Q&A Hero

Q: Some third-wave feminists embrace sexiness and femininity as part of being empowered. What is your position on this issue? Defend your stance.

Q: Discuss messages rap and/or gangsta rap music contains about men and women. Do the media influence consumers? Finally, do you agree with Al Sharpton’s request to the FCC to ban rappers who disrespect women? Why or why not?

Q: Some second-wave feminists have criticized the younger generation of third-wave feminists for being too focused on consumerism and lacking a clear central message. Based on the characteristics of the movement described in your textbook, do you think these criticisms are valid? Why or why not? What are the differing motivations behind the two waves that could account for this criticism?

Q: Your book discusses the ways in which unrealistic standards are normalized in media. Choose two of the unrealistic standards, give specific examples of them, and describe the implications of them for media consumers.

Q: Describe separatism and why it is limited in its power as a feminist movement.

Q: Discuss three ways in which news media, including cable and network television news, magazines, and newspapers, promote stereotypical views of women and femininity and provide concrete examples to support your points.

Q: Cyberbullying

Q: Cultural feminist ideology

Q: Media saturation

Q: Power feminism

Q: Immersive advertising

Q: Third-wave feminism

Q: Agenda-setting

Q: Gatekeeper

Q: Explain the unique contributions of the women’s rights movement and the cult of domesticity movement to first-wave feminism.

Q: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Q: Product placement

Q: NOW

Q: Third person effect

Q: Liberal feminist ideology

Q: More than girls, boys use social media to actively construct identities and get responses from others.

Q: Revalorism highlights women’s traditional activities and contributions and works to increase society’s appreciation of women and their contributions to society.

Q: Cyberbullying has real, sometimes fatal consequences for its victims.

Q: Liberal feminist ideology claims that women and men are alike in all important respects and so should have equal rights.

Q: Though sometimes their portrayals are problematic, news programs, sitcoms, and dramas no longer underrepresent women and minorities.

Q: Power feminism claims that women identifying as victims so frequently is part of the reason women are disadvantaged.

Q: The dominant representation of men in the media is now sensitive, gentle, and in touch with their emotions.

Q: Intersectionality, the recognition that women differ in many ways including race, class, sexual orientation, body shape and size, and (dis)ability, is a hallmark of first-wave feminism.

Q: About 10% of teens today shoot and share videos online.

Q: Young feminists used social media like Twitter and Facebook to force the Susan G. Komen foundation to reverse its decision to defund Planned Parenthood in 2012.

Q: Pathologizing the human body

Q: Advertising in the United States tends to present women as authority figures by using them for voice-overs in commercials.

Q: Revalorists choose to leave mainstream society and form separate communities that value women and are in harmony with nature.

Q: Representations of male and female heroes were essentially equal in media coverage of 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Q: Radical feminists were the first to declare that “the personal is political.”

Q: You’re watching Mad Men and notice that Don Draper frequently drinks Canadian Club whisky. This is an example of A. complimentary copy. B. product placement. C. immersive advertising. D. editorial advertising. E. none of the above.

Q: Which wave of feminism focuses on intersectionality, coalitions and alliances, everyday resistance, media savvy, consumerism, and individualism? A. third wave B. second wave C. first wave D. power feminism E. none of these

Q: Which of the following is true about the use of social media for activism? A. It is rarely effective. B. Women are more likely than men to use social media for activism. C. In 2012, activists were able to effectively pressure the Susan G. Komen foundation to change their decision to defund Planned Parenthood. D. Social media activism is expensive and difficult to implement. E. All of the above.

Q: Which feminist group emphasizes that all oppressions—including those to nonhuman living things—are linked and that to eliminate oppression of women we must also eliminate oppression of animals and the environment? A. revalorists B. ecofeminists C. lesbian feminists D. womanists E. separatists

Q: Advertisements ______ than other media. A. contain less gendered messages B. are less pervasive C. are less effective D. contain more gendered messages E. are often more powerful

Q: The most traditional stereotype of women in the media is A. powerful. B. strong. C. sex object. D. ambitious. E. none of the above.

Q: There is a common set of beliefs that all feminists share.

Q: Why is the concept of pathologizing the human body problematic? A. It is based on speculation and opinion, not data or facts. B. It makes us think natural bodily processes are something to correct or stop. C. It simply exists to sell us products. D. It only focuses on women. E. It is not problematic.

Q: Women burned their bras to protest the Miss America pageant in 1968.

Q: Womanists address issues that affect working and lower-class women.

Q: Research has shown that if you are educated about and are aware of the impact, media will have little or no influence on you.

Q: Multiracial femininsts argue that gender cannot be understood separate from other issues including race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, etc.

Q: Which of the following are accomplishments of the National Organization for Women (NOW)? A. advocacy for the prohibition of sex discrimination by federal contractors B. the documentation of sexism in the media C. advocacy for the reformation of banking and credit practices that disadvantage women D. highlighting gender inequality across the globe E. all of the above

Q: Which antifeminist movement advocated the return to traditional values, attitudes, and roles, and was most often supported by women who were economically dependent on their husbands who embraced conservative values? A. STOP ERA B. Fascinating Womanhood C. Surrendered Wife D. Backlash E. Both B and C

Q: What does it mean to say that gender should be viewed as a verb, not a noun? How is gender social? Finally, what are the implications of such claims? Your response should be grounded in performative theory about gender.

Q: How might gendered stereotypes contribute to more subtle forms of discrimination practiced in organizations today? Explain two stereotypes each for women and for men. Provide an example of how they might be enacted in organizational life. How does each of these limit opportunities?

Q: What was/were the goal/s of the first wave of the women’s rights movement? A. woman suffrage—the right to vote B. women’s right to higher education C. women’s right to work in the professions D. women’s right to own property E. all of the above

Q: Your Gendered Lives textbook discusses a number of informal organizational practices that contribute to discriminatory practices in organizations today. Define and discuss two of these practices that you believe are most damaging and explain why you believe this. Finally, pick one of the methods to redress gendered inequity and explain how this solution would help address the discriminatory practices discussed in your essay. What are the benefits and limitations of this method?

Q: What types of strategies were used by the first wave of women’s rights activists in the United States? A. riots B. nonviolent protests and hunger strikes C. pamphlets D. violent protests E. all of the above

Q: Your textbook discusses the effect of outdated norms for career paths on women in the workplace. Describe what those norms are and how they impact women’s careers. If you were to advocate for a change to these paths, what would that change be? Is that change realistic? Why or why not?

Q: What factors led to the development of liberal feminism? A. the discrimination women experienced in New Left politics B. the publication of Susan Faludi’s Backlash C. the public protest at which women burned their bras D. the publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique E. a desire to bring women’s moral perspectives to politics

Q: Which of the following is true about media portrayals of men and women? A. Black men are just as likely as white men to be cast in leading roles now. B. In advertising, men are portrayed as authorities on homemaking tasks. C. News coverage of women who have been targets of violence tends to focus on their strength and courage. D. Television shows today focus equally on men’s and women’s careers. E. All of the above.

Q: Women won the right to vote in 1920 in part because of the efforts of the members of the ______________ movement, a group that asserted women’s moral superiority. A. Seneca Falls Convention B. Revalorists C. Cult of Domesticity D. Women’s Suffrage Coalition E. National Organization for Women

Q: A hair straightening treatment advertisement that appears next to a magazine article titled, “HOT: New smooth looks for summer hair!” is best described as A. complimentary copy. B. product placement. C. misandry. D. synergy advertising. E. an emphasis on visual images, which receives less conscious analysis than verbal claims.

Q: A group of women engages in conscious raising “rap” sessions. During the rap sessions, women talk about personal experiences with sexism and how these are related to social and political structures. Each woman has an equal opportunity to speak, so that no one person can dominate the discussion. This group best represents which branch of feminism? A. radical feminists B. liberal feminists C. womanists D. separatists E. revalorists

Q: Research indicates that watching sexually explicit films that degrade women A. is reported by a majority of convicted rapists as a regular activity prior to incarceration. B. is significantly correlated to viewing habits of women in violent romantic relationships. C. is related to men becoming more dominant toward women with whom they interact. D. has no impact on men’s views towards women. E. has no impact on women’s understanding of their relationships with men.

Q: This feminist movement believes the key to understanding gender and identity is best understood by examining the intersection of key elements of identity like gender, race-ethnicity, sexual orientation, and economic class. This best describes which branch of feminism? A. lesbian feminism B. revalorism C. womanism D. multiracial feminism E. none of the above

Q: In what way are girls and women more likely to use social media than men and boys? A. as a venue for self-development B. to participate in “sexting” C. to set up interactions with peers D. to play games E. none of the above

Q: The author of your textbook notes that “Using the term man to describe Zac Efron, Barack Obama, and Kanye West obscures the very different ways that these three people enact their identities as men.” Using queer theory, explain what the author means by this statement. How can there be so much variation in a word like man. How is a label like this seen by queer theorists?

Q: Mentoring relationships

Q: Equal opportunity laws

Q: Symbolic interaction theory

Q: Glass escalator

Q: Glass walls

Q: Four-year-old Caroline and seven-year-old Jenny are sisters who live and have been raised in the United States. Jenny plays a game in which she is a mother and her stuffed animals are her children. Jenny hugs them and pretends to carefully feed them. Later, young Caroline repeats the same hugging and feeding behaviors with her dolls. Caroline’s mother sees this and states, “Caroline, someday you’ll be a good mommy.” How would anthropological theory of gender explain Caroline’s behaviors? How would cognitive development theory explain Caroline’s behaviors? Make sure you address “maternal instinct” in your answer.

Q: Glass ceilings

Q: Using an example from your own life or experience, describe an example of social learning theory in action. Be sure to give sufficient detail from the theory and your experience.

Q: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Q: Biological theories attribute some aspects of masculinity and femininity to the differences between male and female bodies. Yet, the author of your textbook notes that biological differences between women and men are quite small and do not explain most behavioral differences. How should the relationship between biology and gender be understood?

Q: Informal networks

Q: Maternal wall

Q: Psychodynamic theory

Q: Affirmative action policies

Q: Social learning theory

Q: Lilly Ledbetter: