Tagged: Foucault

Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

The more we know

  by dsantore  More and more, it seems, French popular culture reflects a national battle being waged about sex, gender and social norms.  Even for the supposedly sexually liberated French, we are told, recent events are notable.  New York Times Fashion and Style reporter Elaine Sciolino writes of a set of French films, novels and political intrigues, all of which shine light on possible changes in the country’s views on sexual propriety and gender roles.  Whether it is France’s Justice...

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

"Pretty" enough to run for office?

A recent psychology study (see below) at Northwestern University reveals that one reason that we look for female political candidates to be “attractive” is due to human instincts for “mate selection.”  The authors of the study assert that these judgements about the attractiveness of a female candidate occur unconsciously, therefore insinuating that a) mate selection is transhistorical and is based on modern standards of attraction, b) mate selection is heteronormatively essentialized and c) male preferences and instincts are human instincts,...