Blog Assignment 3

                To show minoritizing and universalizing discourses of sexuality, I chose True Life: I’m changing my Sex. In this episode there is a male to female trans woman, Elle, and a female to male trans man, Ted. Elle and Ted express how they feel as though they were born into the wrong body and take steps to correct this biological mistake. Both begin by taking estrogen or testosterone but then later proceed with sex reassignment surgery. The cameras follow them through this journey from the beginning as they inform their loved ones of their decisions to the end as they live their lives post-surgery.

                I will first talk about Elle and her journey. Elle, before even coming out to herself, was married to a woman. She admits about being extremely depressed and suicidal while she was living her life as a man. She also states that she would try not to have sexual thoughts because she felt as though they were wrong and confusing. Elle thought of her upcoming surgery as life or death, “suicide or surgery”. This surgery was not just cosmetic and elective for her. Post-surgery, Elle states, “For the first time ever in my life I want to live.” The surgeon that performed Elle’s sex reassignment surgery was also transgendered. This draws on a universalizing discourse that trans people can be people of intelligence and also very accomplished. This is not a norm we see upheld in today’s society. Lull defines a norm as something that is usual and standard. It is not a norm for transgendered people to be known for their occupations, especially as surgeons. For this trans woman to be made known in such a way really challenges the norms put on all trans people.

After healing from surgery, Elle begins to date. She tells the cameras how a guy came up to her in a bar and was hitting on her. She immediately told him that she was a transsexual and was surprised by his reaction. He was ok with it and called her the next day proving he really was. This as well is a universalizing discourse. In our culture, it is the “norm” for two cisgendered people to date or to desire relationships. Here, the norm is shattered. Not only are Elle and her potential date shattering a norm but how it is done is shown in a very natural way. This is especially so by the man’s interest before and after Elle told him about her being trans.

Ted’s story is quite different from Elle’s. Ted, before deciding to transition, thought the obvious role was to be a lesbian simply because it was easier to explain. This immediately draws on minoritizing discourses. Society situates cisgendered individuals as the norm and makes it difficult for a transgendered person to present themselves as who they are without immense amounts of judgment. This judgment and lack of acceptance is painfully clear when Ted expresses to his family that he has decided to go through with surgery to remove his breasts. His brother says, “It’s just a cosmetic surgery that’s not necessary.” His own mother still calls him her daughter and refers to him by his birth name, Ashley. She also said how she still considers him a girl and that she does not want a son. In his family’s minds, his birth given sex is what he is and it shouldn’t be tampered with. This pulls from the minoritizing discourse that gives fixed and absolute meanings without fluidity.

Works Cited

            Lull, James. “Hegemony”. Media, Communication, Culture: A Global Approach. New York and Chichester: Columbia University Press, 1995.

            Brown, Adriane. Class Lecture. “Refiguring Gender on the Small Screen.” The Ohio State University. Columbus, Ohio. February 2011.

Bibliography Not Attached Before

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

Lull, James. “Hegemony”. Media, Communication, Culture: A Global Approach. New York and Chichester: Columbia University Press, 1995.

Blog Entry 1

Questions:

What norms does this text rely on or contest? (Lull, PowerPoint)

Does this representation function to reinforce oppression, to imagine new possibilities of identity expression, or both (Mayne)?  Justify your answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skhxizRYxps

As said by Lull, “Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over another” (61). In this video, it is unmistakable that heterosexual males hold power over the women. The women are completely objectified and viewed solely as sexual objects there for the entertainment of men. The men assert their power by ordering the women to “lose their pants while [the men] throw money” demeaning women’s worth to dollar bills. This should come as a shock to society but really it is viewed as a social norm. This norm pronounces that women are inferior to men, especially rich, accomplished men, and that they are allowed to be viewed as sex objects. This norm is heavily shown throughout the video as well as the lyrics.

                Within the first thirty seconds of the video there is a shot of women’s bodies from the neck down only proving the idea that women’s worth is tied to the body. This brings up the idea of hegemonic femininity. These women are what society considers to be ideal, perfect, and sexy but not necessarily the type of woman a man would want to settle down with. These women are shown as sex driven bodies willing to do whatever it takes to get with one of the few men present even if it means sharing. This is made evident when the artist says, “I’m trying to hit the hotel with two girls...” while surrounded by willing women.

                Mayne expresses that women are desired in two different extreme senses; the Madonna or the whore. “[T]he Madonna/whore distinction relies on race as well as gender, by identifying African American womanhood exclusively in relationship with sexuality (the Jezebel stereotype)” (Mayne 162). This is exactly what is occurring in this video; the black women are being presented in a sexual nature to grasp male attention. This representation absolutely reinforces oppression of women and especially that of black women. Mayne’s “Madonna/whore” theory is demonstrated in this video of course but almost in every area of the media as well. Very rarely is there actually an average woman presented. These invented women are either innocent and in need of a man to take over sexually or are established as a sex fiend in need of the next man. Both of these representations revolve around sex and men.  This makes sense given that men are the audience that the producer is clearly trying to appeal to.

               This is a music video played on MTV and available on the internet via YouTube which means it is readily available to be seen by young girls. Mayne states that female film viewers discovered that media “…had provided them with lessons… in how to dress and how to catch a man” (163). So therefore, this representation of “sexy, sought-after” women in the video is being examined by these young girls and making them believe that this is what they need to act and look like in order to be wanted by a man. This, in my eyes, creates a never ending cycle of oppression for women.

                Lastly, the representation of men, particularly black men, also reinforces oppression. The artists repeat over and over again, “all I want to do is sit back and watch you move and I’ll proceed to throw this cash.” This infers that they are at a strip club (even though the video does not show evidence of this) which is a stereotype society puts on black men already. This stereotype was presented to the class in 30 Rock as well. This representation of men consequently does not allow the imagining of new possibilities of identity expression. These rappers and the producers of the music video for that matter are just reinforcing stereotypes and misrepresenting black men.