Comm 403 Final

In our post modern, after enlightenment, viral video society every human being on earth is a character and has a role to play in the play we call life. Gender roles and gender identity has been cookie cutter in recent history but everyday individuals who do not orient themselves to the stereotypical male or female definitions are getting more opportunity to express themselves in ways previous generations could not believe. Media has had a major role in setting our expectations for a man and a woman.  

Men are here to act and women are here to appear is a simple thought but has subtle undertones that form the core of American culture. Men are defined by what they do, what their job is, and how they earn money. Women are defined by their appearance and their ability to attract men. A man impresses a women by spending money on them and a women impress a man by looking good is a formula that has been passed on generation after generation in our society.  Luckily we are in a time of super enlightenment and items like equal pay for men and women and equal employment opportunity are being discussed like never before.  Even subjects like birth control are being discussed in ways never thought of before. 

Semiotics was something i always knew but never thought about until this semester. The meaning of signals sent through a message is the essence of culture. How people communicate with each other has changed with advances in technology.  If we lived one thousand years ago would there be birds that flew carrying messages and if there was only privileged few would have access.

A women's appearance is her most powerful weapon if you believe the marketing campaigns of cosmetic suppliers.  Many companies emphasize looking younger and feed on older women's insecurities and pressure them into competition against models that have been photo shopped and transformed into these unattainable creatures.

A popular meme captures a male gaze and two different forms of female gaze. All three picture share the same age and ethnic category and even share similar styles in clothes and hair but the three gazes are completely different. The women in red is un bothered and enjoying life, every persons remedial self image question if you believe in that. The man is obviously impressed by the women in red and his gaze reflects that.  The women in blue is disgusted that the man is impressed by the women in red and her gaze is piercing his unaware ass.

How each sex sees themselves has a lot to do with how the media has integrated stereotypical gender roles.  Men are build up and personal appearance doesn't matter if you drive this care or if you smoke these cigs or drink this beer.  Marketers play to mens ego if being the alpha male dominant leader.  Women are told how they need to change their appearance or body type to look better.

These men look happily objectified for publicity standing in their underwear in front of an audience of women. Needless to say there would be a far different reaction to a women's soccer team standing topless in front of a room of male fans.  In this picture the women holding the microphone conducting the interview is in a position of power and is not showing any skin besides the calves and ankles.  The tight underwear on the men allow the women to see the men in the usual form fitting wear only worn by females.

 Men act like warriors and showcase bravery in the face of unsurmountable odds for love and honor.  The warrior takes the hunter gatherer male figure to the next level by adding protecting and conquering to the ever growing list of adjectives that describe man throughout history. The physical workout the actors preformed to transform their bodies into greek warriors was simple and effective. Anyone can do the exercises and see for themselves the results. Here is the link to the work out.
Link

Sports covers male and female differently and its difference is showcase in this picture.  The male is in his jersey in a non sexual pose and the headline portrays him having the power.  The woman's pose is highly sexually suggestive and her bath suit is drawing attention to her sexual organs in contrast to the man using his hands to cover up his sexual organs.  The headline next to the woman suggest a more playful and recreational visit compared to the mans words that highlight his personal business and playing career.

Gender roles start as simple as boys play with cars and girls play with dolls.  Boys are stoic and girls are emotional is another gender stereotype that has been passed down from most families from generation to generation. Sons act aster fathers act in most situations and daughters emulate their mothers.  Rebels are more prevalent now then ever before due to an increasing of acceptance and the decreasing of harassment that transpired in our recent history. Individuals who do not identify with the traditional gender roles have new found voice in politics and are starting to be treated as equal instead of how society used to look at a "transgender" person.

In the movie magic mike the tables are turned and the men are strippers and the women are the money spending patrons. This picture captures the moment of the men on stage with a crowd of women cheering and objectifying them.  The mens physical appearance and charisma are their meal tickets and they use them to pay their bills,  The role of being spoiled with money gifts is rarely played by men because society taught us that men impress women by spending money on them not the other way around.

This play male fantasy of being able to look and pick out the one that he wants objectifies women by giving the man all the control and partying women in a subservient piece of property role.  The skimpy attire and sexual poses of the women indicate that their appearance is their most important quality.  There is no information about what the women likes to do with her time or what is important to her, because those things are being taught that they are not important to women.  What is important is how they look and how pleasing it is to that male.

Individuals make up society and if enough individuals change their old fashioned views on gender roles and gender equality the world would be a better place.  Some of those old fashioned views like allowing a persons vote to only count three fifths of another vote based on the color of their skin.  There are still instances like gerrymandering for example where to corruption is so calculated that anyone against the system in place has little or no chance of making a difference. Sure you can make a movie about blowing up parliament or crippling the financial records of peoples debt but all out change is hard to come by unless you can rally and prey on peoples support like the Don.