Gender

Gender Pricing Exposed

Gender Pricing Exposed

CBC, 2014, 15:36... See a marketing team create fictional gendered toothpaste and learn how you can combat gender price discrimination. Although this video is from Canada it touches on New York City's legislation barring such discrimination. Yet laws can't solve this issue alone as a 2015 study from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that, on average, women's products were 7% more expensive than similar products for men.

The New Wave of American Masculinity

The New Wave of American Masculinity

Vice, 2016, 22:11... VICE UK Correspondent Gavin Haynes has come to the United States to determine what masculinity means to the American man. Though stereotypically masculine acts like fraternity hazings, monster truck rallies and food competitions still persist, there is a growing movement of men who are coming together to challenge these conventions and redefine machoism. Gavin meets with a host of these men, including a competitive eater, a troupe of stay-at-home-dads and a radical men's group hosting a slumber party in the woods, to survey the evolution of American masculinity for himself.

China's Single Men

China's Single Men

Al Jazeera English, 24:35... In China, women are in short supply. It's predicted that one in five single men will never find a woman to marry. To avoid becoming a 'bare branch', many single men are resorting to extreme methods to find a bride - kidnapping or buying women from overseas. Anything to help them fulfil their responsibility to secure the future of their family.

(Toxic) Masculinity and Disney Princes

"After Hours - Why Disney Princes Are Bad Role Models For Boys" -- Cracked, 2017, 9:31 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYBeG7PxEiE

Disney teaches men: (1) They don't need to have personalities; (2) The only motivation you need in life is to "get the girl"; (3) The girl likes your privileged status as a prince rather than who you really are; (4) Be aggressive when it comes to making a move (lie, stalk, pressure them, etc.). 

Video's DescriptionThere are plenty of discussions out there about who the best Disney Princess is, but let's have an honest conversation about who the best Prince is and which one you would want to date. Or, you know, at least who the best is out of Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Prince Charming, Simba, Aladdin, and the one from 'Little Mermaid.'

Doing Gender in Selfies

Why men and women take selfies differently -- Quartz, 2017, 4:17 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC6mR7g7ES4

An interesting example of how masculinity and femininity are found in taking selfies. Men look down at the camera (signaling dominance) while women look up to appeal to men. There's a brief discussion of online dating data as well. A downfall of this video is the interpretation based in evolutionary theory, rather than sociology.

Childhood Gender Roles in Adult Life

Childhood Gender Roles in Adult Life -- BuzzFeed, 2014, 1:47 -- https://youtu.be/381belOZreA

A short and sweet video on the absurdities of gender role policing as kids versus adults. This may be good to pair with discussions of gendered objects, gender role socialization, and masculinity/femininity in general.

Measuring Gender Bias in Movies

Google-backed AI Measures Gender Bias in Movies -- The Verge, 2017, 2:36 -- https://youtu.be/jsVZSUIv_iI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to measure speaking time on screen between male and female characters. Results indicate that men get significantly more lines than women. For example, if looking at just the 2016 Oscar-nominated films, men speak 73% of the time and women 27%. This is similar to the Bechdel-Wallace Test to measure gender bias, which asks three questions: (1) Does the film contain at least two named female characters (2) who talk to each other (3) about something other than a man? Less than 60% of films pass the Bechdel Test.

Transgender Rights

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver -- HBO, 2016, 16:46 -- https://youtu.be/hmoAX9f6MOc

A humorous yet critical look at the dire state of trans rights in the United States. With the Trump Administration recently rescinding federal rules on bathroom access for transgender students, it is imperative that we enlighten our students to the injustices and oppression faced by this often-ignored segment of the LGBT community.

It was never about the bathrooms, just as it was never about the water fountains. -Anonymous 

Sex Education in the United States

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver -- HBO, 2015, 21:04 -- https://youtu.be/L0jQz6jqQS0

A humorous look at dysfunctional sexual education programs in the United States with a call for a more comprehensive sexual education. In this video we learn how educators commonly shame and/or frighten teens into remaining abstinent, which isn't all that surprising given the enormous sex-negativity prevalent in our culture. However, abstinence-centered sex ed has little-to-no effect in preventing teen pregnancies or STDs, and ultimately does a disservice to youth and society. We need a sex-positive approach where we empower people to make healthy, informed sexual decisions. In order to do that we need to honestly discuss sex and sexuality in all of their unsettling complexity, conveying accurate information to individuals in a manner free from moral judgement.    

Porn Sex vs Real Sex

Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Difference Explained with Food -- KornHaberBrown, 2013, 1:37 -- https://youtu.be/q64hTNEj6KQ

Great stats on how our idealized and unrealistic view of "normal" sex compares to reality. This video does a good job on provoking audience reaction using gastronomic images. While some may see this as perhaps inappropriate for the classroom, I believe this video dispels misconceptions about sex in an edgy educative manner in line with a sex-positive ideal.

Heteronormativity-- The World of the Heterosexual is a Sick and Boring Life (Throwback)

Female Trouble -- John Waters, 1974, 1:42 -- https://youtu.be/gAa_e_L0rpc?t=15s

A fabulous scene from John Waters' 1974 classic Female Trouble starring Edith Massey as Aunt Ida. Here we get to see a still-relevant critique of heteronormative families as Aunt Ida attempts to turn her nephew. Happy Valentines Day!

The Black Women's Defense League

The Black Women's Defense League Taking Aim at Racism and Misogyny -- Vice, 2017, 12:39 -- https://youtu.be/zhx_fdOvnrI

A righteous response to violence against black women from within their own community and the larger society-- The Black Women's Defense League: "Black Women’s Defense League is a coalition of women of color from all walks of life on the path to total liberation. BWDL focus’ on self defense through martial arts and and other hand to hand combat techniques armed training with various types of artillery including knife fighting, marksmanship, and weapons of opportunity. BWDL also engages in emergency preparedness, urban survival training, and battered women’s rescue. In addition to training BWDL works towards raising awareness and solutions to the areas of concern that face black women at large".

This video is all about identity and empowerment in a racist society marred by violence. It's also a good example of color consciousness and pride. Unfortunately, we see that the BWDL still relies on the white power structure to secure the proper training (white-owned shooting ranges). #BlackLivesMatter