Tag Archives: Feminism

Being Pretty Isn’t a Career Tactic

Peggy Olson by AMC

To my horror, I received an email this morning with the subject line, “Are You Pretty Enough to Get A Job?” Normally, Excelle sends me advice with empowering information on how to forward my career ambitions with confidence, strategy and feminist savvy. Well, not today.

I was thoroughly disappointed to receive such an insulting and sexist email written for women with the words “Ugly Ducklings Need Not Apply” as soon as I opened it.

“Studies show pretty people make more money, and now a new beauty-based job board looks to take plain Jane’s out of the running altogether. Will a ‘plainness penalty’ keep the average unemployed?”

Underneath that quote was also a link to a quiz titled: “Do You Need a Makeover?”

I considered not clicking the link, but wondered if it was a joke or meant to be ironic. Or, better yet, I would discover that plain or not, we could all channel our inner Peggy Olson and the secrets to modern day upward mobility.

Again, not today.

The author, Career Diva, began with statements about disregarding the assumption that attractive people get better jobs, however, the article contradicted these claims by linking to other Excelle features on how to dress better and why appearance matters.

Next, Career Diva brings up a website that connects companies who want attractive prospective employees (and gives them ratings on their looks) because “[u]nderstanding our dark side is the first step in overcoming it, I always say.”

Even though she attempts to explore sexism in the job market and investigate the website, she mainly quotes stats from studies in Florida and the U.K. affirming that good-looking people do receive better pay and job titles, even when intelligence is in the mix.

Instead of feeling proud to be a woman, she cheapened the “career-minded” site with this article that lacked the intelligence and feminism I look for in these newsletters.

The article ended with this quote: “According to the Florida university study: ‘people who were rated good-looking made more money, were better educated and were more confident.’ Maybe there should be a site called ConfidentJobSeekers.com.”

Isn’t the very process of applying an act of confidence? Why not offer something more to women who seek techniques for improving their current position or cultivating new skills?

Everything about the article made me feel like my success is dependent upon something superficial and totally subjective — not something real like education, experience and excellence.

To add insult to injury, when I googled “Woman CEO” to link an image to this very blog post, I got a photo of Heidi Klum spread eagle and bikini clad (and my search filters are set!). Really Google? I know she’s a Victoria’s Secret model, but she’s also the Executive Producer of a hit TV show! There aren’t any pictures of her dressed? And, aren’t there other powerful women in business? (Hello, Sheryl Sandberg!)

Curious, I clicked the image which took me to a feature about the “25 Hottest Women in Business.” Again, to my disgust, “sexy” photos of women leaders posing for FHM, or simply looking like sex objects, with vacant stares and fishnets tights, filled the page.

Instead of showing the talent, importance and successful methods hard-working women use to attain their dreams, like the 50 Most Powerful Women in 2009 by Fortune, that list and Excelle reduce women to “hot” bodies and “pretty” faces. I refuse to believe that women’s worth will always be dictated by the way we look — it’s unfair, unkind and completely short-sighted by men and women alike.

We are leaders, we can earn high pay and we are powerful.

Will I continue to subscribe to the Excelle newsletter — whose name is also stupid — why gender a word, anyway? We’ve been trying to avoid gendered terms for decades — that’s not empowering — not today.

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Down with American Apparel Ads?

American Apparel Ad By Don't Buy It

Many love the eclectic mix and match clothes at American Apparel (myself included), but I think a lot of us are officially OVER those demeaning advertisements where women are reduced to sexual objects by showcasing their body parts, often without their faces.

Take this ad, an example of American Apparel’s provocative and objectifying ads — a woman bent over in front of a computer with her butt exposed. Some are targeted by region. This promo ran in Silicon Valley. Do they really think techies will start wearing 80′s g-string work out gear to work?

In Manhattan, there’s a prominent billboard on Houston near Broadway close to trendy bars and shops, where the clothing company often features a woman who looks post-coital, or just finished with dance rehearsal…half naked. Obviously, the promos get a lot of attention, but it’s not always the kind the company wants.

In 2007, someone tagged “Gee, I wonder why women get raped?” on a billboard (shown right) which featured an image of a woman bending over in American Apparel tights without a shirt. The defaced ad was immediately replaced, according to a report by Jezebel, where they also asked New Yorkers if the ads were “Sexy or Sexist?” You can view the video here.

This year, About Face, an organization dedicated to combating negative images of women, will protest American Apparel’s advertising campaign this Saturday, May 1, 2010 at the Haight Street location in San Francisco tomorrow.

Join fellow protesters for an activist afternoon, where About Face will address the founder of American Apparel, Dov Charney, directly. Since Mr. Charney has come under hot water for many reasons, including the sexual harassment charges by his employees, indecent exposure to reporters and strange, demeaning photo shoots for the company — I hope the event will be nothing short of a roast.

They’re calling it:

An Afternoon with Dov Charney (An About-Face Action)

“American Apparel is famous for its t-shirts and its vertically integrated labor. What it’s more famous for, though, is its advertising: pseudo-candid images of young women, legs splayed open, breasts exposed, butts zoomed in on, all in the name of selling tights and tube socks. We’re sick of seeing these images.

We’re sick of seeing women reduced to their body parts. We’re sick of seeing female sexuality being exploited to sell clothing. And we’re especially sick of how American Apparel attempts to dress up their particular brand of exploitation in a shroud of hipness, edge, or irony — after all, we’d like to think of ourselves as hip and edgy and we certainly aren’t down with these images. American Apparel’s ads contribute to a culture where women are valued for their bodies over their minds, and we’re working to eliminate that kind of thinking.”

To learn more about the event in San Francisco and the mobile protest, check out AboutFace.org for more info. If you don’t believe that American Apparel objectifies women, look at this blog, then tell me what you think.

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A Glee-ful Moment in the Sun

Glee Cast on TV Guide

Glee Girls in Glamour

Yesterday after a long day’s work, the subway gently rumbled up the tracks as the D train chugged into the light of evening on the Manhattan Bridge. I was on my way home to Brooklyn as a view of downtown came into view at sunset.

“Crazy For You,” by Madonna began playing on my iPod as I felt a surge of happiness and honor to be a woman. The feeling surprised me. Where did it come from? Coincidentally, a week ago the show Glee reminded women everywhere to believe in themselves, and who they are as individuals, through the power of Madonna’s music.

With songs like “Express Yourself,” and “What It Feels like For a Girl,” I felt strong, I felt empowered and I felt proud that such a pop culture phenomenon could connect with young women in a feminist manner. Even the young women’s feature in Glamour this month, spoke of the power of personality and confidence, in “Glee Gets Glam.”

This week’s episode — which I later watched after that shining moment on the bridge, as the verses of Madonna’s ballad reminded me to cherish what I have — explored the issue of self-esteem among teens in a simple, but effective way.

The character Mercedes felt like she should be thin to fit in as a cheerleader. Feeling pressured to lose weight by coach Sue, Mercedes no longer appreciates her body for what it is, until ex-cheer captain Quinn, shares her insight.

By the end of the episode, the entire misfit cast sings “Beautiful” in an unorthodox pep rally where everyone joins together acknowledging their own insecurities with comradarie. Though this is far from the reality of teen life, I rejoiced in the positive message and attention to women’s issues like sexism, misogyny and (less heavy-handedly) eating disorders.

Last week’s “The Power of Madonna” episode was even better. The young men and Glee Club teacher, Mr. Shu, admitted to treating women poorly, professing their need to change. Part of that change came about when the women took a stand for who they wanted to be: strong, independent and bold about their talent.

To quote Madonna’s lyrics in “What It Feels Like For a Girl”:

“Strong inside but you don’t know it

Good little girls they never show it”

By going against what it means to be a “good little girl,” Glee showed real teens that they don’t have to conform to the standard gender stereotypes and restrictions forced upon them. Over the course of the week the Twitterverse was rocked by this feminist movement, people loved the it. I think Madonna’s music made such an impact because she lives to be unique, tenacious and unafraid to be herself.

If we could all be so brave, even for a moment, to see the bright shining star in ourselves, we could feel good about the women we are, and will be.

Take your moment and hold onto it.

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Trading Equality for a Dollar

Why do women dress virtually naked at concert festivals? Yes, it’s hot outside, and women have struggled for their right to express themselves in clothing, but do they really need to wear a thong bikini, or just pasties over their nipples?

Silhouette from Wikipedia

When a woman presents herself as a sexual object in public, people believe it’s OK for women to be treated as such.

For example, at Coachella this year I saw many young women baring it all — topless with gold pasties and shiny blue plastic pants, or walking around in g-strings and cowboy hats. One particular concertgoer wore a bathing suit top with a thong and no shoes. On her back was an invitation to slap her butt: “Someone stole my money. For $1 smack my ass.” There was a red hand painted on her right butt cheek, a target. As she walked by me, a man she didn’t know handed her a dollar as he rushed by, slapping her rear end.

So, tell me this, how does hypersexuality promote equality? Consider how many women are smacked on the butt, ogled and receive unwanted advances by men in other settings. These forms of sexual harassment are inappropriate, demeaning and sexist. Yet, people think of them as typical experiences young women face.

This hypersexualization of young women is a problem because it perpetuates these sexual relationships in society, I don’t think it gets rid of them. And, in some cases, women encourage these extreme behaviors like the example above.

We could talk about how the dollar butt slap may promote violence against women, or the simple fact that it was gross, but I’m mostly concerned about the prevalence of hypersexuality being masked as equality.

WOMEN SHOULD NEVER BELIEVE THAT:

-Sexual desire determines her self-worth.

-Being sexy is the only way to get help, attention and affection.

-Desirability and beauty is based on the perception of others.

All the world is not a pornographic film and we, as women do not need to play the role of “sex kitten” in public — be that ass or breast baring at a concert, as a Playboy Playmate, or even in reference to those CAT-ASTROPHIC terms like “Pussy,” “Cougar,” “Puma,” or “Cheetah.”

The fact that young women are so quick to expose themselves is an issue based in the ease of hook up culture, people’s need for instant gratification and the severe lack of confidence women have in our culture right now.

While some young women try to avoid hook ups and exposing themselves, others think displays of sexual “prowess” by being practically nude in public, are the real form of equality, but you don’t see guys walking around with their genitals on display.

A general respect in women needs to be restored. We cannot rely on the media to promote equality and empower both sexes, if we do not believe it ourselves. Plus, there is an inherent sexism “in disguise,” as Katie notes in her post about the facade of gender relations on TV as women play the roles of surgeon, doctor and president, but in real life reduce themselves to objects.

So, what do we do? I suggest encouraging people to be strong, dynamic, and intelligent who are in control of our bodies and sexuality in public. And we help teach men and women to respect each other — as equals.

What’s that called? Oh, right, FEMINISM.

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Raison d’Être

Cover of "The Female Brain"

Cover of The Female Brain

Are you one of those people who thinks a lot?  The kind who will be standing in line for a coffee, thinking, what does it all mean?  Well, let me tell you, everything means something if you want it to — and — most of time if you are thinking about it, there’s a biological impulse behind it, just like that caffeine craving… at least that’s what this book I read would have you believe.

In my book club, BrookLit, we focus on fiction and non-fiction works by women writers.  Last month we read The Female Brain, by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine, who analyzed a decade of medical, social and psychological research and then tried to make it interesting for the female brain to read.

Now, since I’m obsessed with all things related to women’s issues and how women function in a world run by men, I thought this book would fuel my feminist thoughts about the concept of gender and nurture over nature.  However, that was not the case after I read this book.

In fact, it was just the opposite. This book provides every excuse for nature over nurture. While it explains the differences between the ways men and women’s brains function, it actually made women seem more ruled by their biology than common sense, logic or maturity.

Suffice it to say, I was disappointed.  Not only did it make women these communication needy beings who need to be liked, it made men out to be these grunting ogres who think about sex and their next fight.  I thought this book would reveal some great insight into the mind and maybe even my own thoughts about what it means to be human.  What I found was something else entirely — mind-numbing brain cramps.

The book breaks down the development of the brain and its hormonal influences from the moment of sexual differentiation in utero to menopause.  However, my age group (you know that age in between puberty and before the child-bearing years) was completely absent, though it was noted in the chart at the beginning of the book as a phase of life in between the teen and prospective mother phases.

And, surprise, surprise, in almost every phase of life covered in the book, women are shown to be driven by their menstrual cycle. While this may contribute to a woman’s mood, attitude or thoughts, there is no way this could be the sole determining factor for our happiness, as she would have us believe.

In fact, since some women:  take birth control, which regulates the bodies fluctuation of hormones; eat differently; have different stress levels; experience varied sleep patterns; take medications; exercise in different amounts; and live in entirely different living situations,  it’s not a fair assessment of who many women are at all.

In addition to the oversimplification of the women’s psyche as a chatty, hormonal mess, it did not include women of different financial status, race or sexuality.  In the section about sexual exploration, there was nothing regarding homosexuality or bisexuality.  So, basically, this book was about heterosexual, white, upper to middle class women.

Wow, that’s not limiting at all to women — oops, I must be letting my hormones get the better of me now.  Maybe in the future I shouldn’t read books that prey on my gentle sensibilities and my under-aggressive brain.  I wonder what Dr. Brizendine would say about sarcasm? Is that my over-developed ability to communicate, or is this why we are here, to refute concepts about who we are time and again?

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