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?

Response to "Two Ways a Woman can get hurt"

"If a man is drunk when he commits a rape, he is considered less responsible. If a woman is drunk (or has had a drink or two or simply met the man in a bar), she is considered more responsible."

(Kilbourne, Jean. “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence.” Rereading America. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2004. 455-75.)

This quote truly upset me when I came across it. This wasn’t the first time I heard this. It truly outrages me that men are considered off the hook just because he was under the influence. What gives men the right to get off easy but women do not have that same privilege? Why do women get the blame just because they had maybe one drink? Women do not ask to be raped. Men are the ones who commit the crime; therefore, they should hold full responsibility for it. Alcohol does not give them a free “get out of jail” card. Women are the victims in this situation. In today’s society, having this mentality or this way of thinking is how men get off easy. So many women are victims of rape and have to live with that for the rest of their lives. There is an irreparable damage done onto them. Some will have intimacy issues for the rest of their lives and trouble with committing and just an overall fear of being with a man again. This also goes along with the other idea that men can be with as many women as they want and be considered popular or a player and looked up to, whereas women who have been with a multitude of partners are considered whores or sluts.

Response to "Center of Attention"

“Men are foregrounded in commercials. The gender composition and imagery in commercials reinforce the idea that sport is a man’s world. Women almost never appear in commercials unless they are in the company of men. Though women are mostly absent from sports commentary, when they do appear, it is most often in stereotypical roles as sexy, masculinity-validating props, often cheering the men on.” (479)

(Messner, Michael A. “Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media.” Rereading America. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2004. 477-87.)

Its no surprise that sports is stereotypically associated with males. Every little boy is exposed to some type of sport at a young age and are introduced into the world of balls, bats, courts, fields etc. Boys play sports and girls do ballet. It is a stereotype in American since the beginning of time practically. Therefore, everything associated with sports is directed towards the male population including commercials and logos. Almost always you will hear or see a male sportscaster delivering the latest stats of a player. Rarely will you hear the voice of a woman delivering the same message. During a football or baseball game will you rarely see a commercial for any female product. Some think this is sexist and discriminatory. However, advertisers are just going to promote their product to the targeted audience watching that program at that time. Beer companies are known for advertising their drink during a sports game. Sports are a way for most men to relax and drown out the rest of the world. They don’t want to be interrupted from their “zone” by a commercial for birth control pills. Coming from a female perspective, I don’t think its sexist or discriminatory that there is rarely a female sportscaster. I just see it as a common thing and just as another fact of life.

Response to "From Beauty Rediscovers Male Body"

“We live in an empire ruled not by kings or even presidents, but by images. The tight buns, the perfect skin, the firm breasts, the long, muscled legs, the bulgeless, sagless bodies are everywhere. Beautiful women, everywhere, telling the rest of us how to stand, how to swing our hair, how slim we must be. Actually, all of this flawless beauty is the product of illusion, generated with body doubles, computers, artful retouching.” (Bordo)

(Bordo, Susan. “Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body.” Ways of Reading. Eds. David
Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. 151-68.)

Bordo hit the nail on the head with this quote. Society doesn’t care about what is going on in the world. It is too involved with images and fitting in with everyone else. Everyday we are consumed with advertising and subliminal messages in magazine ads, billboards, and TV shows on how we should look and act. Society displays a perfect image of a woman with the perfect body, skin, hair, clothes etc. Everyday we are faced with these images that subconsciously take a toll on us. We are brainwashed with these images that we eventually try to imitate them. Usually this just leads to women trying to copy a certain style or get the hottest haircut. Sometimes unfortunately it can lead to negative consequences. Some women take it to the extreme and can hurt themselves. Eating disorders develop in women who take the idea of being skinny and looking like models very seriously. What women do not understand is that even the models have some work done on their photographs. There is no such thing as a “perfect” model or body. Women are constantly striving toward this unattainable goal and can spend their entire lives trying to obtain it.