I Phone 4 - Reinvigorating the Male Gaze and Heteronormativity(as if they had gone anywhere)

*note the absence of posts. I'm a grad student. I'm busy.*
BEHOLD the IPhone 4: Videophone!





So... it's a video phone. What's wrong with that? It allows businessmen away on busy business lonely in bed to see their family back at home, mom taking care of two kids by herself; it allows grandparents to see their generically graduate daughter graduate from I-can't-tell-what-grade; it allows ahhhh.... it allows army men overseas in an unjust war situation see their "unborn child" while a hint of a tear wells up in one eye; it allows giiiiiiiirlfrieeeeends to see which outfit would be good to surely impress a boy; it allows Matt Damon to sign language, slightly off screen, to his girl friend (girlfriend? wife? who is that?) Oh the scenarios the IPhone 4 Videophone can allow one to take part in. My problem is not with the technology of the IPhone 4 videophonic feature, which I think is pretty cool (though I'd like Pee-Wee Herman's videophone better - just more fun looking). It's the commercials that reinvigorate the male gaze and heteronormativity as if straight, patriarchy-subscribing people were the only ones buying this product. I'll start with the heteronormativity to get that out of the way.

1) The businessman is always the one away on business. Does this reinforce the stereotype and therefore reinforce it in society's construct that men should travel for business because they don't take care of kids, but women should put their (potentially travel-worthy) careers on hold to mind the house and offspring? Or does it reflect the norms of society? What is the norm of society exactly? Is it really that more men travel? This is a chicken or egg argument as to which came first but I'd say more exposure to the opposite - a woman traveling for business and a man staying home with the kids - would open a lot of minds and do more good than this reinforced norm.

2) The army dude seeing his "unborn child" on the fetal monitor. Quick shot of the soon-to-be-mother (kudos that she's of a different race than white), literally mouthing the words "I love you" (or "Olive Juice" I can't tell which) since, ya know, the pregnant woman is often silenced. Now scan to the fetal monitor... a grey blob... a portrait of futurity... that unidentifiable blob seen through screen-on-screen action that has more of a voice than the woman in which it sponges.

Next is the male gaze, which is the original reason for this post. At first I had only seen the IPhone 4 commercials featuring a bashful teenager showcasing her new braces after video prompting from her young father. And several others in which the male was the one holding the IPhone 4 (as we know since not only does his in-shot masculine hand hold the product, but you also see his face on the bottom corner of his own phone - a feature the video phone boasts) and a woman is giggling or telling "big news" of an impending pregnancy as we are led to suspect. However, upon looking for these videos I found the gem embedded above that really captures all these patriarchal/male gaze/gender power dynamic/heteronormativity. The male gaze though really sticks out. Rarely in any commercials (if ever.. challenge me) do you see the woman holding the phone, the woman as the purveyor. The funny thing is too, that essentially, the woman is on the other side, also with the same product, her hand would be in shot, her face in the small screen, his in the big. Her receiving good news from her sharing partner, him giggling and excited, a mom at work keeping in touch with her newly-braced-face teenage boy coaxing a metallic smile out of him by doing something silly. Why don't we see that view? Why are the women being surveyed through the Almighty Big Hand holding the Big Product? Because whomever holds the product has the power? Both hold the product, but the male gaze upon the woman is more titillating. It's more normal. We would forget that the woman on the other end would have to own the same product and have her own view since it's so normal to see the man's point of view. His gaze. All talk that puts women to second-class status by the denigration of a person by another by calling that person a "girl" (as in, "you throw like a..", "you cry like a...", etc.), a "pussy", a "little bitch" and the like, is basically saying that being female is being at the shit end of the stick. And it is in some cases and in lots of subconscious and uber-conscious ways in America. But no one who wants to be enticed into buying something really expensive wants to see a woman enjoying it. They want to see the man, the more powerful, the gazer, the informed consumer, holding this newly purchased item which they are also deciding to buy. The male gaze is at the golden end of the stick.

Do I hate men? No. I hate masculinity as socially constructed. On a personal note, for my birthday I had a really fun vegetarian BBQ. As I looked around at my male friends, ravers, hippies, musicians, dancers, politicos, capoiera players, writers, freestylers, computer techs., mathematicians, poets, hula hoopers, poi spinners, do-gooders, artists, I noticed that every single one of them defy the convention of "maleness" and this is why I absolutely love them. They would probably all cry about something sad, they would all fall in love, they would all be amazing and active fathers, they would all share their feelings. What I'm saying is, we are in a place in this society to move beyond the convention of gender norms and gender binaries. We are more post-structuralist than we all think (if that's post-structurally possible). We already all defy these conventions of gender roles so why are we still being fed this crap subliminally into our subconscious through ads?! Why is this still the norm? Why is there a norm? The more we are fed this message, the more it seems acceptable. We need to transcend and redefine what is "masculine" and "feminine". We need to eradicate the male gaze and female consumption. None of us are objects, and all of us are human.

Adult Sink (Part II)

Pole Dance Hero is yet another new game featured on AdultSwim.com created by This Is Pop. I have to say, just looking at the name, I got all giddy and excited. I thought to my late-night T.V. watching self, “finally, a progressive game that takes an exotic dancer/superhero through awesome ass-kicking adventures!” That would be amazing right? What I failed to initially understand was that the “Hero” part in Pole Dance Hero is simply referring to its mechanical and instructional similarities to another game (Guitar Hero).

So here you go, you’re playing Pole Dance Hero, living out your “dream[s] of a promising career in exotic dancing”, if you’re a girl, or if you’re a boy, “enjoy[ing] a gentlemen's club experience in the comfort and privacy of your own home.” Queer people and willing lovers be damned! I don’t have a thing against exotic dancers. I really honestly don’t. But what irks me about this game is what happens when you miss a beat—the exotic dancer falls flat on her face. While this isn’t a main function of the game in general, Adult Swim advertises this feature on their commercial for the game as one of it’s alluring points; make a stripper fall on her face.

Here’s what a level looks like:


Notice the falls and the sound that comes from the audience when SHE—the nameless exotic dancer—does fall. It’s almost like a cheer! Am I hearing this right?! This also doesn’t seem like the most authentic “gentleman’s club” experience based on the moves performed by this dancer. Even most experienced exotic dancer would probably be sick to her stomach just being exposed to the amount of spins per second this computerized dancer executes.

Another point of contention is the cheers/jeers coming from the right side of the screen. They seem to be in a quote bubble, as if someone was shouting them at the exotic dancer. She is not only being controlled by you, the player, but being controlled off screen by what could only be assumed is her boss, the club manager. Or perhaps she’s being mocked by an overly critical audience member.

Whatever the case, this whole game is one big FAIL. It panders to the omnipresent male gaze, excludes willing and/or experimental partners, not to mention the queer populace, and like its aforementioned colleague (Zombie Hooker Nightmare) allows for the desensitization of violence against women who are prostitutes or exotic dancers. I repeat, whatever the case, this whole game is one big FAIL.

The cherry to the most ridiculously offensive sundae is the titles to the various songs in the background of Pole Dance Hero. They include such gems as: “Polegasm”, “STDeviant”, “Hard One”, and my personal favorite “Womb with a View”. While I certainly don’t doubt the titles to these songs, I have to admit that I found it on YouTube, so it may be the product of some 15 year old’s imagination as well.

First Post May Be Unappetizing: Quiznos

When one thinks of quality lunch meats, bread bowls, chunky soups, or “Sammies”, all thrown into a huge oven thereby warming it up toasting it, one thinks of Quiznos! One may also recall their crazy good deals like the crack-referenced two-for-five sale that’s currently running. But I—I go to Quiznos for the chance that the all-toasting oven on premises can stare at me, suggestively. Because you know, women love to be stared at. Don’t understand? Just watch:

Oh yeeeeah… that gritty-voiced male oven is totally hot—for YOU girl!!! He can’t help but stare at your *ahem* “choose two”. He may be talking about your breasts, since they are so totally noticeable in whatever shirt you’re wearing, but he may just be talking about your two ridiculously succulent menu choices. If you thought breasts, you obviously had your mind in the gutter and/or want it, you nasty girl!
Perhaps sarcasm isn’t my strong point but WTF?! Did anyone see this commercial and get immediately scheeved out? Yes, scheeved. If you’re reading my blog, get use to my Jersey accent in writing. It means more than grossed out. I was offended that I could hardly catch it the first time I saw it since they slip it in there in the way beginning of the commercial, well, you saw. You almost miss it altogether! Thank Goddess Quiznos is so insistent on running ads every ten minutes or else I wouldn’t have caught this gem. Anyway, what also bothered me was the poor woman in this commercial was made out to, um, like the attention from the perverted oven. File this one under “Girls Like the Attention” with its countless other ad friends, which I will be discussing in later blogs. Furthermore, Quiznos male-version of this very same ad is absolutely nothing like the horribly offensive female version. I’m not even going to post the video because it’s so totally neutral that it’s more like background noise. Basically the dude-oven just asks his friend to borrow $5.00, to which he is denied, so he himself can get some choose two.
So. This is a classic example of some of the ads that are out there that we all let slide by because they aren’t in-your-face offensive, but definitely are upon further examination. If we continue to allow these companies to market in this way, we are perpetuating stereotypes, sexism, misogyny and the idea that we are all apathetic consumers! As a graduate student on winter break, I took in a good deal of pop culture advertisement through TV, magazines, the internet, etc., and I have never been so disgusted with the marketing strategies employed by companies that are supposedly vying for our dollar! If we are the consumer, we tell THEM what we want. We have to tell them to stop insulting us! Contact Quiznos if you want. I don’t know if it will get through, but it’s worth a try. Be nice. Tell them to bring back those fuzzy potato things with the top hats and googley eyes! Or at the very least, get rid of the friggan pervy oven! It’s unnecessary. They can be more creative than that without insulting women.
Since this is my first blog post, welcome me! I have to say, this will NOT be a negative blog. I believe in karma and I want to put some funny out into the world. I’m sure you already know but we feminists are a rowdy and proud bunch and are often quite hilarious! I’ll try to use humor as a way of making these outrageously sexist ads more digestible, enabling you to swallow your rage and write the company or whatever action you want to take. I’ll also be featuring a weekly “Hell Yes” where kick ass feminist action is featured. So yeah… stay tuned! Oh and PS- I’ll try not to make all posts as long as this one.