Signs Abound

"its a bird, its a plane, its Superman"

      

 

    Over the weekend I went to Sky High Comics with a friend of mine while he participated in a card tournament. While at the comic book shop, I began to see the obvious connections that comics have with masculinity and the warrior myth. The comic book memorabilia and artwork around the store reflected the exaggerated masculine identity, reminiscent of a cartoon Rambo. Nearly every inch of the walls was covered in posters of super heroes with bulging muscles, taking on the most dangerous villains the comic book world as ever seen. I noticed that almost none of these posters were of female super heroes, and in fact, if they did show a woman, she was often in the process of being rescued by her male counterpart. Comic book heroes such as these clearly display the overly masculine heroes, who's creators and followers "began to dream, to fantasize about the powers and features of another kind of man who could retake and reorder the world" (Gibson 632).

Gibson, James W. "Warrior Dreams." Signs of Life in the USA. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.     625-33. Print.

Workout Wonders

As I entered 24 Hour Fitness I expected to see the whole place exuding masculinity, but to my surprise the facility seemed fairly asexual and the number of male and female visitors seemed equal. After having only used the gym at my high school, I had been expecting to see a majority of men whom are perfect examples of the “dominance and aggression” that characterizes masculinity (Devor 571). Upon spending time observing my surroundings I noticed that for the most part the distribution between men and women wasn’t too disproportionate; the only real difference was that there were more men lifting and more women doing cardio exercises, although the majority was not overwhelming. In addition I observed that people seemed to be content with their own workout routine and not concerned with sending or receiving gender codes. As for the clothes the various people around me wore it was apparent that most people seemed to go for comfort instead of wearing typical clothes that men and women wear to accentuate their respective gender characteristics. What I observed was that for the most part men and women both wore comfortable shirts, along with gym shorts; the only real difference was that women tended to wear somewhat tighter fitting and all around smaller clothes. As a whole my experience observing 24 Hour Fitness showed that people in the gym seemed less concerned with perpetuating gender roles and more concerned with getting in reps and back to their busy lives.

Devor, Aaron. "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes." Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 567-73. Print.

When I scream, it certainly isn't for machismo

On March 3, 2010 I attended a band called Final Fight’s farewell show in Anaheim at the Chain Reaction. Though this was the same band I saw for my last blog post, my experience from this show was a bit different. I felt that this show embodied the American Values of egalitarianism, but only too a certain level. During my observations I noticed that the mixture of sexes was equal, yet the girls and boys stood apart from each other. The majority of males stood close by the stage and were happy to be included in the chaos of the show, while some (but not all) girls would stand off to the sides or in the very back just watching from a distance. I think this can relate to gender roles in society. The girls who were up close to the stage were more aggressive and were viewed as less “girly” by others.

Vagina Monologue

1.    On March 5^th, 2010 I attended an event at the Carlsbad Village Theater called “The Vagina Monologue”. I attended this event for many reasons some being that it was a comedy show and I thought it would be an interesting event to drag my boyfriend to and also it was a nonprofit event that is presented every year to inform and educate people about the situation of women all over the world.  This year the region was the Congo. Although the event was an eye opener I was most intrigued by the audience, 97% women and 3% men. Most of the women who walked through the door were dressed in fancy clothing with hugefur jackets or elaborately sequenced clothing with flashy high heels, of course not all of the women were dressed this way but most. This choice of wardrobe symbolizes women’s choice to continue being bogged down by strict and cruel beauty guide lines (Wolf) instructed to us by society. Although in this case it was women Americans are given freedoms and rights and yet we still choose to constrict ourselves to other’s view and live our lives by someone else’s rules.

Its Always Sunny in California

                             
 

     A trip to the Oceanside pier on a sunny day clearly displays American gender roles: the beauty myth and masculinity. As a friend and I walked along the beach and down the pier it became increasingly clear that women have become influenced that they must put their bodies on display to secure male interest. I noticed that almost none of the girls that I saw that day did anything other than lay around in the sun tanning in their bikinis. Deborah Tannen writes, “If a woman's clothing is tight or revealing (in other words, sexy), it sends a message-- an intended one of wanting to be attractive” (Tannen 622), which is clearly shown at California beaches. I also witnessed the competitive masculinity of the surfer culture, where surfers tended to socialize with other surfers of their same ability, and out of the water they only socialized with other surfers, showing an elitist mindset that they are part of an exclusive group of people. Another aspect I noticed about the surfers is that every singe one was a male, giving the impression that sports are purely a male activity, or as John Carroll writes, “...sport should not be muzzled by humanist values: it is the living arena for the great virtue of manliness” (Messner 636). With summer approaching, these American gender roles are becoming increasingly obvious on California beaches.

Tannen, Deborah. "There Is No Unmarked Woman." Signs of Life in the USA. Boston: Bedford/St.     Martin's, 2009. 620-24. Print.

Messner, Michael A. "Power at Play: Sport and Gender Relations." Signs of Life in the USA. Boston:     Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 635-44. Print.

There is no "unmarked" man (at the beach)

At the beach forming judgments about a person is much easier. At the beach people are more exposed than in their everyday wear. You can see tattoos and piercings more visibly. Skin tone is more relevant, and their bathing suit choices all communicate something about what type of person they are. Whether a man chooses to wear a Speedo or board shorts definitely conveys a message. The shade or pattern and length of shorts all say something. If the shorts are bright perhaps they like attention, if the shorts are shorter than usual that person might surf, if the shorts are extra long they might be “gangster”. How tan a person is tells how frequently they attend the beach, and tells a little bit about their life style. If a person has tattoos then they are probably visible and depending on what and where the tattoo is you can learn something about that person. If someone has piercings they are also probably visible and portray style preferences about that person. Whether someone is surfing , skim boarding, boogie boarding, walking, running, tanning all convey different messages about them. If someone is in shape or not is also readily apparent due to the amount of skin showing. Deborah Tannen believes that men have the option to be “unmarked” where women do not. In my opinion, there is no “unmarked” option for men at the beach. In a board room, or classroom there may be a less obvious difference in styles, but at the beach everything is magnified and everything is “marked”. Deborah Tannen believes that men have the option to be “unmarked” where women do not. In my opinion, there is no “unmarked” option for men at the beach. In a boardroom, or classroom there may be a less obvious difference in styles, but at the beach everything is magnified and everything is “marked” for everyone. This communicates that in America no one is safe from being judged by the status symbols, or lack there of, that they don. Americans value the ability to judge and categorize people by their appearance.