Gender and Society Iesa Community College

Goals of This Assignment:

1. Formulate and articulate your understanding of a particular issue - DEFINE

2. Critically assess the research that has previously been done on this topic - RESEARCH

3. Consider methods you might use to study this subject -- SURVEYS, INTERVIEWS, CONTENT ANALYSIS

4. Clearly state your hypothesis (what you expect to find)

5. Conduct your own elementary research project -See #3 above

6. Compare your results with the research you have read

7. Analyze your findings

8. Work with your group to find an informative way to PRESENT your conclusions to the class - 30 minute Maximum

1. learning to "Do Gender"

• Walk through toy stores or toy departments and look at how toys are marketed for boys and girls.

• Use print ads for children's toys and clothing to show how gender stereotyping is reinforced.

• Tape some TV sitcoms and illustrate what messages are communicated about appropriate behavior for females and males.

• Interview parents to see how they view "playing" with learning to be a boy or girl. What toys, TV programs, books do they encourage or restrict for their children? What are their reasons?

2. Health, Fitness, and Beauty

• Look at how beauty standards are communicated in America. Choose print or TV ads and do an in-depth study. Are there different standards for different racial and ethnic groups? Look at how advertising is targeted to different groups in select magazines and TV programs. Other possible questions: What are the standards for men? How do men feel about the pressures on them to conform to a physical ideal? How have beauty standards changed over time?

• Interview young women as to their beauty rituals. Why do they start them, when? How much time and money do they spend attempting to reach certain standards? Do they feel pressure to continue such practices, from whom? How is fitness related to or antithetical to beauty rituals..

• Do a survey of 20 women ages 16-25, and 20 women ages 40-60 as to their top 5 health concerns. What are the differences and why? Discuss some of the concerns and methods for dealing with them.

3. Law, Policy, and Government

• Study one or several of the more recent high profile court cases related to women, gender equity, and/or other issues of gender and present information about them.

• Collect information on some of the women in the U.S. Congress and what bills related to women they have recently or are currently supporting. Give an overview of the career of each women and detail about the specific bills you wish to discuss.

• Survey college women to see if and how they are involved in the political process. Did they vote in the last election? What influenced their decision?

4. Gender, Communication & Self-expression

• Research the development and shift in awareness of non-sexist language during the 20th century.

• Explore words which have changed gender connotations over time such as gay, madam, and spinster. What caused the change in connotation? How long before it was widely accepted? How does language denote power, and authority?

• Do a survey of college-age students to determine their support of or opposition to the use of non-sexist language. Provide examples of different terms and ask if they think each is a reasonable alternative to the more traditional word usage. Are there gender differences in degree of support or opposition to non-sexist language?