 Media Credit: Dimitri Tsimoyianis
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On March 8, members of Women in Communications and other interested students went to hear singer/ songwriter Meredith LeVande's presentation entitled "Women, Pop Music, and Pornography" in the McGinley Ballroom. This topic was especially timely because March 8 is National Women's Day, part of National Women's History Month.
LeVande found it difficult to break into the music industry without changing her image. She noticed a discrepancy between achieving success as a musician and maintaining the values she gained by majoring in women's studies. Now LeVande keeps her music career low-key, choosing to perform in coffeehouses and colleges. LeVande focuses on giving her "Women, Pop Music and Pornography" presentation in colleges around the country.
The presentation displayed what LeVande described as "the hyper-sexualized landscape of female musicians," presenting the similarities between the portrayal of women in pop music and pornography. LeVande showed images of pop stars-such as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Hilary Duff - next to pictures of porn stars and drew the audience's attention to the fact that there is little, if any, difference between the ways the women are portrayed.
LeVande's presentation was scheduled to last from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., but actually lasted until 10 p.m.. The first hour was dedicated to LeVande's visual presentation and lecture, while she spent the second and third hours speaking intimately with the audience. LeVande casually but professionally sat down in the audience, answering students' questions and posing questions to students about their thoughts on the topic.
LeVande and the audience discussed how the pornographic portrayal of women is deep-seeded in the media. The proliferation of such images, therefore, affects the lives of young women and girls. To prevent these negative attitudes about women from seeping more into everyday life, LeVande said that young women, including female Fordham students, should be selective television viewers, realistically deal with sexuality and educate themselves in order to make informed decisions about what they see in the media.
Students on campus probably did not see the program advertised as "Women, Pop Music, and Pornography." WIC president Chanel Cathey, FCRH '08, said, "The Office of Student Leadership and Community Development was hesitant to advertise the program as such on campus. So, I had to change the name of the lecture to the alternative 'Women and Popular Media.' After speaking with our lecturer about it, she was shocked that the title of her lecture raised eyebrows because she has never been met with concern from collegiate faculty before, and she has lectured at hundreds of colleges across the country even Jesuit institutions."
Cathey continues, "I hope that having this lecture on campus is a step toward our University welcoming healthy discussions about controversial issues that students confront everyday. Perhaps in the future we can welcome Meredith LeVande back and advertise the program as she originally intended."
Despite the initial setbacks, Cathey said, "The program was a success and I am glad that we were able to bring it to campus."
Anyone interested in joining WIC can email fordhamwic@yahoo.com. To learn more about Meredith LeVande, visit her website at www.meredithlevande.com.
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