October 2009 – Page 8

Shameless Self-Promotion Sunday

It’s a little late, but it’s here! Have at it, folks.

Facebook for the Rich; MySpace for the Poor?

Earlier research showed that the social networking choice between Facebook, MySpace and Xanga was based on the users’ race, ethnicity, and education, with Latino students trending toward MySpace, white students trending toward Facebook, and Asian and Asian-American students trending towards Xanga. Interestingly, there were no discernable social networking trends for black students.

In the meantime, Danah Boyd discovered that white teenagers believe some social networking sites like MySpace are “ghetto” (their words), while others are “more cultured” (again, their words), which dictated why one SNS gets used more often than the next. Boyd explains,

It wasn’t just anyone who left MySpace to go to Facebook. In fact, if we want to get to the crux of what unfolded, we might as well face an uncomfortable reality… What happened was modern day “white flight.” Whites were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. The educated were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those from the suburbs were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those who deserted MySpace did so by “choice” but their decision to do so was wrapped up in their connections to others, in their belief that a more peaceful, quiet, less-public space would be more idyllic.

Now a new consumer behavior analysis firm has completed additional research confirming that digital migration is taking place on SNS primarily along class lines.

Call me naive, but I always assumed the rise of Facebook usage, at least among my friends, had more to do with usability than any other function. MySpace was created as a band promotion site, not for individuals, whereas Facebook was created for individuals to connect. And to date, MySpace seems more design and tech clunky than Facebook does — that is, if I ignore all your invitations asking me to join your farm/restaurant/mafia ring. Nevertheless, the evidence appears to be stacking up in a way that reveals a new kind of digital divide, one in which social groups are choosing not to connect with or communicate with one another.

Thoughts?

Sex Clinics at Recess

Oh Michelle Bachman, what would we do without you and your, uh, creative interpretations of the facts?

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) took to the House floor last night to warn against a provision of the House health care bill, which would authorize non-profit entities to operate health clinics in schools — which she said would lead to Planned Parenthood “sex clinics” giving abortions to 13-year old girls without the parents knowing about it.

Bachmann said that the bill required the protection of privacy for patient and student records, and asked: “Does that mean that someone’s 13 year-old daughter could walk into a sex clinic, have a pregnancy test done, be taken away to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, have their abortion, be back and go home on the school bus that night? Mom and dad are never the wiser, they don’t know any different.”

I think it’s safe to say the bill does not mean that, but points for effort.

Oppression, Identity, and Liberation

Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation by Sherry Wolf
(Haymarket Books)

Sherry Wolf’s Sexuality and Socialism is a collection of essays, arranged in the order of the historical eras they examine, that look at the interplay between sexuality and economics, theory, and activism through a Marxist lens. Although the essays wander through myriad topics, the collection as a whole revolves around the core idea that liberation for any oppressed group can’t happen unless organizers build solidarity across different movements.

The first part of the book is devoted to history. Chapter 1, “The Roots of LGBT Oppression,” begins with the premise that what we today recognize as the family, with its accompanying sexual taboos, is a product of class-based societies. She then makes the intriguing claim that while sex acts have been policed for thousands of years, the concept of an LGBT identity is very new. Chapter 2, “Repression, Resistance, and War: The Birth of Gay Identity,” goes on to explain how exactly that identity came about.

Heartbreakers

No, LA Times, it is not “Hollywood vs. Middle America” in the Polanski case. It is a self-protective and sometimes tone-deaf industry against the entire rest of the country.

But it is disappointing to see who is rushing to Polanski’s defense — and how they do it. Woody Allen? Uh, predictable. Harvey Weinstein, though, should perhaps consider putting a sock in it, because he sounds awfully foolish:

In an opinion piece in London’s the Independent, Weinstein Co. co-founder Harvey Weinstein, who is circulating the pro-Polanski petition, wrote: “Whatever you think about the so-called crime, Polanski has served his time. A deal was made with the judge, and the deal is not being honored. . . . This is the government of the United States not giving its word and recanting on a deal, and it is the government acting irresponsibly and criminally.”

In an interview, Weinstein said that people generally misunderstand what happened to Polanski at sentencing. He’s not convinced public opinion is running against the filmmaker and dismisses the categorization of Hollywood as amoral. “Hollywood has the best moral compass, because it has compassion,” Weinstein said. “We were the people who did the fundraising telethon for the victims of 9/11. We were there for the victims of Katrina and any world catastrophe.”

Hollywood has the best moral compass because actors sometimes do telethons?

I don’t buy into this “Hollywood is so amoral and out of touch” business, but I do think that, like a lot of industries, they’re fairly insular and tight-knit, and they protect their own. When power players like Harvey Weinstein and Woody Allen throw their support behind Polanski, it’s awfully hard for the less-powerful to speak up. I’m sure there’s a fear that detractors won’t get work, or will be professionally shunned. So I understand why a lot of actors would stay silent. I don’t like it, but I get it.

What I don’t understand is why so many people are signing this petition. On the most basic level, it’s especially disappointing when the signatories are people whose work I like and respect. Pedro Almodovar. Wes Anderson. Natalie Portman. Kristin Scott Thomas. Darren Aronofsky. Diane von Furstenberg. Julian Schnabel. Martin Scorsese. Tilda Swinton. Gael Garcia Bernal (there goes my biggest crush). Penelope Cruz.

But they are, after all, just entertainers. It’s absolutely heartbreaking when the support comes from someone who should really know better — like the founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

“My personal thoughts are let the guy go,” said Peg Yorkin, founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “It’s bad a person was raped. But that was so many years ago. The guy has been through so much in his life. It’s crazy to arrest him now. Let it go. The government could spend its money on other things.”

Of course, there are some celebrities and well-known types who haven’t jumped on the Polanski bandwagon. Via Shakesville, that list is here. It includes Kevin Smith, Kirstie Alley, Jewel, Toure, and Eve Ensler. And Bo Zenga seems to be one of the only people talking sense:

Producer Bo Zenga (“Scary Movie,” “Soul Plane”), is one of the few executives taking a different view. “I don’t actually believe that people in Hollywood would put protecting their own above a 13-year-old girl who was raped,” he said.

“I think these people have honestly forgotten what this is really about. Everyone needs to go back and read the grand jury testimony to remember how vicious this rape was because right now everyone thinks we’re debating whether or not Polanski got a raw deal. It irritates me that people around the world think that all of Hollywood is saying that the rapist is the victim. Because I don’t feel that way, and neither do most of the people I talk with.”

Still, it would be nice of those other people would speak out.