Search results for fat halloween

Click here for a nice gender and race analysis of a range of Halloween costumes for adults and kids by our blogger, Wendy.  We’ve also highlighted two costumes in particular: the Sexy Scholar and Anna-Rexia.  And, of course, just a few days ago, we posted about the Halloween display that includes a lynched Sarah Palin and a screenshot of an Obama mask found by searching for “terrorist costume.”  And don’t miss our jack-o’-lantern tribute to Max Weber.  See also, if you like, my Huffington Post about the race, class, and gender politics of Halloween.

To our newest Halloween material:

Andrea G. scanned in an entire Halloween costume catalog and offers some global observations about the breadth of costumes made available.  You can check out her flickr account here or scroll down for the images and some of Andrea’s commentary.

The Cover and Back:

Boys’ costumes:

Boys’ costumes (continued) and girls’ costumes:

Girls’ costumes (continued):

Women’s costumes:

Plus women’s costumes:

Plus women’s costumes (continued) and adult men’s costumes:

Plus men’s costumes:

First, Andrea notes how gendered the costumes are.  Women overwhelmingly are supposed to look sexy, while men are supposed to look funny or scary.  Note that this doesn’t vary much by age.  The costumes for adults and children are strikingly similar.

Second, Andrea points to how often men’s faces are covered by masks and how infrequently women’s are.  She writes that “5 out of the 198 costumes categorized under “female” or “girls” were masked (2.5%)” and “96 of the 180 costumes categorized under “male” or “boys” were masked  (53.3%).”  Andrea thinks: “I think this touches on the double standard American society holds for females/girls to be attractive and beautiful, while males/boys do not have to cater to this social rule, for the most part.”

Third, Andrea notes that there are costumes designed to make men look fat, but not women.  For example, this “Freshman 15” costume:

Thanks Andrea!

Sociology reveals the invisible in our world. Sociologists explore the parts of our society that remain “in the dark,” and this has a lot in common with the horror genre. Both sociologists and horror fans find value in delving into the qualities and behaviors of people that others would rather not address. Both focus on things we don’t want to confront. More than many other genres, horror films are rife with sociological implications.

We are sociologists who host the Collective Nightmares podcast. Our podcast examines horror films from a sociological perspective. We focus on issues such as the representation of individuals of different genders, sexualities, and racial/ethnic backgrounds as well as the ideological messages of the film narratives.

Horror movies are a great teaching tool for undergraduate classes. For example, two recent films, Summer of ’84 and The First Purge, are a good fit for sociology courses focusing on gender, sexuality, deviance, and social problems. We’ve used discussion of horror films in our classes with great success – and what better time than Halloween to inspire students to think sociologically about horror?!

Summer of ’84 (2018)

Summer of ’84 models itself on popular media of the 1980s in look, tone, and story (The Goonies (1985), Explorers (1985), Stand By Me (1986), etc.). Our lead protagonist, an upper-middle class, white, heterosexual, boy, Davey, played by Graham Verchere, suspects his neighbor of being a serial killer. He convinces his friends to help him spy and investigate. Hijinks and horror ensue.

In our discussion of Summer of ‘84, we examine the representation of young women in adolescent boy-centric summer adventure movies. We also discuss the ubiquity of troublesome, but “oh so palatable” tropes. These include the representation of women, people of color, and political ideology that, when couched in a nostalgic 1980’s setting (which we both grew up smack in the middle of) can feel homey. The cultural climate of our youth seems to have clouded our ability to see the way Summer of ’84 depicted first and foremost women, but also racial inequity and the political climate of the 1980’s.

To address these ideas in your classroom, consider a discussion centered on the following argument, which we make in the podcast: Summer of ‘84 presented women largely as sexual currency for young men’s bonding.

Horror is a genre that relies on stigmatized topics and transgressing boundaries, and it therefore has unique potential to challenge or reinforce common conceptions of normalcy. One of the ways the core group of boys are cast as normal, good, and moral, in contrast to the suspicious neighbor, is via their hegemonic heterosexuality. This is largely done by showing them discussing women as potential sexual trophies, engaging the male gaze toward adult magazines, and taking advantage of Davey’s vantage point to watch his neighbor Nikki, played by Tiera Skovbye, undressing.

Nikki is relegated to the role of  “love interest” as a willing participant in these exchanges. She takes pride in her ability to give the boys status through her flirtations, exalting them as her only true friends. She finds their covert attempts to see her naked as flattering, rather than a stark invasion of privacy. For a deeper discussion, we take this argument a step further and ask ourselves why we, both trained sociologists (one of whom specializes in gender) found the film enjoyable in spite of these deeply problematic behaviors. What does that say about the pervasiveness of these gender ideologies in our society?

The First Purge (2018)

The concept of The Purge (2013) film and now TV series is that once a year in the U.S. for 12 hours, all crime, including murder, is legal. The most recent film in the series, The First Purge, arrived in theaters this summer. In the film, the right-wing New Founding Fathers of America political party conducts an experiment on Staten Island, a borough of primarily poor people of color. This experiment is a trial run of the Purge concept that is rolled out nationally in the other films.

This premise offers director Gerard McMurray an allegory to explore a host of sociological issues relevant to current U.S. society. The film works as a basis for a discussion of class inequality, racial injustices, gendered violence, and social control. In our discussion of the film, we address deviance, racial stereotypes, anomie, solidarity, and the social psychological influences on behavior, especially the internalization of norms.

Though the horror genre is notorious for being particularly white-dominated, The First Purge is directed by a Black man (Gerard McMurray) and the primary stars of the film are people of color (Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade). While critical and thought-provoking in many ways, the film is also disappointing when it comes to portrayals of gender and sexuality. Questions for class discussion could include how social structure influences individual agency within the film’s narrative. How does the film perpetuate and challenge race, gender, and racial stereotypes? What is the role of intersectionality in these stereotypes?

In preparation for Halloween, we will soon have a follow-up post detailing which of our prior podcasts are relevant to different sociology courses. We will also have an example assignment to share that instructors can adapt to their own needs/classes to help you discuss horror films with your students.

Marshall Smith earned his PhD in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011 focusing on gender, sexuality, youth, and media. He currently teaches sociology classes at CU Boulder for the Farrand Residential Academic Program. 

Laura Patterson earned her PhD from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011, focusing on environmental issues and the impacts of HIV/AIDS in rural South Africa.  She’s currently a research consultant with a Colorado-based pregnancy prevention program and other federally-funded evaluation efforts, in addition to teaching at CU Boulder and Adams State University.

Originally posted at Montclair Socioblog.

“Freedom of opinion does not exist in America,” said DeTocqueville 250 years ago. He might have held the same view today.

But how could a society that so values freedom and individualism be so demanding of conformity?  I had blogged about this in 2010 with references to old sitcoms, but for my class this semester I needed something more recent. Besides, Cosby now carries too much other baggage. ABC’s “black-ish”* came to the rescue.

The idea I was offering in class was, first, that our most cherished American values can conflict with one another. For example, our desire for family-like community can clash with our value on independence and freedom. Second, the American solution to this conflict between individual and group is often what Claude Fischer calls “voluntarism.”  We have freedom – you can voluntarily choose which groups to belong to. But once you choose to be a member, you have to conform.  The book I had assigned my class (My Freshman Year by Rebekah Nathan*) uses the phrase “voluntary conformism.”

In a recent episode of “black-ish,” the oldest daughter, Zoey, must choose which college to go to. She has been accepted at NYU, Miami, Vanderbilt, and Southern Cal. She leans heavily towards NYU, but her family, especially her father Dre, want her to stay close to home. The conflict is between Family – family togetherness, community – and Independence. If Zoey goes to NYU, she’ll be off on her own; if she stays in LA, she’ll be just a short drive from her family. New York also suggests values on Achievement, Success, even Risk-taking (“If I can make it there” etc.)

Zoey decides on NYU, and her father immediately tries to undermine that choice, reminding her of how cold and dangerous it will be. It’s typical sitcom-dad buffonery, and his childishness tips us off that this position, imposing his will, is the wrong one. Zoey, acting more mature, simply goes out and buys a bright red winter coat.

The argument for Independence, Individual Choice, and Success is most clearly expressed by Pops (Dre’s father, who lives with them), and it’s the turning point in the show. Dre and his wife are complaining about the kids growing up too fast. Pops says, “Isn’t this what you wanted? Isn’t this why you both worked so hard — movin’ to this White-ass neighborhood, sendin’ her to that White-ass school so she could have all these White-ass opportunities? Let. Her. Go.”

That should be the end of it. The final scene should be the family bidding a tearful goodbye to Zoey at LAX. But a few moments later, we see Zoey talking to her two younger siblings (8-year old twins – Jack and Diane). They remind her of how much family fun they have at holidays. Zoey has to tell them that New York is far, so she won’t be coming back till Christmas – no Thanksgiving, no Halloween.

Jack reminds her about the baby that will arrive soon. “He won’t even know you.”

In the next scene, Zoey walks into her parents room carrying the red winter coat. “I need to return this.”

“Wrong size?” asks her father.

“Wrong state.”

She’s going to stay in LA and go to USC.

Over a half-century ago, David McClelland wrote that a basic but unstated tenet of American culture is: “I want to freely choose to do what others expect me to do.” Zoey has chosen to do what others want her to do – but she has made that individual choice independently. It’s “voluntary conformism,” and it’s the perfect American solution (or at least the perfect American sitcom solution).

* For those totally unfamiliar with the show, the premise is this: Dre Johnson, a Black man who grew up in a working-class Black neighborhood of LA, has become a well-off advertising man, married a doctor (her name is Rainbow, or usually Bow), and moved to a big house in an upscale neighborhood. They have four children, and the wife is pregnant with a fifth.

Jay Livingston is the chair of the Sociology Department at Montclair State University. You can follow him at Montclair SocioBlog or on Twitter.

SocImages News:

I’m so happy to announce a new partnership with Mental Floss! They will be featuring select posts from SocImages and bringing the sociological imagination to an even wider audience! Fabulous! Our first post is here.

Talks!

I’m excited to have been invited to speak about Sociological Images and public sociology in the upcoming months. I’ll be at the University of Nebraska, Omaha on November 13 and Witchita State University on March 4. (And thanks to Marshall University and Shawnee State for having me this month!) If anyone is in Omaha, Witchita, or Syracuse, let’s get in touch! More details here.

You like!  Here are our most appreciated posts this month:

• 114 years young: Lightbulbs before planned obsolescence (1,700+ likes)
• Masculinity, Marines, and My Little Pony (1,100+ likes)
• Aren’t the poor comparatively rich? The fallacy of faulty comparison (800+ likes)
• Fat shaming in real life (650+ likes)
• Understanding mass incarceration (400+ likes)

Thanks everybody!

Editor’s pick:

• Why is it so hard to give Taylor Swift credit for 1989?

Top post on Tumblr this month:

• Millennials are no less racist than Generation X (15,600+ notes)

Social Media ‘n’ Stuff:

Your monthly reminder that SocImages is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+, and Pinterest.  I’m on Facebook and Instagram and most of the team is on Twitter: @lisawade, @gwensharpnv, @familyunequal, and @jaylivingston.

Finally…

Happy Halloween everyone! Here’s some scary characters riding the goblin float in the Krewe of Boo Halloween parade in New Orleans this year. Watch out or your might get some beads!

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.

SocImages news!

Our top post on Tumblr this month, with over 45,000 likes and re-blogs, discusses a brain imaging study that suggests that social justice is linked to logic, not emotion.

We earned some major nerd cred this month when Wil Wheaton tumbled it! Here is the awesome evidence of that fabulous day:

Seriously, folks. My inner 14-year-old girl downright squealed.

You like!  Here are our most appreciated posts this month:

Why do witches ride brooms was the clear winner with 9,300+ likes. And it’ll be obvious why if you click through to find out.

Other winners:

• 57% of languages do not have gendered pronouns (3,100+ likes)
• Muggle Studies and Defense Against the Dark Arts (1,600+ likes)
• School shootings: What’s different about Europe? (1,400+ likes)
• What does organic look like? (900+ likes)
• Our annual “Sexy What!?” post (900+ likes)
• The no. 1 cause of traffic fatalities? It’s not texting, it’s driving (800+ likes)

Thanks everybody!

Editor’s pick:

• How the bird hat craze almost killed the dinosaurs… and inspired the Audubon Society

New Pinterest board!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and its backlash, we put together a Pinterest board featuring the weirdest and most outrageous examples of pinkwashing. And we started it BEFORE the pinkwashed fracking drill bit was announced!

Social Media ‘n’ Stuff:

Finally, this is your monthly reminder that SocImages is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+, and Pinterest.  I’m on Facebook and most of the team is on Twitter: @lisawade, @gwensharpnv, @familyunequal, and @jaylivingston.

Finally…

Sociologist D’Lane Compton hopes you had a happy Halloween! Follow her on Twitter!

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.

According to an article by Megan Garber at The Atlantic, they did it for the drugs.

Starting in the 1300s, Europeans developed a taste for hallucinogenic drugs. Unfortunately, ingesting them often caused nausea and vomiting. Absorbing them through the skin came with fewer side effects and delivering them through the mucous membranes of the female genitals was ideal.

A physician quoted at The Guardian says the claim is medically sound:

Ointment would have been very effective as a delivery method… Mucous membranes are particularly good at transporting drugs – that’s why cocaine is snorted… Vaginal application would be pretty efficient, and the effects of the drugs would be noticeable quite rapidly.

According to legend, then, witches would coat the handle of a broom — a convenient household item — lift their skirts and get high.

The women who trafficked in hallucinogenic substances were often accused of being witches.  Or, conversely, women accused of being witches were also accused of making magic ointments (from the fat of murdered children, no less). And witch experts in the 15th century claimed that they used these ointments not just to get high, but to get high; that is, that they literally flew using ointments.

Hence, witches on brooms.

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.

Course Guide for
SOCIOLOGY OF WORK
(last updated 9/2014)

Developed by Lisa Wade
Occidental College

Disclaimer: I am not a sociologist of work.  If you are, I would love to see someone take a more expert crack at this.  Please feel free to volunteer!

The Social Construction of Work

• Luxury and the consumption of labor
• Why do firefighters take such risky jobs?
• McDonald’s delusional blame-the-victim budget
• Devaluing hospitality workers
• Child labor and the social construction of childhood
• Child labor, 1908-1912
• Women are 49% of the workforce, but we still think work is for men

Work in Popular Culture

• Children’s books and segregation in the workplace
• Alienation and orange juice: The invisibility of labor
• Hurricane Sandy and high fashion: Portraying a class hierarchy
• Whimsical branding obscures Apple’s troubled supply chain
• The “working family” discourse and the invisibility of individuals
• The DJ in American culture: Resonant but misunderstood
• Whiteness and tokenism on the runway
• The solution to patriarchy? Pantene says shine!
• Forbes’ photostock faux paus (what do women workers look like?)

Unemployment, Underemployment, and the “Class War”

• The “Precariat”: The new working class
• When classes collide: Workers and guests at high end hotels
• Who benefits from government programs?
• $22.62/hr: The minimum wage if it had risen like the incomes of the 1%
• Why can’t conservatives see the benefits of affordable child care?
• Food stamps, public policy, and the working poor
• The striking rise in “missing workers”
• Can the minimum wage cover average housing costs?
• Discrimination against the long-term unemployed
• Jon Stewart on class warfare
• Mike Rowe defends blue-collar manual labor

Unions and Unionization

• What have unions ever done for us?
• Footage of strikes and protests
• “Is your washroom breeding Bolsheviks?”
• A way for feminism to overcome its “class problem”
• Target’s anti-union video for new employees
• Unemployment and support for unions
• César Chávez and the fight for farmworkers’ rights
• Hiring non-union workers to staff picket lines
• “A woman’s place is in her union!”

Economic Change, Globalization, and the Great Recession

• U.S jobs are back, but they’re no match for population growth
• The U.S. is replacing good jobs with bad ones
• Whose economic recovery is it?
• Prison labor and taxpayer dollars
• The austerity agenda and public employment
• Comparing black and white job loss in the recession
• The exploitation of worker productivity
• What kinds of jobs are we gaining in the slow recovery?
• Historical look at changes in types of work
• Two American families trapped in a changing economy
• Race and the economic downturn

Gender and Work

• Majority of “stay-at-home dads” aren’t there to care for family
• Most women would rather divorce than be a housewife
• Before the stewardess, the “steward”: When flight attendants were men
• Star Trek is scaring the ladies: Why women don’t major in computer science
• What do little girls really learn from “Career Barbies”?
• “Dude, you need to get into nursing”: How organizations recruit men into nursing
• Stay-at-home mothers on the rise among low-income families
• Gender at The New York Times
• Mother, sex object, worker: The transformation of the female flight attendant
• Female movie stars peak at 34, but men see success till the end (pictured)
• What kind of work does Women’s History month value?
• Men’s and women’s work: It’s the 1950s at Brinks Home Security
• Women’s refusal to be deferent and the words that describe them
• Why “breadwinner moms” don’t portend a coming matriarchy
• Single mother, meet jobless man
• Gender, work, and family time
• First-time mothers and access to paid work leave
• The role of employer selection in gendered job segregation

Work and Racial, Ethnic, and National Identity

• Luxury and the consumption of labor
• Children’s books and segregation in the workplace
• Whiteness and tokenism on the runway
• Whimsical branding obscures Apple’s troubled supply chain
• When classes collide: Workers and guests at high end hotels
• The surprisingly racist reason we don’t tip flight attendants
• Questioning the benefits of “rescue” from prostitution
• Porn producers with a heart of gold?
• Distrust for Black entrepreneurs
• Race in the NFL draft
• Are Mexicans the most successful immigrant group?
• Race, criminal background, and employment
• The curious evolution of the sign spinnner
• Linguistic occupational segregation
• Anti-Muslim bias on the French job market
• Race/ethnicity and the pay gap
• Race, ethnicity, and McDonald’s marketing strategy

The U.S. in International Perspective

• The U.S. is las in paid vacation and holidays
• International comparison of workplace leave policies
• Vacation in international perspective

Specific Occupations

Flight Attendants

• The surprisingly racist reason we don’t tip flight attendants
• The unsung heroes of the crash landing in San Francisco
• Before the stewardess, the “steward”: When flight attendants were men
• Surprise! Your flight attendants are all strangers
• International politics and the first African American flight attendants
• Are flights full? Airline advertising vs. real life
• Domestic behavior as both gendered and raced: Who does what for airlines?
• Mother, sex object, worker: The transformation of the female flight attendant
• Hanging onto the stewardess at Delta Airlines
• Fly the unfriendly skies: Sexism and homophobia among pilots
• Sexism in aviation: Then and now

Sex Workers

• Female sex tourists in the Caribbean
• Humanizing sex workers
• Sex work in Las Vegas
• Phone sex: Real and imaginary
• What does the sex industry look like?
• “Work,” “sex work,” and everything in between
• Halloween hall of shame: Fat lap dancer costume
• Development initiatives and the invisibility of power
• Opposing the criminalization of prostitution
• The virgin/whore binary in World War II propoganda
• Personifying danger: Women as vectors of STIs

Academia

• What do professors do all day?
• Gender and the dual career academic couple
• How many PhDs are professors?
• Professors join the “precariat”
• How professors spend their time
• Precious academic moments

Just for Fun

• Who is the highest paid employee of your state?
• Secrets of the Internet Adult Film Database
• Two-thirds of college students think they’re going to change the world

Course Guide for
SEXUALITY AND SOCIETY
(last updated 01/2012)

Developed by Amanda M. Jungels
Georgia State University

Integrating/Interrogating Biological and Social Views of Sexuality

Challenging Evolutionary Perspectives on Sex/Sexuality

• Challenging Evolutionary-Biology Perspectives on Mating Strategies

Social Construction of (Biological) Sex

• The Question of Caster Semenya’s Sex
• “Creating” Normative Genitals
• Conflating Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation

Social Construction: Changing Views on Sexuality

• Buy Virginity for Just $14.99
• Marketing the Tampon: “Will I Still Be A Virgin?”
• Changing Biology: Age at First Menstruation
• Masturbation and “Social Hygiene” in 1922

Sexuality and Social Categories

Social Construction of Gender

• Teens and Transgendered Women: Threats to Society
• On the J. Crew Pink Toenails “Controversy”
• Semenya’s Makeover: Gender as Performance
• “Some Men Just Need to Be Slapped”: Policing Masculinity
• A Beauty Regime for the “New Man”
• Karate Studio Ad: Gender Policing and Unofficial Marketing Materials
• One Family’s Experience with “Curing” Gender Non-Conformity

Transgender/Third Gender/Gender Queer

• On Being Gender Queer
• A Third Gender in Oaxaca, Mexico
• Argentinian Bank Depicts Transgendered Positively

Social Construction of Sexual Orientation

• How Useful is the Concept of Sexual Orientation?
• Are We Born Gay? And If We Were, How Would We Know?
• What Seems “Gay”?
• Was Franklin D. Roosevelt Gay?
• What Does a “Prehomosexual” Look Like?
• Homosexuality and Our Collective Consciousness
• Destabilizing Heteronormativity
• Normalizing Lesbian Couples
• Gay Couple in Budweiser’s “Coming Home” Ad?
• Survey Finds Different Levels of Acceptance for “Gays” Versus “Homosexuals”
• “Homosexual” vs. “Gay”: Discourse in the Culture Wars
• Public Opinion on the Cause of Homosexuality

Learning about Sex/Sex Education           

Sex Education

• How Government Policies Impact Sex Education and Reproduction
• Sources of Sex Education Information for Teens
• Teens as Objects of Control
• British TV Commercial Promotes Abortion Services
• Anti-Teen Pregnancy PSA
• Teen Motherhood Sucks…Unless You’re Bristol Palin

Abstinence vs. Comprehensive Sex Ed

• Boys Receive Less Sexuality Education Than Girls
• Explaining Variation in Teen Pregnancy Rates by State: Race and Sex Education
• Consequences of U.S. and Dutch Approaches to Teen Sex
• Sexing Up Abstinence
• Abstinence Billboards

Sexual Practices

• Sexual Orientation and Sexual Behavior: OkCupid Data
• Bisexuality and Dating on OkCupid
• Promise and Perils of Hook-Up “Culture”
• MTV on Hook-Up Culture

The Sexual Body

The Female Body

• Orgasmic Birth and the Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm
• How Vulvas Vary
• Gender Differences in Body Regimens

Menstruation

• Weird Tampon Ad from Australia
• Kotex Sells Tampons by Making Fun of Selling Tampons
• Re-Framing Menstruation
• Race, Gender and Aggression in Ads for Menstrual Pains Meds

Presenting the Female Body as Unclean: Removing Body Hair

• Summer’s Eve’s “Hail to the V” Campaign
• Shave or Men Will Never Find It                            
• Mow the Lawn
• Civilize Your Bush
• Encouraging Hair Removal for Children?
• The Miss of Sisyphus
• PETA Attacks Pubic Hair
• Advertising Against Bush
• Anxiety about “Objectionable Hair” = Money in Someone’s Pocket
• Nair Hair Removal Products for Teens

Presenting the Female Body as Unclean: Douching

• Douching Your Way to the Top
• Vintage Zonite Douche Ads

Bodily Modification and Female Genital Cutting

• Spanish Ads Compare Women with Genital Cutting to Fuck Toys
• Female Circumcision Endorsed in a Vintage Playgirl
• When Vaginoplasty Meets Contemporary Television
• Pelvic Fitness Spa: More Things for Women to Worry About (NSFW)
• Vajazzling Revealed

Social Construction of the Male Body/Male Sexuality

• Social Construction of Sperm
• Medicalization of Impotence
• Conflating College Achievement with Sexual Prowess
• A Historical Look at the Popularity of Male Circumcision
• Fetishizing Black Men

Presenting the Penis as a Dangerous Weapon

• Safer Sex PSAs Conflate the Penis with a Firearm (NSFW)
• Safer Sex PSAs
• Presenting the Penis as a Dangerous Weapon (NSFW)

Representing Sex

Sexualization of Children’s Products

• Sexualized vs. Sexual: The Case of Thylane Blondeau
• Dora the Explorer’s Makeover
• Strawberry Shortcake: Extreme Makeover Edition
• Sexy Toy Makeovers: Lisa Frank, Trollz and Cabbage Patch Kids
• More Sexy Toy Makeovers: My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite and Candy Land

Sex in the Media

• Onslaught: Dove vs. Axe
• Non-Subtle Sex in Advertising
• “Subliminal” Sex in the Media

Ejaculation and Phallic Imagery

• Ejaculation Imagery
• Sexual Overtones in Cologne Ad
• Ejaculation Imagery in a Dutch Creamer Ad
• Phallic Imagery in a Skyy Vodka Ad
• Pornification of Advertising

Sex and Violence

• Violence Against Women on Prime-Time Up Since 2004
• Re-thinking the Famous Dolce and Gabbana Gang Rape Ad
• More Sexualized Violence in Fashion (NSFW)
• Calvin Klein Ad Implies Sexual Violence
• Even More Violence in Fashion Images

Objectification

• Objectification of Women: Everybody Wins!
• Gender, Sexualization and Rolling Stone
• Sexualized Images of Female Dominance

Infantilization of Women

• Vintage Infantilization

Forced/Coerced Sex

Sexual Script

• Sex and Dating as a Hunt
• Women are Wild Animals; Men are Hunters
• Men are Animals

Rape Culture

• Making Light of Rape in the Purdue University Newspaper
• Yale Frat Pledges Chant “No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal”
• Do Full-Body Scans or Pat Downs = Sexual Groping?
• Ad Aimed at Discouraging Teen Drinking Threatens Prison Rape, Homosexuality

Use of Alcohol as a Tool for Coercive Sex

• Alcohol as a Tool in the Dating Game
• Booze=Sex
• Beer, Sex, and “The Hunt”
• Drunk Women are Easy Targets

Sexual Assault Prevention Campaigns

• Framing Recovery from Child Sexual Abuse (Trigger Warning)
• Resistance, Language and the Toronto Slutwalk

Commercial Sex

Pornography

• Online Porn Subscription in Liberal vs. Conservative States
• Finally an Ad that Acknowledges What High-Speed Internet is For
• Are Kids Watching Internet Porn?
• Mainstreaming of Pornography
• Gail Dines on Pornography
• Cindy Gallop on How Porn is Shaping Our Sex Lives

Contemporary Views on Prostitution

• Sex Work in Las Vegas
• Humanizing Sex Workers?
• Facebook, Technology and Prostitution
• Disparate Trends in Permissiveness: Homosexuality and Prostitution
• What Does the Sex Industry Look Like?
• Disparate Trends in Permissiveness: Homosexuality and Prostitution

Historical Perspectives on Prostitution

• 1890s Guide to New York City Brothels
• Personifying Danger: Women as Vectors of STIs
• The Virgin-Whore Binary in WWII VD Propaganda
• STI Transmission: Wives, Whores and the Invisible Man
• Loose Women and the War Effort

Sex Trafficking

• Misleading Measurement of Anti-Trafficking Enforcement
• Thinking Critically about Sex Trafficking
• Disney Still Makes Light of Sex Slavery

Other Forms of Sex Work

• Phone Sex: Real and Imaginary (NSFW)
• “Work,” “Sex Work,” and Everything in Between

Social Control of Sex Work

• Halloween Hall of Shame: Fat Lap Dancer Costume
• Sex Work, Disrespect and Women’s Empowerment
• How Can You Tell If You’re a Prostitute?
• Questioning the Benefits of “Rescue” from Prostitution
• Posters Opposed to the Criminalization of Prostitution

Reproduction/Abortion

Reproduction

• To Whom Do Children “Just Happen”?
• Protecting Boys with Condoms for Kids
• Pre-Conception Care: Good for Babies, Bad for Women?
• The Pill and the Invention of the Monthly Cycle
• Visualizing the Fetus
• Thomas Beatie, the Pregnant Man, in the Public Sphere
• Threat of (Brown) Women’s Fertility

Abortion

• Why are Insured Women Paying for Abortions?
• Mis-Illustrating Abortion
• Framing the Abortion Debate
• Racializing the Abortion Debate
• Racialized Abortion Campaigns and Rethinking Choice
• More on the Racialization of the Abortion Debate
• Trends in the Rate of Abortion: New Data Shows a Plateau
• Measuring Abortion Beliefs
• Public Opinion on Abortions in Select Countries
• Public Opinion on Abortion by Party and Gender
• Abortion Laws Around the World
• Reproductive Politics, Race and Obama

Sterilization

• No Family for You: Examples of State Disruption
• Coercive Sterilization? Think of the Children!
• Breaking Down the Force/Choice Binary in the Sterilization of Women of Color

Contemporary GLBT Issues

Gay Rights Movement

• Images from the Early Gay Rights Movement
• Historic Photos of the Stonewall Riot and Its Aftermath
• Police Raids and the Stonewall Riots
• Increasing Cultural Acceptance of Gay and Lesbian Rights
• Should We Vote on People’s Rights?
• Opinions of Gay Rights Issues by State
• Attitudes Toward Gays and Lesbians

GLBT Parenting

• Portraying Lesbian Parents

Same-Sex Marriage

• Anti-Gay Marriage Ads
• Global Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages
• The Tipping Point for Support of Same Sex Marriage?
• Acceleration for Support of Same-Sex Marriage
• Who is Driving Increasing Acceptance of Gays and Lesbians?
• Turbo Tax Wants to Know if You are Gay Married
• Support for Same-Sex Marriage by Age and State
• On Gay Marriage and the Contact Hypothesis
• Gay Marriage and the Social Construction of Social “Problems”
• Views about Same Sex Marriage by Generation
• Rhetorical Strategy in the Gay Marriage Debate

GLBT-Related Legislation

• Southern Poverty Law Center Map of Hate Groups
• Sodomy Laws
• Increasing U.S. Public Support for Gays in the Military
• Educating Soldiers about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
• “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is Done