Joni Mitchell Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Anthony Bellore)

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/28/opinion/it-s-not-sexist-it-s-only-rock-and-roll.html


This article is an older article, but it details the induction of Joni Mitchell into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The NY Times wrote about how men dominate/dominated the rock and roll scene, and how society's meaning of rock and roll changed over the times.

The article talks about how many people didn't consider Joni Mitchell a rock and roll artist, because her music didn't contain in your face guitar solos and guitar riffs.  However, rock and roll is more than fast drums and guitars.  Rock and roll is about the lyrics and passion.  People criticized her being inducted, because her music wasn't their definition of rock and roll, and were called out for being sexist, because other men with the same music style as her had been inducted into the Hall of Fame before.

Many people think women don't have much of a place in the rock and roll scene, but they have just as much a place in the scene as men do.  There's an overmasculinity in rock and roll, and women who are in the scene deserve the same respect men do.


Anthony Bellore

Modern Jailing

Although there has been a huge improvement in incarcerations in general, there are still huge gaps that need filling. I think this video does a good job of showing both sides of the spectrum. While tamer women are able to live humane lives in prison, others have to either be chained and escorted everywhere or just stay locked up in a single cell. When I watched this, I couldn't help but think that these women need more from the "correctional officers" than a babysitter. They need psychological help and other people around them to remind them that they are still human.

-Erin Lucas

Sexuality and Art: Jessica Ballentyne, Artist

This morning, or afternoon, or night, I would like all of you to check out some of Jessica Ballantyne's artwork. This girl puts a lot of passion and thought into her work. She's a surreal, figurative artist and entrepreneur who specializes in oil painting.

If you were to go to her website you would learn that she's a "practicing professional artist.. with senusal subject matter combined with striking images and pschosurreal themes" who has been inspired by the boldness of feminism.

Check this piece, "Puppet Chick", out:



"Probably one of the largest paintings I have ever done, This piece has it all, surreal figures, flowing fabric and a dark, psychological subject matter dealing with female identity, self control and sexuality."- Jessica Ballantyne

And my favorite one titled, "Close for Comfort":

 

 

 

It's a close up of a female laying down and resting on her elbows. Ballantyne says she created this painting the way she did so as to evoke a feeling  in the viewer of "closeness to the body."She says, "I wanted to comment on personal boundaries relating to the body and how easy it is to look at someone as an empty object, devoid of personality or spirit, especially in mass media images of women."

 

I personally, find her word choice (closeness) particulary interesting here. Used in this context, it seems to me that she means for her viewer to engage with this piece in a sensual manner, that's not only physically but emotionally engaging. Under this assumption, we could conclude that Balletyne almost forces her viewer to connect with this body, and give it meaning. The body portrayed is then no longer an object "devoid of personality".

 

I think Ballentyne did an amazing job here at portraying a subject sexually, without subjecting it to objectification.

 

Let me know what you guys think! Agree, disagree?

 

Also, if you're interested in learning more about her, you can visit her webpage here. I highly suggest it!

 

--Josephine Hicks

 

 

 

 

Bridget's First Blog: Imagine a world where being gay was the norm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOJgDW0gPI

This short film paints a picture of a world where being gay is the norm and where straight people are the minority. The story follows a young, straight girl and the daily struggles she faces surrounded by people who are gay and make her feel like an outsider. I chose this video because I think it has great demonstrations of the different levels and types of violence that Stephen Onken brings to light in his article, Conceptualizing Violence Against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered People. For example, the "structural-cultural level" of violence shines through in this video as society, (portrayed by the girl's family and friends), has traditional beliefs and views about sexual minorities, (portrayed by the young girl), being substandard and detestable. Straight people are also categorized as abominable at the "individual level" of violence, as the straight girl's peers and parents take violent actions toward her that show disapproval of her sexual orientation. They publicly taunt her, verbally harass her, and even use physical violence. While watching this video, see if you can identify scenes that characterize the three types of violence suggested by Onken:
1). Omission: "failing to help someone in need".
2). Repression: "depriving people of their rights".
3). Alienation: "depriving people of self-esteem and identity".

RAIIN's cause

When sexual violence is thought about, many people associate it highly with women being assaulted by men -- and given statistics, that's often the case. But there's still at least around 10% of victims that would be ignored if that were to be the only group associated as being victims of sexual assault. Forgetting about the other groupings of victims alienates them, possibly making them feel invalid in what had happened to them in addition to the shame, guilt, and PTSD they may already experience from just the instance alone.

Some worries that male survivors of sexual violence may worry is if they were homosexual, they were assaulted because they were gay. They may feel self-loathing and lose their self-respect and connection within the community. Heterosexual males may also experience fear that their sexual orientation may change into becoming a homosexual and they may question themselves as a man. Anyone and everyone's relationships may be affected negatively as they may feel withdrawal from any sort of physical intimacy as their emotions  may become harder to control.

RAIIN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network) is one among many organizations to remember to include men as potential victims of abuse and acknowledge them, raising visibility of their cause. They operate the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE that helps assault victims for free at any time and has helped more than 1.5 million since they began that service.

https://www.rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/male-sexual-assault
-Elijah Zagorski

Non-Binary Student Attacked

Almost one year ago, an Oakland teenager named Sasha was set on fire aboard an AC transit bus.  Sasha is dmab (designated male at birth) but identifies as neither male nor female.  They were wearing a skirt at the time of the attack.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_24466900/support-pours-man-lit-fire-aboard-ac-transit

People often think of things in terms of binaries, and gender is no different.  When someone feels unable to place something into a category that they are familiar with, they tend to become frustrated.  With some people, this results in violence.  Trans* individuals face high risks of violence and harassment, as well as high risks of rape and murder.

Sasha, luckily, was helped by fellow passengers and was brought to the hospital to recover from their burns.

http://www.featureshoot.com/2014/05/chloe-aftel/

Here is a great photo-shoot including many gender-nonconforming young adults. Sasha is the first photo.

-Alex Duncan

Woman and Sports; Will it Ever be Fair?

        Even from the very beginning of the wonderful entertainment industry that we call sports, society ranked women and the sports that they played much lower than the sports played by males. In this Timeline of sports, we see that public, competitive sports began in 776 B.C. This first public competition was in the format of the Olympics yet women didn't begin to compete in the Olympic games until 1900. During this historical installment of the Olympics, there were a grand total of 997 athletes. Out of these 997 athletes, only 22 of that large number were women! They were only allowed to compete in five sports at this point; tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf. It obviously took society a really long time to adjust to the simple idea that women are capable of doing something as trivial as "playing" just as well as men.
      Progressing as a society to the point of allowing women to leave their aprons and dusters to condition for something other than a pie making contest is great, but society still has a long way to go. In the article Huffington Post- Gender Discrimination in Sports, Sarah Collins brings up the little known facts that differentiate men and women athletes such as the differences in wage as well as the invention of Title IX. She even includes information about how to file a complaint related to discrimination for both men and women. Unfortunately, women and sports have a very long way to go before they are respected on the level of their male counterparts but at least the world is on the right path. My hope is that one day televised tailgates will be held for women's sports just like they are for men and they will be equal in funding and excitement.

-Sarah Jump

Gender Inequality in the Film Industry

Today I am just going to leave you all with an image to think about, concerning the gender inequality in films as well as the film industry. If you frequent the internet, then you have probably seen this or an image that looks similar to it.

This image is from here, if you can't view it well on the blog. As well, there are other images that this one comes from that relate to the same inequality, but I thought this was important because we tend to think mainly about portrayal in film and not in the industry itself. The inequality of those who work on the films may be a main reason for these stereotypes being reinforced. Plus, I think a comparison between the two binary genders helps demonstrate the point more. 

- Amanda Blohm

 ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK AND BISEXUALITY

  I know this isn't movie exactly, but I think a TV show still comes pretty close. Orange is the New Black is a TV show that airs exclusively on Netflix, and it's pretty revolutionary in the ways it portrays it's characters. Many different races, social classes, sexualities and identities are represented, and one of the great things about it is that they're all women. It's not very often where you can find a show with that many women with they're own fleshed out stories and goals. I'm actually not sure if it's been done before. While I personally believe this is a great success in feminism, that's not what I wanted to discuss. I want to specifically home in on the sexualities that are represented in the show, and further specify that to bisexuality.

   Our main character is Piper Chapman, and when she goes to prison, she's engaged to a man, but the whole reason she's even going to jail is because she was involved with an international drug cartel along with her ex-girlfriend. The great thing about this is that they show bisexuality as it's own actual thing, not just some switch people can flip. There are some instances where characters will be like, "Is she gay now?" or "Is she straight now?", but they are often corrected (mostly by Piper herself)
She talks about falling on a Kinsey scale and how she likes hot girls and boys. It's not addressed often, and I personally feel like it's handled rather delicately, but the fact that they put it into the show means so much. There are a lot of people who are going to see Piper and identify with her, and learn that it's a real thing and that they're not weird.

   This is the article where my info came from http://www.btchflcks.com/2013/08/bisexuality-in-orange-is-the-new-black.html#.VD0kjfldU6o and I interspersed it with my own knowledge of the show and my opinions of it. This is a great example of how media can influence and broaden people's horizons. This show has done a really great job of presenting a diverse group of women in such a human way and I feel like it can help society see them as such

-Casey Coulter

Taylor Momsen Talks Sexuality and Masturbation

For all of you out there that don't know already, Taylor Momsen was a star on the hit CW series "Gossip Girl" who in the last couple of years decided to expand her horizons into the music industry. The twenty-year-old is the lead singer of the rock band The Pretty Reckless. She has been criticized for the promiscuous persona she puts on while onstage, and has even been questioned about her sexuality. She performed alongside Marilyn Manson at Revolver's Golden Gods Awards in 2012 and allowed him to touch her in a very sexual manner during their performance. She later ended up touring alongside him in 2013. There is a link of their performance at the awards show here.

Additionally, I found an article  on The Daily Beast about her transformation from a starlet to a rock star in which she is quoted saying, “Sexuality and rock ‘n’ roll go hand-in-hand and have since the beginning of time, and if anyone thinks I’m doing anything more controversial than fuckin’ Led Zeppelin, you’re insane, because I can see Robert Plant’s fuckin’ dick… you know?” 

Lastly, I also found a mashup of interviews in which Taylor talks frankly about her views on female masturbation. She stresses the importance of young women being able to explore their bodies in a way that doesn't cause them to feel ashamed about it, which I find to be very important. 

Ta for now! 

                                                                                                                            -Morgan Palen

Transgender Athlete Chloie Jonsson Banned by CrossFit from Competing as Female

Earlier this year, Chloie Jonsson was banned from competing in CrossFit competitions as a female due to the fact that she is a transgender person. She was told by the fitness organization that she would have to compete with males if she wished to compete in CrossFit sponsored strength contests. Rather than accepting the discrimination that she was being faced with, she instead chose to sue CrossFit, charging the organization with discrimination, unfair competition, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

CrossFit asserted that the organization was choosing to disallow transgender athletes from competing as anything other than their birth sex as a means of preserving the fairness of competition; however, what CrossFit fails to recognize is the fact that the hormone therapies that are undergone by many transgender people, Chloie included, effectively nullifies any perceived "advantage" that she would have from being born as a male. The policy that CrossFit enforces essentially forces transgender athletes to out themselves in order to comply with the guidelines of competing only within their birth sex. 

In Chloie's case, she underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2006, and has identified herself as female since she was a teenager. She is legally recognized as female, and all legal documents, including her birth certificate, recognize her as a female. Additionally, she did not identify herself as transgender, and stated that "If I am going to be forced to out myself, I want it to be for the good for all transgendered people and athletes -- not because of a company's discriminatory policies." 

For additional information about Chloie Jonsson and her case, check out the following links:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/us/transgender-lawsuit-crossfit/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toni-newman/transgender-female-crossf_b_5051534.html

http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/03/10/trans-woman-sues-crossfit-after-being-told-compete-mens-division

               

                                                                              --Melissa Condon

Girl In A Country Song

Just a few months ago, a new American country duo known as Maddie and Tae released their first single. Their single is called "Girl In A Country Song". As you can guess from the title, the song is about what it is like to be that girl described in a country song. Maddie and Tae sing about the ridiculous and unrealistic images and standards that the latest "bro-country" trend of music has set for women. The song includes references to Thomas Rhett's song "Get Me Some Of That", Florida Georgia Line's song "Cruise", and plenty more. The music video features a few men dressed and acting in a way that the "bro-country" songs describe women as dressing and acting, further proving the outrageous standards set for women in these songs. Below is Maddie and Tae's music video.

Country artist Brian Kelley, from Florida Georgia Line, was questioned about his views on Maddie and Tae's new song because they were one of the artists referenced in the song. He avoided the question, but eventually he claimed that he didn't know a girl who wouldn't want to be a girl in a country song. Maddie and Tae's response to Brian's statement can be found in a short article here as well as an interesting opinion of Maddie and Tae's song and the position it has put these girls in.

- Ashley Compton

Sexual Violence in Heels: Looking at Human Trafficking

      Human trafficking is an underground enterprise that not everyone is aware of. Women and girls sell their bodies to other men for money. While some women are out there of their own accord, possibly to support drug habits, not all women are their by choice. Many are coerced or forced into the sex trade. They have no choice in selling their bodies. Many women are being controlled by a pimp and get nothing for the abuse that they suffer, except for maybe more abuse at the hands of their pimps.




 Tina Frundt helps us understand how a women could be coerced into the sex trade by sharing her story with us. Frundt helps us gain insight into the world of the sex trade and the mind sight of it's victims. Frundt wants us to be informed of this epidemic and how we can help to end this horrific form of sexual violence.
     
                                  -Ali M.

Women Accept Misogyny in Hip Hop

Misogyny is defined as prejudice against women and has become common in hip hop culture. Rappers and artists nowadays have become more descriptive, explicit in their representation of women. Not only an I speaking of just male artists, but female artists have also portrayed themselves in an overly sexual way on purpose. It is sad that the female gender has been reduced to "bitches and hoes", but what is even worse is that women are accepting this without any say.

In the link, you'll find an article from the Huffington Post by Joseph Raucher on how women are accepting misogyny in hip hop culture. He explains three ways how women are accepting this degrading image. The first way he explains is that women brush the offense off because the music isn't talking about them. For example, if a woman feels that she is not a "hoe" then the music doesn't apply to her and there is no offense. The second way is that women feel that it is not worth it to cause an uproar and they should let everyone enjoy the music. The third way that women dismiss the degradation is that they purposely ignore the lyrics because the music is tolerable and they enjoy it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-rauch/how-women-accept-offensiv_b_1429886.html

Womanism and the Feminist Movement

 Hello everyone,
 As many people have noticed, throughout the years, more and more people have been claiming the title of 'feminist' for themselves. But for several other people, particularly Black women, another title that more accurately describes their beliefs and movement is used. Womanism, a term coined by Alice Walker, is a movement made by Black women for Black women.
This article  better describes the experiences of a womanist who found her place in a movement that typically focuses on and caters to the white, cisgender woman. Hopefully after reading this you should be able to see how terms such as 'womanist' are used to inspire and connect those in a movement that hardly caters to them.
-Tarryn Priestly

Transgender Movement: Raising Awareness

The Transgender Movement is taking root throughout the world. It's important to draw awareness of this movement globally and represent this movement with many different faces.  It is also important to view this movement in a much broader sense than just gaining rights for those who don't identify with their birth gender, but gaining rights for everyone to be who they want to be, unrestricted by gender stereotypes. From little boys who like to play with barbies to women who hate wearing dresses to people who consider themselves trans-individuals, the Transgender Movement will affect everyone positively.
This video was published by the Asia- Pacific Transgender Network with the UNAIDS organization to spread awareness of this fact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y62Wr5rvsg

-Sarah Reasoner