Prompt #2 Cameron Dahlin

There aren’t many institutions or media objects that I can think of to define gender and sexuality for myself. The first example I could think of might be the show Everybody Loves Raymond. This was the most popular show I watched growing up. From this show I gained an understanding of what an ideal family and marriage was like. It combined humor with drama while creating a stereotypical family that was always caught up with extended family. The characters in this show embody a lot of different characteristics which I find interesting. Frank (Raymond’s father), embodies a cranky authoritative husband who demands that his wife grants his every wish. This ranges from to stop distracting him from watching TV or to make him a sandwich. Another interesting character would be Robert. Robert is show as a big, burly, tough man who's also a police officer. In reality, Robert is by far the most emotional character in the show.

Another show that really defines gender and sexuality for me would be Modern Family. This show takes 3 very different relationships and intertwines them into one big show. It embraces the ideal husband and wife but also the idea of a gay couple and what appears to be a "gold digger". I really like this show because it opens up for people to see all types of relationships working together as one big family, as well as tackling controversial issues.

Another thing that defined gender and sexuality for me would be 80's pop music. I grew up listening to a lot of this type of music since my mom is from England. These bands included Morrissey, The Cure, Duran Duran, David Bowie, and many other artists. These songs to me are very powerful and emotional love songs and really portray gender and sexuality through their lyrics. These artists are very mysterious about their personalities and love life, which is really intriguing to me.