jan 30

These two articles gave insight on how gender role stereotypes were used on two main movie characters. They imply the movie creatures purposely did this in effort to shape social norms. I have not had the chance watch these two movies all of the way through so giving input on these two movies does not seem like a logical idea. But one piece of media  where I believe gender roles are badly stereotyped regularly are commercial advertising. I have never seen a single beer commercial even remotely targeted at women. Its always a thirsty man satisfying his thirst with an ice cold refreshing beverage of the company advertising. Have you ever seen a women with the punch line quote of a beer commercial? I don’t think so.

    Another example of commercials using gender stereotypes in their message are paper towel companies. The scene always starts out with a happy middle class mom humming in the kitchen. Then out of no where the ‘kids’ get home from school, like the mother did not know her kids got home from school everyday at the same time. The kids stomp through the kitchen leaving mud prints on Mom’s white floor tile. But thats not a problem with the ultra heavy duty paper towel the Johnson family is trying to sell. Their commercial made the assumption that only women clean up after and nurture kids. But that is completely false. Today there are many more stay at home or single dads that fulfill these roles once only occupied by women.

Smokes, Suits, and Sexual Harassment

I've lived in Washington State for the majority of my life, and yes, it is rainy and as beautiful as the setting in the Twilight series. But I never really got into either of the movie series that Berlatsky talks about. Twilight is just boring as hell (I think I've seen scenes of the first one) and the Hunger Games is violent, but doesn't have modern day guns or vivid goriness (I haven't seen the second one). My interpretation of Twilight, which is more than likely wrong, is that the girl can't choose between two men, creating a love triangle and making life hell for both of these guys. I believe Bella shouldn't be a slave to her emotions, which is viewed as a feminine trait especially seen in teenage girls. Katniss is cool, but she could stand to put on a little makeup with all that downtime she spends in caves with Peeta hiding from the fight. I mean, come on, the world is watching her.
A recurring idea from Ross' long essay is that media is controlled by the stereotypical white male and conservative ideals influence the movies, TV shows and advertisements that we all see. Her essay focused on the effect of these ideals in Disney movies that young girls see. Ross says that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland starts with a positive message about girl's fantasies, until she is lost in a mad world, can't handle herself, and is brought to tears waiting for someone to rescue her. This shows that Disney is trying to teach girls that they need order and direction. This is a contrast to The Hunger Game's Katniss who uses inner and outer strength to correct a shitty world and create order and direction. I like this idea, because I believe that people shape their own destiny, regardless of masculinity and femininity.
In the spirit of gender roles, I just started watching the series Mad Men. It has given me a deeper insight of why gender roles are they way they are today. The show is set in the 60s in an advertisement firm. Everyone in this building is white, all of the people in positions of power are men, while there isn't a man to be found amongst the secretaries, assistants, and telephone operators. Sexual harassment didn't technically exist back then, since there was no word for it, but it happens every five seconds they are in the office. Women are expected to be faithful to their men with no question, yet a man can arrive home late or even the next day with a simple work related excuse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxZ3A9giyIo

After watching this show, it makes me wonder what values we have now will be viewed as ridiculous and sexist, and what values we should have kept: because wearing suits all the time and smoking inside... That's just glorious.

Escape from Wonderland and Twilight vs. Hunger Games

In the article ‘Twilight’ vs. ‘Hunger Games’: Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella? Talks about who would win a fight between Bella and Katniss. At the beginning of this reading it seems like most would root for Katniss because she has the skills of a fighter and has been put to the test to save her own life and others; whereas Bella is just a wimpy little girl who can’t do anything for herself even if she tried. After reading the Twilight series and seeing the movies, I feel like Bella really finds herself at the end and whom she has wanted to be for so long. When writers are making their script for a movie, I would think their first question to themselves would be “Am I grabbing the audiences attention and relating to them on a more personal level?” Which is what they did when writing the Hunger Games and Twilight. One is more athletic and headstrong and the other is not athletic at first and emotional. I think they did their job by connecting to all different girls at different age groups.

With the article, Escape from Wonderland: Disney and the Female Imagination by Deborah Ross talks a whole lot about gender roles and the opinions of feminists on the roles of these animated women. Of course being a young girl watching Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, and Pocahontas I aspired to be one of those girls. Little did I know the real meaning behind each character and the roles of what they were portraying. This article talks about ethos and how these movies grab the emotions of the audience, especially young girls. Media plays a huge part in stereotyping gender roles and how women/men should be acting. Movies today do the same exact thing by swaying your opinion on something. The good news is that we all have a right to our own opinions, such as what movies we watch, and whether we like them or not. It’s also not just through movies either it can be music, tv ads and just anything to make your opinion up for you.

Twilight, Hunger Games, and Escape From Wonderland

In the article “Twilight vs. Hunger Games by Noah Berlatsky, he presents both the characters on Katniss and Bella in a new, more interesting light. I’ve read all of the Twilight books multiple times and watched the movies until I was blue in the face and one thing that always stayed the same was that I could not stand Bella. To me, she was weak, spineless, and shallow. She invested all of her emotions into a boy and when he left, she lost complete control of who she was. She CONSTANTLY needed saving.  To be honest, I was in love with Edward and wanted him to be with someone who was more tough. However, never did I once stand back and evaluate Bella for who she ended up being. Bella did end up with the love of her life and built her ideal family. She got exactly what she wanted even though she had to go through a lot of pain and suffering to get it. Isn’t the traditional “American Dream” to marry the love of your life and to build a family with them? Yes, I want those all of those things, however, I don’t think investing all of your emotions and feelings into one person right off of that bat is a good idea. Katniss is a much more desirable character. She is strong, tough, and for lack of a better word, she’s a total badass. She possesses character traits that most females wish to have. If you analyze both characters you see two different women with different set of strengths and weaknesses. People tend to love Katniss and despise Bella (whether it’s because she is with Edward or because she’s a total wimp). If you take a step back, I believe they aren’t all that different. I believe they would both be able to understand each other.

In Escape From Wonderland, Ross is arguing the gender roles that Disney is sending the youth of today. For example, she mentions how in The Little Mermaid Ariel is never truly satisfied. She even sings a song about it. Think about what message this is sending to girls that watch that movie, that there will never be enough to satisfy them. The Little Mermaid was my favorite movie as a little girl. I loved it. I wasn’t able to see the underlying messages in it though. Media is a powerful tool. It’s repetitive and has the power to sway even the most steadfast people.

Gender Norms of the Media

In "Escape from Wonderland" by Deborah Ross, she explains how Disney creates a gender norm by subjecting to how these wonderful childhood characters are really showing children feminine and masculine qualities. For example Ross explains in Disney's The Little Mermaid how Ariel is never really satisfied in the movie, and if you have a bunch of girls watching, how must the girls watching her feel about it. Ross gives insight to what Disney is trying to portray to our little ones. I agree with her because the media will use anything they can, even if it is a children movie, to get the stereotypes of genders brainwashed into your heads. Movies, ad's, and commercials  all have gender norms in them. For example all romantic movies show the man chasing after the woman for her love; he does all the kind gestures and treats her like a princess, which leads women to think that every man they meet has to be just like the man in the movie they saw. Ever since the production of movies came about woman want to be swept off their feet by a cute guy who treats them like a princess, but that is just a movie with actors who are paid to do it, but woman love it so much they want it to be real, so men are entered into a gender norm that they have to be this romantic, humble, and kind man so they can please woman who want this fantasy. As for Noah Berlatsky's "'Twilight' vs. 'Hunger Games': Why Do So Many Grown-Ups Hate Bella?" he explains how these two major box office teen flicks have two different kinds of leading ladies. Bella who is more of the "girly" type compared to Katniss who is more of a hard hitting independent woman, Bella would never get in any violence without any rescue because she is not tough one in the series, she seeks love and creating happiness with the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with which is the ideal feminist. While Katniss is a fighter who will fight for what she loves. She stands on her own and doesn't need a man to be by her side showing the more anti-feminist movement. Katniss goes against what women should be while Bella sticks to the gender norm. Media can be very deceiving to society; they give us pretty painted pictures which we all fall for more and more every day. Gender norms are everywhere we go; we are just so used to seeing them due to the media.  

Men Growing UP to Be Boys

In “Men Growing Up to Be Boys” I agree with the writer’s quote, “media has influenced men to lose many of the more admirable qualities…”  Many men have lost the desirable qualities like loyalty , honor, and duty as well have the image that real men can stay living the fun life, while getting married is only going to tie them down.  I think the media does a great job of dividing and conquering the majority of the population.  They show these celebrities, major league players, or whoever else has a high level of status and basically state, if you want to be like this guy you have to have this or that.  With so many lost minds in the world it becomes very easy to fall into this trap the media sets up. 

                With woman becoming more autonomous I think it causes men to look for another way to attract this woman.  For example men-boys everywhere see all these woman who are independent and don’t need the family man in their lives so I believe it causes men to become less masculine and more metro to tend to these women new desire.   

                Moran argues motherhood might not actually be the most noble calling for woman, but I beg to differ.  Men and woman were put on this Earth to do a few things, live your life to the fullest and multiply.  So if woman feel that they don’t want to have kids anymore that is ok, but I feel like the amount of girls to guys ratio that don’t want to have kids in not in the women favor.  Do I think its fair for men to be able to be single forever while woman need or should have kids?  No I don’t but that’s just how the world turns at this point.  I mean no disrespect when I say this, but if woman didn’t have one thing then men would put a bounty on their head and start hunting for them.  So besides having sex or producing children I am unsure of what women are around for.

Men growing up to be Boys

In "Men Growing up to be Boys," by author Lakshmi Chaudrhy, he describes that due to the media, men are losing the once ideal of masculinity that used to be portrayed by previous people such as John Wayne and are now transforming into as mark Simpson describes as "metrosexual." i do believe that a lot has changed since the 50's as far as what is viewed as masculine or not, but that is simply because things never stay the same forever. Cultural norms and society as a whole is forever evolving and in 50 years from now i am almost positive that what was viewed as masculine now won't be then. Chaudhry also went on to say that narcissim is comparable to being boyish and never growing up, but i believe that every man has had a narcissistic side; i mean what man doesn't like having nice things and getting to show them off? i don't think that just because of that makes a man any less manly.

In "Why You Shouldn't Have Children," by Caitlin Moran, she has this idea that everyone in the world wants to know when a woman is going to have children, and honestly i think that's a little farfetched. Honestly, I don't think that men are spending their days wondering when a woman is going to have children. i mean, if anything women are the ones, who if any at all, are the ones always wondering when other women are going to have children. Sure the question of "When are you going to have children", whether it be on a talk show or in an article in a magazine, is a fun and interesting question to ask, I just don't think that it should be scrutinized in the way that Moran makes it seem.

Men, boys, Women, & babies

In my opinion I somewhat agree that in “Men Growing Up to Be Boys”, yes media has a great influence over men and turning them into boys, losing their admirable qualities associated with masculinity but there is more than just media. In most eyes men are supposed to be this great care taker who provides for his family, is the main bread winner who makes all the decisions. Yet now a days it seems like that aspect is starting to fade away, with people still living with their parents and not wanting any responsibilities associated with growing up. I see this as circumstance and personal choice, some men are great fathers and role models etc. yet just like women, nobody has to live up to upheld standards of society anymore, the following of own path is mainly what occurs now a days.

In a society where women are becoming more autonomous masculinity still plays a major role. “Women may still bear the greater burden of domestic work, but American males today do more at home than their fathers, and are happy doing it” I agree with this statement because though men typically do a lot of outside house work, like cutting the grass maybe painting the house, building sheds and patios, but they can also take on roles in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.  So I see this as an equal matter, where maybe the work isn’t the same but fair treatment goes to both sexes on the work they do as a team.

 “ Why You Shouldn’t Have Children” argues that motherhood might not actually be the most noble calling for women, as it is usually portrayed in our society. Many women see themselves mainly at some point in life as child bearers, and when a woman doesn’t live up to that expectation then questioning of her womanhood comes into play. What the author is trying to say is that a woman’s worth goes way beyond being able to bear children, being able to have the choice whether or not or when to have kids is a personal prerogative and should be treated as such. Yet in our society if a woman hasn’t had children by a certain age she is looked down upon or seen as lesser than. Women might have more important goals in life or maybe she is just trying to wait till she has a stable enough schedule for a baby, or maybe she is just waiting for the right man; regardless of the situation choice is power meaning you don’t have to live up to societal expectations any longer. 

Blog Entry- January 28, 2014

In the first article, “Men Growing Up to be Boys” by Lakshmi Chaudhry, he talks mostly about the fact that media has a big influence on the fact that men are losing a lot of their masculine traits. He states that men have changed a lot from the 50’s and how boys would rather spend their time “sneaking out with the boys, eyeing the hot chick over his wife’s shoulder or buying cool new toys”. He makes it seem as though men are seeking to do better for themselves instead of what is necessarily best for their families. I definitely agree that media has a big influence on men in our society because it creates a distraction for men and they tend to lose sight of what is really important. He makes a comment in his article that kind of stood out to me which stated, “The market also has little time for the old-fashioned male virtue of self-denial, the imperative to do the “right thing” at the expense of pleasure.” This basically shows again that men can easily mistake what is important in their lives for simple pleasures.

In the second article “How to be a Woman”, Moran explains why she feels that it is not necessary for women to have children. Although I believe it isn’t necessary that women have children, I believe it all comes down to personal preference. The author did make a good point when she said, “Men and women alike have convinced themselves of a dragging belief: that somehow women are incomplete without children.” I believe this completely because in our society, it isn’t really “looked down upon” but if you don’t have children you may not really be seen as like the average women. What I didn’t agree with was the fact that she said “I don’t think there’s a single lesson that motherhood has to offer that couldn’t be learned elsewhere.” I disagree with this because I feel that motherhood is something that teaches you lessons that you couldn’t experience without actually being in that position. I do agree though that society puts way too much pressure on women to have children because like I said, it all comes back to the woman’s personal preference, not what society thinks women should do.

Blog Post - 01/28/14

In the article entitled, “Men growing up to be Boys” written by Lakshmi Chaudhry, the author makes clear that media and the idea of consumerism has been influencing men to gradually leave the now perceived “old-fashioned” virtues of men. By neglecting or leaving such virtues adult men may be expected to take on such as self-denial, sacrifice, values of duty, and honor, men lose themselves in a society influenced world that convinces them that they can still have the best of both worlds: a wholesome living perhaps with a wife and children along with their teenage boy-hood fantasy world. However, the reality of this as portrayed by Lakshmi Chaudhry, is more men lacking in upright, admirable qualities as they choose to be living out their boyhood rather than pursuing maturity in adulthood that follows being secure, stable, responsible, and settled. I too also agree with Chaudhry and her insights that media has in fact influenced more men to lose such qualities. Especially with today’s technology, the media is full of subtle ways to occupy individuals, entrapping them to their pleasures and leaving them with no time to evaluate what is really meaningful to their lives. Because it is easier for one to choose pleasure over sacrifice, and because choosing pleasure is lifted highly in our society through media, men commonly fall into being a “man-boy” as Lakshmi Chaudhry describes.

In today’s society, masculinity leaves behind critical traits and values such as honor, taking on responsibilities, and a man's sense of duty to the household. Because you have men struggling to fulfill the set of expectations set up by themselves in regards to having a family, women seem to have greater struggles when it comes to successfully raising a family.They become the initiators, wanting to have children rather than the male because of their inadequacy. I believe that masculinity should not have been deteriorated by media; that the gender roles in a family should be kept  in a more traditional manner. Men would realize and accept the sacrifices needed to raise up a proper family and take on the responsibilities.

In “Why You Shouldn’t Have Children” written by Caitlin Moran, the writer expresses that the role of women should not be bound to child-bearing and raising up children. Although being a mother contributes to numerous experiences and values, the same can be said to women who choose not to have children, who live life adventurously and seize the wonderful moments of life. Choosing not to have children allows women to cultivate themselves outside of the pressures society norms have on women to inevitably bear children. This is important because it shows society that the happiness and  wholesomeness of a women does not depend on whether or not they have children. Furthermore, it proves that they are just as fine as women with children are. Society needs more of such women to override the gender stereotyping of women and children.

Defying Gender Norms

In “Men Growing Up to be Boys,” author Lakshmi Chaudhry claims that media has influenced men to lose many of their more admirable traits that are generally associated with masculinity. I agree with Chaudhry. Men have drastically changed since the ‘50s; men are changing every day. The media is a major influence on all of society today. I’m sure that seeing commercials featuring a man having fun on his phone with no responsibilities is very appealing to some guys, and they might want to embrace that lifestyle: no wife, no kids, no job, and no responsibility. However, there are still men out there whose major goal in life to is to marry and have children and provide for their family. Then there are also men who enjoy the single life, who just want to focus on improving themselves, or becoming more independent, or getting a promotion every six months and making bank. And I say to each their own. Every person in this world is different, unique. We make a huge deal about women being stereotyped and expected to look, act, and be a certain way; why would we put men in the same box? Each one of the types of guys from above can apply to a female as well. Females too can be care-free. Females too can be family-oriented. Females too can be success and financially driven. The world isn’t black and white anymore. There isn’t just one way to live, and there isn’t a right way to live either. It used to be expected that women care for a child while it’s in her womb, give birth to a child, and then raise a child for at least eighteen years while working a mediocre job and coming home each night to cook dinner, and clean the house, while their husbands are just expected to work a well-paying job and support the family financially. It seems like the scale is a little off-balanced to say the least. Nowadays, women are more commonly accepted as independents, but it is still seen as taboo if women do not want to have children. In "Why You Shouldn't Have Children," Caitlin Moran argues that motherhood might not actually be the noblest calling for women, as it is usually portrayed in our society and I agree. Women can be noble in any way that they please, just like men can. If you want to have a family, then go ahead, but it should not be because you feel like you have to; it should be because you genuinely want to. If you want to live in your parents’ basement and play video games all day, so be it. If you want to work your way up to be the CEO of a huge corporation, then do it. Your sex shouldn’t define how you live your life. It’s YOUR life, do whatever makes YOU happy, not society. 

For Lack of a Better Name

It's an interesting subject actually. While for the most part I believe that the media has not tried to influence men to lose their masculinity, the more I think about it, I can see some instances where this is true. The example Chaudhry used of the "metrosexual" man is what really opened my eyes to see what is happening to men nowadays. It's all too true that men are now displayed as being materialistic over masculine. I saw a commercial just the other day for a TV show about a metrosexual father and his family… really people? That's what we've resorted to for influencing today’s young men? I should have expected garbage like this to happen eventually, I only hoped it wouldn't be in my lifetime. Men used to be fearless warriors that accomplished great feats. Society no longer glorifies warriors anymore, they would much rather have a sensitive nice guy. You might be shaking your head while reading this, but really think about it. Using just your general background knowledge of what men were like throughout history compared to the present can lead you to conclude that men are becoming pansies. The media seems to say that women want an emotional guy to be able to connect with and share their feelings with. Well guess what ladies, now y'all can have a guy that listens to your feelings, goes shopping with you, and even gets their nails done together with you… it's called a homosexual. You wanted guys to be more like you and now you have your wish. As for me, I'm going to continue to fight the degrading image the media paints of a man in the 21st century. While typing this I actually just saw a commercial for Dr. Pepper Ten where there is a super manly man doing crazy manly things out in the wilderness like fishing with his bare hands and carrying a whole tree under his arm. It's advertisements like this that give me hope for the future of men.

The role of masculinity is still the same in today’s society despite women becoming increasingly autonomous. Honestly, I don't really know what this question is asking so I'd like some input from you guys. Masculinity is always going to be important and play a big role in society, but what is the role it plays? Look at me asking a question inside my answer to another question, that's some Inception stuff right there.

The author of "Why You Shouldn't Have Children" brings up an interesting theory about motherhood not being the noblest call for women. Isn't that a big part of femininity though? Nurturing and raising the youth of tomorrow is no small task that women are in charge of doing. Femininity doesn't hold much value or meaning anymore if women want to be rid of what makes them feminine in the first place. It's a personal choice whether or not you want to bring a new being into this world, but it's a norm in today's society that women are to eventually have children. Actually that's a norm that has been expected from women since the very first humans walked this earth. It's not like some crazy sexist concept that originated recently by evil men wanting to degrade women. So I'm not exactly sure what the author was going for by saying that women shouldn't be expected to have children.

Jan 28

          I believe the media has played a role in the change of what defines a man in todays society. They have been able to do this through commercials, shows, and new life styles.  They have had the ability to influence men through these different streams of communication evolving the maturity levels of males today to an all time low. But in defense to the media, who chooses to watch and to be influenced by these false traits of manhood. We do. Men in our society are choosing to me more immature because that allows for less responsibility.

         The next issue is how women are becoming more autonomous and how masculinity plays a role in this. Today women are becoming more independent because of modern innovation and social norms. They know do not have to rely on men to do the hunting when a quick trip to their local grocery store. They also do not need men to financially support and take care of them. For example Oprah became a Billionaire because of her own actions and talents. This shows that women can handle the same responsibility as  men, giving the modern day women more masculinity.

           Femininity is trait that isn’t wired in most men. Without women having this trait there would be nothing to counterbalance the true masculinity traits of male. This even balance allows society to run smooth with different people who have different traits to do certain jobs. The natural femininity of women is the reason the earth stays populated as they naturally have the desire to be a mom.

 

Purpose of Women and Men

     I believe that the author of “Men Growing Up to Be Boys” is correct about how the media is influencing men to lose many of their more admirable qualities typically associated with masculinity. Men are thought of as being strong, confident, and the future of society. But with today’s media, this isn’t exactly true. I know from personal experience that men can sometimes be bigger “babies” than women when it comes to certain things. Both my father and my boyfriend turn into hopeless boys when they are sick and rely on others to take care of them; they act like the world is ending. I feel like media allows men to let other decide who they are.

     As women are increasing autonomous, men feel as though they are being less needed in today’s society, which isn’t true. In “Men Growing Up to Be Boys”, Lakshmi Chaudhry states, “Women may still bear the greater burden of domestic work, but American males today do more at home than their fathers, and are happy doing it.” I believe that this statement is completely true. Think about your mother at home and how much she does around the house and if not her, your female housekeeper. But then look at your father and look how much he does as well just doing different things than your mother. One gender shouldn’t feel less important than the other, just as one gender shouldn’t feel more powerful than the other. One day in this world, people will hopefully view male and female as equal and equally taking on different roles.

     In “ Why You Shouldn’t Have Children”, the author, Caitlin Moran argues that motherhood might not actually be the most noble calling for women, as it is usually portrayed in our society. Like many women, I want children one day, but there are women out there that would rather do other things with their life, and that is perfectly fine. Some women aren’t meant to have children and would rather may travel the world or become some well-known doctor. Whatever their reasoning may be women weren’t made to be baby makers. Women were made just like men, to make their own decisions about their bodies, their lifestyles, and what they plan on doing with their life.