Today in Political Theatre

Today in Tomfoolery

I often rail about higher education and how it disservices students and is really a business first and a place to get educated second.  I also know a thing or two about publicity stunts.  My belief is that some undergraduate degrees are useless largely because they require advanced study to be applicable in a line of work.  So, along come this guy who graduated from Purdue with a degree in Science (one of those degrees that often requires advanced study to be applicable) and chooses to try to sell said degree on ebay.  While this attempt could be construed as innovative, it also has the possibility to make future employers stay away.  Here's a guy who is so dissatisfied with something that is his fault (and perhaps the economy/job market), not Purdue's who believes that his degree is completely worthless and takes to the Internet to try to publicize that.  The link could be made that he might do that to an employer when things don't go his way. I'm just saying...

Why Asking "Why Can't 'Successful' Black Women Find Good Men?" is a Stupid Question

Why can't "successful" black women find a "good" man? It seems to be a controversial and thought-provoking question on the surface. But when examined more closely, it's a question that is bound up in heteronormative, reproductionist and sanguinuptial notions about men and women and family.  First, it is heteronormative in that it assumes that the role of women (and men) is to couple through the bonds of the socially constructed institution of marriage.  It also presupposes that women want or need to be married.  As if there is something wrong with women who either chose not or are not "honored" with having a man ask them to be married.  The whole premise assumes that for these black women, there is a problem because they can not find suitable mates.  And while it may be true that some women bemoan the unavailability of "good" men (often anecdotally blaming gay men and incarcerated black men), there are other women who are financially secure, have fantastic friends and as such, don't worry about finding a "good" man.

A Woman's Worth

I am one who believes in the power of media to socialize us, particularly children.  So, when I saw this "cartoon" I first laughed and then was taken aback at how true it rings. It's interesting to think that most (if not all) of the Disney classics featuring female lead characters are about the pursuit of a man. And while it'd be foolish to think that children (and specifically girls) think about femaleness and marriage in these terms, they still internalize its messages and start to play those out in life. 

I think there could also be a correlation between some of these characters/cartoons and the way in which modern day weddings have become expensive spectacles that are removed from the initial intent of a marriage ceremony -- which is simply to join two people in a legally binding contract in front of family and friends.

So, the next time you sit your son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild or the kid you're babysitting down in front of a Disney film to keep them entertained for a couple of hours, think about the unintentional message they may be absorbing.  

Quote of the Day

"Oh, the gays are getting miffed! Don't tell us we're too gay or not or whatever. Oh lord, what is gay, anyway? Find me the line -- find me the defining line between gay and straight. Find me the defining line between male and female. There is no line. You cannot draw this line in the sand. Yes, there are plenty of people way over there who will never partake in anything straight and there are people way over there who will never partake in anything gay, but there's a whole lot of gray in the middle. Where's the line? Behind all of it is sexual insecurity. It's sexphobia."

-- Melissa Etheridge on the Newsweek "controversy" over Sean Hayes being "too gay" to play straight.

Where's the Rainbow?

I watched a documentary on LOGO called The Butch Factor on logo which purported to examine ideas (and ideals) about masculinity among gay men.  What struck me when watching was that the documentary presented a monolithic idea of masculinity, or to speak in the film's terms, butchness.  The masculine men played sports, participated in rodeos and were police officers while the less butch (read: feminine) representations were of men who had more artsy professions.

Is The Color of Beauty White?

A friend hipped me to this video and it is truly heartbreaking.  Apparently the color of beauty is still white (and will always be if we are to believe those people interviewed in the video. 

Before I am accused of being too Afrocentric, I am not advocating that the fashion industry is "blackened" just for the same of having black people on the runways and in the pages of mainstream fashion magazines. Rather, I am advocating at least an openness to representing blackness rather than having designers request "no black girls."  Particularly when they are willing to allow white models to don blackface or act as props to showcase white beauty.  Which recalls one of the quotes in the film that says people in the industry essentially want white girls dipped in chocolate.