Artifacts+from+our+Civil+Rights+Museum+Night

This outfit represents how many older women were portrayed as in the 1950’s. It was thought that all married women were housewives and should dress this way, there fore the women in TV shows like Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best were dressed in clothes like these to send out the message that everyone should dress like this. Because these shows sent out all these messages, many women did in fact dress like this, so they could be considered a “normal suburban family”, like the ones portrayed through the media. - This pin symbolizes who some people in America are trying to make a difference. See Jane (2004) has been working so hard to make women and men equal in children's movies. They make sure all their studies and information is 100% correct. So far they have realized information on G-rated movies. See Jane is only one of the few organizations that are trying to eliminate the gender stereotypes in or society. Geena Davis heads the See Jane organization, she has helped get the cause off to a great start. This Vitameatavegamin bottle represents gender roles, because it was used in an I Love Lucy episode that showed female gender stereotypes. The episode said that Lucy couldn’t do the commercial because she wasn’t young and pretty (but they said it in a nicer way). However, Lucy went and did the commercial anyway, and lied about it to Ricky. I Love Lucy showed a lot of gender stereotypes that many people didn’t know about at the time, and because Lucille Ball was such a strong women, it must have been hard for her to act out all these stereotypes. -This is an important artifact because Barbie is a huge role model for many girls. Many girls own at least one Barbie doll. This doll symbolizes what the media in America thinks what a perfect woman should look like. Girls will grow up thinking that is they way they need to look. Like a Barbie. In the real world to get the figure of a Barbie would be simply impossible. The 39-23-33 measurements would be outrageous to get. Still parents are buying their children the dolls. Some don’t realize that by buying the doll there are infecting their child’s brain with unattainable measurements. If a girl did get the proportians she would only be able to eat or breathe. - The glass ceiling ties into employment. It “refers” to the circumstance where the imporvement of a person in their job because of gender or race. This mostly happens to women who cannot get further in their career because they are women. In a study 70% of women believe there is an invisible barrier keeping them from going on only 57% of males think there is one for women. Also in a study it shows that for every 77 cents a woman makes, a man makes a dollar. The glass ceiling has not shattered yet, but it is starting to crack.

Media Portrayal of Gender Roles Ms. Rice's Homepage