Now, I don't know about you, but this collection makes me feel a little bit sick. And I'm a girl! But when these things are by themselves we don't even think about it. Commercials, popular music, and popular tv shows are things that we, and children, watch and learn from without thinking about it. I would like to argue that sexism is alive and well. Just different than we normally think of.
The first video is very clever; without saying it, men are portrayed as easily manipulated. I mean, look how young she is and she's already got the technique down. A simple smile gets you everything you want.
Beyonce's song "If I Were a Boy" is another extremely clever example. The whole video gears your anger and disgust toward the lady just in time to show you who's really to be blamed. This video portrays men as self-oriented cheaters. You just can't trust them. Similarly, this next clip from the popular TV show Friends also portrays men as avoiding family duties and bumbling idiots. Very clever though I must say. I mean he's proposing right? That's family oriented. Except that he's only doing it because he's sorry. And note how his friends in the background are convinced the proposal is a bad idea.
The old spice commercial is different. You may even wonder why I grouped it with the others. The fact is, I think this displays a single story about men that affects teachers the most. I went through lots of old spice commercials and honestly there were several themes: power, strength, and attracting women. I couldn't find any about doing well in school. (OK so there's the BYU parody of Old Spice . . . but that's BYU for you.) I'm sure you've heard the stories about the decline in boys' performance in schools. Just in case you haven't, here's an article from CBS News:
I was going to just pick out a few quotes, but honestly the whole thing is good (and it's relatively short) so take some time to read it.
The fact is the single social story coming across to young men is that they are expected to be amazing physically. If you're not, you're not manly. And since achieving in school is so often associated with girls, guys don't want to achieve for fear of being teased. Besides, they're supposed to spend more time working out right?
I think overall the media has moved toward portraying men as physically strong, self-oriented, and perhaps lacking quite a bit mentally. And that's portrayed as being just fine! I loved this quote, " 'There's a little cultural secret at work here. Boys go out in the work world and earn more money,' says Thompson. 'Nobody wants to admit what's happening, which is, 'You girls work very hard, but sorry, ladies, when you get out there, we're not going to pay you equally. And you boys, it's OK. You can loaf through school. You'll get good jobs afterwards.'” I loved it because it shows an even deeper cultural belief at play.
Can you see how this creates a single story? Boys may feel like they're lacking somehow if they excel more in school than in sports. They can get teased for being less manly and may feel limited in career choice. For the boys in the class, what is people's response when you tell them you're going to be a teacher? Is this a "manly" career? I wonder what the social implications will be when the larger portion of the educated society is female. Educationally, teachers need to catch themselves in this single story. Do you find yourself saying that so-and-so isn't doing as well because he's a boy? Or do you find yourself categorizing certain subjects as more feminine/masculine? These kinds of biases come through to students and they'll realize the social limitations set on them.
I think it's fair to bring up an important aspect of single stories again. It's not like the characteristics aren't true above - in some cases. There will be men who are easily manipulated and situations where girls use things like smiles to get their way. There are men who are faithless and there are men who avoid family. There are going to be students who have trouble in school but excel physically. The thing is - these are just single stories. They do not apply to the whole group of men. And society begins to judge all men off these false characteristics.
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