Conner - Final Project

For my project I wanted to look more closely at societal perceptions of homosexuals and
homosexuals in the media, along with “straight privilege”. I believe that the media and pop
culture shapes the minds of people to think and act a certain way towards homosexuals. The
media creates an overgeneralized and often false stereotypical identity for homosexuals. Also I
believe that with being heterosexual comes privilege and many people are unaware of that
privilege. The media today utilizes Cultural Hegemony to create a popular consensus about how
all “gay” people act. We watch tv shows and movies that all stereotype and overgeneral
homosexuals in the same manner; as flamboyant etc... Consumers of pop culture and media
then see this and create a belief that all homosexuals are this way.“Our thoughts and values are
commonly shaped through media influence, whether good or bad” (Sarper, 2013). In addition
there is a clear heterosexual/homosexual binary that states that you are either one or the other
and if you are homosexual you are viewed in a negative way and stereotyped. “homosexuals
are often men, they are very interested in fashion, dress well, are extravagant, social,
self­absorbed and have high pitched voices” (Sarper, 2013). Heteronormativity is the cause for
the binary. Heteronormativity coincides with heterosexual privilege in the belief that the default
status of any romantic relationship is heterosexual and anything else is considered abnormal. “If
you are straight , you can live without ever having to think twice, face, confront, engage, or cope
with anything listed below. These privileges are granted to you, and many of them are things
you’ve likely taken for granted” (Killerman, 2014). In media and pop culture today there is a
clear heterosexual/homosexual binary and heteronormativity that impacts homosexuals
negatively. For my project I wanted to take a queer theory approach to hopefully disrupt those
socially constructed systems of meaning surrounding human sexuality. I wanted to queer the
media and switch roles with the use of some parodies. For the first part of my project I decided
to create a video about a straight male growing up in a homonormative society where instead of
the homosexuals being outcasted the heterosexuals were. I felt it was necessary to do this
queering of media so that an audience could see how ridiculous it is to outcast someone
because of their sexual orientation. For my Real Housewives parody I reversed the roles and
attempted to queer the media. I chose to make it about two men, who are very flamboyant and
stereotypical homosexuals. Also I wanted them to talk about having a “Straight Best Friend” and
instead of hearing all of the stereotypes in the media about homosexuals and gay best friends, I
wanted them to reverse the roles and talk about their straight best friends while making the
same overgeneralized statements about homosexuals. I really wanted it to be funny and light
hearted so that the audience enjoyed the film, however I hope that the audience realizes how
ridiculous the homosexual/heterosexual binary is, and that heteronormativity control most of
what we think about people and sexual preferences.

Killerman, S. (2014, August 10). 30 Examples of Heterosexual Privilege in the US. Retrieved
October 6, 2015.
Sarper, T. (2013, March 14). Stereotypes of Homosexuality in the Media. Retrieved October 6,
2015

Sam - Final Project

From the millions of people that watch the Super Bowl to the millions of dollars of
revenue made by professional sports teams in each game, sports are clearly an important part of
popular culture in the United States. This importance is perhaps why the use of Native American
team names and images has been a widely discussed topic. It is my belief that Native American
names and images should not be used by sport’s teams because they perpetuate stereotypes and
may be offensive to some Native American individuals. The media’s influence on how race,
culture, and ethnicity are viewed by the public is an important part of why using the names and
images are problematic. For instance, normalization allows the names to seem like they are
benign and just the natural order of things because they have been around for a long time
(Drazner-Hoyt, 2015a). The idea of memes also applies because the names and images of Native
Americans are not only replicated through media but also in the minds of people. The names and
images provide an idea for what Native American individuals and cultures are like, and this
spreads through the minds of people (Drazner-Hoyt, 2015b). For example, fans of a team may
mimic the idea of Native Americans as portrayed by the team’s mascot when they dress up as a
Native American at a game. This spreading idea is the basis of a stereotype being perpetuated.
For my project, I created several t-shirt designs advocating against the use of Native
American names and images in sports teams. I chose t-shirts as the medium for expression
because sport’s teams often have merchandise that supports the team. I wanted to twist that idea
of the support for the names and images through their portrayal on the merchandise, and turn it
into a product that subverts the use of the names and images. I wanted argue against using both
names and the images so I created one t-shirt for mascots and another for names. I also created a
culture jam of the Redskin’s logo.

References
Drazner-Hoyt, K. (2015 a). Cultural Analysis: Race, Ethnicity, Nationality, and Religion in
Media [Presentation slides]. comminpopculturefall2015.blogspot.com. Retrieved from:
http://comminpopculturefall2015.blogspot.com/2015_10_01_archive.html
Drazner-Hoyt, K. (2015 b). Memes: Spreadable Culture [Presentation slides].
comminpopculturefall2015.blogspot.com. Retrieved from:
http://comminpopculturefall2015.blogspot.com/2015/10/memes-spreadable-culture.html

Kaylie - Final Project

Website: http://kewalsh.wix.com/pgps

On a daily basis, we assume people’s preferred gender pronouns (PGPs), which in most
casual conversations may not seem like a big deal. However, to transgender, genderqueer, and
other non-binary individuals, it is. Gender non-conforming and trans* people face disrespect that
stems from ignorance on a daily basis. Many people feel uncomfortable or even unsafe
disclosing their true PGPs outside of designated safe spaces. If people knew more about gender,
even the basics like PGPs, trans* people would experience less prejudice and less violence.
According to TSER, 80% of trans students feel unsafe at school because of their gender
expression, 58.7% of gender non-conforming students endured verbal harassment, and 49% of
trans students reported physical abuse (2015). These statistics show that trans people have to
navigate environments that are often incredible hostile towards them. Far from PGPs, trans youth
have to worry about verbal and physical violence, rejection from their families, and isolation
from their friends and peers. With that said, asking someone’s PGP is the first small step toward
creating a safe, honest space for trans and gender non-conforming people in their daily life.
We live in a heteronormative culture where 1- we assume that everyone we meet is either
male or female based on their appearance 2- that identity is synonymous with their genitalia 3-
that everyone is attracted to the “opposite” sex. By assuming cis gender hertosexuality is the
norm, heteronormativity, which was discussed in Hoyt’s gender and sexuality presentation,
paints sexual orientations and sexual orientations that diverge from the expected as deviant,
rather than as natural variations in human identity (2015). Hoyt discusses the theory of gender
performativity in her presentation on gender and sexuality as well, a theory that is complicated
because gender is made up but everyone has a right to perform their gender as they see fit
(2015). While gender is a performance, that doesn’t detract from the importance of respecting
people’s PGPs and letting them perform their gender, regardless of how it intersects with their
biological anatomy or expectations of their peers. Additionally, my project seeks to enlighten
people to the fact that gender performance and gender identity do not necessarily coincide with
each other either because someone is not safe to perform their gender how they would like to or
simply because their gender identity is not dependant on their appearance, which is okay too. As
we talked about in class, the gender binary is insidious in even our media like advertisements
(2015). A commercial never has someone that has someone who is gender non-conforming; the
gender of media personas are always fit with what we would assume. And when there is a
“gender surprise” it is for a comedic relief rather than an opportunity to demonstrate that gender
is an internal quality that must be shared before being assumed.

Something that is almost never addressed in everyday human interactions, gender
pronouns are generally assumed and can be a bizarre or uncomfortable topic for some to discuss.
The more routine we portray PGP disclosure to be, the more safe cis-dominated spaces will
become. To ask someone’s PGPs when meeting them isn’t asking people for very much; in fact
it is a small, easy act of consideration that on the individual level protects a person’s identity and
on a larger scale affirms the validity of trans* people to live freely and safely in society.
Works Cited:

Hoyt, K. D. (2015). Gender and Sexuality [Emaze slides]. Retrieved from:
https://www.emaze.com/@ALLOIWII/gender--sexuality-in-the-media
Why Trans People Need More Visibility. (2015). Retrieved November 22, 2015, from
http://www.transstudent.org/transvisibility

Sal - Final Project

Bullying has been an issue that has plagued my own life and those of close friends, and what becomes the biggest struggle for me is what comes after. The internal conflict, the torment, and the simple nature that believing that being dead is the easiest way to stop the pain. Therefore, I felt like seizing the moment to deliver my own message. A message that is both expressive of my own internal conflict juxtaposed with the concept that life is really not that bad. A guided element of disjointed thoughts, by ending a thought abruptly, but coming back to the piece with something positive adds to the element of self doubt. With the incorporation of some transmedia, emotional affect with music based on some sort of instrumental score, and mocking the traditional script portrayed in modern media, I will deliver my message through spoken word. Through all of this I challenge the normalization that we have begun to create, and hopefully will force and urge individuals to break down the notions surrounding bullying and misconceptions of suicide. After all, we are all human, and we make mistakes, but one mistake easily avoidable is knowing when to bite your tongue and keep your mouth shut. Using two articles published by Karen Walden and Karen Knight and campaigns started on both Facebook and Twitter, I will be able to tell my story and the silent story of so many others afraid to speak up. Ultimately encapsulating the message that being kind to one another well end this silent plagued of suicide in direct adherence to holding each other up and bolster true, honest friendship.

 

Emma - Final Project

(click for full resolution)

This piece was created using a female mannequin as well as a collage made up of
magazine clippings and print advertisements of women. The purpose of this piece is to critique
the way women are shown in the media, especially in advertisements and how this can have a
negative effect on media viewers. Multiple studies have also examined this idea and found the
hyper sexuality of women in the media to be negative, “the frequency of sexualized images of
women in popular media, combined with the extreme intensity of their sexualization, to be
cause for concern,” says Erin Hatton a professor of sociology who has performed studies on this
subject. This art piece also hopes to draw attention to the sexuality that we are often blind to,
drawing attention to this can increase the viewers’ media literacy of female sexualization in the
media. The piece also uses remix, by taking multiple unrelated sources to prove a point about
the way we are portraying women especially more recently, “15 percent of ads studied used
sex as a selling point in 1983. That percentage grew to 27 percent in 2003,” says a study by Tom
Reichert. Overall this piece of art is attempting to show the emphasis we put of female sexuality
in the media and how that can affect the way everyone views women.

Resources
Donovan, P. (2011, August 10). Study finds marked rise in intensely sexualized images of
women, not men University of Buffalo. Retrieved from
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2011/08/12769.html
Mulvey, J. (2012, June 7). Why sex sells… more than ever. Retrieves from
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2649-sex-sells-more.html

Jessica - Final Project

My activist media project is a Tumblr blog (fitsposucks.tumblr.com) that uses the methods of reblogging and creating original posts in order to criticize the fitspo industry for the damaging effects that fitspo images have on women's self-esteem. Tumblr is a great medium to use to make an activist media statement because it allows for both images and words to be included in posts, so I can show fitspo images and add my own commentary to them.

Fitspo, short for "fitspiration," is a collection of images and quotes that are designed to motivate women to work out and get fit. It is clear through a large amount of anecdotal evidence present on the internet that fitspo images create pressure in the minds of women to look perfect and guilt in women when they don't fit the mold represented in the images.

In researching the topic, I learned that fitspo is centered mainly around the female gender and I found it interesting that there weren't many males featured in the images (Kneeland).  Using Tumblr allowed me to participate in writing pop culture instead of simply reading it. In addition, it also allows me to demonstrate and develop media literacy by viewing pop culture and fitspo through a critical lens.

"Fitspo Sucks: 5 Reasons Photos of Hot Women, Catchy Slogans Are Awful." Jessi Kneeland. 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

Lily - Final Project

While it is true that there is more representation of different sexual preferences in the entertainment media, the representation of bisexuality is still seriously lacking. For some reason completely unknown to me, bisexuality has been seen as a threat to most heteronormative narratives that we have seen throughout time on mainstream entertainment media. It is important to note that while the depiction of bisexuality in entertainment media has increased, the quality of these depictions is poor and harmful. These misrepresentations are problematic because they reaffirm the stereotypes that marginalize bi-identifying people in both the straight and queer communities.
Popular culture, specifically mainstream entertainment media, perpetuates a culture that reinforces negative bisexual stereotypes. This in turn invalidates bisexuality as a normal and healthy sexual orientation and contributes to negative feelings toward those who do identify as bisexual. According to CBSNeews, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh said, “Bisexual men and women face prejudice, stigma, and discrimination from both heterosexual and homosexual people,” and “Men who identified as heterosexual were three times more likely to consider bisexuality ‘not a legitimate sexual orientation.”’ I believe this is largely due to the reinforced stereotypes of bisexuals portrayed in the overwhelming amount of media we consume daily as a society.
Due to my need to physically work with an artist medium and my inexperience with most media tools, I chose to make a collage. My collage features large images of characters from popular TV shows and movies whose characters identify as bisexual or are depicted as being such and who reinforce these sterotypes. My collage also features famous celebrities who have come out as identifying as bisexul and faced prejudice. Making a physical object such as this collage allowed me to produce my project on a larger scale, which I believe contributes to its impact. In the margins surrounding my images I have written the hashtag #BiIsNotAStereotype along with several other hashtags. I chose to do this because of the overwhelming impact social media has on people today, especially my generation. This hashtag is an instantly recognizable tool used to get a message across using very few words that can connect hundreds of thousands of people in a conversation pertaining to a serious issue such as this.
By creating this work I hoped to spark a realization that these stereotypes do exist and are in direct correlation to how bi-identifying individuals are presented in the mainstream entertainment media we are constantly consuming without much critical thought. In a generation who is making strides to deflect from this idea of “binaries,” I believe this issue is important because it would allow us to recognize that sexuality is even more complex and fluid than we ever could have imagined and however one wants to identify themselves is healthy and valid. The recognition that this is an issue is the first step towards actually changing this misrepresentation.