In my first post I looked at the gendering of kids websites and after reading everyone else's post I notices everyone found websites gendered at women so I went out to find the manliest website possible. My search lasted about 10 seconds when I came across Spike TV's website (www.spike.com) Spike is a very male gendered tv chanel with shows such as manswers and 1000 ways to die. The website is possible more gendered than the tv chanel itself. Scattered across the front page of this page are pictures of women in bikinis and men drinking beer - all things men love !!! (eyes rolling) - This website even has a link labelled "girls" I thought maybe, just maybe this link was meant for girls but it is actually a link to more women in bikinis and stories about "hot chicks", Spike's girls of the week, and a bikini poll.
The genderization of this websites tells men that they need to be tough womanizers in order to get respect from the men around them. Thsi also tells the women who watch shows on this channel that they are not proper women because women should not watch these shows.
In the end Spike tv and the spike website are probably the most obviously gendered texts that I have ever seen.
-princess consuela banana hammock
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Yeah... what if a woman went to that website, would she be considered a butch lesbian who is there to look at the hot chicks?? This website is all about objectifying women. Does this mean that all men should and do treat women as objects? Purely for their enjoyment. Obviously this is a good example of a Male Gaze: women only for the viewer pleasure of men.
ReplyDeleteKeekers
haha, Manswers. The last time I saw that little gem of a show, it was a special on how to get drunk by funneling beer into your butt...all class. If this is what marketers think is appealing to men I would be concerned for men everywhere. Any show that I have ever seen on spike has always been hyper-masculinized. I wonder, in reality, how many men actually find this programming enjoyable. There has a got to come a point where the viewers of these shows has to say enough's enough. Not only is it degrading to women it does not paint men in the greatest light either. Spike seems to cater to the extremes of the gender stereotypes.
ReplyDelete***Looie***
This is the TV version of Maxim magazine. Super stereotypical male stuff. The shows on this chanel always both amaze and anger me. Not only for the pure stupidity of the show content, but definitely for the degredation of women that goes down. The "girls" link sounds super fun... :P
ReplyDelete-BritFan
i love manswers...i wont lie...but that's a side note :P
ReplyDeletei completly agree that spike is gendered towards men, and i think your idea to show a website gendering towards men is a great idea!(as so many are geared towards women)
I dont fully agree that this website tells men "be a womanizer to get respect", as some guys (my boyfriend for example) watch these shows purely as entertainment rather than "how i should be".
This website can be compaired to CosmoTV(http://cosmotv.ca/Home.aspx) where the site is all about sex, sex positions, pleasing your man, girl talk and a link to "hot guys". Looking at this site, it is similar to say "this website tells women that they are to be sex objects to their men, in order to gain 'respect' and should talk to their girls for 'solid advice'."...this is true for some women, but it is not the same for all.
On both these sites the 'desirable' person (male or female) is the stereotypical version of "hot"...this kinda bothers me when it comes to gendering...little girls are taught that they are to grow up, marry the 'prince' and live happily-ever-after...these websites (for example) don't include any other opinions of 'hot'..
(side note: spike isnt just about hypermasculinizing, it commonly shows CSI marathons etc...just saying for arguments sake)
~beautiful bombshell~
My favourite part about Spike.com has to be the title: "SPIKE.COM Check out the premier online destination for men" ... and the definite definitely does not disappoint. "The Guy's Guide", "Mantenna" (Men's News / Gossip... Who would've guessed they would be discussing Hockey viewership, A Real Housewife coming out as a lesbian and Lil Wayne going to jail?), "Life's Short, Play Games" and "Simple Recipes. You're Welcome"... Although I take beautiful bombshells point that the network may not be all hypermasculinization, the website definitely is. This is also related to another point someone made in the blogs about the different ways that recipes are catered to men and women. Simple Recipes for men? Apparently "The Food Dude delivers the dish to demolish even the manliest appetite", but with simple recipes. Does this mean men can't cook complicated recipes?? Don't want to spend time in the kitchen??
ReplyDeleteI also think Keeker's point about the dominant male gaze is really important. The fact that Spike.com has a section titled 'Girls' which is not meant for women but features scantily clad women for a bikini poll and Spike's girls of the week reminds me of our discussion in class of the portrayal of women in film. Heres a quote from lectures: “Men act. Women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.” - John Berger
Most of the shows featured on the side of the website are about men being active. Entourage, Warriors Den, The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights, Players Bar and Grill... and when women do appear on the website, it is as objects to be looked at. I think Looie's point is also significant... Spike is definitely depicting gender stereotype extremes here.
Aubrey B.
Spike is most definitely gendered, it is hillarious when I try to watch manswers also. Every couple of minutes they have to throw in a bit of T&A, and also the narrator's voice is so annoying and different, is this voice strategically done to engage men? Also, the fact that men have "Spike" and females have the "Women Netowrk" never dawned on me. I wonder if statistics would show that we watch our appropriate channels or just the opposite, because if we do, they have us where they want us. They have us, females, watching sad, sappy hopeless romantic movies and men watching car crashes and cars exploding, so not cool. We should all be watching what interests us, not based on our gender.
ReplyDeleteAaliyah Jasmine