search in youtube for Flight of the Conchords - If that's what your into
While this clip is clearly being over-the-top sarcastic it still provides us with a few different aspects of gender socialization. At a basic level, you have a scene in which Brett (the man) is trying to impress the Coco (the woman). Watching this clip, about the only normal thing that you see is a guy singing for a woman. You don't witness too many females trying to serenate guys. Another point that can be missed is the body language of the people. The female constantly gives her undivided attention to the song while smiling, and nodding at appropriate times. Brett, on the other hand, nervously looks directly at Coco and constantly changes his gaze. Also of note is the way that the three are sitting. Coco sits legs crossed hands on her lap for much of the song, while the males sit more casually, slouched over, or in a dominant, leg-up position.
The lyrics to the song are more noticeably gender oriented. Brett's song is basically about trying to find out if Coco would be interested in having sex with him. Here is more of an in your face picture of how a guy acts. It is obvious that this is not your 'normal' song, but that does not take away from the general point. The song is a spoof on how a man is programed to think; I may be singing a song for her, but what I'm really trying to do is get into your pants, "if that's what your into." The fantasy's of the song are also gender driven. Brett has one verse about being interested in a three-some with Coco. While I'm probably naive in saying this, the desire for this type of thing seems to be more masculine in nature.
Coinsideing with the comedy of the song, is gender socializing. In this case, the more concrete examples are the more minor points, such as posture, clothing, and body language. A clear showing of the male trying to impress the female also reinforces a common gender socialization. While much of the nature of the song is comical, the overlying idea of a man thinking solely of sex is also something society has gender socialized.
*If you enjoyed the clip I recommend looking at some others. (most beautiful girl in the room is a personal favorite, and I think won a grammy).
1 comment:
Pretty funny -- I did watch "most beautiful girl in the room" and it was good. I bet it's one of those things that gets funnier the more you watch it, like a Will Ferell skit, or some of the other random shit that gets passed around YouTube.
Anyway, yes, it's a good parody on what men and women are supposed to want. Where do you suppose the idea that men want sex more than women comes from? And what are the effects? I think it has some really dangerous effects, actually, for sexual violence, for women's experience of their own sexuality...things like that. We'll explore that more in class soon.
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