Posts Categorized: Sex and Culture
PHARRELL TRIED TO SAVE THE OCEANS AND WE DIDN’T HEAR ABOUT IT
Last year Pharrell Williams added fashion to his cache of talents. Having done many stints in fashion such as collaborating with Louis Vuitton on eyewear and jewelry, Pharrell was already a trend setter. The music producer and fashion mogul collaborated last year with G-Star, a denim label, to create a line called Raw from The Oceans. This was Pharrell’s line that was made from recycled ocean plastic. The idea is so Pharrell: genius, creative, and has a strong impact. Not only did he collaborate with them, he’s now co-owner of the denim label. When talking to Vogue magazine, Pharrell expressed how happy he was to be on board; “G-Star is an independently minded and forward-thinking company,” said Williams. “I believe they will be the definitive jeans brand of the 21st… Read more »
Reproductive Care Doesn’t Need Validation. Die Mad About it.
When we talk about reasons that people use birth control, we love to validate it. A conversation around why contraceptives should be covered by insurance is not complete without a mention of how somebody uses it for their PCOS or intense periods or hormonal regulation. And while these are all entirely valid and necessary reasons to go on the pill or something of the sort, it is also valid to use it for what the name suggests: controlling birth. Though I’m stating the obvious, this discussion of birth control’s uses comes down to our society’s pervasive fear of women’s sexual pleasure. It seems like we’ve accepted that women are going to have sex, but haven’t gotten to the point yet where we can admit that women, just like people of… Read more »
Racial Dating Preferences Are Anti-Black
Among my friends and on social media, I have noticed a common phenomenon around blackness in dating: people are masking their blatant anti-blackness with the common rhetoric that “they’re just not my type.” Dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid have definitely made it easier for white people to see black faces and immediately swipe left. However, I have also seen white friends and friends of color alike be more open to dating other nonblack races. It seems that what many non-black people aren’t wanting to admit to themselves are that these cheap claims of having a “preference” is just a mask for the fact that, inherently, you think blackness is unattractive. Whether it’s because of our negro noses or afros, I am beginning to realize that so many of my… Read more »
CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS ARE NOT “HISTORY,” THEY ARE ACTIVE RACISM
Last week, the Jefferson Davis confederate monument in my hometown was defaced. “No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA” was spray painted in red across the plaque. The Davis monument is one of several monuments and buildings in the Rio Grande Valley that commemorate the Confederacy. The vandalization of the monument came at a time when racism dominated both our local and national headlines, proving the rhetoric of the Confederacy has not retreated into history– it is active and present. When the President addressed the Charlottesville, VA white supremacist rally, he directed his words at the “very fine people” that wanted nothing but the preservation of “beautiful confederate monuments. By seeking to protect confederate monuments, the President also protects Nazis, white supremacists, and condones violence against people of color. Last… Read more »
Kylie Jenner Might Be Bringing A Black Child Into This World and I Have Questions
An influx of ‘Pregnant Kylie’ photos surfaced on the internet after TMZ reported that Kylie Jenner was five months pregnant. The social discourse surrounding the possibility of this new baby has arguably received more attention than the plethora of natural disasters that have devastated so many people. Perhaps the most recent Kardashian media frenzy is just more proof of what the media really holds dear. But Kylie’s pregnancy begs a much greater, very serious question that sometimes gets swept under the rug when a new Kardashian is made, or when anyone famous announces their pregnancy. Are black babies slowly becoming commodified for likes and as an excuse for cultural appropriation and racial ignorance? I can’t help but feel sheer and utter terror at the fact that this family of culture vultures… Read more »
Title IX Changes Don’t Reflect the Realities of Sexual Assault
*Trigger warning for content that includes a description of sexual assault* Freshman year of college, I invited a boy to my dorm. This was hardly anything revolutionary because having people over to study, hookup, or just hangout was the norm for me. I had no expectations, only a small interest in him; I wanted to get to know him better but with no money like most college kids, a date for me was a calm conversation in my room. The night started off awkward; he was saying all the wrong things, I was saying all the wrong things. I could tell that we were turning each other off and so I decided to liven things up. I attempted a play fight with him to get the nervous energy out of… Read more »
White Nationalism Is a Problem Kansas State Needs to Face
Last Wednesday, Kansas State students woke up to find white nationalist posters put up all across campus. I personally did not see any on my route to class, but plenty of students did, sparking a reaction throughout the university. From what I saw on social media, there were four different variations of the posters found on campus. The first one that I saw echoed a “White Lives Matter, Too” mentality, stating that “diversity means less white people.” Two others specifically mentioned Muslims and terrorism. The last one featured a picture of a white family, saying “We have a right to exist.” The amount of hypocrisy these posters portrayed is alarming to me. Of course white people have the right to exist, as all people have the right to exist. But… Read more »
The Emmys Took Two Steps Forward and One Step Back
The Emmy Awards aired on Sunday to celebrate achievements in television this past year. As host Stephen Colbert said in his opening monologue, the Emmys featured its most diverse group of nominees in history, and many of these diverse voices actually won. In the fields of directing, acting, and writing, there were unprecedented achievements by people of color. Combine that with the success of the dystopian drama about a world where women have lost the right to control their own body, The Handmaid’s Tale, the night looked like a great symbol of the progress Hollywood has made in recognizing the work of marginalized artists. However great these successes, though, the awards show clearly highlighted the embarrassing reminder that this celebration of diversity is a simple opportunistic move, very similar to… Read more »
CELEBRATING MY HERITAGE SHOULDN’T BE COURAGEOUS
Hispanic Heritage Month “pays tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.” Every year, we see national media show us segments on food, folkloric dances, or notable figures in history. With our current political climate, it is important to reflect on the heritage we are celebrating, and how the United States continues to devalue Latinx lives. On the day of the Charlottesville white supremacist rally my dad and I were eating together. I don’t think I have ever seen my dad look as scared as he did at that moment. It was a fear that resonated because I knew that the rally was just the culmination of what has always been there and will continue to be there. Since then, my dad makes… Read more »
Television Has Made Lying about Your Sex Life Normal
Why has lying about your sexual health history become a popular media trope in film and television? We also see this in social media with celebrities like Usher, who purposely withheld the fact that he had genital herpes from his partners and thereby infected them, and now denies it. So much of our media influences how we see the world. Even if we don’t always realize it, when we see television scenes where one character withholds their sexual health information from another, the obvious reaction is to disagree with what is happening. But what is simultaneously operating underneath our apparent disapproval is the normalization and desensitization of dishonesty surrounding sexual health. It also allows the viewer to stigmatize carriers as being intrinsically careless, deceptive and dishonest. It operates as a cunning… Read more »
