Spitting Image - Thatcher

In satirical comedy series Spitting image Margret Thatcher is portrayed in her usual stereotypical ways of witch like features and crooked nose, but one significant visual change is that she is dressed in a suite.  This could be seen as Thatcher, a powerful female leader conforming to the masculinity or ‘ The default man’ (Perry,TheDesentOfMan,p14,2016 ) . Given that politics is a male dominated profession as a woman coming into it you need to fight to be heard, so conforming to their way of acting and dressing could be the only way to be taken seriously. It took politicians a while to take Margret Thatcher seriously. So as a result it was suggested that she had voice coaching in order to make her voice deeper lower and more authoritative for public speaking, more male and dominant. She has to meet parliaments embedded ideals of how a politician should behave and act. Spitting image really highlights this fact up in it sketches but also dose still show her as a powerful figure and above the men in her cabinet for example ‘ Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet of vegetables ‘ (Spitting image,(1984-96), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPzzgE34YQY, date viewed (17/12/16). the waitress ask what Thatcher ( who she refers to as sir) wants a raw stake. Then say ‘what about the vegetables’ Spitting image,(1984-96), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPzzgE34YQY, date viewed (17/12/16). , Thatcher thinks she is referring to her all male cabinet and says they will have the same as me. This belittles and makes the male politicians appear stupid, therefore making Thatcher appear more intelligent than her peers. It also is still portraying the ruthlessness of Thatcher too as she orders a raw stake, like a vicious predator would eat.  Spitting images aim was to reflect popular public opinion back onto the public in order to get them more engaged with politics. And During the 80’s it was a time of upheaval but now politicians are more protected from satirical comedy and don’t tend to offer as much to bounce off. However the internet and social media allows anyone to do satire for example the sorry song which was a collection of Nick Clegg saying sorry to a tune.  But it would be so good for another show like spitting image on TV mainly to make people more in tune with politics and this may lead people to see the floors like a lack of diversity within our own parliament which leads to certain sectors of people like women and black people being poorly represented.

 

 

Grayson Perry - Images responding to male societal sectors.

These two pieces have been created by Grayson Perry in response to how male centred politics and the financial system are.

The sculpture named ‘ Object in Foreground’  is coved in bank notes , leading bankers and politicians. George Osborne for example who features multiple times . His aim behind it ‘ I was thinking of an object that could hold its own among all the marble but drew attention to the unquestioned maleness of its world’(Perry,(date viewed 16/12/16 ),http://www.cityam.com/)    There is an aspect of school boy humour in this piece , and this works ironically along with the male dominant culture that Perry states occurs in these sectors. It also suggests that it is quite an alpha male environment but it is taking this in a humours tone with this too. The images are spread hectically throughout the image and these reflect the busy environment Perry has based the work on but they are also quite dulled down colours on the imagery used. This could again be another reflection dull way business and men of power in a very generic way. However there could be said that there is juxtaposition to the piece as it is made out of clay and this is a fragile material. So it could be saying about the under fragility of an alpha male.

 

The Wood cut entitled ‘ Animal Sprit’ consists of a half bear man , half bull which also has a massive phallus. This is a power image, the half bull aspect represents a powerful and male animal, also represents Hegemonic masculinity. The bear too is a powerful animal and the creature is standing powerfully over the city and a baby, this also shows that it has a status of power and control.  The big phallus in both images also give the suggestion that the bigger it is the more of a man you are. ‘ There’s no disputing what it is… it’s a big cock’ (Perry,(date viewed 16/12/16 ),http://www.cityam.com/) This piece is also meant to be displayed within the same environment as the sculpture. And also the material of wood is a strong material and the fact that that each line had to be etched into it could reflect the strength of labour.    

Men, Suicide and Society- a report by the samaritans.

‘…the fact remains that it is men who die far more by suicide than women’(Samaritans,(2012),p1)   .A report issued by The Samaritans investigates the causes into a rise in the amount of middle aged male’s committing suicide. One of the causes the report covers is Masculinities. It states that the way men are brought up , told how to behave and roles that are expected from them in society.  Men end up comparing themselves against ‘ a masculine ‘gold standard’ which prizes power, control and invincibility.’ (Samaritans,(2012),p1)  When men have the belief that they are not meeting this societal standard then there self esteem drops and they feel defeat. Having the job of being the house provider and head of the family is essentical to ‘being a man’ (Samaritans,(2012),p1)  , and this is a trait noticed particularly with working class men.  So when a man looses this control this brings him to suicidal behaviour , through drugs and alcohol as a way of gaining back control. The report explains that’ Masculinity and femininity are sociological concepts which can be defined through a collection of roles, behaviours , activities, expressions and practises…constructed ideas about ‘being a man’ or ‘being a women’  (Samaritans,(2012),p1)   Hegemonic masculinity  is a theory set out by Raewyn Connell .’ …it is an ideal to which most men aspire and / or against which they measure themselves.’ (Samaritans,(2012),p10)  It is characterised through several attributes for example power hungry, aggressiveness, independency, success, activity and control. And as a result men are discouraged to show any forms of anxiety, burdens and difficulties. He or She which is a feminist campain also campain for men rights too, they want to give men more support in to open up about their emotions and not to feel weak by doing so, instead of bottling up. However from this report it looks like society could easily be said to be a fault.  It needs to update it values but this is a hard thing to as it seems that the ideal of masculinity is too deeply embedded. So by adding more women into powerful places like parliament would mean that some male MPs would lose their jobs and could be said to be at risk of feeling defeated and without purpose. However could this be an impactful way of changing society values, but sacking male MPs and adding in female ones?

definition - Old boy network

' An exclusive network that links members of profession, social class, or organization or the alumni of a particular school through which the individuals assist one another in business, politics e.c.t' 'http://www.dictionary.com/browse/old--boy--network

Clark Doll test.

The Clark doll test demonstrated the negative effects of stereotyping and segregation in America. It shows the damage caused by racial segregation and racism on young children's perceptions of themselves. The test was conducted by Dr Kenneth Clark and his wife Mamie Clark. The test consisted of a child being shown a white and black doll, then there where asked a series of question which are shown in the clip. The research concluded that the black children often chose to play with the white dolls more than the black dolls. And the children also gave the white doll positive connotations whilst the black doll was given negative. 44% said the white doll looked like them , but many children refused to pick either doll and others reacted emotionally to the test and ran away.  The conclusion, the test proved that black children had internalized racism cause by being discriminated against.

However there where criticism over the study, that it was too experimental and that there was a lack of theory behind it. It was also said that because the test was conducted by a African American couple, that the outcome could have been rigged and intentional to show that African Americans are negatively stereotypes and that the test was biases.     
But then this could be counter argued with the fact that they didn't want to accept the major problem of racism and that society is too deeply embedded in the structure of segregation and divide.

Summary of White Privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack.

In this short manifesto by Peggy McIntosh she identifies what she states as the daily effects of being white and the privileges that brings in America. She lists at 50 identified effects that occur in everyday life, such as ‘ I can go shopping alone most of the time , pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed’ (McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988) As you read through this manifesto you get the impression that the effects are more like observations of how people from different ethnic backgrounds are treated and stereotyped in a prominently white society. And this is shown through these observations ‘Whether I use checks , credit cards, cash, I can count on my skin colour not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.’ McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988)  McIntosh also refers to the political race divide ’ I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial’ and ‘I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behaviour without being seen as a cultural outsider.’ McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988)  This demonstrates that it is not just in the UK where there is a lack of diversity within the publicly elected political parties.

But also she addresses the divide in popular culture ‘ I can easily buy posters , postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race’. McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988) .

Chances of the UK having a Black PM summary.

In the UK parliament today there are only 13 black MPs compared to 650 white MPs. If this statistic was a true reflection of the UK population these would be double this number. A black child in born in the UK today is 12 times less likely to become Priminister compared to a white child born in the UK.  This comes after a BBC report realised in Novemeber 2016 ‘ Why a black child is 12 times less likely to become PM.’ David Harwood (actor) presented the study in a follow up documentary into investigating why there is this divide with in politics preventing children from different ethnic backgrounds getting the top job.  The investigation highlights are several reasons as to why .It states that 45% of black children are growing up in poverty , this means that they can fall behind in education.  This then results in only 4% of black students getting  4 A’s at A-level compared to 10% of white students. So the chances of a black child being born today and becoming primister are 1 in 17 million , however a white child chances are 1 in 1.4 million, but then if this child has gone through private education and got into a top university then there chance increase dramatically to 1 in 200,00. MPs who are currently in government tend to come from highly privileged backgrounds and have been through top end universities like Oxbridge and Cambridge. As a result they know each other and this is where rumours like the ‘old boys network’ come from. For example when David Carmon came into power he encouraged Michael Gove who he knew from university to become and MP, he also gave him a job in his cabinet. Gove later turned out to be a hated MP especially in education when he became secutary.  

There still seems to be a strong social divide in race , the brexit vote could be seen as an example of this. So it could be said that society need to re address its views or that the government should actually lead by example and start including people of a different gender and ethnicity in higher government.   

A summary of Grayson Perry's The desent of man.

Perry’s main aim through this book was to state his opinion on masculinity and weather masculinity is working for us. But as he keep stating in the book he is not writing men off. He comes from a very unique perspective as he is male and takes part in what society states are male activities but he is also a transvestite, so also takes part in more stereotypical female activities like make –up and wearing dresses. So he comes into this debate on gender from an almost balanced insight. A chapter in the book entitied  Asking fish about water , Perry consisders a male figure in society called the ‘Defalt Man’. ‘The White Blob was a strong contender, but in the end I opted to call him Default Man….’ (Perry,TheDesentOfMan,p14,2016 ).  In it he describes this figure of the default man being middle class boys who could take possible positions of power for example politicians. The default man is meant to embody neutrality, in there smart plain suites and lack of emotion. But because of this approach we have a sense of mistrust with these men, as there is no personality being shown ‘ If George Osborne had dressed up as a cross between Flashman and the Grim reaper instead of a business suite when he delivered his budgets, perhaps we would have had a more appropriate vision of who was controlling the nation’s finances.’ (Perry,TheDesentOfMan,p14,2016.)  We don’t really know anything about the people who run key parts of our economy and other major parts of government  ,’ …. I like the word ‘default’, for not only dose it mean a result of not making an active choice’, but two of it’s synonyms are ‘failure to pay’ and ‘evasion’, which seems incleadebly appropriate…’ (Perry,TheDesentOfMan,p14,2016.)  Male politicians like Donald Trump are committing and being tried for tax evasion and rape. Why do we in western society put these men in charge, when we have talented people of different gender, class and ethnicity ready and waiting?  However Perry dose acknowledge that there is a change happening with in parliaments with employing women but it is a very slow transition ‘At present rate of change , it will take over a hundred years before the UK parliament is 50 per cent female…’  (Perry,TheDesentOfMan,p14,2016.)   But there are still a lack of seats for people from different classes and ethnicity. This needs to change. By employing people from these different sectors of society we have the potential to push out the 'Default man' and employ new insights into politics and make it a more inclusive society.  

Grayson Perry- The Desent of Man 2016

    

  This Book I have found to be incredibly helpful. In it he makes reference to theorist including Laura Mulvery and ' the male gaze'. He also talks about masculinity in a way that identifies societies male figures for example ' the default man' referring to upper / middle class men who work as politicians for example. There is also reference to movements like feminism and black civil rights and how white men tend to be the overall rulers in social sectors and Perry states that this needs to change. And his point of view is very valid I think as he is coming from the unique perspective of being male but a transvestite. And it is really good that someone with this perspective is speaking and giving there opinion on the unrest of gender equality. From reading this book I want to re address my essay question. It has made me question a lot more as to why we have in western culture this white male rule and how stereotypes of these male rulers have not changed from the corporate man in the suite decades even though we have female rulers like Anglia Merkal and Tarsier May. And what kind of effect this is having on society?         

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