WS 101: Introduction to Women's Studies

Killing Us Softly takes a fresh look at how advertising traffics in distorted and destructive ideals of femininity. The film marshals a range of print and television advertisements to lay bare a stunning pattern of damaging gender stereotypes—images and messages that too often reinforce unrealistic, and unhealthy, perceptions of beauty, perfection, and sexuality.

Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists, and academics expose how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America.

Tough Guise is the first educational video to systematically examine the relationship between pop-cultural imagery and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century. It argues that widespread violence in American society, including tragic school shootings, are part of an ongoing crisis in masculinity.

In a sweeping analysis that cuts across racial, ethnic, and class lines, Tough Guise 2 examines mass shootings, day-to-day gun violence, violence against women, bullying, gay-bashing, and American militarism against the backdrop of a culture that has normalized violent and regressive forms of masculinity in the face of challenges to traditional male power and authority.