This week I am going to blog about an episode of Made on MTV. This particular episode was about a young girl in high school named Amy who wanted to be made into a girly girl. Her reason for desiring this change were because she wanted to be more popular, have boys want to go on dates with her, and to be more confident. Also, she wanted to no longer live in the shadow of her older brother and sister. Amy’s older brother had graduated a few years previously but had left a lasting impression on the school. She was known as “Phil’s little sister” by both teacher’s and peers. Her older sister was a skinny, pretty, cheerleader who was very popular and had “the perfect football player boyfriend.” Amy’s older sister was Amy’s ideal image of the perfect girly girl.
The fact that Amy felt like she need to be a stereotypical girly girl for boys to like her and even so she could be confident shows how present and influential gender roles are in our society. Amy could not be confident when she was being true to herself. She felt that in order to be accepted and welcomed by her peers she need to dress, act, and present herself in a certain way, even if that was as something she was not.
Amy said that her main reason for wanting to be made into a girly girl was so that she could be more confident at school. She did not say that she wanted to learn about herself and learn how to be confident with her own personality and body. She wanted to force herself to epitomize an ideal feminine girl. This shows that in our world girls feel like they have to be a certain way not only so that they can be liked by their peers but so they can be liked by themselves.
Amy’s second reason for wanting to be made into a pretty girly girl is so that boys will like her. This shows that males are interested in girls who are pretty, and girly, and wear make-up and cute clothes. Nowhere in this episode does it point out that she should be smart, or friendly, or caring, or sincere. Apparently those are not things boys care about.
Throughout this episode there are many subtle and not so subtle indication of how a female she be dressing, acting, and speaking in order to be appropriately filling her gender role. The most evident example of this is when her father says how he would like his daughter to behave. He says he would like to see her act more “refined, you know, feminine.” This statement clearly shows the way this man considers women. He is saying that in order for his daughter to be considered feminine, she needs to change her outgoing and vibrant personality and be more reserved and modest.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sex and the City
This week I have chose to blog about an episode of Sex and the City. In this episode the four main female characters worry about their “numbers” (meaning how many sexual partners they have had). During the episode, it is brought up that while men are praised and considers “studs” when they have a high number; women are frowned upon and considered promiscuous. While this is a somewhat old idea and has been heavily discussed it is still a strong message that says a lot as far as gender is concerned.
In this episode both men and women consider their “numbers.” Their reaction and sensitivity to the topic says a lot about their perception of it. For instance when the women talk about the “numbers” they are very reluctant to give an exact amount and try to be as vague as possible while talking about it. The men on the show that engage in these conversations though are very nonchalant and don’t appear to be uncomfortable like the women.
At one point during the episode a man and woman are talking to each other about the topic. The woman says “no, no I can’t; I have never told anyone my number before” and the man simply gives a rough estimate shrugging his shoulders when she seems surprised he doesn’t know the exact number. This scene was an excellent example of the difference between a man and a woman’s take on the idea. The woman are all worried about what it means about their characters and them as people while the men consider it for a few moments and then start thinking about something else without giving it a second thought.
Another example of how women are more sensitive than men about the topic of sex and multiple partners is evident in the reactions of other women to Samantha’s (one of the leading characters) numerous sexual partners. A few of the women who live in her building confront her about all of her overnight male guest and their disappointment is very obvious. This shows that even women themselves don’t accept that idea that it is okay for them to engage in the same sexual behavior that men do (or at least the same amount of it).
Keeping in tune with this idea, the episode also draws attention to the idea that while women don’t think it is okay for themselves to have many sexual partners they do accept and even expect men to be extremely sexually active. For example, when Carrie (the main character) has been seeing a man for about a week and has not slept with him yet she doesn’t understand what is wrong with him. When she tells her friends about it they immediate assume that he is gay or has “mommy issues.” If the situation were reversed, and the woman was the one who didn’t want to have sex the man would probably not have given it a second though. He certainly would not have assumed she has “issues”.
In this episode both men and women consider their “numbers.” Their reaction and sensitivity to the topic says a lot about their perception of it. For instance when the women talk about the “numbers” they are very reluctant to give an exact amount and try to be as vague as possible while talking about it. The men on the show that engage in these conversations though are very nonchalant and don’t appear to be uncomfortable like the women.
At one point during the episode a man and woman are talking to each other about the topic. The woman says “no, no I can’t; I have never told anyone my number before” and the man simply gives a rough estimate shrugging his shoulders when she seems surprised he doesn’t know the exact number. This scene was an excellent example of the difference between a man and a woman’s take on the idea. The woman are all worried about what it means about their characters and them as people while the men consider it for a few moments and then start thinking about something else without giving it a second thought.
Another example of how women are more sensitive than men about the topic of sex and multiple partners is evident in the reactions of other women to Samantha’s (one of the leading characters) numerous sexual partners. A few of the women who live in her building confront her about all of her overnight male guest and their disappointment is very obvious. This shows that even women themselves don’t accept that idea that it is okay for them to engage in the same sexual behavior that men do (or at least the same amount of it).
Keeping in tune with this idea, the episode also draws attention to the idea that while women don’t think it is okay for themselves to have many sexual partners they do accept and even expect men to be extremely sexually active. For example, when Carrie (the main character) has been seeing a man for about a week and has not slept with him yet she doesn’t understand what is wrong with him. When she tells her friends about it they immediate assume that he is gay or has “mommy issues.” If the situation were reversed, and the woman was the one who didn’t want to have sex the man would probably not have given it a second though. He certainly would not have assumed she has “issues”.
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