So What's Victorias Secret?

While watching and analyzing these videos, I realized that this is a PRIME example of women being sexualized towards men. What else would a straight, average football playing jock want to look at? A WOMAN IN SEXY LINGERIE PLAYING WITH A FOOTBALL. The commercial has nothing to do with the sport of football, but it has everything to do with what men find attractive. Any man who watches this beauty commercial with their wife, would want them to buy sexy lingerie and seduce them in the way the superstar Adriana Lima does.

The text in this commercial is CRUCIAL seeing that Lima has no say throughout the whole commercial. The first time is "Victoria's Secret would like to remind you..." as if the store were to be a real human being who gives advice that women around the world should follow.

"This game will be over soon" is played on the screen as she seductively plays with a football in her hand, making a reference to a woman's husband watching a weekly football game on TV. Lima throws the football to the side and puts her whole focus to the camera. she seductively smiles at the camera and another phrase comes on stating "LET THE REAL GAMES BEGIN" this can be taken in many different ways. Seeing that this is a lingerie and she has this very very very seductive look in her eyes and wind blowing through her hair, it is made evident that it is referring to the ever so over rated SEX.

Sex sure does sell, and it is clearly seen in this commercial that sex is the prominent theme. As sexy as Adriana Lima may look, she is still being set up with a sexy look geared towards men.

By: ANTONIO

The Palins

Bristol Palin you may or may not know who she is but if you don't know who she is you probably recognize her last name from somewhere?? Huh? What? Yes! Sarah Palin! Bristol Palin is obviously Sarah Palin's daughter. Bristol made headline news when she announced she was pregnant at age 17.  The media then questioned Sarah Palin's parenting skills calling her "a bad mom." They made it seem as if Bristol was the first and only pregnant teenager when the present generation has shows like "16 and Pregnant" and " Teen Mom" where girls who are younger than Bristol are also expecting.  Sarah Palin being in the position she was in which is Republican Vice President, was critiqued and teared down due to the pregnancy.

Bristol as seen above obviously did keep the baby and she also was in the campaign advocating abstinence as the answer.  Sarah Palin and her family supported Bristol throughout her pregnancy and through her tumultuous relationship, so I don't see where the "bad mom" side of her comes from. Mom's can not control what their daughters ultimate decide to do with their lives all they can do is support them and be there when no one else is.

By: JEN

Riot Grrrrrrrls!

Riot Grrrl's are a punk band who created themselves to spread the word about feminism. They expressed their feelings and thoughts about the movement by using music, punk music to be exact. I believe that this is a great way of trying to get a message out to people, because music is something a lot of people can listen and relate to. It was a great idea to be expressive. They wanted the freedom of speech to be able to speak about women in the mainstream media and also in a regular basis. I admire them for speaking about personal issues such as; rape and sexual abuse by family members etc,. I salute them for speaking the truth, and the fact that they don't live in a fantasy world, where we all pretend everything is perfect. Not a lot of people are capable of writing and singing about women who are being sexually abused, and arguing the fact that someone has to put a stop to it.

"There is nothing you can buy today that will make you into the kind of person you want to be; only you can do that. Don't let a label define you, let your actions and your truths define you instead. At RGI our passion is helping to make art that is community-driven, politically-mindful, and radically-beautiful. We hope to redefine what a label is, not just to a community but also to an industry. Together we are creating a rEvolution." http://www.riotgrrrlink.com/

Also known for making their homemade zines such as "Girl Germs" and "Bikini Kill," they spoke the truth and things that needed to be discussed. They also wanted to stay away from the mainstream because they did not want people to think otherwise. They wanted the freedom to be able to say what they want without anyone judging or assuming that they are against men, when overall their simply "feminist" who believes that equal rights for both and men and women are needed. they are free spirited who believes that the media is corrupt, especially the music industry. I salute Riot Grrrl for such belief and the fact that they actually took actions for the matter is definitely what we need in order to fight against women rights.

By: CHESCA

Thanksgiving on Wisteria Lane, Sorry Grateful

Thanksgiving on Wisteria Lane, eventful none the less! What are these greedy housewives thankful for exactly? Maybr Gabbys grateful for her long lost daughter who she just came in contact with, maybe Lanette is thankful for her 5 kids and her housewive like lifestyle. I know one thing Susans no thankful for, and thats her husband being gone for 3 months and her childs longing for his daddy to be home and tucking him in bed. Im sure shes not thankful for the many tears her son cries at night while laying in bed trying to fall asleep. But the one thing she is thankful for, her family, and the fact that she has one. What is Bri thankful for? maybe her young hot boyfriend, her son and her long lasting cooking company and successful book. One thing shes not thankful for, her lingering drinking problem, her never ending divorce issues and perhaps her inlaws to be, that she was just introduced to.
These never ending issues dwelling apon these 4 women never seem to end. They all have things to be thankful for and things to not be as grateful for. But the fact is, each women has something ideal about them. Something that every women "should" intail in their lives. Whether it be the stay at home mom and housewive, the greedy gold digger who doesnt appreciate anything and spoils her kids, the perfect rich cook who makes a living from a cook book she wrote, or the struggling women just trying to make ends meet and take care of her son while her husband is away trying to make money for the family. Each women is their own example of the ideal women of today. They all portray a different type of woman that we are "suppose" to be but most of us dont fall under those categories in reality. Instead, we l ook up these women and try to become the woman that they are.
 These expectations just keep growing each week. We think subconciously that this is how we are suppose to be, and we tune in every week to be filled in on the new juicy drama that goes on in these womens lives. We strive off of it! We love it. Because to us, this is what reality looks like. Even though we know inside that its just t.v, somehow to doesnt matter and we look past it and try to reach these unreachable standards set for us. What do we do next? become media literate and pay attention to these things when consuming all this drama! Stay tuneddddd


By: CHELCIE

Momsen Gone Mad

Well guys, this week I decided to expand my horizons and search for more degrading content on women in the media by not reverting back to X17, but instead to thesuperficial.com. This site is quite gold mine for finding stories that pertain specifically to my topic, hence the title. Although it is my first time perusing the website, which is strange for a walking issue of People magazine like myself, I was instantly compelled to write a post on none other than the famous bad girl, Taylor Momsen because I feel like it is extremely important to address a person who can never seem to catch a break.

When Taylor first came on the television scene as the innocent Brooklyite, Jenny Humphrey, in Gossip Girl, she lived a rather normal, sheltered life across the bridge from the coveted Upper Eastside. As her character started to climb the social ladder at her preppy private school and she learned what it took to be the queen bee, her image began to do a 180 and she turned from sweet to sour at the drop of a metro card. Even though Momsen’s actions on the show were scripted, her non- Gossip Girl life began to mirror her on-screen one.

When she wasn’t smoking cigarettes at the age of sixteen or wearing skirts so short you could almost see her cootch, Taylor was attempting to make a life for herself not only as an actress on the popular television show, but also as a singer. This rebellious caked on so much eyeliner she looked like a raccoon and belted out what sounded like a horrible mix of punk rock and rock and roll. Once she emerged on the music seen, the teen began to be associated with her bad girl antics and lost a great deal of respect from her Gossip Girl fans who initially could relate to her on and off-screen.

Recently, Momsen attempted to justify her racy behavior by blaming her parents for brining her up in the fast paced world of modeling at the age of two. While that might slightly justify her “mature” behavior, it is still no reason for her to be posing like a stripper on the cover of Revolver Magazine and smoking cancer sticks two years before she was even legal. Mary-Kate and Ashley started on Full House when they were practically born and while they did have their share of issues, none can compare to the severity of Momsen’s.

Even though I do not agree with Taylor’s actions, I do think the media should take a step back and give the girl a chance to breathe. While I know that stocking celebrities is their job, I still can’t help but think about how much added stress Taylor must endure by being chased around by these creepy shutterbugs on a daily basis and having her every action scrutinized by the public. Although she will never be able to catch a break until she cleans up her life, the fact that she is subjected to their scrutiny only adds salt to her already deep wounds. Let her be, media!! Let her get her life back in order without you being there to wait for her to mess it up. She’s already done that, so what more are you waiting to see her do?

By: ANDREA

Plump Princesses

As a young girl, would you have imagined these women to be looked upon as beautiful? Would you want to dress up like them for halloween? Would these images make you dream about being a princess and finding a prince charming?

As I came across this picture on a blogging website (TUMBLR.COM),at first,  I couldn't help but laugh. I found it to be pretty funny on how someone can create something so different from an imagine that a lot of us have ingrained as children in regards to what Disney Princesses should look like.

The more I looked at this picture, I began to think of how terrible some of these Disney persona's can be. What they do is they teach little girls and well some boys, that being a Disney Princess is all about being SKINNY AND RICH. When in reality, majority of the people in this world don't live and or look that way.

Princess Jasmine up top clearly looks insecure about her weight, with a sad look on her face along with depression. Princess Belle is holding a rose but has a very serious and stern look on her face, not one of happiness. Cinderella has her leg lifted up high attempting to be sexy, but clearly the artist behind the act did not want her to be perceived as sexy. And last but not least Snow White is seen with some food on her hands.

These images are so exaggerated and make it seem as if bigger girls cant be happy, when in reality...any shape, any size, any color can be seen as happy and beautiful it is just sad that we have these ideas and perceptions of beauty ingrained in us at such a young and vulnerable age.

By: ANTONIO

Take a bite of my Bad Girl MEAT!

The world famous Meat Dress that Lady Gaga wore at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards was an outfit that cause much of a ruckus in the main stream media. Majority of the people who don't understand her, or high fashion couture, judged instantly and thought she was crazy for wearing real meat.  People didn't find it to be "beautiful," but I think that "beautiful" can be subjective. At an event where many celebrities where designer gowns, expensive dresses and jewelry,  Lady Gaga was looked down on for simply wearing meat.

Many thought that her wearing of meat was to piss off the people from PETA, but in reality it had a much deeper meaning than anyone could ever imagine and she explained it in her interview with Ellen DeGeneres.
 "Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgement-free human being on the earth. However, it has many interpretations. For me this evening, if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights pretty soon, we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on own bones. And, I am not a piece of meat."

Something that people judged to be weird, out of the ordinary, crazy, disgusting and ugly, had such beautiful meaning behind it.  What mainstream America thinks is beautiful is pretty ridiculous. In London, Paris, Milan and other high fashion capitals of the world, the couture industry is seen as beautiful and it is more appreciated by their media than it is here. That goes to show that wearing something that majority of ignorant and judgmental people find ugly, can really have a beautiful meaning behind it.

By: ANTONIO