- Do we have any agency when it comes to what we perceive as attractive/appealing in terms of beauty and physical appearance, or do we automatically desire whatever the media promotes to us enough times?
- In the past few years, my opinions and interests have changed tremendously. Before, when I was about thirteen or fourteen, I automatically “liked” whatever was popular at the time, particularly in terms of music and fashion. Now I find that my interests are much more selective and are not always in accordance with what is popular in the media at the moment. This is most likely a result of the fact that I have become more aware of the normalization of various forms of discrimination in mainstream media––especially sexism––and have been exposed to more people, ideas, etc., as I’ve grown older.When I see my peers and family members constantly going along with whatever the media is promoting, it frustrates me slightly. It makes me wonder if they truly have their own tastes. At the same time, however, I feel very hypocritical for criticizing them, since I know for a fact that I am also heavily influenced by various media outlets, even if these outlets might not be considered as “mainstream.” So, I guess that I am interested in pursuing this question mainly out of curiosity and frustration. I want to know if my opinions––as well as those of my peers––are genuine, or if that they are entirely controlled by mass media and corporations.
- I think I should start by researching how the media influences our behaviors and opinions in general. Then, I should probably look into how the media affects female beauty ideals. I would also like to study the history of various beauty ideals and how they have changed over the years, just to see how fickle they truly are. A good example of this is skinniness, since I know that this is an ideal that is more recent.
- I think Jhally’s Codes of Gender relates to my topic. I remember that he spends quite a bit of time discussing how culture normalizes certain behaviors and body types during the film. Killing Us Softly 4 might also be helpful, since it covers similar topics as Codes of Gender. I know as much about my topic as the experiences I stated in my answer for question 2.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Questions for Paper #2
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ReplyDeleteThis is a very good question. I've haven't thought too much on how susceptible our attractions are. Do you think there is greater influence for men or women? I am very interested to see how this pans out. Good luck on your paper!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really good question which codes of gender touched on lightly. I would look into the differing ideals of beauty over time as evidence of the media's influence. this could be a jumping off point that would hopefully yield further questions and information for your question
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thought provoking question! I think you are on the right track using ideas from Codes of Gender and Killing us Softly. I referenced those a lot in my last paper when discussing the normalization of Victoria's Secret's ads. I'd say definitely research how trends have changed through time and how they influence generations. A great thing to look at would be popular music icons through the years such as 90s pop stars through 2000s hip hop and rap stars and so on and how they influence people. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThis will be such a good topic. There are so many articles about this type of topic you'll be able to find tons of information. It is such a big problem now, and you can see some company's trying to promote a different kind of beauty. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good topic to research and I'm sure you will find a lot of information about it! You could definitely use a lot of the articles we've read in class as sources.
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