Gender

, , , , ,

Jawline (2019)

, , , , ,
Jawline (2019)

Jawline (2019) is an intimate look into young men aspiring to social media fame. Profiling a number of “influencers,” the film focuses on a teenage boy as he attempts to grow his social media followers. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok mean that celebrity is no longer institutionalized in Hollywood but rather available to anyone with a camera and Internet connection. While this has democratized celebrity to some degree, it has also opened the door to self-professed “experts” who seek to exploit those hoping to go viral.

, , ,

Tickled (2016)

, , ,
Tickled (2016)

Tickled (2016) is essentially a film about how the YouTube-based world of “competitive tickling” is run by a secretive exploitative millionaire named David D’Amato, a man who inherited his fortune and served as an assistant principal to 8 different high schools over the course of just 10 years. D’Amato would pay young straight men to tickle and be tickled by their friends, all on film, all completely clothed, and all under the guise of a homophobic, pseudo-religious media organization called Jane O’Brien media.

, ,

Men and Falling Behind

, ,
Men and Falling Behind

CBS Sunday Morning, 2023, 8:44… In 1972, when Title IX was passed to help improve gender equality on campus, men were 13% more likely to get an undergraduate degree than women. Today, it's women who are 15% more likely to get a BA than men. That's just one of the startling statistics revealing how millions of young men today are struggling to understand how or where they fit in.

, , , ,

Intersex and De-medicalization

, , , ,
Intersex and De-medicalization

CBS Sunday Morning, 2023, 8:38… According to statistics cited by the U.N., .05 to 1.7 percent of the world's population is intersex, defined as having external or internal sexual organs that are not clearly male or female. As a matter of course, doctors in the past performed surgery on babies, ostensibly so that they would live a "normal" life.

,

Sexism & Cheerleading

,
Sexism & Cheerleading

Refinery29, 2018, 11:47… On this episode of Shady, our host, Lexy Lebsack explores the dark side of NFL cheerleading that is often left out of the spotlight. She speaks with former cheerleaders who share their stories of verbal abuse, discrimination, and exploitation all at the hands of the NFL. Watch this shocking episode of Shady to get an honest look into the dark reality of NFL cheer!

,

Gender & Judith Butler

,
Gender & Judith Butler

8-Bit Philosophy, 2015, 4:18… Gender is a script that society expects us to act, and this includes the expectations that accompany masculinity and femininity. This includes things such as mannerism, speech, and thoughts. Gender is essentially the narrative we ascribe to anatomy. Moreover, when we do not want to want to act according to these social scripts, the neat binary between men and women starts to fall apart. This brings up the question of should there be gender categories in the first place.

,

Sexist Double Standards in Yearbook Photos

,
Sexist Double Standards in Yearbook Photos

Inside Edition, 2021, 2:10… Several students and their parents at one Florida high school are outraged after their yearbook photos were altered to cover up more of their chests. Riley O’Keefe’s original photo had a black bar digitally added to the top of her shirt. In total, 80 photos were deemed “inappropriate” by the school and digitally altered. All of them were girls. They say their school outside Jacksonville, Florida applied a double standard.

, , ,

The Intersex Justice Project

, , ,
The Intersex Justice Project

Vice News, 2019, 10:21… Pidgeon Pagonis’ childhood memories include surgeries, hormone therapy, and repeated inspections of their genitals. When they turned 18 and got a copy of their medical records, they finally understood why. The first page had a handwritten note: “46 XY male pseudohermaphrodite.” The procedures that followed were also listed: a clitoral reduction, vaginoplasty, and surgery to remove undescended testes. For Pagonis, the results of some of these procedures have been both physically and psychologically damaging.

, , ,

Diversity in the Cannabis Industry

, , ,
Diversity in the Cannabis Industry

Refinery29, 2019, 8:12… On this episode of Truth Told, we dive into the world of women in the business of weed. With the marijuana industry becoming a booming one in the U.S., what does that mean for those who have been affected by the stigma surrounding it. Press play to uncover the reality of the marijuana industry in America.

, , ,

Dolly Parton, A Marxist From 9 to 5

, , ,
Dolly Parton, A Marxist From 9 to 5

AJ+, 2019, 12:00… Dolly Parton is an American icon. But she stands, perhaps most importantly, as a timeless ode to the foundation of this country: the working class. In the inaugural episode of Pop Americana, Sana Saeed explores the radical politics of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” - the song, the film and the album. We threw in some Marxist theory too.

, , , ,

Sex and Race Bias in Medicine

, , , ,
Sex and Race Bias in Medicine

Last Week Tonight, 2019, 22:37… The intersection of sex and race bias is particularly deadly for women of color who are often not believed by their physicians. Medical students are often taught there are biological differences between the races in terms of skin thickness, pain tolerance, and nerve endings. There are also the problems of implicit biases and structural problems in medicine. For example, the male body has traditionally been the default reference in medical research. In other words, most medical studies have been done on male bodies.

, , ,

Broscience & Fitness Advice

, , ,
Broscience & Fitness Advice

Quartz, 2019, 8:04… Online fitness advice is notoriously bad. So why is it so popular? Exercise gurus and fitness influencers are all over social media with supplements and research claims. Broscience is in your feed telling you about fad diets and free weights — but how much is actually supported by science? Quartz News speaks with scientists, researchers, and fitness experts about the sources and research behind the proliferating stream of advice online.

, , , ,

Sugar Daddies

, , , ,
Sugar Daddies

60 Minutes Australia, 2019, 25:03… For the so-called “sugar daddies”, the equation is simple: the wealthier they are, the more attractive they are. But as Sarah Abo finds out, it’s not hard to read between the lines here. The term sugar baby is often code for sex worker, and the male moneybags are often crinkled-up creeps. And that leads to a very important question: is this sugar baby phenomenon about empowering women or exploiting them?

, , ,

Child-caring Dads in Japan

, , ,
Child-caring Dads in Japan

Quartz, 2019, 7:40… Japan is tackling gender inequality with a "hunky dads" campaign. Japan’s workforce is shrinking and aging. To keep its economy growing, it needs more of its citizens to work, which means getting more women into the workplace. Nearly half of Japanese women quit their jobs after the birth of their first child. To get mothers back to work, Japan’s government has focused on encouraging men to more fully share household responsibilities. The government started a campaign called the “ikumen” project.

, , ,

Pregnant Women & Sports

, , ,
Pregnant Women & Sports

The New York Times, 2019, 5:29… Being a mother and a champion was a crazy dream. But it didn’t have to be. Olympic runner Alysia Montano had accomplished all her dreams but one: being a mom. When she finally went for it, she faced her biggest challenge yet — her sponsors. When Montano approached her sponsor to announce her pregnancy, they told her that they would just pause her contract. She famously ran a national championship and eight months pregnant to prove that pregnant women could compete. Now, she’s speaking out so that no one has to suffer like she did.