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I did not watch the SuperBowl.  Proudly.  But my stance on professional sports is a topic for another discussion.  Anyway, if there’s one thing that the SuperBowl is known for (besides hypermasculinity and large men in spandex trying to kill each other in addition to rubbing up against one another and grunting in a totally non-sexual way – wait, another post, right) it’s envelope pushing advertisements.  These are being covered all over the place today, so here are some links to get you thinking about the fallout.

Woes Of Bros: Super Bowl Ads Star Pathetic Men — And The Women Who Ruined Them [Jezebel]

Knowing that Super Bowl Sunday is the only day of the year in which TV viewers actually care about commercials, you’d think ad agencies would have tried to reach the men and the women watching at home, right? Wrong.

Superbowl Sexism: Spineless, skirtless edition [feministing]

I’m sensing an anxious masculinity theme for the Superbowl commercials this year. I mean, we get it, dudes: You’re worried about being castrated by lavender scented candles and shopping with your lady friend. Go kill something, quick! And for the love of god, stop being nice to your girlfriend.

The Super Bowl and Madison Avenue Misogyny [feministe]

Superbowl ads are sexist. This is well trod ground: Marketers objectify women and play up stereotypes in order to sell things to (heterosexual) men. But we knew this year was going to be special. This year there was going to be some extra anti-feminist flavor… There were fewer half-naked women and dick jokes this year. Instead, the 2010 Superbowl Ad Mantra seemed to have one common theme: “Feeling castrated? . . . by women? Man up.”

The Critics On The Super Bowl Ads: Boring, Misogynistic [Jezebel]

• From Time’s James Poniewozik:

Wow, Super Bowl ad men really hate Super Bowl ad women this year, don’t they? …. Why would CBS turn down a Super Bowl ad from a gay-dating service, then run a bunch of ads with the message that men can’t stand to be around women?

• From  Slate’s Seth Stevenson:

Is it me, or was this year’s dose of casual misogyny a little rawer and angrier than usual?

• From The Washington Post’s Tom Shales:

An oddly recurring theme had to do with men asserting their masculinity, or attempting to assert it, as well as the perpetual male fear of emasculation.

• NOW via the Los Angeles Times:

NOW president Terry O’Neill said it glorified violence against women. “I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it,” she said.

Looks like a big mess.  Did I miss any good critiques of last night’s ads?  Feel free to leave your own responses as well as links to more posts in the comments.

I’ll admit that I typically don’t give crime shows a fair chance.  Something about horrific crimes as entertainment rubs me the wrong way, and when sex gets rolled into the mix it seems like a recipe for disaster.  But I gave Law & Order: Special Victims Unit it’s chance, and let me tell you – I was pleasantly surprised (thanks Netflix instant queue!).

I still believe strongly that sex and violence are a dangerous cocktail, but SVU handles the topics with class.  The violence, although sexual, is never sexy, and the bad guys are almost always clearly bad (exceptions include child perps and false accusers).  Stranger rape, date rape, marital rape are all treated with equal seriousness (a level of respect we often can’t even expect from our own local news), and more controversial topics such as sexual orientation, sex work, and patient-doctor confidentiality and spousal privilege are handled with care.

Furthermore, the female characters on the show are complex, intelligent, and self-sufficient.  On top of this, their counterparts are possibly the most decent men I’ve seen on television in a long time.  Detectives look out for each other regardless of gender, and there is a sense of camaraderie and caring that has nothing to do with genitalia.  For instance, knowing Detective Benson’s sensitive history with her father (all she knows about him is that he’s the man who raped her mother), Detective Stabler calls out a coworker who made an inappropriate joke about the subject.  He does this discretely and out of a desire to protect his partner, not a poor sensitive woman, and Det. Benson watches Stabler’s back with an equal amount of respect and concern when his buttons are pushed.

Although Det. Benson is still in the minority as a woman detective on the unit, she is quickly replacing Special Agent Dana Scully as my favorite woman in uniform.  She is always the defender of justice, warmly and kindly comforting the victims of the atrocities featured on the show while giving the Ice Queen a run for her money when she gets alone in the room with a perp.  The various ADAs across seasons (nearly always portrayed by women) are equally cool and collected and fantastic at their jobs.

One of the most unique themes that I’ve noticed in watching, however, is the clear and direct condemnation of misogyny.  Many of the perps on the show target women (prostitutes, girlfriends, wives, strangers) because they are women.  One of the ADAs sets out to be the first lawyer to successfully convict a rapist of a hate crime.  The hatred and loathing these criminals (and occasionally cops) have for women illustrate the most vile misogyny that can be imagined – and they way that it is portrayed is as disgusting and loathsome as it really is.

Although there isn’t a great deal of ethnic diversity on the team and no significant address of ablism, the competent women on the show are a breath of fresh air, as are their respectful and admirable coworkers – men as allies in “women’s issues” fights are too sparse on television.  The women are still held to a higher standard as far as the limited variety in body image portrayed and the requirement that they are still able to demonstrate a sensitive and nurturant side that is more acceptably absent in male characters, but I’m willing to argue that Law & Order SVU is a pretty feminist-friendly show.  And with 11 seasons under its belt, I’m impressed that it has been given the chance to put these images and messages out there for so long.

Shoutouts to the post at Bitch blog that addressed this a little while ago.  Follow their (and my) advice and give it chance if you haven’t yet!

I have fallen in love with Lady Gaga over the past month, and this post from Jukebox Heroines on the feminist themes in her music was too awesome not to share.  If you are interested in cross-posting or guest-posting at feministhemes.com, please contact me with your ideas at misswizzle@feministhemes.com.

Lady Gaga – The Fame (2008) on (Streamline/Konlive/Cherrytree/Interscope)

Part 1:

Oh snap. Yes, I just said it. Lady Gaga’s music is feminist. Why do I say such things? Because I can back it up. And because I love her music, videos, and persona. She is the reason I have actually started to listen to pop music again. So, let me tell you about feminist music….

Why do I say that her music is feminist? Whether or not she herself claims to be a feminist, her work criticizes gender, sexuality, the body, pop culture’s representations of women, and the nature of power. This in itself is a feminist act. Now, feminism, I guess we must define in some form, considering most representations of it are: man hater, bra burner, lesbian, ugly, want power over men, bitchy, hate children…..not true. Feminism is the political and social movement for women’s social, political, and economic equality. In that social part lies music, and Lady Gaga knows exactly what she is up against in the music industry. Feminist Music therefore, can be made by anyone, male/female/trans, as long as it fulfills the goals of fighting for equality and justice based on gender.

How does she present feminist ideas? I will give you a few examples. Read the rest of this entry »

If Carrie is a story about the horrors of adolescence, Misery is a story of the horrors of middle age.

When romance author Paul Sheldon is in a terrible car accident, his life is forever changed by an act of (bad) fortune as Annie Wilkes pulls him from the vehicle.  A former nurse, Annie sets Paul’s broken bones, medicates his pain, and shelters him in her own home, claiming that the phone lines are down and she couldn’t get him to a hospital.  Soon Paul realizes that Annie, his #1 fan, is much more than he bargained for – she keeps him locked in his room, heavily medicated, and prohibits him from contacting anyone to let them know he’s alive.  Annie forces Paul to rewrite his last novel, which was not to her liking, and as she fetches supplies he explores her home, learning about her treacherous history as a nurse and searching for an escape.  Paul must constantly be on the lookout for any opportunity to escape, and tread carefully so as not to tip off (or set off) Annie.

The film reverses the roles of typical hostage films, plays with the caretaker role women are so often expected to fulfill, and gives us a deeper glance at Stephen King’s Freudian complex with mothers.  An investigation of these themes after the jump.

Ani DiFranco has been my hero since the seventh grade, and some of the best relationships in my life have evolved from a mutual love of the little folksinger.  I could list 100 reasons to love her, but music aside, these snippets of her politics should give you some insight into the worldview of one of the most outspoken (and idolized) feminists of the modern era.

1. On feminism today:

“When I do many interviews and I’m faced with the is feminism really relevant anymore question … I’m sort of trying to put [it] out there more than ever now [that] our idea of feminism has stagnated and almost been abandoned by many, many people at a time when we should have evolved it. It should be embraced by men and women. I mean why don’t we call ourselves feminists? Young women don’t even [call themselves feminists] anymore, let alone women and men; and instead of feminism as equal pay for equal work – okay, we got that – but try to understand it as a consciousness shift. We have to use feminism all together as a tool to dismantle patriarchies so that all of us together can rise.”

2. On patriarchy in world politics:

“It’s the elephant in the room.  As I get older, I really understand peace to be a product of balance. And there’s a fundamental imbalance inherent in patriarchy. Unless you have a dynamic interplay between the sensibilities of the two sexes, you can never create peace. It’s impossible.”

3. On the power of the people:

“I’m still very optimistic for the potential of grass roots change. I still see and feel it out there. It’s what allows me to get up in the morning, the immense possibility that exists all around us right now… We don’t need to change the world. The world is changing around us. We just need to direct that change. And our power to direct it is immense once we use it.”

Click here for 7 more reasons to love Ani

Kill Bill is, above all else, a story of vengeance.  Beatrix Kiddo, aka The Bride, is a woman out for revenge against Bill, the ringleader of the gang that shot down her wedding rehearsal, as well as the father of her unborn child.  Bill leaves Beatrix for dead, but after four years in a coma Beatrix miraculously wakes up and is devastated when she realizes her child is gone.  Grieving the loss of the new life she had hoped for, Beatrix makes a list of those who did her wrong and sets out to find her own form of justice.

Considering Kill Bill from a feminist perspective is an interesting task.  The film is chock full of strong and powerful female characters, working mothers (albeit hitwomen), and fierce fighters.  However, these women are united by their (one time) allegiance to Bill, who not entirely unlike a pimp sent his women out on dangerous jobs.  And as is all to often the case, these powerful women quickly turn on each other rather than uniting.

Although there is a great deal of violence against women in the film, women are never portrayed as simple victims.  Beatrix eventually overcomes all of the men (and women) who had hurt her, from a male nurse who molested and pimped her out when she was in a coma to Bill and his gang who destroyed her wedding and put her into the coma in the first place.  Combat scenes in the film are highly choreographed and as complex as dance, with women holding their own in battles against each other and men.  However, the film’s idealized fight scenes glorify the violence, not uncommon in the action genre.

It is refreshing to see powerful women on film, from Buffy to Beatrix, especially when the heroine comes out on top.  As empowering as it is, one has to wonder how a potentially feminist film could possibly be featured as part of a Spike TV marathon.  Could it be that such films might begin to change the macho/machismo action genre, or is it simply another example of women as objects in men’s entertainment?

Check out this awesome article at the Bitch magazine blog on whether or not Quentin Tarantino might be a feminist, and whether or not that matters.