Perfume or Sexfume?

Over the past couple of weeks a few of my friends and different classmates have mentioned how provocative fragrance commercials and ads can be. I have always thought the same thing after watching a commercial, but I have never brought attention to it, or really thought about why until now. To be honest the ads and commercials tell us customers absolutely nothing about the actual fragrance. You can kind of get somewhat of an idea of what the smell might be like, but assuming anything might be risky.

I have seen commercials for J'adore by Dior and thought the smell would be very sophisticated and  wonderful because they develop the character of the perfume with a very rich and chic woman. However, when I smelt it, I thought it was gross and smelled like "old ladies" but that is just my opinion. I believe the commercials entice you to want to sample the fragrance, which is good because it gets the customer into the store. It also gives you somewhat of an idea of what type of mood you feel wearing it.

The ads on the other hand usually go for the really innocent or sex factor. Take for example the Emporio Armani ad. When looking at this I the message I receive is, "If I wear this perfume some man is going to wanna take my shirt off and kiss me." Whether or not that is the message they are wanting to communicate, it's one that is being received. 

Cosmo Stack

Cosmopolitan magazines have been a popular read for American women since the 1960's. I began reading these magazines for pure entertainment when I came to UNT. I have never been big on "girl-talk" magazines that attempt to offer relationship and self improvement tips. Just this past week I learned something rather interesting about this magazine. Throughout the year Cosmopolitan publishes one issue a month, and on the side half of the binding is a portion to a 12 piece picture. If you collect all 12 issues during the year and chronologically stack them , you will have a picture of a "sexy" half-naked man. I was really shocked when I first heard about this, but the more I thought about it the idea seemed clever. It is an excellent marketing strategy because let's be honest, what 20 year-old girl want's half a picture of a shirtless-muscle man? No one! This marketing tactic feeds directly into the image this magazine is working to maintain. It strives to help you single women become fashionably acceptable, physically attractive, and sexually desired by hunky men.

Miss Representation

Throughout the semester we have discussed, countless times, how Photoshopped different media are. I have always known that models and celebrities on cover pages are altered, and understood that what I am being shown is a drastic misrepresentation of an actual woman. I will admit that there have been times in my life, when I was younger and more naive, that I compared myself to the fake women I saw, and judged my body based off of theirs. After watching Miss Representation and seeing the younger children speak about how the media are impacting their day-to-day life, and how it can cause a personal self-esteem battle I began to think about my 10 year-old sister. While I never experienced any major self issues, I am worried that it will have a bigger impact on her. Magazines and billboards were around when I was 10, but with technology rapidly advancing they are more prominent in today's society. Along with my mom, I have talked to my sister on many occasions about the importance of good self-esteem and how being a strong individual is important. However, talking can only do so much for someone.

Disney's Princess Message

As a child I grew up watching Disney movies and admiring the pretty princesses. I thought they were beautiful, and they always managed to end up with their prince. In class we talked about how young girls are potentially learning the idea that a man is supposed to save you and sweep you off your feet, and be your everything from these movies. Thinking back, I cannot say that this is true, but I also cannot confidently say the movies did not influence that idea.
Another issue we touched on was whether or not parents were explaining the "true message" of the stories to their children. I do not recall my mother really ever talking to me about the moral dilemmas the princesses faced. I also do not believe I attempted to model my behavior after any of the princesses. When I think back to the time frame of my life when Disney movies were all I watched, I recall the fun and entertainment-not the life lessons.
As an adult watching these movies it is shocking to see the way the princesses are portrayed and the way they interact with the men and princes. I definitely see how one could worry about how it would effect vulnerable young children. However, I watched these movies growing up, without explanation, and I turned out fine. I don't think a man is going to ride up on his white horse and save me, or if I kiss a frog that he will turn into my prince charming. 

Worth the Credit?

For my Modern and Popular Culture Music class we were offered, what seemed to me, a very odd and unfair opportunity to receive extra credit. Every semester the professor for MUET 3020 directs and host an educational music performance. At this performance attendees-students and their guest(s)-are exposed to various Vaudevile traditions. As a student enrolled in the class I was offered many ways to be involved with the performance that would give me extra points. One of the most interesting ways was to participate as a hula dancer; this role would have provided me with the most extra credit, and I wanted to choose this role initially for obvious reasons. However, as he began to describe the role, he revealed that women hula dancers were required to wear bikini tops accompanied with small shorts to go under the grass skirt. The professor stressed the importance of a bikini top, and said if a dancer showed up in anything different that they would be cut from the show. On the other hand, the men hula dancers were allowed to show up wearing a white t-shirt and basketball shorts to go under their grass skirts. While on the day of the show the men did not wear a shirt, they were still provided the option to do so. I do not agree with the way this situation was handled, and I think it is absurd that the professor did not take the women's feelings towards the not attire into consideration. 

A Face to the Culture

During my Group Counseling class the other day we were talking about the way media portray different cultures, and how it makes the people of that particular culture feel. When these discussions take place the White, Hispanic and Black populations are typically the main focus. However, this time the representation of the American-Indian culture was the center of attention.

One of my fellow classmates, who is a descendent of the Kickapoo tribe, said her family always questioned why they chose an Indian girl as the face of the product. Initially, I thought that perhaps the founding and creating of this brand stemmed from someone or somewhere with a large Indian influence. However, after looking online time and time again I have yet to find anything that associates the reasoning behind the girl and the culture. My only thought as to why they picked the Indian girl is because the company says their butter is the best quality and is made with simple goodness. When I think of the ways of the Indian population, I think about how they utilized nature and what was available to them to survive; even as far as clothing and dwelling are concerned.

Whether or not the company was intentionally attempting to make their product a direct representation of the Indian population, it ultimately does. After all this culture appears to be the face, literally, of Land O Lakes. 

Hate or Not?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/28/sports/main20113020.shtml

When I first read this article about Simmonds, a black National Hockey League player for Detroit, getting a banana thrown at him I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. The banana was thrown by a fan of the opposing team from Philadelphia. I do not understand why a grown person would act out in this manner.  Initially, I equated the fans actions with those of an audience who throws tomatoes at a comedian to show signs of disapproval. However, then I realized this was a banana being thrown at a black man. A stereotype of the black population is that they resemble monkeys, or are sometimes called monkeys. Monkeys eat bananas. To me, his action was obviously planned and an act or racial hatred. Yet, the league did not believe this to be the case because there was no interference with the game play. The league also mentioned that this particular fan’s behavior is not a correct representation of NHL fans, and we should not think their fans are cruel or disrespectful. My argument to them is that, stereotypes and judgments are typically made by the “one bad apple that spoils the bunch.” Therefore, it is a possibility that the fans could acquire this negative outlook.  

Eye Opener

First, I was taken aback with the talking vagina hands today. I cannot believe that a company would actually create those ads! What were they thinking, and why did they think it was okay? Not only were they portraying women, but they were also using very specific racial stereotypes. They were disgusting!

Second, the comment NHL star Sean Avery made about sloppy seconds was just tacky. Personally, I didn’t take offense to him saying that. I don’t believe he made a comment regarding all women, just the ones who date his teammates. However, it was very bad personal publicity for Avery. Things concerning his personal life shouldn’t be spoken about like that, and if wanted to-which he did-he could have found a better choice of words to describe the situation.

Third, I never realized how bad the movie, Bring It On, was! I have not seen this movie since I was in high school, and back then I did pay attention to issues pertaining to race and gender, but not as closely as I do now. To watch this movie now, and take all of it in; I cannot believe that it’s not rated PG-13. There are so many racial reference and sexual innuendos throughout the entire movie.

Finally, I am really intrigued by this class. To listen to everyone’s perspective on different issues, whether they conflict with my views or not, is eye opening. I feel like so much light has been shed upon many new things that I would never have given a second thought to before this semester.  

Personal Preference

During today’s class we talked a lot about the evolution of slavery and how it has impacted society. An example brought up by a fellow classmate was the limited selection of black baby and Barbie dolls. Although I am white, when I was younger I liked having the black Barbie dolls because I thought the white ones were ugly. I would tell my mom they had too much makeup on and did not look normal. I remember having a hard time finding black dolls. It is unfortunate that the African-American population is underrepresented in the realm of toys. In my opinion it makes our toy industry come across as inconsiderate to their public population.

We also talked a lot about allowing the media to raise today’s children. I found the video, A Girl like Me, to be really sad. It amazes me how influential small children are, and how much their environment impacts them without the older generation realizing.

I found the Princess Boy to a good example of a parent who did not pressure their child with society’s expectations. I think it’s amazing that his mother wrote a book and is out advocating for children to be able to be themselves, like what they want, and wear what they would like to.

Inferences without Experiences

During class today someone mentioned how the girls who are of “the Limited Too generation”, and how they were raised to have what they want, and that the girls grow up to not be successful. Personally, I do not agree. When I was younger my mother bought my clothes from Limited Too, and I am a very strong young woman who has achieved great things in my collegiate career.

In my opinion I think people are too quick to make inferences and predictions about a specific group of people without knowing or experiencing. I think the girl who spoke about this particular topic may have looked at the JCPenny shirt we talked about and made the connection with a popular pre-teen store. However, when I shopped there the store did not carry printed shirts with demeaning slogans about young girls. If they sold items like the shirt we looked at my mother would not have taken me there.

In regards to the Rack Em’ video, I cannot believe things like this are actually on YouTube. I am aware that there are plenty of inappropriate videos on the internet, but my question to the people who upload them is, do you try to help them become better? Personally if I saw someone struggling like the man in the Rack Em’ video, I would ask if there was anything I could do to help. I understand that not everyone has the desire to be helped, but I also doubt that they desire to be humiliated by the millions of people who have viewed the video.   

Reporting Fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzNhaLUT520

Before today’s class, I had a completely different view on the Bed Intruder video.  One of my sorority sisters showed me this video last semester, and I thought it was rather entertaining. I never thought to look at it from a journalistic point of view. I believe that because of the environment I was in when I first watched the video; it was hard to think about the situation as a serious matter.

However, during our discussion I realized the seriousness of the situation, and some of the flaws in WAFF 48’s reporting. The reporters came across as very inconsiderate and disrespectful in regards to the Dodson family. The main point and person, the sister, was lost and covered up by the actions of Antoine. I was very upset after realizing that the story was truly about a rape victim, that the main thing the reporters focused on was how Antoine reacted to the situation. The way this story was reported is embarrassing to the journalism profession, and I hope the reporters faced some type of repercussions for their unethical ways.  

In other news, I am very excited about this class! Today’s discussion was interesting, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the semester has to bring!