is riddled with many problems. People are looked down upon if they are different and do not conform to society's ideas of beauty. Members of the LGBTQ community feel that they are not free to be who they truly are. Women live in fear of being harassed and men are told to not show any weakness.

[103001amber]

Response to Hitlon Als (part 2)

Sometimes I feel left out by language when I hang out with new people that have been friends for a really long time. It is common for entire conversations to take place that mainly focus on inside jokes and frequently used phrases between the friends. So while I can comprehend what they are saying on a basic level, I do not understand the back story and am left feeling completely lost in the conversation.

[103001amber]

Response to Hilton Als

"Language, no matter how stupid, always leaves someone out. That is because an idea belongs first to an individual and not a public."

I agree with this statement to an extent. I do believe that a thought belongs originally to the person who first thought it. Once that thought is shared, the public is free to do with it as they please; it is no longer the original person's thought. It reminds me of a statement Taylor Swift has on the inside of her newest album, 1989: These songs were once about my life. They are now about yours. She is acknowledging that she wrote the songs on her album about specific events in her life. Now that she has released them, they are no longer just about her life. Everyone that listens to them may relate for a completely different reason.

I also agree with the idea that language has a tendency to leave someone out. For example, if someone that struggles in school is surrounded by people talking about complicated theories with advanced vocabulary, they will most likely feel left out and alienated.

[passivemanipulations]

Project for my Social Psych class last semester. This poster series was created to 1) challenge these internalized stereotypes by bringing them to the viewer’s attention and 2) expand the range of role models by including a diverse group of women. Each poster follows the same basic pattern: a woman who has demonstrated her competency in a particular area refutes the stereotype that appears above her in the form of “Girls can’t …”. While the posters target girls ranging from children to young adults, I expect the message would also cause people outside that demographic to question their own beliefs about women and power.  I designed each aspect of the posters with several principles of social psychology in mind:

Read More

[103001amber]

The song "Anaconda" is a bold, sex-positive statement about a woman's ability to own her own body and sexuality. The video, though, completely fails to follow through on the song's potential for a powerful feminist message, instead relying on the tired trope of hypersexualizing women's bodies. It opens with Minaj and a gaggle of backup dancers in a jungle setting, writhing and sweaty as they grind against the ground and each other. It also features Minaj in a kitchen, chomping down on a banana and covering herself with whipped cream. Drake also makes an appearance -- but only as a prop for a lap dance during which, as Gawker informed us, he got a "boner." This maybe doesn't count as empowering anyone except Drake.

From Sophie Kleeman's article "Nicki Minaj's New 'Anaconda' Video Is Here - And It's a Huge Letdown" featured on mic.com

This is my negative quote.

The speaker of this quote, Sophie Kleeman, obviously does not think the music video for "Anaconda" is very impressive. I chose this quote as my negative one because it addresses all of the points that people choose to complain about when they say the video is not completely outstanding and positive for women. Kleeman misses the symbolism of Minaj biting the banana and then facing the camera with a look of indifference by a mile and all of the power play within the video is completely lost on her.

[103001amber]

She’s something else, and she’s something equally worth giving credence to: a boundary-breaker, a nasty bitch, a self-proclaimed queen, a self-determined and self-made artist. She’s one of the boys, and she does it with the intent to subvert what it means. She sings about sexy women, about fucking around with different men. She raps about racing ahead in the game, imagines up her own strings of accolades, and rolls with a rap family notorious for dirty rhymes, foul mouths, and disregard for authority and hegemony.

From Carmen Rios' article "Nicki Minaj's Feminism Isn't About Your Comfort Zone: On 'Anaconda' and Respectability Politics" featured on auto straddle.com

This is my positive quote.

I love this quote about Nicki because it mentions certain characteristics that some people would put in a negative light; however, the writer is obviously talking about her in a positive way. Nicki is not conventional and she worked her way to the top in a genre where so many people were ready to tear her down. Nicki Minaj is a total badass and I love that about her; she speaks her mind without apologizing for it. This quote is great for the "Anaconda" music video because it examines this tough side of Nicki and why it is so great.

[103001amber]

Final Selection for My Visual Analysis

I have decided to use the music video for "Anaconda" for my visual analysis. This music video is such a big deal right now and Nicki is everywhere because of it. There are so many great visuals throughout the video that provide a great basis for commentary. 

[103001amber]

Possibility for Visual Analysis

I love the video for "Pound the Alarm" because Nicki goes to Trinidad and Tobago, where she was born, to shoot the video. It features her dancing in the streets wearing a traditional performance costume from the area. Even though I love all the wonderful colors, I do not think the visuals and lyrics provide as much of a basis for commentary as my other possibilities.

[103001amber]

Possibility for Visual Analysis

Another possibility for my visual Analysis is the music video for "Freedom". The song itself focuses mainly on her career and how she has worked hard to get where she is.The video caused some controversy because there are several visual allusions to the Bible. I think this would be a good possibility for my visual analysis because of the controversial images that are so different from her other videos and the lyrics that focus on all of the hard work she has put into her career.