This week, the second half of the class presented the topics of their final papers.
Rachel’s topic is the portrayal of schizophrenia in the media. One study she read surveyed the main characters or secondary characters with mental illness in films throughout the past five decades. All of the characters acted in accordance with the norms of the time. As the films were made closer to present day, the depictions of mental illness more accurately reflected the symptoms of the diseases. Rachel noted that movies are able to influence the stigma of mental illness through accurate education. Another study, entitled “Visualizing Madness,” argued that television has a social responsibility to accurately portray the mentally ill, and that depictions of people with schizophrenia as dangerous is a failure to accept this responsibility. Rachel connected this to a movie she watched called, “Clean Shaven,” in which a man with mental illness murdered several young girls with no explanation other than his disease.
Katie Ann is writing her paper about sexual identities on dating sites. She notes that many websites have different questionnaires, and connects the questions asked with the target audience of the site. EHarmony and Compatible Partners, owned by the same company, ask mostly the same questions except for a few. On EHarmony, there is no option for atheism or agnosticism in the religion question, and it is aimed toward heterosexual people, however these are options on Compatible Partners. On EHarmony, potential daters are asked if they want marriage or children, but this is not asked on Compatible Partners, which is targeted to homosexuals. On both sites, you are only able to pick one gender of partners, assuming strict homosexuality or heterosexuality, and ignoring bisexuality.
David is using the gay dating site, Manhunt.com, to illustrate how porn affects offline realities in homosexual relationships. The website is a mainstream site for the gay community in that you must pay to join, however it is extremely influenced by porn, in profiles and in advertisement, which is extremely different from mainstream heterosexual dating sites. He is using the Queering Race in Cyberspace essay to understand how we develop preference both offline, and on our online profiles. He is also using William’s essay to show that fetishism in the gay community has become a commodity. The rhetoric on the site is extremely pornographic, and the two most relevant facts about its users are age and cock size.
Kelsey is examining cyberbullying, and how technology has changed bullying for schoolchildren. She has found that cyberbullying uses friendship status as a tool for social harm, regardless of race or gender. The population most likely to use technology to bully each other are middle school aged children, and girls are more likely to be bullied. Where gender does change bullying however, is the method used to cause each other harm. Girls are more likely to spread rumors, while boys are more likely to post pictures or videos to harm classmates. She also found that in school enforcement is the most useful tool to prevent bullying, because going home is no longer a separate place from the people, and tormenting that takes place at school. Her project is critical, because understanding bullying may allow us to understand how to prevent it. Bullying has an extremely detrimental impact on children, and can contribute to adolescent suicide.
Leah is examining the place and experiences of women in the military. She feels that the portrayal of women who serve in the armed forces in the media is extremely different from the experiences of women who actually serve. There have been many advances in gender equality. However, I felt the most interesting part of her project is examining the way in which military recruiters target women. She has found that they emphasize that masculinity is not a necessary quality for servicemen and women, and explain to prospective recruits that there are more feminine roles for women to serve in. The media portrayal of the “real men” in the Army, and traditional male hero characters need not apply to female service members. This is particularly interesting to me in light of the discussion of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, although I understand why this is not the focus of Leah’s paper. If there is a place for women in the military, and we are not to be repressed into this hero archetype but exploited for our valuable characteristics, is there not such a place for homosexuals in the military?
Kenlyne is doing her research on the effects of cybercheating on offline romantic relationships. She argues that the internet has provided a new playing field for cheaters, which destroys relationships. Technology is inherently self centered, and can compromise our ability to consider the effect that our actions online can affect those we care about. She mentions that physical distance from the other individual, the other woman or man, revokes the cheated’s ability to confront that person and gain closure. This forces that person to deal with the hurt internally, further compounding the damage done by a loved one. However, I don’t know if I agree that aggression should be focused on “the other woman,” but rather should focused on the person who cheated. Not only does it allow the person who betrayed trust to abdicate responsibility, I don’t think it provides solace for a hurt person. However, if you are in a long distance relationship with a cheater, this argument is stronger for me, because it would be impossible to confront your partner for their wrongdoing.
Finally, Dani is examining the role of video blogging, or vlogging, as a tool for self reflection. She uses the idea of the looking glass self to understand the way in which technology facilitates self revelation. She wonders whether using online reflection ruins offline relationships, because it prioritizes global interaction over intimate relationships. She believes Youtube and the like does not ruin community, but rather broadens the definition of community. However, it is not clear whether vlogging allows true self reflection, as most users will change their output based on responses for viewers. Is it possible to create truly self-reflective material if you get feedback on it?
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