In this 6 1/2 minute video, CGP Gray explains how the mathematics of a one person/one vote system inevitably leads to a two-party system that pleases almost no one.
Also from CGP Gray:
I have just what you were wishing for: an overview of the electoral college. Yooooor welcome.
Also from CGP Gray:
At the Washington Post, John Cohen and Rosalind Helderman report:
The 2012 election is shaping up to be more polarized along racial lines than any presidential contest since 1988, with President Obama experiencing a steep drop
in support among white voters from four years ago.
They compare data from a recent poll with exit interviews from 2004 and 2008. The results show that, while Obama is overwhelmingly the favorite among non-whites, he trails him among whites by 23 percentage points.
Cohen and Helderman say that Obama has lost support among whites even just recently. Meanwhile, a whopping 91% of Romney supporters are believed to be white. We are, truly, a deeply divided nation.
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.
Amie G. sent along a five minute documentary in which a series of artists and entrepreneurs talk about why the Day of the Dead has become so popular in parts of the United States.
While they don’t discuss issues of cultural appropriation (like at Halloween), they have some interesting things to say about why it is so appealing to a broad audience. A professor of Art History, Ray Hernández Durán, for example, traces it to the growing Latino demographic, the way media has changed, and a history of the U.S. being open to cultural influence.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
SocImages News:
It’s been a busy month at SocImages!
Gwen’s photographs of a small town in her native Oklahoma were featured in a Business Insider photo-essay about the economic aftermath of an oil boom. It’s pretty great!
Some of our Halloween archives informed a Huffington Post Parents slideshow about the changing nature of costumes: “from silly to sexy.” They quote me using the word “extremification,” so that was fun. And I was pleased to be a part of a piece on race and Halloween costumes at USA Today.
We put together a Halloween-themed Pinterest page, so you can peruse our entire collection of images and click through to our posts if you like. Browser beware!
Finally, I was part of a CNN radio story about the pressure young people are under to make themselves desirable college applicants: The Teenage Pressure Cooker (listen).
And I did a segment for the Los Angeles NBC affiliate about sexy Halloween costumes. I don’t say much of note, but I did manage to say that Halloween was a “gender display ritual,” even for kids and that it a lot in common with a high school prom. I also do an awkward stride through the Occidental College library. Ah, local news. :)
Upcoming Lectures and Appearances:
I have three talks scheduled for Spring so far. If you’re in Boston or Akron, I’d love to schedule a meet up!
Social Media ‘n’ Stuff:
Finally, this is your monthly reminder that SocImages is on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest. We’re inching up towards 20,000 followers on Facebook, so that’s pretty exciting!
I’m on Facebook too, and most of the team is on Twitter: @lisadwade, @gwensharpnv, @familyunequal, @carolineheldman, @jaylivingston, and @wendyphd.
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 few years back I posted an photograph of two costumes side-by-side: labeled “Beer Man” and “Beer Girl.” I wrote that the practice of using “man” alongside “girl” “reinforces a gender hierarchy by mapping it onto age.” We see this outside of a Halloween context too, like in this vintage ad for pens.
Sara P. found another example, this time from iparty. The flyer puts a girl and a boy side-by-side in police officer costumes. The boy’s is labeled “policeman” and the girl’s is labeled “police girl.”
This phenomenon is an example of just how mundane and ubiquitous gender messages can be.
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.It’s officially a tradition. Here is our annual post featuring sexy costumes that we think are just… bizarre. When sexy “overtakes all reason,” you can sexualize just about anything.
Sexy snowy owl:
Sexy gnome:
Sexy macaw:
Sexy tootsie roll:
Sexy skunk:
Sexy Ernie(submitted by Chrissy Y.):
Sexy hamburger:
Sexy Chinese take-out:
Costumes from Party City, Halloween Express, and Yandy.
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.
Enjoy our collection of Halloween posts from years past or visit our Pinterest page with all of our Halloween-related imagery:
Just For Fun
Halloween and Politics
Race and Ethnicity
Gender
The intersection of Race, Class, and Gender
And, for no conceivable reason…
