Pop Culture and Identity
“What’s Wrong With Cinderella?”
Some definitions of “Identity”
• “The distinguishing character or personality of
an individual” (merriam-webster online
dictionary)
– In other words, identity is the thing that sets an
individual apart and makes it distinguishable from
other individuals. However, identity can also be
bound up in our membership in a group…
• “Social identity is a person’s sense of who they
are based on their group membership(s)”
(McLeod).
QW #5: Group Memberships
• What are some things that determine “groups” people can
be members of?
–
–
–
–
–
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Gender
Religion
Race/ethnicity
Subculture
Profession
Can you think of any more?
• What are some things that people do in order to identify
themselves as members of a certain group? What happens
when a member of a certain group doesn’t act the way a
member of that group is “supposed to” act?
Preparing to Discuss the Reading: Some
Basic Assumptions About Gender and
Identity
• There is a difference between gender and sex.
– Sex is biological. (It’s about parts.)
– Gender is socially constructed. This means that society
has created ideas about what is “masculine” or what
is “feminine” that have nothing to do with biology.
• Advertisements and pop culture take part in the
construction of gender and use it to sell products.
What does pop culture encourage us to think of
as “masculine”? As “feminine”? Give me
examples.
“What’s Wrong with Cinderella?”
• This essay is written by a mother who is
consciously trying to avoid having gender norms
she sees as harmful forced onto her daughter.
• Why is this mother, Peggy Orenstein, concerned
about her daughter’s interest in princesses (and
the trend overall)? What reasons does she give
for this concern?
• What is the debate about the princess trend?
How does Orenstein place herself in relationship
to other voices in the discussion?
“What’s Wrong with Cinderella?”
• Notice how Orenstein has a complicated stance here.
– She concedes that the princess trend might be a “sign of
progress,”
– She mentions that little girls haven’t “drunk the Kool-Aid” and
play basketball in their fancy dresses.
– She struggles with whether she is sending her daughter a
message that being a girl is bad by being anti-princess.
• Notice that she also interviews several people who are
knowledgeable about various areas that relate to her topic
and then responds to her sources with her own ideas.
• What conclusions does Orenstein eventually come to? How
does she stake out her stance in this complex debate?
Where do you stand?
Practice Responding to Readings
• We are going to practice the skill of responding to a reading you
have done with clarity and originality.
• For this practice, you are entering the ongoing discussion that
Orenstein is also responding to – how parents who wish to
encourage their daughters to see past stereotypes of women
should react to the “princess craze.”
• You practice essay should be of a length and complexity appropriate
to the time I give you. It should have a thesis and address the
following questions:
– What do you think about this issue? (You should frame your own
thoughts as a response to what Orenstein has written about her own
experiences.)
– You must include at least two quote sandwiches where you introduce
the quote and give any needed context, quote the article in proper
MLA format, and respond to the quote in a complex, original manner.
– Your response may have multiple paragraphs.