By Kevin Hechtkopf, CBS News February 11, 2010 2:00 PM
A new CBS News/ New York Times poll finds that the wording of the question is key when it comes to determining whether Americans support allowing gays to serve in the military.
In the poll, 59 percent say they now support allowing "homosexuals" to serve in the U.S. military, including 34 percent who say they strongly favor that. Ten percent say they somewhat oppose it and 19 percent say they strongly oppose it.
But the numbers differ when the question is changed to whether Americans support "gay men and lesbians" serving in the military. When the question is asked that way, 70 percent of Americans say they support gay men and lesbians serving in the military, including 19 percent who say they somewhat favor it. Seven percent somewhat oppose it, and 12 percent strongly oppose it.
When it comes to whether Americans support allowing gays to serve openly, there is also a difference based on the term used. When referred to as "homosexuals," 44 percent favor allowing them to serve openly. When referred to as "gay men and lesbians," the percentage rises to 58 percent.
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama vowed to end the policy that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military – commonly referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
No matter the term used, support for gays to serve in the military has risen since 1993, when the debate arose early in Bill Clinton's presidency. In 1993, 42 percent said they favored allowing homosexuals to serve, with 21 percent saying they strongly favored it; that compared to 42 percent who opposed allowing them to serve (29 percent strongly). In 1993, 37 percent said they supported allowing homosexuals to serve openly and 56 percent opposed.
However, support is down from one year ago, when 67 percent said they supported allowing homosexuals to serve (46 percent strongly).
Here are the final four prompts, plus one you may write, for your research papers:
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Women and Fanboy Culture
In 1999, comic book writer Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Deadpool) created the website, Women in Refrigerators, after “it occurred to me that it's not that healthy to be a female character in comics … These are superheroines who have been either depowered, raped, or cut up and stuck in the refrigerator … Some have been revived, even improved—although the question remains as to why they were thrown in the wood chipper in the first place.” What Simone tapped into was the comic book industry’s traditionally misogynistic treatment of female characters. But other forms of entertainment favored by “fanboys” (highly devoted male pop culture fans) also have long histories of negative portrayals of women. While some strides have been made, the genres of horror, science-fiction, and fantasy, are still criticized for their poor depictions of women, which are often overly-sexualized or overly-simplified. While fanboy entertainment is largely consumed by men, why must female characters in it fair so poorly? Also, what roles do women play in producing fanboy entertainment and have they taken a different approach to female characters than men? Analyze the portrayal of women in one of the following varieties of fanboy culture: literature (including comic books), film, and gaming.
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Pornography in the Internet Age
Pornography has existed, in one form or another, for most of human history. And societies have had varying ways of dealing with it, from a general acceptance of its existence (the Roman Empire) to outright prohibitions (Victorian England). But regardless of how societies have dealt with it, over time pornography has become increasingly more accessible. And it has never been more available than during the Internet age. In fact, it is so readily available that it has seeped into mainstream American culture. But how has this increased ease of access affected how Americans consume pornography? What are the societal effects when it can be so easily obtained? Is it a benign presence or does it pose problems? Study the dynamics pornography in the Internet age.
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The Past and Future of Midwifery
For thousands of years, and through most of American history, midwives have been the primary source for delivering a child. But how did midwives go from at one time delivering the majority of babies in this country to just a small percentage today? What are some of the common misconceptions about midwives? How does the mainstream medical establishment regard midwifery today? Finally, what are the bigger implications of midwifery as it relates to women’s role in medicine? Examine the past and future of midwifery in America.
The 21st Century American Man
The last century saw a radical shift in America’s perceptions of what it meant to be a man. In the early 20th century, men (especially those who were white and heterosexual) were unquestionably at the center of all realms of American society, including education, technology, the arts, medicine, sports, religion, and politics. Parameters of American masculinity were so well defined—and stringently observed—that boys and men of the time had a clear sense of the expectations placed upon them. But by the early 21st century, those parameters are not so clear. Though they have more options in how they define their masculinity, men today are less the center of American society. Now that many of the gender restrictions placed upon men of previous generations are gone, some argue that our contemporary definitions of masculinity are too blurred and that new generations of men may become confused. Just what are the expectations of 21st century American masculinity and how do they differ from those of previous generations? For example, how have social movements, such as stay-at-home dads and the gay rights movement, changed what we expect of 21st century American men?
Write Your Own
For this option you may choose your own topic, pending my approval. Your prompt must relate to some aspect of gender and require a depth of analysis. Custom prompts should emailed to me by midnight on Friday, February 12th.
By Jay Bookman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution February 8, 2010,
Advertising agencies get paid good money to know a culture’s soft underbelly, to spot consumer insecurities and exploit them to maximum advantage. You might say that commercials represent our collective dream world, playing back to us the sum total of our fears and hopes and anxieties.
So it was pretty interesting to see — between extended periods of excellent football — the spate of Super Bowl ads advising American men how to reclaim or cling to or even surrender their last remaining claims to traditional masculinity.
Is that really what we have come to circa 2010? Does the American male really feel that threatened? Madison Avenue certainly seems to think so.
Advertisers have long tried to identify their products with certain aspects of masculinity or femininity, so the approach itself is nothing new. Former Raiders star Howie Long, for example, pitches Chevy pickup trucks as a means to dramatize your heterosexuality. And beer companies have always appealed to masculine identity through commercials such as Miller Lite’s famous “man law” series from a few years ago, featuring Burt Reynolds. (I hereby propose this as an irrefutable man law: The more insipid, weak and tasteless the beer, the more heavily it pushes “manliness.” Think of it as overcompensation, a “little beer’s complex”.)
But you couldn’t help but notice that this year’s Super Bowl featured ad after ad taking that approach, pitching an unusually broad range of products from slacks to soap to electronics to cars to investing. It’s hard to believe that was coincidental, that so many sponsors just accidentally decided to aim their pitch in that direction.
More likely, their surveys and focus groups were all picking up something in the culture that they thought they could manipulate on their clients’ behalf. Maybe it reflects a bad economy in which men have taken by far the largest hit, with traditionally male manufacturing and construction jobs disappearing and women outnumbering men in the workforce for the first time.
But in American culture, the pinnacle of masculinity is probably to be the MVP of the Super Bowl. And on that one, I’d say Drew Brees got it exactly right, going 32 of 39 to tie the Super Bowl record for completions as those Saints went marching into history.
Here are the first four prompts you may choose from for your research paper. We will discuss the final four prompts this Wednesday.
Female Empowerment Songs In 1964, Leslie Gore’s reminded men everywhere that “you don’t own me.” In 1978, Gloria Gaynor emerged from a break-up with the mantra: “I will survive.” In 1995, Alanis Morissette declared to her former lover that “every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back, I hope you feel it.” Female pop, rock, and now hip-hop, artists have a long tradition of using their medium as a platform for female empowerment. Sometimes subtly, sometimes aggressively, many women have publicly taken men to task through music. Trace the history of female-centered songs from the 1950’s through today. Identify and examine a minimum of four female empowerment songs from different decades. In doing so, consider the social environment in America during these times. What was the mood of the country at the times of these songs and were these songs a reaction to those times?
The History of Hair in America Hair is often overlooked as a major indicator of cultural norms, but from Samson and Delilah to Repunzel to hippies, it has left its mark on many societies. Why have hairstyles made such a statement throughout American history? For example, what are some of the ways we have used hair to both oppress one another and declare individual freedom? Have the rules for hair been different for women than for men? And how have American attitudes toward hair mirrored those of the world and how have they been different? Examine the historical significance of hair in America.
Homosexuals in the Military Conventional wisdom in the United States has long held that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. Yet other nations, including many of our allies, have little or no restrictions on homosexuals in the military. What should be the place of homosexuals in our armed forces? Are they, as some argue, destructive to institutional morale? Or is the practice of banning homosexuals discriminatory and hypocritical? Likewise, in light of two concurrent wars, is the policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) still merited? And now that President Obama has called for DADT’s repeal, where does the fight over gay service members shift to? Examining both sides, evaluate the issue of homosexuals in the US military.
The Impact of Title IX in Women's Sports Reading: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid," Title IX has, among other things, revolutionized women’s roles in sports. But what was it like for female athletes prior to Title IX? How was Title IX brought to fruition? And what has been the impact of Title IX at the collegiate and professional levels of sports? Would the likes of the Williams Sisters, Cynthia Cooper, and Mia Hamm have been possible without it? What challenges do female athletes still face, and how is Title IX threatened today? Examine the history and future of this landmark law.
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