Gender News | 2.27

• Brendan Fraser: #metoo | GQ
• Terrorists Boko Haram kidnap over 100 school girls in Nigeria | HuffPost
• Men's clothier's new same-sex campaign draws social media backlash | British GQ
• Frozen sequel co-director hints at Elsa's lesbianism | DigitalSpy
• Study: Men with higher levels of testosterone report being more protective in their relationships | PsyPost
• Researchers illustrate American teens' sexting habits | US News & World Report

Journal 5 | I'll Have What She's Having—On Women and Romantic Comedies

Romantic comedies (often called "rom-coms") have been a Hollywood mainstay for decades. And while these films can appeal to a broad audience, over the past few years they have become increasingly targeted toward women. As a result, female audiences have propelled many of these so-called "chick flicks" to new heights at the box office. Of course, one of the reasons for these films' success is their steadfast commitment to romance: Love, however improbable, always wins out at the end—with extra points for a wedding. And while some argue that the whole point of a rom-com is to get lost in the fantasy, a number of critics and researchers have recently begun to question their effects on women. Specifically, how do such idealistic portrayals of relationships affect women's views of real-life love? Are rom-com fantasies innocent fun or do they invariably set women up for disappointment?

For this journal, you will analyze two romantic comedies. In your analysis, consider the relationship between the films' romantic fantasy and everyday reality. What is the underlying message about love, romance, and sex? Who are the heroines of the films and how realistic are they? And how are the male love interests portrayed? What do these films say about the men women want to be with?

Watch two of the following films for this reflection:

•  2001: 
• The Wedding Planner 
• Serendipity 
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• Shallow Hal
• Someone Like You
• Kate & Leopold

• 2002: 
• Brown Sugar
• Maid in Manhattan
• Sweet Home Alabama 
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding

•  2003:
•  The Break-Up
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 
• Something's Gotta Give
• What a Girl Wants 
• Love Actually 

• 2004:
• 50 First Dates
• A Cinderella Story
• The Wedding Date
• Along Came Polly
• 13 Going on 30 
• 2005:
•  Hitch
• Just Like Heaven
• Must Love Dogs
• Fever Pitch
• Just Friends
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• 2006:
•  The Holiday
• Failure to Launch
• The Break-Up
• She's the Man 

• 2007:
• Knocked Up
• Music and Lyrics
• No Reservations
• I Think I Love My Wife

• 2008: 
• 27 Dresses  
• Definitely, Maybe  
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Fool's Gold  
• Made of Honor  
• What Happens in Vegas  
• Mamma Mia! 

• 2009: 
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
• It's Complicated 
• He's Just Not That Into You 
• The Proposal
• The Ugly Truth 

• 2010:
• The Back-up Plan
• Leap Year 
• Love and Other Drugs 
• Valentine's Day
• The Switch 
• 2011:
• Crazy, Stupid, Love
• Friends with Benefits 
• Just Go with It 
• New Year's Eve
• What's Your Number?
• No Strings Attached 
• 2012:
• The First Time
• Think Like a Man 
• This Means War
• 2013:
• About Time
• Warm Bodies 
• Austenland
• 2014:
• That Awkward Moment
• Two Night Stand
• Playing It Cool 
• About Last Night
• 2015:
• Trainwreck
• Sleeping with Other People
• Accidental Love 
• 2016:
• How to be Single
• La La Land

• 2017:
• The Big Stick 
• Home Again
• Everybody Love Somebody 
 

Additionally, cite at least two of the following in your reflection:

• "Are Romantic Movies Bad for You?" (Time)
• "How Romantic Comedies are Failing Women (and How to Fix It)" (HuffPost) 
• "How Rom-Coms Undermine Women" (Atlantic)
• "The Psychology of Romantic Comedies: What are These Movies Doing to Our Love Lives?" (E! News) 
• "In Defense of Romantic Comedies" (Acculturated)
• "Why Watch Romantic Comedies" (BitchFlicks)

Required:

• MLA Style
• 2 pages in length

Due: Wed 3.7/Thu 3.8

M2W13 | 2.26-3.1

“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men,

but over themselves.” 

  ―Mary Wollstonecraft,

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

M2W13: 2.26-3.1

Class: Informal infographic presentations

Due: INFOGRAPHIC (FINAL DRAFT; FRI 3.2 BY 6 PM—NEW DATE)

Note: Your ethnography embedding must take place before Thu 4.5

Upcoming:

M3W1: 3.5-8

Read: eR—“A Boy at a Trump Rally Called Clinton a ‘Bitch.’ That’s Not an Accident.” (Think Progress), “Does Hillary Clinton Face a Different Standard for Honesty?” (Washington Post)

Class: Presentations; Reading discussions

Due: JOURNAL 5

  

Gender News | 2.22

• How South Korean men are fueling that country's makeup boom (CBS News)
• #metoo study: Nealy all women (and half of men) have faced sexual harassment or assault (Newsweek)
• Stephen Colbert mocks Florida legislature for punting on gun control, but instead tackling porn (Entertainment Weekly)
• How corporations are struggling to keep up with evolving concepts of gender (Campaign)
• Team USA: Women's hockey claim gold from Team Canada (CNBC)
• Why are men more likely to be struck by lightning? (AccuWeather)

M2W13 | 2.26-3.1

Pray God you can cope.
I stand outside this woman's work,
This woman's world.
Ooh, it's hard on the man,
Now his part is over.
Now starts the craft of the father.

I know you've got a little life in you yet.

I know you've got a lot of strength left.
I know you've got a little life in you yet.
I know you've got a lot of strength left.

I should be crying, but I just can't let it go.

I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things I should've said,
That I never said.
All the things we should've done,
Though we never did.
All the things I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go,

Make it go away.

Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.

—Kate Bush, "This Woman's Work"

M2W12 | 2.19-22

Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Writers workshop

Due: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT I; BRING 1 COPY—B&W OKAY)

Upcoming:

M2W13 | 2.26-3.1

Class: Informal infographic presentations

Due: INFOGRAPHIC (FINAL DRAFT; EMAIL BY 6 PM)

Note: Your ethnography embedding must take place before Thu 4.5

Gender News | 2.14

• Why isn't the media talking about Shaun White's sexual harassment charges? | USA Today
• Adam Rippon won't let Mike Pence define his Olympics | ABC News
• Athletes are making good use of Tinder in the Olympic village | Toronto Star
• How to help boys develop intimate male friendships | Washington Post
• Research says too few teenagers are getting the HPV vaccine | Philadelphia Inquirer
• Pornhub reveals the keywords that jump in popularity on Valentine's Day | NewsHub

 

Infographic | Adventures in Guyland

While it is acknowledged to be a primarily white, middle-class phenomenon, "Guyland" actually extends to all segments of young American men. About this developmental phase, author Michael Kimmel writes:

[It] is the world in which young men live. It is both a stage of life, a liminal undefined time span between adolescence and adulthood that can often stretch for a decade or more, and a place, or, rather, a bunch of places where guys gather to be guys with each other, unhassled by the demands of parents, girlfriends, jobs, kids, and the other nuisances of adult life. In this topsy-turvy, Peter-Pan mindset, young men shirk the responsibilities of manhood and remain fixated on the trappings of boyhood, while the boys they still are struggle heroically to prove that they are real men despite all the evidence to the contrary.

For this assignment, you will create an infographic, 1) illustrating this period for young American men and 2) EITHER highlighting the case study of one young man profiled in the book OR showcase an amalgam Guylander. Additionally, your infographic must contain at least three quotations from the book.

Infographics are most easily utilized in PowerPoint (or a comparable program). Additionally, if you are experienced in it, you may also utilize Photoshop. This assignment must be delivered electronically.

A well-executed infographic will:

• Have a title that articulates the goal of the assignment. Use—Adventures in Guyland
• Have a concise thesis as the subheading—important 
• Contain a minimum of three quotations from the book
• Have a concise controlling argument dictating the design
• Visually translate perspectives and facts in a clear and enlightening manner
• Stay within the parameters of the Guyland experience for young American men

Due:
Wed 2.21/Thu 2.22 - DRAFT I; BRING 1 COPY—B&W OKAY
Fri 3.2 - FINAL DRAFT; EMAIL BY 6 PM (NEW DATE; NO GOOGLE DOCS)

UPDATE DUE DATE:
Tue 3.12 - EMAIL BY 6 PM (WRITE "VERSION 3" IN SUBJECT LINE; NO GOOGLE DOCS)

 

M2W11 | 2.12-15

"My wife only has sex with me for a purpose.

Last night she used me to time an egg."

—Rodney Dangerfield

M2W11 | 2.12-15

Read: eR—“The 100 Best Infographics” (Creative Bloq), “10 Tips for Designing Better Infographics” (DotDash), “12 Warning Signs that Your Infographic Sucks” (Visme)

Class: Reading discussion; PowerPoint: “Infographics 101”

Due: INTERVIEW AND PROFILE (FINAL DRAFT 1; ATTACH DRAFT 1 TO BACK)

Upcoming:

M2W12 | 2.19-22

Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Writers workshop

Due: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT I; BRING 1 COPY—B&W OKAY)