Reading Response #5

5/09/2010

Cai Pencil

Reading Response #5

As we dawn on a new age in the midst of a paradigm shift where the whole world now has the ability to connect all across the world, we realize the irony behind the commercial advertisements that claim we can all unite and live with fair and equal opportunity similar to that as was promised by our founding fathers. In this article by Cynthia Selfe, she and fellow English teachers debate the adaption of education with the integration of technology that has become in demand. Though these marketing schemes promise equal opportunity for everyone, this utopia where ethnocentrism , racism classism and sexism does not exist, but instead use a series of subliminal signs by process of semiology based on our ideological values based on our cultural knowledge. The intent of these ads is to draw in consumers who indulge in the privileges of the modern life style we have become accustomed to here in the United States. An example of one of these narratives are as there is gender roles we all assume based on “constraining roles and expectations and possibilities to those we have already constructed as a culture.” As we differentiate between “men’s work” and “women’s work”, you can see how at s man’s job there will be less opportunity for women to move up. Most computer ads ad and games are directed towards men as they have a larger presence in the interests of video games, computers, and computer science. Their dominance in this field of course gives them a larger presence in the industry as men are the benefactor of their higher interest in computers. Because of their presence in the industry we can assume that this is at least for now what we can call a “man’s job”. So even though these commercial images claim that there will be an “ungendered utopia” sexism is still an apparent issue.

I must agree that the computer world is dominated by males and there for it gives the “same old gender stuff” where their dominance of their presence defines the ideological value of a “man’s job”. Even though these computer ads promise equality as most men are more fascinated by computers and what comes with it. My brothers, their friends, my friends and even myself have most likely had more screen time than the average female. Some even commit days, weeks, even years spending a hours playing video games and using the computer to accomplish things otherwise less likely to. One of my brothers for example has become so involved in computers, computer animation, and video game programming he is going to school for an higher education in this male dominated industry. So as it is favored more by young males growing up in this world where technology is around us all the time for our convenience you can make the connection of how this has been and is as “computer environments are still constructed by and for males.” Though, except for the fact that men are more interested in computer science and the general market around it, I think that the eventual and definite integration of technology into schools will give females more interest as they are around the stuff in more frequency.