The Current Winter Edition 2021

WINTER 2021

Pam Lambropoulos

Insurance Agent/Agency Owner

Okemos – Lansing | 517.394.4800 greatlakesstateagency.com

02 WINTER 2021

221 W. Saginaw St., Lansing, MI 48933 Phone: 517.203.0123 Fax: 517.203.3334 Publisher Tiffany Dowling Account Managers Megan Fleming Liz Reno-Hayes Melissa DeMott John Tripolsky Senior Editors Kate Birdsall Graphic Designer Grace Houdek Content Manager Lacie Kunselman Project Coordinator C Rose Widmann Writers Bianca Bucholtz, C Rose Widmann, Harrison Nelson, Jillian Bell, Julita Fenneuff, Justice Curry, Lucas Polack Editors Alex Meister, Annie Dubois, David Seddon, Kristian Wayne, Lacie Kunselman, Quan Nguyen, Sovann Hyde

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

By David Seddon Dear Reader, After more than a year of isolation, fear and uncertainty, the university has let us back on campus. Settling back into college life has been hard, and many of us were handed the reins of something far bigger than us before we even knew each other’s names, faces or pronouns.

Yet we rose to the challenge. We’ve faced issues as a class that have gone beyond the classroom, things that no one would’ve expected at the start of this year. In fact, the time here at The Current hasn’t felt at all like a class at all. In some ways, it almost feels like cheating to get credit hours for this time.

We’ve spent time together laughing and talking about nothing. We’ve had real conversations about the world, and about ourselves over this semester. And somehow, we’ve managed to craft engaging, funny and thoughtful pieces for you to enjoy. We’ve made something, this issue of The Current, that we can all be proud of.

Each topic was picked because someone here is passionate about it, and everyone else helped in some way to shape it into its best form. When you read these articles, you’re reading dozens of hours of research, planning, writing and revising. And each of those hours was spent because we wantinged to make something that would make you think or feel something. Each of us here wanted to share something of ourselves with you.

So, please read, and let yourself think and feel as you do. Please enjoy this issue that we all poured so much of ourselves into, and we all hope to have you join us again for looking at our next issue.

Sincerely, David Seddon

David Seddon is a second-year undergraduate student with a major in professional and public writing and a minor in Chinese. A big fan of fantasy and sci-fi, David can often be found playing games, reading books or working on his own self-published books in his free time.

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05

CON TEN TS

Motown: Discord Behind the Sound

10

14

Simception

Behind closed doors, Motown was an entirely different world than history remembers

The Sims can be helpful to those struggling with their mental health, but using the game as a coping mechanism can backfire

Reasons to Repair

18

22

28

The Reality of Escapism

When you escape into TV, what happens to your mental health when you come back?

32

Who Stopped The Music?

East Lansing is no longer the scene of large musical performances, despite the demand

50

BookToxic

Combating the standards set by the online book community

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Fixing items such as shoes helps one’s wallet, small businesses and the environment

Difficulty Level: Realistic

Art’s Deadliest Creation

38

44

Hasbro’s attempt at equality in board games falls short of appealing

What does it mean to be feminine, and why do so many companies market toward it?

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60

online shopping habits built during quarantine are now difficult to navigate

Identifying and Combating the Male Gaze

A Look Into What It Means to be a Non-Traditional Gamer

Ms. Monopoly Misses The Mark

Compulsive Coping

How are NFTs leaving their mark on the planet?

Selling Femininity

For His Eyes Only

MOTOWN: DISCORD BEHIND THE SOUND Behind closed doors, Motown was an entirely different world than history remembers

By Lucas Polack As famed critic and manager Jon Landau told it, the story of Motown boils down to two things: building an empire from an independent record label and creating a genre-defining sound.

of Motown as an independent record label, there lies within a voluminous story of creative gold mining, a well-oiled in-house production machine, radio domination, love and politics.

“A series of records and a body of music so commanding, so sophisticated, and so fine, as to make Motown a contender for the supreme pop achievement of the last ten years,” he wrote in a 1971 Rolling Stone story.

And—by some accounts—abandonment, cheating and coercion.

Founder Berry Gordy would go on to relocate the Motown headquarters from his native Detroit to L.A. one year later.

It marked the end of a golden era and a spiritual death for Motown, but that was not the last time people would hear from Motown. Though Gordy sold his ownership in 1988 to MCA, the label is currently the parent company to Quality Control, home to rappers Lil Baby and Migos.

Of course, that’s a highly reductive history.

From Gordy’s humble beginnings in 1958 to the move to L.A. and the ultimate demise

Not to mention occasional rumors of mafia ties (unfounded rumours, as Gordy claims) surrounding Motown. In a 2011 Independent article, the Motown founder deemed the rumors a manufactured explanation as to how a Black man could find such great success in the ‘60s record business.

A 1994 Chicago Tribune article details three major Motown players who have accused Berry of “cheating artists out of their share”: Mary Wilson of The Supremes, Tony Turner of The Temptations, and journalist and Michael Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli. Raynoma Gordy Singleton, who was formerly married to Gordy, also accused him of

pressuring her to remove her name from Motown legal records.

However, The Temptations did return to Gordy and the label after leaving Motown for a brief stint. “You don’t come back to a company that’s cheating you,” said Gordy.

But because the narrative of Motown often centers on Gordy and his unparalleled business model, these aspects of the story often lie in the peripherals. It’s well understood that Gordy would not have gotten where he did if not for the artists he worked with.

So, how does the Motown story shape up when told through their lens?

The integral impact on popular music from Motown artists like Diana Ross and The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Martha and The Vandellas, and the Jackson 5 has certainly been archived. There’s not much left unsaid about Gaye’s earthshattering “What’s Going On.” The Supreme’s unprecedented success gave way to Diana

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Ross’ cultural ubiquity. Stevie Wonder is— well, he’s Stevie Wonder.

And the star-studded Motown roster doesn’t stop there: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Lionel Richie and The Commodores, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, The Temptations. It’s an overwhelmingly deep list of upper-echelon artists; it’s hard to know where to start.

A good place might be with the songwriting team behind a bulk of Motown’s heyday hits, Holland-Dozier-Holland, composed of Lamont Dozier and brothers Eddie and Brian Holland.

After breaking through in 1963 with Martha

and The Vandellas’ “Heat Wave,” the HDH team tallied 37 entries onto the U.S. Top 10 in their Motown tenure, which lasted until 1967.

The trio was unstoppable, with Dozier and Brian Holland helming the musical production and Eddie Holland tweaking lyrics and polishing sounds. Though they worked with a plethora of Motown artists, HDH made their most notable contributions when partnered with The Four Tops and The Supremes, in songs like the former’s “Reach Out I’ll Be There” and the latter’s “Stop!

In The Name of Love” and “Baby Love.”

But in 1967, HDH split from Motown “​​amid a royalties dispute, prompting decades of litigation

with Gordy,” per the Detroit Free Press. The team went on to form their own record label and found little success. Motown, on the other hand, was nowhere near the end of its fortune.

That same year, Gordy changed the stage name of Motown’s premier girl group, The Supremes, which included Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard (until she was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in ‘67). Instead, they were to be billed as Diana Ross and The Supremes. Gordy announced this at L.A.’s Central Plaza Hotel, per Douglas Wolk in Red Bull Music Academy.

In a way, this move was symbolic: Gordy aimed to conquer Hollywood with Diana Ross as his star singer/actress. Diana Ross and The Supremes disbanded three years later, and by 1971, Ross had her own TV show under Motown Productions, Inc. Now a solo artist, Ross’s ascent concluded the trio’s chapter. Per History.com, that chapter “included a Gordy-inspired name change for the group; a Gordy-mandated buffing and polishing in Motown’s in-house finishing school; and, eventually, a Gordy-dictated elevation of Diana over her childhood friends, Flo and Mary.”

“Diane always liked to be the center of attraction,” Wilson said to the New York Times. “If you happened to be in her way while she was going toward the center, that was your fault.”

While stardom may have always been in the cards for Ross, she received preferential treatment from Gordy, who was romantically involved with her.

“She was the star of my life,” he said in a 2013 Rolling Stone article.

Photo by Bianca Bucholtz THECURRENTMSU.COM 07

In addition to Ross’ hunger for stardom, Gordy’s favoritism towards the bandleader contributed to the Supremes’ split. “The higher we ascended, the more Diana wanted for herself,” Wilson wrote in her 2000 memoir.

“She began dating Berry, and whenever she was unhappy about something, she would let him know.”

In 1981, Ross left Motown for RCA—the same corporation that would eventually buy out Gordy—in a staggeringly expensive record deal.

Along with her, another Motown artist that remained after Gordy’s L.A. relocation was Marvin Gaye. While he and Gordy didn’t get entangled in contractual disputes, they did butt heads over something else: the release of the title track to “What’s Going On.” “Put it out or I’ll never record for you again,” said Gaye to Gordy, per a 2021 Independent article.

Gaye, influenced by the national turmoil of the times—including the Vietnam war, widespread unemployment, poverty and police brutality— found himself at odds with the apolitical Gordy.

The label’s boss thought he was “absolutely insane” to make political commentary, that it “was going to be the biggest fiasco that ever was.”

After a demo of “What’s Going On” was kicked around the recording room, passed up

by The Four Tops and even Joan Baez, Gaye got a hold of it and the rest was history.

“Marvin definitely put the finishing touches on it,” said The Four Top’s Renaldo “Obie” Benson. “He made it visual. He absorbed himself to the extent that when you heard the song you could see the people and feel the

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hurt and pain. We measured him for the suit, and he tailored it.”

1981, Gaye was killed by his father, seven years before Gordy sold Motown.

The song may have never seen the light of day if it weren’t for Barney Ales, a right-hand-man of Gordy. He got a hold of “What’s Going On”, and, without Gordy’s knowledge or permission, he pressed 100,000 copies of the single and sent them out to radio stations. Gaye was right and Gordy was wrong, as it turned out; “What’s Going On” was a hit, lo and behold.

Just as the business entity Motown remains an impactful force to date, so do the works created in Motown’s heyday by artists like Gaye, The Supremes and beyond. If the Motown story is not told with respect to them, as well as Gordy’s great achievements, it’s not the story in its entirety.

But that wasn’t the end of the pair’s rivalry.

After the success of the single, Gordy bet Gaye that he couldn’t write and record the ensuing album in 30 days. Despite dealing with an increasing drug addiction and the loss of his recording partner, Tammi Terrell, to brain cancer, Gaye was able to meet the deadline.

“What’s Going On” became one of the most critically revered albums of all time. But in

Regardless of what went on behind closed doors between Gordy and his artists, without them, Motown would never have become such a historical feat.

Lucas Polack is a senior studying professional and public writing. He also works as a production assistant for Michigan Radio’s Stateside program. When he’s not staring at a blank Google doc, Lucas can be found walking his dog, Lizzy, and listening to his favorite band, Prince Daddy & The Hyena.

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SIMCEPTION The Sims can be helpful to those struggling with their mental health, but using the game as a coping mechanism can backfire

By Justice Curry There are multiple ways to escape reality. Some people use books, movies and TV shows to get away while others use video games. There are multiple genres that gamers use to escape, one option being life simulations.

As the name suggests, life simulation games are video games created to mimic real life.

In most life simulations, the player can create an avatar, start a family, own a business and build a home. For gamers that have struggled with their mental health, especially for those in toxic environments, life simulations are an appealing way to escape reality. However, there can be consequences to escapism.

While the early 2000s saw the rise of online life simulations such as Second Life and IMVU, The Sims franchise has been leading life simulation games since February 2000.

The most recent installment of the game, The Sims 4, was released in 2014. Seen as the most advanced Sims game of the franchise, this installment has given players the opportunity to customize their sims unlike ever before.

With more options and activities, the game only increases in appeal. Kynia Jones, who has been playing since 2013, said, “The

amount of different things I could do in the game with the people I created is what drew me to the game.”

Susmita Dash, a fan since 2017, said, “The world building of the game makes me feel like I can do and look and be anything I want without having to worry about financial, social or any other systemic barriers preventing me.”

The game has given players an array of customization features to their sim, homes and even the world the sims live in. Players can pull portions of their sims’ bodies to their desired size and shape, change their walk and voice, and customize their gender preferences.

In previous Sims games, players could only choose between a woman or a man sim. In the Sims 4, users can customize their sims’ genitals, pregnancy preference, and body preference. This has opened a huge door for the transgender and nonbinary community in video games.

While the creators have given body customization options, there are still gendered pronouns included in gameplay. This seems like a step back from being able to create a transgender sim, only to have them be

misgendered by the game. While EA has yet to address these pronoun restrictions, simmers have created modifications to make these necessary changes.

Creators make modifications, sometimes called mods, to different aspects of the game to improve or change gameplay.

“What keeps me playing the game,” Jones said, “is the custom-content creators that contribute to making the game better.

Custom content for me is like icing to the cake ... It’s AMAZING.” With the ability to customize a sim down to their genitals and to tailor the game with mods and other custom content, The Sims 4 has become one of the most popular games used to escape reality. If there’s a job someone wants their sim to have that isn’t included in the game, there’s a mod for it. If there’s a hair style not included, there’s custom content that can add that hairstyle to the game. Players can literally create the life that they want. But how can a player’s virtual life affect their real life?

Jones said, “Whenever I’ve felt like I’ve hit a low point or like I don’t have much control over my life, I just turn my laptop on and get to playing.”

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During COVID-19, even more people turned to life simulation games when they couldn’t go outside. Jones believed the game was critical to getting through quarantine, saying, “The Sims gave me an outlet to be free when I couldn’t be free.” Millions around the world would likely agree.

In February 2021, EA announced in their financial earning report that they have more than 33 million players, a record which increased during the beginning of quarantine.

The Sims 4 has proven to not only bring comfort and relief to people who struggle with their mental health, but also to millions during the pandemic.

Jones confirms The Sims is her perfect escape from reality. She gushes about the game, saying, “Having to grow my own crops, milk cows and ordering groceries for the things I can’t cultivate on my own is exciting for me” (in reference to one of the newest Sims 4 expansion packs, Cottage Living).

Dash said, “I think it definitely helped with my mental health because of the lack of socializing options I have had throughout my life.” For Dash, The Sims was their way of feeling a part of the world without being able to experience it.

Chanel Brookes also said, “I wasn’t allowed to spend time with people outside of my 12 WINTER 2021

family after school. My parent was really strict, and I didn’t have much of a social life outside of the classroom. The Sims was my way of living life because I literally wasn’t allowed to.”

For many children and young adults who are unable to live their lives because of strict parents or social anxiety, The Sims is a way for them to have the freedom of which they always dreamed. “Having that virtual freedom saved me,” Brookes said. “Being restricted like that as a teenager made me depressed. I felt like I would never escape my abusive home. The Sims was my only escape for a while.”

In the article “Playing video games may make you happier, study finds,” Rob Picheta from CNN quotes researcher Andrew Przybylski, Director of Research at the Oxford Internet Institute. Przybylski led the study and said, “Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a person’s well-being.”

While the game can significantly help some people, it can also bring negative consequences. “It did also hurt my mental health because I would be so absorbed into it, I would forget to take a break,” Dash said.

“I would get headaches from playing Sims for 8+ hours a day for 3-5 days consecutively.”

Jones made a similar statement, saying, “The Sims can hurt my mental health if I don’t take breaks from the game. … If I spend too much time on it, then I’ll miss out on taking care of my responsibilities, so I take breaks every so often.”

Many players experience a similar episode of obsession with the game. They become hyper-focused and are sometimes unable to pull themselves away. “I will forget to eat, hold in my urine, push my body past its bed time, ignore deadlines and so much more if I get too hyper-focused on the game,” Brookes said. “All of these things mess with my body and stressors, which can lead to me feeling worse when I’m not playing.”

Many companies have studied just how addicting video games can be. The Addiction Center, for example, said, “Video games affect the brain in the same way as addictive drugs: they trigger the release of dopamine, a chemical which reinforces behavior.”

So while life simulation games can help anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses, they can also make them worse.

When used as a means of escapism, it is especially easy to become addicted to escaping reality as well.

In the article “Treatment uncovers escapism as a major player in addiction,” therapist Dr. Reuben Vaisman-Tzachor said, “Most people engage in some form of escapism, and in moderate doses, it can actually be helpful so that people can maintain a sense of balance in their lives. But in extreme cases, people often turn to a harmful activity for escapism, and it turns into an addiction.”

It’s important when playing life simulation games, such as The Sims 4, to be mindful of reality. While the game has proven to be helpful for coping with difficult experiences and mental illnesses, it can also make matters worse if there aren’t personal boundaries in place.

“I actually made a rule that I’m not allowed to play during the school year unless we’re on breaks,” Brookes said. “ Otherwise I will ignore my needs and my responsibilities.”

Overall, The Sims 4 can be extremely helpful to those struggling with their mental health or those stuck in quarantine. While it is a perfect outlet for escapism, it is important to pace oneself, take care of oneself and listen to one’s body. Otherwise, using the game as a coping mechanism can backfire.

Justice Curry (they/them) is a fifth-year undergrad studying professional and public writing. They are the founder of WRAC’s podcast “Chat with WRAC” and a musician.

In their free time, they enjoy playing video games, riding their bike and sitting under trees. You can follow their Instagram and Twitter at “chatwithwrac” to keep up with upcoming episodes!

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REASONS TO REPAIR Fixing items such as shoes helps one’s wallet, small businesses and the environment

By Harrison Nelson Many people do not know about shoe repair.

There are not as many of these establishments as there once were; instead, big department stores full of mass produced shoes are a much more common sight. In fact, it is much more common to throw shoes away than to walk inside a repair shop. While throwing away shoes seems like a logical decision now, it was not a common practice in the past. But now, the sales strategy businesses use to gain repeat sales is not a new idea.

Companies producing inferior quality products is not a new concept. The history of purposely replaceable products goes back to the boom of the light bulb industry. Dr. Derek Muller of the YouTube channel Veritasium summarized in his video that light bulb technology advanced very quickly in the early 20th century. As manufacturers competed to create the best, longest lasting light bulb, a problem arose: sales plummeted. The bulbs were too good— they lasted too long, which meant people did not have to keep buying replacements.

The Phoebus Cartel was created to solve this problem. The cartel was made up of lightbulb manufacturers that joined together to limit the life of the bulbs being produced so that consumers would have to buy replacements, keeping the demand for light bulbs high. Kem-Laurin Kramer

from Science Direct describes this process of planned obsolescence as “a business strategy in which the obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer usable) of a product is planned and built into it from its conception, by the manufacturer.”

Planned obsolescence is not limited to just light bulbs. Many consumer goods are made to be replaced after an engineered amount of time.

In an article by the BBC, they reported that Apple is being fined for installing updates that make their phones slower, less capable and more obsolete. As one comes to understand planned obsolescence, they look at the things that are thrown away and why they are in the trash. Did this item break? Did it fall out of fashion? What was the price tag? All these questions are important to ask because better purchasing habits can help not only one’s wallet, but also the environment.

Planned obsolescence was not a part of the plan for shoes made in the past. Men’s and women’s shoes made in the early to mid 20th century mainly featured high quality, strong leather throughout and were made to be repaired. The thought behind this strong construction was that many people could not afford multiple pairs of shoes and the materials had to hold up to everyday use.

The same quality and durability cannot be said for some modern day shoes. Brands that claim to have traditional building techniques often cut corners. With modern manufacturing technology, shouldn’t shoes be better quality?

Today, it is very possible to build high quality shoes that last decades. There are brands, usually made in America, that make well-made shoes; however, the cost can be high. That isn’t to say all expensive shoes are well-made.

There are countless examples of designer brands making poor quality products, with some designer brands producing shoes at a calculated cost.

In today’s market for men’s dress shoes, it is easy to go to a Men’s Warehouse, Joseph A. Bank and so on. Here, brands like Steve Madden, Calvin Klein and Cole Haan are the main offerings. These shoes are priced around the $60 to $100 range, which to many will seem enticing; however, these items, just like lightbulbs, are meant to be thrown away.

Societal norms tell us that once shoes are worn out, you have to buy new ones.

Instead, men’s dress shoes should be made to be resoled. Resoling is the process of replacing the bottom material of a shoe, and the job can cost anywhere from $60 to $100 depending on which materials you buy and which shop you go

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to. Shoe makers like the ones listed above make money from people who throw away saveable shoes because they cost the same as a resole.

For cobblers like Dave, Steve and Maggie at John’s Shoe Repair in Lansing, Michigan, these designer shoes hurt business. Since 1955, John’s has repaired not only shoes but many other goods including purses, horse saddles, orthopedic shoes and boat sails. Dave, who has been a cobbler for over 40 years, said, “Not much that comes through the door surprises me… we fix just about everything but the kitchen sink.” John’s Shoe Repair will also fix the poorquality designer shoes mentioned previously.

In conversation with Dave, he said, “Shoes that may seem not worth fixing may have a sentimental value to the owner. It may be a challenge for us and an expense for the owner, but we want to fix these shoes.” However, consumers can help out repair shops like John’s by buying shoes that are easier to fix.

The whole team at John’s does great work for their customers, but when asked about trends in today’s shoes, Steve pulled out a pair of dilapidated motorcycle boots. The boots featured their original soles and were probably only a few months old. Already, the heel of the boot had come unglued. Steve pointed out that

“these boots have a plastic midsole. The plastic they use does not allow the glue to adhere to the rubber sole.” The customer in this case just wanted the sole to be reglued. Steve noted that if the materials and building method was better, this would not have happened. In the re-gluing process, he can only do so much to make the boot last longer. Most likely, the customer will have to come in to get them reglued in a couple months or buy new boots.

In researching this specific boot on the Harley Davidson website, there were many reviews that mentioned the soles simply falling off of the boots, just like the ones at John’s. For a motorcyclist, having a good boot serves important purposes: stopping and shifting the bike. These are very important tasks that these faulty boots would not be able to perform, and they could cause accidents.

Research any shoe before buying it. Find reviews outside of the company’s website because many times one and two star reviews are hidden.

Check to see if the company lists the shoe’s construction method. A welted shoe or boot is a good sign that it can be resoled easily. Look for the quality of materials. Leather is usually a good sign but also check the quality of the leather.

Veg-tanned leather is durable and lasts very long. And lastly, talk to a local shoe cobbler.

They have seen several different brands and understand what good shoe quality is.

As mentioned previously, people’s wallets are not the only thing that will take a hit if they purchase poor quality clothes and shoes. The environmental impact of cheap designer clothes has been prominent in the past few decades. As fashion designer Angel Changsaid in her TedEd video, “Fashion is the second largest polluter behind oil.” The process of making clothes is very wasteful, which is why people should look for more sustainable sources for our clothes and shoes. Chang continues by explaining that it takes 2,700 liters of water to produce the average t-shirt. This, in combination with harmful pesticides and factory waste, contributes to a large negative environmental impact.

Buying second hand clothes helps reduce the demand and production processes that pollute the environment. Many shoes that are in thrift stores can still have a long life if repaired and taken care of. This also keeps businesses like John’s Shoe Repair open while not giving any more money to big corporations making inferior products. Also remember that shoe repair shops often fix more than just shoes.

It is important for people to ask questions about the products they buy because as consumers, they should get the most out of the things they buy. Clothes, shoes, phones, cars and most consumer products should be repairable.

Fixing helps one’s wallet, small businesses and the environment.

Harrison Nelson is a fourth year undergraduate student with a major in professional and public writing and a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation. He has been playing guitar for twelve years and enjoys classic cars.

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THE REALITY OF ESCAPISM When you escape into TV, what happens to your mental health when you come back?

By Bianca Bucholtz Following the success of their recent films, Marvel Comics has moved to the television scene with the release of five new shows coming to Disney+ in 2021.

The first show released on the platform was “WandaVision,” which focused on the relationship between Marvel superheroes Wanda Maximoff, more commonly known as The Scarlet Witch, and Vision.

“WandaVision” follows the events shown in “Avengers: Endgame,” where unfortunately, Vision had died. Yet, in episode one, viewers meet both Wanda and Vision as they move into a home in Westview, New Jersey and follow their lives as they go to work in normal corporate jobs, engage in neighborhood events and even raise children. The series pays homage to existing TV shows, with the style of each episode changing to fit the themes of sitcoms such as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” or “Modern Family.” Though as the series goes on, the audience is soon made aware of the darkness behind these comedic themes.

It is discovered that in her grief, Wanda had used her powers to create a fantasy life based on the idealistic worlds of the TV shows she watched as a kid. She had manipulated this small town, and all the people in it, into the creation of the world of 18 WINTER 2021

her dreams so she could experience a life she never had. One where her partner was still alive and she could have kids and live a stereotypically normal life like the ones she saw on TV. In many ways, Wanda emulates the emotions of so many people within the real world.

People who long for a simpler life, free of the struggles they face daily. And when they turn on the TV, they are often greeted with hundreds of ideal worlds where the struggles of the characters within it rarely face the same of those on the outside.

“Ostensibly a woman alone in the world with no family and an uncertain future, Wanda’s story is a parable that demonstrates the tragic consequences of living vicariously through an existence defined by escapist entertainment,” said Andrew Firestone for ScreenRant.com.

“And it is becoming more common in the modern age of binge-watching television.”

Wanda is a perfect example of someone who used television as a form of escapism.

She found comfort in TV and allowed herself to be transported into it. And for many people, watching TV continues to serve as an escape from reality as it allows them to take their mind off the pressures or responsibilities they may be facing in their real life.

“While I’ve never gone through a loss and heartbreak as strong as Wanda had, I can look back at times I’ve felt extremely stressed or upset in my life and I wished I could have escaped into my favorite TV show,” Michigan State University alum Mariana El-Tawil said. “When your reality sucks and your shows are a form of escape, they look like a way better option.”

In an excerpt from the book “The Public Opinion Quarterly Vol. 23” called “Social and Personal Stress and Escape Television Viewing,” author Leonard I. Pearlin studied how people used television as a form of escapism. He said, “Television offers relief from the anxious vigilance of a person who feels vulnerable to other persons or needs other persons as protection from the uncertainties of the world. And when the world is viewed with hopelessness, escape becomes a much more likely response than an attempt to deal with it directly.”

When looking at the stress of one’s own reality—whether that be financial troubles, struggles with social identity, etc.—they may turn to the TV to find relief.

“I definitely use TV as a form of escape,” El-Tawil said. “It just allows whatever is on your mind to kind of melt into the background

while you focus on the plot or lack of plot on the TV. We all know that it’s not making the tasks or worries that we want to ignore disappear, but it allows them to go away for at least a bit.”

As television and binge-watching grow as common forms of escapism, many within the industry have chosen to utilize this when writing and creating shows. Several shows have attempted to relieve the pressure their viewers may experience on a daily basis by creating environments free from them.

“Schitt’s Creek” is a Canadian-American sitcom that shows a family of four as they are forced to move into a motel in a small town (Schitt’s Creek) when they lose their fortune.

As the series goes on, the show begins to center around the relationships formed between the family members and members of the Schitt’s Creek community. Many of these relationships highlight LGBTQ realtionships.

Yet, unlike many American small towns, these relationships are never challenged.

Creator, writer and star of ”Schitt’s Creek,” Daniel Levy, said he chose to write a world where homophobia, racism, sexism, etc. don’t exist in hopes of providing a safe place to those who watch his show.

“We learn by what we watch,” Levy said.

“And even if you’re presenting someone who puts out that energy, there is someone who will watch that and side with it. If you take the hate out, if you take the rules that are dictating who you can love, how you

can love them, what kind of people are good people, what kind of people are bad people, you’re only left with joy, which can only have an enlightening effect on whoever’s watching it.”

“Schitt’s Creek” offered a safe space to those who may be struggling with their identity or individuality, and it offered a needed example of what the world could look like without judgment or discrimination. Shows like this can be beneficial for many as it can change the way people look at these social issues.

In a letter signed by 1,800 moms of LGBTQ kids, the moms thanked “Schitt’s Creek” for its writing.

“Thank you for the LGBTQ characters, relationships and storylines,” they said. “Your willingness to explore, inform and educate about LGBTQ people and their relationships in an entertaining but respectful and positive manner sets a tone that is often missing.”

“Schitt’s Creek” portrayed what many felt was the dream of what society could and THECURRENTMSU.COM 19

should be. But as many unfortunately know, the world doesn’t often look like that.

“The world is a cruel place. There is no denying that, but pretending that it’s not is not going to help anyone,” Michigan State University senior Patience Schilling said.

“People should not have to go through horrible things to learn about them. My life story is a little different from others’, and I see these perfect versions of life through people and TV, and I do get sad. It gives off a sense that you aren’t worthy of a perfect life.”

So, what happens when the worlds you escape into don’t look like your own? When the TV turns off and you come back to your reality, how can this make you feel?

“When the audience of a TV program uses it as an escape from their own personal bereavements, and begin to identify more with the characters of said fiction than with the very real pitfalls of modern life, it overtime can create a bubble effect in which they begin to view the real people in their lives as little more than tools, means to an end, for their own sense of identity,” said Firestone.

A study in Frontiers of Psychology from December 2020 found that modern escapism through media, specifically television, during the COVID-19 pandemic led to negative effects on mental health, such as higher stress levels. The study specifically talked about the mental health effects it has on students.

After surveying students at two universities during quarantine, researchers Allison Eden, Benjamin Johnson, Leonard Reinecke and 20 WINTER 2021

Sara Grady found that “stress and anxiety were related to various patterns of media use and in particular a variety of coping strategies using media.”

The study reads, “These results are in line with escapist theories of media use ... suggesting that stressed students were attempting to emotionally escape their current stress levels via hedonically pleasant media choices. … We also found that escapist coping via media was associated with less positive affect, and avoidant coping with lower mental health scores.”

Though proven to have negative effects on mental health, escaping into television has grown increasingly popular, with production companies and TV networks capitalizing on the ability to binge-watch or rewatch past TV shows. It’s easier than ever to just turn on Netflix and play a show non-stop for five, 10, even 15 hours.

“In this age when television programs can be binged for hours on end with the click of a button, attachment to these fictional creations can manifest in a resentment towards the real world, which seldom plays out as cleanly or humorously as the worlds on television do,” said Firestone. “Expecting the real world to deliver this kind of experience does a disservice not only to the people around oneself, but also to the audience’s inborn ability to cope with these kinds of issues.”

Watching TV can provide a needed escape from reality and is healthy in theory. However, when the shows one watches conflict with their own realities, it can make the stress or anxiety they already face seem more severe.

“If you were to only immerse yourself in these picture perfect worlds where everything gets resolved by the end of the episode, then you’re only setting yourself up for failure or disappointment with the real world,” El-Tawil said. “It would most likely have a big hit to their mental health as they try to cope.”

When shows choose to ignore the realities of modern life, it can set unrealistic expectations for happiness.

“Many people go through troubling times, but TV doesn’t give the real process of those times,” Schilling said. “It always gives a ‘happy ending,’ which in most cases, you have to find your own happy ending; it isn’t just handed to you. Viewing the ‘ideal worlds can bring on a misunderstanding of the real world. In not so many words, the world isn’t always a happy ending and many people have to fight the thoughts of ‘why cant my life be this perfect?’”

Watching TV can be a beneficial way to cope with the stress of daily life and can provide relief when one might need it most, but it is important to recognize that what they see on TV isn’t real. It is okay if their life looks different than that of the Brady Bunch or the Dunphys in “Modern Family.”

Television should be something that makes the viewer happy and if it isn’t, it might be time to take a break and focus on who they are within reality.

Bianca Bucholtz is a senior studying professional and public writing with a minor in gender and women’s studies. She is currently working as the co-editing director at VIM Magazine. In her freetime, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching movies/TV shows and baking.

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22 WINTER 2021

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: REALISTIC A Look into What It Means to be a Non-Traditional Gamer

By Jillian Bell Gaming is a popular pastime now, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Despite how easy it is to get into this hobby, the preexisting community built around it is largely unwelcoming and toxic. Due to the growing popularity, many of the issues that come with this territory are making their way into the public’s eye. The companies who make video games are being held accountable for their unfair treatment of employees, and the sexist mindsets of “traditional” players can be found publicly across social media and in-game chats.

For starters, it is very common to look at the news and see that a major developer of Triple-A games is under fire for a scandal.

Most recently, the studio Activision Blizzard (responsible for major titles such as Call of Duty, Overwatch and even Candy Crush) has agreed to a settlement of $18 million in a lawsuit. The suit, filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, alleged that female employees were subjected to gender discrimination, sexual harrassment and unequal pay.

Ubisoft, another major video game company, is still dealing with legal fallout that arose from reports of institutional harassment and misconduct. French union Solidaires Informatique filed a complaint that named many high ranking employees as responsible for the toxic environment. As

a result, several game developer leads were fired or resigned because of the attention that this case has received.

has led to some accounts getting removed outright and creators being permanently banned from platforms.

Putting aside these controversies with sexist employee treatment, it’s also important to note there are not many women who work on games. It isn’t because there’s no interest; it’s mostly because it’s an industry that favors those who identify as men. In her Forbes article, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox said, “Of 144 executives in the Top 14 companies, 121 are men and only 23 are women. So women make up only 16% of Executive Teams, significantly below the average female representation for the industry as a whole.”

That is quite low compared to other jobs, as Wittenberg-Cox also points out. “Only 24% of those working in the industry are women, an unusually low figure compared to other creative and cultural sectors.”

In fact, many women who play games just for fun make it a point to hide their identity online. They are able to do this by creating ambiguous usernames, not participating in voice chats, and even utilizing male avatars and character skins. In an article on Pink News, Ed Nightingale reported that a survey found 59% of women hide their gender during online games. If they do not, they are more likely to experience gender-specific discrimation, like 77% of the survey respondents.

Another way that women have found careers in gaming is through streaming.

There are plenty of popular female gamers who have large followings across platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Like the women who work to produce these games, the women who work by playing games are constantly bombarded with harassment and abuse. They recieve an alarming amount of hateful and sexist comments in their chats.

They also get spam reported so much that their channels receive unjust strikes. This

This is troubling, especially when noting that male-identifying gamers no longer make up the vast majority of players. In WittenbergCox’s Forbes article, she said, “Women make up almost half (46%) of gamers.”

So why is it that even though the divide between identities is small (and is steadily decreasing), almost half of the population still feels the need to mask who they are?

Well, the rise of the #Gamergate movement certainly added to the unease. Back in 2014, a female indie game developer by the name of Zoë Quinn released a game called Depression Quest. Soon after, an exboyfriend accused her of unethical behavior with a journalist. From there, the online campaign was born.

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was initially silent on the subject and thus received no threats. But after tweeting articles related to the subject and cautiously mentioning her concerns, her private information was exposed across the web.

Essentially, Gamergate was created to discuss professionalism between video game developers and journalists, as well as to bring other topics to light about current culture’s impact on the industry. However, all of the topical subjects originally brought up for debate were quickly overshadowed by the extremists who used it as an excuse to target and attack women in the community.

Thousands of people who decided to join this aspect of the movement went after female developers and media critics. One of the women they attacked was Anita Sarkeesian of the nonprofit organization Feminist Frequency. Under that name, she created a series of videos on Youtube called “Tropes vs Women in Video Games” where she dissected the way in which women were represented in games. Angry hackers within 24 WINTER 2021

the movement posted her private information across sites like 4chan and Reddit, which resulted in her having to leave her home.

Brianna Wu, another video game developer, was also hit hard by this harassment campaign. She faced many horrific death and rape threats. Because of their volume, and of how personally specific some were, Wu was in constant contact with the FBI. She also only attended events that she knew would feature heavy security.

Even as recently as March 2019, she has said that she and her husband are still living under aliases.

Most people who were brave enough to speak out against the foul behavior were met with the same treatment. Actress Felicia Day, a figure in the gaming community,

The Gamergate movement is by no means the start of all of these extremist beliefs. Rather, it drew power from the angry resentment toward women that already existed on internet forums and as a result, became what it is now. Today, Gamergate is known as the “traditional” gamer versus everyone else in the community. In an article in the Washington Post, Caitlin Dewey said, “The divide is, in part, demographic: It’s the difference between the historical, stereotypical gamer—young, nerdy white guy who likes guns and boobs— and the much broader, more diverse range of people who play now.”

Speaking of, video game companies realize that their audience has diversified and grown significantly, leading them to increase their efforts to do better by the characters in their games who aren’t men. Resident Evil 3 (2020) put Jill in pants and a shirt, rather than her tube top and mini skirt she wore in the original 1999 version of the game.

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a new blockbuster franchise that stars a woman. But changes such as these have sparked more outrage from the toxic male side of consumers, who see these modernized traits as being an unnecessary step away from “traditional” Triple-A games.

What this means is that traditionally in games, women haven’t been depicted in the

greatest light. Many of the earlier games are free of female characters, or if they do appear, they’re easily looked over as either background decorations or some sort of lustful trophy that the protagonist wins (like in the iconic ’80s arcade game Dragon’s Lair).

Many of them don’t have any impact on the game’s plot, either. If you were to remove the female characters, nothing in the game would change.

Aside from that, more worrying depictions of female characters exist, such as those found in the Grand Theft Auto series. For the sake of an open-world realism theme, there are features found within these titles that glorify the sexual abuse and murder of female characters. In an article on HeadStuff, Kate Harveston said, “In one version of the game, the goal is to kill as many women as possible. Players are also urged to make a male protagonist grope a female stripper repeatedly before a bouncer discovers his tactics.”

characters. Whether 2020 was an anomaly or whether it is the beginning of a new trend to showcase female protagonists, free of gender stereotyping, remains to be seen.”

One game debuting in 2020 that garnered a huge amount of attention was Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II. The sequel to their huge hit followed two female protagonists, Ellie and Abby. Ellie, accompanied by her girlfriend Dina, spends the entire game hunting Abby. Abby spends the majority of the game in the middle of warring factions. During her sections of the game, she is accompanied by a young trans boy named Lev. It is also important

to note that Abby is a woman with the physique of a bodybuilder.

In terms of representation, this is a huge step forward. Rather than showing women as frail, they were shown to be ruthless, lethal and complex. They weren’t traditionally feminine, but they were still women at their core. So of course, as much as it was met with praise, it was also met with roaring disapproval. In fact, this game suffered legendary reviewbombing, where people who didn’t even play the game gave it a zero just to see the rating plummet. The majority who participated in this were the angry men who were upset at everything Abby represented. They went so

A lot of companies are realizing how much of an impact this has on their players and are taking steps to move away from these portrayals. But that’s not to say that suddenly every new release has featured a dynamic female character. In fact, in an article published this year on Forbes, Tomoko Yokoi said, “Female character representation in video games is lacking with only 5% of video games showcasing female protagonists.”

However, 2020 can be looked to as a year that brought notable improvement.

In the same article, Yokoi said, “18% of games launched last year featured female

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far as to send Laura Bailey (Abby’s actress) death and rape threats, which is very much reminiscent of Gamergate.

Regarding the controversy around Abby, many players allegedly took issue with her because of something major she did in the beginning of the game’s story. However, in a Polygon article, Patricia Hernandez said, “While folks say that the issue lies within the overall game, a disproportionate amount of the criticism revolving around Abby focuses on her body, and not what Naughty Dog did with her character in the story.”

Other than that, the outraged opposers of the series were also adamant that the entire game was nothing more than “social justice warriors” shoving their “progressive agenda” down their throats. Overall, they cite it as being the worst video game of all time and use it as a symbol of everything that is wrong with today’s culture.

On the bright side, it seems that companies that are serious about improving their games for the better are taking these criticisms with a grain of salt, or even outright ignoring them. For example, the second Horizon game, Horizon Forbidden West is set to be released in February, and its female protagonist does not look like a model, despite what some players called for.

When a promotional image of the game’s protagonist, Aloy, was released, a Twitter user compared it to a fan-edited image of her. In the actual image, she’s rugged looking: freshfaced, hair pulled back, and staring out with an expression of tough resolve. The fan-edited image featured her with an air-brushed even skin tone, perfectly sculpted eyebrows and

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a thick layer of eyeliner with false eyelashes.

Her lips were shined with pink gloss and she looked off into the distance with a huge white grin. Even though this tweet was supported by a lot of people, it was also met with outrage and disgust.

Some companies have been giving their classic female characters design improvements in modern remakes and sequels. As a result, their original appearances have become symbols of empowerment. The character Lara Croft in Tomb Raider is a great example of this. In the ’90s, Lara gained notoriety for being both one of the first female protagonists of a large adventure game and for having absurdly large breasts and wearing ridiculously short shorts. In fact, her appearance was purposefully created that way because it stemmed from something that started out as an office joke among the developers. Of course, this design was also fully supported by the initial consumers of the series, which, at the time, were predominantly male.

Since then, in the modern day remakes, her body has become more humanly proportioned, and her outfits have been updated. They show less skin and are more accurately suited for the environments she explores. Even so, her classic outfit still exists.

It’s actually become iconic to her character.

This is because it’s more obvious that Lara’s strength comes from her ability to survive rather than her sex appeal. As a result, her classic wardrobe has become an iconic symbol of power. In fact, in an article on Design Week, Alina Polianskaya said, “The look of Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, a fictional female character who has been criticized extensively in the past for her scantily-clad demeanour, has started to evolve in a more body-positive way.”

It is nice to know that in spite of all of the setbacks women face as participants in the gaming community, there are still clear improvements being made in an effort to expand upon inclusivity and tolerance. They may be happening slowly, but that does not mean efforts will halt entirely. The number of female gamers is set to steadily rise as will the number of marginalized gamers. And for the most part, the industry is doing its best to compensate for these new and more diverse players.

Since more people are holding Triple-A developers responsible for their toxic work conditions and negative character portrayals, gaming companies will continue to adapt to fit the new age. Because of this, the field will open up more, and the producers and creators behind new projects will also be diversified. As a result, there’ll be a better behind-the-scenes understanding of growing audience demographics, and so this trend of positive representation should continue on, despite what the “traditional” gamers may say or do.

The best way to combat the existing negativity is to continue on with advocating for and supporting these positive changes in the industry. And of course, keep playing the games that you enjoy, no matter how you identify.

Jillian Bell is a fourth-year undergrad student working towards degrees in English and professional writing. She hopes to work professionally in editing, and to one day find her own books on the shelves of stores. In her free time, she enjoys writing about whatever she’s currently hyper-fixated on, reading, and playing video games.

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ART’S DEADLIEST CREATION How are NFTs leaving their mark on the planet?

By Julita Fenneuff For anyone who has been online for the past couple months, there’s a pretty good chance they’ve heard about non-fungible tokens. NFTs came onto the market in 2014, following the creation of Bitcoin, the first ever cryptocurrency, in 2009. Recently, they’ve gained notoriety and picked up speed in online communities. In an age full of social media dictating what feels like every aspect of one’s life, purely digital currencies and works of art took off quickly.

Fungible tokens of different kinds can also be interchanged. Money can be exchanged for different denominations, but it can also be exchanged for different items. If someone is hungry, they can take a trip to the grocery store or a restaurant and exchange money for food. It’s a common transaction that takes place by millions of people daily. This is because food and money are fungible, in that they can be exchanged for one another.

NFTs, as the name blatantly states, cannot.

At first, NFTs felt like something new and different that no one quite had a handle on.

They were refreshing and a nice change of pace from what people had all been accustomed to hearing about, which seemed to just be different iterations of Bitcoin and how celebrities were using social media to their advantage. But as people learn more about NFTs—what they are, how they function, what they do—they start to realize that maybe they’re more than just a hot topic on Twitter.

While NFT as a term generally refers exclusively to digital assets, there are other non-digital assets that are non-fungible as well. Take the “Mona Lisa,” for example, or a house. Both can be replicated or preserved in some other format, such as an image or print, but there is one and only original piece whose essence and integrity cannot be imitated. Most revered art is non-fungible, and so are most major purchases like cars.

NFT stands for non-fungible token. Nonfungible means unique and unexchangeable, unlike most other things in life, such as money.

If someone needs change, they can take a twenty-dollar bill and exchange it for a ten, a five and five one-dollar bills without their money losing any of its worth. NFTs, however, have unique values and aren’t exchangeable.

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Digital NFTs can be purchased from anywhere between a couple of cents to exorbitant amounts of money. As of this writing, the most expensive NFT to be sold is a collage of 5,000 images called “Everydays – The First 5,000 Days” by artist Beeple; the purchaser had a winning bid of over $69 million. Other examples of highselling NFTs include “Stay Free” by Edward Snowden, which sold for $5.3 million,

and Paris Hilton’s collaboration with Blake Kathryn, “Iconic Crpyto Queen,” which sold for $1.1 million.

Once ownership of an NFT is transferred to a person, often for thousands, or even millions, of dollars, the recipient owns the digital asset. Similarly to art, NFTs can be copied, but the copies don’t hold the same value. Even if the item—for example, a JPEG—is stored and shared by other people, a mere copy is shared instead of the true NFT. The original data of the NFT is encrypted and protected to ensure that whoever has just purchased the asset is the one and only owner.

This may sound pretty similar to copyright, but purchasing an NFT does not give the owner the exclusive rights to the production or distribution of an item. NFT ownership is distinct from copyright. In fact, buying an NFT is essentially purchasing some lines of code embedded in the asset which identifies the owner. At their heart, NFTs are supposed to be a way for artists to be able to claim and protect their work. One way artists can secure their work is through royalties, which guarantee that the artist receives a portion of the profit every time their art is sold.

The data of NFTs is stored in what is called a blockchain, which is a digital ledger

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that defines a digital asset as unique and not interchangeable. This ledger includes an extensive list of ownership history.

The original file is exclusive to whomever has purchased and owns the rights to a particular NFT, but copies of the file are neither illegal nor hard to obtain. Anyone who purchases and acquires ownership of an NFT is recorded into the blockchain, so there is a digital trail tracing back to the creation of the file.

The original GIF of Nyan Cat, the cute, pixelated cat with a rainbow train behind it, was turned into an NFT by Chris Torres, its

creator, to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

However, copies of this gif that existed both pre- and post-NFT-ization of the GIF will continue to circulate the internet for years to come. Anyone can look up or create a copy of the file, but the original NFT retains its uniqueness and worth due to the blockchain encryption. Copies are just that—copies. They lack those lines of code identifying the owner.

Though they are an interesting new way to build wealth, NFTs have startling implications on both the environment and the economy.

Similar to how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin took the internet by storm a few years ago, NFTs are doing the same thing now. NFTs have been heavily criticized for their massive carbon footprint, criticism that is warranted.

NFTs are sold in auctions, all funded through cryptocurrency. These transactions take place using Ethereum, technology which supports cryptocurrency transactions and keeps user information, transactional records and buyers and sellers’ cryptocurrency wallets secure.

To be clear, it is not the production of the NFTs nor the NFTs themselves that have such a large carbon footprint. Instead, it is the process of producing the cryptocurrencies used to purchase NFTs that is so harmful to the environment.

Ethereum, along with most other cryptocurrencies, is founded on the “proof of work” system. This system requires that users compete to solve puzzles through trial and error in order to coin another block and add it to the chain. This process is called mining and is the culprit that makes NFTs expend energy on such a large

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scale. Mining for cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin requires extremely high-powered computers, most of which use fossil fuels and result in mass amounts of carbon dioxide production.

Joanie Lemercier is an French artist and activist who had spent a considerable amount of time reducing his studio’s carbon footprint. Since 2019, Lemercier has set the goal to reduce his carbon footprint by 10% each year. His first drop of NFTs used more energy in about ten seconds than his entire studio did in two years. Following this drop, Lemercier has cancelled his next NFT drops and has become a champion for reducing the carbon dioxide emissions produced in NFT sales.

The official Ethereum website claims that they are in the process of switching from the proof-of-work method to the proof-of-stake method, which doesn’t require as much energy, in order to reduce emissions. The key difference between PoS and PoW is that PoW requires miners to compete, while PoS miners are selected at random. However, as of this writing, Ethereum still relies on the PoW system and continues to have a negative effect on the environment.

Some artists have announced NFTs, only to turn around and cancel the release due to fan backlash. The Gorillaz, a virtual band, announced that for their twentieth anniversary they planned to create some NFTs that would be auctioned off to fans.

They were met with immediate criticism.

In 2010, the Gorillaz released their third studio album, “Plastic Beach.” Among other things, this album was commentary on

human impact on the environment and notso-subtly broadcasted the message, “humans are destroying the planet.” The title itself is a nod to this, and the album cover features a pink island made up entirely of waste, where the fictional bassist of the band was supposed to have recorded the entire album.

Music videos from the album relay this message as well. The “On Melancholy Hill” video uses a polluted ocean as the backdrop and features a dead manatee, presumed to have been killed by the human waste filling the ocean. The point was hard to miss, so naturally, fans were taken aback by the seeming flip the band had taken by supporting the creation and sale of NFTs.

The driving point of the NFT market is profit.

Arguably, the only reason one would buy a digital asset for such a high price is to be able to resell it down the line for a higher cost. Purchasing an NFT is an investment, just like purchasing a house. For artists, creating NFTs is just as much of an investment, not to mention a way to make an insane amount of money. But is it enough money to make artists completely contradict their morals?

After the public outcry following the announcement of the Gorillaz NFTs, the project seems to have been cancelled. In response to a comment that said, “So no nft?,” Gorillaz comic artist Jamie Hewlett replied “no!” Supposedly, management

was the mastermind behind the project, not the artists themselves. But without an official statement from either regarding the situation, nothing can be confirmed.

NFTs may have been created with good intentions, and they may seem cool, but the process through which they are currently created and sold is detrimental to the health of the planet.

Julita Fenneuff is a senior majoring in public and professional writing with a minor in Spanish. She currently writes and edits for Sherlockian.net. In her spare time she enjoys reading, listening to music and spending time with her pet bunny.

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WHO STOPPED THE MUSIC? East Lansing is no longer the scene of large musical performances, despite the demand

By Lucas Polack Drake. U2. Tupac. Dolly Parton. Elton John. Sun Ra. Pearl Jam. Ludacris. Cher.

Bruce Springsteen. Chance the Rapper. The Backstreet Boys. The Rolling Stones. The White Stripes. The Smashing Pumpkins. The Beach Boys. Doughboyz Cashout. Hootie and the Blowfish. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Wilco.

Aerosmith. Lil Uzi Vert.

Believe it or not, they’ve all graced a stage in East Lansing at one point or another. Per the Lansing State Journal, The Boss himself was in fact refused a show at The Brewery, a fabled rock ‘70s club once located just a stone’s throw from Michigan State University’s Brody neighborhood. That’s right: a local concert venue too good for Bruce Springsteen.

included Grand River disco club; The Bus Stop; early aughts rock venue Small Planets on M.A.C; Lansing’s The Temple Club and Mac’s Bar; and the still-standing Rick’s American Cafe.

The MSU Auditorium hosted Pearl Jam on the tour of their cultural landmark album, “Ten.” And, The Backstreet Boys, at the height of their powers, played the Breslin Center in 2000. Plus, The White Stripes dropped by “right as they were getting big,” said the general manager of Impact 89FM, Jeremy Whiting, who attended the concert.

But somewhere down the line, that lively concert culture all but disappeared.

Before it was Harper’s on Albert Avenue, it was Dooley’s. There, you might catch a band like The Ramones on a given night, or U2, who played once there and once at Spartan Stadium. The club met its demise when the East Lansing City Council refused to renew their liquor license in 1996, citing safety and underage drinking concerns.

Through his position at Impact 89FM, Whiting currently works to put on concerts at MSU alongside three other MSU organizations: Associated Students of Michigan State University, the Residence Hall Association, and the University Activities Board. He and Erik Maillard, an advisor to ASMSU and assistant director of student life at MSU, are aiming to revive concert culture.

MSU students and Lansing-area residents benefited from a healthy concert scene all the way from the ‘70s into the 2000s.

Beloved off-campus venues over the years

“I know a lot of ‘80s bands and ‘70s bands would come through those venues and they packed the places, which was really cool. It’s too bad we don’t see that as often anymore

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because it seems like Detroit and Grand Rapids are kind of the big spots for bands to come in, perform, and Lansing just gets lost in the shuffle sometimes,” said Whiting.

Negotiating with promoters and performers, Whiting was behind the scenes of MSU’s last major concert, the Impact’s 30th Birthday Bash in 2019. That’s when the Breslin hosted The Front Bottoms, Beach Bunny and hometown heroes Grey Matter.

In many ways, Whiting and company are fighting an uphill battle in organizing concerts at MSU. For one, there’s a deep, if unsung, tradition of live shows to live up to. And, over the past decade, their ability to attract starpower has waned.

While there have been some bright spots in the time since, U2’s Spartan Stadium show seemed to mark the end of an era for superstar concerts in East Lansing. Late-career acts such as Kesha, We The Kings, All Time Low, and Panic! At The Disco have visited MSU in recent years.

“Just seeing where we used to be and where we are now, it’s really kind of shifted a lot,” said Maillard. He came to East Lansing in 2014.

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That shift is the outcome of a combination of factors, ranging from budgets and funding to event coordination. Whiting cited contractual agreements within the concert market.

“I think a lot of the struggle with getting some of the top tier artists in town has to do with non-compete clauses and making sure that the bands aren’t performing in a certain proximity to a major market like Detroit or

Grand Rapids within a certain time frame of performing in Lansing.”

East Lansing ranks as a “third-tier market” concert destination, said Maillard. “There’s your highest one: Detroit, the Chicago’s, New York’s. Then you got your secondary ones like the Grand Rapids, and you got your third ones, which are kind of like, you know, East Lansing, Lansing Area Capital Area.”

He continued to explain that MSU, lacking proximity to major metropolitan areas or common tour routes, is at a further disadvantage.

“Lansing is [in] a mitten surrounded by water.

So if you’re in Michigan, you have to intend to be here, versus other places that might be more centrally located. I’m thinking about, you know, some of our SEC schools, right, where they’re kind of in the middle of an existing tour and they can kind of get involved.”

Because of this hindrance, many recent shows on campus have been “stand-alone concerts,” not part of a larger tour. The extra effort required to put on stand-alone concerts requires them to be more costly.

Another shift that Maillard noticed was within student government. When he began his current role, concerts were a top priority for ASMSU. There once was the Pop Entertainment department, which was “essentially an entertainment arm of ASMSU.” They worked closely with other organizations to bring concerts to East Lansing.

“Over time, as everything else has gone up in cost, you know, the organization has kind of had to readjust itself in the sense that they have other priorities, right? And they want to provide things like safe ride, legal services for students, you know, government advocacy,” Maillard said.

Furthermore, planning an event in coordination with multiple organizations first requires that those organizations are able to coordinate.

“RHA and ASMSU are both political organizations in the sense that they have to

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Photo by Julita Fenneuff approve a budget. So, we can’t be planning all year, all summer, typically, with ASMSU, because they would have to be in session and approve a budget. And the same with RHA. So that’s usually why you see a spring show, very few fall shows.”

MSU’s concert planning brigade also must compete for available space at the university’s number of venues. Of course, they’ll have to work around basketball at the Breslin Center.

And although it’s got ample seating, the Breslin’s capacity can be an obstacle as well as an asset.

“The Breslin is great, but it’s a huge venue, so you really have to take some steps to make it seem a little smaller and more intimate most of the time, unless you’re having someone like U2 perform there,” said Whiting.

“The Breslin has really kind of adapted over the years, and we saw that in 2019,” said Maillard. “I was really excited and enthusiastic,

the way that they were able to shrink down the arena to make it more of a 3- to 4,000-student venue versus a 15,000, 16,000 venue.”

He likened the Auditorium, on the other hand, to “an old fashioned rock show venue.” It’s an apt comparison, especially considering the longstanding building’s ventilation—or lack thereof.

“It’s a cool, old building, but it kind of knocks out some of the later spring concerts because there’s no air conditioning there. So, it can be difficult to realistically host a show there if everyone is already going into a building that is kind of warm and then you pack thousands of people in there next to each other,” said Whiting.

Then, there’s the holy grail of MSU’s concert venues: Spartan Stadium. Just two concerts have been previously executed there, U2 in 2011 and the Rolling Stones on their Voodoo

Lounge tour in 1994. As one could imagine, it’s no easy feat.

The first issue is Spartan Stadium’s natural turf.

The field had to be resodded after the U2 show because tarps, tons of equipment and thousands of attendees rendered the existing turf unusable. Plus, the field was resodded once again in 2019. Perhaps the athletic department is not so eager to tear it up very soon. What’s more, the “turnover,” or process of cleaning up the stadium after an event, is expensive and takes days.

Outdoor shows introduce an additional number of hurdles compared to their indoor counterparts. Generators and wifi have to be taken under consideration. Infrastructure such as seating must be transported into the space.

And, that’s not to mention Michigan weather.

“It’s fun to plan out a great outdoor concert, and you hope that everything works out great.

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our partners to do something and bring something really cool.”

In Jan. 2021, Whiting, Maillard and company put on a virtual concert for Minnesotan indie rock group Hippo Campus, who originally had a live show slated for 2020.

“The virtual show, I thought, was a big hit, overall.” said Maillard. “I think we had over 500 students attend. They all learned that they were fans of the same band and they started doing, like, a Group Me.” “But this year, we’re really hoping to be able to do things in person,” said Whiting.

COVID remains a concern for the concert planners and the rest of the nation, but they speak with optimism. After all, the touring industry has gotten back on its feet in the latter half of 2021, with many artists and venues requiring masks and vaccinations.

Photo by Julita Fenneuff

But hey, just your luck: It’s storming that day, or it decided to snow in July. You never know [laughs]. So that’s always a risk,” said Whiting.

While it might not be a good idea to hold your breath for a Spartan Stadium concert, students do have a show to look forward to, potentially.

“As of right now, we are planning to do an in-person concert in the spring,” said Maillard. “There’s no dates, there’s no artists. So don’t ask me that [laughs].

We’re in the preliminary conversations with 36 WINTER 2021

“Of course, right now we’re using masks indoors and we’re still going through that.

Myself, I’m not expecting that to change in the short term, but I think even if that’s still the case, we’d try to do something,” said Whiting.

“Places like the Breslin would be ideal for that, so we can have a lot of open air, open space,” said Maillard. “And, you know—even if we had to limit capacity, let’s say—we would still be able to accommodate probably everybody who wants to go to the show.”

The demand and desire for live music is not lost on Whiting.

“I think at fall welcome, we saw that students are just clamoring for something

to do in-person. They were looking for that connection. So, I’ve been to concerts in the last few months, and it just seemed like everyone’s just so excited to be there. And that’s really cool to see.”

Surely, it’s a success in and of itself to have a performance on campus after the prolonged absence of live shows. But Whiting and Maillard aren’t interested in booking more established veterans or putting on any hum-drum concert.

While MSU may not be able to attract the superstar performers it once could, that wasn’t the only aspect that contributed to East Lansing’s concert heydays. The first time U2 came into town was in 1981—years before their breakthrough and eventual takeover.

And, as Whiting bore witness to, The White Stripes graced the Union ballroom when they were the hottest new band in indie rock.

It’s that magic Whiting and Maillard are trying to revive in East Lansing: getting up-andcoming artists that are beginning to catch fire to stop by campus. “​​What we’ve tried to do is identify those acts that are about to get big,” said Whiting. “So, ones that maybe students are just starting to hear about. They’re still not commanding like packed theaters in the Detroit area, but maybe in a year or so, or even if we’re lucky a few months from now, that’s what they’re doing.”

It’s a target that’s been hit priorly with performances from the now-darling indie act Beach Bunny, Lil Uzi coasting off “Bad and Boujee” and newfound mega-stardom and Chance the Rapper when he wasn’t on streaming services.

rushing to coalesce around one genre or one artist, they’re really looking at the market and figuring out what makes the most sense.”

“The up-and-coming artist is really kind of the sweet spot, if you will, right?” said Whiting.

“Because the cost is a little bit lower, but the interest is high.”

While cost is certainly a deciding factor when the committee is allocating funds, Maillard is also mindful of the cost of a ticket to the average student, who might not have major concert money lying around.

For Maillard, it’s a matter of nabbing these acts when they’re at this stage of their ascent.

He checks anticipated album releases and ticket sales in college markets as well as others to keep an eye out for them.

“None of us are fortune tellers. And unfortunately, you know, we’ll probably start the booking process in November, December ... for something that’ll be in March or April. Again I don’t know the date, but you know, that’s kind of the hard part too is trying to look ahead.”

Though he was unable to offer any specifics on dates or performers, Maillard complimented those tasked with organizing this year’s concert. They’re heavily weighing input to exact a concert that is fiscally feasible and wide in appeal.

“I think, to the students’ credit, they’re just trying to be really intentional because they know that they only get one big chance at it every year or so. So I like that. They’re not just

“Could we bring a big name act? You know, we could, but the cost is going to go on to the student. The one thing I never want to hear is, like, ‘I really want to go, but I can’t afford it.’

As an advisor and somebody who works in student affairs, that’s kind of a bummer to me.”

“I think that we’re probably best serving our students by making sure we’re giving them a good variety of acts, but also not breaking the bank and making sure that we’re able to keep ticket prices down to give them something that is really great to see and hear on campus,” said Whiting.

Whiting and Maillard agree that, at the end of the day, everything comes down to funding for student activities.

“I just hate to say that because there’s a lot of great people trying really hard, but it really does come back to money,” Maillard said.

Again, semester-long services provided to students leave little to spend on one night of music, one concert experience. But he sees an alternative option.

“A student activity fee, let’s say it’s $25 or $30 per year per student. Think about the impact that that would give you in buying power, right? And I know students are like, ‘Oh, another fee,’” said Maillard.

“But if you were to be able to offer maybe one or two shows per semester, [one] small scale, one large scale and do it on a regular basis, I mean, then you could start planning ahead. You would know that that income is going to be there to do it.”

Student activity fee or not, Maillard knows there’s work that needs to be done in MSU’s concert community. Shows won’t magically pop up; there needs to be a determined effort and collective push to bring them back.

“Back when Pop Entertainment was going and all those shows... My thought is that that didn’t happen by chance.”

There’s a rich history behind concerts in East Lansing, from retired dive bars and venue gems to worldwide headliners visiting Spartan Stadium. While COVID set live music across the nation quite a few steps back, many are itching for artists’ return to the stage. And if all goes well, that return is on the horizon.

If a lively concert culture happened once in East Lansing, it can happen again. All it takes is a good old college try.

Lucas Polack is a senior studying professional and public writing. He also works as a production assistant for Michigan Radio’s Stateside program. When he’s not staring at a blank Google doc, Lucas can be found walking his dog, Lizzy, and listening to his favorite band, Prince Daddy & The Hyena.

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MS. MONOPOLY MISSES THE MARK Hasbro’s attempt at equality in board games falls short of appealing

By C. Rose Widmann In September 2019, toy company Hasbro attempted to make the game Monopoly more equitable between the sexes. The resulting product was Ms. Monopoly: The First Game Where Women Make More Than Men. While it is clearly an effort to equalize the sexes and address the wage gap between women and men—which is 82 cents to the dollar in

2021, according to economist Tom Spiggle at Forbes—it misses the mark entirely.

Journalist and author Mary Pilon reported for The Guardian that the original game now known as Monopoly was invented by a woman who never got credit for her invention. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie created

The Landlord’s Game in 1903, received the patent for it, published it with the Economic Game Company in New York and enjoyed sharing the game with others.

Then the game found its way into the hands of Charles Darrow, who made some cosmetic adjustments before submitting it to Parker Brothers (later incorporated into Hasbro). Parker Brothers and Hasbro denied Magie’s involvement with the game and continue to do so today. Pilon details the history of the game of Monopoly in her 2015 book, “The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game.”

According to Pilon, Magie received $500 for the patent rights to her game but no royalties.

Since being sold to Parker Brothers/Hasbro, it has sold billions of copies, generating millions of dollars in sales. Magie sold two more original games to Parker Brothers, neither of which received much acclaim. Her story went untold for decades until it was dug up in the

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1970s by Ralph Anspach, creator of the AntiMonopoly game. Anspach was researching the history of Monopoly in order to win the trademark infringement case Parker Brothers made against him.

According to The Guardian, it took ten years to settle the case, but Anspach won the ability to produce his game as well as the naming rights for Anti-Monopoly. His defense included the discovery that Magie had made two rule sets in the original patent, and that the second set of rules set a precedent for his game.

probably too on the nose for a company that has a hard time admitting that they were historically in the wrong.

When asked by Pilon, a Hasbro spokesperson quoted Darrow as the inventor of the game in 1935 (which has been publicly disproven) and Magie as no more than an earlier game inventor who made contributions to the genre.

Ms. Monopoly gives the clear message that it is attempting to justify and correct wrongs against women, but it falls short by

not acknowledging the injustices done to the game’s creator. Additionally, it contains a list of problematic elements that range from questionable imagery to blatant pandering that in no way speaks to the values of modern feminism.

Looking at the game’s contents, it’s easy to see that the creators began with good intentions.

The property spaces have been replaced with patents that all were invented by women, and the houses and hotels have been replaced by business headquarters in an attempt to step

The two rule sets stemmed from a desire to teach both sides of monopolism. In one set, all players were rewarded when wealth was created through anti-monopolist strategies.

Conversely, the other set of rules was promonopolist and encouraged financial ruin of other players—how it is commonly played today. The first set of rules was excluded in the version of the game Darrow sold to Parker Brothers, and the game was rebranded.

Magie’s story is almost completely absent from the new Ms. Monopoly, which seems odd, given that the story of Magie’s creation of the game has been public knowledge for almost 50 years. However, there is a small blurb on the Ms. Monopoly rules insert that tells half the story: “Elizabeth Magie—a writer, artist, inventor, and feminist—was one of the pioneers of land-grabbing games! In 1904, she received a patent for The Landlord’s Game, which was meant to educate people about the dangers of wealth concentration.”

While that concession by Hasbro is mostly true, it leaves out the fact that Magie invented Monopoly and was robbed of the royalties by men. This is much more of an educational opportunity for young players, but it is

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away from the stereotype of women being household bodies.

shows that stereotypes are almost impossible to leave behind.

The game immediately reverses any progressiveness earned once the patent spaces are examined on the board. Some spaces are chosen well: fire escapes, space station batteries and stem-cell isolation are all incredible contributions to the fields of engineering and science. But the most expensive patent in the game (occupied

by Boardwalk in regular Monopoly) is for chocolate chip cookies.

Ms. Monopoly continues to play to a stereotype of modern women. On the cover of the game, Ms. Monopoly is holding a coffee mug. The metal playing pieces are a jet, a glass (clearly a wine glass), a watch, a notebook and pen and a barbell. The game also includes a white top hat with the description, “Mr. Monopoly isn’t the only one who can rock a top hat. And that white sure makes a statement!”

Other disappointing inclusions are leakproof diapers, modern shapewear and the hairbrush. The edgeless beauty sponge occupies a patent spot worth 220 Monopoly dollars, while home security systems and illusion transmitters occupy spaces only worth 140 Monopoly dollars.

The rest of the descriptions of the pieces are reminiscent of overly optimistic Instagram blurbs under #girlboss. The glass gives the cheerful note to “put your energy into empowering others, and your glass will always be half full!” The barbell’s description merely reads, “Love my mornings at the gym!” Every

single token is punctuated with an exclamation, reminiscent of chirpy social media posts, except for the description of the watch, which reads, “Don’t you agree it’s time for some change?”

There is a need for change in the tabletop game industry’s approach to women (both in the games and as audiences); many of the attempts made with Ms. Monopoly are pandering at best and tone deaf at worst.

“Rather than model the discrimination faced by women in the workplace or investigate what might improve working conditions, Ms. Monopoly has created a surface-level fantasy world where women succeed merely by virtue of being women, and where all players are incentivized to be women in order to win,” said Eric Thurm for The New York Times.

And that’s only looking critically at the attempts the game makes on behalf of

Many of the game’s included inventions are essential to everyday life and should not be discounted when only 16% of patents are created by teams with women on them, according to Sara Reardon at Nature. But, there are plenty of other inventions that would have been much more inspiring to include in a game aimed at children and young adults.

One example is the submarine telescope and lamp patented by Sarah Mather in 1845.

Kevlar, which makes up bulletproof vests and other protective coverings, was patented

by Stephanie Louise Kwolek in 1966. Even Geobond, a binding material used on modern roofs, was patented by Patricia Billings in 1997 and could have been a better inclusion than the paper shopping bag. The mentioned use of patents that represent house, home and beauty just because they are recognizable

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feminism. The game makes no attempts at intersectionality, ignoring opportunities to interact with racial bias, women’s involvement in climate change or their participation in historical social movements, to name a few.

“Ms. Monopoly is white, and the problems described in the game are disproportionately those affecting young professionals in monogamous, heterosexual relationships.

The chance cards in Ms. Monopoly include such universal opportunities for women as getting 100,000 subscribers for your podcast, or winning a baseball championship because you threw ‘like a girl,’” said Thurm.

Some would argue that ignoring any sort of political mention is a good thing, given the current world tensions and the game’s target audience of children. When the game came out, social media was divided in opinion.

Some said that the game was sanitized and too politically correct; others said it was good enough for kids to enjoy.

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Then rumors began that the “get out of jail free” cards contained references to the #MeToo movement. Some internet users went as far as to suggest that the use of jail cards in the game will encourage young women to think that falsifying sexual assault claims is a way to profit—ignoring that the game is marketed to ages eight and older.

Geobond invention was left off of the invention cards, probably because roofing materials were assumed to be too boring or obscure for children, but Diane Hendricks has climbed to the top of Forbes’ self-made female billionaire list as the CEO and co-founder of ABC supply, a wholesale distributor of roofing, siding and windows.

Ms. Monopoly makes it clear that the only agenda the game has is to celebrate capitalism from a female’s perspective—a paradoxical notion. The root of feminism is to correct inequalities, and unfortunately, capitalism profits off of them. In the fantasy world of Ms. Monopoly, any woman can succeed as long as she’s paid more than men from the outset, handed lucky rewards by chance and community chest cards and has invested in patents like leak-proof diapers and modern shapewear.

Even if the game passes over self-made female business professionals, the door was opened (and ignored) for real-world examples of investment management and entrepreneurship. Jennifer Marcontell was chosen as one of the 2021 Top Women Wealth Advisors by Forbes. She is a wealth advisor for Edward Jones and pursued a career in wealth management after experiencing discrimination in an appointment for her own wealth management two decades ago.

While there are real life women, many of whom are self-made, who have climbed into the upper echelons of modern money, even their contributions to society are ignored. The

Virgil Kahl, also included in the Top Women Wealth Advisors list, has spoken about the discrimination she’s faced: “Women sometimes have a problem where they might be the smartest

in the room, but they don’t have the confidence that they need to press forward. What I’m finding now is that myself and other female advisors have formed bonds with each other. The ‘old boys’ network still exists, but now there’s a woman’s network and we need to support each other.”

Thinking back to Magie’s second set of rules, creating a scenario that encourages networking, community growth and profit wouldn’t have been a bad choice to include. If the intent is to manipulate capitalism for female gain, why not provide an outlet to start up a nonprofit, develop the community, or make long-term investments? If Hasbro can bend the rules to create a satirical “Socialist Monopoly’’ along with several other gag Monopoly versions, why not build one that actually works in favor of feminism or provides a realistic role model to young women and girls?

Rather than pandering to stereotypes and playing right into a hypocritical corner by ignoring Magie as the creator of Monopoly, Hasbro could have done more in the game than just give players who decide to play as women more money. Ahead of the release of the game, Hasbro gave out financial awards to three young female inventors. However, they failed to include in the game any information about the inventions they funded or provide any resources for young women and girls looking to make their own contributions to the field of invention.

Pilon weighed in on the controversial game for The New Yorker, and included a quote Magie gave to the press after a failed attempt to gain publicity for women’s inequality:

“We are not machines. Girls have minds, desires, hopes, and ambition.” Ms. Monopoly may have missed the mark, but other game developers can learn from these mistakes and create games that actually engage with young women and girls’ minds and imaginations.

C. Rose Widmann (they/them) is a first-year M.A. student in arts & cultural management at Michigan State University and a graduate assistant at The Cube. This is their second semester with The Current; their earlier article “Creating Something Out Of Nothing [...]” inspired further interviews on creativity during COVID, produced as a selection for the 2021 CAL CREATE Grants (going live Fall 2021).

When not writing grant proposals or playing Planetside 2, C is competing for both the MSU club fencing and club gymnastics teams. IG: @C.rosewidmann

While it is important to have strong female characters on the market, it’s unclear whether Ms. Monopoly can be considered a good role model. She’s a self-made investment guru with a desire “To support up-and-coming entrepreneurs — especially women!” according to the game manual. This suggests that she is financially independent from her uncle, the infamous face of regular Monopoly. There’s no other information given about the character besides the descriptions of her relationship with the objects used for the game tokens. No inventions of her own, no education details, not even a name besides “Ms. Monopoly.”

Why was there so little follow-through on what could have been a capital opportunity for Hasbro to establish a new character in their game and toy universe? And what endears this essentially empty character to young women and girls?

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SELLING FEMININITY What does it mean to be feminine, and why do so many companies market toward it?

By Bianca Bucholtz In the past few years, there has been a shift in the way society views the concepts of masculinity and femininity. The phrase toxic masculinity, which refers to the societal structures in place that often result in the negative behaviors and actions made by men, has become more commonly understood than ever before.

In an article for the New York Times, senior editor for The Culture, Maya Salam, defined toxic masculinity as the suppression of emotions, maintaining an appearance of hardness and using violence as an indicator of power. “Toxic masculinity is what can come of teaching boys that they can’t express emotion openly; that they have to be ‘tough all the time;’ that anything other than that makes them ‘feminine’ or weak,” Salam said.

With more attention being drawn to what toxic masculinity is and the damage it can cause, many companies have attempted to break down these behaviors in an effort to provide a safer and more inclusive environment.

In 2019, shaving company Gillette released a campaign called “The Best Men Can Be,” a spin on their original tagline, “The Best A Man Can Get.” The campaign included a commercial that broke down traditionally 44 WINTER 2021

male behaviors and presented methods for change, such as having men challenge catcallers or breaking up brawls. Gillette then promised to donate a million dollars a year toward education to “engage male youth in discussions and activities to reinforce positive behaviors.”

Many praised Gillete for their campaign which put their earnings toward educating on the damages of toxic masculinity rather than highlighting the issue for attention. And shortly after, dozens of other companies like Durex and Always followed with campaigns that advocate for change in the way society views masculinity.

Yet, with such an effort to understand and break down what causes toxic masculinity, little to no attention was made toward understanding what it means to be feminine in western society.

Society understood the pressures placed upon men to fit into a masculine ideal that often led to toxic behaviors and began to break them down. However, there are similar pressures placed upon women, mostly based on the need to fit an ideal standard of femininity, often leading to negative thoughts toward themselves and femininity as a concept.

“I think the role of being a woman is much more complex than being a man,” Michigan

State University student Delayne Richie said.

“In order to appear ladylike or feminine, you have to make sure you dress a certain way, act a certain way or smell a certain way. If you are trying to appear feminine, you can’t talk about certain things in public, like sex, menstural cyles, body image or politics. The list is endless. I think girls struggle with their femininity because they feel they are under a huge amount of pressure to behave feminine.”

At a young age, girls are taught to place worth on how they appear to men. They are taught to be gentle and caring while boys are taught to be strong and confident. They are taught how to act: to cross their legs when sitting, to wear modest clothing, to smile at strangers. They are taught how to look: to wear makeup, to shave their body, to polish their nails.

In her book “The Body Politic,” Wendy Shanker said, “We don’t owe anyone an explanation when it comes to the choices we make about appearance. Yet here we are, dieting and sweating and cutting and spritzing and waxing and sucking and shooting and plucking, hoping to look less like ourselves and more like Halle Berry or Angelina Jolie or Anna Kournikova, thinking our problems will be solved.”

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When flipping through a magazine, one can expect to see dozens of ads showing women using makeup to erase their imperfections or to look more beautiful. For decades, commercials on TV sell skincare products aimed to de-age and brighten skin or body wraps designed to give women a beach body. Even at the grocery store, one can see hundreds of products labeled “for women.”

So, whether explicitly taught or not, the ideals women are expected to achieve are ever-

present in society. And while companies were claiming to break down the patriarchy by celebrating “the best men can be,” they failed to recognize the ways their brands and products were contributing to the misogynistic ideals forced upon women.

the differences between men and women.

There was a time when I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror if I wasn’t wearing makeup. There’s the thought that if you don’t buy these products, you won’t be feminine enough for society.”

“I feel like I was never ‘taught’ femininity; it’s something that we all learn subconsciously,” MSU student Annie Rowbal said. “When you go to the store and see a ‘girls aisle’ and a ‘boys aisle,’ you start recognizing

These products perpetuate negative stereotypes of what it means to be a woman, yet companies continue to market toward women because they understand that women are the primary consumers. According to catalyst.org, women direct 83% of all consumption in the United States and in 2019 alone, women spent over $31.8 trillion globally in consumer spending.

In 1998, The Journal for Multimedia History published an article by Kathy L. Peiss, professor of American history at the University of Pennsylvania, on the history of women within consumerism. Peiss discussed the shift in the 1800s as women became the primary shoppers of the family and how companies began to market their products toward women after that.

“By the 1910s, advertisers and manufacturers had begun to see women as the ‘chief purchasing agents’ for their families, buying most of the household’s food, clothing, appliances, and other goods,” Peiss said.

“The woman consumer was considered emotional and impulsive, driven by ‘inarticulate longings’ and ‘dormant desires.’

To ‘cash in on women’s sphere,’ advertisers embraced a new language of persuasion: ‘If you are selling to women, nothing succeeds like a woman’s view point.’ This strategy appeared most often in promotions for products long associated with women, such as food, fashion, and cosmetics.”

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The image of consumers in America became filled with women. And so, companies started to market and design their products based on women, or rather what they thought women would want. Common household items were separated by gender with half featuring feminine designs with stereotypical pink coloring and cursive fonts. Women and men’s shaving cream separated into different aisles, sometimes different sections of the store, despite being the exact same thing.

“It’s hard to find a neutral product these days,” Rowbal said. “So many products are labeled as ‘for men’ or ‘for women’, and even if they don’t explicitly say that, it is obvious by the coloring or advertising that it is geared toward one gender. As a woman who fits into the gender binary and doesn’t mind feeling feminine or owning feminine things, I like having pink products or products ‘for women.’

But I understand that not everyone’s the same as me and feels OK with these products. There should be more products that aren’t geared toward one gender or the other.”

certain way because the women in these commercials look perfect, so women feel the need to also look like that so society does not judge them. ” As a marketing strategy, companies often create problems that need to be fixed so that shoppers buy their product to fix it.

But when it comes to women, the problem becomes femininity itself, and the products claim to fix insecurities they didn’t know they had, so women buy it because they think they should.

“Marketers are tasked with building brands with very limited budgets, so there’s a little bit of an incentive to categorize people in buckets so they can reach their target faster,” marketing expert Gaby Barrios said in a TED Talk. “If you think about this, it’s kind of like a shortcut. They’re using gender as a shortcut to get to their target consumer. The issue is that as logical as that argument seems, gender as a shortcut is actually not great.”

The negative effects of these gendered marketing strategies go beyond hurting brand

When there are so many products supposedly designed for women, women begin to believe that product is something they need. They think, “Why would it be designed for me if I wasn’t supposed to have it?”

“These products are so normalized to me,” Richie said. “I see, mainly in makeup products, how they are geared to women and influence women to be feminine or ladylike. I think this is dangerous for women and can be very damaging because they feel the need to perform a certain way so society can view them as ‘ladylike.’ I feel like it makes women want to buy those products. They feel pressured to look a

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image and can have lasting effects on the women exposed to them. These feminine branded products force women to believe they should fit into unrealistic standards. And unfortunately, this can often lead to issues like body dysmorphia or eating disorders.

“Brands both reflect and influence societal norms, and for much of our existence, our American concepts of gender have always been organized in binary terms,” Kate Snyder, strategist and head of anthropology at Instant Grass International told the American Marketing Association. “It’s precisely the brands that tend to be categorically ‘for men’ or ‘for women’ that should be more introspective about the stereotypes they’re spurning.”

Beyond the fact that these gendered items perpetuate stereotypes against women, they can actually be worse for the business marketing them.

“If you still blindly use a gender view for your marketing activities, it’s just plain bad business,” Barrios said. “Because gender is such an easy thing to find in the market and to target and to talk about, it actually distracts you from the fun things that could be driving growth from your brands and, at the same time, it continues to create separation around genders and perpetuate stereotypes. We have enough data to suggest that gender is not the best place to start for you to design and target your brands… unless you are working in a very gender-specific product category, probably anything else you’re hypothesizing about your consumer right now is going to be more useful than gender.”

Companies have the unique ability to influence the way people think, whether

through the way they advertise products or the colors they use to design them. Often, companies end up marketing products that make women change who they are or what they look like. But, as shown by companies like Gillette, companies can use this power to create lasting change.

Instead, they could lead the change toward more accurate representation of women by breaking down these sexist stereotypes ingrained with their products.

“Change is necessary because [these companies] can produce toxicity in our world and make it hard for people because they feel an enormous amount of pressure from society to act, dress, smell or appear a certain way in order to fit into the gender

they identify as,” Richie said. “We need to change what it means to be feminine or masculine and focus more on a person’s personality, passions and identity. We don’t need to have these certain things for genders in order to know or understand a person’s identity.”

Bianca Bucholtz is a senior studying professional and public writing with a minor in gender and women’s studies. She is currently working as the co-editing director at VIM Magazine. In her freetime, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching movies/TV shows and baking.

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50 WINTER 2021

BOOKTOXIC Combating the standards set by the online book community

By Julita Fenneuff BookTube. Bookstagram. BookTok. Besides being awkward amalgamations following the formula of “book” + “social media network,” these words can also make some book lovers shake their heads. Others perk right up. Some do a combination of both. These online communities are, as one can presume, all about books: reviewing books, talking about love-hate relationships with particular characters or authors, recommending books to others, showing off bookshelves and much more. What’s not to love?

The visual aspect of the Bookternet means that aesthetics are important. It’s common practice to show off your bookshelves, which are often overflowing and arranged in a way that is pleasing to the eye. There are “bookshelf tours” and #shelfies, which are blatantly about showing off one’s collection of books—but there are subtleties to this practice, too. It is extremely common to see a creator talking in front of their shelves, and even if the creator is not actively discussing their book collection, the allure of a beautifully arranged bookshelf is hard to deny.

A lot, actually.

People who spend a lot of time watching videos on the Bookternet are being slowly conditioned to believe that to be a book lover, they must own a lot of books. If all their favorite creators have beautiful bookshelves, why shouldn’t they? However, there are a number of issues present with the never-ending pressure to buy books.

For one, it distracts from the actual act of reading, which should be the focus of a community centered around books. Instead, it seems that the act of buying and having a collection of beautiful books trumps enjoying and expanding one’s world-view through reading.

If it was just about sharing the love of reading, well, that would be enough.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot lurking beneath the shiny surface that the online book community presents.

As previously reported by The Current, the Bookternet is littered with capitalistic implications. Much of the online book community revolves around buying and collecting books, making it the focal point of much of the content found there. Countless videos are uploaded to various platforms using the Bookternet label, and a huge portion of them feature creators in front of their (often very organized) bookshelves.

A big problem with the consumerist aspects of the Bookternet is that it sets a barrier that

lower-class readers may have difficulty overcoming. Putting the emphasis on the collecting aspect of reading sets a standard that in order to be part of the online book community, one must be spending money on growing their personal book collection. This mindset discourages patronizing the library because, once again, the obsession with owning books dominates everything.

Even the practice of buying used books that are visibly worn is looked down upon. The slightly tattered appearance of secondhand books can cause others to think they are unworthy of being added to a personal collection, which then makes it difficult for those without a disposable or even flexible income to feel welcome in the community.

Mackenzie Patten, a junior at Michigan State University, joined BookTok during the pandemic as a viewer but now makes her own content. On the topic of preserving the condition of books, she said, “There’s a stigma within book communities that you have to keep your books in pristine condition. You don’t crack the spines, you don’t fold the THECURRENTMSU.COM 51

books blowing up on social media and the Bookternet’s obsession with buying has resulted in an alarming increase in the price of items that typically would have been sold for a lower price due to their used condition.

Second-hand book buying is no longer the inclusive practice it once was.

“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo is a spinoff duology from the “Shadow and Bone” series, and both are extremely popular on the Bookternet. Since the content of both book series has been combined into a Netflix original show, also titled “Shadow and Bone,” copies are now printed with an un-removable sticker advertising the show. Because of this, copies of the books without the Netflix branding are extremely sought after.

pages, you don’t write in them, you don’t do anything to them.”

Even more dangerous than the stigma against owning used books is the increasingly popular practice of selling used books for major profit.

The capitalistic overtones of book buying are not exclusive to the initial purchase of a book from a store. Countless articles have been published about the gentrification of thrifting in regards to fashion, but not much has been said about how thrifting has affected second-hand book sales. While at one point, purchasing 52 WINTER 2021

used books was an easy way for people to get their literature fix without having to spend major dollars, re-selling sites are now flooded with listings for “rare” versions of books being sold for exorbitant prices.

Reselling books as a way to make money has taken off, especially on second-hand sites such as Depop and Mercari. While buying used books can sometimes mean purchasing books at a lower price due to signs of wearand-tear, different editions of books can fetch a pretty penny. The combination of certain

Pressings of both books in the “Six of Crows” series without the Netflix logo are expensive, and copies that have sprayed edges (factory painted/dyed edges) are even more so. It’s hard not to blame this overpricing entirely on the Bookternet.

For one, it’s Bookternet that got the series so popular, and it’s the collecting side of Bookternet that started to value certain copies of books over others. The Netflix stamp does not change the content of the book, yet people are paying upwards of $100 for a used copy of “Six of Crows” if it doesn’t have the sticker.

This is just one of many examples of books that have, for one reason or another, become collector’s items and are now valued at a higher price­—which has allowed those who wish to profit off the situation to do so. “Literature is getting popular again, and

that’s such a fun and exciting thing, but with that … the money hungry people are coming in and are saying, ‘This is another thing we can take advantage of,’” Patten says.

There’s another phenomenon plaguing the online book community, and that’s the lack of diversity present. “On the surface, [the Bookternet] is very whitewashed. A lot of the most popular creators are white,” Patten said.

“A lot of the people that I see big publishing houses working with are white women.”

Most Bookternet content creators who gain traction on their platforms are white. “A quick search of whatever book is popular that you want to watch a review of, it’s like: white person, white person, white person and then one person of color,” said Aireona M. (AM in this article), a senior at Georgia State University and a viewer of book content on both YouTube and TikTok More than just white creators, a vast majority of the authors and characters talked about on the Bookternet are white as well.

Generally, the most popular novels are written by white authors and feature white characters. This leads to white authors and characters being the norm, even though the reading community is not a monolith. The reading community is diverse, and members of the community want their reading experience to be diverse, too.

“I’m interested in reading from women authors, trans authors, authors of color, etc. because I’m interested in all kinds of books and all kinds of narratives! I don’t limit myself to any genre or age range, and I think that is what helps me read diversely naturally. I

try to look up the demographics of an author before picking up their book; cool people write cool books, and I think marginalized people are cool,” said a sunny book nook, a creator on BookTube.

Sarah J. Mass is probably the most talked about author on the Bookternet, with her series “A Court of Thorns and Roses” rising to popularity on multiple platforms. #ACOTAR (pronounced ah-co-tar and the term the series is typically referred to by readers) has amassed over 2 billion views on TikTok alone.

However, all that popularity doesn’t come without controversy.

Sarah J. Mass is a topic that deserves an article all its own, but typically, readers either love her or hate her. She has been heavily criticized for her lack of characters of color, as well as her emphasis on the paleness and whiteness of her characters. Besides ACOTAR, her second most popular series, “Throne of Glass,” also centers a white protagonist. Both series’ original (and most popular) covers feature the aforementioned white character, THECURRENTMSU.COM 53

man, the Black woman, the Black person. Of course, if you happen to be Black, the world doesn’t look that way to you. I just wanted to try and create perhaps a sense of alienation and otherness in this person, the white reader, to remind them that they are not neutral to other people.”

Unfortunately, even when authors do include descriptions of their characters that include race, readers can still just skim right over them.

A good example of this is Rue from Suzanne Collins’s “The Hunger Games.” Collins specifically describes Rue as having dark skin in her books, but when the cast of the movie adaptation of the first book was announced, many fans of the books were upset by the choice of Amandla Stenberg for Rue.

but both have pressings where the cover is absent of any character.

In books, there is a trend of not specifying the race of characters unless they are anything other than white, which effectively perpetuates the idea that white is the norm.

However, this practice allows readers to create their own version of a character in their head while reading, and the lack of specific racial depictions leaves room for readers to envision characters as a variety of different races. Because of this, there is something to be said about choosing to 54 WINTER 2021

put a depiction of a character on the cover of a book, especially when that character is white. Choosing to illustrate a white character on the front of a book effectively squashes this opportunity to picture a character as any race other than white.

Even though Collins specifically describes Rue as having “satiny brown skin,” that wasn’t enough to convince readers to accept Stenberg for the role. Amongst a flurry of probably long-deleted tweets (good thing the internet lives forever via screenshots), some readers admitted to ignoring the character’s description and picturing her as white while others claimed not to have known Rue’s race because Collins didn’t describe it enough.

Stenberg was only 13 years old, but she received a slew of racist hate comments that all stemmed from readers being affronted that a character described as having brown skin was being played by a brown-skinned girl.

Zadie Smith, a professor and novelist, actively combats this practice in her 2012 book “NW.” Smith chooses to specify the race of characters only if they are white, flipping the trend on its head. In an interview with NPR, she said, “Everybody’s neutral unless they’re Black—then you hear about it: the Black

These are just a few examples of the way that whiteness as the default permeates the reading community. White authors who write about white characters tend to succeed more than authors or characters of color.

Even when authors do include non-white characters in their books, readers can still

choose to ignore their canonical descriptions and picture them as white anyway.

character for a non-white one, write them in the same manner and call it a day.

Recently, authors have received enough backlash about their lack of diversity that readers can see an increased effort to expand their cast of characters to include more marginalized identities. In reference to Mass, Patten said, “The further you get into ACOTAR, the more characters she introduces, and you can kind of see her trying to include some sort of diversity, but I feel like it’s in a very cliché way.”

Despite the surface-level whiteness that the Bookternet seems to perpetuate, it is beginning to move away from that monolith and reflect the diversity that the community holds. Many people of color on the platform are making active

attempts to support other creators of color. “A lot of non-white BookTubers will try to recommend other channels, usually smaller channels who happen to be not white as well,” AM said.

It’s important not to let the whiteness of the Bookternet deter book lovers from consuming or creating content if that’s what they want to

This is a very common issue in the media, often referred to as tokenism. Tokenism occurs when creators make a conscious effort to add diversity to their work, but it backfires because their inclusion is either all based entirely on stereotypes or is generally inaccurate to the experiences marginalized people face.

“Authors can see that consumers want diversity, and they see the dissatisfaction when it isn’t there, so they rush to include it in their work, but it’s never good because they never go into these communities to make sure that they are accurately representing their experiences,” AM said.

It isn’t enough to just include a marginalized character to a story without doing adequate research. Situations like those are when tokenism occurs and why people from minority communities are often disappointed by the representation they get in the media. Minority characters are more than just the color of their skin or the texture of their hair. They have experiences that are not universal, so it doesn’t work to just swap a white

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do. As BookTuber a sunny book nook said, “White audiences and white readers will always be a reality, but they don’t have to rule what you choose to read or talk about because if you talk about books you care about, others who also care will tune in.”

Now, there seems to be a more open dialogue about diversity in the reading community. Both creators and viewers are more comfortable addressing the lack of nonwhite presences in the community, which is a major step forward.

It’s difficult to combat the pressures of a capitalistic community, and trying to advocate

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for better representation both in books and creators, can feel daunting. However, making changes in one’s own actions can encourage others to do the same. Visit the local library.

Buy used books. Seek out creators, authors and characters who are from marginalized communities. It’s okay to go against the flow, no matter how intimidating it may seem at first.

A sunny book nook said, “My advice to nonwhite book internet creators is, don’t give a f--- about what other people think. If people like you and your opinions, that’s cool, but that’s not the purpose of reading or making book content. I think being clear about your intentions with making book content

is important too­—what is your purpose for making videos or blog posts or TikToks about what you’re reading and your favorite or least favorite books? I think chasing clout is unsustainable, but searching for community and connection over shared interests is always meaningful.”

Julita Fenneuff is a senior majoring in public and professional writing with a minor in Spanish. She currently writes and edits for Sherlockian.net. In her spare time she enjoys reading, listening to music and spending time with her pet bunny.

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COMPULSIVE COPING Online shopping habits built during quarantine are now difficult to navigate

By Harrison Nelson In 2020, people learned a lot about themselves.

As the global pandemic continues, it is important for people to look at their actions. With many fears and losses during these times, 2020 brought with it effects to people’s mental health and therefore, their actions. These stressors can affect some people’s actions differently. Some may have picked up new hobbies or connected with people that they haven’t talked to in a while.

Unfortunately, many people have had negative effects on their actions in response to COVID-19.

time and is studied by doctors to get a better understanding of this condition. In an article from Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program, Kristen Fuller, M.D. said, “Compulsive buying, ‘retail therapy,’ or shopping out of boredom can lead to a pile of unnecessary belongings, guilt, and financial hardships.” She goes on to say that compulsive shopping is uncontrollable and often coincides with other mental health issues like anxiety and depression.

One of the more interesting habits adopted by people looking to cope with the pandemic is online shopping. What makes shopping interesting is the multiple ways in which it has become so popular during this time. The obvious explanation is that people have been locked inside for so long on their phones and computers, but there are more pressing causes of the shopping boom. One of the more concerning reasons is addiction.

With the restrictions placed on businesses due to COVID, many people turned to online shopping out of necessity. Fortunately for online retailers, they were at the right place at the right time. Findings from Selligent Marketing Cloud show that “the percentage of consumers who shop online weekly went up from 28% before the pandemic to 36%.” While this makes sense with the previously mentioned restrictions, what is not mentioned in these reports is the negative mental effects online shopping has on people.

The increase and popularity of online shopping has uncovered an addiction in many people.

Compulsive shopping has existed for a long

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, anxiety and depression increased during the pandemic. It is important

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to understand that these conditions can manifest themselves in many ways, including shopping, but shopping in itself is not the problem. Ginni Correa, in an article for the Addition Center, reports on the many ways one can identify compulsive shopping or “buying-shopping disorder.” The list contains such examples as hiding purchases from people, buying things that one did not plan on and purchasing items when one cannot afford them. This compulsion to shop can have many negative effects on one’s well being and finances.

These compulsive shopping habits can be hard to talk about with others, but it is important to know that there are people willing to help. With COVID slowing, it is important to look at the actions taken during quarantine to see if anxiety and depression affected shopping habits and how to prevent compulsive shopping from happening in the future.

Harrison Nelson is a fourth year undergraduate student with a major in professional and public writing and a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation. He has been playing guitar for twelve years and enjoys classic cars.

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FOR HIS EYES ONLY Identifying and combating the male gaze

By Jillian Bell There are countless factors that greatly affect people’s perception of society. Many of these are so deeply ingrained in everyday media they can be hard to recognize. As such, their unconscious presence continues to subtly manipulate the world. In order to fix this and move forward, it is important to expose these things and actively work to implement new and improved standards.

One of the most influential elements of today’s society is a concept known as the male gaze.

While this comes up often in film theory, it can easily be related to almost anything that exists in an artistic medium. At its core, the male gaze refers to how the majority of cinema is created by men, from the perspective of men and for a primary audience of men. In doing so, it actively objectifies women and reaffirms the power of the patriarchy.

The topic of the male gaze was first introduced by filmmaker Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” In it, she establishes it as a feminist film theory and adds that Hollywood movies are filmed in ways that satisfy masculine scopophilia (a male’s love of looking). The male gaze also refers to the female characters not getting their own narrative arcs since their sole purpose is usually to propel the journey of the main male protagonist.

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This is an aspect of the male gaze that many people recognize. In fact, there are even established methods commonly used to identify the narrative evidence of the male gaze. One of these methods is called the Bechdel Test. This test was created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in 1985 as a response to the lack of female representation in movies. It refers to three simple criteria questions that most movies fail: Is there more than one female character? Do they talk to each other? Do they talk to each other about something other than a man?

It all comes down to the way women are shown to only have use as sexual objects. For example, in “Fast Five,” Gal Gadot entices a villain by sitting on his lap in a bikini in order to get him to touch her. As a further reminder of the male gaze, viewers are even treated to a close-up shot of her butt as she’s groped.

But hey, at least it wasn’t for nothing. She got those finger prints her team needed, so mission accomplished! What would they have done without her smokin’ bod?

Another well known method is the “Woman in the Fridge” trope. Here, male gaze is indicated when a woman’s suffering or death is used to kickstart or further drive the male protagonist’s storyline. The term originated from a Green Lantern comic, in which his partner’s only purpose was to be killed and stuffed in a refrigerator for him to find.

Different types of women are shown in different lights as well. One of the most recognizable female character tropes is that of the “Blonde Bimbo” or sometimes the “Blonde Bombshell.” In every movie she was in, Marilyn Monroe embodied this role. She was conventionally attractive, sexualized by way of revealing clothing and heavy makeup and was charmingly naive. The “dumb blonde” stereotype also stems from these portrayals.

With all of that in mind, the male gaze becomes shockingly easy to recognize, especially when you consider that the camera itself acts as a man. Just think about it: How many shots in movies start from a woman’s feet and slowly pan up her entire body? How many slow motion bikini scenes are shown? Who is most clearly exposed during sex scenes?

By far, the male gaze negatively affects marginalized groups of women. In her article titled “What Is the Male Gaze?” on Verywell Mind, Sarah Vanbuskirk said, “Black women have historically been depicted as hypersexual by the male gaze, which adds another facet of stereotype to the pervasive racism they face. Similarly, the male gaze also fetishizes Asian (and lesbian women, as

Photo by Julita Fenneuff THECURRENTMSU.COM 61

long as the man can watch or participate), portraying them as exotic, erotic specimens for male enjoyment.”

Some of the women depicted as existing purely for sex appeal have become so infamous that their actors end up being typecast and as a result, struggle to land roles as anything else. A great example of this is with Megan Fox. She’s most known for her appearance in the Michael Bay “Transformers” franchise, where she plays…

a sexy woman. While her character’s backstory is compelling, it’s overlooked and disregarded because it’s irrelevant information in comparison to her physical features.

Along with this, there was much controversy when it came to how the 2009 movie “Jennifer’s Body” was advertised. Due to her reception in the “Transformers” franchise, the film was marketed entirely off of Fox’s sex appeal toward men. When the male gaze audience came expecting the usual,

they were outraged when it turned out to be the opposite. One of the movie’s central themes was female relationships, and Fox’s character wasn’t even the main protagonist!

Due to this marketing failure, the movie was considered a flop at the box office because it didn’t attract its true audience, which should’ve been young women.

Megan Fox, of course, isn’t the only actress who’s known for being objectified. Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer are all examples too. Even cartoon characters aren’t exempt from the male gaze. Think of how disproportionate Jessica Rabbit is or how one of the most iconic things about Betty Boop is her garter. Consider the recent negative attention that the 2021 remake of “Space Jam” received when the Lola Bunny redesign was unveiled. She is noticeably less curvy than she was in the original, and she’s even wearing a shirt that covers her entire chest! These apparently controversial changes sparked outrage within the male community, who flocked to Twitter to complain about it.

All of this backlash was over how unsexy an animal was drawn in a children’s movie.

Of course, the existence of the male gaze is very harmful to viewers who don’t identify as cis, white, heterosexual men. It is especially damaging to young girls, who are unconsciously influenced to become more aware of how they look and how they can or can’t use their physical attractiveness to their advantage. In her article “Taking Back the Male Gaze” on Psychology Today, Dr. Tara Well said, “Over time, as women place more attention on their appearance, they began to internalize this observer view of their bodies as a primary way to think about themselves and end up

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male gaze has on women, Well said, “The male gaze plays out most obviously in two main areas: actual interpersonal and social encounters (e.g., catcalls, ‘checking out,’ gazing at women’s body parts, making sexual comments) and exposure to visual media that spotlights women’s bodies and body parts, depicting them as the target of a non-reciprocated male gaze.”

In her article on StudyBreaks, Sarah Gudenau said, “As men learn that women are meant for their aesthetic, sexual, or facilitating purposes, women internalize the same ideas, resulting in self-imposed body-monitoring and an understanding that their looks amount to social value.” Simply put, when it comes to real life consequences, the male gaze is detrimental to society, as its use of women is negative to all audiences. It provides young girls with negative ideals of what a woman should be, and at the same time influences men to continue on the legacy of misogyny.

Photo by Julita Fenneuff placing greater value on how they look than how they feel.”

Take the “Ugly Duckling Transformation” trope for example. The girl starts out as being overlooked by everyone because she doesn’t dress in skin tight clothes and (most notably) wears glasses. Then she has a makeover montage and takes her glasses off. In doing so, she becomes the object of male desire and has therefore “improved.”

This sends the unfortunate message that girls who have glasses and dress by their own standards are “ugly” and should conform to the way the patriarchy thinks a woman looks best.

As a result, a young girl’s self-esteem plummets, and everyday social contexts can trigger her own self-objectification. Things such as ads, fashion magazines and even mirrors all contribute to the misguided understanding that a girl’s only worth is through her appearance.

And by extension, her value is based on how she is perceived by men.

With this in mind, it makes sense that the male gaze also strengthens the belief that men are superior in comparison to women.

This type of toxic subliminal messaging reinforces bad male behavior toward women. Within the same article, when talking about other psychological costs the

In response to the growing recognition of the male gaze, there have been recent movements that seek to both address and deconstruct this phenomena as a way to continue progress forward. Of these is the creation of what is known as the “Female Gaze.” While this is a relatively new thing, there are still some who offer definitions in order to help clarify this new concept.

One of these people is Erika Balsom, who in her article “In Search of the Female Gaze” said, “Defined as such, the ‘female gaze’... describes a filmic paradigm no longer governed by voyeurism and objectification, devoted to representing women’s experiences (including those of trans women) in ways that foreground their position as THECURRENTMSU.COM 63

was simply ahead of its time when it was released, which is why when its true themes were revealed, it was labeled a failure. Now it’s seeing a resurgence and is becoming popular in progressive discussions because of how much of a welcome break it is from the standard of the male gaze.

There is also a growing number of female directors in Hollywood who are producing content considered combative of the male gaze. Greta Gerwig is a major player in this new age of filmmaking, creating beautiful stories centered on the female experience, which can be seen through her titles of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” Patty Jenkins is often looked to as well, especially after the huge success she had with 2017’s “Wonder Woman”, the first blockbuster superhero film starring a woman as the protagonist.

It is evident some filmmakers are making a conscious effort to portray unique perspectives in the media. As people continue to call for healthy changes in representation, society as a whole will undoubtedly improve.

Eventually, people should even be able to witness the expansion of the female gaze into something more inclusive. Perhaps one day, there will be the existence of many gazes, and not just the current male one that dominates narratives today. subjects of desire.” Using this as a baseline, it’s a comfort to know that some modern movies do fit this description.

One of the most recent movies being hailed as a true representative of the female gaze is “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”. In her 2020 article in The New Yorker, Rachel Syme said, “It’s true that at every turn [the] film subverts 64 WINTER 2021

the male perspective in favor of feminine ways of looking. There are hardly any men in the movie at all, and, when they do appear, they often have their backs turned or their faces out of focus; when we finally do see a man’s face clearly, it feels like an intrusion.”

Another example of the female gaze is the aforementioned “Jennifer’s Body.” This movie

Jillian Bell is a fourth-year undergrad student working towards degrees in English and professional writing. She hopes to work professionally in editing, and to one day find her own books on the shelves of stores. In her free time, she enjoys writing about whatever she’s currently hyper-fixated on, reading, and playing video games.

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