PinkerInk

The Dream – Let Me See The Booty lyrics

I was listening to music the other day and I came across a track made by The-Dream. The song is called Let Me See That Booty and it is self-explanatory what the song is about. If we break down some lyrics, I think women especially will be offended. Lets begin with the first four bars:

If you ain't got no booty then you gotta go home
But if you got a booty shawty show me yo thong
Keep rockin' that ass, trick pass the patron
Get Jon on the phone, let's get this shit crunk

This is saying women with no booty or a large booty are not the ideal type of women. If a woman does happen to have a big booty she is most likely wearing a thong and is a trick to pass the patron. I bet women love to seen as just another piece of meat……..if Im not mistaken they don’t but that’s just me. This continues to ruin the self-image of many girls of all shapes and sizes. I have friends who should not be doubting their level of attractiveness and such. They feel inadequate because they don’t possess the big breasts or big booties that other women possess. I say it is unfair to them but this is the image the media was to put out. Next couple of lines in the song are just as bad…….

Yeah you got a pretty face but
Let me see the booty
Yeah you got a small waist but
Let me see the booty
Yeah girl you got class but
Let me see the booty
I wanna see that ass girl
Let me see the booty

The girl can have a nice face, slim waist, or dress in a nice fashion but the men will just be focused on one thing….her rear end. This is an interesting notion to depict due to the fact that women are not 85% booty and 15% rest. Putting the focus on one particular body part makes one miss out on the rest of the person. People especially men have to come to realize that women are not objects, possessions, or livestock. We cannot interchange women due to their physical nature.

Sitting at a desk in the library after today’s class, I stumbled across one of my friend’s post about the Super Bowl that happened the Sunday before and speaking about how most of the commercials to her were so sexist, especially the Dodge commercial (http://www.youtube.com/dodge?bid=4255778&adid=222071399&pid=45688931&KWNM=dodge%20commercial%20&KWID=93833699&channel=PS). She posted up a link to a web newspaper and wondered if Dodge focused its ad on all the demands placed on the modern woman then it would come off what MacKenzie Fegan and Paul Yee made (which could be found here - http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2010/02/11/if-the-dodge-charger-made-ads-for-oppressed-women/).

First off I thought the remixed (Last Woman Stand) was hilarious! But then watching it for the second time, it came to my attention to what we were speaking about in class and how women are already seen doing these things (washing clothes, taking care of and raising the kids, etc). And we discussed if it’s seen as a feminine thing to do or a feminist look. After comparing both videos to each other, I noticed how very different the context is.

Last Woman Stand:
“I will get up and pack your lunch at 6:30 a.m. I will eat half a grapefruit for breakfast. I will get the kids ready for school. I will ignore your smelly loser friend who is crashing on our couch. I will make 75 cents for every dollar you make doing the same job. I will assert myself and get called a bitch. I will catch you staring at my breasts but pretend not to notice. I will put my career on hold to raise your children. I will diet, Botox, and wax. Everything. I will assure you that size doesn’t matter. I will be a lady in the street but a freak in the bed. I will turn a blind eye to your ever-encroaching baldness. I will humor your Fantasy Baseball obsession. I will pretend not to notice when you cry at the end of Rudy. I will watch TV shows where fat, stupid, unattractive men have beautiful wives. I will allow you to cheat on me with other women. I will see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Twice. I will elect male politicians who will make a decision about my body. I will listen to Rush and tell you, yes, if there were a gold metal for air-drumming, you would win it. I will get angry, and you will ask if it’s that time of the month. I will watch Superbowl commercials that depict men as emasculated and depressed, and I will feel so fucking sorry for you.”

Last Man Stand:
“I will get up and walk the dog at 6:20AM. I will eat some fruit as part of my breakfast. I will shave, clean the sink after I shave. I will be at work at 8:00AM.
I will sit through two hour meetings. I will say yes, when you want me to say yes. I will be quiet when you don’t want me to say no. I will take your call and listen to your opinion of my friends. I will listen to your friends opinions of my friends. I will be civil to your mother. I will put the seat down. I will separate the recycling. I will carry your lip-balm. I will watch your vampire tv shows, with you. I will take my socks off before getting into bed. I will put my underwear in the basket. And because I do this. I will drive the car, I want to drive. Charger, Man’s Last Stand.”

One seems to be more pet peeves that tasks that needs to get done. I feel as though the Woman version seems more oppressed than the men’s because everything mentioned in the Woman’s last stand was mentioning how we have to change and recreate ourselves to be more “accepted” towards men. Example would be to be more understanding, inferior, the caretaker, and so on. Basically what the controlling imagines and stereotypes of a woman. I just find it much more extreme than what men have to “give up”. To solve this issue, why can’t car commercials just become a bit more cleaver instead of being “stupid” because all in all, this commercial didn’t make me or any of my male friends feel like they need to buy a Dodge Charger in anyway or maybe we should slowly try to change the image of what is perceived as a “feminine thing to do” and make it a bit more neutral.

This morning as I was riding the 4 train on my way to class I saw some sort of incident and I thought I should post it but to tell you truth I didn't want to post it, I really wanted to wait and see if I saw something else throughout the day. It was around 8:45am on a crowded 4 train with delays. The train stopped on 125th street and a Mexican couple with a baby girl about 2 years of age jump in the train. I specify their country of origin because the man I believe was the husband was carrying a book bag with the flag drawings all over it. Some seats opened up and the couple sat down and the wife sat the baby girl on her lap. The baby started crying and the man asked his wife in a very rude way with his blood shot eyes as if he was drunk or high: "what's wrong with the kid, you didn't feed her today?" the wife response was that she did feed the baby but it was possible that she was hungry again. The husband told her that the next time she doesn't feed his kid she was going to see what happens when they get home. His was stumbling upon his words because he was under some influence. She had a face as if she was afraid of him and she kept moving her head up and down obeying to everything he told her to do. After all the nonsense he kept mumbling the last thing he said was that he didn't understand why she didn't do what she's supposed to do and if she's in the house doing nothing he'll teach her how to do things. Now all this time I was thinking what in the world is wrong with this man? First of all, he's drunk in the morning so what kind of example of a father is he giving? A horrible one because he shouldn’t be drunk at this time or in front of his child, second of all, he speaks to his wife as if she’s an animal or a servant and as if she should be punished for something she didn’t do right. This brings us back to some sort of machismo where the husband expects his wife to be at home and have the meal ready for when the husband decides to show up from work. He practically made her feel useful by telling her she wasn’t doing what she was supposed to do around the house. Another thing was that he kept calling his baby girl “the kid” as if the child was just a kid from the streets. I looked at her and nodded my head as a way of telling her that he was no good for her by the way she looked is as if she was uneducated and had no way out. Well in this case there is a way out. Women have to stop letting men abuse her psychologically and physically and we need to step it up. This is considered a free country then why did you come here? She should escape from him and go to school, get a job and raise her baby on her own until she finds someone that’s worth it.

I had recently been in the grocery store doing some shopping for my mother when I heard this loud argument break out. I turn over my shoulder and it was a women and a man arguing. It was an African American women and a White male, so at first I wasn’t too sure if the two knew each other or if they were strangers just yelling at one another over something that happened there in the grocery store. Stuff like this really interests me. Not that it’s really any of my business, but I feel that if two people want to argue right there in a store in front of tons of people, I have the right to listen to what’s going on. (See how unexciting my life can be sometimes can’t you? lol) But anyway, back to the fight. As the argument went on, it started to get heated up a little bit. It turned out that the two had once been together as a couple. One of the men, who worked at the store, asked the two if they could take it outside or resolve their problems at another time. No one really could find out why the fight started or any of that, but when the man asked the two to take the fight outside is when it got really interesting. I think the man in the argument said something along the lines of “Sorry man, you’re not going to get this one to go anywhere. She has no idea how to be quiet” It was pretty much something along those lines. Granted that he did make this snotty remark, what he got in return was crazy! The lady that this guy used to be with, started abusing this poor guy on his skills, or lack of, in the bedroom. At first I really didn’t believe what she was saying. But this lady talked about everything from the size of this man’s penis to exactly what he wasn’t good at in bedroom. At first I found this to be hysterical, but then I was kind of feeling bad for the guy. Here he is, in a grocery store full of mostly women, and he is getting abused to his face about something that obviously shoots his confidence. From now on, every time this guy is with a girl he’s going to be thinking about whether he’s doing a good job or not. This lady really hurt this guy in a bigger way then I think she ever intended. I never thought that I would hear, let alone see, something like this happen in public. It was real funny, but at the same time it was pretty shocking. Although the guy shouldn’t have said his smart remark to the worker in the store about his ex, he didn’t deserve it as bad as he got it. Always got to be careful what you say though, especially when it comes to an ex girlfriend.

I was reading a magazine over the weekend I think it was XXL or something and what caught my attention was the “Miss apple bottom 2010” competition winner. Apple bottom if you don’t know is a clothing brand started my rapper Nelly. It was originally marketed and targeted towards woman in the south because stereotypically they are said and assumed to have the biggest butts. The jeans are supposed to make a females butt look bigger or give it more shape. I find this offensive towards women because they mainly pick the women based on who has the best face and body that matches the product they are trying to sell. I feel that if you can pick a woman because she is beautiful physically and intellectually then its like you are basically telling a woman that her brains don’t matter at all and that her body is all she needs to make it in life. Women are constantly being told in today’s society by company’s and there products that their body’s are what matter. But I ask what happens when you get old and wrinkled and have no education or knowledge then what can your body do for you? You would be an uneducated old woman with nothing to really show for any success that you may have or could have achieved. I just wanted to know if I am the only person who sees this as being offensive and I am a male.

GENDER WATCH
Undercover Boss (Hooters)

As usual there is nothing on TV. This Sunday ( 2/14/10) I was channel surfing when I came across Undercover Boss. CBS was airing an episode where the CEO/President Coby Brooks of HOOTERS goes undercover in his company in different franchises. There was one Hooters franchise that he went to in downtown Dallas the general manager Jimbo who told the girls that if they wanted to leave early they had to play his reindeer game. The game was each girls would eat a plate of beans head down with there hand behind there backs one girl who was willing to leave early was told by Jimbo that she has to play the game any way, of course the young ladies were unhappy about the game they had to do it any if they want to leave early.
I found the general manager to be insensitive and had a misogynist’s behavior toward the young ladies that worked there. The women were seen as products of Hooters and not as human beings. I know that we are in an economic crisis but, that doesn’t say that any woman should have to succumb to dehumanizing behavior these female should have come together and walked out on Jimbo. However Coby Brooks did a comparison of a female to male managers of course there was a big difference in the treatment of the young ladies with the female managers.

In an old McDonald’s commercial from 1992 a little girl is advertising a Tonka truck that comes with a happy meal for her brother while in the commercial it shows her playing with a cabbage patch doll. This commercial as well as many other toy commercials I have seen recently gender stereotype toys for children. You always see the little boy playing with the car or the truck while the little girls play with the doll. I think that this puts an image in a child’s head from when they are young that they should only play with toys that are seen as acceptable for either a boy or a girl to play with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4U-lCogQEM

Old Spice 2010 Ad: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

I was about to watch the All Star Game on Sunday night when the Old Spice commercial comes up. It reminded me a little about the jewellery commercial that was on TV a lot lately due to valentines (I am not getting into valentine’s day now, since I think this could be on gender watch every year around February 14th). In this old spice commercial a very handsome man (in my opinion) tells the “ladies out there” that, when using old spice, their man could smell like him, since they “sadly” probably do not look like him. Next scene he is one a yacht, in his hands are “tickets to the thing you’d love” which hence, turn into diamonds. Last shot is on the beach and he is riding a white horse.
Is this commercial trying to bring across that all women love is luxury, diamonds, gifts and a handsome or at least a good smelling man that will provide all this? I know one got to take this commercial with a pinch of salt, but similar to the jewellery commercial it portrays women as materialistic and I am just tired of this stereotype.

The Light by Common
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2bsPoxl4jY

I wanted to post something different, something that brings light to women. Something that isn't degrading. The lyrics are sweet and calming. Common's definition of a woman is his equal not someone who waits or walks behind him.

"Truthfully it's hard tryin to practice abstinence/
The time we committed love it was real good/
Had to be for me to arrive and it still feel good/
I know the sex ain't gon' keep you, but as my equal/
it's how I must treat you"

Black Enterprise called Our World: Roundtable- Diversity in Hollywood; Roundtable discussion on the success of African Americans in Hollywood. These three African American women are all very successful in their field and how they are able to push positive ideas and roles for African American community. It seems down to business, does it sell and would you continue to push to sell more? One interesting thing that the mediator said "This is the time for black women" there is a lot black women with power, in places, and clout. One of the speakers said well it could be a barrier for black men like there is a lot black women graduating, more in corporate world, and it is more reflecting of the times now.
http://video.blackenterprise.com/services/player/bcpid1670081878?bctid=34448562001

I found another clip on Black Enterprise called Our World: Roundtable- The Bond Between Blacks & Latinos:A discussion on the relationship between Blacks & Latinos with panelists David Lamb, playwright; Maylene Garcia, experienced family racism, and Miriam Jimenez Roman, Director, Afro-Latino Forum. Watching this video, I found this true everyday. There are several Latinos who would accept the idea of having African decent in them. We don't speak about this everyday.
http://video.blackenterprise.com/services/player/bcpid1670081878?bctid=59746978001

And the last clip, Black Enterprise called Our World: Roundtable- "Ghetto Nation" Roundtable discussion on the hop topics of the day with political consultant Walter Fields, author of “Ghetto Nation,” Cora Daniels; and pop culture analyst Patrick Riley. This is something we spoke about in class today, how we accept a lot of things in society. Cora Daniels said when she was looking for halloween outfit for her child, it was whoreish-like type for a little child, and is that acceptable?
http://video.blackenterprise.com/services/player/bcpid1670081878?bctid=52417063001

I found this very disturbing commercial while looking for something to do my Gender Watch post on for this week. This one I found really disturbing and just gross. It really made me sick to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AxeInsider?feature=pyv&ad=5005222991&kw=commercial#p/u/0/F0AlcVU-de4
If you were to click on the link above, you would be able to watch a commercial that was totally and completely intended to be perverse and disgusting. Not only does it show things based on age, but it does it based on stereotypes too. I found it rather disturbing that while the commercial was being played that the girls in the commercial were like getting turned on or just really enjoying what they were doing in the commercial. AXE isn’t used for sports equipment, but when they are cleaning sports balls, they find a way to make it relate to the male genitals. I think that having these types of commercials on television should be banned. I know this is the kind of stuff that draws the attention from others, but to see this is really disgusting and not only that you never know what kind of audience will be watching.
I felt that this would be perfect for my gender watch, because it specifically targets women saying that they should clean their significant others balls. (not the kind of balls that are displayed in the commercial!) I also found it disgusting when the one female says, “I could play with these clean balls all day,” as she is caressing the golf balls in the commercial. Then the same girl also says, “How can guys clean their balls, so that they are more enjoyable to play with?” after the first girl says, “No one likes to play with dirty balls.” This whole commercial just made me want to throw up during it. I think that after you get a chance to watch it you will see what I am trying to get at.

I n my spare time I enjoy visiting Mediatakeout.com. An interesting headline caught my eye, it read, "Overdone!!! These Pageants For Little Girls Are Going Overboard...Check Out What They Did to These Two Innocent Girls!!" When I clicked the link of the story, the image of two young pageant girls who looked no older than age six, drenched in heavy make-up, hair extensions, fancy clothese, and bathing suits.

This article on Meditakeout made me think of TLC's controversial show, 'Toddlers & Tiaras'. The reality show follows young beauty pageant contestants and their overzealous parents.If this season is anything like the first, passionate moms will take glamming up their little divas seriously, adorning them with spray-on tans, fake eyelashes and fingernails, and more makeup than most teenagers wear for a night of clubbing. And there will certainly be meltdowns as it's not easy being 4-years-old and sporting a full-length gown and a sparkly crown.

I have watched a few episodes of 'Toddlers & Tiaras' and I personally disklike the show and the idea of mothers placing their todller daughters in pangeants. Even more importantly, many of the girls dont even seem to be as enthusiastic about the competition compared to their mothers. It seems as though these little girls are being exploited. I feel that these girls should aspire to do great things with their lives without being heavily focused on their outward appearance at such an early age. These pageant competitions also influence these girls to possibly believe that beauty, and being the "best" is significant in comparison to intellectual thought and education. I also feel that swim suits, and make-up on a young girl is calling the attention of perverts and child molesters.

Parents should allow children to maintain their innocence and not grow up too fast. Beauty and being better than the next girl, should not be something young girls learn.

Being that I live in one of the furthest parts in Brooklyn I am required to take a bus to get to the train station at Brooklyn College. Prior to moving out here I never took the bus at all, but now its part of my daily routine. Everyday I come across this problem at the bus stop where these older women who are so rude to everyone that it disgusts me. What they do is when everyone forms a line to board the bus, they skip everyone in the line to get to the front and push you out the way so that they can get on before the bus fills up or runs out of seats. I understand that they are a little older and they are women, but I am sure that most people are willing to let them on or have their seat if they asked politely. But this sense of entitlement is annoying at times and a bit aggravating. Annoying because it ruins it for those who are civilized enough to form a line.

Is it wrong if a man doesn't offer his seat to a woman?

So it was regular day in my house when my mom walked into the room and said come on get up and I am going to show you how to cook. My parents have been bothering me to learn how to cook for as long as I can remember and at family gatherings, I am ridiculed for not knowing the basics. Therefore, I got up, went to the kitchen, and followed the instructions to making white rice. Once everything is cooked, my dad yells out “Ahora te puedes casar” (which translates to now you can get married) I laughed it off since I knew he was joking around. Then after today’s class and Profo having all the girls in the class who did not know how to cook raise their hands, another of my classmates said that is a shame. In my head, I am like what is your point it was not that serious. I mean I have valid reason most of the time on why I haven’t learn yet, it’s not like I don’t want to learn but it is my lack of time. So then, the discussion continued that if a man did not know how to cook it would be considered acceptable. I hate the double standards set up by society and the old school way of thinking. I know my parents do not mean any harm by making fun of my lack of culinary skills but I know that there are people out there that put a strong emphasis on women knowing how to cook and being able to put a hot meal on the table by the time her husband gets home. Why can’t men from a young age be pulled into the kitchen and learn how to fend for themselves? Why does the burden of the kitchen have to fall on the shoulders of women? I know not all men fit into the I cannot cook I am going to mom’s for dinner but if a female were to do that they would be looked down upon. My gender watch comes down to the double standards when it comes to the kitchen and why do women have to be the one to learn when men are fully capable of cooking for the family

I find that pageants degrade young girls in many different ways and give them a negative message. I personally think that pageants are not suitable for girls under the age of 15. Young girls that join pageants are mostly obligated or forced by their parents because the parents are gaining either money or prizes. I think that pageants exploit young girls and make them view a negative image of what a young beautiful girl should look like.
I know that many girls supposedly have fun and enjoy it (according to the parents) but I find pageants to be very superficial and fake because it is all about which girl has the most makeup and the fakest teeth and smile or which girl has the most expensive wardrobe. I think that the money that parents spend on their daughter’s dresses or fake teeth could be used for their future education. These pageants do not teach anything positive about being a young girl or woman. There is no type of message but that you must be the most beautiful to get the crown. In mostly all pageants there are more white young girls than black or latin girls. I have been watching a show called “Little Miss perfect” on Wetv, that only emphasizes how far mothers will go to make their daughters a product and basically sell them. I have noticed that parents spend great amount of money to make their child look as fake as possible; fake hair, teeth and eyelashes. However, I don’t understand how the judges pick the winner when they all end up looking the same. There is a section in the pageant where girls get the chance to answer questions and show their talent, but even that seems to fall short. For example, in one of the episodes of “Little Miss perfect” a girl danced around the stage as one of her talents and in the middle of her dance she opened her legs. I found the move to be inappropriate for a young girl who is wearing a very tight sexy costume. I have noticed that in each episode of the show the clothes get tighter and the dances get sexier. The young girls get prepared for the pageants by her parents and pageant coaches ( which is another expense) and I ask myself what kind of message are the girls learning in the process? There is not one time through the whole pageant experience where a young girl can be herself because everything is rehearsed and planned. They look like fake dolls.
The other downfall in pageants is the sense of failure when the girls don’t win. The parents look more disappointed than their own daughter. Their disappointment comes from all of the money they spent in preparing their daughters for these pageants. I think this puts a lot of pressure on a young girl. IF she constantly wins she becomes the provider for the family, which only equals big responsibilities, and if she loses she is just a big disappointment. In my opinion these pageants rob young girls’ childhood and innocence. The pageants create an image for these young girls to look up to, that does not exist and is not beautiful. I guess the image comes from what everybody else in America thinks as beautiful. Is all around us in all types of media.
Personally I think that pageants shouldn’t exist but if that couldn’t be an option, I would change the rules by making the young girls be themselves and have the freedom to show their talents or their art skills without choreographers or parents making them over to look like Barbie.

when we saw the trailor of PRECIOUS in our class today, a dialogue clicked my mind. it was," real women sacrifise". but why. why is it that both men and women have binded themselves in specific roles. even if we consider that the binding is permanent, the issue doesnt resolve there. its not balanced. a woman's role in society is a lot more difficult as compared to man's role i.e a mother, wife, sister, daughter, or a woman not highly respected in soceity i.e a prostitute. in everyway these roles are difficult and mostly roles that have been tailor made to suit the needs of their male counterparts who are apparently, the superior beings. one role that i want to focus on is the role of a working housewife. Men in a lot of cultures dont permit their females to work and if they do its for financial support. til here its alright with me.atleast she is working. but its too much when the women are handed over dual responsibilties. they have to take care of the house plus earn money. why ? because the house chores are considered as her duty towards the family which she has to perform no matter what. and the job is what she either wants to do for her own satisfaction or to stabilize her husband's financial conditions. today i just want to say sorry to my mother. i remember her waking up at 5 in the morning, making food for the family, going to work, coming back with us and then heating up the food for us so we could eat it. shame on me ! shame on my soceity ! and actually shame on my father. i do respect him but this is not acceptable. i was young so everything she shared with me were mere words to me. i could not understand her pain, i could not understand how tired she was or how hard it was for her. i just want to apologize to my mother today and promise to myself that i will not do the same with my wife or my daughter. please dont think that my father didnt love his wife. he did and he still does. but the thing is that roles have been assigned. you have to do the chores before you go out to work even if it is for the family. but while we assgin roles, we forget how difficult we are making it for women. i think we have to stop all this. but how will it change i have no clue. almost half of the world or even more is indulged in making women work like crazy and thats how it has been going on for ages. to change this will require a special effort but no matter how we do it....we have to do it ! im sorry mom...i love u !

For today’s gender watch journal, I wanted to discuss a South Korean movie I had seen a couple of years ago, titled 200-Pound Beauty (Korean title: 미녀는 괴로워).
Theatrical trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lyuvsnUeK8
(The lyrics in the trailer roughly translate to
I’m oh so cute / I’m so sexy / I’m a beautiful girl
along with an overall conceited message to the viewers.)
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/200_Pounds_Beauty

I have been a fan of South Korean pop culture and media for a few years now, so I didn’t initially watch this movie hoping to investigate some sort of deep meaning. 200-Pound Beauty is a very lighthearted, funny movie that was a huge hit in South Korea at the time of its release in 2006.
The plot of the film revolves around an overweight woman (named Hannah) with a beautiful singing voice, but because of her unappealing looks, has to donate her voice to a skinny, beautiful singer (named Ammy) who lip-syncs all of her music. During Ammy’s live concerts, Hannah is behind the scenes singing all of the vocals while Ammy performs for thousands of people in the spotlight. Although this seems like a cruel lifestyle, Hannah accepts her position of being “behind the scenes” because she feels she is not beautiful enough to be on stage herself.
Hannah deals with the treatment she receives because she has a crush on Sang-jun, the music director, who treats her well. However, after Ammy pulls a malicious prank on Hannah, Sang-jun pulls Ammy aside and tells her that he is just being nice to Hannah for her voice, and warns Ammy that if she keeps being mean to Hannah, Hannah will leave and they will lose the voice they need to keep Ammy’s career going. When Hannah overhears this, she is heartbroken and stops showing up to work, even going as far as attempting suicide. Hannah eventually decides that if she wants to prove her worth (and to gain the affection of Sang-jun), she has to get plastic surgery to become beautiful in South Korean standards.
It is only after Hannah receives plastic surgery and becomes a slender, “beautiful girl” (see theatrical trailer) that she is able to sustain a career as a singer who can show what she looks like to everyone. This is a horrible message to send to young South Korean girls who may be self-conscious of their looks, because it promotes the belief that even if you have talent and drive, you will never get anywhere without a pretty face and a nice figure. This is very evident in South Korean pop music, where you rarely (maybe even never) will see an overweight or unattractive singer become famous, even if she has twice as much talent as her “beautiful” competitors.
The only time I have ever seen a South Korean group who didn’t fit the “mold” become famous was a few years ago—a 4-member group called Big Mama (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-0Pr8TwUSk) that sang mostly R&B music. Compare this to the kind of group that sustains constant fame to this day—Girls’ Generation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGbwL8kSpEk). A group like Big Mama relies on their talent and loyal fan following. A group like Girls’ Generation, talented or not, can fall back on many different options just because of their looks, such as commercials, modeling, or even acting. Because of South Korean beauty standards, a group like Big Mama will never have the same opportunities as a group like Girls’ Generation, even though both groups carry the same “musician” title.
The reason a film like 200-Pound Beauty fared so well in the South Korean box office was because it promoted a message that was easily recognizable and readily accepted by viewers. The idea that beauty is more profitable than talent (or intelligence) is a grossly unacceptable misrepresentation of women all over the world, and that is why I chose to discuss this film for today’s gender watch journal.

Excerpt from John Mayer's Playboy interview:

PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you?

JOHN MAYER: I don't think I open myself to it. My d**k is sort of like a white supremacist. I've got a Benetton heart and a fuckin' David Duke cock. I'm going to start dating separately from my dick.

PLAYBOY: Let's put some names out there. Let's get specific.

MAYER: I always thought Holly Robinson Peete was gorgeous. Every white dude loved Hilary from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And Kerry Washington. She's superhot, and she's also white-girl crazy. Kerry Washington would break your heart like a white girl. Just all of a sudden she'd be like, "Yeah, I sucked his dick. Whatever." And you'd be like, "What? We weren't talking about that."

Dear John Mayer,

I've sang along with your songs in the passenger seat of my high school bestfriend's car and "No Such Thing" quickly became our high school anthem. This was all pre-Twitter, pre-Jennifer Aniston, pre-fame and pre-Playboy interview. I'm not sure I can still listen to your music without thinking of your "Benetton heart" and "David Duke cock" I've always admired your lyrics and how you put words together, so I'm surprised how careless you are with the words you used in your interview. Did you even think about the implications your words might have? You have disappointed my 15 year old self John Mayer. Shame on you for not having the common sense to think before you speak.

The other day I was flipping through the channel at about 12 o clock in the morning. I came across a reality show on VH1 entitled "Rupauls Drag race". The premise of this show is a competition between men to become the spokesperson for Drag queen's of America. After seeing this show it got me thinking, alot of people are discriminated against or treated differently because of their gender. What about the individuals that consider themselves to be both? The people that chose to live their lives both as men and women. The way one choses to live their life is their buisness in my opinion.
This reminded me of a guy name Derek, Derek worked with me at Bannana Republic a couple of years ago. Derek became a good friend and let me know that he always felt he was meant to be a woman and was in the process of accomplishing his gender transformation. One day he reported to work dressed in his alter ego" Diana". After this incident, he was reprimanded for this and was eventually demoted from a sales supervisor to a stock person This to me was totally uncalled for and discriminatory. I guess the company didnt fire him because a lawsuit could be filed. Ultimately Derek quit because he felt embarrased and humiliated. The people that were once his subordinates now were telling him what to do.They also made his schedule diffucult or scheduled him for times they knew he couldnt work.
I started to think, there are laws against discriminatory practices based on your sexual orientation but there are few if not any laws pertaining to transgendered or cross dressed individuals. I think the solution to this would be to enact laws that would protect them from being fired, demoted or anything else that would effect their position within a company. The way one dresses should not matter or be a factor in the employment sphere. Most laws only get made after a tragedy happens like the kid that got killed in Laramie for being gay. A movie entitled " The Laramie Project" was made to shed light on that unjust and undesrved tragedy. The problem is with legislation. Bills have to be made and approved to become laws. Signatures need to be obtained. The process is at times long but the end result is worth the wait.

So I thought I would share an experience I had once with a male friend that made me somewhat uncomfortable. This was a few years back about when I still 15 or 16 years old. I attended a retreat type of two days one night event with my temple upstate. I remember one of the two days, the girls and boys where all outside doing some free time activities, some of us played basketball some of us just sat around gossiping. Of course most of the boys played basketball while most of the girls sat around and gossiped. I forgot the context of the conversation I was having with one of the guys who was resting when he said something like “oh why don’t you shh.. and go into the kitchen and cook me some food.” At the very moment I was very confused, I didn’t say anything back and he just kind of laughed it off as a joke. I felt like although he said it in a joking type of manner, it only occurs to me now how little we as women have come in history. Although it was meant as a joke I feel like if he could say it in a joking manner, it must have occur to him that’s where women belong, in the kitchen. That’s how lots of women are seen by man, especially in the Asian culture, the housewife who does nothing but take care of the family. I think one of the biggest problems with this type of mentality is that we, women don’t say anything back like I didn’t say anything 5 years ago. The fact that we don’t speak up makes the men think that’s it’s an okay way to think of women, when it is not. Also another thing that comes to mind is, if I was to say something back, what would I say? Would this guy think of me in a negative way since he was just joking and I made it more dramatic than he thought it really was?

Gender sense Tingle

I was in one of my class at Baruch when my teacher asked the class to form groups and discuss the many problems people find when working in a group setting. She wanted us to describe the pros and the cons and the difference between good group members and bad group members. We sat and discuss these things and what we expected from our groups. After going over them in class she touch on the behavior of men and woman this set off my gender senses.
“remember ladies you have to watch you behavior, don’t dislike someone because you think they just cut their eye at you, sometimes you have to control your emotions and fella’s you have to be more sensitive to woman’s feelings everyday wont be her best day,”
I was a taken back a little bit by the comment and looked around to see the reactions from the other students in the room; no one seemed offended at all. I thought to myself, I am a guy but I won’t have the best day all the time. At that moment it reinforced the idea that as a male you have to not let your emotion show. As a guy you are always taught to keep your “hard hat” on. I felt this fell into the stereotype that Woman are more emotional then Men. This then automatically took my mind back to Eve Ensler and her idea of girl power and how it relates to our daily lives.