I was watching the TV the other day, and all of a sudden I came across women’s golf. I started watching, as I had never really seen it before, however I was quite surprised by what I saw; the women were wearing short skits. I did not understand this, as the men wear long pants, so it has nothing to do with restricted movement. So it is basically just an attempt to feminize the sport in order to make it more popular.
A few weeks ago I was watching ESPN, and they were introducing a young Australian woman, the broadcaster said; here is this new hot Australian model, and oh yea she plays golf too. I found this frustrating as they introduced her as a model first and paid little attention to the fact that primarily she was an athlete. This is something I am sure would not happen with Tiger Woods, he also models, however I cannot imaging him being introduced as a model. This again demonstrates that women are never really celebrated for their talent in the way that men are.
Upon researching women’s golf more, I came across an article that signified many of the problems female golfers, and female athletes in general face. A pro female Australian golfer set up a calendar to raise money for breast cancer. The calendar was comprised of the top Australian women golfers. However the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia (NBCF) pulled their support for it because they felt it was too raunchy. The ladies are pictured wearing vintage clothes, however some people argued the poses were too raunchy. The woman who set it up, Jenny Sevil, was upset that the NBCF withdrew its support, she said that female golfers get few sponsorship opportunities, because unfortunately they are not recognized for their talent. Therefore she created this opportunity as a way to create publicity for their sport. She published the calendar independently.
I found this sad, as in a way women are exploiting their own bodies to get publicity. However I guess it is the nature of the system of female sports that makes them do this. While they ultimately make the decision to use their bodies to get publicity and make money, this appears to be because their sport just does not reward them in the same way that it does men. This is a difficult situation, I don’t know if sports promoting their female athletes talent more would help the situation, or will women’s sport always have less viewers and consequently less money? It seems to me that there is still very much prejudice in the realm of sport, as women are always seen as being inferior to men, and thus we never pay attention to their talents.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Women in Music: Empowering women, TLC
The main media I have been exposed to this week has been music. I have been listening to artists such as Missy Elliot and TLC; to me they demonstrate how music really can be empowering for women. These women do not conform to the usual stereotypes or sell out; instead they earn their places within the music industry through their talent. TLC’s song No Scrubs is a great example of this, in this song they reverse the sexist discourse that tends to used by male rappers in regards to women. They begin by creating a male stereotype, a scrub;
A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly
And is also known as a buster (busta, busta...)
Always talkin' about what he wants
And just sits on his broke ass
So (no)
Once the stereotypes have been created they then go on to reject this male, showing their independence and control over their own bodies;
I don't want your number (no)
I don't want to give you mine and (no)
I don't want to meet you nowhere (no)
I don't want none of your time and (no)
This song was the second biggest hit of 1999, and through this TLC demonstrate how songs that are empowering for women can also be commercially popular; you don’t just have to be a singing Barbie doll to sell records. While TLC’s image has become tamer over the years, as their initial records and style
was in some ways seen as too threatening to the mainstream, they have nonetheless
remained loyal to their cause of female empowerment, something that so many other artists
have failed to do.
There 1995 single Waterfalls, is another high profile example of how they have used their music to send positive messages. Waterfalls tackles issues such as Aids, and the dangers of the ghetto. Here they send messages that aim to warn and empower not just women but many people. But for me their song Unpretty sends their most powerful message for women. It deals with body image;
I wish I could tie you up in my shoes
Make you feel unpretty too
I was told I was beautiful
But what does that mean to you
Look into the mirror who’s inside there
The one with the long hair
Same old me again today (yeah)
Chorus:
T-boz & chilli:
You can buy your hair if it won’t grow
You can fix your nose if he says so
You can buy all the make-up that mac can make
But if you can’t look inside you
Find out who am i, too
Be in a position to make me feel so damn unpretty
Here they show the struggle that many young women have; body image. They encourage women not to be so concerned with the outsides, but rather there is something inside of them that is making them feel down. They warn against plastic surgery and extensive make up, as this is not the key to happiness, but encouraging women to search for their inner beauty, this is the true source of happiness they long for.
Through their music artists such as TLC show how that by using their talent instead of other assets, female musicians can send empowering messages for other women.
A scrub is a guy that thinks he's fly
And is also known as a buster (busta, busta...)
Always talkin' about what he wants
And just sits on his broke ass
So (no)
Once the stereotypes have been created they then go on to reject this male, showing their independence and control over their own bodies;
I don't want your number (no)
I don't want to give you mine and (no)
I don't want to meet you nowhere (no)
I don't want none of your time and (no)
This song was the second biggest hit of 1999, and through this TLC demonstrate how songs that are empowering for women can also be commercially popular; you don’t just have to be a singing Barbie doll to sell records. While TLC’s image has become tamer over the years, as their initial records and style
was in some ways seen as too threatening to the mainstream, they have nonetheless
remained loyal to their cause of female empowerment, something that so many other artists
have failed to do.
There 1995 single Waterfalls, is another high profile example of how they have used their music to send positive messages. Waterfalls tackles issues such as Aids, and the dangers of the ghetto. Here they send messages that aim to warn and empower not just women but many people. But for me their song Unpretty sends their most powerful message for women. It deals with body image;
I wish I could tie you up in my shoes
Make you feel unpretty too
I was told I was beautiful
But what does that mean to you
Look into the mirror who’s inside there
The one with the long hair
Same old me again today (yeah)
Chorus:
T-boz & chilli:
You can buy your hair if it won’t grow
You can fix your nose if he says so
You can buy all the make-up that mac can make
But if you can’t look inside you
Find out who am i, too
Be in a position to make me feel so damn unpretty
Here they show the struggle that many young women have; body image. They encourage women not to be so concerned with the outsides, but rather there is something inside of them that is making them feel down. They warn against plastic surgery and extensive make up, as this is not the key to happiness, but encouraging women to search for their inner beauty, this is the true source of happiness they long for.
Through their music artists such as TLC show how that by using their talent instead of other assets, female musicians can send empowering messages for other women.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Subordination of Women’s Sport: Women's Basketball
This week the main media I have consumed is sport. I was particularly surprised at the reaction to the UNC men’s basketball teams’ loss to rival Duke. What struck me about this was that our women had beaten Duke earlier that week; however there was no mention of this, few people even knew that the girls had played Duke let alone beaten them. The rivalry between the two schools has been around for many years, it is not specific to men’s basketball, it is fundamentally just between the two institutions. Given this I would have thought there would have been more celebration or attention paid to the girls’ game, as it was essentially a win for UNC over Duke. However to me this is once again a demonstration of how women’s sports are always seen as subordinate to men’s.
This is particularly prevalent in women’s basketball. While it is the biggest women’s team sport in America, it is not very lucrative. The WNBA; Women’s National Basketball Association set up a professional women’s league only 12 years ago, and even now most of these women do not earn enough to get by, while the Men’s players are making millions. Many women go to Europe, as the sport is more popular there and so they get paid more. One of the main ways for the league to make more money is through sponsors; however it seems that companies such as Nike have been reluctant to get involved with Women’s basketball. There is still very little apparel made specifically for women’s basketball from Nike, yet they have invested great amount of money in ranges for fads such as yoga. Therefore women’s basketball players have had to wear men’s basketball shoes, and clothing also, as there is a limited selection available to them.
Why is this? Is it because the sport is not popular amongst women? No it can’t be as increasing numbers of girls are playing in college, and as mentioned before it is the biggest women’s team sport in the U.S. I believe it is greatly because of the reputation of the sport as not being feminine. Unlike sports such as tennis, women’s basketball uniforms are almost the same as men’s and there has been no attempt made to make women hyper-sexualized. This I feel is a key reason it less popular, and why Nike and others have been reluctant to endorse it. Because people in society see this image of women as negative, companies are less likely to make sales from it, and thus they shy away. This once again raises questions for me as to whether women’s sports will ever be equal to men, and even if they do is it because of their talent, or their sex appeal?
This is particularly prevalent in women’s basketball. While it is the biggest women’s team sport in America, it is not very lucrative. The WNBA; Women’s National Basketball Association set up a professional women’s league only 12 years ago, and even now most of these women do not earn enough to get by, while the Men’s players are making millions. Many women go to Europe, as the sport is more popular there and so they get paid more. One of the main ways for the league to make more money is through sponsors; however it seems that companies such as Nike have been reluctant to get involved with Women’s basketball. There is still very little apparel made specifically for women’s basketball from Nike, yet they have invested great amount of money in ranges for fads such as yoga. Therefore women’s basketball players have had to wear men’s basketball shoes, and clothing also, as there is a limited selection available to them.
Why is this? Is it because the sport is not popular amongst women? No it can’t be as increasing numbers of girls are playing in college, and as mentioned before it is the biggest women’s team sport in the U.S. I believe it is greatly because of the reputation of the sport as not being feminine. Unlike sports such as tennis, women’s basketball uniforms are almost the same as men’s and there has been no attempt made to make women hyper-sexualized. This I feel is a key reason it less popular, and why Nike and others have been reluctant to endorse it. Because people in society see this image of women as negative, companies are less likely to make sales from it, and thus they shy away. This once again raises questions for me as to whether women’s sports will ever be equal to men, and even if they do is it because of their talent, or their sex appeal?
Friday, February 1, 2008
The main media I have consumed this week has been music. I have recently become very aware of what I choose to listen to, while it may seem positive to me at first; upon analyzing it further this is not always the case. It may not be the actual lyrics used by women in music that is the problem, as these can often be empowering, but the package in which this message is delivered. By this I am referring particularly to the appearance of the female artists. One example of this, which surprised me when it was first released was the Pussy Cat Doll’s song I Don’t Need A Man. I heard this song on their album and really liked it, and I felt that it was empowering to women. Below are some lyrics from the song;
I see you looking at me
Like I got some things for you
And the way that you stare
Don't you dare
'Cause I'm not about to
Just give it all up to you
'Cause there are some things I won't do
And I'm not afraid to tell you
I don't ever want to leave you confused
The more you try
The less I by it
And I don't have to think it through
You know if I'm into you
I dont need a man to make it happen
I get off being free
I don't need a man to make me feel good
I get off doing my thing
I don't need a ring around my finger
To make me feel complete
So let me break it down
I can get off when you ain't around
Oh!
In some ways these lyrics appear to be positive for women, as they are asserting their independence in this rejection on men. However when I saw the video I was not sure anymore. The video just seems like a complete contradiction, it is highly sexualized, complete with provocative clothing, gestures and dancing. Also it is reaped in sexual innuendo that I had previously not realized. To me this is an example of the way in which women in music can have a negative impact on wider society. The Pussy Cat Dolls have a large fan following comprised mainly of teenage girls. While the message appears to be empowering the video perpetuates unattainable standards of beauty which for me serve to negate any positive message that may have been present.
It seems that female artists have to meet certain standards of the mainstream or else they will not be successful. Basically I feel they have to sell out to some degree. If you look at female artists it is often not their lyrics or talent that they are celebrated for, but for particular physical attributes. For example Beyonce, JLO and Kyle Minogue are among some who have been widely recognized for their physical assets; their butt’s. This brings them great attention, and becomes a platform for them to showcase their talent or lack of it in some cases. I feel that Beyonce is extremely talented as an artist, and I find much of her music to be empowering. However it frustrates me that it always has to be packaged in a way that seeks to emphasize her physical appearance over her talent. I do not feel that provocative outfits and other things are necessary because the music should speak for itself. However unfortunately in the mainstream music industry talent alone, especially for women is not enough. Thus it seems that women are often made to degrade themselves to achieve success.
I see you looking at me
Like I got some things for you
And the way that you stare
Don't you dare
'Cause I'm not about to
Just give it all up to you
'Cause there are some things I won't do
And I'm not afraid to tell you
I don't ever want to leave you confused
The more you try
The less I by it
And I don't have to think it through
You know if I'm into you
I dont need a man to make it happen
I get off being free
I don't need a man to make me feel good
I get off doing my thing
I don't need a ring around my finger
To make me feel complete
So let me break it down
I can get off when you ain't around
Oh!
In some ways these lyrics appear to be positive for women, as they are asserting their independence in this rejection on men. However when I saw the video I was not sure anymore. The video just seems like a complete contradiction, it is highly sexualized, complete with provocative clothing, gestures and dancing. Also it is reaped in sexual innuendo that I had previously not realized. To me this is an example of the way in which women in music can have a negative impact on wider society. The Pussy Cat Dolls have a large fan following comprised mainly of teenage girls. While the message appears to be empowering the video perpetuates unattainable standards of beauty which for me serve to negate any positive message that may have been present.
It seems that female artists have to meet certain standards of the mainstream or else they will not be successful. Basically I feel they have to sell out to some degree. If you look at female artists it is often not their lyrics or talent that they are celebrated for, but for particular physical attributes. For example Beyonce, JLO and Kyle Minogue are among some who have been widely recognized for their physical assets; their butt’s. This brings them great attention, and becomes a platform for them to showcase their talent or lack of it in some cases. I feel that Beyonce is extremely talented as an artist, and I find much of her music to be empowering. However it frustrates me that it always has to be packaged in a way that seeks to emphasize her physical appearance over her talent. I do not feel that provocative outfits and other things are necessary because the music should speak for itself. However unfortunately in the mainstream music industry talent alone, especially for women is not enough. Thus it seems that women are often made to degrade themselves to achieve success.
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