Sixth Post

Implications about Gender in an Old Spice Commercial.
"Take the Old Spice challenge. If you dont like it, they'll buy you a stick of something that smells like wildflowers and shame." In the commercial, a man appears to have just finished working out or playing sports and now he is back in the locker room. He explains that your choice of deodorant does matter and shows an example comparing Old Spice to another type of deodorant. Where the test subject applied Old Spice, thinck brown hair quickly sprung up and the word MANLY appeared on the screen signifying that excessive hair on the body is considered very normal and masculine, and every man should have it. The commercial conveys that the lack of thick bodily hair would be considered feminine and odd because society believes men should be tall and muscular with a big build and covered in hair. The commercial plays into that expectation of men and uses it to convince men they should buy this product because it will make them "MANLY."

Fifth Post

Implications about Gender in an Episode of Reba.
In this particular episode, Brock and Barbara Jean must go to couples counseling to work out their marital problems. They invite Reba (Brock's ex-wife) along because Barbara Jean feels she is one of the main issues in their relationship. I believe Reba is a true symbol of female power and independence. Not only has she been raising three chilren as a single parent, she is doing so while living next door to her ex-husband and his new wife. While Reba rants and raves about Brock and Barbara Jean in the psychiatrist's office, she begins to work out problems of her own. Reba conveys the ability for women to have both a career and a family. Television programs like Reba show young girls and women that females do not need to be dependent on men in life such as was the common belief of previous generations. In fact, women can be successful on their own and still have a life on the side! They can go out and work to support themselves and their families if need be and have the strength and ability to do anything else they can dream or imagine, and Reba is a perfect example of a successful woman and great mother figure.

Fourth Post

Implications about Gender in a Superbowl Commercial.
So, today I noticed the links to superbowl commercial on the class website and being the silly commerical fan that I am, decided to investigate. The commercial that had the strongest gender implications in my opinion was the Diet Pepsi commercial. At first, I wasnt sure what the point of the commerical was, but it becomes clear at the end when the narrator states "Men can take anything, except the taste of diet cola.. until now." The commercial is a humorous interpretation that mocks stereotypes of the male gender. Not only did the commercial make me laugh, it conveyed the idea that men are expected to take pain and injury without complaining, crying, or even acknowledging that something hurt or was painful to them. They are supposed to be strong, take whatever happens without the slightest grimace, and go on about their day. I liked the fact that Pepsi is mocking that stereotype and poking fun at it because I know from growing up with a brother that guys do, in fact, feel pain just as girls do and are not always calm, strong, and passive when something hurts them. Oppositely, many people accept women to be weaker and expect them to cry at breaking a nail. This assumption about women, however, I believe is being absorbed by the emergence of more and more females dominating in areas where men are thought to rule, such as in boxing like in the movie Girlfight. The main character, Diana, not only is as strong as the boys, she is willing to prove herself and her abilities in the ring by defeating a top competitor as well as her love interest without compromising her femininity, but gaining even more respect and showing that women can be just as strong as men mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Third Post

Implications about Gender in House Bunny.
House Bunny, a movie released in theaters last year, is the story of an ex-Playboy model, Shelley, who is kicked out of the Playboy mansion and forced to make a living on her own. Confused and nieve, she wanders onto a college campus noticing that the fraternity and sorority houses look like "mini Playboy mansions." Conveniently, the girls of a rather unpopular and socially awkward sorority need a house mother to help them out and Shelley is perfect for the job. She succeeds in boosting their confidence and getting others interested to join by throwing great parties and giving the girls extreme make-overs. Though the movie and main character come off as extremely stupid and shallow, there are important subliminal messages concerning feminity and masculinity in the film. It is not enough for the girls to be intelligent, they must also dress like models, wear makeup, and appear less nerdy to get people to like them. These social requirements show that some people place way too much emphasis on looks instead of "what's on the inside," which, as cliche as it sounds, counts. Not only does the film convey that young women should be sexy, cool, outgoing, and less intelligent than males to attract the opposite sex, it also contains messages about what is or isn't masculine. For example, members of the popular fraternity on campus were good looking, conniving, manipulative, athletic, and were "only interested in one thing" (another common stereotype about fraternity guys). In fact, the movie is full of stereotypes about college-age males and females: what they're supposed to do, what they're supposed to wear, what they're supposed to say, how they're supposed to act, etc. As a college student myself, I see so much more diversity and variety than that in college. My school has people of all colors, sizes, shapes, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The pretty blonde cheerleader and muscular football player are ideas of the past that should be thrown out the window. It is perfectly fine if you are those things, but if not, that's perfectly fine too. In House Bunny, everything works out (the nerdy girl gets the hott guy, and the hott girl gets the nerdy guy). However, whoever makes the next college film should really take into consideration the largely diverse community that inhabits college campuses instead of stereotyping students and playing into the popular ideas of the past that tell young men and women how or who they should be.