Illustrating sexualization in pop culture

[Erika Jane]

Greetings. I am teaching at the college level for the first time, and am developing my materials for the Pop Culture: Sexualization unit for an intro level Women's Studies course... I was thinking I would show the Onslaught ad from the Dove Campaign to spark some dialog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I

Questions for you:
I am worried students may have seen Onslaught before and will not be as affected by it. Is it possibly a tired example already?

Other ideas for short video clips or illustrations from pop culture that could spark discussion on sexualization (I know there are hundreds of examples, just looking for ideas)?

[Ryan Goble]

Hey Erika,

Thanks so much for joining the NING - so the Dove thing is awesome.... but if you want some more ideas on the topic I'm going to direct you you to Frank Baker's Media Lit Clearinghouse first for ideas:
http://www.frankwbaker.com/genrep.htm

and if I my suggest this incredible YouTube Video on Women in Art:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

and this HBO doc THIN is off the hook disturbing
http://www.laurengreenfield.com/index.php?p=LE4XIXQY

and there's an interesting Canadian Film Sexy Inc. Our Children Under Influence
http://www3.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=55401

This should get the idea train started...I'll let Frank know I sent you to his site - he may have other ideas....

[Frank W. Baker]

Consider the resources I have posted at
http://www.frankwbaker.com/sex_in_media

See also list of streaming video clips, related to media literacy here
http://www.frankwbaker.com/streaming_ml

Frank Baker

[Erika Jane]

what a wealth of resources! Thank you gentlemen.

Ryan Goble said:

Hey Erika,

Thanks so much for joining the NING - so the Dove thing is awesome.... but if you want some more ideas on the topic I'm going to direct you you to Frank Baker's Media Lit Clearinghouse first for ideas:
http://www.frankwbaker.com/genrep.htm

and if I my suggest this incredible YouTube Video on Women in Art:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs

and this HBO doc THIN is off the hook disturbing
http://www.laurengreenfield.com/index.php?p=LE4XIXQY

and there's an interesting Canadian Film Sexy Inc. Our Children Under Influence
http://www3.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=55401

This should get the idea train started...I'll let Frank know I sent you to his site - he may have other ideas....

[Ryan Goble]

We try our bestest!!! Keep us posted on what you end up doing for the unit!

RRG:)

[Ryan Goble]

Also found this great infographic in Wired last month - that is amazing discussion fodder in college class...

http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1702/WIRED_1702_Infopo...

[Erika Jane]

This is fantastic. Thank you!

[Ryan Goble]

I also just came across this video a friend at TC made - cute and illustrates the point nicely:

Is it more important for a photo to look good, or to tell the truth? Weena and Erna look at Photoshop Disasters and other photo manipulation throughout history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipfyx5qbR-A

[Ryan Goble]

Also saw this NYT lesson plan today - they ran an article titled:

"The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity"

Here's the lesson plan to go with it...

Mom, Dad, It's Not as Bad as You Think
Examining the Public Perception of Teenage Sexual Activity

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20090203tuesday.html

Might be useful?

[kris g]

Hi!
Might I suggest a documentary called "Music Video Honey's" on Vh1, or perhaps showing some clips from Brett Michael's "Rock of Love" or "For the Love of Ray J." (which is so ridiculous, that even I can't watch it;) All of these are excellent examples, in my opinion! Great discussion starters. You could even watch "The Bachelor!" I would look for things that you know they are watching, but are not critically engaging with.

You could also watch "Keeping up with the Kardashians" "The Girls Next Door" or any horror film clip. BBC America also has some great documentaries that you can watch for free online dealing with issues of femininity and sexuality.

The Dove campaign is being used a lot in high schools now, so it is a little played out, but still relevant.
Let me know if you need more ideas, or help with specific clips...I do a lot of tv "research" in my off hours!
Kristin Goble

[Erika Jane]

I am not familiar with those documentaries-- I will have to check them out! Thank you.

And yeah- wow. Showing anything directly from their media world (like The Bachelor)-- great idea. Whenever these things came up as supplement to the dialog the class went live!

[Erika Jane]

Thanks for all the input! The unit on Pop Culture (Intro to Women's Studies) was an eye opening success. I wanted to share with you some of the things we did in class:

We started with a day on masculinity, during which we watched Media Education Foundation and Jackson Katz' "Tough Guise". Check this out if you haven't seen it. It was wonderfully balancing for the WS classroom-- turning an eye toward men as vulnerable. Preview the entire thing at this website:
http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=211

We analyzed song lyrics for gendered messaging, and cues about gendered sexuality. I had big hopes to analyze the Super Bowl commericals for reinforced gender roles (all still on Hulu.com), but we ran out of time.

I also used the INFO PORN handout that Ryan Goble gave me.
http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1702/WIRED_1702_Infopo...
...which was really helpful in our Body Image conversations. Thanks!

We watched "Killing Us Softly 3"-- another great film from Media Education Foundation, Jean Kilbourne analyzes print ads. The students analyzed ads of their own, which they brought in and shared.

I did end up showing Dove's Onslaught-- a number of the students hadn't seen it. It does such a powerful job of illustrating what many women go through.

Oh, and we also discussed the exaggerated hype over Jessica Simpson's weight gain (finally a healthy size), and what that meant for average women and men comparing themselves to the ideal.

These are just a few of the things we did-- thank you for being so helpful. What a neat community to be a part of!

[Ryan Goble]

Woza, this sounds like it was great. So it sounds like the unit is over, but for real did you see this one on?

Let's Go: No Makeover for Dora! - Dora the Explorer may become a Bratz!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Dora_Makeover/