Cosmo At Any Age.

This shows a comparison of magazine covers of the same celebrity, from when they were teens to young women. All three of these women started their careers at an early age and over time have evolved into the types of women that appear on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Each magazine is aimed at a different age group, but they both share similar "articles" and topics that are discussed in the magazine. Both address body image and ways to "improve" the way you look. 'Girl Life' has articles titled "6 moves to a Hot Bod", "Get a Better Body Now", "New Year, New Body", all suggesting that young girls should change the way they look to emulate these teen celebrities they look up to. Cosmopolitan, while still offering tips to enhance women's appearances, now includes sexy tips. "Your Orgasm Guaranteed", "Sex He Craves", and "Your Best Sex Ever" are shown next to these young celebrities that girls look up to.

Both magazines show how women in modern society have become self-disciplining subjects through weight control and ornamenting the body.

-Louis Moreano

The Freak Show as a Safe Haven

One of the biggest dilemmas we come across when talking about the placement of "freak" in society is the position of the "freak" within the confines of the showcase. The freak-show is in part, successful because it co-opts, and allows for members of a marginalized group to be in favor of their own exploitation. This being because "freaks" (typically being people born with disabilities) find not only monetary opportunity in the showcase, but they also can find a sense of placement, community, refuge, and comfort. Members of the freak-show would typically have no real place within society to exist without being harassed, ridiculed, or even potentially being violently attacked.

While I don't believe ethically in support of showcasing "freaks," I do recognize that members of such an entourage do not really have a place within our society. This to me is the real heartbreak of the freak-show. Not that they shouldn't be showcased but that they have no real other viable options for living a traditional, relatively harassment free life.

Today we do preach tolerance more than we ever have before, and we've made strides in caring for individuals who don't fit our perfect image of normalcy. However, the reality still is that most "freaks" are members of a small minority on the outskirts of society. This minority is at often times still degraded, abused, and ridiculed. And while we have been relatively successful in a policy of tolerance and integration with these minority groups, we still socially discriminate, dominate, and belittle "freaks."


Jayson Castillo

Too much Pressure to Conform?

    I'd like to focus this post on society, and the pressures we face in every day life.  The concept of what makes a man or a woman attractive in todays society is based heavily on asthetic appearance. Examples of such pressures were talked about during class discussion.  Today's cover girls are altered by photoshop.  While it is true some of them are naturally beautiful, make up and doctored photos are extremely common these days.  This is also true with men's health magazines, so these societal pressures are abundant for both males and females.  Likewise, both are expected to live up to unreachable standards.  Even the articles in said magazines say how every man or woman has to strive to be a certain way.

      I don’t understand how they can put such a cruel trick of nature in that magazine, because it’s unrealistic for girls to live up to doctored image and equally ludacris to expect a magazine to tell you everything you need to know about your body or how it should be. Everyone is different. Every human being is unique. Women and men alike have different features that make them attractive to others, and they shouldn’t need a magazine or any form of media to tell them how to be themselves.

Just be yourself, the right people will come along.

So with this I ask you, do you feel like society pressures us too much to be a certain way? Is it healthy? If so to what extent should we try to conform to be the ideal man or woman?

"Freaks" and "Tattoo Artists"

The thing about this course that really interests me is the truly otherworldly differences between the societal norms of today and of the past. While in some ways we have hardly progressed, one thing that interested me was the "Tattoo Artists" in the Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann Portraits. Not to shed a negative light on any of the categories which are included in the drop box, but most of the categories are what we would typically still as a society gawk at when seen walking down the road, either inadvertently or advertantly. What is truly astounding to me is the presence of tattooed peoples in the categories of "Freaks". Freak Shows to us would not typically include tattooed persons, not even a heavily tattooed person. It is an interesting commentary on the societal norms between then and now that tattooing has so become a regular part of our society. This designation by a person so committed to document the "freakish" aspects of our society truly speaks to the progression of our society to this day. However, if one of us was to see someone with a severely shrunken head, who stood three foot tall as an adult, or was almost ten foot, we would truly stop and stare. Perhaps we can take a more critical look at the idea of a "freak" is and how we go about treating these people. Maybe in a few years none of these people will stand out either.

Response to Megan's "anti-feminine women as freaks"

I fully agree with Megan's post and love that she made the connection between anti-feminine women being considered freaks in our modern society. Women who may choose to not "primp" themselves by doing their hair and makeup, don't wear "girly" style clothes, and overall have more masculine features and tendencies are usually not as well received as traditionally feminine women. Strong, independent, and/or "tom boy" women are even sometimes questioned on their sexuality. It's really a shame that someone may portray their gender in a non-traditional way and it causes people to make questions about their personal life.

Some women who choose not to marry, choose to not have children, feminists, and lesbians are even considered freaks (or deviants) to some extent because they go against the "norm." People get threatened by this and don't know how to perceive them, therefore don't know how to treat them if these individuals don't fit neatly into a box or category. Our society is obsessed with everyone being labeled, and we very quickly decide who is the "other". This fear and ignorance causes people to ignore others, or even discriminate against them.

Although this isn't quite the same as the freaks in circus shows, it is definitely a form of deviance in our society. And similar to how circus freaks were pictured in ways to exaggerate their differences, I think many forms of media these days portray various women in stereotypical ways that can exaggerate the extremes. Feminists and lesbians are constantly being shown in stereotypical ways, and this can make people  assume things about others based on these portrayals. Various magazines and advertisements, like the Cosmo we saw in class, can reinforce these ideas by exaggerating what is considered "normal" for people to do. If women don't adhere to these practices of policing the body (eating healthy, working out, wearing makeup, smoothing hair, treating blemishes and wrinkles, etc.) they are not normal and therefore not as well liked. This can be very damaging and problematic for women and girls, as well as  for men who think that "normal" women have to act or look a certain way.

-Kayla Fraser

Families encouragement of the feminine image

Relating to the Bartky writing and the creation of the idealized feminine image in our society and how we learn these behaviors from our families. “ A women must learn the proper manipulation of a large number of devices- the blow dryer, styling brush, curling iron, hot curlers, wire curlers, eye-liner, lip liner, lipstick brush, eyelash curler, mascara brush…” Most women are relatively competent in using these tools. Bartky suggests that we learn these behaviors through the number of magazines we are exposed to, but what encourages us to be drawn to these magazines? Part of it is society and part of it is our families. I have very solid memories of watching my mother and seeing her use these tools, from watching her I felt a desire to learn how to use the products and somehow become more of a female this way. Also, I have experienced and have heard other’s stories of the aunt that comments on your appearance. “When are you going to start wearing make up?” sort of questions, that make you wonder if you need to know. Through the desire of seeing someone use these products and other family members making you feel you need to be, girls start to look for how to figure it out. Which leads them to fashion magazines and the many modification that are encouraged in the magazines.

Joan Welch

Body Image

With regards to the arguments made by Bartky, I thought about the Victoria Secret Fashion show as another example of how body image is portrayed.  The show suggests that women should look a particular way in order to be considered sexy or attractive to society. In reality though, these models don’t look like the photographs in real life; for TV and photos the models are photoshopped and smothered with makeup. It is all a fantasy that is unattainable and ultimately creates body issues and self-esteem problems in young girls and women. A lot of women watch this program even though they know it will make them feel pressure and bad about their own physical appearance because they are not as skinny or as pretty. This brings on self-esteem issues and false encouragement for younger girls. They may think that this is socially acceptable and that if they don’t look or dress in a certain way then they won’t be accepted. Men, I think, get this idea that all women should look like this and if they don’t they are looked down upon and not respected.

Dove started a campaign for real beauty which is shown in the second picture, depicting women of different shapes and sizes. The campaign is a way to announce the need for a wider definition of beauty. I don’t think physical appearance should be as important as it is in today’s society. Women used to be considered attractive if they were curvy and it is interesting how today that has changed. Women who are skinny are viewed as sexier and more desirable. What do you think caused this transition?  Incorporating different sized models is beneficial to society, so impressionable girls or boys are not subjected to the viewpoint of what a man or woman should look like.  We have grown as a society in which people can be unique and express themselves, so having different body types should be imposed in the media as well.

-emothersell

Comments to Chris Murray's post: "Freak or Beauty"

A freak is defined as one that is markedly unusual or abnormal or a person that has a physical oddity. This is a very interesting example that people may interpret differently. If one views these photos in today's world and relates it to the culture that these photos may stemming from, perhaps they wouldn't see this as "freakish" but those that have not been exposed to these types of changes that people make to themselves, perhaps it is considered freakish in another culture since they would never think about doing something like that to themselves. Branching off of that last idea, they've ever seen anything anything like that before, and this was an important point of the texts that we read. It is important to remember where we come from as an individual because we are always being judged by each other and this is no different than a person that is uncomfortable with how one looks. I agree with your post Chris in saying that this is beauty. If you look at a portrait of someone who may not look "normal" to the viewer can be amazed at the importance of that "abnormality" that is presented. I believe that society cannot remove judgments of others. However, if we are more educated on these "abnormalities" they become the "norm".

Darren Pope

Considering anti-feminine women as "freaks"

So this week we discussed femininity as an institution on tuesday and then on thursday we considered how the culture of "freaks" has developed. I started thinking about how a "culture of freaks" somewhat exists with ways in which women go against the norms of femininity. If women are not following standards and practices that adhere to norms about femininity, they then become deviants in our minds. Culture creates the idea of a freak just like it creates ideas about femininity and how it should be enacted by women.

So are women indeed meeting the definition of a "freak" if they are not adhering to the standards of femininity? It seems freaks need to meet the most extreme ideas of abnormality and are not just simply deviant in one or two ways. So maybe a radical feminist or the idea of a radical feminist that some people have may represent some kind of "freak of culture" in the way that they stand up against femininity. I may be making a far stretch in trying to connect these ideas, but I guess I'm just trying to point out how the idea of "freak" can be considered in different and more complex contexts. Today's culture has allowed room for many different kinds of freaks and therefore it is hard to differentiate what really fits in these definitions that Garland-Thomas and Bogdan provide us.

-Meghan Ras

Freak or Beauty?

What is a freak? According to Diane Arbus the word freak has become a metaphor for estrangement, alienation, marginality, the dark side of the human experience. I interpreted this as people consider freaks as people that are not normal. But I wanted to raise the question of what is normal. I’m sure most of us would think of normal as finding other people like yourself. Could normal or freak be a subjective word that changes its definition for each person that uses it? Consider for example the tribes of southern and central Africa. We have often seen pictures of these tribes where the people within the photograph have large plates inserted into their lips. Many of us asks ourselves why would these people do this and would consider them to be freaks. But that is not the case with the tribe’s people. Dr. David Livingstone the Scottish explore that explored parts of Africa once came across such people and asked the tribal chief why the women would do this. The chief’s response was this “For beauty, they are the only beautiful things women have.” (ezakwantu.com, African Lip Plugs- Lip Plates). So something we would consider being freakish or abnormal in completely normal in other cultures and actually seen as a thing of beauty.

Example of African Lip Plug

Quotation and images taken from

http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20Lip%20Plugs%20Lip%20Plate.htm

-Chris Murray

Comment of Lindsay’s Post About TV Shows

I agree with Lindsay on the idea that the TV shows she used as examples create an environment to flaunt experiences and situations that society finds intriguing because they aren’t seen as “normal.” These shows create a scene that most people don’t experience in everyday life so they feel the need to inform themselves of them by watching them. As these shows gain more and more viewers just based off curiosity what society is really doing is supporting the slight dehumanizing effect of the TV shows and the stars in them. As I myself sometimes do, and I’m sure many others do as well, we sit and criticize every aspect of these shows and pick out everything that is wrong, different to us, not normal, and interesting. We also classify some of the stars in these shows as stupid and unintelligent along with a list of other things. We do this because whatever has caught our attention about these shows we don’t find consistently normal and that is why we watch them and pick them apart. But as we degrade these shows and their actors we in a sense are only supporting them. The stars in these shows want to be seen as different, striking, intriguing, just simply not like the rest, because if they achieve this they know they are getting the whole worlds attention, and that’s all they want. Many people are starting to realize how to manipulate the television world, they come up with crazy ideas and put them forth because they know society will reject them. This is what gets these shows and their actors the publicity, the viewers, the fame, money, and all the attention they ever wanted. Although these stars are seen as outcasts it seems as if they get a sense of accomplishment and standing. As if they have finally made it to a place of higher standing just because they are on TV, but really the whole world is laughing at them most of the time. They act as if this doesn’t matter to them, and maybe it doesn’t, because they are famous and that’s what they care about. It seems as if it doesn’t matter what they are famous for they have just achieved that sense and go with it, and by watching these shows, in a way we support their lifestyles in which we often disagree with. 

A Note on Tattoos

As someone discussed in their presentation on freaks, I wanted to discuss into some of the modifications that were self-imposed but some people to give the appearance of freak-like. So for this short post, I wanted to discuss the taboo of tattoos. In these freak shows, tattoo-ed people have been presented as freaks for their modification of the body through ink. While tattoos have been around for centuries, and have served a multitude of purposes there still seems to be a clash on whether or not tattoos are generally accepted or a social taboo.

Although its unclear where tattoos originated specifically, there is evidence of tattoos found in preserved bodies mummies, or in a more famous example Otzi the Iceman. Tattoos were also common in non-western tribes. While they weren't mainstream in Western Civilization, they became introduced as western countries began to expand and explore. So for the sake of this post, I would like to discuss how the Western world views tattoos. After this introduction to ink, tattoos have become used for a multitude of reasons whether it before identification (ex. holocaust,) honor (ie. marine veteran,) rites of passage, symbolic, or even some cases cosmetic (permanently tattooing eyeshadow, lipstick, etc.) Of course tattoos have also been used as excessive decoration, like in freak shows. Also, tattoos are not prohibited by the Catholic Church, unless it defaces or defies God and His teachings.

But I would be interested to see peoples opinions on this. Do tattoos have a certain taboo about them even if they have have existed for thousands of years? What do you think causes these views? I know that there are still many examples of people covered head-to-toe with ink and also have been common amongst gang affiliation. Does this have anything to do with it being taboo?

Also, it should be noted that tattoos have been on the up-rise, with tattoos becoming more mainstream in America than in the past, especially amongst our current adolescent generation. But still it seems there is a stigma associated with it. (Example. You won't get a job, people will judge you, etc.)

It would be interesting to see what people's views are on this topic, especially if there are any classmates who have tattoos. I myself do not have any, but I have considered getting one as  there are some ideas I have thought of for their personal reason to me. Regardless, I thought this would be a good first post because of the increase in tattoos amongst our generation. Comment please!

-Jeff S.

Comment of Chad's post of Magazines

I do agree about the "attention" that these magazines are placing on the swim suit models and the "sexy" girl making pasta in cat ears. The intent that these magazines create is the opposite of the stereotypical person reading these magazines. (Let's assume college audience for discussion purposes) These magazines make people inclined to read into these things more. These magazines in my opinion are completely biased and outrageous to say the least. The sexy girl just makes you intrigued to see what other techniques that their "experts" give on how to spice things up. College guys crave the "stereotypical" model that appears in these magazines and women try to appear in the same way. I brought up a point in class that relates well to this post. I said that the media has a way of overreacting to certain topics brought up by someone and those that follow these media outlets, tend to follow their opinions. Both magazines most likely have a marketing team that looks into the psychology of their readers and those they are targeting, and they will try to appeal to them to get more readership.


Darren Pope

Tattoos

I think tattoos are an interesting subject with regards to the idea of freaks.  What society classifies as freakish can change over time as social norms alter.  Not too many years ago, I would classify tattoos as a freakish and an unusual part of society.  Today, they've become a part of common culture.  The consequences of getting a tattoo in the past brought about permanent scrutiny.  An elderly individual that had gotten a tattoo earlier in their life would be viewed differently.  Nowadays, tattoos have become so common that there are practically no social consequences to them.  I'm interested in seeing what the perception of tattoos will be in the future.

Ryan Chilelli

Response to Darren Pope's blog post

I agree with you, Darren, on how the Superbowl commercials (and commercials in general) target specific types of people to buy their product, or rather to "try" their products. The ads are mainly funny but at the same time can be viewed as racist, ethnically-hurtful, and discriminating against someone's faith/beliefs.

I do think the VW ad was not intended to be racist but to celebrate the Jamaicans' happy way of life and how they are easy-going people. I did find it funny how the Asian "turned" "Jamaican" and became happier after driving in the VW beetle.

The second ad is really funny but at the same time, it portrays this famous model as too greedy. I heard it took her either 50 or 86 takes to make that the "right" scene because she didn't like each outcome and that I bet she had to be paid a LOT of money to do that add with a "nerdy" guy.

~Chad S.

What magazine is better- men or women?

I wanted to focus my blog post on our lecture/artifact presented by Prof. Iovannone with the difference between men and women magazines. I liked the points how he made (and our class, too) about how many ads were in their for beauty "correction" products. I agree that there are too many ads in magazines nowadays. For example, my sister gets Cosmo and my mom gets Good HouseKeeping. In all honesty, I look at these magazines when I'm bored because of how ridiculous the magazines are. The stories are just so funny to read because they talk about/show alot of stuff people really don't care/think about until its addressed in a magazine. I mean I would never have guessed that a girl magazine would feature an story/ad with a sexy girl wearing cat ears while cooking spaghetti!

Also, men magazines feature the same thing but for men. My brother gets Sports Illustrated and that particular magazine displays articles for athletes and people who workout. One issue that always draws a lot of "attention" is the swimsuit issue. Now again, in all honesty, I can't wait for the swimsuit issue because of all the hot girls in them. But going back on topic, SI created this issue for their audience (man mainly), so they could look at something they enjoyed.

Overall, both magazines feature articles, stories, and ads that pertain to their audience. The magazines' companies won't feature an ad for lady products in a man's magazine because that is not their appropriate target audience to say-the-least.

~Chad Szymkowiak 

Cosmopolitan vs. GQ

I've decided to dive deeper into the topic we were talking about in class on Monday; women vs. men magazines. I decided to choose one magazine that is popular with men, GQ, and one for woman, Cosmopolitan. At first glance anyone can tell that Cosmopolitan is more eye catching because of the use of bright colors and the use of the word “sex” set in large, bold text. The GQ cover seems to depend more on the name of magazine and the face of the celebrity. This could be a connection to the idea that women are meant to be more dressed up or ornamented then men. When looking at the articles Cosmopolitan mentions sex three times. Also most of the articles seem to be encouraging women to change something about themselves such as “the sexy ass workout 2 weeks to tight cheeks”. When looking at GQ they don’t mention anything about the act of sex or body image. It has one article, which is in very small print, that states “A sexy peek at our favorite house bunny” which somewhat implies that men have the ownership over women. When looking at the celebrities, Megan Fox is wearing a short dress that exposes a lot of skin. Robert Pattinson on the other hand is in a suit and they only show from shoulders up. This is can imply that women rely on their bodies more to sell items, such as magazines, more than men. Personally I do buy Cosmopolitan, I do understand the draw to such things but I feel like as a society we need to teach women that magazines like that are meant for entertainment, not so much for serious guidance or a way to live your life. 

-Erica Nelson

Are YOU normal?

            It is common for people to point out differences among others; whether it is done consciously or subconsciously, we all do it. Our minds are molded to believe that normalcy equals sanity and anyone who deviates from what we are used to should be avoided, laughed at, looked down on, and put on display.  Usually the abnormal features that we notice are physical, something that the person can’t control. Our society is in some way survival of the most normal because in order to be successful and achieve a high social status, you must think, look, and behave in a professional and civilized manner. For example, if two people are applying for a teaching position and one has an eyebrow piercing and one does not, it is likely that the candidate without the piercing will be selected. The constant pressure to be normal and ideology that if you stray from the path, you are ‘weird’ and there is something wrong with you, has been apparent in our society for a long time. There are even websites, like http://isitnormal.com to confirm that your actions and behaviors are indeed common and ‘normal’. Who is to decide if your behaviors are normal or not? Shouldn’t you be the arbiter of that? Don’t we each have a different guideline to what we feel is normal and what isn’t? Why do people in our society have the authority to make decisions based on how normal a person is?  

The Learning Channel - The Freak Channel

Although American society claims that Freak Shows are bad and activists reiterate how they are an embarrassment to American history, Freak Shows are on television.  Although they may not exhibit the bearded lady or the world’s strongest man they still exhibit what we see as an American society as going against the ordinary.  One of the television shows that may seem innocent enough is 19 Kids and Counting.  The show depicts a family of a married man and wife with nineteen children.  Because of their religious beliefs they do not believe in the use of birth control.  Although many families across the country share this belief this program could be considered a modern day freak show because of the extremity at which the couple has taken their beliefs.  The public watches the show because they want to know how a family of twenty one people can function.  Some praise the parents in doing a good job of raising that many children while others claim they are exploiting their religious beliefs and their children.  I am not sure if the family makes any money from producing the television show but it is quite possible that they are which parallels the ‘freak’ exhibits of the 19^th and 20^th century, being put on display for financial gain.  Other shows that the channel produces include Little People Big World, Abby and Brittany, Addicted, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Sister Wives, and Toddlers & Tiaras.  Each one of these shows exhibit people that are not considered normal by societal standards.  Whether it be conjoined twins, addicts, prepubescent beauty queens and their moms, or polygamy we are all willing to watch how these people function.   Humans are naturally curious but how much of our time being ‘curious’ is really just us judging, criticizing, and creating our own social hierarchy?  Does watching other people on television justify our own questionable actions in day to day life?   
-Lindsay Rynders

Women in society

Everyday women in society are bombarded with ads, commercials, and even articles about how they should look, what they should wear, what they should eat, and even what exercises they should do to. It seems like society plays a huge role in the lives of women in our society. If you don’t dress, or look, or eat like society says you should, people begin to wonder what is wrong with you and judge you for being different. Also, if society is putting these expectations on the women, what message are they sending to the young teens and girls in society? Are we also telling them that in order to fit in they have to do all these things? What’s happening to the girls who don’t fit in? Or what about the women in society who refused to conform to what society wants?

By: Jessica McClean

A New Type of Freak

I originally conceived this discussion in response to another post on freaks. However, I realized my response was reaching the length of a post, and decided to expand on it here instead.

Both articles assigned on freaks primarily discussed freaks in a physical sense; people born with abnormalities, people who suffered disfiguring accidents, and even people who faked their "talent". Bogdan focuses on freak shows, an American institution that springs to mind immediately when someone mentions freaks. Garland-Thompson focused on the transformation of freaks from something to be gaped at in awe to a medical problem that deserved pity. She ends her article by saying that freak shows have grown completely out of style in modern society, relegated to the lowest, most base form of entertainment. While I'd never even considered if freak shows were still around, I quickly realized I'd never seen one advertised. So what happened to all the freaks?

When faced with the question of "Who is considered a freak in modern (American) society" I had to think for a minute or two. People with physical deformities were indeed not truly considered freaks anymore. Abnormal maybe, but as I said above they are treated more as medical cases. So who do Americans exclude and look down upon for a specific characteristic?

Eventually an article came to mind, one that I had read just a days before. In it, the lives of a house full of sex offenders were detailed. These people are completely shunned by society, forced to live in very specific, limited areas. They have limited job opportunities and face persecution on a daily basis. They are in various stages of recovery and normalization, but they all share one common characteristic: they want another shot. They want to be accepted by society and forgiven. They want to recover.

However, they are considered freaks by society. This is understandable, with the past crimes they have committed and media sensationalization of sex crimes. Their actions are unquestionably wrong and deserved to be punished. Their actions are often a result of faulty wiring, a mental deficiency or abnormality. Some do not want to recover and deserve to be locked away. However, some like the ones detailed in the article, realize this mental deficiency and recognize they need to work to control it and conform to societal standards. They aren't freaks, as society deems them, they are merely mentally ill. To completely recover, they need the support and trust of their communities to allow them to live normal lives. However, under present conditions this is a difficult feat to achieve.

Do you consider sex offenders to be freaks or mere criminals? Would you allow and trust a sex offender to live near you and your family? What other sect of people would you consider to be freaks today?

-Robert Ward

Superbowl Super Sexist and Super Racist?

The Superbowl is always known for its controversies. As a continuation of today’s discussions, the ads for one of the most watched programs in the history of television generate a lot of interest by the viewers. Companies try to develop ads to target certain demographics that watch the game and sometimes can be questioned by other demographics watching the commercials. While some of the ads are considered amusing to many, they also can be making people self-conscious about themselves like the women that Bartky related to when speaking about disciplines. Also, they can be controversial because they may mock another race or minority in the country. In the short amount of time that the ad airs on television, people don’t have time to analyze the intent of the ad.

The first video is the ad from Volkswagen which has a worker who is happy when everyone else is down. He is happy because he can drive around in a Volkswagen and not have to be stressed out about anything. Though it does give a positive vibe, it could be considered racist for mocking Jamaicans. The feedback from people has been on both sides considering it either racist (mocking Jamaican personalities), or a safe and friendly ad. What do you think this ad is? If it’s racist, what evidence from the ad is considered racist in your opinion?

The second video is from godaddy.com which was a very controversial ad when it aired. It features Bar Refaeli who is the “sexy” part of the website, with Jesse Heiman the “smart” part of the website kissing because they’re “perfect” for each other. What does this mean to women? It only implies that not only is Jesse/men are smart, and that women can only be sexy and nothing else. With all of the make-up, it also makes women re-think their own appearance and it is being broadcasted to millions of people with this image of being sexy. What problems could this present to viewers? Could this ad also be considered sexist?

What do you think?

*sources for videos*

Volkswagen- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8

Go Daddy- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTyxNTQTtk 

Darren Pope

Discussion of the business of "freak" shows

As it pertains to the readings for Thursday, it can be important to pick up the messages being discussed within the articles. However, picking up the real messages not being displayed can be even more enlightening then the ones that are. For the articles discussing the historical background of "freak" shows told a different story within its deeper message. I saw these articles as a discussion of how society went from curious observers to political activists who saw fit to call such amusement shows unfit for proper society to be invovled with. This brought me to think and place myself in the shoes of the working member of the "freak" show. How they must have thought of those same members of society on the surface were supposedly trying to help those less fortunte members of society live a life of peace. Yet in long run those same helpful members of society ruined potentially best form of employment that some of the so called "freaks" could have. As simple members of society, these same "freaks" may still be treating differently because they may not fit the schema of the normal everyday person. But as members of an elite few in a "freak" show they had an individualality, for some few perhaps had some celebrity, and for even fewer members a legacy left behind. These so called "freaks" may have found a chance to find a basic sense of humanity when in "normal" society they may be considered less than human. Which begs the question, would it be so terrible if this art form had a rebirth in popularity? And if it did would you see fit call it unfit for "normal" society to have and take away employment to those members of society that for the most part would not have any other oppurtunities to make a respectable living?  

Definition of Freaks

For the readings for Thursday, they present "freak" as someone who does not look normal to society. Many of these kinds of people who are placed in circuses, and are criticised by their appearance for fun. So in those terms, a "freak" is someone who is physically different. But as we should know, all "freaks" are not like that. But then there is the other term of "freak" that is used. In the sociological sense, a "freak" is someone who isn't with the in-group (a normal societal group). A freak could be considered a person who isn't with the status quote, or a person that has an abnormal personality. What do you think the definition of a freak is, especially in today's society?

-Courtney O'Donnell