Puberty Blues, By Film And My Own Society And Culture

"You're such a girl!" is something we hear quite often. But we don't exactly analyze its importance. Every man or women act and behave differently, and that is because of gender roles, "instructions for how to behave and appear as a woman or man (Wade and Ferree 2015; 61). We all "do gender", the ways in which we actively obey and break the gender rules of our society." (Wade and Ferree 2015; 61). We don't always obey these rules and regulation, we're all humans, and we all make mistakes, but it's other peoples reaction what's most interesting about breaking them. Once we break these rules, there is something known as gender policing, "responses to the violations of gender rules aimed at promoting conformity. (Wade and Ferree 2015; 71).

Gender can be defined as “sex roles” which are conditions that one considers to be for men or women. People tends to mistake it with sex or thinks that they are both the same. We discussed about the patterns of gender which how the authors of The Kaleidoscope of Gender describes it as “regularized, prepackaged ways of thinking, feeling, and acting” (Spade and Valentino,2017). It becomes an identity for us. We believe that there is and can only be two genders, being masculine for men and feminine for women. These roles has been forced onto us since birth: blue for boys, and pink for girls. You can see the roles being push onto a person throughout one’s life, but we don’t notice it since it’s “normal” to us.

In “Why Boys Don’t Play With Dolls,” Pollitt writes about the differences between growing up as a boy growing up as a girl. She brings up the stereotypes that society naturally creates between genders in early ages, which leads to the lifestyle and path that boys and girls are raised in. Parents and feminist alike play a big part in establishing these sex roles. They raise their kids wanting them to be successful at what they are expected to be good at based on their gender and the trend that has been set before them.

Schwartz opens the article discussing how even as babies society seeks to encourage the rigid idea of gender stating "Baby boys are held less and cooed at less...not because they are loved less but because they are being handled in a way that preserves their manliness-their heterosexuality"(187) Babies aren't born knowing how to be "masculine" or "feminine" but are rather taught that through societal expectations. This idea of upholding gender roles goes hand in hand with heterosexuality. "Whatever the culture, its norms about masculinity and femininity are supposed to co-vary with heterosexual enactment..."(188) While many celebrities such as Kurt Cobain sought to step outside of these expectations by preforming in a dress "guy liner" , these "antiheroes"(188) have never been the majority. Teen girls idolize ultra-fem singers such as Britney Spears, while teen guys look toward their favorite-jacked action star. Schwartz emphasizes these idolizations don't end after the competition of puberty as she points out the Academy Awards "...one of the central agendas of the

he explains that gender roles are set from a very young age. Society categorizes individuals into those

The primary source that I have chosen to analyze is a scene from the movie Grease. This movie was released in June of 1978 and is about a so-called good girl named Sandy falling in love with bad boy greaser Danny over the summer. Once it’s time for class to be back in session, they find out they attend the same high school and challenges face them as to how they can rekindle their prior romance with the eyes of their friends focused on them. Sandy is the typical good girl who obeys the rules and does what she is told. She falls in love with Danny who is a polar opposite to her. So instead of the typical movie ending where the bad boy turns into a good guy for the girl he is in love with, the writers threw in a plot twist and it ends up being Sandy who changes the most. She alters from a goody two shoes into a “hot and sexy bad girl” as co-creator Jim Jacobs states in an interview about the meaning to the ending of the film. I think that this movie is a prime example of the way gender roles have been visualized among society for a very long time. Additionally, it also doubles as an example as to how gender roles have changed as well throughout the decades that have passed by.

Gender is a concept constructed entirely by society. We base gender off of what we perceive and what others perceive of us. Until fairly recently, it has been categorized as one of two things: male or female. When we watched the documentary in class, we saw evidence of society 's socialization of young children. Commercials for Nerf Guns, action figures, and cars and trucks were all depicted with young boys as their users. Never did we see a girl playing with GI Joes or with Hot Wheels, only boys played with those. Meanwhile, dolls, baking sets, and make up kits were only advertised to girls, and no boys were shown playing with Barbies or Bratz. Society begins to shape gender notions from a very early age, where people are shown that they are one or the other, either male or female.

In American culture in the 1950s, men were the predominant head of the household and women were expected to cook, care for their kids, and clean. This is an excellent example of gender roles, and how they control certain aspects of life. Gender roles are, according to multiple sources, the way people behave, what they do or say to express being a female or male. (“Gender Identity”; Blackstone; "Understanding Gender") They are forced upon an individual from the day they are born even in the most trivial of terms of putting baby boys in blue clothes and baby girls in pink. Throughout that person’s life from then on, they will face cultural expectations every day to act according to their sex. Gender roles can often be confusing and hurtful,many stores are moving away from assigning products to a specific gender, but not only can gender roles affect a person’s behavior, it can play a huge role in transgenderism.

From an early age, our society begins to construct gender identities. Males are pressed to learn “suitable” gender roles in accordance to the masculine expectations our society has created. This means from a very early age boys are taught what it means to be a man. Porter’s way to explain masculine socialization is through what is known as the “man box.” Inside the box is a list of socially valued expectations that compose what manhood is about. The box includes expectations/guidelines such as, “don’t cry or openly express emotions (with the exception of anger), do not show weakness or fear, demonstrate power control especially over women (aggression dominance), be a protector, do not be “like a woman,” be heterosexual, do not be “like a gay man,” be tough, athletic, and strong, do not need help, and view women as property/objects.” This idea of manhood is instilled in young boys head and continues to stay with them for the rest of their lives. A fear

Sociologist Dalton Conley wrote his book, You May Ask Yourself, addressing how “gender is a social construction” that is so normal for society to think how a man or woman should act towards the public. Society often categorizes roles that females and males are suppose to play in, but not only are they categorized they are also being taught what their gender role is suppose to do. The beginning of gender socialization can start with a child who is not born yet by simply having the parents purchase items that are all pink if its expected to be a girl, but if its expected to be a boy then everything they purchase will be blue. Conley states that gender roles are “sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany ones’ status as male or female” (Conley [2008] 2013:134). So even when a child is growing into their infant years, toys are made specifically for their gender. By examining how social construction places gender in categories it becomes apparent that males and females get differentiated a lot which emphasizes inequality between them.

Whether it be due the malleable minds of children, or the turbulent world around them, dramatic changes in life are an absolute certainty. Young, naïve children are highly impressionable. Their parents teach them one thing, their friends another, and society, yet something else. Fickle, they morph in and out of the plethora of ideologies and mindsets laid out in front of them. This leads to a disorienting and rather confusing child-to-young-adult life, one without a clear sense of morality. The lack of focus upon what is right and wrong, inherently subjective terms, continues into our early adult hood and, for better or worse, seemingly defines the child for the rest of his or her life. This universal theme has been explored for many years through films aptly called “coming-of-age” stories, recently, and perhaps most effectively in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012). This film revolves around Sam and Suzy, two recently pubescent kids, their romantic affair, and their effects on the world around them. The film not only captures the youthful dynamic between the two protagonists, but explores the “coming-of-age” theme through Anderson’s signature flat perspective and through the actors’ portrayals of these characters.

Who are you? This question could be exceedingly intricate to answer if you were to ask an adolescent. Teens are experiencing countless changes in their development, which is why it is such a significant time for them. During this time teenagers develop their sense of self. Film has helped portray some of the changes that occur during this evolving developmental period. For this paper, I will be describing the differences between two adolescent films to depict differences in developing the self. Some differences I will cover include types of self, Erickson’s Identity Crisis, Marcia’s Identity Status Interview theory, and culture over time.(Arnett, 2013)

THe film AMerican Beauty was reviewed to help explain Erik Erikson's theory on psychosocial development. The psychosocial developmental theory consists of eight stages that humans go through from infancy up unto a mature adult over 60. While watching American Beauty several stages of psychosocial development were portrayed. The biggest takeaway from this movie showed that one may fail in order to overcome Erikson's psychosocial development. The stage that was most observed was the identity vs role confusion, during this stage according to our textbook “Adolescents ask themselves “Who am I?” They establish sexual, political, religious, and vocational identities or are confused about their roles.” (Berger, 2017 Table 2.1) Upon reviewing American Beauty I will include examples of the different types of behaviors demonstrated that reflect a particular stage of development or crisis in their life.

The first type presents an idyllic view of childhood, with images of adventures through imagination and flashes of the countryside. In this category, the message is clear: Childhood is awesome and the real world sucks. See “Kings of Summer,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “The Tree of Life.”

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender. Family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.