The Gay 'Pretenders'.

While Kylo-Patrick's article talks about the representation of Gay men on television, this article by Gregg Kilday titled the Gay Pretenders looked at the representation of Gay men in movies. However Kilday does not talk directly about the stereotypical gay man but he looks at movies with straight men passing as gay.

In Kylo-Patrick's article, he talks about how Gay men were represented on popular shows like Melrose place, Beverly Hills 90210 and In Living Color. He uses the example of Jimmy on Beverly Hills 90210 to explain that not only these 'gay' characters get minor roles which evetually shrivel away but they are usually seen as the nice, caring guy whom everyone can sympathize with. In Kilday's article, he talks about these supposed 'gay' characters as these handsome characters who basically gets whatever it is they want by the end of the movie.

He uses examples from I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry, where the two lead characters (Chuck and Larry) who are firemen don gay apparels in attempt to gain domestic-partner benefits. He even makes several references to tv shows like Friends, where Chandler is suspected to have gay tendencies, and the Three's A Company (Kilday, 1999).

In conclusion Kilday states that gay-straight conundrum can be very confusing and he poses two important questions that will help us further understand the representation of gay men on television. They are "Is he a straight gay man or is he a gay straight man?". He defines the gay straight man as a new strain of heterosexual man spawned in Manhattan as a result of overexposure to fashion, exotic cuisine, musical theater, and antique furniture (Kilday, 1999).

Posted by Anjola Olubuyide

References

Kilday, G. (1999). The gay pretenders. Advocate, (796), 58. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Hart, K. (2000). Representing Gay Men on American Television. Journal of Men's Studies, 9(1), 59-79. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Innovation in Communication and Culture

Our society has evolved greatly over the years and has allowed for major leaps forward in communication ability. Back before newspapers and telephones people would travel to get news, and hear gossip from traveling merchants, and now we are able to instantly access information from all over the world on our personal computer and phones. Our society continues to change and new social structures such as Facebook and MySpace, MSN and Skype, and forums and blogs have given us new ways to communicate and have created for us entirely new cultures.

In the past, culture has always been indicative of ethnicity, birth place, or how someone was raised. Traditional cultures, though they will always be apparent, are no longer the only cultures that people can identify with.

Online communities created through social networking websites, video games, and other online profiles are becoming places where people can interact with other people who have similar interests. One very simple example of this is by joining “groups” on Facebook. People who are on Facebook often join groups pertaining to their ethnicity, favorite music, television, and virtually any other aspect of themselves that they have in common with other users. There’s even a group for people who turn their pillow over in the middle of the night to get to the cold side!

These mini-cultures help to validate people’s personal identities as well as their online identities and promote conversation with people of similar interests. Never before have we as a society been able to have this communication ability in not only such a massive way, but such a specific way as well.

The same idea exists in video games. Users can create avatars that represent themselves in teams, guilds, and other miniature societies that the games allow for. This example is often a cause for debate because the dialogue in these environments is often hostile, but usually meant to be entertaining or social rather than malicious.

Almost every medium we manipulate has some form of communication ability. The cell phones we use to call and text with, the instant messaging clients we have conversations on, the video games we play, and almost all other technological devices we use on a day to day basis. We’re encouraged to communicate almost every moment of every day. Though there are negative associations present with some of these different media, the fact that we are instantly able to contact anyone we associate with anywhere in the world at essentially any moment in time is the greatest advancement in our society’s evolution.

- David Wytenburg

Movember

Did you know that prostate cancer is prevalent than breast cancer these days? Yet, why do we hear much more about breast cancer and events to fund research breast cancer?

According to Heller, the United States government spends more on breast cancer research than it does on prostate cancer (2006). In 2005, 699 million dollars when to breast cancer research, while only 390 million dollars when to prostate cancer research. Why is there such a difference between awareness of women’s cancers and men’s cancers?

In an article by Karl Rubis, there is a suggestion that breast cancer awareness is strongly tied to feminism and female sexuality (2009). Recently, there was an advertisement on television that showed a woman’s body and zoomed in on her chest as she walked. Only at the end of the ad was it revealed that it was a campaign for breast cancer awareness. This advertisement suggests that there is such a hype over breast cancer research because of how glamorous the campaigns can be.

In 1985, October was declared breast cancer awareness month. The success of this has been a long standing tradition for almost 25 years. In 2004, three guys from Australia had the idea that there needed to be a month dedicated to research for men’s cancers as well. “Movember”, is a term you may have heard lately because November is becoming a prostate cancer awareness month. Movember raises money for cancer research by having men grow mustaches for pledges. In 2008, 75,000 men took part in Movember and raised 7 million dollars. This year, there are over 150,000 men taking part in Movember. To explain further on what Movember is and how you can become involved, watch this video:

Canada is actively participating in Movember. Last year, participants in Movember from Canada raised 2.4 million dollars. For further reading on Movember in Canada, read this article: http://www.insidetoronto.com/community/health/article/156239--movember-aims-to-change-the-face-of-prostate-cancer-awareness

Works Cited:

Heller, A. (2006). Prostate Cancer. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/80165/the_great_dichotomy_breast_cancer_versus.html

Rubis, K. (2009). Feminism vs. Breast Cancer Awareness. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/karl_rubis/2009/oct/12/feminism-vs-breast-cancer-awareness/

Gender Influences on Communication

Gender Influences on Communication

Although we may think that our surroundings and upbringings are the influence on how we communicate, there is also a large significance of how we practice communication, which directly correlates with how each gender shapes communication. What we are not only taught, but what we experience as a gender, reflects our language usage.

In an article written by Laurie Arliss, she states that, “communication is thought to be, at once, the process by which we learn to be male or female, and the product of our attempts to behave gender appropriately.” Gender has proven to have an influence on communication and also has sown to be a product of it.

From our first days of living, we are taught a wide variety of linguistic practices that are specifically acceptable to each gender. We experience linguistic inequity in two ways; how we are taught to use language and how language is taught to use us. Throughout time, women and men have been known to interpret language according to gender. For example, when it came to jobs, especially in past generations, occupational titles indicated what jobs were for men and what jobs were for women (waiter, waitress, etc.)

Obviously we know that this has drastically changed in today’s society, but we still feel remains of gender discrimination and the effects it has. The only way we feel this, is by direct and indirect types of communication; therefore backing up theories on gender roles and communication.

This might be a cause of how society has developed how each gender should act or behave, but nevertheless these are truths that have been seen over decades, and even through changes in society and the development of race and gender equality, these gender roles in communication are still extremely evident.

Info found at: http://feminism.eserver.org/gender-differences.txt

Some points in this blog are ideas that I have never considered in my previous thoughts on this topic.
What are your thoughts?

Thought Provoking Questions

1- Males and females have different hormones, which obviously are known to make us different, but does this also mean that the ways in which we communicate and express ourselves are made up differently in our DNA?
2- Are we two different species living as one?
3- What are your thoughts on how we live and communicate as genders?

By Mary Laird

Lady GaGa- a new type of women

Lady Gaga is a very expressive performer. She is a musician, an artist and a very unique individual. Her videos are very odd but interesting. She comes up with new ways to capture her vision of her music. She is a confident woman who isn’t afraid to stand out. Lady Gaga is criticized for her confidents and expressive nature. A lot of her music videos and performances are very sexual. She has been called promiscuous, a slut, a whore and even a hermaphrodite. Rumors have been spread about Lady Gaga. It seems like it is not okay for a female artist to have sexual content involved in their music but it is okay for male artists. Male rap stars are often talking about sex in their music. In male videos women are wearing the bare minimum and are like props to the male artists. Males are never looked down upon for being sexual, they are admired by other men for their sexual victories. To some males it seems like it is a sports game.
Why is it okay for male artists to be open about their sexuality but when a women does it she is a slut? This is an ongoing debate between women and men. I see nothing wrong with what Lady Gaga does. I think she is a lot like a male artist. She is confident, she is blunt and she is not afraid to be honest. She was interviewed and the interviewer asked her what she looked for in a relationship. She said a big penis and that’s it. She goes on to say later in the interview she is not as promiscuous as people think. She is a free spirit. It is pretty ridiculous that Lady Gaga got called a hermaphrodite. I think there is a gender bias when it comes to sexuality.



http://thegenderblenderblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/you-can-love-men-and-still-be-a-feminist-lady-gaga/

Meggie McNabb

Media Portrayals of Women

The women and girls that are portrayed by the media are often stereotypes. The Media Awareness Network identifies this as a media issue as it affects body-image, self-identity, sports and politics. The Media Awareness Network states that the stereotypes of women that are often seen in the media include the femme fatale, the supermom, housewife, the sex kitten and the nasty corporate climber. After reading that list of stereotypes it is not difficult to identify times when we have seen those stereotypes shown in a number of different mediums such as television shows, advertisements and films.

Femme Fatale- Kill Bill

Supermom- Mamma Mia, Kate Gosselin

Housewife- Desperate Housewives, Real Wives of Orange County, Mad Men

Sex Kitten- Herbal Essences, Two and a Half Men, Girls Next Door, Music Videos (Snoop Dog, Girlicious, 50 Cent etc.)

Nasty Corporate Climber- Jan on the Office, Kate Gosselin

There is a need for strong, talented, smart woman to be portrayed by the media. While there have been improvements in how media portray media in film, television and magazines there are still female stereotypes that can be identified in current media. Hopefully one day the media will use its influence to tear down these stereotypes so that they no longer exist; promoting the empowerment and strength of girls and women all over the world.

- Alyssa Higginson

The Femal Brain- How it affects communication

In the book, The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, the author offers a great deal of insight concerning the female brain and our communication style. In a chapter of this novel called The Birth of the Female Brain, Brizendine states that the communication and emotional memory centers of the brain are larger in females then it is in males; allowing females to communicate and read emotional cues more easily (2006). Many scientists and doctors once beliefs that gender was shaped by culture however in the 1970s and 1980s there were discoveries that the brains of females and males develop differently in a young fetus (Brizendine, 2006). The reason for this difference is a surge of testosterone in the male brain that causes some of the communications centers to be destroyed (Brizendine, 2006).

This difference between males and females may explain some of the differences between the female and male communication style however there are always exceptions to this theory that is presented in the novel, The Female Brain. There are many other factors that affect a person’s ability to communicate with others and their willingness to do so. Such cultural influences include the expectations that are put onto both girls and boys when they are young. An example of this would be that as children girls are often encouraged to express their feelings while boys are taught to be strong. This could be only one of the cultural influences that cause there to be a difference in the communication styles of females and males.

The communication style differences between genders are complex and there are many different explanations and factors for these differences. In the novel The Female Brain, Dr. Louann Brizendine sought to explain the differences in the female and male brain. This is an extremely interesting area of discussion and one that will continue as it is something that interests many people and is a common question among the population: Why do some girls talk so much? Why doesn’t she just say what’s on her mind? Why is he the strong silent type? Maybe one day there will be more complete and thorough answers to these questions.

-By Alyssa Higginson