= Barry 1 Brittany Barry + A Professor Ditch C. y English 113A e. L anos zon say a hw c he i ‘ ¢ The Movie “Grease” Turns Into sexism Theory <7 High school is filled with peer pressure. High school students wear certain clothes and do things to fit in even when they are not the people they truly are. Promoting gender stereotypes, which could hurt a lot of people who choose not to conform to gender stereo- types, are risky because people who challenge them could be treated unfairly and not be accepted. The popular 1978 movie, “Grease” had audiences who loved the movie and it made over three hundred eighty-seven million dollars in total ts) “Grease,” argues that wer tee Benes eaghiy-seven sail freseribed gender roles and gender performances affect people's behavior and lead the teenagers to make questionable decisions by allowing them to be accepted by those afound them, “Grease is a musical about high school students in the 1950s, having and _ experiencing friendships, romances and adventures to be popular like fitting in a clique. Although I personally like the movie, it’s a bad movie for padthe PS stereotyping women and men in situations. The visual texts in “Grease” communicate that, in order to Ph se mien need to conform to social norms and be muscular with a six- pack, and women need to be skinny and dress sexy to satisfy men. There are expectations of gender performance that define roles of ‘masculinity and femininity. For example, if two girlfriends from high school are arguing _) and one says something rude the other one responds by calling her a “bitch” because inBarry 2 today’s society that is the norm when someone says something you don’ like. Label gendering affects men as well, like when men are at a bar and one guy sees a girl he wants to ask out, but is scared to ask her, The other guys tease him and tell him to go ask her, but he says no and doesn’t go. His guy friends then call him a “wuss.” Guys and girls need stereotypes, or schemas, to create order in their world. This is explained in Composing Gender, the article “Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender” Judith} As a social institution, gender is one of the major ways that human beings organize their lives” (21). Lorber, claims that gender is a social institution that help us plan our lives. There are norms for masculinity and femininity that expect people to look certain way for others to be interested in them. In iE “ease,” for example, one of the last songs of the movie “You're The One That I Want,” the main character Danny Zuko, who in the beginning of the movie smokes and dresses like a bad boy “greaser” 3 who is the leader of his clique the “T-birds.” Danny changes his attitude and the way he dresses at the end of the movie like his girlfriend, Sandy Olsson, wants in a boyfriend. ¥f Danny sings, “I better shape up, ‘cause you need a man.” His girlfriend, Sandy, moved fe Q here from Australia and is sweet and dressed innocently until the end of the movie when she changes her look by dressing in all black like the “T-Birds” and even smokes to conform to what Danny wants in a girlfriend, She replies with her lyrics, “I need a man who can keep me satisfied.” The gender norms also expect males to show masculinity to prove they are cool and tough. In the diner scene, Danny’s friend, Putzie, thinks he compliments Sandy’s friend, Jan, when he says to her, “I think there is more to you than just fat.” She gives him a questioning look but then she says, “Thank you.” She accepts the fact that he just called. ye Barry3 her fat because she wants to be accepted in his group. In another scene, a character named Frenchy, who dropped out of high school because her classes were too hard, decides to go to beauty school, but then she drops out of beauty school because once again she has trouble with her classes and she goes back to high school. After Frenchy’s friend Rizzo and Rizzo’s boyfriend Kenickie have a fight and leave Frenchy at the diner, the waitress comes to clean the table, Frenchy tells her that she quit beauty school and says she wishes she had a guardian angel to tell her what to do. Soon after, she has a dream about a guardian angel who sings, “Beauty School Dropout”, some of the lyrios “You think you're such a looker; but no customer would go to you unless she was a hooker!" suggests the guardian angel is labeling and intimidating Frenchy and the angel is saying she’s not ? good at her job and should go back to high school not only that, gender norms also expect S males to show masculinity to prove they're cool and tough. In Grease, this is shown e At when the teen boys won't show affection to women when other guys are around and treat’ | Oo sex and women like objects when they’re together. For example, the main character K Danny and his friends are dancing and singing and combing their hair sroun the wind, they are getting ready for sex because fast cars are a symbol of masculinity. Danny even touches himself and calls his car his “pussy wagon.” Also, the message in “Grease” is | that teenage boys who get laid are cool, but when girls sleep with boys, they are sluts. ( Evidence for this is shown how Lorber’s article “Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender,” she explains, “Gender inequality — the devaluation of “women” and the social domination of “men” - has social functions and a social history.” (30) & Gender expectations make you blend in or else change the person you are. When boys Les ‘wear colors like black and wear leather jackets, it means you are sexually in control,Barry 4 active and cool. In Grease, Danny’s in a clique with his friends and they all wear black leather jackets with “T-Birds” on the back. When girls wears pink means you’re a lady and you are part of the right group. Also, in Grease, Sandy joins a clique called, “The \ Pink Ladies” so she can be in the right group. They also wear pink satin jackets with Pink ‘ Ladies on the back. The “T-Birds” and the “Pink” Ledies hung out together. At the end of the movie Sandy transforms into what Danny and his masculinity demands. She changes the way she dresses, the way she walks, she starts smoking and we even see a change in her behavior. “Grease” also communicates that Gender roles mean men need to have money to make women happy and women need a wealthy man to take care of them. The scene from the y first song of the movie, “Summer Nights,” shows this when Sandy and Danny’s friends t ask, “Tell me more, tell me more, Like does he have a car? Tell me more tell more, how much dough did he spend?” This points out the gender role expectation that describes how men should be the “bread winner” in a relationship, and therefore should pay for ‘women, To add, in the song “Summer Nights,” the gender expectation that pushes men to bbe the “hero” in a relationship, is shown when Danny sings, “I saved her life, she nearly drowned”. This points out the fact that men pride themselves in being strong. However, in contrast, when Sandy describes the same situation, she says,” He showed off, splashin’ around,” This shows how men and women emphasize different elements in conversations. This explains when Danny tells his friends about his summer vacation and meeting Sandy. He convinces them it was a “sexual” romance, which is not hones x. ceBarry 5 Sandy tells her friends about her summer vacation and tells them about the guy she met and how romantic the summer was and doesn’t make it sexual. ‘The argument of “Grease” i that if you want to fit in and be accepted, you have to look a certain way and follow the social construct of image and relationships. Composing \ Gender, In the article, “Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender,” * ) \ ‘Aaron Devor explains, “that as we move through our lives, society: demands different > is) gender performances from us and rewards, tolerates, or punishes us differently for f \ conformity to, or digression from social norms.” (35) The message in the movie ! by communicates that you should do what society thinks you should be whether that is who you are or not. The movie also supports the idea that if you don’t follow gender expectations, then your friends and the people around you will most likely not accept { you. For example, in the movie, after the high school pep rally, Sandy’s friends surprise her that Danny goes to the same school. Danny is surprised when he sees her and happily \ says, “Sandy, I thought you were back in Australia.” But when Danny realizes his £ J friends do not think he is being cool because he is excited, Danny says, “That's cool be : baby. You know how itis. Rockin and rolling and whatnot.” The online article Gender | ‘Stereotypes: Definitions, Examples and Analysis, explains this further when it says, “Ifa d é man or a woman acts differently from how their gender is assumed to behave, then they don’t conform to the norm”. Label gendering affeots men as well, like when men are at a bar and one guy sees a girl he wants to ask out, but is scared to ask her. The other guys . tease him and tell him to go ask her, but he says no and doesn’t go to ask her. His guy friends then call him a “wuss.”w es Barry 6 ‘However, what the movie does not explain is that you should not follow gender expectations if they are not a reflection of who you really are, For example, people might be lying about their true identity, just because it goes against what is “normal” for their gender. To add to this, when people do not follow society’s gender expectations, people might not be themselves, and sacrifice themselves. Also, when people are not themselves they can get hurt and hurt others. When people are forced to change, they learn about themselves and test their beliefs. But if people are not honest with themselves when they ‘try to be different, they can fall into a trap of faking who they are and compromising their values. Over fifty years later, society still uses gender labeling for teenage boys and girls in high school. To fit in or be accepted in certain groups in high school students must wear certain clothes, be a jock, or look a certain way. If they do not they are not going to be popular, having couple friend and they will be teased, bullied, left out of invitations to parties. “Grease” emphasizes gender roles that lead the teenagers to make decisions, which allow them to be accepted by their peers. “Grease is an important message because people can become brainwashed and lose control and their identity by trying to fit into what other people feel who they should be.we Barry 7 Works Cited Devor, Aaron. “Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender.” Composing Gender,(35). Holly Devor, 1989. 35-43.Print. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. "Grease (1978) - Financial Information." The Numbers, N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. Lorber, Judith. "Night to His Day?: The Social Construction of Gender." Composing Gender. (21) Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 19-30. Print. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. Lorber, Judith. "Night to His Day?: The Social Construction of Gender." Composing Gender. (35) Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 19-30. Print. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. "Video: Gender Stereotypes: Definition, Examples and Analysis." NoBullying ~ Bullying & CyberBullying Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. Culture. "5 Reasons Grease Is A Horribly Sexist Movie." WhatCulture.com. N.p., 14 Feb, 2014, Web. Mass 2017. er