Jacqui Maes 4/7/15 SPCM 347 Analysis Essay #2

#FindDancingMan: A Foray into Modern Body Shaming

This essay examines how the spread of a viral image called “dancing man” can challenge stereotypical body shaming into something more positive. This resistive image is banishing negative problematic ideologies, such as obesity, and instead, promoting self-confidence in an encouraging way through the public sphere. By analyzing stereotypical societal standards, the public sphere, and problematic ideologies, we can see how viral images (viewed on the public sphere) are starting to resist what was once typical behavior, into something more positive and changing the world for the better. It is easier for anyone from any background to find a sense of self-identity.

Keywords: stereotypes, resistance, problematic ideologies, public sphere, identity

Figure 1. Dancing Man image that went viral on image message board, . The caption above states, “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”- . Photograph from anonymous user on 4chan

Background: The Story of #FindDancingMan

Often times, the media unveils many cases of childhood bullying, but not cyber bullying cases against middle-aged men. #FindDancingMan, a man who was originally publically ridiculed, ended up becoming an Internet sensation. In early

March of 2015, an anonymous user on 4chan (a comment board generally not monitored for content) posted the photo shown in Figure 1. The anonymous user’s caption was ridiculing this man for dancing and having a great time. Guesses are he was being made fun of for his size and age. Luckily, a writer for The Free Thought

Project, Cassandra Fairbanks, was devastated to see the awful reactions to this post.

She created the hashtag, #FindDancingMan, to find him so she could try to right the wrong. Her fellow team created invitations (show in Figure 2) and a GoFundMe account so they could throw him a party where he could dance free all night.

An inspiring amount of people supported this viral act of kindness, including musicians Pharrell Williams, Moby, Pitbull, Ellie Goulding, and many more.

According to People.com, the GoFundMe project raised an overwhelming amount of

$40,000, which Fairbanks and “Dancing man” now plan on donating to charity (Lara

1). They were offered so many free services to host the party, that they ultimately feel this is the best way to utilize the fund (Lara 1).

“He's really cool,” Fairbanks says. "I'm glad he's the person we found. He's a

really good, genuine, nice guy and he's very concerned about raising money

for charity and raising awareness. He’s not making it about him, it’s about

the bigger issues" (Lara 1).

Figure 2: Invitation made by The Free Thought Project to find and support “dancing man”. Photograph found on .

I argue that the image of “Dancing man” that’s provoking massive amounts of public attention, has challenged stereotypes by the public sphere engaging in a resistive manner that leads to more positive impact, rather than stereotypical, bullying behavior. Figure 1 portrays what once was supposed to be public body shaming, into self-confidence and positivity. “Dancing man” is an inspiring situation for anyone with bullying or self-esteem issues.

Obesity and Media

According to David Sills, weight discrimination and obesity stigmatization has increased by 66% in the last 20 years (228). Stigmatization is the result of linking a negative trait to a perceived disposition that disqualifies an individual from certain interactions (Sills 228). This generally stereotypes obese individuals as to having only imperfections such as laziness, lacking intelligence and unattractiveness (Sills 227). Sociologist, Erving Goffman says many may stereotype obesity as “weakness” of character (Sills 227). Assuming someone is “weak” and lacks intelligence based on their weight is closed-minded.

“Even Internet images of the obese tend to be negative. Online photos

frequently depict the obese as unprofessional, nonathletic, and slovenly.

Experimental studies show that individuals who view stigmatizing media

images of the obese may hold stronger social distance attitudes and more

negative attitudes than do individuals who view positive images of the obese.

(Sills 228).”

According to Regina Lawrence, factors such as predispositions and genetics in regards to obesity are often disregarded when discussed in media (Yoo 970). It’s unfair that society is quick to judge someone based on his or her physical appearance. When it’s genetics, often times weight control is out of their hands.

Even if weight is within their control, society makes it difficult to maintain a

“desirable body.” There’s a lot of pressure to work hard at full-time jobs, and often times it is hard to squeeze in time for a workout. Not only that, but fast food is much more accessible and cheaper than healthier foods.

According to Jina Yoo, “Compared to news programs, entertainment media even more blatantly expresses bias against overweight people, as obese characters are often ridiculed and stereotyped in popular TV shows and movies. Entertainment programs are notorious for repeatedly portraying overweight characters engaging in stereotypical eating behaviors (e.g., eating excessive amounts of fast food) or following a sedentary lifestyle. “ (970).

Sedentary lifestyle? Let’s refer back to Figure 1. “Dancing Man” is very capable of physical activity and is far from sedentary in the environment he is portrayed in. A concert is no place for sitting. The only reason he stopped dancing was because laughing bystanders were discouraging him.

The Public Sphere and the Media

Media is the language of our public culture, and it heavily impacts the way the world experiences and views situations and ourselves (Dalgren 624). The current workings of the public sphere outputs an extraneous amount of entertainment, pop culture, sports, and advertisements (Dalgren 624). According to

Dalgren,“The mediated public sphere is competing for attention in a semiotic environment overwhelmingly oriented toward consumerist, rather than civic, matters.” (624). It’s no longer a place that solely gets productive arguments discussed. Access to the Internet promotes the use of the public sphere and allows a vast array of issues to arise, but unfortunately it is not always utilized in the best manner possible. Hate groups or any other spiteful groups use the same platform and can turn public discussions upside down. In Figure 1’s particular case, it started as a spiteful act against obesity. Bullying groups joined in to poke fun. Often times this is where the discussion will end, but another group wanted to create change.

Their argument was done in a constructive way that turned hate into kindness. Resistance

Resistance does not to be viewed as a negative concept. It can be resistive behavior towards stereotypes. In this case, media and certain civilians criticize obesity. In #Finddancingman’s case, a group of women resisted towards that stereotypical behavior of grouping “dancing man” into a laughing matter, and wanted to boost the man’s self esteem. A surprising amount of people hopped on board to support this cause and now charities are benefiting from this since

“dancing man” wants to donate the money raised for him. The concept of resistance, meaning literally to stand against, entered the social sciences primarily from politics and culture (Darity 207). This youth counterculture (resistance) immersed in the

1960s, as young people created “underlives” by defining themselves against The

System (Darity 208). In the ‘60s, most of this resistance was over political movements against the Vietnam War, but this concept can affect any social activity: new styles of clothes, forms of music, and so forth (Darity 208). In other words, it was cultural resistance (Darity 208).

Identity

There’s a saying that says, “It doesn’t matter what other people think,” but it is human nature for people to look outside of the ‘self’ to the social context because views of ‘self’ are shaped by the world individual’s experience (Darity 593).

According to William Darity’s literature, Charles Horton Cooley explains the idea of the “looking-glass self,” noting that ‘self’ is constituted through interaction with its surroundings and that the self-concept is achieved by speculating the imaginative evaluation from others (593). Unfortunately, this is why cliques and stereotypes arise because people must identify themselves in reference to groups (Darity 593).

“After being categorized based on group membership, individuals seek to achieve positive self-esteem by differentiating their in-group (we/us) from a comparison out-group (them/others), “explains Darity, “ This in-group/out-group comparison process reflects commonly shared ideas or attributions applied to social groups.

This is where group bias forms discrimination towards out-groups (593). As humans, we try our best not to categorize people into groups, or stereotypes, but it has almost become human nature. That’s why it’s so great to see many people’s acceptance towards other groups to help these ‘out-groups’ find comfortable self- identity too.

How This Image Functions Rhetorically

Based on the arguments presented above, Figure 1 functions rhetorically in a way that lets society choose where they want to stand. In a modern era, there was a set of criteria that needed to be met to fit in, but many groups have ‘resisted’ those stereotypes that allow more people to adapt and to find their self-worth and identity. A great example of this would be that the fashion industry is no longer hiring only thin models, but including plus-sized models as well. It’s a small step, but it’s helping society be more open minded than to just one set of norms on how one is supposed to look or feel. It’s impactful to see such an image that as a laugh, turn into something so enlightening. It is hopeful for anti-bullying campaigns. It is hopeful for the obese population and his or her self-esteem.

Conclusion In conclusion, the image of Figure 1 and the actions followed with it has challenged what was once “acceptable behavior” of body shaming and bullying into something more positive. Society is doing their best to accept all types of body image. It is no longer justified to mock a person based on appearance. This event would not have happened without the public sphere- it went viral due to the use of technology and the privileges social media offers. In this case, the public sphere worked as a great tool. Not to say that social media as a public sphere is always successful. Dancing man lost his sense of identity when he was shamed for being himself- he is gaining self-confidence to the support and kindness from other people that don’t discriminate against certain appearance ideologies. The Internet reacted in a more progressive way, instead of conforming to the bullying. This is working to make the world a better place by inspiring constructive, resistive behavior that will continue to challenge stereotypes.

Works Cited:

Dahlgren, Peter. "Media and the Public Sphere." The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Ed. George Ritzer. Vol. 6. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007. 2906-2911. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.

Mercedes Lara, Maria. “All About ‘Dancing Man’ Party That’s Taken Over the Internet.” PEOPLE.com. 16 Mar. 2015.Web 08 Apr.2015.

"Obesity." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. David L. Sills. Vol. 11. New York: Macmillan, 1968. 227-232. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.

"Resistance." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 7. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 207-210. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.

"Social Identification." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 7. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 593-594. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Yoo, Jina H. "Obesity and Mass Media." Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Ed. Teresa L. Thompson. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference, 2014. 969-972. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.