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.
Kidd expands on society’s sexual perspectives in mass media and illuminates the stress pushed towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population. He outlines sexuality as one of many influences on the ways we interpret the culture we consume. He supposes that popular culture has five major social roles: generating basic social norms, producing social boundaries, producing rituals that generate social solidarity, generating modernization, and generating social progress. He pays particular attention to Emilie Durkeim and connects his sociological
Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. (9th ed ed., pp. 1-227). Boston,MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Ruiz, Delia. Women of Color in Modern Society. New York, NY: Harper and Row Press,
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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”
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Popular culture is often dismissed as frivolous, unimportant or simply mindless entertainment, both by media critics and by academics. However, it is important to examine and think critically about popular culture and what it can tell us about the society that we live in. In the specific case of the relationship between gender and popular culture, popular culture is informed by the way gender is structured and the structure of gender is, in part, reinforced by popular culture.
... the past several years is the same-sex family. Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, changing attitudes have brought more tolerance to the gay and lesbian community. This has somewhat loosened the stigma previously associated with this segment of the population. Along with evolving public attitudes, economic and legal changes in the United States have also reduced barriers previously facing same-sex couples making it more likely for them to form families (Butler, 2004). On the other hand, continued strong institutional ties to marriage between one man and one woman continue to pose problem for this group and shape social agendas (Glenn, 2004; Lind, 2004). While several states and many employers have given recognition and benefits to homosexual partners, there is still no uniform policy in place which addresses their familial rights in the United States.
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