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thetalesalchemist · 7 years

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The media, feminism, and me. A post for International Women’s Day 2017

While I consider myself a supporter of feminism and an ally to its cause, I find that virtually none of my favorite creators, authors, artists, scientists, etc. are female or, more importantly, identify as women. I believe that I can be an ally despite that fact but I have to ask myself if I am truly a supporter for the cause of gender equality.

If I don’t support a woman singer her songs and her albums am I a feminist? If I don’t watch women led films or television can I be a feminist? If the anime I like has weak female leads used primarily for fan service or has an overwhelmingly male cast am I supporting the feminist cause?

I find that few of the games I play have female playable characters. Even fewer with female leads. I watch several hours of wrestling a week and rarely, if ever, pay attention to women wrestlers. I watch several all male promotions: ROH, NJPW, and NOAH and I could not care less that there are no women on the roster. I used to be a sports guy but have since fallen out of watching SportsCenter every morning years ago. Still none of the athletes that I care about are women. I don’t watch any sports for them. As if women’s sports are for women.

In every genre of entertainment and in any expressive medium, I seem to avoid anything that has women in a central role. So, perhaps, my claim that I am a feminist is just that, a claim.

The question I must ask myself is “Do I avoid female-centric art?” If I think that I don’t and that I only am predisposed to liking male-centric things or that male focused art is better, does it matter?

I find that rappers like Killer Mike, Jay Z, Slug, etc. are better than Trina, Remy Ma, and Nicki. I prefer singers like Julian Casablancas, Chris Cornell, R. Kelly to Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Lily Allen (who is my fav woman singer), There is no female directer that I follow or whose style I recognize like Snyder, Tarantino, Abrams, Nolan. The Ava DuVernay’s and Katheryn Bigelow’s of the world are award winning visionaries but I couldn’t describe their style or bodies of work. I had to Google other women directors because I’m simply not familair with any who wasn’t an actor first. There’s no actress that I prefer to my favorite actors. Amy Adams is in a few of my favorite recent films but she wouldn’t crack my top 20 for on screen performers. I’ve seen the majority of several actresses’ entire bodies of work and it doesn’t seem to matter to me. I find it hard to fathom that I would see a movie because an actress was in it. For some actors, I would.

In this scenario I’d have to ask myself why is this? Is it because of the subject matter or their work? Or is it something like the quality or my perception of it? Do I believe that their works are inferior to their male colleagues? Perhaps, the roles women are given in Hollywood and the music industry are typecast. Or I just avoid these women’s work because I am sexist? Idk.

In games I think my issue with supporting women and female leads has definite room for improvement. I never create a woman as my avatar. I’m male, identify as a man, so I’ve never, when given an option, chose to play as a woman over in a man when you could create a character. In Dishonored 2 I did choose to play as Emily instead of Corvo but you don’t create either character. I don’t think I know any game creators, directors, art leads, writers, etc. other than Amy Hennig (the writer and director of the first few Uncharted games) and Jade Raymond (of Assassin’s Creed). I will play a game with a female protagonist but I’m not sure if I avoided a game because it had a woman.

Thinking critically of myself I don’t think I would play Final Fantasy XV, my favorite game of last year, if it had a cast of four women. I’m not sure the marketing would capture me in that case. I would hope that having a female lead cast would not have prevented me from playing FFXV. I like Nathan Drake more than Lara Croft. I can’t tell if that’s because of the writing, Nolan North’s performance, or sexism. In Resident Evil 6 there were four campaigns with only one with a woman as the lead. Some campaigns had women characters but the driving focus of the narrative was on the men in them. Ada’s campaign was my favorite but that may be due to the execution and style of the others. In Overwatch my mains are split 50/50 which is a credit to Blizzard for diversifying its cast and the roles they play to encourage its players to be a different hero. In gaming I can’t tell with certainty why I seemingly don’t play games with women playable characters. It could be the style of the game-indie title skew more towards equality (not yet equal though) of female leads than AAA games. Maybe the genre of game is part of it. I prefer action oriented games and those overwhelmingly have guys as the protagonist.

In anime, none of my favorites have a woman lead. In some cases, like Bleach, the girls are there as fan service or damsels in distress. While they all have characters and motivations, their purpose within the story isn’t as important as the fellas that move the story along. I especially love Shonen style battle anime and there will seemingly always be a focus on men as it’s target audience in Japan is young boys. My favorite anime series is Full Metal Alchemist, a series with male leads yet is written by Hiromu Arakawa, a woman (Arakawa’s name is Hiromi but she uses a male pen name).

When it comes to wrestling and (real) sports I, simply, prefer watching the men. When I was a teenager I would watch women’s tennis cus upskirts hehe now that I’m (less im)mature I know now how silly and wrong that was. When I was that age professional wrestling in the US overly sexualized women and that’s the reason why I would watch it then. I would outgrow that behavior too because promotions focused on aesthetics and the women that they hired were trash performers. It’s only recently with NXT generation of women wrestlers (and Natalya too) that I care about women’s wrestling in the US. I love the Japanese style of wrestling, puroresu, but I don’t watch Joshi (female) promotions. I will seek out Joshi matches but at the time, I haven’t yet done the research and the promotions aren’t as easily available as New Japan Pro Wrestling. Back to real sports, now that I, more or less, know what I like. I do not watch any competition between women when there is a male alternative. With MMA I kind of luck into watching women fight as they’re on the same card as the men. I watch only World Cup for women’s soccer. I don’t think I’ve seen a high level soccer game on television other than WC. When I attended UAB, I never watched women’s basketball but went to a few men’s, I only went to one women’s soccer game and I didn’t support any other women’s sport on campus at all. I don’t follow the WNBA at all. I can only name a few players and can’t name a champion team. In women’s NCAA I only know about UConn because they’ve been so dominant. But even without watching ESPN regularly, I can tell you who’s hot and what the teams are doing in the NBA and men’s NCAA.

TLDR:

The crux of my problem is that I don’t know how much fault I bear in having an aversion to women’s artistic pursuits. While I feel like I am a feminist and am all for equal rights and pay, I do not seem to care much or at all about the creative work that women produce. I think it has to do with the exposure of their work. There are very few works of art that have a female lead that are marketed towards me. But I recognize that I should seek these things out as well. I should support women’s work because that, presumably, would help get more women hired in the fields and mediums that I enjoy consuming. In sports I can see clearly that I’m biased toward male competition and I don’t know how to fix that issue. Watching women’s sports would help a bit, sure, but I’m not a huge sports guy and so I’ll generally watch only the “major” events. Those events are, of course, overwhelmingly male. For the arts, literature (which I didn’t touch), film, music, tv, anime, games, etc. I need to consume more works by women featuring women to send a messages to labels, publishers, channels, and studios that there is a demand for their products. The thing is I’ve done things like this before every summer I look for new artists and try to find their work and I regularly seek out new anime. So I think I need to try to find new news sources as well and, perhaps, that would help alleviate the problem I have of not being exposed to what’s popular, critically acclaimed, and highlights women. There’s a lot of work that I have to do to be more inclusive in my hobbies. I’ve tried to do so in the past and while I think I tried to do so sincerely there was little to no impact on diversifying the types of art and its creators that I consume. In order to call myself a feminist and mean it, I NEED to try more works by women. What do you recommend?

#international women's day #feminism #the media

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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7 Famous White Feminists Im So Over

The Urban Dictionary

White Feminism is nowa popular term owing to the abundance of white celebs taking advantage of the movement to further their own interestand career, usually without extending female solidarity or tackling relevant social issues such as trans-womens rights, Hollywoods whitewashing, invisibility of the disabled, police brutality, cultural appropriation, or institutional racism.

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While this type of feminism raises a certain level of awareness to SOME feminist issues, it is harmful in that it paints a negative picture of the overall movement and thusgives dumb, ignorant boys an excuse to create sexist memes so they can call anyone who gets offended as Do not misunderstand me, I do not blame White Feminism as the sole reason why people, especially on the internet, immediately reject the importance and essence of feminism (sad online gnomes who are super bored with their lives and are desperate to be edgy should be held accountable for their own short-sightedness). My point is I would be very unglad if young women were led to believe by their idols that womens rights, solidarity, and empowerment are purely about #squadgoals, #actlikeaman, and #fuckdiets.

Rebecca Vorick, Feminism 101: What Is White Feminism?

Whether as individuals or celebrities, I dont hate the women that I will listbelow, but I do loathe their rejection of intersectional feminism, their habit of whining towards critics, and their collective willfulinabilityto acknowledge andlearn from their white privileged ways.

So here I present to you the role models for White Feminism and why they hella suck:

The Holy Trinity

1. Amy Schumer

Meghan Demaria

The first time I discovered Amy was from her movie after it got rave reviews from critics despite her character being obnoxiousas hell. Hollywood was abuzz with this funny, feminist, body-positive woman. Then I came across this article on her racist antics specifically about her controversial video parody of Beyoncs pro-black . I googled more and found out shes said a ton of racially insensitive things such as that time she joked Mexican men are rapists;or when she was bummed because no lesbians hit on her at a lesbian bar (was she thinking or what?); or when she implied men of color cat-call women more than white men do.

– If your career is built at the expense of minorities whom you mock and dehumanize, then your comedy is probably lazy, gross, and stale tbh. To quote Nathan Robinson but Amys jokes, as the Guardian explains,

If people pointout repeatedly you are racist and you can only respond along the lines of MAYBE you should self-reflectand make an effort to see WHY youre constantly criticized for your tasteless words instead of issuing another hollow Amys PR apologies, like many forced White Feminist apologies, count for nothing until she stops making feebleminded jokes that cater exclusively to a white American audience. Contrary to what Amy has claimed, she doesnt take responsibility for her words and doesnt use criticism against her in order to evolve as an artist and person. Instead she firmly stands her ground, proceeds to produce the same tired material, and shouts

TLDR, Amy, making and being slightly chubby does not a feminist make. No volume of laughter can drown out the fact youre a racist.

2. Lena Dunham

Lena, Lena, Lena. Oh, god, where do I begin?

Rebecca Carroll

If White Feminism were a video game, Lena Dunham would be that aggravating, seemingly unbeatable self-entitled boss villain at the end of the game that suddenly comes alive after you defeat it, cackling at you as it escapes into Video Game Part 2. Without her, the other mini-bosses might not have been enabled. She is the head of the White Feminist hydra whose foot-in-the-mouth diseasereaches far and wide.

"White Feminism" BINGO card. I have experienced ALL of these. Ugh. (From feministbingocards on Tumblr) http://pic.twitter.com/rUo4JubVeO

— Trudy (@thetrudz) February 6, 2015

Which brings me to why shes tied with Amy and why she is THE poster child for White Feminism (I only placed Amy first because I personally find her more unbearable). Because Lena, Amy, and friends are praised as feminist heroines, they and their careers get away virtually unscathed ifthey carelessly make racist, homophobic, or transphobic remarks. While Amy is guilty of proudly creating insipid humor, Lenas affronts are more unsettling.

Shes incredibly narcissistic as shown when she ranted (as in seriously, as in not a joke) about being offended by a black man not flirting with her and when she confessed shed never had an abortion but wished she had one (gurl, there are other ways to drawawareness on an issue without making it about yourself); her tv show supposedly represents feminism but only casts white girls and downplays sexual assault;she repeatedly objectifies black male bodies;she stated unbelievably ignorant gibberish about India and penned a sexist essay on Japan;she tweeted a racist joke about Asians; her view towards Rihannas abusive relationshipis perplexing; she doesnt acknowledge her success was heavily influenced by her wealthy familys connections; and she may have outed her sister to their parents without consent.

Theres also the questionable incident with said sister that Lena wrote of in her book I mean kids do weird crap and girls should be allowed to discover and explore their bodies and do naive stuff, but IDK what to sayabout this one so Ill just quote this anonymous comment on Jezebels article:

And this one by redditor scdi:

Plus this one by Victoria Brownworth:

While Im all for women being shameless in their self-love, theres nothing really new or groundbreaking with Lenas capitalist-centric feminism. Her work has indisputably raisedthe spotlight on important womens issues such as abortion and sexual autonomy, but is that enough given the harm shes done to feminism, to people of color, to LGBTQ+? She invites women to support her and her show because girl power, but hasnt bothered to address intersectionality and diversity, much less internalize any negative comments towards her regarding the above-mentioned stunts.

Lena Dunhams feminism is tone deaf. Theres nothing empowering about a classist, rich, privileged white girl who, like her counterpart Amy, contributes nothing profound or of actual substance for womens issues and is averse to improving her advocacy. I just I cant anymore. Lena, please ssssh.

If youre like me and youre done with Lena DONEham, check out some of the silly things shes saidhere.

3. Taylor Swift

My problematic fave! Who knew she was trouble when she walked in? T-Swizzles damsel-in-distress feminism may not be as toxic as Lena Dunhams, but its still clear as dishwater.

Taylor primarily rose as a status symbol for geeky shy girls, but even then people were already dissing Americas sweetheart. Somewhere along the way it became uncool to hate on Tay-Tay (whether legitimately or not), especially after Kanye stole her moment during the 2009 VMA.

Alas, regardless how polished and sweet your public persona is, if theres dirtunder all that sugar itll inevitably seep through bit by bit.Besides,any person who learns his/her feminism from Lena Dunham should not be trusted.

Ill sayTaylor is a hypocrite. Once upon a time she asserted she was not a feminist until one day she realized feminism is prettyradand helps her brandas an artist(plus it can be handy to dismiss your critics as). Of course its perfectly fine to change your opinion as you mature and learn from your initially confused view of feminism, but weve yet to see Taylor own up her missteps and strive for change.

She built an empire by portraying an angelic female whose biggest enemy is the sexualother female who steals her mans attention, and she exemplified this when she shit on Camille Belles career because Camille dated Taylors ex. She called her clique of BFFs to film a music video to drag Katy Perry after a feud. She accused Nicki Minaj of thereby overshadowingNickis discussion on her legitimate struggles as a black female artist and yet its Taylors character thats being assassinated? K.

Additionally, Taylor seems to be unaware of her privilege as a white woman; she culturally appropriates POC and uses them as props in her videos; her #squad is not inclusive; and her latest drama with Kanye contributes to the stereotypeof the angry black man vsthe innocent, faultless white woman. She also contendsthat if you are female and you do not support her, then there is aspecial place in hellfor you. Her self-serving feminism needs work because her white privilege is showing (and probably stressing out her PR team) and her constantly being marketed as a modern feminist despite her problematic-ness may detrimentally impact her young, impressionable fans.

For more examples of Taylor Swifts misguided feminism, I compiled a page of quotes on Quote Catalog which you can view by clicking here.

Honorable Mentions

4. Tina Fey

Jamie Peck

Tina, while undoubtedly very talented and funny, has stated in a 2009 Vanity Fair interview that (after her husband visited a strip club) she disapproves of strippers because “we need to be better than that”.Meanwhile she has no qualms about slamming sex workers as the punch line to her jokes. Self-worth does not equate to modesty, Tina!

Besides these, shewas complicit in a cast members terminationfrombecausethe actresswas not conventionally attractive. Then there was that episode from her other show that bordered on racist and the other one that parodied a famous doctors appearance which may or may not haveaddedto the doctors depression.

Ill sum this up with a post from blacklamb:

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5. Jennifer Lawrence

Ugh.

I wouldnt have included J. Law here but thenshe wrote that patronizing open letter about the US Presidential elections expressing that loving your neighbors was the answer to ending racial violence.

While were here, Ill point out she says a lot of dumb shitbelievingshes being quirky (like that time she roasted a foreign reporter for using his phones translator) when shes actually being an asshole. Recently she alsodesecrated and destroyed a sacred Hawaiian relic by scratching her butt on it because, again, she thought it was funny even after guides specifically asked herNOT to touch said relics. Ha. Ha. Ha. I guess?

Hopefully Hollywood realizes feminism isnt mainly about women eating pizzaandnot being a size zero.

6. Miley Cyrus

White Feminism, whats good?

Like every other proper White Feminist, Miley Cyrus uses the movement for her own agenda, exploits people of color, and remains mum on important topics such as Black Lives Matter. She is kind of an expert in perpetuating misogynoir and appropriating black culture. Like shes so good at profiting from black people and reformulating black culture into her own style (then whitesplaining about it) that Nicki Minaj called her out on the 2015 VMA stage.

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Thankfully, Mileys antics seems to have simmered down recently. Lets hope other White Feministstake heed.

7. Meryl Streep / Caitlyn Jenner / Tilda Swinton

This last one was confusing. Thereare just too many White Feminists to choose from! So I mergedthree instead.

Remember that time Meryl Streep erased black peoples struggles by saying or when Caitlyn Jenner (as important as her visibility is) transitioned butdenied that same right forother trans-people?; or when Tilda Swinton broke my GOT-fan-girl heart by playing the asian-friend card with Margaret Choto make herself feel better about accepting a role as a whitewashed character?

Hollywood is flocking with White Feminists who range from annoying to problematic to downright toxic. As much as Western Media tries to shove them down my throat as exceptional feminist figures, they do not successfully represent my generation, my gender or genders issues, or my feminism.

Alternatives?

If you want some examples of non-White Feminists, see: Zendaya, Angela Davis, Ariana Grande, Laverne Cox, Mia Mingus, bell hooks, Malala Yousafzai, Matt McGorry (yes, males can be good feminists, too),Amandla Stenberg, Carrie Fisher, etc.

Some of you may complain but pleaseread the sources. I encourage everyone, especially dissenters, to first click the links above if you have questions regarding the incidents, people, or statements written. The thought pieces/web pages the links lead to will likely be able to address your queries and offer more context and in-depth analysis regarding specific issues.

We need to become responsible for actively educating ourselves rather thanjeering should a feminist raise a concern. On the other hand, although its easy to call out White Feminists and leave it at that, this by itself will not help advance the feminist movement or strengthen solidarity. So if you spot a White Feminist, do not just call them out – call them in, too. Encourageothers to practiceintersectionalityand inclusiveness just in case they have not been schooled on the broader philosophies of feminism.

Last notes: critiquing White Feminist celebs does not diminish whatever kindnessthese ladies have done for othersor commendable work theyve accomplished in their fields or in charities (such as Meryls inspirational Golden Globes speech or Taylors altruism for her fans). You can simultaneously be a good celebrity and generous person, and still be a White Feminist.

Iacknowledge the celebrities mentioned may have already offered apologies or addressed certain matters.Thats fine– everybodys activism is messy or imperfect, and it is understandable that a public figures learning process can be more challenging. As long as one isvisibly trying to make an effort to do better it should be okay. Unfortunately most of the people I mentioned dont seem to care much.

Having well-meaning intentions that falter in execution is simply not good enough anymore.

http://ift.tt/2jHFUJP