Then I noticed that the majority of the comments on several threads were negatively pointing out the woman, describing her as a "bitch," "cold," and having a "stick stuck up her ass." Even some articles said that she was giving him the "evil eye" and telling us to look at her "death glare."
However, when I watched it, she just seemed like she was trying to concentrate and was preoccupied with other things. If anything, she seemed to be a bit nervous, especially since she was fussing with her hair (anything doing with having to go on-air?). Not to mention that the video is edited, which you can see by the different camera angles utilized. If you care to notice (be sure to think about my choice in words), at some points, she is kind of moving along with the music. This is not the only video of him dancing.
In this one, she looks much more amused. If he does this every time, it would be understandable on why he does not illicit much of a reaction from her. When he asked her to dance with him, she said, "I can't dance...on camera."
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| So, she's a bit self-conscious about her dancing? What a cold-hearted, evil bitch! |
Why is this important? Why am I writing about this on my blog?
As much as I would love to watch you attempt to answer these rhetorical questions, I will just go ahead and explain why.
People in our society seem to love bashing on women, from unprovokingly voicing their opinions on why Katniss from The Hunger Games sucks to "Like, oh my god, Stacy was totally hitting on Jeff. He and Jess broke up, like, three week ago! I wouldn't be surprised if she flirted with him while they were together - she's kind of a bitch."
We are too quick to jump onto the "bitchwagon."
Women are, to an extent, expected to be "fun" and "giggly," especially around men. In the adult industry, such as with strippers and camgirls (especially camgirls), customers are more likely to pay attention to the giggly women who act like airheads. Some women realize this and come up with this character. (As for how I know this stuff, I've done my fair share of observing strippers and customers, conversing with both, watching camgirls, and talking with the camgirls and viewers alike.) When a woman is not like this - for whatever reason, may it be boredom, in a less-than-good mood, distracted by the internetz, telling the truth ("No, I don't do this because I'm horny. I do it because I need to make money."), etc. - she is not paid as well, men try to trick her into doing things for him/them, and she is called names. For example, "Bitch."
People need to realize that women, and all human beings, have their own personality, and it needs to be respected. Some are more "fun-loving" (however you may define that) than others. Not everybody is confident about their dancing. There are those who get more anxious than the average person. Not to mention context. It may shock you to learn this, but humans have something called "moods." The environment, internal and external, combine to affect the emotions of people. If I am waiting in a long line for an audition, I may be feeling really anxious and be less willing to engage in conversation with strangers. If I am watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and drinking a shit-ton of whiskey with my friends, I am probably joyous beyond comprehension.
I think this whole bitchwagon thing is really irking me because I am not naturally the outgoing type. I can be quite the introvert to the point of being anti-social. Men have also treated me badly (or not as well as they could have) because I don't necessarily say/do things that they consider to be "fun." Sure, I can be giggly, but I don't consider that to be a part of my personality. People who know me are amused when I become giggly because they know it's not something I do often. If I was Dan Thorn's co-anchor, would I have danced along with him? Probably not? Maybe I would have bounced along with the beat. If I was in a really giddy mood and was comfortable with being around him and the others in the studio, the chances of that happening would be higher.
Let this brew in the back of your mind for a while.
Peace out, and here is one last video of Dan Thorn having a good time.
We've discussed this before, but this all has its roots in the patriarchal creation of gender roles, such that women are influenced by their gender roles to cater to men. Men need women to please them - in all the various ways. They are, in essence, expected to be geishas.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is, had the girl danced and not the guy, I can almost guarantee those same posters calling her a bitch would, instead, say, "Ugh, another airheaded woman making light of a man's work." Well, either that or the obligatory "if you're gonna dance, TAKE IT OFF!"
We already know, overwhelmingly, that feminism is entirely misunderstood in America. I don't think I've ever heard the line "why call it feminism when you could call it egalitarianism/equality" more than I have this year alone. The question is stupid, just as are the people who vehemently misunderstand the points being made by shouldn't-be-famous-but-is-becoming-so-because-her-points-expose-the-patriarchal-nature-of-the-gaming-community Anita Sarkeesian.
All in all, this is just going to keep repeating itself until the national narrative shifts, which, of course, requires a GIANT cultural shift that about half of America or more is willing to fight against. In the same way that whites have fought against people of color's ability to be treated as equals so that they do not have to share the same space with them, men (of all colors) are all too willing to fight against women's desire to be treated as equals, all so that they can try to retain what has always been: that women be treated as nothing more than mere geishas, catering to what a man wants, from her appearance to her weight to her sexual prowess to her skills, interests, so on and so forth.