Is Gender-Flipping the Most Important Meme?

hennybutton
UnstopPeable

Posts: 2,044

Is Gender-Flipping the Most Important Meme? Aug 1, 2014 17:21:29 GMT

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Post by hennybutton on Aug 1, 2014 17:21:29 GMT

The thread about the guy who did a maternity photo shoot featuring himself reminded me of something that's been going around the internet for awhile. It's called gender-flipping or gender swapping. The idea is to point out how sexist media portrayals of women are by flipping the genders. The best article I've found on the subject is this:

junkee.com/flip-it-and-reverse-it-how-to-fight-the-gender-wars/15081

The article has a bunch of links that are worth checking out. The Dustin Hoffman interview is very moving and I love the Blurred Lines parody even though I think it would have been more effective with guys who were less flamboyantly gay. The Blurred Lines parody is a take-off of the uncensored Blurred Lines video which you might want to watch after seeing the parody. Just keep in mind that the women in the original are dressed just like the men in the parody.

Huffington post has a few good articles on gender swapping too.

Deleted

Posts: 0

Is Gender-Flipping the Most Important Meme? Aug 1, 2014 17:26:05 GMT melanell, dulcemama, and 1 more like this

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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2014 17:26:05 GMT

I appreciate the effort of those gender-swapping parodies, but find them to be quite... hmm.. I don't know what the word is. Misleading, inaccurate, guilty of perpetuating a different set of gender biases?

Like, one commercial that was posted online, based on a Doritos commercial from TV with a typically sexy woman vying for her boyfriend's attention over a football game ended with her naked in bed, covered in Doritos. The real commercial had very typically sexy/attractive male and female actors in it. The gender swapped version featured a guy who was sort of wimpy and acted all silly and floppy, and I think (if I recall properly) the girl was sort of a nerdy girl type with a messy pony tail and a flannel shirt and jeans on. And the guy just acted ridiculous. It wasn't the same story/image AT ALL. Yet people raved about how "true" and "accurate" it was. Hmm.

I think sometimes we fall into the trap of just trading one set of biases and stereotypes for another.

Last Edit: Aug 1, 2014 17:26:15 GMT by Deleted

melanell
Pea Guru

Posts: 13,213

Is Gender-Flipping the Most Important Meme? Aug 1, 2014 17:32:28 GMT

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Post by melanell on Aug 1, 2014 17:32:28 GMT

ITA with Ashley with that Doritos commercial parody. It wasn't a good comparison in my mind, either. Many times the comparison are like that. The guys act silly or act comedic when doing their version of whatever the parody is.

I have seen that Dustin Hoffman clip before and I really like that.