Sunday, November 29, 2009
reality show "For the love of Ray J" -Kechley Bruna
The reality show that I decided to analyze is " For the love of Ray J." The purpose of this show is to find a girl friend for pop r&b artist Ray J. The summary for this episode reads: Ray J will have the women, who are competing against one another for his love and affection take on a challenge, which will involve everyone participating in a strentuous dancing competition he will judge". This show is gendered in numerous ways bacause the girls in the show have to fight to gain the attention of ray j and almost always end up betraying and turning on each other. The challenge for this episode was for the girls to break up in to three teams and create the best dance routine. Which ever team does the best gets the chance to go on a one-on-one date with Ray J. The whole fact that the girls have to fight for his attention is wrong because Ray doesn't focus on solely one girl; yet they are required to give one hundred percent of their attention to Ray J and just hope he does the same in return. In the begining of each season each girl changes their name to whatever Ray J sees fit. During this episode Ray takes "Mz Berry" and "Lava" to a club. When Lava tries to claim Ray J as her man and acts jealous she is portrayed as crazy. The show depicts her as "the psycho girlfriend" while she remains in his room for hours awaiting his return. I found it pretty weird that when Ray showed his jealous side on the show it seemed normal and noone had a problem with his actions. Ray does so when he finds out that one of the girls (luscious) had a past relationship with his DJ friend. When she doesn't tell him immediately Ray almost eliminates her and during the elimination he reveals to everyone that luscious "smashed the homie." The word choice in itself makes her seem like a slut. The information that Ray discovered was in her past and still made him jealous. However when "Lava" got jealous because Ray shared her date with Mz Berry and hung out with the other girls in the jacuzzi afterward she was labeld and portrayed as crazy by Ray and the other girls in the house. When Ray J returns and sees Lava in his room still he say " I gave you your private time" as he wonders why she is still there. ultimately the gendered qualities of this reality show is 1) having all the women in the house fight for male attention 2) when one women is jealous she is seen as psycho and when Ray depicts the same feeling he is seen in a postive light. The language used in this episode is extremely gendered as mentioned before when Ray says "you have your private time...I'm gonna go check on my other girls...smashed the homie..."
Women and Labor
Inspired by the Work and Achievement chapter, I decided to make a little collage.
Hope you guys like it,
O.
Newsweek Article on Gender
Hi! Newsweek published a issue where they discuss about gender in May. Here is an article: (Rethinking) Gender http://www.newsweek.com/id/34772/page/1
Monday, November 23, 2009
Midlife and Aging- Huo Ling (Helen) Ruan
What does age mean to you? Is it just a number? Is it based on appearance/function? According to Crawford, “age is subjective. Its meaning is defined by social consensus, and the criteria differ from one time and place to another.”
How do you identify your age and how does society identify you?
Although I am not in my mid-life yet, when asked what is your age? I would say 21 and I am young. However, when my birthday comes, I will say ahh. .I’m growing old.(It is interesting that for some people, once they pass a certain age, they will view growing old as a negative thing.) This is self identity. When a stranger sees me, they would say oh you look so young, are you 18? This is social identity. Society views people based on their appearance where you identify you age with perhaps a number or based on a feeling.
Imagine this: remember watching magic shows? The magician puts something in a hat or behind a curtain then POOF, they disappear (You know it’s still somewhere). Yes, there are little or even no images of older women in today’s media. As Crawford explains, they are invisible. How often do you see images of older women in the front cover of magazines? Or as the main character in a movie. It is not to say there are absolutely no images of older women in society because there is. In fact there are images of older men as well. Images of older women and emphasizes their gender norms. Older women, for example grandmas are shown as more nurturing and older men are shown as still strong. Women are still viewed as the main care takers. Grandmothers take care of their grand children and sometimes play the role of a parent. Some older women however are displayed as evil. Think back when you were a kid, watching those Disney movies. Why is the witch or evil step mother always old? Movies or images like those portray older women as negative. This shows that we stereotype older women.
As people grow older their health decreases. There are health disparities among the older population. Women live longer than men but they are less satisfied with the services they receive. Those who are poor and part of the minority population face even devastating health outcomes. They receive less health care and less likely to have money to buy retirement funds. Being able to afford retirement funds and how that person’s mid-life would be is partly based on their social class. Futhermore on the health aspect, menopause is medicalized! Yes the health industry would medicalized anything so they can squeeze money out of you! Some women would go for estrogen replacement therapy or hormone replacement therapy to relieve signs of menopause and prevent signs of aging.
Think about this: If you were to create a HIV/AIDS program, who would you target? There few programs that target the older population. Why? Maybe because we don’t believe they have sex anymore. Studies show that older women are not as sexually active as older men. Older men would do anything and take anything to keep their libido up. Many older men take Viagra.
As men are more concerned with their sexual function as they grow old, women are more concerned with their appearance. That provides so much business for the beauty industry. Women spend so much money on skincare products/therapy and makeup.
What is difference between retirement for a man and women? For women, even though you are not working outside, you are working inside the house. Studies show that women does majority of the housework after they retire whereas for men, they rarely do any house work unless there’s something wrong with the wife. Crawford indicates that retirement is “a mechanism that is biased by age, gender, and social class- one that may maintain and even magnify the gender hierarchies of young adulthood”.
As we approach our mid-life, think about all the factors around aging. Do you feel that all the things associated with aging is negative? You can make a difference in many ways! Be involved in elder activism, take charge of your life, resist ageism!
How do you identify your age and how does society identify you?
Although I am not in my mid-life yet, when asked what is your age? I would say 21 and I am young. However, when my birthday comes, I will say ahh. .I’m growing old.(It is interesting that for some people, once they pass a certain age, they will view growing old as a negative thing.) This is self identity. When a stranger sees me, they would say oh you look so young, are you 18? This is social identity. Society views people based on their appearance where you identify you age with perhaps a number or based on a feeling.
Imagine this: remember watching magic shows? The magician puts something in a hat or behind a curtain then POOF, they disappear (You know it’s still somewhere). Yes, there are little or even no images of older women in today’s media. As Crawford explains, they are invisible. How often do you see images of older women in the front cover of magazines? Or as the main character in a movie. It is not to say there are absolutely no images of older women in society because there is. In fact there are images of older men as well. Images of older women and emphasizes their gender norms. Older women, for example grandmas are shown as more nurturing and older men are shown as still strong. Women are still viewed as the main care takers. Grandmothers take care of their grand children and sometimes play the role of a parent. Some older women however are displayed as evil. Think back when you were a kid, watching those Disney movies. Why is the witch or evil step mother always old? Movies or images like those portray older women as negative. This shows that we stereotype older women.
As people grow older their health decreases. There are health disparities among the older population. Women live longer than men but they are less satisfied with the services they receive. Those who are poor and part of the minority population face even devastating health outcomes. They receive less health care and less likely to have money to buy retirement funds. Being able to afford retirement funds and how that person’s mid-life would be is partly based on their social class. Futhermore on the health aspect, menopause is medicalized! Yes the health industry would medicalized anything so they can squeeze money out of you! Some women would go for estrogen replacement therapy or hormone replacement therapy to relieve signs of menopause and prevent signs of aging.
Think about this: If you were to create a HIV/AIDS program, who would you target? There few programs that target the older population. Why? Maybe because we don’t believe they have sex anymore. Studies show that older women are not as sexually active as older men. Older men would do anything and take anything to keep their libido up. Many older men take Viagra.
As men are more concerned with their sexual function as they grow old, women are more concerned with their appearance. That provides so much business for the beauty industry. Women spend so much money on skincare products/therapy and makeup.
What is difference between retirement for a man and women? For women, even though you are not working outside, you are working inside the house. Studies show that women does majority of the housework after they retire whereas for men, they rarely do any house work unless there’s something wrong with the wife. Crawford indicates that retirement is “a mechanism that is biased by age, gender, and social class- one that may maintain and even magnify the gender hierarchies of young adulthood”.
As we approach our mid-life, think about all the factors around aging. Do you feel that all the things associated with aging is negative? You can make a difference in many ways! Be involved in elder activism, take charge of your life, resist ageism!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
"The Bachelorette" Reality TV show
by O.G.
“The Bachelorette,” an ABC reality series, portrays a single woman who searches for love among 25 of America’s most eligible bachelors. Many viewers all across America have said that the show fathers a feminist statement, and counters the objectification of women created by the original reality show, “The Bachelor.” Many thought that in providing a woman with the potential candidates to chose from, they’d be breaking down the biased wall of sexism. Only there is little change when there are 25 single men vying for the attention of one woman, who seeks to find “prince charming” among the group of men pre-selected for her.
In the season 5 premiere of “The Bachelorette,” 25 men are introduced to the bachelorette, Jillian. They spend a single night competing in trying to make themselves memorable and to create a good first impression, so as not to be eliminated at the end of the night. Their tactics of acquiring the attention of the woman are more than slightly stereotypical: they interrupt each other, say cheesy things to be memorable, have break-dancing competitions, sing country songs for her, ask to take her aside when she’s one-on-one with another male, etc. There is constant talk of competition among the males, and it is amped by the fact that 5 extra men were brought in as surprise competitors in the middle of the evening.
The season premiere revealed that the bachelorette was actually a contestant on the previous season’s “The Bachelor,” who claimed to have fallen in love with the bachelor, who ended up sending her home alone in the season finale. After her broken heart, her desire to meet “someone special” leads her to be the new “Bachelorette.” Her family sends her to the show, wishing her luck in finding “prince charming” and she says she hopes to meet “Mister Right.” The commentator goes on question whether or not she will find her “fairy tale ending” in the introduction. Throughout the show, she is teased by men about a certain “hot-tub scene” from “The Bachelor” for which she’s earned a bad reputation. This enforces the idea that a woman is supposed to be more sexually reserved and that the bad reputation will pursue her if even in one single instance she is not. Even thought the show was created to objectify men who swoon for a single woman, even in the first episode they objectify her more so than she does them, seeing as they discuss how good she looks and how stunning her figure is in her white gown.
Many claim that “The Bachelorette” encourages female empowerment, but how can it possibly do so while encouraging stereotypical gender roles; the woman sitting around waiting for love, and the men proving their manhood by competing with each other for this woman. The traditional gender stereotypes are presented through the ideas of the female emanating feminine qualities which make her desirable to the men she’s surrounded by: vulnerability, emotionality, communality, and beauty. The masculine qualities portrayed are confidence, aggression, competitiveness, worldliness, and charm. The show provides viewers with the stereotypical gendered ideas; the woman awaits for prince charming, while the men battle for the attention of a woman they call their “prize” The contestants try to out-do each other by attempting to be the romantics they think the bachelorette would want them to be, in order to “sweep her off her feet,” similarly to how two men actually literally do so in the first episode of the season. The show perpetuates not only gender stereotypes but also makes the viewers think that the fairytale set-up of the show is something akin to real life, seeing as it’s part of “reality TV.” It supplies viewers with the idea that the portrayed set is real life with everyday people, and not good-looking, exceptional men and women chosen by television directors. “The Bachelorette” enforces the same ideas feminists have been trying to dispense; the woman looking for a fairytale ending while being objectified as a prize by the men competing for her.
“The Bachelorette,” an ABC reality series, portrays a single woman who searches for love among 25 of America’s most eligible bachelors. Many viewers all across America have said that the show fathers a feminist statement, and counters the objectification of women created by the original reality show, “The Bachelor.” Many thought that in providing a woman with the potential candidates to chose from, they’d be breaking down the biased wall of sexism. Only there is little change when there are 25 single men vying for the attention of one woman, who seeks to find “prince charming” among the group of men pre-selected for her.
In the season 5 premiere of “The Bachelorette,” 25 men are introduced to the bachelorette, Jillian. They spend a single night competing in trying to make themselves memorable and to create a good first impression, so as not to be eliminated at the end of the night. Their tactics of acquiring the attention of the woman are more than slightly stereotypical: they interrupt each other, say cheesy things to be memorable, have break-dancing competitions, sing country songs for her, ask to take her aside when she’s one-on-one with another male, etc. There is constant talk of competition among the males, and it is amped by the fact that 5 extra men were brought in as surprise competitors in the middle of the evening.
The season premiere revealed that the bachelorette was actually a contestant on the previous season’s “The Bachelor,” who claimed to have fallen in love with the bachelor, who ended up sending her home alone in the season finale. After her broken heart, her desire to meet “someone special” leads her to be the new “Bachelorette.” Her family sends her to the show, wishing her luck in finding “prince charming” and she says she hopes to meet “Mister Right.” The commentator goes on question whether or not she will find her “fairy tale ending” in the introduction. Throughout the show, she is teased by men about a certain “hot-tub scene” from “The Bachelor” for which she’s earned a bad reputation. This enforces the idea that a woman is supposed to be more sexually reserved and that the bad reputation will pursue her if even in one single instance she is not. Even thought the show was created to objectify men who swoon for a single woman, even in the first episode they objectify her more so than she does them, seeing as they discuss how good she looks and how stunning her figure is in her white gown.
Many claim that “The Bachelorette” encourages female empowerment, but how can it possibly do so while encouraging stereotypical gender roles; the woman sitting around waiting for love, and the men proving their manhood by competing with each other for this woman. The traditional gender stereotypes are presented through the ideas of the female emanating feminine qualities which make her desirable to the men she’s surrounded by: vulnerability, emotionality, communality, and beauty. The masculine qualities portrayed are confidence, aggression, competitiveness, worldliness, and charm. The show provides viewers with the stereotypical gendered ideas; the woman awaits for prince charming, while the men battle for the attention of a woman they call their “prize” The contestants try to out-do each other by attempting to be the romantics they think the bachelorette would want them to be, in order to “sweep her off her feet,” similarly to how two men actually literally do so in the first episode of the season. The show perpetuates not only gender stereotypes but also makes the viewers think that the fairytale set-up of the show is something akin to real life, seeing as it’s part of “reality TV.” It supplies viewers with the idea that the portrayed set is real life with everyday people, and not good-looking, exceptional men and women chosen by television directors. “The Bachelorette” enforces the same ideas feminists have been trying to dispense; the woman looking for a fairytale ending while being objectified as a prize by the men competing for her.
Gender Idenities By Joana Lisboa
What is it to be a female????? can anyone really, truly answer that question???? Yes we know biologically what gender is XX or XY BUT how has gender become what it is today???? just a few thoughts before i get into the readings ....
When i saw this article i thought it sounded pretty funny > "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters" .... i didn't really know what to expect!Its all about self image and how girls/women want to be perceived. Weight and body image is a big must in the women gender .... we are usually not skinny enough or butt never firm enough! I was one of those girls and guess what .... i still am! i cant help but constantly watch what i look like. As i read this article it sounded like it was coming from me ... its pretty scary yet sad ... I guess its the average girls thoughts ... i very much doubt guys think this way!!!
"Now that You're a While Man": Changing Sex in a Postmodern World- Being, Becoming, and Borders by Valerio was interesting to read. He talks about his own gender identity and his personal experience of being born a female who felt as if she should have been a male. Something interesting he said was that it had nothing to do with being a lesbian, she just always felt like she should have been male. So this implies that sexuality and gender do not coincide which many people get confused.
When i saw this article i thought it sounded pretty funny > "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters" .... i didn't really know what to expect!Its all about self image and how girls/women want to be perceived. Weight and body image is a big must in the women gender .... we are usually not skinny enough or butt never firm enough! I was one of those girls and guess what .... i still am! i cant help but constantly watch what i look like. As i read this article it sounded like it was coming from me ... its pretty scary yet sad ... I guess its the average girls thoughts ... i very much doubt guys think this way!!!
"Now that You're a While Man": Changing Sex in a Postmodern World- Being, Becoming, and Borders by Valerio was interesting to read. He talks about his own gender identity and his personal experience of being born a female who felt as if she should have been a male. Something interesting he said was that it had nothing to do with being a lesbian, she just always felt like she should have been male. So this implies that sexuality and gender do not coincide which many people get confused.
Work and Achievement By Joana Lisboa
The New York Times article by Kantor, J. really surprised me!!! i know that many parents have a hard time finding nannies and good care takers for their children, but i didn't know that there had some sort of race issue involved. The article raised a few points of why "colored" nannies do not want to work for a family who is also "colored". One of the issues were that the nannies felt like the black families lived in neighborhoods that they didn't want to travel to and that black families expect more work for less money. These are all very stereotypical statements!!! The next issue was brought up by a sociologist, stating that for a nanny to work for a family of her own race/color it "highlights their lower economic status".
The Care Crisis by Rosen, R. was a great article. It really expresses the issue that women such as myself have to face as we work towards our careers and begin thinking about having a family. This is a delema that many women face, as women have always been the ones who maintain the house and take car of the children, now by taking on the full time worker position, ITS A LITTLE TO MUCH!!!! I like how the article puts it, "returning home after work to a 'second shift' of house work and childcare". Its totally true !!!! Women in today's generation put so much upon themselves, always over achieving and reaching for the stars .... whereas men can have their traditional gender jobs and never get judges 4 it....
"The problem that has no name" "feminine mystique"
The Care Crisis by Rosen, R. was a great article. It really expresses the issue that women such as myself have to face as we work towards our careers and begin thinking about having a family. This is a delema that many women face, as women have always been the ones who maintain the house and take car of the children, now by taking on the full time worker position, ITS A LITTLE TO MUCH!!!! I like how the article puts it, "returning home after work to a 'second shift' of house work and childcare". Its totally true !!!! Women in today's generation put so much upon themselves, always over achieving and reaching for the stars .... whereas men can have their traditional gender jobs and never get judges 4 it....
"The problem that has no name" "feminine mystique"
Reality Tv Show Real Chance of Love By Joana Lisboa
VH1 has a lot of interesting realty TV shows, this one in particular is one that i have watched on and off. Real Chance of Love is about these Two brothers one named Real and the other named Chance who are looking for love. They have a bunch of girls they don't know come on the show to prove they really want to be with them. They go threw challenges and a variety of dates with the brother they feel most interested in and of course, they are trying their best to impress these guys by putting on the persona that will best connect them.I really have no idea were they find these girls! The majority of them are strippers and actresses, and many of them are only on the show to get publicity. At the beginning of the season Real and Chance gives nick names to the girls in order to better remember them. I find this to be very degrading because of the type of names they choose. For example the 5 girls that were left on the show were (3 Real Girls) Sassy, Doll, Pocahontas, (2 Chance Girls) Hot Wings and Mamacita. The girls are not allowed to make up their own names.
The episode that i watched for this project was the season finale of season 2. (They had a season 2 because obviously the girls they chose from season 1 weren't REALLY into them, what a surprise!!!) While watching the episode i kept thinking GENDER, GENDER, GENDER. What things do i see on the show that have to do with gender because as we all know gender is everywhere, its just a little difficult to see at times due to societies norms and what we accept to be our norms. The first thing that really stands out on this show is the girls that are fighting for these men that they barley even know. One of the things noticed are the way in which they dress themselves. They are disclosing everything, tits exposed, booty hanging out of skirts, legs bear, heals as high as could get! Its unbelievable some of the things they wear. There were constant images of them doing their hair and make up because we all know women should be put together at all times! its what is expected.
During the show you are also able to notice the way the brothers speak in comparison to the way the women speak. The women, because they are trying to impress the men, act very seductive and needy. Sassy in particular puts her hands over her mouth when she laughs and always has her head tilted slightly downward. The girls in the show are constantly crying and showing their emotions to the men. For example in this episode Real commented to Doll that he wants likes "to see" his women "shed some tears" so that he could "confert her". Another example from the episode was when Chance is talking to Mamacita about relationships and what a girlfriend should do. Mamacita says that she is capable of staying home and being a serious girlfriend and that she wants a real man. Chance in return tells her that he wants a good women, and that he would not want to be home while shes out drinking and partying. so theres a criteria for what a good women is, basically a house wife. That the women every man wants is someone who is constantly there and who's sole concern is him, making the man more important that the women.
In general the women on shows such as this one really degrade themselves and the female gender!!! its pretty sad if you pay attention to the gender themes that go on. Yes it is pretty entertaining to watch and i will continue to watch shows such as this one .... maybe you can call me a hypocrite!!!
http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1624699
The episode that i watched for this project was the season finale of season 2. (They had a season 2 because obviously the girls they chose from season 1 weren't REALLY into them, what a surprise!!!) While watching the episode i kept thinking GENDER, GENDER, GENDER. What things do i see on the show that have to do with gender because as we all know gender is everywhere, its just a little difficult to see at times due to societies norms and what we accept to be our norms. The first thing that really stands out on this show is the girls that are fighting for these men that they barley even know. One of the things noticed are the way in which they dress themselves. They are disclosing everything, tits exposed, booty hanging out of skirts, legs bear, heals as high as could get! Its unbelievable some of the things they wear. There were constant images of them doing their hair and make up because we all know women should be put together at all times! its what is expected.
During the show you are also able to notice the way the brothers speak in comparison to the way the women speak. The women, because they are trying to impress the men, act very seductive and needy. Sassy in particular puts her hands over her mouth when she laughs and always has her head tilted slightly downward. The girls in the show are constantly crying and showing their emotions to the men. For example in this episode Real commented to Doll that he wants likes "to see" his women "shed some tears" so that he could "confert her". Another example from the episode was when Chance is talking to Mamacita about relationships and what a girlfriend should do. Mamacita says that she is capable of staying home and being a serious girlfriend and that she wants a real man. Chance in return tells her that he wants a good women, and that he would not want to be home while shes out drinking and partying. so theres a criteria for what a good women is, basically a house wife. That the women every man wants is someone who is constantly there and who's sole concern is him, making the man more important that the women.
In general the women on shows such as this one really degrade themselves and the female gender!!! its pretty sad if you pay attention to the gender themes that go on. Yes it is pretty entertaining to watch and i will continue to watch shows such as this one .... maybe you can call me a hypocrite!!!
http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1624699
Kechley Bruna "Meaning of difference" How self esteem and knowledge influences performance
While I read chapter four "The meaning of difference" I found it intriging that their was no real scientific proof that shows that men were more intelligent than women. The old claim that men's larger brains led to their higher intelligence proved to be false. The false claim that men are better in math actually lowers the self esteem of women who inturn perform lower in academic areas. When women realized that they were capable of doing the same things as men the college and workforce rates increased. This confirms the old notion that knowledge is power.Gaining knowledge that men werent intelectually superioir women gained the power and motivation to be independent and go for the careers they once felt was out of their reach. An Atlantic article states that from 1890-1985 the participation in the work force of women between the ages of twenty five to forty soared from fifteen to seventy one percent. This increase follwed the second world war that allowed women to experience the workforce while the men went to war. After seeing first hand that they were capable of working, women gained confidence in themselves and rejected the subordinate roles set for them by society.The correlation I detected was that after gaining more knowledge about thier capabilities women were able to perform better, secularly and academiclly. The text also brought out that white male scientist try to find or even create evidence to justify the gender sterotypes.
Fun and Interesting Videos
Gender roles- Interview with Kids
Sexism, Strength and Dominance- Disney Films
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Biological Sex
Sexism, Strength and Dominance- Disney Films
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Biological Sex
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Reality TV Analysis- Huo Ling(Helen) Ruan
America’s Next Top Model Cycle 13 Finale
America’s Next Top Model view of women= glamorous, beautiful, tall, perfect figure and face, talk/walk beautifully
Our society wants to see things that are perfect rather than the not so beautiful. Like how we don’t want to recognize how many homeless people we have but rather make a twist and say: $_ can save X number people. Stars and celebrities are painted, sniped and stitched to be pleasing to the eye. Why do they need to act and look a certain way? Society expects them to do so. Gender is a social construct that is continuously being molded and changed. Things like the media have a major impact on how society views gender. Reality television shows like America’s Next Top Model has done so by delivering messages to millions of women across the globe.
Beauty: It is funny how in every season, the candidates are always beautiful (Maybe not to everyone but you get what I mean). They have not yet chosen any one that is not. Even in previous seasons when there was once this girl who had scars on her body, yes she was chosen to participate but she had to cover her scars. In the finale, the girls, Nicole and Laura had to do a Cover girl photo shoot and commercial. The idea is to sell the products and look gorgeous at the same time. When society sees the commercials what messages do they get? Wow, she looks beautiful and they would buy the product to “beautify” themselves. The product they were selling was mascara and it sent the message that having long voluminous lashes makes women beautiful.
Another interesting thing from this reality show is that women use their body to make them look amazing. The use their body to create curves, extend their legs, pout/smile with their lips and work their eyes. In addition, the models always wear makeup and had clothes that always revealed some skin. The girls were sparkling with glitter all over their body and faces. During the runway they also wore flowing dresses, looking elegant and swimsuits, looking sexy. Another interesting thing was that the themes of the fashion show were related to nature, fire, water and wind. The connection of women and mother nature popped up in my mind.
So, how does this affect the view of gender/sexuality in society? We can definitely tie this back Crawford’s book. In the book it discusses about love and also images of women. Men tend to pick attractive women. With images exposed throughout the streets men’s definition of “beautiful” or “attractive” has now changed since many years ago. Nowadays the common terms are hot, sexy, cute, etc. In my opinion all these terms describe parts of a women’s body. Some men like the woman because he likes her body. This is like objectifying her.
Men: The 2 Jays in the show definitely step out of their gender norms. I always find that men who are into fashion design or makeup are some what out of their gender norms. The men show their feminine side. Ms. J. Alexander walks and dresses like a female. One of the models once described them as beautiful. Usually in society we don’t describe men with that word. People usually say cute, muscular, hot, sexy and handsome.
Aside from this reality show, I see how kids do gender everyday. One day I was on the train and sitting across from me were these sisters. One was probably 5 and the other 6. They had in their hands a pink make up kit! The little sister was applying lip gloss on her lips with a brush. There was also eye shadow and applicators as well. The mother was teaching them how to apply makeup.
I used to work in a retail store and one day I hear his little boy crying. It turns out that his parents won’t buy him a toy. I looked and guess what? The toy the boy was holding turns out to be a Barbie doll!
America’s Next Top Model view of women= glamorous, beautiful, tall, perfect figure and face, talk/walk beautifully
Our society wants to see things that are perfect rather than the not so beautiful. Like how we don’t want to recognize how many homeless people we have but rather make a twist and say: $_ can save X number people. Stars and celebrities are painted, sniped and stitched to be pleasing to the eye. Why do they need to act and look a certain way? Society expects them to do so. Gender is a social construct that is continuously being molded and changed. Things like the media have a major impact on how society views gender. Reality television shows like America’s Next Top Model has done so by delivering messages to millions of women across the globe.
Beauty: It is funny how in every season, the candidates are always beautiful (Maybe not to everyone but you get what I mean). They have not yet chosen any one that is not. Even in previous seasons when there was once this girl who had scars on her body, yes she was chosen to participate but she had to cover her scars. In the finale, the girls, Nicole and Laura had to do a Cover girl photo shoot and commercial. The idea is to sell the products and look gorgeous at the same time. When society sees the commercials what messages do they get? Wow, she looks beautiful and they would buy the product to “beautify” themselves. The product they were selling was mascara and it sent the message that having long voluminous lashes makes women beautiful.
Another interesting thing from this reality show is that women use their body to make them look amazing. The use their body to create curves, extend their legs, pout/smile with their lips and work their eyes. In addition, the models always wear makeup and had clothes that always revealed some skin. The girls were sparkling with glitter all over their body and faces. During the runway they also wore flowing dresses, looking elegant and swimsuits, looking sexy. Another interesting thing was that the themes of the fashion show were related to nature, fire, water and wind. The connection of women and mother nature popped up in my mind.
So, how does this affect the view of gender/sexuality in society? We can definitely tie this back Crawford’s book. In the book it discusses about love and also images of women. Men tend to pick attractive women. With images exposed throughout the streets men’s definition of “beautiful” or “attractive” has now changed since many years ago. Nowadays the common terms are hot, sexy, cute, etc. In my opinion all these terms describe parts of a women’s body. Some men like the woman because he likes her body. This is like objectifying her.
Men: The 2 Jays in the show definitely step out of their gender norms. I always find that men who are into fashion design or makeup are some what out of their gender norms. The men show their feminine side. Ms. J. Alexander walks and dresses like a female. One of the models once described them as beautiful. Usually in society we don’t describe men with that word. People usually say cute, muscular, hot, sexy and handsome.
Aside from this reality show, I see how kids do gender everyday. One day I was on the train and sitting across from me were these sisters. One was probably 5 and the other 6. They had in their hands a pink make up kit! The little sister was applying lip gloss on her lips with a brush. There was also eye shadow and applicators as well. The mother was teaching them how to apply makeup.
I used to work in a retail store and one day I hear his little boy crying. It turns out that his parents won’t buy him a toy. I looked and guess what? The toy the boy was holding turns out to be a Barbie doll!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Some Interesting Videos.
Stumbled upon a little youtube video on gender stereotypes.
Also, this is an interesting video about the social construction of gender, and interviews with transgendered people who reflect on the problems they have with society accepting them.
(sorry the embedding has been disabled, so I can only provide the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWGEoaq-x4
Also, this is an interesting video about the social construction of gender, and interviews with transgendered people who reflect on the problems they have with society accepting them.
(sorry the embedding has been disabled, so I can only provide the link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWGEoaq-x4
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