Final Post :(

When I first signed up to take this class, I wasnt really sure how it was going to go, I enjoy writing however writing all the time can be tiresome. When I heard that we had to write a blog I was suspicious but intrigued at the same time. Before this class I had never posted on or kept a blog, and I really didnt understand that much about the premise behind it. I really liked how we related sexuality and the various course materials to popular media, as well as used the blog as a way to receive feedback on various assignments. I have learned a lot throughout the quarter, I have most definitely gained a better understanding on gender issues, and have been noticing some of the issues raised in Killbourne's video, as well as Yep's articles in every day conversations, commercials, and magazines. Overall I have learned a lot, I am not sure if I will continue to find time to keep up the blogging, however I enjoyed being able to get my thoughts out there for others to read and comment on.

Maxim proposal for essay 3

I decided it would be interesting to take a look at some of the prototypical Maxim articles that emphasize heteronormativity, and take a completely opposite stand point in the rewrite. I will discuss how the ethos, pathos, and kairos of the various articles align to make the reader take a certain view point or stance on a subject. I will also compare the articles to some of the readings, such as Yep and discuss some viewpoints and correlations from Jane Killbournes Killing Us Softly.

For my rewrite, I will take a look at what the various articles said and take an opposite standpoint.

Valentines day and heteronormativity

Because this past weekend was valentines day, I decided to do an extra special blog post dealing with just that. Since the beginning of this class I have learned a great deal about the various aspects of heteronormativity and the problems that its causes, over this past weekend however, those aspects have become extremely apparent to me.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of v-day is the uncanny relationship the holiday and the violence of a heterosexual relationship. From the readings and in class we learned that being in a heterosexual relationship can cause many problems both for the female and male. On V-day the male is expected to provide the female with presents and a nice dinner, and the female is expected to provide extra special sexual favors in return. This can cause many problems partly because of financial restrictions on the males part, but also personal restrictions in the bedroom for the female.

On the flip side, othering can occur if one doesn't have a date for V-day. Many women stress and become depressed because society tells them that they should have a significant other for V-day and if they don't they should go drink themselves to oblivion. There are always specials at the bar for singles to get dollar beers on V-day, or get discounts on food in they bring in a picture of their ex, and pin it to a wall of shame.

Do you think that valentines day can be destructive rather than constructive to ones self esteem?
Also, what are your view points on the norms that valentines day is associated with?
Finally are you in favor of V-day or against it?

Entourage

For my second paper, I plan to write about how men and women interact with one another on the show Entourage. I will divide up the first portion of the paper and discuss how men are shown, specifically looking at how E, Jonny Drama, Turtle, and Vince separately display characteristics and theories from the readings we had in class. For instance, Jonny Drama is always concerned with what people think of him and his masculinity, but in an episode, he obsesses about the size of his legs. Another example could be how E is portrayed. He is looked at as being a wimpy guy because he wants relationships with girls to easily, and is often referred to as being less of a man because of that desire.
I will then discuss how the women who appear on the show are portrayed and how the various aspects they are made to convey. For instance, I will discuss how there are very few women on the show that are regulars, and most women who are on the show are either there because they are having sex with one of the male characters or one of the characters is chasing them. Also I will discuss the relationship between E and Sloan. E has always been obsessed with her, and she seems to take a more masculine role in the show while referring to E in some cases.
Finally I will discuss how the show in general, and the separate genders follow or stray from our understanding of heteronormativity.
Also I will discuss the target audience for the show and the types of implications this has on how people are portrayed and the various interactions between genders that takes place on a normal show.

My theses will be something similar to this:
The TV show Entourage, epitomizes heteronormativity, whether it is by the way women are merely seen as sex objects, or how the men have to be womanizers, this show displays many of the theories discussed in class, and most always takes a males perspective while looking at female cast members.

Pregnacy, marriage, and Knocked Up

I was reading about the pregnancy article that was posted last week below the homework and it got me thinking about the movie knocked up and how it represented femininity and a woman's body image.

As most of you may know the story goes as follows, Seth Rogan goes to a bar meets Kat Heigl, gets her pregnant and comedy ensues. Society has told us that it is frowned upon by men and women to have children when they aren't married. Most often this is because of financial stability, as well as having a stable home with both parents being there to support the child throughout it's life. I on the contrary know many people close to me that have been born, or had children with out being involved in marriage, and while I do not wish to embark on that part of my life, one with out a wife, and two, for a long time, I feel that it is built solely on the character of the ones who are having the children, not merely on being married or not. That being said, I feel that the movie depicts the better side of having a child with out being married, and I feel that it makes a mockery of modern societies views on how a pregnant woman should feel about her body.

First off the movie has the roles of how society says a man and woman are "supposed" to act switched. Seth, takes almost the passive role in the relationship while Kat takes the role of the power position, having a steady job. This is a very modernistic view of a woman, as opposed to the earlier definitions from the 20's-60's provided from readings we did in class. Secondly, it makes fun of how society looks at a pregnant woman, and their weight gain. Kat works for E! and is scared to tell her bosses she is pregnant because she feels they will fire her for her larger image. Later in the movie there are many comments about losing weight and becoming "tight" as they put it.

Overall, I believe that this is a direct play off of what magazines and various types of media with in our society tell us looks good. What do you all think about this movie's view points on birth before marriage, Seth and Kat's relationship, and a womans image through pregnancy.

Lady GaGa and the definition of Femininity

As all of you have noticed by now, Lady GaGa is no mundane pop star. From her quirky sexual songs and live performances, to her outrageous fashion style, GaGa certainly pushes the envelope when it comes to what one considers to be sexy and feminine. Now I understand the irony of these first few statements considering her recent press scare of her being a cross gender person, however this discussion will carry on with the absence of such claims and focus on Lady GaGa as a lady, not a man, or whatever. In an article from becomegorgeous.com (link below) GaGa is shown in four pictures, most appearing fairly normal, and is said as, " exploiting her femininity to the max." having her outfits referred to "very feminine and original." Now, that being said, according to killing us softly, and our class discussion, femininity is said to be, submissive, virginal yet experienced, child like, and ignorant. This seems to me to be in vast contrast of what GaGa represents when she is seen wearing one of her various outfits. As depicted throughout, these outfits almost defy the definition of femininity through their outrageous concepts. Gaga seems not so much a virginal/experienced child like person, but rather a dominatrix from the future sent back to bring us chart topping hits. To the articles defense, the clothing being discussed was not really as flagrant as these which are shown, but they were discussing her outfits in general and what she represented when she wore them. Gaga does portray some of the more sultry definitions of femininity through outfits, showing cleavage or rarely having on pants, to show off her legs, however these subtle additions are over shadowed by flaming breasts or a face cover resembling an undertaker. Gaga seems in some cases to define masculinity more than femininity through her dominance of outfit choice. Whether Lady Gaga exists as an outlier to the pop culture molds, or is taking us to a new era of what artists will do to stand out, I will enjoy seeing what she comes up with next.

http://www.fashion-style.becomegorgeous.com/celebrity_style/lady_gaga_fashion_style-837.html

Amanda Simpson, in response to last thursday's discussion about

This blog post will cover the discussion we had in class on Thursday the 7th about the Yep reading and the various definitions that we as a class came up with. Recently Obama appointed a new cabinet member to work at the US commerce department, which deals with the export regulations on weapons technologies. This normally mundane affair has been colored and streamlined by the media because the appointee, Amanda Simpson being the first openly trans-gender cabinet member. Amanda told the media
"Being the first sucks," she told ABC News.com. "I'd rather not be the first but someone has to be first, or among the first." (http://abcnews.go.com)

This statement reflects two of the definitions we discussed in class, the first being normalization and the second othering.

The nomalization of sexuality, whether it be hetero or homo, or, male, female, or trans-gender, has told us that the latter in each case is not what is accepted into our culture. Amanda is worried that because the acceptance of a trans-gender person has not yet been examined in Washington, she may be labeled as a "token" or a political strategy, rather than a qualified hire.

In the case of othering, the societal norms have shown that because of her differences, she is not being looked at as an important decision in Obama's plan for our country, rather as a scheme in a popularity contest, or in another case, as described by David Letterman, a joke.




As you can see, although it is simply a joke on a TV show, these actions can damage a career or the self esteem of a person, as well as make it extremely hard for her to be taken seriously in the workplace.

Below are the links to the article I read and the video:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/amanda-simpson-transgender-presidential-appointee-begins-work-commerce/story?id=9477161

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