'Defined Lines' and Online Activism

'Yeah, I had a bitch, but she ain't bad as you, I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two.' Let's take a moment to analyse this quote, Shakespeare, it is not. Taken at face value (I can glean no other poetic meaning from it), it's crude, unpleasant and leaves nothing to the imagination. Imagine someone speaking these words in everyday life. To every parent reading this, would you be happy if someone approached your daughter in the street and said these words to them? If they did the same to your sister? Your mother? I'm going to assume the answer is no.

This quote is taken from one of this summer's most popular songs, 'Blurred Lines', a charming melody by Robin Thicke, featuring Pharrell. The video depicts Thicke and Pharrell surrounded at all times by topless women, all of whom seem to have no other purpose than to prance from side to side and rub themselves up against the two gentleman. Apart from one lucky young lady, who gets to hold a lamb.

The song has spawned many parody videos, and this alone is nothing newsworthy. A quick Youtube search shows that there are hundreds, if not thousands of parody music videos on the internet that include a fairly enjoyable, tongue in cheek (as opposed to out of mouth) take on Miley Cyrus' 'We Can't Stop.' The difference in the video I am focusing your attention on is not that it is amusing, though it is. It is not even that it has so far received nearly three million views. It is that this video has a message that is urgently relevant in today's society, a message that many think is outdated and no longer necessary in today's 'progressive' world.
The parody I refer to is called 'Defined Lines', a video that directly challenges the depiction of women and the ideas that are perpetrated in  the lyrics and video of 'Blurred Lines'. The main issue of contention many commentators found this summer is not the video's overt use of female nudity  (prevalent enough in today's popular music culture, and nothing so tame as a pair of naked breasts are likely to shock those intimate with MTV) but the message its lyrics contain.

 Though I said earlier there is no deep meaning to glean from the songs wording, I meant from a purely poetic angle. What the lyrics do contain and promote is the idea that sexual consent is a 'burred line', that if women would just realise they really do just want it, it would be a lot easier for men to get on with having sex with them and not have to deal with anything as annoying as rape accusations. The lyrics  have already been analysed and criticised by many, and not just bloggers. The song has been accused by Rape Crisis, a charity that raises awareness and understanding of sexual violence, of "reinforcing rape myths". Rape Crisis spokeswoman Katie Russell said: "Both the lyrics and the video seem to objectify and degrade women, using misogynistic language and imagery that many people would find not only distasteful or offensive but also really quite old fashioned. More disturbingly, certain lyrics are explicitly sexually violent and appear to reinforce victim-blaming rape myths, for example about women giving 'mixed signals' through their dress or behaviour, saying 'no' when they really mean 'yes' and so on."

 Thicke has  called the criticism “ridiculous.” In an interview with GQ magazine he claimed the video did not denigrate women “because all three [artists in the video] are happily married with children”. "People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before.” he said. Charming.

'Defined Lines' is the parody video created by three young women from New Zealand as their own creative response to Thicke's offering. The video switches the gender roles, and the lyrics point out what the reality of the harassment means to women - "Just don't harass me, You can't just grab me, That's a sex crime."
 I was able to speak to Adelaide, one of the three who created 'Defined Lines.' We discussed how she feels about how much publicity the video has had, and her thoughts on modern day feminism. I started by asking if she and the other girls ever expected their video would receive such a reaction. "We had no idea the video would make such waves - it was made to be screened in a theatre as part of a skit show and we just put it on YouTube to share around to some people who couldn't make it. If I knew that millions around the world would be watching it I might not have included that castration joke, ha-ha!"

The castration joke she is referring to is 'We’re feelin’ the frustration, From all the exploitation, Prepare for your castration' - though as later lyrics in the parody point out, 'I apologise if you think my lines are crass, Tell me how it feels, to get verbally harassed?'

For this reason, Adelaide says she understands some of the negative comments that the video has received. "I remember during filming realising that what we were creating wasn't strictly feminist in that it showed females dominating males - but that gender flipping was where the humour and the parody value lay, so we continued. I haven't taken much time to read the YouTube comments but from the kind of horrific ones I have seen I understand that the world still has quite a way to go in terms of gender equality. I think that a lot of YouTube commenters feel safe hiding behind the veils of anonymity, so people feel free to write offensive and discriminatory comments. I think those responses also convey how much we need feminism still. On the other hand, the positive responses have been quite inspiring - people have shared their personal stories with us and given us so much support that I have been inspired to fight harder for equality. We're thinking about what steps we can take from here - we've set up a Twitter account (@LawRevueGirls) as a starting point but I'd be keen to get involved in some feminist blogging. This whole thing is still new to us though."

The 'new thing' that she and the other girls are experiencing is being held up as an example of 21st century feminism, the latest wave of the womens' movement that takes advantage of the platform social media offers us all in today's world. Keen not to pigeon hole the group, I asked if she and the other girls actually define themselves as feminists, and if so, why they embrace the term.  "All three of us call ourselves feminists but this video is our first (albeit accidental) foray into publicly addressing women's rights issues. New Zealand is quite a liberal and progressive society, particularly in terms of gender equality - we were the first country to give women the vote. In that sense, when we made this video we didn't think what we were saying was too radical (for our originally intended local audience) - it's interesting that when people overseas view it, they call us heroes and role models, thinking we were making an incredibly brave statement. That's a really positive outcome though - if we can give women a voice through our video and lyrics, albeit unintentionally."

 I asked if there had been personal moments in her life that had inspired her to address sexism. "I spent my final two years [of school] in a predominantly male private school (it was historically an all-boys school which has recently started to allow girls to attend). When I was there I experienced enough casual misogyny from both male students and teachers to know that there are some real problems with ingrained sexism in society. I think it was then that I discovered what feminism was and decided to call myself a feminist. Since then I've become increasingly interested in the movement - I recently had quite an emotional reaction to a famous feminist art installation, 'The Dinner Party' by Judy Chicago when I was visiting the Brooklyn Museum. Personal moments like that have inspired me to speak out about women's rights and I hope that I can continue!"

 Hearing from Adelaide echoed many of my own feelings on the subject. As president of my university's Feminism Society, I sometimes feel backed into a corner and that I need to defend my choice to define as a feminist. She summed up her own thoughts on the definition and reaction it often receives from people. "We are not man-haters, sexually confused, bra-burners as some people might think. I think it's a pity that feminism has gained these negative connotations so that both males and females sometimes cringe when they hear the term. We're happy with the effect the video has had in promoting feminism and sending out the message that you can be a feminist in your own individual way - if this means wearing red lipstick and high heels and rapping about equality then so be it. Feminism should be for everyone."

It is because of the accessibility of YouTube and other social media that their video has been shared so widely and received such a response. This is 21st century feminism's most powerful tool, and needs to be recognised and embraced as such. One can hardly sneer at online activism when it produces such staggering results. Laura Bates set up the Everyday Sexism Project last year, and its Twitter account collates and publishes hundreds of tweets about women's experiences of sexism every week. Elizabeth Plank took notice of the International Boxing Federation's (AIBA) decision to force female boxers to wear skirts at the Olympics, and "did what any committed and dedicated activist of the 21st century does: I Tweeted it." Her tweet led to the creation of an online petition, which led to a community of almost 50,000 supporters, and to the head of the AIBA overturning his decision. An online petition on UltraViolet collected 50,000 signatures in only two hours, persuading Reebok to drop Rick Ross when his new single included rape-promoting lyrics.

Perhaps understandably, many women and men feel that bringing up sexual harassment, or any other feminist issue whilst at the pub is a little too out there. Spending 30 seconds tweeting though, seems more casual. Some may say more lazy, but I would whole-heartedly refute that. As nasty as online spaces can be (we all know that trolls no longer lurk underneath bridges, but in corners of forums and comment threads) the opportunity to engage with like-minded people you may never meet in real life is extraordinary. Feminist outrage has been around for a long time. Perhaps the general population has forgotten that it has continued to simmer, no longer chained to parliament and hurled under horses. But with the surge in this utilisation of social media, this passionate and intense online activism, the anger can no longer be ignored. Women, younger women especially, are finding a new sense of self-empowerment. Society would be foolish to ignore the influence that they command.

You can check out 'Defined Lines' here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1XtnLRLPM

Rose Walker, 2013-2014 President

MissRepresentation: Women in Cosplay and Anime

By Hayley Johnson

One of the most enjoyable things about being an anime fan is cosplay. Cosplay, short for “costume play”, is essentially dressing up as your favourite characters from your favourite anime series. When I was asked to talk about women in anime, cosplay was one of the first things that came to mind, tightly bound as it is with the anime community. With that in mind, I realised something. I don't really cosplay girls that much. This was something that I'd only really considered briefly before now and I hadn't really touched on why this was. After some thought though, I figured something out: I would be uncomfortable cosplaying a fair amount of the female characters from series that I follow, or have followed in the past.

Take, for instance, one of the more famous anime series out there, Ghost in the Shell. Out of three films and two series, I watched all but one of the movies. It's deep, thoughtful, political and all packaged in the cyberpunk trappings that I have a fondness for. To top it all off, the main protagonist is the female and utterly awesome Major Motoko Kusanagi. There are few series or characters that I have gotten as much enjoyment and discussion out of. But I couldn't ever cosplay her. Why? Because I could not wear her default outfit with any kind of comfort.

Now I have no problem with female characters wearing skimpy outfits, so long as it makes sense in the context of the scene or series. In this case, I have no clue why a member of a counter-terrorist armed response unit would think, “Yeah, a leotard and thigh high boots are perfect for my day at work.” She does wear more sensible clothing elsewhere in the series, but I can't but compare her to her in-show male colleagues, who never reach the same level of undress. 

Unfortunate outfit aside, she is resourceful, intelligent and can hold her own in situations where she is ridiculously outnumbered and outgunned; it honestly kills me to realise that I am sitting here and critiquing one of my favourite female anime characters ever, but I can't not mention this. At the very least, I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that she's nowhere near as bad as the female characters in hentai. (I would comment further on that genre, but I won't, because I'm not qualified to criticise what I haven't watched and because I think the very existence of tentacle rape speaks for itself.)

Speaking of famous series, and characters that I would never cosplay from them, I suppose that I would be remiss were I to neglect Naruto, a series that has been running in comic form since 1999 and has currently clocked in at over 500 episodes in anime form. Quite impressive for a series about ninjas in inappropriately bright clothing. The first major female character that you meet is a girl by the name of Sakura Haruno; she's been assigned to the same squad as the title character and another boy named Sasuke. You would think that since she's training to be a ninja, she would be a pretty cool example of how female portrayal should go. Nope. She quickly gets relegated to the sidelines as cheerleader while the boys have these epic, multi-episode battles. This continues pretty much throughout the series until the two year time skip in the middle of the series. After the series reconvenes, we're introduced to an older, wiser Sakura. At first she seemed to have gone through a positive shift, showing that she could recreate an earthquake with her fist.

Maybe this was a sign that she would finally be pulled out of the decorative cheerleader role, become so much more valuable as a team member. Unfortunately that was a short-lived hope, as Naruto seemed to have improved to levels of godhood while the fans weren't looking, so she sort of adopted the medic role instead. Don't get me wrong: having played enough roleplaying games for one lifetime, a medic is always appreciated. There was just such potential for her to be awesome and self-reliant, someone who I would be happy to cosplay. As it is, she's a disappointment in almost every sense.

I feel like I'm doing anime a disservice right now. I've managed to be completely negative about a series I love and a series that I used to follow religiously (before things got weird). And that's not what anime is about. I'm going to talk about two anime, a film and a series, whose main female characters encapsulate the best that a character can embody, regardless of gender.

The first is the Studio Ghibli film Laputa: Castle in the Sky, a film in which the main character, a young girl Sheeta, is relentlessly pursued by kidnappers and pirates because of a magic amulet related to the title's castle in the sky.

 The second is a science-fiction anime series called Noein: To Your Other Self, where the main character, another young girl (this time by the name Haruka), is fought over by two warring alternate futures who believe that she is the key to either save or destroy reality as we know it, as well as all other possible realities. In both these anime, these characters are pit against overwhelming odds that they are ill-equipped to handle by themselves. In spite of these odds, they soldier on and manage to succeed through determination and faith in their friends. Despite enemies with far superior numbers and equipment. Despite having to navigate the confusing experience that is growing up at the same time. Much as I currently love or will love other series, these two anime will probably always be amongst my favourites, with Sheeta and Haruka being just two of many many reasons.

So to those who I perhaps scared off with my criticisms earlier, I would say don't dismiss anime as a medium. It is, like any other form of media, filled with good and bad points. If you're willing to try the medium and dedicate yourself to finding the good things within it, then anime can be a treasure trove. There's always the plus side that most of the really bad stuff dies quite a quick death. I would perhaps suggest avoiding any anime with either of the following words in the description: tentacles or harem. You have been warned. 

Rhul FemSoc Miss-Rep Campaign: Black Women and Feminism

Last year we had our first Miss Representation collaboration and we teamed up with the Rhul Afro-Caribbean Society to discuss how women from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds are represented in the media, black female role models and Black Feminism.

The event was a great success and we got a chance to hear the brilliant Reni Eddo-Lodge, Black feminist, former president of Lancaster SU, NUS National executive council member and Guardian columnist speak about her experiences of Black Feminism.

It was also really interesting to able to hear what students at Royal Holloway thought about the representation of black women in the media and the great video that was made for the event really opened many people eyes about the under-representation and misrepresentation of black women in the media. Following this one of our members, Hodan Elmi, also wanted to share her thoughts on Black Feminism, but first, here is the fantastic video that was created for our event :)

Growing up, I've had a strong connection to the subject of women and feminism especially being a young woman with such an interest in history. Not for a moment did I question the demographic of women I had seen within these movements. Maybe I was just used to seeing these faces before me. I couldn't help but wonder, why don't people on television, magazines and even in literature look like me?

 
No doubt the development of rights and the liberation of women in the first and second wave of feminism were indeed successful. However their conception of women's rights was not extended to women of colour, especially with black women. In the plight of the civil rights movement, many African Americans demanded their basic rights: the right to vote, the right to freedom of movement, the right to an education and overall parity with the white man in America. No doubt the black women experienced a different and more intensified form of sexism due to intersecting issues concerning race and class. Needless to say black women felt left out of a movement that didn't cater to their needs because they were a different type of woman. Audre Lorde said, "I recognize that my power as well as my primary oppressions come as a result of my blackness as well as my womaness, and therefore my struggles on both of these fronts are inseparable". Without the eradication of racism, women's liberation is severely limited in who they intend to liberate.
Black feminism does not seek to divide feminism and its goal but, what it does do, is to celebrate our differences and understand them adequately enough in order to promote equality for ALL women, not a select privileged sector.

Black women and black feminism today still have a long way to go. Our fight for representation in the media (don't get me started on politics) is still sidelined. High profile feminists, still receiving praise and admiration for their ideas still have shown a lack of solidarity with the black woman (cough Caitlin Moran cough cough).  The advent of the U.S television series Girls is unequivocally, a prime example of this sentiment. Believe it or not I loved Girls.  I felt I related to the show, especially with the main character Hannah. It was well written; witty, light-hearted and refreshing. Girls is definitely reminiscent of Sex and the City but instead, the characters aren't overly concerned with the opposite sex in the same way that Carrie Bradshaw and co are. They have yet to figure out themselves and the relationships they embark upon which mean the audience grows just as much with the story as the characters do.  Somewhere along the line I realized that Girls was completely white washed, oddly there wasn't even an element of tokenism which puzzled me further. Lena Duhnam's excuse for the lack of representation of Girls was that as a writer she could only write through her perspective: white women. All of this continues to highlight an on-going theme of subtle racism which internally plagues society and the feminist community. As a black woman watching Girls, I'm sure I was not the only woman of colour who related to the series. But it poses the question, why didn't Lena Duhnam have the ability to relate women of colour? This only exemplifies the degree of racism and separatism within this representation and society at large. The white perspective and experience is universal and the stories of the "others" are merely categorized for a limited audience. It would have been befitting for the show to be called White Girls. The main problem and criticism for the lack of representation of women was not because the show mainly consisted of white people (still a problem) but it was the upheaval of praise and recognition that Dunham received as a feminist and advocate of women's liberation despite her failure to represent women of colour. For Lena Duhnam to be praised openly and her work to be perceived as "ground-breaking" without adequate representation is shameful.

Dunham's inability to relate or tell the stories of young black women is reflected by the way white media treats and represents women of colour on the whole. The white experience and the over representation of white people is often taken to be an experience that is applied to everyone and most people of colour who have their five minutes of fame (or who happen to be one of the ten black people in Hollywood) are often stereotyped in the roles they play.

Furthermore, the black woman we see in mass media is overly sexualised, “sassy”, angry and working class. A typical scenario in film starring a black woman would include a loud, aggressive black woman with several children from a husband that had probably left her, even the successful seem to be angry, instead of just headstrong. The overplayed strong, independent black woman “who don't need no man” is angry, but what for? Since when is the lack of reliance on men necessarily a bad thing? The media would have you believe that black women are lonely because of this inability to keep their mouths shut as a result of their subservience to men and to society because of colour. Although most people would be quick to perceive the misrepresentation of women in the media as being just of a hyper-sexualised and objectified form, the issues of understanding racism and sexism collectively together is a discussion long overdue. Society's aversion to the discussion of race- relations in the western world, particularly in Britain and America has definitely left a bad taste. I understand that for many people, particularly some white liberals, it is probably an issue dealt with a great deal of shame and unease. But to make the assumption that racism is a sentiment that has somehow withered away and is no longer a problem is simply not addressing the big elephant in the room. If we are going to move feminism forward, we must all discuss and try to understand intersectionality.

With a more intersectional definition of feminism emerging in the feminist community,the future shows a lot of promise. Let's keep at it!