The Body Electric: Gender Stereotypes

About 80% of American adults consume 200 mg of caffeine a day. “A 12-oz. (tall) coffee from Starbucks will run you about 260 mg, while a 14-oz. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee contains 178 mg.” The daily intake of caffeine differed between products; one should always check the amount before consumption. There are no limits on how many energy drinks a person can purchase, which make it easy to abuse. Especially in younger children the addiction rate outstandingly high. Which may lead to other drug usage in the future and the committal dependence on stronger drugs.

Energy drinks are comprised of the following primary ingredients: caffeine, sugar, ginseng, taurine, and guarana. Caffeine is the most commonly used legal drug in the world that does not discriminate among the races, ethnicity, or gender groups. Babu et al. (2008) stated that a lethal dose of caffeine in a healthy adult can range from 5 - 10 g with 9 - 28 mg of caffeine per ounce in an energy drink (Rath, 2012). The human body does not block caffeine. The body acts like a sponge and absorbs caffeine and then quickly distributes it throughout the body (Rath, 2012). Individuals have the tendency to excessively consume caffeine. The caffeine when combined with sugar can cause psychological and physiological effects in people such as mild to moderate euphoria. Drinking one energy drink is not considered excessive. Drinking two or more drinks in a day is considered excessive.

Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Sexual stereotypes are deeply imbedded into today’s society. Ideals of the gender roles are passed down from generation to generation, creating a gap between what is socially acceptable for a woman to do and what is expected of a man. One thousand years ago humans chose dominance by physical capability, simply because it was essential for our survival, but the world has evolved. One thousand years ago physical strength was the most important part of survival for human beings. Men in general are physically stronger therefore it made sense to have a man lead. The world humans live in has evolved and is no longer run by the physically entailed, but by the most intelligent or creative(Adichie). Though this world has evolved, the gender expectations and stereotypes have stayed the same. Sexual stereotypes in America limit men and women to abide with,by the expectations of masculinity and feminism, create a sense of shame for women, and create a gap in today’s job industry.

Stereotyping is something that occurs daily. This occurs frequently in television advertisements. Many of these stereotypes are involving gender and gender roles. This can affect the way perceive others and view themselves. People may see advertisements and not realize gender roles are implied. These gender stereotypes have been occurring in television and advertisements since the 1970’s.

Sharp Objects is a novel by Gillian Flynn about a newspaper journalist, Camille Preaker, who has been assigned to return to her hometown to report on a series of brutal murders. In addition to writing a unique and very graphic mystery, Flynn touches upon controversial topics including gender stereotypes. The only real thing I did not enjoy was that Flynn gave away the “mystery” too easily.

Caffeine is a psychoactive drug and potentially deadly in large amounts, especially for adolescents (Hershorin, Lipschulz, Schaechter & Seifert, 2011). Caffeine is one the most common energy drink ingredients and one of the most widely consumed substances in the world. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), caffeine is a chemical stimulant compound found in various plants that acts as a central nervous system stimulant. Caffeine is produced naturally and artificially. Caffeine is found mainly in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks and some over-the-counter medications. Due to the increasing demands placed on teenagers today, caffeine is becoming more prevalent in adolescents. While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children have no more than 100 mg of caffeine a day due to unknown medical conditions, the fact a teenager’s brain is still in a developmental stage, and the importance sleep plays in the developing brain. Table 1, shows the amount of caffeine for the energy drinks in this report. (Note-this does not include the caffeine from blend ingredients)

The first advertisements viewed looked at were of women and men being objectified by being barely dressed and posed in provocative positions. The objectification of women has been a prominent issue for women’s rights activists, but men are rarely seen as being objectified. The first advertisement observed was a Budweiser ad. This ad showed an oversize bottle of beer with a fit woman leaning against it wearing a red bikini. The woman is lying up against the bottle in a provocative manner. This ad is suggesting that the woman is just as good to “consume” as the beer itself. It is also a great example of how companies strategize to get peoples attention. This ad is clearly geared towards men who then buy this

Logan, a healthy honors student and accomplished wrestler, who was recently crowned prom king, was found dead. After consuming a lethal dose of caffeine powder for his upcoming wrestling match, Logan laid unable to breathe, alone in his room, as his life ended. The caffeine powder seen in his hands is a perfectly legal substance, found in grocery store products around the world, yet, is equal to 28 cups of coffee and in Logan’s case, was fatal (Crouch, Michelle par 2). Instances like Logan’s can happen again as caffeine consumption continues to grow. Caffeine was found to be the most widely used psychoactive stimulant among people everywhere; a study has revealed that 97% of adolescents are consuming 98.2 mg caffeine per day (Caffeine Intake

Introduction: (bring a monster, sip it) alright. How many of you here drink coffee, energy drinks, or soda daily? Well we aren’t alone; according to Villanova Health Service about 90 percent of Americans consume caffeine in one way or another every single day.

In 2011, a Dr. Pepper ad campaign was launched by Coca-Cola to spike men’s interest in the low-calorie soda known as Dr. Pepper 10. In this advertisement, there are certain suggestions on what it means to be masculine and how Dr. Pepper 10 can help men live out that life style. In this commercial, a man can be seen performing feats that are seemingly characterized as masculine such as lifting heavy objects, breaking ice off his hand, and taming wild bears. It can be reasonably inferred that Coca-Cola has targeted the male mentality that low-calorie drinks are for women and are not masculine enough to purchase.

Of these eleven listed energy drinks and energy shots, four provide the actual caffeine content on the nutrition label of the can (Red Bull, No Fear, Rip-It, and SK Energy), but many provide the consumer with the broad term energy blend, which gives the consumer little to no useful information except for a broad amount of the combined ingredients within that energy blend. Table 2 (below) provides a detailed overview of the ingredient make up. There are many brands of energy drinks available in the world today that hold a vast array of caffeine within. These energy drinks come in a variety of many sizes as well. Energy drinks are hypothesized to hold a higher content of caffeine than any other caffeinated drink tested and will be the unhealthiest option for an energy source. The results of the experiment will be ranked in order based on the caffeine content for each drink. Through this experiment, the outcomes of consuming energy drinks such as their health effects and risks associated with consumption will be evaluated. The worst type of energy drink in the world is predicted to be the more recent energy shot. Energy shots are believed to hold more health effects and risks because it is such a small dosage that is being consumed in such a short time frame. Energy shots are also believed to hold a much higher caffeine level than any other caffeinated drink. A 2-ounce energy shot can easily exceed the FDA approved level of caffeine intake per day and can also hold up to the same amount of caffeine as a 16-ounce energy drink if not

Sylvia Nena (2011) also stated that “Manufactures of these products claim to increase energy, endurance, burn fat and improve athletic performance. According to experts, many of them state that it is untrue that energy drink helps to increase energy. This is due to drugs that can be found in the drinks such as caffeine. Caffeine with high levels of consuming can cause some problems to the human body like palpitations, hypertension, vomiting, convulsions and even worst heart failure which can lead to death. Roland Griffiths (2012) a caffeine specialist said that high caffeine in use by young people can cause a cycle of rushes and crashes that can add “a degree of variance to their moods and psychological well-being that they don’t really need. Joao Breda(2014) from WHO’s Europe wrote that caffeine has a proven negative effect on

Some energy drinks contain up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per serving, coffee contains 100-150 milligrams in an average cup of coffee. Dr. Steven Lipshultz, the pediatrician-in-chief at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit and his colleagues analyzed data from the American Association of Poison Control Center’s National Poison Data System. They studied data from October 2010 to September 2013, in this time period over 10,000 cases of energy drink exposure, more than 40 percent involved children under 6 years old. Lipshultz said, “Poisoning by caffeine can occur at levels higher than 400 mg a day in adults, and above 100 mg a day in teens. For children under 12, 2.5 milligrams per every 2.2 pounds of body weight can be a danger,”(Doheny).

The participants for this study consisted of 48 students from the University of West Alabama, recruited from the General Psychology Research Participation Pool. Individuals who participated in the research study received credit toward their course requirement as compensation for participating in the study. All participants provided informed consent and debriefing before the study began. All of the participants filledparticipants filled out a demographics sheetsheet (See Appendix D). More females than males participated in the study, with 66.7% representing females and 33.3% representing males. The majority of the participants were freshman with 60.4%. There were also 22.9% of sophomores and 16.7% juniors. The majority

Caffeine has many negative effects on humans, such as increased heart rate (Lane, J.D., 2002), depression (Goldstein, 2008), and addiction to this “drug.” You may be asking yourself, “What is caffeine?” Well, caffeine is actually a stimulant (Barone, Roberts, 2008) that is found in beverages such as tea, coffee, and soft drinks. In fact, caffeine is the highest grossing and most used stimulant in the United States (Barone, Roberts, 2008). It is estimated that 85% of adults living in the United States consume caffeine on a daily basis (Barone, Roberts, 2008). That means for every 100 adults, 85 of them have had a drink that contained caffeine on any given day. One reason caffeine is so widely available compared to other stimulants is