All of the presentations, though succinct, were extremely
informative and interesting. I was really intrigued by Gracie’s topic on the
medicalization and capitalization of the birthing process and was completely
unaware of the high mother and infant mortality rates in the United
States. Our society holds the
false belief that alternative methods of birth, like home birth or water birth,
pose a greater threat to the safety of the women and child and are less likely
to be sought out by pregnant women. As Gracie pointed out, these alternative
birthing options receive limited publicity and deprive women of safer birthing
options. I also enjoyed Carly’s presentation on the depiction of women in
sitcom television shows across different generations. I found it interesting
the way in which progress was defined throughout the generations, almost as if
the previous time periods were used as a point of reference. The depiction of
Lucy in “I Love Lucy” as a traditional housewife dominated by her husband and
lacking a true sense of independence bolstered the rigid gender-role
stereotypes of the 1950s. Although Mary Tyler Moore, a single, independent
woman, was seen as a progressive female sitcom character, she was still
struggling to break through the glass ceiling of the workplace. Had Mary been a
character in a sitcom that had been competing with shows like Roseanne, she
probably would not have been viewed as having such a progressive female role on
television. I also applaud Keith for choosing a topic that is so stigmatized,
yet needs so desperately to be addressed, amongst professional athletes, the
media, and people who hold the false belief that male homosexuality is completely
disconnected from the notion of masculinity. If this topic is not discussed
openly amongst the general public, the stigma of homosexual athletes will be
perpetuated and these athletes will feel forced to conceal their true
identities.
As
I reflect on the semester in this class, I am realizing how my perception of
many aspects of society has been relatively distorted throughout my life. Our
society’s gender-role stereotypes and ideals of masculinity and femininity are
so deeply engrained within each of us since birth that, at times, it is
difficult to remember that our “realities” are social constructions centered
around different cultures’ values and beliefs. When most people enter a
preschool class, they typically do not consciously take note of the different
types of clothing worn, behaviors exhibited and managed, and treatment given by
teachers to boys and girls in the classroom (Martin, 1998). Girls wear pink.
Boys play rough. That’s it. These are givens in our society and very few people
question them. I have, since beginning this course, become skeptical about
anything that seems to uphold the traditional notions of what it means and is
to be a girl/boy, woman/man. When I went to buy a birthday card for my female
cousin’s 1st birthday it had taken me ten minutes to find a card that was not
completely doused in sparkles, not completely covered in different shades of
pink, or did not have a picture of a tiara-sporting Disney princess on the
front. Buying one of these cards was not an option, as it typically would have
been in the past. I also enjoyed learning how one’s race, class, and gender identifications
can effect the extent to which one’s body, behavior, and style of dress is monitored
by teachers in schools (Morris, 2005). Educators do not seem to take into account
the diversity in values and beliefs amongst individuals of different
sub-cultures that enrich our society and lead to these different behaviors and
style of dress.
Alexa, I too realize now that many of my ideas regarding gender have been distorted. As depressing as it is to think about, I think you make a good point and it is true that society’s stereotyping or ideals has heavily influenced my perceptions of masculinity and femininity. However I do understand that much of this was an unconscious decision on my part and more of a decision that society made for me. In reflecting back on this course and the research I did for my paper it is apparent that society and particular events of each time period heavily influences gender and what is acceptable behavior for each gender. This being true I question if society is taking steps in the right direction and improving the distorted traditional perceptions of gender? I hope that as the American society becomes more diverse and knowledgeable gender norms and stereotypes will become less prevalent.
ReplyDeleteAlexa, I too was very surprised by Martin's article and our discussions surrounding the social construction of gender. I was amazed at how early it starts. It was so interesting to analyze commercials for toys and gender specific clothing. The toys were either marketed to boys or girls. Even getting a kids meal at McDonalds, kids are assigned a toy according to their gender. As far as clothing, little boys pants have an elastic wasteband but for girls, it is near impossible to find pants without a zipper. It seems that our society is so obsessed with placing us into categories and media is set on keeping us there.
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