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The evolution of gender roles and its role in society
Gender roles are influenced by society
The evolution of gender roles and its role in society
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The purpose of the essay is to answer the question: How has Archie Comics reflected changing gender norms in the United States of America from World War II to the present of women in contemporary American society, in its eventual challenge of the position of men as the dominant sex, and in its inclusion of previously marginalized sexual orientations? As entertainment primarily targeted to middle-class America, Archie is a helpful avenue by which to understand acceptable views. This paper will present gender roles portrayed in Archie Comics in three different time frames: the Forties, the Sixties, and the new millennium. It will analyze the establishment of traditional gender roles set forth in the earliest Archie Comic strips. Next it will critique the ways in which it responded to the challenges to these traditional norms and assess whether the comic incorporated these challenges or rebuffed them. Finally, this paper will evaluate the role of modern-day Archie Comics as a vanguard in the new discussion of gender roles and sexual orientation in America. For the purpose of analysis, issues of Archie representative of the era will be examined in conjunction with larger historical developments. These include: the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the post-feminist world following the 1970s, and the rise of LGBT acceptance.
Often changes in social norms move at a glacial pace. Particularly difficult in assessing social norms is the definition of what is normative to begin with. For that reason, most historians will look at what artifacts and documents signify popular culture. While these artifacts and documents may reveal what norms existed at a given time, tracking changes in norms relies upon the existence o...
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Paul Kupperberg. “Life With Archie #16.” In Archie The Married Life, 3:23–24, 2012.
———. “Life With Archie #20.” In Archie The Married Life, 4:20, 2012.
———. “Life With Archie #22.” In Archie The Married Life, 4:9, 2012.
———. “Life With Archie #23.” In Archie The Married Life, 4:20, 2012.
Universe, Funding. “Archie Comics Publications, Inc. History.” History Of Archie Comics, n.d. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/archie-comics-publications-inc-history/.
Sex and Gender was the subject of the two movies Dreamworlds 3 and Further Off The Straight & Narrow. In Dreamworlds 3 Sex is portrayed as a status of life and happiness in the media. This media displays people as objects that can be manipulated for sexual pleasure. As the media is populated with sex it tiptoes around gender, specifically that of gays or lesbians. The film Further Off The Straight & Narrow emphasized the movement through media gay and lesbian topics. This text analyzes iconic television programs and how they reflect the societal stance during that time. As a member of a generation that has had the topic of these issues prominent I believe they are important but are banal. In this reflection I will be responding to two questions, what would woman driven Dreamworlds look like? And Do you agree with the statement that if you are not on television you don’t exist?
behaviours and values shared by a large group or groups within society at a particular period of
Jimmy Draper’s (2010) article “Gay or not?!”: Gay men, straight masculinities, and the construction of the Details audience” analyzes the representation of gayness in the magazine industry. This article specifically targeted and analyzed the relationship how gayness was used to help construct straight masculinity in the men’s lifestyle magazine known as Details.
In the graphic novel Fun Home, by Allison Bechdel, sexual self-discovery plays a critical role in the development of the main character, Allison Bechdel herself; furthermore, Bechdel depicts the plethora of factors that are pivotal in the shaping of who she is before, during and after her sexual self-development. Bechdel’s anguish and pain begins with all of her accounts that she encountered at home, with her respective family member – most importantly her father – at school, and the community she grew up within. Bechdel’s arduous process of her queer sexual self-development is throughout the novel as complex as her subjectivity itself. Main points highlight the difficulties behind which are all mostly focused on the dynamics between her and her father. Throughout the novel, she spotlights many accounts where she felt lost and ashamed of her coming out and having the proper courage to express this to her parents. Many events and factors contributed to this development that many seem to fear.
Henry, Matthew. ""Don 't Ask Me, I 'm Just A Girl”: Feminism, Female Identity, And The Simpsons." Journal Of Popular Culture 40.2 (2007): 272-303. Academic Search Premier. Web. November 10, 2014
The historical study of popular culture is distinct in that it diverges from the elitist perspective that governs much of our reflection on past events. Although, certain groups may face subordination in a given society, that does not imply a deficiency in their cultural achievements. From the Native people of the new world to the uneducated peasants of later years, their inferior social status in society often led their unique cultural practices into relative obscurity; dominant groups were the societal dictators of culture and the practices that future generations would deem as applicable to that time period. However, neglecting outranked cultural practices of past societies deprives historians of a more complete and accurate depiction of past societal realities. Contemporary accounts of early modern popular culture such as works by Ginzburg, Yassif and Bakhtin allow the reader to witness a shift in the earlier Romantic emphasis on the fascination and domination of the subordinate cultures [Herder] to a notion of cultural reciprocity between the elite and popular strata of society.
how the “approval” of society fluctuates throughout the seventy years that are looked at in this
The journey for equal opportunity and respect for both women and men has raised consciousness that "liberation from stereotypic and destructive roles" in children's literature is vital (Rudman, 179). Although factors such as television, radio, movies and comics have an impact on a child's eye view of the world, Researcher and educator, Masha Rudman agrees that "children's books continue to produce traditionally stereotyped programs, situations and characters (Rudman, 177)." But she continues to assess the fact that it also "reflects the growing awareness of the change in gender role definitions and behaviors (Rudman, 177)." While earlier studies (1930-1950) on gender stereotypes concentrated on battling personal characteristics of men and women such as nurturance (wom...
According to Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity 's gender role is a “learned role by observing behaviors of their parents, peers and media” (Rathus, Nevid, & Fichner-Rathus, 2014, p. 25). Research shows how gender roles in America have evolved and have changed over the last centuries, although there could be many reasons for this change I will examine some causes for the change in gender stereotypes. The following topics were studied during my research: Increased technology and access to internet, violence and explicit content in video games, movies and television shows resulting in gender stereotypes. In addition, the media can have a large influence on societies perception on how women and men are should look like which are sometimes
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Images of Woman in American Popular Culture. Ed. Angela G. Dorenkamp, et al. Port Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1995. 78-89.
McCarthy, Anna. "Ellen: Making Queer Television History." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 7.4 (2001): 593-620. Project Muse. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Willer, R., Kuwabara, K., & Macy, M. W. (2009). The false enforcement of unpopular norms. American Journal of Sociology, 115(2), 451-490. doi: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/journals/journal/ajs.html
In this essay I intend to explore what is meant by the terms popular culture and high culture. I will also look at how the relationship between these two terms has become distorted and blurred over time. In order to reinforce what I am saying about popular and high culture I will be using a range of examples from the music industry to show how the line between high culture and popular culture has become ambiguous. I will also call upon the work of John Storey to give my work an academic foundation. Although Storey is the main academic I will be looking at, I will also include references to a number of other academics who have written about popular culture and high culture.
Strinati, D. (2004). An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture (pp. 52-79). New York, NY USA: Taylor & Francis.
Time is at a premium to take popular culture more seriously as a terrain of academic inquiry and ensuring a significant change in the outlooks of people at large turning it into more of established discipline. Conceptual barriers between so-called high and low culture have broken down, accompanying an explosion in scholarly interest in popular culture, which encompasses all diverse media. The question whether popular culture can actually resist dominant ideology, or even contribute to social change, is much more difficult to answer. A conscious effort by all can not only bring a positive change in attitude and ideas in relation to discrimination, but make huge social changes for a better world in the days to come.