To be continued...

The semester is ending and technically I am done with this blog for school, but I love writing in it so much that I definitely plan on continuing my posts. There may be few during the holidays but, like I did before, I want to tell you what is to come, mainly so that I will have a reason to write later on.

• Miley Cyrus....that will be an interesting post for sure
• Hannah's OCD on GIRLS
• Hannah's relationship with Adam
• Shoshanna and her failing relationship with Ray
• If I can find any guys that will watch GIRLS I will talk about the male perspective--so far I haven't found any.

Finally, GIRLS season 3 will start in early January, so there will be tons to blog about soon!

Girls Season 3: Trailer (HBO)

Oh Marnie...

So the last of the girls I need to cover is Marnie. She is definitely pretty different from Shosh, Hannah, and Jessa, and in many ways. In the beginning of the series she is dating Charlie, who she has been dating for a while. She talks about how weird her relationship has become and how he loves her too much, she says its like her "weird uncle" love. She is miserable in her relationship and she wants nothing but to be free of his overwhelming care.

Before I tell you how that changes I want to briefly say how happy I am that they showed that. It is very rare that you see a guy that a girl is not equally in love with on TV! I mean think about it, how many times have you watched a show or a movie where there is a woman who has a man in love with her and she just doesn't care about him? Not many. This definitely does not include the girls that wont admit they like them or they are in the process of "falling in love" with them. I'm talking, there is a normal girl and an annoying guy following her around. Its funny because this isn't shown often on TV, especially in relationships. I think that this happens a lot more than the media shows! Girls aren't always as obsessed with their boyfriends as they are expected to be. This makes me question whether it is intentional that men are never seen as the "weaker" one in the relationship. They are almost always seen as the one that goes after the girl, makes the mistake, makes an apology, loses interest...etc. It is obvious that Marnie doesn't really love Charlie, and she should get rid of him.

So Hannah basically gets rid of him for her when Ray and Charlie find Hannah's notebook, which tells all of Hannah's feelings about their relationship. Almost immediately after he finds out and leaves Marnie to what she wanted, she runs back to him. She feels like she made a mistake and she still loves him, but they quickly discover it just isn't working. Marnie continues to struggle with this breakup throughout the series. While I think that it sucks that Marnie is so pathetic in this situation, I think it is realistic. There are way too many girls that just cant live without their boyfriends, and Marnies character, if anything, shows girls how pathetic they are when they do that. She struggles to put her life together and winds up sleeping with Booth Johnathan.

Booth is an artist that Marnie is a fan of, and she eventually starts a "relationship" with him. At first I think this is liberating for her because Booth is so different from Charlie and she randomly leaves work to have sex with him, a total Jessa move. I was proud of her and excited to see her change out of her pathetic role. Instead, she assumes Booth is her boyfriend and becomes too involved in the relationship too soon. She finds out that he isn't her boyfriend at a party she thought they were throwing together and she cries right then; while her reaction is typical of a girl like her it is Booth's response that I think is critical to Lena Dunham's point. Watch this short video from the episode:

http://youtu.be/Eex9HdWkjlc
(ignore the weird "I love him" someone put on the end of the video)

You should be able to tell from just watching that how much of an asshole Booth is. He puts up this huge front that he is perfect and overly talented and he tries to be an asshole on top of it. I think that is because he is trying to be a popular artist in NY and in order to do that he needs to fill his role as a man. I mean, we see in the end of the video that he is just as capable as Marnie to throw a hissy fit. The first time we see Booth in the series he warns Marnie that the first time he has sex with her he "will scare her because he is a man and he knows how to do things". I think that Dunham does an awesome job in illustrating how men have these ridiculous roles to fill. Being a tough man just doesn't fit his character, yet he tries to look that way and I think there is a lot of that in our society. Men are pressured to be this powerful figure and it is often over looked that they are human too and have emotions.

After this, Marnie seems to have an easy time getting over Booth, probably because she saw how annoying he really is. Then she finds out that Charlie has suddenly become successful from an app he created. He now has a fancy office and a decent amount of money. The first thing she does is walk right in the office to see him! This is crazy, it makes you want to slap her for being so pathetic. As soon as she sees what she is missing she runs right back, even though she doesn't love him. It may seem bad that this is in the shows, maybe the complete opposite of everything Lena has shown us so far, but I think it shows one of many realties girls face. I have had one too many friends who have not been able to get themselves out of a relationship because they feel so attached. They wind up miserable but never leave because the relationship guarantees them male attention. I think it is important for GIRLS to have a character like this. If you watch Marnie and you don't think she is pathetic, I'm not sure you're really watching. Her actions show women how horrible some of the decisions she makes are! Maybe girls will be less likely to act this way if they see how it turns out and how they really look. She winds up back together with Charlie in the end of Season two, but will she continue to "love" him next season?

Deborah Morgan

I just have to take some extra time to talk about my absolute favorite series of all time, Dexter. Now, I must tell you that I am a series junkie! I've watched way too many but I love getting attached to the characters and watching them evolve with the show. Deb took a long time to become a favorite of mine but now she is in my heart forever. I think she is by far the strongest female (fictional) character I have ever seen on TV. If you haven't seen Dexter, this post may be irrelevant, or a spoiler, but I have to give her some attention. I've been reading through some other students' blogs tonight and I've seen a lot about the image of women and the lack of the "empowering" image on TV. Well here is my response to that, you need to watch Dexter.

 

In the beginning of the series I thought she was annoying, her excessive bad language got old and I didn't think she was very pretty. That is the thing about watching a series start to finish, you see the character in their entirety; you get to see why she is the way she is.
Starting with the simple fact that Deb has lost both of her parents should just show you how strong she is. I personally have no idea how I would deal with that, and that is just a miniscule start to her incredible strength.
She wants to be the best cop she can be, that is her ultimate goal. She loves her job and she is 100% dedicated. She starts at the very bottom when the series begins and winds up all the way Lieutenant several seasons in. Deb repeatedly falls for men that either try to murder her or get murdered themselves, yet she takes it in and keeps going.
Starting season one, she falls for Rudy, unaware that he is the Icetruck Killer, winds up engaged to him and then kidnapped and almost killed. This is the first case where we see Deb being taken
advatange of and she is truly hurt afterwards, but guess what? She gets back up and continues to advance in Homicide.
She then falls for Frank Lundy, who is the age of her father. This really made me dislike her at the time, but it lets you see how hurt she is by the loss of her father, Harry Morgan. She struggles with this and falls for a man like him, trying to find a replacement for her father. This could be seen as a sign of weakness, but I think that it just shows how strong she is that she is so hurt, yet she continues to work towards becoming a better detective and keeps on even when Lundy is killed and she is shot along with him. She continuously suffers losses and lets it make her stronger every time.

Eventually Deb is promoted to lieutenant and she is hesitant to take the job over Angel Batista. Around the same time her former partner, Quinn, proposes to her. She denies his proposal because she isn't ready for marriage and she wants to focus on her career. I think that this is an awesome situation to show on TV because there are plenty of women that aren't in a huge rush to get married like many women are made out to be. Women value their careers, and they don't all want to drop their aspirations to become a wife and mother. Quinn's reaction is obviously not a happy one, he is certainly not very understanding. I think that this is also realistic. I feel like many women, if put in that situation, would just say yes, simply because they feel bad for the guy. Deb is stronger than that and she sets an awesome example by doing so. She channels all of her energy into becoming a good Lieutenant, and she turns into an amazing one!

 

Eventually, Deb sees a therapist because she has been shot more than once, and has been through several traumatizing experiences. Through her therapist, she begins to rethink her relationship with her brother, Dexter. She becomes fed up with the way Dexter lies to her and hides things from her, and she refuses to deal with it. Deb is awesome because she never lets people get away with treating her the wrong way.

Deb Morgan continues to get pushed down by other people, mainly Dexter's, problems. She always finds some way to get through it. We see her character hit rock bottom, but again, she pulls out of it. I have really enjoyed watching Deb's character grow and see how strong she really is. I'm not sure there is another character on TV with more problems than Deb, yet she is still a powerful and confident woman. There need to be more of these on TV, and less of the Housewives and Jersey Girls!

Dexter and GIRLS don't have very much in common but I would like to add in that anytime Deb is having sexual relationships, they are about her. She always does it because she is attracted to the man and not because he pursues her, she is never marginalized for her sexuality. This is definitely not a big part of the show, but I think it is important that this show hasn't shown the oversexualization of women that many other shows have. She dresses like a normal woman, even feels uncomfortable when she has to change the way she dresses for work--yet she is still gorgeous. You should know by now how much I love to see women just being themselves and doing exactly what they want.

Apology

I went a little crazy with the photos and gifs tonight, but there was so much out there on "Girl Code"! I had to add this one on, just so you can see how blunt the show is...plus its pretty great. Sorry if this one is too raunchy for you. Opinions on whether that subject deserves a post?

Girl Code

So I have to flat out tell you how much I love the MTV show "Girl Code"! It is absolutely hilarious and I think the women on it are straight up honest. My friends and I wait for it to come on every week. I'm sure the reason we love it so much is because it relates so much to our lives. They talk about random subjects and they don't keep anything a secret. It almost feels like you're sitting around talking with your girlfriends on a night in. The show talks about everything from Walks of Shame, wine, blind dates, plus many more uncomfortable subjects. The ladies speak their mind and I think it gives women an edge. It is also important to note that the women on the show are pretty diverse, and sometimes there are men commenting as well.
There were a few subjects that really caught my eye while watching recently, the first being the episode on dieting. Most of the girls joked about how they've done every diet, they even defined a diet as "when you eat food that makes you sad". While I disagree that healthy food makes you sad, I like that they can put it out there that it is okay to not be stick thin! One of my favorite girls, Jessimae Peluso said, "You'll never look like the girl in the magazine; the girl in the magazine doesn't look like the girl in the magazine". The show is packed full of sassy things like this, but they are all so honest and realistic. She hits the point I made in my Victoria's Secret post on the head in one sentence. They continue to talk about how girls try too hard to look perfect, and make themselves miserable. They end on a note reminding you to be active, eat well, and love yourself!

I also love how "Girl Code" discusses hookups and relationships in such an honest way. They talk about sex the way that I would talk to my friends, or even the way Hannah and Jessa might on GIRLS! When they talk about making your walk of shame, they make fun of your outfit from last night, not the fact that you had sex and are being "slutty" or anything like that, its a casual thing that college girls relate to. The girls talk about how you should OWN IT! They have no reservations, and they shouldn't. If the amount of shows like this continues to rise on TV, maybe people will stop looking at female roles in such a mixed, messed up way.

Then we have "GUY Code", this show actually came first on MTV. The very first thing I noticed when going back and watching a few episodes was that some of the women from "Girl Code" are on the show, and they dress differently!!!
So here is Melanie Iglesias on "Girl Code":

and here she is on an episode of "Guy Code":

I mean, do I even need to say more?

She looks like a normal girl in the first photo and then in the second her and the other girl are wearing low cut shirts and (somehow I found this gif that fits perfectly) just grabbing herself. Anytime there is a girl on "Guy Code" she is sexed-up someway!

The ladies also get a little caption when they are on screen that says their name, yet several of them add that the girl is something like a "Maxim Hometown Hottie"--describing April Rose (seen below). It is ridiculous to me that none of the guys need titles like that but when a woman comes on they have to give her some sexy title!

 

 

 

Despite that detail, the show displays the same type of material except it is all from the male perspective. Its hard to say that "Guy Code" is a bad show since it is based on opinions, but I think it just reinforces a lot of what is created in the rest of the media. I definitely appreciate the honesty in the show. The first episode I watched talked about dancing at a club, one of the first guys says "the main motivation behind and man dancing is to have sex with the girl he's dancing with". I think this is probably true, not many guys go out looking to find their future girlfriends. However, the way they talk about women like they are objects throughout the series just gives everyday guys a reason to do the same. Just like they are shown with less clothing on, the women's main purpose in the show is to draw male viewers. This plays into how many series and movies, and even those music videos are made for the male eye. I can't say that I hate "Guy Code" though. Maybe that's because its just as honest as "Girl Code", and "Girl Code" is often guilty of talking about guys like they are a piece of meat also. :) 



 

Some Visuals

I just wanted to include some visuals for my previous post. The first photo is Carrie Bradshaw and the second is Hannah Horvath (dressed in her best we've seen in GIRLS)

Then we have Jessa and Samantha. Jessa on top; this is probably her most extravagant outfit. Samantha is in the bottom photo...I don't think she needs much of a caption

 

Hannah v. Carrie

"GIRLS" is often seen as the modern "Sex and the City". The shows are very similar in that both are based on four different women living in New York City. Both series focus on sex and relationships, as well as friendship. While they have their similarities they are also very different.
There are two major differences between the shows; first off, "Sex in the City" is about older women, around their mid-thirties and older. This clearly brings about a whole different crowd of viewers. The characters are constructed around what is supposed to be real women living in New York City, just like "GIRLS" but for older women. Both main characters are writers, but Carrie Bradshaw becomes successful; she publishes a book and is on the cover of magazines and is well-known throughout the city. Not one of the characters every truly struggles with money. When Carrie goes through a rough patch she has all of her friends and Big to offer her the money she needs.
Another huge difference would be the time that the shows were produced. "Sex and the City" began filming in 1998 and lasted until 2004 (not including the two movies). GIRLS, on the other hand, began in April of 2012, just under two years ago. These differences make it hard to compare the series since they are vital factors. However, I think we can compare the progression of HBO instead.

While I absolutely love "Sex and the City", I do think that it plays into some of the roles our society expects the media to produce. All four of the women are, or can be, very independent, self-reliant women. However most of them turn to men when they start to feel alone. Carrie Bradshaw is a glamorous writer living in NYC. She has a pretty decent apartment and no doubt spends all of her excess income on designer shoes and clothes. That is her trademark! Have you ever thought about how she has the money to do that though? She has a new outfit every episode, multiple even. Yet she often struggles to keep steady income as a writer, just like Hannah! Carrie does write a book at some point in the series and writes for a high-profile fashion magazine, but it isn't clear how she has enough money to buy extremely prices clothes. This just shows women that if they want to be glamorous and score men like she does, they have to be overly focused on their appearance, even though it is clearly not as easy as the show makes it seem to earn the income that would allow any woman to do that. Now, Carrie is at least a decade older than Hannah, but I do think that Hannah is a much more honest representation of reality in this case. Hannah is striving to be a successful writer in NYC and she is constantly searching for a way to support herself; her struggles are made clear throughout the series. Hannah has yet to succeed in her ambitions, but maybe that is something we will see in a later season. Either way, I don't think Hannah would change herself to fit this glamorous ideal even if she became successful. If I had never seen the show GIRLS and had watched "Sex and the City", I would think that if I moved to New York City I would have a lot of self-adjusting to do. I might would go waste some money on some over-priced styles, because that is what "Sex in the City" shows you is reality. If you followed the series for all 6 years, you are likely to start forgetting that it is just a TV show, and start believing these women are real. If I watched GIRLS before I moved to NYC, I would be much more excited about the move and much more comfortable in my skin. This is one way I think HBO has progressed in the past decade. It is becoming okay to show a true reality!

We can't forget the other lovely ladies! Jessa could be seen as a modern day Samantha, despite the glamour. Samantha is one of the strongest characters on "Sex and the City", but also takes on this over-the-top glam aspect. She does have a better paying career as a publicist, but is never seen even remotely dressed down. She is always in a sexy outfit with bling and cleavage. I think this is an interesting contrast to GIRLS' Jessa. As I have talked about before, Jessa is much more conservative than Samantha in the way she portrays herself, yet she is probably equally as sexual. She is known to have a few crazy outfits, but they never make her look too sexy or slutty. This is the biggest difference between these two important characters. If we look back a decade, we find Samantha who scores bucketloads of attractive men, never without her overly sexual attire. This plays into everything I have talked about in this blog. She is the epitome of the male fantasy. She has the perfect body, she is blonde and experienced, she will talk dirty to any man that appeals to her, and take him home without a second thought. I don't think that her character was created to attract male viewers, so why have her in the show? She is supposed to represent sexual women in the city, but it is done in a way that satisfies men, which only tells women they should look and act like her if they want to be sexual. Jessa is a major progression from this. I think that if anyone told Jessa to dress a certain way she would laugh in their face. She is purely herself, guaranteed. Yet she doesn't act over the top, she doesn't change herself to attract men. I believe she is a much better representation of actual women. She shows how you can be as sexual as you want, but you don't have to change yourself for a man. This says a lot about how HBO has grown throughout the past decade. HBO is allowing producers to modernize, and speak the truth about reality.

Frat Boys

So about that little form I showed you in the previous post. I went to my econ class one day and my professor came in and found a stack of papers on the podium...she was shocked. She put it up on the projector so we could all see what she found. It took me a second to realize what it was, but then I was shocked as well. Apparently members of some fraternity are sitting around in Showker hall filling out forms like this! One guy in my class owned up to it being his fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, A BUSINESS fraternity. Yet they are passing around this to fill out in their meetings? He insisted that it was nothing. I mean I can see a tiny bit of humor in this but that isn't even the point. How can you even lump preferred booze and "Specific comments about dress (stomach showing, legs, etc.)" together? I don't know what the intention of this was when it was created but the guy that created it seemed to have no problem lumping women and booze together. Why even call it "comments about dress" when they are talking about parts that aren't dressed? "PROP (would you like one)" that is ridiculous. I could be overthinking this, but I think it is easy to assume what that meant!

I honestly find this extremely shocking and disappointing. These are guys in a business fraternity, the men that are going to wind up running businesses one day! This really says a lot about what men think is okay to think about women. Why would you fill this out anyways? Why ask each other these questions? If you look at it as a whole it looks like there is going to be a party or something and whoever is having it wants to know what alcohol to get and what kind of girls to go out and bring to the party so these brothers can use their little "props". That's probably a huge stretch but that's what it looks like. How can men even think its okay to sit down and write this stuff about women. It shows just how much women are seen as objects. This little joke makes me feel like they see women like toys. This whole thing is just NOT OKAY.

So the thing is, where does this come from? I'm definitely going to argue that this idea comes from the media. I immediately think back to the movie we watched in class about women in music videos, and at the end they showed riots where women were getting harassed. Its like men see women as so over sexualized in the media that they begin to think it is normal and that it is okay to think of them as objects. The media so often portrays women in that light, sexual toys for men to keep around, or loving girlfriends who will do anything to keep their man happy. Its all for the man, always. That is just not reality, and until this stops being shown on TV and in music videos, men AND women are going to keep seeing those roles as realistic. We all know this is a problem by now, but seeing it show up in my everyday life in such a socking way just really makes you think how bad the problem is.

Let's look at a few specific music videos:

Now if you know me, you know I absolutely love Drake. It pains me to have to write something negative about him, or even think about the fact that he's not perfect. I've always thought, and still think, that Drake loves women...but this video couldn't feed into this post any better. I chose to watch a Drake video because I don't typically think of him as having slutty women surrounding him at all times like other rappers, I thought he might be an exception. Go ahead and watch the whole thing before you read on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxgqpCdOKak
So the first thing you probably noticed was the fact that this girl just looks like a male fantasy the entire time. She looks plastic and she is half naked.
Mainly, this video just goes beyond the necessary level of violence. This has probably been my favorite song for a few weeks now, and I've thought it was about Drake being with some girl and them wanting to go home together....but no, its about a woman getting kidnapped in her home and then having a war over her.
The white man that threatens her says that "he took what was mine, so I'm taking what's his", exactly like she is an object. Like they can just pass her around as a bargaining chip, even out a deal. Women are just not objects in any way, and even if someone would capture your girlfriend to get revenge, why advertise it in a music video? Why promote it?
The whole time I was watching I was just thinking about all of the ridiculous video games that guys play where all they do is shoot people. This is what that looked like to me, plus the sexy woman standing in the middle of it. The whole thing is a huge male fantasy, and it is produced loaded with violence like it is normal and okay. It's like if you are rich and famous like Drake, you should also have a shed full of guns because you will probably get into a minor war once in a while over a naked woman. The media just continues to feed into this fantasy like there is no problem with it, but it is embedded into the minds of everyday men.
Maybe you watched it with a different eye, and saw it as Drake loving this woman so much that he will start a war over her, risk his life for her. I can see that side being great, I'd love for Drake to love me that much! Either way, it's like the woman is just reliant on the man here. There really isn't even a way to show anything positive about women at all in the entire video. The more this goes on and is seen by the public, the more realistic it seems and the more it becomes a very serious problem for women.

I don't want to just focus on Drake, so I forced myself to watch this next music video. It was also pretty painful to watch, but in an entirely different way. I'm going to apologize right now that I'm making you watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbEoRnaOIbs
First of all, Miley should never attempt to rap, or shake her non-existent butt anywhere near black cheerleaders.
This video didn't have much violence like the last but Miley does a perfect job in showing you exactly how the media expects women to act. She's going through this desperate phase of wanting too much attention, and she knows how to get it: over sexualize herself! I'm going to try to stick to the video specifically and not rant about Miley, but in my opinion she is doing everything wrong. She has acquired this huge amount of power in the media recently that she could channel into a positive image of women, but she is pushing it in the opposite direction. The entire time she sits with her legs wide open, or touches herself, or licks something. This is clearly made for men, 100%. No straight woman is going to choose to watch this video to watch her dance around like that for entertainment. Don't forget the cheerleaders, who wear way less clothing than any real cheerleader, and shake their butts in the camera or on each other. This whole video is just a prime/recent example of everything we saw in the movie about women in music videos. It is still a huge problem. The whole purpose of every girl in that video is to look sexy and get male viewers. It just reinforces this terrible image created of women. They are always dancing around the rappers, showing off.

If you think about the fact that you just watched two top videos right now, you might wonder what's in all of the other videos you haven't seen. I can probably guarantee that most of them are just as bad. There is a strong combination of oversexualization of women and violence! That is not a good pair. It is stuff like this that makes men think it is okay to sit around and talk about women like these frat boys are doing. Living in a society that sees these videos as okay definitely provides reason for this guy to think his paper isn't a big deal. These videos, and other types of media show women as objects regularly, so why should these guys even be expected to think otherwise? It has been so ingrained in them! I don't think this will change until there is a substantial change in the media.

Of course I argue that GIRLS is a great start to this change, but lets be honest, what men watch this show? The programming made for men continues to show women in this way, and until that changes men will continue to think of women this way. These music artists are definitely to blame for setting these standards. So next time you think of supporting someone like Miley, think of what you are really standing for.

Coming soon!

There are quite a few topics I really want to get into in the next week or so. Here is a little preview, which will also ensure that I get on the ball and write them:


This is the first of them


This form was found by my econ Professor sitting on a podium in Showker! I'll let you read that and think about the things, apparently frat boys, are sitting around and discussing

 

-I'd like to touch on the differences between GIRLS and the classic "Sex in the City"

 

-The shows "Girl Code" and "Guy Code", and potentially the new MTV shows "Guy Court" and "The Hook Up"

 

-Also, I haven't discussed Marnie, the final of the main female characters on GIRLS

 

Hopefully this will motivate me to update more and will keep you interested!

 

 

 

 

Literally Blurred

This morning, as I was scrolling through my news feed on Facebook, I came across the latest post from Victoria's Secret, advertising new holiday underwear. Take a look:

Now if you can't zoom on the device you are reading this on, you may not even notice at all, but I made the photos as large as I could. How can you even possibly deny the amount of editing that has been done to these photos? I don't even know where to start, but for some reason I was just disturbed by this this morning. If you look at the outside of their legs, the lines are just blurred entirely, there is a fuzzy stop to their legs and butts. The blonde woman had her entire behind erased! If I were her, I would be highly disappointed with the way I looked! She actually doesn't even have a buttcheek, maybe has a slight pooch on the right, but that's it. Now look at where her thighs cross! Whoever edited that should be fired, both legs get cut off and squished together, but her legs are supposed to be crossed. It looks entirely too fake once you notice that. Then there's the fact that any tiny trace of a freckle, sunspot, or maybe a little dimple has been entirely deleted.

The girl in the top photo is trying to stick her butt out, but she doesn't have one and is just leaning forward. What is the point of that? Showing off that you don't have a butt? I just don't understand. The more you can zoom in the more you can see how very edited these photos are, every detail looks so digitalized! I mean, why do we even need models anymore if we are just going to change every single contour of their body? Why not just digitally create them? I'm sure that could be done.

 

I'm sure there are a few women out there who have bodies similar to this, but that is very uncommon. No one has an entirely flawless body. The question is, why does the media shove these images in women's faces? Does the perfection make women want to buy those panties? I'm not sure. I am definitely guilty of shopping at Victoria's Secret, and obviously I am subscribed to the Facebook page where I am constantly seeing their ads. Until now I've never really noticed HOW MUCH they are edited! Do we expect that when we buy these products we will look more like them? Why would we want to look like some of them?

So many women see these ads every day of their lives and compare themselves to them. Sometimes I think Victoria's Secret is awesome, the brand can be empowering for women! It makes them feel sexy, you just cant deny that, and I am ALL for women feeling sexy! The problem: Is Victoria's Secret cashing in on this by making this unrealistic body image? They photoshop women to be 100% flawless, so women see the ad and COMPARE THEMSELVES to these fake images. Then they feel like they have too much cellulite or their butt is too big, maybe even too small--either way you look at it, they are making beautiful women compare themselves to digitalized images. Then those women feel like if they buy that product they will be sexier. Victoria's secret is just commonly associated with sexy; if you buy it and wear it, it is likely you might feel more sexy. They are cashing in on this, big time! Think about ads you've seen for other brands of lingerie, maybe the models looked more like everyday women--did you want to go buy that product? I don't think so.

We fall for this, and even worse, I'm still going to shop there. That sexy feeling is not going to change, but women need to realize what they are comparing themselves to. What I want to know is if Victoria's Secret knows that they have this huge contradiction in their brand. They give women this power to feel like a sex goddess, but they give them false images of what that actually looks like. They lower self esteem in order to get a profit, but is this intentional? Maybe they just want their models to look perfect and they aren't taking into account the way they affect the consumers.

 

No matter what intention Victoria's Secret has, many brands use heavy amounts of photo-editing. Women need to be aware that the images they are looking at in all of this advertisement is extremely unrealistic. If we, as consumers, look at ads with a more critical eye, maybe we will think twice about the products we buy and the way the ads make us feel about ourselves.

 

Clearly Lena Dunham is not in advertisement or lingerie modeling, but she has every bit to do with this when she is shameless of her body image on her show. Hannah, as we have seen in a previous post, is often seen stripped down, and completely unedited and exposed. This is a sharp contrast to the thousands of other images women see on televison (and other media). Even Jessa and Marnie, who are gorgeous, have flaws that you can see throughout the show. If there were more producers, or actors that were willing to look "imperfect" on screen, the self-esteem of women everywhere could be increased dramatically.

The Ugly Truth

A few days ago I turned on the TV to find the movie "The Ugly Truth" starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. I realized I hadn't seen the movie in a while and thought maybe it would be a good thing to look at for this blog.
The whole movie is about Katherine Heigl's character, Abby, trying to change herself so that a man she likes will like her in return. Gerard Butler's character, Mike, has a TV show called "The Ugly Truth" where he talks about the truth about men.
She changes everything about herself, from the way she talks, dresses, the way she thinks about sex, and her overall attitude. Mike is constantly helping her change with the advice he gives her about men. While his advice is successful in helping her score the man she wanted, she realizes that in the end he doesn't even like her, he likes what Mike has made her.
While I think it is important that the viewer understands that it is wrong to change yourself for a man, the movie lacks any discussion or controversy over the way Mike actually wants her to act. He wants her to wear a different bra, wants her to eat her food sexually, wants her to dangle her sexuality in front of the guy so he will "fall in love" with her. The problem with this is that it is purely a man's eye, having nothing to do with a woman's sexuality.
The movie also shows scenes with almost naked girls rolling around in jello pools and twins wrapped around Mike's arms. This film continuously feeds into the male fantasy. This is just like what I previously discussed about women in music videos. The media continues to cater to men, and at some point, women start to view it as the norm as well. The movie shows how she doesn't really love the other guy in the end, because he doesn't like her for her, but she falls for Mike. In the end, does this really say that its okay to be yourself, and embrace your own ways and own sexuality? She didn't revert back to her old self entirely in the end, and she wound up with an attractive man who looks at women in this way!
If anything, I think that this movie says a lot about the male fantasy and the role that it plays in many types of media. Maybe it is the ugly truth that men think this way, but women should have to change themselves to score a great man.
This is when I start to think about Lena Dunham again. Just thinking about her, and her character on "GIRLS", Hannah, completely contradicts Abby's character. I think about if Hannah had been put in this situation...
Say Hannah has a crush on her new, cute neighbor, and a man tries to help her get him. If he told her to change the same things that Mike told Abby to change, I think that Hannah would think they were ridiculous. Maybe she would try some new makeup, but she would give up and say fuck it. Her character doesn't just do this to be abnormal, she does it because she is a woman and she knows who she is. I don't think that Lena Dunham would ever allow one of her characters to be so affected by such a stereotypical male. It is also rare that you see this huge male fantasy anywhere in her show. The sex scenes are raw and almost always painfully awkward to watch, that's probably because she doesn't lie about the content. When a man creates this kind of situation he dolls up the girl, makes sure her body is (unnaturally) perfect, and creates her like a pornstar. Lena Dunham just shows the reality of what she thinks happens in the lives of young women.
This contrast makes me wonder if there would be more of a change if there were less films like "The Ugly Truth" and more like "GIRLS". We cannot forget that the viewers of both of these are primarily women. "The Ugly Truth" is a romantic comedy, it is not made for men, yet we still see it catering to their ideals. If women were more exposed to shows lacking this false ideal, would women still think about themselves the same way?

The Biggest Line

Do you ever think about the contradiction created about women's sexuality in our society? The media presents women as overly-sexualized yet the other half of the time women are presented as reserved and pure. Everyone knows there is a double standard when it comes to sex. Men praise each other for having sex with lots of women, yet if a woman did that, she would be called a whore. Once again, women are still shown as being over-sexualized in the media, yet we want them to be innocent? That makes absolutely no sense. Men want their partners to be experienced and sexy, but somewhat untouched by other men. Of course, there are exceptions and there are plenty of people that have moved past this horrible standard, but how can we expect women to be two completely different things? Girls care more about waiting for the "right guy" or waiting until they feel like a guy won't leave her if she sleeps with him. I have to ask if women would still do this if there wasn't such an emphasis on girls keeping it "ladylike" or "conservative". Would we just sleep with a man once we felt attracted to them enough to do it, and not worry if he will call you again or if he won't ask you on another date? Why do men get that power over women? Lena Dunham almost completely ignores this whole double standard on her show "GIRLS". Not once do we see a character sitting around saying, "should I sleep with him yet? What if he doesn't want to date me after?" In fact, Shoshanna, the virgin of the show actually shows the opposite. She is almost embarrassed that she is a virgin and she wants to have sex. Now she doesn't go to a club and find an attractive, random, man to take home, but I would argue that just isn't in her personality. She reconnects with a guy she had known from camp when she was younger. They hang out one day, and she decides this is a comfortable situation for her to lose her virginity in. She gets close to having sex with him and tells him that she is a virgin (only as a warning because she is scared she will bleed), and guess what? He freaks out. She said, "I'm totally ready to have sex, I've just never had sex before, so I just thought I'd tell you that." He wont have sex with her because of it; he rolls off of her and says "it's really not my thing". Would he have had sex with her if she had already slept with 20 men? I don't know. There is this very blurred line around women's sexuality and what is expected of them. Shoshanna was given this opportunity to explore her sexuality (as a college-aged woman) and denied because she was too virginal, she tried to convince him she wouldn't get attatched. Let me remind you, she never sat around wondering if he'd date her or anything after. I can't count the number of times I have talked to a girlfriend about whether I should, or she should have sex with a guy I've been seeing because of the fear that he will then think you're "easy" and run away. So where are men satisfied? Why should we satisfy them? Shoshanna was trying to do something for herself, and he got freaked out. If you have an HBO account, or another way to watch the show, I encourage you to watch this on episode 4 of season 1. Everyone has their personal opinion on what is too much or too little, but should the media be putting those opinions in our head? Without all of the almost naked women and innocent, prude women on TV, what would women's sexuality really look like? I have no way of answering that, but I think that Lena Dunham creates a more realistic world for women in her show. Hannah has sex with who she wants, when she wants, and the guys don't pass judgement on her. She never sits around with Marnie and wonders whether she should hold out on Adam, her love interest, in order to make him like her more. It is ridiculous that young women search and search for balance between seeming conservative and still sexy in order to keep some guy around. I'd like to remind any girl that has ever thought about that that if a guy stops talking to you after you had sex with him, he is definitely not a guy you want to make your boyfriend. He clearly doesn't like you for you. The media completely ignores this simple fact all of the time. So where is the line? I say there isn't one, or there isn't one overriding rule for every woman. The media makes women feel like they shouldn't be sluts but they should be sexual and experienced, so would they also just like to tell us to have sex with 4 men ever and if you are below that you're prude, and above you're a slut? Some young women sit around and wonder if a guy is worth wasting a NUMBER on. How crazy is that? A number, it is a thought in your head that controls your experience. Would this limit we set exist if the media didn't present women in these lights? If the media were more honest and realistic like on "GIRLS", would we care what people think, or about numbers? Or would we just be able to do what we want and what we feel comfortable with? This extremely blurred line in the media should just be erased, because in reality it doesn't exist.

Hannah Horvath

Lena Dunham plays Hannah on "Girls", but is also the creator, producer, and writer of the show itself. She is an outstanding figure in the media, her hit show has shown HBO subscribers the reality of young women. Focus on that fact for a second: seen by HBO subscribers. Personally, I watch "Girls", and other HBO series by using a friend's account, or finding the show online somewhere, illegally. Many people are not subscribed to HBO and don't know about the show "Girls", so they aren't going to take that extra step to find a way to watch it. The only way to get HBO straight on your TV is to pay for a whole premium package with your cable provider, which most people don't want to spend to watch a special series or two. With this, the audience of "Girls" is very limited. However, the audience that is reached by this remarkable show may be lucky enough to get Lena's message of reality. She uses four unique young women to represent different women in their early twenties. This show is often seen as the new, younger twist on "Sex in the City", and there are certainly many things the show has in common. "Girls" shows the reality of what its like to be a young woman in our society. I think that is what makes the show so great, the characters are extremely relatable; they talk to each other the way real girls their age act with their friends, they make the same crazy decisions, they go through the same awkward relationships. In my previous post I talked about Jessa, who could be the modern, younger version of Samantha from "Sex in the City". Her character is real and relatable, and is nothing like the sexual woman we are use to seeing on MTV and E! and other mainstream networks.
Hannah is somewhat different than Jessa in that she isn't a bombshell. Hannah dresses poorly, doesn't know how to carry herself, or do her makeup, she doesn't know how to be the perfect intern or the perfect girlfriend. All of these things just make her more real to women in our society though, there are plenty of characteristics of Hannah I could see in myself, or in my best friend, or sister. We all have flaws, and Hannah embraces them and continues to live her life without letting them affect her. This is special because in our society, the media makes us think that women can't be like Hannah, they aren't like Hannah often, but this is beyond untrue.
Think of the Kardashians, none of the sisters did much to be famous, and they are looked up to as perfect by thousands of women. They are curvier, and sometimes relatable in their family relationships, so it is a little more believable that women can look like them. We find one thing to relate to, and then it seems possible to be like them, we want to look like them. What's not to love about their long luscious hairstyles, and their perfect tan skin? Well society is forgetting how many hours they spend doing their hair, makeup, and training to have perfect bodies. What woman has time for that, and the money?
Lena Dunham is a voice against this kind of presence in the media when she simply shows the truth about women. Hannah can be naked on screen, with her imperfect body, and pale skin, and she can still be loved by men and by her female friends. She has no job, most of the time, so she has no money to go buy tons of makeup and hair extensions, to make her look like every other male fantasy in New York. Lena is helping to define the "blurred lines" our society, and media struggle to understand: that may be that there are no lines. Women shouldn't have to fall into categories, or be limited in their sexuality in any way. Jessa shows how women don't have to fit the media's view of whore-like women to indulge in their sexuality. Hannah, on the other hand shows how all women can be themselves and still be loved and engage in sexual relationships.
Lets do a little experiment, listen to this scenario:
One day a man walks in to a café next door to his house in New York City, and wants to speak with the owner because the cafe's trash keeps winding up in his dumpster. Turns out it is the young girl that works there, and has decided to be rebellious. She winds up paying the man a visit, and winds up sleeping with him and staying a few days, hanging out around the house naked and having sex with this complete stranger. Now what did you picture when you thought of that woman?

 Was the girl you pictured something like this? An attractive girl with a mischievous look on her face, she's been throwing the trash in the neighbors dumpster just so she could meet that man? Am I wrong for thinking that this is an accurate guess? This is what the media would probably pose that girl as. She is attractive, someone you would want to be naked in your house for a few days, but this is by far a male, pornographic media that has created this way of thinking. Well, let me tell you now that Hannah Horvath did this exact thing in season 2 of "Girls" and she looks like this:

I will leave you with that thought for now. Why didn't you picture that girl being someone like Hannah?

 

(This photo of her is also actually from the episode this happened, she is in the man's house in the shot)

Today's in-class film really gave me the push that I needed to start writing. It was a perfect complement to my subject: Blurred Lines. The title has recently been made popular by male pop star Robin Thicke and has already spiked controversy, especially in his music video for the song. I don't want to talk about Robin Thicke today as much as I'd like to discuss the "blurred lines" created by our society about women as sexual beings. Have you asked yourself what these "blurred lines" are? Who creates them, and who are they for?
The film focused on women being portrayed as highly sexualized objects for men in music videos, primarily to attract the male viewer. What repercussions does this have on the women in our society? The media has created this image of women as only wanting sex, only to please the man. After a while, women start to see this as a norm: other women act this way, so they should as well. They forget who created the videos, and that the sexual aspect is made to please men. I do not believe that, in reality, all women party in their underwear, wash their cars seductively in bikinis, or let men swipe credit cards in their butts in order to get male attention. This is the male fantasy, and women degrade themselves to meet it.
I do believe that some women may enjoy this, but the (music) media presents them as purely overly-sexualized, and only wanting to please men. Women can be sexual, women are sexual, but not always in the same way as men. This is where the "blurred lines" are created. Where does the male fantasy end, and the female reality begin? Lets look at the HBO show Girls, which I will be using throughout my blog because of its more realistic nature.
Jessa for example is portrayed as a woman in charge of her sexuality. She takes on any sexual encounter she wants, whenever she wants, and only for herself. If you look at her, does she appear to be that over-sexualized woman that much of the media has created? She is probably more sexual than most of the women that shake their butts half naked on screen, because she is real. She stands for real women. She isn't made for the male "pornographic mind", she is produced in in light of real women, with real hormones, that don't live to solely please men. Jessa, like the women we saw in the film today, is shown as a sexual woman, but not through the eyes of a man. Lena Dunham has created her character in a way that portrays a woman's view of sexuality. It seems so surprising that she is so sexual, but isn't running around naked, or shaking her butt, or anything similar to the images created by the media we are use to. I argue that this is because we are so use to a society focused on this "pornographic image" of women desired by men. We haven't even stopped to think what the media would look like if the fantasies created by women flooded the media in the same way. Jessa's character defies the lines created by men in our media. Her presence forces you to look past the lines we have put around the actions of women and ask why more women don't own their sexuality in a similar way to Jessa?

What about Hannah, the main character, played by Lena Dunham? She defies these blurred lines in a whole other way.....