When we watch television, flip through the newsstand or browse the internet we consume media and experience pop culture. In a media driven society like ours, it’s hard to ignore culture- it’s simply everywhere. What’s easier to avoid is the reality of what culture is telling us through its images and conversations. On Thursday Andi Zeisler, a founder of Bitch Magazine, visited Swift hall as a part of Sex Week to discuss her part in the feminist response to pop culture.
In 1996 Zeisler and some high school friends started Bitch to question the messages and look at the ideals that are presented through popular culture. 16 years later she said “the messages that come to us through media and pop culture are perhaps more open to question than ever.”
The importance of Zeisler’s message was clear- the messages in media are gendered and sexed and these shape the way society, and us as women, view ourselves and others.
“Our culture really believes that you are your body and your body is fair game” she said.
Societal constructs of gender and sex are no laughing matter, but that didn’t dry out Zeisler’s speech. Her casual demeanor in explaining cultural narratives like “boys will fuck pie” or “you wore a tank top in seventh grade and a bunch of girls called you a slut” brought humor to the reality of the world we live in.
But just because society holds tight to certain images, Zeisler doesn’t necessarily believe it will forever. She said it’s possible to change the cultural narratives surrounding gender, morality and sex.
“Some narratives are just stickier than others. They’re more entrenched in our culture and their more likely to be repeated even if they are challenged,” she said.
And as a member of the feminist media, Zeisler said she has been proud of how people have discovered their inner activists. She specifically referred to Belvedere Vodka’s “rapey” advertisement that was almost immediately retracted after facing public and professional backlash on social media, and a New York Times article that faced backlash after illustrating victim blaming.
This Sex Week event gave the audience a clear sense of where Zeisler sees the media heading- she expressed hope for the future of feminist media and that change will continue.
Curious where Andi Zeisler gets her media? Here’s a list of media she suggest for an “introduction to feminism”…
Jezebel
Good Magazine
Mother Jones
Hairpin
NY Magazine’s Culture Vulture
Entertainment Weekly