Wanna get clear on the relationship between sex, gender identity, sexual and romantic orientation, sexual behavior, and gender role? Watch this video by the Vlog Brothers, sent in by Jeffrey B.:
UPDATE: Comments closed.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.I’ve posted more than once, and gleefully, about the weird American habit we have of associating dogs with men and cats with women.
Well, Adrienne H. sent in a particularly humorous example: an advertising image from Pajamagram, featuring “hoodie-footies” for the entire family. They are color-coded — pink for girls, blue for boys — all the way down to the dog and cat.
So, there you have it; I’m not crazy after all.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.About a gazillion twitterers and three readers — Andi, Ria, and Jenna B. — have asked us to comment on the new Honda Fit She’s begin marketed in Japan. It’s a car. For ladies. It’s pink. It reduces wrinkles. The apostrophe in the logo is a little heart. Etc.
My only response to this is: “how very la femme!” Dodge La Femme that is.
The Dodge La Femme was sold for two years in the U.S. — 1955 and 1956 — and could be considered a fore mother to the She’s. We originally posted about it in 2007.
Here is some of the advertising:
Pictures of a restored La Femme from a fan website show that the car was indeed two-tone pink, with pink rosebud patterned upholstery, and a matching umbrella, raincoat, a compact, and coin purse.
One of the reasons that the La Femme didn’t sell was because women were, frankly, offended. Gender politics are different today, and they’re certainly different in Japan than they are in the U.S., so it’ll be fascinating to see how the She’s is received.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Fish farming, the raising of fish in captivity, is often seen as a more sustainable way to feed the increasingly global hunger for seafood. At least, the story goes, it doesn’t contribute to the over-fishing of our oceans.
Right?
The answer turns out to be: not necessarily. Carnivorous species of farmed fish still need to be fed, so there is an entire secondary industry: fishing for fish food. Just about anything that can be caught will do; the mix of sea animals is simply ground up and made into pellets. So, the fisherman typically catch absolutely everything that they can, sterilizing a small piece of the ocean. They don’t distinguish between large and small fish (the large they can sell as human food, the small they sell as fish food) or adults and juveniles. By taking the larger fish, they’re taking out populations before they have a chance to reproduce. You can see how this is a system with a devastating expiration date.
This 9-minute clip from Grinding Nemo covers the environmental impact of this practice, as well as the inhumane working conditions of some of the men hired to work in this industry:
Via Sociology in Focus.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS!
ALL OUR COVERAGE OF THE 2012 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
History:
Culture and Psychology:
Religion:
Media:
Money:
Race:
Class:
Sexual Orientation:
Gender:
After the Election:
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.Over at his blog, Made in America, Claude Fischer discusses data showing that the percentage of (White) Americans who say that they will vote for a qualified Black president has been rising since the 1950s. Today it sits at about 96%.
Fischer rightly observes that it’s difficult to know exactly what to make of this information. The trend likely reflects a combination of a real decrease in prejudice and a rising appreciation for the fact that it’s unpopular to admit that you wouldn’t vote for a Black person, even on a survey.
Still, assuming for the moment that it represents real attitudinal change, Fischer asks, is “the glass 96 percent full or is it 4 percent empty?” Given our two-party partisan political system, elections are frequently decided by margins this narrow. Obama won with just 53% of the popular vote in 2008. Political scientists estimate that there was a 5 point racial penalty (that is, if he had been White, he would likely have won 58% of the vote).
Tomorrow is election day and it’s difficult to know if race will play more or less of a role than it did in the last election. On the one hand, most people who were worried that Obama would be a racially radical President now know that he is not (some people will never be convinced) and others may have become more used to seeing an African American face in the White House. On the other hand, racial progress usually incites a backlash. That face in such a venerated position of power may have aggravated people who are now actively racist instead of complacently so.
Finally, as Fischer observes, we have absolutely no data on the penalty Romney will pay for being Mormon.
Happy election day eve, America. May we all end tomorrow with a strong beverage of consolation or celebration.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.Nate Silver, the statistics guru behind FiveThirtyEight, is predicting that the gender gap in tomorrow’s election will be “near historic highs.” According to Silver’s averaging of recent poll data, Obama has a 9-point lead among women, Romney has the same size lead among men.
Women haven’t always leaned Democratic. The trend started in the 1990s, as data at Mother Jones reveals:
Single women are especially likely to vote Democratic. Seventy percent voted for Obama in 2008:
A concern for reproductive rights, especially in light of recent Republican comments, are likely a big driver of women’s retreat from the political right. Their concerns very well may swing the election. In a poll of swing states, Gallup found that abortion topped the list of concerns for women; it didn’t make men’s top five:
It will be interesting to see how long the Republicans will hold onto positions unfriendly to women’s reproductive options.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.A BBC poll of almost 22,000 people in 21 countries found that, on average, they preferred Obama to Romney more than five to one. Only one country, Pakistan, would elect Romney.
Results ranked by support for Obama:
Results ranked by support for Romney:
What does it mean that this is such a close race here?
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.