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.

Who is in control ?

 

In our society men have power. With few exceptions, men control the media, the financial sector, politics, religion and the ivory tower. Their power is pervasive.  It is not only exercised through corporate means, individual men exercise power in their relationships emotionally, financially, and physically.  Even more disturbing is that the scope of these corporate and individual powers extends to reproductive healthcare. The issues surrounding gender inequality in this realm of medicine are intimately entwined with the power of men.  Take for example medications designed to treat erectile dysfunction.  Medications such as Viagra are advertised on prime time television.  At any given time,  television networks consist of about 2600 channels and generate annual revenue of out 57 billion dollars.  While the actual television show being broadcast only contributes about 60 percent of networks’ revenue, advertising contributes about 45 percent.  With advertising contributing such a large percentage of networks’ revenue, maybe taking a look at what is advertised is important. These ads are targeted at men, usually portrayed as “average Joes” who are being chased by lusty women and present the inability of a man to get or maintain an erection as a disease. According to the Viagra website if a man even experiences occasional disruption to his sexual satisfaction, he should talk to his doctor. A woman’s decreased libido, however, is not recognized as a problem, let alone a disease. Since her pregnancy, my sister has been struggling with the issue of decreased libido. She has even made an effort to discuss her concerns with her doctor. After blood work showed no signs of hormonal imbalance, her doctor said there was not much she could do to help. She was even told—by a female doctor—that if she was having sex once a week she was “doing good” and still had unrealistic pre-motherhood expectations of sexual satisfaction and frequency.  She told her doctor that it may be ‘unrealistic,’ but her husband’s frequency of desire and her lack thereof was causing significant turmoil in their relationship.  She merely wanted to be treated like she had a legitimate medical concern. Her doctor went on to explain that while it may seem archaic, “sometimes you just need to find it in you somewhere because men tend to stray when their needs aren’t being met.” In the case of prescription medications, the research for these drugs has been funded prior to their approval by the FDA. This disparity in treatment is being fueled by the fact that overwhelmingly men are funding and conducting the research. Moreover, the idea that this disease needs to be treated for men by prescribing drugs perpetuates the notion and the cultural expectation that men need to “sow their seed.” Only in this context, not treating women who suffer decreased libido while naming a disease and funding research for men who suffer the same malady, would men assert that this inconsistency make sense.

Who Does Society Value More?

Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for up to 23 months for running a dogfighting operation. Chris Brown was sentenced to 1,400 hours in "labor-oriented service" for assaulting his girlfriend, Rihanna. Chris Brown will also be on probation for five years. What is wrong with our society, when a person hurts an animal and receives jail time,and another person beats up his girlfriend and gets community service? Women need to be valued more then than animals. Michael Vick also seemed to get twice the media attention for his dog fightting charges. The media allows this to happen .Women are treated as possessions and objects. This is clear in many music videos, especially rap, where women  can be seen being used as tables or sex objects. This sends a message to society that it is ok to treat women in a violent way.