GOSSIP GIRL: Examined

I actually knew Gossip girl as a book series back when I was still in high school. (Note: I’ve finished college already.) Today, every high school and college girl must have heard of Gossip girl. This is because Gossip girl has turned into this sensational TV series featuring highly fashionable clothes and a ridiculously good looking crew.

Gossip girl is all about a certain group of affluent students in Upper East Side, New York who are in a seemingly tight place to be climbing up an already crowded social ladder. The most controversial crowd includes:

1. Blair, the “Queen Bee”, a daughter of a famous fashion designer also known as evil sugarcoated
2. Serena, a reformed party girl and Blair’s best friend
3. Nate, Blair’s long time boyfriend who fell for Serena
4. Chuck, a rash play boy who is the son of a rich businessman
5. Jenny, a middle class girl trying to get into Blair’s posse
6. Dan, Jenny’s brother, became Serena’s boyfriend after a few fateful meetings

Gossip girl features this anonymous web site where everybody who is a somebody is featured. This web site thrives in nothing but gossip—who is dating who, where they’re going to college, what (insert name here) wore during the last pool party, who is the latest social climber, etc. Basically, every other person’s life in the Upper East Side is just another tragedy waiting to happen.

What alarms me is that this show has a lot to do with problematic female behavior. Males where taught to deal with difficult situations physically. Two men eyeing the same woman at a bar? A fistfight finishes the story. Computer game buddy getting on your nerves? Fistfight finishes the story. A cheater at gambling? Fistfight all the way. (Not that I encourage it.) However, women are not “trained” that problems should be dealt with physically. Instead, women adopt a slyer and scheming approach: gossip.

The show Gossip girl feeds the notion that gossip is okay and that it is an effective defense against people who seem to want to destroy your life. A gossip is countered by a more poisonous gossip, and this starts a cycle of hatred where there is no end goal but to murder the image of a person. What’s more, the danger multiplies because in Gossip girl, the people are expected to hang out with a particular posse, which is composed of people who are willing to invent the nastiest rumor just to protect a member of this posse. Basically, it’s just like the classic Filipino frat war—just as heartless albeit bloodless.

Moreover, there are a lot of things in Gossip girl which are disapproved by most Filipino minds today. Things such as casual sex, cheating, rebellion, revenge, drug addiction, gambling, catfights and social climbing are presented in Gossip girl in a very natural way, as if it is as natural as the sun rising and setting. What’s worse, they sugarcoat these cultural detriments by hiding them under the coat of glam and good looks.

As one of the most awaited shows of the whole world (thanks to outstanding marketing), Gossip girl received mixed reviews during their first few week of airing. In fact, the Parents Television Council of America labeled Gossip Girl as “Mind-blowingly Inappropriate”, “A Nasty Piece of Work” and “Every Parent’s Nightmare”. If that’s not enough, people who ACTUALLY live in the Upper East Side also accused Gossip Girl of over-glamorizing their lifestyles. Tsk tsk.

Anyway, I won’t be a hypocrite here. I was also addicted to Gossip girl. It was that addiction which made me examine it a little bit deeper (I actually rewatched Seasons 1 and 2!). Sure, the clothes are great and everyone is just ridiculously attractive. Gossip girl is a guilty pleasure, a sin chamber, and you know you love it (anyway). But we have to take a good look at our values again and not be taken by this storm of evil disguising as a TV show.

Got something to say? Email it to me —live_out_loud@ymail.com. Gossip girl’s third season is just coming up, and we’ll all be waiting…or not.

Who do I love? Katy Perry!

Katy Perry is an outstanding new artist, like a refreshing cocktail in a sea of boring old drinks.

Her lyrics are either smart, feisty and heartfelt. With an easily distinguishable voice and doll-like appearance, it didn't take long for Katy Perry to rise up the music charts.

She took the world by the storm for the first time over "I Kissed a Girl" which talked about a girl kissing another girl for the first time and actually liking it. The song is naughty but very direct to the point. This song came in handy in the "gay fad", where TV shows like the L word, Queer as Folk and talks about Lindsay + Samantha Ronson, Portia + Ellen and some gay boyband members skyrocketed.

Kety Perry then surprises us with a ballad: Thinking of You. It is a sad love song with a very melodramatic music video.

What makes Katy Perry so distinct is her versatility. She flings from "I Kissed a Girl" (pop) to "Thinking of You" (mellow) to "Waking Up in Vegas" (party) and it doesn't look like she's doing a lot of effort doing so. Kudos to you Katy Perry.

And I'll be looking forward to greater music and more eyelash batting, biatch. :)

How to Be an Icon ♥

I’m not saying I am one, but since you’re already assuming it, okay, I won’t put up a fight.

Anyway, lately, I’ve been spending most of my time just thinking about life, going through it half-listening to people and half-asleep. I guess there’s this thing about unemployment that makes you appreciate the OTHER things in life aside from money. (Oh, are there actually OTHER things in life aside from money? Just kidding.) I’ve been thinking how we live to die and how we just have to make the most out of our lives.

So here goes. I compiled a list of things that we need to do in order to make a mark in this world. I know it’s difficult to top how sorry people felt when Cory Aquino died but at least when we do, we get to be remembered for some things that fall under the category of “pleasant memories”.

1. Have a signature accessory. For Chuck Bass of Gossip Girl, it was his scarf. For Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada (the book), it was her white Hermes scarf. No, it doesn’t need to be a scarf, just something that you can wear everyday. I know a friend who wears a bundle of extraordinary necklaces everyday and it seemed to blend into whatever he wears. And he gets known for it. A signature accessory makes you “own” such accessory because people see you frequently with it. (Just like when people see you often with a single person, they assume you’re a couple.)

2. Have a signature scent. Studies show that scents are the greatest memory triggers. Wear something that’s light enough to blend with any weather and something that can go from day to night. Choose a scent that you really like and maintain wearing it for a long time. When people you know smell it from someone else, they will instantly remember you. Besides, there’s really no excuse for not smelling good, is there?

3. Speak a certain way…consciously. This may sound difficult for some people but when you get used to it, it comes out naturally. A lot of people think I’m really “disagreeable” or, in our dialect, “maldita” because when I talk and when I’m engrossed in an (intellectual) conversation, I tip my head to the left and raise my left eyebrow. If you see me from afar, I look very “maldita”. But until now, nobody knows I do it just because that’s the angle where I’m more photogenic. Charming varsity, isn’t it? Intellectual thoughts + good looks! Boo! Hahaha!

4. Get published. Gah! I don’t care how you do it. Whether you volunteer for a charity organization and have a press-worthy event, win an inter-school spelling bee, be accused of mass murder, be the first Filipino on the moon or be the next Wowowee millionaire, just getting your name and/or picture on print is a good avenue to be remembered. You do THAT, or just apply as a writer here. Hehe.

What can I say? Life’s too short to be unnoticed. Email me! Live_out_loud@ymail.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FANCY PANTS

Happy Birthday to my favorite bitch, PAMELA.

visit her fabulous blog and send her your kisses. that was not a request.

Women and Spending

Money has been pretty tight to me lately. I just decided to take up writing seriously and the paychecks arrived late and sometimes, some clients from overseas terminate projects in the middle of our agreed time and there’s no way for me to have my say. That’s how it works in the industry I’m in. So lately, I’ve been trying to make ends meet through a tight purse.

It was difficult. God, it was difficult. I was used to having a good life, partying at night, and hanging out at posh coffee shops or shopping malls by day. Writing was paying really well so when I lost two of my biggest accounts because our projects are finished, I kind of tilted towards life. Then it dawned on me that it’s not really because money ran out fast. Money was still arriving, albeit in slower paces, but it was my attitude towards money which put me in the losing end.

Women, unlike men, are often not judged or measured by how much we earn. In fact, most of the things which were taught by our mothers were those which involved housekeeping, childrearing and taking care of our bodies. Men were often measured by their status in the society and, of course, how much they earn. Every gathering that involves highflying men always looked like an ego parade to me. Everyone was flashing their watches, taking out their cellular phones and name dropping like crazy. Men and money had a very close relationship and they’re not afraid to flaunt it.

Women, on the other hand, often feel embarrassed when discussing money. We are the ones who find it difficult to tell our friends to pay us the money they owe us. We are the ones who include emotion in our shopping, those who spend money to feel better, those who want to be pampered and are willing to spend for it. We think we deserve such pampering, and more middle-class purses are spending for upper class luxuries. I’ve seen many women who fall into this trap. Measly earning market vendors are getting weekly pedicures. Girls who go to public schools because their parents cannot afford to send them anywhere else spend for hair treatments to look good. A lot of women are guilty of shopping whenever they’re depressed.

I’ve read somewhere that the materialism today was caused by the emerging of two-income families during the 1960s. In this boom, women began receiving and spending money, but they weren’t taught properly on how to handle it. Women began to rise in the workforce, with the famous “second shift” (work during the day and when they get home they work again to housekeep) brushed under the rug. Simply put, women didn’t really confront money as much as men have, and this is one of the reasons why I seriously believe that a lot of women should read up more on financial security and management.

As for the rest of the world, that’s the idea. As for me, I’m painting my nails at home.

Got some money saving tips? I’m planning to compile the smartest contributions and publish them. Gimme a ding—live_out_loud@ymail.com

Ranting About the Rapping: The Evils of Hip Hop

Generations have passed since hip hop was first introduced as a formal music genre. But then hip hop stood. In fact, hip hop has been reinvented over and over, added flavors, colors, some bling bling. Do I like hip hop? Occasionally. Which means…I don’t, really.

Hip hop used to be a “good vibe” music, makes my head bang softly, a relaxing tune coupled with beats. I had no problem with beats—my heart beats. But today, hip hop has become more than just a musical genre. It has become a misleading lifestyle.

Careful when letting kids watch hip hop music videos or anything closely associated with it. In fact, if you look at the language that they use, rhymes are powdered with foul words, as if those foul words are integrated in the music. This is detrimental because the use of such words will be normalized and since hip hop is “fun”, such words will be deemed as acceptable. The truth is, hip hop is one of the avenues where newer foul words are born. Today, there are about dozens of words that can demean the persona. Words such as “shorty”, “slut”, “hoe” and “bitch” are used side-by-side “dawg” (dog) and “nigga”. These words only reached mainstream use when they appeared more and more frequently in hip hop songs. Tsk tsk.

Another thing that I don’t like about the whole hip hop fad is the way it glamourizes the use and abuse of drugs, alcohol and smoking. In a lot of hip hop videos, the aforementioned things are deemed as cool. The more expensive the drugs, the alcohol and the smokes are, the more powerful and “cool” that person is. Such things are portrayed as a luxurious lifestyle, and they are packaged along with all the bling bling, the beautiful women, the red carpet. When presented together, they create an image these things usually come together, and the drugs, alcohol and smokes all look “okay” and “acceptable” now. If you take out all the glamour, these things will revert to being easily recognizable social evils. That’s it. They’re evil. But hip hop is the mask that hides their evil-ness. Again, tsk tsk.

Lastly, the thing I don’t like most about hip hop is the way they treat women in their music videos. Usually, the women who appear in such videos are scantily clad, and they usually wear a face that’s more often than not the face of desperate seduction. (Rolls eyes.) These women are not just treated as social objects but they are explicitly flaunting such treatment. There are a lot of avenues where women are also treated as sexual objects. Take, for example, James Bond movies, other superhero movies, and even a number of chick flicks. However, in hip hop videos, women are always the ones who lured the men, the ones who surrounded the men, and no matter how beautiful they are, the men always rule. I repeat, tsk tsk.

I have no problems if you like hip hop. After all, there’s still the music part that pulls me into tuning my radio to hip hop still. But if you see the way I do, or completely oppositely, you may give me a ding---live_out_loud@ymail.com.

Back to Square One

need.to.find.a.new.job.asap

a more satisfying one
a more motivating one
a more challenging one
a higher paying one
a more fabulous one

lol. until then, come home, come home.. :)