The Girl at the Rock Show: Girls, Misogyny and "Show Culture" by Julie Tippey

The Girl at the Rock Show: Girls, Misogyny and "Show Culture"
By Julie Tippey

When a girl goes to see a show, a concert isn’t all that she gets. As both a female and a frequent attender of local and regional shows, I’ve observed and even been the brunt of some overt and even dangerous misogyny. Unfortunately in a group of people that claim to be not only progressive and inclusive, there are still problems that need addressing and solving in “show culture”.

    Let me rewind for a moment and briefly explain what I mean by “show culture ”. I use “shows” to refer to small concerts, usually featuring local and regional bands. These events occur at houses, bars, coffee shops and even record stores, and therefore allow these locales to become meeting places for band members, their friends and all individuals who are interested in creating a community of musicians and artists. As in most cases, a community of artists tends to be more liberal than conservative and frequently those involved in these communities are more receptive to feminism, or claim to be.

    As a whole, these musical communities are more accepting and open minded than mainstream America; However, the local show crowd is not without its’ misogynist issues, many of which are even perpetuated by the females in the community. As a female, it is still expected that my presence at a show, is merely a result of my romantic or sexual interest in the males at that show. The idea that I might be just as interested in enjoying a show as a male is so regularly discounted that I’ve even been straightforwardly asked which member of the band I was there to sleep with.

    The misogyny and distrust are sometimes even started and perpetuated by the females at a show. So often do I see or feel the glare of another girl, the callous eyes as they assess my outfit, where I got it, how much I paid for it and whether I am any competition in the heteronormative sexual hunger games that these events are perceived to be. But why? I’ve met some of my best friends at shows and had some of the best conversations about fashion, music and culture with complete strangers I’ve met there, yet there is still the cultural need for women to fight with each other, and that is no different in show culture. Of course there is no ultimate solution to this problem, but the start comes from small gestures: smiles, compliments, and the acceptance, that we’re all just there to enjoy the show. 

Unfortunately, these comments and slights are just the beginning. The hate that females perpetuate against each other is toxic, but not outwardly dangerous, but the testosterone fueled male on female hate that creeps into events can be incredibly dangerous. As a general rule when humans are put into situations where they become anonymous or unaccountable, they become more brazen, and a pit is no exception. Typically, the larger and less acquainted those in a pit are, the more likely it is that you will be groped, felt up, or even have someone try to take your shirt off, and yes that really happened. 

By and large the people that come to shows are wonderful, kind people who will let their friends borrow their prized guitar when a string breaks during a set or let complete strangers who have traveled across the country in a band sleep on their couch. Yet, as a microcosm of the larger American culture, show culture still has a lot to work on, to truly be a place of equality: Internalized misogyny needs to be unlearned, violence needs to be called out, and equality and intersectionality need to be preached as much as the latest alternative Australian beach-punk EP. As a lover and a rocker, I think the most important thing we as lovers and rockers can do, is to do better, for ourselves, for the girls and for the future of this community.

Broad City: Flowery With Female Positivity by Julie Tippey

Broad City: Flowery With Female Positivity

by Editor Julie Tippey

    For those of you on the hunt for a new comedy to help fill up your social schedule now that everyone on campus has taken to hibernating until Spring Break, you might consider for a moment the Comedy Central original series Broad City, a modern day, Seinfeld-esque, Bechdel test passing, weed-fueled, girl run comedy.

    Broad City depicts the life of two best friends, Abbi Abrams and Illana Wexler, both in their mid-twenties who live in New York, and are just trying to navigate through their lives where nothing every seems to go quite right. But here’s the best part: They have each other.

    Wait what? A comedy centered around TwO gIrLs who are FrIeNdS?? Who like SuPpOrT Each Other?

    Yes, grammatically inept stranger, yes it is. And here’s why that’s totally fucking cool.

    Because this has never been done before. Because true, girl friendship, based solely around the love for each other, that’s full of caring and tenderness and sisterhood is not something we see every day and especially not on the testosterone fueled Comedy Central channel. Abbi and Illana are BEST FRIENDS, numero unos, main squeezes, soul-mates; whatever label you throw their way, they’ll earn.

    Abbi just took a dump, can’t flush the toilet and her hot neighbor just walked in? Here comes best friend Illana to the rescue, with no second thoughts, no excuses and not a single word of teasing, she is only there to care and protect her best friend. See your best friend talking to a guy at the bar? Attack him and ask when he was last tested while she’s not looking. Illana has an allergic reaction to shellfish in a restaurant where the pair are re-enacting a Beyonce and Jay-Z date? Abbi (after a quick and mistaken adrenaline shot) picks her up and carries her fire-person style to the ambulance.

    Not only is this series flowery with girl-love, but it is relatively devoid of the usual, predictable and extremely overdone hetero relationship will-they-or-won’t-they bullshit that other comedies have. Instead, each of our characters are sexually liberated individuals, and while their sex and romantic lives are discussed, they few times provide the meat of the episode and instead are merely used to provide the backdrop for our protagonist pair’s adventures.

    Of course, there is one major drawback, Broad City is only just beginning its’ second season, meaning that there are barely three hours of total watch time (trust me, I counted). But those of you with a time machine can look forward (and also the rest of us, but with, you know, more time passing) can look forward to the rest of the second season, which began this January and the third season coming to Comedy Central in 2016. For new watchers, the first full season is available on both Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime and new episodes play every Wednesday at 9:30 on Comedy Central.

I Didn't 'Free the Tatas' and Here's Why By Julie Tippey

I Didn’t ‘Free the Tatas’ and Here’s Why

By Julie Tippey

On Monday October 13th, many so called 'supporters' took to various social media

outlets to support a holiday known as 'No Bra Day' in order to voice their encouragement

for those diagnosed with Breast Cancer. While the idea of supporting those who are

diagnosed with and fighting cancer is valid, important and necessary, the underlying

message behind this holiday is not one of support.


October is widely known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States and

is the calendar home to a variety of events meant to raise money for those fighting

this cancer. Unfortunately, as with all popular movements in the U.S. Breast Cancer

Awareness Month and its number one supporter, the Susan G Komen foundation have

sought to turn the fight against cancer into a profit machine. While the management

of the Komen foundation drive around in their pink Cadillacs last year 11.2% of the Central Illinois

Population* (roughly half of those female), were unisured and forced to rely on free and drmatically

reduced cost breast and cervical care programs.


At the same time, we see other companies profiting in the name of breast cancer

research by using the sexual stigma of the breast, namely the Save the Tatas

Foundation. This organization uses the slogan 'Save the Tatas' which creates a focus

not on the individual fighting breast cancer, but on the loss or potential loss of a body

part that can be sexualized and more importantly, sold.


No Bra Day is not a day that celebrates those fighting breast cancer. It is a day that

celebrates breasts, period. By removing my bra for one day, I’m not helping someone

fight their battle nor am I giving anything to an organization that is researching viable

cures and treatments for breast cancer. I am simply not wearing a bra.


In the end, No Bra Day is just a celebration of breasts, and honestly isn’t that every

day of the year? October is meant to be a month dedicated to creating awareness of a

health issue facing millions of Americans. It serves as a springboard for donations and

campaigns that continue the full year around. No Bra Day leaves this idea behind and

instead creates a day where able and unaffected individuals can flaunt their untouched

breasts, and feel as if they have supported a cause. It is also worth noting that No Bra

Day is not supported by any national research foundation or fundraising campaign and

therefore doesn’t generate any revenue to assist in research or treatment of this cancer,

it merely generates hashtags.


So for those of you who want to support those who have been diagnosed with and

are affected by breast cancer, make sure you give your ‘support’ a second and critical

thought. Give your time and more importantly your money to organizations that are

truly dedicated to fighting cancer instead of making bank. Most importantly, don’t fall

victim to the sexualization of cancer. Cancer patients are people, and it’s those people

we are trying to save, not their “tatas”.



For more information on donation sites visit www.charitynavigator.org/breastcancer 


*Courtesy of the Tazewell County Health Department

Dreaming of an Androgynous Future By: Julie Tippey

Dreaming of an Androgynous Future

By: Julie Tippey

Face It!

There’s just no denying it, when you walk into a store, and I mean any store, you’re immediately faced with the decision of turning left or turning right. Choosing women’s clothes or men’s clothes. But what if you want both, or neither?

Too many times I have been faced with the sideways glances and furrowed eyebrows of sales clerks as I ask for a dressing room with an armful of traditionally male clothing. Perhaps they imagine I am shopping for someone else, or perhaps I’m just in a play? Whatever they think, it probably has nothing to do with the idea that I believe in androgyny.

What’s Androgyny?

Androgyny is a term meaning to not project an appearance that is specifically male or female; to be non-conforming to the either/or mentality of the two part gender system.  

For the purposes of this article I will mainly be addressing the idea that clothing can specifically project a gender. Traditionally garments like dresses and skirts are more feminine in nature and one must adhere to a strict life of femininity to have the privilege to wear a skirt, while suits and ties tend to be specifically for the masculine.

But Why Be Androgynous?

First of all, many individuals who consider themselves non-gender conforming or queer, may choose androgyny for their outward appearance because they do not fit easily or wholly into either the masculine or feminine categories and instead choose aspects from these traditional gender roles to create their own personal identity, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

Secondly, and in some ways connected to the first, some people, especially children and young adults who have not yet reached a decision as to what their gender expression will be, may continually traverse the boundaries of gender, swaying back and forth between masculine and feminine. Therefore they would choose that this decision making process, as it can be difficult, be kept to themselves and therefore not expressed outwardly through appearance.

Thirdly, some, like myself, simply find that while they may fit in to one of the traditional categories of gender in terms of body and sexuality, they may find that the current clothing or beauty standards for that gender are something that they do not agree with or wish to conform to.

So What?

Unfortunately when anyone goes shopping, whether it be in the mall, a boutique or on the internet, they are faced with the decision, Male or Female? Stores are divided right down the middle, with one type of clothing on each side and an unspoken middle line over which we must not cross; and when shopping online, the first word we see when describing an item is a gender. Everywhere you look, inanimate and genderless objects are being seen as gendered (Tell me you haven’t heard a man heckled because he’s drinking ‘girly coffee’). But I believe that the world has pushed us too far. In today’s society of heightened visibility, the public is more aware and perhaps even knowledgeable about the different expressions of gender and sexuality than ever before. Why then must we be content with shopping at stores that perpetuate the old-fashioned two gender system?

What’s Next?

Recently there has been a push throughout the fashion world for a trend in ‘menswear’ which allows those who are more feminine to experiment with the traditional male clothing. These garments include suits, ties, oxford shoes, and blazers. Yet it still remains that if a male were to step out in a dress or skirt, they would not be looked on as a fashion icon, but something to be ridiculed.

The world of internet shopping is vast and through it buyers and sellers who are interested in the androgynous clothing market are creating a market for such clothing.

In the future I see not only a market for androgynous clothing but an economy from it. This economy would be made up of stores that don’t force individuals to fit themselves inside a box; Stores that are gender fluid, stocking the black dresses, next to the black boxer shorts.

Why It Matters

With the influx of retailers specializing in androgynous clothing, it is safe to say that the world is moving in the right direction. Obviously we have a long way to go and many more issues to bridge, but by doing away with gender boundaries that are prevalent in every aspect of our lives, it will not only make it easier for people who are experiencing gender confusion to make it through a mall without tearing out their hair, but will help our world continue to learn about and accept different expressions of gender.

Ultimately, tearing down the boundary line that separates the two genders and allowing them to come together and become muddled will in the long run lead to better planet. A planet that is accepting and supportive of all its citizens, regardless of any of the facets of their gender or sexuality.

Where to Shop!!

Now for the fun part! The world of Androgynous fashion is small but growing, but here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Thrift shops

Duh. With a world of vintage markets, you can create a completely new androgynous wardrobe for the same price as a single button-down shirt at the other sites on this list. But be sure to educate yourself on just where your money is going, as some chain well intended second hand stores use your money to support a platform of hate and conformity *cough*cough* Salvation Army *cough*cough*

WearAndrogyny.com

This site specifically sells button down shirts that fit a variety of body shapes, without darting or seams that draw attention to the bust line. Although it is stated in the mission statement that the line is ‘menswear for women’, an idea that while forward thinking is still slightly problematic.

TheOriginalTomboy.com

Created with a southern vintage style in mind, this moderately affordable line presents an androgynous view aimed at males, females and variations thereupon. This store is a good step in the right direction.

Stuff you need to know to read this issue:

Androgyny

 (Merriam-Webster)

1 : having the characteristics or nature of both male and female

2a : neither specifically feminine nor masculine <the androgynous pronoun them>

b :  suitable to or for either sex <androgynous clothing>

3 : having traditional male and female roles obscured or reversed <an androgynous marriage>

Two-Gender System

          The two gender system consists of the ‘traditional’ male and female binary. This means that every individual fits neatly into one or the other of these categories wholly and completely. This is an outdated system.

Queer

 (International Spectrum Online)

Used as an umbrella identity term encompassing lesbian, questioning people, gay men, bisexuals, non-labeling people, transgender folks, and anyone else who does not strictly identify as heterosexual. “Queer” originated as a derogatory word. Currently, it is being reclaimed by some people and used as a statement of empowerment. Some people identify as “queer” to distance themselves from the rigid categorization of “straight” and “gay”. Some transgender, lesbian, gay, questioning, non-labeling, and bisexual people, however, reject the use of this term due to its connotations of deviance and its tendency to gloss over and sometimes deny the differences between these groups.

Cisgender

 (International Spectrum Online)

A person whose gender identity and expression matches the gender typically associated with their biological sex. For example: a female who identifies as a woman.

Gender Expression

(International Spectrum Online)

Refers to the ways in which people externally communicate their gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice and emphasizing, de-emphasizing or changing their body’s characteristics. Gender expression is not necessarily an indication of sexual orientation.