The World of YouTube: "What Girls and Guys Do"

            Jenna Marbles, real name Jenna Mourey, is currently one of the most popular YouTube stars. She has over fifteen million subscribers, making her the seventh most subscribed to channel on YouTube as well as the most subscribed to woman.  As such, she serves as an interesting case study that could contribute to Roxanne’s work on the sexualization effects of the YouTube community. Her first video, “How to trick people into thinking you’re good looking” has been viewed over sixty-three million times- more than double that of any of her other videos.

While at first this video seems to be a makeup tutorial, in reality it’s somewhat of a commentary on the lengths many women go to when altering their appearance to be viewed as more attractive. The video is littered with quotes such as, “if you’re thinking about going for a more natural look, lets be serious you’re way too ugly to pull that off” and the powerful “The next step is, go out and get yourself a job that is super degrading. I picked dancing in my underwear, before I go to work I like to pump myself up by crying over my masters degree.” In this vein it seems possible that certain “YouTubers” may not enforce traditional gender roles and sexualize females but rather criticize a broader culture that already does so. However, this interpretation is of course subjective. If viewers do not pick up on Jenna’s sarcasm they may understand this video as reinforcing beauty ideals that tell women to just, “cake a bunch of makeup on your face.” This interpretation may be further enforced by her video series “What Girls and Guys Do.”

This video entitled “What Girls Think About During Sex” along with many others from the series enforces the heterosexual script that women are primarily valued for their physical experience- as evidenced by quotes such as “oh my god is that what my thighs look like, I need to go to the gym” (Kim, 2007). While these videos are made to make viewers laugh and perhaps again critique dominant gender norms, this message may not always be apparent. As these videos continue to rack up millions of viewers, dominant ideologies may be challenged or enforced. However, these effects have largely gone unexplored. While there is a wealth of research on the effects of these scripts in mediums such as television, more work must be done in online worlds such as YouTube.

Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. a, Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145–157. http://doi.org/10.1080/00224490701263660 

Class Lecture

Still on the Pill?: Birth Control on Seinfeld

"The Sponge"

           In the above clip from Seinfeld Jerry asks Elaine about the status of her sexual relationship with the man she has been dating. Elaine tells Jerry and Kramer that while they have not slept together yet, it is “imminent” as she is shopping for birth control later that day. The men continue their line of questioning and inquire into her birth control of choice, with Kramer exclaiming, “Elaine are you still on the pill? …  What? [I think] birth control should be discussed in a open forum!” In this short interaction, several positive sexual health messages are enforced. First, immediately after sex is brought up the group discusses safe sex practices. In this world, the discussion of "imminent" sex is inseparable from sexual health. Further, the topic is not simply broached but also elaborated on by Elaine, Jerry, and Kramer- a male and female group that feels generally comfortable discussing practices of sexual health together. Additionally, multiple forms of birth control are talked about during this short conversation including the pill and “the sponge” which becomes the central theme of the episode. Later in the episode condoms are also discussed, bringing the overall count to three diverse forms of birth control.

            For young audiences or those not well versed in the language of sexual heath, this episode of Seinfeld has the potential to both teach and reinforce practical lessons. If combined with outside sexual health education, viewers can take away sex positive messages and practices from this episode of Seinfeld (Collins, 1119). In this episode many methods of birth control discussed and both males and females actively seek them out (Elaine and George). Thus the show does not place the onus of sexual health on one sex, exhibiting to viewers that both men and women are responsible for their own sexual health as well as that of their partner. However, is it important to remember that the positive sexual health messages seen in this episode of Seinfeld or other television programs cannot be solely responsible for providing sexual education. These messages and “examples” must be discussed in order to prove truly effective (Collins, 1119). 

Collins, R., Elliott, M., Berry, S., Kanouse, D., & Hunter, S. (2003). Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode ofFriends. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1115-1121.

Time Isn't Wasted When You're Getting Wasted?

Asher Roth’s “I Love College” is a song about the American college experience and the singer’s passion for it. Despite being titled “I Love College” Roth does not sing about the holistic college experience. What Roth actually sings about is the binge drinking culture at American universities. Here we find the first potential danger of his song. If young listeners absorb Roth’s overall message, they may be misled into thinking that the entire college experience is encapsulated in drinking and partying. In this way, Roth’s song can be compared to alcohol advertisements that distort reality by presenting audiences solely with the “glamorous” side of drinking (Ridberg, Katz, & Kilbourne, 2004).

Time isn't wasted when you're getting wasted

Woke up today and all I could say is

That party last night was awfully crazy I wish we taped it

I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked

Drink my beer and smoke my weed

But my good friends is all I need

Pass out at three wake up at ten

Go out to eat then do it again

Here we see that “I Love College” does not touch on any of the consequences of binge drinking, but rather implies that hangovers can be slept off and the partying can continue. The same message is further enhanced by the accompanying music video that shows a wild fraternity party. Again, if viewers/ listeners are not familiar with the college experience they may be led to believe that Roth’s portrayal of one is accurate.

            Dangerous messages from Asher Roth’s “I Love College” are not limited to the topic of alcohol consumption but also venture into the realm of sexual health.

I can't tell you what I learned from school

But I could tell you a story or two

Um yea of course I learned some rules

Like don't pass out with your shoes on

And don't leave the house till the booze gone

And don't have sex if she’s too gone

When it comes to condoms put two on

The most concerning lyrics from this verse is the above, “when it comes to condoms put two on.” This practice is, of course, counterproductive to sexual health as the use of two condoms increases the chances that they will break and be rendered ineffective. However, it possible that many listeners are not aware of this. If media can spread positive sexual health education, I believe it can certainly do the opposite (Collins et al., 1121). Here we can only hope that listeners to Asher Roth’s “I Love College” also have another source of sex education.

Fifty Shades of Fucked Up: Pathological BDSM Desire

            In 2015, Fifty Shades of Grey became one of the highest grossing “R” rated films of all time, bringing in over $550 million at the box office worldwide. The story of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele first wedged its way into the public conscious in 2012. On some level it is a classic story, a wealthy and handsome man pursues a shy and awkward woman who doesn’t realize how beautiful she really is. However, the tale is complicated by the BDSM storyline.

            In the above clip, Anastasia attempts to understand why Christian wants to punish her. She asks, “Why do you ever want to do anything to me at all… tell me, do you want to punish me right now?” Christian explains to Ana that, “just because I [don’t] want to, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t need to… because it’s the way I am, ‘cause I’m fifty shades of fucked up.” Here, the movie explicitly tells audiences that Christian’s sexual deviance, his practice of BDSM, is pathological. In other words, Christian’s behavior is only understood because of some deep seeded sickness or damage (Weiss, 105).

            In “Mainstreaming Kink: The Politics of BDSM Representation in U.S. Popular Media” Margot Weiss argues that the mainstream public generally express boredom or even disappointment when presented with conventional ideological portrayals of BSDM, e.g. healthy/ pathological (Weiss, 105). However, this was clearly not the case with both the book and movie, Fifty Shades of Grey. While it is possible that Fifty Shades of Grey was just an especially heightened case of distanced consumption, the popularity of this BDSM-centric media should be studied further.

Weiss, M. (2006). Mainstreaming kink: The politics of BDSM representation in U.S. popular media.Journal of Homosexuality, 50(2/3), 103-132. doi: 10.1300/J082v50n02_06