Lesson 12. Buying and Selling Gender

In society, one can purchase anything just as long as they have the means to pay for it. Companies have come up with marketing strategies to sell gender and enable to buy gender. Most people won't recognize it, but it surrounds us through social media, television, music, and products on shelves. Marketing has covered all their bases of what sells and who will buy it. Is it always right? No, but our society is money hungry and with that ethics go out the window.

1. One Example of selling gender is through the color association such as pink and blue.
take a look at these fishing rods and tackle boxes. One says lady Fish, the other just fishing rod and are pink and blue.

2. Electronics got in on the action selling gender specific charging cables to male and female by way of color identity,
pink for girls and blue for boys.

   

3. Companies sell gender by advertising products such as skincare for specific genders. By doing so this captures the attention for whom the products are designed for.

4. Since women are taking on masculine roles, women are seen fixing things around the home. Companies know this; therefore, have created a line of pink duct tape to encourage women to buy.

5. Cars for women with pink decals indicate feminism; however, some car companies suggest they have made being able to navigate through the car's system easier for women. They don't say it but it's implied. Automobile companies are notorious for creating cars with feminine touches for women, but then come back and suggest they make the functions easier and more manageable insinuating women need the assistance and are not as smart as men. 

6. Reinforce harmful gender roles can be determinantal to one's appearance and self-esteem. This is an ad that encourages women to fit into society's norm for what women should look like. They use weight loss to look better and fit in. This is not the best way to advertise weight loss.

 7. In this ad, Pepsi is sexualizing their products with featuring Beyonce on the can. Companies use this marketing strategy to allure people to purchase their products because sex sells.

  

8. More selling gender female and male, masculine and feminine

Lesson 11. Men and Masculinities

Society has placed men with the gender quality of masculinity. Often times we perceive men to be strong, protector, and leader in society. This is considered the norm, but not all men fit into this category. I have selected pictures to define a few terms related to masculinity and hope they will make sense as to what society portrays as masculinity.

1. This picture symbolizes brotherhood which is a distribution of power to a certain class of men. It replaced what was known as patriarchy because everyone is equally distributed.

2. The cover of this magazine  displays very wealthy men who have changed our world through innovative thinking and technology. These men symbolize hegemonic masculinity which can be defined as the standard image of masculinity and have become the standard for which  others are to follow. This is considered the gendered norm for men in society.

3. When society says "man up," we are saying stop being a coward and stand up for yourself. This can be depicted by Fight Club. These guys form a club that they test their manhood by taking part in an underground fight club. One doesn't have to fight to "man up," but should show gender traits of the opposite of those that are considered feminine.

4. Male gender policing is enforcing what the gender norm is on those who don't fit the stereotype. On this cover of the DVD, if one wasn't aware of what this movie was about, one might see Will Ferrell as being a little bit away from the male gender norm because he has more feminine qualities. They show him with a bag of groceries to prove my point while Mark Wahlberg can be identified as the male norm looking confident on a motorcycle. Male gender policing would be a question of sexuality and may include violence toward the person in question. Many times those are who get picked on and mistreated because of not fitting into the stereotype of the masculinity gendered norm.

5. I'm using this cover of the DVD, to describe the term "male fight." Even though dance isn't just for girls, it is seen in society as more feminine than masculine. Other forms of formal training such as cheerleading and careers that are considered feminine like nursing and caregiving . For one reason or the other men seem to abandon these areas they feel make them feminine and reduce their masculinity. School plays a big part of the male flight. For women who apply men seem to drop out in not wanting to be associated with them. This is becoming an epidemic in our society.

Lesson 10. Rape

Society reinforces what we know as "Rape Culture." It's a culture where women are objectified through sexual denotations. Where advertisers show women beaten and strangled then in small print says " what would you do for these jeans?" Marketers know by objectifying women it sells products and you know, they are right. We as a culture tell them that it is okay to do this and treat women as a thing instead of a person. I hope the pictures I have carefully chosen depicts how marketing demoralizes women in order to sell products.

1. This woman in the ad is selling chaps. Because the picture doesn't show her face this can be considered objectification. Objectification is when a person is treated like an object. Marketers can use them however they like.

2.  In this picture, a woman is selling Victorias Secret swimwear. This is considered Sexual objectification because she is nude with the exception of the bikini bottoms and standing suggestively covering her breasts with her hands. Pictures of this woman and others like it are considered as a sexual objectification.

3. In this Mark Jacobs fragrance ad, the mood is dreary and may have had a rough night. This ad symbolizes victim blaming. To me,this represents victim blaming because her eyes tell a different story than just selling fragrance. Victim blaming is when a person, usually a female, gets physically abused while partially or all the way intoxicated and incoherent to her  surroundings. 

4. These dolls with feminine stances are replicas of celebrities. It is often that people fantasize over celebrities, now they can purchase them. This would be an example of sexualizing a person as a commodity. This means they can be bought and sold which also indicates women can easily be objects to buy.

5. Slut shaming comes to mind when I see pictures like this that symbolize selfies. Young girls see photos like this and think this is cool and sexy. Before you know it the selfie picture gets around the school and everyone  has seen it. This becomes what is known as slut shaming which is when women are criticized for engaging in sexual actions such as rape, dressing provocative, and taking provocative pictures that don't necessarily fit into societies' specific gender norm.

Lesson 9. Gender and Popular Culture

The media focuses on the norm and mirrors expected behaviors and ideals set by society. Even though society is more than just black and white, the perception given off is just that. There are the few people that break the stereotypes and remain to be the outlier or special circumstance. Hopefully, through the images, displayed I am able to communicate effectively what those are.

1. Heteronormative is the assumption that people are heterosexual unless given indicators they're not. To see this individual you would consider him to be heterosexual because he depicts the masculine norm which is a strong, muscular, and protector. However; if you saw him holding hands with a man or showed physical affection with another, this would be the indicator that he was homosexual. This would be a case of heteronormative.

2. Sexual minorities are those with the sexual preference or orientation that differs from the majority of  the society such as gay, lesbian and transgendered. 

3. Downward mobility is the way society moves people, social group and class from one social status to a lower social status. For example, This picture symbolizes downward mobility because society views the older generation as the generation of the past. We sometimes tend to disregard the older generation because of their knowledge based on previous information and not relevant information; therefore, we place them in lower social class.

4. Intersectionality is not just male or female but intersects with other identities such as background, heritage, religious beliefs and other qualities that make one unique. Take, for instance, this picture that was taken outside a store window. We immediately see two caucasian girls and assume they come from privileged homes; however, we don't know the girl's story. We can assume that they might have an easy life with two parents in the home and live in a big white house. But what if I told you they have had quite the struggle trying to make it in the modeling industry. They might have come from broken homes that may have been abusive. They might be in a relationship together or with the opposite sex. They might have an eating disorder. Intersectionality is the combination of other identities that make up who one is.

5. The media objectifies women as sexual fantasies. Society uses a term "male gaze" to describe the way men use women to be looked at. Through the point of view of men, this is done by way of artistic processes such as media, commercials, movies and films. You can assume that the way these two women above are dressed can be considered borderline risque and easy on the eyes probably created by male dominance.

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Lesson 8. Gender, Crime, and Deviance

While crimes against women are declining, men on men crimes are on the rise. Gender crimes seem to be such as rape, domestic violence, and hate crimes. Today there are many acts of violence that take place and usually have to do with dominance, strength, and inequalities. The struggle of control and gender inequalities is an ongoing battle. Through my pictures, I hope to illustrate why this is occurring. 

1. Society alludes to the fact that violence against women such as rape and battered can be justified because of the lack of clothes they wear. Some myths also state that women "ask for it," or they have made their attacker angry. This is untrue. Some myths suggest that women like it. this too is untrue. Rape victims often have nowhere to go and afraid they will get tracked down they also still have a feeling for their abusers and won't leave.

2. Battered women and men are often in relationships with their abusers (IPV) . These are physical attacks by their intimates. Military, for example, demands respect and control. Often times military personnel become the abuser in relationships because they have a lot of carry over anger issues. They demand respect and need to be in control; therefore, act out of anger if not allowed by their significant other. They are taught that masculinity is being tough and at times violent. 

3. Spousal abuse may not be detected by those outside the home. For many families engaging in spousal abuse, everything on the outside might look like this picture, picture perfect; however; behind closed doors it's a different story. There are several reasons that predict spousal abuse such as alcohol, weapons, military, anger, and the list goes on. 

4. Rape within gendered inequality stems from the diminishing of masculinity of men. For those in areas where women are in control like matriarchy such women of high rankings in the military, men feel inferior because they feel they should be the leader. This creates gendered inequality which puts masculinity to the test. This creates jealousy and provokes hostile and violent behaviors. Also, men will tend to take out their frustrations and aggression on women by raping them.

5. Stalking is also a form of deviant behavior. This picture symbolizes someone stalking without the other person knowing. It is a tactic used to intimidate those to stay in a relationship. What will generally happen is the person will follow the subject without their knowledge, take pictures and send them so they know their being followed. This is done on numerous occasions until the person is scared back into the relationship.

Lesson 7. Work and the Economy

The impact that education has on how we fit into the working environment dictates how much money we will make; however, unfortunately for some, our lives are predestined. Men, women, age and race play a huge part in the game we call "life." In these pictures, I have tried to capture the essence of how society determines who dominates and who follows...

1. Care work is considered a devaluation of feminized occupations; however, care work occupations such as the elderly, children, and the sick is such an important job for those men and women who have patients and care. Society demeans occupations that provide the most impact on lives.

2. Athletes are recognized especially by the endorsement contracts, but most of the athletes we see endorsing products are men unless it's for a female product. Gender pay gaps with sports athletes are huge. Men are more likely to get paid twice as much as female athletes as well as overtime, and wins in the game. This doesn't seem like sports teams are playing fair.

3. Who's the best fit for the job? Although there are certain jobs society views as feminine and masculine, in actuality there isn't such a thing.  For instance, when we thnk head chef, we assume a man, even though we associate a female when we think working in a kitchen is a feminine trait. Some companies fill positions based on stereotypes such as firefighter, police, school teacher, and so on. For certain positions, they fill in the gaps with either male or female according to what type of job duties the job in tells. This is known as gendered job segregation. Not giving a fair shot to those who applied, but for those who they think will fit the job description according to gender specifics.

4. Socialization hypothesis suggests that male and females choose jobs that are gendered stereotypes such as a bridal consultant. Most people associate bridal consultant with being feminine and females; therefore, girls tend to grow up thinking they'll be brides one day and associate themselves with a bridal consultant. Society places these gendered stereotypes on male and females so when the opposite sex take part in these opposite gendered norms, society views them to be noncredible. In this picture, you can see that the covers on these bridal magazines show women and not men because this is a gendered stereotype of feminism.

5. Masculinization of wealth is the conception of men in a high paying job such as the assumption of a doctor. 

Lesson 6. Education

Education, for the most part, helps to define who we are and will be as we continue through life. However, the inequalities within the school systems are astonishing. Boys are groomed to be dominant whereas girls are treated second best. Race, class, gender and age all play an important role when positive attention is being distributed. Hopefully, I have been able to shed some light through my interpretation of pictures.

1. Institutions focus their attention on meeting the needs and requirements of  society. This picture symbolizes how institutions see our future. Boys always come out on top and lead whereas girls are seen as the helpers and assistants. Girls, like in this picture are normally the backbone of society; however, society sees it as being solely the helper to get the male in office and achieve his goals. This picture depicts how society views boys and girls, leaders and helpers, therefore, they place most of their attention on boys.

2. This picture depicts social structure because it shows the breaking ground of the ICUE culinary) institute of COC. This symbolizes structure that takes place in order to accomplish our goals. We know that in order to receive a pastry chef certificate one would need to complete the culinary pastry program. In order to do this, there is a structured path that one must follow. Society considers the entire set of institutions as we live our lives because there are specific guidelines we must follow to achieve goals.

3. Elementary school inequalities really exist. Even though girls play the same roles and characters as boys. In actuality, teachers favor boys more because of the stereotypes of gender, race, and class. Teachers are accustomed to teaching boys and girls to train for their appropriate gender role.

4. Feminine socialization suggests that throughout school, women should play roles such as mother's brides, and ballerinas. This thought process gets embedded in ones' head since preschool and through college. Eventually, it sticks and  those who possess feminine qualities chose a profession  within feminine categories. It's almost as though they've been groomed and prepped for these types of jobs for as long as they can remember making it inevitable to deviate from society's norm.

5. Boys and girls are treated differently in school because boys are seen as our dominant future where winners derive from.  They are seen as our next olympian and champions. It is known that boys get called on more than girls. When girls act up in school, they are seen as disobedient whereas when boys act up they are seen as needing more attention and being more assertive. These are examples of boys and girls being treated differently and unequally.

Lesson 5. Intimate Relationships and Family

It is well known that women and men take on separate chores within the home. Men usually do outside work and women do inside work. What if both the man and woman work outside the home? What chores are whose? Well as we all can guess a man's job stops when he clocks out and the second shift is just getting started for the woman. Yes, you guessed right, for the most part, women are responsible for taking care of the home by maintaining cleanliness, attending to the children, and ensuring they get fed. Hopefully, the pictures I have gathered during my brief visit to the store and personal pictures will provide insight to how marketing captures what society views as the norm.

1. This product displays a woman engaging in an expressive task. This can be seen as the norm for women because they are considered to be the nurturer and  the caregiver of the children. In other words, they are to play and engage with children along with taking on domestic tasks such as cleaning and cooking.

2. My husband and son are engaging in Instrumental work which consists of working with their hands. They are building a wall organizer in the garage. I would consider this to be an instrumental task because it is having to do with physical outside labor that society associates with males performing chores that are assigned to them by default.

3. In this picture, it alludes to the sexual script of the man portraying dominance and the woman being submissive. Notice that in the picture the woman looks away, this is a sign also to indicate shyness and the man show apart of his face this creates him taking control especially as the woman places all of her confidence in the man that he won't drop her. This picture displays the physical control of the man over the woman while her expression is engulfed with  intimacy. 

4. When I think heterosexism, even though all sexes and genders are welcome now to the military, I think back when heterosexism which means antihomosexual beliefs existed in the organization. I think to a time when homosexuals weren't allowed into the  branches of service. Obviously, now everyone is welcome but still are not fully open arms to the idea for some.

5. In this picture one can assume that this woman has already worked a full shift outside the home, and is now on to her second shift. The shift of caring for the family. This second shift in tells cooking, spending time with the family, and ensuring chores are completed. As depicted by the product, the manufacturers already know that a woman will be using this product to maintain household items. This femininity job is already predestined for her.

Lesson 4. Learning and Doing Gender

American society is great at telling and teaching people what is right and what is wrong. Because gender roles are learned and are not born with, society drills in the expectations from birth and continues to reinforce the behaviors throughout time. Society scrutinizes those who are defiant to their gender roles and praise those who confine themselves within their gender roles. Marking, ads, and manufacturers are great at relating gender roles with product association. On my visit to random stores, I have been able to skim through the aisles and come up with relating products to their definitions.

1. Gender identity is viewing oneself masculine or feminine. Because society encourages these behaviors manufacturers use color to differentiate and identify with a gender. Usually pink is considered feminine, blue for boys, and green gender neutral.

2. Gender socialization is associating specific behaviors, values, and things associated with the skillset that pertains to the gender norm. As you can see this magazine is marketed for young girls who display femininity gender qualities. We can assume that because it teaches girls how to be feminine. It teaches relationship advice, arts and crafts, and how to keep fit, all of which is assumed to be the gender socialization norm for girls.

3. Heteronormativity is when society considers heterosexual to be the default like portrayed on the cover of this DVD, Focus. This is a perfect example that displays the man and women together which also states the dominance of the man and the inferiority of the female.

4. Flippin' the script according to Goffman is going against the gender norm. I automatically think Rowdy Rhonda. This game proves that there are those who defy social expectations and can succeed. Rhonda is just one example of how she was taught and brought up to fight and defeat those in the way. Wearing dresses and decorated in pink was definitely not  embedded in her gender norm. 

5. You're doing gender when you associate with one or the other. When you select pink with Minnie Mouse you're siding with femininity and when you choose blue with Mickey Mouse you're choosing to side with masculinity. Basically, girls versus boys are considered doing gender.