Christiansen Media Literacy Blogs

    "The Midriff": How can women-aligning people reclaim their sexuality? *At  this point, that feels like a trick question* The sexuality of a woman-aligning person is undeniably obliterated by patriarchal media. I mean this in the sense that we are oversexualized, we reject that, we are called man-haters, and we try to reclaim our sexuality, starting the cycle all over again by making ourselves a fixation of the straight man’s ideals. I speak very generally here, obviously there are all different types of people, but I am targeting the stereotypes and my own experiences. I have issues with femininity and the stereotype around (re)claiming it. I feel like I am expected to be some thin blonde thing that can think for herself, flawless and intelligent but not too perfect to intimidate. I always think of Scream 4 , in the intro where the killer tells Jenny Randall that she is “the dumb blonde with the big tits” and that’s why she gets mor...

What is “cool”? While it isn’t the best source, the Urban Dictionary defines cool as “… being real . Being themselves and not caring how other people view what they say or do.” I tend to agree that we equate what is “cool” to being unique like in the frontline video we watched. But not too unique, right? I think anyone in this class could say a few trends in music or clothes, things that have come and gone. I tend to think that one of the driving companies in our perception of what is “cool” now is Urban Outfitters. They make cute clothes at unreasonable prices and are constantly testing boundaries with sometimes ridiculous outfits or “edgy” jokes and comments, a tool that works in their favor at making them seem like they can sell you “cool” if you have enough cash. Right now, a scroll through their website will tell you what to wear and how to look to be cool: puffy faux fur jackets, corduroy everything, plaid miniskirts, and chunky shoes (either Balenciaga knockoffs or Dr.Mar...