Love Lessons From Bieber

A site called Viral Video Chart has recorded the number of times online videos have been shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger pages within the last year. Three of the most popular music videos were "Eminem ft Rihanna: Love The Way You Lie," "Black Eyed Peas: The Time (Dirty Bit)," "Bruno Mars: Just The Way You Are," and "Justin Bieber: Baby ft Ludacris."  These illustrated songs give insight into popular culture's current views of gender, as they each tell a story.

In "Eminem ft Rihanna: Love The Way You Lie," the man is shown to have significant physical power over the woman, and his muscular arms are frequently displayed. He is an alcoholic loser of a partner who is possessive, has a violent temper, and is most likely unfaithful.  The prominent woman is sexualized (note the lack of clothing and reoccurring bedroom scenes), is turned on by the man's power over her, and is either remarkably forgiving or gullible.

The men in this film, "Black Eyed Peas: The Time (Dirty Bit)," have the time of their lives by "being the baddest of them all," getting drunk and losing control, and freak dancing with multiple beautiful, provocatively dressed women.  The women are all portrayed as sex objects.

At 4:39 do I spy lady bits?!! Let's try to be a bit more mysterious, please.

Now onto the real reason, I am sure, that you decided to read this post.  According to "Justin Bieber: Baby ft Ludacris," the rules of engagement for boys who want to win the heart of a girl are:

• It is your job to convince her of your worth.
• She often maintains a crowd of other females around her so as to make your job more challenging.
• Be assertive.
• Peacock to get her attention.
• She plays coy and aloof because she enjoys the feeling of power that comes from withholding intimacy and/or attention from you.
• Her alluring dances are a ploy to maintain your focus on her, while still playing hard to get.
• Bribe her with the prospect of gifts.
• She is secretly flattered when you stalk her.

I am grateful that not everyone acts in accordance with this list, but with 470,653,182 views as of this moment, Professor Bieber must be reaching a substantial audience.

Princess Profiling

Children may not always pay attention when they are asked to, but studies show that they are paying close attention to gender constructs. They even tend to be particularly observant of information concerning their own gender. In addition to observing the adults in their lives, children also learn about gender from the media they encounter.

Disney's U.S. theme parks, Disneyland and Disney World, accumulated over 33 million visitors in 2009. The Disney culture continues to thrive even today as many parents still share their favorite classic Disney movies with their children. Generally, these movies are viewed as "wholesome," but their portrayals of gender are questionable.

Among the ones I remember well are: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, and Pocahontas.

Take a look at Disney's princesses and the men who love them. The morals of this genre of movies are quite comical once you start to examine them.

Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Aurora

Prevalent qualities of the women: meek, dainty, beautiful, helpless, naive, nurturing

The Prince, Prince Eric, Aladdin, Prince Charming, Prince Phillip, Prince Adam

Prevalent qualities of the men: protective, determined, brave, shallow, physically strong

Even Mulan, a movie in which a woman shows bravery, determination, and wit, sends a message about masculinity. In order to pretend to be a man, Mulan must demonstrate physical prowess and be capable of violence.

My opinion, for what it is worth, is that children don't need to be sheltered from these movies.  They just need to be exposed to more proper sources of male and female role models, as well.  These role models should encourage values such as character, thought, and confidence over appearance or performance.  The ultimate goal should be for children to grow up feeling secure about who they are as individuals and not being concerned with how they compare to society's definitions of masculinity and femininity.

Follow the Gender Brick Road

The people of American society vary on how aware they are of modern media’s definitions of gender and how comfortable they are with defying those expectations.  A majority do not avidly scorn the media, but rather choose to conform to the typecasts it depicts.  Media sources would not be making as much money as they do if this were not the case.

The main appeal of subscribing to stereotyped gender traits, it seems, is that it provides us with tangible standards to evaluate ourselves with – we want to know where we stand compared to others, and specific changes we can make to attain our lifestyle or relationship goals.  We find comfort in what appears to give us control over our lives.  The desire to be accepted and appreciated is not an uncommon one, and conformity is usually sought out for this particular means.  If a straight man, who is adept at barbequing, reads in his men’s magazine that women are very impressed by that particular skill, his confidence will likely be boosted.  Accepting gender generalizations can be appealing when it comes to interacting with the opposite sex.  It is tempting to think that one can obtain all the answers.

Below are four magazine covers: two of the most popular women's magazines and two of the most popular men's magazines.  All are from this month's issues.  They are linked to their corresponding websites to truly demonstrate the stark differences in the cults of masculinity and femininity.

Cosmo's top three highlights are "sex & love," "hair & beauty," and "celebs & style."

Glamour's most prized subjects are very similar to Cosmo's: "fashion," "beauty," and "sex, love & life."

According to Maxim, men are most interested in hot girls and gaming.

Men's magazine defines a man's world by "sports, fitness, health, nutrition, style and sex."

Now I would like to expose how these men's magazines spread myths which they claim to be true about all women, since I happen to be one, with an example from each.

• "Always imagined that two girls would be better than one? So has she." -Maxim
• The all-encompassing "she" has, you say? Think again.
• "When a woman tosses, flips, or plays with her hair, it's a universal sign of flirting." -Men's Fitness
• I have noticed myself playing with my hair even when I am on my own.  Who exactly am I flirting with then?

Do We Have Enough Grains of Salt?

Two of the movies due to come out in theatres this month are "Just Go with It" and "Hall Pass."  Both have well known actors and have been heavily publicized. Take a look at their trailers.

The character portrayals in these movies are decidedly embellished, but the underlying gender stereotypes still exist.

How are women depicted?

• Sex Objects
• This one of the most prevalent themes concerning women throughout both trailers, and media in general. There are too many examples for me to pick just one, and most of them are the visual representations of the women shown.
• Stubborn/Controlling/Irritating
• “What is wrong with you two?!” (“Hall Pass”)
• Critical of men/Intimidating
• “This is why we need to go to a gay bar.” (“Hall Pass”)
• Easily offended
• Gullible
• The women in the bar promptly sympathize with Adam Sandler’s character as he pours out his secrets in “Just Go with It.”
• Love to gossip with/brag to other women
• “I have to tweet to all of my friends!” (“Hall Pass”)
• Maternal by nature

How are men depicted?

• Breast and butt (or sex, in general) obsessed; Controlled by their hormones
• Judge women almost entirely based on looks
• “Are you guys sure Applebee’s is the best place to meet hot, horny, women at?” (“Hall Pass”)
• Insensitive
• “What’s this?” - “A circle?” (“Just Go with It”)
• Clueless/Moronic
• “You gotta be kidding me!” - “What?” - “You just checked out that girl’s butt!” - “Do you think she noticed?” (“Hall Pass”)
• Commitment-phobic or resent the commitment they are in
• “Most married men believe that, if not for you, they could actually be with these other women.” (“Hall Pass”)
• Beer gulping gluttons
• Did you SEE how much food was devoured from that table in the “Hall Pass” trailer (at 00:17)?
• If in a relationship - “whipped” and powerless
• Cue scene of “Hall Pass” where the husbands are cowering in the backseat of the car
• Use lies or tricks to manipulate women, especially for the purposes of having sex with them
• “Every guy has an angle.” (“Just Go with It”)

Once again, these stereotypical portrayals of masculinity and femininity are not isolated phenomena. The movies “Knocked Up,” “The Ugly Truth,”  “The Hangover,” and “Hot Tub Time Machine” all come to mind, just to name a few related examples.  Both men and women are degraded in these films, but do two wrongs make a right?

It may be argued that the average viewer does not accept these depictions whole-heartedly, but rather takes them with a grain of salt.  However, I also believe that we have become too comfortable with the persistent portrayal of these definitions. What are younger generations learning from the media they have grown up surrounded by?

Husband and Wife: Not Made from Scratch

In this commercial, Sears tries to sell us first a world of idyllic normalcy, and then how wonderful their product is within that world.  The company’s intent is for us to connect with the story they have illustrated so that we will consider obtaining their product as an obvious benefit to our lives.  The backdrop and the characters are unmistakably polished to create a picture of a beautiful life, but the interactions of those characters are not intended to be humorously superficial like some ads. 

Let us review the highlights from this commercial:

• Husband seems carefree as he sits, slouching with his feet up, watching football and eating.  Read: Man enjoys laying back, snacking, and watching football.
• Wife wants a special new washer.   Read: Woman is materialistic, and household chores are her concern and expertise.
• Wife pitches the item and informs the husband of his rebate-hunting duty. Read: Woman expects to get what she wants and for her husband to do as she asks.
• Husband is concerned that the whole rebate process is too difficult. Read: Man likes things to be simple.  He does not want to take on a project that seems complicated.
• Wife gives her husband a look (as she stands to tower over him) which implies she is not letting him get out of this task.  Read: Woman is persistent.  She does not put up with her husband trying to get out of fulfilling her requests.
• Husband concedes, recognizing it futile to argue with his wife.  Read: Man has learned that he is not able to change his wife’s mind, and attempting to would be a mistake.
• Husband makes an extremely rapid visit to Sears and ends the meeting with a particularly firm handshake with another man.  Read: Man is a no-nonsense creature who gives firm, full grip handshakes.
• Wife returns from shopping to find her husband in the same place as when she had left him and expresses her severe disapproval, assuming he was too lazy to run the errand she asked him to take care of.  Read: Woman is a natural shopper and openly chastises her husband for his poor choices.  Man is known for putting off his chores.

Now, where I am reading into the portrayals of this man and woman, it may seem that I have taken too much liberty in doing so.  However, my commentary is based off of the fact that these depictions are not anomalies within commercial television and that a role reversal of the husband and the wife at any of these points would seem strange to witness on TV today.

All Bubbles, Suds, and Smiles

The majority of modern America consumes a lot of media on a regular basis. According to a UCSD research study, in 2008, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day. Within the domain of television specifically, we watch as orchestrated scenes play themselves out before our eyes. As I start this blog, I would like to acknowledge that I recognize that over the years our society has made improvements in its portrayals of men and women.  However, I think it is easy to overlook the more subtle gender assumptions that the media makes even today.  Take a look at this commercial, for instance.

This ad for a washer and dryer set starts off with “Amy Clark” talking about all the time and energy she used to devote to doing her laundry.  She is unnaturally bubbly/sweet and overly passionate about laundry.  If anyone can find me a commercial with a man this involved in and committed to the subject, I would love to see it!  Some of the worst offending quotes within this video are:

• “It gets everything white…even the socks that my husband and son insist on wearing outside without any shoes on.” This little precious side note, accented with a tone of voice that implies “Haha…Men…you know how they are” and a near rolling of the eyes, implicates the males in her house as unrefined, careless, and defiant by nature.
•  “Sometimes I get sidetracked or put off folding clothes, and leave a load in the dryer for a few days.” This clearly indicates that she is the only one that ever folds the laundry in her home.  I do not understand how Amy could get sidetracked from fulfilling her laundry tasks.  Doesn't she realize it is her duty as the woman?  Maybe she hasn't had time to watch the hundreds of commercials that depict the wife doing the bulk of the housework.
• “Clean clothes and big savings…What is better than that?”  Well, I know clean clothes and big savings are all I live for.