MAKE UP FOR BLOG # 4

The other night I watched the movie called "Baby Mama" with my boyfriend. At first I just watched the movie and laughed through the whole thing, but afterwards I realized that the main character was going against the stereotype society has for women, and was in a way punished for it. In the movie a woman puts of marriage and dating for a long time and just focuses on work. She becomes the vice president of the company she is working for, but finds herself wanting a baby. So she hires a surrogate mother and the film takes off from there. The movie shows how hard it is for society to accept you if you happen to be an independent woman. In one scene her mother bascially says she'll never get married because shes to focused on herself and her work. It's also hard for her to adopt a baby because shes an independent woman, which I think is stupid. In the end this movie was yet another example of the constraints society sets on women.

MAKE UP FOR BLOG # 3

Yesterday I was watching one of my favorite childhood movies called The Borrowers. In the movie there are tiny people who "borrow" from human beings to survive in the floor boards of the house. But although these tiny people live amongst humans they cannot be seen by humans. If they are seen they are squished by the humans(or so the myth says). In the beginning of the film and throughout the gender roles were very prominent. The women in the family were supposed to stay behind while the men went out to "borrow" things from the house. Because the outside world was too dangerous for clumsy women. Contrary to the roles the movie shows the young girl and boy have reversed gender roles. The young girl loves to go out and "borrow". She gets angry when she is not aloud to explore and often goes against the rules out of curiousty. The young boy is completley opposite. He would rather stay in the house beneath the floor boards and doesn't like adventure, and he rarely deviates from the rules. I think this movie is an example of how society is changing over time with gender roles and socialization.

Karate Chopping Gender Reversal

As usual I was watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants today. In today's epidsode Spongbob and Sandy were karate fighting the entire show because Sandy thinks she is, and is, tougher than Spongebob. After watching this episode it really got me thinking about Sandy in general. Sandy wears a pretty flower in her hair and wears a bikini, but all of her manurisms on the show contradict her physical appearence. What girly girl could really kick somebody elses butt, and love doing it. Sandy is also very independent and assertive. These characteriscs mirror what society says about masculinity. Spongebob is weak, passive, and very dependent on others, this mirrors the definition of femninity in society. Could this role reversal be trying to even out gender roles in society? Could this mean that the producers want boys and girls to know that they can be how they want? After watching this episode I think they were trying to let children know that they can act how they want regardless of gender roles. Maybe society is changing after all.

Just Like Larry

As always I was watching an episode of Spongebob I'd already seen multiple times, but for some reason I have an unconditional love for the show. This time while watching it I noticed that the episode was all about being "masculine." In the show Spongebob and Patrick want to be like Larry because he gets all the ladies and everyone depends on him. Larry is a brave, confident, and muscular Lobster. Throughout the episode Spongebob and Patrick attempt daring stunts and do things that would make them seem brave infront of the other sea creatures because otherwise they are considered immature or weak. After watching this episode I noticed that society's definition of masculinity is even applied to a lobster in a childrens television series. When I described Larry the lobster my definition was as if I was describing a "real man" in our society. Larry is muscular, assertive, brave, demanding, and more. This episode is just another reminder of society's definiton of masculinity, and it's also another demonstration of how young children are taught gender roles in society.

Girls Only!

Today while watching cartoons a commerical for a toy came on. The toy was a cupcake decorator machine. The commercial started out with my definition of girly pop music and girls giggling in the background. The girls then ran into the scene and started icing their cupcakes with smiles on. At the end of the commercial the advitisor explains that you can share you cupcakes with your girlfriends. After watching this commercial I was reminded of how young society starts embedding peoples minds with traditional gender roles. While it seems fun these little girls are being taught that baking cakes is fun, and its what little girls do. At the same time I know there is atleast one little boy out there who will watch this commerical and want the Girl Gourmet cupcake set. I also know that when he asks his parents they will more than likely say no and suggest a Hot Wheels set instead. This commerical is yet another way society is forcing traditional gender roles on children.

Taco Bell

Today I was watching the same Taco Bell commercial I've seen a ton of times. In the commercial a guy asks a girl if she wanted to have dinner sometime, and he seemed very confident about asking her. When the girl gives him her number he immediately calls her cell phone and she turns around to find him there with a new platter from Taco Bell. Then her parents show up suggesting their moving so fast that they are going to get married. After seeing this commercial over and over I realized that it represented gender in a different way that I usually look for. Usually I look for gender stereotypes or discriminations, but this time I saw gender stereotypes but they dealt with manners and how one should act around a woman or man. The guy is very confident and asks the girl out because in society today it is not considered polite for the girl to ask the guy out. Well atleast where I live that is the case. The guy also buys dinner just as he does in the commercial, and the girl is swept of her feet because of all this. I found that this was gender "manner" stereotyping. Although many people in society today live up to this stereotype.

Mrs.Potato Head Loses Her Dominant Lips

During the Superbowl this year I saw a commercial about Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. In the commercial Mr. Potato Head is speeding down a mountain highway and Mrs. Potato Head is in the passengers seat screaming and whining about how he needs to slow down. Then suddenly a flock of sheep appears in the middle of the road and Mr. Potato Head slams on the brakes, as he does this Mrs. Potato Head's lips fly off, still whining, and fall down the side of the mountain. Mr. Potato Head chuckles to himself and drives of leaving his wifes whining lips behind. At first I thought that this commercial depicted being feminine as being catious and responsible, and I thought that it depicted being masculine as being reckless and fearless. But after reading the Beauty and the Beast article for class my point of view changed. I found that this commercial showed the woman be dominant, but only on the surface. It still comes back to the man being in charge in the end as he leaves her lips behind. This also reminded me of the gender roles my parents play my mom always whines and corrects him, but in the end he is always right and gets his way.