This quantitative snapshot suggests there is no clear definitive pattern about the topical coverage. Rather, here are a few key differences between how the Black press and mainstream press covers AIDS. The New York Times covered AIDS testing, current events and IV Drug Use, while IV Drug use was not covered at all by Black publications. Black publications such as Ebony, for example, did a better job of covering AIDS as it pertains to women as did Newsweek.  Jet ended up focusing on men on the “down-low” and bisexual men as they relate to HIV. There is also at least one story that covers men on the “down-low” and bisexual men in both Newsweek and the New York Times. Both Newsweek and the New York Times covered at least one story dealing with gays and HIV. This compares with the Black press which fails to specifically look at gays. It is easier to make generalizations about the New York Times coverage because it has a larger article sample set than the Black publications.

Findings

In the sections which follow, I examine the ways in which the Black press re-enforces and deviates from the coverage documented in mainstream reporting by closely analyzing the content and rhetoric of selected newspaper and magazine articles. James Smith is the founding executive director of the AIDS Legal Council. In his book AIDS and Society, Smith examines how fragile social reactions can be to any kind of epidemic and clues us in on why scapegoating occurs in these situations. He suggests that social establishments hinder the fight against HIV because they seem to support the status quo. Status quo in this context just refers to normality or the way things usually are. He states, “Historically, the well have distanced themselves from the sick or diseased, refused to identify with them, and blamed them for the condition they brought upon society“ (103). The author continues, “The history of plague and illness is about the history is scapegoating: blaming one group for society’s ills, both literally and figuratively. During medieval times, plague was associated with moral pollution; a scapegoat external to the stricken community was often identified” (103). This history is repeating itself today with AIDS in terms of how the epidemic plays out in various communities. No one group wants the kind of marginalization that accompanies HIV/AIDS. No one group wants to bear the responsibility for spreading HIV/AIDS. Consequently groups remove their accountability by placing the blame on others rather than admitting that we are all to blame for the spread of HIV. There is a sense that HIV/AIDS is linked with anomalous behavior.  It seems important to understand scapegoating because it occurs so frequently in many of these articles, and because it helps understand why these articles are organized the way they are.

LGBT Health Care Project

There has been a decline in street activism, which may also have had an impact on groups attempting to create a broad base constituency to advocate AIDS awareness. Street activism may have been a political tool that made organizing possible. Street activism meant that there was this determination to exhibit a message to the general public at large. There was also an impression that the battle between institutions and activists would boil down to control over the streets. Activists were able to win more publicity for themselves and the AIDS movement. My argument is basically that most of the organizing across boundaries was done by women in the 1980’s. The lesbian population ended up responding to the AIDS crisis.

            Looking at “Women Aids and Activism” by Marion Banzhaf there is a significant amount of organizing across boundaries done by lesbian women. The author uses a story presented by Zoe Leonard. The short narrative is from a woman who is a dating an HIV positive male. She states, “I knew her was HIV positive before I slept with him. I had felt surprised when I found out’ he just looked so damned healthy. I didn’t envision having a sexual relationship with him, mainly because I’ve been an out and happy lesbian for years” (p. 27). This woman clearly crosses boundaries as she becomes involved with an HIV positive man. This woman who identifies as lesbian becomes personally involved in the AIDS movement because she has a lover who is infected and also because the epidemic also becomes a women’s health concern.

Leonard’s account seems to examine the complexities of dating someone who is HIV positive and in many ways becomes a campaign for safer sex.  The story also seems to exemplify one story of how a lesbian woman became actively involved in the HIV epidemic. The author states, “we have had to negotiate so many aspects of our relationship that otherwise might have remained mute, but this has given us the context to discuss other things: what feels good, what we want, what freaks us out” (p. 29). This passage exemplifies the cultural sensitivity that is necessary to date someone who is HIV positive. The author alludes to the fact that she places herself in “harms way” for the sake of this relationship. She states, “Do I have a martyr complex or a death wish?” (p. 30). This short narrative shows how one woman crosses certain boundaries by being in this relationship.

Banzhaf clearly gives an account of how women have crossed boundaries in order to advocate AIDS awareness. Banzhaf looks at the cultural barriers and AIDS issues that African-American and Caribbean women are faced with. She uses a piece by Rumsey who alludes to the fact that these communities need information on prevention and better access to healthcare. She states,  “It’s not appropriate for safer-sex education for the African-American and African-Caribbean communities to suggest that women advance or take care of themselves at the expense of their men, or to assume that women by themselves can negotiate safer sex. Both men and women have to be taught about protection and responsibility” (p. 105). The author seems to suggest that there is a potential threat of isolating women from men. This is a particularly culturally sensitive issue that must be taken into consideration. It becomes an issue of trying to educate and inform these communities while allowing these communities to still remain em-powered and in tact. The author asserts “The government must support this work without dictating that it follow a model developed by and for a different community” (p. 104). Rumsey suggests that the government should support these initiatives but allow these communities to determine how they should advocate for safer sex and better access to health care.

Banzhaf exemplifies the fact that there are many barriers, which restrict organizing across boundaries. She looks at the language barrier. She looks at the fact that Asians comprise more than 32 dialects. She states for example, “When you bring up 32 possible dialects, people gasp and say it’d be too expensive. Even when educational materials are printed in Spanish, it’s clear that Chicanas/ Mexicanas are not happy with translations done primarily for Puerto Ricans or East Coast Spanish-speaking people” (p. 107). This passage seems to imply that AIDS becomes politicized quickly. The author clearly identifies a lot of issues that can and will come into play. She suggests that cultural barriers can easily undermine the efforts of AIDS activism and organizing.

Other barriers that prevent organizing stem from the fact that so many different groups have a surplus of interests that they want met. ACT UP is non-partisan group who is known for civil disobedience and is dedicated to the direct action in order to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP became more heterogeneous and may have strengthened and weakened the organization. Banzhaf includes a piece by Denenberg who asserts, “ACT UP remains mostly a white, male group. As mostly white women, we have had to fight for our visibility, as have the people of color in the organization” (p 82). It seems in many ways that white women and people of color have had to enter into coalition as a means of surviving. Organizing across boundaries has been essential in order for groups to have their concerns heard. Deneberg also states, “changing governmental and social policies requires joint work among AIDS activists” (p. 82). Organizing may have occurred through coercion and the fact that groups would have to build a strong base in order to achieve visibility.

It seems apparent that ACT UP had to bare or accept more responsibilities such as taking up the sexist and racist agenda. This in some ways may have strengthened and weakened ACT UP. Changing policies also affected the issues that ACT UP would be challenged with. The author states, “Today such discriminatory policies are losing city hospitals, cutting Medicaid funds, denying funds to expand drug treatment programs, withholding treatment for AIDS based on inability to pay, and, as a result, allowing poor people of color with AIDS to die” (p. 82). In some ways it seemed difficult for ACT UP to move forward with its objectives when half of its members were still struggling for some basic necessities such as being treated as an equal with respect and dignity. In many ways, it seems that the AIDS epidemic enables race and gender dynamics to play out.

The Gamson article looks at the AIDS epidemic as a social movement. The author suggests, “It is important to notice that ACT UP’s identity-oriented actions often revolve around boundary-crossing and label disruption. These are strategies for which these mostly white, middle-class gay people are particularly equipped, largely because their stigma is often invisible unlike the stigmatized person of color” (p. 362). This passage alludes to the fact that because people of color are already marginalized this factor can make it more challenging for them to want to reach out for resources. The author alludes to the fact that some people of color may not be likely to reach out for help because they do not want to have the gay stigma assigned to them.

The women of AIDS counseling and education who were briefly profiled in Banzhaf’s book may respond by saying that we share accountability for ourselves and other communities. We must seek to educate and become educated. ACE strives toward creating more workshops and bridging women from the role of a helpless victim to an educator. The authors state, “To become members of ACE, women must be educated through a series of eight workshops. We look at how stigma and blame have been associated with diseases throughout history, and how the sexism of this society impacts on women in the AIDS epidemic” (p. 148).

From the Banzhaf book Denenberg argues that if AIDS is to be tackled at the global level there has to be a collective effort. She states, “We women have argued with the men that it is their responsibility to listen to us and to take up issues of sexism” (p. 82). The women seem to be extending themselves and trying to build “collective community” in a sense. The Bordowitz article examines some of the issues that coalition building encounters. The author reminds us that “the productive capacity and efficacy of the collective’s project depends on establishing and maintaining links with protest-oriented groups and support organizations in the communities affected by AIDS” (p. 185). He reminds us of this as he reflects on a collaborative project called the Testing the Limits Collective which included lesbians gays and straights who were working to how the response to the government’s inactivity in the AIDS epidemic had given rise to new forms of activism. (p. 185).

The Nature of Capitalism

Capitalism and nature operate recklessly in society. Capitalism and nature are very powerful in the sense that they have a blatant disregard for humanity. Capitalism and nature also drive markets and are having a profound effect on US politics and culture. Both capitalism and nature seem to trample over human rights and human lives in order to thrive. The effects that result from man-made economic systems like capitalism and those resulting from natural disasters like L.A. tornados are similar in terms of their devastating impact. Nature and capitalism clearly feed off of each other. The author tackles some of these issues in Late Victorian Holocausts, Ecology of Fear, and Dead Cities, Magical Urbanism, City of Quartz and Prisoners of the American Dream.

In Dead Cities Davis suggests “Faced with a radical shortage of parks and recreational black residents, like Chicanos from the equally ghettoized Eastside, were systematically harassed by police when they attempted to freely enjoy Los Angeles’s famed outdoor amenities” (p. 214). Public trust lands are now being transferred to the private sector. As a result you see that individuals are being further disenfranchised. The US culture is clearly becoming more fragmented by race and or class. Davis looks at the tension spawned between the Blacks and the police who felt there was a “Black conspiracy” to take over a park in Los Angeles. (p. 214). A riot erupted which resulted in “youth being violently pulled off the merry-go-round enraged the several thousand Black picnickers in the vicinity” (p. 215). It seems there was a need for the LAPD to reclaim the territory as ones own. There is this fear and this standoff between “us” and “them.” Spatial dynamics are challenged, as privatization becomes an issue. In the need to assert power, human rights are compromised and called into question. It seems that in order for power to operate other groups must be oppressed, abused and neglected.

We also see that groups of individuals are pitted against each other in the competition for resources. This clearly has capitalist undertones. Davis looks at the disconnection between Blacks and Latinos. The author looks at this in Magical Urbanism. The author states, “African-American journalist Darryl Fears has contrasted the catastrophe of inter-relations in Compton to its sister suburb of Inglewoood, where shrewd local pols have been willing to open a few doors to the emergent Latino majority” (p. 164). Capitalism means that there is this theme of “divide and conquer”.

Davis looks at the peak of imperialism in US society and culture. In Prisoners of the American Dream, Davis looks at how human rights became a big issue during the Regan administration. Reaganism became synonymous with imperialism, capitalism and power. Davis alludes to the fact that in order for Capitalism to come to power, it came at the expense of the labor movement. One example Davis looks at states, “In spite of comfortable profit levels, Greyhound forced a seven-week strike on its drivers to take back fifteen per cent of wages, a target reduction that was also achieved by several airlines, but which paled in comparison to forty to sixty percent wage concessions extorted from meat cutters.” (p. 142). We see that the proliferation of big business and capitalism continued to dupe the working class out of their fair share of the pie. Corporations have a fear of the power or organized labor, which means they cannot shortchange their workers. Human rights are called into the question and the right to voice one’s concerns as a worker. Davis suggests that collective bargaining or unions have problems with legitimacy. He states, “Because its legitimacy is therefore based on individual consent, the rights of American unions under law are provisional and revocable” (p. 113). Without a union, big business can do whatever they want to do because there is no system of checks and balances. In knowing that collective bargaining is built on a faulty premise, many corporations take advantage.

In City of Quartz, Davis looks at how privatization is claiming public space and taking advantage of the ‘Other.’ He states, “The semiotics of so-called defensible space are just about as subtle as a swaggering white cop. Today’s upscale, pseudo-public spaces- sumptuary malls, office centers, culture acropolises, and so on are full of invisible signs warning off the underclass other.” He looks at how power operates to section off undesirables. The author continues, “Although architectural critics are usually oblivious to how the built environment contributes to segregation, pariah groups- whether poor Latino families, young Black men, or elderly homeless white females-read he meaning immediately” (p. 227). Privatization and capitalism both take place without regard of consideration for the underclass ‘Other.’ There is a blatant disregard for human integrity and human rights especially because there is no system of checks and balances. It seems there is nothing to prevent corporations or big business from exclusive ownership. It seems that in order for capitalistic power to thrive it takes advantage of the fact that its opponents are slightly disenpowered.

The class divide between “us” and “them” can be clearly seen in L.A’s urban sprawl. This urban sprawl and the need for some native Californians to claim re-claim their own territory is causing problems. Capitalist ideologies are creating disharmony in nature. Davis states, “As white flight and an anti-urban ethos drive the tract house frontier deeper into rugged foothills and interior valleys, suburbanites have acquired wild carnivores as unexpected and capricious neighbors” (p. 201). As a result there is standoff between animals like mountain lions and native Californians. This standoff is also more clearly seen in the increased number of mountain lion attacks and deaths, which Davis alludes to. It seems that nature takes its revenge. Capitalism seems to dictate who lives where and why. This can potentially dictate who receives better emergency care in times of disaster and who is more likely to be victimized by natural forces.

*It seems apparent that capitalism has an effect on US culture, politics and nature. Nature also, in turn, has an impact on US culture, politics and capitalism. In Victorian Holocausts Davis looks at the history of markets, which had a significant impact on culture. The author states, “El Nino droughts and La Nina floods are probably prime movers of episodic migration and intercultural violence.” (p. 254). It seems that the forces of nature such as drought and flood have the same effects as capitalism (a man-made market). This is exemplified in Magical Urbanism, which looks at how ethnic groups are pitted against in each in competition for resources. It became clear that power and capitalism could either move a society forward or further divide it. 

The British introduced the capitalist market, which forced agrarian societies into the global economy prematurely. In Victorian Holocausts, Davis states, “India was force-marched into the world market, as we shall see, by revenue and irrigation policies that compelled farmers to produce for foreign consumption at the price of their own food security” (p. 299). The British had no regard for whether these societies would be able to adequately sustain themselves. The British were also infamous for exporting grain during critical times such as famine and for imposing taxation. It seems that nature and capitalism play off of each other. Nature was clearly responsible for famine so could nature also be responsible for enabling social ills such as capitalism and colonization? Northern China, India, and North Eastern Brazil were already placed at a disadvantage due to the forces of nature. Ironic enough nature fueled the capitalist market. Davis refers to Sir Stanley Jevons who proposed, “the Sun through its influence on Indian and Chinese agriculture drove the entire global business cycle” (p. 222). Davis suggests that people in China and Africa were already weak in numbers and health due to famine and drought. This simply made them more vulnerable and harder to resist imperial power. Davis suggests that some 40 million people died during the 10^th century from famine and drought (natural forces), which dominated areas that are currently considered to be 3^rd world. It seems that where individuals live can place them at a disadvantage. Nature played a significant role in these disasters and continues to effect and dictate where individuals should live.

We also see how natural forces are wreaking havoc in parts of LA. Davis looks at how Malibu wildfires are dividing the community in Ecology of Fear. The author states, “Residents demanded restricted access to mountain roads during periods of acute fire danger and raged against critics of the California Fair Plan, a state mandated insurance pool that subsidizes fire-zone dwellers by spreading the costs among the mass of homeowners” (p. 135).  The effects of natural disaster clearly play out in the society. Davis suggests that the community is being divided or causing a new class standoff between flatlanders and hillsiders (p. 135). It seems also that nature dictates where individual should live. The author suggests that homeowners seem to reject the financial liability for choosing to live in a natural disaster zone (p. 146). When there is a disaster such as a wild fire the liability seems to fall toward the poor and the working class to pay for the damages. It seems that Malibu residents continue to think they can defy the laws of nature by building homes there. Davis states, “safety for the Malibu and Laguna coasts as well as hundreds of other luxury enclaves and gated hilltop suburbs is becoming one of the state’s major social expenditures, although-unlike welfare or immigration-it is almost never debated in terms of trade-offs or alternatives” (p. 146). This may also cause some tension or resentment between social classes. Nature is clearly shaping who is more likely to be victimized by natural disaster. Davis suggests that people who fall into a higher socio-economic class are likely to be victimized. If an individual does not have the money to buy a house in Malibu then they cannot become victimized. It seems that not only does capitalism have victims or causalities but nature does as well

Women & Gender Studies Pause Paper

Based on the table of content, it seems that Feminist Theory Reader had a few priorities. The table of context suggests that this anthology would be a broad read. There would some of the more traditional feminist theories, more contemporary feminist theories, dealing with feminism on the transnational circuit, feminism as it relates to the eco system. Feminism would also be looked at in relation to race and class (leaning more toward womanim). Most importantly this anthology would discuss not only the polarities of some of these movements but also ways to improve the social conditions for women. As a result, these topics would potentially serve to raise the level of consciousness of what has been done with feminism, what feminism is currently undergoing and what other tasks may need to be undertaken.

It appears that the authors attempt to address both academic and political concerns in content and in structure. The authors suggest that they intend to bridge the gap between feminist ideologies of the North and South. The authors suggests that balancing the framework between women writers of color and Western White women can possibly widen the scope through which feminism is perceived. The objective was to integrate the local with the global. The anthology was intended to reach contemporary students in Women’s Studies and to challenge the classroom concepts, which relate to Western feminist theory and cause readers to think about feminism outside of its more historical context in the U.S. Students would develop their critical analysis based on a wider availability of experiences that encompasses the cultural and class dynamic (McCann and Kim, 5).

After reading the selected readings for this week, the authors McCann and Kim suggest a few purposes for authors writing the book. The authors suggest the main reason for writing the book was that Western feminist ideologies in the women studies curriculum were becoming less relevant scholarly and politically to their particular discipline (McCann and Kim, 2).

The authors seem to offer strong qualifications for their research by offering their reader an opportunity to sit in a coffee house and engage with all universal possibilities that exist. This is exemplified by the choice of co-edited collection rather than singularly co-authored book. McCann and Kim suggest, “There are interruptions, overlaps, disagreements, disjunctures, and contradictions among the essays. We hope the resonance and accord among the multiple voices and perspectives in this collection of essays will push readers to examine their own assumptions” (McCann and Kim, 4).

The implicit reasons for the author's collaborating on this anthology are detailed in the introduction to section I. I began to notice the role of interdisciplinary research. The authors state, “The concept of women’s experience also provides the grounds for challenging conventional cultural wisdom about “women’s nature” (McCann and Kim, 16). We begin to see that what is social can and will over time become the biological. The humanities such as women’s studies can assume an extremely instrumental role. Women studies can function as a vessel for other disciplinary research from biology, psychology to social anthropology.

            I decided to discuss Chapter 2 by Simone de Beauvoir to discuss. I found the excerpt significant as a definition of feminism and gender studies. It seems to me so often within certain sects of WGS, time is spent concentrating on the external forces that influence the movement. The author clearly looks at some of the forces that range within. Sometimes the feminist movement may think that there is only an institution such as patriarchy or Western imperialism that is standing in the way of woman’s social advancement only to find out that there literal bodies or other females standing in the way. The author seems to suggest at times that women are standing in their own way. This article was significant as a definition of feminism as we learn that the general and the specific conspire. Beauvoir states, “If woman seems to be the inessential which never becomes the essential, it is because she herself fails to bring about this change. Women do not say “We” except at some congress of feminists or similar formal demonstration; men say “women” and women use the same word in referring to themselves. They do not authentically assume a subjective attitude” (McCann and Kim, 34). In this instance some of the accountability belongs to the female community. The immediate task at hand seems to trying to identify oneself outside of the mail social construct and as a body politic.

            It seems that the author defines tasks or certain conflicts for WGS and for feminism. The author suggests that woman is an autonomous creature that has been reduced to this the role of the Other by the male sensibility. So it seems that there is the ego is at conflict with its environment and its experiences. The author states, “The drama of woman lies in this conflict between the fundamental aspirations of every subject (ego” who always regards the self as the essential- and the compulsions of a situation in which she is the inessential” (McCann and Kim, 39). It seems to me that the author alludes to the fact that responding to particular situations may prohibit the female ego from truly taking a stance.

The author continues to examine how woman relates to the world surrounding her, “Let us not be misled by the sophism that because Epimenides was a Cretan he was necessarily a liar; it is not a mysterious essence that compels men and women to act in good or in bad faith: it is their situation that inclines them more or less toward the search for truth. The author relies on this Greek paradigm I believe (thought of as being the liar’s paradox ascribed to the philosopher Epimenides in the sixth century B.C.) to refer to the problem for woman. One can also infer that women are not born but they are made and defined by variables such as circumstance, condition and interpretation.

It was notable how the author examined the way in which women tend to be divided by race and class. “They live dispersed among the males, attached through residence, housework, economic condition, and social standing to certain men-fathers or bourgeoisie, they fell solidarity with men of that class, not with proletarian women; if they are White, their allegiance is to white men, not to Negro women” (McCann and Kim, 34). The author appears to use the history of heterosexual politics as a trajectory for understanding how women function or fail to as a social organism. The author also suggests that the lack of proper organization and solidarity within the female community also seems to be problematic.

            A writer’s reference point plays a role in their writing. Beauvoir in my understanding was a modern existentialist. As a result, her focus is on the freedom of choice. She seems to write about feminism while working through a clearly philosophical framework that resembles Marxism. The author looks at the conditions that restrain women but she also seems to lean more toward the idea of women as self-existent creatures.  

A Final Project

 
What does this ad suggest about female culture?

 
How does the woman featured in this ad appear in relation to the man in ad 4?

 
How does the female image in this ad contrast to the male form depicted in the 2nd ad?

How does this impression of masculinity contrast to the image of femininity that is depicted in ad 1?

 
What are some distinct characteristics between this ad for men and ad 2 for women?

 What does this ad suggest about male culture?

Scope of My Research

My final project will compare how beauty products were targeted toward men with those targeted toward women. This includes an analysis of about 6 beauty ads (women’s facial products and men’s shaving creams) which will be posted on my website. The first half of my paper will in detail discuss their differences. It seems that beauty ads targeted toward men and women both equally reflected the social and political trends of the 1920’s. What became even more evident was the fact the fact that women’s ads seem to target women as consumers who obsessed with self-image and trend. Several of the ads seem to offer a critique of femininity. Several of the men’s ads seem to be targeting men as consumers with a sense of political humor, practical, rational, and deeply engaged in the theater arts. Several of the ads for men seem to offer a critique of masculinity.

The second part of my paper will look at these ads placed on my website and their themes (masculinity in advertising and femininity in advertising) in the larger social context of the decadent 1920’s. During this period, we see a variety of themes being inculcated into society from innovation in the arts to the more divisive conventions in sexuality. Some of these 1920’s themes were also difficult for many conservative right wing Americans to reconcile. In many ways traditionalists and modernists divided the nation.

American Youth in the 1920’s by Paula Fass conducts a study to examine how youth were impacted during the 1920’s. The author looks at several areas ranging from music, dress, lingo, and sexual behavior in order to get a broader understanding of how the social landscape was changing. This was especially significant as America was teetering off from the Victorian era, which was more conservative. The author looks at some of these changes:

“American culture was remade in the 1920’s. Robust with business styles, technologies, educational policies, manners, and leisure habits which are identifiably our own, the decade sits solidly at the base of our culture. We recognize, of course, that the difference between the twenties and older America was not simply corporate power, or the automobile or sexual liberation. It as more tan the fierce energy, tone, and sensibility that came with conscious innovation; more than the sharp social tensions and frequent head-on collisions between new forces and traditional but still obstinate forms” (p. 3).

The American History page online draws out some of the contradictions of the 1920’s. “The Turbulent Twenties Roaring or Snoring” online provides on overview of some of the traditional aspects of the 1920’s and new changes that were in motion. The author suggests that the nation was in an uproar over religious and constitutional rights. There were large numbers of women entering the work force although there was still this general theme that a woman’s place was in the home. The Kinwood College Library website online also provides an overview of many of the changes during the 1920’s. They suggest that there was:

“This period was called the Flapper Age.  No bosom, no waistline, and hair nearly hidden under a cloche hat.  This decade began the present hey-dey for the manufacturing of cosmetics.  Powder, lipstick, rouge, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, colored nails.  They had it all!  AND pearls.

They allude to the fact that there were also developments in the automobile, changes in architecture, literature, film, radio and music. 

The 1920’s were clearly an age of It seems that by looking at several beauty ads, we can tell a lot about the 1920’s. There were both seemingly revolutionary changes going on for both femininity and masculinity within the traditionalism of the 1920’s. Ad BH1403 reads, “For men demand youth in women’s faces.” There is this sense that women are being pressured to use Marie Barlow products for youth enhancement which also seems to be synonymous with feminine virtue. The ad implies that women should do this to keep their man happy. There is this sense that a woman’s face needs to be improved. The ad states that Marie Barlow products are affordable and can be found at your favorite shopping center or you can mail in the request for a booklet titled “Youthful Glow” which addresses on skin concerns. We learn that “Marie Barlow skin preparations afford a simple and effective treatment that fits well into the new-day woman’s busy daily program.” The ad suggests that it will not take very much to apply the skin cream. 

Ad BH1403 shows a picture of a rose that has a beauty bottles radiating from it. The as gives the impression that beauty is in a bottle. Advertising and Culture by Mary Cross alludes to the fact that print and TV ads sell us gender identity. The author includes a piece by Judith Waters and George Ellis, which looks at the ways in which advertising impacts people. The authors reflect on this in detail:

“Advertising clearly plays a critical role in both reflecting and shaping culture. Thus, while commercials and advertisements usually depict recognizable and socially acceptable scenarios, they also attempt to mold public opinion with respect to new products and services that people may not even know they want. They try to convince women that one of their major responsibilities is to remain magically young and attractive forever by purchasing the correct products and services” (p. 91).

The authors draw their conclusions from examining a Revlon advertisement for age defying makeup in the 1995 issue of Vogue magazine however we can also see these same forces at work in the 1920’s Marie Earle ad.

Ad BH1572 is advertising a beautifying treatment for the complexion. The ad shows a young woman in what appearto be a bathing suit and a man is admiring her. She has a towel that is halfway draped across her shoulders. There seems to be a small hint that this woman might be on the sexual prowl. I thought it was interesting that a woman in a bathing suit was used to market this product. There is this idea that using Boncilla will make you irresistible to men. We learn that Boncilla products were very popular. The ad suggests that a woman can receive beauty treatments in the privacy of your own home or from a specialist. The ad suggests that Boncilla quickly diminishes blemishes. A woman will see results after the first use. Boncilla clasmic cleanser contains tonic balsams and is specialized as it actually cleanses clogged pores. Boncilla cold cream nourishes the skin. Boncilla vanishing cream protects the skin. Boncilla face powder gives a beautifying finish. Boncilla products clear the complexion, cleanses and closes enlarged pores, removes pimples and blackheads, lifts out lines, rebuilding drooping face tissues and muscles, makes the skin smooth and soft, and leaves the skin immaculate. A woman can also receive a trial package delivered to her house. There is this strong compelling voice that this cream is something a woman must have.

AD BH1666 reads, “Theo is a sportswoman.” The ad has a picture of what appears to be a flapper. She has the short bobbed hair and darkened lips. The ad reads matter of fact like, “Theo pilots a plane. Golf and turns up at all the smart meets. Sunshine and form are her gods. As perfect in the ballroom as on the links. No puckering sun lines or weathering mar the creamy smoothness of Theo’s complexion.” There is this sense that femininity was changing and the gender norms for women were as well. There is these sense that women were a lot more free-spirited, sporty and could do anything that a man could. The ad reads, “Leo is a distinguished sportswoman. It seems interesting to note that the ad seems to be selling women on the idea of creating this persona of “the distinguished sportswoman” while also marketing Marie Earle beauty products. There is this sense that a woman can be competitive which is viewed as a masculine characteristic while also retaining her femininity.

One thing that seems clearly different with the Theo the sportswoman ad as opposed to the other two ads for women is the fact that chiseled contours or hardened features are now a desirable physical attribute for a woman to have. Round cheeks seem to be on the way out. The standards for what constitutes, as beautiful in women seems to also be in question. Femininity is depicted in a slightly masculine manner to market this beauty cream and to sell women on this theme of the “distinguished sportswoman”.

There is this notion that hard femininity can be rugged as still be desirable in a pseudo sexual, fetishy way. The advertising industry seems to sell women on both this idea of creating a new image as well as buying this crème. There is these sense that this new image and cream is the latest trend. The ad seems to sell women also on the idea that being fashionable makes you popular and eye-catching.

The authors shed some light on the ways in why the ads for women were marketed the way that they were. The authors’ suggest, “Shopping replaced home production in a housewife’s work. Women became the objects and victims of ad campaigns that used women’s fears and insecurities, already intensified by the disintegration of traditional roles, to encourage them to seek fulfillment through purchases” (p. 195).  We learn that mechanization meant that good were being produced in factories instead of in the home, which had a profound impact on household labor (p. 195). There was this sense that the advertising industry worked to dis-empower women. The authors assert, “Housewifery became more isolated, which increased women’s vulnerability to the pressures of advertisement” (p. 195).

It seems that women were trying to create a slightly more masculine persona (than traditional femininity previously allowed for) because masculinity was so synonymous with many of the freedoms women came into and embraced during World War I. Men were off in the armed forces and this clearly opened up new possibilities for women. “America’s Working Women by Rosalyn Baxandall and Gordon Linda actually documents history of working women and touches on their consumption patterns as well. The author’s states, Women have never had such a wonderful opportunity to prove their fitness as now. This opportunity was thrust upon us just at a time when we were beginning to realize that brains were given us to use” (p. 205). The irony is that the ad’s caption and description fails to convey this.

Ad BH1666 depicts a flapper who appears to have a few men admiring her as opposed to lusting after her and seeing her in an objectified manner. This woman exudes self-sufficiency, confidence and independence. It becomes apparent that women were find new ways of re-inventing themselves and their identity that seem to have grown out of the struggle for equality. Barthel refers to an essay done by Carroll Smith-Rosenberg touches on this idea of women and androgyny.

For the women who were the educational and occupational pioneers of the 1880’s and early 1900’s, what was new about being a New Woman was the claim they laid to rights of reason, autonomy, and achievements, rights that had previously been preserved for the male sex. “Eschewing marriage, she fought for professional visibility, espoused innovative, often radical, economic and social reforms, and wielded political power.” (p. 123).

Putting on Appearances By Diane Barthel looks at how the advertising industry has historically plays on women’s low self-esteem and claims to offer her ways to obtain beauty, amass power and achieve success. Her argument is basically that the advertising industry reinforces gender stereotypes and most importantly fails to offer any challenging cultural values. Barthel examines this theme of the “actionwoman” as it applied during the 70’s however it also seems to apply to a few of the 1920’s ads for women as well. States that the She examines how many women in the 1970’s were depicted in sportswear. She states, “The new freedom is translated into a new physicality, a new feminine toughness, void of serious commentary or political comment” (p. 133). This was clearly the case after considering ad BH1666.

I began to examine three selected ads that were advertising shaving products for men. Ad BH0768 advertises Colgate’s rapid shave cream for men shows a picture of a long bearded man on it. Colgate rapid shave is advertised through a story about congress. The ad reads, “If the law givers who filled the law of state with variegated plumage could have lathered with Colgate’s they would have had no excuse for failing to come out from behind their hairy entanglements and facing their constituents openly.” There is this sense that Rapid shave cream has a very significant role in the lives of men and congress.

The ad reads “But let it be said for the men who guarded the destiny of the republic when Congress was bearded like a band of bashibezouks that they had a good reason for shunning the razor. There was nothing then for making the lather that would soften the hairs of the beard at the base.” There is this sense that if men use Colgate this will have a profound impact on how affairs in government office will play out. The ad also has this sense of dry humor to it as well. There is this sense that masculinity is also synonymous with having a sense of political humor. There is this sense that man’s work is too important for him not to be able to have quality shaving cream.  

These women’s ads, which I looked at, suggest that women are self-absorbed creatures who are obsessed with beauty and image. These ads seem to be selling women more than just face cream but they appear to also be feeding women ideologies about their own femininity. These ads are clearly telling women how they should appear and how women should appear was constantly changing. Barthel would respond to this by reminding us of the initiatives of the advertising industry. She states, “When we do simply accept it, advertising is at its most successful” (p. 13). Its very staying power derives from its ability to mimic the social. As society changes, advertising becomes the happy chameleon, always delighted to take on spring’s new colors” (p. 13). This becomes more evident in looking at the next ad.

Ad BH0705 reads “Evolution of the Comfort Smile.” The ad has a picture of a man with shaving cream on his face. Colgate is clearly presented as having triplicity or being threefold in character. The ad suggests that men can buy the more practical form that is packaged for convenience (the stick form), the cultured form (the powder form) or the elitist form (the cream form). This was comparative to many of the face creams for women, which were multi-purpose. Ad BH0705 states that the stick can give enough soap to be used with any except for the heavy beard. The ways in which this shaving cream can be administered has been customized according to beard texture. The man’s face appears to be evolving into the three forms of this Colgate. There is this idea that you are your consumption patterns. In general, it seems that these ads seem to suggest that the kind of face cream or shaving cream that you use determines your persona. Ironic enough, during the 1920’s there was the big debate over whether or not the theories of evolution should be taught in school. A few teachers decided to break the Butler law, which prohibited the teaching of evolution or any theories that conflict with the Bible. This gave rise to what was known as the scope monkey trials. The Story of My Life by Clarence Darrow tells his account of this long draw out dilemma. The author also examines some of the contradiction of the 1920’s. The author states:

“From any point of view, the law was silly and senseless. At the time of passage, even in the States of Tennessee and Mississippi the schools were teaching that the earth was round instead of flat, and the day and night were due to revolution of the earth on its axis and not from the sun and moon going around it, or being drawn across the horizon. This and many other things, taught in the public schools even down there, are flatly contrary to Genesis and, in fact, they refute the Bible account much more clearly than does the doctrine of evolution” (p. 246).

This ad definitely shows how the adverting reflects the social undercurrent. The ad also seems to suggest that men are consumers who enjoy political satire. Men clearly have a sense of humor.

Sex Stereotyping in Advertising by Alice Courtney looks at the ways in which the sexes are depicted, how the advertising markets its products to men verses women, and the use of humor as a selling tool. She draws from commercials, magazines and literature. The author alludes to the fact that sex stereotyping and humor sells.

She states, “Beginning in the 1920’s, researchers isolated three classes of humor and studied individual preferences for the different content. According to Kambourobpoulou, the three basic classes are 1. Hostile humor depicting aggressive drive or intent to ridicule, 2. Sexual humor (humor concerning sexual activity or stimulation, 3. nonsensical humor (humor of incongruity and nonsense which results from situations associating generally acceptable incompatibilities” (p. 126).

Since this research was first conducted the author suggests that have been several psychological studies conducted which investigate how these forms of humor impact men and women. The author suggests “Men find hostile humor and sexual humor funnier than do women. Women, on the other hand, generally find humor arising out of nonsensical or incongruous situations to be funnier” (p. 128).

Ad BH0706 reads, “Comfort-A Three Act Play-By Mostall Menn.” There is this sense that Colgate is advertising for both Colgate and the theater. The Ad shows a picture of a stage and all of the characters are necessary elements for shaving. The ad also shows the theater insignia on the both the upper left and right corners. After looking at the ad we notice that the Razor is a gay young blade who nevertheless works well, the brush is an accomplished heiress, who smoothes the way, Lather is a kindly old friend of Mr. Razor. Beard is a villain who is at last eliminated.

There is this sense that masculinity is cultured and men have a greater interest in the theater arts. We learn that theater arts were really becoming a big thing during the 1920’s. There has throughout history been this notion that the artists were aligned with deviance social and or sexual behaviors but that the arts were also a very eclectic activity that the bourgeoisie went to see. There was this sort of fetishizing of the arts. After reviewing the 1920’s it becomes evident that there was a change in the sexual landscape. These sexual revolutions were also playing out to the fullest in the theater, music and the arts. Some of these acts of “sexual perversion” were in range from homosexuality to prostitution. “Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940” by George Chauncey examines this. The author states:

Gay writers and performers produced a flurry of gay literature and theater in the 1920’s and early 1930’s; gay impresarios organized cultural events that sustained and enhanced gay men’s communal ties and group identity. Some gay men were in long-term monogamous relationships they called marriages; others participated in an extensive sexual underground that by the beginning of the century included well-known cruising areas in the city’s parks and streets, gay bathhouses, and saloons with back rooms where men met for sex” (p. 1)

The author also touches on the fact that the gay theme began very prominent in plays during the 1920’s. He states, “Mae West attempted to bring to Broadway a farcical representation of pansy life, the drag” (p. 311). I thought ad BH0706 was interesting in the sense that you almost had to wonder if they advertising was for Colgate, the theater, for male homosexuality or for straight men to see the gay exhibition. The author alludes to what was going on in terms of performance and theater during the 1920’s:

“As white fascination of with the burgeoning African-American world of Harlem grew in the 1920’s, entrepreneurs opened clubs featuring black entertainers in Times Square as well as Harlem, including the Everglades, the Club Alaban, and the Plantation. The existence of such clubs ensured that “slummers” would not even need to leave the security of a white neighborhood or sit in an integrated audience to witness the spectacle of black primitivism. The clubs thus played on their customers desire to feel they were transgressing the conventional boundaries of race while they resolutely confirmed them” (p. 310).

The author alludes to the fact that homosexuality and black culture were dealt with in the same way. Theater culture clearly crossed boundaries as both blacks and gays were performing but ironic enough the ad is clearly targeting men. None of the ads that I came across for women seem throw women into this arena of the arts or in more social/ political affairs. The author continues to assert, “If whites were intrigued by the primitivism of black culture, heterosexuals were equally intrigued by the perversity of gay culture” (p. 310).

In many ways, it seems that these three ads for men seemed to present a lot more social and political theory that gave me a strong context in which to examine masculinity in advertising during the 1920’s. The three ads I examined for men were a lot more artistically done, colorful, contained a lot more detail and were very bold. These ads for men seem to examine how men relate to the world. It seems that the men’s ads gave us some history about what was going on during 1920’s and the women’s ads provided some substantiating evidence.

The three ads for women that I examined seem to play around with women’s self image almost exclusively. There was this sense that women were trying to assert themselves, establish a sense of identity and independence. The ads for women seem to examine and attempts to call into question the ways in which the world relates to women. None of the ads that I looked at for women really seem to incorporate women into the stream of political or social consciousness during the 1920’s. The ads for women seem to focus more on image.

Looking at the history of the 1920’s enabled me to put these ads for men in women into some larger context and perspective. There was this clear sense that both the ads for men and women were about gender norms as well as social trends. It seems that the 1920’s masculinity and femininity were no different than any other era we have seen in history. It seems in some ways that gender is actually culture manipulating biology. Masculinity and femininity, man and woman can easily become what society, advertising industry, or individuals needs it to be when it is most convenient.

                                                                                     References

Barthel, Diane. “Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising”. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, 1988

Baxandall, Rosalyn and Gordon Linda. “America’s Working Women.” WW Norton and Company: New York, 1976

"Beauty ads for men and women." Online images. Ad Access.

Chaucery, George. “Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay

Male World 1890-1940.”Harper Collins Publishers: New York 1994

Courtney, Alice. “Sex Stereotyping in Advertising.” Lexington Books: Massachusetts, 1983.

Cross, Mary. “Advertising and Culture.” Praeger: Connecticut 1996.

Darrow, Clarence. “The Story of My Life.” C. Scribner’s Sons: New York, London 1932.

Fass, Paula. “The Damned and the Beautiful.” New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.

Kinwood College Library . "American Cultural History 1920-1929." Online posting. 2004.

The American History Class Page. "American Cultural History 1920-1929." Online posting.