Hugh Hefner Gives Crystal Harris Massive Engagement Ring

I came across this article on the internet and it made me think of the gender roles in society. It showed how stereotypes of what is acceptable in our country depends on what gender you are and how there is a double standard. Since Hugh is a white, successful man from the dominant class he can be socially accepted as a womanizing pimp and can be iconed  as an entrepreneur instead of a disgrace to society.   If a black woman was 80 and running an empire promoting sex and marrying a 20 year old ambercrombi model society would flip but its ok since hugh is a white male.

Mean Girls

Today my neighbors 'forced' me to watch the movie Mean Girls with Lindsey Lohan. In the film Lindsey Lohan plays an American girl named Cady who has spent most of her life living in Africa. The one scene that really stuck out to me in this film was when Cady was asked where she was from and she replied "I came here from Africa" and the girl replies, "but your not black?" It just kinda showed to me how in America we define blackness as foreign and not true American. Depending on your level of pigmentation can determine your level of acceptance. If you look at our black celebs like Alecia keys, Beyonce, Rihanna, Chris Brown they are all mixed ethnicity and not "full black". Rarely are very darkly pigmented individuals displayed prominently in American culture except if they are Athletes.

Clint,

Levi Jeans "Go Forth"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uBsV8wAEhw





Historical Significance:

Levi Strauss and CO. (Levi's), is an American denim clothing company that was established in 1873, San Francisco.  Levi's denim wear is notable for their enduring strength, practical use, comfort, and even style.  Levi Jean's has been imprinted in American society with more relevance than any other article of clothing.  Contrary to the modern legend, Levi did not dress the minors of the 1850s, but did in fact clothe those minor's children and grandchildren who would become the first labor workers of the Industrial Western Frontier of the early 20th century.  Factory workers, cowboys, and lumberjacks were all American Western labor workers who sported Levi's in the early 20th century.

Commercial Depictions/Class Concepts:

Levi's "Go Forth" commercial epitomizes the sense of nationalism the brand oozes in this one-minute long pep rally for the American youth.  The clip opens with the neon lettering of the word “AMERICA” with fireworks falling as if it were the “Forth” of July, the most patriotic holiday.  The narrator, sounding as if he were on a household radio stating a national broadcast, announces “America… Centre of equal daughters… Equal sons… All alike indeed.”  We see how the commercial incudes different races of people, most vividly noticed with a kiss of an interracial couple.  This Melting Pot ideology resembles that same melting pot that the School House Rock children’s cartoon so emphatically praises in the chorus as The Great American MEL-TING-POT! The black and white dramatization gives a since of historical importance.  We see individuals running freely in open pastures, climbing fences, walking the shores of bodied waters, and horseback riding.  All of which contribute to the ideology of freedom that we all alike obtain.  The sight of different types of youthful Americans doing all different kinds of activities revisits Walt Whitman’s I hear American Singing.  Both poem and commercial glorify the task of each individual American, a task that “belongs to him or her and no one else” (line 12; I Hear America Singing).  The narrator continues saying, “[We are] strong, fair, enduring, capable, rich.”  The American Exceptionalism ideology is present in the diction, which builds up the idea that we are united in our common virtues.  Later, the narrator states, “[American citizens are] perennial with the Earth, with freedom, law, and love.”  Perennial (lasting; enduring), is strategically used to depict American citizens.  Constitutionally, we were established as a free and lawful nation and will “Go Forth” in this manner. 

Levi’s Underlying Theme:

Particularly, it is more common to see the adolescent bottomed in the Levi Jean.  The words used by the narrative to describe American youthful citizens are also common words that depict the Levi jeans: strong, free, enduring, capable, and perennial.  In the conclusion of the commercial we see two kids running with a banner that shows the slogan “Go Forth.” In regards to the Youth, Modern Age has proven that American clothing style is launched in an infinite amount of direction. The goal of the Levi's brand is to unite the youth of America as one driving force that will one day be the future of a great nation.  The underlying goal of Levi is to exert a sense of nationalism to the youth, give voice to their freedom, and unite them as a product as the future.  As if to say…

We as Levi Strauss and CO. have been clothing those who have partaken in the evolution of America, and we will continue to do so with the youth pulling up their Levi Jeans (instead of their bootstraps) and continue to “Go Forth” with a perennial freedom, law, and love.

Herding Cattle to Herding Cats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

This commercial is a play on the frontier and Manifest Destiny.  It depicts many white rugged males that embody what Americans were supposed to be in the late 1900s.  Only males are shown in the commercial because during the time of Manifest Destiny only males were primarily working on the frontier.  What I find interesting in this commercial is that a black herder is also included.  In the time period of Manifest Destiny the overwhelming majority of those depicted on the frontier were white.  However, because this is a modern commercial the inclusion of a black herder was most likely to attract a larger audience to their product. Diversity is more encouraged in the media in current times than it was over 100 years ago.

And now I see it's just another pair of shoes

Wings

By: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

When observing athletes impact on society, aside from the entertainment they give us, the clear place that their impact is largest is in the market. Athletes, as Hilary stated today in lecture, are held very highly in society and are seen as larger than life human beings, ones that we should aspire to be like. With new technologies always being invented, the obsession that we have with technology, and the athletic endorsement, it is hard to avoid these technologies. When Michael Jordan entered the advertising world, technology often became associated with athletes, the biggest technologies being the shoe and other clothes.

For boys and men, athletes are seen as more masculine than other males in the world, and men always want to be masculine. It is this masculinity crisis that drives people to do anything in their power to become just like these athletes that they look up to. The shoes are shown to be part of the athlete's success because they are always wearing them while they play or even break records. It's because of this that we believe if we buy these shoes, which can cost upwards of $100, we will be closer to that goal of being like the athletes.

Macklemore addresses this idea in his song "Wings" and tells us that the idea of "We are what we wear" is not true. It is about consumerism and how companies use our dreams of becoming the athletes and "cool kids" to sell us nothing more than a brand name. In reality, these shoes will not fix the masculinity crisis but this promise is how companies like Nike profit as well as they do.

"They started out, with what I wear to school

That first day, like these are what make you cool
And this pair, this would be my parachute
So much more than just a pair of shoes
Nah, this is what I am
What I wore, this is the source of my youth
This dream that they sold to you
For a hundred dollars and some change
Consumption is in the veins
And now I see it's just another pair of shoes"

Too American?

"American Dad" is about a suburban family that has many adventures befall them. I believe this show represents American Exceptionalism through the characters presented and the events that take place. First the characters are meant to be an over typical american family as well as representing times in American history. The alien is meant to show Americas obsession with aliens, followed by the typical housewife reflecting the time of strong sexism, then the hippie daughter, the german fish, the young boy going through puberty and finding out girls, and lastly, the over American father that believes every stereotype about other countries.

This show is almost a direct parallel of American Exceptionalism. In the show they constantly make fun of every other country regardless if it is true or not. In one example, Stan, the dad, was eating breakfast and his wife, Francine, asks, "How's everyones French Toast?" in which Stan replies, "Smelly and ungrateful, but this American Toast is delicious!" This is just one example of many that shows how "American Dad" portrays American Exceptionalism in its over the top antics and play to stereotypes.

Envy: Not the American Dream

I was recently watching the movie Envy with Ben Stiller and Jack Black and noticed how Stiller loses sight of the American Dream. In the movie Stiller and Black are best friends, neighbors, and co-workers, but the one thing Stiller has that Black does not is a family. However one day Black invents a product that makes fecies disappear and names it VaPoorize, becoming a millionaire overnight.
In class when everyone gave their description of the American Dream majority of people including me listed things such as a good job, a healthy family, and a nice house; something that Stiller had throughout the movie, but quickly lost sight of. As soon as Black became rich, Stiller's jealousy went through the roof and he lost track of how good he had it. He became rude to his family and started hating his job, only focusing on how much money Black had. Stiller loses sight of the American Dream of having a nice house, good job, and a healthy family, and becomes obsessed with money.

Is It OK for the Girl to Propose?

Despite loosening of gender roles at work and in society as a whole, men and women are remarkably traditional when it comes to marriage, new research finds.

In fact, the study of college students at a liberal-leaning university found that not a single man or woman wanted a proposal in which the woman asked the man to marry her. And while 60 percent of women said they were "very willing" or "somewhat willing" to change their surname to their husband's upon marriage, 64 percent of men said they were "very unwilling" or "somewhat unwilling" to do the same for their wives.

"These topics are something that most people deal with and that most people decide to do in a traditional way," said study researcher Rachael Robnett, a graduate student in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

However, Robnett told LiveScience, the results suggest that the strongest believers in traditional marriage roles tend to be people high in benevolent sexism, or attitudes that women should be cherished, protected and given special treatment.

Marriage and sexism

Benevolent sexism seems positive on the surface, Robnett said. People who hold these attitudes might say that women should be saved first in a disaster, for example. They're likely to say that women should be put on a pedestal or cared for. Such beliefs are often seen as polite and kind, she said.

"The flip side, which is more insidious, is that it is robbing women of some agency," or self-direction, Robnett said.

This downside is perhaps best described in a quote widely attributed to feminist activist Gloria Steinem: "A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space."

Robnett and her colleagues were interested in finding out whether benevolent sexism might be behind the persistence of gender roles in marriage traditions. Data from the 2004 American Community Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, found that 94 percent of married women born in the United States took their husband's last name upon marriage. Likewise, although marriage proposals are harder to study, research on men's and women's attitudes suggest that both sexes overwhelmingly believe the man should propose, on one knee, with a diamond ring. [10 Wedding Traditions from Around the World]

Who should propose?

The researchers surveyed 277 heterosexual undergraduate students at UC Santa Cruz on their own attitudes toward proposals and marital name changes. The students also answered questions about their attitudes toward women, such as toward the idea that women should be "put on a pedestal."

Two-thirds of the students, both male and female, said they'd "definitely" want the man to propose marriage in their relationship. Only 2.8 percent of women said they'd "kind of" want to propose, but not a single man indicated he'd prefer that arrangement. Notably, not a single student, male or female, "definitely" wanted the woman to propose.

"No one, not a single person, expressed that type of a preference, which was surprising," Robnett said. UC Santa Cruz is a relatively liberal institution, she said, and many students are flexible about gender roles. In this case, however, they fell squarely on the side of cultural tradition.

The students were also given space to explain their answers. Many — 41 percent of women and 57 percent of men — directly referenced gender roles in their explanations. One man, for example, said that if he did not propose, he would "feel emasculated." A woman responded that female proposals would just be "very awkward."

"A really commonly cited [explanation] was a desire to adhere to gender-role traditions, so this is something that is coming through very explicitly, straight from the mouths of our participants," Robnett said.

About a quarter of women cited "romance" as the reason the man should propose, as did 17 percent of men. Twenty percent of women also said they feared rejection or being seen as coming on too strong, while 14 percent said proposing would be awkward or scary. (Women could give multiple answers, so percentages may not add up to 100 percent.)

Taking his (or her) name

Students were slightly more lax about gender roles and name changes. About a fifth of both men and women (19 percent and 22 percent, respectively) said they had no strong preference about keeping or changing their name. But most students still held traditional attitudes, with only 5.9 percent of men "very willing" to change their names compared with 26.2 percent of women. Overall, about three out of five men preferred to keep their name, while about three out of five women were willing to change theirs. [6 Gender Myths Busted]

Those who desired to keep their names often saw the decision as a way to keep their identity. The desire to pass on the name to children was also cited, and 36 percent of men specifically said they wanted to keep their name because of tradition or gender roles.

When explaining why they'd change their names, 31 percent of women said taking the husband's name symbolizes unity or devotion, while 28 percent mentioned gender roles and tradition. "It's a tradition and that is how things are done," one woman explained.

After controlling for gender, ethnicity and family background factors, the researchers tested to see if benevolent sexism co-occurred with these traditional attitudes. They found that it did.

"Women and men who are high in benevolent sexism are also the people who express a really strong desire to adhere to marriage traditions," Robnett said.

There's nothing wrong with that, Robnett added. Plenty of people are perfectly happy with traditional proposals and name changes, she added. The problem, she said, comes when tradition takes precedence over flexibility and what is right for individual couples.

"If you don't have that flexibility, it can be constraining to both women and men — women who would like to propose or men who would like to receive a proposal," she said.

Should and do women propose to men? Then answer is no, and not frequently. For various reasons, including masculinity, romance, and tradition most people, male and female and female agree that the male should propose. From the men's point of view, most disagreed with the idea of a woman proposing because of desmasculination; women also agreed to disagree because they did not "want to come on too strong". Thus, a woman's proposal is a challenge to the masculinity of males and the traditional American view of marriage (the American image of marriage). There was a time when masculinity in America was defined as living on the Frontier (i.e. the Marlboro man was the symbol of masculinity); enduring and surviving the wilds, living dirty and ruggedly and working hard. And while the definition of masculinity is contested nowadays, it seems that most agree that the manly and American thing for a guy to do is to propose to the girl. 

Poverty, Bling, and Color-Blind Racism

A second-hand and discount jewelry dealer in the Sacramento area called “Sharif’s Jewelers” is currently running TV commercials for the holiday season that feature images of the store, the jewelry, happy shoppers, and a narrator who describes the great deals shoppers can get at the stores. Just before the commercials end, the narration switches to an entirely different voice, a man with a strong Latino accent, who says “Remember, you don’t have to be rich and famous to shop at Sharif’s!”

As we learned from Where the Girls Are, marketing agents like TV commercials can have a profound effect not only on the identities of individuals and groups that are represented by the media, but also how those individuals and groups are perceived by others. In this case, by switching the narrating voice from a professional-sounding, ethnically-ambiguous man, to a voice that implies a racial minority status and concurrently advocates the acquisition of cheap jewelry, Sharif’s effectively is doing two things: it is racializing a lack of monetary resources (in other words, drawing a correlation between racial minority status and poverty), and also, maybe more importantly, Sharif’s is racializing a propensity to desire extravagant, irrational purchases.

This is the kind of mentality that enables color-blind racism, because with these kinds of influences present, over time these ideas about race, poverty, and irrational spending can come to be perceived as legitimate. Like Bonilla-Silva discussed, many white Americans tend to attribute poverty in racial minority communities to, among other things, their patterns of making poor financial decisions. These commercials reinforce that sentiment, and likely leave some viewers with ideas that suggest that if people of minority descent could probably pull themselves out of poverty if they could just stop spending all their money on bling.

Securing Citizenship

http://abcnews.go.com/US/chinese-women-pay-give-birth-california-maternity-mansion/story?id=17862251#.UL5y9qVbr9Q

When searching for an article, I didn’t expect to see something like this.  An article about a so-called “maternity mansion.” It is an upscale home in Chino Hills, CA where citizens from China who are pregnant, come to live in order to give birth to their child in America.  There are different packages offered on a website for purchase on a stay in the home, and is considered “a ‘worthwhile investment’ in order to have an American baby.”  This is an unnecessary procedure, because the “14^th Amendment guarantees citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States.”  So why are these families paying money, to hide their pregnancies through airport security to gain visitor’s visas and having their child in America, when they can just move here before and/or after the baby is born?   I believe it connects to the idea of legal citizenship vs. racial citizenship.  Today, many of us would believe that there is slight difference in being born 1^st generation in America or moving to America as an infant or a young age.  Yet, one will gain citizenship as soon as they are born in America where as the latter won’t receive it until after the naturalization process.  This will label the child not as a “natural citizen” but a “naturalized citizen.”  Both are legal citizens, but the latter can be linked to racial citizenship and to some may not fully be “American” because they were not born here in the U.S.     

Freedom of Speech?

Some of you may know of an underground rapper called Immortal Technique. 
"Immortal Technique (Felipe Coronel) is a revolutionary. Born in Peru, he immigrated to Harlem, NY and eventually ended up in prison. He left with a new focus on music. His aggressive style gained him instant notoriety as a battle rapper, and his first album was a word-of-mouth sensation. Unwilling to change his message for mainsteam, he remained completely independent. His subsequent projects have permanently found their way into the hearts and minds of truth seekers worldwide. Going behind the scenes, The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique is an exploration of one man's global journey to fight injustice through music."  http://viperrecords.com/index.php/artists/immortal-technique

Hilary's lecture today on the relationship between visibility and regulation got me thinking about other areas in which people are told how to act in order to be "marketable." The music industry is one of these areas. I choose to talk about Immortal Technique because he chose not to take corporate sponsorships for record deals that would make him millions of dollars, while censoring his message. His music is not the most savory or for the faint of heart–he raps about the unpleasant realities that many of us are unaware of or turn a blind eye to. No corporate sponsors would put their name behind him without asking him to change his musical message. He refuses and continues to make shockingly provocative music that can almost be disturbing as an in-your-face reality check. There can be real value and substance in someone's un-filtered message, and the visibility that comes along with the promise of sponsorships often results in increased regulation. It is nice that there are artists out there who choose not to censor themselves for a huge profit. 

(Warning: These songs are intense in subject matter and contain massive profanity. If you don't want to hear it, don't click.)




Immortal Technique - "Freedom of Speech"

Immortal Technique - "Internally Bleeding"

If these links don't work (not super tech savvy) but you're interested in his music, go to www.grooveshark.com and search each of these songs in order.

Like An American

Play house, put my favorite record on 
Get down, get your Crystal Method on 
You were like, tall, tan, drivin' 'round the city 
Flirtin' with the girls like, "You're so pretty." 
"Springsteen is the king, don't you think?" 
I was like, "Hell yeah, that guy can sing." 

Like ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh 
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-oh 

You make me crazy, you make me wild 
Just like a baby, spin me 'round like a child 
Your skin so golden brown 
Be young, be dope, be proud 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 

Drive fast, I can almost taste it now 
L.A., I don't even have to fake it now 
You were like so sick, everybody said it 
You were way ahead of the trend, ge-get it 
Elvis is the best, hell yes 
Honey, put on that party dress 
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/lana+del+rey/american_21047820.html ] 
Like ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh 
Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-oh 

You make me crazy, you make me wild 
Just like a baby, spin me 'round like a child 
Your skin so golden brown 
Be young, be dope, be proud 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 

Everybody wants to go fast 
But they can't compare 
I don't really want the rest 
Only you can take me there 
I don't even know what I'm saying, 
But I'm praying for you. 

You make me crazy, you make me wild 
Just like a baby, spin me 'round like a child 
Your skin so golden brown 
Be young, be dope, be proud 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh 
Like an American 
Ooh-ooh ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh

This Song by Lana Del Rey demonstrates that the American Dream and American Exceptionalism still persist in contemporary America, however, in this song, similar to Springsteen, she critiques such ideologies. She refers multiple times to Springsteen, which can be interpreted as rebellion she demonstrates. For her, the American Dream is taken as making it big in the music industry by going to LA. She references LA, as the destination, and as well as the symbolic car plays a role in her analogy of reaching the American Dream. The first line plays on the American Dream, while the second line critiques such a "dream" with the reality of a situation. The chorus, "like an American", singles Americans out, demonstrating American Exceptionalism and how all are expected to be "young, dope, and proud". In conclusion, by maintaining the desire to achieve the American Dream, yet simultaneously aware of the limitations on that and the reality of the situation, Lana Del Rey demonstrates the ideology of the American Dream as well as American Exceptionalism.

Christmas Tree Lane

    Every year my small home town of Alameda gains a mass of visitors around the holiday seasons. Christmas Tree Lane is a small suburban area in Alameda where all of the houses are decorated elaborately with dazzling lights and Christmas themed decorations. It is a spectacular view of the both the light show and the effort that the residence put into house. However, I wondered why would anyone go through such extreme lengths to decorate their house only for a month then take it down shortly.

    Just like the lawn people and their culture from Robbins, the holidays allows the Christmas decorators to shine with the transformations of their houses into Christmas wonderlands. The houses on Christmas Tree Lane uses and extreme amount of energy because of their display lasting every night form December 1st to January 1st. Many view this waste of energy as harmful to the environment, while at the same time a waste of money. The Christmas Tree Lane folks and so many others like them across the nation doesn't see the waste of electricity or even money. It is part of their yearly culture to express themselves and that it has been ingrained into most of Americans that this it is a pretty light show beautiful and merry holiday spirts rather than this electrical waste of electricity and money. Furthermore, American Exceptionalism defines the Christmas Tree Lane and others like them perfectly. There are these grand, bigger than life, light shows and decorations that proves Americans can celebrate and show their love for Christmas better than anyone else.

Here is a video of all the decorated houses on Christmas Tree Lane and a Christmas Light Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llKqglk3BVo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWdOjXJzmZU&feature=player_embedded

The Maternity Mansion

I just saw this video talking about a "maternity mansion" in Chino Hills, CA. Pregnant women from China pay thousands of dollars to come to America and stay in this house until they give birth. Their children then become US citizens, or "anchor babies." This demonstrates the concept of American exceptionalism, which is the idea that America is better than all the other countries. The fact that the women are paying thousands of dollars for their kids to be born citizens shows that American citizenship is seen as the ideal goal. America is seen as a place with opportunities that don't exist anywhere else, and these mothers want that for their children.
http://www.aol.com/video/residents-protest-maternity-mansion-in-california/517561498/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D240866

Teaching toddlers about make-up furthering gender stereotypes

http://jezebel.com/5964736/how-infant-and-toddler-girls-learn-to-beautify

This article, published by the feminine forward website – Jezebel.com – exposes the blatant gender role ideologies perpetuated by society and largely in part by the commercial market. Infants will probably play with anything you give them. I’m sure toddlers out in rural Alaska aren’t throwing a tantrum because they don’t have the latest Barbie or G.I Joe. The minds of toddlers are so imaginative that you could give them a stick and they would create it into an airplane in their minds. So why the excessive gender typing of toys? This article shows numerous toys out in the market, geared toward toddler-aged girls, that are centered around make-up. Products like Fischer-Price’s “My Pretty Learning Purse” the Oskar & Ellen “Beauty Box”. These products instill in little girls the reigning ideology that women are supposed to be pretty and wear make-up. I’m surprised they don’t sell these purses as a combo deal with the Easy-Bake Oven to really hammer home the idea that women are thought to fill one role, homemaker. Not to say that wearing make-up is evil or that it pigeon-holes a women, but to thrust these ideologies upon children at such a young age is to strip them of free thought about what it means to be a man or a woman. 

Awesome Superhero Phones

This video created by the HISHE website demonstrates the importance of technology and electronics in American society. Technological Advancements, as talked about in Carolyn De La Pena’s The Body Electric, are thought to improve the wellbeing and abilities of those who use electricity and the products associated with it.

In the video, Superman and Batman are discussing the “awesome” features of their phones and of how they “can do anything.” Their excited talk about the technology of their phones makes it seems like their abilities are increased with the help of the accessibilities gained by the phones. Also, as two very popular American icons, they symbolize the best of America and of how even the cream of the crop need technology to best their abilities. If they are ecstatic about what electricity and technology can and does do for them, then it makes the assumption that the average person needs technological help as well – and probably more. It just goes to show how electricity and technology are still very important to mankind, especially Americans.