Media Framing: Frank Ocean Coming Out

vimeo.com/53862095

(Embedding the clip isn't working, so just click and fullscreen it!)

from the collaberative efforts of

Keagan Vaughn, Alex Kirchner, Maggie Carter,

Whitney Scott, Sarah Hudon, and Kirstin Gent

video produced by

Kirstin Gent

The manly man

There have been many class periods were we discussed what media says it is to be a women and what it is to be a man. This blog post will focus almost entirely on how men are portrayed in the media. I personally believe that men in the media do not get nearly enough attention. People are always talking about how unfairly women are portrayed and how we are pressured into certain stereotypes. All of this is true, but I think it’s time to shed some light on how men are suffering through the same ordeals but are often overlooked. In one article the author pointed out that there are only two types of men in the media “manly men” and the “sissy men”. In class we talked about how in media men are either tough and stupid, or have way too many emotions and hit like girls. These unrealistic stereotypes don’t give the average man, who is kind of tough but still has some human decency, very much room to exist. Not only does the media not allow a man to have feelings without being a called a girl, there are very few overweight male stars in the media- this puts men under the exact same pressure that women face every day. There have been some progresses in the media in regards to men- such as the hit show glee portraying an openly gay character as the kicker on the football team, they are trying to merge the two types of men together. Even though there have been some improvements, men face just as much pressure from the media, and we need to learn to acknowledge it and stop it from happening. 

The fluidity of gender

One extremely important and personal topic that we discussed in this class is gender fluidity. I completely and totally believe that gender is fluid. As an active member of the LGBT community I can attest to this statement. I have many friends, and am acquainted with quite a few people who bend the social norms and stereotypes of each specific gender. I have friends who identify as male who were born female, and I know people who identify as female but were born male. I cannot name a single person in my life that fits entirely into either category. Another reason that I am positive that gender is fluid is the fact that there is no such thing as gender in the natural world. Everything that is “feminine” or “manly” is socially constructed. Because of this there is no way that it cannot be fluid. If we were to look at the enormous amounts of culture in the world, we will see that boy and girl are not the only two genders out there. They just happen to be the ones that our society created and enforced. There are cultures out there that recognize way more genders than just our two. I read an article online a few weeks ago that said that the Australian human rights commission recognized TWENTY THREE genders. If that doesn’t prove that gender is fluid, I don’t know what does. There are many people in my life who have altered the way they act, and dress, and even which gender they identify with over the years. So yes, I do believe that gender is entirely fluid, and forcing people into “boy” or “girl” is really close minded of our society. 

Girls in sports

A few sessions ago we discussed the increase of women in sports and how they are portrayed in sports related media. In our discussion we took a look at how women in early years of sports were viewed as too “delicate” and “fragile” to participate in any sports. Now these weren't just aggressive sports, these include running or bicycling for fear they would develop “bicycle face”. After women fought their way (which is ironic) to be allowed to play sports they are still viewed in the most feminine and sexualized way-if they are viewed at all. Which brings me to my next point; how little female sports are broadcast in the media.  You would be hard pressed to find even a third of the amount of people who follow men’s sports religiously who follow women’s sports as closely. When we do see women in sports in the limelight they are highly sexualized. For example, women who played basketball back in the early days were forced to play in dresses which impeded their playing. Now, the acceptable dress for tennis is a really short skirt. These could very easily by swapped out for shorts. In the Olympics the women playing beach volleyball were dressed in nothing but a little bikini.  Women who are well known for playing sports are often taken out of the uniform and put on the cover of magazines wearing revealing dresses and make up to make sure that even though the play “manly” sports, they are still delicate and fragile. Some examples of these are Gabby Douglas, Semenya Caster, and Serena Williams. Although we have made significant steps for equality in sports between men and women, we clearly have a long way to go yet.  

Ellen, too funny?

A few class periods ago we discussed the topic of Ellen Degeneres, and the way in which she decided to come out of the closet as a lesbian. There was some concern that the manner by which she exposed that aspect about herself was inappropriate because she used humor instead of making it a serious event. There were a number of classmates who were put off by this because they felt that it was making fun of the entire process, and could be seen as a type of slight to the homosexual community who might feel as though she was making light out of a situation that can be quite daunting to some. However, I disagree with this view on her coming out story. I believe that Ellen used humor to come out because that was just how Ellen is. Not once did she say that what she was doing was in anyway easy. In fact, she mentioned more than one time that it was really hard for her to decide to do, and that she was afraid of how people would react. I believe that she employed the use of humor because that is what she is comfortable with. Not only do I think it was right for her to use humor because she was used to it, but by making it funny she also gave people who were not so comfortable with the idea of homosexuality an avenue to which they could relate. Every single person who comes out does it in a different way, and has different reactions. It is probably never an easy thing to do for anyone with that fear of being rejected for a part of them they have no control over, but every person will do it how they feel most comfortable. The major concern was that Ellen make a joke out of coming out, but by saying that she did it wrong is belittling her coming out story. No one’s coming out story is wrong, they are all just different.

P!nk and my life (parasocial relationships)

I am going to go back a few class sessions and discuss my one true love-the main focus of my parasocial relationship, Alecia Beth Moore aka P!nk. Although it would be exceedingly easy for me to do the entire blog post about how much I love her, I will focus on how my parasocial relationship affects my every day life. Let me begin by saying that not a day goes by that I don't listen to at least one of her albums. The definition of a parasocial relationship as discussed in class is a one sided relationship with someone of higher social standing (such as a celebrity) where the focus of the relationship has no idea of your existence. The parasocial relationship can also be seen as a type of addiction, and in my case, this is certainly true. I am not ashamed to say that I am addicted to P!nk. I do plan  my life around her public schedule EX: when she does interviews (Especially with Ellen), when she has televised concerts, I buy magazines with her even mentioned on the cover, I recently spent over $100 on tickets to see her in MARCH! I bought her new album the moment it was released on iTunes, and then turned around the same day and bought the CD version. All of these instances may not seem to interrupt my daily life on their own; I do still have class to attend, work, and rugby. Although it would seem like my love for P!nk would get in the way of all of these required activities, I firmly believe that these required activities get in the way of my love for P!nk. I have unashamedly missed class, and skipped practice in order to see her on TV, or listen to her music. Last semester my friend Sarah (who is also in this class) and I were attempting to study for our finals, when we started listening to P!nk, watching her interviews, and looking up her music videos (all of which we have seen multiple times). We stayed up for 48 hours straight doing this. I practically failed my anatomy final that I had to take at the end of the 48 hours. The moral of this story is that we put P!nk before our studies, and I don't regret a single second of it. A major point in the definition of a parasocial relationship is that the person of focus has no idea that you exist, and the love you may feel for that person is unrequited. Although I am aware that this may be true right now, I think she just hasn't met me yet.