I came across this culture jam when I simply typed in “culture jams”. I found this image among others by a fellow blogger, Martin Krzywinski. There is a series of culture jams with a similar thread of the woman being controlled by a game controller which would be controlled by a man. The product in this advertisement is the woman, and is titled “mary.g” which is a modification of marriage. This advertisement is considered a culture jam in that it plays on the idea of the latest electronics, a product of SONY. This culture jammer, indicates to the viewer that in our modern society, in which new technologies are being created and distributed to make our hectic lives easier, men would prefer to go back to the 'old days' when women's roles were clearly defined within marriage.
Even though women have moved so far forward in breaking those limiting roles of being a woman (or so we thought?). Women still have certain expectations of them within marriage, in a dual working households women still have the majority of responsibilities of cleaning, organizing and managing the home. So really, have we moved that much farther than we were 20, 30, 40 years ago? In terms of whats expected of women, these expectations and attitudes about women and marriage have been so embedded into society that one wonders when will it change? Will it ever change? So something like the use of culture jamming helps to stimulate the thoughts of the people and to acknowledge the longstanding outdated views on woman's roles in marriage and society.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fullaperture/559219647/
~ Cedar
I think there is this assumption that things have dramaticallty changed, and that the pressure for women to perform traditional roles has lessened, but I am skeptical of this. A 2006 Stats Can report on the hours spent doing unpaid housework clearly indicates that women are for the most part still resposible for these tasks (http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/famil56a-eng.htm?sdi=unpaid).
ReplyDeleteIn my Philosophy and Gender course we have discussed the covert ways in which women are still discriminated against. For example, an employer may claim that he/she provides equal opportunity to both men and women, but if a job requirement is mandatory overtime then that employer is covertly discriminating against women. How? you might ask. Well, it is relatively common knowledge that women tend to be primamry care givers. Making overtime a mandatory job requirement disallows those that have children (and are the primary care givers for those cildren) from applying for that job. Most high paying jobs are not possible for those that have primary care giving duties outside of the workplace. For the sake of saving time I am oversimplifying the concept of covert discrimination. If you would like to know more Jennifer Mather Saul's book, "Feminism: Issues & Arguments" covers the issue in more detail.
I think this culture jam is brilliant in that it does illuminate the fact that women still do face pressures to assume traditional household duties.
I wonder though, what role do women play in perpetuating these societal pressures? What can women do to lessen the assumptions placed upon them?
Cool post! I enjoyed reading it.
- ShadowsDreaming
To me, these images work in a way that almost dehumanizes women and transforms them from human being into object. And it makes me wonder, if this is the case, why do women want to get married? I agree with what Cedar said in so far that these ideas are imbedded in society, but how can we change them?? I know that I would like to change them, but yet, I myself still want to get married. There are so many problems that still have to be worked out... but we can't fix them unless we forget about our history and the ideologies in society that tell us how our lives will be structured... I like your posts, they have real got me thinking about things..
ReplyDeleteThanks.
- Keekers
Fantastic find. This is a great representation of how women can [sometimes, not always] be controlled by marriage. I agree with Keekers, in that if we want to destroy this oppression, we need to find a way to do it. It's impossible to break down this patriarchal system unless everyone commits to fighting it together. Hopefully one day that will happen, and we will reach true equality.
ReplyDelete- Trout Heart Replica
There's a great article by R. W. Connel, “Masculinities and Globalization,” in the book Gender Through the Prism of Difference (3rd ed.) which outlines how hegemonic masculinity works to assume that there will be a wife at home (the 'adverse effect' discrimination of the job ad cited above), and how the dominant global masculinity affects men of different classes / races / nationalities / etc.
ReplyDeleteThe comments here really work to reveal some of the social implications of accessibility to wages / jobs, and why, in general, women don't "choose" to apply for management or other high-paying work. One cannot work a double-day when one's paying job requires all of that day.
The Doctor
Super terrifying and partially true. I like what you said there about how we seem to think we've come so far but really, how far have we come? Everyone I talk to does not see the issue we have still fighting for equal rights for women, however when you bring up issues like this they respond with "thats just the way things are, and have always been..we cant change it". SO FRUSTRATING!!!
ReplyDeleteThis jam kinda shows that this is still an issue for women, even though we are so "liberated" today.
-BritFan
Great culture jam! I agree, I really feel that society is becoming even more regressive. Last year in one of my classes, a prof told me that as of 2007 that women still did 90% of the unpaid household work... scary stuff
ReplyDelete-Macho Muffin