Still Pissy

I haven't blogged since Wednesday, but I am still really pissy about the comments left about the ads. I don't know why I let it bug me so much.

So, that's all I am saying until I can come up with something coherent.

Comment

This is quite interesting to me. I have gotten two, well, irritated comments regarding my post about advertisements. One I addressed in the comments section itself. The other I want to talk about a little here.

This is what it said:

Anonymous said...
The ad is depicting women that society seems to think are beautiful. So what? If they're not your taste that's cool. But that doesn't make it "wrong" or "offensive."

This comment actually depresses me. That's right folks; depresses me.

The point of looking at these ads has nothing to do with taste. It has everything to do with why society thinks these women are beautiful. And why advertisements like this continue to promote sexism. I am not sure why Anonymous doesn't find sexism problematic (he's probably a guy), but as a feminist, I find it extremely problematic.

First off, there is the thin factor. Both models in the below post are very thin. Borderline disgusting if you ask me. And in all honesty, what woman wears clothes like that anywhere but the bedroom?

There are so many problems with the Skyy Vodka ad, I am not even sure where to begin. First, the man is fully clothed, in a suit no less, because he obviously has something to do (probably the woman on the raft). The woman couldn't possibly have anything important to do, look at how she's dressed. Also, could the phallic vodka bottle aim just a little more towards the woman's huge knockers? And why the fuck is she wearing heels in the pool? She is going to pop a hole in that raft.

Quite frankly, I don't even want to discuss the second ad because I am too pissed off at the first one. What I would really like readers to take away is this: If I had not put the Versace header above the photo could any one identify what this picture was advertising?

Some Advertisements to Think About

Just going to display some ad's here. Let me know what you think and if you are offended or not.

Skyy Vodka Ad

Versace Ad

Contact Sports/Sports in General

Oddly enough, my own body image has improved since starting roller derby. Or maybe it's not that odd.

I was trying to explain this the other night to a very good friend, but I don't think that I was getting my point across. One of the main reasons that I believe roller derby has helped with my self image is because I am now using my body to do something. So often girls concentrate on how their bodies look. This website http://www.about-face.org/ really takes a look at how the media portrays women and girls. It's very informative, so check it out.

Returning to sports and body image. Because of what woman of all ages are bombarded wtih, media wise, often diet and exercise are seen as a means to an end. I really do believe that if a girl is involved in sports, diet and exercise become that end.

As far as my body doing something, it's been huge for me. It doesn't have as much to do with patriarchy (although that is where it begins) or conforming to what men consider typically beautiful. It has to do with tasks that my body can accomplish now. Like running a mile in under ten minutes. Like hitting a girl with the right timing and force to get my jammer through. Like being able to keep up with all the girls on the track.

Exercise for me now has nothing to do with getting skinnier, flattening my tummy, removing the jiggle from my arms, or any of that. It has to do with improving my skill at a sport I have come to love. The other stuff is nice, but it's secondary. Trust me, I am much more proud of my new found skating endurance than I am of any weight that I have lost because of derby.

I do believe that if girls were encouraged to participate in sports (even more than they are) and especially sports that are not considered typically feminine, self image would automatically improve.

Later on I will talk about why some sports are better for body image that others.

Sexism. It's as Natural as Breathing!

I guess this is what I was trying to say in my last entry. That the way the media is set up, the way the patriarchy is set up, sexism is so natural that we don't even think about it. Just like breathing. You don't remember learning how to breath, and you probably don't remember learning about which things were masculine or feminine either.

I am not sure where this thought is going to take me. I just know that our over-emphasis on gender starts very early. A lot of times now before the kid even pops out. This way, by the time we have out baby shower, we can buy the appropriate colors, toys, etc for that little boy or girl. I think a lot of this will effect the way that kids see themselves. Learning how to play and what games are appropriate for boys or girls has a profound effect on self-image.

I'll explore this more later. I gotta shower.

Body Image - Preface

All of a sudden, I think I am writing a book. Der.

I was discussing body image with a friend of mine the other night. The conversation started with me lamenting against my Veganaise addiction. If it wasn’t for Veganaise, my ass wouldn’t be so big. We then got to discussing how beauty should be judged on things like character, sense of humor, and things that really matter. All of this talk got me to thinking (which we all know is very dangerous).

This will probably end up being a series of entries because this is a big issue. As usual, I am not looking for a solution, just exploring ideas, thoughts, and theories. Who knows, maybe this could lead to discussing the parallels between meat eating and sexism?

First off I think it is important that you know where I am coming from. I am a feminist. I suppose you could also consider me a radical feminist. This means that I view the patriarchy as the root cause of the oppression of women. I also believe that because patriarchy is the oldest form of documented human oppression (I specify human oppression here because animal oppression has probably been going on just as long. It has just recently been recognized as oppression) it is the model (for lack of a better word) for all other forms of oppression. I also think it is important to state, that I am not an academic, nor do I play one on TV. I will probably not cite many sources, and if I do, most of them will be web pages. Deal with it.

Next, I think “gender roles” (and I hate that term) are BS. This means that if you have the nature vs. nurture argument, I say all nurture. I don’t believe that boys are naturally more violent that girls, I think they are brought up that way. I don’t thing girls are more nurturing than boys, they were brought up that way. What is scary about the entire “gender role” fiasco, is that it is so entrenched in society. The belief that certain activities, jobs, outfits, hobbies, the list goes on and on, are classified as either masculine or feminine is customary on TV, in homes and every where you look. It is almost impossible to separate nature from nurture because this oppression has been going on so long that most people are unable to imagine anything different. It’s beyond comprehension.

I’ll give you an example of above. Think of most commercials for cleaning products. I have a Clorox one in my head right now. It’s for some type of spray that is safe for use around kids and pets (I am not sure why I remember that factoid). The commercial is set up as a sort of mom’s discussion group. They talked about how much they loved the product, how great it worked and wonder how they ever lived with out it before. Dad is no where to be found. To me this states “Mom’s are concerned with cleaning and kids and pets, dads aren’t”. I know that many people believe it’s only a commercial and it no one believes everything they see on TV. It is just one commercial, but that’s not the point. The point is that there are thousands of images like this. Especially in today’s media – saturated environment, kids are seeing this type of thing from the moment they are born. This will come into play later. I’ll also provide some more examples.

Well, this introduction turned out to be pretty long. I’d like you to keep reading, so I am going to close this here for now. Ciao'