The Root Canal of our World

White Teeth by Zadie Smith is now being added to my private list of "Books all of humanity should read". To the students of TCU, this required reading should be done on Dr. Allison Layne Craig's watch, in her classroom, under her Major British Writer's course direction...but to the rest of the world, it just needs to be read carefully and thoroughly. Complicated, difficult, a little all-over-the-place are just a few descriptions for this book, but a more precise understanding would be "a real life account of the complexity of our world, our relationships, and the swift, but inevitably everlasting effect of those dynamics." (Why yes, I did just quote myself. Sue me.) So what does a book about two unimpressive men and their entangled worlds have to do with RGMM? Simply everything.

"Gay-friendly mosque to open in Paris" was a small ticking headline running near the bottom of MSN's homepage. HOLY ALLAH. I literally did a double-take to make sure I hadn't officially lost my mind. Europe--specifically Paris, my most favorite city in the world, nonetheless-- is now home to a gay and lesbian friendly mosque where transsexual and even transgender Muslims can sit SIDE BY SIDE in prayer. HOLY ALLAH, once again. I am stunned at the amount and degree of taboos that this one mosque is finally putting its' foot down against. This is monumental. This is a political, religious, worldly feat and my heart swells with hope at our future. But despite, my general understanding and slight education of the ways of the Muslim world, this headline would have not struck my fancy quite as intensely had I not currently been in the midst of studying Smith's White Teeth. The domination of Samad, the submission of his wife, Alsana, the achingly painful clutching to roots, to tradition, to cultural stability and routine that is all found in the novel actually make this article so much more relevant.

Moments like this are when I sadly, desperately pray that I am to be blessed with the opportunities to be well-traveled throughout my life. Had I not taken Craig's class on a whim, hoping it would satisfy my literature sweet-tooth, had I not fallen in love with Smith's adventurous novel, this article on MSN would not have really stuck as crucially important to the media world. Being well-versed, well-travelled, educated, and worldly are the attributes that set apart good journalists from ground-breaking journalists. Anderson Cooper is one of the best and it is because of his knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for the rest of the world. He is incredibly intelligent, well-read, and respectfully conscious of the ENTIRE world.
*Herein lies my point in all of this: Maybe the problem isn't that the media doesn't like minorities enough or isn't paid enough to give equal media space to each and every element of our world population... but maybe, in fact, the reality is, especially in America, we don't know enough about the rest of the world to actually care. Maybe we don't know enough about women and blacks and cultures and people that are (plain and simple) just really different. We don't know enough to care, to report and not piss someone off, so we just don't. We do our jobs and hope that whoever feels underappreciated will pick up the slack...and they do. And while that Band-Aid feels so good, so reassuring, so secure, it is only a crutch. It is the media's responsibility to employ people that know enough to care...until that happens, we are at a stand-still of segregated media. Lord have mercy though, when the day arrives that there are more people that know and care than those who don't and can't; that will be the day that we change the world, for better, for once, and for all.

" To Samad, as to the people of Thailand, tradition was culture, and culture led to roots, and these were good, these were untainted principles. You would get nowhere telling him that weeds too have tubers, or that the first sign of loose teeth is something rotten, something degenerate, deep within the gums. Roots were what saved, the ropes one throws out to rescue drowning men, to Save Their Souls."- pg.163, White Teeth; Smith, Zadie.

The Road That Leads to Change

I was astonished to find the number two story on the running ticker for MSN.com was about a the death of an Irish woman after her abortion was denied. My shock resides in the fact that most of the world knows that Ireland is one of the strictest countries in the free world on abortion laws. So why is this news? Well above all, I and most people following the media across the globe are naturally suspicious. I look for scandal in most stories and my intuition is almost never off kilter. The standing fact that Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old dentist, was denied an "abortion" in mid-October after the doctors told her the foetus would not survive and that she consequently died a few days later from blood poisoning is about as sketchy of a story as they come. The saddest part of all? Her husband will not participate in an investigation because he feels it is pointless-- "He has said he would not cooperate with an investigation already launched by the country's health service because he did not believe it would be neutral." (full story link)

The reality of our world is that each country has it's stance on abortion and America is a fluke in comparison. Most countries do not have the battle for pro-choice and pro-life that we Americans almost live for. The reality is that America and its media are based on liberal democra-z-y ideals; we are not run by religious obligations or ethically bound by our country's over-arching morals. It is, however, so refreshing to see a little controversy surrounding abortion being reported on from a country like Ireland. Moments, stories, headlines like these are way and reason that laws/morals/stances change. Media is the outlet for change. Whether I agree or happen to not agree with the resulting change is a moot point; the fact that our worlds and our countries and our people are driven by the media is a phenonmenon, in and of itself. For that reason alone, I believe that this class (RGMM) is critical to the foundations of my degree and more importantly, to my overall collegiate education. To be informed, to be knowing, is to have power.

The Misters Hate The Misses

I can't lie... I almost always have to look up "misogyny". For some reason or another, I cannot ever remember its definition, which I find ridiculous considering its direct reference to my own gender. Perhaps it is because I like any exposure to this epidemic beyond rap music and the studies in this class and Dr. Blackwell's Sex and Disciplines course. Nevertheless, misogyny is legitimate and real and above all, unnervingly relevant.

On a Google expedition to define this doll of a word, I found a bizarre website--www.heartless-bitches.com. WHAT? Yes, you read that right. It is a website devoted to the following:

The Heartless Manifesto

Do really sappy, insipid, "always and forever" love poems make you want to puke? (and that goes for Bon Jovi lyrics too!)
Do you find typical "Women's Magazines" to be either stomach turning or pathetically laughable?
Does it frustrate you that a nutbar like Anne Coulter gets so much press, yet REAL women of substance get so little?
Are you sick of people who have confused objectifying women as sex symbols with female "empowerment"?
Are you tired of the walking wounded moping around expecting that the world owes them something because they are victims?
Do you find the likes of Michael Bolton and Kenny G. revolting?
Does the sight of an incredibly handsome man turn you off, because too many of them have room-temperature IQ's, and obnoxious or non-existent personalities?
Are you sick of lazy women who use emotional and sexual manipulation to get what they want instead of using their own brains and muscles?
Are you fed up with women who feel they HAVE to be in a "Relationship" in order to be whole, and will sacrifice their self-esteem and personal growth in order to avoid being on their own?
Are you tired of men and women who are emotional children, and won't accept responsibility for their actions or behavior?
Do you want to SMACK women who play "helpless" just to gain male attention and stroke male egos?
Have you run out of sympathy for your Female friends who continually whine about how awful MEN ARE, but then they keep dating the same kind of ASSHOLES, over and OVER, AND OVER AGAIN!?
Are you fed up with your Male friends who are looking to date a woman with the appearance of a supermodel, and yet they continually whine about how "women don't like nice guys - they only want good-looking assholes"?
Do the words "If you REALLY loved me...." turn your heart to ice?
Do you retch in response to "The Surrendered Wife" and do "The Promise Keepers" make your skin crawl?
Have you HAD IT with people telling you that you are TOO LOUD, TOO ASSERTIVE, or TOO OPINIONATED?
Do you wish you had a button that said: "Thank you for sharing, now SHUT UP and quit Whining!" ?
Are you utterly uninterested in pathetic individuals who seek attention by whining in their online "journals"? Are you sick of guys who hit on you and you politely decline, and they keep pestering you and pestering you, and pestering you like some obnoxious, festering, pus-filled sore, until you finally have to WHAP them over the head with a VERY LARGE CLUE-BY-FOUR (tm)....?
Do you feel like you might as well "get hung for a sheep as a lamb", because no matter how POLITELY you try to turn down some guy's advances, you invariably get called a "Bitch"?
If you answered YES to all of the above, then Heartless Bitches International wants YOU. Heartless Bitches is now recruiting! Join up and be proud to use phrases like:

"Keep it in your pants, asshole"
"Oh why don't you just masturbate and get over it!?"
"No, you can't watch."
"Wah, fuckin', Wah."

All card-carrying members will be sent a card to carry (if you send in the SASE), so you can proudly display your HBI membership card when some clueless jerk tries to give you grief.
If you are so inclined, you can also be an associate member of the
   

Good times, right? Um no... um WOAH. This is really intense and despite me agreeing with some of these bitter checks, it's a little much for me. But more that this sassy introduction to a website devoted to essentially battling misogyny, there is an article completely devoted to the subject of misogyny.

 

While I found all of the author's, Jim, point of views, the most intriguing is this thought:

 

"A misogynistic value system would favor women who put out and are easy to control. Misogynists would talk about women in a dehumanized way, i.e., nice legs, great ass, etc, as if women were nothing more than a collection of body parts. Dating and relationships would become a game of manipulation fraught with various seedy techniques and ploys designed to get women to have sex. Something else I noticed as I browsed the web is that although misogynists try to control women, they are ironically dependent on women for validation in front of other men and society. This dependence is disempowering and only adds to the anger and resentment misogynists feel towards women. " (paragraph 4 on "What is Misogyny" by Jim-- found on the HBI website)

 

 

It makes total sense and for this article alone, I believe I have become more acutely aware of the misogynists that I am surrounded by and the subtly of misogyny in today's media. Read the entire article for yourself... it's impressive. Props to you, Jim. You seem pretty decent and I like it.

ROUND TWO

Regardless of opinion, what is done is done: Barack Obama will be inaugurated this coming January for his second term as President of the United States. I truly hope that our country will grow with hope for a brighter future. But as I read article after article, the commotion seems to be about WOMEN. I like it.

A large part of this election was devoted to the 51% of our population/53% of voters- the ladies. Birth control, equal pay, education, job opportunities, and health care access are all very, very hot topics and will continue to be for our country over the next four years. I will not lie-- I am a little concerned for the future of America and its citizens. And as K. Sujata pointed out in her Huffington Post article, "As we prepare for the next few years, we must hold those whom we elected into public office accountable for their campaign promises. We have demonstrated our power in this election, let us continue to make sure that women and girls' rights move forward." 

Very rarely do I like special attention but when it comes to the future of women in this country and the amount of progress that is still to be made, it is only fair that the media covers our reality.

For more info: check out Sujata's article HERE!

Shoulda Put 3 Rings On It

“They brought me binders full of women,” said Mitt Romney during last Tuesday's Presidential Debate. The result? A social media frenzy and outbreak of "DIY Binder Costumes for Women" sites and pins (from Pinterest). But, who was actually, whole-heartedly offended by Mitt's slip?

I was not. I stand firm in my lack of offense  not because I am your stereotypical Republican born-and-bred-vote-that-way-til-I'm-dead TCU student or because I let my silly crush on the Romney-Ryan team cloud my judgment, but because as a well-educated, politically-versed, level-headed woman, I am not so easily phased. The reality of the American workplace is inequality. I get that. I work every morning in the TCU Athletic Ticket office surrounded by men. We watch SportsCenter during our lunch breaks, we talk NCAA football all day long. I am the lowly, female student worker, but I do not and will not complain. This is reality of this field...and of many more fields. The American workplace is dominated by men, except with maybe a few departmental exceptions (I will go out on a limb and say that the MAC makeup counter is predominately female-based). And while I realize that women statistically make less on the dollar than men and that almost everything I would like to do with my degree, I will have to compete with the boys, I'm not throwing a fit. I appreciate the context in which "binders full of women" was used. I appreciate the efforts Romney was making to say to Americans "Hey, this whole thing is really unfair and we all know it. So instead of just saying 'oh well, I guess women are not qualified', I am going to FIND the women that are qualified because equality and diversity matter to me".

But regardless of my opinions, the social world went up in flames over this. I read article after article, news reports and biased media sites alike, and The Washington Post produced my favorite recap with a video, tweet excerpts and links. A personal favorite tweet: If you like it then you shoulda put three rings on it. #bindersfullofwomen
  (click that link to see the rest of the Washington Post story).

So feel free, Mitt, to put my resume in a binder any day...if that means I will actually be considered for a position that I am, in fact, qualified for. A girl will do what she has to do when it comes to playing with the big boys in the sandbox.

Twitter Safety

What is really unnerving in this universe is that this subsection of a very informative article on PRDaily.com exists; People need reminding to not be racism on social media. A joke? Not even.

The world of mass media is scary for young professionals. People have multiple accounts for their different aspects of their world -- work, personal, blogger, etc. Keeping those accounts safe from one another tactfully can be a big hassle with mix-ups providing serious damage. But while we are all go-getters and hustlin' to get the best job out there, the reality check we need is this: GET YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT. If you can't be sure that you won't offend someone, that you can't tweet responsibly, then DON'T. If you have racist thoughts, if you think your racist jokes are funny, if you are a racist... keep that gem of a character trait on the DL... not only for your personal and professional sake, but for the world's sake.

Race and gender in the mass media are tough. There are some clear-cut "don't even go there" lines drawn and there are the vast spaces of gray area that should make you re-evaluate yourself. I am disappointed in my generation that common decency and sense do not trigger a "DUH" on this helpful hint from PRDaily twitter-etiquette article, but it is there. I hope one day we will be able to move from our narrow-minded approach and embrace humanity in its whole.

QUOTE from the article::
Offending with tasteless jokes
“Japan called me. They said 'maybe those jokes are a hit in the U.S., but over here, they're all sinking.'”
This one is nearly as popular as the mixing up of Twitter handles, although it seems to mostly befall celebrities and athletes. Take the example above: In the days following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last year, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, then voice of the Aflac insurance duck, tweeted two insensitive jokes about the nation. Gottfried was fired. }}
see the other tips/rest of the story HERE

Abnormal is the "New Normal"

It seems that the media is soaking wet with politics nowadays. With the first Presidential Debate last night and the big vote only a month away, I wonder what people talk about when they get tired of the race to the White House. Luckily, I went ahead and did a little, harmless observing and discovered the newest NBC gem- "New Normal".

Glee is a personal favorite of mine- there is no disputing that. But New Normal does more than cast every demographic and orientation, every diversity and weave them into a clever, heartwrenching musical of a show. No, this show exploits those diversities; this is not for immature or uneducated audiences. But what struck me most is the blatant address of the stereotypes that most humans would never have the audacity to say (If this assumed statistic is wrong, please don't tell me. Ignorance is bliss). "What about this homosexual elephant in the room", "Proud as gay peacocks", "Women over 52 aren't dried up prunes" "Since you're black and a catering waiter in LA, I assume its safe to say you have big, giant, Hollywood acting dreams... let's see if you could even make the call-backs for a Tyler Perry film" are just a few of the heinously offensive quotes from the show. Jonathan Swift is throwing a party for the NBC writers as I type.

There is a real problem in America and I prefer to label it as a 'lack of humanity'. People are black, Hispanic, Asian, South Pacific Islander, gay, bisexual, transgender, "gingers", white, rich, poor, middle-of-the-road, backwoods, uptown, handi-capable, lazy, struggling and succeeding. You name it, someone will claim it... so why not just embrace it? "The New Normal" is hysterically Jonathan Swift-esque with the sarcasm, the hyperboles, the bigotry, the blasphemy-- the whole reductio ad absurdum argument that pushes to ridiculous extremes. It is funny and logical and a reality check for the media world- race and gender are not going away no matter how long you keep the affluent, white male moguls in the CEO offices. Exposing the stereotypes serves as only further justification. Get with it, Earth.

Not sure what I'm talking about: check yourself before you wreck yourself--
Grandma's Opinions
Or... if you are like me and one episode wasn't enough, get completely up to speed with the series HERE on hulu.