Colorblind Casting: Is it as Inclusive as it Seems?

It is no secret that mainstream media suffers from the severe overemphasis of the white male point of view. Since the dawning of mass media, that seemed to be the only experience taken seriously and fully expressed. It is from this lack of representation that brought...

Unfiltered: Bridging the Gap

If you visit my Soundcloud profile, you'll find a bio that reads, "Unfiltered takes a raw look at rising issues and topics in the media and pop culture of today that others tend to avoid. So sit back and get ready to sip some scolding hot tea with Maddie and Eric!" So...

Drag: Unfiltered

https://soundcloud.com/user-262123037/born-naked Drag is a practice that has been around since the time of the Ancient Greeks. In modern culture, it has caught the eye of mainstream media through the show Ru Paul’s Drag Race. In this episode, we take a look at how...

Social Media’s Influence on Colorism Within the African American Community

Social media is a platform used by the majority of society today.  On social media, you are allowed to voice your opinion, as well as partake in trends that eventually become social norms.  Social media is also a place where many find their social group or community. ...

Oppression and Empowerment in an All-Girls School

I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. Societal prejudices were compounded in the small, southern, privileged community I grew up in and indoctrinated in our everyday experiences at school. Some women went off to college and learned to recognize these...

Rape Culture On College Campuses

Rape culture is defined as a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse. Existing as a woman in a society that glorifies and actively propagates sexual violence against women,...

An Examination of Gender Hegemony in Southern Baptist Culture

Recently, I’ve become heavily involved in a church near my university’s campus. Contrary to a traditional Southern upbringing, I didn’t grow up in church or have any ties to a church beyond familial heritage. In my family, Sundays were reserved for laundry and...

K.LEVY Movement: Promoting Change for the Greater Good

"Uplift ... Inspire ... Motivate ... Empower." K. Levy Movement Knowledgeable Leaders Evolving as Victorious Youth In a world where so many work hard to fit in, there are very few who work even harder to stand out. Kaelan "K. Levy" Levy is a 21-year-old recording...

Why Representation in Marvel’s TV Shows Makes them Better than their Movies

Marvel has expanded its franchise a lot since the debut of "Iron Man" in 2008. It now has 14 films and 6 TV shows all based in the same cinematic universe, with many more coming. While the movies get a lot of praise and attention, I believe Marvel’s best work is...

An Examination of Gender Hegemony in Southern Baptist Culture

Recently, I’ve become heavily involved in a church near my university’s campus. Contrary to a traditional Southern upbringing, I didn’t grow up in church or have any ties to a church beyond familial heritage. In my family, Sundays were reserved for laundry and...

Rape Culture On College Campuses

Rape culture is defined as a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse. Existing as a woman in a society that glorifies and actively propagates sexual violence against women,...

Oppression and Empowerment in an All-Girls School

I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. Societal prejudices were compounded in the small, southern, privileged community I grew up in and indoctrinated in our everyday experiences at school. Some women went off to college and learned to recognize these...

More Than Music: How Important Black Musicians Work is in Progressing Racial Unity and Equality

It’s no secret that music is one of the most powerful forms of expression in the world. It is something that is so diverse and has so many different varieties giving pretty much anyone and everyone the opportunity to connect with some type of music in an intimate way....

NJA$: “The Meaning is more than the Money”

What is NJA$? I created a visual and informative campaigned called "Not Just A $ign" (NJA$). The mission statement of the campaign is: A campaign aimed at recognizing the culture, ideas, images, portrayals, products, services, and talents of minority groups as more...

Church, LGBT and Spike

  Moralism, in its ability to mandate what is acceptable as moral for everybody, is probably at its most vile when it spews from the church. With religious doctrine regarding homosexuality hinged on a handful of Bible verses, it wields power through moralism and...

No Place for Racism in MY Workplace

As a black female about to graduate from a four year university with a degree in political communication, I often worry about my career choice. I recently interviewed for a job in New Orleans at a law firm and realized that the only other black person that I saw in...

RACE

#BlackGirlMagic: More than a Hashtag

We’ve heard the phrase, “personal is political,” but how often do we reflect on how politics and the media play a role in our personal experiences? Today, I did just that. It wasn’t until I reflected on how much I’ve evolved as a black woman, that I understood the...

One Man’s Pain is Another Man’s Pleasure

America has been famously known as the melting pot because of the variety of people that live in the country. With these different people come different cultures. Culture is defined by Merriam-Webster as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a...

Cultural Appropriation: Cornrows are more than a trend

Celebrities today are rocking the new and chic “Double Cuff Mohawk Braid”, “Birthday Braids” or “KKW Braids”. Or at least, that is what mainstream magazines are calling them. However, they fail to mention that these braids already have a name and they are far from...

How the #BlackLivesMatter Movement and Social Media Altered my Understanding of Race and Privilege

When the #BlackLivesMatter movement became known to me, I was in the early years of my high school career. At this stage, as a young white woman in a private Catholic school, I had a narrow vision of the world and the struggles associated with different social...

(TRANS)GENDER

Why Society Needs A Day Without A Women

On March 8th, 2017, women from all over the world celebrated International Women’s Day. A day to celebrate women and bring awareness to the political, social and economic inequalities they face every day. In the United States, the Women’s March on Washington organized...

Sisters and Cis-ters Against Genders Inequality

“I can't believe I still have to protest this shit,” read one sign carried by an older woman at the Women’s March on January 21, 2017.  Though the sign is only ten words, it speaks volumes.  Women in America and around the world have been fighting for decades for...

My New Normal

Growing up as an African-American, middle-class, heterosexual, cis female, I personally did not face many struggles. I grew up in a home with both parents, and I never had to want for anything. I was always smart, talented, and had a lot of friends. The only thing...

The Detrimental Effects that Advertising has on Society’s View of Gender

The imposition of unrealistic gender roles has been ingrained in the media since before the television was invented. When most people think of the classic 1950’s American housewife, perfect hair, cooking dinner wearing pearls, cleaning, and waiting for her hardworking...

…and the rest is drag.

 Introduction “You’re born naked and the rest is drag” is a quotation from the famous drag queen, RuPaul.  The phrase implies that our behavior is simply an imitation and that we construct our own identity by copying behavioral patterns that we have already...

A New Kind of Bond: Queer and in Drag

    Womanizer. Action hero. Manly man. James Bond is an iconic character, originating in 1953 as the lead character in Ian Fleming’s novels and short stories about a British Secret Service agent. The character is most known for roles in dramatic spy plots,...

SEXUALITY

Bury Your Tropes

Television is an important medium for sharing stories.  In the age of “peak TV”, there’s more options now than ever for people to choose which shows to tune into.  TV has always been important for providing characters that people identify with, as well as showing...

Reflecting on My Life Experiences from a Sexuality Perspective

I always heard that my years in college would be the best time of my life. While I can’t tell you if the last four years of late nights and last-minute assignments will be the fondest years, I can say that I’ve learned more lessons, concepts and ideas than I ever...

Modern Family Isn’t As Progressive As We Thought

What comes to mind when picturing a gay couple in current TV shows, movies, etc.? Immediately, I think of ABC's Modern Family and its characters Cam and Mitch. If you haven’t seen the show, Modern Family chronicles the ordinary events and challenges of a typical...

Uneducated: Homonormativity on Grindr and in the Media

As the Internet and social media continue to consume our everyday lives, online dating apps become increasingly popular. These apps may range anywhere from Bumble and Tinder, which allows users to choose each other or “swipe right” on each other in order to start a...

Calzona: The Good and The Bad

Lesbians and bisexual women have been two of the most underrepresented and misrepresented groups in the media. The portrayals of these types of characters and their relationships have been traditionally nonexistent or inaccurate in many ways. There are only 12 lesbian...

Is Modern Family Really That ‘Modern’?

Modern Family is a comedic series that first aired on ABC in 2009. The show is about three families that are supposed to be…well I’m sure you can guess: ‘Modern’. But, ever since the show first aired, debates transpired over the Internet about the gay couple featured...

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