News Flash 2: Women Fired for Being to Hot in the Work Place

A very beautiful women works at Citibank and one day gets called into her boss’s office. She never thought for one second she would be listening to a man tell her that because she was too beautiful she needed to change what cloths she wore for the sake of them men in her office. She became rightfully outraged when saying “You got to be kidding me, too distracting? For who? For you?” (1).

Elizabeth Dwoskin’s article “Is This Women Too Hot To Be A Banker?” is about a women being discriminated against because of her gender. Debreahlee Lorenzana is filing a lawsuit because she was told she was too hot and then they fired her for it. She dressed up like everyone else does when they go to work. She puts on her makeup and does her hair and nails. Her boss told her “because of her shape and figure, such cloths were too distracting for her male colleagues and supervisors to bear”. They told her she was not allowed to wear classic high heals or anything too tight. They told her she couldn’t wear things such as turtlenecks, long pencil skirts and shoes with 3-inch heels. Why does she have to change for the men? She is being discriminated against because she is a women and she is the one who is made to have to change or get fired.

This is shown in Douglas’s “You Go, Girl” Chapter because women in the 90s start to gain power in different areas. The work place being one of those areas. Debrahlee talks about how she grew up being raised very feminine and doing things like dressing nice and putting on make up was part of her upbringing as a Latin women. Douglas says that “enlightened sexism has become more complicated and often more virulent. While on the other end is suggests that women should be objectified and should be rendered powerless” (Douglas,131-132). By telling Debrahlee what she can and cannot do in the work environment or risk losing her job it renders her powerless. All that feminism that was brought into her life by her upbringing is stripped away from her. Debrahlee is infuriated because the male workers cannot control their sexual parts and if they look at her all they think about is sex. How is this her fault? She took pictures of women who dressed exactly like she did as proof that she wasn’t wearing scandalous outfits or purposely putting her self into these situations. Her boss also told her to come to a photo shot in his office because she should have pictures of her in conservative outfits for her court cases” (1).

Most of the time men are usually charged with sexual harassment in the work environment for saying vulgar things about the women. Debrahless’s boss took a different approach about the situation. He told her what to wear, and what not to wear. He even told her to wear certain amount of makeup so she didn’t look to “sickly” or to straighten her hair everyday. This basically has turned into harassment in general. It wouldn’t have mattered what she was wearing, her colleagues would fins something to comment about everyday. It made the work environment impossible to work at for Debrahlee.

This also reminds me of Douglas’s chapter on “reality Bites”. Douglas talks about how reality television is scripted and women are forced into certain roles. Men look at women in this stereotypical role of being, bitchy, catty, and slutty all around and this is how women “really are”. Men watch out! Men should not judge on stereotypes because a woman is beautiful. This is also seen on TV with these reality shows. One psychologist reported that she was “struck by how embedded in the show’s narrative were the common stereotypes of gender” (Douglas, 192). Men that Debrahlee worked with picked out anything they could to make sure she felt powerless. Maybe it was because she was in a strong position or was doing a better job then them? They picked on the only thing they could pretend to find offensive. Apparently, this wasn’t the first case of sexually related lawsuits that Citibank has piling up against them. Her lawyer, Jack Tucker, is the first one to say Debbie is attractive but there should be self-control in the environment. When she couldn’t do anything about her being attractive they fired her.

Douglas says that there are many quotes about women who are higher up the ladder in their jobs or just show aggressive power in their work. Words such as “bitch” or “emotional” are common ones. Also, there are words such as “manipulative” and “two-faced”. These words are each said for their own particular reason and each one is offensive as the next. There are no comments that say anything like this when a man comes into power or makes an aggressive decision. This is because “male privilege is simply the unstated, taken for granted foundation of most of this genre” (Douglas, 196). Douglas also states her top ten list of enlightened sexism action under the case of “reality”. Her number one is “Women are to be judged first and foremost by their appearance” (196). It looks like this was the reason Debrahlee was judged on. Number 4 says the women are overly emotional. So this must be the reason why Debrahlee is upset, it can’t be because she was sexually discriminated against it has to be her fault somehow.

Citibank had made Debrahlee sign a “mandatory-arbitration clauses as a condition of her employment, the case will never end up before a jury or judge” (1). She did get to tell her story to the papers and many people know about the situation. It is unfortunate on how things ended up but we now know why they made her sign that clause. Sexual cases against Citibank and have been brought up numerous times and they were setting up to cover their backs for future times as well.

In conclusion, I believe that Debrahlee was treated very unfairly and that there should be away around the clause she signed through the sexual harassment. Just because she is a beautiful women, doesn't mean that men have the right to make her change because they cannot control themselves. This makes it look like we have taken a further step back in our fight for equal rights and feminism.

Article: http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-01/news/is-this-woman-too-hot-to-work-in-a-bank/1/

Youtube video on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8m_9HEKHNc

Work Cited:

Douglas, Susan. Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done. New York: Times Books, 2010

Dwoskin, Elizabeth. "Is This Women To Hot To Be A Banker?". The Village Voice News, 01 June 2010. < http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-01/news/is-this-woman-too-hot-to-work-in-a-bank/1/>

Motherly Love and Sacrifice

Rosanna Eang’s article “Leading By Example” describes the bleak reality that many Immigrant families experience with their struggles with poverty in the US. Reading her article, I was immediately able to sympathize with many of her childhood and cultural experiences growing up, and relate to the sacrifices her mother made to support her family. Like Rosanna’s mother, my mother emigrated from the Philippines to the United States with no social capital and very little money, navigating her way through foreign cultural waters with undeterred resiliency and determination.

Reading Rosanna’s story made me more appreciative and cognizant of the numerous sacrifices my Mother made in order to ensure a brighter future for me and my brother. One of those sacrifices is her professional ambitions and career goals, a sacrifice that resonates with many women’s experiences balancing family responsibilities and career aspirations. Like Eang’s mother, my mother has maintained traditional cultural expectations of fulfilling household duties, whilst simultaneously working outside the home to help assist financially along with my father. However, taking care of household responsibilities and raising my brother and I limited her opportunity to pursue her own goals, sacrificing her aspirations for her children’s education. This is a serious repercussion of our gendered division of labor, imposing a double burden of cultural expectations and financial responsibility on mothers. For single mother families, the implications are far more disparaging.

Gwendolyn Mink’s article explores the political dimensions of welfare and the experiences of single mothers. She examines the passing of the Personal Responsibility Act and the severe implications it bears on women’s rights; the new welfare law distinguishes poor single mothers as a separate class, subject to a separate system of law by requiring them to work outside the home. The law not only made it harder for single parent mothers to provide for their children, it diminished the value and integrity of their work and further marginalized their status in society. Mink defends welfare as an affirmative right of poor single mothers, and claims that welfare (income support for caregivers) is a condition of women’s equality. Her re-conceptualization of welfare as income “owed” to a person who works inside the home caring for children illuminates the lack of resources, attention and respect our society gives to single mother households. The promise of the future lies within the youth of the present; making sure our society provides enough resources, support, and social services for single mothers to thrive is a necessary in order to ensure that future is bright.

Poverty and Welfare with Women

Eang's article on Leading by Example discusses her experience with poverty, sexual assault, war, under age labor and family. Her family escaped from Cambodia after hiding out during the War but with loss of aunts, uncles and grandparents. She was lucky to be born in the US where she lived in poverty right off the bat. Her mother did what ever she could to keep food on the table and to send her children to school. When she was young she was sexually assaulted by an older man. It was a very traumatic event for her and effected her deeply. She eventually started school because her mom wanted to her to have an education to make a better life. When she was in second grade she started doing full time manual labor on weekends, summer and days she wasn't in school. That is very illegal but once again no one stopped them for this because it was cheap labor. They were only paid $4.50 under the table. Which means they probably had illegal immigrants working there as well. Her mother worked many jobs and went to night school so that she wouldn't make he same mistake twice. She did not know English and took her child to the hospital and signed a form that allowed them to do medical testing on her and she died. Eang and her sisters all graduated and went to college. She learned about women's studies there and realized that she considered herself as a feminist. She learned from her experiences and now is working to go to medical school to help women and children.

Mink's article talks about how they stand up and speak for poor women and gender inequality. I believe this a great idea because women sometimes need other women to speak up for them because they might not know how to or not know what to say. Welfare is also a women's issue and its the war against welfare in some cases. Mink pays attention the relationship between welfare and equality and welfare and feminism. She brings up the Personal Responsibility Act and the effects it has on poverty and the welfare system. Also the New Deal Social Security Act has been being talked about.

News Flash 2: Save the Ta Tas…and Then the Women

*Link to article: http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-human-condition/2009/10/02/sexy-breast-cancer-ads-provocative-or-patronizing.html

A woman walks across an ogling crowd. Decked in a white bikini, she floats across the rim of a pool, as stares follow her every motion. The camera zooms in on her chest, crudely illuminating her bouncing breasts. The screen changes, and the audience is told: “You know you like them…now it’s time…to save the boobs.”

These images portray just one example of the new (deemed “revolutionary”) form of advertising for breast cancer awareness month. Specifically, the above example describes an ad for the “Booby Ball,” a Canadian philanthropic event created to promote funding for breast cancer research (the link to the ad is provided below). This method of advertising was a viral success, with 350,000 hits on Youtube, and a feature on Best Week Ever and CNN.com. However, even though this ad is viewed as a marketing achievement, it is questionable whether it has been created with the best intentions for breast cancer patients. Many other philanthropic groups are taking advantage of our nation’s general attraction to breasts in order to capture the attention of the youth for breast-cancer awareness endorsement. In a recent Newsweek article, “Sexy Breast-Cancer Ads: Provocative or Patronizing?” Kate Dailey discusses numerous responses to these sexy ads, and she holds that instead of promoting breast-cancer awareness, these ads may be merely promoting breasts themselves.

As is reiterated in Douglas’s “Sex ‘R’ Us” chapter, perhaps one of the most unfortunate consequences of the achieved strides of sex-positive feminists is the over-exposure and the over-emphasis on female body parts that has become the norm in society today. Sex and the exposure of sexual organs have completely flooded our airwaves. The sexualization of women can even be seen at extremely young ages with the incidence of television shows such as “Toddlers & Tiaras.” Douglas demonstrates that open sexual publicity can also be seen in many other aspects of the media such as most magazines (i.e. Cosmo, Maxim, etc.), the music industry, film, and TV. As we have discussed in class, even the show Sex and the City, which has made some advances for women in that it presents very real women openly discussing their sexual habits (thus partially dissolving the existing double standard for women today), becomes highly sexualized with numerous explicit scenes of these women in compromising positions.

Overall, both men and women are transformed into sexual symbols within copious advertisements for differing products today. Thus, the use of breasts to promote a product (such as breast-cancer research) is the opposite of innovative, as is demonstrated by Douglas, Steinem, and Brumberg. However, many believe that this mode of advertising is important for disease awareness within our society. On one hand, using explicit ads coupled with slang or humor (i.e. with slogans such as, “Save Second Base,” or, “Save The Ta Tas”) is one way to make breast cancer conversations easier for our younger generations, thus encouraging youth support for this prevalent issue. Moreover, revealing Double Ds on-screen is definitely more effective than exhibiting a clip of radiation or chemotherapy in relation to gaining a younger cancer-research following. Thus, this “lighter” mode of advertising allows those who may be intimidated or afraid of serious disease to enter the playing field. In Dailey’s article, activist Matthew Zachary, the founder and CEO of “I’m Too Young for This” (an outreach organization for young people with cancer) states, “I’m happy to see women being objectified in a way that’s for the intention of public good, instead of exploitation for selling products and merchandise for things people don’t need.”

On the other hand, breast cancer IS an extremely serious disease, and though these ads may be clever or humorous, they do not address the realities or seriousness of cancer. As is stated by Kairol Rosenthal in Dailey’s article (author of Everything Changes: The Insider Guide to Cancer in Your 20s), “…it is such a mistake to think that we have to dress up cancer into something prettier than it really is to get people to think about it.” Overall, with the incidence of provocative ads for breast cancer, we are further sexualizing yet another social issue that is, in fact, a far cry away from sexy.

One problem with these sexy breast cancer ads is that the general emphasis of breasts as sex objects in society makes us feel uncomfortable discussing them or viewing them in any other context, whether it be their function (i.e. breast-feeding) or abnormalities within them (i.e. cancer). Thus, the way that people deal with breast cancer becomes another example of society’s uneasiness with the female body, as is discussed by Anne Fausto-Sterling in “Hormonal Hurricanes.” Women with breast cancer become unwanted because their main expression of femininity (or healthy breasts) is now deviant from the norm.

Another price of the general overflow of sex in breast cancer-related media is that it is highly offensive to women who are going through the disease itself. How are women who have just been diagnosed with the disease, or who have mastectomy scars, supposed to respond to a pair of large breasts that are shoved in their faces? Overall, these videos and ads that inject humor into breast cancer completely feign reality for cancer patients. These ads have absolutely nothing to do with real women or breasts. Instead, the ads turn the female body into a product, just like typical beer ads. Moreover, these ads solely highlight breasts as a body part to be saved when it comes to cancer; they forget that the women behind them need to be saved as well. Thus, the (perhaps) unintended effect of forcing younger generations to focus on breasts (for a good cause!) is that advertisers, yet again, only acknowledge a prominent female body part instead of the woman herself, further objectifying all women today.

In fact, cancer patients and survivors are not the only ones who suffer from sexy breast cancer ads and videos. As Douglas reiterates in her “Lean and Mean” chapter, the objectification of women in any form of advertising has been linked to unhealthy habits in many women. These ads teach young girls that the best way to obtain power in our society is to cater to what men want in a sexual manner. Thus, our media conveys the idea that only when girls become an object of desire can they obtain true happiness. While this mindset not only unsparingly subordinates women, it can also lead to depression, anxiety, and eating disorders in females.

Overall, breasts should not be seen as the ultimate form of power for women in society. Moreover, provocative breast cancer ads should not aid in creating these false ideals about the role of breasts in society. Most importantly, cancer patients should not be made to feel less feminine or more weak due to an irregularity in their breasts. It is crucial for all women to remember that they are not empowered through their bodies or through their body parts. Thus, we need to push the boundaries of inequality and subordination that exist in advertising today, in order to prevent feelings of objectification, self-loathing, and abnormality for the sake of cancer patients and for that of all women.

*Here is the viral video promoting the “Booby Ball” that sparked Dailey’s words in this article:

http://vimeo.com/16024300

Works Cited

Brumberg, Joan. “Body Projects” from The Body Project.

Dailey, Kate. “Sexy Breast-Cancer Ads: Provocative or Patronizing?” Newsweek 02 Oct 2009: Web. 22 Feb 2011. < http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-human-condition/2009/10/02/sexy-breast-cancer-ads-provocative-or-patronizing.html>

Douglas, Susan. Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done. New York: Times Books, 2010. Print.

Fausto-Sterling, Anne. Hormonal Hurricanes.

Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies, & Advertising.

Invisible Laborers: The Trials of Motherhood

After reading the work of both Rosanna Eang and Gwendolyn Mink, I was awakened to many of the harsh realities that face poverty-stricken mothers in our country today. I was astounded by the work that Eang’s mother had to carry out solely to support the well-being of her family. This woman was not only an inspiration for Eang, but for me as well. Eang’s piece was extremely moving for me because it made me think critically about my own privileged childhood. Throughout my life, my mother was able to fully be there for me every single day of the week because she not only works part-time as a doctor, but she also holds great hours. I cannot imagine not having this time with her as a child, let alone, not seeing her for an entire week like Eang had to experience.

As Mink portrays in her piece, the luxury of part-time work is not an option for single, poverty-stricken mothers. The passing of the Personal Responsibility Act in 1996 stripped poor single mothers of welfare rights, thus punishing them for making the decision to bear children. This act not only placed millions of children into destitution, but it also made impoverished single mothers the only US citizens who are required to work outside of the home. Mink illustrates how problematic this policy is for the sake of both these women and for the livelihoods of their children. She further proposes that as a society we need to change the commonly held viewpoint of the masses that the role of a stay-at-home-mother is not a form of work.

Although my mother loved spending so much time at home with my sister and me during the week, I am POSITIVE that we could be nearly impossible to deal with at times (especially during our middle-school years). My mother fully encapsulated an upper-middle class housewife in her days at home: she was required to prepare our family’s meals, she drove my sister and I to and from school and to our numerous social activities, she cleaned the house, she did the laundry, etc. In society, individuals who do such work (chefs, drivers, housekeepers) are fully paid, and yet, mothers fall to the wayside and are given no economic compensation for their care-taking roles. The future of our country lies in all children, and thus, care-giving is one of the most important jobs that anyone can undertake. Overall, as Mink states, we need to place more social and economic emphasis onto mothers so that their roles are not taken advantage of, and so that all children in our country can have the childhoods that they deserve.

Boys Dont Cry: Gender and Sexuality in a heteronormative society

We live in a society where we wear our gender on our sleeve; from the clothes we wear, to the shoes we walk in, our physical appearance is often a marker and label for gender and sexual orientation. Our culture places significant weight and emphasis on being able to ascertain a person’s correct “sex” easily, and when this cannot be easily determined, frustration, confusion, anger and violence often emerge. We live our lifestyles under certain constructions of masculinity and femininity, and when one does not meet these expectations of gender behavior, he or she is often considered sexually deviant and abnormal, and often subjected to physical and emotional abuse.

The film Boys Don’t Cry portrays the harsh reality of the repercussions that arise from our cultures deeply entrenched devotion to the idea of a two sex system, and our rigid constructions for sexual behavior and gender roles. The movie is based on the real life story of Brandon Teena, a young female-to-male non operative transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who becomes the target to physical threats, harassment, and abuse for her biological sex and sexual orientation. The story takes place in Falls City, Nebraska, where Brandon cultivates relationships with ex-convicts John Lotter and Tom Nissen, and their friends Candace and Lana Tisdel, the latter of which he becomes romantically involved with. Brandon, concealing her biological sex throughout the film by wearing traditional male clothes, compressing her breasts with ace bandage, and deigning to peer pressure and humiliation, illuminates the performative nature of gender roles in mainstream heteronormative society. In order to “fit in” as a male, she must conform and adhere to local constructions of masculinity, and her struggle to assimilate into society reflects the rigid definitions of gender and sexuality that exists in our culture. Although she is able to conceal her feminine identity for some time, previous court summons and encounters with law enforcement soon expose her biological sex, leading to her physical abuse, rape, and eventual death by John Lotter and Tom Nissen.

The film is a tragic story that resonates well with several themes and motifs discussed in class and in readings. The Film’s title alone touches on gender performance; suggesting “Boys don’t Cry” appeals to the inaccurate notion that men, albeit manly men, are not supposed to cry, and are unable to express themselves emotionally due signs of vulnerability and weakness that are often attached to crying. Throughout the film, John and Tom are portrayed as brute, rambunctious, aggressive, and violent men, adhering to typical gender stereotypes. They drink beer, drive around recklessly, and encourage Brandon to participate in their male activities, often resulting in her humiliation and physical pain. In one scene, when asked why she allows Tom and John to drag her around in a truck “dirt boarding”, she responds “I just thought that’s what guys do around here”, indicating her effort to adhere to the performative nature of masculinity. Lana Tisdel, Brandon’s love interest, also demonstrates her adherence to societal constructions of femininity and beauty through her insecurities about her body. Although her physical appearance is perfectly normal, several times throughout the movie she is shown critiquing her body through a mirror; in one scene, she even remarks about not being able to wear her jeans because “they make [her] look fat.”

The adversity Brandon faces to assimilate into male culture, though endowed with a female body creates a sexual identity crisis that she does not know how to confront or express. The frustration that emerges from identifying herself as a male while biologically being a female reflects the rigidity of our construction of sex and gender. Anne Fausto-Sterling challenges our social constructions for sex and illuminates mainstream societies insistence on and acceptance of a male-female dichotomy in her novel “Sexing the Body”. As she expresses, “We have begun to insist on the male-female dichotomy at increasing early ages, making the two-sex system more deeply a part of how we imagine human life and giving it the appearance of being both inborn and natural.” (31) However, the reality is that many individuals in society share similar experiences like Brandon Teena, suffering from being able to fit neatly into this two-fold categorization of sexual identity. The movie also resonates with Adrienne Rich’s sentiments expressed in “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” in which society operates under a required assumption of heterosexuality, denying lesbian existence and denying women of their own sexuality.

Hilary Swank’s gut-wrenching performance and powerful portrayal of Brandon Teena evokes a sharp emotional response regarding the rigid constructions of gender and sexuality in which our society operates, a frustration that many can relate to, regardless of sexual orientation and gender. The reality is that many aspects of our culture are becoming increasingly gendered, imposing performative constraints on how people should behave and express themselves sexually. Even our language is deeply entrenched and embedded in this mentality; referring to Brandon proved difficult as conventional language refers to individuals through “he” or “she”, ignoring those who are neither male nor female, or perhaps, both at once. “Boys Don’t Cry” effectively illuminates the struggle many gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals face in dealing with issues of sexual identity while living in a heteronormative society. Reconceptualizing the category of “sex” and redefining constructions for masculinity and femininity challenges cherished aspects of mainstream American culture, but is necessary in order to move forward to a more equitable and  just society. 

Worked Cited:

Fausto-Douglass, Anne, Sexing the Body

Dove: Is Real, really Real?

TIME LAPSE BEAUTY/DOVE EVOLUTION COMMERCIAL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBfg3UwkYM

The time-lapse beauty evolution Dove commercial is a perfect example geared toward Susan Douglas’s book Enlightened Sexism. The commercial really touches on Chapters 4 and 8 in the book, which covers the Lean and Mean and The New Girliness. It discusses the means of girl power and the right to chose but on the other hand it also drives home what we do to look a certain way. Both these chapters give examples of pros and cons to each way of thinking in the new feminine era.

The commercial starts off by taking an ordinary woman who they shine a light on so that you can see all her normal blemishes and her normal features. They then flash the phrase evolution across the bottom of the screen to let us know that we have adapted to a new way. The hair, and make-up people come on and proceed to “fix her image”. They pull back her hair and style it differently while putting on different layers of make-up that blend her skin and make her eyes pop. They even shape her eyebrows a certain way to have the perfect arch. They give the young girl hair extensions and continue to straighten and fix her hair to the perfect way. They spend hours making her look exactly the way they want her to before they shine an even better light to make her glow. It is finally then, that they can take the pictures that they want and have her pose and smile certain ways. Then the pictures are done and brought up on a computer for final touches. They elongate her neck to make her look thinner and taller. They arch her eyebrows different directions, and fix her hair to flow exactly in the perfect spots they want. They fix her ears, and make her eyes abnormally bigger. They then shade her hair the perfect color in spots they want to correct and thin her cheeks in. Only then can they put her face on a billboard so people all across America can see. Then the words flash across the screen “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” and then finishes with “Take part in the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls”.

Douglas tells us that girl power has taken over the nation with new styles and images that shape young girls personas. I believe that this commercial is a great example of how our nation is really shaped. The young girls whose face was changed and plastered all over the billboards was probably not worrying about why they changed her but more about the fact that she was chosen to represent the make-up industry. Along with girl power our generation is obsessed with how we look. We are obsessed with what we wear, how we act and how people see us. This girl has gained some power for being the one to represent the industry. She gains the power within the image. People will look at her and want to dress like her and act like her because she seems to have power that young girls strive to want. No matter how much girls make fun of Elle from Legally Blonde for her outrageous attitude and style, girls still look up to her because of the power that she represents. She is able to be beautiful, be successful and have all the guys chasing her. She is the perfect example of what girls strive to be.

Now the real question that we ask is: how far are we willing to go to gain that power and self-esteem? Chapter 8 of Douglas’s book talks about how girls are bargaining their independence for beauty. I know don’t know how much I agree with Douglas and that statement but I do agree that girls are going to extreme lengths to look a certain way and for what reason? At then end of the commercial, after the girl’s image is changed completely, Dove says: No wonder our perception of beauty is so distorted. Douglas talks about how starting at very young ages, girls are implanted with the image of how to look. They are to be lean, tall, and have huge breasts. This is what the people want and this is how girls shape their bodies and minds around. If you don’t have this body type then you have to find a way to get it or not be noticed by anyone. Douglas says that many girls are going on the motto “better to have a little bit of an eating disorder or a really weird relationship to food, and a hatred of your own body, than defy the whole thinness-beauty regime and be thought of as unattractive (bad), unfeminine (really bad), or a feminist (like totally odious)” (219). So whatever happened to accepting who you are and embracing it? Apparently that image went out when plastics came in. When you change your image completely where not even you can recognize yourself then you know you have completely shaped into what society wants. People say they feel better being prettier, but in reality they don’t even look like the same person so are they truly that happy?

In conclusion, Dove wants us to “Take part in the Real Beauty Workshop for girls”, because they believe that what the make-up commercial represents is terrible. I say that they are hypocrites. Watching numerous Dove commercials for real women, we see that all these real women are actors who are beautiful and thin. They want to sell their product so the phrase they picked is real. If it was so real then they would have women of all shapes and sizes using their product, but then would it sell? It probably wouldn’t bring in the same numbers as they are now. I can see why they picked that phrase. Dove is saying they are against all the fake people and they are reaching out to you because you are real. So by using these beautiful women you can be beautiful too, but in a real way. It is a very interesting, vicious circle that works for the company. Douglas’s chapter ends with the phrase “We need this arch, empowered irony as we confront another newly engorged carbuncle of enlightened sexism, celebrity culture” (241). I think this statement sums up the representation of the commercial very well.

Reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omBfg3UwkYM

Douglas, Susan. Enlightened Sexism. Henry Holt and Company, NY. 2010.

Leaping Into Subservitude: An Analysis of Black Swan as a Window Into the Patriarchal Realm of Ballet

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfva55_black-swan-clip-2_shortfilms

* Attached is a scene from Black Swan, in which the dominant male director of the film’s ballet company discusses balletic perfection with the film’s fragile main character, Nina. He also forces himself on her in the clip in the form of a kiss.

Dance is a mode of expression. It is movement. It is grace. It is passion. Most importantly, dance can be viewed as a microcosm of society, thus providing a window into the values and beliefs held by many different cultures. Dancers are some of the most athletic and talented individuals on the planet. Yet, many live lives of major disappointment, poverty, injury, or marginalization. Women, specifically, are often marginalized through dance, which I witness frequently being a female dancer myself. In classical ballet, a staple of dance in European and American cultures, women are made into a spectacle and are put on display through the support of their male partners. The Pas de Deux, or the typical partner-dance between one male and one female in ballet fully endorses male dominance within society. Thus, female ballerinas are made into incredibly weak and fragile characters in that they seemingly cannot perform without the male presence.

Another patriarchal aspect of ballet is the fact that within this genre of dance, women outnumber men, and strong male dancers are much more valued than female ones. Thus, if a male is present in a class with females, teachers will solely focus on this dancer, putting him at a much greater advantage than females. There is also a gender-related hierarchy in the administrative figures within ballet since choreographers, teachers, and managers are mainly male. Thus, power and authority within the world of ballet lies in the male presence, yet again. Overall, even though ballet remains the pinnacle of grace and femininity within all types of dance, it is also severely patriarchal and has many dark sides.

The film Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky, reveals this patriarchal world of ballet in which rising star, Nina Sayers (played by Natalie Portman), dances to the top at the price of her sanity. This film brings up many unsettling realities for female dancers: the strong desire to be perfect, the rampant presence of eating disorders, the sexist storylines behind ballet performances, the sexual abuse from male directors, among many others. These disturbing realities all become Douglas-esque fantasies of power for the female dancers within the film, since it seems that these ballerinas are only able to rise professionally through extreme self-destruction and mutilation. While this film is artistically sublime, full of the beauty and grace that encompass ballet, its shocking undertones of female subordination and pain reveal an all too real vision of the ballet world, which further feeds into and upholds the system of patriarchy that is present in modern day society.

All of the women in this film fall into general female stereotypes that exist today: helpless, passive, promiscuous, or mad. These stereotypes can also be translated into many of the female protagonists of popular ballets. An example of this occurs in the story of Giselle, in which Giselle goes crazy after she finds that her lover has betrayed her. In fact, the major storyline of Black Swan revolves around another ballet with a fragile female protagonist, or Swan Lake. The basis of Swan Lake is that Odette, an enchanted princess who has been sentenced to a life as a swan by day, commits suicide after discovering that her lover has promised himself to different, evil swan, Odile. In the film, Nina is the spitting image of Odette: an extremely sheltered and innocent child, who cannot even undress herself without her mother’s help. This intense weakness within Nina almost disables her from landing the role of Odette in her company’s production of the ballet. Moreover, ultimately, it is this weakness and inability to hold the power of the role that pushes Nina to insanity, enabling her to mimic Odette and kill herself at the end of the film. Thus, women are yet again portrayed as incapable of true power, even when it is in a form of pure femininity.

It is important to point out another female character within the film, or Lily (played by Mila Cunis), who is completely opposite from Nina in that she defies many of the strict adherences to ballet’s forced-discipline (e.g. she has a tattoo, she walks into rehearsal late, she smokes cigarettes in the dance studio, etc.). This character appears to be the only strong female in the cast of the film. However, she only gains this power through the use of her sexuality (a mode of enlightened sexism, perhaps?), further illustrating the extreme lack of true female power in the ballet word.

Ballet is not only full of female subordination, but it also involves great female sacrifice. First, the costumes necessary for this form of dance for women can be highly uncomfortable, and they can even cause injury. Typical ballerinas wear tutus, which are adorned with heavy jewels. Tutus also contain a corset-like upper piece that can cause extreme strain on the lungs, and that symbolizes a complete regression from feminism. Another part of typical ballet costumes are Pointe shoes, which force women to stand on their toes while maintaining a limber upper body. These shoes are seen by many cultures as barbaric, since they can cause extreme foot damage, especially in adolescent ballerinas. And yet, Pointe shoes are only worn by women in this art form. Thus, Pointe shoes become another example of how our socially constructed standards of beauty for women can cause extreme pain. Moreover, Pointe shoes can be viewed as another fantasy of power for women, literally enabling them to believe that they are rising over men, while merely remaining a form of female marginalization.

In Black Swan examples of further physical and mental sacrifice for women are heavily prevalent throughout the film. In the movie, the only women that succeed in the profession of ballet are those who “lose themselves” in dance, thus completely submissing themselves to the craft, no matter the consequences. Nina constantly self-objectifies her own body and abilities through the motif of mirrors within the film, in order to reach “perfection.” She forces herself to pirouette until her feet are bloodied, and she rips at her own skin as a habit of discipline and self-control. This OCD-like tendency in Nina is extremely disturbing in the film, but it is relatively typical in the ballet world.

Physical and mental disorders are immensely present in ballet dancers due to the psychological pressure that is associated with this art form. In fact, the premise of ballet lies in an unnatural ideal of the female body (similar to those that are discussed by Douglas and Brumberg, which exist for all women in today’s society). Successful ballerinas have an otherworldly thinness, coupled with extremely long limbs, necks, and flexible hips. The extreme stress of maintaining such physiques, in order to fit in with all of the other dancers of a company and to be easier lifted by male dancers, causes ballerinas to have trouble maintaining healthy diets. In fact, even though Douglas and Brumberg show us that eating disorders are rampant for all women in society today, it is often speculated that female dancers are even more likely to develop these disorders than are the rest of the female population. Furthermore, as is discussed in Douglas’ “Lean and Mean” chapter, the anxiety and social pressure of being thin translates into girl-on-girl meanness in the ballet world, since female dancers will constantly critique and compare themselves to their peers.

In Black Swan, Nina exhibits signs of both anorexia and bulimia in that she is often seen wretched over a toilet in the bathroom of her company. She also struggles to try a tiny taste of a celebratory cake that her mother offers her for receiving the role of Odette. Moreover, the aforementioned meanness associated with body-shame for women is portrayed throughout the film as these dancers vie to be noticed by the company’s director. One example of the extreme female competitiveness that stems from the psychological pressures of ballet occurs when Lily gives Nina drugs the night before a dress rehearsal in order to hinder her from performing at her best the next day.

Another problematic sacrifice involved in being a female ballet dancer in today’s world of patriarchy is that at times, one must give up other wants in life in order to keep dancing, making it nearly impossible for female dancers to “have it all.” Many ballerinas only remain in their prime dancing years from ages 18-32, which directly cuts into their normal adolescent development and activities. Thus, as a woman, it becomes very difficult to receive a college education and to become a major ballerina at the same time. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible for ballerinas to maintain a professional career and to become pregnant, making them choose between motherhood and their careers. In Black Swan, Nina’s mother admits that she gave up on dancing to have Nina (a fact that causes numerous rifts in their relationship). This example from the film exemplifies the terrible choice that many dancers (and women of all occupations), are forced into through Frye’s cages of oppression, in that they are often disallowed from living lives of both familial and occupational fulfillment.

One last aspect of our patriarchal world that resonates within this film is that of the symbolically abusive male director of the ballet company. Aronofsky portrays director, Thomas Leroy (played by Vincent Cassel), who is constantly sexually inappropriate with Nina, sliding his hand down her leg during a rehearsal, and asking her to his apartment for drinks. In fact, it can be speculated that Leroy only gives Nina the lead role of Odette because she kisses him in his office, further suggesting that female dancers can only advance because of men or through the use of their sexuality. Historically, this behavior is also unfortunately typical within the ballet world (i.e. famous choreographer, George Balanchine was well known for having inappropriate relationships with his dancers). However, this dominant male-submissive female problem also occurs in many work places in today’s society as is discussed by Douglas.

Overall, Black Swan depicts a rampant sexism that is prevalent in the realm of ballet, and that can be translated to our society as a whole. The film exemplifies a world where women are manipulated, tweaked, and pushed toward a certain ideal, at the expense of their emotional and physical states (much like what Western culture does to women today). Aronofsky creates female characters full of neuroses and weakness, merely waiting to be exploited mentally and physically. However, most of the broken female characters in the film are ultimately destroyed by these feelings of subordination and weakness. For example, Nina falls to eating disorders and insanity because of the social pressures of ballet, thus leading to her eventual demise. Thus, perhaps Aronofsky’s portrayal of the destruction of the fragile woman can be seen as a metaphor for the fact that female inferiority can only cause harm in society and should not be put up with. Although it will take a large amount of courage and strength, instead of falling to male dominance, female dancers and all women need to “grand jeté” over the numerous social constructions and pressures that oppress them today, in order to truly succeed in this world. Only with a unified awareness of and stand against the patriarchy that exists within ballet and within society as a whole, can we transform it and turn it into a distant memory of the past.

Works Cited

Brumberg, Joan. “Body Projects” from The Body Project.

Douglas, Susan. Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done. New York: Times Books, 2010. Print.

Frye, Marilyn. Oppression.

Women: Just. Do. It.

I found Cynthia Enloe’s description of the “neo-imperialism” of foreign women in the shoe industry to be highly disturbing. Enloe describes they ways in which Western companies use women as cheap labor for a product that they simultaneously promote to children of these women. For example, in Russia, women who sew Reebok sneakers believe that they are in a position of power to be working for a US company, while they also throw away their salaries for pairs of brand-name shoes for their children. Here is capitalism at its finest: female workers fall to the wayside as companies like Reebok or Nike gross $298 million (most of which going directly to white, male executives, I’m sure).

This globalization of the shoe industry would not have been possible without specific social constructions of women in foreign countries. Enloe explains that large Western corporations depend on these social constructs (i.e. women thinking of themselves as “good” daughters and fiancées) to make such large profits. Since women in these cultures are expected to make their own money for their families or for their own dowries, women are silenced because they cannot view themselves as true citizens with voices. Moreover, the consequences of departing from this established social system become losing any form of social stability, parental love, and financial support. However, even in the face of extreme social silence, many oppressed female workers have risen above their imperialized systems to slowly receive more and more human rights. Personally, I was shocked by the value held for minimum wages in South Korea ($1.89 per day in April 1995). But, Enloe states that due to extreme feminist activism in South Korea, the wage gap between men and women is slowly becoming smaller and smaller.

Another shocking portion of Enloe’s writing was the mode of control that was implemented against female activist workers. Enloe states that in the 1980s, when troops intervened on female employees rallying for their rights, they would sexually assault them via rape, stripping, and fondling. However, in the face of this most extreme form of subordination, women rose together through organizations such as the Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) to aid abused factory workers, thus disabling complete male domination.

I found this unification of women to be inspiring and empowering. While female workers are heavily exploited, and require social change within their countries before they can be freed from the trappings of their cultures, they also act as the majority of the power behind Western corporations. Thus, with immense strength and courage, they hold the ability to takeover and create change for themselves. Moreover, as more privileged women living in the US (a more democratic and higher-paying country), we also have the responsibility to be there for these marginalized women. And thus, perhaps with a general “just do it” mentally within all females (as opposed to one of silence), anything can be accomplished for these workers in future years.

Globalization and its Discontents

         Cynthia Enloe’s chapters “Globetrotting Sneakers” and “Daughters and Generals” provides an insightful look into the gendered elements of political economy and globalization, the foreign manufacturing of sports goods, and its implications on developing countries and their local constructions of femininity. She reviews the ascension of sneaker giants Reebok and Nike in the global market, and details the exploitative dynamics of globalization on women’s status in society.

        Women, mostly Asian women, during the Post-Cold War era, worked in grueling conditions for lower than subsistence wages to produce sneakers in export-oriented factories. Seeking work to assist their families and to prepare for marriage dowries, these women are led to believe that working for U.S. sneaker companies is an “opportunity” for their countries progress and development. Social values also informed women’s decisions and attitudes towards their employment; Confucian philosophy, adopted by many Korean women during this time, measured a women’s morality by her willingness to work hard for her family and to satisfy her husband’s and father’s requests. Pressures to adhere to local conceptions of femininity embedded in Asian political economy placed women in positions vulnerable to exploitation, and perpetuated their subordination in society. 

        As the global economy expands, sneaker executives employed new strategies to keep costs low, and maintain cheap labor. I found Enloe’s examination of “cheap labor” particularly interesting because it highlights the many relevant social factors that determine economic decisions. As Enloe describes, we often hear and understand cheap labor as automatically cheap by default. However, it is important to acknowledge the multitude of social factors that create “cheap labor” and how “global strategizing is dependent upon local constructions of femininity” (60) to keep labor cheap.  Sneaker executives, U.S. Government Cold War strategists, Korean male factory managers, and militarized officials exerted pressure on women to adhere to constructions to stifle unionizing, self-organizing, and labor protesting. 

        Her analysis evokes the harsh reality that we Americans are literally walking on the dreams of exploited women with the very same sneakers they produce.  These women are subjected to “fantasies of power”; as Enloe claims, “To work in the sneaker factory was many young women’s strategy to rise a rung on the Korean Class Ladder.” (63) Women were led to believe that working in the factories was an opportunity for empowerment, national progress, and social improvement, only to be exploited for profit and patriarchy. To change this reality, women must continue to redefine and challenge what it means to be a “women” in their respective society, and reconstruct their conception of femininity to account for their needs and concerns, living for themselves, not others.