Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Blog Buddy Responses from Nicole

1. Dan showed strong analytical work in his post titles “Power, Authority, and Gender”. He explained in detail some of the hegemonic/counter-hegemonic norms that are shown in the television show Scrubs (his topic). He gave several exampled from the show where these norms are present. Someone reading his Blog would clearly understand his ideas, even if they have never seen the show.

2. I think Dan is very good at using the course readings in his Blog posts (something that I often had trouble doing). I think you should be able to find another good article to cite in your final Blog post.

3. Think about the following statements in relation to your Blog buddy’s Blog and then provide feedback on each area (constructive praise/criticism):
The Blog is on a topic that has been clearly evident in the Blog posts throughout the semester. Dan has been writing about Scrubs all semester (except when asked to do otherwise), and this is evident in his Blog posts.

The Blog is on a topic that seems to interest my Blog buddy. Dan is obviously a fan of the television show Scrubs, otherwise he would not have chosen it as his topic. He seems to also be interesting in analyzing Scrubs. He seems to know enough about the show that he is able to cite examples from many episodes.

My Blog buddy’s topic is one that has produced a good set of posts that were analytical used gender as a primary category of analysis. Based on Dan’s posts, and what I know about the show Scrubs, there are various characters that can be analyzed based on gender issues. Scrubs, like Grey’s Anatomy (my topic) is set in a hospital, where there are issues with power, and who has that power (usually male characters). He produced the required number of posts as well.

The posts make analytical arguments. The posts are understandable and each post logically outlines and supports the argument presented. The posts were clear, provided insight, evidence, and analysis to connect the topic with the assignment for each of the posts. Dan was able to use his topic to follow the assignment for every post. The posts were clear and analytical.

The sources cited in each post are relevant to the topic and help to aid the understanding of the argument and/or assisted in proving the argument. Dan cited several different articles throughout his blog posts. Each article was related to the topic he was writing about in that particular post.

The quotes used illustrate a broad range of course readings throughout the semester. The quotes Dan used were from articles read is class, and were related to the topic he was writing about in the specific post. He used several different articles throughout the semester.

The quotes were clear and succinct; additionally, the material was presented so that I could differentiate the Blog buddy’s ideas from that of the author cited. Dan properly cited the sources he was using. I was able to tell when he was citing a source in his reading.

4. Finally…
I thought it was great when you added a video clip to emphasize your idea about one of the characters. It made it easier to understand what you were talking about in regard to the personality of the character. If possible, it might be good to try to do that again in your final blog post, or in your presentation.

I found it confusing when you used several different characters in a post. I know I did the same thing, but it probably would be better to just focus on one character in each Blog post. You could try to do this for the final Blog post.

You’re really great at finding readings that go along with your post. You are also good at explaining the articles in terms of how you are citing it in your post. This is something that I had a lot of trouble doing.

I wish you could focus (more) on/alter/edit/explain/expand on/ etc. these three things…
1. I think you should focus on the character of Elliot more in one of your posts. I’ve seen the show Scrubs, and I know that she often fits in with the hegemonic norms of a woman. I think there are things in many episodes that you could draw on to write a post about her.
2. Try to focus on just one character in your last Blog post to make it less confusing.
3. You might want to try to better explain characters with their relationships to one another.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Blog Buddy Work with Nicole, Author of Nicole's Grey's Anatomy Blog

1. Where has your Blog buddy shown strong analytical work (be specific—is it a particular post, a type of analysis, a site for analysis that seemed to click more so than others, etc)?

2. How could your Blog buddy use this strength for the final Blog post and presentation?

3. Think about the following statements in relation to your Blog buddy’s Blog and then provide feedback on each area (constructive praise/criticism):

The Blog is on a topic that has been clearly evident in the Blog posts throughout the semester

The Blog is on a topic that seems to interest my Blog buddy

My Blog buddy’s topic is one that has produced a good set of posts that were analytical used gender as a primary category of analysis

The posts make analytical arguments. The posts are understandable and each post logically outlines and supports the argument presented. The posts were clear, provided insight, evidence, and analysis to connect the topic with the assignment for each of the posts

The sources cited in each post are relevant to the topic and help to aid the understanding of the argument and/or assisted in proving the argument.

The quotes used illustrate a broad range of course readings throughout the semester.

The quotes were clear and succinct; additionally, the material was presented so that I could differentiate the Blog buddy’s ideas from that of the author cited.

4. Finally, complete the following:

I thought it was great when you...

I found it confusing when you…

You’re really great at…

I wish you could focus (more) on/alter/edit/explain/expand on/etc these three things…

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Heterosexism in "Scrubs"

In the article “Homophobia in Straight Men” Terry A. Kupers describes how one male inmate was dressed as a woman in order to protect himself. The inmate had been beaten up and raped a number of times by other inmates. He had even been fought over by various prison toughs, but once he began to dress and act like a woman he became the quasi-girlfriend of one prison tough and therefore he was no longer beaten up or fought over (Kupers 500). This clearly brings up the issue of women being viewed as property, but this post will focus on the issues of heterosexism that can be seen here and then discuss how these same issues of heterosexism can be found in “Scrubs.”

This inmates experience reveals that his prison society did not view homosexuality as a normative or even reasonable lifestyle choice. When the inmate dressed and acted like a man he was beaten up, raped, and fought over by various prison toughs, so in order to gain the protection of one prison tough he presented himself as a woman so he could be seen as a “girlfriend”. When one tough saw another trying to rape the inmate he did not think, “Oh, I guess that tough owns that guy.” Instead the toughs would fight over who could have the inmate for sexual use. The inmate could not gain protection as a man because the prisoners did not view two men being together as a relationship so the inmate was up for grabs, but as soon as the inmate dressed as a woman the prisoners acknowledged that he could have the protection of his “boyfriend.” This basically says that two men can not be viewed as being in a relationship, but a man and a woman can be. It might be easy to think that only a bunch of hardened criminals would view the world this way but issues of heterosexism can be found throughout pop culture and “Scrubs” is no exception.

The first, and most obvious, heterosexist issue that can be found in “Scrubs” is the lack of any prominent homosexual characters. All of the recurring characters are straight and their straightness is a large part of who they are. A large part of the show is dedicated to the characters finding or hanging out with a boyfriend/girlfriend of the opposite sex. So “Scrubs” very clearly describes all its main characters as straight.

Another issue in “Scrubs” related to heterosexism is how homosexuality is presented when it does come up in the show. The only character that is mentioned more than once that is gay is Dr. Kelso’s unseen son, Harrison, who Dr. Kelso talks about from time to time. When Harrison is the topic of conversation, Dr. Kelso almost always talks about him like he is a disappointment. One of the few times when Dr. Kelso admits that he loves Harrison he starts the conversation with, “[Harrison] hasn’t come out quite the way I planned…” So even when Dr. Kelso talks about his son in a loving way he includes the fact that he never wanted a gay son. This is not exactly showing homosexuality in a positive light.

“Scrubs” also runs into heterosexist issues in the way that lesbianism is portrayed in a fourth season episode. In this episode Elliot and Molly are sitting in the cafeteria talking and Molly mentions how her thighs hurt. Elliot then offers to massage them with oil. Elliot does not say this in a sexy way, but every man in the cafeteria looks over hopefully when they hear her. Showing quasi-lesbian behavior in this way is problematic because it frames lesbianism as a male sexual fantasy. This reduces lesbianism to something that is used by heterosexual men. Lesbian behavior is no longer presented as a plausible lifestyle choice but rather a taboo used for heterosexual arousal.

Heterosexism in “Scrubs” exists in two forms: the lack of major representation of homosexual characters, and the negative representation homosexuality does get during its limited times of discussion on the show. In this way “Scrubs” is presenting a world where the only realistic and logical relationship type is man and woman.



Work Cited
Kupers, Terry A. Revisioning Men’s Lives: Gender, Intimacy, and Power. The Guilford Press, 1992.