Sexism at Rocky?

[asavitzk]

Jimmy made a post recently http://jrising.livejournal.com/25259.html that others have linked to which is how I found it (since he's not on my friends list - it's too long as it is). It honestly shocked me. Much like the complaint we got about a couple of preshows from an audience member.

Comments

[suitboyskin]

Not to invalidate anyone who believes that FBC promotes sexism, they are as entitled to their opinion as anybody, but I find that alot of people have difficulty sitting with the fact that in many, many instances, politically correct/socially acceptable situations/behavior isn't funny. While this doesn't address every element of FBC that was described as sexist I would say that the lion's share of the more socially unacceptable material at Rocky is done for comedic effect.

Children attempting to murder their parents is not funny in real life. It's scary and disturbing. However, the dynamic between Stewie and Lois Griffen is hysterical why, because it's a cartoon. Sexism, racism, laughing at the handicapped, killing strippers, etc. are likewise not funny in real life but in a skit or a preshow or callback line are funny because of the fact that they are socially unacceptable.

I find that Rocky tends to be one of the more egalitarian of objectifying institutions, hell that's what made the film so riskee' in the 70's. The most provacatively dressed people in the show are mostly men and in preshows we've even done straight/gay versions of the same bit aka Santa Baby a few years back.

This is not to say that nobody is going to be offended by what we do. Sure they are, but if you find the atmosphere/content of the show to be offensive to you then FBC might simply not be the place for you. Were this an actual job or something similar then this might be a problem that needed addressing but FBC and Rocky in general is completely voluntary entertainment.

With, of course, the exception of those of us who are only with the cast to fulfil a court ordered community service requirement.

Egalitarian Objectification?

[5411tech]

I *don't* think that FBC is very egalitarian in its objectification of people. I think the movie absolutely is, which is why I love it. But the callbacks? Janet's sexual exploration gets her called a slut, while Brad having sex with a transvestite elicits no negative response. And while I'm glad there have been preshows in the past that "objectify" men to the same degree that women are, I have yet to see a sexy-guy trixie. It's not individuals, individual preshows, or anything like that that bothers me. It's the unbalance in expectations overall. This really struck me on Friday seeing all the Halloween preshows with lights, costumes, and final blocking for the first time. In a normal month, with only two preshows, its hard to see the general trend. But that many preshows in a row, it struck me that women were being sexy, stripping, etc. while men a) weren't and b) were allowed to do other things, like be clever and funny. Obviously there are exceptions. I was lucky enough to see a scaled-down version of the "soccer practice" preshow recently. Yes, men do put themselves on display once in a while, but in my view, it's not often enough considering the extent to which women do/are expected to put themselves on display. Brad does get naked, and there are some guys who reciprocate the open displays of sexuality, but its just not enough.

Re: Egalitarian Objectification?

[asavitzk]

"its just not enough."

How much is enough? And who decides that? Do we have to have a guy's ass onstage each week for the same amount of time as a woman's ass?

See, that's the problem with this sort of argument - it's an argument of opinions and by their very nature, opinions aren't wrong.

So the only way to change things you don't like is to do just that - change things. How many preshows featuring naked men have you proposed? How many preshow meetings have you been at so you could put in your two cents about what kind of eye candy you think should be on stage?

Re: Egalitarian Objectification?

[truered]

I don't know who you are, so please don't take this at all personally, I'm sure you're a very nice person. But being that you haven't even been around for long enough for me to know your name I find it very difficult to give any credibility to your argument.

I've been around for 6 years. I've seen 6 years of both women and men gettin' down, dirty, and naked. If it seems imballanced, maybe that's because our girls are hotter and generally more willing to get half clothed than the guys are.

If you're so concerned, why don't you write a preshow with some guys in it instead of expecting someone else to do it?

Re: Egalitarian Objectification?

[5411tech]

Conversely, you haven't been around recently enough for me to know your name.

Re: Egalitarian Objectification?

[suitboyskin]

Actually Brad having sex with a transvestite elicits a wide variety of unflattering AP lines and the audience refers to Janet as a slut from the beginning of the film on. Brad and Janet are both given insulting nicknames. As for the ration of scantily clad men to women there really is no scale for determining how much is "enough".