Standards

Outspoken, driven, opinionated, dominate, successful, outgoing and confident. What do you think of when you recite the adjectives in the last sentence? Most people can describe men with at least two of these words, however can society hold women to the same standards? Can women be outspoken and driven without being rude and selfish? Are female's actions limited based on the lines society draws, defining what is appropriate and what isn't? How will women gain credibility in the public space if we cannot portray dominant roles without being criticized? Female characters that do exhibit the successful CEO position are almost always second guessed in the film or TV series, the audience is usually shown that although she is powerful, deep down she is weak and dependent upon someone else. When male characters, for example Batman, are given a confident and successful role you never see the screen writers dig deep into his emotional weaknesses. When media portrays women with the same standards as men, society may begin to realize that there is no difference between these human beings besides biology. Men and women are capable of sharing the same spaces, men and women are equal. 

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Homeland

My latest obsession would be the show Homeland. The series is about a POW that is found and brought back to the States 8 years later. Carrie, the female main character works for the CIA and develops a theory that this "hero POW" had been turned during his imprisonment in the Middle East. The entire CIA and government officials do not give Carrie any legitimacy throughout the show. For example, Carrie had confirmed several leads and evidence that Brody (former POW) was working with Nazir, the head of the most influential terrorist group (biggest threat to the free world). In order for the CIA to comply with the government, her male director fired her because her bipolar mental condition interfered with security clearance. In every episode she would cry and run to Saul (her colleague) for advice and dependence. In addition, she developed feelings with Brody, a married man with two children. Brody and Carrie had an affair. The CIA used her (body) to gain insight on Brody because he was under suspicion (the CIA finally looked at Carrie's argument).

In season 2 when she is in the psych ward, she has no make up on and she is weak, this represents another example of how women are viewed as fragile and helpless. When season 3 rolls around, jaw dropping events occur. The audience finds out that although the CIA/Congress places Carrie in a mental hospital, Saul created a plan that would lead terrorists to recruit her for information (because her country turned against her, she was weak and looking for support). Carrie shows up at Saul's house and his wife answers the door. She walks in and tells Saul that "it worked they believed me" and he smiles and says "you did good." He blatantly uses her body AGAIN to gain information, unfortunately for Carrie she little went crazy and will never be the same because of it. The question I raise for my readers is "What if Carrie was Carol?" Would a man force himself onto a women to get information? Would a man be betrayed by his colleagues and country for investigating a women's suspicious behavior? Would the public label a man crazy and send him off to a mental hospital so fast and easy without question? The answer is no. Women are viewed so often as the criminals and manipulators our legitimacy is lost. The character of Carrie has several dimensions, although she had sexual relations with Brody, she also was highly intelligent. Intelligence is not commonly a characteristic of female roles, especially within the DOD environment, therefore the fact that she was isolated and made weak by men, shows their fear. By establishing that she is helpless the producers still hold on to Carrie's "sexiness."She is the most important asset to national security and she is a woman <--- that is sexy, not the fact that she is blonde, blue eyed, helpless and lonely.

Defintion of Sexy

sexually attractive or exciting.

"sexy French underwear"

:

sexually attractive, seductive, desirable, alluring, toothsome, sensual, sultry, slinky, provocative, tempting, tantalizing; More nubile, voluptuous, luscious, lush, hot, beddable, foxy, cute; informalbootylicious "he's so sexy" erotic, sexually explicit, arousing, exciting, stimulating, hot, titillating, racy, naughty, risqué, adult, X-rated; rude, pornographic, crude, lewd; informalraunchy, steamy, porno, blue, skin, XXX "sexy videos"   Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Google's very own definition of the adjective "sexy." When I read this definition, red flags popped up in my head. How is an opinion of a human being defined to one word? Why would a professional woman, a female high school drop out, a "single mother" supporting 4 kids, a female CEO, a woman on welfare or a teenage girl want to be viewed as "raunchy"; or any of the other explicit synonyms describing the word we place so much value you in? Why are women only sexy if they are fragile, uneducated, easy and good looking. Is it the intimidation that men develop when they work with a confident, educated women? Or is it the shame that comes over a man when his girlfriend does not depend on him for money and resources? Are women in our society trapped by the boundaries men developed? Was Eve the reason women in today's world represent conniving human beings? Or was it the way the story was interpreted. This post does not put blame on men, however it does analyze the inequality women face. We are equal, we were not put on this earth to be represented as an object, robed of our dignity. It is however the "norm" in our society, because we encourage this behavior and way of thought. What you describe the next women walking down the street as, is completely your opinion; but is she subject to "XXX sexy videos" or is she confident with poise and dignity? The definition of "sexy" is subjective, but please... don't be so shallow.

Miley's performance sexy or not?

During her controversial VMA performance, Miley Cyrus flaunted her half naked body to millions of people in her audience. Half naked women twerking
on stages have been intriguing for some men (strip clubs etc.); however Miley was criticized ever so harshly as being trashy, disgusting, an embarrassment etc., there was no use of the word sexy to describe her performance. However, "sexy" sells, and the value of your image is seen as the highest priority for both men and women. Our society places so much worth in appearance; women must be blonde, skinny, tan and men must be strong and tall. Only with these traits will you appeal to society's eye. Unfortunately for Miley, she fell into this trap as did so many other artists in the industry. What Miley did gained her attention, which is exactly what she intended on doing. She booked her world tour weeks following the performance, profited from the #1 Halloween costume and even had an appearance on Saturday Night Live making fun of our government! Our society does not know what sexy is or how to portray it. Instead the only thing we do is objectify our bodies. Young women and men are being exploited as sex objects by popular industries to sell products and services. The only value humans have is the level of enjoyment they provide for others. We let this happen by continuing the support of these artists, models, alcoholic products, car commercials etc. Why stop this behavior when major industries profit, and has even developed into its own industry. We can teach our children and peers that sexy is not the exploitation of human beings as objects and ideas.

Hunger Games Jennifer Lawrence talks body image.

http://www.youtube.com/v/U3HU7e1XrYA?version=3&autohide=1&autohide=1&feature=share&showinfo=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=1eD0dvDNPiJ3R9qQnCpjLQ

JERSEYLICIOUS ANYONE?

After watching Jerseylicious on Style Network I decided this would be a great opportunity to dive into my first blog post. Although this show serves to many as a guilty pleasure, I wanted to watch this show with a more in depth angle, giving me a chance to analyze how the women in this show portrayed.
 Olivia is a make-up artist working in the salon, in this episode, Anthony who is the manager of the salon, refuses to let Olivia branch out with her own make-up station. However, they reach a conclusion by allowing Olivia to have a small space in the salon that will limit her personal touch (pink and cheetah prints). Although this appears to be an opportunity for Olivia, she is only falling into the glass ceiling ideology of women in the work place. She has the experience to do greater things with her make-up skills but she is trapped in this salon. 

As far as appearance in this show, the women in the salon are dressed in small black cocktail dresses, oversized earrings and an excessive amount of cleavage. They seem to dumb themselves down to achieve the sex appeal as well. Why? Because the network and producers of the show know that sex sells and unfortunately it is at the cost of the women. The men in the salon are dressed in suits and button downs, they are a dominate role in the workplace and demand attention in the room and occupy the working space in the salon by managing.