How Gender and Queer Studies Ruined My Life.

[one mean sheath]

That's the working title for my directed study project for my senior project (I'm a Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies major and GLBT minor).
Full title (to give a little more detail) is - How Gender and Queer Studies Ruined My Life: The Roles of TV Shows and Advertising in the Perpetuation and Maintenance of Gender roles, the Sex Binary, and the Garbage that is Heteronormativity.

The idea behind it is that I'm a television junkie. There I said it. But ever since I got more into women's, gender, and queer studies, I become enraged every time I turn on the television. So I'm going to kind of keep tally of how and how often traditional gender roles/sex binary/heteronormativity/transphobia/etc... show up on television and their roles in oppression and exclusion of the queer community and in the brainwashing from day one of everyone in the country. Holy normalization, Batman.

So! Thoughts, comments, thumbs up, thumbs down.... Go!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. Many of us experience the same thing once our eyes are opened

You can never return to viewing popular culture uncritically. But at the same time, I wouldn't want to go back to being an unenlightened sheep either.

[Tikki]

2. Oh why not...

Television gives me very little...
good thing it's the cheapest of all the media (cost) I
use to entertain myself.

Old Newton Minnow was only partly correct when he said;
"Television is a vast wasteland"..

It is a vast wasteland full of all kinds of scampering squirrels.


Tikki

[gaspee]

3. Yup

Once you notice, you can't go back. If more people actually *wanted* to notice how fucked up the portrayal of half the human population is on their little boobtubes, then maybe we'd see a difference.

I can't watch too much TV anymore either.

I like your idea.

[Toucano]

4. Thumbs up.

It's a solid idea that you are well equipped to explore.

Kudos!

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

5. You swallowed the red pill!

Sorry, but you should have taken the blue pill while you still had a chance.

[closeupready]

6. Things actually won't get better - they'll get worse. lol

Films, everyday conversations, books - so much of popular American culture is SOO homophobic and full of hatred for non-conforming weirdos. Every time I go home my folks want to see a film, but since almost all films glorify machismo, and degrade women, I just literally can't stomach that nonsense - I get mad, and so we usually end up just going out to eat. :D

[Rhythm]

7. This sounds like a (pardon the pun) fabulous project...

Good luck with it... and i'm sure that, should you need a boost with anything, any of us here would be more than happy to lend a hand!

btw... i want to send you a 'friend' request at MySpace... or send me one!