Unit 2

                                                     The Unidentified Runner of Society 

“Either/Or: Sports, sex, and the case of Caster Semenya,” written by The New Yorker writer, Ariel Levy, explores the ideas of gender norms in our world, specifically the world of athletics and running. Levy follows the story of Caster Semenya, a girl who lives in South Africa and is an impressive runner. Semenya gets dehumanized throughout this article because she is intersex. She has female parts on the outside, but on the inside has no female parts and has more testosterone. Others called her an “it” and thought that it was unfair for her to be running with other females. 

In society, we don’t truly know anymore what classifies a female from a male. Yes, we know they have different parts, but on the inside you can feel to be whoever you want to be. People don’t like when things don’t fit perfectly in their box of ways. Semenya is one of many who doesn’t fit in society’s box, and she got reprimanded for this. Most people will go their whole life and never know they are intersex. With knowing this, it makes one think about why Semenya even found out or why she was called out to be different. If Semenya didn’t win all her races, she never would’ve been forced to get tested by these white male doctors, without her consent. If it was a white girl winning the races, would she get gender tested? 

People in Semenya’s home considered her “God’s child.” These people knew her personally and knew the real her, while these outsiders, these white males, continue to talk about her and violate Semenya. People only start to care once it affects themselves. If you took a step back and thought about how our world is set up, what would we do if we really changed the meaning of what makes someone male or female? Semenya was raised a female, she identifies as a female, why should some test change that for her? Just because people get their feelings hurt because they can’t beat someone who is different than them, doesn’t mean they should be violated. 

There is a continued pattern throughout the article that stands out; men, white men, are the ones constantly talking about Semenya as though she is an object. Wilfred Daniels, a friend of Semenya’s, talks about how Semenya tells him about the tests. She describes them as this: “They put her feet in straps and they work down there.” She was lied to, told this was a dope test, but she knew they were lying. The doctors knew she didn’t have a clue what exactly they were doing to her. She grew up in a town where she didn’t learn about these things, she was a rural girl. Never did one of these men, who were touching her in parts where she shouldn’t be violated, never explained what they were doing to her. In today’s society we would call that assault. But because Semenya doesn’t fit in the perfect little box society wants, they brush it off, make it her fault, think that she needs to be tested because she is different. If it were a white girl who was intersex getting tested, would it be called assault then? 

                                                                Woman in the Field 

Looking at magazines at a store, the cover is always what grabs your attention. You wouldn’t look at the magazine in the first place if something didn’t catch your eye. Starting as a weekly in 1925, The New Yorker is a magazine known for its abstract and controversial covers. The New Yorker is an American magazine that features journalism, commentary, essays , cartoons, and many more. Its reviews and events focus on the cultural life of New York City, but the magazine is read by a wide audience outside of New York. It was founded by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, who was a New York Times reporter. Ross wanted to create something that had more sophisticated humor, unlike where he used to work with Judge. The publication in which this illustration was posted by Art Spiegelman was May 11, 1998. 

Taking a deep dive into The New Yorker cover by Art Spiegelman in May of 1998, one can see this white woman sitting at a construction site, while breastfeeding her child. The woman has a construction hat on, assuming she too works there, just like the two silhouettes in the background. All of the background is in orange tones and having the woman wear blue really makes her seem to be the focal point. The woman is wearing red lipstick and she has short brown hair underneath her hard helmet. She is looking down at her baby while he eats, and she almost seems content or proud just to be there. 

This cover was written and goes along with a poem in this version of the magazine. Ardor by Donald Hall begins with, “Nursing her I felt alive in the animal moment, scenting the predator.” This cover could be about how women can have both a job and take care of a family and kids, but could also be about the male dominated workforce and how women feel as though they have to fight like animals to earn a spot. Especially construction, women don’t tend to be seen working there, and definitely not often in 1998. This is proving that women are just as capable to do hard jobs and more hands on jobs. Women aren’t afraid to get dirty. Women aren’t just housewives anymore, they can work a 9-5 job and still find the time to feed their children. Not only did this article stand out by saying women can do what men can, it made me think about more recent times and the stigma around breastfeeding in public. Mother’s are starting to feel more comfortable breastfeeding their babies in public without covering up. It is natural and the baby needs to eat when he or she is hungry. But if it is so natural, why do people get so upset and disgusted if they walk past a mom feeding their baby? So not only could this article be saying that women can work and take care of their families, it also could be saying that there shouldn’t be a stigma around breastfeeding in public without covering up. At the time, this cover came out close to Mother’s Day and in 1998 women earned 76% as much as men in the workforce. 

Taking a look into different covers of The New Yorker gives you a different perspective on the ideas going on around the city and the country. This cover from 1998 is just one of many that depict issues that need to be addressed, including women breastfeeding in public. 

                                        

                                                            Model Status 

When one thinks of a model, what comes to mind? Skinny, tall, blonde? Maybe even bikinis or high heels. In today’s new and changing society, the world of models is changing. Companies are starting to incorporate everyday people of different shapes and sizes into the model community. Taking a deep dive into the #ThisBody commercial for Lane Bryant, it portrays plus size models showing the new underwear line for Lane Bryant. It begins with a bunch of different women of different shapes, sizes, and races talking about what “this body” is made of and what it is important for. It goes about showing the different women in different outfits and one even breastfeeding her baby, to show what this body is made for. 

This commercial is so relevant for 2021. People all over the world have been trying to show how beauty comes in different shapes and sizes and that there isn’t just one mold or standard anymore for what makes someone beautiful. Companies especially are trying to incorporate this into their commercials and advertisements because it makes the buyers feel more included and that they shouldn’t feel anything less than beautiful. As a female myself, seeing models that aren’t just skinny and one shape and one hair color and fit this exact mold, makes me feel more confident. Breaking society's rules on what it means to be beautiful helps any girl feel like they too can feel confident in their bodies. Seeing people on TV that look like you, make you feel like you can do anything.  

 This Lane Bryant commercial did spark some controversy, though. In 2016, big networks including ABC and NBC decided to take down this Lane Bryant commercial because they felt the commercial showed too much skin and that it was not appropriate to show during “family hours” on television. The networks asked Lane Bryant to edit the commercial, but refused because they believed that it was a beautiful and appropriate expression of women’s bodies. At the same time, a Victoria’s Secret ad for underwear was instead run during this allotted time. 

Why is it that people are so scared of plus size women, or the idea of breaking what society says is a “model” body? Society needs to continue to change these norms and break them. That is the only way things are going to change. To check out the Lane Bryant commercial, click here.

The Power of Analysis 

Understanding and using analysis of different pieces has become so important. Taking a look at the analysis work I did on the Lane Bryant commercial, #ThisBody, I learned that you can’t always use your first impressions on something. After much research, I found that there was so much more meaning behind the commercial than what meets the eye, and the networks that didn’t air the commercial did not seem to do research upon the topic of body inclusiveness in the modeling world. 

One of the pieces we worked on in class that I feel really helped evolve my understanding of analysis would be the Op-docs. Getting to look deeply into a video and suspend your judgement was something I have never done before. It was difficult to not jump to conclusions or write down my initial responses, but in doing this it helped my overall understanding of analyzing something. Writing two sentence summaries on these op-docs helped me go deeper into the meaning of short videos like the ones we watched in class. Having to think of what these videos could possibly mean, other than what comes to mind originally, was challenging, but I feel as though I am a stronger writer because of it. 

Another piece that I feel as though made me a stronger writer, and helped me view the world differently, was getting to analyze covers from The New Yorker. Getting to dabble in a little bit of both analyzing videos and now pictures helped me be able to fully understand and deep dive into the commercial for Lane Bryant. Having to go into very specific detail on everything seen on the cover felt odd at first. But once it was down on paper, it made sense as to why we needed to do that. You could see things in a picture and think they have one meaning, while someone else viewing it may think something completely different. 

Overall, the work of studying different forms of art and literature and analyzing them to its fullest extent, has helped me become a stronger writer. Being able to analyze something in ways you wouldn’t normally, helps expand your horizons in life.