Well that titles a mouthfull...
NOTE: I'm posting a bit late, but Hannah gave me the ok!
This week I was lucky enough to attend a presentation given by a professor at Ohio State (I've already forgotten her name-- I blame sleep deprivation). She spoke to us about romantic comedies and the imagery they use to impose certain social-cultural norms on the american public. She drew our attention first to the frequency with which these films are made, and the tremendous amount of money these films represent for Hollywood. Next we were shown clips of typical climactic scenes in these films, scenes featuring the leading man and woman. These films shared more in common than just the basic plots found in most rom coms, all of them featured only white, affluent, straight couples. It seems that Hollywood is reluctant to present gay/lesbian films to the public. The very few same sex films that have made it to the big screen are barely comparable with the stereotypical romantic comedy films we are familiar with. The same sex couples are rarely seen expressing intimacy, especially not of a sexual nature, and if they are shown kissing or being intimate with eachother, it is downplayed with undercurrents of comedy.
How does this all relate to gender bias?
During the guest lecture, we were shown many clips from romantic comedies made after 1990, and all of the films shared the same climactic scene. The scene featured climactic "make up" or kissing scenes, in which the reconciled couples were usually surrounded by a cheering crowd. Many of the women cried tears of joy, while the men comforted them and played the hero. Our guest speaker made it clear that there were many more instances of this in other movies. With the ecsatic spectators and the feeling that the woman is being saved, Hollywood is telling the audience (mostly female for rom coms), that you must be heterosexual, and you MUST have a husband or boyfriend to be happy, to be worth something. Everyone knows the formula. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Marriage is implied, everything is perfect. But we never see boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl goes on to cure cancer. No, that would defy traditional gender roles, which Hollywood can't seem to let go of.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Trying To Do It All
This week gave me a lot to think about. Yesterday I scheduled a meeting with my advisor to pick up minors in women's studies and literary studies. I'm so excited to explore all of these areas of my interests (and hopefully discern a career too), but I'm just starting to sense the difficulty of my college workload, and I know it's only going to get harder. Of course there are also the tasks of managing finances, a social life, and maintaining my relationships back in Portland. Am I taking on too much, or am I pushing myself for my own benefit?
Coincidentally, one of our speakers in last weeks class was a female executive coach with an extremely lucrative career, a functional family, and friends. She also managed to be feminine and cheerful, a feat considering how hard she must work everyday maintaining the delicate balance of her life. I can only assume it's because her life, while busy, is incredibly full. She taught us all valuable lessons she had learned during her many years in business, many of which I know will serve me as I begin my career and throughout my professional and personal life. What impacted me most though, was seeing a woman who had assumed to many roles and had handled it all even when she may have felt challenged by her ambition.
Coincidentally, one of our speakers in last weeks class was a female executive coach with an extremely lucrative career, a functional family, and friends. She also managed to be feminine and cheerful, a feat considering how hard she must work everyday maintaining the delicate balance of her life. I can only assume it's because her life, while busy, is incredibly full. She taught us all valuable lessons she had learned during her many years in business, many of which I know will serve me as I begin my career and throughout my professional and personal life. What impacted me most though, was seeing a woman who had assumed to many roles and had handled it all even when she may have felt challenged by her ambition.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Women In Leadership Sept. 7, 2011
The third Women In Leadership class was this week, and we really made use of our time! We had four guest speakers come in to speak with us about issues relating to women, school, politics, and more.
My favorite speaker was second, a woman named Melissa Gilbert who we'll be working with over the course of the semester mentoring middle school/elementary school students. She showed us an example of an exercise we could do with young girls to boost their confidence and foster leadership. The activity made me think about all the barriers women and girls have to overcome from a very young age. Granted, women have made great strides in the preceding decades, but when I look at my peers and I still see so many submissive, minimized girls trapped by the gender role society has assigned to them. I personally have been ridiculed and judged for being an outspoken, aggressive woman and the injustice of these experiences are hard to swallow. Melissa Gilbert's presentation was hopeful, inspiring, and I can't wait to begin the mentoring process. In highschool, I met a teacher who became a mentor and friend. She changed the way I thought about feminism and did all she could to empower the young and often voiceless girls who attended my school. Since then I've wanted to inspire girls to become strong, confident, and outspoken, but I didn't know how. This class gave me a start in the right direction. I have since found my self searching for a possible career empowering young women, I truly can't imagine anything more fulfilling.
My favorite speaker was second, a woman named Melissa Gilbert who we'll be working with over the course of the semester mentoring middle school/elementary school students. She showed us an example of an exercise we could do with young girls to boost their confidence and foster leadership. The activity made me think about all the barriers women and girls have to overcome from a very young age. Granted, women have made great strides in the preceding decades, but when I look at my peers and I still see so many submissive, minimized girls trapped by the gender role society has assigned to them. I personally have been ridiculed and judged for being an outspoken, aggressive woman and the injustice of these experiences are hard to swallow. Melissa Gilbert's presentation was hopeful, inspiring, and I can't wait to begin the mentoring process. In highschool, I met a teacher who became a mentor and friend. She changed the way I thought about feminism and did all she could to empower the young and often voiceless girls who attended my school. Since then I've wanted to inspire girls to become strong, confident, and outspoken, but I didn't know how. This class gave me a start in the right direction. I have since found my self searching for a possible career empowering young women, I truly can't imagine anything more fulfilling.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)