part two Flashcards
Why did masculinity become an issue in the late 19th century? (4)
closing of frontier, no military activity, wage earners instead of being self-employed, women being more liberated
How was masculinity defined during the late 19th century?
strong, needing separation from women, in control of household, needing to bond with sons
How did the male body image change during the late 19th century?
leany/wiry to muscular
What was the role of the late 19th century version of the National Police Gazette?
to promote a modern masculinity
Describe the ideal female body image and its consequences.
thin, large breasts, large behind, perfect skin
Why is there an increased number of males reporting eating disorders?
Increased images of thin, muscular men with images advocating for an obliteration of fat
Briefly describe social comparison theory.
humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities and that with the absence of an objective physical way to evaluate oneself, social comparisons are used to meet this drive.
How does social comparison theory and the media relate to male and female body image? (3)
- humans socially compare themselves with like individuals in the media.
- we are bombarded with images in various media forms.
- these mediated images have continuously increased
What were the findings of a study of magazines with respect to their portrayal of male bodies?
slight increase of pages, male bodies more lean and muscular, more v-shaped bodies
How do magazines in 2015 portray male bodies?
sexualized, muscular, self-health
How has advertising changed since the first Killing Us Softly?
it’s worsened
What movement was occurring when the first Killing Us Softly was released?
women’s movement of the 1970s
Where can one find ads?
everywhere
What do ads tell us about women?
- That’s what’s most important is how we look; ideal female beauty
- It cannot be achieved
How have the messages ads tell us about women gotten worse?
CANNOT FIND
How do media alter people’s looks? Give examples of how this has occurred with celebrities.
- Computer retouching
- 4 or 5 women put together to look like one ‘perfect’ or ideal woman
- photoshop
What do women of color have to look like to be considered beautiful?
Generally considered beautiful when they approximate the white ideal; light skinned, straight hair, white features
How are black women depicted in ads?
Jungle settings with leopard skins as if they are exotic animals
How do ads lead to violence against women?
Turning a hunman being into a ‘thing’ justifies violence against that person; seen with racism, homophobia, terrorism; dehumanization and violence becomes inevitable
How do the ads depict violence against women?
glamorized, sexualized
What part of the woman’s body tends to be the focus of ads? What have been the consequences?
breasts; 754% increase in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures; 114% increase in cosmetic surgeries
-breast implants result in lost feeling in breasts
What did Jean Kilbourne say was the difference between the way men and women viewed their bodies?
- men are rarely dismembered
- men aren’t associated with copy that degrades them
- men don’t live in a world in which their bodies are routinely, criticized, scrutinized, and judged
How do ads depict women who are not considered “traditionally beautiful?”
- ridiculed in advertising campaigns; meant to be funny but you’re just an object of ridicule and contempt
- mocking celebrities who have gained weight; cutting girls down to size
How are gay men and gay women portrayed in ads?
- They barely exist outside of targeted publications
- Lesbian portrayal almost exclusively comes from the world of porn
For men, what behavior is linked to masculinity?
There better not be anything about you that can be deemed as feminine
How is femininity devalued?
Result: women devalue selves and each other; men devalue women and all things feminine
What can we do about the consequences of these depictions?
- Aware, active, educated public
- citizens vs consumers
- ability to have authentic and freely chosen lives
Why did Jackson Katz say that violence was a men’s issue?
the vast majority of violence is committed by men, young men, and boys
How is violence against women framed?
- Like something bad that just happens to women, men are rarely named as the culprit
- Seen as a women’s issue where women must be helped after-the-fact
How do the media present violence as gender neutral?
Framed as a kids issue and a problem with youth in general
How do the gun industry and violent video game industry work together to make money?
- Paid by the firearms industry. American military uses violent video games and movies in training
- Glorifies violent masculinity
What groups tend to be missing with respect to the following categories: race, sexuality, gender?
- Race and culture come to focus when men of color commit crimes/violent crimes
- White, heterosexual, men seem to be forgotten
Why do the groups tend to be missing?
We ignore the dominant group; they are made invisible
How are boys taught to be tough, violent?
- Learned vs taught;
- Boy-code where boys are taught to act tough and not show their feelings
- Young men police themselves into conformity; explicit and implicit warnings
What happens when males fail to meet the masculine criteria?
- ‘tough guise’ shield masculinity and save themselves from homophobic, sexist derogatory terms
- peer figures and father figures
How have movies linked violence with being a man?
-Hollywood western; john wayne pinnacle of white American masculinity, made the world bend to his will with a stare, his fist, his gun
jimmy cagney and humphrey bogart: men hardened by the world and new the power of a few clipped words and a few rounds of ammunition
What is the cool pose?
-Hypermasculine, menacing posture, they’re still men regardless of what’s happened to them
Why are non-white men vulnerable to the cool pose?
signaling that they’re still men, even when power and identity are under threat from economic inequality + racism
Describe how the media portrayals of Asian men have changed over the years.
prevoiusly, Asian men have long been emasculated, stereotyped as ineffectual, desexualized, and unmanly; jet lee, bruce lee, Jackie chan, made martial arts into a ‘cool’ form of asian-ness
How have men’s body frames changed over time?
Men take up more space, growing larger
How have women’s body frames changed over time?
Women take up less space, more feminine, childish, thin
What does the “wussification of America” mean?
Men are in crisis because women (e.g. feminists) have been waging a full scare war on traditional manhood
How does this “wussification” parallel the masculinity push of the late 19th century?
CANNOT FIND
How did the media frame the Boston Marathon bombers and the Virginia Tech murderer?
- Shame, humiliation, disrespect—top reasons for men turning to violence
- Religion and ethnicity
What factors did the media miss in describing these murderers?
the societal connection of manhood to violence (e.g. guns)
How can men challenge the violent ways to prove masculinity?
Don’t remain silent, meet change with a willingness to make change, reject violent notions of masculinity
Why did the brown eyes, blue eyes experiment have the opposite effect in this class?
aware of experiment, older subjects
What are three ways of defining sexuality?
- Sexual habits and desires of a person
- The whole way a person goes about expressing him or herself as a sexual being
- The feelings and attractions you feel towards other people
What was the purpose and findings of the Kinsey scale?
to explain the range of sexual feelings or attractions that individuals have; found that people did not fit into neat and exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories
Describe or recognize examples of the Kinsey scale.
0-6, where 0 is strictly straightly, and 6 is strictly not-ly
stereotypic
Visible, but in a caricatured, non-dignified way
What were the findings of the 2001 study?
to see if portrayals have moved from Non-Representation to Respect
What is the purpose of GLAAD?
It promotes and provides suggestions for more accurate, yet dignified media portrayals reflecting the diversity of our society
What is the purpose of the “Where We Are On TV” report?
to monitor the presence and portrayals of the overall diversity of scripted prime-time series regulars on television and cable programs and the number of LGBT characters on cable.
According to the 2014-15 report, which television network had the highest percentage of LGBT regulars: Which network had the lowest?
Fox; CBS
How did transgender people fare in representation?
No transgender characters on primetime broadcast television
EXTRA CREDIT: Name one finding of the 2015-16 report.
• Lesbian representation increased five points over last year to 33%. • Bisexual representation rose two percentage points to 20%
What ethnic group has the most usage of social media?
niggas!
What is Black Twitter? How has it challenged media stereotypes?
- Black Twitter has criticized mainstream portrayals of African Americans.
- Black Twitter has criticized other African Americans for making controversial remarks disparaging the race
How have groups used social media for social activism? (3 examples)
#BlackLivesMatter #ColorofChange #ConcernedStudent1950
How is social media conducive for social activism?
- send mass messages quickly
- fair + balanced coverage with little corporate bias
- allows global participation
- convenient (stay at home)
Why was the first black newspaper established?
to correct misrepresentations by mainstream media
What are the AAA strategies for reducing media stereotypes?
- Seek access to mainstream media through employment and make changes from within (Access)
- Apply various forms of pressure (Advocacy)
- Develop and maintain their own alternative communications media (Alternative)
Provide and recognize examples of each strategy type.
access: removal of chains to depict black history month
advocacy: GLAAD, LULAC, NCLR
alternative: ebony magazine
Why did the class prefer the Time magazine cover of Oprah over the Ebony magazine cover?
- Oprah looked more authentic
- More familiarity with Time
- Looked airbrushed on Ebony
- Headlines more serious on Time than Ebony
- It was clearer on the Time cover that Oprah was starring in a movie
How did Ebony’s cover of Oprah reflect its mission?
Focuses on her achievements and her belonging in mainstream society, dignified + positive portrayal
Define bi-cultural stress.
The stress of balancing the expectations of your own ethnic, racial culture with the expectations of the mainstream culture of the workplace, school or another institution you depend on for your livelihood.
What challenges do media professionals from underrepresented groups face when trying to reduce stereotypes? (4) How have they been successful?
- Challenge of fitting into the culture of the mainstream organization
- Likely to be the only one of your group
- Bi-cultural stress
- Must adhere to organization’s goals when they may conflict with your group’s values +++++
- By serving as producers of content in mainstream outlets, people from oppressed groups can correct misrepresentations before they get to the public.
Describe how language can oppress and subordinate.
can restrict them to roles or stereotypes (e.g. nigger, girls at the office, radical muslim)
semantic derogation: define, give examples
Two terms that have parallel concepts but one term has a less positive connotation.
e.g. spinster/bachelor, governor/governess
marked/unmarked terms: define, give examples
When one race or sex tends to dominate a category, people may sex or race-mark the category only when a non-dominant person fills it. This gives the impression that the person is violating a norm.
e.g. Female doctor, male nurse, black professor, white servant
How can language weaken/disempower and emphasize the “other?”
reinforces a negative experience or further separates individuals from the mainstream (e.g. no ‘regular’ students but disabled, victim vs survivor, confined to wheelchair)
What is the American Dialectical Society? what does it study?
This is a scholarly organization that studies the English language in North America. It also:
- ->Studies the languages and dialects that influence the English language
- ->Studies the languages and dialects that are influenced by the English language.
What is the “Word of the Year” for 2014?
blacklivesmatter
How do words of the year reflect society?
changes in perception/social role, important issues
Define “essentialism.”
-The belief that people and/or phenomenon have an underlying and unchanging essence.
How is essentialism connected to stereotyping?
-Biological, genetic, physiological (unchangeable) attributes explain human behavior
What is generic language? (2)
- Generic language is language that tends to make generalized labels or assumptions.
- A tool for stereotyping.
Describe the results of the Zarpie study?
Study participants who read the statements with no labels, expressed significantly less essentialist beliefs than those who read the generic and specific language accounts.
How can one change language to reduce stereotypes?
- Can change language to reflect new experiences and new attitudes
- Can choose words of empowerment such as survivor instead of victim
- Can choose more neutral words such as uses a wheelchair instead of confined to a wheelchair
Define etymology.
- Studies the origins of words
- Includes the historical context of the words
how are social comparisons usually made?
with people who are similar to oneself in opinion or ability
what happens when after the social comparison is made?
the existence of a discrepancy between oneself and the object of comparison will lead to action towards reducing the discrepancy
new awareness
Presented in an overly positive way
stabilization
Play leading roles, all cast members are lgbt+
