Informal Writting Assignment 4-Bitch Media

The blog is about a nonprofit organization, which provides and encourages an empowered feminist’s perspective response to mainstream media and popular culture. Bitch has a diverse audience and diverse topic that is being brought up, such as gender, sexuality, power, and agency prescribed by the mainstream media. The name “Bitch” comes because the writer, Rebecca West said that every time she expresses her opinion and being brave to speak up her mind, people often labels her as “bitch”. I think that she feels that women who are confident to express their mind to address issues that emerge in society can be determined as a role model to everyone. So if being an outspoken woman means being bitch, the people in magazine are proud of being one. 

- Blog Post 1- Race Card: Has Beyonce Knowles Betrayed Women of Color? By Nadra Kareem Nittle.

This article talks about how Alibhai-Brown, a British journalist who is a well-know commentator on issues of immigration, diversity, and multiculturalism, argued that Beyonce betrayed black and South Asian people by appearing light-skinned and blonde on a magazine front cover. Nittle is not saying that this situation is not going to give certain impact, such as low self-esteem, on children and teenagers of colors who read it. However, she disagrees if Beyonce is being blamed for the issues of cultural imperialism and white supremacy because the issue whether Beyonce is trying to make herself white is still unclear. It could be just the effect of lightning and make up from the photo shoot. I certainly agree with Nittle because I think that it is important for the public to not quickly judge certain people due to hasty generalization and it is unfair for a public figure to be blamed for such racial problem based on only two photographs, which clearly everyone knows that the photographs have been edited by the magazine.

-       Blog Post 2- Race Card: Xenophobia and Racism Surface in Reaction to Reporter Lara Logan’s Sexual Assault in Egypt.  By Nadra Kareem Nittle.

Sexual assault and beating that happened to Lara Logan, a South African television and radio journalist, when she was covering a story as a CBS reporter stimulate arguments within the American public. Logan is being re-victimized by people saying that she should have known better that it would not be safe to be alone in such a dangerous country, especially for a young blonde Western woman. The public also blamed Logan for not knowing that Islamic Egyptian men are “beasts”. The writer states that people, who blamed Logan for to know better because she’s blonde, are not only sexist but also racist. Can they guarantee that if Logan were brunette or dark-skinned, she would not have been raped? Absolutely not. Moreover, for those who blamed that Islam has to do with Logan’s assault, would the situation differ if the Egyptian were Christian? The fact is that Egypt is also the home for many Christians. The group of women and soldiers who rescued her from the attack could also be Muslims. I personally think that, again, people should not make hasty generalization without analyzing the situation as a whole. It is best to blame directly the individuals who attack Logan, than to blame the whole nation or religion.

Looking at two articles the Bitch media had discussed, which was focusing on the public issue and comment about Beyonce being called unconfident of her dark skin color and tried to change it by appearing “bright” at the front cover of a magazine and the issue of the good looking reporter who was sexually assaulted by Egyptians when she was covering news there, I conclude that the Bitch media’s intention and purpose is to guide and straighten up public’s aggressive opinion towards issues that are still “fresh” and “hot” by saying that there are possible reasons and arguments about those issues that is more reasonable.