Amplify Featured Diaries

What I Learned from Watching Superbowl Ads

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:56:00 -0500

Want to hear something funny? When I sat down to watch the game on Sunday I thought, maybe this year the ads won't be so bad for women. Maybe this year will mark a sea change.

[insert hysterical laughter here]

I've said plenty already about the Super Bowl's sexual culture in general, and about the Focus on the Family/Tim Tebow ad in specific, so I won't be ranting about either here (though I have to say: WTF? Tim Tebow tackles his mom? That's... somehow funny?) Instead, let's take a look at what last night's ads taught us:

Megan Fox is so hot it's a public health hazard.

Seriously. Her much-hyped Motorola ad is a retread of every tired trope about unchecked female sexuality. It will cause destruction and injury! Even gay men can't resist it! Men are helpless to do anything to control themselves in the face of it. If she doesn't keep it under wraps people will get hurt!

A hot babe is almost as awesome as a cold beer.

Sometimes, possibly awesomer! In these ads, we learn that women are valuable because they're reward-objects for men (or in a few cases, boys, your children's toys, and what I think was a violin-playing beaver), much like beer and chips and really good tires are.

Women who expect men to act like adults turn men into... women.

Did you know that shopping with your girlfriend makes you a spineless girl? So does not caring about football as much as your relationship. And liking the smell of lavender. Also? Cleaning the sink after you shave, eating fruit, separating recycling, and respecting your partner's opinion. Good thing there are manly cars to rescue men from all of that hideous girliness!

Women exist as extras in men's narratives, or else not at all.

Seriously. Not one ad that used a voiceover artist featured a female voice. Not one. As for who was actually pictured on screen, there were plenty of ads that exclusively or primarily featured dudes, but the only two advertisers to feature all-female ads were Southwest Airlines (more on their awesomeness later) and GoDaddy. And let's be real - whether or not there are any dudes on the screen, the main character in any GoDaddy ad is the male viewer:

Team NoPants now includes men.

Come on. As if jeggings weren't a bad enough crime against fashion, two ads in a row inexplicably featured men wandering around in public their underwear - and neither of them were underwear ads (though one of them was the latest installment in the insanely sexist "Wear The Pants" campaign Dockers has cooked up to butch up their chinos). Look, Lady Gaga can rock it. But Lady Gaga can rock a poncho made out of Kermit The Frog dolls. Have you duetted at the Grammys with Sir Elton John? No? Then put your damn pants on, mmkay?

(The Elton duet starts at 2:58. No, it has nothing to do with the Super Bowl, but we needed something awesome right about now, didn't we?)

Women Are People, Too

Continuing the awesome, a precious few ads managed (*gasp!*) to portray women as complete human beings with lives of their own, not defined by the degree to which they arouse or annoy men. It's shocking, so be sure you're sitting down while watching.

Of course, somehow my very favorite ad of the night, I can't find any video of. How is that possible? So let me just say that Southwest Airlines deserves your business. Want to know why? Because their ad's protagonist was not just a woman. She was a businesswoman! With what seemed like a hard job! That she was really good at and dedicated to! How this made it onto the Super Bowl, I'll never know. Huge points to whomever can find video of it.

There are women working for the U.S. Census! Some of them say smart things! One of them is in charge!

This CareerBuilder.com ad features real-looking women in their underwear, alongside the underpantsed male colleagues. And it doesn't even treat them as sex objects!

Honorable Mention: Ads that prove you can be entertaining without being offensive

These ads didn't do anything much for women, but they didn't rely on misogynist jokes to bring the funny (or the awwwws, as the case may be):

Bonus points to Google for telling a love story without even being heteronormative!

This Simpsons ad is so awesome it makes me wish I drank soda.

Stevie Wonder + Tracy Morgan = comedy GOLD, people!

So, Amplifyers - what did you think of the ads last night? Rants and raves in the comments, please!

Sexual Violence Prevention: Saying it's wrong is getting it right.

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:14:00 -0500

I think we often focus on the things media does wrong, but sometimes it's good to highlight when it's “getting it right”, so I though I would pass along this link from Gender Across Borders: Getting it Right when it Comes to Anti-Rape Campaigns. This is important, because there are a lot of ways that sexual violence prevention, particularly in mass campaigns has been done wrong:

1. Blaming the victim: I’ve presented Norwegian media’s efforts to “warn women” about sexual violence rather than discuss systematic problems and rape culture. GAB’s post references theS*M*A*R*T campaign, which similarly blames victims for sexual violence by giving women steps to avoid being sexually assaulted, because “rape happens”.

2. Triggering: Both of these ads could be triggering for some survivors, but the efforts of Cabwise in London (shown to me by a friend) are unquestionably triggering and creating of an unsafe environment for survivors. *warning, as I said, this ad is very triggering.*

3. Glamorizing sexual violence: Joelynn recently wrote about how sensationalism makes her feel unsafe to tell her story as a survivor, and I think it’s a really important consideration in mass campaigns. There have been mixed opinions on the “This is not an invitation to rape me” campaign, also out of the UK, but I think there is definitely some problems with sensationalism.
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Dear Georgia Right to Life, You have no clue what you're talking about.

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:17:00 -0500

I'm absolutely disgusted.

I'm so tired of anti-choice organizations, usually lead by old white men and women, talking about the supposed "black genocide" because women in this country are allowed to make decisions about their personal health. Yes, I'm talking about abortion.

In Atlanta, the Georgia Right to Life has erected the following billboard.

Stating that all the abortion clinics in Georgia are located in black urban areas, they try to make the connection that the fertility rates are declining. BTW-according to the CDC, that is false.

Here's what drives me crazy. If this movement actually cared about black children in this country, there would be more action on the following:

1. Teen pregnancy in this country is on the rise among all ethnic groups (up 3% in 2006). Communities of color are still particularly affected as there is a big gap between white teens and black and latino teens. Abortion rates among teens also went up 1%. Yet another example of how we are living in a sexually unhealthy nation. While teen pregnancy rates went down in the nineties, Bush administration abstinence-only education, much of which has been targeted to youth of color, has denied young people important and life saving information about their sexual health.

2. But it can't just be about education. We also must make sure that young people, and especially young women of color have access to condoms and contraception. CVS locks up condoms. Family planning clinics are closing and facing financial strain due to the economy. We must make sure that those who decide to have sex are able to do so in the safest manner possible.
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Violence Against Women: A Disaster in a Disaster

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:15:00 -0500

Since the disaster in Haiti, jolting stories and photographs of the struggles local people are facing have been plastered all over the news and the internet. Anecdotes of displaced families, food insecurity, lack of shelter as well as tracking of the massive relief efforts taking place have defined the media's portrayal of disaster in Haiti. Of course, as a result, aid in the forms of food, water, shelter and immediate medical care have been rushed to the scene of the quake in an attempt to alleviate some of the incredible suffering.

While the provision of these resources is crucial to reducing the vulnerability of the Haitian people right now, there is another target for relief that must be equally prioritized, particularly within the context of Haiti's social and political climate: the protection of human rights, more specifically, prevention of violence against women in this time of extreme vulnerability and chaos. It is a known fact that in situations of conflict and natural disaster rates of sexual violence escalate dramatically. As a consequence, women and young people need special attention in these relief efforts. A rapid assessment recently conducted by UNFPA in Haiti found a lack of privacy for women living in self-constructed camps throughout the streets and that the absence of female-specific latrines made women more vulnerable to rape and gender-based violence. In addition, UNOCHA studies conducted in 2008 Haiti following previous tropical storms found reports of sexual abuse in shelters, forced exchange of sex for food and many other forms of sexual exploitation.
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Need a job? Choice USA is hiring!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:59:00 -0500

Every now and then I hope to have the opportunity to share awesome job announcements to the Amplify community.

To kick this off, I'd like to introduce you all to one of our closest partner organizations, Choice USA, located here in the beautiful and soon to be super snowy Washington, DC!

Choice USA is working to empower the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders who promote and protect reproductive freedom – both now and in the future. We are dedicated to the right of each person worldwide to decide when and if they will have sex, when and if they will be pregnant, and when and if they will have a child. Choice USA provides tools, training and leadership opportunities to young people aged 15 – 30 to mobilize for reproductive information and services and winreal victories for their campuses and communities!

Communications Director:
Choice USA seeks an experienced, creative Communications Director who is passionate about reproductive justice and community organizing! In close partnership with our Field and Development Departments, the Communications Director will implement a comprehensive strategy to integrate and reach our programmatic, policy and fundraising objectives. Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Communications Director is a senior management position and key component of the executive management team. The ideal candidate will be a skilled, compelling writer with a keen eye for detail; comfortable with online technology, content management systems and social networking; experienced with a broad variety of contemporary media; and highly motivated in a fast-paced environment!

Midwestern States Field Associate:
Choice USA seeks a committed, experienced individual who is passionate about reproductive/social justice to organize and develop our Midwestern States Field Program. The Midwestern States Field Associate will build a diverse base, lead and create trainings, build relationships with field partners and implement campaign strategy. Candidates must have knowledge of and commitment to reproductive health and rights and/or social justice issues, knowledge of the Midwestern region, experience with national and/or state organizing and excellent training skills. This entry-level position reports to the National Field Director.

Western States Field Coordinator:
Choice USA seeks a committed, experienced individual who is passionate about reproductive/social justice to lead and coordinate our Western States Field Program. The Western States Field Coordinator will build a diverse base, lead and create trainings, build coalitions and relationships with colleagues and partners as well as create and implement campaign strategy. Candidates must have knowledge of and commitment to reproductive health and rights and/or social justice issues, knowledge of the West and/or Southwest regions, experience with national and/or state organizing and excellent training skills. This mid-level position reports to the National Field Director.

A Tale of Two Cities

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:33:00 -0500

Two cities in North Carolina are on the brink of beginning historic debates about the role of government in supporting equality and monitoring the private lives of their employees. Early next week, the Asheville City Council is set to debate providing domestic partnership benefits to city employees. Newly elected city council member Gordon Smith has long championed this policy, and he along with the two other new members of council are supportive of the policy. Smith only needs to convince one more member of council to support domestic partnerships, and with several sitting members of council already on the record leaning in favor of the policy, it’s not a matter of if the measure will pass, but by how much.

Providing domestic partnership benefits for city employees is a no-brainer. Not only is it the fair and just thing to do, it makes the city of Asheville more competitive when searching for new hires. Already several cities and counties provide these benefits, and it’s not hard to imagine that a highly qualified woman who identified as a lesbian would choose a job in Durham or Chapel Hill if her partner would not receive basic benefits if she accepted a job in Asheville.

While the city of Asheville is finally moving into the age of wisdom, Wake County is taking a step backward in foolishness by considering not covering abortion in their health plan for city employees. Recently the city of Apex (also in Wake County) decided to no longer cover abortion services in their health insurance plan for city employees, and it appears that other municipalities in North Carolina are now considering a similar action. The ridiculousness of this plan is appalling. Could you imagine the uproar if city leaders decided to arbitrarily cut another benefit, like dental coverage or the co-pay for the flu vaccination? City and county leaders in Wake County are throwing women’s health under the bus for political gain. Let’s hope that Wake County leaders don’t make the same foolish decision as their counterparts in Apex.

Cross Posted at BlueNC: http://www.bluenc.com/tale-two-cities

Youth, Activism and LGBTQ Rights in Cuba: Then and Now Part II

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0500

Mariela Castro Espin is a 47 year old LGBTQ rights activist working in Cuba. She also happens to be the daughter of Raul Castro and the neice of Fidel Castro. Although many associate Raul and Fidel Castro with the persecution of the LGBTQ population that occured shortly afte rthe Cuba revolution, Mariela Castro is fighting for a new Cuba.

Although it is great that public figures like Mariela Castro are fighting for the LGBTQ community in Cuba, it is quite depressing that there are still young gay people in Cuba that can not speak out like Mariela Castro. They do not have the protections and privelege that her last name affords her and would likely be prosecuted for even coming out. These are young men such as Damian who was profiled in a Youth Radio peice by Rachel Krantz called "Young and Gay in Cuba." Rachel did excellent journalism with this peice and I can not say how moved I was by Damian's story and that of other gay Cuban's like him. When you read his story below it is hard not to make connections between the repression that he faced and that of Reinaldo Arenas almost 30 years ago:

"Donde esta la fiesta?"

You always call the same phone number to find the party. When someone answers the phone, you always ask the same question:

The answer is an address--sometimes familiar, sometimes a new location. But without fail, every weekend, some sort of secret gay party is thrown in Havana, Cuba.

One Friday in Havana, my friend Damian agrees to take me to one. Damian is 23-years-old, Cuban, a filmmaker, and gay. With medium brown skin and a wide, knowing smile, Damian charms most people he meets. Although he only wanted his first name used for print, Damian is open when he talks about what it's like to be young and gay in Cuba.

"The hardest thing is finding a place to have safe sex," Damian says. "It's hard for everyone, but straight guys, they could bring a girlfriend home. I couldn't do that, of course not. My mom doesn't let me, it's forbidden."

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Youth, Activism and LGBTQ Rights in Cuba: Then and Now Part I

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:46:00 -0500

A few months ago, Sarah from Advocates for Youth sent me an email about an inspiring story and a victory for the fight for LGBTQ rights in Cuba. It was the story of Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban Head of State Raul Castro (brother of Fidel Castro), and her success in convincing the Cuban government to perform state sponsored sex reassignment surgery. These surgeries have been going on now since 2008 and they represent a dramatic shift in the treatment of the LGBTQ community. Castro has been fighting for this change for years now through her organization CENESEX that works for sex education and LGBTQ rights in Cuba.

The dark history of gays and their perscution by the state in Cuba started shortly after the revolution. University of Toronto historians chronicled the persecution that homosexuals in Cuba faced as they were arrested and put into forced labor and re-education camps. As renowned poets and activists such as famous American writer Allen Ginsburg and the French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre denounced these actions, Fidel Castro responded to the allegations:

Finally, in response to these charges, Castro took a clear position in 1965 during an interview with the U.S. journalist Lee Lockwood (quoted in Lockwood,
1967: 92):

".....And yet we would never come to believe that a homosexual could embody the conditions and requirements of conduct that would enable us to consider him a true Revolutionary, a true Communist militant. A deviation of that nature clashes with the concept we have of what a militant Communist should be."

This was a time when Cubans were forced to act as undercover police for each other through the UMAP program which was how officials would gather information about homosexuals that would lead them to intern them in the camps. One particularly heartbreaking account was the case of Reinaldo Arenas, the famous Cuban writer who was immortalized in the film Before Night Falls based on his posthumous autobiography. His own accounting of life in the jails was:

Homosexuals were confined to the two worst wards of El Morro: these wards
were below ground at the lowest level, and water seeped into the cells at high
tide. It was a sweltering place without a bathroom. Gays were not treated like
human beings, they were treated like beasts.They were the last ones to come
out for meals, so we saw them walk by, and the most insignificant incident was
an excuse to beat them mercilessly.The soldiers guarding us, who called themselves combatientes, were army recruits sent here as a sort of punishment; they found some release for their rage by taking it out on the homosexuals. Of course, nobody called them homosexuals; they were called fairies, faggots, queers, or at best, gays.The wards for fairies were really the last circle of hell.

After being sent to the U.S. in the Mariel boats where prisoners, homosexuals and other persona non grata of the Cuban Communist party were shipped, Arenas enjoyed life as a famous and prolific Cuba author in exile. Unfortuantely he contracted HIV/AIDS and committed suicide on December 7, 1990. Now Cuba has made strides to improve the treatment of homosexuals although as Mariel Castro indicates, there is still progress to be made.

Consent is sexy!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:59:00 -0500

Part of V-day is preventing sexual violence in our own communities. One of the issues on my campus is communication and consent, So my incredible roommate, of show me your wits fame, came up with the idea to collect sexy ways to ask for consent from students, and then give them the V-day stamp of approval. These are up all over campus; here are our favorites:

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Creating Change 2010

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:16:00 -0500

Hello Everyone,

So by now I hope you are all well aware of the fact that Advocates for Youth & Youth Resource are representing at this year's Creating Change Conference in the great state of Texas! We have all been working and learning and growing in our knowledge of Queer issues.

Today's Institute on Best Practices for Queer Youth Work had some great discussion on youth empowerment and equitable partnerships between adults and youth. As someone who works in the youth development field, I found the discussion to be quite exciting. I think what we have come to realize is that a lot of work still needs to be done in this area and it's especially difficult to achieve equatiable relationships in youth work within organizations that have been long established. Nontheless, we do need to come to a greater understanding and embrace the idea that youth development IS community organizing! That idea right there was my "AHA" moment of the workshop!

A shout-out is well deserved to the folks from The Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth and FIERCE for putting on a great discussion.

On a side note, all of us here (William, Daniel, Ernesto and myself) have jumped on the social networking bandwagon as a tool for social change and are Facebooking, Twittering, Youtubing, blogging and so forth while we are here in Texas. Keep up with all of us here on Amplify or through our videos on YouTube!

Until Laters World Changers!!

Ariel

Pre Conference Day 1

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:15:00 -0500

Hey everyone,

This is an interview with Russell Roybal who is the Executive Deputy Director of External Relations for NGLTF. He tells us what Creating Change is and what it stands for. Enjoy!!

Responses to CBS...a funny and an awesome. Please share!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:40:00 -0500

Whenever there is ridiculous drama in the world, it can be exciting to see when people come together and respond.

We all know about the CBS/Tim Tebow/Super Bowl drama. Here are two of my favorite video responses.

First, the fantastic South Florida Raging Grannies.

I can only hope that I ever become this cool.

Next, Planned Parenthood worked with former professional football player Sean James and Olympic gold medal winner Al Joyner to produce this piece about respecting a woman’s decision over her body.

Okay I admit it. With this one I teared up a bit.

It’s incredibly refreshing to see men in our movement and especially men that don’t do this work every day. To be successful, we must be sure to welcome people of all backgrounds into our work.

Now some might be wondering why the pro-choice movement doesn’t buy ad time during the Super Bowl and air this piece. It is a great message that needs to be spread far and wide. However, in this economic crisis where family planning clinics are closing and demand for services are increasing, I think it would be irresponsible to spend almost $3 million dollars on an ad during an event where commercials with frogs burping “Bud,” “Wise,” and “Er’ reign.

Instead, I challenge those who believe in a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, heath and wellbeing to share this video with friends (Facebook included), family and Twitter followers so we can have the same impact but still use our resources to make family planning services available to women who otherwise would not have access to them.

A Call to Action on Black History Month

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:03:00 -0500

It’s Black History Month, and regardless of what your feelings/beliefs are about complex people who share a history with one another being recognized specifically for one month, can we please agree that the best way to start off Black History Month is with RuPaul’s Drag Race?!

Now that we are on the same page, one of the things I love and hate about the media that is produced during such months are that specific media is produced for these months. I love it because we (finally) see people who are not always represented in the media, but I also dread it because all sorts of stereotypes are fed and nurtured through such media, and just plain wack images are presented. So, this year, I really want to highlight the media that we have seen who are “doing it right” and creating media that we need more of, not just for a month!

I’d LOVE for folks to post what they see/hear/experience in the various forms of media here and share why they find the media so important and trailblazing. I’ll get us started with some of my favorite advertisements that have been running for years not just one month. AdoptUsKids has fabulous marketing as they have partnered with the Ad Council. One of the reasons I love these ads is because of their messages: “You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care that would love to put up with you.” I think for this specific time, it’s important to highlight that there are plenty of youth of Color in the foster care system looking for homes and to be adopted. Check these ads out!

I’d also like to remind folks that this is one of the main times activists of Color get paid gigs as keynote speakers, workshop facilitators, and conference presenters. Please, if you have an opportunity that comes up, remember if you have time to attend their session.

Also, a shameless plug for a grassroots virtual project I’ve created with several activists and writers that began from my article posted here on LatiNegr@s To Look Out For in 2010 . If you are looking for ways to include us, LatiNegr@a, AfroLatinos, AfroCaribeños, in Black History Month please visit our Tumblr page and if you would like to submit anything (film, quote, website, photograph, link) you can do so at the submission page (this can be anonymous).

Now, a call to action: What images do you see this month and do you think they are quality?

Day 1 Queer Youth Of Color Organizing Summit AKA Team Beyonce-Gaga (Creating Change 2010)

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:42:00 -0500

Starting the morning off at 9AM after a long night chatting with the NGLTF staff took its toll as I rushed to make my first workshop on time.

The Youth of Color Organizing Summit put on by FIERCE, was fierce. There were about 40 youth of color who come from so many different walks of life with just one goal. How to better organize ourselves and our peers. The amount of energy in that room was AMAZING. I love being surrounded by so many like-minded, brilliant, youth. They each shared so much about themselves and the work they day. It was great to have youth opening up so much about the folks they work with and the issues that they may be facing.

I was in a very small set of youth that work within organizations that practice equitable youth adult partnerships and authentic youth voice. Makes me love my city of PDX all that much more.

Topics covered included, systems of oppression, types of discrimination, building your (membership) base, organizational structuring and even got to learn a little more about FIERCE (an organization that was created for and by youth) that made me reflect back to my organizations at home. I felt at home with all of these youth and it was very easy to share what we do to deal with issues as they arise.

Near the end we split up into 4 groups to talk about specific issues youth were having in their organizations. Building membership base, including allies, youth adult partnerships, retention/aging out of members. These topics built off of the training we had taken earlier on scripting recruitment and starting a campaign. We used a lot of real life examples and how to strategically win a campaign lead by youth.

I think my biggest take home today revolved around the fact that most youth still don’t understand the power the hold in an organization. That by the mere fact that we are the service recipients we control the power and should advise our organizations about the needs we have. It is important to note that although we suffer many forms of oppression, we have a unique ability and power to overcome any obstacle we face.

Can’t wait for what day two will hold.

P.S. I started a Twitter Account recently and am having a hard time figuring out all the @ and #’s and where they go/what they do, so if you have advice please share.

Uganda Update: President Obama, Will You Listen to This Man?

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:19:00 -0500

The following is a video recording of Moses, a young gay man from Uganda, speaking at yesterday's "American Prayer Hour" media conference in Washington, DC:

This testimony demonstrates the grave extent to which Uganda's LGBT community has been singled out for brutal discrimination and violence. Because Ugandan media have a track record of targeting LGBT people by publishing their names, photos, and home addresses for all to see, Moses, who is currently seeking asylum in the U.S., wore a paper bag on his head out of concern for his personal safety.

Ultimately, Moses' courageous remarks and this inaugural American Prayer Hour event could not have come at a better time. As stated on its campaign website, the Prayer Hour's overall purpose is to offer a compelling alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast, an event organized by the secretive fundamentalist organization The Family (aka The Fellowship). As numerous observers have pointed out, The Family is directly tied to those spearheading Uganda's "Anti-Homosexuality Bill," which seeks to make homosexuality a crime punishable by death.

Speaking of this bill -- very shortly President Obama will have a prime opportunity to condemn it. Despite widespread calls for a White House boycott, the President will be headlining at The Family's Prayer Breakfast tomorrow morning, in front of a slew of Senators, Representatives, and national religious leaders.
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