"Someday" he will be my boyfriend.

This actually sort of makes me happy even though I am not a fan of his or necessarily understand "Bieber Fever."  This is a commercial for his new fragrance-for women-called "Someday."  First, I like that this challenges the norms of male perception within society.  Justin Bieber is well aware of the fact that an overwhelming majority of his fans are girls, and most of his appeal is projected solely onto them.  What I really like is that by making this commercial, which is directed towards a female fragrance, he is not trying to challenge the fact that he is not necessarily perceived a masculine figure in media, but rather a teen heartthrob with his boyish look and baby face despite his age.  The point is, men typically do not look up to him for any reason.  In this commercial, Bieber is embracing the fact that his audience is predominantly female, and challenges what a lot of other known "heartthrobs" have done in the past with products.  Almost every time a male entertainer/athlete/celebrity has released a fragrance it was strictly directed towards men, with commercials showcasing that the male fragrance will attract the woman.  This commercial uses a clever reverse psychology; using the female fragrance as an aid in attracting a male, in this case Justin Bieber himself.  Though this may only be a tactic in order to expand his already large female audience as well as a huge money maker, it still shows a type of confidence coming from Bieber about being comfortable enough to do this.  Most men in his position would try extremely hard to shed a heartthrob image by straying away from what actually is making them a heartthrob (feeding into female attention), but Bieber simply embraces it and it shows an internal masculine confidence.

Hannah Free: The Power of Love

Even though, I'm writing an extensive paper on the matter, I thought I'd touch on the film I saw today called Hannah Free. The movie is about a lesbian couple that grows up together. Their love is challenged by pressure and societal strains to adhere to society's norm of sexual orientation and gender roles. This film was inspiring for me and I'm not even a member of the LGBT community. I saw the film as inspirational and empowering because some of my friends are gay and have gone through struggles of the same types of situations. Even though I am straight, this story still impacted me; I see it as one of the most powerful love stories. All they wanted was to be together, and because it is frowned upon by society, they had to fight to have a legitimate relationship. The dominant group (straight) tried to override the ‘other’ group (gay). This is a prime example of how fears of the ‘other’ group, shapes societal norms and group people into different categories. It’s sad to see ignorance limit the quality of life that some people have. Some homophobic people, the masses of homophobes in general limit the freedom or quality of life of homosexual individuals, gay or lesbian. I would refer this film to anyone and everyone that wants to be moved by something and feel love. Gay or straight, this film will touch you and show you the power of love.

Censorship to a whole new level.

The new issue of Dossier magazine features male model Andrej Pejic, who happens to look very androgynous.  Barnes and Noble bookstore have decided to censor this particular issue using an opaque black covering on the magazine's cover in fear of customers mistaking the male model for a woman.  Barnes and Noble is currently the largest bookstore in the continental US and is aware of the fact that when these issues of Dossier came out featuring this model, they knew he is indeed a male.  The problem here obviously lies within the public perception and ignorance to what the gender of this person actually is; it poses a question on gender perception within society.  As featured in the image, Pejic is clearly not the first shirtless male on a magazine cover, but his thin build and feminine face contrast with the built, shirtless models featured on many men's magazines.  Dossier being a culture and arts journal may play a role in the fact that he is not posing in order to promote masculinity, but instead high fashion-which is known to be open to gender ambiguity.  This, not necessarily being the "norm" to the general public, with high fashion having a particular subculture audience, may cause for customer complaints due to offensiveness, lack of censorship, and ignorance.  Barnes and Noble, being only a small percentage of world wide sales of this issue, does not pose a huge a threat in deficit in sales, but it does play a role on social perception of others based on gender ambiguity.  Many people are not used to seeing such individuals portrayed in the media; to them this is not the norm.  Consequently, what is not the norm is also not comfortable and may be viewed as unsafe for a child walking into the store to view as an example.  This poses a commentary on how the public teaches children of "norms" from a young age, and deems anything other than the norm as offensive and uncomfortable, unfortunately.

Article: http://jezebel.com/5802115/barnes--noble-censors-cover-featuring-androgynous-male-model

I Used to Be Fat

After watching this episode of I Used to Be Fat, on MTV I couldn't help but notice the strong gender roles that take place. In the American Society, the media tells us that being fat is undesirable, gross, and lazy. To be thin is to be beautiful and anything other than a supermodel is still looked down upon. For obese individuals such as this kid Tanner, there is a huge stigma and an "I need to change before I'm worth it" mentality built up. Many shows on MTV push societal norms onto teenagers and set the trend for what's acceptable and what is not. This show especially spells out what media often tries to present upon American culture in a huge way. Being fat, makes you less of a person and therefore not worthy of happiness until you reach the acceptable weight or 'look'. Hegemony plays a part in this video as the dominant class (thin) is socially accepted therefore put those who are overweight into an inferior category and are looked down upon. In all, it’s important to stay healthy and take care of yourself, but one can’t help but notice the added pressures from the media to look a certain way in order to be accepted.

A Sucker Punch to Gender Roles

                                                           (Photo Credit)

So the other day I came across the preview for the new movie Sucker Punch. Let’s just say It’s nothing that I really cared to see. This is my thought process because by judging from its main characters, the movie is nothing but eye candy for men. There's nothing wrong with that, but I feel like the movie's going to have blatent cheese and stereotypical fantasy's screaming from the screen to men everywhere. The girl's in the movie are clad with sexy 'fighting' gear, makeup, and done up hair. Is this empowering to women or degrading? Or is it neither, and just simply fun? Being a free spirit myself, I feel that self-expression comes in many forms, and some women dress 'skimpy' because they like having the freedom to do so. Yet with this film, I feel like the sole purpose is to attract men with the ideal girl that is 'hot' and able to 'kick ass'.

My notice in the film isn't being blogged about to rant or discourage people from seeing it, nor is it to shed a bad light. I just wanted to point out the fact that as a woman, I notice the intent behind the film and can't help but recognize the theme that it woman are framed as 'sexier' when she breaks her gender roles in society and is more than a dainty flower or house wife. When you put combat boots and skimpy clothing not only is the female attractive because of appearance, but the fact that she can kick butt and do more than what is expected of woman, then she automatically becomes superior to other woman and more desired.

By casting women in a role that sheds light to gender roles, it is almost increasing or enhancing gender role expectations because it is exploiting the lead characters as taboos or something not usually seen in an everyday setting or not normal and therefore better. 

-Ali Carlson