...Pursuit To Equality One may ask, “What exactly is homosexuality?” It is simply a romantic and/or sexual attraction between members of the same sex or gender. Seeing two friends, of the same gender, walking down the street together used to be the only visible acceptability, but now to see a couple of the same gender holding hands is slowly becoming more accustomed and ordinary. Same-sex relationships are becoming more common and socially acceptable than a decade ago, and with the ever increasing desire to put discrimination behind us, it is clear that homosexual marriages are growing in acceptance as they grow in number. Touching on the subjects of television, film, and laws, it has come apparent just how acceptable and worldwide these relationships are becoming. The most influential source of media is television. Although people call television the idiot box, it could play a key role effortlessly. In the past, media has led society to believe that same-sex relationships are not acceptable. Achieved by displaying strictly heterosexual relationships on almost every television show, and leaving no room for possibility of homosexuality. Even though most television shows are American, they are still televised nationally including Canada, influencing minds in positive ways. The first reality show to cast a homosexual character on national television was MTV's 1992 "The Real World", which follows the lives of 7 strangers, with different backgrounds, personalities, and sometimes...
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...university of essex | SC291-5-FY | How are Gender and Sexuality Significant to the Study of Visual Culture? | | Word Count: 2,312 | 1004894 | How are Gender and Sexuality Significant to the Study of Visual Culture? In this essay I plan to explore the meanings that are found within the concepts of gender and sexuality and the presentation to which they are given in all types of visual culture. I wish to look into the reasons behind the current stereotypes of gender and sexuality which are used in day to day life. The origins of such clichés and the reason why stereotypes are so heavily used in visual culture, to try and understand the disadvantages and advantages they bring to the media. I will begin by trying to give an explanation of the definition of the terms, gender, sexuality and visual culture. Gender is often depicted to a simple non-complex term which is based upon an individual’s biological sex. Thus presenting the theory that the sex of an individual will biologically predetermine their mannerisms and actions; behaviours that are associated with being male or female. Although it is necessary to understand that there are differences between men and women, to assume that all behaviour can be categorised as male or female could be considered to be ignorant. In more recent times gender has become less fixated upon the biological sex of the person and is more determined by the individual themselves (Kirsch, 2000). Sexuality is the term used to demonstrate...
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...The purpose of this paper is to explain the following terms in detail: radical feminism; socialist feminism; rape; masculinities; violence; sexual harassment; biology is not destiny; and negative feminist stereotypes. I have chosen to discuss the two feminist theories that were previously mentioned due to the fact that they both focus heavily on the oppression of men in society, as well as the evident gender division between the sexes. I have chosen to focus on the six concepts that were previously mentioned because they focus on how women are oppressed, and mistreated in society. Radical Feminism Radical feminism supports the idea that patriarchy is the main form of oppression women face. The goal of radical feminism is the elimination of patriarchy. From a radical feminist perspective, women are oppressed in three main ways or areas: the state, the nuclear family, and through reproduction and mothering. Radical feminism also suggests that the lack of control women have over their own bodies and own reproduction is central to oppression. Radical feminists aim towards eliminating sexual, as well as physical violence against women (Calixte et al., 2009). The significance of radical feminism is that it focuses on what is seen as the major oppressors in our culture. Moreover, radical feminism opens our eyes to male dominance and how it has been highly normalized. It alerts us to how ‘normal’ or common images from pornography reduce women to sexual objects. Moreover, it makes...
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...America and Diversity Kathy McGowan ETH/125 February 2, 2014 Shanna Birkholz-Vasquez America and Diversity Over more than two hundred years, the United States has grown from a fledgling nation to one of the most powerful countries in the world. The principles which established this nation attracted many different groups to its shores. Principles of freedom of religion and speech bought refugees from different ethnic groups. While other groups came to seek their fortune in the “land of opportunity”, one group came to the America under duress. Each group found prejudice and discrimination. As the years passed and the country continued to grow, the barriers of prejudice and discrimination were beginning to crumble. The different groups began to accept the differences that accompanied the diversity of the nation. These changes bring up a question. Has the United States finally overcome our fear of diversity? If we examine the cultural background of Americans, we will discover many are of European descent. Many of our ancestors came looking for religious freedom. Others came to settle debts they had in their homeland. Some citizens are descendants of slaves who were sold to affluent citizens and plantation owners. The circumstances around people in these groups arrival resulted in prejudice and ethnocentrism. Prejudice was not just directed toward African Americans during the 19th century. German, Irish, Polish, Chinese and Italian immigrants found themselves...
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...how many perfectly good movies we’re getting out of Hollywood’s current obsession with adaptations, sequels, and reboots, too much of it is bad for the soul of a movie culture. New things, new experiences,...
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...The most prevalent social issues in society revolve around identity and fair representation. It can be anything from equality between races, gender and/or sexual preferences. For example, on Twitter, there was a post that said there was going to be a Pixar movie in the near future with an LGBT main character. Someone replied that LGBT has already prevalent in society and doesn’t need to be forced into the lives of others. Sexual identity has become more and more apparent over the past few years. Having an LGBT main character is possible and in no way is it wrong. Having this would not seem out-of-place in society because varying preferences are becoming more popular. The ratio of LGBT main characters on television to the amount of members in...
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...Khaled Aldehneh Professor Cortese Oct 25th 2015 Final Draft Buffy the Vampire Slayer Society has many ideas about proper behaviors regarding gender roles. Over time, it is obvious the rules and expectations made up by society regarding proper male and female behavior has become very different. Males have to live up to the standards of having a good career and living up to strong goals to reach it. Males are always seen as strong and tough while females are known for their feminine behaviors and softness—the least capable to qualify for tough jobs. “Like all sciences and all valuations, the psychology of women has hitherto been considered only from the point of view of men.” (Karen Horney). In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Director David Solomon challenges gender roles in society by empowering the woman, and challenges traditional ideas...
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...Compare and Contrast Gender in Advertising Advertising is a multimillion-dollar industry that targets people of various ages and gender to aid in selling gather products. The images or visual and verbal sense of the messages vary considerably by targeting different people with images and messages, which may even lead to the use of stereotyping in order to reach to a wider array of audience. For example, adverts that are solely directed for the teenage audience persuade them that purchasing a specific product makes them “fit in” with other teenagers or their role models. A comparison of advertisements that are aims at men and women show that advertisers are still using the standard gender role to advertise for their products which is causing a lot of stereotyping and biases to be seen. In order to understand stereotypes and gender bias found in the advertisements, it is first imperative to understand what stereotyping is and how it is implemented into advertisements. Stereotyping is defined as a thought that can be adopted from specific types of individuals or ways of doing things, however, that certain belief may or may not be an accurate reflection of reality. Stereotyping fits in with other types of inter group attitudes. Stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice are comprehended to be related but are still different concepts. Stereotyping is though more as rational components of an individual since it is a reflection god expectations and beliefs about the characteristics...
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...Socio-Cultural Influences on Sexuality There is nothing that sparks a debate more than the topic of sexuality. The multitude of opinions in societies displays an attempt to define, promote, or control sexuality. Sexuality is a part of our humanity in which defines sex, gender identities, gender roles, sexual orientation, pleasure, intimacy, and instigates procreation. Though, sexuality is experienced and expressed through thoughts, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, roles, behaviours, and relationships; it is greatly influenced by societies, cultures, historical perspectives, religious perspectives, biological forces, psychological theories, ethics, morals, and legal factors. In the United States, known as the “melting pot” because of the mass amounts of cultural influences brought in by immigrants worldwide that now reside on its land; one of the biggest concerns in regards to sexuality are the social and public health challenges that influence sexual behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs. Sexual behavior in not just a personal matter between two people, but rather a theme that can affect society in terms of social expectations for sexual behaviors, gender identity, roles, stereotypes, and bias. Social Expectations on Sexual Behaviors “Sexuality is an important part of our lives” (King, 2012, p.1), currently and amongst the generations before us. Throughout history, sexual behaviours have been largely influenced by culture, religion, and historical perspectives...
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...“Clearly, for emerging homosexual or transgender kids growing up, with few if any flesh-and-blood role models they can look up to regarding these core issues, LGBT images in the media take on especially heightened importance” (Kelso). With social media being widespread amongst youth, kids who are discovering who they are for the first time need something or someone to validate them, make them feel that what they are feeling is normal and many other people around the world feel the same way. Social media has also been used as a way for activists to promote LGBTQ+ rights and issues, as well as get their voice across to places that do and do not support equality. Even investigations have proven that the media can aid people with self-realization, coming out, and feeling comfortable being themselves by providing them with role-models and inspiration (Gomillion). I personally know someone who feel the same way, with social media giving them a way to talk with someone who they can feel comfortable with. If done correctly, I believe the media can leave a enormous, positive impact on representation for LGBTQ+ people, which they desperately crave. With accurate depictions of LGBTQ+ character in movies, TV shows, and books, along with the carried support of activists on social media and people are are not afraid to be themselves, a new era could be born, with...
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...The Curious Case of Gender Identities in Films Assignment No. 2B by Justin Wie Mao Sheng (S8927155Z) Group No. 1 (G1) Academic Writing WRIT001/Term 2 – 2010/2011 I declare that this Assignment is my original work and all information obtained from other sources has been cited accordingly. Turnitin Similarity Index _______________________ Signature and Date Course Instructor: Shirley James % Literature Review “Eroticized as a woman and masculinized as action heroine” (Smelik, 2009) – this seems to be inevitable for any woman who ventures into the world of cinema, occupying nontraditional roles particularly in the action-genre because such films have become synonymous with a cardinal male figure. What then is left for females in this male-dominated genre? Can a female action-heroine, considered unconventional and non-traditional, exist without ultimately emphasizing a more dominant male, hence re-articulating gender stereotypes? I will, by discussing how gender patterns in films affect gender identities, argue that this is not likely, simply because of hegemonic masculinity. Eschholz & Bufkin (2001) established the difference between (biological) sex and gender and how they were linked to criminal violence in films, concluding that film depictions of a “structural hierarchy” emphasizes women (femininity) being physically and emotionally subject to their masculine counterparts. Gilpatric (2010) however, focuses on violent female action characters (VFACs), claiming...
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...Gender Roles How the media has affected the roles and perspectives of the different genders Amanda Luebbert 11 April 2016 Ms. Dudley Sociology People have gone through a lot trying to express themselves and who they feel they are. Having a relationship with someone of the same gender, or wanting to change the gender that a person was born as, was not looked upon with an accepting mind. The media has opened people’s minds to a whole new way of viewing people’s personal feelings and thoughts towards their gender and what gender people should have a relationship with. Media has been an way of inspiring those with different views on certain aspects of genders that many disagreed with. Many people were fully against gay marriage until the media stepped in a made people see it in a different way. Being a transgender was not the most popular thing, but media has made it more acceptable to those that were against it. People should have the right to be whatever gender they feel entitled to whether others think so or not. The media currently has several people that are into the art of makeup. Many of these artists happen to be men. Men are usually not viewed as wearing tons of makeup, but the perspective of these people are positive. People used to be a lot more judge-mental to anyone who wanted to do something that was generally done by the opposite sex. These guys that do fabulous makeup are not looked at as different they...
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...released as Zentropa in the United States to avoid such a confusion. Europa Europa is directed by the young European director Agnieszka Holland, who previously directed the films Angry Harvest, and To Kill A Priest, and would later go on to direct such films as In Darkness and Burning Bush a three part miniseries which aired on the premium cable channel HBO this year. After doing a good amount of reading on Wikipedia, I am a big fan of the director, despite not knowing anything about the director, nor having seen any of his movies. My girlfriend insists the director is a woman, and begrudgingly I admit to her that she is in fact correct. This is a gender bias I have displayed unwittingly, and a multicultural stereotype of men directing war movies that I have internalized. I recognize that this is a negative bias. Dark sided. I have displayed a misogynistic tendency here in this situation. Irregardless, the female director has quite the repertoire of Nazi war movies. I am ready to accept her for who she is and empathize. I will probably have to empathize for the next three or four hours for a myriad of different reasons. The movie Europa Europa is not a film about astronauts on a mission to explore the claustrophobic cold recess of distant outer space, even though such a movie would exemplify multicultural relations. Europa Europa is a film about a young Jewish man who must pretend to be a Nazi during the Jewish Holocaust. I can’t imagine why anyone would hate the Jews, other than...
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...of behavior. Yet, the mass media has largely failed in addressing and helping to solve social problems. As seen through its presentation of the three major variables of race, class, and gender, the mass media has actually served to contribute to the social problems it covers, reinforcing them, and creating an inter-related cycle in which these problems continue. TV has become perhaps the primary vehicle that society receives its information and presents its values and expectations. One of the most important roles television plays is its presentation of news and information. What a station chooses to present as newsworthy can play a strong role in how people view their society and the world around them. Often, television news sources have followed a philosophy of “if it bleeds, it leads”, focusing on violence in urban environments. This violence occurs more frequently in black neighborhoods, resulting in what amounts to essentially as a steady, nightly stream of reports on violence in the inner-city by and among African-Americans. In this way, the television media plays a strong role in formulating racial problems as seen by the interactionist approach. With the constant display of these images two problems quickly emerge. First, the minority groups become subject to stereotypes as the images presented become fixed mental images and are exaggerated and applied to the group as a whole. Whites, according to this model, “learn” that minority groups are “less...
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...will focus on the socialization of gender roles and the expectations which constitute gender roles, including methods and agents of socialization, as well as some of the effects it has on certain individuals. By being conscious of these details, one will be better equipped to understand societal expectations, and be versed to make informed decisions of how to rear your children, especially if your child or children self-identify as being homosexual because the socialization of gender roles in the United States causes confusion amongst or conflict within homosexuals as a result of gender role expectations and the gender roles they assume and find to be natural. Defining Gender To begin with, gender is defined as a social structure that is culturally or socially engineered and was devised in the early hunter-gatherer age (Connell). It emphasizes the distinctions between “females and males found in the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’” (Kendall 2012). Informally, says the World English Dictionary, “it is the state of being male, female, or neuter” or “any of the categories, such as masculine, feminine, neuter, or common, within such a set.” Gender Roles More importantly, a gender role “refers to the attitudes, behavior, and activities that are socially defined as appropriate for each sex and are learned through the socialization process” (Kendall 2012). A sample of several expected gender roles, for males, would include being...
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