Many objects in society are used to convey messages to people but they can also symbolize different feminist concepts. There are more objects that are being seen from a different view point to symbolize different concepts. One such object is wedding cake toppers. Wedding cake toppers are connected to heteronormativity. Wedding cake toppers can be used as a symbol for heteronormativity and connected to Women and Gender studies.
Wedding cake toppers are small statues on top of the bride and groom’s wedding cake for the wedding reception. Cake toppers have been around for many years and are still popular for the bride and groom to have. The cake toppers are usually a figurine of a bride and groom to symbolize their marriage. However, not all cake toppers are of the bride and groom. Some different kinds of cake toppers are hearts, words such as love, and other symbols that can signify marriage. They can be customized to look like the bride and groom or bought from wedding decoration retailers. The cake toppers are either serious or funny. There are many different options for a bride and groom to have. Some figurines have the bride and groom standing by each other, but others have the bride and groom taking part in an activity that they both like. More couples are getting cake toppers that are humorous or poke fun at the idea of marriage. One example is the groom being attached to a ball and chain that is being pulled by the bride.
There are not as many options for same-sex couples. Most of the figurines on the internet are of a heterosexual couple. Even on wedding decoration websites, there are not many options for same-sex couples to choose from. Most of the websites have the couple buy two of the same figurines. If the couple w...
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...iety is becoming more tolerant of people who go against heteronormativity. As more states legalize same-sex marriages, it will be more common to see same-sex wedding toppers and other objects used in marriages and seen more in society.
Works Cited
Kirk, G., & Okazawa-Rey, M. (2009). Women’s lives: Multicultural perspectives (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Mundy, L. (2013, June 27). The gay-marriage fight could change how people think about all marriages. The Atlantic.com. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/06/the-guy-marriage-fight-could-change-how-people-think-about-all-marriages/277272/
Raymond, D. (2009). Popular culture and queer representation. A critical perspective. In G. Kirk & M. Okazawa-Rey (Eds.), Women’s lives: Multicultural perspectives (5th ed., pp. 180-187). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
I reached many other people since last week, some of them did not show much interest in doing the interview when they heard it was about homosexual representation analysis; the other people were unable to do the interview because the lack of time or other reasons. Anyway, diverse interviewees were picked to convey a considerably fair research for the attitudes toward the homosexual representation in the show Glee. These three chosen interview subjects not only vary in race (Both my boss and my roommate are Asian-American and my friend’s sister Lily is Caucasian) but also in gender (My boss is male and the other two are female). Because the main focus of the show Glee is about daily life of a group of high school students who attend their school glee club, the audience’s age range is unavoidably narrow. Despite the fact
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's voices, feminist visions: classic and contemporary readings. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
...d of struggles does a Chicana face when they pursue a college degree. I want to learn how a Chicana lesbian challenge culture and what type of barriers, inequalities and struggles do the Chicana lesbians face. I want to research the social problems that women face when they don’t challenge gender roles. For example is Domestic Violence a culture problems cause by gender roles among the population because women are being taught to be submissive to men. My interest it’s in understanding how some of these challenges, barriers, oppressions, and inequalities play in to role when a Chicana tries to pursue a college degree and make a career for her self in the Unites States.
The movie Bridesmaids defies the stereotypical role of women by showing the unseen manner-less and crude side of the gender throughout multiple scenes of the film. In each scene the main characters, Annie, Helen, Lillian, Becca, Rita, and Megan, act in obscene ways that are not socially acceptable for women. They all come from different social classes but are forced together for the wedding of Lillian. The gender role of a woman is a very traditional, narrow, and specific idea that does not allow women to be open and crude as they are in this film. The film shows the crude, vulgar, lusting characteristics that are not normally highlighted and acknowledged in films. Scenes like the dueling speech, food poisoning in the dress shop, and the morning after, are all examples of ways this film defies the stereotype and the divide of class by money between the women.
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Myth of the Latina Woman." Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin and Francine Weinburg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. Ed. Marilyn Moller. 3rd. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 806-812. Print.
Gender identities and gender relations are determined by the culture of a society. Culture makes gender roles meet certain inescapable beliefs, assumptions, expectations, and obligations. Gender politics camouflaged by cultural norms and governed by patriarchal interests and manifested in cultural practices like female genital mutilation, make the life of women difficult and burdensome. Alice Walker’s fifth novel Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992) discusses a tabooed cultural practice called female genital mutilation, camouflaged by gender politics, that is used to subjugate women, to protect the interests of men. Female Genital Mutilation is a painful procedure considered to be a mark of true womanhood in certain cultures. The procedure
Even though our country supports equality in gender, differences still exist. This issue of gender and sexuality of our society has had one of the biggest impacts in my life since I was raised with five brothers. Since birth, I was immediately perceived by my parents as my gender role of girl and daughter. My brothers were given action figures, cars, and guns to play with. I was given the traditional girl toys Barbies, baby dolls and kitchen sets. Of course, I enjoyed my traditional girl toys but it might have been nice to have a choice and be able to have the same toys as my brothers to play with. I eventually concluded that I should be satisfied with whatever toys were given to me by my parents.
Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
The message of Lugones and Spelman in Have We Got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism and the Demand for “The Woman’s Voice,” is that the entire worldwide experience of women cannot be universally articulated. Blanket definition of woman is impossible due to the many characteristics of women that make the gender so diverse, specifically race and economic status in society. “The women’s voices most likely to come forth and the women’s voices mostly likely to be heard are, in the United States anyway, those of white, middle-class, heterosexual Christian women” (Lugones and Spelman 21). Since “feminist theory” has been established without encompassing the inherently different experiences of non-white/non-Anglo women “much of the theory has failed to be relevant to the lives of women who are not white or middle class” (Ibid. 21). This displacement of a large population of the world’s women from feminist theory is extremely threatening to the development of a woman’s voice, in so far as this voice is key to fighting the battles that feminism sets out to fight: the end of re...
Marriage in the Victorian time period was carefully contemplated, as Rosenberg addresses that “Wedding ceremonies were seen as an expression of Victorian social values that that the Queen wished to renounce, while on the other hand, such occasions were viewed as having national and collective significance” (Rosenberg 98). Love played a very tiny role in the Victorian Era marriages. An engagement was more approached as a business deal. Once married all possessions went to the husband as property. Anatolyevna emphasizes how “Victorian weddings should be transformed from a formalized procedure to a celebration, a holiday for a young couple in honor of their initiation” (Anatolyevna 1) The Marriage and Wedding Customs of the Victorian time period are interesting because they are religious, strict, unique, and elegant. First of all, the Victorian time period wedding mores were intriguing because of their strong connection to religion. Terpening explains that “in the sense that marriage is an act through hardship and trial, people who led Christian lives were rewarded by enjoying years with their spouse” (Terpening 22). Even though in the Victorian time period their marriages were arranged, if you and your spouse had the same religions beliefs your marriage will be strong and last longer than other couples. People during the Victorian time believed that if you didn’t practice the same beliefs of your partner your marriage would fall apart or be in great bitterness. Religion played a big role in the Victorian wedding ethnicities but the harsh laws of marriage were a huge part for weddings during this time period. Next, the Victorian time period Wedding traditions were remarkable because of the firm traditions. Author Kat Stromquist ment...
Gay marriage is a hotly debated issue in today's society. Andrew Sullivan and William Bennett offer opposing views in the June 3, 1996 edition of Newsweek. Sullivan's article, “Let Gays Marry,” offers several arguments supporting the issues of same sex marriage. Bennett counters in his article, “Leave Marriage Alone,” that same sex marriages would be damaging to the sanctity of marriage. Each author presents several reasons for the positions they defend and bring up valid points to defend their opinions. William Bennett and Andrew Sullivan share a mutual respect for the values and sacredness of the bond of marriage. Their disagreements stem from who they believe should be allowed to marry.
The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
Mandell, Nancy (5th ed.). Feminist Issues: Race, Class, and Sexuality (87-109). Toronto: Pearson Canada, Inc. Rice, Carla. The Species of a Species.
Intersectionality is a theory which studies how the oppressions and the privileges that a woman faces influence and affect each other to create an individual experience. This idea is well explained by Chandra Mohanty in “cartographies of struggle.” In her book Monhanty writes, “I want to suggest that it is possible to retain the idea of multiple, fluid structures of domination which intersect to locate women differently at particular historical conjunctures, while at the same time insisting on the dynamic oppositional agency of individuals and collectives and their engagement in "daily life.” It is this focus on dynamic oppositional agency that clarifies the intricate connection between systemic relationships and the directionality of power”
It was my mother’s birthday, I forgot which birthday it was. Two weeks before that day, I was thinking about what should I do for her birthday. I thought about getting her a present and a card, but it seemed to me too dull. I wonder what can I do to let her remember that birthday for the rest of her life, although I cannot remember which birthday it was. I thought of one thing that I always wanted to change about birthday — the cake. I was young and I believed that the cake was really important for birthdays. Previously, the cakes were standard, they taste and look average, they were either chocolate or vanilla flavored with standard bakery decorations on the them, on top, they were always slapped on a white chocolate “Happy Birthday” sign. There I go, I can bake a cake for her from scratch, a unique one which she will never forget about.