Sexualized Minorities, "Sexual Otherness" and Heterosexism in the Media

In the Acuvue commercial, it appears to be a commercial for contacts; however, it is used to show “lipstick” lesbians. The girls in the video are twins which makes the “lipstick” lesbianism in this video the more ridiculous. There is a scene where the camera zooms in on the sisters interlocked hands on one of their thighs. The scene is meant to satisfy the heterosexual male gaze. Also, in the video the interaction between the twins is sexual by the flirtatious touching. For example, when the sister approaches the other, she places her hand on her hip near her bottom.
t.A.T.u. is another example of “lipstick” lesbians. The video displays the two singers as intimate partners. They are shown wet in school girl outfits interacting with one another intimately. There is a fence that separates them and the crowd. They are segments leading up to their kiss. The camera angle changes indicate that their performance is for the crowd. They are shown subjectively indicating that their relationship is for the pleasure of their audience rather than themselves.
This third image is a one-time character that was shown in a Bones episode. In this episode, the character, Dr. Tanaka, is androgynous. The other characters spend the entire episode contemplating Dr.Tanaka’s gender. By the end of the episode, it is decided that the character is male because he had an erection when one of the female characters approached him. The gender paradigm in our society is binary and the desire to label a person as male or female is obsessive. This character never appears again which demonstrates the margins for sexuality and gender in media.
The Christina Aguilera music video “Beautiful” displays homosexual couple and a man in drag. The song is very powerful and validates their sexual “otherness”. There are several scenes where the young, white homosexual couple is displayed intimately in public holding hands and kissing intimately. There is another scene where the tongue in the kiss is shown and passerbys are looking down at the couple. The passerbys looking down at the couple are in a position of power and may be seen as representative of society’s view of LGBTQ relationships. The drag queen is shown in snippets as he dresses. He is first shown in his underwear, then puts on a bra, then makeup, next jewelry, the dress, wig, and lastly smiling in the mirror. The video also critiques ideals of masculinity and femininity. By the end of the video, everyone has rejected the ideas established by society and smiles at themselves despite their “otherness”.

Socially Constructed "Appropriate" Sex

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All of these images portray heterosexual relationships whether as a couple or a sexual encounter. The first image, Calvin Klein Jeans advertisement, is in stark black and white displaying a wet and dirty female whose eyes are closed. From her facial expression, hand positioning, and body positioning, she is displayed as vulnerable and in the throws of passion; however, she has all her clothing on. The male is also wet and engaged. His expression is hungry. His position indicates his masculinity through aggression. He is on top and displayed above her. Clearly, he is in the power role. The gender roles are stereotypical. The male is the aggressor, completely masculine, always wanting sex, and in power. The female is passive, vulnerable, always willing to have sex, and subordinate to the male. Another detail to take into account is that both people are youthful.
The second image is a Trojan advertisement. The advertisement makes a direct metaphor about men being pigs specifically that they are pigs unless they are wearing a Trojan condom. The background of the ad is a bar; the bar is packed full of pigs drinking beer. There are three single females surrounded by pigs and one female enthralled in intimate conversation with a man. In this advertisement, the woman is the aggressor. The male’s body position indicates a calm and collected persona. He is the alpha male and does not need to pursue; he simply has to accept the woman that engages him. His hand in his pocket indicates a laid back appeal. The woman’s body positioning is close, her hands are on his chest, she’s smiling, and there faces are close together. The positioning of the two of them indicates the intimacy and desire of the moment.
The last three artifacts are commercials. The first is a Dentyne Ice commercial. The princess finds her frog and once she kisses it, it turns into her prince. This is based off of the fairytale The Frog Prince. This once again displays the heterosexual relationship.
The second commercial is for KY intense. The commercial displays a heterosexual couple in bed. They discuss how they are having better sex with the KY intense. It never shows the couple engaging in intercourse but it does allude to the idea of the woman having an intense orgasm. After the scene indicating her intense orgasm, it shows the couple closer together, more intimate. This commercial alludes to the idea that sex is the only way to engage in intimacy.
The last commercial displays heterosexual couples on vacation. The couples are youthful or mature but not old. All these artifacts demonstrate that the socially constructed “appropriate” sex in our society must occur between heterosexual, young couples. They never “have sex”; the sex is assumed. It would be deemed inappropriate for the display of intercourse to be shown.

Masculinity

In Lil Wayne’s album cover, he is shirtless and his body language demonstrates a “hard” persona. He is wearing baggy jeans, has money in his pocket, and an escalade in the background. He needs the money, car, and jewelry to demonstrate his power, his status. His gaze is diverted from the camera and mouth is rigid. He is exemplifying the idea that men need the things around them to define their masculinity. The media presents this idea that masculinity is defined by one’s surroundings. The status symbol of power is exemplified by his “bling”, money in his pocket, and the expensive car behind him. That is all that is shown in the image and that is portrayed to be the makeup of a man.
On the Esquire cover with Obama, notice the camera angle. It is looking up, which portrays Obama as an aggressor, someone with status, and someone with power. He is dressed in a suit and appears to have a professional occupation. His arms are crossed showing a powerful reservation. He is peering off into the distance. When men are shown on the covers of magazines, they are rarely objectified or scantily dressed. Obama is professional, powerful; he is a man.
On the cover of Sports Illustrated, we have LeBron James. We are shown his profile with his eyes closed, dressed in his uniform. He appears deep in concentration, completely aware. In the back of his neck, you can see a vein throbbing and his jaw is tight. He has tattoos on both arms. He gives off the impression of a warrior preparing for battle. To the left of him the text reads in white font “The Power of” then in black font “LeBron”. The only lettering on the page in black font is his name. He is meant to stand out; he is an independent individual. This emphasizes that a man should be like a warrior, be masculine like a warrior preparing for battle.
In the Armani underwear ad, we have David Beckham. His muscles are tensed, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth rigid. His facial expression exerts anger and intensity. The tattoos on his arms emphasize his warrior position. Again, the eyes are turned away from the camera. The image is shown objectively even when the only clothing is underwear. Strength and aggression, again, are the illustrators of man.
Lastly, in the Chocolate Axe commercial, the man is surrounded by women. In all Axe ads, women are pining over men. Men’s alpha male ego is fed by the amount of women that desire them. Men are once again defined by their surroundings rather than defining themselves.

Femininity

I chose all of these artifacts for various reasons: the innocence, fragility, neediness, and the roles women play in tasks and relationships. The readings for the week had been: “Can Women Have Sex Like a Man?”: Sexual Scripts in Sex and the City, Pixel Pinups: Images of women in Video Games, and Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Selling of Charlie’s Angels and Alias. The first artifact is a Calvin Klein advertisement for their Euphoria fragrance; the second artifact is the Vampire Diaries trailer; the third artifact is the video game promotion for Dreamfall: the Longest Journey; the fourth artifact is the Valentine’s Day trailer; and the last artifact is the Yesterday music video with Toni Braxton and Trey Songz.
When examining the first artifact, one can see that the model is white, thin, and beautiful. She appears to be wearing a bed sheet and is holding an orchid. The name of the orchid flower is derived from the Greek word orchis, meaning testicle. Euphoria means a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania. The image in this advertisement illustrates the woman as one in a state of euphoria holding onto the purple bedsheet while holding a flower named after the male testicle. In the Sex and the City article, it states, “Women’s fashion magazines proffer specifically feminine roles with the implicit assumption that women need and want instruction on the skills necessary to successfully perform these roles. They offer an exclusionary construction of feminine identity: young, white, beautiful, thin, and heterosexual.” This is what people constantly see being portrayed of women. The Calvin Klein ad is a perfect example.
The trailers for Vampire Diaries and Valentine’s Day also promote this idea. The main female roles displayed in these trailers are all “young, white, beautiful, thin, and heterosexual.” In the Vampire Diaries trailer, it also shows women to be weak in that they “need to be saved or protected.” The women portrayed in this trailer are quiet, afraid, and only speak when they are calling out for help or out of fear. The only other times they were vocalized was in their thoughts and when they were being flirtatious. In Valentine’s Day, the trailer displays women as these needy, provocative creatures that need to have a male counterpart to feel complete. The expression on Jessica Alba’s face when she has to correct her statement of “Room for two.” to “Room for one and a dog.” encapsulates this idea that women need to have a man in their life and to be single on Valentine’s Day is essentially wrong. “Television provides a cultural forum through which viewers can learn about their social selves. It can also be influential in identity construction.” This movie trailer dictates a heterosexual life that women are supposed to lead as well as connoting this dependency women should have with men.
In the third artifact, the game shows a variety of female characters. Although, one of the heroes is a woman, the character that needs to be saved is also a woman. It, also, displays a woman embraced with a child and again with a man. These embraces signify “motherly” affection and heterosexual intimacy, respectfully. There is also a moment where affection with a crow is displayed to allude to this connection and empathy with nature and animals. Women were also displayed as maids and receptionists.
The last artifact similar to the Valentine’s Day trailer exhibits women as in need of male affection. In the music video infidelity arose and she is quickly shown with a new male companion. This alludes to the need for women to constantly be in a heterosexual relationship with the desire for dependency rather than finding independence and solace in being alone.