Allison Fortkamp: Gender Wars Blog #1

1.) Do the gender wars exist? Why or why not?

I think gender wars absolutely do exist in our society. Even just based upon the commercials and other video clips we have watched in class, and the existence of board games and video games based entirely around the concept. It's obvious that society sees males and females in different and opposing roles. And since people conceived of "gender wars," gender wars became a self fulfilling prophecy in a way. People expected to see gender differences, and so they saw what they wanted to see. The real problem is that gender wars are entirely a human construct. Because males and females are far more similar than they are different, there really shouldn't be any particular opposition, let alone "wars."

2.) How, if at all, have you experienced a war between the genders? You can reference your own personal experience of pop culture examples that you have been exposed to.
Personally, I can't say that I've experienced too much. Of course when I was in elementary school, my group of female friends hated my guy friend, based solely on the fact that he was a guy. But other than that, as well as all the pop culture, advertising references, I can't say that I've experienced gender wars too personally.

3.) Do you think the war metaphor is dangerous? Why or why not? Also what would be some alternative metaphors that could be used?

Of course it's dangerous. Any time that a metaphor implies violence it becomes dangerous. It creates tension between the "opposing" sides, even if the sides really aren't, or shouldn't be, in opposition in the first place. It would be much more healthy for society to see gender as a spectrum (not binary guys vs. girls), that cooperates. Perhaps it should be "gender guild" or something of that ilk.

Discussion Questions:

1) How should people go about erasing the concept of "gender wars?"

2) How does the concept of "gender wars" influence the socialization patterns of young children?

Emily Schlichting--Gender Wars

Gender war is something that has been a factor in my thought process for as long as I can remember knowing there is a difference between boys and girls. Oddly, I think the word "war" is the perfect conceptualization of the way we are taught to perceive gender. When I was younger, I was constantly trying to be "as good as the boys," which looking maybe felt less like a war and more like a competition. But competition is just war without the extreme violence.

All throughout my young adult life, in debate, in class, and in conversation, I was constantly trying to "hold my own" with the boys. While I realize now that it wasn't actually a competition of who was more masculine, sometimes it really felt that way. Except for me, I was often penalized by both my female peers and the boys I was trying to measure up to.

I think the gender wars stem from a basic human tendency to focus more on the minute differences rather than the mass number of similarities that we all share. The gender wars simply play on that tendency and expands in into a cultural norm.

1. How would our romantic interactions/flirtations change without the combative dynamic that gender wars bring to male/female relationships?

2. How does socioeconomic status and other intersectional identities affect the way that we perceive gender roles?

3. What is the quality about you that most defies your traditional gender role?

Gender wars

While reading through the blogs one of the questions that someone posted caught my eye. The question that was proposed was "is it mortifying if someone mistakes you for the wrong gender? If so, why?" I thought this was a brilliant question because I know I have personally been out with my friends and have seen someone who I did not know if they were male or female. This of course then struck up an interesting conversation between us...like it really mattered if the person was male or female, but for some reason at that time it did. Now, reflecting back on that situation I believe that since society has drilled into my brain and probably others how to look, dress, and even act based on your gender this is where the term "gender wars" came from.
At first I did not like the idea of men and women being at war. When I first heard the term war all I could think of was men and women fighting to win a battle and people dying. After answering the above question I began to think about "gender wars" in a different way. I thought maybe it could mean that women and men are having a "gender war" between themselves and society. For example, when I go to the hair salon and get my hair styled I make sure that the hairstylist does not cut my hair to short. Even though I have always wanted to try and "rock the mohawk" like Rihanna. I know that if I followed through with this action someone on the street might consider me to be a man because society has taught us that mohawks and shaving your head are things that men do. So, therefore I believe that society and the genders are at war with each other as to what is acceptable and what is not.
Society and the genders are probably always going to be butting heads as long as these stereotypes exist. I know throughout the years more and more stereotypes are being broken. For example, it is becoming more acceptable for men to wear the colors like pink or purple. If a man were to wear pink ten years ago society might characterize him as being "homosexual". Now more men wear pink because society has said that it shows that they are more in touch with their "feminine side".
For the two questions that I propose are:
1) How do you think "gender wars" or "gender differences" are seen in other countries?
2) Do you agree with the idea that since both genders are always changing and developing that there will always be some sort of "gender war" or "gender difference" present?

Gender Wars - Scott Butler

1.) Do the gender wars exist? Why or why not?

Gender Wars is a very abstract term, while it could be interpreted as a fight to the top in the workplace, it could also be understood in everyday life in the family, and even with your friends. I agree with many of the other posts when they state that it is not so much about "gender wars" but more as attempting to understand the opposite sex, and more importantly their communication style. I feel as if many people interpret the word more literally such as battle to the top of the workplace. The discussion of advancement in the workplace is many times based on gender, and has been a touchy subject for many years.

The way I was raised I was taught that men and women are equal when it comes to the workplace, as well as everyday life. Although this is mostly true I also grew up in a very small town in western Nebraska, a very conservative and orthodox lifestyle. The father of the household held the more fruitful and providing job while the mother was the more, as Lakoff would put it, nurturant parent in the household. The father tended to more of the discipline aspect of the household in a very strict manner.

The way it is used as a metaphor is completely irrelevant to how it is comprehended by most. Yes, the manner of the discourse that surrounds the material is important. Also the more that we study and observe, the more that can be learned. I believe that most women recieve equal treatment as their male counterpart, but I can also empathize with their understanding of not being treated equally.

Blog #1 - Kati Roth

I do feel that a gender war does exist, but not the extent that some people make it out to be. For instance, you see many men and women interacting in the workplace such as there are quite a few high executive women in large corporations, not as many as men, but there are still quite a few. Many people seem to think that is a huge place for the gender wars, but maybe the reason we don't see as many women in high executive positions is because they choose not to go that career path and have that as their goals, or they choose a different career such as nursing, or teaching.

I have personally never experienced any type of gender war. I have grown up always believing that men and women are equal. I know there are some people who think that women should have all the same rights or I guess a better word would be, the same opportunities such as in the workplace etc. I personally have never had to deal with any type of "gender" war in my own personal life, but I know that it does slightly go on.

I do think the metaphor war is dangerous. When I think of a war I picture people walking around with guns shooting at people with the intent to kill. This is not the case in this war. If it were truly a war, then men and women would not pair up with the intent to marry and procreate, I think a better work or metaphor that could be used would maybe be like the gender controversies or maybe even the gender issues. I just think using the gender wars is not a good metaphor.

Men and Women are just different

Are women better then men. No, but the same is true if you reverse the question. Men and Women are better at different things because we evolved that way. Men typically have a better sense of direction because our ancestors needed it to hunt and find their way back home. Women have a better sense of color because they had to see the difference in the food they were picking. Red means savory, but burgundy means death. Also women are better at multitasking, but men have a better sense of spatial reality. There are so many different things that make men and women different, but instead of trying to work together the media tries to pit us against each other so they can make money.

I actually hate the term Gender Wars. I think that a lot of the problem is the media preys on people who are confused. Men and Women are different that is a fact. The media likes to play up these stereotypes and it's a major cash cow. We as a society spend billions, not millions, but billions every year on different products to winning/understanding the opposite sex. Advertisers spend millions on psychological studies just so they can prey on stereotypes to sell products because they know it's big business.

It’s been my experience that within the last 10 years there has been this shift in thinking with the people in America. People are more understanding towards gender issues that used to be ignored. A big part of that is the Internet. Over the last 10 years America has been wired to the net and allowed people to see another side of life that they might not have been able to see. They can see other people’s opinions other then the opinions of their friends and family. Maybe in another 10 years this won't be even be a debate.

1) How many people have bought/read magazine articles or books on understanding your mate?

2) Do you think the Internet has made things better or worse in changing the people's views on gender stereotypes?

Robbie Larson -"Gender Wars"

When you think of gender wars you tend to imagine the long and everlasting battle of the sexes. But do gender wars really exist? A part of me says yes of course they exist but another part of me says no there really isn’t such a thing between “gender wars”. But if there wasn’t such a thing as gender wars then why would there be so much competition in our society and why would men and women fight? But on the other hand people may think gender wars don’t exist because some people think why should men and women fight? They were made to be with each other, they shouldn’t be fighting or having wars.

As I have grown up and gone through middle school, high school, and most of college I have really started to think these “gender wars” may not exist like people think they do. Going back to the middle school days I could maybe see where gender wars came into play. Kids are young and they are just starting to realize what its like to hang out with the opposite sex. Looking back I can see how going from hanging out with all boys to boys and girls there definitely was a time where we experienced some gender wars when the boys and girls couldn’t agree on one thing. But as kids turn into young adults and then into adults they start to realize there are other things in life and you have to make changes and settle for other things in life.

Thinking of gender wars today, I can’t really see where they come into play. But one place I can see gender wars taking place is in the sporting world. As it is in today’s society, when you think of sports you often think of the male dominance in the sporting world. Women make the push to challenge men but when you look at the dominate figures in the sporting world you think of names like Lebron James, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Rodger Federer who all dominate their sport and are the faces of the sporting world. But does this make women feel like there is a war and they are competing to become the face of their sport or do they want dominate on the same level as these male figures do?

Questions:
How has gender wars affected our society today and what changes has it made?

Is it more men or women who are worried about winning the gender war?

"Gender Wars"

As I reflect on my life and how “gender wars” has affected it not too many instances come to mind. The only examples from my personal life don’t even have to do with competition or grudges towards each other. It has more to do with segregation and difference of interests.

At recess in elementary school, boys would play baseball and the girls would sit on the merry-go-round. In high school boys would be in shop class and girls would be in choir. We all know that there is one boy in the outfield more interested in what’s going on on the merry-go-round, and that girl that just wants to go show the boys that she can do what they can, may be even better. And if there was a boy on the merry-go-round it wasn’t that the girls were mad, it was the guys that didn’t understand why he wasn’t playing ball. That is the same with the girl playing baseball with the guys.

I wouldn’t say that “gender wars” is a war with two oppositions going head to head, it is more like the “War on Drugs.” It is an idea that needs to be dealt with. Not so much for the one boy or girl that shows different interests, there are many kids that it don’t bother, but for the group of boys and group of girls to be able to accept everyone for their own interests and beliefs, and not always have to compare it to their own to decide if it is “ok” or not.

To me, that is where the problem is and where this “war” needs to be fought. “Gender Wars” in the workplace and in society as adults, doesn’t seem to be an issue to me. I know many people will disagree with me but I feel that the most qualified candidate will get the job without taking into account what sex they are. In years past of course there were people that favored men over women, and in some cases, this still holds true. For this reason I believe that the battlefield for this “war” is in our high schools.

Questions:

1) Do you think that the battle with bullying in today’s schools has anything to do with “Gender Wars?”

2) In occupations such as nursing and teaching, stereotypically women’s jobs, do you think men are ever discriminated against in their job search?

gender wars

The fact that the term “gender wars” is even used, shows the fact how much our society exaggerates and exploits things, especially the media. If there is a war between genders, what should we call the competition within our own genders? There is more competition within our own gender (i.e. The Bachelor) than there is between the genders. Yes, women are trying to get more right and equality. However, in a war there is a winner. You win or lose the war, there is never a “tie.” To call it a war is to imply that someone is going to have to win or lose, in the case of gender there simply cannot be a winner nor a loser.

When I was younger and in high school I did believe that there was a gender war. I also though that women were much more superior to men. I think this is mainly me being involved in athletics and the frustration that can bring on when competing against boys who are obviously stronger and faster than I’ll ever be. However, now I realize that not one is better but different. A man may be better at fixing a car than me, but I may be able work with clients and customers better. I feel this is the same within genders as well. Or, it can go the other way around. We can accomplish a lot more when we put our strengths together than if we fight and point out each others weaknesses.

I really wish we could come up with some other term besides “gender wars” if we need a term at all. I just feel that is degrades what a war actually is and makes it seem as if one gender is inferior to the other. Though I must say “gender wars” does have a nice ring to it. I don’ think “gender harmonizing” or “equaling gender” would create as much talk.

Do you think that there are certain areas where genders are more in competition than others?
Do you think gender wars are correlated with the fact that our society is focused more on individualism than collectivism?

Blog #1 1/27/11

If I would have been asked if I thought gender wars existed before really knowing what it was, I would have thought it sounded crazy, however the more I learn about its prevalence in pop culture and the debate surrounding its metaphor, the less crazy it sounds. I would say that using the word war is pretty extreme, but the issue of gender and sex is extreme and it's something that is not going away anytime soon.

When thinking about gender wars in my own life and what I have experienced I can't really say I know a lot about it first hand, however I can believe that it exists. I can say personally that I have helped popularize the metaphor and I haven't done much to change that. I constantly default to gender and sex stereotypes and by doing so I am reinforcing the notion, however it is done usually subconsciously and there in I think lies the most damage. I also assume heterosexuality too, an example that comes to mind are bathroom signs, most the time the only thing I look at is the picture, if the figure is wearing a dress I know I can go in, and if its not I assume boys and to steer clear. However I never really thought about what it would be like to not identify with either one, which one would I enter? I think that it is a dangerous metaphor and if we don't make drastic measures to try and change these assumptions then nothing is going to change and the gender "wars" will continue.

The think the metaphor "wars" is very dangerous because it assumes the worst. Yes the debate is very extreme and not to be taking lightly however war generally implies weapons, violence, anger, pain, suffering, and many more unpleasant words and depending on who's trying to make sense of this debate could have negative outcomes. I think that if we want to understand the metaphor and use a different word rather than war we should call it gender "conflict" or gender "struggle" because both give an understanding that something is wrong and worth changing, but it's not so dangerous and harmful as war.

Questions:

1) Will the metaphor for gender "wars" every be renamed?
2)Has discrimination gone up or down due to this metaphor of gender "wars"?

GENDER WARS

When thinking about the term "gender wars," I automatically think of pop culture. Specifically, the subject of rap music. I say this because when we turn on the radio, itunes, or our ipods...there is typically at least a few songs about a woman..."shakin' that THANG..." which makes me think, music hasn't always been this way. And it also raised to question: how did music become so degrading? Did this come from the idea of man vs. woman. I mean sure some songs are great to get your dance on to, but there are some songs that are down right gross. Could this possibly be showing women that men are trying to express some type of right over them? Some lyrics really make one wonder...This makes me think that this war that is present in our generation is somewhat created by it's species...one gender expressing thoughts, feeling, and emotions and the other genders perception.

Sure women can sit back and be told to make a sandwich, but at some point there has and will continue to develop some type of controversy between genders. But it's not just about being a man or a woman, think about all the gay and lesbian citizens that get tormented on a daily basis. We hear more and more stories of suicides about people with alternative genders, and controversies in schools and everyday life. There is a smoke in the air, the smoke being the tension between different genders.

Don't get me wrong, it's not as if I spear the opposing gender if I come across them on campus...let us call the gender wars; "a friendly battle." I say this because as much as a woman says she can do anything better than you, to a man, the fact is that she is still talking to him. They will still go on a date, kiss, and show love for one another. Just because two opponents in a bad mitten match are trying to win, doesn't mean that one is going to slit the others throat after the game if one were to lose...what I'm getting at here is just because some have issues with other genders doesn't mean we are at this full out war. Two people of the same gender can get into a argument that opposing genders may get into.

Question:

What if in pop culture; women (sing/rap) songs as men (sing/rap) about women in today's era? In your opinion how do you think men would react?

What are some songs you know of that are degrading to any type of gender?

Gender Wars

I do not think that we are making a war between ourselves through gender. I mean yes, there are gender differences and yes, gender is a socially constructed theory but personally, if I am competing with another I will not look at their gender. There may be a time where one would look at gender as a factor in competition, such as physical ability but many women are stronger than men, it just depends on the training. I really liked the part in chapter one when they talked about gender not being your only identity, but part of what makes your identities. The thing about that now is that people who don’t feel as if they are the right gender have construe another identity and it is hard for them to not get looked down upon in society.
As far as growing up, I had two little brothers. I would say I enjoyed playing with both “girl” toys and “boy” toys. My mom did home daycare so we had a chance to play many games. We would play sports, imaginary games (house, CSI, other occupations), etc. but there was never a difference between who got what role. If anything, age made the difference of who got what role. I honestly do not think there was a difference between who did what roles until I got older. I had a friend who loved football and she was good but of course, she could not play because she was a “girl”.
Using the word “war” in gender wars makes me think of survival of the fittest. Obviously, both men and women are here on this earth still so the word war does not fit right as far as gender goes. I am not sure if there will always be a separation between genders, obviously in sex but I do believe that more and more people will be more in the middle of masculine and feminine. Right now there is a huge stretch as of what is masculine and what is feminine but I think that by socially talking about it and thinking about it that will be less of a stretch.

1. Do you think it is inappropriate to dress as a "typical girl" when you are a boy or vv?

2. Is it that mortifying if someone mistakens you for the wrong gender? If so, why?

Gender Wars

Gender wars are a term that I had not been too familiar with prior to this class. Although I have not heard this specific term, I can see the struggle between men and women and a sense of who is more powerful on a daily basis. We are lucky to be in a generation where they are TRYING to make it so women and men have the same opportunities and are treated as equals. This, however, instigates a “war” between the two sexes (or genders) to see which will prevail over the other. This then begins my first discussion question, is there really a war over power solely because two people have different sex organs?

In my opinion gender wars is prevalent in many “ pop culture” television shows.  Instead of using the word war, MTV has chosen the world “ battle” for one season of their popular show real world/road rules challenge (battle of the sexes). Although not being an avid real world/road rules watcher I did catch a few episodes when the season was on air. It was various games competing to win a lump sum of money or prizes. This specific season of the show must have gotten high ratings, because there was a season 2, battle of the sexes. This reality show alone shows gender wars. And if there weren’t already gender wars, the social media sure is provoking men and women to engage in them.  Do you agree that social media sometimes pushes men VS women?

I think the war metaphor is a little harsh to be using in a social context. When I think of war the words devastation and death come to mind. I think a better word to use would be competition, if there were any kind of “war” going on at all. Gender competitions. 

Gender Wars

There are absolutely gender differences, but I don't think they are strong enough to be labeled a "war." Certainly communication styles are a prominent area where differences can be seen. I tend to think of these communication styles as thorough (feminine) or precise (masculine). This is also reflected in the rush to do "action."

Also, these differences belong to the majority, but they are not strictly predetermined. That is to say there can be guys that communicate in a feminine manner and girls that communicate in a masculine way.

So is it harmful for our society to call it a "gender war?" I don't think so. It seems that people know there are differences, but not in a sense where the two genders are clashing.

I think the bigger problem with viewing these as a "war" is the lines that are drawn. When you look at a "gender war" it automatically places guys on the masculine side and women on the feminine side, but as I said, that's not necessarily the way it is. Nor should it have to be.

Questions:

Does this general communicative "trend" mold youth into their stereotypical gender positions?

Do you think this is also what leads to lack of gender diversity in certain workplaces?

Are We Engaged in Gender Warfare?

As a personal opinion I really don’t believe that we are engaged in a gender war. If anything I would describe the current situation as more of a gender struggle. Growing up in a small Midwestern town I never really heard much about the struggle for equality in a modern sense. I was always taught that a woman can do anything that a man can do and the older I got the more apparent that became. Even walking around campus today I see about an equal ratio of boys to girls with a wide array of majors. Yes some majors are more male dominated and some are more female dominated but the opportunity still exists for members of both genders to study in those fields.

I guess that I personally have never experienced the so called gender war. I have personally witnessed attempts for men to make sacrifices in sports to compensate for equality for women. Most notable in the sport of high school wrestling girls are allowed to compete in a sport dominated by men. Another example of this is allowing girls to compete on the football team. However I have never personally seen an attempt for a man to compete on a team of women. To me it appears that women want to be like men and have the opportunity to have every advantage that men have, but the same does not necessarily hold true for men wanting to have all the opportunities a woman has.

Maybe I just fit into the typical male stereotype of being naïve, bullheaded, and completely oblivious to my surroundings but to me there is no such thing as a gender war. I believe that there is an identity crisis of sorts as women want to be more like men, but that should be classified more as a struggle if anything. To me the word “war” describes a deep hatred with a lot of violence and even possible death as a direct result of the situation. We don’t have that in today’s society, men and women are obviously still able to coexist without a need for hatred and violence.


Does our opinion on gender warfare depend on geography?

Is this a one sided battle or do both sides have something to gain from a “gender war”?

Games, Gender and the Godawful state of objectification: The 'Gender War' applied

WARNING: The following contains broad generalizations and is supported with no evidence what-so-ever.

I had seen the box of SCi Games’ Gender Wars countless years ago. It was collecting dust in the bargain bin at Big Lots, and let me tell you, it takes a monumentally poor product to sit around indefinitely for a buck ninety-nine. Emblazoned on the box in bright red lettering was the retrospectively hilarious tagline “The Ultimate Battle of the Sexes.” While a tag like that may simply sound bizarre and (hopefully) sexist to the rationing adult, the mere presence of the word “Sex” is positively magnetic to an adolescent male, especially a sexually repressed, conservative Christian one like myself. With a quick whirr-around to make sure my parents were preoccupied in the snack aisle (is there any other reason to go to Big Lots?) I grasped the box and flipped it on its back like a pancake, hoping to see some spicy screenshots of pixilated, buxom babes. Sadly, this was not to be, as the screencaps were of crayola-colored, armor clad figurines, shot from a million miles away, with about as discernable sex-traits as a Furby. I was disheartened, and tossed the box aside as one would toss the DVD of “Some Like it Hot” when the they found out it was a code-era caper flick.

And so lay my, and many of my colleagues’ pre-adult engagement to sexuality—if it doesn’t amuse, toss it aside. The process of physical objectification (that is, qualifying whether it’s sexually arousing or not) to the child is entirely gut-reaction, as there’s rarely any higher brain function deciphering the question: “does this excite me?” And is this necessarily a bad thing? The thoughts of youth will forever be fascinated by sexuality: its uniqueness from any other aspect of life will always be something the young will pursue. Whether a kid looks at the fully-nude fold out in Playboy, or the remarkably disappointing back of a scintillatingly-titled game box, the allure of sexuality will not be satiated. It is not the youth who need protection from the dreaded “objectification,” but rather, those who should probably know better.

What is often perceived as a “Gender War” on the issue of objectification is really more of a war on taste. Feminist groups look down on seeing Britney gleefully tromp on stage in a pink bodysuit simply because it damages many of the strides they’ve taken to be seen as equals, not because “sexy is wrong.” While there are countless males who join in on this argument (not including the religious-agendad ones, as they do encourage objectification, just not through sexuality), males who fight the issue are looked down upon as traitors to their sex (male feminists are often labeled as either gay or accused of holding ulterior motives). While the same can’t be said for female feminists, those women who do choose to objectify themselves are held in high esteem among chauvinists and it can be remarkably easy to become addicted to this elevated state. There are very few kick-backs for those who choose to remain in opposition to objectification. But really, why should there be? Since when was doing the most sensible thing worthy of a reward?

I’m not sure about most of these issues really, but neither was my mother when she punched my jaw after she caught me staring at the back of the box of “Panty Raider: From Here to Immaturity” inside of an Electronics Boutique, yet also purchased me an "Interactive Movie" that contained the first physical display of sex I had ever seen.

Questions:

Objectification. Do you care?

Is the European approach to sexuality on television and in film (a substantially more open and progressive stance) more or less harmful to youth? Have you any personal examples that would back up this claim?

Gender Wars

I think it's clear that gender wars exist. It is prevalent in advertisements, social interactions, and attitudes. Pop culture especially tries to play up the differences between men and women. However, I feel like there is also another type of gender war going on, one where men and women are trying to portray themselves as more alike. These two types of gender wars create a division among men and also among women, as the individual genders are tugged in opposite directions. For example, some women are playing up what many traditionally consider femininity - becoming occupied by beauty, relationships, raising a family, and being dependent on men. Other women are playing up more masculine traits - pursuing traditionally male careers, becoming more competitive and independent, and focusing on education and less on family. Men are also facing the same war within their gender. Some are picking up more feminine traits while others are enhancing their masculinity. As stated in our notes from class, variance is greater among women and men than between the sexes.

I feel like I'm not extremely influenced by the gender wars. If anything, I have resisted the concept of gender wars throughout my life. Growing up, I was very much a tomboy. I mostly played with my brother's toys and didn't like dolls or Barbies. I remember watching commercials when I was younger and being more enticed by the toys targeting boys than those targeting girls. I would rather play sports with the guys at recess than talk with all the girls. Today, I would consider myself competitive, independent, and career focused which are all characteristics generally associated with males. But at the same time, I have embraced my feminine side. I want to play a big role in raising a family in the future, but know it will be difficult for me to put aside my career for awhile.

I feel like the metaphor can place limits on men and women, but only to the extent they let it happen. Many men and women have broken the stereotype of what their gender is expected to be like, and breaking gender barriers seems to be more accepted today. It should be noted that breaking the stereotype can pose other problems like being teased, not fitting in as well, psychological issues, and discrimination. But it can also bring about opportunities for both men and women. For example, as women advance in careers, they are demonstrating their talents and abilities, and discrimination towards them is decreasing. The messages we receive daily from pop culture are telling us how to live and act in our society, and can ruin our independent thinking if we let it. Gender differences will continue to exist, but falling into the trap of letting pop culture guide our role in society ruins individuality.

Does it seem like gender differences are greater among women and men than between the sexes?

Do you feel like you are embracing the "gender wars" or resisting it?

Justin Bieber and More

Do gender wars exist? Does Justin Bieber exist? The answer for both is, yes, but until recently no one had taken notice. In the 1940's, nobody knew about Justin Bieber, and nobody knew about these so-called "Gender Wars." Back then it was a male dominated society, and when one side wins constantly, it's not really a war. It's not even a rivalry. The man always had the last say, and that was that. No war. Then things started to change.

World War II. Then men were off fighting in Europe and Japan, but the US still needed to keep it's industry going. Who stepped in? The women. Women began working the factory shifts left open by the men at war. Some thought things would go back to normal after the war, but instead a turning point in history began. From this point on, the number of women has been steadily increasing in the workforce. With these new jobs comes a new sense of independence. Society started to change. No longer were men perceived as superior to women as the social norm. That's right, the women were making a comeback!

Enter the present. Justin Bieber is a national sensation. He tours the world, making young girls swoon, feeding the hungry, healing the blind, finding cures for cancer, you know the deal. It's also a time when women in America have the most rights and privileges they've ever had. It's safe to say that a large percentage of women probably make more money than their husbands. With this new-found "level ground", this gender war thing is starting to take hold. Some men can't handle that they are being outdone by their wives. What happens when that woman co-worker gets the promotion, when you thought you deserved it? The sex-related jokes start flying. The put-downs and stereotypes become widespread. It will be an interesting next couple of decades. The "Gender Wars" have just started...



Questions:
1) With womens' rise in the workplace, has discrimination gone up or down and why?

2) Will "Gender Wars" continue to grow in the future?

Gender Wars

In many ways I do not believe that "Gender Wars" exist. I fell that we all have our own say in what we do and how we are perceived by society. To me "Gender Wars" is too harsh of a term to use. Maybe gender differences would be better. By using the term "Gender Wars" it seems like it would be just that... a war between what is seen as males and females. Growing up these differences have not been extreme in my life. I grew up with three cousins all of which are boys. I played video games, and played with Ninja Turtles. It wasn't until I was older and had step sisters that I was introduced to the world of girl toys such as Barbie's. Not recognizing these differences at a young age made it seem acceptable to me that males and females be interchangeable in the toys they play with and now with the careers that they hold. My mother has also had influence on this because she raised me herself and is a regional and worked her way there. Seeing her go to work in suits everyday erased the image of stay at home moms and working dads from my mind. I think that the only way that "Gender Wars" or differences exist is because people do not ry to make the differences disappear. To me these differences just don't exist because I have never really experienced them.
Media can be a big influence on "Gender Wars" because they introduce children to what they should play with in toy advertisements. The advertisements we watched in class were perfect examples of what society thinks each gender whould be and do. These can be harmful because in a way they are telling young boys and girls that they have to do this and that in order to be successful. I think that the war metaphor can be dangerous because it can be taken out of context. It is better to think of it as differences.
DQ:
1. Were "Gender Wars" present when you were growing up? Did you take notice?
2. Do you think that the modern workplace has an effect on the outcome of "Gender Wars?"

Gender wars

Gender wars very much do exist in modern day society. Whether it's as simple as toys we play with as a child, roles we are expected to fill in our lives, or hiring for corporate jobs gender is always coming up. Most of these you could settle under the topic of gender expectations but gender wars also exist as well. I feel like the wars do exist, but really not to the extent that some might think. For example in the job scenario, If you see more upper level corporate jobs being filled by males, I think that there probably really just are more males applying for that position. It would be interesting to look into statistics, but I really don't see it as being a huge issue due to the amount of lawsuits you see about sexism in the workplace. But that goes to say that they do exist since there are lawsuits happening but also that when sexism happens, there is something you are able to do about it.

Personally I don't think that I have been affected negatively by gender wars thus far. Maybe being a female in a heterosexual relationship for 5 years has had some influence there and maybe even the fact that I grew up in a household where my mom was a stay at home mother of 4 and filled the “housewife” role. My dad was the one who worked to provide for the family so I think I just come from a kind of old fashioned family and maybe I don't see so many men in the workplace as a threat since I'm not completely against women filling the stay at home role. It may not be for me personally but a lot of women and men would prefer such a thing. I've grown up feeling that men and women are equal and that you can aspire to do anything that you want regardless of sex.

I don't think that the war metaphor is necessarily dangerous but I think it can be misleading. The term was implied that the two are completely against each other but this is not really the case. If male and female were against each other that the majority wouldn't be marrying each other and having babies. Homosexuality would be the norm. I think that it is a war though in the sense that some are having to fight the stereotypical expectations that are sometimes placed upon people. There are still so me people out there that insist that the man work and the woman stay home and take care of kids that must be had. You really could branch off and think of 1000 different way that these wars exist and such endless examples are proof that there is indeed a war of some kind.

Zach Poss -1/27/11-Gender Wars

It is hard to argue that the “Gender Wars” do not exist, when it “Wars” is used in the context of differences between the genders and men and women are obviously different. A pink crayon is different than a blue crayon, even if they are both crayons, both made and used the same way. I think that the issue people have with gender differences is not a question of whether they exist or not, but rather an issue of discrimination. I will readily admit that there is a discrepancy between the number of women versus men in the workplace and in the average pay each receives (among others). I also think that the gap between the two will continue to diminish as the number of opportunities continues to increase, but one commonality in human cultures around the world is a resistance to change. In America (and continuing back to its European origins), the white male has dominated as the status quo for centuries. Whether or not that is right, it is true. It takes a long time to build “tradition,” but it takes even longer to change it. I think that the issues with gender differences are due to impatience with this change. I believe that a majority of women still want to be treated differently than men (I don’t talk to my girlfriend the same way I talk to my best (male) friend or I’d probably get slapped), but I do believe that a majority want equality versus discrimination.

I will admit that, being a white heterosexual male and being from a small town in the Mid-West, I have been shielded from dealing with a majority of the issues the country faces. My town was only ever home to one African-American and my school only educated one homosexual male during my entire jr. high and high school careers. Gender differences are accepted as a norm and are not an issue. If a female works or stays home with the kids, it makes no difference so long as she contributes to the betterment of her family or of society in general. You don’t ever hit women but you don’t wanna piss ‘em off either. It is generally accepted in that farming-based community that women are different than men (though not easier to understand), yet the same was expected of them as was the rest of the men, at least in my family.

I see the term “Wars” as a book selling title, more or less. As I stated earlier, I may have been shielded by some of the main issues surrounding the use of this term, but the idea of women’s equality has really only been around (or gained momentum) for a short period of time and when introducing change, society feels threatened and more time is required to get from competitiveness to acceptance. Perhaps if I belonged to a different social category, I would demand change much more readily. But even our chosen system of government takes an overabundance of time to get anything of mean accomplished. Women and men may be more similar than different in many ways, but they are still different. To me, wars, in this context, means differences for a majority of the members of society that I was raised in.


Do you think that the acceptance of gender differences is beneficial or harmful to society?


If gender differences are to be eradicated from society, how much of an effect to you think this will have on generally accepted “traditional” views. Right now, even a respectful guy will hit another male, if only to defend the respect of someone he cares about but should not ever hit a woman. Does eliminating gender roles also eliminate this type attitude towards women? Is that okay? Or do you want balance somewhere?

Blog #1 - Gender Wars?

In chapter 1 we were introduced to the concept of the gender "wars," its prevalence in pop culture, and the debate surrounding the use of this metaphor. We read that this concept has been used to used to sell games, frame a variety of discussions ranging from health care to camping, and generate over 10 million Google hits. Linguist George Lakoff notes that "gender wars" is a structural metaphor, meaning that the phase structures one concept in terms of another (e.g. gender relations = war). Researchers have found that differences account for less of the variance between the sexes than among the sexes. DeFrancisco and Palczewki give us four reasons that account for the popularity of the "gender" wars metaphor: 1) sex and gender as social categories in most cultures; 2) assumptions of heterosexuality; 3) Sex sells in Western, capitalistic countries; 4) difference is political. So the question(s) I pose this week are:

1.) Do the gender wars exist? Why or why not?
2.) How, if at all, have you experienced a war between the genders? You can reference your own personal experience of pop culture examples that you have been exposed to.
3.) Do you think the war metaphor is dangerous? Why or why not? Also what would be some alternative metaphors that could be used?

For your response, please use the concept of the "gender wars" to guide your reflection and also the questions you pose. You can respond to as many of these questions as you like or feel free to create your own tangent related to the gender wars. No right or wrong answers here. Just think of this as a forum for voice and dialogue.

~Sara

Welcome to the Comm 380 Blog

Greetings and welcome to the Comm 380 blog! This site will hopefully serve 2 main purposes:

1. Reflection Posts & Discussion Questions: Each week you will reflect on an overall topic for that week. These posts will be primarily guided by the readings from Taking Sides. Other topics could spring from the textbook, film, and lecture materials. Each Monday a topic of the week will be posted on the blog. Students should respond to these questions and reference readings by 8 p.m. the Thursday of that week.

2. Continued Discussion of Course Concepts: It is my hope that the blog will be used as a way to extend our course discussions. Please feel free to post videos, additional blogs, news links, etc. We should use this site as a way to share pertinent information with one another

This blog is private so please do not share this material with others. Also please be respectful of the worldviews of other students. While I encourage you to challenge arguments, please do so in a respectful manner. Even when you do not personally agree with others’ perspectives, you can still understand, appreciate, and learn from them. I look forward to reading your blogs and bringing these ideas into the class for discussion.

Cheers!~Sara