I'm Just a Waitress

(WGST 304 Blog Post #4)

We've been discussing in class how people can be misrepresented in media. I just read an article online about how when the media wants you to feel sorry for a female character in a movie or TV show, they cast her as a waitress. At first, I couldn't think it was true, but in many of my favorite shows and movies, one of the female characters (who is often down on her luck) IS in fact a waitress!

Office Space

Big Bang Theory

Why being a waitress is a pity job is beyond me. Maybe I'm bias because I am a waitress, but the people who work in the service industry should be thanked, not pitied.
It is just like every other job, maybe even harder. With odd hours, horrible hourly pay, and having to put up with people who actually believe this stupid stereotype and act like they're better than you: it's no easy task.

So why are these women, who are in such a difficult working environment, shown to be struggling or having a hard time of it? Why aren't they shown as well-put-together individuals that pretty much have it all figured out? The service industry, as I have stated isn't a cake walk. Perhaps if more people worked in a restaurant at least once in their lives (as I believe should be mandatory), they would stop feeling sorry for that waitress who seems stuck in a rut, stop giving her attitude, and thank her for that drink (despite your annoyingly long and specific drink order).

Read More Here--Because I'm Just a Waitress

The Bechdel Test

(WGST 304 Post #3)

Dykes to Watch Out For, 1985

"The Bechdel Test" is a criteria for movies based on three rules, as the comic states: 1) must have at least two women, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something OTHER than a man. So far in 2012, there are only 84 movies that meet these standards, compared to 2011 with 115 movies. It's crazy to think that our movies are so narrowly focused. We read about "The Gaze" as defined by Laura Mulvey and how media is phallocentric. This test furthers that assumption, when hundreds of movies come out in a year and in only 84 of them are women talking about something other than men. It raises concerns about the placement of value in movies; being so heavily man-centric. There are many other things women think about and are concerned with, yet so many movies over simplify that though process into "all women think about are men and how to get them". This isn't a feminist issue. When you limit discussion topics to just men, you're missing out on the other 50% of the topics and experiences in the world. This just generates crappy films, crappy art; just crappy visual representation in general.