Exploration 3: Difference

Purse

Empty Space:  A picture of a purse by itself is very unusual because normally a purse belongs to someone.  Many women use a purse for years and consider it an important object in their lives because of how often they use it.  People become frantic when they see a purse left unattended because there are normally special belongings in every purse, so many people may have the immediate reaction to want to find the owner of this purse.  In the video, What A Girl Wants, the video clearly shows the influence men have on women on the products they purchase and use.  The purses women buy may have a strong influence from a man they desire to impress.  The world we live in is generally very materialistic because people buy expensive things to present themselves a certain way, impress others, and feel good about ourselves.  What is missing from a picture of a purse is the unknowns of the owner, reasons for purchasing it, etc.

Spotlighting:  When people first think of a purse, they think of a woman.  Women are the stereotype owners of purses, and it is just natural looking at a woman with a purse in their hand.  We never highlight the fact that we always see women holding purses in magazines, but we do not see men holding purses.  For transgender men, seeing a man holding a purse in a magazine might make them feel much more comfortable to do the same in their everyday lives because they may feel more accepted.  We would react differently to a picture of a man holding a purse when in reality there is no reason for this.  A purse does not only belong to women, but this normality in society has been created and, therefore, makes men feel they cannot hold a purse because they will appear feminine.  A future where people do not stare at or criticize men with purses, dresses, or makeup is a future that we need to create.  Who holds purses in the media has never been highlighted because it has always been women and that is natural to us.  In the video, Michael Kimmel: On Gender, the fact that women and men are more similar than we think is brought to our attention.  Most recently is when women have displayed the difference in genders to the public because women are using their gender as a part of their identity.  This video also brings up men’s fear of being considered gay.  Men want to appear as masculine as possible, even if they do not necessarily want to.  Men hide who they truly are in fear of their social status.  Something as simple as holding a purse can result to a man being called gay, but why is that such an awful thing?  This world is abused and misused so often, and people do not understand the true meaning.  We should start highlighting the fact that the media is not displaying men holding purses.

Overlay:  The question people may wonder is: why did that woman buy that purse?  Women allow men to manipulate them and control them in so many different ways, and the video Michael Kimmel: On Gender discusses the facts that women believe these days that the true intentions of men are not sincere.  Woman feel this pressure and expectation dress or look a certain way because many women do not believe their personality is a big contributor to getting a man’s attention.  So, did this woman buy this purse in order to get men to notice her?  The influence men have on women these days is unbelievable, and women need to start gaining their independence and confidence back.  

Repositioning:  When people see an expensive purse, they immediately think an upper-class white female would buy something like that.  Seeing this picture of a woman who is not dressed to appear as an upper-class woman holding an expensive purse seems out of context.  This is repositioning people’s ideas of who owns purses like this.  People immediately assume that if one owns an expensive brand name purse, they have a lot of money.  This makes sense because if someone does not make a lot of money they normally will not spend a lot on a purse.  To some people, even seeing an African American woman holding an expensive purse is out of context.  This is because many racist people in this country associate black people as lower-class, uneducated, etc.  People think that black people do not make as much money as white people and, therefore, cannot afford something like an expensive purse.  People may assume that they stole it.  This is all a part of the horrible racism in our country because people do not realize how many African Americans are more educated than many white people because they get the educational opportunities we do and go to great colleges and receive great jobs.  No one should associate a certain gender or race to money, jobs, education levels, etc.  Everyone should be seen equally.  No one deserves a job or a good education more than another person based on race, gender, sexuality, and the sooner the world realizes this the sooner we can take a stand to end discrimination.  In the video I watched, How Racism Harms White Americans, highlighted different forms of racism between white and black people.  It made me wonder, would white people be willing to purchase a purse previously owned by a black woman?  Do white people expect that black people made these purses because of the stereotypical jobs different races have?  Do white people not want black people owning the same products as them? People's answers to these questions are what is truly disappointing.