“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.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
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
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
Thursday, October 4, 2012
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.
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.
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