Media Moment, "A Tale of Desperation & Restraining Orders"

Helen Gurley Brown, an author and long-time editor of the women's magazine Cosmopoltian

An article, titled "A Tale of Desperation & Restraining Orders," appeared in the February 10th, 2012 edition of the New York Times, written by Ginia Bellafante for her Big City column at the paper.  Its subject is the current sex scandal involving the general manager of the New York Yankees, Brian Cashman, and a certain Ms. Neathway.   The sex scandal itself is not of any particular interest, considering that it is just the story of yet another public figure who has strayed from the marital bed only to have the affair become national news.  What makes this article different, and, what connects it specifically to our recent class discussions, is the way the author explicitly associates the desperation of Ms. Neathway to the unrealistic lifestyle emphasized in women's media such as Cosmopolitan.  Bellafante writes,


"This story, though, is ultimately less about the alleged philandering of a powerful married man and more about the desperation that can afflict a certain kind of woman who comes to New York with glamorous ambitions and fails spectacularly to meet them.... Ms. Neathway’s drama is conveniently unfolding on the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Sex and the Single Girl,” Helen Gurley Brown’s loopy summons to erotic liberation. Having inaugurated a giddy new culture of urban single life, the book assured women that, with the right steps, dazzling careers and wealthy men would all be theirs."

While Gurley Brown is surely a controversial and provocative figure, this statement and the insinuations it makes appears both bizarre and tenuous.  The woman involved in this scandal has a criminal record and 13 restraining orders against her - she is obviously an unstable character who has a number of ingrained psychological problems with harassment and relationship boundaries.  Although I am no fan of Gurley Brown, the magazine she led for decades, or her 'take' on what it means to be a successful woman in the modern age, I think that the parallel Bellafonte created between these subjects is unfair to both and somewhat arbitrary. 


My question to my classmates on this media is:
         Do you see some sort of viable cultural connection between the lifestyle glamorized by Helen Gurley Brown in her 1962 book, Sex and the Single Girl (which we read about for class, in "Inventing the Cosmo Girl," by Laurie Ouellette), or as editor of Cosmopolitan, and the behavior of Ms. Neathway or Mr. Cashman in this news story?

Discussion Points for "Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams."

- I wrote this as if I were writing a letter to Helen Gurley Brown, whom this article is written about. What are your thoughts?

Helen Gurley Brown's books

Dear Ms. Helen Gurley Brown,

            So let me get this straight, according to you, all I need to do is purchase a push-up bra, apply makeup and wear fine materials, smell delicious and I’ll get a great husband, a decent job and move up a few rungs on the economic ladder? Well by golly gee, where’s the nearest Saks?

It’s one thing to recommend how to’s and give tips on womanhood but to suggest a lifestyle and the means to get there is a bit preposterous Ms. Brown. Your writings don’t help us women acquire the “American Dream” any more than Maury Povich does with relationships.  Let’s get one thing clear, the “American Dream” is a dream in and of itself- being a homeowner with a spouse, two kids, one dog and a white picket fence won’t bring anyone true happiness and neither will any of your books or articles. Helping women become dependent gold-diggers rather than independent respectable females to potentially move up to the “high class” is not quite the best thing for women of any age to read. Using things to get men and men to get things mean nothing if you aren’t content with you being you in the most basic form. You’re basically creating a façade and being that your books are internationally distributed and articles are read nationally, so many women will heed to your advice and nine times out of ten fail miserably. No amount of makeup, behavioral and sexual suggestions or your how to weed out the “perfect” husband ideas will make a woman more womanly, sexual, give her the upper hand nor bring her class.

            What I can applaud you for Ms. Brown, is speaking and writing what you feel is truth especially on taboo topics like a woman’s sexuality, class roles, economics etc. Not many women could have done that in the 1960’s and many don’t have the galls to do it now. Kudos to your fearlessness. Now that is what women need more of.

 Thanks for your time,

Joanna- Marie B.

Lesbian kiss at Seattle ballpark stirs up gay-friendly town

"Most of the time, a kiss is just a kiss in the stands at Seattle Mariners games. The crowd hardly even pays attention when fans smooch. But then last week, a lesbian complained that an usher at Safeco Field asked her to stop kissing her date because it was making another fan uncomfortable!"

The usher said that a women had complained to him about their kissing with the excuse that there were kids in the crowd! I found this scene somewhat unecessary.

What's so different about two men kissing? Or a male and female kissing? Then that would'nt be considered shoving their sexuality in your face?

Here is the article:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9142SUG1

Media Moments, "If I Were A Poor Black Kid"

On December 12, 2011, Forbes magazine online published a column from Gene Marks, a self described "middle aged white guy who comes from a middle class white background." The essay was titled: "If I Were A Poor Black Kid" and contained a list of advice for poor black kids on how to make it in America.

"I would use Skype to study with other students who also want to do well in my school," was one suggestion from Marks. Because, obviously, all poor families have computers and high speed internet at home.

Marks also encourage black kids to capitalize on rich white people's desire for tokenized diversity.

"Most private schools I know are filled to the brim with the 1%," writes Marks. "That’s because these schools are exclusive and expensive, costing anywhere between $20 and $50k per year. But there’s a secret about them. Most have scholarship programs. Most have boards of trustees that want to give opportunities to kids that can’t afford the tuition . . . Trust me, they want to show diversity. They want to show smiling, smart kids of many different colors and races on their fundraising brochures."

According to Marks, following this roadmap of technology, good grades, and scholarships will inevitably lead to success. He concludes: "Because a poor black kid who gets good grades, has a part time job and becomes proficient with a technical skill will go to college. There is financial aid available. There are programs available. And no matter what he or she majors in that person will have opportunities. They will find jobs in a country of business owners like me who are starved for smart, skilled people. They will succeed."

Well, I guess that's it. Gene Marks, an accountant, Forbes magazine contributor, and middle class white guy has just solved the problem of racial inequality and lack of access to opportunity and education.

Though the patneralism of the article is blatant, it is not particularly suprising. This type of thinking is common in the American pysche, even if it is not always so obviously stated. So what happened when a Forbes columnist solved the centuries-old problem of racial inequality on the internet? Did the poor black children of America reply with a collective, "Thank you!"? Did people ignore this column, since there is way too much opinion-spouting on the internet anyway? Not quite.

The response was swift, sharp and prolific. Writing for The Root Elon James White replied with incredulousness and sarcasm:

"Mr. Gene just wants to give us some of that patented #WhiteLove™ that he has laying around the house. With a healthy sprinkling, poor ignorant black children can rise above their station into the magical world of reasonable participation in society!"

White continued, "How in the world can this man create this checklist of things and not realize that he's requesting that kids do something extraordinary simply to not continue to be in poverty: forget their surroundings.Forget any issues with their parents, the issues their parents might have, like perhaps not eating every night. Forget poor schools with overcrowded classrooms and teachers who can barely keep the class together. School systems that pass children along because they simply can't keep them."

More excellent responses came from Akiba Solomon in COLORLINES, Cord Jefferson writing for Good, and a satirical response in the Atlantic called, "If I Were a Middle-Aged White Guy."

The response to the column even became news itself -- with NPR doing a story on the controversey.

The success of this story was, in my opnion, the public shaming of Gene marks. The absurdity of his opinions were ripped open, he was mocked, and even Memed. Gene Marks is, at least on the internet, a bit of a joke. But does being mocked online have ramifications outside of the virtual world? Did these responses open up a critical conversation about opportunity and race? Or did they only circulate in a small online world, moving through like-minded circles?

My question for the class is: how does the case of "If I Were a Poor Black Kid" and Gene Marks relate to our study of gender and the media? What does this case tell us about assumptions of priviledge? If you want to think about this a little more, check out another column written by Marks -- "Why most women will never become CEOS."

Media Moment: Women, Sex, and Music

Here is an article I wanted to share with the rest of the class. It is an article talking about women in the music industry. It discusses how women try to be molded by their managers and others to look sexy and appealing to viewers and the media. As someone myself who works at a music studio I have over heard managers talking to their female artists about appeal. Some even encourage them to make their music "more sexy".


http://michael-peters.suite101.com/women-in-music-a52295

-Ali

Blog Like a Blogger

Let's get started in Blogger . . . here are the basics of posting.

1. From the Dashboard, click on NEW POST.

2. There are two tabs -- Edit Html and Compose. Start off in Compose.

3. Write your text or paste it from another word processing programming.

4. Use the bold, italic, color, font, and size options to make your text pop.

5. Spell check by clicking on the ABC/blue check button.

6. Make it pretty! Always include a visual element -- either a video or photo. I guess I better follow my own advice, eh?



7. To add a photo, click on the photo image button. Browse for the image on your computer or upload it from a url. Chose the size and position.

8. To post a video, get the embed code. This is different than the url of the video. In YouTube you find it by clicking on Share.

8. Copy the embed code. Now go to the Edit Html tab and paste it where you want it.

9. Hyperlinks make blogging fun. You can reference articles, artists, blogs and other online sources. You can get creative with which words you chose as the hyperlink. A word of warning! Hyperlinks take readers away from your page, so use them wisely and not excessively. To add a hyperlink, highlight the text and click on the link button. (Next to the text color box.) Paste the url of your link.

10. You can preview the blog before you post, to see if it looks clean and fascinating.

11. When you are ready, hit PUBLISH POST. Don't worry, you can always re-edit it.

12. Another Hunter College instructor, Martyna Starosta, has some great ideas on how to write engaging blog entries.

13. One more thing . . . what do you get when you combine blogging and 3rd wave feminism? Aha! These.

Media Moment, "NEW: Nontraditional Employment for Women."

Halfway asleep on the train, I spotted this Media Moment:

OR check out the website if you aren't able to see my picture clear (just to get an insight of what NEW is): http://www.new-nyc.org/index.html

It's an advertisement for NEW (Nontraditional Employment for Women) which is a program that offers free training and job placement to women in what we commonly know as "manly" jobs. They specifically mention Building and Construction, Transportation and Public Utilities. Why not break down the social barriers/stereotypes even further? I mean, didn't this movement start since Rosie the Riveter (whose slogan coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, bares similarity to the NEW ad) back in the 40's? 

J. Howard Miller poster 

Coming from a family with way more testosterone than estrogen, my first thought was, "Go Ladies!" Show that "We Can Do It!" all, even in the most testosterone-ridden workplace. But then I wondered (probably because of the Deconstructing Media Kit) what is NEW not telling potential applicants? Yes, it's an enthusiastic message that may leave us with the utmost pride for our vajayjay's but can't it be possible that these women face serious sexual harassment in these fields? Are they really respected as not only competent employees but also females who are going beyond socially constructed limits? Are they just as safe as their male counterparts on job sites? Are the union benefits the same for both sexes?

I came across this study on the Department of Labor website entitled Women in the Construction Workplace: Providing Equitable Safety and Health Protection  (http://www.osha.gov/doc/accsh/haswicformal.html) basically stating that there are definite examples of a hostile workplace environment for women by male  coworkers, sexual harassment, isolation from others, lack of proper restrooms and the list goes on. The article's abstract declares, "Many of the identified problems are amenable to change through engineering, behavioral, or administrative intervention. The recommendations in this report are directed at employers, labor unions, manufacturers, training programs, supervisors, and workers. Improving the work conditions for women in the construction trades will not only ensure their health and safety, it will also serve to attract and retain women as workers during a critical time of labor shortages in this industry."

So, based on this information and maybe even your own experience... Do you think women have to maintain conventional masculine character traits to advance in or be socially accepted in nontraditional job environments?