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241
24. Lilly Ledbetter:
ANS: Lilly Ledbetter was an employee at Goodyear Tire and Rubber for nineteen years.
25. Equal opportunity laws
ANS: Equal opportunity laws are those that prohibit discrimination in organizations. The
26. Glass escalator
27. Glass walls
ANS: The term “glass walls” is a metaphor referencing sex segregation in the workplace.
28. Glass ceilings
ANS: Glass ceilings consist of subtle discrimination that acts as barriers to limit career
29. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
ANS: The FMLA states that U.S. employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care
30. Informal networks
ANS: Informal networks are a way that women and minorities can be excluded in the
31. Mentoring relationships
ANS: Mentoring relationships occur when a senior colleague helps a junior employee build a
Essays
32. How might gendered stereotypes contribute to more subtle forms of discrimination practiced
in organizations today? Explain two stereotypes each for women and for men. Provide an
example of how they might be enacted in organizational life. How does each of these limit
opportunities?
Gendered stereotypes—women:
Sex Object—defines women in terms of their sex or sexuality, including judgments of
women workers based on their appearance and/or actions. This may limit opportunities for
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Gendered stereotypes—men:
Sturdy Oak—defines men as completely self-reliant. As such, a man should never admit
doubt, weakness, or ask for help from others. This may restrict men by reducing their
abilities to collaborate or ask for assistance.
33. Your Gendered Lives textbook discusses a number of informal organizational practices that
contribute to discriminatory practices in organizations today. Define and discuss two of these
practices that you believe are most damaging and explain why you believe this. Finally, pick
one of the methods to redress gendered inequity and explain how this solution would help
address the discriminatory practices discussed in your essay. What are the benefits and
limitations of this method?
ANS: Students should choose two of the following informal practices to define and discuss:
Unwelcoming environments for women—environments where language and behaviors
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However, women and minorities tend to be less involved in informal networks since they
feel different or outnumbered.
Equal Opportunity Laws—These are laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals
who are members of groups who have historically faced discrimination. The focus is to
qualified members of these groups. The effectiveness of these policies is judged by results,
not intent. Benefits of this method include addressing a legacy of bias against certain
group.
Goals—Similar to quotas, but represents only an organization’s stated intention of
achieving a certain percentage of women and/or minorities. Goals have the same
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34. Your textbook discusses the effect of outdated norms for career paths on women in the
workplace. Describe what those norms are and how they impact women’s careers. If you were to
advocate for a change to these paths, what would that change be? Is that change realistic? Why
or why not?
ANS: For the first part of this question, students should mention that “good” workers are
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Chapter 11: Gendered Media
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is true about media portrayals of men and women?
A. Black men are just as likely as white men to be cast in leading roles now.
B. In advertising, men are portrayed as authorities on homemaking tasks.
C. News coverage of women who have been targets of violence tends to focus on their
strength and courage.
D. Television shows today focus equally on men’s and women’s careers.
E. All of the above.
2. A hair straightening treatment advertisement that appears next to a magazine article
titled, “HOT: New smooth looks for summer hair!” is best described as
A. complimentary copy.
B. product placement.
C. misandry.
D. synergy advertising.
E. an emphasis on visual images, which receives less conscious analysis than verbal
claims.
3. Research indicates that watching sexually explicit films that degrade women
A. is reported by a majority of convicted rapists as a regular activity prior to
incarceration.
B. is significantly correlated to viewing habits of women in violent romantic
relationships.
C. is related to men becoming more dominant toward women with whom they interact.
D. has no impact on men’s views towards women.
E. has no impact on women’s understanding of their relationships with men.
4. In what way are girls and women more likely to use social media than men and boys?
A. as a venue for self-development
B. to participate in “sexting”
C. to set up interactions with peers
D. to play games
E. none of the above
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5. You’re watching Mad Men and notice that Don Draper frequently drinks Canadian Club
whisky. This is an example of
A. complimentary copy.
B. product placement.
C. immersive advertising.
D. editorial advertising.
E. none of the above.
6. Which of the following is true about the use of social media for activism?
A. It is rarely effective.
B. Women are more likely than men to use social media for activism.
C. In 2012, activists were able to effectively pressure the Susan G. Komen foundation to
change their decision to defund Planned Parenthood.
D. Social media activism is expensive and difficult to implement.
E. All of the above.
7. Advertisements ______ than other media.
A. contain less gendered messages
B. are less pervasive
C. are less effective
D. contain more gendered messages
E. are often more powerful
8. The most traditional stereotype of women in the media is
A. powerful.
B. strong.
C. sex object.
D. ambitious.
E. none of the above.
9. Why is the concept of pathologizing the human body problematic?
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A. It is based on speculation and opinion, not data or facts.
B. It makes us think natural bodily processes are something to correct or stop.
C. It simply exists to sell us products.
D. It only focuses on women.
E. It is not problematic.
10. Topic or question should by authored by a student. See pages 7-8 of this manual for
details on this activity.
True/False
11. Research has shown that if you are educated about and are aware of the impact, media will
have little or no influence on you.
12. Advertising in the United States tends to present women as authority figures by using them
for voice-overs in commercials.
13. Representations of male and female heroes were essentially equal in media coverage of 9/11
attacks on the United States.
14. More than girls, boys use social media to actively construct identities and get responses from
others.
15. Cyberbullying has real, sometimes fatal consequences for its victims.
16. Though sometimes their portrayals are problematic, news programs, sitcoms, and dramas no
longer underrepresent women and minorities.
17. The dominant representation of men in the media is now sensitive, gentle, and in touch with
their emotions.
18. About 10% of teens today shoot and share videos online.
Identification
19. Pathologizing the human body
20. Product placement
21. Third person effect
22. Cyberbullying
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23. Media saturation
24. Immersive advertising
25. Agenda-setting
26. Gatekeeper
Essays
27. Your Gendered Lives textbook reviews how women and men are portrayed in advertising.
Discuss the portrayals of gender in this type of media. How influential are advertisements?
ANS: Some key ideas appear below. Students might also draw from classroom discussion.
If you showed the movie Killing us Softly, this question could be easily modified to include
important ideas from this film as well.
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28. Discuss messages rap and/or gangsta rap music contains about men and women. Do the
media influence consumers? Finally, do you agree with Al Sharpton’s request to the FCC to ban
rappers who disrespect women? Why or why not?
ANS: The framework for this answer may be found throughout the chapter. Students might
also be encouraged to use ideas from class discussion.
29. Your book discusses the ways in which unrealistic standards are normalized in media.
Choose two of the unrealistic standards, give specific examples of them, and describe the
implications of them for media consumers.
ANS: The unrealistic expectations include unrealistic physical appearances, unrealistic
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tend to see ourselves as inadequate, we assess our own relationships based on flawed standards,
and we perceive our natural bodily processes as something to be fixed or changed.
REF: p. 244
30. Discuss three ways in which news media, including cable and network television news,
magazines, and newspapers, promote stereotypical views of women and femininity and provide
concrete examples to support your points.
ANS: Students might focus on the following issues:
When covering female politicians, news media may focus on women’s appearances to the
exclusion of issues. This was clear in coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.
31. The author of your textbook argues that television programs and movies such as The Good
Wife, Law and Order, The Closer, Hunger Games, and Brave may appear to challenge
conventional norms of femininity when in fact they reinforce those norms. Review the author’s
arguments and indicate whether you agree or disagree. You may reference specific examples
from the programs/movies in support of your answer.
ANS: Students should review Wood’s arguments; they may or may not agree with her
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32. How do media motivate us to consume, and why is this significant in terms of gender? Use
examples to make your point.
ANS: The specific examples students use will vary. The response below represents a possible
response to this question.
Media encourage us to consume by telling us that we need products in order to be healthy,
33. Essay question that integrates class business, class activities, or films viewed with material
covered in readings.
