WGST305_SP26

This week I want to touch on the controversy at the Winter Olympics, specifically the mens hockey team. As a women who grew up playing soccer and watching sports my whole life and being pinned or judged against male soccer players, I understand the scrutiny surrounding women's sports being insignificant compared to their men counterparts. This Winter Olympics, women made up 61% of gold medals. In the US, women won 17 gold medals compared to the 12 gold medals men won. The women's hockey team in particular went 7-0 never scoring less than 5 points in any given game excluding the gold medal game. In the game for the gold against Canada, the US won 2-1. In every Olympic Games the women's hockey team has participated in they have always placed and won a medal. The last time the men have won a medal before this years games was the silver medal game in 2010. The women's team has been significantly better than the mens team yet they don't get nearly as much credit they des...

  Pop star PinkPantheress has been named producer of the year by the Brit Awards ahead of this weekend's ceremony. The 24-year-old, whose hits include Illegal, Stateside and Boy's A Liar, is the first woman to be given the prize since its inception in 1977. "I guess it's bittersweet that I'm the first one, the first woman, to get it," she told BBC News. "As young as I am, it feels almost a bit crazy. Like, I'm not really legendary enough to be receiving it - but you know, I will definitely take it!" Previous winners of the prize include the Beatles' producer Sir George Martin, Trevor Horn, Brian Eno, the Eurythmics' David Stewart, Calvin Harris and Chase & Status. Until now, Kate Bush was the only other female producer to have been nominated, for her 1989 album The Sensual World. PinkPanteress does not publicly state that she's a feminist but her public commentary heavily aligns with feminist principles by addressing intersectiona...

  This past Sunday at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards, a distressing event happened when black male actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. In silence, the N word was hurled at them by John Davidson who was there in attendance for his movie about his biopic, I Swear , and was audible. The tone shifted to an environment of becoming uncomfortable as well as awkward.  Actor, singer, and activist John Davidson has had Tourette’s since he was about 25 — Tourettes Syndrome is characterized as a nervous system disorder where the individual repeats involuntary, specific  movements, or vocal stems. Davidson has a sector of Tourette’s called coprolalia (about 10-30% of cases are affected) where the individual involuntary will vocally express socially inappropriate and obscene, taboo things.  According to many people who attended the BAFTA awards, Jordan and Lindo weren’t the only ones where the slur was directed at the...

 In the show Sex and the City, four different friends are very open about their friendships, careers, and, mostly, their sex lives. This show challenged the stereotypical gender roles about how women and men should act. Samantha, one of the friends, really breaks that gender norm because she is embracing herself in a way that is mostly seen/accepted by men.  This show also shows different areas of pop culture. meaning it is normalizing how women desire to be in a relationship, but then, when the LGBTQ+ community is brought in, they are sometimes stereotyped, seeing how the idea was not fully developed for them. The race that is mostly seen in this movie is mostly wealthy white women, and wealthy white men are shown at some points. This show also points out how their class can be seen by what they buy and the type of apartments they live in, as well as the type of clothing they are wearing. So what is shown is mostly the upper class, focusing on success, and some type of idea o...

  In recent years Brandy Melville has been criticized for promoting a very distinct idea of what young girls' bodies should look like. Its "one size" clothing really only fits small, thin bodies, which can make many young women feel left out or not good enough. This can be seen as body policing, meaning it ultimately sends the message that only certain bodies are acceptable or desirable. The brand sells the image of the "trendy, effortless girl," but that image is chosen for a reason and excludes many different body types. My best friend Anna used to work at Brandy Melville, and her experience made this even more clear. She felt like the employees were expected to fit the brand's ideal look, almost like they were part of the advertising. She mentioned that the hiring and styling of the manikins seemed to favor girls who matched the same skinny, trendy aesthetic. This made me realize that this brand doesn't just sell clothes, it sells a specific lifestyle...

 This week, I want to talk about the current moment that has been spinning around the media, and while it isn't about the passing of Eric Dane due to ALS, it's about the BAFTA Film Awards. I must preface this by saying I am a sucker for award shows from music, film, video games, academics, whatever it is and if an award is being handed out I am there, some would say for the fashion, for the award presenting, and some may even say for the pop culture, I truly watch is for the love of the game and excitement in seeing who wins, to see if it was deserved (i guess it gives me a way to have a bias) and most of all to see someones hard work finally pay off and most of all the speeches! So this week BBC hosted their BAFTA awards. I must admit this is something I never really heard of. It wasn't talked about much on my timeline last year, like the other award shows usually are (Grammys, Tonys, and Oscars); therefore, I wasn't aware that this award show was taking place. Unfortu...