WOMS96fq. Midterm Exam
Fall 2009
S. Gallardo
We decided in class that our midterm would consist of two parts:
I. Multiple choice (25 questions) on Wednesday 10/14
II. Two takehome essays, 2-3 pages each, five pages total, due in class on Wednesday 10/14
PART I:
Multiple choice questions will be based on the lecture material on sex, gender, feminisms, and
inequality. Be sure to review the lecture notes online. Here are some questions to help focus
your study:
Define sex and gender. Be sure you can define and discuss each with details and examples.
Give five examples of a “marker” of sex and a “marker” of gender
What does it mean to be intersexual? How have intersexuals critiqued societal gender
norms?
Where do we learn gender? What is gender socialization?
What does it mean to "do gender"? Why does that matter?
What are the two main theories of gender? How do they differ?
Name at least three types of gender inequality, according to Amartya Sen.
What is your instructor’s definition of feminism? What are its four key elements?
What is “male privilege”? Give examples.
What does the phrase “interacting inequalities” mean? (Amartya Sen article has lots of
examples)
Does male privilege mean that all men feel privileged over all women? Why or why not?
PART II.
CHOOSE TWO of the following options and write a 2-3 page essay (five pages total). Both
essays should be about five pages long, double-spaced, in a plain 12 pt font. Exam essays should
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be a bit more compact than a regular essay—a concise introduction, get straight to the topic, and
conclude with your own insight, or suggestions for change.
Be sure to draw on the readings and films specifically as you make your argument. You
will be graded on the clarity of your argument, and how you draw on the course reading,
lecture, and discussion to support those ideas.
You may use informal citation for the reader articles (Nguyen, 3) or (Dreamworlds). Always
save a copy of your work! Bring your essays to class on Wednesday, October 14 when we will
take the multiple choice section.
Option 1A:
Choose one Disney movie. Analyze the racial and gender stereotypes and themes as you
see them functioning in the movie. Look at characters, plot themes, music, any element
of the film experience. What kinds of effects might these images have? On who?
Negative, positive, both/neither?
OR Option 1B:
Write or rewrite a Disney fairy tale as you would like to see it produced. This is a
creative option that is not as easy as it sounds. These will be graded on originality of
thought, the degree to which you use/adopt/modify traditional categories, and
entertainment value. Feel free to add a 1-2 paragraph addendum explaining what you
chose to write about and why.
Option 2:
How does the media construct femininity and masculinity? Do these constructs change
over time? How? Draw on any of the readings or media we’ve seen: Dreamworlds,
Mickey Mouse Monopoly, the Geena Davis Institute data report, the Henke article, Buffy,
or Mimi Nguyen’s article to give specific examples. Be careful about generalizing here I suggest focusing in on one area or theme, and supporting your discussion by drawing on
the reading, and/or data.
If they are horrible, what can we do to change them? How can Disney change them?
Option 3:
Amartya Sen writes about multiple forms of gender inequality globally. Define and
discuss. What does it mean that there are so many forms of gender inequality (Section
II)? How does he suggest we can begin to reverse these inequalities?
Option 4:
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Choose a music video that you can find online. Conduct an analysis of how the video
uses (or changes) the gender conventions as discussed in Dreamworlds (transcript on
blog). Consider images, lyrics, music, everything that goes into the video experience. Be
sure to post the music video on the blog (email if you need help).
The following are questions you might consider as you write any of these essays:
What is “the Media”? Ads, music videos, movies, Disney films, Internet
How does the media construct femininity? How does the media construct masculininity?
Why does this matter?
What do Henke & crew ("Construction of the Female Self") mean when they say "girls
struggle daily with 'the seduction of the unattainable, to be all things to all people, to
be perfect girls and model women' (442)?
How do the authors analyze early Disney heroines?
What kinds of (specific) changes do they see in more contemporary Disney heroines?
In the film, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, why do they find Disney’s modern Beauty & the
Beast still problematic?
What kinds of racial stereotypes does the film identify in Disney’s worlds?
Are Disney films “just entertainment”? Is any film?
What kinds of gender stereotypes are found by the Geena Davis Institute data? How, and
how often, are women/girls represented?
What is female hypersexualization?
Does Mulan subvert gender norms, according to Mimi Nguyen? Why or why not?
How does Buffy (the show) shift our expectations of “good girls” and “bad girls”? Does
the show perpetuate, or contradict gender stereotypes, or both/neither? How?
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