Week 15: Post-Feminism Movement, Consent and Exploitation

Any student at Rollins College is familiar with the post feminist radical movement and its supporters, especially with the "end the cat call" campaign launched this (Spring 2015) semester. Over the past 3 years as both a student at this institution and a resident of the relatively liberal downtown Winter Park area, I have noticed two distinct reactions to the prominence of this movement on campus- a strong desire to join and demand equality for women on all levels, or what seemingly is an even more powerful (see: Rollins Confessions) opposition, most likely based out of irritation due to the assertiveness of the prominent student leaders that care deeply about this issue.

Whether or not we realize it, most people in our generation are a part of this feminist movement. How so? Gournelos puts it best in our text for this blogpost- Jenna Marbles and other viral Youtube figures that "engage in gender politics" and, on some level, force us to think of our society's constructions of women.

Day's 2010 article, The re-emergence of 'trafficking': Sex work between slavery and freedom, claims that sex work is considered a "less legitimate occupation today" than it was in the 80's or 90's (816). As our text states, this type of post feminist movement basically backpedals on the framework that was laid in just the decades before.

As the post feminist movement progresses, we, as a society, will continue to explore the differing viewpoints pertaining to if a woman can "choose their path though sexuality" (245). Relating this post back to my project, it is important to note that most human trafficking scholars would argue there is a difference between consensual prostitution and human trafficking- the word consensual makes all of the difference. However, there is the somewhat prominent belief that prostitution is never consensual, most likely inspired by religious beliefs and congruent political agendas. This threatens the feminist belief that woman can do what they wish with their bodies and serves as a dig to a sex worker's dignity and autonomy.

In the law enforcement world, as prostitution is on the books as a crime, leads to the arrest of victims as perpetrators (prostitutes), furthering feelings of isolation. This leads to a sense of shame and the creation of a "wrong" of a woman (or man) chooses to engage in sexual activity.

Week 13 Post 2: South Park's Jesus and Pals nexus of Religious and Social Issues

Southpark has been known for dealing with issues of censorship pertaining to cultural topics- a sentiment recognized by Horance Newcomb upon the show's presentation of the  2006 Peabody Award for "distinguished achievement" in media (145).  In this post, part II of my response to Dr. Ted Gournelos' 4th chapter of his book The Tao of South Park: Dissonant Visual Culture and the Future of Politics, I will discuss  Jesus and Pals, a public access show featured in South Park, which is laced with themes inherent to censorship, religion and politics.

In Southpark, "religious figures do not respond to serious ethical or social crises or even provide interpretations of religious beliefs" but at the same time are also portrayed as human or in a "blasphomous way" (128). The example Gournelos gives pertaining to Jesus and Pals is the episode in which Jesus states he will, once and for all, give his stance on homosexuality and then, before the first word leaves his mouth, is cut off. 

Jesus and Pals, while on a surface level is poking fun, the depth beneath the surface is a window allowing for discourse centered around issues pertaining to religion's intersection with social issues. This can be seen in the S6E8 Red Hot Catholic Love, an episode surrounding the abuse of young boys by Catholic priests and the church's subsequent cover ups (130).the exposure of the Church’s role in sanctioning and covering up the crime

Week 13 Post 1: Censorship and Religion in South Park: "Cissy"

Chapter 4, Muhammad's Ghost: Religion, Censorship and the Politics of Intimidation of Dr. Ted Gournelos'  The Tao of South Park: Dissonant Visual Culture and the Future of Politics book performs textual analyses of episodes of South Park that critique the relationship between religion of the state and the liberalism in censorship.

Known for it's explicit content and plots that seemingly poke fun at current controversial issues, South Park has largely dealt with issues of censorship and American Cultural topics. As stated by Gournelos' article, "the show breaks down polarizing or reductive rhetorical binaries by attacking not the individuals that propose such binaries but rather the discourses and institutions that frame and allow them" (144).

An episode not mentioned in Gourneos' article but I find to be an example of this breakdown is S18 E3, "The Cissy". The Slate Writer Christin Scarlett Milloy states that his trans friends were worried about being "the joke of the week", but were relieved to find the jokes were "based on disrepectful stereotypes" and it seemed as if "the tables turned" in regards to the way our media portrays trans issues.  The episode was centered around acceptance, as seen in the clip "Sharons Speech" posted on Milloy's article.

While there has been speculation regarding how the church should respond to transgender issues (such as sticking to the belief that God put us in our bodies and we should not try to challenge Him), This episode calls into question a genetic or inherent predisposition to gender- for the characters are 10 year old boys. Issues that trans people face are brought to light, most notably by "Cissy" entering a gender-based restroom. Principal Victoria had a solution; bathrooms marked "men", "women" and "others"- "other's" for people who have a problem with those that are trans.

Week 12: Globalization and Human Trafficking

Chapter 10 of our text, The Global Flow of Visual Culture, very much pertains to human trafficking as globalization largely fuels trafficking. To narrow this post, I will be focusing on cultural imperialism- an ideology or a way of life that is depicted to the world by means of cultural practices or products.

Migration is both a root cause of human trafficking, a misconception and an underlying agenda. The free-flowing system of knowledge, ideas and images use a variety of appeals to persuade an individual that a certain culture is superior, or lifestyles within a culture are dominant, oftentimes leading vulnerable populations starry-eyed and curious, inspiring them to explore the unknown and achieve the expressed ideals.  The text states that despite the ease in the exchange of information that globalization brings, national security and boarders have tightened since the 9/11 terrorist attacks (390). In terms of human trafficking, this securitization has resulted in those that wish to migrate trusting underground sources to assist in securing entry, citizenship or jobs in the destination country.

In my previous blog posts, I have discussed the counter human trafficking campaigns of Eastern Europe, argued to suppress migration, as well as the media's stereotypes of traffickers themselves, most notably a minority male. In the case of migration, the movie Taken (discussed in this previous post, aired in over 10 countries, and rooted misconceptions of the issue in over a million global citizen's minds.

These two posts can be tied into this discussion of globalization by calling into question the media's shaping of the issue, motivations (such as economic and immigration policy agendas in the US) and how this molds and contributes to our own views.  This is paradoxical- the clever packaging and framing is contrary to the supposed democratic path of information globalization is theorized to fuel (399).

Week 9: Baker's Intersectional Analysis of Sex Trafficking Films

Baker's 2014 Intersectional Analysis of Sex Trafficking Films has proved to be an extremely beneficial source for my human trafficker perpetrator portrayals mid-semester research check in. This article, a textual analysis of 7 human trafficking films over the past 16 years states that media focuses on criminal-justice solutions to trafficking instead of "broader systemic causes of sex trafficking, like globalization, economic inequality, poverty, and ethic, race and gender oppressions" (208). 

In Hollywood films, such as Trade and Taken, the issue is presented as situated in a black and white world with the common narrative being an innocent young woman is captured by a "clear bad guy" (a trafficker that is most often depicted as a violent man of a foreign origin or of color) until a heroic white male comes to the rescue (213). This construct leads to an idea of "Western racial and national dominance", most clearly outlined in the film Holly and NBC Dateline Children for Sale, both portray traffickers are of Asian descent and anyone that tries to help the trafficked girls are white.

The article also analyzes Trading Women, Sacrifice and Very Young Girls, films that divulge deeper into the issue of trafficking than the typical Hollywood film, avoiding simplifying the issue and offering criminal-justice oriented solutions. In these films, victims are shown as vulnerable and "trafficked by circumstance" (220). The silence, the trafficker, is then that the perpetrators are anyone that are willing and able to deceive a "weaker" person for their own monetary gain. Further silences also hint at the less obvious perpetrators: a failed agents of the criminal justice system that do not investigate or respond to reports of abuse.

Using this article as the main reflection of my research check-in has inspired me to begin examining my own definition of a "perpetrator" of the crime, extending it from just a trafficker to those that knowingly exploit trafficked women ("johns") and law enforcement agents or citizens that simply look the other way. Going forward in my research, I would like to see if others feel that an expansion of the definition of human trafficking perpetrator is appropriate.

Week 5: Modernity: Spectatorship, Power and Knowledge in Human Trafficking PSAs

When reading the third chapter of The Practices of Looking, Modernity: Spectatorship, Power and Knowledge, I could not help but apply the concepts found under the Discourse and Power and Gender and The Gaze section apply to the following human trafficking PSAs.

In this post, I have included photos from the International Organization for Migration's anti-human trafficking campaign (heavily analyzed by Rutvica Andrijasecvic in her 2007 article "Beautiful Dead Bodies").  This campaign, aims to warn Eastern European women of the dangers of traveling to work abroad.

We can apply these images to the concept of the "male gaze" and a gaze integral to systems of power. These anti-trafficking ads show women to be passive objects with faces shielded from our gaze. Given a cultural and historical background, you can begin to realize the  science behind these borderline erotic images of women's bodies that reeks of a power play pertaining to migration control.

The concepts of female vulnerability and sexuality, represented by scantily clothed doll-like women, were carefully constructed among the grainy black and white images. The spacing of the photographs and text allows the spectator to pause and reflect on captions such as, "The return home won't be easy. Are you sure you know what's waiting for you?"

Overall, this campaign uses spectatorship, power and knowledge to depict women as something to be saved from men that are willing to objectify and exploit them.

Week 4: Romance: Intolerable transforms to Desirable

50 Shades of Grey is now a household title.

Despite very popular criticisms for poor writing style and lack of a substantial plot, 50 Shades of Grey has been devoured and "taken America by Storm" to the point where book sellers could not keep up with the physical demand for copies of the text.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the story, overlooked Anastasia Grey falls in love with a very brilliant and seemingly cold leader of a business empire, Christian Grey. The trailer basically summarizes the rest:

I could not help but think of this title when reading "Women Read the Romance: The Interaction of Text and Context" by Janice A. Radway, a bookseller turned romance fiction guru with her monthly newsletter filtering the quality romantic novels form the breath of trash that plagues the genre.  (1983).  Though it was authored over 30 years ago, the underlying concepts that distinguish a popular romantic novel remain pretty much the same. According to Radway's article, women tended to favor the romantic novels that featured a dependent heroine that was, to herself, unrecognizingly beautiful and a hero that was masculine with the ability to be gentle and nurturing when it pertained to the woman that he loved.

50 Shades of Grey embodies two characters that Radway claims that her clientele would not favor nor tolerate- explicit sexual descriptions and abuse- although they loved suggestive descriptions that alluded to such (see cheesy romantic titles pictured below). I believe that this shows a evolution much due to the acceptability of sexual content on TV, movies and a general cultural shift towards comfortability with sexuality.

Personally, I do not believe that this change is taboo or expresses an underlying support of violence against women but rather bluntly states and expresses the range of sexualities and desires that have been uncomfortably hidden in our culture for some time.