Brett Kuxhausen Blog 3

Question 1

 Once sexist role I see is that she seems to be doing most of the parenting. She is shown cooking, taking care of the children, and also balancing a full time job. But, the dad is seen very little. It seems to further the belief that women should be at home taking care of her family instead of holding a high demand career like she does. And people seem surprised to find that she has a family AND a successful job. It would not be the case if this were a movie about a man. Men are expected to have a demanding job and be very successful and at the same time not haver to do the required amount of parenting as the mother. They usually do not clean, cook, or look after the children at the same level that women do. I think it could be considered a movie if a man ( I don't know how HE does it) would be in the same position, BUT when it comes to Hollywood people do not have this "I can't beleive how you do it" reaction for men unless he is a someone who has just lost his wife and is expected to take care of the children in her absence. Only when he is a single parent does responsibility fall on him and he gets recognition and I think this movie was a pretty good example of that. 

I think the clip you provided does kind of embody what bell hooks was trying to prevent, but at the same time it does not. It still holds some of the traditional sexism where the women does a majority of the childcare, but it challenges the belief of the man being the sole bread-winner. She is seen with a successful job and career, challenging that notion. So, while it does still hold a little sexism, it takes a step in the right direction in another area. Another media example that still holds to sexist ideals is the shows that are focused on the "old times" and gender roles. Examples of this would be Mad Men and NBC's Pan-Am. There seems to be a fascination with the time period and focusing on when men basically ran the business world and women were paid less and harassed at work. But this can also be seen as a positive, showing how gender roles used to be and how far we've progressed to a more modern view.

Question 2 

I think it's fine for her daughter not to wear pink, but her mother is obviously shown as having traditional beliefs that girls are supposed to like wearing pink and doing girly things.Tom-girls are definitely accepted more in culture, but I think for many parents such as that it is frustrating to see their daughters not performing their gender as society demands it and instead they want a "normal" girly daughter. If this were to be a commercial with  boy ion more feminine clothing I think it would have never be aired. As I said, society is OK with tom-girls, but with little boys that act feminine many feel uncomfortable about. But, as society is becoming more accepting towards homosexuality, we may find ourselves presented with more sources of media that shows boys in typically non-boy activities.

Question 3

I think that a majority of children's books, especially written in the last century are are very sexist. Books like Winnie the Pooh, Peter the Rabbit, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are strong examples of where female characters are barely focused on. Many popular books tended to deal with adventure and male characters, and I found this article that presents some really interesting facts about this!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383533/The-sexist-tales-Peter-Rabbit-Fantastic-Mr-Fox.html

Books with female characters, like Cinderella, have to do with women getting swept off their feet and falling in love and finding Prince Charming. Their stories are focused on finding a mate for marriage and and living like a princess. These books can have future consequences by telling each sex what they are supposed to want in life. A boy is supposed to want adventure, a female is supposed to want to marry. If books are not written now that start challenging these ideals it will be very hard to move on from the old media constructed gender roles.