All in The Family

The nuclear family is regarded as the basic social unit of two parents and their dependent children. In the media, nuclear families stereotypically consist of a heterosexual couple of the same race and their children. However, this has changed tremendously in the past years and the types of family dynamics are endless. The gender roles are one of the most highlighted changes, as women are becoming more prominent in the workforce. This change as a strong affect on the household because it breaks the boundaries of "women are housewives and men are breadwinners."

In an article written by Sara Eckle in 2010, Dad-Mom Role Reversals, there are many examples of these gender role changes. Keep in mind, the article was written as America was recovering from the 2008 recession where the unemployment rates increased significantly. Many men that were used to being the main source of income for their families were out of jobs with the hopeless feeling of not being able to get back on their feet and provide for their wife and children. Parents and couples were forced to do what they could to overcome the situation; which meant changing roles if necessary. Therefore, women who had job opportunities were forced to work long hours, which meant less time spent on domestic activities. Men who were unemployed had to make up for the cooking, cleaning, and babysitting that their wives could not fulfill.

Eckle interviewed a number of couples and their reactions to these changes varied. For example, some had a difficult time with the changes like D.C. couple Christine and John Fruehwirth. John a former director of a private equity firm in the Washington D.C. area lost his job while his wife ran a career development business along with an additional job as a career consultant. John had a difficult time caring for his 7 year old and 5 year old, forgetting to change them or keep up with laundry. This shows the hardships that came with the role reversal.

Comparing the Fruehwirths with modern day families, there are many changes. With a high divorce rate, many families consist of only one parent rather than two. This puts added stress on the mother or father who is responsible for both working and nurturing his/her children. Parents today are extremely strong and hard working. We have all witnessed at least one friend or relative with this family dynamic and their strength of being a pillar for the family is tremendous. Whether the gender roles are reversed or one parent is taking on the stereotypical roles of both genders, the adjustment to these changes are difficult and take time to adapt to.

Chapter 26: Image-Based Culture

When you see this photo what do you think it represents? The 2015 Calvin Klein Jeans advertisement, featuring Justin Bieber, sends out many messages to viewers. The ad for jeans shows Bieber straddling a topless model, both wearing Calvin Klein jeans. This ad connects jeans, a typical clothing item, to sexuality and looks. People who see this ad may begin to believe wearing these jeans gives people a sense of superiority and sensuality. This ad is not the only one publicized that sends these messages. In fact, a majority of products on the market are heavily marketed through advertisements including food, cars, cosmetics, and household products. 

In Chapter 26, Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture, Jut Shally gives an indepth explanation of advertisements and their affect on pop culture today. He starts by giving a brief history of ads being used in the early 1900's where ads starting incorporating visual images. The evolution since then due to technological advances and marketing innovations has been tremendous. Ads are encountered countless times in our everyday life, surfing the internet, driving to work, reading magazines, watching TV and many other day to day activities. Shally explains that advertisements create life styles that people yearn for. For example, a basic cereal ad typically includes a "perfect" family sitting at a table eating breakfast together. These social factors affect the audience leading them to believe that purchasing these products are necessary to give them this happiness. He also mentions that commentators have associated advertising with a religious system where people form their identity in materialistic means. 

Articles like this one are effective in promoting awareness of the image based, materialistic culture that ads have created.We are constantly being led to believe that we can recreate the lifestyles in ads with the products they promote. From feeling sexy in high end jeans to feeling superior in a particular car, how can we prevent the ads from affecting our minds? I believe the best way to approach these ads is with a sense of skepticism. Reading articles like the one in this chapter helps us become aware of these subtle messages. 

Image from: http://www.itssuperfashion.com/2015/01/justin-bielara-stone-calvin-klein-spring-2015/

Music Videos: Imagery and Lyrics

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls)

Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. With the wide variety of cultures in our country, people adopt styles, music, foods, and many other cultural traditions from one another. Although there are some instances where accepting and adopting parts of different cultures can be positive, i.e. multicultural restaurants or fashion trends, sometimes this idea can be taken too far. Many popular artists are guilty of cultural appropriation in the lyrics of their songs, music videos, and fashion statements. I found two music videos that can be used as examples of this concept, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift and Run the World by Beyonce.

The first music video is a recent song from Taylor Swift, a pop singer and feminist. The song, Shake It Off was instantly a hit due to the catchy rhythm and light hearted lyrics. In the music video, Swift has a variety of costumes in the scenes. The ones that stand out are a break dancing scene where she is dressed in a flat top hat, leather pants, a varsity jacket, and holding a boom box. There are men behind her of different races posed in attire similar to hers with “tough” looks on their faces. In another scene she is dancing in an animal print cropped jacket, with layered gold jewelry and big gold hoop earrings. In this scene there are women of different races shaking their butts behind her. The ending of the video is a group of people in everyday outfits dancing with Swift. The beginning of the video exemplifies cultural appropriation because of the highlighted racial and cultural stereotypes.

The second music video is from Beyoncé’s recent top hit, Run the World. This video is an example of cultural appropriation and hegemony for a variety of reasons. The scenes are of women dressed in gladiator attire. The women encounter men ready for battle and Beyoncé begins dancing sexually in front of them. The attire is also sexual in many of the scenes including one where they dancing are in lingerie and heels. The video contradicts the lyrics of this song which is supposed to promote female empowerment, however the sexual dancing and costumes portray submissiveness or using sexual demeanor to have the upper hand against males.

Both music videos are surprising for the artists who are known feminists. If these pop culture icons strive to relay feminist messages to the public, it would help for them to avoid cultural appropriate or hegemony in their videos, watched by millions.

Chapter 25: When in Rome

With car radios, podcasts, and internet radio stations, today’s talk shows have a significant amount of listeners. There are talk shows about pop culture, sports, politics, and other hot topics. Chapter 25 of our textbooks consists of an article, When in Rome, which highlights a particular sports talk show hosted by Jim Rome called The Jim Rome Show. Jim Rome has aired on ESPN, CBS sports radio, and other local radio stations. In the talk show, he discusses sports news, scandals, and controversies. He is famous for his blunt opinions, clever statements, and sarcastic humor.

The way Rome presents sports news has a hegemonic tone to it especially when speaking about sex scandals involving strippers. David Nylund, the author, uses quotes from Jim Rome’s talk show about a sex scandal involving professional athletes at a strip club. When discussing the story on air, Rome and his callers use many derogatory terms including, skank and tramp. However, they remain respectful to the athletes, calling them by their names. This dialogue creates a misconception that the strippers are at fault and that the men were not held responsible for their actions. 

Additionally, when listeners, or "clones", call into the show he either "runs" them by ringing a buzzer and hanging up or lets them finish stating their opinion and "racks em" which enters the caller into a contest. This method is a form of approving or disapproving of other people's opinions. Nylund interviewed listeners who admitted that they would not call in because of the fear of being "run". This shows the traditional masculinity that men have, looking for approval from other masculine men. This idea dates back to middle school days when many teens look to be in the "cool" crowd. 

Rome does speak out against homophobia; especially when referring to a scandal where professional baseball pitcher Julian Tavarez called fans of another team "faggots". He shows disapproval for the name calling and openly discusses the topic of sexuality in his talk show. This is a notable action because his opinion influences many people. 

Nylund highlights both the negatives and positives to Rome's talk show. Although the sports radio show seems aggressive and hegemonic against females, his main purpose is to attract viewers, mainly men to listen. He has successfully done this and stands by his opinions on sports, homophobia, and heterosexism. 

I Tube, You Tube, We All Tube

Stereotypical gender roles
Defying gender roles video


 There are many videos regarding gender roles on the internet today. Similar to the “Blurred Lines” music videos and parodies watched in class, some videos involve stereotypical gender roles while others are used to defy these stereotypes and send messages to internet users everywhere. These videos become viral and the messages they convey are quickly broadcasted. After searching various articles and videos on YouTube, I discovered two videos sending opposite messages.

The first video is of a woman walking in New York City. There was a hidden camera in front of her recording her encounters with various men on the streets. The comments people made to her were displayed as subtitles for viewers to see. The comments included various sayings including, “smile!” and “how you doing”? At one point during the video a man followed her for a few minutes trying to start conversation. This video highlights the frequent cat calling that many women encounter in their daily lives from strangers off the street. The powerful video ends with a closing paragraph about an end to street harassment, an issue where women are the common victims.

The gender roles are completely reversed in the second video. A man is walking the streets pushing a baby stroller wearing “provocative” male clothing. The women are the streets stop him, trying to talk to him and seduce him. Similar to the first video, one even says, “keep smiling honey!”. The man becomes sexually harassed towards the end of the film where his wife picks him up from the police station with bruises all over his face and body. The ending conversation between the man and his wife is the most powerful part because she does not show remorse for him but rather anger, blaming the situation on his attire.

The two videos highlight the harassment issue that occurs to innocent people walking in cities. Men may not see this as a serious issue, but there are dangerous consequences. The videos  are very effective in making people aware of this issue, hopefully making men cognizant of their seemingly “harmless” actions.

Chapter 1: Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture

            In Chapter 1 of Gender, Race, and Class in Media, there is an article written by Douglas Kellner, Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture. This article discusses various ideologies regarding gender, race, and multiculturalism and how these ideas relate to the media. Media influences the minds of a large audience and Kellner touches upon the effects music, movies, shows, and the internet have on social classes. He starts by discussing how media controls how we dress, what we say, and how we act. For example, teenage girls are easily influenced by shows like Gossip Girl that revolve around the young upper class living extravagant lives in Manhattan. Although there are female independent protagonists in many current television shows, the multicultural or LGBT representation in mainstream media could receive more attention. 

         Kellner also discusses how media relates to the modern day economy. Shows, music, and other forms of entertainment are dependent upon large corporations and profits.  He explains that everything from the length of a song to the content constraints on media sharing sites is all managed by large businesses looking for profits. This highlights one of the main reasons media cannot be easily manipulated abruptly, but the change to increased equality in shows, music, and other content will take time. 

           Another interesting point made in the article is about pop culture icons including Beyonce, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Although their claim to fame is the entertainment industry, their success is far from limited. These stars are leading icons in beauty, fashion, and sexuality. Their fame influences a large population which would enable them to promote messages with great ease. If these stars were on the forefront of change and equality for gender and multiculturalism, would they hold the power to make lasting changes? I believe they have the power to combat stereotypes and improve society especially due to their success and inspiration to fans out there.

           In conclusion, Kellner highlighted many interesting points about media and its influence on society. There are so many media outlets that are currently being used to influence the public. Although the shift to more equal media representation for different races, cultures, and social classes will take time, the effects would be long-lived.