The Bro Code

[seabeyond]

http://vimeo.com/29397650

Distributed by the Media Education Foundation
Produced by Thomas Keith

Filmmaker Thomas Keith takes aim at the forces in male culture that condition boys and men to dehumanize and disrespect women. Keith breaks down a range of contemporary media forms, zeroing in on movies and music videos that glamorize womanizing, pornography that trades in the brutalization of women, comedians who make fun of sexual assault, and a groundswell of men's magazines and cable TV shows that revel in old-school myths of American manhood. Even as epidemic levels of men's violence against women persist in the real world, the message Keith uncovers in virtually every corner of our entertainment culture is clear: It's not only normal -- but cool -- for boys and men to control and humiliate women. Arguing that there's nothing normal, natural, or inevitable about this mentality, The Bro Code challenges young people, young men and women alike, to step up and fight back against the idea that being a real man means being sexist



Do We Do It To Ourselves?

The other day, I heard from Hilary, a former student who forwarded a pdf of the Letters page in the January issue of Washingtonian Magazine. The top letter, which called out the editors for choosing to feature a naked woman on the cover, was hers:

Your magazine is cutting edge, informative, and entertaining without being superficial. However, when the December issue arrived, I was disgusted. Washington is full of beautiful, powerful, educated, intelligent women of all shapes, sizes, and ages, and this cover does nothing but degrade us to a naked – and I’m sure Photoshopped – figure with some lines about cosmetic procedures floating around her head…

Hilary said she was heartened by the fact that the magazine not only published her letter, but acknowledged the extensive blowback the cover had gotten from other readers. She also wrote that she was inspired by the documentary, Miss Representation, and since seeing it has been quick to “attack any and all forms of the continued objectification of women, especially powerful women, in our society.”

You go, Hilary.

*

Rushe asks a good question. But I’ve got another. What’s our own role in all this nonsense? Whether or not we’re directly responsible for any of the sexism that continues to objectify our gender, we do have one responsibility — and that’s to call when we see it. Just like Hilary.

http://open.salon.com/blog/shannon_kelley/2012/01/12/do_we_do_it_to_ourselves




The Rise of Mad Masculinity

The first quarter of 2011 has ushered in the year of the “mad man.” From Charlie Sheen to Chris Brown to George Lopez to Jared Loughner and David Prosser, we’ve seen it all: everything from verbal and emotional abuse of women to polygamy to assault and attempted murder. Sadly, this idea of mad masculinity is being turned into a commodity that can be consumed repeatedly across a range of media outlets. What’s sadder is that these examples could be multiplied many times over and aren’t limited to stories on TMZ or headlines in mainstream newspapers. As Phil Molé details in a thorough and important post, “the worst cases of misogyny in the world today are rarely even deemed newsworthy.”

But whether we’re talking about India or Indiana, what remains striking is how little we seem to know or care about the frequency of discrimination against women, physical or otherwise. What’s more is that we seem to be entertained by an increasingly blatant contempt for women. Why is Chris Brown invited to return to “Good Morning America” following his morning-show meltdown after he was asked questions about his assault on his onetime girlfriend Rihanna? Why is Charlie Sheen slated to make $7 million from his upcoming national tour, aka “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option Show”? Why does George Lopez feel it’s all right to call Kirstie Alley a pig on his talk show? Why don’t we talk about hateful sexist language that Loughner directed at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords before he shot her in January? Why is Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Prosser allowed to use slurs against Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson?

When mad men rear their heads in mainstream media—as in the cases of Sheen, Brown, Lopez, Loughner and Prosser—their transgressions are largely dismissed. Or, worse, they are turned into a joke. And when mad men such as Loughner or Prosser attack women in politics, physically or verbally, it rarely commands serious scrutiny or analysis. Mad men are treated as individual bad men and not as part of a society that devalues women. The recent focus on mad misogynist men as entertainment also appeals to an escapist impulse on the part of audiences. More important, it suggests that we’ve become desensitized and are either unable or unwilling to address discrimination against women in a serious and political manner.

*

Instead of fighting to end discrimination against women we have simply allowed misogyny to come out of the contained spaces of homes and workplaces and take over mainstream media. Men who won’t “man up” are called “pussies.” Women who won’t submit are called “total bitches.” And so-called ugly women are referred to as “grenades” and “pigs.” Framing this kind of talk as scandalous gossip and entertainment allows audiences to feel better because we would never dream of using those terms. And even if we secretly would use that kind of language, we are still better than those crazy men with their crude manners who use such words in public. We fail to realize our power to turn these images off and demand that different and more humane images of men and women be the norm. Even more tragically, we fail to acknowledge that consuming these images implicates us in misogyny, regardless of how genuinely we wish they did not.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_rise_of_mad_masculinity_20110328/

[MadrasT]

1. Interesting.

I just picked up this book that is along a similar vein. It concentrates more on specifically why women buy into (and propegate) this:

Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy

Meet the Female Chauvinist Pig -- the new brand of "empowered woman" who embraces "raunch culture" wherever she finds it. In her groundbreaking book, New York magazine writer Ariel Levy argues that, if male chauvinist pigs of years past thought of women as pieces of meat, Female Chauvinist Pigs of today are doing them one better, making sex objects of other women -- and of themselves. Irresistibly witty and wickedly intelligent, Female Chauvinist Pigs makes the case that the rise of raunch does not represent how far women have come; it only proves how far they have left to go.

One of the Amazon reviews says:

Somewhere along the developmental line of feminism and women's liberation, as we fought for equal rights and opportunities, we achieved much in some areas while falling to our knees, literally and metaphorically, in the area of female sexuality. It is the one area where we are, perhaps, most vulnerable and shown ourselves to be needy of the approval of the opposite gender. And so, it appears, our line has become - if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Who wants to be viewed as a prude? Women have not gone on to explore the strength and power of the feminine gender; instead, we have fought to "become one of the boys."

I am really enjoying the book so far (only just started reading).

[seabeyond]

2. excellent stuff madrast

and as you get to some interesting stuff that makes you think and peel the oinion, start a thread and add to it as you read and resolve. i would love to hear it. did you get done with that other book by Cordelia Fine

[BlueIris]

4. I've met far too many of those FCPs.

They take any opportunity to put down, insult or outright abuse other women to score points with male sexists, make themselves look more attractive to those men, or otherwise pathetically attempt to make men "comfortable" around them. My "favorite" kinds are the ones who do that shit, and then have the nerve to call themselves feminists.

[WingDinger]

3. WOW. The complete indoctrination.

Great ape stuff.

[BlueIris]

5. I despise people who use the term "bro."

To me, it always registers as code for "my fellow misogynist, whom I expect to back me up no matter what." Sickos. Utter, desperate sickos.

[seabeyond]

6. interesting, and you are probably correct seeing how this man picked that term

specifically for this piece. stating exactly what you are saying.

i would not have picked that up. i didnt realize.

thank you blueiris.

[redqueen]

7. Of course we have allowed misogyny to take over mainstream media.

We see misogyny and laugh along with the 'joke', because women have so thoroughly internalized their own oppression.

[seabeyond]

8. dontcha love this guy

damn, he is hawt....

nothing like a little respect to turn a woman on.

sigh

ok

i am teasin, but that was too easy