The Times journalist spends a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of this particular term from a cultural, feminist, racial and academic standpoint:
The swift adoption of vajayjay is not simply about pop culture’s ability to embrace new slang. Neologisms are always percolating. What this really demonstrates, say some linguists, is that there was a vacuum in popular discourse, a need for a word for female genitalia that is not clinical, crude, coy, misogynistic or descriptive of a vagina from a man’s point of view.What exactly is a "vacuum in popular discourse"? Can we have a "need" for a word that does not exist? And doesn't this new word offer its own set of problems (i.e. its very childishness)?
Let's pull out a couple of other particularly interesting snippets from this piece:
Shonda Rhimes, the creator and executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” who brought the word into full public view, never intended to promote a euphemism or slang term for the female anatomy. Rather, she fought to use vagina in the script.And note the last quote in the story:
“It’s a word I use, a word my female friends use, a word I’ve heard women in the grocery store use. I don’t even think about where it came from anymore. It doesn’t belong to me or anyone at the show. It belongs to all women.”What can we gather from all of this, in regards to word choice and language in our society?
First, consider the very idea that we can discuss this word from all of these perspectives -- cultural, racial, gendered. Who uses the word matters as well, in terms of power in meaning. It makes a difference that it was the no-nonsense character of Miranda Bailey that used the word, and not, say, sweet Izzy. Indeed, I find the very idea that someone or a group of someones can 'own' any word fascinating. How does one do that exactly? And why?
Second, I'm intrigued by the multiple life cycles this word has had -- from its inclusion in the script of a television show to its meteoric rise into mainstream conversation. So this 'fake' word is plucked from cultural obscurity, thrown into a fictional story (uttered by a fictional character), after which it crosses into the 'real' world via a series of mediated pushs (from Oprah to the blogosphere), until it ends up in people's conversations. Next thing the poor word knows? It's on the cover of the Times Style section. Where can it go from there?
Finally, while we're considering this word's cultural progression, let's not discount Oprah's influence in here. Once Oprah used the word, forget about it. How is it that a media icon can also control our common lexicon? What does that say about the new power elite -- a mediated elite, I'd argue -- in our society?
Thoughts?
5 comments:
The sudden popularity of the word vajayjay to describe a women's vagina, something rarely discussed or spoken about openly in the mainstream media, shows the power of the media elite to influence public opinion.
Society has often deemed a women's vagina as inapropriate. The NYT article quotes Eve Ensler, stating, "What we don’t say becomes a secret, and secrets often create shame and fear and myths.” Vagina is too often an “invisible word,” one “that stirs up anxiety, awkwardness, contempt and disgust.” The article also reports how Grey's Anatomy producers were uncomfortable with the writers usin the word, simply perpetuating vagina's "invisible word" status.
The awkwardness created around the term vagina describes the "vacuum in popular discourse" discussed in the article. The media and public needed an appropriate term to describe the female anatomy because nothing existed that was acceptable in mass society. This created vajayjay; a term that society had not yet contaminated to mean anything derogatory toward women.
Grey's Anatomy found it appropriate, along with other powerful media elites, which influenced public acceptance and usage of the term. According to Gross, this phenomenon would demonstrate the power of media as a model for normalization. The Mass media has become the primary source of the common information and images that create and maintain a person's world view and value system.
"Even the most sophisticated among us can find many components of our 'knowledge' of the real world which derive from fictional representations," stated Gross.
This means that since the media world has not accepted vagina as an appropriate term, the public did not either. From there the media has now suggested a new term, and because of its lack of opposition by the media elite, vajayjay remains a respected, positive and appropriate word in society. I think the doctor in the article exemplifies the media's effective power best: "A very elegant, middle-aged black woman used that word in my presence last week,” he added. “It’s a very O.K. word.”
As Gross said, elites have the ability to influence society and help define the public agenda. What I think is particularly interesting about this case is that it illustrates how the definition of “elite” is morphing. Elites have typically been a certain group of people – white, wealthy, heterosexual and middle-aged males. But the elites who helped make vajayjay part of our daily lexicon do not fit the traditional definition of elite. From the creator and producer of Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes, to Oprah, it is clear that elites in this case, although wealthy, heterosexual and middle-aged, are strong black women. And who first uttered the world on national TV? Another strong black, middle-aged woman named Miranda Bailey.
So these media icons helped normalize the word and make it acceptable in society. The word gained popularity because these elites have significant power and a large reach. But which part of the public is more likely to say this word? It’s mostly women. And possibly primarily black women. The doctor in the article even said that a “middle-aged black women said it in his presence.”
This may imply that vajayjay has certain race and gender associated with it. Maybe its meant to be said by strong black women who aren’t afraid to discuss their private parts, but want a term that is a bit humorous and does not have any negative associations with it. Think about it – can white men (or men in general) really say vajayjay? My guess is probably not.
It’s interesting to think about how a new power elite, one comprised of more women and minorities, has started to, and my guess will continue to have more influence over the media. What effect will this have on media and on society? Will more of their values, beliefs, interests and biases be incorporated into media? Will they change the public agenda?
Rather than discuss the implications of choosing a new word for the socially awkward "vagina," I think it's interesting to examine the role the media plays in the popularity of new terms and phrases.
I'm not so sure that the increased popularity of the term vajayjay automatically indicates the domination and control of media corporations. I think the use of this term reflects a common trend in our society. With such fast-paced media, especially since the Internet became popular, terms spread quickly. There is often a snowballing effect that takes place, creating something into a bigger deal than it actually is. Words and phrases have caught fire in the past, with some maintaining popularity and others disappearing. For example, Paris Hilton's "That's hot" expression seemed to be everywhere a year or so ago. Now, you hardly ever hear it. The same goes for a phrase such as "surfing the net."
For my J202 media analysis presentation, we discussed the power of words and phrasing in the news with our case study as the Winter Olympics in Torino. My group concluded that the negative portrayal of Americans in these Olympic games largely had to do with such a snowballing effect. Yes, some negative things happened, but the more the media reported the news using negative terms, the more impossible it became to escape the overall picture of a failed Olympic games for the Americans.
This may seem like a bit far off the topic at hand, but I think it fits in well. The use of vajayjay, which was first probably humorous and surprising to TV audiences, quickly gained other media attention. Just because it's been mentioned in the media, however, doesn't mean it has reached a new status. I think the media is merely reflecting a term that may be popular among women in society. As a "socializing agent" (Ball-Rokeach & DeFleur), the media informs people of the changes in society. Bringing notice to such a term does just that.
I wouldn't be surprised if vajayjay quickly falls off the radar. I don't think it's used seriously enough to be taken seriously.
However, I do think Sarah's point about how the term was popularized by black women is a very good point. Is vajayjay an example of the rise of social influence of black women in America?
-Elli
This seems to me to be a clear example of the media's ability of normalization. We discussed normalization fo relationships, knowledge, behavior guides and value systems-- this seems to fit in well with the last two categories. What we can and cannot talk about (in this case, vaginas) is very much influenced by the media. And, to take it further, (you might think this a stretch but I'll give it a shot), in terms of value systems this new, audible word may increase society's value of female anatomy. In a very small way, the use of the term vajayjay may increase the mention of vaginas in normal conversation.
As Ensler said in the article, not mentioning something changes its meaning into something taboo.
The points made that words come in and out of style are true. It will be hard to say if vajayjay can have an impact on our society unless it sticks around. Many slang words, do, however become part of everyday vocabulary for very long periods of time-- remember when the word "sucks" as in "that sucks" came around? I know at least some of my friends' parents hated it for its sexual connotation, but now it is part of normal conversation. Has it had an effect on how we percieve certain sexual acts? I guess that's what this whole thing is about-- if a word and its connotations can change how we see reality. I think it has the power to, certainly.
Sarah’s post about the possible morphing of the definition of the elite is interesting. Are a FEW middle aged African American women in the media using a new word for vagina (a word that is not normally considered acceptable) constitute a transformation? This reminds me of Entman’s theory of modern racism. Sometimes it can only take a few token minorities to create an impression of change in the power structure. But in reality very little has changed. The majority of minorities do not have access to elite positions or influence. So, I wish vajayjay was a sign of changing times, but it was a couple of minorities referring to something that is not usually deemed proper anyways. It is not as if a large group of minority women announced a new name for the stock market and everyone started using it, including white , heterosexual men.
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