Monday, October 5, 2009

concept map

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7 comments:

  1. Jean MarieOctober 5, 2009 at 1:47 PM

    is often:
    shown in commercials. Every commercial in day-time television features a woman cleaning/ shopping/ etc. Also, these same commercials represent men as so stupid they can't work a vacuum cleaner, kill the plants when they water them, chose the wrong chore, forget things at the grocery store.
    It makes me want to reject domestic life.

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  2. Beth ThomasOctober 6, 2009 at 11:10 AM

    I am really interested in the idea that social constructs of femininity (and any kind of gender construction really) are deeply impacted by word choice and language structure. I'm glad you have that on there. One thing I wonder is how social constructions of femininity automatically start to define and construct our ideas of masculinity as well.
    One of the professors at Ohio State - Jennifer Eisenhauer - did her dissertation on the idea What is a Girl? (that might even be the title). If you're interested in looking at that, it might or might not be accessible through MICA's library, but we could certainly get it through OSU's library.

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  3. Beth ThomasOctober 6, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    Other artist ideas that occur to me: Linda Nochlin, Arthur Tress (esp. his piece Stephan Brecht, Bride and Groom).
    Also, I gave this link to Vanessa, too, but you might be interested, too - it's Lauren Greenfield's site Girl Culture
    http://www.zonezero.com/exposiciones/fotografos/girlcult/index.html

    one more great artist to think about that deals with this stuff is Renee Cox...

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  4. Jean MarieOctober 11, 2009 at 10:49 PM

    I feel like you could do a whole post about how women are depicted in commercials. I just saw one with the potato head couple driving in the car. Mrs. Potato-head is just yammering on and on about how fast Mr. PH is driving and he is just ignoring her until her mouth falls off in the wind and he doesn't go back to pick it up. Ahh! What does this say about women, let alone the construct of a married couple.

    Sorry, I watch a lot of tv.

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  5. Ms. SturgesOctober 14, 2009 at 11:26 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Ms. SturgesOctober 14, 2009 at 11:27 PM

    jean marie,

    i completely agree with you. i am so surprised that i didn’t specifically address commercials in my concept map, because like you i am deeply bothered by a lot of what is shown. you’ve said it exactly right: commercials STILL portray women as being solely responsible for any sort of domestic work. this is especially interesting (and, in my mind, rather damaging & dangerous) because it is becoming steadily more difficult for 2-parent households to rely on single incomes. how has this translated to commercials? commercials often reflect the “working super mom” – who is responsible for providing a source of income, but ALSO ALL of the domestic and child-related responsibilities. this is not a healthy way of thinking.

    you also make an excellent point: men are usually portrayed as careless, dumb but lovable, and completely incapable of cooking, cleaning, or making decisions. this is not a healthy way of thinking.

    and about your second comment…the potato head commercial is INFURIATING. INSULTING. INSANE. i am actually shaking my head in anger & disbelief just thinking about it. just like you said – it is demeaning of both women and the idea of what a true marriage/partnership should be.

    love,caro

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  7. Ms. SturgesOctober 14, 2009 at 11:42 PM

    beth,

    thank you so much for your comments! i agree with your wonder about social constructs of femininity defining and affecting constructs of masculinity – i have a feeling that my blog conversations are really going to involve both in many cases – they are quite interwoven.

    i think word choice and language really do quite a lot to “prop up a rotten system.” i’ve really been paying attention to the casual conversations around me, this year, and i am disturbed by the sheer volume of things i’ve heard that are (usually UNINTENTIONALLY!) degrading and demeaning to women. i’m still mulling over how to best present it in a blog post.

    i would VERY much like to look at jennifer eisenhauer’s dissertation. i am so glad you suggested that – it really sounds interesting. i just tried to do a search for it through MICA, and didn’t get anywhere, but that could be because it’s late and i’m sleepy… ☺:)

    love,caro

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