Just try to imagine this advice aimed at a woman:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGmX6m78zDM[/youtube] How I dream for the day that I, as a woman, get permission to buy a bigger shirt and forget about it.
gender: masculinity
Today Gwen and I went to the by now well-known Bodies exhibit that displays preserved human cadavers, purportedly so we can learn more about the human body (and give up smoking).
As we went in we joked about how there probably wouldn’t be any female bodies until the part on reproduction. We were royally pissed off to discover that we were right. This is a great illustration of the way in which men are neutral and women deviants from the standard (that is, men are people and women are women). The first 8 or so bodies were all male and all in action doing masculine things.
The first female body we encountered (there were only two out of more than a dozen) stood immediately outside the fetal development hall and alongside the dissections of the genitals and reproductive organs.* Not only was this the first female, she was arranged not in action, but in a pose for the male gaze. She was standing with her hands on her hips, with her breasts and hips thrust forward, and on her tip toes as if she were wearing high heels. We couldn’t find any pictures of her on the web (and we weren’t allowed to take any), but we did find an image of a female cadaver from another exhibit. She was both pregnant (fulfilling her biological destiny) and positioned like a pin up (fulfilling her role as sexual object for men). So, in addition to marginalizing the female body, they gendered both male and female bodies. Male bodies are on the move, but female bodies are good for only two things: babies and sexual provocation.
The last body (male) had a sign over it that said “Your Body” because, of course, the male body is just the neutral human body that represents us all.
* As we entered the fetal development hall there was a sign that warned people that they should take a second and think about whether they wanted to see the fetuses, while assuring us that all of them died of natural causes (that is, not abortion). I think it’s bizarre that we’re supposed to find these fetal bodies disturbing, but not the bodies of people who lived lives and loved others and were loved and all that good stuff. There is something weird about the priorities here, as if the fetuses were somehow more human than the adults. Also, while we were looking at the deformed fetuses, a woman standing next to us said that all teenagers should have to see the deformed fetuses because “that’s what gonna happen” if they start having sex.
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.
These photos are from a February 7th New York Times story in the Style section (p. E1 and E6) about changes in what male fashion models look like. This first picture shows some male models from the 1990s.
These three photos show the new ideal: very thin, lanky, and pasty.
From an article in the UK TimesOnline via an article on a bed for little girls called “Lolita.”
Yes, all these t-shirts come in children’s and baby sizes…
aa bb sent us two more images of t-shirts on sale at Target that get at the idea of little girls as spoiled future divas.
“Born to be spoiled.”
“Someday I’ll demand a pony.”
NEW! Natalie K. sent in some more examples of kids’ t-shirts with sexual messages, these from the clothing company Cotton on Kids (she believes it’s an Australian company).
(Found at the Herald Sun.)
(From news.com.au)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9KLOYWlarE[/youtube]
Pink camo + Dora the Explorer = cutesy toughness for little girls.
Pink camo + vinyl pants = sexy.
Special edition Hard Rock Barbie with pink camo punk-ish outfit and guitar. This could also be used as an example of the commodification of countercultures.
This print, on a girls’ outfit, is called “butterfly camo.” Note the spots are butterfly-shaped.
Did you know there’s a website with tons of pink camo clothing?
This is a nice compliment to our post of the t-shirt with pictures of safety pins on it (an example of the co-optation of punk culture):
When you’re so tough that you are compelled to hang a razor blade around your neck, but not so tough that you want an ouchie.
This one is a nice example, also, of the way in which we “play” with gender by collapsing traditionally distinct ideas (masculine toughness symbolized by the razor blade and sweet femininity symbolized by the heart) (see also sparkly camouflage, trucker hats with the word “princess” written across them, and pink sports jerseys).
Buy the fake razor blade jewelry here (or don’t).
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.
Today Gwen and I went to the by now well-known Bodies exhibit that displays preserved human cadavers, purportedly so we can learn more about the human body (and give up smoking).
As we went in we joked about how there probably wouldn’t be any female bodies until the part on reproduction. We were royally pissed off to discover that we were right. This is a great illustration of the way in which men are neutral and women deviants from the standard (that is, men are people and women are women). The first 8 or so bodies were all male and all in action doing masculine things.
The first female body we encountered (there were only two out of more than a dozen) stood immediately outside the fetal development hall and alongside the dissections of the genitals and reproductive organs.* Not only was this the first female, she was arranged not in action, but in a pose for the male gaze. She was standing with her hands on her hips, with her breasts and hips thrust forward, and on her tip toes as if she were wearing high heels. We couldn’t find any pictures of her on the web (and we weren’t allowed to take any), but we did find an image of a female cadaver from another exhibit. She was both pregnant (fulfilling her biological destiny) and positioned like a pin up (fulfilling her role as sexual object for men). So, in addition to marginalizing the female body, they gendered both male and female bodies. Male bodies are on the move, but female bodies are good for only two things: babies and sexual provocation.
The last body (male) had a sign over it that said “Your Body” because, of course, the male body is just the neutral human body that represents us all.
* As we entered the fetal development hall there was a sign that warned people that they should take a second and think about whether they wanted to see the fetuses, while assuring us that all of them died of natural causes (that is, not abortion). I think it’s bizarre that we’re supposed to find these fetal bodies disturbing, but not the bodies of people who lived lives and loved others and were loved and all that good stuff. There is something weird about the priorities here, as if the fetuses were somehow more human than the adults. Also, while we were looking at the deformed fetuses, a woman standing next to us said that all teenagers should have to see the deformed fetuses because “that’s what gonna happen” if they start having sex.
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.
These photos are from a February 7th New York Times story in the Style section (p. E1 and E6) about changes in what male fashion models look like. This first picture shows some male models from the 1990s.
These three photos show the new ideal: very thin, lanky, and pasty.
From an article in the UK TimesOnline via an article on a bed for little girls called “Lolita.”
Yes, all these t-shirts come in children’s and baby sizes…
aa bb sent us two more images of t-shirts on sale at Target that get at the idea of little girls as spoiled future divas.
“Born to be spoiled.”
“Someday I’ll demand a pony.”
NEW! Natalie K. sent in some more examples of kids’ t-shirts with sexual messages, these from the clothing company Cotton on Kids (she believes it’s an Australian company).
(Found at the Herald Sun.)
(From news.com.au)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9KLOYWlarE[/youtube]
Pink camo + Dora the Explorer = cutesy toughness for little girls.
Pink camo + vinyl pants = sexy.
Special edition Hard Rock Barbie with pink camo punk-ish outfit and guitar. This could also be used as an example of the commodification of countercultures.
This print, on a girls’ outfit, is called “butterfly camo.” Note the spots are butterfly-shaped.
Did you know there’s a website with tons of pink camo clothing?
This is a nice compliment to our post of the t-shirt with pictures of safety pins on it (an example of the co-optation of punk culture):
When you’re so tough that you are compelled to hang a razor blade around your neck, but not so tough that you want an ouchie.
This one is a nice example, also, of the way in which we “play” with gender by collapsing traditionally distinct ideas (masculine toughness symbolized by the razor blade and sweet femininity symbolized by the heart) (see also sparkly camouflage, trucker hats with the word “princess” written across them, and pink sports jerseys).
Buy the fake razor blade jewelry here (or don’t).
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.