Gossip Girl

This is a little off the subject, but it still pertains to girls and media. With the internet being te main source for news and media, girls are exposed to many different portrayals of women. This article in the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/opinion/04holmes.html?_r=1&emc=eta1, talks about Charlie Sheen and the way his violent relationships has not been focused on as a negative aspect in the media. It talks about how they do not focus on him or put him down for his acts of violence because the women involved were not portrayed through the media as "classy" women. A professor of mine, who knows my feminist persepective and my work for trying to put an end to domestic violence, emaioled this to me and with it asked a few questions. Because of the focus of media and girls I believe this pertains to this class. Here are the questions he asked: Some time ago, you claimed that women using their sexuality in commercial settings (Hooters was the specific focus of our conversation) were empowered. One idea in this article is that objectification and abuse follows for women engaging in these practices. Does this article change your views on Hooters, etc.? Here is my response: I think that women can use their looks just as people use muscles or brains to get ahead in today's society and I feel they are still empowered because they are controlling thier own careers. However, I think that the abusers of women engaging in these practices are feeding into the traditional way of viewing these women by objectifying them. They see women who are stereotypically "sexy" and think that is all they are and that they are not intelligent nor do they see them as smart entrepreneurs. I believe these women are smart entrepreneurs because they use their "talents" for career and monetary values, just as Bill Gates used his computer inventions and technology talent to get ahead in the technology business. Our society, throughout centuries, has seen women who use their sexuality as a career as less than human and non-deserving of the respect that a human being deserves. A few years back I did a research project on this idea set in the Jack the Ripper era in England. This idea of "sexual" women being inhuman lead to Jack the Ripper murders and society wide acceptance and even encouragement of these murders. I think this relates to society today and its treatment of Charlie Sheen and his many offense against women. As the article said, the women Sheen dates are portrayd in the media as "money hungry sluts" and therefore, are not human or deserving of respect. This touches on how the media portrays women and what these girls are exposed to. By the artiucle being written by a woman it shows how girls are using the internet to try to counteract these portrayals and make people see how the media can influence and twiat situations. I believe blogs, as well as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. all give girls a chance to express their agreement and disagreement with such portrayals and they have a way of making their views publicly known. This fits into the "Virtual High School" aspect because girls are portrayed in different ways in high school. If a girl dresses a certain way she may be deemed as a "slut" or some other insult that points towardsvthe idea that she is promiscuous. If this girl gets treated badly by a boy in school she is dating, her label and the way the gossip in school portrays her, she will not get sympathy and the new gossip will be that she deserved it. Now, with these social networks and ways of communicating online, girls can speak out and fight against portrayals and stand up for themselves.