This is She

Anitah K. University of Tennessee. Women in the Media.

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Am I a Feminist?

At the beginning of the semester, I had a really narrow view on feminism. I had never looked up the definition of feminism, and I did not really want to attach myself to the movement. When asked what feminism was, I said that it was the “ideology” that women are just as capable as men in accomplishing their goals. Looking back, I’m not really sure I knew how to properly use the term ‘ideology’. However, I was on the right path. I currently believe that feminism means equality for women socially, professionally, and in any other spheres. I think that my current feelings about feminism existed prior to this class, but I didn’t know how to label them. I didn’t understand that it was ALREADY a movement and had been for decades. When asked if I was a feminist, I originally said that I wasn’t sure. Furthermore, I talked about how gendered our society continues to be and how this shaped my beliefs that women were not traditionally meant to occupy all the same roles as men. However, I realize that I’ve been raised as a feminist subconsciously. My parents have always made sure that I don’t think that I’m only meant to do certain occupations. They made sure my brothers and I had the same type of chores growing up. No tasks were gendered. Therefore, I guess I’ve been a feminist all along because I have never felt that women were inferior to men in achieving their goals. 

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Dear White People,

In the University of Tennessee, it is very obvious that diversity is lacking. In terms of race, religious beliefs, socioeconomics, and sexuality, this school is like a swimming pool of straight, white, middle-class Christians from suburbia. If you don’t fit into this quota or find a group representative of your qualities, it is easy to drown. As an African American student, I’m a part of the 8% that constitutes the black/African American quota at UT. In my 2 years of college, I have come to realize how awkwardly the aforementioned majority navigate through racially charged issues which would never surface in their safe suburbia. In fact, my experiences here can perfectly be summarized by the movie “Dear White People”, a satire following the lives of four black students attending a primarily white Ivy League school.  Here are a couple of points from the movie that correlate perfectly with my college experiences:

1. “Racism is over in America.” I’ve heard plenty of students claim that racism does not actually exist anymore and I’ve heard others state that racism will end if we ignore it completely. These tend to be the same people who ask why white history month does not exist and how the Oscars can be racist if *insert black actor* just won an award. In the movie, racism is portrayed through various forms such as an analysis on Gremlins (a movie) and a black-face fraternity party. Both expose overt acts of racism, but the majority of white students don’t find faults with either.

2. “You act so white for a black person.” In “Dear White People”, one of the black characters feels that he will not fit in with his black peers because of his personal preferences in style, music, and movies. At UT, I have noticed that some students do not realize that a person of a specific race does not have to like the music, movies, styles or anything else that is associated with that person’s race. If a black student does not listen to rap or speak in Ebonics, it is okay. The world is evolving and so are personal tastes.  Lessons Overall, I think if UT students objectively watched this movie, they’d learn to reassess their stereotypes and even laugh at the portrayals. Personally, I think this movie does a good job of capturing white stereotypes that would never be openly discussed in any other form of media. At a time like this, it is important to acknowledge that racism does exist and that it cannot be ignored. With the diversity office in the midst of losing funding, it is important for the majority to question how the university would suffer if it let the voices of the minority drown within the swimming pool.

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Watch: As Blythe’s poem ends, it’s clear what we must do in the face of rape culture and “pocket feminism.”

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WOW WOW WOW PLEASE WATCH THIS

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Social Media & Its Accomplices

My relationship with social media began when I first created a Myspace account in middle school. Although I didn’t realize it at first, Myspace started my addiction with status. I wanted to make more friends, have the flashiest profile page, and convince everyone else that I was living this great life. Then, when Myspace’s popularity died down, I joined Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. There were endless ways to show off this not-fully-honest online persona and I bought into it big time. I remember getting home from school and logging on to every social media website trying to keep up with everyone. Every single day for at least an hour (sometimes two or three), I’d just scroll aimlessly while judging people and keeping tabs. Even though social media had no significant purpose in my life, I felt that without it, I would really be disconnected from all these people who I don’t communicate with in person. It was a silently dangerous addiction. At some point, it became hard to disassociate my online persona from my real one. The online persona was this popular, happy, and insightful person and I really wanted to believe I was the same way. However, I was far from that person. Eventually, I took some time from social media and began reconnecting with ‘online’ friends (in person) and separating the online me from the real me. I’d like to say I ended my obsession with social media, but I think I just learned to moderate my use. I know that my experience with social media isn’t unique, but I think it’s significant in outlining just how addicted my generation is with image. I think that we are the most narcissistic generation and that we are too dependent on public opinion.

Going hand in hand with my social media addiction was my television addiction. The biggest influence in my tv queue was of course trashy tv (at first). However, I’ve recently turned a new leaf and I’ve become more critical of what I view. Even though I do indulge in shows that don’t always promote women as positive role models, I no longer let it influence my actions.

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My Perspective on Femininity (and its Pitfalls)

In high school, I was really notorious for being caught-up on everything considered “trashy TV”. Reality TV shows, after school specials, chick flicks...you name it, I could quote it. The epitome of trashy TV for me was (and still remains) ABC Family’s least creative, teen-based show “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” At that age, sex was such a scandalous topic and this show normalized teenage sexuality in my eyes. In terms of sex (the physical act) and gender, TSLOTAT really enforced the idea that girls were never the ones who wanted sex. In fact, the one character who would pursue guys and frequently have sex was labeled a slut and “edgy”. All the other girls in the show were dainty, girly, contained, (straight), and always waiting on the guys to make a move. This stereotype of high school girls shaped my idealized notions of femininity for a long time. So, during freshman year, I stepped into high school believing that if I was really girly and “contained”, the right boy would be charmed and eventually ask me on a date. Sadly, nothing happened. This recipe for disaster was repeated a couple more times (embarrassingly too many times to mention) and eventually, I realized that I was not a character on The Secret Life. It didn’t matter how girly I acted, or how frilly my blouses were--- I wasn’t stepping up to the plate to bat anytime soon.  By the time I came to this conclusion, I was already graduated and moving into a college dorm. However, things were looking up because I stopped basing real life circumstances from cheaply-written after-school specials. Do I regret taking advice from fictional TV characters in order to survive high school? Maybe. Have I learned to separate the idealized TV teenagers from actual teenagers? Definitely. 

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Scholars state that harmful representations of women persist because the media uses objectifying and often hyper-sexualized images to see products/ideas/services. Who or what benefits from the misrepresentations of women in the media? Who holds responsibility? 

This is a very difficult question to answer. In many ways, its difficult to tell the difference between exploitation and empowerment. From a traditional point of view you can say men benefit from the misrepresentations of women in media. Men are not seeing other men as sexualized objects, therefore they know that they can aim to be more than a half naked person in a commercial eating a hamburger. When women see the commercial they see they can use their looks to get a monetary gain via a less traditional route like going to college and obtaining a degree. If everyone gets rid of these societal barriers and view things as just what they are, and not feel the need to carry it on into a more personal sense, everyone can benefit. Women will have the empowerment to use their looks but not get the backlash from doing so later on in life when they want to move on to better endeavors. Men will see women as equals that can do more than pose in hamburgers commercials sexually. 

Ema Auernheimer Anitah Kiombe

Savannah Bailey

Wilbert Chew

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Miss-Representation

Miss-Representation covers the many conceptions of women’s roles often featured in today’s media. Topics such as female sexualization, politics, and Hollywood criteria are discussed by high school students, famous political figures, and actresses. These women all share their common struggles endured in our patriarchal system. Listed below are the two topics in the film that resonated the most: Women in power 

“Only 17% of congress is made up of women” Although the United States has a greater population of women, congress supposedly only has room for 17% of these positions to be filled by them. In a country that claims to be ahead of others in terms of rights and equality, this number is a slap in the face. Congress, which is heavily made up of old, white upper-class Protestant men, cannot fully expect to achieve equal rights if it’s under-represented in terms of women—unless equality means a fair power split among men and women is now 83-17. Additionally, it continues to imply that the female voice will always be muted to the government since that 17% is many times outnumbered by the 83%. Consider this: If the percentage of women in congress tripled so as to accurately portray the population ratio between men and women, would congress actually get more accomplished (in terms of equality)? We are our greatest enemy “Women judge each other more harshly” Miss-Representation exhibited a significant example of women pitting themselves against each other. For example, Devanshi Patel, a student running in the YMCA Youth in Government is seen losing the elections to a young white male even though 65% of the voters were girls her age. Although this isn’t a vicious example of judgment, it does show how unsupportive the female community is. Also, it maintains the idea that positions of power are to be continuously filled by white men.  Therefore, if we are so set on equality, how is it that women expect each other to adhere to the standards set by men? Does it not defeat the purpose of going against the patriarchal system?