Survey Results on Movie Industry and Concluding Thoughts

Survey Questions:
Please Circle
Male Female

Answer YES, NO, OR N/A
1) Do you think minorities are accurately portrayed in movies?
2) Do you believe movies favor the idea of white supremacy?
3) Is homosexuality accurately portrayed in movies?
4) Does watching sex scenes in a movie, influence you to have sex?
5) Do you like seeing homosexual behavior in movies?
6) Does watching movies make you feel critical about your self-image?
7) Have you ever seen male abuse in movies?
8) Have you ever identified yourself with a movie character?
9) Have you ever changed your personal beliefs because of a movie?
10) Do you believe movies are racist?

RESULTS

Male:10
Female: 11
Age Range 15-18

Male Responses/Female Responses
1) 2 yes 6 no 2 n/a 1) 3 yes 6 no 2 n/a
2) 6 yes 3 no 1 n/a 2) 9 yes 1 no 1 n/a
3) 3 yes 6 no 1 n/a 3) 3 yes 8 no 0 n/a
4) 7 yes 3 no 0 n/a 4) 2 yes 5 no 4 n/a
5) 3 yes 4 no 3 n/a 5) 2 yes 7 no 3 n/a
6) 3 yes 5 no 2 n/a 6) 6 yes 4 no 1 n/a
7) 8 yes 1 no 1 n/a 7) 9 yes 1 no 1 n/a
8) 5 yes 5 no 0 n/a 8) 6 yes 4 no 1 n/a
9) 1 yes 7 no 2 n/a 9) 3 yes 7 no 1 n/a
10)4 yes 3 no 3 n/a 10)4 yes 5 no 2 n/a

Findings: This survey was taken at at a local high school in Fullerton. The students were asked to be anonymous and to fold their survey in half when it was completed. I wanted to do younger teens for this survey because my research primarily focused on those age groups. This age group is saturated in the media, and it is who marketing is targeting. This groups watches a lot of television, sine many do not have jobs, so when they come home from school they watch movies on TV. I was interested to see how movies have impacted the life of teenagers over time, and so the questions that I asked seem to surprise them. 12 out of 21 students felt minorities are not equally represented in movies, only 4students felt unsure about this. To my amazement 5 girls said that after watching sex scenes from movies, felt influenced to to this as opposed to 4 girls who avoided the question, and males answered either yes or no. 14 students total felt homosexuality was not being accurately portrayed, but 11 also said they did not like seeing homosexual behavior in movies. These results prove the research study by Jenkins because these students are uncomfortable to incorporate authentic lesbianism on screen. In conclusion, I feel movies have made a huge impact in the lives of many teenagers,and as how this survey proved it, 14 students said movies have not changed their personal beliefs, but then again 14 students said that watching movies have made them feel critical of their self-image, just shows the many uncovered sides of popular culture and its many effects.
[Amarilis Ambriz]

Sex and Gender Depictions on Television Survey Results

Overview of results:

1. Gender
8 females 12 males

2. Age ranges
4 18-19 year olds
3 20-21 year olds
5 22-23 year olds
1 24 year old
1 26 year old
2 28 year olds
1 31 year old
2 in 50s
1 85 year old

3. Average amount of television watched per day:
11 of the 12 men chose A) 1-2 hours
Only 1, the 85 year old, answered B) 2-3 hours
4 females chose A) and 3 chose B), 1 did not answer

All of the findings were very interesting because it is always fascinating to see how people perceive themselves and the world around them, as opposed to what might actually be going on. It is estimated that the average amount of time spent with the television on per day is actually 6 hours 47 minutes per household (www.csun.edu). This is a stark contrast to what people reported. Now, this finding does not actually relay per person consumption, but somebody has to be in charge that television set.

According to another finding in the results is that many people believe that gay and lesbian characters are well represented on network TV. Network TV is channels 2 through 13. 11 respondents checked that they do believe that gays are well represented, 3 put no, and 7 responded 'rarely.' If gay characters are present on storyline on network TV, they re not main characters (at least not since the cancellation of "Will and Grace" in 2005), and they are usually always as an incidental, 'friend' character.

Interestingly, 6 0f the 12 male respondents, have not noticed a surge of violence towards women on cable TV shows, as opposed to network TV shows. 3 of the respondents put 'does not apply,' which leaves only 3 men who have noticed this trend. In my own personal watching of cable TV shows (the fictional ones, not the reality ones), I have noticed that there is a large upsurge of violence towards women and that the violence is more graphic on cable than on network TV. There is an infamous scne from the popular FX show "Rescue Me" where a man is raping his wife. Not only did they show this, but the female character got an orgasm. There was some backlash because of this, but really not a whole lot was said or made of this crude representation of violence against women.

Overall, the results tell a lot about how people view themselves and their society in relation to television, still one of the largest media markets available.

Survey Questions:
1. What gender are you?
2. What is your age?
3. About how many hours of television do you watch per day?
A) 1-2 B) 3-4 C)Over 5
4. Do you think blacks are well represented in Prime Time?
5. Do you think gay and lesbian characters are well represented on network TV?
6. Are women characters often portrayed in positions of power in dramas during Prime Time?
7. Have you noticed a large amount of couples (male and female) that are of two different races/ethnicities on any shows- drama (crime, medical, paranormal, etc.); sitcoms, soap opera, etc?
8. If you watch cable TV shows, have you noticed a surge of violence against women as opposed to shows on network TV?
9. Is sex more explicit on cable TV than on network?
10. Do you think minorities are well represented on television as a whole?

~Hayley Arrington

Survey Results & Conclusion in Music

Total surveys: 23

1. What is your gender?
Males:7
Females: 16

2. How would you describe your viewpoints?
Liberal: 6
Moderately liberal: 8
Middle of the road: 4
Moderately conservative: 4
Conservative: 0

3. Do you feel women are portrayed negatively in music?
Yes: 19
No: 0
No comment: 0
Neutral: 3

4. Do you feel men are portrayed negatively in music?
Yes: 9
No: 8
No comment: 1
Neutral: 5

5. What types of music do you feel portray sex and gender more negatively?
[Open ended question]
Out of 21 responses, all 21 mentioned rap and/or hip hop. Two mentioned pop along with rap and one answered rock alongside rap.

6. Do you think that portrayals of sex and gender are improving compared to within the last few decades?
[Open ended question]
Somewhat: 2
No: 13
Yes: 6
Answer was irrelevant: 1

*Note: Many of the questions had at least 1 person skip it.

In conclusion, a majority of the people surveyed believe that rap/hip-hop portrayed women and sex/gender in the worst light. Over the years, the majority also believe that these portrayals have not gotten any better. Surprisingly, a lot of people thought music portrayed men in a negative light. I should have probed further to see what this reason was, as it is obvious to why women are seen as portrayed negatively. I believe that music portrays women in a more negative light and is either getting worst or staying at an equally bad level. Even if women are in the spotlight and are making music, they are usually seen as sex symbols since that is what sells.

I would have liked to touch on the fact that the transgendered and gay community is becoming more accepted in some genres, however the amount of questions I already have did not allow for me to survey that. However, since I go to/went to a large amount of indie, hardcore, and pop-punk shows throughout the semester and over the summer, I noticed that these communities are more accepted and it's not as "weird" to see them around. Musical artists such as Jeffree Star drew a large crowd at Warped Tour over the summer, and when she was signing at her tent, it was impossible to walk by because kids were everywhere just trying to meet her. I also noticed that it's alright in these scenes for men to be a lot more feminized. It is alright (and attractive to some) for boys to wear tight pants, have long hair, and be more "emotional," hence the title "emo boys." These communities are still hated on by others who are not involved in the scene, but I believe it is getting better because I noticed that a lot of boys are starting to wear tighter jeans. However, in the bigger picture, I believe that this generation could do much better portraying sex and gender and being more open about it, no matter what it may be.

-Tepthida Tan

Magazines Survey and Results

1. What is your gender?
10 males
13 females

2. What is your age?
17-33 years old

3. What is your marital status?
18 single
1 engaged
3 married
1 other

4. What is your ethnicity?
12 Hispanic
3 African American
2 White/ Caucasian
2 Asian
4 Other

5. Do you read magazines?
13 yes
10 no

If so, what magazines do you read most often?

Glamour
Arts Projects
Game informer
Playboy
FHM
Cosmopolitan
Men’s health
Nylon
Teen Vogue
Elle Girl
Time
Discover
Entertainment Weekly
Rolling Stone
Spin
Redbook
Seventeen
Sports illustrated
Vogue


6. Have you ever compared yourself physically to a model in a magazine?
12 Yes
11 No

7. Do you believe models in magazines can influence the way a person feels about them self?
12 yes
11 no


8. Does the media put pressure on males and females to look like the media images that they advertise?
17 yes
3 no
3 other

9. What do you believe the ideal woman looks like based on magazine advertisements?
thin, tall, good skin, big breasts and booty, fair skinned, and absurdly tall, toned, tan, gorgeous face Skinny, beautiful, pretty much FLAWLESS, Size 2, long healthy hair, no curves, fashionable, Caucasian, fit, flawless light skin, no wrinkles, rail thin pouty lips, big infant eyes.

10. What do you believe the ideal man looks like based on magazine advertisements?
muscular/fit, tall, handsome, ripped body, clean cut, fair skinned, beautiful smile, good looking, buff, dark, athletic build, tall, handsome, Caucasian, tan, muscular, and six-pack abs.

RESULTS:
In conclusion, there were 23 people surveyed in total. The majority of the people surveyed were females, single, and Hispanic. The majority of the respondents said that they did read magazines and more people said that they have indeed compared themselves physically to models in magazines. The same amount of respondents believed that models in magazines could influence the way a person feels about themselves. The majority of the respondents said that the media puts pressure on both males and females to look like the media images they advertise. When asked what the ideal woman looks like based on magazine advertisements, the majority of the respondents said that she was tall, skinny, gorgeous, and CAUCASIAN. When asked the same questions about the ideal male based on magazine advertisements the majority of the respondents said that he is tall, muscular, good looking, and CAUCASIAN but with a tan.
There were a few problems with this survey/study which were mainly the questions. Due to the fact that the survey website i used i was only allowed to asked 10 questions limiting the amount of information i could collect. For future studies more questions needed to be asked especially those related to race and sexuality represented in magazines.
For this survey I used non probability sampling, relying on available subjects. Do to the fact that the respondents did not represent the whole college student population, but only those who had a "facebook" or "myspace" we cannot conclude that these findings are what all college students believe.

-[Christina Lopez]

Pop Culture and the Internet Survey

Results from Internet Survey.

1) What is your Gender? (all results accounted)

23 Females
9 Males

Total Responses: 32

2) What is your Ethnicity? (all results accounted)
13 Hispanic
12 Caucasian
2 Asian
1 Mixed, Unspecified
1 Caucasian/Asian
1 Caucasian/Hispanic
1 American

Total Responses: 31

3) What is your Marital Status?

Single
37.5%, 12 individuals

In a Relationship
40.6%, 13 individuals

Married
15.6%, 5 individuals

Separated
3.1%, 1 individuals

Divorced
0.0%, 0 individuals

Widowed
0.0%, 0 individuals

Engaged
0.0%, 0 individuals

Other
3.1%, 1 individual

Total responses: 32

4) What is your yearly Household Income?

Under $20,000
41.9%, 13 individuals

$20,000 - $40,000
22.6%, 7 individuals

$40,000 - $60,000
16.1%, 5 individuals

$60,000 - $80,000
6.5%, 2 individuals

$80,000 - $100,000
3.2%, 1 individual

Over $100,000
9.7%, 3 individuals

Total Responses: 31

5) How often do you use the internet in a given week?

I never use the internet
0.0%, 0 individuals

once a week
0.0%, 0 individuals

two to three times per week
9.4%, 3 individuals

four to six times per week
9.4%, 3 individuals

seven to nine times per week
21.9%, 7 individuals

ten or more times per week
59.4%, 19 individuals

Total responses: 32

6) How often do you post on a discussion board or participate in a chat room?

I never participate in discussion boards or chat rooms
56.3%, 18 individuals

Once or twice a week
28.1%, 9 individuals

Three to five times per week
9.4%, 3 individuals

Six to nine times per week
3.1%, 1 individual

Ten or more times per week
3.1%, 1 individual

Total responses: 32

7) What networking site profiles (i.e. facebook, myspace, match.com) do you currently maintain and which do you use most often? (all results accounted)

26 Facebook Users
18 Myspace Users
3 Twitter Users
3 Livejournal users
1 eBlogger User

24 use Facebook most often
6 use Myspace more often
1 uses both Facebook and Myspace equally

Total Responses: 31

8) How often do you visit networking sites within a given week?

I do not use networking sites
9.4%, 3 individuals

once a week
9.4%, 3 individuals

two to three times per week
12.5%, 4 individuals

four to six times per week
21.9%, 7 individuals

seven to nine times per week
18.8%, 6 individuals

ten or more times per week
28.1%, 9 individuals

Total responses: 32

9) How many hours a week do you use the internet for leisure activity (including online video games)?

One hour or less
15.6%, 5 individuals

Two to five hours
40.6%, 13 individuals

Six to ten hours
15.6%, 5 individuals

Eleven to fifteen hours
15.6%, 5 individuals

Sixteen to twenty hours
6.3%, 2 individuals

More than twenty hours
6.3%, 2 individuals

Total responses: 32

10) How often do you use your cell phone or other electronic device other than a personal computer to access the internet?

None
53.1%, 17 individuals

Once a month or less
12.5%, 4 individuals

Once a week
0.0%, 0 individuals

Two or three times per week
0.0%, 0 individuals

Four or five times per week
9.4%, 3 individuals

Six or seven times per week
12.5%, 4 individuals

Other
12.5%, 4 individuals

Total responses: 32

11) What do you use the internet most for? (all results accounted)

11 Education most often
8 E-mail most often
5 Leisure activities most often
5 Communication most often
1 shopping most often
1 work most often
1 scheduling most often

Total Responses: 32

12) What website(s) do you visit most often? (all results accounted)

24 Social Netoworking Websites
16 Facebook.com
8 Myspace.com

6 Blogging Websites
3 Livejournal.com
2 Twitter.com
1 Tumblr.com

2 Abstain

10 Accredited University Websites

18 Search/Information Portals
9 Google.com
8 Yahoo.com
1 BBC.com

5 Streaming Video Portals
3 Youtube.com
2 Surfthechannel.com
1 Netflix.com

1 Automotive Website
1 RX8Club.com

4 Sports Websites
1 Skysports.com
1 Soccernet.com
1 Dodgers.com
1 Dodgerblues.com

5 News Websites
2 CNN.com
1 Guardian.co.uk
1 NYT.com
1 MSN.com

1 Gaming Website
1 Worldofsolitaire.com

1 Animal Website
1 Kalamazooanimalrescue.com

3 Celebrity News Websites
1 Radaronline.com
1 TMZ.com
1 Thedirty.com

1 Conspiracy Theory Website
1 Abovetopsecret.com

2 University email (umail)

1 Movie Website
1 IMDb.com

1 Internet Radio Website
1 Pandora.com

1 Banking Website

1 Work Website

1 Theater Website
1 Witchesofoz.com

1 Theme Park Website
1 Disneyland.com

13) Have you ever met someone in person that you have met online? If so, how many?

None
51.6%, 16 individuals

One
22.6%, 7 individuals

Two
16.1%, 5 individuals

Three
3.2%, 1 individual

Four
0.0%, o individuals

Five
0.0%, 0 individuals

More than five
6.5%, 2 individuals

Total responses: 31

14)Do you or have you had any online romantic relationships or romantic relationships that have started online, and if so, how many?

None
59.4%, 19 individuals

One
28.1%, 9 individuals

Two
6.3%, 2 individuals

Three
3.1%, 1 individual

Four
0.0%, 0 individuals

Five
0.0%, 0 individuals

More than five
3.1%, 1 individual

Total responses: 32

15)Have you ever had sex with someone you have met online? If so, how many?

None
81.3%, 26 individuals

One
12.5%, 4 individuals

Two
3.1%, 1 individual

Three
0.0%, 0 individuals

Four
0.0%, 0 individuals

Five
0.0%, 0 individuals

More than five
3.1%, 1 individual

Total Responses: 32


Interpretations of results:

The survey was small, only including 32 people. The survey was conducted online and therefore has some bias towards internet users. Those that do not have access to the internet are much less likely to take the survey than those who do. This needs to be taken into account in order to fully understand the results received. The survey website used was helpful, but lacked certain features of test taking. The largest problem I've faced using the website was the inability to see individual results in order to more fully refine the results into different demographics. This posed great problems if we would like to make connections between ethnicity, income, gender, website frequency, and relationship history. The survey was taken by 23 females and 9 males, making it even more difficult as a means of being a typical population of study. This gender imbalance possibly has something to with the audience of the survey, one being that females outnumber men in college. Most of the individuals were either Hispanic or Caucasian, which in some cases could be considered typical for a Southern California population. The household income data shows a definite gap between the lower and upper class, which is typical.

Of the 32 responses given for the frequency of internet use, there were no responses claiming to use the internet less than twice per week. The responses to ten or more times per week was the majority at 59 percent, followed by seven to nine time per week at 22 percent. Two to six times per week shared the same number of responses as both being approx. 9 percent with a combines total of 18 percent of the surveys taken. This question has some bias built into it since the survey was conducted online. The likelihood of someone using the internet once a week is slim if they are willing to participate in a survey at a university that is prone to have internet classes and projects. These answers demonstrate that the majority of internet users access the internet ten or more times a week, which must have great consequences to the pop culture ideas of those involved.

For question 6, 43.7 percent of individuals participated in discussion boards or chat rooms at least once per week, leaving 56.3 percent that do not participate. This data is one of the most interesting gathered. The popularity of interactive conversations online can have a tremendous affect on the pop culture of a community. One of the interesting aspects of popular culture on the internet is the ability to be heard on a subject without having to be a part of a publication. It also gives access to a much wider audience that is able to participate in a conversation. The free flow of thought without censorship in many cases is attractive to the spread of information.

Question 7 was a key to understanding the frequency of social networking sites. With the data collected, we see that there are 26 facebook accounts to 18 myspace accounts. What was interesting about these results was the second answer to the question about which networking site they use most often. Out of 30 people, 24 would use facebook most often compared to only 6 of myspace. This shows that many people maintain both a facebook and a myspace simultaneously, but the preference by far is facebook.

Questions 8 through 10 are concerned with how often the participants use the internet in a given week. Question 8 deals with how often social networking sites are visited. A majority of the surveys indicate that they visit four or more times per week. Question 9 is concerned with how many hours per week the internet is used for leisure activities. The number peaks between 2 to 6 hours per week, tapering off as the number of hours increase. For question 10, the answers set by the question have a problem, which led it to be inconclusive in a way. Instead of writing up the question with an answer of more than seven times per week, I accidentally wrote it with an option of other. With the data collected though, we find that a majority do not use a cell phone or other device, but for those who do, we see that checking the internet in such a way becomes a habit. Questions 11 and 12 set out to answer the question of what do people use the internet most for and what website types are used most often. Education and email are used most often, followed by leisure and communication. The most common websites to be visited are social networking websites such as facebook and myspace. Internet portals such as google and yahoo were ranked second. 51 percent have never met someone in person that they've met online, leaving approx 49 percent that have. Over 40 percent of individuals have had a romantic relationship that has formed online. Approximately 19 percent of individuals have had sex with someone they have met online. This data is one of the most important collected in the study.


Conclusion:


The internet is different than anything that has ever been created before. It has had a tremendous impact on the daily life of individuals around the world. A great amount of its impact can be seen in the popular culture of many communities. Myspace, Facebook, and other web communities have already changed the way one stays in contact with their social network. Access to information on music, movies, and celebrities has never been more convenient. Popular streaming web portals such as youtube are even creating celebrities like, "David on Drugs," and, "Leroy Jenkins." The internet also allows for the creation of personal web sites with international access, like Maddox's, "The Best Page in the Universe." Celebrities at the center of pop culture are using Twitter as a gateway to their fans and supporters, most notably Ashton Kutcher and Al Gore. The data gathered about the frequency of visiting networking sites and the content of those networking sites indicate that pop culture and the internet are as tied together as celebrity magazines and celebrities.

Dating has even become common place in the online community and is pushing its way into the mainstream. It is not uncommon today to meet someone off of the internet. As a matter of fact, I've met my girlfriend of five years on the internet. The survey shows that there is an increasing amount of people looking to get in a relationship online. Of the 31 people who answered question 13, 15 said yes to meeting someone in person whom they've met online, which is almost half of all surveys taken. If we consider the answers to question 14 and 15, we can see a pattern. In question 14, we ask if they have had any romantic relationships that have started online. Of the 32 responses, 19 said they have not, where 13 said that they have. Now in comparison to question thirteen, of the 15 people who have met people in person from online, 13 of which claim to have had a romantic relationship online. This shows that out of all people who have met someone, 87% of all cases have been romantic. To meet people online in person, the main incentive is to have a romantic relationship. When we consider question 15, of the 15 people who have met someone in person that they have met online, 6 have has sexual relations with a person they've met online. These three questions demonstrate the frequency of online dating and online hook-ups.

Pop culture is getting more and more wired with each passing day. The use of networking sites by businesses and celebrities has become typical. The use of the internet as a tool of dating has also risen, making it's way into the pop culture scene with websites like Match or eHarmony. The internet has created a pop culture community all in its own, with celebrities, information, and style. Robinson's article considers the third wave of technology coming to light with the implementation of multiple gadgets, notably the iPhone, the Blackberry, and the new flat screen televisions. These gadgets are now being implemented with internet technology, allowing access of the internet almost anywhere in the world, further dominating the time of the population. The use of these gadgets for the internet is further proven as uncommon by question 10 of the survey. Carstarphen's article can also be applied to the questions regarding which internet websites are used most frequently. Facebook and Myspace being the most common in the survey, it shows the vast amount of control over the internet's pop culture those websites have. It would also be wise to consider the amount of ad space utilized in such websites, swaying the population to buy goods and services. There may be a few independent sources on the internet, but these networking sites are controlling fractions the population with it's services. Pop Culture today is in many cases dependent on the internet for it's shape and widespread ideals. We are living in an age where you could live in the outback of Australia and still be able to talk to a person you've never met in France. In developed countries, pop culture is the internet.
-- Joshua Winn

An Internet Article Review

Hamilton, Angus. “The Net Out of Control - A New Moral Panic: Censorship and Sexuality.” Liberating Cyberspace: Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and the Internet. Ed. The National Council for Civil Liberties. London: Pluto Press, 1999. 169-187.

In this article, Hamilton sets out to discredit the popular beliefs about the internet and the laws that affect the use of it. The article is broken up into four sections, each attacking popular culture's belief in common myths about the internet and it's regulation. Myth one is concerned with the belief that the internet is strewn with offensive material. Although it is true that the internet contains pornographic material of all types, including child pornography, approximately only .002% of all newsgroups contain pornographic images of any kind. It also must be pointed out that in almost all cases, offensive material must be searched for by the user in order for it to appear on the screen. Rarely is there a case where the offensive material appears without the consent of the user.

In myth two, the author addresses the myth that the law is unable to act upon the internet because of the way it was designed. A history of laws set to prevent child abuse and obscene acts are quoted and are often used in cases concerning the internet. Three separate case studies are presented. The first study researched the history of policing the internet. A laundry list of lawsuits and criminal cases are mentioned as evidence of the law taking affect.

Myth three is that nothing on the internet can be safe. It is true that there is some truth to this myth, but technologies quick advancements into a more secure age cannot be disregarded as false advertisement. There are also laws concerning the safety and security of private information held by companies whose databases are integrated with the internet.

Finally, myth 4 has to deal with the notion that all other countries are advancing quickly to regulate the internet while the UK, "dawdles." This part of the article is mostly concerned with a local notion, but some shades of this myth can be seen throughout the world in different forms. The article goes into detail over the proactive United States regulations such as the Communications Decency Act (1996) when it became illegal for someone to present offensive material to a minor. In comparison, the UK method of policing the decency of the internet, they prefer to force the user to self regulate themselves.

--Joshua Winn

Television, Media, Marketing Annotated Bibliography

Ingraham, Chrys. White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture, 2nd edition. New York: Routledge, 2008: 169-218.

This chapter from Ingraham's work analyzes and critiques the heterosexual imaginary dominant in television shows, movies, and the internet. She finds that wedding episodes dominate sweeps week regardless of the type of television show, be it crime, medical drama, situation comedy, soap opera. Heteronormativity is continually increasing in these media.

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-44.

This article examines the phenomena of the male gaze. The male gaze is the perspective of the camera on a female as through the eyes of a male. The viewer experiences the film, television show, or print photograph as through the eyes of a male observer. She speculates that the male gaze objectifies women as sexual objects that are present only to be looked at sexually by males.

Swedlund, Alan C. and Jacqueline Urla. "Measuring Up to Barbie: Ideals of the Feminine Body in Popular Culture." Gender in Cross Cultural Perspective, 4th edition. Eds. Caroline B. Brettell and Carolyn F. Sargent. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2005: 285-98.

Urla and Swedlund did an anthropometric study of the Barbie doll in order to relate her body measurements to the dominant female form viewed in popular culture venues like television. They found that the hip and waist measurements of Miss America contestants and Play Boy centerfolds has consistently decreased since 1959, while the American average has risen. They correlate these findings with the advent and consumption of the Barbie doll because of the unrealistic body type it propagates.

(Hayley Arrington)

An Internet Article Review

Robinson, Wendy. “Catching the Waves: Considering Cyberculture, Technoculture, and Electronic Consumption.” Critical Cyber-Culture Studies. Ed. David Silver and Adrienne Massanari. New York: New York University Press, 2006. 55-67.

In this article, Dr. Robinson brings about interesting questions regarding the past, present and future of cyber culture studies and how each point in time is connected by similarity and lineage. The internet cyber culture can be separated into three different categories: the first wave, the second wave, and the third wave. The first wave is considered to be the beginning of a public internet system. Without giving any real timeline, she mentions points in history which convey the idea that this took place in America between 1993 and 2003. The internet spiked and slowed alongside the dot com economic crash. Internet explorer was created. The Y2K bug effect happened, scaring the masses into costly upgrades. AOL rose and fell. The 2000 election happened along with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The second wave of cyber culture is comprised of three points. The second wave is a continuation of the techno culture of the 20th century. especially that which has been seen in the 80’s. Both the cyber culture and the techno culture have relied on gadgets and gizmos to propel the next wave of pop culture. The television is often mentioned as a parallel invention to the internet in a different generation. Comparisons can also be drawn between the infamous Walkman player culture of the 80’s to the hip iPod culture of the new millennium. If we reconsider the media theories brought forth by such classic authors as Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams, we might be able to further develop and refine these theories so that they may serve us in a more moern environment. The online buzz of the second wave has further shaped the way we conduct our day to day living, mobilizing us to partake physically in this cyber culture. Wireless hardware has allowed us to take our cyber lives with us without hindrance. We find ourselves buying gadgets and gizmos not just because of a new feature that has been added in a short month’s time, but because the item is more sleek and in a way more aesthetic. Our material and mobile lives are merging with the lives that we’ve traditionally conducted at a table in only one room of our house. Thirdly, electronic items are increasingly merging in use. People are now working on their computer while watching television. Cell phones are sending pictures to a laptop. The gadgets that we know and love are now communicating with each other like never before.

With the closing of the second wave and the beginning of the third, we are coming out of our “teenage” internet hype and into the reality of the adult hangover. With the virtual unknown possibility hype gone, maybe what we have to look forward to now is reconsidering past ideas of what the television is and how we may incorporate all of our virtual lives into another being. The third wave is on the horizon and still very young, but we have already seen a new mainstream philosophy of the all-in-one. Mobile phones are becoming personal computers within themselves. Televisions and computers are becoming one in the same machine. The new material location of digital focus is the living room. Modern gadgets are rarely seen without the integration of the telephone or the internet and the television is becoming the new, ”killer app.”

-- Joshua Winn

An Internet Article Review

Carstarphen, Meta G. and Jacqueline Johnson Lambaise. “Domination and Democracy in Cyberspace: Reports from the Majority Media and Ethnic/Gender Margins.” Cyberghetto or Cybertopia?:Race, Class, and Gender on the Internet. Ed. Bosah Ebo. Westport: Praeger, 1998. 121-135.

In this article, the authors discuss different concepts of the internet and it’s uses as a method of communication and as a tool of domination. Since the internets conception, it has been seen as an open ground of egalitarian ideas, where people from all walks of life may get together and discuss issues without one character dominating the other. The idea of the internet as a vast, ever expanding and formless environment may have some truth to it, but in order for this well of knowledge to become tapped, there must be a convenient way of navigating through the internet. The authors argued the idea that the internet is not so much a place where everyone is equal, but that the internet is comparable to real estate. Instead of bordering landscapes, internet space is dictated by the “bracketing of ideas”. Instead of egalitarian ideas, digital domination is formed out of the literature prevalent on the internet and in the media, affecting the online status of both gender and ethnicity.

To build the credibility of their argument, multiple academic articles are cited. The articles mentioned are mostly concerned with computer-mediated communication and gender participation. One professor, Dr. J.J. Lambiase , conducted a study which involved a class of 43 Journalism students. Ten students were male, while the remaining 33 students were female. Within the class, approximately only four members have had any experience with computer-mediated communication at the beginning of the course. The class was conducted over 11 ½ weeks in Fall 1996. During that time, the participants go from posting trivial information, to getting into arguments over business in the class. One student started posting racist, sexist and old jokes which only escalated the hostile mood in the discussion board. The behavior of this student within the class lectures however was a far cry from his attitude online, quiet and non-confrontational. By the end of the course, data was collected concerning participation. In the discussion board, 216 messages were posted by students. Of the 216, 121 were posted by the males, while only 95 were posted by the females. The professor points out that even though only 23% of the class was male, they posted 56% of the messages. In a few interviews that were conducted after the class, the women explained that the reason why they were not posting as often was because of the hostile environment that developed. The professor concludes in her research that people are much more likely to reveal their internal belief system. The data also gave evidence for a claim made by Professor W.J. Ong, who stated that many women have been socially conditioned to avoid interpersonal conflict, while men have been conditioned to enjoy conflict as a game.

In their conclusion, the authors explain that the depiction of the internet as either a barrier-free medium or a commercially dominated arena rely on every internet user’s characterization of its being. Popular media today focuses on ownership and economics concerning the internet, without building on the notion of being a free-to-participate network. In order for the internet to become a truly free environment, the users must get rid of internet authority figures such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. They finish off by stating that to make a judgment on the internet today would be premature because there is still a very large population that hasn’t been accounted for on the internet. Only time will tell if the internet will become a barrier-free medium or a media fuelled economic machine.

--Joshua Winn

Journal Reviews on Music

1. Fitts, M. (2008). "Drop It Like It's Hot": Culture Industry Laborers and Their Perspectives on Rap Music Video Production. Meridians V. 8 No. 1 (2008) P. 211-35, 8(1), 211-235.

“Video girls,” or the girls who work on sites filming rap music videos, are often treated as mostly sexual objects. Casting directors often look for girls who are the hottest, in order to fulfill the “booty video” formula. The “booty video” formula means that the music video focuses on the posteriors of usually Africa-American and Latina women. Since rap music spread worldwide, directors for the music videos feel they need to make the videos visually “pleasing” in the form of women. Oftentimes, the women working on the sets are used sexually by the artist and director, and the author talks about how the women are often passed around. Working conditions on music video sets are very poor, but since consumers are still watching it, the cycle will never end.

2. McCarthy, K. (2006). Not Pretty Girls?: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Gender Construction in Women's Rock Music. Journal of Popular Culture V. 39 No. 1 (February 2006) P. 69-94, 39(1), 69-94.

In the past few years, the link between the feminist theory and music has become more evident. There were two sides to females in the music industry. On one side, there were the girls who were sexually exploited to sell records, such as Madonna and Courtney Love. There were also the clean cut females such as Sandra Dee. The 1960s was considered the first generation of women in music, the 1970s as the second generation, and the 1980s up until now as the third generation. This third generation is believed to be more pop culture driven because of the new technology available. Women are writing and producing their own records and their lyrics are focused on girls having fun. Although feminist theories have become more prominent these days, women such as Gwen Stefani would still use their bodies to help boost their images.

3. Bragg, B. , & McFarland, P. (2007). The Erotic and the Pornographic in Chicana Rap: JV Vs. Ms. Sancha. Meridians V. 7 No. 2 (2007) P. 1-21, 7(2), 1-21.

Chicana/o rap often uses sexual connotations in their lyrics. Chicanos talk about what women can do to sexually please them and their lyrics usually say little else. Chicana rap lyrics are also highly sexualized. Feminism and power are one category while their being sexual objects is another. LA based female rap artist JV uses sex to show how being a woman can hold power over men. She uses derogatory terms that men would use in their lyrics, along with phrases that they would also say. In contrast, San Diego based Ms. Sancha is more of a sex object. She conforms to rap views on how women are only there to please men and have sex. There are different views on how rap is evolving, and it is unknown as to whether politics of the erotic and feminism will dominate over the politics of sexual exploitation.

-Tepthida Tan

Relevant Articles related to Popular Culture: Movies

A) Behm-Morawitz, E. , & Mastro, D. Mean Girls? The Influence of Gender Portrayals in Teen Movies on Emerging Adults' Gender-Based Attitudes and Beliefs. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly V. (2008) P. 131-46.

Summary: This study deals with issues on identity development and the caste system used in young teenagers lives through movies. This research studied the ways in which film such as Mean Girls focus on social aggression as the most prevailing form of surviving high school. The background on why conduct a research study on teenagers and aggression with the film industry is because there have been no known empirical investigations made that depict these realities. For example, it was noticed that females are more likely to act aggressive only if they are being rewarded right after. The study found that the more amount of television viewed by the teenagers the more they adopted the film’s beliefs. After watching films with social aggression, it made them more aware of their personal friendships. In conclusion, they seem to find that exposure to such films send the message that success in the feminine social world can be obtained through the use of duplicitous means.

B) Cateforis, T. Rebel Girls and Singing Boys: Performing Music and Gender in the Teen Movie. Current Musicology No. 87 (2009) P. 161-190.

Summary: In this study Cateforis focuses on the choice of music used in to perpetuate gender divides in films. He observes that female characters are positioned as outsiders with their devotion to alternative musical tastes. The main research is on the study of the ‘rebel girl’. The study gives the example of 10 things I Hate about You, which focuses on the young rebel girl, but has a musical taste in girly punk rock band which she is made fun of by her crush. The main argument is that a characters musical transformation leads to a social transformation. He argues that the music choice for every character is what describes qualities of the actual character.

C) Jenkins, T. "Potential Lesbians at Two O'Clock": The Heterosexualization of Lesbianism in the Recent Teen Film. Journal of Popular Culture V. 38 No.(2005) P. 491-504.

Summary:In Tricia Jenkins research study, she focuses on how the movie industry has not yet fully accepted homosexuality. She goes into depths analyzing an array of films that according to her have been watered down to fit the trend. She criticizes that films may use a girl-on-girl kissing scene that is made is front of boys as playful and a type of dare. She argues that it is poking fun of the lifestyle rather than embracing it. She acknowledges that TV shows have been able to embrace it because it is not shown explicitly as it would on film in which many people argue is far too dangerous for the young people that watch these films ages 18-24.

[Amarilis Ambriz]

Journal Article

Images of Women in General Interest and Fashion Magazine Advertisements from 1955 to 2002

Everyday people are bombarded by visual advertisements that encourage them to buy certain products or services. Images in magazines shape and influence our ideas of what it means to be male or female in society and how we should look. The study conducted was to examine the portrayals of women in advertisements in magazines. The researchers analyzed two magazines which were Time and Vogue magazines.
Women in the 1970’s were advertised in magazines primarily shown as the traditional-mother, home, or beauty/sex oriented roles. These roles were not representative of the whole society, they were quite stereotypical. Now in magazines women are shown in highly sexualized manners. The researchers found that women in magazines are actually smaller in the advertisements compared to men, showing that they are inferior to men. The researchers also noted that women were often depicted as mentally drifting from the scene and being vulnerable to potential threats in their environment. In magazines women are portrayed as many things but the main thing that they are viewed as now days are sex objects, eye candy, and just objects whose only function was to be looked at, they had nothing more to offer.

Lindner, K. (2004). Images of women in general interest and fashion magazine advertisements from 1955 to 2002. Sex Roles, 51(7/8), 409.

[Christina Lopez]

Journal Article

"Master Your Johnson"[1]: Sexual Rhetoric in Maxim and Stuff Magazines
The media prescribes how we should look, with whom we should have sex, and how important sex should be in our lives. Magazines depict these messages in an assortment of ways, through their articles, photos, and advertisements. In the study conducted, the researcher sought to examine how men’s magazines provide readers with cues about sexuality and sexual practice in both Maxim and Stuff magazines.
These magazines send out messages about sexuality in different ways for men and women. Though both magazines construct sexuality in similar ways, women were portrayed as sex objects being photographed in contorting and demeaning positions. Both magazines portray white people as sexier than the other races and presume heterosexuality. Women, in the pictures, were more likely to be illustrated as sexual objects than men, while men were more likely to be given specific roles as entertainers, business professionals, or athletes. When posing in pictures, men were more likely to be photographed standing or had head shots while women were depicted reclining or contorting as well as posing in a way of sexual invitation. The photos made the models appear to be objects of sexual desire rather than full-fledged human beings.

Krassas, N. , Blauwkamp, J. , & Wesselink, P. (2003). "Master Your Johnson"[1]: Sexual Rhetoric in Maxim and Stuff Magazines. Sexuality & Culture, 7(3), 98-119.

[Christina Lopez]

Journal Article on Magazines

Reading Representations of Black, East Asian, and White Women in Magazines for Adolescent Girls
Women’s magazines have often played a key role in the disseminating stereotypical gender roles, idealistic beauty standards, detrimental weights, and patriarchal subordination. These magazines shape the images we have of people from different cultures and backgrounds, they shape not only a women’s view of herself but also how society views her.
This article was about the different representations of women in magazines based on their race. The study was designed to compare how White, Black, and East Asian women were portrayed in advertisements found in fashion magazines directed at adolescent girls. The study revealed that there was a correlation found between race and the type of product being advertised as well as a correlation between the race and the importance of the model in the advertisement. Magazines have a social influence by building and reinforcing stereotypes, the images in the magazines also contribute to social problems such as prejudice, educations and occupational opportunities, and racism.
The study found that Black and white models were featured in more prominent and major roles than were East Asian models. East Asian women were featured significantly more in background roles than Black and White women. Eat Asian women were more absent from clothing and beauty advertisements, but more in technology advertisements giving the stereotype that East Asians are hardworking, well educated, and talented in math and science. Black women were seen and portrayed as hyper sexual individuals and deviant beings. Black women were often depicted alone and independent. The white women’s beauty was still seen as ideal, the white woman was tall, thin, blond, and had colored eyes and portrayed in more beauty and fashion advertisements.

Sengupta, R. (2006). Reading Representations of Black, East Asian, and White Women in Magazines for Adolescent Girls. Sex Roles, 54(11/12), 799-808.

[Christina Lopez]

Timeline on Films Industry

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.MSO\WordWebPagePreview\4CDADCEF.mht


Copy and Paste this address on your internet browser so yuo can see my chart on the history of movies for every decade starting in the 1920's to the present.
[Amarilis Ambriz]

History of Television

Gender Portrayals on Television

With the wide spread of television in American homes in the 1950s came TV shows whose characters were portrayed in a stereotypically gendered way.


Western shows portrayed men who were tough and saved the day in programs like "The Gunmen" and "Maverick." By 1959, there were 26 Westerns airing during prime time. Women characters were often passive, but not always as they were sometimes also the villain. Gambling and drinking were seen as virtues and completely acceptable behavior in the Western.


The show considered to have created the sitcom (situation comedy), is "I Love Lucy" which debuted in 1951. It was the story of a married couple, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, who lived in New York. Ricky worked in show business at the nightclub he headlined, and Lucy was a housewife (and later, mother) who longed to be in show business too and got into many shenanigans trying to get into the biz (Andrews 1). What is so amazing about this show, is that Ricky, played by Desi Arnaz, is Cuban. He and Lucille Ball were really married and played each other's spouses as well. The gender dynamic is pretty straight forward, with Ricky being the head of the household, even as Lucy continually tries to thwart him and get into many different scrapes. His being Cuban is often referenced, either in making fun of his accent, or of his yelling in a rage in Spanish. In some episodes Ricky would look down at Lucy and back her into a corner frightening her into confessing some foolish thing she did. As a sitcom, everything was funny and nothing alarming; they were being successful in using Desi's ethnicity, voice, and the stereotype of a Latin temper. (Andrews 12).


Soap operas had their beginnings in radio and so when the new medium of televsion arrived, it found a new home and audience. Soap operas by their very nature are all about gender relations. They were also primarily heteronormative. These have changed partially. Soap operas are part drama, part romance, comedy, and farce. For several decades they have had minority actors in their story lines, but very occasionally are there gay and lesbian storylines. Right now on ABC's "One Life to Live" there was recently a public, mass gay wedding. Highlighting these themes make soap operas more accessible to diverse audiences and also act as teaching agents about acceptance and diversity.


Television has always been a place to enjoy, relax, and escape from the day. The many types of programing reflect the views and norms of society as a whole, but are continually breaking boundaries in areas of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Works Cited
Andrews, Bart. Lucy & Ricky & Fred & Ethel: The Story of "I Love Lucy". New York: Dutton, 1976:1-12.

Doherty, Carl. "Feminist Media Studies and Soap Operas." 5 Nov. 2009. .

"Western Television." 5 Nov. 2009. .

(Hayley Arrington)

Historical Overview of the Internet

The history of the Internet is elusive due to the vast amount of information that has flooded it since the beginning. The internet was originally not so much a diffusion of ideas, but more a spontaneous and international explosion of inter-networking inside and between governments, businesses, and universities around the world. Widely accepted to be the first form of an infant internet that eventually led to its commercial use would be the development of ARPANET, which began in 1969 with a connection between the University of California, Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute. Through the next 20 years, the precursor to modern day internet came in multiple shapes and forms, from NSFNet to MILNET, which paved the way to commercial use. In 1989 the first American commercial internet company providing public access to the internet was created in Massachusetts, allowing for the creation of modern internet use (www.wikipedia.com).
The first signs of sexual content on the internet has been traced to the 1980's in the form of ASCII, a type of art created by the use of a keyboard. In the early 90's porn was widely distributed with the use of newsgroups similar to discussion boards, where anonymous users would scan and upload pornographic images. Since the early 90's, the pornographic internet community has grown to an innumerable amount with no signs of slowing down(www.salon.com).
Originally the internet was male dominated due to majority of males working on its creation. Since it's availability to the public, the internet has seen a great amount of changes. Internet Journalist Joanna Glasner especially notes the gradual changes seen between two early internet sites, men.com, and women.com. She demonstrates that in the beginning, these two websites focused on specifics about being a male or female. Women.com would feature things like shopping, fashion, makeup, and fitness, while men.com often featured pornography. In recent findings on these two websites, we see more "PG" rated material and the subjects of both sites have merged somewhat to contain similar articles on fitness and entertainment. This pattern of conglomerating polar gender sites has emerged over the past 15 years and one could speculate that the increased presence of females on the internet could have led to this "emasculating" of male websites such as men.com and the creation of a more well rounded and less biased internet (www.wired.com).
Some journalists and studies have even shown that women will possibly outnumber men in the future of internet use. In 2005, The Pew Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey which found that under the age of 65, women outnumber men in the use of the internet. They note that within the 18-29 age bracket, women outnumber men by 6 percent. With African American statistics, the study revealed that women outnumber men by 10 percent. The possibility of this trend continuing could lead to a further equality between men and women (www.pewinternet.org).
-Joshua Winn

Historical Overview of Music

Rap, rock, and pop music have all changed a lot over the past years in terms of sex and gender portrayal, especially within the last decade. The origins of rap seem to come from New York, and was a way for people to express their thoughts on how they lived, namely poverty and violence in the neighborhood. In the last decade, though, rappers such as 50 Cent, Notorious BIG, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, and all the others only talk about having sex, degrading women, violence, or killing people. For example, Lil Jon's song "Get Low" is obviously about sex and getting women, but it is (or was) played during high school dances, showing how accepted it now is to brag about something negative. Women in rap music videos are now acting like "hos" to get famous or just to make money. The women who are involved in the performing hip hop culture are diverse, though. Stars such as Beyonce and Ciara still dress "sexy," but their lyrics say otherwise, which is hopefully a positive model for girls in the future.






Rock music can be traced back to being popularized by Elvis in the 1950s. Back in the day, it was obscene to see Elvis dancing on TV, and cameras would cut off at his hips. In the 1960's and 70's, sex became more talked about with the free love hippie movements and the sexual revolution. In the 80's, MTV was introduced, spreading pop culture such as Madonna and Michael Jackson to teens all across America. In the 90's, grunge took over with bands such as Nirvana, then went on to the boy band crazes in the late 90's. The boy band/Britney Spears fad greatly influenced the way teens are today because after them, it was ok to dress provocatively or be pretty boys. Now, rock and pop music has spread out to include more popularized bands in indie, grind, metal, emo, and scene genres. In all of these music scenes, gender is interpreted differently. One emerging artist known as Jeffree Star, is changing the scene because he is a male who dresses as a female. He is adored by scene kids nationwide, which will hopefully lead to the acceptance of transgendered people in a later generation. Who knows what will come about in the next decade?

Historical Overview of Magazines

Magazines have been around for quite some time, in the 1800's magazines were only read by the upper class because they were the only ones who could afford it. In 1883 the prices of magazines did go down though [15 cents!!!!] when the prices went down the poor and the rich were then all able to read magazines. Magazines used to not look and read like the ones today though...they didn't have very many pictures and the pictures that they finally ended up putting in the magazines had to be hand drawn because it was too expensive to print all the photos into the magazines. Over time, magazines started advertising and put in editorial columns to get the right amount of pictures and writing in the magazines.




Magazines have changed a lot since the old days. Now magazines use real photos and advertise a lot more by posting pictures of people who are attractive or people who others could relate to in and on the magazines. Magazines now have more writing on the cover to intrigue people and make them want to buy the magazines. Magazines now are geared towards different people, male, female, different races, sexual orientations, classes, and so forth.

The History of Magazines - Part II. (n.d.). CyberCollege Index Page for Free TV Production and Mass Media Course. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/mag2.htm

[Christina Lopez]

Controversial Question related to Popular Culture

Question: In the new Disney film The Princess and the Frog, will the portrayal of the first African American Princess reinforce or undermine stereotypes of the African Amercian culture?

Summary: In many of the Disney films, the isses of race have been unveiled out of the curiosity marked in people who watch theses films. For many people these messages are sublime, but in the end reveal a harsh truth. For example, after watching Mickey Mouse Monopoly, many questions were raised as to why such animated characters would perpetuate such stereotypes. In one film, Aladdin, the people of Agraba are seen as cruel individuals who cut off your hand if you steal after the first offense. Then there is a very famous song, that says the cut off your head if they dont like your face, shows the unrealistic intensity of this country. Another example is Lion King with the voices of the Hyenas being black people. They show them as stupid Hyenas who don't do anything right. This is a great problem since many people find this offensive to their culture. With this new film coming to theatres very soon, the previews raise interesting questions. Princess Tiana is from New Orleans, the frog is from Spain who was cursed from a vudu doctor... What do you think?

I will be analyzing television and how gender and sexuality is portrayed through the different lenses of race, ethnicity, and class. Special attention will be paid to current T.V. shows as well as how the sexes are portrayed in commercials and marketing.  A brief history of how the sexes and ethnicities have been portrayed on television since its inception will also be included.

~Hayley Arrington

Movies

My research portion deals with the issues on how race, class, family, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender differences are portrayed in the movie industry. By further exploring contemporary films, we can see these differences. Films that will be analyzed on race and ethnicity include, Spanglish, Crash, and Disney films. On the issues of class, I will be observing films such as Mona Lisa Smile, Ever After, The Princess Diaries, Birth of a Nation, and Grapes of Wrath. For issues on family, I may want to explore Dan in real life, The Family Stone, and Cheaper by the Dozen. Movies on sexuality may be best described if I watch powerful documentaries such as "Hermaphrodites Speak." The movies mentioned above have not yet been finalized. If you have any suggestions to add to this topic please add a comment. Thank You.
[Amarilis Ambriz]

I will be looking at how gender views differ within music scenes, and how it has changed over time. I will mostly be focusing on the rap/hip-hop scene versus the "scenester" scene. I will be using participant observation by watching music videos and possibly going to a show to see how these kids act and how they differ from each other. I will also try to incorporate other music scenes into my research, such as indie scenes, rave/techno scenes, etc.

-Tepthida Tan

I will investigate the gender roles present in Internet popular culture. The data presented will give a larger understanding of the relationship between sex, age, class, and ethnicity with a summary of its effects on popular culture. A historical context of gender roles within the Internet will also be included that will discuss the origin of the internet in the late 1960's to present. It will go into detail over the early uneven gender participation of the internet, to the balancing of gender involvement in modern times. The recognition of the most visited websites since the Internets inception and its effects on the interpretation of gender within popular culture are a key to understanding the development of these gender roles. The original research will be conducted in survey format for ease of accessibility.
--Joshua Winn

The part that I will be responsible for in this research project is how race, gender, class, and sexuality is portrayed in a variety of magazines. I will be analyzing many different magazines, those targeted towards men, women, gays, straights, races, and so forth to get a full comprehensible understanding of how magazines portray these different people and to see if there are any trends that i observe within the different magazines, whether it be by the articles, pictures, and so forth.
-Christina Lopez

Thesis

This research group will highlight the gender portrayals in pop culture through the analysis of music, movies, magazines, internet, television, and marketing.

Pink Shirts.