Jamie Banks

English 1050
Professor Briggs
April 30 2015
The Gendered Society
We experience gender inequality in our society every day, and
we may not even realize it. We see it in the media. We feel it in the
workplace. We may even endure it at school. In an effort to combat
this, some of us go so far as to read about it in textbooks in an effort to
educate ourselves enough to prevent it from continuing. Some of us go
even further; we discuss it with others around us, so that they too can
see just how engrained the beliefs are. This subtle activism is crucial;
as it is only through our increased awareness of these pervasive
attitudes do we have any chance of eliminating them for future
generations.
Some fantastic examples of gender inequality perpetuated by
the modern media are the advertisements, aimed to play off gender
stereotypes, which we discussed during Week #7 of our course. The
main issue with these advertisements is that, at passing glance, most
consumers dont even realize that the ads are playing to stereotypes.
In her post addressing the ads during Week #7, Amy Cottle mentions
that she never thought the positioning of a model could suggest
specific gestures. I believe Amys reaction is likely very common. Some

of the techniques used to sexualize women in advertisements are so

subtle theyre almost subliminal. For instance, in the Gucci Guilty ad
we analyzed (208), the woman featured is making eye contact with the
audience, almost demanding a reaction. The man who accompanies
the model holds her very tightly and is so caught up in the passionate
embrace he seems unaware that anyone (the audience) is watching.
The way the ad is designed, it seems like the woman is guilty of
enjoying her very public sexual encounter. I find it frustrating that the
ad has essentially empowered the model to seek out her desires while
also objectifying her.
Another advertisement from the same visual essay that I feel
warrants discussion is the Reebok ad featuring shoes intended to tone
a womans posterior. Aside from being obviously sexual, as it appears
the woman is naked, the small tag line says, Sexy starts with the sole
(209). Reebok is playing off existing insecurities and leading women to
believe that the shoes would help them achieve their desired shape
without exerting any extra effort. I would like to add that, while never
admitting to false advertisement, Reebok settled with the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) and promised to stop making claims that their
shoes enhanced strengthening and tone without scientific evidence
(Reebok).
Modern advertisements are not the only place you can look to
find gender discrimination. In addition to the modern ads we looked at

during Week #7, we also had a chance to critique and discuss some
World War II era public service announcements (PSAs) created to warn
soldiers about the risks of contracting venereal diseases while
deployed. The creators of these PSAs wanted these women to be
portrayed as the wrongdoers; they were to be blamed for the
transmission of venereal diseases; they are the ones at fault. In one of
the PSAs, the ghoulish looking woman is wearing a low-cut ball gown
is and accompanied by both Adolph Hitler and Emperor Hirohito. The
text around the illustrated figures states, V.D. Worst of the Three
(221). As I noted in my discussion post that week, both men and
women are equally at fault for spreading these diseases, but unsafe
and impulsive sexual behavior in men has always been more accepted
than the equivalent practices for women.
Another place we often find gender inequality is the workplace,
as we can see when we analyze an excerpt from Week #12, The
Cocktail Waitress: Womans Work in a Mans World. Although gender
discrimination was not the theme of the piece, there are moments
where you can feel it in the writing. Denise, the woman around whom
the excerpt is centered, is left to assume that advances from male
customers are of a sexual nature (418), because that is how she has
been conditioned to think. Women have come expect being subjected
to these advances. In my own life, I worked as a server in a bar after I
turned 21. It was not uncommon to find myself on the receiving end of

lewd language or even physical advances while just trying to do my

job.
In a school environment, gender inequality is often times more
pronounced in other countries. One piece we focused on during Week
#6 of this semester was a graphic novel called The Veil, by Marjane
Satrapi, on page 362. It is an excerpt from her book, Persepolis. In this
we see how she, as a young girl, experienced the Islamic Revolution in
1979. She tells of how it was before the revolution and how she and
her female classmates were separated from the male students and
forced to wear a veil. She also tells of the ridicule she endured when
she revealed to class that she wanted to be a Prophet, a position
always associated with men. During our discussing in Week #6, Janice
Hoopiiaina stated that she learned women (during the Islamic
Revolution) needed to keep their hopes and dreams quiet if they were
to exist without conflict. I felt like this was an important point to take
away from Satrapis graphic novel. Everything she put in to The Veil
was carefully considered, and I believe that Janice was smart to point it
out.
I would like to note that there are sources of material that do not
objectify women. Instead, they empower them to do what makes them
happy, despite the fact those things may be traditionally associated
with men. The visual essay, Women Boxers: The New Warriors by
Delilah Montoya is a wonderful example of this. The images show

multiple strong women and the essay includes many details about the
lives of the women in the photos, as well as other female boxers whose
photographs were not included in the essay. As it says in the textbook,
The inspiration to push limits and break barriers is as varied as the
boxers themselves (211). I felt like this piece was an important
addition to the curriculum for Week #6. It balanced out the oppressive
message we got from Satrapis graphic novel.
Its safe to say that I met more than one of the objectives laid out
for this course. For example, Satrapis piece gave me an excellent
chance to analyze visual genres, as her piece was laid out in a simple,
yet extremely powerful, way that cut right to the heart of the gender
issues from her culture. This was also a great opportunity examine one
groups power over another, as the men in Satrapis culture were
almost always the legislators and leaders, leaving the women to either
obey or be shunned and exiled. Another chance to examine power
dynamics came with my absolute favorite piece, What to the Slave is
the Fourth of July by Frederick Douglas (460). Despite the fact this
piece was centered on race and not gender, it made a huge impact on
me. It helped me understand the social climate of the times much
more clearly. It gave me a much more in-depth look the roots of racism
than ever before. It showed me just how little power a black man (or
woman) had over their own lives, and exactly how they felt about that

fact. It is an extremely powerful piece of historical writing that I will

never forget.
Finally, this course helped me achieve what I believe to be the
most important objective, which is to critically examine my own beliefs
and attitudes as they relate to diverse cultures. Throughout the
semester, Ive been exposed to so many amazing pieces of writing, but
I believe it was the discussions with my classmates that truly allowed
me to meet this particular objective. Reading why my classmates feel
the way they do about certain topics has helped me shape my own
beliefs. Learning to appreciate everyones experiences, despite their
gender, is an important component to understanding how to eradicate
the deeply engrained inequality, gender-based or otherwise, that we
witness around us every day.

Works Cited
Creating a Public Service Announcement" Reading Culture: Contexts
for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur.
8th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 219-223. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" Reading
Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George
and John Trimbur. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 460-475.
Print.
Montoya, Delilah. "Women Boxers: The New Warriors" Reading Culture:
Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George and John
Trimbur. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 211-213. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" Reading
Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George
and John Trimbur. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 460-475.
Print.
"Reebok EasyTone Shoes and Apparel." The Too-Good-to-Be-True
Product Hall of Fame. TIME, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Satrapi, Marjane. "The Veil Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical

Reading and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. 8th ed.
New York: Longman, 2012. 361-370. Print.
Spradley, James and Mann, Brenda The Cocktail Waitress" Reading
Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Diana George
and John Trimbur. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 417-423.
Print.