Mediating sex and gender

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Honey Maid Commercial, 'Wholesome Family'

This commercial reflects a growing theme in advertising to be more representative of society's changing family dynamic and more accepting of deviant sexualities. The ad portrays punk rock, interracial, and homosexual parents, describing them all as being part of the "Wholesome Family." While this move is commendable, it is also worth recognizing that such relationships are only awarded legitimacy and tolerance because they mimic the family-oriented, monogamous, heteronormative standards that form the backbone of heterosexual relationships. In other words, they gain power primarily through imitating and subscribing to traditional heteronormativity, despite their individual abnormalities. 

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Scrubs - Guy Love

In this video, Scrubs characters JD and Turk sing a duet about their love for one another. While they make sure to insist upon their heterosexuality and masculinity through phrases like "There's nothing gay about it in our eyes" and "It's like I married my best friend but in a totally manly way," the two also exhibit an emotional sensitivity and intense connection that defy normative gender and sexual performances. These factors situate their relationship within a more fluid, ambiguous zone, which may be read as queer. 

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The Switcheroo Concert, performed by Denison's Hilltoppers and Ladies' Night Out, exemplifies a deviation from stereotypical gender norms. During the concert, the women dress in men's clothing and sing the men's songs, while the men wear dresses and sing the women's songs. While the show's main purpose is to entertain, it also succeeds in exposing the performative nature of femininity and masculinity. 

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Deviation from gender and sexual norms is overlooked, or even accepted, in certain settings. Sports, for example, as this Abercrombie & Fitch ad demonstrates, often serve as a safe zone for homoerotic behavior or more queer demonstrations of sex and gender. Because sports maintain power through their attachment to hyper-masculinity, expressed through aggression and violence, male athletes are often able to defy other norms and still be viewed as masculine. Nudity in locker rooms, intense teammate relationships, expressions of emotion related to a victory or defeat, and the ever-popular celebratory butt slap are all behaviors that challenge stereotypical masculinity, but that are accepted within the dominant athletic sphere. 

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Boy Meets World - I will not be ignored

Cory and Shawn of Boy Meets World can be read as having a queer relationship. While a typical reading of the show would be highly normalized, as this clip illustrates, the two share a strong connection that, at times, blurs the lines between heterosexual and homosexual and masculine and feminine. Their relationship would not be categorized as gay because it does not fit neatly into the category that "gay" implies. Instead, it incorporates a fluid expression of sex, gender, and performance. 

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Lady Gaga - Telephone ft. Beyonce

In their video, Lady Gaga and Beyonce deviate from gender norms . They are portrayed as tough, independent criminals. Gaga's sexual identity, especially, is ambiguous and shifting throughout the plot, adding a queer aspect to the video. The two also have a rather queer relationship. While they are not explicitly sexual toward each other, their strong connection blurs the boundaries of sexuality and challenges heteronormative standards of behavior. 

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This perfume ad attempts to imply the reversal of gender norms by placing the woman in the driver's seat of the car. Symbolically, this could mean that the female is the subject who holds power and takes action. However, the ad undermines its own message with details like the sensuous red dress, the woman's bare feet, and the crowd of men surrounding the car. Instead of being a powerful figure, the woman becomes just another vulnerable object of heterosexual male desire. 

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Swedish Toys"R"Us Catalogue Challenges Stereotypes

The new Toys "R" Us Catalogue in Sweden works to trouble heteronormative assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality by picturing boys and girls playing with toys together, regardless of the toys' stereotypical target market. The move is part of a conscious effort to loosen the boundaries of what is acceptable for members of each sex and gender. Instead of limiting young boys to guns are cars and young girls to play-kitchens and doll houses, the catalogue is promoting a world in which sex, gender, sexuality, and performance are not so rigidly dependent on one another. 

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She's The Man

She's The Man illustrates how individuals may deviate from certain gender norms without much consequence if other factors in their lives provide them with power. Although Viola is a tomboy who cross dresses and plays on a men's athletic team, she still maintains power through her heterosexuality. Her whiteness, education, and socioeconomic status also make it easier for her to challenge gender norms, since she continues to experience privilege from these aspects of her life. 

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Meryl Streep - The Devil wears Prada

Meryl Streep's character in The Devil wears Prada, Miranda Priestly, presents an interesting contradiction in terms of femininity. In some ways, as an aggressive, powerful, economically successful businesswoman, she deviates from normative gender performance. In other words, she does not subscribe to the image of the nurturing, sensitive, collaborating female that is often attached to the workplace. However, even as she is challenging some norms, Miranda is asserting others - namely by reinforcing the focus on women's fashion and appearances. 

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The Bratz sensation was one that built its appeal based on normative femininity. With both dolls and a movie, the product line stresses feminine norms, including wearing makeup, wearing high heels, and being interested in fashion. While the dolls are meant, in some ways, to reflect the individuality and independence of each girl, their identities are still incredibly linked to a narrowly defined definition of femininity. 

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Austin Powers, Goldmember - Foxxy Cleopatra

In this clip, we see how race plays into the male gaze. Just as the typical spectator is considered to be white, male, and heterosexual, the typical objectified individual is predominantly female, heterosexual, and white. Although she is portrayed as powerful and independent, Foxxy Cleopatra is hyper-sexualized in this film. The issue of race, especially when combined with her objectification as a female, further complicates the power hierarchy being displayed. 

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This advertisement for Gucci depicts a common practice accompanying the male gaze: breaking the female body into parts. The woman's legs are made the object of this photo, and the male figure has the ability to look freely at them and at her. By not showing the woman's face, the advertisement suggests her lack of power and agency in the interaction. 

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The oil painting, The Luncheon on the Grass, is one example of how the male gaze emerges in art. The nude woman, especially in contrast with the two clothed males, is an object of desire. Her body is on display for both the men and the viewer. 

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Brooklyn Decker Bikini Scene: Just Go With It

This clip demonstrates the ways in which film manufactures and upholds the male gaze. Brooklyn Decker's body, particularly her breasts, are the primary focus of the shot as she walks out of the ocean. The majority of the dialogue in these scenes is from the onlooking males, again emphasizing their active role and her passivity. 

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The Naked Warwick Rowers

Typically, the male gaze works in favor of heteronormativity, with male subjects and the male audience viewing a female object. In this video, created to combat homophobia, the gaze is expanded to include male homosexual desire and female heterosexual desire. Media texts, such as this, help to break down the power relations of the male gaze which situate straight males above all others. 

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This informational poster demonstrates a consciousness of the male gaze and its significance in terms of power and representation. The message emphasizes the fact that, despite our collective tendency to think culture is shifting away from the male gaze, women are still thought of as objects to be looked at (here, art), not subjects who act (artists).