Flipping the Script - The Interviews

Famous actor Jim Carey sports
 one piece suit on the beach

My final project, Flipping the Script came to me during the lecture on advertising. When the group was presenting on how some ads were discovered online of men posing as the women in magazines the idea hit me, well at least in part. I am an active Tumblr reader, if thats even a thing, and I came across a blog post (that I cannot find unfortunately) that demonstrated how the women in Hollywood are treated in terms of the Red Carpet and the questions they get asked. All the questions that the actresses/celebrities who are women, involve their sexuality, their personal life or their vanity, which fueled my idea as well. The final inspiration or should I say first, since we watched the movie before the lecture, came from the movie Misrepresentation. Within the movie *find name of woman* says that women especially in politics are never asked questions that require much thought and all the headlines or media focuses solely on a woman's beauty rather than if she could save the world, for example. My initial idea was to do a reverse cat calling skit, where the women would cat call the men, but when I sat down to think about it, I was afraid of the actual consequences. I was a bit nervous with the reaction of some of the men, especially since some could be come violent and it was something I wanted to avoid. With the inspiration from the three topics above I came up with the idea of interviewing several men and women but instead of asking the women questions on their vanity, I decided to question the men on their vanity and gave the women more thought provoking questions. I recorded their reactions, but not everyone reacted exactly how I thought they would. In fact, the whole scenario brought out a different side to two of the men and as for the women, some were rather surprised on the questioning. The project revealed more than just nonchalant attitudes, but rather that men care too much about their vanity and all the more proves further that men are affected by patriarchy a well, which we have recently discussed.

How the Media failed women in 2013 video

Vodka ad which displays
a man being pregnant instead
of the woman

Some of the questions that were asked to the men included, What products do you use on a daily basis? What did you eat today? etc, some that weren't featured in the video at all. Some questions that the women were asked but not included in the video were, What is your major and why? What are your hobbies or things you do for fun? etc. The women mostly had trouble answering questions that provoked more than a simple answer, which is what the media tends to avoid. Any type of questioning that may evoke that women are indeed just as smart as men and have the capability of answering intellectual questions are avoided in every sense of the word. Even if a woman were to say she had the cure to cancer, the media would focus on whether or not her skirt was too short or if her hair was done. Within my project, as you will view, the women had much hesitation when answering the questions, most had a hard time answering them as well. Two of the women were confused and weren't sure if what I was asking was real. This was definitely something they were not used to. As for the men, though this  particular conversation wasn't captured on film, but rather conversations I had afterwards, they were slightly "weirded" out. They weren't comfortable with the questioning they were receiving, two which expressed such when interviewing. One had asked me what questions the women were asked and when I explained, he said "Damn, I wish I had gotten those questions instead." Which I am sure women both in the media and in real life ask everyday. Why can't women be asked questions that deal with their thought processes rather than our bodies, why can't they listen to what I have to offer that has nothing to do with my looks. 

Men posing as women would in ads.

This was just the beginning of exploring other types of role reversals. I have been thinking constantly of ways I can further explore the idea of flipping the script. I will eventually want to proceed on making the catcalling video, in due time. My next idea will feature when children realize they are forced into a certain role in life. I work with kids from grades K-5th and asking them questions like "throw like a girl" "sit like a boy" will demonstrate how they will react to certain things and at what age they become to realize what "role" they fit in best with. I have posted the video on Vimeo and YouTube and have shared it with all my Facebook friends. I hope to spread awareness that women are more than their looks and their sexuality, that women have a lot more to offer than what people let on. Hopefully by spreading awareness on this situation, that may seem small to some, people will begin getting down to the nitty gritty on how women are treated on and off media outlets.


Resources/Works Cited - 
1. Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising." Media & Values 1989: 121-25. Print.
2. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. 59. Print.
3.  Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies and Advertising. 1990. Print.
4. Bahadur, Nina. "The Flip Side: Video Shows What Happens When Men And Women Switch Roles." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 21 May 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/flip-side-video_n_2220370.html>.
5. Welsh, Caitlin. "Is Gender-Flipping the Most Important MEME Ever?" Http://www.junkee.com. N.p., 18 July 2013. Web. <http://junkee.com/flip-it-and-reverse-it-how-to-fight-the-gender-wars/15081>.
6. Lewis, Mike P. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Hollywood's Gender Role Reversal." Loome RSS. N.p., 26 Aug. 2006. Web. <http://loo.me/2006/08/mr-mrs-smith-and-hollywoods-gender-role-reversal/>.
7. Grinberg, Emanuella. "Flipping Gender Roles, from 'Ghostbusters' to 'Scarface''" CNN. Cable News Network, 21 Oct. 2014. Web.<http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/21/showbiz/hollywood-gender-cast-ghostbusters/>.
8. Reporter, DailyMail. "'Let Me Buy You Boys a Drink': Hilarious Role Reversal Video Shows What Happens When Women Try Typical Male Chat up Lines." Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2246390/Hilarious-role-reversal-video-shows-happens-women-try-typical-male-chat-lines.html>.
9. Hess, Amanda. "Gender Role Reversal in Music Videos Can Only Be Achieved By Objectifying Women." Slate. N.p., 28 July 2014. Web. <http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/07/28/maddie_tae_girl_in_a_country_song_video_gender_reversal_in_music_videos.html>.
10. How the Media Failed Women in 2013. Dir. The Representation Project. How the Media Fail Women in 2013. YouTube, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NswJ4kO9uHc>.

Advertising: Selling More than What is Shown.

Advertising serves many more purposes than to promote a product or a service. It sells sex, impossible realities, pressure (to be more like what they are telling and showing you) and promotes a standard that can sometimes be physically impossible to achieve. This realm of advertising and how it portrays sexuality and gender has been around for a long time now and not much has changed. Though today you can find advertisements that debunk the usual context of over sexualizing women to sell products or promoting unhealthy ways of living. Those ads that debunk the myths usually promote awareness to a cause or to combat the effects of everyday advertising.

Beverage ad that depicts women sexually

Advertising, when it comes to gender, tends to place favor on the man in every sense of the word. They appeal to the male’s gaze. "Women are mere 'beauties' in men's culture so that culture can be kept male" (Wolf, 52). Every ad that has a women placed within it is used in a very sexual manner. No matter what is being sold, you will find a woman posed sexually. It seems that the more sexual the ad is, the more likely it is that a women is at the forefront. Advertisers have a true talent in making anything sexual. The product or service could be completely unrelated to the subject matter and yet it will still be used in sexual context. In fact, the notion of the ads are so ridiculous that when you were to change the subject matter from female to male, the true absurdity of what they are promoting is shown, proving the fact that they use sex to appeal to the masses. Even though both men and women can be used in ads for persuading and selling, both genders are used in very different manners, but both appeal to the male ego. Ads use imagery to display what they want society to believe that men and women are about. They use this in a way to make us feel that without what they are selling we will never achieve what they are displaying.  

Vintage ad on body images of women

Advertising can be very damaging to all those who don’t take the time to deconstruct them or to those who do not have the knowledge to do so. This can be especially damaging to young children, especially girls. As a child growing up, especially in this day and age where the media is crucial part of their lives, they are bombarded with thousands of ads a day, even if they are not aware of it. These ads present an unrealistic "ideal" person that they should become one day.  They show children that they must look a certain way, act a certain way and of course have certain things to be accepted and wanted in this world.  If you are thin, blonde and own tons of makeup, then you're perfectly perfect, even though not everyone is made in this image. Representation is very important and having  a lack thereof will lead young children and even some adults to feel unimportant or not good enough for not being what is displayed. Since media is so prominent within our culture children have no choice but to look towards it for inspiration or to get a better understanding of who they are and who they should be. They want to look like the guys and girls of the magazines, even if they don't understand that not even the men and women of the magazines don't look like the men in women in the magazines. They shape themselves to want to be like these people and have what they have, because only then could they be accepted. Ads give a sense of completion, of want, they persuade people into think that buying into those products or services can make you better, and that connection with the consumer and advertising starts from young. There is a high percentage of eating disorders among young girls. The desire to stay skinny and beautiful is very important and they get these messages from ads. "There is evidence that this preoccupation with weight begins at even earlier ages for women. According to a recent article in New Age Journal, "even grade school girls are succumbing to stick like standards of beauty enforced by relentless parade of wasp waisted fashion models movie stars and pop idols." (Kilbourne, 124)

Women Equality ads for UN Women

"If they find it, they'll play with it" ad
that promotes Gun Violence
"Lock up your Guns"

We are used to the usual. The sexy woman promoting shaving cream for men, or an apple being photoshopped to look sexy and represent the female figure, but not all ads are used to promote beauty, sell a product, or to give unrealistic standards to people. Some ads can be used to raise awareness or reshape culture's views on the "norm". As of late these type of ads like the one on the right can be seen. Though there aren't many of these types of ads or campaigns like the dove beauty campaigns, this is still a step in the right direction, even if they are baby steps. Ads that raise awareness tend to be found more online than in person. These types of ads can be very useful to try and change the way advertisers advertise. Representation is important and if you attack every area (race, gender, sexuality) then people wont feel the need to have to go an extra mile to change themselves. They will be seen for who they truly are rather than who they want us to be. “They are really projecting gender display - the ways in which we think men and women behave - not the ways they actually do behave. Such portrayals or images are not reflective of social reality. In advertising, for example, women are primarily depicted as sexual objects or sexual agents.” (Cortese, 52)

As much as we, those who can point out the crap that these companies are selling us, would like for things in the advertising world to change, the truth is it will be a long time before it does so. Sex sells, it appeals to the masses and thats the sick and simple truth. So as long as a women is beautiful and her body image is 'perfect' she will be the center of it all...and her image will be thrown in everyone's faces. 

Words Cited:

1.  Kilbourne, Jean. "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising." Media & Values 1989: 121-25. Print

2. Cortese, Anthony Joseph Paul. "Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising." Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. 45-76. Print.

3. Wolf, Naomi. "Culture." The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. 58-85. Print.

It's All in the Gaze

                 The male gaze is a process where the man observes women and through this active act of observing, objectifies the woman therefore creating a fantasy where the woman is only present and useful when she provides the man pleasure. This form of vision is pervasive since women are born with this singular ability of expressing her own attitude to herself. Men have been able to 'manipulate' this ability of women to observe themselves and use women's own ability on the women themselves to fulfill their own desires. It is easy to see why such a powerful ability is pervasive in a field where men mostly dominate. 

                Most media with images perpetuate this male fantasy since it is so easily understood and accepted. It almost seems flattering, that women are the sole center of attention, it may be created as romantic and beautiful but the underlying message is disturbing: women are meant to be valued based only on the pleasure that they can provide through only their physicality: how appealing their bodies are, how luxuriant their hair is, how pretty their face is, etc. because the beauty is contained by a man. It is not hers."That part of a woman's self which is the surveyor treats the part which is the surveyed so as to demonstrate to others how her whole self would like to be treated" (Berger, Ways of Seeing, p46). 

TIME magazine, March 2013

ECOYA body care ad

When and if a woman is successful, of course an appeal would be needed to ask people to focus on her legacy and accomplishments before hating her for them (without knowing what they are). This kind of message would not be needed for males.
 The male gaze has widely perpetuated since the eyes are the easiest and fastest of the senses to appeal to. Women are given more complexity in literature and music (not music videos). 

               I never really knew the technical terms of the stereotypes that the movies as a media perpetuate but I was always aware of them and I would love to discuss them with my sister. And the male gaze is not limited towards only women but to anyone who is not part of the [exclusive] group of male gazer. This would include males of other ethnicities. The male protagonist is always a white, handsome male. 

The only film that I can easily recall that didn't follow this stereotype was Bridesmaids. The principal love interest was a male with an accent, a little chubby and not the typical handsome 'Brad Pitt'. I like to avoid watching movies that perpetuate these stereotypes and if I do by any weird chance I like to always keep track of everything that perpetuates this stereotype and I make it a point to let my friends know about it. For the most part they appreciate it but sometimes they just want me to watch the movie (but I can't!) :) 

I like to help bring diverse movies into the spotlight, share them on social networks and watch them if I have the chance.