For this project, I choose to do my reflection over the show Dexter’s Laboratory. I choose to watch and review this particular show because it is one that I remember watching frequently as a child. Each episode of Dexter is split into two smaller “episodes”. I watched season three-episode seven which showed “Dos Boots” and “A Dee Dee Cartoon”.
It didn’t take very long into the episode to see how certain stereotypes play a central role on this show. It was something I had never realized as a kid either because I was too young to notice or had never been purposely looking for it. Throughout both segments science is portrayed a thrilling subject. At points within “Dos Boots” it even ventures into something out of a sci-fi movie with both Dexter and Mandark going inside of the computer to fight for control. Even though science itself is portrayed as an exciting thing, both Mandark and Dexter are shown to be nerdy. In the show
…show more content…
It is when you examine the other “non-scientist” characters that you see stereotypes going to even more extremes. In “A Dee Dee Cartoon” Dee Dee claims that she is going to go to her own lab after being thrown out of Dexter’s. Up till this point Dee Dee had only shown an interest in drawing unicorns, flowers, and rainbow all the while singing LaLaLA; so I thought the show might actually be trying to break away from these stereotypes. However, within her lab Dee Dee is shown in a montage of Science like activities that in the end lead to her baking a pie. This is a complete contrast from Dexter who builds super computers and performs advanced chemical reactions. Now the show might have redeemed itself by having other female characters that play important roles, but the one scene that Dexter’s mom is in shows her diligently washing the dishes, which remembering back to the times I watched Dexter as a kid was a very common
But why? Girls can be intimidated by many things in STEM. Without support and education they can quickly lose interest in STEM. There are many things that can discourage girl from entering STEM. Girls lose interest because of “socialization and lack of exposure and access”. (Danae King, 2)The funny thing is girls and boys are equally interested in STEM until middle school. (Danae King, 8) One of the main reasons for this is STEM is a male dominated field. Girls can be very uncomfortable being the “only girl”. Girls often don’t think that they are smart enough to work in STEM fields. Words like rigorous and advanced can turn girls away from STEM fields because they feel intimidated.(Girls Scouts of America, page 10) African American and Latino girls can be even more discouraged because they have fewer support, low exposure, and low academic achievement than their white peers. As a result they are less likely to be involved in STEM fields. (Girl Scouts of America, page
In his novel, Cantor's Dilemma, Dr. Djerassi uses female characters to address sexist issues arising from women integrating into the predominantly male science world. The characters, Celestine Price and Professor Arderly, are used to show examples of how women have little voice in the field of science. The female characters suggest how women are often looked upon as sex objects rather than co-workers and they are given little opportunity to balance a scientific career with raising a family. By weaving these issues into his novel, Dr. Djerassi illustrates the following theme: Discrimination against women in the field of science is harmful to the progression of scientific exploration. If women are excluded from science, then an artificial limit is put on human resources. (The field of science will not utilize the potential female minds available.)
...that so much of the discourse is centered on women within fictional workplace sitcoms like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation, I will examine how gender stratification in the fictional realm is a reflection of the real life gender stratification that continues today. I will examine case studies by reputable scholars that reflect gender preference of the people in positions of power at work as well as the reasons why. I will also review scholarly journals that discuss the expectations of gender roles, and how women are shamed or stigmatized for succeeding at tasks that are generally assumed to me masculine. This section will offer an explanation as to why successful, career oriented; females in positions of power are still preferred to stay within traditional gender roles, whether it is in real life or reflected on television.
After some research, I found out that women have a large part in writing and producing the show. I believe this is why the show does such a good job of addressing gender roles and sexism.
In Richards Willing’s “CSI effect” the author tells the reader how, as a result of crime scene shows’ popularity, the misconceptions they create, and the combining of real life events with TV fantasy, crime scene shows have affected jurors and the oucomes of court cases. The shows’ popularity has increased peoples’ interest in forensic science and has caused workers and students to transfer into the field. The second effect crime scenes created is the misconception concerning when to use forensic tests, as well as misconceptions about the speed and accuracy of forensic workers and machines in tracking and identifying the culprit. Willing tells of a murder trial in Arizona in which the defendant’s bloody coat was listed as evidence, but was not tested. Although the defendant had already told investigators that he was at the scene of the crime, with the jacket, jurors asked for forensic DNA evidence linking the defendant to the bloody coat and to the crime scene. The juror’s exposure to crime scene shows had given them knowledge of forensic tests, but not knowledge of the proper use of the tests. Crime scene shows mix real life with TV fantasy. According to willing’s studies, highly attractive forensic workers and stunning suspects, along with very neat crime scenes on crime scene shows deemphasize the real life violence and brutality of crime. Similarly, tv reality shows have influenced people’s ideas about real life and real relationships through the effects of image, misleading information, and popularity.
Maurice Wilkins: This scientist is seen as somewhat sexist, because he does not believe in the potential of Rosalind’s scientific abilities. At the same time, he seemed to be dedicated to work, but Rosalind seems to do a majority of the work.
serious gender stereotypes were making their way in scientific materials and further into our culture.
The United Kingdom did a survey in 2003 where the objective was to identify gender issues in the academic performances of boys and girls during classroom laboratories. This study was done on adolescent children that explored the idea of what would be said about girls and boys who stated that they did or did not like science. The conclusion was predicted with the group of imaginary girls and boys. That is participants were to mark traits of girls and boys in their class that they did not know. Girls who liked science were found less feminine than girls who disliked science (Breakwell, Glynis; Robertson, Toby. 449). Oddly enough girls and boys who scored themselves did not give ratings that girls that liked science were considered less feminine. However, boys rated boys who disliked science more feminine. It appears that boys are pres...
Sex or gender discrimination is treating individuals differently just because an individual is a female (woman) or male (man). One issue in today’s job market is gender stereotypes in the workplace and hiring. Gender plays an important role in the workplace. Gender stereotype play a large factor in the workplace. It is evident that females, when compared to males in the workplace, take more subservient roles. Gender stereotypes in the workplace stemmed from the assumption that women belong at home taking care of the children, while men work and make money to support the family. Despite reductions in blatant forms of discrimination, women continue to experience subtler forms discrimination, such as having their input in groups ignored and having their performances devalued (Ridgeway and Correll 2004; Valian 1999). Although many presumes that gender stereotypes targets women, there are just as many stereotypes geared toward men. Both men and women have legal protection against gender discrimination in the hiring process or workplace. Gender stereotypes do exist and influence perceptions of both men and women in everyday life. Sometimes gender bias in job descriptions can deter women that qualifies for the job from applying for the positions. There were many studies that proved that gender and racial biases can affect how employers evaluate potential candidates’ applications, leading employers to favor white male applicants more over equally qualifies women and people of color. The impact of gender bias in the hiring process is implausible. For example, in a double-blind study, science faculty members were asked to evaluate a fictitious student application who was randomly assigned a male or female name for a laboratory manager position. The applicants name was either John or Jennifer. Although both applicants had the same qualifications and experience, the results from the study showed that the faculty members
In 1950, little Jennie was the smartest girl in her fifth-grade class, especially in math and science. She enjoyed looking at things through the microscope and solving equations. When she told her mother she wanted to be a scientist, Jennie's mother scoffed and said that little girls did not grow up to be scientists, but were nurses, schoolteachers, and housewives. Now, thirty years later, Jennie is married and has three children. She balances the family's budget and enjoys helping her children with their science projects, but most of Jennie's days are spent at home, in the kitchen-not in a laboratory. Jennie is not alone. Today, many women-and men-are the products of traditional methods of child rearing, and there is much evidence to show that these methods, and the standards that inspired them, are often sexist and inhibiting and can even cause physical harm.
House shares multiple themes and parallels with different detective fiction stories. Some of the most familiar parallels are those between house and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes. Along with their names, the two characters have many other things in common, such as an addiction to some type of drug; House is addicted to Vicodin and Homes is addicted to cocaine. They also both have trusty sidekicks of Dr. Watson and Dr. Wilson, and the inept police force of Holmes’ stories are portrayed, as a team of specialists in House’s world. However, these similarities created by the writers are not why House has in a way become its own version of detective fiction. The television show may never be grouped with the detective genre, but the similarities of themes do attach it to the old forms of Edgar Allan Poe and many others. The setting of House M.D. introduces the mood and tone for the work of fiction, but it also depicts the social structure and separation of the different levels of workers in the hospital. Many detective fiction authors focused on the social prejudices and division of the society they were writing for, and the competition that it produced amongst the members of society. In spite of the United States citizens being equal, the actual equality of the different classes is debatable, and the difference is demonstrated in House M.D. depicting the social climate of separation and competition in the modern day that is similar to the separation 150 years ago.
STEM is best known as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM for many years has been primarily seen as and stereotyped into a masculine work field. But as of recent years, while it expands, more and more women have been rising in these fields. However, there is still a tremendous gender gap between men and women in these fields and areas of work. The gender gap between men and women in STEM is alive and well. There is no denying that the gender gap between men and women in STEM is immense. But there instead are many sufficient reasons as to why there is such a huge gap between men and women within in fields. Some probable causes for the lack of women seen in these areas are biased towards women, unconscious bias girls receive
The female status is overall smaller than males in education institutions and workplace environments. This is a result of the stereotypes and gendered norms that are socially constructed. This paper will argue that although societies around the world continue to evolve and develop, the under representation of women in the various fields of science and engineering is becoming more of a controversial issue facing a variety of standpoints all around the world. This will be examined through the discussion on the challenges and reasons for underrepresentation. This paper will further explore the cross-cultural differences in the status of women emphasizing on how the status of women in science may vary from culture to culture due to their norms and values, along with how the social culture of mass media also has an impact. Finally, this paper will then demonstrate the steps that can be taken within any society in order to change and prevent the challenges that women are faced with in the fields of science and
Unfortunately stereotypes are present in every aspect of our daily lives even if we would like to pretend otherwise. A common example of this is when someone is asked to picture a doctor, the first
Girls are seen as caring, nurturing, quiet, and helpful. They place other’s needs above their own. Girls get ahead by hard work, not by being naturally gifted. Boys are seen as lazy, but girls are seen as not capable. In class, teacher will call on boys more than they call on girls. Boys are seen as better at math and science; while girls are better at reading and art. This bias is still at work even out of the classroom. There are more males employed at computer firms than women. The ratio of male to female workers in STEM fields is 3-1. In college, more women major in the humanities than in the sciences. In education, women are often seen as lesser than; even though 65% of all college degrees are earned by women. Women are still often seen as needing to be more decorative than intellectual, as represented by the Barbie who included the phrase, “Math is hard!” and the shirt that JC Penneys sold that said, “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” While there was a backlash on both items, it points out that there is a great deal of work to do on the educational gender bias to be