While television has included characters with disabilities, they haven’t steered away from showing them in a stereotypical light. Popular shows medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and Chicago Med aren’t excluded in this. In fact, after watching both of these shows, I believe they were two of the most stereotypical displays of people with disabilities. What makes these displays even worse is they are about the same across television, creating a constant image of a person with a disability needing help or playing a victimized character for the viewers. This constant image can lead to a downward spiral of how a person views someone with a disability, leading to bullying and mental health issues for the victim—in some cases even suicide. While research is limited, adults with disabilities are roughly three times more likely to commit suicide.
Clothing is a major way people express themselves, making it important that clothing brands make clothing that is welcoming for everyone. Brands such as Brandy Melville offer only one size clothing, but the clothing is only for some. Their sizes say they are for everyone, but realistically they fit an extra-small to a medium. One-size clothing is not a true statement because everyone has a different body type, meaning a one-size shirt will not fit everyone the same. Brandy Melville markets towards short and small people. The shirts and shorts are extremely short, small, and cropped making it impossible for curvy or tall people to fit into. However, they sell sweatshirts that are one size but are labeled as “oversized”. This is highly offensive to people because their oversized fit is just a normal fit. What kind of message is Brandy Melville trying to portray? That the “normal” size of women should be an extra small to a medium? These are questions that need to be answered and not suppressed just because “smaller” people like their clothing.
Gender diversity in advertising has become a prevalent issue in today’s fight for gender equality. For many years women have been fighting within the marketing and advertising industry for equal representation in commercials and even landing jobs working behind the scenes. A lot of progress has been made with integrating more representation of women into advertising, however there is still more work to be done. There are, on average, twice as many men shown in an advertisement than women and men have about three times the amount of speaking time than women. While women are underrepresented within the advertising world, they are also stereotypically sexualized for the work that they are chosen for. It’s no secret that sex appeal is one of the largest selling aspects in today’s marketing world, and while this is also true for men, it is more predominant among women displayed in advertisements.
My professor clicks the next slide of his presentation, a Secret Deodorant commercial from 2013. My classmates and I sit in silence as the YouTube player begin, and a woman’s fast, quivering voice booms from the speakers.
Stress sweat. It’s different from ordinary sweat – it smells worse and it can happen anytime to anyone. Like when I fell asleep at movie night with all my coworkers and totally dream snorted myself awake. I actually popped my head back so fast I’m pretty sure I have whiplash.
The LGBTQ+ community continues to be facing diversity, as a new law was passed recently in Tennessee that restricts adult cabaret performances in public or in the presence of children, and bans them from occurring within 1000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship.” This law strictly prohibits people in this community from expressing themselves in a country that is supposed to be known for their freedom. My uncle is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has done drag before. He was simply devastated by the news, as many others in this community were and he even called my Father and angrily ranted to him how awful this new law is.
When I first met my partner, I could not grasp their pronouns for the life of me. In all honesty, I had never made acquaintances with a non-binary person until I met Koy in college. On the way to visit them, I would repeat “they, them, they, them, they, them” out loud behind the steering wheel. Of course, Koy and their friends would politely correct me each time I slipped up. Hey, we all have to learn at some point. Because the fact of the matter is: not everyone is comfortable with the gender that was assigned to them at birth. With the rapid discourse on gender expression changing every day, it’s imperative that we learn. I learned, and so can you.
At the end of the corporate Pride rainbow lies a darker story to be told
Since 1999 when President Bill Clinton designated June as Pride month in the United States, the surface level social climate has grown to be more widely accepting of the LGBTQIA+ community. Corporations have been quick to pick up on this, adjusting their marketing angle during June to reflect consumers ideals. Similar to the social climate though, this effort appears to be performative when viewed through a narrower lens. At the end of the corporate rainbow is a money trail of donations to politicians who support anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. Continue reading The Corporate Rainbow – by Jules Jackson, McKenzie Malone, Anna Truss→
Early on in my childhood I didn’t have many friends, even though most kids were very kind towards me. It’s just that I have always kept a very small circle of people very close to me in life, and one of the best people I keep around is Devin. Devin is a man who works at our grocery store, and he has autism and a learning disability. For the most part, everyone is fully accepting of Devin at our store and we treat him as we would treat anyone else. He’s thoughtful, often hilarious, and genuinely a great worker who takes care of his fellow associates.
Every encounter begins with him asking you a question or telling a joke. By the end of the encounter, he will always leave you with a fist bump that will always feel just as sweet as the last. Devin lives life like the rest of us and he doesn’t like feeling dependent on others, so it was a big deal when he was finally going to get his own drivers license. As someone with many family members who are disabled, many of them only wish to have that level of freedom.
Growing up as a white woman in the south, I have always been aware of the privilege I have due to my skin color. I knew I would have an easier time dealing with the police than someone with darker skin. I knew people in society may assume I am more educated than others because of my caucasian skin. I knew all the major issues my privilege could play a role in but I failed to consider the mundane, everyday hardships people who look different from me face. That was until I met my college roommate, Janita Echagile. Janita is an African American whose parents immigrated from Nigeria. She shared many stories about growing up as a black girl in the south. These stories opened my eyes and helped me deeply understand the challenges people of color deal with. Growing up is hard enough but it is even worse when you feel as though your appearance doesn’t fit the beauty standards. Janita shares her experience feeling like that.Continue reading Black in the South: A Complicated Journey of Self Love – by Catherine Corcoran →
Women have been faced with inequality since the beginning of time. Today, their rights are stillbeing oppressed, along with their healthcare rights as human beings. Specifically, Walgreens announced a few weeks ago that they will not be distributing abortion pills, such as mifepristone, in states where GOP AGs (Grand Old Party attorney generals) object. The nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain also confirmed it will not sell abortion pills in several states that remain legal. This decision was based on the consistent harassment in letters by nearly two dozen Republican state attorney generals who threatened legal action against the drug store.
My professor clicks the next slide of his presentation, a Secret Deodorant commercial from 2013. My classmates and I sit in silence as the YouTube player begin, and a woman’s fast, quivering voice booms from the speakers.