Gender & Popular Culture Summer Session B 2011 Blog Post #1 Constructs of Femininity and Masculinity In a TV-based Aspect of Pop Culture

Gender & Popular Culture Summer Session B 2011
Blog Post #1
Constructs of Femininity and Masculinity In a TV-based Aspect of Pop Culture

Choose a very narrow aspect of popular culture to analyze (a specific episode of a TV show). Analyze how your chosen element of pop culture portrays masculinity or femininity.  
Your "big goal" is to argue a point that addresses the following question according to your chosen element of popular culture:

What does it mean to be a man, or what does it mean to be a woman, in this element of popular culture?
Avoid including too much narration of the show, instead write in a clear analytical manner that targets an aspect of pop culture, and examines how this element constructs an understanding of masculinity or femininity.

You may choose to focus on a specific character if your find yourself with too many examples from the aspect of pop culture you have chosen (in order to keep the length manageable and close to the equivalent of a 3 page paper).  

Try to use the readings to define terms that may be new to you (or to a reader without a women's and gender studies background), by quoting the reading that defines the term when you first use it.  For example, Lull would be a perfect fit for using his work to define hegemony, while Johnson would be ideal for defining patriarchy. 

Remember, your goal is to analyze this piece of pop culture (analysis and judgment are not the same and if anything, judgment in place of analysis is counterproductive). Additionally, it may help you to look at both masculinity and femininity in both male and female-appearing characters
See the course syllabus and the blog post rubric for the guidelines for your blog post.
Include an introduction (with your thesis, which is up to you to develop) paragraph and a conclusion paragraph. 
Double-space between paragraphs (indenting frequently is undermined by the template you have chosen to use for your blog). 
You must include 2 different direct quotes (at minimum), from 2 different course readings from the week that precedes your blog post. 
Remember that it's imperative you incorporate your direct quotes into sentences and that you use the best possible quotes in a point-by-point basis to use as "backup" or as an "expert witness" for each of your points (therefore, you should make a point in a 4-6 sentence paragraph, then the following 4-6 sentence paragraph would include a direct quote from a course reading to back up your point)
Cite all in-text (parenthetical references) in MLA format and a include a works cited list (at the end) in MLA format.
If you use any quotes, clips, images, etc from the aspect of popular culture you have chosen to analyze, include them in your works cited list (and when appropriate for the source, in text citations as well). 
Comments will be posted to your blog in the “comments” section by me
Grades (alpha-numeric) will be posted to the SOCS gradebook.