Blog #2

Blog #2: Gender in Specific Contexts

Sarah Cohn

Prompt 1 – Identify a cultural artifact that shows gender representations in one of the following contexts: Sports/Fitness, Music Videos, Television Shows, or Movies. Describe your cultural artifact. Post an image, or provide a link to the cultural artifact. If you choose a television show, you may not be able to link to the show itself, in which case you should post an image from the show. Why did you choose this particular example?   (5 points)

The cultural artifact that I chose that shows gender representations is the music video for "Just a Girl" by the 90's Ska/Pop band, No Doubt. The music video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHzOOQfhPFg. I chose this specific music video because the song itself is a feminist anthem with lead singer Gwen Stefani singing about the frustration that revolves around being treated differently for your gender. The music video also shows this through a depiction of both a male and female restroom. The male bathroom is beyond disgusting while the female one is very fancy with nice decor and female maids. Stefani, the lead singer, is showed very annoyed that she has to be in this restroom by herself and expected to be pristine and put on makeup while her male band gets to be grungy and no one tells them not to. This shows the disparity in which we treat the genders and how our society expects women to focus less on school, music, and their careers, and focus more on their appearance, while men can be crazy, gross, and grungy and no one tells them not to. 

Prompt 2 – Analyze.  Consider the cultural diamond as a starting point to begin your analysis. Then, review and incorporate the 5 key questions in the MediaLitKit to analyze your cultural artifact. 

The creator of this music video in terms of the cultural diamond, is Gwen Stefani and her band, No Doubt. Stefani created this song due to frustration with living in a world in which even as an adult, she was being treated differently for being a female by her family and by people within the music industry. As a result, "Just a Girl" was created and it's subsequent music video became the cultural artifact in which it exists in the social world of the music industry as a statement against inequality. The music video's audience would be mostly for females but also anybody who is/was frustrated with the growing disparity between genders. 

In terms of the MediaLitKit, the idea of authorship, or who created this message is shown in this music video at the very beginning where Stefani is surrounded by men in a car traveling to the next performance venue. This video portrays the idea that it is men who subconsciously promote the differences between sexes just by their inaction towards the fight for equality. Stefani's noticeable annoyance also shows the fact that while the men might not be aware of the issue, it is obvious to her because she's the one suffering. While these specific men probably did not start inequality against women, ultimately, choices by others resulted in this becoming a normal part of our society. In terms of format, the music video uses specific visual choices, like the differences in the male and female bathrooms, to attract the viewers attention. The male restroom is all grey, covered in graffiti and trash while the female restroom is colorful and features furniture and a decor that screams prestige. The music video also uses Stefani's reaction to the events that are playing out to help us as the audience understand her annoyance and feel sympathy for her. In terms of audience, not everyone might understand the message that this video is trying to produce. As a female, I too find it annoying to be treated differently simply based on my gender but if a male was watching this video, they might not feel the same way. They might interpret it as females always get special treatment which can be seen with Stefani getting the nice bathroom while the men get the trashy one. Especially in this sense, men might not understand their bias that is imposed on them by society and that they might not even realize when their female counterparts are being treated differently. In terms of content, the idea that is being sold to us is that women have it very tough because we often have different and more expectations placed on us when in comparison to males. One perspective that is left out of this music video is that of someone who is gender non-conforming or transgender and because they are not represented, we don't know how the gender disparity in this nation might affect them. Lastly, in terms of purpose, this message is being sent to help women air their frustration about being discriminated against because of their gender. Stefani is trying to convince others who have felt this dissatisfaction to speak out so that this issue no longer exists within our society. Stefani believed that this would not only help women feel empowered on an individual level, but also make a greater social change that would impact the public.