During last week's class conversation we talked a lot about sex (obviously). More specifically BDSM in media and Sam brought up the ways magazines have covered sex and that particular subject which got me thinking a lot about magazines in general. I'm not sure how many of you all grew up reading teen magazines. Maybe it was just a thing at my middle school but they were kind of a huge deal. Not even in a fad type of way, they were just genuinely a part of our (girls) everyday lives--so prevalent that we kind of just took them for granted. Point is, as we have talked more about sex and magazines in this class, I remember that these magazines, especially J-14, served as a kind of handbook for learning about romantic relationships and the beginning stages of a sexual relationship (kissing, making out, etc.). Hot topics or favorite magazine sections back in my days usually had to do with either quizzes, embarrassing moments, and advice columns. Above is a throwback cover of J-14 that was not uncommon to look like for my middle school years (2004-ish). A lot of the type of "sizzling secrets" that were included advice on how to initiate or respond to boys advances to kiss you and that kind of stuff. However, based off from what I can tell about most recent J-14 articles, the conversation might not be as sex-centric as they used to. Disclaimer: I can really only go off of their online portal for J-14 which still has a lot of content that they feature in their monthly magazine. However, a lot of what can be seen on www.j-14.com pertains mainly to celebrity gossip and less to teens in the context of sexual relationships. Before, there were all types of articles that described embarrassing moments while hooking up with your man and the best way to get your crush to kiss you. I wonder if there is actually a change in this content. If so, could it be that "teens" are considered teens at a younger age now? In another class, we addressed that tweens or pre-teens now adopt tendencies and interests that the traditional "teen" is usually seen to take on. I wonder if this absence of sex-related (even if they were only ever mild) topics stems from an increase in younger readership. Below is an example of a 2014 issue of the same magazine which does feature some segments of body image but other than that does not really have any references to something that could be potentially about sex.
In any case, I think that in the context of sexuality and media, it is probably important to think about magazines like J-14 as some of the beginning media types that young teens engage with. Are they even a thing anymore? We have read in literature that media can serve as a super peer for teens in the context of sexual education. As we read in Brown et al's work (2005), earlier maturing girls are more likely to take interest in media with sexual content rather than girls who bloom later. However, if media such as J-14 is, in a way, kind of designed to be a super peer for girls and does not do a wholesome job of presenting facts and testimonials for safe sex, could it be the case that girls will seek it elsewhere? Maybe this print media type is outdated but I'm guessing this would also mean that young girls would seek sexual guidance from other, more mature sources which could have different implications altogether.
Works Cited
Brown, J. D., Halpern, C. T., & L'Engle, K. L. (2005). Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(5), 420-427.
Twitter is once again the source of inspiration for my blog post. Considering that this is a space where people tend to spew their thoughts, even the somewhat ignorant ones, I have seen that it is a pretty good source for identifying how people are reacting and interacting with topical issues. Among so many other outlandishly ignorant conversations on Twitter, one that interested me is of this one account that appears to be blowing up lately that goes by the handle "@MENENIST". Apparently, it is a Twitter account devoted to standing up for men who feel victimized by feminists or the feminists movement. Besides the tweets that provide backlash of the movement, it also uses the space to do its fair share of slut shaming and good ol' fashion put downs for women. In an attempt to present their issues or questions about feminism in a humorous way, there are many problematic issues that are brushed off as a joke.
One example of a problematic trend that I have seen this account tweet is that of men's entitlement of women and their bodies or feelings. A lot of this comes in the form of poking fun of the act of being broken up with, rejected, or friend zoned. Below is an example of what @MENENIST would typically tweet about the subject.
As might be clear above, men are portrayed as being the ones with the power of decision making in a relationship while women are depicted as not having the autonomy within the relationship at all. Although it is meant to come off as a joke, placing this within the realm of anti-feminism is problematic because it attaches ideas of aggressive tendencies with the anti-feminist movement or even just the act of shutting women up. As we have seen before in articles such as Holz & Ivory's (2009) work, there are certain scripts that are constantly perpetuated in media. However, the way we talked about certain traits of male dominance including that of being "assertive, dominant, domineering, forceful," were some that we discussed in the context of Television. These same traits and scripts of male dominance and female submissiveness are some that are being perpetuated in accounts like @MENINIST but the implications are so much different than that of television because it is a social media site. Twitter in particular also lets you retweet and favorite tweets like these, meaning that men and women can actively endorse these messages and broadcast to their friends that this is something they endorse. I would argue that this, in turn, could potentially prompt their other peers to endorse these beliefs as well, considering what we know in Comm Studies research about theories such as social learning theory and social proof theory (but that's a whole other different conversation in itself).
But anyway, speaking of shutting women up, @MENINIST also jokes about very serious sexual health issues as well as sexual violence in a way that undermines critical thinking of the issues. For example, above is a screenshot of one tweet where @MENINIST tweets "Stop these feminists... Smh" (Smh meaning 'shaking my head') in a disapproving response to the discussion raised about virtual rapes. No matter what your stance might be on the issue, I would argue that these types of jokes are completely inappropriate because they completely shut down and reject the discussion of what rape does for people psychologically. It makes a mockery of both sexual violence against women and feminism in a way that dismisses the entire conversations revolving both matters out the window. However, given that this is a private account that can't be boycotted or be held in contempt in a way that can stop their harmful messages, how are media scholars to tackle the best practice for dealing with this type of media? People are still potentially learning from it and what might be taken from these type of media really might not be the best for society, in my opinion. As we know from Ward's literature on media exposure's effects on sexual attitudes, we can extract that women have shown to sometimes align their expectations and desires with what is viewed in media, among many other findings that suggest that women and men accept stereotypical attitudes about their roles with greater exposure to media (Ward, 2003). So, if people do potentially accept stereotypical attitudes about the world of sex after media exposure and this is a media type that is exacerbating problematic issues of sexual health, objectification, and so many other issues, how do we begin to understand the dynamic role of social media? It's so different and so much more dynamic than other media types (the ability to favorite, retweet, like, and respond) to where issues like these become so much more important to tackle.
I have only included a couple brief examples of the ridiculous things I saw on this account because you can seriously make an argument against almost every single one of the tweets that this person has put out. If you don't believe me, I encourage you to go and check out his or her account and see for yourself! It could be an endless case study in my opinion.
References
Holz, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J.D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication & Society, 12 (2), 170-192.
Ward, L.M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23 (3), 347-388
I know I have touched on bromance before in our blogs, but I am deciding to bring it up again this week because of a really funny tabloid trending about Matt Damon and Benn Affleck. Apparently, paparazzi flocked around Matt Damon recently, who is very close friends with fellow actor, Ben Affleck. During a session of autograph signings, one of the paparazzi asked Matt whether he had ever seen Affleck's penis during the filming of Gone Girl, Affleck's most recent blockbuster hit. Damon's response to this invasive question came as a delightfully humorous surprise to those interviewing and now to the rest of America, since his reaction to the question went viral.
After doing a bit of research, I learned that the two are apparently well known for their bromance in the Hollywood community. As we can tell from Damon's gross 90's Nick Carter hairstyle in the image below, the picture is clearly not from this decade. Thus, we can conclude that they have been friends for many many years.
Now, knowing this, Matt Damon's response to paparazzi's penis question becomes all the more interesting. When asked, "Did you happen to see Ben's penis in 'Gone Girl'?" he replied, "Oh, I've seen it many times before that." If you don't believe me, there is the TMZ footage below to prove it.
What makes it so funny and what is probably one of the reasons that it has now gone viral is how he is so nonchalant about it. Damon doesn't even seem to flinch at the question. He responds in a way that seems so natural, framing the answer to the seemingly unusual question as a natural answer as well. I would say that the fact that Matt Damon is so casual about his friendship and the degree of comfort he feels with another man's naked body, especially a man who is so close to him as a friend, is really telling of modern male-male friendships. I would say it definitely adds to the trend I mentioned previously of men in media depicting bromances as an increasingly normal thing.
To some, Damon may have said it as a joke and some may even go as far to say that he was being sarcastic. But, again, the degree to which Damon de-stigmatized homoeroticism adds to a larger deconstruction or challenging of traditional male friendships. From what we have seen previously in the literature, the use of comedy could potentially play a role in the way we interpret and make meaning of media content. As we read in Gottfriend et al's (2013) work, "it is possible that some further aspect of comedies renders the sexual content they contain more influential on adolescents' increased likelihood to engage in sexual behaviors. That is, some characteristic of the structure or content of comedy programs may lead viewers to process the messages within them differently than other genres, leading to their heightened impact. One possibility may be the use of humor." (88) From this, we can take that presenting content in a humorous way can shift meanings for consumers of media.
However, would this also be the case for impromtu humor outside a planned comedy production such as those featured in Gottfried's work? Could it be possible that Damon's use of humor is an effective tool to destigmatize homoeroticism, especially within male-male friendships? I would argue that it very well could and that it would be the case even more given the fact that he is off the screen, away from publicists, in a space where he answers the question off guard. In any case, I would definitely consider this an important addition to the growing bromance/homoerotic trend.
Works Cited
Gottfriend, J. A., Vaala, S. E., Bleakley, A., Hennessy, M., & Jordan, A. (2013). Does the effect of exposure to TV sex on adolescent behavior vary by genre? Communication Research, 40(1), 73‐95.
In the past 48-72 hours, Twitter has been bombarded with tweets and retweets surrounding the site's latest trending topic: #AlexFromTarget. Over the weekend, a teenage girl went shopping at the retail establishment and thought the cashier, Alex, was very attractive. She decided to snap a picture on her phone and share it with her Twitter community, showcasing #AlexFromTarget as a hot piece of adolescent meat and asked her followers whether they agree. Apparently a lot of them did because he is now the number 1 trending topic, he got over 300,000 followers on Twitter after the girls tracked him down, and he even made an appearance from CNN from all the attention he was getting on social media solely because of the picture taken during his shift which can be seen on the left. Although we have not touched the subject of social media in the course as much as we have other media types (which is understandable since the spike in social media prevalence is probably too recent for research to be caught up on), I think it is one media that is increasingly important especially for teenagers who are being introduced to it at younger ages than many other groups. Although television, film, and music is still a huge part of the lives of youth, I think it is easy to argue that social media is getting to the point where it is just as important as those media types, especially for those youth who are exploring their
sexuality. I became mildly interested in #AlexFromTarget for a few reasons.. Reason A) The kid is really just average at best. He is really not all that crazy good looking to have drawn that much attention. Even the actual Target official Twitter account became aware and involved with the Twitter trend to the point where they gave him a shout out as well. He was featured on CNN. Literally, thousands of people have made memes, vines, and spinoffs of the meme. In any case, he has been blowing up my social media sites just because these teenage girls decided to objectify him and make a huge exhibition of him on Twitter based only on his looks.
Reason B) I realized that these teenage girls kind of really did objectify him and make a huge exhibition of him on Twitter based only on his looks. Then I started thinking about it and this is not the first time teenage girls do this. Think One Direction. Think Justin Bieber. Most recently, it makes me think of Nick Jonas. Teens and young adult women had him trending as well and their obsession over him (his newfound sexy looks). I would argue that Nick Jonas was kind of objectified even though it seemed like he was completely on board with being objectified. In a way, #AlexFromTarget really is put in a position where he is preyed on in kind of a creepy way by the girl who took the picture. And, by the looks of this picture angle, it doesn't seem like he actually consented to it. If I were in his position (as the woman that I am, not a man) I would feel kind of objectified by this. I tried using Brown's "Disinterest, intrigue, resistance" (1993) article to think through what the hell these girls are thinking, but I don't think either of the three categories fit into the type of girls that are obsessing over this Twitter sensation. I think the type of girls who are engaging in this type of activity are definitely at the age group where the "resistance" types fall under but with more of an "intrigued" mentality. But I really wouldn't code them as either. I think the type of girls who are engaging in this hormone-powered collective infatuation are on a different category...maybe one where they are just plain interested in boys without the naiveness of the "intrigued" group. Thoughts? In any case, I am also interested in hearing if people would agree that this kid is kind of objectified by these girls or if I'm just reading too much into it. (Lately, with all the media coverage on women being objectified by way of catcalling, I feel like I am hypersensitive to what does and does not constitute an appropriate way of thirsting over another individual.) And, if he is being objectified by these hormonal teens, what does that say about where women are going in terms of exploring our sexuality? Could it even be argued that there is a larger overarching phenomenon of increasing male objectification? If this pattern of male objectification is present in younger generations who will think back to boys like Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber, and #AlexFromTarget, could we expect women being more open with their sexual frustrations once they are all grown up? Would women objectifying men offset the grossness of men objectifying women? How does that even work and what would be little girls' role? I'm genuinely curious.
Works Cited
Brown, J. D., White, A. B., & Nikopoulou, L. (1993). Disinterest, intrigue, resistance: Early adolescent girls' use of sexual media content. In B. S. Greenberg, J. D. Brown & N., Media, sex and the adolescent (pp. 177‐195). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Drake, who is infamous in the rap game for his vast repertoire of songs where he is both an alpha-male womanizer as well as a sensitive and sensitive bachelor who caters to his woman, leaked three new songs this past week. One of these songs, titled "How Bout Now," peaked my interest in particular. Besides it being a genuinely catchy song that pulls at the heart strings of anyone who has gone through a recent break up, the song is an example of modern media types that challenge hegemonic masculinity and relationship roles along with myths about love, within music in particular.
It's a really great song, I encourage everyone to hear it! I've posted it below:
The song tells the story of a man reflecting on the relationship that he had with his ex-girlfriend and it is written almost like a letter to her, as is typical of a Drake ballad. Here, he vents about some of the things that they went through that made them drift apart as a couple and he also hopes to have her reflect on her actions as he sings phrases like...
"Remember? I deleted all my other girls' numbers out the phone for you Remember? When you had to take the bar exam I drove in the snow for you You probably don't remember half the shit a n**ga did for you"
Yeah, you ain't really f*ck with me way back then But how 'bout now? Cause I'm up right now, and you suck right now Oh, you thought you had it all figured out back then But how 'bout now?" "Yeah, man enough to tell you I was hurt that year I'm not even Christian, I still went to church that year Guess I just had to pretend that year I ain't even see my friends that year"
As if these verses didn't express the level of emotion that he is feeling, the interlude sang phrases like, "My heart belongs to you. Whatever you need. There's nothin' I won't do," despite the resentment he apparently feels for his ex.
This is not the first time Drake releases a song where he wears his heart on his sleeve. He's pretty notorious for owning his emotions and singing to his exes or whichever girl he is sprung on at the moment. This tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve has even gotten him quite the reputation of being hyper-sensitive to women's feelings, his own, and sensitive in even minor romantic situations. This reputation can be observed in a variety of ways, one notable one being social media such as Twitter accounts dedicated to mocking the "type of ni**a that Drake is" and memes frame Drake as a man who dates girls for their personality rather than their looks and who is in constant touch with his emotions. In this way, I would definitely consider Drake to be challenging society's perception of what men typically do in relationships, especially those in the rap game.
In this particular song, even though he directs his words to his ex in kind of a condescending way, I would argue that this song still positions him in a vulnerable state considering the fact that he is opening up about resentment which here is a strong emotion that stemmed from the love that he once felt for his lover or still might feel.
I thought about Anne Bader's analysis of love songs and wondered if any of the myths that were featured in her work applied to this ballad. I thought that there was more in the song to challenge myths and traditional roles of men and women in relationships than to reinforce these myths. However, although I did not consider there to be many of the myths present in this song, I would argue that certain elements of some could still be considered to be present in it. For example, the background of the song is the idea that Drake was with this woman before he "got big" and she didn't appreciate what he did for her throughout their relationship. He makes it a point to see the contrast before and after his fame and fortune. In this sense, I would consider there to be some relation to the myth number 6: The man should not be weaker, younger, poorer, or less successful than a woman. Because here Drake has a flashback of when he was just a struggling rapper and she was an upcoming lawyer-to-be, I could see how the woman in this situation is in more of a position of power and success. It mentions that she didn't "really f*ck" with him back then, which could be a way to refer to the idea that it didn't work out between the two of them because she didn't take him seriously professionally. However, this is only implicit and a subjective interpretation, not explicit.
Other than this, I would say that we might overall see more aspects of the song that challenge myths rather than reinforce them. I would consider that it challenges the myth that a partner is predestined or that love prevails despite bickering, etc. considering the fact that here we see a torn relationship and the aftermath of that relationship ending in success. I also think it challenges myth number 9: all you need is love, even if you and your lover have different values, because again, this relationship appears to have been torn apart in part because of the woman's failure to take him seriously at the beginning of his career, before the success.
I also find it relevant to think about Taylor's Cads and Dads article because I think Drake is a very strange intersection of a Cad and a Dad, with the Dad persona prevailing more than the Cad according to the many memes about him. From what we know in Taylor's research, a dad type would be a man who is romantic, emotionally stable, committed, and invested in the relationship. Meanwhile, a Cad would be one who is sexually aggressive and experienced, less inhibited, and more superficial. (Taylor, 2008) Although other Drake songs would definitely frame him as a Cad, in this particular song he frames himself as more of a person who saw potential in the relationship but whose effort was not met or reciprocated by his partner. He was committed and cared about her well-being and put her first as we see in lyrics such as "When you had to take the bar exam I drove in the snow for you. You probably don't remember half the shit a n**ga did for you." Through this, we see Drake in a position where he would do anything for her, a sacrifice a Dad type would definitely take. All in all, I would consider Drake's fame and lyrics to be really important to the "rap game." In a sphere where women are constantly degraded and men often feel the need to be hyper-masculine and assert their dominance, especially over women, Drake is a step forward in this genre for men to see women for more than their bodies. We see a rapper who is more open and in touch with his feelings than we are used to. Because of this, I think he definitely challenges hegemonic masculinity as he is sensitive, emotional, committed, and invested in relationships. He tends to see women for more than their bodies. Yes, Drake also has other songs where he is a womanizer and refer to women in ways that are just as detrimental as other rappers such as Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, but at least he is versatile and does not only frame them as disposable "hoes." I think this song is a prime example of how he challenges the norm, especially within the rap/hip-hop genre and in my opinion he is an important trail blazer that will contribute to the idea that it is okay to be one with your emotions, even though you're also a thug with connects. Despite the memes and society's attempt to discipline his masculinity, Drake continues to put out music that is distinct from what we see other rappers do.
Works Cited
Taylor, D. Laramie. (2008). Cads, Dads, and Magazines: Women’s Sexual Preferences and Articles about Sex Relationships.
Bader, A. (2007). "Love will steer the stars" and other improbable feats: Media
myths in popular love songs. In M.-L. Galician & D. L. Merskin (Eds.), Critical thinking
about sex, love, and romance in the mass media (pp. 141-160). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
A week ago today, The CW premiered its newest series, Jane the Virgin--a comedy-drama about a young Latina who has managed to avoid being deflowered all the way into adulthood. However, despite her feat to remain pure, she becomes pregnant after the reckless negligence on behalf of her gynecologist who accidentally inseminates her with a stranger's sperm sample. Jane must then struggle with the decision of having and keeping the baby, giving it up to the stranger's family, sacrificing her marriage engagement to mother be a mother to the child, or give it up altogether with the use of medical treatment. Since The CW has only aired the pilot, I will analyze the narratives on virginity set up thus far, the potential for the plot of the show for framing sex and virginity, and the overall questionable potential effects on viewers.
An important premise for the show's plot is the fact that Jane has the value of virginity instilled in her from a very young age. Her grandmother gives her the metaphor of crumbling up a flower then trying to make it go back to looking good as new again, which is apparently impossible. For this reason, she engrains that belief in Jane's impressionable young mind. As we have seen before in Maura Kelly's Virginity Loss Narrative article, there are certain virginity scripts that prevail in media. Kelly lists a) the abstinence script, which places a high value on virginity and emphasizes delaying virginity loss; b) the urgency script, which defines virginity as a stigma and virginity loss as necessary to maintain social status and affirm gendered identity; and c) the management script, which suggest teenagers' sexual behavior is inevitable and focuses on managing the physical, social, and emotional risks associated with virginity loss. (Kelly, 2010) As she mentioned in her research, the abstinence script sets up virginity as a virtue that should not be compromised before marriage especially when considering the negative emotional, physical and societal consequences that stem from premarital sex. I would argue that Jane the Virgin, given the fact that the entire plot is based on Jane striving to remain a virgin for as long as possible, exhibits this type of script--the abstinence script. It is relevant to note that the pilot episode kicks off with this very scene where Jane's grandmother introduces this idea to her that will shape her behavior for the decades to follow. This idea that she will never be able to go back to perfection after virginity sets up this belief system that the plot will center around since the main conflict is the fact that she becomes pregnant even after she tries so hard to guard herself from illegitimate pregnancy as one of the consequences of premarital sex. Because of this type of portrayal of virginity in this media, I would say that it aligns with what Kelly's research proposed as the abstinence script.
Moreover, the fact that this pregnancy is shown as something that could have or should be able to be avoided by simply avoiding the act of sex is also a relevant component of this media. As we see in Keren Eyal and Dale Kunkel's Effects of Sex article, exposure to shows that portray negative consequences of sex leads to more negative attitudes toward premarital intercourse and more negative moral judgements of characters engaged in this behavior. (Eyal & Kunkel, 2008) Thus, Jane the Virgin is an interesting example of where these effects might not necessarily
hold or might do so in an almost strange way. Even though Jane is pregnant could she still be considered worthy of positive moral judgement because of her ability to preserve her virginity for so long? How would that factor into this? Likewise, could the negative attitudes about premarital intercourse still hold true considering the fact that here no one had premarital intercourse yet still suffered the consequences? It is pretty interesting to think through considering the circumstances that this media portrays.
Despite what we know about virginity scripts and consequences of premarital sex, I am very
curious about other implications of this particular media's message about virginity and sex. Because Jane becomes pregnant even after conserving her virginity for so long, I wonder what this says about the effectiveness of abstinence in the first place? In other words, could it be said that this media frames virginity as obsolete because you can suffer the consequences of losing your virginity even without actually losing it? When watching Jane the Virgin, all I could think about was that if I was in her position, all I would be able to think about would be something like, "Sh*t, what was the point of remaining a virgin if I was going to end up getting knocked up anyway? I might as well have just lost it 2 years ago
to my fiancee. Have I been living a lie? Was keeping my virginity for the 'right reasons' just some bullshit I bought into for NOTHING? I literally got nothing out of it. I'm pissed. This is bullsh*t." Although it is probably too soon to tell what direction this show is taking in terms of overall message content, it would be interesting to keep in mind the ways in which it might render virginity as obsolete. It could be an interesting addition to media that frames pregnancy as accidental or inconvenient, which could open dialogue about things such as contraception, pro-choice vs. pro-life debates, etc. I think overall the show is an important addition to media in that it unpacks the idea of virginity for women. Also, the fact that it is a comedy series is relevant in order to examine the potential effects on how seriously individuals can/will take virginity.
Works Cited
Eyal, K., & Kunkel, D. (2008). The effects of sex in television drama shows on emerging adults' sexual attitudes and moral judgments. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(2), 161‐181.
Kelly, M. (2010). Virginity loss narratives in “teen dramas” television programs. Journal of Sex Research, 47(5), 479-489.
This week, I decided to think through the advice that MTV's Girl Code gives its viewers on navigating recreational sex. The show, which has been airing since 2013 on MTV, delves into issues that young women deal with in their lives such as the biological functions unique to females, social life obstacles, style and more that might interest the "average" girl. Although the show features advice about a variety of different topics, I selected an accessible episode that included a segment of advice specifically for casual sex. This interested me given what we have been talking about in class this past week. Among these recreational sex topics were "one-night stands" and "rebounds." Overall, the show depicted recreational sex as a natural tendency for women and gave certain suggestions for rebound-hunting that fell in line with the research literature on this topic. I would say that the show has a pretty positive portrayal of recreational sex lives of women and contributes to a trend of having women be more open and in control of their sexuality.
The element of casual sex that I looked at was "rebounding" which was a topic in question in episode 21 of season 1. Here, the women and men of the cast all gave their two cents on what it is like running to the arms of someone new after going through a break up. Overall, members of the cast seem to agree that it is a very natural tendency, almost a necessary one. Some even go so far as to advise viewers to immediately go out and find a rebound after leaving their relationship.
The agreement that appears to be reached is that a rebound is not someone who you can actually see yourself in a relationship with but it has to be someone who you feel can fulfill you sexually. According to the show, we learn that "you have to get under somebody to get over somebody" and that the line of reasoning behind getting a rebound is something along the line of "Hey, just got out of a relationship. I'm vulnerable. Do you wanna hit this?" as I quote directly from the cast's words. Thus, I would definitely consider Girl Code's idea of rebounding as recreational sex according to what the cast shares.
However, some of the cast of Girl Code also shares very specific advice on who to target as good rebound material. As we see in the episode, cast members would prescribe a good looking man and one who possesses the opposite qualities that you would want in your ideal man. One cast member suggests that you should genuinely just target someone who you have a crush on or think is very attractive at the bar. Another says that he would want to know about your ex in order to be the ideal rebound. He explains that he would want the ex's great qualities listed so he could proceed to be the complete opposite.
I couldn't help but think a lot about Taylor's Cads and Dads article. This combination of superficial, physical qualities with the opposite character traits of "Mr. Right" leads me to believe that if the ideal candidate for a rebound were presented in the episode, he could potentially be coded as a "Cad" as we discussed in our class discussion this past week. Although this media would not be one where we could code or study cads, dads, or women's preferences in a perfectly replicable way to Taylor's work, it is relatable to the themes that we saw in the article. It can be useful to through what was found in the Cads and Dads article. From what we read, we know that the researchers predicted that recreationally framed media would lead to participants who express a more superficial desire or seek superficial qualities in a candidate for a short-term relationship. Although the hypothesis was only partially supported, they did observe that participants who read recreationally framed articles listed more superficial desired traits for their short-term partners (Taylor, 2008). Considering how Girl Code portrays what women should expect from a relationship with a rebound, it could be the case that certain viewers' perceptions about this specific type of short-term relationship may fall in line with what this study found.
In addition to Taylor's work, Markle's "Can women have sex like a man?" definitely plays into what we see going on in Girl Code. I would argue that by framing rebound sex in a way that almost assumes that this recreational sex will take place and not only encouraging it but even prescribing it after a break up, I would say that this reflects an assumption that women can indeed have sex "like a man." As we see in Markle's work, women in Sex and the City were portrayed to have extensive experience in recreational sex even though it was not representative of
the actual sexual experiences of women in the population. However, according to the article, sex in the context of the show could potentially be seen as a fantasy rather than a reality for women (Markle, 2008). In contrast to this, I would argue that Girl Code is a show that frames women's recreational sex as very real, not a fantasy. The cast gives advice to viewers such as getting over a break up including but not limited to: "crying into some dude's wiener," "taking advantage of him just to have sex with," and "waiting a certain amount of time before getting with your rebound...like 1 to 6 hours." By expressing the need, the immediacy, and the ease of finding and going through with a rebound, it is assumed by all of these people that a woman can do it. According to their line of reasoning, women can have casual, no-strings-attached sex, and should.
Overall, I would say that in this context Girl Code is contributing to the trend of framing women as owners of their sexuality. It portrays women as active agents and encourages them to use that agency to better their emotional and sexual health. It acknowledges that women need sexual fulfillment to and by providing an open space to talk about rebound hunting, it portrays the idea that it is a natural tendency that women can and should embrace.
Works Cited
Markle, G. (2008). “Can women have sex like a man?”: Sexual scripts in "Sex and the City". Sexuality & Culture, 12(1), 45‐57.
Taylor, L. D. (2008). Cads, dads, and magazines: Women’s sexual preferences and articles about sex and relationships. Communication Monographs, 75(3), 270‐289.
Lately, especially with our movie analysis presentations, I noticed we have been touching a lot on the dominant and submissive roles that were mentioned in Holz & Ivory. Suddenly, I began noticing the themes we studied in a lot of relationship dynamics of some of the shows I watch. This week I chose to comment on the Workaholic's episode titled "Friendship Anniversary" because I expected to notice a lot more of how their loving, sometimes homoerotic bromance could be coded into this scheme, especially in an episode I was watching that presented them married to each other. For those who are not familiar with the show, Workaholics is about three best friends who have long since graduated from college but are still working their entry-level telemarketing positions. Although they face the pressure of living through their mid-twenties mediocre life, they have the friendship they share and the weed they smoke to keep them level-headed. In the particular episode that I took interest in, the trio made up of Adam, Blake and Ders, are notified that it is time to renew their lease--marking their seven years of living together. They realize that this means they are now common-law married. As they try to celebrate their "dude marriage" they end up in a three-way lovers' quarrel and instead break up. Of course, by the end of the episode they successfully reconcile but until they do, their relationship is framed in a way that tries to depict their bromance as a legitimate male on male on male bromantic love affair.
Considering the nature of the episode, I expected to see some of the scripts that we have been delving into for homosexual and heterosexual couples. From what we know about Holz & Ivory, for same sex relationships, evidence showed presence of gendered scripts. The mean dominance score for the dominant partner tended to be much higher than his/her counterpart and similar was the finding for the partner with the submissive score (Holz & Ivory, 2009). Although I obviously did not conduct a full length coding strategy, I did expect to see one or two of the characters take on a dominant romantic role while at least one took on the submissive role. However, after watching the episode three times and examining the dynamic that ensued when the characters were in scenes with each other, I could not really find enough legitimate evidence to confidently say that any of the characters displayed outstanding dominant characteristics to where they could be coded as the potential "guy" in the relationship. Instead, I noticed that the three displayed a tendency to be submissive and dominant to an equal degree instead. For example, in the gif above, we can see a part in the episode where they are all aching to let each other know how much they are missing their life partners. However, no one actually goes through with initiating anything (i.e., no one goes through with sending the text). In a similar way, when the fight ensues between the three, they all display equal levels of aggression including throwing food and random objects randomly at each other, giving each other orders, and yelling loudly. However, neither of the three stood out as more dominant than the other two.
Although it could be argued that my interpretation is subjective and that there are indeed traces of evidence that would align one with a more dominant script, overall I think that the important take away is that this type of media representation of bromance is important for the context of representation of men overall in media. The fact that their relationship is shown to be taken to such an extent to where they are even happy to be married to each other (before their fight) says a lot about the potential for men to be in touch with their emotions in a way that may not be consistent with traditional media. Perhaps the fact that the show really frames them as "bros" is one reason why they wouldn't be gendered in a way that is inconsistent with that portrayal (i.e. gendered in a more feminine way). However, it would be interesting to look into bromances and how they are adding to a new context of representation of men in media since this is not the first or only portrayal of bromance. Other examples that come to mind are Mac and Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (who actually also "break up") in one episode. It would be interesting to see what shows and relationship portrayals like these will do for same sex relationship dynamics on and off the screen in the future, whether it be sexual, romantic, or neither.
References
Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12(2), 170-192.
With a heterosexual marriage ceremony being the driving element of the plot, the movie "Bridesmaids" provides a useful example of the ways heterosexual relationships are portrayed in modern media, especially those messages and lessons about monogamy and women's sex lives. In this movie, we see the protagonist, Annie, go through a series of failures including everything from the financial crisis that affects her daily life to her sad, sometimes shameful, romantic life. While all of this is happening, her best friend Lillian becomes engaged and asks Annie to become her maid of honor. Annie accepts but by doing so she inadvertently agrees to the chaotic responsibilities of putting up with the other bridesmaids throughout the pre-nuptial traditions. Although the movie centers on bridesmaid related conflicts, the movie also lets the audience witness the sex lives of a few of the women, which are what really carry messages and lessons about what women and men can expect in their sex lives. While some aspects of the movie reinforce traditional ideas of women as submissive agents in their sexual and romantic lives, other aspects of the movie frame a less traditional role for men, one that displays men as willing and interested in the emotional benefits of a relationship. This analysis is derived from three separate scenes: 1) a scene where the protagonist and her sexual partner discuss the nature and expectations of their relationship 2) a scene where we see two of the bridesmaids reflect on the expectations of their monogamous marriages and lastly 3) a scene where the protagonist's other sexual partner reproaches her about how their relationship ended.
Scene 1: The Fuckbuddy
In this first scene, we find Annie and her sex partner, Ted, in bed together having very fast paced sex upon the request of the male. The scene shifts from this to where we see that Annie has slept over, something they apparently both previously agreed to not do. This sparks a conversation between them about where they are in their relationship and Ted makes it very clear that he is not interested in a relationship with her. To this, Annie responds with the reassurance that this is not what she wants either. Unless, of course, he would ever to suggest changing his mind, in which case she might consider it.
In this scene, we see two instances where this female character is shown to be placed in submissive position. The first was when the sex was fast paced because Ted likes it fast, even after Annie asks to please slow down. The second was the instance where she assures that she is open to Ted setting the pace of the relationship. If he wants a casual relationship, she's down with it. If he would want a more serious relationship, she'd be down with it. Both of these instances, however, work together in the scene to establish the same point about the power relations of the couple and where Annie falls in that power relation. Using Holz and Ivory's framework of research and study, we know that "dominant acts tend to be related to the concept of agency, or the male gender role, whereas submissive acts tend to be related to communion, or the female gender role" (Holz & Ivory, 2009). As we see here, Annie embodies this tendency to submit to the needs and wants of her male counterpart. In the context of Holz & Ivory's research, Ted could be coded as exhibiting more of the dominant traits including gives orders and sexually dominant (tells Annie to go faster during sex), initiates sexual activity (he is the one who calls Annie over for sex), and shows low commitment to relationship (explicitly rejects idea of a relationship with Annie). Meanwhile, I would argue that Annie's actions could be coded as submits to sexual advance (comes over when he calls), exhibits indecisiveness (is flip-floppy about what she wants out of the relationship), follows order (has more fast, aggressive sex upon Ted's request). So, too, does Janna Kim's research play into this scene because from what we know in her work, there tends to be a masculine commitment script where men are shown to avoid commitment and monogamy (Kim, 2007), something that would definitely relate to what we see in Ted's actions.
The portrayal of their relationship in this media sets up the different expectations of women and men. While Annie should expect to wait idly by while Ted decides what the nature of the relationship will be, Ted can expect to keep calling Annie at late hours of the night and know that she will submit to his sexual impulses. Although it could be argued that Annie still would have a sense of agency demonstrated by her decision to go to him and engage sexually with him, it is a casual relationship that she does not seem to control herself. Her decisions in this media are portrayed as being a function of what Ted decides.
Scene 2: Married Sex Sucks
The following scene is similar to the last in that it is a portrayal that places heterosexual women in a submissive role during sex. Here, we see two of the bridesmaids on a plane ride to Las Vegas for the bachelorette party sharing intimate details of their sexual lives. Rita, married mother of three, sets up expectations of married for Becca, a newlywed who has only had one sex partner: her husband. Rita tells her that there is constant sex which she is expected to simply comply with as she lays there and takes it but that there is no romance involved and her life partner. He doesn't even exhibit any real sense of love for her or sign that he genuinely loves her company for something other than sex. To this, Becca responds that she too has sexual frustrations stemming from the fact that her husband has very specific rituals before sex which she has to comply with while none of her needs are ever met.
As previously mentioned, we see in media research and literature that there are instances where women are seen in a submissive position through heterosexual scripts and hegemonic gender roles. Often times their needs come second to their male partner's. This would definitely be seen here as not one but both of the women are compliant with their partner's demands of sex during encounters where neither of the women end up satisfied but partake in anyway. Although this is not a scene where these women are interacting directly with their partners, their anecdotes are telling of what scenes with their husbands could potentially be coded as. Using Holtz & Ivory's coding framework, we would probably see that their actions could reflect such codes as showing high commitment to the relationship, following orders, and submitting to sexual advances, all of which are submissive acts, according to the researchers. Along the same lines, Kim mentions in her own work that there are codes for male commitment which involve men not taking part in relationship maintenance which could definitely seen here as Rita shares that there it is almost all sex but no romance, implying that there is a lack of effort to spark that in the relationship.
Scene 3: Indignant Cop Lover
While the past two scenes exhibit more traditional or stereotypical gender roles for the individuals involved, the following scene challenges conventional notions of what men want out of relationships. Here, instead of a man wanting no-strings-attached sex with Annie, we see a frustrated Officer Rhodes who actually hoped a relationship stemmed from their sexual encounter. The scene begins with Annie having car troubles and Officer Rhodes tending to the matter as is required of his job. However, after the two bicker about the car the true reason for his indignation is revealed--Annie hurt him. Earlier in the movie, Annie "hits it and quits it," if you will, but she explains that this was a defensive act because she did not expect him to actually take her seriously.
Unlike the other men in this movie, Rhodes shows true sadness and frustration over the emotional turmoil that Annie has put him through. With this, we see that he challenges the heterosexual scripts where he would be dominant and avoiding commitment. Instead, we see Rhodes in a vulnerable position where he exclaims to Annie: "You made me feel like you really liked me, which was really unfair!" Instead of acting in line with the masculine commitment script that we see in Kim's findings, he expresses a true interest in commitment by the sadness he shows when Annie rejects him. He saw beyond their casual night of sex and hoped for a deeper connection to stem from it. This would be inconsistent with what both of the Kim and Holtz & Ivory articles hypothesize to be the actions of men. Thus, it shows a representation of an alternative expectation for men in relationships--one that does in fact prioritize a romantic relationship over one that is strictly about sex.
Conclusion
From Ward's literature on media exposure's effects on sexual attitudes, we can extract that women have shown to sometimes align their expectations and desires with what is viewed in media, among many other findings that suggest that women and men accept stereotypical attitudes about their roles with greater exposure to media(Ward, 2003). Sometimes women may actually believe that what they want is what they see on screen, potentially without reflecting on what they want to gain from their sexual experiences. For this reason, seeing that there is an expectation for you, as a woman, to comply with and submit fully into the sexual wishes of men could be problematic for those who view these messages again and again. While there was the example of Officer Rhodes challenging conventional notions of his role as a man in the relationship, overall, the women in the movie remained in their romantic relationships despite their doubts and complaints. Overall, there is an implicit message of conforming to monogamy as is seen with the movie ending in the marriage ceremony (despite the bride's cold feet). Thus, even though there was a slight challenge to the heterosexual scripts we see in media, the overall theme was to settle for what monogamy has in store from you, for better or for worse.
References
Holz, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J.D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication & Society, 12 (2), 170-192.
Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145‐157.
Ward, L.M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23 (3), 347-388
For those who might not be familiar with The Mindy Project, the third season just kicked off this past week with the star of the show venturing into a serious romantic relationship. Those who do know the show, however, will know that Mindy has not always been in this position. On the contrary actually, much of the show is dedicated to narrating the many failed attempts at love for Mindy Lahiri, protagonist of the show. One of these attempts included a casual sexual encounter, A.K.A. the well known “one night stand.” As is seen in the episode “Hooking Up Is Hard” from Season 1 of The Mindy Project, having sex like a man is a lot harder than it seems.
The show in general revolves around the the protagonist of the show, Mindy Lahiri, a successful OB GYN in Manhattan who balances her professional life with her sometimes dysfunctional social and romantic life. At the time of this episode, Mindy is becoming impatient in finding a right guy to date which is particularly inconvenient because of the fact that she really needs to get laid. Thus, she vents about her current romantic turmoil with one of the other partners at her clinic who advises her to settle for a more casual alternative to “seeing people.” Maybe seeking out someone who she is attracted to but does not respect or see a future with would be a better option to satisfy her “needs.” In compliance with this advice, Mindy targets a partner of their rival firm who they all despise to potentially ease her sexual tensions. However, when she actually goes through with the one night stand, her evening is soured after a series of awkward interactions before they are even able to get intimate. That is, if you consider extremely uncomfortable foreplay and even getting walked in on by their coworkers mid-foreplay session some awkward interactions. All in all, her pursuit of casual sex (i.e., “sex like a man”) is shown to be difficult, uncomfortable and ultimately futile in this particular episode.
Based on what we know about depictions of adult women’s sex life, with particular consideration of Gail Markle’s findings in her “Can Women Have Sex Like a Man?” article, what The Mindy Project’s portrayal potentially adds to the conversation is something like, “Sure, women can try to have sex ‘like a man,’ but it’s actually harder than it seems.” As we see in Markle’s work, the findings suggest that the women in Sex and the City partake in mostly recreational sex which, for some, could be synonymous with “sex like a man.” Additionally, they have a lot more sex than what the average woman reports having. With these findings in mind, what Markle suggests is that the women of Sex and the City become a “symbolic representation of ‘female subject positions’ whom viewers can emulate in fantasy” (Markle, 2008). While Sex and the City may provide a symbolic fantasy for female viewers about sexual behavior, I would argue that in this episode, The Mindy Project might exemplify more of a reality check for viewers. Or, if not a reality check, at the very least a less glamorized version of how a one night stand might actually end up looking like.
I would say that this depiction contributes to an overall trend in media where more women are represented in the act of taking control of their sexual lives. Even though Mindy was not able to seal the deal, she definitely took it upon herself to initiate the events that she wanted to partake in. During an elevator ride with her sex-partner to be, Mindy actively analyzes Deslaurier as a potential hook up until she decides that, yes, she lacks enough respect for him and is sufficiently attracted to him to where he would be an ideal option. Once this is done, she openly asks him if he’d be interested in her “coming over” to “hang out,” some code words that Deslaurier is quickly able to decipher. Thus, even though this presents one night stands differently than Sex and the City, it still adds to this professional, educated, empowered woman type who embraces their sexual autonomy. In terms of how this would be coded in Markle’s study, I would say that it may be considered an interrupted encounter, where there is a consent to sex on both ends which under certain circumstances is not able to be carried out.
Moreover, considering the different angle that this depiction takes, the Mindy Project might provide a more realistic portrayal of one night stands (awkwardness and all) which could potentially impact viewers in a neither positive nor negative but just a different way than Sex and the City. Contrary to how Sex and the City depicts the frequency or nature of sexual encounters in a way that is not actually representative of how often women actually have sex, The Mindy Project might present a scenario for viewers to absorb that may say.. “go forth with your bad selves and consider a hook up, but be weary of the dangers.” By giving this event a sense of realism, female viewers could potentially extract the take-away point that women do actually venture on these sexual encounters. Albeit, it could fail and be totally awkward, but women actually go for it and take a shot anyway. In this way, the depiction strays from the concept of recreational sex as a mere fantasy and frames recreational sex as an option that women are more open to taking. For future research, it would be interesting to see if women could potentially be primed with depictions like these to possibly be more open to casual sexual encounters. I wonder if the awkwardness and realism it incorporates would encourage or discourage engaging in the risk of recreational sex “like a man.” In any case, it is interesting to see depictions like The Mindy Project contribute to an overall trend of women taking their sex lives by the horns.
During last week's class conversation we talked a lot about sex (obviously). More specifically BDSM in media and Sam brought up the ways magazines have covered sex and that particular subject which got me thinking a lot about magazines in general. I'm not sure how many of you all grew up reading teen magazines. Maybe it was just a thing at my middle school but they were kind of a huge deal. Not even in a fad type of way, they were just genuinely a part of our (girls) everyday lives--so prevalent that we kind of just took them for granted. Point is, as we have talked more about sex and magazines in this class, I remember that these magazines, especially J-14, served as a kind of handbook for learning about romantic relationships and the beginning stages of a sexual relationship (kissing, making out, etc.). 
