Class Week 8

There was sooo much masculinity in The Longest Yard.  The guy beating his head off the wall and bleeding and not showing any sign of pain was basically the biggest show of "tough guy"! Paul Crew showed his manly side when he ran from the cops without a thought to consequence.  He also showed that he wasn’t the alpha man because he gave into the guard when he first got in the jail and the guard beat him so he would say no to the warden.  Then the cafeteria scene Crew stood up to the guard which the guard didn’t like and had to prove his power by having the other guard punch Crew’s lights out, therefore he’s trying to act masculine but the other guy takes care of his business for him.  The “cheerleader” inmates definitely weren’t masculine, they had transgender identity! The one was feisty but fought like a girl by using insults and humiliating the one Mexican guy.  They also dressed as feminine as possible by tying up their shirts and wearing make-up to make themselves more attractive and appealing like actual women do.  The huge black guy that cried because the giant guy broke his nose was definitely not masculine.  He cried which just isn’t accepted as a “male” quality.  He also really liked to hug people and smile which are two traits most men do not have or don’t show.  We talked in class about how men are supposed to subdue their emotions except anger.  He did not tone anything down; he jumped and was giddy like a girl would be when the giant apologized for breaking his nose.

Midterm

I have to say I LOVE watching NCIS as part of a midterm!  Zeeva is not the stereotypical woman but Tony is a giant stereotype.  The one lady turned out to be the killer, also not usual.  Zeeva was sent to search the house at the time the initial interview was going on after finding the two dead women because she is not empathetic which is a more usual trait in a women.  Gibbs also holds the baby and comforts it when it is crying, that would be thought of as a feminine trait.  Abbey is definitely not the typical woman physically, but her need for human contact is a stereotype.  She is constantly giving hugs and worrying about the safety of the other team members.  Gibbs is typical in that he always gave the orders and the team was expected to follow all of them.  He is the definition of an alpha male in that respect.  The written test was really easy I thought, hopefully I did well! It was basically definitions and applying them.  The scenarios were clear cut and not meant to trick you which was greatly appreciated since all my nursing tests are based on trick questions!

Class Week 6

The movie in class depicted many of the same stereotypes we came up with in our groups.  The women grouped together and talked a lot.  In the intro to the movie they showed women in heels walking little dogs that were well-groomed and wearing collars that probably cost more than my car.  This relates to the stereotype that women are dainty so they need dogs that belong in the same category and that we are materialistic.  One of the stereotypes the boys used was "high maintenance."  The movie definitely showed it with the party and the hair/nail salon at Saks.  The women gossiped at the salon which is something that comes to everyone’s mind when a salon or parlor is mentioned.  Another stereotype I found really funny was the scene at the party when one lady asked why the supermodel was so angry and her girlfriend replied because she was hungry.  This plays on the fact that, stereotypically, women strive for a perfect and thin body even if it means suffering.  One thing that I, personally, found stereotypical of a woman was the fact that the blonde ran away from the problem of her husband having an affair.  For one, it was typical for all of her friends and mother to have advice on the situation, but another is that she didn’t confront the problem as a man would do.  She took a vacation to play mind games with her husband.