I think our class hasn't yet focused on the idea of transgender and it would be a great topic for discussion, especially since this is a gender class. Thus, I definitely vote for watching "TransAmerica" as it would be a great addition to this course. I also agree with watching "Family Guy" because it is a light and hilarious show which pokes fun at the structure of American society and the unfortunate, archetypal family. My pick for episode would be "I am Peter, Hear Me Roar." [The following is an episode description-- Forced to go on a women’s retreat for telling sexist jokes at work, Peter resists the idea at first. After two weeks, however, Peter becomes a sensitive male. No one likes the new Peter, especially Lois. While attending a charity dinner, Lois does something that snaps Peter out of his feminine phase.] Along the same idea as "Family Guy," we could watch an episode of "South Park." My pick for episodes, aired in 2005, making them relevant, are either "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" or "Follow That Egg." The first is when Mr. Garriosn decides to get a sex change operation, a vaginaplasty which prompts Kyle to want a negroplasty so he can be tall and black enough to play basketball. This episode would lead us to a great discussion about race, gender and the outrageousness of plastic surgery. The second is when The gay marriage debate lands in South Park and unbeknownest to them, Stan & Kyle hold the answer in their hands. Additionally, if we were to enter the realm of Disney Films, watching "Hercules" or "How The Emperor Got His Groove Back would not be my personal picks. I believe the point of watching one of those films would be to demonstrate how, through these films, girls and boys are gendered from a very young age to fill the predetermined standards for their gender. I have personally never seen "Hercules," perhaps there is something there to maybe spark discussion about how it makes boys feel like they should be strong and unemotional. I know in "How the emperor..." it portrays a lot of stereotyping, such as only a man can be prince [ie. rule the gov't] and women are evil. However, I do not favor watching those particular films because they do not accomplish the conversation I think should be had. From the time we were in elementary school, our education has been solely based off of men's experience. I believe it is time, that because we are in a Women's Studies credit course, that we at least one time examine how these known and loved Disney films contribute to the systematic oppression of women as a whole. I feel that watching a film such as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty would be best for this. Though, I am curious to know what you all think.
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