Please choose one song and its official music video and analyze what it says about masculinity or femininity in our society today -must use two

Essay #3 Prompt

English 1005B

Purpose: This unit asks you to consider how culture shapes our ideas of masculinity and

femininity. It also asks you to analyze the way media shapes our ideas of sexuality,

gender roles, beauty, relationships, and family.

Readings: “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” by Jean

Kilbourne; “How to Do Gender” by Lisa Wade and Myra Marx Ferree; “From The

Gender Knot: ‘Patriarchy’” by Allan G. Johnson; and “What We Really Miss About the

1950s” by Stephanie Coontz.

Please respond to the following prompt:

For our final essay, please choose one song and its official music video and analyze what

it says about masculinity or femininity in our society today.

Directions:

Please write a 4-5 page essay that has a clear, specific thesis supported by strong

argumentation. Your essay must use two of our texts, and contain a total of four

quotes. Please use 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spacing, with one-inch

margins. Make sure all quotes are properly introduced with a signal phrase and cited in

MLA style. When appropriate, please also use transitions to move your reader through

your argument, both within a paragraph and from each paragraph (C5-d). Please also

include a counterargument and rebuttal paragraph. Your paper must analyze the song’s

chorus and at least two lines from any of the verses. Also, please remember that the

only outside sources allowed are the lyrics and video to the song you’ve selected.

At the end of your essay, please attach the full lyrics to the song you’ve selected as a

reference.

Tips:

You might try using an outline to help organize your ideas (see C1-d). Remember, try to

develop one main idea per paragraph that is clearly articulated in a strong, clear topic

sentence (C5-a). You might also begin by revisiting our texts and ensuring you clearly

understand the positions put forth by the writers. For example, how would Kilbourne,

Johnson, or Wade and Ferree read the lyrics you’ve selected? What conclusions might

they reach? Are any of the lyrics you’ve selected problematic? Are any of the lyrics

you’ve selected positive or helpful when thinking about gender roles or gender

performance?

Dates: Check Canvas.