Perhaps you have heard of the phenomenon refered to as "mansplainin'"?
It occurs when a guy tells you something that you already know (and perhaps are even more well-versed in than he) in an extremely patronizing tone, as if to indicate: "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll clear up this complicated concept for you. Don't you worry your pretty lil' head about it."
Now, obviously patronizing explanations are something that pretty much every single human being in the world is guilty of every once in a while. Not all men mansplain, and lots of women are..umm...womansplainers? But mansplainin' is slightly different, because it is a specific type of explaining, and because it is a classic symptom of unexamined male privilege. This privilege enables a guy to feel like he is the authority on this particular topic (even when he's not), and to talk over you, patronize, silence you, and generally be convinced of his own superiority in all intellectual debates by virtue of his very existence.
One case, for your consideration: I am good friends with this one guy, in particular, who is generally awesome, but who is not particularly interested in gender studies. My volunteer work, which I have been doing for about a year and a half now, involves extensive work on the issue of activism and gender rights in Zimbabwe. Therefore, between myself and this male friend, I am the expert on this issue.
That did not prevent my male friend from telling me all about the situation in Zimbabwe, the political repression, and how President Mugabe is a bad dude (but first he had to be reminded of what Mugabe's name was). Over the course of like, 15 minutes. In a really slow voice.
This is the same male friend that once explained to me why shows like America's Next Top Model were bad for women's self-esteem. Thanks for the heads-up, bro. I totally didn't know that.
What about you? I'm sure you've had some annoying/funny/bizarre/perplexing experiences with mansplainin'! Tell me all about it.
Peace,
Steph :)
To reiterate: not all men do this, and lots of women do this too. :)
Showing posts with label ANTM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANTM. Show all posts
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tyra Apologizes for Biracial Photoshoot: Feel Good Fridays
Hey Athenites,
So, remember that extremely angry article that I wrote about 2 weeks ago regarding America's Next Top Model and their biracial/blackface themed photoshoot? And how it was preposterous and offensive that Tyra would present race as something that you could put on for a photoshoot and take strip off like it didn't matter. And also that you cannot essentialize a racial or cultural group down to one dress or headdress or item of editorial clothing.
Well, she has apologized for that offensive photoshoot on her talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.
Kind of a half-assed apology, but still, half-assed is better than...no-assed? (I have never fully understood that expression.) She pulled the classic: "I'm sorry if this offended YOU, but lots of other people weren't offended (implication: you are too sensitive)."
Although Tyra does not acknowledge the reasons WHY this shoot was offensive or attempt to educate anyone about the complex racial issues involved in blackface, she at least made an overture of apology. More here.
Good try, Tyra. In a similar form of compromise, I will continue to watch your show, but will watch it on youtube to deprive you of any associated advertising revenue.
Love,
Steph
So, remember that extremely angry article that I wrote about 2 weeks ago regarding America's Next Top Model and their biracial/blackface themed photoshoot? And how it was preposterous and offensive that Tyra would present race as something that you could put on for a photoshoot and take strip off like it didn't matter. And also that you cannot essentialize a racial or cultural group down to one dress or headdress or item of editorial clothing.
Well, she has apologized for that offensive photoshoot on her talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.
"I apologize because that was not my intent. It's my number one passion in my life to stretch the definition of beauty. I listen to many heartbreaking stories of women who thought they would be happier if they looked different. I want every girl to appreciate the skin she's in."
Kind of a half-assed apology, but still, half-assed is better than...no-assed? (I have never fully understood that expression.) She pulled the classic: "I'm sorry if this offended YOU, but lots of other people weren't offended (implication: you are too sensitive)."
Although Tyra does not acknowledge the reasons WHY this shoot was offensive or attempt to educate anyone about the complex racial issues involved in blackface, she at least made an overture of apology. More here.
Good try, Tyra. In a similar form of compromise, I will continue to watch your show, but will watch it on youtube to deprive you of any associated advertising revenue.
Love,
Steph
Friday, October 30, 2009
WTF Fridays!?
I know that Fridays are supposed to be a cheerful day of positive news, but I don't think I can write one of those this week.
I was taking a few minutes out of my busy schedule (*cough*procrastinating*cough*) last night to watch America's Next Top Model. Although I know that the fashion industry is sizist, racist, sexist, classist and generally oblivious to all the social evils that it promotes, I always let myself have this one guilty pleasure because I indulge with a critical mind. As I watch, even though I am enjoying the ridiculous "pose-off" challenges or the girls' excitement about their new lavishly decorated house, I know WHY these things are bad. I deconstruct and criticize as I watch.
And DEAR GOD, was there ever a lot to be critical of on this Wednesday's ANTM.
The girls (Laura, Nicole, Erin, Brittany, Sundai and Jen) get shipped off to Hawaii (Maui, more specifically) to have fun in the sun and engage in more bizarre modelling challenges, such as getting fashion photos taken of them while surfing. Sure. Why not? It's silly, but that's fine.
And then they get loaded into a car, driven off to a sugar cane factory, and told to pose as biracial women hangin' out at the sugar cane factory. *headdesk*
There are so many problems with this that it's hard to know where to begin. I will number all of these points just so I don't lose track of all these problems in my rage.
1) the majority of these girls are white, with only Jen (who is Asian) and Sundai (who is African-American) giving the merest hint of the diversity that exists in the real world.
2) Tyra's little "history lesson" to give context to this photo shoot is sadly lacking. She talks about how people from all over the world came to Hawaii to work on sugar cane planations and that is why Hawaii is very ethnically diverse. Unfortunately, she forgot to mention that sugar cane harvesting is one of the most gruelling agricultural pursuits ever, that those who worked on these sugar cane plantations faced high rates of abuse, were pitted together based on ethnicity in order to prevent them from forming unions, and were generally subjected to racism, prejudice and abuse.
3) Tyra gets (minor, very minor) brownie points for letting everyone know that biracial people are not just white and Asian, white and African, white and ____, but that people of colour + people of colour also =biracial children. This sounds super obvious, but that is not usually the depiction of biracial people that you hear in the media. Some people seem to think that when, for example, an Ethiopian man and a Barbadian woman have a child together, this baby is not biracial (and they usually seem to think this because they have lumped people of colour together in one big box as the "Other").
4) HOWEVER, this totally does not excuse Tyra's totally infuriating essentialization of people of colour. Tyra (and creative director Mr. Jay) urges the girls to express emotions in their photo shoots by "imagining the suffering of the Egyptian people," getting in tune with the "Tibetan spirituality" and trying to feel the music because "music is everywhere in Botswana." EEEEERRRRRGH. And when at judging, one of the girls confesses to not knowing how to express this "Tibetan spirituality" because she doesn't know anything about Tibet, Tyra admonishes her, saying that she should have asked questions.
Tyra: "I could have told you about Tibet, told you about the spirituality and told you about the Dalai Lama, and...mumble mumble. But you should have asked me, I could have told you about the Dalai Lama."
Wow, Tyra, nuanced understanding of Tibetan culture.
5) Tyra refers constantly to these depictions of biracial people as being "exotic," and beautiful, and on and on and on. Racialicious has an excellent article about stereotypes of biracial people as being somehow more beautiful, exotic, "futuristic" and special. Even positive stereotypes (i.e. biracial people are exceptionally beautiful, Asians are good at math) are harmful because it restricts the definition of beauty, essentializes the people in question, and marginalizes you if you happen to be an Asian who hates math or a biracial person who is not considered attractive by the dominant culture.
6) We CANNOT, simply CANNOT, ignore the history of minstrel shows and blackface, and how this photoshoot echoes that.
7) Although I am speaking from a place of white privilege and therefore do not have an understanding of what it is like to live life as a person of colour, I know that this experience is different from mine and that people of colour face a multitude of forms of oppression every day. The mere implication that these (mostly white) wannabe-models can put on a different colour skin for a day, dress up in "Native American headresses," (yes, this happened) say "oh, this is nice, I look exotic," and then strip off the skin colour is profoundly insulting. It mocks the very real racism experienced by people of colour and women of colour everyday.
8) Tyra has done this shit before. In cycle 4 of America's Next Top Model, she dressed the girls up, colouring their skin, as ethnic or biracial women and urged them to "take on the persona of each race."
Check out this link to see the photoshoot itself. And good luck not staring at the computer screen with your mouth open, gaping at the offensiveness.
Any thoughts? Given the history of fashion of doing blackface photo shoots--when black models are often systematically discriminated against--is this not infuriating?
-Steph
I was taking a few minutes out of my busy schedule (*cough*procrastinating*cough*) last night to watch America's Next Top Model. Although I know that the fashion industry is sizist, racist, sexist, classist and generally oblivious to all the social evils that it promotes, I always let myself have this one guilty pleasure because I indulge with a critical mind. As I watch, even though I am enjoying the ridiculous "pose-off" challenges or the girls' excitement about their new lavishly decorated house, I know WHY these things are bad. I deconstruct and criticize as I watch.
And DEAR GOD, was there ever a lot to be critical of on this Wednesday's ANTM.
The girls (Laura, Nicole, Erin, Brittany, Sundai and Jen) get shipped off to Hawaii (Maui, more specifically) to have fun in the sun and engage in more bizarre modelling challenges, such as getting fashion photos taken of them while surfing. Sure. Why not? It's silly, but that's fine.
And then they get loaded into a car, driven off to a sugar cane factory, and told to pose as biracial women hangin' out at the sugar cane factory. *headdesk*
There are so many problems with this that it's hard to know where to begin. I will number all of these points just so I don't lose track of all these problems in my rage.
1) the majority of these girls are white, with only Jen (who is Asian) and Sundai (who is African-American) giving the merest hint of the diversity that exists in the real world.
2) Tyra's little "history lesson" to give context to this photo shoot is sadly lacking. She talks about how people from all over the world came to Hawaii to work on sugar cane planations and that is why Hawaii is very ethnically diverse. Unfortunately, she forgot to mention that sugar cane harvesting is one of the most gruelling agricultural pursuits ever, that those who worked on these sugar cane plantations faced high rates of abuse, were pitted together based on ethnicity in order to prevent them from forming unions, and were generally subjected to racism, prejudice and abuse.
3) Tyra gets (minor, very minor) brownie points for letting everyone know that biracial people are not just white and Asian, white and African, white and ____, but that people of colour + people of colour also =biracial children. This sounds super obvious, but that is not usually the depiction of biracial people that you hear in the media. Some people seem to think that when, for example, an Ethiopian man and a Barbadian woman have a child together, this baby is not biracial (and they usually seem to think this because they have lumped people of colour together in one big box as the "Other").
4) HOWEVER, this totally does not excuse Tyra's totally infuriating essentialization of people of colour. Tyra (and creative director Mr. Jay) urges the girls to express emotions in their photo shoots by "imagining the suffering of the Egyptian people," getting in tune with the "Tibetan spirituality" and trying to feel the music because "music is everywhere in Botswana." EEEEERRRRRGH. And when at judging, one of the girls confesses to not knowing how to express this "Tibetan spirituality" because she doesn't know anything about Tibet, Tyra admonishes her, saying that she should have asked questions.
Tyra: "I could have told you about Tibet, told you about the spirituality and told you about the Dalai Lama, and...mumble mumble. But you should have asked me, I could have told you about the Dalai Lama."
Wow, Tyra, nuanced understanding of Tibetan culture.
5) Tyra refers constantly to these depictions of biracial people as being "exotic," and beautiful, and on and on and on. Racialicious has an excellent article about stereotypes of biracial people as being somehow more beautiful, exotic, "futuristic" and special. Even positive stereotypes (i.e. biracial people are exceptionally beautiful, Asians are good at math) are harmful because it restricts the definition of beauty, essentializes the people in question, and marginalizes you if you happen to be an Asian who hates math or a biracial person who is not considered attractive by the dominant culture.
6) We CANNOT, simply CANNOT, ignore the history of minstrel shows and blackface, and how this photoshoot echoes that.
7) Although I am speaking from a place of white privilege and therefore do not have an understanding of what it is like to live life as a person of colour, I know that this experience is different from mine and that people of colour face a multitude of forms of oppression every day. The mere implication that these (mostly white) wannabe-models can put on a different colour skin for a day, dress up in "Native American headresses," (yes, this happened) say "oh, this is nice, I look exotic," and then strip off the skin colour is profoundly insulting. It mocks the very real racism experienced by people of colour and women of colour everyday.
8) Tyra has done this shit before. In cycle 4 of America's Next Top Model, she dressed the girls up, colouring their skin, as ethnic or biracial women and urged them to "take on the persona of each race."
Check out this link to see the photoshoot itself. And good luck not staring at the computer screen with your mouth open, gaping at the offensiveness.
Any thoughts? Given the history of fashion of doing blackface photo shoots--when black models are often systematically discriminated against--is this not infuriating?
-Steph
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