Main Post 11/4

In the article "The Lady and the Tramp: Feminist Welfare Politics, Poor Single Mothers, and the Challenge of Welfare Justice," Gwendolyn Mink discusses how poor, single mothers have been left out to dry when it comes to welfare and how the issue of welfare has divided women of different classes. Mink was part of a group that mobilized to help fight with poor women to obtain the welfare they deserved and aimed to unite women, preaching that "a war against poor women is a war against all women(56)." However, few women (and feminists) rallied around this cause, and the Personal Responsibility Act ended up passing, which took away poor single mothers' entitlement to welfare. Mink claims that feminists could have helped and made a difference when it came to this welfare reform, but instead, they were complacent and simply unconcerned. There was no widespread feminist opposition to the principles of the Personal Responsibility Act. Mink asks, "[w]hy were so many feminists unconcerned that welfare reform not only repealed poor single mothers' entitlement to cash assistance but encroached on their basic civil right as well?"(57). She asks why no action was taken to help defend their fellow women. In one of her new books, Mink urges middle-class feminists to "practice true 'sisterhood' by upholding poor mothers' rights as we do our own"(58). She argues that welfare is a condition of women's equality. She is adamant in her belief that single poor mothers are being punished for having children, taking care of their children, and working in the home. The problem is that our society does not put any economic value on working in the home and childraising. Mink claims we need to "reconceive welfare as the income owed to persons who work inside the home caring for, nurturing, and protecting children--mothering(59)." Unfortunately, their is a common conception that single poor mothers on welfare are "lazy, promiscuous, and matriarchal" and are simply "breeding" children to avoid work (59). Furthermore Mink talks about how (white) middle class feminists, the "mainstream of the women's movement" (60), have emphasized women's rights to work outside the home and the need for women to earn their independence and equality through having a wage-earning job outside of the home. By doing so, they almost force their goals on poor women, who do not have these same goals in mind because of their limited means and opportunities, and as a result, we see a divide between women of different classes (and races). Mink ends her paper by reemphasizing the need to compensate and reward poor single mothers' with an income for their caregiving and work inside the home.

Response 11/1

To me, all of this class’s readings were interesting in their own light. However, “Reality Check” in Listen Up, by Aisha Kahim-Dyce I felt brought up a lot of interesting points that are very relevant to many of our readings and discussions in Intro to Women’s Studies. Particularly, on page 124, when she said “Although in too many instances poor and working-class people are faced with demoralizing and dehumanizing work, most of that work does not explicitly revolve around sexual objectification the way that go-go dancing does”, I could not help but think critically. While yes, I agree that doing anything that makes you feel traumatized or dehumanized is obviously not a good choice, I couldn’t, at the same time, help but think sometimes that doing anything is better than nothing. Furthermore, Kahim-Dyce says, “[Many go-go dancers] expressed satisfaction with their income but were cynical about people in general and men in particular” (page 125). I do agree, once again, that this as an understandable sentiment. On the other hand, I feel that there are many fields or types of work in which women feel cynical, etc. regarding men. Even women who do not work feel contempt for men. That is just the system that we find ourselves in today. Therefore, I am not trying to belittle the struggles that poor women face, I just feel that many would (perhaps) not agree with her particular feelings on the matter. Personally, I could understand women doing whatever they could in order to support their family, but at the same time I can understand why go-go dancing and jobs of the like could be extremely demoralizing. It is a tough choice for people to make, no doubt. How can you choose between the welfare of your family and the welfare of yourself?

Short Post 11/2

I found all of the readings very enlightening, but I was particularly struck by Maria Cristina Rangel's article, "Knowledge is Power." I find it terrible that Welfare organizations seem to be blaming the individual, who needs help, for the situation that they are in. As Rangel tells us, in the waiting room in a TAFDC (Transitional Aid to Families with Dependence Children) office, there are posters that say "Mommy, will we always be on Welfare?" "Work Works!" "Think of your children...Whose footsteps do you want to see them follow in?" (191). This is incredibly condescending. As Rangel claims, they make poverty seem as if it is "a matter of personal failure" and "ending poverty a matter of personal will" (192). While it is true that some Welfare recipients might be in their current conditions because of their own work ethic (or lack there of), for most people, this is simply not the case. Most people have all the will in the world to get out of their current condition, but simply have never had the means to do so. Work ethic and attitude can only go so far. And others might be so beaten down by living in poverty for so long, that they simply have lost this will and "right attitude," and is that really their fault? What do we expect? Making poverty into simply a matter of will, work ethic, and attitude ignores the fact the problem, in most cases, is the SYSTEM, not the individuals.

Media Project (Tip Drill)

Rap music is both loved and hated in today’s society. Rap crosses both racial and socioeconomic lines. African Americans started rap as a way for there voice to be heard and give others insight into their lives. Rap music videos consistently cause controversy for the sexual content and demoralization of women. Since rap music is highly sexual then it only seems natural that its music videos would also be hyper sexualized. Rap music takes a lot of the blame for how women are objectified in today’s society. Nelly a popular rap artist came out with a song in “Tip Drill” in 2003 that completely revolutionized hip-hop and the objectification of women. This video completely takes objectification to a new level by disregarding women’s faces and solely judging them based on their bodies.

By definition a tip drill is a woman that has a nice body, large breasts and a big butt, but has an ugly face. The chorus is:

I said it must be ya ass cause it ain't ya face

I need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill

I said it must be ya ass cause it ain't ya face

I need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill

I said if ya see a tipdrill point her out, where she at

Point her out, where she at

Point her out, there she goooooes

I said if ya see a tipdrill point her out, where she at

Point her out, where she at

Point her out, there she goooooes

The Video is full of half naked black women dancing around being groped by men. The video first aired on BET, the video was so controversial that BET began only airing the video after 2 am. The video tells young men that it is ok to judge women simply on their body and it tells young girls that men only want them for the bodies. This is a dangerous message to send to young impressionable girls, because they see a video like this and if they have low self-esteem and are not receiving attention from men they may try and present themselves like some of the girls in the video at an attempting to garner attention from men. Douglas talks about how the ideal body that young girls try to attain is that of a twelve year old boy with Pamela Anderson’ breast. In class we talked about how the “ideal body” differs from race to race. Women of color usually want a bigger butt where as white woman want bigger breasts.

It’s hard for someone who may not be socially aware to believe that these women are being mistreated. They may argue that they are being paid and are not forced to participate in the videos and actually have to audition to even be considered for a part. However as Susan Douglas points out women who present themselves with sexual desires equal to those of a man, or simply a women proud of her body and not scared to show it off, no matter their intent, are giving permission for men to objectify them. While one may make the argument that the women in the tip drill video are making a desperate attempt to liberate themselves through their sexuality Douglas would say that they are just giving men permission to objectify them and call them sluts enlightened sexism is more “virulent for African American woman because it intersects with the new subtle racism and with misogyny in some sectors of the black community.” (131) Douglas also talks about the wide range in which African American women are portrayed in the media. You have the half naked gyrating women in the tip drill video and then you have arguable the most famous woman on tv Oprah.. Douglas even references the infamous Nelly video and talks about a particular scene in the video were a credit card is swiped down a woman’s butt. Douglas does not go into much detail about the video but she does talk a little about some of the backlash the video received. The women of Spellman refused to have Nelly on their campus unless he engaged in a dialogue about the sexist views portrayed in some of his videos. Many would argue that rap music videos have been detrimental to the experiences of young black women, however the severity of these effects are difficult to measure.

Entertainers and rap artists are put in a difficult position. They obviously want to make money and sex sells. Men are the key demographic considered when making a music video. The men watching these videos do not want to see women in formally dressed ball room dancing they want to see them in bikinis humping each other not to mention that in order to have a good music video the video has to somewhat coincide with the lyrics which are usually sexual. I think people sometimes get confused and blame rap for the objectification of women rap music did not create this notion of objectifying women however it does reinforce it. Rap music videos, glamorize the negative aspects of the everyday lives of black women and strengthen the stereotypes. The strengthening of the stereotypes in these music videos puts the young black woman in a box in which mainstream society views them.

There is not one clear-cut solution to this problem. However the blame should be more evenly distributed with some of it falling on the shoulders of the distributors of these music videos, who are often white. White people are benefiting from marketing these negative stereotypes of African Americans, especially women but somehow receive none of the blame. Women also need to step up and start refusing these roles in music videos or at least demanding some changes. It’s hard for men to refrain from objectifying women when you have women who willingly participate in these videos. Since women are objectified in the media it seems almost second nature to objectify them in everyday life. I believe it has to start with women demanding more respect for themselves and then this will have a trickle down affect, affecting society in general and how men view women.

Media Project: "Baby Got Back"

“I like big butts and I can not lie, you other brothers can't deny, that when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face, you get sprung!”. We have all heard the song; most of us know the lyrics, and most of have sung (or danced) along at some point to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s hit 1992 single, “Baby Got Back.” However, what most of us do not realize is that there is a powerful force at work behind this song: enlightened sexism—the media illusion that equality has been reached between the sexes, women are powerful, and therefore, feminism is “done”—outdated and unnecessary. Through an analysis of the music video, I hope to show how “Baby Got Back” exemplifies what Susan Douglas means by the term “enlightened sexism” and the power this force has over people’s views of sexism, particularly in making us view sexism and the objectification of women as a joke, which we all should participate in.

The media (particularly through film and television) is constantly feeding us images of powerful, successful women: from Grey’s Anatomy’s authoritative, “won’t take any of your crap” Dr. Bailey to Sex and the City’s powerful and prominent PR executive, Samantha Jones—we even saw a woman as president on the show, Commander in Chief. As Douglas claims, the media “overrepresent women as having made it—completely—in the professions, as having gained sexual equality with men, and having achieved a level of financial success and comfort enjoyed primarily by the Tiffany’s-encrusted doyennes of Laguna Beach” (4-5). Enlightened sexism conveys the idea that in light of the fact that women have made so much progress as a gender and sexism is an ancient way of the past, it is both okay for men to stereotype and objectify women and for women, themselves, to enact these objectifications and go along with them. Enlightened sexism “insists that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism—indeed, full equality has allegedly been achieved—so now its okay, even amusing, to resurrect sexist stereotypes of girls and women” (Doulas 9). Since equality has been reached, both men and women can join in on the fun, which is sexism. However, the truth is that we have not even scratched the surface on reaching full equality between men and women. While much progress has been made, we have not reached our final destination, and women are nowhere close to being equal to men in terms of power in today's world. If we have achieved gender equality, then why, as Douglas points out, would women today earn only 80% of what men earn one year out of college, and a mere 69% ten years out of college? Why would the most popular jobs for women still be subordinate and less powerful positions, such as secretaries, nurses, elementary school teachers, cashiers, and retail sales-persons? So while the media may tell us that women’s liberation is a “fait accompli” (Douglas 5), if you look through the media haze, you will recognize that the media is simply producing “fantasies of power”—sexism is not dead, and we must continue to fight for gender equality.

Now it might be a little clearer where Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” fits into this whole picture. If you watch the music video, you will witness what must be one of the most blatant examples of the sexual objectification of women that we have around today. The video consists of black women (unsurprisingly, with rather large behinds), clad in tight and revealing garments, aggressively shaking their butts, sensuously rubbing their butts, slapping their butts, patting their butts, patting each others’ butts, and more generally, dancing very provocatively. At the beginning of the video, during the famous “oh my god, Becky, look at her butt,” segment, there is even a women in an extremely short, skin-tight dress standing atop a revolving stand, caressing her curves. The image of this woman being on display on what essentially is a pedestal is very noteworthy and telling. The accompaniment of a few seconds of what sounds like “godly” or “heavenly” musical voices completes the image of the woman’s body being on display and deserving of worship. The blatant sexualizing and objectification of women is also evident in many other aspects of the video. The set of the video consists of structures, which are unmistakably meant to look like butts. Also, erratically throughout the video, images of certain fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes and lemons (as well as chickpeas, which are shaped like butts) are flashed across the screen. There was even an image of a banana thrown in, which in our society has strong sexual connotations as representing a penis. There is also a butt-like object on the record, which is repeatedly shown. The explicit sexualizing of women is also evident in how different words, which can be used to describe women’s’ butts, such as “rump, thick, rear, bubble, tail, dorsum, stuffed and much back,” are frequently flashed across the screen in huge, bold lettering.

The music video and the song lyrics are so transparently sexist and objectifying towards women and as feminist scholar, Rosalind Gill, claims, “the extremeness of the sexism is evidence that there’s no sexism!” (Douglas 13). The force of enlightened sexism makes people believe that since no one could actually be sexist anymore, the existence of blatantly sexist and degrading images of women, like the appalling ones in Sir Mix-a-Lot’s video, are completely acceptable. As Douglas argues, enlightened sexism “includes in-your-face sexism in which the attitudes about women that infuriated feminists in the 1960s and ‘70s are pushed to new, even more degrading levels, except that it’s all done with a wink” (13)—the wink, in the case of “Baby Got Back,” signifying that we, the audience, know that the song and video are meant to be viewed as over-the-top and exaggerating the sexualizing of women. We can think of this music video just as we think about MTV shows, such as My Super Sweet Sixteen, where Douglas claims the viewer is essentially being elbowed in the ribs and told by MTV, “we know that you know that we know that you know that this is excessive and kitschy, that you’re too smart to read this straight and not laugh at it” (14). We are all “in” on the joke about the objectification of these women and their big behinds. As Douglas argues, the mindset produced by enlightened sexism is that “it’s silly to be sexist; therefore, it’s funny to be sexist” (13), and it is even funnier to be over-the-top sexist, which is exactly what the music video of “Baby Got Back” is. The entire video has a humorous, almost joking tone to it. This comical tone can be seen in how literally many of the lyrics are acted out in the video—during the “you get sprung!” line, a slinky is shown stretching out; during the, “I wanna get with you and take your picture” line, a picture is literally taken and we are shown a picture of a woman’s butt; and during the “you can do side bends or sit-ups, but please don't lose that butt” line, the scantily clad dancers in the background are doing a dance version of a sit-up. In this way, the disgusting extent to which women are being objectified in this video is hiding behind the facade of its exaggeration and humor.

The blatant sexuality, extreme objectification, and overall humorous tone of “Baby Got Back” makes us feel like it is okay to have fun with the song and video and play along with the “joke” (since we all know that sexism does not actually exist, right?). I will be the first to admit that I go along with it—I know almost every single word to this song and at the age of twelve, was lightheartedly singing and dancing along to it with my friends. When this song comes on at a dance or party, it seems like every girl rushes to the dance floor with her girl friends to get in on the “joke”—it’s simply a fun song. As Douglas asserts, “enlightened sexism is meant to make patriarchy pleasurable for women” (12), and for many girls, what is more pleasurable than to scream the ridiculous lyrics and dance around with their friends shaking “what your mama gave ya.” We even see people doing this in the media. In “Charlie’s Angels,” there is the infamous scene where Cameron Diaz gets up on the stage of a club when “Baby Got Back” comes on and starts dancing, at first timidly, but then wildly, as her self-consciousness melts away. She looks to be having the time of her life, spurred on by the crowd and shaking her booty. In one Friends episode we even see Ross and Rachel singing “Baby Got Back” to their baby daughter, Emma, in order to make her laugh. The ending scene of the episode shows both of them singing and dancing to it in front of Emma’s crib, with Ross shaking his butt, Rachel slapping it, and them both loudly singing, “shake it, shake it, shake that healthy butt!”. In the background, the audience is roaring with laughter, and why not? It is funny (and entertaining).

The question we should be asking is how has it become acceptable and “cool” to joke about the objectification of women? When did we slip into a world where our humor governed our morals? Sure, we may say that we’re in on the joke, and deep down we know that the objectifying and sexualizing women is bad, but at what point do these images begin to actually seep in, shape our views, and govern our behavior? When does the joke become a reality? Based on the prevalence of sexual harassment and rape, I would say that we have already reached this point. Our mission, then, is to take on the “ongoing, never-ending project of consciousness raising” (Douglas 22). We must acknowledge the force of “enlightened sexism,” recognize how it is shaping our views by means of the media, and furthermore recognize that despite the media’s “fantasies of power,” women and men are not equal in the world today and we must keep fighting for gender equality.

Media Project

Rap music is both loved and hated in today’s society. Rap crosses both racial and socioeconomic lines. Rap music videos consistently cause controversy for the sexual content and demoralization of women. Since rap music is highly sexual then it only seems natural that its music videos would also be hyper sexualized. Since women are objectified in the media it seems almost second nature to objectify them in everyday life. Rap music takes a lot of the blame for how women are objectified in today’s society. Nelly a popular rap artist came out with a song in “Tip Drill” ( http://www.myvideo.de/watch/839263/Nelly_Tip_Drill) 2003 that completely revolutionized hip-hop and the objectification of women.

By definition a tip drill is a woman that has a nice body, large breasts and a big butt, but has an ugly face. The chorus is:

I said it must be ya ass cause it ain't ya face

I need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill

I said it must be ya ass cause it ain't ya face

I need a tipdrill, I need a tipdrill

I said if ya see a tipdrill point her out, where she at

Point her out, where she at

Point her out, there she goooooes

I said if ya see a tipdrill point her out, where she at

Point her out, where she at

Point her out, there she goooooes

The Video is full of half naked black women dancing around being groped by men. The video first aired on BET, the video was so controversial that BET began only airing the video after 2 am. The video tells young men that it is ok to judge women simply on their body and it tells young girls that men only want them for the bodies. This is a dangerous message to send to young impressionable girls, because they see a video like this and if they have low self-esteem and are not receiving attention from men they may try and present themselves like some of the girls in the video at an attempting to garner attention from men. Douglas talks about how the ideal body that young girls try to attain is that of a twelve year old boy with Pamela Anderson’ breast. In class we talked about how the “ideal body” differs from race to race. Women of color usually want a bigger butt where as white woman want bigger breasts.

enlightened sexism is more “virulent for African American woman because it intersects with the new subtle racism and with misogyny in some sectors of the black community.” (131) Douglas also talks about the wide range in which African American women are portrayed in the media. You have the half naked gyrating women in the tip drill video and then you have arguable the most famous woman on tv Oprah. Douglas argues that women who present themselves with sexual desires equal to those of a man, or simply a women proud of her body and not scared to show it off, no matter their intent they are giving permission for men to objectify them. While one may make the argument that the women in the tip drill video are making a desperate attempt to liberate themselves through their sexuality Douglas would say that they are just giving men permission to objectify them and call them sluts. Douglas even references the infamous Nelly video and talks about a particular scene in the video were a credit card is swiped down a woman’s butt. Douglas does not go into much detail about the video but she does talk a little about some of the backlash the video received. The women of Spellman refused to have Nelly on their campus unless he engaged in a dialogue about the sexist views portrayed in some of his videos. Many would argue that rap music videos have been detrimental to the experiences of young black women, however the severity of these effects are difficult to measure. It’s hard for someone who may not be socially aware to believe that these women are being mistreated, they may argue that they are being paid and are not forced to participate in the videos and actually have to audition to even be considered for a part.

Entertainers and rap artists are put in a difficult position. They obviously want to make money and sex sells. Men are the key demographic considered when making a music video. The men watching these videos do not want to see women in formaly dressed ball room dancing they want to see them in bikinis humping each other not to mention that in order to have a good music video the video has to somewhat coincide with the lyrics which are usually sexual. I think people sometimes get confused and blame rap for the objectification of women rap music did not create this notion of objectifying women however it does reinforce it. Rap music videos, glamorize the negative aspects of the everyday lives of black women and strengthen the stereotypes. The strengthening of the stereotypes in these music videos puts the young black woman in a box in which mainstream society views them.

There is not one clear-cut solution to this problem. However the blame should be more evenly distributed with some of it falling on the shoulders of the distributors of these music videos, who are often white. Women also need to step up and start refusing these roles in music videos or at least demanding some changes. It’s hard for men to not objectify women when you have women who willingly participate in these videos. In order to bring about a change I believe it has to start with women demanding more respect for themselves and then I believe this will have a trickle down affect affecting society in general and how men view

Media Project- I Love My Hair

The media today is filled with advertisements, television shows, celebrity gossip, videos and more that place women in uncomfortable and compromised positions. Sometimes women are shown in a positive light by the media, but it is not often enough. Recently however, there was one piece of information that struck me as particularly captivating, especially considering the encouraging manner in which it actually supports and furthers the strides women are making in popular culture. While reading the daily news, I came across a video story on abcnews.com about Sesame Street’s newest character, entitled “Sesame Street Teaches Self-Esteem”.

http://www.6seconds.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sesame_street_friends.jpg

Diane Sawyer, in this video, begins by saying: “As you probably know its something that African American girls talk about amongst themselves but not often out loud: hair” with a photo of the character, an African American girl puppet, in the upper right hand corner. As someone who grew up idolizing this show that brings together both education and entertainment, and is currently studying representations of women, I could not be more proud that this character was added to Sesame Street. It is steps like this video that begin the movement away from the concept of an “ideal beauty type” which is so often talked about and give all different types of women self-confidence.

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/10/22/sesame-streets-i-love-my-hair-skit/

The clip that this new character was in called “I Love My Hair” is the most ideal way of showing that African American females are beautiful and should love their hair. Sawyer calls the incorporation of this new character a “revolution of the heart” but personally I think it has a much stronger message. Because African American girls don’t have hair that is idealized and worshipped in our society: Barbie’s long, flowing blonde locks, they often feel left out and unsure how to feel confident about their own hair. This video is a way in which all women can feel proud of what they look like, and in my opinion can only help the young girls/women in America to feel a greater sense of belonging, acceptance, and self-assurance.

“Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop, cause I love what I got on top” is the opening line of the clip, "I Love My Hair". ABC News discusses with several African American girls and women the issues they face because their hair is “big” and “poofy”. This is contrasted with a picture of Barbie saying “this, by the way, is often our earliest lesson about beauty”. The video cuts to a clip of Whoopi Goldberg doing a standup routine in which a little African American girl puts a towel on her head to try and emulate Barbie’s “long, luxurious blonde hair”. As Susan Douglas says in Enlightened Sexism, “conforming to the Barbie aesthetic of femininity… is essential” (page 164). This clearly poses an issue for African American women who do not have blonde hair, nor those long flowing locks, and as Douglas writes on page 137, “exactly how were black women supposed to reconcile the pressures to conform to and succeed in white culture with the pressures, and desire, to keep it real?” It can be not only discouraging but, as the 5^th chapter in her book entitled “You Go, Girl” sums up, it also reinforces the “little power, in actuality, black women still have” (page 153).

The head writer of Sesame Street, Joey Mazzarino, just so happens to have an adopted daughter Segi from Ethiopia. He said that all she wanted was long straight hair that she could throw around and shake; it seems as though she wanted to be white, instead of embracing her culture. As any parent would feel, he became concerned. Thus, he decided to take a stand on this issue that undoubtedly extends much farther than his own daughter. Though Segi was the main inspiration for the muppet, it is obvious that while others have attempted to make these kinds of strides before, such as Sir Mix-a-lot who “sang the praises of black women’s backsides, made of fun the dominant white standard of beauty as promoted in Barbie dolls and Cosmo…” (page 134, Enlightened Sexism) this appears to be a powerful way in which young girls are convincingly addressed. Especially in considering Sesame Street’s phenomenal reputation, this, I believe, is a huge step forward for woman across the country. Not only African American women, but women of all cultures can connect.

There are still these stereotypes that many girls feel they must live up to, for example the seventh grader that Douglas refers to on page 217, saying that “there is too much pressure from the media to be ultra thin and to have big boobs and blonde hair…” I feel however, the adamant nature in which this muppet sings about her hair encourages young girls watching to embrace their hair and its uniqueness. She goes on to model several different hair styles and sings, “Wear a clippy or in a bow, or let it sit in an afro, my hair looks good in cornrows, it does so many things you know, that’s why I let it grow. I love my hair. I love it and I have to share.” Many viewers seem to agree. The YouTube user 4eva2bsassy states: “I’m twelve. I remembered seeing [the video] on the news a few days ago. I wear my afro to school all the time and I get made fun of. I get called afro lady mushroom head and its really annoying… this song kinda helped me a little and I’m tired of being told to straighten it!” User candymoon writes, “I am a black woman and happy that sesame street is teaching black girls to love their hair. This is way past due I see nothing wrong with the video. This video needs to be played in classrooms across the country. So that black girls feel good about the hair that they have.” Finally, xblackheart9 says, “this is so cute. I absolutely love it. Being blonde and white isn’t the only example of a pure beauty :)”

In general I feel that because this video has brought about a lot of publicity and conversation it has started to do its job. As of October 24th, one week after this particular video was uploaded, more than 3,300 comments have been made here alone, and the video has been shared more than 300,000 times. Although not all of the comments are positive, which I did not expect as white privilege, which Peggy McIntosh discusses, still exists, many do feel intensely inspired by it and make claims that “this is beautiful”, informative, empowering, and heartwarming. Though we live in a society where it is extremely hard to change people’s views, as a direct result of the media, small steps like this can be what brings about a change. At the very least, people should consider and take to heart the message that this video sends. Why continue to put women (and people in general) down when things like this receive such positive feedback? It is this action taken by Sesame Street that brought this very important issue amongst African American women and girls to a more global attention. Understanding that though people are different, they can still be considered beautiful is a big deal, and a necessary one. There is no reason that all women should be assigned to the same standard of beauty, and this video furthers the notion that there is a lot to love no matter what kind of hair you have and what you can do with it.

Also, there has been a remix made with the video clips from “I Love My Hair” and Willow Smith’s song, “Whip My Hair”.