Chapter+5+Gender

Little Rascals (1994)
media type="youtube" key="C1X2l7jgAx8" height="351" width="432" The movie Little Rascals ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110366/ ) is based on the the golden era short films series "Our Gang". In this movie there are little boys and girls who begin the movie in very gender typical ways. The boys belong to the "He-Man Woman Haters Club" and the girls are subject to the boys pranks and teasing. However everything changes when Alfalfa (one of the "He-Men") falls "in love" with Darla. The other boys can't have that, so they sabotage Alfalfa and Darla's budding romance. Then the movie continues with the boys versus girls theme as there is a go-kart race. The boys race the girls. The boys really want to win because racing great (and hero to the boys) A.J. Ferguson will present the winners a trophy. At the end it revealed that A.J. Ferguson is female and this creates confusing feelings for the "He-Man Woman Haters" given their hatred for women and love for A.J. Ferguson (who they now know as a woman breaking their gender stereotypes). The movie ends with a now co-ed "He-Man" club with the addendum "Women Welcome" on the sign. It is a fun movie and while it does not deal directly with adolescent themes, gender stereotyping and confusion regarding these notions play out through the movie. (Joel)



The movie Boys Don't Cry is based on the real life story of Teena Brandon. This movie follows Teena Brandon as she becomes Brandon Teena and claims a new male identity in the rural town of Falls City, Nebraska. There, Brandon successfully pulls off portraying a man unbeknownst to the women he's dating, eventually falling in love with Lana. He also befriends Lana's friends John and Tom. At First, Brandon's new friends like him and treat him as a buddy. But when Brandon's sexual identity is revealed, the deception triggers a spiral of horrific violence that ends in homicide. ([]). This movie relates to Freud and Erikson's view of Anatomy Is Destiny (Santrock, p.169). Do our reproductive organs really determine our gender role? (Katie)

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[|__Hattie Big Sky__] – by Kirby Lawson

Hattie Big Sky is about the traditional gender roles of males and females. The gender role for the female was to take care of the family, cooking, washing and child-bearing. While the male role was to provide for the family. In most cultures to deviate from these traditional roles are frown upon. In Hattie Big sky, Hattie is a sixteen year old female who alone is trying to brave working a farm in Vida, Montana. Hattie is struggling alone in a man’s world until she is befriended by neighbors and their children who help her work her new farm. All the while there is someone waiting for her to fail and steal the farm away from her. She is determined to stnd up against Mr. Taft and maintain her farm. Not only does Hattie have to fight for her non-traditional role as a woman farmer she also has to fight for the culture she believes in (p.183). The traditional gender role stretch far into education and the workplace. Even today our cultural background in America starts early teaching our children about traditional gender roles. In evey culture women are expected to act a certain way and men another. Women and men have changed some of those roles but the traditional gender roles are ever present with women being thought of as the more gentle and softer type and men being the strong, hard type. (p.184) Miranda

Glee The television show Glee is a musical rendition of many of the social issues affecting adolescents today. When considering social influences on gender, the character of Kurt came to mind. The social cognitive theory of gender emphasizes that adolescents' gender development is influenced by their observation and imitation of others' gender behavior, as well as by the rewards and punishments they experience for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior (p. 172). Kurt is an openly homosexual character who is loved and embraced by the Glee club, but constantly bullied by members of the football team and other students who do not understand what appears to them as gender-inappropriate behavior. While the bullying eventually results in Kurt transferring to a different school, he still remains true to himself. Additionally Kurt has a very supportive father who does not display traditional parental influences on gender (p. 171). While he tries to engage Kurt in a variety of activities including football, he also makes it very clear that he loves Kurt and will support his life decisions. (Mary)

Goonies (1985)
media type="youtube" key="9rCxMe-z-d4" height="390" width="480" //Due to computer issues (blue screen of death), this is a day late.// "Goonies" provides several great examples of gender development. Several age groups are represented as well as both males and females. It's clear that Mikie (the young protagonist) and his friends, the younger boys that appear in this movie (approximately 11 to 12-year-olds), still prefer to hang out with those of the same gender (Pg. 172). Mikie's older brother (approximately 16-years-old) is much more interested in developing his physique, one assumes to win the heart of one of the female characters. This leads into some serious gender stereotypes (pg. 176), which are very pronounced throughout the movie. They come in the form of the helpless girl in constant need of the protection of the guy. "Goonies" is one of those great 80's classics, but one fraught with countless gender-specific issues. (Jason)

Research Summaries

Tough girl or sidechick? Violent Female Characters in American Films [|�120�]http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100421102352.htm This article highlights the role of females and males in violent movies. There has been an increase in female characters engaging in violent acts, but they continue to be shown as sidekicks to more dominant males. In our text, Adolescence emphasizes this point that “Men are portrayed as more powerful than women on many TV shows” (pg 174). Women are still playing a submissive role and often are involved in a romantic relationship with the dominant male hero character. With TV shows representing these characters in this way it can influence young viewing audience and their ideas about gender and violence. The article looks at research to see if the increase in female violence in movies and TV shows is because of transcending traditional gender roles or rather a new stereotype. (Melanie)

Springer (2010, April 21). Tough girl or sidechick? Violent female characters in American films. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from [|�127�]http://www.sciencedaily.com ­

=Women who stutter have different brain connections than men who stutter; Findings may help explain why more men than women stutter.=

As someone who stuttered as a teen, this article intrigued me and feels relevant to the topic of gender and the teen brain. Most teens who stutter feel isolated. The research states that men who stutter have deficiently numbered connections between the systems in the brain that control the motor functions of speaking. Conversely, the study showed that women who stutter had greater numbers of connections that non-stuttering women and leads the research to believe that link or transportation of the message on the connections might be abnormal on stuttering women. (Brad)

Society for Neuroscience (2010, November 18). Women who stutter have different brain connections than men who stutter; Findings may help explain why more men than women stutter. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from []

There are a couple of different articles on ScienceDaily about how both men and women can be good at math. One study performed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the test results of males and female students were very similar. There has been a stereotype that women can't do math. Personally, I haven't seen much evidence of this, which may mean that people are realizing that it's not true. In any case, there isn't much of a connection between gender and math skill. Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard made a controversial statement about why there are fewer women than men working in mathematical fields. These studies give other reasons why women might not be working in math fields. One possible reason is that family issues, like raising children, could prevent women from seeking careers in math. Yes, there aren't as many females as males working as mathematicians or scientists, but it's not because of a lack of ability. Women are just as capable as men, when it comes to math. (Zak)

American Psychological Association (2009, March 3). Women Opt Out Of Math/science Careers Because Of Family Demands. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from [|http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/03/090303082807.htm]

Association for Psychological Science (2010, October 26). Women's choices, not abilities, keep them out of math-intensive fields, experts argue. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from [|http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/10/101026111731.htm]

University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010, October 13). Females are equal to males in math skills, large study shows. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from [|http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/10/101011223927.htm]

This article talks about the effects of Internet exposure when a teen girl spends too much time on it. A survey showed that girls were more prone to developing an eating disorder when viewing fashion content on the Internet (ex. Facebook). This article also stressed the importance of parental involvement in their daughters’ media exposure. The more parents where aware of what their daughters were viewing, the greater chance of their daughter(s) having a higher self-esteem and more personal empowerment. This article reminded me of Mass Media Influence, which starts at location 6797 (I am using the Kindle version) which talks about the gender roles for teens. Teen girls are usually portrayed as being concerned with their appearance, which would explain why we would see more girls developing an eating disorder. Everywhere you look, women are portrayed as glamorous and very skinny. This has an effect on teen girls and that is why is it so important that parents know what their teens are watching. (LeAnn)
 * Facebook Users More Prone to Developing Eating Disorders, Study Finds**

University of Haifa (20011, February 7). Facebook users more prone to developing eating disordes, study finds. //ScienceDaily.// // [|http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110207091754.htm] //

Web Links
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(Kerry) The above link provides a variety of reminders for educators to follow when trying to implement gender equity in the classroom. I find it interesting that teachers subconsciously react to girls and boys in the classroom in different ways. One particular statement that stands out to me focuses on why teachers often call on male students before female students. Most resources state that boys are more agressive in nature whereas girls are more passive. I have been guilty of selecting male students when asking for volunteers to read or provide answers because usually they are more eager and willing to jump out of their seats at times. Within our course textbook, __Adolescence__ by John Santrock, chapter five lists the general biases that often occur in the classroom. Researchesrs Myra and David Sadker are referenced comparing the behaviors found between boys and girls and how they participate in the classroom. The above link also references Sadker which proves to be a reliable reference to review.

[|What Influences Do Gender Roles Have On Adolescent Development?][]

In this link are great articles related to gender and adolescents which is the main concept in Chapter 5 of our classroom text __Adolescence__ (Santrock). Scott M. Daigle and Dr. Alssa Gonzalez DeHass of Florida Atlantic University wrote a paper full of research titled "Introduction to the Topic of Choice." As Chapter 5 depicts, so does this particular paper when it asks the question: "what are the consequences of being a boy or a girl?" (John)

(Malinda) I never thought about it before, but girls are more influenced than boys are by their peers. It makes sense though because their hormone levels are at different stages. Also, where the text book explained about TV portraying girls differently than boys does have an influence on how girl think they should behave. "Television shows directed at adolescents are extremely stereotyped in their portrayal of the sexes, especially teenage girls" (175). For example; on the show "Big Bang Theory", Penny is portrayed as an imbicile while inteligence is bestowed upon the male characters: Leonard, Raj, Sheldon, and Howard. They constantly make jokes at Penny's expense for only going to a community college and she is simply a waitress. Penny's personality is that of a typical teenager (even though she is suposed to be in her 20's); She wants to socialize, she loves to gossip, and she's all about her image. Take a look at the following clip from CBS [|"The Thesbian Catalyst"]

=Swedish Teens Say Individual Traits Are the Main Reasons for Bullying=

(Gik) There is a study in Sweden asking teenagers about bullying. 176 high school students were asked to fill out a survey that has questions about bullying. As a result, 69 per cent of the participants said the cause of bullying was from the bullies and they were defined as people who wanted power and popularity. 42 per cent blamed the victim of bullying. Interestingly, girls blamed bullies more than boys did. I find this article relates to Chapter 5 where it talks about masculinity and famininity. Boys are labeled as aggressive and independent and girls are labeled as emotional.(p.182) [|Bullying]

Gender Stereotypes in the Media

media type="youtube" key="tq6Ct8IA5cY" height="390" width="480" Chapter five of Santrock discusses role of media in influencing gender roles. Usually in the media there are specific roles played by men and women. This can also go along with the idea of gender stereotyping. The above video gives examples of some of these roles. As the clips are viewed, I feel it is important to question the impact media may have had your perception of gender. Along those lines, you should also question if this was necessarily a negative experience. As we mature, we for gender schemas about how we should act. Some of these may have come from viewing media. Ask yourself, how do you want your gender portrayed. (Emily Grace)

PBS has a great website for their “This Emotional Life” series, with several subtopics relating to our study of Adolescent Psychology. The particular page I looked at was called [|“Identity Formation”] and is a perfect companion for Santrock’s chapter 5 on Gender. This site breaks down the Adolescent Identity Formation topic into three categories: Ethnic and Cultural Identity, Gender Identity and Social Identity and then further breaks down the categories with main ideas, terms, and facts about the different situations adolescents may encounter when dealing with their gender.

I think the best part of this website, is it’s in depth look on all of the different influences of gender identity in society, illustrating just how difficult it is to grow up http://www.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110207091754.htm.com/releases/2011/02/110207091754.htm become comfortable with yourself, while dealing with parents, siblings, peers, school and teachers, and especially mass media influences. This link really helps to make a connection between the information in our book, particularly pages 171-175 of Santrock, which explains such influences. I especially liked this website, because it gives definitions for different terms, but also provides tips and information for parents, which might also be helpful for educators. Additionally, it is easy to navigate and gives a comprehensive introduction to the issue of Identity Formation. (Caitlin)