Blogging While Female

Wow. This is fascinating.

Sexism, Strength and Dominance: Masculinity in Disney Films

It's not exactly groundbreaking subject matter - Disney's portrayals of masculinity warp boys just as much as their depictions of femininity warp girls - but the fact that it's the equivalent of an academic paper...on Youtube is fascinating. It allows the argument to really work on multiple levels: the ethos of facts and examples and the pathos of seeing these films that we grew up with. To me, the argument is greatly enhanced by showing Simba and Scar fight rather than just saying "The movie's climax is a brutal battle between Simba and his evil uncle."

That being said, I think there's some criticism that can rightfully be leveled at this piece, namely with the references to Beauty and the Beast. Does Gaston thinking the beast is weak and unmanly truly support the argument that Disney is teaching our boys to behave this way? Gaston is the bad guy, and clearly has been throughout; everyone that we are sympathetic to thinks he's an idiot. I always thought it was obvious that we shouldn't be like Gaston? And I'm sure that somewhere in Disney cartoons we get a good guy implying that one needs to be aggressive in order to be manly (Mulan, anyone? Or maybe there's something in Aladdin? Certainly Mufasa and Simba, in all their light color, muscular strength, are better than thin, dark Scar).

But shortcomings of the actual argument aside: I want to post academic work on Youtube! Appropriate mindless Web 2.0 (I don't even know what that phrase actually refers to, but I think Youtube is probably part of it) applications for something useful! VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

But I'm waiting for my boyfriend to get here. So what better way to occupy my time than getting suitably outraged over stupid stuff like Nintendo's latest attempt to cater to women.

Full disclosure: I'm not what one would normally consider a "gamer" (well, not with video games. I kick ass in D&D, however). I enjoy playing the occasional video game (Dead Rising was bad ass. And I really, really want to get a Wii so that I can play the Pirates of the Caribbean game. Sword fighting!) but for the most part my favorites are from back on the SNES. I don't care about graphics or even story lines all that much; I want something with high replay value that doesn't take 45 minutes just to learn which button makes you jump vs. super jump.

I also have a weakness for simulation and strategy games, but that's a whole other post.

But you want to know how you attract me, a border-line female gamer, to buy your system and games? Don't patronize me. Give me an engaging game that DOESN'T objectify my gender/sexual orientation/race (okay, not my race - Caucasian woman here). I can shoot aliens or zombies along with my guy friends - I just prefer to have a female avatar while I'm doing it. A female avatar that isn't Lara Croft.

And give me sim games. Nintendogs looks incredibly cute and fun (I had Catz on my computer in middle school). There's a cooking game that I wasted some time playing in Best Buy once. Puzzle games are always a hit.

Do not try to sell me a "video game" that doles out advice on "womanly manners."

Now creating a "game" that helps monitor actual health-related activities (hours of sleep, activity levels and water intake) could possibly be helpful to everyone. We all know about the obesity epidemic in this country (and how people are hoping that the increased activity required for the Wii, or games like Dance Dance Revolution will have an impact). I could definitely see a simple "game" being created and actually used by people to keep track of their daily activities. So many people keep their video game systems with them 24/7, this could be used to keep an electronic food journal, or calculate just how many calories were burned by taking the five flights of stairs up to class rather than hopping on the elevator.

Let's hope that this particular game doesn't make the jump from Japan to the US. We have enough body issues without a video game telling us to eat more ginger.

Seriously. That's apparently the name of a new show on NBC this fall.

From the article:
The series is about a 17-year-old call girl who worries that her flat chest will consign her to a life of poverty.

...

I have to admit, that when I first heard about Ugly Betty, I wasn't too excited. I haven't actually watched any of it, but it appears that my fears were unfounded and it is a surprisingly positive show.

From what I've read about the original Columbian version, there is no way to put a positive spin on this. 17 years old, a prostitute for drug traffickers, AND obsessed with getting breast implants. Oh, and according to the Wikipedia article, she actually gets the implants, becomes "disillusioned" and then kills herself.

What a message to young people everywhere.