Summary and Outline of a Research Text
Text: McCarren, Felicia. 2013. French Moves: The Cultural Politics of Le Hip Hop. New York: Oxford University Press.
Book Summary
Felicia McCarren’s French Moves: The Cultural Politics of Le Hip Hop (2013) is a scholarly monograph and dance study that explores how the choreographic language of le hip hop and dance has reshaped French identity. To help the reader understand how French hip hop and dance was able to do this, she identified various factors, ranging from cultural politics to technology. A text-based analysis, McCarren highlights the transfer of hip hop to France from the US, which developed into a language that “spoke” of the cultural differences of immigrants and minorities within the French community. To distinguish the arrival of French hip hop from its adaptation into French culture, McCarren notes the expansion and integration of new technologies, as well as the acceptance of hip hop by French institutions. Many individuals were now able to have a new sense of belonging and identity, free from the confines of previous cultural and political stereotypes.
Rhetorical Outline
Proposition: The choreographic language of le hip hop and dance has reshaped French identity.
Audience: McCarren targets readers who are interested in the hip hop movement, students in a dance seminar, and English speakers interested in French hip hop. Mainly readers who are interested in French culture, politics, European politics, immigration, US and French urban culture, African American and Latino studies, and hip hop, but also have a little bit of background in the French language, as it alludes to different words
Genre: Scholarly monograph, historical commentary, non-fiction
Motive of Author: McCarren might have wanted to spread awareness about the hip hop movement in France and how it influenced the culture and politics of the nation. She might have also wanted to introduce a new side of hip hop not commonly spoken about.
Motive of Reader: The readers are attempting to gain insight on the cultural and political effects of le hip hop in France and possibly compare it with other hip-hop movements. They could want to learn more about dance movements, especially one so popular as le hip hop in France, or simply just have to read it for an assignment. Also, those interested in art and politics, or immigrants and minorities.
Author’s Goal: McCarren attempts to introduce readers to the French hip-hop movement and give them a better understanding of its importance. She expects the readers to be educated on the globalization of this new hip hop culture.
Author’s Plan: 2 sections, 6 chapters, introduction & conclusion: The text is organized by parts, chapters, with chapter titles, along with smaller sections separated by subtitles. Occasionally,
24
there are images illustrating the text, along with captions. Chapter 1 focuses on the movement of hip hop from the US to France, developing a politique Culturelle. Chapter 2 highlights hip hop as a language that “spoke” of the issues in society. Chapter 3 built upon cultural differences, which have come forth in dance performances. Chapter 4 considers the expansion of visual technologies and media, while Chapter 5 focuses on representations of dance in Cambodia. Chapter 6 presents the intellectual understanding of hip hop, highlighting the acceptance by French institutions. McCarren concludes by speaking about the globalization of hip hop and dance.
Rhetorical Strategies: The writer essentially uses rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions, blurbs of quotes and pieces of writing, words in French, logical reasoning, and metaphors to add depth to the text.
Logical Outline
Introduction
(Given) Dance was not really accepted, especially within immigrant families, where the youth had to hide the fact that they danced from their families.
(Given) Hip hop dance forms arrived in the 1980s and were first taken up by suburban and immigrant communities.
(Given) Break dancing and other forms were associated with mixed immigrant communities. (Given) Hip hop became a forum for debate on assimilation
(Thus) Le hip hop is heavily influenced by French universalism and politics.
(What) Le hip hop is part of the political identity of France.
(For example) With the popularization of hip hop in France, French society began to accept a post-colonial culture.
(For example) While hip hop was a global form, it was facilitated by a dance culture and the financial support of a politique culturelle.
(For example) In economic capitals of the world, dance performances were seen as a product of economic surfeit.
(Who) Immigrants influenced how hip hop affected France and society.
(For example) Hip hop was a figure for the rage of those still referred to as issus de l’immigration, which was used against the madness of European racism for “post-colonial minorities.”
(For example) Hip hop was a way for minorities and immigrants to have a stage for expression of social problems.
(For example) Immigrants integrated dance forms from their cultures, to speak about global culture and a global movement of people and information.
(For example) Many elements of French society made immigrant identity more complex.
(How) Movement in hip hop dance embodies the struggles of marginalizes groups. (For example) The choreographies manifested “new identities,” because many immigrants felt marginalized by society.
(For example) Hip hop allowed many of the minorities to explore their identity, society, and nationhood within the French culture.
25
(For example) Choreographies manifested the new identities for their dancers through the poetics of dance’s figural language.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: technique, culture, immigrants, francophone, universalism
Chapter 1: Hip Hop Citizens – Politics, Culture, and Performance
(Given) US hip hop immigrated to France in the 1980s and is currently a form of ‘high art’ concert dance
(Given) Hip hop is a “political” dance form, which began under Francois Mitterand, former president of France.
(Given) Socio-economic, political, geographical, and cultural factors influenced the French hip- hop movement.
(Given) France is plagued by the concept of ‘universalism’ that offers a blanket form of equality over all citizens by eliding any recognition of racial difference.
(Thus) French hip hop is a cultural product that questions identity.
(What) France has been very influential in the movement, even drawing elements and people from the United States to it.
(For example). Much of the influence from the United States travelled to France, via dancers, dance videos, and French television.
(For example) It is so publicly funded as a concert dance form, US hip hop artists have been drawn to France for economic and performance opportunities.
(What) Minorities were able to have a new form of expression.
(For example) The structure and techniques of hip hop allowed for minorities to use it as a means to express the injustices they faced.
(For example) Hip hoppers are mainly from minority communities affiliated with North Africa.
(For example) Minorities were often rejected from their communities.
(Who) Hip hoppers and political figures are all participating in the movement.
(For example) French President Mitterand himself posed with first generation hop hoppeur which symbolized a new era for French culture, an acceptance of the hip hop movement.
(For example) It is widely accepted by multiple people, including the President of France, who has started a new era in the hip hop movement.
(For example) The hip hoppers are interested in recuperating…
(How) Hip hop dance has created something similar to “equaliberty”.
(For example) Choreography is a discourse in which bodies are mobilized and used to mean through poetic figures – referring to and/or becoming something else.
(For example) Many immigrants and minorities felt like they were a part of something, after being victims to racism.
(For example) Minorities felt marginalized, similar to the minorities in the US, and so they began to create their own art forms or “counter-cultures”, such as rap.
26
(How) Technology is being used as a means of creating new approaches to shape identity.
(For example) Advances in technology have created new approaches to the body in society as one of communal rather than individual liberty. This body is becoming the body in French hip hop
(For example) Hip hop choreography, such as Zou by Compagnie Los Anges meshes together technology and hip hop as a means of citizenship.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: representation, cultural politics, universalism, Equaliberty, technology, community, culture, expression, political dance
Chapter 2: Hip Hop “Speaks” French
(Given) Le hip hop has a national profile and is very “French” in nature, which contrasts with its roots in the US.
(Given) Dancers previously found themselves without a “voice” in the 1980s.
(Given) French hip hop shifted away from US rap music and US hip hop, building on the role of dance in French society.
(Given) Previously, language was thought to be a unifying force.
(Thus) Hip hop became a language that “spoke” for immigrants and minorities. (What) There was a transformation of le hip hop into la danse urbaine.
(For example) It offered a language to minorities and immigrants to express themselves, so they can be visible.
(For example) It was used as a way to “speak” about differences, both culturally and politically.
(For example) “Francophone” hip hop allowed a new site for discussions of
difference and cultural diversity, touching on subjects like ghettoization. (Who) Many dancers found it difficult using French institutional vocabularies.
(For example) New poetics were created solely around French hip hop which was beyond verlan.
(For example) Words defined in the United States held a different importance and resonance in France among the community.
(For example) Dancers felt that it was a difficult task using some of the French vocabulary in hip hop dances which were drawn from dances such as classical and contemporary dances.
(For example) Dancers used hip hop as a way to entertain, but also as a way to critique society, just as writers use satire.
(How) Hip hop became French in its dialogue with French universalism.
(For example) Previously, the national discourse has ignored diversity while privileging the universal. The French language was just a means “unifying”, but failed to do so by ignoring ethnic, religious, and cultural relations.
(For example) Minorities were able to use dance as a motivated language whose gestures became a symbol for what they wanted to communicate.
27
(For example) The French state began to view French hip hop as a national art.
The government funded places like ZUP.
(Why) To distance itself from the commercial culture of rap, hip hop came closer to the French movement.
(For example) Even though American words create a counterculture thinking, they are almost insignificant in French hip-hop dance.
(For example) Hip hop was used as a means to mock industrial productivity.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: Francophone, la danse urbaine, voice, language
Chapter 3: Hip Hop as Postcolonial Representation
(Given) There were talks in the United Kingdom and the United States of the growing racism in France.
(Given) The multiplicity of ethnic groups in France offers “ideal” conditions for racism. (Given) Minorities in France have had little access to political representation.
(Given) Minorities in France figure a difference that has led to discrimination and harassment based on visual identification.
(Thus) Hip hop dance represents cultural differences in France.
(What) Hip hop dance in France has exhibited diversity.
(For example) It has shown to influence the French community by showing urban “multiculturalism”.
(For example) The hip hop movement in France became a way to work through questions about their immigrant populations.
(Who) Berki’s choreography is among the many choreographies that expand the hip hop dance into a choreographic language
(For example) Some of the choreographies are some of the fewest to consider the history of colonial domination along with slavery.
(For example) Berki’s work, which was created over the span of two decades, provides a continuity between that imagined history and the contemporary.
(For example) His choreographies stage thinking about colonial encounter and conquest, and about post-colonial exodus and emigration, about mobility and identity.
(How) French hip hop draws from a range of moves. both from within the hip hop dance vocabulary and from outside of it—modern dance, capoiera, Latin popular dance
(For example) It draws from within the hip hop vocabulary (mentioned in Chapter 2, “Hip Hop ‘Speaks’ French”).
(For example) It drew from dances outside of hip hop, such as modern dance, capoeira, and Latin popular dance.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: choreography, postcolonial representation, domination, slavery
28
Chapter 4: Dancing in and out of the Box
(Given) New technologies has been another way that French hip hop has been facilitated, in addition to cultural politics, dance institutions, and choreographic development.
(Given) New technology and media created an atmosphere that was more embracing to the development of French hip hop.
(Given) Technological modernity was a major theme in choreographies.
(Given) When hip hop arrived in France, it was less technologically modern than it was in the United States.
(Given) Dance was a wordless art form which transcended differences in language and culture. (Thus) New media and technology influenced French hip hop.
(What) Hip hop was finally fully wired.
(For example) Previously, hip hop had integrated many other parts of the culture and society in France.
(For example) The youth was now more tech-savvy, so they brought technology as a new element to the hip hop movement in France. For instance, many films were now available on television.
(For example) French hip hop could be explained as fulfilling the socialist modernization plan for arts and technology.
(Who) Choreographers shaped their dances to comment on technology.
(For example) Choreographers such as Frank II Louise and Compagnie Choream used their dances to depict the wonders and horrors of technology. They used it to show what could occur when humans and technology came together.
(For example) Frank II Louise’s Drop It! was able to depict what technology makes possible and limits with regards to the body. Time was taken to develop the movement and learn it as well.
(For example) Drop It! utilized dancers who were transformed through their metamorphosis into robotic beings.
(How) The influence of technology transformed the lives of hip hoppers.
(For example) Essentially Access to new information, along with new technology, such as YouTube and other social media networking sites, has allowed them to potentially have a bigger platform to produce their own image. (For example) “Free Box” was an example of the influence of new technology, which allowed free Internet e-mail and international calling.
(For example) There were multiple TV shows such as the popular French television show called “H.I.P.-H.O.P.”.
(How) Dance and technology allowed for new forms with traditional movements.
(For example) Dances, in film and video, and dancers were now available on the Internet, which allowed many more people to be exposed to it.
(For example) Increasingly present technology has allowed for a world characterized by virtuality rather than machines.
(For example) Life and recorded art now came together, in a beautiful harmony.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: technology, choreography, dance criticism, media, modern dance, visual technologies
29
Chapter 5: “Breaking History”
(Given) European hip hop has integrated many steps and movements from the various cultures of its dancers.
(Given) Concert urban dance has brought out the concert forms in hip hop through music, costuming, and choreography.
(Given) Dance, language, exile, and immigration are closely related when studying the hip hop movement in France.
(Thus) Hip hop was transformed culturally through the layering of identity.
(What) Live performances and recording technology have both largely impacted the global communities that transmitted dances.
(For example) Gesture was essentially a universal language that everyone understands. Everyone shares a body and speaks its language.
(For example) Visual recording allowed people in places like Cambodia to view dances from different movements, and potentially use it to integrate it into their own cultural dances.
(Who) Yiphun Chiem was a leading example of a woman who integrated Cambodian traditional dances and hip hop.
(For example) She used her knowledge of these two dance forms to choreograph a performance that had deep dramatic and political content.
(For example) Her solo Apsara depicts the multiculturalism of hip hop into a story of the origins of Cambodia, along with the horrors of the nation and her family’s past.
(For example) She spoke about things which weren’t commonly spoken about, such as gendered identity in dance forms. For instance, break dancing could potentially allow a girl to have freedom from a traditional culture such as the one in Cambodia.
(For example) Within the hip hop movement, Yiphun acquired the movement language of the breakers and invented her own language within the form, using her roots in Cambodian classical dance.
(How) Performances like Apsara spoke of the migrant experience.
(For example) Apsara shows the rage that the survivors had of the genocide and the national “confusion” on what had happened.
(For example) She used hip hop to “speak” of the genocide, without actually speaking and used Cambodian traditional dance to add cultural aspects.
(For example) Yiphun used her solo to speak about the ability of new forms like hip hop, which could allow immigrants to have an identity.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: global communities, cultural dance, migrant identity, Cambodian classical dance, Apsara
Chapter 6: Techniques
(Given) Dance imitated everyday life and expanded on the global youth culture.
30
(Given) Hip hop in France is a forme populaire.
(Given) Imitation was seen as an art and art’s enemy.
(Given) Most modern dance forms moved away ballet’s narratives and towards a more abstract form.
(Thus) An intellectual climate allowed hip hop to be taken seriously.
(What) The intellectual analysis allowed institutions to consider hip hop as a legitimate art form.
(For example) It was established that while dancing was formed a long time ago, it is far from an undeveloped form of expression. It is rather a figural movement which uses language and technology instead than opposing them.
(For example) There was a shift to an idea of culture as practice, by Bourdieu and De Certeau, as a result of the work of Leroi-Gourhan.
(For example) French hip hop paid homage to African American culture, but it
was evident that French hip hop was not a copy of the US forms.
(Who) Scholars in France have shown sensitivity to the movements and actions of the body.
(For example) In Le Geste et la parole, Leroi-Gourhan predicted that the cybernetic age would change the human bodies that have remained essentially the same for many years.
(For example) Leroi-Gourban speculated on the influence of media and its consumption.
(For example) Corbin studied the body and identified the new thermodynamic conception of the body within the French reception of the dancer Isadora Duncan. (For example) It was speculated that the new technologies and media could be the cause of a “new liberation”.
(How) The professionalization of hip hop has created a wider range of participation.
(For example) The youth all over France, and specifically Paris, can take advantage of opportunities to learn and express themselves in a positive and civic- minded way.
(For example) The phenomenon of hip-hop dance classes taught at modern dance studios, and other studios, was a significant part of making hip hop more accessible to the mainstream public.
(For example) Hip hop teachers were often the product of self-training, who taught students to tap into their inner motivation and expand movements into theatrical dimensions, while inserting their own image.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: intellectual, legitimate, art form, institutions, professionalization
Conclusion
(Given) Travel and dance are closely related.
(Given) According to Kracauer, dancing is a form of travel and traveling is a form of dancing. (Given) When associating dance with travel, earlier forms of the circulation of global information are associated with todays.
31
(Given) Travel is the obverse of the immigration that is the legacy of colonialism as well as labor recruiting after the war.
(Thus) French hip hop is both a foreign import and a venue for expression.
(How) French dance embraced many global forms of dance and music.
(For example) Black American music and dance forms were initial and continuing inspiration for French dance.
(For example) Hip hop travelled all over the world through its dancers, as well as on the Internet.
(For example) Airplanes and the Internet were two major agents that contributed to globalization, allowing for hip hop to become a foreign import.
(For example) French hip hop shows that forms can be assimilated in a multidirectional transculturation.
(How) The travel of hip hop around the world had many implications.
(For example) The circulation of text and images around the globe in digital form was liberating.
(For example) Hip hop perpetuated a dream of a universal language.
(For example) Even though information was circulated globally, the global circulation of people became less free.
(For example) The closure of borders, restrictions on immigration, economic woes, pressure of the consumer culture, and politics of outsourcing made globalization far from liberating.
Function: Explanatory proposition
Keywords: Travel, airplane, immigration, circulation, globalization
32
Grammar Check
33
Incorrect Sentence
Corrected Sentence
Type of Error
Description of Error
This culture, and especially its most popular form of expression which is rap music has spread “from the margins to mainstream” (Androutsopoulos et al. 463).
This culture, and especially its most popular form of expression, which is rap music, has spread “from the margins to mainstream” (Androutsopoulos et al. 463).
Comma for clause
Use commas to set off nonessential words, clauses, and phrases. Nonessential words, clauses, and phrases that occur midsentence must be enclosed by commas.
In the world of hip-hop, appreciation and appropriation and coexist in harmony.
In the world of hip- hop, appreciation and appropriation can coexist in harmony.
Mistyped word
“and” was written instead of “can”
On-Demand Timed Writing
Task: You are the Communications Manager for EarResponsible. Recognizing that this Facebook situation may be damaging EarResponsible’s image as well as the success of the new product launch, write a brief memo to your Communication Team (Rob Rockin and Amy Patel) and your boss (Ophelia Badnow). Explain what steps should be taken and why.
Dear Ms. Badnow, Mr. Rockin, and Ms. Patel,
Regarding the latest Facebook post, I have now become aware of the negative comments that have flooded the post, as well as the comment from an employee at our company. This will be damaging to EarResponsible’s image and the success of our new product launch, but I believe that we can survive it. We need to issue a statement to the public that we recognize the discontent with the new product as well as the biased comment, and we are taking measures both to improve the product and speak to our employees about actions that they take. We will take full responsibility as a company for it, and make it known that the next time we launch the Ear- Splitting Headphones, we will take into account the input of our consumers.
Ms. Badnow, I apologize for how this looks for our company in launch, but I believe that it is something that we can learn from and use to educate both ourselves and our employees regarding consumers and social media. However, this occurrence could be used to our advantage because the negative comments will allow us to improve our product even more, before we release it again. While the comment by our employee was unfortunate, it reflects our organizational culture, which we can improve. We should send emails or create a forum where there could be an open discussion for topics regarding employee actions and the company. This could create a larger discussion, where there is communication at all levels. We can also hold meetings and ask surveys on what we should improve upon. As you can see, while the post did put a bad light on the company, we can surely use it to our advantage.
Rob and Amy, I believe that we should hold a team meeting later today or tomorrow and have an open discussion regarding what employees should be wary of doing. We need to communicate more with our employees regarding conduct on social media and other instances. However, please thank them on my behalf for their hard work and cooperation in our company. It is very appreciated, as is the work that you two do!
Please reach out to me if you guys have any concerns or ideas! I would love to hear them.
Best,
Shivani Patel
Communications Manager – EarResponsible
34
Diagnostic Essay
Opening Self Reflection as a Writer
Throughout my years in school, writing has never been my strongest area, although I have always enjoyed it. In grade school and middle school, I enjoyed writing poems and narratives. I remember a time in grade school – probably the first piece of work I was proud of – when I wrote and illustrated a book. My parents and teachers were so proud of me, and I even started to think that I wanted to write forever. When I got better at writing, after learning the basics like grammar and vocabulary, I began to craft poems and essays, adding segments that were truly unique to my writing style. I liked to write, because I could write anything that came to mind, without worrying about what other people had to say. High school marked an era where I struggled to find my voice in my writing. This might have occurred because my writing classes became much more challenging and also because I stopped writing in my free time. Instead, I focused heavily on research papers instead of focusing on my prose. In high school, I wrote two research papers – my greatest strength. But when it comes to prose, I am challenged with my control of language and use of vocabulary. I do enjoy reading, when I get to choose a genre I am interested in. I would say that I am generally a slow reader, because if I absorb the material effectively if I try to read fast. This is a skill that I really want to get achieve while being efficient and absorbing all the material. Ever since I was younger, I struggled with stress and anxiety, because I get really overwhelmed in school. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect, because I hate disappointing people. However, when my work is not as strong as I hoped it would be, I would prefer direct criticism as opposed to proverbial “praise sandwich”. By taking this writing class, I hope to learn something new and interesting, while improving my writing and becoming a versatile writer in my own right.
35
Shivani Patel
Ms. Gladstone
Language Arts Literature 3H 17 May 2017
Baseline Document
Gender Stereotypes and American Identity
Have you ever seen those dolls wearing colorful miniskirts, pink lipstick, and five-inch
heels? Those dolls are distributed during the birthdays of every young girl. U.S. culture has sexualized and stereotyped girls in this very manner. Over time, gender stereotyping, shaping the roles of many individuals, has become a prominent element of our American identity. Through advertising, media, and literature, individuals have defined what it means to be an American man or woman. These stereotyped roles or identities have been cemented in our culture through a need for structure, societal pressure to conform, and individual expectations. Even though women and men attempt to escape stereotyping, they ultimately end up embodying the holes that society expects them to fill. Many authors like Tennessee Williams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote pieces of literature depicting the struggles of individuals trapped under societal expectations.
Before discussing the relationship between gender stereotypes and American identity, identity must be defined in the context of this paper. American identity will be greatly based on how others perceive an individual to be. This is significant because individuals will attempt to define themselves differently, but it is ultimately how society perceives them which leads to their acceptance into that society. Fundamentally, society shapes and defines the American identity.
What are gender-specific identities, and how do they stem from gender stereotypes? According to Copenhaver, “By definition, gender refers to ‘meanings that societies and individuals ascribe to male and female categories’ (Eagly 4). and the term gender roles defines prescribed behaviors that are deemed appropriate for women and men (Lipman-Blumer 1984)” (Copenhaver 16). These “prescribed behaviors” are those that are exhibited by characters in many pieces of literature. Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird are a few characters in American literature that attempted but failed to escape gender stereotypes.
Gender is an integral component of American identity, and various authors reveal the challenges women faced as a result of numerous labels. This is evident in The Glass Menagerie when Williams states, “All pretty girls are a trap, a pretty trap, and men expect them to be” (Williams 52). Laura Wingfield is expected to be beautiful and wait for male suitors, as her mother tells her to. In this society, all women were expected to get married and settle down. This stereotype caused Laura to lose her individuality to the point where she began to emulate what society expected her to be. Subconsciously, marriage and beauty became a part of her identity.
Similarly, in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator faces gender stereotypes. She explains, “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through the pattern―it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads” (Gilman 9). Through this detailed description, Gilman skillfully illustrates the confinement and desperation this woman feels. In an attempt to evade gender roles, the narrator becomes even more trapped. Her mental illness restrains her from being a mother and a wife, so she is locked in a room. Her American identity had to consist of being a perfect mother and wife. She was no longer running from the stereotype. She became the stereotype.
36
There were many motivations behind why these women could not escape these stereotypical identities. Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, as well as countless other women, continued to suppress their need to escape through their firmly established hopes for individual success; this could be termed as an identity trap. As these women tried to express their individuality, their need to appease society undermined that freedom. Consequently, individuals are driven into an identity trap, where their previous American identity transforms into an acceptable one. This new identity is one that is acceptable according to the expectations of society.
Women are not the only individuals who succumb to fulfilling stereotypes. On the other end of the spectrum, men also satisfy stereotypes that society presents them. Atticus Finch symbolizes the rest of society when he tells Jem, “Don’t pay any attention to her, just hold your head high and be a gentleman” (Lee 187). Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem portrays the male superiority stereotype which becomes a progressive element of his American identity. He constantly tells Scout that she is “being a girl” (Lee 76). Even though he struggled to be a protector of Scout at times, he let his superiority dominate his identity other times. Jem vindicates his actions by convincing himself that Scout is a petrified little girl.
A similar male stereotype is presented in The Awakening. Comparable to Jem, Mr. Pontellier, Edna’s husband, saw his responsibility as a superior member of the household. He states firmly, “Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it” (Chopin 186). By being an authoritative figure, Mr. Pontellier was able to feel control by taking advantage of his wife, similar to many men during the late nineteenth century. Even though his actions took away from his individuality, he continued to fulfill several labels. Through a common stereotype, he made strength and dominance a part of his American identity.
The line between gender stereotypes and American identity is not only blurred in literature. This relationship can also be seen in media and advertising. In “Gender Stereotypes and Representation of Female Characters in Children’s Picture Books”, Paynter calls into question the serious nature of labels presented in media. She queries, “Do women choose traditional roles because they make conscious, objective decisions after receiving the necessary education and career opportunities and pick those vocations because it is their hearts’ calling? Or are girls and women steered toward particular vocations and roles, either blatantly or obliviously, because of the images they see in the media?” (Paynter 3). Paynter alludes to the possibility that women emulate what is depicted in the media.
While the media encourages men to be strong and stoic, it influences women to act as sex icons. Overall, media has a powerful role in molding the identity of an individual. When individuals view the media, they proceed to embody that label in order to be accepted into society. In a 2013 study on advertising on children’s television, Browne states, “Results are consistent with those of previous research in that boys were depicted as being more knowledgeable, active, aggressive, and instrumental than girls. Nonverbal behaviors involving dominance and control were associated more with boys than girls.” The study’s association between men and superiority can be related to the superiority exhibited by Jem and Mr. Pontellier, as well as many different types of literature. As the men got older, they began to manifest those traits.
A comparable, but more severe case in media exists in regard to women. As mentioned before, women are pictured as sex icons and take a prominent role in media for their beauty. The Anti-Defamation League explains the stereotype in their report which states, “Women and girls
37
must value their physical and sexual attractiveness first above everything else. They have to look flawless and the standards of beauty for women are very different than those for men (i.e. it is acceptable for men to have physical flaws, show signs of aging, be a normal weight or overweight, etc.)” (Stereotypes 3). Physical beauty is one of the three general categories that women’s labels can be placed in. Besides allure, women in the media are primarily concerned with relationships, and they are known for their roles as mothers or wives. Unlike male stereotypes, the final stereotype that embodies women is weakness and fragility.
These concepts of stereotypes overlapping with identity are not just expressed by gender. It is a universal abstraction, which can be applied to race and age, among many others. Likewise, the relationship between labels and identity are evident in many pieces of literature as well as in the media. While men and women attempt to escape the stereotypes, they end up embodying them. Gender stereotyping has influenced the roles of many individuals and has been integrated into our American identity.
Works Cited
Browne, Beverley A. “Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children’s Television in the
1990s: A Cross-National Analysis.” Thesis. N.d. Journal of Advertising 27.1, 2013: Print. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone, 1899. Print.
Copenhaver, Bonny Ball. “A Portrayal of Gender and a Description of Gender Roles in
Selected American Modern and Postmodern Plays.” School of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University: 2002. Web.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” New England: New England Magazine, 1892. Print.
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1960. Print.
Paynter, Kelly Crisp. “Gender Stereotypes and Representation of Female Characters in Children’s Picture Books.” Liberty University: 2011. Web.
“Stereotypes of Girls and Women in the Media.” Anti-Defamation League: 2014. Web. Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: Random House, 1973. Print.
38
Rhetorical Outline
Outline of Baseline Document
39
Proposition: Gender stereotyping shapes American identity.
Audience: Individuals interested in gender stereotyping and how it shapes the identity of Americans, readers comparing gender stereotyping and identity in literature, interest in women’s studies, gender, stereotyping, and identity
Genre: Research paper
Motive of the Author: Assignment for class, interest in gender stereotyping and how it relates to and affects identity
Motive of the Reader: Attempting to gain insight on gender stereotyping and identity, assignment on comparative literature
Goal: To learn about how gender stereotyping and identity are closely related and view how it is portrayed in American literature
Plan: one long essay; paragraphs with introduction, definitions, reasons, evidence from text, and conclusions
Rhetorical Strategies: rhetorical questions, quotations from literature, direct comparisons Keywords: gender, stereotypes, identity, American, women, relationship
Logical Outline
(Given) Advertising, media, and literature affect American identity.
(Given) There are stereotypes in American culture.
(Thus) Gender stereotyping shapes American identity.
(What) Gender identities are meanings given to individuals by society to put them in male and female categories.
(For example) Literature such as The Glass Menagerie exhibit these “identities”. (How) The identities of various women were affected by societal labels.
(For example) In The Glass Menagerie, the main character is expected to be beautiful and wait for their male suitors because that was the norm.
(For example) In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the main character is not able to be an “ideal wife,” so she is locked away in solitary confinement by her husband.
(For example) Their identity was shaped around these standards, because they needed to be “acceptable.”
(How) The identities of men are also affected by societal standards.
(For example) In To Kill a Mockingbird,” the male superiority stereotype becomes a part
of the main characters identity.
(How) The media influences identity through stereotypes.
(For example) The media encourages men to be strong while it influences women to act as sex icons.
(For example) Media has a powerful role in molding the identity of an individual.