Pop Culture and Gender Identity,
Writing Analytically
“Venus Envy,” “What’s Wrong with
Cinderella,” and “The Eye of the
Beholder”
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).
Group Memberships
• What are some things that determine “groups” people can
be members of?
–
–
–
–
–
–
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?
Gender and Identity: Some Basic
Assumptions
• 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. Let’s think of some 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?
“The Eye of the Beholder” p. 187
• This essay uses the form of a narrative, or a
story, to get its point across. Using narratives
in your essays can be an effective way of
engaging your audience. Narratives introduce
them to the story of one individual is dealing
with the issues you are writing about, making
the issues more immediate and more human.
• Why does this author decide that she is
“ugly”?
“Eye of the Beholder”
• Describe the author’s transformation at the
department store.
• What is her attitude about the women in the
photographs at the beauty counter? About the
woman who helps her with her makeover?
(These don’t stay consistent throughout the essay
because the author’s attitude changes as the
story progresses.)
• Why do you think that the author makes the
choice she does at the end?
Pop Culture and Identity
• How does this essay comment on the influence of
pop culture on identity? Would you say that pop
culture has had a positive/constructive influence,
or a negative/destructive influence?
• What do you think this essay is saying about how
all of these advertisements have influenced Suh
to think of herself as a woman?
• Is it just the advertisements, or are they working
together with other forces in Suh’s life?
Effects of Ads on Identity
• There has been a lot of talk about how ads
with unrealistic beauty standards affect
women, but not as much has been written
about how ads about how to “be a man”
affect men.
“Venus Envy” p. 168
• According to the author, how have men’s
expectations of themselves in regards to
appearance changed recently? Why? Point to
places in the article that support your answer.
• What do you think of this issue? Is this a case of
men and women being on a more “equal” playing
field now (because both “have to” be more
concerned about appearance)? Or is this a case of
a trend that has historically damaged women
also beginning to have negative effects on men?
Connections Between the Essays
• What connections do you see between
Orenstein’s concerns in “What’s Wrong With
Cinderella?” and the issues raised in the other
two essays?
• Having read about Suh’s experiences in “Eye of
the Beholder,” what connections can you
make between her day at the beauty counter
and what McLaughlin describes in “Venus
Envy”?
What does it mean to “write
analytically”?
• “When you analyze something, you break it
down into its component parts and think
about those parts methodically in order to
understand it in some way” (137).
– What are “component parts”?
– What does it mean to think about them
“methodically”?
Writing analytically for Essay #1
• Let’s apply each of the characteristics of analytical writing to the essay
that you are writing right now.
• Characteristic 1: A Question that asks you to take a closer look.
– Analysis is usually prompted by curiosity. How does something work? What
are the connections between two events or trends? Etc.
– Identify the specific question(s) YOU are taking a closer look at.
– Examples from the readings: Aydrea Walden, in “TV Diversity: Whose Job is it
Anyway?” is exploring two question at once: 1.) Who is responsible for a lack
of diversity on a TV show, 2.) What are the reasons that more black actors are
not cast on TV?
– Examples for this essay: 1. How does the genre of science fiction portray
diversity and tolerance in the future? Why is that portrayal significant to a
modern audience? 2. How are gay and lesbian characters portrayed in TV
dramas aimed at teens like Glee and Gossip Girl? Is this portrayal accurate?
What are the consequences of this portrayal, for better or worse?
Effectiveness Check:
• If you were able to easily identify the question your essay
will explore more deeply, ask yourself if your essay actually
answers that question in a reasoned, logical way that lays
out your support for your answer. If not, how could you
improve? Are there any paragraphs that aren’t about this
question you’ve identified? If so, get rid of them.
• If you weren’t able to easily identify the specific question,
your essay does not have a narrow enough focus. You need
to narrow your topic until you can form it into a question as
specific as the ones on the previous slide.
• Finally, the result of your analysis should be an answer to
the question you asked. That answer would work well as a
thesis statement.
Writing analytically for Essay #1
• Characteristic 2: Some description of the subject you are
analyzing.
– Assume that your readers know what pop culture is, and they know
what diversity means, but they may not know about the specific issue
you are going to discuss.
– Your introduction and your first paragraph are a good place for a brief
introduction to the piece of media you will discuss and an overview of
the issues with diversity that you will bring up. However, you may find
yourself describing individual episodes/songs/scenes in the middle of
your essay so your readers will understand your points.
– Find balance here. You don’t need to give a long, exhaustive (extremely
complete) history of your show/film/etc. You don’t need to give the
entire history of the representation of minorities on TV and in film. You
do, though, need to give your audience enough background that they
can follow your argument if they’ve seen the show/film/etc that you’re
talking about, or if they’ve never considered the issues facing the
minority communities you’re talking about before.
Effectiveness Check:
• Do you give your readers a brief description of the bit
of pop culture you’ll be analyzing? How long is it?
Does it tell someone who is unfamiliar with it what
they need to know in order to understand the rest of
your argument?
• When I give the signal, find someone in the class who
hasn’t seen/heard/read your piece of pop culture
before. Let them read your description of your piece of
pop culture. Do they feel like they know enough to
continue with the essay now? Do they feel like you
gave them too much information?
Writing analytically for Essay #1
• Let’s apply each of the characteristics of analytical writing to the
essay that you are writing right now.
• Characteristic 3: Evidence drawn from close examination of the
subject. In your case, close examination of the subject means
that you have taken a careful, analytical look at the
show/film/music/genre, noted patterns, and considered how this
piece of media is handling the particular issue about diversity
that you chose.
– It also means that you have read, understood, and formed responses
to others who have asked questions similar to yours.
– Your job in your essay is to present this evidence, both from your own
observations and from your sources, to your readers, along with your
own explanations of the significance of what you and your sources
noticed.
Effectiveness Check:
• Does your essay contain a close examination of the
subject?
– Are you points about the media general, or are they
grounded in specific examples, specific characters, songs,
etc.?
– Does your essay contain quotes or ideas from sources that
get at specific issues rather than general ones? And are
your responses to those sources complex? (Remember
what you did yesterday with agreeing/disagreeing/doing
both?)
– What can you do to take a closer look at the bit of pop
culture you are examining? How could you dig more
deeply into it?
Writing analytically for Essay #1
• Let’s apply each of the characteristics of analytical writing to the essay that
you are writing right now.
• Characteristic 4: Insight gained from your analysis.
– This is your answer to the question you asked at the beginning. It is your main
point, and it should be the central part of your thesis.
– What realizations did you make because of all of this close attention you paid
to your topic? What conclusions have you come to?
• Characteristic 5: Clear, precise language.
– Define terms and explain ideas that may be unfamiliar to your audience.
(Remember, your audience already knows what “pop culture” means and what
“diversity” means.)
– Be as precise as possible. For example, the word “influence” means almost
nothing unless you define how the influence is working. For example, to say
“The portrayal of women influences people” is vague.
• HOW does the influence work? What does it influence people to do?
• What ABOUT the portrayal of women are you most interested in?
• Who do you mean by “people”?
Effectiveness Check:
• In your draft, find and mark any places where you offer
your reader insight gained from your analysis. Do you
explain the significance of the patterns you and your
sources have noticed? Do you respond to a source with
ideas and connections of your own?
• If you can’t fine any places where you’ve done this, you
need to add them in. Sharing your insights with your
readers is one of the central purposes of this essay.
Where might you do that?
• Is your language, especially your thesis, clear and
precise? What can you do to increase the precision of
your word choice?