“Ok. First of all that wasn’t sex. You came in my thigh crease.” Sex? Ejaculation? Where could this quote be coming from? Certainly not a wholesome family comedy on ABC. It’s from the HBO show Girls, which provides real insight into the lives of millennials and deals with the typical coming of age story in a refreshing way. The show follows four very different girls (duh), Hannah, Jessa, Marnie and Shoshanna, in their early twenties trying to navigate life in New York City. Hannah is played by the show’s writer and creator, Lena Dunham. The show is now on its fifth season, and has sparked many controversies over the past four years. While some say there’s too much foul language, sex, and nudity, I say that by the show taking a pro-sex and …show more content…
Can you name another show in recent memory that brings to light, and shows us female masturbation? (YES, female masturbation!) Girls masturbate, believe it or not, and it’s something that’s now just getting brought up in our popular culture. Yet, male masturbation even has its place on our wholesome network channels. Girls did for female masturbation what Sex and the City did for anal sex in the 90s. It showed that something seen as “taboo” in our society, in fact, is very common and not something to feel dirty or ashamed about. But somehow, this show has received an immense amount of slack for showing one of the characters, Marnie, masturbating. After a non-sexual encounter with an artist that gets her going, she retreats to a public restroom to masturbate. Articles about this scene, and the show in general, feature the phrases, “cringe worthy”, “scandalous”, and “we’ve seen too much lady parts”. Yet, it’s common place to see boys get praised by their fathers in popular TV and film in the classic, “Dad walks in on son in front of computer with lots of tissues” scene. So, why is there this double standard? In their article, “HBO 's Girls: gender, generation, and quality television”, Sean Fuller and Catherine Driscoll claim, “While Breaking Bad is consistently praised for this complex characterization, Girls is criticized for imperfectly representing girls and their diversity, or for offering poor …show more content…
To me, and many others out there on the internet, it’s exhilarating to see Dunham, who does not fit into the mold of conventional beauty, be naked all the time. Although not everyone is on board for Dunham baring so much of her body. Howard Stern said of Dunham, “It’s a little fat girl who looks like Jonah Hill and keeps taking her clothes off and it kind of feels like a rape…it’s like I don’t want to see that”, Stern also added that he was “brave” for watching her (Krantz). Rachel Krantz concludes her article, “Enough About Lena Dunham 's Ass!” by saying, “And maybe it’s not the cellulite we find terrifying when we look at Dunham’s ass, but the fact that there she is, in TV world, looking just like us.” At least I know that’s why I love watching this show. I see a woman on TV whose body looks more like mine than any other woman I’ve seen. In Madison Clark’s undergraduate honors thesis, “Finding a Place in the History of Feminist Television: Sexuality in HBO 's "Girls” she states, “the series has set a new precedence for the depiction of female sexuality by choosing to include scenes that offer a contradiction to the well-known omission of unflattering sexual positions or the aftermath of intercourse” (24). In addition to Dunham’s Hannah being naked a good portion of the time, she’s not always naked in flattering positions as Clark states. When
...ults in body shame, and because these women view themselves as less, they are treated as such. Sexually objectified women are “dehumanized and seen as less competent and less worthy by men and women”. This causes men to be “more tolerant of sexual harassment and rape myths”. This is evident in the Pilot episode of Gossip Girl. Serena is known as the “it” girl and because of this image her male peers believe her to be sexually available to anyone at anytime. Chuck attempts to coerce her into having sex because he knows that Serena has had sex with her bestfriend’s boyfriend. Boys quickly adopt the hypersexualized images of females and apply them to girls. As a result they lack respect for girls, and when they make sexual advances on them they are deemed as harmless. Rape and sexual violence becomes normalized, and sexual predators go unpunished in mainstream media.
The mission of Girls Inc, as stated on their website is, “to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold” (girlsinc.org, 2014). This mission statement can be seen on nearly every publication and public image, it has remained central to the organization, and it continues to be a driving force in the future of the organization. The vision of Girls Inc is “empowered girls and an equitable society,” (girlsinc.org). Girls Inc. has also developed a Girls Bill of Rights, which states that the girls have the right to: “1) be themselves and resist gender-stereotypes, 2) express themselves with originality and enthusiasm, 3) take risks, to strive freely, and to take pride in success, 4) accept and appreciate their bodies, 5) have confidence in themselves and to be safe in the world, and 6) prepare for interesting work and economic independence” (girlsinc.org).
"Cold, shiny, hard, PLASTIC," said by Janice referring to a group of girls in the movie Mean Girls. Mean Girls is about an innocent, home-schooled girl, Cady who moves from Africa to the United States. Cady thinks she knows all about survival of the fittest. But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when she enters public high school and encounters psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teen girls deal with today. Cady goes from a great friend of two "outcasts", Janice and Damien to a superficial friend of the "plastics", a group of girls that talks about everyone behind their back and thinks everyone loves them. Adolescent egocentrism and relationships with peers are obviously present throughout the film. I also noticed self worth in relationships, parenting styles, and juvenile delinquency throughout Mean Girls.
On September 20, 1984 a show aired that changed the way we view gender roles on television. Television still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes and in reflecting them TV reinforces them by presenting them as the norm (Chandler, 1). The Cosby Show, challenged the typical gender stereotyping of television, daring to go against the dominant social values of its time period. In its challenge of the dominant social view, the show redefined the portrayal of male and female roles in television. It redefined the gender role in the work place, in social expectations, and in household responsibilities. The Cosby Show supported Freidan in her view of “castigating the phony happy housewife heroine of the women’s magazines” (Douglas 136).
When it came time to pick a stage of development, I chose the stage of middle childhood. The movie that best depicted this stage of development to me was the 1991 movie “My Girl”. In this movie, you see a 11-year-old girl named Vada Sultenfuss going through a lot of psychosocial and cognitive changes in her life. She has grown up without her mother due to instant death when being born and she blames herself for her mother’s passing. Her dad is very absent in the upbringing of Vada, as he focuses most of his time and energy into his work as a mortician. Vada is surrounded by death due to the fact that they live in the house where her father constructs his business which is why her view on death is demented. When her dad becomes involved
Lady Chudleighs’s “To the Ladies” exhibits a remorseful stance on the concept of joining holy matrimony. Chudleigh’s usage of metaphoric context and condescending tone discloses her negative attitude towards the roles of a wife once she is married. It is evident that Mary Chudleigh represents the speaker of the poem and her writing serves a purpose to warn single women not go get married and a regretful choice to women who are.
In this hate filled article, Lena’s body is described as “outright shocking, simply because we are not used to seeing anything like it, except perhaps in an Eddie Murphy comedy.” Placido then goes on to question if Dunham is “some sort of media-manipulating puppet master,” or if she is just “simply, annoying” (Placido 2015). This one instance of hate against Dunham shows how when a woman speaks out about issues that many ignore or even create themselves, women will receive hate. This hate oftentimes effects these outspoken women; many believe that hate is just a part of being a celebrity, but is a form of bullying when celebrities are repeatedly harassed. This harassment shows the “policing of women” and bullies may also use “threats to keep [women] silent” (Zeman). Studies show that “bully/victims had a slightly higher risk for anxiety, depression, psychotic experiences, suicide attempts and poor general health” (Wolke 2015). Dunham is not just a celebrity, she is a human being, going through her own struggles. When one is repeatedly hearing terrible rumors and remarks about themselves, self-loathing and anxiety can make its way into their
Countering the Culture of Sex is an article by Ellen Goodman dealing with the entertainment industry’s plague upon society. With sex rooted deep in children’s minds it creates this idea of what life revolves around. Digging deeper, Goodman brings up the point of why one never sees the consequences of sex. If the media were to show the consequences of people’s actions, the industry could create a sense of fear into the public.
One of the factors that heavily influence the continuing propagation of these ideas associated with the sexuality of racialized women is the production and dissemination of media images, symbols and narratives (Brooks & Hébert, 2006, p. 297). As a society who is constantly consuming media culture through various media outlets, television uses a combination of methods in imagery, symbolization, and narration to represent our social realities. Notions of what beauty means are further dictated by fashion and reality television shows, which includes shows that discuss trends, makeovers, modeling, and more. In turn, these television programs often targeted at young women themselves, continue to shape how society views women of color, particularly how women of color are superfi...
Girl Interrupted Review Cherie Pryor Denver College of Nursing Girl Interrupted is a film about a young woman, Susanna Kaysen, who voluntarily enters a psychiatric facility in Massachusetts. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a portrayal of psychiatric care in the 1960’s. The film is based on the memoirs of Susanna Kaysen and her experiences during an 18 month stay at a mental institution. During her visit, Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The film depicts psychiatric care, diagnoses, and treatments from a different era.
HBO's Sex and the City has become a cultural icon in its 6 seasons of running. Based on Candace Bushnell's racy book Sex and the City, the show exhibits an unprecedented example of the sexual prowess of women over the age of 35. The result is an immense viewing audience and an evolving view on the "old maid" stigma that a woman's chances of finding love are significantly reduced after thirty-five. In this paper, we will closely analyze the characters and themes of Sex and the City to explain the significance of what the show represents in American culture.
The events that took place during the halftime show of the Super Bowl may have shocked and angered many parents for exposing such sexual behavior and nudity to their children, but there were also a great number of people who questioned why people were so upset over a few seconds of screen time that Janet Jackson’s left breast received. After all, it was simply part of the female anatomy. Many people argued that it wasn’t just nudity, that it was “softcore” pornography because of the sexual conduct that was behind the performance. It is understandable that Jackson and Timberlake’s routine was full of sexual innuendo, but the majority of young children usually don’t pick up on such behavior and thus a simple “wardrobe malfunction.”
Nudity: a controversial topic from the beginning of time. It has raised questions such as: Should girls have to cover their shoulders when in the classroom? What is the appropriate length for a pair of shorts? And one of the more famous campaigns should women be allowed to “free the nipple.” Recently nudity has been used by celebrities to show support for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. This is a controversy because some people believe that a woman using her body as a sexual image promotes the idea that others also have the right to view and support the idea that women are sexualized objects. In this article “Katy Perry’s naked vote reveals more than she wanted” written by Barbra Ellen explores this controversial topic by using many rhetorical devices.
The most trending music genre gets a lot of listeners because of its the discrimination. As the songs and advertisements gain followers, it starts to become realized by the citizens. Pop culture artists sing about drugs, alcohol and women. The portrayal of women by these composers is dreadful because it degrades the significance and importance of their existence. Pop culture has always been a home for gender domination and discrimination. It is becoming increasingly “pornified.” As Valenti quotes, “After all, while billboards and magazines ads may feature a ripped guy from time to time, it’s mostly women who make up what sexy is supposed to be. And it’s not just sexy-it’s straight-up sex” (Valenti, 44). The pornography has been a part of the culture and has been accepted by younger women. Feminists have argued that this has increased the inculcation of “raunch culture” in the lives of younger women who fall into it as they feel it empowers them. However, it is a kind of faux empowerment. This illustrates that the media is promoting and utilizing pop culture to change the social norms in an attempt to instruct women on their role in the society. In essence, pop culture with its propaganda desires to change women’s view on nudity until it can become inherent in American culture, and thus eliminating opposition to benefit pop culture in the long run. Valenti persuades her readers by saying, “ the ‘show’ is everywhere. In magazines like Maxim and Playboy. And in the insanity of Girls Gone Wild, with teens putting on fake lesbian make-out sessions so guys will think they’re hot.” Levy also mentions a character, influenced by raunch culture and a reader of Playboy magazines, named Erin who is piqued her curiosity and provided her with inspiration because of this culture. Erin says, “There’s countless times in my life where I know I’ve turned people on just by showing off (by putting on a
In Paul Scheuring’s 4 season thriller there is no Gods you need to sacrifice for but rather the bond of family worth doing anything for. In Prison Break, protagonist Michael Scofield would go any extent for his family. Michael had his life together with a masters as a structural engineer while his brother was just a high school dropout. However when Michael finds out that his brother was accused for killing the vice president’s brother and put on death row, Michael gave up that future of his filled with opportunity to save his brother. How far would you go for others? Michael got a full body tattoo and got himself incarcerated in order to break Lincoln, his brother, out. He did this for him because he loves his family. Although Scofield is