I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to the Riot Grrrls Manifesto in Dr.

Wilson’s Lesbian Literature

class. It reminds me of the phrase coined by Laurel Thatcher, “Well-behaved women seldom make
history.” The phrase accurately depicts the very idea behind the Riot Grrrls Manifesto. I have an undying
admiration for girls who are not afraid to stand up to the established conformist system.

I did find Tom’s review of the Riot Grrrls Manifesto rather entertaining! Like many of his commentaries,
this one provided us with an alternative viewpoint not often applied to this genre of material.

I have to admit that with each additional reading of Kimmel’s , I find myself more aligned with how Sarah
feels about this particular author. The Gendered Media, from Kimmel, has to be my scribing thus far.
Much like many of our readings, it was not long before pink highlighting appeared all over the document.
Way more content to write on than anyone has time to read, yet all of it worthy of commentary and
further discussion, or why highlight it. So the process of, selection of the best begins.

Kimmel starts right off by defining “gendered media” with the statement, “Media reflect existing gender
differences and inequalities by targeting different groups of consumers with different messages that
assume prior existing differences.” This definition hits the nail on the head, going on the assumption of
long held stereotypes prevalent in our society, media (or the driving forces behind the media) aim to
hone in those differences, in an attempt to if not convince, reinforce the notion that you are not like the
image they are presenting, but should yearn to be and they have the solution to make it so, for the low
low price of… The primary driving force behind the gendered media, is separating you from your money,
with the three most responsible industries being the plastic surgery, cosmetics and diet industries.
Essentially what Kimmel is summing up with the comment, “a gigantic cultural apparatus designed to
reproduce gender inequality by making it appear that such inequality is the natural result of existing
gender differences.” The media is in every way shape and form not only guilty of allowing these
stereotypes to exist, but is fostering and nurturing them as well, to serve their own greedy and selfish
goals.

It is rather disturbing to think about how much the industry is trying to shove their message down our
throats with the increasingly widespread presence of media. Many people have televisions or radios on
in their homes, shops, offices even cars. We don’t have to wait for a doctor and be deprived of our
media. We go out to eat and not have to worry about missing the game, because the restaurant has it
playing on half of the dozen tvs they have up. If TVs aren’t enough, there are plenty of billboards around
looking to send us the very same message, “You are flawed… We can help!”

In our ongoing process of defining and reassuring our masculinity, men find themselves unable to enjoy
the programming intended for women. “What would the guys at work say?” Women, on the other
hand, have no problem drifting over to enjoy ‘men’s programming’ in their choices of what to view, not
being held to the same fictitious social stigma. It can’t be stated better than how Kimmel puts it, “the
penalties when she crosses over into his media are far less severe.” You just haven’t lived, until you’ve
enjoyed a show of the “Golden Girls.”

The last comment by Kimmel that I will bring up is a line that I found myself, after reading it the first
time, reading it again, and again. Could that really say what I think it says? Could it be? The sentence
being referred to is, “Far more women like sports TV, Tool, gangsta rap, online pornography, and Grand
Theft Auto…” Tool?!? Really? I thought, Kimmel can’t be talking about a drill or a hammer, Tool is
capitalized and in the middle of the sentence. Kimmel must be talking about the band Tool! I was so
very impressed that numerous people in Model Hall soon found themselves subjected to my reading.
After hearing this, Chris Gray commented, “A woman that likes Tool? Scott is looking for her!” to which I
responded, “Yes, that is an elusive creature I only thought to exist in fables and fairy tales, until I seen
some at a concert!”

Kimmel is not only a fantastic feminist author, but someone I can relate to, admire and even aspire to be.
Kimmel always seems to have an eye on, what is the patriarchal society looking to gain, or retain from
this particular thing. Never afraid to call an apple an apple and an orange an orange, Kimmel is never
afraid to point out where men are in the wrong, in no way shape or form suffering from compulsorily
masculinity, like many of the sheep-like men in our society.

Jigsaw, like many zines, seems like a busy piece of work, with a barrage of information coming at you, like
a snapshot of a teenager’s scattered bedroom. Not meant in a negative sense, by any means, but more
as a description of how they make me feel. Almost overwhelmed, with a virtually infinite amount of
avenues to explore, investigate, ponder... each avenue having a different story to tell, a new universe to
unfold or beckoning adventure to take. Reminds me of the “Where’s Waldo” books. Stimuli overload for
the visual senses, but none the less still oddly appealing. My only worry is that, what if the message is
lost in all the words? I certainly appreciate the added ‘media’ available in the form of zines, allowing
messages like Kathleen Hanna’s to get out. My favorite line out of the reading has to be, “these other
big kids were mean and snotty and they listened to QUEEN and AIRSUPPLY.” I laughed hard after reading
that sentence, and then thought, “I listen to Queen.” Hmmm.