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Prom Queen

There is a lot to discuss in this episode, so hang tight. We got a bumpy ride.

First, we’ll discuss the scene where Kurt showcases his prom outfit proudly. He takes a lot of pride in his work, and he hopes for the same enthusiasm from his boyfriend, his step-brother, and his dad. However, he’s met with a little soul-crushing words from his dad and boyfriend. They both explain that Kurt should tone it down a bit, because he seems to be stirring the pot, according to his dad. This is something that happens a lot to the LGBTQ+ community. This especially happens to the youth. They are constantly told they should not be so open about their identity for the sake of their own safety. There is a big problem here. Why are we teaching LGBTQ+ youth to hide themselves, go back in the closet if you will, instead of teaching those outside of the community to be more accepting? What is wrong with someone being themselves? It is something that should be fixed, in my opinion. We should teach the youth to be open about themselves. And, as we discussed prior, the coming out process should not be something that is necessary.

We’ll also discuss the big part of this episode. If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s a big spoiler alert. Kurt is appointed prom queen due to write-in ballots. He thinks that everyone has become more accepting of him and his sexuality, because they did not say much to him during the school hours. However, they were planning to humiliate him in front of the entire junior class. This is a very emotional scene, as he runs away from everyone to cry. Blaine chases after him. This scene is hurtful to watch. It hurts to see someone from the LGBTQ+ community in pain from people’s senseless and careless actions. This also goes on to a question asked earlier: why do we not teach cis and straight people to be more accepting? Why should we have to teach them in the first place? If the LGBTQ+ community is already forced to accept cis and straight people, their content, their beliefs, etc. why is it so hard for them to accept something outside of their bubble? It is a question that will probably never have an answer.

#gws201002

Trigger warning: suicide mention, images

For this week, I would like to disucss the suicide attempt made by the character David Karofsky. For a little background, David is a football player and went to McKinley High with the rest of the cast. With most of the school unaware, David is gay. He is in the closet, and he preferred to stay that way (which is valid, as a lot of LGBT+ youth do not wish to come out so soon). He comes out to Kurt, another gay character, and later on, he ends up switching schools. There, he is outed, and thus we have this emotionally powerful scene.

This is something that happens for too often in LGBT+ youth. The suicide rate is at such an awful high for this category of youth. It is a sad fact that we need to take more measures to protect LGBT+ youth, but we won’t get into that for now. Let’s dissect this a bit: it’s a realistic story line. A popular football player hides his sexuality, gets caught at a gay bar (okay, maybe that’s not too realistic), is outed by his “friends”, cue the teasing and bullying, and he falls into the suicidal spiral, taking an attempt on his own life. Luckily, he survives. Unfortunately, a lot of teens do not. As realistic this is, was it necessary? Sure, it can show the realness of how your words affect someone’s life and well being, but should we need this in order to spread that message? I vote yes and no. While it is compelling and absolutely heartbreaking to watch this teenager go through it, it’s a little striking and sudden. David was only a side character, so you didn’t get to see his emotional road. I feel this would have a much greater imapct if a character that was seen in the light more went through this. And again, why do we have to show LGBT+ representation through the form of suffering? Why can’t happy storylines just exist, and why can’t queer characters be genuinely happy? I find myself asking this question a lot, and I have another question as well. If TV and film is made digestible to the majority, why do straight people love to watch queer characters suffer?

#GWS201002

transitioning

For this week, we will discuss the Glee episode Transitioning. In this episode, Coach Beiste, a transgender man, fully transitions to a man. Coach Beiste is greeted with a lot of warmth from one of his players, Sam, and from Coach Sylvester. They seem to greet Sheldon in a way that is positive, and on the surface it may be. They’re very eager and seem very warming, however their reaction can be a bit pressuring and pressing to trans people. And overwhelming. All the warmth disappears when a group from a rival school vandalizes Sheldon’s car and uses the T slur. This does not come off as much of a surprise, as trans people are still very ostracized in today’s society. Sheldon wishes to not make a big deal out of the situation, because this is something he is used to. He had always experienced abuse where he was very masculine before he came out.

While this episode seems important, the storyline of Shelden being transgender really throws a lot of people off. It did myself, as well. It seemed as if the writers were spitballing ideas, tossed a few darts, and went with the plan of Coach Beiste being transgender (as it seems like with a lot of ideas from the sixth season of Glee). This had good intentions, however, I feel that it was executed badly. Having a transgender character is important and vital, something that should be on a lot of television shows. But throwing the transgender character to the sidestory, having them there to only show suffering and pain is not the right way to represent transgender people.

Something very, very positive from this episode was the use of a transgender choir. This was really nice to see and a very emotional part from the episode, as it shows the group that vandalized Sheldon’s car love, that transgender people are normal and do not deserve any form of abuse or harm.

#GWS201002

how representative is glee really?

Some time ago, we discussed how Glee was representative, but in the wrong light as it uses straight people to play bisexual and gay characters. But how representative is Glee really? Did it even open the right doors for future cable television shows? Lets think for a moment. There are ways Glee does a fantastic job at representation matters, and we discussed these previously. LGBT youth can watch this show and find a character just like them. Well, most of them can. There are some things that are left out. For example, we have gay and bisexual characters, and there’s a decent mix of the two identities. Furthermore, some identities are left out and not included in the queer grab bag that Glee plays into. Where are the nonbinary characters, characters whose gender identity does not fall into the binary, characters who prefer to be gender neutral, characters who break the binary willingly and badassly? There is a serious lack of representation for nonbinary people, and that is something that needs to be adapted in the media. Going from the same light, where are pansexual characters, characters who do not pay attention to gender identity when it comes to deciding a partner, characters whose identity are not bisexual no matter how many people try to say it is? There is another serious lack of representation for pansexual people. There’s a great lack overall, when you really look into the representation Glee uses. Glee focuses on what is considered socially acceptable in most parts or things that are well on their way to being socially acceptable. Glee does not take things that are too risky, such as a character that prefers to be gender neutral and use gender neutral pronouns such as they/them and e/eir/em as an example. These identities deserve positive representation, too, just as everyone else does.

#gws201002

Blaine Anderson

Last week, I analyzed just how misrepresented Glee really is in some ways. This week, I will be analyzing a character: Blaine Anderson. Blaine is a gay student (played by a straight man, Darren Criss, which is the issue we discussed last week) that switched schools after falling in love with Kurt, basically. He is a simple, clean cut guy with some insecurities. His personality reflects that of someone that is very composed. He is usually quite chill and calm. His character is believable, for the most part. He is not represented as the flamboyant gay character that is seen in most television. He is not always talking about stereotypical gay things, which is a positive for representation. The representation of a character that is not so flamboyant is significant, because not every gay man is going to be the same. Just like how there are varying personalities for straight people, there are varying personalities for gay people. And this is something that is important. Blaine does some stereotypical gay things, like care too much about his hair, for example. But he also knows stereotypical manly things, like work on a car. His character is really important in the series representation wise, because he does show how diverse the gay community is. Blaine, in fact, seems to be more of a fitting in character. He has advised Kurt to not be too open about his sexuality. Blaine is someone who cares about what other people think of him, and maybe that is what ties into him telling Kurt in some episodes to not be too much (or too flamboyant, in other words). Blaine is a very believable character, and he was a great addition for the Glee cast. While Darren Criss does a great job at acting and singing, I wish the character was played by a gay man, as that form of representation is so important and beneficial overall.

#GWS201002

Representation in Glee

Last week, my analysis of Glee pointed to how realistic their portrayal of coming out is. This week, I will be discussing how the lack of realistic representation is prevalent. Don’t get me wrong, Glee probably opened a lot of doors for LGBT+ characters on cable television. There were bisexual characters, lesbian characters, gay characters, transgender characters -- they featured a lot of different identities for sexuality and gender, and that is great. Amazing, even. However, there is a downfall to this. According to wetpaint, only two queer people (that are out) play queer characters. The Glee cast is primarily straight and cisgender, and there are a lot of queer characters in Glee. Which means, straight and cisgender people are playing queer characters. This is a form of misrepresentation, because it would be better to give a queer person a job of playing a queer character, something they know how to do best. It would be more inclusive. Queer people are already at a risk of losing or not even being hired a job because of their identity. They deserve to have jobs, and giving jobs set out for them to straight and cisgender people is only a slap to the face and a blow to their identity. We should be encouraging for more queer actors and actress to play queer roles. This will, in a way, make the industry more diverse and open. We need to stop giving these roles to straight and cisgender people. It is only a form of misrepresentation. Seeing an actual queer person play a queer role will give more hope to queer youth. And I feel like this is something important for us as a society to advance. Queer youth deserve to feel represented correctly, and they deserve to know that they can be hired in any job that so choose regardless of their identity.

#gws201002

childressd-blog1

What Gender Roles?

After watching ‘Mona Lisa Smile’ it really gave me an in depth look at the earlier stages of Feminism. The movie really shows how imperative it was for people to fill the gender roles they were “born for.” It was more emphasized for women in the movie. It seemed very degrading to be solely responsible for just being a housewife with no dreams or aspirations. The women in the movie were confined to cooking, cleaning, and having children; which is outrageous. The women were kept this way by society and by the fear to resist the social norms they were forced to do. It really goes with my activist topic to challenge gender roles. Women don’t have to play the role of house wives just as much as men don’t have to strictly be the primary provider of the household. This is just another binary that keeps us locked into the way society perceives us. Not everything has to be the way it is “intended to be”. The movies challenges all roles but focuses mainly on women and shows the progression of feminism. Doing something like educating people and inspiring them to be more that what they opens us a pathway to break gender roles. Although it is something alot of people don’t catch. Usually when you mention gender roles people are confused but sometimes it is an unconscious action that many don’t know about. It forces people to behave and act a certain way they don’t have to be.

cccxxvi-blog

I really liked your analysis here! I agree with everything you have mentioned, and the movie did an amazing job at focusing on these gender roles women are forced into. I really agree with your point on how it is an unconscious action. That really puts into the perspective how hard it can be to kind of unlearn these roles.

alwatson97

So I was scrolling through Buzzfeed’s SnapChat article and found this gem. At first I laughed because I thought it was silly. But then I realized some people ACTUALLY THINK THIS. Like just because someone is a feminist they are lesbians. That is so ignorant. It is also implying that only women can be feminists…. More ignorance. And now I’m pissed off. I know people are learning more about what feminism really is, but there are still some who really believe this. Feminism is wanting equality of the sexes. Point, blank, period. Just because someone is a feminist does not mean they hate men, it is actually quite the opposite. I am a feminist and I do not hate men. I also am heterosexual, shocker I know. But anyways, I just believe that women should have equal opportunities. And yes I shave my armpits!!!! Why is that even a thing people like to say about feminists? If you don’t want to shave your legs/armpits, go for it! It’s your life! I like to shave because it is a personal hygiene preference. Not because I’m conforming to a gender stereotype (women must shave all hair). It amazes me that there are still so many misconceptions today about feminism. Just google the word & you will see the true definition. Rant over :)

cccxxvi-blog

This was a really neat format of a post, and I respect the points you made. Many people do feel like being a feminist equals being a lesbian, and it is nice to see you point out that is not like that! There is a big fault in your argument, however. Feminism is wanting equality of all genders, not necessarily the sexes. Your definition is not exactly inclusive of nonbinary genders, and they deserve equality, too.

Glee and The Gays

While the TV show Glee ended, I still find myself watching certain episodes over again for the sake of reminiscing. Therefore, my theme will be Glee and the copious amount of LGBTQ+ representation.

This week, I will be focusing on a particular scene: Kurt coming out as gay to his dad. This scene has stuck with me for quite some time, probably ever since I first saw the episode. The idea of coming out is seen as something necessary for queer people to do, and that’s a little ridiculous. You do not find straight people having to prepare for weeks, months, years, even to tell a family member or a friend their sexuality. The concept of it is something that should not be seen as mandatory. It puts pressure and stress on queer people, and it is another way to remind them that they are not “perfect.” I find that if we tear away the heteronormalities of society, this process would be removed. And that would help queer people plenty.

I’m going a little off topic, so let’s go back to where we were. Kurt is obviously nervous and uncomfortable during his coming out moment. This is very, very realistic and mirrors queer youth. Earlier in episode, Kurt decides to play football in order to seem “manly” and “straight,” an image he believes his dad would appreciate. Again, realistic. Burt, Kurt’s father, somehow knows that Kurt is gay. Realistic, because there are a lot of stories queer people share where their parents have always known. There is underlying homophobia in Burt’s statement where he says he “isn’t in love with the idea” that Kurt is gay. Once again, realistic; covert and overt homophobia is everywhere. Glee has a lot of realistic representation with queer issues, and this is no exception obviously.

Something that really strikes me is Kurt’s use of the word lie. Many queer youth especially think they are living a lie when they aren’t necessarily out. But is it really a lie when straight people are not out either and never “come out”? Why would it be seen as lying to someone when you are not out to them? This is something I find quite interesting and, again, realistic. A common phrase during a coming out moment is the “I don’t want to lie to you anymore” trope. I do not quite agree with that idea, as being queer should not be labeled as something negative like lying.

#GWS201002

gws201melissarueff

Iron Man

For my Tumblr blog I have decided to talk about feminism and how that is represented or not represented in Marvel comic media(movies and TV shows). Even though we have learned in our class that gender isn’t in the binary but much more complicated than that, I will use it to keep explanations simple. Feminism is the belief that men and women should be treated the same and receive the same rights, because the genders are equal. So, to start my blog off, let’s begin with the movie that started it all, Iron Man.

This is the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire,a playboy, and a genius engineer. Starting out, Iron Man is not doing too well in the feminist category, since most of the things used to describe Tony Stark are typically hyper-masculine things. Men are supposed have sex with a lot women, get rich, and be successful in their field. Well, Tony Stark does all these things, especially with women. One of the first scenes of the movie we see a female reporter for Vanity Fair come up to Stark wanting a comment, and he only agrees to talk to her because his bodyguard says she’s cute. Now, this interaction already has started with misogynistic tendencies, and it does not get much better from there, he then talks down to her the entire interview. He calls her ‘honey’ and then proceeds to hit on her the entire time, ending the scene with them having sex. This movie was obviously made by a man because, someone who would have gone to Brown for college and then was able to be hired into a prestigious news outlet would not sleep with someone who was so very disrespectful and condescending. After that disappointing scene where the great Tony Stark could conquer the successful working woman, we get to meet Pepper Pots (one of my personal favorite characters). Pepper Potts is Tony’s assistant, but she is so much more, she runs Tony’s life. Throughout this movie we get to see Pepper be a strong, but very feminine character. I personally like this quality about her, she shows how power and strength can come in many sizes and types. She also helps to prove qualities that seem to be typically be attributed to women are not weak but a strength to have and are useful. We also get to see her relationship with Tony, it seems very flirty, yet not overstated, so the romance is respectful of both characters. Pepper is not falling all over Tony and Tony is respectful but upfront about his feelings for her. This creates an equal balance of power in their relationship that seems to be very healthy. This is why I am a fan of their relationship in the first movie. Overall, Iron Man shows very little respect for the female gender, excluding Pepper Pots. My personal favorite scene was when the flight attendants (for Mr. Starks plan) spontaneously turned to strippers the moment Tony wanted to start drinking and partying, because he is some sex god that overtakes professionalism or any sense of reason in these women. This was not a great start for the Marvel Universe but, I do hope to show you better examples in other movies soon!

cccxxvi-blog

I also find this kind of representation for women in the media quite ridiculous, so I find myself nodding to most of your arguments here! I feel that representation needs to be more than sex-centric. I also like how you mentioned Pepper Potts in this, showing that there is some positive representation in this amidst most of the negative representation.

Also a sidenote: your definition of feminism should be equality for all genders, not just men and women so you do not erase nonbinary identities.

mollysgenderjourney-blog

The Republican nominee claimed that late-term abortion allows for abortions up to a day before birth.

This activism blog is going to be focused on the portrayal of Women’s Rights in the media, specifically the news. I know that this topic is almost ridiculously broad, but there is so much to say about how women and women’s issues are treated differently because of the stereotypes that come with their sex. This video clip shows a confident, competent Hillary Clinton discussing the role of Planned Parenthood as more than just an abortion provider (even though I hate that we still have to argue to defend all the things they do–INCLUDING providing abortions) and then a woefully ignorant Donald Trump discussing a late-term abortion in the ninth month… that’s called childbirth.

I hate that in this video Hillary has to defend herself for voting against a ban on late term abortions because people have neglected to educate themselves that the majority of late-term abortions occur on wanted pregnancies, which is so heartbreaking. Late-term abortions are not usually used as a form of contraception, they are painful decisions that parents have to make when the life of the fetus or the mother (or both) would be in danger if the pregnancy continued. Abortion itself is so stigmatized that Donald Trump thinks that women should be punished for having one. This ties in to issues of morality. Because abortion is against Donald Trump’s morality he feels that he is able to pass judgement on women who receive this service. However, abortion isn’t against my morality. Why does his morality get to make the decisions for my body?

It is a tragedy that this man is now in charge of the country and is trying to take control of women’s bodies because the media let him. Even though Hillary Clinton shows herself to be more competent and a better leader, Trumps won the presidency.

cccxxvi-blog

I one-hundred percent agree with your points here! I really liked your point about late-term abortions, as many people do not necessarily understand this point. Abortion is something that should not be stigmatized, especially not to the point of our “president” wanting women to be punished. Also, it was very important for you to note that Planned Parenthood does not just provide abortions, so thank you for briefly mentioning that!

GWS201 Post 2; 1/27/2017

I would like to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and representation. I feel like this rights are basic human rights, as members of the LGBTQ+ community are, in fact, humans; the community deserves rights. While rights are protected by the government, that does not mean the LGBTQ+ community is not free from oppression. Oppression is something members know very well. There is a sense of fear, members have to “come out” (which shouldn’t even be a necessary gesture, but that’s a whole other argument), and there are a lot of cases of self-loathing when it comes to identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, pansexual, nonbinary, agender, and the million more queer identities. There are multiple steps that can be taken in advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. I feel as if people more focus on the G subgroup of the community and not enough on the other groups. While it is great that media is becoming more representative of gay men and somewhat more representative of lesbian women, there especially is not enough positive representation for trans people and other groups within the community. This needs to change. There should be better, more positive representation in the media, as representation is so important for the youth and even for adults. Representing the community positively will have a positive impact. For example, sons and daughters with same-gendered (or even nonbinary) parents will see a family that is shaped to look like theirs, and they will no longer think they are weird for having a family so different than the students at school. This is so important. Another thing is eliminating the sense of disgust some have for the community. Those that identify as LGBTQ+ are humans just like them, and they have feelings. Positive representation can contribute to eliminating this, and this will better society as a whole. This could reduce the suicide rates among queer youth. I feel as if the advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and representation is super significant for society for flourish as a whole.

Sadly, I have not been involved in activism. This is because I simply did not know any resources for activism available in my home town, and I have not been in Lexington for very long. However, I hope this changes soon.

#GWS201002

GWS201 Post 1; 1/20/2017

The three blogs I have chosen are x, x, and x. These blogs are sort of a catch-all for social activism. They all wish to spread awareness of issues close to them and to also spread knowledge and educate people on these issues. They are all educational in their own way, and they take different approaches. They are all strong because they have such a large platform. They can reach people from all of the world where tumblr is essentially a global platform. I have learned a lot from even scrolling through each blog, and I find myself agreeing with most of the content on these blogs. Their weaknesses can be there is a lot of pressure, and they could mess up. However, their large platform could educate them in return. Also, some might run into topics that hit close to home and provoke strong emotions from their heart. These blogs seem to handle issues that arise like these calmly, however one blog seems to be a bit hostile at times. Hostility is a common reaction to someone with varying opinions because you can not wrap your head around why someone feels that way, however it is not the best way to educate someone. My reaction comes in the form of agreement; what these blogs are posting and saying is right. Their posts vary from racial issues, LGBT+ activism, feminism, transgender rights, and so on. I find these issues are so important to discuss and talk about, because the conversation can be so limited. I have spent a fair share amount of time attempting to educating myself on social issues as I have an interest in handling them, so I find myself reading things I have learned in the past and supporting them one hundred percent. I want to engage in activism with a clear, straight head on my shoulders. I do not want to dive head first into activism, as it can be a scary world and emotions can get the best of you (as mentioned before). However, I do want to make an impact on someone or maybe even the world.

#GWS201002

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