English 102

Prof. Ahrenhoerster

Summer 2008

Response Paper 2

            For the past few classes we have been reading about gender roles (the expected behaviors of males and females in our society).  Most of the authors have been critical of these genders roles and suggest that they are harmful.  Some of the authors blamed popular culture (television/movies/music/etc.) for creating these harmful gender roles.

            Think about the television/movies/music that you have experienced recently and what they seem to be suggesting about how males and females should act.  Write an essay in which you analyze the messages about gender that you see popular culture sending.  Is it sending the same message that some of these authors are concerned about, or is it actually something different?  Are these messages harmful?

            Remember that your thesis statement should make a specific claim that answers the assignment and sets up the paper.  Each body paragraph should contain a claim (topic sentence) that supports the thesis, specific evidence (from the readings and from popular culture) that supports the topic sentence, and some “so what?” explanation. Work on incorporating the evidence smoothly.

            Your paper could address some (certainly not all) of the following issues that have been raised:

• Has our society become anti-boy?
• What is expected of fathers and mothers in our society?
• Does popular culture still send misogynistic (woman-hating) messages?
• What does it currently mean to be feminine and masculine?
• How are people who don’t fit in to standard gender roles treated?

It is fine to bring in other issues as well, as long as you are able to make connections to the readings in your essay.

Requirements:

• The paper should follow MLA formatting guidelines as explained in chapter 29 of A Writer’s Resource (for an example, see the sample paper in chapter 30)
• Follow MLA rules for documentation as covered in chapters 26 and 27 of A Writer’s Resource.
• Bring in ideas and evidence from chapters 15, 8, and/or 10 of Perspectives on Contemporary Issues in a significant way.
• Bring in specific examples from popular culture as evidence.

Bring a draft of paper 2 to class on Monday, June 23.

The paper is due on Wednesday, June 25.