What is feminine, what is masculine?

It was much easier to find examples for sexualized femininity than sexualized masculinity. Images A, B, C and D all have women in them. A is an example of sexualized femininity because the girl is completely made up, almost looking like a doll. Her mouth is open, almost inviting and her eyes are looking straight at the viewer welcoming them in. I picked the picture because when I was flipping through the magazine I couldn't tell if the girl was real or not. She looks like a Barbie doll, totally unrealistic. 

Image B is both an example of sexualized femininity and masculinity. It is not overtly sexual, like that of image C, but they photographer was still looking to capture a certain image. The woman has a pink dress on, the sleeves and the ruffles make the dress seem like it a longer one but then if you look at her legs you realize the skirt is not really that long. This kind of look is common in women's magazines. The models are dressed in cute clothing that could have come from their youth, but there is often a twist, the hemline is higher, the make up the model is wearing makes her face look a little older, but not too much and her posture usually is open and inviting. The women in the photo also looks like she is being pulled by the dog. She doesn't have full control of the situation, she is just a prop being carried around. The male in the photo however, seems to have full control of the dog. He is holding the leash with both hands, one hand close to the collar which ensures maximum control possible over the dog. He is not just a prop in this photo. He also is looking toward the camera, and is brushing something out of his face with his hand. The male in the photograph is also well dress, sexualized masculinity is usually shown with well dressed men. His collar is unbuttoned at the top showing that he is laid back even in nice clothes. He, unlike the women, is not smiling. He is dominant and in control of the situation while the woman is being led and is happy about it.

In image C the girl is quite obviously offering herself to the viewer. She is holding a purse to her chest, almost looking as if she is going to slink off somewhere soon and have her way with the little red clutch. She is in a position that gives her little room to move fast. Another example, though more obvious of passive sexuality. While her face shows strength, her body positioning shows she is waiting for someone to come to her. Her legs, while not completely open do show an entrance to her skirt, keeping her accessible even if her clothes are skin tight and probably really hard to move in. 

The women in image D are quite like the one in image C. Each one has an open posture, all have on revealing clothing and all are in a position of showing off some part of their body. Their femininity is shown in either their clothing (or lack there of), their make up or their hair. The man in the ad is in a position of power even if he is being chased or fought over. He is the only one with the look of authority. He is holding one of the women, asserting his power without looking at her because he doesn't need to be bothered with that. He is also dressed in a lab coat which is a sign of sexualized masculinity because those in power and in high places or jobs of important are seen as attractive. He isn't wearing form fitting clothing, his body is not being highlighted, only his hair is, but that's because the ad is for hair products.

Lastly is image E. Like the men in images B and D, the men in image E are all dressed nice and look to be in positions of power. Like previously said, power is a big part of sexualized masculinity. If the suits and the sharp looks of the men don't convince you that they are powerful, maybe what they are standing on will. They are standing on an image of the world, signifying that these men are on top of the world, always powerful, always wanted. And if that didn't convince the viewer then maybe the names of the men in the picture would. I myself do not know who each person is but I recognize the middle one, Tiger Woods. 

we got class

While finding images for other topics has been relatively easy for me, I quickly found that looking for images depicting class status was quite difficult. Most of the media that I consume deals with people that are usually considered to be of lower class but are highly popular. Some of them are considered lower class because of the body modifications, some because they have little money, some because of the way they act in public and some because of how they dress. I had to take a step out of my day to day media preferences and go back to my high school music listening and then I found some images from the magazines I have lying around.

"I want a lady in the street but a freak in the bed"

-Ludacris (Usher "Yeah!")

Mama just don't understand

Why I love your hoochie ass

Sex is what I need you for

I got a good girl, But I need a whore

I like my bitch promiscous

- 2 live crew "Hoochie Mama"

There are a lot of references to class in hip hop and rap music. Ludacris does a short rap in an Usher song and he mentiones his need for a woman that will be a lady in the street, seeming classy and lady-like but still attractive and then when they are alone he wants a freak. The way he words the rap makes a distinct difference between the freak and the lady. 

In the song Hoochie Mama, the group talks about how they already have a "good girl," one that is good for image, the one that they are there for mentally but then they say that they need a "whore" for the other stuff that they want to do. This comparison, like the one in "Yeah!" shows a difference between the two ladies. The good girl and the lady are allowed in public, they aren't anything to be embarrassed about and they could fall in line with the middle class and the classic body.

http://redcarpetfashionawards.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

When Christina went to Xtina there was a lot of talk about how she was low class, and this was at a time of many obvious body modifications, fake dyed hair, sexual lyrics and revealing clothing. When she made another transition to her current status, she took out most of the piercings, freshened up, kept her hair one color and while keeping her clothes form fitting, didn't reveal as much skin. Some of her lyrics are still suggestive, possibly even more suggestive than the Stripped album, but because of how she dresses herself she has been brought up in class again. Like with amateur and white trashed porn, Xtina was more popular then her reinvented Christina persona. 

Obscenity and violence in sexualized media

America's Next Top Model

"All the other girls managed to have some sort of spark even in this sort of morbid situation. I think I look at you in this picture, and you actually just look dead."

Postsecret.blogspot.com

"We put the meat on the pole, not on the plate."

Portland Mercury Ad 4/10/08

GQ Magazine

CosmoGirl Magazine

In the first photo the model has been assigned to create an image of a woman that has been decapitated by a model. This photo and many others were part of a challenge on America's Next Top Model several seasons ago. The challenge was to make death look beautiful or attractive. These women were dressed in revealing or form fitting clothes, if not lingerie, and made up to look dead. The comment under the photo was one made by Nigel a judge on the show. He criticized the fact that this women actually looked dead in the photo and not dead but attractive. According to the article by Dworkin, this photo and the others in the challenge show subordination through objectification, submission and violence. The women are submissive to the orders placed upon them by the photographers, they are objectified in their death, because they no longer have a soul with them but are only bodies and the level of violence in clear considering each model is showing a type of murder. Like Jensen and Dines say in their article, the violence against women, even if being done by other women, is normalized and sexualized. This is evident in the model's make up and clothing as well as the comment made by the judge. Just looking dead isn't enough.

The second image directly relates to the readings and their views on what fantasies and acts were okay for feminists. The creator of the postcard feels bad because she perceives the act of being spanked to be one that is not in line with her feminist morals. Dworkin, Jensen and Dines would agree with this, making the argument that liking your boyfriend or husband to perform acts of violence upon you would be bending to their power and will and encouraging other violent acts. McElroy, Hartley and Monet would say otherwise. As long as the act is consensual and as long as the woman who wrote the postcard was willing to partake in such actions then it is not degrading and her "inner feminist" should be at peace.

Casa Diablo is a vegan strip club that recently opened up in Portland. The owner has been vegan for over 20 years and thought that opening a strip club might get other men to try being vegan without feeling unmanly. The quote under the picture is one that the owner said himself in an interview. While I agree that not all strip clubs are degrading I do think that this one is on many levels. It is apparent, because women are on the pole, that Dworkin, Jensen and Dines would be against the club because the women's bodies are being shown for male pleasure. But I think McElroy, Hartley and Monet would have a problem with the place too. This strip club is no feminist strip club, the owner has talked out against feminazi's in several interviews. This place is not a feminist strip club for many reasons, 1) a man owns, operates the business as well as tells the women what to do, 2) the women by being called meat, are being degraded, and 3) the club is being run strictly on male fantasy. There has been a lot of talk from the vegan and feminist community against this place and the owner has put it up for sale recently. Making his practices illegal may have made them more valuable to some but because they are legal people were able to have discussions about why the place was obscene and should not be open.

I chose the picture of Rachel Bilson to show an example of silence that Dworkin was talking about. According to her, women are silenced by those they are objectified and exploited by. While Rachel may have chose this pose, the picture is for a male magazine and her obvious placement of laying down on a bed and the clothing (or lack thereof) definitely cater to the men reading the magazine. Hartley might call this a choice, and might say that her being objectified in the photo is not negative because she chose to be in the magazine, she chose the money that she was paid for the shoot and she chose to wear the clothes provided. While I do agree with Hartley, I do also wonder about the implications of certain poses or positions in mainstream media. While it is the chose of Rachel to be in the magazine, and it is the choice of the men reading it to like or dislike it, what does it say to the younger women looking at the magazine? What if that is the only thing shown in this magazine? What message is that putting out?

Lastly I found in a CosmoGirl a while back that I liked but also found a little disturbing. The women in the photograph is underneath her vampire, she is dressed in pink, signifying a possible innocence that is only strengthened with the bow in her hair. While a vampire fantasy might not be dangerous to depict in a porn film or magazine, it might be dangerous to have as an advertisement in a young girl's fashion magazine. Are young women's fashion magazines meant to do what pornography does according to McElroy? Does this ad or fashion layout allow young women to safely experience sex alternatives. I would have to say no. If the image were in a porn then it may serve the function of providing sex information, but this ad is in a magazine and it is being used to sell clothes and a book. What kind of damage can be done when we are showing young women and men violent relationships outside of the possibly "safe" context of pornography. The understanding that it is a fantasy and meant for sexual pleasure to some is not there. The underlying choice is not there either. Like McElroy says, you can turn off the porn video when it becomes uncomfortable, you don't have to like the fantasy they are showing in the specific film, but in fashion magazines young girls and older women are being shown what they should want to wear and buy, there isn't a choice of what is in fashion or not and these fashions are put on the bodies of these models in poses that may show violence, subordination, or objectification as attractive and beautiful. 

Social Contruction of Sexuality in the Media

www.amysrobot.com/files/gossip_girl.htm

www.tv.yahoo.com/americas-next-top-model/show/35130/photos

abercrombiekids.com

www.outlookexpress.com/theoc_alexandmarissa.htm

www.cta.ca/mini/degrassi2006

The media’s social construction of sexuality comes from the perspective of a middle-class white male with moderate left political leanings who is in his mid thirties. This can be seen in the portrayal of women, sexual preference and orientation class and gender in the media.
To start I looked at the ads for a show called Gossip Girl. In the plot of the show, the characters are all of high-class standings, and are all in high school. In the picture (picture 1) these characters look to be in their 20’s dressed for a night on the town full of partying and sex opportunities. The middle class white male wants things to sell; he wants shows to be successful and attractive. All the characters in the ad are done up accordingly. The blonde woman is in the front, but a male on one side is touching her on the inner thigh and a male on the other side is holding her wrist. So while she seems to be the star of the show, and in control of her own identity as a woman, she is being affected and controlled by the males around her. The moderate white male media gives women their spotlight but makes sure controls and boundaries are in place.
The spotlight/boundary idea is also show in many advertisements and in the modeling world. Women are put in a spotlight, because they have attractive features and they are shown to be powerful in their sexuality, but the underlying boundaries keep these women in one place. These women lose power and status if they show that they are smart, or if they try to use their power to go above the middle class male. A disturbing but honest example of this is shown in picture 2. As America’s Next Top Model literally shows, women are often portrayed as meat in the media. Their bodies are attractive, they have a spotlight, but ultimately they have little more use than the dead cows they are wearing on their bodies. Once the white male’s hunger is satisfied he moves on.
Even in advertising for a younger audience, attractiveness is still key. Take the young Abercrombie model for example. She has bedroom eyes and a provocative pose selling the clothes you can barely see. The white male is teaching them young what is normal and attractive in the media’s eye.
The moderate white male will not be completely opposed to displaying same sex gender relationships as long as those involved are attractive and they seem straight or are incredibly flamboyant. I chose a scene from the O.C. as an example. As shown in picture number 4, Marisa and Alex, two beautiful women, decide that they want to start dating. This falls into an acceptable relationship because 1) both women are physically attractive and 2) the upper class female in the relationship is only experimenting and eventually goes back to her heterosexual ways.
I put in the picture of Degrassi to show a media artifact that does not fall into the norms when depicting relationships and constructing their definition of sexuality. One episode of Degrassi focuses solely on a relationship between two males that had a relationship in the past but one made a mistake and hurt the other and so the hurt party invested themselves in another relationship with a different male. Not one of the three males was flamboyantly homosexual, none of them fell into the typical gay male roles depicted elsewhere in media and the issues the two main characters went through were talking about normal relationship problems like lack of trust and jealousy. Degrassi is a newer show in the states but originated in Canada which explains the shift from the normal roles of sexuality.