Short Post 2/1/2011

Short Post 2/1/2011
The three chapters in Douglas’ book provided a detailed and comprehensive view of the ways in which females are presented in the media. I appreciate the way that she analyzes well known shows because it opened my eyes to aspects of these show that had previously gone unnoticed. I would expect there to be controversial feelings about Beverley Hills 90210, but I was surprised to learn about the aspects of sexism in Buffy as well as national news coverage. Of all the examples that Douglas uses, surprisingly the one that was most evocative to me was Janet Reno. I say surprisingly because I had never heard of her prior to this reading, yet I was very disturbed by Douglas’ account of the media reaction to her. The reason that her story resonated with me is that I firmly believe that all people including women should be able to act as they wish. I have a strong reaction to claims that women only dress up for men and that by doing so we are supporting our oppression. If a woman feels like dressing up then she should be able to do so without feelings of shame. On the flip side of this is that if a women does not enjoy dressing up and wearing make-up she should not be made to feel ashamed either. It is disturbing to me to see that pop culture in America found it necessary to turn Janet Reno into the butt of many jokes.
Her appearance was not affecting her job, in fact from what Douglas recounted it sounds like she was a rare example of an honest person holding a public office. Instead of acting in appreciation for her service, people analyzed her sexual orientation. The fact that she had to defend her heterosexuality by stating, “I am just an awkward old maid who has a very great attraction to men.” I believe that a woman in a position of power should not have to refer to herself as awkward in order to sooth the public’s fears. I find it hard to imagine a time that a man in public office would partake in such self deprecation. By self deprecating women can make themselves appear less powerful and therefore less threatening to males. While this may work in order to achieve short term goals of reaching positions of power, it seems as though it also sets us back. At some point women have to stop playing by men’s rules. Just because we have learned how to work the system does not mean that we have achieved equality. Walker’s call to action in response to the Thomas confirmation states this same sort of message. I find her message clear and powerful, especially the part that states, “do not vote for them unless they work for us. Do not have sex with them, do not break bread with them, do not nurture them if they don’t prioritize our freedom to control our bodies and our lives.” So often it seems that women make excuses for the men they love. Claiming they do not understand what their actions imply or that they are just men being men. In order to achieve real equality women must firmly stand behind the belief that if you are not with us you are against us.