Friday, March 27, 2015
Proposal, Final project
Anna Aronis
Proposal for Final Project #1
My idea for a proposal is to do a project on which advertising effects how women should feel during the stages of dating, and getting into healthy and successful relationships. Magazines, TV talk shows, and other forms of media, show single women who cannot get dates, or are not successful in keeping a man. Why is that a woman is so hung up over a man not calling, texting her, giving her attention on social media, etc? What men think is beautiful or what women think men should like, or what do men really look for? Why is there so much pressure to create this imaginary image of them to please a man? Or why are it that women need to change how they dress, and their own interests to make the man more interested in them.
I would like to make a dating guide as how a woman can gain a man's attention by going against the social norms and to just plain old be herself. She should show what she has to offer other than her looks or sex appeal. What interest does she have? Do they have any of these interests in common? What can they do on a date besides drinking and dancing? What activity can they use to get to know each other than social norms? What dates and activities can get people closer and have them bond, and what would be a good ice breaker to get people to talk and get to know each other, other than on a sexual level?
Project Timeline-Research on dating websites and what they are selling and the differences between them-
Tinder- mostly free, because it is an app, but the consumer can pay 19.99 for unlimited back and forth swipes and better location accuracy.
Plenty of Fish-Free but used for more hooking up and not serious people.
Match.com- subscription of 30.00 a month and unlimited access to the site whereas being on the site for free has limited perks.
E-harmony- also uses the tactic of subscriptions, and why it is better to pay for the perks of the website and having unlimited access
Agapematch.com- the person pays the company over 8,000 dollars at the time to find them suitors. You cannot contact, or see the person until you meet them at a first blind date that the matchmakers pick out for you.
This ides for a guide that I have kind of has the “Agape match” idea would offer a nice guide to dating that makes people join forces by not seeing photos and therefore getting to know them without the gender norms doing a gender neutral activity. Having a date and a conversation with each other that doesn’t push sex as a basic mean idea to get to know each other. This will be made for people who want to be in serious relationship and want to try a new an unconventional way, or society norm or do so. This is to show women and men that all these weird expectations that society has made us feel pressured should not be the key in getting to know person. Why in fact meeting someone, advertising, and social media a distraction to all of this? I will make a presentation with slides and printed pamphlets for the women to keep as a guide. This will be published via Internet as well. This fits into my portfolio of work because I am interested in why women feel so much pressure to look, feel and act a certain way toward men. Advertising plays a huge role in all this. With this guide the women can try a new approach to dating and the dating world by getting to know someone in a different and exciting way.
Bibliography-
Gender Roles and the Media-“Inforrefuge.com. Web. 25 March .http://www.inforefuge.com/gender-roles-media
Kilbourne, Jean “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising.” Center for Media Literacy. Center for Media Literacy. Web 25 March 2015
Berger, John, “Ways of Seeing”. London: Penguin Books, 1972: 45-64
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/be-mine-parallels-between-digital-advertising-and-online-dating-155677
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Great idea, Anna! Heteronormativity and gender expectations are themes that pertain to all the topics we have covered in class so far. I think it's really great that you plan to critique the sphere of dating and how it is advertised. I feel like in our society today, the concept of dating has certainly changed. A lot of that evolution might have stemmed from influences from the media, and our own individual uncertainties. But no one truly knows, and it's cool to explore and also comment on what we already "know" about dating (that of what popular image and dating advertisements tell us).
ReplyDeletehttp://realtruth.org/articles/090203-003-society.html
(Interesting article, by the way, that talks pretty much about dating in the 21st Century. The article kind of touches on the evolution of dating, too. It might be something you want to breeze over for information and inspiration).
A guide will be informative. But since you're also making an argument, you want to avoid readers commenting things like: "Well duh... of coarse... who doesn't know that?" (which I feel is possible). Because it's serious, your readers should take it equally as serious. I think you should make a little guide/booklet that juxtaposes societal norms and advertisements on dating (perhaps from the various dating sites you listed) with your own pointers. That way any consumer can understand where your critique is coming from and why, in some way, it relates to them no matter how much they think it's already obvious.
From your proposal, it seems as though, in general, dating on the basis of just the expectations society has on looks is petty. But for everyone, it happens (or has happened). How can you acknowledge this, and make a guide that encourages men and women alike to continue establishing relationships on a more deeper level—making it healthier for them and their partner?
Best of luck, have fun, and let me know if you have any questions about my comment.
I think it would be beneficial to understand your audience in terms of your project. Are the people that will be reading this novices to feminist theory? If so, it would probably be beneficial to cater the language to connect with that audience. If this is also the audience that you would be speaking to, it would also benefit them to introduce certain feminist principles.
ReplyDeleteOutside of that, I think it would better serve your project if you also include another perspective on dating, meaning, a woman does not need to find a man to be successful in her life. It would be cool to do an anit-dating guide. Or at least, have some of those perspectives in your project. Otherwise, your project would come across as dating propaganda.