Maxim magazine and rape culture
CVK
Our regular MMW guest contributor Luke Lee has a great post over on his blog, real men are not, breaking down the Maxim.com screencap you see to your left.
It shows a photo of featured celebrity Persia White (she plays Lynn on “Girlfriends”) and the caption reads: “Everyone agrees this Persia should be invaded.” From Luke:
Now, let’s take a look at the dictionary definition of “invade”
1. To enter by force in order to conquer or pillage.
2. To encroach or intrude on; violate: “The principal of the trusts could not be invaded without trustee approval” (Barbara Goldsmith).
3. To overrun as if by invading; infest: “About 1917 the shipworm invaded the harbor of San Francisco” (Rachel Carson).
4. To enter and permeate, especially harmfully.So basically, the message from wordplay is “this babe is so hot, you should just rape her” along with some “she’s one of those colored African chicks, just rape her because ‘everyone’ thinks you should, it’s like a time of war!” topped off with “just look at her, she’s asking to be raped with her sexy pose and revealing outfit.”
And people say there’s no such thing as a rape culture.
brad wrote:
I’m not sure about rape culture but I do believe that we live in a sexist, racist, and homophobic culture that devalues some people for their differences, holding up a standard that is impossible for the devalued to meet. Similarly, are culture also is very sexually repressive and oppressive, resulting in twisted views of sex and sexuality that breeds a juvenile or puritanical worldview amongst many.
Unfortunately, feminism has become such a dirty word that many women who benefit from it and live their lives based off feminist philosophy are so blinded by political misdirection that they condemn feminist as “Feminazis.” For example, how many women view that women should make the same money as men for the same jobs held as women? Isn’t that women fought for in the Feminist Movement? According to Ann Coulter, feminists are evil but doesn’t she live her life as an unmarried woman, who earn her own living as a “political” (hate monger) pundit who doesn’t value her life strictly by contributions to hearth and home?
Finally, Persia White is a beautiful woman. Posing in magazines like Maxim is seen as a way to elevate a woman’s profile in the entertainment industry. The higher a woman is ranked in their posing, the greater potential they have for roles. I don’t have a problem with either gender posing for sexy pictures. It’s the culture’s views and assumptions associated with sex that twist and demean things.
Posted 24 Jul 2006 at 2:32 pm ¶
mtevc wrote:
yes, we need ann coulter at home, and not in the news room or out penning bad books…we need her locked up and barefoot and pregnant…oh no, barefoot maybe, but don’t let her procreate…or is it spawn???
Posted 24 Jul 2006 at 5:15 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
that evil bitch needs to be sterilized.
Posted 24 Jul 2006 at 5:36 pm ¶
brad wrote:
Merq,
Let’s remember to be careful to not use “bitch” too often because it can be construed as sexist, and in the case of Coulter a libel against female canines.
All kidding aside, talk of forced sterilization on a mixed-race site is really bad form considering that mixed-folks have been the target of evil eugenicists in the early 20th Century American South until the early 1970s. For a scary look into American history, look here: http://www.hnn.us/articles/1551.html
Quote:
Eugenics was also a cultural vehicle for expressing anxiety about the “degeneration” of middle-class “Aryans,” perceived as resulting from a declining birthrate and, in the words of a leading California eugenicist, the “evil of crossbreeding.”
Posted 24 Jul 2006 at 6:30 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
Brad,
Thanks for, as usual, being the conscience I never asked for. However, I’m sure you’ll understand my desire to hold out for a real, live woman to tell me she’s personally offended by my use of the word on Ann-frickin’-Coulter.
I’m well aware of the history of forced sterilization and its racial connections.
Still, I must apologize to everyone here who experienced extreme emotional trauma on seeing the word “sterilized.” What the hell was I thinking?
Posted 24 Jul 2006 at 9:16 pm ¶
Meg wrote:
Hey Merq, I’m a real, live woman and on behalf of my beautiful (female) dog strongly suggest you use another word to describe ann coulter. It’s just not fair to those amongst us who have paws and cannot type.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 3:16 am ¶
Meg wrote:
Hey Merq, I’m a real, live woman and on behalf of my beautiful (female) dog strongly suggest you use another word to describe ann coulter. It’s just not fair to those amongst us who have paws and cannot type to defend themselves.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 3:16 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
See, here’s the problem (re Coulter). I can’t stand her either (yes, I’ve got 2 X chromosomes, last time I checked).
But the outright LOVE (on the right) and HATRED (on the left) seems directed precisely BECAUSE she’s a woman. I think she gets attention, good and bad, because of her appearance and her outrageous comments, because it’s a WOMAN saying it. Where’s the outrage for Bill O’Reilly, or Pat Robertson, or other conservative (or IMO wingnut) commentators?
Their comments get discussed, even by those who disagree. Coulter’s get tossed around at the water cooler and help her sell books - I dunno, I think she’s laughing all the way to the bank.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 7:36 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
As for the “rape” culture - I’d say it IS a definite subculture. It’s evident in what is considered “Sexy,” or “Provocative.” Often it’s a woman in a mid-state of undress looking both vulnerable and potentially threatening at the same time. Doesn’t that imply that a dominance/beat-down is coming? I mean, really, how DARE they? *mops up dripping sarcasm*
Honestly, I know 2 catch-phrases that I wish to God were more popular:
“Feminism is the radical idea that women are people.” - Steinem
and
“Real Men are Feminists.” (random bumper sticker)
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 7:40 am ¶
Merq wrote:
Meg,
I’m sorry. I totally understand. I’m an obsessive dog-lover, and while I;ve never had a female dog, my god-dog-daughter knows just who Uncle Merq is.
Please forgive me. ;-)
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 8:19 am ¶
mtevc wrote:
Merq, Stop disparaging my dear Lhasa Apso Pixie…no offense taken by me, but Pixie is fuming for the comparison to Coulter. Totally hacked up her Mighty Dog and Science Diet mix this am!
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 9:32 am ¶
Merq wrote:
Look what you’ve done, Brad. Now, everyone hates me! Even my god-dog-daughter, Phoebe!
Hate ME? I’m a good person! I even dream of liberating Phoebs from her parents, an interracial lesbian couple. NOW THOSE MULTIPLE-SINNERS ARE THE ONES YOU ALL SHOULD HATE!
I MEAN, THEY’RE “MIXING”… AND THEY BOTH HAVE GIRL-PARTS!!
Ah, brad. Thanks for a good laugh.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 11:13 am ¶
Merq wrote:
…and you’ll notice nobody’s jumped off a building on reading a comment about sterilization.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 12:40 pm ¶
brad wrote:
Merq, dude, I thought you’d get the joke about insulting canines. “Bitch” is one of those words like “nigger” that get’s on my nerves for it’s overuse and lack of attention to its inherent evil. But I wasn’t trying to be your conscience. I just can’t not comment on somethings anymore. I grew up in a really racist town where the majority white folks accepted white supremacy as fact. I remember in second Becky T. started to say nasty things to a new classmate who was Native American. Becky made the girl cry and no one said a thing. I always tried playing the good guy but it was a tiring and draining experience. Imagine being in American history learning about slavery and the teacher talking about the evils of slavery but knowing full well that the majority of your classmates believed that they were white skin made them better. Ah, the 1980s, they sucked!
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 1:04 pm ¶
brad wrote:
PS I do know the difference between its and it’s. ;-)
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 3:55 pm ¶
site admin wrote:
brad, that’s my BIGGEST punctuation pet peeve. Good thing you corrected yourself, or I would’ve had to ban you from MMW. Just kidding. ;) –CVK
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 4:20 pm ¶
Stephanie B. wrote:
Where’s the outrage from the public when Maxim magazine website shows Persia White with the offensive and hateful caption below:
Have we had enough offensive stereotyping of Black and multiracial Black women in the media around the world? Have we learned our lesson from the Duke rape case and the hate crime in S.C.? From the evidence I see, I say no because the media has a vested interest in the devaluation of Black women in America. Let me say that again, devaluation. These hateful images justify the worst atrocities against these women for centuries and continued today. This is why a lot of people have a hard time believing black victims of sexual harassment or rape. Ask Anita Hill, Desiree Washington, and many other women who are victims of such crimes.
Thanks should go out to Mixed Media Watch and Real Men Are Not for looking out for the best interests of all people around the world. To read the articles, click here and here, respectively.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 6:51 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
Brad,
I did get the joke about insulting canines, but my sarcasm was obviously (or so I thought) in response to your entire “bitch/sterilization” shpiel.
There’s a difference between empathizing with an oppressed group and falling over oneself to be offended “for them.” While your intentions may have been good, I’m afraid I must remind you that “bitch” != “nigger”.
Thus, while you’d never catch me casually substituting “bitch” for “woman,” you will, however, hear me use it on deserving individuals (yes, including males) much like others would– as a synonym for “asshole.”
And I’m hoping my disagreement with your “sterilization” argument was obvious.
Carmen:
“brad, that’s my BIGGEST punctuation pet peeve. Good thing you corrected yourself, or I would’ve had to ban you from MMW. Just kidding. –CVK “
Wait a minute. What about those people who use apostrophe’s as a way to PLURALIZE their word’s?
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 6:51 pm ¶
brad wrote:
CVK–
You, of course, RAWK! :-)
Merq,
Damn…I do know that thee is a word “gets” an dno workd called “get’s.” Typos…
;-)
As for sterilization, it’s (notice my facile use of the contraction of “it is”) a topic I’ve been reading about lately. I had been reading about eugenics and the force sterilization of Native Americans and Native Canadians (I’m Cherokee and Cheyenne on my mom’s side and Cherokee on my dad’s side). There are some really screepy stories. There was a U.S. Supreme Court case in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes opined that the sterilization of a supposed imbelic white woman from a family of illegitimate children was the best thing for socieity.
On the lighter side, one of my friends had himself snipped after the birth of his second child.
As an aside, I’ve been thinking about the anti-gay marriage amendments being passed. I think they’re scary because similar arguments could be used against anyone marrying or some other form of individual expression of love. Could a law be passed to penalize public displays of affection? Or what about laws stripping away the rights of reproduction or forcing reproduction as a service (like in “A Handmaid’s Tale”)? Look at the insanity of the so-called stem cell debate. The majority of the country supports the research but a vocal, influential religious group controls the fates of millions who are suffering horrible diseases. A five-cell cluster is no where near a person.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 7:50 pm ¶
Merq wrote:
Brad:
Dude, you’re getting paranoid now. I didn’t even direct that whole apostrophe/pluralization thing at you! If I was going to mock you, I’d mock you outright, so relax. I didn’t even know you made that mistake (I could go back and reread your posts, but I don’t really care). Frickin’ hilarious!
Anyway, while I’m for stem-cell research, I don’t think the argument stops at the whole “personhood” debate. Look at Judith Jarvis-Thompson’s take on the abortion debate for a slightly saner perspective.
Still, what bothers me most is the red herring the prez’s flacks are using. “The president refuses to support murder.” The fact that nobody’s calling them on the idiocy of that statement is frustrating, yet unsurprising.
Posted 25 Jul 2006 at 9:06 pm ¶
Meg wrote:
Merq: thanks for the apology i think it’s all cool now :) the dogs of the world will survive
As for “the president refuses to support murder” i think jon stewert did a whole thing on that and contrasted it with his slightly less than human take on 30,000-odd dead iraqis. I’m not in america though so not sure what night it originally went to air, but his stuff usually ends up on youtube in some form if you’re interested.
If you were hoping for an actual journalist to call him on it, i can’t help you.
Posted 26 Jul 2006 at 1:38 am ¶