Do Women Still Expect a Fairytale Life?

Why should we study the representations of girlhood?  As Mayne said in her article, representations reflect, reinterpret, and recreate norms. (Mayne)  Analyzing the ways girlhood is represented at different historical moments offers and important lens on the broader societal discourses surrounding norms of gender, race, and sexuality.  So how is girlhood represented today?  When people are studying the 21^st century how will they view adolescent and teenage girls?  Previously in history girls and women have been suppressed. 

In Kearney’s article, Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of Female Youth Culture, he saw girls being portrayed as only cultural consumers and that there is a lack of girl representations as cultural producers.  Women and girls are continually portrayed as on the “quest for perfect beauty,” or “the quest for Mr. Right.”  Focusing on consumer practices of girls reinforces ideas about women and consumption and ignores girls’ roles as cultural producers.  Female youth aren’t depicted as active producers of culture because adolescence is depicted as a time of “acting out” and experimentation.  Also, production is coded as a masculine activity, and consumption as a feminine one.

            I find the lack of feminism and feminism influence to be disturbing throughout pop culture.  Just look at any Rolling Stone cover to know that male artists are regarded as “kings,” “geniuses”, etc. and see words like “dirty,” “naughty,” and “sexy” applied to the female artists.  I do think that if one looks hard enough, they can find positive representations and women who are producers rather than consumers.  My favorite example right now in pop culture is Sara Bareilles.

Sara Bareilles is an American singer-songwriter and pianist.  She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart.  She has sold over 1 million records worldwide and has been Grammy nominated three times.  Bareilles' is often compared to artists such as Fiona Apple, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones due to her vocal ability and incorporation of piano in her music.  Her musical influences include Sarah McLachlan, Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera and Joni Mitchell.  She is often praised for her songwriting abilities, with critics stating she "conveys vulnerability and wisdom in lyrics that speak honestly about relationships from a woman's point of view", and that her "writing voice is uniquely her own." 

Maybe this music is called “uniquely her own” because she is telling HER story, not THE story that the current mass media markets as a young women’s life story.  Sara Bareilles is in stark contrast to artists such as Taylor Swift, who sing about their perfect fairytale life and happy ending that involves finding a man.  A song by Sara that I think portrays this perfectly is Fairtytale.  In this song, Sara breaks away from all the societal norms around girlhood that is embedded in our culture since we were young.  This norm is embedded through children’s books and Disney movies that the American youth has grown up with.  Sara specifically denounces such stories like Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel.  What do all these childhood stories have in common?  Being saved by A MAN.  My favorite lyric is “Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, man made up a story said that I should believe him.  Go and tell your white knight that he's handsome in hindsight, but I don't want the next best thing.  So I sing and hold my head down and I break these walls round me, can't take no more of your fairytale love.

In this song Bareilles is not placing any importance on sexuality, or her body, like many other female artists today.  She is also denouncing any reliance on a man.  She is going against the norm by not being seen as flighty, emotional, or unserious.  If girls are situated as marker’s of society’s moral location I think Sara is a good portrayal. 

Many people claim that we are living in a post-feminine world and that feminism is no longer needed.  I do not think this is true.  I am glad that there are still women making great music and showcasing their talent instead of their body parts, for example: Sara Bareilles, Adele, Regina Spektor, and Brandi Carlisle.  Feminism may be “dead” in the mainstream, but it is alive and thriving within indie subcultures.  These artists show that there is potential for girls to represent themselves in popular culture in a way that repudiates traditional narratives of girlhood.

(When I saw her in concert in 2008 in Cleveland)

"Fairytale"

Cinderella's on her bedroom floor

She's got a

Crush on the guy at the liquor store

Cause Mr. Charming don't come home anymore

And she forgets why she came here

Sleeping Beauty's in a foul mood

For shame she says

None for you dear prince, I'm tired today

I'd rather sleep my whole life away than have you keep me from dreaming

'cause I don't care for your fairytales

You're so worried about the maiden though you know

She's only waiting on the next best thing

Snow White is doing dishes again cause

What else can you do

With seven itty-bitty men?

Sends them to bed and calls up a friend

Says will you meet me at midnight?

The tall blonde lets out a cry of despair says

Would have cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair

I'll have to find another tower somewhere and keep away from the windows

Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom

Man made up a story said that I should believe him

Go and tell your white knight that he's handsome in hindsight

But I don't want the next best thing

So I sing and hold my head down and I break these walls round me

Can't take no more of your fairytale love

I don't care

I don't care

Worry bout the maiden though you know

She's only waiting spent the whole life being graded on the sanctity of patience and a dumb

Appreciation

But the story needs some mending and a better happy ending

Cause I don't want the next best thing

No no I don't want the next best thing

 Mayne, Judith. “Women, Representation, and Culture.” In Reading Women’s Lives.

Brown, Adriane. Girl Power & Self Representation.  Powerpoint.

Brown, Adriane. Intro to Youth Studies. Powerpoint

Kearney. Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of Female Youth Culture.

ABOUT A BOY

Media images help shape our view of the world and our deepest values (Kellner).  Media stories provide the symbols, myths, and resources through which we constitute a common culture and through the appropriation of which we insert ourselves into this culture (Kellner).

Many television shows today either intentionally or unintentionally include minoritizing discourses.  When we read from a minoritizing lens, we see categories in terms of black and white, or either/or.  However, to read from a universalizing lens, we don’t read categories as fixed or set in stone, but as fluid and open to interpretation.

              Many television shows feature heterosexuality as the norm, and this norm is always at the center.  This means characters are assumed to be straight unless they say otherwise.  The effect of this is that homosexuality is considered the ‘exception’ as well as considered deviant or freakish.  This minoritizing discouse on sexuality relies on categories and definitions of how society should be arranged around what works for heterosexuals, for example marriage, reproductive technologies, and medical rights. Situating heterosexuality as norm preserves privilege and denies resources to LGB.

Many television shows, for example Will & Grace, portray homosexuality in comparison to femininity.  Will and Jack are positioned within a narrative space that relies on familiar comedic conventions for addressing homosexuality— equating gayness with a lack of masculinity.  In Hollywood, homosexuality historically has been defined in opposition to masculinity; gayness is that which is not masculine (Russo, 1985, Epstein & Friedman, 1996).  Comedic conventions of film and television have historically reinforced and poked fun at this stereotype of the gay man (Fejes & Petrich, 1993; Dow, 2001).

            One television show that goes against this heterosexual norm is 90210. 90210 is a teen drama developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star.  The series revolves around several students at the fictional West Beverly Hills High, including new Beverly Hills residents Annie Wilson and Dixon Wilson.  Annie and Dixon struggle to adjust to their new lives while making friends and yet adhering to their parents' wishes.  During its first two seasons, 90210 featured cast members from the original series, including Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling, Ann Gillespie, and Joe E. Tata. However, after the conclusion of the second season, there are no plans for any original stars to return.

I think that 90210 engages with universalizing discourse through the character of Teddy.  Universalizing discourse shatters the primacy of the norm.  In 90210, sexuality is fluid.  There are many characters that do not limit themselves to the norm of heterosexuality.  Instead of Teddy’s sexuality being the first and defining characteristic, the audience has already gotten a chance to know Teddy before he explores his sexuality. Teddy’s character is very unconventional, he is not a feminine character… he is a jock.  Teddy’s an athlete; he’s a typical California boy, as well as being a famous man’s son.  He’s blonde and hunky and yes, he also has a sexual orientation and that’s a huge part of his life.  I think the show gives the viewer a realistic view of someone coming to terms with their homosexuality, and focuses the characters’ connection to the larger social world, as well as their interpersonal relationships.  The feelings that come along with the realization and acceptance of one’s sexuality can be a very long, confusing and sometimes painful process.  90210 has done a great job with Teddy‘s storyline.  The February 7^,episode, “All About a Boy” featured Teddy coming out to his friends, who accepted him.  In contrast to Grace’s reaction to Will coming out, Teddy’s former girlfriend, Silver accepted him.  "There’s nothing about you that is bad," Silver explained, completely bypassing any opportunity to selfishly wallow in at the realization that her ex-boyfriend is gay. “I love you even more now that I know who you really are,” she added. Her words left Teddy with the confidence to show his friends that as well, and they welcomed him with slightly awkward albeit very open arms.

As gay characters become more common on broadcast and cable television, it will be tempting to equate this increased visibility with social acceptance and valuation of gays and lesbians.  Therefore, media critics need to continually interrogate the assumption that a quantitative increase in gay representations (increased visibility) signals a qualitative change in representational practices. Qualitative challenges to current representational conventions, which have the power to call into question normative cultural ideas,  serve as a more powerful indication of and contribution to social change.  Instead of looking at numbers as a sign of social progress, critics should look for ways in which gays and lesbians are represented in popular culture texts targeted to a broad audience, and how such representations conform to and challenge normative structures of our heterosexist society. Substantial percentage of our “knowledge” is through media, not direct experience.  I am glad there are shows out there such as 90210 and characters like Teddy that signal a qualitative change in representational practices.

Brown, Adriane. Transgenderation PowerPoint. Feb 2011.

Brown, Adriane. Hegemonic Femininity in Popular Culture PowerPoint. Jan 2011.
Lull, James. "Hegemony." Media, Communication, Culture:A Global Approach. New 
York and Chichester, UK:Columbia University Press,1995.

BRIDALPLASTY (FOR PARTICIPATION ONLY)

BRIDAL-PLASTY           

1 Corinthians. 13:4-13

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And now faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love

Since when do you need to change yourself for your husband?  Has our idea of beauty changed so much that a woman now feels pressure to have plastic surgery in preparation for her marriage?  Is marriage no longer based on love?  Does the above very commonly used biblical quote no longer belong in a wedding ceremony?

            Bridalplasty is an American reality TV show where 12 women compete to win a dream wedding… and plastic surgery procedures.  The show premiered on November 28, 2010 on the E! Network.  Each woman must complete a plastic surgery wish list and compete in wedding-themed challenges in order to win the surgery of her choice.  The winner of the competition will get a wedding of her dreams and multiple plastic surgeries from her wish list.  The husband will not see his fiancé until the wedding day, when the bride reveals her new look.

            Many psychologists are concerned with the issue of body dysmorphic disorder forming among the brides-to-be, and viewers of the show.   I am very concerned with the message this show is sending to its audience.  This show is glamorizing plastic surgery and idolizing perfection.  After every elimination, Shanna Moakler (former Playboy model and Miss USA) the TV series host sends the eliminated bride off with the phrase "Your wedding will still go on, but it just won't be perfect."   I think it is a horrible idea.   It absolutely plays into this notion that if you achieve the 'perfect' appearance, everything will be better.   The message it sends to girls and women, as if you're not beautiful enough on your wedding day, you have to receive plastic surgery from head to toe.  I believe this show is demonstrating a very low part of our society.  A societal sickness about needing to achieve perfection, as if cosmetic surgery achieves that.

            As Judith Mayne would say, a television show is a representation.  It is a “re-presentation, recreation and interpretation of the world of objects, dreams, and experiences” (161).  It is a “re-presentation” of gender and sexuality.  While it is reflection of our culture it is also has effects on its viewers as well. “…representations both reflect the culture from which they emerge, and have the ability to shape that culture in turn” (Mayne 163).  I agree with Mayne.  I think this show is reflecting the current culture we live in.  A perfection, celebrity, material obsessed culture.  I think this show is only reinforcing this kind of culture. 

            There are a multitude of new wedding themed reality shows that also enforce this type of culture.  These include Say Yes to the Dress, Bridal Bootcamp, and Bridezillas.  Even if brides do not resort to the extremes of reality contestant-dom, there is still a strongly held belief you are supposed to change - not just enhance - how you look to get married.  Today at CVS, I saw just as many specifically bridal magazine as there were others.  I can attest that these magazines are full of elaborate 12 month-plus beauty regimes and stories of women who have transformed their physiques through surgery.  Such magazines are also fixated on advice about making your wedding stand out; from the save-the-date cards to the venue styling and the six types of dessert you serve.  It is as if you are branding yourself as a couple, to ensure your day is more memorable than anyone else's (never mind that the only people who need to remember it are the bride and groom).  You can see this in the puzzling rise of the wedding ''theme'', where couples are summing up the look and feel of their day as if it is a perfume or trendy cocktail lounge.  Be it ''garden fantasy'', ''retro elegance'' or ''outback fiesta'', people are going all out to theme their ''I do''s. Clearly, ''wedding'' isn't theme enough.

            If you’re engaged, do you get wedding inspiration from these shows? Do you fantasize about a bottomless budget while watching Platinum Weddings or dream of choosing the perfect wedding dress at Kleinfeld when you watch Say Yes to the Dress?  Hopefully woman will realize that these shows are ridiculous and not what a real wedding should be based on.  I think it’s sad that television companies are supporting these shows.

Love is rhinoplasty, love is lip injections

It envies, it boasts, it is proud

It is rude and self seeking

Love delights in perfection and impeccability

Love is based on botox and limo rides

It is selfish, and never preserves

Bibliography

Mayne, Judith. “Women, Representation, and Culture.” In Reading Women’s Lives.

The Way the Body is Represented in PopCulture

--- AS PARTICIPATION, NOT ACTUAL BLOG GRADE =)

Turn on your TV.  Flip through the channels.  Now stop and look at the programs on MTV, E!, VH1, BRAVO, The CW…and even ABC Family.  Do you see any fat girls?  Better yet, do you see any girls that AREN’T stick skinny?  Do you see any “normal” girls?  The answer is probably no.  Through what I have seen a character is either “the fat girl” on a TV show, or ridiculously skinny.

            You can see this “idea of beauty” in many shows that are targeted at teenage girls.  For example, 90210, Gossip Girl, Real Housewives, America’s Next Top Model, Hellcats, The City, The Hills, and ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars.

            While watching these shows do you ever stop to think how it is affecting you?  After you finish watching 90210 are you thinking, “Wow, I really love myself, and I think I’ll go get some Doritos” or are you thinking, “I am not pretty enough… I am not thin enough…and I need to go buy clothes, which will make me cooler.”   That may seem like an outlandish statement, but for many girls it’s the latter.  The bottom line is that these shows are very influential whether we think they are or not.              Agreeing with my view, Bordo states, “We recognize, consciously or unconsciously, that the image carries value and qualities that ‘hit a nerve’ and are not easy to resist.  Their power, however, derives from the culture that has generated them and resides not merely “in” the images but in the psyche of the viewer too.”  There used to be a time when if a girl saw a model in a magazine, for example, Twiggy, it would be accepted that she was skinny because she was a model.  Girls didn’t actually aspire to look her like.  Today, that has changed completely.  Girls on the runways in Paris are the same size as the actors that portray American high school students on TV. 

            A show I would like to focus on is ABC Family’s Pretty Little Lairs.  Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery teen drama television series created by Marlene King that is based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard.  The series follows the lives of Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields, four girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis.  One year later, they begin receiving messages from a mysterious figure using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

            Before her disappearance, Alison had influenced and “changed” each of the girls, eventually bringing them all together.  For Hanna Marin, this “change” had been her weight.  Alison encouraged Hanna to make herself purge after eating.  She convinced her that if she were skinnier, she would be prettier, and would fit in more.  Even after “A’s” disappearance she is still in control of the girls.   A knows that it’s not how others see Hanna, it’s how she sees herself that makes her vulnerable to “oink, oink” insults and the pressure to binge and purge.  This shows how the media engages with the idea of the internalized gaze.  Just as Bordo talks about, Hanna’s former fatness represented the shame of being “too much” in our society; too hungry, too present, too overbearing, too needy, overflowing with unsightly desire.

In Bordo’s article she says that we all live in a dominant culture that not only surrounds us with its versions of what is beautiful (still Anglo-Saxon, despite the allowance of “erotic” touches like full lips) but often recoils from what we are.

            The National Eating Disorders Association cites data from the 1990s in which 42 percent of girls in grades 1-3 reported a desire to be thinner.   That was over 20 years ago, and this desire to be thinner has been increasing.

            In the most recent episode of Pretty Little Liars, A convinces Hanna to eat a whole box of cupcakes and then tempts her to purge—but Hanna proves A wrong by refusing to take the second part of the dare.  I think “A” can represent the American media and the strong influence it has over all of us.   When Hanna refused to purge, I believed it showed her standing up and refusing to accept the ideal and norms society and the media places on us.  I think every girl needs to be encouraged to stand up just as Hanna did.  Even though we are repeatedly bombarded with images of skinny girls with the perfect hair, perfect clothes, and seemingly “perfect image” we need to take a step back and not  feel pressured to be like them.  Every girl needs to know that no matter what size, shape, or color she is… she is beautiful.

I’d like to end with a quote from Adrienne Rich about “assimilation”

                        Change your name, your accent, your nose; straighten or dye your hair, stay in the closet; pretend the Pilgrims were your fathers; become baptized as a Christian; wear dangerously high heels, and starve yourself to look young, thing, and feminine; don’t gesture with your hands… To assimilate means to give up not only your history but your body, to try to adopt an alien appearance because your own is not good enough, to fear naming yourself lest name be twisted into label.

Works Cited

Brown, Adriane. Class Lecture. “The Body and the Gendered Gaze Power Point”

.Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Bordo, Susan. “Never Just Pictures”

http://www.sidereel.com/Pretty_Little_Liars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03uwFedQbfI