Katy Perry produced an excellent pro-Muslim/anti-Muslim-registry PSA by the organization “Don’t Normalize Hate.” [Jezebel]
Taylor Swift got pap’d for the first time in 2017 and I think I know why she’s been so quiet – she got bigger implants? [LaineyGossip]
Would you let Wendy Williams choose your baby’s name? [Dlisted]
Gabrielle Union is one of those ageless-beauty women. [Go Fug Yourself]
Peter Thiel is basically White Privilege: The Guy. [Pajiba]
Eugenie Brouchard should spend more time practicing. [Popoholic]
Will Flo Rida perform at Trump’s inaugural? [The Blemish]
I swear, Cameron Dove seems like “the blonde Kardashian” to me. [Moe Jackson]
Kyle Richards is proud of Kim Richards. [Reality Tea]
Lamar Odom is still talking about how he wants Khloe Kardashian back. [Starcasm]
Sofia Black D’Elia has a great look. [Celebslam]
I guess I appreciate this.y favorite commercial was the amazon one though. As a Muslim woman though( and this is off topic) I find it so frustrating when conversations of Muslim women come up from people that are all allegedly pro equality who paint all of us with the same victim confused brainwashed don’t know any better brush for wearing a hijab which I’ve seen happen here time and again. I don’t deserve to have my opinions on how I express my religion condescended too like i have no thoughts of my own when I’m a university undergraduate who’s worked hard for everything I’ve had and made my own choice to convert recently.
Well said. I am so bewildered by the people who have meltdowns about Muslim women wearing hijabs or abayas.
I think it’s because of the country I live in. We are 60% Christian, 40% Muslim but Christians and Muslims pretty much live in harmony with no real issues whatsoever.
I am so confused when I read about hijab pullers in the West. It’s part of someone’s faith. I’ll be damned if someone came up to me and tried to take off my crucifix necklace for example.
Keep your head up.
It’s unfortunate because I’ve seen so many of my hijabi sisters express fear not from their religion but from ignorant xenophobic racists and what might happen to them and heard talks about the heartbreak they feel from living in fear of wearing it. Thankfully I’ve only gotten a few weird stares that I absolutely gave right back but some stories I’ve seen have been awful like the woman in niqab being set on fire or attempted to by some man in new York.
Sorry, but hijab and niqab do have a misogynic symbolism and history that crosses don’t have. This is a too complicated topic to just claim that people who criticize them are “xenophobic racists” who don’t get it.
Nun’s habit then Megan? Or the wig of an orthodox Jewish woman? Both full head coverings.
Megan – I doubt very much that the people who go apoplectic when they see a hijab and even try to forcibly remove it are motivated by anti-misogyny…
The fact is that regardless of any origins, such things have another long history of voluntary use by women as a religious expression. Islam is a worldwide religion and comes in many different flavors. Use of head coverings is not universal but you need to believe women who use them and do not feel coerced.
Huh? I’m catholic and while there certainly are things I criticize my church for, I have never seen a catholic civilian wear a nun’s habit. That’s “workwear”, showing you belong to an order, not something catholic females are supposed to wear.
Nun’s habit only covers their hair, it’s nothing like niqab. And nuns are women who have decided to “marry Jesus Christ” or however they explain it, and dedicate their lives to serving him, it’s like their job. Other christians don’t wear nun’s habits so it’s not comparable to muslims wearing niqabs, hijabs etc.
Megan – the old nun’s habit was actually based on normal clothing for women in Europe hundreds of years ago. Every place and time has different ranges of tolerance for clothing choices. Try walking down the street naked if you think you have 100% freedom of choice yourself. You’re just used to a particular range of options that seem normal to you, but there is nothing absolute about any of it.
And when I was young, women did indeed have to cover their heads in a Catholic Church. This applied to visitors who were not Catholic also, tourist attractions generally had something to provide visitors as needed. We were told it was because we were so vain about our hair. Really. (We also were told that priests couldn’t be married because they would tell their wives about things heard in the confessional and the women would blab, despite the known fact that female spies are significantly better at keeping secrets than male spies.. and even as a child I realized that obviously the original blabbermouth in that scenario would have to be the male priest.) It was morphing into a token covering (a Kleenex held in place by a bobby pin would do in a pinch) and the custom was dropped in US churches by my late teens or early twenties. But in earlier times, it was much more similar to a hijab. It’s all cultural and variable over time.
As a matter of fact, I remember women wearing coverings outside of church that were stylistically similar to a hijab, although not for religious purposes (usually as protection from sun or cold). It’s an old style that appears in many cultures and times, and definitely modern prejudices have made it into something else when Muslim women wear it.
Hi – there is more than one commentor named Megan so please don’t’ confuse us. I believe the veil is an expression of faith. No judgement or pity from me.
My friend, who had to attend a Koran school, was taught the veil was important for the separation of men and women, seclusion of women and to ensure that only her husband has access to the woman.
Do you really not see the difference? I can’t walk down the street naked, but my brother can’t either. I may wear a bikini, but he wears speedos.
Hijab and niqab are for women only, and you believe there is no symbolism in that, just a harmless expression of faith?
I recently read an article in the Independent (“Iranian women call on Western tourists to violate hijab law to fight against oppression”) and my friend laughed at me and said: You really think western feminists will help them? They feel so much more tolerant and multicultural if they ignore the problem.
I guess she is right again.
@Megan Gee thanks for demonstrating once again the lack of critical thinking skills and one sided perspective of so many white western feminists. Do you really think that there’s only reason for hijab based on your own narrow experience and do you really think that there aren’t Islamic feminists addressing our own intra community issues to the point where we need white women to come in and save us? Also interesting that all you took out of my personal experience with actual racists was some crap about how religion is sexist like I’ve never heard that before and can’t make my own choices. Gimme a break. I’m not even going to bother trying to educate you.
I absolutely don’t believe there’s only one experience, but if you call my view narrow, then certainly yours is, too, and I indeed would refuse to be “educated” by someone like that.
The attack in New York was so awful, but people like that don’t care what the reason for the hijab really is or if it is mysogynistic or not. They can’t be stopped by discussing that with them anyway because that is not their motivation.
With all due respect, but could the problem be that these “intra community” feminists do such a poor job? Look at the situation of women in MENA countries, but also in the US and UK and other European countries.
Are all Muslim women in difficult situations? Of course not, but a lot of “feminists” apparently want to sweep those who are under the rug.
Other Megan here again … I visited Iran in September and Iranian women don’t need any help from Western visitors. They have already empowered themselves.
What? This is an Iranian women’s campaign and Ms. Masih Alinejad spoke for them when she urged Western tourists to help them in their fight.
But I guess now that you have informed them they don’t need any help they will stop that.
@Tammyt I have actually been to Iran and seen their feminist movement first hand, and I really don’t think they need outsiders to pave the way. While I was visiting, feminists organized a day of action in Tehran which men wore head scarves to make the point they should be voluntary for both sexes.
Also, Alinejad lives in the U.K., not Iran (albeit because she was forced to flee Iran). Asking visitors not to wear a head scarf in Iran is a symbolic gesture as you will not be admitted into any building without a head scarf. I know this because mine fell off a few times.
It maybe because I’m in a bad mood. It maybe because the pain is so strong I can’t sleep, it also maybe because I just can’t with this argument.
I am black (OK, half). I’m Muslim. I’m a woman. Could you please kindly stop being willfull Blind? Is it sheer stupidity, arrogance or too much politically -correct overindulgence ?
While the hijab is part of Islam – hiding hair is common in all judeo-chretien moral, the niqab is not. And both are tools and symbols of women oppression. There’s faith and there’s facts.
So yes some women are choosing freely to wear them. Some have a choice. Most do not. So, sorry not sorry, to be rude, but if one freely choose to adopt tools used to silence women voices, then one should go all the way and just shut the hell up.
Yes, it always confuses me when people believe our society isn’t free enough for women to actually make their own choices.
Obviously women aren’t always able to make their own choices and that is an issue we should work to eradicate, but it’s this weird default believe that everything a woman does must be because a man wants her to that as if we don’t enjoy the same freedom of thought, beliefs and expression as everyone else.
misogynic, sorry, it was late…
I would also like to add that it’s always muslim women attacked first, by both the violent racist hijab pullers who apparently think the answer to fighting our supposedly backwards savage men they say beat and rape their wives is to savagely beat and attack their wives and the white feminist/liberal circles that erase our voices and commentary and only see us as mindless victims they can use to demonstrate how backwards the East is when they want to make a statement.
@Miss Grace Jones +1000 You are absolutely right in both your points. It is painful to see the lack of critical thinking from women who consider themselves feminists when it comes to muslim women, especially those who decide to wear the veil. I had the fortune many years ago to see Nawal El Saadawi speak and she opened my eyes greatly to that racism (she is outspoken Egyptian feminist, blacklisted by Mubarak I believe). I am not sure what her stance on specifically wearing the veil is, but she was clear in her admonishment and basically ” f*@!^ You” to western feminists for their condescension and inability to see where the male gaze was essentially the same in effect for all women, everywhere. And it is such a feminist issue, because as you said, the veil is visible (whereas a muslim man may not have any clear identifiers) and so muslim women are often subjected to greater harassment and violence.
there was a cartoon going around a while back. it has a woman in a bikini, and then a woman in full dress and veil. ranged around both of the figures are a bunch of horeshite ignorant statements that applied to both figures.
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/02/22/questioning-definitions-of-freedom/
(ok, the one in the body of the work in the link is a very simple one..the one i am thinking of had more sayings attached, but the essence is the same: don’t define someone else’s experience for them. )
@Q of H
I don’t know, we were discussing all these issues in our Women studies class 15 years ago. I think no educated feminist worth her salt is unaware or hasn’t considered the other perspective. Some may, however, having considered other perspectives, still choose to “side” with one side more than the other, often due to their own experiences or the experiences of women they are most familiar with.
Thank you, Miss Grace Jones, for sharing your perspective. I’m sorry you had to come to CB, a place a lot of us like to think of as a safe space, and feel belittled and condescended to. That’s not right.
@Shambles I think the biggest problem i have is that feeling of frustration i get where I’m supposed to be included in this circle of women who claim to be against judging women’s personality and intelligence based on what they wear but it’s not applied to women who CHOOSE TO wear the hijab and to address more conservatively. And the irony of these white feminists claiming that muslim men speak for us while choosing themselves to speak for us muddying the discourse and making it even more difficult for any inner or outer community discussion to take place. Even harder being a black muslim woman anx having to explain intersectionality and womanism.
I think your comment makes such a good point and I want to highlight this:
”the white feminist/liberal circles that erase our voices and commentary and only see us as mindless victims they can use to demonstrate how backwards the East is when they want to make a statement”
I think this is one of the problems about Western feminism that needs to be addressed in terms of looking at Muslim women and Muslim feminists.
It’s not backward for a Muslim woman to wear a veil, hijab etc
It’s not backward for a woman to like modesty and want it shown in her clothing
I think one of the biggest problems for feminism and I have seen this in my ultra-conservative African countries is that some strains of feminism have not been able to be respectful of some women who are religious/conservative/modest, irrespective of whether they are Muslim/Christian/irreligious.
Respect should be integrated more in feminism if it is going to explode in other cultures where religion and culture are extremely important. You don’t need to agree with someone’s choices but you can’t say someone’s choice to wear a hijab or to say they will honour and obey is wrong – that is the problem.
You have inspired me to think about why feminism always has me feeling hesitant especially when I look at it through my religious beliefs.
Thank you Miss Grace Jones.
This comment and that of Q&H and the others has me beaming. This kind of stuff is why things like solange opening up the discussion on womanism was so important– while feminism has made strides for certain circles of women(typically middle class white women) its failure to be self critical in regards to other marginalized women such as those of color, in the third world and Muslims and other areas of intersectionality hasn’t been successful in opening doors in those areas. If western feminists continue to only use these groups of women as a talking point without listening to their voices we get nowhere. Audre Lorde made a fantastic point with this in her letter to mary Daly and I strongly encourage you guys to check it out as well as her other speeches on anger and white feminism!
As long as what you wear is 100% your choice, then you should be free to wear whatever you like.
@MGJ, I don’t know if feminism is the answer for every woman in the world. And that’s something that has taken me years to come to terms with for myself.
I think feminism can work, and has made things happen but the world is changing. The world is moving East, sub-Saharan Africa is growing and there are more than 1 billion Muslims in the world. Feminism needs to be part of this growth and not hector or dictate to other women that you have to be a certain way.
Edward Said talked a lot about othering in post-colonial contexts but it seems like his work is still even as relevant as it was then as it is today. When you ”other” another group of people, this is what creates separation and marginalisation.
I am happy I live in my country. It’s not perfect but both faiths (Islam and Christianity) live side by side.
Is it respectfull for one woman to dictate what another woman has to wear?
No!!
If a woman WANTS to wear Hijab, Al-Amira, Khimar, Chador, Niqab or Burqa, let her!
If a woman WANTS to take it off and/or WANTS TO LEAVE the Ummah, let her!
Are woman killed for wearing Veils, i don’t know.
I know a lot of cases for Women not wearing it, not wearing enough, or worst case leaving the Ummah
My professor of feminist studies was white, liberal, and a lesbian, and she fully considered and made me (also white and liberal) consider all the perspectives discussed here. Can we maybe not generalize? I somehow sincerely doubt that women who express disdain for Muslim women’s choices are all liberal and feminist. I’m sure some are, but I think anyone who ever paused and took time to actually THINK about feminist and learn a thing or two, should know better. And if they never have paused and thought, then are they really feminists?
Dressing like you’re from the 14th century isn’t backwards? That’s hilarious.
Half of my family is Muslim, and NONE of them wear the hijab…maybe because they are all happy to be living in the 21st century.
Also, I used to live in Muslim country and I can tell you that wearing the veil has a lot more to do with virtue-signaling and social conformity than anything to do with religion.
that was powerful.
Yeah. I’m stunned, and probably about to cry.
Very. That’s two posts that got me teary today on this site.
Taylor didn’t get another boob job, but she has had one a few years ago and another last summer I think.
You know people keep saying this and I don’t see it but I guess it’s because typically when I think of boob jobs I think of those huge sex doll ones for whatever reason and Taylor seems only a cup maybe bigger than me and im a b.
If you look at pictures from when she was first starting out and now..she def had a boob job.
I doubt she had another one and that’s why she hasn’t been papped in awhile. I think she *smartly* knew that a backlash was headed her way/already started and decided to lay low until it passed.
Yeah she had an upgrade a few months ago and now it’s a combination of them settling (the ‘drop and fluff’) plus she’s gained a little weight, and those combined make her look busty as heck! Her face looks great, much less harsh.
Wow, that PSA is awesome. I sell foreign cars and we get a lot of Muslim customers. They are always so nice. We even have ones that had the traditional robes/headgear. I don’t know the proper terms for those. But i hope they do not suffer harassment. Not every Muslim is a terrorist
@Snowflake Your assumption here is that all Muslins are terrorists and a few ones, who happens to be nice, beside the fact they wear their clothes, aren’t. Do we say “That Christian is so nice, even the ones wearing crucifixes”? No, and Catholics murdered thousands of people during the Inquistion. There are terrorists of all religions, the difference is that some kill people personally with bombs and guns and others spread fear. Did Hitler killed a single Jew by himself? No, but he was the terrorist behind a million others.
No, im saying that is the assumption by some trump supporters! That is how people like that look at them, not me! Why else would they support a muslim registry! Do not twist my words! Omg
and not every christian is either, snowflake.
not every ANYONE is “x/y/z”.
why can’t people be judged on their own merits and actions? (not asking you snowflake, just thinking out loud)
As you see dear kay they killed my first question, your question to me and my answer.
People here are only nice if all other people agree to what is wanted, hmmm?
though i didn’t get to see it, i appreciate you taking the time to respond ria!
not sure why it didn’t pass the mods, but truthfully this is one of the last places online i can find perspective without (mostly) wanting to escape the human race…
i don’t always articulate clearly, so maybe it seemed offensive?
ria, <3
i just want human women to be free to be human women, however that may look to each one.
also, yes, i am ignoring the male human half of the equation. i am struggling with misandry these days, and i am pretty ashamed about it. ugh.
Dear kay
my long answer was killed.
this is my short one.
my hubby is muslim.
a non-believing one.
acting as good muslim as long as mama is alive.
enough female relatives, that are pressed into wearing it.
enough female relatives wearing it free will, and pressing others into it.
one female relative unveiling herself and in love with a kuffar, nearly killed for it.
me wearing veil whenever we have to visit mama, always pressure to become a muslim and GOOD woman.
No Pressure from Hubby.
He just is acting for the family as long as mama is alive.
he fears for a couple of his female relatives.
i just do the familiy visits for him and smile my way through it.
He always is so sorry for his overreligious family.
I think what I liked the best about this was that Katy seemed to be like, oh you can’t finish this project, I believe in you and here is whatever you need to get it made. I just keep thinking of people calling her a “nothingburger” and I also used to get super annoyed by her, but lately I just want to applaud her.
Initially wrote off Katy when she came out, kissed a girl time period but have really grown to like/respect her. She seems genuine to the causes she supports and from what I’ve read an all around cool girl.
Did you know that Emperor Zero’s handlers would NOT let any press person look at the envelopes he had “displayed” at his presser?
They were probably filled with HRC jokes or empty.
They were definitely empty.
And apparently he paid people to be there, applaud, and laugh at his jokes.
We’re a week away, and I honestly feel nauseous.
Hope they got paid up front.
Yes, posted yesterday – http://twitter.com/green_footballs/status/819377409271087105
Also, he has to carry around his own personal cheerleaders – http://gothamist.com/2017/01/12/trump_press_conference.php
This is so amazing. I love her even more.
GAHHHHH
In the pictures Lainey has of T Swift, she’s doing that ridiculous side-walking thing, with her face turned all the way over her shoulder as she tries to get into a car. All so they can’t get a full shot of her face.
It just seems like so much work for what could be a 3-second endeavor.
why do i hear michaelk saying ‘FACE” after reading your comment, shambles? lololololol
It’s as if she’s inviting attention to herself.
lol, shambles, it is the paparazzi shuffle…with a little side crab scuttle for the best possible angles!
i think it would’t bug me so much if she said “yep. i WANT the cameras. i want the attention” and left it at that.
heck, i would love any celebrity to come out with “yeah, i want exposure” instead of “i want privacy”. wouldn’t that be refreshing?
Wow, that’s awesome of Katy Perry!
Re: Lainey’s post on Taylor Swift – that post does not help rumors that she’s on Swift’s payroll. Somehow she always manages a dig at how she thinks Hiddles is a famehussy in every. damned. post. about either of them.
Taylor Swift’s body looks different overall – she was very skinny lately and in those pictures she looks like she gained a few pounds (which is good). Either her new boobs made her figure look fuller or the fact that she gained a bit of weight made her “old” boobs look bigger.
So tinfoil hat firmly on with this one, but I think she lost weight, added the boobs and then gained a little back to cover it.
Now she can claim she’s gained a few and it’s true and it messes with people’s perceptions. For awhile she was still skinny with her new ones and it was more obvious.
lulz *Dove Cameron
Oh god I hate that my years of nannying means I know her actual name.
That PSA was poignant and heartbreaking. It’s absolutely terrifying to think of how quickly hysteria can turn into action. We must be vigilant in protecting the rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters in the face of Baby Fists’s fascism.
In college, I had two very good friends named Yasmin and Raina. Yasmin was from Palestine and Raina was from Jordan. Both girls were Muslim, Yasmin didn’t wear a hijab and Raina did. Each of them made a personal choice when they came of age (whether or not to wear the hijab). Every time I hear of violence against women wearing hijabs, I think of Raina and I wonder where she is and if she’s safe. It sickens me to think of either of them being registered or harassed and I know that as a privileged white woman it is my duty to do everything in my power to make sure it never ever happens. Whether this is through protest or vote or simply speaking up against bigots and racists, we can’t stay silent.
I give Katy Perry a lot of credit.
The point to remember about the American internment camps is that it happened very fast. They used the 1940 census to round up people for the camps, and that was long before the computer age. Census takers will tell you that the information is confidential, but obviously it is not. It could happen even faster today.
Even those not pushed into the camps had to disrupt their lives. The college where I taught had taken Japanese-American students specifically because it was far from the coasts, and they weren’t allowed close to coastal areas.
Also many people of non-Japanese origin took quick advantage of the situation to buy real estate and other goods and buildings at bargain rates. People sent to the camps had no idea when or if they would be coming back and so often tried to raise cash fast by selling for whatever they could get. It was horrible and yet nothing was taught about it in school back in the 1950s and 1960s. I only found out about it much later from a tv show where a character had experienced the camps and talked about it in the script.
Another lesser moment of hysteria took place in WWI. Churches where German had been spoken for many years had to shift to English and there were government spies in the pews. Place names were changed to non-German names around that time. People really were afraid and forced to cut cultural and historical ties, even though thankfully it did not progress to internment camps. By WWII, things were safer for German-Americans apparently but attention turned to Japanese Americans instead.
They have not come far enough with makeup and special effects to pull this off. Solid message though. I’m against the nijab but more strongly against a registry, if that puts my comment in perspective.
It’s seems to me that one is not really “choosing” to do something when the alternative involves giving up a large part of what you hold dear, like the respect of your family, or the ability to remain a part of them. I will address Orthodox Jews here, since I am Jewish and know more about that. I don’t believe that the women have many choices. They can conform or they can leave and lose everything they have. Certainly within the more educated and wealthier circles there is more choice, more options not to conform completely. But among the poor or less educated, there is very little choice. Many of these women don’t even speak English — in America! They have no idea what the rest of America lives like because they have no access to television, internet, or radio. They have the right in America to make the choice to do things differently, but it’s absurd to call it a real choice not to.
And while some of this is done to keep the entire community free from “negative” outside influences, women certainly suffer the more extreme restrictions. And yet again, it’s done because men can’t help themselves. Not that it works. They dont treat women with any more respect. And they just leer at shiksas instead of at the Jewish women they have forced to make themselves less attractive.
If the problem is the male gaze, theres an alternative solution. If men can’t help what they do when they see a beautiful woman, they can wear blindfolds. Women don’t need to cover up if men can’t see. Men can be helped along by their wives holding their elbows and guiding them the way women in veiled niqabs sometimes have to be helped by their husbands in dimly lit Dubai hotel lobbies.
It will of course be their choice whether to wear the blindfold. But if they take it off, their families will stop talking to them. Unblindfolded men will never be able to find suitable wives. Blindfolds are only to be taken off in the home. And obviously they will mainly stay at home, because it’s really hard to get around blindfolded. They may not speak English or have seen the world outside their house since they hit puberty, but no one is forcing them to stay. It’s totally their choice.
Great analogy.
One of the things that bothers me the most about Islamist dress is the double standard.
When I lived in a Muslim country, it was really really common to see the following:
A young family, husband and wife, with two or three children. The husband would be wearing a golf shirt, khaki shorts, and flip flops. His wife, meanwhile, would be dressed from head to toe in a niqab looking for all the world like she just emerged from the 14th century. That is offensive – that the women are forced to carry the full weight of the religion and sweat half to death while their husband right next to them is comfortably dressed! Different standards for women and men that clearly hobble and hold back women – but allow men to do whatever they want! – deserve to be called out as misogynistic.
I just saw this in California. It enraged me.
That PSA was super creepy. am i the only one who thought so? I was too distracted to listen to her words because I kept thinking “Is that a real person? Doesn’t look like a real person!” and…then it wasn’t a real person. And am I supposed to assume the second woman is a muslim just because of her skin tone? That’s offensive.
I agree. I also don’t like the taking of the awful history of hate against Japanese Americans and handing our unique struggles during the war to another group as a roleplay. I think this psa is well meaning but also quite offensive, tbh. I’m Japanese American so maybe this informs my view of this, but it does make me feel uneasy as if our past hardships are forgotten and disregarded, used now as a costume for other groups’ issues. And that outfit/prosthetic? Yuck. If it was Blake Lively or Katy Perry under that you’d all be screaming “yellowface!”. Just because it’s a WOC under that mask doesn’t make it ok.
As a Muslim woman who wears the hijab I really find it offensive that some comments here link hijab to misogyny. I made a conscious choice. I chose to wear the hijab to free myself from constantly tying my self worth to my outward appearance. Until I wore the hijab I was incapable of separating my self worth from my partners views of my value. Only then did I ever start to deeply reflect on who I am as a person and my value in this world. That’s my journey and it worked for me, may not work for others, but for me hijab served its purpose – forcing me to self reflect and encouraging introspection separate from outward appearance. So please – spare me the crap about it being misogynistic. It’s my body and I do with it what I choose, and that includes my right to cover up from head to toe, or walk freely, baring what I choose. They are both valid expressions of feminism. It was my choice, not a mans dictation, to wear it.
sometimes (THIS TIME) katy gets it….
Ill try to forget her racially insensitive, appropriat-ive, and flippant video “this is how we do”