Lesbian and Gay Memes: How do different groups view Lesbians and Gays?

Memes are very common in pop culture today.  Our own UCSB meme page has over nine thousand likes on Facebook and it has only been in existence for a few weeks.  I came across two memes regarding lgbtq issues that really captured my attention.  They are both in the popular “what I really do” format.  These memes show pictures of how others see what people in particular occupations or lifestyles do, along with what they actually do. 

First off, the gay meme was interesting because it portrayed gay men as Nate Berkus and Tim Gunn above the caption “what my friends think I do”, along with a picture of the musical group The Village People for “what society thinks I do.”  These are two very common stereotypes for gay men.  It makes it seem like gay men are easy to recognize, and as if you can point out every gay man because of their excellent taste or flamboyant way of dressing.  In the article Gay Bashing: A Rite of Passage, by Theo Van Der Meer, he points out that the gay men that are harassed the most are typically easy to identify as gay because of the way they present themselves and the only people you can trust are those that do not appear gay (Van Der Meer 2003 p.63).  This goes along with the assumption that all gay men are feminine or easily identifiable, when in reality they are not.  Another part I found attention-grabbing was the “what Rick Santorum thinks I do” portion of the meme because it shows what appears to be some sort of possibly evil or crazy gay couple.  Santorum is a politician with extremely conservative views, and he has famously compared homosexuality to “man on dog” sex, as well as comparing the love between gay couples to the love he has for his mother-in-law (TheWeek.com 2012).   It is safe to say he is not a big supporter of gay rights and this meme is making fun of this fact, portraying gay men as crazy. 

The lesbian meme was also very intriguing.  It portrayed lesbians on two extremes for different perspectives, from butch to feminine.  The “what men think we do” is probably the most entertaining one because it shows three women in bed together, clearly about to be involved in some sort of sexual relationship.  It reminded me of the article Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Experience by Adrienne Rich, where she points out women are used “as objects in male transactions” (Rich 1983 p.184).  This implies that men can only view a lesbian encounter as a way to please a man, not because two women have feelings for each other and want to do certain acts in private.  Another section I noticed on the lesbian meme was the “what social conservatives think we do” portion of the meme.  It portrayed a lesbian as a vampire zombie about to attack an innocent-looking woman.  This reminded me of the article Thinking Sex, by Gayle Rubin.  Erotic hysteria is when people are afraid of abnormal sexual behavior (Rubin 1993 p.4)  Those that are extremely conservative often fear homosexuals, and a picture of a lesbian as some sort of vampire monster is a great visual for that. 

At the end of the memes there is always a “what I really do” picture that often shows some sort of disappointing truth to the person’s life.  The gay meme presents the couple from the television series Modern Family, and the lesbian meme shows two women sitting together on the couch watching TV.  In these two memes, I find it great that this truth is that lesbians and gays are simply just normal.  They are not zombies, or porn stars, or famous TV personalities, but average everyday people. 

References

9 controversial Rick Santorum quotes . (2012, January 5). TheWeek.com. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from http://theweek.com/article/index/223041/9-controversial-rick-santorum-quotes

Rich, A. (2012). Cumpolsory Heterosexxuality and Lesbian Experience. Feminist Studies 80 Reader (p. 184). Santa Barbara: Alternative Digital Printing.

Rubin, G. (2012). Thinking Sex. Feminist Studies 80 Reader (p. 4). Santa Barbara: Alternative Digital Printing.

Der Meer, T. V. (2012). Gay Bashing- A Rite of Passage?. Feminist Studies 80 Reader (p. 63). Santa Barbara: Alternative Digital Printing.

Does It Get Better? (Blog Post #2)

During one of the sections we’ve had this quarter, Chloe played a small clip for us from a video on YouTube that is of a woman speaking out against the It Gets Better Project.  Her claim was that for a lot of people, it doesn’t get better, however you get stronger.  I was immediately intrigued by this argument for the simple fact that I’ve never heard anything like it before.  After being exposed to this video, I have to admit, as an openly gay and genderqueer person, I have often wondered, does it ever truly get better?  In this blog post, I seek to analyze the stance of the It Gets Better Project and ultimately, I hope to identify the groups it “gets better” for, along with those who are left behind.

In order to critique the It Gets Better Project, it is important to get an understanding of where the project started and what it is all about.  The project was founded in September of 2010, when columnist and author Dan Savage recorded a YouTube video with his partner Terry Miller.  The goal of the video was to inspire hope for young people facing harassment and was made in light of all the recent suicides by young teenage members of the LGBT community.  Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project has blown up and there have been hundreds upon hundreds of videos made by celebrities and others alike.

While the It Gets Better Project sends a good message to the youth, it’s important to pay close attention to the validity of their message, or more importantly, who the message actually applies to.  Application of the message can be found within the sources of the message itself, meaning Dan Savage and the other celebrities contributing to his project.  When looking on the It Gets Better Project’s website, the videos listed under most popular include celebrities such as Chris Koffer (Kurt from Glee), Adam Lambert and Dan Savage himself, just to name a few.  All of these people are alike in some very important ways, which the lesbian blogging website VelvetPark touches on in one of its posts saying, “But seriously, we all know it gets better a lot sooner if you are white, cisgendered, and middle class. And for a lot of us it stays pretty hard.”  Some of the other popular videos listed on the website include collaboration videos made by employees of Pixar, Google and Facebook.  These videos give us a much wider variety of voices to hear, however the majority of the people in these videos still remain white and middle to upper class.  

Another important category that is left out of this project for the most part is women.  Under the list of popular videos on the website, the only videos made by women are of Hillary Clinton, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman and Ciara/LaLa.  Not to mention, none of these women identify within the LGBT community, so how does that place them in a position to encourage queer youth that it actually gets better?  In the words of Adrienne Rich, there has been “virtual or total neglect of lesbian existence” and this isn’t a new concept (Rich, 32).  This project is similar to the books Rich refers to in her article in the sense that it “might have been more accurate, more powerful, more truly a force for change, had the author felt impelled to deal with lesbian existence as a reality and as a source of knowledge and power available to women” (Rich, 32).

The last point I want to touch on is the category of cisgendered versus trans people of the community.  Those who do not fall into the normative cisgendered placement of society face struggles unbeknownst to activists like Dan Savage.  Insight into the trans world can be found in Judith Halberstam’s article when she writes, “the spaces between genders... do not represent giddy zones of mobility and freedom but represent lives reconciled to gender queerness and bodies committed to making do with the essential discomforts of their embodiment” (Halberstam).  Members of the trans community may never find what many label as “home” in regards to their gender.  So if you’re not white, cisgendered, male or middle class, does it ever get better?

Bibliography

Rich, Adrienne. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” from Professions of Desire: Lesbian and Gay Studies in Literature. ed. George Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmerman. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995.

Halberstam, Judith. “Butch/FTM Border Wars and the Masculine Continuum” in Feminist Theory: A Reader. Edited by Wendy K. Kolmar, Frances Bartkowski. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2005.

Links to the media used:

http://velvetparkmedia.com/blogs/it-doesnt-get-better-you-get-stronger

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

Blog Post #2 - Polly Changala

Polly Changala          

FEM 80 – Blog Assignment #2

           

Juxtaposition of Americanization and Islamic Pop Culture

In the past several decades, the prevalence of homosexuality in Western Pop Culture has become a remarkably robust infiltrating factor of the increased prevalence of the ‘Americanization’ of the world. Prime time shows like “Modern Family” and “Glee” feature homosexual couples as part of the diverse norm of American culture. Yet while mainstream American television appears to be promoting diversity, its mass and ensuing culture has created backlash by more conservative communities. ‘Americanization’ has infiltrated all sectors of the world with a malignant force and traditional communities have fought to maintain their own cultures. A current trend in the emerging politically correct cultural is viewing such cultures that are seemingly intolerant of Americanization, in particular homosexuality, as “backwards.” This creates a black and white paradigm concerning Islamic views of homosexuality and Western Pop Culture, which Marwan Kraidy reveals to be an unfair assessment (Kraidy 2006). Using the articles by Jasbir Puar and Amit Rai as well as the notions put forth by Barbara Smith, (and the internet articles by Kraidy and Stop Radical Islam) this discourse hopes to provide a more multi-faceted look at Islamic cultural ideals and how First World backlash may be inhibiting the diverse realities of the subject.

Marwan Kraidy is an author and the director of the Arab Media Public Life or AMPLE at the American University in Washington, D.C. Kraidy claims that while a struggle for cultural retention exists and is prominently noted in the Middle East, emerging Islamic versions of Western trends are becoming more common (Kraidy 2006). Kraidy states that a new trend emerging called “Islamic Pop” is beginning to promote more mainstream Islamic ideals throughout the world (Kraidy 2006). Kraidy also stated that regions of the Middle East have begun to adopt Western-based game shows and essentially “Islam-ified” them (Kraidy 2006). Yet the detection of a more globalized culture is still not at hand in the Western world. Sentiments of Islam being associated with “terrorism,” “perverse sexuality” and “backwardsness” are promoted discourses in the western world according to Puar and Rai (Puar, Rai 2002). Western depictions of Islam and the Middle East are largely presented in vastly stereotypical ways as Puar and Rai indicated on the particular episode of the West Wing and Chloe Diamond-Lenow stated in her lecture describing an episode of South Park as epitomizing the distorted views of Islamic civility and sexuality (Puar, Rai 2002), (Diamond-Lenow, lecture 2/15/12).

Smith’s article helps to promote the ideals that numerous underlying discourses often surrounded and make issues of sexuality intricately disputed amongst various cultures and world regions (Smith). The many aspects of Islamic-ly-Westernized Pop Culture remain unknown to those who are only familiar with the one-sidedness of their cultures depictions of ‘other.’ In many ways, the globalization of Islam is largely ignored in the same way Smith asserts the homosexuality is the last issue on people’s minds  (Smith). This is partially due to America’s modern use of using the Arab or Muslim as a scapegoat. Just as Smith describes people’s ultimate fear of confronting (in that particular case) sexuality, so modern Western inhabitants fear the acceptance of the Arab/Muslim other on accounts of American’s misconstrued account of foreign customs (Smith).

America’s countering of the Islamic “backlash” at Americanization has become an unequal and marginalizing affair as well. The website radicalislam.org promotes American disquiet, mistrust and overall hate towards the Islamic other (Stop Radical Islam 2009).  The site states definitely that radical Islam is a “death sentence” to all homosexuals and its global presence should be enough for many to guard themselves against and it and vigilantly eradicate its presence (Stop Radical Islam 2009). The site reflects the intentions of the ‘docile patriots’ described by Puar and Rai, particularly in its link called ‘Western Values’ (Puar, Rai 2002). The site belittles the issues regarding the ultimate use of terrorism just as Rai and Puar state that the westernized view of terrorism has deduced it to a Freudian malfunction instead of a call for greater political action (Stop Radical Feminism 2009), (Puar, Rai 2002).

Clearly the eradication of either side is illogical and not prominent in our futures and therefore futile. The juxtaposition of two great modes of thought and regional empires, America Christianity and the Middle Eastern Islam appear to be battling the hopeful progress of some for the betterment and establishment of their own cultures and their cultures alone.

Bibliography

**Kraidy, Marwan M. "Islamic Popular Culture." Common Ground News Service. CGNews. Web. 18 Feb. 2006. <http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=3099>.

http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=3099&lan=en&sp=0

**"LGBT | Fighting Radical Islam." Stop Radical Islam. Clarion Fund Inc., 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. <http://www.radicalislam.org/threat/personal-threat/lgbt>.

http://www.radicalislam.org/threat/personal-threat/lgbt

**Diamond-Lenow, Chloe. "Orientalism." Fem 80 Lecture: Week 6, Lecture 2. Girvetz Hall. 15 Feb. 2012. Lecture.

 **Smith, Barbara. "Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?" FEM80: LGBTQ Reader. Ed. Henry Ablelove. New York & London: Routledge, 1993. Print.

**Rai, Amit S and Jasbir K. Puar. "Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism and the Production of Docile Patriots." FEM 80: LGBTQ Reader. 131-62. Print.

Proposition 8 Unconstitutional

Proposition 8 Officially Declared Unconstitutional

Polly Changala

Feminist Studies 80

            Today, February 7, 2012, the Supreme Court overturned the California gay marriage ban, deeming it unconstitutional (Shahid 2012). The nationwide reaction to this ruling has thus far been a triumphant rejoice for the homosexual community and advocates for human rights. The nature of the subject and its coverage by newsreels like the New York Daily News is demonstrating that the ruling and its effects have yet to become widespread and the next step for the LGBT community has not been decided (Shahid 2012). The Daily News outlines what has happened regarding the address without speculating on further actions. This ruling inspires the forward movements for human rights for homosexual Americans despite a history of oppression.

            The issue of gay rights has been neglected for centuries in the United States or deemed as a disease, sin or deviation from the “normal” society (D’Emilio 1983, 25-29). The misinterpretations and prejudices surrounding homosexuality have made forward motion for gay rights limited or non-existent. Therefore, the victory in this ruling represents a social change towards the population’s acceptance. The findings on homosexuality in the 20^th century often reflect how misconstrued and limited society’s ideals of sex were. Such delusions have been exacerbated throughout history by federal and state bodies that support anti-gay laws and legislation. Such examples include the Comstock Laws of the latter half of the 19^th century (Rubin 1993, 2).  These laws coupled homosexuality with lewdness, indecency and sin and therefore promoted and extended the misinformation regarding homosexuality.

            Historical, invisibility or rejection of homosexuality should not be a surprise according to radical authors like Gayle Rubin (Rubin 1993, 2). Rubin argues that the issue of sexuality is often handled depending on the political situation by stating that “sex is always political” (Rubin 1993, 2). The interpretation of sexuality and gender can be politically vital like the example stated by Professor Hernandez in lecture. Sexuality was used as an ulterior excuse for militaristic invasion in the Middle East by claiming that women were treated unequally due to the “backwardness” of Islamic culture (Hernandez, Lecture, 2/1/12). This is just one current example of the distinction of sexuality towards the ends of political gain. Such federal and widespread mandates have served to not only to limit further discussion of the issue of homosexuality but also forced many into an “effort to conceal what one so laboriously sought to uncover often exacted a heavy emotional toll” (D’Emilio 1983, 28).

            Under the historical circumstances of the treatment of homosexuality, days like today seem tremendous not only for the gay community but the betterment of disenfranchised groups globally. The treatment of this declaration is being handled carefully as oppressed groups are aware of the ability for politicians to misapprehend the success of liberty for some at the greater determent for others. The power in the media’s presentation of events has been felt by homosexuals in the past when the lack of airing the existence homosexual groups and the oppressions they suffered from caused the police and federal institutions to stunt the growth of homosexual liberties (Rubin 1993, 3).

            The situation presented by the New York Daily News, provides evidence for a greater change in the media’s interpretation of gay rights and the progress of civil liberties in general (Shahid, 2012). As stated by D’Emilio, in the past, “Largely invisible and still rudimentary, the gay subculture easily escaped detection” (1983, 29). This method suggests the current greater unity of the gay community through advanced methods of telecommunication. I believe that communication methods like the internet and cell phone messaging have greatly expanded communities of people who previously felt isolated. People are now able to find others like themselves in various places in their own community, nation and world making advancements for rights for various groups possible and officially probable.  

Bibliography

Shahid, Aliyah. "Prop. 8 ruled unconstitutional: What happens now?" nydailynews.com. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/

     prop-8-ruled-unconstitutional-article-1.1018624>.

Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider. 1993.

D’Emilio, John. "Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview" from Sexual Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940- 1970. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Hernandez, Ellie. "Fem Studies 80 Lecture: Wednesday, February 1, 2012." Girvetz Hall. 1 Feb. 2012. Lecture.

Out and Proud

Throughout past decades, the LGBT community has continued to change and develop in many different ways.  What it means to be “out” in today’s day and age is entirely different than what it meant to be “out” in the 1980s, let alone the 1950s and even before that.  The progress made by the community through many different social movements has been incredible, without a doubt, however it is not to be overlooked that these social movements have met many different obstacles along the way.  In this blog post, I will discuss one social movement in particular, known as InterPride, along with how this reflects the progression of community development and a recent struggle faced in the news, which was covered by Manya A. Brachear on the online source, the Chicago Tribune.

InterPride was originally founded in 1982 in Boston, MA as the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Pride Coordinators.  Their mission is to “promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride on an international level, to increase networking and communication among Pride Organizations and to encourage diverse communities to hold Pride events and to act as a source of education” (www.interpride.org).  InterPride serves as a voice for the LGBT community and their message is similar to Gayle Rubin’s in her article titled “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” which is that, “the time has come to think about sex” and in this case, sexuality (1993, 3).  Throughout her article, Rubin establishes the dichotomy between what is supposed to be “good” sex and what is seen as “bad” sex, homosexual sex falling into the latter of the two (1993, 13).  However, groups such as InterPride have made many strides to promote the idea that same-sex relations are far from “bad,” in any sense of the word.  

The Pride events, which are coordinated and encouraged by InterPride have undoubtedly created a strong feeling of pride within the LGBT community by organizing parades and festivals in cities all across the country.  This idea of “out and proud” has definitely been something that has been developing over the years, with the help of social groups such as InterPride.  Moreover, living an openly gay lifestyle is something that provides a great contrast to how the community used to be in prior times.  John D’Emilio touches on this idea of a transforming community in his piece “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview.”  In the past, the LGBT community was something that was cast into the shadows of society, first thought of as a horrible sin, then evolving into a medical disease, which needed to be diagnosed and treated (1983, 13).  InterPride presents the LGBT community in a positive light and is consistently taking steps to educate society, which is a notion that seems to be accepted more and more.

However, it important to mention that the LGBT community is still facing many different struggles in today’s society.  One of these struggles includes anti-gay figures in the public sphere, including Cardinal Francis George, who compared the Chicago Pride committee and the LGBT community to that of the Klu Klux Klan in an interview on Fox News on Christmas day when he was asked about the parade’s route interfering with morning services at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (Brachear 2012).  Brachear’s most recently published article in the Chicago Tribune outlines the Cardinal’s apology for what was seen as an incredibly offensive by most.  And while the apology appears to be sincere, it is needless to say that while the LGBT community continues to develop, there are still many obstacles to be met along the road.

Bibliography

D’Emilio, John. "Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview" from Sexual Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940- 1970. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Rubin, Gayle. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" from Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider. 1993.

Brachear, Manya. “Cardinal George apologizes for linking Pride Parade to KKK.” The Chicago Tribune 6 Jan 2012. Web, 6 Feb 2012.

Blog Description

Blog Description:


Our group will be primarily concerned with present LGBTQ Social Movements and Activism. We hope to explore current social and political climates of the gay community and its developing influence.