We Are All Judged

                Films have been a critical part of structuring stereotypes within our society. It is often easy for viewers to fall into these stereotypes especially when they are directed toward a group of people we are unfamiliar with, have never seen or heard of. In Professor Diem – Bui’s lecture, she addresses this issue among Vietnamese women. American films have created a certain representation of Vietnamese women depicted as quiet and submissive and depict their bodies as physical representations of a Vietnam prior to the war. Vietnamese women are constantly represented as prostitutes and products of war.

                As Professor Diem-Bui finished up her lecture she went on to tell a story of her own experience going back to Vietnam after the war. She recalled an event when she was at a night club there when a man kept pursuing her on the dance floor. He grinded his body up against hers and continued to follow her around the bar. She realized that the man had mistaken her as a prostitute and no matter how many times she told him she was not, he kept advancing toward her anyways. Because of the way the man was acting towards her, everyone else there thought she was a prostitute as well. The waitresses would not serve her and snuffed her requests. After her experience she decided to shave her head completely. She described this as a liberating experience and explained that she now knew was it was like to experience the “male sexual gaze”.

                Her story reminded me of my own. As a Mexican –American, I have taken several trips to Mexico throughout my life and I have certainly experienced the “male sexual gaze” during my time spent there. Where Professor Diem-Bui talked about how Vietnamese women are sexualized and considered prostitutes, I feel as though a lot of other countries also have this sexualized idea of American women. To people in foreign countries, American women are viewed as sexually liberating, independent, and wild. Because of their view I feel as though they look down on American women. During visits to Mexico I often got cat calls from men and dirty looks from women if they thought my dress was too shirt or my shirt was too low.

Although I have never been mistaken for a prostitute the idea is still there. The media, no matter where you live, shapes your views of others and unconsciously plants stereotypes into our minds. As Professor Diem-Bui noted our knowledge is produced by pop culture. If we have never met someone from Vietnam or America, it is easy to take what we see on TV, in the movies, or on the internet as true. Stereotypes will never go away and to a certain degree they do define us, but where do we draw that line? We are products of our culture and our culture is a product of the media. The media places values on our culture and dictates what is right or wrong, good or bad, cool or outdated. It is important to critically evaluate the messages that pour out onto us from the media and although we may adhere to the “When in Rome…” rule, people will always have their own preconceived judgments.