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Too Hot To Handle... Somehow There's Purity Culture?

  I recently began to watch the new season of Too Hot to Handle, a disastrously wonderful show that I recommend to all who enjoy trashy TV, and was able to connect some of the scenarios presented in certain episodes to purity culture and its depiction in the most recent film we saw. I know it’s odd to relate Too Hot to Handle, a show where everyone is a sexual deviant to purity culture, but I promise it’s still there. Just so that those who havent heard of the show have a little bit of context, Too Hot to Handle follows a group of young singles who are not allowed to kiss or do any sexual acts while living together. Think: Love Island but everyone has to wear a chastity belt. While the purity culture that the people on the show exhibit is not overt it is still clearly present and having an impact on how contestants of the show are perceived by their housemates. Sure, no one on the show is saying things like “sex is bad and gross, dont have it” or “if you have sex you are tainted” o...
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Thinking about Minding the Gap

  There was this idea mentioned in Minding the Gap that I thought was very interesting. Midway through the documentary Nina talked about how she had never been allowed to become her own person and develop her individuality because she was always having to be a sister, daughter, girlfriend, or a mother. I think that this sentiment expressed by Nina really shows how toxic masculinity and the patriarchy restrict women from truly becoming people, forcing them to always define their identity in relation to how they serve and are valued by the men in their life. This sexist belief that women are nothing more than a tool or object made to serve men in their lives is extremely dehumanizing and creates a mindset that makes women more prone to stay in toxic and abusive relationships. By preventing women from defining their own identities beyond the scope of their relationship with the men in their life, we teach them that they are nothing on their own and that their only value comes from wha...
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Learning about the Influence of Gender on Communication

  Recently, I had the chance to learn more about the influence of gender on our worldview and daily interactions through a speaker that came to talk in my Communications and Media class. This Wednesday , Billy Huff, a lecturer at the University of Illinois that has taught courses on: Gender Communication, Argumentation, and Social Movement Communication, visited our class to talk about gender bias. I was able to apply much of the knowledge that I learned recently through this class during the discussion led by Huff, making connections between gender and its influence on our behavior, perception of the world around us, and social status. One particular topic that I found to be especially interesting that Huff brought up in his discussion was how the differences in treatment of people based on their perceived gender could be identified from birth, citing the example of baby showers. Huff then went on to talk about a study that was conducted, in which a newborn baby was subjected to a...
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The Slutburger Campaign and the Objectification of Women in the Fast Food Industry

  The concept of “sex sells” and the hyper sexualization of women in advertising is a tactic that has been used by various major brands and companies throughout time, only facing backlash and controversy in the last few years. Though this advertising tactic was (and still is) particularly widespread with fashion and apparel companies, it could be seen applied in various other markets such as the fast food industry and even with non profit organizations. Though there are many things to be said about the “sex sells” strategy in relation to fashion companies like Victoria's Secret or nonprofits like PETA, I will be focusing on the use of this tactic in the fast food industry and its effects on societal treatment of women. Carl's Jr, an American fast food chain, released its first sexually suggestive ad in 2005, marking the start of their " Slutburger "  campaign, which would go on to feature various female celebrities seductively eating their products . The 30 second ad ...
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