Asian Stereotyping

I'm currently working on a paper for my Intercultural Communication class in where I'm analyzing the depiction of Sun and Jin on Lost and how that speaks to the Western concept of Whiteness and if their characters support the Asian stereotypes that have been set forth by the media.

This is probably going to sound weird, but sometimes I forget I'm Asian. It's happened to me a lot really.  I attribute it to the fact that I was adopted by white parents and grew up in a predominantly white community.  However, after doing research for this paper, I feel like I've been made re-aware of my race, and truthfully, I'm not sure how I feel about it.  While I was reading articles for this paper, I was reminded of a feature piece I wrote in undergrad about my experience growing up in a white community.  I found it, and thought I'd post it here. It is a piece that's over four years old, so don't judge too harshly.

***

I grew up in small Schuylkill County my whole life, particularly the quaint little town of Pine Grove. As the school’s Alma matter states, the town is “nestled in among the mountains, in a vale we love.” In this tiny yet cozy Pennsylvania town, diversity is not something that is common.

Maybe I should back up just a bit. I am South Korean. Both my younger brother and I were adopted when we were each 4 months old. I always chuckle when people ask me if I know any Korean or Korean customs. I was a baby when I left South Korea, so therefore I retained no knowledge of the country and am probably as Americanized as they come.

I was adopted into a Caucasian family. Growing up I always knew that I was different, that I didn’t look like my parents, but at my young age it was never something that troubled my thoughts or kept me awake at night. I grew up hearing the story of the anticipation my parents felt as they waited for me in the airport, and have even watched the video tape of my arrival.

I guess because I was raised in a household that approved of me and my brother’s difference, it had never occurred to me that people outside of my own happy little bubble would treat me differently because of the way I looked.

For the first 4 years of my schooling I attended a private Catholic school located in a neighboring town in my county. This was where I encountered my first experience in dealing with my racial difference.

Because the school was small, it contained kindergarten through eighth-grade. One time while I was a mere first-grader quenching my dire thirst at the water fountain I ran into some of the eighth-grade boys. These boys began to mock me, pulling the corners of their round eyes to mimic the slant of my own almond-shaped eyes. They then proceeded to harass me with chants such as “little Chinese girl.”

At first I was horrified. I had never been teased like this before, and it hurt down to my core. However even as a child I was never one to back down from a fight. I quickly composed myself and replied with, “I’m not Chinese, I’m Korean, and I’m proud of it.” With that I swirled around on my heels and stormed back to my classroom.

For some reason I never told my teacher what had happened, but while riding the school bus home I had to bite back tears. I ran to my mother’s arms and told her everything. She praised me for being brave and standing up for myself, and told me that I should never be ashamed of who I am.

After 4 years of private school my parents began to feel the financial burden tuition caused and enrolled me into the Pine Grove Area public elementary school.

I finished elementary school and entered into the dreaded and awkward years of middle school. While in seventh-grade I joined the girls’ junior high basketball team. I wasn’t very good, but it was fun and I had friends on the team.

The team travelled all over the county to play other schools. One time while playing our rival school, Pottsville, I had another encounter in dealing with my own diversity.

While waiting to take to court for our routine warm-up drills some of the girls on my team was talking to boys in the stands from Pottsville. I was paying them no mind, trying to get into the zone for the big game that lay ahead of me. Apparently the boys didn’t like the fact that the whole team wasn’t enraptured by their zit-faced glory.

They started cat-calling to those who were ignoring them. One of them yelled to me, “Hey you, chinky wonder, what’s your name?”

I’m not sure if he actually meant it to be an insult, but I found it to be completely uncalled for and proceeded to yell and cuss him out. My teammates quickly calmed me down to prevent a fight and an unnecessary scene.

The next time I had to deal with my race was with someone whom I had considered a friend. The other two experiences had hurt, but both dealt with people who I didn’t know or didn’t care to know. So when someone who I had trusted as a friend made a racial comment to me, I was completely blind sided.

I was a member of 4-H and FFA, both deal with agriculture, so one week in the summer I would spend at our county fair with the livestock animals that I had raised all year. This was always something I looked forward to because I got to spend time with my friends from other schools.

Jake was one of these friends…or so I had thought. I had known him for about 2 years. He wasn’t a close friend, but there was a big group of us that all always hung out and did everything together.

I don’t even remember how the subject came up, but one evening we were all discussing race and rights and differences. Jake then looked me straight in the eye and said, “I don’t really like anyone who isn’t white or who doesn’t look like me.”

I couldn’t breathe. I was shocked. I was hurt. And I was extremely angry. I sort of just sat there in a daze. I guess I was waiting to see my other friend’s reactions. That was the part that pained me the most. They didn’t react. They said nothing. They acted like they hadn’t even heard the comment.

I immediately hopped into my car and sped out of there. I drove home with such a speed that I’m surprised I didn’t crash and die.

My younger brother Zak had a similar experience at the fair.

One night all of the younger kids were having a water fight. The fair is in the beginning of August so you always swelter in the heat on the black top, so water fights weren’t uncommon.

Well at one point the water fight became more than just playful and soon words and insults were being thrown at one another instead of buckets and balloons filled with water. The next thing I know is I see my brother running to attack the one boy and his friends straining to hold him back.

It was only after calming everyone down did I learn and understand my brother’s sudden rage. The one boy who my brother was trying to attack had called him a “stupid chink” and told him to go back to China.

It honestly broke my heart to see my brother suffer with the narrow-minded racist people that live in our home county. To me it showed that the idea of white people being supreme was being passed down from generation to generation, to the point where my younger brother had to endure.

Every single experience has hurt me in some way, and it has taken me a long time to be comfortable with whom I am when it comes to my race. My difference was something I had to learn to adjust to. To me I always forget that I’m different, so it’s I slap in the face when someone feels the need to point it out and remind me.

However, even though I hated those experiences, they have helped me become who I am. When I was younger, it was so easy for me to ignore the comments, but as I was growing up, the fact that I was different was something that was always nagging in the back of my mind, eating at my confidence, and hindering my ability to stand up for myself. They have helped me to embrace my difference rather then resent it. They have helped me to feel sorry for those who are ignorant to diversity, because they could be missing out on meeting so many amazing people.

I am Korean, not Chinese, Filipino, or Japanese. And I am proud of it.

Slut-Shaming and Gender Bias

I love the website Jezebel and the feminist perspective that it provides on a lot of pop culture things and current events.  I do not necessarily always agree with the writer's perspective, but I welcome discourse and debate.

Tonight on my Twitter feed this story came up, I clicked on it, and my heart broke.  To sum it up, a teenage female committed suicide by jumping in front of a subway care because she was being bullied non-stop in school for being a "slut." Apparently she had had sex with four members of the football team at the same time at a party and was being harassed about it ever since. Not cool for so many reasons.

I'm not saying that I condone this behavior.  This teenager was only 15 years old.  It troubles me that she thought that having sex with four males at the same time was something she should/could do and something that is acceptable of a female her age. But you have to take a step back and ask yourself where she even got this idea.  Why did she think this was something that she should/could do? I blame the media. The perpetuation and objectification of women in the media.  The portrayal of teenage sex with no consequence. The idea that this type of sexual behavior is the norm for people of that age. However, this is not my main issue with all of this.

What would the students' reaction have been if it had been a male who had had sex with four females at the same time? I can almost guarantee that he would not have been bullied. His buddies would have given him and high five. He would have been revered for his sexual prowess. He would not have been called a slut.

There is such a double standard for women in our society. We do an activity with our Comm 210 students when we teach language where they make a list of all of the terms they know for sexually active males and all of the terms they know for sexually active males. Almost always the female list is longer than the male list and the terms on the female list have a negative connotation whereas the male list has a positive connotation. Why? Why is it so okay for men to be promiscuous but not for women? Why does society hold women to a different sexual standard? Why was this female bullied for this to the point where she felt her only out was death, and the four other males who participated in this with her were the main culprits of this bullying?

This is a problem! Bullying is a problem. Our gender biased society is a problem. Our failure to acknowledge the double standard that exists is a problem. How can the behavior of these four football players be excused? Who is going to be held accountable?

Teenagers are brutal.  You could not pay me all of the money in the world to go back to the awkward years of middle school and early high school. They were the worst. Schools need to step up and take responsibility for their students. Community needs to be promoted. Critical thinking needs to happen, and things like the gender binary that exists needs to be challenged. Tragic events like this cannot and should not pass under our radar.

Zombies to the Zombies?

I have become a recent fan of AMC's The Walking Dead.  I've never considered myself a huge fan of anything zombie, but for some reason this show has hooked me and drawn me in. It's good. I like the action, I like the character development, and surprisingly, I like the sci-fi aspect to the show.  I've been watching copious amounts of the show on Netflix in an attempt to catch up so that I can watch season 3 which has just started. One of the things I have realized that I like about the show is that it is action packed, and there is violence, but since it's mostly against the zombies, I don't become exceedingly grossed out. I can't handle a lot of gore. There are still moments when I cringe, but it's nothing compared to the Saw films.

Then, because I'm me, I started to pick up on underlying themes in the series and started to contemplate what would be interesting to study and analyze in the series. I think the masculine depictions would be interesting. The anti-feminist sentiment that Lori seems to be attempting to push off onto the other female characters would be worthy of study. And I think the constant battle to establish who is alpha male would also be interesting.

So while I'm thinking about all of these things I happened to watch episode 9, "Triggerfinger," and for the first time while watching this post-apocalyptic show, I was genuinely horrified and slightly emotional for several reasons. *SPOILER ALERT*

1. Up until now, viewers had seen zombies die and be killed, no doubt, but they had been framed as evil, the bad guys, and problematic.  However, in this episode viewers are exposed to a different point of view, Hershel's point of view.  Hershel still views the zombies as humans who just happen to be ill.  You find out that he has been hoarding zombies in his barn and keeping them alive in hopes that he will find a cure for their "illness." Included in his barn are members of his community and his wife and step-daughter.  Hershel humanizes the zombies and calls them by their name instead of "walkers" like the other characters. In this sense, Hershel reveals that he still hopes there is humanity in the zombies.
2. There has never been an all out blatant massacre of zombies in the same way that is shown in this episode.  Viewers emotions have been pumped up into believing that maybe in fact, some of the zombies can be saved if a cure is found, however, Shane puts an end to that when he busts open the barn, releases the zombies, and shoots them all point blank (along with the help from Rick's crew). Flat out massacre. The image honestly reminded me of something from war, where you line the enemy up against a wall and release the firing squad upon them.
3. Shane has no emotion, no regret, no concern about killing all of the zombies in the way that he did, and for the first time, I as the viewer, started to think about all of the zombies that have been killed (or murdered?).

All of these things have been spinning in my mind and causing me to wonder if The Walking Dead is in a way, de-sensitizing us even more to violence and murder and gun abuse. In our mind, it doesn't matter that the zombies are dying and being killed because they are bad, but Hershel's point of view should make us stop and think.  At one point they were people. They were mothers, daughters, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, etc. They were people who others cared about. And now the characters in the show can shoot and kill them (or chop their heads off or shoot them with an arrow) without a second thought. It concerns me how quickly the characters are able to give up on humanity, and how we in turn as viewers also give up.  

I'm not naive.  I know that zombies aren't real. And honestly, if this were a real situation, most likely I would do what was necessary to survive as well.  However, you can't deny that in some way, this show makes us see killing and murder in a completely different light. Is our consumption and commodification of zombies de-sensitizing us to the violence that is taken against them? Are we becoming zombies to the violence against zombies? 

Don't get me wrong, I will continue to watch The Walking Dead. I am admittedly addicted to the show and now I need to know what happens, but I will also be constantly battling with the violence against the zombies and questioning if it is in turn, de-sensitizing me to violence in real life.

Procter & Gamble

Because the 2012 Summer Olympics are upon us, Procter & Gamble have been bombarding the airwaves with Olympic themed commercials.  Here's an example of one:

I have mixed feelings about these commercials, which I expressed in an email message to P&G:

To Whom It May Concern,

I just wanted to write to you to express my interest in the recent Olympics advertising campaign featuring all of the Olympian mothers.  I fully appreciate the advertisement campaign and applaud you on your ability to connect to consumers through the emotional appeal that the commercials warrant.  I  think that the ads are sweet and touching.

However, while I have these feelings, every time one of your commercials ends I also have a pang of annoyance and concern.  The whole advertising campaign is designed around the commitment and sacrifices that mothers make for their children's dreams, and I understand that.  Yet I can't help but wonder what about the sacrifice and commitment that fathers make to their children?  Are fathers not equally responsible for the success of their children?  What worries me even more is that these commercials are re-enforcing the ideals that only mothers can be the primary caretakers with a nurturing attitude.  In our progressive society I have come to find that there are more models of what constitutes a family than the traditional mother, father, and child unit as well as more models of how these roles should be fulfilled.  I worry that through this advertisement campaign the traditional ideology of mothers staying home with the children and fathers working is going to continue, which is simply not true of many families in our country.

Speaking from personal experience in my own family my mother was the primary professional while my father was the one always taking me to and picking me up from soccer practice.  There was never a game where my father was not present and cheering me on from the sidelines.  Both of my parents played an integral role in raising me, even if they strayed slightly from the traditional gender roles established by our society.

I am not writing this e-mail to chastise the advertisements.  I understand the basic concepts of marketing and that your company’s target market typically are the traditional stay at home mothers because most likely, they are the one’s purchasing your products.  However, I want to urge you to also consider the stay at home dads during your next campaign strategy.  A company with as much influence as Procter & Gamble has the opportunity to change the way that American consumers think.  If you take a step towards acknowledging the normalcy of fathers being primary caretakers and doing the household shopping, then maybe the rest of society will follow suit.

Sincerely,
Scarlett Hester

Surprisingly, they replied with this:

Thanks for contacting P&G, Scarlett.

I’m very sorry you’re disappointed. It’s important to know the “Thank You, Mom” campaign takes a broad, inclusive view of “moms”. It’s intended to celebrate that special person in our lives who cheers for us and supports our dreams. For some, it may be Mom; for others it may be Dad, an aunt, uncle, or grandparent. No matter what we call them, it’s about the love and care they’ve shown over the years.

Still, I understand you’re disappointed. We appreciate your taking the time to let us know how you feel and I’m sharing your comments with our Olympic Marketing Team.

Thanks again for writing.

Cassie
P&G Team

I appreciate the time they took to read and respond to my email, but I'm frustrated because I feel like they missed the main point of my message.  I understand that there are several people who fulfill the role of primary care-taker in individuals lives, however, if that is not represented in our mass media it will forever be viewed as a queer or strange notion.  One of the first steps to breaking the hegemonic heteronormativity that dominates our society is to take a small step away from what our typical ideology is.  For me, that means having commercials showing dads who support their children as well as mothers.  I don't think it's too radical of a concept.

You Can't Handle the Truth!

here's something i blogged for my feminist theory & media class.  it's a little rough, but i think i make my point...hopefully.

This week’s reading of Dow’s “Introduction: The Rhetoric of Television, Criticism, and Theory” challenges the way that television is analyzed and opens the readers eyes to new opportunities when critiquing the media in general.  Dow states, “However, the motive for diversity in critical approaches should not be a search for the holy grail of truth but an exploration, with unavoidable twists and turns, toward the many, sometimes contradictory, possibilities of understanding.”  This is a statement that holds a lot of power. 

Critics often become so easily enraptured and consumed by the artifact that they are analyzing that sometimes an overall perspective is lost.  Many criticisms tend to have tunnel vision in the sense that they disregard other perspective or other issues that the particular criticism can uncover.  What Dow is challenging with her statement is for critics to open their eyes and to not take themselves so seriously.  There is no doubt that a traditional critical standpoint is valued in all aspects of the world of academia, however being staunch and static in research can limit one’s opportunities to discover new perspectives.  Dow is merely pointing out that sometimes our pursuit to discover the truth, we sometimes neglect other important factors in our research.  Finding the truth is important, but it should not always be the main focus so that it blinds us to other research opportunities.

Dow is hinting that a stagnant view of criticism can limit the impact it has on the audience.  She also wants us to consider how the research that is conducted will impact the audience, as well as the role that the audience plays in the research.  Dow believes that we should give the audience credit.  They are not mere passive viewers, but instead are often engaged in the media outlets which they are consuming.  There is no doubt that there are indeed passive viewers out there, however Dow is simply saying that scholars do themselves and the audience a disservice by over-generalizing and assuming that all consumers of television and media are passive.

Dow calls into question how scholars view the audience because it is reflective of the critics’ quest for seeking the ultimate truth.  If we are consumed with finding the truth, but only seek it from a certain perspective, than are we really going to find the capital “t” truth?  The question I bring to the table is who are we to determine what is true and what isn’t?  How are we to know each audience members frame of reference and past experiences?  What is true for us as scholars and as an audience will not necessarily be true for other audiences.  As scholars, we should not limit ourselves by assuming that the audience we are analyzing is in capable of understanding the mediated messages we are receiving.  Condit as quoted by Dow articulates it best by saying, “…The masses may not be cultural dupes, but they are not necessarily skilled rhetors.”

While we should not doubt the intelligence level of the audience being analyzed, we should also recognize that they are subject to and fall victim to the hegemonic messages that the media produces.  Dow states, “I question the quality or power of that resistance in the face of the repetitive and consistently reinforced hegemonic media messages that they consume.”  We should not assume that the audience is unaware of the power that the media has over them, however we would be naïve to believe that the constant exposure to these messages and ideas leaves no impact.

There are all things that we as scholars need to consider when conducting our research.  We need to recognize that it is important to find truth as it is defined to us, however we cannot become blinded by our own ambition and we cannot discredit our audience.  If we can handle our “truth,” so can they.

flex those muscles

i've been experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance over this blog. i like to consider myself a writer. sometimes i will openly admit that what i write is good, other times not so much. however, how can i call myself a writer if i don't write? i can't, that's how. i feel as if my skill as a writer has been slowly ebbing away from me.  if you have seen the latest harry potter film i imagine my skill leaking from me somewhat like snape's memories leak from him when he's dying.

i'm in grad school so i do a lot of writing, but it's not the same.  the type of writing i do in my papers for school is the not type of writing that i'm accustomed to.  it's more systematic and structured.  sometimes i imagine it lacking life, which isn't entirely true. i truly enjoy writing my papers for school, mainly because i'm so interested in the content matter.  it's just that grad school writing is exercising a different writing muscle and i need to make sure that i'm exercising all of my muscles.

all of this is to say that i'm going to force myself to blog once a week.  even if it is just rambling like this post is going to end up being. i'm not dumb enough to set myself up for failure by saying that i'll blog once a day. i don't have time for that and i doubt i have enough things to say for that. but i will blog once a week.  in rhetoric class we read an article that states that if you want to be a good writer you have to write. i know it sounds like i'm stating the obvious but it's true.  i can't expect my skill of writing to develop by not doing anything about it.

on a completely different note i'm extremely excited about all of the papers/projects that i am working on this semester. i have picked the overlapping theme of studying masculinity. i hope that through all of these projects i can hone in on what really appeals to me and utilize that as my thesis. i'm in three classes this semester: communication theory, qualitative research, and feminism and the media. for communication theory i'm going to create a theoretical study framework using social cognitive theory and looking at the masculinity that male student athletes portray and if that portrayal is something that is cultivated in them through the media and other influences.

for my qualitative research class i'm observing the pick-up basketball games at the student rec center and the culture that surrounds that.  i'm hoping to see themes of masculinity there as well as other things.  currently i'm noticing a trend of aggressiveness and somewhat hurtful communication and trash talk.

lastly, for my rhet. class i'm going to critically analyze "modern family" and the ways that masculinity is portrayed in the different characters.  i have to narrow it down to probably two or three characters.  right now i'm thinking that the dynamic between cam and mitch and then claire and phil will be the most interesting.  especially in claire and phil because between the two of the claire demonstrates the most stereotypical masculine traits. i'm excited. it's going to be a fun paper to write.

now that i've rambled and started stretching out my writing muscles i will end the ridiculously pointless post.