1. I don' think I saw any roles in this clip that I would consider to be sexist. I thought it was interesting that the woman assumed that the "man's" excuse for being late to work would not work for her, so she went with the "woman's" excuse, talking about lady parts, to deter her boss from getting on her case. I am not really surprised by this movie, I think there are a lot of movies that portray women as having a lot on their plate and having to balance work and family/social life. I also believe that this could be considered a movie if the role was played by a man. I don't know exactly what the movie is about but I think the clip might be misleading when it comes to these "sexist" roles we are looking for. We don't know what the dad does for a living so we shouldn't assume that the mother is doing all of these things because she has to, it seems to me that she chose this busy lifestyle and has to deal with the tough decisions and consequences just like anyone, male or female, would if they were in this situation. I don't think this is what bell hooks is trying to prevent. It seems that this woman is successful, and has a loving family, she just needs to prioritize like everyone else who has a demanding job and a family at home to take care of.
This media example is not that recent but sort of relates "The Good Wife's Guide Training Video" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB5TOsS5EyI
2. I didn't have much of an initial reaction, but was somewhat put off by the mother's concern with the daughter's outfit. I think the "tom boy" style has been around for a while and don't think that at this point it is a big deal, maybe in the 70's and before. I do not think they would make a similar video with a boy dressed as a girl, mainly because girls in guy clothes hasn't been as much of a controversy than guys in girl clothing.
3. I could not think of any children's books off the top of my head, but when I searched 'sexism in children's literature' on Google, I found this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383533/The-sexist-tales-Peter-Rabbit-Fantastic-Mr-Fox.html. After reading it I realized that most of the main characters in the majority of children's books are male, which is something that has never really registered with me all that much. Kind of weird now that I think about it. Good Question!
Ha I just noticed, but you and I both mentioned that same article over the children's books. I also seem to notice that when both girls and boys are mentioned in a children's book, the girl is prescribed the motherly roles, like in Peter Pan and in the Chronicles of Narnia.
ReplyDeleteThe video you included with question one reminded me of this video: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-be-the-perfect-girlfriend
ReplyDeleteit's less sexist than the one you posted, but there is still some sexist parts.
I also agree with your response to question number 2. A boy dressed in girls clothing is much more controversial than the other way around, even at a young age.
Hi Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI like how you provide a different perspective on the movie trailer. I don't take it as that anyone is saying she has to do everything she is doing, but I do think it's interesting that when a woman tries to do "everything" it is questioned and/or awed at by both men and women. I don't feel that if men were doing "everything" that it would get the same reaction. I think your media example about how to be a good housewife provides a good example of the stereotypical sexist roles.
For the discussion on Friday, be thinking about how we can maybe incorporate some of these feminist ideas into the education system.
Good blog!
Kyle, I really like the perspectives you bring to each question. I had to laugh in awe at the clip you put for question #1, haha. But I agree with Natasha in the fact that the film, "I don't know how she does it" really kind of brought to light the fact that society thinks it's crazy/odd that she (as a woman) would be able to manage all of those things, but I definitely appreciate your point of view as well!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really enjoyed the media examples and pop culture references that you made. It would be nice to see images incorporated here as well. For future blogs, think about how you can connect your ideas with passages from the reading and key terms/concepts from the text.
ReplyDelete