Week 1 Presentations

I really enjoyed the first week of presentations last Thursday in class. My favorite presentation dealt with the stereotypes that exist in cartoons - especially discussing how those stereotypes affect the socialization of children, who are the primary watchers of most of the cartoons.

For example, the clip of Speedy Gonzalez was great to watch, because it demonstrated how there would be a lot of debate among people who consider the cartoon simply funny and not to be taken seriously, and those who find it offensive because of the obvious stereotypes that hold no truth to Hispanic/Latino culture. For children who grow up watching such cartoons become unconsciously socialized to associate all Mexicans with being lazy, violent, stupid and untrustworthy - and that's only a few of the stereotypes portrayed in the clip.

Also, with The Princess and the Frog, the film shows that while society has come a long way race-wise because we do have our first black Disney princess, questions still arise about why her prince wasn't black as well? Or why the side characters in the film would have stereotypical racial characteristics?

The presentation brings up many questions and discussions that I feel should be looked at more. It's easy to watch a cartoon or something valued for it's comedic content and say it shouldn't be taken seriously, but there's always stereotypes running through these cartoons and disregarding them can sometimes be the worst way to handle it.

Reflection

With the first test being administered today, I have given a lot of thought to all the issues and topics we've covered over the semester. It's unfortunate to say, but I have been disappointed to talk about all of the negative stereotypes and struggles that women and minorities have had to face throughout history. Obviously, I knew of most of the injustices certain groups have had to face over time, but it's not until you look a layer or two deeper that you realize the hate that usually goes along with these injustices. I do think things today have improved ten-fold; however, anyone who thinks we are even close to equality would be mistaken. We have a long way to go.

Music in Popular Culture

“Just a Girl” –by No Doubt

Song was released as the lead single of the band’s third album, Tragic Kingdom, in 1995. The song itself is written about Stefani’s exasperation over female stereotypes, portraying women as weak and in need of a man to look after them. This is evident from lyrics such as:

“Take this pink ribbon off my eyes

I'm exposed

And it's no big surprise

Don't you think I know

Exactly where I stand

This world is forcing me

To hold your hand"

“Cause I'm just a girl, oh little ol' me

Well Don't let me out of your sight

Oh I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite

So don't let me have any rights”

I think this song holds a very significant place in pop culture because it’s rare that a song about such female empowerment would have the success this one did, especially in 1995. It was the lead single for the album, it made the Billboard Hot 100 list at #23.

Television

I was glad we were able to watch a couple of clips from Mad Men today in class. The show presents an extremely accurate portrayal of gender and race relations in the 50s and 60s – either fortunate if looked at for the purposes of the class or unfortunate if you look at it for its historical value in demonstrating how race and gender relations used to be.

We can hear all day long all of our lives how things used to be in the 50s and early 60s, but this show does a good job of depicting it in color, in a more modern TV show with more modern actors and actresses that we, as a society, can identify with more. I think that brings the issue a little closer to home than it would be to people otherwise – especially younger generations.

When we talked about the most common concerns surrounding the effects of TV, I was not surprised by most of these. Of course violence, sex, unrealistic images, gender and racial stereotypes, etc. have always been on the list – and of course will be more amplified when talked about children. Hopefully some of these concerns will change over the next few decades, specifically for women and minorities, because it’s honestly ridiculous to be dealing with such stereotypes in the 21st Century.

Another representation issue that should change in the next few years is that of gay characters on TV. In 2011, there were 33, which might sound like a lot but comparing that to the percentage of people in the country who are gay, it’s not really that much. Plus, it seems like most of the shows were gay characters are main characters are targeted at younger audiences for the most part. It’s not likely to see a gay main character in a show for older audiences.

Advertising

Advertising throughout the years, as it relates to gender and race, has been very similar to our previous discussions on stereotypes unfortunately. Women in ads early on were portrayed as unemployed, incapable of decision making, passive, weak, emotional and dependent of men. They also slowly became more and more thin and were portrayed more in the home than outside.

Ads over time have shown us what to wear, how to look (thin), women are objects, sex sells, female subordinate to male, violence is ok and female dismemberment. By female dismemberment, I mean showing only parts of the female body - not the whole - to sell products, largely using women as sex objects without a brain or personality. Females are also shown as being there only for male gaze, and photoshopped to death to make images appear even more unattainable.

The effects of this are deep-reaching in society for women and young girls. These types of ads directly result in eating disorders, lack of self esteem, violence against women and little girls/women being seen as sex objects or body parts.

When discussing ethnicity and minority groups, the results are similar. Stereotypes are used heavily: Unlce Ben’s Rice, Aunt Jamima syrup, Frito Bandido, Red Man Chew, Asian laundry-doers, Taco Bell Chihuahua, Native American car and team names, Asians and marital arts and portrayals of lazy shiftless Mexicans.

Sadly, learning of these details and stereotypes in ads didn't really surprise me for the most part. We are all kind of aware of them on a certain level, and crazy enough, we all seem to live with it.

Magazines

Our discussion as well as the readings for this week on magazines were quite interesting – and depressing to be quite honest.

It seems like looking at modern-day magazines and comparing them to magazines of the past – especially women’s magazines- shows that the content hasn’t changed much, or the variety for that matter. Apparently women, as they always have been, are obsessed with tricks to get the right man, beauty, clothes, housekeeping, house decorating and shoes. Not that I think it’s wrong for women to have these interests, but I was hopeful that current magazines would have topics with a little more depth and substance.

Also, the ads where 90-95% white, beautiful, young, sex-crazed females that had been Photoshoped to death, giving a little better insight into the ever-growing frequency of teen eating disorders, body-image issues and depression, among numerous others. These are the standards we are setting for our children today?? Pathetic.

The overall theme of every publication came back to materialism. As a society –and I would say women are more guilty of this than men- we don’t feel good about ourselves unless we have things. All kinds of things…jewelry, make-up, clothes, shoes, cars, hair products, MEN, etc. I expected to see these types of themes running throughout the magazines of the 60s, 70s and possibly 80s; but to have it at nearly the same level in 2012 is completely inexcusable for the heads of these companies.

Article Discussion

I found this interesting article in The New York Times that relates to the sexism discussion we’ve been having in class. The article, called “Season of Equal-Opportunity Sexism,” discusses how this year’s newest TV shows are giving men and women the chance to “pick between his and her sexism.” The article references the comedies “2 Broke Girls” on CBS and “Are You There, Chelsea?” on NBC as examples of contemporary TV shows that are emasculating for men and ushering in a new surge of female empowerment.

“Are You There, Chelsea?” is based on Chelsea Handler’s comic persona as a slutty, foul-mouthed drunk – characteristics more heavily stereotyped to men than women. While Handler is not the first woman to build a career on crude, offensive and often demeaning jokes about men, sex and substance abuse, she is one of the most persuasive and committed. To have such female characters in prime time be so committed is an innovative occurrence. The catch here is that many critics say that the show is only on the air because of Handler’s pre-existing celebrity status as a result of her popular talk show on E!, and that if the show was pitched by anyone else it wouldn’t make it on the air. They also say that since people already know Handler’s comedic personality, they expect to see her in such crude – some would say “unrealistic”- female roles.

The article also mentions the latest male insurrection on TV, “Work It” on ABC. The show follows two men who lost their jobs at a car dealership in St. Louis and can find work only by dressing in drag to pass as sexy pharmaceutical sales representatives. However, the author feels that the show’s poor narrative and writing leave much room for improvement, comparing it to sitcoms of the past who did it right like “Bosom Buddies” in the 1980s.

I think this article would be interesting to discuss in classes such as the one we’re taking because it presents a curious idea: Is it only possible for female roles to be popular in the rankings if the characters are taking on male-associated or “masculine” personality traits? I will say, I think it’s a good start to have such innovative and unconventional comedies in primetime TV; but, it still doesn’t seem like a complete victory for women. These new shows just demonstrate how highly we, as a society, hold masculine traits over feminine traits. If a woman can act like a man, she is applauded not because she is strong-willed and brash, but because she’s “just being funny.”

I think it’s empowering for women to see other women of power and influence, such as Chelsea Handler, take on these masculine characteristics for the world to see and never apologize for it. But where females find it empowering, I think males find it more of a silly, unrealistic portrayal of a woman who is just trying to make people laugh. Men assume women don’t or wouldn’t act like that in real life. That might be true for some women because society has molded them to believe we won’t be accepted if we act overtly masculine. But perhaps these new shows will start to open the door a little wider for females. Maybe these shows show a slow but steady progression forward to a time when the lines are more blurred between sex and gender.

The 50s Housewives

I really enjoyed our last class meeting because it was surprisingly informative. Usually when I hear I will be watching documentaries and films during a class I think 'Great, now I'll have to try a stay awake through this.' However, I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting the documentary and movie were and how well they held my attention.

Getting a better understanding of a 50s housewife from the History Channel documentary really helped to lay the framework for the film, "Mona Lisa's Smile." I had never seen the film before we watched it in class, and now that I have, I am surprised I never did before now. Besides the outstanding cast of actors, (Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, ect.) I felt like it was simply a movie every woman should see. The thought of some of the most brilliant female minds in this country choosing to be a housewife instead of pursuing their career goals of being lawyers and doctors would seem ludicrous today - or would it?

Being from a small town, I've grown up seeing similar choices from women older than me as well as from my female peers. Instead of college, they become housewives and take care of the babies while their husbands are at work. Now, I want to make clear right now that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If being a housewife and a mother is what makes a woman happy and fulfilled, than I truly think that's what she should be doing. At the same turn, it makes one stop and think about how far women have really come in the last 60 years. I mean, I would expect that in 60 years women would be at least making the same amount of money that men do for doing the same jobs...but the stats would say otherwise. And, the top jobs for women in the 50s compared to 2012 sadly haven't changed much. They are the stereotypical "woman" jobs such as nurses, teachers, secretaries, ect. Don't get me wrong, we have come a long way, but facts are facts people...to say that women are offered all the same career opportunities and positions as a men would be, excuse me for being frank but, idiotic.

It simply seems that society and our culture keep most women from fulfilling their career ambitions once they are married, because at that point they are no longer independent-thinkers in terms of their careers. They are expected to put everyone's happiness before their own, attend PTA meetings, clean everyone's clothes and have dinner on the table by 6. Who would have room for a career? Being a housewife or a stay-at-home mom is a full-time job (and one that doesn't pay at that). And that is why someone has to do it. But while these roles are expected of women, their male counterparts can get married, even have kids and simply continue working everyday toward their next big promotion without getting any slack from anyone about being a "bad parent" or "neglecting the housework" or "not picking the kids up from school and driving them to soccer practice."

I don't think of myself as a feminist (although the definition of that is different according to who you're talking to), but as a woman who cares about the double standard that still exists in society. And if you don't think there is one anymore, simply do the research. Or consider how many female CEOs of major corporations there are compared to male ones...it's not many.

I'll put it this way: I know most women (and men for that matter) want to get married and have a family, and I agree that there could be nothing better in this life than that. I want those things too eventually. But our whole lives while we're growing up and going to school we are told we can do anything we set our minds to and if we work hard enough we can accomplish our biggest goals. Is it fair that girls are taught to think that until they get married and then be expected to give up on every endeavor they've worked their whole lives for just because society "says so?" Meanwhile, men can go on and keep pursuing their dreams. In many ways marriage is looked at as a boost for men in the workplace because they then seem more stable and reliable.

My advice to women: If you have any little inclination to accomplish something in your professional life - do it. Some of you will be able to do it while you are happily married and taking care of a family (the rest of us will call you Superwomen), but everyone else may have to take some time to grow up past the age of 25 before getting married -imagine that- in order to establish yourself in a job you truly want.

You can do it!

Class 2: Influencers of gender in society

During the class today we talked about the various factors that influence gender roles in society. Things like parents, school and church influence and tell us what kinds of gender roles to undertake according to our sex. One of the most interesting things we talked about was how parents force certain roles onto their children according to their sex and keep them from performing certain activities based on the gender stereotypes.

Males feel inferior or judged as being gay if they want to do certain activities that are stereotypes for females; whereas if a female does a male activity, she isn't judged as being gay but still is looked at as not as feminine or girly as other females. Also, while controversial, it is interesting to talk about how certain religions promote gender roles for the sexes and many times say that it is because that is what God wants. It would be interesting to look at these issues after having researched these religions further back in time.

First class thoughts

After finishing the first meeting as a class, I am very excited for the rest of the semester. The topics discussed in just the first day were very interesting to talk about and it was good to hear various opinions on the topics of gender, race and the media.

One of the topics that struck me as one the most interesting was the discussion of sex and gender and also about race and ethnicity. As far as sex and gender are concerned, I've always known there was a difference, but wasn't always necessarily sure what those specific differences were. It makes a lot of since that someone can be born physically a male (sex) and identify as a female gender. And vice versa.

Also, the topic of race and ethnicity is something I've always been very interested in. I know that race is more of a physical or biological classification and ethnicity is more of a culturally formed identification; but, in recent years the two labels have become more and more interchangable to many people. Most people don't even know there is a difference. I would be very interested in finding out more about these differences and how people of certain backgrounds and heritages identify themselves both racially and ethnically.

I have several friends who are slightly offended to be labeled as "Hispanic" in a racial category when it is actually their ethnicity. On a similar note, I know several people who identify as one sex but the opposite gender than society would stereotype them to be. So I think it is extremely important to learn and be informed as a media professionals about the differences in race and ethnicity and sex and gender. These topics are some I know I will be very interested in learning more about over the semester.

For the first assignment in class, we were instructed to go home and execute or perform an activity in the reverse gender stereotype than the gender we are. So, for my masculine gender stereotype, I grabbed a hand towel from the bathroom and told my boyfriend that I was going to go change my oil. He looked at me like I just said I was going to go fly to the grocery store instead of taking the car. He seriously thought I was insane. After I explained I was kidding and what the assignment was about, he laughed and said he knew something was up because he knew I didn't know how to change my oil (which is absolutely true). He also remembered that we had just changed my oil about a month earlier (which I had forgotten and goes to show how much I pay attention to when my oil even gets changed). It was still a very fun exercise, and the look on his face was totally worth it!