Gun Deaths in America

When teaching about gun violence, it is helpful to have data. It's even more helpful to have that data visualized.

fivethirtyeight put together an impressive visualization: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/gun-deaths/

In this series of images, each square represents one death.  The images will allow students to see how the gun deaths that dominate our conversations (mass shootings, violence by and against police, and terrorism) are minimal compared to suicides and homicides. The charts also show how this gun violence is connected with gender, age, and race.

Once you scroll through the data, you can explore it on your own using filters.

To compare the US to other countries, check out this data put together by the Upshot: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/upshot/compare-these-gun-death-rates-the-us-is-in-a-different-world.html?_r=0

Football & Rape Culture [Video]

Amy Schumer is one of my favorite people in comedy right now. In this sketch, she uses satire to show the connections between playing football and rape culture.  I showed this video last week and the students found it humorous. More importantly, this really opened up our conversation on this topic.  In addition to the clear linkages between football and hyper masculinity,  the students also pointed out a number of other things:

• The players ask their coach a lot of questions.  This shows that boys and men aren't often taught what rape actually IS.  Most girls women have been taught how NOT to be victims, but boys and men don't discuss how NOT to be rapists.
• The coach's status and power are question when he tries to introduce new rules that don't line up with ideas about hegemonic masculinity. 
• The community plays a  role in upholding a certain way of thinking about football and football players.

Socialization and Gendered Violence [Video]

A recent video called "Slap Her" went viral.  In this  video, children watch and react to the viral video and then later answer questions.

It can be hard to start a discussion about gendered violence but watching these children might get the conversation going in your classroom.  Because "Slap Her" shows boys refusing to hit a girl, the interviewer addresses issues of "being a man" and violence but he also asks the kids about reversing the situation. What if a girl were asked to hit a boy? I think the video also shows how strong socialization is - these young children have internalized norms about what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a man, and how that relates to violence. The kids do have a strong message.  "Don't Slap Anybody" and "If you hit people, you are dumb".

Condemning Extremist Muslim Acts and White Privilege [Video]

Many people condemned the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, but why do Muslims often feel like they have to  announce their condemnation with greater fervor than other ethnic and racial groups do?  In fact, why does it seem like there is pressure for individuals to explain the actions of people who look like them?  And why doesn't that apply to whites in the US?

Let this funny Daily Show video be a good start to this conversation in your classroom.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

The "Man Box" [Video]

In this TED talk, Tony Porter introduces a concept he calls the “man box,” which comprises all the actions and characteristics that he associates with hegemonic masculinity.  In quite moving anecdotes about his relationships with his father, peers, and his children, he discusses his own gender (and sexuality) socialization.  He connects his experiences to cultural forces and persistent gender issues such as sexual violence against women.  Although the talk is a bit longer (just over 11 min) than most of the video clips we post on this blog, students seem to find it compelling and I have found it generates good discussions.

Link to video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/tony_porter_a_call_to_men.html

 

What is consent? [Video]

In gender and sexuality classes, I find it is important to discuss (contemporary U.S.) cultural assumptions about consent, especially in light of California’s “yes means yes” legislation and the recent scrutiny of how universities handle reporting of sexual violence/assault/“misconduct” on their campuses.  I have found this video by Laci Green helpful, since it addresses a serious topic in an approachable and humorous fashion.

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2EooMhqRI&feature=youtu.be