About this Blog

This blog primarily addresses the issue of gender and its portrayal in the media. Throughout the course, I have read numberous articles on this subject matter and have discussed them in class. This blog serves as a way for me to express my opinions on each article and whether or not I agreed with some of the statements. In my responses I have given my honest opinions and have spoken from my point of view. This gives you the opportunity to see how a student feels about gender and the media, considering that we are usually the primary audience for most television shows, movies and advertisements. At first, this was a subject matter that never really crossed my mind. It is something we are all just use to accepting as a part of our lives. I never took the time to notice how each gender was portrayed in various forms of media. This blog has challenged me to do this and it was my goal to truly look into the variety of media and analyze the marketing tactics and see how the author of the particular media portrayed and depicted each gender. By writing my responses to these articles, I was able to sit down and express my opinions about how I analyzed the particular piece of work. I was also able to exchange ideas with fellow classmates and see how they responded to the same articles. It allowed me to "converse" with them and express ideas about the media. Blogging was something that I had never tried before. I had never thought about expressing my ideas on the internet and sharing them with everyone. However, since then it has allowed me to free my mind and truly think hard about each topic, allowing me to devote more time and thought into each article. It has helped me put my thoughts into words and coherent statements. Overall, I think its a great way for everyone to talk about the ideas and share opinions with others.

Pleasantville Analysis

Throughout the course of this semester, I have analyzed several articles on the subject of gender and the media. While learning about the general stereotypes of each gender and examples in specific areas of the media such as sports, Disney and magazines, I have been able to generate a strong foundation for my last paper assignment analyzing a visul text. The visual text I chose was the movie, Pleasantville. In a brief summary, the movie is about the 1950's woman and the transformation of gender roles to modern day time. There were a few articles that I had previously studied in class that came to mind when I chose this particular movie. For example, Barbara Welter's article titled, "The Cult of Truewomanhood," describes the four main female attributes of the time that were needed in order to be considered a "true woman." These included, piety, obedience, domesticity and purity. This ties in perfectly with my description of the life of a woman in the 1950s. Another article that helped support my paper was Aaron Devor's article, "Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender." In this article Devor describes the multitude of gender stereotypes from the past and present. He describes one stereotype about a female's posture and body language communicating and inferior and subordinate status whereas a male's posture suggest dominance and superiority. Another aspect of my paper assignment will include the feminist movement. The article, "Mediating Third Wave Feminism" by Helene Shugart talks about this issue which will help me relate and compare the two different eras. Overall, this course has helped me prepare for my final paper assignment and has given me lots of articles to help me build a foundation for my paper.

Response to "The New Man in Disney/Pixar"

"The alpha male model is thus not only present and challenged in the films but also is, in fact, the very structure on which the plots unfold. Each of these films is about being a man, and they begin with an outdated, two dimensional alpha prototype to expose its failings and to ridicule its logical extensions. The phrase "alpha male" may stand for all things stereotypically patriarchal: unquestioned authority, physical power and social dominance, competitiveness for positions of status and leadership, lack of visible or shared emotion, and social isolation."

(Gillam, Ken and Shannon R. Wooden. “Post Princess Models of Gender. The New Man in Disney/Pixar.” Journal of Popular Film and Television. 36.1 (2008): 2-8)

This statement is entirely true. In almost every Disney movie there's a damsel in distress and a courageous prince that will always save the day. Who died and made us women "damsels in distress?" Last time I checked, women are fully capable of taking care of themselves. Disney, being such a prominent name in society, should know better than to expose children to these? stereotypes. I know I'm guilty for growing up wanting to be a princess, but can you blame me? Disney made it look like the best thing on earth. The princess always gets the prince in the end and they live happily ever after. Sounds pretty good to me! However, by making every movie follow the same basic plot line, children grow up thinking this is how life really is. The alpha male is described as being the dominant and strong man whereas the women in the story are weak and fragile. The alpha male is always the knight in shining armor that rescues the town and is praised for decades. Nowadays, there's barely anyone that comes close to that. Lately, Disney has been trying to shift its traditional story plot line consisting of a princess being saved, and has tried to incorporate family members, such as The Incredibles, and strong woman characters such as Mulan. By changing up the plot, children are now exposed to more realistic movies.

Response to "Mediating Third Wave Feminism"

"The campaign in general and Moss in particular also blur the boundaries between male and female. In the first place, CK One is billed as a ‘‘fragrance for a man or a woman’’ and is marketed to both men and women.”

(Shugart, Helene, Catherine Egley Waggoner, and D. Lynn O'Brien Hallstein. “Mediating Third-wave Feminism: Appropriation as Postmodern Media Practice.” Critical Studies in Media Communication. 18.2 (2001): 194-210)

This quote is in regards to the CK One advertisement where Kate Moss is seen dressed in men's clothing, looking very skinny and boyish. I personally have never seen this ad before but hearing about it made me wonder, why is it that the female model (Kate Moss) is the one having to dress and appear to be a member of the opposite gender, where as the male models in the background are still seen wearing masculine clothing. Why don't the men in this ad dress more "metro" or feminine? The purpose of the ad was meant to advertise a perfume that is unisex where both men and women can wear it. The slogan clearly states this in the ad, however it seems to me like everyone in this ad appears to be masculine or male like. Once again, it is the women who have to alter their appearances instead of the men. It claims to blur the boundaries between both genders, yet I still see a clear line, one that has everyone looking the same gender. I think this ad is deceptive and incorrect because the only gender in it being portrayed is the male gender.

Response to "Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton"

“As Hilary Rodham Clinton’s image shifts from a strong, independent feminist to a good mother and sympathetic wife/victim, her public opinion ratings improve.”

(Parry-Giles, Shawn J. “ Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television News Practices and Image-Making in the Postmodern Age.” Visual Rhetoric: A Reader in Communication and American Culture. Eds. Lester C Olson, Cara A. Finnegan, and Diane S. Hope. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2008. 375-91.)

I found this statement very surprising. I thought the opposite effect would happen once Bill Clinton’s affair was made public. The fact that Hilary Clinton stood by her husband throughout the entire ordeal is a little bit pathetic. I mean, the man had an affair! Why would stay with someone after that? For being such an important feminist figure and standing up for women’s rights, I feel like she dropped the ball on this one and went back on your words. I understand that her husband was a very important figure, but how can you let someone make a fool out of you in public to the entire United States? People say that by shifting roles to be more of a mother and wife, she helped her ratings when it came time to run for president. I was surprised by this. I expected most women to be appalled to the idea that she accepted to be treated that way and have her husband cheat on her. However, the ratings proved otherwise. After that incident I lost all respect for her. Women are not people that can be taken advantage of and be expected to remain by your side at all times after doing such a dishonest thing. I think that if she was really the independent feminist that she claimed she was, she would have left her husband.

Response to "Television's World of Work in the 90s"

“A primary concern is that television’s lessons and imagery may not reflect the real world. Some viewers, especially young children and those who watch more television, may not distinguish between symbolic and social reality.”

(Signorielli, Nancy, and Susan Kahlenberg. "Television's World of Work in the Nineties." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 45.1 (2001): 4-22.)

I believe that this statement is entirely true. Nowadays the typical “American” family consists of a father who has a typical nine to five job, a mother who stays at home to clean the house and raise the children and the children go off to school during the day. However television does not portray and represent the families with single mothers, divorced parents, and families of different ethnicities. It wasn’t until the 1990s that we began to see a change in the family representations in television. Children today spend a lot more time watching TV instead of interacting with the outside world and other children. Therefore, the television is their only outside source of how the world is. If the families on television shows are not representational of real life, then they are going to believe something different to be the truth. This can lead to children to have a distorted view of what life really is. The majority of families do not live the typical “American dream” that you see on TV. Every family has their issues and discrepancies. Children who feel like their families do not live up to the standards of a typical family, may feel like something is wrong with their family or that theirs is dysfunctional.

Response to "Harry's girls"

“The Harry Potter novels, like other cultural artifacts, work to organize our desires. They teach us what is normal. They make it possible for us to desire what other members of our social categories desire. Among other things, they teach us gender, and they work to organize our sexual desires.”

(Cherland, Meredith. “Harry's girls: Harry Potter and the Discourse of Gender.” Journal of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy 52.4 (2008): 273-83.)

I found this statement to be quite accurate. In today’s society, we have little or no control over what is considered “normal.” Society is what decides what is in style, how to act towards certain people, what to believe etc. It seems like nowadays we don’t even have a say in it. The fashion world dictates what’s “hot” for each season and determines what we will wear. Pretty much society decides what is the norm to follow. Whether its in magazine ads, television commercials, or specific TV shows, we are bombarded with thousands of images of what we are expected to look like, how to act and basically how to live our lives. These images may be very blunt or may be more discrete. Women are considered to be dependent on men, while men are considered the dominant heroes. These images are evident from the very start of our lives. They can be seen in fairy tales with a damsel in distress being saved by a prince, or even in the toys we grow up playing with such as Barbie dolls or toy cars. I’ve always wondered who exactly is in charge of dictating how society will act. Is it just one leader or maybe a council of people that gets together to decide? Either way, why should they have the power to decide something so important? Why should anyone have that power at all?