In One Ear…
"You know, not every story has to be interesting."-GibbyArchive for controversy
I Don’t Get It
So, some groups complained about this ad:
They decried it for being to Sexy. And yeah, the ad teases. But compared with last year’s Carls Jr Ad? This is positively tame. Yeah, you see Upton’s bountiful cleavage. But she is clothed in pretty regular clothes. Her cutoffs are not short shorts, her top is something I see women wear every summer. Certainly, the ad plays with objectification, especially in Kate Upton’s flirtatious posing. But the ad is all setup. It is playing off the hopes of guys getting to see the stuff they saw in the Carls Jr ad, only covered in soap suds. Then it pulls the rug out. I really do not understand the criticisms of the Mercedes ad.
Search and Destroy
This week, discussions I was a part of collided. Over in political land, it was a discussion about the Website Jezebel. In case you were unaware, after Obama was re-elected, Twitter and Facebook lit up with dis-satisfied voters who thought the best response to the news was racism and hate. Some of these people were teenagers doing that thing teens do so well…say stupid things. Jezebel was understandably put off by these comments. Their response was to compile a list of these folks…their names, their schools, their extra-curricular activities, what sports they play, etc. The idea is, apparently, to really hit these kids by ruining their chances at college and so on.
In comic world, the other day, someone found a website post Director James Gunn did two years back (possibly closer to three). It was a list of the 35 comic book characters folks want to have sex with. So, it was a mature list. I was actually familiar with the list…and the less controversial list (one with none of the commentary that bothered people) has comments by me. I used to be pretty active at Gunn’s site. He was very interactive, and in spite of random moments that made me cringe, seemed pretty open minded. The list I commented on, Gunn and I had an exchange about our shock that the only Watchman character to make the list? Comedian. Seriously. The rapist. The list was compiled by a vote, and on one version of the list, Gunn made commentary that was a bit…uncomfortable. Rachel Edidin addresses it nicely.
Some have stated it was satire of Misogyny. Maybe. But it failed because it did not lampoon the outdated attitudes…it seemed more to lampoon it’s subjects. But the point is, people wanted to do something about it. And this is where stuff collided. People seemed to want to destroy Gunn.
I am not crazy at all over the idea that the right answer when someone offends us is to try and get them fired. People have the right to express the most heinous of ideas. I have every right to decide whether I want to give them my money. I have every right to express how wrong I think they are. I have every right to take to twitter and express that. Or Facebook. It is important to have that outlet of protest. But when we take it the step ahead and force destruction to rain on their heads, we start to lose our righteous ground. Especially, I am concerned because these are tactics that were used on the left for decades. Threat to out gay people, petitions to get people with unpopular opinions fired, etc. Look at the pro-life movement. There were some within the movement that publicized the names and addresses of doctors who performed abortions. As some doctors were shot and killed, they were crossed off the lists in blood.
Do we want to have a legacy like that? Where we start keeping a list of people who “think correctly” and those who fail to meet our standards are not allowed to move on in life? Do we really think it is different when we do it to them? It’s somehow different to try and get someone fired because they are homophobic than to get someone fired because they are gay? Should something you said years ago be held in higher regard than where you are now? The person I was long ago held very different opinions on issues than the person writing this post. There was a time in my life that I saw homosexuality as evil. I was vehemently pro-life. Do the views I evolved to mean less than the ones I held when I was decades younger? I cannot comfortably agree that punishing kids as Jezebel seeks to do is wise or good. It is not the right step forward. Especially hurting their ability to get into schools. Yes, lets try and keep them teens from going to the place that often results in a personal re-evaluation of one’s beliefs.
Gunn, btw, apologized. And hey, he avoids the “sorry you were offended”…he takes credit for the failure on his own. Considering that other recent offenders took the “Stop being offended route? (including defenders of Gunn) it was kind of refreshing.
Shameless Promotion: The Nerd Patrol
No lie…I kind of wanted people to pass this around…I am not as clever as Ty Templeton (dammit)…but I gave it me best shot.
Confused? Check here, here and here.
I would like to point out that Harris pretty much invited the controversy as he asked people to retweet his comments.
So, here is my rant from last week (With some edits):
I said it yesterday…but after reading various follow ups I feel it needs to be said. The “Real Nerd Girls” thing…I see guys trying to say it is true. They point out that Tony Harris says there are exceptions…so he is not slamming all cosplayers as being “fake nerds”. But here is the thing…an exception is a small minority. So, he is slamming the majority of cosplayers as fake nerd girls.
The complaints about hanging on to guys they would not give the time of day to (so uh…what exactly is the motive here?)…shaming the women for not being as attractive as we assume they think they are…it is bitter and ridiculous.
And really? Who CARES if they are comic book fans? Who CARES if they like to wear a skimpy outfit? They like to dress up as cartoon characters, but are not into comics…so? What kind of self righteous shithead thinks it is their job to decide who is a legit geek? I could care less why someone cosplays. If that is something they enjoy doing? More power to them! Guys, gals,short, tall, thin, overweight,average looking,conventionally beautiful…if these folks get joy from it? Why is it anybody’s job to take that joy away? To shame them?
It was not worth Tony Harris and Dirk Manning bringing up…it is not defensible. I’ve interacted with both guys online over the years and found them amiable and nice enough guys…but that does not make this recent commentary from them not a moment of douchebaggery or misogyny. What was said was most certainly a misogynist rant. We have all said things that might not reflect us overall…but the measure of a person is whether they can understand why what they said is problematic and step forward, rather than dig in and defend themselves for their douchey commentary. And not only did Harris and Manning dig in, their supporters did as well. Way to class it up, folks.
Seriously, why is it such a threat to let women in the nerd/geek family? Why do they have t jump through hoops to prove they deserve to be allowed? Why is there need among some guys in the geek community, professional and otherwise, to jump up to judge women on their looks and whether they are allowed to dress as certain characters?
And in regards to the girls who might not really care about comics or cartoons and maybe just are looking for an opportunity to dress “sexy” while hanging off of nerds? WHO THE F**K CARES?! It is not hurting anyone.
