Discover Wisconsin- Audition Tape- Beverly Thompson

Female Chauvinist Pigs

The explanation that Levy provides in the discussion on what female viewers and readers got out of raunch culture and how girls just want to be “one of the guys” I feel is true to a certain degree. I think the biggest issue in women taking on this new female chauvinism is the fact that they want to mask their insecurities by pretending to be okay with raunch culture, rather than comparing themselves to the women in it.

Joe Francis and the Girls Gone Wild group has simply mastered the art of peer pressure. The success in the GGW business has come from their ability to convince girls, minus the ever-so willing ones, in public places, surrounded by their peers, that this is what they want to do. Had the girl in the black bikini not become surrounded by people on the beach, undoubtedly GGW would have received no footage. Now that the GGW empire has been created, however, it’s much easier to receive immediate voluntary footage. It’s sad to see that we have come from a world where porn and such was a “back alley” deal for women to secretly make money to a world where porn is a center stage deal for women to earn themselves a trucker hat.

The Gay and Lesbian Niche Market

Given that the statistics provided in the reading on the average annual income were researched in the early 1990's, I don't think they would have been so accurate but maybe even a bit modest. During this time, homosexuality was still on the cusp of breaking through conservative backlash, which inevitably caused many people to "stay in the closet" out of fear. I would be interested in knowing what the difference would have been in average annual income had the majority of the gay population been accounted for. This, along with the other reasons provided, I think is was led to the discredit of these types of statistics.

In the reading it is stated that, "characteristically, consumer culture offers redress for the disenfranchisement of those who have traditionally been cast as "other" on the basis of their identities." Despite this fact, would marketers even have acknowledged this group had they not become a rather large proportion of the population and proved to exceed the national salary averages?

Levy Reading

"Proving that you are hot, worth of lust, and-necessarily-that you seek to provoke lust is still exclusively women's work," states Levy. This is exemplified through the incidences that were given in the reading. Even on television sitcoms, you see loads of pretty, skinny actresses paired up with their not-so-attractive counterparts. Two shows that come to mind are Modern Family and King of Queens. Why is it okay for the male actor to be portrayed as sloppy and still be liked while for women to be equally enjoyed, they must be model-like in appearance? Would the ratings still be as high if the female actress was replaced by somebody with equal the personality but not be as physically attractive?

I personally feel that if you feel more confident wearing makeup and figure fitting clothing, then all the power to you, but in today's society, it has been taken way too far. Would celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian be as popular as they are without their sex tapes? Thinking back to scenes from the movie Mean Girls, I remember one of the little sisters of a main character imitating hip thrusting moves in a music video and in another scene, lifts up her shirt along with girls in a Girls Gone Wild infomercial. Though this was just a movie, how far from real life is this? How will raunch culture affect the future generations of females?

Selling out for 11/30/10

1. I've never noticed any gay ads. Can anyone give me an example of a gay ad they have seen in mainstream media?

2. Do you think gay acceptance will continue to move forward? If the 1990's were so big for the gay community, what will the 2010's be like?

Levy "Female Chauvinist Pigs"

1. A simple question I have always wanted to ask: Why do so many women dress in such a sexual manner only to complain when men view them as sexual objects?

2. I thought the part in the article about guys yelling at girls to take their clothes off was insane yet true. How did it get to the point where guys can get away with that but girls cant? Do we live in a sexist society when it comes to raunch culture?

Becker Chapter 4

If market researchers agree that gays and lesbians are well educated with a disproportionate amount of disposable income and are extremely loyal to brands, why are there not more television ads targeted towards them? I cannot think of one television ad I have seen that has ever been specifically targeted towards this demographic. Does IKEA still have ads targeted towards gays and lesbians being broadcast?

I recall hearing about an ad that featured a gay or lesbian (couple?) that was supposed to run during the Superbowl or some other big event within the past year or so. Does anyone remember what the story line was and what the commercial was supposed to be for? Why was it pulled?

Becker Intro

I find it interesting that contemporary culture has narrowed down terms of sexuality into the two categories of “straight” or “gay,” when during the early 20th century, there was a wide variety of terms for very different types of homosexual behavior. Wouldn’t you think that the opposite should have occurred, where there would be two categories for the topic when it was less talked about and more terms for current times where it is more of an open subject?


If straight panic refers to the anxiety that Americans feel about the changing landscape of how people identify with their sexual identities, do those who fall under the category of “them” also tend to be racist or sexist? At one point, Becker makes a statement beginning with, “Members of a naïve mainstream (which had long had the empowering luxury of ignoring what it meant to be white, male, straight, etc…).” How did the 90’s affect females and those of different ethnicities?

Becker- Intro

While almost every TV show has a gay person as one of the main characters, it still seems like things like advertisements are not changing their ways. The way families are represented in simple commercials like for insurance, are still always traditional families. Also, advertisements for toys are still way too targeted male or female, what if a boy doesn't want a truck for Christmas?

Becker Chapter 1

In the reading Becker talks about the implementation of diversity training among corporations in the early 1990s. I found this particularly interesting, as a few years ago I personally trained for a customer service position with a corporation in which one of their core values was "diversity." The removal of the policies regarding equality could have been interpreted very differently, but as Becker explains, management sought to look for ways to acknowledge the differences among people.

One aspect of the Becker reading I found to be particularly astonishing was the part on the Creative Class members Florida interviewed and how they would ask a company during an interview if they offered same-sex partner benefits to find out how "tolerant" a climate the company had. It's sad that a "tolerant" climate has to be sought out rather than in abundance. I feel that today, more so than ever, non conformity to the norm is far more socially acceptable. It has almost become more of a trend to go against tradition in many different aspects of life. Does this make companies more "tolerant" of diversity as well? To what degree do societal trends impact corporate decision making?

Becker Chapter 4

One part of the reading really stood out to me: "long-standing discourses about homosexuality as a sin, disease, or crime continued to construct gays and lesbians as a deviant minority - a risk group deserving scorn or pity." I think we obviously know that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I don't think there is any truth to that claim. Becker does a good job dis-proving a lot of these discourses. I would argue that these discourses could be applied to straight people as well.

Do you think the reason that we don't see ads directed towards a male audience is partially because that just further separates the two groups? From the advertising perspective, I have no doubt that they would want to reach everybody, including the gay community. So advertising the "traditional" way will reach the intended audience as it always has. While an advertisement targeting the gay community may scare off those who are less accepting of the group. Do you think it is just a matter of advertisers playing it "safe"?

Becker Chapter 4

On page 114 of Chapter, 4, Becker talks about how universities were taking action to have an environment that was more sensitive to differences. However, he also discusses affirmative action at the same time. These two things seem to contradict each other, how can students be sensitive to others differences when they know they are receiving special treatment for those differences?

He goes on to say how large companies, and even reality TV shows made an extra effort to cast those with "differences". If someone is constantly being typecast as different, how is it going to make it any easier for the American public to accept them?

Becker Introduction

Becker discusses how people are more aware than ever of the "sub-genres" they belong to and how they are seen by advertisers. By recognizing that everyone is different, are we further isolating ourselves?

Becker reveals in his introduction the constant presence of homosexuality in the media has lead many people to grow more concerned about the future of heterosexuality. But isn't this a natural response? When there is a change, isn't a person's first reaction "how is this going to affect me?"?

Becker Intro

Becker referenced a lot of 90s and early 2000s television shows that featured a shift in episode content to the occasional gay reference. Then Becker mentioned Will & Grace being one of the first prime-time shows that featured a gay main character. Do you think we can credit W&G for allowing other shows to follow in their footsteps? I wrote my paper last semester on the ABC show Modern Family, a show which features a gay couple (Mitch and Cam) and are for the most part accepted by everyone.

On The Soup (E! Network) they regularly poke fun of talk shows, reality shows, prime-time, etc. So when they do their segment called "Gay Shows," I wonder if this helps or hurts the advancement of gay rights in the form of television? I would argue that it helps because the show makes fun of everybody. That is probably a bad logic, but I think it is true. I don't think it is fair to walk on egg shells worrying they might offend the gay community when they are probably offending everybody. I kind of see it as them looking at these shows on the same level as all other shows.

Becker Introduction

I find the correlation between homosexual representation on television and politics very interesting. Becker is correct in the statement that "solely focusing on what gay-themed television says or doesn't say about homosexuality, bisexuality, and other marginalized identities might unintentionally reinforce heterosexuality's ex-nominated privilege." Is this really what people rely on for their insight? Episodes of Will & Grace portraying homosexual characters, or a homosexual reference in an episode of Friends? I just find it sad that this type of reliance on fictional entertainment potentially impacts political decisions and portrayals of people in society.

I have never thought about what Becker points out in the reading of homosexuality and heterosexuality being mutually dependent terms. I wonder if there will be a point in time where straights have to come out of the closet. Will it take a point in time when the population of "Gay America" is as close as the population of "Straight America," or simply a time when the naievity of the concerned Americans over losing our morals subsides?

Becker Intro

Very early in the introduction, Becker talks about the role that the issue of "moral values" played in the reelection of George W. Bush in 2004. He brings up a very good point, and I was just wondering if any of you have you ever noticed the discrepancy between who votes for the GOP and who that party's economic policies directly benefit?

- I doubt that the majority of them have ever even considered this fact, which further legitimizes Becker's assertion about their fears and political priorities.

There are quotes by Jon Stewart and Becker himself concerning the "culture wars" at play in this debate.

- What, in your opinion, are they referring to?

- Do you think that this plays a big role in politics, and society as a whole?

Becker Chapter 4

1. Becker touches on the subject of being politically correct. It seems to me that in a lot of shows, the gay character is made fun of for being gay (Oscar from The Office comes to mind). Is this politically correct?

2. I found it interesting to read about gay advertisements/magazines. I have never really noticed an ad on mainstream television that seems to target the gay community. Are there such ads?

Becker Intro

1. I never noticed that there actually is one gay person in almost ever TV show I watch. Why does this happen for gay people and not some minorities such as Asians?

2. Becker made a reference to Will and Grace, which we studied in JMC 262. What kind of social aspects do you think resulted when a gay man played such a major role on a prime time TV show?

Becker, Chapter 4

One thing this section made me think of was tv ads. I can't really think of any ads that include gay people in them and I wonder why that is?

Becker seems to be saying that Clinton indirectly caused homosexuality to become mainstream. It seems like we were able to spend money which opened up the idea of homosexuality to become socially acceptable. Just a weird concept.

Becker Intro

I realize Becker is setting up his book, but I want know what caused the emergence of homosexuality in tv in the late nineties? Becker sets us up like he's going to tell us then doesn't. It's interesting to me that it burst onto the scene with such force.

I have to comment on the John Stewart comment about the 'two dudes kissing.' To me, he's absolutely right, we can say that the economy or all the other issues caused people to vote in certain ways but homosexuality is such a big deal still as it was then that it was what people focused on. There was so much media coverage about it it was engrained in people's mind as the most important issue that they sided with whoever they agreed with on the issue.