Why do Women have all the Responsibility ?

The new vaccine Garadsil, is being marketed to prevent the spread of human papillomavirus. The makers of the vaccine stress the point that Gardasil protects women against two strains of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancers. In this light it has only been approved in the states for women 11-26. At first glance this makes sense. Looking further, however, it begs the question; don’t men get and transmit HPV as well? The answer is, yes. The rate of disease infection is not significantly different for men and women. Upwards of 80% of sexually active adults will have an HPV infection at some point in their lives. Why then hasn’t this drug been approved for use in males? It hasn’t been approved because research hasn’t been concluded to prove it would work for men and men don’t typically have major complications from HPV infection. There are two things to consider here. One would think that human physiology doesn’t change that much. Polio vaccines, for example weren’t being tested independently for boys and girls to satisfy a concern that it might not work for one sex. For that matter, many European countries do recommend the vaccine for both sexes, presumably because they didn’t discriminate their pool of research subjects. Secondly, whether men typically have further complications shouldn’t factor into the equation. The bigger issue here is that women wouldn’t be getting HPV at anywhere near the same rate if it were not for the men with whom the heterosexual women are being intimate passing it on to them. The responsibility for the sexual promiscuity is being placed squarely and unfairly into the laps of women. Again, this only reaffirms our culture’s premise that a man is allowed to—if not expected to—exert his masculinity through his sexuality at whatever cost.

Is there Equal Treatment?

Serena Williams acted completely inappropriately at the U.S. Open. I am not here to defend Serena's actions, but I want to discuss the media attention that Serena has had and the consequence for her actions.

During a match point at the U.S. Open the line judge called Serena on a foot fault, (the line judge made a bad call). I am not 100 percent positive on the exact quote, but rumors going around say Serena said” "If I could, I would take . . . this ball and . . . shove it down your throat." "I swear to God [bleep], I'm taking this ball and I'm shoving it your [bleep]." This was not her first blow up that day. Earlier in the match Serena smashed a racket and she was warned then as well. In tennis after your second warning a point is lost.

That is all fine, I can't help wondering had Serena been a man, would all this have happened? I understand society’s idea that what Serena said was not very lady like, however when you play in the hot sun for hours and hours, people's frustrations build up. Not only did it cost her match she is suspended for the rest of the year. Did the line judge feel threatened because Serena is a strong woman. Is this because of her or sex?

There is precedent for thinking a man might have gotten away with this. John McEnroe was famous for his abusive language, throwing rackets, and having temper tantrums on the court. During a 1979 match between John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase, a rule infraction, the chair umpire awarded a game to McEnroe. Serena also lost the game for rule infractions, but in the case of the men the fans made such a fuss that the referee overturned the penalty and replaced the umpire. In 1999 the line judges didn't typically feel threatened by Marat Safin and he's a 6'4" male who broke 48 tennis rackets that year in fits on the court. Also, Jimmy Connors in the 4th round match at the 1991 Open, exploded twice at the chair umpire. Connors was not assessed any penalty and went on to win the match. The crowd even cheered him on.

Serena Williams was booed. Serena Williams has been on the side of many bad calls. Can they be gender biased? There have been many male athletes who have done worse and said worse and have not been treated as severely. I do not agree with her actions or behavior but I'm also not convinced she is getting fair justice.

What's the Underlying Message?

Cover Girl Ad

Ellen's Poker Buddies

Ellen's wedding picture. ( Notice the Pants)

Lesbian celebrities can be seen advertising products ads; however, there is no lesbian content other than what is implied by their presence, an example of such ads, American Express ads, featuring Ellen DeGeneres. With one simple television commercial Ellen DeGeneres was able to break the lesbian stereotype about femininity and beauty. One stereotype is the words lesbians are called or referred to as "bull dykes" or "butch", these names are very masculine. The femme dyke" is practically indistinguishable from a straight woman, feminine clothes, hairstyles; dress, etc may be a little more conservative with make-up or at least less concerned with superficial appearance. A recently new term or "category" of "soft butch" or "hard femme" where the two former stereotypes converge into the type of person that is truly ambiguous about their sexuality unless you ask explicitly. Let's not forget the term 'lip stick "lesbian, these are women who put on make-up and were dresses, these women usually have more feminine attributes.

After carefully looking at the print ad of Ellen DeGeneres Simply ageless defining makeup, there is a man holding a pipe on the side. The first picture on the left there is what looks like a pipe. In the set of pictures on the website site for cover girl, the each picture is having some association with a male or masculinity. The first picture is a man’s hand, second picture has a man in the shot and the third picture in the group has Ellen doing pushups, Ellen is doing something masculine, and is also doing the male version of the push up. Ellen is not shy when it comes to her sexual preferences, she had a very public wedding about 2 years ago. I believe cover girl is trying to make Ellen fit more into a traditional society, a man and women. Having a man present in the photo and the male activity, it is also giving Ellen the presence that she is with a man. I think the push up shot is more about Ellen, it actually reminds me of the commercial many years ago, for secret deodorant, “strong enough for a man , but made for a women. As in the picture the audience can see Ellen is strong like a man, however she is a women and she is wearing makeup to prove that point. I think Ellen is easily draws both straight women because she's not threatening, and lesbians because they can identify whether they are butch or femme.

Why aren't women good enough ?

In American society sizist discrimination runs rampant. We are bombarded with media images of “perfect” people. Women being portrayed as attractive and desirable are nearly uniformly tiny-waisted with substantial breasts and blemish-free faces. Men, meanwhile, are generally encouraged to be tall, broad-shouldered, and fairly small-waisted. These images do not represent reality nor are many even healthy. In a similar vein as diet commercials are those ads for low-fat, low-calorie, or high-fiber foods, which when incorporated into a diet of moderation and other healthy food choices and exercise may help a person to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Almost invariably these ads are using women who are already slender by anyone’s account and implying they are watching their weight or trying to lose a few extra pounds. The climax of the commercial shows them proud to get back into a bikini, zip up their “skinny jeans”, or run their hands over a skin-tight dress. According to the National Institute for Health, adult’s Body Mass Index is in a healthy range if it falls between 18.5 and 25.9. For a 5’2’’ person, this correlates to 100-135 pounds. If it were against regulation to have an actress/actor in this type of commercial whose BMI was already under 26, viewers would gradually develop a realistic idea of what a healthy physique looks like.