Advertisements are a powerful influence on society, whether we care to admit it or not. And furthermore, advertisements are a company’s interpretation of its customers’ lives, albeit with more enthusiasm and catchy jingles. This means that the commercials we see on TV and the billboards we see across Sunset Boulevard are often intended to mimic what that company thinks we, the general public, are- or if not that, what we want to be. This is why I get so angered when I see ads that treat women like cleaning robots or housewives that live to serve their incompetent husbands. But not all companies manage to push my feminist buttons. Some ads, and companies in particular, treat women like the multi-faceted people they are, either allowing them to drive fast cars or have high-level jobs. This is a short list of some of the commercials on TV stations today, and what message they are conveying to the commercial-watching public, for the empowered better or outdated and out-of-touch worse.
“Lessons” from the Lawrence King trial: Reporters Need “Guidance,” Too
In the wake of the mistrial of Brandon McInerney, who was witnessed by his classmates as he shot his classmate Lawrence King in the back of the head for flirting with him, the Los Angeles Times, the paper of record…
Project Runway’s Plan B: Make it Better
A review of the newest season from Lifetime's "Project Runway!"
A Skirt Does Not Equal Damsel in Distress
The words “feminism” and “femininity” are only a few letters away from the same. Some people, however, force these two words to live in feuding worlds, as if someone cannot be feminine and a feminist, a person who truly believes in gender equality. This is, first of all, completely untrue, and second of all, the fact that so many people insist that the concepts of femininity and feminism need to be spread apart is actually a lingering sexist view in today’s society.
The Reindeer and the Moose
A few months earlier, Frank said to me, “I don’t really think I have time for an unhealthy relationship with you. I need to work on fixing the unhealthy relationship I have with myself. And I’m not going to apologize…
Tim Cook, The Most Powerful (Gay) Man in the World
Photo by ACC District/Flickr The sad turn of Steve Jobs’ health that caused him to resign as head of Apple Inc, a brand that he helped turn into a cultural icon in the last decade, has one very bright side–Tim…
Anderson Cooper and the Big Gay Elephant
Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr Do you know who Anderson Cooper is? Yes, yes you do. Anderson Cooper is one of the most ubiquitous and well-respected journalists in America today. He reports live from war zones, natural disasters, and the front…
(Gay) Sex and the (Other) City
It’s only recently that I’m getting used to coming first – both in sex and in life. It’s probably because I’ve been used to coming second since birth. I grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, the country’s second largest city. Now I live in Los Angeles, the American city with the silver medal; this sex blogger can’t afford New York or Manolo Blahniks. In the same way, when you’re a Gay, working-class, Latino man of barely-above-average looks, you always get stuck being the sidekick, just like in the movies. I’m a personal assistant who’s studied English for two years at the most prestigious university in Los Angeles, and I’m still washing dishes for a living – oh, the places where being Mexican takes you! In any case, sooner or later comes the day when you tire of not being the protagonist of your own life, and you take a chance.
The Jeff Griffith Youth Center: A Place of Hope for Homeless Queer Youth
Photo by Clementp.fr/Wikimedia Commons “Kill yourself, dog shit,” the man muttered as he pedaled past me on his bicycle, the wheels creaking as he wobbled away up the street. It was 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning, cold and gloomy,…
New Film "We Were Here" Looks Back at the AIDS Generation
Netflix “We Were Here,” a documentary examining the early years of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and its terrifying and heartbreaking effects on the LGBT community in the 80s and 90s, will be released to select theaters on September…