Feminism on Television!

Since I have soccer Wednesday nights, I’m able to have at least one precious evening off from work a week. Over the past few weeks, my best friend and I have been getting together to watch the TLC show “I am Jazz.” The show is about fourteen-year-old Jazz Jennings’ struggles as a transgender youth. Jazz was born a boy named Jared, but after only a couple years of her life, it was apparent to her family that she wasn’t a boy. As soon as she was able to speak, like many transgender children, she told her parents that she was in fact a girl. Although of course this situation was difficult for them, Jazz’s parents realized that their “son” would not give up until he could live comfortably as a girl. After researching gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder (GID), along with the shocking suicide rates that are associated with it (a study in the United States indicated that of 6,450 transgender people, 41% had attempted suicide), Jazz’s parents knew that if they didn’t allow their “son” to transition, they could lose him forever.

Instead of opting to lose their son, they chose to embrace a daughter.

Jazz’s mother and father, along with her older sister Ari and older brothers Sander and Griffen, are the most supportive and loving family you could ever imagine. Clothing was changed, bedroom was changed, toys were changed, pronouns were changed, and her name was changed!

And so, with all of these wonderful people surrounding her, Jazz was born!

Amazingly enough, not only has Jazz been able to live happily (for the most part) with an extremely supportive family, but she has also branched out of the confines of her home and hometown to be an ambassador for transgender youth around the world. She’s given speeches, she wrote a children’s book to help explain what being transgender means, and she even designs and creates mermaid tails to sell online in order to raise money to support other transgender youth (many transgender children have been known to be particularly fond of mermaids because they have no visible genitalia).

Here’s a clip from an episode of the show entitled “Boys Aren’t Nice to Her”:

Along with simply watching the program, my friend and I like to talk a lot about many of the issues being presented in the show. A couple of weeks ago when this episode aired, I was telling her how I want to write Jazz a letter assuring her that even for young women who do not share her circumstances, interacting with boys is a major struggle. If you are a strong and confident woman even from a young age, boys are taken aback. I told my friend my theory for why I think I struggled so much with boys being mean to me when I was young. Jazz always talks about how she wishes she had boobs so that boys would like her, and well…I had boobs. But I didn’t get a ton of attention. I think the reason for that though is that I stood up for myself, I challenged the guys…and I didn’t take shit. I remember getting teased mercilessly by the boys in elementary school for playing soccer with them. They would say that boys are better than girls at soccer, and even though they let me play, they were especially hard on me and laughed any time I would make a mistake. If the guys in my class were doing something stupid at lunch time, I would say something and then get all the backlash in the world for it. As a result of these experiences in elementary school (mostly the sixth to eighth grade), I held my tongue in high school and became much more passive. I want to tell her in my letter to never, ever become passive…to always be strong and stand up for herself, and (let’s be honest here…) not to get too caught up with boys until later in life. As much as I don’t like to generalize, and I’m not saying this is true for every boy…but many boys that age are not going to get it and are not going to accept her. It’s not just that she’s transgender, but also that she’s strong and confident. It’s intimidating. And most boys that age are going to be threatened.

Some of the comments that stood out to me the most in the clip are from Jazz’s mom. Rightfully so, Jazz’s mother worries endlessly about her daughter’s future. Now that she has entered puberty and soon high school, Jazz has expressed some interest in exploring different relationships. She has said that she’s not completely sure about where her feelings lie with regards to men or women, but she certainly wants to find love like most people do. Jazz’s mother knows that many (if not most) young men are not going to understand Jazz’s situation, and it will be extremely difficult for her to find someone to accept her. She wants her daughter to one day find someone who will love her, but she’s also cautious. In the clip she admits, “I think it would make her feel extra special if somebody showed an interest in her.” She also acknowledges, however, how difficult that will be: “I think the reason that Jazz doesn’t like hanging out with boys is that the boys aren’t nice to her. They don’t acknowledge her presence. They hug all of her friends and then ignore her. She says it doesn’t bother her but I think deep down inside it gets to her. How could it not?”

While it seems that many of the girls have accepted her (on the show you’ll see her hanging out with her friends, and the girls have admitted that often they forget that she’s biologically male because she’s so well integrated into their group), the boys certainly have not. Later in this episode in particular, only two boys out of many that the girls invited end up coming to the bowling alley. Being bold and unafraid to ask the tough questions (this is why I love her!) she asks one of the boys if the reason why some of the other boys didn’t come is because of her in particular. This boy claims that this is not necessarily the case, but that he does know of one of the boys for sure that does not accept her.

Because Jazz still has male genitalia, the reality is that most boys her age are not going to be interested in getting romantically involved with her because they’re afraid it will make them question their sexuality…

Does being with someone whose gender is female but whose sex is male make them gay?

This is the reality of the society we live in: “straight” people often fear homosexuality. In some cases it might be homophobia, but I think a lot of it is probably due to the realization that being homosexual would mean a much more difficult life altogether. Thus boys, and men as well, might be worried that engaging in a relationship with someone like Jazz could jeopardize their easy life as a heterosexual. And not to exclude women here, but I’m sure a female-to-male would make many women similarly confused.

I understand it. I can empathize with these positions. But it still makes me really upset that our world has to be so obsessed with gender and labelling. People should just be able to love whoever they please without thinking too much of the label that they will be assigned.

I’m getting a little too sentimental. Anyway!

I read a few of the comments on this video and I instantly regretted it. People are so ignorant it’s disgusting. And of course there’s always that one person who quotes the bible...

I wish I could line up all of these people in a row and just punch them out. There’s such a clear lack of understanding about transgender people and the queer community as a whole. I’m not going to get too much into it right now because I want to save it for my reflection, but this is why I’ve been thinking about making my own YouTube channel. I want to educate people about these issues. In reality, I can’t find all of these people in the world and punch them. Even though that might make me feel really good in the moment, it probably wouldn’t change much.

These people need an educational punch in the face.

I think I’ve said enough about this show for now. Until next week’s episode…!

And now on to my favourite comedian Amy Schumer and her television show, “Inside Amy Schumer.”

I’m not even sure how to go about describing this show. There’s just so much going on: not only does each episode include a variety of skits, but Amy also does standup and interviews people on the streets of New York in between. While some of the skits might just be meant to be funny (although I’m sure I could argue that there’s a bit of social commentary in all of them, some of them are pretty ridiculous!) many of them are actually extremely powerful. Once you finish your fit of laughter and have some time to think about what you just saw, maybe even watch it over again…the message becomes increasingly clear.

On her own, Amy Schumer represents a major feminist issue: women in comedy. Many people argue that women aren’t funny and male performers often receive much more respect and larger followings for their performances. Maybe I’m a bit bias, but Amy is honestly the funniest comedian I know right now. Not only that, but as a person she’s bold, she’s sarcastic, she’s confident in herself…she doesn’t care about having a relationship or getting married. She’s living her dream, doing what she loves, working hard on television and now even in film (“Trainwreck” was pretty fantastic I must say…although I could have done without the romantic plotline!) and I respect her so incredibly much for that.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have seen every episode of her show, while watching many of her skits two or three times a piece. Combing through her skits on YouTube to choose the best ones to represent the feminist slant she puts on her comedy was admittedly a highly enjoyable exercise.

The first skit I chose was “Last Fuckable Day” co-starring Patricia Arquette, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tina Fey. The skit is about sexism in the entertainment industry: women age a lot quicker than men in television and film, while men somehow are always “fuckable”:

From this skit, I picked out a few quotations that stood out the most:

“In every actress’ life the media decides when you finally reach the point where you’re not ‘believably’ fuckable anymore” (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

All I could think of when I heard this line was how patriarchy somehow finds its way into every avenue of society! It clearly controls the media, as older men and older women are not treated equally. For older men, that “salt-and-pepper” hair is presented as this super sexy physical characteristic that women both young and old desire. There’s no such thing as this sexy “salt-and-pepper” look for women. For women it’s not “salt-and-pepper”…it’s grays that need to be covered up with expensive hair colouring treatments.

What this product is really saying: Women, cover your grays! If people see you with gray hair, they might be able to guess your age! Don’t let anyone ever know how old you are! Remember: old people are disgusting! Do you want to be old?! No?! Then cover yourself up like you have to cover everything else on your withering bodies!

What this product is really saying: Men, don’t hide those grays! Women love that salt-and-pepper look! It makes you look sexy, sophisticated…like a wealthy man who owns a yacht and summers in the Hamptons! You know if you look like you’re older and have money, women will flock to you! Show it off, men! Just like you show off your packages in those tight-fitting speedos well into your eighties!

“Nobody really overtly tells you, but there are signs. You know how Sally Field was Tom Hanks’ love interest in Punch Line and then like twenty minutes later she was his mom in Forrest Gump?” (Tina Fey)

It’s always younger women who are partnered with older men, but rarely do you see older women being partnered with younger men. It’s just not socially acceptable both on-screen and off. Women are called “cougars” for going after younger men, but what do we call men who go after younger women? If there’s a term for it, I don’t know it.

“Or you go to a movie set, you go to wardrobe and the only thing they have for you to wear are long sweaters, like cover you up head-to-toe kind of thing” (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

The aging body is one that society tells us is unattractive and should be covered “head-to-toe.” That’s why we often find it unappealing for older women to be seen in short dresses or skirts, showing their cleavage and other body parts. We consider it to be “inappropriate for their age”…but why? It’s funny to me how women at a certain age might opt for full-piece bathing suits instead of bikinis when swimming to cover themselves up more, while men, no matter the age, will always be in their swimming trunks or even speedos! There isn’t nearly the amount of shame for men as there is for women, and it isn’t because the female body is fundamentally more unappealing with age than the male body. We were all just made to believe this to be true. People often say “men get better-looking with age” compared to women…but is this actually the case? Patriarchy, you are a powerful, powerful force!

“Or like the poster for your movie is just a picture of a kitchen” (Tina Fey)

In one of my third year English courses called “Filming Canadian Literature” our professor told us about how movie posters with men on them tend to do better at the box office than those with women. I’m not sure how one could determine conclusively that the movie poster had anything to do with the success of the film, but I found that interesting nonetheless. What was more interesting though (and less questionable) was that movies that have female leads are often shoved in the background of the movie poster. For example, romantic films where the female character is portrayed as the protagonist will show her love interest in the foreground and then she’ll be pushed to the background.

Of course, we need both Iron Man and Tony Stark! Yes, make all the men large except for the Hulk…he stands out pretty well on his own being a huge green thing! Thor is a little smaller than we would have liked but he has that big hammer with all the lightening around it to make you take notice of him! As for Black Widow…well, we can just put her in all black and have her stick her butt out a bit. That should suffice. 

Amy Schumer: What about men? Who tells men when it’s their last fuckable day?

*The three women laugh*

Patricia Arquette: Honey, men don’t have that day.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Moral of the story: men are always fuckable! And us women should just accept it and move on!

The next video I chose expands a bit on this idea of the female body and societal expectations that are constantly being enforced regarding the ideal female figure. The video, entitled “New Body,” is about the unrealistic expectations women put on themselves when they are dieting:

This video pretty much speaks for itself with regards to the insane pressures women put on themselves to lose weight. I only picked out one quotation from this one:

“Alright listen to me. If I were you, I would just make my delusional diet a little more unachievable. Then it will hang on you” (unnamed sales associate)

The sales associate at the clothing store “New Body” brings Amy to the “five months from now” section after Amy tells her that she is “going to be” a size 2. Amy picks up a dress that is a size zero that she really likes and the sales associate tells her this in response. When Amy goes to try the dress on though, she is only able to get the dress around one of her thighs.

This video reflects how women are constantly made to feel dissatisfied with their bodies and always looking to a “future” version of themselves. Of course it’s a little exaggerated, as most of Amy Schumer’s videos are to make them funny, but it still holds a lot of a truth in terms of women’s body image.

Getting into a size two isn’t even good enough: it’s time to strive for that size zero!

When I first saw this next skit, I didn’t really understand it. After watching a few more times and even looking at the YouTube comments (as I’ve mentioned previously, I tend to regret doing this…but in this case, it actually helped a little bit), the video became much more relevant than I had originally thought. The video is called “You Can’t Go In There”:

While on the surface it may seem like a skit parodying the lack of respect given to female secretaries and even women in the workplace in general, there is a lot of evidence to support that it is also an allusion to rape culture. Because Amy does not say that the men “can’t go in there” with “umph,” the men feel like they can “still go in there,” which suggests that when it comes to sex, a woman simply saying no is not enough to deter a man from trying to be with her anyway:

Mr. Blake: Ed, did she tell you you can’t come in here?

Ed: Yes she did.

Mr. Blake: Well how did she say it?

Ed: *mocks Amy*

Mr. Blake: Okay well that’s pretty good.

Ed: But the way she said it, it felt like I could go in there.

Mr. Blake: Mhm. Amy, there are thousands of women who’d kill for the opportunity to tell people they can’t come into my office!

Not only does Amy’s authority to refuse the men’s entry into her boss’ office get ignored, but her boss himself also makes her feel bad about herself by telling her that other women would “kill” for the same opportunity. The fact that the men don’t respect her authority serves as an excellent representation of rape culture: women saying “no” is not enough because there’s always some sort of loophole that the man can use. In this case, she didn’t say “no” with enough force behind it. Not only that, if we’re talking specifically about rape culture, the man can also make the woman feel even more insignificant by telling her that other women would “kill” for the opportunity to have sex with him (or something similar to that effect).

“Look Amy. You’re a woman, and you can only focus on one thing at a time, I get that. That’s why I gave you just the one task!”

This quotation goes back to my initial perceptions of what this skit was suggesting: the lack of respect given to women in the workplace. In this example, Amy’s boss Mr. Blake is reinforcing female stereotypes regarding their proficiency in the workplace. Women can apparently “only focus on one thing at a time,” and that is why they are only able to hold menial jobs.

Always a secretary, never a boss.

BONUS VIDEO TIME!

This last video is both hysterical and critical at the same time! The hilarity speaks for itself, but it is especially critical of the stereotypes surrounding women in relationships.

Try not to laugh. I dare you.