"You're On My Heart Just Like a Tattoo!"

There were some serious role reversals on this week's episode of 90210. Silver and Dixon have been dating for a long time now. Dixon finally works up the courage to tell her he loves her. Silver doesn't respond. She is very cynical and opposed to love, along with pretty much all societal expectations. Dixon ends up breaking up with her because of this. One would generally expect the girl to drop the L-bomb and the guy to be the commitment-phobe. However, these roles are reversed in the show. Later on, the episode returns to more typical gender roles. When Silver thinks Dixon is dating someone new, she flips out. She finally tells him she loves him because she realizes she will lose him otherwise. Silver immediately turns into a sappy, cheesy, ridiculously emotional individual. She used to ridicule individuals who were in love. She also deemed Valentine's Day a ridiculous commercial ploy to make money. Now she is obsessed with creating a perfect Valentine's Day. She even gets Dixon's name tattoed on her hip. She tells him that she wanted something that could be a sign of the permanence of their love. Dixon's face was very expressive following this exchange. He was visibly freaked out and surprised. Now, Silver is the stereotypical girl who is big on committment and having a serious relationship. Dixon on the otherhand is concerned about how serious Silver is getting. He is obviously concerned about just how permanent she expects their relationship to be. This is more fitting with the fear of commitment, which is part of the male stereotype. This episode is a very extreme version of the committment scenario, especially since they are both still in high school. But, it still demonstrates societal stereotypes very well.

The "Fem" Man

This week I watched "27 Dresses" again. In addition to being a great movie, it also has tons of examples of different types of femininity in action. This week I wanted to address "the feminine man." The lead male role in the movie is Kevin, played by James Marsden. Kevin is a writer for the New York Journal. Immediately you think of nice "manly" positions such as business or sports. But, no such luck for Kevin. He works writing wedding announcements. This section is one is the most feminine, mushy, romantic parts of the paper. Kevin writes under the pseudonym, Malcom. He tells Jane this is to avoid being mobbed by brides desperate to be featured in the paper. However, one has to wonder if he is simply trying to hide the fact that he has such a feminine career. Kevin gives off a very cocky vibe. He tries to act like a very "manly" man. He is very cynical, and he says he thinks marriage is like slavery. We later find out that his cynicism is merely a cover up for his emotions. Being emotional and showing your feelings is a feminine trait. Society does not approve of men being overly sappy. Kevin later admits to Jane that he "cried like a baby" at one of the more emotional weddings that he covered. When Kevin and Jane are having one of their arguments about marriage, we find out that his fiance cheated on him with his college roommate. First off, this gives us insight into the source of his cynicism and negativity towards love and marriage. Second, this situation is odd because men are stereotyped as the cheaters, not the one who is cheated on. Kevin's character demonstrates to viewers that having feminine traits is okay for a man. Not living up to society's guidelines of manliness do not make him less of a man.

Expectations

This week's episode of Priviledged on the CW deals with the double standard society creates for men and women. Sage thinks that Louis is going to dump her when he finds out she still has her V-Card. She believes that since he is an older guy he must be more experienced. When she finds out that Louis, due to religious beliefs, is also a card carrier, she is completely surprised. Rose on the other hand is nervous about telling her boyfriend that she isn't a virgin. She assumes that since he is a dork he must never have done the deed. She is completely surprised to find out that he has. Rose was worried that if he was a virgin, he would be uncomfortable with a more experienced girlfriend. This episode shows how society expects girls to remain pure. Guys on the other hand are allowed to be very open with their physical feelings. Film and other media sources merely reinforce this double standard. What difference does gender make? Both genders face consequences from their actions, so why is it deemed normal and acceptable for one and not the other.

Cougars, Cougars Everywhere!

So, continuining off of last week's theme...let's talk about cougars. This week's episode of Gossip Girl was especially intense and dramatic. But, the ultimate drama didn't even arrive until the last few seconds. Scandal swirled around Dan and Miss Carr this week. Miss Carr is a new teacher at Constance Billard who made the mistake of underestimating the great Blair Waldorf. Blair is slighted by the new teacher, and her vindictive wrath managed to suck in Dan Humphrey. She accuses Dan of giving Miss Carr, "more than just an apple!" Of course, these are initially false accusations. Notice that I say initially. Well, the scandal quickly gets out of hand, and in the end Miss Carr gets fired. So, sweet, little, not so innocent Dan goes to tell Miss Carr he is so sorry about what happened, and he feels to blame. Miss Carr, however, seems to be recovering quite well from her loss and manages to find a silver lining. She tells Dan none of this is his fault. She also mentions that she is no longer teaching at his school (wink, wink). In the end, Miss Carr ends up cougaring it up, and the audience is left gasping in surprise. It has been decades since Mrs. Robinson brought the cougar to the silver screen, yet it still hasn't found mainstream acceptance along with the creeping older man. Miss Carr wasn't even that much older than Dan, but we still think it is weird. This is just another example of how society decides what is acceptable behavior for the different sexes.