...Defining the Research Problem Analysis of Butch Lesbian Mothers in Pop Culture This research makes a contribution to the current scholarship within feminist, gender, and sexuality studies that have previously not been explored in detail. Scholarship on queer parenting is burgeoning, however, it exists in a silo alongside the current literature on pop culture representations and butch lesbian identity, which is largely dated or unexplored. Bridging these fields of study, this unique analysis discursively traces pop culture representations of butch lesbian parents. Specifically, I contribute to the current research in three ways. First, little feminist research has been carried out on motherhood in recent years. There are only a handful of studies...
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...Trendy culture “Critical Role in Adolescence Sexual Behavior Dr. Charles Belcher Adolescence Psychology MWF:2-2:50pm Ebony Ervin Group 4 Sociology of Human Sexuality September 30, 2013 Adolescence marks a developmental phase in life where young people oscillate between being children and being adults. Aristotle argued that reasoning takes form in this phase and “the most critical aspect of adolescence” is the ability to choose, and that “self-determination is the hallmark for maturity” (Santrock, 2012). During and throughout this phase young people are learning how to identify themselves with the outside world. They are challenged with the developmental tasks of understanding the physical transformation of their body, which is critical in establishing self-esteem, developing a personal value system, building meaningful relationships, and working toward independence from authority figures such as parents or guardians and most importantly, establishing their sexuality. “Human sexuality is defined as the sexual interest and behaviors that include physiological, social, cultural, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. It encompasses: sexual orientation, sexual Identity driven by both biological and social forces. (Buster 2005) Adolescents in modern day society are engaging in sexual acts and displaying sexual behavior as early as middle school. It has clearly transformed from being sacred among the individual to setting a trend shared among many cultures throughout...
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...Kate Finch completed a study on the popular HBO series, True Blood. The research was an analysis of the Vampire Rights Amendment through public relations in pop culture and the theme of post feminism. The research is about the view post feminism view of public relations in pop culture using True Blood as a model. It shows the use of promotion, persuasion and public relations to draw in an audience. “Views interpretations are profoundly influenced by the social discourse in which they are interrelated.” (Brunsdon and Spigel,, 2007, pg. 260) It is important cause it gives the audience a deeper view of the feminism culture in popular culture, while allowing people to people it in the form of a television show that they would be able to spot and...
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...Lateesha Baquet Joshua Phillip SPCM 301i 11/5/2014 Pop Culture I am of voice, courage and strength. I bow to no man other than God himself. If I allowed my faith to be tested, I will be of strong belief and value. I am worth more than riches and wealth. I walk with grace and poise; I take no sympathy for I strive to be of movement each day. I am Feminism, the advocacy aiming to define and defend equal rights for women. In addition, I am seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. Over decades, there have been movements for women to have the same rights as men. Many advocates say feminism is important, because it is equal across all spectrums of race, class, sex, and sexuality. It will always be a movement for particularly women, but it seems to expand across time. In this present day in age, society has evolved across time, and media has made some differences in advertisements, TV shows and films. On the contrary, there are events that still appear on the web, social media and within music, specifically. For example, I was surfing the web, and ran across different artist. Some statements made were about women empowerment, body image/politics and sexual objectification, specifically the artist Beyoncé. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how Beyoncé’s song Flawless depicts feminism as well as redefining beauty. To accomplish this purpose, first I will discuss Beyoncé’s song flawless. Second, I will compare feminism to...
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...The Power of TV Commercials The power of pop culture has an enormous influence on the minds of the youth. TV commercials are powerful tools that are used to portray an image, change an idea or shape an attitude. These thirty seconds or more of flashy attractions draws viewers in on the attitudes and values of which people hold in society. It promotes particular beliefs and ways of thinking. Such beliefs that are promoted through TV commercials can be the encouragement of changing one’s appearance in order to look similar as a certain celebrity. On the good side, TV commercials display positive behaviors and role models that young girls and adolescent girls can aspire to be. In contrast, many of these TV commercials have a negative influence on the life of young girls and adolescent girls. TV commercials targets young girls and adolescent girls through the use of different outlets that glorify unrealistic expectations, distorted body image and sexualization in which leads them on a path of self-destruction. TV commercials can promote positive behavior. Dove is the first “beauty” company to promote to young girls and adolescent girls that they should be comfortable with their own body. Their marketing campaign helps to establish self-esteem and a good body image. It shows “real women” as role models who are happy with themselves even though their body may not be what is typically thought of as beautiful. According to the article, “The Dove® Campaign for Real Beauty”, Dove...
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...unintentionally had the participant contradicting his/her initial statements about gender roles. An aspect of this research that has me relating the story to my personal life was when a women spoke about how media has helped her feel more enlightened and content with her sexuality, although many women see media as degrading and objectifying females (Mccabe et al,. 2009). She thought it was empowering to see women in the television series Sex and the City all conversing about their sexuality, and what came to my mind was the popularly growing celebrity known as Miley Cyrus. She is a transformed star who went from a normal, appropriate, role model pop singer, to a sexual, crazed, lustful women in opposition against social standards. To many women she is seen as a disgrace, degrading what women stand for and have worked so hard to promote. Others, on the other hand, see her as being someone who...
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...played in the present time would have no meaning to the people playing it. For instance, a young jazz musician playing Charles Mingus' song "Fables of Faubus" (which was about the wrong doings of governor Faubus) would have no meaning to the musician because he/she never lived that era. As for new, recent music, the artist plays what he/she feels in respect to the present. For instance, Herbie Hancock's new album came out about a month ago called "Possibilities". This album was called his "all-star project" (Downbeat; Pg 38) because it featured new artists like John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, and Paul Simon. The album depicts a movement of music in how a new form of jazz, soul, and pop our recent era has developed. The decade of the 1960’s, also known as "The Sixties", are known for it’s popular culture and revolution in social norms about clothing, music, drugs, dress, formalities and schooling. Conservatives refer to...
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...research the spread in American popular culture of the ‘girl power’ phenomenon. It would discuss the nature of the idea (that female appearance and sensuality, and equality need not be mutually exclusive), how the concept relates to perceptions of gender roles and power through the lens of girl culture (for mainly the tween and teen groups) and the ways in which Spice Girls – as a major cultural phenomenon of the 1990s – promoted and normalized the idea. Depending on available information and depending on what the word count will allow, the essay will also look into the origins of the idea within pop (eg. Riot Grrrl, statements by Madonna, etc) and touch upon critiques of the supposed feminist aspects of the girl power movement, linking it to materialistic and consumerist norms of American and western culture. Sources: Primary Spiers, B., Fruchtmann, U., Thompson, B., Fuller, K., and Curtis, J. Spice World: The Spice Girls Movie. Culver City, Calif: Columbia TriStar Home Video, 1998. Lyrics from selected songs from the albums Spice (1996), Spiceworld (1997) and Forever (2000). Assorted interviews will also be identified, quoted and analysed. Secondary Whiteley, S. Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity. London: Routledge, 2000. Print. Inness, S. A., Millennium Girls: Today's Girls Around the World. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1998. Print. Mitchell, C., and Reid-Walsh, J. Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn: Greenwood...
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...“Man neglect to tell his son ‘I love you.’”, “Father never hugs his daughter.”, “Wife feels alone even when her husband is home.” Sad headlines like this will likely never show up on any local news station, but for countless families in the world, it is an inhospitable reality. Men of the 21st century are more often than not denying themselves the full experience of their God-given sexuality by repressing emotions; instead, men seek to be the prototypical male stereotype perpetuated in today’s society. From a young age boys are indoctrinated to be the ideal man strong, independent, handy and examples of the manliest of men are filled in today’s pop culture. heroes like the Hulk, Iron Man, Batman, John Wick, and James Bond or T.V., clothing ads or the Dos Equis mascot, the most interesting man in the world. These characters demonstrate to young boys and teen about what a “real man” acts like. Although each of these characters have a great potential to prompt imagination, creativity, and social justice they are also awful role models for what a man is supposed to look like. The Hulk shows...
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...videos playing, what surprises most about these music videos is their actual presentation. As you watch and listen, you see naked girls, cars and money. These main aspects surrounded the hip-hop artist and flooded the screen. As the music raged on, a different state of shock fell upon me while studying what occurred on my TV. The constant display of inequality and hegemonic power made me uncomfortable and disrespected, yet this particular musical artist’s song sits at the top of the charts in the music industry. From a Feminist Anthropologist’s perspective, the actions presented in this specific video I watched, along with many others, shows a complete imbalance between male and female gender roles. However, this behavior portrayed does not go unnoticed. In a song performed by the pop artist, P!nk, titled “Stupid Girls”, she states, “What happened to the dream of a girl president, She’s dancing in the video next to 50 Cent”. [1] This quote is particularly important because P!nk is inferring that women will aspire to be less because of the way other women are presented in the media they are exposed to. I feel the demeaning nature of the treatment of women by hip-hop artists is a problem and is a focal point of concern for many Feminist Anthropologists today. According to Carole McGranahan, a post-structuralist anthropologist, post-structuralism focuses greatly on the existence of power within hegemonic relationships and existing hierarchical systems.[2] Throughout hip-hop music...
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...and was portrayed in a number of ways. In the early days when they were just folklore, vampires were blood sucking predators and feared pale stalkers. In Vampire God: the Allure of the Dead in the Western Culture (2009), discussing the popularity of vampires in society, Mary Y. Hallab says that the folklore vampire is constantly compared to the other supernatural beings like witches and werewolf’s, and today’s concept is also a confused being, a zombie? A lover? Hallab states that “vampires are only those figures—folkloric, mythical, or literary—who are dead humans who are still capable of behaving as though they are alive.” Today, vampires have become a culture of their own, and are a huge part of mainstream pop culture. The Twilight Cullen’s and Sesame Street’s Count Dracula have a whole new appeal on adults and children. The appeal is not always good. According to Vampire Gothic, which is about vampire gothic cultures in United States, Teresa A. Goddu discusses a teenage vampire clan that was discovered in Murray, Kentucky, that was found participating in role-playing games such as drinking each other’s blood and killing puppies. Goddu explains that it’s the raw supernatural aspect of vampires that drew the teenager’s attention. We will discuss the gothic culture and how it relates to vampires later on in the paper. Looking back, no matter how these creatures are portrayed they have proven to be remarkably adaptable...
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...engage with pop-culture and the sweet sounds of the 1960’s. Despite being a highly courted young lady, Connie dreamt of the perfect boy, to capture her and breathe life into her seemingly lackluster life. A man named Arnold Friend sees Connie out one evening and proceeds to arrive at her door step, with an invitation to escape soon thereafter. After much persuasion, Connie decides to climb into Arnold’s car, despite some reservations about his age and character. Themes such as maturation, lust, and youth present interesting insight to the mind of a young girl of a time period in which women’s’ social...
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...Introduction American culture, being traditionally perceived as quite liberal and democratic, is in fact paralyzed by the overwhelming power of stereotypes which shape the current image of culture at large and its industries, including music, in particular. Even the most innovative and advanced movements’ turn to be submitted to the canons of the ideology that dominates in American culture. Unfortunately, such a situation does not contribute to the development of really free, liberal and focused on spiritual, moral and intellectual progress of the consumers of the culture. Probably one of the most interesting, new and, unfortunately, typical example of the domination of stereotypes in American culture is the development of female black rap music, which has become particularly intensive in 1980s and is still quite dynamically developing. At first glance black female rap music should be free from traditional stereotypes, it should be innovative and contributing to black female emancipation and increasing the role of black females in the society at large but, in actuality, the situation is absolutely different. Despite the fact that many female rappers pretend to be unique at developing the new image of a free and independent black female, it turns to be that practically all of them, or at least the most popular of them, are ideologically dependent on the male dominance in proper and figurative sense of this word. It means that as a rule black female rappers tend to create an...
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...inevitably reflected in her creativity, particularly the four poems under analysis – “Barbie Doll”, “What Are Big Girls Made Of?”, “Rape Poem” and “The Friend”. The poems “Barbie Doll” and “What Are Big Girls Made Of?” concentrate on the topic of sexualization of women and young girls. The issue that worries the author most is the way the society treats females: they are perceived as mere commodities, and are judged for the clothes they wear and the way their faces and bodies look rather than their personalities. The way women “must” look is often determined by mass media and pop culture, magazines such as Playboy, often criticized by feminists, playing a huge role in the commodification of women’s bodies. At the same time, any deliberate manifestation of a woman’s or a girl’s sexuality is viewed as inappropriate and even immoral (Renold, Ringrose). Teenagers, both male and female, are exposed to the culture of commodification of women at an early age; thus, women are often perceived as sex objects unconsciously, which proves that sexism is rooted in people’s collective mentality rather than a single individual’s beliefs (Peter, Valkenburg). Piercy demonstrates her concern with the fact that women themselves adopt the same view and follow the existing tendencies, absorbed completely by the image of themselves that the society is trying to impose on them, trying obsessively to conform to it. This, in its turn, may lead to mental disorders: what happens in case people surrounding...
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...Feminist Majority. I knew about the play from the Feminist Majority meetings and from Sierra Stein. After Take Back the Night on Wednesday, Adina Leshinsky talked to me about the play. We talked about the different roles and how that there are ones within my comfort level, and how easy the auditions are, you did not have to prepare anything for the audition. So to make a long story short, she basically persuaded me to try-out. So the next day at about 6:30 pm, I headed over to HMSU room 314 to audition. I did theater in High School, but I still get nervous at auditions. I personally think that it...
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