Throwing Crabs into the Sea: Making Changes in 2014

I’m going to say something that I’m sure you’ve seen plastered all over your Facebook news feed over the new years: 2013 wasn’t so great a year and I hope 2014 is better. I think we all say something along these lines every year, and it sucks that we do. But I mean, really, 2013 really wasn’t that great and while I don’t expect the best in 2014, I hope for it. In 2013 we had rampantculturalappropriation, rapey and misogynist music, health insurance controversies, sexist advertisements, racist killing justification, and multiplemassshootings. That’s not to say that there hasn’t been some good things, but the extensive negatives evident in the year overshadow much of the good. 

So I guess there’s enough to indicate that 2014 isn’t going to be a whole lot different. But I still try to help out where I can. I read a story about a young man throwing crabs from the beach into the sea. When asked why, he said “They’ll die if I don’t help them.” When told that there “must be millions of them” and he “can’t possibly make a difference”, the young man threw another back into the ocean and says “It made a difference to that one.” So, I’m going to hope for a better year and do what I can to make it happen…and here are some of the things I’ll be hoping and working for.

I’m hoping for more women in political offices. This includes, but is not limited to Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte as Texas’ governor and lieutenant governor. I think that their ticket offers the best opportunities for educational focus, gender equality, and diversity in Texas. I mean, if Texas, a known red state and heavy in conservative attitude can come together and vote for two women pushing for progressive attitudes befitting this century, then I think it spells out good things for our country’s future.

I’m hoping for an increase in gay marriage legality across the country. Utah is working hard right now to have equality in the marriage market, and 2013 showed a marked increase in states willing to step forward for what is moral and equal (with the addition of California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Maryland, Rhode Island, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, and Hawaii) bringing us to 17 legal states. However, 33 states still ban same-sex marriage and that’s going to be a large barrier to cross. I have hope that we can move towards it, as 2013 (as bad as it was) showed the largest increase in years.

I’m hoping for a reduction in mass shootings…and dreaming of having none. Rachel Maddow told a story on the day of the DC Navy Yard shooting about the marked increase in the 12 worst mass shootings in our history. She talked of the first 6 happening over 50 years, while the last 6 happened with increasing frequency from 1999 to 2013. But those were also only the ones with 13 or more dead. 2013 alone had 365 mass shootings. 365. That’s enough for one every single day. While many of these shootings did not result in deaths, the sheer number of them is appalling. It’s too late now to hope that there won’t be any, but I have a sincere hope that there will be far fewer.

Overall, I’m just hoping that we do BETTER. I’m not looking for perfection, but I’m tired of this backsliding into the past. So do what you can to help. Donate time or money. Vote for your officials. Raise awareness for the issues in our society. And know that you may be only throwing a single crab back into the sea, but you’re still making a difference.

So, what are you hoping for? What will you be working for? Which crab are you going to make a difference for?

Yes, Cyrus Deserves a Conversation–But So Does Thicke

I tried all last week to write a blog post about Miley Cyrus and her performance at the VMAs. I ran into a few problems, though. Do I discuss the slut shaming that came after the performance? It is, after all, a major aspect when considering the impact of her performance. Or do I discuss how racist the whole act was? It’s everywhere in her performance and her life, from the use of black women as both props (literally objects) and as animals (teddy bears? Really?), to her appropriation of ratchet culture by way of twerking.

But I just couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t do it not because it didn’t deserve to be discussed. It does deserve discussion. It deserves hours of discussion, loud discussion, in public and private places both. It deserves to be used as a tool to enlighten the masses on the injustices done both TO Cyrus and BY Cyrus, as well as a conversation about others who have done the same.

But what I think deserves more attention is how LITTLE attention is given to Robin Thicke.

Robin Thicke, son of Canadian actor and comedian Alan Thicke, is well known these days. His pop single Blurred Lines has been ranked #1 for a stunning 19 weeks.

That’s not a typo. Nineteen. One-Nine. That’s exceptional—but it’s far from something that I’m pleased about, for a few reasons.

First: the line “I know you want it” that pervades the lyrics. It’s repeated over and over, mimicking the use when someone is pressing sex on an unwilling partner. It’s the height of rape  propaganda and something we can’t help but find completely counter to our concept of consent. It’s a phrase that consistently “perpetuates the idea that women don’t really know what they want and just need to be taken by force.”  More than anything, it just emphasizes how much of this song is really about rape, and the blurred lines between rape and consensual sex in situations involving drugs and alcohol (as indicated by the lines “Baby can you breathe? I got this from Jamaica / It always works for me…/ No more pretending”).

So, the first thing that angers me about Thicke and his song is that it’s a rape song, and we as a society are tacitly agreeing that it’s okay through our continued listening and support. There’s a reason I don’t listen to Chris Brown. Time to add Thicke to the list.

The second issue I have is his video. Not just the video with half naked women dancing around fully clothed men. No, I take issue with his other video with topless women dancing around (surprise!) fully clothed men (link not included because it disgusts me. It’s on vevo if you care to look for it). The type of video is very common to rap and hip hop songs these days, but it in no way absolves Thicke of his objectification of women. It’s videos like this, and our societal support of them, that keeps pornography as a multibillion dollar industry and consistently disrupts our attempts to counter the impression that women are just here for man’s use.

More than that, however, I take issue with the double standard in media. After Thicke’s video came out (and his NSFW version was removed from YouTube but his “safe” version maintained), a Blurred Lines parody created by a group of feminist law students from Auckland University appeared—and was subsequently removed for violating YouTube’s terms and conditions by displaying sexually explicit content. This is definitely a double standard as the only difference in visual content was that the women were fully clothed and the men were dancing around in their underwear. Why do we think it’s okay for Thicke to do it, but when social commentary occurs and women are empowered, we take it down? Happily, after a public outcry, the video is back up. I definitely recommend that you watch it; the parody is intended to be taken as a bit of a joke, as most commentary is, but it definitely sends a far more positive message than Thicke’s gratuitous video (it is, obviously, not safe for work, but it’s amazing and worth a view or six). 

The last issue I take is with Thicke himself, and this…this I present without comment:

“People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.’”

So, what do you think?

EDIT (9/3/13): There’s a petition on change.org to remove the music video for Thicke’s song from YouTube for being misogynistic and inappropriate. If you’d like to sign it, you can find it here.