The Creation of the Working Girl’s Social Identity

I found the chapter, “Inventing the Cosmo Girl” to be really interesting for me as a reader of Cosmo. Helen Brown, creator of Cosmopolitan, developed the magazine as a way to advise women socially and economically. She provided new ways of thinking in a society dominated by powerful men, focusing on “self-management strategies, performative tactics, sexuality, and upwardly mobile romance (p 117).” Such discourse is defined within in the text as ideological representations that have developed socially, in this case, such representations refer to the social identity of the working girl (p 117).

Brown renamed her audience “pink-collar” women whose dreams are to transcend class and gender roles. The “cosmo girl” is the sexualized symbol of pink-collar femininity. Going against standard stereotypes, Brown “critiqued mandatory motherhood, advised birth control, condoned divorce, encouraged women to work outside the home, and recommended sexual and financial independence within boundaries (p 118).” However, although she was seen as a savior by her readers for solving their emotional, social, and business dilemmas, I think of her more as a player in the game of stereotypes. Yes, she stood up for women’s rights, but at the same time, she placed too much emphasis on sexuality,. Therefore, her attempt at constructing a powerful female identity falls short and, instead, she helps create women who are dependent on the very thing that men degrade them for- their bodies.

Rather than simply conforming to gender stereotypes, she embraced and highlighted them by emphasizing the importance of using sexuality to gain success. Many of the advertisements focused on cosmetics, personal care products, lingerie and clothing, which can still be seen today. She taught her readers how to acquire style and attractiveness by simply copying fashion magazines. The magazine, therefore, fed on insecurities rooted in male ideology by encouraging women to exploit themselves.  This focus on the reconstruction of one’s identity to increase opportunity of “prolonged courtship” is still the prominent theme in current Cosmopolitan issues.

Today’s Cosmo magazine covers host famous women dolled up, surrounded by text claiming to hold the secrets of the ultimate sexual pleasure, how to get the ideal guy, and how to tell if he’s into you. Basically, the theme of every issue is the same- how to recreate yourself in order to get the guy of your dreams. Interestingly, Ouellette states in the chapter that Cosmopolitan once featured ads for employment and education- what might have been the only real confrontation with gender stereotypes. Now, the advertisements only display products that increase one’s physical attributes. In fact, I find the number of cosmetic ads to be incredibly annoying, especially since they all seem to creatively be the same- dull. The magazine contains quizzes on such topics as finding out who your ideal man is or what type of flirt you are. Unfortunately, a heavy emphasis is laid on how to please a man….sexually. The magazine often goes into a heavy description on sexual positions and secrets that claim to “blow you man’s mind!!” How is this encouraging woman today? – By saying that in order to be a real woman, they need to master all 13,342 sexual positions? By knowing the ins and outs of their male counterparts body?

However, not all content in the magazine is sexually based. They do cover female issues such as cervical cancer, breast examines, sexual assault in the workplace, abusive relationships, and traumatic experiences. I find these articles to be the most interesting throughout the issues because they provide a lot of insight and consistently differ from one issue to the next, unlike the uniform “how to please your man” articles.

Despite Cosmopolitan’s conformity to gender stereotypes, readers, including myself, find themselves running to the shelves every month to purchase the newest issue. For some reason, we find comfort in this figurative community of women around the world who experience the same issues as we do….even if those issues do revolve around our male counterparts.

Works Cited

Ouellette, L. (2011). Inventing the Cosmo Girl. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 349-358). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Big Media is Watching You

                One of my first postings was supposed to be on the introduction chapter of our class textbook, Gender, Race, and Class in the Media. Now I sit here with two weeks left in the semester attempting to write about concepts such as ideology, hegemony, and audience receptions, concepts that I initially found to be confusing and uninteresting. However, after a semester’s worth of reading, discussing, and researching the media and how it affects our perceptions, I realize just how important these issues are. Thus, I am happy that I waited till now to write this specific post and I will play it off as if I had planned this all along J

                Dines and Humez believe that in order to understand media, “one ideally needs to be able to understand the socioeconomic context in which it is created, analyze its constructed meaning(s) through careful attention to its particular visual/verbal/auditory languages or “codes,” and determine through ethnographic research what its real-world audiences contribute to the meaning-making process (p 2).”

                Throughout this semester, I have conditioned myself to pay close attention to the media and what the real messages they convey are, specifically in advertisements, television shows, and video games. Once one has begun to notice these messages, they need to understand why they were created and how society plays a large role in the process. After one makes meaning of media, they can control how much it affects them, placing the power back into the consumers’ hands.

                The media really does shape our perception of the world in terms of our values by depicting those in power and those who are not (p 9). Because I live in the society whose media I am studying, I am partaking in a form of cultural study, allowing me to analyze the media without prejudice to particular texts, institutions, or practices (p 11). In the chapter, “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture,” Kellner states that ideology is a necessary concept in cultural studies because it “serves to reproduce social relations of domination and subordination (p 11).  They make these inequalities seem natural in our society and, therefore, except and condone their progression. Also, they are ways for individuals to create and recreate their own identities, as well as the identities of others.

                The concept of hegemony through me for a loop the first few times I encountered it. The idea, which is based on what is considered to be the dominant gender, race, and class roles, can be found in all media outlets. Wealthy, white males, for instance, are considered to be the most powerful group of individuals in our nations. Hegemonic views are based on this group of individuals’ values and beliefs. The media that has such great influence over our society is usually created and/or intended for this audience. They attempt to instill these views into the rest of society, the subordinate groups, until they, too believe that such stereotypes are, in fact, true.

                Once individuals are able to identify the hegemony predominant in the media, they will realize just how manipulative media is. So, dear readers, open your eyes and ears! Realize who and what is influencing you and shaping your identity. Are you really going to let these industries tell you who you should be? Instead, create your own self, with your own set of beliefs that are grounded in something more concrete than visual and audio stimulus.

Dines, G. and Humez, J. (2011). A Cultural Studies Approach to Gender, Race, and Class in Media. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 1-7). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Douglas Kellner. (2011). Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 9-20). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Video Games Killed the Porn Star

In addition to my research project on violence in video games, the documentary Game Over provides great insight to how such games are constructed in terms of violence, sexuality, and race. For this post, I want to delve deeper into the sexuality aspect of video games by analyzing how men and women are depicted.

While researching the “top 10 violent video games,” I came across numerous opinions of what games are the most violent. However, the common theme in all of the lists where that the main characters in the games were all men. The women portrayed in such games were either victims or seen as sexually explicit objects. For instance, the Grand Theft Auto series has  female strippers and hookers that you can get lap dances from, or kill and steal money from. Here we see females used as part of the “backdrop” in which they only add to the pornographic landscape. When individuals play such games, they become progressively desensitized to this pornography and violence, affecting their values, thoughts, and behaviors. 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t8MFkSJMvTU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Retrieved from YouTube.com

Here is a scene from the game depicting sexual explicitness. Does this scene really add to the plot of the game? – No. Rather, it is only used to persuade male gamers to play by tapping into their sexual desires.

Retrieved from games.net

Take the Mortal Kombat series, for instance. While gamers can play as female characters, these characters seem to be more of sex objects than trained killers. Interestingly enough, if a real life women who miraculous had such body measurements really existed, she would in no way be able to jump around and do flips with size DD breasts.

Retrieved from http://basementdwellinggamer.blogspot.com/2011/05/girls-of-war-women-in-video-games.html

Most commonly, female characters in games are depicted as the “damsel in distress.” While this is may be considered a cute and even loving depiction of the relationship between men and women, often it  degrades women as being incapable of saving themselves, leaving them to rely on a man for salvation.  

Retrieved from RPGFan.com

However, when women ARE depicted as heroins, they are still made to appeal to the main audience (men). Although they seem to be empowered, they are really being exploited. Lara Croft, the heroine from Tomb Raider, for example, is depicted as having an unrealistic body type, with incredibly large breasts despite her extremely thin frame.

Retrieved from http://hellinahandbasket.net/?p=1449

Male characters, on the other hand, are portrayed as being hyper-masculine- with overexposed muscles, demonstrating aggressive behavior. Their power and control comes from violence and intimidation.

Toys for Boys

Have you ever taken the time to notice the common trend among boys’ toys? They all seem to pressure these young boys into becoming what society deems to be “natural”- the stereotypical, hegemonic ideal. This especially is seen in action figures such as G.I. Joe, pro wrestlers, PowerRangers, and pretty much any collection of toys based on a featured film or television series. While many would claim that these toys are harmless, typical children’s toys, I beg to differ. I believe that children, especially boys, are more prone to playing violently when they are playing with toys that are meant to be violent. Whether they are playing alone or with other children (including girls), when boys are playing with action figures, they fight against other action figures. Because they are young and have little to no morals, they view fighting as something fun, a form of play, rather than something that is serious and should be condoned. Also, they see these action figures in the media as being rewarded for their violent behavior and begin to not only desensitize themselves from violence, but to strive to achieve this masculine characteristic. 

 Retrieved from http://www.toughnerdtoys.com

Here are some of the G.I. Joe 25th anniversary action figures. Notice how each has their own specially designed weapon....weapons that most children cannot even identify. 

In the chapter, Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity, Katz claims that violent behavior is considered to be masculine, while females are more prone to a more gentile, loving nature. In “action-adventure” movies, men are depicted as heroes, no matter how violent their behavior may be. Although many of these movies are rated “R,” such violence can also be seen in cartoons aimed at children, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Here, children see problems solved through violence, instilling in them that violence is in fact the answer. As boys grow up to become adults, they are able to mimic these heroes’ physical size and violence (p 352). This is when their violent behaviors become most noticeable, in their relationships with others.

Many disguise such ideological premises as common sense, when really they are a product of society (p 354). Masculine violence is seen all over the media- film, television, music, advertisements. Not to mention the news coverage on domestic abuse, homicides, and robberies. Because children grow up influenced by the media, and their toys, such hegemony is being instilled in them without their knowledge. This allows stereotypical gender roles to infect generations to come and influencing them to believe that they are not so much stereotypes as they are innate attributes. In fact, Katz informs readers that some claim that it is biological for men to dominate women and assert their aggressiveness (p 354).

The question is are these boys given these toys because they want to duplicate what they see in the media, or rather, is such violent behavior bestowed on them by their parents. I believe that is a combination of both. Boys see their favorite movies and beg their parents to buy them the toys and, being “good parents,” they give into their children’s desires, not really considering what they are doing. This is interesting considering the recent uproar of parents against violent video games. Having your child play with an adamant object and having them play a violent video game is essentially the same. Although one requires much more creativity and imagination than the other, they both provide outlets for violent behavior to develop. So then, why are violent toys ignored in the debate? perhaps because toys such as action figures have been around for far longer than video games. In fact, G.I. Joe has been around for 48 years. Because of parents’ familiarity and comfort with such an outlasted character, they seem to bypass the violence that he stands for. Also, I’m sure they view violence in war to be justifiable and honorable…although their children have no concern for such reassurance.

All in all, it comes down to the fact that toys aimed at young boys often embrace and encourage violent behavior. So, save your little boy from unneeded aggression and buy him a stuffed animal to play with instead :)






Katz, J. (2011). Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 349-358). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.