Blog Activity 7: Friendship June 1, 2009

Chapter six spends lots of space devoted to gender-specific styles of friendship building and maintainence. Concepts such as male chumships and breadth of topics versus depth of intimacy are juxtaposed next to explanations of female friendships’ reliance on connection and fulfillment and male friendships’ need for activity and side-to-side interaction.

How do these textbook explanations compare to media representations of same-sex friendships, but more importantly, to your own lived experience? Reflect on some of your own close friendships (same-sex please) and compare them to same-sex friendships on one of your favorite TV shows. Share a summary with us, then read others’ stories and comment accordingly like we’ve been doing on the blog so far.

Blog Activity 6: The Family Gender Factory May 30, 2009

[The following activity comes from p. 199 of the textbook (Gamble & Gamble, 2003).]

A critical socializing agent in our growth as women or men is our family. Take some time to think about the ways in which your family members contributed in helping you formulate your personal definitions of masculinity and femininity then respond to the questions below and share a summary with the rest of us:

In what ways did they (your family) encourage you or discourage you from exhibiting traditional male and female characteristics? What pressures do you believe your parents felt when socializing you to enact a gendered role. For example, did they feel it was important to monitor your dress? Did they set limits on your personal freedom? Were the discipline styles of your mother and father similar or different? IMPORTANT: Do you think a parent or caregiver would have disciplined you differently if you were a member of the opposite sex (you can compare to your parents’ treatment of your siblings here if relevant)?

Blog Activity 5: Nonverbal Patterns May 28, 2009

As inconspicuously as possible, go to a location (such as a coffee shop, library, etc.) where you can observe men and women (mixed-sex pairs or groups) interacting. Observe for about 20 minutes and take notes, but make it look like you are doing homework or writing, rather than obtrusively watching people. You should note the nonverbal components discussed in the textbook (body language, vocal cues, space/distance, touch, artifacts, etc.) to answer the following questions:

Who do you believe is more independent and why? Competitive? Emotional? Rational? Trustworthy? Submissive? Powerful? Credible? Friendly? Likeable? Why?

To what extent, if any, do gender stereotypes persist in influencing your response?

Post a summary of your findings, then compare and contrast with others’ summaries.

Feminism Wrap-up May 28, 2009

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your public comments and private journal entries regarding feminism. Most posed frank, yet thoughtful, ideas regarding the different types of feminism and how they are portrayed in everyday life and the media. When we get to the media section in a couple of weeks, we’ll talk even more about how popular entertainment and mainstream news construct and filter our understandings of gender and gender social movements.

For now, I thought I’d share (per the inquisitiveness of one student) a tally of feminist thinking in the course. Of 26 enrolled students, 25 completed the journal activity expressing your understandings and proclamations of feminist identity(-ies). Based on self-report 19 of you identified along some point of the feminist spectrum (liberal, social, structural, pro-feminist male). This includes 16 of the 20 women and three of the five men, which I think is pretty impressive. Now, please keep in mind that the goal of the assignment, nor the class, is to build a feminist army. Rather, it’s to challenge each of you to at least some introspection and reflection on gender inequalities and social movements.

Most of you mentioned in your journal assignments a previously skewed understanding of feminists as male-bashing lesbians, which you realize now as an inaccurate representation stemming from limited media portrayals and interpersonal experiences. I was amazed at how many of you shared a sense of enlightenment upon reading more about feminism(s), as well as learning more from the blog discussion. This only makes me look more forward to the second half of the class as we continue to challenge patterns and norms of gender in our social system.

Blog Activity 4: Verbal Constructions of Gender May 25, 2009

Chapter 3 of our text stresses the role of language in our understandings of and values placed on gender identities and roles. Per the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the language and labels we have available in a culture shape how we perceive and act in the world. Connecting this to gender, then, the hypothesis explains that how we talk about gender, specifically the words and concepts that even exist to discuss and frame gender (sex, sexuality, and so on), represents our culture’s view of gender.

For example, taking sexuality into account, many Native American tribes have embraced an inclusive term, Two-Spirit, to identify people of mixed gender (masculine spirit inside a female body for example). This language practice might connect to the more egalitarian, humanistic, we-are-all-part-of-one-world, viewpoint associated with much of ancient Native American societies.

On the flipside, until recently, in the English language and in American culture, the term transgender was not widely used, nor did it have a positive connotation, when referring to people of non-traditional, mixed gender identities. More frequently, and more negatively, the word hermaphrodite was used in our culture. What might this say about American society’s view of sexuality?

The point is that how we talk about gender reflects and influences how we think about gender, how we privilege certain identities, roles and attitudes. In society today, one of the best ways of assessing our culture’s gender norms may be the news media’s construction of gender. For example, read this short essay on gender and politics. The author discusses constructions of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton in the most recent presidential campaign. Use the framework I’ve set up here (via the textbook concepts, the sexuality example and the essay) to do some of your own investigating.

Select one news article (from a newspaper or magazine) with a woman as the main subject and one article with a man as the subject and examine the similarities and differences in how the subjects are addressed, written about, described and so on. How, if any, is sexist language used? What about spotlighting? If you want to go even deeper, you might select an article about a lesbian, gay man or bisexual to compare to a story about a straight person. Share your findings here, read others’ conclusions, then comment on connections, contradictions and/or other insights that come from the dialogue.

Blog Activity 3: Feminisms May 21, 2009

The textbook chapter on gender and social movements discusses many definitions, types, and waves of feminism. In your personal journal entries you’ll be discussing what feminism means to you and how you came to understand feminism. However, in this space I’d like us to discuss a type of feminism not addressed by the textbook authors, post-feminism. One definition is provided here. In short, post-feminists assume that the feminist movement (the one characterized by the liberal, second-wave type of feminism) worked and that women have achieved the equal status they sought for so long. Post-feminist perspectives can be found in pop culture examples such as Cosmopolitan and Sex and the City, where women’s earning power (READ: power to consume, buy things) symbolizes the end of the long fight for gender equality.

What other pop culture references can you think of that embody post-feminist ideals? Do you think these examples (the ones I’ve listed and your own) are representative of the current state of feminism(s)? Why or why not?

Blog Activity 2: Masculinity May 19, 2009

Chapter two of our textbook summarizes how we develop gender roles and identities. Until recently much of gender communication studies has privileged the feminine. In fact, most of the clips available on our course Blackboard site critique feminine stereotypes in the media and unpack societal pressures on women to have the right image and persona. However, a surge in masculinity studies also helps inform gender and communication.  Please view these two clips regarding masculinity. The first is a condensed version of a Media Education Foundation video, Tough Guise, and the second is a clip from a major scene in Good Will Hunting.

How do the theories about the pressures facing men to be tough and aggressive that Jackson Katz discusses in Tough Guise come to life in Matt Damon’s character of Will Hunting in the movie clip? How do you see these theories and pressures played out in real life? Let each of your comments build upon the others.

Blog Activity 1: Part 2 May 18, 2009

Now that most of you have briefly introduced yourselves and discussed one aspect of your identity, please take a moment to reflect on your chosen identity marker’s connection to gender. Would you have selected the same item if you were a different gender? What aspects of your chosen item are gendered, or is the item gender neutral? For example, the iPod I have now would likely be considered gender neutral, as it is silver. However, my previous iPod was bright red and contained mostly “chick rock,” so would likely be considered more of a woman-centered object. What about your items?

Important course note May 14, 2009

Please be sure to visit the links organized by chapter in our course Blackboard page. While I will occasionally embed links and videos on the blog for selective blog activities and general course info, I think it will be helpful to get familiar with the Blackboard material as well. Also, I encourage you to post links and clips that you think would be useful or interesting to all of us to your own blogs once you’ve created them. These can be in addition to your chosen artifacts for the final portfolios if you would simply like to share a link. Remember to tag comm33009 if you include items as separate posts rather than in a links sidebar.

Also, please know that you can respond to and/or post questions to anything I’ve included in a post or a page by using the comment feature. Per the welcome post, first register with WordPress using your CNU email address so that you can log in and comment appropriately. You can, of course, email me anytime at danielle.stern@cnu.edu. However, I encourage you to use the blog for questions, as this dialogue might be helpful to other students.

Blog Activity 1: Icebreaker! May 13, 2009

NOTE: Please try to complete this brief activity early on the first day of classes Monday (if not sooner), then check back for the second part later in the day and respond again promptly so we can get to know each other some.

In lieu of meeting in person, please consider the following icebreaker activity. It’s a two-parter. I’ll post the second part once everyone comments to this first prompt:

Search through the items on your person at this moment and select one item that represents you. Explain a little bit about yourself (such as your major, hobbies, etc.) and then share how the object you’ve selected is representative of aspects of your identity.

I’ll get us started…