tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847936715464361512024-03-05T13:03:19.249-05:00Mike's Gender Pop Culture BlogMichaelRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01145374856899144763noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884793671546436151.post-91402111553424929312008-05-30T02:24:00.001-04:002008-05-30T02:28:14.755-04:00America's Next Top Patriarchy<p class="MsoNormal"> Tyra Banks has ascertained a large amount of power through succeeding in an industry that reaffirms and legitimizes the hegemonic ideals of male dominance and female exploitation.<span style=""> </span>She then becomes an idol for girls and sends the message that if you play by the rules that exist, you can become rich and famous like me.<span style=""> </span>The problem with so many aspiring to become her is that her story is a deviation from the norm.<span style=""> </span>Her idea of empowerment is actually condoning confinement in the patriarchy.<span style=""> </span>What may have benefited her as an individual is helping to restrict her as a woman.<span style=""> </span>Through her show <i style="">America’s Next Top Model</i>, Tyra Banks perpetuates the current patriarchal system by rewarding behavior that reaffirms male dominance and punishing behavior that empowers women.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=""> </span>In the book <i style="">Better Living through Reality TV</i> by Laurie Ouellette and James Hay, <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Next Top Model falls into the category of televised talent/job search, which is a subset of “makeover television.”<span style=""> </span>“The televised talent/job search is a form of makeover TV to the extent that experts, teachers, and judges seek to transform raw human potential into coveted opportunities for self-fulfillment through the realization and expression of talent” (Ouellette and Hay 127).<span style=""> </span>Tyra is telling these girls that they are not yet valuable to society, but if they act in a manner that will win the competition, they will become of value to society.<span style=""> </span>This is furthered by the elimination of a girl in each episode who fails to properly be objectified in a photo shoot.<span style=""> </span>The audience sees girls who aren’t pretty enough as not being valuable enough to stay on the show, which leads to the belief that attractive women are more valuable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">According to Johnson, “to live in patriarchy is to breathe in misogynist images of women as objectified sexual property valued primarily for their usefulness to men” (Johnson 96).<span style=""> </span>Tyra Banks uses this show to reward women who act precisely in this manner.<span style=""> </span>She even breeds girls to perpetuate this idea.<span style=""> </span>The winner of the show is given a modeling contract along with a large sum of money.<span style=""> </span>She creates this reward for behaving in a manner that allows the patriarchy to thrive.<span style=""> </span>She is also instilling this idea into the audience of the show that if you behave like the models in the show, you will become successful and popular.<span style=""> </span>She uses herself as an example to the path of fame and fortune.<span style=""> </span>She acts as though she is empowering these girls by laying the foundation for them to follow, but she is really trying to constrict and conform them into the system.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Jennifer Pozner wrote a piece called <i style="">The Unreal World</i>, in which she condemns reality television shows because “The genre teaches us that women categorically “are” certain things-for example, no matter their age, they are “hot girls,” not self-aware or intelligent adults” (Pozner 97).<span style=""> </span>When women become “hot girls,” they become things used for the amusement of men, which fits into the patriarchal society.<span style=""> </span>She continues this argument with an example of Tyra Banks ostracizing a girl eliminated form <i style="">America’s Next Top Model</i> for being too smart (Pozner 97).<span style=""> </span>She is punishing a girl for trying to be an intellectual being rather than just a piece of meat.<span style=""> </span>This fits into the patriarchal idea of men being the intelligent educated gender while women stay at home and learn how to cook, clean, and look pretty.<span style=""> </span>Tyra has become an unofficial police officer for the patriarchy.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The photo shoots that the girls participate in act in a manner that furthers the patriarchy.<span style=""> </span>These girls take photographs that portray the typical gender roles of women; vulnerable, promiscuous, and male dominated.<span style=""> </span>Tyra then judges these women based on their ability to fit into these specific gender roles.<span style=""> </span>She and her panel of judges pick apart every little nuance of the girls’ looks.<span style=""> </span>This analytical judgment turns girls with personality and a brain into different subjects to compare and contrast.<span style=""> </span>When Tyra critiques girls for being “too fat” or “too short,” she not only undermines the confidence of the girls, but she tells the audience the manner in which girls are supposed to look and dress.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Tyra Banks uses her show to judge, eliminate, and reward women based on whether they look and act the way she thinks would benefit them or not.<span style=""> </span>The problem with this is that the industry Tyra is so intricately involved in perpetuates the patriarchy.<span style=""> </span>So essentially, Tyra is trying to make them into females who are successful at being dominated by males.<span style=""> </span>She may be helping these girls succeed at the individual level by transforming them into “valuable” fashion models, but she is setting back any attempt by women to eliminate the patriarchal system that exists in society as defined by Johnson.<span style=""> </span>As long as there is an audience for her show, she will continue to destroy the self-esteem of contestants and viewers by telling them what they are not and what they should be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u>Works Cited<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ouellette, Laurie, and James Hay. <i style="">Better Living Through Reality TV</i>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Malden</st1:City>, <st1:state st="on">Massachusetts</st1:State></st1:place>: Blackwell, 2008. 95-98.<br /><br />Pozner, Jennifer L. <i style="">The Unreal World.</i> 97.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><span style="color: black;">Johnson, Allan. Patriarchy<u>, The System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us</u>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Temple</st1:PlaceType> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> Press, 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>MichaelRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01145374856899144763noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884793671546436151.post-8497908159662987042008-05-23T17:09:00.002-04:002008-05-23T17:12:37.486-04:00Selling Sex at What Cost?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YffZt6q6l3vP1TTxW6ngmFic6numlbGXc6-M3CaP-Emz3sw6nX0F66VSjWRG5dwPeUCLCX3R5TsZLRznnFXSwGzkxU5Ea5TdJTysWRC8IaGDUxxfOVLfwsGrvaQPUInMRmDTFKaD8ik/s1600-h/blog+collage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YffZt6q6l3vP1TTxW6ngmFic6numlbGXc6-M3CaP-Emz3sw6nX0F66VSjWRG5dwPeUCLCX3R5TsZLRznnFXSwGzkxU5Ea5TdJTysWRC8IaGDUxxfOVLfwsGrvaQPUInMRmDTFKaD8ik/s320/blog+collage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203683917842973010" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal">The use of advertising to sell products has evolved throughout the twentieth century.<span style=""> </span>Advertising agencies will try whatever tactic that works in order to sell their product.<span style=""> </span>A long time ago, product utility was a focus of advertisements, a practice that is exponentially diminishing in today’s world.<span style=""> </span>Many efforts of advertising include the use of the female body; whether it be showing half-naked women holding their product or women completely naked, promoting a brand image.<span style=""> </span>In either situation, women are used as tools, easily disposable when their usefulness has reached its end.<span style=""> </span>The use of the female body as a tool for profit is morally unjust because it negatively affects women by lowering their self esteem, making them body obsessive and perpetrating false ideals and attitudes.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Our consumer culture has allowed advertisements to sneak into as many outlets as it can.<span style=""> </span>We usually accept them without question because most are aesthetically pleasing; either portraying an “attractive” person or a comical scenario.<span style=""> </span>“As we head toward the twenty-first century, advertising is ubiquitous-it is the air that we breathe as we live our daily lives.”<span style=""> </span>(Jhally 250-251)<span style=""> </span>It would be fair to say that advertising has a great deal of power over the general public.<span style=""> </span>This power allows the media to promote ideals and needs that may undermine the truth.<span style=""> </span>“Fundamentally, advertising talks to us as individuals and addresses us about how we can become happy.” (Jhally 251)<span style=""> </span>The answer provided in advertisements is “buy our shit.”<span style=""> </span>They do this by showing people that are having the most fun in the world with a particular product or by using a woman’s body as a tool to promote their product.<span style=""> </span>“Sexuality provides a resource that can be used to get attention and communicate instantly.” (Jhally 253)<span style=""> </span>This massive portrayal of women used as sex tools for selling products has desensitized us into accepting the image of women as vulnerable sexual items.<span style=""> </span>This desensitization is perpetuating our society’s long held idea that men are greater than women; a flawed perspective that we have been making progress to erase.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Mass media has accumulated a vast power, and it has a responsibility that it is not living up to.<span style=""> </span>Allowing advertisements to set the bar for acceptable norms in our society is like giving a five-year old a bee-bee gun; people are going to get hurt.<span style=""> </span>Our perceptions of beauty are skewed by what advertisements say is beautiful even when their image contradicts what the overall belief really is.<span style=""> </span>The problem is that advertisements have the means to get their opinions out there and everyone buys into it, thinking “that’s what I need to look like to be attractive,” when in reality it’s not.<span style=""> </span>In order to get this message out, they use the female body.<span style=""> </span>To go beyond that, there is something flawed at the ground level which has been accepted for years; that you need to look a certain way to be happy.<span style=""> </span>“Girls are extremely desirable to advertisers because they are new consumers, are beginning to have significant disposable income, and are developing brand loyalty that might last a lifetime.” (Kilbourne 259)<span style=""> </span>So advertisements use this accepted and perpetrated image of “beauty as the key to happiness and you won’t be happy without our product,” to prey on confused adolescent girls.<span style=""> </span>These girls are very insecure about themselves, especially during adolescence when their bodies and minds are going through rapid changes, because they get all these images of the skinny pretty girl having all the fun.<span style=""> </span>“Primarily girls are told by advertisers that what is most important about them is their perfume, their clothing, their bodies, and their beauty.” (Kilbourne 260)<span style=""> </span>Advertisements create this false chain of being skinny and prematurely sexually active leads to being sexy and being sexy leads to happiness and social acceptance.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u>Works Cited<o:p></o:p></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jhally, Sut. "Image-Based Culture." Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Thousand Oaks</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">CA</st1:state></st1:place>: Sage Publications, 2003.<br /><br />Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add." Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Thousand Oaks</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">CA</st1:state></st1:place>: Sage Publications, 2003.</p>MichaelRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01145374856899144763noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-884793671546436151.post-27975494635946929632008-05-20T21:10:00.005-04:002008-05-23T17:22:18.385-04:00G.I. Joe, the Gender Hero<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLIF18EPeco9dFZ6eWhTofKwrXbY2GxXTqKs1Ud_RoQboyhFHyb7f5Y3HkwZJAsR6hb6oKJmzMPFyY3_pxpIc74j9jJb2G_SfhWyfL4FybIQtEpveQX-630P-smW87Uf-FBlHrXuHcJM/s1600-h/nurse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLIF18EPeco9dFZ6eWhTofKwrXbY2GxXTqKs1Ud_RoQboyhFHyb7f5Y3HkwZJAsR6hb6oKJmzMPFyY3_pxpIc74j9jJb2G_SfhWyfL4FybIQtEpveQX-630P-smW87Uf-FBlHrXuHcJM/s320/nurse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203686709571715442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgnmwnepAej9F97IgQA5aEojMCngkVSEnBh6l-bxdFKLL88PJTGRqiXH6mxIxSBhLTqzJfKRfctCi26R_7RzRZYNjuh2nc5lty0GrDV6kQWFcsaglRsFOr0EZdelfRB6fyCUK5TudI2s/s1600-h/junglefighter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgnmwnepAej9F97IgQA5aEojMCngkVSEnBh6l-bxdFKLL88PJTGRqiXH6mxIxSBhLTqzJfKRfctCi26R_7RzRZYNjuh2nc5lty0GrDV6kQWFcsaglRsFOr0EZdelfRB6fyCUK5TudI2s/s320/junglefighter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203686610787467618" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Societies assign certain gender roles to both males and females.<span style=""> </span>These gender roles are expectations of members of that gender to behave in a predefined manner, neglecting the individual’s true desire.<span style=""> </span>Deviation from this “norm” is frowned upon and often met with social ostracization or punishment.<span style=""> </span>“Toys and games that parents provide for their children are another influential source of gender information.”(Newman 112)<span style=""> </span>They are one of the many tools used by society to reaffirm the gender roles of boys and girls; teaching them how they should behave early in life.<span style=""> </span>Toys meant for boys teach different ideas and attitudes from toys meant for girls.<span style=""> </span>Action figures are toys meant for boys, and the most famous of which, the G.I. Joe, has been shaping boys into their gender role since 1964.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>G.I. Joe is a soldier who travels the world fighting the bad guys on land, air, and sea for <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>He symbolizes freedom, violence, strength, and being number one.<span style=""> </span>This parallels what is instilled in American boys throughout their youth.<span style=""> </span>Boys are encouraged to play outside and explore the world, rather than girls who are taught to stay inside and learn how to nurture.<span style=""> </span>G.I. Joe is seen as more of a strong, emotionless figure, very much like how boys are “supposed” to be.<span style=""> </span>Boys are also encouraged to participate in athletics, in which being the best through physical competition is rewarded.<span style=""> </span>“The sports world is <span style="">ex</span>tremely hierarchical, and an incredible amount of importance is placed on winning, on "being number one."” (Messner 129)<span style=""> </span>G.I. Joe engages in physical competition (violence) to defeat the bad guys and be number one. I would also have to say the idea of competition and being number one transcends to adulthood in our capitalist economy.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The physical look of G.I. Joe instills gender upon boys as well.<span style=""> </span>He is generally portrayed as a Caucasian male with huge muscles in an army uniform carrying a very large gun.<span style=""> </span>Large muscled men fit into the dominant physical hegemonic role in our society.<span style=""> </span>Physical dominance is what we value over skinny or overweight people.<span style=""> </span>The G.I. Joe ties strong muscles with being good. Dominant colors are another way of reaffirming gender.<span style=""> </span>G.I. Joe isn’t the best example of this because he wears camouflage so he won’t be seen by the enemy, but other action figures will include dominant colors like black, blue, green, and red.<span style=""> </span>You won’t see very many action figures with shades of pink or purple in them, since those are girl colors. The large gun that G.I. Joe wields can be compared to the insecurity of men in American culture who need to compensate for shortcomings elsewhere.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>According to Hasbro.com, “G.I. JOE has become the single greatest brand in the history of boys' toys.”<span style=""> </span>This led me to wonder if there were any G.I. Joes for girls, so I searched the Hasbro website going through the history of G.I. Joes.<span style=""> </span>I did find one interesting action figure for girls made in the 1960’s, G.I. Action Nurse Girl.<span style=""> </span>So G.I. Joe says girls can play as long as they stay away from the violence and take care of the men when they get back.<span style=""> </span>This fits into society’s understanding of the military, where it is expected of women to be the nurses and men to be the soldiers.<span style=""> </span>The soldier/nurse expectations reflect Johnson’s idea of patriarchy.<span style=""> </span>He claims that patriarchy is, ”about defining women and men as opposites, about the "naturalness" of male aggression, competition, and dominance and of female caring, cooperation, and subordination.”<span style=""> </span>(Johnson 94)<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>G.I. Joes help shape boys into their expected gender roles by showing them how society expects a man to act.<span style=""> </span>He is supposed to be dominant, violent, competitive, adventurous, and have a great physique.<span style=""> </span>These are the traits society wants men to have, so they use toys as one of many tools to show boys how they should behave.<span style=""> </span>Not having all of these traits means that you are flawed in society’s view.<span style=""> </span>We live in a culture where being different from what’s considered “normal” is bad and often met with severe repercussions.<span style=""> </span>This is especially the case during childhood, since children hold very little of their thoughts back and are extremely cruel.<span style=""> </span>The use of toys to reaffirm gender roles is especially influential for children because they spend so much of their time playing with toys.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u>Works Cited<o:p></o:p></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;">Newman, David. <u>Identities and Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, </u></span><u><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;color:black;" ><br /></span><span style="color:black;">Gender, and Sexuality.</span></u><span style="color:black;"> <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place>: McGraw Hill, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;">Johnson, Allan. Patriarchy<u>, The System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us</u>. <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> Press, 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;">Messner, Michael. <u>Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities.</u><span style=""> </span><i style="">Journal of Contemporary Ethnography</i>: Sage Publications, 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><http: page="history&section=intro"></http:>"G.I. Joe Every Generation Needs a Hero." <u>Hasbro.Com</u>. 19 May 2008 <http: page="history&section=intro">.</http:></p> <p class="MsoNormal">"GI JOE Action Figures & Toys in the 1960s." <u>Hasbro.Com</u>. 20 May 2008 <http: page="history&section=60s">.</http:></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>MichaelRMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01145374856899144763noreply@blogger.com4