Gender-Neutral Parenting

            One form of parenting I admire is letting children choose whatever they wish to be interested in.  Parents who let their children play with either dolls or Legos regardless of the child’s gender is crucial to enhancing the child’s creativity and interests.  Sasha’s parents allowed him to play with whatever he wanted to and dressed as he pleased, which, in my opinion, was a good choice. Children should be able to choose what they want to play with and what they want to wear without feeling society’s pressure.  What I do not agree with is the more extreme version of gender neutral parenting: when the parents do not tell the child that he or she is a boy or a girl. 

I think that not telling the child his/her gender may do more harm than good.  Sasha’s parents did not tell Sasha that he was born as a boy, or refer to him as “him.”  They simply referred to their child as “the infant,” which I believe to be incredibly cold.  If they wished to refer to Sasha without using gender-based pronouns, they could have selected other descriptors, such as “our child” or simply use his name.  Sasha’s parents say their gender-neutral parenting will be hard to keep up as Sasha grows older and enters school.  This article did not mention anything about the parents’ thought process for when Sasha reaches puberty, but I would be interested in reading about that.  If Sasha was not told he was biologically a boy from an early age, how will he learn to accept this fact and thoroughly understand it when he is already in school with other children?

After reading the article Sasha, I decided to read some of the comments on the article to look at other perspectives.  Apart from much negativity on the subject, one woman mentioned that the idea of “declaring” a gender should not stereotype a person.  This made me think about our discussion in the first lecture about cis-gender and trans-gender individuals.  Cis-gender individuals identify with the gender they are born with, while trans-gender individuals do not.  Gender neutral parenting essentially aims to let children choose how they wish to be portrayed without society’s input, but in Sasha and Storm’s cases, these extreme measures may just be too extreme.  Regardless of whether or not Sasha or Storm identify with their biological genders, they will both have to recognize the gender they were born with at birth simply for health reasons.  Finally, since this kind of parenting has not been studied before, we have no way of knowing the impacts on the child in the future.

Stressed, Tired, Rushed: Portrait of the Modern Family

            The article Stressed, Tired, Rushed: Portrait of the Modern Family written by Claire Cain Miller discusses the overarching theme of the tradeoff between time spent at work and with family.  It does this by talking about the ever growing phenomenon in which families have both parents working full time jobs.  This lifestyle is compared to families with only one parent working or families with one full-time worker and one part-time worker.  It is now more likely that children will grow up in a home with both of their parents working.  This trend has grown substantially in the past few decades and has left many parents feeling “stressed, tired, and rushed” most of the time.  Many parents feel as if they are not spending enough time with their families and find it hard to come up with an equal balance between work, friendships, and family.  Miller then goes on to mention a survey which found that “college-educated parents and white parents were significantly more likely than other parents to say work-family balance is difficult.”  This highlights the so-called “stress gap” between race and education. 

            Miller then writes about the differences in work between mothers and fathers.  Mothers are still performing most of the house work and caring for the child while also working at a full time job.  This leads to many parents feeling as if they aren’t performing their best in the various aspects of their lives.  They aren’t spending as much time with their children or performing their best at work, leading to a lot of tension.  However, the article provided some data pertaining to the tradeoff between both parents working full time and having one parent stay at home.  Looking at the median household income as data to highlight this claim, Miller points out that the household income with both parents working full time is $102,400.  This number is compared with $84,000 when one parent works full-time and the other part-time, and finally $55,000 when only one parent works full time.  But when parents are spending time at home, they are spending more time with their children instead of housework.  In addition to this change, parents are also taking a more “egalitarian” approach and are attempting to divide childcare and housework evenly between the two parents.  The article ends with the topic of paid family leave, with one woman stating that it should be “absolutely gender-neutral.”

Maggie Pugliese

Professor Braverman

WGS 220: Gender and Pop Culture

November 20, 2016

Trendsetting: Ready, Set, Go Viral

Medical advances have grown exponentially over the past few years, particularly through the treatment of cancers.  Unfortunately, many families have been affected by various types of cancer, some more aggressive than others.  What provides the most hope in the fight against cancer are the extraordinary advances that medicine and technology have made in the process of detecting and treating this terrible disease.

            One of the ways doctors detect cancer is through the use of a positron emission tomography scan, otherwise called a PET scan.  Cancer cells uptake glucose for metabolic processes and grow differently from normal bodily tissue.  Simply put, the idea behind PET scans is to supply cancerous cells with radioactively labelled glucose, then perform a scan of the person’s body.  As the radioactive glucose is broken down by the cancerous cells, positrons are produced as a form of energy.  The PET scanner reads this energy output and forms an image, providing doctors with information such as the cancer’s location or metastasis of the cells (Nordqvist).  In addition to detecting cancer and its spreading, some new testing processes involve the use of PET scans to test “the effectiveness of cancer therapies within just a few hours of treatment” (Offord).  In these situations, once a cancer treatment drug is given to a patient, the PET scan can show doctors “the moment the drug starts working.”  The dying cells affected by the treatment light up, giving doctors insight as to whether or not the treatment is working to combat the cancer (Offord).

To create awareness not only for the prevalence of cancer, but also the technological advances in cancer treatment, I asked that people post a photo of their pet to Instagram using the hashtag #petsforPETS.  I researched a bit about what makes something “go viral” and learned that in order for something to “go viral,” it must “incorporate emotional hooks…that catch the attention and sensibility of a particular audience” (Balance 699).  People post photos of their pets on social media all the time and frequently use hashtags, leading me to believe that the short nature of the hashtag and the universally lovable subject in the photograph would provide ease to make this idea go viral. My target audience was anyone who had any kind of pet (dogs, cats, fish, birds, snakes, etc.) and the idea was not gender-specific, creating even more incentive for any person to participate.  I chose to use Instagram as the social media platform to track this project simply because it is where people share pictures most often.  Additionally, Instagram allowed for an easier data collection method in tracking the popularity of the hashtag over the four week period.  Hashtag usage is also more prevalent on Instagram compared to other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  The hashtag “#petsforpets” already existed on Instagram, so I decided on #petsforPETS to easily distinguish posts specifically dedicated to my project from other posts that were unrelated to my project.

            To start this trend, I began to spread my idea on October 20^th by talking to people about it to see if it would catch on just by word of mouth.  Not surprisingly, this was a failed attempt. So at the start of the official tracking period, I posted a picture of my dog with an explanation of my project, using the hashtag #petsforPETS.  I received a lot of positive feedback in reference to the post, such as people telling me how they would love to participate.  I tracked the hashtag weekly over the course of four weeks, noting how many posts were made each week.

            After I made my first post, there were two other posts within the first week.  There were ten posts within the second week, and in the third week, there were five more posts.  Finally, in the fourth week there were an additional three posts.  My goal was actually very simple: to spread the idea in the form of a hashtag to people that were not directly following me on Instagram (i.e. people that are once-removed from me).  In this way, I was successful in my goal, since many of the posts had to be sent to me individually because I could not view them on Instagram, meaning I did not follow them.  However, I was unable to spread my idea outside of the TCNJ community. 

A downfall of using Instagram to track the viral project comes to the surface due to privacy settings.  When people make their profiles private, others are not able to see their posts unless they follow them.  I was able to see the “Most Recent Posts” that used the hashtag, however, I could not see the actual pictures.  In these cases, I had to reach out to anyone who might have participated in the project and ask them to send me a screenshot of their post directly.  What was most frustrating in this assignment was how unmotivated people were in terms of whether or not they actually shared the hashtag.  People often told me that it was a good idea and that they would post something soon but unfortunately, they did not.   My logic at the beginning of the project made me believe the easier a post was to make, the more likely people were to participate.  With the most recent viral phenomenon, the mannequin challenge, I have learned that it is actually the opposite.  The mannequin challenge required a concerted effort from a group of people, but surprisingly, the trend has become increasingly popular, regardless of the amount of effort that had to be put in.

Here is an example of an Instagram post from the beginning of the tracking period:

Works Cited:

Bacareza Balance, Christine. “How It Feels to Be Viral Me.” Gender, Race, and Class in Media. 4^th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2015. 668-677. Print.

Nordqvist, Christian. “MRI / PET / Ultrasound Radiology / Nuclear Medicine PET Scans: How Does a PET Scan Work.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 3 July 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154877.php>.

Offord, Catherine. “Dying Light Marks the Spot.” The Scientist. N.p., 29 Mar. 2016. Web. 16 Nov 2016. <http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/45674/title/Dying-Light-Marks-the-Spot/>.

Social Networks

For this week’s blog post, I decided to look at two of my Facebook friends’ profiles and compare them.  Since everyone has different interests and personalities, I chose two very different friends of mine to consider how people portray themselves online.  Of course this will not encompass all profiles, it is just something to think about.  The first profile I looked at, Person A, has a Facebook profile very similar to mine.  I have known her for a very long time, and she frequently posts many pictures of her family, close friends, and pets.  Her posts on Facebook have not changed much throughout all of high school and now college, which I believe to be a testament to her true personality.  Although she is a woman, her profile is not particularly gendered; she has a job working as a scientist, so lately many of her posts involve scientific references.  The personality that comes through her Facebook profile is extremely similar to her personality in real life.  Due to our long friendship, I can say that her virtual profile would not lead anyone to believe she puts up a front or has two personas.

The next profile I looked at, Person B, gave a very different impression.  This person is also a woman and the most frequent pictures she posts are from the summer.  Usually, she is pictured with her friends either dressed to go to a party or to the beach.  In contrast to Person A, Person B only portrays a fun, party version of herself on social media, but around her family, her personality is more reserved.  Although many of us could probably identify this way, this really highlights the idea that people have “front stages” and “back stages” to their personalities.  Her profile is definitely gendered, due to the way hashtags and captions are used. 

I believe that social media has a huge spectrum of uses.  Some people wish to portray themselves and their lives as they are, while others enjoy carefully constructing their profiles to only portray one side of themselves.  Neither situation is better or worse than the other, they are simply preferences on how each person would like to portray themselves online.  The idea of “virtual profiles” could be understood in a couple of ways.  First, it could represent the person’s true personality through a different medium, therefore their profile would essentially be their virtual personality.  Or in another sense, some people would prefer to filter their “virtual profiles” to have complete control over how others perceive them.

NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and Body Image Concern in Adolescent Girls

The study NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and Body Image Concern in Adolescent Girls began by discussing body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls.  Body dissatisfaction comes primarily from media sources such as Facebook or television, and in severe cases, it can lead to eating disorders.  The study focused primarily on Australian adolescents who have turned to the internet as their primary source of media.  It referenced a few statistics, such as how “Australian and US youths spend an average of 1.5 hours online per day outside of school work.”  This study is from 2013, so it would be interesting to see any drastic changes in that number with the growing popularity of other social media such as Instagram or Twitter.  Other studies were referenced, noting their purpose: to examine the relationship between internet use and body image concerns.  The results of these previous studies showed a correlation between body image concerns and internet exposure, specifically through the use of Facebook.  The aim of the current study was to further examine the relationship between these two factors on a larger scale.  The scientists hypothesized a positive correlation would be present between Facebook usage and body image concerns.

 This study was achieved by taking a sample of high school girls with the average age being 13.7 years old, from “metropolitan and rural, public and private schools [and] a wide range of socioeconomic stautses.” The girls reported how long they spent on the internet each day excluding time for school work.  Then, they recorded which sites they spent time on (i.e. Facebook or other websites) to gage their internet exposure.  In the next section of the experiment, body image concerns were examined through the “Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire” and by employing the “Objectified Body Consciousness Scale-Youth.” 

The results stated that the majority of girls (95.9%) used internet in their homes, with about half of the girls using the internet in their bedrooms.  The scientists found that the most favorable website was Facebook for social networking and instant messaging.  Next were the results for the relationship between internet exposure and body image concerns: internet exposure was associated with “the internalization of the thin ideal, body surveillance, and drive for thinness.”  This study found that Facebook users specifically scored “significantly higher on all indicators of body image concerns than their non-user counterparts.”  The paper ended by noting some of the limitations of the study, such as the method of data collection.  Further studies should be done to obtain more precise data and perhaps further draw the connection between internet usage and body image concerns in adolescents.

Drama Is the Cure for Gossip: Television’s Turn to Theatricality in a Time of Media Transition

This article, written by Abigail De Kosnik, discusses the interest in US television with showing the “true self” of characters when many TV shows actually show edited versions of people’s identities.  Kosnik first talks about the show Gossip Girl and the extremely privileged, wealthy characters in the show.  The characters live in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and although they are high-school aged, the characters are often involved in more serious, adult matters.  While some of the problems on the show revolve around ideas such as whose family has the most money, or what family has the highest social standing, they are still high schoolers.  Furthermore, the show is more concerned with problems involving relationships, school, sex, and gossip.  Kosnik points out what while these adolescents are extremely wealthy, “gossip is the most important currency in their world” (Kosnik 566).  The gossip in the show is distributed via Gossip Girl, an anonymous character that frequently sends out gossip “blasts” to students, ruining many students’ reputations.  This demonstrates the power she has over everyone involved.

Gossip Girl viewers “are asked to identify with the Upper East Siders” even though many of the characters are so theatrical that it is hard for viewers to do this (Kosnik 566).  The students in the show learn that “while internet rumors circulated about them tell some portion of the truth, it is never the whole truth” (Kosnik 566).  Kosnik then asks the question why contemporary TV demonstrates people discovering themselves either on stage or performing in front of audiences.  The anonymity of the internet has made it easier for people to lie and create unauthentic representations of themselves.  Internet reputations have become increasingly important for people’s identities, both online and in real life.  Both identities are threatened by gossip, but the internet has made it easier to gossip anonymously.  Another problem with this is that anyone who reads gossip online has no way of knowing its validity.  Although this is a problem, gossip will still spread regardless of if it is true or not. 

Television shows have often acknowledged this fact, but also acknowledge that to reveal one’s true self, it must be done in a dramatic fashion.  The dramatic event often happens in a moment and is completely spontaneous.  Often this spontaneous reaction/decision/behavior is in front of an audience to show others the revelation of one’s “true self” (Kosnik 569).  She ends this chapter by writing how television “displays people’s most intimate journeys…as public performances” (Kosnik 570).

Reality TV

For many of us, reality television has been a phenomenon that has been around for our whole lives- many of us grew up with shows claiming to portray people’s “real lives.”  But those story lines depicted were usually filled with drama and issues that made it hard for viewers to believe it was actually reality.  These shows can become a problem when viewers are unable to distinguish reality from these heavily-edited, augmented versions of “reality.”  I would say the only “real” part of these TV shows is the fact that the people being filmed are real human beings; the situations and drama that often occurs is usually amplified via editing by the producers of the show.

With that being said, I used to religiously watch Jersey Shore when it was still being aired on TV.  For whatever reason, watching these people and all of their bad decisions was a form of entertainment.  Actually, the entertainment aspect is probably the whole point of many reality TV shows.  Viewers are able to watch spectacles of drama that the characters are involved in in the form of a weekly episode.   Jersey Shore makes it really hard for viewers to pick a “favorite character,” especially since they are all essentially portrayed the same way- young people consumed with the party scene and hook-up culture, living together at the Jersey Shore.  Because of this, I chose a couple on the show to examine how each individual is portrayed compared to the other.  I have seen all of the episodes, so I picked one at random that showed Ronnie and Sammy having one of their notorious fights. 

The episode starts off by recapping the couple’s most recent argument.  Sam was frequently heard saying “I just need space” from her now ex-boyfriend, Ron, the stereotypical way reality TV shows portray this scenario.  The other girls in the house decide to take her to the boardwalk to distract her from her breakup, while Ron also goes to the boardwalk with Pauly.   But while the girls were sitting in a bar, Sam notices Ron walk by, and says to one of the girls, “I think he was with a girl.”  The camera then switches to Pauly and Ron to show that he was not, in fact, walking with another girl. 

 These screenshots were taken as Sam said she saw Ron with another girl, and the shot immediately after her statement.  Now regardless of this shot, he MAY have been talking to a girl just as Sam said, but the audience would have no idea.  The next thing she says is, “If you want to play that game I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna find the hottest guy at this bar and get Ron back for talking to a girl.”  She decides to talk to as many guys as she can and make sure Ron is there to see it to be spiteful and make him jealous.  From this one scene alone, Sam is portrayed to be the crazy ex-girlfriend still overprotective of her ex, while simultaneously making Ron look innocent.  Previous episodes of the show however, have actually shown him cheating on Sam, yet the show still frequently decides to put her at fault for their unhealthy relationship, not both of them together.

Gender and the Military

           

The only person I know that was in the military is my neighbor, who is a Vietnam veteran.  He never talked to me personally about his experiences, but now that I have been studying gender and pop culture for a few months, it would be interesting to learn more about his service. My boyfriend, however, does have friends who have served in the U.S army. In their experience they were expected to act like “men” and be tough.  This is similar to other jobs where men and women could do the same job but the job is associated with masculine terms such as tough.  Gender plays into the military through the stereotypical gender roles present in our overall society.  Men are typically expected to behave very masculine in the army.  Common phrases that can be heard in movies or other forms of media include things such as telling the men not to wimps, sensitive, or other “feminine” qualities.  Movies tend to show going into the army a rite of passage for men in families and showcase the army “making a man” out of the “boys.”  On the topic of military husbands and wives, military husbands aren’t talked about as much because it’s a much less common situation.  Throughout all of history, it has always been men going to war, being drafted, or volunteering to serve their country.  Military wives tend to be stay at home moms taking care of the home while the husband is away.   

In today’s media, I believe men and women are shown to be more equal.  However advertisements don’t typically show the whole truth and I would not be surprised if women need to work much harder and be much tougher to obtain a truly equal rank to a male soldier.  Some media outlets still showcase a criticism to females in the army due to them not being able to perform to the same physical standards as men on average.  This poses a tough line to draw as females and males in the army should be equal and treated as equals but of course there are natural physical differences.  The Washington Times article discusses the new policies surrounding transgender individuals serving in the military.  The policies were set in place to ensure that every soldier, regardless of how they identify, will be treated fairly and with the respect that they deserve.  

Fighting Fire with Fabulous

In response to the Westboro Baptist Church’s infamous protests and hate towards cultural diversity, two Dambacher brothers wanted to celebrate this diversity in their project, “The Freaka in Topeka.”  They thought of no better place to hold this festival than in the home of the Westboro Baptist Church.  The interview titled Fighting Fire with Fabulous discusses the music they will perform, as well as their musical influences.  Dave Dambacher states that the Westboro Baptist Church’s front runner, Fred Phelps, is rumored to be passing on the leadership to his daughter, who is reportedly “wackier” than her father.

Another article assigned this week, Sound & Fury: Fred Phelps and Life Inside Westboro, detailed the timeline of events surrounding Fred Phelps.  His insanity, his abuse towards his family and others, and his involvement with the Westboro Baptist Church were the main focal points of the article.  To summarize, Phelps would repeatedly beat and abuse his children throughout their childhood.  After becoming dependent on and abusing amphetamines, he tortured his family by making them run up to 10 miles every day.  He then forced his children to go door-to-door selling candy as the family’s main source of income.  After enduring abuse from his father his whole life, Nate Phelps left the WBC, and his father, permanently.  All of the information in the article was revealed through Nate.  

The WBC is said to protest “pretty much everything,” so when asked what he thinks would happen when they perform in Topeka, Dave said “it would be a plus if they protested the show.”  There is a possibility that the event will be free to the audience, and all costs to produce the show will be covered by fundraising.  The brothers go as far to say that if they do not raise enough, they will fund the show out of pocket.  The goal of the show is to educate people on the hate being spread by the WBC.  The tagline of the show, “fight fire with fabulous,” speaks to the fight against the intolerance.  The brothers completely disagree with thee hate that the WBC spreads and to protest the hate, they will be celebrating the freedom and expression that everyone has.  They want to effectively spread their anti-hate message through art, primarily in the form of “The Freaka in Topeka” event.  

Boys, Girls, and Toys- Oh My

In any toy store today, the boys’ aisles are often filled with bright, powerful colors such as yellow, reds, and oranges.  The girls’ aisles are usually pink, white, and purple themed.  Whenever I went toy shopping as a kid, I sometimes felt a little intimidated by the boys’ aisles, as if I wasn’t supposed to be shopping in that section.  Even as an adult, I sometimes hear parents say to their daughters, “no, you don’t want that, that’s a boy’s toy,” and vice versa for their sons. And while yes, that toy was marketed towards boys, why can’t a girl buy it?  Some examples of gendered toys are pictured here:

These two photographs show the stark differences between toys marketed towards boys and girls.  The boys’ aisle contains toys that usually involve themes such as building and constructing, while girls’ toys portray ideas like dressing up and appearances.

My first reaction to that video is how correct (and adorable) the little girl is in her statements.  It did not seem as if her parents put her up to it or forced her to say it.  She was speaking her mind in a very determined tone.  At a young age she was able to notice the gender separation between “boys” and “girls” toys, and seems to be frustrated over it.  She says that “some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses, some boys like superheroes, and some boys like princesses.”  This very simple statement is one that some adults cannot seem to grasp.  Every child is different and is captivated by different interests.  Grouping children together based on gender is essentially limiting their interests and controlling their creativity.  While there may be a majority of girls who want to buy “girl” toys, and boys that buy “boy” toys, there are also children who maybe want to buy more than just what’s marketed towards them based on their gender.  Instead of having separate boys’ and girls’ aisles in stores, why not combine all of the toys together?  It would allow children to broaden their horizons a bit and look at other toys they may like, instead of limiting themselves to what their gender “should” buy.  Today, I believe there are more parents who are growing tired of the limited toy options for their children.  And this video showed that it is not only the parents frustrated over the gender separation anymore, it’s the kids too.

Halloween Observations

            The Halloween season is a time of having fun and creativity, where everyone can dress up and have a good time with their friends.  But sometimes costumes only further perpetuate the gender stereotypes present in society.  While costumes range for each age group, the gender stereotypes are still there.  These articles were written to shed light on some of these stereotypes based on gender, anything from a young girl wanting to dress up as a superhero, to adults wearing offensive Caitlyn Jenner costumes.  While I may not agree with all of the statements in the articles, I can agree that there is definitely an unreasonable separation between “girl’s” costumes and “boy’s” costumes.

The four articles, “Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes,” “Girl’s Halloween Costumes Promoting Gender Bias,” “Halloween costume showdown: Superheroes beat princesses this year,” and “Mom takes Party City to task over ‘sexualized’ costumes for little girls,” all dealt with the same issue: it is important not to limit children.  They already have such vivid imaginations and deep curiosity for all things, so why is society trying to limit this?  All of the articles boiled down to this key problem; children should not be limited based on what society dictates.  And it’s true, no one should be limited by what people tell them they can accomplish and what they cannot.  While I completely agree with this fact, I do not agree with some other statements made in the articles.  For example, one mom noted that if her daughter asked to dress up as a nurse, she would “counter” her daughter by reminding her that her aunt works for NASA so that “the child expands [her] view.”  I understand it is important to encourage children to aspire to any career path, however, I don’t think the child fully sees the connection her mother is trying to draw.  When I read the article, my first instinct led me to think that perhaps the young girl admired the nurse at her school, and wanted to be like her.  Or maybe she just liked a particular costume she saw in the store.  I was not thinking that this young girl would be limiting her future career options by choosing to be a nurse instead of a doctor for Halloween.

Since I was at school for Halloween, I was not able to see some of the younger children dressed up in costumes.  When I was home, that was always a fun experience because some trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood used to have some pretty creative costumes.  Looking back on previous years, I can say that there was an apparent gender stereotype present: the girls were often princesses and the boys were Power Rangers.  But when I think back on my childhood, my parents were not usually involved in my Halloween costume decision and let me choose to be whatever I wanted.  For example, some years I was a stereotypical “girl” character, such as Glinda from the Wizard of Oz.  I remember feeling very excited over wearing a big, poufy dress, instead of feeling as if I was limited to being a princess for Halloween.  Another year I was a pirate when the Pirates of the Caribbean series was new.  My parents never tried to persuade me into dressing up as one character or another.  We always made our own costumes though, so my sisters and I were not exposed to the stereotypical gendered costumes at the stores. 

The most exposure I had to Halloween costumes (besides from a few of my friends) was from social media.  There is nothing wrong with posting your costume online, it’s actually fun to admire everyone’s costumes, just as it is when you see people in costume trick-or-treating on Halloween night.  But sometimes social media turns something as simple as Halloween costumes into a competition.  I noticed that as we have gotten older, costumes for both men and women have become more sexualized, and while this is empowering for some, it may also be intimidating to others.  Costumes this year ranged from movie characters to animals to more “traditional” costumes such as witches and zombies.

Even if I do not agree with every single argument in these articles, I did agree that the way some costumes are marketed is a huge problem.  For instance, if a teenage girl wants to be a police officer for Halloween, instead of being labeled as a “Cop” costume as it is for men, women’s costumes are usually labeled “Sexy Cop.”  One article pointed out that since both men and women police officers wear the same uniform, both costumes should essentially be the same.  However, based off of my experience, more girls will be inclined to buy the “sexy” costume instead of wear one that is technically more accurate.  Some girls feel empowered by wearing outfits that make them feel sexy and others may want to dress more reserved.  But what is most important is allowing people to dress in a way that makes them feel the most comfortable and happy with themselves, instead of feeling pressured to appear as something they are not.

Speaking from my own personal experience, I always wore costumes that I chose myself and was not pressured by my peers or parents to fulfill a gender stereotype.  By limiting children’s Halloween costumes, society is hindering much of their creativity and expression. The holiday itself should be more about having fun by dressing up, than trying to worry about competing with others and their opinions. 

Election Essay

As we have discussed in lecture following the three presidential debates, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have become caricatures in this election.  It almost seems as if they are no longer human beings, but instead characters that are frequently plastered all over the news.   Television shows such as Saturday Night Live have been taking advantage of this current political state.  Two key issues that have resonated with me are immigration and women’s health.  Clinton’s stance on these two issues has been crucial for me in deciding which candidate will receive my vote in this upcoming election.

            My father’s side of my family emigrated from Italy in the 1970s in an effort to create a better life for themselves, essentially chasing the American Dream.  Although it was a difficult and lengthy process, they succeeded in their goal of citizenship.  In the third debate, Clinton quoted Trump when he said “all undocumented immigrants will be subject to deportation,” and while I agree that some immigrants could be a threat to the safety of our country, they should not all be painted as criminals.  Clinton stated that her plan includes border security and deporting only the “violent persons.”  Although I do believe that immigration should be more regulated, I agree that this country thrives off of different cultures of others, and I do not agree with Trump’s notorious plan to build a wall around our borders.  Even though Clinton’s plan for immigration reform laws, I appreciate that her stance still encourages what America was founded on. 

In the case of women’s health and more specifically abortions, I could not even entertain Trump’s argument in the third debate.  I am not a “one-issue voter” however this issue was at the forefront of my decision in deciding which candidate to vote for.  I grew up in a rather conservative, Christian home, however, with this issue, I am primarily and solely influenced by science.  I completely disagree with Trump’s beliefs about abortions and women’s health.  His “argument” in the third debate was blatantly using scare tactics against voters that had no supporting factual evidence or knowledge.  Furthermore, after the final debate, doctors have stated that a “9^th month abortion” does not exist.  As he has previously mentioned in interviews, women who get abortions and doctors who perform them, should be administered some form of punishment.  This is utterly disturbing to me since it should be no one’s choice but the woman’s in that situation.  I do not understand how this private and personal decision should be influenced by the government to this extent.  When it was Trump’s turn to answer the question about abortion, he continued his usual ramblings, only this time using fear to incite a response.  Clinton’s response on the other hand, was passionate, direct, and powerful.  She displayed knowledge and empathy towards this issue, which was in line with my views.

What was most disconcerting and frustrating about the debates was the sheer lack of substance in the first two debates.  Both included a substantial amount of name calling and squabbling over irrelevant details.  However, all three of the debates showcased each candidate’s level of preparation.  Clinton performed well, as any politician would.  She came prepared with facts and data to support her arguments and was able to formulate her responses in a coherent manner.  As Trump flaunts himself as a businessman, I would have thought he would be more skilled in persuasion and arguing with a purpose.  Instead, his arguments frequently included ad hominem attacks littered throughout the first, second, and third presidential debates.  I admired Clinton’s professionalism and tact while she was interrupted by Trump throughout all of the debates.  After watching the debates, I agree with Clinton’s stances on these important issues and believe that ultimately, she is the best option for the next president of the United States. 

Sources

Three Presidential Debates

The Pornography of Everyday Life

Chapter 39, The Pornography of Everyday Life begins with a comparison between the way men and women are often posed in advertisements.  Jane Caputi offers the reader an example to make her case: a photograph taken by American soldiers that shows the abuse of Iraqi male prisoners.  The prisoners were posed in various “sexual displays,” which lead to many viewers’ shock over the behavior in the photos.  Caputi then points out that while men are presented in this way in a humiliating fashion, women are often posed this way, sometimes worse, and receive little to no backlash.  Instead, these women are perceived as “sexy.”  She goes on to write about this “habit of thinking” that sexualizes and degrades both genders (374). 

In her first section, Caputi discusses gender pornography, such as instances where the man is presented as strong, intelligent, and powerful.  The woman in these cases is often posed as vulnerable, younger, and weaker.  This comparison is only enhanced with clothing choices- even when both people in the situation are nude, the man still appears to be dominant.  She suggests these illustrated hierarchies begin with the imbalance of power and inequities between people in everyday life.  Moving forward with these ideas of power and hierarchies, she then introduces the idea of violence porn.  This type of pornography focuses on the domination aspect in sex.  She writes that “to prove manhood, men, one way or another, have to assert domination” (376).  She ends this section with a particularly powerful statement: when sex becomes violent, and “the penis is represented as a weapon, rape becomes its purpose” (377).

Rape porn is habitually portrayed in ads and leads to many of the double standards present in society today.  This goes back to her argument that shows the differences between how men and women are portrayed.  Both sexes could be posing nude, but it usually the women who get the brunt of the objectification.  Objectification is the act of treating a person as a literal object.  Sexual objectification sexualizes this possession and may convince women to believe they need a number of products and services to live up to the impossibly high standards set by society.  Caputi ends this piece by describing the “Goddess,” a sexual divinity that was suppressed by patriarchal religions, and states that the Goddess should come back not as a pornographic symbol, but a natural “life force” (382).

Intelligence vs. Icon

Reading the article about Marilyn Monroe really surprised me.  I was unaware of her passion for learning and intellect before I read it.  She was curious about learning, and yearned to be more educated.  Actually, I believe this aspect of personality has faded from many people’s personalities today.  Regardless of whether or not she was intelligent, she was always striving to “better herself.”  Her quote about her persona that the article used was especially powerful to me.  She said, “I’ve let people fool themselves. They didn’t bother to find out who and what I was.”  Instead of people discovering the woman behind the façade, they judged her on the role she was playing as a dumb blonde.  To judge people purely on their appearances and fronts they put up is an aspect of society that we have never really grown out of.  My best guess as to why she “hid” her intelligence is because it was what the society wanted at that time.  An overly-sexualized dumb blonde was able to attract more people’s attention than an intelligent woman.  Unfortunately, I think this fact still lingers in society today.

            A modern day celebrity that may be hiding part of her intellect is Kesha.  This may be common knowledge at this point, but I think she is essentially holding back on her intelligence in order to further her career as a pop singer.  Although I do not particularly like the music she produces, I can respect how smart she is.  Sources say she earned an almost-perfect score on the SAT, and was accepted at Barnard College.  However, instead of completing her time at Barnard through graduation, she chose to drop out and pursue her music career instead.  Her songs can often be described as having “dumb” lyrics with no substance, but many people would probably also say that her songs are catchy.  She may be producing this kind of music though because unfortunately, it is what sells.  The songs that people will play at parties and on the radio are always the catchy, upbeat ones, not the ones with the most meaningful lyrics.  In order to sell more of this music, she would have to physically depict the persona she is selling in her music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesha

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10/celebrities-sat-scores_n_4078848.html

The Language of Persuasion

BASIC

1)      Celebrities- Aveeno is famous for using celebrities as spokespeople to sell their products.  This ad is trying to sell “healthier looking skin” by picturing Jennifer Aniston next to the product.  Using a celebrity in an advertisement often suggests to the consumer that by using the product, they too will look like the celebrity, as if the celebrity is saying, “I use this too, if you use it, you will be just like me.”  The power of the celebrity can be measured by how famous they are.  The more famous they are, the more likely they are to make an impact on the consumer.

2)      Bandwagon- Marketing this mascara as “America’s favorite mascara” helps to show the ubiquity of the product.  Maybelline also writes that one is sold every 1.7 seconds.  Both of these statements together can influence if a customer purchases the product.  This group of ads often begs the question from the consumer, “a majority of American people use this, don’t you want to be like them?”  This group of ads plays on a person’s desire to feel included in a majority.

3)      Fear- This ad utilizes fear as an effective advertising tactic.  By stating that “cutting your sun exposure is easier than cutting out a skin cancer” this ad does two things.  First, the mention of cancer alone is usually enough to induce a fear response in people.  And second, by addressing the person viewing this ad directly, it has a greater impact.  It suggests that this hypothetical person with a melanoma could be you.  By selling a sunscreen, this ad’s goal is to provide some kind of relief for the consumer.

4)      Warm and Fuzzy- This ad shows a duckling next to Dawn dish soap- this soap claims to be “tough on oil, but gentle on hands.”  During this campaign, Dawn’s commercials often involved cleaning animals that had been caught in oil spills with dishwashing soap to attest to this slogan.  Other ads often show puppies or other animals to elicit a “warm and fuzzy” response in a person.  If that person felt a sense of happiness from the cute animals, then the ad and product might remain in that person’s mind longer, influencing them to buy the product.

INTERMEDIATE 

 

1)      Flattery- Using the tagline “Because you’re worth it” is an example of flattery in advertisements.  The advertisers want to make the consumers think that they deserve the best of the best, while showing that their product IS the best of the best.  By simultaneously flattering the customer and presenting him or her with a product, it greatly impacts the chances of them actually purchasing the item.  If the consumer appreciates the flattery, they might be more likely to believe it.

2)      Nostalgia- By using retro fonts and including the word “throwback” on the label, Pepsi is trying to appeal to an older generation- not just kids who like soda.  The ad also tells the consumer that Pepsi is made with real sugar.  Displaying this message in the retro font is more powerful than a plain font because of the way it influences the emotions of the viewer.  It may cause a person to reminisce back to their childhood.  The goal is to have this feeling of nostalgia will stick with people so that the next time they are grocery shopping, they remember this advertisement.

3)      Scientific Evidence- Although this ad does not portray any graphs or data to be considered a scientific evidence-type advertisement, it does use the word dermatologist.  By including this word, the advertiser is saying speaking to the reliability of this product. This can prove to the consumer that since a dermatologist is a doctor, and doctors are trustworthy, they are able to trust that this product works and yields results.

4)      New- This advertisement for Garnier shampoo demonstrates the concept of novelty.  It portrays a woman pulling on her unrealistically long hair.  This is literally the personification of Garnier’s slogan for this new product: “Longer, stronger, better.”  This is trying to show the consumer that this new formula of shampoo is better than the previous products.  Her hair is long and apparently strong, so it must be better.

ADVANCED

1)      Cause vs. Correlation- This ad shows a crying baby with text that says “kids of teen moms are twice as likely not to graduate.”  What this ad doesn’t show is the research behind this claim.  Granted this ad will grab your attention, but then the ad directs you to a text service or website for more information.  By addressing the viewer directly, this ad has a much stronger impact in the minds of the viewers; however, I am not sure that enough people will follow up with this website for the ad to be powerful.

2)      Analogy- This ad is trying to appeal to consumers who wish to buy a more natural product.  It shows a Heinz ketchup bottle as if it was sliced up like a tomato, along with the tagline “No one grows Ketchup like Heinz.”  Obviously you can’t grow ketchup, implying the main ingredient is tomatoes, promoting a more holistic, natural product.

3)      Timing- This ad was released by Swiss Airlines around Christmastime to promote travel.  Many people travel around the holidays, so the timing of this ad is paramount to its effectiveness.  However, there are a few problems with this ad.  First, it commercializes Christmas, and second, it only appeals to those who celebrate Christmas.  This advertising technique is used quite often, usually around holidays to entice the consumer to buy more than what he or she actually needs.

4)      Scapegoat- This ad is against Pat Toomey saying that he would rather have goods manufactured in China, not in the US.  Looking overseas to manufacture goods would in turn decrease the amount of jobs created in the US.  These kinds of advertisements are often used in political situations to blame one individual for the problems of many.  This can usually tie in with the “Simple Solution” technique where the solution to these problems is easy: don’t vote for this person, and the problems will be solved.

BAD ADS

      This ad shows a white male dressed in workout attire, with the words “cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout” printed on top.  In the bottom right corner, the viewer can see that this is an ad from Reebok, a fitness company.  Their “cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout” campaign was supposedly only released in Germany.  Because of social media and the internet, this ad quickly made its way to other countries and received an enormous amount of backlash.  What this ad is portraying is disrespect for any woman in a heterosexual relationship.  It also shows disrespect for the relationship itself, assuming fitness is more important than a relationship with another person.  While fitness is very important, the disregard for women portrayed in this ad is appalling.  What surprises me, is that this ad actually got as far as it did.  It was posted around multiple stores in Germany before someone noticed its offensive message.

This ad was actually part of a series of advertisements, each one more sexist than the other.  Each picture is a photo of some high-end cookware sold by Madison Avenue Cookware.  On top of these photos, the text reads “Enjoy your time out of the bedroom,” “A woman’s best friend,” or “The only thing that cooks better than a woman.”  This is an American company, but the campaign was launched in Australia a few years back.  In an interview, the CEO of this company, Roger Hudson, said that “research has told us that women actually do love cooking ad they do actually love keeping their man happy.  It’s in their DNA.”  Instead of a company releasing an ad that they didn’t realize was sexist or offensive, this company CEO outright agrees with the sexist messages of their advertisements.