When given this assignment, I immediately thought about what websites I enjoy visiting and whether or not they are gendered. I'll admit it; I frequently get distracted and waste time checking up on celebrity gossip on Perez Hilton's blog at perezhilton.com. Yet for some reason I don't really want to admit this?? I began to think about why I might be embarrassed to admit that I frequently visit a gossip site, and I've decided that my response is most likely connected to broader systems of domination and social hierarchies. Gossip and blog sites, much like gossip magazines, would certainly be considered 'low' culture in the dichotomous hierarchy between high and low culture. Low culture is often feminized and deemed less valuable than high culture, and I think that this in many ways explains my embarrassment of my interest in celebrity gossip. As we discussed in class, this is a learned response. What we evaluate as 'good' or 'not good' tells us a lot about our culture.
I really curious to hear what you guys think! Do you agree that Perezhilton.com is gendered as feminine? What do you think about the colours on the website (Pink!!)? Do you think that the audience is mainly females or varied? I know that I'm only one female that frequently visits the site, and I'm wondering if it's popular with males as well. I know from personal experience that some of my guy friends have bugged me for visiting the site so frequently, calling it a 'waste of time'. But then, what exactly can we define as a 'waste' of time?? Does the devaluing of gossip have anything to do with it being gendered as feminine? Let me know your ideas!
Aubrey B.
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I think it is gendered, because in reality, what guy (heterosexual male) cares about gossip? There may be a few guys that care about it, but it is mostly females that buy into it.
ReplyDeleteI dont think its a "waste of time" because it is about reading gossip, instead i think it's a waste of time to read and indulge yourself into gossip, as it's someones life and the majority of it are lies.
I dont think that being feminine makes gossip devalued, becuase even with masculinity, gossip about sports, for example,is also viewed as 'a waste of time'.
~Beautiful Bombshell~
I take your point, but would it ever be called 'gossip' about sports?? Or would it be referred to as news? Or sports analyses? I think the term gossip itself is devalued in many ways. Although I personally may see checking sports stats every morning to be a waste of time, I don't think it is perceived as 'low' culture in the same way that gossip or celeb news is. So what does this say about our culture?
ReplyDeleteAubrey B.
Although I'm sure most of them deny it I believe that many males check gossip websites such as PerezHilton (especially men that work office jobs and are often bored at their desks) just as females do. I say this because men are usually willing to watch Hollywood gossip shows on T.V. such as 'The Insider' or 'ET' when girls are present and they seem to be just as intrigued as we are. Which is totally understandable (for both genders) because celebrities live such flamboyant and...entertaining lives! The fact that males (and some females) are so ashamed to admit that they enjoy reading about celebrities personal lives/successes/losses really doesn't make sense because even though it is considered 'low' culture it is OUR culture. Television and anything that surrounds Hollywood is the entertainment for our generation, there should not be shame in having interest in the people that entertain us through music and cinema.
ReplyDeleteI like how sports 'news' is being compared to celebrity/Hollywood 'gossip' because [you] (Aubrey B.) are so right in saying that when it is about sports its considered 'news' yet when it is about musicians/actors and actresses its simply mindless 'gossip'. Why does our culture have to automatically associate celeb gossip with women and sports with men though? Could we not all just be reading about the people that intrigue us regardless of the profession?
*Silver
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ReplyDeletePerhaps at first glance the site could appear to be gendered feminine, but Perez Hilton is a MAN who seems to be creating the site in a way that he finds aesthetically pleasing. The criteria for what is considered gendered male and gendered female is restricting, and constructed by a culture which is divided by the female/male binary. Why cant a man like/use the colour pink? And why can't he like gossip without being considered feminine?
ReplyDeleteDanger Powers
Aubrey, I agree. I think gossip itself is gendered feminine and low culture. The gossip, as a character, is its own feminine (or feminized) position in culture. The gossip cannot be trusted and is usually coquettish and flighty.
ReplyDeleteThus a dichotomy is created between news (high class/valued/masculine) and gossip (low class/unvalued/feminine).I think websites like "Pink is the New Blog" and "Perez Hilton" are extentions of the gossip magazine culture, that is targetted to women (it's relational).
Do we devalue "gossip" because it's relational and feminine? Should we value gossip?
I work in news and I can safely say that gossip is part of the job, but I think the question goes much deeper than that.
Macho Muffin
I really like where this discussion is going guys! I found that class today helped me to understand the gendering of gossip and also expand my thoughts with its relation to soap operas as well. Gossiping is a form of communication that is frequently gendered as feminine and consequently devalued by society.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Perez Hilton's site and its pink colour does not necessarily mean that the website is feminine and that perhaps it has a large male audience. But I also think that the males who do read up on gossip would have difficulty admitting it and that this is largely due to the femininity of gossip. Keep the comments coming everyone!!
Aubrey B.
I think that sexuality has something to do with this. I agree with what everyone is saying about the Low culture/Gossip website/Female dichotomy, but I think that homosexual men should be included in that. Perez himself is openly gay, and he likes gossip, what does that say about him?? I think that he is just as devalued as women and female genres like gossip because of that; especially because we live in such a homophobic society.
ReplyDeleteKeekers
Agreed Keekers. I was hoping someone would mention Perez's sexuality! I'd also like to add this link to a particular entry Perez just recently made which I think sums up who his main audience is. They are pictures that his readers have sent in to him of themselves, and all of them are of women (except for the baby picture and the one which cropped Perez in himself).
ReplyDeleteCheck it out! http://perezhilton.com/2010-02-26-life-is-good
Aubrey B.
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ReplyDeleteOk, ... i am admitting to this 'guilty pleasure' .. I'm Freddie Mercury and I frequent Perez Hilton!! .... (gasp) .. I admit that i feel guilty in partaking in his website? .. why? .. The whole low culture definately comes into play. I 'think' that the guilt comes from the whole 'i'm sure i have something better to do than wasting time on here' thoughts!! .. but where do they come from and in some way, following Perezhilton is my version of Soap Operas... I don't watch any Soap Operas, however, i do get to do the same kind of thing in following people's lives through Perez. And while Perez does show the glamorous side of celebrities, he also shows the not-so-glamorous side of the as well. We as viewers get to follow and be a part of these celebrities lives and live vicariously through them and their wild ways?.. And to add onto that we get to follow him through his life on-goings and partying and what not. It is not only the celebrities but Perez intrigues viewers as well and has a HUGE following.
ReplyDeleteI love that you brought this up! ..
~Freddie Mercury~
I agree with Freddie Mercury that while we as an audience are so captivated with the rise of celebrities we are equally interested in seeing them fall. Does this stem from jealousy? Perhaps gossip magazines/blogs are so wildly popular because reading that celebrities truly don't 'have it all' makes us feel better about our own little "ho-hum" lives. Hearing celebrity gossip usually proves that life does imitate art and sometimes its ALOT more dramatic than any script that brilliant writers can create! We should all get together and create a PerezHilton-esque site that ONLY discusses gossip about athletes...watch the male followers flock! OK now I'm being a hypocrite! lol
ReplyDelete*Silver