That 70's Show

In a recent episode on That 70's Show, Donna and Eric have a fight about Eric leaving Donna and not returning until hours later at a car show. Eric's mother is along side Donna when this occurs. She tells Donna not to worry this kind of thing always happens and there is nothing she can do to prevent it from occuring. Donna is very upset by Eric's actions and decides to not let him get away with it. Eric's mother, from an older generation, thinks this is a horrible idea and that is only going to make the situation worse. This reflects the mind set that women should allow men to run the relationship and put their wishes second to their man's. This is a mindset that many women and men from previous generations have about relationships. In these times, it is outragous to think that women should come second to men in a "mutual" relationship. This show subtly relays the message to it's audience that men are still dominant in a relationship.

Giving it up

On a episode of Gilmore Girls the other day, Rory and her mother discussed Rory's decision to have sex with her boyfriend, Jess. Her mother refered to it was losing her virginity, and she stated it was something she could never get back. I thought this was very interesting considering if Rory was a boy the conversation would have gone a completely different route. We do not consider it giving it up when a boy loses his virginity. They are praised for conquering a woman, and praised even more if that woman is a virgin before them. Why is it considered losing their virginity for girls and finally getting some for guys? This does not make sense. It is a complete double standard that exists in society today.

Chris Brown Beats Rihanna?

Recently in the news, there has been speculations as to whether Chris Brown beat up Rihanna. Rihanna is R&B's beloved, sweetheart. Chris Brown is a pop/rap, dancing superstar. Apparently, everyone now hates Chris Brown because of these speculations. We know Rihanna was hurt, but we do not know any more than that until the actual trial and real story comes out. Th issue is that if Rihanna would have hit Chris Brown, would this be such a huge scandal? It probally would not have been. Because, as a male, you are not supposed to hit a female. However, a female can hit a male and it is no big scandal. We expect that the guy can protect himself or not be hurt by the female. But guys can not hit girls, so how is a male supposed to defend himself? There are also speculations that Rihanna started the physical fight. Does this change anything about the situation? In society today, it does not.

Real World

On the current season of Real World, there is a new assortment of individuals that do not follow the guidelines that previous episodes have. One of the most interesting Real World characters is Katelynn. Katelynn is definitely not the average Real World cast member. Katelynn is a transgender who recently underwent a sex change procedure. Before she came out to her fellow cast members, they all assumed she was and always had been a female. There were a few questions raised. However, for the most part she was considered a female by everyone. This proves that you play the gender role that you decide to play. Katelynn, although born a male, has made the decision to play the role of a female. She plays a feminine role in the world, and before we realized she was in fact born a male, we accepted her as a born female.