Whenever a PETA ad comes out I am usually peeved as PETA can't seem to get away from the veggies are sexy angle. I've considered foregoing all posts regarding PETA so as not to give to give them anymore attention however, my hope is that someone who sees my posts will see just how ridiculous and often sexist their campaigns are.
The below ad is meant to be shown during this year's Superbowl.
Warning: The below video features half naked women playing with vegetables in a sexual manner.
There are many reasons as to why one would become a vegan or vegetarian however I don't know anyone who gets turned on by celery. Sex does sell of course (unfortunately) and PETA is using it to the fullest to draw attention to themselves. Again PETA shows us that they feel quite comfortable exploiting women for self gain. They don't seem to ever tire of it.
"He said, you know I keep hearing people talk about a bad orgasm. He said, there's no such thing as a bad orgasm. We know what that means, he's saying, getting off is getting off, it's always, even when it's not great its good. That sex conceived of as merely physical pleasure is always good even if the conditions under which it's obtained are not optimal. I think the reason to think about that is because number one there we realize there are many bad orgasms in the world. There are orgasms that hurt people especially women and children. So, the first counter to that is no no no there are lots of orgasms that are bad from the point of view from the people upon whos bodies violence is done. But the second thing to challenge men on is what about yourself? What kind of person are you when you have created a sexual identity in which an orgasm in it of itself is adequate to fulfill your needs?
~Robert Jensen Professor, anti-pornography feminist Official Website
"The pornography industry has done a masterful job of focusing the discussion on womens choices. Everyone who ever had a conversation or done work on this know that the first thing you get in a Q&A period is that if women are choosing to perform in this who are we to say? Who are we to condemn the women in pornography? I think everybody has made it clear that we don't, that's the whole point. I've never been in a feminist space where anyone condemned the women performing pornography. What we have to do is focus on the choices men make. We have to develop an argument and what I want to lay out now is how we can talk to men. Whether we agree with this thing, this argument of womens choices a lot of people have accepted that and we have to be able to respond to it. So how do we respond to men who say listen women choose, who am I to say differently? We know of course that womens choices like all choices are constrained in various ways. That people who have histories of sexual abuse, people who have very few economic opportunities or perceive very few economic opportunities. One argument to make to men is when you pop a dvd into that player and when you masturbate to those images of that woman how do you know that she is one of the women who claims to make a completely free choice? That is you don't have enough information to know what choices that woman made under what conditions. And occasionally someone comes back from that and says well what if I knew? What if i knew the woman? What if I had some information? What if I read her autobiography, what if? And there's a response to that as well, and this I borrow from a really really bright young feminist lawyer Michelle (?) who developed this argument around prostitution. She says, listen, even if you could guarantee that that particular woman had made a completely free choice unconstrained by anything or in the world. When you contribute to the demand for pornography you are creating a world in which systematically large numbers of women who are not making choices quite so freely are going to be injured. That is creating a demand and fueling an industry guarantees that women will be hurt or injured in the future."
~Robert Jensen Professor, Anti-Pornography feminist Official Website
"We have to acknowledge that there are a lot of men in the world who are struggling with their own place in this hyper-masculinized patriarchal sexual system. There are a lot of men struggling with how to make sense of their socialization. They're struggling to be decent in a world in which it's very easy simply to accept privilege and power and ignore these questions. Now, men fail, I fail, we all examine our own lives, recognize how we fail but there is a need to reach out I think to those men. For two reasons, one is they are potentially part of a movement. Also, if we don't make space for men in a movement we give them no place to be. It's not just that it will be very difficult for most men to join but a lot of women who have allegiances to the men in their lives especially to boy children. You can't go to women and say we want you to join a movement in which your child will be perpetually defined as a predator and something to be eliminated.Not a strong argument to make to parents."
"I can't support the troops cuz every last one of them's being duped. And I will not rest a wink until the woman have regrouped."
Ani Difranco's album Red Letter Year was released in 2008. I purchased the album then and continually come back to one song in particular. The song Alla This in my mind is a very powerful song. There is one line that makes me cringe a bit. The line "I won't pray to a male God" makes me wiggle a little bit as I do consider myself a Progressive Christian. Even so I will not detail my feelings about God and gender in this post.
I'm writing to speak of my immense admiration for Difranco's above lyric line which I consider to be quite bold and daring especially since we all swim in the fabric of a PC world. I believe that the concept of political correctness was originally intended for good, however, the results are often unfortunate. The result of PC language often end up covering the truth and often leads us to tip toe around topics rather than address them. Because of PC language, the moment we do address topics directly, we often gasp in shock and feel offended. My opinion is that we must not grasp on to PC language with a fist so tight. Let us be compassionate and open minded without fear. Easier said than done at times but I think it is an internal battle worth paying attention to. I am in no way saying that I have a better grasp on this than anyone else. I am simply inspired to do better.
In the song Alla This, Difranco says that she does not support the troops. Makes sense to me. Many of us anti-war folks will say that we support the troops even though we don't support the war. Well, yes we all want them to be safe and we want them to return to their families as soon as possible. We are concerned for their physical, emotional and spiritual well being. We are concerned for their loved ones in the same way. But are we in support of their actions? No. I am not. I am not in support of their efforts in war. There are many soldiers who are not in favor of the war and there are many who are proud to be a part of the armed forces. I believe the ones who are in favor of the war are being "duped" as Difranco says. Misguided, misinformed and influenced in a way that pushes violence.
Then of course there is the line which encourages feminism. Difranco "will not rest a wink until the women have regrouped." I love this line as it is encouraging, fierce, and proactive. Women must not only come together to combat patriarchy but to embrace the idea that it is not beneficial for women to act as competitors but rather to form a union.
Ani DiFranco performs "Alla This" at WNRN in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 4, 2009 before her show at Paramount Theater
The film Blue Valentine has received a lot of buzz not only due to the impressive acting skills of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams but also because there is a scene where Gosling's character performs oral sex on his wife. The film initially received a NC-17 rating but was later changed to R.
I found it strange that there was so much drama surrounding the film's content being that another film released this year, Black Swan also revealed an oral sex scene between Natalie Portman's character and Mila Kunis's character.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way. I've read similar sentiments on various websites. It is my belief that the sex involved in Blue Valentine was much more complex being that it was between a couple who's marriage is on the rocks. The sex was definitely not what we are used to seeing in most flicks.
I recently came across a quote in which Gosling speaks about a patriarchal culture and it's connection to cinema.
"You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film."
I've come to learn that there are many feminist website that are posting this very quote. Some websites I've encountered are raving about Gosling's statement and are happily shouting from the roof tops that Gosling is a feminist. I think that is a little presumptuous. Gosling's statement is definitely feminist in nature however we as an audience have no idea as to whether or not Gosling labels himself a feminist. One can only hope. I say this because I think it is healthy and beneficial for anyone to harbor feminist ideas.
I've also come to find that some websites are singing Gosling's praises not just because he made a feminist statement but because he is considered by many to be attractive. So, when an attractive male spouts feminism he becomes more attractive in the eyes of some women. I myself find Gosling to be a handsome man. In interviews I've seen he appears to be quite kind, genuine, witty, humorous, and intelligent (of course interviews only give the audience a glimpse into what may be the individual's actual personality) person. I admire his work with socio-political issues and I am impressed by the fact that his films are often introspective and thought provoking. Even so I think us admirers must keep in mind that while Gosling may have great appeal it is better to think of his words as helpful and inspirational rather than getting wrapped up in thinking...finally a good one! Let's not romanticize Gosling to the point that his words are devalued and overshadowed. Lets give him a little more respect by not getting too carried away.
I can't remember if I've blogged about this before but I'm going to blog about it now. Every now and then I would catch a license plate frame that pronounced,
"If you're going to ride my ass at least pull my hair".
Recently I've seen this license plate frame more often. Most likely this line is meant to be humorous but I see it as an endorsement of humiliation and dominance. Pretty simple. Perhaps the owners of these plate frames are attempting to be sassy and alluring but in my mind they are placing themselves in a submissive role. Yeah, they might like it rough...or maybe they just like talking the talk...but either way I find this to be a cheap celebration of patriarchal thinking.
I found this shirt on Etsy. I am definitely have to buy this one. I love unicorns because there is something so whimsically tacky about them and tacky is good. Most likely I'll sleep in this shirt but who knows maybe I'll sport it around. To check it out for yourself go to The Bold Banana etsy site.
I believe story telling is an art form and blogging is a medium in which to share stories and ideas. Within this blog I hope to cover a spectrum of topics. From the serious to the silly. Here you will read my views and inquiries about subjects such as feminism, other various socio-political issues, psychology, spirituality, sexuality, and general interests such as film, art and music. You will also be exposed to my obsession with cupcakes, tea, books, Hello Kitty, and quirky day to day journeys. I enjoy learning from others as I am constantly attempting to introspect, grow and evolve. During this process I will be jotting down musings on this blog. Pull up a comfy chair and a spot of tea and join me!
