Lecture 12 - A Farewell

I didn't get any jelly beans. I don't know how that happened! But it was still well worth going to the last, rather impromptu, lecture of Dr. Redmans. Internships and work experience were sort of in the back of my mind, but after hearing Ali speak about not only how important it is, but how simple it can be to get an internship I'm really looking forward to getting some real experience.

I think that journalism is one of those polarising subject - you really do love it or hate it. I absolutely loved this semester, and am so glad it reinforced my aspirations of being a journalist. This semester has given me faith in the industry and a lot of confidence that, yeah, I can do it. As Bruce said, don't think about the other 300 people in the room - concentrate on yourself.

Thank you everyone for a truly fantastic semester - both the lectures and tutes were fantastic. I think I'll finish up by reposting my dream job. And maybe I'm a little step closer ever!

Dream big, right!

No really, A MAN IN LIPSTICK!

I just came across these awesome photos and had to post them. The original blog post is here.

After seeing, on the Milan catwalks, the Vivienne Westwood's man with red lipstick, now the magazine Tush N. 23, with its Lip Service shooting, comes to clear the "Lipstick Man".

For this editorial of female beauty, photographer Armin Morbach chose the male model with the red beard, Johnny Harrington. Six photos and six lipsticks: Rouge Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Lancome, Tom Ford and Estée Lauder.

a MAN in LIPSTICK?

It is absolutely tragic that while women are still severely oppressed in some parts of the world, and still disadvantaged in others, that our supposed idols, our leaders in feminism, are so bitterly caught up in the technicalities of feminism. Equality and freedom is about choice. Equality, in my eyes, does not truly exist without freedom. Hell, and that includes the right to choose to wear lipstick - bright red, orange purple or black. Not for one sex to feel pressured to wear a full face of makeup from society and the media, or to not wear any from so called feminists. It is for both sexes to feel able to decide, for themselves, what, if any, makeup to wear. And if that means seeing men in bright red lipstick, then so be it! All in the name of equality.   

Did you know that lipsticks were thought to be the "incarnation of the devil" and banned by the church in medieval Europe? Prostitutes were the only women to sport a bold lip during the time. Fast forward a few hundred years cosmetics became popular among

actresses, but were still not acceptable for everyday day women. There was even a proposed law that a woman's marriage could be annulled if she wore cosmetics before her wedding day.
I remember a story of women in taliban controlled Afghanistan who would meet in secret to have makeup parties, after it was forbidden for them to wear cosmetics or paint their nails. The risks were real - there were instances of women having their fingers cut off for having coloured nails. The strong desire by certain segments of society to control women's sexuality never fails to amaze me, and sadly it continues in pockets all over the world even today.

The right to ROCK a bold lip!

However, as females have slowly gained more and more equality, our rights to wear makeup have increased experientially. In fact, women are now presented, in some aspects, with the opposite problem faced by past women. These days perfected images saturate our everyday. Ads with women plastered with makeup sell us everything from a new perfume to a promise of happiness. There is increasing pressure for women to project a million conflicting qualities. Beauty, but not vanity. Grace, but not high maintenance  Intelligence, but not too much. Confidence, but not arrogance. Independence, but once again not too much. Competency  but not un-needing. Loving, but not overbearing - and the list goes on.

And unfortunately, this ideal image created by society dictates that women not only act the part, but that they look it too - at all times. I used to work as a receptionist at a real estate office. It was open to the public, so was not entirely casual. I was one of two women working there, greatly outnumbered by men. While it was never directly stated by the boss, it became increasingly obvious that I was required to wear a full face of makeup at work. It is sad that as women advance in relation to being able to control their appearance, society is pushing us backward through dictating, in a less obvious and direct manner than the taliban, how we should look and present ourselves.

However, just to make and incredibly complex situation even more complicated, many modern radical feminists reject makeup, and expect all women to follow suit. They believe altering ones appearance to 'please' the opposite gender and society is wrong and degrading to all women. Now I happen to LOVE mascara. I wear it daily, in fact if I could somehow sleep in it and never have to take it off, I would! But that is for me - no one sees me on a lazy day studying at home. So it upsets and angers me that some feminists are, in the name of equality and freedom, not only telling me that wearing makeup is wrong, but wanting me to stop.

I just had to include this - a DIOR ad. We definitely need more like this!

Lecture 11 - Investigative Journalism

Rachael Southern, investigative journalist.

I never considered investigative journalism, but after creating an investigative news article for JOUR1710 Investigative Journalism, I think I'm sort of hooked.

According to Hugo do Burgh, a British media theorist, the role of "an investigative journalist is … to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available." Which seems like an incredibly noble job, but talking to ex- and current investigative journalists, it sounds like you really just get hooked. Obsessed with finding answers.

Investigative journalism is a cornerstone of our society. Critical and thorough journalism mean nothing gets left out, no leaf is unturned. Additionally  the journalist is an active participant, meaning they have the ability to shape history - think of Watergate. Investigative journalists are custodians of conscience. They expose breaches of societies morals and and norms, allowing for the public to respond. Providing a voice to those who would otherwise go unheard is just as important for social justice as is exposing wrong doers. Finally, the media is a watchdog, it is the Fourth Estate. Without a truly free and independent media, the government and corporation would, to a large extent, be free to do as they please.

Lastly, an investigative journalist is independent and is therefore less prone to agenda setting. While person opinions can lead to journalists pursuing the wrong lead, there is less potential for the story to be altered - they are on the hunt for the truth!

It is sad to think that people are no longer willing to pay for good quality investigative journalism, and that it could potentially give way to more sensational reporting. The benefits of investigative journalism are far greater than a good article - they are after all an integral part of society  the Fourth Estate.

I DON'T want to be a princess, but he can be..

Right?

With Halloween approach in the U.S, little kids, and their over-enthusiastic parents, are preparing their costumes. There are in the U.S, like most countries around the world, set gender roles and rules when choosing a 'socially acceptable' costume. In short, boys can't be princesses.

This is a very interesting video circulating YouTube at the moment, which shows parents' reactions to a young boy wanting to be a princess for Halloween. Sadly, most parents attempted to dissuade the boy from from his costume choice, explaining that he would get bullied for such a costume. The same experiment is shown with a girl wanting to be spider-man, and receives mostly the same reactions.

I never dressed up for Halloween, it's not really celebrated in Australia, but I know that if I had of chosen a costume, it would not have been a princess. And that is OK. Gender roles are social constructions, serving only to restrict and victimise those who differ from the narrow definition of 'male' and 'female'.

What these parents sadly fail to realise is that the bullying they are trying to protect their children from, is caused solely by this projected attitude towards gender, amplified within society. Basically, if no one worried about gender stereotypes, it would not be an issue; stereotypes are not natural, or innate, the issue is created and sustained through these exact actions of reinforcing strict roles and expectations.

While it is easy to dismiss any transgression of the parents in this particular video as being simply protective and worry for their children , this this restrictive attitude is not only present in this situation. Gay rights, feminist concerns and racial issues are simply 'attitude problems'.

It is tragic how easily these momentousness issues facing our society could be changed with a fresh perspective, through people thinking about and questioning the standing stereotypes and marginalisation of certain members of our communities. It really is that easy.

For the record, I would have been a transformer for Halloween. And that, is OK.

Lecture 10 - Agenda Setting

This weeks lecture really interested me. I have written quite a lot about gender roles and issues, and how they are socially constructed. It pains me, but they are, of  course, constructed by the media.

Reality is reality, but the way we view the world and others is limited and mediated through social life. The media plays such a significant role in shaping individuals and societies conception of reality. There is such power held by journalists in shaping public opinion.

Everyone has seen those stories that pp up everywhere, constantly for a period of time. Sometimes they are justified by their importance, other times it just seems odd.

Luckily, (or unluckily, depending on your opinion) news organisations are being presented with more and more accountability for their stories, with ratings being readily available for analysis. However, the public perceive issues with higher media coverage as being more important than those with less coverage. For the most part, this is relatively true - the federal election is generally more important than a lost puppy. However the waters become murky when corporate agenda starts influencing the media through the use of clever PR stunts. In my eyes, the integrity of the media and of journalists is compromised when PR stories are run to the ground over other, more news worthy pieces.

This week just reinforced how important journalism is, and how important it is to get it right.

ooohhh Technology...!!

As easy as technology makes all of our lives, I just can't help but hate it.

I can keep in touch with so many people overseas that would have been forever lost to me in the good ole days. T.V shows, music, movies and entertainment is available at the click of a button. Google maps! The amount of times I have been saved by Google maps is far too great to count, not to mention the enjoyment from moving the little yellow guy around all parts of the world. Wikipedia has solved more arguments than any mediator could. Being able to listen to music on the bus make life all that bit better.

Still, nothing gets me more frustrated, upset, heated, furious, IRATE... than technology. More specifically, when technology fails.

Curse you TECHNOLOGY

Even more specifically, when 'technology' (i.e my brand-new-rather-expensive-state-of-the-art-laptop) decides to lose an entire Uni assignment a few hours before it's due. For perhaps the first time at uni I complete my assessment way before it was due; my annotated bibliography was completely finished nearly a week before its due date. All I had to do was copy and paste it into this blog. Until it disappeared.

A few hours before it was due, (trust me there is no taking the procrastinator out of this student) I opened it up annnnnnnnnd... GONE. Completely non-existent. Fallen off the face of the earth, or the entire hard-drive.

So what did I do? Calmly, after a small but severe freak out, I riffled through my room, looking through literally hundreds of loose sheets of paper until I freaked out again, this time in a good way. There it was, under my pillow, a collection of paper with large, scrawled writing covering both the front and back.

And from there I was able to re-type my assignment, edit and reference it with two hours.

The moral of this slightly long winded story is that you can NEVER trust technology. EVER. I've written before here about my love of writing, in a physical sense, and how I write out every assignment in note form before typing it. It does waste a bit of time, but the stress it saves when technology fails me is priceless!