MAN LAW

In my last post, regarding the Pussycat Dolls, Dean nicely made a suggestion "An interesting perspective i thought up was, would society do the same if they were males"

...which reminded me of MAN LAW. An (supposedly) universal set of rules of what is and isn't acceptable behaviour and actions of (clearly straight) males.

Or as The Complete Guide to MAN LAW explains it:

"...formerly unwritten components to socially acceptable behaviors and actions of males. These codes of conduct, or “Man Laws” should serve as guide to live life by for all men in Western society."

I first discovered MAN LAW as a Facebook group, in which users can join to promote, support MAN LAW and even give suggestions to new laws. A lot of good humoured and general rules that most men, and women, can agree with, such as rule 32:

32. Under no circumstances shall any man lay a hand on a female or a child in violence. Spanking of a woman's ass or pulling of the hair is permitted if done on request.

While others are uphold for questioning and updating, such as rule 26:

26. All men must eat meat. A shitload of meat. If not borderline carnivore.

Here's one rule I particularly like:

87. When in a public shower, no man will look below the shoulders. Also, no eye-to-eye contact for more than one second is allowed. If eye contact occurs, nod upwards, and look away.

The details in the rule really amuses me.

Before any bandwagon/dyslexic feminist bites my head off - this group is clearly not promoting sexism or men as the better gender. In my opinion MAN LAW shows that females aren't the only gender that is suffering from sexuality confusion.

The roles of males have also been socially changing where nowadays men aren't as entitled to be 'masculine' as they were before. A good example is the birth of the metrosexual, a straight man who holds strong concern with his appearance and behaves similarly to a stereotypical gay man.

First popularised by David Beckham and then followed suit by other celebrities (like Brad Pitt),
metrosexuals have become a new type of male in our social lives. Metrosexuality has created a new field for males to frolic and openly express their interest in fashion, home economics, their hair and other interests and behaviour that were previously condemned as abnormal in a traditional male role.

Yet, does it mean being a metrosexual is socially acceptable?

Of course not, while some people embrace metrosexuality, many are still against it. I am talking both males and females here. A lot of men certainly don't embrace metrosexuality which can be seen by rule 34.

34. No man shall ever watch a soap opera ever! Period! If this law is broken, it will result in the lowering of status from man to Manbitch and the questioning of the liking of opposite gendered relationships.

Also, not all females like the idea of a man that worries more about their appearance than them. I , for one, certainly don't like the idea of my boyfriend being prettier than me.

Which then leads to the question of what makes a male a 'man'? Should a male religiously follow the traditional expectations of their culture? Is it still socially acceptable for a male to worry about their appearance? (After all, you have to look good to feel confident) What about their hair?

This is where MAN LAW comes in to clarify the details. Establish what makes a man a 'man' once and for all. When you look at the list, a lot of it is referring to the mainstream, traditional expectation of the 'male role' with many references of what is considered masculine and what isn't.

But if you follow the origins of MAN LAW, it all began as a commercial selling Miller Lite Beer. Does this mean, much like femininity, masculinity has also become a product? This commercial uses male sexuality as a prop to help sell beer. Does this mean a man is considered a 'man' by liking/drinking beer, particularly Miller Lite?

Regardless of the sexuality confusion 'masculinity', I have to say there is a key difference. The role of males have been consistent, while females are radically changing. The male gender is still considered dominant with families in China and India still being pressured to reproduce boys, majority of the world's top positions are held by men, and males significantly have a higher income than females.

Male sexuality is still alive, while female sexuality is dead.

I remember a friend telling me how you can see the development in sexuality through fashion. The women's business clothes are always different - from long skirts, knee-length skirts to pants - while men's business clothes have always been the suit.

For one thing, I love a man in a suit, but I also love a man who has good hair and smells nice.

On a side note, there is also a Facebook community called WOMAN LAW, created in good humoured reaction towards MAN LAW. Just like the original group, a lot of general rules that both sexes can agree on while there are still some that should be held for questioning and updating.

Don't Cha Wish Your Girlfriend was...

Hot like me!

The Pussycat Dolls (PCD): modern expression of femininity, or absolute trash?

Before everyone (as in those who aren't fans of PCD) pick the 'absolute trash' selection, first consider this:

Remember that show in early 2007 "The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll"? For those who had the luck (or lack of?) to miss the show, it's a quick eight episode series where The Pussycat Dolls search for a new, not replacement, band member through a contest of singing, dancing, bitch fights and skanky clothes.

In the first episode we meet our top eighteen, in which half of them would be eliminated within the next two shows. Rehearsals begin and vomiting ensures! Throughout the episode, we are shown snippets of interviews taken with each contestant. One question asked, off screen, was why they joined the contest? A lot of them joined because they aspire to The Pussycat Dolls and wanted to prove something of themselves. To them, the band represented their ideals of female power and independence.

For those who have watched the show and dislike PCD, or don't watch it from the aforementioned reason, would have gone 'bleeeh' or 'pfffftt' at the responses - just like I did after I watched the first episode. But in the past few days, it hit me that I might have been too quick to judge.

Regardless of the level of intelligence we assume each contestant has - they do make a good point. Comparing the nudity and provocativeness of Schneeman's work (NSFW) to the image of PCD (above), there are similarities in their expression of femininity, female sexuality, and like how the contestants explained, the force of female power and independence.

Yet why did I go 'bleeh' and 'pffftt' first instead of applauding PCD? As Martin had pointed out, in my previous post, it could be the influence of "damn political correctness, faux-feminism and the prostitution (sexing up) of everything around us".

Are we too quick to establish that anything female with provocative clothing and body poses = slut? I don't even know the sexual history of each PCD member, but I automatically regarded them as sluts. Are we being too politically correct with definition concerning 'the female role' or 'the female' in general?

Then there is the 'faux-feminism' point. What's fake and what isn't? Is PCD fake feminism? If so, how? If provocative clothing and body poses is considered fake feminism, then wouldn't that contradict the idea of women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy?

At the same time, there is this double-edged sword effect where I suffer from my own criticism. I remember being called a 'Japanese skank' by a friend because I decided to wear a mini-skirt that day. My friend knew I wasn't a skank (nor Japanese) in literal definition, but it apparently didn't stop me looking like one.

Jewel had also suffered this double-edged criticism when she released the video clip to her song 'Intuition'. Within only a few weeks of its release, she was quickly accused of 'selling out' and abandoning her traditional folk style by a number of her fans. To save her career, and avoid further misunderstanding, Jewel had released a thorough explanation of the choices she made and the meaning behind 'Intuition', and that she wasn't 'selling out' nor abandoning her traditional folk ways.

If her 'fans' actually had listened to her music and paid attention to her video clip, they would have noticed the many cultural allusions made which were Jewel's criticism towards the current entertainment industry - especially concerning female celebrities.

In the 'Intuition' video clip, Jewel moves from advertising a soft drink, cat-walking down a zebra crossing and then haughtily hosed down by attractive firemen. She does this all in (although not so obvious) parody and sarcasm. Jewel is trying to highlight the entertainment industry's abuse towards the representation of females. Female sexuality, independence and power is being used as objects/props to help sell a product, rather than respected for its expression and representation. You can even say female sexuality has become a product!

I decided to make a post about The Pussycat Dolls because I believe they are a good example of what Jewel is expressing and what Martin had explained in regards to everything being sexed up.

So in the end of all this ramblebamble, what is your final decision? Still leaning onto 'absolute trash' or having second thoughts?

Don't Cha!

You know what I want to do?

I want to take a nude photo of myself, print it out, rip it up and then scan it back in.

Kind of like Bill Henson, but my way (thank you very much to Dean for showing me Bill Henson).

Why? Because I love Carolee Schneeman. She is my new found inspiration and idol.

I want to make a tribute to her, particularly a response to her gorgeous work Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions [1963]. NSFW (Not Safe For Work)

I want to make a tribute to Schneeman's hard work in freeing female sexuality expression. Because I believe what she worked hard to express in her artwork, her ideas she tried to conveyed and her liberation in female sexual expression, are dead.

I believe that something of being 'female', 'female sexuality' and 'the sexual female' has been abused, forced into hiding, or left to die.

Female Sexuality is dead.

And I want to know why.