Blog Post #9 - Meme Critique

"18 Things You Will Miss If You’re A Brit In America"
URL: http://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/18-things-you-will-miss-if-youre-a-brit-in-america

As I searched for an article to analyze on Buzzfeed, I came across a perspective of what it is like to live in America as an individual from Great Britain. Although I am not British nor have I visited the country, I consider myself an “insider” of the American culture and can conclude that the author of this post, in ways, is incorrect depicting our country while comparing it to Britain. The images throughout the list are mixed when it comes to accurately representing what the writer is trying to say. For example on meme number nine, two U.S. newspaper covers are compared to a British front page. He implies ours are quite boring and there is a stark difference to the stunning and colorful example given. The images he chose directly link to the provided text and his valid point attempted to be made. However on number eleven, there is a picture of Boots which is the author’s opinion of the best pharmacy in the world. Right beneath it, the author then goes on to make the claim that U.S. pharmacies sell cigarettes. Even though this may be the case, his picture used to link this claim shows cigarettes behind the counter of a gas station. This is an invalid representation. After comparing the size and drive times across both countries, The Simpsons picture has one of the main characters from the show commenting regardless how small Britain is, everything it has to offer could not fit in America. I find that this was a strange choice made by the author since the Simpsons is widely known as an American television show and contains nothing but culture of the United States. Recycling this meme from the intended culture is a clash while it is currently being used to positively comment about Britain. I believe everyone should have the right to their own opinion, but it is necessary to appropriately and accurately address these opinions with support. When this author places mismatched images to his text, it shows that he has incorrect stereotypes about particular aspects of the American culture. 

Blog Post #8 - Ethnography Revisions

               While reviewing the rough draft of my ethnography essay, the first major revision that will improve my paper is the descriptive content that is presented to the reader about the physical space of the Johnson Center Gym. In this particular paragraph, I gave long and descriptive details about the appearance and sounds of the gym. While this gives a vivid picture and some background information for the reader, some of the content isn't necessary since it may not connect to the central argument of my paper. If I do keep some of these sentences in the paragraph, I will connect how those aspects can contribute towards gender discrimination. This was pointed out by Ms. Hoy and will improve the focus of the content.  

                A second important addition I will need to make to my paper will require adding meaningful transitions. Most of my paragraphs have main ideas that ultimately contribute to my argument, but there are few, if any, transitions that connect the paragraphs. Quality transitions will help improve the logical flow and clarity of how each explained topic is related, building up to the significant point. When the paragraph content jumps from the background information of the gym to my methodology and then a descriptive scene of the gym without transitions identifies that there is a lack of connectivity among the supporting evidence.

                Lastly in one of the final paragraphs before concluding the ethnography, I present the information about how the open concept of the Johnson Center facility can contribute an intimidating factor among the gym visitors. The concerns of being judged by others, comparing oneself to others based on whether he or she is good enough to attend a gym and perceptions of feeling inexperienced are likely to develop. This topic can be expanded by describing if this problem is specifically worse for one gender as well as if one gender is more concerned with this over another. I imagine this would help the main evidence highlight the psychological aspects behind the different genders.

Blog Post #7 - Ethnography Project Research

After searching the keywords “gyms” and “gender” for scholarly sources to support my ethnography, I came across a document called, “Gender in the Gym: Evaluation Concerns as Barriers to Women’s Weight Lifting”. This thirteen page secondary source provides multiple detailed studies of gender differences taking place in a standard gym. The specific article contains supported evidence of women who are less likely to lift weights compared to men due to image/self-evaluation issues as well as the emotional discomfort due to the psychological aspects of the gender difference. For example the source states, “The theme of feeling watched, scrutinized, or judged by others was present in 12 of the 37 incident reports. Eleven of these incident reports were written by women (44% of the women who wrote an incident report) and only one by a man (8% of the men who wrote a report).” Since this is a scholarly source and the studies were completed through a Department of Psychology, it appears to be accurate. Reading this report confirms that my proposed argument about gender discrimination due to male dominance present in the Johnson Center Gym is perfect for my ethnography since the findings match what I am attempting to argue about the culture of my space.

References

Salvatore, J., & Marecek, J. (2010). Gender in the Gym: Evaluation Concerns as Barriers to Women’s Weight Lifting. Sex Roles,63(7/8), 556-567. doi:10.1007/s11199-010-9800-8