Interviewed by Cherie

The minute I saw Melanie Klein’s photographs of students standing against a massive collage of models found in magazines, I wanted to know more about her work. As a Women Studies and Sociology lecturer in a Southern California College, Melanie Klein has been studying how the objectification of women in the media has a negative psychological, social, physical, and mental impact on the average woman. Covering the likes of Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears in her courses but also on her blog, Feminist Fatale, Melanie deconstructs media representations of women from a feminist perspective. In this interview she focuses on the dominant beauty paradigm in our celebrity-driven culture and explains what she means by the term “empower-tainment.”  She also tells us how reducing her own media consumption changed the way she looked at other women and gave her self-esteem a much-needed boost.

Can you share how you decided to create the project “What does a real woman look like?” with your students? What were their reactions to your idea?

I teach Women Studies and Sociology at Santa Monica College and this project came from a course I taught called “Women in Pop Culture” where we addressed representations of women in the media and discussed how a certain image of beauty affects women across class, weight, size etc.  We also discussed what George Gerbner of the Annenberg School of Communications called “cultivation” to explain how a media saturated environment impacts our perceptions, morals and values. Cultivation refers to the endless stream of repetitive images manufactured by the media. Millions of images that we view over our lifetime carry the exact same body idea and so we decided to cut out hundreds of them, paste them up on a wall and then take photos of the women against the collage to underscore the juxtaposition. The students were really moved by it and standing against this collage elicited a visceral and emotional response that illustrated how daunting and depressing these images can be.

Do you encourage men to join your class discussions and be featured as writers on your website?

It is interesting because while I encourage men joining my women studies courses and am happy to have men offering guest posts on my site, Feminist Fatale, I very much appreciate female only space. There have to be some cultural spaces that we distinctly set aside for women and so I am torn about the inclusion of males on blogs. I love some of the amazing men like David Dismore who is a regular contributor to Ms, Byron Hurt, and Michael Kimmel who make incredible additions to the movement. However women’s voices are underrepresented in mass media and blogs are a way to self publish and get the word out.  I don’t know if Feminist Fatale would feature a male blogger and I don’t know how I would react if I saw a permanent male blogger on some of the feminist sites that I read.

One of the focuses on your site is body image and how it is compromised in the media. You have covered celebrities such as Kim Kardashian who has used her body to express empowerment whether she is posing nude for Playboy or in an unretouched photo for Harper’s Bazaar and in an article for Ms. Magazine you refer to unretouched photos as “empower-tainment”; can you explain what you mean by this?

My post on the Kardashian family was a deconstruction of their interview with Nightline where they talked about the success of her sex tape and how almost immediately after, Kim did a photo shoot with Playboy. Kim’s mother Kris Jenner said she urged Kim to pose because all the iconic, beautiful well-respected women posed for Playboy. Well, when I actually looked up the list of who posed for Playboy I found women including Heidi Montag and Ashley Dupre so where are the iconic women? Kim Kardashian went on to say that it was an empowering feeling for her to show that she is not a stick figure and women with different types of bodies are beautiful. This idea of being empowered by taking off one’s clothes demonstrates that our culture has reduced female empowerment to being sexed up and naked. Girls and women have come to believe that objectifying ourselves and taking off our clothes equals empowerment? One of the most interesting things about Kim’s empowerment tweet when she posed nude and “unaltered” for Harper’s Bazaar is that while Kim Kardashian is not stick thin, she definitely does not represent most women out there. She is actually quite petite but because she has some curves, suddenly she represents change.

This reminds me of the current “plus size” trend that has been featured in a lot of magazines and ad campaigns.  The so-called “plus size” women are still photo shopped and while they may be a bit larger, they do not have an ounce of imperfection.

Absolutely, these plus size images in magazines are still manipulated via lighting and make-up to meet a certain aesthetic. Plus, these images are still rolled out with much fanfare and publicity and remain exceptions to the norm. I don’t want to dismiss them because there is a growing shift in consciousness but they won’t represent a revolution until they become expected and normative images.

Elle magazine’s editor-in-chief Robbie Myers recently said that women would not be happy if they saw images and representations of themselves in magazines because they want something to aspire to. What are your thoughts on this and do you agree?

I think the comment is misleading because it states that women want to aspire to these images they see in magazines. Who really wants that? The women or the advertisers who are trying to show them the next cool thing they can buy to make themselves look better. If women felt good about themselves then they would not be buying such (more…)

Interviewed by Cherie

A professor and early education specialist, Rose Pavlov is also the founder of the organization Ivy Child International (ICI) which uses cross-cultural positive psychology to help foster strong relationships between children and parents. Bridging the gap between academic research and the self-help movement, the organization will be traveling to Haiti this summer to provide earthquake relief and family consultations. In this interview, Rose explains the work that Ivy Child International does with children of immigrant families and shares her views on education in general and in community colleges in particular. As a mother of two, Rose discusses the importance of prioritizing her children’s needs as she juggles her multiple roles.

What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about teachers/professors?

The three misconceptions about educators I’ve discovered are physical, intellectual, and a challenge disparity.  The physical misconception is that professors are generally older and lack fashion sense. The intellectual misconception is that professors know everything.  Professors are not experts in everything, but perhaps viewed as experts in a particular field.  Part of what I love about teaching is being able to grow and learn from my students’ personal stories and life experiences.  Another misconception is that teachers that challenge their students want them to fail and do not have a vested interest in their success. On the contrary, I challenge my students to flourish and to be instrumental in their own personal and academic growth.

How are things different in the education system now from when you went to school?

I hail from a family of academics where learning flourished from every avenue of life. Be it at home, in the community, or even in the car, my family fostered active learning.  I am very fortunate to have been raised in a suburban neighborhood in Long Island and have the privilege of a private education with small classrooms that allowed for personalized attention and care.  My issues were time management, competing educational and leadership responsibilities and keeping my teachers and caregivers informed of the ongoing commitments and conflicts.  I had a solid support network and accessibility of resources and services at my fingertips.  Students now are faced with varying challenges and issues that I was never faced with.  There is a lower rate of parental engagement and involvement, larger classrooms with not enough support or aids, highly concerning budget cuts that yield a system unable to fully meet the needs of students – from academic to socio-emotional well being. All of this added to escalating peer pressures pushing kids towards unsafe and at times, illegal extra-curricular activities lead to more chaos and confusion.  Enrichment programs such as what I was engaged in as a young person are now being cut across the board.

What are the challenges of teaching in a community college system?

I have been fortunate to have the experience of teaching in the private and community sector.  Teaching in a community college, I have a wide spectrum of students, ranging from teen parents to great grandparents to refugees from war torn Liberia and Afghanistan all in a single classroom. Where else, other than a community college, could I get that experience?  Our students are often beating the odds, and their success is sometimes just being present in class. Each day that may be a struggle is still an accomplishment. They are these incredible soldiers with a wealth of life experiences, which makes their self-disclosure in the classroom all the more enriching.  One of the main challenges is that many harbor unresolved internal issues that they have carried over time.

Can you tell us more about the goal of your organization Ivy Child and the importance of “bridging the ivory tower to Main Street”?

Ivy Child International (ICI) offers cross-cultural positive psychological services to children, families, and communities worldwide.  ICI provides consultations, educational tools, assessments, and advocacy to help children reach their optimum potential.  The aim of ICI is to bridge the gap between academic research and the self-help movement using an individualized PPP (a positive psychological plan), which I have created to cater to the essence of each child we serve.  The purpose of the PPP is to create an action oriented plan of exercises and applications individuals can implement into their lives.  It builds on their assets and strengths to broaden and enhance their overall well being.

Do you think that children born in the US and raised in immigrant families need help bridging the gap between the two cultures they inhabit?

I am a first generation Indian American who married an immigrant from Russia. My parents and two older brothers emigrated from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to New York in the ‘70s after leaving India as a young family. My father came to St John’s University Queens Campus in NY to pursue his third graduate degree.  My parents had me soon after in 1979.  I was very fortunate that my parents were able to blend in and embrace positive elements of American culture while still upholding strong Indian ideals and values.  They instilled in my brothers and me a strong sense of identity and self.  I have a tremendous level of pride in who I am as an Indian-American.  I am multilingual, enjoy delicious cuisine and have a rich heritage of rituals, fashion, and festivals, which I prized sharing with my fellow schoolmates and teachers.

However I witnessed most of my peers and younger kids I knew struggling with this internal battle of cultures on many levels, which compromised their sense of individuality and self.  Coming also from (more…)

Contributed by Annamayra

Last week,  The Huffington Post published a list of 14 Funniest Sex Education Posters of All Time that are not only mystifying in their propaganda but also hilariously sexist (at least a few of them). And when we say hilarious, we mean “Say what?? Why don’t you just tattoo ‘whore’ on my forehead?” funny – as in, “we can’t believe that these posters actually passed for sexual education instead of what they really are – misinforming advertisements that further push women to the bottom of the totem pole.”  Look at our favorite picks and see if you agree.

What the poster is trying to say: Be safe. We know you want to have a good time when you have a couple of days off from saving the world, but listen, you let your inhibitions get the best of you and you just might end up with some horrible (curable, mind you) disease that will so cripple you, you won’t be able to fight the Axis Powers and win the honor of your fellow solider – and AMERICA!

What the poster is really saying: Women will destroy your life, even though syphilis and gonorrhea are totally treatable (yep, even back in the day when a tiny, insecure little man with a horrible mustache and superiority complex  was trying to beat the world into submission). You mess around with a woman, even one as innocent looking as this little red head over here, and you sacrifice your health and the safety of your fellow man. Yep.

What the poster is trying to say: Virginity is a virtue. Keep it locked up for the right man, otherwise your impurity will be the equivalent of killing 6 million innocent people.

What the poster is really saying: Listen, girl, you can’t make your own decision. I mean, yea, sure, you’re smart (yea, right) and all that, and sure, it’s your body, so you get to choose whether or not you are ready to give it up, but, guess what? You’re not and can’t, because even if you’re making a completely rational decision to give up your virginity to the person you love sans ring or that really hot greaser with the dreamy blue eyes, we’ll look at you as someone who joined the Nazis.

What the poster is trying to say: “Loose women” may carry diseases that you aren’t aware of, so be safe and run away. Go for the nice church-going gal that lives across the street. She’s swell.

What the poster is really saying: “Loose women” are the equivalent of…a LOADED GUN! They will kill you. Their supple breasts, round bottoms and curvy hips are pregnant with an uncountable amount of bullets that will shoot into your body and take your life. And you know what those bullets represent? They represent the VD that we think the whore has (but we really don’t know. I mean, she’s hot so she has to have some disease, right) and will give you if you sleep with her! Seriously, the girl across the street is really swell. Like, really swell. Oh, wait, what? She’s that red head from the poster above? Never mind then. She’ll keep you from winning the war.

Bonus
Because there are a number of funny posters from the HuffPo list, here are a couple of others that made us laugh.

Contributed by Cherie

I first heard of Haleh Esfandiari when a friend told me about her memoir, My Prison, My Home: One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran in which she recounts how an innocent trip to visit her sick mother turned into a several month detention in a deadly Iranian prison. I could not believe that the Iranian government would lock up a sixty-seven year old academic who also happened to be a grandma with no real grounds or basis and so I had to learn more.  Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C, Esfandiari is an Iranian-American  specialist in Middle Eastern women’s issues and contemporary Iranian and Middle East conflict and politics. In 2007, Esfandiari was kidnapped at knife point, accused of treason, detained and held in solitary confinement in Iran’s infamous Evin Prison  for more than 100 days, between May 8 and August 21. The Iranian government accused Esfandiari of being a spy and conspiring to overthrow their regime. After several high-level interventions including the Wilson Center, American Islamic Congress, U.S. Representatives, senators, Nobel Prize winners, and then-presidential-candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Esfandiari was released on a $333,000 bail despite the fact that nothing was proven against her.

Watch the video interview below where she discusses why she was the perfect target in Iran’s eyes and click here for her interview with DoubleXX where she shares her daily routine in prison and her views on what she believes is in store for women’s rights in Iran.

Contributed by Annamarya

Phoebe Prince was a beautiful brunette with a full smile and sweet eyes. Late this past summer, she and her family immigrated to America from Fanore, a quaint seashore town in Clare, Ireland. They settled in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where their extended family lived. Prince attended South Hadley High School for few months before she committed suicide on January 14, 2010 – at the age of 15. And why did she take her own life? Because she couldn’t take being bullied anymore.

The “initially…relatively popular” Prince allegedly dated two boys two of her six tormentors (four girls and six boys) dated. These two brief, innocent flings angered the two girls and, deciding payback was the only appropriate response, put Prince through weeks of physical and emotional violence. On the day of her suicide, she was harassed in the school’s library and after school let out. While she walked home, one of the girls drove by, taunted her and hurled a can at her. Prince went inside her home and hung herself in the stairwell – dead by 4:55 pm. The six accused – 16-year-olds Ashley Longe, Flanner Mullins and Sharon Chanon Velzquez, 17-year-olds Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey, and 18-year-old Austin Renaud – were charged with felonies in connection to bullying that, prosecutors say, led to Prince’s death.

The saddest part about this story is that while a sickening one, it’s not uncommon. In May, 16-year-old Christian Taylor, and 11-year-olds Celina Rebecca Okwuone and Ty Field, committed suicide on separate occasions. So did 13-year-old Jon Carmichael in March. And 13-year-old Hope Witsell in 2009. And 12-year-old Maria Herrera in 2008. And 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2007. And 16-year-olds Kristina Arielle Calco and Jeffrey Scott Johnston in 2005, respectively. And 13-year-old Corinne Wilson in 2004. And 14-year-old Matthew Alexander Epling in 2002. And 14-year-old April Himes in 2000. And Jared Benjamin High in 1998. And countless other. All because they were viciously bullied. All because they felt the only way to end the bullying was to remove themselves from the equation.

What’s worse? It took Phoebe Prince’s death for Massachusetts lawmakers to sign Anti-Bullying legislation into law. And when did that happen? On May 3. Bullying is nothing new, so why did it take a suicide – one that could’ve been prevented if school staff didn’t ignore what was happening right under their noses – for lawmakers to take action in protecting students? (more…)

Interviewed by Cherie

Susan Douglas is Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan and author of “Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work Is Done,” among many other books.  A specialist on the representation of gender in the media, Susan also writes a monthly column, “Back Talk” for the progressive news magazine, In These Times. In this interview with The Daily Femme, she explains what makes “enlightened sexism” different from previous forms of sexism and shares her views on a range of topics including the mixed messages about women in the media, Palin’s brand of “pit bull feminism,” the recent rise of  Male Studies programs in colleges and universities and even Lady Gaga.

Your latest book, “Enlightened Sexism,” describes what you view as a new form of sexism.  Could you explain this concept?  How is sexism today different from what it used to be?

This new kind of common sense has emerged out of a set of mixed messages in the media. It acknowledges and even celebrates that women have achieved full equality, insisting in fact that they have. Because women have reached full equality, it is ok and even funny to resurrect sexist images of women. We have seen a resurgence of confining sexist images of women, for example an impossible body type that resembles a 12 year-old boy with Pamela Anderson’s boobs attached to it that women should aspire to. That in a nutshell is what “enlightened sexism” is. It is different from blatant sexism, which does not acknowledge at all that women are equal to men and instead sees them as second-class citizens. Enlightened sexism is much sneakier and does seem on the surface to be celebrating female equality, but it really is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is a message dedicated to keeping women, especially young women, in their place to ensure that feminism never be resurrected.

You also believe that mainstream culture has in a sense adopted or may be co-opted the message of feminism.  Can you explain this idea?

The media is not coherent and is filled with opposite messages that women have to navigate through. Some of these messages are progressive and some regressive. Feminism in the late 60s and 70s was very much outside of the mainstream media and society but things are very different now that feminism is no longer fighting to get in. Now we have the phenomenon, which I highlighted in the book known as “Embedded Feminism,” whereby there are many ways in which feminism is taken into account. For example, if you turn on your TV during the 9 or 10pm slot, women are law partners, district attorneys, surgeons, and chiefs of police.  These shows acknowledge women for actually having these positions in reality. I love watching them because they are proof that feminism has achieved some of its goals. However, back to the idea of mixed messages, these shows collide with those where “enlightened sexism” is at work, that is shows such as “The Bachelor” or “The Hills,” or a magazine such as Cosmopolitan. In these examples, we see young women as shallow, materialistic, obsessed with men and ready to get into a catfight at any minute.

What about shows where women are powerful but scary and even vicious? For example Glenn Close’s Patti Smith character in Damages, Jane Lynch playing Sue Sylvester on Glee, or Meryl Streep playing Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada?” Is this just replacing one stereotype with another?

This is a great example of sexism crossing lines with ageism, but you’re right that while we are getting more images of powerful women, these images are not necessarily flattering, in fact they are often stereotypical. One may say “Well who cares there are images of men like this as well,” but when powerful women are viewed as hated, unloved and feared on television and in film, that stereotype transfers onto reality even though there are powerful women that are not ruthless. For example comparing Hillary Clinton to Sarah Palin, the Chris Matthews and Glenn Becks of the World did not attack Palin in the way they did Clinton. That is because Sarah Palin is not a feminist and has a hyper feminine presentation. Yet, because Hillary Clinton is a feminist who cares a lot about women and children while being powerful, she was presented as something scary and brittle. This logic operates through ridiculous binary categories: if you are not going to be hyper feminine then your option is to be Rambo. I mean, are these our only choices? You can see this logic at work in magazines as well where the only options are to be either plus size or extremely thin.

Lady Gaga has been touted as a strong and powerful woman who is critical of sexism in the music industry and yet when asked if she was a feminist she responded by saying “I’m not a feminist – I, I hail men, I love men.” Why do you think even strong female celebrities do not want to associate themselves with feminism?

If she said that then that is too bad because she is then buying into the stereotype of what feminists are. All of my female friends are feminists and guess what, they like men; in fact, many of them married men. It really is hard to find a social movement that has done more than feminism for men and women. Because of its growth and success, many of my male friends are feminists. Yet these stereotypes, which have gotten a lot of traction in the media, reinforce the idea that we hate men. The idea that Lady Gaga repudiates feminism because she loves men is ridiculous.

Referring to Sarah Palin in one of your writings, you used the terms “pit bull feminism;” can you explain what you meant?

Well it of course comes from her lipstick joke of “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull,” where Palin invokes this image of the pit bull as this kind of tenacious aggressive personality. She takes advantage of all the benefits that feminism made possible–for example (more…)

As a theater teacher and director, Erica speaks about her (many) jobs working with youth to create performances including a Hip Hop Opera and explains why for her moving from a performance career to education was a choice she made out of  her passion for helping young people find their voices and not for stability. However, after a day filled with kids, she is torn on whether to have her own and would rather wait until she has to “cross that bridge” to make a decision.

Age: 26

Cities you have lived in: Tucson (AZ),  Boston (MA), Manalapan (NJ), Casco, (ME), Natchitoches (LA)

Cities you would like to live in: I’m really happy with Boston

Job: Main stage Theatre Director at Watertown Children’s Theatre; Page to Stage Director at Watertown Children’s Theatre; After School Theatre Director at Solomon Schechter Day School; and Acting Coach/Director for Codman Academy/Boston Modern Orchestra (project: creating a hip hop opera).

Knowing that acting can be a very trying profession in this respect, how important was/is stability in your life? Why did you choose to teach instead of just performing?

Performing was how I entered the world of theatre; however, I chose directing and education out of passion and not stability. Working with youth and helping them find their voice makes me feel like I am making a positive difference in the world. I “perform” every day for my casts who deserve my full attention, support, and guidance. Educators who are in it for stability are potentially doing a disservice to their students.

In your view, what’s the hardest thing about performing?

The hardest thing, for me, about performing is taking emotional risks with a character. Also, I think being present in the moment is extremely difficult when every move on stage has been carefully plotted out ahead of time.

As a performer, what is the longest time you have ever stayed in character?

When I performed the one-woman jazz musical that I wrote as my senior thesis project at Mount Holyoke College, I stayed in character for an hour and twenty minutes! My entire senior year revolved around Anita O’ Day (my character and real life jazz singer) and so staying in character was easy. I knew her inside and out.

While the average woman in America is 5 feet 4 inches and 142 pounds, it is common knowledge that actresses feel the pressure to be much thinner to the point of often being unhealthy. As a performer, does this affect you and as an educator, do you worry about how it affects your students?

Absolutely. The way women are marketed to makes me fear for the young girls of this country. Although I have learned to ignore the modern standards, adolescent girls are still trying to figure out what their bodies should look like and they turn to society for examples. Instead of looking to their mothers, teachers, and neighbors (real women!), they are looking through the air brushed pages of magazines. We as a society are presenting them with an Americanized ideal that is not realistic. This can traumatize young girls as they discover that their bodies don’t match the ones in the magazines.

What brought you to creating a hip-hop opera? Are there any hip-hop artists that you use for inspiration?

I was brought on board to create a brand new Hip Hop Opera with high school juniors at a charter school south of Boston. I will assist them as they write the script and lyrics and eventually serve as an acting coach and director. The wonderful thing about working with high school students is that they can really take the lead creatively. I help to focus their creative energy and supply feedback, encouragement, and critique.

My favorite kind of hip-hop music not only holds up a mirror to society, but also challenges that reality (like great theatre does). For example, when I heard “All Falls Down” by Kanye West, I really felt like a conversation about race and class privilege was taking place.

As a lesbian, do you think there are enough interesting plays that address gay/lesbian/transgender issues and does such theatre have audiences to keep it alive?

There are a lot of playwrights, theatre companies, and actors dedicated to producing incredible queer theatre. I interned in the Education Department of The Theater Offensive, a company that produces edgy and thought provoking queer theatre year round. The Theater Offensive has been around 25 years so there are definitely audiences seeing their important work!

After a day filled with working with kids, does that make you want to have some of your own or are you like enough is enough.

I am torn on the question of whether or not to have children. I want to dedicate my life to empowering youth through the arts and therefore, I know that children will always be a part of my life. At this point, I am open to the possibility of having kids and will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Are you happy with your career and life at this time?

Yes! I am so fortunate and thankful to work (many jobs!) in my career field. I remember thinking in college “I want to be a Freelance Theatre Artist!” and now I’m actually living that life. Granted, the hours are extremely strange and the workload is tremendous, but I wouldn’t trade my career for any other.