Well, it's almost June...
Welcome Back all of you who went to New Orleans. As promised, a new debate/discussion topic. In case you've forgotten:
Rules:
Be nice.
Be cool.
Don't be a jackass.
Other rules:
If you feel comfortable with it, please introduce yourself and tell a little about your own religious beliefs or political affiliations if you feel that it contributes to your view point.
If you have strong feelings about opposing or alternate beliefs/viewpoints, please don't flame, but try to give a respectful explaination of what has influenced your opinions and beliefs.
If you have links to papers, articles, other things that you feel might be related, please do link, it adds flavor.
Today's topic of debate:
As I suspect is the case for most people, the majority of people on anyone's F-List are women. Said women occasionally post about things related to being a woman. And let's be honest, it's not easy being a woman, is it? Being a mother/daughter/object of affection/object of lust/object of stupid behavior from the male half of the species/Wonder Woman/writer/whatever the heck else you gots ta be. It takes a toll and it leaves scars.
One issue every woman seems to have dealt with is self image. The last debate topic was basically about a group of young women who were effectively called ugly before a national audience, and the fallout from that incident. So, where exactly am I going with this? I mentioned that my newest fandom obsession is the manga/anime Ah! My Goddess! AMG is the story of Mechanical Engineering student Keiichi Morisato, a lovable loser who has no luck with girls and has a massive inferiority complex about his looks, owing to the fact that he's not very tall and has no distinguishing features other than his thick eyebrows (wow, that all hit a little too close to home...). One day, he accidently dials the Goddess Assistance Agency, and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy appears to grant him one wish. Keiichi wishes for a Goddess like Belldandy to be with him forever. Romantic comedy style hilarity ensues. Wikipedia describes it as a "Magical Girlfriend" type story. "Magical Girlfriends" are described as overly idealized female characters that appeal to male audiences. Belldandy is characterized as an ideal girlfriend. Sweet, honest, loving, generous, patient, and she cooks and cleans to boot.
Now, it's probably just a harmless cartoon, no big deal right? But, we're assailed almost daily with images of so called beauty. It pervades almost everything. You think you'd be safe in children's books, and then there's the massive wank over Evanna Lynch being "too fat" to play Luna, or the "modified" posters of Emma Watson. And so called "nice guys" occassionally have unreasonably high standards regarding women.
So, the questions before the audience are:
How do you feel about the portrayal of women in media? Do you object to the prevelance of the lusty busty enchantress, or the girl so thin she disappears into the spaces between couch cushions? Do you want to see more stories about "real" women? Does the media sometimes make you feel like less of a woman?
Basically, this is a chance to talk it out, since women seem to like doing that. So, talk to me. Tell us how you feel.
Rules:
Be nice.
Be cool.
Don't be a jackass.
Other rules:
If you feel comfortable with it, please introduce yourself and tell a little about your own religious beliefs or political affiliations if you feel that it contributes to your view point.
If you have strong feelings about opposing or alternate beliefs/viewpoints, please don't flame, but try to give a respectful explaination of what has influenced your opinions and beliefs.
If you have links to papers, articles, other things that you feel might be related, please do link, it adds flavor.
Today's topic of debate:
As I suspect is the case for most people, the majority of people on anyone's F-List are women. Said women occasionally post about things related to being a woman. And let's be honest, it's not easy being a woman, is it? Being a mother/daughter/object of affection/object of lust/object of stupid behavior from the male half of the species/Wonder Woman/writer/whatever the heck else you gots ta be. It takes a toll and it leaves scars.
One issue every woman seems to have dealt with is self image. The last debate topic was basically about a group of young women who were effectively called ugly before a national audience, and the fallout from that incident. So, where exactly am I going with this? I mentioned that my newest fandom obsession is the manga/anime Ah! My Goddess! AMG is the story of Mechanical Engineering student Keiichi Morisato, a lovable loser who has no luck with girls and has a massive inferiority complex about his looks, owing to the fact that he's not very tall and has no distinguishing features other than his thick eyebrows (wow, that all hit a little too close to home...). One day, he accidently dials the Goddess Assistance Agency, and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy appears to grant him one wish. Keiichi wishes for a Goddess like Belldandy to be with him forever. Romantic comedy style hilarity ensues. Wikipedia describes it as a "Magical Girlfriend" type story. "Magical Girlfriends" are described as overly idealized female characters that appeal to male audiences. Belldandy is characterized as an ideal girlfriend. Sweet, honest, loving, generous, patient, and she cooks and cleans to boot.
Now, it's probably just a harmless cartoon, no big deal right? But, we're assailed almost daily with images of so called beauty. It pervades almost everything. You think you'd be safe in children's books, and then there's the massive wank over Evanna Lynch being "too fat" to play Luna, or the "modified" posters of Emma Watson. And so called "nice guys" occassionally have unreasonably high standards regarding women.
So, the questions before the audience are:
How do you feel about the portrayal of women in media? Do you object to the prevelance of the lusty busty enchantress, or the girl so thin she disappears into the spaces between couch cushions? Do you want to see more stories about "real" women? Does the media sometimes make you feel like less of a woman?
Basically, this is a chance to talk it out, since women seem to like doing that. So, talk to me. Tell us how you feel.