(B)ordering the Body

Paper details:

Reading Prerequisite: Anderson Chapter 13 & review Chapter 4

Overview: According to Jon Anderson, place is understood as a space that has been molded and created by culture and by what humans do. Anderson argues that all places are a composition of traces, or an amalgam of “marks, residues or remnants left in place by cultural life.” These trace-chains are often crucial to understanding the identity of an individual. Anderson suggests in Chapter 4 that individuals often “define themselves through a sense of place,” and depending on the place one finds him or herself, he or she may feel a sense of belonging or a sense of alienation. This is because the cumulative effect of traces is to both culturally order and geographically border place. This process, known as (b)ordering, is a fundamental tenet of Cultural Geography. The grasp of how places are made and remade through the cumulative effect of traces and those who make them is of paramount importance. While places occur at every scale, this assignment will focus on the (b)ordering of the body. Much like any place human beings inhabit, it is culturally ordered and geographically bordered. Societal constructs are in place to direct individual’s behavior in various directions, and this assignment will focus on gender. Concepts such as femininity and masculinity are learned behaviors, and reflect the values of the society that put them in place like any other construct. There has been a great deal of upheaval globally surrounding this construct and those who transgress against the societal gender norms. Yet, people everywhere have embraced their role as trace-makers to try and effect change regarding these constructs. One way to analyze the construct of gender is through advertising. Space is permeated with advertisements. From billboards to radio ads to television commercials to Internet pop-ups, there is always something to be bought and sold. Many advertisements are gendered, and reflect the societal (b)orders they were created within. These different marketing strategies for men and women are the focus of the assignment.

Assignment: For this assignment, you will find two gendered advertisements; one marketed toward men and one for women. Please describe the advertisement in 1 paragraph. Then answer the following questions for each of the advertisements in a short paper that totals 500 words. Please incorporate at least one term from Anderson and at least one term from class lectures, appropriately citing the material. In other words you must explain the concept you are using in the context of the add you are examining. You will submit your paper on Angel in the folder corresponding to this activity:

What is the product of the ad?

Who is the target audience of the ad? How can you tell?

What about the ad makes it gendered?

Do you think the ad is effective? Why or why not?

Does the add support or disrupt a gendered trace-chain