I was looking forward to this class to see what other direction the class took with such a open topic. While I looked at reality television, others looked at such things as male and female sports in the media, and advertising. A huge theme across the board was media, which I think is awesome, considering our generation thus far has been seen as the "social media" generation. I was interested in Brooke's paper about the way female politicians are stereotyped and more specific, through the objectification theory. It reminded me of a few of the clips from the documentary we watched earlier in the semester, Miss. Representation. Gracie did her paper on another shocking topic - the birthing process. I definitely give her serious credit for branching out in the direction of females as mothers, as many of us looked at females as sex objects. The statistic that c-sections are most common at 4 PM and 7 PM because doctors want to get out the hospital as early as they can is crazzzzy! Other topics that sounded really interesting were the ones focused on advertising. Advertising is such a huge market, and analyzing them is always fun. It would have been interesting to look at the advertising from the marketing perspective and observe the different strategies they use.
Reflecting back on the semester, I really enjoyed the class, as I felt that every one was extremely open-minded and not afraid to speak up. I'd have to say that this was my best class discussion class this semester. Sex and gender in society is such a prevalent topic that surrounds us every day, which adds a great meaning to taking this class. Although I took Race, Class in the Mass Media, this class offered a more rounded perspective. I was happy that we ended the semester with talking about more global issues. It allowed me to connect the topics we talked about in this class to what I learned in my seminar - Globalization of American Culture. I almost wish we had one more week of readings involving world-wide issues abroad, such as the adoption dynamic in China, in regards to females always being given up for adoption. A few memorable things that I will never forget have been...
1. Daddy & Papa documentary - I loved this and thought it told such amazing stories in a great way.
2. Presentations on children's television - Everyone did such a great job with these and it made me reminisce to the days when I watched TV and look at the TV my little sister watches in an extremely different way.
3. The article on FGM was really interesting and eye-opening. Although uncomfortable at times, it was definitely worth the read.
4. The grinding topic........
Overall, this was a great class to take, especially in my last semester as a college student!! I will leave Conn with a greater understanding of the words "sex" and "gender" and what they actually mean. What I have learned in this class I know will come in handy in other parts of my life.
Emily Hunter- I too enjoyed the children's television study. I think this project provided a great opportunity to understand how gender is taught at such a young age. Watching the shows myself and seeing what was on the TV shows really made me think about how I will handle media and Disney when I have children. Exposure to these gender stereotypes are inevitable, but this class has provided me the knowledge and tools to speak openly with children in regard to the gender stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteMolly B-Jenn I really enjoyed your reflection of this class as your last semester as a college student! This class is so intricately connected to our personal lives at times and other times feels so distant. I certainly thought about my own life and future with the motherhood section and several of the articles on gender performances and behaviors. With some of the other topics in class that covered global issues, I had to remove myself from my position as an American woman and try to imagine what life is like for women across the globe. The information we have discussed in class really will help us to understand ourselves and the world around us through a narrow sociological lens.
ReplyDelete