Research Proposal

For my research paper I have chosen to expand upon the television show Mad Men. I am writing my paper now on one episode of it and I think that I could really expand it by watching more episodes and doing more of a paper on the show as a whole instead of just one episode.
Also, I am taking Megan's advice and using the book "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan. I have purchased the book and looked through it and I have chosen a few chapters to focus on. One chapter is called "The Happy Housewife Heroin" and it talks about the dissatisfaction a lot of women go through and have gone through in the past by being the stay at home mother, being referred to as less than men, and being confined to a specific role in society. I have also started to read the chapter called "The Mistaken Choice" which begins talking about our the 50's and 60's. It talks about America after the depression and the war and how things were going to be changing and sets up the baby boom as well as describes different family roles in that time. I plan to compare the information Betty Friedan provides with the television show Mad Men.
I also plan to do some research on the 1960's time period. Specifically when it comes to sexuality and gender. I think not only is it important for me to know the period itself but also the media in that period and how they would portray gender and sexuality.
I also plan to take a couple of pages and re-write the first episode of Mad Men set in 2010. Then I will compare the two time periods when it comes to portraying gender and sexuality.

**I want to add that I posted my fourth blog early so it is before my last paper proposal. (just wanted to let everyone know that because I didn't get any comments and I wanted to make sure you knew it was there)

proposal for paper

Today my friend came home from a weekend at Ohio State and told me about a new T.V. show she started watching with her friends there. She was so appalled by the sexism in the episode she watched that she wanted to have me watch it to see for myself. It is called “Mad Men” and is set in the 1960’s. Most of the scenes deal with sexism in the workforce: The women as the subdued and simple-minded secretary, and the male figure with all the power. This particular episode had a scene about a woman going to the gynecologist to ask for birth control and his reaction as a man of the 1960’s. He does not tiptoe around her feelings and almost makes her feel bad about being a non-married or single woman and using contraceptives. From his insensitive and powerful manner to her acts of insecurity and weakness in this scene, I decided this would be perfect for my paper. I am interested in this episode and show for many reasons. One is that although I can contrast today’s portrayal of woman to that of the 1960’s, I can also find many things that both time periods have in common when it comes to the media’s idea of gender and sexuality. Specifically in the workforce, woman are still trying to take their stand and find their place and this show really highlights how far they have come and how they used to be treated. The gynecologist scene is what really sold me. I for one would feel completely uncomfortable if my “lady doctor” treated me the way he did her in this scene and find it so funny the way he reacted to her use of contraceptives compared to how one would react to that today. Times have changed with sexuality and gender roles in so many ways but it also remains the same in many ways as well. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the two.

Workout Make-over? ...Too far.

So, you know how every talk show and morning show does those make-overs where they take a "poor, lost woman" and make her into a beautiful icon?... This morning, The Today Show stooped to that level. Although I do think it is nice to boost someone's self confidence and help them out with their looks, I also think that there is a whole social-emotional side that people just skip over when doing "make-overs".
The make-overs that they did on The Today Show, was making over people in the gym. They would go up to girls who were working out and tell them that they were not dressed right for the gym. Then they would make them over and show them in these workout outfits worth hundreds of dollars.
I have a lot of issues with this. First of all, when you go to the gym to workout, you know you are going to be sweating so why in the hell would you try and put together a cute outfit? Second, I am jumping for joy if I can get my lazy ass to the gym wearing yesterday's clothes! Let alone look cute while doing it. Honestly I think people are going overboard trying to find imperfections and fix women. I used to look at these makeovers and think "wow they are really helping this woman" or "wow she looks great". But, the fact is, if a woman needs a self confidence boost, it needs to be more than just an outer appearance change. This segment on The Today Show just had me floored. What will be next? Looking good in our sleep? Completely crazy. I am left without words.
As I was writing this post, another segment came on that floored me. It was the New York firemen who made a shirtless calendar called "City of The Brave". At first I was like "Hell yeah, damn those men are hot! Especially in those firemen uniforms!" But then I stepped back and was like... hm this is exactly what I criticize men for doing to half dressed women. Am I creating a double standard? But wow they really do look good. Honestly I think sex and anything that makes us think about sex is becoming such a part of our everyday thoughts and lives and we have become so emerged in this kind of thinking. I could even see Kathy Lee and Hoda sweating up there next to those hot men and loosing words to say. The Today Show is supposed to be a classy news show, not a talk show. I guess I am leaving this blog confused about my own thoughts and beliefs and I know the media is what is making me feel this way.