"Ex-Gay" Bus Ads

This article on adweek.com discusses the London Mayor's decision to ban anti-gay advertisements from being plastered on buses across the city. A Christian ad agency promoting "reparative therapy" for homosexuals ran a local advertisement on public transit that read: "Not gay! Ex-gay, post-gay, and proud. Get over it!" The Mayor just recently banned their presence, a move that continues to garner a lot of controversy and criticism among the London public.

 I think this example works to illustrate the ways in which the media construct particular identities as well as how these identities, whether 'true' or not, can be leveraged by the public in different ways and for different purposes. The mayor publicly chastised the ad for suggesting that being gay is an 'illness' or some other reversible circumstance, yet skeptics believe that he may just be siding with the LGBTQ community because their vote could prove critical in an upcoming election. In this way, the Mayor might just be bringing attention to the issue so that his "support" of the gay community hits the public airwaves more prominently, using that portion of the population as pawns in his campaign.

 I think this relates somewhat to the use of public rhetoric and/or political tactics to commodify certain identities into electoral votes. What comes to mind is some of the GOP candidates that harped on the "illegalness" of undocumented immigrants throughout their campaigns yet tried to garner the support (in a horribly unsuccessful way) of documented immigrants because their votes will be crucial (and continue to be so) in upcoming elections. Some of our class readings to prep for Jordan Garcia's talk discussed the danger in creating these particular immigrant identities, and I think that translates directly into the exploitation of certain identified groups by politicians seeking public support. Do you see a connection to any other issues we discussed in class? If the mayor was in fact bringing attention to the ads just to spark support, how does globalization and the use of the media play a role in all of this?

Moreover, some people are arguing that dismissing these ads is an infringement on free speech, which I think is a pretty valid concern. While I don't agree with the message (or services) behind the ad, I do find it difficult to legally ban such an ad just because it offends a portion of the population. And, if there are in fact people who have been through these camps that consider themselves "post-gay," wouldn't banning the ad be deeming their particular experience and identity as illegitimate because they are 'outside the box'? I just keep thinking that if, on the flip side, the ad was for an LGBTQ cause that said "I'm gay and proud. Get over it!" that no one (at least in a place like London) would publicly yank it. But, what do you think? Do you see how this might be problematic or do you believe that there shouldn't be space for this kind of expression?

Victimization of Indian Women

Film Trailer: Trishna
About the film: Trishna IMbd

After our class discussion on Arab women, how they are represented in our media, and whether or not they "need saving," I began to wonder about other representations of women in nations across the ocean.

The film Trishna is a tragic love story based in India. Set in contemporary times, and the main character is torn between her familial traditions, and her independence brought through education and the industrialization of the world around her. Is this a glimpse into what a woman may actually be going through in India today? Or, is this another case of misconstrued victimization of women? Or, is this story attempting to see "negative effects" of educating women and in giving them equal opportunities? Nothing could be better for our world than educating women, so I hope this was not the intention.

 Furthermore, the movie is based on Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891), which is set in the impoverished rural Wessex during the Long Depression -- So, how interesting that the film's writers decided to recreate the story setting in contemporary India. What do you think this says about our conception/representation of culture in film? Why do you think that Trishna is portrayed as being torn between education and tradition, and what implications do you think this holds?

Many Daughters in U.S. Predicted to Live Shorter Lives than their Mothers



Women's life expectancy in 2009 - from http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/tools/data-visualization/life-expectancy-county-and-sex-us-1989-2009#/news-events/news

Although women on average live longer than men, a recent county-by-county report by the Institute for Health Metrics andEvaluation (IHME) has shown that women’s life expectancy is improving at a much slower rate than men’s across the United States.  It was reported that “Between 1989 and 2009, the researchers found that men's life expectancy increased by an average of 4.6 years. But women's life expectancy only increased by an average of 2.7 years.”

Even more interesting, I think, is the regional variation in life expectancy. The gap between the counties with the highest life expectancy and lowest life expectancy is growing.  For example, “in Collier, Florida, women live 85.8 years on average. In McDowell, West Virginia, they live to be 74.1. That’s an 11.7-year gap. In 1989, the gap was 8.7 years.”  This essentially means that in some U.S. counties life expectancies reflect some of the highest rates in the world, while other counties in the same country have life expectancies that closer reflect those of developing nations.

The quote that struck me most in this article came from professor Ali Mokdad who said, “It’s tragic that in a country as wealthy as the United States and with all the medical expertise we have that so many girls will live shorter lives than their mothers.” In the 21^st century, the fact that women’s life expectancy in hundreds of U.S. counties has either remained stagnant or has actually lowered is troubling and begs the question ‘what do these increasing gaps, between both genders and regions, reflect?’ Do these statistics reflect differences in the physical health between men and women (sex) or in social roles and expectations (gender)? Variation in socioeconomic status may explain regional differences in life expectancy, but how does this explain the improvement gap between men and women?

To check out county-by-county changes in life expectancies between 1989 and 2009, check out the following map http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/tools/data-visualization/life-expectancy-county-and-sex-us-1989-2009#/news-events/news How does your county stack up? Why might this be?

The flight from conversation

Article  "The flight from conversation"

Intriguing article by a well known scholar on technology issues that talks about the way that we are more and more often "alone together," because some people are constantly focused on mobile technologies and computers, even when they meet together in groups (social, work meetings, class).    This offers the "silence of connection" where we are in touch with many people virtually but can control it to "keep them at bay" as we wish.  Thus Turkle argues that we are shifting from real conversation to what she calls "little sips" of connection that provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship and self reflection.

This may not be all that serious in and of itself, but when it starts substituting for real conversations and relationships it has some important implications for all of us.   Are we becoming addicted to constant stimulation with instant messages, moving images, the ability to hop from website to facebook to the latest phone app?  And are we losing the ability to enjoy reflective thought or even solitude, by immediately reaching toward our virtual connector when we get bored? 

A most poignant example offered by Turkle is a 16 year old boy who is constantly texting and says"almost wistfully" --  “Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I’d like to learn how to have a conversation.”

And what are the implications of these ideas for the issues we have been talking about in class related to power issues, particularly those related to race/ethnicity, gender and culture? 

Any reactions?

Do Arab Men Hate Women? Mona Eltahawy Faces Firestorm

This article talks a little bit about what Salma Shukri was refering to earlier in class on Eltahawy's article... http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/04/25/do-arabs-hate-women-mona-eltahawy-faces-firestorm/

Is it art or just Justin Bieber?

It is quite clear to me that my experiences with the media are the idea and plan of what Aristotle would call the great mover, someone in control.

            When it comes to music, a field that I am very familiar and comfortable with, today’s top rated artists turn out to not actually be top rated. What I mean to say is that Justin Bieber is not popular because he is one of the best singers in the world. He is not popular because he is one of the best songwriters in the world. He doesn’t even write his own songs. It seems that these are two very crucial components for making it as a pop icon, so how does Justin do it without possessing these two important traits? Well, the answer is that it’s not Justin, it’s the corporation (Warner Music Group) that  hired Justin. But that raises anther question, why Justin then, if he isn’t the best singer and doesn’t write songs, why would they choose to hire him, what makes him so special. Well, it’s because he fits a very particular formula. A formula generated by marketing agents that tell major record labels what the major of kids look for in music today.

            I read an example that describes a social experiment. These three people: Salganik, Dodds, and Watts, created this series of websites that enabled 14,000 participants to listen to music by unknown artists, to see if mainstream exposure is really necessary for people to like and/or accept these songs as quality music. The idea was that if songs have an inherent quality that makes them popular, then the same songs should become popular on each website. The outcome was interesting. It turned out that the songs that were highly rated by the earlier listeners would go on to become increasingly popular. It seems, and this comes with my experiences with my friends who listen to pop music, that people like to follow other peoples’ opinions and not fully evaluate the music themselves. I have found that with my friends listening to music that is not widely accepted as ‘good’ is strange. I guess people find a sense of credibility with popularity, which in my opinion is not always the case.

            Another example of the mainstream media’s efforts for success is, ‘art imitating art.’ One can find an example of this through any sequel that has ever been made of any major motion picture: Jaws 2, Star Wars Return of the Jedi, The Hangover two and so on. This theory is that if it worked once, it’ll work again. And in most cases I think this happens to be true. I remember when the Backstreet Boys (again another corporate project like Justin Bieber) were popular and then being confused by the emersion of N’Sync. I couldn’t tell the difference. I know now that really, there was no difference. Both bands encompassed the exact same concepts and representations for a successful pop band and that were not artists, but rather, products. This can also be seen with TV shows, Flavor of Love and I Love New York (New York was the name of the woman who stared in the show).  The show Friends and How I Met Your Mother is another example. When using formulas for hits, there is an assumption that there is a greater likeliness for economic success. Fortunately, this is not always a grantee because fads come and go.

            My last example is convergence culture. If a particular form of media becomes successful, and by successful I mean popular, then those behind it financially will do all they can to squeeze out any possible profit that they can gain from that book, or movie or Television Show. A good example of this is the Harry Potter franchise. The books are deemed as one the most popular book series ever. From this, the book was converted into a movie. For artistic purposes? No for profit purposes. The movies were not made to awe the audience as a form of film art, but rather, were produced to be a moneymaking powerhouse. Once the movies proved to be a financial success, the franchise grew into comic books, cartoons, action figures (dolls), and various other toys, costumes for kids and all that. The book notes that a movie or book isn’t enough in contemporary society, but now, corporations strive to create an entire multi-platform fictional universe. Is it entertainment that generates profit? Or is it profit that entertains? Answer this question depends on which side of the moneymaking spectrum you associate with. 

TV? Or Cult? My take on Cultivation Theory

Cultivation Theory is a social theory developed by George Gerbner and Larry Gross, which examined the long-term effects of television on American audiences of all ages. The purpose and reason behind this theory was to identify and track the cultivated effects of television on its viewers. The motivation behind this theory arose due to the concern of the effects of television programming, violence in particular, on the attitudes and behaviors of audiences.

            Cultivation Analysis plays on this theory and asses the various aspects of how the media has come to play a major role in society. The overall concern behind Cultivation Theory and Analysis is that violence on TV will: frighten, shock and disturb the public, forcing them into a state of anxiety and nervousness about reality. Confuse, fool and motivated people to do stupid things because they saw it done on television. And/Or motivate audience members to be more violent and hostile towards the world.

            Cultivation Theory in many respects has observed many effects that TV has had its followers. For one, TV has shaped the attitudes of many people into frightful, scared and anxious perceptions of reality. I have bared witness to this effect first hand: My mom is a catastrophist when it comes to the safety of her children. I know this is out of love, and ‘they’ say that it’s better to be loved too much than never at all, but my mom relays everything she sees on the news to my siblings and me. If there is sex offender that has been caught she will freak out because she interprets the news report as saying, “We caught another one, but don’t leave your house because the are millions upon millions of sex offenders and rapists out there.” One could only sympathize for someone who reads so much into the news. And besides my mom, I know that there are plenty of people out there who are like this, maybe a little less severe, maybe more, but the point is, this is a result of the effects of the television, and reinforcement for the cultivation theory. Another good example of this is America’s reaction to Orson Well’s reproduction of War of the Worlds in 1938.

            If you are not familiar with this incident, well it is hilarious. Orson Welles, an actor/filmmaker in the early ages of film, went on the radio in 1938 and read H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds.” People listening to the radio paniced, they didn’t understand that it was just an act and they thought aliens had come down from space and were attaching the United States. Classic!

Another effect that television has television (radio, the web, ect.) has on the public

observed by cultivation theory is that of desensitization. This describes the concept that

once viewers are exposed to shocking, vial and violent content, the shock factor and

sense of urgency looses its effect. By seeing death and violence and risky behavior so

often in television programs, it has little affect on our consciousness when we see the ‘real life’ violence of war and such on the news. Also, violence and crime are so prevalent on the news that viewers have more or less run out of ways to really react to it (except people like my mom). 50 years ago, when they first televised to Vietnam War, people were able to watch the horror from the comfort of their own couches for the first time. This had a strong effect on the audience and led to protests and fed the heads of the counterculture of the mid to late 1960’s.

            One other aspect of the cultivation theory is the influence of violence and violent behavior on susceptible minds. It has not been proven that violence on television and in movies and video games leads to violence amongst audience members, but this fact is believed to be true amongst many people. In my opinion, this is a false claim and is borderline ridiculous. Here is why: long before television and violent video games, American slaughtered millions of Indians, enslaved thousands of Africans, and killed hundreds of thousands of themselves during the Civil War. Violence is innate are programmed into our brains as a tool for survival while we were evolving into what we are. What television does is allow us to channel this predisposed gene more creatively.

            The Cultivation Theory is remarkable interesting and I believe that it will evolve to adapt the effects of not only exposure to television, but also all forms of media and evolving technology. 

I said a hippity hop

For this blogpost chosen to discuss rap music as a hegemonic ideological critique:

Hip-hop music first gained mass popularity in the late 1980’s and since then, it has evolved its style, method, and message into what we call Rap music today. The original intention of hip-hop music was a to lash out against the establishment in an effort to give a voice to the African-American youth culture. Songs such as, “The Message,” written by Grandmaster Flash represented a longing for change in society. “The Message” represents a struggle going on between criminal activity and danger on the streets and the longing for peace and opportunity. The opening line to the song reads, “It’s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from going under.”

            Grandmaster Flash’s ideological “message” is basically exemplifying a meaning that helps define and explain a common perception of the world and makes value judgments about that world. Society is a jungle and the individual African-American is surrounded by predators. The simple fact of the matter is that reality is subjective, and although Mr. Flash is referring to the class struggles that exist in the dangerous neighborhoods or “the hoods” of New York City and Las Angeles, his lyrics are subject to interpretation and, as a result, transcend the cultural barrier granting Mr. Flash with social and ideological credibility affirming hip-hop’s hegemonic ideology of the time.

            The reason I have been discussing this topic of hip-hop of the past is because, as my professors have explained, we can be unaware of the ideological positions of contemporary media and it’s effect on our lives and worldview. It is easier to recognize ideological media content by looking at older media.

            Contemporary rap music presents a vastly different ideological critique of society. At some point in the mid to late 1990’s the style, method, and message of hip-hop was altered, transforming the genre into rap music. What was so different? To start, the beats became a bit more creative and played on different time signatures. The main difference however, was that rap had been taken off of the streets and placed into the riches. Unlike Grandmaster Flash who presented himself as a man from the streets appealing to others alike, now we have Jay-Z, who writes about being on top and the money and women that come with his success. The song, “99 Problems” is a song about how white culture oppresses rap music because of its crude lyrical content and discouraging forces on women. The song explains that people have problems and that Mr. Z himself has 99 problems, but “A bitch ain’t one.” He goes on to say that he attracts “Money Cash Hoes” as a result of his success in the rap business.

            The overall message of this song plays upon the degradation of woman as objects used for sex and that all they want is money. In discussing ideology, the primary question about such images is not whether or not they were realistic reflections of society, because clearly they are not, but instead the ideology examines the messages these images send about the nature of the world, how it works, and how it should be. It seems that the imagery in rap music during this current period reflects an ideology that describes beliefs about who is and who isn’t worthy of inclusion, what roles are appropriate for different groups, and what is just. This counteracts a hegemonic ideology because the masses of human society in the United States today understands that there is no numerical value that one can place on any one or group of human beings. These images are souly tools for entertainment and hopefully will never be understood as the truth. 

Why is all the tea gone?

This post is ultimately about the globalization and westernization of the eastern tradition of tea, but it is also a history lesson :)

Whenever I speak with people about tea, most would say, "Oh, I love tea." Then they will continue to describe their favorite as Sleepytime or Vanilla tea. However the reality of the situation is that what most westerners regard as tea is actually the scraps of processed tea leaves that have been injected with loads of artificial flavor. Allow me to elaborate: Many years ago the great country of Britain imperialized the now great country of China, specifically Hong Kong. There, they were introduced to Chinese tea, Green tea, Oolong, Pu Huer, and White tea. The British brought some back to the UK and the people of Britain ate it up like a fat kid eating a ice cream cone; needless to say, it went fast, Britain realized the high value of the crop, they wanted more.

So Britain returned to China to buy some more tea, but they were informed by China that they would only trade them tea in exchange for silver. Britain said, "No Problem!" So for a while Britain was happily trading silver to China for tea. However, a time came when Britain began to run out of silver. They thought, "Oh, we're gonna need our silver back from China so we can continue to trade tea." So what they did is traded opium for silver. You could image how this would end poorly. Long story short, China was so fond of Britain getting it's people addicted to opium, thus the opium wars broke out.

Consequently, Britain came up with the idea to grow their own tea so they didn't have to spend more money getting it from China. So they took seeds from every kind of tea and planted them in their other eastern territory, India. However, because of the varying climate in India only one kind of tea was able to grow and prosper, and that was black Darjeeling Tea.

You may have once wondered why the English drink tea with milk and sugar, well that is because black Darjeeling tea tastes like shit. However, that is all Britain could afford to drink at this point, so it became a marketing game.

Today, the tea that we drink in the states, that is the tea you buy at the grocery store is just that, processed and flavored tea. In china, there are thousands of acres dedicated to growing and harvesting quality tea leaves, but as one could imagine, this takes labor. So the American way has alleviated this labor and created factory's where not just the leaf but the branches as well are processed, ground ad flavored.

You may have noticed that when you pour a cup of tea you get one or two cups per little pouch of tea. This is because when you mix the artificial flavors with hot water, the flavor is instantly extracted from the tea. With Chinese tea it is not uncommon to get between 15 and 30 pours out of one serving of leaves, and in fact, the flavor get better after about the 6th or 7th pour because the flavor is in the leaves rather than on the leaves.

What's the point?
Well I wanted to just show that although we may not notice it, globalization affects the United States too and not always in positive ways.

Megan Jansen-Barbie comes to life

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/04/23/the-real-life-ukrainian-barbie-doll/

This article came up on my FaceBook feed the other day and made me think of our discussion of girls and body image. The article is about a 21 Ukrainian girl who has claimed to be a "real life barbie." Valeria Lukyanova has begun posting photos of her Barbie-like self on her FaceBook page, which has recently gone viral.

Lukyanova's Barbie obsession has sparked multiple "how to" videos on the internet in which teenagers demonstrate how to get Barbie's hair and makeup. It is not yet known whether Lukyanova is real or fake, photoshopped or placates surgery, but scholars say the mystery of her existence is not the issue. The problem is that her image feeds into the media's image of what a beautiful woman is, when in reality having barbie's figure and features is not possible without intensive surgery and photoshopping.

This article made me consider once again what sort of messages are being sent to young girls about their bodies, and that these messages must be extremely strong and negative to make women like Lukyanova want to change their bodies so drastically.

What is your opinion of Barbie and this trend of real life Barbie look-alikes?

The Pink Hijab

http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/article.cfm?AID=1969

This is in response to the Lila Abu-Lughod recommended reading ("Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and its Others"). While  I didn't agree with every single point in the reading, as someone who is also from a developing nation I do understand where she is coming from. The author did make some important points, namely when she pointed out: "One of the things we have to be most careful about in thinking about Third World feminisms, and feminism in different parts of the Muslim world, is how not to fall into polarizations that place feminism on the side of the West". 

This article I've shared, "The Pink Hijab" by Robin Wright, was published in The Wilson Quarterly. It showcases how an Egyptian woman, Dalia Ziada, has been fighting for what she believes in, and she has been doing it wearing a hijab, not because she is forced to but because she chooses to. A survivor of female genital mutilation, she prevented her 7-year-old cousin from undergoing the same trauma. A 2005 United Nations report discovered that 97% of Egyptian females between ages 15 and 49 had been subjected to some kind of FGM.

Dalia joined the revolts against Hosni Mubarak when she was 29. A leading activist among the "pink hijab" generation, which refers to "young women committed to their faith, firm in their femininity, and resolute about their rights", she feels that her scarves are the most interesting part of her wardrobe. This generation is redefining what it means to wear a hijab - it is now "a declaration of activist intent rather than a symbol of being sequestered".

The article also focuses on a new political chic in the Arab world:

"The new chic has been fashioned by a yearning for change that is at once democratic and indigenous. The restless young chafe at old ways and old leaders, but many who turned out in Cairo’s Tahrir (“Liberation”) Square this year do not aspire merely to imitate the West. They reject militant jihad and the rigid formulas of the Salafis, yet they fervently embrace their faith as a defining force in their future. They want new systems that are both fully representative and true to their religious values."

However, I did notice a comment in response to this article: "A dangerously naive and superficial view of what hijab represents. Not a word about the brutal social pressure to which those few Egyptian Muslim women who still resist hijab are subjected daily. Not a word about bare-headed women who were also very active in the revolution. It is also perverse to defend women's rights and at the same time to extoll hijab as a kind of 'social armor' and 'equaliser'. Why are women supposed to pay an entrance fee in the shape of hijab to be able to be active and visible socially? How can you advocate for women's rights while at the same time you uncritically accept the rules laid down by conservative Muslim men?"

Software company partners with Metro to tailor classes

(If anyone didn’t get a change to read The Making of a Counter Culture, Theodore Roszak discusses his perspective on the generational paradigm in the U.S, as well as several other “first world” countries. Roszak poses the question, why does a divide exist between complacent middle-agers and hippy-daisy-youth? He claims that the heroes of our technocratic hierarchy will be the few middle-agers who take young dissenters under their wing...)

To get to the point...

I am particularly interested in Roszak’s discussion of the educational system and how it ties into a technocratic-mesmerized society.

In chapter 1, Technocracy’s Children, Roszak says, “...in England, Germany, and France the most troublesome students are those who have swelled the numbers in humanities and social studies only to discover that what the society really wants out of its schools is technicians, not philosophers.” Public figures in Britain “loudly observe” that their “country is not spending its money to produce poets...yet at the same time, these non-technicians know that the society cannot do without its universities” because the “universities produce the brains the technocracy needs.” (29)

à Basically, the economy thrives off of technocracy, and breeding more people to contribute to technological industries is essential.

 This reminds me of a recent CPR broadcast, “The Job Creators.” One of the panelists is the CEO of NIMBL (a Denver software company) and he explains that his company has a partnership with Metro State College. Basically, his company provides “canned” curriculum to the classes so that students can learn the skill sets that “they will need.”

(If you don’t want to listen to the entire panel, the conversation I’m referencing is towards the second half).

How do you think this partnership will affect classes (if it does at all)? As a student, how do you feel about classes being designed by local (or national) businesses to teach skills their industries need? Do you think that other information or skills are being compromised in this arrangement? Or is this a step in the right direction?

International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict

Whether a woman is forced into the sexual slavery of being a ‘comfort woman’ or raped as attempt to shame and dishonor her before her entire community, conflict’s most brutal violence is often perpetrated against women. It is only in the recent past that this fact has been acknowledged by the inclusion of rape as a War Crime. Indeed, rape was one of the key prosecutorial elements of the Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Yet, despite the growing awareness of the international community to this problem, it continues almost unabated. As an attempt to raise awareness of women's precarious situation in conflict zones around the world, as well as to inspire actions to change that reality, the “International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Conflict in Conflict” is holding a week of Action May 6-13, 2012. Please consider signing the agreement and passing this information on to others.

I am constantly reminded how everything is interconnected, especially when it comes to corrupt dictatorships, poverty, censorship and gender inequalities. And I am repeatedly shocked by western institutions and organizations that somehow fail to realize this. As some of you know, a recent story on the BBC reported that to meet government quotas, the doctors of Uzbekistan perform hysterectomies on young women without the knowledge of the very women they perform the hysterectomies on. If this isn't grotesque enough, there seems to be no reason for the forced sterilization of the women. There is not a population issue, and since the marriage of the USSR + the stans, the soviets were pro-birth control, specifically IUDs. When I lived in Turkmenistan they were not caught up in the religious hogwash we find ourselves burdened with in the land of the free, and women would speak openly about contraception and women's health without fear of burning in hell. To top it off, there has not been an official census in years, and the estimates indicate the population has dropped since the fall of the USSR saw a mass exodus of Russians and other ethnicities.
 So, it's quite sad to see the controversial Komen for the Cure throwing money at the daughter of Uzbekistan's dictator for her own breast cancer fund. (After their Planned Parenthood stunt, should we expect anything different?) But let's get this straight -  dad takes women's uteruses, while daughter works hard to save breasts? That money is not going anywhere near a breast cancer fund, but instead is funding Gulnara's hair extensions and music videos.
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17612550
 http://jezebel.com/susan-g-komen/

The bunny who stayed with us

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-06/opinion/31293068_1_porgy-and-bess-dubose-heyward-novel 

This short, sensitive editorial on a favorite childhood book inspired some thoughts relevant to our class. It turns out that the book is "sometimes criticized for being imperfectly feminist" because "the heroine doesn't succeed all on her own." Despite the fact that I had never considered the story through a feminist lens, I immediately felt defensive of its feminist integrity. Feminism need not always adhere to one of a select group of approved narratives. The author comments that there is a "new kind of strong heroine showing up these days in books and movies. Princesses rescue themselves. Women pick up bows and arrows and prove that bloodshed is no longer just for men." This reminded me of a point in MissRepresented where the speaker referred to something along the lines of the 'fucking femme bot' that we see in movies today. Is that what would be considered 'perfectly' feminist? We cheer for the young woman on screen who roundhouses a dozen men in a row with her combat boots, but I really feel this is a sort of knee-jerk response that should be thought about more critically. We need to remember that the feminist fight is against the system that gives men undue power, not against the men themselves. For one thing, if gender relations are approached as a battle, no one will win. But maybe more importantly, why would we want to approach gender relations as a battle? Why can't women and men engage in dynamic and mutually beneficial partnerships? The same double standard that makes our reactions to a female shooting men on screen different to a male shooting women on screen also colors the way we look at sex. While it is undeniably a welcome reversal to see a woman using men solely for her own sexual gratification, is this truly empowering? I admit that it feels a little like much deserved vengeance, but once I put my own resentments aside, I can see that objectifying men does not help the feminist cause in any meaningful way. In both cases, we are just seeing a perpetuation of a damaging force (violence in one, sexual objectification in the other). I think it is giving women too little credit to assume that they cannot maintain their own volition at the same time that they seek advice from others--who, naturally, will happen to be men now and again. In the book, the protagonist overcomes numerous obstacles to achieve her goal, and I fail to see how getting a little help along the way disempowers her or in any way devalues her accomplishments. (And yes, we are talking about a bunny).

Poverty is worse than racism

This is a clip from the CNN special: Black in American All Mighty Debt. In this clip a pastor talks about how and why poverty is worse than racism. Poverty Black America's has a new enemy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVP4sMRvULc

Sexy Black Ass: Jezebel Stereotype

The following is a link that talks about the over sexualization of Blackwomen in media, marketing and history. The portrayal of Black women as lascivious by nature is an enduring stereotype in America. I decided to share this link because it reminded me of the readings and class discussion about Rosa Parks and the rape of Blackwomen in the South. I believe that the myth of Blackwomen being over sexed creatures have justified some groups attitudes and behaviors towards Blackwomen.


http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/jezebel/

Social Media: Changing Activism?

NPR story: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150286291/social-media-changing-the-nature-of-activism

A many of us have seen in the past years, social media is rapidly changing the face of information sharing everywhere from the individual to international spheres.  The NPR story discusses how social media is changing social activism. According to the story, social media has become the fastest and most affordable way for an issue to be shared to the masses without going through “mainstream” media. Recent examples of social media’s role in activism include the Trayvon Martin case, the rejection of SOPA/PIPA and the Occupy Movement. Rashad Robinson of Colorofchange.org attributes the national attention to the Martin case to social media stating that it would have stayed a local issue because news companies wouldn’t have seen it as a national issue. Colorofchange.org’s goal is to “empower the voices of ‘everyday’ people, to listen to them… and keep them actively engaged. I agree that social media is giving individuals a voice and the ability to share societal concerns, however, I think groups of individuals are left out.

Social media gives access to activism for people who otherwise might not have the time or resources to get involved (people who work full-time and have families, etc.). However, since social media requires technology, the most marginalized individuals still are not given a voice. For example, in regard to the Peruvian mining topic we discussed last week, how are the local people in the villages to get involved when the access to technology is rare and expensive? Additionally, a criticism of social media activism does not engage people like traditional methods of activism. A worry is that people will sign a petition based on the information presented and not really investigate the issue afterward. How might organization keep individuals engaged in the cause? One method I saw after signing a petition (which was to ask Clinton to confront Uzbekistan about the forced sterilization of women) was to create a “text from Hilary” ad and share with friends on Facebook and Tumblr. I thought this was a creative way for individuals to use comedy and individualism to attract more attention as well as be thoughtful about he issue at hand. Have you seen any other creative methods that activist groups use to keep individuals engaged?

"Why Arab Women Still Have No Voice"

Here is something that is related to the theme of next week's class: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2012/04/201242111373249723.html

This 25-minute video was uploaded today on the Al Jazeera English site. It is a conversation with Amal al-Malki, a Qatari writer, and it addresses various women's issues in the wake of the Arab Spring. al-Malki says that, despite the strong participation of women in the revolts, it has in fact highlighted their "second-class citizenship" in the Arab world.

When asked if the reemergence of Political Islam in various Arab nations could hinder women's rights even more, al-Malki points out that it has nothing to do with Islam, and that unfortunately it is the "patriarchal interpretations of Islam" that were rendered into laws. She also addresses the stereotyping of Arab women, and women in general, and talks about the superiority complex that western women often have towards Arab women.

It is no secret that women from other parts of the world view their Arab counterparts as repressed and even backward. I think that it is essential to refrain from judgement when learning about other cultures, instead of judging something that we do not/have not attempted to fully understand.

ALEC

Hi all! Saw this on a blog this morning and thought I'd share as it's about the ALEC group that Sajay was talking about during the Occupy talk from yesterday's class...

http://gawker.com/5902858/what-you-need-to-know-about-alec-the-creepy-right+wing-group-behind-stand-your-ground

Lets talk about sex

This article from the NY Times, "On Campus, Opening Up Conversations About Sex", covers the Sex Week at Harvard, where young people were informing their peers on different contraception methods, as well as medical equipment used for different exams (a gynecologist’s speculum for Pap smears for example). Two issues caught my attention. The sexual conversations were not only on healthy sexual life, as in the use of condoms, or sexual violence. They also included equally important issues such as sexual pleasure and fulfillment, and being able to live in a “judgment-free atmosphere that embraces all lifestyles”. I think that especially when talking with young women about sexual rights and sexuality, it is important to highlight the right to pleasure. I have worked on these issues with college students before, and some young women are surprised, and repeat to themselves, “yes, I have a right to enjoy my sexuality!”. The other aspect that was interesting in the article is how some colleges, like Yale, removed the name of the university from the “Sex Week” title, because of “administration pushback”. In many colleges, there has been opposition to sex weeks, “don’t like the idea of university resources being used to promote sexual activity. Others think the events promote an irresponsible, pleasure-first approach to sex”. I think people are having sex, with or without information about it, so why not promote access to information and thus empowerment to be able to choose? I would relate this article to gender roles, globalization and sexuality issues, and reflection on how to change structures at different levels of our societies and in the spaces we move.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/science/college-students-opening-up-conversations-about-sex.html?_r=1

One situation, One Resistance

On October 27th, 2009 a referendum (consulta popular in Spanish) was held in 71 communities of Cunen, Quiché, Guatemala. The objective was to ask the community members if they wanted exploration and mining in their territory and lands. I was there as an observer, and I went to one of the 71 communities to be present during the whole process, Río Blanco. The voting was held in one of the community school’s classrooms. Men and women of all ages, including children, assisted. There was an informational session on what mining companies had an interest in exploring the lands, and some stories were shared of what mining has provoked in other neighbor communities. The voting process was then explained, where people would raise their hands to vote, and then sign a petition. Finally, the main facilitator of the discussion posed the question: do you want mining in your communities, your lands? All the community members that were present held their hands, and almost in unison said “No!”. All the collected signatures (or finger prints for people that cannot write) were taken to the capital city, to the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Congress, to inform and share the results. To advocate for indigenous rights over their land, reinforcing and linking it to ILO Convention 69, specifically to indigenous and tribal people’s rights over their ancestral lands and natural resources”. Today, mining is still a controversial issue in the country, and sadly, the balance seems to be weighing more towards the powerful mining companies.

You can see more pictures here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6gvygmjZ0

Bridging the Divide (not dividing the bridge)

I have been spending a significant amount of my time thinking about the NSA panel we had on Wednesday. Let me first say this: I support First Nations and their agendas. What has happened in the past is horrific and what continues to happen is despicable. I hate it, and if I could wake up tomorrow and be a European, I would. (God knows Germany has the lowest unemployment rates seen in the last 10 years.) Now, I don't pretend to be an expert on Indian Affairs, but I did live on the Flathead Indian Reservation and spent many a long night writing feature stories that highlighted the successes of our reservation as well as overarching problems, systemic in nature and prevalent on reservations across the U.S. I covered powwows, correctly referring to the garments the tribal members (tribal is the preferred term for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) wore as regalia. I covered tribal education, tribal health, tribal programs that supported the elderly, the tribes' stance on medical marijuana and even new businesses sponsored by the tribes. I worked with the CSKT, became friends with its members, and the photos and stories I wrote about Indian Education/health won awards in Montana — which I mention only to infer that Indian issues were important and the Indian face was not a forgotten one in the state.

The panel raised some interesting points and most of what was said, I agree with. However, I would caution the panel to be less divisive in their presentation. I want to stand with NSA, but if NSA points at my white skin and says that I'm the source of their problems - that I am the enemy - then I don't know where to stand. I didn't choose to be born into my body as a white person, descendent of settlers and colonists, as they didn't choose a member of a First Nation. Let's recognize that and move forward on a united front.


The Native Americans are not alone in their forced assimilation, constant reinforcement of negative stereotypes, victimization by the government, and reinforced poverty. Their particular history is unique, but their marginalization is not. There are bridges to be built and alliances to be made.

There's an excellent story in last week's Economist touching many Native American issues, including sovereignty. I will bring it to class if anyone would like to read it.

Also, here is the link to it on the article on the economist's website: http://www.economist.com/node/21552208

Gendercide and the West

http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/blog/gendercide-and-the-west

A friend of mine who's working in Bangalore recently posted this link to her Facebook page and I thought that it was worth sharing. I personally haven't seen the documentary, but from a quick perusal of the website, it appears that it would be a worthwhile watch. The one blog post that seemed especially relevant to our class was the one entitled, "Gendercide and the West" which picks up on the movie we watched a few weeks ago on gendercide in Mexico. While we often hear of sex-selective practices in China (due to their one child policy) and in India, it's less common to hear of these practices in the West.

I wonder how the social/cultural preference for boys can be overcome, of it that is even possible. Certainly there are educational programs with aims to do just that, but how much can such embedded practices really change, and in what time span are we expecting change? While these questions are largely abstract and theoretical from my single, childless, Western perspective they have very real implications for childbearing children all over the world, especially those in countries who are encouraging smaller family sizes.

"Your Vagina Isn’t Just Too Big, Too Floppy, and Too Hairy—It’s Also Too Brown."

Came across another article that is related to perceptions of beauty, and the disturbingly strong link between a woman's self-confidence & sense of worth, and her appearance.

Behold, yet another ridiculous fairness product that has been introduced in India:

http://jezebel.com/5900928/your-vagina-isnt-just-too-big-too-floppy-and-too-hairyits-also-too-brown

Dreaming of a Different World

This is a link in the Global Fund for Women website, with information on the advocacy efforts of Fundación CAUSANA in Ecuador, to eliminate the lesbian torture clinics. It describes part of the stigmatization and violence lesbian, bisexual and transgender women face in this country, and how these clinics are found in different parts of the country. It also describes the massive response the foundation had when they launched petitions on Change.org, CREDO, and All Out, demanding these clinics to be closed and for further investigation on the crimes committed against women there. This relates to the presentation Mr. García gave on the different issues the LGBTQIA communities face, and the different efforts to advocate for justice and for actions at the state level. It also relates to some of the tools globalization has opened up that are readily available to work towards equality: information and communication using technology in order to inform, advocate and press for change on issues that are important at local and global levels. Although some of the clinics have been shut down, there are many more to be closed. Local, national and global efforts must continue to bring justice to the women who were assaulted and raped, and also to avoid the reopening of these clinics.

http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/impact/success-stories/62-general/1986-dreaming-of-a-different-world?utm_source=housefile&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email

Women Vs Woman: The Stay-At-Home Mom Debate

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0412/Obama-defends-Ann-Romney-after-Democratic-consultant-s-comment/(page)/2

I saw this article a few days ago and found it interesting because it was a woman who made the statement against Ann Romney. I find this issue to be a pervasive one in a culture of woman who are struggling with the private and public decisions involved with raising children and having a career.

            Democratic consultant Hilary Rosen made a comment about Ann Romney having “never worked a day in her life” is a comment I find that is often found in the public sphere, interestingly enough, mainly by women against other women. There is a sense that women themselves struggle with the decision and make comments one way or the other rather than men discrediting the decision to be a stay-at-home mother and raise children. Here lies an interesting paradigm, because instead of trying to change gender roles and suppose that a man might stay at home and raise children, politicians and particularly women in positions of political clout, are lashing out at other woman for personal decisions.

This is an interesting argument and one that I would be eager to discuss in class. This also reminded me of the Carla Rice article, just because there seems to be a multitude of things that women are supposed to be, as projected upon them by pop culture, by men, and by themselves. This includes being beautiful, attractive, intelligent, and with those comes both the idea of being a female worker and the idea of being a mother. These two ideas are in contrast sometimes, and it is women themselves who bear the brunt of such projections by their peers and fellow women. 

Made Visible : Women, Children & Poverty in America

I saw is on PBS a few weeks ago and I thought It would be great for class. This video is about women and poverty in America. In this video is a panel of well known women who discuss some of the contradiction and myths of American poverty and the working poor.


http://video.pbs.org/video/2217743568/

Women and Drinking

Photo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/15/hillary-clinton-drinking-colombia_n_1426739.html.

This post is in response to a photo posted of Hilary Clinton drinking a beer in Cartagena, Colombia. This photo depicts Clinton in a Colombian bar, with a table of women, drinking a beer—nothing more. Why is this photo receiving attention by bloggers and news sources, such as the Huffington Post? The reason for the attention can be attributed to the patriarchal paradigm where, as stated by Marysia Zalewski in the Roundtable Discussion: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future in Gender and International Relations, that there is a “belief, historically supported philosophically, that women cannot make fully rational, reasonable, acceptable decisions. Because of this, there is pressure on women by society to follow the patriarchal construct where women rely on men in order make proper and “good” decisions. The photo depicts a woman, even though a world leader, participating in behavior that deviates from the patriarchal construct as well as a behavior that (if over done) impairs one’s judgment. Additionally, drinking beer, which is often considered a “masculine drink”, shows Clinton deviating from the gender constructs and therefore is reason for the public’s attention. Would a photo of Barak Obama or Mitt Romney drinking a beer attract the same sort of attention? Would a photo of one of them drinking a Cosmo attract similar attention?

Passing judgment on which oppression is "worse"

"A Collective Response to “To Be Anti-Racist Is To Be Feminist: The Hoodie and the Hijab Are Not Equals”
http://thefeministwire.com/2012/04/a-collective-response-to-to-be-anti-racist-is-to-be-feminist-the-hoodie-and-the-hijab-are-not-equals/#.T4rmg5nhDDd.email

This is an interesting debate about oppressions and how people from outside the affected groups "speak" for people within that group (in this case Muslim women).   The original article ("To be anti-racist is to to be feminist: The hoodie and the hijab are not equal") is strongly criticized by this collective because it "serves to assert white feminist privilege and power by producing a reductive understanding of racial and gendered violence and by denying Muslim women their agency." 

This is a very good point, and is often the issue raised with cultural relativism, which is a way of understanding the behavior and activities of a group (or individual) in terms of culture.  Debates over female genital mutilation, honor killings, violence against women deal with this issue when these practices are defended as "it's their culture."  But who within a cultural decides what are the norms and therefore say these practices are acceptable?  How often is this used as an excuse by those in power to perpetuate harmful practices against people with lesser power as "cultural"?

It is dangerous for others from outside to judge other cultures, but for example, women in cultures who practice FGM are now stepping forward and using a human rights framework to say it's not cultural, it's a violation of women's human rights as violence against women.  They have connected with the global feminist/women's movement to create strategies for change, which can only come from within and is a long and arduous process. 

"Drunk Indians" Stereotype Perpetuated

I have so much state pride that I’m embarrassed to post this, but after the panel last week, I think it’s really telling.

This photo- making fun of regional stereotypes in my home state – has been shared 1,613 times on facebook in the past 24 hours. A few of my friends had posted it and when I opened it and saw the “Drunk Indians” category I immediately cringed. Prior to watching Reel Injun and listening to the panel of American Indian students in class, I was naïve to how pervasive these offensive stereotypes really are. Before last week’s class, I honestly don’t know if the “Drunk Indians” category on this map would have even caught by attention. However, after listening to the plight of Amanda, Tessa, Simon, and Lance, I feel much more in tune to the discrimination and racism that they face and this map simply serves as yet another example of the fight they’re up against.

So many thoughts ran through my head as I listened to them speak: guilt for being naïve enough to link American Indians to casinos and large college scholarships; sympathy for the plight of their people and the additional pressure that they as young people face to keep their blood-line alive; and also a bit of jealousy for the pride they have in their heritage when I feel very little for my own. Although a short 90 minutes, the panel left a very deep impression.

Panama: Village of the Damned

This story explicitly mentions several points that were touched on in our class discussion this week. The Ngabe are Panama’s largest indigenous group, and “since the time of the conquistadors… have been pushed to the margins of the country.” Of course, this statement has dual meanings, because while the author is talking about land in this case, the same is true on social, cultural, and economic levels. In class we talked about indigenous peoples in the United States and in Guatemala that are now being forced by the government off of the same land that they were forced onto by the government. This is precisely what is happening in Panama. What was previously considered expendable wasteland is now fiercely coveted for its mineral wealth. The Ngabe, like most other groups in their position, has nowhere else to go. And beyond this, their land is a vital site for cultural preservation. Backlash against a violent crackdown on protestors has compelled the President to enter negotiations with the Ngabe. It seems increasingly unlikely, however, that the government is actually considering a compromise—an unlikelihood enhanced exponentially by the corporate interests behind the government’s position. Both sides say they will not back down, but this is not a fair fight, and the ongoing history of the Americas does not leave much room for hope.

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2012/03/20123208464402131.html

We want more Chocolate!

Delectable. Caffeinated. Healthy. Chocolate has become a major sweet-tooth saver in our day-to-day lives, according to The Wall Street Journal’s article, “Satisfying World’s Chocolate Fix.” The article discusses the projected surge in Chocolate demands, which are expected to increase by 25%, to about five million metric tons, by 2020.

We’re going to need a lot more cocoa trees.

Researchers, such as the agronomist Fredy Pinchi Pinchi, are on a search to find varieties of trees that will be stronger, bigger, and more able to meet the supply.

When chocolate first started booming in the 1970s and 80s, acres upon acres of rain forest were terminated to make room for cocoa farms, which now stretch about 18.3 million acres. Now that the chocolate market is about to boom again, hopefully more of the rainforest will not be sacrificed in order to make room for harvesting plots.

According to the article, more expansion [in the rainforest] isn’t an option due to “widespread opposition to further deforestation in the tropics—the only places cocoa can thrive.” I hope that this public pressure continues.

I think this scenario is a great example of the effects and dynamics of globalization. Chocolate is a commodity that has become a part of a major industry that profits from sales all over the world. Companies, such as Mars Inc., and Blommer Chocolate Co., depend on a very specific source in order to create their product—the cocoa tree. This tree flourishes in a particular region of the world—the rainforest. In order for the chocolate market to take-off, these corporations had to appropriate the only land that would produce their product—causing a huge environmental impact, and perhaps greatly affecting the lives of the indigenous peoples and locals of the area.

Moving forward, there are other questions to be asked. Who is working in the fields? Are those people treated fairly? Are the plants treated with chemicals that harm the water or the workers? Let’s not forget the effects of globalization on agriculture, environment, and the locals in Costa Rica, which we read about in the Thompson and Toro article.

Chocolate is such a huge consumer item in the U.S. now, and will continue to be, and I think that it is important to ask these questions. As this article says, the corporations are not planning on cutting down more rainforest because of opposition from the public to do so. This proves that citizens and consumers can and do make a difference in the decisions of these corporations.

Also, it is important to keep in mind the economic effects of the rising demand of chocolate.  According to commodities specialist Kona Haque, prices [of chocolate] will most likely rise 50% in the next 10 years. In order to meet the rising demand without raising prices, the chocolate companies would have to cut down more rainforest in order to have more cocoa trees (unless they find the superhuman cocoa bean that produces way more chocolate than the current trees are capable of). It would be horrible to cut down more rainforest in order to have these cocoa farms. So, the next time prices of chocolate go up, at least we’ll be offsetting the demands in order to save the rainforest.  

Barbie: I can be.... president

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2126292/Now-stand-feet-IN-HEELS-New-I-Want-To-Be-President-Barbie-step-forward-iconic-doll.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

I saw this news story on the television in the airport this weekend while waiting for my flight and thought it tied in with some of the topics discussed in our class last Wednesday. The original story I saw was not covered by the Daily Mail, but I thought that this particular coverage nicely illustrates some of the problematic issues affecting women in power and their representation in the media and popular culture more generally. According to the article, a presidential barbie has been released during every presidential election year since 1992. The 1992 version appears with a red, white and blue ball gown complete with tulle while the 2012 version dons a pink "power suit" with red white and blue trim and pink heels (as the title of the article points out). But, is updating her look from a ball gown to a power suit really empowering? I would argue, no... not really. While the intent is there, several obvious characteristics of the doll (and the media's representation of its symbolism) remain counter-productive. In a sense, the "out of the box" powerful position of this women becomes overwhelmed with very "inside the box" qualities. For example, the barbie running for election this year promises to "paint the white house pink" when she launches her "glam"paign (as some news sources have termed it). As this particular headline also suggests, "Now she can stand on her own two feet in heels," which to me means two things: that she couldn't "stand on her own two feet" before and adds the element of association of femininity with the color pink, high heels, glamour, etc which has become so normative when discussing gender representation in popular cultural texts/items.

Another interesting aspect of Mattel's marketing is the choice of races in which the doll is being manufactured. In 1992, the doll only came in "Caucasian" but now, it also comes in "African-American," "Hispanic," and "Asian (all of which, i think, look pretty much identical and still fit in the 'normative' ideals of beauty established in American society). But, what about those girls in America of other races that do not see a barbie like them running for the United States?

How do you see these problematic issues relating to the topics presented in Miss Representation? In what other ways might this barbie be representative of some of the inside/outside the box characteristics discussed in class? Do you think Barbie's progression from 1992-2012 represents a movement towards women empowerment and is a step in the right direction, or, do you think Mattel is still missing the mark? How might the media also be exacerbating the 'image' of this barbie and implicating certain messages about women in power?

Republicans, "Girls," and Sexual Freedom

Sex, women, societal expectations, relationships, class, inequality, privilege, capitalism… This commentary has it all! The idea here is that the sexual revolution is over—that is to say, sex has been undeniably and irrevocably revolutionized. But as with any revolution, the famous battle is but a starting point, and the real negotiations for power sites (be they legal, symbolic, cultural, or what have you) begin when the smoke clears the air. The author points out that other discriminatory expectations for women, such as those against pursuit of higher education and professional careers, have lost any credibility in mainstream American discourse. In the ongoing fight for women's liberation, sexuality might be, in some senses, the final frontier. The commentary acerbically poses the question and answer: “is sexual freedom good for women? ....In a world that always seems to need a woman problem of some sort, it’s as good as any, and more entertaining than most.” The sexual revolution introduced a new sexual space for women, but that space is still being shaped today. Taking some liberties on Marx, the author closes with the acute insight that "women make their own circumstances, but not under circumstances of their own making." Sometimes so few words can say so much. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/04/16/120416taco_talk_talbot

Mr. Gay World in Africa

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150299723/for-the-first-time-mr-gay-world-crowned-in-africa
This story caught my eye in light of the reports I read on the IGLHRC website about anti-gay discrimination in Liberia, Uganda, and Iran. Homophobia is certainly alive and well in the United States, but it is a different beast than those faced in many other parts of the world. This piece is contextualized by the disturbing stories about anti-gay activities and even legislation in Africa that have been peppering the news for a while now. It is at once upsetting in that it reinforces how far LGBTQ rights have to go on the continent and slightly encouraging in that it highlights progress—no matter how insufficient the advances might be. The competition was held in Africa (good), and yet only featured two Black African men (bad). However, that is two more Black African men than have participated in Mr. Gay World previously (good?). Still, the all too justified fear of the Ethiopian contestant for his physical safety in his country reminds us that we are not in a position to sit back and wait patiently for more change to come. As alluded to in the piece, Africa is not the only region where homosexuality is met with oppressive and often violent stigmatization.