Keris Stainton's Blog, page 17

Feminism Friday: Why I’m always learning

Steve Carell, Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert: How men would look if they had to pose in ads the way women are expected to.

I’ve been worrying about about these posts since last week. I don’t want to make it sound like I think I’m the oracle on feminism – because god knows that’s not true – what I’m hoping to do is just share some links and things that have given me a better understanding of various aspects of feminism. But I was worried I was sounding like a pompous arse.

With that in mind, something happened earlier this week that proves the above (the bit about getting a better understanding of feminism, I mean, not the bit about being a pompous arse) (I hope), so I thought I’d write about that and a bit about My Feminist Education in general.

So earlier this week, I saw some tweets about a Russell Brand piece on Thatcher. I love Russell Brand and I was impressed with articles he’d written about Jade Goody and Amy Winehouse, so I hopped over and read it. Some bits leapt out at me as being rather brilliant. His description of her voice as “a bellicose yawn, somehow both boring and boring – I could ignore the content but the intent drilled its way in” is perfect and I also loved this “If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one’s enemies.” I tweeted both of those things, but then my friends Diane and Carrie pointed out that the focus on Thatcher as a mother – both to her children and to the country – is sexist. I hadn’t even noticed. I don’t think it’s possible to ignore gender in any discussion of Thatcher – even if only because she’s the only female Prime Minister this country has ever had – but, as Diane pointed out, male politicians aren’t written about in relation to their parenting skills.

The point I’m making isn’t about Thatcher, it’s about how I managed to completely miss the sexism in in Brand’s article. For me feminism is a constant learning curve. Diane has been a huge part of that and in the past my first response was often to disagree with her – sometimes vehemently – but I always ended up coming around to her way of thinking. Because she’s always right. It’s really annoying. And I really value this discussion. I appreciate that I have friends who will pull me up when I’m being dim and who I can email and ask for clarification and who share my horror at this kind of total bullshit

From this site via @HeenaMohammed on Twitter

So, no, I’m not an expert. I don’t know everything, obviously. But I’m learning. And I’m glad.

Sexism in kids’ films: Wreck-It Ralph

We saw this for the second time today (paid full price when it came out, saw it for cheap at Kids AM today) and while it’s mostly pretty good, there was one thing that bothered me.

As with previous posts in this category, I’m assuming if you’re reading you’ll understand why these things are a problem and I don’t need to explain male gaze, objectification, gender stereotypes, etc., these posts are just a way of acknowledging/noting these issues within kids’ films. And also that if you do want to leave a comment saying I’m taking it too seriously, I should get a life/sense of humour/hobby, etc., I’m just gonna go ahead and ignore you.

HERE BE SPOILERS!

Well first of all there’s the fact that it’s another film with – and named for – a main male character, but I actually found Vanellope to be the star. Love her. I groaned when she’s discovered to be a princess, but almost cheered when she rejects this with the line “I’m thinking more along the lines of a constitutional democracy. President Vanellope Von Schweetz. Has a nice ring to it, don’cha think?”

The main thing that bugged me was the character of Calhoun, who is a sergeant in Hero’s Duty. She’s described in the Disney Wiki as “the tough-as-nails, take-charge leader who fights for humanity’s freedom.” Until, that is, Fix-It Felix rescues them both from a swamp and she’s suddenly making, as the film calls it “goo-goo eyes” at him. (It reminds me of a bit in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island when Josh Hutcherson’s character rescues the previously uninterested Vanessa Hudgins – when she falls off a giant bumblebee, no really – and you see her suddenly start to see him in A New Light.) Later, Felix calls Calhoun a “dynamite gal” and she flashes back to her previous lover calling her the same before their wedding is interrupted by a Cy-Bug.

“On the day of their wedding, Calhoun was too distracted by her ceremony to complete one of her highly important perimeter checks. The neglect caused one of the Cy-Bugs to break into the wedding chapel and devour Brad, killing him. The story left Calhoun with a hard heart until Felix came into her life and showed her the brighter side of things.”

Hmm.

Is this the most 80s pop video evah?

I had a brief obsession with Sam Harris (in 1984, I mean, not lately) and was reminded of his existence yesterday. I didn’t notice at the time how much Sugar Don’t Bite (“you know I’m a bleeder” just made me laugh out loud) rips off Papa Don’t Preach. Also? How utterly ridiculous the whole thing is. But BRILLIANTLY so. It’s got everything! Anyone else remember him?

I think I first saw him on Wogan doing this

which completely blew me away at the time. Obviously, I loved a tiny, frosty-haired, melodramatic man in his dad’s dressing gown. Now he rather reminds me of Bobby Davro doing a Liza Minnelli impersonation. (Which I think Bobby Davro actually did do when I saw him supporting Barry Manilow. I’m not making this up. I wish I was.) Also, PLEASE watch to (or from) 1:40. The big finish has to be seen/heard to be believed.

Feminism Friday: Gender in media

A few years ago, I pitched an article about how few leading female characters there were in kids’ TV shows. If you think about the most famous preschool shows, so many of them feature a boy’s name + a job. Postman Pat. Bob the Builder. Fireman Sam. Thomas the Tank Engine. Rory the Racing Car. The only possible equivalent with a female lead character is Dora the Explorer (although exploring isn’t actually her job…)

Today’s CBeebies schedule features Mike the Night, Andy’s Wild Adventures, Mr Bloom’s Nursery, Driver Dan’s Story Train and Old Jack’s Boat. (There are female fronted shows, of course, but the characters either don’t have recognisable jobs or their jobs aren’t named in the title.)

In 2004 movie star Geena Davis founded See Jane - the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media – because she noticed a discrepancy in the amount of boys versus the amount of girls in the entertainment for her young children. Research commissioned by See Jane and undertaken by researchers at the University of Southern California found that TV for children under 7 had a male/female ratio of roughly 2:1.

Previous studies of children’s television have indicated that heavy viewing predicts traditional sex-role attitudes, such as girls believing that females are less competent than males, or boys believing that household chores should fall along stereotypical lines. Or, in Harry’s case, simply that boys are better than girls. (It still pains me to write that!)

So what can you do about it? I seek out shows for Harry and Joe that feature positive female characters. Access to Netflix US has actually been brilliant for this – they love Amy Poehler’s The Mighty B! and WordGirl. And I signed up to the , which highlights women in media – both positives (“Ellen DeGeneres to reprise role in Finding Nemo sequel”) and negatives (“Doctor Who has no women writers”) – and reminds me weekly of both how far we have to go and how many other women care about this stuff.

I also love this See Jane PSA that explains ‘if she can see it, she can be it’

What’s your class? (or Do you know what a stool is?)

Image courtesy of patpitchaya / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This morning Twitter has been chattering about class, thanks to the BBC’s Great British Class Survey. I wasn’t that interested until I saw this tweet, RT’d by @Louiestowell: @saramegan: Someone once told me that the marker of the middle class is the ramekin.

Well. That took me right back. We were definitely working class growing up. I don’t think I even knew what “middle class” was. I certainly didn’t know what a ramekin was. But then, when I was 18, I moved to London – or rather, Kew – to work as a Mother’s Help.

The mother I was helping used ramekins to make what I thought she called “Strawberry cranberry lay” but turned out to be strawberry crème brûlée, of course. I’d never tasted it before, but it was delicious. I rang my aunt, who was a school cook, and described it to her. She had no idea what it was.

Later, my sister came to stay and the woman I worked for served smoked salmon sandwiches. My sister grabbed one, her only experience of salmon being tinned salmon (and that rarely) and, horrified by the texture, spat it straight out into the bin.

I remember the man of the house (this was a v traditional house) eating something and describing it as “more-ish”. I’d never heard that before, in fact, I thought he was saying “Moorish” (we mostly used to go on holiday to Spain) and thought it was the most pretentious thing I’d ever heard.

The little girl I looked after one day mentioned going to the “toilet” and the mum was horrified. “We say ‘loo,’ darling, not ‘toilet.’” I was baffled. I remember talking to my mum and saying, “Surely ‘toilet’ is more polite than ‘loo’?” She thought so too.

I was even more baffled when Charlie, the little boy I looked after, had what looked like blood in his poo. The mum got out a medical encyclopaedia thing and told me to look up ‘stool.’ I had absolutely no idea what a three legged wooden chair thing had to do with bloody poo, but I soon found out. (It wasn’t blood. He’d had beetroot.)

I’ve since heard that there are certain words you should be careful of if you don’t want to show yourself up. Napkin v serviette. Sofa v settee. I can never remember which is which and I couldn’t care less. I’ve always remembered ‘stool’ though. And, thankfully, crème brûlée.

Happy Home Ed: Questions and quiet

The only time they’re usually quiet (even when they’re pretending)

I saw the following on Twitter: @ckingwriter Apparently, mums are asked an average of 23 questions an hour by their kids, says @bbcr2zoeball on @BBCRadio2 Sounds about right.

My first thought was “and yet of course they can’t learn without school…” but I’ve gone on about that enough, I think. What it did make me think about is just how much they talk. I wouldn’t say it’s a downside of home ed – because I love to listen to them, I love chatting with them, I love their questions – more that it’s a tiring side of home ed.

Last week we ended up in McDonalds (it’s a long story – so long that I started writing it here, bored myself and deleted it) and, as the boys started to eat, they fell silent. Both of them. At the same time. I looked from one to the other and thought about how weird it was that they were quiet.

And because they were quiet, I was quiet too. I wasn’t answering any questions. I wasn’t saying “Just a minute…” or “Hang on…” I wasn’t shushing one while answering the other and then shushing the second while dealing with the first (walking to town the other day I felt like I was in a conversational tennis match – two entirely separate conversations, one on each side, me in the middle trying to keep up with both).

In McDonald’s they were probably quiet for two minutes before they noticed me grinning at them and said, “What?” I told them that’s the longest I can remember them being quiet perhaps ever and they both burst out laughing. They then both tried to stay quiet, with me timing them on my phone. Joe managed 13 seconds. Harry – who likes a challenge – lasted 12 minutes.

I missed the chatter, of course I did, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the peace. (In McDonald’s!)

Sexism in kids’ films: Robots

Just a quick one because I only watched a bit of the film, but fairly early on the parents of the main character (who is, you know, a robot) bring him his “12-year-old parts” which, they say, are a hand-me-down from his cousin Veronica, adding ”You know how popular she is!”

It’s a torso and it’s pink and shapely (as you can see from the photo, in the rest of the film his torso is blue) and as the mother hands it over, another robot wolf-whistles.

Feminism Friday: Feminism 101

Feminism is not about hating men. I don’t hate men – I married one.

Feminism isn’t about improving things for women at men’s expense – again, why would I want to do that? I have two sons.

Feminism isn’t about burning your bra, not shaving under your arms or wearing dungarees. (If you find you’re attached to these particular stereotype, you may want to update your references.)

Feminism is about equality. Which is why – for me – it’s a no brainer.

I could go on (and on), but this post, Feminism 101 by EK McAlpine, sums it all up beautifully.

Sunny days

Sesame Street is pretty much the same age as me. I watched it throughout my childhood and credit it with my obsession with New York. So when my friend Diane bought me the book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis for Christmas I was delighted (thanks, Diane!).

Even though I’ve loved Sesame Street for so long that it only recently occurred to me that there’s a person inside Big Bird, I didn’t know much about it. The book has a lot of background on how Sesame Street was thought up and produced and I’m afraid much of this was a bit of a yawn, but then the good bits – the bits about the creation of the characters, the topics addressed on the show, the actors and actors both in and out of the muppet costumes – was just great. But the absolute best thing was it reminded me of just how incredibly progressive the show was.

In the 70s they featured Buffy Sainte-Marie breastfeeding her son. The photo caption in the book said this “was a first for children’s TV”. I would have thought it was an only, never mind a first, but I looked it up on YouTube and found that they did it again (almost word for word) with Maria and her baby  (check out the first comment for a perfect example of just why this is needed). Even having the Native American Buffy Sainte-Marie as a recurring character was revolutionary: “It wasn’t until decades later that Sainte-Marie became aware that during her years on Sesame Street, her name had been listed on White House stationery as someone whose music ‘deserves to be suppressed.’”

The cast was (and remains) mixed – with the creators being particularly keen to show positive black and Latino characters (the show was originally aimed at an “urban” audience). Just to show how ahead of its time it was, a five-member commission voted 3 to 2 to block the show from airing in Mississippi because it was “not yet ready” for a show in which black, Latino and white kids played together.”

Jason Kingsley who has Down’s Syndrome appeared in fifty-five episodes “as his charming, exuberant self“. It wasn’t about him having Down’s, it wasn’t commented on, he was just one of the many children on the show. I remember Jason well and realise now he must have been the first child with Down’s I’d ever seen. The Deaf actress Linda Bove was added as a recurring character in 1979 and I’m pretty sure she was my first experience of sign language (I learned to sing Happy Birthday in sign language thanks to Sesame Street).

Something they did less well was gender equality. They were called out on this by feminists in the 70s, but argued that what they were going for in relation to black and hispanic children was more important. In response to a letter from the National Organisation for Women, who were complaining that Susan was a housewife, Joan Ganz Cooney wrote “I don’t know how useful it is to look at Sesame Street solely through feminist eyes when clearly it is trying to do a number of things for young children… We consider our primary aim of reaching and teaching the disadvantaged child a life and death matter, for education determines whether these disadvantaged youngsters enter the economic mainstream of American life or not.” Why they couldn’t teach disadvantaged children and represent women equally at the same time, she doesn’t explain.

It took the show’s producers a long time to realise all the break-out characters were male and so they created Zoe (I’m not really familiar with Zoe) and then, in 2006, Abby Cadabby. “We wanted a female lead character. If you think about the Mary Tyler Moore Show, some girls relate to Rhoda, who’s our Zoe, and some girls relate to Mary, who’s a girly girl. And we didn’t have that girl.” What I find depressing about that is that the male characters weren’t developed in this way; they were simply allowed to be whole characters. Yes, they have an MO – Elmo is about love, Cookie has his cookie obsession – but they’re not simply archetypes in the way the female characters are (or were – I’ve only seen a bit of Abby Cadabby, but I really like her and think she’s way more than just a girly girl).

I was talking to a friend recently and saying Sesame Street pretty much had everything covered, but then I wondered if they’ve ever had a gay character. I googled and found something I’d forgotten – Bert apparently coming out. I’m not sure about Bert, but this seems positive: “The Los Angeles Times noted: “In its own subtle, perhaps unintentional way, the show’s latest season feels more LGBT-friendly than ever.” It suggested that recent guest appearances by lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes, the gay actor Neil Patrick Harris, who played the “shoe fairy”, and Will.i.am, the frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, who sang What I Am, a gay anthem, indicate the direction the American show has been moving in.” I’d prefer to see a gay relationship represented in the cast, but it’s a start.

When I bought a Sesame Street DVD collection a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find that it came with a warning: “These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” That’s bollocks. They are perfect for today’s preschool child. No, they’re not based on the curriculum, but everything doesn’t have to be about the curriculum, does it? They’re funny (with plenty of jokes for grown-ups, but not the sexist/icky jokes so many modern kids’ films seem to think adults want), clever, inclusive and, frankly, brilliant. If you think I’m exaggerating, just watch the way they dealt with Mr Hooper’s death.

Feminism Fridays

If you follow me on Twitter you will have noticed that I’m getting more and more angry about various feminist issues. From No More Page 3 to the recent Steubenville rape case, I could spend all day RT’ing links and tweets from feminist sites and writers. But I do try for a bit of balance there since I know not everyone wants to read that all day long and, to be fair, I don’t want to tweet it all day long – I also want to tweet cute things my boys have said, various actors I’ve recognised on old episodes of Buffy, how ridiculously delicious the new Mint Kit-Kat Chunky is…

But I do find I want to write about feminism more and more so I’ve decided to dedicate every Friday to feminism on this blog. I’ll be recommending books, websites, and writers, including a list of Feminist YA Authors* I gathered from Twitter and a list of feminist YA novels I also gathered from Twitter (I love Twitter).

* If you want to be on it, but haven’t told me you want to be on it, it’s not to late. Just reply to this post or tweet me and I’ll add you.