I found an article on The Washington Post that explains how people who are sexist have
more psychological problems compared to people who aren’t sexist – oh, the
irony. Researchers found 11 norms considered to be “traditionally masculine”
which were the desire to win, need for emotional control, risk-taking,
violence, dominance, sexual promiscuity or playboy behavior, self-reliance,
primacy of work, power over women, disdain for homosexuality and pursuit of
status — and looked to see whether they were associated with particular mental
health outcomes (Kaplan, 2016). They found that men who stuck more strongly to these norms
were more likely to experience problems such as depression, stress, body image
issues, substance abuse and negative social functioning. They were also less
likely to "[T]urn to counseling to help deal with those problems. The effect was
particularly strong for men who emphasized playboy behavior, power over women
and self-reliance" (Kaplan, 2016). If sexism harms both the perpetrator and the victim, then
what’s the point? Understanding the sloth-like speed at which social change
occurs, we can’t expect people that hold sexist views to change over night. We
can, on the other hand, raise kids so that they don’t display this kind of
behavior and try to warn people of the potentially psychological impairment
that these views can have on both parties.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Female Rappers on the Come Up
How many female rappers can you name? A decade ago you
may have only been able to name a hand full – if that. The most common
responses would most likely have been Missy Elliot and Lil’ Kim. Now, you would
probably hear Nicki Minaj, Dej Loaf, and Young M.A., Iggy Azalea, and Honey
Cocaine just to name a few. Female rappers are not only becoming more
prevalent, but also more accepted within the hip-hop/rap culture. To me, it is
extremely interesting that the number of female rappers is in on the rise, not
because I doubt their ability, but because hip-hop/rap is seen as an outlet in
which black men can express their masculinity. From our class discussions,
everyone knows that hip-hop and rap is dominated by black men expressing
hypermasculinity, sexism, and violence. Oddly enough, one of the most profound
topics are women and the use and disposal of them by men. This field is so
dominated by men that one has to wonder why a women would want to be a part of
a culture that degrades their own sex. I would reason that rap isn’t just about
men proving themselves and exploiting women, but it’s a form of expression; it
allows a person to tell a story – their story. Rap allows a person to speak on
things that has greatly impacted their life and contributed to the person they
have become. Obviously, women find pleasure in this form of expression even if
they don’t talk about the same things as men.
The influx of female rappers in and of itself says
something about the transition that is taking place within the hip-hop and rap
culture. Because women are being permitted more access to this historically
male-dominated field, it goes to show that talent supersedes a person’s sex.
Not only that, but this says that the attitude that rappers once held about
allowing female rappers into their faction so to speak has changed. For females
to be granted access to this field is a huge accomplishment and I hope to see
even more female rappers in the next few years.
Overt Sexist Commercials
How many of you have ever drank Folgers coffee? Ate
Skittles? Drank Coke? Some of these most notorious food and drank brands have
not only produced food/drinks that we know and love, but also overtly sexist
commercials and/or ads. I included a commercial that Folgers released in the
1960’s. Watch it. Do you think they would still release something like that
today? Of course not! In fact, I just saw a Folgers commercial and it was
completely different from the one they released in the 1960’s. This just goes to
show how society influences corporations and how corporations influence
society. In other words, if it wasn’t socially acceptable to advertise a
product in such a way, corporations wouldn’t advertise it (or at least I like
to think they wouldn’t). With that being said, commercials like this further
reinforced traditional stereotypical social norms and prototypes that of men
and women. At the end of the day, these monopolized corporations may have just
been trying to appeal to the then dominant view of American culture, but it
still illuminates the mentality that existed in America at that point in time.
I know plenty of older women and women that are not so
old, (40’s) that explained how when they were my age all they wanted to do was
finish high school so they could get a job, a husband, and have kids. My
grandma, for instance, and my best friend’s mom and grandma held this view.
They will tell you that that’s what every girl wanted and that that’s what was
expected of them. Now, women have a lot more autonomy and freedom to decide
first, if they want to have children, and second, when they want them – without
all of the scrutiny and stigma that would have accompanied a women in the
1900’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5-x-9LciYA
Memeculinity
I feel like a lot of social norms are changing, and in
some cases have even been reversed in regards to gender roles of males and
females. I came to this conclusion from the countless amount of memes that I
see every day on Instagram and Facebook. These memes are exploiting the flaws
of men and accrediting women with the roles that men are “supposed” to do.
Having said that, yes, it is socially constructed that men are supposed to be
the breadwinners while the women take care of the children. However, there are
men, and all of us could easily name several right of the back, that truly
believe they are superior to women, that women are there to fulfill their
sexual desires, and to bear their “seed.” With that being said, there are men
who are.. ready for it? Here it is… HYPOCRITES! There are men who believe they
are superior to women, and I mean like total misogynists, yet they rely on
women – whether it be there girlfriend/wife, mother, sister, grandma or what
have you, for support – which is fine! The problem lies where they down talk
and disrespect women when clearly if it weren’t for women they wouldn’t be
where they are. Hence, a lot of memes are being created off of this phenomenon.
Memes become popular when people are able to relate to them, when they are
funny, and/or when they normalize situations that may feel as if they only
apply to you. Needless to say, memes convey a whole lot of truth. I think girls
are tired of men taking all of the credit for things they are “supposed” to do
but don’t. And if you say “Well, we don’t live in those times anymore” or “You
can’t expect a man to be on their A-game 100% of time” that’s cool, in fact
you’re right! Just give women the credit they deserve, that’s all we’re asking
for!
Male Ballet Dancers
A lot of people see male ballot dancers as being
effeminate and find the art emasculating, but you must know that dance is a
wonderful form of expression. Dancers narrate stories from a variety of
different orientations including anything from happiness to darkness and death.
Ballet originated in France and structure and techniques alone are more complex
than most dance genres. Not only that, ballet teaches you the fundamentals of
all dances. Even football players take ballet classes. So, even though football
is seen as the most masculine sport, they use an art that is viewed as feminine
to help them be better and their “masculine” sport. The Benefits of taking ballet as
a football player helps them with their flexibility, strength and stamina. Just
imagine the immense amount of hours practicing grande jeté, pliés, and lifts or
land on your feet gracefully without losing balance. Even hip-hop dancers need
to work on their plies. Male hip-hop dancers should not be the only dancers
that are considered masculine, when clearly it is highly intertwined with
ballet. We should really move away from this idea that male ballot dancers are
gay or feminine simply because of the genre of dance they perform.
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Take it Like a Man: Hegemonic Masculinity
This paper
focuses on the “effects of humour studied within one organization where
physical, misogynistic and homophobic humour is highly emphasized and
encouraged.” The author, Barbara
Plaster, uses the concept of hegemonic masculinity to argue that men use
workplace humor is used to form a “hyper-masculine” identity within this
organization. The definition of humor an interesting area
from the paper as well, because it is not often something we need to
define. Plaster notes the various
manifestations that humor can take, “a stimulus that causes laughter; a
response to a stimulus; or a disposition towards viewing things in a humorous
light.”
Through
observation, Plaster got the following results:
MEN, MASCULINITIES, AND FEMINIST THEORY
This chapter on masculinity by Judith Kegan
Gardiner, examines, from a historical and theoretical perspective, masculinity
and feminism and how they interact. Gardiner
goes all the way back to ancient Greece and Aristotle. “The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle
portrayed women as naturally men’s inferiors in terms of reason.”
Of the proponents of women at that time, Gardiner said they “repeatedly asked if God and nature had made women so clearly inferior to men, why were such strong social inducements necessary to retain their subjugation?” In the chapter, she also touches on white feminism and its implications, as well as “multidimensional feminist theories,” or intersectionality.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
A Crisis of Masculinity: Men Are Struggling to Cope with Life
This article summarizes a study done by
the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which sought to address the reasons
why the male suicide rates in England are at a fifteen-year high. The study surveyed 1000 men and women, and
out of all of them, roughly half confessed some degree of depression; however, the
women were much far more likely to ask for help or to seek confidence with a
friend.
“Men also felt additional
pressure to remain strong during times of crisis. Around 42% of male respondents
said they believe a man is ‘mostly responsible’ for being emotionally strong
and taking charge in a crisis, compared to around 17% of women.”
Jane Powell, chief executive of CALM, said
of the results, “Outmoded, incorrect and misplaced male
self-beliefs are proving lethal and the traditional strong, silent response to
adversity is increasingly failing to protect men from themselves.”
Mental Health & Gender (feat. Hannah Hart)
Mental Health and Gender (feat. Hannah Hart)