Final Paper

Ryan Fischer

Professor Braverman

WGS Pop Culture

5/8/16

Where Will KGOY be in 10 Years?

            Childhood has been decaying over the past few years in the shadows of a new concept the marketers of big time companies call KGOY. Marketers realized the potential profit they could reel in from targeting young children with their advertisements and different products, and in turn have changed the way children in society today grow up. KGOY stands for “Kids Getting Older Younger”, and is becoming increasingly more relevant in pop culture and communities across the country. In the book Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture, author Laura Choate explains how the primary cause for KGOY is marketing and advertising. She says that the toys marketed to children represent a marketing trend that pressures children to look hot and sexy, and also act older than they really are (Choate). In 10 years, I think KGOY will still be around because of marketer’s relentless attitude towards profit making strategies, such as the strategies they use to entice young children to purchase products that are inappropriate for their age.

            The KGOY acronym was designed to represent the early maturation of children due to their desire to grow up faster. “Kids Growing Older Younger” is driven by large corporation’s desire for profitability in the markets designed to reach young children. In her book titled Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia, Claudia Mitchell explains that the KGOY phenomenon has led to the death of childhood. Furthermore, in an interview conducted by the Advertising Education Agency, Paul Kurnit described how kids act as a result of KGOY. He says that, “kids between the age of 3 and 5 today, are more like 8 and 9 year olds from decades past in terms of brand knowledge and influence, as well as play patterns and relationships with toys” (Kurnit). This is a result of the combined effect of technological opportunities, the abundance of branding messages that children learn from television advertising, and new trends in parenting. KGOY is also explained as a psychological trend among upper-elementary school children, who desire freedom from their nagging and hovering parents so they can fit into peer groups (Cross). Both views on KGOY emphasize the early maturation of children because of a desire to grow up faster with their peer groups. KGOY has taken shape primarily because of marketers who target young children as potential customers.

            Marketers are the primary driving force behind the development of KGOY among young children in society. Kids nag their parents for the next best toy or piece of technology in order to fit in with their peers because of the advertisements they see on television. Kay Hymowitz, a fellow at the Manhattan institute who writes extensively on childhood and cultural change in America, discusses the birth of KGOY in an interview with Dr. Albert Mohler. She says that marketers ignore parents and directly target kids in their marketing campaigns. The goal of their campaigns is to get kids to think of themselves as older so they can express themselves more and demand more for themselves, while also getting their parents to buy them more toys (Hymowitz). Hymowitz says that when parents are unsure and kids are nagging and empowered, the market will rule. When the market rules, it tells kids what is cool, what they ought to do, what they ought to value, and what they ought to be (Hymowitz). Hymowitz’s logic explains that marketers control the way kids grow up, and continuously strive to make kids feel older by empowering them to buy certain things.

            Some examples of the products that cause kids to grow older younger are violent video games, Barbie dolls, and Bratz dolls. In the market for videogames, Nintendo began to discover that their customer base was expanding as child players became teens and entered their 20s. This caused manufacturers to create more sexual and violent games to appeal to the new enlarged group of customers. However, the presence of the new over sexualized and violent video games lured kids away from the more “babyish” games like Mario (Cross). The exposure to the violent and sexualized videogames has influenced kids to grow older faster by exposing them to mature content. Similarly, Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls provide an oversexualized icon for young girls to look up to. In his article titled “KGOY”- or Kids Growing Older Younger: The Message of Barbie and the Bratz, Albert Mohler discusses the influence Barbie and Bratz dolls have on the development of children. Mohler believes that parents often forget that kids want to grow up fast, and marketers take advantage of it by offering products meant for an older audience to kids between the ages of 3 and 7. Barbie was originally created in 1959 by Ruth Hander as a sexual toy for men. However, now it is marketed to 3-year-old girls (Mohler). To date, over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold, and the average American girl aged between 3 and 11 owns a staggering 10 Barbie dolls (The Economist). As a result of Barbie’s popularity among young children, today it is not uncommon for an eight-year-old to own lip gloss and for 11 year olds to wear a thong to school (Mohler). Barbie’s impact on young girls in society is evident through the way girls sexualize themselves at an early age. Similar to Barbie, Bratz dolls have pressured kids to dress provocatively, wear makeup, and act older. Kay Hymowitz describes Bratz dolls as “little hookers” because of the way the dolls are dressed in scandalous clothing and a heavy amount of makeup. Bratz have influenced young girls to grow up faster by pressuring them into objectifying themselves as sex objects at an early age, like the way their dolls do. Marketing and advertising have the most profound influence on kids in society, and are the main contributor to the development of KGOY.

            KGOY has currently trended upward in the past decade because of marketers who began to market to children between the ages of 3 to 7. Because of strong marketing techniques, KGOY will still be a strong aspect of our society in 10 years because marketers will continue to use their techniques to form self-brand connections within their target customers. Self-brand connections are the prevailing view that consumers engage in a matching process to identify products or brands that are congruent with their self-images (Chaplin). Research demonstrates that individuals use products to communicate their self-concepts, showing that children who play with Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls connect their self-image with the image of the doll. Therefore, they want to dress, wear makeup, and act older like their dolls (Chaplin). Marketers have discovered that consumers can appropriate associations belonging to brands, such as user characteristics or personality traits, and incorporate them into their own self-concepts (Chaplin). When children are exposed to television advertisements for a new toy marketed to them, they appropriate the user characteristics and personality traits of the product to themselves. Most of the time, the products display older personality traits and push children to act an older age. The idea of self-brand connections that marketers develop in children is why kids will continue to grow older younger. The toys and television advertisements that young children associate themselves with are unappropriated for their age because toys like Barbie and Bratz dolls are over sexualized for a young girl. Similarly, violent video games with sexual components are inappropriate to young boys. Marketers ignore how parents feel about the products exposed to their children, and instead attack children with advertisements and product promotions.

Marketers will continue to advertise and create self-brand connections with their young customers because of the tremendous profitability of the strategy. Marketers spend about $17 billion annually in marketing to children, opposed to back in 1983 where marketers only spent around $100 million (“Marketing to Children Overview”). Also, today children under 12 years old influence $500 billion in purchases every year (“Marketing to Children Overview”). Marketers understand that young children themselves don’t have purchasing power, however they possess what marketers call “pester power” (puretheraputics.com). Marketers think of children as cash cows and bombard them with advertising because they know kids will pester their parents to purchase worthless food and toys (puretheraputics.com). The tremendous success marketers have had with advertising to kids at a very young age implies that they will continue to apply this approach and technique to continue to be profitable. Therefore, kids will still be exposed to over sexualized and mature dolls and toys, causing them to age faster and desire to be older. KGOY will not dissipate in 10 years because marketers have a firm grip on advertising to children and are extremely effective in their methods of creating a self-brand connection with children and their brand. However, parents need to consistently expose their children to positive role models and continue to point out positive qualities of people in order for children to develop positive behavior (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). KGOY can have a positive impact on children as long as parents consistently expose their children to good role models and point out positives so kids can grow and develop into good people like those around them, instead of developing into the oversexualized dolls and violent video game characters that are marketed towards them.

            KGOY has taken shape over the past decade because of children’s exposure to mature content and toys that are designed for older children. Kids are getting older younger because it is the marketer’s goal for kids to think of themselves as younger. KGOY allows companies to profit off of the billions of dollars that kids influence their parents to spend on the toys and videogames. Self-brand connections are driving kids to associate themselves with the violent video games and sexualized Barbie dolls, therefore causing them to adapt an older image of themselves. KGOY will continue to present itself in society because marketers will refuse to forfeit the profit opportunities that exist among the market of 3-7-year-old children. They will continue to neglect parents in their decision to market to kids, and thrive off of the pester power of children that lead to $500 billion in purchases every year. KGOY will always be relevant in our society because of how crucial marketing and advertising is to our capitalist economy. However, parents need to expose their children to positive role models and point out positive qualities in famous people to teach children that their Barbie and Bratz dolls aren’t the ideal way to act in society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Chaplin, Lan Nguyen, and Deborah Roedder, John. “Journal of Consumer Research.” Ed. Darren Dahl, Eileen Fischer, Gita Johar, and Vivki Morwitz. Journal of Consumer Research 32.1: 119-129. Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press, 1 June 2005. Web. 9 May 2016. http://jcr.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/1/119.full.

Cross, Gary. “Jaded Children, Callow Adults.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle Review, 10 March 2014. Web. 9 May 2016. http://chronicle.com/article/Jaded-Children-Callow-Adults/145117/.

Choate, Laura Hensley. Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2016. Print.

Hymowitz, Kay. “Kids Growing Older Younger: Bratz Dolls and Barbies.” Interview by Albert Mohler. AlbertMohler.com. 19 December 2006. Web. 9 May 2016.

Kurnit, Paul. “Kids Getting Older Younger.” Advertising Educational Foundation. Advertising Educational Foundation, 1999. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/35.

“Life in Plastic.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 21 December 2002. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.economist.com/node/1487595.

“Marketing to Children Overview.” Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/resource/marketing-children-overview.

Mitchell, Claudia, and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh. Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008. Print.

Mohler, Albert. “KGOY”- or Kids Growing Older Younger: The Message of Barbie and the Bratz.” AlbertMohler.com. 20 December 2006. Web. 9 May 2016. http://www.albertmohler.com/2006/12/20/kgoy-or-kids-growing-older-younger-the-message-of-barbie-and-the-bratz/.

“Role Models and Children.” American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, September 2011. Web. 9 May 2016. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-and-Role-Models-099.aspx.

 

 

Ready, Set, Go Viral!

Ryan Fischer

Professor Braverman

WGS Pop Culture                 

25 April 2016

Ready, Set, Go Viral!

Dermatologists believe the number of deaths from melanoma would be much lower if people knew the warning signs of melanoma, learned how to examine their skin for signs of skin cancer, and took the time to examine their skin (American Academy of Dermatology). This was our motivation behind #KforMelanoma. Inspired by our head coach, we set out to increase the awareness of Melanoma through our baseball team and our baseball games at TCNJ. Coach Glus was diagnosed with melanoma, however, he was able to identify it early and seek the proper treatment for it. Now as a cancer survivor, he advocates for melanoma awareness and has supported us throughout our journey to increase melanoma awareness in those who follow TCNJ baseball.

To raise awareness, our group created the #KforMelanoma trend on social media. We initially wanted to have fans of the baseball team sponsor our starting pitchers and donate a dollar to melanoma research for every strikeout the pitcher accrued over the season. However, we were unable to obtain Dr. Beverly’s approval because she stepped down after we presented our idea. Dr. Beverly stepping down slowed our project down quite a bit because we were stuck on how we would be able to raise money for melanoma research. Our initial goal was to obtain 15 to 20 sponsors for our starting pitchers who were willing to donate to melanoma research for each strikeout. While we were not able to achieve our target number of sponsors, we were able to attract a few sponsors who are willing to donate at the end of our season for the strikeout total. In addition to receiving five parent sponsors, we set out to spread the hashtag of #KforMelanoma to raise awareness of the deadly skin cancer, and encouragingly received six replay hashtags.

            Overall, although we did not achieve our target number of sponsors, we accomplished our goal of raising melanoma awareness. People of all ages are at risk for melanoma. Things that put people at risk for melanoma are ultraviolet light exposure, moles, fair skin, freckling, light hair, family history of melanoma, older age, and being a male (American Cancer Society). Melanoma can be prevented by simply avoiding excessive ultraviolet light exposure and applying sunscreen before going outside. If left untreated, melanoma can be a deadly form of skin cancer and extremely dangerous among those who have it.  

            I think we were successful with our trendsetting project. While we may not have achieved the widespread success some other groups may have had, but we were able to accomplish our goal of raising awareness of melanoma. Not many people understand what melanoma is and how easily at risk they are. By advocating for melanoma awareness and raising money to support melanoma research, our group has set out to change the way people view their risk of getting melanoma. People who follow TCNJ baseball or who have been to our games understand the severity of melanoma, and can therefore pass on the knowledge to their friends and family. Our project was only the start of a movement that is much bigger than TCNJ baseball. With our coach’s experience as a cancer survivor, we have left a significant mark on our families and followers of TCNJ to reach out and expand this movement of melanoma awareness. Hopefully through #KforMelanoma we have increased awareness of melanoma on a broader scale, which could lead to the reduction of melanoma related deaths in the future.

 

Works Cited

“Melanoma.” American Academy of Dermatology. American Academy of Dermatology. Web. 24 April 2016. <https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/melanoma>

“What Are the Risk Factors for Melanoma Skin Cancer?” American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society, 1 February 2016. Web. 24 April 2016. <http://www.cancer.org/cancer/skincancer-melanoma/detailedguide/melanoma-skin-cancer-risk-factors>

 

Modern Families and Modern Money Worries Summary

The article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries” discusses the financial struggles of four increasingly common family structures in our society today. The article discusses single parent families, blended families, same-sex families, and multi-generational families.

Single parent families are families where only one parent is raising a child, whether the child was adopted or a married couple had a child but is divorced. With single parent families, financial costs are often the biggest concern. Arnold Jenkins is a single parent of one daughter; he used to be a workaholic but now takes all the time he can to spend with his daughter. Because he is a single parent, the money he used to deposit into his savings account now goes towards the day care his daughter attends while he is at work. Food costs have also rose for the Jenkins family because they tried to adopt a healthier life style and began eating more fruits and vegetables. Arnold also compiled a large debt from the long custody battle with his ex-wife. The most troubling money concern with single parent families is Arnold’s fear of not having enough money to cover for his daughter if he were to unexpectedly die.

Blended families have a different set of financial concerns. Their financial arguments involve a what is yours, mine, and ours debate.  A prenup is often a reliable option before marriage to differentiate what each individual owns if something were to happen to the relationship. Many couples make a plan for what they bring into the marriage, however they forget to plan for issues in the future like supporting adult children or leaving money to their heirs.

A same-sex family’s financial problems come with future inheritances. Spouses have trouble leaving money for each other in case of a sudden death in some states because there are still states that don’t recognize gay marriage. However, in most states married same sex couples receive the same federal treatment for income and estate taxes as married heterosexual couples. On the contrary, no court or federal rulings can resolve family issues that involve family dynamics. In particular, if the parents or families don’t approve of the relationship.

Multi-generational families are families where two, three, or four generations of a family live under the same roof and depend on support from one or two of those family members. In this case, there are many tax considerations and faulty transactions. It is very easy for people to run afoul with gift taxes when they give family members money as a gift to pay for their own taxes. All families encounter financial challenges and every family has a different financial situation. These four families and the situations they have to face as a family are becoming more and more relevant in our society and deserve a close look at like the one supplied in the article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries.”

Media Screening

The movie “In a World” features a woman named Carol Solomon who wants to be a voice over in movie trailers, which her father regards as a “man’s business, nobody wants to hear a female voice.” Carol’s voice was heard by the executive producer of the Amazon Games Quadrilogy and she was selected to be the voice of the trailer. Her father, who was notorious for his voice overs in movie trailers (who was also in consideration for the job) was upset that a female was going to be the voice in the trailer. People responded very negatively to a female entering the voice over industry, and believed that there was no room for her. The other male candidates considered her a “thief” because she “stole” the position from the other male contestants. This film displays gender identity because men don’t believe women are fit to be in the voice over industry. The gender stereotypes are on full display when men continuously and openly announce how a woman isn’t fit to be in the voice over business. In the very last scene, the executive producer tells Carol that “everyone in the world hears movie trailers, and everyone in the world hears TV commercials.” She picked Carol because she believed that young females need to be empowered and motivated by hearing a female’s voice in a powerful position in influential media roles.

The documentary titled “It’s a Girl” displays the fear and danger of being a woman in countries like India and China. The documentary begins with a woman explaining how she killed eight of her female children because of their sex. She would continue to get pregnant hoping for a boy, however she kept getting a boy. In India, society views females as a drain of resources due to the fact that they cannot retain family property and cannot provide as a source of income. Additionally, due to the poor living conditions and costs of raising a child, the female children families get pregnant with are often aborted or killed to lessen the expenses on the family. Fortunately, India has taken action against the killing of young female children by implementing a law that prohibits killing a child based on their gender. Similarly, in China, there are 13 million abortions a year. On top of that, there are 500 female suicides every day in China. When you break down the population of China, there are 37 million more men than women in China. These staggering statistics are caused by a policy in China that allows families to have no more than two children. Chinese families often kill the female children they have to ensure both of their kids are males because they will be more successful in society. Female rights are taken away at a very young age in both of these countries. The documentary fully exposes the gender inequality in these societies, where it has become so extreme that mothers kill their children because they would rather have them die than live in their society.

Both of these movies encompass the gender inequality found in our world today. While “In a World” is a little less severe, it is still important to note how people responded to when Carol won the job. They accused her of being a thief to her male counterparts, who believed she was inadequate for the job simply because the industry “had no room for a female voice”. “It’s a girl is a little more serious and eye opening to the global issue of gender inequality. Female deaths at a young age are abundant in India and China because a female does not have the same opportunities a man has. In our world, we need to address the issue of gender inequality and make it clear that people are people, no matter whether they are born as a male or female. Everyone is capable of making a contribution to society, and they shouldn’t be stripped of that opportunity at birth when their parents say “It’s a girl.”

Gender Neutral Children

Sasha’s story is exemplary of how crucial gender roles are in the development of a child. Sasha, a boy, was raised as a gender neutral child up until he turned 5 years old. Sasha’s room was painted a neutral yellow, he was encouraged to play with whatever toys he wanted to, and was allowed to wear whatever clothing he wanted. His parents never encouraged him to play with one thing over another, and they never pushed him to act a certain way. They simply allowed Sasha to grow up the way he wanted to grow up without the pressure of living up to a stereotype that has been pre-determined for him.

Gender neutral parenting is starting to become more relevant in today’s society, and I feel that it is not a problem. I don’t think that gender neutral parenting is the wrong way to parent. When we look at the toys children play with, they distinctly define and encourage a gender to act a specific way. For example, male toys promote violence, aggressiveness, strength, and masculinity. On the other hand, female toys promote nurturing, skillful development, and beauty. These toys influence children to behave accordingly towards their gender roles, and put pressure on growing children to live up to the common stereotypes about their gender.

Gender neutral parenting attempts to eliminate gender roles in a developing child’s life. Many believe gender stereotypes and prejudices have a negative impact, so gender neutral parenting can be a good thing for children. In her book Gender Neutral Parenting: Raising Kids with the Freedom to be Themselves, author Paige Lucas-Stannard explores the benefits of raising kids gender neutral and tries to debunk myths such as the belief that GNP is anti-feminine or anti-masculine. She believes that parents should expose kids to a wide range of gender types and to allow them freedom to explore without judgement. I think that it is beneficial to allow kids to live in the way they want to live because everyone is entitled to their own lives. I don’t believe that people’s lives should be dictated through the eyes of others. Everyone is their own unique person with certain passions in life and they should be able to freely express themselves without anyone else’s opinion being important to them.

"GimpGirl Grows Up" Article Summary

Inspired by her participation in the DO-IT program for teens with disabilities, Jenifer Cole and her mentor Len Burns founded the center for Breaking Away. It is a nonprofit organization for disabled youth transitioning to adulthood. This organization originally housed the GGC project, but was dissolved after the GGC project outgrew the center.The GGC was founded in 1998 as a collaboration of young women with disabilities who shared dissatisfaction with preexisting services and communities, which appeared incapable of fulfilling the needs of these youth in transition to adulthood.

GGC was created to fight back against abusive situations Jenifer had encountered, and to counterbalance her early heteronomous role of being a passive daughter/child with a disability. She established it when she was only 18 or 19 to form a community in which people collectively help each other through tough time as those with disabilities. The domain gimpgirl.com was registered in February 1998 initially as Jennifer’s personal website. However, it was almost immediately handed over to the GGC. This GGC site was one of the first sites dedicated to women with disabilities based on self-diagnosed disability, without restrictions on age, sexual orientation, or types of disability. Offered resources and links to news from the disability community.

The name “Gimpgirl” originated from a nickname Jenifer’s friends called her when she was a teenager. By sharing her nickname with the group Jenifer motivated herself and other group members to get each other through life. GGC members have become increasingly accepting of the term GimpGirl. At first, many felt it was rude. But after they thought deeper into it, they realized the term is upfront and confident while it takes away any sense of pity.

An important characteristic of the GGC today is their active search for and implementation of new technologies to facilitate member participation and community development. Seeks new technology to deliver and develop desirable content for its members. For example, the GGC has created an account on the LiveJournal platform in an effort to diversify access and to reduce duties for moderators. In this system, users were able to maintain their own accounts and benefitted from a variety of available communities.

The theme of the GGC is a double whammy; living as women and living with a disability. Over the past decade, the GGC and its members have changed many lives, and they continue to constantly look for new ways in which to challenge medical/institutional discourses, as well as public perceptions of women with disabilities.

Social Networks: "Social Media's Top 5 Contributions to Society"

While many people have a negative view of Facebook, I would like to offer a twist on the role the social networking site has in society. In Samantha Rupert’s article “Social Media’s Top 5 Contributions to Society,” she summarizes five benefits social media has in our society. First, she explains that Facebook is a forum for support and safety information during a crisis. For example, during Superstorm Sandy, most people didn’t have power. However, some cell networks and WiFi towers were still operational. Many people used Facebook to detail the destruction and reassure friends or family that they were safe. Secondly, Rupert says that Facebook is a valuable aid for crime-solving. Police departments like the NYPD are beginning to investigate gang-related crimes on social media networks. Recently, the NYPD nabbed about 60 gang members who boasted about violent crimes on social media networks. Third, Facebook and other social media platforms are a form of political influence. Social media has given a true voice to the people. It allowed people to rally for same sex marriage equality while the Supreme Court heard cases regarding the issue. The wide range of people that use Facebook make it a powerful political voice. Fourth, Facebook is currently the best way yet to connect across vast distances. It allows friends and families from far and wide to connect with ease, without having to waste money paying for international phone calls. It also offers a visual for these people who haven’t seen their loved ones in a while because different pictures can be posted. Fifth and finally, social media has revolutionized brand engagement. It has completely transformed the marketing industry. A report from BIA/Kelsey projects social media revenue to exceed $11 Billion by 2017. Because brands have the opportunity to personally engage with customers like never before through these sites, their sales are skyrocketing. People like to see brands respond to them when the mention a company in a Facebook post or a tweet or anything on social media. Interaction through social media is fueling sales and brand success in the media world. So while many might throw harsh criticism at Social Media and the role it plays in our society, Rupert offers a spin on the common negative opinions and opens eyes to the good role social media plays in our society.

The Political Economy of Privacy on Facebook: Article Summary

Facebook is watching everything its users are doing. It uses your information to collect data to sell to advertising in order to make profit. The article introduces the idea of a prosumer. A Prosumer is the progressive blurring of the line that separates producer from consumer. Alvin Toffler describes the age of prosumption as the arrival of a new form of economic and political democracy, self-determined work, labor autonomy, local production, and autonomous self-production. New media corporations do not pay users for the production of content. However, a widely used accumulation strategy is to give the users free access to services and platforms, let them produce content, and to accumulate a mass of prosumers that are sold as commodity to advertisers. There is no product sold to the users. Instead, the users are sold as commodities to advertisers. The more users a platform claims, the higher the advertising rates.

Facebook closely monitors your contacts, communication, and data. They then sell this data to companies, who then send targeted advertisements to you. This is how Facebook exists, all users are examples of workers for Facebook. The users who upload photos and images, write wall posting and comments, send mail to their contacts, accumulate friends, or browse other profiles on Facebook constitute an audience commodity that is sold to advertisers. On the internet, users are also content producers who engage in permanent creative activity, communication, community building, and content-production. Surveillance of Facebook prosumers occurs via corporate web platform operators and third party advertising clients, which continuously monitor and record personal data and online activities. Facebook surveillance creates detailed user profiles so that advertising clients know and can target the personal interests and online behaviors of the users. Facebook sells their prosumers as a commodity to advertising clients.

Data surveillance is the means for Facebook’s economic ends. Facebook permanently monitors users for economic ends, which means that no economic privacy is guaranteed to them. Since it remains unknown to users what specific information and data contributes to targeted advertising, they cannot control their data use or protect themselves from its commodification. The use of targeted advertising and economic surveillance is legally guaranteed by Facebook’s privacy policy. However, users cannot control what Facebook uses to attract advertisers, therefore it morally questions their practices as a company.

 

Reality Television

A formerly popular reality television show a few years ago was "Jersey Shore." All of the characters are extremely gendered, especially the men of the group. The four men on the show are all very strong and attractive men, and they display a lot of masculinity. The men on this show were seen almost as role models that people wanted to live up to in order to be considered cool. The cast of jersey shore influenced our society to make outward physical appearance a priority, and changed the way many view and treat women. On the show, the men popularized the phrase "GTL," which stands for gym, tanning, and laundry. They would spend their days by going to the gym to get stronger and look fit, by getting a tan in a tanning bed or out in the sun, and then doing their laundry so they could go out at night and look nice. People who watched the Jersey Shore stereotyped all men to be like the men from Jersey Shore. People believed that all men prioritized going to the gym every day and getting as big and strong as they possibly can. People also believed that all men cared about looking good at the beach, so they would get tans all the time. Jersey Shore heavily gendered the men based on masculine attributes, and established a false stereotype of the male gender. The men of Jersey shore also treated women disrespectfully, which is how women believe men stereotypically treat women. The men of Jersey Shore did not look to engage in a romantic relationship, nor did they approach women with respect to their feelings. Ultimately, the men of Jersey Shore were only looking to hook up with women, or bring them back to the house for the night. The men would go to all sorts of parties with this goal to bring back a girl to their house or to hook up with a girl. Because of the popularity of the show, the male audience was influenced to believe that the proper way to treat women is to use them as hook ups. It created a new gender stereotype for men, and have almost put a black eye on men and their moral values. The Jersey Shore is a good example of how reality TV is gendered. Present day common male stereotypes of how men treat women and how men value physical appearance were displayed through the men on Jersey Shore. Men were largely misrepresented for the most part based on common stereotypes, and the Jersey Shore had a negative impact on its audience and how they treat women.

Marketing "Reality" to the World Article Summary

Survivor is a popular reality TV show that exemplifies how advertising is taking over reality shows on TV to market products to a broad audience of people. Intensifying concentration of ownership in the television industry, the worldwide proliferation of commercial television, the fragmentation of the global television audience, and the design of Survivor, as a thinly veiled advertisement, account for the success of the show. The article touches on the fordist system of manufacturing and marketing, which strove to maximize profits by making one commodity appeal to as many consumers as possible for as long as possible. The article proposes that advertisers use this method to advertise products on reality television to reach a broad audience of people.

Today's production of reality TV relies on advertisement because of how advertisers value the potential audience they can reach through the shows. Advertisers readily sponsored Survivor because of its design as a virtual commercial for their products. Companies like General Motors, Target, Visa, Frito-Lay, and Reebok paid approximately 4 million dollars each for advertising time. And although survivor is one of the most expensive shows to produce, it still was profitable because 30 second advertising spots were going for $445,000 during the 2001-2002 season. Advertisements were found both within the show and between breaks in the show. During Survivor, the host Jeff Probst would reward winners of the show’s challenges with Doritos and Mountain Dew.

The design of Survivor as a virtual advertisement raises the issue of how television’s goal of selling audiences to advertisers shapes the program. Television programs must be able to attract large numbers of people, the “right” kind of people, and people in the right state of mind. They have to reflect this targeting, excluding demographic groups that lack the spending power to satisfy advertisers. Survivor accomplishes all of these goals. Broadcast during a prime time, it attracts a teen demographic sought by advertisers as well as a huge national audience composed of other age groups. Survivor also boasts high quality production values that associate products woven into its text with adventure, heroism, and escape. Survivor appeals to networks and advertisers because it combines high ratings with relatively low cost in comparison to comedies and dramas. High quality production values and exotic locations became means through which survivor targeted the prime time audience sought by advertisers, distinguished itself from cheaper crime based reality shows, and blurred the line between prime time drama and reality shows. Reality shows have thus proliferated on prime time television in recent years because they pose little financial risk for networks, yet offer prime-time friendly production values and generate huge ratings. The use of internet and cable TV networks also attracts a young audience prized by advertisers. On this basis, Survivor became a valuable addition to Viacom’s cradle to the grave programming spectrum by enabling CBS, known for its primarily elderly audience, to capture a huge mass audience, as well as a slice of the highly coveted youth audience

 

Boys, Girls, and Toys

Toys are the foundation for developing the children of our society today. Play is crucial to how children learn about the world, and in education it is recognized that children need access to a range of toys and play experiences. Toys that are focused on action, construction, and technology hone spatial skills, foster problem solving, and encourage children to be active. On the other hand, toys that focus on role pay and small-scale theatre foster social skills, and arts and crafts. In general, the action and construction toys are marketed to boys while the role play toys are marketed to the girls. We see this with popular toys like action figures of superheroes for boys and Barbie dolls for girls.

The main culprit of gendered toys is the marketing department of toy companies. How toys are labeled and displayed affects a customers buying habits, and many people feel uncomfortable buying a pink toy for a boy because early on in our lives we associate pink with females and blue with males. In toy stores, there is often a clear separation of boys toys and girls toys based on the coloring of the packaging. The girls toys are often together in pink packaging while boys toys are grouped together in blue packaging. Consider the picture below as an example. The picture is of the inside of a Toys R' Us, and it is clear which side is the girls' toys section and which side is the boys' toys section.


The way toys are gendered affect the development and growth of children. Kids don't pop out of the womb with expectations of their future careers. The toys they play with mold them into the people they are and their beliefs about the world. The tough, gritty action figures that boys play with at a young age teach them to be violent and rough. On the other hand, the dolls that emphasize physical appearance that girls play with at a young age cause women to be overly concerned with their outward appearance. Gendered toys have a negative impact on both genders, establishing a clear line in how boys and girls are supposed to act and live. Statistics show that gender neutral toys develop children's cognitive, artistic, and musical skills more effectively than gender biased toys. By taking down the blue and pink signs in toy stores and on toy packaging, we can allow toys to be toys, and eliminate the pressure kids face to live up to their gender roles.

Fighting Fire with Fabulous Article Summary

Dave and Scott Dambacher, from Port Huron, are writing a comedy show against the Westboro Baptist church. The church is well known for their vile hate mongering. However, these two men are fighting against it with a show said to be a "celebration of diversity." They call their show the "Freaka of Topeka," because the Westboro Baptist church is based out of Topeka, Kansas. Their plan is to short run a show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday right in the hometown of the church. Although the show will premier in Kansas, the content of the show will be from Dave and Scott's hometown of Detroit. The cast is mostly from Detroit as well, and the cast includes Scott. The Westboro Baptist church, who held their first public service in 1955, have constantly been making headlines protesting everything from gays to a five-year old's lemonade stand. At the time the article was written, the two brothers were in the midst of writing the show together. In the article, Scott said that the first act will mainly be introductions to who the characters are, including the story's protagonist. The second act will follow that story and have the protagonist get involved with a "Freaka" group of people. Scott said the characters will be people who were targeted by a group like Westboro, and then outed by that group. The setting of the show is said to take place at a festival or local gathering, with a diverse group of people. The show is also free to anyone who wishes to watch it, Scott and Dave are encouraging as many people as possible to come. The "Freaka of Topeka" has the tagline "Fight Fire with Fabulous," because of the way they are fighting the hatred and negative energy the Westboro group gives off with their fabulous show. While the show is free, it will cost around $50,000 total to produce. To cover the costs, the brothers plan to fundraise money through kickstart, an app aimed at raising money for good causes. However, if the fundraiser doesn't make enough money, then the brothers say they will fund the show themselves. Once the brothers have more material written, they plan on posting bits and pieces of the show on their website and on twitter to offer a sneak peek. They encourage people to comment on the topics they post, and to also give suggestions on different things to add to their show. Their goal is to have everyone involved in the making of the show, because this is a show for the people affected by any group similar to the Westboro group.

"Her Story"

While watching “Her Story”, a few social issues that trans gender people face stood out to me. One of the main characters, Violet, is constantly under stress because of what other people think about her. Many people have negative opinions of trans gender people, which affects the way they view them. Most people view a trans differently when they discover that this person is a trans gender. The issue in “Her Story” that stood out to me the most was that trans people are afraid of being publicly discovered. Unfortunately, if a trans is discovered it will change their public image, it could cause them to lose their job, and it could affect the relationships they are in.

In Violet’s first interview with Ally, Violet revealed to Ally that she was terrified of being discovered because she could lose work. Violet’s life and financial well-being was in jeopardy simply due to the fact that she was trans. I don’t think it is right for people to hire or fire employees based on gender or sex. Job hiring should be based simply on skills and performance of the task at hand. It shouldn’t matter whether the person is a male, female, or if the person was originally a male but is now a female. A trans is a person who is capable of completing a task in return for a wage, there is no way to argue around it and it is inexcusable for a trans person to be afraid of losing their job because of their gender.

“Her Story” also shows how relationships could possibly be affected by the fact that someone is trans. When Paige was publicly announced as a trans, she received a text from her potential boyfriend that said “we need to talk.” After reading that text, Paige was scared that she was going to lose the intimate relationship she had with this man simply because she was trans. A relationship shouldn’t be about what gender two partners are. The important part of a relationship should be that the two partners like each other for who they are. No matter what their genders are, people are allowed to like whoever they want to like. Other people in society should not have an impact on how two people like each other and how they express their feelings for one another. It is unfair that trans people have to worry about being discovered because they will be viewed entirely different as a person. As a society, we shouldn’t judge people based on their gender or sexual preference. Instead, we should accept people for who they are and allow them to be happy and enjoy their lives with whoever they would like to be with. Trans people should not have to worry about being discovered as a trans in fear of losing important aspects of their life like their job or relationship.

Girl Rising

“Girl Rising” is a film that tells the tale of nine underprivileged girls who were stripped of an education and of their dreams. Each story is a true story and opens the viewer’s eyes to the terrible conditions children have to grow up in. 66 Million girls are out of school worldwide, and 33% fewer girls are in primary school vs boys.

Wadley grew up as a young girl who wanted nothing more than an education. She was a former student before an earthquake struck her town and destroyed most of the buildings and brought many families to poverty. Wadley and her mother, one of the families left with nothing from the earthquake, were forced to survive on no money, little water, and one meal every few days. Wadley’s only wish in life was to go to school and learn. In town the school opened again under a tent, however families needed to pay to send their children to class every day. Wadley’s family had no money, and when she tried to go to school she was turned down and sent away by the teacher. Wadley refused to be sent away, so she decided that regardless of whether or not she could pay, she would continue to show up to school every single day until the school allowed her to stay. Wadley was eventually permitted to stay and received the education she dreamed of. Wadley always believed that “it was the dry season when the wildflowers bloom”, which means that flowers didn’t need water to blossom into something beautiful.

As a child, Suma was not sent to school by her parents. Instead, she was sent to a master to work. She would be forced to work from 4 in the morning to late at night. The master made her clean dishes, clean the house, go into the woods to get firewood, take care of the master’s goats, and take care of the master’s kids. The master’s children would call Suma the “unlucky girl” for all of the work and suffering she went through. To deal with the pain and suffering, Suma began to create her own songs. When Suma moved onto her third master, she was enrolled in a night class by her master that met after all of the local slaves were done with their work for the day. Her teacher taught the class how to read and write, and unfortunately taught the girls that they were slaves. The teacher of the class confronted the masters of the girls and demanded they be set free, and with a lot of convincing and arguing, the girls were finally set free. Suma was brought back to her parents, and now she fights for other young slave women in her country to be set free.

Yasmin is a young girl from Cairo, Egypt. Her story is quite different from the previous two. Sadly, she was raped by a man at a very young age. She tells the police a story of how she was taken by this man, but how she fought back and killed him with her knife. However, when Yasmin was sent off to get juice for her family, an older man told her that he would take her to get juice. He brought her to her house, where he raped her and changed her life forever. Yasmin’s story is far too common in this world, for 50% of sexual assaults are on girls under the age of 15 years old.

Azmera is a girl from Yilmana Densa, Ethiopia who is a very shy and curious girl. She loved learning and education, but others wanted different for her. Others wanted her to be married at a very young age, however she refused because she wanted a better life for herself. From Azmera we learn that the number one cause of death among girls from 15 to 19 years old is childbirth. Girls often marry young, which means that their education ends early. Because their education ends early, this creates a never ending cycle of poverty. Azmera chose a different path, which will lead to her getting married at a later age, and receiving education. Her lifestyle starts a healthier life cycle, where later marriage is more common, women have fewer but healthier children, and their children are educated and healthy.

Ruksana is a young girl from Kolkata, India who was kicked out of class because she was drawing pictures during the lesson. Ruksana loved art and loved to draw, but teachers didn’t accept that and instead just kicked her out of the class. Ruksana’s father decided to buy her art supplies to let her imagination grow, and Ruksana became the happiest girl in the town. Her family was very poor, they lost their home and could hardly afford food. Ruksana is very lucky though, for she was still able to attend school somehow even though her family did not have a place to live.

Senna is a young girl in La Rinconada, Peru. Her family was very poor and tried to make some money through gold mining in rocks from a frozen mountain in Peru. They did not have any luck, for they never struck gold and never escaped poverty. Senna’s father died at an early age in his wife’s arms, leaving Senna and her mother in a difficult situation with no money. Senna pursued school and is now going beyond primary school, increasing her probability of finding a better job to make money and earn a living. Senna writes poems for herself and for other girls in the community to help get them through the struggle of life in an unfortunate time. From Senna’s story, the movie tells us that girls with one extra year of education can earn up to 20% more money than if they hadn’t. Also, the film states that if India enrolled 1% more girls in education, then the GDP of India could increase by nearly 5.5 billion.

Mariama is from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Mariama is an educated girl who loved her science classes because of the way science addressed problems and answered them. She was the first person in her family to go to school, and her father died when she was very young. In her town, Mariama’s first job was the host of a local radio station that most of the town listened to. As a host, she helped other girls solve problems in their life when they called in to her station. While her show was going well, Mariama’s step-father stopped her from doing the show because local people had said bad things to him about his daughter hosting the show. However, Mariama used her scientific brain to solve the problem and convince her father to let her continue hosting the show. From Mariama’s story, the film states that educating a girl has profound effects on both improving the global economy and reducing the spread of AIDS.

Lastly, Amina is from Afghanistan, a country that mistreats women to an incredible extent. When Amina was born, her mother cried when she found out that her child was a female, and placed her down in the dirt next to her. When Amina turned 3 years old, she began working around the house. She would have to wake up before dawn every morning to clean the house, wash dishes, and even carry her siblings on her back until they learned how to walk. Her father arranged a marriage for Amina when she was only 11 years old. He sold her to a man for 5,000 dollars, into a life of servitude and rape. Her parents used that 5,000 dollars to buy her brother a used car. Amina gave birth to a baby boy for this man, and also took care of it and raised it for him. The society of Afghanistan frowned upon women getting an education and sometimes killed women for speaking out, trying to learn, or even showing their face. When women are adults, they are required to mask their face behind a fabric cage that they can only see out of. There was no place for them to speak through their masks. However, Amina was brave and returned to school despite the danger. She is chasing what she wants in life despite the danger she faces.

“Girl Rising” tells the story of many underprivileged girls in several different countries. The film makes the audience aware of the difficulties and hardships women face in the developing world, and how they are often mistreated, uneducated, and live poor lifestyles. From the film, we learn that 50% of sexual assaults on girls in the world are committed on girls under the age of 15 years old. Also, 14 million girls under the age of 18 will be married this year around the world. Along with young marriage comes childbirth at a young age, which is the primary cause of death of girls aged 15-19. When girls are married at such a young age, they are taken out of school at such a young age. This causes an inevitable poverty cycle in the developing world. However, educating girls can start a healthier life cycle, cause later marriage, which will also cause fewer but healthier children to be born around the world. Studies show that a girl with one extra year of education can earn up to 20% more money than if they hadn’t gone to school for that year. Also, India could raise its GDP by billions by simply educating only one percent more of girls in the population. Educating women will also slow the spread of AIDs and grow the global economy. The benefits of educating women are astronomical for the developing world. As humans we need to be aware of what is going on around the world and push for a change to educate more women to create a better society and a healthier population on earth.

 

 

 

Supersexualize Me! Advertising and the "Midriffs" Article Summary

Advertising has changed in our society over the past four decades. Due to technological advances, advertising through different media mediums has become more popular and more effective among companies. Increasingly, young women are presented not as passive sex objects, but as active, desiring sexual objects. These advertisements make young women seem like they participate enthusiastically in practices and forms of self-presentation that earlier generations of feminists regarded as connected to subordination. Robert Goldman argued that these changes in advertising occurred because advertisers were forced to respond to three challenges at this time. First, there was the growing experience of "sign fatigue" on the part of many media audiences fed up with the endless parade of brands, logos, and consumer images. Secondly, advertisers had to address increasing "viewer skepticism", particularly from younger, media-savvy consumers who had grown up with fast-paced music television and were the first generation to adopt personal computers and mobile phones as integral features of everyday life. Thirdly, advertisers needed to address feminist critiques of advertising and to fashion new commercial messages that took on board women's anger at constantly being addressed through representation of idealized beauty. Goldman argued that advertisers response was to develop what he called "commodity feminism," which is an attempt to incorporate the cultural power and energy of feminism whilst simultaneously domesticating its critique of advertising and the media.

The "midriff' has become the new sexual representation of women. Advertisers have mistakenly constructed the young, heterosexual woman to be one who knowingly and deliberately plays with her sexual power and is forever "up with it". The "midriff" is a part of the body between the top of the pubis bone and the bottom of the rib cage. This part of the female body has become the site of erotic interest in many non-western cultures for a long time. Advertising aimed at the midriffs is notable for its sexualized style, which deliberately objectifies women as sex objects. Midriff advertising has four central themes. These include an emphasis on the body, a shift from objectification to sexual objectification, a pronounced discourse of choice and autonomy, and an emphasis upon empowerment. Today, the body is portrayed in advertising and elsewhere as the primary source of women's capital. Instead of caring or nurturing or motherhood, it is now a possession of a sexy body that is presented as a woman's key source of identity.

Intelligence Vs. Icon

After being criticized as a dumb blonde throughout her brief life, the truth about Marilyn Monroe and her intelligence was finally discovered. Although she did not attend a high profile university to receive a high level education, she had a desire and thirst for knowledge. She was dedicated to improving herself and learning new things to better herself. To do this she read books to teach herself things across many different fields. All the while she was acting in roles that portrayed her as a dumb blonde. Instead of reaching out and making the public aware of her intelligence, Marilyn decided to keep it to herself and let her public image remain as the dumb blonde that everyone loved. I think she kept her intelligence to herself because she was wise enough to understand that it didn't matter to her what everyone else perceived her to be, especially if it wasn't true. Also, it didn't matter how the public perceived her especially if it made her successful. I'm sure that her loved ones were well aware of how intelligent and bright she was, and that was probably the most important to her. I think that she was smart enough to know what would make her successful in her field, and chose the path to success. In the end, people found out the truth that she was in fact intelligent and bright, so Marilyn Monroe has successfully left her influential mark on our society. She was a huge influence and influential character in our society as a successful and beautiful actor, while also being the best person she could be. In her mind, she had everything she wanted, and at that point it doesn't matter how the public (who she would rarely communicate with) perceived her to be.

After some research, I have discovered that Natalie Portman is secretly a very intelligent and smart actor. Natalie graduated with a degree from Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. She has stared in hit films like "Star Wars" and "Black Swan", and is seen in our society as a beautiful person. Many men find her to be very attractive, and they sometimes stereotype attractiveness with a lack of intelligence. That being said, some men may think that Natalie Portman is not the intelligent woman she is. While they wouldn't think that she is dumb, they might misjudge her for who she really is. Natalie probably isn't public with her intelligence because she finds it is not important to her field of work. Natalie plays diverse roles in several different films, which portrays several different personalities. Some would think that actors like Portman would like the public to know her true identity, however it may be uncomfortable for her. Maybe she likes being ambiguous with her personality because she doesn't want too many people to know her on that deep of a level. Perhaps the roles she plays covers up her identity as an intelligent woman that people wouldn't like as much as the pretty dancer in "Black Swan". Overall, Natalie Portman is hiding her intelligence for a personal reason, whether it is because she fears the public won't like her true personality or because she doesn't care what the public thinks and doesn't want to give them access to her personal life.

Chapter 14: Hetero Barbie? Article Summary

As girls move through puberty and adulthood, they find that their popularity at school relies on their attractiveness to boys and their relationship with one particular boy. As they get further hetero sexualized, then, girls and young women face a lot of pressure to give boys and dating a lot of priority. This causes them to pay more attention to the shape and size of their bodies, the range and contents of their wardrobes, the styling of their hair, and the makeup they wear on their faces. Barbie dolls epitomize and exaggerate these female mandates. Barbie dolls set the standard for beauty in children at a very young age, showing them what body type makes them beautiful and what hair style makes them beautiful. While Barbie seems like she would display the typical heterosexual female desires, she actually does the opposite. Barbie doesn't have her heart in her relationship with Ken, and she exudes independence that deviates from the codes of mainstream heterosexual femininity. Barbie is insistently single, unmarried, and childless, which leaves her open to multiple conflicting interpretations. When looking deep into a Barbie doll, Barbie may not be heterosexual. In fact, she may not even be a woman. Some say Barbie may even be a Drag queen. She displays the ultra-feminine presence that drag queens personify. Her long legs and flat hips suggest this. Barbie's exceptionally, emphatically feminine icon has some appeal among gay men. Her shimmering gowns, heavy makeup, brilliant tiaras, and other headpieces display this exceptional feminine icon. To expand further, the world of Barbie is relatively free of hetero-centrism and heterosexism, and this holds relative appeal for non hetero-sexual people, especially gay men. Barbie's world allows for non-straight readings, just as many other "straight" cultural products do. Barbie's sexuality remains very ambiguous. She could be a lipstick lesbian, a lesbian feminist, or a lesbian closeted more tightly than most who choose not to "come out". She could be a bisexual who once cared about and pursued her relationship with Ken, but now prefers her "best friend". Barbie could also be asexual; sexy without being sexual, or attractive without being attracted. The atypical qualities Barbie represents leads us to question her ambiguous sexuality, and whether she is actually sending a heterosexual message to young children.   

 

Gendered Slang/ Language

Today's society displays a large variety of slang terms. These terms can be found on social media, used at schools, or out on the streets anywhere. People conform to these slang terms and use them in their everyday language to fit in and be "cool". Most of the words today are gender based and used to describe people and either how masculine and brave they are or how shy and afraid they are. One slang term commonly used in society today is "balls". Urban dictionary defines the word balls in several ways. The first definition talks about the true meaning of balls, which are male testicles. However, the second and third definitions are definitions society has associated with the word balls, and they are strictly male gender biased. The urban dictionary also defines balls as courage and braveness. People would use this definition when they say something like, "Wow he has balls for what he said." In this context, the person meant that the other person was brave for saying that. Urban dictionary also defines balls as manliness. Sometimes guys will say something like "wow she has balls", implying that a girl did something that should be considered manly.
On the other hand, the word pussy is the exact opposite in our society. Urban dictionary originally defines pussy as female genitals. However, the alternate meaning to pussy is cowardly. People associate femininity negatively with things like being a coward. Males will criticize each other by questioning their masculinity and calling each other pussies. When they do this, they are referring to males in a negative way by saying they display female traits. As we can see in society, slang terms are gendered and we associate different qualities with these gender terms. We consider having balls and being manly a good thing, but we consider being a pussy as being cowardly and feminine. It is not right that we associate male traits as positive traits and female traits as negative ones, but it is clear that society believes otherwise. 

Chapter 26: Image Based Culture Advertising and Pop culture Article Summary

The society we live in today is primarily based around the media and the advertising industry. Many refer to our society as a market society. A market society is guided by the principle that satisfaction should be achieved via the market place. Or in other words, through the institutions and structures who sell products to customers. With this attitude, markets think that if goods themselves aren't the focus of perceived happiness, then they need to be connected in some way to the things that are. To do this, advertising promotes images of what the audience perceives as "the good life" when advertising their product. This type of advertising works by drawing upon and rechanneling concerns that the target audience already shares. Advertising will knit a company's product into the fabric of social life and cultural significance in our society. In a sense, advertising itself has become not manipulation, but instead "partipulation", where the audience participates in their own manipulation. The article also talks about how advertising has turned into a commodity-image system. Advertising as a commodity-image system provides a particular mode of self validation that is integrally connected with what one has rather than what one is. It is so strong that commentators have said that advertising is almost a new religious system in which people construct their identities through the commodity form. They refer to commodities as almost a super magical power that makes anything possible with the purchase of a product, and these commodities play an influential mixture on the psychological, social, and physical roles in its relations with people. The advertising world propels us towards physical things as means of satisfaction, and that happiness lies at the end of every purchase. People in our society today are turning to products to make them happy rather than the life experiences that bring them true happiness. Advertisers understand this and use it to their advantage when selling their product. They now appeal to the emotional side of customers, and instead sell emotion to a consumer rather than the product. They convince the consumer that they cannot live without the product, and that the product will bring them happiness and a good life. People unconsciously believe these advertisements and purchase products for the feeling associated with the product. This method is extremely affective for companies and their profits. However, advertising has a profound effect on our society and how people value the things they have versus the people they are.

The Nuclear Family

In society today, it is expected of men to work 40 hours a week and provide their families and wives with a steady income to live on. The typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mom who watches over the kids and does house work, and the kids. This is the family society expects of people. On the contrast, the "nuclear" family is quite the opposite. In fact, the gender roles are flipped. The wife has the job with long hours to provide the family with an income to live on, while the father stays at home to watch the kids and do the housework. This defies typical gender roles that society lays out for us where the men work in the office and the women do the housework. Modern families follow more of the stereotypical families in which the father works and the mother stays home with the kids. However, a nuclear family can occur in any house sometimes because a father can lose his job and have a tough time finding a new job. In this case, a mother needs to help out by getting a job to help bring in some money for the family.

 

Because gender roles imply that men should be the ones working and bringing in money for the family, some men don't handle it to well when they don't have a job or when their wife is making more money than them. Men often go through a fragile emotional state because they feel like they have lost their masculinity. When men go through this they refuse to do housework chores because they think they need to compensate for their loss of masculinity by asserting masculine privilege in other ways, like refusing to take orders from their wife. Statistics show that unemployed women will do six hours a day of childcare and housework. On the other hand, unemployed men will only do three hours a day of childcare and housework, and instead watch four or more hours of TV in the day. Many men refuse to do this because they want their masculinity of being the man in the house to stay intact. Men believe it's a woman's job to take care of the kids and do housework. Men go through a shattered self-image and low self-esteem when they are placed in this position because they lost their job.

 

After reading this, I think the way men react to this is silly. Although it may be ego crushing to not have a job, they need to realize that their family is the most important things in their lives. That being said, they need to do whatever they can to help raise the family and keep the household in the best condition to raise kids and for a daily functional life. Sometimes parents get depressed from the switch in gender roles, some argue, and some even become disengaged from their children because of the situation. This has a negative impact on child development. Family should be the most important thing to everyone, and instead of being negative in the situation, families need to stay positive. They need to encourage their kids that everything is okay, they need to reassure the kids that it's not their fault that the family is in the situation they are in, and it could even help to ask the kids for help. Kids can help mow the lawn or things of that nature to help the family save money. At the end of the day, family is the most important thing. No matter how it runs or who has what job, as long as the family is happy and healthy, the family is in a good position to live a happy and healthy life.  

 

 

MissRepresentation Response

MissRepresentation is a powerful and eye opening documentary about the effect that the media has on women of our society today. There were a lot of things that really stood out to me when watching this video. Most of the statistics presented were hard to believe, and really opened my eyes to the pressure put on women in society today. The first thing that stood out to me was that 65% of women and girls have eating disorders. This number is astronomically high due to the way advertising photo shops women and how they portray women as only bodies and not people. These advertising firms set unrealistic expectations for women that cause them to become anorexic to try to live up to these standards to be accepted in society. To add onto that, I found it interesting that companies spent 256 billion dollars on advertising in 2009, which is higher than 80% of GDP's of all countries in the world. This statistic shows how much the United States values advertising and how often young women and girls are exposed to it. The stress from the media and advertising is having a substantial effect on women's eating habits, their cognitive function, and is causing lower GPA's among these women. Advertising is clearly having an impact on a much deeper level on the women in society than just the buying and selling of products. Television is another form of media in which women are exposed to every day. When the movie talked about television, I found it really interesting that 39% of the women in our population today are aged in their teens, 20's, and 30's. However, this group makes up for 71% of television. On the other hand, women aged 40 and older make up 47% of the population. This group of women only make up 26% of television. Television shows are showing primarily younger women, when in reality the majority of our population is aged older. This means that television is unrealistic about the world they are portraying to young women in America. Television also oversexualizes women in programs you wouldn't expect, such as the daily news channel. Journalists are criticized for what they wear on a daily basis. Also, the clothing they wear is much more revealing than in previous years. Lastly, the thing that stood out to me the most was a headline in a newspaper that said, “2-year-old girl raped at sea world." The headline disgusted me and made me question how someone could ever possibly think of something that sick. Overall, the movie opened my eyes to the pressure women face to conform to the standards media sets in order to be accepted in society. As a whole, we should challenge the media and how they portray women and the influence they have on young women. 

 

Modern Love

We live in a society that revolves around social media sites like twitter and Facebook and Instagram. As these websites grow more and more popular, more and more people are interacting and meeting online. Dating used to be an interaction that occurred by meeting someone new, face to face, and getting to know them over time through conversation and shared experiences. However, dating has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. With the uproar in social media, most people are meeting online through social media profiles and instant messaging. They get to know each other through instant messaging, and get a picture of them through their profile pictures. In todays dating world, face to face interaction is becoming a later step in a relationship. The first step in the dating process today is meeting someone online on a dating website or social media website, then messaging them to get to know them. Years ago, dating used to be a face to face interaction that happened when you met someone at a physical place.

Along with impacting the initiation of a relationship, social media has impacted relationships that are going on. Social media has become almost another imaginary version of the person we are. Relationship partners keep up with each others status updates, picture posts, and likes and comments on other peoples posts. To some it's almost as important as the physical things their partner says. Social media history has a large impact on people's opinions and judgements about you, and the posts people make while in a relationship are crucial to their partners opinion about them. The lives of people in our society today are moving online, and losing the essence of real life experiences with the ones we love.

To me, love is all about the physical experiences you share with someone you care a lot about. While everyone values different things in a relationship, I value the time I can spend together with my girlfriend and the different things we can experience together in our lives. My relationship is different than one in modern society because we don't use social media websites to communicate, instead we rely on phone calls and texts and video chats. In our society today, people often publicize their relationship on social media. I don't think that is important for dating, instead I think spending as much time as you can with the person you are about is the most important thing. The more time you can spend with your significant other allows for both of you to share more happy memories with each other, where social media doesn't allow for memories to be created.