This project is designed to have you investigate collectively some of the chief sociocultural influences on language and gender. You’ll be placed into a group of 3-4 investigators who will research and present your findings on your topics. Presentations will be 10-12 minutes long (to allow time for questions/discussion) and will take place in class on October 8. We have a TV/VCR and overhead projector in the room; if you will need other AV equipment (e.g. laptop & projector), please notify me well in advance so that I can arrange for it to be there.

You will be in charge of your investigation, though I will certainly be willing to make suggestions, give coaching, etc. The topics for the group presentations lend themselves to talking to people as well as surfing the web, ransacking libraries, dealing with inanimate objects, etc., and I encourage you to use your creativity in determining the scope of your research. All of you should play equal roles in coming up with material for your presentation, and all of you should be involved in the presentation, though not all of you need speak. If you wish, I will set up separate e-mail discussion lists for the members of your teams so that you can communicate more effectively electronically.

You will be responsible for producing two written products for the presentation: (1) a handout of "References and Information Sources" that will help anyone interested in pursuing the topic further. This will be given out at the end of your presentation. (2) a memo to me from your group detailing your teamwork strategies (how you worked together, how you divided and handled responsibilities, how you communicated), which is due at the presentation. All members of the team must initial this memo to indicate that it accurately reflects the team’s activities and participation.

As the syllabus states, this project is worth 20 points of your final grade; you will all share your grade, so inspiring each other and helping each other will be important. The grade breakdown is as follows:

1. Examine the language used in comic strips for signs of gender stereotyping and profiling. Look at traditional comics like Beetle Bailey, Mary Worth, Peanuts, or Blondie and compare the language with contemporary comics such as Doonesbury, Sally Forth, Dilbert, Sylvia, etc. What type of gender stereotypes do you find used? Can you identify comic strips that appear to subvert or alter expected gender stereotypes?

Some resources to start with: www.comics.com;  www.doonesbury.com;  www.dilbert.com;  www.nicolehollander.com.
 

2. It’s been said that we sell gender to people from the time they are babies. Look at greeting cards for newborn babies, magazines for expectant and new parents, advice columns for new parents, advertisements showing parents and babies, etc. What types of gender stereotyping do you find? What types of messages about gender ideology are being conveyed?

Some resources to start with: www.thenewparentsguide.com,  www.cherishedmoments.com,  www.npn.org,  www.family.org.

3. After the US Women’s Soccer Team won the Women’s World Cup, a widely-reprinted cartoon showed two guys sitting in the stands while fans above them displayed a banner reading "You Play Like A Girl." One guy is shown saying to the other guy, "Remember when that used to be an insult?" How do we present and cover male vs. female athletes in this country? What qualities are stressed/downplayed? (For instance, we routinely refer to male athletes by their last names or a nickname [Bonds, Tiger], but we routinely refer to female athletes by their first names [Mia, Mary Lou].) How are we conditioned to understand the relation of an athlete to his/her gender?

Some resources to start with: www.espn.com;  www.cnnsi.com;  http://www.sportinsociety.org/;  www.womenssportsfoundation.org;  http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/

4. Advertisements are carefully worded to appeal to their primary audiences. Study how the same product (for instance cars, computers, food or beverage products) are marketed to audiences that vary by gender. (For instance, what’s different about the Chevy ads in men’s magazines from the Chevy ads in women’s magazines from the Chevy ads in mixed audience magazines like Time?) What do the language choices used tell you about the gender assumptions of advertisers? What kinds of gender stereotypes and behaviors do they reinforce? You can use many different kinds of media, not just print media.

Some resources to start with: http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/comp/ad-claims.html;  http://dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Business/Advertising/Gender_Issues/;  http://www.rsingh.net/art/tobacco/page1.htm;  http://www.mediaandthefamily.org/research/fact/childgen.shtml.