Gender Communication

12/19/16
 Table of Contents

Introduction______________________________________________________ page 2
TV Show: The Big Bang Theory
Gendered Verbal Communication________________________________ page 3
Website Article: Are you Man Enough for the Mens Rights Movement?
Mens Movement_____________________________________________ page 6
Professionally Recorded Music Lyrics: Nine to Five by Dolly Parton
Gender in Workplaces________________________________________ page 9
Article from Magazine: How Donald Trump turned 2016 into a Referendum on Gender
Gendered Media____________________________________________ page 13
Game: Cops and Robbers
Gender Theory/Becoming Gendered____________________________ page 16
Performance: Miss America Pageant
Gendered Nonverbal Communication____________________________ page 19
TED Talk: This isnt her Mothers Feminism by Courtney Martin
Third Wave of Womens Movement_____________________________ page 22
Talk Show Interview: Chaz Bono Interview with Oprah
Gender in a Transitional Era___________________________________ page 25
Sports Event: Professional Volleyball
Gender and Sports__________________________________________ page 28
Music Video: Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor
Gendered Relationships______________________________________ page 31
Conclusion______________________________________________________ page 34

1
 Introduction

This portfolio shares a wide variety of gender communication issues that are
presented in todays society. Gender is presented in every aspect of our lives which
makes communication difficult because there are misunderstanding that occur. People,
no matter their gender, are shown different mediums which portray gender through
stereotypes that were created by society. Examples of the artifacts presented in this
portfolio will allow the reader to gain more insight on gender. Some examples are the
TV show The Big Bang Theory, Miss America Pageant, and the 2016 presidential
campaign. Within this portfolio, the reader will encounter a variety of unique artifacts
that contain a focus area that could be an issue when it comes to communication.

2
 TV Show: The Big Bang Theory
Gendered Verbal Communication
Description:

The Big Bang Theory is a CBS TV show that is about two male roommates,
Sheldon and Leonard, and their friends, Howard and Raj. All friends are employed by a
university as scientists. Penny, who is a waitress trying to become an actress, moves in
across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. The males have not had much interaction
with women while Penny frequently has romantic relationships. Leonard has a crush on
Penny that later develops into a relationship. As the show progresses, two female
scientists are introduced to the cast, Amy and Bernadette. (Lorre, 2007)

(Sheldon, 2016)

Analysis:

3
 The Big Bang Theory fits this focus area because of how the men, specifically
Howard, acts and interacts with women on the show. There are many episodes that
deal with his interactions with the opposite sex. Howard uses derogatory language to
describe and speak to women. Especially at the beginning of the series, Howard
believes he is a catch and thinks women will always fall in love with him. Howard uses
verbal communication to assert his sexual urge to everyone around. His speech tends
to accomplish concrete goals, exert control, preserve independence, entertain, and
enhance status (Wood, 2011, 130). Howard and his friends are entertained by the
sexist remarks that are made by a character which then enhances that characters
status of being in control and independent. For Leonard, Raj, and Howard, their
concrete goal is to have an intimate relationship that involves sex. Sheldons goal is to
be superior to everyone he comes into contact with.

This group of friends do not exhibit the traitorous identity. According to the class
PowerPoints and in class discussions, the traitorous identity means that a male person
who does stand up for others (women) who are being put down and ridiculed or is
victims of sexist comments by other males. The characters on the show laugh and
encourage the male chauvinistic comments rather than standing up for the degraded
woman. It is not until later in the series that Leonard starts to develop the traitorous
identity because he had become romantically involved with Penny. It takes the other
men on the show a while to redirect their sexist thoughts and turn them into more
respectful communication.

The female characters, in response to the males sexist comments, choose to

either ignore or rebuke the remarks. The women, no matter their career field, want to
have healthy relationships with their male counterparts. As said in the Gendered Lives
by Julia Wood, females engage in conversation to share themselves and to learn about
others. [Females] use language to foster connections, support, closeness, and
understanding (Wood, 2011, 128). The female characters on this show use certain
language to receive and maintain a relationship with the male characters. By sharing
information about themselves, the females let the males know what actions and

4
language is appropriate to use with them. This is the reason for the men to change their
behavior and act more respectfully to the women.

While the men still have issues with continually controlling their words around the
women, they have made improvement because of their interactions with the opposite
sex. In certain situations, the men speak with dominance and independence which
conveys to the audience that they do not want to give up their masculine identity traits.
This show has a negative impact on the audience because it reinforces the behaviors of
chauvinistic and sexist males. It also portrays women to be objectified and symbols of
weakness.

References
Lorre, C. (Writer). (2007, September 24). The Big Bang Theory [Television series].
Burbank, California: CBS.

Sheldon, J. (2016, April 6). The 10 Worst Things About 'The Big Bang Theory' Retrieved
November 11, 2016, from http://www.goliath.com/tv/the-10-worst-things-about-
the-big-bang-theory/

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

5
 Website Article: Are You Man Enough for
the Mens Movement?
Mens Movement
Description:

This article by Jeff Sharlet is about his experience with the first national gathering
of Mens Movement. These men believe that the world is now a womens world where
men are becoming lost. He mentions and asks about the term manosphere.
Manosphere is mens problems usually with women. (Sharlet, 2014)

6
Analysis:

The article by Jeff Sharlet fits the focus area of Mens Movement inside the
United States because it calls for men to reject societys standards of men and embody
themselves once again. This mens movement is called A Voice for Men, which holds to
the idea of the manosphere, or supreme gentlemen (Sharlet, 2014). They created the
term manosphere due to the ideals that they desire society to perceive them as. In order
to gain attention, the founder of the movement has created a provocative image
regarding the manosphere, which looks like a dick and balls according to Sharlet. The
supreme gentlemen that this movement wants to present is that men are your
benefactors, your protectors, your providers (Sharlet, 2014). These qualities can be
found in the framing works of the codes of masculinity.

There are many different codes of masculinity that this movement falls under.
The first code is the sturdy oak. As discussed in class, the sturdy oak is the desire to
protect and stay strong for the family by bearing the weight alone. The second code is
the big wheel which means to be the success object by being the provider of the family.
Bread winner is the third code which goes along with the big wheel as being the
provider. A Voice for Men would like these codes of masculinity to be present more in
todays society. They feel that society has lost touch with these stereotypical codes.
Since they believe in these masculine codes, they do not see the issue that arises in
one of the archetypes of manhood. The archetypes of manhood are the glass cellar,
provider burden, and gratuitous exclusion. Glass cellar means that men in blue-collar
jobs do not have many chances to advance in a company. Provider burden means men
are wanting and should not have to be the sole provider. Gratuitous exclusion means
men would like to have the same rights as mothers when it comes to childrearing. Since
this movement believes in fathers rights, gratuitous exclusion is not their sole focus
because they aspire to bring back the traditional ways of manhood.

Even though society views traditional ways as the proper way to act towards
each other, this mens movement twists the meaning of traditional ways to form their
supreme gentlemen. This creates a negative impact because it says that men are
entitled to the beautiful girl and have superiority over women and the household. It also

7
tells women that they are inferior and should submit to the men in their lives. Blue-
collared men are drawn to this movement because they seek a better entitled life than
the one they currently have.

References

Sharlet, J. (2014, February 3). Are You Man Enough for the Men's Rights Movement?
GQ. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://www.gq.com/story/mens-rights-
activism-the-red-pill

8
 Professionally Recorded Music Lyrics:
Nine to Five by Dolly Parton
Gender in Workplaces
Description:

Dolly Parton is a country singer/song writer. In this particular song, she is

expressing her feelings for women in the workplace. She voices her discontent with how
the working world treats women. The lyrics are below:

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen

Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin'
Out on the street the traffic starts jumpin'
With folks like me on the job from nine to five

Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Nine to five, for service and devotion
You would think that I would deserve a fat promotion
Want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me
I swear sometimes that man is out to get me!

They let you dream just to watch 'em shatter

You're just a step on the boss-man's ladder
But you got dreams he'll never take away
You're in the same boat with a lotta your friends

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Waitin' for the day your ship'll come in
An' the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll your way

Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and you never get the credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Nine to five, yeah they got you where they want you
There's a better life, and you dream about it, don't you?
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet

Nine to five, whoa what a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'
They just use your mind and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it

Nine to five, yeah they got you where they want you
There's a better life, and you dream about it, don't you?
It's a rich man's game no matter what they call it
And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet

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Analysis:

Nine to Five relates to this focus area because the lyrics talk about gender
biases in the business world. The lyrics plainly state that the boss is a male and the
secretary is female. The stereotype of this song is that only a man can run a business
and be successful while women are below men in the ladder of success. Women, even
though they are just as qualified as men in the same position, do not get the credit or
promotion they deserve. This bias is strongly portrayed in Dolly Partons Nine to Five
song. As Dollys lyrics say, Nine to five, for service and devotion, you would think that I
would deserve a fat promotion. This lyric means that women are undervalued by men
and men manipulate womens silence in expressing their interest of moving up on the
ladder of success. Because women feel that is not appropriate for them to speak out
when men take credit for their hard work and ideas, women are walked over and
bypassed for promotions or advancements.

Men, today, surround themselves with the norms and patterns of communication
at work because it benefits them. Women have to try twice as hard to advance in a
company than men do because of those norms and patterns. According to the article
The Power of Talk, women are less likely to blow their own horn because they fear
they will not be liked or accepted in the working mans world (141). Dolly is stating that
the boss represents the Big Wheel code of masculinity. This code, as discussed in
class, means that a male is a success object and constantly strives for achievement.
The women in this song represents the Iron Maiden code of femininity. Rather than
being the Mother/Nurse or Sex Object, the female wants to be independent,
ambitious, directive, competitive, and sometime tough (Wood, 2011, 232). Dolly is
stating that women can be competitive and ambitious when it comes to the workplace.
Men are not the only people who can be successful nowadays.

The message these lyrics present to the audience is that a woman can go
against the norms of society when it come the workplace. Another message is that a
person should take ownership of his or her achievements and ideas because then
others will not take advantage of the work and talents that are their own. This artifact

11
has a positive influence and outcome because it speaks to what the womens rights
should be within the work place. This song has a positive psychological consequence
on female children who hear the song or read the lyrics because it tells them to stand up
for themselves and hold strong to their beliefs.

References

Tannen, D. (1995, September/October). The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why.
Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://hbr.org/1995/09/the-power-of-talk-
who-gets-heard-and-why

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

12
Article from Magazine: How Donald Trump
Turned 2016 into a Referendum on Gender

Gendered Media

Description

This article by Charlotte Alter is about how Trump has gained more media
coverage than Clinton because he is a man. The author writes how Trump is running an
alpha male campaign by using vulgar language and boasting about his actions towards
women. Trump uses words like bimbo, disgusting, and other offensive words to
describe women. This alpha male campaign is the reason why he is gaining lots of
media coverage.

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Analysis:

Donald Trumps Presidential campaign goes with the focus area of gendered
media because Trump has received controversial feedback from the media while
running for president. While making speeches, Trump has used his gender masculinity
to appear dominate and even establish his alpha status. In his speak mannerisms,
Donald asserts his dominance by being direct, blunt, and even vulgar to anyone that
crosses his path. Even with people who are in an equal position to him, like Hillary
Clinton as his opposing candidate, he considers them to be subordinate.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has consistently demeaned his opponent at

every opportunity. According to the article titled The Power of Talk, it states that men
tend to be sensitive to the power dynamics of interactions, speaking in ways that
position themselves as one up and resisting being put in a one down position by others
(Tannen, 1995, 141). This explains Trumps behavior inside and outside the campaign
field. Examples of this behavior is: calling Hillary a bimbo on Twitter, calling her
disgusting for taking a bathroom break, accused Clinton of playing the woman card,
commented that Hillary did not have a presidential look or the stamina to be
president, and interrupted her fifty-five times during the first presidential debate (Alter,
2016). Such slanderous language has allowed media to spotlight him to where he and
Clinton became the focal point of the campaign. None of the other five candidates, who
ran against Trump and Clinton were mentioned on news sources. The media choose to
dissect every word and action that Trump made which filled his ego and his strive for
power.

Donald Trumps campaign reinforces the stereotypes that our society places on
males such as power hungry, direct, breadwinners. The negative impact this has on
society is that this campaign reiterates the saying its a mans world. Young boys who
witnessed his speeches are being taught that this is how a man should act and is
entitled to power. As a positive aspect for women, Hillary has shown the younger
women of our nation that a woman can set high goals and reach them with

14
perseverance. With all of the vulgarity that was said during the campaign, the media fed
off the negative language presented by Trump, which gave him the publicity he needed.

15
 References

Alter, C. (2016, October 8). How Donald Trump Turned 2016 Into a Referendum on
Gender. Time. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from
http://time.com/4523900/donald-trump-gender/

Tannen, D. (1995, September/October). The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why.
Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://hbr.org/1995/09/the-power-of-talk-
who-gets-heard-and-why

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

16
 Game: Cops and Robbers

Gender Theory/Becoming Gendered

Description:

This game is an outdoor activity that children of young ages play. Typically, boys
are the children who take part in this game. At times they will allow girls to play as well.
In this game, there are some boys who play the cop roles and other boys who play the
robber roles. The goal of the game is to have the cops catch the all of the robbers while
the robbers try to find and grab the item to steal.

17
Analysis:

The cops and robbers game corresponds with the focus area of gender theory/
becoming gendered because the children who play are learning which roles each
gender should play. Children in this game are imitating their elders by playing the roles
they see in everyday life. This correlates with the Interpersonal Theories of Gender,
mostly the Social Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory is where an individual
learns to be masculine and/or feminine by imitating others and getting responses for
their behaviors (Wood, 2011, 50-51). In this game, the children, mainly boys, are
playing the robbers and cops. Most boys at a young age do not include girls in games,
but there are times when they do play together. When they do, girls are rarely the
robbers and more often the cops because they see from adults, tv shows, and movies
that robbers or bad guys are men.

Since this game is taught and played from a young age, it helps children to
actively develop their gender identity. This runs in accordance with the Cognitive
Development Theory. This theory states that children play active roles in developing
their gender identity (Wood, 2011, 52). While playing this game, children are able to
identify their gender roles due to society norms as present in their daily lives. As the
young child ages, this game can help with reinforceing his or her gender consistancy.
Gender consistancy is the persons understanding that he or she is a male or female
and that will not change (Wood, 2011, 52). Since this gender consistancy is usually
developed between the ages of three and six, playing this game will will either help
develop the gender identity or help reinforce it.

Cops and robbers is a symbolic game that specifies expected behaviors and
values that are associated with roles of men and women. Depending on the culture that
a child is brought up with, the roles and behaviors will differ and affect their view on
gender identity. Symbolic Interactionism is a Cultural Theory of Gender that is defined
as through communication with others we learn who we are and how our culture views
our identity (Wood, 2011, 56). Our society and culture views robbers and criminals
mostly as males, which is why the children who play this game have boys being the

18
robbers. Cops in our society are both male and female which makes it acceptable for
boys to allow girls to play with them.

According to the authors expericences, Emily has had a limited involvement

when playing this game. Emily has had the opportunity to play this game but only as a
cop while Candy had not even had the experience to play this game at all. Although this
game is engaging for children, it potentionally can have negative impact on the male
gender because it shows that men can have a career in criminal activities while women
are shown to be good and put in influencial positions of power. The power of play is
important to children in discovering their gender identity. Children create and develop
new skills and ideas everyday due to the fact that the world is changing and so is the
game everytime it is played. This allows children to think for themselves and be aware
of how the gender roles impact society.

References

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

19
 Performance: Miss America Pageant

Gendered Nonverbal Communication

Description:

The Miss America Pageant is a contest that allows only women contestants.
Each woman is judged on her physical appearance, talent, accomplishments, and
question answering. This pageant promotes womens education and provides
scholarship assistance to the contestants (Miss America, 2016).

20
Analysis:

The Miss America Pageant belongs with the focus area of gendered nonverbal
communication because the contestants are mainly judged by their physical
appearances. Two of the four tasks are mainly judged by the contestants physical
appearance. The speaking and talent portion of the contest is extremely restricted which
causes the contestants to be incapable to express themselves to their fullest intellectual
abilities. The young ladies who compete in this contest must always be flawless in their
appearance.

During the competition, the young ladies, in some ways, reject the norms of their
gender. The ladies, while walking in gowns or swimsuits, exudes confidence by walking
tall with shoulders back and head held high with a direct gaze. These traits are normally
found in masculine gender rather than feminine gender. However, these ladies tend to
strike a pose with their hands on their hips and canting posture, knee bent outward, at
the end of the runway. According to the documentary called Codes of Gender, This
placement of hands and knee suggests that females are vulnerable and less grounded
than their male counterparts. The canting posture shows that there is a submissive and
defenseless manner about the feminine gender. The contestants also wear a smile
which shows that females are displaying a basic interactional behavior. The young
ladies in this contest practice feminine poses in order to expose themselves as the
objectification of a sex object. Sex object means that appearance counts and women
will be judged by their looks. Those who compete in this pageant are trained to use their
facial and body motions to signify their friendliness and unassuming approachableness
(Wood, 2011, 146).

The Miss America Pageant sends young girls and boys who watch a message
that conveys what women should look and act like. Little girls get a false image of
womanhood because they are being taught the unconscious codes of feminine
behavior. The postures and poses that are displayed throughout the pageant are
teaching girls that women should be flawless and vulnerable. The boys and men, who
watch the pageant, are hit with the reinforcement of negative female stereotypes.

21
 References
Miss America. (2016). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://missamerica.org/

Jhally, S., Killoy, A., Vega, A., Rabinovitz, D., MacLeod, K., & Media Education
Foundation. (2009). The codes of gender: Identity + performance in popular
culture. Northampton, Mass: Media Education Foundation.

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

22
 TED Talk: This isnt my Mothers
Feminism by Courtney Martin
Third Wave of Womens Movement
Description:
Courtney Martin is a blogger who grew with a feminist mother and father. She
talks about what she thinks the word feminism means and how it differentiates from her
mothers definition. She outlines and explains three paradoxes that our generation has
when it comes to defining the word feminism.

23
Analysis:
This Ted Talk fits with the focus area of third wave of womens movements inside
the United States because Courtney Martin talks about how feminism has changed
since her mother participated in the movement. Martin states that her parents were
radical feminists and that her feminism is different because she wants to embrace the
ideal that all people should be equal. Her feminism is liberal feminism.

In the past, feminists would use rhetorical devices like protests, sit-ins, marches,
etc., and today feminists can use technology to organize and rally people together in
order to make their voices heard. Courtney stated, my mom says, protest march. I say,
online organizing. Technology has changed the face of feminism because it is much
easier to gather people for a single idea by using social media. Through the use of
technology, there are thousands of men and women working on this cause every day.
Instead of one face of the movement, there are hundreds of thousands faces and voices
being seen and heard and changing the communities and their job opportunities in the
work place. While making sure not to remove or eliminate old ideas, this movement
calls for revamping and expanding on those ideas that were involved with Martins
mothers feminism. By revamping the older feminism qualities, intersectionality is
occurring by including all races, classes, gender, and ability into feminism. Since this
movement strives for equality, equal pay is a primary focus that is being addressed. As
noted in class discussions and notes, this wave of feminism is less structured than
previous waves. This could be due to the technology that has arose and the multiple
voices that contribute to the movements cause.

Since technology is readily available to almost everyone in the world, this new
feminist group can reach out to all types of people. This has a positive impact because
people are made aware of current gender issues and encourage people in oppressed
countries to join the cause for all people to be equal. While word might spread faster
than in previous waves of feminist movements, messages and ideals could be lost in
the disarray of social media. The insight of a message can be misinterpreted or failed to
register in a persons mind due to the constant assault of information that is thrusted at
the reader.

24
 References

Martin, C. (2016, November 11). This Isn't My Mother's Feminism. Lecture presented at
Ted Talk in Canada, Vancouver.

25
 Talk Show Interview: Chaz Bono Interview
with Oprah
Gender in a Transitional Era
Description
Chaz Bono is the child of Cher and Sonny. Chaz was born female and decided to
become male. He went through the female-to-male gender transition in 2008 and fully
became male in 2010. Oprah interviewed Chaz after he had had the surgery and talked
about when he knew he was transgender (Oprah Interview with Chaz Bono on When
He Knew He was Transgender, 2016).

26
Analysis:

Chaz Bono falls into the focus area of gender in a transitional era because Chaz
was born a female and recently became a male. He knew from a very young age that
he was different and did not fit in with the norms of the feminine gender. Being more
athletic and of masculine nature, he felt betrayed by the gender society gave him at
birth. Transgender is defined as a person who feels that their sex is inconsistent with
their true sexual identity (Wood, 2011, 28). In the United States, there are approximately
0.3% or 700,000 people who are transgendered (Thapoung, 2015). This number seem
extremely low compared to the population of the whole United States.

Since Chaz knew at a young age that he was not feminine, he experienced
gender consistency. According to class notes, gender consistency means the between
the ages of three and six, a person will know what gender he or she will be for the rest
of their lives. As Chaz entered adulthood, he washorrified by his bodys changes that did
not align with his gender identity. His family had conflicting views on his chosen identity.
His mother refused to accept his lifestyle and wanted him to remain her little girl,
whereas his father was more accepting of his masculine traits.

In this transitional age, society is much more accepting of different gender

identities but it is still difficult for people to accept their love ones for who they are.
Society puts pressure on nontraditional genders to fit into the traditional male and
female genders. These pressures create a negative impact on those who have that
other title. The negative impacts can create feelings of shame, loneliness, and even
suicidal thoughts. A positive impact that arises from this artifact is that there are stories
that are becoming public so that people can hear and know that it is alright to be
different and fit outside the categories that society has created. Because famous
people put out their stories, they are leading the way for acceptance and to equality for
those who feel that they have no voice in society. To conclude, transgendered people
have come a long way in strides of gaining equality but still have a long road ahead of
them.

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 References
Chaz Bono on When He Knew He was Transgender [Interview by O. Winfrey]. (2014,
August 14). In The Oprah Winfrey Show. Los Angeles, California: OWN.

Thapoung, K. (2015, July 28). The Transgender Community by the Numbers. Marie
Claire. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from
http://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g3065/transgender-facts-figures/

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

28
 Sports event: Professional Volleyball
Gender and Sports
Description:

Professional volleyball is played both indoor and outdoor. Men and women play
but on separate teams and divisions. Their uniforms for this sport vary depending of the
environment. For men, it is mostly the same, where they wear long shorts and a shirt.
For women, it varies much more on the environment. When a match is indoor, women
wear short spandex shorts and a shirt but when a match is outdoor, women wear bikini
bottoms and a sports bra (USA Premier Volleyball Home Page, 2016).

29
30
Analysis:

The focus area for professional volleyball is gender and sports because this sport
has two different expectations of clothing for gendered teams. No matter what the sport
is or if it is mens or womens, womens sports have more sexist uniforms and less news
coverage. Men in volleyball are covered up more than their female counterparts. This is
not affected by the indoor or outdoor environment of which the sport is played. While
men might be shirtless in an outdoor match, they still are showing less skin than the
women who wear a sports bra and bikini bottoms. When women play a match indoors,
they still wear short tight bottoms that show off every curve. Women have no say on
their uniform, neither do the men. The larger corporation of this sport chooses what the
athletes wear. Why can men wear long comfy shorts while women wear the tight
uncomfortable spandex? It seems like the decision makers are favoring the mens sport
teams and setting the women up to fail with such tight and revealing uniforms.

Professional volleyball has created a segregated line that divides the sexes into
two different divisions. Only men or males of masculine gender are allowed on the
mens sports team and women or females of feminine gender are allowed on the
womens team. The teams are separated by gender because there is the belief that
males are stronger and more aggressive than females. When the news covers sports,
especially professional volleyball, they cover the males athletic ability and not their
physical appearance or clothing. The opposite is said for female athletes. Female
athletes are constantly objectified by their appearance and are sexualized.

Professional volleyballs sexist uniforms, segregation by gender, and news

coverage negatively impacts girls who aspire to become professional athletes. It
represents that women will always be judged by appearance rather than their ability and
talent in this given field. The womens uniforms can create feelings of uncertainty and
embarrassment due to the fact that more skin is showing for the world to see. For boys,
this sport positively impacts them because they are shown that men can succeed by
pure talent alone. Men in this sport do not have to worry about clothes malfunctioning
due to their movements or tightness of the fabric while playing.

31
 References

"USA Premier Volleyball Home Page." USA Premier Volleyball League. N.p., 2016.
Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

32
 Music Video: Dear Future Husband by
Meghan Trainor
Gendered Relationships
Description:

This music video portrays the classic image of women in a household while
creating the perfect man. It brings into light how society has changed, especially
through relationship expectations. This video suggests what women really want a guy to
do when in a relationship.

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Analysis:

This music video belongs to the focus area of gendered relationships because
its lyrics and images are suggesting that women in relationships deserve their perfect
guy as much as men want their perfect girl. Meghan Trainor uses gender expectations
as a way to portray the perfect couple in her mind. Women, according to society, are
supposed to be the obedient housewife while the men work and court the women. An
alternative view to this is that men have the expectation of having sex with a girl by not
putting much effort into a relationship. Whereas women want men to woo them before
jumping in and having sex.

Within a romantic relationship, a woman wants to feel secure and protected.

Trainor sings that the guys should be my one and only all my life. This lyric is
comparable with chapter nine from the textbook. Women often want a male partner that
emphasize[s] status and success and men typically want a female partner that places
priority on [stereotypical] feminine physical qualities (Wood, 2011, 217). Meghan
Trainor highlights the dream of what women want men to be. She states stereotypes
like telling a girl she is right when she is really wrong, buy a ring for the girl, or treat a
girl right even when she is acting crazy. If a person listens carefully to the lyrics of the
music video, he or she will hear a list of dos and donts for guys to follow when dating.

As said in class discussions, men do not have as much emotional capacity as

women do which is why men do not talk about where the relationship is going. Men
want to be independent and tend to want greater autonomy and less connection than
feminine people (Wood, 2011, 220). Females tend to be the opposite and this creates
challenges about the status of a relationship. The music video reinforces societys
stereotypes of relationships between men and women in America. This negatively
impacts both and all genders because there is not a lot of room for mistakes or
imperfections. This video is unrealistic because there is not perfect guy or girl or
relationship when it comes to dating. People are not perfect because people are human
and therefore make mistakes all the time.

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 References

[Recorded by M. Trainor]. (2014). Dear Future Husband. The Carriage House: Kadish.
Retrieved November 11, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ShlW5plD_40

Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (9th ed.).
Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

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 Conclusion
Throughout this portfolio, gender influences society through different forms of
mediums which can create stereotypes. The stereotypes that are created may
negatively or positively impact how people communicate with each other. Women have
a long way to go until total equality is reached but media and technology has helped
make the process gain attention and improve the awareness which promotes change
within society. As we have learned through class discussions and readings from the
textbook, change does not occur overnight but takes decades to make improvements.
Within this portfolio, a reader encountered a variety of artifacts that exemplifies a focus
area that is an issue when it comes to communication.

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