Race, Gender and the Media Blog

My name is Kristal Jacobs. I'm a senior public relations major at the University of North Texas. This is a blog dedicated to posts dealing with my Race, Gender and the Media class.

[kristaljacobs]

Always Open

Rooster Teeth's podcast Always Open is a series hosted by Barbara Dunkelman that tackles topics such as sexuality, relationships, life and much more. The guests on the show are always a diverse group of people. For instance, Barbara is Jewish and co host Mariel Salcedo is Mexican and also lesbian. They always include many other girls that work for Rooster Teeth and even other women guests in the gaming and film world. They even have had former porn star Mia Khalifa. They do not exclude men, either. Always Open has insights of all the topics that they talk about from many different types of people.

Sexuality is a major thing that is talked about on Always Open each week. While in society, it is frowned upon for women to share information about their sex life and their sexuality publicly with the world, Always Open breaks down those walls and talks about it comfortably with each other. The title is very accurate because they truly are always open.

Always Open shows girls that it is okay to be a sexual being. Girls can enjoy sex. That is okay. It should not be shameful for women to enjoy sex. However, society has taught us that women are suppose to be "pure" and sex is sinful while it is completely okay for men to enjoy sex. Always Open is a step in the more progressive direction to start the change of allowing women to be open about enjoying sex. Hearing these women share their sexual experiences can help other women know that it is not a problem. It also helps for people who have questions about certain things because they can learn a lot from Always Open.

I believe that Always Open is also important because it teaches viewers that you do not have to be afraid to be yourself. Barbara and friends talking about their experiences can validate someone else's feelings. Seeing someone who is like them who is successful and works for a company like Rooster Teeth can make them feel like they can be successful too.

[kristaljacobs]

Thoughts on “Get Out”

If you haven't seen Jordan Peele's "Get Out," you probably should because it is such a great movie and if you continue reading this blog, I may spoil it for you. "Get Out" is categorized as a horror/thriller movie and it seriously had me sweating at the climax. On the surface level, this movie does a good job being a thriller movie. When you dig a little deeper into the movie, it does a good job at pointing out subtle racism and stereotypes. This movie has a lot of symbolism that it would be impossible for me to dive into every single detail. Every time that you watch this movie, you may see something else.

The main character, Chris, is an African American man who is going to meet his white girlfriend's family for the first time. The beginning of the movie points out the typical reasons a black man may be nervous to meet his white girlfriend's parents. They don't know he is black yet so her dad could chase him away with a shotgun or any other racist thing that they could do to him. His girlfriend tries to relieve his worry by telling him that her dad would have voted for Obama for a third term if he could have. Her dad repeats this later in the movie and I rolled my eyes once again. Trying to prove that you are not racist by *insert qualifier here* is a theme throughout this movie. When Chris is about to get the operation, he asked the guy who is about to get his body "why black people?" and he responds saying that it is not because they are black, but it obviously seems like a trend. I think that this is important to point out because that is something that racist people say a lot because they feel guilty about actually being racist or do not realize that they are racist. However, just because you have a black friend or like one black person, does not mean you cannot also be racist.

The movie also deals with stereotypes of black men. When Chris is meeting all of his girlfriend's family's friends, they say some racist things by assuming stereotypes. One lady asks about if it is true that it is better because of the stereotype of black men being superior in the sexual department. Another person comments on his strength and speed. Another says that being black is "in style." While these all may seem positive, they are still damaging stereotypes to the black community.

After reading other articles and blogs about "Get Out," I learned about other deeper themes and the symbolism. Things like the spoon and the "sunken place" are symbols for how white people have used their privilege to control black people who are powerless. The deer symbolizes how black people and deer are both hunted and displayed as trophies to this family. Also, Chris picking the cotton out of the couch to put in his ears so he could not be hypnotized was clever and ironic.  

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. It keeps you at the edge of your seat as Chris navigates through the weirdness that is happening but also makes you think about the accepted racism in today's society.

[kristaljacobs]

Pop Punk Sexism

In my last blog post, I talked about how the alternative music scene is full of progressive people and was one of the first communities that I noticed that helped kickstart the #MeToo movement. However, just like how the community has its fair share of sexual assault cases, it also has its fair share of sexist lyrics. I’m going to be listing off some sexist and/or slut shaming lyrics from the pop punk scene’s biggest bands.

1. “Do you look yourself straight in the eyes and think about who you let between your thighs?” – Mt. Diablo by The Story so Far

The Story So Far is one of the bigger current pop punk bands. However, they are not so nice to women in their lyrics, or even at their live shows. The lyrics through out all three of their albums seem to be bashing a woman in some sort. Lead singer Parker Cannon must really hate whatever his ex did to him because it is evident in The Story So Far’s lyrics.

2. “Second chances, they don't ever matter, people never change. Once a whore you're nothing more. I'm sorry, that'll never change” – Misery Business by Paramore

Paramore is one of the biggest bands to come out of the pop punk scene and they are not clean when it comes to non slut shaming lyrics. However, lead singer Hayley Williams wrote this song when she was 17 years old and has since apologized for this specific lyric and claims it is not something that she relates to anymore.

3. “I hope he's leaving you empty baby. This is just a fix. Such a simple little whore” – When I Get Home You’re So Dead by Mayday Parade

Mayday Parade was a huge band in the scene during the mid 2000s. However, they also had a lot of sexist and slut shaming in their album A Lesson In Romantics. Like The Story So Far, Mayday Parade a lot of the lyrics are aimed towards an ex that they are angry at.

4. “If you let me have my way I swear I'll tear you apart. 'Cause it's all you can be. You're a drunk and you're scared. It's ladies' night, all the girls drink for free.” – Me  Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis by Brand New

This lyric is super creepy. This song is super creepy. To my understanding, it is about getting a girl at a bar and having their way with her. It is really no surprise that lead singer Jesse Lacey ended up being a sex offender after you really listen to the lyrics of this song. However, the album that this song is on, Deja Entendu, is an album from 2003 that is still held really high in a lot of people’s eyes.

5. “The girls with the bodies like boys with Ferrari's” – Girls & Boys by Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte was the pop punk band in like every early 2000s high school movie. The lyrics in their song Girls & Boys focus on how materialistic girls can be and how “girls don’t like boys. Girls like cars and money.” They are throwing girls into the stereotype that they only love shopping and not much else.

A good thing about a lot of these lyrics is the fact that they are from the early 2000s and most of those bands have matured their lyricism to no longer put women down. While there has been a recent uproar about a new pop punk band called Makeout and them using "whore" in their lyrics referring to a girl, there has not been much else in the last year or so. I hope that this means that the scene is improving.

[kristaljacobs]

#MeToo Movement in the Alternative Music Community

The #MeToo movement is something that has gained a lot of momentum in all different types of communities in the past year. It has encouraged a lot of women and men to come forward with their sexual assault and harassment stories that unfortunately a lot of people have. I am a part of the alternative music community and the #MeToo movement is something that has been around for the past couple of years, even before it was given a name.

The alternative music community is full of a lot of progressive people who are always fighting for the rights of others. The people in the community encourage everyone to be open with their identities and experiences. I think because of that quality, the community was one of the first to start bringing down people who were abusers. It seemed to kick off with some incidents that happened with a solo artist Jake McElfresh aka Front Porch Step. After he was exposed for messing around with underage girls and emotionally abusing his girlfriend, he was banished from the music scene. Other bands that were under attack included Moose Blood, Neck Deep, Foxing and a few others. These bands all dropped whatever member was responsible for whatever was being accused and moved on. YouTuber and emerging solo artist Austin Jones was also outed for soliciting sexual things from underage girls. Another Youtuber and person who was big in the alternative music community who goes by the username "Veeoneeye" was also outed. All of these people coming out with their stories and experiences with these band members, encouraged more and more people to come out with their stories. A lot of the time, there were multiple people with similar stories dealing with the same abuser.

In 2015, after many of the sexual assault and harassment scandals unfolded, Alternative Press Magazine launched a series of features and interviews called "No More Silence" dealing with sexual assault in the scene. The interviews ranged from female and male members of different bands, promoters, music fans and many other people in the community.

Once the #MeToo movement was off and rolling in mainstream media, the alternative music community continued to out its abusers. Bands like Brand New were forced to retire because of the actions of their frontman. More girls came out about a member of bands like Pierce the Veil, With Confidence, Don Bronco, and Sorority Noise. Even Melanie Martinez was accused of sexual assault.

I think that this movement is important because it is making sexual assault and harassment less acceptable. For a long time, people just got away with their horrible actions and got to continue living their life while the victims got no justice. While the alternative music community has a lot of great people who look out for each other, there are a lot of bad people too. Those bad people have been getting away with abusing others for way too long. However, now it feels like we are getting closer to actually holding people accountable for their actions. This is a good way to discourage future offenders because now they know there is going to be real consequences for their actions. It is also important because now victims of sexual assault and harassment are finally not feeling like they are alone and cannot speak up about their experiences. They know people are going to support them now because of this movement. 

[kristaljacobs]

Hate Speech in Online Gaming

Hate speech occurring during online gaming is an issue that the gaming community faces. Hate speech is words that are motivated by a group prejudice intended to physically or psychologically harm someone based on their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. In the gaming community, there is little that is being done to stop hate speech from occurring. Most gamers who play online games and have the ability to chat with others, have experienced hate speech in some form or another.

According to Ryan Rogers in his article “Video Game Design and Acceptance of Hate Speech in Online Gaming,” some of the key variables that contribute to hate speech in gaming is the level of competition and fragmentation. When players are primed with competition they are more aggressive than those primed with cooperation. Players are more likely to get frustrated or mad at someone they are playing against and that could lead to them resorting to hate speech. Fragmentation is a programmed divide in gamer interaction. This includes loading times, a change in the games flow, and malfunctions. These interrupted game play can cause a player to become frustrated. The frustration then can lead to using hate speech. Fragmentation also causes the gamer to become more aware of the distinction of real-life interactions and in-game interactions. This allows the gamer a sense of anonymity while in the game and therefore, they can say whatever they want.

In the study performed in Rogers’ article, they tested three offensive words to see how much they were used and accepted while playing the game “Gears of War 2.” The words “b*tch” and “f*ggot” were used the most frequently and the “n word” was used less frequently. The words were directed at people who did not fit the gamer stereotype, which are women, people of color and homosexuals. “B*tch” was deemed acceptable in all levels of competition, while “f*ggot” was more acceptable in lower levels of competition. The “n word” was not acceptable in any levels of competition, but there was stronger disproval in lower levels.

I believe that there are some solutions that the gaming community can work on to help eliminate hate speech. While Rogers believes that competition should be softened, I do not believe that is a good solution. Competition is a big part of the enjoyment of many games.  First off, reporting other players needs to be more effective. Players need to have better consequences for behaving so poorly while in a game. Right now, a lot of games do not have proper punishment for players who harass others. If players do not fear punishment and serious consequences for their actions, they will continue acting the same way. Another possible contributing solution would be making game designs more diverse. There needs to be more assertive female and minority main characters. Including these characters will help bring in more diverse demographics to play the game. This will show other players that these groups are just as good and welcome in the gaming community as they are. The last possible contributing solution would be to create meaningful interactions in the game to make the gamers feel less distanced from each other. If they are more aware that the person on the other end is a person just like them, they hopefully will respect them more.

To help stop the toxicity in online gaming, over 30 gaming companies have come together to form the “Fair Play Alliance” as of March 23, 2018. These companies include Twitch, Blizzard Entertainment, Discord, Epic Games, Intel, Xbox and Unity Technologies. While the alliance is still in early stages, they “envision a world where games are free of harassment, discrimination, and abuse and where players can express themselves through play.” The companies are going to work together to help better understand the diverse needs of players and how to deliver the best possible experience in their games.

[kristaljacobs]

Women With Words: Female Pioneers in Journalism

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Mayborn School of Journalism hosted the “Women with Words: Female Pioneers in Journalism” panel at the University Union Lyceum on Wednesday, March 21. The panelist included Leona Allen of the Dallas Morning News, Carolyn Barta of the Dallas Morning News, Pulitzer Prize winner and UNT professor Gayle Reaves-King and writer, director and producer Katie Sherrod. The panel was moderated by Dr. Tracy Everbach, a UNT professor. Some of the key points and advice made throughout the program were advocate for yourself, aim high, say yes to opportunities and find a mentor.

Every panelist agreed on the importance of advocating for yourself to get what you want. They said that the reason women often do not get raises or promotions is because they do not ask for them like their male counterparts do. “We didn’t speak up for ourselves and men did. Women thought if they worked hard and did a good job, we would be noticed and promoted. It doesn’t work that way” Barta said. “Many of us deserve a seat at the table and can get it if we advocate for ourselves.” When asked about not speaking up because of risks, Allen said, “There are risks when speaking up, especially for marginalized groups. Perhaps it’s a risk worth taking.” Reaves-King also mentioned that “sometimes you have to move on in order to move up.”

The panel emphasized the importance of women in journalism aiming high. “Aim high. If you want to go work for the New York Times, that’s doable. Shoot higher,” Reaves-King said. She also added that it is okay to start at smaller papers because there are opportunities there too. They also talked about saying yes to more opportunities. “If you are not doing something that scares you to death every once in awhile, you are not growing,” Sherrod said about taking on more opportunities. They said that women are more hesitant to take on opportunities that they are unsure of than men are. However, to reach more success, women need to be more willing to try things they do not know how to do. They said “say yes” and then figure out how to do it afterwards.

They also emphasized the idea of having a woman mentor to help you through anything that you may face and to hear the experiences of. Even when you are in the position of being a boss, it is still good to have a mentor. Another idea that Reaves-King added was getting an internship before you graduate college because it helps a lot.

(Picture credit: @MaybornUNT on Twitter)

[kristaljacobs]

From Slaves to Criminals

I believe that Netflix's "13th" is a great documentary to watch to understand how racism is built into the United States' roots. It is hard to deny that racism still exists in our laws in the United States after watching this film.

Even after slavery ended, African American people were still being treated poorly. Racism did not end in the United States after slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution. African American's are still being treated like slaves by society pushing the agenda to criminalize them. The 13th amendment states that  "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States." The second clause of that sentence is what is damaging to the African American community. The documentary explains how after slavery ended, African Americans were being thrown into jail for very minor crimes just so they could basically become slaves again.

Movies like "The Birth of a Nation," which was one of the biggest films of its time, pushed the idea that African Americans were criminals and less superior to white people. It gave the Ku Klux Klan a "heroic" role and romanticized them. Even the current president, Woodrow Wilson said ""It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true." So even leaders in power were pushing the idea that African Americans were the bad guys. The criminalization of the African American community is still something that happens today. Laws and regulations have been put into place that are damaging to African Americans. Ronald Reagan's "war on drugs" and Bill Clinton's "three strikes and you're out" targeted African American communities and were pretty damaging to them. These laws and policies sent African Americans to prison for long periods of time for nonviolent crimes. According to the documentary, there are more African Americans under criminal supervision today than there were slaves in the 1850's. Big businesses are even profiting off the large population of people in prison. While watching this film, I was shocked to learn about all of the things that the United States has done to keep the systematic racism intact, but more secretly. In the documentary it talks about how they are no longer allowed to straight up say they want to hurt African American communities, so instead they talk about economic things which will in turn hurt African American communities but are not as obvious. This makes me wish for a better future where people are aware of how certain laws and regulations actually hurt a group of people more than it helps society. 

[kristaljacobs]

Eating Disorders Stemming from Unrealistic Goals Set by the Media

The advertising industry and the media has distorted how women are perceived by the world. Women's bodies are edited in an unobtainable and unrealistic way.  As Jean Kilbourne states in Killing Us Softly 4, sometimes four different girls can be pieced together to create one perfect girl in an ad. They are not even using a 100 percent real person. They are creating an unrealistic idea of what women should look like.

Kilbourne also talks about how models have been getting thinner and thinner. Fashion designers are pushing for thinner models and send clothes that are double 0 in size. Even thin models cannot fit into the clothes so they have to become even more thin. They are then photoshopping models even thinner. 

Not only does this hurt the models, but it also hurts the women who see how thin these models are. These models are being pushed as what women should look like. They are the "goal" for many women. However, only "fewer than five percent of women" have this body type. It is not natural for 95 percent of women. It is not a body type that you can force yourself into. Therefore, making women believe that this body type is the most desirable and the best is dangerous. It leads to women hating their bodies and wanting to change themselves. This can lead to eating disorders.   According to the Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness, 25 million Americans, 75 percent of which are women, suffer from eating disorders. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. While not all eating disorders are solely about becoming thin, the unrealistic body expectations set by the media plays a large role in the number of people with eating disorders.

[kristaljacobs]

Colorblindness Does Not End Racism

Talking about race can be an uncomfortable topic for some people. People do not want to be seen as racist. Some people who are that uncomfortable about the topic of race go as far as to say that they do not acknowledge race. They often refer to it as being "color blind." While it may have been said with good intentions, being "color blind" is not helping society overcome racism. It is actually the easy way out and ignores the issues of racism.

Being "color blind" when referring to the color of someone's skin, can be a harmful and ignorant statement. Someone saying that they do not acknowledge race is also saying that they do not acknowledge the experiences that someone has had because of the color of their skin. It assumes that everyone has had the same experiences. However, people of color have to worry about things that a white people may never have thought to worry about. For example as a white person, I never have worried that I could be shot by a police officer if I make too fast of a movement when reaching for my wallet. However, that is something that is a reality for many people of color. Color blindness is ignoring that racism is still an issue in society. It is ignoring oppression.

It discredits someone's identity when you do not acknowledge it. Racial identity is still important. People's identities should be accepted, not ignored. When we ignore race, it allows racial privilege and oppression to continue unchecked. It allows racism to continue. It is important to have conversations about race because that is how people learn about the experiences of others and what they can do to make the world a better place for people of all colors.

[kristaljacobs]

We Should All Be Feminists

I first saw Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED Talk "We Should All Be Feminists" in 2014 when I was a freshman in college in my Gender Studies class. I then heard a snippet of it again in Beyoncé's "Flawless" around the same time. I've come back to watch it a few times since then, before watching it in JOUR 4250. I resonated with the message and agreed with the title. I have had similar experiences as she has being a woman. I have felt ignored and discredited just because I am a woman. It is a frustrating thing.

My mom once told me that I was born a feminist. After learning the definition, I thought "why wouldn't I believe that I am equal to a man?" I never understood how someone could not believe in the equality of the genders. Why should people not be allowed the same opportunities because of their gender?

But after some time on the internet in my early teen years, I was always reluctant to call myself a feminist. It always seemed like people used a negative tone when calling someone a feminist. Feminists always seemed like crazy, man-hating, hairy armpit women. I did not want people to think I was one of those.

Chimamanda emphasizes with her own definition of a feminist that anyone, a man or woman, can be a feminist. You just have to believe in gender equality. That is something that I wish for everyone to hear. It helped me reclaim the title. Feminists are not just the braless women with hairy armpits. They are anyone and everyone who believes that men and women should be equal. Feminists can even be men.

No one should be ashamed to call themselves a feminist. It shouldn't feel like a dirty word or an insult. People should be more proud to call themselves a feminist. I believe that as the years go by, people are more accepting of the word. However, I still see a lot of people still hating on it and refusing to call themselves a feminist just because they still believe that it is about hating men and wanting women superiority. Just looking for a picture on Google to add to my blog, the word "feminism" brings up a lot of graphics about hating feminism or believing that it is not needed. I think that all comes down to accurate education about what feminism is really about.

We, as a society, are far from not needing feminism. There has to be a major cultural shift for us to not need to be fighting for the equality of genders anytime soon. Feminism covers things from dress codes to the "pink tax" to equal pay to rape culture. Feminism also should not just focus on Western World gender issues, it should include the issues in other regions of the world. It should be inclusive to people of all races, classes, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. There is a lot to deal with, but as soon as more people get on board with the idea of feminism, we can begin to end these issues.