A cancer diagnosis is daunting and life-altering. However, a diagnosis can also be a privilege that not everybody has access to. Many LGBTQIA+ people, especially those living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, are less likely to have access to or choose to utilize routine screening services for common cancers, and are therefore less likely to be diagnosed with cancer and receive treatment that is essential for survival. Through my research project, I aim to better understand the similarities and differences in how individuals in four key populations access services surrounding cancer:
non-LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically advantaged area
non-LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically disadvantaged area
LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically advantaged area
LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals residing in a socio-economically disadvantaged area
Like a Girl by Lizzo is absolutely one of my favorite songs of all time, and is a great representation of all that we have discussed within GSS-101.
To begin, this song (and many of Lizzo’s songs) is a complete rejection of gender norms that exist within our society. Lizzo owns her identity and makes it clear that she is in control of her life throughout the song. For example, at the beginning of the song, she talks about running for president, and adding “a little estrogen” into the Executive Branch of the US government. Unfortunately, our society has normalized male domination within the government, and so Lizzo’s intervention is a clear rejection of gender norms.
Thinking beyond gender norms, one might claim that this song is rejecting the social constructs of gender and sexuality as a whole. Moreover, throughout the song, Lizzo’s dominant and powerful energy combined with her description of how she likes to live her personality is so authentic and does not conform to many aspects of gender. While it is oxymoronic that the song is titled Like a Girl, and throughout the song, Lizzo says that she is “working [her] femininity,” I would argue that she is attempting to expose the flaws of the social construct of gender, and that she is her own person and others should follow in her suit.
On another note, this song is incredibly sex positive. At one point, Lizzo references masturbation and self-pleasure when she says, “buy my whip by myself.” This representation of self-pleasure and self-love is powerful because through this, Lizzo demonstrates the importance of individuality and respect for other people.
In conclusion, Like a Girl is an amazing demonstration of what it looks like to love and accept oneself while authentically sharing who one is with their society. Everyone go listen to it!
Dignity is almost universally viewed as something to aspire to. However, dignity can often be an isolating concept that drives people apart, negatively affecting societies as a whole. Stephen M. Engel and Timothy S. Lyle’s Disrupting Dignity: Rethinking Power and Progress in LGBTQ Lives offers readers a better and more nuanced understanding of the concept of dignity and the role that it plays in the day-to-day life of our world’s LGBTQ+ citizens. This book is centered around the concept of dignity and how it is not always a good thing. Moreover, the book demonstrates that, in many cases, dignity is a tool of the state that is used to shame and disempower members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Disrupting Dignity is divided into two parts: part one focuses on the power of dignity to affect the lives of people living in the United States from the perspective of public health, while part two focuses on the promotion of sameness and also the embracing of difference in popular culture representations. This work gives ample examples of politicians, policymakers, media leaders, and people within the LGBTQ community who invoke the concept of dignity in a harmful manner.
Over the past few years, TikTok has become a mainstream social media platform. This application, available for most smartphones, uses an algorithm to curate content for users, effectively getting them addicted to scrolling on the app. There are many subcultures on TikTok… For example, people who like dogs might find that the algorithm has put them on ‘dog TikTok,’ because their ‘For You’ page is filled with videos of dogs. The same concept applies to gender and sexuality. There are many different points of view represented on the application, and once the algorithm figures out what yours is, it will show you a plethora of content to reinforce that exact idea.
There is a large subculture (or really, a set of subcultures) on TikTok that perpetuates the gender binary system and all of the gender roles that come along with that. For example, this video is a representation of many of the different videos that are found on ‘straight TikTok’:
When the individual speaking in the video says, “Men will choose a peaceful woman before a beautiful woman,” they are enforcing many of the expectations that are placed on female-identifying people in our society. Moreover, the speaker is implying that women must be ‘peaceful,’ therefore implying that often, women are not peaceful. This implication tells women that they need not express their emotions; rather, they should focus on being as passive as possible in an effort to be chosen by a man.
Next, when the person speaking says, “Men seek for peace, and it don’t matter if you’re Black, blue, asian, Latina… they want to come home to a peaceful woman,” they are demonstrating a lack of awareness of the intersection between race and gender. This statement also reinforces the idea that men come home to women, therefore saying also that women should not be working professionals.
On top of that, the speaker discusses the intellect of women and expectations in that area that men hold. They say, “He wants a woman that’s resourceful, a woman that can think on her feet. So when he can’t hold it down if he’s ill and he’s unable to pay the bills, she can be resourceful and have her intellect to make things happen.” The first implication I see in this statement is that the woman should just be intellectual as a safeguard… the woman will never actually have to use these skills unless it comes down to it. The assumption that men always pay the bills is harmful to all people, regardless of gender, because that is not the case for everybody. By the same token, the fact that the speaker is bringing this point up implies that women are, in general, less naturally intellectual than men. Drawing this unfounded connection between gender and intellectual capacity is harmful to society as a whole.
Perhaps most disturbingly, our speaker talks about the ‘appropriate’ role of women in a sexual context. They say that men are “looking for a woman to supply their physical needs… A woman that looks good and proper and public but is a beast in bed” is the golden standard. First of all, in addition to ignoring the physical desires of the women at hand, this statement claims that the purpose of women is to fulfill mens’ sexual desires. This incredibly sexist ideology has the capacity to negatively influence the lives of many people. On top of this, the speaker is assuming a common definition of beauty… she is saying that women who have a certain physical appearance and demeanor are examples for what all other women should try to be when in pursuit of a relationship with a man.
In conclusion, the ideology contained within this video is based on the idea that women are socially inferior to men, and that female sovereignty should not exist when it comes to romantic and sexual relationships. The central claim is that women should constantly be cultivating their personas to match what they think men are looking for in women, in hopes that they will ‘meet the cut’ for some man.
Similar to the last clip, this piece of satire brings awareness to many of the appearance-based expectations that our society holds for women, and the stark contrast between these expectations and those for men. The actor, mimicking a man, says: “Alright, so I want a girl with huge, but perky boobs, small waist, huge butt, flawless skin (but can’t wear makeup). And I like blondes, but I think she should also be brunette… because I get bored quickly, you know?” This statement encapsulates many of the body standards that our modern society has for women, and also touches on the normalized fact that men sleep around while women are expected to be loyal.
In the caption of this video, the creator claims that this is how all men think. Although this is probably a sarcastic statement, it is representative of the way that many people think. Moreover, individuality is to be nonexistent: all men must act one way, and all women must act another way. Beyond pointing out, and perhaps reinforcing, the gender norms that are in place for men and women, this video illustrates the prevalence of the gender binary in our society.
Content Warning: This video contains a real-life portrayal of surgical body mutilation. Use viewer discretion.
In this shocking clip, we see a person that is identified as a man who has ‘overdeveloped’ breast tissue. His act of having the ‘excess’ tissue removed is labeled as life-changing. First of all, the video notes that this overdevelopment in the breast tissue of a man is an actual medical condition, which is known as ‘gynecomastia.’ Its causes are said to be “medications, drugs, testicular cancer, and hormonal imbalance.”
Without looking into the history of this condition, it’s plausible to assume that this condition was developed in response to a bodily appearance that was not in line with society’s idea of what a man should look like. Moreover, this condition does not pose any medical risk to the patient; it is merely aesthetic.
This video perpetuates a toxic standard of beauty, and is essentially telling men who have growth in their breast tissue that in order to be beautiful, they must undergo surgery. Explicitly, the caption says, “These [surgeries] literally change men’s lives.” In watching this video, men with growth in their breast tissue are inevitably going to receive the message that they are disgusting, and must go get surgery.
In conclusion, the three videos I have analyzed here are examples of the many TikTok videos that enforce gender-based stereotypes and human body standards that are present in our society. This is not to say that TikTok is a problematic platform that should not exist; rather, this suggests that we as a society should critically examine the role that social media plays in perpetuating harmful gender-based stereotypes and expectations on a day-to-day basis.
