Blurred+lines+-+can't+we+just+comprehend+the+meaning+of+no?

Name: Olivia Nock Number: n8887519 TUTOR Michelle Newcombe Friday 9-10am tutorial

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=Blurred lines - can't men just comprehend the meaning of no?=

I have found two music v ideos which portray the public health issue at hand. The first link you may see is to the music video ‘Blurred lines’ by Robin Thicke featuring. T.I. and Pharrell. Despite being at the top of the music charts at the time, lyrics and actions in this song have sparked a heated debate throughout society. The second link is to a parody of this song, where the lyrics and actions in the film clip are a role reversal of what is considered acceptable and which also point out issues such as misogyny and an override of male dominance which was found in the original version. The fact that it was removed only days after being up for being inappropriate resulted in a great deal of controversy within the media.

The public health issue is evident throughout the ‘Blurred Lines’ film clip. The music video indicates the presence of misogyny within society where men have success, power and dominance whereas women are treated simply as sex objects. As stated by Abera (2013, para 1) this song is said to perpetuate rape culture by rejecting the concept of clear sexual consent and instead encouraging “blurred lines” and not taking no as an answer. When the second artefact, ‘Defined lines’ went viral, a much more negative approach was taken towards it, resulting in the role reversal being very unacceptable. Along with the statistics, victims of sexual assault in Australia are undoubtedly on the rise. As stated in the Personal Safety Survey 2005 (ABS, 2006a) one in six women and one in twenty men have been sexually assaulted within their lifetime. This is undoubtedly a serious public health issue where the lack of consent is becoming more and more acceptable throughout pop culture. Because of this, sexual assault cases are on the rise as well as health promotions such as the ‘Consent is Sexy’ campaign is becoming more and more disregarded.
 * THE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE**

Sexual Assault is undeniably on the rise within Australia. This is defined as where an individual is threatened, verbally coerced or forced to perform a sexual act which may include forced touching or kissing or vaginal, oral, and anal penetration as stated by Abbey, Zawacki, Buck, Clinton and McAuslan (n.d.). According to statistics from the Australian Institute of Criminology (2010), sexual assault has risen at a total of 51% at an average of four per cent each year within 1995 and 2007. These astonishing statistics alone show the public health issue which both Australian men and women are faced with. It is said by numerous well-known professionals that there are many influences on a person’s actions which may or may not encourage an individual to perform an act of sexual assault. As well as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and/ or region of residence, the media is a clearly having a resounding effect on sexual assault rates. Koehler (2013) describes the blurred lines video as a “misogynistic fantasy” where a woman would rather be degraded and abused for a man’s gratification or amusement. It encourages viewers to fulfil to a male’s desire, by relegating the role of a sex doll and satisfying a man’s each and every need. Supporting literature has found many links between media influences and sexual assaults which may be the causation of the 51% rise throughout the 1995 – 2007 periods. Malamuth and Huesmann (1986) state, that with mass media on the rise, it is becoming the main cultural forces which contribute to the development of intermediate responses. With music video’s such as ‘Blurred Lines’ hitting the top of the charts, the main message of this overly popular song can encourage an even greater divide between male and females. Malamuth and Briere (1986) specified that men that have a more frequent exposure to pornographic media are more associated with the belief of a greater acceptance towards violence against women, general sexual callousness and a greater rape myth acceptance. These findings show how songs such as blurred lines are encouraging sexual assault within Australian society. The song is filled with women dancing and running around in only just a bikini sexually explicit lyrics such as “You’re an animal…baby it’s in your nature”, “I hate these ‘blurred lines’… I know you want it”. Instead of viewing women equally as men, Robin Thicke refers to women as animals, encouraging “blurred lines” which makes there no need for sexual consent, influencing the rise of sexual assault. In contrast to this video, the parody ‘Defined Lines’ was made by the Law Revue girls, three University of Auckland law students; Olivia Lubbock, Zoe Ellwood and Adelaide Dunn. Made as a parody of the ‘blurred lines’ video, it is a complete role reversal where three fully dressed girls are responding to the attentions of scantily clad men as they sing about sexism as described by Denham (2013, para 2). Instead of the sexually degrading lyrics that the original version had, the women sang lyrics to portray a more positive message such as “What you see on TV doesn’t speak equality its straight up misogyny” and “You can’t just grab me, that’s a sex crime… Yeah we don’t want it… its chauvinistic”. As mentioned by Denham (2013, para 3 & 4), the video’s creators described the video as a “bit of fun” but also to send across a positive message that women should be treated equally and to address the culture of objectifying women particularly in music videos. This music video supports the public health issue which is being addressed. Major influences such as Thicke’s music video are having a significant effect on the frequency of sexual assault within Australian society. Numerous varieties of methodologies are currently being used to tackle the issue at hand. For current sexual assault victims, there are limitless services available. Although there are services national and state wide, the most distinguished one nationally is 1800-RESPECT which is available to anyone across Australia. Despite the services available for victims are limitless, little is currently being done in Australia to prevent sexual assault. The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre has launched a national campaign to increase the awareness of sexual assault and domestic violence. As indicated by the ABC (2013) their idea is the ‘Dunny Door’ campaign where they aim to place a sticker up on every public toilet door. Another campaign which is more common throughout the United States is the ‘consent is sexy’ campaign. An article published by Brute Reason (2013) makes some very informative arguments about this campaign. Although it has been an effective method of pushing back the idea of domination and to encourage consent, it may also portray another message where it pressures an individual to make consent ‘sexy’ instead of outright saying NO. Although health campaigns such as these have been advertised all throughout the media, sexual assault and rape is still very common throughout Australia.
 * LITERATURE REVIEW**

This public health issue must be addressed and understood as it is becoming an accepted part of our culture, rising at an average of four per cent per year and also affecting one in six Australian women as well as one in twenty Australian men as of 2005. It is described by Fairfax media (2013) that Australia is the world’s wealthiest country in one measure with the median wealth of an adult Australian standing at $233 504. It can be assumed that with all this wealth, most Australians have access to technologies such as televisions, radios, computers and various mobile devices. Malamuth and Briere’s research which was mentioned previously showed the effect pornographic media had on a male’s belief towards violence against women as well as general sexual callousness and a greater rape myth acceptance. In support of this evidence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2011) conducted a Time Use survey in 2006 which was recorded in five minute intervals over two days. It was shown that TV watching and/ or listening was the most common activity where on a daily basis, 87% of Australians would do this for an average of 179 minutes. The next common activity as stated by the ABS (2011) was listening to the radio where 48% of Australians participated in this leisure activity. On average 123 minutes each day was the average duration of listening to the radio. The same survey was taken in 1994 where they found that television was only watched for 103 minutes a day on average and listening to the radio just 5 minutes a day. Recent statistics alone show a much higher usage of technology than in 1994 which is proving to have an everlasting effect on Australian culture. As described by Abera (2013, para 6) studies by the Missouri College of Arts and Science showed that over the recent years, male artists sexually objectify women however female artists would usually sexually objectify themselves. This has seemed to become more and more acceptable over the last few years many artists such as Robin Thicke. As Australia is such a diverse country, it does not specifically affect all socioeconomic backgrounds differently. Higher socioeconomic groups are surrounded by media influences which significantly impact people from this group. On the other end of the spectrum, lower socioeconomic backgrounds are also consuming this kind of influence however they may be affected by other influences such as alcohol or drugs. As a result of this analysis, it is evident that public health experts must focus on the whole population. It is becoming an ever increasing problem amongst the greater population and action must be done to ensure the statistics drop dramatically throughout the near future.
 * CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS**

In conclusion, the artefacts which I have chosen prove that there is an existent public health issue at hand. Thicke’s music video how music videos such as his number one hit ‘Blurred lines’ is objectifying women and deciphering a woman’s choice and turning it into what a man want’s to hear. Defined lines on the other hand points out this issue; it addresses the cultural issue of sexually objectifying women as well as existent gender inequality within the media. Defined lines represent the crisis emerging within Australian society. Despite the higher powers obtaining knowledge of the influence of media on an individual’s action, hardly anything is being done to spread the world on the regular occurrences of sexual assault. Prior to this investigation, I was completely unaware on the problem around us. I knew the song ‘Blurred Lines’ and I found it very likeable, however I have never understood the influence the media had on an individual and how it can perceive a person’s beliefs and actions. As a result of this assessment piece, I have learnt to be more aware of the subliminal messaging portrayed television, radio or even social media. As well as showing me to look out for the subliminal message, being female myself, I believe I have grown as a result of this. Even in my own setting, I somewhat feel the pressure to fit gender stereotypes and live up to these role models and the messages portrayed throughout the media. After completing this investigation, I now see that the female celebrities I look up to sexually objectify themselves in order to cultivate fame. This piece of assessment has been beneficial for my learning and I will take a lot away personally and professionally from the confounding information which I learnt from this experience and it will help me greatly in the future.
 * ANALYSIS OF THE ARTEFACT AND OWN LEARNING REFLECTIONS**


 * DISCUSSION (Completed 4/11/13)**

Blame Rapists, Not Boobs: []

Is ignorance really bliss? Process should be reassessed!: []


 * REFERENCE LIST**
 * Abbey, A., Zawacki, T., Buck, P.O., Clinton, A. M., McAuslan, P. (2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: what do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9, 1359-1789. [].
 * ABC. (2013). New campaign opens door to sex assault support. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from []
 * Abera, T. (2013). Blurred lines, not so much: double standards at play for women in music videos. Retrieved from []
 * Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1994). Culture Trends in Australia: A statistical overview. Retrieved from []
 * Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006a). Personal Safety Survey, Australia, 2005 (Cat. No. 4906.0). Canberra: ABS.
 * Australian Institute of Criminolgy. (2010). Trend in sexual assault. Retrieved from []
 * Australian Institute of Criminology. (2010). Trend in Sexual Assault. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from []
 * Brute Reason. (2013). “Consent is Sexy” Is Useful But Also Kind of Sketchy. Retrieved from []
 * Denham, J. (2013). Feminist parody of Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' removed from YouTube for being 'inappropriate'. Retrieved from []
 * Fairfax Media. (2013). Aussies the world's richest people: Credit Suisse. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from []
 * Huesmann, L. R., & Malamuth, N. M. (1986). Media violence and antisocial behavior: An overview. Journal of Social Issues, 42(3), 1-6.
 * Koehler, S. (2013). From the Mouths of Rapists: The Lyrics of Robin Thicke’s 'Blurred Lines'. Retrieved October 25 th, 2013, from []
 * Malamuth, N. M. (1986). Sexual Violence in the Media: Indirect Effects on Aggression Against Women. Journal of social issues, 42, 1540-4560. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1986.tb00243.x