What’s Sex Got to do With.. Double Standards (FINAL POST)

A double standard is “a rule or principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups” (dictionary.com). I completely hate that there is a double standard especially when it comes to genders. Excuse my language but it is bullshit knowing that guys can do one thing and when girls then do it they get scolded or shamed. For our group project, my partners and I looked at gender double standards and there are a good amount. Clearly most people know about the double standards against women more than they do men.

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Cultural Appropriation: “You’re Not Good Enough”

The recent discourse surrounding cultural appropriation has many people wondering what cultural appropriation is. According to the author of Who Owns Continue reading

Final Concept Analysis: Intersectionality of Identity Formations

Throughout the semester, a concept that has continuously emerged is the formation of identities. For some people, identities can be created, redefin Continue reading

Global and Transnational Sexualities

Being an immigrant in a culture affects a myriad of aspects in a person’s life. The way they interact with people, their everyday routines and practices, and all aspects of their lives in an immigrant country are all altered and begin to fall into the mold of that of the host nation. Women immigrants see and feel the effects of being an immigrant more so than other people. Racial and gender hierarchies become a prevalent factor in how their lives are lived, and consequently, their sexualities and employment statuses are shaped based on the expectations of the dominant race or gender. When people immigrate to other countries in numbers, the people of that country typically experience moral panic, fearing that their social order and habitual customs are at risk to change due to foreign people coming in with their “alien” practices. This forms a resentment toward the immigrant people and culture, and gives the host nation’s culture a sense of informal power over them. Consequently, racial hierarchies confine immigrant women to a status of diminished personhood where their rights, culture, and sexual agency are treated as second rate to a dominant culture.

In the United States, hispanic and latino populations have grown immensely in the past decade. Many Mexican and Latin American people have immigrated to the United States seeking better work and opportunities for themselves and their families. Many have joined the labor force, working jobs in the realms of farm work, agricultural work, or on construction; a good amount of these workers are undocumented laborers. The employees in these situations, including the Mexican women who worked on the fields in California who were featured in the documentary, “Rape in the Fields,” are a part of this population. However, because they are immigrants, and are women, they have little to no power; they are easy to take advantage of. Their statuses and sexualities are at the disposal of people of higher racial or gender standings through neocolonialism. They are at the disposal of their employers. Because they have no rights, papers, little money, and need to provide for their families, these women are forced to keep working in unhealthy situations, where they are confined and mistreated. They have no choice but to submit to their employers and obey what they or told for fear of being acted towards violently.

The lack of rights that these women face impacts them in the most negative possible ways. Employers and people of higher racial or social standing feel as if they can take advantage of these women. These women are raped because of this, yet have to bite their tongue and endure the conditions just to provide for their families. Even when these women tell of their experiences of being exploited and taken advantage of, they are treated as second rate. Their claims are dismissed and they are forced to live with the violence and rape they face in their workplaces. If a white woman claimed rape, then she would receive all the attention and her needs would be met; but because these mexican women are part of a diaspora culture and carry no social weight compared to the dominant culture, they are completely disregarded. Historically, rape cases for white women have taken precedence over rape cases for minorities- some cases have even become national news, yet minority cases go completely under the radar.

The documentary “Rape in the Fields” portrayed this idea well. It displayed the notion of rape against Mexican immigrant workers as insignificant when showing the story of the man that would continually take a woman worker far away in the fields and force her to have sex with him. She told authorities about this man, and no one listened. He would rape her and threaten her, yet she had no power whatsoever to combat these actions. When authorities actually did take the situation into their hands, the man pleaded innocent and was not questions, getting away for free. Unfair situations like these cause life-lasting feelings of unrest and fear for the women who have to face these types of men. Situations like these happen often in these certain worker communities, leaving the women hopeless and feeling as if they cannot receive any help. This perpetuates over time, and becomes a culture. When it becomes a culture, it creates an environment where there is an unsaid expectation of the women to submit to the men in authority and their sexual wants without even questioning it or fighting it. These notions become widespread, and women are expected to keep their mouths shut, and they do because it is what they have to do to make a living and survive.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that this culture exists only in these realms, but probably also exist in other circles of immigrant and minority cultures. It probably exists not only in the United States, but in countries across the world considering the historical  gender bias and power complex that has been present for years. Do you think that the assertion above is potentially true? Will there ever be justice for these women immigrant workers, or will they continually be disregarded by the authorities and the United States’ justice system? What do you think it would need to take for this culture to change? Why do you think it is that these women who face these situations are completely disregarded?


What’s Sex Got to Do With…Nashville?


The idea of heteronormativity is an extremely important topic in our media today. In the TV show Nashville, heteronormativity is at an ultimate high. Thankfully, it is obvious that the show has made some distinct efforts to create diversity through sexual orientation and racial identity in the film.

The show Nashville shown on ABC is a drama about the lives of Rayna James, Julliette Barnes, and many other country music stars just trying to make it in the industry. The idea of heteronormativity is defined as the normality of heterosexuality throughout our society and the exclusion of the LGBTQ community. Throughout the show, there are many sexual relationships between the characters. There is a point where Rayna James has to choose between 2 men to marry, and throughout the show Juliette Barnes dates and hooks up with almost all of the male characters on the show. There are many heterosexual relationships on the show, but thankfully, the producers do make an effort to show diversity in the film.

In addition to heteronormativity, the idea that “sex sells” is prominent for the TV show. Throughout the show, there are many sex scenes and sexual relationships. The show was primarily advertised as a family show, but when the majority of the show turned out to be about sex, the producers received much backlash. The truth behind this is simple: sex sells, and the relationships and hookups shown throughout the show is what makes it dramatic and makes people want to come back and watch more.


The characters in this photo are Will Lexington on the right, an upcoming artist in the music industry. On the left is the first guy with whom he had sexual relations. This is the man who makes Will know for a fact that he is gay. Will goes through lots of trauma throughout his coming out because he is a young, good looking country star who seems to be the definition of masculinity. His character is a distinct example for the producers trying to depict diversity because it is through a person nobody would think to ever be gay.


Secondly, the producers make a distinct effort to show an interracial relationship in the show. Gunnar, a white male, and Zoey, an African American female, date throughout Season 2 of the show.

What do you believe are the effects of how the producers of Nashville planned an interracial relationship and a gay, male, country artist in the show? Does this have any major affect on heteronormativity in our media? Does the idea that Nashville is in the deep South and that country music tends to be very old fashioned and conservative have any effect on the majority of the show being heteronormative, or is this just the way our society is? The producers could have chosen any character to be gay, but why did they choose Will Lexington?

Race: Filipina Women, Asian Men, and Racism around the Globe

Racial hierarchies around the world consistently rank “whiteness” as more valuable and other races as less valuable. Being able to “pass” for white, which is a fluid commodity rather than a set racial identity, oftentimes opens up spaces of privilege while being perceived as “not white” in conjunction with being an immigrant, can be very limiting and harmful. For immigrant women particularly, racial hierarchies, in which whiteness is often valued and being “other” is restrictive, greatly influence their social experiences in the countries to which they immigrate. This racial phenomenon looks very different in different regions. In the United States for instance, Asian males, who in some parts of the world, are seen as white, are not viewed as “white enough”. As a consequence of being viewed as lower ranking in the hierarchy of male bodies, according to Kong, their bodies are desexualized, making it difficult for them to thrive and express their sexuality in this culture.

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